"-and in the final round, the Buzzard Wasps won with a decisive knockout." Korra says excitedly, lowering the newspaper she was reading to look at Tenzin. Hiccup was sitting beside her at the table, all three of them currently in the dining hall for breakfast. Air Acolytes were sat at other tables around them. "What do you say we go to the arena tonight, catch a few pro-bending matches?"
"That sport is a mockery of the noble tradition of bending." Tenzin replies sternly. Hiccup rolls his eyes.
"Dad, it's just a fun game for people to compete against each other using their skills. How is that a bending mockery?" he asks.
"Because it warps the nature of how bending has been a part of our culture! Turning it into... into a sport for glory!" he says, glaring over at Hiccup.
"Come on Tenzin. I've dreamed about seeing a pro-bending match since I was a kid, and now I'm just a ferry ride away from the arena." Korra says, trying to make her point. Tenzin shakes his head
"Korra, you're not here to watch that drivel, you're here to finish your Avatar training. So for the time being I want you to remain on the island," he tells her, and she develops an annoyed expression while Hiccup sighs. He knew having the compassionate Tenzin from yesterday wouldn't last long.
"Is that why you're keeping the White Lotus sentries around, watching my every move?" she asks in irritation, glancing around the room to where the sentries are standing at the door, eyes trained on them and the surrounding area. Hiccup raises an eyebrow at the sight.
"Wow," he says sarcastically.
"Yes. In order for you to learn airbending I believe you require a calm, and quiet environment, free from any distractions." Tenzin informs her seriously.
"Alright, well you're the master," she replies dejectedly.
"Seems a little bit of overkill to have sentries watching her every move all the time if you ask me," Hiccup comments, taking a sip of water.
"Yeah, well I'm used to it by now." Korra says, and he glances at her in surprise before throwing Tenzin a look, his eyebrow raised. Tenzin ignores him, continuing to eat while Korra stares out the window longingly.
Hiccup stood with Toothless by the Airbending gates, petting his head as he waited for the others to arrive. While doing so, he thought about Korra's situation, a little uncomfortable with the fact that she constantly is under surveillance. He understands that the Avatar needs to learn everything and be protected well, but in a sense she was basically in a form of prison as well, even though they were about as far from a prison as they could get. Toothless growls in concern and Hiccup sighs.
"I know bud, I feel the same," he says. A burst of wind suddenly blows his hair into his face and he brushes his hair back to glare down at Meelo and Ikki, who are chasing each other around the gates on their air scooters. Jinora is more composed, but is still following after her siblings. They arrived at the gates in seconds basically.
"Really?" Hiccup asks, irritation in his voice from the last of air, purposefully from Meelo.
"I will take down the Dragon Conquerer! Aahhh!" Meelo proclaims, rushing for Hiccup. He yelps and dives to the side, allowing Meelo to rush past him and slam into the gates. He isn't hurt there, just getting back up with a devious smirk on his face.
"Meelo, that's not nice," Jinora says, scolding her younger brother.
"Hey, the two of us are fighting for the title of Dragon Conquerer! I want it!" Meelo retorts, glaring up at her.
"Uh, no- no we're not." Hiccup deadpans, getting back on his feet. Meelo huffs, crossing his arms when Tenzin and Korra approach the gates.
"Korra's gonna Airbend, Korra's gonna Airbend!" Ikki yells excitedly.
Hiccup raises an eyebrow at Korra in Airbender clothing. Already he can tell the style doesn't really fit her at all, not in the physical sense but in her personality sense.
"What is that contraption?" Korra asks curiously.
"A time honored tool that teaches the most fundamental aspect of Airbending." Tenzin explains, turning to the kids. "Jinora, would you like to explain this exercise?"
"The goal is to weave your way through the gates and make it to the other side without touching them," she responds with a smile on her face.
"Seems easy enough." Korra says with a grin.
Hiccup coughs into his hand to get their attention. "You have to get through the gates while they're spinning at high speeds," he adds.
Tenzin moves forward, gathering ball of air in his hands before thrusting it forward, creating a gust of wind to turn all the gates quickly. He then pulls out a leaf and lets it float into the gates, where it passes by them with ease.
"The key is to be like the leaf. Flow with the movement of the gates. Jinora will demonstrate." Tenzin says.
Jinora takes her stance and the heads into the spinning gates, weaving through and around them with elegant turns as Tenzin continues his instruction.
"Airbending is all about spiral movements. When you meet resistance, you must be able to switch directions at a moments notice," he continues.
Jinora exits the spinning gates on the other side and hen sends a burst of air through them, bringing them back to top speed again. Korra's face is set into eager determination as she prepares to rush forwards.
"Let's do this!" she says, rushing straight at the gates.
Hiccup sighs, and watches alongside the others as Korra runs into the gates without any stance or preparation. Almost immediately she slams headfirst into one gate, and then is bounced off into another. Hiccup winces as she bounces into the gates, eventually being tossed back out on her backside. Toothless watches curiously, ear flaps perked up in amusement. Tenzin and Jinora are impassive, while Meelo is smiling and Ikki is gaping in horror
With a fierce expression, Korra gets back up angrily and charges at the gates again, doing nothing different from her first attempt. She slams into the gates over and over again, almost like a carnival game. Seeing this, the kids try to be encouraging.
"Don't force your way through!" Jinora shouts.
"Dance! Dance like the wind!" Ikki exclaims.
"Be the leaf!" Meelo says, waving his arms around.
"Don't charge head on, evade and move around the gates!" Hiccup offers helpfully.
Unfortunately none of their words reach her as she continues to slam into every gate available, before being tossed back out to the ground. She flops onto her back with a groan, and Tenzin sighs in exasperation, while Hiccup shakes his head. Toothless barks out a laugh of amusement at the sight.
"Hiccup, would be so kind as to provide another demonstration?" Tenzin asks as Korra slowly gets up.
