Hi everyone, Heinkelboy05 here. Just to let you know something. I know you all have gotten used to me writing my VC story "On the Gallian Front: The Gallian-Germanian War". But this one's gonna be a little different. While I write my story I do tend to write various one shots or pitch ideas for other stories I can do for other series. This one here is a one shot for a possible story set in the Avatar: The Last Airbender, the Legend of Korra universe.
This one-shot involves when Korra meets my OC, Colten Lee, the day after she arrives in Republic city. After I finish the "On the Gallian Front" story, I will try and create more stories for various different series. I may even write a story for this story as well. Until then, enjoy this story and the various other one-shots or short stories I may publish alongside my main story at this point. Enjoy.
(Note: I do not own anything. This is purely for entertainment purposes.)
The day after she arrived in Republic City, Korra decided that she should at least try to get acquainted with navigating through it's streets. So she bought a map of the city at a small stall for just a few coins and proceeded to try and learn the various streets the city had. It was a very chilly day so she wore her winter gear which helped keep her warm, though the cold never really bothered her anyway, even as a child. She would simply brush it off like it didn't affect her whatsoever. However, this meant little to Korra at the moment as even though she had a map with her, she found herself being a terrible navigator. Korra kept finding herself going in circles, either by misinterpreting the map, or by thinking she could do it without the map after getting lost a few times. By now, she was getting rather frustrated at this and was starting to think that perhaps this was a bad idea.
"Ugh. First I get arrested for stopping a group of crooks and now I can't even find my way around this city. Why can't things ever be easy?" muttered an agitated Korra as she grit her teeth, as she reached a street corner, the map she bought crumpled in her hand, now balled into a fist. She was thinking that perhaps she should just head back to Air Temple Island and try again tomorrow...that is if she could even find her way back that is. As she pondered what to do next, she didn't notice a male individual walking towards her. She didn't notice him until she felt him bump into her slightly before he continued onward. Korra merely looked at him for a brief moment before she ended up noticing something.
The small pouch on her belt that held her yuans was no longer there on her belt. She frantically looked around the rest of her belt, thinking for a moment she had forgotten precisely where she had placed it, but it was nowhere to be found. Korra's thoughts raced as she tried to figure out what had happened to it. At first, she surmised that the pouch had simply fallen off her belt during her pitiful attempt to try and navigate the city and she was simply unaware that it had occurred until this very moment. It was after all possible. She would merely have to retrace her steps and try to figure out precisely where it had fallen...and hope that no one had taken it. But then, another thought popped into Korra's mind. She then remembered the man who had not too long ago "bumped" into her before walking off. The young woman then assumed that perhaps this wasn't a mere accident he bumped into her...but merely a little ruse in order for him to simply pickpocket her of her money. Turning to the direction the man walked off, she could see him through the crowd of people. And Korra could also faintly see the small pouch of yuans clutched in his hand, signifying that her suspicions were correct.
"Hey!" shouted Korra at the man, who turns to face her for a brief moment, before his eyes widen upon the realization that the voice came from the mark he just swiped from. Seeing how he has been caught, he instinctively takes off and runs like a wolfbat out of hell. Korra soon gave chase, moving and shoving through the crowds of people in order to try and keep up with him. She wasn't going to let this dirty thief get away with her money. Not if she had anything to say, or do about it.
Meanwhile, not too far away, a man was strolling around near a set of stands where various entrepreneurs were trying to sell various items to passerby's. He was a young man of about twenty-one years of age, had short black hair, brown eyes, and some stubble on his face. As for his clothing, he wore a light grey shirt, brown pants and leather boots, and a dark grey trench coat that had red lining on the inside. His accessories included a red and black satchel that had the symbol of the Fire Nation emblazoned upon it, a grey wide brimmed hat which also was colored red on the inside and featured a metal band around the edge of the hat's brim. Finally, he wore a red sash around his waist which was the only other accessory that he had on him at the moment.
As he was strolling along past one of the stalls, this one selling umbrellas, he noticed something in the distance. Squinting in order to get a better look, he saw two individuals, a man being chased by a girl who judging from her attire, belonged to one of the Water Tribes. He couldn't tell what was going on, but considering the expression on that man, as well as how fast he was running, it didn't take long for the young man to come up with a good guess as to what was going on. The man was a pickpocket and the woman was his recent victim who clearly didn't take too kindly to having her money swiped. And from the looks of it, they were running right in the young man's direction.
Knowing that they would likely keep on running until the woman caught him or the pickpocket got away, the young man decided to try and do something about it and save them both the trouble. Borrowing an umbrella from the nearby stand, man waited until the pickpocket was close. Once he was about to blaze past him, the man, while holding the umbrella with a firm grip, swung it like a sword, hitting the pickpocket smack dab on the face, causing him to be knocked back down onto the ground, landing on his back as he clutched his face, moaning in pain. Korra stopped running as she had now managed to catch up to the pickpocket, as the young man who was responsible for knocking him down simply gave the umbrella back to the merchant he borrowed it from before kneeling down next to the crook, who was still groaning from the pain he was experiencing. Opening his mouth, the young men spoke to the thief, saying "I once knew a man who could take all of your money simply by talking. But you, I suggest finding yourself a new line of work."
