Disclaimer: I own nothing. Percy Jackson and the Legend of Korra belong to Rick Riordan and Nickelodeon respectively.
Percy was walking with Korra and Tenzin towards the training grounds on Air Temple Island for Korra's first day of proper Airbending training. Korra had her blue sleeveless shirt swapped out for a set of orange and red Air acolyte robes, just like the one's the kid's normally wear. However, she had the sleeves all rolled up to her shoulders, stylised to reflect her usual wardrobe choice. She walked level with Tenzin, and Percy stood between them in the rear.
"So, Percy," Tenzin started, addressing the Waterbender, "you say that you attempted to teach Korra Airbending, yes?" he asked.
Nodding, Percy answered, "Yeah. I've explained to her what I could, but it's not much."
Tenzin hummed in thought before asking Korra, "And, what have you learned under Percy's tutelage?"
Korra shrugged her shoulders shyly, "Just some of the basics about the element. Like, it's all about adapting, smooth flowing movements, and only taking the path of least resistance, but I still haven't been able to do it," she said. "I mean, the other elements came so easily to me, but every single time I try airbending, nothing," she finishes, blowing a raspberry to annunciate her point.
Tenzin stopped and briefly looked appraisingly at Percy, impressed with what he managed to accomplish with no practical experience actually Airbending. "I'm very impressed Percy. Well done," he said.
Percy nodded, smiling bashfully at the praise.
"And it's absolutely fine, Korra, we just need to be patient," he reassured, starting to adjust her robes to match what the other acolytes were wearing. "Often the element that's the most difficult for the Avatar to master is the one most opposite to that Avatar's personality. For Aang, it was Earthbending," he explained helpfully.
Percy snapped his fingers when Tenzin said this. "I remember that story! Didn't he have to play chicken with a Saber-tooth moose lion to get past it?" he asked.
Tenzin raised an eyebrow at the teen's statement while Korra smiled softly in amusement.
"Chicken?" Tenzin asked confusedly.
"Yeah, it's a game. Want us to demonstrate?" Percy asked excitedly.
"No, no. That's quite alright," Tenzin said quickly, earning a pout from Percy and a light chuckle from Korra. "Come. Let's begin your Airbending training, Korra," he said, walking away towards the training area. The teens were quick to follow.
They climbed a set of stairs leading to the training area and saw the three Airbending kids excitedly waiting in front of a weird assortment of bamboo boards mounted on spinning poles. They all had the symbol of the Air nomads painted on them.
"What is that contraption?" Korra asked curiously, still chuckling at the enthusiasm of Tenzin's kids.
"It is a time-honored tool that teaches the most fundamental aspect of Airbending," Tenzin said. They stopped next to the three kids. After Tenzin's prompt, Jinora explained that the objective was to make it through the air gates, as they were called, without touching any of them. Korra seemed confident initially, but that confidence was squashed once Ikki mentioned that she had to make it through while the gates were spinning.
Tenzin sent a blast of air through the gates which made them start to spin rapidly. He then sent a leaf through the gates as an example of the spiral movements necessary to pass through the gates. Jinora demonstrated it once, passing flawlessly through the gates, before it was Korra's turn.
"Remember Korra, you can't just charge into this thing headfirst. You've got to be able to adjust of the fly. Find the path of least resistance," Percy reminded her.
Korra ran headfirst into the first gate, getting knocked right back to the beginning.
"What did I just say," Percy mumbled exasperatedly.
This continued for a little while longer as Korra seemed to make it her goal for this exercise to run into every single gate she saw. While the kids were shouting encouragements and advice, Tenzin was looking on in resignation, realizing that this wouldn't be as easy as he had hoped it might be. Meanwhile, Percy was imagining what the gates might have looked like if he had dumped a can of paint onto Korra before she started. The thought brought a smile to his face.
Later on, Percy wanted to go explore some more of the city, so he excused himself and made his way to the ferry dock.
He spent most of the day wandering around the city, seeing the different districts, perusing the many shops and stores, and familiarizing himself with the layout of the city. It was starting to get late, so he began making his way back to the docks, but stopped when he saw the big, glowing building just off the shore, with spotlights shining brightly in the sky.
