Chapter 10
Announcement
Banners flew in the wind, there message simple. Welcome Avatar Korra!
Korra's announcement to the city was wildly different this time around. Instead of the unsure girl she had been, she now stood with confidence.
Smiling widely, she told the citizens of Republic City how happy she was to be there. And this time it wasn't mere words, when she told them that she looked forward to serving them.
With her Avatar title announced she quickly began to talk about the struggles of all those that lived in Republic City, and how as a show of good faith they would be holding elections for the first Republic City representatives.
That the council would choose two people that didn't have the support of any specific nation, all of which was code for non-benders, though that was left unsaid.
Taking a breath she than called the Northern Representative up. And let him explain their new task force to the crowd.
Looking over at the other council members she could tell that Tenzin was unhappy with the announcement. He maintained his dignity, but a frown marred his face and his eyes would not meet hers.
Korra herself was hesitant to support another task force after the original events, but she was confident that they could navigate any pitfalls before they happened. There were also major differences this time around, one being that she was sharing leadership responsibilities with Tarrlok and not as his underling.
The other being that the task force was created to stop terrorism in all it's forms. And this applied to any of the bending gang's violence as well as equalist terrorism.
The last and most important distinction would be the hiring of chi blockers. It was a risky move, but if they wished to show solidarity than it was a necessary one.
With all these changes in mind, Korra had supported the measure, which was more than enough for the rest of the council save Tenzin.
She had hoped he would come around, after all he supported the idea of non-bending representation, yet the moment the talk moved to other forms of prevention he had put his foot down. Tenzin was the first to admit that there was tension in the city, but the last to admit that it might be getting out of control.
He firmly maintained that Tarrlok was using the minor equalist problems for political gain, and that the issue was not nearly as big a deal as the other man made it seem. He had tried to convince the other council members that Tarrlok was merely stoking fear, and had almost won over two of the other three leaders. However, when Korra came out in support of the measure it had turned the tide, and Tenzin was left as the sole opposing vote.
Tenzin insisted that he didn't blame her for her stance, but he did maintain that this was all Tarrlok's fault. Even so, he joined his fellow councilmembers for the days announcements, all disagreement carefully concealed. "A blatant power grab," he had muttered under his breath when the announcement was set to start.
As Korra watched Tarrlok continue his speech, a wide fake smile plastered across his face as he answered the press' questions, she could easily believe that he was using some of this as some form of power grab. However, she was also aware of the extremely dangerous position that the equalist held within the city, and the need to cripple them before they ever came to light. So, Tarrlok being Tarrlok hardly bothered her when there were much bigger problems ahead of them.
What Korra wasn't convinced of was Tenzin's motivation. He already knew the kind of man Tarrlok was, and yet his anger towards the man had only grown when he discovered that Tarrlok seemed to want something from her. The task force may have annoyed him, but it didn't seem to be the prime reason for his immense contempt of the man.
Pema on the other hand had been mostly supportive of her. The older woman had explained her own age difference with Tenzin, and how her father had almost disowned her over her own marriage. Korra was at least happy to have someone to talk to. And was pleasantly surprised that Pema was willing to listen despite her own misgivings about the councilman.
Korra had confessed her own indecision on the matter which had led to a night of talking things through.
And though that talk gave her some clarity, she hadn't exactly made up her mind on the issue, and Tenzin didn't give her a chance to talk through it with Tarrlok either.
Korra had thought to approach him before the events of the press conference, but without much to say she had hung back with Tenzin while everything was set up.
Tarrlok really didn't seem bothered by this however, as he continued his preparation unbothered by the lack of answer. Perhaps a lack of answer meant 'no' to him, and he was just planning to continue as they normally would have.
"He did say that he was okay with that," Korra remembered.
If she didn't say anything would he just continue indefinitely like it never happened? They would be spending a lot of time together on the task force, would that be awkward?
Up on stage Tarrlok began to mention her own involvement in the task force planning, and Korra brought back to the present, gave a gracious nod to the crowd, as well as a smile to the man who had directed the praise at her.
"Together we will bring the criminal element of Republic city to it's knees," Tarrlok spoke clearly and with conviction.
Together? As partners? What kind of partners? Did she want to be with him or merely a political ally in their fight for justice?
Either would work right?
These questions swam around her head as Tarrlok was putting the finishing touches on his speech.
During her days at the compound, she had often been lectured on the very real notion that tomorrow was never promised.
"Live in a way that you wouldn't regret a day or a hundred years," Katara had once told her. This left her to wonder, would she regret choosing Tarrlok. Would she regret it if they died tomorrow or lived one hundred years?
Would she find someone else, someone younger perhaps? Someone that wasn't neck deep in political nonsense? Someone that wasn't a bloodbender? And if she did, would they ever truly understand the turmoil she faced? Would they know what it was like to have your very reason for living be stripped away, to the point that a cliff looked like an inviting solution.
Would they know what it was like to lose friends, to have people that loved you no longer even realize you exist?
Tarrlok was the only one that would truly understand, the only one in this crazy world that had lived through the same ordeal. And if she could help it, than no one else would ever need to live through that. She would continue to work towards a world where no one would have to suffer the loss of their bending, the loss of their identity.
Would she regret it if she didn't choose Tarrlok then? He knew the pain of loss, just as deeply as she did. He also desired the life of a hero, just as she did. They both craved to be the saviors, the ones that the world could look up to.
When she thought of it like that, it seemed life had already chosen her the perfect partner. Other's wouldn't understand, but did she need them to?
As she was called back on stage, she looked up at the podium. Tarrlok had already answered most of the reporters questions and all that was left was to make a closing statement.
As she approached Tarrlok began to back away, but she stopped him. A last very impromptu decision on her part had her grab the councilman's hand.
Squeezing his hand just lightly she turned to the crowds. "Together we will bring peace to republic city!"
The joined hands did not go unnoticed, and quickly the cameramen did their best to capture the moment.
Until next time
