"Can you come back tomorrow? Pleeeeeeeease?" Ikki begged as she and her siblings walked Daiyu out to the main courtyard.
The older girl kneeled down, patting the girl's head in apology. "I wish I could Ikki, but I have work and a bunch of other plans tomorrow."
Meelo groaned in defeat and slumped against her back while Jinora's shoulders dropped. Daiyu hated disappointing them, especially after they had such a lovely afternoon.
After the teen had left with the children, they led her to their usual meditation pavilion where they showed her the new airbending moves and forms they had learned in the two months she had not visited. Daiyu had clapped and spouted words of approval and encouragement over and over—she could not help it. She had always been amazed by their abilities, and their bending skills expanded by leaps and bounds with every visit.
After the demonstration, Daiyu decided to take them inside for lunch. She had wanted to see Pema as well, but according to an acolyte passing the airbending family's private home, the pregnant woman had been feeling under the weather so she went to take a nap. That was fine, there was always next time.
After lunch, which consisted of the leftover baked goods Daiyu had brought, she brought them into their family room for origami. Daiyu loved the art of paper folding, a love that the little airbenders shared with her, although Meelo was still warming up to it.
She had learned with her mother. As a child, Lin would manipulate earth and metal into all sorts of things for her daughter. She made wire flowers for her to collect, and rocks became animal figurines for her to play with. Being a nonbender, Daiyu had once been upset she could not perform such feats like her mother, but Lin prepared for that.
When she turned eight her mother had brought her several books and scrolls containing information on how to create and do, well, everything. How to make your own clothes. How to paint and sculpt. How to dance. How to cook. The majority of the material was geared towards the arts since Lin herself was teaching her girl how to fight, how to survive, just as her own mother had taught her. Daiyu had pulled out the book on origami and they had spent rest of her birthday learning how to create paper badgermoles.
And that was what Jinora had spent her afternoon trying to perfect. Ikki wanted to learn something more exciting, so Daiyu showed her how to make a paper bullfrog that could hop if you pushed down on its bottom. Meelo was not as patient as his sisters and preferred to tear and draw on the paper rather than fold it. The teen did not mind, her little tornado seemed to have an incredibly creative mind and a small grasp on how to use contrasting colours effectively. What others might have considered a mess on the floor was Meelo creating a self-portrait out of torn paper and graphite.
Before they knew it was time for Daiyu to head off, but the children were reluctant to let her go.
"Tell you what, guys," Daiyu decided. "I'm busy tomorrow but I'll clear my weekend for you so I can come back. How does that sound?"
Jinora jumped with excitement while Meelo and Ikki created air scooters to whiz around the teen to celebrate.
Daiyu smiled and stood back up. "I have to go now, ok? I still have to go see the Avatar before the last ferry arrives."
Jinora frowned and looked up at the older girl. "Dee, do you not like Korra?"
Ikki nodded in agreement. "Yeah! You were kinda mean to her—not really mean-mean but the kinda mean that adults use when they try and pretend they're not being mean to someone even though they know they're being mean."
"Ooh! Are you and Korra gonna fight?" Meelo began to jump all over the place. "She's the Avatar and she can bend three elements, does that mean you'll use all your weapons? Like your sword, and your—Oh! Those sticky things that are as long as your arms, or maybe your whip, or the knives you always keep in your pockets!? Or—"
"Guys, guys! No Meelo, I'm not going to fight Korra, and stay out of my pockets." Daiyu pressed her hands against said pockets. "Not that I couldn't take her, I probably could, but that's not the point. Yes, Ikki, I may have come off a little harsh but it wasn't without reason. No 'Nora, it's not that I don't like Korra, it's just that I don't know her very well yet, and what she said the other day at city hall has me a little concerned."
Jinora nodded, a thoughtful pout on her face. "And that's what you're going to talk to her about?"
"More or less. Say hello to your mom for me, yeah? I'll see you soon." Daiyu waved goodbye as they little ones formed air scooters and zoomed away.
I can always find someone
To say they sympathize
It did not take long for Daiyu to find the Avatar, who was doing an array of swift kicks and powerful punches, all the while muttering 'airbend!' She heeded no results; the newspaper she was aiming at made no movement on the line it was folded over, it was borderline pathetic.
She had determination though, Daiyu could give her that. She could even admire it.
When she first encountered the Avatar after she had complimented her tattoos, her first thought was how innocent. It was her eyes, they really gave her away. They were bright and open; a great curiosity was evident in her cerulean irises. Daiyu could remember her mother speaking of how the Avatar was raised in a private compound, protected by the White Lotus. She must have been quite sheltered, but Daiyu knew the naiveté that radiated off Korra would not last long.
