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Between all of the death, destruction, politics, competitions, and general lack of anything resembling a decent day of relaxation, I've decided that I'm going to host a party. Not a big one, not for any particular occasion, but it's just going to be a bunch of people coming together to have a good time, recover, and if any of you have anything you would like to add that falls under the category of relaxing and letting go of some stress, let me know so we can plan it out appropriately. A live band would be especially desired.
[ A paper copy of the invitations will be delivered to everyone's mailbox in a fashion that breaks no windows whatsoever and is probably quite refreshing. On the back of the paper copy are directions to the block between Oak & 8th and Nettle & 8th. ]
Locked to Team RWBY, JNPR, and Sun
As you may have noticed, there are currently two candidates for City Guardian. I wouldn't exactly endorse either of them, but one of them I do want to make sure each of you know something about. If it ever comes to fighting against her, and I'm not saying it will but if it does, don't use anything based in fire or electricity unless you want her to win.
I don't know that it'll come to that and don't tell her I said anything either. Professor Ozpin said not to judge either of them based on their pasts, so I'm not, but I'm just saying! If one of them tries to burn down the city, I'd rather we at least have how not to get killed straight away.
Also, I need to speak to each of you about your roles in my party. [ Yes, she is entirely volunteering anyone in her team to help with this. ]
[ A paper copy of the invitations will be delivered to everyone's mailbox in a fashion that breaks no windows whatsoever and is probably quite refreshing. On the back of the paper copy are directions to the block between Oak & 8th and Nettle & 8th. ]
Locked to Team RWBY, JNPR, and Sun
As you may have noticed, there are currently two candidates for City Guardian. I wouldn't exactly endorse either of them, but one of them I do want to make sure each of you know something about. If it ever comes to fighting against her, and I'm not saying it will but if it does, don't use anything based in fire or electricity unless you want her to win.
I don't know that it'll come to that and don't tell her I said anything either. Professor Ozpin said not to judge either of them based on their pasts, so I'm not, but I'm just saying! If one of them tries to burn down the city, I'd rather we at least have how not to get killed straight away.
Also, I need to speak to each of you about your roles in my party. [ Yes, she is entirely volunteering anyone in her team to help with this. ]
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Appa is, but he's the last of the sky bison. They were all hunted to extinction, wiped out with the rest of the Air Nomad civilization. Appa's friendly [ and arguably the first one to accept him into the group ] and it's said that the sky bison were docile in general, but I wouldn't know. [ his fingers twitched and the fire sky bison moved up, tail beating down like appa did when he rose from the ground. ]
I take it Grimm aren't too friendly?
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[ Weiss held her hands out to feel the warmth from the flaming sky bison, not getting close enough to actually have to worry about anything, of course. As for the question about Grimm, well.. ]
The Grimm are creatures without souls who've been trying to destroy humanity since the dawn of our existence. A long time ago, they were the reason we were nearly hunted to extinction. They're one of the biggest reasons we need hunters and huntresses.
[ One of. People like the White Fang or Roman Torchwick that the police can't handle are the other reasons. ]
The Grimm are why there are multiple academies to train people for combat despite that we're actually in a time of peace.
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his hands fell away and the sky bison vanished. ] Sometimes you have to keep fighting to maintain the peace. Peace isn't something you just achieve, it's something you have to maintain, too. [ he often wondered if aang and the others understood that. there was overthrowing his father and stopping the war, and then there was stopping another one from breaking out, whether that be another nation taking advantage of the weakened fire nation or civil wear breaking out within the nation itself between the factions that supported peace and those who stood behind ozai. ]
So, that's why you fight. [ his gaze fell on myrtenaster for a moment. ] Why you're still learning. To ensure that these creatures don't disrupt your peace. That's a very noble cause. [ zuko offered her a small smile and scooted closer. ] Here, hold out your hands like this [ he cupped his to show her ] and don't move.
