[Since their conversation on the phone had taken a more subdued turn, Korra had waited until the next morning to drop off the gift. Mako isn't there when she first peeks into the room, so Korra just leaves the container of cinnamon candy on his pillow for him to find later.
She's just about to turn and leave when she hears a sound behind her.]
[when he comes back, he wasn't expecting to really find anyone else in the room. He's a little bit dirty from some of his adventures in searching for parts for his radio tower. And he definitely still looks tired-- so seeing her was the last thing he wanted to do just yet.]
Korra?
[looking at his bed already told him what she was there for-- the pillows were thin normally. Hiding boxes was a hard thing to do.]
[There's something awfully stilted about the conversation already, and...this isn't the easier atmosphere they'd been working back toward before the Uzumaki arrived.]
Mako... [The day before, she'd written it off as a result of the raid, but now? She isn't so sure.] Is something wrong?
No. [a beat] I mean... no, It's just. You know, a month apart, crazy things going on-- uh. [he's no good at this. He's determined to not bring up the relationship because, well, they weren't dating and he had no right to really get upset about it.
Even though he was.]
Just got back from looking around for stuff. ... Radio tower stuff.
[Erasing his memory….right. That jogs her memory, reminding her that there’s something she should probably make sure of, no matter how awkward it is.]
About that—your memory. [Korra bites her lip, suddenly very uncertain.] Conner said he…talked to you before. But then you forgot everything after you were revived.
Do you…remember any of that, now that people have been regaining their memories?
[well that wasn't an awkward way to bring it up at all. And yet, he can't really look her in the eyes anymore. He'd put off that discussion with Conner before he forgot it had happened at all... At least, if that's what she was getting at.]
I remember he tried talking to me, yeah.
[this was way worse knowing that she didn't even remember them dating.]
[“That’s fine” he says. Though Korra wants to take his words at face value, she has this feeling that she should at least say something else. But the words aren’t coming.]
Okay. [She finally manages to unstick her tongue.] You just—you said we dated and broke up before, so I…wanted to make sure things wouldn’t be weird. That’s all.
I said it was fine. [the words are sharper than he really meant, but he makes no apology at the same time. He just doesn’t want to talk about it, and his defenses were up as he tried to figure out the best way to change the conversation. But he feels a little trapped.]
[Right. There might be almost a year between them, but she knows that tone. Korra bites her lip, wishing she hadn't brought it up now.
There has to be something else they can talk about...]
Have you been up to North again? [She blurts out the first thing that comes to mind.] I think the monsters are starting to show up in the tunnels again.
I’ve been doing more reading than anything else lately. There’s nothing to observe—not even Pyramid Head. [he shrugs awkwardly] And I updated it with everything that happened while we were in jail.
I need to write down what happened on your side of things.
I've been looking through the books in the library, too, but I haven't really found anything helpful yet.
[There's a slight frown on her face as she turns her thoughts back to the brainwashing community.]
And...sure. I'll tell you everything I remember. Most of the new stuff, after I regained my memories, is really clear, but the things we did before that are getting really fuzzy for me. Everyone else I've talked to said it's the same for them.
Yeah, they gave us all these fake memories, even made some of us think we were family and all.
[She grimaces, sweeping a hand down her face.]
Ugh. I mean, Wan's about as close to a brother as he could get, so that wasn't too far off, but I thought Ozai was my dad.
Anyway, I remember all of that and some other things. A lot of it's gone, though. I knew how to speak and read English with no problem when I was there. Now that I'm back here, it's like I completely forgot the language except what I learned from Sonia before.
That would've been really useful to remember. [he sounds kinda disappointed, to be honest. He wouldn't have minded learning from Korra, but the idea of learning a new language, in general, is completely daunting to him.]
Do you know how they gave you the new memories in the first place...?
We're not sure, but the memories were definitely linked to the vitamins they made us eat. Mine and Sonia's stopped working on us, so we started remembering things before everybody else did.
