“Ugh, why do we have to train in the morning.” I glanced over the paper I was reading towards Korra as she glared at the brothers in front of her. “The morning is evil!” It took just three days for Korra to start complaining again it seems, at least she was doing far better in her airbending training. Even if she had failed to produce more than a slight breeze since then, still there was constant, if slight, improvement now.
“We are the rookies so we get the worst timeslot in the gym.” Bolin said with a shrug.
“You’re complaining about training to pro bend after everything you pulled getting here?” I pointed out earning a look from Korra as she tossed a weighted ball over at Mako.
“Baldy is right.” An admirable attempt to antagonize me, Mako was still upset that I beat the snot out of him. “And you’re the rookiest of us all, we gotta get you up to speed if we are going to survive at all in the tournament. Just deal with it.” Mako sent the weighted ball back at Korra who threw it back with some childish retort.
“Korra play nice.” I intoned in a singsong voice Pema liked to use earning a chuckle from Bolin. No doubt Korra was going to snap back with some biting comment but before she could the door to the gym opened and a well kempt man strode in greeting the Fire Ferrets. After Korra inquired as to who he was he introduced himself as Butakha the director of the pro bending league.
After handing Mako his team’s winnings Butakha stripped the money yuan by yuan citing fees, rent and groceries until Mako was left with nothing. Then the man informed Mako that the Fire Ferrets needed to pay into the winning pot a sum of thirty thousand yuan and they had a week to come up with the money or they were out of the championship tournament. I quickly did the math in my head and the winnings for the tournament would come out to around five hundred thousand yuan unless the pot also included a sum from the Pro Bending League.
“You don’t happen to have a secret Avatar bank account filled with gold, do you?” Korra pulled out her pockets and shrugged.
“I got nothing, I have never really needed money. I’ve always had people like Tenya looking after me.” She did actually have a bank account but it was controlled by the white lotus and was extremely modest considering the funding of the white lotus, likely intended to be used for food and travel expenses. She would not have access to it until she finished her training.
With the annoyance of having to babysit Korra while she trained and the risks of Pro Bending it was nice that this problem was going to solve itself. Rather than get involved in a potentially dangerous Pro Bending tournament Korra and the Fire Ferrets would have to sit out and practice for the next season. Hopefully by then Korra would lose interest in the sport considering she was not in it for the money and certainly did not need it for the fame.
“Then I wouldn’t say you have nothing.” Mako grumbled.
“Sorry…” Korra said looking around for help as Bolin stepped in.
“No, it’s okay, it’s just ever since we lost our parents, we’ve been on our own…” Being an orphan is genuinely terrible even with somewhere to go with people who try their best to care for you. Now that I thought about it, I had no idea if there were any orphanages established in Republic City. Perhaps that was something to talk to Tenzin about later.
“I am so sorry I didn’t know…” Korra said with a genuine expression.
“Anyway.” Mako cut in. “What are we going to do about the money?” His question was directed at Bolin and clearly an attempt to move away from a sore subject he had unintentionally steered the conversation towards.
Bolin then started some pitch about training his pet to do tricks, I thought about commenting on the likelihood of such an endeavour earning any meaningful capital but Korra spoke before I could formulate what I wanted to say.
“Tenya, do you have any ideas for the money?” Korra asked. I thought about my own finances and I would rather not get involved honestly, withdrawing money would require me to sell stocks from my heavily leveraged account when I was relying on the stocks to pay off my loans. I could do that but I was projected to pay them off in just a few more months if the investor circular I got from Future Industries was any indication. Thirty Thousand might be a drop in the bucket for me but with how good business was right now that Thirty Thousand might well double in value by this time next week.
Besides it was not in my interest to encourage Korra to dedicate more time and effort towards Pro Bending just like it was not in my interest to push her away from it. I was in an awkward situation.
“Don’t you have a bank account?” I asked Mako earning a blank stare. “Why are you getting paid cash in hand?”
“We can’t afford a bank account.” Bolin said dismissively.
“What? Accounts are free, you just need a sum of yuan to put into the account when it is opened. You only get charged on transactions or when using the bank services. It would also allow you to have receipts for every expense you seem to owe Butakha.”
“How do you know so much about banks and money? You’re an Air Nomad.” I let out a sigh and folded the paper over.
