mortemscintilla: ∅ In the headlights (Hei - NothingLeftToSay)
[personal profile] mortemscintilla posting in [community profile] fuse_box
 WHO: Yin & Hei
WHAT: Yet more awkwardz.

[ Hei doesn't do well with stagnation. But it's something he's been able to sideline during his time here. ]

[ Too much else to focus on: settling in, acclimating himself to the environment, learning the languages, absorbing the culture. In the beginning, he and Yin might as well be living in different cities. With the segregated domiciles at Air Temple Island, glimpses of her are few and far in between. Even then, their timings are so off that they might as well have dropped into different orbits. During the days he does chores at the island. During the nights, he works late shifts at the factories -- one of the many 'lightning-benders' trying to earn quick cash by supplying energy to the city. Commuting to there from his narrow dwellings at the island, it's possible to go for weeks without meeting Yin anywhere. Most of the times he sees her is between errands: when he's stretching out the sheets with raw-knuckled hands after a wash, bustling gleaming-faced in the steam and clamor of the kitchen, swabbing floors, doing scut work. (Perhaps if he washes and dries a million sheets and dirty dishes, whips up a million meals, he will finally make amends to Tenzin for his original crime -- sleeping with the Avatar). ]

[ Even so, at odd moments, something simmers through him -- a low-level restlessness. It's that feeling of not waiting but being on the precipice of something. (It's not nerves, it's not anxiety; it's aimlessness. He supposes everybody feels unprepared when they don't know where they're going.) He wants to see Yin. To have more than a desultory chat with her -- preferably when not peeling fruits to feed to the flying lemurs as part of his evening duties. This was not quite what he'd intended, when he'd chosen Korra over her. But that seems -- in Yin's silence, her coolness -- to be how she took it. ]

[ A fortnight remains before he departs from Air Temple Island -- to explore the territories beyond Republic City, and gain a better understanding of this new world. For that, it's necessary to see Yin. Whatever the rift between them, they're still teammates. And her safety is still one of his main priorities. ]

[ The evening sky darkens from pink to a pale purple as he approaches her spot -- a pool fringed with weeping willows. His shadow stretches in a long black slash, and his footsteps are cat-quiet. Even so, he's sure Yin will know he's there. ]

Date: 2014-05-01 10:57 pm (UTC)
moonlitrequiem: (Useful element)
From: [personal profile] moonlitrequiem
[Part of the reason for their distance is the very things Hei was consumed with; Korra, factory work and chores. As for Yin, she has spent the majority of her time near this particular body of water.]

[It's one of the more peaceful areas, avoided by most of the island's inhabitants, and separates Yin from everyone else with it's lush green curtain. No matter what has occurred, she has kept watch, though she's careful when spying on Hei. If Korra enters the scene she cuts out at once and searches for something else to observe. Nothing and no one approaches the island she isn't aware of.]

[She's attempted to keep herself busy, filling her mind with the language, the culture, the people around her, but Yin finds herself incapable of going for long before a spark of color glimmers on the muted landscape of her mind. Memories of Hei will flicker in, disrupting the peace she's built.]

[This time it takes her a moment to realize it wasn't a thought - he's behind her.]

[She doesn't turn, doesn't speak, but yes, she's aware he's there. She tries to diminish her widened eyes quickly.]

Date: 2014-05-02 12:13 am (UTC)
moonlitrequiem: (Straight stare)
From: [personal profile] moonlitrequiem
[With all of the changes she's made, and the progress Yin has experienced in the past couple of years, there's a contrast with how she handles Hei now the same way she would have back then.]

[Her feet stay in the still water, but she at least turns in his direction, expression vacant, ready to be filled with purpose.]

Date: 2014-05-03 06:57 pm (UTC)
moonlitrequiem: (Just here maybe thinking)
From: [personal profile] moonlitrequiem
[Yin's own eyes are pointed, unseeing, at a spot near Hei's shoes, but her hand is still in the water. Her own expression is the same as it ever is, unyielding. Whatever she does feel, it's not going to surface any time soon.]

[She merely nods to his words. It's an indisputable fact, and she can keep an eye on Air Temple Island while he's gone. Although she anticipates he might have objectives for her in his absence. She waits patiently and silently for him to continue. That Yin anticipates at all, thinks of it at all, is thinking of Hei at all, proves she will never be able to revert completely to what she once was, immobile and empty.]

Date: 2014-05-04 01:37 am (UTC)
moonlitrequiem: (Slightly confused)
From: [personal profile] moonlitrequiem
[She never wanted Hei to feel guilty, but the distance helps. Pushing her feelings so far beneath the surface keeps her capable of functioning as she should, like a Doll. But hate him, Yin could never do that. It's better, to her, he just focus on his needs and Korra. Meanwhile, she can do what she's best at and, hopefully, still be of some use to him.]

