Chapter 4: Bendin' The Truth A Bit
Korra almost spun on her heel the second she felt seven pairs of eyes lock on her when she hesitantly entered the mess hall that morning, only to bump into Kaylee, who latched onto her arm like a cheerfully smiling fire ferret. "You ain't gonna miss breakfast with us are ya?" Kaylee asked with an adorable, and utterly inescapable, pout.
Seeing no safe way of going back to the safety of her cabin that didn't include being incredibly rude, and committing the nigh unthinkable act of managing to upset Kaylee, Korra groaned quietly and sat down at the table without any resistance on her part. She had already learned, besides the apparent natural law of the universe that it was almost impossible to upset Kaylee anyway, that actually doing so was a grave crime against said nature. You just didn't do it, even if you wanted to. On the off chance you succeeded, there'd be Hell to pay from Mal, not to mention Simon, who had only once glared at her when Kaylee had initially told him about Korra's first impression of Serenity.
Breakfast that morning was incredibly awkward, for lack of a better word. Everyone was doing their best to appear as disinterested as possible while they ate, and failing miserably at it. The not so subtle glances thrown her way were ample evidence of their curiosity and, in some cases, concern. Mal finally broke the uncomfortable, disquieting silence in his usual off beat, cheerful way. "So… anyone wanna talk about last night? Slept like a baby myself, mostly."
"Mal." Inara tersely growled, in no mood for his usual antics, noticing how terribly embarrassed Korra already was. She didn't need River or Iris to tell her that last night was a sensitive topic for their newest guest. It was all too easy to see on Korra's face, the slump of her shoulders, not to mention the just visible tension in her body. Inara wasn't blind to any of it, unlike Mal apparently.
"What? I say somethin' wrong?" Mal asked innocently.
"You can just ask you know, Buhn Dahn." Korra growled as she jerked her head up to glare cold daggers at the smug scoundrel sitting at the other end of the table.
"Firstly, that's Captain Buhn Dahn, and secondly, I don't appreciate your less than respectful tone at such an early hour as this. Can't rightly deal with munity without at least two mugs of fresh brewed first." With a nod to himself, Mal's eyes widened in mock horror after taking his third sip of the day. "And I would very much appreciate it if you don't use that particular weakness against me in the near to very far future. Preferably never."
"Ha ha. None of you would believe me if I told you anyway, so what'd be the point?" Korra pouted and slumped further in her chair as Kaylee placed a steaming mug in front of her. "Thanks." The perky engineer just grinned in reply as she took her own seat by Simon.
"They will." River replied softly, drawing all eyes to her. "Maybe not right away, but they'll understand if you explain it to them. Been through worse than you." River shrugged, managing to make even that simple gesture slightly unsettling somehow. "Or you can keep being haunted by the masked man's ghost."
"I don't want to talk about it." Korra grumbled, folding her arms over her chest, looking very much like a nervous, petulant child.
"In that case, I could just tell them for you. Your choice." River said, a smug little smirk appearing on her face at having backed Korra into a metaphorical corner. "I might be a little less secretive."
"It would however be cathartic for you if you told us yourself, Avatar Korra." Iris intoned, only adding to the unsettling vibe the two psychics emanated just by being in the room.
"Way I see it Korra, this story's gettin' told. Iris is right, better if it came from your mouth than River's." Zoe stated calmly as she leaned against the kitchen counter, one hand on her hip while the other balanced her own plate of food. "You gave me an idea of what you've be through. You've seen war, that much I figured, same as Mal." Grabbing a jar of baby food from a cabinet, Zoe strolled over to the table, put down the jar and plate, and took Emma's harness off her back to set the child in the high chair next to her before she finally sat down.
Simon loudly cleared his throat after a few moments of silence. "Maybe if we all share a little about ourselves, it might make it easier for Korra to do the same with us? Would anyone like to go first?" The young doctor patiently waited for anyone to volunteer before letting out a deep sigh of annoyance when no one stepped up. "Alright then, I'll go first." Simon leaned in front of Kaylee to look down the table at Korra, his eyebrows comically rising as he spoke up. "I spent my entire inheritance, and willingly tossed away a promising medical career on Osiris, in order to save my little sister from being treated like a rutting laboratory experiment." Seeing everyone but Iris and River frowning at his words, Simon smiled at his sister. "And I wouldn't have it any other way if I had to do it all over again." The slight grin this got from River seemed to placate him.