“The great guru Laghima said that without the freedom to live entirely in the material the personal sacrifice of turning away from the chains that bind one to the earth is meaningless. He spoke out against the practice of forcing young Air Nomads to live entirely selfless lives disconnected from the world. Monk Jinpa, personal aid to Avatar Kyoshi also said something similar, he who never commits an act of theft for he has no hands is not noble.” Bolin nodded and even Mako looked thoughtful while Korra just frowned.
“So, Air Nomads can do money?”
“… Yes, Bolin I can do money.” The poor man must have been hit in the head a few times in the ring.
“What if he uses his mouth?” Everyone looked at Korra like she had grown a second head.
“What?” I stared at the Avatar as she put her hands on her hips confidently.
“What if he picked something up with his mouth, or with the stumps, you don’t need hands to steal.”
“I… Korra it’s a metaphor.”
“Well it's dumb! What is even noble about not stealing when you don’t have hands anyway?”
“Oh, oh! What if he used the fact he had no hands to throw off the police!” Bolin added.
“It’s not about the hands! It’s about the capacity to commit the act! If someone can’t commit the act then they are not a good person for not doing it!” I quickly settled back down and focused on the fact that I was going to attend a nice relaxing hot spring today. From Korra’s smug look it seems like she baited me into snapping at her and Bolin. I was unused to someone deliberately needling me, something I would have to address.
“Let’s refocus.” Mako said. “The championship pot, we need ideas about how to pay it.”
“You need a sponsor, or a loan if you can’t find one. Or you need to find a job you can work overtime that provides enough money to cover thirty thousand yuan in only six days.” That was not such a tall order as it might seem for a talented bender. Construction was booming at the moment and a powerful earth bender who could move enough stone or a Firebender who could spot weld would earn a pretty penny on the right jobs. That of course was if Mako could bend lightning, even just a little bit. Something that was rare enough that there were only a few thousand people in the entire United Republic who could.
“Yeah, that seems to be our only options.” Mako let out a sigh. “I will ask around for some work, I don’t want to take a loan, if that is our only option, I would rather skip the season.” Not an unreasonable position to be debt averse. Bad interest rates made using loans to take risks a death sentence for the poor. “I will work something out, I always do.” Mako said stalking out of the gym with his equipment bag over one shoulder.
“Well, we still have a few hours before we are meant to meet up with Tenzin and Pema so what do you want to do Korra?” I was not all that bothered by the practice being cut short, for my part it was very boring.
“Oh uhh, I guess we could get something to eat…” Korra said rubbing her belly and staring off into space. Now I just had to think of a restaurant that would be fine serving a pair of sweaty athletes early in the morning.
“Well then let’s get going.” I got to my feet as Bolin looked like a kick puppy. “You too Bolin, get changed.”
“Me? You want me to come with?”
“Yes, hurry up and don’t forget to shower.” I said as Korra strutted off to the female changing room.
“Yes mam!” A jovial Bolin said snapping a sloppy fire nation salute and heading to change.
“So, like, what is it like being an Air Nomad?” As creative as ever, Bolin was asking the same question he had been asking for the last few days in just a different formation of words. He seemed endlessly interested in my lifestyle in the same way he asked questions of Korra, from where she lived or what the music was like in the south pole or what she did about the cold.
It was somewhat endearing and I had come to understand that his curiosity was genuine and not simply a way to make himself appear to be interested in Korra’s personality. He had his less subtle moments of trying to court Korra that she seemed to miss or ignore, it was hard to get a good grasp on what exactly was going on in Korra’s head sometimes.
“You are going to need to be more specific.” I said nursing my Houli bean tea. I was lucky that it was gaining popularity in the city after apparently being served by Tarrlok at one of his parties after I had introduced him to the drink.
“Tenya, you have got to try this.” Korra said excitedly cutting Bolin off as she raised her chopsticks to my face. I rolled my eyes and opened my mouth as she waited for my reaction. Bolin for his part looked horrified for some reason. I started chewing to get a sense of the flavour before swallowing, it was odd that Korra wanted to eat sweet and sour fired duck in the morning and it was honestly rather mediocre.
“It’s good.” I said earning a pleased nod from Korra.
