comatoseroses | COME AT ME BRO.....PEN RP POST

[ So hey, fun fact.

Bolin is absolutely, without a doubt, one hundred percent city boy. And furthermore, it turns out that spending a good chunk of your childhood living on the streets with your brother... doesn't actually prepare you for trekking through the wilderness with maybe the only person you've ever met in your life who is more of a city boy than you. Not at all.

He's dirty, he looks awful, he probably has like ten bug bites, they are miles and miles and miles out of the way of any apparent civilization, Kuvira's crazy and working on a super dangerous, deadly weapon of horrible mass destruction and nobody's around to tell about it, and the last time he saw Mako and Opal he pretty much just argued with them and defended a horrible dictator who sends people to prison camps and makes entire towns of people into slaves after she feeds them.

Also, the metal on these shoulderpads gets unfairly hot in the sun.

This is terrible and it's taking forever and the longer it takes, the closer Kuvira gets to pretty much taking over the world Ozai-style.

... it's been a really crazy couple of days, looking back.

They're sort of getting settled in for the upcoming night, or as much as they tend to be able to, all things considered, and Bolin figures he's not as mad about the explosion thing as he was yesterday. That's emotional progress, right? So it makes the traveling progress even better or something.

He doesn't know. Thinking is hard when you're hungry and you keep having to carry a grown man around. Just goes to figure.

At least keeping warm isn't a huge problem.

Still though. Hope you're not using that part of the ground, because he's flopping down on it and making a tiny Bolin-shaped crater just because he can. Man. Maybe he'll just tunnel down through the earth and magically resurface in Republic City. That would be awesome. ]

Do people really do this kind of stuff for fun? Like, anywhere?

[Spirits, Bolin, give a man a little warning before you go tunneling into the earth like a perturbed badger-mole. Varrick had only just flopped onto his back, content to not move for a few days yet before he's hit with Bolin's rock-wake. He gives a little startled yelp and only just manages to roll out of the way. Yep, you're getting glared at, Bolin, he doesn't care if you were on piggy-back duty with minimal complaint today.]

Would you watch it, kid, I didn't get both our handsome butts off that train to end up squashed in the middle of nowhere.

[Time for flopping onto his back again, kthnx. He still had to do some walking today, and he's just not built for this kind of long-term exerciser. He's a natural sprinter, okay, not a marathoner.]

The hell if I know, I grew up in the South Pole, remember. My entire life's goal was to get the hell out of nature as soon as I could.

[ He's not as mad as yesterday but he's still totally kinda miffed. No earthbending warnings for anybody. ]

You blew up the train. It's a miracle we got off of it at all! We could be part of a really handsome crater, right now. [ Maybe that would have more oomph if he left his badger-mole hole or half his face wasn't in the ground in general. Oh well. ]

Come ooooon, of course i knew we weren't really gonna blow up, I knew you'd find us a way out of there. And know Bataar's gonna be running off home and saying we're dead so you have me to thank for the fact we're not being followed. You're welcome!

[Varrick rolls over dramatically to flop face-down into some moss before he remembers Bolin still can't actually see him and his little drama queen moment only had an audience of a few squirells. What a waste. He leans up on his elbows to peer into Bolin's new Earth-cave. Charming, love what you've done with the place.]

Are you planning on staying in there all night?

Can't a respectable earthbender just dig himself a hole and get covered in dirt once in a while? [ Varrick you're not supposed to have valid points when he's butthurt. Which is to say, have a moderately long silence, because some of those are pretty valid points and he knows that they are valid points, but he's still upset about the train thing because he could have super easily not found a way to Do The Thing.

And the crater wouldn't even really be handsome.

So yes. Significant pause. And he guesses he can turn his head or something. What a smart jerk. ]

... but no. I guess I didn't plan on staying here all night.

Excellent! I need you to build us a fire.

[Pokin his head over the edge of your dirt hole and grinning hiiiiiiiii Bolin did you miss him in those two seconds you were under ground?]

[ S i g h.

He really is glad you're not dead and all, Varrick. You know that? Even though being underground and not trying to think about being technically dead was pretty nice. ]

Can you at least go get some sticks? Or leaves? I could make a lava pit or something, but it's really not the same as an actual fire if that's what you want. [ But yeah. Definitely sounds more appealing than sleeping in a really cold hole in the ground. ]

Fine. I will find some sticks or leaves or something.

[at least this time Bolin is looking so he can witness the magnificence of Varrick rolling away and heaving himself up with much dramatic flailing of long limbs. And then crashing off into the forest with exaggerated sighs. He's doing this for you, Bolin. Please appreciate it.]

[ Aww. He's really doing it. Look at him go. Okay, if that's actually really happening, then Bolin figures he should probably make good on his end and set a good example and everything. He removes himself from his burrowy Bolin-shaped thing and smooths the ground back out with a short kick.

He considers dusting himself off, but it's not like they're operating under a strict dress code anymore, right? While Varrick is gathering, he'll go ahead and put together a little fire pit area so that they can maybe not burn the forest down while they're asleep. Just seems like the thing to do.

Annnnd he'll also keep a spare ear out just in case they get attacked by a troop of surprise soldiers or platypus-bears or something. Bolin's not putting anything past anything right now. ]

[Varrick manages to find his way back 20 minutes or so later, carrying a haphazard bundle of sticks and kindling and looking entirely too pleased with himself. Look, he's being useful, okay. He can do this forest thing, honest! He dumps it all out theatrically at Bolin's feet.]