River went next, seeing it as the logical progression after Simon had finished speaking. "I stabbed Jayne in one of my more violent psychotic episodes before I recovered most of my sanity. Injured more important crew as well. Alliance wanted a weapon, an assassin with precognitive and psychic power, they got it, but not in the way they hoped. I uncovered their secret on Miranda, and found another, Iris, two weeks and five days ago. More like me, programmed to kill, to obey orders, and nothing else. Already freed her, but others are still out there."
"As River has previously stated, I was freed by her and Doctor Tam." Iris helpfully volunteered. "I almost terminated them when they first attempted to assist me while I was still under Alliance control. Though I calculate the chances of a recurrence of this happening again to only be seven point six two percent." Iris' paused, then continued as if she had forgotten something important. "I also threw a small surgical scalpel into Captain Reynolds' throat. Fortunately, he survived."
"Right…." Korra looked at Mal, as if trying to silently ask him why he kept her around if she was such a potential risk to his continued well being.
"To be fair, she was a mite grumpy when she woke up." Mal offered, subconsciously rubbing at the left side of his neck, even as he grinned at the almost grateful look Iris gave him for defending her actions. "Figure sayin' I fought in the war on the losin' side isn't anything new. Just 'cause we lost doesn't mean it wasn't the right side though. Could tell ya quite a few stories about it 'till I'm blue in the face." Mal grinned over his mug of coffee, took a sip, and jerked his head up when something came to mind. "Oh! I got a good one. This gorram evil harpy of a woman by the name of Saffron, left me buck naked in the desert once. Not one of my better days."
"We still got the booty we was after cap'n, I'd call that a good day." Kaylee cheerfully replied. "Wasn't an altogether unpleasant view neither. An' I bet Inara would agree with me." At the amused, wide grin from the former Companion, Kaylee chuckled before offering her own tale of woe. "Cap'n first met me when his first engineer brought me aboard. Was on my back, playin' at bein' his port o' call." At Korra's raised eyebrows, Kaylee laughed and shook her head. "Mighta been a little desperate on a count of not havin' anythin' txit my-"
"I still can't know that." Mal hurriedly said, hoping Kaylee wouldn't finish that particular sentence.
"Alright Cap'n Tightpants. Anyhow, that's how I got myself a fine place here after I fixed Serenity up in two seconds flat." Seeing the shame and guilt in her eyes, Simon leaned closer to Kaylee to give her a reassuring smile and a very complimentary whisper in her ear, if the giant, goofy grin on her face was anything to go by. "Promises ain't nothin' without the guts to back it up Simon." She shot back, grinning wider than ever in return.
"That ain't mildly disturbin' at all... could stand to hear a bit more though." Jayne grunted, before he opened his mouth next. "Guess most ya'll know by now anyhow, what with those two gorram moonbrained gals runnin' their mouths off. Called the Feds once, hopin' to get a nice re-ward from the bounty on Crazy Girl Number One. 'Stead, almost got myself, the doc, and his bughouse crazy sis arrested. Make it worse, someone was comin' after us, someone that made the Feds seem welcomin'. Heard 'lotta screamin' as we made our way out of there."
"Two by two... hands of blue." Again all eyes fell on River after that bit of very softly spoken bit of mysterious rhyme. If that wasn't enough, all the color drained out of the girl's face before she finally shook herself out of her stupor and her vision seemed to clear about the same time. "Alliance hunters, sonic disruption weapons. Liquified brains and internal organs for all who had come into contact with us. With me."
"Yeah. Thanks for that creepifyin' little reminder. Anyhow, Cap'n and these fine folks saw fit to give me another chance, not that I rightly deserved one I suppose." A far more somber Jayne explained to Korra, giving Mal and the others a nod as he raised his mug. "All worked out though, we're still flyin'."
