Prompt: Theme #86 - First Sight

Word Count - 1663

A/N - AU where Korra and Mako meet as young children - 10/11 years old respectively. Is this my longest chapter yet? Also, any votes on which prompt I should do next? I've got a long flight to look forward to next week and nothing but this to occupy my time!

She'd only seen him because his arm was elbow deep in a cart full of peanuts with the nonchalant air of someone who had no intention of paying for them. The owner of said peanut cart was currently in deep conversation with one of her guards, and remained blissfully unaware of the daylight robbery taking place just behind him.

If his torn and grungy clothes were not obvious enough of his condition, the sunken cheeks and hardened eyes that seemed much too old for his face indicated that his parents were not around anymore. Probably hadn't been for a while.

Korra had only ever heard about orphans from her masters, usually in passing conversations accompanied with pitying shakes of their heads and mutterings about the necessity of social reforms. Master Ming had warned her not to interact with them too much before she embarked on her first short trip to Republic City, but she had never actually seen firsthand the type of poverty present in the city. The stark contrast between the ragged boy who stood less than five feet from her amongst the throngs of the street market, and Korra in her hand embroidered silk dress and surrounded by her own security guard, was almost surreal.

"- and we're going to be headed soon to Memorial Island. We passed it on our way to the docks but didn't have time to stop. If you could just point out the shortest route…" the guard was saying to the vendor, glancing briefly toward Korra, who was shuffling closer and closer to the orphan boy.

"Excuse me," she called, reaching an arm out to grab hold of the dirty sleeve, but at her words he started in fright, dropping a few peanuts in his haste to stuff his hands deep into his pockets before glaring at her with gold eyes.

"What?" he snapped, looking her up and down, and Korra was suddenly and inexplicably embarrassed of her appearance as he took it in with a critical eye. She pulled her hand back slowly and folded her arms across her chest, covering up the detailed gold work inlaid on the fabric.

"Oh, I… I just…" she drifted off, and the boy waited a moment more in irritation before turning and slipping back into the crowd.

It only took a second for Korra to decide, but with a quick glance back at her guards (who weren't looking her way anyway), she had darted after him, weaving in and out of the taller patrons of the market and keeping the jet black head of hair just within her sight. She had to admire him for being quick on his feet - it was almost impossible to walk through the crowd without running headlong into someone, and Korra was constantly tripping on her skirt. He took her through a series of turns, avoiding the occasional policemen patrolling the area with ease and dodging through carts and vendors here and there, implying that he'd done this many times before; it wasn't until a few streets later when he slowed to a stroll that Korra finally took her eyes off him and looked around at her surroundings.

The crowd had thinned from its previous congested flow into a few local passerby who didn't glance at her twice as they walked by, and the evenly paved road of the market had transitioned into a cobblestone street that her feet pat-patted over quietly as she trailed the young orphan, who still hadn't noticed her. They were now passing apartment complexes instead of street stalls, and Korra could see lines of laundry hanging across buildings high above, and hear muffled radio music floating through open windows.

In another few blocks the streets had turned grungier and the people shadier, when the boy turned a sudden left into an alleyway, and Korra slowed her steps, haltingly moving forward to peer around the corner of the building.

It took her a moment to distinguish the shapes moving in the shadows cast by the tall buildings surrounding them, but she could finally make out the figures of two young boys, one kneeling on the ground - the boy she had been following - and another sitting in front of him. The second boy was younger, but he wore the same patched and worn clothes as the other (with the exception of a pristinely red scarf wrapped around his neck) and looked just as tired, and Korra watched them interact with wide eyes, wondering what had happened to them to bring them to that alley, looking so much older than they were and resorting to theft to eat.

They were speaking to each other in soft voices now, and she leaned in close to catch their words as the younger boy moved to unwind his scarf, but the slight movement caught his attention immediately and his eyes locked onto hers.

