RD6, orb

[streamlines]

Why do none of the inns in this place ever have more than one room available?

[so, korra's been in schwanheim for a few days now, and she and her companion—whom some might remember from their orbs a couple days ago—have been running into a rather interesting snag... nightly. she hasn't used the orb herself before, but she's seen it used, so it wasn't too difficult to figure out.

mako's busy reading a map behind her, probably trying just not to listen, but he's there. just two alone people. together. alone.]

I mean, no matter where we go, every single night there's been some reason we can't have more than one room even though we're paying the price of two. These yokels just keep scamming every group that comes along! 

Comments

[streamlines]

It's like we got set back about a hundred years with the technology.

[lowering the orb for a moment to glance at him]

We don't have running water at the South Pole, though. [I'M ASSUMING??] It's not too bad. You get used to it.

[assiduous]

Might even be more than that.

[ mako shrugs a bit, and puts his charcoal pencil down, tipping back onto two of the chair's legs. MAKO YOU HOBO ]

What's it like? The South Pole.

[ BESIDES UH assumedly cold as balls. ]

[streamlines]

[blink. that's—an unexpected question]

Really different from Republic City. [a smile tugs at her mouth, just a bit] Things aren't so close together. I lived on a compound with the White Lotus for most of my life, but the Tribe lives in a village—just a few igloos, nothing high off the ground. Only a few places have electricity. We rely a lot on the sea for food, so most people know how to hunt and fish when they're really young. And everyone knows each other.

[assiduous]

[ his fingers are folded over the side of the table in their room (next to the bed that's... too big for only one person, though that hasn't stopped them from splitting the space that way), and he uses it to keep from toppling over in an undignified pile on the ground.

this is the first time he's been out of the city. ever. and if schwanheim isn't already foreign enough, there's korra, here with him, technically a rube by city standards, with a polar bear dog who's her best friend that she found on the ice, and he wants to understand, as if knowing will keep him from being caught off guard or surprised in the future (it won't, she's korra, but the idea is supposed to be comforting more than actually effective). looking at the map, there's a load of other stuff here in the kingdom. mako, recently, has felt his world become very, very, small in comparison to everything.

he is pretty sure he doesn't like it. mako lets go of the table, and the chair teeters dangerously for a second before landing, stable, as he looks at her doing that infuriatingly quiet watching thing he does. ]

Do you miss it?

[ he knows republic like the back of his hand, all the noise and lights and people and sound, and.

yeah stuff blehhhhh ]

[streamlines]

Of course I miss it. It was my home for seventeen years, but it was definitely time to leave. I miss it, but I don't regret leaving at all. There's so much I couldn't have seen or done if I hadn't.

[assiduous]

[ mako nods, listening. and... he doesn't regret her leaving either!!! if she hadn't they wouldn't have won that last match...

but this is an unfair amount of information sharing. ]

... This is the first time I've been away from Republic.

[ shrugging, as he says it, like a sort of half explanation for why he's asking, his fingers tapping a short quiet staccato on the wood of the table. ]

[streamlines]

[so you only like korra for her bending and her great rack

i see]

Do you miss it?

[korra's unsure if this is crossing a line, like she nearly did when she asked mako if he was a criminal for his association with the triads, so the question is a little hesitant. of course, this isn't as obvious as that, but she's learned a thing or two about subtlety and implication. (though "a thing or two" doesn't mean that she can always identify it)]

[assiduous]

[ bending, tits, and athleticism, yeah, basically. ]

Right now? Not really. I didn't exactly want to leave like [ a small gesture in the air, ambiguous ] this.

[ why would he, without bolin? a small pause, and he glances back down at the map. ]

But I guess I wouldn't mind getting away, if we had the chance.

[ it would have meant learning all the ropes of everything, all over again, but, at the same time, it'd mean leaving all the shit behind. (could he be sure he'd be able to take care of bolin, away from republic?) ]

[streamlines]

[korra doesn't speak for a moment. she remembers the last time she tried to talk to mako about his childhood and completely put her foot in her mouth; she still has no idea how to talk about it (no idea what it was like, what he was like, how young children could have possibly survived alone—"running numbers" didn't mean much to her), but nor does she want to ignore it. so she actually stops, gives herself a moment to consider what she's saying before it comes out of her mouth, and then speaks]

When we make it back, I'd like to see more of the world outside Republic City.

[an (unintended?) invitation to see it together? korra definitely wants to explore, see and learn things like she's been doing in republic city, and she wouldn't be unhappy if they went together]

GONNA EQUALIZE YOU, GONNA DO IT

[assiduous]

[ THERE ARE SO MANY QUESITONS HERE, OKAY, like, if the arena was blown up will they have probending next year? (how will he pay for things?) if they do, will korra come back for the season? :C? she's the best waterbender he's ever had, i mean she made it to the finals with them and she's a natural... ]

Think you might be able to come back if there's a season next year?

[ mako you idiot that was an invite to go on an adventure

SHE'S NOT YOUR FRIEND ONLY FOR THE BENDING

but uh

this is kind of mostly what this mako thinks he cares most about korra

(NOT FOR LONG) ]

[streamlines]

[... oh of course he. wasn't even thinking about going with her. korra sighs, shakes it off, puts a smile back on her face. they've got to start from scratch again, and she doesn't like it, but fine. it's something she has to do.]

No way I would miss it.

[assiduous]

[ c: that gets her a little smile from mako, reassured, like the one he gave her right after he they solved the puzzle to get into the rally. he really likes being reassured, having answers to problems, even if they're not set in stone, because at least that way he can try to work with the possibilities. ]

Good to know.

[streamlines]

[ that smile reassures her a bit, too, and her own smile grows. korra doesn't respond at first, just looks back at him, until she realises what she's doing and fakes a coughing fit to pull her gaze away as least awkwardly (lol) as she can manage. ]

So where should we go from here?

[assiduous]

[ COMPLETELY MISSES IT how do you read people ]

Well. If you think you wanna try for the thorns now, we can take this road [ POINTING TO THE MAP ] outta town. With Naga, we could make it in... [ uh ] ... three or four days, I think?

[ LMAO WHAT IS TRAVELING OUTSIDE OF THE CITY ]