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

[thinklikethis]

Dao waits a second to see if more words are coming, and when it doesn't look like it, he says, "I really honestly want to give you a hug right now."

[in_silk]

"...why," he whispers.

[thinklikethis]

"Because that sounds awful, and - I think I kind of get it, and, just, here I was thinking I had it bad..."

[in_silk]

"I—I still can't let you go," he says, sounding agitated. "You'd tell someone—you would, and they'd find me, and I wouldn't—be safe—everyone would know—"

[thinklikethis]

"Man, forget about letting me go, okay, we've got time to figure that part out, I guarantee you nobody's even noticed I went anywhere yet," he says. "Do you want a hug? Because if you let me out of this chair, I will give you a hug, and I will not try to run away, and even if I did you are a terrifyingly skilled bloodbender and could stop me anyway."

[in_silk]

"...okay," he whispers. "Okay."

He unties Dao from the chair without stepping in front of it; only his hands come into view.

[thinklikethis]

Dao rubs his stiff arms, and... hesitates. "Is it okay if I turn around?"

[in_silk]

A pause. Then, quietly, "Yes."

[thinklikethis]

"Okay," he says. Slowly, trying not to make sudden movements, he gets out of the chair and turns around to look behind it.

[in_silk]

The bloodbender is crouched on the floor in the chair's shadow, shivering, not looking up.

[thinklikethis]

Dao steps around the chair and sits on the floor next to it, and holds out his arms.

[in_silk]

For someone almost as tall as Dao, the bloodbender can make himself astonishingly tiny. He leans into Dao's lap and curls up into a little shivering ball of person.

[thinklikethis]

Dao hugs him, and murmurs soothing meaningless syllables, and feels very very strange about this turn his life has taken. But. This guy clearly needed a hug. He needs like an entire lifetime of hugs. Dao appreciates the value of hugs on a very deep level. He can hug the terrified serial killer.

[in_silk]

The terrified serial killer is now crying on him.

[thinklikethis]

That's, yeah, that is not a huge surprise.

[in_silk]

He may be a while.

[thinklikethis]

That's... mostly fine. But Dao feels kind of dizzy and sleepy, and isn't sure how long he can avoid falling asleep.

[in_silk]

Before that can come to pass, he uncurls and moves away.

[thinklikethis]

Dao lets go immediately.

[in_silk]

"...I want to trust you," he says, very very quietly. "I want to. If... will you promise you won't try to run away, or tell anyone you're here, or anything?"

[thinklikethis]

"Yes, sure, of course," says Dao. "I promise."

[in_silk]

"How do I know you aren't just saying that?" he says helplessly.

[thinklikethis]

"Honestly, right now, as long as I'm pretty sure you're not going to kill me in the next like couple of days, which I am, I want to be here more than I want to be running away. I want to actually help you, I don't want to get you arrested. You don't - I, like - if I was the one who was going around ripping people's bones out and you were the one who was - talking to me about it, I'd rather you actually talked to me and didn't run off and call the cops, you know?"

[in_silk]

He takes a long moment to consider this logic.

"...Okay."

[thinklikethis]

"Okay," says Dao. "So. Um. If I'm not going to be tied to a chair the entire time I'm here, can I like - have breakfast, and maybe a nap somewhere with less," he gestures at the sculpture looming over them, "giant bone spider?"