Disclaimer: I do not own Korra and I do not claim so.

Yay, Korra will have her first contact with airbending. It will be much fun…

Tenzin entered his house hurriedly, feeling relieved. He was worried that the other councilmen would be at least irritated at him for his abrupt leave, but apparently 'the Avatar has arrived to city' excuse was enough to convince them to pardon him. Which was not that surprising, now that he thought about it. And with Silver Lotus taking care of Korra's charges for her vigilante actions, he had nothing to worry about. Besides Avatar training, maybe. And, of course, his teenage daughters. And Equalists. Okay, he had a lot to worry about.

Loud conversation and laughter told him that his guest was probably in kitchen, so he headed there. Tenzin found his two daughters and Korra sitting at the round table next to the window, talking, each with a cup of tea before her. He could smell the fresh leaves that one of them, probably Jinora, used to make the drink and was glad to see a teapot standing next to girls, still not empty.

"Hi, Father," Ikki greeted him with a large grin on her face. "You're early today."

"Hi, Ikki," Tenzin waved his hand in a welcoming gesture, realizing that he didn't remember when was the last time he had come back home before it was dark.

With a silent sigh he sat next to Ikki, having Jinora at his right and Korra in front. His older daughter quickly rose and poured him tea, which he thanked her for with a nod. He took one long sip, almost burning himself in the process, and turned to Korra.

"I guess I need to formally greet you on the Air Temple Island, Avatar. You are welcome to stay as long as you please."

"Why so stiff, Tenzin?" Korra smiled at him happily, waving her hand at him. "We are going to become like family, right?"

Airbender mustered a weak smile. "I guess so," he was as happy about having another girl hitting puberty in his house, as a man could only be.

"Definitely!" Ikki nodded energetically. She turned to Korra and smirked. "I always wanted to have a cool older sister."

Jinora snorted and threw her a hostile glance as Ikki summoned an innocent expression on her face. Two sisters eyed each other for half a second before the older one gave up and smiled at the joke. Tenzin looked at them and shook his head.

"I believe we have to decide what are we going to do with you," his voice sounded a little tired.

"Decide what, exactly?" Jinora frowned. "We will be teaching her, of course."

"That's self-explanatory," Tenzin sounded a bit angry and he looked at his daughter critically. "But there are other things we need to take care of."

"Well, I am not very demanding," Korra decided to interrupt them, not only because they talked as if she wasn't there, but also because she felt a little bit concerned with the conflict that was forming in the air. "Feed me and I will not be a problem."

Ikki laughed a bit, and the atmosphere in the room loosened a little. Tenzin smiled at Avatar's joke and said, "I am worried about the time we won't be on the Island, though. We cannot allow you to be bored - it would be against our traditions of hospitality."

"Oh, don't sweat it, Tenzin." Korra leaned back with her chair. "I will take care of myself. I can train, sightsee around the city and oh, I would really like to join some pro-bending team."

The atmosphere at the table instantly got cold again. The taboo had been violated, even though it had been unwittingly.

"I would really like you not to participate in this particular activity," Tenzin said coldly. "This 'sport' is a mockery of ancient bending traditions."

Korra's chair landed abruptly with a loud clatter. She looked at Tenzin, surprised with his sudden, hostile outburst.

"Father, Korra is an adult. You cannot forbid that," Jinora said with an ideally polite tone and expression, but her father didn't take being reprimanded by her well. They both eyed each other for a few long seconds, but then girl looked down, blushing a little.

"I am her master, Jinora, and I can set rules in my own house," Tenzin replied sharply with a cold and dominant voice.

Korra looked at them both, not really understanding what was happening. She knew that if her teacher wanted to forbid something, she had to comply. On the other hand, the girl couldn't understand why the pro-bending had to be prohibited of all things. Avatar's heart ached. Her dreamed-of arena had suddenly became very distant place again, even though she could literally see it from the window of her room.

And too add to it, the Air Temple Island didn't seem to be the calm place she had expected it to be.

A few kilometers in the east, in the center of the Republic City, a masked firebender landed gracefully on a special terrace on the White Spire, destined exactly for that.

Halo looked around for a second, watching the Satomobiles moving quickly below him. He walked toward the metal door leading to the inside of the building. He entered and went straight to the closest of the seven elevators that provided transportation in the White Lotus's headquarters. Two women in violet uniforms were just leaving the lift, so he let them pass, moving elegantly on the side and greeting them with a nod. They answered with the same, but a little bit of fear appeared in their eyes and they walked away quickly. Halo didn't concern himself much with that – he was more than aware that his appearance was not very pleasant for the other people.

He entered the elevator and pushed the button with the highest number on in. The doors closed and the platform moved upwards. After less than thirty seconds, which was an actual world record, the elevator stopped and let him off. Halo walked forward quickly and turned left at the first fork, walking toward his room. He looked outside the windows overlooking at the city's center. It still wasn't the highest floor, but the view was impressive anyway. Firebender liked to look down on the city – its bright streets were always helping him remember why he had devoted his entire life to protecting it.

