Chapter XIII: Challenges
Saltrall was watching the Fire Ferrets from the top row of bleachers inside the Pro-Bending Arena, smiling at their dedication. He suddenly stands when he see's them all fall over after hitting each other, but relaxes when he hears them laughing, chuckling quietly and kicking himself for such a serious reaction.
He started to head down the stairs when he saw Asami walk in as they were huddled up, causing him to stop and watch. He was still too far away to hear anything but he knew something was up when he saw Asami and Mako Eskimo kiss.
"Well, that's a development." He mumbled to himself as he kept walking down, leaning on the railing at the bottom of the bleachers as Mako and Asami walked out.
He saw Korra packing up her bags as Bolin slid up next to her.
"So, Korra. There they go, here we are, all alone in the gym, just you and me, two alone people. Together. Alone." He said, oblivious to Saltrall's presence.
"Not quite alone" Saltrall chimed in, laughing when he saw them jump and look at him.
He jumped onto one of the referee platforms as Korra stood.
"Ah, I gotta head back to the air temple to train with Tenzin. See ya guys!" She said with a wave as she quickly walked out. After she had left the arena Bolin let out a sigh of defeat and sat on the edge closest to Saltrall.
"Ouch, sorry, man" Saltrall said as he got up on the railing of the platform and sat.
"Man, I just don't know why she'd reject me like that." Bolin said, not looking at Saltrall.
"Well in my experience, which is extensive, women are very fickle creatures," Saltrall said, leaning back slightly, "if worse comes to worst guilt her into a date." He said with a chuckle.
Bolin looked up at him. "Are you serious?" He asked.
Saltrall shrugged. "Well, not really," he said standing, "but I know you'll think of something."
Bolin just nodded, a determined look on his face.
"Yeah! I can do it!" He exclaimed as he started to leave, only to stop and turn around when he heard Saltrall.
"Two things, first, your bag," he motioned to Bolin's bag still in it's spot, "second, how the heck do I get out of here?"
Saltrall walked out of the arena and into the bright afternoon sun. He sat on a bench and looked around, trying to think of something to do. Soon he thought about the look he saw on Korra's face when she saw Asami walk in and decided to go pay her a visit.
He walked over to an alley close to the arena and climbed into a large wooden shipping crate that was his TARDIS and set a course for Korra's house. He turned it into a tree and stepped outside and looked around, the White Lotus sentries giving him dirty glares, which he figured was better than trying to kill him, so he waved and walked inside. He used his Sonic to find out where Korra was and knocked on her bedroom door.
"Korra? It's Saltrall, can I come in?" He asked. He jiggled the handle but it was locked. With a sigh he turned to leave but was stopped when he heard the door unlock and open behind him.
"Wait, you can come in." Korra said from the doorway, causing Saltrall to enter, closing the door behind him.
"Are you okay? You looked, I don't know, annoyed? I guess, when you saw Asami at the end of practice." He said, standing by the door as she sat down on her bed.
She shrugged, "I don't know, it just irked me to see her," she said.
Saltrall nodded and said seriously, "you have feelings for Mako, don't you?"
Korra blushed brightly, "No!" She snapped back quickly, looking away from him.
Saltrall chuckled softly, "It's okay to tell me," he said, "I'm over 600 years old, Korra, I've seen how you look at him when you think no one is looking."
She looked back at him, shaking a little.
"Promise not to tell anyone?" she asked, voice shaking a little.
He nodded, moving close and hugging her, she hugged back.
"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me, at least until you're ready to tell him yourself."
She nodded and looked down. "Thank you, Saltrall," she said quietly. He smiled softly and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "That's what friends are for," he replied before walking out.
He closed the door behind him and let out a long breath before walking away, lost in thought. He'd only ever seen that scared twice, once after he consoled her from her nightmare and again when she came face to face with Amon for the first time. He knew he'd never forget the look of pure terror on her face when he got there with Tenzin.
He entered the TARDIS and shut the door behind him. He had plenty of faces of fear in his life, whether they be from his victims, or from the people he saved from deadly situations, even his own in the mirror on occasions, but something was different about Korra's. He sat down on his couch, just by his console, Korra's face from her encounter with Amon suddenly burned into his thoughts.
What was it that made hers stick out so much? He smacked his head, trying to get it out of his head, but to no avail.
"Could it be because... no, it can't be," he thought, shaking his head again.
"I've never had a friend I've worried about so much," he thought again, rubbing his face with a groan.
He'd had many friends over the years, but he was always more of a loner, after all, he'd been hurt before, but the emotional loss he felt holding his dying friend hurt more than any wound he'd ever endured...
He teared up "If I had been two minutes faster..." he thought, remembering the awful memory that kept him up for so many nights.
Suddenly a pounding on the TARDIS door jolted him from his thoughts. He wiped his eyes and steeled his resolve before opening the door to find a grinning Ikki standing there. She told him enthusiastically that dinner was ready and that he was free to join him.
He closed the door and followed her, smiling, doing his best to forget the painful memories that lie within the walls of his spacecraft.