"C'mon, you might as well tell me! I'll find out soon enough, anyway."
Korra was sitting beside Asami in the back of the taxi they were taking to the city hall, the location of Korra's birthday celebrations. Tenzin had mentioned something earlier about how Korra was expected to announce herself as Avatar to the press that evening, but Korra's mind was on another, more personal subject. Asami smirked to herself.
"Not happening." Asami said, looking out of the window at the passing traffic. "You'll find out what I got you for your birthday at the party." Korra grabbed Asami's hand with both of her own, scrunching up her face as she did.
"Pleeeeeeeease?" Korra begged, stretching the single word out for a few seconds. Asami turned to face her and simply shook her head. Korra let out a defeated sigh, slumping over onto Asami's shoulder. "Meanie…" she said under her breath, pouting as she spoke. Asami giggled, interlocking her fingers with Korra's. She let her own head flop down gently onto Korra's, her hair now running across the young Avatar's shoulder. Asami drummed the fingers on her free hand on her knee, blowing out her cheeks and exhaling heavily as she did so.
"Traffic wasn't this bad earlier." Asami murmured, looking out of the window at the now motionless cars beside them. The driver leaned back in his seat, turning his head slightly so the girls could hear him.
"Didn't ya hear?" He began, his voice thick and raspy, "Apparently there's some big party in town, all the names' gonna be there. Something about the Avatar being in town." Asami and Korra went stiff in their seats, their eyes darting in the direction of one another. Korra's grip tightened around Asami's hand, who had started to shake slightly at the shock of it all.
"R…really?" Korra stammered out, putting on a smile for the driver, who was looking at the pair of them in his rear-view mirror. The driver raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah." He continued, shrugging off the odd behavior in the back of his cab. "Can you believe it? The Avatar in Republic City! About damn time, too. This place has been going down hill for the past 18 years, if you ask me. Then again, I think there's a reason they haven't been here before. Maybe they're just not ready for it all, ya know. Not prepared to face the world." Korra's grip tightened even more. Asami could hear Korra's heavy breathing, listening to it speed up as the cab driver spoke. Asami squeezed Korra's hand to calm her, rubbing the top of it with her other hand.
"Wow. That's… really something." Asami said, faking a laugh as she spoke. The rest of the journey was conducted in complete silence, the majority of it taken up with Asami silently trying to calm Korra. Eventually, just as the cab pulled up at the city hall, Korra was back to normal. Asami tossed a few notes to the driver as they leapt from the car, murmuring for him to keep the change as they went. They hurried up the grand flight of stairs to the main entrance, not looking back at the now perplexed driver, who was counting through the bills he had been given. Sure enough, as they reached the top, they were greeted by a thousand flashing cameras, all accompanied by journalists hurling questions at them.
"Miss Sato, over here!"
"Miss Sato, who are you with tonight?"
"What are you wearing, Miss Sato?"
"Can you confirm the stories of the Avatar returning to Republic City?"
"A quick picture of you and your date, Miss Sato!"
It only took a few moments for Korra to realize that Asami was the center of their attention. Not unexpected, she thought to herself, as she was pulled towards the grand double doors of the town hall by Asami, they know Asami a hell of a lot more than they know me. A few steps from the entrance, the girls were suddenly blocked by a small, mustachioed man with a large camera, accompanied by a beautiful young lady in an evening gown and round spectacles. The man began to snap multiple pictures, all of them taking Korra by surprise. Asami stopped dead in her tracks, retracting slightly at the sudden appearance of the two figures before them.
"Miss Sato, Mia Wong, Republic City Tribune." The lady began, a large toothy smile plastered across her face, "I was hoping to get a few words from you about the events taking place tonight."
"Not right now." Asami said, trying to pull Korra around the woman before them. The photographer, however had jumped in their way and continued to snap photographs of them.
