A/N: sorry to those who subscribed to me, expecting more naruhina ;; perhaps like some of you, i got into the legend of korra and adore this pairing x) so i couldnt help myself ;x;
anywho, please enjoy my contribution to the LOK fandom...! owo;;
Tahno stumbled on his feet, his heels dragging along the pavement. He felt dizzy with slight intoxication as he trudged through the central park of Republic City with only the moonlight and street lamps to guide him.
The cold night air nipped at his ears and nose. The slight breeze made him shudder with a sense of loneliness. With his head down, his eyes stared at nothing. His arms hung loosely at his sides and his shoulders drooped. He didn't know where he was going and he didn't care.
He felt like nothing but a drunkard with no direction in his life. He felt that was all he had become since Amon had taken his bending.
Tahno stopped caring then. He disbanded the Whitefalls Wolfbats; his teammates only reminded him of who he used to be. He stopped going out, the fear of being looked at with pity and the stares of those who can't possibly understand his loss had always stopped him.
He sighed heavily and paused to think about who he was before. He was Tahno, captain and the waterbender for the Whitefalls Wolfbats, the champion team of probending for 3 consequent years. He had everything. Money, fans, respect, a woman on each arm, fame.
But it's gone.
It's all gone.
He reflected back on what he had and admitted that he would've given all of that up just to keep his bending.
All he needed was his bending.
Tahno continued his way through the park, not really thinking of where to go. His mind was occupied with what was and what could've been if he hadn't hesitated and dove off the arena platform when he had the chance.
It was then when he heard it.
The sound that used to fill him with excitement and exhilaration but now, only makes him sick with grief and nostalgia.
The sound of running water.
For the first time since entering the park, Tahno looked up and saw a fountain. It was elaborately and beautifully decorated. Light sparkled under the pool of water and tall towers of stone pillars glistened as thin sheets of liquid crystal encased and flowed down them.
Tahno's heart clenched at the beautiful sight. His eyes followed the movements of the splashing water at the base of the stone pillars. He slowly approached the fountain until he stood at the edge and peered across the pool of water before him. A tightening in his gut formed and his fingers twitched.
He knew it would be pointless.
He knew it wouldn't work.
He knew he would be disappointed.
But he tried anyways.
Tahno slowly lifted his hand and held it out over the water's surface. He swallowed, keeping his eyes focused on one spot in the water like how he always used to. He swayed his arm up, his wrist flicked, his fingers stroked at the air. He envisioned the water doing what he wanted it to.
Nothing.
Feeling his heart sink, Tahno tried again. With his other hand, he pushed forward, his palm flattened and his arm extended. He wanted to see the wave he had hoped to create. To hear a splash that he caused.
But nothing.
Feeling embarrassed, he quickly brought his arms to his side and looked down. He felt an anger boil inside him. His sense of loss piled back onto him, feeling as if he lost his bending all over again. Overwhelmed with the emptiness that only seemed to grow bigger, he turned around and sat along the fountain's edge. He closed his eyes and breathed in the cold air, wanting to forget who he was and who he had become just for a moment.
"Tahno?"
His eyes shot open and a panic tore through his system. Why he felt so anxious, he did not know. But the familiarity of the voice, his assumption of who it could be made him want to shrink and disappear.
He didn't want her to see him like this.
"Uh-vatar…" Tahno muttered and glanced glumly over at who called out to him. A small pit formed in his stomach when he realized his assumptions had been correct.
Korra stood a few feet away under the shadow of a tree and was flanked by that polarbear dog of hers. She slowly took a few steps towards him, cautious, as if she were approaching a wounded animal.
And wounded he was.
It had been months since she saw last him at the police station. She thought he looked bad then- it was only a week or so since his bending got taken. But now, he had gotten worse. It was as if he never recovered, as if he really had nothing but his bending.
"What are you doing here?" the young Avatar spoke softly, a sense of responsibility for the well-being of Republic City's citizens urging her to decide to not leave this man until she felt he was more okay than now.
Tahno looked away and at the ground. "Nothing. I'm just a sad drunk with no business anywhere." He spoke bitterly.
Korra remained silent, unsure of what to say to him. She looked at the fountain behind him and a little idea had burst in her head. Although she initially wasn't fond of the guy back when they were part of rival probending teams, it didn't feel right to see him like this.
Where was the drawl in his voice? The sly glint in his eyes? The amused smirk on his lips? The confidence and pride in the way he presented himself?
