Less Than Ideal
pKorra listened intently to Mako as he recounted his childhood for her. When he had finished, a sullen look came over him, eyebrows furrowed and his head turned away, a sadness in the air. Korra shifted her gaze down at the ground, feeling awkward, with a similar expression, not knowing what to say.
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p"I'm so sorry Mako," Korra replied, after a brief, quiet moment, "that must have been…" She trailed off, not needing to finish the sentence.
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pAnother few silent minutes passed before she spoke again - if he told her about his past, she figured it would only be fair if she spilled hers too.
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p"I know you probably think I had it easy growing up when I said I always had people taking care of me but…" She took a sigh before continuing, "it isn't… as nice as it might sound."
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pMako looked over at her, questioning her words with a raised eyebrow and an incredulous expression. She took it as a cue to continue.
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p"I grew up at home with my parents, but only as a toddler - maybe till I was about four or five, because when they discovered I was the Avatar - after I destroyed parts of my house," she chuckled, "I was transferred to a training center." Her expression quickly turned serious, almost sour. "It was secluded away in the barren southern tundra in what was already in the middle of nowhere. I spent every day for the rest of my life in that pr-… compound until I ran away," Korra muttered bitterly, picking at the grass, some smoke drifting up from in between her fingers. "And they wonder why I 'lack restraint' - it was the only thing I grew up around," she scoffed with disdain, before continuing in her prior tone. "I was restricted to a confined area and I wasn't allowed to go outside an inch of it - I even had to convince them to let me take Naga out for walks, and there were still limitations to that. I couldn't go home. I hardly ever saw my parents… I probably wouldn't even know if I had a brother or sister with how rarely I got to see them… I always wanted one," she mused.
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pAfter a moment of thought Korra went on, "I was kept there twenty-four seven, training and working on mastering the elements day in and day out. I couldn't leave - I was forced to stay there. The masters were picked and brought over to train me instead of letting me find and choose my own, like Avatar Aang and all the other past Avatars did. I didn't get to travel the world and learn about the other nations by experiencing their ways of life. That's how Avatars are supposed to do it - they go around and immerse themselves in the different cultures to understand the people that live there while they learn the elements." She snorted, "I grew up on a block of ice - it wasn't exactly a cultural hub."
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pKorra brought her knees up to her chest, resting her chin on her kneecaps with her arms wrapped around her legs. "I didn't get to meet any people my age or have any friends… Well, human friends anyway," she paused, reaching back to pet Naga.
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pWhen she settled to her previous position, she thought it over again. "I suppose that isn't true... I guess Master Katara could be counted as a friend. And I sort of befriended a White Lotus member. He was nice."
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pKorra smiled, remembering how he kept her from completely losing it when she was suffocating at the training camp, their conversations at night drinking tea, how he kept a more watchful eye on her than the other guards but let her get away with more things than they permitted... She might have even liked him at some point…
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p"Anyway, I was under surveillance by The Order of the White Lotus every minute of the day – 'to keep me safe while I mastered the four elements as Avatar Aang had instructed'," she mocked, "but I really don't think he meant them to keep me captive in that stupid place." Her mouth twitched into a frown, "so when Master Tenzin told me he couldn't stay in the South pole to teach me airbending, it meant I had to be stuck there even longer - possibly for months, or even years. Then, when he could finally start training me, I'd still be trapped there until I mastered airbending. That was the last straw. I couldn't be locked up for that long - I needed to get out. I had to escape - which," she lazily tilted her head in Mako's direction, "by the way, was how I ended up seeing your pro-bending match that one night. Once I got here and was allowed to stay, I was immediately forbidden to leave Air Temple Island too, of course." A smile graced her lips, "I got good at sneaking out - years of practice." With a small laugh, she turned her head back on to her knees and continued, "so, the night Tenzin left the South pole, I ran away to Republic City. And… I guess that's it…" She shrugged, "so, yes, I always had people taking care of me. I had shelter, I had clothes, I had food - I was given everything I needed. But it acted as a prison and I, its inmate, more than anything else." Korra sighed, finishing up her thoughts, "you've had, and still have, a tough life, and, comparatively, mine looks like a walk in the park... but even though I hope no one has to go through what you guys went through, I don't exactly want anyone to grow up like how I did either. It might not have been that bad of a life, but it certainly wasn't a good one."
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pIt went back to a long silence, Mako mulling over what she had said. While she may be a little bit of a brat sometimes, he thought, she didn't mean to be. Plus she was helping him find Bolin, which he was immensely grateful for, and he wouldn't have gotten this far without her... including the probending tournement. He concluded that... She was alright - a little bratty and cocky, he supposed, but... decent and tolerable enough. He'd give her the benefit of the doubt and not be so harsh with her... maybe - he'd try, at least.
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pJust when he was about to give her a response, Korra's head fell on to his shoulder. He blinked, surprised, and cautiously peered down - her eyes were closed and her mouth was slightly agape while her body slumped against him and Naga. Okay, and maybe she was kinda cute too, he admitted to himself, especially like this. A small smile formed at the corner of his mouth as he let out a breath of a laugh - of course she would fall asleep like this and in this way. Although, she had the right idea - Mako, too, was exhausted from the day's events. He decided to follow her lead and shifted back to lean on Naga, careful not to wake Korra, and let his head rest on hers, closing his eyes for a bit while they waited for that stupid protester to get there.
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