NOTE:
So after some deliberation, I've reached the conclusion that I was too hasty in posting this fic. I started writing it in tandem with writing my own book, but with a full-time job, that kind of balance isn't feasible for me. So, until I finish writing that, I'm putting this project on hold. If I tried to keep going with it, I'd either be keeping you all waiting for weeks and weeks, or I'd be getting really depressed in knowing that I wasn't working on my own book, evidenced by the fact that my systems got really out of whack when I didn't write my book for over a month.
Hopefully you'll understand, and hopefully I'll be back before you know. Ciao!
"Was that a polar bear dog?"
Kuvira, at her partner's question, looked up from the newspaper she'd been reading to keep herself occupied. As she did, a dispatch came on the radio. "Attention, any and all officers near Broad Street, converge on the corner of Broadway and thirty-first, we have a dangerous bender on the loose. Repeat, Broadway and thirty-first."
"That's our cue. You ready to-" the man who sat in the Satomobile beside Kuvira turned, only to see her already leaping out of the window and zipping up onto a rooftop with her metal cables.
She needed to some action.
It turns out that it was a polar bear dog that they saw, as well as a woman clad in traditional Water tribe clothes, which Kuvira thought was about as hot and stuffy in this summer weather as her uniform.
Still, it had its benefits.
As the beast leapt to get to another stretch of roof, Kuvira shot her cables at it. Beforehand she made sure the fall wouldn't be too severe, and thus when the dog's limbs were bound, all it got was a rough landing. Its rider tumbled forward as well, nearly rolling off the edge before Kuvira rose up a wall to stop her.
"Ma'am, cease and desist!" Kuvira poised herself to strike, silently hoping that she wouldn't cease or desist.
"Wait, but I haven't done anything wrong!" Her voice was desperate, and her form was defensive; it didn't look like a waterbending stance, and she wasn't carrying a satchel that Kuvira could see. "Just hear me out!"
"That's not my job."
Hearing that, and Kuvira's cold indifference to her desperation, the woman shot her fist out. To Kuvira's shock, a blast of fire emerged and arced toward the officer. Needless to say, Kuvira wasn't expecting that, and was caught well off guard. She raised a wall of earth to block the strike, when otherwise she might've rolled toward her opponent.
The delay was enough to allow the woman to free her animal friend, and they started running, the woman riding backwards.
Kuvira shot several rocks at her, but she crushed them, as if earthbending herself. After a quick turn to see that she was approaching the edge, she launched her and the dog up with a raised slab of the roof, confirming Kuvira's suspicions.
The officer scoffed, not believing what she was seeing, even as a blimp appeared and other officers seized the woman with their cables.
She had tried to arrest the Avatar.
xxxXXXxxx
"You can't be serious!" Kuvira groaned in her head as the police chief explained her assignment.
"You'll be watching the girl for a few weeks, to make sure she doesn't get into trouble," Beifong's tone was as unapologetic as usual.
"All due respect, ma'am, I've been on the beat since I joined the force."
"And you wanted to transfer to a new assignment when one came up," Beifong crossed her arms and raised her eyebrow, while Kuvira had to bite her lip to keep from making some disrespectful sound. "Contrary to popular belief, I read my officers' requests thoroughly and consider them just as much."
"That may be, but-"
"But this isn't what you had in mind? Tough. Now, get out."
Kuvira could've probably argued her way out of this. Beifong acted as cold as Kivira felt, but despite everything, she couldn't, or perhaps wasn't willing to, put in the same distance as the younger woman. She was kind at heart, and did care about her subordinates. But she was also the police chief, and had to allocate resources (read: officers) and make compromises.
Her softness showed briefly when she put her hand on Kuvira's shoulder. "Your time will come. Whether that's in the force or otherwise, I'll make sure it happens. I know you're terrible at it, but for now you've got to follow orders."
Kuvira's heart twinged with a bittersweet feeling. Maybe it had something to do with Beifong's sibling?
Whatever it was, Kuvira was far from willing to show it. Once Beifong stepped away, she gave her salute and left to go meet her new assignment.
xxxXXXxxx
The Avatar, Korra, seemed about as pleased with Kuvira's new assignment as she was. So here the two women were, sizing each other up with a unfairly brutal lens.
