"You can do better than that!" Ikki yelled at her students. Instead of making spiraling turns and pretty twirls like they were supposed to, the teenage acolytes kept tripping and falling into each other. "The move is back-twirl-back-right, followed by a tiny leap!" Ikki leapt into the air to demonstrate. "I know you guys can do it!"
From a glass door off to the side, Jinora entered the outdoor courtyard. She used her bending to leap over an acolyte that had tripped over their own feet. Jinora settled in a grassy corner under a banana tree with a thick gleaming book. Her spirit companion Furryfoot flew through the same door Jinora had used and snuggled up in the grass next to Ikki's sister.
"Are you still teaching the acolytes your dance routine, Ikki?" Jinora scowled at the dancers. Last week, Ikki had invented a dance that she was mixing with her bending. She had even made a special version for the acolytes that did not involve bending.
Although a gifted airbender, Jinora didn't have the delicateness behind the dance Ikki was trying to teach the acolytes. No, not delicateness. That wasn't the right word… No, she was too narrow-minded. Jinora didn't use her bending for much other than fighting and she gave up on Ikki's dance after two tries.
Why couldn't Jinora try and see things like Ikki did? Just because Jinora wasn't good at it, didn't mean this wasn't a valid use of bending. Anyway, What element thrived more off creativity than airbending? She'd loosen up if she were outside in the fresh air dancing with the acolytes, instead of teaching and studying all the time.
Yeshi, an air acolyte and one of Ikki's advanced students, saw Jinora and abandoned his dance practice to come bounding over. He stopped at Jinora's feet, his expression resembling a playful Naga. Ick. If he had to have a crush on her sister instead of her, he could at least be more subtle! Did he care at all about not hurting her?
Not that Ikki had told Yeshi about her feelings… She couldn't expect him to be sensitive to how she felt if Yeshi didn't know. But still, why couldn't he notice Ikki drowning in sadness whenever he smiled at Jinora?
"Are you going to try it, Master Jinora?" Yeshi wiped a drop of sweat from his brow. Then he inclined his head at Ikki. "Thank you, Master Ikki, for choreographing a dance us nonbenders can do."
Both Ikki and Jinora rolled their eyes. At least both agreed that the acolytes fussed too much over them being airbenders.
Jinora pulled out the bookmark stuffed in her book and beamed at Yeshi. Despite the smile, Ikki noticed that her sister had black rings around her eyes. Ikki had known Jinora had an advanced spiritual test coming up with several members of the White Lotus, but had she really not been sleeping?
"One of my favorite things-getting myself covered in sweat." Sass—typical of her sister, but the comment still hurt. The deadpan tone left Jinora's voice and she straightened her back. "My interests lie elsewhere." Furryfoot flew up onto Jinora's head and nibbled on a stand of her hair. Jinora picked Furryfoot up and cuddled him in her arms.
Yeshi dipped down again. Really, if he kept sinking down that low, his nose would touch the pavement. He rose up again, staring at Jinora like she was the center of his world. Blech. "Of course. Master Jinora has more important things to worry about, such as teaching us the ways of spirits. Is there anything I can do for you, Master Jinora? Are you in a good mood this afternoon?" He stood in rapt attention, ready to go running if Jinora asked.
It was unfair-Ikki might get the same amount of respect, but Yeshi never took that much time to ask about her feelings. If someone would ask her about how she felt, then maybe she could ramble about how she felt like she got the short end of the stick around here. You see spirits, and you're a new spiritual leader. You create a new form of dance using your bending? No one thought it was worth noting except maybe a few reporters, and who wanted to talk to them? Yawn!
Jinora held up her book. "I am in a great mood this afternoon. It's kind of you to ask, but I don't need anything. I've got a historical drama about the adventures of Avatar Wan to read." She gave a mischievous, yet strained, grin before returning to her book.
However, her sister ended up slumped against the banana tree thirty minutes into being outside. Yeshi had returned over to the other dancers and now that he had Ikki watched her slumbering sister, who was snoring . Jinora must be exhausted. She had been working hard on her spiritual training all week. Despite Ikki's jealousy over not having the same ability with spirits, she walked over and put the bookmark in Jinora's novel anyway.
