viii ⚜ action + voice

[banishment]

ＡＣＴＩＯＮ, ＯＰＥＮ ＴＯ ＡＮＹＯＮＥ

Zuko hadn't been to work in a while. He took a temporary leave of absence following Weiss's kidnapping and subsequent rescue, determined to keep a watchful eye on her in case Torchwick was foolish enough to go after her again. But time had passed and Torchwick had yet to make a move, and Weiss had recovered enough that he felt comfortable with backing off a little. (Besides, he was sure she knew that he had essentially spent the past month tailing her.) And while the dragon problem in Fayren wasn't as much of a dilemma as it had been, it was still something that required attention.

Which was why the Deputy Guardian could be found in various parts of Fayren throughout the day, from the streets of the city itself to the more mountainous and forested areas where the dragons tended to dwell. It was important to ensure that the native populations remained unharmed and those human-like dragons that had seen to capturing virgins were eradicated.

ＶＯＩＣＥ, ＬＯＣＫＥＤ ＴＯ ＫＡＴＡＲＡ

You said we were supposed to be friends now, that you forgave me for what I did in Ba Sing Se and, you know, everything else? If that's true, then I would like to ask you for a favor.

[ awkward... ]

Comments

[mintchip]

"Got it."

Emerald reached behind her, pulling the thin but strong rope from her belt, where her sickles would normally be kept- they were on the couple's porch- and tossed one end to Zuko.

"Thanks for your help."

[banishment]

He caught it in deft fingers and quickly laced it through the hole in the tarp, securing it to the post that the couple had already driven into the ground. It seemed the rain began to fall almost the moment they had everything secured, and strands of Zuko's hair that managed to work free of his top knot clung to his face.

Zuko ran a hand over his face, pushing those strands back as he stood, wiping water out of his eyes.

"No problem," he told Emerald, then directed at the couple: "That should hold until the rains stop."

[mintchip]

The problem with Zuko being anywhere in the vicinity was that if he happened to see what she'd been up to, her cover would've been at risk. She could've just written herself off as a good-hearted thief like Sun, but it's a little less believable when you're as good at lying as she was. If she hadn't called Zuko over and he'd seen her, she would've been placed at the scene of the crime. If she'd called him over, then it showed that she wasn't doing anything she needed to hide from the City Guardian. She could come back and hit this house later once enough time had passed. It'd be especially easy since she was considered a good, trustworthy person here now. She didn't typically like to stand out or be remembered by people she was planning on thieving from, but sometimes it could play to her advantage.

Emerald held her hand up above her head, at least to stop the rain from getting into her eyes, waving at the couple with her other hand as they thanked the both of them. Emerald turned her attention back to Zuko as the rain kept falling down.

"Looks like I should've checked the paper before I came out here to find out the weather."

[banishment]

Zuko shrugged in response, looking up at the rain without shielding his eyes from it. The water was his opposite, the bending style that contrasted against his own. He had every right to despise it, yet couldn't quite bring himself to show the kind of distaste for the element that other firebenders did. It was just rain, and the people of the Fire Nation needed rain as much as the waterbenders did.

"It was really nice of you to help these people."

[mintchip]

Emerald mostly just didn't like it because it made it harder to see, so she kept her hand up even as she shrugged.

"If I needed help, I'd want someone to be there for me. If a person with the power to help doesn't, no one ever will."

She believed the last sentence a lot more than the rest of what she was saying, but her tone remained even throughout her words. The best lies were the ones that had a bit of truth in them. Easier for her to give a friendly little smile right after she says it.

"We should get out of the rain before one of us catches a cold."

[banishment]

Were Zuko in a better mood, he would've showed off by bending as much heat as possible into his skin so that the water would evaporate as soon as it touched him, but he was much too exhausted for that. So he conceded to Emerald's suggestion, nodding and gesturing for her to follow him to the open barn on this couple's property. They could hang out in there until the rain stopped.

[mintchip]

Emerald followed Zuko into the barn, ringing her hair out with her hands once they were out of the water. Her eyes fell on him as she did so, making sure to keep near the entrance once she was in.

"Are you supposed to be working right now?"

[banishment]

"I am working," Zuko insisted.

She wrung out her hair while his began to steam. Making his head that hot wasn't exactly comfortable, but it would reduce his hair to a mere dampness versus the soaking wet mess it had become.