"Muscular, holds herself arrogantly, half-pouting and half holier-than-though look, entitled," Kuvira thought.
"Stuck up, self-important, arrogant, death glare," was Korra's evaluation with her watcher. Both were basically spot-on in their analyses.
Eventually, Kuvira broke her gaze and looked back to the city, while Korra's stare persisted. Finally, the Avatar threw up her hands. "Spirits, but this is awful! I don't need a babysitter!"
Kivira scoffed at that, but didn't respond otherwise. She didn't want to actually agree with this girl, after all.
The ride to Air Temple couldn't end fast enough. Once they arrived, Kuvira was stuck by how...dead it looked. None of the trees were in bloom, and the color choice was abysmally dull. Still, even the unwanted watcher was given a warm welcome, and thankfully they didn't have to share a room.
Kuvira didn't have many belongings; she never had much to herself to begin with, and she didn't even bring all of that with her when she left Zaofu. She took the bare essentials only.
Thus, it didn't take her long to unpack and return to Korra. She took noticeably longer than the officer, and when she emerged from her room and saw her 'babysitter', she immediately frowned.
"Master Tenzin informed you that you had this first day off," Kuvira tried to say it without sounding like she was also saying, "so that means you should just stay in there and shut up and make my job easier."
She must've been successful, or otherwise Korra ignored it if Kuvira let some of that sentiment drip through her wall of professionalism. "I'm taking a look around the island."
"Your airbending training begins tomorrow. You should rest."
"I've been looking at snow and ice my whole life; I'm going to see the trees."
Kuvira blinked as Korra walked passed. She wasn't sure if she just blanked out when reading the assignment file, but she wasn't aware of Korra's position. This girl was the Avatar, but as for what that entailed, Kuvira had little in the way of knowledge. She may not have known about her past, but she knew how to read people.
Korra's insistence, the tension in her shoulders as she said it, and the hint of red in her cheeks indicated equal parts determination and embarrassment. Truthfully, it was silly to imagine a woman nearing twenty that hasn't seen a tree before, even those in the Water Tribe.
Thus, she allowed her to pass, being sure to follow close behind. "You don't need to follow me everywhere."
"And you don't need to tell me how to do my job. I'm to watch you, closely and at all times."
Korra must've taken that the wrong way. "Tch, pervert."
"W-what?!" Kuvira stopped briefly, while Korra kept walking. As fast as she could, she cleared her throat and tried to get the images of Korra (and her body) out of her head, before following the Avatar.
The two wandered aimlessly, not speaking a word for a long time. Korra didn't look to be particularly enjoying her self-guided tour of Air Temple Island. She kept her frown, and sometimes looked back at the city. It was a mannerism that Kuvira would admit that they shared.
Suddenly, she whirled around, a grin on her face. "Ooh, I know! We should head downtown; I saw a fancy-looking diner when you guys were chasing me and-"
"You're to stay on the island; chief's orders."
"But…" she trailed off, noting that Kuvira didn't even look at her as she struck her down. For a moment, her shoulders drooped. But they perked up again just as quickly; she wasn't willing to show weakness towards this thing that was following her. Kuvira then noticed the strut in the Avatar's step as she walked away, and couldn't help but get annoyed, just because she knew that this woman was berating her incessantly in her head. Though, to be fair, Kuvira was doing the same.
The two eventually made it all the way around, back to the small building complex that was the centerpiece to the island's layout. It held a tower where the monks stayed, as well as where the kitchen and subsequent storage was housed. Through a narrow, open corridor, one could get to where Tenzin, his family, Korra, and Kuvira were staying, each with their own private room. Off of the corridor was an opening to a garden/courtyard, which then led out and to another, smaller courtyard which overlooked the Republic City Bay. There were three paths out from the building complex; first to the docks, second to the woods (that term is used lightly), and third where Korra was going now.
