Author's Note: Wow I am slightly floored that people commented and started to add my story this quickly. *blush* What can I say I worked on getting this done as quick as I could so that you guys had more. I hope I did not let you down.
Bolin wiped some sweat off of his forehead and took a few labored breaths as the rumbling sound of crushed rock discs could be heard in the background. The earth bender was in rare form today and honestly wished he was in a match instead of the gym. Hasook commented, "Bolin, where is the girl you want to impress with those moves?"
Bolin lightly flexed while a smirk grew into an excited smile and chimed in response, "she is not here, but I get to meet up with her right after practice. I met one of the healers for the medical team today, Kisa. She just recently moved her from the South Pole and seems to be pretty down to earth. So I am greeting her team Fire Ferret style and just showing her around town. Gotta keep one of the healers on our side, plus she is pretty cute so why not. I will gladly let a pretty lady cling onto my arm while having some fun." Mako just lightly smiled and then went back to practice, just happy it was a healer he was meeting up later and not the usual rabid fangirl. The fire bender was getting a little irked how many times his poor brother was getting used because he was a pro-bender. Hopefully this healer was not another pro-bender chaser, and actually wanted to spend time with his brother.
Mako added a quick, "well just remember we have practice early tomorrow before our match." He then took off toward the loft and gave a small wave to the group.
Hasook added, "if this Kisa gal is going to heal us, please don't irk her, Bolin. I would like to make it through this season. Also ask her if she has any cute friends if things go well." The water pro-bender then let out a heh and wiggled his eyebrows. He had to admit this career choice did come with a few minor perks, mainly in the form of ladies.
Bolin waved goodbye to Hasook so that he could get ready for the night making a bee line for the showers. As much as he would like to dress up more, his usual attire seemed to fit the situation better. For extra luck he was going to bring Pabu along because people cant help but fall in love with the little guy.
Meanwhile, a half dressed Kisa was frantically running through her apartment trying to fix up her hair as best she could. After many vain attempts to make it look stylish while down, Kisa just ended up doing a small updo with a few accented braids in it that was help up with a water tribe clip. The healer had to keep reminding herself that this was not a date, and that it really did not matter what her hair looked like. Sadly, the words and insults from the girls earlier were still echoing through her head and taking a tiny blow to her self-worth. After a few checks in the mirror, Kisa was ready to head out to wait outside the meeting place for Bolin.
(minor time skip)
Light blue eyes continued to scan the area just outside of Penguin Noodle looking for the earth bender to show up. The healer felt like she did stand out a bit with her light blue puffy pants accented with white fur, traditional brown boots, and a dark blue dress accented with white fur. It was traditional water tribe attire so she was proud to wear it but conflicted because it did not mesh well with the current style here. Oh well, clothes cost money and that was not something she had to spare, if only she was more like her mother back at home who could sew and create wonderful outfits from scrap material. Just then her blue eyes focused on the earth bender and her face lit up just a little bit as she lightly jogged toward Bolin.
Bolin saw the healer make her way toward him; he had to admit she did look very cute outfit and all. When Kisa was close enough the kind earth bender gave her a warm hug and greeted, "Kisa! Glad you made it. We are going to have so much fun. Oh! Yeah … Pabu meet the lovely Kisa, and Kisa meet the one and only Pabu." Pabu responded back with a few noises and moved from Bolin over to Kisa curling around her neck. Kisa had never seen an animal like this so her eyes scanned the fire ferret that was now nestling on her neck. It felt like a warm comfy scarf in some ways, and she almost wanted to beg Bolin if she could keep Pabu. Thankfully, the little voice inside her head chimed in reminding her that Bolin's first impression was already she was the girl who kicked rocks, adding and likes stealing pets was not a good thing.
"Awwweeee why hello Pabu, aren't you just adorable," Kisa greeted while petting the fire ferret. Her blue eyes then scanned Pabu's owner confirming his very eye appeasing appearance … well for Kisa anyways. Already the hug gave away that he was large, but very muscular which was actually a nice change to see in appearance. She never feel for the typical guy anyways, it was always the weird quirks that amused her in the opposite sex. In fact back at home her closer friends would sometimes comment on her odd tastes in men, too bad it never worked in her favor. As a light blush took over her face, Kisa responded back, "sorry, Bolin, the adorbale Pabu distracted me. I can not wait for whatever it is we are doing tonight. So ….. where is our first stop and what exactly are we doing?" Kisa really had no idea what was going on tonight, she just hoped part of it involved food because her running around getting ready cut into meal time.
