[When Korra opens her eyes, it takes her a second to adjust to the brightness of the sunlight. Leaves rustle under her as she pushes herself upright, bringing a hand up to rub at her face. Underneath the confusion, there's a sense of unease, like she's been stretched too thin and then hastily been pushed back into her body's shape. Her arms and legs, especially, tingle with discomfort.
Who am I? Unease turns to panic until an answer surfaces finally. Korra. Her name is Korra. But that doesn't tell her much, not about what she's doing here and why she feels so scrambled inside.
Standing up is an effort, but one that's worth it, she thinks, when she hears a voice nearby. One step and then two... Korra stumbles forward into the clearing, hoping that whoever she finds there will be able to help her.]
[There's a fleeting sense of familiarity from the man standing in front of her, like she should know him, but any attempts at drawing his identity out of her memories end up failing. She presses her finger tips to one temple, trying to will the disorientation away.]
We carried you. Well, Mula did. You passed out not long after we found you yesterday. I was starting to get worried.
[He shuffled over to his travel pack and pulled out a small stone tea set. The most lavish item he owned. It wasn't his teapot, that had been lost in the Spirit World during the fight with Vaatu, but it was good enough.]
You're probably going to feel thirsty and hungry pretty soon, if you don't already. Food will be ready in a half hour, but I can get the tea done in a couple minutes.
Thank you... [Whatever conflicted feelings might be going through Korra's head at the moment, she knows what the stranger did isn't exactly the norm. The kindness he's showing her hasn't gone unnoticed.
Tentatively, Korra stumbles closer and takes a seat beside them.]
I could do with some tea. Feels like I haven't had anything to drink for days.
I'm not surprised. Whatever you did, you exhausted yourself enough to sleep for almost a whole day.
[Wan folded his legs up under him and set the teapot in his lap. He poured water from a skin into it and added a decent pinch of leaves. Then he put both hands underneath it, heating it from the bottom.]
It looked like you might have been running from something. Or someone. The way you crashed through the trees near that cliff. But as far as I can tell, nothing followed you. I waited an hour with you there before moving on. It wasn't a good place for camping. No water nearby.
[The tea was starting to get hot, a small curl of steam coming out of the spout. Not quite enough to serve yet, but getting there.]
With the way you're dressed, I've been guessing you're from one of the Water Lion Turtles and not really familiar with the area. All but one of them is at least a month and a half of travel away from where we are. The other one is about three weeks to the east. I'm actually on my way to that one. Is that where you're from?
[He handled the pot and the fire with ease and familiarity, and somehow the sight stirred something within her. Korra glanced down at her hands, flexing them, and she felt the palms heat up in response.]
I don't know... I can't remember anything. [It was true. Whatever hope she'd had that clarity would come to her were pretty much dashed. She wondered if there was a chance she would remember later.]
All I know is... my name. Korra. That's it. [With a sigh, Korra buried her face in her hands.] I think something happened to me before you found me.
[Memory loss was not a good sign. He wasn't as familiar with that as he was people breaking down after a terrible experience, but he knew that wasn't good. Especially with as much as she was running and how she'd collapsed. He didn't think it far fetched that she may have hit her head running from whatever it was she was running from.
Or to. She could have been trying to get somewhere and not away. He didn't think that was the case, though. She didn't run like she had some place to be. She ran like she was scared.]
Sounds like it.
[He kept his voice soft, trying to be comforting, and held out a cup of freshly poured tea.]
You're going to have to lift your head to drink it.
[Slowly, she looks up, taking the offered cup with just a second of hesitation.]
Thanks. [The first couple of sips calm her, though the confusion doesn't fade. Still, she's not panicking anymore, and that's something to be grateful for.]
You...haven't told me your name yet. [She glances at him, smiling tentatively.] All I know is that you're traveling to one of the Lionturtles.
[He laughed lightly. He'd forgotten his manners in the excitement of her finally waking. It was not a willful oversight on his part.
With her memory being troubled, he didn't expect her to recognize the name. A lot of humans did, now. Those who had already left the lionturtles anyway. And most of them usually had little good to say about what rumors they'd heard of him. Many humans blamed him for forcing them from their homes and upsetting their lives. Mostly former fire and earth residents. Air and water tended to be more at ease with moving to new homes. The Air nomads, especially. They were more mournful of the Spirits having gone back to the Spirit World.]
Wan... [Something stirred in her, though the memory remained just out of her grasp no matter how hard Korra tried to reach it. She frowned down at her cup, swirling the tea absently.]
I think I've heard your name before. And... [Korra hesitated, studying him with a surprising intensity.] It feels like I should know you.
[Wan gave her a bashful, self-effectuating smile. He wasn't really disappointed that she knew him or knew of him. Even with the memory issue she had, he couldn't exactly be surprised that his name stuck out.
He stood to take care of the food, check on how it was cooking.]
A lot of people have. Most of the world at this point. I'm the Avatar. That's the title the spirits and Lion Turtles have given me. If you know my name, it's probably because of that.
[Wan looked to her again, calm and ready for any reaction she might have. Good or ill. Or a non-reaction. Recognition could come later once her mind had found it's way back to it's past.]
[Wan couldn't help it. He had to laugh. The way she'd said it, like it was the most amazing thing in the world, her face bright like a child discovering their favorite animal was friendly, brought a smile to his face and made him want to keep grinning. And so, he laughed.]
I don't think I've ever heard anyone outside the Air Nomads describe it that way. Even the Lion Turtles never go so far as to call me the master of the four elements.
[He stirred at the food pot and decided it was probably good enough to serve.]