With a shrug, he walks forwards to the gates, and gestures to them. Tenzin blows another gust of air into the gates, bringing them back up to speed. Hiccup takes a breath before moving forwards, weaving through the gates skillfully. He may not have been an airbender, but he grew up with a family of them, which influenced his growth into learning air bending styles of martial arts as a substitute for being a non bender. A few moments later, he exits on the other side of the gates flawlessly, although he nicked a couple of the gates with his foot.
Ikki claps her hands excitedly, while Korra gapes in stunned surprise. Toothless lets out an excited warble in response to the demonstration, while Hiccup smiles sheepishly.
"It's better to weave around the gates, not charge head on through them," he advises. Korra nods mutely, looking a little thoughtful. Slightly.
The next day, Tenzin, Korra and the kids were sitting up at the meditation platform on the cliffside, focusing on, well, meditation. Since Hiccup wasn't an Airbender himself, and had a few other things to do that day, he was exempt from it. Right now he was sitting at his desk in the small workshop on the other side of the house, staring at a small blanket in his hands. It was the same blanket that he arrived in, which had his name written, and the symbol beside it, which was most likely a family crest or something.
He was contemplating what to do with it. When his parents told him that he was adopted, he was surprise and a little hurt, but quickly got over it, knowing they didn't care for him any less. And now that he had Toothless, he was happy as could be. In two months or so he was considering a flight plan to see if he could find his birth home, if only to know where he came from.
Putting the blanket aside, he returned his focus to the saddle in front of him, which he was improving upon. Toothless was chrrrntly soaring through the air around Oogi, in a form of play so he decided to make some adjustments. After about 30 minutes of work he had made the saddle slimmer, yet more durable and comfortable to sit in, with hooks to clasp himself into whenever doing more serious acrobatics moves in the sky. He may not be an Airbender, but he and Toothless could share the same delights his younger siblings were able to enjoy with their own gliders, which was fun. Not even an Airbender could beat Toothless in a race of speed yet.
Satisfied, he left the workshop and headed up to the meditation circle, where Tenzin and the kids still were at, but no Korra. What a surprise.
Hiccup raises an eyebrow at Meelo passed out on the floor, but shook his head, not bothering to ask.
"Hey dad, I'm gonna head over to Asami's place in a few minutes," he said.
Tenzin sighed before nodding his head. "Very well. But be back at the appropriate time," he responded sternly.
"Can I come?!" Ikki asks eagerly.
"No," Tenzin and Hiccup both said in unison. She pouts in disappointment.
Satisfied, Hiccup walked back over in the direction of the house, where Toothless and Oogi were still flying around.
"Oh Toothless!" he calls out.
Toothless stops flying around Oogi and rushes over to Hiccup, landing next to him with a curious expression on his face.
"Want to go visit Asami in a few minutes?" Hiccup asks.
Toothless immediately perks up and shows off his happy, gummy smile. He bounces around Hiccup excitedly, who laughs at his reaction and heads over to the workshop. "I'll take that as a yes."
Entering the room, he picked up the saddle and slung it across Toothless, strapping it in place, all the while trying to keep Toothless still while doing it. With that settled, the two walked out of the room and he got onto Toothless's back, clipping the hooks into place to keep himself secure. Once that was done, Toothless unfurled his wings and leapt into the air, steadily gaining height as they headed in the direction of the Sato estate. It took a few minutes to get there, as the mansion was around the outskirts of the tall buildings, surrounded by its own property, and they also had to avoid the airspace that was in the police airship's zone, for legal and safety reasons.
Eventually, Hiccup guided Toothless down towards the small grassy courtyard, and landed there. Having seen Hiccup approaching from a distance, Asami was already striding out, waving at him.
"Hey Hiccup!" she called out.
"Hey," he called back, dismounting from the saddle. They gave each other a quick hug before Asami put Toothless on the head, who was almost shaking in excitement.
"It's good to see you too Toothless," she says in amusement, as Toothless rolled onto his back with his paws in the air. Hiccup rolled his eyes as she rubbed his belly, exasperated with his dragon.
"Spoiled lizard," he remarks.
"Well, he's adorable, you have to admit." Asami retorts with a grin.
The two then headed for the house, Toothless trailing along behind them, occasionally sniffing at different things.
"I heard the Avatar arrived in Republic City today. Is she staying with you guys?" she asks curiously. Hiccup nods.
"Yeah, she's learning to airbend with dad, although it's a little chaotic," he replies.
"Hiccup, I've known you long enough to know that 'a little' means a lot." Asami deadpans.
Hiccup rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. "Alright, she has no idea how to airbend."
"Really? Not a single puff?" she asks in surprise.
"Nope," he says, shaking his head. "Not one. Her entire personality is everything opposite to an airbender, which means she has never been able to airbend in her entire life. She can't even get through the Airbending Gates!"
"Wow. Never expected that," she admits honestly.
"Yeah, well, everyone starts somewhere." Hiccup replies with a shrug.
"So do you like her?" Asami asks out of the blue, and Hiccup turns his head sharply to her in confusion.
"Huh?"
"I said, do you like her?" she repeats with a grin.
"Well, yeah, sure. We're friends with each other," he replies.
Asami rolls her eyes in exasperation. "Fine, let me rephrase that. Are you two a couple? Girlfriend and boyfriend?"
"W-what?! No! What made you think that?! We've only known each other for a few days!" Hiccup exclaims in denial. "Anyways, enough about my personal life, how about you guys? How's your dad doing?" he asks, quickly changing the subject.
"Oh he's alright. Business is going smoothly right now, although tensions are running a little bit high," she informs him. Hiccup sighs.
"Because of the Equalist movement?" he asks, and she nods her head. "Yeah. It's gotten people in the work force divided lately, making it harder to get the production lines moving."
"I think the Equalists have the right idea, and I get that there are benders who like to abuse their power, but that's mostly just the criminal gangs." Hiccup says in annoyance. "The majority of the bending community doesn't have a problem with non benders. Heck, I'm living with an airbending family for spirits sake!"
