Earth
Fire
Air
Water
Only the Avatar can master all four elements and bring balance to the world
THIS JUST IN:
Love is in the air! Mako's affections have fallen right into the arms of the beautiful Asami. And as she grapples with a too-close-for-comfort interaction with Amon, Korra also deals with newfound revelations of the personal sort. A seemingly mutual feeling goes with the wind as the Fire Ferrets enjoy their much-needed practice time with each other. Who knew how exciting life could be without engagements with the police?
Snow coated the Pro-bending Arena as the colder months began to roll in. By taking a break from Tarrlok's task force, Korra has had much more time to do as she pleases, and she was very happy about it considering she'd be able to enjoy weather in Republic City that reminded her of home. Speaking of Korra, her face was currently twisted into a resolute expression as she moved her fingers around with a blob of water. She split the water into half and rapidly launched two water bullets at the two respective brothers she was facing off against. Bolin raised his right arm and with it an earth disc in order to block Korra's attack. Sliding back from the impact, he quickly brought up another earth disk that was instantly pulverized by Mako's fire attack after he vaporized Korra's water bullet with a fire arc. Korra sent a water blast at Mako, the firebender jumping over it while Bolin hurled an earth disk at Korra, forcing her to grab water from a nearby tank in order to defend herself. Mako shot two fire blasts at his teammates, a third fire blast aimed at Bolin hitting him in the stomach and flinging him backward. As he fell down, Bolin threw an earth disk at Korra and knocked her to the ground. Simultaneously, a water attack from Korra blasted Mako straight in the face and sent him to the ground.
The three of them sat up and devolved into laughter as they began brushing off their uniforms and removing their helmets. "It's been great having you at so many back-to-back practices, Korra," Mako smiled.
"Feels good to be back, although Tarrlok isn't too happy about my leave of absence." Korra rolled her shoulders as she spoke, her upbeat tone lifting the mood of their practice even more.
"Hey," Bolin interjected. "You joined the Fire Ferrets before you joined his task force." Kora chuckling, nodding her head in agreement as they all stood up at Mako's gesture.
"Okay, come on, team huddle time!" Mako called, motioning for Bolin and Korra to come over to him. They all wrapped their arms around each other's shoulders and grinned, the excitement of their future match sitting on all of their minds. "It's our first match of the tournament tonight. I know the three of us haven't been a team for very long, but even so, the Fire Ferrets have never been this good. Are we ready?"
"We're ready!" Korra and Bolin chimed.
"Not quite, you'll need these." The team looked up at the unexpected arrival of Asami. Well, unexpected for Korra and Bolin (emphasis on the Korra part) not for Mako. Asami held up from the large box she was holding a shirt with the Future Industries logo on it, the team's eyes scanning the new clothes with approval.
"Hey, Asami," Mako greeted, walking up to her in order to help her unpack the uniforms.
"Good morning, sweetie," Asami responded as she lowered the box so that he could easily reach into them.
"These new uniforms look great!" Mako complimented.
"You look great, champ!" Asami leaned over and gave Mako a quick peck, Bolin and Korra shuddering playfully behind them. Bolin's face fell into a bored look at the display of affection while Korra felt herself being more upset than she should be. Stupid friends and their stupid relationships, she thought. An unnecessary note, but it should be noted anyway, that the only other friend that this could be referring to is Lemaya. Take that how you will.
"Well, teammates, I'll see you before the match tonight. Asami and I have a lunch date."
"Okay, we'll check you guys later. You know, we'll see you when we see ya." Bolin waved after Mako and Asami as they left the practice room, the box of new uniforms left neatly unpacked on a nearby table. Korra to a deep breath, moving to pick up her bag in silence as Bolin slid over to Korra's side with his hands folded behind his head. "So, Korra. There they go. Here we are. All alone in the gym, just you and me, two alone people. Together. Alone."
