Chapter 23
I'm not a Bender
The growls of their stomachs were muffled by the humdrum of the bustling City around them.
"Just a few more blocks to the park, Korra. Then you can have whatever you want. My treat."
The aroma of a multitude of local cuisines hit her nose. She sniffed and held back her drool, feeling very much like the polar bear dog she missed so much. This maintained her physical focus, but the mental aspect ran over Asami's words. She tried to count the number of times the engineer had bought her food and other numerous things. The sight of Future Industries came into the forefront of her mind, along with remnants of their conversations outside of and within the factory.
"Wait, Asami. Are you… is your family…"
She knew where Korra was going with this. "To answer your question: yes. I'm surprised you didn't know about my family's wealth. That's usually the first thing people notice or remark on when they see my name." She bit her lip, annoyed at this fact, but continued. "We've worked hard to get where we are, though. We came from almost nothing. My dad used to be a shoe-shiner until he got a loan from a man who believed in his vision of the Satomobile. He used that money to start Future Industries and has skyrocketed ever since."
The Southerner felt guiltier than she ever had from the older woman's offer to foot the bill. How could I take the money they worked so hard to earn?
"Korra, stop."
She's not even looking at me. I'm not even talking. How can she possibly know?
"I know what you're thinking. But you don't have to feel guilty every time I buy you something. Money isn't tight. I told you a long time ago that I don't mind it. And it's not like you're groveling at my feet for yuans." Asami kicked a small stone and watched it bounce down the sidewalk. She thought of some of the businessmen that kept her father occupied late into the night, doing just that, behind deceitful words and grins. She remembered the days she ate alone because of it. "I like sharing meals with you." She swallowed and kept it at that. Her gaze lifted to the entrance to Republic City Park, where various vendors were lined along nearby streets, selling their delicacies.
"Is there anything I can do to pay you back?"
"Nope!" She smirked in a playful manner and jogged down the sidewalk, beckoning Korra to follow.
The Southerner smiled and shook her head before dashing after her.
(-)
They walked through Republic City Park while eating their meat kabobs. Some of the trees maintained their green leaves, despite the cold. Others were barren, with warm colored trails of their former beauty branching out at their bases. Multiple children ran around the fields, enjoying their day, while their parents mingled on nearby benches. Asami avoided the row of public Pai Sho tables, as well as the playground, and brought Korra to a quiet area by one of the many ponds that called this place home.
"I never knew the City had such a beautiful park right in the middle of it." Korra marveled at the water, the surface half-frozen, as she bit into her food. She made a loud sound of approval and took another bite.
"It's very serene here. It's a great place to escape the fast-paced bustle in the City without having to travel too far." Asami smiled as she finished one of her kabobs.
"Did you come here often growing up?"
The engineer sighed inside. "I did. My dad and I would come here to play Pai Sho on nice days." She flinched at the double meaning of her words, but hid it well.
"I'm terrible at Pai Sho." The Southerner moved to the next skewer and continued. "I've played it a few times with the people in my village, but I was never a match." She chuckled.
"Maybe you just need more practice."
Korra shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe. I don't really –"
"You! You there!"
The pair turned to the source of the voice. A man approached them with a handful of papers. He wore a long grey coat with a hat to match and tall white socks, cut off by black pants. He had large black sideburns on his face that stretched to the end of his cheeks and subsided before reaching his chin. Asami eyed the man with suspicion while Korra looked at him in pure confusion.
"Me?" She asked, using her kabob to point to her chest. Why would anyone be looking for me?
"Yes, you! Water Tribe girl!" He stood tall and adjusted his jacket. "What is it that your kind is doing in the City?"
"My kind?" Korra growled, her hand squeezing the skewer.
"You must be from the Southern Water Tribe, given your outfit and demeanor."
She rose to her feet. Asami followed. "So what if I am from the Southern Water Tribe?"
"All you Southerners are the same. For too long, your kind have come to the City and forced us to live as lower class citizens!" His loud voice attracted the attention of the passersby in the area.
"I don't know what you're talki –"
"You there! Are you tired of living under their tyranny?" He cut Korra off and pointed at her as he asked, pulling a slip from the stack in his arm. "Join the beginnings of the Equalist movement!" He shoved one of his flyers into Asami's hands. "Join us, and together we will tear down this oppressive establishment!"
A small crowd formed around the man and cheered. They pushed the pair out of the way and followed him through the park, murmuring about feelings of injustice and inequality.
"What the hell was that all about? My people aren't oppressing anyone!" Korra clenched her teeth and her fists in a seething rage. She looked to Asami, who was ignoring her and examining the paper she received with intrigued eyes. "What does it say," she asked as she joined the engineer's side.
The image was simple with a white background and handwritten black print: "Are you tired of living under the tyranny of Benders? Do you want your voice heard about the injustices they have forced upon us? Then join the Equalists and help us bring equality for the Non-Bending population!"