Korra froze, awaiting the same cold glare that his older friend - or brother? - had given her in the market, but it never came. The boy's green eyes crinkled as he smiled at her, nudging the other boy excitedly with his elbow before jumping to his feet and approaching her.

"Mako! You didn't tell me you found a friend?" he exclaimed, and the boy from the market - Mako, apparently - stared at her in surprise before his face settled into a neutral expression.

"I'm Bolin!" he said eagerly, and Korra managed a small smile in return as she shook his hand. He had a warm presence that made her feel comfortable.

"Wow, your dress is beautiful! You don't look like you're from around here, is this your first time in the city? You know, my brother and I know the area pretty well, if you need help getting anywhere, we would be happy to-"

"Bo! That's enough. She was just leaving, anyway." Mako directed these last words pointedly at Korra (who glared back at him) as he hastened to shuffle Bolin back into the alley.

"Aww, Makoooo!" Bolin whined, grasping the front of Mako's shirt dramatically. "I was just being nice. Besides," and here Bolin pulled Mako's ear to his mouth to whisper conspiratorially, "she's pretty."

Korra blushed.

Mako groaned.

"Bo!"

"Okay, okay, fine. Here take your scarf back, I'm gonna get started on the peanuts." Bolin pulled the scarf off and handed it back to Mako, who immediately wound it around his neck, burying his nose into the fabric as he nudged Bolin back again.

"Hey, it was nice meeting you… uh, what was your name?" Bolin asked good-naturedly as he backtracked down the alley.

Korra hesitated for just a second before waving back at him.

"Korra," she answered. "My name is Korra."

The grin she got in return was the biggest she'd seen yet.

"Well, thanks for dropping by." Mako interjected stiffly, and Korra wondered in passing if the frown was a permanent feature on his face.

His demeanor indicated that she leave immediately, but she stalled, not wanting to go back to the market until she finished what she had followed this Mako boy to do.

"I…I wanted to give you something." Korra said awkwardly, a little uncomfortable now that Bolin was gone.

But before she could move her hand to her coin purse Mako had raised a hand for her to stop.

"We don't need any of your money, if that's what you want to give." he said stonily. "We may not have much, but we're not beggars. I can take care of myself and my brother just fine."

Korra paused in surprise, then smiled.

"I know," she promised. "I'm giving you something else." And reaching into her purse, Korra pulled out a single smooth ceramic tile, ivory in color with an elegantly drawn lotus placed right in center.

She had only received the tile weeks before from Master Katara before she had left for her trip.

"Here, Korra." Katara had said, placing the tile in Korra's hand and folding her fingers carefully over it. "If you should ever find yourself in trouble, or in need of help, just show this tile to an elder and you will receive assistance. Consider it a good luck charm," she added with a wink, "to keep you safe on your journeys." Korra had kept the tile on her at all times since her departure, cherishing the present from her role model and the feeling of safety it provided her. She knew what a great gift the tile was - after all, the White Lotus Society was meant to be a secret organization, and to be entrusted with her own tile was a great honor, one that she could appreciate at even this young age.

She handed the tile to Mako now, who looked at it blankly, turning it over in his hands and running his finger gently over its surface.

"What… what is it?" he asked in confusion, looking up at her.

"It's a good luck charm." she said simply, then hastened to add at his deadpan look, "Don't lose it! Or give it away. It's… more important than you know. And it's all I can give you right now."

Korra pulled her hand back and waited with bated breath as Mako stared at first the tile, then at her. She didn't know what he was looking for as he stared searchingly into her eyes, but whatever it was he must have found it because in a second something in his eyes softened and he nodded, closing his fingers protectively around the tile.

"I won't." he said.

Korra took a deep breath.

"Okay." she replied, and turned to go.

She hadn't made it more than a couple steps down the alley before Mako asked, "Can I ask why?"

Korra paused, and looked over her shoulder, a crooked grin pulling on her lips as she considered him.

"You seem like you'll be needing that luck more than me," she stated.

And with a swish of her skirt she had turned onto the street and gone.