Sometime after the sun set, she had changed into the red dress. There were some shoes in the closet as well, most of them were too hard for her to walk comfortably in, but one pair had a short enough heel for her to move about at least. She'd have to kick them off if she got attacked again though.
She was waiting near the boarding platform to the airship waiting for Iroh to arrive. It wasn't long until a satomobile drove up and she could see Iroh getting out of the rear. The general appeared to be wearing his ceremonial uniform. The microphone near her crackled as he pressed a button on the intercom down below "Are you there Avatar?" She picked it up "I see, I'll just be a moment." As she made her way down to where Iroh stood, she could see him straighten and brush at his shoulder. "I..uh...I don't think I've ever seen you wearing an actual dress before."
Korra lifted an eyebrow and tilted her head forward "Well, you did say formal wear, I could always go change into something else." Iroh held his hands up in front of him "I didn't mean that, you look stunning. It's a nice change of pace from the Avatar whose always ready to run off and save the world at a moment's notice."
Korra smiled "Well, the world's certainly needed a lot of saving up in the past. Now I get to relax for a change." The general opened the vehicle's door for her holding out his hand "Shall we get going?"
After they both were seating, the satomobile took off. "So where are we going exactly?" Iroh had been looking out the window "A place known as the Forgotten Dragon. Lord Zuko ordered it's construction after his Uncle departed for the Spirit World. It was originally a tea shop, but grew over the years with Zuko as it's chief patron."
Korra nodded "You know, I actually met Iroh in the spirit world once. This was when Unalaq was trying to release Vaatu. If it hadn't been for Iroh's help, I would have been lost and everything would have been destroyed."
"I've heard a lot of stories about my namesake from my grandfather. If half of what he said was true, then it's a shame Iroh never took the throne, he would have made a much better leader then Ozai. I hope to meet him someday." Korra nodded slightly at that "Well, there's three spirit portals now, you can go through any one you want."
Iroh's face was thoughtful for a moment before he started to respond then halted. "Well, looks like we're here, hold onto that thought until we're seated." Once again Iroh got out and opened the door for her. She didn't need someone to hold her hand while standing up, but took it anyways. It was nice to be doted on a bit for a change. Korra took the general's arm when he proffered it, the man was chivalrous enough. More men could do to follow his example she mused.
As they entered the restaurant, the receptionist looked up "Welcome to the Forgotten Dragon, may I get your reservation name?" Iroh grimaced slightly "I'm sorry, but we don't have one. I'm General Iroh of the United Republic Army and this is Avatar Korra."
The woman didn't seem affected by Iroh's posturing until he introduced his companion. Her eyes widened and she looked at Korra in shock. "I...excuse me. I'll be back in just a moment, please wait here." She rushed off as quickly as she could while still looking dignified flagging down a waiter. They could see her gesturing animatedly and shooing the man off.
Iroh chuckled softly "I've had a hard time getting a table in this place before, that woman is notorious for standing her ground on reservations. She even had the gall to turn my mother away once for being a few minutes late. It's nice to finally see someone getting the better of her."
Korra gave a small smile to that "Well, I guess there are some perks of being the Avatar after all. We've discovered another one today, intimidating restaurant hosts." Iroh laughed "I think she would be afraid of you even if you weren't the Avatar." Korra stepped away from Iroh as she folded her arms "Oh and why is that? Because I'm scary looking?"
Iroh shook his head vigorous "I'm not trying to insult you here. I'm saying you're a rare package. You don't run into beautiful women who as formidable and accomplished as you are very often, if ever. You're one of a kind, Avatar or not."
Korra's cheeks colored and she remained silent as the host came back with a trailing waiter "I'm sorry for the delay, but we have a table set up for you now. If you'll follow my assistant Kwan, she'll show you to your table." Korra silently took Iroh's arm as they followed Kwan through the room. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see some eyes turn and faintly heard the words 'Avatar' or 'Korra' a few times.
The table they had been given was on a private balcony overlooking the city. Iroh had glanced about "It looks like they gave us the best seats in the place. I've never sat here before, not even with the current Firelord and her father in attendance. Are you all right? You look uneasy."
Korra shook her head slightly "I'm not used to this sort of thing. Showing up at a restaurant like this, using my status to bully someone into giving me something I want. And everyone was staring at me down there."
Iroh nodded "You're hardly bullying anyone, we showed up and asked for a table. And they gave us one, in fact, take a look at it. It's completely dry, I doubt anyone's used it all day. That host likes to feel in charge. If you took her down a peg, you're doing all of her patrons a favor. And people were staring at you for two reasons. One, you're the Avatar, we haven't had a visit from you or Avatar Aang in decades. This is a rare event, people are surprised to see you here. I didn't even know you were here until late last night and I'm a general. The other reason is because you look amazing in that dress, the men were looking to see your leg sticking out and the women were either jealous or envious."
Korra giggled "And do you think anyone was looking in your direction?" Iroh shrugged dismissively "If they were looking at me, it's only because I'm here with you and wishing they could take my spot."
Korra shook her head slightly as he continued "Now where were we in the car? Ah yes, the spirit portal. I've heard rumors, but what exactly happened at the Spirit Wilds in Republic City?"
Korra shifted "Well, we had cut our way into the giant robot. Bolin and Mako destroyed the power supply, Lin and Suyin had disabled the cannon. Kuvira tore it off and threw it into the Wilds. I beat her that time and asked her to surrender. Instead she fled and tried to fire the weapon at me. There was so much spirit energy around that it spiraled out of control and would have hit her. I remember jumping in the way and blocking the blast somehow. I don't understand what caused it, maybe that much spirit energy being thrown around tore a hole in something?"
Iroh remained silent for a moment "I can't imagine anyone being strong enough to do that. I mean, I saw that weapon firing on the city and you stopped it even though it was in the Spirit Wilds?" He shook his head in disbelief "I don't think I'll ever be able to fully grasp that particular feat, though I do fear you've stunned our waiter into disbelief."
Korra glanced to her right. She didn't know how long the woman had been there, but she had heard enough that the story would spread. She grimaced slightly, hopefully that would wait until after they had something to eat.