Furryfoot brushed Ikki's wrist as he fluttered into Jinora's lap now that the fat tome was gone. Ikki glared at the spirit—Ikki had never gotten along with them like Jinora.
Maybe there were a few perks to being the less talented sister. Ikki shuddered. Imagine being so busy with school that she didn't have time to do what she loved most:
Dance alongside the wind that she loved to bend.
It would be torture.
#
No matter how jealous Ikki was of her sister, Ikki did need to talk to her dad about Jinora's training schedule. Jinora needed a break. She never feel asleep while reading! That was Ikki's territory, not Jinora's. So the next day, she left the girls' dormitory and walked down a stone path surrounded by palm trees to look for her dad. She should check the training area first, since Tenzin was still training Rohan in airbending.
The first person Ikki saw was Meelo, who lounged against a palm. His head titled back towards the sun, eyes closed, taking in the rays. Tenzin, meanwhile, watched Rohan go through the spinning gates. Ikki saw Meelo's eyes bugle out of his head when he glimpsed her. Meelo made an air scooter to speed over to Ikki. His face fell when he saw Ikki.
"Aw man, I thought you might be one of the acolyte girls!" Meelo flung up his hands and jumped off the scooter. "How'm I supposed to get a girlfriend if the only girls that actually want to talk to me are my sisters? I'm going to die single!" Meelo kicked up a large blast of air. "It's not fair."
"Maybe if you were yourself," Ikki suggested as she and her brother walked down the path together. She always liked talking with her brother. "Stop showing off and act normal. Show interests in what girls like instead of making it about you." Like Yeshi did for Jinora, always asking about her day and her classes. Even if he was a bit of a fanboy, Ikki loved how he would always inquire her sister about her emotions and interests. If only he would do that for her.
Meelo's face twisted into defeat, yet his eyes gleamed. "Your words hurt, fair sister." He crossed his arms and stared down at the ground, then he looked up at Ikki. His expression was somber. "Am I really selfish?"
"Kind of." Ikki didn't want to hurt her brother's feelings, but he had to know. "Whenever you see the teenage acolytes, all you do is show off your tattoos, or some advanced airbending move."
Meelo sighed. "How could I get some of the girls to see I don't just care about myself? I don't want to be lonely!"
"You could come to my dance practices," Ikki suggested, not at all ashamed of the self-promotion. "There are lots of girls there. I mean, you still might not be every girl's cup of tea, but it could help."
"Okay, I'll do that!" Meelo still stared at the ground, eyes droopy. Meelo was one of those people who got joy just out of being around other people. Perhaps he didn't need a girlfriend, maybe he just needed someone to spend time with him. Ikki should start challenging him to Pai Sho in the evenings. Maybe that would ease her brother's loneliness.
Ikki nudged her brother in the ribs. "Don't look so down, bro! You're fine just like you are. I like spending time with you. It's not the end of the world if you don't have a girlfriend." Boys were starting to be too much trouble.
Meelo grinned, a wicked glint in his eyes liked he often got when a joke was coming. "But it would be, Ikki! Airbenders are endangered! The whole fate of our race could depend on whether or not I get a girlfriend!"
Both burst out laughing as Ikki approached Tenzin, who was now making Rohan go through basic airbending forms.
"Hello there, Ikki." Tenzin pulled her into a gentle embrace. "How's the training going?"
Unlike Jinora, who had asked the same question earlier with a smirk, there was nothing but genuine interest in Tenzin's voice, prompting Ikki to explode with conversation, much like she had as a kid.
"It's going alright, Dad. I've got the moves I want to do with the acolytes all planned out, and I think they look pretty simple, but my students keep tripping over their feet like I'm giving them some really complex stuff to work on! I don't get it, they're clearing the spinning gates. Maybe I should try having them do the moves individually, instead of in a large group?" It was nice to finally be able to go on a tangent about something for once, instead of having to keep certain things inside. Unlike when she was seven, Ikki knew as a teenager that there were some things one just didn't ramble about at 50 miles per hour, and liking the same guy as your sister was one of them.
