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“I recognized you instantly. All of our lives flashed through my mind in a split second. I felt a pull so strongly towards you that I almost couldn't stop it.”
― J. Sterling, In Dreams
and if you close your eyes
does it almost feel like you've been here before?
-Bastille, Pompeii
Once upon a time there was an Avatar. She was not the first. She was the second. Her body was painted with arrows and her wisdom came from community.
Once she met a man with a slow smile and eyes like a knife.
She fell instantly in love with him and he with her.
But the one thing he loved more than her was power. He wanted to control the great kingdoms with her at his side.
Balance is the Avatar's duty so she told him he could not turn four nations into one.
He didn't like this so he slit her throat while she slept. In his grief he slit his own.
And in the next life they were lovers.
And in the next they were bitter enemies.
And in the next they never met.
And in the next...
And the next...
Until they were boyhood friends. Best friends who shared a birthday (because they shared a deathday). Two little boys with the fate of the world on their shoulders.
One boy loved his best friend so dearly he wished with all his heart that he could be his prince consort and they could rule the Nation together. Then his best friend turned out to be the Avatar (and into girls) and he didn't see him again for years.
(It's the years apart that always kill them. The only times they've ever lived happily ever after have been the times when they've been inseparable.)
Roku told him not to do this. Sozin didn't listen. Roku humiliated Sozin but could not kill him. Sozin rescued Roku but did not save him.
And in his old age he rotted with the knowledge that he had killed his beloved once again.
Asami’s been geeking out with Varrick and Baatar over the schematics of magnetic railroads and cities that bloom like lotus blossoms. Their conversations are half-sentences and numeric gibberish. Asami's nails are chipped and covered in pencil soot. When she talks to Korra her eyes are wild and focused. At night she runs a brush through Korra's hair and tells her all about the planet's natural magnetic pull and how it affects all living things.
Bolin makes cute turtleduck steps while he is always underfoot. She’s training Opal and he’s just sitting saying he’ll give them lots of room to maneuver. They won’t even know he’s here. And he just keeps talking until she shoos him off. The longest she gets him to leave for is about half an hour. It's enough to get Opal learning basic forms.
Mako follows Beifong The Elder around like a lost puppy. They both just wander around aimlessly, being antisocial and humourless together. Lin snipes at the guards, Mako writes in his journal. Oh how they have fun.
Korra isn’t bored per se, but lacking in good companionship. Restless. She stops by Baatar’s office (or Varrick’s lab) twice a day to make sure Asami is eating and sleeping. They see each other at dinner and before bed, but she kinda misses having her best friend around.
So between Metalbending and Airbending lessons, Korra wanders. She's been feeling a tug around her navel lately. It leads her up corridors and past guards. Sometimes she finds herself exploring the city in desperate search of something. What? She's not sure, but she's found a modern art gallery and a museum, three noodle restaurants, and a dance club. Perhaps it's the planet's polarity. Korra's becoming aware of magnetism. She wonders if people are like magnets. If certain spirits are attracted to each other each lifetime.
Today she is an adventurer in Suyin's home. Her destination? The kitchen. On her way past Suyin's studio she hears the crackle of static and then tinny strings and drums. Music on the gramophone. Which is weird, because her rehearsal days are Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Today is Tuesday.
Korra pokes her head in to see a solo dancer. A woman with a muscular back and side braid. Suyin’s Captain. She keeps her feet flat on the ground and moves her arms with swift jabs. Her ankle twists leading her whole body to swerve, facing Korra.
Woah, eyebrows.
The woman smirks and twists her hand in an inviting gesture. Korra steps out of her boots and joins her. She moves her body to match the movements. It takes a few minutes of follow the leader before she really gets into the flow of it. She’s a fast kinesthetic learner. She throws in an extra twist or hip flare because she can.
The woman (Kurira?) snakes away and turns, facing her. She shimmies forward. Korra smiles and takes the invitation to freestyle. She drops down low and spins herself on her hands, a Fire Nation technique. Kurira does a classic waltz from Ba Sing Se. Korra bites her lip and decides to follow her lead. They move closer until they’re mirroring each other in a lazy charleston. The music stops for a commercial.
They pant at each other. Korra begins to laugh and holds out a hand to shake.
“This was fun, you’re Su’s Captain, Kurira, right?”
“Kuvira. And yes, I am.”
Korra scratches her cheek in embarrassment.
“Sorry about that. Nice to officially meet you, I’m Korra.”
“The Avatar, right?” She says.
Kuvira’s a smart ass. Korra taps her shoulder lightly with a fist. That strong face goes into false injury.
“The rumours are true! You’re already bullying me. Next you’re going to use your polar bear dog to intimidate me into submitting.”
The low rumble she speaks in and words like ‘submitting’ have Korra’s mind wandering near the gutter. She feels a crush coming on and that is Very Bad, because the last time was Mako and that did not end well. Plus, she and Asami have this whole ‘sisters are doing it for themselves’ thing going on right now.
There’s some sweat trailing from Kuvira’s neck to her cleavage. Korra’s heart quickens and she kinda hopes Kuvira doesn’t have seismic sense. (But she kinda hopes she does.) Her eyes dart back up and she sees Kuvira watching her with a predatory stare.
“Do you come here to practice often?” Korra says.
“It’s good for keeping in shape when I’m not on patrol.”
“Well, it’s doing a good job.” She openly checks her out.
“It’s better with a partner.”
Kuvira gives Korra this slow smile and Korra’s in big trouble.
(Korra does not remember her past lives. She doesn't remember eyes like the knife that slit her throat. She can't recall the warm rumble of that chuckle or the way ash felt as it coated her eyelids and throat. Raava, passive, feels that familiar nervous excitement that tells her how this life is going to end.)
does it feel as if nothing's changed at all?