Only two more exams to go until I'm free. So, here my weekend update. By the way, I can't wait to sink my teeth into writing about that season finale. It was amazing.
And you/ you knew the hand of the devil/ and you/ kept us up awake with wolves' teeth/ sharing different heartbeats/ in one night.
"Korra! What the hell is this?"
The people at the table suddenly looked up, watching the dark teen storm into the dining room, a furious look on his face. He looked as if he hastily arrived here, his tunic buttoned incorrectly and his hair only half done.
The avatar looked up at him in shock from her place between Jinora and Mako. She was not expecting Tahno until later that afternoon, hoping to reintroduce him to her friends, so that maybe they could become less hostile with each other. But with a side glace to her new Team Avatar she could tell that they were not pleased to see him at all.
"Tahno! What are you doing here? It's seven in the morning." She asked, standing up as he stomped to the table before slamming down the paper in his hand- slightly bent and crinkled from the fist he held it in.
"Well, I wake up this morning, step outside to get my mail and look and see this! This ridiculous law! What even is this?" He shouted, and finally the avatar looked down to see the paper. It was a notice,
To whom it may concern,
By order of the Council, there will now be a curfew for all nonbenders in Republic City. All nonbenders are acquired to be within their homes before nightfall every evening from here on out. All spotted outside this time will be assumed working for the criminal Amon and the now illegal activist group known as the Equalists and will be punished accordingly.
Chief Shaikhan.
"To whom it may concern? How could they even think I'd be involved with the Equalists? With this- this bastard who took away my bending! I'm furious!" He shouted, his arms jerking around as he yelled.
Korra felt her fist clench. How could Tarrlok do this? Assume that all the innocent nonbenders of the city were involved with Amon?
"I promise you Tahno, I had no idea about this law! I would not have allowed him to pass it if I had!" She called back, trying to reign in not only her anger but his as well.
"Tenzin, did you know about this?" She accused, turning her eyes to her airbending master.
"Yes, Korra. But I had voted against it. The Council on the other hand was played by Tarrlok. I tried to fight it, but there was nothing I could do." He said calmly, but regretfully.
"Well you didn't fight hard enough." Tahno spat.
"Tahno! Tenzin did everything he could." Korra stated, placing her hand on his shoulder comfortingly.
The same way she did to Mako all those weeks back, when Bolin was taken by the Equalists. Mako felt his fist curl up into balls at the sight, his stomach flipped in some odd feeling.
The airbending family and Team Avatar watched the dark teen deflate under her hand, collapsing unsteadily to the ground. His arms wrapped around his knees, his head ducked into them.
"They've taken everything now. My sport. My bending. My freedom. Everything." He muttered, looking once again a shell of the boy she had met so long ago in the Noodlery.
"You can't think that way. We are going on patrol tonight, why don't you come with us? You could knock some Equalist heads in!" The avatar asked, leaning down to be at head level with him. Slowly, the teen turning and looked at her, meeting her too-blue eyes.
Mako again felt that something in his stomach burn when he noticed their noses were almost touching.
"I'll be no good to you. I'm just a nonbender now." He pouted, turning his head back into the crook of his knees.
"Hey! Don't think that way!" Another voice called, making him look up. In front of him, a beautiful girl had her hands on her hips, her green eyes sparkling with determination and anger, her wavy hair cascading around her shoulders. "Us nonbenders can still help! Think of the War, Councilman Sokka and Suki played crucial roles in defeating Fire Lord Ozai! Or Fire Lady Mai and Ty Lee, who saved Fire Lord Zuko from the Boiling Rock! You can still fight for what you believe in!"
Tahno knew by her aristocratic tongue, her good looks and her proximity to the firebending Ferret that his was the famed Asami Sato.
The stupid moron was one lucky bastard. Having Sato and Korra after him.
But he's still a moron.
"Yeah! Come on Tahno! Let's see what you can do!"
Team Avatar found themselves outside in the training arena, Tahno standings awkwardly next to Korra and as far away from the brothers as possible. There was an uncomfortable silence as they waited for Sato to arrive, everyone trying not to meet each other's eye.
"By the way, Korra," Tahno muttered breaking the silence "I'm letting you know that I bought more ice cream, so my house is now an avatar-free zone. No avatars allowed near my moon-peach paradise." He scolded, wagging a pale finger at her.
"What! Now who's oppressing who? I'm coming over tonight just to smite you." She smirked, cocking her hip, leaning closer to him. Tahno leaned in too, watching the firebender out of the corner of his eye.
"Why, avatar, I'm beginning to think you like my company. You miss catching-cooties with me?" He chuckled, watching her face go red.