Asami nods in agreement. "I feel the same. They paint bending as a disease when it's something that has been a part of the worlds culture for all of history. My father's influence as the city's most famous industrialist, and being a non bender certainly helps some, but it isn't enough," she says sadly. Hiccup pats her on the shoulder comfortingly. Toothless nudges his head in between them, sensing the sadness from the two, and they both smile at the dragon as he looks up at them with his gummy smile.
"Is this a new saddle?" Asami asks in sudden interest, inspecting it with her hands.
"Yeah, made it earlier today. Supposed to be lighter material, and more comfortable for both Toothless and me," he says proudly.
"This design is amazing! Not even my dad would have thought of blending these materials together!" she says in awe.
Hiccup shrugs nonchalantly. "Well to be fair, it's not like there's any dragons for him to make saddles for. He's better with vehicles and little gadgets anyways."
"Well with your creativity, you'd definitely make some pretty cool gadgets that could rival dad's," Asami says sincerely. He rubs his neck with a small blush of embarrassment. "Thanks," he says sheepishly.
During their talk, the three had entered the mansion by now, walking through the large hallway of the main floor to the back, when Hiroshi Sato himself walked around the corner on the way to his office. He stopped in surprise upon seeing him, before a kindly smile develops on his face.
"Hiccup, what a pleasant surprise. It's good to see you again," he says.
"It's good to see you to Mr. Sato." Hiccup responds politely. Hiroshi waves his hand in dismissal.
"Enough of that formal talk already. You and my daughter have been friends for years. Please just call me Hiroshi," he tells him.
"Of course, Hiroshi." Hiccup replies with a small smile. Toothless moves forward and sniffs Hiroshi for a moment before looking away, sneezing.
Hiccup's face turns slightly red in embarrassment. "Guess he doesn't like the suit..." he mutters, causing Asami and Hiroshi to laugh in amusement.
"Oh it's perfectly fine Hiccup. I wouldn't expect many creatures to enjoy scents more suited for people," he responds. "Well, I've got more work to get on. I'll see you another time again Hiccup," he says, walking away. "Have fun you two!"
"See you later then." Hiccup says.
Once he was out of sight, Asami grins at him and starts to pull him towards the workshop. "Come on! Let's go make some stuff! I'd love to see what kind of things you've thought up recently," she says eagerly. Toothless trots along beside them as they head to the shop, sharing inventive ideas or chatting it up as friends.
Later that night, Hiccup and Toothless were flying back to the island when he decided to stop by the Pro-bending arena for a couple minutes, just to check the place out. tenzin of course would frown on this activity, but to be technical, he was old enough to handle himself in a public event and didn't have anything to keep him from going, without airbending practice or other kind of work. Landing on a side area, he and toothless walked into the arena through one of the side entrances, not willing to go through the main one for obvious reasons (Toothless haha). Toothless squirmed through the door before finally getting into the hallway, being small enough that he didn't take up too much space.
Using his beforehand knowledge of the different levels of the Pro-bending arena, he led Toothless to one of the more private booths to watch from. One of the arena guards took notice of him in the hallways, moving to stop him before realizing who he was. Smiling slightly at him in acknowledgement, Hiccup continued onwards. Toothless then pulls on his arm to get his attention, and gestures down the hallway to their right.
"What is it bud?" he asks in confusion. Toothless gestures again, so he looks down the hallway before gaping in shock.
Walking towards another room with one of the pro-bending players, was none other than Korra. Hiccup smacked his face with a groan while Toothless let out a quiet laugh before they rushed over to them.
"Dad's going to be upset about this," he mutters to himself.
Before Korra and the pro-bender enter the room they were headed for, Hiccup and Toothless catch up behind them, and he takes the moment to let his presence be known.
"I'm going to assume that dad doesn't know you're here," he tells Korra, leaning against the wall with a smirk on his face.
Korra freezes, eyes wide in shock while the pro-bender turns around, before yelping in surprise at the sight of Toothless, who is perched on his haunches. Korra slowly turns around, a guilty smile on her face as she laughs nervously.
"Heh heh, hey... Hiccup," she says slowly.
"Well hello to you as well Korra. Fancy surprise meeting you here," he comments with a smirk.
Before Korra can reply, the pro-bender beside her rushes forwards, looking at hiccup and Toothless in shock and awe.
"Oh my gosh... it's Hiccup and his dragon! Oooohh man!" he exclaims in excitement. Hiccup raises an eye at him, looking over at Korra who shrugs.
"I never thought I'd meet a member of the airbending family!" he practically squeals, going full fan boy.
"And.. you are?" he asks.
"Um, Bolin, yes! I'm Bolin, and this is a friend I just picked up!" Bolin says quickly, moving to get a closer look at Toothless, who eyes him warily. "Could I... uh... nice dragon?" he asks timidly.
Hiccup rolls his eyes. "Well it's nice to meet you. I'm Hiccup, as you already know, and don't you have a game starting soon?" he says.
Bolin's eyes light up in realization and he nods quickly. "Oh yeah! I do! I was just going to show my friend here a really good spot to watch-"
"We know each other." Hiccup and Korra say in unison, surprising Bolin before he nods quickly. "Oh right, well right this way!"
Bolin then heads quickly to the door, preparing his sports gear as the others follow after them. All the while Korra is looking anywhere but Hiccup, who is still glancing over at her with a raised eyebrow.
Bolin opens the door, allowing Korra and Hiccup to enter, before backing up as Toothless squeezes his way into the room, looking around curiously. He moves to investigate some of the equipment before Hiccup holds him back.
"Toothless, no," he scolds gently, and Toothless huffs before laying down on the floor beside one of the empty walls.
"So what do you think? Best seats in the house huh?" Bolin asks, returning his focus to Korra, who forgets Hiccup for a second to looks around in awe and eagerness.
"Whoa! Unbelievable! This place is even more amazing than I thought!" she says excitedly, looking out at the arena. "I'm Korra by the way."
Hiccup walks up to stand beside Korra at the railing when two more pro-benders enter the room, one of which wearing an expression of annoyance at seeing the extra people in the box. That quickly turns to shock for both of the newer guys when they notice Toothless laying against the wall.
"Uhh..." one of them says in confusion.