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[ Weiss has a lot of strong feelings about that. Because her family is apparently actively doing something.. problematic. She doesn't want to believe it's happening. There's a bit of discomfort in the way she's holding herself as she thinks about it, but they're talking about Zuko right now. ]
If there's one thing I've come to learn, it's that whatever your family or your own past is, it's what you do in the present and future that makes a difference now.
[ Weiss knows she hasn't always been the best person and neither has Zuko. Maybe she hasn't been directly responsible for the forced faunus labor her family is accused of, but she definitely hadn't let go of her hatred for the entire species until recently. Whether her family really is responsible for that or not, and she doesn't want to believe that they are, she knows that she could be a better person herself and that she can't blame herself for something that was out of her control unless she lets it keep happening. ]
It's one of the reasons. The White Fang is another. I'll also inherit a company that produces dust and military-grade robotics, amongst other things, when I'm old enough. I won't be anything less than perfect for any of that.
[ She'd been looking down as she spoke, her voice quiet but increasingly determined as she did speak. Her eyes popped up to Zuko's face in surprise when she realized he was closer, telling her to hold her hands out. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously for a moment, but she took a breath and held them out, as instructed. Honestly, it wasn't like she ever got this close to boys even back home- unless you count that time that Jaune caught her in the most pathetic fashion possible. ]
What are you going to do?
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You'll be plenty perfect for it. Now sit still. Don't move, and just trust me.
[ zuko licked his lips, breathed in through his nose, and blew out a stream of fire at her hands. his hands hovered a few inches below hers to keep the flame steady and hovering in her palms as if she'd bent it herself. it was likely warm to the touch, but he kept both the flames and the bulk of the heat off her skin. ]
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[ Or at least learn along the way. Weiss honestly wasn't sure how she'd come to end up thinking Zuko was trustworthy this quickly, but she was pretty sure that he could handle it.
And she did trust him, enough to hold perfectly still as the fire came out. She didn't pull away this time, like she had the previous times. Her eyes kept on the fire. It was so warm compared to what she normally felt. Her usual focus on ice was cold, harsh at times. She knew that fire was supposed to be harsh, but this flame seemed calm and.. surprisingly safe, despite that even the calmest flame of a candle could burn you. More than just her hands felt warm now, though, and a small smile pulled to her lips.
When her eyes turned up to Zuko's face, she realized that they were honestly a lot closer than she'd thought. She tensed slightly, keeping her hands still and where they were. It wasn't the fire that had caused her to tense, it was the fact that Zuko was practically holding her hands and she'd let him get that close, willingly. Despite that, she made no efforts to pull away. ]
Is this what it feels like when you bend? Is it always this warm for you?
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[ or sitting through his uncle's painful attempt at trying to get a bunch of illiterate sailors to act out a mock session for him like they were award winning ember island players. he'd been too busy covering his face with his hands and wishing for a wave strong enough to capsize the boat to pay much attention to it.
he shook his head. ] No, it's hotter. A lot hotter. Like dipping your fingers in lava. I'm, uh, actually bending the heat away from you. [ zuko was too caught up in sharing his bending with someone to pay much attention to their proximity — or the fact that he wasn't wearing much of anything when he stripped down to just his pants to avoid setting his clothes on fire. his experience with girls was limited to an earth kingdom girl who thought he was nothing more than a tea server and a governor's daughter who he wasn't sure he liked because he was supposed to or actually did. but mai was loyal to azula and the fire nation, and he'd left both her and the country behind. ]
It's like— [ zuko grasped her wrists, cupping her knuckles in his palms as he guided her hands out, then up, the flame twisting with her movements. ] Having the sun inside of you, like being able to feel the very essence of the life its light and warmth brings to the world.
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[ Like when she first got into Beacon and had to mentally remind herself of each step in her first fight against the Beowolves, but now those fighting moves were a lot closer to reflexes and second nature now that she'd been honestly doing them in real fights, rather than in practice scenarios. She imagined there were a lot of things she still had to learn.