So can you make one of those, like, Earth tent things to? Cause I hate to be the voice of doom but what the hell are we going to do if it RAINS at night?

[ He's so proud of you buddy. You're like an adult. Somewhere deep in the vestiges of his mind, Bolin probably wants an excuse to stay agitated. But it's just not enough for him to actually stay agitated. They're going to have a fire, and some shelter, and they're not dead, and they vaguely know which direction Republic City is in... even if tomorrow is flat out terrible, at least the next couple of hours might not have to be.

It's enough to perk him up a little. ]

If I can't make one, I must not be an earthbender. [ And he could maybe set up a little rock bowl to... catch some potential rain? Is that what people do? This is like ten times better than being on the streets, wow. No city permits or territorial gangs getting in the way of a guy building a little rock hut. It's not bad. Bolin has no idea how people build traditional fires. Like, non-firebenders. He's either been living on a train or living with a free fire machine of a brother his whole life so far.

So tbh he's just piling some of those supplies up and making a tiny lava nugget to get it going. He didn't think they'd need any matches or anything when he was leaving the train. Go figure. ]

[To be fair the whole 'escaping an explosion' bit was a little distracting from trying to grab supplies. Varrick would have grabbed a hair brush if he'd been REALLY forward thinking. As it was he had just been kind of focused on the whole building a bomb part and trying to stay relatively eccentric enough to keep Bataar distracted from what he was doing. Not that it took much, thick bastard.

Now that he's fulfilled his adulting duties, Varrick is going to return to his dramatic ground-flopping thankyouverymuch.]

Go for it then, kid. Wow me. And when do we get something to EAT. I'm starting to digest my own stomach lining!

[ Psh. Nope. Still perked up. ]

Yeah, I don't really know about that. I'm not much of a hunter? We could probably find some... edible... plants. Never really done that before either, though. [ Bam. Cool fire. And bam-bam-bam, passable rainproof earth hut. ] It takes longer than you might think to starve to death, though! So we've got some time to hammer that out.

[ Is he doing it to be mean or to be comforting.

Probably both. ]

Well it's not like I'm going to hunt for anything! The last time I did that I was fifteen and I don't think we've got any arctic seals around here!

[Ooooh, Earth tent! That's very swanky, Bolin. He's go glad he rescued you and then you got both of them not blown up.]

That's great kid, practically the Ritz, lemme tell you.

Noooooo. [ But it's too late. His stomach heard that. ] Don't say artic seal unless a bag of jerky just fell on you. Please.

[ Start starving quietly wow. ] Because even if we do go out looking for some berries or something, it's not gonna be in the dark.

[Just for that, Varrick is going to turn around dramatically and look behind him.]

Yeah no luck, kid. And do you know what kind of berries are poisonous, cause I sure as hell don't!

[ PONDERS THIS. ]

[ Dang. He hates reason. ]

Okay, okay. If we get up to three days without catching a break, I'll just pick a plant and eat it. I used to eat out of dumpsters, so I probably won't die. And if I don't get sick, you won't get sick. And until it's been three days, we'll just make sure we try really hard to not have to risk death by poison in the woods. [ He doesn't know, he really doesn't. ] We don't hunt... can we fish?

Hey come on, Bolin, I'm not going to let you do that.

[why do you always have to be so noble, Bolin, it makes not caring about everyone else around him really difficult, okay! Cut it out.]

We can absolutely catch fish! We just need a net. Do rope things grow in the woods, I don't even know.

Edited 2014-11-18 23:48 (UTC)

I'm just saying, it's not the worst plan out there. [ How noble is it when you know you'd be hungry enough to go for a random plant in three days anyway... the real question. ]

Annnd better question: rope things?

Look, I just don't want you getting sick. Do you think there's any chance I'd be able to carry you? Nope, nada, not a chance. You're not eating any weird plants we don't know about, Bolin.

[And drink your milk, too! He's going to start arranging his sticks into something that vaguely resembles a fire. You can do the complicated stuff, Bolin.]

You know, stuff we can make into rope! Vines, or reeds, or... long plants or something. I don't know what grows around here! But if we find something rope-y I MIGHT remember how to make a net. It's a toss up, it's been a while.

Edited 2014-11-19 01:49 (UTC)

[ wOW VARRICK YOU'RE NOT MY REAL MOM?? ]

Oh! Oh, okay, gotcha. You should've said vines or reeds or long plants or something first. I was wondering how you could possibly think we'd find regular rope in the middle of nowhere.

[Well he's all the mom you've got now he better not see any lights on in your Earth tent after 11pm mister.]

Yeah, I'll be sure to be more specific next time, kid.

[EUGH why does everything suck right now. Varrick's hungry and his face itches because he hasn't shaved in a day and now the sun's going down it's getting cold alarmingly quickly and excuse him he's going to curl up in his new Earth tent now and weep himself to sleep.]

Granted that'll only work if we find any at all, can actually manage to make any rope and don't get eaten by ravenous wolf-bats in our sleep.

Or wolf-bats don't even have to come into the equation! We could be bit by mosquitoes and then die of horrible jungle-disease. Or, I dunno, die of hypothermia! There are so many freaking ways we could die out here I can't even keep track.

Edited 2014-11-19 02:58 (UTC)

At least none of those ways to die are Kuvira. [ They are sane ravenous wolf-bats and mosquitoes. He gets to work on turning a smallish chunk of earth into something a little more "lava to start a fire" resembling and tries to not sulk about bad life choices. ] Do people die of hypothermia right next to fires?

Dumb wood times for these dick faces

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