Greenhorns and Jerk Benders

Hi, I'm back again! So, after getting so very very tan during the 4th of July vacation I took, I came back inspired. Lucky for all of us! I'm going to try to press some things out faster while managing to go to bed at a sane time. Like I said: I'm going to TRY which means I may not be successful, particularly about the last part.

This little story here has been dancing around in my head for a while. So- Korra's just turned fifteen and has been granted one summer off of her Avatar training duties and such to go and get 'cultured'. And what better place than Republic City? She goes and stays with her uncle, Narook, as in Narook's water tribe eatery. As it happens, a certain firebender is also working at Narook's to bring in some extra cash for himself and Bolin. Close quarters, long summer days, a clumsy Korra and an awkward Mako. Definitely a summer to remember.

Disclaimer: Never owned, never will, all belongs to Bryke until someone buys me the rights to Korra and Avatar: the Last Airbender.

I gaped as the fog finally thinned and I could clearly see the city's skyline. Pure and sweet, pleasure rushed through me as I leaned farther over the rail. I squinted against the early morning sun, bringing a hand up to shade my eyes when Air Temple Island came into view.

"Look Naga," I began excitedly, nearly jumping in my excitement as I turned to look at the polar bear dog. "There's Air-" I broke off as the White Lotus sentries behind me raised eyebrows and sent me sympathetic looks. I huffed out a breath, hugging myself as I turned back around with a burning face.

The Council hadn't been convinced that Naga deserved to be cultured as well, to see something other than the white tundra of the South Pole. She may disrupt or cause accidents in the city, they had reasoned. Katara had promised to take care of her, but in that scenario, I found that I was more worried for my water bending master and the fact that she had to take care of hundreds of pounds of white, fluffy and energetic polar bear dog.

Ley Shen shifted behind me, and I closed my eyes as I lifted my foot and put it down with some force. I may not have been able to bend metal, but that didn't mean that I couldn't feel the vibrations in it. She kept swaying back and forth on her feet. I leaned farther forward experimentally.

She shadowed me, and went to put a hand on my shoulder.

"You seem to forget that I was born a water bender." I said without opening my eyes, irked at their paranoia. "And that if you're worried about me falling overboard and not being able to bend myself back onto the boat, I can demonstrate that with you right now…But I may be too tired to get you back on deck." I faked a yawn. "Traveling makes me so tired."

Ley Shen said nothing. Almost none of them did, except to acknowledge me when they left or when I entered a room. To my relief and satisfaction though, she did take, not one, but two steps back.

Content, I went back to enjoying the view of the ever clearer city before I dug out the letter from Uncle Narook. I scanned through it again, taking in the slightly scrawled and hurried characters. He was excited to see me, telling me that he would give me a tour of the city when the restaurant allowed him away for a few hours. Unfortunately, he wouldn't be able to pick me up at the docks, something about training a new employee.

Butterfly-moths crowded inside my stomach, their wings tickling under my skin as a wave of nervousness swept over me and threatened to pull me under. I had only been a couple of years old when my mother had said goodbye to her only brother and wished him the best of luck in Republic City.

I remembered the way her face lit up as she shared the good news: I would be allowed to stay with Uncle Narook in his apartment above the restaurant if I helped out occasionally as a waitress.

Of course, Mom hadn't let me go empty handed. She had spent months beading, sewing and weaving ornaments for her brother's authentic water tribe décor and things for his own home.

Another reason to bring Naga along, I thought to myself bitterly. She could help me carry all this stuff to Uncle Narook's instead of carrying a ridiculously large trunk.

The cargo ship I had boarded only three days ago- could it have really been that long? –let out a long blast from its whistle, alerting those in the harbor that it was pulling in.

I grabbed the fore-mentioned ridiculously large trunk, throwing back my shoulders and holding my head up high in attempt to look presentable after a few days at sea. I batted away Ley Shen and Han's hands with a scowl as they tried to take the piece of luggage. I couldn't bother to hold the expression though, as the crew laid out the gangplank. I strode toward it with gusto, the trunk clunking along behind me.