Once everybody else stopped taking them, they remembered, too.
Why would they stop working...? [that's the next question, and he looks at her, studying. His natural inclination was probably wrong-- Korra was amazing, but not that amazing. And it felt distinctly inappropriate to think that, suddenly, given the earlier conversation.]
Yeah, I think so. Some of us just stopped getting affected by the vitamins, Wan started losing control of his bending... there were other people like him, too.
[Remembering how he'd actually blown up the house still makes Korra feel uncomfortable. It had been a close call. Too close.]
Whatever was in those vitamins, they must not have been as powerful as Yao Corp thought they were.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
browbeater) wrote2014-07-21 06:39 pm
action 9/30
She's just about to turn and leave when she hears a sound behind her.]
action;
Korra?
[looking at his bed already told him what she was there for-- the pillows were thin normally. Hiding boxes was a hard thing to do.]
What are you doing?
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I told you I had something for you. I just thought I'd leave it here since you weren't around.
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Oh. Thanks. [he hadn't even seen what it was, but he figured he'd enjoy it... even if it felt really, really awkward to receive right then and there.]
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Mako... [The day before, she'd written it off as a result of the raid, but now? She isn't so sure.] Is something wrong?
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Even though he was.]
Just got back from looking around for stuff. ... Radio tower stuff.
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Oh yeah. I was going to help you look for things, too. Just tell me what you need and I'll keep an eye out the next time I'm in North.
[...and then it doesn't. Korra studies his face intently.]
So...that's really it? There's nothing else?
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... I wasn't expecting that they'd erase my memory. And the sad thing is, everything about this place seems so-- outlandish.
[he sighs, and looks at her flatly]
I had a lot to write down in the log book.
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About that—your memory. [Korra bites her lip, suddenly very uncertain.] Conner said he…talked to you before. But then you forgot everything after you were revived.
Do you…remember any of that, now that people have been regaining their memories?
[Smooth, Korra. Very smooth.]
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I remember he tried talking to me, yeah.
[this was way worse knowing that she didn't even remember them dating.]
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[Korra winces. Ohhh boy. This isn't feeling awkward at all. Except it totally is. She bites her lip. She isn't sure what else to say right now.]
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Yeah, he mentioned it.
And that's fine-- we aren't dating. So... yeah. [the strength, it did not come.]
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Okay. [She finally manages to unstick her tongue.] You just—you said we dated and broke up before, so I…wanted to make sure things wouldn’t be weird. That’s all.
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There has to be something else they can talk about...]
Have you been up to North again? [She blurts out the first thing that comes to mind.] I think the monsters are starting to show up in the tunnels again.
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but at least the angry look on his face fades to something more... normal? awkward? his usual look? this was turning into a nightmare]
It's a good... workout?
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You still keep a record of things you find in that book, right? Have you found anything else?
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I need to write down what happened on your side of things.
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[There's a slight frown on her face as she turns her thoughts back to the brainwashing community.]
And...sure. I'll tell you everything I remember. Most of the new stuff, after I regained my memories, is really clear, but the things we did before that are getting really fuzzy for me. Everyone else I've talked to said it's the same for them.
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What can you tell me, then? I mean... Ideally, we'd be in North and I could write it down, but... I've got a pretty good memory.
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[She grimaces, sweeping a hand down her face.]
Ugh. I mean, Wan's about as close to a brother as he could get, so that wasn't too far off, but I thought Ozai was my dad.
Anyway, I remember all of that and some other things. A lot of it's gone, though. I knew how to speak and read English with no problem when I was there. Now that I'm back here, it's like I completely forgot the language except what I learned from Sonia before.
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Do you know how they gave you the new memories in the first place...?
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Once everybody else stopped taking them, they remembered, too.
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You think some of them were just defective?
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[Remembering how he'd actually blown up the house still makes Korra feel uncomfortable. It had been a close call. Too close.]
Whatever was in those vitamins, they must not have been as powerful as Yao Corp thought they were.
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