《~♤~》
Remora
'Remora! Wake up and come down for breakfast!'
'Go away, Ikki. I'm trying to sleep.' I growl, covering my head with my pillow.
I feel a strong current of air push me off my bed. 'Hey! No air bending in my room.' I glower Ikki, who's standing by the door with a smug grin on her face. 'Only until you come for breakfast.' She replies.
'Fine.' I scoff, getting up
•~^~•
I see Tenzin reading The United Republic Times with a cup of herbal tea by the time I enter the kitchen. Pema, Tenzin's wife, is by the sink doing the dishes. Korra along with the kids are all gathered around the table with Tenzin having their breakfast.
'Morning, sis! How did you sleep?' Korra greets me. I sit down throw my head on the table and let out a groan as my response. 'I'll take that as a "no".' Korra declares. 'Is it the nightmares again?'
'And the constant throwing up and the fatigue.' I add. 'Sucks to be you, huh?' She chuckles.
'Bitch don't tempt me to pounce on your ass and give it to you.' I growl.
'Ew! Keep your germs to yourself. I need to be in good health for my pro bending match next week.' Korra replies.
'The hell is pro-bending?' I look at her.
Korra throws me an incredulous look. 'HOW CAN KNOW WHAT PRO-BENDING IS?!'
'That's why I'm asking, isn't it?' I answer with sarcasm dripping in my tone.
'You're dead to me.'
'Korra, look at me,' I say. 'does it look like I have any fucks to give about what goes on in Republic City? No, I don't. I don't see why you're making a fuss about it as if you expect me to know as much about it as you do.'
'You don't have to be rude about it,' She frowns.
'Then stop making such a big deal about,' I give her a bitter sweet sarcastic smile.
Korra rolls her eyes, 'Well if you wanna know...'
Korra spends the first few minutes explaining in detail on the basic concept of the sport and rules. 'Isn't that cheating since you're the Avatar?' I ask. 'From what you explained, it requires a bender of one element. Not three.'
'As long as I stick to my actual element, it isn't.' She replies. 'Pro-bending is by far the greatest sport known to men.'
'Throwing fireballs, water blasts and earth disks amusing? How is that amusing?'
'Everything. The thrill. The action.'
'It's pathetic.'
'That's the best part of the sport.'
'Still pathetic. You can't convince me otherwise.'
'Why don't you come watch me practice and see how it's done?' She proposes.
'Can't. I have dance class today.'
'How about later in the evening?'
'I'm not allowed to leave the island in the evening after last time, remember?'
Korra turns to Tenzin. 'Tenzin, can Remora come with me to match this evening?' She asks.
I roll my eyes. Why is she so insistent about a stupid sport?
'And how do I know that you two won't end up in Lin's office, again?' He asks.
'That was one time. Those jerks were asking for it.' Korra and I retort defensively.
'We'll go to the Arena and come straight back to the island when the match is over. And I promise to keep dear ol' Remora on a tight leash.'
'You got it backwards, sister. I'll be the one who should be keeping you on a tight leash.' I reply earning a scowl from her.
'She does have a point.' Tenzin agrees with me. 'Please.' Korra clasps her hands together, putting on a puppy face. 'Fine.' Tenzin gives in. 'Yes!' Korra fist pumps victoriously before turning to me with a smug look. 'You owe me.'
'Fuck off.' I scowl at her.
'Love you too, sis.' She gives me an innocent smile. 'Whatever.' I get up and left.
'Hey! What about breakfast?'
'Not hungry.'
Mako
'Rise and shine, Bolin. We need to get ready for practice.' I knock on his door. 'Five more minutes, please?' He groans. 'No can do, bro. We have a match against the Rabbarroos is next week and as captain, it's my job to make sure the team is well prepped and ready for the match.'
Groaning again. 'Can't we postpone the match?'
'We can't. We've made it this far to postpone and I can't afford to throw away all of our hard work.'
'I hate it when you're right.'
.~^~.
'Bo! Have you seen the keys to the locker room?' I ask. 'In the kitchen.' He calls. 'Alright cool. Lemme grab my stuff so we can leave. Did you grab yours?'