When he took another turn, he stopped, seeing the woman that was waiting for him. She was wearing a green, elegant jacket and trousers, a matching cowl, traditional Earth Kingdom's hat and rectangular glasses. Halo knew she was at least fifty years old, but he wouldn't give her more than thirty, even though she was not wearing any make-up. The only thing that was giving earthbender's age away were her eyes – dark and bottomless, keeping behind them the cold and calculative mind belonging to the Head of the Security.

"Good afternoon, Jade Lotus," Halo greeted her. His face was covered with mask, so he made his smile sound in his voice.

"Welcome, Scarlet," her voice echoed throughout the entire hall, even though the woman had not opened her mouth. She looked at him with her emotionless face and asked. "How was your visit to the Air Temple Island?"

"Oh, it went pretty well," Halo replied happily and leaned a little bit back to seem more relaxed. Who might have guessed that among Grand Lotus' adjutants, this wraith-like firebender was 'the funny one'. "Weather was perfect, the Temple as beautiful as always and Tenzin didn't end up calling for the Beifong this time."

The woman looked at him critically. They both knew she didn't ask about weather, but Halo didn't seem eager to talk to her. She tilted her head a little, looking at him like mother looks at her naughty child.

"Halo, please stop goofing around," earthbender's voice sounded a little bit harsher. This time it came from literally all directions, making it incredibly pressuring. "How is the Avatar?"

Firebender was silent for a second. He turned on his heel and made few steps towards the window. Halo looked outside with unseeing eyes, ignoring the view completely this time. It took him few seconds, but he replied finally. "The reports were accurate."

"This bad?" The omnipresent voice sounded worried and Halo looked at the woman. He really liked Zhu Li and her calm, unwavering attitude towards life. And he really hated whenever this woman was upset about something. It usually heralded massive problems.

"I am afraid, yes," Halo bit whatever was left of his lips under his mask. "She is lucky that Sapphire is not in the city. She would probably kill her without second thoughts."

"Even she is not crazy enough to kill the Avatar so short before Convergence." Zhu Li joined him next to window. Something grim appeared in her eyes. "The lack of airbending is… bearable, but without Avatar State she will be useless. We will have to put some more effort into her training, when we will be done with the Equalists. Whether she will like it or not."

Korra was walking quickly behind the Tenzin, as airbender was leading her towards the less attended part of the Island. Even though she was slowly starting to get angry about the older man's random ban on pro-bending, she couldn't help but become excited with the upcoming airbending lesson. After all, it was the very reason she had left the Pole.

She turned her head slightly and looked at single girl behind her – Ikki had decided to stay at home, excusing herself with homework, but Jinora was following them. The girl had a gloom expression on her face, so Korra smiled at her, trying to cheer the airbender up. It didn't work as well as she would have wanted to, though. After all, neither of them was in a very cheerful mood right now, but young girl tried to return the gesture and her eyes became a little less bleak.

"As far as I know, you haven't been able to airbend before, right?" Tenzin half asked Korra, half stated the fact. White Lotus's reports were crystal clear about that and they both knew it.

"Yeah," Korra answered, bemused. Even though the man did not turn his head, she looked away from him. "The other elements came so easily to me, but every single time I tried to airbend… pfflr," she made a weird sound with her tongue."Nothing. Not even the slightest breeze. Not very impressive for the Avatar, huh?"

"Don't worry," Jinora sounded form behind her. "It is completely natural for the Avatar to struggle with one element."

"Yes, you must only be a little bit more patient," Tenzin agreed. He turned left, when the path forked and started to walk up gentle stairs with big steps, made from light stone. "Often the element that is the most difficult for the Avatar to master is the one the most opposite to the Avatar's personality. For my father it was the earth. I can recall Toph teaching him long after the Republic City was founded."

"Really?" optimism sounded in Korra's voice. Her masters on the South Pole tried to tell her the same, but to hear it from the Tenzin worked better for her, for some reason. "Cause I am about as opposite to an airbender as one can get."

"Relax," Korra felt Jinora's hand on her arm. She turned to the younger girl, only to see her smiling comfortingly. "We will teach you airbending in no time and… Oh, look!" she pointed towards something before them. "We are already here."

The airbending gates, an openwork construction of multiple vertical panels, soared from the ground to the sky. Its parts were moving slightly because of a delicate sea breeze, proving how well tuned the device was.

"Aaand, what is that?" Korra asked suspiciously. That strange contraption reminded her of something she would like to forget.

"The time honored tool, that teaches the most fundamental aspect of airbending," Tenzin said with pride in his voice. "Jinora, would you like to explain the exercise?"

"Way of the Leaf, I assume?" Jinora asked indifferently. Korra looked at her without understanding – there was something challenging in the way young airbender was standing in.

Tenzin squinted his eyes, but answered calmly. "If you don't mind."

Jinora nodded. She moved in front of the device and breathed deeply. With a simple move of her palm she sent a gust of wind that sent the gates spinning.