"That would be a good idea," Tenzin smiled. "Did you come down here just to hang out with your brothers and I, or are you here for a reason?" Yay, her dad was interested in what she had to say! Well, he always was, which was why Ikki liked talking with him, but still-woohoo!
"Oh!" Ikki said. Good thing her dad had interrupted her. "Yeah, actually I do. I came to talk about Jinora." She glanced at her brothers. "Scram boys!"
Meelo and Rohan took off on air scooters, leaving Ikki and Tenzin. The sound of Tenzin chastising Ikki for yelling at her brothers was lost in the wind from the air-scooters.
"Is your sister alright?" Tenzin rubbed his bread with concern. " I know she has been busy studying for that exam coming up…"
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," Ikki prepared to go into one of her rambles. "She seemed really stressed the other day. She came out to the courtyard to read, and fell asleep! While reading. I'm worried, Dad. That's not like her. There were dark rings under her eyes. I get that this spirit stuff is important, but it's also good that Jinora has time for stuff that matters to her! I know we bicker a lot, but I still want her to be happy."
Tenzin paused for a second. Ikki waited. Sometimes people had to shift through her words, between how much she would talk and how fast.
"I agree. Not just I, but the White Lotus as a whole have been pushing her too hard," his eyes narrowed. "It's not often benders with rare talent like Jinora's show up. The last one with a connection with spirits like this was General Iroh, although I do not think he tapped into it like Jinora is." His shoulders slumped. "I shouldn't have been pushing her."
"It's okay, Dad," Ikki hugged Tenzin. She hated it when Dad put high expectations on himself, on his family, and berated himself when he messed up. "You shouldn't get down on yourself, Dad. Jinora knows you and the White Lotus are only pushing her because you want Jinora to be her best. It's not like she's not interested in what you're trying to teach her. Most was self-taught!"
"Thank you, Ikki. I'm proud you're so thoughtful."
Ikki beamed at the praise. But only for a second. Was that her only use? Being thoughtful? That was nothing compared to Jinora's talents…
Tenzin put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you all right, Ikki? You seem down."
Ikki leaned against Tenzin's shoulder. "Can we keep this between us?"
"Of course."
"Well, it's just that Jinora is super-smart and has this great connection with spirits, and I know you're grooming her to take over leading the acolytes when you retire… And sometimes, I just wonder what I'm going to do. Jinora has such a good future ahead of her, Dad. I'm just kind of... There. What am I going to do? Who am I going to lead into this new age? What if I don't have a place?" It was a relief to have her fear, the source of most of her jealousy besides Yeshi, out in the open.
"I can't believe I'm hearing you say things like that, Ikki. Although, perhaps I have been giving your sister too much attention lately. If I hadn't, maybe you wouldn't be feeling like—"
"Dad, didn't I just tell you not to be down on yourself—"
"Yes, well, as I was going to say, you shouldn't feel that way. Out of my children, you're the best airbender of the four—and don't go telling your siblings that."
Ikki's eyes lit up. "Really?!"
"Of course," Tenzin's voice full of conviction. "Look at your dance routine you've created. That takes the spirit of a true airbending master. Airbending is about taking a different approach, coming at things in a new way. You didn't just do that with your bending—although I was extremely proud when you invented the move that gave way to your tattoos—an air slide, that was ingenious, Ikki—but you asked how else to use one's bending, if it could be harnessed for something other than fighting."
In her excitement, Ikki used her bending to blast herself several feet into the air. Once she floated back to the ground, she flung her arms around her dad. "That's the best thing anyone has told me about my bending, thanks Dad!"
"You're welcome, Ikki," Tenzin kissed her on the top of the head. "Now, stop comparing yourself to your sister, and enjoy being Ikki."
"I will, Dad."
And for the first time in a while, Ikki meant it. She had something Jinora didn't have—the creativity of a great airbending master. Who cared about seeing spirits when you had that?
