Ai jui xiang wo de muqin Pt. 1

Nothing had changed at all. Why would it. Because another year had passed? What a foolish notion to entertain. A year means nothing. Several...well, that could bring about something of significance.

Evil grey clouds sent forth winds that sunk deep into their fashionable cloth coats that were unable to keep out the chill. Hats of stiff felt yet thin and without weight leapt to the winds command. The pipes on the backs of Sato-mobiles belched fumes. Shoes walked over discarded papers or crumbs of food eaten in a hurry. A tiny stray spirit who had been brave enough to mingle with the crowd of people tried to get a few blocks to find shelter from the coming storm.

There was a middle aged woman in a long coat that touched to her ankles with a bag of groceries idling by a vent to keep warm. The smoke masked her feet making her look like a specter come from the spirit world for a visit. Truth be told the only ones who visited were those who never departed from this world in the first place.

With whiskers sharper than thorns a man in overalls had his hands in the pockets of his jacket. Its color faded to a mild grey-brown. Hat on his head. His face turned to the ground. Knowing where he was going. Fingers, permanently blackened from coal dust, pinched the cigarette in his mouth. Teeth mined of all resources, two on the left side of were missing. On the bright side this made it easier to hold the cigarette between his teeth. A thin line of smoke wafted lazily behind him as he walked briskly. It drifted till it was split by someone heading the other way.

The person coughed into their mitten. Made of bison fur dyed a dark green. The cuff of which was made so that it crept a little ways more into the young teens coat to seal her own warmth inside. A furred hood was pulled tight enough it narrowed her vision. She had to turn her whole head to the side to even see an old woman hunched over her cane who was pushing people much younger than herself aside. A sight to behold. The old woman was probably one of the first citizens of republic city. So she knew how to handle a crowded street. Using her cane to nudge those aside. Tap at the heels when someone was going to slow even for her speed. Which wasn't much more than an aardvark sloth. The old woman cut off the teen trying as she inched away from the grinding engine gears and honking horns on the street. Though her ears had grown quiet due to age enough of that sound could still reach them.

What any republic city citizen would of done in that situation, which would of been to push the old woman aside, the young teen did the opposite. Allowing the old woman to get by. However the next person spun the old woman on the tip of her cane like a top. Jostled, the old woman found a hand had steadied her movements. She brushed it off with a withered grunt as her wrinkled hands held her canes head tight. The old woman was soon swallowed by the current of people as she found her way through.

A silly breathe pushed the heated air out of the young teens chest. Shrugging of the encounter she pulled on the straps of her pack. The weight of the books pulled on her back. Straightening it to exemplary perfection. Making her look ever the dignified student. Except for the heavy pair of pants that she wore underneath her skirt. Kept in her bag during school hours to save face with her fellow students.

While at the back of the line the young teen adjusted herself. Hoping no one would pay attention when they were all staring at the crossing light waiting for it to change. The pants tended to slip as she walked. They were normally meant for someone else's hips which were much larger than her own, which were narrow like a boys and one of the things on the top of her list she wished to change about herself. She wanted to have hips like her Aunt. So she could walk with a tantalizing sway that could make heads turn. With a smidge of make-up on her lips and cheeks she looked womanly in the face. But her body still seemed less womanly even at the age of sixteen when most girls had begun to finish filling out. There could still be hope yet that she was a late bloomer. Then again she remembered a hope she had as a child to have something her parents had. She scratched herself through the hood of her coat right on the temple where an itch had formed. It was soothed away, along with the thoughts as the herd of citizens began to move as a school of fish in the ocean.

That magnificent and expansive big blue thing. Stretching out over the arctic. Ice burgs floating like they were in a glass of chilled tea. They bumped and crashed into one another. Molding together or destroying each other entirely. The cold that had gripped the city was worse enough to of reminded the young teen of her trip to the south pole. Of her mommy's home. Of her grandpa and grandma and someone else. She touched the fur lining the cuffs of her coat. Enjoying the nice pleasant softness.

