Korra wasn't sure why she agreed to this. It wasn't what she wanted to be doing on a Friday night. She'd much rather be in her room with leftovers watching a bad comedy on WebFlix but here she was at this stupid Gala that she had somehow been talked into being a part of. The only good thing that was coming out of this whole night was the food. There were long tables along the back and west side wall covered in food of all kinds from appealing appetizers to delectable desserts. Korra had taken to hovering by the table picking at whatever caught her eye and finding that nearly everything was delicious.
Korra was piling food on her plate when someone put their hand on her shoulder causing her to spin around, backing up into the table. She looked up to see Tenzin's wife, Pema, looking at her with concern on her face. Korra let out a sigh and looked down at her plate which was still miraculously covered in food. "Are you okay?" Pema asked and Korra nodded forcing her body to relax.
"Yeah. I just was caught off guard." Korra forced a smile and Pema returned it with a soft smile of her own. Anyone could tell Pema and Tenzin were meant for each other. Pema was kind and sweet and motherly. She balanced out Tenzin with is serious demeanor and gruff disposition. Korra knew Tenzin and Lin wouldn't work out when they had dated as children. Korra liked to think that she had a pretty good eye for when couples would end up being soulmates or if they could somehow make it work without being ones. Tenzin and Lin had just been two different when it came to their views on certain things and it had caused them to butt heads one too many times. Tenzin was understanding and more than willing to be flexible but Lin was bull-headed and stubbornly unwilling to budge on even the smallest things. Korra was still amazed Tenzin had the guts to break up with Lin at all given that Korra was still slightly scared of her mother, though she would never admit it aloud. The aftermath of said break up had been legendary. "Did you need something?"
Pema smiled softly at Korra. Korra loved that smile, so warm and motherly. It reminded Korra of her own long past mother. Thinking of her parents no longer made her sad but it still wasn't something she liked to dwell on. "Tenzin asked me to come get you. He said there's someone he'd like you to meet."
Korra swallowed. That wasn't something she liked hearing because meeting people usually lead to touching and Korra didn't like touching people. Most people went out of their way to touch others in an attempt to find out who their soulmate is but Korra wasn't most people. Korra had been like that once, so eager and hopeful to meet the person who would restart her aging, but as the years went by and she still was left unaging, those feelings faded. Only to be replaced with a sense bitter resignation at the cruelty of a world that had decided she didn't deserve a soulmate so many years ago.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Pema asked, concern evident in her voice. Korra looked up to see her brows furrowed slightly.
Korra let out a sigh, "I'm fine. I just don't like meeting new people." It wasn't so much that Korra was adverse to touching people. It was more that she was adverse to people in general. They put on airs in an attempt to impress only to quickly disappoint. Korra rarely made friends outside of Air Temple Island. It was just to easy to see through people and their so-called 'Acts of Friendship'.
Pema smiled and nodded toward the floor, "Shall we?" Korra nodded and followed the Air Matriarch through the crowd toward where she could see Tenzin talking to someone.
They came to a stop and Tenzin stopped talking, turning to look at Korra with a smile that made Korra think that he had something up his sleeves, "Korra, I'd like to introduce you to Asami Sato, head of Future Industries. She's also unaging." And there it was. Tenzin's ulterior motive for bringing Korra along. Korra glared up at Tenzin who simply turned to look at his wife.
One thing Korra hated more than meeting new people was being introduced to other unaging individuals with the hopes that they might be each other's soulmate. Korra had told Katara and Sokka she hated it. They'd understood, eventually. Aang had been easier to convince as he was all about understanding each other's differences and learning to accept them. She'd done the same with Tenzin and his siblings with varying degrees of success. If Korra was asked, Bumi was the worst blind set up offender while the other two understood and let Korra be. Except that Tenzin occasionally decided that Korra needed a little push in the right direction which, while a nice gesture, was wholly unappreciated.
"You must be Korra. Tenzin's told me so much about you." Asami said, extending her hand and Korra just stared at the outstretched appendage. This was exactly what Korra had been wanting to avoid.
Korra suddenly remembered the plate of food in her hand and was struck with an idea. She held it out in place of her hand, "Cream Puff?" Korra watched as a look of confusion crossed Asami's face as she tried to figure out what was happening. Korra moved her hand forward a little more, "You can have one."