"It'll be only a moment." Mia Wong continued, ignoring the frightened look on Korra's face. "What do you have to say about the rumors of this party being thrown for the Avatar's return to the public image? Surely as a guest, you'll know al about it."
"No comment." Asami muttered, pushing the photographer away by his camera and making her way to the entrance. A few of the guards by the door began to move over to them. They may have been wearing suits normally seen worn by security at events like this, but Korra recognized them as White Lotus instantly. One of the two currently making their way over to them had been posted on Air Temple Island for the past few years.
"Surely a quick comment on the matter couldn't hurt." Mia Wong continued. She was scribbling furiously into a notepad as she spoke. "The Tribune has the exclusive on the evenings events, it wouldn't hurt even to dispel the rumors. What about your little friend, doesn't she have something to say?" Korra could feel the fire rising from her stomach. She pulled her hand from Asami's and turned on the spot, now facing the reporter. The camera's all around were now entirely concentrating their fire on her, with the small man hopping around like an energetic bull frog, snapping photos all the while. Korra stared directly into the gleaming spectacles of the reporter before her. Her smile had now gone from warm and gleaming to cold and shrew. Korra had never seen a smile like it before, but it sent chills down her spine.
"What did you say?" Korra growled. She was holding herself completely upright, trying her hardest to seem bigger and scarier than the woman standing before her. Wong took of her glasses and slipped them into the purse hanging from her shoulder. The smile didn't disappear, and was now accompanied by a pair of cold, steely eyes, an eyebrow raised above on of them. It obviously wasn't working.
"Well, Miss Sato has a reputation of… associating herself with rather more… submissive individuals. Perhaps you're not allowed to talk. Might embarrass her?" Wong began, slowly stepping towards her. Her voice was smooth and silky, but cold and uninviting of response. Korra clenched her fist, wishing that she could just throw a punch into that smug face.
"Listen her, you little…" Korra began, but before she could finish her insult, the guards had stepped in front of her, one hurrying her and Asami inside, the others moving over to the wall of journalists that had gathered to disperse them. Korra looked over her shoulder at the dismayed journalists, their shots now blocked by a wall of security guards.
"Alright, move along please, everyone behind the ropes. That means you too, Miss Wong."
The guard was now slowly moving forward, his body between Korra and Mia Wong, who was violently protesting.
"I have the exclusive! As a reporter with the Republic City Tribune…"
"You were invited in good faith, Miss Wong, but this is the fourth time you've confronted our guests with such force. You can wait out here with the rest of the press."
Wong now looked shocked and appalled at the prospect. She drew herself up to the guard, who looked down at her with slight amusement.
"Now, you listen hear. I'll could have your job for this, you hear…"
Before Korra could catch any more of the conversation, she had been hurried inside with Asami and the doors had been closed behind them. She turned to face the now-shell shocked Asami, who was simply staring at the door behind them. Korra moved over to her, taking her hand in her own.
"Sweetie, I'm really sorry. I should have…" Korra began, but she couldn't find the words to continue. How can I explain my actions to her? She stood for a moment just looking down at the floor, gently squeezing Asami's trembling hand. The guards were hurrying around, some talking over radios, other moving to other sections of the building, but it was all just noise and movement to Korra. Suddenly with a voice like a mouse, Asami spoke up.
"I thought you were gonna…" She began, her voice trembling, before she broke down completely. She pulled Korra into a hug, burying her head into the Avatar's shoulder and sobbing quietly. Korra held Asami tightly, running a hand down her back. A few moments passed and suddenly, the large entrance hall was filled with voices.
"Where are they? Where is my daughter?"
"Mr. Sato, sir, please…"
"NO! I will not have this! My daughter, attacked by some two-bit…"
"Oh, enough Hiroshi! We need to sort this out calmly."
