This is an idea that I have been entertaining recently. I know that stories with a similar premise have been written so I will try to keep this as original as I can. No plagiarism intended. I do not own either Legend of Korra or Harry Potter. They belong to Bryan Konietzko, Michael Dante DiMartino, and J.K. Rowling.
Some of this has dialogue from The Legend of Korra TV series and the short comic Friends for Life. I have marked the dialogue in italics.
-Line Break-
Ryuukhan and Korra stood 10 feet away from each other, wearing red, armored tunics with gold trim and grey-blue pants, helmets protecting their heads. Korra's blue eyes locked onto Ryuukhan's green, both taking up defensive poses, waiting for one to make their move.
Suddenly, Ryuukhan threw out a fireball, but Korra simply batted it away and followed it up with another fireball. Ryuukhan, unperturbed, simply dove to the side, tumbled, and launched another fire attack as he righted himself. Korra responded by twisting out of the way, using the opportunity to send a fire-whip at Ryuukhan's face.
Thinking quickly Ryuukhan sent out a fireball, dissipating the attack, then, with a sweeping kick, sent fire at Korra's feet like a scythe. Seeing this Korra jumped...only to see a large fireball coming at her face. Batting it away, she looked down to strike back...only to stare in confusion as Ryuukhan had disappeared.
Meanwhile, Ryuukhan had used the opportunity to get himself around Korra's left flank and launch himself up using fire-jets from his hands to boost his speed. Once he was in position, he launched a massive fire-bloom at her back.
The attack hit Korra square in the back, sending her carrening to the ground but Korra was able to maintain consciousness and tumbled on her landing, breaking her fall with only a few bruises to show for it.
Ryuukhan, seeing his chance, started another barrage of fireballs, hitting Korra square in the ribs and knocking her across the field. Seizing the initiative, Ryuukhan kicked out, sending a second barrage of fireballs before running to the right, aiming to attack her from the side once again.
But Korra countered by launching a large fire-bloom at him, forcing him to put up his defenses, crossing his arms before spreading them out, extinguishing the fire. Ryuukhan, being smaller and lighter, found himself being pushed back despite his defense. Korra, seeing his predicament, launched a one-two fireball combination while running to close the distance. Just as he looked up, he batted the first fire-ball away but the second hit him square in the face, the face plating protecting him from burns. Staggering, he tried to reestablish his guard but Korra had reached him and opened with a punch to his jaw, followed by a fire uppercut and finished with a roundhouse kick to his gut, sending him flying across the courtyard.
"Time!" a White Lotus sentry shouted. "Ryuukhan is unable to continue. Korra wins." ending the sparring match. Hearing this, Korra made her way to her brother as he picked himself up. "Looks like I just pulled ahead." she said playfully, extending a hand out for him.
"That's what you said last week and look how long that lasted." Ryuukhan countered as he pulled himself up.
"I still beat you." Korra replied lamely.
Just as Ryuukhan was about to retort, a voice broke through. "You are both doing well in your bending. Korra, Ryuukhan you've both excelled in the physical aspects of bending, ever since you were children."
At that statement, both chuckled as memories flashed through their heads.
-Line Break-
Korra, only four years old, was waiting outside the house, her parents and little brother inside entertaining the White Lotus members.
"The White Lotus has honored my family by coming. Thank you." her father said.
"Welcome." her mother, holding her brother in her arms, said a few moments later, followed by a shield clattering onto the floor.
"We have investigated many claims, both here and in the Northern Tribe." she heard a man say. "All have turned out to be false."
"Then you should be happy to know, your search has come to an end." her mother replied.
"What makes you so sure your daughter is the one?" the man asked, disbelief and impatience evident in his voice.
"Korra! Please come in here!" she mother said.
'That's my cue!' Korra thought as he sprang into action, kicking the side of the hut across the room. With everyone's eyes on her she yelled "I'm the Avatar! You gotta deal with it!", her fist in the air.
