Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or The Legend of Korra. Please forward all of your gushing and praise to the genius known as Bryke.
A/N: Well everyone, we've made it. This is the week we've waited two years for. This Saturday, The Legend of Korra will premiere. In honor of this most anticipated of events, here is another fic for you to chew on as we count down the days.
Enjoy!
Teamwork
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"Tighten your line!" Toza barked. Obeying, the three teenagers shifted closer together, protecting their centre, continuing to bend water, earth and fire at their targets. "Bolin, watch that left ankle, you're putting too much strain on it. Korra, stop focusing on Bolin's targets and worry about your own."
"But I've already hit mine," Korra argued.
"Then hit them again!" the grizzly old man commanded, ignoring the huff the girl threw in his direction. "Mako, raise your right fist higher, closer to your jaw. Don't let me see that elbow drop."
"Yes coach," Mako replied, immediately following Toza's instructions.
"Teacher's pet," Korra grumbled.
"And Korra, you get to run fifty laps around the arena," Toza snarled, giving her ponytail a harsh tug.
"Aw come on, Toza –"
"Sixty laps. Get a move on, girl!"
"Cantankerous old cow-hippo," she muttered as she walked out of the practice ring.
"Seventy!"
"Monkey feathers!"
She could hear Bolin chuckle and feel Mako smirking. Rolling her eyes, Korra exited the gym, making her way outside. Naga, who had been napping in the sunlight, questioningly raised her head, and Pabu, who had been dozing on Naga's back, barely cracked open an eye to regard the teenager before rolling over and promptly going back to sleep.
"Hi, girl," Korra greeted, patting the polar bear-dog's cold nose. Reassured that there was nothing wrong, Naga lowered her head and closed her eyes. Sighing, Korra decided it was best to get her punishment over with as soon as possible. So, after a few stretches, she began the first of her seventy laps.
It wasn't really so bad. Korra liked the physical activity, and not having to focus on dummy opponents or Toza's barking gave her the chance to let her mind wander.
It was strange to think that she had been pro-bending with Mako and Bolin for five weeks now. Sometimes it felt like she and the brothers had been bending together forever, other times it still felt awkward and garbled, usually resulting in her and Mako being at odds. But their arguments were becoming fewer and fewer. In fact, Mako now often came out with Korra and Bolin to their favorite jazz club after matches, joking and laughing right along with them as they celebrated.
The brothers had become invaluable allies to Korra during her time in Republic City. When she had first arrived on the scene, a brash young Avatar with every confidence that she could bring balance to the turbulence of the modern metropolis on her own, Korra really had no idea just how much she needed the support of friends. Tenzin and his family, while caring and hospitable, were not enough. The children couldn't help to fight against the Equalists, and Korra wouldn't ask Tenzin to join her, not when he had a family to protect.
But then there was Mako and Bolin, brothers who only had each other and no one else in the world.
A lot like her, really.
They had asked her join the Fire Ferrets, welcomed her (well, Bolin had been welcoming while Mako had been more pessimistically polite), and in no time at all, they had become her best friends.
Other than Naga, Korra had never had friends. Companionship was not considered a priority in the training of the Avatar, and Korra had been OK with that logic, had accepted the harsh reality that friends – real, true, lasting friends – were probably something she would never have.
And then she left the South Pole and came to Republic City.
She met Mako and Bolin and joined their pro-bending team.
Working in sync with other benders was not easy, especially when Korra was able to bend the two other elements in question. In the beginning she was constantly critiquing Mako's form, correcting Bolin's stance, and jumping in and taking down their targets when she should have been worrying about her own. It wasn't until her brazenness had nearly cost them a match that Mako explained to Korra (in a barely contained rage) that pro-bending wasn't about the individual, it was about the unit. She had to trust her teammates to watch her back, and they had to trust her to do the same.
It was a wake-up call to the young Avatar.
