revenance_rpg | 1. This is the House that Bolin Built

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1. This is the House that Bolin Built

Characters: Bolin, Ping (his Meow Wow) & YOU
Content: Bolin decides to save munny and build his OWN ~~house~~ earth tent. Although he needs to clear the area of some Nightmares first.
Location: Traverse Town, Backstreets
Time of Day: Evening? Hard to tell with no sun.
Warnings: Abundance of cute? IDK

While a few people had mentioned the First District as a good place to set up camp because of the fewer Nightmares about, Bolin felt that it would be better to set up in a place a little less crowded. He needed to find a spot that wasn't so open and that wouldn't be a hindrance to others. Bolin was a city boy himself so exploring Traverse Town and keeping an eye out for such a place wasn't too difficult. How often and he and Mako done the exact same thing in Republic City when they were younger? Looking for empty alleys and abandoned back streets, where an earth tent would hardly be noticed and out of the way of police that might have hauled them back to an orphanage somewhere.

Bolin's wandering had taken him through a few of the districts and had certainly taken him across the paths of a few of the Nightmares everyone had warned him about. His first encounter with them had caught him off guard and he'd almost gotten hurt, just because he wasn't used to attacking small creatures. Ping had been a big help then and Bolin had quickly picked up the slack, slamming boulders and earth disks to cut through the Hebby Repps and Komory Bats that tried to ambush them.

It was honestly by pure accident that Bolin stumbled into the backstreets of Traverse Town, but as soon as he saw all the waterways and canals streaming through the area, he knew this was the place he was looking for. A little ways in he found a small alcove that was off the main path and surrounded by walls. The perfect alcove.

Bolin put his hands on his hips and looked to Ping, "Welp little buddy. I think we found our new home."

Ping tilted his head as if to ask 'I don't see it.'

Bolin took a step forward, ready to get to work, when several dark forms emerged from the air: Meow Wows, Hebby Repps, and Pricklemanes. Bolin frowned but brought his hands up, "Great. Looks like we have to clean this place out first." Ping jumped forward, his large butt wiggling in anticipation of the fight. The Nightmares sprung on them and Bolin and Ping started fighting back.

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Riku was wandering the backstreets with Bram, his Komory Bat. Honestly, he wasn't sure what he expected to find at this point: he'd figured out by now there was no sign of Joshua or the others, and neither did Xehanort seem to be around. Still, he kept wondering if there was something he'd overlooked, or if somehow he needed to refind the Keyhole and unlock it again...

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard the sounds of battle nearby. He took off as quickly as possible down the streets, summoning Way to the Dawn to hand when he spotted Bolin. The new guy seemed to be holding his own well enough, but a little extra help wouldn't hurt.

"Leave these to me!" Taking his Keyblade in both hands, he launched a Dark Firaga spell, a dark ball of flame which split into smaller fireballs and smashed into the Nightmares. His Komory Bat swooped in to help defeat any still standing.

Just as Bolin was causing the earth to erupt in a variety of spikey pillars to pierce the Hebby Repps, Riku appeared. Actually, Bolin noticed the dark fire first. He'd heard of blue flames but never black ones. Bolin looked surprised and then turned to see who it was. "Riku?" He was good with names and faces so even though he'd only seen the other over the network he recognized him quickly enough.

The remaining Dream Eaters were wiped out in short order and Ping lumbered back over to Bolin's side. Bolin pet the spirit's head, "Good boy." And then he looked back to Riku, "That was amazing! I've never seen a fire bender use black flames before. Is that a rare technique or something?"

He still apparently had trouble remembering that not everyone called elemental stuff "bending". That would take awhile to sink in for Bolin.

Once the Nightmares were gone, Riku lowered his Keyblade, and Bram flitted back over to him. "A... rare technique? Something like that," he muttered, almost embarrassed by Bolin's enthusiasm. Really, he'd never seen anyone get excited about him using darkness before, but he guessed that was only because Bolin didn't understand what it was.

"You're not too bad yourself. That's some impressive earth magic." He gestured to the spiked pillars Bolin had pulled up from the ground.

