Mako was starting to loss hope that he had any chance of ever finding Bolin again. The nineteen year old fire-bender didn't want to stop looking for his younger brother yet, but anymore it didn't seem like there was any chance that he would see the knuckle-head again. The idea that he was the only one of the two that had made it seemed like such a cruel joke after everything the brothers had been through. Living a cruel and harsh life on the streets only to be separated when Iblis destroyed the planet, and then stuck for how long with out each other. Not that he wasn't worried about Korra and the rest of his friends, but at the moment his only family member was his only concern. "Where are you Bolin?" He asked the Dark Forest not expecting it to answer, and it was the next place he had to look anyway. Monsters, or no monsters he was going to keep looking until he found evidence of his brother's death or he died trying to find him.
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Riza was uncomfortable in these woods. She had too short a line of sight for her favorite weapon to be of much use and the underbrush kept on tearing at her clothing. She kept a grip on her pistol at all times, but was wary of using it, because she never knew where a bullet could ricochet in this place, leaving innocent bystanders in danger of getting hit... Not that she'd yet seen any in these woods, but she was always cautious. She'd taken far too many innocent lives in her past that she couldn't make up for, and she refused to take another if she could help it. She paused when she heard rustling and undid the safety on her gun before carefully aiming. She slowly stepped out from behind a tree, and was shocked to find another human being.
Sure Mako knew not all survivors that were left took kindly to strangers, but the last thing he had expected in the woods was to have a gun pointed at him. "Woah lady! You mind pointing that somewhere else?!" The teenager said quickly not normally being nervous, but he had never had a deadly weapon at his face before. Bending he was use to, this he wasn't.
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Riza immediately lowered her weapon and turned the safety back on, "Sorry, I just wasn't sure... what you might be." These woods weren't like any she'd ever known in Amestris. Riza studied him quietly, he didn't seem to be antagonistic or dangerous. "Truly, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you like that," she told him in a gentler tone.
Mako crossed his arms in front of him once the gun was lowered. "I suppose it never hurts to be careful. I wasn't scared though." He stated in a mild grumpy tone mostly due to his pride being hurt at the fact he had reacted nervously. "Not many people come out here, what are you doing out here?" He asked.
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Riza smiled at his show of bravado and shook her head, "Scouting the territory. I like to be familiar with my surroundings, especially in these unsteady times. And you? What are you doing out here in the woods all alone?"
"Looking for my younger brother." Mako answered simply though her reasoning seemed more directed then his looking for somebody that may very well be dead. Even though he was pessimistic most times he didn't want to be in this case. "Seems likes a weird place to scout out though. There are safer places after all."
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Riza chuckled, "All the more reason to get to know the place as well as I can. If I ever end up in here because of reasons I can't control, it's best if I already have a familiarity with the territory," she answered as she put her gun in its holster and looked around her, "Unfortunately, in woods like these the visibility is very poor, so even if your brother were here, he could walk right by you, and you may never even see him," she commented absently. She wasn't trying to be cynical, it was merely her years as a sniper in the military and professionally tracking down criminals that were speaking. She didn't mean to be callous.
"Well I suppose being prepared is the better idea. Though knowing Bolin he'd probably wouldn't be able to go unnoticed." Mako replied though she knew the woman was right, and that he could easily walk right past his brother. Though he also liked to think he was more observant then that.
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Riza laughed softly and nodded, "He sounds like someone I know," she murmured as she looked up through the thick canopy, "It's getting darker... You can always come back and search for him further tomorrow, she told him gently.
"Where did you learn that?" Riza asked in quiet shock. Seeing another man command fire with his fingertips so easily shocked her. She looked at his hand in confusion. How could he be summoning and controlling fire without an alchemist's transmutation circle? An ache she thought she'd buried rose in her chest at the sight of it, making her wonder where her good friend and Colonel was... If he was even still alive. She shook her head to clear her thoughts, instead focusing her sharp gaze on Mako once more, "How can you do that without a transmutation circle?" she demanded coldly. The only time she'd seen such alchemy came from those who used philosopher's stones. She gripped her pistol once more, wondering if he was somehow connected to Amestris' old Fuhrer.
Forgetting that not everybody was as familiar with bending Mako wasn't completely surprised at the woman's reaction. Though when she asked about something called a transmutation circle his facial expression turned to one of confusion. "I inherited it from my father, my brother inherited our mother's earthbending." He explained. Though the teenager's curiosity was peeked now. "I've never heard of anything called a transmutation circle though. Did you have something similar to bending where you came from?"