"That we are." Mal offered, mirroring Jayne's gesture. "And before ya ask Korra, those hunters were dealt with some time ago. Dropped their charred corpses in a scrap yard. Doesn't mean there won't be others, but those two are done for at least." Without missing a beat, Mal raised his mug in the Companion's direction. "How 'bout you Inara? Got any scintillating tales that would strip away this poor girl's innocence like a mighty powerful varnish?"
"I'm sure I could, but I won't." Inara replied, a playful smile on her face as she regarded each of her assorted 'family' members.
"Aww come on 'Nara, we all shared somethin'. Only fair!" Kaylee chimed in, all but pouting in an effort to get the Companion to spill something of interest.
Inara chuckled, shook her head, and let her smile grow a little before she began speaking. "If I must... A Companion doesn't kiss and tell, so such tales won't be shared here, but I wasn't always a Companion. I had a childhood, just like everyone else, and I have my fair share of rather interesting tales. I knew Nandi growing up, a fellow Companion who went...freelance."
"She was an actual whore." Mal explained. "Hear her tell it, Nandi had a thing against a dulcimer and turned her back on the whole Companion shtick."
Korra was shocked to see a sad, thoughtful expression past over Mal's face, but it was gone in a heartbeat, quickly replaced with his trademark smirk. She was tempted to ask him more about this Nandi, but thought better of it at the last second. It was just as well, because she noticed a similarly depressed look flicker across Inara's beautiful face a moment later.
"We weren't always the best of friends when we were kids. I framed her for a rather daring theft." Inara gave a sad smile while everyone at the table leaned closer to her. "Three bars of fine chocolate, and a porcelain doll. Years later, when we were both apprentices living in the Training House, I confessed to the crime and apologized to her. She forgave me, after punching me in the face that is."
"That's it?!" Jayne grumbled, his disappointed frown was mirrored on most of the faces gathered around the table. "I pull a gorram Judas on you and the rest a' these folks for a bit of coin, and the best you can come up with is thievin' some chocolate and a dolley?!"
"Would supporting Unification count as something more embarrassing?" Inara asked, her smile fading a little at the less than enthusiastic response her childhood tale of woe had garnered.
Mal knew Inara had supported the Alliance's side of the war, and he had never held it against her. Still, he was less than impressed with her attempt to beat her first story with one he knew about. "Not really. Can't say providin' the enemy 'stress relief' is exactly a firing squad level offense. More than a little troublin' though." Despite his words, Mal laughed at the glare that comment got from Inara. "Would it help if I didn't count the more 'inexperienced' ones? I'm not so cruel I'd make any boy go into battle without becomin' a man first."
"That somehow doesn't surprise me." Korra stated, a small smile on her face as she looked up to the captain in a new light.
"He did to." Zoe chimed in, smiling at the more cheerful memories she and Mal had of the war. "If we had the extra coin layin' round, he'd make sure younger recruits had themselves a night or two they wouldn't soon forget, if they was willin' and brave enough. Funny story since we're on the subject. Mal here, he had this new kid, fresh outta boot."
"Oh boy." Mal chuckled, knowing exactly where Zoe was going with this one.
"He was a good kid, little slow on the trigger, but not stupid. Fought almost as well as the captain, but he had no luck when it came to women. So Mal tries to help him out, but the kind hearted doxy he has lined up didn't work out so well. Kid runs out on her, too shy to go the trenches." Zoe punctated that with a knowing wink, causing a very familiar skin condition to develop on their resident Avatar. Zoe continued, smirking at the blush they could easily see on Korra's cheeks. "Two weeks later we're at the Battle of Smokey Toppe, and our Sergeant here can't find our new greenhorn anywhere. Turned out, he found his girl. A purple belly to boot, just as green as he is, in more ways than one."
"No!" Kaylee gasped, grinning from ear to ear at this interesting twist.