Luck would have it that at the very least, Weiss was around Sun a lot. So guys with their bare chests hanging out for the world to see didn't phase her as much as should have. It's more just the closeness that she's noticing a lot more, though as he starts to speak, the interest in learning about it distracts her pretty quickly. She's comfortable enough around him that if he's going to teach her about it, she's going to listen. ]
It doesn't hurt you even though it's that hot?
[ Weiss's pale blue eyes are focused entirely on the flames as he moves her hands. She doesn't fight him moving her hands, the tenseness she's had for a few moment seeming to loosen up as he guides them. ]
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[ he though back to his redirection lessons. iroh refused to bend lightning at him so he could test his skills, too concerned for his safety to challenge him in such a manner, and he'd been right not to. zuko had been far too hotheaded back then to calmly grasp and guide the lightning through his body. there was learning it and actually doing it. he didn't actually get to put it into practice until his father tried to murder him as soon as the sun peeked back out from behind the moon.
and again with the attack. zuko couldn't bend lightning yet. he didn't know if he'd ever be able to, and it was his inability to bend it that caused him to be hurt by it. a snake-like scar curled it's way around his right hand where the lightning he directed more times than he probably should've caught him and singed his skin. azula had wanted him to see a healer to get the scars removed. he'd refused. zuko was done being ashamed of his scars. ]
No. I guess it should, but— Keep your elbows apart— But bending isn't just... It's not a power to be gained like a witch's magic or things you make deals with spirits to gain. [ his eyes were on the flames, too. he found himself wishing he could show her the magnificent colors dragon's fire had. ] It's a part of you. You're born with it, and it takes an active role in your life. As a firebender, my bending is tied in directly with the sun. I rise with it.
[ he guided her hands now so one palm hovered over the other, the fire stretching between them like pulled taffy. ]
Every morning. Wide awake. Just like that. It doesn't matter how tired you are or how much sleep you got, you're up. I mean, you can always go back to sleep, but [ his fingers twitched, and the fire twisted into a spiral ] it's kind of hard to ignore your bending senses flaring up with restless energy.
[ zuko's eyes finally left the fire, rising to meet her own. he smiled at her. ] You're pretty good at this.
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[ She didn't dislike coffee, but she'd certainly had more than she'd ever wanted to of it just to keep up when it was study time or to make sure she was ready for the morning and able to keep up with the high-energy of half of her team. Being able to wake up like that instead of wanting to sleep in with birds chirping on her window sill in her fancy night gown? That would be nice.
Not that it was the only nice thing about firebending, but Weiss was pretty sure that telling him that this whole thing was kind of amazing and that she enjoyed how passionately he was talking about it? Not happening.
Weiss continued to slowly move her hands just as Zuko's were moving, making absolutely sure that she didn't fall behind. She knew that he would protect her, but she was definitely concentrating on at least getting the movements right. When he told her to move her elbows, she did. So it wasn't unexpected when he told her she was pretty good at it, but she did raise her eyebrow at him skeptically, despite the little curve of a smile at her lips. ]
Of course it seems like I'm good at it, you're doing all the work.
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[ getting up at the literal crack of dawn wasn't always a perk. there were many mornings when he pressed face into the pillows and tried will himself back to sleep, exhausted and alert all at the same time. the only time he'd successfully slept through a sunrise since coming into his bending was when he was sick with that fever that had him out for days. ]
I meant listening. [ he pushed her hands towards the fire and it flattened out like one of toph's rock discs. ] But I guess you're good at this, too. Even if I am doing all the work.
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[ Weiss would have to make him a cup sometime and make him play with cream and sugar until they found something remotely acceptable to him. She got the feeling he was probably a cream-no-sugar guy if he liked it at all. If he ever needed to wake up, anyway. ]
Oh. Of course I'm good at listening. I'm the smartest student in the class. I couldn't be if I wasn't decent at listening.
[ Which is why sometimes she intentionally sits away from her teammates in class, since they can be pretty.. distracting at times, to say the least. ]
Can you make it like another animal like this?