Apparently, I was bounding towards the deck with too much gusto. As soon as both feet were firmly on the rough and worn planks, I stumbled.

All I saw was a blur of red and gray and pale skin before wide golden eyes locked onto mine, so deep I thought I would drown in them.

Their owner however, was currently in danger of drowning in Yue Bay with their box of packaged sea prunes. I hastily fished them out, plopping them and the crate back onto dry land. They staggered to their feet, a scowl already painted across their features. I flinched just a little under his intense scrutiny. The boy- could I really call him that when he was as tall as Kyoshi herself? –crossed his arms over his chest.

I bit my lip at the sight, struggling to contain my laughter. Despite the dark look clouding his face and his serious demeanor, he still looked like a half drowned leopard rat.

Apparently, I hadn't kept my face as neutral as I thought, because his crossed arms suddenly snapped to his sides, hands balled tightly into fists. "Watch where you're going, will you?!"

My skin crackled under his intense- and very angry –gaze, and despite my best intentions to apologize nicely, there was an edge to my tone as I snapped a reply. "Look I'm sorry," I practically snarled. Nice Korra, that sounded REALLY sincere, I internally berated myself. "At least I got you out of the water instead of just walking away!"

The boy froze, and knelt down to crack open the crate that had been knocked into the water with him. He ran a hand through a mess of raven colored strands, face setting into a scowl as he groaned.

"Just great! Thanks to you," he spat, pointing an accusing finger my way. "Now all the sea prunes are ruined! That's going to come out of my paycheck, you know!"

"I said I was sorry, all right?" I hollered, dimly aware of Ley Shen gently tugging on my shoulder. During our verbal sparring match, we had both inched closer to each other, and were now nose to nose. Ley Shen gently tugged on my shoulder, eyes pleading. I could practically hear her trying to transfer the mantra she was surely repeating in her head into my own: let it go, let it go, let it go, PLEASE let it go.

"Come along, Av- Korra." She corrected herself hastily as I shot a wide eyed glance at the dripping wet and furious teenager. I allowed myself to be led away and led to the waiting taxi puttering impatiently by the curb.

"Good riddance, Greenhorn!" He called after me, throwing his arm up to hasten me.

"Agni's teeth, I said I was sorry!" I shrieked before I slammed the taxi door shut, effectively creating a barrier between us and ending our argument. I felt decidedly smug. I had gotten the last word, not that rude, short tempered, wet, golden-eyed, handsome-

I jerked, shaking myself at the errant thought. It's perfectly normal, Kor. I reassured myself. You've never really socialized with any boys your age, and you're in a new place.

My thoughts drifted back to the scene we had created on the dock. His people skills could use a little work, but his clothes sticking to his chest and shoulders like a second skin sure made up for that…

I groaned, leaning over to press my torso into my lap. My head was cradled precariously on my knees, and it lolled with every swerve, stop, and pothole. Maybe I needed a swim in the bay, get my priorities straight. You're here to see the City and get cultured, lectured a voice inside my head. It strongly resembled Katara's. NOT to check out boys you knocked into the bay and get twitter pated over every Li, Cai, and Sheng who looks your way.

I thought back to my argument with the rude boy, tucking my tongue neatly into my cheek in thought.

"Ley Shen," I said, interrupting her and Han's quiet conversation. Immediately, I had her full attention and Han's as well. "What does 'greenhorn' mean?"

She exchanged a look with her fellow guard, and obviously one that I was not meant to see. It was full of pity, sympathy, and disapproval. I ground my teeth in frustration, my jaws snapping together with an audible click. Even the taxi driver looked back at us worriedly before quickly averting his eyes from my hostile stare.

"Greenhorn is someone who is unfamiliar with local customs and practices," Han rumbled after a lengthy pause, and another glance passed between the sentries; this one full of smug satisfaction.

I continued his open ended definition, "-and who can be easily tricked and swindled. Someone who is naïve."

I fixed them both under a hard stare until they squirmed, looking out at the towering sky scrapers with sudden interest.

Not much was said on the way to Uncle Narook's after that.