She then proceeded to demonstrate three of the elements for everyone to see, starting with fire, first as a bloom then as a ball. Then earth, lifting a tile half a foot higher and sending the three visitors back a few paces. Then she sent another blast of fire, catching the bearded man's robes on fire which he promptly extinguished with water from a some puddle on the floor.
Korra finished up her little show first by bending water from the floor into the air with her left hand, followed by sending a chunk of rock flying with her right, then ending up with a fire-bloom to her front.
With her demonstration finished, Korra straightened herself up and bowed to the three visitors, their eyes wide open in astonishment.
-Line Break-
Ryuukhan, almost five, was watching Korra practicing her Waterbending with Gran-Gran, ahem, Shifu Katara. He always loved it when she came to visit: she always had such wonderful stories to tell them: the War; the Last Airbender; their journey around the world; the foundation of Republic City; and so many others.
Alas, today she was here to train Korra in Waterbending while Ryuukhan had been practicing his Firebending. He smiled as he remembered his first time Firebending a few months ago: he was bored, watching his sister and one of the White Lotus trainers practicing their katas. Thinking that it seemed like fun, he started to imitate them, though his movements were slower and sloppier than theirs. As they were reaching the end of the kata, Ryuukhan punched forward and a small ball of fire erupted from his fist.
Transfixed by his success, Ryuukhan tried again but to no avail. He tried punching multiple times, but all he got was tired and frustrated. In desperation he tried going through the kata again and punched out, grunting in frustration. To his surprise he got a bigger fireball than before. He smiled in triumph, only to panic as he saw the fire catch unto the building and he could not put it out.
Fortunately for him, his grunting had attracted the attention of Korra and her teacher and, seeing the fire, they extinguished it with ease.
"Well young man." the White Lotus teacher, tall, thin with gray hair and piercing gold eyes, said. "It seems you possess Firebending. If you want to practice then you may join us. But…" he said seeing Ryuukhan smile at the thought. "I will NOT tolerate any tomfoolery in my classes. Understood" he warned, looking Ryuukhan in the eye.
"Yes shifu." Ryuukhan replied, bowing in respect.
"Very well. I am Shifu Chiu, and we'll start with the basics." Chiu said as they made their way into the training grounds.
'Shifu Chiu has been a great teacher.' Ryuukhan thought. 'I'm even better than Korra sometimes. But...I'm just a Firebender. She's the Avatar.'
As his attention drifted back to the Waterbending lesson, he decided to try their kata this time. Seeing a bucket of water near the entrance to the training ground he made his way there. 'It's not like anything will happen.' he thought and he began moving his arms in tandem to theirs.
At first... nothing happened.
Disappointed, Ryuukhan tried again and... nothing happened.
Taking a deep breath to relax himself, he tried a third time...and watched in shock as he pulled a small stream of water up from the bucket.
It quickly broke down and fell back in but Ryuukhan kept staring in awe.
A few minutes, and one deep breath later, he tried again and again the water pulled out from the bucket but it didn't reach as high as before. Still, elated at his achievement he looked back at Korra and Katara…
...and found them staring at him in incredulity. Then a thought ran through his mind:
'Was the Waterbending actually them?'
"Ryuukhan, were you...Waterbending?" Katara asked, breaking that train of thought.
"I...I was just...playing around." he stammered. "I was bored and Shifu Chiu had concluded our lessons for today so I…"
"It's alright Ryuukhan." Katara said, holding her hand up. "You're not in trouble. I was just...surprised. Only the Avatar can bend more than one element, and never has there been more than one Avatar."
Frowning in thought, Ryuukhan pondered over her words…
...then he said "You said only the Avatar can bend more than one element, right?"
With her nod, he continued "And we've established that Korra is the Avatar, right?"
Nodding again, he finished with "Then what does that make me?"
Frowning in thought for a moment, Katara, smiling weakly, replied with "A person with a very important role to play. You just need to find out what that role is."