"I think what are we not doing might be a better question," Bolin fired back while lightly chuckling and added, "first up for our night out a small hidden gem that I think you might enjoy. Oooooooh … Then some delicious food because well I am a growing boy. And finally a little sight seeing to top off tonights festivities then it will probably be time to put Pabu to bed." Pabu stretched out and yawned which amused Kisa to no end, this was indeed one intelligent creature. Bolin then extended his arm to Kisa in which the water bender happily wrapped her own around. She gave his arm a light squeeze confirming that Bolin was mostly muscle with a light padding. Her mind could not help but think how powerful and comfortable it would be to lay against him. However, the healer had to remind herself though that this was not her boyfriend nor someone she was dating. In fact tonight was never even labeled a date, so she really had to stop putting the cart before the horse. For now Kisa could get herself to agree that if something happened after tonight great, otherwise to enjoy her "date" and have some fun.
Bolin started to move, lightly tugging Kisa along to start the adventure. The first place that Bolin wanted to take her to was probably not in the safest part of town. However, Bolin thought that Kisa would still appreciate it in the end, also if she was going to live in Republic City she was going to learn about areas like these eventually. They walked through Bolin's natural territory, where he spent most of his life in, but for the southern water tribe girl this was a bit of an eye opener. Sure, Kisa's family was not well off or rich by any means, but they had a warm roof over their head and food in their stomachs. Her grip on Bolin tightened a bit while her blue eyes glazed over in sadness. "Don't worry, these people are nice, they just have been through some hard times that is all," Bolin whispered. Kisa's body relaxed a little hearing that and could almost sympathize in a way.
After a few more minutes in some darker streets, Bolin stopped at a tiny shop and walked inside, making a bell on the door ring. An older feminine voice answered, "just a minute, just a minute." Soon and older lady with a toothless grin waddled her way toward the two and greeted them, "sorry these old bones don't move as fast as they used to. Oooooh what do we have here." The older lady looked over Kisa and lightly grabbed her arm while adding, "a water bender and in traditional south pole clothing too, what a nice sight for these old eyes. Lets see what we can find for you tonight."
Once inside the dimly lit shop, Kisa could see it was a cute little clothing store. Her stomach sunk a bit knowing that Bolin had his heart in the right place by taking her here, but ugh clothes cost so much money. Then her eyes caught a price tag on one of the items and her mouth wanted to drop how cheap it was. She could not guess why such lovely items were so affordable, and could only hope this was not illegal or stolen goods. Bolin chimed in, "Yeah I get all of my clothes here, Mako too. They are all handmade from fabric scraps, pretty cool huh. Everyone in town is so brand minded that these little gems sometimes go forgotten, sad isn't it."
"Really! Wow! That is so cool! And ummmm… what is a brand?" Kisa exclaimed and Bolin let out a happy laughter.
The old lady added, "a brand is a tiny piece of fabric on a poorly made factory duplicated item that quadruples the price of it. See this is why I love people from the south pole, you recognize good clothing when you see it. Myself and some other old gals opened this shop for fun and to give forgotten clothes a second chance of life, especially to those who appreciate the garments themselves not that silly tiny piece of fabric." The older lady then grabbed an outfit off of the rack, handed it over to Kisa and rushed her to a changing room.
"OK, OK I'll try it," Kisa said with a smile on her face and added, "but please I am a lady and I can change my own clothes." The old lady nodded and stood outside the door and smiled. Pabu quickly exited and went back to resting on Bolin's shoulders for now. In a few minutes Kisa happily emerged wearing a light blue, long sleeved, v neck Chinese styled shirt with a blue sash around her waist accented with some minor blue details as well. Around the top of her shirt there was a darker blue knitted scarf tied into a fashionable knot. A pair of comfortable brown pants completed the outfit, but currently Kisa's feet were still in her traditional light brown fur accented boots.
Bolin whistled lightly while complementing, "awe man with those clothes you might need to learn some water pro-bending moves to wash away all the men clamoring for you."