Asami hesitantly took one, tilting her head slightly as she said, "Thanks?" She sounded unsure if she should be thankful or not but Korra wasn't too concerned with the CEO's feelings. She had managed to avoid a handshake and completely avoid a conversation altogether.
Korra turned to Tenzin, "Thanks for introducing me but I'm going to go now." She could see in Tenzin's expression that this outcome isn't what he had hoped would happen. Korra ignored it and turned to Pema smiling a knowing smile before turning to walk away.
The last thing Korra heard as she walked away was Pema saying, "I told you this would happen dear." followed by a heavy sigh.
"I know." Tenzin's words seemed to dissolve into the hum of the crowd leaving Korra with a nagging sense of guilt that she knew wouldn't go away for days.
Asami wasn't quite sure what to make of her encounter with Korra. It had been strange and while Asami prided herself on not judging people before she actually got to know them that conversation, or rather lack thereof, made it hard to draw conclusions that were probably false. Asami didn't know exactly what Councilman Tenzin had been trying to do but it was pretty obvious that it hadn't gone to according to plan and that it had upset him greatly. Asami excused herself from the company of the couple, not because of them, but because she still had to make the rounds with the rest of her guests.
The rest of the night went by much smoother and soon they were approaching the time when the auction would begin. Asami watched as people got their serving and took their seats finding her own after getting a small plate of food. The auction was Asami's favorite part of this event as she loved seeing just what people were willing to part with for the sake of charity. She always put someone else in charge of organizing the auction so that she could be surprised by what was being auctioned off. Asami watched as they wheeled out the first items, picking up one of the programs from the table she began to skim through it. She always bid on at least three items occasionally winning one if it was something she had to have. It was a bonus that the money went to a good cause.
Suddenly Asami's eyes caught sight of something that made her do a double take. There on the program printed in neat letters in the middle of the second page were the words, 'Private Waterbending Lesson with Master Korra'. Asami shook her head. It had to be a coincidence. There was no way that Korra was a Waterbending Master. Asami shook her head, there she went making assumptions about people she didn't even know based on a single interaction. But, then again, being a Bender in this day and age was so incredibly rare that it wouldn't be strange if Asami was right and Korra wasn't one, but then that meant it was somebody else also named Korra which opened a whole new bag of probabilities and statistics.
The sound of someone tapping on the mic on the stage ended Asami's train of thought and she looked up to see the auctioneer standing at the podium, "We'll begin with an item donated by Mayor Raiko himself." Asami watched them wheel out the item on a cart and once it was introduced, a painting worth a small fortune, bidding began. Soon the painting was sold off for a little under 30 thousand Yuans. The painting was wheeled off stage and the next one was wheeled on. The rest of the items went much the same with Asami occasionally placing a bet on an item that caught her attention that was until item 17 was announced. "Our next item was donated by Councilman Tenzin and is actually a service rather than an actual item." Asami leaned forward as a large metal basin was wheeled out, "The service we will be bidding for is a private lesson with Waterbending Master Korra." Asami watched as Korra walked onto the stage, no longer wearing the blue dress but what looked like Water Tribe garb. A blue tank top with a pair of baggy blue pants tucked into brown boots with some kind of fur wrap around her waist.
She came to a stop in the middle of the stage and the auctioneer moved off to the side. Asami watched as Korra moved the water rising into the air and splitting off into three separate hovering orbs. With a move of her arms, the water began moving around her body and Asami was entranced by the movements. Bending was such a rare gift that getting to seeing a bending master in action was something most people never got to do. Korra bent the water back together before she pushed her arms forward and the water flew over the crowd. She clenched her fists causing the water to freeze and then unclenched them causing the ice to turn into a powdery snow which she sent flying as far back as the last table. It drifted down and she bowed before stepping back.
Asami didn't know what to think other then she was even more curious about Korra now then she had been before. She wanted to get to know her and this private lesson was the perfect way to do that. "We'll begin the bidding at 500. Any Bids for 500?" Asami reached for her paddle throwing it into the air determined to win and get to know the Waterbender.