“Tenya, did you know that was meat.” He looked around as if the Air Nomad police were about to show up. “Korra you have to be more careful.”
“Eh don’t worry about it Bo, its Tenya… Oh hang on.” Korra lent over to run her thumb over my lips and chin before sticking whatever food I had misplaced in her mouth. “Got it!” She said happily as I shook my head in amusement. Korra had always been a very ‘kinetic’ friend with a limited grasp of social boundaries. It was difficult to stay mad at her sometimes because of how earnest she was.
Sometimes, she still had an attitude about her.
“If you say so.” Bolin said with a frown but did not press the issue, he was looking between us oddly likely trying to work out why I was breaching one of the more well-known Air Nomad precept about meat. I was not interested in a theological discussion so I changed the subject.
“I noticed during your training that you don’t have a very traditional bending style.”
“Oh yeah.” Bolin said with a smile. “I kinda learned as I went so you have like Kyoshi Island Orthodox being taught in some dojos or Traditional Valley Style that are super expensive and I went for some lessons but mostly I focused on Ba Sing Street because... Well, you know.” I knew for a fact that ‘Ba Sing Street’ was not a real tradition.
“Ba Sing Street?” Korra asked as Bolin nodded.
“Yeah, that stuff I showed you, bout keeping on your toes and popping up with your core? That is what Ba Sing is all about, you gotta catch your opponent unaware and keep them guessing about what you are doing and how hard you are gunna hit.” Ah, it was a style for surprise attacks. That made a lot of sense from what I had seen. Likely created to end a fight before it started and that sort of mentality translated well to Pro Bending. This made Bolin effectively self-taught if he was a boy off the streets, he was an excellent bender and his lack of formal education did make that more impressive.
“Ah that is our cue.” I noted, we were sitting in the waterfront so I had a good view of the Arena docks, somehow Meelo could see us from an impressive distance and was waving his arms in the air trying to get our attention.
“Aww already.” Bolin pouted and I dropped a few paper yuan bills on the table to cover our food and drinks.
“Afraid so, we have a spa appointment.” Korra raised an eyebrow.
“Mf’ dugh?” She said stuffing the rest of her food into her mouth in a horrific display.
“I told you yesterday.”
“Foggt’” She swallowed only after she had spoken in the remarkably ladylike way Korra enjoyed presenting.
“Charming.” Was my admittedly pithy response. “It was nice speaking to you Bolin…” I turned to look at him and instantly regretted it as he had taken Korra’s piggish behaviour as his cue to copy her and was currently doing a chipmunk impression. I was not sure who the better role model was here.
“Bye bye Korra, Tenya!” He waved as I tried to work out how he managed to speak entirely legibly though his food before casting it from my mind and walking down to the dock.
“Oh, it’s something of a tradition.” Pema said as Ikki cuddled against her and looked a bit ill from the boats rocking. “It started when Tenya was little, she read about the Union Spa and was so excited to go.” Korra raised an eyebrow.
“I never took you for that sort of girl Tenya, but it explains why your skin is so nice.” Korra said as I rolled my eyes and shrugged. “So, you are doing this for Tenya?”
“Well actually it was just going to be Tenya and I.” Pema said. “It was a birthday present for me but then Ikki wanted to come and so did Meelo and if Meelo was coming we needed to bring Tenzin then we could hardly just leave you and Jinora out of it at that point, so you can thank Tenya for the lovely day out.” My poor money!
“Awww. Is there a sentimental mommies girl hiding away in there?” Korra said elbowing me in the ribs. Pema had a warm smile on her face, it was surprising how well Korra had fallen into being almost part of the family. Pema must have a soft spot for her.
“I see you desire a more difficult training regime.” I countered earning a laugh from Korra as Tenzin smiled at the both of us.
“Anyway, reading about a spa? Just how old were you?” Korra inquired.
“Five, it was in the newspaper.”
“Tenya was a very bright young girl.” Pema added at Korra’s shocked expression.
“I hated reading.” She admitted to very little surprise, I was being a little harsh, she was rather more academically gifted then I expected. But then she did practically live around teachers her entire life, it would be remarkable if she learned nothing.
