genessia | iv ⚜ action

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iv ⚜ action

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While he didn't necessarily understand (or approve) of the notion of Halloween, with the number of costume stores that were open for business this month came the unexpected advantage of being able to purchase garments that were similar in style to what was worn in the Fire Nation. Thanks to that, Zuko was able to begin his spur of the moment tour of Fayren actually looking the part of a prince for once. Sure, he had his armor and a set of robes, but such garb was far too formal for something as simple as a stroll.

Zuko might've been one of his sister's Deputy Guardians, but he wasn't touring Fayren on official business so much as curiosity. He'd strolled down several of the streets many times before, but there were many parts of the city that he'd yet to explore and things he hadn't paid much attention to — things that he ought to be now that he was in a position of power within the city's government.

Should anyone be out and about and/or doing business in Fayren today, they may catch sight of the prince or bump into him as he's seeing to just that.

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And later that night, after the sun has set, Weiss will find a masked figure dropping down from the rooftops as she's departing from work. As per usual, the Blue Spirit doesn't say anything, lunging forward as if to grab Weiss's wrist should she allow it to do so.

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[ She definitely didn't. It wasn't as though she noticed it too long before it got close to her, but her reflexes were decent enough to backflip out of the way and immediately draw her sword. It wasn't as though she was expecting to get attacked here, but if he was going to come at her from the front, then that gave her enough time to recognize the mask and at least dodge.

Weiss quickly turned the revolver, a soft clicking sound audible as it turned before she jammed the tip of the sword into the ground, a huge path of ice emanating from it in the Blue Spirit's direction. ]

Edited (IDK FIGURED I SHOULD PUT A SUBJECT) 2014-10-12 05:09 (UTC)

[ good. he got her attention. and while he could've easily bent at the ice and melted it, he wasn't about to give himself away so obviously where other pairs of eyes could see, even if it seemed like nobody else was out this late. but zuko was also fast — really fast — and was able to dodge the ice she sent his way, skittering gracefully into the wall and sliding around the corner. he broke into a sprint once he did, running down the street between the pizza parlor and the business that neighbored it, heading for an abandoned building he knew was uninhabited.

hopefully she'd follow him in there. otherwise, he'd have to flee and leave his bold reveal for another time. ]

[ If Zuko hadn't explained to Weiss that this man was a bad guy, she probably would have been impressed at his speed. Weiss considered not following for a moment, primarily due to Azula's warnings about him, but he hadn't exactly been showing his face often enough. And he wanted her for some reason. He'd reached out for her. That was more than enough reason to at least investigate.

Weiss didn't run after him, instead illuminating the dark street with her glyphs. One to launch her into the sky and up toward the building, another building a straight path along the sides of the buildings and pulling her along horizontally as if she were being launched by it, only allowing it to let go when she hit the end of a building. It was faster than running, well enough to keep up. Neither of them were as fast as Ruby was, so the speed didn't intimidate Weiss. Her own partner was the fastest person she knew, not this person. It wouldn't take her long to nearly catch up, despite the ice in her way.

Following someone into an abandoned building wasn't a good idea though. Weiss dropped to the ground about 20 feet from the face of the building, hesitant to follow him in without back up. If it really was just him in there, then she could probably manage to at least match even enough to mount an escape. But if there were more people in there, she wouldn't be able to get herself out. Weiss briefly considered trying to freeze the entire building so he couldn't get out except for at her entrance, but upon considering how much blue Dust she had, she wasn't sure she would have enough. Perhaps a whole room if she wanted to freeze with him while she was in it, which was actually a potentially useful plan. Most people didn't have aura here, they'd freeze long before she would.

Weiss took her phone out and sent a text to Blake, Yang, and Zuko.

"Entering abandoned building near Geraldi's in pursuit of a criminal known as the Blue Spirit. He tried to grab me. If I don't send another message in 10 minutes, come look for me."

Once that was sent, Weiss pocketed her the communicator and quietly backed away from the building, choosing to climb to the top of the one next to it from the side not visible to the abandoned building. From there, she could manage a regular jump to the roof of that one. Her glyphs were too visible if she wanted to try to get in and jumping down to catch him if he went out the ground floor would be easier than climbing up.