It was a large gazebo, where Tenzin and his children were sitting erect in a proper meditation position; legs crossed, fists touching in the center of the body, eyes closed, posture straight. Kuvira had tried to get into the whole 'meditation' thing within the first year or so of coming to Republic City, but could either never get it quite down, or otherwise it didn't have the intended effect on her. She usually was better relaxed by a good workout.
"Hey Tenzin!" the Avatar flashed a grin and a cheery attitude. "Whatcha up to?"
The older man opened one eye, a clear look of annoyance on his face. "Meditating," he said it in a gruff tone. "Please be quiet."
"Oh, sorry," Korra sidled over to stand almost perpendicular to the airbenders. She was looking at them, each in turn. Tenzin's youngest, Meelo, was slouched over, asleep. The other two, the girls Jinora and Ikki, held a posture similar to their father, who had regained his after Korra's interruption. They all looked so peaceful, so much so that, maybe, Kuvira might join them, and give it a shot to meditate. Maybe Tenzin, this spiritual master, could help her understand the practice a bit more? "So...are you guys just sleeping?"
The man's eye opened again, but he didn't say anything, even as Korra got this smirk on her face.
"Don't you lie to me; that's exactly what it is, isn't it?"
"I-" Tenzin was about to berate her, but Kuvira stepped in.
"Apologies, Master Tenzin; you must understand that her head is still buzzing from finally being in Republic City," she tried to sound as sincere as possible. "Surely a loose tongue can be forgivable?"
The airbending master eyed her, suspicious as to why she would stand up for Korra, but nodded. "Please leave," was all he said, and the women obliged, though Korra was reluctant, making Kuvira drag her by the arm. The two made it only to the courtyard before Korra yanked her arm away.
"What was that? I just asked a question!"
"An inconsiderate question. Don't you know where you're unwelcome somewhere?"
"Not welcome?" Korra scoffed. "I'm the Avatar."
"No, you're not. You're an arrogant girl who only knows how to cause trouble. It's pathetic. If you really were the Avatar, it'd be beneath you, but from wrecking half a city street, to evading arrest for your actions, to guilt-tripping a respected man into letting you stay here, to not even understanding the situation and thinking you're being welcomed with open arms, I'd say it's right up your alley."
Korra recoiled at the rant. "I know I've made some mistakes, but-"
"But what?" Kuvira had already had it up to here with this girl, and the first day wasn't even over yet!
"Why does everyone seem to hate me?"
And that was the operative question, wasn't it? It actually caught Kuvira off-guard, substantially so. It wasn't that she was surprised that Korra had the cognizance to see that fact, or that utterly defeated and confused look on her face, genuinely not understanding and hating herself for it. Rather, it was because Kuvira had asked herself that same thing, only in her childhood.
Korra seemed to sense her watcher's hesitation. "I'm...going to go back to my room. To rest," she slowly turned around and shuffled off, leaving Kuvira stunned, locked in place.
Eventually, Kuvira followed suit, and returned to her provided lodging, quickly shedding her uniform and plopping down onto the bed they gave her. She buried her face into the pillow, as a wave of equal parts nostalgia and bitterness welled up in her chest, threatening to take her over.
"Why does everyone hate me?"
Kuvira had asked that a lot in her childhood, too often. Knowing what she knew now, she might've slapped that little girl for being so weak-willed. Everyone hated her because she wanted to be hated, because she didn't know how to 'want' anything other than hatred and abuse.
All it took was three words to steer that mindset off.
"My baby girl."
The way Kuvira said them, they sounded harsh and a bit possessive, but the way they were said to her was magical. They were warm, soft; like the gentle caress of a mother to her child, which is exactly what they were intended to be.
Ever since then, for fourteen years, Kuvira had been working to improve herself. If Korra was still asking that question, then she'd be likely in her thirties or forties before she became at all useful to society. Thus, Kuvira made her decision. She stood, quickly changed into more casual clothes (a simple tank-top and pair of soft pants) and marched over to Korra's room. She didn't even ask or knock, she just opened the door, and announced, "I'm done."
Korra stood from her desk, surprised. "What? Done with what?"
"Done with guessing," Kuvira pointed at the Avatar. "You're going to tell me everything."
