I do not own Legend of Korra and I do not claim so.
Ever wondered how did it happen that White Lotus, organization that was run by Iroh and consociated powerful masters of bending, turned out to be really bland and boring in LOK? Well, I did. And I decided that it needs repairing.
Chapter 3: 'Air Temple Island' (part 2)
When Oogi was low enough for Korra to see more details on the ground, she spotted a person dressed in red, walking beside Naga. With a gentle move of a reins Tenzin showed his bison to fly closer to the pair below them, so Oogi changed direction slightly, slew down and landed delicately next to the polar bear dog. The person accompanying Naga turned to the newly arrived and Korra inhaled sharply.
The man standing before her looked like the wraith, that for some reason adopted human form. He was incredibly tall and so skinny, that Korra could easily count his ribs, poking through the tight, red uniform he was wearing. But that wasn't the thing that has disturbed her the most, because man was also wearing a mask. A white mask, that covered his entire head, with two holes where his eyes should be and five vertical slits around his mouth.
Korra looked at him almost hypnotized by his appearance, enthralled and scared at the same time. She was completely unaware, that her face was giving away her feelings to the entire world and before she had time to snap out of the initial shock, the man has spoken.
"Good afternoon, councilman Tenzin," he bowed to airbender gently and turned to Korra. "Good afternoon, Avatar. It is a great pleasure to finally meet you."
His voice was strange, stifled by the mask, deep and soft at the same time. If man didn't look like a skeleton wrapped up in clothes, this voice might have even been charming.
"What are you doing here, Halo?" Tenzin asked sharply, surprising Korra with his hostile tone.
"I am taking care of the matter of the utmost importance," he pointed towards Naga, which kept her distance from the man, apparently unwilling to come any closer to him.
"And Grand Lotus sent you to do just that?" airbender snorted.
"You should not underestimate the significance of the Avatar's animal guide, councilman," ideally calm voice sounded a little bit amused this time, though it could just be Korra's imagination. "Besides, I have a message from my master to our dear Avatar."
Halo turned his head towards Korra and he looked at her face. Girl suddenly felt very uncomfortable – the presence of this man was making her anxious, for the reasons she couldn't fully grasp. Korra looked into the holes in his mask trying to see man's eyes, but there was only darkness in there.
It took Avatar few seconds to realize, that she should say something.
"And what could this message possibly be?" girl asked, unconsciously mimicking Honna's style of speaking. The girl blushed a little bit, knowing that she remained quiet for too long, but Halo didn't seem bothered by it in any way and replied quickly:
"Grand Lotus invites you to the reception, that shall take place tomorrow evening at her villa. All movers and shakers of Republic City will be present there, to celebrate the arrival of the Avatar herself."
There was something flattering in the way he phrased last sentence and Korra straightened unconsciously listening to it. Tenzin spotted that and it irritated him greatly.
"If that is all, then I would like you to leave already," airbender insisted, barely preventing exasperation from showing in his voice. Presence of firebender on the Island was irritating him for many various reasons. "I believe that Avatar can take care of her animal guide herself."
Halo sighted, what sounded particularly strange from behind his mask.
"But of course, councilman," he looked at Korra, bowed to her and said with a slightly warmer tone. "I pray you to accept the invitation. Your presence would gratify us greatly." Halo spread his arms and white flames, small but incredibly intense, shot out of his palms. Man jumped, hovering in the air, thanks to his firebending. "To our next meeting, Avatar."
He looked one last time at Tenzin and flew in the direction of the city. Korra was looking at Halo surprised, as he was quickly turning into a bright point in the distance. Even Honna wasn't able to fly so casually.
"Who was that?" the girl asked slowly.
"One of the Grand Lotus' adjutants," Tenzin replied with a tone, that was intended to discourage her from asking any more question.
When they came closer to Naga, bear dog almost jumped on Korra and refused to go anywhere unless the girl was touching her. Their abrupt separation made animal very anxious, so Korra mounted her and hugged bear's head. They started to walk up the path to the Temple.