She took the roof access door down into the top floor, quietly keeping Myrtenaster in a position ready to strike. ]

[ on a floor closer to ground level, zuko dared to both look at his device after it vibrated against his skin where he had it tucked into his tunic and bend a small flame into his hand so he could better see what was displayed on the screen through the mask. snuffing out the fire in this fist, zuko did his best not to laugh upon realizing that she sent him a message about being in pursuit of him — but knowing weiss, she likely sent that same message to her teammates as well. that meant he had ten minutes to find her and clue her into something only his uncle and the avatar knew before he was stuck fighting off 3 out of 4 members of team rwby without bending.

which meant climbing up the defunct elevator shaft instead of taking the stairs to get himself up closer to the topmost floors quicker.

it's on the second floor from the top that he waited for her, swords (still linked together at the hilt to give the illusion of dual blades being one) drawn to give the impression that he was looking for a fight. but when she found him and began her approach, he would do something uncharacteristic of the blue spirit he himself had warned her of, just as azula had: he'd put his away, returning them to the sheath at his back, and reach up with one gloved hand to curl his fingers around the edge of the mask. ]

Edited 2014-10-12 06:19 (UTC)

[ Weiss had already turned her revolver again the second that she saw him, this time to the red dust, but her reflexes were much better since the last time she used that one in a battle. Her finger stilled on the trigger and, though she kept her finger on it and blade raised vertically and higher than normal, Weiss didn't fire or move to attack him. ]

You're hardly the first person to try to grab me, but you're the first person here so you'd better explain yourself.

[ Weiss's feet planted firmly in the ground. She wasn't letting up her stance just because he let up his. She wouldn't attack him unless he tried to escape or tried to attack her again, but she wasn't going to let her guard down to someone she'd been warned about. ]

Edited (whoops i pressed enter too soon) 2014-10-12 06:28 (UTC)

[ slowly, as to not give her the impression that he was ripping the mask off with the intention of hurling it at her, the blue spirit slid the mask to the side, revealing his true identity to her. it was, perhaps, his greatest and most dangerous secret. he left the mask positioned on the side of his head with his face fully exposed just in case he needed to pull it back on lest her friends arrive as back up. he would have to get out of there fast if they did.

the blue spirit — no, zuko, held both of his hands up in a gesture of acquiescence. ]

You can put that up. It's me.

[ When she saw his face, Weiss looked positively livid and just lowered her sword, sighing in frustration as she turned around for a moment before facing him and stomping right over toward him. ]

I was going to set fire to the elevator shaft and freeze the room so neither of us could get out while the building burned down because I'd be a lot more likely to survive than you would. And? You're a liar. Uhg!

[ Weiss takes out her phone, spinning on her heel to walk away from him again as she sent out another text to Yang, Blake, and Zuko. She might be mad at Zuko, but she still sent one to him. Just in case.

He escaped, nevermind.

And then she put it away again, changing the setting on her sword and putting it away. ]

I'm still trying to decide if I want to kill you or not.

[ the device vibrated again and zuko yanked it out from where he'd tucked it into his sleeve in his haste to get up the elevator shaft. he read it, then made a face at her that seemed to say, "did you not hear me? i'm standing right here." ]

I'm telling you now, aren't I? I couldn't exactly say so over this [ he waved the device at her ] or take my mask off in the street. Do you realize how many people know I'm the Blue Spirit and how dead it would get me if that got out?

Why do you think I sent you a text too?

[ Weiss was obviously irritated with him, but at least she was thinking clearly. If.. noisily and quite verbally now. ]

It'd be pretty suspect if I texted you to come, then didn't text you not to when I texted the other two. A normal person wouldn't have made me use half a dozen glyphs, waste Dust, and potentially damage city property when they could just pull their own girlfriend aside for a private conversation! And you know I'm not stupid enough to go into an abandoned building by myself without back-up, so what did you think was going to happen when my two teammates who presently remember a lot more of our training than I do showed up?

Would you have believed me? Oh, by the way, remember how I warned you about the Blue Spirit? Surprise! It's me! I have two sets of wanted posters. Aren't I lucky?

[ he grinned sarcastically at her, then grimaced. ]

I was planning to run before they got here if you hadn't let me get the mask off. I could take you and your teammates if I was bending, but I don't bend when I go out as the Spirit.

Yes! Because I trust you!