#
Tenzin's praise about Ikki's bending made her eager to choreograph more dance moves, especially complicated ones involving airbending. So over the next two days, and partly as a distraction so she wouldn't have to watch Yeshi drool over Jinora, she spent a good deal of time inside scribbling dance ideas at the kitchen table and offering to babysit Rohan for her parents.
However, on the third day of trying to avoid her problems Ikki got choreographer's block. No more ideas . She'd have to test the ones she had, which meant leaving sanctuary and risking running into Yeshi. Ikki sighed, grabbed her papers and stuffed them into her orange tunic. She headed outside as the sun was setting, casting the sky in oranges and yellows. Ikki paused to admire the sight before entering the training arena.
However, someone was already training when Ikki arrived.
Jinora was already practicing an airbending move, and the last thing Ikki wanted to do was ruin Jinora's concentration. They bickered enough already without fighting over something dumb. Ikki watched from the shadows as her sister performed several dodging movements in a row. Her sister was red-faced and sweaty. Given that her sister had sassed being sweaty earlier, Ikki smirked. However, Ikki was pleased to see the black rings under her sister's eyes had vanished—Tenzin had been as good as he'd promised and had convinced the White Lotus to slow Jinora's schedule.
"Urgh, why can't I do this! I can airbend, but I can't do a stupid dance form incorporating bending! This is a waste of time!" Jinora kicked at the ground, sending a large gust of wind. Jinora was talking to what looked like a palm tree nearby. Ikki followed her sister's gaze and saw Furryfoot perched in the palm Jinora was staring at. Furryfoot cooed his sympathy.
Ikki's jaw dropped. Jinora actually wanted to learn her dance moves?! All of the sassing and scowling made sense now—she was frustrated that she couldn't dance! Ikki stepped out of hiding, causing Jinora to shriek.
"You scared me, Ikki!"
Furryfoot let out an angry hiss at Ikki, who shuddered. To Ikki, spirits were something you appeased to keep from bothering you, not something you snuggled with. Jinora scooped up the hissing Furryfoot and mumbled comforting words.
"You're trying to force the dancing," Ikki began to move in circles, occasionally switching direction out of nowhere. "You're too accustomed to using your bending to fight. You just need to let the wind carry you. Honestly, I make up half my moves as I go." Ikki did a twirl that was about ten feet high, thanks to her bending. As Ikki landed, she noticed water filling Jinora's eyes. Ikki crept in her sister's direction. How could she even go about asking her sister what was wrong? It wasn't like the two were close like when they'd been kids. "You… Okay, Jinora?"
"I'm fine," Jinora's voice cracked.
Ikki put a hand on Jinora's shoulder. "Really, because we can talk if—"
"I'll be okay," she whispered, breaking away from Ikki. But she wasn't. A tear dripped off Jinora's chin and onto the pavement. Despite the trouble she'd always had connecting with her sister and remembering Tenzin's advice about not being jealous, Ikki wrapped her arms around Jinora. She hated to see anyone cry.
"I'm not… used… to being bad at something." Jinora sobbed. "Since I've been little, all people have told me is how smart I am, how spiritual. If not for me, Korra couldn't have restarted the Avatar Cycle. I'm not used to failing."
Ikki wasn't quite sure how to deal with this side of her sister. All Ikki had ever seen was sassy, bookish, spiritual Jinora. Dealing with a sobbing sister terrified of failure made Ikki uncomfortable. Fortunately, Ikki had always tried to be sensitive to others' feelings and considered herself to be good at sympathizing with people. Ikki rubbed her sister's back.
"It'll be okay," Ikki took her sister's hand. "You're right. You're not normally a failure, and you won't be here, either. I'm going to teach you. Fortunately, you've got a bigger head start than most of the acolytes since you're an airbending master, tattoos and all."
Ikki broke away from her sister. Jinora was accustomed to using airbending strictly for fighting. How could she get her sister's mind to make the transition to using bending for dancing? … Aha! "Jinora, have you used bending to play with Furryfoot?"
Jinora wiped the last of the tears out of her eyes. "Uh, yeah… Why?"