Korra blinked, not moving a muscle. "You...want to know about me?"
"Yes, I do."
The younger girl looked to be having difficulty processing that, but eventually nodded and offered her a seat on the bed.
The officer sat, and gestured somewhat rudely for Korra to do the same. The Avatar did so, and while looking reticent at best, began to relay her story.
"I'm from the Southern Water Tribe. When I was found out to be the Avatar, the White Lotus took me in. They put me in a compound where they could keep me safe, and where I could train without any distractions, and that's where I've stayed, for thirteen years. Day in a day out, I was training and practicing, and it's been fun, sure. But I couldn't leave."
"Hence why you were so eager to see the trees."
Korra nodded. "Tenzin was supposed to come to train me in airbending, but he can't. I didn't understand why, but now that I'm here, atfer I, uh...ran away..." Korra scratched the back of her head in embarrassment. Kuvira couldn't help but smile at that, given that ti was exactly what she did. "A-anyway, I see all of the crime and injustice and freaky movements, and unrest...I get it. He has to stay; he's important. But I can't wait any longer. If I'm going to be Avatar, I need the world to see me; they all need to know that they have someone watching over them."
Kuvira raised an eyebrow. "'Watching over them'? You're barely above a child, as you are now," Korra's posture sunk at that. "But, I suppose that's not entirely your fault. You're sheltered, you're naive. It's not the worst kind of person to be, but it's not Avatar-material."
Korra frowned; that wasn't the answer that she wanted. "Do you have any idea what it's like, to be stuck in one place for thirteen years, never seeing the world?"
"That's not your problem," Kuvira crossed her arms. "Your problem is that you're the Avatar."
"That's not something I can easily change, highness."
The officer frowned at the nickname, likely taken from how Kuvira tried to hold herself. "Of course you can't, but you're taking it too literally. You're self-righteous. I'll let you in on a secret; nobody cares about the Avatar. They might treat you like a celebrity when they find out, but if you asked someone, they'd probably act like they forgot the Avatar even existed."
"But...I'm the Avatar; I can bend all of the elements, I'm the bridge between two worlds, I'm-"
"A legend," Kuvira crossed her arms. "And normal people, in their normal lives, and normal routines, and normal problems don't deal in legends."
"..."
"...do you know who I am?" It was a purposefully unfair question, and Korra only gave her an incredulous look. "What's my name?"
"You're...highness?" she gave an embarrassed smile. The officer sighed and held out her hand.
"Kuvira. I'm your watcher, and I've been in the same boat as you, believe it or not."
"Really? How?"
"An there's that insensitivity showing again," Kuvira thought. "Different circumstances, but the same principle," was all she said on it. "When you're unwanted by everybody around you, it gets really easy to blame it on those people. So, how about, instead of whining about how everyone hates you, you pick yourself up and stumble forward until you can match pace with the rest of us? Yeah?"
"You're saying...it's my fault?"
"Fault has nothing to do with it. You need to change; how you got that way is irrelevant, as far as I'm concerned."
"But…" she sighed. "Okay, how do I do it?"
Kuvira raised another eyebrow. "Really? That's all it took to convince her?" she thought. "I don't know."
"What? How do you not know?" Korra's determination quickly turned to annoyance. "You're lecturing me about change and you can't tell me how to do it?"
"Of course I can't. I don't know you so..." Kuvira sighed, seeing Korra's disappointment. She had to remind herself that this girl has had everyone tell her what to do for over a decade. "If you were Tenzin, and you got very irritated at someone, what would you want that person to do?"
"...Apologize?"
"Apologies are just words; they're not good enough."
"Then I don't know."
Kuvira gave the Avatar a hard stare for a moment, trying to figure out whether that was a joke or not. Finally, she smiled, face softening a bit. "Well, at least you're honest. Alright, I do have one idea."
xxxXXXxxx
"Master Tenzin!" Kuvira called after the man as he was crossing through to the kitchen. "A word, please."
"A, Kuvira, was it? Do you…?" he trailed off, seeing that she hadn't come alone. "And Korra. A...welcome surprise as well," it sounded like he was forcing out those words.