“I love the mud baths!” Meelo said as Jinora and Ikki started chatting about the air and makeup treatments that were on offer, they even got Korra interested. The boat ride terminated at the base of a cliffside that still bore the century old Fire Nation markings from when this had been a colonial governor’s personal bathhouse. It had expanded far beyond that now but still made use of a ridiculously opulent dock that sunk into a quartz cave with Water Tribe and Earth Kingdom wings having been established to make this one of the most comprehensive and exclusive ‘wellness centres’ in the world.
Pema had only taken me here once and the fees had been waved because of the novelty of my being an Airbender. Since then, I had only managed to enjoy the facilities by obfuscating just how much I paid for entry.
“Whoa, this place is fancy.” Korra said as the boat docked and we were quickly greeted by the usual attendants.
“Ah Miss Tenya and company, I understand you were booked for two?”
“Change of plans, the usual payment method.” I waved a hand.
“Of course, I will see to the masters if the ladies would follow Elua.” Korra glanced over at Tenzin as he gave Pema a short kiss and collected Meelo as they left with the male attendant to the eastern side of the dock following him up some stairs.
“We’re not going in together?” She asked as Elua turned with a smile.
“After your treatments you can see them in the Unisex baths or the relaxation gardens.”
“Ah okay, what kind of trea-.” Korra’s eyes went wide as we were led though the fire nation themed foyer into some changing rooms where a dozen or so women were currently changing into loose robes or simply going without. Each group seen to by an attendant in traditional dress that displayed their speciality. Water, Earth and Fire attendants were taking clothes and personal effects for safekeeping while the clients were enjoying themselves.
“Pema, Tenya!” The cheerful voice of the Fire Nation’s Councilwoman rang out as she approached. “You both look so well, what a surprise to see you here.”
“Mindy. Its lovely to see you.” Pema quickly greeted the woman who eagerly took the chance to natter about my dear stepmother’s pregnancy and how wonderful she looked. I glanced over at Korra and found the young Avatar was struggling not to look at the entirely nude elderly woman and took no small pleasure in her embarrassment as Mindy took the chance to introduce herself to Korra.
“Ah this is our spot.” I said drawing Korra’s attention to the changing booth, like a lifeline Korra dove for what I offered with a sputtered excuse to Mindy who seemed to enjoy the chance to ruffle a youngster’s feathers. She had tried to embarrass me in the past but my life in Japan had prepared me for elderly people in hot springs who had no shame and reveled in electing reactions out of the youth.
“Sorry I forgot to warn you Korra if the nudity makes you uncomfortable…” I muttered to the woman as I led her to a changing area.
“Oh no, it’s not a problem, I uh, it just caught me off guard.” She glanced around again and nodded. “I… Yeah it's fine, that explains why Tenzin and Meelo went to the other area.” I nodded.
“You are allowed the robes in almost all of the treatments so don’t feel pressured to do anything.” I said taking my clothes off as the clearly nervous girl played with the buttons on her casual outfit. Jinora and Ikki were already changed into the robes and helping Pema by the time Korra was undressed and awkwardly trying to puff her chest out to make herself look more impressive.
Something she did not need to do in the slightest, she looked statuesque with how carefully developed her muscle groups were. I tried not to make her more uncomfortable by obviously checking her out. Something she did not seem to feel the need to do in return.
“Woah, Tenya you are cut!” Korra explained loud enough for people to look over in confusion.
“What?” I asked as she pointed at my abdomen.
“You always have loose clothes on and stuff and it does NOT do you justice, you have to show this lean mean side of you off more often!” Ah Korra’s brain has degraded into gym fiend mode.
“Well, it’s only natural with the training, I don’t do anything special.” I waved off her complements, living a life without even a hint of malnourishment where I was expected to learn a very physical martial art to perform my role effectively meant that I was going to build some muscle, it was still nothing compared to Korra however.
“So, what’s first!?” Korra said getting into the swing of things.
“We have to use the showers first and make sure we are clean before we can use the other provided services out of respect of the other patrons.” Jinora belted out giving her best big girl impression.
“I just had a shower.” Korra said but I shook my head.
“It's to keep the spa clean, come on it won’t take long.”
“Ahhh. This is nice.” Pema said as we all settled into one of the heated private baths. I had prepared the temperature to be nice and warm.
“Huh it’s a little cold.” Korra said reaching over to the thermostat before I nudged her.
