AUTHOR'S NOTES: So while it's not without warning considering the notes in the 1st chapter of this fic, Korra swears a lot in this story. Nakkoa and Kwan (as well as the rest of the Red Lotus) are not good influences on this front either, and I see Tonraq and Senna as the type that tried not to swear in front of their daughter, but still skipped enough that she caught on-much to their dismay. But, it is what it is. Also, Korra loves candy, and no one can convince me otherwise.
Happy Reading!
BOOK ONE: POWER
CHAPTER FIVE: THE DANCER AND THE AVATAR
With Korra deep underground in Gaoling's Earth Rumble Arena, Nakkoa naturally had no success in finding the Avatar anywhere else in Gaoling. She couldn't even find Naga, since the polar bear-dog was waiting in one of the back rooms of the arena for her master to return. Korra would have gotten her seats if she had been familiar with the arena, but there was a first time for everything, and she was going to take a beating.
Not that she hadn't taken a beating of sorts from two of the last three fights (The Mole had been a near effortless win on Korra's part), but Titanborn was a special kind of ruthless.
"Dance, Avatar, dance!" Titanborn immediately took control of the field, spawning jagged slabs of stone and rock to try and trip Korra up. It put her on the defensive and prevented her from really taking offensive shots at her adversary, and Korra cursed the notion that she couldn't firebend or waterbend here because she saw several moments that would have been golden opportunities. She wanted that prize though and so refused to break the rules only on the ground of that being a forfeit. Even if she lost this match, she'd still win a prize for the three she had won.
Korra flipped and spiraled through the air, using a rather impressive array of barrel rolls and corkscrew jumps to avoid getting her face rocked off. Still, it was only after several attempts to gain a footing or even to smash through Titanborn's jagged battlefield that she was in clear control of that Korra realized what this earthbender was doing: she had let Korra exhaust her stamina, and as the Avatar started to slow down, her adversary moved to capitalize on the situation. Korra mentally braced herself for the beating of a lifetime.
"This is gonna hurt like shit…" She muttered under her breath, and no sooner had she muttered that when she came face-to-face with a hard slab of earth that bloodied her lip and nose and sent her reeling backwards. Of course, Titanborn had another slab of earth waiting for her an instant later, and so Korra was juggled through the air like a rubber ball before the culmination of Titanborn's attacks launched her so harshly to the left that she cleared the gap between the arena pit and the audience seating, slamming back-first into the 3rd row of empty seats, leaving a rather impressive crater in her wake as she crumpled to the ground, dizzy and racked with the pain of being thrown around like a ragdoll.
"And we have our winner!" Kazuya announced as Korra slowly got up and hobbled slowly away and back to the undercroft to claim her reward. Kwan saw the whole thing unfold and simply shook her head. She was embarrassed that the young Avatar had gotten away from them and just gotten the tar beaten out of her, but was also impressed that she lasted as long as she did.
Surprisingly, with how long it took Korra to limp away, by the time she actually got to the changing rooms, she ran into Titanborn below the arena as well.
"For that mouth you've got," the massive woman quipped, "you're actually pretty hard to catch. Nice job, all things considering, kid."
"Mm?" Korra cocked her head upwards, although her left eye was almost swollen shut and a fine trail of blood trickled from the right corner of her mouth, "you damn well beat the snark right out of me fair and square. I couldn't even touch you."
"True as that may be," Titanborn offered her hand, "usually I destroy someone with that trick in less than 20 seconds. You lasted a full 7 minutes before I finally got you."
"Nice job either way then, I guess." Korra shook the larger woman's hand but did not return the enthusiasm. "I'm gonna go sulk for a bit as I wait for the swelling in my eye and my right arm to stop." A rather nasty purple welt had formed near the junction of her right bicep and forearm, which made her elbow look much larger than it actually was.
"Suit yourself," Titanborn shrugged as Korra stumped off to find the host "Still a nice game." Korra shrugged and half-nodded, and found her host a few moments later.
"Not bad, kid," Kazuya smirked as he dropped a pouch of coins into Korra's hand, "I mean, pretty mediocre for the Avatar, but still…"
"I'm only 14," Korra riposted without even looking up. "So fuck you."