He knew it was the Pro Bending arena and that there were a few matches happening that night. Before he had left the island, Pema gave him some money in case he wanted something. And right now, he decided that he wanted to watch a bending match.
He bought himself a ticket and made his way into the stands, excited to watch the newly introduced Fire Ferrets, a rookie team that he had heard so much about recently, take on the seasoned Rhino Lions team.
He took an immediate interest in the way that Pro Bending, bending differed from traditional bending. While traditional bending, like the kind he's been doing all his life, was complex and artful, what he was seeing was more reserved and conservative, it was much quicker and just as effective. He was taking mental notes throughout the match.
It came down to the last round of the match, and just as he expected of the fan favorite Fire Ferrets, they were holding their own fabulously. Well. . . Most of them were.
Percy was quite disappointed and upset with the way the Fire Ferret's Waterbender, Hasook if he remembered correctly, was performing. His bending was noticeably weak and sloppy, and he was almost always stationary, making him an obvious and easy target which the veteran Rhino Lions expertly exploited.
"Good riddance," he commented as he, and everyone else watched Hasook fall into the pool of water below the arena proper.
"How could you say that? He could have been hurt, you know," said the person sitting next to him.
"He could be. But as far as I'm concerned, he shouldn't even be playing. He's a visibly subpar Waterbender, he doesn't put enough power behind his strikes, which are very sloppy to begin with, he can't defend, he doesn't move, it's no wonder he got knocked out so quickly," he criticized. "It really does exemplify the skill and talent of his teammates though. For them to keep performing how they are, it's incredible," he finished while turning to look at the person.
The woman sitting next to him was quite pretty. She had light skin and pale green eyes with long, wavy onyx hair that went down past her shoulder blades. Her face was angular and aristocratic, and while Percy couldn't really describe it, she seemed to have an air of grace and elegance about her that he had never experienced before. She wore a fancy black coat over a red blouse top. She had on light makeup and cherry red lipstick. Percy could just barely see the green earrings and a blue hair clip hidden by her hair.
She was looking at him, surprised by his analysis. "Huh. You know an awful lot about bending, don't you?" she asked nicely.
Percy smirked slightly. "Just Waterbending. I've been doing it all my life," he said.
She smiled, "That's neat. I've lived all my life around machines," she said.
"Like the sato-mobile?" Percy asked eagerly, still enraptured by the awesome vehicles that are so very alien to him.
"Exactly. Where did you learn bending?" she asked.
"I was taught by Master Katara," he said, anticipating the reaction from the mention of the legendary Waterbender.
"Master Katara?! Like, the master Katara? Wife of Avatar Aang, hero of the 100-year war master Katara?" she exclaimed in shock.
"The one and only," Percy acknowledged.
"Wow. That's amazing. To learn from one of the best in the world must be pretty prestigious," she remarked. "But why go all the way up to the Water Tribes to learn Waterbending? I mean, I get that Master Katara's the best of the best, but surely there're people here in the city who could teach it too?" she asked.
He shrugged his shoulders at her question. "There probably is, but I wouldn't know. I'm actually from the Southern Water Tribe though," he said.
"Really? You're from the Water Tribe?"
"Yep."
"I guess that makes more sense how you learned from master Katara. How long have you been in the city?" she asked.
"I only got here yesterday."
"Oh wow, you're really new here, huh?" she remarked.
"Yeah, I am."
"I've lived in the United Republic my entire life. I've never been anywhere else," she said.
"Do you want to see other places?" Percy asked curiously.
"It'd be cool, that's for sure. But the city's got everything I need, so I'm not in any rush," she said easily.
Just then, the bell signaling the end of the game went off, neither of them realising that the match had ended.
"And that's the game, folks. The Fire Ferrets emerging victorious in this exciting Pro Bending game," the announcer said through the arena's speakers.
Looking up through the domed glass roof high above the arena, Percy saw that it was very dark out, and realised that he should probably be back on the island by now.
"This was fun," the girl said, standing up and showing that she was relatively tall. If Percy had to guess, he'd say that she was taller than Korra, but still not as tall as him.
"Definitely," he agreed, standing also. He motioned to the arena exit and followed her out.
"So, do you come to the matches often?" Percy asked as the were leaving the building.
"I try to," she answered. "My dad thinks it's a waste of time. Probably because you could just listen to it over the radio or read it in the papers, but it's–"
"Better in person?" Percy interrupted, anticipating her answer.