"Naga." Voice soft, whispering. Yet unpracticed and cracked from a day of silence in school. Never one to speak up with an answer though she knew a fair good many of them; more than half at least.

The polar bear dogs jowls had been so droopy when they had boarded the boat. A sad high pitched whine that would not be drowned out by the sound of smoke pouring from the boats stacks. Nagas right eye dropped over a clouded iris. It could not follow anything. The polar bear dog spooked easily when touched on that side if one didn't announce themselves first. Mom had said it was better for her to be up there with grandma and grandpa. All that space for her to play. Not that the polar bear dog did much playing now a days. Grandma is always trying to get us to visit to cheer Naga up. And to get to see her granddaughter too as grandma wanted to stay in the cold weather because the mild temperatures of republic city seemed to affect her joints. So this passing Avatar Day they made the trip to the south pole.

Momma didn't like the snow. The older woman's first bad experience upon landing was tripping on a patch of black ice. Then there was the snow drift she had gotten stuck in while riding a snow-mobile to grandma and grandpas house. Even hours later when they were inside her grandparents hut with a fire going her mom had picked a chunk of ice out from her ear. It hit the ground an soon dissolved into a puddle. The woman wiped her finger on her pants and proceeded to take a sip of tea. Carrying on with the conversation she were having with her father-in-law.

The teen hid her giggle behind a furry cuff. A red stain on the tips of the white fur as she pulled it away. She frowned. She hadn't a mirror around to check the damage. Momma wouldn't let me bring one. Says it will disrupt my studies. How? And of course mommy agreed with her too. It's not like either of them knows how make-up works. I have to do the both of them when we get invited to galas, on top of my own make-up. Neither of them knows how to dress for parties. They've both worn the same dress clothes to any event since I was born. Her aunt Asami would likely agree.

The thoughts had slowed her progress. The teen saw the bus which had pulled up to her stop. She broke into a sprint and waved her hands unable to shout as her lungs quickly became winded from the short run. She made it onto the bus; her Aunts bus was really what she thought. Since the woman did manufacture them. Unfortunately, republic cities citizens had not treated them kindly as the plastic on the hard seats was chipped. Metal bars overhead from which one could hold while standing were smudged with fingerprints. There was still all manner of unscrupulous words written on the backs of seats. Some had been painted over with bright silver paint which shown painfully obvious against the darker shade of steal. They weren't kept clean. There was trash under seats and the trashcan that was provided for disposal was overrun with bottles. Some full, others still smelled of a hard alcohol; those ones were drained of every last drop.

She sat towards the front as most of the unsavory characters that lived in republic city stayed to the back away from the drivers sight. Hidden behind a cloud of thick smoke that reeked throughout the cabin. The hard flavor of tobacco tickled the nose repulsively and made tears sprout in the eyes of children.

If either of them were here they would of told them to put it out. To be frank one of them would of asked, the other would of put them out.

Keeping her head in her lap the teen avoided looking at the scenery. However, it didn't help to prevent the queasy feeling from starting in her stomach when the bus started to move. The heat created from all the breathes taken and released caused her to remove her hood. Gingerly she pulled it down. The first thing that tumbled out were twin braids that framed her sharp cheekbones. One had a blue ribbon, the other puce which nearly dissolved into her maroon hair. The years had darkened it from its previous fiery color. Smooth, flawless, as her Aunt Asami had taught her how to keep it. Unlike either of her parents who let their hair fall were it might after a shower. Usually, her hair would be left to fall freely but for school she kept it in a bun with a strip of gold to hold it in place. A gift from her mom on Avatar Day.

A hand brushed the piece of bright gold her fingers left smudges that distorted. the scenery reflected under the swirl of a fingerprint. Such an expensive gift was unlike her parents as they usually got her clothes. She smudged the headband again. At her stop the teen made sure her hair was tucked back into her hood before she got off.

