I don't have a life and my favorite character just died in this book I'm reading so…
Disclaimer: Nada.
"I think it's cool and all that there are new Airbender," I began, reclining in my seat on the airship. "But isn't it a little disheartening that we haven't convinced any of them to come and learn it at the temple since Tenzin left with the others? And why didn't I get air bending? So not fair!"
"I thought you didn't like air bending?" Bolin asked with a grin.
"Well, I also don't like being the only one in the Krew without any bending," I pouted, crossing my arms. "I feel so left out!"
"It's okay, I still love you," he replied in mock comfort.
"Thanks, that's exactly what I need right now," I rolled my eyes. "When do you think the others are gonna come back in so we can leave?"
"I don't think we're gonna leave until Asami and Mako get word of another Airbender."
"Boo."
A few minutes later, after Bolin went to grab me so chex mix, Asami ran by and out of the airship, followed quickly by Mako. "Looks like they found one, Bo!" I called out.
When Lin, Korra, Mako, and Asami finally came back in, Bolin was already back and Asami took up the job of filling the two of us in. "We're going to Zaofu, home of the Metal Clan," she explained.
"I'd feel more comfortable if the avatar didn't go there," Lin replied.
"Why? Is it dangerous? Will they boil her in oil?" I asked, taking a handful of chex mix.
"I just don't like it," she snapped before turning to look out the window.
That basically ended all the conversation for the rest of the ride (except when I yelled at Mako for trying to take some of my snacks). Oh, and when Korra and I plotted to draw on Mako's face with permanent marking while he slept (he wasn't very happy about that, but everyone else got a laugh out of it).
… … …
Bolin slapped my arm vigorously as he turned to look out the window at Zaofu. "Wow! Wow! Wow!" Korra and Mako came over too, staring wide-eyed at the city. "An entire city made of metal! Wohoho!" he turned to Lin with a soft smile. "You should feel right at home, Beifong."
Lin sat with a disgusted look on her face, arms crossed, ignoring the view. "Hmm," she replied noncommittally.
Asami lands the ship and three metal benders secured it on the ground before building a stairway for us to climb out of the ship.
Bolin pushed past me and Mako to run off the ship first, shouting out a quick "Yeah!"
While everyone was standing up, making for the exit, Asami and I noticed that Lin remained seated. "Aren't you coming?" Asami asked.
"Yeah, Lin," I agreed. "It won't be as fun without you threatening the new Airbender."
"I don't threaten them," she replied, sending me a halfhearted glare. "Besides, what's there to see? It's metal. Big whoop. Just go find the Airbender and let's get moving."
"You go ahead, Asami," I told the girl before walking over to sit beside Lin. "What's going on, Ms. Grumpy Gills?"
"I'd prefer you don't call me that," she stated.
"You're acting like me when I'm on my period," I told her, giving her a condescending look.
"I don't know what you're talking about-"
"Come on, Lin. You might be able to pull that phony baloney on them but I know you better than that. What's up?"
"It's nothing," she snapped. "Just go." I pouted before turning on my heels. When I got to the exit, she said. "And, hey, don't tell anyone I'm here."
"You got it," I replied, offering her a wave.
"What took you so long?" Korra asked when I finally rejoined the group.
"Uh, had to throw away my chex mix," I grinned, stretching.
"Is this everyone?" a man asked, gesturing towards out group.
"Yup," Korra replied. "Just us. So…can I meet the new Airbender?"
"Bo, who's the guy with the fashionable facial piercings?" I whispered under my breath.
"Oh, that's Aiwei," he replied.
"Right this way," Aiwei commanded, leading the way towards a tram. "We must take this to get to where the new Airbender is."
"Right on," I grinned, walking on and taking my seat.
Aiwei gave us a history lesson during the ride, pointing out buildings and landmarks and explaining their significance. When we passed a statue of Toph Beifong, he said, "That statue honors the first metal bender, who expanded the possibilities of what benders were capable of. Here, everyone is encouraged to reach his, or her, highest potential."