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Riza stared at him in amazement, "Bending?" she asked. This boy made something her father had dedicated his entire life to sound so simple and easy. Something that had ruined her childhood, her back, her innocence and had brought down Ishval was now commanded at a simple teenager's hand with ease right in front of her. She felt sick at the very thought of it, but she tamped it down quickly, "I suppose you could say similar," she forced out with a tight smile. She wouldn't burden this young kid with the deaths of thousands that had nothing to do with him, but she wondered if he could even begin to realize the potency and danger of the weapon that he wielded with such carelessness.
Mako could tell that something about his fire-bending made her uncomfortable, he could tell it was a forced smile. There were many times when he had done similar looks for his brother. "It would be interesting to see it. Shame I can't now."
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Riza nodded stiffly and looked away, "I should be heading back," she offered quietly. She didn't want to stay in these woods for much longer. She refused to stay in these eerie woods after it'd gotten dark... the fact that it would give her space from the boy's questions was a mere lucky coincidence. She didn't feel like talking about flame alchemy at the moment.
Riza nodded to him, a flash of guilt crossing her mind when she realized she would be leaving a young teenage boy alone in a dangerous forest at night. She was an adult leaving a child to fend for himself. She could handle a few uncomfortable questions if she had to, besides he didn't seem like he wanted to pry. She sighed and turned back, "What does your brother look like?" she asked.
Mako turned back surprised that she hadn't taken off like he thought she was going to. "Bolin's a little shorter then me. Same dark colored and has green eyes." He explained glad that she seemed willing to help him which was so rare to find actual decent helpful people anymore.
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Riza nodded and kept her eyes open, searching with him. "Is he an explorer type?" she asked in curiosity, since they were trekking through some pretty dark woods to find his brother.
"Not much, but he'd do anything to find me just like I would for him. We're the only family each other has had for a long time." Mako answered though it was a bit more vague.
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Riza nodded her understanding. Her only living blood relative hadn't really meant much to her, had scared her in fact, but she'd been searching for Roy and Rebecca since the apocalypse as well. And she refused to give up hope that they might be alive. They was the closest thing to family, other than Hayate, that she had. "I hope we find him," she told him as she searched the forest with him.
"Yeah me too. Thanks for helping me miss... I'm sorry I didn't catch your name." Mako stated he didn't care if she didn't want to tell him that was fine too. Some people weren't comfortable giving out their names in the best of circumstances.
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Riza smiled at him, "Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye... although, I suppose military rank doesn't matter much now," she noted ruefully. "And you? I don't believe you gave me your name either."
"Military huh? Well that would explain the gun. Name's Mako, no last name at least not one I was old enough to really remember, had more pressing concerns at the time." The boy answered now knowing why Riza seemed so cautious before now, and of course a member of the military would have more strategies and knowledge of how to survive such situations.
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Riza eyed him in interest, no last name usually meant no living parents, but she wouldn't pry, "Pleasure to meet you Mako," she said with a half-smile as she turned and searched the woods around them, not being able to see too far, even with Mako's flame.
"Nice to meet you properly. You got anybody you're looking for still? Perhaps if I come across them later on I can point them your way. I think if we pass along each other's names and such we have more chances of finding friends and family again. Though I'm starting to get more worried about finding him." Mako replied with a small sigh. What would he do if he never found his little brother? Not that he couldn't handle being on his own, but he didn't want to be.
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Riza looked up at him, pain momentarily flashing through her eyes as she remembered her team. "Yes, actually. I'm looking for a few colleagues of mine... No friends, I'm looking for some friends of mine," she corrected herself. She no longer had to distance herself for the sake of appearances and for the sake of protecting those she cared about from the Fuhrer's wrath. "Rebecca's about my age and height with long curly brown hair, and Roy's a little taller than I am with short, straight black hair."
Mako listened to the descriptions making sure to remember them, but paused for a second. "I think I saw that Roy guy back in the city, but that was days ago. I can't guarantee that he's still there though." He added knowing how bad it was to get your hopes up just to have them crushed shortly after.
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Riza smiled at him, "Thank you. I might stay here a little longer then. I usually leave the towns I come to after a few days have past and I haven't found anyone I know, but this time, even if it wasn't him, I think I'll stick around for a little longer, just in case it was."