The old sages, and priests, and wise men had it all wrong. She couldn't do everything by herself. She couldn't end wars without help, win matches armed with her own grit and talent, end revolutions by standing as one against the masses. The Avatar needed friends.
Korra needed them.
It wasn't all smooth sailing from there, but it did get better. Korra learned that she didn't always have to be the leader, Bolin learned that work before play didn't have to be a chore, and Mako learned that not being in control all of the time wasn't the end of the world. The more they learned about each other, the better their bending got, the more formidable they were in the ring. It always made Korra fill with pride when she read the papers and noted that the Fire Ferrets were a fan favorite, the commentary remarking on their smooth bending attacks, like they were extensions of one person.
And Korra knew that it wasn't just the long, daily hours of practice that helped the trio achieve that level of compatibility. How much she knew of the brothers outside of the ring was integral to her understanding of them as fighters.
Rounding on her thirty-sixth lap, Naga decided to join Korra in her exercises. Taking on the challenge, Korra raced the polar bear-dog, her mind making a mental tally of all the things she'd learned about the brothers in the last several weeks.
They had lived on the streets for ten years before Toza had taken them in, giving the boys an apartment over the pro-bending central arena. Before that, they had lived with their mother and father near the harbor, and because of that, both boys had a particular fondness for fresh sushi. Bolin's birthday was at the beginning of spring, Mako's was in the middle of summer. Bolin's eyes were emerald, Mako's were a ruddy ocher.
Bolin liked to laugh and sleep in to the late morning. He had a charming smile and was not opposed to using it to his advantage. He knew how to drive, but preferred to walk. He once had a job as a construction worker, helping to bend streets and sewers in the developing city, but was fired once the foreman learned that he'd lied about his age. He was a good dancer and moved with a graceful fluidity more suited to an airbender. He had survived a near fatal bought of pneumonia when he was eleven, and due to a broken ankle he got when he was thirteen, he tended to favor his left leg. He enjoyed having the element of surprise, lulling his opponents into a false sense of security before finishing them with a powerful punch that they never saw coming.
Mako was blunt, completely straightforward, a no nonsense sort of personality. He confronted everything head on with little grace or gallantry. He was deceivingly intelligent and an excellent strategist. He was gentle with children. He was allergic to Pabu, but never told his brother. He was an excellent cook. He hated losing and cheated at cards. He whistled when he thought he was alone. His dream, besides winning the pro-bending champion title and prize money, was to open his own dojo and help street kids. He worried too much. He had a killer right hook and sharp instincts, sometimes knowing his enemy's next move even before they did.
They knew that Korra had never left the South Pole before deciding to runaway to Republic City. They knew that she had been taught by some of the world's most renowned masters and that her childhood had been a parade of drills, and exercises, and study. They knew Naga was her only friend before she met them, that she had been lonely. They knew she liked her steak medium rare, and was not an indulgent drinker. They knew she was a night owl. They knew she would resort to firebending when she was frustrated or scared, although her meditation training with Master Tenzin was slightly curbing that knee-jerk reflex. They knew her biggest fear was letting everyone down, so her expectations for herself which much higher than any of her sifus'.
"Seventy!" she exclaimed, ceasing her run and resting her hands on her knees as she caught her breath. Naga came up to her and licked her face. Chuckling, Korra patted her friend and wiped the sweat from her brow.
"You ran seventy laps in half an hour? That's gotta be a record."
Korra turned back to the arena and saw Bolin coming towards her.
"Break?" she asked.
"Lunch," he said, throwing her a canteen as he moved to sit on the edge of the pier that the arena was perched upon, letting his legs dangle over the edge. Korra downed half of the water in the canteen before she plopped herself next to Bolin.
"What's for lunch?" she asked.
Smiling, Bolin offered her a freshly peeled mango. Gladly, Korra took the fruit and began to munch on it. The pair sat in silence, eating their fruit and watching the waters of Yue Bay, their focus drifting between Air Temple Island the colossus of Avatar Aang. Pabu was draped over Bolin's shoulders, and every now and then the earthbender would feed the fire ferret a piece of apple.