Katara then extended her hand to Ryuukhan, beaconing him to follow. "In the meantime, let's practice Waterbending together, shall we?"
-Line Break-
"In fact, you two have sometimes learned bending faster than we can teach you." the White Lotus leader, a man with gray hair and a full beard, continued, breaking their reverie. "In just ten years, you have made great strides in three of the elements. But, you two have completely ignored the spiritual side."
"We haven't ignored it." Korra replied, as she removed her helmet. "It just...doesn't come as easily to us. But maybe that's all the more reason to start training with Tenzin. He's Mr Spiritual!"
"Don't get ahead of yourselves." the leader said. "It may be just the opposite. Perhaps your limited spirituality is what is hindering your abilities. Perhaps you should take a break from your training and focus on spiritual matters."
"With all due respect, Shifu Hui." Ryuukhan interjected. "Airbending is the most spiritual of all the arts. So by training under Tenzin, we'd be doing both at the same time. So therefore we should start training under Tenzin as soon as possible."
The White Lotus masters pondered this for a moment, before one of them, a middle-aged woman with a bob cut and strong features in her face and arms, said "You may have a point there."
"But.." she said as Ryuukhan and Korra looked ready to celebrate. "That matter will be up to Master Tenzin, and he will not arrive for some time. In the meantime, how about you brush up on your other elements, namely air, water, and earth."
At this both Ryuukhan and Korra jumped for joy in celebration...before awkwardly clearing their throats and said, bowing, "Thank you all for believing in us."
As the White Lotus members dispersed, Shifu Hui and Katara stayed behind as Korra and Ryuukhan gave each other a thumbs up in celebration. "Now if you're done celebrating, we're going to brush up on your Water- and Earthbending." Shifu Hui said.
Hearing this, both Ryuukhan and Korra stood up and gave their full attention to their teachers.
"Get into your Water stances." Katara said, prompting Korra and Ryuukhan to spread their feet shoulder-width apart with their arms in front, their palms facing forward.
"Good." Katara smiled as she pulled her arm across her chest, pulling a stream of water in front of her. "Now I'm going to send this water to you, Korra, and I want you to return it to me. Then I'll do the same with Ryuukhan. Ready?"
As the two nodded, Katara pushed her hands toward Korra, sending the water stream to her. Korra, stepping back with her left foot, bent her arms in a circle, spinning the water in front of her, before pushing outward, returning the water back to Katara.
Katara mirrored the motion and received the water, briefly forming it into a sphere, before pushing it toward Ryuukhan. Ryuukhan, breathing deep, mirrored Korra's motion fluidly and received the water before sending it back to Katara.
After a few more times, Katara moved on to having them draw the water out by themselves and practice the water whip, using a straw-filled dummy that Shifu Hui retrieved while they were practicing. Korra was a natural, but Ryuukhan missed the first couple of times before he got it spot on.
"Very good." Katara said. "You've been practicing. Now for the octopus form." and with that she threw two buckets of water at her pupils. Spinning in place, they redirected the water to their feet then, pulling their arms up, they formed the water into globules before splitting them into eight tentacles.
Katara then opened up with a barrage of water-based attacks, from icicles to water whips to arcs running along the ground like scythes. Korra and Ryuukhan found themselves having to fight off a barrage of attacks from multiple directions, often having two attacks reaching them at the same time.
To compensate, they used their side tentacles to absorb the attacks before integrating them into their water supply and counterattacking. Korra had effortlessly absorbed all of the icicles and even captured Katara's water whip before freezing her front right tentacle solid to block the incoming scythes. With the break in the attacks, Korra changed the water in two of her tentacles into drills and attacked Katara, one from her high right and the other from her low left.
