thebastion | [Day 197] Open | You could say he's absolutely alluring.

Who: Ryu (3), Zuko, open!
Open: Open
When: Day 197
Where: The river!
What: Dragons go fishing, it's a thing that happens!
Format: I'll match!
Warnings: Ryu is a huge dork about fishing.

The morning proves particularly eventful with everything going on, but with troubles resolved and friends taken care of, Ryu finds time to indulge in his favorite hobby. In truth, he's been wanting to go fishing for the longest time, but there was always something going on at the Bastion. After returning home from the hospital, Ryu tracks down Zuko's home after a bit of searching and asking other residents where she might be staying. Once he finds her home, he tacks a note to the door explaining where he'll be, of course taking special care to procure a second fishing rod. With that taken care of, Ryu takes off for the lake near Paarthunax's field.

As far as species of fish he recognizes, there aren't many. What little he can see looks vaguely familiar to some species he's seen before, but he doesn't have any real idea if they're anywhere near similar to what he would have found back home. He figures there's only one way to find out. With a deft cast of his line, Ryu watches the lure sail through the air and land in the water. He knows the lake isn't that deep, so his particular choice of lure is one that won't sink terribly quick.

Now the wait begins, though he wonders if Zuko will show up before he catches anything.

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Ryu shrugs, he doesn't really understand how it works aside from what genes grant what transformations. "It would make me a little more conspicuous, don't you think? It helps me balance when my body weight shifts or when I can actually sort of fly. Aside from that, it'd probably just get in the way." Though when he thinks about it, he realizes Zuko has only really seen the Behemoth in action, and not some of his lighter and faster forms. Or Kaiser, for that matter.

He's a little embarrassed by what comes next. "It's kind of funny, actually. I can sort of glide short distances, but I've never really had time to learn how to fly. At least until we found our way to the land beyond the ocean. It would have been a problem to explain why a dragon was flying around when they were all supposed to be dead. I hope I can work on that while I'm living here, it would make things easier if I could carry someone in an emergency."

"I don't know that it'd make you that conspicuous here." He might even blend in more with their growing dragon population.

Zuko blinks. A dragon who doesn't know how to fly? She would have thought that came naturally somehow, but then, plenty of other animals have to learn how. "Have you asked Paarthurnax?" He would be the authority on the matter, after all.

She actually has a point, at least as far as he's concerned. "I haven't yet. We usually get caught up talking about his language and other stuff from his world's history." Though now that she mentions it, he probably would be the best person, er, dragon to ask.

"Definitely a smart idea, though. He could teach me plenty about it. Now I just have to pick a form I can last in long enough to get anywhere." The whole time limit thing is something that's never really come up to anyone else before, but he definitely feels more fatigue after changing since coming to the Bastion. He isn't sure of his exact limitations, but it's something he should definitely be testing.

"He does have a lot to tell." Zuko probably hasn't spoken to him as much as Ryu, but it doesn't take many conversations to figure that one out.

With the exception of Skysong, she hasn't talked to anyone much about their abilities being different here. Maybe it's instinct, not wanting to make obvious a weakness, but it seems to be the same for everyone.

"So just being in one of your other forms has its limits, huh?"

There's a reason we call him grandpa. "Yeah, though there have been times my life has been in mortal danger, and that lets me linger in a tougher body while my wounds heal, but I don't have much control over that." As he speaks, one of his hands drifts to his lower back, a reminder of the first time he changed. A knife through the back should have killed him, but all it did was woke his power up and knocked him out for a few hours.

"It's gotten worse since getting here. I feel more tired after I change back."

Zuko prefers 'uncle dragon.' Her grandfather ordered her to be killed.

"I can only firebend for so long every day before it's just... gone. It's a little unnerving."

"Same with my healing magic. It's why I've been asking Colin to teach me more about medicine. I shouldn't rely on something I can't count on, you know?" Though he certainly wishes his magic was as powerful as it used to be.

The longer he thought about it, the more his answer feels like it made sense. "Do you think it's part of the Calamity? I haven't asked around, but it seems like too much to be just a coincidence."

"Yeah." She's been using her swords a lot more than she used to. By necessity, they've become her first mode of attack, with her bending reserved for more difficult foes and tight spots. But even with them to fall back on, she doesn't like it. It's one thing to choose not to firebend, it's another not to be able to.

"It has to be part of the Calamity," Zuko says. "This world is completely out of balance. It's hard to say why it affects everyone the way it does, but I can't say I'm that surprised things don't work the way they're meant to."

"It might be something to ask Colin about, or maybe one of the people native here." Though he isn't sure how much they would know about it, given they're likely not as affected by the change if this is the world they're originally from. For better or worse, when something needs explaining via science, Colin is usually the first person he'll think to ask.

"I wonder... If we can spend shards to rebuild things, do you think they can do more than that? Maybe make something that can help us feel a little more stable with our powers?" It's certainly an idea, but Ryu has no idea how powerful the Bastion actually is when it comes to rebuilding stuff.

"I don't know. I haven't even thought about using mine until lately..." She's still hesitant, not because she can't think of what to do with them, but because she has no understanding of how the Bastion's powers work. And unlike Ryu, she's not interested in asking Colin.

"It doesn't seem like it can affect things outside the Bastion, though. The moon we have here can't be seen from the Skyway." She has to wonder if a waterbender would even be able to bend out there.

The moon is something Ryu never realized, especially since he rarely, if ever, will travel the Skyway at night. "Maybe it can get strong enough to do that if we find more of those Cores. It's worth a try, anyway."

It's starting to dawn on him that nothing has bitten on the line just yet, but at the same time he doesn't necessarily mind. He's come to enjoy Zuko's company, and he hopes she's been enjoying doing something a little different, even if he hasn't been able to teach her much about fishing.

"Maybe. They seem pretty rare." Despite everyone's efforts on the Skyway, the last one was found shortly after Zuko's arrival here.

And speaking of rare... "Is it supposed to take this long to catch anything?"

[Day 197] Open | You could say he's absolutely alluring.

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