[When he says the length he's expected to be gone her eyes noticeably widen, and Yin looks up.]

[She's almost surprised he doesn't have any extra plans, but it's no shock of how little interaction she is to have with him. She's a Doll. She shouldn't care. It's not her business. But eventually the words form, her voice back to flat monotone without a hint of cadence:]


What about Korra? [Except, she's a Doll, she shouldn't be asking a question in the first place, let alone about someone as of yet not mentioned.]

Date: 2014-05-04 02:26 am (UTC)
moonlitrequiem: (Rest on the piano)
From: [personal profile] moonlitrequiem
[Yin knows he's right, but that wasn't what she meant. Yin's concern went deeper than her well-being into her thoughts of Hei leaving for so long. But as much confidence as Hei was displaying in her, Korra likely knew and was fine with it. Perhaps she had just as much confidence in him. A good match.]

[As for the island question, she nods her head.]


With Korra.

Date: 2014-05-04 02:55 am (UTC)
moonlitrequiem: (Straight stare)
From: [personal profile] moonlitrequiem
[Yin likely wouldn't quite understand such intricacies, not unless she experienced them herself, and with a little more time. She's only begun to understand that she has feelings for Hei, let alone what they are, and friendship, and how that differs from those emotions.]

[When asked where she went, Yin lists much of what Hei expected, categorically. Yin pretty much has partial map of Republic City in her mind by now. Some blanks she filled in with her observer spirit, and isn't sure what those areas are referred as, but there are still areas yet unexplored, due to either time, or distance restraints.]

Date: 2014-05-04 04:35 am (UTC)
moonlitrequiem: (Just here maybe thinking)
From: [personal profile] moonlitrequiem
[Her gaze falls completely to the floor. In this, Hei's right. But no one told her to explore the city in person, so she didn't consider it. Why hadn't she?]

[If nothing else, she has something to occupy her time for the next ten months.]

[She gives no words at all, but Yin does finally remove her hand from the water and stands to accompany him. Her movements are slow, but obvious that she's heard him and agreed.]

Date: 2014-05-18 09:04 pm (UTC)
moonlitrequiem: (Straight stare)
From: [personal profile] moonlitrequiem
[ Before Yin might have taken Hei's hand without question, but she maintains the same distance, only reaching once his back is turned, for a brief second before she lowers it once more. Head lowered, she follows. ]

[ She ignores every tingle his touch gives any portion of her body he has to touch to help her in. It's a necessity, nothing more. As Hei watches the approaching city, Yin sits, her head turned away. There is no point in delusions for her. Every second spent with him is just another reminder things have completely changed. To Yin, this might as well be business. ]

Date: 2014-05-19 12:28 am (UTC)
moonlitrequiem: (Slightly confused)
From: [personal profile] moonlitrequiem
[ But to Yin, she's only as distant as he is, following his lead. ]

[ Her head is turned to the din of the city, until Hei speaks to her. Yin's eyes widen a fraction and she, firmly, shakes head. ]


I'm not upset with you. [ Everything else he says is just a fact to her. A necessity for a Contractor to keep the Doll alive. But their partnership had evolved beyond that anlong time ago, transcending the cold-hard logic of simple need. ]

I'm still your partner as well. [ Why else would she spend so much time with her body immersed in water since arriving? None of that changed, no matter how far she's withdrawn, and Yin refuses to let it. ]

Date: 2014-05-19 01:38 am (UTC)
moonlitrequiem: (Wiping away tears)
From: [personal profile] moonlitrequiem
[ Friends. ]

[ It's something precious and rare, but the word gives Yin an unintentional pang. She turns away, eyes burning. What Hei mistook as upset with him was simple hurt. ]

[ Yin musters a nod of her head, not wanting to throw away his attempt. She has to reach back, because while it might cause pain, she wants to remain friends. It's what she wanted from the beginning, but was too inexperienced, too repressed to understand the outcome. ]


Friends. [ She repeats it in a small voice, but at least looks back at him when her eyes are dry. But she has to pull back again. Everything has to shut down again. It's the only way her mind can keep functioning in the way she feels is expected of her. ]

Date: 2014-07-08 03:36 pm (UTC)
moonlitrequiem: (Just here maybe thinking)
From: [personal profile] moonlitrequiem
[It's a position she was hardly ever in, especially before the City. It's presence should be more alarming, but once it has passed she cares too little to consider that fact. Her expression is calmer, closed.]

[Yin takes in everything he says without comment, but even she understands this means Hei still intends to keep her in his life. She's still a part of it. For now, she's content to stay on Air Temple Island, but maybe later she will find a use for this flat, other than just a safe house.]

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