[open] Heaven is Under Our Feet

[glyphe]

WHO: Weiss Schnee and YOU
WHEN: Nov 10 all day

It had been several days, and Weiss had not gotten her waterbending abilities back. She was devastated. Every night was restless, and every morning was spent fruitlessly trying to pull moisture from wherever she could. She would even go somewhere with running water and try to get it to do what she wanted. Nothing was there.

Instead, she found herself being able to move rocks without touching them. And that... was mostly it. She could no longer feel the water circulating her body, but she felt other things; during this whole mess, she was still grounded, still able to keep a cool head on her shoulders. Despite being sad, she still stubbornly tried to regain her abilities.

Weiss was not certain why she wasn't a wreck right now. Waterbending was her life... well, it had been her life. Now it wasn't. The thought that she might never be able to do it again, after taking it for granted for so long made her sick to her stomach. This had never happened before. Was her loss caused by the City? The Spirit Wilds? Or had her body decided she was undeserving of her power?

As she was wandering, looking for answers, she came across a bucket of water sitting outside of a building. No doubt it was used for washing, or catching rain, or something. That didn't matter. What was important was that there was water in it. And Weiss was desperately trying to move it without touching it.

[ooc: she hasn't fully discovered the earthbending gift she has temporarily received. maybe someone can help a girl out? action or prose accepted!]

Comments

[glyphe]

Weiss turned her attention on Wan, eyes widening slightly at his words. "The spirits did this to us?"

[raavashing]

"Not on purpose," he replied in a gentle tone. "Well, they sought us out intentionally, but they didn't mean to hurt us or scramble us up like this."

[glyphe]

She reached up to comb her fingers through her ponytail, frustrated. "I don't understand any of this," she said in irritation. "The barriers, the spirits, the people from different worlds. I came here for a new beginning, but so many things don't make any sense in this stupid city!"

Actually, Weiss did like Republic City for what it was. She enjoyed meeting new people, especially. But the fact that she had lost her bending was wearing her thin. It was evident in her body language how stressed she was.

[raavashing]

Wan lifted his hand, but did not touch her, "Easy there. I know this is difficult to understand and it's difficult to adjust to, but a lot of other people are going through it, too. You aren't alone."

[glyphe]

"That doesn't make me feel much better," Weiss said with a sniff. Though she did seem to relax a little. After a beat, she added, "You said the spirits entered us. Do you know why they sought us out?"

[raavashing]

"Not really. The one that entered me used the last of it's energy to do so and it faded away shortly after it scrambled me up," he admitted, sighing. He had tried to get a sense of what the spirit wanted when it merged with him, but it wasn't strong enough to survive the experience. "I think most of the spirits that did this were at the end of their lives. They were stronger than the ones that were trying to bring more of nature back to the city, but not enough to continue on once they joined with a mortal body."

[glyphe]

Weiss still looked like she was confused. Why would spirits randomly merge with a human? "They really messed things up," she sighed, bringing a hand up to her head. "Taking away our bending... what was even the point?"

[raavashing]

"It's a good reminder that we're still as human as anyone else?" Wan smiled ruefully, trying to make it sound like a joke, even if it wasn't. "It was for me, anyway. A good kick in the pants, as I've heard some people say."

[glyphe]

Her eyes met his again. Oh, darn it! Wan always managed to say something profound at the right moment. It always blew Weiss away.

"...Do you think our powers will come back?" she asked a bit timidly. He was so patient with her, and Weiss was glad they were becoming friends.

[raavashing]

"I hope they will," he replied, still keeping his smile. "I know bending doesn't make a person who they are, but it's still a big part of the people who have it. I worked hard to get where I am with it. But it's not what defines me. And it's not what defines you. But I do hope it will return to you."

[glyphe]

"I don't know how you could say that," Weiss frowned. "Of course bending defines a person! It's something we're born with, and we practice it everyday to get stronger and hone our skills! Waterbending is a big part of my life!"

Maybe the only part of her life, she worried, that mattered. After all, Weiss' bending abilities were her own, not her father's. She taught herself how to make and use ice as her main technique.