"Wait, that guy thought I was a Bender?" Her tone was incredulous.
"I guess so. You said before that most people who travel from the poles are Benders. I suppose he just assumed you were one. We don't really see a lot of people native to the poles in the City, unless they're on the United Republic Council. The entire Council is made up of Benders – one from every Nation and one to represent each of the Water Tribes. Otherwise, most of the Benders in the City are Earth or Fire Benders." Asami scanned the paper one last time before folding it up and putting it in her pocket.
"But… I'm not, I'm not a Bender…" Korra's feelings of inadequacy for not being the daughter her family wanted crawled out of the depths she had buried them in. The late night arguments her parents had when they thought she was sleeping and their mutual disappointment flooded back. She dropped her eyes and slouched her posture, her food loose and abandoned in her palm. "I'm…"
"Come on." The engineer wrapped her arm around the Southerner's shoulders, seeing her distress. "Let's go back to campus. I think we've had enough of the City for today."
(-)
The sun had set by the time they reached the outskirts of the college. The pair walked in silence. Asami's eyes scanned the area with protective adrenaline while Korra's remained on the cement, her head too deep in thought to connect to the present. She dragged her feet on the ground, absentminded, allowing the memories to push themselves into her line of sight.
"Come on, Korra, it's easy. Just push and pull the water, just like this." Tonraq moves his outstretched arms and body forward and back, like a wave. His wrists flick with each shift of position.
Korra follows his movements with perfection. Every inch of his form is mirrored. The water in the chest-height vase at her feet remains still.
"Feel the energy in the water, Korra. Feel the chi in yourself moving with it, moving through you. There's a connection there, and that connection is what allows you to move the water." He directs his hands upwards and the water follows. He glides it around his body in fluid motions before sending it back into the pot. "That's called streaming the water. You try."
He watches his daughter perform the kata without a single error. The liquid doesn't move. Korra's lip quivers and her childlike face scrunches. She repeats the steps to no avail.
"Just feel the energy in the water, Korra. Here," he takes her hand and plunges it into the container, "close your eyes and feel the energy."
She shuts her lids and focuses on the cool swirling around her fingers as her father Bends the water. "I… I can't feel anything, daddy. I don't feel energy. I just feel the water."
Tonraq puts a sympathetic hand on her shoulder, though his face is fierce. "We'll try again later. Though I don't understand it; you're old enough that you should be able to do this. You've practiced it enough times already…" He exits, deep in thought.
Korra stares at the unmoving water. She tries every single Water Bending motion she knows well into the night. The pot remains untouched and stares at her, mocks her.
"Korra, sweetie, it's time for bed. You should have been sleeping a long time ago."
"Not until I get this water to move, mama." She repeats the push and pull kata, exhausted and panting, yet still in a perfect form.
Nothing.
"You can try again tomorrow. You need rest."
She keeps attempting to Bend, ignoring her mother's words. Her face is full of concentration, sweat, and the onset of tears.
"Korra –"
"I don't understand, mama! Why can't I move this stupid water? I've done everything right, but it still won't move! Move!" Korra yells at the water with another round of the push/pull steps before kicking the vase over in frustration. The liquid spills across the floor. She collapses onto the ground and sobs.
Senna places a hand on the whimpering girl's shoulder. "You'll get it someday, just keep practicing."
"But I've been trying for years already. And dad said I should be able to do this by now, but I can't."
"You're just a late bloomer. Master Katara was in her teens by the time she started to learn real Water Bending moves."
"But she knew she could Bend when she was a kid. I'm more than a kid and I haven't been able to Bend anything. I can't even feel the energy in the water. How am I supposed to Bend it if I can't feel it?" She throws her arms up in the air and growls in frustration. Tears stream down her cheeks and she buries her face in her knees. "What's wrong with me?"
Her mother squeezes her with one arm and rises in silence. She walks out of the room with a sigh, leaving Korra to cry, surrounded by the very thing she had tried so hard to control.
Later that night, she hears her parents arguing. They must have thought she had gone to bed, but she was still hunched over in the training room.
"I don't think she can Bend, Senna."
"Maybe she just needs more time."
"She's had enough time. You and I both know it. She should be able to at least feel the water, but she can't. Maybe she's sick or something."
"Sick for ten years, Tonraq? That's ridiculous."
"Then you tell me how my daughter can't Water Bend. It's in her blood, for Spirit's sake. You and I are both Water Benders. Why isn't she?"
There was a pause. "I don't know, honey."
"I'm taking her to see Katara. Maybe she can Bend some sense into that girl."
She heard heavy footsteps move towards her bedroom, followed by a lighter pair.
"You're seriously going to take her now, in the middle of the night? Can't this wait until morning?"
"No. It can't." Her door flies open but its contents are empty. "Where is she?"