She smiled at him, "Exactly. What about you? Do you come. . . Oh, right. You're new here. Sorry," she trailed off, looking away to hide an embarrassed blush.
Percy chuckled at her embarrassment, "It's okay. I've been immersed in bending my whole life, but I haven't spent much time paying attention to Pro Bending. I figured I'd treat myself tonight," he told her.
"Just tonight? Why not tomorrow as well? There's another match you know," she said.
"Yeah, I know. But the thing is, when I got here, I realised I didn't have any money. A friend who I'm staying with gave me some to spend today. And knowing her, she'd rather I spent it on something as opposed to giving it back. She's stubborn that way," Percy told her truthfully.
"Oh. Well, she seems like a nice friend," the girl said. "Y'know what, here," she said suddenly, reaching into her coat and producing a ticket to the Tigerdillos vs Fire Ferret's match tomorrow. Percy widened his eyes at the sight, quickly trying to deny the offered ticket as politely as possible.
"No! I couldn't. It's yours, anyway, why would you want to give it to me?" he said.
The girl laughed at his attempts to refuse the ticket and produced another identical ticket to the same match tomorrow.
"It's okay, I've got a spare. Please. I insist," she pressed, holding the ticket out for him to take.
After mentally debating with himself, Percy finally relented. With a sigh, "Okay fine, you win," he graciously took the ticket and pocketed it. "But I owe you one. And don't try to deny it," he said, cutting off her oncoming protest.
She chuckled after backing down, "Alright, deal," she said smiling. "I never got your name by the way," she mentioned.
Sudden realisation dawned across Percy's face as he blushed in embarrassment. "Oh yeah, sorry. Guess I forgot to introduce myself. My names Percy," he said, extending his hand for her to shake.
The girl grasped the offered hand graciously, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Percy. I'm Asami," she introduced with a smile.
"Well, it's getting late, and I should probably be heading home now," Percy said.
"Yeah. My father would probably have wanted me home within the hour," said Asami.
"Well. . . See you tomorrow then?" he asked lamely, already walking backwards towards the pier.
"Yeah. Tomorrow," Asami said, waving goodbye.
Percy reciprocated before turning around fully and making his way back to the ferry, which would take him back to the island, presently inhabited by a likely to be very cranky teenage girl.
Percy was watching Korra struggle to learn meditation while scratching Luna all over. He was chuckling to himself because he could almost picture himself hearing Korra complain about it incessantly.
Pema walked in, carrying a basket of clean linen and started folding the sheet's while also watching her kids, husband and the Avatar meditate.
"So, what was she up to yesterday while I was gone?" Percy asked, talking about Luna who seemed content to bask in the attention Percy was giving her.
"Well, she followed me around for most of the day," Pema answered, looking over and smiling at the wolf.
"Really? She wasn't giving you a hard time, was she?" Percy asked.
"No, no. Not at all. In fact, she was quite helpful," Pema answered. Upon seeing Percy's surprised look, she answered, "I was out picking apples yesterday, and she pointed out all the best ones. It saved me lots of time and effort from having to go through each of them individually, and she stayed with me the entire time," Pema explained, now leaning down to rub Luna's head, which the wolf happily leaned into. Pema and Percy chuckled at the wolfs actions.
"That's good. But you shouldn't be working as often as you are, Pema. I know you don't like it when Tenzin does it, but he's right," Percy told her in concern for the sweet woman's well being.
"I'm just pregnant Percy, not incapable," she replied, going back to folding the laundry.
Percy got up to help her, taking the next sheet and folding it expertly and then repeating that process again.
Luna, not happy that Percy had stopped, got up and nudged Pema into an armchair, and then rested her head on the woman's lap. Pema protested this at first, but relented and began scratching Luna's head, making the wolf happy again.
"That's not what I mean, Pema. You're the mother of three, soon to be four kids. You take care of your entire family almost singlehandedly because Tenzin's constantly busy with the council or Korra's training, as well as his own kids training. You put too much on yourself and it's going to have an effect on the baby. You're too stubborn to listen to reason, so from here on out I'm assigning Luna to make sure you're taking lots of breaks and not working too hard," Percy said with finality.
