Chapter 7: Bending and Boats

Korra mulled over Mako's warning and generally threatening behavior during the next morning's meditation session, deciding that the older brother had some explaining to do. So, rather than training with Jinora or waiting for the ferry, Korra set out early for the mainland on an ice raft.

Outside the power plant, she found a good spot on a street corner where she could keep an eye on the entrance for a certain grumpy young man.

It took a while, but the wait was worth it, because about ten minutes before the start of her shift, Korra spotted him walking alone towards the plant.

"Hey! Mako!"

Korra waved and shouted, but Mako only pulled up his collar and picked up his pace. Korra humphed then ducked down, plunging her hand into the street. A similar hand made of stone punched up out of the ground some thirty feet away and grabbed Mako's ankle. Mako stumbled and swore, but managed to keep his feet and act nonchalant as Korra approached.

"Hey, Mako! I'm so glad I found you," Korra said, all smiles and cheer before darkening her expression and tone. "Because I have some questions for you."

"Fine." He wrenched his foot free with a small explosion and scowled at her. "Over there." He jerked his head at the entrance to an alleyway, marginally more private than the street. "Make it quick, shift starts in a couple minutes."

"How quick this is depends on you," Korra said once they were in the alley, still trying to look intimidating. "What's the deal with you and Bolin? Why he thinks he's gonna get hurt if he... if people know his secret? What did you mean at dinner yesterday, 'I can't afford mistakes?'"

Mako sighed, glanced around to make sure no one was in earshot, then pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Okay, look. It's none of your business, but clearly you don't understand that. And I..." He trailed off, staring into space. "Imagine this. Two kids, on the street. One young enough he's only just figured out he's a bender. The other one, older and a bender too. You know how bad the triads fiend for kids like that? Kids they can train and control?"

Korra nodded, trying to remember the word fiend so she could ask Pema what it meant later.

"Yeah, well, I figured it out pretty quick. So I made a deal. I'd give 'em this-" he summoned a flame at the tips of his fingers and immediately snuffed it out, "-and they'd keep me and Bolin, my non-bender little brother, safe. I dealt with them, so he wouldn't have to."

"But-"

"Don't," Mako said, his voice a hoarse whisper. He leaned in closer, jabbed her in the sternum with two fingers, red eyes boring into hers. "You weren't there. You don't know what they're like. I made the best possible decision."

Mako backed away again and checked once more for eavesdroppers.

"Are you still with, um...?"

Mako shook his head. "No. Not anymore. But we still gotta be careful." He checked his watch and grimaced. "Don't walk in with me."

With that, he pushed past her, headed for the plant entrance. Korra followed, not sure what to think. After last night, she hadn't liked Mako—he was rude and mean and grumpy—but now she could see he had a reason for it, and that reason was pretty noble. But what had happened to Bolin... it wasn't fair. He deserved to celebrate his heritage and his power, not hide it from the world and pretend to be something he wasn't. He deserved to have a teacher.

Fortunately, Korra knew just the person.

ccoOoɔɔ

Korra found Bolin and Mako again after work, and although she felt just as exhausted and wrung out as the day before, she dug deep and found the strength and energy to go through with her plan.

"Bolin! Hey, Bolin!"

"Hey, Korra!" Bolin waved back with a smile, while Mako rubbed at the bridge of his nose.

Korra jogged over and accepted a brief embrace halfway between a hug and a pat on the back, wondering why gestures like this had never been covered in her language classes.

"Bolin, I was thinking to myself, maybe you would like to come to the island with me? I could teach you some self defense."

Bolin squinted at her. "What do you mean?"

"You know," Korra said, hiding her mouth behind one hand flexing her other arm in a hinting way. "Your secret."

"Nope," Mako interjected before Bolin could reply. "No way. Bolin, you can't just trust strangers like that."

"Oh, come on, Mako. You're always saying this is our ace up the sleeve. But right now, it's not really an ace, it's more like a two or a three. Maybe a five, and a five up the sleeve is probably not going to help you win at poker. And besides, Korra isn't a stranger, she's my friend." He wrapped an arm over Korra's shoulders and Korra did the same to him.

"Yep, friends."

Mako ran his hand through his hair. "You've known each other for, what, a few days? I don't think..."

Bolin coughed and pointed at Korra. "Avatar, remember? You're saying I should turn down lessons from the Avatar? The most badass bender on the planet?"