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Of course you're the smartest. [ wait. his good eye went wide as he backtracked over what could've sounded like a snide remark. ] I mean, you seem like the type that would. Be that smart.
[ yeah, so, words weren't his greatest ally. he dreaded the day he was going to have to stand in front of a crowd and say something that didn't come out sounding like one of sokka's bad jokes. ]
Like... [ one of zuko's thumbs twitched against the side of her palm. ] Maybe. I can try?
[ he drew her hands apart again, stretching that fire disk back out into a wisp of flame. his brow scrunched as he concentrated, his grip on her hands tightening slightly — but then the fire contracted and twisted into a shape that was, at least, familiar to him.
zuko let a out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. ] Unagi. This is the unagi.
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[ She's made Ruby a cup of coffee at the stupidest hours of the night to encourage her to study before, after all.
Weiss narrowed her eyes a little as he backtracked, almost as if she was challenging him to say something other than that she was the smartest. Sure, she had an ego that definitely made it so that she praised herself on her achievements quite often and she was used to people making snide comments about her. It came with the territory of being pretty bad at being polite to everyone who wasn't in a position of power like a professor. And even then it came out from time to time. Since he took it back before she could respond, she decided not to respond to it, instead just focusing on the fire again.
Weiss's breath caught a little too, though nowhere near as badly as Zuko's had. She could tell he was a little less comfortable with something like this, especially while someone else was so close. Her eyes moved to his face while the thing formed, not looking at the fire again until he stated what it was. ]
It looks like half of a King Taijitu with.. fins? [ She was pretty sure that was what the lump on the back of it had to be. Unless it was a mohawk, but somehow that seemed unlikely. Especially since she was trying to visualize it and it was coming out as similar to a snake-like grimm ] Well, much smaller.
[ Honestly, she didn't know how big or small this one was supposed to be. There was no point of reference to make this time, like an imagined saddle and group to ride Appa. ]
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[ he made a mental note to locate a blue mask. just in case. lying to azula meant he might need to parade around as the blue spirit again, if only to rile up his sister by making her think a wanted fugitive of the fire nation was set lose in genessia. ]
I don't know what a King Taijitu is, but the unagi's this giant eel that lives off the coast of Kyoshi Island. I sort of attacked it once.
[ what ever happened to those girls, he wondered? the kyoshi warriors. he knew his sister, mai, and ty lee had been impersonating them. they were probably killed or captured, sent to the boiling rock where the captured invasions forces were taken if the later.
such thoughts broke his concentration and he lost his grip on the flames. he yanked her hands to the side as the fire spread, then died in mid-air. ]
Sorry.
[ he stared at the spot where the fire-spun unagi had been, inwardly berating himself for losing control like that. it took him a full two minutes to realize he was still holding her hands. he jerked his back, stuffing them in his lap. ] Sorry!
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[ She wasn't asking, either. If he didn't want to tell her, he wasn't going to. She already trusted him to tell her anything important and if he wasn't going to fill in the holes.. well, she'd bother him about it after that.
Weiss doesn't look remotely surprised or bothered by the fact that he said he attacked it, though. That seems completely natural to her. ]
The King Taijitu is a giant, two-headed serpent-like Grimm. Half is white, the other half is black. You can't kill one half without killing the oth--
[ Weiss straightens up, looking surprised when he suddenly grabs her hands to make sure that she doesn't get burnt. She's trying to figure out what happened while he just looks stunned about the whole thing to her. Honestly.. Weiss stands up once he lets go of her hands, brushing her skirt off. ]
What are you doing? [ Holding her hands for that long and then freaking out about it was more of an offense to her than the close encounter with accidental flame bursts. Those she could use her aura to prevent any damage, but holding her hands like that without it being a demonstration or anything like that? That was--!
Not that she had really pulled away, but still-! ]
Anyway, I think that'll be great for the party! So we're probably good here for now, there's a lot to do.