Luna raised her head and looked into Pema's eyes, as if to show her agreement with her new assignment.
Pema sighed in resignation, but agreed, nonetheless.
Just then, Korra walked in, sipping a glass of lychee juice, and looking bored out of her mind.
"Shouldn't you be in meditation?" Percy asked humorously, knowing full well that he'd have already escaped meditation by now.
Korra shrugged her shoulders, saying, "It's not sinking in. I can relax my mind by doing other things also, so I don't see the point of it. Anyway, what are you guys up to?" she asked, seeing Percy folding sheets and Luna with her head in Pema's lap, who was still scratching her head affectionately.
"Telling Pema to take it easy for a while," Percy answered simply, to which Pema just rolled her eyes and sighed in annoyance.
"He's right Pema. Don't make me call Tenzin over," Korra said, agreeing with Percy.
"So, Korra? What's on the agenda today?" Pema asked nicely, trying to change the subject.
Korra sighed in boredom, "More air gates, basic bending stances, breathing exercises, probably some more meditation that I won't do, and lots of lectures," she said.
"Sounds fun," Percy snickered, obviously enjoying Korra's plight.
Korra glared at him in return, "Oh yeah? And what will you be doing today, huh mister?" She asked.
"Oh, nothing much. Just sitting back and relaxing, watching you embarrass yourself at the air gates, then I'm going to the arena to watch the match," he said, enjoying how much he was able to tease the Avatar.
Korra took a spit take at the last thing he said, "You're going to the arena? To watch a Pro Bending match?! How?! Why?! When?" she asked rapidly.
"Someone gave me a ticket to the game yesterday, so I'm going to go see it with them," he answered with a shrug of his shoulders.
Korra stuttered, unable to respond for a little while. When she did, she said, "You're going to see a. . . Tenzin won't even let me listen to a game over the radio, and you're going to go watch one in person!? Can I come?" she asked hopefully.
Percy winced, genuinely apologetic that he only had one ticket, "Sorry Korra, but I only have one ticket," he said sympathetically.
"No fair," Korra pouted, devastated that she couldn't go with him. "How was the game yesterday?" she asked quietly.
"The Fire Ferrets won, obviously, but it was close, and they almost threw it," he said.
"How did they almost throw it? They were doing well, I thought," she asked, perplexed.
"The two brothers, Mako and Bolin, Fire and Earth benders are good. Very good. But the Ferret's Waterbender, a guy called Fishhook I think, is a pretty poor excuse for a Waterbender. He was knocked off the arena first in every round, and what little he did do was utterly useless. If it weren't for the 'bending brothers', as they're known, they wouldn't be where they are now," he said, still critical about the Waterbender.
"Huh, I didn't hear about that," Korra said.
Just then, Ikki came running into the room, saying that they were moving on to the air gates and that Korra was supposed to come with her, before running off before anyone could reply.
Percy finished folding the last sheet and made for the doorway. "Well, I'm off. I want to check out more of the city. I'll be back tonight," he said, leaving Pema trapped by Luna and walking past a disheartened Korra.
But knowing her, he had a feeling that she'd be at the arena tonight anyway.
When Percy got to the arena, he quickly realized that he didn't know where he was supposed to meet with Asami. So instead, he made his way towards where they sat yesterday and was relieved to see her already there, waiting for him.
She was dressed largely the same as before and waved to him when she saw him.
Percy waved back and sat down next to her. "I made it," he said.
"Yeah. Just in time too. The match is starting soon," she said once he sat down.
"Thanks again for the ticket, by the way. It meant a lot, and you didn't have to do it," Percy told her, truly appreciative of her kindness.
She waved him off, saying, "It's okay. I meant for my dad to use it, but I found out a few days ago that he's on a business trip for a few days. He gets back soon, but all his ticket's will have been wasted by then," she said sadly.
"I'm sorry to hear that. He must be a very busy man," Percy said.
She snorted, and then muttered something about it being an understatement, but Percy didn't think he was meant to hear it, so he said nothing.
She reached into her jacket pocket and produced an envelope and handed it to Percy. "Here. It's not like I'll need the spare anyway. If he wants to spend time with me during the championships, then he can buy his own ticket," she said, giving him the envelope.
