arclightning | deer country inbox

That would not be fun for me.

I'm all for supporting the arts and he has said some flattering(?) things(????) but I don't really think I'm an on stage kind of guy these days. I'll help with the sets or whatever if you want but that's probably my limit.

He should ask Chuck, though. I would support that.

Speaking of fun, wanna come over and smash some stuff?

What do you need smashed?

Or is this just the for-fun kind of smashing.

Fun smashing. You in?

Definitely. Now?

[ Better be because he's already packing up some food for Chuck and Raleigh both! ]

Yeah get over here. Lantern brings you to the front gate. I'm around back.

[Good! He's got eggs for you boys, anyway.]

Edited 2021-11-12 03:26 (UTC)

Be right there.

[ And true to form, within about ten minutes, Mako is shifting through the lanterns, shaking off the strangeness of just teleporting with his arms full of bundles of dried noodles he made. He's never liked the feeling of just shifting places, and that's still true. His stomach is still roiling a little bit as he makes his way around to the back of the house. ]

Raleigh! I'm not just gonna put this stuff outside. Open up the house for a second.

[It's a weird sensation but it does make travel more convenient, especially for Raleigh who lives out in the middle of nowhere far, far away from the city. No real change from Deerington, he supposes, just farther. At least Clarke Acres had been (a long) walking distance.

Light is spilling out from the barn, casting shadows out into the inky sky. The spectacle is joined by the wispy smell of smoke in the air but it's mellowed with the feeling of intention. There is no danger, no raging worry, just a drunk firebender screwing around in his barn.

The illuminations calm when Mako calls and Raleigh appears in the door with a wide smile, arms held out as he comes to greet his friend, clap him on the shoulder and offer his hands to help lighten the load.]

Mako! What is all this stuff, where did you find noodles?

[Smashing stuff can wait a minute- and he takes them inside. Spaghetti, ever the opportunist, was laying up on the roof of the back porch and wolf whistles at Mako in greeting before dropping down to follow them in. Raleigh ignores her.]

Chuck's asleep just so you know. Do you want a drink? We've got wine, beer, and moonshine.

Made 'em.

[ The smell of smoke is a comfortable thing: Mako's spent enough time around fire to know it inside and out, to be able to breathe it in with a vague sense of home and smile, just a little. Mako pushes some of the stuff into Raleigh's arms with a small mutter of thanks, lets himself be clapped with an odd feeling in his belly (acceptance, for which he has no real name).

He also takes a moment to roll his eyes at Spaghetti. ]

Moonshine?

[ Apparently not a word that translates well because Mako has no idea what to make of it. ]

Wow.. these are amazing [In such awe about the noodles. Mako has made them a lot in the past but bringing them all these hits different. It's so thoughtful and kind and he appreciates it a lot.

And then about the drink, Raleigh chuckles to himself and pulls down a mason type jar from the cupboard containing a clear, innocent looking liquid.]

It's grain spirit. Not.. spirits spirits. But Liquor.

[He isn't sure if he needs to specify. Never know with you.]

Back in my world we went through a time in history where the government banned alcohol. And of course that was never gonna stop anyone so people started making it at home at night by moonlight and drinking it in secret bars called speakeasies. But it's basically whiskey.

Oh. So it's just illegal alcohol.

[ Mako holds out a hand for the jar, looking skeptically at it for a moment before he glances up at Raleigh. ]

Did... you make it?

[jUsT iLlEgAl AlCaHol tch

Raleigh hands it over and nods with a hum.]

Mhm, Chuck did. He's been working on it for ages. It's pretty good if you think you can handle it~

That a good idea when you're throwing fire around?

[ Mako's not exactly as competitive as he used to be, although there is still a flare of it in him at Raleigh's words (of course he can handle it! He can handle anything!) that he tamps down on. Not now. ]

You're still a baby firebender. Gotta be at least this tall— [ Yeah he's absolutely pressing fingers just above Raleigh's heigt ] —to drink and bend.

[Aw, c'mon Mako, take the bait.]

Too late for that. Boop. [Raleigh quickly lifts up onto the balls of his feet and taps Mako's hand with the top of his head]

Haha, have a drink. I wanna show you what I've been learning, oh wise firelord, Mako.

I'm not the Firelord. That's an actual person, you can't just... be that.

[ ...but he is opening up the jar, though, snorting at Raleigh's little boop and waving the same hand. ]

Get on with it. Show me what you got.

Maybe I will.

[After he pours them both a shot. Fair warning Chuck's moonshine is extremely strong. If Mako doesn't have hair on his chest this will sure put it there.

He holds up his glass in a toast. But he's already been drinking so.. debatable on 'toast']

There's no one here who knows fire better'n you. So I think you're firelord now.

[Raleigh deepens his voice and holds his free hand over his cup where he flicks his pointer finger with his thumb and sends sparks jumping across his skin to ignite the alcohol before he drinks- speaking like he's quoting someone.]

I have spoken.