Katara simply intercepted the water drills into her supply...only to find Korra had frozen the water drills and her own tentacles, leaving her temporarily defenseless. Seeing her opening, Korra attacked with a barrage of icicles…
...only to see Katara spin out of the way and bring her remaining tentacles up to intercept them. As she did so, she melted the frozen water and incorporated them into her supply, fortifying her position. Korra, having little of her supply left, had no choice but to wait for Katara to attack her.
Ryuukhan, meanwhile, had managed to block the scythes and the water whips, but his tentacles grew weaker and thinner under the barrage. Soon his tentacles had been reduced to orbs barely wider than his hands. With his defenses compromised, more and more of Katara's attacks managed to hit, cutting his arms and hands.
Seeing his defenses crumbling, Katara sent out a final wave along the ground...
...only for Ryuukhan to sweep down, drawing the water up and conglomerate with his own orbs.
Exhaling slowly, Ryuukhan elongated the orbs into icicles and sent them flying toward Katara...
...who easily intercepted and integrated the icicles into her water supply. However, as she was readying her counterattack, Ryuukhan launched a second attack which penetrated her defense and nearly hit her.
Alas, this lapse of attention gave Katara the perfect opening: she simply froze his leg to the ground with a simple flick of her hands.
With Korra low on water and Ryuukhan's mobility compromised, Katara held out her hands and said "Alright I think we've had enough. You've both done well, but you could do much better.".
Spinning her hands clockwise, she began collecting the water toward her as she took in her disciples. Turning first to Korra she said "Korra you need to start thinking more tactically. You seem to simply go with the flow instead of following a plan. While this can be effective, against a Waterbending Master, it is folly. Learn to think ahead and anticipate what your opponent will do. The best hunter does not merely react: they act."
As Korra nodded her understanding, Katara then turned to Ryuukhan, melting the ice from his leg.
"Ryuukhan, you need to be more aware of your surroundings. If I was serious, I could have killed you with that icicle attack or the attack up your leg. Also, if the fight had gone on long enough, you could have passed out from fatigue or blood loss, giving me the advantage. The best hunter never loses sight of their surroundings."
Ryuukhan merely nodded in acknowledgement as the last of the water collected toward Katara.
"For now, let's do some stretching to cool down before I leave you to Shifu Hui." Katara said, stretching her hands up into the air, Ryuukhan and Korra following suit.
A few minutes later, Shifu Hui had arrived, two mid-size boulders levitating alongside her, just as Katara, Korra, and Ryuukhan had finished stretching.
"Alright you two!" Shifu Hui yelled. "Enough of that softness and breath schmuck. Time for some real work! Get into your earth stances and try hurling these boulders at me!"
Taking a deep stance, Korra and Ryuukhan punched their left hands toward the boulders, palms out with three fingers curled halfway to the palm and the pointers and thumbs pointing upward, their right arms parallel to the ground at waist level. The boulders flew out at Shifu Hui, who simply imitated their movements and stopped the boulders dead in their tracks.
"Nice." she said. "Now try levitating them off the ground and kicking them at me." and with a single punch, she sent the boulders back to her disciples.
Stopping them with a single outward palm, Korra and Ryuukhan each stomped their back foot so it landed close to their front foot, causing the boulder to levitate off the ground. Then with a single kick, they sent their boulder flying at Shifu Hui, who simply stopped the boulders cold with her fist as before.
"Good." she said. "Now try levitating the boulder and holding it in place for fifteen seconds before firing it at me."
Nodding, both Korra and Ryuukhan repeated their stomping motion before, but this time, the boulder simply floated in the air in front of them. After a few seconds, the boulders began to wobble and shake, threatening to fall under gravity. Korra steadied hers after taking a deep breath and flicking her fingers out in front, pointing them at the boulder.
Ryuukhan's, on the other hand, continued to wobble despite his best efforts. At the eight second mark, the boulder went from wobbling to shaking, and Ryuukhan began sweating under the strain of keeping the boulder airborne. After flicking his fingers like Korra's a third time, Ryuukhan finally gave out at the eleven second mark, collapsing to one knee as the boulder crashed to the ground while Korra's remained airborne.