"Well, there's normal fire and I've heard some fire benders can make blue flames so I figured..." but then he starts to remember some of his conversations and frowns, "but I guess that isn't fire bending, is it?" Which just made him MORE curious, this world was so strange and people could do awesome things that weren't necessarily bending.

Right. Bolin smiled, "Thanks. Years of practice." He then shook his head, "It's not called magic, it's bending...although, you're not the first to say that to me so I guess maybe it's earth magic in a dream?" Bolin was still learning all of these things. He shrugged, "Anyway, now that we've cleared out the nightmares I can make that Earth tent I was telling you about."

Since there were no further threats, Riku dismissed his Keyblade, which vanished from his hand in a flash of blue light. "Who knows? My powers aren't this bending, stuff, though. I use magic." And darkness, but he really didn't feel willing to explain that to someone he'd just met and who probably wasn't familiar with the concept. Wouldn't want to scare him off.

Riku nodded, Bram landing on his shoulder and likewise giving a chirp of assent, probably because the Spirit wanted to be part of the conversation more than he understood what was being said. "Sure, I'd like to see how it works."

Bolin thought about that for a moment and then nodded. He kept forgetting that this wasn't his world any more and that bending wasn't a "thing", it was magic. It made him wonder if he could possibly learn other elements through this magic system, but the concept was so foreign that he dismissed it right away. It'd be weird to suddenly be able to cast fire spells or whatever. But, maybe he could contemplate it later. "Right...magic. Sorry, still getting used to the terminology I guess."

He then nodded and turned back to the area, "Okay then, one earth tent...coming up." Bolin hadn't done this in a few years, but as a child he'd made them often enough that the movements came back naturally to him. He focused on a corner of the alley, where two walls already stood. He then moved his arms upward and pulled on the earth beneath them. Suddenly several rock walls jutted out of the earth and jammed themselves into the brick walls already built. Bolin made sure there was enough room to stand and everything and soon there was a small structure made out of a combination of the brick from walls of the alleyway and his own earth bending. It looked a little like this.

"See? And I can close up the opening with an earth-made door as well." Bolin stepped forward and rapped his knuckles against one of the walls as if testing its sturdiness.

Riku stood back and watched as the structure took shape. Once it was finished, he was visibly impressed, moving closer to get a better look. It looked safe and Nightmare-proof enough, almost like a cocoon made of rock.

"That's really something. I know magic, but only for combat -- nothing with other uses like that. Where'd you learn to do it?" Maybe if this "bending" stuff was close enough to magic, he could learn it, too.

"I'm mostly self-taught. I never had a Master or anything, though a few other people on the street have shown me some earth bending moves. I got a little bit of a formal teacher when Mako and I moved into the ProBending circuit." He finished circling the structure and then moved inside, gesturing for Riku to follow if he wanted. It was still flat ground on the inside but a few movements and Bolin had pulled up a few rounded pillars to serve as chairs. Now all he would need with his munny would be to buy a sleeping roll or something to that effect.

"But this stuff was stuff I learned out of necessity. Mako would make us a fire but Republic City got pretty cold during the winter so I would usually be in charge of making a shelter. It took me awhile to get it right and we always had to be careful of where we set up." Things were pretty territorial in Republic City. Triple Threat Triad territory was the safest, surprisingly, especially once they started doing odd jobs for them. The police usually only went after vagabonds in the parks and busier streets so if you hid in an alley you were usually okay. Of course, if other people wanted your spot there would be a fight...something Mako had done more so than Bolin who was forced to usually just watch.

Bolin shook his head. His current situation was sure bringing up his memories of the past.

Riku ducked inside after Bolin, looking around. Bram promptly took wing from his shoulder, flapping up to the roof of the earth tent to hang upside down. Riku laughed softly, amused at his Spirit's antics, and Bram gave a pleased squeak, wrapping his purple wings around his body to take a nap. Talk about making himself at home, Riku thought, taking a seat himself on one of the stone pillars.

"That must have been tough," he replied, expression turning back to a serious frown. "I know what it's like to have to survive off your own back like that." Riku didn't know the kind of things Bolin had been through, but he had an idea -- he'd been through a similar thing in the realm of darkness, trying to survive, look out for Sora, and stay hidden from Organization XIII all at the same time. It had never gotten easier. "At least you had someone looking out for you."