"Well… Think of it like that." Ikki licked her lips. She was making up this example as she went. Urgh, now she would have to interact with the spirit. Ikki trembled. How could Jinora like spirits? They weren't even solid! "Can I use Furryfoot for my demonstration?" Goosebumps spread up and down Ikki's skin. She didn't want to touch that thing. She sat down cross-legged on the ground and held out her arms.
"Sure," Jinora handed her Furryfoot. The moment he arrived in Ikki's arms, Furryfoot stated to twitch like mad.
"What am I doing wrong?" Ikki squeaked. This hadn't been a good idea, this hadn't been a good idea… She struggled to keep a grip on the spirit. She had never understood how spirits were grippable and yet could phase through things. Another reason to distrust them.
Jinora frowned at the scene, and sat down next to Ikki. "Are you nervous? Spirits can feel negative energy. Sort of like how when Korra visits, Naga can tell when the acolytes are afraid of her. You need to calm down. Furryfoot is no different that Naga, really."
Right… No different that Naga. No different. "Ah, i-if you say so! S-spirits m-make me really nervous though!" Ikki rubbed Furryfoot's head with trembling hands.
"You have nothing to be nervous about: Just relax," Jinora's gentle voice encouraged Ikki to try. Stomach aching with jitters, Ikki continued petting Furryfoot on the head. Eventually, her shoulders begin to untense. Furryfoot rolled over onto his stomach.
"He wants you to scratch his belly," Jinora supplied. "Dragonfly bunny spirits like that."
Ikki did as her sister instructed, and Furryfoot thumped a back leg.
"Hey, we're friends!" Ikki's face lit up. Ikki picked up Furryfoot so he faced her. "Do you want me to help teach Jinora how to dance?" The spirit let out a twittering noise. He flew into the air with his long fragile looking wings. "Okay, let's go!" Ikki said.
Ikki jumped up. She propelled Furryfoot up and down with several gentle air currents, making sure his falls were slow. Furryfoot let out a noise similar to a laugh. Next, Ikki used her bending to send both herself and Furryfoot high into the air. Ikki bit her lip as she went downward. This so far was turning out boring. Although she'd never done this with a spirit before. She used her bending to propel herself and Furryfoot on the roof, where she did several flips using her bending to stay in the air. Furryfoot also did several air-summersalts. Since he had wings, he didn't need Ikki's help there. Afterward, Ikki made an air slide. Furryfoot hopped on her head as Ikki got on the slide and zoomed towards concrete.
Jinora came scrambling forward. "You're right Ikki, I have been using my bend as a forming of dancing without knowing it!" Jinora sent herself and Furry into the air with an air funnel. She paused a second to form two downward looping slides for her and Furryfoot to slide down to the ground. Jinora landed on the ground laughing. She scooped up giggling Furryfoot and walked over to were Ikki watched.
"Thank you, Ikki!" Jinora gave her sister a one-armed hug. "That was amazing!"
"I know!" Was the universe imploding? She and Jinora had a shared interest for once, and weren't fighting—
"Master Jinora!" Ikki turned and saw Yeshi standing in the door. "That was an amazing use of your bending! The way you and your spirit moved, it was like your minds were in total harmony!"
Ikki tensed. This evening had been so good. She didn't want to ruin everything over a guy. She wouldn't ruin everything over a guy. She wasn't going to waste her relationship with Jinora because she was jealous. Not when they'd finally made progress.
"It was a terrific use of bending, wasn't it? I'm so proud." Ikki forced herself to smile as Yeshi squished Jinora into a hug. Jinora, who looked tense, jerked away.
"I hope we'll see you in practice tomorrow, Master Jinora. You should bring a whole troop of spirits to dance with," Yeshi said happily. He nodded at Ikki. "Goodnight to you, Master Ikki."
Ikki's throat tightened. Only five words spoken her way. It wasn't fair.
Jinora yawned. She stretched before wrapping Ikki in a tight hug, Furryfoot landing on both their heads. "Thank you for the fun night, Ikki! I'm so glad we're getting along for once." She glanced at Yeshi for a second after letting go of Ikki. "Good night."