After being caught in traffic because of a ridiculous motorcade for some council man- by the name of Tarragon or something close to it –it was feeling quite cramped indeed in the back of the taxi, and I was quite certain I had never longed for the cold openness of the South Pole as fiercely as I had then.

At last, as the metal benders allowed us to pass through, we rounded a bend and I got my first look at Narook's Seaweed Noodlery. Ley Shen and Han eyed the dim alleyway uneasily, but I only had eyes for the little restaurant tucked away on the ground floor of a high rise building. Or, more specifically, the man standing in front of said restaurant with his arms open wide and a smile nearly splitting his face in two.

I flew out of the car, leaving the White Lotus to deal with paying the driver and lug my trunk out from where it rested under the taxi's seat bench.

I wrapped my arms around Uncle Narook's waist, arching my back and heaving him up into the air and swinging him around much to his surprise. He laughed, tugging lightly on my wolf tail to let him down. Although I wasn't much shorter than my mother's brother, I was still stuck staring at his chin. Obviously I didn't get my height from Dad's side of the family, the polar bear dog of a man that he was.

Uncle Narook was still chuckling, eyes crinkling and nose scrunching and snorting on the occasion. "Ah, how is my little polar dog pup, huh?" He said fondly, reaching out to pinch my cheeks.

I batted his hands away, rubbing away the slight sting and redness that lingered on my face. "She's not so little anymore," I said proudly, puffing up my chest and straightening my spine to reach my full height. "I just passed my earth bending test. I'm officially a master!"

"Ah!" He said, eyes lightning up even more if possible. He held up a finger and wagged it in my direction. "While you may be a master of earth and water bending, I am the master of surprise!" Uncle Narook turned and whistled sharply to a shadow who was lingering in the doorway. "Mako!" He barked, "Bring the crate, and you can come meet my niece!"

He turned back to me, finger wagging again. "Now, Mako can be a bit hard to get along with at first, but he's a good kid and a great worker. He'll help show you the ropes around here for the summer. Speaking of which, I was wondering how is you-"

For the second time that day, all I saw was a blur of red and gray and pale skin before wide golden eyes locked onto mine, so deep I thought I would drown in them. The boy stopped dead, and stopped twisting his hands long enough to point one accusing finger in my direction.

I distinctly saw his mouth form the word: "You!"

I felt my eyebrows shoot into my hair line, and the blood drain from my face as my eyes attempted to actually pop out of my head. "Y-you!" I yelped, outraged. If the Spirits were merciful, it would be his twin brother or some freakish look alike. There was no way that this rude and grudge holding teenage boy was Uncle Narook's prized worker-

"Mako!" Uncle Narook greeted him with a friendly clap on the back. I simply greeted him with a groaned sentence that vaguely resembled: Spirits, why me?!

Uncle Narook's smile faded and was replaced with crinkled eyebrows as he scanned up and down Mako's person. "Where are the sea prunes? I ordered them especially for my niece, Korra." He gestured to me in explanation.

"Heavy," Ley Shen panted from behind me, who was precariously gripping one end of the trunk in her hands as they maneuvered it out of the cab.

Mako's long, pale fingers curled absently in the tattered fringe of the scarf, playing hide and seek with each other. "I tried to explain to you earlier that there was an incident on the dock with-"

"You!" I raged, clutching my head between my hands as I paced back and forth anxiously.

"And you!" He fired back, literally pointing fingers now. "I was grabbing the crate, and she ran straight into me and knocked me and the sea prunes into the bay!"

"So heavy," Han chimed in, his mustached face shiny with sweat.

"I apologized for that!" I said, swiping a hand between us. "Tui and La can't you just let it go already?"

"There are no sea prunes?" Uncle Narook questioned, stunned.

"If I let it go, than my paycheck would just disappear into Yue Bay with the rest of those prunes."

"So, so, heavy," The sentries begged for a reprieve, hobbling over to us awkwardly.

"You take that back!" I demanded, fisting his lapel in my hand to jerk him down to my height. The freakishly tall, rude, grudge holding, golden eyed, handsome-

AH! No, bad thoughts Korra. Bad. Thoughts!