"Ha! I like you, kid. You've got spirit; that much is certain," Kazuya slapped her on the back again, both as a way of congratulating her, and perhaps with a little extra force because of Korra's sharp words. She lurched forward but managed to keep her composure as she headed back to the locker room to clean up. A bout of colorful language erupted from her mouth as she slowly struggled to get changed, and eventually, Kwan managed to catch up to her.
"I'm both impressed at your skill and appalled at your stupidity, Korra." the woman quipped.
"It was fun, but losing is balls," Korra grunted, looking like she had just gotten trampled by a Sky Bison, "Titanborn rigged it I swear."
"Oh, don't be such a sore loser," Kwan reprimanded her.
"I'm not a sore loser," Korra reasoned, "it's just that I like to win and when I don't I get upset. And when losing hurts, I get furious. Really though I think I'm just miffed cuz I'm aching in places I didn't even know I had. You can't tell me you wouldn't be doing the same."
"Ha, fair point!" Kwan ruffled her hair affectionately, "of course, now this means we're going to have to find you a proper place to rest up, and maybe find you a healer. Also, I can almost guarantee that Nakkoa will have a word or two to say to you."
Fortunately for Korra, at least Naga didn't have anything harsh to say. All in all, Korra did not regret this little excursion, because it was fun to test her mettle against people stronger and more skilled than her, and now she had a bit of money.
Surprisingly, Nakkoa didn't have anything harsh to say to Korra as they returned to the surface,, although she gave Kwan a lecture about responsibility and Earth Rumble addictions.
"You're cute when you're all bloodied up," Nakkoa turned to Korra teasingly, "I'm gonna have to advise against doing that again in the near future though—maybe after you've trained up a bit."
"I'll do what I want," Korra spat a little blood. Nakkoa laughed.
"You can do what you want as long as you want," she riposted, "but don't come crying to me when you lose an eye or break an arm or something."
Korra stuck her lower lip out in a very defiant pout aimed at Nakkoa as she nursed her right elbow and put her hand up to her swollen eye.
"So how much longer are we going to be here?" She couldn't help but ask, "When am I gonna be able to start actually training and stuff? That's why we're travelling, right?"
"We'll get there," Nakkoa promised, "the ship we were on was heading to the Eastern Air Temple after the stop in Gaoling, and we've got no business there. Hence, why we're here."
"Are you gonna breathe down my neck so I don't run off and join another Earth Rumble XIII tourney?" Korra looked up at Nakkoa with her good eye,
"If you're old enough to become the Avatar, you're old enough to make your own decisions," Nakkoa shrugged, "Kwan makes dumb decisions all the time and yet she's still here. Just don't go doing anything too stupid, and meet us at the Summer's Estate when you're done." She motioned in the distance towards a green and red building with the appropriate label hinting that that would be where they stayed for the night. For the time being, Korra wanted to visit the market and spend some of that newly earned gold that was burning a hole in her pocket.
Other than a great deal of meat snacks for herself and Naga, Korra didn't buy too much until she reached a merchant's still full of colorful little confections.
"What are these?" They didn't exactly have candy in the water tribe that often, and so Korra only had vague memories of the sugary delights, and none that looked like this.
"Candies and confections as far as the eye can see!" The merchant offered his sales pitch, "and with the beating it looks like you took, you look exactly like someone who wants to sit down and snack on some sweets as you rest up for another game."
"I haven't had anything like this in ages…" Korra mused aloud. Her memories of candy were scant, but she did remember, that candy was delicious and she always wanted more. Thus, by the time all was said and done, she had exchanged about half of the money in her purse for a sizable bag of sugary confections.
The young Avatar wasted no time snacking on some of her candies as she walked through the rest of the market, but nothing else really caught her eyes until she was noticed by a tall male waterbender who looked in his late teens—early 20s at most.
"It's rare to see a Water Tribe girl this far away from home," he spoke to her, "Most waterbenders are either from Ol' Republic or some other urban paradise."
"Hey?" Korra waved sheepishly and shrugged, her left cheek still bulging with sweets she hadn't finished swallowing yet.
"Are you alright then?" he asked; his voice had a suave and cool tone to it, and Korra couldn't help but find it a little attractive, "You look like you just got dragged into a back alley and beaten senseless… though that bag of coins and candy at your side means that either you picked a fight with some really stupid bandits, or that my theory is way off-base."