"Oh don't mind him, we won't be here for much longer." Hiccup tells them. Eyes alight in recognition of who he is, they stare at him for a moment before refocusing on the task at hand, one of them focusing on Bolin. He whispers at him to call Bolin over, and once he does that, Hiccup sidles up next to Korra, who remembers that he is here with her.
"So, does dad know about this?" he asks.
"Please don't tell him I'm here ok?" Korra pleads desperately with him. Hiccup thinks for a moment before shrugging.
"Ok," he says simply.
"I know I was wrong to sneak out- wait, what?" she suddenly stops, surprised and confused. "You... don't, mind at all?"
"Why would I? I don't see the harm in watching a pro-bending match." Hiccup answers honestly. "I get the reasons of why my dad doesn't want you watching it, but with you I can tell it won't work. Action is something that you enjoy, so I think viewing a game would relieve some of the stress you've been feeling."
"Oh, well... thanks, I guess," she responds gratefully, a small blush on her face.
Bolin suddenly waltzes up to them with a large grin. "Hey guys, come here! I want you to meet my brother, Mako!" he said, guiding them over excitedly.
Korra smiles eagerly in recognition. "Mako? Wow, I heard you play on the radio!" she said, holding out her hand for a hand shake.
"Come on Bolin, we're up." Mako said, grabbing his helmet. He stopped to give Hiccup a slight bow in respect of who he was before continuing towards the arena with his teammate, Hasook. Korra glares slightly at his retreating form in annoyance.
"Or, I could meet him later," she says in irritation.
"Sorry about that, my brother just gets real... focused before the match." Bolin says in defense for his brother. "Okay, I've gotta go. Wish me luck. Not that I'll need it!" he says, rushing up with the other two.
"Good luck! Knock em out!" Korra cheers with a laugh.
"This should be interesting to watch." Hiccup comments, leaning against the railing.
"Have you never seen a match before either?" Korra asks him.
Hiccup looks over at her with a raised eyebrow in an 'are you stupid' look and she widens her eyes in realization, laughing sheepishly. "Oh yeah, your dad is Tenzin. No offense but he seems like a control freak!" she says honestly.
"Eh, he could be a lot worse," he replies.
Both teams walk out onto the arena as the ring announcer comes up. "Introducing, the Fire Ferrets!" he cries out dramatically. They all wave to the crowd, and some girls even scream for Bolin, making Hiccup snort in muffled laughter.
"The rookie Ferrets came from out of nowhere and made it further than anyone expected this season." The box announcer informs the crowd. "But tonight, they face their toughest test yet folks."
Both teams stand in a line in the middle of the arena, getting into their bending stances as the referee raises his arm. He then blows the whistle, signaling the start of the match and both times immediately leap into action, throwing their own elements at each other. Each team consists of three players; a waterbender, a firebender, and an earthbender. Scattered in the arena are water pools and earth disks to be used, with the firebenders being able to create their own ammunition.
"And their off! The two teams waste no time trying to blast each other out of zone one," the commentator says, giving the run down of the fight. "Hasook is the first to feel the heat of the Tigerdillos. He tries to return the favor but they're too fast for him. While Mako showcases his trademark cool-under-fire style."
Hiccup analyses the tactics used thoughtfully, noticing how the style of bending appears more modern and fast-paced, unlike the more traditional ways that the White Lotus has used from what he's seen. Mako certainly has his style showing with practiced ease, his arms held tight at his sides in a boxers stance to make himself a smaller target, while also allowing for quick jabs of flame against his opponents. However Hasook and Bolin are suddenly knocked back past the line into the second zone.
"The Tigerdillos score with a walloping one-two combo," the commentator continues to say. Korra holds her head in distress, rooting for the Fire Ferrets. "Can their teammate hold on for their zone one territory?"
Mako does his best to evade the attacks thrown at him, managing to jump over many before being hit with a surprise earth disk. He lands on his feet, which Hiccup admits is impressive, but the force of the disk unfortunately pushes him just past the line.
"Guess not; Mako's over the line. The Tigerdillos get the green light and advance into Ferret territory."
"Come on Ferrets!" Korra yells, pumping her fist in the air. Hiccup doesn't say anything, being more of the quiet type, most likely from growing up with Air Nomads... although that argument is irrelevant when compared to Jinora, Ikki and Meelo, mostly the latter two. Hasook is then knocked back far by an earth disk he was unable to avoid. Hiccup winces slightly. That had to be a little painful.
"Look's like Hasook's in trouble. He's in zone three teetering over the brink." Another round of attacks is launched at the Ferrets, and Hasook is unable to avoid them, being knocked into the water below. "And Hasook takes a dip. He'll be back for round two- assuming the fabulous bending brothers can hold their ground until the next round."
With that, Mako and Bolin are pushed back into their final zone when the buzzer sounds, signifying the end of the first round.
"Round one goes to the Golden Temple Tigerdillos!"
"Come on, come on!" Korra says worriedly.
"It's only the first round, they've got more opportunities to make it back up," Hiccup reminds her. The bell then rings to start the next round, and the Tigerdillos immediately go on the offensive, quickly pushing the Ferrets into zone two.
"The Fire Ferrets are knocked into zone two and the Tigerdillos advance."
However the Ferrets start to gain more ground, effectively defending an assault before retaliating with their own strikes. The Tigerdillos are unable to keep up with the fast attacks sent their way by the Ferrets, and are efficiently pushed back into the third zone by the time the bell rings. "The Fire Ferrets cinch the round in the closing seconds."
The bell rings again once both teams are lined back up in the first zone, signaling the start of the final round. "It's one a piece. Still anyone's match as we go into the third and final round."
Things start to go South when the Tigerdillos target Hasook, who does his best to dodge the attacks, but is then hit by a burst of water, knocking him into Bolin, and they fall to the floor.
"Hasook stumbles, and now he tumbles right into his teammate." Bolin and Hasook look up in a panic as the Tigerdillo earthbender kicks up an earth disk and sends it in their direction, knocking both players out of the ring, leaving just Mako. "He and Bolin better untangle quick if they don't wanna- oh, too late."