"There are no sea prunes?" Uncle Narook repeated again, sounding somewhat more lucid this time.

"Make me," he wrote me a challenge with a quirk of the side of his mouth, and excitement dancing behind the fire in his eyes.

"Don't think I won't," I snarled, pushing my face even closer to his.

"What do you mean there are no sea prunes?!" Uncle Narook thundered, loudly enough that it snapped both Mako and I out of our little staring contest. We jumped away from each other with a respectable amount of distance put between us.

"Too heavy," The pair carrying the trunk cautioned. Their warning fell on deaf ears.

"I tried to explain to you before, Mr. Narook," Mako started miserably. "I grabbed the crate, and Korra knocked into me-"

"Hey, don't try and pin this on me!" I stepped closer again, and poked a sharp finger at his collarbone. I glared at his chest, heart stumbling over the way my name seemed to trip its way across his tongue.

"Finally!" Ley Shen gasped, and dropped her end of the heavy trunk. Right on Uncle Narook's foot.

He stared down at his feet, one perfectly fine and the other being crushed by over fifty pounds of weavings, pottery, and crafts. His jaw dropped open, flapping as he tried to form words. He looked up at us helplessly, before falling into a dead faint.

Ley Shen grabbed his arm before he could crack his head open on the sidewalk and lowered him down slowly.

While Mako and Han tugged the trunk off of Uncle Narook's foot, I checked Uncle Narook's pupils and pulse. While his eyes reacted accordingly, his pulse was still a bit fast and unsteady.

"Is he okay?" Mako asked, face twisting in worry.

"I think so, but we're going to have to get him to a hospital. I'm almost a hundred percent sure that his foot is broken." I replied, and watched Uncle Narook's eyelids flutter as he returned to wakefulness.

"I'll get a taxi," Ley Shen volunteered, eyes flicking back to my uncle nervously as he moaned.

She scampered away, where Han had already flagged down a taxi and was clearly explaining the situation to the driver.

"Come on, help me move him." I ordered Mako, who complied with a sigh and a roll of his eyes which he obviously did not mean for me to see. "What, do you want to try and treat him here?"

He scoffed, but remained silent. We carefully lifted up Uncle Narook; me hoisting him up underneath his armpits, and Mako cautiously gripping his calves as we waddled over to the cab.

And then there was the hiccup of getting all of us to the hospital in the same cab.

Finally, I burst out in a bout of frustration. "We are not all going to fit in here!" I yelled from my position squished against the window.

"Oh, really?" Mako's voice was dripping with sarcasm. "You just figured that out now?"

"Shut up jerk bender!" I snapped, trying to pry my face off of the side of the paneling. Spirits knows what had been on there before me.

"It's fine Korra," Ley Shen soothed, tumbling out of the cramped space with Han in tow. "Han and I will just take a separate cab."

"What?" I squawked, trying to push myself fully upright without causing Uncle Narook to go tumbling down onto the floor of the satomobile. "I'm not going to ride with Mako!"

"You two are already in there. Unless you want to try and get him out of there and risk injuring your uncle further…?" I glowered at the innocent faced sentry who sent me a sunny smile before shutting the door with a snap.

"Republic City Hospital." I repeated to the driver. "And step on it."

We were quite for the first few moments, besides the rumbling of the engine and random blare of a horn every now and then.

"Do you think he'll be all right?" Mako asked finally, gesturing to his boss and my uncle, who was splayed unconscious once more across out laps.

"Sure, once we get him to the hospital." I said, and cast him a knowing glance. "But I think we both know whose paycheck is going to pay the bill."

Not much was said on the way to the hospital after that, but I swore I saw a ghost of a smile on his face in the weak light from the street lamps.

…I know, I know, I should probably be updating Spitfire (which this fic was originally supposed to have been in) but I came up with a great story line for it right in the middle of this, so I'm turning it into a short story, probably only four or five chapters long. You'll just have to be patient for your Makorra.

SNO.

P.S. Speaking of being patient… I know that I'm probably one of the last ones to hear about the when Book 2 is finally being released this September! Cop Mako does unhealthy things to my heart. XD