Mako gave Korra a mean, piercing look. "Fine. But be careful. Be discreet."

"Yes, sir!" Bolin gave him a phony salute.

Mako rolled his eyes and turned away without saying goodbye.

ccoOoɔɔ

"Alright. Let's see what you've got."

Korra and Bolin stood barefoot on a secluded section of beach on the western side of the island, the mainland hidden completely from view. Korra was feeling much better after a nap on the ferry and some of Pema's delicious cooking, but Bolin looked nervous, seasick almost.

"I, uh... I'm really not very good." Bolin rubbed the back of his head, looking shy and uncomfortable for the first time since Korra had met him. "I know I said I was a five earlier, but I'm really more of a two."

"That's okay. No one is good at first. Just show me the forms you know."

"Forms, right." He squinched one eye closed and stuck out his tongue, thinking as he spread his feet apart, one a little ahead of the other, knees bent and fists raised. "Ha!" He punched, sending a little ripple of sand sliding away from him down the beach.

Korra raised an eyebrow. "I'm surprised that worked."

"I told you I'm not great."

"No, no, no. One, stop saying that. And two, that was a firebending stance. Let's see something you didn't copy from your dumb brother."

"He's not dumb," Bolin muttered as he collected a handful of smooth round rocks from amongst the sand. "But, yeah, there's a few things I figured out on my own." He straightened up, and began to juggle. Korra clapped and whistled as he caught all five stones in a stack, balanced one on top of the other.

Bolin showed her a couple more tricks—boosting his steps so he could run faster and jump higher, sinking the sand under Korra's feet when she tried to chase him, and throwing a pebble with frightening speed and accuracy—but it wasn't long before he shrugged and claimed he didn't know anything else.

"Really? I'm sure you know more. Even if it's something simple." Really, the techniques he'd shown her were more advanced than what she'd been expecting, much more difficult than simply raising a pillar out of the ground or lifting a boulder overhead.

Bolin kicked at the sand. "Well, sure. A couple things, but nothing on sand like this."

Korra smacked herself on the forehead. "Of course! Sorry!" Stone was much easier to work with than shifty, slippery sand. Korra ducked down, dug her fingers into the sand and twisted. A couple more twists and she had a platform of sandstone ten feet across and six inches thick.

"Well?" Korra looked up at Bolin, pleased with her work.

"Very impressive," Bolin said, still squinting. "But I was thinking more a sidewalk kind of situation. And I need my erhu."

"I'm sure Tenzin has one." Korra grabbed Bolin by the arm and led him back towards the Temple. She was pretty sure an erhu was some kind of weapon, and the Temple had a big collection of weird antique weapons and things from around the world. Lots of benders, especially less gifted benders, used weapons to augment their bending.

"So, what exactly does it look like?" Korra asked once they were in the vaulted antiques room. All kinds of strange objects hung on pegs or sat atop long counters for display.

"Tall and thin, two strings..." Bolin gazed around the room before locking onto a particular object. "Ah-hah! This'll do." He rushed over to one counter and picked up a long, curved horn made of bronze.

"That's, um..."

"A tsungi horn. Not my favorite, but I know a little. You sure it's okay if I play this?"

"Um, sure," Korra said, somewhat confused. They were here for bending lessons, not music night.

Back outside, Bolin found a secluded walkway, more of a gap between buildings than anything else, where he began to play, rocking back and forth in time with the wheezy and, in Korra's opinion, spooky melody.

The music was nice enough, though Korra didn't understand the point of it until she noticed the sound was becoming louder, more resonant. Bolin's steady rocking and pacing was wearing a groove into the wall behind him and pulling out an overhang to create a sort of echo chamber.

"Hasn't been used in a while, but it sounds okay," Bolin said once he finished the song, looking over the instrument. "What do you think?"

Korra looked up at the distorted walls, not sure what to think. "It's... different. It's... You're kind of like Toph, aren't you?"

Bolin coughed. "What? Me? Yeah, right. She's the greatest earthbender in the world. And I'm... not. Definitely not."

"Maybe not. But you have style. Not just a style, but your style." Korra paused, considering how to phrase what she wanted to say. "Most people, they learn the forms, practice them until they're perfect. They don't have a style until they're a master. You're not a master, but you have style."

Bolin looked down, tapping his knuckles against the bronze horn. "Thanks."

Korra punched him on the arm. "Of course. I don't want to change your style. But if you want, I can teach you to fight."

Bolin smiled. "Okay, sure."

