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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[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.

[She's amused. Zelda could have guessed that someone as active as Rin wasn't a fan of sitting around reading. She casts a water spell to cool the glass before picking it up and handing it to him.]

I have been told before that I am "dating" books, so perhaps I can compensate.

[He takes it carefully, being cautious of the edges. He looks at it happily, wondering silently if he could possibly try again and get the other part of his name later.

The comment about "dating" books gets him to look up at her, though.

Damn... why does everything remind him of Yukio? Especially her?

He tries to not let that put a damper on his spirits, though, and he grins.]

Well some one's gotta, right?

Oh, indeed. They get quite lonely when they're left unread.

[It seems that she's not entirely without a sense of humor, as she's smiling about the comment. Curling up with a stack of books and Duke sounds really nice right about now, actually...]

[Rin actually laughs at that.

Well she's got one thing on Yukio - muuuch better sense of humor, even if it doesn't come out all that often.]

[Zelda laughs too, for a moment... and then her face draws tight, looking quite serious. Ears drawn back, she begins to head for the elevator.]

Excuse me a moment. It appears that someone is trying to enter my house.

[Sharing the laugh with her was nice, which is why he doesn't notice when she stops, at least right away. As soon as she says that, though, he tenses up and jumps to his feet, grabbing his sword from the ground.

He's not even going question how she knows that. He's going to take her word for it and be ready to kick some one's ass. No one fucks with Rin's friends. Not even ones he just made!]

Th' hell is some one tryin' to get in to your house for?!

I don't know.

[But Zelos is completely helpless in there, and so is Lloyd. She doesn't take the time to explain herself - one poof of a deku nut later and it's the Sheikah running for the elevator at top speed, not the princess.]

[... o... kay... add to the list of things to ask about later.]

H-hey! I'm comin' with you!

[For now he's just charging after her (him?) with a burst of speed, flames still out with his sword in one hand and hilt in the other.]

[He's surprisingly fast, making it down to the plaza and Ordo 3 within 15 minutes. But he's not fast enough. There's a flash of shining blue as whoever it was escapes out the window, sensing their arrival. By the time he's changed back to attempt to snag the intruder with a spell, they're gone.

Zelda doesn't say anything just yet, heading directly upstairs to where Zelos and Lloyd lay and checking on them.]

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