"Oh no!" Korra exclaims, clasping her face worriedly.
Hiccup leans forward, invested in the match. "This doesn't look too good for Mako," he comments.
"It's all up to Mako now. He's bobbing and weaving, he's weaving and bobbing, but he's not hitting back. If Mako's knocked out the Ferretsà fabulous season is over."
Hiccup watches Mako evading the attacks from all three benders, and he had to admit he was impressed. He was pretty sure he would be able to evade a majority of the attacks himself, having grown up with air bender teachings, but Mako had similar skills as well. Either he somehow has gained some form of practice from airbending or its his own, personalized style of fire combat.
Korra pulls on her hair with a strained expression. "Ooooohhhh!" she makes a strained noise, causing Hiccup to look at her with a smirk.
"You feeling alright there Korra?" he asks teasingly. She holds a hand in his face without looking, and he pulls his head back in surprise before rolling his eyes in amusement.
The commentator continues to narrate the entire game. "He is dancing on the edge of the ring, surviving the three on one barrage. It seems his plan is to let the Tigerdillos punch themselves out. And his plan is working! Hahn is in the pool, they've got nothing left in the tank and Mako is on the offensive! It's two on one! Scratch that it's one on one, and it's an earth and fire 's so much smoke and dust from the fire fight I can't even see where the Fire Ferret is. It's a knockout! What a wingdinger of a hat trick, folks! Mako pulls off the upset of the season, winning the match for the Fire Ferrets!"
With the match finished, Korra throws her hand into the air and starts cheering.
"Woo hoo! Awesome!" she shouts gleefully.
Hiccup claps his hands with a smile on his face at how well Mako pulled it off. As Bolin and the Fire Ferrets approach, Korra suddenly grabs Hiccup in a victorious hug and spins them both around in joy at the victory. He yelps in surprise before she puts him back down, a small blush on her face while Toothless laughs, and Hiccup laughs nervously as well.
"Woohoo, yes! One more win and we're in the championship tournament. So what'd you think you guys? Bolin's got some moves, huh?" Bolin asks with a smirk.
Korra grabs him roughly in her excitement. "What did I think? What did I think? That was amazing!" she exclaims, shoving him away as he stumbles, surprised at her strength. Hiccup laughs at Bolin's bewildered expression.
"Yeah, she's a lot stronger than she looks," he says with a grin. Korra turns to him with a small frown.
"What do you mean by that?" she demands.
Hiccup coughs into his hand. "Well to be fair, who would've expected you to be able to lift five people in the air effortlessly?" he asks, and she looks u thoughtfully before shrugging in agreement.
"Fair point," she admits. During this chat, Hasook had stormed out of the room, causing Toothless to lift his head and watch him go curiously, before returning his head to the floor.
"You guys were incredible out there. Especially you, Mr. Hat Trick," Korra says excitedly.
Mako just walks by her in annoyance. "Oh, you're still here?" he asks.
"Oh you're still a jerk?" she retorts, irritated with his attitude herself.
Hiccup laughs at the comeback while Bolin "oohh's" with a grin.
"Anyway," she says, turning back to Bolin. "I've been immersed in Bending my entire life but I never learned how to move like that. It's like there's a whole new style here. Think you could show me a few tricks?"
"Absolutely!" Bolin says happily.
"Traditional vs modern bending, wonder how this will play out." Hiccup muses.
"Really Bolin? Right now?" Mako asks in exasperation.
"Just ignore him." Bolin tells the pair. "Yeah, I could show you the basics. I'm just not sure how my Earthbending would translate to your Waterbending. But we'll figure it out."
Hiccup smiles knowingly at Korra, crossing his arms while she does the same, a confident smirk on her face. "No problem. I'm, actually an earthbender," she replies.
Bolin stares in surprise for a few moments before hastily responding. "I'm sorry, no, no. I didn't mean to assume. Cause I, ya know, I was just figuring, with your Water Tribe getup... that you are... a water tribe... gal," he says with narrowed eyes, a little embarrassed at his mistake.
"Oh here it comes!" Hiccup says, flailing his arms in the air as he turns away for a moment, Korra's smirk becoming more smug.
"No, you're right. I'm a waterbender. And a firebender," she tells him.
Bolin's hand is on his chin, eyes narrowed as he hums in confusion. "I'm very confused right now."
Mako lifts his head in realization. "You're the Avatar, and I'm an idiot," he sighs.
Hiccup chuckles. "Yep, you got that right."
"Both, are true." Korra adds with a smile.
"No... way," Bolin says dramatically, in sheer awe of this. He turns aside to Mako and points at Korra, who continues to smile confidently at him. "That, Avatar!" he whispers excitedly.
A few minutes later the group was in the training room of the arena, set up in front of some nets with a few earth disks. Toothless was curled up on the side, Hiccup leaning against his flank while Mako was leaning against the wall, watching.
"Alright, let's see what you got." Bolin says.
Korra strikes a traditional, strong earthbender pose, legs spread out wide and throws two disks at the net with precision and power behind them.
"That was great. Good power. But in a real match you'd be a sitting turtle duck." Bolin informs her, and she frowns. "Not so upright and flat footed. Stay light on your toes, right up until the moment when you need to dig in and strike. Then..."
Bolin takes a boxer stands, jumping on his feet and gives two punches. Two disks of earth get thrown forwards with a slight curve into the net, quickly and efficiently. Korra gapes in shock while Hiccup observes with a thoughtful expression. Certainly a better form if your an earthbender facing a fast opponent, thats for sure.
"Ok, let me try it again," she says determinedly, copying Bolin's stance movement for movement. She then swings out two fast punches, sending two earth disks at the net in the same manner as Bolin.
"Wow! You're a natural at this! Nice adjustment!" he exclaims in pleasant surprise.
"Definitely see why the White Lotus say you've excelled in the physical sense of bending." Hiccup comments with a smile.
"Not bad," is all Mako says.
"What's it take to impress this guy?" she asks Bolin.