'Way ahead of you, bro.'
'Good. Now let's hurry or we'll have Korra to deal with for keeping her waiting.'
'You still intimidated by her?'
'Nope. Knowing how much she hates mornings; I won't hear the end of it.'
'Haha! Right. Gotcha.'
.~^~.
By the time we make it to the gym, Korra's already there waiting for us. 'Hey, Korra!' Bolin smiles at her. 'Hey, Bolin!' She smiles at him. 'Mako.' Her tone turns sour just as her frown when she looks at me.
'Hey.' I casually reply.
'You're early today.' Bolin notes.
'Even though I live by my "mornings are evil" philosophy, it pretty much has become normal to be waking up early and coming to practice,' she quips. 'That and because I'm just too fired up for tonight's match.'
'Really loving the enthusiasm, Korra.' I tell her.
'I was talking to Bolin.' She growls at me. Rolling my eyes, 'C'mon. We've got work to do.'
.~^~.
'Alright, team. That's all for today!' I announce.
'Finally! I thought you were going to kill us.' Bolin chuckles. Him and Korra settle down at the benches whilst I take my place at the pole and lean against it. 'He does enjoy torturing us by pushing us beyond our limits.' Korra replies.
'But it's totally worth it.' I point out. 'We become more adapted and durable to tougher competition. If we keep this up, we just might be able to go toe to toe with the Wolfbats if we qualify for the finals.'
'Relax, Mako. We've worked super hard to make it this far.' Bolin says.
'Yeah. If it wasn't for my mad skills, you two would probably be crying like a couple of bitches.' Korra boasts.
I can't help but chuckle at her ego, but she does make a point. Out of the three of us, Korra works the hardest and puts most of the effort into the game than Bolin and I combined. We wouldn't have made it this far if it wasn't for her.
Korra, Bolin and I are a pro-bending team known as the Fire Ferrets. Bolin and I had been pro-bending for four years. Korra had been pro-bending with us for almost a year after our old teammate, Hasook, bailed on us. Korra wasn't good during her first try but had since been improving with practice and training.
Pro-bending isn't just our career. It's also me and Bolin's source of income since we got paid after winning some matches and I take it very seriously. Each match we won, we always received about 900 yuans. That's enough to cover for the rent, electricity and food. Plus, I had a job at the electric power plant in Republic City to get some extra cash though it doesn't really pay nearly as much as pro-bending.
'So, how's your sister doing?' Bolin asks. 'It's hard to say.' Korra sighs. 'Tenzin and I are trying our best to help but she's just being difficult.'
Bolin and I have never met Korra's sister personally, but from the way she talks about her, she seems like a pretty interesting character. Korra didn't disclose too much information about her sister to us. All we know is that she moved from the South Pole to seek counselling and have a fresh start here in Republic City for reasons I'm assuming are personal.
'I try to reach out to her and help but she won't let me. She tells me that I wouldn't understand. How does she expect me to understand if she won't tell me anything?' Korra continues. 'I get that things weren't exactly peachy for her before she moved here but she shouldn't keep whatever's bothering her to herself. And her sneaking out doing Tui knows what in the middle of the night isn't exactly doing her any good.'
'Is she still sneaking out?' Bolin asks.
'No. After she snuck out last time, Tenzin has been keeping tabs on her and made sure the white lotus sentries monitored her whereabouts around the Island. And she can't leave the Island without a white lotus sentry, Pema, Tenzin or me.' Korra explains. 'She should be in her dance class by now so by the time my rest is over I should be packing up and heading over the dance studio to pick her up. She didn't come here to fool around. She came here to get help. I keep telling her that, but she won't listen.'
'Maybe it's because she's taking it as if you're seeing her as a deviant rather than an actual person.' I join the conversation, catching hers and Bolin's attention. 'Maybe the reason why she's not saying anything or voicing whatever she's keeping to herself is because she's scared that you'll think less of her. And you having to remind her why she's here proves her point.'