"Earth Rumble," Korra grinned, the inside of her mouth still a little red with blood (and now also colored oddly from the confections she had eaten). "fun stuff."
"Oh, you're an earthbender," the man looked surprised and stepped back, "I wouldn't have thought that, what with your look and all."
"Well, I mean I'm the Avatar," Korra gestured, "so I'm from the Southern Water Tribe and am also a waterbender. It works out. Name's Korra, by the way."
"I am Ichiro," the man introduced himself with something of a bow. "Avatar, hmm? Now that certainly gets to be the highlight of my day."
"Meeting someone is the highlight of your day?" Korra tilted her head, popping another piece of candy into her not-quite-empty mouth, "no offense, but that sounds kinda boring."
"Ah, but meeting someone strong and beautiful and not afraid to tackle problems head-on is much more exciting," Ichiro explained, "although I'll be frank with you: you need a healer."
"For what?" Korra's right eye widened as she raised her eyebrow (her left eye still black from the fighting), "my eye? My arm? Scratches; both of them. I don't have that kind of money."
"If anything, healing should become part of your repertoire just from being a waterbender," Ichiro suggested, "especially as the Avatar, and especially if you're going to go carousing about and picking fights."
"What's the matter with me picking fights?" Korra opened another candy wrapper, popping whatever sticky-sweet confection had been under that red wrapper into her mouth, "you here to babysit me or something?"
"Nothing at all, little Avatar," Ichiro replied, stepping to Korra's right, "but there's a fine line between being fearless and simply neglecting self-care. If I had to take a stab, you launched yourself clean over that line years ago and never looked back."
"Are you trying to flirt with me?" Korra glared daggers at him. Ichiro simply laughed.
"Sweetheart, you're not only too young but also not quite my type." He ruffled her hair, "does every relationship between a young man and a young woman have to be romantic? Maybe I just want to be your friend."
"It feels like you just want to get your hands all over me." Korra narrowed her eyes as her lower lip stuck out again.
"Barring my hobby as a dancer, I am a healer by trade, hence why I emphasize its importance." Ichiro clarified, his tone remaining as calm and suave as it had been when he first spoke to her, "When the kid who's supposed to be the saviour of the world goes limping past me sporting a purple elbow, a swollen eye, a bloody mouth, and a stagger in her step, I feel inclined to help. Is that such a terrible thing, or are you more worried about me trying to get in your pants?"
"What's in it for you," Korra glanced up at the man again. He was taller than her, but definitely didn't look more than a few years older than her at most. She probably still had a bit of growing to do herself, but at the moment there was nothing she could do about it. "There's always a catch."
"Life's a catch," Ichiro chuckled, massaging Korra's tense shoulders. It actually caught Korra off guard, but was relaxing enough that she didn't move. "I suggest you 'catch it', while you can."
"That doesn't answer my question." Korra might have been rockheaded most of the time, but she wasn't stupid. At least, she hoped not, at any rate.
"Perhaps my motivation simply stems from wanting to ensure the little Avatar is in good health," Ichiro admitted. If he was lying, he was way too smooth for Korra to detect a hint of dishonesty. "Come; it's on me. We'll get you healed up and I'll even give you a few extra confections on the way back—you seem quite fond of them."
Korra glanced at her candy pouch with the look of a guilty child caught raiding the cookie jar. So maybe Ichiro had a point about Korra liking candy.
"I'll have my eye on you," Korra warned, "and what's with this 'little Avatar' nonsense? You make it sound like a kid and you can't be that much older than me!" It was around this time that Korra realized she was slightly sensitive about her age. She hoped she would outgrow that quirk someday, but maybe it would fade once she felt she was 'old enough'. As for what she was waiting to be "old enough" for… she wasn't even fully sure.
"Calling you 'little Avatar' would be like calling me an indigo dancer," Ichiro chortled, in reference to his blue and purple attire, "It's merely a fact. I do not mean to offend." Ichiro was a sassy one, although it seemed that if he had any ill intentions behind his words, they were not about to be directed at Korra.
"Fine, fine," Korra pouted, crossing her arms in defeat. "I'll take your offer. Lead on."
And thus, just like that, Kwan and Nakkoa had lost track of the Avatar once again.