Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of Korra.
The Heart of Republic City
Future Industries' Warehouse: 3:24 am.
Drip... Drip... Drip...
The silence between each of the water droplets falling seemed to be deafening to her ears. The sound of water hitting the ground echoed into the night as it leaked from the air-conditioning unit in the darkly light office.
'Nine months…'
Asami sighed and pushed back a piece of her long, raven black hair as it fell in her face that had obscured the view of her blueprints. The lamp on her desk flickered as she bent over her sketches, scrutinizing the layout of the topography within the city limits.
Drip... Drip... Drip...
'Nine months of silence, or rather 271 days, 3 hours, and 24 minutes of solitude.' Not that she was counting.
Asami pinched the brim of her noise as she tried to focus on the project at hand. It had taken her ages to get the approval from President Raiko and the rest of the council to approve the ground-breaking of her project; in the heart of the city no less. Though as tiring as it was, it was well worth the effort.
Angling her desk lamp closer, Asami started doodling random sketches on a spare piece of paper as she reflected on the complexity of her project. She could take apart a mechanical clock and put it back together perfectly, she could design an engine capable of ten times the speed and efficiency of the latest model, and she could solve any technological issue, theoretical or not, in a heartbeat. She excelled in practical technological engineering, but this, this was something else. And surprisingly she loved it.
The challenge of designing the landscaping, the logistics of relocating and modifying federal zoning codes, and of course the political challenges to create such a landmark in the heart of Republic City. Her designs for the project were her pride and joy, and yet even with the wide open grassy areas, the small bridges over the pond and streams, and a charming wooden gazebo, Asami still thought it was missing something. And right now the obvious stood out to her: a name.
Asami's mind wandered as she continued to sketch, her strokes became less angular and abstract. Her pen flowed across the paper, its lines forming into that of nose, chin, and ears. High cheek bones, sharp eyes, and a mouth set in a serious manner began to manifest itself, as the random sketching became the determined face of the Avatar. It had been over nine months since the Avatar had last been seen by the young engineer and she would be lying to herself if she said she didn't think about her often.
The truth was Korra had been on her mind for months as Asami buried herself in her work. At first, the young CEO had trusted Korra's word that she would return to Republic City after only a few weeks with her family and the best healers of the Southern Water Tribe in the South Pole. Knowing this, Asami hadn't sent any letters to her friend and decided to just wait for Korra's return and focus on her company's future. But as the weeks passed and then they turned into months with no mention of the Avatar's return, Bolin, Mako, and Asami sent a first round of letters to Korra as the briefest reminder of their concern and friendship. Asami smiled as she reflected on her first letter to Korra.
Dear Korra,
I miss you. It's not the same in Republic City without you. How are you feeling? Things are going well here. I just got a big contract to help redesign the city's infrastructure, so I'll be keeping busy for a while…
As the letter progressed, Asami explained the challenge of designing the infrastructure of the new road ways amongst the spirit vine infested areas of downtown. She had gone explicitly explained at great length the logistics of the design and the complexities of civil engineering.
It had been her first letter to Korra and certainly not her last as she recounted the progress of her project and the more thrilling tales of the lives of their friends. Though she had no plans to stop writing to her, it did sting a little when there was no reply to her letters (or anyone's from Team Avatar for that matter). This silence from her friend only seemed to strengthen her resolve to continue to write to her as Korra recovered and Asami helped her company, Future Industries, grow. Or at least that is what she told herself seven and a half months ago.
And yet she still wrote to her at least once a week. And everyday Asami would check her mail box for a reply she knew would not come. The first few weeks Asami had been excited, if not a little nervous, waiting for a reply from Korra, but over time what excitement was left faded away. Asami hoped that her friend was finding the solitude in the South to be a healing journey, both physically and spiritually. She just wished that she knew how her best friend was doing - if she was ok. Hell, she knew Korra was anything but ok. And for months she wanted anything but this… this silence.
Drip… Drip… Drip…
"Damn it", Asami sighed feeling useless and listened to the leaking air conditioning unit, making a mental note to contact maintenance. It was this silence that brought Asami to squinting at her blueprints so early in the morning. When Korra had refused Asami's offer to help her in the South, Asami had watched in helplessness as her friend was escorted from the docks on Air Temple Island, after Jinora's Airbending Master's ceremony. Asami wanted to scream when she heard the officials from Republic City comment about Korra, knowing full well that the Avatar could hear them.
