eachdraidh | video; afternoon of the 5th

[ the feed starts with an angry chitter of fairies, the locket dropping down to its usual-not-usual spot for practice, strung through one of mako’s belt loops, hanging at his side like a set of keys. mako doesn't trust most of the world not to walk off with his possessions most of the time, and the convenience of the lockets is not lost on him. so y'all are lucky most of his height’s in his legs, or this whole video would be a whole lot of footage of knees. ]

—aybe if you didn't get in the way that wouldn't be a problem. We’re doing this out here for a reason.

[ mako be nice to the fairies. they'll spit in your food.

THE CAMERA PANS, swaying haphazardly as mako turns, showing off a great view of a meadow edged in a thin line of trees, some ways north of caer glaem near the station, a gigantic, six legged bison resting underneath a tree a short ways away. more panning, and then! hey there, everybody, it’s korra, standing a few dozen feet away on the rise of a hill in the meadow, so she’s little more than doll-sized on screen. and yet, her voice still carries... ]

Come on, Mako! We're gonna lose the sunlight if we don't hurry up.

[ korra you need to learn to be more patient. ]

I'm coming, I'm coming.

[ you can almost hear the eye rolling in his voice — and you can definitely hear the sigh, as the locket bounces while he jogs up the rest of the hill to korra's side. it’s a beautiful summer day, not a cloud in sight, and the wind ripples through the high grasses. ]

Has anyone tried to teach you lightningbending before?

[ he'd like to know how much theory he's gonna need to explain... since... he doesn’t really know the theory that well himself. ]

No. The firebenders that taught me said that it was the purest expression of firebending and... not everyone could do it. Even if I mastered the element, I'd probably never get a handle on it.

[ a shrug, like she's not that bothered by it. because… she’s not. at the time she was too jazzed to learn how to airbend to let it get to her, so! that’s good.

mako hums thoughtfully for a moment, then starts speaking, his tone somewhere between serious and bemused. ]

That’s a load of komodo rhino shit — Zolt sure wasn't a master firebender when I learned... but I guess they're kinda right about the pure part. You can't be wrapped up in why you're doing it, like you can with fire. Lightning just... is, you know? You have to just focus on the bending, and only the bending.

[ another little pause, and the sound of mako scuffing one toe against the ground, trying to find the right words, the locket swaying gently in time with his movement. ]

The way I think of it when I do it is... Imagine your chi is a spring, okay? And you grab each end and pull it apart, but it doesn’t wanna stay that way, so when you let go, it smacks back together. That's what makes the lightning. So...

[ his pointed fingers pass in front of the locket, trailing white blue sparks, painfully bright as he traces arcs through the air, maintaining a careful balance in his rhythm, each hand countering the movement of the other. at the last second, his left hand whips out to the side, and the sound of the lightning roars as he lets it rip into the sky.

lightningbending is awesome. ]

Pull it apart on the circles, and keep it even, then let it slam back together as you aim. Try it.

[ lightningbending is indeed awesome, and korra follows mako's movements without letting her energy flow, wanting to make sure she's got the actions and forms down before releasing herself to the turn of the world. taking in a slow, deep breath that fills her lungs, korra puts a large few steps in between herself and mako and pulls at her energy and—

KORRASPLODE!

a bright flash of fire and the sound of combustion cut through the air, and when the smoke clears korra's laying on the ground a dozen yards away, a long drag trail at her feet, indicating she'd slid across the dirt. on her shoulders. spirits, she's going to feel that in the morning.

the feed ends as mako (apparently unsurprised) hurries over to her side. ]

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[ it's hilarious. contrary to popular belief, ares kids do have a sense of humor. ]

Better off leaving that to a son of Hermes. [ not that she's trying to compliment luke specifically, though he does happen to be a son of hermes. ] But I try.

[ annnnd super quickly, korra's expression becomes confused. ]

Her-what?

[ clarisse should really be used to people not recognizing the gods' names, but, you know, when she surrounds herself primarily with people who do know who they are, she forgets there are people who don't. gods korra lrn 2 greek myth. ]

Hermes. Greek god of travelers? [ she shrugs. ] Well, and a bunch of other shit. He's like the jack-of-all-trades god. Humor is among one of his [ powers? she's not sure what to call it exactly ] talents? Falls under "communication," I guess.