Bolin took a seat himself, eyes moving over the walls and landing on Bram as he hung upside down like a weird ceiling fan. Bolin smiled slightly and then took a seat. Ping lumbered over and with a huff flopped down at Bolin's feet. "Yeah...it was rough...and I know I never would have made it without Mako." Bolin then noticed Riku's frown and quickly added, "But, we did make it, and things are a lot better for us now. For one, we don't sleep on the street any more."

He nodded, "Yeah, I did have that. Sounds like you didn't," he glanced up at Bram, "But hopefully that's changed for you too."

"I was... on my own out of choice," Riku said. And it was true -- he and Mickey had gone their separate ways, Riku looking for some way to get rid of Ansem while he watched over Sora, Mickey having his own business to take care of. And after Sora woke up, Riku had disappeared into the shadows, not wanting to be seen or heard from ever again, aside from to help his friends.

Well, things hadn't exactly worked out that way. Riku nods, brightening a little. "Yeah, it has changed. I'm back with my friends -- like Sora." And sure, he still had some issues to figure out on his own, but things were definitely looking up. "Who's Mako? A friend of yours?"

Bolin wondered why he would chose that, but also realized it was probably none of his business. He didn't know this guy well enough to feel like he could ask. Bolin reached down at scratched behind Ping's ears instead.

"That's good to hear. Sora talked to me on the communicator so it's good you can be here with your friend." Bolin shook his head, "Mako's my older brother. We're...kind of opposites, but that works to our advantage sometimes. He must not have dreamed his way here or maybe he's not even asleep yet. It's hard to imagine doing this without him though."

"Just because he's not here doesn't mean you're apart. Could be that right now in the real world, he's still with you, trying to figure out a way to wake you up."

His brother worrying over him was small comfort, but at least it was better than the thought of being completely apart. To Riku, the knowledge that Kairi, Mickey, Yen Sid and all the others were probably around to help them from the other side was some reassurance as well... even if they couldn't do much.

"Besides, you're not on your own. Everyone here seems ready to help each other -- and we have our Dream Eaters on our side, too."

The boy chuckled, "That would be just like him. He always has to drag me out of bed in the mornings for practice and training and stuff." Bolin was never a morning person, although once he was awake he was never grumpy or difficult to get along with. It was just impossible to get him out of bed without a lot of shaking him and yelling in his ear...two things that Mako had learned to do very effectively.

"It's good to hear you say that. I felt pretty lost when the moogle was telling me about this place, but everyone who spoke to me on the communicator made me feel better about the circumstances." Bolin rubbed Ping's head, "This guy helped me a lot too." Ping made a happy noise and rolled over onto his back to expose his stomach.

Luna was having herself a quick jaunt over the rooftops, running and leaping from building to building, while she waited for word from Bolin. The princess was, she had to admit, initially rather averse to the idea of having yet another young man sleeping out in the streets. Still, she would keep it to herself until she saw what kind of shelter his earth magic was capable of creating. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad after all?

Her ears flicked at the sound of combat and she slowed, allowing Noctis to catch up with her. A fight? Did she have time? The alicorn shrugged and galloped off towards the sound - just a few Nightmares wouldn't take her too long.

"Bolin!" There was no particular alarm in her shout as she dropped down from the roof; the boy seemed to be holding his ground well. She was simply surprised and pleased to see him here. Luna lowered her horn, shooting a bright bolt of magic at a pair of Hebby Reps. "Good evening! Is this thy earthbending?"

Bolin slammed one Pricklemane into the wall with a flip of the ground and Ping pounced one a darker version of himself, the two Meow Wows rolling in their fight. Bolin was about to send the Hebby Repps flying when they were struck down by a bolt of magic. The boy blinked and looked over to find a large black-blue horse with wings and a horn. Luna, it was kind of hard to forget her.

"Perfect time for a demonstration, yes, this is earth bending." To punctuate his point Bolin punched the air and the ground beneath them split open and several spikes launched at the remaining Pricklemane before it disappeared in a flash and left behind some munny and those pieces that apparently made more dream eaters.