Republic City was going to eat her alive.
Daiyu approached the water tribe teen. "You know, airbending is known for being almost purely defensive," Daiyu spoke up, breaking the other teen's concentration, and caused her to drop her arm mid punch. "You won't achieve anything using offensive techniques."
"And you would know," Korra huffed, but turned to face her with a surprising amount of vulnerability. "How do you know?"
Daiyu drew closer to the Avatar but did not meet her eyes. "I used to spend a lot of time here when I was a kid, to visit, and to train."
Korra made a confused noise. "Why? You're not an Airbender."
It was an innocent question, Daiyu knew that, but it did not stop the dark emotions that began to swirl around in her chest.
You're not an Airbender.
She shook it off.
"Our families were close, Avatar Aang and Grandma Toph being best friends and all," This was not the real reason, but it was not a lie either. "Even being a nonbender, Master Tenzin taught me a lot."
"Like how to get through the air gates?" Korra obviously wanted tips. She must truly be fed up with them to be asking for her help after how their first meeting went.
Daiyu could feel a smirk spread across her face. "Haven't figured it out yet?"
"Well it is only my first lesson," Korra threw back at her. "Were you expecting me to get it?"
"No, I'm only teasing." Daiyu chuckled. "It took me two years to get it."
Korra reeled back, surprised by her honesty. "You don't say?"
"I first tried when I was six years old." Daiyu closed her eyes and remembered, not quite sure why she was telling Korra any of this. "Master Tenzin said there was nothing to be afraid off, but I was terrified—I thought the gates were a monster set out to eat me. I went in any way and tried my hardest, but I came out covered in splinters and half of my body bruised."
Daiyu almost laughed at Korra's exaggerated cringe.
"My Ma was not impressed." The taller teen sighed. "Master Tenzin got a real earful that afternoon."
Korra must have thought the idea of my mother scolding Tenzin amusing, as she was holding back a grin, but it vanished as soon as it appeared. "Well, hopefully, it doesn't take me two years."
"It probably won't, considering you actually have the potential to airbend." Daiyu reasoned. "But then again, why rush? You probably need all the time you can get."
"There it is!" Korra laughed, but she was far from amused. "There's the biting remark, I was starting to wonder if you were a different person."
"I like to keep people on their toes." The nonbender turned her gaze towards the city. "But seriously, take your time with this, the city doesn't need the Avatar running around half-trained and overconfident."
Korra's face turned red. "Overcon—are you saying I'm full of myself?"
Daiyu turned back to her, an innocent grin on her face. "Hey, you said it, not me."
The air seemed to crackle with electricity as the Avatar's anger spiked. "Who, who do you think you are!? Acting like you know me? This isn't some game to me, I've been training for this my entire life. Being the Avatar is a huge responsibility, my responsibility, so don't you dare think I'm not taking it seriously."
There it was again, that determination. Korra had something to prove, and she was not about to back down from anything.
Daiyu was not fazed. "That's all I needed to hear."
Korra's face dropped, expecting more of a fight.
"This city is my home," Daiyu began. "I was born here, and I'll probably die here. I just wanted to know you weren't treating this whole thing lightly."
"Trust me, I'm not," Korra announced, a promise laced with her words. "The city's in good hands."
"I know it's in good hands; my mother's," The taller teen sneered. "Don't get ahead of yourself."
Her smirk returned when she saw Korra's eye twitch in irritation.
"By the way," Daiyu said, remembering what her mother had told her the night before. "My Ma wanted me to let you know to stay on the island if you wanted to stay out of trouble. That's no fun of course, so if you ever head in just lay low, yeah? And if you see any trouble, just call the police, it's what they're there for."
Korra conceded. "You got it."
Daiyu turned to leave. "See you around, Korra. Look me up if you ever are in town, maybe we could hang out." She said, deciding the Avatar was alright.
"Oh yeah, sure, I'll make sure to do that." Said the Avatar, her sarcasm strong.
The tattooed teen placed a hand on her chest in mock hurt. "Am I really that bad company?"
Korra threw her hands up in defeat. "Hey, you said it, not me."
Daiyu laughed and bid her a final farewell, recalling the fire she had seen in the Avatar's eyes.
Maybe she would survive this city after all.
Song: Honesty | Billy Joel
AN: Hey guys! So I've made a few changes. One is the summary, I felt it would draw more interest mentioning that my OC was a Beifong, and secondly was the pairing. Bolin was my original pair up, but I have so many ideas. If you have any initial ideas of you would like to Daiyu with, please tell me, I'd love to hear your ideas.