Korra touched her, or rather, Azula's (according to the two girls) face. As irrational as the thought was, she imagined that this stranger's face would morph into her own if she examined it long enough.
She sighed, an irritable exhale of breath, staring hard at her reflection. Of course that wouldn't work. She studied her new reflection, noting how her neutral expression gave the impression that she looked either annoyed or contemplative.
The woman's irises were an intense gold, and the eyes themselves had a bit of a slant to them, lending to the ethnic features most Fire Nation natives held.
These eyes in particular seemed to pierce right through her and she was forced to divert her attention after the extended staring. Instead she focused on other features. Korra remembered the hairstyle from her dreams. Idly, she touched the bangs framing either side of her temples and pressed her fingers against parts of her face.
"Man, this skin is flawless..." Korra whispered unbelievingly. She couldn't find even the faintest trace of a blemish or even the smallest sign of dirt. The hair was smooth to the touch and Korra felt the smallest pang of envy. It didn't take a genius to know that whoever this was took great care of their body.
When Korra got this sorted out, she would need to find out what skin treatments this person used.
If she could even figure out how to fix this predicament...
"Focus," Korra self-coached, mindful once again of her changed voice. Closing her eyes, she breathed in deeply and exhaled, imagining the stress rolling off of her. On a more serious note, it was obvious she was stuck in the body of someone of importance. Eventually, she'd have to find out who this was.
Looking around, Korra observed her surroundings.
So she was in what appeared to be an Earth Kingdom residence. The motif consisted of a lot of earthy browns and greens, with the occasional grey. She looked out the window situated to the left of the mirror.
Outside was the city of Ba Sing Se. She was apparently on an upper floor, because she could see dozens of people at a time, the size of small insects, as they walked from one destination to another. Farther down the horizon, the massive inner ring that ran all the way from one end of her vision to the other, dominated the landscape.
Korra breathed a sigh of relief. What the gloomy girl in the other room said was true. It seemed as though she were still in the city. That meant that Team Avatar shouldn't be too far from her current location.
Where was she last? Korra rested a delicate chin on her thumb and forefinger, pacing back and forth. To any outsider, she gave off the impression of someone who was calculating three steps ahead.
In reality, she had no idea how to proceed, except simply try to rendezvous with the team.
She was at the outer wall, she could recall, before being attacked by the old man...
And now she was apparently in the body of some fire nation woman.
"Weren't the fire nation still...unwelcome in other territories?" she asked herself aloud. How was she within the inner ring of all places? Were the two girls in the other room spies of some sort for the Fire Nation?
Korra shook her head. Well, it didn't matter if they were or not. Involving bystanders, even unintentionally, would be reckless, just by the simple nature of her mission.
She'd have to find a way to ditch them.
Korra stepped out of the room and back into the commons room. Korra thought she might have slipped away for too long, but neither of her two new roommates commented on it. Gloomy girl was by the window, idly spinning a blade between her fingers.
The cheery one was looking out the same window from the bed, resting on her torso, all the while her body was contorted in such a way that her feet nearly touched her back. It looked effortless for her and all Korra could do was blink.
Korra mentally chided herself for not having thought of anything to immediately say upon entering the room.
Korra coughed, crossing her arms, drawing the other two girls' attention.
"About that day off you mentioned? Sure, let's do that."
Mai and Ty Lee exchanged what looked to be a disbelieving glance.
"Really..?" Gloomy girl drawled, an eyebrow raised in suspicion. Korra coughed, but she doubted her cover was blown. It's not like they would be able to discern the truth of what happened to their friend. Fleetingly, she hoped whoever the original owner of this body could be was okay.
Cheery girl saved her from having to answer.
"Thank you, Azula!"
So that's what the name of the person she had somehow possessed was.
She had no idea who that was.
"See, Mai, we'll be able to do some exploring before our mission!" cheery girl said, effortlessly shifting into a handstand, then dismounting from the bed to land safely on her feet.
Korra wanted to whistle but thought better of it.
The gloomy one, Mai, finally shrugged, seemingly aloof. Her expression hadn't changed much from the eyebrow raise, save settling back to a neutral expression.
"Well then, I'm going to go see about getting a massage," she ventured, getting up from the window. "You guys coming?"
"Sure, why not?"
Korra shook her head. "I'm going to do some exploring of my own," she replied, glancing out the window.
From where she stood, she could tell the outer wall was at least 2 miles out. If she wanted to catch up to the team, she'd have to be quick before they took off on Appa.
What was going on with her actual body right now? Was it unconscious? Did the person she somehow possessed now in control of her body? Korra suppressed the urge to shudder at the thought.
"Alright, Ty Lee, just don't draw the attention of too many guys," Mai said, a lightly reprimanding look aimed at the cheery girl. "I just want some peace and quiet..."
Ty Lee, as Korra knew her name to now be, smiled innocently, giggling. "Pfft, I'm just going to relax too!" she scoffed in mock offense.
With that, Korra excused herself, double checking in the restroom to be sure she wasn't wearing any fire nation clothing.
She was dressed in simple Earth Kingdom garb, although it looked of finer quality then she'd seen in the outer ring.
Without any issues, she was the first to leave the residence.
Korra looked around, attempting to gather her bearings and figure out the quickest route back to the outer wall. Vaguely, Korra realized she was much lighter on her feet and didn't run out of breath as quickly as she usually would. And that was saying a lot.
As she weaved through crowds of people, she tried to recall what Hundun had said to her before he cast his weird magic.
Something about becoming her own enemy. She still couldn't seem to decipher what it meant. Sure, she figured out she was unwittingly possessing someone of the fire nation. Historically, the Fire Nation tried to invade the other three nations.
But something about the line of thought seemed too...basic. It felt like there was more to it than that...but whatever it was, the concept escaped her.
"I'm guessing I can only firebend," Korra hypothesized, briefly examining her extensively manicured hands. She dropped it to her side and continued her walk.
Nearby was what looked like a shop or restaurant of some sort, so she made a beeline towards it.
The structure was constructed of earthy materials like everything else in the district, and was set apart from other buildings by a large relief carving of a dragon along the top of the entrance.
Admiring it for only a moment, Korra stepped inside. Her presence was announced by a rudimentary bell attached to the door by a thin rope.
If she was honest with herself, she wasn't quite sure why she had walked in the building in the first place. She told herself it was to get a lay of which direction she needed to go, but it was something else as well. As if whoever she was possessing knew something about the place.
Korra was aware that leaving your body was something one could do as The Avatar, but the continued thought that she controlled someone's very actions to this degree unsettled her. And she didn't know how to undo it.
In a random realization, Korra realized she hadn't checked to see if there was any money for the train back at that apartment.
Her musings were interrupted by a approaching footsteps from stairs.
"Welcome to the..." The oddly familiar voice said then quickly died.
Korra cleared her throat, not expecting such a reaction from the older man. He looked as if he was wary of her.
He seemed to squint before a relieved expression crossed his face.
"Sorry," the man apologized with a polite Iaugh. "I thought I recognized someone."
Korra could swear she'd seen the man before, hit by a wave of Deja Vu.
"I'm looking for the quickest way to the outer ring," she said, taking a seat in front of the serving counter.