Prompts:
Genre: Western
Easy- Bar (word)
Medium- Wei (character)
Hard- "Failure is a word unknown to me" - Muhammad Ali Jinnah (quote)
Bonus: Using element in fic
Word Count: 1, 229
Entering the salon, I sit down at the stool closest to the end of the bar. "Afternoon Deputy," Bumi greets, wiping a glass clean. "Afternoon, get me my usual," he nods, turning to grab a glass from one of the highest shelves. The pale liquid inside gleams, sparkling in the dim space. The only lighting comes from between the slates covering the windows. The thin strips of light help with the dark building. "One shot of Cactus juice," Bumi offers, I slam into down. "Korra!" The swinging doors slam into either side of the walls, all eyes go to the noise. "Kai, what is it?" He grins, I hear the sound of horses. "The Beifongs have come to visit from Zaofu!" He offers, I can't help the smile at the news. "That's great," he nods. "I'm going to challenge Wei to a fight now that my bending is better," he offers before racing out. Heading out I see a plume of dust in the distance accompanied by the faint sounds of whinnying.
"Well the inevitable has happened," turning I see Republic City's Sheriff, Lin Beifong. She frowns seeing the shapes in the distance, dust flying up from the horse's running. The earth is cracked, the city suffering from the drought that's happening right now. Three months. It has been three months without rain. If we don't get some soon we will become a ghost town. The income for Republic Town is our trade, the cattle drives. With the lack of rains the cattle drivers don't want to risk not being able to feed their herds. The fifty miles around us are going through the same drought, the town is drying up. Ten years ago there was a drought like this, towns like this became ghost towns.
The thought of that happening scares me, this town has given me love. Her name is Asami Sato, her father is the owner of Sato Banking. When I moved here several years back we meet and fell in love. But with the town drying up from the drought, her father doesn't want to risk losing money. If we don't get water soon they'll move away…a tap on my shoulder draws me from my thoughts. Asami smiles, giving me a worried look as she tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. "You okay? You look like you're being troubled by something," she offers, giving my hand a squeeze. "I'm just thinking," she chuckles, flicking my forehead. "Care to share partner?" She asks playfully, not realizing I feel troubled. "About the drought," her playfulness quickly fades along with her smile.
"Oh," is all she can offer, we stay quiet. "Korra watch Wei and Kai, I don't want to babysit two kids," Lin throws over her shoulder as she greets her sister. By the hushed tones I know they're talking about the prolonged drought, Kai races over. "Come on already Korra!" He yells, tiny chest puffed out as if he's already beat Wei. Seeing Jinora I chuckle, understanding his sudden excitement. Kai was an orphan who became an acolyte several months back, which is how he met Jinora. She's the daughter of Tenzin, the Pastor of our church. He's devoted to the church, but seeing as Kai had been a thief he had wanted to Kai as far away from Jinora as humanly possible. But since then Kai has changed his ways and devoted himself to being a good citizen, Tenzin has begun to warm up to the idea of allowing Kai and Jinora to get close. Until then Kai tries to do everything in order to impress her.
Near the edge of town is an empty lot, Wei and Kai take their respective positions at either side of the area. "Okay, you both know the rules. No permanent damage, make sure that you aren't going to hit the town. If either occurs it will end up being an automatic disqualification," both nod, getting into defensive positions. Kai punches several times, making earth shoot at Wei. Wei dodges them easily, Kai is thrown into the sky by I column of earth. Jinora's eyes go wide in shock next to me, she lets out a shriek of alarm. Kai recovers using Airbending mid-air, the blast sending Wei tumbling. Kai hit the ground to immediately attack while Wei is off guard. Earth rises up, earth in a column of rage as it throws itself around Wei. Midair it solidifies, turning into a column.
Wei struggles to free himself, Kai watches him wearily. "I…admit defeat," Wei's voice echoes through the area, his head lowering in defeat. Kai pumps his fist before lowering his opponent to the ground. "Failure is a word unknown to me," he proclaims, chest puffed out as he walks over to Jinora. She giggles, he deflates some. "Where did you get that from a mover star?" She asks, he laughs as his hand scratches the back of his head. "Yeah, one that goes by the name of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, he's a fighting mover star," he offers, the two walk off talking. Wei breaks himself free, looking around before his jaw drops. "Korra! Look!" Looking towards the west where he is pointing I feel his shock. "Storm clouds! Lin look to the west!" Dark grey, almost black clouds are rolling in, blotting out the immense heat of the sun. As soon as I yell I feel wind become stronger, stirring up dust.
"That looks like it's going to drench everything. If you don't want to get soaked I suggest everyone to head home," Lin calls, mounting her horse. Following her lead I mount Naga, my steed. Offering my hand Asami takes it, I pull her up. "Korra," her father emerges from the bank, I stop. "Stay safe with her, she's my daughter," he smiles warmly, I nod. "Wouldn't do anything else Mr. Sato," he nods, I whistle. Naga takes off, going into a trot. Once we're out of town it smooths out into a canter. The dust is kicked up as we race to reach the several story house I call home. "Slow down Korra, a little bit of rain won't hurt me," Asami chuckles, I nod. After helping her off at the house I brush down Naga, getting her food and water. Stepping outside I listen to the low rumble of thunder, it booms as the storm reclaims the sky it's been absent from for so long.
The first few drops hit as I run to the porch, the tune changes as soon as I'm under the overhang of the porch. It pours down, blurring the landscape as water comes down in torrents. Entering I see Asami's hair is damp, she's changed. "Hope you don't mind, I took a bath," she offers, I nod. "Is there any water left?" She nods, coming over to hug me. "There is, but I don't know how long it'll stay hot. I'll make some tea," she offers, heading into the kitchen. "That sounds great," I call before heading upstairs. After the shower I feel like a new person, having washed the grime and dirt away. In dry clothes, I go downstairs to see Asami smiling as she comes over with the tea. We enjoy our drinks in the living room, listening to the rain. It pounds on the roof, creating a soothing sound that lulls us to sleep.