"Korra?" Her mother scans the area while her father marches down the hall to the training room.
"There you are." Tonraq's eyes have a small fire behind them. They didn't yield to his daughter's tears. "Come on, we're going for a walk." He pulls her to her feet.
"Let her rest. She hasn't slept all night."
He stops and looks down at Korra. Afterwards, he surveys the room to find the overturned vase part-full and remnants of water on the floor. "She's been awake trying to Bend all night like she's been every night. She's not going to rest until she can Bend. She's too stubborn to quit." He speaks as if she isn't there although he tugs at her wrist. "So we might as well go now."
"Tonraq –"
"I'm taking her to Katara's and that's the end of it. No daughter of mine is going to be unable to Bend water, not if I have anything to say about it."
"Daddy?" She asks once on the way to the Water Bending Master's hut. Her father remains silent during the entire trip, Senna close on their heels. He pounds on the on the door, forcing a small amount of snow to fall from the roof.
"Tonraq, Senna, is everything alright?" An older woman asks before she looks down to the child beside them. A soft smile appears on her face and she crouches to be eyelevel with the little girl. "Hello, Korra. How are you?"
Korra looks away, rubbing the back of her arm with her free hand. "I'm –"
"Can we talk to you, Katara? We need your help." Her father interrupts her.
The elder rises. "Howso?"
"It's Korra. She can't Bend. Not even with the lessons you and I have been giving her –"
"Tonraq thinks she might be sick."
Her eyes grow stern. "Sick?"
He nods, fire in his pupils.
Katara raises an eyebrow as she looks at the child in her doorway. She offers her a hand. "Come with me, Korra."
Korra meets the blue eyes of the elder in front of her with her own. She puts her free palm into the Water Bending Master's without hesitation.
They walk into another room, her parents close behind. A circular pool is in the center. The walls are adorned with banners. The curtains are closed, candle light the only source of illumination.
"You've been here before, Korra. Do you remember?"
"That time that I broke my arm pretending to be a Bender?"
Katara chuckles. "Yes, that was the time."
"You weren't pretending to be a Bender, Korra. You were pretending to be the Avatar." Her father interjects from the corner of the room.
A flit of emotion crosses Katara's face for a brief moment.
"I was pretending to fight pirates, like the story you told me about Avatar Aang."
A soft smile spreads on her face. "Come, Korra. Sit."
Korra crawls into the pool and shivers. "It's cold."
Katara laughs. "Don't worry," she moves her hands and the water swirls, "it won't be for long."
The water glows around her as Katara motions her arms in a rhythmic Healing motion. After a very long and silent hour, the Bending stops. Katara looks at Korra with inquisitive eyes.
"What's the diagnosis, Katara?" Tonraq asks, his pacing halting once the water dims.
She gives him a look and leaves the room without a word. Both of Korra's parents follow her.
"Isn't there any way you can make her a Water Bender?"
"I'm not Aang, Tonraq. I can't Energy Bend. All I can tell you is that physically, she is healthy as a moose lion."
"There has to be something. My daughter needs to be a Water Bender. I don't understand how she couldn't be."
"Tonraq –"
"Senna, you and I both know we've always wanted a big family. All we were able to have was Korra. The least she could do is be a Bender."
"I know, Tonraq, I know. I'm… disappointed, too. But there's nothing we can do. Korra can't Bend. We just have to deal with it. Maybe we can try to have another child."
"We already know that isn't going to work! We've tried over and over again, Senna, but my health issues…"
"We could still try. Maybe –"
"It won't work, Senna. It just won't. We've got Korra and she's all we're ever going to have. And what is she going to do? What is she going to make of herself? If she's not a Bender, how will she protect herself? What kind of life is she going to have? Is she just going to be a nobody all her life?"
Katara interjects. "My brother couldn't Bend and he –"
"Your brother is not my daughter." Tonraq storms into the healing room, where Korra sits in the pool, crying from the conversation she overheard. He glares at her before shoving the door open and rushing out. Senna follows him, ignoring the fact that her child is even there, to comfort her husband.
"Don't listen to them, Korra."
She lifts her puffy eyes to Katara, who kneels down beside her. The Master runs a hand through Korra's loose hair as she speaks.
"We've spent a lot of time together so far and I've watched you grow up into a strong, determined young woman. You have a passion and love in your heart that knows no bounds. That's the Water Tribe in you." She catches one of the younger girl's tears on her finger. "You are special, Korra, and you're going to do great things. Don't ever forget that."
"Hey, are you alright?" Asami gripped the Southerner's shoulders to force her sluggish feet to stop.
She snapped back into reality and met the engineer's eyes with strained ones. When did I start crying?
"It doesn't matter if she's alright now, because she'll be dead by the time we're through with her." The man's voice resonated in their ears, dark and familiar.
Korra's heart jumped out of her chest. No…