caughtinanetwork | Second Flame

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Second Flame | Video

[Rin has been in Vatheon all of a week. His first day he got in to a fight with Masaru and was chastised by Zelda for nearly brawling near the coral, but since then it's been quiet for him.

And he's already bored.

He's staring at the SFC, chin in his hand, tapping fingers on the table off screen. Eventually he lets out a sigh and straightens, running hands through his hair with an additional huff.]

So. I can't train here, not like I can back home since Shura is gone again. And I'm pretty sure I can't go to school here either.

[Oh please let that be true. Please please please.]

So... what the hell else is there to do? Like... can I get a job even though I don't need money?

[he slumps back in his chair, hanging over the back rest with his arms down at his sides and his head tilted back. He spins around in it so he's facing the SFC again, though now looking at it upside down.]

Just... gimmie somethin' to do! Please! I'm gonna go insane if I take one more pointless walk to the plaza again...

[Help a demon out, Vatheon.

Or torment him.

There's that option, too.]

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[Rin looks up at the music, blinking at Zelda a few times before he realizes what she's trying to do. He takes a breath and re-focuses on the flames. He can do this. He's done it before with the candles. Even if it was just once, just in time to save his friends, he still did it and that has to count for something.]

[There's no commentary from the princess, only the quiet strains of her music. If he really starts to focus, it's likely that he won't even notice her playing. It's meant to help him concentrate, not to be a performance.]

[It's working. At least he seems to think it is, because eventually he does manage to tune it out to little more than background noise. He keeps his attention on the flames, surprisingly still for some one who's usually pretty fidgety.

Eventually he starts pulling in and letting out slow, even breaths, and with those breaths he can feel the heat of the flames rising in kind.]

[Flames and darkness couldn't be any further from Zelda's element, but that doesn't stop her from being able to play the appropriate song. She continues quietly without a word, though she watches intently when it looks like he's getting the hang of it.]

[Well, she gets points for being willing to try even with that in mind.

And it seems to be exactly what he needs. One more breath out and there's a very small burst of power with the flames flaring up, much more controlled than last time.]

[Slowly, ever so slowly, she winds down her song, allowing him to finish the process on his own. He's already gotten to this point, he should be fine now.]

[It's amazing he's had the patience to get this far, and he's trying reaaaally hard to not choke at the last second.

He forces out a little more power, taking it slow to keep it from overloaded again.]

[At this point, Zelda is doing nothing more than maintaining the barrier and hoping that he can manage that last bit. The ground at is feet is already white-hot, just a few moments more...]

[One of his hands twitches, curling in to a fist. Damn it... he knows he has it, but he's also that close to losing it at the same time.]

Nn...

[He knows if he keeps trying it's just going to backlash on him again, but he's too stubborn to quit while he's ahead.]

[It doesn't look like he's doing so well... Learning to dissipate the power is important, too. She lifts her harp again, speaking clearly.]

Part of learning control is learning how to allow the power you've gathered to dissipate harmlessly. Let it go slowly. The residual heat from what you have done already may have been enough to create glass.

[At that, she begins to play the same song she was playing before, but this time - it's backwards, a gentle unwinding of the same concept.]

O-okay...

[He's built up a lot of power doing just that, and he knows he could just... grab his sword and seal it all back away. But... Zelda's right. He can't just go the rest of his life relying on only his sword for control.

More breaths, slow, even, trying to bring the power back down bit by bit.]

[Remaining calm regardless of the situation is something Zelda is quite good at, and the strumming on her harp doesn't falter for as long as he requires it. It's difficult to say why she's so invested in his wellbeing, they hardly know each other, but perhaps... it's because he reminds her of Shizuo just a little, of her very first friend.]

[As calming as that is, pulling it back is almost harder than putting it out there. It's flaring up a lot more than it's going down.

Shit. That's not good.]

You do not have to force all of it to vanish at once, and you do not have to make it all vanish. Try allowing some of the heat out around your feet.

[Truthfully, she has no idea if the suggestion will actually do anything or not - sometimes, though, all people need is a strong voice directing them. It's worth a try.]

[He's trying to take her suggestions, but yes, there's a certain level of distraction between trying to control it and attempting to use her advice. For a second, just a second, it looks like he has it, and then--]

AHH! FUCK!

[There's a bright blue flash behind the barrier, and a whoooole lot of flames. When they die down, Rin's clothes are a bit singed and smoking, but he's otherwise unscathed.

Just... very sulky.]

[Whatever he might think, she can tell that a little progress was made her. The harp vanishes as she gets up and crosses over the barrier, kneeling down in the sand where he'd written his name. She uses a small spell to blow away stray sand and dirt from the explosion. It's not perfect by any means, but the "ri" in "Rin" remains, a semi-solid hunk of quickly cooling glass.]

Rin.

[She indicates down towards it, smiling.]

[He's busy rubbing soot from his face when she approaches, looking down over his arms when he hears his name.]

Ehh? ... is that--... [he blinks at it] No way! I did that?!

[Zelda? The icon.

That is all.]

[He's infectiously happy. It had been what she wanted, cheering him up again - but too far and he'll just make the same mistakes!]

That's right. I think that your powers are of the sort that can be controlled with training.

[It's a gentle reminder. Maybe a bit too gentle, but oh well.]

[Ooooh he wants to gloat. He wants to gloat soooo bad. Look at that tail. That is all the pride right there.]

Good training! All Shura ever did was put candles in front of me and bitch at me! Hah!

[He's practically bouncing.]

I'll be in the defense force in no time with this!

I would not discount your former teacher so easily. Anything I have helped you with today was built on the foundation of what they already taught you, after all.

[She stands, momentarily distracted by his tail.]

There is only so much I can do to help, too. I'm not familiar with your race, I'm afraid.

[Ugh. Telling him to be grateful for Shura is like telling him the drunk chick at a party is worth it.

Oh. Wait. She would be the drunk chick.

Not that he doesn't consider her at least somewhat a friend, and after the crap with Satan, a valuable ally, but a good teacher... Shura is not.

His expression goes decidedly grumpy at that, but he doesn't argue, and it's forgotten a once the comment about his race comes up.]

Oh. Uh. ... demon. Half, actually...

[aaawkward cough]

A half demon? What world are you from? I'll have to look into possible applications of your power further.

[Other than that, she has no reaction to this pronouncement.]

[Well, she didn't flip about the flames, so her lack of reaction is... almost expected at that point.]

Earth. ... well, technically "Assiah". See... there's two sides to our world - Assiah and Gehenna. Assiah is the normal world, the one I was raised in, but Gehenna is the demon world.

It's kinda like two sides of a mirror, yehknow?

[It's a weird way to explain it, but that's how Shirou told it to him.]

I would think that all worlds would have two sides like that. Light and shadow can't exist without each other, after all. There are many legends in my world of a similar phenomenon, a "dark" world to our "light".

[So he's a mixture of the two, is he?]

Assiah. Gehenna. I will look up the terms.

Yeah?

[he perks up again, tail moving behind him more. He's glad she gets it, and it's interesting to know his world isn't the only one that's like that.]

I'unno a lot about it... I tried to learn but uh... [scratches at his cheek, glancing away]

Me an' books, not the best of friends.

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