"He was pretty creepy," Korra risked speaking, as Tenzin was walking silent next to her .
Man snorted. "You are too kind," airbender looked at her and summoned pale smile at his face. "I sometimes wonder, whether Grand Lotus simply dislikes normal people."
"He was a member of White Lotus, right?" asked Korra. Halo differed from any other member of this organization she has met, so Korra was a little bit confused. When Tenzin nodded, she got even more curious just how much different White Lotus was from the image in her head. "Do they hire more masked weirdos like him?"
"Ummm…," Tenzin hesitated, making Korra lean towards him with interest sparking in her eyes. Airbender tried to avoid looking at her as he answered. "I am afraid that the rest of her adjutants are also this… specific," man didn't seem very eager to continue this topic and he asked quickly. "Are you going to go on this reception?"
This inelegant dodge made Korra incredibly curious about whatever was hidden under his vague statement. Airbender, however, didn't seem willing to share any more information, so instead of asking her question, she thought about his. And Korra has suddenly discovered, that she was very excited about this party. "Of course I will go. This one is especially for me, right?"
"Yes, especially for you..," Tenzin murmured, almost talking to himself.
Korra raised her brows and was about to ask about his strange answer, but the path has suddenly ended and they found themselves standing in the large dirt floor surrounding Temple. She could see few Air Acolytes walking in the distance, seemingly doing their chores. On the left there were buildings, that looked like large houses, in front of her the Temple soared to the sky and on the right was a training square, with Yin Yang symbol cobbled on it. And somebody was exercising there in this very moment.
The girl Korra's age was moving quickly through some complicated poses and sand was flying around her feet, as air answered to her. Young Avatar haven't seen these moves performed by an airbender yet, and it has stricken her, how light the girl was on her feet. Practicing teenager seemed to barely ever touch the ground as she moved, almost hovering instead of walking.
"Airbending is the most beautiful of the Four Arts," Shailesh finished his performance, bowing to the audience, that consisted of Katara, Korra and White Lotus guards. "I am afraid that my imitation is nowhere near what its masters were capable of."
Korra couldn't imagine anybody moving more gracefully than earthbender, but looking at the teenager before her, she had to reconsider. Even though the girl was very young, she could probably shame Shailesh pretty easily.
Tenzin led Korra in airbender's direction quickly. When they closed in, she has spotted them and stopped her movements quickly, but still gracefully.
"Father?" she asked, surprised with Tenzin returning to home this early. But her astonishment grew, as she recognized the girl riding next to him on the polar bear dog. "It cannot be… Korra?"
Young Avatar and her supreme memory for faces found themselves startled a bit with a stranger recognizing her. But then her brain processed fully, what the girl has said.
"Jinora?!" Korra unmounted Naga, almost falling in the process. She wouldn't recognize that girl even if her life was at stake. In few years, that passed since their last meeting, airbender changed greatly. Korra remembered her as boring book worm, that during her visit on South Pole spent most of the time talking with Katara or Honna about some historical events, that Avatar never really cared about. But the person standing before her was a graceful, young woman, with proper curves and some hard to grasp aura of maturity surrounding her. "Is this really you? Spirits, you have changed so much!"
Girl smiled, coming closer "Who says that? Last time I saw you, you looked like a boy!" Indeed, the last visit of airbenders might have happened during one of Korra's more tomboyish periods. Jinora stopped and two girls hugged.
"Where is Ikki? Shouldn't she be training with you?" Tenzin asked, looking around with his voice strict.
"She had much to do for school, so I let her go earlier," Jinora gazed at him critically for this anticlimactic talk and let Korra go. "You'd better tell me, how is the Avatar here?"
"Police arrested me and Tenzin came to my rescue," Korra said, with perfect poker face, not giving Tenzin chance to answer.
"They what?" Jinora smiled widely, ignoring her father rolling his eyes. "How did you manage to piss Lin off that quickly?"