"Ha!" Luna pranced a little in excitement as the spikes made short work of the Pricklemane. "'Tis quite useful! Our earth ponies hath a connection with the land, but their gains are largely physical - like so."

Spinning on her forehooves, she bucked a nearby Hebby Rep hard, sending it flying into a nearby wall. "Thou shouldst not have too much trouble with the Nightmares, even sleeping hereabouts - in truth, they are not as frightening as the Moogles say. Though, we would certainly prefer it if thou stayed in the hotel..."

Bolin looked impressed at Luna's bucking. At first he had thought the alicorn looked rather slender and fragile, but he was starting to see just because she had a slender build did not mean she couldn't pack a punch...so to speak. He certainly wouldn't want to get hit by those hooves. He applauded appreciatively, "Nice hit."

"I told you I could handle this," Bolin said with a grin. Ping took out the final Meow Wow and lumbered back over to Bolin's side. He stroked the cat-dog thing behind the ears. "I know I probably should, but if I only have enough munny for a short stay, I'd rather save up and spend my munny on other things. Living on the street isn't hard as long as you can find or build shelter and I think once you see the earth tent you'll see I'm just as safe out here as I would be in a hotel. I'll just have to be careful when I go outside it and Ping can help me keep this area clear, no problem."

Bolin snapped his finger, "Oh right, I was going to show you how the earth tent is built. I guess since you're here I don't have to call you either." Bolin was still pumped with adrenaline from the fight so building the earth tent wouldn't be too much trouble at all.

He motioned for Luna to step back and made sure the Spirits were out of the way as well. He then focused his attention on a corner of the alley where the walls were already high and would help serve as more protection. Bolin then stomped his foot against the ground and pulled up with his hands. The alley's floor split open and several rock walls shot up and then attached to the dead-end of the alley. Bolin pushed again and a small opening formed in the rock, completing the tent.

The tent was a decent size, at least enough room for a few people and Dream Eaters to sleep comfortably. It looked a little like this. "Ta dah!" Ping bounced up and down and then bolted for the tent.

Luna obediently took a few steps back, calling Noctis back as well, to watch the earth tent's construction. When it was finished, she stomped her forehooves in applause, genuinely impressed. "Huzzah! 'Tis impressive indeed!"

"May we?" Pacing forward, she reared up and leaned on one of the walls, testing its strength. "Quite sturdy...thou wilt be safe from aerial and fire-based attacks...why, we suppose it is a fit dwelling. Without weather, thou shalt hardly risk catching cold." She leaned down to peer into the little opening where the Meow Wow had gone. "Hast thou built many of these?"

"Thanks."

He watched Luna test it's strength and was pleased to see that she couldn't stomp through the walls. It was good to know that it was solid. He hadn't made one in awhile after all and he wanted to be sure that the rock walls were thick enough to serve their purpose. "Yeah. I used to make them when Mako and I lived on the streets. We didn't really have anywhere else to go. It'll be hard to get a fire going without him, but I'm sure I'll manage that as well." He glanced at the opening and then back to Luna, "You want to see what it looks like inside? The good thing about an earth tent is that I can seal up the entrance so that the Nightmares won't be able to get in from there either."

He moved through the opening and it was just the right height that he didn't have to dunk down or anything. Ping was sniffing around the inside and seemed to be looking for a place to curl up. Bolin smiled, "Yeah, yeah, I need to make some places to sleep. We'll do that later Ping. How about this for now?" Bolin shifted his hands down and the ground smoothed itself out and then a small circular area of earth rose up a bit and made a sort of platform for Ping to curl up on if he wanted. Ping hopped up on it, did a few circles, and then flopped onto his back, tongue hanging out.

Xion was cutting through the back streets on the way back to the hotel from Nightmare hunting in the Fifth District when she noticed a newcomer. It looked like her help might be needed in dealing with Nightmares here. Again. At least there weren't as many as when she'd helped Sora. She summoned her keyblade and hurried over to help.

Axel and Barkley joined the fray as well. Axel wheeled in to try to bowl over the Hebby Reps, and Barkley went to pounce the Meow Wow's. They'd show the newbies how this was done!