Mako's hands were steaming.
This was too easy.
Just then, Asami arrived back from her room. In her hand she held a glove, made of metal, with a glowing blue light.
An Equalist weapon.
"I'm not touching that." He spat at her, stepping away as if she was going to shock him with it.
"Yes you are. The best way to fight Equalists is use their weapons against them." She stated, tossing it to him.
He caught it, and it felt cold and heavy in his hand.
He didn't want this. This is bad. This is wrong.
Korra watched his breath speed up, his forehead break into a sweat and his eyes go foggy.
Now you are free of your impurity. Join my cause. He could practically hear the voice inside his head. Chilling him to the core, causing him to drop the glove.
"I can't. He took away my bending using such weapons." He stated, closing his eyes and clenching his fists.
"Hey, that's fine." The avatar again placed at hand on his shoulder. "Let's practise waterbending instead."
"No. Not like that! And here I thought you had mastered this element. Is Katara let anyone be called master nowadays? Gotten soft in her old age?" He scoffed.
Well, the distraction worked. Tahno was back, barking orders at her, sitting upon his half wall as if it was a throne, wagging those long damn pale fingers in the air.
The rest of Team Avatar lay sprawled about the arena, all unwilling to leave the dark teen with their beloved friend. That and they had a curiosity about what they two do together anyway.
Bolin quickly noted that Korra and Tahno got along the best when they weren't getting along. They had a dysfunctional sort of relationship where he made sassy comments and Korra refused to take them, snapping back at him. He would smirk, she would snarl and then they'd both laugh like it was some inside joke.
He didn't understand, but he knew the sight of the dark teen brining colour to Korra's cheeks made his heart hurt.
To Mako on the other hand, every one of Tahno's snide remarks was a reason to punch the boy in the face. He hated his dry, snarky commentary to everything Korra did. He was unpleasant and grouchy and way too damn close to her!
Tahno had walked up to the avatar, placing his hands on hers from behind, knocking her feet apart more with his own. Then, they started some sort of dance, where he'd lead her through movements by physically moving her. His foot moving hers, his chest to her back, his hands on her wrists and his hips almost aligned with hers.
And he looked much too damn happy there.
If it weren't for Asami leaning up against him, their hands entwined he would have ripped the boy off his friend.
"Ouch, Mako! Watch it!" Asami grumbled, ripping her hand from Mako's and rubbing it. "You almost burned me!"
Drawing his eyes from the avatar and the jerkface, Mako tenderly rubbed her palm and apologized.
"Come on; let's see if we can find some food." Mako grumbled, turning away from the two Waterbenders and gripped Asami's hand. "Coming Bo?"
"Sure sure." The three silently slipped out, looking to find some late lunch.
With one last glare backwards at Tahno, Mako pulled Asami down the hallway. He didn't like that damned Wolfbat.
It was like bending again. His arms and legs doing the movements, the water responding in turn. His heart sung inside his chest and felt very warm. His fingers tugged at tan skin as he moved them both, and he noted that Korra was strangely compliant to his requests, choosing to indulge him.
He'd think about that later though, because right now he was bending.
He quickly went through forms. Waterwhips, water bullets, water pinwheels. Then by squeezing his fingers into hers, ice daggers, ice spears and ice disks. Then, in a fit of pure joy he collapsed into forms he learned not from pro-bending, but from his early training. With the pleading press of his hands and the feel of his warmed skin on hers, Korra bent her hands and octopus formed.
Laughing with glee, Tahno let go of her wrist and spun her around to face him. "It was like bending! I was bending!" He laughed, feeling nothing like himself. In fact, he felt nothing like anyone he knew. He was bending again. Moving the water, feeling it respond.
"Glad to be of assistance." She chuckled as his now warm hands fell heavily on her shoulders.
"I was bending." He repeated, staring her straight in the eye.
"Yeah, I guess you were." She indulged again, watching his happy expression fade from ecstatic to something more akin to grateful.
With a squeeze of her shoulders, she knew he was thanking her. In his own way, since he was too proud to say the words aloud to her. But, she smiled back, understanding.
With a smirk, she murmured: "Yeah, whatever. Don't read too much into Tahno."
Smirking back, he placed a hand on her hair and ruffled it. She dutifully swatted him away.
"Now to our second order of business now that your boyfriends have gone." He was glad for this, for if the firebender had seen him act of out of character he would have had to kill him.
He didn't quite know why it was okay Korra saw it though.
"Oh, and what is that?" She asked playfully; glad to see Tahno acting so happy. She remembered the boy from the couch, the strange one who needed comfort. Was this him now?
"We need to talk about your cootie-catching habits. They've gotten out of control."