What? I said not bad." Mako says defensively.
Korra eyes him with a quizzical expression and he sighs, heading out.
"You know what, it's getting late. I think I'm gonna turn in. You kids have to meet you, "Avatar Korra."
"Yeah, been a real pleasure." Korra says sarcastically.
"See you upstairs bro."
"Upstairs? You two live here?" Hiccup asks.
"Yup. In the attic. It's nothing fancy, but we have some great views. So, back to bending, why don't you throw that combo one more time?" Bolin says, and she happily complies, sending a few more disks at the net, grinning in excitement.
Hiccup takes a look outside, then to the clock nearby and frowns, getting up. "Speaking of lateness, it's probably time to head back to the island Korra," he says, smacking Toothless on the head to get him to wake up.
Korra frowns at him in disappointment. "Right now? Can't we stay for a little bit longer?" she pleads with him.
Hiccup shakes his head. "No. Unless you want dad to blow a tornado all over you when he realizes we aren't in bed by curfew," he tells her with a raised eyebrow as Toothless yawns behind him.
Korra's eyes widen in alarm before she quickly nods in agreement. "On second though, heading back is probably the better idea. See you later Bolin. Nice meeting you!" she says, rushing over to Hiccup and Toothless.
"Oh yeah, it was fun! Bye!" Bolin replies with a wave, heading for the attic.
"Alright, so see you back at the island?" Korra tells Hiccup.
"You know what, how about a ride on Toothless?" he suggests. Korra raises an eyebrow at him while Toothless looks up in excitement.
"Uh, flying? I did get here on my own you know," she tells him.
"Oh come on, it'll be fun! You get to achieve the wonderful sensation of flight, and the thrill of riding on dragon back." Hiccup says. "Think of it as a way to see how it'll feel to be an airbender, gliding through the skies."
Korra looks at the saddle on Toothless nervously. "I don't know..." she replies hesitantly.
Seeing the first approach didn't work, Hiccup changed tactics, going for something that he knew would get Korra to do it.
"Unless the almighty Avatar is too afraid to fly on a dragon," he says with a sly grin, getting under her skin.
It works instantly as her face hardens in determination at the obvious challenge and threat to her pride.
"Alright, fine. Let's do this!" she said, walking forwards. Hiccup grins triumphantly, and Toothless nudges Korra happily, giving her a lick.
"Ah! No Toothles, no licking!" she protests, holding his head back. He whines but relents, and Hiccup chuckles as he swings into the saddle. Korra then climbs on behind him as Hiccup clips himself in.
"So, how does this work?" she asks him.
"Well, hold on tight. Clip yourself in with these," he says, gesturing to the spare hooks on the side. She does so, attaching them to the furs around her waist as Toothless unfurls his wings.
"And here we go," he says. Toothless takes off and flies through the open window rather quickly into the night sky. Korra yelps and wraps her arms tightly around Hiccup's waist to steady herself, although squeezing a little too hard for his liking.
"Korra... not so tight," Hiccup manages to say, grimacing in discomfort. Seeing his plight, she lessens her hold, blushing a little bit. "Oh right, sorry," she says sheepishly.
Toothless flies fast through the air in the direction of the Air Temple, and Korra gets her first ariel view of the city at night.
"Wow, it looks so amazing from up here," she says in awe. Hiccup nods in agreement.
"Yeah, the views are definitely a part of why flying is so epic," he tells her, a small blush on his face as well when she places her chin on his shoulder to get a better look of the Air Temple, city, and statue of Aang. They soar through the air for a minute on their way to the Temple before finally coming to a stop, landing in the main courtyard of the Air Temple. They unclip themselves from the saddle and hop off.
"Thanks for the ride Hiccup, that was pretty fun," she admits with a smile. Toothless warbles at her and she laughs. "And you as well Toothless," she tells him, petting his snout.
Satisfied, Toothless throws Hiccup a smug grin, who stares back at him with a raised eyebrow. "Well what are you looking at?"
"Jealous?" Korra teases him. Hiccup sighs at the jab. "Of course not!" he protests.
"Alright, week, maybe we could do that again some other time? Or I could bring you on a ride with Naga?" she offers him.
Hiccup smiles at her. "Yeah, that'd be fun," he says.
The two stare at each other for a few seconds before Tenzin's voice rings across the courtyard. "Korra! There you are, where have you been recently?" he demands, striding up to them.
"Oh, hey Tenzin! I've been here, just out of sight," she says hopefully. Tenzin stares her down.
"Then why would you have come in with Hiccup when he was out visiting a friend?" he questions suspiciously. Korra stammers, attempting to come up with an answer when Hiccup cuts her off.
"I got back a few minutes ago dad, and offered Korra a ride on Toothless for a little bit," he lies smoothly. Tenzin narrows his eyes at the two of them suspiciously before sighing.
"Alright then. But it's late out, just past curfew," he reminds them sternly. Hiccup nods un understanding.
"Don't worry dad, I got it'll. Just let me put away Toothless's things and we'll be in the house in no time." Hiccup tells him.
Satisfied, Tenzin walks of, heading back to the house to prepare himself for bed as well. Korra breathes out a sigh of relief once he's out of earshot, turning to Hiccup. "I can't believe you straight up lied to him! I thought we were dead!" she says.
"Well, I may live with a family of Air Nomads, but certaincard games with Jinora have taught me how to lie fairly well when it comes to that game type," he tells her.
She shakes her head with a smile. "You sir, are a master of surprises."
Hiccup stood beside Tenzin and his siblings, a disgruntled expression on his face as he crossed his arms and covered his face with a sigh. Tenzin was more reserved, but equally as frustrated. Korra still couldn't seem to get through the gates at all, constantly slamming into them. Speaking of which, she got back on her feet with an angry expression, charging at said gates again. SHe ran through two of them before getting instantly smacked around again and again.
"Patience Korra." Tenzin calls out.
She continues to slam into the gates, falling to the ground inside. Her rage then reaches its peak, as she begins to blast fire at all of the gates, destroying them with punches and kicks, ripping them apart from the inside.