Walking right up to the fountain, Korra stood on the edge. She looked out at the pool of water before her and lifted her hands, demanding the water to obey her with her movements.
The sound of dripping and splashing made Tahno tense. His eyes widened when he realized what Korra was doing. He looked over, excited to see it, anxious to witness the bending of water. He saw Korra stand tall, her hands moving with the signature grace of a waterbender.
And he saw the water.
He saw it move with her. He saw it dance and move under her control.
His mouth went dry and his chest tightened. For a moment he was filled with peace. To watch Korra waterbend for him was touching, to think she cared.
But then he started to feel angry. Jealousy riled up inside him.
How dare she show off.
How dare she shove the fact that he lost his bending in his face.
He tore his eyes away from the display she put on for him and muttered darkly under his breathe, "Thanks for reminding me of what I lost…"
Korra's heart stopped. A suffocating guilt filled her senses and she dropped her arms, the water splashed back into the pool.
"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to…" Korra tried to apologize, realizing she was being insensitive, waterbending in front of him. She watched Tahno silently.
Was he so distraught, still hurting over the loss of his bending that just watching someone else be able to rendered him bitter and reserved into a pathetic mess?
Korra sighed, unable to think of what could possibly brighten this man's spirits. She considered leaving and was about to step off the edge of the fountain when she noticed Tahno had stood to turn and look at her. She looked back and raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to speak.
"Can you do it again?" his voice was soft but also insistent. His hands had curled into slight fists and he seemed to stand taller.
"What?" Korra wasn't sure what he had just asked her.
"Just do it again." The former waterbender stepped onto the fountain's edge with her and stared at the water in front of him.
A little bewildered at his request of her, she looked back at the water with him and lifted a hand, a stream of water following her movements. She directed the water to move, wondering why Tahno had asked her to do this after he expressed his annoyance towards it earlier.
She looked over at him, hoping to poke into his thoughts as he watched but found herself hurting with an indescribable feeling of sorrow in anticipation of new elation.
Tahno stood and mimicked her movements. He watched the water intently, his eyes focussed and his hands moving with hers, the water moving with him. He paid no attention to Korra, only the water.
Korra swallowed. She watched Tahno, careful to follow his movements, careful to control the water through him.
Tahno suddenly lost himself. No longer was he trying to keep up with Korra. The water moved as he moved. He felt a lightness inside him. The exhilaration coursed through his system. He found himself smirking as he moved like he used to. Forceful hands cut the air as slices of water followed.
He felt himself in the water for the first time in a long time.
Korra watched Tahno, matching his motions perfectly. She saw him smirk and found herself smirking too. Feelings of excitement pushed her, kept her on her toes in imitating the former waterbender.
But after a moment, a pang of guilt pricked at her heart.
Was this all she would be able to for him?
She was the Avatar.
Why couldn't she do more?
Her thoughts stalled her and it was too late when she realized she missed a flick of the wrist by Tahno.
He saw the liquid rope dip in his mind's eye but saw that it had ignored his command.
His heart dropped into the deep pit in his stomach as a sickening fear crushed his whole being.
It was happening again.
He felt his bending being ripped out of him again.
But then reality struck him.
It was already gone.
Tahno dropped his arms and just stared on as the water kept moving.
Korra's chest tightened as she realized he had stopped. Her hands curled into loose fists and she gave up the water, causing it to splash back into the pool loudly. She felt the cold droplets on her face but looked on at Tahno.
His head hung low, his gazed fixed at his reflection on the water's surface.
"Thank you…" He mumbled and turned to glance at her.
"Tahno, I'm sorry, I-" Korra spoke, her voice heavy with a hopeless concern but was stopped by his shaking head.
"No… just thank you…" he stepped off the edge and shuffled away, his back turned towards her.
Korra watched as his form became smaller and smaller in the dark distance. Her heart twisted painfully for him.
He was a bender who had lost his bending
He had lost a big part of his definition, his identity, his purpose.
And for a small moment, she was able to give that back. Although fake, a trick, it was make-believe that made things perfectly right in how things were supposed to be.
A waterbender who could bend.
And an Avatar restoring balance.
When she could no longer see him past the trees of the park, Korra looked away. A suffocating sense of responsibility clouded her mind. She couldn't put her feelings into words but she had made a decision.
She will get back Tahno's bending for him.
And the bending of all those who had it taken away.
Korra swore to herself, as the Avatar to the people not only of Republic City but to the world.