"Your ankle bugging you?" Korra asked.
"It's throbbing a bit," Bolin confessed.
"Here," Korra instructed patting her lap as she held her mango between her teeth. Knowing he didn't stand a chance if he argued, Bolin moved to place his right ankle over Korra's thighs, deciding to lie down on the pier and get comfortable. Bending water out of the canteen, Korra began to use the liquid to heal some of the inflammation in her friend's ankle. She had never been much of a healer, but Master Katara had taught her a little bit about using her waterbending to soothe minor injuries. Bolin sighed, relief sweeping up his calf and down his foot. He'd moved Pabu to recline on his belly and stroked the fire ferret's soft fur.
"So, the semi-finals are next week," Bolin said conversationally.
"Mmm," Korra answered, her mouth still wrapped around her mango.
"Think we can do it?"
"Of course we can."
Korra jumped a bit when Mako joined in the conversation, sitting beside her. His brows crinkled a bit as he saw Korra was healing Bolin's weaker ankle, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he took the mango out of Korra's mouth.
"Hey! I was eating that!" she exclaimed, sticky juices running down her chin and staining her training gi.
"Didn't look like it," Mako snorted, taking a large bite out of the fruit. Pouting, Korra returned her attention to Bolin's ankle, throwing her leg over Mako's knee in a sort of childish protest. As a truce, Mako held the mango under Korra's nose, letting her take a bite before taking one for himself, passing the fruit between them while Bolin hummed as he crunched on an apple.
"I've been thinking…" Korra said.
"That's never good," Mako joked, his brother chuckling lightly.
"Shut up," she groaned, bumping the firebender's shoulder with her own. "I've been thinking of a new formation." When Mako didn't say anything, Korra continued. "The other teams are starting to get wind of our techniques, so we need to change it up. Bolin tends to aim low and attack from the left. So what if, halfway through the fight, he and I switch, and when Bolin takes the centre he hits them high on the right, I hit them low on the left, and then you take the centre and finish it? With the element of surprise, we could push them back all three levels, maybe even out of the ring."
"It'll take some fancy footwork," Bolin commented.
"And timing. The timing would have to be perfect," Mako added, his tone cautious, but otherwise thoughtful. Korra felt herself deflate just a bit, predicting the 'no' that was already forming on Mako's lips. She was about to argue her point when Mako threw her little smirk, one that had color rising to her cheeks. "We can do it," he said.
"Yeah we can, just need to practice more, get the footwork right," Bolin added. Korra smiled brightly at the brothers. Bolin offered her a wink and one of his charming smiles. Mako offered her another piece of mango, his eyes warm and relaxed, completely accepting of trying out her idea. Returning her efforts to easing the ache in Bolin's ankle, Korra leaned into Mako, the trio finishing their lunch in silence.
They stayed like that for a long time, three friends resting on the pier, watching the world go by.
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"Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success."
— Henry Ford
I just love little snapshots of domesticity, don't you? Anyway, I know this drabble didn't go anywhere, but I really like looking at the dynamic between these three chracters. Their relationship will be one of the most interesting things that The Legend of Korra will have to offer, I just know it. I tend to like quieter moments between characters because I think that's when you really get to know them. Also, I'm hoping that one of the themes that The Legend of Korra will look at, even a little, is the idea of family. I thought that Avatar: The Last Airbender did a great job of showing how people come together to form their own unique family units, whether they are blood related or not. Korra, Mako and Bolin may just end up forming their own little family, something that goes beyond the Fire Ferrets and the Korra Krew.
At this time, I would just like to say thank you to everyone who has been reading and favoriting and alerting and reviewing my fics. I just can't tell you enough how much your interest keeps me typing away. And to all my anonymous reviewers, I would just like to say thanks for your comments. I like to send personal thanks to all my reviewers, but sometimes I can't reach everyone, so just know that I really appreciate your thoughts.
And that's all.
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