no seriously / original bones don't steal / or commit arson

[roc_on]

The news gets worse.

The police nailed down a pattern - the guy found with the missing bones was one thing, but there were other missing persons, alternating genders, late teens to early twenties, all taken from the same part of town. Cops, including cops of the relevant age range, stalk the area, and one of them gives chase to a man who proves to be a firebender. He burns out most of a liquor store, proving it, and the cop loses him trying to meet him on the other side and goes back to help evacuate the units above the store.

There's security footage of the fire and some of the chase, rescued from the liquor store, and the media gets ahold of it.

Chali says this still isn't an Avatar matter. Beila, who has no detective skills anyway, defers to his expertise, meditates, reads her book - turns up to her firebending lesson.

Comments

[in_silk]

"It's a nice day, isn't it?" the stranger says quietly.

[thinklikethis]

Which makes Dao feel even more socially awkward but interrupts his murder-related thoughts, a trade he is absolutely willing to make.

Even though the first response that pops into his head is, "Ferretsnakes have the most extreme length-to-width ratio of any mammal."

[in_silk]

"...Pardon?" says the stranger.

[thinklikethis]

Dao blushes. "Um. I'm sorry. I was just - thinking about animal trivia. So when you said something and I didn't know what to say, it, um - I'll just go away now."

He puts away his knife and his little half-carved pendant of a coiled-up ferretsnake and—tries to get up. It's less successful than he was expecting. He tries again. Maybe his clothes got caught on the bench; he twists around to check.

[in_silk]

The stranger is smiling at him.

[thinklikethis]

That smile hits him like a bucket of ice water to the face. Instant chills. Before he consciously catches up with the situation he's already trying to reach for his bag, but now his body just plain won't move, and he finally clues in. Bloodbender. Actual real live bloodbender. Oh, fuck.

[in_silk]

He nods, and stands up, and offers Dao a hand to help him to his feet.

[thinklikethis]

Dao finds himself taking it, finds himself picking up his bag with his free hand, standing gracefully, following the stranger away from the bench. It's not like in the movies; he doesn't jerk around stiffly like someone who is obviously being bloodbent. He's only clumsy when he struggles. He manages to stumble and fall, trying his hardest to resist the imposed movements.

[in_silk]

The stranger just catches him, 'helps' steady him again, and keeps leading him away from the park bench.

[thinklikethis]

It finally occurs to him that he could try to yell for help. But he can't turn his head to look around - he can't see anybody else in the park, it's not that popular a park, there might not even be anybody - he can't open his mouth - he doesn't want to find out what'll happen if he tries and fails, if there's nobody around or they're not listening or they don't realize who's yelling or if he makes enough sound to let the bloodbender know he's trying but not enough for anyone else to hear it.

At least, that's what he hopes his reasons are. The same part of his mind that has inappropriate reactions to thinking about ripping people's bones out is having an inappropriate reaction to the sensation of being subtly, insidiously, helplessly puppeted by his own blood.

[in_silk]

They make their way to a car. They get in. The stranger directs it to take them somewhere.

[thinklikethis]

If he isn't trying to move and the bloodbender isn't trying to move him, it's impossible to even tell there's anything wrong. Except for all the things that are really obviously wrong. It's impossible to tell there's bloodbending going on, anyway. So it's a few minutes before he tries to move his mouth and discovers that he's allowed.

Okay. Crap. What does he say.

"...Want some more animal trivia?"

Great. Yes. Awkwardly semi-flirt with the bloodbender. That'll help.

[in_silk]

It startles a laugh out of him.

"If that's how you'd rather pass the time, why not?"

[thinklikethis]

Dao tries to come up with some more animal trivia, and of course his mind immediately goes blank. He struggles with himself for a moment, then blurts out, "Why are you kidnapping me?"

[in_silk]

"Art."

[thinklikethis]

What.

"Art? What do you mean, art?"

[in_silk]

"Do you like spiders?"

[thinklikethis]

What?

"I, uh. I don't know. I guess I'm not really a bugs person."

[in_silk]

"I like spiders," says the bloodbender. "They're small, but dangerous."

[thinklikethis]

"Not as dangerous as most people think," Dao feels compelled to point out. "They have a bad reputation but even the scary ones are mostly pretty harmless."

[in_silk]

"That's... true," the bloodbender admits. "Public perception matters too, though."

[thinklikethis]

"I'll bet it matters a lot to the spiders who keep getting squashed because somebody was scared of them who shouldn't have been," says Dao.

[in_silk]

The bloodbender looks at him strangely.

[thinklikethis]

He sits there feeling awkward for a few more seconds and then says, "Could you, like, not kidnap me?"

[in_silk]

"Oh, of course, I never thought of that, I'll let you go right away," the bloodbender says dryly.