it's the solstice

[arclightning]

Who: Mako, Wu, & close CR
What: They might be in a different world, but the solstice is the solstice, and that means it's time to feed everyone you care about, if you're Mako
When: Night of December 21st
Where: Mako and Wu's loft above the Raccoon Room

Content warnings: Sadness from potential memory-share stuff, homesickness, mentions of Mako and Bo's dead parents

© TESSISAMESS

If you have close CR with Mako or Wu, in the days leading up to the Winter Solstice—December 21st—you may have gotten a small text invite in your inbox. A few simple lines inviting you to the Raccoon Room on the night of the 21st for dinner "because it's the solstice." Normally the Raccoon Room is closed early in the week, but on the 21st they've opened it up.

They're actually having people over in the loft above the Raccoon Room, and their living space is decked out in lanterns and candles to keep out the long darkness. Snow falls quietly outside, but in here it's warm and it smells like ginger and pepper. Wu's put on a few scratchy records in the background. Here and there, Winter Mournings are hung, not quite out of reach. It's very easy to accidentally or purposefully touch one.

If anyone comes in early enough, Mako is still at the counter with his sleeves rolled up, rolling dumplings, covered in rice flour. Maybe help him cook? He's looking better than he was early in the month: his skin is the correct pallor without that odd gray cast, and there's no smoke rolling off his body, so that... has to be good!

For the later arrivals, Mako's made dinner, which means hot tangyuan in gingery broth, an entire bowl of mushroom noodles for sharing, and a simmering pot of broth for people to cook things in, as well as a lot of a tangy sauce that Mako gets kind of cagey about when people try. Sit down, enjoy some hot pot! It's a time to be together, after all.

[ ooc: tag around, top-level, have a good time! ]

Comments

[laminae]

Oh! Oh wow, that's a thing? That's really cool, can I grab one for Varian, too? He might like it.

[It might help his corruption, is what he's vainly hoping here.]

[royalfling]

Sure. [ He waves a hand distractedly, glancing back across the room to see Mako at least talking to other people. That's good. Really good. ] There are plenty.

[laminae]

[Wow, that answer seems... Off. Wu seems a little off. Fern's noticing that now, and he's raising his eyebrows as he looks in the direction of where he glanced.

Mako?]

Thanks....

[Whaaat is going on here.]

Uh, the party is really cool. Did you and Mako come up with it all together?

[royalfling]

Oh. Yes, well. No, it's a big deal back home. The Solstice, you know. The longest night of the year. We used to celebrate it with a big party in Ba Sing Se, and Republic City has their own celebrations. Mako has a lot of good memories of it, he wanted to bring everyone together.

[ Wu lets out an impatient sigh ]

He likes to have something to do. It lets him ignore all his problems, and pretend that they don't exist.

[laminae]

Cool, bet those would've been fun.

[Buuuuut that isn't why he asked. The latter half of Wu's remark is why he did, and he casts a longer glance over at Mako this time.]

So he's basically doing this 'cause he's got problems going on? What kinds of problems?

[royalfling]

[ Oh, good, an opening. Wu turns back to Fern with an exasperated look ]

He's obsessed with this sauce! This sauce his mom made, and he was up until almost dawn making it and he wouldn't give it up! It's so, so frustrating.

[ It's not really the problem, but the symptom ]

And he's literally burning up. Like, his skin is burning off, and he's like "I'm fine, Wu, leave it!"

[ He does a bad imitation of Mako's voice there ]

[laminae]

S... auce? [Honestly, under normal circumstances he wouldn't find that too strange. Who doesn't find comfort in food their parents used to cook? Psychos, that's who.

But the whole skin burning off is a huge, huge red flag, and it makes Fern look over, panicked, towards Varian. Yeah, this sounds horrifyingly familiar.]

Is his skin getting rocky, too? Or just burning off? What about his teeth? And his fingers? Does he, um. Have a claw situation going on?

[royalfling]

...he does have a claw situation. It's so weird! And, yes, his skin is just... burning. Burning off, burning up. And he's not doing anything about it!

[ Wu follows his gaze, and grits his teeth. ]

Hold on.