"Calmly? That's easy for some Tenzin, but…"
"Girls? Girls! Oh thank the spirits…"
A group of six people, all dress in their finest, came rushing towards them. Hiroshi Sato was the loudest, his booming voice in a heated argument with Tenzin and a smaller, bespectacled man in a grey suit. Senna was at the helm, rushing towards the girls and pulling them into a hug, closely followed by Tonraq, how stood behind his wife with a look of stern worry on his face. Behind them was a tall, grey-haired woman, dressed in a green Earth Kingdom dress, adorned with bracelets and a large decorative necklace, both made of a shining silver metal. While her stern expression was enough to pull the attention of anyone in the room, it was the pair of parallel scars running across her right cheek that cinched it. As soon as Senna released the two of them, she stepped forward and began to speak directly to the girls, letting the 3 men behind her continue their argument.
"Are you two alright?" She began, her voice sharp and to the point. Korra and Asami nodded in unison. The corner of the woman's mouth twisted slightly. "No-one was hurt? No fights broke out?" Her last comment seemed to be aimed at Korra, who gulped at the question. Again, the girls nodded. She let out a deep sigh and turned to face the ongoing argument.
"Well, if we had hired the security I suggested…"
"The White Lotus are the finest soldiers in the world! They are more than capable…
"Of what? Allowing gun-ho reporters to attack these girls with questions no-one should…
"ENOUGH!"
The woman's voice rung out above everyone else's. Asami and Senna both clamped their hands down over their ears, while the rest of the room winced at the volume of it all. The silence lingered in the air. After a few seconds, the woman began to speak.
"The girls are alright, so there is nothing to be worried about. However…" she raised a hand as Hiroshi opened his mouth to speak. "However… I believe it best if we refrain from allowing any journalist into the party for the time being, and outright ban whoever it was that was performing these… attacks on the girls. We don't need a fight to break out. Not while everyone is sober, anyway."
"Lin, with all due respect…" Tenzin began, his voice quieter than usual. Before he could continue, however, Tonraq spoke up, his gruff voice matching the volume of the woman's.
"Chief Beifong is right." He said, now standing directly behind the girls, his hand resting on Korra's shoulder. "These two are our priority in this situation. I suggest we head upstairs to the party and forget about this for the time being."
"I'll inform the guards as to what's happening." Tenzin said, hurrying over to the waiting security guards close by. Beifong turned and smirked at Tonraq.
"It's been a while since I was Chief Beifong, Tonraq. Has it really been that long since you were last in Republic City?" She said, folding her arms in front of her chest. Tonraq adjusted the collar of his shirt.
"Well, it has been 5 years since my last visit, chief… I mean, Lin." Tonraq said, correcting himself when he saw a single grey eyebrow raise itself from above the steely eye it was situated over. He began began to guide the girls towards a spiraling flight of stairs, closely followed by Senna and Beifong. Hiroshi was hurriedly whispering to the small man that had accompanied him, who was now nodding furiously with each word Hiroshi said.
"Wait." Korra said, looking over to Beifong. "I know you from somewhere. I've seen you at school." Lin raised an eyebrow, taken aback by the change in subject.
"You should have, Avatar." She began. "Lin Beifong, Coach to the Varsity Pro-Bending Team at Republic City Academy, and former…" She looked at Tonraq with the same force she had placed on the word, "…Chief of the Metalbending Police Force here in Republic City." Korra smiled up at her, the events of the past few minutes slipping away from her mind.
"Can I ask you a question, Coach?" Korra said, her voice dripping with excitement and wonder. Beifong grunted a 'yes' to her, as Asami looked over to her, now curious as to what was so important for Korra to ask now, of all times.
"Why is Tenzin so afraid of you? And how do I learn to do that to someone?"
Beifong's lips curled into a small smile, as the rest of the assembled party stared at Korra in disbelief. Beifong placed a hand on Korra's shoulder as they reached the top of the staircase.
"50 years of proving you can kick his ass at any age, kid." She said, walking ahead of Korra and Asami to a pair of double doors. She placed both hands on the doors and pushed them open.