The Perfect Adventure
Jinora was so glad to be able to tag along with Korra and her friends to go on an adventure. It was just her, too, not Ikki or Meelo, and she was so glad to be away from her annoying younger siblings for an afternoon and be hanging out with the older kids. It was rare that she ventured off Air Temple Island at all, anyway, except maybe to visit her father at City Hall and for the ball Tarrlok threw Korra, so she reveled in every moment she spent in downtown Republic City—every sound, sight, and passerby.
Korra and her friends wanted to take a day trip out of the city, so they had made their way to the station in Asami's satomobile. After they parked legally and got out, Jinora was astounded by Fire Lord Zuko's statue, and all the stories she read of GranGran's adventures with Grandpa Aang and their friends were rushing through her mind like pages in the wind.
She was not much younger than Grandpa Aang had been when he saved the world and traveled to far-off places with his friends. She longed for adventure like that of her books, and so she was excited to be going with Korra for the day…but part of her inside wanted to have her own adventure.
Jinora looked down from the towering statue of the former Fire Lord, not realizing that Korra and the crew had left while she was daydreaming. She spun around, her short, brown hair whipping against her face. "Korra!" she yelled, jumping up ten feet using her airbending to try to see above the crowd of people hurrying to and fro in front of the station. "Korra!" she hollered again, but to no avail. Neither Korra nor any of her friends were anywhere to be seen.
She stood hunched over, her hands on her knees and catching her breath. She was beginning to panic at the thought of being lost in the great metropolis her grandfather created, but Jinora kept her composure and thought about how to either find Korra or get back to Air Temple Island.
"You just jumped ten feet in the air," she heard an incredulous voice say.
She looked up, hands still on her knees, seeing a messy young boy a couple years older than her in front of her. He was wearing a patched up cap and dirty, mismatched clothes, standing with his arms folded in front of him.
"Really?" she replied, straightening up with her hands on her hips. "It felt higher than that."
"How'd you do that?" the boy asked, leaning back and assuming a strong, guarded stance, looking at her down the bridge of his nose with his cap tipped almost over his eyes.
"I'm an airbender." Her eyes were overflowing with joyful pride as she spoke those words; this was the first time she had ever said those words to someone, the first time it wasn't assumed or already known. Her back was straight and she was looking at the boy with a mirrored stance, except she was smiling with an air of light-hearted confidence as opposed to skeptical intimidation.
"An airbender, huh? You must be one of the councilman's kids. I've never seen an airbender in person," the boy said, softening a little and pushing his cap up a bit.
"Yes, Councilman Tenzin's my dad. I'm Jinora," she introduced herself, reaching out her hand. She was glad the boy was loosening up slightly, and his aloofness and mystery was intriguing to her, like a book waiting to be read.
"I'm Skoochy," he grinned, shaking her hand. "So I take it you're not normally around these parts?"
"No, I'm not; I've barely ever left Air Temple Island. Actually, I was here with Kor—" she stopped midsentence, remembering that she had lost Korra and the others. "Oh, no," she breathed, jumping up again and again seeing no sign of Korra. "I was here with Avatar Korra and her friends, did you see any of them? We got separated and I need to find them."
"Oh, the Avatar," Skoochy said, "I might be able to tell you where I seen her, if you've got a few yuans to jog my memory."
Jinora looked at him a tad confusedly and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't have any yuans. What does that have to do with anything, anyway?"
"A council member's kid and they don't got any yuans? I sure picked the right chick to bump into," Skoochy mumbled sarcastically. "It don't got anything to do with anything. Just a way of getting some cash for food and stuff." He paused, and continued, "I didn't see the Avatar, anyway, so I guess it don't matter you don't got any yuans."
"Don't have any yuans."
"What? Oh, whatever."
It was silent for a second, and Jinora clasped her hands in front of her and looked down at them. She resolved herself to the fact she had pretty hopelessly lost Korra and figured she'd better make her way home—she could go on an adventure another day.
"Well, I'd better get back to the island if I can't find Korra. It was nice meeting you, Skoochy," she told him, waving and turning to leave, trying to remember the way Asami drove to get there.
"Uh, Jinora, wait!" Skoochy called after her. "I know Republic City pretty well, I can probably get you to the docks so you can get home," he offered, stuffing one hand in his pocket and scratching the back of his head with the other.
"I don't have any yuans to give you for your guidance," she reminded him with a sly smile and narrowed eyes.
Skoochy just laughed. "That's okay. Free of charge for the pretty airbending girl," he smiled back, the two of them beginning to walk down the street. Jinora felt her cheeks grow hotter than the fire coming from Fire Lord Zuko's statue, and looked at her feet, trying to hide the blush she knew was on her cheeks. She had never really had a reason to blush before, and the foreign feeling in her face as well as her racing heartbeat were both exhilarating and frightening at the same time. She breathed in and out slowly, trying to meditate as she walked in order to calm herself down.
"So, you said you've never really been in Republic City, right?" Skoochy asked, looking at Jinora. He had meant it when he off-handedly called her pretty; she had the most perfect light skin and deep brown eyes, and her smile was so bright, it could light up any day.
"No, I haven't. I haven't seen much of anything here," she admitted, looking back at Skoochy. He smiled wide when he heard her, and he tilted his head to the right, pointing down the street.
"Well then maybe we can take a few detours and I can give you an underground tour," he suggested with a grin. "C'mon, let's go!" The two started running down the street, and Jinora jumped into the air, going along beside Skoochy on an air scooter.