Mal picked up where Zoe had left off, a wide grin on his own face. "So I kick down the door of this deserted little shack in the middle of Nowhere, and the first thing she screams is 'Just let me finish before you shoot!'." Mal raised his arms, adding in a gasp and some loud moaning for effect. "Didn't have the heart to shoot her, or him for that matter, going over to the other side like that. Not that I blamed him much. After it all was said and done, had three kids and started a little ranch on Greenleaf. Last I heard, they was still doin' pretty well for themselves. Sent 'em the picture I grabbed of 'em in the act as a wedding gift, shoulda seen their faces, all sweaty and shocked like. Framed it and everythin'."
"You send that with the stuffed rabbit sir, or was that a separate package?" Zoe asked, grinning quietly as she wiped at Emma's chin after she started to drool.
"Separate package. Didn't want to scar their first born for life." Mal clarified, chuckling as he took another a sip from his mug.
Zoe rolled her eyes but shrugged as she tried to think of something to share. It didn't take her long when she picked up an apple and speared it through with her knife before cutting off one thin slice at a time. "Me and Wash had been workin' for Mal for a while now, and we make a run to Persephone. First time I meet the local crime lord, name a' Badger. Mal has a history with him, so I let him take the lead. Turns out that's a bad idea. He's heard of my Mister, and Badger has a tendency to run his mouth, so when the Captain's cunnin' negotiation skills start to take a bad turn, Badger looks at me and says somethin' about findin' me someone worth my time. Namely a well respected businessman and 'pillar of the community' such as himself."
Korra smiled and leaned on her elbows. "I'm gonna take a guess and say he didn't like what you had to say about that."
Zoe grinned right back and nodded her head since Korra was right. "I pulled my rifle, shot a hole in his desk at about knee high, and turned on the closest guard before he had a chance to pull his own leg iron. Made it clear I wasn't interested in anythin' he had to offer. Oddly enough, that was the first time I realized that I loved Wash. Might have to thank Badger the next time I see him, if I don't shoot him first."
Korra had heard enough and could only laugh and shake her head at the assorted tales that had been told by the crew. Some of them had been very revealing in more ways than one, Jayne and Simon's especially, but all of it had served its purpose in building a small amount of trust between them. "Guess it's my turn now."
"It gorram well better be. Not every day a fella bares his soul and all." Jayne muttered, not about to be denied now.
"Seems only fair Ponytails." Mal agreed before going to get himself and Korra another mug of coffee, which she accepted with a nod of thanks.
"For once, I have to agree with Jayne. I never thought I'd say that." Simon replied quietly as he sat back down next to his sister and Kaylee. "Maybe this is what going insane feels like."
"No, it's shiny!" Kaylee all but shouted. "We all got stories, only fair we hear Korra's!"
Tempted to see if she could grab Inara and make it to her shuttle before the crew could catch up with them, she disposed of that idea when Iris and River gave her knowing smirks as soon as her 'escape plan' took shape. Sighing in defeat, seeing no way out of this, Korra resigned herself to telling her own story. "Before I say anything, you need to understand the kind of world I came from. How we live, what we believe in, all of it. And I need you to not say a word until I finish because some of this is going to sound downright crazy without proof."
"Darlin', down right crazy is what we do on a near daily basis." Mal stated, a proud smirk on his ruggedly handsome face.
"Defying the laws of physics is a little more than what we deal with Mal." River retorted quietly.
"Huh?"
"I think she means this is related to all those random occurrences that plagued the ship until Korra showed up, sir." Zoe snarked, and wasn't disappointed when the pair of Readers nodded their confirmation.
"Oh, gotcha. Now I'm mighty interested." Mal said with a nod of his head as the pieces started to fall together.
"Sorry, that was Aang, and probably more than a few of the other past Avatars. Their spirit forms at least." Korra glared at the raised eyebrows and blank stares that comment received. "I told you it was going to sound crazy." Korra raised her arms in exasperation and seemingly yelled at the ceiling. "Aang little help here?!" And it was at that point... that absolutely nothing happened, much to her embarrassment.
"Huh." Was all Mal could say yet again as an uncomfortable silence fell on the mess.
"Start at the beginning." Inara encouraged after the tense silence became too much, even for her. "Every tale has a beginning, start with yours and work from there. You've certainly got our attention."