Inside was another ticket to the last game of the season before the championships. Percy's eyes widened at the sight, and he tried to hand it back, telling her that she didn't need to give it to him, but she was adamant that he take it. So, reluctantly, but internally very excitedly, he pocketed the envelope.
"Thank you. You don't need to be so kind," he thanked.
"You're welcome, and I'll be happy to do it again if I want," she smiled back.
"Please don't. There's only so much of this that I can take," Percy joked, earning a small laugh from Asami.
Just then, the lights in the arena darkened, and a spotlight descended, illuminating the hexagonal platform.
The centre of the platform rose from below, revealing a rather flamboyant looking man, wearing a brown and pink collared shirt. He spoke in a somewhat nasally voice, introducing the two teams playing while the announcer listed off a brief summary about the teams as they were brought to face each other.
The Ferrets were subjected to a particularly loud proclamation of adoration from some random fan on the other side of the arena as they made their way onto the playing field.
Percy and Asami were sitting on the edge of their seats, waiting for the bell to ring, signalling the beginning of the match.
When the match finally begun, they watched excitedly as the two teams sent their initial attacks at their respective opponents. Immediately, Percy watched as the Tigerdillos Firebender launched a fireball at Hasook, the Waterbender for the Fire Ferrets, which caused the bender to stumble and falter in his bending stance. Percy then had to look away in embarrassment as Hasook launched a very poorly aimed and weakly propelled stream of Water at the Tigerdillos, with no apparent target in mind.
Percy watched with satisfaction as the Ferret's Firebender, Mako, dodged a few incoming earth discs and fireballs and then retaliated with rapid precision. Meanwhile, Bolin was proving himself a real Earthbender. He stood his ground in the face of strong and on-point attacks, blocking and attacking where he could. But Percy noticed a flaw.
"He's got to move. He's been there too long, he's. . ." he trailed off when he watched Hasook and Bolin get hit and knocked back a zone.
"How did you know?" Asked an intrigued Asami, looking at him curiously.
"This game is quick. You can't make any mistakes or else you suffer for it. And with the way this game is moving, anything you do can be a mistake," he finished explaining just as Mako also got pushed back to the line, his foot just barely touching it. He also joined his teammates in the next zone.
"But they didn't do anything wrong?" she said, obviously confused.
"Mako, maybe. I couldn't even begin to tell you about Hasook. Bolin, on the other hand, was strong and sturdy, giving and taking, but not moving. By staying still, it left him open to a very strong attack which knocked him back to where he is now," he said.
"huh," she said after taking a moment to digest what he said, "You really do know a lot about bending, don't you?" she said, raising an eyebrow.
"Just Waterbending," Percy said uncaringly.
"And Earthbending too, apparently," she said, a smirk playing on her lips.
Percy shrugged his shoulders a little, "I may have studied up a bit on the other elements too," he admitted finally, "but I am an expert when it comes to Waterbending. And it wouldn't take an Earthbender to see that he should have moved sooner. Katara taught me that lesson the hard way," he said, slightly blushing at the embarrassing memory.
"Oh? How did she teach it?" she asked teasingly, picking up on the fact that it may be an embarrassing story and was now very eager to hear it.
Sighing, Percy began telling her his anecdote, "So, we were sparring, I was just 8, I think. Anyway, we traded blows for a while and I started focusing too much on how and where I wanted to move the water, that I stopped moving around completely. So, she froze me in a block of ice, told me where I went wrong, and then left me there," he said.
Asami was smiling, enjoying Percy's embarrassing story until it finished, and she heard what Katara did to him.
"Wait, she left you there? Frozen in ice in the middle of the south pole?" she asked incredulously.
Percy shrugged, saying, "She didn't mean anything by it. And she told my parents where I was. They came, poked fun at me for a bit, and then unfroze me a little while later. Then mom made me noodles to cheer me up, and all was well," he said happily, like it was no big deal.
Just then there was a loud cheer from the audience. Percy and Asami looked back to see Hasook falling into the water below, and Mako and Bolin working in tandem to stay on the platform. They had been pushed back to their final zone, so if they fell off, the Ferret's would lose the game.
Fortunately, the round ended before that could happen. The Tigerdillos won round 1.
The Tigerdillos started strong in round 2, managing to push forward into the next zone. The rest of round 2 was dominated by the Fire Ferrets, with Percy and Asami cheering almost the entire time. Now, tied going into the final round, it was anyone's game.