[mintchip]

Emerald watches him. It's always interesting to see just what he's going to do with that firebending of his, even if she doesn't personally care for it. No need to be a hot-head with her, Zuko.

"We should've asked them for some towels before we hid out here."

[banishment]

"There's no need for us to burden them. They have enough to worry about with their crops."

Zuko understood a thing or two about farming, not just from listening to reports from the Minister of Agriculture, but from working the fields while he was staying wtih that kind Earth Kingdom family. The family who was kind to him up until he brazenly declared himself son of the Fire Lord. Funny how a name can instill such fear and hatred in people, just like that.

He shrugged out of his shirt, hauling it up over his head so he could wring it out and give it a good shake in attempt to get as much water out of it as possible.

"Their corn fields were burned down by those creatures masquerading as dragons. What you helped them cover up is pretty much all they have left until these rains help to restore what was lost."

[mintchip]

Emerald wasn't especially familiar. She grew up in a desert area. While it had plenty of commerce, and there were likely farms a little ways away, her life was on the streets typically. Her food sources were what she could snag. It was how she ended up getting as good as she was at theft.

"I'm surprised you haven't taken the easy solution to that dragon problem, by the way. Most people would've slaughtered them all by now, just the same as we take out Grimm or criminals."

Well, that last part wasn't true in her case. Sometimes. She didn't particularly care who it was, if she was so inclined and Mercury was in on it, a little bloodshed was fun sometimes no matter what species it was. For a brief moment she considered asking if he thought it was out of compassion or incompetence, but that seemed like it'd be a little too close to revealing any bit of her attitude.

"It seems compassionate anyway."

[banishment]

Zuko pulled his shirt back on. It was still damp, but at least it wasn't clinging to him like a misshapen second skin.

"I respect the dragons, they don't. That's the difference between me and most people."

[mintchip]

"Sounds like you need some dragon respect seminars," Emerald joked, but added a little more seriously, "How do you show respect for dragons without getting eaten?"

Emerald finally took her jacket off, but she couldn't exactly take off more than that without flashing Zuko, given her usual garments. There wasn't much left to the imagination as it was. She hung her jacket over some wood, not bothering to check what it was, then hurried over to Zuko.

"Would you mind starting a fire for me? I don't think either of us want me to take anything else off."

[banishment]

Zuko snorts, partly because he's campy enough beneath those layers of badass to have considered something along those lines, but enough of a realist to know that those efforts would be wasted and would likely make matters worse. It's better to combat the faux dragons while they're around, and protect the native population until things calm down. Then, hopefully, relations between the human and dragon populations can return to normal.

He almost responded with sarcasm, remarking on how he wasn't a walking spark stone, but went to gather an armful of straw for kindling instead.

"Sure," he said as he dumped the pile of straw to her left and bent fire at it. The straw would keep it burning without him having to pay much attention to it. "How's that?"

[mintchip]

Hey, she asked nicely. Emerald seems pleased with the fire and moved to sit on the ground near it, crossing her legs and holding her hands out to warm up.

"It's perfect. Thanks."

Emerald still hadn't gotten the answer to one of her questions though, despite the snorting at her little joke.

"So how do you show respect to dragons? Besides how you're supposed be respectful to others on a daily basis."

[banishment]

"Not hunting them down and killing them is a good start," Zuko said, unable to keep the bitterness out of his voice. "They're intelligent. Just because they aren't human doesn't mean they don't have the ability to think like us. If you respect them, they respect you — don't invade their territory, respect their boundaries... They'll pretty much leave you alone if you do that. It's not hard."

[mintchip]

"I'm doing a pretty good job of being respectful. I've been in the Maw a couple of times, but I've never run into one but.. if I do, none of that sounds too tricky."

She knows that Mewtwo is in there too now. The Maw's huge, though, it's no wonder she hasn't run into either Mewtwo or any dragons yet. It's a good thing she's talked to Zuko about this before though. Getting on the bad side of the dragons sounds like it's a good way to raise a red flag.

"I like exploring, what should I do if I accidentally invade their territory? Rather, what signs should I look for in trying to figure out if I'm about to? I don't have any plans to kill anything that doesn't attack me first, I'd rather keep out of their hair... if they have hair."