Its walls were thick stone. Chipped and discolored. Some corners worn from the harsh weather that sometimes rolled in from the bay. However the factory stood as a testament to its construction. There was life inside as smoke chugged from the squat stacks. Workers on assembly lines putting their particular skill set of touches to the Sato-Mobiles they were producing. Some put in steering columns. Others were great at hooking on that tiny brass handle, gold if you could afford the luxury model, used to roll down the window. The gates were open and a few of the cars were out for their final test runs on the course. Weaving through cones and taking on bumps both large and small. Asami made sure not to scrimp on quality control. Every car was tested. Every car was checked over for any imperfections. She was a fierce and brilliant business woman who knew how to keep a customer happy.

A honk, like a bull frog had been mercilessly squeezed, drew the teens attention as she walked over to the fence. Setting a gloved hand on the thick links to keep out anybody who may try sneak in to steal secrets. Her Aunts biggest fear. No one would steal her things again. The teen didn't get who Aunt Asami was talking about but it made the owner of future industries smudge her teeth with dark red lipstick when she bit her lip out of anger.

Her skin was darkened naturally by the sun. Eyebrows thin yet thick and improper for a woman. So were the raggedy pants ripped at the cuffs and leggings. Aria wore her hair in a tight ponytail that stretched her scalp to keep it out of her face so she could focus.

The wheels kicked up a cloud of dirt behind the vehicle as the tires spun in place. Chassis wiggling like a cat ready to pounce on a mouse. As an arrow is loosed by letting ones fingers lax so too was the Sato-mobile released with the ease of taking a foot off the brake pedal. It lurched forward and a unique sound was tempered by metal grinding on metal as the pistons pumped in the engine block. A new custom design that Asami had made that was far more efficient at producing greater speeds. It could beat the previous year's model in a race before the other engine had time to warm.

As the Sato-mobile speed forth a thrill went up the teens back. So too did the queasy churning of her stomach and she wasn't even the one moving. The wheels glided on the slick road that had neither a crack nor bump. Absolute perfection had been demanded in its creation so that they could test the limits of her Aunts vehicles. As the Sato-mobile cut the corner in front of the fence, the wheels rattled as the back tires lost their grip, the back of the Sato-mobile slid out purposely. With skill the woman in control of the vehicle gave a wink to the teen behind the safety of the fence as she corrected the slide easily and the car was once again moving on all four tires. The Sato-mobile sped off down the track. Horn giving a honk as a parting goodbye.

A mitten covered hand waved at the departing vehicle. A small trail of smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. Somehow the teen knew that the woman had gotten her goodbye for the car seemed to waggle itself in what she thought of as a way of waving back.

The fence rattled when she let go. It wobbled back and forth a few times till it settled and stood there as a silent deterrent. She had heard her Aunt talk about adding barb wire to it soon. Though both her mothers had vehemently opposed the future industries CEO from trying to electrify the fence.

The sidewalk was sun bleached. Cracks due to spirit vines which had sprouted underneath. Pushing entire pieces and making them akimbo. Nasty to walk over in the dark as their street didn't have many lamp posts. Only the scarce source of light from a neighbors house hopefully awake at the hour, the houselights thrown across their yards and onto the sidewalk to light the way. The teen kept her head glued to the ground to not lose her footing. Something that had happened often when she were a child. She sighed at the thought of all the clothes she had ruined because of her carelessness. Neither of them cared about my clothes. Mommy would pick me up and hug me till I stopped crying. Momma would of taken care of any scrapes. She was always on top of that even though mommy was the one who could use bending to heal. The teen gave her chin a nudge with her knuckle. She'd tap me on my chin and tell me I was being a tough girl like a Beifong should.