Korra furrowed her brows at Bolin's odd tone but brushed it off as Bolin just being Bolin. "Ah, I gotta head back to the air temple to train with Tenzin. Sorry, we can't hang out! See ya!" She turned around and hurried off, realizing midway through her sentence that she was most likely late to practice, as usual. Bolin looked down in disappointment as he watched her leave, a breath escaping his lips as he dragged himself up to his and Mako's apartment to wait for his brother to get home.
After hours of waiting for Mako to return from his lunch date, which Bolin felt was a little excessive because how can you be out for hours if the date is specifically about lunch. Nevertheless, Mako stood in the kitchen, making him and his brother dinner in order to prep for their big match later that night. Bolin, a few paces away, was preparing a bath for Pabu, struggling quite a bit to get him into the tub of water. Finally managing to dip Pabu into the water, Bolin watched with a lazy grin as Pabu shook the water off of himself with a dead look right into Bolin's soul.
"Worl with me here, Pabu! You wanna look spic and span in you new uniform, don't you?" Bolin asked exasperatedly. Pabu chittered back in a manner that one might call as back talking, but Bolin was tired of struggling with Pabu so he let him have his moment.
"So, what do you think of Korra? Like in a 'girlfriend' sort of way?" Bolin asked Mako, a light red dusting his nose.
"She's great, but I think it makes more sense for me to go for Asami," Mako answered absentmindedly, not even noticing what he said. What an idiot.
"You're dating Asami, you shouldn't be talking about other girls like that," Bolin said uneasily, turning his head to watch Mako tense up in his moments. "And I was talking about a girlfriend for me!"
"I know, that's what I thought you meant."
"Uh-huh, that's totally why you mentioned going after someone else," Bolin muttered as he rolled his eyes.
"What did you say?" Mako turned to his brother with a raised brow.
"I said 'well...?' as in 'what do you think about Korra as a girlfriend for me?'" Bolin responded, rubbing Pabu gently with some warm water.
"I don't know, Bo. It doesn't seem like a good idea for you to date Korra." Mako turned off the stove and began fixing plates for them both to chow down on.
"You literally just said she was great two seconds ago."
"Yeah, Korra is a great athlete and Avatar and stuff, but I don't know if she's really 'girlfriend material.' She's more like a pal," Mako said as he scratched his nose before pouring them drinks.
"Bro, you're nuts! Maybe for you, she's a pal, but Korra and I are perfect for each other: she's strong, I'm strong; she's fun, I'm fun; she's beautiful, I'm gorgeous! So, I don't care what you think, I'm gonna ask Korra out," Bolin decided.
"Look, you can always do whatever you want, just don't let dating a teammate affect your performance in the tournament, okay? Keep your head out of the clouds and your priorities straight," Mako compromised as he brought the plates and drinks he was working on over to Bolin so they could eat together.
'Yeah, yeah, I know, gah. You know what I'm talking about, Pabu. I'm talking about real love," Bolin murmured to his friend while Pabu just stared blankly up at him.
"Sure you are," Mako grinned, handing Bolin his plate.
"This is a private conversation between me and Pabu, Mako! Please respect that!" Bolin exclaimed, happily taking the plate and biting into the warm food.
"My bad, my bad. I'll shut up now and leave you to your private conversation."
"Thank you, brother. I knew you'd understand."
Over on Air Temple Island, other siblings were having quality bonding time as well, though this time while feeding ring-tailed lemurs in the snow. Ikki squatted down even lower to get even proportions to every lemur whereas Jinora stood up and stretched her knees until they cracked, turning to Korra as she watched her breaths leave her mouth due to the intense cold.
"So, how's it going with the tall, dreamy firebender boy? You've been spending a lot of time together lately."
Ikki jumped up and excitedly babbled, "Oooh, yeah! Tell us all about the magical romance."
"What? Listen to you two, I-I'm not interested in Mako or any romantic stuff. Besides, he's all into that prissy rich girl...but let's just pretend for a second that I suddenly realized that I am interested in him. What would I do?" She stuffed her hands into her pockets and anxiously waited for the sisters to speak, Korra looking up only to see two vastly different reactions on their faces.