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[ zuko was lost, failing to see how he'd managed to offend her. he flopped back with frustrated groan, yanking the strip of cloth free of his hair when he hit the grass. he muttered something along the lines of "girls are crazy" and jumped to his feet, stalking over to where his clothes and swords were. ]
I'll use my swords instead of doing the Dancing Dragon for your party. [ he told her as he shoved his feet back in his boots. ]
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[ Weiss was pretty sure flopping to the ground was a more dramatic move than even she would've done. Well, at least she could settle this on a positive note. She touched her bangs for a moment in frustration, then folded both of her hands behind her back, leaning forward on her toes. ]
Thank you for showing me, but you don't have to worry about burning me as much. I told you already, didn't I? My aura can handle a couple of burns. The only way you'd really do damage was if you completely destroyed my aura, and that's not something you could do on accident.
[ Wow, that thanks turned into more of a lecture.. Weiss isn't good at this. ]
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prettygirl he was still getting to know, all for the sake of showing off? that he didn't realize until now that a bunch of elite warriors were either dead or rotting in a high security fire nation prison, because he couldn't see past the tip of his own nose? all of the above.he didn't doubt her ability to protect herself. it wasn't about that. the reflex to protect was all him and his issues. ]
I know what it's like to be burned by a bender's fire, remember? [ he glanced at her sideways over his shoulder, purposely peering at her through his messy mop of hair with the disfigured side of his face. ] Forgive me if I have a kneejerk response against doing that to someone myself.
[ it was bad enough he burned toph's feet. the blind earthbender had forgiven him for it, made him carry her around for a good while and do other various favors, but otherwise owned up to the fact that it was pretty foolish of her in the first place to sneak up on a sleeping firebender. ]
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[ Was that sass? That was sass. But, she realizes she's being kind of a jerk at least and steps over to him, making sure to stand up on a nearby park bench. ]
Zuko, I nearly.. Okay, I actually caught a small part of the Emerald Forest on fire once because I nearly hit Ruby when she popped up while I was trying to get rid of a pack of Beowolves. [ Her tone is completely strained because she hates admitting when she makes mistakes. ] So I can't say anything about you haven't accidents, since I get panicking when you think you're going to accidentally hit someone. Sorry.
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[ a sassy retort of his own was on the tip of his tongue, but he wasn't the hotheaded teenager who shot a pillar of fire into the night sky on ember island in the midst of a temper tantrum anymore. not since he came to terms with the reality of his conflicting nature. ]
I didn't attack the unagi. [ he grabbed his shirt, hauled it back over his head. ] I attacked Kyoshi Island. I set half the village on fire trying to draw the Avatar out. Before I was Aang's firebending teacher, I was his hunter. And I stomped on whatever and whoever got in my way. Some of the warriors who stood up to me on that island, I realized— When I lost control I realized that they were probably dead or rotting in prison.
[ he stared hard at the ground as he strapped his swords to his back. ] They don't deserve either of those fates. They were just defending their home, like you defend yours.
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[ Weiss stepped down from the bench gracefully, looking a little more concerned. That was definitely not what she expected his response to be. This was obviously about much more than what was happening here and now, and she realizes her response might've been.. well, entirely unfounded. ]
You'll make it up to them when you get back, Zuko. What happened in the past is the past as long as it's not still what's happening.
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[ he rubbed the back of his head, pulling a blade of grass out of his tangled locks. even he was amazed out how he could go from princely to unruly at the drop of a hat. he flicked it away. ]
So, half a forest? Did you manage to get those beowolves in the process?
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Are there any other events involving weird animals that I should avoid to keep you from making roasted Weiss fingers?
[ She wasn't going to argue with him anymore, but it was a good idea to at least ask for things to look out for. ]
It wasn't half a forest! It was just a small part of it. Probably. I didn't exactly see how far it spread, since we ran after the first tree fell and caught the ground on fire. It was an entire pack, so it was just easier to leave while they were distracted by the fire so I could yell at Ruby without the immediate threat of getting mauled.
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Okay, okay. Part of a forest. While running from wolves so you could yell at someone without getting eaten.
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