Meanwhile Korra, as the fifteen second mark arrived, launched her boulder at Shifu Hui...who easily stopped the boulder cold and held it in midair with barely any effort.
"Eleven seconds Ryuukhan." Shifu Hui said. "Longer than previous attempts, but not enough. You're too tense. You have too much positive jing. You need more neutral jing, more patience. I want you to meditate. Focus on remaining still and listening to your surroundings with your eyes closed. I also want you to practice your Earthbending techniques for at least four hours a week."
"Yes Sifu Hui." he answered, bowing slightly.
"And Korra." she continued, drawing Korra's attention to her. "Excellent work though your technique could use some improvement. Practice and meditate alongside your brother."
"Yes Sifu Hui." she replied, bowing slightly.
"Very well let's do some warm-up exercises, then we'll practice levitation again before I turn you back over to Sifu Katara." Shifu Hui said as she levitated both boulders and returned them back to her disciples.
-Line Break-
After nearly an hour of training under Sifu Hui and Katara, Korra and Ryuukhan decided to do a little Airbending practice...or rather Ryuukhan practiced while Korra watched and imitated him.
For some reason, Airbending came almost naturally to Ryuukhan, creating winds and sometimes miniature twisters fairly easily, whereas Korra struggled to get even a light breeze.
The White Lotus attributed this disparity to their differing strategies in combat: Korra preferred to stonewall attacks whereas Ryuukhan favored dodging. As such, they struggled in different aspects of bending: Korra struggled with Air while Ryuukhan toiled on Earth.
However, the siblings turned this into an advantage by tutoring each other in their respective weaknesses. Ryuukhan advised Korra to try viewing air as a thinner version of water: both possessed pressure and currents and preferred to flow around obstacles instead of bowling through them. With this in mind, Korra began to improve in Airbending, becoming capable of generating small gusts of wind, but it was still the most difficult element for her to master.
For Ryuukhan, Korra suggested that he tried thinking of earth as a thicker version of water: both possessing mass and volume, and the propensity for absorbing hits rather than avoiding them. With this in mind, Ryuukhan began improving in Earthbending, becoming capable of lifting small rocks and levitating them with little issue, but he struggled with larger ones.
Then they heard someone, or something, chattering at high speed. A short while later, the chattering turned out to be someone speaking very quickly. They soon realized it was the one thing guaranteed to get under even the most patient parents' skin.
The dreaded: "Are we there yet? Are we there yet?"
Looking up they saw a Sky Bison, presumably carrying the source of the chattering, flying above them. As it approached, it made a u-turn and landed near in the courtyard. Smiling wide in anticipation, they ran toward the Sky Bison to greet their new guests: Tenzin, the sole Airbending Master in the world, and his family.
"Yes Ikki, as I have been telling you for the last fifteen minutes we are...finally here." they heard Tenzin say as they arrived. Soon they saw two young girls in yellow shirts, topped with orange shawls, and brown pants ride down the bison's tail on balls of spinning air. Tenzin, clad in similar clothes, walked down the bison's tail, stopping to assist a young woman and a two-year old boy down from the saddle.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Tenzin turned and locked eyes with Korra and Ryuukhan, who soon bowed in greeting.
"Korra, Ryuukhan, so good to see you again." Tenzin said, returning the greeting. "You've grown so much since I last saw you two. Allow me to introduce Pema, my wife, our daughters Jinora and Ikki, and our son, Meelo." he continued motioning to the woman, the girls riding the air spheres, and the child in her arms. Like Tenzin, she was dressed in Air Nomad clothes, with yellow robes, a green shawl across her shoulders, and a red sash topping it all. Unlike Tenzin, she had a full head of hair, brown with the lower edge a slight shade lighter. Her child, Meelo, hearing his name, looked up from her arms and looked at Ryuukhan and Korra.