Jinora sported a concerned look, her voice coming out uneasily as she tried to figure out the best way to say what she wanted to say. "Uh, nothing? It is...disappointing, I guess, that he's with someone else, but good for him and that other girl. I'm sure she's beautiful and they're great togeth-"
"No! Don't listen to her Korra! You need to confess so you can be like that romance in Jinora's historical book that she read me. It was one where the heroine fell in love with the enemy general's son, who's supposed to marry the princess. You should do what she did!" Ikki interrupted with a gleeful smile.
"No, Ikki, you don't get it she shouldn't do that bec-"
"Ooh, tell me!" Korra interrupted. Jinora groaned and threw her hands up, tightening her coat around herself as she impatiently listened to Ikki babble.
"Well, I don't quite remember because it is boring, but another thing you could do is brew a love potion of rainbows and sunsets that makes true lovers sprout wings and-"
Pema's hearty laugh cut through Ikki's rant as the young airbender slowly flew down from the suspended twirl she whirled herself into. "Oh, hey Pema. Uh, how long were you standing there?" Korra giggled nervously after she turned around to see Pema walking towards them with her coat wrapped tightly around her pregnant belly.
"Long enough, but trust me, I know what you're going through. Years ago I was in the exact same situation with Tenzin."
"Daddy was in love with someone else before you?" Ikki questioned, very surprised.
"That's right," Pema nodded as she brushed some snow off of her shoulders.
"So what did you do?" Korra wondered.
"Well, for the longest time I did nothing. I was so shy and scared of rejection, but watching my soulmate spend his life with the wrong woman became too painful. So I hung my chin out there and I confessed my love to Tenzin. The rest is history," Pema explained. Ikki and Korra melted with slight 'aww's as they listened to the story, Jinorra standing behind them with crossed arms and a confused expression as the wheels in her head furiously turned.
"That's cute and all, mom, but it sounds like you went after a guy who was into and with someone else and-" Jinora was interrupted. Again. And the amount of air that she blew out of her nose in frustration was enough to make one think a dragon had appeared.
"Shush, it's love!" Ikki cooed.
Jinora rolled her eyes and dramatically turned away from the group, tuning out Korra and Pema as they continued to fawn over Pema's relationship with Ikki soon joining them. "It's love!" Jinora mocked. She plopped down onto the ground and began feeding the lemurs again with a sharp glare. "Yeah right," she muttered.
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"Folks, after a year of waiting, this year's Pro-bending Championship is finally here. Tonight is the first set of matches in our single elimination sixteen team bracket, and I gotta tell ya, these are the most tenacious and talented bending trios this arena has ever seen," Shiro Shinobi's voice boomed to the crowd.
"Introducing our first team, the Future Industries Fire Ferrets! And their opponents, the Red Sands Rabaroos!" The crowd cheered as the ring announcer brought in the teams, a bell sounding as the match began.
"What an explosive opening volley. Both teams quickly recover and unleash a barrage of bending. I. am. Astonished with the level of improvement displayed here by the Fire Ferrets. No wonder the Avatar has been absent from the papers lately. She's obviously had her nose to the grindstone in the gym. The Ferrets advance into Rabaroo territory and are holding nothing back. Nice sprawl there by Mako. Bolin strikes, Ula dodges, and all three Rabaroos are down. The Fire Ferrets easily take round one!"
"Round two!" The ring announcer called.
"The Rabaroos are looking for payback and they go straight after Bolin. Korra comes to his defense and water-whacks Umi back into zone two! These Ferrets are on fire tonight and they win round two."
"Round three!" The ring announcer threw his hands down as a bell sounded and the players went at each other.
"With the Rabaroos down two rounds they'll need a knockout to win, and with the way the Fire Ferrets are playing, I don't see that happening. These Ferrets are working together like a well-oiled bending machine. Bolin passes Adi back into zone two, and the Ferrets get the green light to advance. The Rabaroos are just fighting to stay on their feet at this point. Out goes Adi, and Ula, and Umi!"
