[Vyng rocks back on his heels, thoughtful. It's a good question! One that should get easier to answer every time someone asks. But it often makes Vyng rethink his own choices — and how his brand of druidism has diverged far from what's considered "normal" back home.
In the end, though, he just goes back to the fundamentals.]
Because raw nature doesn't like being told what to do. It simply does what it does.
With shapeshifting, you give spirits a direct connection to the material plane. But elemental work requires some sacrifice on my part. It's, uh...a balance thing, you could say.
I don't know. Sounds like nature is the thing coming out on top in that bargain. You shouldn't have to pay a price for something like that.
[ Spoken like a true bender, Mako realizes, and anyway, he can't talk to lakes. Maybe lakes really don't like being bent.
It niggles at some sense of justice still in him, the idea that he can use fire like it's nothing and that Vyng has to scrape for it, sacrifice to make it work. That doesn't seem right. ]
Guess that makes me a real bargain-bin bender. A bargain bin-der! Hah.
[Sounds about right. There's no self-pity in Vyng's tone, though. He's been an outcast most of his life. Self-depreciation fits him like a second skin.]
Anyway, it's not about what's "fair". Anytime I do elemental work, I'm really just calling in a favor. Unless you're good friends with somebody...they usually expect something in return for their trouble, you know?
[That, at least, is a concept he fully expects Mako to understand.]
[ Those are definitely terms Mako understands. His face darkens slightly, and he nods. ]
Yeah. Nothing's ever just handed to you. I... guess I just didn't think nature itself cared enough about favors to try that. It's weird that I can do it just fine but that nature expects something from you, you know? We're in the same place right now. Same nature.
[Vyng brushes his wild hair back, and he taps at the gills — a pair of slits moving in and out with each breath — on each side of his neck.]
Same nature. Different natures, pal. You're a firebender. I'm a druid.
[He closes his mouth, pinches his nose...and deeply inhales through his neck. Normally Vyng gravitates toward finding commonalities between him and others. But if he ever needs to hammer home those differences, all he really has to do is exist.
After a moment, his hand drops to his side.]
Your power comes from the relationship between you and your body and spirit, right? My power comes from the relationships I form with other spirits. It's a communal thing, so...
[He spreads his arms out, so Mako can get a better look at the fractal patterns — similar to lightning scars — snaking up his skin and disappearing beneath his sleeves. As he moves, the markings catch the sunlight. They glitter purple like the amethyst resting in Mako's hand.]
Well. Like I said. It's complicated. You've gotta let others in. Sometimes that hurts, you know? But in the end...I think it's worth it.
[ Mako watches those glittering patterns for a moment, almost transfixed. His own left hand twitches in old memory. He curls his hand into a loose fist and leaves it there, frowning.
He is quiet for a while, his mind tumbling over the concepts of letting spirits in and balance and relationships. Mako doesn't get his power from his relationships with people, but he is tied to the sun, can feel its rise and its fall and its distance. Vyng, apparently, is tethered much more literally to those things. ]
[There's some overlap, for sure. Although being the Avatar sounds like a proper job in Mako's world. A position that actually means something to people and spirits alike. Maybe it even portends to some greater destiny for whoever holds the title. There's certainly thousands of years' worth of shoes to fill.
"Spiritwalker", on the other hand, was a name given to him by those he aims to serve because of his unique ability to seamlessly cross between worlds. People in the material plane don't know what it means. Hell, Vyng doesn't fully know. Tuck is the only person who seems to believe it should mean something to people, with a surprisingly quiet faith that never wavers. Even in the face of Vyng's most colossal fuck-ups.
He lowers his hands, and his mouth twists into a lopsided smile.]
I don't know, man. Korra is pretty badass. Her elemental work? Uh-mazing. Gives me something to aspire to, you know?
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no subject
[Vyng rocks back on his heels, thoughtful. It's a good question! One that should get easier to answer every time someone asks. But it often makes Vyng rethink his own choices — and how his brand of druidism has diverged far from what's considered "normal" back home.
In the end, though, he just goes back to the fundamentals.]
Because raw nature doesn't like being told what to do. It simply does what it does.
With shapeshifting, you give spirits a direct connection to the material plane. But elemental work requires some sacrifice on my part. It's, uh...a balance thing, you could say.
no subject
[ Spoken like a true bender, Mako realizes, and anyway, he can't talk to lakes. Maybe lakes really don't like being bent.
It niggles at some sense of justice still in him, the idea that he can use fire like it's nothing and that Vyng has to scrape for it, sacrifice to make it work. That doesn't seem right. ]
no subject
[Sounds about right. There's no self-pity in Vyng's tone, though. He's been an outcast most of his life. Self-depreciation fits him like a second skin.]
Anyway, it's not about what's "fair". Anytime I do elemental work, I'm really just calling in a favor. Unless you're good friends with somebody...they usually expect something in return for their trouble, you know?
[That, at least, is a concept he fully expects Mako to understand.]
no subject
Yeah. Nothing's ever just handed to you. I... guess I just didn't think nature itself cared enough about favors to try that. It's weird that I can do it just fine but that nature expects something from you, you know? We're in the same place right now. Same nature.
no subject
Same nature. Different natures, pal. You're a firebender. I'm a druid.
[He closes his mouth, pinches his nose...and deeply inhales through his neck. Normally Vyng gravitates toward finding commonalities between him and others. But if he ever needs to hammer home those differences, all he really has to do is exist.
After a moment, his hand drops to his side.]
Your power comes from the relationship between you and your body and spirit, right? My power comes from the relationships I form with other spirits. It's a communal thing, so...
[He spreads his arms out, so Mako can get a better look at the fractal patterns — similar to lightning scars — snaking up his skin and disappearing beneath his sleeves. As he moves, the markings catch the sunlight. They glitter purple like the amethyst resting in Mako's hand.]
Well. Like I said. It's complicated. You've gotta let others in. Sometimes that hurts, you know? But in the end...I think it's worth it.
no subject
He is quiet for a while, his mind tumbling over the concepts of letting spirits in and balance and relationships. Mako doesn't get his power from his relationships with people, but he is tied to the sun, can feel its rise and its fall and its distance. Vyng, apparently, is tethered much more literally to those things. ]
So you're... almost exactly like the Avatar.
In other words.
no subject
[There's some overlap, for sure. Although being the Avatar sounds like a proper job in Mako's world. A position that actually means something to people and spirits alike. Maybe it even portends to some greater destiny for whoever holds the title. There's certainly thousands of years' worth of shoes to fill.
"Spiritwalker", on the other hand, was a name given to him by those he aims to serve because of his unique ability to seamlessly cross between worlds. People in the material plane don't know what it means. Hell, Vyng doesn't fully know. Tuck is the only person who seems to believe it should mean something to people, with a surprisingly quiet faith that never wavers. Even in the face of Vyng's most colossal fuck-ups.
He lowers his hands, and his mouth twists into a lopsided smile.]
I don't know, man. Korra is pretty badass. Her elemental work? Uh-mazing. Gives me something to aspire to, you know?