"So, what's the point of this again?" Tahno sighed, sitting on the couch after he and the others moved the furniture against the walls to make space on the floor.
"There really isn't one." Korra giggled. "Lighten up, Tahno; it'll be fun."
"Define fun…"
"Come on, Tahno." Ming prodded, poking his side and smirking as he leader flinched sharply. "You wouldn't want to back down in front of these guys, would you?" Tahno sighed, rolling his eyes.
"Fine, fine." He sat on the rug across from Korra, Ming sat across from Bolin, and Shaozu sat across from Mako.
"Okay." Korra began. "Since there are three people per team, and two teams; it's inevitable that at least 2 out of 3 people from one team will win. So, we are here today to settle the question: 'Which team is better? The Wolfbats or the Fire Ferrets?' No bending, no shoes, just tickling. Whichever team has the most winners wins the whole shebang, got it?"
"Any other specifics you want to put out there?" Bolin snickered. Korra thought about it.
"Oh, no stepping off this rug. If you do, your opponent can tickle you for 10 seconds and you can't fight back. If you do fight back, that's just another penalty."
"This seems a lot more complicated than it should be." Ming said, and he and Bolin laughed. Korra smiled.
"And that's why it's important to play fair." She giggled. "Now, if there are no further questions, let's do this!"
The fight between the Firebenders ended pretty fast. Mako had found a soft spot behind Shaozu's knee that drove him insane, and he gave in within a minute.
"N-No fair…" he panted afterward as Mako chuckled, ruffling his hair. Ming and Bolin seemed pretty evenly matched. Bolin had trapped one of Ming's feet, tickling his sole and toes relentlessly. As he laughed and struggled to free his foot, Ming took a chance and dug his fingers into Bolin's sides. The Fire Ferret laughed, backing away from him. Ming smirked and pulled his foot back, pouncing on Bolin and tickling his stomach and his foot. Bolin laughed and curled up, trying to block his hands.
"Okay, okay; Stop!" he begged. "I give!" Ming smirked, patting his stomach.
"Looks like we're the tiebreaker, Tahno." Korra teased her opponent, who she had trapped in a fit of hysterics as she tickled his feet, using a feather she'd found outside between his toes. Tahno sat up, and dragged his finger up and down her spine. She squealed, and he pulled her away from his feet, pinning her to the floor and tickling her hips and stomach, one finger constantly poking and tracing around her navel. Korra laughed and tried to curl up; Tahno definitely wasn't playful like Mako and Bolin. He was intent on breaking her.
The two Waterbenders went back and forth with the others watching. They were more even than Ming and Bolin, and definitely more stubborn.
"Maybe we can speed this up." Shaozu smirked, and Mako nodded. Ming and Bolin chuckled and went along with it. The two Wolfbats sat behind Korra, and the Fire Ferrets sat behind Tahno. Neither of them seemed to notice until they were suddenly pulled apart, the Wolfbats tickling Korra's stomach and under her arms, and the Fire Ferrets tickling Tahno's feet and sides. Both Waterbenders were hysterical, and it could have been anybody's game; Ming blew raspberries into Korra's stomach and Mako brushed the feathers between Tahno's toes.
"Alright, alright!" one of them shouted. "I give!" The Fire Ferrets backed off him, leaving Tahno exhausted.
"Way to go, Korra!" Bolin said happily as the other Wolfbats helped her stand up. "We finally put the Wolfbats in their place!" She panted, smiling; the Wolfbats rolled their eyes, but still smiled.
"Can we celebrate later?" Korra sighed. "I'm exhausted."
"For once, we agree…" Tahno muttered, standing up, his hair a total wreck. Everyone started laughing, and Tahno was just left confused.
Author's Note: *sigh* Why does everything seem longer when you're writing it?