tahno's investigator
ebonyquill
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Tahno sits at the speakeasy's counter, swirling his almost empty wine glass. He traces the rim of the glass while he thinks about that girl and completely ignores the sultry conversations of the other patrons, the live jazz band's cacophonous renditions of popular tunes, and even his own name on the lips of the other guests who occasionally glance in his direction wondering if he is the Tahno.
He doesn't acknowledge the man who sits beside him. When the man meekly greets him, Tahno merely downs the rest of his wine.
"Well?" Tahno's drawl sounds bored and perfectly disguises his excitement.
The man sets his hat onto the counter, smooths down the peculiar red feather atop the hat, and readjusts his glasses onto the bridge of his nose. He takes out his writing pad and scans over his notes as he gulps. Tahno rolls his eyes.
"Preferably before I have to fight her," Tahno pushes his wine glass away from him and drums his slender fingers against the counter's wooden top, impatience lining his voice.
"Right — right," the investigator nervously runs his palm across his forehead. He looks at the first note on his pad. "Well, I've been following her since her arrival and in a few short days, she's managed to anger the Triads, get arrested, get released, join the most promising pro-bending team in Republic City — er, except for the Wolfbats, of course — and she's," Tahno raises his hand and the reporter immediately stops talking.
Tahno meets the bartender's eyes and motions for another drink. "And how is her fighting style?"
"Powerful. More powerful than anything I've ever seen — except you, of course. Not very polished. She's young and she has a lot of fire in her. She's a little reckless with it," the man replies, sweat dripping from his forehead. He thinks about the buildings that she has already ruined. "Very reckless."
The bartender sets another glass of white wine in front of Tahno, who moves the glass in front of the investigator.
"It's on me."
The investigator bows his head. "Thank you, sir."
Tahno shrugs as the investigator takes a generous gulp and subsequently sputters, not expecting the high alcohol level of the drink. The investigator coughs loudly, causing the other patrons of the bar to look at them. Tahno grits his teeth and strains his eyes from rolling backwards into his head.
"Will that be all, sir?" The man's voice is hoarse, but he has calmed the fire in his throat.
Tahno purses his lips and sighs. His mind drifts to his single encounter with the Avatar. The phrase 'You want to go toe-to-toe with me, pretty boy?' replays in his mind over and over again. Tahno is sure that the words will never go away unless he asks his most pressing question.
"Any love interests?" He hides his desperation with an afterthought, "I must know her weaknesses, of course."
The investigator appears worried and checks his notes once more. "No, but she does have a penchant for teasing the Mako boy. Calling him names and such."
Tahno's eyebrows rise and he talks with a new sense of urgency, "Like pretty boy?"
The investigator looks down at his notepad again and shakes his head. "No, she's called him Mr. Hat Trick, cool guy, jerk, and — let me see — ah, city boy."
Tahno's lips curl into a small smile. "But not pretty boy."
"Nope. No pretty boy." He finishes the rest of his drink with smaller, more modest sips.
The investigator has never seen his employer's real smile — he's seen the one that has been unleashed for fans, timestamped by photographers, reassured his fellow Wolfbats — but tonight, he thinks that he has finally seen the real Tahno smile for the very first time.
Tahno orders two more drinks for the two of them. "Excellent."
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Disclaimer: There's no copyrightbending here. Everything belongs to Bryke and Nickelodeon.
Author's Note: The investigator character was inspired by the feathered hat guy that keeps popping up all over Legend of Korra. I personally think he's a reporter or an investigator and because I love Tahno so much, I thought that it would be hilarious if he was the one who hired feathered hat guy to follow Korra's every move. So yeeeeah — this was what came out of that single idea. Thanks for reading!