“Pema needs it this temperature for the baby.”
“Oh sorry.” Korra said quickly.
“Don’t worry about it, I had no idea myself until Tenya told me.” Pema looked at me with a sly smile. “She always gets protective when a baby is coming along.” I crossed my arms as there was a round of giggles at my expense.
“At the south pole we try to push the temperature up to get you sweating, feels great.”
“They do a water tribe sauna here we can go to after this.” I said earning a nod from Pema.
“Perfect, you two can go to the sauna while the girls and I go get a nice massage and drink.”
“Korra, you have to tell us about the Fire Ferrets.” Jinora said scootching closer to Korra as she hounded the girl for gossip.
“Oh, well it’s me, Bolin and Mako. They are great and are incredible benders.” She looked over at me for support and I waved a hand.
“They are perfectly adequate.” I offered earning a giggle from Jinora.
“That means she likes them.” My sister said with a giggle as she watched my face for a reaction I was not going to give her.
“Oh, come on Tenya they are incredible. I mean sure it's not like normal bending but they know what they are doing.” I should give some ground here if I wanted to avoid dragging this conversation out.
“They are very good Pro Benders.” Pema pinched my earlobe earning a wince from me.
“Be nice to Korra’s new friends Tenya. I am sure they are wonderful.”
“Well… They can be difficult sometimes, Mako drives me crazy talking to him is like squeezing a rock. Bolin is fun and easy to get along with.” She inclined her head. “Even Tenya likes him.” Ikki jumped on that.
“OHHHHHH?!” The giggling girls spurred on by their mother started muttering ridiculous things about me as I shook my head.
“It’s not like that.” I tried half-heartedly knowing it was useless, I was going to be teased for a non-existent crush for years by my merciless siblings. Thankfully the subject was shifted away from me and towards Pro Bending, something that Korra had a remarkable amount to talk about considering she had been a pro for all of three days.
After the conversation had slowed to a crawl Pema suggested Korra and I flag down an attendant to get a sauna prepared while she took Jinora and Ikki to get massages. For some reason she gave me a wink before she left leaving me and Korra to roam about a bit before we found what we were looking for.
“Ahh, now this is the stuff.” Korra remarked as we settled down in a small wooden shack that a polite Waterbender attendant had prepared for us. It was remarkably authentic except for a heating element being used to heat rocks rather than coals. Honestly, I was rather glad the heating was modern and I did not want to know what it felt like to be stuck in a tiny room with a coal fire. Korra casually bent some water onto the hot rocks filling the room with hot steam and high humidity.
“It’s nice just to relax like this.” Korra said hunched forward with her hands on her knees to feel the heat over her entire body.
“You don’t find meditation or the chores relaxing?”
“Do you? I always feel like I am doing it wrong.”
“You have made some progress with your meditation, I thought you were starting to appreciate it.” She sighed.
“Nah, sorry but its just… Not doing anything, at the moment, I guess. I don’t know.”
“We could try different things, it’s not unexpected that you-.”
“Don’t get it right away, yeah I know you said it like a billion times.” She pouted as I licked my lips, they felt dry despite the humidity of the room.
“You are still upset despite the progress you have made?”
“… Some progress, I can’t do any bending unless you are actually doing the stances with me like I’m a child.” Teaching it seemed, was more about persistence than anything else.
“I think you have one of the most difficult jobs in the world and training for it is going to be hard.” She looked over at me and smiled.
“You know I am super glad I came here.”
“It was a foolish thing to do without telling anyone.” I pointed out as she dismissively waved a hand.
“I told Katara. She agreed wi- I already told you. Ugh you know you are such a stickler for the rules I don’t know who is the bigger pain in the butt, you or Tenzin.” She had a good humour to her voice as she spoke throwing more water at the rocks.
“It’s you, you are the biggest pain in the butt.” Korra snickered at my words.
“Despite the… Meditation, frustrating airbending, all the dumb rules, the city being a total mess, the beds being hard as rock.”
“It’s actually better for you. Helps with your circulation.” She glared at me.
“Sorry, continue.”
“Ugh, what I am trying to say is… I am happy I am here with Tenzin, and Pema and the girls and Meelo… And you, I am glad I met you.” The shy expression on a girl who could shatter stone with a punch was quite something.