The final round started with the Waterbenders going for each other. Hasook opted to roll out of the way, which put him directly behind Mako. He then stumbled to avoid his teammate, and couldn't recover before he crashed into Bolin, knocking them both over.
"Oh no," Asami said, covering her mouth with both hands, watching as the two tangled teammates were sent into the water below by an earth disc.
The Tigerdillos turned all their attention to the last Fire Ferret standing; the Firebender, Mako. He started running back and forth, not bending, just dodging. He was also being pushed back into the last zone on his side of the arena. Or at least, it looked that way.
"Smart. Keep going Mako. Not yet, wait," Percy said quietly. He was tapping his foot in nervous anticipation. Asami heard him and raised a questioning eyebrow, wondering what Percy saw that no one else seemed to.
It became blaringly obvious what his plan was very soon however, when the first fire punch Mako threw connected with the Tigerdillos Waterbender, launching him across the arena and off the platform, down into the water below.
"He was tiring them out!" Asami realised, turning to look at a smirking Percy who winked at her.
Mako unleashed a furious barrage of fire at his two remaining opponents, holding nothing back as he sent another one flying into the water. The last of the Tigerdillos was also knocked back, but he managed to stay on, and readied himself with an earth disc hovering in front of him. It would prove to be useless however, as through the smoke, Mako landed right in front of him, and with a descending fire punch, sent the Earthbender down into the drink.
The entire arena erupted into furious applause and cheers, praising either Mako's name or the Fire Ferrets as the team made their way back to their locker room, victorious.
Percy and Asami had joined the rest of the crowd in cheering for the Fire Ferrets. Percy himself was very impressed at what the Ferrets Firebender did to the enemy team.
"What a hat trick!" Percy exclaimed excitedly.
"I thought you were pessimistic about their bending?" Asami teased, smirking at the suddenly very excited Waterbender.
"No, just critical," Percy swiftly replied.
"How is that any different?" she asked, retaking her seat as the throngs of people made to exit the arena.
Sitting down next to her, he responded, "Being pessimistic would mean that I had no faith in them from the start. But that can't be true because they're here, in Pro Bending, so they've got to have something going for them. Now, me being critical? That's me wanting to see if they're as good as they're advertised to be."
"Doesn't seem to be the case for Hasook," she mentioned.
"Same thing really," he said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Once again, he must have done something to be where he is now. I'm just having a hard time seeing it."
"Huh. Okay, well, I guess I'll take your word for it, master Waterbender," she teased.
Standing, they both now made to leave the arena.
"Hey, don't be like that," Percy admonished playfully.
"Like what?" she laughed.
"Don't say it so patronizingly," he whined.
"I wasn't patronizing you," she defended playfully.
"It sure sounded like it," Percy rebuffed.
"It wasn't. Honest," she assured. "It's just that, you seem to know so much about the different elements, that it seems only fitting to call you a master," she explained.
Percy stopped suddenly and turned to face her with an unreadable expression on his face. Asami started shifting uncomfortably at the silence that had engulfed them, worried that she may have said something wrong.
Then, like a switch had been flipped, his face lit up, adorning a nefarious troublemaker smirk, and his eyes danced with mirth. "Hahaha," he laughed, throwing Asami for a momentary loop, "I'm just messing with you, don't worry," he reassured her, "You're absolutely right."
He started to move away, prompting her to follow along. "What do you mean I'm absolutely right?" she asked, still confused about what had just happened.
"About me being a master. You're right," he said, like it was no big deal.
"Wait, really? But you're so young," she said. "Surely you couldn't have been a master for too long, right?"
"I've been considered a master of Waterbending since I was 10," Percy said.
"10!" she exclaimed; shock written all over her face as she stopped to gawk at Percy.
"You should really close your mouth. You might catch flies," Percy teased, enjoying his new friends shocked face.
She shook her head very quickly, snapping herself out of her shocked state. "I'm sorry, it's just. . . 10! You were 10 years old? That's got to be some kind of record," she remarked.
"It is. I broke the last record, beating Katara by 4 years," Percy confirmed.
"4. . . So, master Katara was 14 when she was hailed a master?" she asked, getting a nod from Percy. "But if my history is correct, then didn't she also need to become a master to help teach Avatar Aang Waterbending?" she inquired.
"Well. . . Yeah," Percy said slowly. "I mean, she was already showing Aang whatever she knew before then, and she dedicated herself to becoming the best she could be. She also told me that, at the time, Aang was still partially in denial about the war. And that, once he finally accepted it, he was so busy with trying to help everyone they met, and focus on all the other elements and stuff, that when they did finally make it to the Northern Water Tribe, he just wanted to relax in the safety of the city stronghold. I mean, I would have probably done the same thing, given the circumstances. But to answer your question, Katara grew up knowing that she was the only Waterbender in the entire Southern Water Tribe, and she never had anyone to teach her how to properly learn how to bend. So, when the opportunity presented itself, she fought tooth and nail to learn as much as she could in such a short timeframe. I think she was just so much more dedicated to learning how to bend than Aang, that when they did finally have to leave, he just didn't learn enough. So, Katara had to step up and finish teaching him Waterbending," he explained.
"I see," Asami said after a moment. By now, they were in the middle of the bridge connecting the Pro Bending arena to the rest of Republic City. "So then, what about you?" she asked curiously.
"I'm sorry?" Percy questioned; confusion written clear on his face.
"Master Katara wanted to learn how to properly Waterbend her entire life, and I'm sure the war going on was another big motivator for her to learn quickly. But, what about you? What made you want to be a master Waterbender at such a young age? I mean, I can't imagine any reason for you to need to rush through your training, so why did you want to become a master so soon?" she asked.
"I-I. . . I don't know. I never really thought about it," Percy admitted, taken aback by the question. "I guess I just figured that, because I could do it that I might as well go all the way," he said lamely. "Plus, I've got this thing, where I can't sit still for more than 3 seconds. But, bending always calms me down. But even then, after a while, that too get's boring, so I just kept experimenting, and trying new things. Katara took an interest in what I was doing, and one day told me that I was a master to rival them all. I've only gotten better ever since," he finished, mildly uncomfortable with the way Asami was looking at him appraisingly.
"Wow. That's incredible. But isn't there like, supposed to be a ceremony, or something?" she asked.
"Nope," Percy said, popping the P sound. "I mean, the Airbenders have a ceremony for receiving their tattoos, which mark them as Airbending masters, but it's for their tattoos only. Plus, Airbenders are naturally stubborn when it comes to their traditions," he answered.
"Guess I'll just take your word for it then," Asami commented.
They lapsed into a comfortable silence for a bit.
"So, you said you were good with machines, right?" Percy asked suddenly
"Yeah! I've been around them all my life," Asami said happily.
"Oh really? Would you go as far as to say that you're, a master of machines?" Percy asked.
"I don't think that's a real thing," Asami said, trying to hold back her laughter.
"Well, why shouldn't it be?" Percy asked.
Asami seemed to think about it for a bit, before asking, "Well, what would constitute me being a master of machinery?"
Percy paused, frowning in thought, before looking up, "How about," he started, before turning and pointing to a nearby sato-mobile, "Can you tell me everything about that sato-mobile?" he asked challengingly.
Asami, upon seeing where he was pointing, smirked at him. It was nothing special. Just a typical production family transport, coloured black. Thin but large wheels, very boxy design, partially exposed engine, lots of windows, just another sato-mobile built from the Future Industries assembly line.
"Well, where would you want me to start? I could tell you that it has a 4-cylinder inline engine that makes 80 – 90 units of power, give or take. I could tell you that the reason it's so uncomfortable, unless it's on a smooth, paved road is because it doesn't have a great suspension system, unlike the more expensive performance models sold by leading manufacturers. Truth be told, it's just the latest model of Future Industries' original sato-mobile, which was just designed to get someone from point A to point B. More than that though, it was meant to be affordable and easy to make in large numbers. Later models and remakes, like the one you just pointed out, are better made, more powerful, and much more comfortable with more luxury items than the model 1 ever dreamed of having. The model 1 was the very first sato-mobile in case you were wondering," she said expertly, leaving a gobsmacked Percy staring at Asami, slack jawed.
Asami allowed herself to smirk at his expression. "I think it's your turn to catch flies," she remarked, seeing his jaw hanging so close to the floor.