"Didn't Toph's parents hire some losers to bring her back home and they knew they couldn't match her bending abilities so they locked her in a metal container? They said something like 'Even you can't bend metal.' Ah! I would've loved to see their faces when they found out she was gone!" I ranted, holding a hand over my heart.
"Does Toph live here?" Bolin asked, matching my excitement. "Are we going to meet her? Ah! That'd be so cool!"
"I'm afraid not," Aiwei said, crushing our dreams in the process. "She would visit from time to time, but years ago, she left to wander the world in search of enlightenment. No one has seen her since."
"Well, that sucks," I pouted. "You know how cool it'd be to meet the Toph Beifong?"
"Right? Like…ugh! Heaven!" Bolin agreed.
… … …
Aiwei led us to a dance studio, telling us that the air bender's mother wanted to meet us. There were eight dancers doing a thing in the center of the room. "Wow, training?" Korra asked, taking in the scene.
"Not exactly," Aiwei replied with a soft smile on his face. "They're rehearsing for a dance premiere next month." A woman who looked quite familiar (though I'm sure I've never seen here before) dismissed everyone before approaching us. "Allow me to introduce the matriarch of the Metal Clan, Suyin."
"Please call me Su," she replied, offering a bow. "It's great to finally meet you, Avatar Korra." Korra returned her bow. "And this must be Mako, Bolin, Asami, and Sage."
"You've done your research," Mako said.
"Don't say that like it's a bad thing," I snapped. "Stupid eyebrows."
"Why does everyone call me that?!" he exclaimed, burying his face in his hands.
"I…I make it my business to know who's visiting my city," Su continued, unsure of how to address the now forlorn Mako.
"So, you're a dancer?" Korra asked.
"Dancer, leader, wife, mother, collector of rare meteorites," she listed. "You'll find people here have many skills and interests-" she broke off as Aiwei leaned in to whisper something in her ear. Su's eyes widened before she glared at us in suspicion.
"I know, Su, Mako's eyebrows are enough to make anyone suspicious," I soothed her.
She visibly stifled a laugh and then donned once again her all-business façade. "Korra, why did you lie when Aiwei asked if there was anyone else with you?"
Korra's eyes widened in shock as Bolin slapped a hand over his mouth. "Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you that skilled earth benders can feel if you lie because your heartbeat increases and they can feel the vibrations," I explained to the avatar. "You didn't know that?"
"No," she hissed. "What? I, uh…I didn't…I mean-How did you know…well…uh…"
"I'm a truth seer. I can sense the most subtle of changes in people when they lie," Aiwei explained.
"Thanks to Aiwei, there are no secrets in our city," Su said.
"We came with Republic City's Chief of Police. She didn't want anyone to know she was here," Korra informed them. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you."
Su's expression automatically brightened. "Lin's here? Well, I would love to say hello."
"Wait…you two know each other?"
"You're joking right?" Su asked.
"Holy monkey feathers!" I shouted. "You and Lin! Lin and you—you're sisters!"
Su smiled sadly. "She never told you about me, huh?"
"Well, I'm glad that she's not a wanted criminal here," I huffed. "With the way she was acting."
… … …
We boarded the airship silently. Korra was surprisingly angry that Lin didn't tell us she had a sister. I mean, I was angry too, but I understood sibling detestment. "We found out," Korra snapped, making Lin turn around quickly to face us. "Why you were so against us coming here. Why didn't you tell us you had a sister?"
"Half-sister," Lin corrected.
"Same mom, different dads, so what?" Su said. "We're blood, Lin, and after thirty years, the least you could do is say 'hello,'"
"Thirty years?" I gasped. "Lin, how old are you?"
"Is that really a priority right now?" Mako hissed.
"Don't tell me how to live my life," I whacked the firebender over the head. "Jerkbender."