"Yeah...we'd all like to hear more from our bestest new pal Korra." Jayne loudly said, speaking to the room at large, snickering under his breath. "Girl must be gorram queen of the moonbrains."
"Master Aang has a sense of humor, but he's a peace loving man. Only used violence as a last resort. Like Iris or Simon. Unlike Korra. Or me." River offered, although whether it was meant to a warning for Jayne or a random thought was anyone's guess. A guess which was quickly dispelled with what she said next. "You, he just doesn't like all that much, man ape gone wrong."
"Well I certainly don't like my pants catchin' on fire for no gorram reason." Jayne growled out in response at the reminder.
"That was probably Keisha, she was one of the most renown Firebenders in history. At least, she started out as a Firebender, before she discovered she was another Avatar." Korra supplied, rubbing at her chin in thought.
"You don't say. This Keisha lady, she wouldn't happen to be a of good lookin', shapely sort would she?" Jayne asked with an outright leer.
"Jayne, woman set your pi gu on fire, I think its safe to say she don't like ya that much." Zoe deadpanned, before she went back to feeding a ravenous Emma.
"Not to mention she's been dead for a few thousand years." Korra chimed in with a roll of her blue eyes. "Can I get on with this, or would you rather keep on interrupting me?"
"Ya heard the lady." Mal said, before nodding for her to continue. While he wasn't the only one that wanted to hear this particular tale, Mal was fairly certain he was the one most personally invested since it was his ship that had been chosen to harbor their mysterious new guest. One that came from a place and time that was vastly different from his own.
"I guess I should start with Bending." Korra said while she rubbed at her chin before a thought occurred to her, and she glared at River. "Please tell me River at least told you what that is..."
"Somethin' about being able to control the four basic elements of your world was what I got outta of her less than enthusiastic explanation. About the same day my shower head decided to explode with a barrage of ice shards. Gonna take a wild guess water is one of those basic elements a' yours." Mal said with a casual, nonchalant shrug of his shoulders.
Korra nodded, trying her best not to laugh at the ornery captain. "As well as Earth, Fire, and Air. Most Benders can only control one element, but the Avatar can master them all."
"Explains ma smokin' ass." Jayne chimed in, much to the crew's collective annoyance. "I'd take it as a personal favor if'n you'd ask your crazy spirit buddies not to do that again. Not that the next woman I bed is gonna complain. Smooth as a babe's behind, front and back. Gonna take a few more showers to get rid of the stink though."
"...I think I'm going to be sick." Korra muttered, flabberghasted by Jayne's less than subtle comment.
"I'm trying to decide if you could be any cruder, but I'm having a hard time imagining it." Simon told him as he gave Korra a gently pat on the shoulder, shocked disgust etched all over his face.
"Just makin' polite conversation is all." Jayne said defensively.
"You want to leave this room." Zoe told him with an eerily calm tone to her voice. One that had the hairs on the back of Korra's neck standing on end.
"Not really." When Zoe snapped up her Mare's Leg, Jayne was on his feet and all but running for the nearest exit. "I'm goin'! Jeez, you seriously need a good hump woman, just sayin'. Maybe Korra here could help ya out with th-" The ominous sound of a lever action click filled the room. "Gorram it Zoe! Thought motherhood 'supposed to mellow a gal, not turn her into a killer woman!" He shouted, but didn't stop to say anything else as he disappeared into his bunk.
The only interruption to the tense silence that had fallen over the room came from Emma as she started wailing from the odd silence around her, but she quieted almost immediately when Zoe picked her up and held her against her shoulder. "Shh, it's okay baby girl, your mama just has a slight issue with a certain pig headed yi da tuo da bian."
Mal smirked and gave Zoe an approving nod. "Shootin' n' cussin', best to teach 'em the essentials at a young age."
"Right…." Korra replied, disbelief all too easy to see on her pale face at the scene that had just played out right in front of her. She made a mental note not to anger Zoe, ever, if she wanted to keep breathing. After the color returned to her cheeks, only then did Korra find herself able to keep on going with her story. "Basically, the Avatar's job, ah that's me, is to bring the world into balance. Literally or otherwise, Avatars achieve this by becoming one with themselves and the world around them, mastering both the physical and spiritual aspects of Bending. I…still have a long way to go before I get the spiritual side figured out." She admitted sheepishly.