This was the same woman whose voice drew the teens ear when she heard the shouting coming from the backyard. A tall fence kept out the public. Three slices of post had been replaced with an off colored stock of wood. Bursts of flames like a dragon with a bad cough ignited the air above the backyard. More curses accompany the outburst. The earth quaked beneath the teens feet. As she had been taught to her legs bent unconsciously to absorb the shock. It stopped and peace seemed to of settled until fragments of earth hurled themselves over the top of the fence. A fist sized piece fell short of the sidewalk. Plowing the dead yellow grass. Small chunks bounced in front of her and into the street. Later the sharp bits would puncture the tire of a lucky business man who missed the most important meeting of his life. One that if he would of attended would of coast him his job. Oh, how the world works in mysterious ways.

Unaware of this happenstance the teen continued along the path to the front of her home unlocking the front door with a key that had been reluctantly handed over by her momma, who thought that she shouldn't have such a big responsibility. I'm sixteen, the teen grumbled every time the key slide into the lock.

Inside she set her shoes in the cubby hole. A frail and faded blue the badgermole was missing an eye and nose which time sought to wear away but it could never rid the memory. A finger dotted the spot where the nose had been; where she had painted it on. Still knowing the exact spot she had applied the drip of paint as she dragged her finger against the uneven surface. Withdrawing from the pain the teen found a small splinter. A dot of blood came when the splinter was removed. The teen sucked her finger. Disgusted by the copper taste in her mouth she frowned and grumbled incoherently to the empty foyer.

The light was pale filled with dust floating about. Even the colorful prism of the stain glass above the doorway created a hazy if not a dingy beam of spiritual-Esq. light.

Her steps were muffled by her socks. Without the weight of her pack they would of been deft; with it a slight thumping sound accompanied as books banged against one another through the short hallway into the kitchen she set her pack on the kitchen table. The table hugged the ground surrounded by a red, blue, and green cushion. A checkered surface if the mood should arise a game of Pai Sho could be played. More of a war with no real victory. Against an opponent who was merciless, unsympathetic, and cruel. So far her momma was ahead by four wins after her win in last night's game; the teen had almost been grounded for her victory. The round tiles had been kept in a box on the counter. A few worn indentations in them from an livid hand grinding them against the board as her momma made the moves that were all that had been left to her. Which seemed to be happening more so as the teen learned her mother's style of play. Fast, loose, and get them before they can get you. Blitz them.

As the red cushion released a strangled hush of air the back door slid open. Letting in a gust of wind that made the teens arms break out in gooseflesh. A warning before the words could hit her ears.

"...you need to tone it down Korra." Said the older woman with heavy lines sprouting from her nose. Lips thinner than a chopstick was drawn into a puckered brow. The clink-clank of her feet on the wooden floor of the kitchen. Armor dusty with earth. The plates expanded and contracted with every breath the woman took. They seemed to move to the woman's emotions. Shifting slightly in an annoyed manor as an arm reached to shut the door. Glass rattling as it was slammed shut.

Dark brown arms that felt rough when they were used in a hug were linked by her hands behind her head. The younger woman in a light aqua shirt. The sleeves of which came past the elbows and encroached on her forearms. Hugging them like a second skin. Swiveling at the hips the younger woman gave a Cheshire grin to her wife.

"Hey Lin, remind me who was the one that broke the fence anyway?" Her teeth grew larger in her mouth. Inflated by the fact that she was right.

Lin looked away. Shadowing the emotions on her face with a hand covering the frustrated downward curve of her lip. The hand soon flew off when she found the suitable words for a retort. "Don't get so full of yourself. If you hit the fence or the house..."

"Tisk...tisk...tisk." Korra counted her tisks with a finger tapping an invisible button, one that was unknowingly enflamed the woman in front of her, "but I did not, did I Bad-ger-mole." Inching close to her wife Korra cooed the nickname.

What followed was a bruiser of a kiss that left Korra in a state of bliss; an actual bruise will form on the corner of her lip overnight.