"I have nothing to say to you," Lin glared.
"You two haven't spoken in thirty years? How come?" Korra asked as everyone took a seat.
"Ask her," Su said. "I've tried."
"Oh, don't put that on me," Lin hissed, pointing an accusatory finger at her sister. "You're the one who tore our family apart, not me!"
"And you've done a bang up job keeping it that way," Su rolled her eyes unable to hide the sarcastic and smug tone in her voice.
"You haven't changed one bit, have you?"
"Look, we can stay here arguing about the past all day, but that's not the reason the Avatar came here," Su turned to Korra, her features gentling. "My daughter is thrilled to meet you."
"Lin, your niece is the new Airbender!" Korra exclaimed. "Isn't that amazing?"
"Yeah, terrific," was the dry reply of the chief of police.
… … …
Su led us back into Zaofu and onto her property. "Whoa, major acre-age," I grinned. "I could definitely get lost here. I will most likely definitely get lost here."
"Yeah, you will," Bolin snorted, punching my shoulder.
Su held up a hand, stopping me in my tracks. "What'd I do?" I asked with wide eyes.
"Almost walked into the game field," she laughed. "Don't want you losing your head."
"Aw, thanks~" I looked around, seeing two identical boys sending metal discs flying at each other. "What game is it?"
"Ah, it's Power Disc. Wei and Wing, those two who are playing now, invented it all on their own."
"Wow, they must have a lot of time on their hands," I grinned.
"About as much free time as a loser who only writes fanfictions in her free time," Bolin replied.
"Touché, you jerk," I nudged him with my shoulder.
One of the twins shot a disc at the other, who redirected it. The disc bounced off multiple columns and the twin who redirected it fired it back. The first twin jumped up to intercept it, but missed and the disc slammed into the net. "Nice power, Wei!" Su called.
The first twin began grumbling about his defeat as Wei exclaimed, "Ha! Wing goes down!"
"I'm so proud of those two," Su smiled.
"Did Wei just win?" I asked.
"Yup, why?"
"No reason," I shrugged as we began to move past the field.
We came to another section of a courtyard, where a boy was bending metal into a sculpture. "Wow, oh, wow, he must really like bananas," I muttered to Bolin.
"Huan," Su said. "I'd like you to meet the Avatar and her friends. Oh, and your Aunt Lin."
"Nice to meet you," Korra smiled.
"Hey," Huan greeted without looking away from his sculpture.
"Wow, that's a really nice…banana? Yes, very, very lifelike," Bolin complimented.
I face-palmed before Huan swung around. "It's not a banana," he snapped. "It was inspired by Harmonic Convergence, representing the dawning of a New Age. Obviously."
"Yes, obviously, Bolin," I rolled my eyes. "Anyone with a brain could have seen that. Spirits."
… … …
There weren't enough rooms for each of us to have our own, so we had to split up in pairs. Lin and I shared a room while Korra and Asami shared another and the two boys got their own. I was playing charades with a reluctant Lin when Opal, Su's only daughter, the Airbender, came in, telling us it was time for dinner.
She led us down a couple of halls until we came into a ginormous dining room (and by ginormous I mean, bigger than my entire apartment). The table was a 'U' shape with Su in the very middle. Korra sat on her right and there was a seat saved to her left for Lin. There were two empty seats next to the twins and one vacant seat next to Asami, so I decided to make it symmetrical and sit next to one of the twins.
"Tonight for your dining pleasure, I present a seared wild Kyoshi elephant koi, paired with a ginger-infused pea tendril and hibiscus root salad," a man in a chef hat explained.
"Stunning," Su sighed, clasping her hands together.
The chef bowed before exiting the room. Su said something to Korra after a man walked in and talked to her for a moment. Then Lin snorted, "Five kids. What a nightmare."
"No, no, my children are a blessing," Su ensured.
"Yeah, mom used to say that too, but she never meant it."