Nope. That's Tahno.
"My cootie-catching habits are the problem? Sure Mr. Promiscuous, keep telling yourself that." She rolled her eyes, throwing a hand up in the air.
"Yet, I'm not the one who's balancing both brothers. Oh, and then you come over to my house and try to cootie-catch with me. I think you're insatiable. "
"Don't flatter yourself. I was after the ice cream."
"So you'll cootie-catch for moon-peach paradise ah-vatar? That's kinda cheap. You should raise your standards."
"I think I'd do almost anything for moon-peach paradise. Oh, and you're a sleaze-ball."
"Ouch. You still tried to add me to your harem of boys who worship at your temple."
"It's not a harem! And they don't worship me! You're gross!" She smacked his arm before sauntering away. Suddenly, she stop, cocked her head back and winked at him.
"If there was a harem, you wish you could join."
Smirking he caught up with her. "Ah, you figured me out."
Laughing, she bumped his shoulder.
He bumped it right back.
Then she shoved him against the wall.
"Are you sure you don't want to come tonight?" She asked, the pair standing apart from the rest of Team Avatar as they waited for the ferry.
"Yeah. Why, you gonna miss me?" He teased "You're getting clingy ah-vatar. I'll be around. Try to function without me. 'Kay?"
"Whatever."
There was a moment of silence between them- the kind that she had gotten used to between them. Their silence.
"Hey, about the whole glove thing. We didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. You know that right?"
He turned his eyes up, as if he could see the stars even though the sun had yet to set for the night. It was something he did often, and maybe someday she'd find the courage to ask him why he did it.
"Yeah. I over-reacted anyway. It's just-" He struggled, still terrible at the whole friends share their feelings.
"Amon. I know. You went through something that, that I could never imagine. You're strong, Tahno. Stronger that you were before." She stated, watching him with clear eyes as he shuffled his feet.
"Yeah. Well." Thank you. "You're not half bad avatar." It's thanks to you. He reached up and ruffled her hair again, earning a well deserved slap on the wrist. Chuckling he turned around when the ferry arrived.
"See you around, Ah-vatar."
"Bye, Tahno."
She waved as he strolled onto the boat rather nonchalantly. Without turning back, he threw to fingers in the air like some sort of salute, before shoving them into his pockets.
She stood on the dock until the ferry landed across the bay.
He should have gone with her.
The sound of sirens echoing through the night as he was bared off like some sort of animal. The chief was there, not Bei Fong but Shaikhan. He hated Shaikhan. Bei Fong, on the other hand he had respect for. Oh, why did the chief resign?
"Return to your homes!" He called out through the megaphone.
The people of Dragon Flats were being treated like criminals. Like Equalists because of this new law about nonbenders. Councilman Tarrlok had now climb up the list of his least favourite people, sitting pretty right under the masked bastard who started this whole thing.
Unfortunately this new law didn't have a clause for recent nonbenders who used to be benders.
"Let us go!" A woman called, clutching her child closer.
"Turn back on our power!" A man shouted, his hands in fists at his sides.
For a moment, the dark teen tried to call to the basin of water. To waterbend the crap out of these stupid police officers.
Couldn't they see they were making things worse? Hell, he might have supported Amon if this continues.
Try as he might, the water didn't respond.
"Please help us! You're our avatar too!" The woman called, and Tahno turned sharply, his eyes seeking out the person she was talking too, abandoning his attempts to waterbend.
No doubt, there stood Avatar Korra, her hands on her hips, her eyes brows pulled together in worry over her too bright blue eyes.
"Everyone please stay calm! I'm going to figure this out!" She shouted back to the crowd, before turning on her heel.
"Korra! Korra!" He called out, trying to get her attention. He had a sinking feeling in his gut. A bad feeling.
But she was focused on the man clad in blue standing in front of her.
"Tarrlok!"
Oh, dear. She had walked herself right into trouble. There was something about this moment, for some reason he felt like this would be really terrible if she continued on her path towards the Councilman.
Like this would be the last time he saw her.
"Korra! Wait!"
Well. There it is. Everyone has the scene where Korra helps Tahno 'waterbend' so I thought I throw it in since it's become almost Tahno canon. I also hoped I kept him in character- like you all so kindly say I do- for the scene. Lemme know.
And the song, Heartbeats (cover) by Jose Gonzalez is beautiful and has become my Korra/Tahno song for this story. (Minus the romance for those who are shipping their friendship, plus the romance for you who are hardcore shipping their romance. It's really up to you.) The line above is so appropriate for them.
Thanks for reading. Reviewing would make me tearbend. It's kind of embarrassing.
By the way this is the longest chapter yet.
