Whew, just introduced Mako and I already want him out of the way. Unfortunately, he's part of the plot so it can't be done. Don't get me wrong, I love Mako. I just don't like Masami.
Find me! Your Power is Limitless on Facebook under Pages.
...
Korra took her time in the courtyard practicing her airbending stances. She rotated around the yin-yang symbol as if she were up against an enemy, focusing on her breathing and movement. She heard footsteps coming up behind her, followed by a voice.
"I see Tarrlok's gifts are getting more and more extravagant." Tenzin said.
Korra sighed. "I take it you've seen the car, then. He should know I don't know how to drive anything other than a polar bear dog. He doesn't know how to take 'no' for an answer."
"Korra, are you... doing alright?" Tenzin asked.
"Yeah, why?" Korra said, dropping her arms and facing him.
Tenzin took a seat on the steps leading into the circle and patted the ground beside him. "Why don't you take a break?" Korra raised an eyebrow but approached the steps and sat next to him. "I'm glad you turned down Tarrlok, I just want to make sure your decision was for the right reason."
Korra's heart skipped a beat, but she brushed it off and kept her composure. "I'm just really focused on my airbending training is all."
"Right, that's what you said." Tenzin said. "You know, it's okay to be scared. The whole city is frightened by what's going on. The important thing is that we talk about our fears, because, if we don't, they can throw us out of balance."
"I'm not scared, Tenzin." Korra said, looking away. "I know you're concerned, but really. I'm fine." She hated to lie to him, but she was more scared of showing or telling that she was. To her, it was like she was openly inviting Amon in. It was bad enough that he was in her nightmares.
Tenzin sighed. "I'm always here for you, if you want to talk." He patted her shoulder and stood up, heading back to the temple.
Korra sulked before standing up and returning to her training.
~Evening~
Korra sat on the railing of the mansion attached to the temple, staring in the distance while Ikki and Jinora played Pai Sho nearby. She was deep in thought, mostly thinking about what she was gonna do about Amon if she couldn't learn airbending.
If he wins, you'll be failing a lot of those that are counting on you. she told herself.
The only thing that broke her thought process was the sound of approaching footsteps. She looked up to see the council page coming in her direction.
"I have something for you." he said when he noticed she was looking at him.
She gritted her teeth and jumped down, stomping the ground and spinning the earth beneath the page before he could reach her and kicking him away in his back.
"It doesn't matter how many gifts Tarrlok sends, I am not joining his task force!" Korra yelled, making Ikki and Jinora look up from their game.
"It's not a gift, it's an invitation." the page said. He turned back around and holds out a piece of paper in his hands.
"To what?" Korra questioned. She practically snatched the invitation from his hand and glared at it while she read.
"Tarrlok is throwing a gala in your honor." the page said, bowing slightly. "All of Republic City's movers and shakers will be there. The councilman humbly requests your presence."
Korra frowned, but looked up at him. "Tell him I'll be there." she instructed.
She didn't give him the chance to answer before she went inside to find Tenzin. She wanted to ask him to accompany her there. She didn't think it would be wise to go alone and be near someone who irritated the living spirits out of her.
Come to think of it, I'm the Avatar. Can I invite anyone? she thought as she passed by the phone. She looked at the invitation and the phone, biting her lip. "I don't think Bolin and Asami would mind a night out."
Korra walked up to the phone and picked up the receiver, bringing the sibling's number to memory and dialing it. Korra continued to stare at the slip of paper as if it had offended her in some way. Coming from Tarrlok, it probably had.
It took three rings for someone to answer. "Fire Ferret residence."
Korra laughed. "Hey, Asami."
"Oh, Korra! What's up?" Asami said.
"Well, Councilman Tarrlok is throwing a gala in my honor and I wanted to invite you and Bolin." Korra said. To her, the words sounded like they'd come out in one long breath. She always felt kind of nervous speaking to Asami.
"I know about it, we're going." Asami said.
"Wait, what?" Korra said. "How did you-"
"Hold that thought." Asami said, and Korra heard her call. "Bo, that's not how you tie a bow tie!" She sighed heavily and returned to the phone. "I gotta help my brother, I'll see you at the gala."
"Uh, okay yeah." Korra said. "See you."
She heard the dial tone and took the phone from her ear, hanging it back up and making a face. How did Asami and Bolin manage to get invited to the gala? Well, they were well known for their performances in the ring. Everyone loved them. Maybe that's why. Korra didn't know, and it bothered her.