Edited 2021-11-26 23:57 (UTC)

[ Playing fancy tricks, huh! Mako can't help but grin as the alcohol ignites, burning blue-hot before Raleigh tosses it back. It's dangerous to do that but Raleigh clearly doesn't care, or maybe he's immune to fire now. Mako never was before this, but now flames have licked along his skin a few times without a single burn mark.

He raises his own tiny glass, sets it aflame with a wave of two fingers, and tosses it back as well.

Which.

Holy shit.

Mako never liked alcohol much anyway—he hates being out of control, hates that fuzzy veil between himself and the rest of the world and the way it gets hard to make his limbs do as they're told—and this is fucking strong, enough to burn his throat and make him shudder as he tosses it back. ]

Fuck! Chuck made that?

[Raleigh cackles and nods, wiping the corner of his mouth with his thumb before offering Mako a refill.]

It's intense, right? This is the good stuff, the stuff before was basically gasoline.

Spirits. That's—

[ Mako isn't even trying to keep up his cool front here. That was awful, and he absolutely not taking a refill, no thank you. ]

That's all yours. Wu would hate this. You sure you want to show off with that stuff in you?

I'm good.

[Raleigh smiles and sets down the bottle. Maybe it is a little strong.

They.. probably should not be drinking this shit.

Anyway-]

So. Fun smashing. C'mon.

[Out we go, back into the night, safe behind the wards Raleigh has wrangled and set up around his property line with a second, inner ring around the immediate.

There are a few chickens at the back door who fluffle out of the way and follow behind, hoping for snacks. They're out of luck but Raleigh throws his arm around Mako's shoulder.]

So tell me bud, what's new in Mako world? It's been a while.

Uh—

[ Mako, still uncomfortable with physical contact, fluffs up under the touch a bit like one of those chickens (so weird, just a ... bird, he's still not used to that more than a year later) and kind of glances sidelong at Raleigh. ]

Honestly? Pretty much just the Raccoon Room and the safehouses. It's been a lot of setup. Wu has... a vision. A really detailed vision.

[Raleigh is, not unlike Bolin, a fairly tactile person, but he feels Mako tense a little and drops his arm, tucking his thumbs behind his belt buckle like it's nothing as they saunter out across the yard. To their right, every twenty feet or so, is a monster ward on a stake that has been hammered into the ground and runs like an invisible fence. There's a second ring of them around the perimeter of the property but being able to see them like this is comforting.

The air is different out here. It's fresher. More crisp. And while it doesn't have the walled protection of the city, Raleigh far prefers being able to see enemies approach than be surprised and trapped amongst buildings. All the recent problems with the zealots and body farm don't seem to extend as far out as Ache and Feed. The population isn't big enough to venture out, it would seem.

It is quiet, though, very quiet, but there are pros and cons to that, too.]

Sounds stressful but knowing what you're supposed to be doing is better than feeling lost. I don't know what to do with myself unless I've got a job.

...yeah.

[ Mako snorts in quiet recognition, that feeling he gets every time he sees Raleigh: the particular ache of seeing yourself, reflected in another person in a way that can be terrifying. Mako doesn't like the soft parts of himself getting so easily exposed, but Raleigh does it on the regular. And still he's here, walking through frost-tipped grass beside him, scanning the grounds and watching his own breath mist ghostly in front of him. ]

Tell me about it. I still don't—what's your job out here? Make sure Chuck doesn't kill anyone with his alcohol?

[Maybe it's nice, sometimes, to have your soft underbelly recognized in the safety of another like person. To be seen and it not be a threat to that part of yourself. To simply be. Raleigh has no agenda.

He chuckles and shrugs a little bit.]

Something like that. We've got the chickens and mushrooms to look after.. and I've been trying to teach myself to use these abilities to weld. I think my hunting days are behind me but I still want to contribute. I don't do charity and I won't be made useless again.

Again?

[ Mako knows the sentiment like he knows the scars on his hand, but he glances curiously at Raleigh anyway, sensing a story. ]

[Ngh. Raleigh takes a beat and stops walking, glancing up at the moon for a moment. When he speaks, it's low- the sort of graveled velvet born of heartache and memory.]

My brother and I were warriors. You remember, I've told you. But when he died it.. destroyed me. I don't think I told you, him dying.. it was my fault. I made a bad call and he paid for it. A mistake, yeah, but it is what it is. I killed him.

After that, I was- dead, I think. Alive but dead. I wanted to be dead. My body was in pieces, my brain- [a low whistle.]

I remember being so angry they'd saved my life. Because what kind of life was I supposed to have? What was there to live for? I was useless.

[Raleigh shrugs a little bit, slowly, like he's in pain. And he is. Even now it is so painful to think about. Even all these years later, even with Yancy standing right beside Mako, who Raleigh knows isn't really there, arms crossed as he listens. Six years and some change and that wound is still rotting.

He takes a breath and lets it out, controlled under iron grasp.]

I don't ever want to feel like that again. So if it means I'm farming mushrooms... then I'm farming mushrooms.

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