"So you're a peacekeeper, acting as a guide in your own way." Inara said, explaining what Korra was trying to say to the rest of the crew in a way they'd understand.
"I... guess you could say that. Yes, I'm a peacekeeper." Korra said with a grin, taking a shine to the new title.
"Great, a mystical like Fed, just what we need." Mal groaned with a twinkle in his eyes as he gestured for Korra to keep going.
"People are born able to Bend, it's how it's always been as far as I was ever told. The Avatar can take a person's ability to Bend away, or gift those individuals they feel worthy of the same power." It was here that Korra's grin died. "But someone….other than the Avatar, rose up a little more than six months ago in Republic City. Um, that's the capitol... where I'm from."
"You don't say? Never woulda guessed." Mal told her with a smirk as Inara cast him an irritated glare.
"Mal." Inara muttered darkly, her gaze hardening somewhat before she turned to Korra. "Would it be safe to assume this person caused this war you hinted at?"
Korra nodded before continuing her tale. "Their leader was able to strip away people's ability to bend, which, honestly makes us Benders what we are. His name was Noatok, but he went by another name, Amon." No one seated around the table missed the subtle shiver that raced up Korra's spine at the man's very name. "Amon led a revolutionary movement called the Equalists, who claimed to be trying to fight for the equal rights and protection for all non-benders, but in the end, he was more interested in taking away everyone's rights, Bender and non-bender alike. The irony is that he was a Bender himself….a Waterbender." Korra hesitated, as if wondering just how much to share with them. "As well as a Bloodbender. A kind of...psychic, twisted form of Waterbending, focused on manipulating the body itself."
"You ah, one of these folk by any chance?" Mal asked, and Korra could practically hear him unbuttoning his holster catch under the table, trying to hide the movement with a chipper grin. "Just curious is all."
"What?! No! Bloodbending was outlawed long ago, because it was so dangerous and… well, just wrong. I can... could Waterbend, but that's it! Even if I could Bloodbend, I would never use it!" She paled as she remembered how it had felt to be held hostage by Tarlokk and Amon respectively by their Bloodbending. Tarlokk had been bad enough, but Amon had been many times worse, and not just because he had been more powerful. "I've been on the receiving end, and it's….like being violated in the worst way you could imagine. Being manipulated like a puppet by a twisted, dark mind, and you're not able to do a thing to stop it. Not to mention extremely painful since resisting-"
"Whoa, whoa, take a breath. Bloodbending equals bad, I get it." Mal offered the girl a reassuring look, seeing how nervous she was just discussing the matter, and slowly took his hand off his pistol's grip.
"You really don't, but be glad you won't ever find out." River whispered, having a far better understanding of what Korra had endured. It was, in a way, almost as bad as what the Alliance had done to her and Iris, and that wasn't taking into consideration what Korra was getting ready to divulge next.
"Anyway, Amon led his Equalists against Republic City. He had every intention of wiping out Bending, and for a while, it looked like he'd win. He had a weapons manufacturer, Hiroshi Sato, the father of a friend I ended up making along the way. He was able to create the perfect counter to almost everything we could throw at Amon. Mecha-tanks, tri-planes, bombs, you name it. Even after we took him down, Amon still had his chi-blockers, and most of his people were able to blend in with any crowd until they struck."
"An army of ghosts." Iris whispered, before speaking up seconds later. "You won, that much is clear."
"Question." Simon asked, politely raising his hand as Mal rolled his eyes.
Korra couldn't help smiling at Simon's overly polite nature. "Um, yes?"
"What's a chi-blocker? If I were to take a guess, perhaps someone with a detailed knowledge of the nervous system, affecting the so called 'chi' in a person's body by somehow blocking nerve signals?"