Su shook her head before turning back to Korra. "How's your search for the new air benders going?" she asked.
"Honestly? Not great. We had to rescue a whole group of them from the Earth Queen," Korra explained.
"Oh, she's horrible," Su hissed. "She thinks she can just do whatever she wants."
"Sounds familiar," Lin muttered.
"What was that?"
"Nothing…"
"I mean," Su continued. "The idea of even having a queen is so outdated. Don't you agree, Korra?"
"Oh, I…I haven't really thought about it much…"
"Well, you should start," Su replied, wiping her mouth with a napkin. "The world is evolving and the Earth Queen can either evolve with it or step aside."
"Hey, everyone," Lin called sarcastically. "My little sister is an expert on world affairs now."
"You want to talk about what's really bugging you? Because I'm right here!"
"Oh, wow, this is really awkward," I muttered, pushing my food around the plate.
Wei leaned over, saying "You'll wanna eat the elephant koi before it gets cold.
"Ah, I don't eat meat," I replied, offering a small grin.
"Well, then if you don't mind…" he trailed off, reaching over to my plate with his fork. He stabbed the fish and plopped it down on his plate, offering a large, cheesy grin.
"So, Power Disc, huh?" I asked. "How'd you guys come up with it?"
"Oh, Wing and I are really competitive so we had to find a game that emphasized both of our strengths so that we'd be more challenged," Wei explained.
"It also amuses me to wipe the floor with my brother here," Wing added, leaning in with a sly grin, using his fork to point at his brother.
"Actually, if I remember correctly, Wei beat you earlier today," I replied, taking a sip of my water.
"She's got you there, bro," Wei declared, letting out a loud laugh while punching his brother on the shoulder.
"Yeah, yeah," he muttered, leaning back in his chair.
"You should teach me how to play," I told them, taking a bite of the hibiscus root salad.
"You're a metal bender?" Wei asked as Bolin snorted and said "But, Sage, you can't bend-"
"I can have dreams, Bolin!" I snapped, shoving my fork in his general direction. He held up his hands in mock surrender before I turned back to the twins with a wide smile on my face. "Nah, I can't even bend~"
"We could teach you the rules…?" Wei offered.
"Cool! Have you ever-"
"Sorry I'm late, all!" a familiar and obnoxious voice announced, cutting me off. I looked up and saw Varrick and Zhu-Li entering the room. He made small talk with Asami and Korra before he began talking about his newest idea. "Magnets!" he exclaimed. "I'm working on a high speed rail that would revolutionize transportation and shipping as we know it. But that's not all! I'm-"
"All right, enough!" Lin snapped, standing up. "I'm trying to keep the avatar safe and you're harboring a criminal?"
"Ease out, Lin," Su said, trying to soothe her furious sister. "Sure Varrick's made a few mistakes in his past-"
"Like stealing my chex mix, stealing all Asami's merchandise to force her to partner with you, sending Mako to jail (which was hilariously funny, by the way, Varrick. I don't know why I didn't think if it!)," I offered.
"Exactly," Su nodded. "But despite those mistakes, I don't think he should pay for them for the rest of his life."
"I beg to differ," I declared. "He stole my last bag of limited edition chex mix-"
"I'll buy you some more," he waved it away.
"Limited edition," I growled.
"I'll pay the company to make some more."
"You can do that?" I asked, my eyes widening.
"Of course," he grinned. "Zhu-Li, make a note of it."
"Will do, sir," she nodded before writing down the information given to her.
"See?" Su said, gesturing to the current display. "People change."
Lin glared, pointing at her sister accusingly. "You haven't," she growled before storming away, throwing a chair out of her way.
It was quiet for a moment. I pursed my lips and stood up from the table. "I'd better go check on her," I said. "Thank you for dinner and I'm sorry about her behavior."
Su nodded, waving her hand to dismiss me as politely as she could with her anger over her sister flooding her.