"Good to see you too Tenzin." they responded. "And so pleased to meet you Pema." Ryuukhan added, bowing in greeting, Korra quickly following suit. Pema smiled and returned the greeting.
"So good to see you too." a voice called out from the complex. As they turned, Katara, the source of the voice, crossed over and looked over Tenzin and Pema, smiling warmly.
"Hello mother, this is Meelo." Tenzin said. "Say hello Meelo."
"Hello." Meelo said, prompting Katara to smile at her grandson.
"So.." Korra began, unsure of how to proceed. "Now that we all know each other, shall we get down to training?"
"Not yet Korra." Tenzin said. "We've just been through a long trip and we would like some rest first."
"Oh...ok." Korra said, slightly disappointed at the delay. "Umm...would you or Pema like some tea?" she asked, hoping to change the topic.
"That would be very appreciated. Ikki, Jinora, come along." Tenzin said, and they all made their way to the dining hall.
-Line Break-
"That was delicious." Tenzin said after a small meal.
"Thank you." Katara responded as she moved to collect the dishes. "Don't worry Tenzin I've got it." she added when she saw Tenzin move to collect the plates.
"You sure you don't need a hand?" he asked as Katara made her way to the kitchen.
"I'm sure. Besides…you need to arrange things with Korra and Ryuukhan." she answered before entering the kitchen.
"So you wanna spend the night here and then start training in the morning?" Ryuukhan asked, eager to get started.
"That would be a good idea." Tenzin responded, prompting Korra and Ryuukhan to smile gleefully. "However, I fear our training may have to be cut...short."
Hearing that, the siblings looked over, crestfallen. "What? You're not staying? Why not?" Korra asked, shocked and disappointed.
"It's not you or Ryuukhan, it's...it's Republic City." Tenzin answered. "Things are becoming more unstable. And as one of its leaders, I have an obligation to the city."
"But...with all due respect…"Ryuukhan replied. "You also have an obligation to us. I mean...we'd be more than happy to find another Airbending Master but...they're an endangered species at this time. No offense." he added quickly.
Tenzin, more than a little miffed at this, simply said "None taken. And I'm very sorry but the bulk of your Airbending training will have to wait."
Then Korra got a gleam in her eye and said excitedly "Wait a minute. If you can't bring the Master to the disciple, bring the disciple to the Master!"
Ryuukhan, catching her excitement, smiled and said "It's perfect!"
"Yeah, yeah!" Ikki yelled out in joy as Jinora smiled and nodded.
"Absolutely not!" a voice yelled out, the White Lotus master, as he walked into the dining area. "You're not ready! Ryuukhan, you're just ten years old! And Korra, you're not that much older. Avatar Aang tasked us with the responsibility of keeping you safe until you've mastered the elements."
"And believe me you've done a great job and we understand that but…" Korra replied. "I don't think keeping us locked up here in this compound like prisoners is what he had in mind."
"Besides, how can we bring balance to the world if we've never seen it before?" she asked, causing both men to shift uncomfortably. "Well, I guess I'll see you in the morning." and she left, followed soon by Ryuukhan, who gave a quick downcast look in apology for his sister.
-Line Break-
"Korra! Korra!" Ryuukhan called as he followed her from the dining room. Despite his efforts, Korra ignored him, making her way out of the main building, across the courtyard, to the stables. Realizing her intent, he quickened his pace, managing to reach the stables at the same time as her.
"It's time we took Naga out for a walk." she said as she saddled Naga up and hopped on. Seeing him nod in agreement, Korra pulled her brother up behind her and began trotting across the courtyard to the gate. "Just taking Naga out for a walk." she called to the sentry above them. Nodding brusquely, he opened the gate and Korra started Naga at a light trot around the compound.
Korra always loved these walks: the simple, pure color of the polar ice, the frosty breeze, the sheer openness of the wild. It helped her to relax time to think, time to think about everything and nothing.