Korra led the way out of the hidden corner, only to bump into a very frazzled looking air acolyte.

"Oh, Korra! Have you seen Meelo?"

Korra blinked, looked around. She glanced at Bolin, who shrugged. "Um, no?"

"Pema asked me to look after him but I just... he..." she said, grinding a fist into her other palm as she walked away. "I swear that child is secretly a demon. Oh, and by the way," the acolyte called over her shoulder, "there's a young lady looking for you down by the dock."

Korra looked at Bolin as though he could tell her anything more, but he just shrugged again.

"You should probably see what she wants."

Korra nodded and led the way down to the dock. There she found a smartly-dressed young woman striding up to meet her, hand outstretched. There was a touch of sun on her pale face, surrounded by a halo of dark, silky hair. She smiled, the most genuine, beautiful smile Korra had seen in a long time.

"Avatar Korra? Asami Sato, from Sato Industries. It's an honor to meet you."

"Ah, right. You too!" Korra said, remembering just in time to grasp Asami's fingers and not her forearm.

"From what I understand," Asami said, her speech growing too fast for Korra to follow. She'd gotten used to Bolin and Mako's drawl, even if they did leave half their words unfinished, but Asami's staccato went by too quick.

"And so, this is something of an apology, and a thank you, and a gift in hopes of good things to come." Asami said finally slowing down at the end of her speech as she held out an oblong piece of orange foam.

"Ah, thanks," Korra said, accepting the foam and realizing there was something attached to it with a tiny chain. "It's a key."

"And here are papers for a spot in the marina."

Korra frowned, putting the pieces together. "It's a boat key."

Asami spewed out another burst of speech, which Korra took to be something along the lines of "Can you drive a boat?"

"Yes, I can drive."

"Oh, good, good." The bright smile made another appearance. "I hope this will make it easier for you to get to the city, at least until you learn airbending!" Asami laughed and Korra forced herself to laugh along, in order to hide a grimace. Not because of the jibe at her lack of airbending, but because of the gift she was being forced to take out of nowhere, the certain aspect of ceremony around it. This wasn't a gift between friends, it was an offering from one representative to another.

"What kind of boat?" Korra asked, her stomach churning.

"This year's Benbo model from Sato Industries." Asami went on for a minute, describing the boat, though Korra only caught a few words like motor and polished wood and twenty-five miles an hour.

Korra looked down at the key in her hand, confused. She'd known even before arriving that there was no Potlatch in the United Republic, that she would not be expected to give or receive gifts from the Elders here, or make offerings to the "spirits." This was a much more mercantile culture than what she was used to and there was a monetary value attached to everything. Money didn't carry same weight that gifts did.

Korra had not yet begun to collect her thoughts enough to even begin forming the question she wanted to ask when Bolin grabbed her shoulders from behind.

"Come on, Korra! We gotta take it for a spin!"

Korra looked at the honest excitement on Bolin's face and Asami's hopeful smile, and forced herself to smile as well. She tossed the key in the air and caught it. "Sure. Which boat is it?"

A few minutes later Korra found herself behind the wheel of a shiny new boat with a big engine that skimmed over the surface of the waves rather than plowing through them. Her hair whipped behind her and all conversation was drowned out in the sound of the waves, the wind and the engine. Not too far away the lights of Republic city were beginning to glow as dusk settled in.

Korra slowed as she approached the shore and Asami guided her to the slip in the marina that now belonged to her. Bolin thanked her for the ride and ran off, not wanting to make his brother worry.

"This switch is for the running lights," Asami said, explaining all the features to an exhilarated, yet tired and confused Korra. "And this..."

Korra interrupted the tour of the console. "Why are you giving me this?"

"It's a gift. Something my father and I thought you would find useful for while you stay here."

"Your father?"

"Hiroshi Sato. Owner of Future Industries."

Korra made note of the name to ask Pema or Tenzin about it later. "Is it... Potlatch?"

Asami tilted her head to one side as though to look at the word from another angle. "What's that?"

Korra pursed her lips and looked skyward for a good way to explain it. "When the Elders or their representatives come, they bring gifts and the Tribe gives them gifts. The one with the better gifts is more important, more powerful. The one with fewer, worse gifts is... pitiful. In debt." Korra looked out at the bow of the boat. "Am I in debt?"