[ please teach her how to greek myth because right now she's just staring at the feed.

this is the perfect opportunity for an "it's all greek to me" joke. ]

... What's... greek?

[ what are "gods"? ARE THEY LIKE SPIRITS?? ]

[ it really is all greek for clarisse. except that actually means she can understand it... she and english don't get along. and don't even bring in the romans or she might scream. as it is, she already looks less than pleased that she has to explain this at all. she isn't annabeth, she's not good at this shit unless she's bragging about something. ]

... It's [ ???? ] a nationality? [ even though the gods don't... really have a "nationality"? ] Greece is a country where I'm from, and the ancient Greeks worshipped twelve gods, the Olympians. My dad is one of them. Ares, god of war. Hermes is Ares' brother. [ which makes her and luke cousins, but it's not like the gods have dna or whatever so it's fine. they're only sort of related. ] The other gods represent all sorts of shit and they're like one big family, so things get complicated really fast. Especially once you bring in their kids. And they've got a lot of them, most of whom they don't even acknowledge. They're kind of infamous for that. [ it only kind of sparked a war, no big deal. ]

[ there's a look of understanding that crosses korra's features when she hears the word "nationality" because, hey, that's easy enough to understand. it's like earth kingdom, fire nation, water tribe or air nomad. makes sense to her, so she nods along!

okay, that's not too complicated to follow. "god of war" is easy enough concept to grasp; "spirit of chaos", spirit, gods, same thing.

but that connection makes korra perk up. ]

So... does that make you part spirit?

It makes me part god. [ there's a difference. ] Gods and spirits aren't the same thing. Gods are much more powerful; spirits are just... I don't know, sort of like the fairies here. They have some power, but it's limited, mostly only to nature. Tree spirits, water spirits... [ she shrugs again. ] The gods are... [ hard to explain ugh ] They sort of oversee the world. I mean, they kind of... are the world. Or represent everything in it and how it works. Technically, they created it, or it was created from them or they were created from it or something like that. [ it's complicated. ]

[ mako doesn't care for your tone, clarisse. ]

Part god? Wow. [ come to think of it, mako, your tone is kinda bitchy too... ] That's almost impressive compared to the embodiment of all light and peace in the universe.

[ them's fighting words. ]

[ korra doesn't like to brag—

oh wait, yes she does :| ]

[ clarisse doesn't care for your face, mako. in fact, she is ignoring it entirely. sup korra. ]

... Are you sure you're not a god? "Embodiment of light and peace" pretty much fits the bill for some kind of god. I mean, I have a sister who's the goddess of harmony and concord. A minor goddess, but still a goddess.

[ YOU KNOW, SHE COULD GET USED TO THIS BEING CALLED A "GOD" THING. and actually it's a good thing mako spoke up then because korra had to repeat "different worlds, different worlds" to herself to keep from going off about how spirits and gods sounded like the same thing and don't you dare belittle spirits, etc.

but now that she's had the "count to three" rule forced on her, she can approach this with a much more level head. ]

Where I come from, we call them "spirits." Ten thousand years before I was born, my past life fused with the spirit Raava and it's because of that that I can bend all four elements.

[ don't let it go to your head, korra. (who is she kidding, though, it's totally gonna go to her head.)

of course, the spirits/gods thing she can understand, but... ]

Wait, past life? [ sorry, what. sure, the greeks have a concept of reincarnation, for those who wish to be reborn in order to aim for the isles of the blest. she's never actually met anyone who was trying for that, though. ]

[ korra nods, but... isn't quite sure how to expand on that since it seems pretty self-explanatory? ]

Uh huh. I've had countless of them.

[ clarisse just ... looks at her, trying to decide if she's impressed or not. ]

Huh. I guess that's pretty cool. Usually people where I come from are only reborn if they're aiming to get into the highest realm of the Underworld. Only people who've reached Elysium can try for it, though, since you've got to be reborn three times and reach Elysium each time to get into the Isles of the Blest.

[ korra's actually impressed by that, since it sounds... pretty needlessly complicated. ]

I wouldn't be surprised if there were other people who were reincarnated, but I'm sort of a special case.

[ being, you know... a god and all. and fusing with the spirit of light and peace. ]