"Bye, Wei. Bye, Wing. Bye, Bo, Asami, stupid eyebrows, Opal~" I called as I followed after Lin.
I knocked on the door once…twice…three times with no answer. I knew she was in there because everyone heard her slamming the door. "Lin?" I asked, knocking again.
"Beat it," she hissed.
"But…my bed's in there," I replied.
"Sleep on the couch."
"But my clothes-"
"Are on your body, now go."
"Okay…" I muttered, pouting as I walked away.
… … …
I was pacing around the Beifong property, unable to sleep. "Stupid Lin, stupid couch, stupid…stupid can't sleep," I muttered. "I bet Lin can't sleep either. At least if I was in the room, we'd be able to talk. But noooo, stupid Sage can't stay in her own stupid room because stupid Lin can't make nice with her family. Stupid…I'm hungry…"
As I made my way to the kitchen (well, at least, I was pretty sure I was going to the kitchen), I ran into a solid figure, falling onto my bottom. "Owie," I groaned, standing up.
"Hey, there," I was greeted as a hand was held out for me to take. "You alright?"
"Yeah, thanks," I grinned. "Wei, right?"
"Yup," he returned my smile. "I gotta give you props, not everyone we meet can tell us apart on the first day."
"To be honest, I only know it's you because you wear your arm band thing on the left arm and Wing wears his on the right," I shrugged. "Do you know where the kitchen is?"
"I was actually heading there myself," he replied. "I'd be happy to escort you there if you wish it of me."
"Good sir, I do say it would be absolutely divine if you would do such," I smirked, linking my arm with his.
There was a small circular table in the kitchen, not nearly large enough for Suyin's entire family but big enough for the occasional midnight snacker. I got a glass of water before taking a seat at the table. Wei walked over to the pantry and piled up snacks in his arms. He laid four packages of cookies in front of his seat before going to the fridge to make a two layer sandwich.
After pouring a glass of milk, he made his way back to the table and took a large bite of his sandwich. He looked up after a minute, holding out his half eaten snack. "Want some?" he asked with a full mouth.
I laughed, shaking my head. "I'll pass. So how was the rest of dinner?"
"Kinda boring," he shrugged. "Pretty uneventful after Aunt Lin's blow-up."
"I wonder what her deal is," I sighed, swirling the water around in my cup.
"Why don't you ask her? You two get along, right?"
"Yeah, I feel it's more like she tolerates me," I explained. "And she won't talk to me. At least not until she calms down, and who knows how long that'll take."
"Eh, I'm sure you'll get to her sooner or later," he grinned, opening a package of Varreos. "Are you sure you don't want any?" he asked, waving the package in the air. "They're double stuffed~"
"Ah, alas, you've found my weakness!" I cried jokingly, reaching over to grab one. "So, do you prefer the cookie or the cream? I'm more of a cream girl myself, but apparently some people, Lin, don't share my opinion."
"I also enjoy the cream, and, like you, I find there are some who disagree. Wing, for example. Opal will only eat Varreos when she has milk and she eats them whole."
"It's amazing how Varrick has such a widespread business," I grinned, shaking my head. "Anyway, what are your plans? You and Wing gonna bring Power Disc to the rest of the world?"
"Maybe," he nodded. "We haven't really thought of what we'll do after all this. We might explore the world or something. I don't know. How about you?"
"Plans for the future?" I pursed my lips. "Well…I…huh. I guess I want to be a travelling author, but I'll probably become a lawyer or something."
He nodded and continued eating in silence. I stood up, stretching while trying to stifle a yawn. "I think I'm gonna go hit the metaphorical hay," I told him, giving him a quick hug. "Sweet dreams."
"Thanks," he replied, a tint of red on his cheeks as he turned to watch me go. "You too!"
Wow, that was long. This is most likely a oneshot.
Feel free to drop a review~
Loves and hugs, minions!
Yours psychotically,
Vee