Yeshi moved to gently put a hand on Jinora's shoulder. "Master Jinora, might I escort you to your room…?"
Escorting her to her room at night, how sweet and romantic…!
Jinora's lip's tightened. "No need, I've got it. Thank you for offering, though." Jinora made an air scooter and Furryfoot perched on her head and let out a happy noise at the high speed. Together they zoomed off in the direction of her and Ikki's room. Yeshi excused himself as well.
Ikki was alone now, and despite the happiness still flooding through her, she still felt something else: Hopelessness.
Here she was, pining after a guy who liked her sister more than her. She blushed. This was pathetic! Ikki sank to the ground. Tears leaked out of her eyes. Ikki did not know how long she allowed herself to do cry, before she felt an arm around her shoulder.
"Ikki, sweetie, what's wrong?"
Ikki looked up and saw that she was looking at her mother, Pema, who was dressed in a nightgown. Darkness had fallen now and Ikki could hear crickets chirping in the background.
"Your dad and I were worried about you, so I went to have a look around." Pema rubbed Ikki's shoulder. "Are you okay?"
Finally. After weeks of waiting, she could finally tell someone how she was feeling!
"I like one of the acolytes. But he doesn't like me back, he likes Jinora! And it's not fair, he always asking her how she's feeling and compliments her and tells her all those things that must make her feel so good, and he doesn't talk to me at all!" Ikki sniffed. "He doesn't even notice me and it's like she doesn't care."
Pema put a hand on her daughter's cheek. Ikki was reminded of when she'd been a little girl and fallen while practicing her bending. She'd scraped her knee. Pema had held her and told her it would be okay then, too. "Honey, I'm going to have to tell you something, and you might not like hearing it."
"What?" Nothing could be worse than how she already felt.
"Well, when Dad dated Chief Beifong, I acted on how I felt because I could tell he liked me, even if he wasn't willing to admit it, because I knew he wasn't happy with Beifong. If he'd been happy with her, I would have let it go and went to another air temple to study."
Ikki put her head in her hands. She groaned. "So you're saying that I'm wasting my time pining for a guy who doesn't care about me?"
"I'd say that you deserve someone who is as excited about you as you are about him," Pema's voice was firm but gentle. She stood up. "Now how about we go to bed, huh? It's getting late."
Ikki stood up and gave her mom a hug. Ikki's tears dripped onto her mom's shoulder. "Thanks for listening, Mom."
"I just wish you'd told me sooner." Pema stroke Ikki's hair. "I'm always here when you need me, sweetie."
"I love you so much, Mom."
"You too."
#
Days went by and Ikki and Jinora found themselves spending more time together. Dancing practices with Furryfoot soon turned into glider races across Air Temple Island. Which turned into study sessions overlooking the beach. (Ikki was not pleased with the homework, but to be fair, Jinora did make the subjects they were learning way more interesting than Pema did.)
However, every time they would go out to do something fun, it seemed to be a repeat of the night when Yeshi had found Ikki first training Jinora. Yeshi always seemed to be showing up so that he could fawn over Jinora and while Ikki was getting better over pouting less like Pema had suggested, it was had to get over a guy when he acted so adorable.
Jinora tapped on the shoulder after a glider race one day.
"You okay, Ikki?" Jinora smoothed her wind-tossed hair. That was why Ikki kept her hair braided often. "You might have won that race, but it doesn't change that you almost flew into the air temple."
Ikki blushed. She'd been thinking about the situation with Yeshi, and moreover, what to do about it. Perhaps the best solution was to leave Air Temple Island.
"I have a lot on my mind," Ikki said, avoiding the question.
"Come on," Jinora closed her glider and frowned at Ikki. "You can tell me whatever's bothering you. Dad told me about how you asked about lightening my schedule." She put a hand on Ikki's shoulder. "It means a lot to me that you did that. Especially since we fought like catdeer and dogelk back then."