Kisa jokingly added while wiggling one of her boots, "well I can beat them up and then heal them, so it could work out. Ooooh but don't you think these boots add that nice final touch." Without even saying anything the old lady waddled back with a pair of dark blue sandals and just smiled. In a blink of an eye her well loved fur trimmed boots were replaced by a comfortable pair of dark blue clothed sandals. After a few more twirls in the mirror in her more modern city wear outfit, Kisa paid the old lady for her outfit and was told to visit anytime.
The older lady warmly spoke, "As for your older outfit, young lady, just write the address where you want it dropped off and consider it there tomorrow afternoon. It looks like you two have a long night ahead, no point in dragging a bag of clothes around with you." Kisa happily took up the offer and wrote down the address to Penguin Noodles, knowing that she was working there most of tomorrow, until an evening match at the pro-bending arena. Kisa lightly skipped outside of the shop and then stopped forgetting how she got there in the first place.
The brown haired healer turned back toward Bolin and gave him a giant hug just outside the shop. She was very thankful for being introduced to this place. As much as she loved her traditional southern water tribe outfits, it would be nice to at least kind of fit in a bit in the city.
"Thank you … thank you Bolin, this place was perfect," she thanked while clinging onto Bolin's muscular figure lightly leaned her cheek against his chest. 'uh oh, you might want to not stay on him that long,' went through Kisa'a head as she jumped away from him. Bolin lightly smiled at the thankful hug and would not have minded if she held on longer. It was nice to have a girl thank him for something that was not related to pro-bending. His green eyes noticed her hands fidgeting with her new scarf while saying, "Soooo… ahhh… where to next?"
Bolin's stomach rumbled in response to that answer and while trying to laugh it up a bit he answered, "well … I think it is time to sample some of the great eats in town. I would have taken you to Penguin Noodle, my usual place, but well … you already know that place … pretty well too. Soooooo … how about some street vendor food? There is one area I know pretty well," Kisa nodded in agreement, a bit interested to try this out because street vendors didn't exist at the South Pole. The food would be icicles or blocks of frozen soup before the first sale.
After another small stroll from the shop Kisa and Bolin ended up in a more touristy area. It looked familiar to Kisa, a small déjà vu moment flashed through her mind from when she got lost the first week in Republic City. Thankfully for the healer, the getting lost in the city stopped with a few more days of walking around in daylight hours and studying a map she purchased. So tonight being with Bolin, who seemed to be a native to Republic City, it was relaxing not having to worry how to get home tonight and actually let her hair down.
Bolin took her down the street and gladly pointed out his favorite places and kept on asking Kisa which one she liked more. The poor girl really had no clue which one she wanted to go more, she finally picked a stand that smelt delicious. It was really simple food stall that served various grilled food, even honey glazed grilled fruit that looked rather appetizing. Even with some minor solo adventures in Republic City, Kisa still only ate at Penguin Noodle or made her meals at home. It felt off to Kisa to eat on her own, probably because she was use to eating in groups of homeade food back at home. After picking out the place and ordering some food, they found a more comfortable place to sit and enjoy their little meal. They managed to find an open grassy area they could take a comfortable seat in. It still amused Kisa to actually be able to sit on grass and everything to not be completely frozen.
Bolin patted an area near him and Kisa got comfortable, and grabbed one of the skewers of grilled fruit glazed in honey. Her light blue eyes lit up while commenting, "wow, I never had anything like this. I have to say everyday I find something new here which is a bit charming about Republic City, since moving three weeks ago."
Bolin smiled, took a few bites of food, and added, "well, I have been here all of my life and I can say that it does not stay stagnant at all. So what did bring you here, Kisa?"
"Oh yeah that, well I got into the medical team for pro-bending. I have been pretty gifted in water bending all my life, but not in the fighting sense. So I focused on healing and got about as good as I was going to get in the South Pole. I even got a few lessons from Katara which was amazing. With a little pressure from my family and village I got convinced to try out for the pro-bending medical team. So ahhhh here I am, a little country girl getting her feet wet in the big city," Kisa answered and seemed genuinely happy. It was a tough decision to come out here and move away from everything, but if she was to become a great healer, she needed to expand her horizons. She took a few more bites of food before realizing she might have closed off the conversation.
Thankfully Bolin was pretty amazed to meet a healer and someone who seemed career focused. In his usual fashion he exclaimed, "Kisa, that is pretty amazing! I have to say it takes some guts to move away from home to follow your goal. I am impressed, but hopefully we will do so great that you will never have to heal me or my team. However in the unlikely event that a Fire Ferret gets injured it would be an honor to have you heal us, Miss Kisa. I have to say I heard rumors that most healers are there to chase the players, so it is nice to hear that is not the case."