Maybe I shouldn't if you don't even have a question about whether or not you'd be able to take almost my entire team in a fight-- two you've never even seen fight-- and you just assume that I trust you enough to accept that you have face-stealing spirits in your world but not that one of the very few people from your world might also be a masked vigilante also from your world? I'm surprised Azula didn't suspect you the second the Blue Spirit appeared here since I doubt she makes the mistake of affording you her complete trust.

[ Weiss rolled her eyes and just started stomping toward the window. She wasn't going to leave, she just needed to calm herself down. She knew Zuko was kind of bad at this stuff, but on top of the trust situation he basically just called her and her team weak without having ever seen them fight. It wasn't doing much to calm her down. ]

You want to know why I provoked you? So people would see. There's a street full of ice out there and witnesses who were hanging their heads out windows and doors to get a better look at us. You texted your team and me about it. If my sister ever did figure out that I'm the Blue Spirit, you would be less likely to go down with me. I provoked you knowing that you could very well hurt me and was willing to get hurt if it meant putting on a believable show to keep you out of this.

[ zuko hadn't been calling her or her team weak at all. if anything, he was admitting to being at a disadvantage, as capable as he was, when he wasn't able to use his bending. ]

I've never told anyone. My uncle figured it out for himself and the Avatar took my mask off while I was unconscious. You are the first person I've actively chosen to tell. Nobody else knows.

[ he slumped back against a pillar, frustrated that this wasn't going as smoothly as he hoped. not that he expected it to go smoothly. just not this rough. he thought she would be upset with him -- hurt, but not outright angry with him. ]

Look, I wasn't always good. You know that. What you don't know is that I recognized some things were bad while I was still bad and found a way to make them right without stopping being bad. This is how I did it, and this is how I'm going to do it again now that I'm working with my sister again. I agreed to be her Deputy Guardian.

Which would be great logic if the second your sister turns on you I didn't plan on having your back every step of the way. I don't need you to protect me.

[ Already being mad made it harder for Weiss to see things for what they were so much as taking implication out of them. It took a little bit of time for her to calm down and work through them sometimes, and she thought he'd implied that if he could bend, he could take them out without having even seen what they fight like.

But Weiss listened to what he said. She had a lot of conflict within her right now, depending on what exactly the Blue Spirit did. Weiss didn't care that he used to be a bad guy, but someone who wears masks and goes around fighting anyone they think is wrong.. that worries her. And not about Zuko's well-being, but because she's been in the position of being the victim of someone who was the target of groups of people who decided they could dawn masks and take justice into their own hands. Because her father wasn't a good person. ]

Zuko, I need you to tell me what you plan to do as the Blue Spirit here.

[ he shrugged, an honest answer as he could give her right now. ]

I don't know. It depends on what Azula does. She wants to keep her position, but she's also ambitious. Right now, I'm not planning on doing anything. I just wanted her to know that I'm— that the Blue Spirit is watching. I'll use the mask if I have to, if it comes down to it. I just wanted you to know before I did.

[ but the fact that she'd have his back if azula ever took for a turn for the worse meant more to him than words' ability to express.

pushing off the pillar, zuko dared to walk closer to her. it was a risky move in and of itself. if he got too close to the window with the mask still sitting on the side of his head instead of covering his face, there was a chance someone would catch a glimpse of who he really was. ]

I can't do things like other people, Weiss. I can't blend in with a crowd or wear different clothes. My father made sure of that. Everything I do is attached to me as much as the scar on my face. So yeah, when I figured out that one my father's generals was going to kill a twelve-year-old boy, I put on a mask to save him. And I'd do it again. That's the kind of thing I use this for. That's the kind of thing I fear happening if things get really bad.

[ Weiss listens to him in silence, thinking over everything he says. And when he's done, she at least turns back to face him, but she doesn't look mad anymore. Not furious, but a little vulnerable. ]

I spent my entire childhood fearing people in masks because they stole from my family, kidnapped and killed people I knew, because of the way that my father started running our company. Even if things had been different and I had never heard about any of what they'd done directly, I still would have had to deal with the consequences of what they believed was the "right thing" against bad people just the same, but I know both sides of the problem.

I just found out my own boyfriend was going around in a mask trying to do the "right thing" against bad people and I may have overreacted. A little. If you're just saving people and hiding your face to avoid complications, that's okay.