“I am happy you are here too.” As annoying as she was there was satisfaction in seeing her slowly settle into her role, besides she is one of the most important people on the planet, a perfect friend to have. I held out my hand as she stared at it.
“A-are you trying to shake my hand?” She said in bewilderment.
“Yes?” She burst out laughing at me quickly eroding the goodwill she had built up before she invaded my personal space again with a hug.
“Come on, friends. Friends don’t shake hands you dork!” Says who!? Ah well, I could make her suffer for mocking me later. As for now, well getting a hug ain’t so bad.
Wait.
Oh no it was terrible.
We quickly let go of each other and made some space as the heat from the hug in a sauna made survival in this environment tenuous.
“We should head out soon.” Korra said wiping her forehead.
“We can head to the showers and then go for some massages or other treatments if you want.”
“That sounds great, you’re the expert.” I laughed as we made our way out of the sauna.
We ended up staying far later than expected and had to take dinner in the facility restaurant, it was horrifically expensive for the food quality but my family proved eager to abuse my poor chequebook. I was lucky that this was the sort of place where they don’t provide a bill, I was being charged from the bank.
Still after a full day relaxing in the various facilities and experiencing the treatments no one ordered much more than a light salad and some cool drinks that were promoted as healthy. My little brother however was eager to eat his fill and promptly fell asleep on Tenzin’s lap, apparently, he had behaved quite well for my father and that was quite the welcome surprise. Misbehaving children in a place like this were remembered by all the rich and powerful snobs.
The boat ride back was calm and peaceful, the expertly done makeup treatment that Ikki and Jinora had been delighted to have was quickly ruined as the pair struggled to stay awake in a futile attempt to appear more adult than Meelo.
To me they were all children, especially Korra who was using my lap as a pillow while snoring like an old Air Nomad. It was not all that late so I was going to have to find a way to freshen up Korra, Ikki and Jinora or they would be grumpy all day tomorrow. Some light training in the afternoon before bed should do the trick.
“Very good Korra.” I called out at her third flawless pass though the leaf gates earning an excited cheer from her and Ikki as Jinora made her own pass though.
“Okay two more passes and we can do some warm down exercises.” I called out as Jinora looked at something behind me with a grin.
“Ooh, he's cute.” Jinora turned to Korra with a calm smile on her face that meant she was up to no good “Korra, is that the handsome Firebender boy that drives you crazy?” Wait, how did he get to the island? There were no boats at this hour?
“Does he drive you crazy in a bad way, or does he drive you crazy like you like him?” Ikki taunted Korra as I moved behind the two girls watching as Mako stalked towards us. To my deepest shame I found myself giggling at the pair of them only to find myself and my sisters thrown suddenly into the air by an impressive display of desperate earth bending from the embarrassed Avatar. The girls squealing with delight at getting under Korra’s skin as the three of us carefully controlled our fall back to the earth.
“Oh. Hey, Mako.”
“You seen Bolin?” Mako’s curt response earned a disappointed expression on Korra’s face.
“Nice to see you, too.” Did she have something for Mako and Bolin? I was almost certain that was far too modern for this society, Korra did however come from a Patriarchal Theocracy. In theory at least, it was not impossible that she was going a bit crazy after being repressed for so long in a training camp. “And no. Sorry Mako we were out all day, last we saw Bolin was at the docks for a small breakfast we had together. Think something's wrong?”
“I don't know.” Mako admitted “Bolin has a knack for getting into stupid situations. See you later.”
“Wait. I could, uh... help you look for him.” Oh no I could see where this is going. Teenagers trying to sneak off with some lame excuse. Mako was a good actor but I was going to have to keep Korra on a tighter leash around the brothers if this was the case.
“Nah, I got it.” Or not, Bolin might actually be in trouble.
“Hey, cool guy, let me help you. We can take Naga.”
“Who's Naga?”
“My second-best friend. And a great tracker.”
“I am coming too.” Korra turned around quickly.
“Oh, Tenya you do-.”
“You don’t have a choice, now let’s get going.” I said as Mako groaned.
“Terrific. It's a party! How am I meant to look for someone with someone that stands out like a sore thumb?” He asked.
“You think I stand out more than Korra?” He thought for a moment and glanced over at the excited Amazon.
“Good point.”