The past. The future. Her duties as the Avatar.
Her teachers. Her family.
Her brother.
"Ryuukhan, you feeling okay?" she asked, breaking up the silence. "You seemed pretty bummed out from training earlier."
"I'm fine." he replied. "It's just that I'm still having trouble with waterbending and earthbending, even after all this time. I've made progress but not as much as you have."
"That's okay." she reassured. "I'm still having trouble with airbending. Of course, the fact that Tenzin's not really available doesn't help."
"It's not just that." he said. "It's also that it feels more exhausting for me to do earth and water. Fire is pretty straightforward. But when I try water or earth I get tense and fatigued faster than you do. You can levitate boulders far longer and easier than I can, and when you do waterbending, you don't need to focus on keeping the water steady."
"But for me, my arms and legs grow tired faster and I need to concentrate more on bending the element." he continued. "Moreover, my right arm seems stronger somehow. It doesn't get tired as quickly or as easily as my other limbs. Has that ever happened to you before?"
"My limbs always do that when I learn a new technique or element." she replied. "But it usually gets better after a few weeks. What about you?"
"It gets easier, but the fatigue and pain are still there." he replied. "And it's always the right that does best. Do you think something's wrong with me? Should I ask Katara?"
"Probably wouldn't hurt" she answered, then looked up and saw the sun low on the horizon. "We'll ask when we get back." and she turned Naga toward the compound.
'Too bad Hina's still worn out from earlier.' she thought sadly as she turned about and headed back to the compound. 'She'd love it out here. Oh well. There's always next time.'
-Line Break-
Upon their return Korra led Naga to the stables and began brushing her fur down while Ryuukhan headed to the kitchen to grab some meat and fish for her dinner even as Naga began gulping water down from the troughs.
After ensuring Naga was fed and watered, Ryuukhan and Korra made their way to the dining area and were met with Tenzin and the White Lotus Leader, their faces downcast. Realizing this boded ill for their training, Korra asked "Did something happen?"
"Yes I'm afraid it did." Tenzin replied. "Reports have just come in from Republic City. Triad violence and robbery for the most part, with some murder and rape cases scattered among them. And those, I fear, are just those the police know about."
"So I guess you're going to be heading back to Republic City in the morning?" Korra said, though it was less a question than a request for confirmation.
"Yes I'm afraid I am." Tenzin sighed. "I'll have to leave first thing in the morning, so we'll only have time for a brief lesson in Airbending tonight and one meditation session. I'm sorry but it's all we can do."
"Alright." Korra said. "Ready when you are."
"Very well. Follow me." Tenzin replied and led them out to the courtyard.
"Now from what I can tell you two have been practicing Airbending for some time now." he said as Ryuukhan and Korra stood opposite from him.
At their nods, he continued "Then I won't spend too much time with the basics. Instead I want you to practice your skills at evasion. First a demonstration. Attack me...any element will do."
Hearing this, Ryuukhan hesitated but Korra took the first strike, sending a fireball straight at Tenzin...who simply pirouetted on one heel, twisting out of the way.
"Come on you two." he commanded. "Attack me all at once."
This time, neither hesitated and launched a fury of fireballs at Tenzin…
...and missed. He wasn't hit, nor was he even singed. He simply twisted and turned out of the way, often at a moment's notice. To their amazement, Tenzin's movements were not just limited to pirouettes and turns. He incorporated flips, one-handed stands, splits, and other acrobatic movements that left them stunned at his prowess.
After a few minutes of non-stop attacks, both Korra and Ryuukhan, low on breath, ceased their attempts. Tenzin stood himself straight, dusted himself off, and said "Now it's my turn. Don't try to imitate all my moves. Just focus on evasion."
With that, Tenzin began launching a flurry of wind and spheres of spinning air at his disciples. Immediately, Ryuukhan and Korra responded by bobbing and weaving around the attacks. Initially, both performed very well, with Korra only receiving a few clips to her shoulders every now and then while Ryuukhan evaded all of them.