"No fair!" he called when he saw her zipping along. To try and match her he used his earthbending to kick up a block of earth he rode on down the street.
"So you're an earthbender!" Jinora exclaimed excitedly. Earth bending seemed to different to her from airbending and she loved reading stories about different brave and stubborn earthbenders.
"Yup, and proud of it," Skoochy called, showing off by creating a ramp for the block he was riding on, shooting into the air.
Jinora grinned and showed off with some of her own bending tricks, gracefully riding along on her air scooter standing up on one foot with arms outstretched rather than sitting like usual. She wished she had some marbles so she could show Skoochy Grandpa Aang's trick, but that was alright—she felt like she had put on a pretty good show.
Jinora and Skoochy went all through Republic City like that, laughing and doing bending tricks. Skoochy showed Jinora all the coolest sights—the tower and the park and all the normal tourist attractions—and all of the hidden little corners of Republic City. He stole a handful of leechi nuts and other fruit from the best vendor in town, took her to a spot overlooking the park where you could see Air Temple Island and the pro-bending arena in the distance, and even brought her to a popular little book shop—he never had gone in, but he always passed it on his way to the station. Eventually Skoochy led Jinora to the dock where she could catch a boat home, and the two sat with their feet dangling, almost touching the water.
"I really enjoyed myself today, Skoochy," Jinora reflected happily. "Thanks for such a great adventure."
"The pleasure's all mine," he replied with a smile, giving a mock-grandiose bow. "Giving you a tour of Republic City was one of the funnest things I've done in a while. You were great to show around." As he said this, he grabbed some candies out of his pocket he had snagged from a vendor somewhere along the way and handed one to Jinora. She accepted it and ate it with a big smile on her face, feeling another blush rising to her cheeks and trying to stop it.
"Well, you were a great tour guide. I'm glad I met you."
"I'm glad I met you, too."
The two of them sat in silence for a moment or two, Jinora staring out towards her home and Skoochy staring at her, taking in the sight of this intelligent, pretty, and spirited girl he might never see again. Soon enough Jinora caught him looking at her, and the blush came to her cheeks quick and strong and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She tried to avoid his gaze, but she mustered up the courage to look up at him. He was smiling softly, and their eyes held for a second. Thoughts of different romantic stories she had read popped into Jinora's head, and she almost fell into a reverie of sorts when she heard running footsteps coming up behind her.
"Jinora! I've been so worried all day!" Korra yelled, grabbing the thin ten-year-old and picking her up off the ground in a hug. "I'm so glad you're safe! Spirits, Tenzin is going to KILL me if he finds out I lost you!"
"It's good to see you too, Korra," Jinora giggled, enveloped in Korra's strong hug.
"Skoochy, what are you doing here?" Mako asked, seeing his young friend still sitting off the edge of the dock, awkwardly scratching his head and trying not to look out of place.
"Hey, Mako. I was just, you know, looking for fresh-faced, uh, tourists…" he answered untruthfully, trying to search for a way out. Now that the Avatar was here, Jinora didn't need him, he figured.
As soon as Jinora was freed from Korra's strong grasp, she went over to Skoochy and stretched out her hand to help him up, and he grabbed it graciously. "I met Skoochy at the station after I lost you guys, and he showed me around Republic City," she explained. "We had a great time." She smiled, not realizing she was still holding Skoochy's hand, excited like Ikki on the inside but collectedly content on the outside.
"Oh, well that's nice!" Asami said, smiling at the two cute kids.
"Yeah, nice…" Mako mumbled skeptically, eying Skoochy carefully. Skoochy was his friend, and he was a good kid and all, but Mako was a bit suspicious of him around a girl as sweet and unassuming as Jinora.
"Yeah, yeah, nice, but we gotta get Jinora home! I need to find a way to cover this up so Tenzin won't find out…" Korra started walking off toward the boat that would take the crew back to Air Temple Island, and the others followed. Jinora stayed behind for a second, still holding on to Skoochy's hand, wanting to say goodbye.
"I guess this is it," she said quietly with a sad smile.
"Yup. Well, have a good time back on your island, there," he spat dismissively, looking away from Jinora and dropping her hand. It had felt good to hold it—he had never held a girl's hand before—but now that she was leaving he didn't want to feel the sadness of saying goodbye, especially when he didn't know how, when, or if he would see her again.
Jinora wasn't fazed by the act Skoochy tried to put on, and she kissed him on the cheek before running over to the boat. Skoochy's eyes popped wide open and his head jerked back to look at Jinora, giggling and blushing on the boat beside the Avatar. His hand touched his cheek and he smiled, waving to Jinora as the boat pulled away. Sure, he didn't know how, but he would definitely make sure he saw that pretty airbender girl again.
Jinora waved back, a grin almost permanently painted on her face. She sat down and closed her eyes, blushing for the umpteenth time that day. The day had somehow become even better than the perfect adventure she had longed for.
A/N: hope you enjoyed it! Jinoochy is seriously the cutest little ship in LOK, and I just felt like none of the fanfics I had read for it quite captured the childhood puppy love that could make it so adorable. Also, I know this is small, but I imagine Mako being the big-brother type for Jinora, especially when it comes to Skoochy since he knows him well enough to be wary of him haha. R&R, please, and share on tumblr! Thanks for reading. Have a wonderful day!