Bolin probably would have argued that they didn't need help, but in the middle of battle wasn't the time for it. Ping barreled into more of the Meow Wows like a fluffy tank of doom. Bolin, meanwhile, summoned more mini-boulders and smashed through the other Nightmares. He noticed munny and fragments flying everywhere and made a mental note to pick up the pieces later.

Once the area was clear Bolin wiped some sweat from his forehead and turned to the hooded figure*. "Thanks for the help."

*[Ooc: Assuming she's hooded? Feel free to correct me on that XDb]

It looked like he was used to fighting, which was all to the good, but that wasn't a guarantee that he was used to fighting Nightmares or anything similar. Add that to inheriting quite a bit of Sora's "must help" attitude and Xion wasn't going to just leave someone who looked like they might need her help. The boulders were a new kind of style to her. At least his aim was good, and she could dodge between them to hit the already dazed Nightmares. Barkley barked happily when Ping joined him. C'mon, they'd Meow Wounce these Nightmares outta here!

Fortunately it wasn't a long fight. Xion dismissed her Keyblade and offered a small smile. "You're welcome."

He wasn't...but it's not like they were as bad as the opponents he HAD fought in the past. Certainly he at least didn't have to worry about them suddenly chi blocking him or anything like that and he was familiar enough with dodging fire, water, and earth attacks. Between his attacks and Xion and their Spirits they made short work of the Nightmares.

Once the final Nightmare dispersed Bolin scooped up some of the fragments left behind along with some munny. He made sure to leave some for the hooded girl though since she had helped too. "You're a good fighter, I'm guessing you've been fighting these things longer than I have." Ping trotted back over to Bolin and the boy gave the Meow Wow a head rub. "Aww, you did good too little guy. We'll have to treat ourselves after I finish setting up the earth tent, okay?" Ping hopped up and down in excitement at the promise of treats.

"I just hope they stay away long enough for me to build my earth tent."

No, the Nightmares wouldn't try to take away his bending, block his chi, or anything like that. Add that to the fact that he seemed used to dodging the sort of attacks they could throw at him, and he probably would have been okay without Xion's help. Still, it just didn't seem right to leave him on his own.

She was so busy collecting her share of the fragments and munny she almost didn't register the compliment. When she did, she blushed a little. "Just a few weeks..." Fortunately, he quickly turned his attention to his Meow Wow. At the mention of treats she looked around to see if the Nightmares had dropped any they might have missed, but it looked like there were none this time. Pettings were enough to console Barkley for this loss, and Axel seemed content to be picked up so he could curl around her in a way that she was starting to become used to.

"Earth tent?"

"Yeah. I didn't want to waste munny on the hotel when I could just build an earth tent out here." He gestured around them at the general area. The alley was perfect with high walls and out of the way of the main thoroughfares. It suited his needs perfectly and wouldn't cost a penny for rent.

He realized belatedly that the hooded figure might not know what he was talking about. A lot of people didn't recognize earth bending here, let alone the things you could do with it.

"I can show you if you want...might be easier."

Making sure self and Spirit had a decent, safe place to sleep didn't seem like a waste of munny to Xion. Then again, she couldn't make an earth tent or any other kind of tent. If she'd been able to provide herself and her Spirits with a safe place to rest, then maybe she would have considered the hotel price a waste of munny.

His way of thinking was right--Xion had no idea what he was talking about. Her curiosity was overcoming her shyness, though, and she smiled at his suggestion.

"That would be nice...Oh! I'm Xion."

Edited 2012-11-20 15:50 (UTC)

Bolin blinked and then smiled, straightening up, "I'm Bolin and this is Ping." He gestured to the Meow Wow beside him. "Now...step back a bit and I'll show you what I'm talking about."

Once Xion was moved back he focused his attention on a corner of the alley where the walls were already high and would help serve as more protection. Bolin stomped his foot against the ground and pulled up with his hands. The alley's floor split open and several rock walls shot up and then attached to the dead-end of the alley. Bolin pushed again and a small opening formed in the rock, completing the tent.

The tent was a decent size, at least enough room for a few people and Dream Eaters to sleep comfortably. It looked a little like this, crude but effective.