"You'd be right, except chi is very real for us Benders. It's how we manipulate the elements, by precise, smooth movements of our hands and feet and by channeling that same energy inside ourselves. Every element has its own style of combat, and requires its own stances and movements. Chi-blockers struck at specific points of the body, disrupting that flow temporarily."
"Guess we can add 'chi-blocking' to that Qing Wa Cao De Liu Mang's list of dirty deeds. Knew I shoulda shot 'im in the head." At Korra's curious look, Mal elaborated. "Alliance sent a special sort of trouble our way, fella called an Operative. Think highly trained chi-blocker who just loves to stab people and I'd reckon you'd have a pretty close comparison Ponytails."
"Could you please stop calling me that?" Korra grumbled and crossed her arms in annoyance.
"No, I truly can't." Mal cheerfully retorted.
"Captain Buhn Dahn." Korra growled under her breath, a vein visibly pulsing in her forehead.
"Been called worse, right Zoe? Remember that time you were washin' up down by the river right before-"
Mal trailed off to a dead stop when Zoe shot him an equally cold glare she had used on Jayne not so long ago. "Might be best for your health if you don't finish that thought sir."
"Just tell me this then. Ever do a little battle reenacting with your dear departed, and all 'round hilarious husband? Because I swear I heard Wash mention-" Mal trailed off again when Zoe started to walk away from Emma, and towards him, like a lioness stalking her sarcastic, smug prey. "Movin' on." He quickly said, and held up his hands to show he wasn't about to test her further.
"You're a horrible, horrible person." Korra stated with complete certainty as she stared at Mal like he was some particularly revolting beetle-roach. With a sigh, she shook her head and let her arms fall back to her sides before continuing. "Where was I anyway?"
"I'm a horrible person, and fella named Amon was in the middle of capturing your capital, harassing the civvies and all round bein' a mite dickish, lest I'm mistaken."
"Right…." Korra paled once more at the reminder. Taking a breath, then a second, she went on. "I made the mistake of challenging him not long after I arrived in town. He could have taken my Bending away then and there, but he wanted to save me for last. I never felt so helpless, so terrified before in my life."
Mal, leaning forward to rest his chin on one of his hands, gave korra a mocking pout. "Aww...I think someone needs a hug. Anyone wanna volunteer? Maybe you Inara?"
"Mal, enough." Inara growled, and Korra was starting to debate whether Reynolds' First Mate might have some competition in the rapidly growing 'first to knock the Captain on his ass' department.
Simon was just as annoyed by Mal's need to keep opening his mouth, and made his distaste known. "I have to agree with Inara, you're not exactly making things easy for our new guest, Captain."
Mal's goofy grin faded a little while his gaze hardened in annoyance. "I can take lip from Zoe, Kaylee, even Inara, hell Jayne on one of my more generous days, but you doc? That has an unpleasant affect on the landscape and I ain't likin' it overly much."
"Then maybe you should stick a fire ferret in that mouth of yours and let me talk!" Korra shouted and slammed her hand on the table, hard enough to shake up the plates and rattle the glasses. Emma's startled cry was enough to morph Korra's annoyed glare into a guilty looking frown. "Sorry Zoe."
"Can't rightly blame you, Captain has a way of pressin' the wrong buttons. Just don't let it happen round Emma again and we won't have a problem." Korra hurriedly nodded her head in understanding and was relieved when Zoe smirked in reply.
Mal meanwhile blinked in shock at Korra's almost violent outburst. "My oh my, such crude like behavior from our obviously citified young lady here."
"I know where you hide your badly written love poetry to Inara." River deadpanned, eerily cocking her head to the side.
It was Mal's turn to lose the color in his face as he glared at River in badly disguised shock. "I-I have no idea what she's talkin' bout. Must be some stray junk floatin' round that head of her's."
"Mei-mei, I think we need to have a talk in private after Korra's finished telling her story." Inara said, giving Mal a curious stare as he tried, and utterly failed, to appear nonplussed.
"You're his compass apparently, and you need to think of a better word than rumbas, it doesn't fit the context of your pross." River softly stated, a strange little smile on her lips.