After two minutes, though, Korra, tired of playing dodgeball, decided to counterattack with a fireball...and wound up getting knocked back by a spinning air sphere. She bounced across the courtyard for a few yards before skidding to a stop.
Furious, she tried attacking again...and got a gust of wind to the face, knocking her back again.
"Enough" Tenzin said. "We've done enough for tonight. A quick review. Korra, Ryuukhan, you're both superb at evasion, but you both could improve. Korra, you need more patience and more planning. If you had planned your movements better you could have taken me out. Ryuukhan, you need to start counterattacking instead of simply dodging all the time."
"Yes Shifu Tenzin" they said in understanding.
"Now time for some meditation." Tenzin said and took a lotus position, Ryuukhan and Korra following suit.
"Close your eyes." he commanded. "Breath slowly. Relax. Clear your mind. Let your spirit wander free."
Closing their eyes, Korra and Ryuukhan tried to follow Tenzin's instructions. They breathed slowly and evenly as they tried to clear their minds.
"Uh...are we doing it right?" Korra said a few moments later.
"There's nothing to do." Tenzin said. "Air is the element of freedom. Let your mind and spirit be free."
"Ok but...what does that mean?" Korra asked, causing Tenzin to pause awkwardly.
"It means...it means…"Tenzin trailed, trying to find the right words to answer Korra.
Looking back, he tried to remember his father's lessons, seeking the right words for his disciples. His father talked about letting oneself be free, about releasing oneself from their earthly attachments, and about letting their spirit wander free.
Like any child, Tenzin had no idea what Aang was talking about. He was more interested in learning Airbending than in this strange philosophy stuff. It would not be for many years before he really grasped the meaning of Aang's words.
"It means that you release your worries and concerns for a temporary time." he said at last. "It means you should let your problems in life, such as your difficulty in training, fall into the background and explore aspects of the world and yourself that you usually don't think about. Aspects like your place in the world, your past lives, your plans for the future, and the balance of the world."
"Yeah, only understood like one word out of five there." Korra said. "I know my place in the world. I'm the Avatar, meaning my place is the keeper of balance. What's there to explore?"
"Are you so sure?" Tenzin asked. "Ryuukhan, what about you?"
At this, Ryuukhan only frowned and looked away. A dark look entered his features, and his eyes clouded over in suppressed fury, a spark of barely contained anger glowing deep down, seemingly turning them from green to gold. Soon after his hands seemed to clench together, his nostrils flared out, and his eyebrows furrowed intensely as he breathed deeply to calm himself.
Seeing this, Korra said "Maybe we should turn in for the night. What do you say Tenzin?"
"Perhaps you're right." he agreed, seeing the darkness of the night. "I'm sorry we didn't get as much done as you would have liked."
"Oh no thank you." Korra replied, standing. "We appreciate you taking the time for us Tenzin. Good night." she finished, bowing to Tenzin.
"Good night you two." Tenzin replied, returning the bow and leaving for the guest bedroom.
"You alright Ryuukhan?" Korra asked as they headed for the bedroom.
Taking a deep breath, Ryuukhan replied "Yeah. Or I will be."
"You know, Tenzin didn't mean to...you know…" she trailed off.
"Yeah. I know." he said. "It's just...not knowing the answers drives me crazy as a flutter bat. If I could just get the answers…"
"Well, maybe a change of location would help." she said, giving a small, mischievous smile. But before he could respond, she simply said "Sweet dreams little bro."
Ryuukhan, smiling back, simply replied "You too sis."
-Line Break-
Author's Note: Sorry for the delay guys. Life's been getting in the way and all. I've also been working on a side-project for this fanfic but it's still a ways-off from completion.
On the plus side, I'm going to introduce a familiar for Ryuukhan soon. I've put up a poll on my account so please feel free to leave your thoughts on the poll.