Day 230 | Open | Got Wood?

[dragonsorcsandwolves]

Who: Rob, anyone and everyone
Open: Open
When: Day 230, morning (backdated)
Where: Near the donut bush
What: Rob's created an endless supply of lumber.
Format: Any
Warnings: None

With the immediate threat to the Bastion's survival dealt with for the time being, Rob's finally gotten around to spending his shards. The result? An oak tree made of perfect 1-foot cubes. The trunk is 15 feet tall without a single branch and is surrounded by cubes of leaves starting at 6 feet above the ground, which all grow from a complex web of thin twigs without a branch in sight.

He circles around the tree at first with a grin on his face, then stops, focuses for a moment, and gives it a kick. Nothing happens, but his grin still gets bigger. A series of punches, tackles, and other strikes follow, but the tree barely quivers. Then he stops and flicks the trunk with one finger. Instantly the tree is severed at its base and topples over, the twigs in its crown cracking as they hit the ground. When the trunk itself hits the ground with a large crash, every twig snaps at once and the entire leaf mass drops to the ground leaving a square log lying on the ground in a mound of oak leaves. And a single bright red apple, which Rob picks up and bites into with a look of satisfaction on his face.

Oddly enough, despite there being only one stump there are other logs lying on the ground nearby.

Comments

[dragonsorcsandwolves]

"I'm gonna need to ask Colin if he knows of any woodworkers here. And tools. It's been around ten years since I've done any woodworking, so who knows how much I remember. I wouldn't trust myself to build a safe structure at this point. Hopefully there's someone who knows what they're doing here."

[daughterofursa]

"I'd be up for learning, but as it stands I'm... not so good with a hammer."

Also wood is pretty flammable. She's definitely burned down more buildings than she's helped build.

You saw nothing

[dragonsorcsandwolves]

"I'd offer to teach, but I'll hold off until I'm confident I know what I'm doing."

With him that will likely be never, but ask again later anyways.

[daughterofursa]

"You don't have to be a master to teach a few things." Yeah, she has her suspicions about when he'll be confident enough.

"Speaking of which, I heard you might be interested in learning to ride."

[dragonsorcsandwolves]

"Ride?"

He looks confused; the topic change between carpentry and birdmanship was completely unexpected and he doesn't remember what would've prompted him to express such an interest, or to whom.

[daughterofursa]

"The ostrich horses. Red said you talked about it but you thought I wouldn't want to teach you.

"Frankly, he said you could use some help with a sword, too."

[dragonsorcsandwolves]

"He did, eh?"

His voice is flat. While he always assumes that people talk about him behind his back, having it confirmed is a bit painful to hear. They obviously discussed in detail exactly how he sucks.

[daughterofursa]

She's definitely not quoting word-for-word. This is just what Zuko got out of the conversation.

"Yeah. Unless you're some kind of prodigy, you're going to need a teacher if you just started using one."

[dragonsorcsandwolves]

"I'm not gonna claim prodigy status, but people probably have better things to do with their time than humor my whims."

[daughterofursa]

"It's not humoring a whim. You're a member of this community, and no one wants to see you go missing or turn up dead because no one taught you to defend yourself."

[dragonsorcsandwolves]

A moment passes where he just stares silently at her. Did she not only express concern for his well-being, but say that he's not an outsider to the group? His hands go deeper into his pockets and he hunches over slightly, sounding a bit quieter and awkward when he speaks again.

"It's not like I need to go out on the Skyway. That's the whim. And it'd take longer than you think to teach me something like that."

[daughterofursa]

Zuko has aggressively claimed the entire Bastion as people she needs to look out for. Her own nation is gone, after all.

"I can be patient." This is not a face of patience so much as stubbornness, but they're basically the same thing, right?

[dragonsorcsandwolves]

...Sort of?

Rob isn't sure why he's hesitant to take up the offer; it's practical and he has nothing else to do with his time here. Still, he sounds a bit hesitant when he replies.

"I'm not really sure what you'll want from me."

[daughterofursa]

"What do you mean? You'd be the student."

[dragonsorcsandwolves]

"I mean, what do you expect of students when you're teaching them?"

[daughterofursa]

"A respect for the art and a willingness to learn. I don't see how I could expect anything else."

[dragonsorcsandwolves]

"Not unreasonable." A pause. He feels like he's about to make a terrible mistake, but forces himself to continue anyways. "I guess if you don't mind trying to teach me, I'm willing to try and learn."

[daughterofursa]

"I wouldn't offer if I wasn't willing." Actually, she realizes, she hasn't offered so much as insisted.

"...if you don't like me, there are others you could learn from."

[dragonsorcsandwolves]

"Prolly be best to wait for you to try and teach me before making any decisions."

[daughterofursa]

"That's fair." She doesn't think she's a bad teacher, but she knows she can be tough and not everyone does well with that.

"When do you want to start?"

[dragonsorcsandwolves]

There's a level of tough that will be good for Rob, and there's a level of tough that will make Rob fantasize about wringing Zuko's neck. There's also a level of tough that will result in Rob finding a corner and assuming a fetal position. Good luck figuring out where those lines are.

"Um, well it sounds like people are planning something for later today, so... tomorrow morning, maybe?"

[daughterofursa]

Zuko has toned down on the yelling since she was teaching Aang. That's enough, right?

"All right then, tomorrow morning. I'll meet you at the training building."

[dragonsorcsandwolves]

Hopefully.

Rob nods.

"I'll see you there, then."