Whatever the reason, it didn't matter. She went back to looking for Tenzin.
~At the Gala~
Tarrlok had really gone all out to try and change Korra's mind. He had a limo pick up her and the family to bring them to where the gala was being held. Once they got there, Korra was amazed at the huge banners of her hanging on the building. The second they walked in she was met with applause.
They kids took off and Pema wandered to socialize with the other party goers. Korra gazed around, stunned, before turning to Tenzin. "I can't believe this is all for me."
"I don't know what Tarrlok's plotting, but keep your guard up." Tenzin warned. "It's not like him to throw a party for the fun of it."
Korra nodded, only half listening as she stood on her toes and looked amongst the heads for Asami and Bolin. She couldn't lie to herself, she was really looking forward to seeing Asami in a dress.
"So glad you could make it, Avatar Korra." Tarrlok said as he walked up to her and Tenzin, drawing her attention away from the crowd. He said to Tenzin, "If you'd excuse us, the city awaits its hero." He placed a loose arm around Korra and led her away from the Airbending Master.
"Meelo, no! That's not a toilet!" she heard him yell and nearly laughed.
Tarrlok brought her up to a man with a parted mustache and a hair style that vaguely reminded her off Bolin's. She eyed him up and down, already picking up a rich atmosphere before Tarrlok spoke. "Korra, it is my pleasure to introduce you to Republic City's most famous industrialist, San Date."
"Nice to meet you." Korra said respectfully, offering the best smile she could muster.
San returned her smile and bowed. "We're expecting great things from you."
"Right," Korra said and her face fell. "great things."
"Korra!" a familiar voice called. Korra looked past San to see Asami coming up to her, which brought her smile back until she saw that the firebender wasn't alone. Her arm was hooked onto a taller boy with spikier hair and auburn eyes.
Shark brows. Korra dubbed him silently when she noticed his eyebrows.
The two came to a stop beside San and he gestured to the boy. "This is my son, Mako."
Great. Rich boy. So much for easy competition. Korra thought bitterly.
"It is an honor to meet you, Avatar Korra." Mako said. His smile was too genuine for her to handle. "Asami has told me a lot about you." That brought a blush to both girls' faces.
"Really?" Korra said. "Because she hasn't mentioned you at all. How did you two meet?"
"Mako ran into her with his motorcycle." Bolin said quietly, appearing behind Korra.
"What? Are you okay?" Korra asked.
"Relax, I'm fine." Asami giggled. "Better than fine, actually. Mr. Date has agreed to sponsor our team! We're back in the tournament!"
"Isn't that great?!" Bolin said excitedly. He threw his arms around his sister's shoulders.
"Yeah. Terrific." Korra said.
"Ah, Chief Beifong." Tarrlok said, spotting Lin as walked by. "I believe you and Avatar Korra have already met."
Lin turned and glared at Korra, speaking in a harsh tone, "Just because the city is throwing you this big to-do, don't think you're something special." She leaned forward slightly. "You've don't absolutely nothing to deserve this." With that, she walked off.
"What's her problem?" Asami asked, her eyes trailing after the Chief.
"No idea." Korra muttered. And, really, she preferred not to dwell on it any longer.
Tarrlok cleared his throat, interrupting them. "If you'd be so kind as to answer a few questions."
"But-" Korra started, only to be cut off by Tarrlok urging her forward. Korra looked back and met Asami's concerned gaze before she was covered by the swarming crowd.
Tarrlok brought her outside to the steps and Korra frowned at the sight of reporters standing at the bottom of them.
"Avatar Korra, you experienced Amon take away people's bending firsthand." the first one, a man in front, said. "How much of a threat does he pose to the innocent citizens of Republic City?"
What? "I... think he presents a real problem." Her sentence came out as confused as her thoughts.
"Then why have you refused to join Tarrlok's task force?" a woman asked. "As the Avatat, shouldn't you be going after Amon?"
Well, I-" Korra began.
"Are you backing away from the fight?" the same woman asked.
"What? No!" Korra said, irritated and offended. "I've never backed away from anything in my life!"
"You promised to serve this city, aren't you going on the promise now?" a third reporter asked.
"Do you think pro-bending is more important than fighting the revolution?"
"How do you think Avatar Aang would've handled this?"
"Are you afraid of Amon?"
If Korra wasn't already on the verge of breathing fire everywhere, the last question sure did the job. She clenched her fist and jabbed her thumb at her chest. "I am not afraid of anybody!" she yelled. "If the city needs me, then..." I can't believe I'm giving in. "I'll join Tarrlok's task force."
