Chapter 9: The great DEBATE

Then Bolin burst out laughing at how red Flint had gotten. She pushed him away from her. That started a girly windmill slap fest in which Bolin was king. When Flint started half choking with laughter, they stopped to hold their stomachs. When the laughter had finally died down, Flint looked back at Mako a bit embarrassed. Exactly like old times.

He hadn't been paying attention to them. While they had their laugh attack, he had been concentrating on his breathing. He sat on the ground, eyes closed, legs crossed with a calm face. Bolin went to go change, leaving Flint to awkwardly stand and watch Mako as he exhaled and inhaled. "I can feel you staring at me," Mako's voice made her jump.

With that he began his practice. His movements were comparable to a dancer. There was no stutter in his punched or kicks—no hesitation in his breathing. "Where's Korra?" Bolin fell into his routine alongside Mako. His movements were less fluid, but just as strong.

"I don't know. "

"Sorry I'm late! Tenzin was telling me about some escapee and then Naga," the girl stopped to smile at Flint. Then she asked Bolin, "Who's the fan-boy?"

"Korra," he proudly walked her over to Flint, "This is my pal from the orphanage," Mako stopped practicing as his memory finally kicked in, "Flint! Flint this is Korra, Korra this is Flint."

Korra, to Flint, was stunning. Maybe she was bias because her parents were water tribe, but she thought most of them were spectacular. They shook hands and chitchatted a little about how she and Bolin met. The conversation was friendly until Korra mentioned how she was the Avatar like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Avatar?" Not knowing Korra was the avatar must have been rare because everyone turned to look at her surprised.

"Yeah, is there a problem?" Korra put her hands on her hips.

"No, no, no. It's just, I though the Avatar was, well, more menacing. The way most people talk about the Avatar, I had this image of an austere woman with a rock in one hand, flame in other, riding on the wind followed by a tsunami." She shrugged, put on a goofy smile and hoped the avatar didn't take her that seriously.

It worked, Bolin, Korra and even Mako seemed amused by her imagination. "Who have you been talking to? Equalist?" Bolin slapped his knee like that was the most ridiculous thing in the world.

"What is a Equalist?" The name on her tongue felt familiar though she has never heard it. It felt right.

"You have been living under a rock. First you don't know about my reputation then you don't know about Equalist and their plan to take down all benders." Bolin strode over and put his arm around her shoulder and sighed. "You need to get out more."

Flint was already shrugging him off before he could say anything else. How could she had been so naïve to think that the 'Equalist' would keep a low profile. That's how you get support from the population, she thought, you make yourselves public. Lost in thought, she forgot about everyone around her until Bolin poked her side.

"Oh, sorry. I guess you aren't on the…Equalist side?" She added a little laugh at the end to make it seem like a rhetorical question. Really, though, she hoped someone would answer so she knew where they stood. Especially where Bolin stood because his jumping back into her life suddenly has shined a light on her rather glum situation. Also, she wouldn't be able to tell him anything if he was against the Equalist who she called family.

"No. They have a leader who can take away a person's bending forever. He needs to be stopped."

Hearing Mako say those words and have Korra and Bolin agree like it was the most natural action, made her heart sink. Yet, she couldn't stop herself from prying even more into their beliefs so alien to her own. "But, if you were a nonbender, can't you understand their fear? Their concern? Their feelings of…." Flint drifted off towards the earthen plates stacked neatly.

"Yes, but Republic city is a place where benders and nonbenders are suppose to live together in harmony. That is what Avatar Aang wanted. Since I am the avatar, I have an obligation to the people of this city to make sure it stays that way."

Flint looked at her and Mako for a long while before waiting for Bolin to add his own comments. He said nothing, but he had the same determined look on his face. "You don't understand." Her smile was half-hearted.

"What don't we understand? And while you are at it, will you please tell us why you are giving us the impression you are agreeing with the Equalist?" Mako was calm. To Flint, that was more threatening than angry.

The conversation wasn't going in the direction she had planned. Luckily Bolin stepped in to save her from answering. "Can't you see that she is confused?" He rushed over, took her face in his hands and turned it towards Korra and Mako. "See this face?" By now, her lips looked like a fish and her eyes were slits. "This is a face of some poor soul who has been living a life outside of the city. Who knows what she knows about knowing about what everyone knows."

He winked at her before rallying up his team to practice. Flint watched then silently. She would smile or laugh when Bolin obvious showed off for her. Other times she would admire how effortlessly they used their bending. It was beautifully frightening if we want to get poetic.

"Where is the little girl's room?" she was already doing the dance at this point.

Korra raised an eyebrow, "You're a girl?"