[Action throughout the day and Open!] Playing in the rain.

[notyourutopian]

Of all the things Eleanor had discovered in Luceti that had been impossible in Rapture, the rain was probably her favorite one. It had taken her some time to adjust to the idea of it, to be fair, since in Rapture the sound of falling water generally meant something horrible had happened and a section of the city about to flood, but up here on the surface it was just...normal.

Weather in-and-of-itself was a new concept, honestly. Occasionally the big storms up on the ocean's surface would cause churn in the water around the city, but never anything more than messy water and unhappy whales. She'd loved the snow too, and bright sunny days and brisk, windy days, but rain was her favorite. Maybe it was just how it was a callback to home without being so close as to make her dwell on the negative things.

Which was why she didn't particularly find any reason to try and avoid it the way so many other people seemed to. In fact, she made a point of going out in weather like that, with the large, old-fashioned purple umbrella she'd acquired last summer. It hadn't rained all winter, which she knew was normal but had still been a bit of a frustration, and now that it was doing it again, she'd practically bolted from school at the end of the day to go for a walk.

And that was where she could be found for the rest of the afternoon, wandering about in her long black skirt and simple red jacket, her umbrella resting on her shoulder, a faint smile on her face. She would stop for a while to sit under one of the awnings by the shops and read, listening to the rain, then head back out for another walk. She'd picked up a pair of heavy-duty boots, and someone might happen to catch her hopping into a puddle with them to send up a splash and then laughing softly to herself.

Even during the height of the thunderstorm itself, she was (probably foolishly) walking around with her umbrella.

[ooc: People can run into Eleanor anywhere in the village during the rain, or yell at her to come in out of the lightning if they like. She might even listen!]

Comments

[notyourutopian]

...I see. [She shakes her head.] Don't worry about it, it's something from my world.

[And yet.]

But if her abilities involve fire, how does she create lightning?

[lordhotman]

It's an advanced firebending technique.

[notyourutopian]

[Eleanor looks genuinely startled by that, then shakes her head.]

If you say so. I can make fire, but lightning is...something else entirely.

[lordhotman]

In my world lightning is called the cold-blooded fire. So its a part of the fire element. But in your world it's different?

[notyourutopian]

Yes. Fire is a kind of...chemical reaction. [Absently Eleanor holds up her hand and snaps her fingers, and a flame appears, smoldering, off her thumb. After a few seconds she shakes it away, the burn over her skin healing back slowly.]

Lightning is electrical. It's...entirely different. You can use one to generate the other, I think, but...not directly.

[Eleanor is fishing around in her head for this information, so her words are a bit slow, almost like she's explaining it to herself too.]

[lordhotman]

[Zuko is genuinely interested as she explains, watching as she produces her own fire and the subsequent burn that heals quickly. He then holds up an upturned fist.]

With bending we use the energy in our bodies, called chi, to control our own respective element. Firebenders use it to create fire.

[He then unfurls his fist to a flattened palm, a small flame appearing above it.]

But only a few firebenders can generate lightning.

[notyourutopian]

Chi. [So, it was nothing she ever heard of, at least. Which wasn't exactly surprising.] If you say so. On my world, people don't...have abilities like that. Not naturally.

Mine are from science experiments. And strange creatures.

[lordhotman]

[With a wave of his hand, Zuko extinguishes the small flame.]

It's strange to think how each world is so different.

[notyourutopian]

I kind of like it, though. [She said with a little smile.] There are worlds out there that aren't awful, you know? Where people are happy and things are...normal.

[She's silent for a moment before she turns to him.]

My name is Eleanor, by the way.

[lordhotman]

Yeah...

[From what he's heard there were some pretty awful worlds out there and some others that were much better off. His was somewhere in between. Things were still complicated back home, but it was getting better.

When she turns, he looks back at her.]

My name is Zuko.

[notyourutopian]

Nice to meet you. [She gives a little bob of her head, but doesn't offer a hand to shake or anything. But her smile is perhaps a tad teasing.]

So are you hiding in here until the rain stops, Zuko?

[lordhotman]

[Zuko frowns disapprovingly.]

I'm not hiding. I'm just waiting it out.

[Cause really who likes getting soaked?]

[notyourutopian]

Isn't that the same thing? [She looked back at the rain for a moment, then back at his disapproving frown and sighed.]

I'm only teasing.

[lordhotman]

[He just rubs the back of his head.]

No... maybe.

[He offers her a small smile.]

[notyourutopian]

Hmm.

[Eleanor studies him for a moment, her expression thought.]

Okay. If you weren't stuck in here, where would you be going?

[lordhotman]

I came here looking for swords, and then I was going back to the house.

[He couldn't quite call it home yet.]

[notyourutopian]

...Well, did you find a sword? Are you finished?

[Eleanor leaned to the side a bit to look out at the various weapons. She didn't need one, so she'd never really come in here again after she'd retrieved her gloves when she'd arrived.]</small.

[lordhotman]

[He shakes his head.]

No, I didn't find what I was looking for.

[notyourutopian]

Hmm. I'd offer to help, but I know less than nothing about swords. No one has used them in centuries where I come from. Not for anything except maybe dueling. Somewhere.

[She hesitated.]

Probably not, honestly.

[lordhotman]

[Zuko shakes his head.]

That's okay, it's not that important.

[notyourutopian]

[She nods her head to him at that, trying to decide if she should push, and then shrugs.]

So you're just going home? Which building do you live in?

[lordhotman]

I live in House 56 with my friends.

[So it's a bit of a walk.]

[notyourutopian]

Fifty-six.

[Give her a moment, she's picturing where that is.]

That's a little far, yes. Hmm. But...

[She seems to be talking to herself, and then she grins.]

I can get you there without getting wet, if you like.

[lordhotman]

With that?

[He gestures to the umbrella.]

Don't you think its a little small for the both of us?

[notyourutopian]

[She glances at the umbrella for a moment, then laughs softly.]

Not quite, no.

[Instead she held out a hand for him to take.]