Chapter Text
The Fifth Avatar is the Avatar in the Cycle after Air and before Water.
This is the Avatar born not to a Nation, but to a group.
The group of all those who do not bend the elements.
Book One:
Water
Chapter One:
Welcome to the Southern Water Tribe
We wait for you outside. The sky is clear and the sun is high in the sky this time of the year, but this is the South Pole, cold is always a given. It's not usually a problem, except we're in our formal clothing, meant to be worn indoors. Yet we’re waiting in an open space, exposed to the elements. And you're running late. I haven't met you yet, and already you annoy me.
There's five of us, spread out in a line before a courtyard covered in snow. Behind us is the chieftain's abode, warmth, and food, and shelter from the biting wind await, but we remain still, waiting for you.
I yawn, stretching. My mother elbows my ribs.
"Korra." She hisses sternly.
"What? Does the Avatar have super hearing or something? Is she gonna chibend my boredom away?"
My mother scoffs, clearly holding back a smile. Next to her, my father chuckles, and I smirk.
"They're here." Katara says, next to my father. The old woman hasn't even moved, her eyes staring into the horizon.
"Where? I don't-" Her daughter Kya begins next to her. She's interrupted as the dragon, yes, the dragon , sweeps in from seemingly nowhere, its arrival stirring up a gust of wind that showers us with powdery snow.
By the time I've wiped the snow away, two people have dismounted the dragon. One of them, an old man in regal clothes with a burn scar on his face, turns to the dragon, whispering to it. The dragon lets out a huff and flies away, as swift as it arrived, nothing more than a red streak.
I hold on a chuckle as its departure covers your back in even more snow. Thankfully your oversized backpack (also a reason to hold back the chuckle, as it looks over you) takes most of the hit.
You do not look like an Avatar. Not like I imagine avatars to be, anyway. You don't look like a warrior. You are not much older than me (I know your exact age. Everyone does). Your clothes are practical, discreet. Not aristocratic, not martial. Their red-black pattern clashes with the blue of the sky and the white of the snow, you stand out like a bloodstain. I somehow manage to feel both over and underdressed. Your posture is confident, yet not aggressive. You flick your hair over your shoulder, a casual gesture done so gracefully that it almost appears practiced.
You wear make-up. Not war paint as warriors do here or on Kyoshi. You are not a soldier.
Your lips are red. Your eyes are green. My own eyes linger on them.
"Avatar Asami." My father greets you with a bow. "We are honored to be in your presence."
"You hear that, Zuko? Honor. That's your thing, isn't it?" You say, a smirk in those lips.
Katara actually snorts. Without thinking, I bend over to look at her. She's covering her mouth, holding back laughter. My mother elbows me again, and I stand straight up.
"I knew letting you go to that play was a bad idea." The old man, former Fire Lord Zuko, with whom you apparently are on a first-name basis, says as he approaches behind you, his annoyance tinged with amusement. "Will you let it go already?"
You roll your eyes.
"The honor is all mine, Chief Tonraq." You say. "I'm looking forward to my stay here. Hopefully the weather will be more merciful in the future."
I snort. My mother elbows me a third time. Three is bad, I know I'll hear about it later. Your eyes dart to me for a second, and we make eye contact. I gulp. Your eyes return to my father, and you smile.
My father bows to you again, and then turns to his right.
"This is-" he begins, but you interrupt.
"Katara." You said immediately, with such familiarity that my mouth hangs open for a second.
"It is good to finally meet you, Asami." Katara says, with the same familiarity. No titles, no formalities. Yet there is also a sad edge to her voice, and you notice this, because your smile falters. Your hand goes to the back of your head, awkwardly, finally a crack in the perfect picture.
"I'm afraid I don't know what to say. I've, ah, heard so much about you." Your eyes turn serious, full of meaning. "From many people."
The significance of the conversation is lost of me (it will hit me eventually, I'm not the sharpest). Katara turns to her right and gestures to Kya.
"My daughter Kya." She says.
"Of course." You say. "I've heard about you too."
"Only bad things, I hope." Kya quips. Katara elbows her. "Ow, sorry."
You chuckle, and the picture the three of you create, like an old friend returning home, finally makes me understand. Avatar Aang was Katara's husband. Kya's father. You are his reincarnation. This must be so weird, for all of you.
After a few words, which I miss as I'm processing this new information, you turn away from them and towards us. My father introduces my mother, and then me.
"My daughter, Korra." He says.
I bow to you. I might have practiced on the mirror this morning. My mother doesn't elbow me, so it's probably not terrible.
"It is an honor, Avatar." I say. After a few seconds of bowing with my eyes closed, I look up to find you examining me, those green eyes digging deep.
"I understand we'll be learning together?" You say, your tone clearly artificially neutral. You either dread or anticipate the prospect. Which is it, I cannot tell. I hesitate.
"After a fashion." I say. "I'm afraid Sifu Katara has not yet shared her plans with me." I try not to let my annoyance show. I did try to get Kya to talk, but for once she kept her mouth shut. I know better than to even try with Katara.