"All three rounds go to the Future Industries Fire Ferrets to win the opening match of the tournament!" The ring announcer, well, announced.
"That's what I'm talking about!" Bolin yelled during their team cheer. Turning to the audience, his face grew into a huge grin and the wild cheers and applause of the crowd. "Thank you, thank you very much! Thank you, all you fans!"
Back in the changing room, Mako turned to both Korra and Bolin with individual proud smiles. "Wow, we were really connecting out there in that ring."
"Yeah! You know, I feel like the two of us have been connecting really well out of the ring, too," Korra laughed.
"Uh, sure," Mako replied as he removed his helmet to scratch his head.
"So, I was thinking we should spend some time together," Korra suggested.
"Oh, but we've been spending lots of time together." Mako ran his right hand through the back of his hair with confused eyes as he tried to figure out what Korra was saying.
"I mean outside of the gym, and not while searching for kidnapped family members or fighting chi blockers." Korra messed with the sleeves of her uniform, not being able to look too long at Mako out of nervousness.
"Well I guess, but if you mean it another way, Asami and I are dating-"
Korra abruptly interjected, Mako nearly dropping his helmet just because he didn't expect her to talk until he finished. "Yeah, and I really like you, and I think we are meant to happen!" She quickly turned around and buried her face in her hands slightly in order to hide her warming cheeks.
"Korra, I'm really sorry, but I don't feel the same way about you," Mako gently said as he tried to reach out for her shoulder. Korra instantly jerked away, almost as if she could sense what he was about to do.
"Forget I ever said anything..." she mumbled dejectedly as she walked away from Mako, her hands rubbing up and down her arms in embarrassment.
Asami walked into the room with a bright smile, Pabu chittering softly on her shoulder while he moved as she leaned over to kiss Mako on his cheek. "Congratulations, guys! You were so amazing out there." Korra took a seat on a bench in the changing room and caught Mako's glance, the awkward look making the gaze feel intensely uncomfortable. Bolin sat down right next to Korra, twiddling his thumbs as he mulled over his words.
"So, Korra, I was thinking. You and me, we could get some dinner together. Sort of a date situation."
"Oh, that's really sweet, but I don't think so. I don't feel very date-worthy," Korra sighed.
"Are you kidding me? You're the smartest, funniest, toughest, buffest, talentedest, incrediblest girl in the world!" Bolin praised with wide gestures.
Chuckling, Korra lifted her head a bit to look at Bolin with unconvinced eyes. "You really feel that way about me?"
"I felt that way since the moment I saw you! Trust me, I know we're gonna have so much fun together." Bolin added, trying not to mess up his chance.
"You know what? I could use some fun. Okay, sure!" Korra agreed. Korra and Bolin shared a smile, getting up to leave for a bit before the next match and leaving Mako and Asami alone in the changing room. Mako's eyes were glued to the pair as they left before he shook his head and turned his attention back to Asami as he wrapped his arms tightly around her.
Naga rested in front of the door of Narook's Seaweed Noodlery as Korra and Bolin sat inside the warm interior. "So, how do you like it?" Bolin gulped as he slurped down some noodles.
"Hmm, it's delicious and totally authentic! I didn't realize how much I missed water Tribe grub!" Korra hummed happily through a mouthful of noodles.
"That's great 'cause this is my favorite joint. See? You love Water Tribe food, I love Water Tribe food. Just another reason why we get along so well!" Bolin blurted behind his sips of his drink.
"They are good noodles!" Korra said as she wasn't quite sure what Bolin had just said because she was too focused on her noodles. She looked up for a brief second and caught someone staring at her, her face creasing as they kept staring. "Hey, who's that creepy guy over there who keeps glaring at us?"
Looking in the direction of Korra's line of sight, Bolin turned back to Korra hastily once he realized who was staring at them. "That's Tahno and the Wolfbats, the reigning champs, three years running. Don't make eye contact." Korra, naturally, disobeyed and looked straight at him, Tahno taking this as a challenge to walk up to Korra and Bolin with his company.