"So," Lin began as she walked towards the table. Footfalls heavy and making her daughters pencil roll off the edge and to her feet. Lin picked it up pointing the pencils tip at her daughter in a manner as if brandishing a sword at an enemy. The sting of the previous nights defeat still fresh on her ego, "how was school squirt?" She said as her daughter took the pencil from her.

"Good." Was all that was said. Not great. Not bad. It was there. She got through it better so than her mommy would of if she ever had to attend a proper one. Instead of the rudimentary home schooling she received while training to be the next avatar.

Touching the back of her daughters head Lin gave it a playful shove which earned a disgruntled response. She fetched a glass from the cupboard and filled it at the sink. Taking a few sips to cool her body which had finally caught up with her exertions and was now beginning to break out in a sweat. The armor began to chill from within as the perspiration soaked into the padding. Thickest on her torso and shoulders. The cool feeling was pleasant on her muscles. Unknotting them. Lin relaxed against the counter.

Korra had wandered off but returned. Shirt stained around the neck and arm pits. Giving off a unpleasant smell to her daughter of an amalgam of spoiling things that had been sitting in a trash can to simmer. Slender and calloused a brown finger touched the dirty golden frame adjusting so her eyes were line with the square lenses perched on her nose. She pushed the blue cushion close to her daughter who was unpacking her books. Laying a thick text on the table. Korra eyed the book as she took a hard gulp. Symbols and numbers with lines and squiggles pluses and minuses. The spirits were cruel sometimes at least only with these small things.

Pages were flipped till they found the right one a hand laid the book flat displaying hundreds of problems, numbered in order from hardest to unsolvable, all having to do with figuring out what the dreaded letters represented in a numerical answer. Korra tapped a curled finger to her temple as she wrapped her other hand defensively in front of herself. To keep the pit from opening in her stomach at the hopelessness that she wouldn't be able to help her daughter with her homework tonight.

A glass was placed on the table with a few ice cubes added. It perspired. The rivulets of water collecting on the bottom and as Korra picked it up there was a wet ring left on the wood. Korra did not bother to turn the glass and instead placed her lips over the smudge that her wife had left. Taking two powerful and forceful gulps Korra had drained the glass to only a shot left at the bottom. The ice left a drop of cool water on her upper lip. Tingling the flesh and drawing a smile a hard skinned thumb wiped it off. As the thumb retreated Korra pursed her lips, leaned forward, and pecked it devotedly.

One set of eyes rolled inside the head that held onto them. Another pair averted out of embarrassment at their daughters gesture. But they were on the same level. Except Lin who towered above the two of them. Holding her height, if only a marginal difference of an inch or so, over them both.

Lin stealthily crept behind her daughter as the girl put her head into the book. The first problem came easy; they grew worse thereafter. She felt the cold steel lay across her scalp the smooth plate on her mommas forearm slide about when the teen attempted to throw it off by tipping her head. The woman moved with the motion maintaining contact. Armguard rubbing her head causing some of her hair unknowingly to became tangled in the spot where the plate was buckled together.

Vying for her attention Korra dipped her head to the table. Peeking at the girl as she called her name. "Yee-Li?" Korra asked, as she played with her own hair. She still wore the braid to match Yee-Lis own. Though now only a few strands of hair stuck out from the bottom as it laid in front of her right ear. Her hair never descended below the chin. While a great swath of it was combed over the left side of her face opposite the braid. Framing one eyebrow while covering the other. Time had done little to change the avatars appearance but this new hairstyle had been pushed upon her by her daughter. The back of Korras head always seemed unruly as if someone had been grabbing at it. The woman would only blush settling her eyes on Lin when asked, she brushed a hand down the back to try and lay the hair down flat.

"Yee-Li?" Korra asked again.

The teen gave a grunt to acknowledge she was being asked a question and said nothing more; the open air meant it was ok to ask. She was double checking her work in her head. The answer came out to three. Seemed right. So she left it at that and started on the next.