I look at them. They're talking with the Fire Lord, like the old friends they are. They all laugh. Your eyes follow mine, then return to me.
"In any case." You say. "I look forward to our time together."
"I as well." I say, the formality tasting foreign in my mouth. You raise an eyebrow, and I can't help but think I've disappointed you somehow. I've only just met you, and already you annoy me.
"Will you join us for tea, Lord Zuko?" My father asks as the old man greets him and my mother.
"I would love too, though I'm afraid I can't stay long."
"Always have time for tea, eh Zuko?" Katara says, sounding younger than I've ever heard her. The old man smiles, a strangely shy smile for such a serious face.
You chuckle, placing your hand on his shoulder.
"Your tea better be decent, chief. The Fire Lord here has a very... particular palate when it comes to it." You say.
"Insufferable palate, is more like it." Katara says, and you both laugh mercilessly at the man, who looks as if he's about to explode yet makes no comment. Kya gently pats his other shoulder.
"It's so good to see you again, uncle Zuzu." She says.
"Do not-" the old man begins loudly, before taking a deep breath (and I swear those are wisps of flame emanating from his nose as he exhales). "Do not call me that, please." He says gently. "Now, I believe you said something about tea?"
As we head in, we fall into lines of two, so as to make it through the doors. The two of us are last.
"Of your father is the chief, does that make you a princess?" You ask curiously. I bite my tongue.
"Not how chiefdom works." I mutter, holding back as much annoyance as I can. I'm not very successful.
"Oh. Sorry." You say awkwardly, and I can't help but relish in the second crack in your perfection. "So, what's so funny?"
"Excuse me?" I honestly have no idea what you're talking about. The rest are already seated by now, leaving two seats between Lord Zuko and my mother for us.
You take off your backpack and place it on the floor, between the Fire Lord and an empty seat. You're careful about it, too careful. The Fire Lord observes you, and I swear he seems nervous, as if the backpack were made of glass.
You seat next the Fire Lord, and I sit next to you. My mother pours the tea, and as we pass it on you lean into me.
"I complained about the weather." You whisper. "You found it funny."
Oh.
I glance at my mother. She doesn't seem to have noticed. She hands me another cup, which I pass to you.
"Today's actually a nice day." I explain as quietly as possible as our fingers graze. You take the cup and keep it.
"Oh." You say, a bit more loudly than you probably intended. I can tell you're clearly not happy.
I take my cup from my mother, who gives me a look, though she mostly seems curious. I shrug.
We drink our tea in silence for a moment, and I notice all eyes eventually find their way to the Fire Lord, whose own eyes are closed as he enjoys his drink.
Eventually, he lets out a content hum and opens his eyes, noticing everyone staring. He sighs.
"It's good tea." He says, resigned to his role. Kya makes a toasting gesture and drinks.
Katara and the Fire Lord begin to talk, asking about names I've never heard before, sharing inside jokes. I get the feeling you enjoy not being the center of attention. I watch you drink your tea peacefully, savoring the quiet moment to yourself (your lipstick stains the cup). It's the first time I don't feel annoyed by you. You look tired.
Everyone else seems to pick up on this, because they don't bother you. I'm not surprised they've noticed, since I'm not exactly perceptive.
"It's strange." You say eventually seemingly to no one in particular, yet everyone's attention immediately focuses on you. "I spent the last few months barefoot learning to listen to the earth, and immediately afterwards I come here where there's no earth to listen, and I need layer upon layer of clothing if I want to keep my toes."
*What do feet have to do with listening?' I ask immediately, curious. I brace myself for an elbow that never comes. My mother is probably curious too.
"Seismic sense." Katara explains, clearly picking up on some queue from you that it's okay for her to explain. "An advanced earthbending technique. It allows them to sense the vibrations objects create on the ground, and use that as sight."
I remember the stories of Avatar Aang's team, of the blind earthbender Toph.
"But I thought, ah, that is-" I stumble on my words. Fifth Avatars are weird, and that's just about everything anyone knows about them. Well, that and one more thing.
"That I couldn't bend?" You say. "True, though not completely. There's some things I can do. I can't bend the elements, but I can feel them like benders would. So I can use that particular earthbending technique."
"Huh. What else can you do?" I ask.
"Korra." My mother warns.
"It's okay." You chuckle. "I have the Avatar's spiritual connection to the Spirit World and my past lives. I can bend chi, which allows me to neutralise other people's bending, I can bend the energy in my own body to project and redirect lightning, even if I can't firebend. And of course I'm here among other things to learn how to heal through water by channeling spiritual energy through it, even if I can't waterbend either."
"You've been hit by lightning?" I ask. It annoys me that I can't help but blurt things out around you.
"Korra." That's two.
You look at me with a furrowed brow.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, how do you know you can redirect it if you haven't been hit by it?"
Kya laughs.
"Fire Lord, have you been chucking lightning at the Avatar?" She asks.
"Believe me, I would have if I could." Lord Zuko says. "No, obviously I told her that it was very dangerous and that she had to hope she would never have to use the technique."