Asami laughed, placed a reassuring hand on Korra's knee that sent shivers up her spine. "No! Of course not! Your gift to me is allowing me to spend this time with you. And, and knowing that you'll use this gift to help you do your job here as Avatar!"

Korra raised an eyebrow, not fully believing what Asami was telling her.

"If it makes you feel better, you can come thank my father in person. Or, I know! Give him an autograph! I'm sure he would like that."

Korra took a moment to dissect the word autograph before agreeing. "Yes. I think I would like that."

Asami smiled and held out her hand again for Korra to shake. "It's a deal." She fished a piece of cardstock from her breast pocket. "Here's the address for the Future Industries main office, and this..." she quickly scribbled something on the back of the card, "is our home address. Please come by whenever you can. Day or night, it doesn't matter."

Korra took the card and after a round of formal goodbyes, she found herself motoring slowly back towards the island.

ccoOoɔɔ

"What do you think, Tenzin?" Korra asked the following evening. The two of them slowly circled each other in the training yard, practicing their forms.

"Hiroshi Sato is a shrewd businessman who considers every detail of his actions. The gift he gave, the person he had deliver it and the way in which it was delivered..."

"But what about the gift? Will he want me to make an offering to the spirits?" This had always been Korra's gift at the Potlatch ceremonies she had attended, given her lack of real wealth and her 'spirit bridge' status. "I could perform a cleansing ritual for his factory."

"I doubt he expects that of you," Tenzin said, initiating a change in direction that left his robes swirling. "I'm sure he knows of Potlatch, but I don't think he understands the weight it holds. If he does want anything from you, it is free advertising."

"Do you think I should go visit him, say thanks like Asami suggested? Or are you worried he's going to try to manipulate me?" Korra hoped he'd say yes, she should visit. Because despite all her feelings of debt and confusion, she still wanted to see Asami again. She seemed nice.

Tenzin took a moment to finish one rotation and begin the next before answering. "Korra, I will leave this to your own discretion. But Hiroshi Sato is a simple man. He is clever, yes, and meticulous, but his primary goal is, and I think always will be, to sell things. And as long as I have known him, he has been honorable in that endeavor."

Korra nodded and copied Tenzin as he moved back into the first pose, Tree in Still Breeze. "Thanks, Tenzin."

"Of course," Tenzin said. "Please remember, it is still not public knowledge that you are here and we must keep it that way."

ccoOoɔɔ

Ten stood to attention in his boss's office, winter light shining through the dirty window to make everything sepia toned. A map of the city hung behind the desk, peppered with pins and notes. The desk itself was messier than it had been yesterday, a sign that more was happening than even Ten knew about.

"What is your report?" Amon stood next to the window, looking out at the city just starting to come to life. As always, he wore his white and red theater mask, though in the privacy of his own office he left his hood down, leaving visible a sliver of skin marred by angry red scars.

Ten resisted the urge to pull at his mustache. "Chi-blocking courses have doubled since two weeks ago and we're up to over a thousand proficient. Finding new spaces to hold training sessions has become the biggest choke point."

"Good. Keep drumming up the new recruits. You'll find the space."

"Yes, sir."

"And the protests?"

"Going well. Maintaining a presence at the police headquarters, and upping pressure outside the council building. I've organized a small group for the Wolf-bat's next game, and our contact at the paper promised she would write about it. We'll start sending out the threats to stop the competition next week."

Amon nodded. "Good. I'm glad they've finally caught on that they can get away with anything. Shame about the Piggins falling apart. They would have made even better scapegoats." He turned away from the window, opened a drawer at his desk. "Here." He withdrew a cloth bag and passed it to Ten.

Ten opened the bag and examined its contents: a battery pack connected with two long wires to a gauntlet made of metal, rubber and leather. "A new prototype?" he asked, testing the weight of the objects.

"No. The first of five thousand lined up for production. Are your chi-blockers ready to move onto the next stage?"

Emotion rose in Ten's chest. Fear, excitement, he wasn't quite sure what it was, but it made the hair on his arms stand on end. He put the gauntlet back into the sack and gave Amon a salute. "Yes, sir."

"Assemble your teams. You begin tomorrow night."

Ten gave his boss another salute and Amon waved for him to leave. Ten hesitated, before giving voice to a thought that had been bothering him for a few days now. "Sir, what about the Avatar?"

Amon clasped his hands behind his back, paced in front of the window. "As long as she does nothing to interfere with our plans, I believe we can carry on as though she were not here. I will watch what she does, because sooner or later, her time will come."