[raavashing]

Wan tried not to let it show, but the words hurt. His bending had defined his legend and for a while there, he had thought that it defined him. Until he joined with Raava at Harmonic Convergence and realized afterwards that it was his actions that had defined him. The gift that was his bending did not make him who he was.

He continued to keep his smile, hard as it was do to so, and shook his head, speaking softly once again, "Even the Avatar isn't defined by his or her bending. That's not what matters most about who they are, or the actions they take. You are not your bending, Weiss. I know because I've never once seen you bend in front of me. If it was so much a part of you that it defined you, you wouldn't, couldn't be able to go so long without using it. And we spent hours on the day we met, just traveling across the city. Not a single cube of ice to show for it."

wan is great

[glyphe]

At first, Weiss felt as though she were being lectured, albeit gently. But when she thought about it, she realized that Wan really hadn't seen her bend at all. He'd been nice to her, even when she treated him as less than a person and didn't understand his motives. And it wasn't because she was a bender.

Still, it was hard to accept that bending was not what defined her. She dropped her defensive stance, no longer looking angry, but still quite sullen. "I don't think I deserved to have it taken away."

Re: wan is great

[raavashing]

"I don't, either," Wan agreed easily. "But this wasnt really about who deserved to lose or gain anything. I can't explain it well, but I felt it when my bending was taken at away. It wasn't... purposeful. I think it was more an accident than anything else. I'm sure it won't last very long. I hope it won't, at least."

[glyphe]

Wan's words seemed to reassure her enough that Weiss lifted her head. "I hope so too. What makes you think it's not permanent, though?" She really had very little understanding of the spirits. Or, rather, of spirits that took up residence inside someone's body.

[raavashing]

That was actually very wishful hoping on Wan's part. And as much as he would have liked to lie and tell her some extravagant reason as to why he was positive it wouldn't be permanent... if he was wrong, he didn't want her to be even more hurt because he got her hopes up too high.

So he told her the truth.

"I don't know. But I have hope. Those who were born with bending, it's a part of them, even more than those that have been given bending. It's not the whole of who they are, but it is a piece of them and as much as I know it doesn't define them, that it doesn't define you, I do think you should be able to feel whole. So I hope."

[glyphe]

Weiss nodded solemnly. Sometimes, it was good to have a pep-talk. She was still upset, but at least someone else knew what she was going through, and that someone else happened to be a friend.

"Well, if you're positive, then I'll try to be positive too. Thanks, Wan."

[raavashing]

"Sure," he took a step back and nodded toward the street. "Why don't we get out of here? I think you could use a break and I'm getting a little hungry. We can try to find some food. And you can tell me if you've found a job yet!"

[glyphe]

She looked back at the bucket of water, the water that refused to do anything for her, and then sighed. When Weiss turned to face her friend again, her smile looked pretty defeated.

"I think food would be an excellent idea."

[raavashing]

"Great! What would you like?" He started off down the street with a quick trot, but settled into a walking pace within a few strides. It was mostly to get them moving. She would have to jog to catch up and it might distract her from her troubles a little. "I don't have a lot of money, so I can't afford much, but I'll buy for you if you'd like."

[glyphe]

And jog she did. Weiss was actually surprised to see him run off so fast. But he was still talking to her, so she knew that he wanted her to come with, possibly to get her away from the bucket of water. Wan was practically an expert at getting her out of slumps by now.

"I can buy my own food," she said as she caught up, mildly insulted.

[raavashing]

Wan smirked at that, laughing a little, "Okay. You can pay for yourself. That still doesn't tell me what you'd like to eat. What kind of foods do you like, anyway? All I know of Water Tribe food is sea prunes and seaweed noodles."

[glyphe]

"I haven't found any good seaweed noodles here," she admitted, looking a little homesick in that brief moment. "But I like noodles in general, as well as dumplings. Oh, and fish." Now that she was talking about it, Weiss noticed her stomach was beginning to growl. She was grateful for the change of scenery already. She had not really left her home for a couple days, due to the depression, so a fresh warm meal was welcome.