The Airbending family stands there in a mixture of shock and horror, gaping at her as the gates are completely ruined. Korra is standing in the middle of the wreckage, panting in exhaustion and rage before calming down slightly.
"Guess she needs a knew way to learn..." Hiccup thinks to himself quietly.
"That was a two thousand year old historical treasure..." Tenzin says in horror, which quickly turns to rage. "What- what is wrong with you!?" he exclaims furiously in a rare moment of anger.
"There's nothing wrong with me. I've been practicing just like you taught me, but it isn't sinking in, okay? It hasn't clicked like you said it would!" Korra says angrily, stalking forwards.
"Korra, this isn't something you can force. If you would only listen to me-" Tenzin starts to say when she interrupts him.
"I have been!" she screams furiously. "But you know what I think? Maybe the problem isn't me. Maybe the reason I haven't learned Airbending yet is because you're a terrible teacher!"
Korra stalks off the area furiously, and Hiccup watches her go with a still stunned look on his face before letting out a sigh. It's probably best if he talks to her sometime. Unfortunately Meelo doesn't understand the gravity of the situation and makes it even worse.
"Yeah you're a terrible teacher daddy!" he yells excitedly. He picks up a few bits of charred wood and starts kicking it around with a gleeful scream, and Jinora and Ikki give Tenzin a hug as he looks down in defeat.
"I'll try and talk to her dad, after she calms down." Hiccup says.
With a sigh, Tenzin nods. "Alright," he decides.
Sitting at the dinner table, everyone was accounted for except for Korra, who still hadn't appeared back yet. Pema came over with a tray of food in her hands.
"Ok, everyone here?" she asks before noticing the missing person. "Wait, where's Korra?"
"Still blowing off some steam probably." Hiccup says.
Tenzin puts his hand on his head in frustration. "Honestly Pema, I am at my wits end with that girl. I don't know how to get through to her!"
Pema sits down and puts an arm around Tenzin's shoulders. "Dear, the best thing you can do right now is to give Korra some space," she suggests. Tenzin then looks up quickly at Jinora, Ikki and Meelo, the latter of which is reading a book.
"You three must promise me that your teenage years won't be like this!" he pleads.
None of them respond, although Jinora looks up from her book with lidded eyes. "I will make no such promises," she deadpans, returning to her book. Hiccup chuckles in amusement while Tenzin sighs in frustration.
"Look dad, I've spent some time with Korra, and I think a different approach to this is what she needs. Your method of teaching is obviously not working." Hiccup says while Tenzin listens. "She's no Air Nomad obviously, so I think the best way to teach her is change methods. She responds a lot more eagerly to the thrill and excitement of a fight, so that's probably a better course of action."
"Are you saying my teachings aren't adequate?" Tenzin demands, and Hiccup nods his head, much to his surprise.
"Yup. It's not that they're wrong, it'a just that you're trying to teach her the way Air Nomads are taught, which doesn't work well with her at all," he points out. Tenzin frowns thoughtfully for a moment.
"I'll think about it," he finally decides.
After dinner, Hiccup and Tenzin were searching for Korra around the island, in the hopes of discussing how they were going to go about teaching her how to learn airbending. However they couldn't find her, and Tenzin was starting to get frustrated while Hiccup bit his lower lip nervously, dreading the possibility of where she may be right now. They approached a group of White Lotus guards who were listening to the radio.
"Pardon me everyone, but have you seen Korra this evening? She's not in her room." Tenzin asks.
One of the guards is in the middle of taking a sip of water from his cup while the radio spoke.
"You've gotta be kidding me, she's the Avatar folks, playing in a Pro-bending match! Can you believe that?!" the probending commentator says in surprise.
The Lotus guard spits out a mouthful of water in shock as they all gape at the radio in surprise. Tenzin's eye twitches as his face goes red in anger and Hiccup facepalms in horror with a groan.
"Oh no..." he muttered.
"I'll get her myself!" Tenzin proclaims furiously before whirling on Hiccup. "You knew about this didn't you!" he accused with a glare.
"Uh, no- no I didn't!" Hiccup protests nervously. "I was with you guys all day today!"
"We'll talk about this later! Come on!" Tenzin says angrily, marching to the docks. Hiccup sighs in defeat, slumping over before following after him, not wanting to incur the wrath of his father.
Korra pulls herself onto the platform from the water pool after getting thrown off the ring. So she didn't know about the certain rules that came with pro-bending, but she could get past that easily. She just needed to adjust her strategy. Right now she was getting pummeled out there. A shadow then falls over and she looks up, suddenly fearful when Tenzin is glaring down at her. Behind him are Hiccup and Toothless, the former of which is twiddling his thumbs.
"Oh, hey Tenzin. I thought you didn't like coming to these matches, ha ha."Korra says nervously.
"Once again you have flagrantly disobeyed my orders. You were to stay on the island. Let's go." Tenzin says sternly with a hint of anger.
"No, I'm kind of in the middle of something."
"I have tried my very best to get through to you by being gentle and patient, but clearly the only thing you respond to is force! So I am ordering you to come back to the temple, right now!"
"Why, so I can sit around and meditate at how bad I am at Airbending?" she demands. She suddenly glares over at Hiccup accusingly. "Did you tell him I was coming here?!"
Hiccup's eyes widen in dread at the accusation as Tenzin whirls around, glaring at him angrily. "So you did know she was coming here!"
Hiccup stammers, trying to come up a response as he looks away fearfully. Korra widens her eyes slightly, realizing that she actually doomed his fate.
"Umm... maybe? A little?" Hiccup offers timidly, flinching under the storm of a glare Tenzin is giving him. Even Toothless is looking away nervously, head low to the ground to seem smaller.
"We'll talk about this later Hiccup. Right now, we're all heading back to Air Temple Island this instant!" Tenzin orders them.
"You know, I'm beginning to think there is a reason I haven't been able to learn it. Because maybe I don't even need it!" Korra says.
"What? That is a ludicrous suggestion! The Avatar needs to learn Airbending; it is not optional!" he replies in angry bewilderment.