Edited (phrasing was confusing) 2014-10-12 08:46 (UTC)

Situations aren't always as black and white as people want them to be, and kids don't always follow in the footsteps of their fathers.

[ he reached up and untied the mask from his head and unhooked the sheath that housed his swords. he set both of them aside on the ground and pushed the hood that covered his hair all the way back so that he could walk up to the window looking more like zuko and less like the spirit. ]

I'm still kind of bad at being good. All I seem to be doing lately is upset you. [ like trying to help with the dog and scaring it instead. ] If the mask bothers you... I'll understand.

It's not the mask itself. It was you confessing to be someone who you and your sister specifically told me was known for murder and theft in combination with the mask. As long as you can promise me that if I lift that mask up I won't see a monster, it's okay.

[ She sighs and leans against the wall, crossing her arms. ]

If it makes you feel better, most people seem to think I'm more irate than I am happy at any given time so it's not completely you.

It's war, Weiss. A war that's been going on for the past one hundred years. Not all battle tactics are ones that involve fighting. Some involve propaganda and smear campaigns, pinning your own misdeeds on someone else to make newly conquered colonies more willing to bend to foreign rule. The day I saved Aang from Zhao was both a blessing and a curse for my father and his war ministers. They lost the Avatar, but they gained someone new to blame.

[ zuko followed and stood before her, reaching out to uncross her arms so he could take her hands in his gloved ones. ]

For what its worth, I never thought you were irate. Just guarded.

Edited 2014-10-12 09:22 (UTC)

I know, Zuko. I'm telling you that you can't expect me to have known that when you were one of the people who told me that the Blue Spirit was bad in the first place. I'm not saying that I blame you or that I don't understand, I'm saying that I panicked. Past tense. That's why I asked you what you were going to do once I calmed down so I could stay calm.

[ She lets him uncross her arms and hold her hands, looking him in the eye with a slight pout. ]

Though I actually am really easily irritated sometimes. I'm working on it. I'm pretty self-aware about how difficult I am once I catch it.

And I know how bad I am being good. I'm working on that, too.

[ he leaned forward and touched his forehead to hers. ]

So you're not mad at me?

[ Weiss let a small smile pull to her lips for a brief moment as his forehead touched hers, but it immediately fell when she considered a response to that question. ]

If I say I'm still mad at you, do I get a freebie so we can just call it even so we can both not be mad at each other? Even though this is not my fault if we really get technical.

Edited 2014-10-12 09:50 (UTC)

[ he drew back enough to see her face and feigned consideration. ]

Okay. One freebie.

[ Weiss decides to get it all out in one go, so she speaks quickly enough that Zuko hopefully can't interrupt her. ]

There's a guy named Neptune here who I think is incredibly attractive to and I tell you this not to make you jealous but because apparently I asked him out to the dance at Beacon, got rejected, then apparently my date was rescued by another guy who I previously thought just wanted to date me for my money but really was looking out for me. None of which I remember and I'm dating you now, so I told him that I had a boyfriend and he said it was okay since we'd only barely gotten to know each other but I figured I should tell you anyway because I honestly have no idea what I'm going to end up remembering if I ever go to get more memories and he's my next door neighbor now.

[ Clearly that's all included in the one freebie right? ]

[ zuko had been about to kiss her, but lurched back when she started speaking again. the hand that had been cradling the back of her head in preparation of the kiss fell to her shoulder, zuko staring at her with his good eye wide, lips parted in something like shock. whatever he expected her to do with that freebie, it wasn't this.

he wanted to be angry. it was in his nature to be angry, but he was trying really hard not to be the same hotheaded idiot who betrayed katara down in those caves below ba sing se. to not be the same jealous asshole who stormed away from mai when they were vacationing on ember island in a fit of conflicted rage that didn't have much to do with her or those jerks who didn't know they were mingling with the fire nation royal family and ladies of the court. being angry with weiss for being honest with him wasn't the way to handle this.

so he bit it back. he swallowed the flames that threatened to rise in the back of this throat, and forced himself to un-ball the fist that he'd clenched at his side when he let go of her hand.

calmly as he could, he asked: ] Do you want to remember?

[David is there in Fayren conducting his own business. Though his business involved studying various spots in the city and marking something down on a pad that he had in his hand while humming to himself. Maybe perhaps it looks a little bit suspicious, but he wasn't planning anything nefarious. ]

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