Katara doesn’t say anything, but she seems to find this funny.
"So of course I immediately proceeded to find a way to shock myself." You explain with a smile. We all stare. "What? It was not with actual lightning, it was with a machine! The voltage was safe, I had everything under control!"
"Vol...tage?" I say slowly. I'm not the only one. My dad and I share a look, wondering what we've gotten ourselves into. Lord Zuko coughs.
"I'm afraid the Avatar is also a bit of an engineer this time around." He says with some distaste. "No time for the spiritual with her, too lost in the material world of machines."
Katara chuckles.
"Oh, my son will have a field day with that, I'm sure."
"Okay, no, wait, you electrocuted yourself. Can we go back to how she electrocuted herself?" I say, unable to hold back the awe from my voice. It's the first time I actually like you.
"Korra, I'm not sure-" my father begins.
"It was perfectly safe-" you say at the same time, a faint blush on your cheeks.
"I'm sure it was." My mother says diplomatically, a hand grabbing my arm. She forces me to sit back down and only then I noticed I'd half-left my chair to lean into the table, looking at you. "And I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to learn more about the Avatar's abilities, isn't that right, Katara?"
Katara grins that mischievous grin of hers that makes me shiver. She has plans . I know she does. I just don't know what they are.
"That's right." She says. "Korra has shown tremendous progress, I'm running out of things to teach her. While Kya will be focusing on teaching the Avatar about healing, I thought we could have some fun by pitting Korra and the Avatar against each other."
"Excuse-"
"I'm not sure-"
We both stop mid-sentence. Clearly neither of us wants this, yet neither of us likes that the other one has a problem with it.
"Afraid I'll wipe the floor with you, princess?" My mouth spews before my brain can catch up. You smirk.
"Oh, there'll be wiping alright, technically-not-a-princess." You say.
"Oh, bring it on."
"Fine."
"Fine."
"I know it's fine, I just said so."
"I'm glad you know."
"I'm glad you're glad."
"Fine."
"Fine."
A small cough from my right snaps us out of it and oh, I will never hear the end of this from my mother.
"It's settled then." Katara says, very obviously amused by our interaction. "Asami needs to learn to chibend waterbenders, Korra needs a new challenge. A match made by spirits, clearly."
Kya snorts.
"Clearly." She says. Katara elbows her. "Ow."
We look at each other, my own mortification reflected in your face. We drink our tea. Tomorrow, we fight our first fight. It will not be our last.
We say our goodbyes to Lord Zuko. Katara, Kya and you all hug him. Katara gets him to promise to visit more often. Kya demands he bring some Fire Nation spices when he does. You ask him to tell some people I don't know you already miss them.
Katara and Kya leave as well, hugging you and repeating how glad they are to have met you. Katara takes you aside for a moment and says something. Your eyes dart to me as she speaks, then back to her.
After they're gone, I'm tasked with showing you to your room. Our place is large for Southern Water Tribe standards, but from what I understand it should be nothing new to you. I make a few comments about the rooms we pass by, and you nod. You seem to actually be paying attention.
"Ice really is a fascinating material.' You say, your fingers resting on the wall for a moment. "Of course, it's only really viable in the poles, and it requires waterbenders to be shaped into something as impressive as this, but still... I'm looking forward to learning more about it."
"I'm uh, not sure construction will be included in your lessons."
You laugh, short but clear.
"Oh, it won't be." You say, sending me a quick wink. "But that's never stopped me before."
"Your room." I say, before noticing how absolutely awkward I sound. I'm not usually like this. It annoys me. I cough. "I mean, this is your room." I say gesturing to the door.
As you walk through the door, I pay attention to your backpack for the first time since you arrived. The snow the dragon sprayed over it has already melted. It is brown, and has various patches down into it. I recognize the symbols of the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom, though there's a few more I don't recognize.
You take it off, gently, just as you did when we sat for tea, and I wonder if there's something fragile in there. We'd been told we'd have to provide you with clothes and other items, as part of your training included letting go of earthly possessions. I suspect it's not a part of your training you excel at.
You place it on your bed, and wander around the room, taking stock. My eyes go back to the backpack.
"The sages don't approve." You say, and my eyes fly back to you, as if I'd been caught doing something wrong. "But I have a few interests outside my role as the avatar. Science. Engineering. That sort of thing."
"Uh…" I say, unsure what to do with the information.
"That's what's in the backpack. Mostly. Books. A few tools. Blueprints. I'm sure you'd find it all very boring."
I suspect you're calling me dumb, which is even more annoying since you apparently just read my mind. I take a deep breath, holding back my thoughts from my mouth. It's not something I'm used to, but I know I'm in enough trouble with my mother already.
"I mean, unless you wouldn't?" You ask, and I can't tell if it's a peace offering or if you just want me to dig a hole for myself. I scoff.
"Nah, I would." I say. "Get some rest, avatar. You'll need it tomorrow."
I turn around and leave, not giving you a chance to reply. I'm liking Katara's idea more and more by the minute.