More questions rose from the reporters, but Korra had already gone back inside to the party. She was disappointed in herself for giving in to pressure. She was tempted to go find Tenzin, but she didn't want to waste the rest of night sulking into her room. She saw the nearest server and approached him, pointing at the glasses on the tray. "Do these have alcohol in them?"
"Yes, but-" the server began, but Korra halted him by taking the tray from his hands and walking away. At this point, she didn't care about being underage. If she was gonna force herself to have fun, she was gonna do it right.
~A while later~
Asami's gaze swept through the mass of people, hoping to find Korra. She hadn't seen the Avatar for some time and had grown worried that she'd grown upset and left. If that were true, though, then Tenzin and his family would've left as well. So... where was she?
"Bo." she said when her brother passed by.
"Oh, Asami! I was looking for you!" he said and holds out a tray with little snacks on toothpicks on it. "Have you tried these? They're amazing? I think they call them h'orderves-"
"Not now, I gotta ask you something." Asami interrupted.
"What is it?" Bolin asked, frowning when he noticed his sister's worried expression. "Did Mako try something?"
Asami smiled softly. "No, not that. Have you seen Korra? It's been a while since Tarrlok took her and I haven't seen her since."
"Oh. Well, I think I saw her heading to the balcony on the second floor." Bolin said.
Second floor balcony? Why there? Asami thought. "Thanks, I'll go look for her."
"No problem." Bolin said.
Asami walked away, easing her way by people and muttering 'sorry' and 'excuse me' as she went. Just as she was at the stairs, she felt someone take her wrist.
"There you are." Mako said, turning her around. "Where are you going?"
"I just gotta find Korra, I won't be too long." Asami promised.
Mako smiled and released her. "I understand. Just don't keep me waiting. You still owe me a dance."
Asami blushed and nodded, turning and hurrying up the steps. The building was like a maze as she wandered around looking for a balcony. It was about ten minutes before she found it, with Korra leaning against the rail and staring at the distant ocean.
"Korra?" Asami said as she walked up to her. "Are you okay?"
"I'm great, 'Sami." Korra said and Asami could pick up how slightly slurred her sentence was.
She's a little drunk. Nice. Asami rolled her eyes and stood next to Korra. "You don't sound like it."
"Shouldn't you be with Mr. Shark Brows?" The slipped nickname made Asami smile a bit.
"I came to check on you. You hadn't returned to the party that I could see, so I got kinda worried." the firebender admitted.
"Well, as you can see, I'm perfectly fine." Korra said harsher than she'd meant it. "So you can go back to having fun."
Asami frowned. "What happened with Tarrlok?"
Korra looked at her, her jaw set. She sighed heavily and looked back to water. "I agreed to join his task force under pressure."
"Pressure?"
"He brought me to these reporters who wouldn't stop asking me questions." Korra said. Her eyebrows furrowed together in annoyance. "'Am I backing away from the fight? Am I going back on my promise to serve the city? Am I afraid of Amon?'" She closed her eyes. "I caved."
"So your solution was to drink?" Asami teased lightly. She pointed at the empty tray by Korra's feet.
"There's barely any alcohol in them. It took four for me to get the slightest buzz." Korra said.
"How many did you drink in total?" Asami feared the answer.
Korra grimaced. "Uh, six? I don't know."
"Yep, you need to go home." Asami said. She grabbed Korra gently by the forearm and started pulling her away from the railing.
"Why? I thought you wanted me to have fun." Korra said.
"Now I want you to go home and get some rest." Asami said. "You're gonna have a killer hangover if you don't take care of yourself now."
Korra muddled over this for a few minutes as Asami brought her down the steps and back to the party. She eyed Asami's dress and said, "You look beautiful in that dress, by the way. It suits you."
Asami blushed darkly. "Thank you, as do you." Wait, what? She didn't look back to see Korra's slight grin.
She brought the young Avatar to Tenzin, requesting that he bring her home immediately. Naturally, he asked why and Asami gave a sort of truth ("She's not feeling well and she's really tired, I think she needs to get some sleep."). Tenzin thanked her for bringing Korra to him and rounded up his family to leave.
Asami watched them go, planning to visit Korra in the morning to make sure she was better.
...
Okay, so Korra was a little OOC with the drinking thing. I liked it, thought it would be funny. If it isn't, oh well. I just needed material to seperate the gala and the task force mission. That, and I realized I wasn't putting in enough of my own stuff.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading!