An Exercise In Deception

Korra glared balefully over her cards at Azula. "You are a terrible person who exists solely to make me suffer, aren't you?"

"Yes. I am also a purple platypus bear." Azula smiled sunnily. "And it looks like you lose – again."

"Argh!" Korra threw her cards at the table in frustration. "Why do we have to play poker? It's bad enough that you spend all day kicking me around in training. Why do I have to play poker too? I never win!"

"These games are designed to offer you respite. If you win, I will gladly do some of your chores and grant you more freedom in your training. And if you lose, well, you get to do extra chores and extra training of my choice."

"But I can't beat you! Nobody can beat you!" Korra huffed and paced around the room with a scowl. "You're too good."

"I suppose you do have a point." Azula nodded sagely. "Yes, I have an idea. From now on, you will also be playing against some of the other people in this compound. Depending on your results against them, I will have your chores reduced and grant you the training that you wish."

"Really? I can still get rewarded if I beat them instead of you?" Korra frowned. She needed Azula to say the words. She knew exactly how tricky the older woman could be. Unless she had an ironclad guarantee, she didn't have a guarantee at all.

"Yes, yes. I'll have a list of conditions and rewards drawn up, so we both know where we stand. Naturally, there will be consequences if you lose." Azula's smile would have terrified a shark.

"Fine. I can live with that. Beating them has got to be easier than beating you."

X X X

Korra was both right and wrong. She was right in that beating the other people in the compound at poker was easier than beating Azula. She was wrong in thinking that she'd be able to do it consistently.

Against, Azula, she'd been convinced that the other woman was cheating. It was exactly the sort of thing she would have done. But the more she played against other people, the more she realised that winning wasn't just about having better cards although that definitely helped. Winning a lot didn't require cheating although she was always vigilant for that.

No, winning consistently meant being able to calculate the odds of winning given the cards she had and the other cards in play as well as manipulating the other people playing. If she had a strong hand, she had to convince everyone else that her hand was weaker than it truly was, so they would bet more. If she had a weaker hand, then she needed to convince them that it was a strong one, so they were less likely to challenge her. She needed, above all, to know when to fold, to admit defeat, which was not something she was very good at. She had to learn how to lose a battle to win a war.

Still, the guards and the other people at the compound seemed happy to humour her. She spent many nights playing against some of the guards and the other staff members, and she learned more than she could have imagined from just listening to the idle banter that went on during each game. She'd always thought of the guards as just her guards. Now, she was learning about them as people. They had families and friends, hobbies and dreams, and they had little quirks and tells that she slowly began to learn.

It was utterly fascinating.

She learned how to interpret the minute changes in body language that went with a lie and how to manipulate her own body language to fool others more effectively. She even learned how to read the minute changes in people's voices when they were lying. She wasn't great at it yet, but she got better with every game.

And she was beginning to win consistently too, not that she kept any of the money that she won. She didn't need money, and Azula's conditions only talked about winning the money. The firebender didn't care what Korra did with it afterward, so Korra gave it back. Besides, it wasn't like there was a lot for her to buy at the compound anyway.

Finally, after months of this, she felt ready to challenge Azula again. Now that she had a better understanding of verbal and non-verbal cues, she could truly appreciate just how good Azula was. Azula wasn't a good liar. She was a magnificent liar. There were layers upon layers of deception in play. Everything from her voice to her smallest gesture during the game was carefully calibrated to throw her opponents off.

Korra lost. Badly.

"You've gotten better." Azula grinned. "But do you want to know how I keep beating you?"

"By being better at deception." Korra leaned forward and grinned back. "That's what you've been trying to teach me this whole time. There's no way that I'll be able to learn everything there is to know in the world. I'll have to rely on others to help me. But if I can detect deception and even deceive others myself, I'll be a much more effective Avatar."

"That was part of the lesson, yes." Azula's eyes gleamed. "And what you've learned will certainly help, which is why I want you to continue playing poker. But… I also wanted to teach you another lesson."

Korra was eager to know what other wisdom Azula could impart. "And what was that?"

Azula flicked her wrist, and Korra blinked as several cards landed on the table. "There are times when all the deception in the world isn't be enough. Sometimes, you need to cheat."

"You…" Korra gaped, unable to form a coherent sentence. "You… but… what… you… gah! You were cheating all along!" Korra threw her hands in the air. "But how? I've been watching you the whole time!"

"I know." Azula chuckled. "And that's why your next challenge is to catch me cheating."

"And what will that teach me?" Korra asked. She glared down at the cards. She'd been so sure that she could catch Azula if she tried to cheat.

"Another way to use misdirection." Azula tapped the cards on the table. "You will be the most powerful bender in the world, but you'll win more battles with subtlety and misdirection than brute force. That's also how your opponents will try to beat you because they won't be able to overpower you. Learn how to cheat, how to deceive, so that others won't be able to cheat or deceive you." She flicked her wrist again and produced another card. "Can you imagine how hard it would be to face an Avatar who actually knows how to conceal her abilities, who knows how to use subtlety and trickery to her advantage, all while wielding power far greater than her opponents could ever hope to match?"

Korra's lips curled. "I want another game. I'll catch you this time."

Azula reached for the cards and started to shuffle them. "No, Korra. You won't."

X X X

Author's Notes

As always, I do not own Legend of Korra. I am not making any money off of this either.

Being the Avatar is like having access to the biggest sledgehammer in the world. But there are times when it's much better to have a rapier. Azula has never been one to do things halfway. If she's going to train Korra, she's going to make her the best Avatar there ever was – an Avatar with all the skill and finesse of a rapier who hits with all the force of a sledgehammer.

As always, I appreciate feedback. Reviews and comments are welcome.