"I might have made some mess, fighting crime in the city," Korra's face expressed pure innocence.
"Fighting crime?" Jinora raised her brows. "For the Spirits, how long are you here?"
"Ygh," the Avatar acted as if she was counting something with her fingers. "Like four hours?"
"Yes." Tenzin didn't really sound amused. He turned to his daughter and said "Jinora, could you please show Korra our guest room? I left council during meeting and I have to make some calls."
"Of course, father," Jinora bowed slightly and waved at Korra. "Come. Do you have your things somewhere around? I could get some Air Acolytes to help with them."
"Only what Naga has on her back," Korra replied slowly, realizing, that most of her clothes were still on the South Pole. Little hole in her genius escape plan. "I hope my masters will send them here."
„Do you doubt that they will?" Jinora giggled and started walking towards the houses on the other side of the Island. Tenzin looked at them briefly and headed in the direction of the building next to Temple.
"Oh well, Honna would be able to do that," Korra got seriously scared, when she realized, just how real that option was. "All my hopes are in your grandmother. Maybe she won't betray me."
Jinora laughed out loud. They were walking silent for a few moments, as Korra looked around her, admiring Island. The odd architecture was baffling her a little bit, as up to this time, she had only seen buildings like those around her in scripts and books. Airbender noticed her reaction and smiled to Korra.
"Do you like it? Grandpa really wanted this to resemble houses of Air Nomads. He even got some famous architect for that job," she said, waving her hand in the direction of the temple. "This one was the hardest, but I think it was worth the money he put into it."
"Definitely," Korra had to agree. She has never been to any of the Air Temples, but this place definitely had something special in it. Some aura, different from this of the South Pole's cities she has seen.
They approached the house, that was the most to the west and secluded from the others, from which Korra concluded, that it had to be the airbenders' one. Jinora opened the doors and invited Korra inside with a gesture. And thus, the Avatar entered the home of the last airbenders. It was quite spacious, with thin walls and almost no doors, at least on the first floor.
Korra stood at the hall and looked at the interior of the house, that was probably going to become hers for the next few years.
"Feel like home," Jinora said to her with a happy voice.
"Thanks," Korra answered thoughtful. "It looks really... airbendish."
Jinora smiled and started to climb up the stairs. The second floor looked more like a normal house, with four doors, two on the each side of the hall.
"Second to right – bathroom," Jinora explained. "First right – father's room. No entering, unless the world is ending. First left - Ikki's and my room. Second left - yours. Got it?"
"Yeah, of course," Korra has already forgotten behind which door bathroom was, but she didn't feel like admitting that.
Jinora nodded and came closer to the door to her room and knocked quickly.
"Ikki!" she shouted.
"What?" sleepy and irritated voice came behind the door. Its owner definitely tried to take an afternoon nap.
"Wake up, Korra's here." Jinora answered with ideally calm voice.
"Heh…,?" there was a little pause and then… "WHAT?!"
They heard a loud clatter and doors opened rapidly. Unkempt airbender gazed upon Korra as if she were a ghost and jumped to hug her.
"Oh my stars, what are you doing here?!" Ikki asked, almost shouting "It has been too long."
Korra pushed the girl back gently and looked her in the eyes. Even though Jinora was only a year older than her sister, Ikki looked much younger without this serious aura around her. And to Korra's relief it didn't seem like she has changed much – airbender still had the same twinkle in her eyes, as the girl, who Korra was playing with when they last met.
"Like hell it was," Korra smiled widely.
Continued in part 3...
Couple of things.
First - Pema is the mother of Jinora and Ikki. Second – Jinora is barely over sixteen and Ikki is fifteen. Third - I didn't forget to write Halo introducing himself. Fourth – It is common in this AU for bending prodigies to master the moves and learn the philosophy of nations other than their own. It was inspired by our trusted uncle Iroh and his lightningbending techniques.