Howl had stopped trying to convince Korra that leaving the compound was a bad idea. In fact, he had encouraged it this time. When he caught her sneaking away from the compound, he suggested they go to the bar. He may not have been much of a drinker, but he enjoyed the time he could spend with the young Avatar. He hated that she was only able to have any freedom when she snuck out. He knew he could get in trouble, but he wanted her to be happy. If freedom made her happy, he would gladly sacrifice himself for it, not that she needed him to. She would find a way out whether he was for it or not.
Now, they were at the small tavern where they usually caught pro-bending tournaments. No matches were playing, so it was tuned to some music station. The sound was low, but no one seemed to care. The few people in the tavern were too drunk to notice, or too busy with their friends to care.
"Another round, Kya?" The bartender looked up from the glass he was polishing. He glanced between the young girl and her male companion.
Korra shook her head. "Not for me," she replied with a distant voice. She focused her stare on the full mug that she had yet to finish. This was so unlike her. By now, she would have been on her third glass at the very least.
Howl's brows furrowed as concern filled his expression. "What's wrong?" He knew better than to expect an answer from her, but he felt he should still ask her. She had been careless when she fled the compound that night, which was something he had never witnessed. She was always careful, just in case Howl was not on night duty.
Korra caught his gaze before taking a swig of her beverage. She rolled her shoulders. "Nothing. I'm perfectly fine," she responded defensively. Anger flickered in her eyes, as well as an emotion Howl could not quite place. "I just don't want to drink too much tonight, what's the big deal?"
Howl slouched over the bar counter. His grip on his mug loosened, and he shook his head. "You just seem out of it," he murmured. He lifted his glass, and chugged a quarter of it down. Maybe he was just looking too deeply into things.
The two were silent. Howl was too afraid to speak up. He did not want to anger her, and he did not want to pry. He would wait for her to tell him what was up, if anything was even wrong. He glanced her way a few times, only to see a look of vacancy on her face. Something was definitely bothering her.
The song on the radio faded into a new one. He smiled as he listened to it. He bobbed his head along before deciding to get up. "Can you turn the radio up?" He stared at the bartender, and watched as the large man began to play with the radio's dials.
Howl nudged Korra's shoulder. She shook her head. He could feel her tensing underneath his touch as she turned to meet his gaze. Her blue eyes were alert. He smiled at her. "Want to dance?"
"What?" She scrunched her nose up. "Dancing is boring," she responded before turning back to her drink. She took another swig. "Slow steps, and all you do is move in a circle."
Howl simply laughed at her response. "Not that kind of dancing. I know something better. I'll show you," he told her in an attempt to get her up.
Korra pursed her lips and glared down at the table before finally sighing. "Alright, but if we dance in a circle, I lead." She grinned at the thought, as if that was her only motivation to actually dance. She got to her feet, and followed Howl to the empty space in the back of the bar.
"My grandma taught my mother how to dance. She said she learned from some boy from an Earth Kingdom colony. She mixed them up with some dances she learned in Republic City," Howl explained to her as he turned to face her. He nudged her shoulder with a closed fist.
As soon as he mentioned Republic City, Korra appeared interested. She focused on him as he began to move in rhythm with the music. His movements started off slow, so she could figure out what he was doing, but then he began to pick up his speed. By this time, Korra was beginning to mirror him. She made a few mistakes, but Howl was impressed to see how well she was dancing.
The two stood apart as they danced side by side. They did not notice the other people giving them odd looks as they danced, and they did not hear the bartender laughing at them.
Korra was enthralled by the way that she was being shown her body could move. It was nothing like fighting, but it was still pleasant. She loved moving, and this dance was making her step around quickly. After a while, the two were done dancing apart, and broke into a quick foxtrot.
"Korra, the guy's supposed to lead," Howl muttered as he awkwardly held onto her shoulder. She stuck her tongue out at him, and wrapped her arm around his waist, pulling him closer.
"You can swing, but you aren't good enough at this to lead," she responded with a smug smirk.
Howl stared into her deep blue eyes for a while. She did not appear to be as distant as she had been earlier. He was relieved to see that, but it still bothered him that he did not know what was wrong. He wanted to do what he could to help her, but he was not going to force her to spill.
Korra suddenly stopped dancing. She dropped her arm, and released his hand before crossing her arms. "They got onto me today for lacking spirituality," she whispered. Shaking her head, she laughed at herself. "I have two down, and two to go, but that's all they care about." She rolled her shoulders, and nonchalantly tossed her hands behind her head. "It doesn't matter."
"Ko- Kya," Howl began, but then stopped himself. He did not understand what she was going through. He never really understood, and he was not going to lie to her and pretend like he did. He brushed his fingers across her dark cheek.
"Thanks for teaching me that dance," she mumbled as she turned away from him. She began walking away, only to glance back and give him a challenging smile. "Maybe one day you'll be big enough to lead."
Howl chuckled, and followed her out of the tavern. She never ceased to amaze him.