Mal coughed and rubbed the back of his neck while he tried to regain his composure. "Would ya'll please stop interruptin' the flustered young lady?! I'm still waitin' to find out what happens with what's his face... Omelet."
"Amon." Korra corrected him before throwing her hands into the air in exasperation. "You know what, forget it. You ruined my rhythm and I don't feel like trying to pick up where I left off now."
"He took her Bending away." Iris said just as Korra started to get to her feet, her softly spoken words freezing the young woman like a deer in headlights. "River told you this story was getting told one way or the other Avatar Korra." She further stated when Korra sat back down, stunned into immobility.
Simon glared at the bald girl, before looking to his sister for an explanation. "Well, that makes sense, considering she can't bend, which I'm still a little confused about-"
"That was the first time I lost my bending...long story." Korra growled in retort as she glared at Iris before casting her furious gaze on Simon next. "I got it back for a while, until I found my way here. Then, wham, it was gone again just like that." Everyone except Iris and River jumped as Korra went to punch at the table again, before stopping her fist less an inch from it at Zoe's less than subtle glare. Korra immediately pulled her hand back and snapped her fingers instead. "Why I can't Bend here I haven't figured out yet, and someone won't say whether or not I'll get it back at all." No one had to guess who she meant when Korra let her blue eyes settle on River, who merely stuck out her tongue at the Avatar.
"Well someone's certainly grumpy." Kaylee admonished as she shoved a plate of faux banana-nut muffins in Korra's direction. Which soon found a new home lodged in her hair, while a satisfied looking Korra smirked at the stunned engineer. "I'm gonna let you off easy, since you're new and all. Not like you might suddenly get covered in grease when you're in the shower, or hot tar..."
"Kaylee, you're way too nice to do anything like that." Korra retorted, smirking as Kaylee pulled a large chunk of 'muffin' out of her hair and nibbled at it.
"Jubal might disagree with ya." Kaylee retorted, grinning from ear to ear.
"Oh really?" Korra rolled her blue eyes and gave the mousey engineer a dubious grin. "Who's that?"
"Just a thorn in our sides Kaylee whacked with a big gorram wrench and shot out the trash chute is all. Right after makin' him soil his britches, if the smell was anythin' to go by." Zoe helpfully informed her, while managing to keep a straight face as she tricked Emma into eating another spoonful of mashed carrots.
"Okay…." Korra replied, suddenly not so sure if she wanted to tempt Kaylee's wrath if half of what Zoe had said was true. "Sorry." The Avatar didn't see the apple core flying at her face until it bounced off her forehead.
"Now we're even." Kaylee told her with a smirking nod before giggling at Korra, which only served to unnerve her more. "And stop lookin' at me like Imma cut your hair off in your sleep...not that I'd ever do somethin' like that."
"I can handle having food thrown at me, but touch my hair and we'll be going twenty rounds little miss Engineer. Actually, that's not a bad idea." At their puzzled expressions, Korra stood to her feet and grinned at the perpetually cheery woman. "I could use a sparring partner. I might not have my Bending, but I can still throw a punch." She threw Zoe an appreciative smile before looking at Kaylee again. "So, whaddya say? I show you a few moves, you can explain the fine art of knocking somebody out with heavy tools."
Kaylee grinned at the offer before going back to picking pieces of muffin out of her hair. "You should see what I can do with a pair a' tweezers."
Korra had to stop herself from shuddering at the various mental images that comment put in her head. Again she made a note not to piss off the innocent looking engineer as she stood and started from the mess. She didn't get far before Mal cleared his throat, loudly. "You haven't finished your scintillatin' little tale yet."
"Maybe if I'm not interrupted every five seconds next time, I will." Korra shot over her shoulder before walking away.
"She has a point sir. You didn't make it easy for her, well not that you make life easy for anyone." Zoe said as she finished up with Emma before lifting her up out of her high chair. "See you in the cargo hold sir." She muttered darkly, and carried Emma away, following after Korra.
Mal raised his hands in exasperation before downing the last of his coffee as the mess slowly cleared out, receiving more than a few glares from his assorted crew mates. "What?! Not my fault she happens to have a lousy sense of humor!"