"No, this is what I need to learn: modern styles of fighting." Korra argues.
"Well, technically the Avatar is about keeping balance, so that there's no fighting?" Hiccup pipes up, although going quiet when Korra glares at him. "Or not," he mutters quietly, and Toothless warbles at him.
"Being the Avatar isn't all about fighting, Korra. When will you learn that?" Tenzin admonishes.
"I have a match to go finish." Korra says coldly, heading to the elevator to return to the ring.
Tenzin huffs angrily at her retreating form before briskly heading up the stairs with a scowl on his face. "Let's go Hiccup," he says sternly, and Hiccup sighs, following after him nervously.
Before leaving the arena, Tenzin looks back to study how Korra is doing, so Hiccup and Toothless stay as well. At the moment the Ferrets are getting beaten back, Mako and Bolin cornered together as the opposing team focusing their attacks on Korra, the rookie. She gets knocked down after a sloppy attempt to evade and Tenzin sighs irritably. Hiccup glances between Tenzin and Korra, silently hoping she changes her strategy so that Tenzin doesn't completely blow her off.
It's only a matter of time before- Hold the phone, stop the presses, she's still in the game folks, and she's moving like an entirely different player. All of a sudden the Platypus Bearsà strikes are only striking air!" the commentator suddenly exclaims, cussing Tenzin to look up in surprise. Hiccup widens his eyes before grinning at Korra's change in tactics. All of a sudden she's moving around like a perfect Airbender, circling and weaving through the water, fire, and earth thrown at her. He even catches a little bit of mimicking from his own form that she witnessed when he passed through the gates earlier.
"How about that." Tenzin says, stunned at the sight.
Hiccup smirks at him. "Told you she needed a different teaching method," he says, and Tenzin nods mutely in agreement as they observe Korra's movements. Toothless adopts a happy expression on his face.
The Platypus Bears have no juice left, but Mako and Bolin are still fresh and juicy!"
And it certainly shows, as the Platypus players are all sluggish and slow with their movements, suddenly unable to hold back Mako and Bolin, who immediately leap into action. All three of them go on the offensive, battering the team with fast and powerful attacks that they are unable to defend themselves against, being too exhausted. Finally, the last player is knocked out of the arena and into the water, and the bell sounds, signifying a Ferrets win, and the crowd cheers wildly.
"Knockout! The Fire Ferrets come from way behind and steal the win! What an upset folks! The rookies, Avatar and tow, have nabbed a place in the championship tournament. I can not believe it!" the commentator exclaims.
"Woohoo!" Tenzin cheers, waving his arms as he gets caught up in the excitement. Hiccup and Toothless gape at him with their jaws hanging, and Tenzin takes noticed, quickly straightens up, adjusting himself to be more proper and formal. Hiccup holds a hand to his mouth to keep from laughing.
"Alright, we've had our fun. Time to head home," Tenzin declares, heading out of the arena.
"Uh dad? Could I possibly stay here for a few more minutes?" Hiccup asks.
Tenzin stops and is about to protest before reconsidering thoughtfully. "Hmm... very well. But make sure Korra gets back to the island on time," he orders Hiccup, who nods in understanding. "And don't think this means you're getting off of a punishment freely!" Tenzin calls as he exits the arena.
Hiccup frowns and slumps over while Toothless laughs at his plight.
Korra exits the training room after taking off her gear and bidding Mako and Bolin goodnight. She then glances over in surprise to see Hiccup waiting outside with Toothless.
"Hey," he greets with a smile.
"Oh, hey. Didn't expect you to still be here," she says in confusion.
"Well, that happens when we were both very impressed by the moves you pulled off," he replies with a grin.
"Wait, you guys stayed and watched?" Korra asks in surprise, and Hiccup nods.
"Yeah, we did. And by the way you moved really well, just like an Airbender. Can't believe you pulled it off."
Korra suddenly strides forward and grabs his shirt in excitement, jostling him around. "I know right? I never thought I could move like that! Usually I just smash through something, but dodging all that stuff was awesome!" she says, finishing by shoving Hiccup away, and he crashed into Toothless with a yelp.
"Aahh, ok ok!" Hiccup exclaims as he stands back up. "Why do you have to be so physical every time you get excited like that?" he complains, straightening his shirt.
"Why? Can't handle it fishbone?" Korra teases, crossing her arms over her chest with a smirk.
Hiccup rolls his eyes. "Haha very funny," he says sarcastically. Toothless barks out in laughter and Hiccup frowns, shoving his face to the side, and Korra giggles as his annoyed and pouting look.
"Well, probably best to get back before dad changes his mind and gets upset again," he decides, and Korra nods in agreement as the three of them head outside the arena.
"Yeah, you're probably right," she says.
The two of them climb back into the saddle, clipping themselves in and Toothless unfurls his wings, taking off into the air again. Having expected it this time, Korra doesn't yelp in fright, although she keeps her arms around Hiccup to stay secured as they head back to Air Temple Island.
After landing at the house, Hiccup and Korra both get off before she smacks Hiccup on the shoulder with a grin.
"Ow! What was that for?" he asks irritably, rubbing his shoulder.
"That was for you and Toothless being ridiculous,"
she responds. Hiccup frowns down at his dragon.
"Oh but you don't smack him?" he demands.
"He's to adorable to hit," she says, causing Toothless to sit up proudly with a smug grin in Hiccup's direction, who rolls his eyes in exasperation.
Korra then looks over the pavilion to see Tenzin and a few AirbAcolytes working on the ruined gate, and she frowns guiltily.
"Hey, sorry for accusing you of telling Tenzin, I was just upset," she apologizes. Hiccup waves it off.
"Nah it's alright, I understand. Besides, I think dad deserves more of an apology than I do because... well, the gates," he says, gesturing to the wreckage with a small grin.
She nods with a small blush on her face before heading over to talk to Tenzin.
Toothless warbles again, and Hiccup looks over to see that smug expression still on his face.
"Oh is that how it is huh?" he demands with a frown.