The Avatar had been fighting Kuvira the whole way, and had only just gotten her into open air. With a final shove, Korra was standing before Tenzin, who looked like he was trying hard to maintain his poise. "I believe this one has something to ask you."
With a sigh, Tenzin nodded. "...Very well. Was is it, Korra?"
"Well, I…" the girl purposefully straightened her back and put her shoulders back. "I want to start now."
Tenzin blinked. "...Now?"
"Now. I saw what you were doing earlier and I want to try it."
"Uh…"
"She means meditating."
"Ah, I see, well, hm…" he stroked his beard, contemplating. "I'll admit, this is a surprise; I was told that you hate this kind of thing."
"Well, I figure, you know, that I should try getting used to it? Those stuffy White Lotus guys weren't very good teachers, but now I don't have that problem!" Korra flashed a grin. Tenzin looked at her for a few seconds, thinking.
Finally, he nodded. "Very well, if you're so eager, it isn't my place to stop you. Come this way; we can begin immediately," he said it cordially,but his eyes shone with something akin to pride, or maybe excitement.
Korra's eyes lit up as well, and she nodded eagerly. "Right! Aw yeah! This is gonna be awesome!" she started following, but stopped when she noticed that Kuvira wasn't coming. "Are you...not coming with us?"
Kuvira waved off the concern. "Oh, no. That practice isn't my forte. And besides; Master Tenzin will be there. I think he's more than enough guardianship for you."
With a nod, Korra accepted the answer, and the two strode back to the gazebo.
Kuvira herself took the alone time to freshen up, or at least, that's what she would've told someone if they asked. In reality, she was trying to force those unwanted thoughts of her own past out of her mind. Soon, she decided to draw up a bath, and hope the steam and herbs was help alleviate the building headache she was getting from the memories.
But it didn't work.
Even as she soaked, even as she endlessly toyed with a metal slab she kept on her person, even as she actively tried to think about other things, those three words always came back; "My baby girl."
They had been the verbal caress of the cheek. Now, Kuvira could only imagine it was done with a razor blade.
After an hour, she couldn't take it anymore. She gripped the slab and threw it to the ground. "Get out of my life!"
The yell was even louder than the obnoxious thud that came with the metal hitting the bamboo floor. It was only an instant before she caught herself in losing control. Heat rose to her cheeks as she thought that someone could've heard her, and she ducked down into the water, completely submerging her head so she wouldn't be able to hear someone knocking.
Her iron heart had almost formed a crack.
Author's Note:
In advance, I'm sorry for the long note at the end; it's mostly for me.
Hey all! So you probably don't know me, but I did a big-ass Percy Jackson-a-thon that ended like three months ago. I said I wasn't doing anything else on this site until my own book was done, but...what can I say? I got an itch to write about something I love. Granted, the last time this happened, I was stuck in that universe for like nineteen months, so...hopefully that doesn't happen again.
What I did there was that I wrote an entire book (I adapted the whole series book by book) and uploaded it all daily once it was finished, before going on hiatus until the next book was finished. I will not be doing that this time.
Rather, I'm going to upload as I go, so I can continue work on my own book while I write it. That means two things; first, it means I can take your suggestions in in real-time. It also means that (and I reserve the right to do this) I might have to go back and tweak things if I come up with an idea. It won't be anything major, and hopefully I won't even have to do it, but I might. If I do, I'll make a note of the change in the next Author's Note.
With that said, a short explanation of what this is going to be; AU Korra where I'm really only keeping the basic plot structure or the series, and I'm changing basically everything else. This means that a lot of core characters are just not going to appear. Off the bat, I'm axing Asami, Pabu, Bataar Jr., Kai, and (unfortunately) Varrick. As well, the roles of the airbender children will be greatly reduced. Rather, the focus will be mostly on Kuvira (duh) and Team Avatar, who I will also be tweaking to make them more consistently interesting.
Also, most of season 2 will be scrapped because it sucks major ass buckets.
Again, sorry for the long Author's Note; I know it misleads the word count, but don't worry. This fic is going to eventually be monstrous anyway.
See you next time!