'What do you know about what she feels?' She narrows her eyes at me.
'I'm just seeing things from her perspective and putting myself in her shoes.' I elaborate. 'I understand your concern for her, but you should at least try give her the assurance that regardless of everything that's going on in her life, you'll always be by her side, so she won't feel alone. It's something I would do for Bolin if he was in her shoes. You should set a good example for her.'
Korra lets out a sarcastic chuckle. 'It's funny you say that since you yourself have been setting a bad example for Bolin when you went out drinking and slept with some hooker two months ago.' She sneers.
'What does that have to do with anything,' I furrow my eyes confused. 'I'm just trying to help.'
'What happens between me and my sister is my business! Deal with it!'
I laugh incredulously at how ridiculous she's being. 'You're so full of shit. You know that, right?'
'And you're full of...of...blood dripping cunts!' She yells.
'Can you guys not right now? This is the tenth time you guys fought this week.' Bolin chimes into the argument. 'I can't be the one keeping the peace here.'
'She (He) started it.' We retort. Bolin sighs, throwing his hands in the air and leaves. 'Call me when you guys are done.' He says on his way out.
'This is your fault.' Korra accuses. 'Don't pin this on me, Korra. You're the bitch here.' I glare her.
'Is everything okay here?' Someone catches our attention. A young raven-haired woman, with long wavy hair that was clipped to the side, lovely pale skin, gorgeous emerald eyes and luscious crimson lips was standing at the entrance of the gym.
'Hey, Asami.' I smile as she walks over to my direction and locks her lips with mine. 'How are you doing?' I ask, when she pulls away.
'Bored. Had a long boring day at home with nothing to do. Dad didn't bring the latest models for me to tinker with.' She pouts. 'So, I decided to come here and see how you're doing. So here I am.'
'Whatever! I'm outta here.' I hear Korra scoff. We see her already on her feet, exiting the gym. 'What's up with her?' Asami asks, watching Korra leave. 'She's being Korra.' I sigh. 'Well, she's worse than usual. You should ask her what's up.' She suggests. 'Right! As if that will end well.' I roll my eyes and fold my arms to my chest.
'Mako, she's your friend.'
'And ex-girlfriend.'
'That's no excuse.'
'What can I possibly ask her without her swatting me like a bug and spitting in my face like a python cobra? Literally.'
'You're being a baby.'
'Why don't you ask her? You're a girl. I'm pretty sure she'd want to talk to you about her current problems.'
'Right! As if it's a good idea for your current girlfriend to chat with your ex-girlfriend.'
I sigh. 'Fine.' I go to the locker room.
.~^~.
Korra has already changed in her casual attire and is already packing her gear into her bag. Bolin's nowhere in sight. Seems like an appropriate environment to talk to her alone.
'Korra.' I call. I see her tense her shoulders a bit. Seems like she wasn't expecting me after the small drama we had earlier. 'Yeah, what?' She grumbles without meeting my gaze. 'You okay?' I ask, standing next to her. 'Who wants to know?' She asks bluntly. 'I do. It's my business to know if my teammates are in the right state of mind our match tonight.' I reply.
'Of course, it is.' I hear the bitterness and the heavy sarcasm in her statement.
I sigh. 'Look, I know things aren't all gumdrops and ice cream between us, but I still care about you. You're my friend and you know I hate seeing my friends unhappy.'
'Oh! So now I'm your friend?' She finally looks at me with a glare. 'What are you talking about? We've been friends ever since day one.' I frown. 'You never liked me since day one. If I remember correctly, I had to work my ass off to get on your good side.' She recalls. I sigh, rubbing my temples. 'Korra, can you please stop being difficult. You've been like this ever since we broke up and I'd really appreciate it if you just move past this.'
'And I'd appreciate if you stop taking pity on me.'
'But I'm–'
'Save it, Martinez. I don't need you to pity me nor do I need you to care.' She pokes my chest, giving me a hard glare. 'You have your prissy girlfriend for that. So, leave me alone.'
Korra zips her bag and exits the locker room.
'Fine! Be that way!' I yell.