He then calmly took the small pouch of money from the thief's hands and stood back up, walking over to Korra. Handing the pouch over to her, the young man said to her "I believe this belongs to you."
Taking back the pouch, Korra gave a slight smile as she put it back on her belt before saying to the man "Thanks for that. Honestly, this wasn't exactly how I planned to spend my day."
"That guy probably thought you were an easy mark. I don't blame him. No offense miss but you have 'new to the big city' written all over you," commented the young men, gesturing to all of Korra as he noted why the pickpocket had targeted her.
Raising her eyebrow at the comment, Korra crossed her arms and replied back "Oh really?"
"Yup, pretty much. But where are my manners. Colten Lee, at your service miss Avatar. But you can call me Colt. Everyone does," said Colten, tipping his hat to Korra in a sign of respect to the young woman. Korra's eyes widened for a moment upon Colten addressing her as the Avatar. She had only been in Republic city for a day and she clearly didn't mention that she was the Avatar during her brief conversation with Colten. So she wondered to herself just how he knew that she was the Avatar so quickly.
"How did you know I'm the Avatar?" asked Korra, and just like that, Colten answered it for her.
"I've got a lot of friends in this city. And gossip tends to move pretty fast in this town. So when I heard that a girl from one of the Water Tribes took down three members of the Triple Threat Triad with fire, earth, and water, it tends to catch people's attentions really quickly. I didn't know for sure that you were the Avatar, but your reaction just now proves that I was right," explained Colten with a mischievous smirk upon his face. It didn't take long for Korra to realize that he had tricked her into confirming her identity by using a few simple words. She was both a little irritated that she was tricked by this guy but at the same time she was genuinely impressed by how easy it was for him. She doubted that just anyone could be able to do that. Korra thought to herself that this guy must be one hell of a smooth talker.
"Okay so I'm the Avatar. You got that part right. So what does that make you?" inquired Korra.
"A guy with connections. Nothing happens in this city without me knowing it," answered Colten with a smirk that was once more plastered on his face.
"Well if they did I wouldn't be able to know that. I can barely find my way around this city, even with this map I still got lost," commented Korra, bringing up how she had failed to try and navigate the city, even taking the map she had bought out of her pocket and showing it to Colten. Before she could even blink, Colten snatched the map out of her hands, looked it over once and twice, and then flung it behind him like it was just a piece of garbage.
Korra opened her mouth to ask why he had done that, but before she could do so, he beat her to the punch by saying "If you need directions, I can help with that. I know this town like the back of my hand. Consider me to be your tour guide for the day."
"Why are you so quick to befriend me?" asked Korra, a little suspicious as to why he was being so friendly.
"I figure it's better for my health than to be your enemy. Just a little note here but any idiot who tries to fight the Avatar is gonna pretty much deserve the beating he'll get from you," pointed out Colten, making his case to Korra. Korra did have to admit that Colten did have a point. Most people who tried to pick a fight with an Avatar did so under the assumption that they could take him or her, but in the end they always ended up the same: bruised, beaten, and lying on the ground in pain. So she figured it would be best to not try and argue with this guy.
"Alright then Colt, lead the way," said Korra, gesturing for Colten to start the tour. Standing side by side, the two of them began walking down the sidewalk as Colten began his tour of the city with Korra.
"We should be able to see a few of the sites. As long as we don't run into any Equalists we should be fine," said Colten, warning Korra about the danger of encountering Equalist radicals.
"I think I had a small run in with those guys when I first came here. Just what's their problem anyway?" asked Korra, recalling her encounter with a few of them when she arrived in the city only yesterday. She remembered hearing one man spread Equalist propaganda as well as the crowd booing her when they found out she was a bender. Korra had to admit that she was a bit curious as to who these people were and what their problems were with benders.
"They're basically a bunch of nonbenders who think that world would a be a nicer place if benders, the Avatar included, didn't exist. Their boss goes on and on about how 'benders are oppressing us' and 'we must strive for equality' and blah, blah, blah. Honestly I've heard that so many times I think that guy is like a broken record," explained Colten, adding air-quotes when he spoke about certain words, mocking the ideology of the Equalists when he could. This kind of sentiment started to appear after the end of the Hundred Year War when the Fire Nation was finally defeated. People began to blame benders and their ambitions for being what caused the war, along with the pain and death that followed. But now thanks to the Equalists, it had become much more widespread within Republic city, as every day, more and more non-benders joined Amon, the founder and leader of the Equalists, and further strengthened his cause.
"Have these guys caused any trouble?" inquired Korra, wondering if there is a need for her to use her powers to try and stop them.
"Nothing major, just a bunch of protests, vandalism, and such. Honestly, I think these guy's bark is worse than their bite," replied Colten, not showing much concern about them as he spoke.
"I see," added Korra.
"But enough about that. Let's go and just have some fun. This city has something for everyone. And I'm certain that there may be a few things you'll be interested in here," said Colten, his expression becoming quite chipper as he changed the topic of their conversation.
"Got anything in particular in mind that we should start with?" asked Korra, a little curious as to what he had in mind.
"Well...have you ever heard of Pro-Bending?" inquired Colten.
As usual, if you have a question or comment about this chapter or the story in general, simply send me a PM and I'll answer as best as I can.
Until then,
- Heinkelboy05