"She's not looking good… With the world getting more and more dangerous, we need the Avatar now more than ever. Who will protect us while she is in a wheelchair?" President Raiko had exasperated to Tenzin.
And then hearing Tenzin basically announce that the Avatar was no longer needed (or something tactless like that) while the new airbenders helped the world, it devastated her and spirits only knows what it did to shatter the already broken soul of the hurting Avatar. Asami saw her friend, who had scarified first her bending, her spirit, and now her body for an apathetic city. Asami knew why Korra had wanted to leave, but Asami felt like even in Korra's absence the city needed a reminder to respect the Avatar.
Asami had been thinking over this proclamation while simultaneously looking for a distraction from her worries about Korra. Thus, when an opportunity like this project presented itself, Asami jumped straight in to hash out the fine details. And yet, the more she focused on the project the more her mind wandered to her friend, the sketching of Korra becoming more defined on the paper.
Her "distraction" of a project had become a physical symbol of Asami's hope for Korra's return to Republic City and her salvation from her loneliness. It was as if the park's features on the blueprints knew how to capture Asami's memories of the Avatar. She looked down at her sketch of Korra and could see in her mind's eye her strong frame. Her body sculpted to capture her strength and youth, her sharp features and compassionate eyes being etched in stone watching over the citizens of Republic City such as her predecessor, Avatar Aang, was currently doing out in the bay. In her sketch, she saw Korra in all her glory as an Avatar: strong, whole, and healed. A faint blush could be seen on the engineer's cheeks as she realized that what the park was missing was what she was missing too; her friend and the world's savior Avatar Korra.
Pushing her blueprints out of the way, Asami pulled out a drawer in her desk and removing some paper and an envelope. Picking up her pen, she let it hover over the blank paper. She had so much she wanted to say and yet some small part of her didn't want to write a single word. Irrationally, she feared that by tarnishing the purity of the blank page with her words would somehow shatter the possibility of their friendship lasting and jinx Korra's return. Asami shook her head, knowing this was pointless thinking and began to write.
Dear Korra,
I'm sorry I haven't written to you in a while. I guess in the back of my mind I was always hoping that you would be back in Republic City by now. I'm sorry if that seems really selfish, but I have missed you so much. With Mako spending most of his time staking out the Red Monsoon gang (He told you about that in his letters right? It's crazy!) And with Bolin off in the Earth Kingdom, I've really been missing everyone from Team Avatar; but especially you.
In other news, things are really taking off with Future Industries! Construction teams, civil engineers, and representatives from Future Industries have been working non-stop these last nine months on the construction of my new designs for the city's infrastructure. I think you will particularly like the new road ways I built that flow through the heart of the spirit vines. This was particularly a challenge because the vines forced us to rethink how we normally construct a simple transportation system involving ridged and angular intersections and junctions. However, these road ways had to weave in and out of the spirit vines and yet be able to handle the flow of traffic.
While I was pondering this complication, I remembered your waterbending style when you would tame wild spirits, and how the water was able to bend and flow with the obstruction rather than face it head on. As I pictured it all in my mind's eye I could see the water streams turn into asphalt and concrete, creating a weaving road system. Suddenly I was easily able to design a transportation system that perfectly complimented the spirit vine terrain. So really, it's thanks to you that we have roads throughout Republic City. I guess you still are saving the world, one street at a time!
Speaking of projects, there is something else I am working on centered in the heart of Republic City, but I want to leave it as a surprise for when you get back. I think you are really going to like it though! When you come back I'm going have to take a few days off work, so I can give you a proper tour of all the new changes to our beloved city.
I know that you are down in the Southern Water Tribe with your family, but please remember that you always have a family here in Republic City too. And we miss you.
Your Friend,
Asami
The ghost of a smile flickered on her face as she closed the envelope and wrote out Korra's address. With a small 'click' Asami shut off her desk lamp and, after gathering her stuff, she walked towards the adjoining hallway. Upon reaching the door, Asami stopped and leaned on the door frame and paused in thought. After a small moment of hesitation she rushed back to her desk, grabbed her pen and wrote down her thoughts. The young heiress smiled as the large scrawl of her penmanship appeared at the top of her blueprints.
With a slight nod of accomplishment Asami walked out the room silently closing her office door behind her. The moonlight shone out the window above her desk, the elegant black ink letters standing out sharp on the muted blue background. The words Avatar Korra Park seemed to almost glow in the moonlight.