"The goal is to weave your way through the gates and make it to the other side without touching them," as Jinora explained, Korra bit her lip slightly, which went unnoticed by both airbenders. "Of course you have to do this while the gates are spinning," she bent and took something from the ground. "The key is to be like a leaf. Flow with the movement of the gates. "She placed her hand before her and blew in it.

A single flower petal flew from her palm and got caught in the air currents that the gates had created. Pushed and pulled by them, it quickly made its way through the spinning contraption and landed safely on the other side.

"I shall demonstrate," Jinora announced and jumped quickly towards the gates, sending another gust of air mid movements. Korra could barely see what was happening in the inside of the device. Blurry, orange shape was moving extremely quickly, but Avatar was able to notice how Jinora was swiftly switching directions whenever any gate was close enough to her. In the blink of an eye she was out of the training tool with her hands spread, as if she was a professional gymnast.

Jinora looked at Avatar, and smiled slightly. "Why the long face? We won't make you do that this quickly."

Korra didn't realize that her face showed her feelings, but when Jinora pointed this out, she quickly put on an optimistic mask. She didn't want airbenders to know what was she thinking about right now.

"I hope so. I would like to have at least one bone whole when I go to sleep," Avatar joked, making both airbenders smile at her. She walked few steps closer to the gates and stared at them intensely. Korra felt as if she was in a tunnel with this device blocking the exit and slowly closing in.

"Don't worry," Tenzin waved his hand in calming gesture, seeing her uneasiness, but mistaking it with the simple stress before new exercise. "They are very light. For two thousand years this item exists, it has never been reported to hurt anybody seriously."

Korra whistled. "Two thousand years, huh?" She stood right next to the device, determined to start the training. Her aggressive form instantly alarmed Jinora, but she didn't say anything. "Let's show this bad boy who is the boss."

"Korra, this is not a proper…" Tenzin tried to stop her, but girl had already taken off in the direction of the gates, which were still moving after Jinora's display.

While inside, Korra managed to dodge two hits of spinning panels, but then she stepped too far and lost sight of the ones behind her. And when that happened, everything went to hell. With the first hit from the gate, the Avatar lost her composure and panicked. She was trying to dodge obstacles coming from all directions, and it was too much. There were five more hits that bounced Korra between the panels as if she was a rubber ball, and the last one threw her out of the device.

"I wouldn't call them… light," Korra stood up on her feet, trying to sound cheerful. She dried her forehead with a palm and quickly jumped in again.

With the same result. And the same the next time. And time after that.

"No, Korra!" Tenzin shouted. "Be like a leaf, don't try to force your way through!"

"Feel the gates behind you!" Jinora gave Korra her best hints, but they didn't seem to work. "You don't have to see them!"

"Slowly! Try to figure out the tempo!"

"Spiral movements!"

Korra completely ignored their advice. If anything, they only made her more frustrated, and she started to approach the gates even more aggressively. With each try, Korra was moving slower and more clumsily, and the two airbenders were getting seriously concerned with the state that young Avatar was in. She made five more attempts before finally collapsing on the ground.

The airbenders approached Korra quickly, worried about her. Jinora kneeled next to the girl and gently touched the bruise quickly appearing on her forehead. "Okay, you need a break."

"No, I don't!" Korra stood up so quickly that she almost hit the girl leaning down over her. "I can do it. Just a few more tries. You will see, just a…"

"There is no need," Tenzin interrupted calmly, trying to hide his bafflement. "The time has come for our afternoon meditation," it was a little bit too early, in fact, but Korra didn't have to know that. "We will patch you up and you will join us today."

"Tenzin, I can really…," Korra tried to protest, but the man put his hand on her shoulder, silencing her.

"Meditation is as key to airbending as this exercise, Avatar. If not more."

"Definitely more," his daughter seconded quickly.

As Korra was rising from the ground, groaning in pain, Jinora and her father exchanged quick looks. They had just realized that the challenge before them was way more formidable then they had thought.

Continued in part 4...

Commentaries. Commentaries much.

For starters – it is a catastrophe, that Avatar cannot perform even basic airbending routine. An absolute catastrophe. Aang was more or less fluent in all Four Arts at the age of twelve.

Second – I believe, that without a woman in the house, Tenzin and Jinora's relationship would go to shit, when it would turn out, that the girl outmatches her father as an airbender in every possible aspect. On the fairly related note I recommend reading 'Legend of Lin' by Leia Rayn Storm. It will make it easier to understand, what has happened around fifteen years ago between Tenzin and Pema, when I will get to that. And it is good fic, too.

Third – '[adjective] Lotus' construction refers to the most important members of the Order. Note that I may call Grand Lotus 'White Lotus' sometimes, when the context will show clearly that I am not talking about organization itself.

And, by the way, do you like Halo and (new) Zhu Li? They are first of the OC, that will be meaningful in the Book One. I hope they made good first impressions.

Well, Zhu Li is technically not an OC, but from the canon, there is only her appearance and name left, so I classify her as such. I would change them also but Grand Lotus is what was left from Varrick, when I was done with him. As you recall, Grand is a woman. And that is only the beginning.