"Uh-oh, here he comes. Now don't mess with this guy, he's a nasty dude." Bolin busied himself with his noodles as Taho approached, Tahno's taunting voice making Bolin just eat more and more to avoid interacting with him.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't the Fire Ferrets. Pro-bending's saddest excuse for a team. Tell me, how did a couple of amateurs like you luck your way into the tournament? Especially you, Avatar. You know, if you'd like to learn how a real pro bends, I could give you some private lessons." Tahno leaned down close to Korra's face, Bolin choking on his noodles at Tahno's words.
"You wanna go toe-to-toe with me, pretty boy?" Korra glared, standing up and maintaining the same level of distance that Tahno created when he leaned down to her.
"Go for it, I'll give you the first shot," he smirked.
Whispering, Bolin said, "Korra, don't. He's just trying to bait you. If you hit him, we're out of the tournament." Korra briefly glanced at Bolin before bringing her fingers to her lips and whistling for Naga. Her polar bear-dog burst through the window and roared loudly at Tahno, the boy falling over but unfortunately having his friends to catch him before they swiftly walked away. Korra and Bolin laughed, taking sips of their drinks to ease their breathlessness.
"Whoa, ho, ho. I've never seen someone harass Tahno like that. You are one of a kind, Korra." They continue on with the night, even sharing some questionable-tasting drinks with cute little umbrella straws. Bolin let out a burp from his drink, his ears tinting red out of embarrassment to which Korra just burped even louder to try and ease his embarrassment. Bolin jokingly burps again, louder than hers and she simply just out burped him. They burst into giggles, the other people in the restaurant looking at them with weird, disgusted, glances. Later, the two even head on top of Harmony Tower to watch the city lights for a bit before they have to go back, both of them having a nice time despite the freezing cold of the snow. Well, that's more so related to Bolin, Korra, of course, could not care less about the cold.
Mako sat patiently on the steps of the Pro-bending Arena, playing with a small fire in his hands in order to warm himself up from the cold. He stood up as he noticed Korra walking up to the arena, stepping in front of her stride with a slightly mad look. "What kind of game are you playing?"
"Uh...pro-bending? We've got a quarterfinal match," Korra said, confused at Mako's aggression.
"No, I mean with Bolin. You've got him all in a tizzy, and I know you're only using him to get back at me, " Mako accused, pointing a finger at Korra's chest.
"I am not, we're just having fun together. What do you care anyway?" Korra scoffed.
"What do I care? I care about my little brother and am looking out for him. I don't intend on seeing him heartbroken, and he obviously really likes you and based on-"
"Wait a second...you're not worried about Bolin, you're jealous. You do have feelings for me!" Korra countered, her voice rising in excitement.
"What? Jealous? Don't be ridiculous," Mako dismissed.
"Admit it! You like me!" Korra pushed, crossing her arms confidently.
"No. I'm with Asami," Mako said definitively.
"Yeah, but when you're with her you're thinking about me, aren't you?" Korra cocked her brow as Mako's face morphed into astonishment.
"Holy spirits, get over yourself!" he yelled angrily.
Pointing to herself, Korra didn't let up with her pushiness. "I'm just being honest."
"You're crazy!" he complained.
"You're a liar!" she fired back. They both glared at each other before storming off, deep huffs escaping their lips as they entered the arena.
"Hey, Mako! Oh-" A random person came up to Mako with a piece of paper, the firebender stopping his annoyed steps to backtrack and sign an autograph for the fan. Korra continued on, curses whipping underneath her breath as her mind rammed over itself from how irritated Mako had made her.
Mako quickly wrote his signature onto the piece of paper and gave strained smile. "Hi, thank you for your support," Mako said shortly before stalking off further into the arena, his knuckles curling and turning white as he neared the changing room whose door was flung wide open.
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Hey! This one's a bit shorter bc the dialogue was really short but I hope you enjoy! Keep staying safe, y'all!
-JinxingGinny