Finished a chapter finally! I'd have done it sooner, but I've been so lazy recently. It should be coming at a faster rate now,
I don't own Avatar: the Last Airbender or the Legend of Korra.
"And a beautiful one at that." Zian finishes.
"That's me?" I ask.
"Yes it is Korra. We better get you to the balloon, the parade will be starting soon." he says quickly.
"Parade?" I ask, still looking at my reflection.
"Yes." he answers. "The tributes are paraded through the street to the opening ceremonies on balloons. Businesses generally use this as an opportunity to advertise. They pay for balloons and their name is featured on it. You and Sakari will share a balloon and there will be a pilot in the back controlling it."
"And then I get to learn waterbending?" I ask hopefully.
"No. Then you have to stand through the opening ceremonies. Once there you will exit the balloon and stand on the chariot waiting for you. You should only be waiting for ten minutes before being whisked into the stadium for the ceremonies. They should only take an hour, so you should be back in two hours "
"And then waterbending?" I ask, still hopeful.
"Yes, then waterbending. You'll meet your teacher during dinner. He's eager to meet you." says Zian.
"Everyone is eager to meet me it seems." I say, slightly annoyed.
"I wasn't looking forward to meeting you." Aki yells as Zian and I are leaving the room
"That's reassuring." I say.
"Isn't it?" says Zian. "You'll be fine. Aki's an idiot."
"But what if most viewers are idiots?" I ask.
"Don't worry, you'll be fine. I'm certain you'll make it through these games in one piece, two pieces max." he says.
"I like to think it'll be only one, losing an ear would be less than desirable." I say in response.
"Agreed, it would be hard to style you without it." he says as Sakari walks out. He is wearing simple maroon clothes, no frills or pomp.
"Let's get you two on the roof now." says Joo Dee as she pushes us out the door until we reach the elevator. We wait for a moment as it lowers onto our floor. Upon arrival on the roof we are greeted by the sight of two people, a man, dressed in hog monkey furs, and a girl, dressed in spotless white robes. The boy has pale skin and is a head taller than me and has shoulder length hair, while the girl is only a couple inches shorter than I am and has dark skin and a shaved head.
"Eska, stop standing so close to me." the boy says.
"We are going to be on a balloon for half an hour, Tahno, and then we'll be on a chariot for an hour, I can't stay away from you." says Eska, politely.
"Usually when girls say that to me they are referring to my appearance." says Tahno as the previous balloon takes off.
"Quiet Tahno, we have company. Hello fellow waterbenders!" yells Eska.
"Hello" says Sakari. "I'm Sakari, and this is Korra."
The two of them shake hands in the old Water Tribe way. It fell out of use decades ago.
"And I am Eska, this is Tahno." she says motioning to the her fellow tribute. "It's a pleasure to meet you. We should have tea some time before the games."
"We should." Sakari agrees. "At lunch tomorrow perhaps?"
"Sounds great. We can compare waterbending styles." says Eska. "Back home we were only allowed to bend one day of the week under close guard."
"We aren't allowed to bend at all." I say.
"We need it." says Eska. "It's our only defense against the canyon crawlers, they're rather fire resistant. Too be honest I don't see why we live somewhere where giant creatures want to eat us. The meat isn't awful though once you get used to it. The swampbenders say it's similar to what they used to eat."
"Fascinating. Our food is imported from rather far, not that there is anywhere that could really be called 'close.'. The bread is stale by the time it gets to us." says Sakari in response.
"That's less than ideal." says Eska as a pair of gamemakers motion to her. "Well we have to go now. It was a pleasure meeting you."
As they leave two more tributes arrive on the roof, both of them wearing ceremonial robes. Uninterested, I walk out of earshot to the edge of the roof. I look over the city and see a lot of tall buildings and bodies of water, nothing I hadn't already seen.
After a moment I'm called over to get on the balloon and we head off. We ride in relative silence for the first few minutes, looking out at the people on the roofs as we pass. When I look to my right I see Sakari is looking over at me.
"Are you ready?" he asks, his voice low so the pilot doesn't hear him. "We only get one first impression."
"Not really. I don't think this will end well for me." I respond. I feel the air move as we descend.
"You'll be fine. Just remember you're doing this for you, not for them. Then they can't touch you." he says sincerely. He has a calming presence.
The balloon lands and we get off. We walk forward to a chariot and step on. I look around at the other tributes. My eye is quickly drawn to the boy from District 1. He's tall, with hair that spikes at the front. He wears robes in colors of orange and yellow, Air Nomad robes.
I follow his gaze to the boy from District 5. He's around my height and wears simple black clothes with one of those round hats earthbenders used to wear. He seems perfectly content talking to the girl from his district. He doesn't seem to be doing anything that would draw the firebender's attention.
I look around and my eyes settle on the girl from District 12. I look for a resemblance to Tenzin in her, but I don't see it. She is tall, with dark hair and skin. Her eyes are a deep, piercing blue. For whatever reason I feel certain that she is not Tenzin's daughter.
I survey the area as the chariots set out. We ride into a stadium and in a booth overlooking us I see Fire Lord Azula. To her right stands a masked man. His mask is different from the Faceless. Where theirs were simple his is elaborate, with gold and white and an actual mouth hole. He wears a hood on his head.
I am looking at the head gamemaker and the Fire Lord's most trusted advisor, Amon. He has worked under Her Majesty for ten years before being put in charge of the games this year. No one seems to know what lies under the mask.
The chariots stop and the Fire Lord steps up to the microphone. Her movements have lost no grace to old age. It may have even refined them.
"Citizens of the Fire Nation, welcome to the opening ceremonies of the 70th annual Hunger Games. It has been quite a few years since I have seen a more promising batch of tributes. Since the days of my father, Fire Lord Ozai, I have always eagerly looked forward to these games each year, as have all you here and those listening at home. These games mark the anniversary of the unity we now share. These games are but a small price to pay to live in a perfect world. I hope to see a good show from you, tributes."
When she finished those words she turned around and walked back to her seat. The chariots began to move back the way they came. As we go forward the Fire Lord's words haunt me to my core.