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]

Spider stands uncertainly in the doorway and watches him.

[thinklikethis]

It's creepy and weird but, when he considers what he knows about Spider, also perfectly understandable. Unfortunately that doesn't tell him what to do about it. He finishes eating and asks, "Is there somewhere I can sleep...?"

[in_silk]

"Yes." There is, rather inexplicably considering Spider's blatant and extreme discomfort with other people, an impeccably tidy little guest room.

[thinklikethis]

Dao is too tired to try to figure that out. He flops into the guest bed.

He's not sure how long he sleeps for, but the room is a lot brighter when he gets up. He sits on the edge of the bed for a bit, and then feels a vague obligation to straighten things up in memory of how immaculately tidy the room was when he got here, so he does that, and then he sits on the edge of the bed again and feels very awkward.

[in_silk]

Spider knocks on the door.

[thinklikethis]

Dao gets up and opens it. "Hi," he says, awkwardly.

[in_silk]

Hesitantly: "I made lunch."

[thinklikethis]

Well, aren't they a pair. Dao smiles. "Thanks."

[in_silk]

There is lunch. It's unremarkable, not spectacular but not bad or anything.

Spider is quiet.

[thinklikethis]

Yeah, that seems to be how Spider works.

Dao waits until after lunch before he says, "So do you like... want to sit down somewhere and talk about stuff? With optional hugs?"

[in_silk]

He smiles a small and slightly heartbreaking smile at 'optional hugs'. "Yes."

[thinklikethis]

Owww, that smile.

"Okay, cool, let's sit on your couch, I will hug you."

[in_silk]

They do that. Spider doesn't quite collapse into a small miserable lump, but he does lean on Dao quite a bit.

[thinklikethis]

"So... it occurs to me that like, nobody's caught you yet," says Dao. "So if you just stopped murdering people, they'd have a pretty hard time catching up to you, especially if you left the city and moved somewhere way far away and, I dunno, changed your name in case they find weird stuff in your basement after you leave, or whatever. Even if you don't trust me not to go to the cops over you, it still works, it's not like I have magic powers and can tell them where you decided to move to, you know?"

[in_silk]

"...that's true," Spider says slowly.

He contemplates this.

"But... what if... what if there isn't anything that helps?"

[thinklikethis]

"I mean, the first thing you tried is 'being a serial killer', I wouldn't give up just yet if I were you," says Dao, smiling a little.

[in_silk]

Spider giggles softly. "Yes. Okay, yes. But. But what else do I try?"

[thinklikethis]

Dao thinks about it.

"I mean, I don't really know a whole lot about you, except that you're apparently some kind of waterbending genius - like, unless the thing where bloodbending only works on the full moon is just in the movies? And the thing where people stagger around like creepy puppets?"

[in_silk]

"N-no..." he says. "No. It was like that for me at first too. When I practiced on animals. But I had to get it right before I could use it, so I practiced more."

[thinklikethis]

"Okay," says Dao. "I stand by my 'some kind of waterbending genius' assessment, then. Like, I'm not a bender, but I have, you know, met some."

[in_silk]

"There really aren't any... good uses for bloodbending, though," murmurs Spider.

[thinklikethis]

"No, admittedly, but like. Who says bloodbending has to be the only thing you know?"

[in_silk]

"...it isn't," he murmurs. "I know... combat waterbending, too. A lot of it. But I don't want to - do that."

[thinklikethis]

"Okay, so don't," says Dao. "Learn new things. Be - be a healer, that's like the exact opposite of a serial killer, right, it's like the most obviously good thing bending can do, I bet you'd be great at it, why not?"

[in_silk]

"...maybe," Spider says softly.