The healer immediately blushed and shyly looked away flattered by Bolin's words, even if he never saw her in action. "Awe thank you Bolin, but maybe you should see me heal first then request me; I know my skills are great, but I have yet to heal someone from a pro-bending injury. As for requests, I dunno if I can request a particular team to work mostly for, but feel free to ask for me. Oh yeah, those people, they were the reason I was 'rock bending' earlier. I think those are assistants, but I am not sure, all I know is that I had to study and pass some pretty difficult tests to get in. Actually, now that I think about it I should probably see a pro-bending match in person … I would like to see what the fuss is all about. The few games I heard sounded pretty exciting. Actually, Bolin, how did you get into pro-bending?"
Bolin was a bit taken back by her response, surprised that someone who was going to heal pro-benders had never seen a match before. At least she had heard of it so she was completely clueless, maybe he would ask Mako if he could sneak her into practice one day just to see a little bit in person. "Oh yeah … how the fire ferrets formed. Well Mako and I wanted to make something out of ourselves and make use of our bending talents in a non-criminal way. We spent a while working on our bending and strength, and doing the few odds jobs we could to make ends meet. Then we made friends with Hasook and formed a team. I guess I should work on making the story more glamorous for when we win the tournament, and people want to know more about the famous Fire Ferrets," Bolin explained and Pabu struck a pose when the team name was said. Kisa chuckled and clapped at Pabu's show.
"Hey you don't need a fancy story, all you need is to be yourself that is all," Kisa chimed in. She continued to take a few more bites of her meal and was really enjoying the time she was spending with the earth bender. He seemed to actually be a nice, genuine guy almost reminded her a bit of the people she knew back at home. Without even thinking after finishing up the tasty meal, Kisa stretched out, leaned a bit onto Bolin, let out a small yawn and just relaxed a bit. The earth bender's shoulder was at perfect height for the healer to lean onto. Bolin just lightly smiled and tried to not move for a bit and just admired the water tribe girl leaning against himeself. He knew it was probably only a matter of moment until Kisa would snap back into focus.
Sure enough about two minutes later a flushed Kisa snapped away from his shoulder and sputtered, "I'm sorry, I guess I am more tired than I thought I was." Kisa even rubbed her eyes a bit to try and get the point across.
Bolin just smiled and said, "it is OK, Kisa, in fact we have the earliest slot for practice tomorrow so I should actually get you back home or at least back to Penguin Noodle. Mako is probably starting to wonder why I am not back yet and I prefer to avoid a lecture tonight." He then got up, offered his hand to Kisa and once the healer was back on her feet he offered her his arm again. Kisa did not refuse any help from the earth bender and thanked Bolin for being a gentleman when he offered his arm. As they walked back she wanted this night to continue some more, but she was starting to get pretty groggy and dragging her feet. Kisa guided Bolin to her actual apartment which was only a few blocks away from Penguin Noodle and when they parted she gave him a light hug.
"I had a wonderful night, Bolin, and I hope to see you again. Wait, I mean like hanging out not like me having to heal you …. that would be bad," Kisa spoke and them mumbled near the end. "If you are around the arena tomorrow I might see you. I have a seminar to attend and then we have a supply check to go through as well, but I also close at Penguin Noodle." she added trying to recover from her fumble.
"Well that might happen seeing as that we live at the arena," Bolin chimed in. "Oh yeah I did not mention that, Mako and I live in the attic of the arena, Pabu too. The views from there are amazing, you should check it out sometime." Bolin even lightly winked at the end of his statement, laying down the charm as usual. Kisa just smiled and nodded, happily accepting that invite, or well it seemed like one anyways. Kisa then waived goodbye to Bolin for now and opened the door to the apartment complex.
Once the healer was a bit out of sight of the earth bender she almost started to skip down the hallway and giggle a little bit. It was a great night and she only hoped to hang out with Bolin more in the future.
Author's Note: Well I hope you enjoyed Chapter #2, I am still working out the full plot, but yes Korra and Mako will make their presence. Feel free to keep on commenting. Sneak Preview for Chapter 3: Kisa bumps into Bolin while working and Tahno takes an interest in the healer as well.