[ Holding up a finger, Wu flits away to grab some of Lysithea's anti-corruption cookies that Mako refuses to eat. He's back in barely a moment, showing them into Fern's hands ]

Make Varian eat these. Pretend they're something fancy.

[laminae]

[Ohhh no. Oh no oh no, that sounds almost exactly like the corruption is going through. Fern's concern is mounting, though he's surprised at the cookies being shoved into his hands.]

Dude, I'm not sure it's a good time for desserts?

[Sorry Wu, he isn't cluing in that anti-corruption food is an actual thing.]

[royalfling]

No, no, it's-- it's supposed to help with all that. The claws, the burning, the corruption. Lysithea made them.

[ His frown deepens ]

Is it bad? Varian?

[laminae]

Oh - oh! [Well, that makes more sense.

Sort... of. He's giving the cookies a bit of a skeptical look. It can't be as easy as eating some food, it can't.

He lets out a little noise like a sigh, shuffling closer to Wu, keeping his voice low and frankly, frantic.]

Yeah. That's why he's covered head to toe. He looks like he's turning into a rock, and every day he's only getting worse, and I don't know how to help him.

[royalfling]

A rock?! [ Wu glances back at Varian, saying it too loud before dropping his voice ] I don't know, Fern. I tried talking to Mako. I think it helped a little but he's just, just, he won't listen to me! He won't listen to me even though it's obvious he's not in a good place!

Have you tried talking with Varian?

[laminae]

[Glob a sick feeling is forming in Fern's nonexistent stomach. So not only is Varian's corruption getting worse, but Mako is in the same state and not improving, either.]

We've talked, but I don't think it's done much. He's still trying, and he knows how worried I am....

[Fern anxiously reaches up, trying to brush some stray unbraided hair behind his ears before just grabbing it.]

Glob, what if they just keep getting worse and worse? I remember what Eddie had said about the Lumenarium, I don't wanna see either of them end up there!

[royalfling]

No, no. No! They're not going to end up there. We're going to get them out of this. [ His eyes flick back over to Mako, talking with some of the other guests ] Somehow.

There has to be a way to stop it. Right? [ He taps his foot against the ground ] This happens, here! There have to be things we can do.

[ Cures he can buy. Money will solve it. Right? ]

[laminae]

[Fern doesn't look the least bit convinced. Things have been going so, so bad all month, it's hard to imagine things will improve at all.]

I don't know, I don't know. I've been trying all kinds of stuff to make him feel better, but nothing's been working.

[royalfling]

[ Well, that's disheartening. Wu frowns, his annoyance fading into worry ]

That's not good. I, I'm really worried about him. I don't want him to, to turn. [ Into a monster ] What can we do?!

[laminae]

Maybe there's something here? Some... blood ritual or something? If it's a blood thing, then fixing their blood might fix them.

[He's really reaching, here. This is all very new to him, and he isn't exactly the best at coming up with solutions that don't involve stabbing.]

[royalfling]

I-- that's not a bad idea. I can, I can go look it up. There's that whole big library! I've been so busy with the Room, that I haven't done much reading since I've been here.

[ Which is really the opposite of what he did in Deerington. He knew so much about Earth, and now he knows nothing about Deer Country ]

Well, at least we can enjoy the party. They're both here. It has to be good for them.

[laminae]

You and me, both. The most reading I've been doing is plant stuff, nothing on corruption.

[Apparently that was a huge mistake. He's regretting not having the foresight to do some research before this all happened.]

I hope it is. There's tasty food here, and all their friends, so it has to be good for 'em.

[royalfling]

It has to be. [ Wu agrees, his voice hard. ] Well-- well. We've done what we can. I think.

[ He doesn't know what else to do, at least. He feels at a loss, wanting so desperately to help and not knowing how. It hurts, in a new way for him, in a way that's only about someone else, a helplessness that money or power or anything can't solve a problem. ]

[laminae]

[Fern nods in agreement.]

We just gotta see how the rest of the night goes. [He fidgets with his hands a little.] I can let you know how he's doing tomorrow. If this helped at all.

[royalfling]

Yeah. Yeah, it'll be better, tomorrow. [ Definitely. Tomorrow. Mako will stop burning, Varian will stop turning into a rock. Tomorrow, they'll be okay. ]