Shaking himself out of his stupor, Percy looked back at her challengingly, "Alright, master Asami, what about that one," he said, pointing out another sato-mobile.
Asami raised an eyebrow at him. "That's the same type of sato-mobile I just described. except green," she said flatly.
"Er, I knew that!" Percy exclaimed loudly, earning a disbelieving chuckle from Asami. "Then how about that one?" he said, indicating to a much more lavish looking vehicle.
Asami just smirked, took a deep breath, and then started rattling off everything she knew about it.
This carried on for some time; Percy pointing to a random vehicle, and Asami giving a brief description about the mechanics and whatever information she knew about the vehicle, before moving on to the next one that Percy points out.
"Ok, ok. How about this one?" he says, indicating to a small, yellow two-seater moped. Percy was feeling confident that he finally had her, that he had found a vehicle that Asami didn't know so much about. Given that all the previous sato-mobiles all had four wheels, and that this one only had two, he was feeling pretty confident that he had her.
"Well, that one would happen to be how I got here," she said.
"Oh," Percy said quietly, feeling defeat.
"Yeah. So, I think I'd know about my own transport more than anything else here," she said confidently.
"Yeah, that sounds about right," Percy said, now looking back at her as she unlocked a storge compartment under the seat and withdrew a round, black helmet with a single red stripe.
"So, I'll see you tomorrow then?" Percy asked as Asami mounted the moped and started the engine.
"Yeah. It's the last match of the season before the championship tournament. I'll meet you at the same spot," she said, starting to pull away.
"See you then. Bye!" Percy yelled to Asami's retreating figure.
"Bye Percy," she said, waving back slightly.
And with that, Percy made his way back to Air Temple Island, excited for tomorrows match.
A/N
The first match that Percy went to was the one Korra was listening to over the radio before Tenzin pulled the plug. The second match is the one she snuck out to watch, where she first meets Mako and Bolin, and before she actually joins the team.
The car that Asami summarised for Percy was me taking inspiration from the Ford Model-T. I just said it had a more powerful engine and better comforts.
I've been sitting on this chapter for a while, but finally decided to just put out what I already have written. This is probably about half of episode 2 and focuses on Percy and introducing Asami to the mix. Also, Asami never mentioned her last name, so Percy has no idea that she's really the daughter of the man who made most of the cars he see's all around the city.
In response to many frequently reappearing reviews:
I alluded to the idea that Percy can control some other elements, but let me clear it all up properly.
Percy will not be able to Earthbend. He will, in the later seasons, discover that he can Earthshake. The difference being that, instead of being able to form, manipulate, and control the Earth like an Earthbender, it'll be more like he can focus any control he has over the Earth to cause earthen constructs to crumble to dust. This will be a fairly taxing ability, and will not extend to things like sand and metal. I may even show him causing an earthquake that no bender can stop if I ever get to the last season. Also, no one has any idea that Percy should be able to control the Earth, and therefore has not ever bothered to experiment with it. So no, he does not know he has any control over the Earth.
I mentioned at the end of chapter 2 that Percy studied Airbending to get inspiration as he developed his Waterbending. So far, I've left it at that. My plan is that Percy will not be able to Airbend, but instead, will be able to use his Waterbending in a way that will mimick Airbending.
As for Poseidon strengthening their bond in chapter 1, the idea behind that is that he made it easier for Percy to learn how to focus his abilities. In all of Pjo, there are very few instances where Percy really controls the water in an extremely precise manner. The only example I can think of is in SoN, where he made hands appear out of the river Tiber's waters. Every other instance is really just Percy summoning a big wave. tTC, he lifted the creek to douse Thalia. BotL, he used a wave to put out fires in the forest. MoA, he summoned a wave to wash Octavian and his goons out into the bay, then later on to help push the Argo 2 away from the Legion. Poseidon strengthening their bond is really him making Percy's water abilities easier to master and control in a way that bending teaches him.
(Also, to make things easier, Percy can't talk to fish in this story. Considering tht Water Tribe diets consist almost entirely of seafood, Poseidon was nice enough to lock that ability away, or he removed it entirely, so as not to traumatize his son by making him eat things that can talk to him)
If you have any ideas that you think I should incorporate, please let me know.
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AyeEnfield