"How's Xiu?"

The tip of the pencil skittered across the paper. It dangled loosely from Yee-Lis hand as she scratched the back of her head. Her mouth wobbled as her tongue worked its way around the words.

"We-didn't have any classes together today." A quick answer as she always gave. Not a whole lot of elaboration. The teen yelped as her momma pulled herself off. She scratched her scalp to rub the pain away.

Lin moved to her wife's side. Body seeming to sag into the cushion. Which suddenly felt hard. Uncomfortable as if it were made of something not rock at least. Because Lin always found rock to make for a most comfortable chair after she molded it to herself. Her grunt went unnoticed as a tight feeling came about her body. As her armor responded to her emotions as her daughter and wife continued their conversation

"How is she doing?"

The plates squeezed her chest. Leaving no room for which to draw a breath.

"Fine."

Arms and legs locked in position. Making sure the woman stayed put.

"When are you going to bring her over. All you do is talk about Xiu. I want to meet this girl." Korra giggled; yet it wasn't like Yee-Li talked about her without first being prodded.

"She's busy. Xiu does a lot of after school stuff."The swift beating of her heart; it was a lie.

The tightness around Lins neck kept her from talking. Even as she saw Korras face visibly sink. Those ocean blues developed a storm inside them.

"What about the weekends?"

The question was rendered mute when the teen decided to suddenly cut the topic off, "Mom, please...cant I just do my homework." Please, stop asking me these questions. Was her internal plea. To just stop asking about Xiu.

Lin felt the tightness around her neck lax. Her armor was responding to a new emotion within. A sinister rattle began. Low the sound was dampened against Lins skin. The plates shifted. Lin could feel the metal in the spoils on her back try to slither out and up her arms. There came a struggle between Lins will and the self-awareness they seemed to of obtained. She knew what they wanted to do. To paddle the teens butt till she couldn't sit for a week. Maybe then it'd get through to her what she was doing...to that pour girl.

"Hey!" Lin barked, the two startled at the older woman's hard edged tone. A voice Korra hadn't heard since she had met the woman when she made her first trip to republic city. A hard calloused finger flickered out, the motion made the teen flinch. The pencil fell to the floor. The sound of it hitting was drowned out when Lins clenched fist made contact with the table, "Don't talk to your mother like that when she is addressing you." A great quake went up the legs of the table. It shook her daughters books.

Everything grew still except for the haggard breathing coming from Lin. Her lip hung sideways a little bit. Exposing a sliver of pink gums. A few strands of hair broke loose from the rest, dangling in front of her face between her eyebrows. The gray of her hair was so light now that it was one shade away from a dirty white. The lines under Lins eyes seemed to grow more pronounced as she blinked. Once, only once was all it took to take in the scene of her wife's crisp mouth, of her daughters bewildered eyes. The hand on the table went lax. Unfurling till it lay motionless, like a dead weight on the end of her wrist it was dragged off the table and into Lins lap. Where it stayed hidden.

"I'm-sorry."

Lin grumbled to herself when her daughter spoke. She put her head into her lap. Ashamed of the scene she had made. Time seemed to die around Lin. Fractured and re-sewn together. As they had somehow leapt forward. Somewhere along the way Yee-Li had gotten her pencil and finished her homework. All the while Lin remained still. Never drawing attention to herself. Even when her daughter asked permission to go to her room. Which Korra gave.

A hand grabbed Lin by the arm. It wasn't forceful but she did feel a tug that beckoned her to raise her head. "Care to tell me what that was all about." Her wife said with a drooping frown. The fingers left streaks, a mixture of dirt and sweat, on the armor of her bicep as they let go.

"I need to talk to her...alone." Lin rose to her feet.

"Be nice to her ok."

"I'm sorry Korra, but this game has gone on long enough. I won't let her make the same mistake." Lin said as she left.

Korra raised a brow in confusion at her wife's remark.