Ikki breathed deep—a hard task for an airbender if you didn't want to shoot seven feet in the air. The old "evade and avoid" trick wasn't going to get her far. "Well, I have a crush on one of the acolyes—"
"Ohhhhhh, who?" Jinora cupped her hands near her chin with excitement, but Ikki ignored her—
"But he doesn't like me, he likes you."
The excitement fell away from Jinora's face in seconds. "Oh. Is it Yeshi?"
"How did you—" Ikki began.
Jinora threw her glider on the ground. "He fawns over me more than the other acolytes."
"Oh." Well, it least it was out in the open. "Do you not like him back?"
"No," Jinora said. She shrugged. "Since I was ten, I've been teaching the whole island how to interact with spirits." She stared off into the sky. "That's why I didn't tell anyone until Kya made me. I knew I was already unique for being one of the last airbenders. If I told anyone, I would be a freak amoung freaks."
Ikki wanted to hug her sister. Her hands twitched, but she didn't move towards Jinora.
"You're not a freak!" Ikki insisted. She closed her own glider and sat it down gently next to Jinora's. "You're just special. I wouldn't have even cared about having a spiritual side if not for you." Over a week ago, she would have raged with jealousy at the thought of Jinora leading her family into a new spiritual age. Now, she had peace with it. There was no one better for the job and since her talk with Tenzin, she knew she did have a place in the new age. Perhaps one day she could teach her children, and Jinora's and her brothers' airbending. She loved bending and was good at teaching, so why not combine them both?
Jinora laughed at Ikki's comment about her powers making her speical.
"You've seen how the acolytes treat me." Jinora stared down at the ground. "They view me more like a god than a girl. Especially Yeshi, which is why I don't have feelings for him. I want someone who likes novels and adventure, not just learning about spirits and fussing over airbending." Her hands began to move animatedly as she spoke. "And I get that I have a rare gift, that I'm going to lead the family and the acolytes, even Korra, into the new spiritual age, but—" a tear trailed down her face—"It doesn't change that I have feelings. That I'm human. I was tired and overworked from my training until you spoke to Dad." Jinora sighed. Then she added as an afterthought: "Sometimes I just want someone to talk about the new series of historical dramas based on the life of Avatar Wan with."
Ikki clapped her hands a bit, her sister made a bit more sense to her! Ikki liked Yeshi because of his consideration of someone's feelings and interest in learning her dance routine. But he only cared for the surface things about Jinora. Ikki wasn't sure she would want to date him if she was Jinora, either. Ikki sat down next to Jinora. "Well, there's me. I might not like to read, but you can still talk to me about stuff." To be honest, Ikki would rather walk over hot lava than sit around and talk about long dead people. Talk about boring! But she only had one sister and she wanted to get along with Jinora.
Jinora cracked a smile at Ikki, who sat tense at the idea of talking about books. "That's what I actually like about our relationship, Ikki. To you, I'm just your bossy stuffy older sister. That's very sweet of you wanting to talk about history considering how much I know you hate it." Jinora wrapped her sister in a hug.
Ikki and Jinora started giggling because it was true. Ikki stroked her sister's hair like Pema had done for Ikki.
"But that's because you are my bossy, stuffy big sister!" Ikki said, breaking away from Jinora. "You don't get away with pestering me about doing my history homework because you have cool spirit powers."
For a while, neither moved. They sat and listened to the waves crashing against the shore nearby.
Finally, Jinora stood up. "If you like this guy, I should tell him I'm not interested so he'll move on. I'm sorry, Ikki. If I'd known, I'd have let him down a while ago." She bit a stray nail. "I've been avoiding dealing with him because I didn't want to take away his hope." She opened her glider. "I'm going to go do that now, want to come?"
Ikki opened her own glider. She should come and tell Yeshi how she felt. She didn't want to see Yeshi's face when he made it clear he didn't care for her, but it was better than living with false hope. Ikki jumped off the cliff with the glider. Wind rushed in her ears. She expertly grabbed onto the proper handles and zoomed past Jinora.
"Race you!"
Jinora leapt off the cliff on her glider in hot pursut of Ikki.