Xion returned the smile, and then obligingly stepped back. If he said he needed room to move, she'd give it to him. The better vantage point for watching him work was nice.

It wasn't like any magic she'd ever seen; he just seemed to control the earth with his movements. There were no spells or anything. Not that she'd ever known a spell that could move the earth, but it looked handy.

The tent was pretty impressive when it was finished. She stepped forward to take a closer look. "How..."

"It's earth bending." His remark was simple as if there could be no other explanation. Bolin was still getting used to the idea that people didn't even know what bending WAS. It was such a big part of the world he was from it would be like someone asking how people walked. He stepped closer as he wanted to inspect his work.

"Bending is just something people from my world can do, well, some people and we can control different elements. My element is earth but my brother, Mako, he's a fire bender so he can make and control fire. There's water benders and air benders too."

"I see. One of my best friends could use fire, and others could use water and air...That was really strong magic, though, I think." Xion had never heard an explanation of exactly how the others used their elements. Some of it did seem to be stronger versions of spells, but that didn't explain everything.

It seemed odd to her that Bolin didn't know about magic. It was such a big part of her life that not having it seemed strange. Though, maybe with benders, nobody needed magic. That was a sobering thought.

"Yeah, we have stuff like that too. Though, again, we don't call it magic or anything." When Bolin thought of magic he thought of sleight of hand and the guys who did the vanishing acts in street performances. Or, you know, weird magic chants and stuff like that. Magic, as far as he was concerned, was something in stories. Bending was different.

"So. What do you think?"

"Oh, magic is for more than fire and water and wind. You can use it to heal, too." Having never heard of any other kind of magic, Xion couldn't even imagine what came to Bolin's mind when he heard the word. Then again, she'd never had time to enjoy street performances.

After one more look at the tent, she nodded. "It looks safe."

Interesting. That topic gave Bolin some pause. He then added, "Well, we have healers but they use water to do it. There are some really powerful water-bender healers out there, my friend Korra is one actually." He tilted his head and decided to ask, "Are there spells like invisibility or teleporting or something?" That was more of the magic HE was thinking of, things that couldn't be done with bending.

He nodded, "Good. That's kinda what I was going for."

Bolin's version of healing seemed interesting to Xion. "Really? I think Cure spells are more plant-based." At least, it had always seemed so from the flower image that appeared when they were cast. She'd always thought it was pretty. The idea of using water to heal had never come into her mind.

"Safe is a good thing to go for." She smiled slightly, then looked at his Meow Wow. "What do you think?"

Edited 2012-12-14 06:02 (UTC)

"Weird." Bolin replied without thinking. And it was...to him anyway. "Guess there are more differences than I thought."

Ping wiggled his butt, tilting his head to Xion. Then Ping waddled over to the tent and gave it a good, solid head butt. Apparently this was a way to test the tent in Ping's eyes. Ping hit it hard too but then fell back on his bottom and shook his head as if to clear it. Ping then made a pleased sound when he looked back to Xion.

Xion nodded. "It sounds like there are." Which was interesting, and she would have to ask him more about them later.

For the moment, he attention was occupied with Ping's reaction to her question. Axel hissed amusement at the Meow Wow's antics, and Xion herself couldn't help smiling as she reached down to pet Ping. "I guess that means you like it."

That settled, she could have gone back to discussing the differences between magic and bending. Bolin and Ping probably wanted to rest, though, and she should move on before more Nightmares showed up. "I should get going. See you later?"

Ping was satisfied at least. As long as Bolin got him something soft to sleep on anyway.

Bolin nodded, "Yeah, I'm sure we'll see each other around. Thanks again for your help."

"No problem. See you later." Xion smiled and waved as she started off. Axel and Barkley squeaked their own goodbyes.

Edited 2012-12-24 03:04 (UTC)

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1. This is the House that Bolin Built

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is it sad that I just NOW got the "Bram" naming reference?

Nah, it's awesome you caught it! XD

\o/

On my current playthrough of DDD, Riku's Komory Bat is called "Stoker", loool

BAAAW

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Yes, Xion named her Hebby Rep 'Axel.' XD

Awesome!

XD

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