I'm glad you remember something other than your name, though. It's a start. Here-
But that's what the Avatar is. [While Wan's laughing, and that's generally a good sign, Korra gets the feeling he's a little amused by her reaction. She eyes him uncertainly, even as she takes the bowl from him.]
You learn all four elements and you're keeping the balance of the world. That's...that's right, isn't it?
[It's getting a little easier to doubt now, even though Korra's gut feeling tells her she's nailed it.]
[Wan's grin didn't fade. He just thought it was funny.]
Well, it's what I'm trying to do. I have a lot of work ahead of me. Part of that is letting every Lion Turtle know that the spirit portals are now closed and it's safe to let humans start living in the world. Well, relatively safe. They're not going to have to fight with spirits for food. But there are still a lot of animals they're going to have to get used to.
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mixingbowl2015-09-03 03:31 pm
One
Who am I? Unease turns to panic until an answer surfaces finally. Korra. Her name is Korra. But that doesn't tell her much, not about what she's doing here and why she feels so scrambled inside.
Standing up is an effort, but one that's worth it, she thinks, when she hears a voice nearby. One step and then two... Korra stumbles forward into the clearing, hoping that whoever she finds there will be able to help her.]
no subject
It's good to see you awake. You've been out for a while. Feeling okay?
no subject
I don't--how did I get here?
no subject
[He shuffled over to his travel pack and pulled out a small stone tea set. The most lavish item he owned. It wasn't his teapot, that had been lost in the Spirit World during the fight with Vaatu, but it was good enough.]
You're probably going to feel thirsty and hungry pretty soon, if you don't already. Food will be ready in a half hour, but I can get the tea done in a couple minutes.
no subject
Tentatively, Korra stumbles closer and takes a seat beside them.]
I could do with some tea. Feels like I haven't had anything to drink for days.
no subject
[Wan folded his legs up under him and set the teapot in his lap. He poured water from a skin into it and added a decent pinch of leaves. Then he put both hands underneath it, heating it from the bottom.]
It looked like you might have been running from something. Or someone. The way you crashed through the trees near that cliff. But as far as I can tell, nothing followed you. I waited an hour with you there before moving on. It wasn't a good place for camping. No water nearby.
[The tea was starting to get hot, a small curl of steam coming out of the spout. Not quite enough to serve yet, but getting there.]
With the way you're dressed, I've been guessing you're from one of the Water Lion Turtles and not really familiar with the area. All but one of them is at least a month and a half of travel away from where we are. The other one is about three weeks to the east. I'm actually on my way to that one. Is that where you're from?
no subject
I don't know... I can't remember anything. [It was true. Whatever hope she'd had that clarity would come to her were pretty much dashed. She wondered if there was a chance she would remember later.]
All I know is... my name. Korra. That's it. [With a sigh, Korra buried her face in her hands.] I think something happened to me before you found me.
no subject
Or to. She could have been trying to get somewhere and not away. He didn't think that was the case, though. She didn't run like she had some place to be. She ran like she was scared.]
Sounds like it.
[He kept his voice soft, trying to be comforting, and held out a cup of freshly poured tea.]
You're going to have to lift your head to drink it.
no subject
Thanks. [The first couple of sips calm her, though the confusion doesn't fade. Still, she's not panicking anymore, and that's something to be grateful for.]
You...haven't told me your name yet. [She glances at him, smiling tentatively.] All I know is that you're traveling to one of the Lionturtles.
no subject
[He laughed lightly. He'd forgotten his manners in the excitement of her finally waking. It was not a willful oversight on his part.
With her memory being troubled, he didn't expect her to recognize the name. A lot of humans did, now. Those who had already left the lionturtles anyway. And most of them usually had little good to say about what rumors they'd heard of him. Many humans blamed him for forcing them from their homes and upsetting their lives. Mostly former fire and earth residents. Air and water tended to be more at ease with moving to new homes. The Air nomads, especially. They were more mournful of the Spirits having gone back to the Spirit World.]
My name is Wan.
no subject
I think I've heard your name before. And... [Korra hesitated, studying him with a surprising intensity.] It feels like I should know you.
no subject
He stood to take care of the food, check on how it was cooking.]
A lot of people have. Most of the world at this point. I'm the Avatar. That's the title the spirits and Lion Turtles have given me. If you know my name, it's probably because of that.
[Wan looked to her again, calm and ready for any reaction she might have. Good or ill. Or a non-reaction. Recognition could come later once her mind had found it's way back to it's past.]
Do you remember what the Avatar is?
no subject
The master of all four elements. The bridge between the Spirit World and the material world. That Avatar, right?
[For a second, it seems like Korra's recovered, then a shadow crosses her face and leaves only confusion behind.]
Huh. Guess I remember something after all.
no subject
[Wan couldn't help it. He had to laugh. The way she'd said it, like it was the most amazing thing in the world, her face bright like a child discovering their favorite animal was friendly, brought a smile to his face and made him want to keep grinning. And so, he laughed.]
I don't think I've ever heard anyone outside the Air Nomads describe it that way. Even the Lion Turtles never go so far as to call me the master of the four elements.
[He stirred at the food pot and decided it was probably good enough to serve.]
I'm glad you remember something other than your name, though. It's a start. Here-
[Wan passed her a bowl and the ladle.]
-Take as much as you want.
no subject
You learn all four elements and you're keeping the balance of the world. That's...that's right, isn't it?
[It's getting a little easier to doubt now, even though Korra's gut feeling tells her she's nailed it.]
no subject
[Wan's grin didn't fade. He just thought it was funny.]
Well, it's what I'm trying to do. I have a lot of work ahead of me. Part of that is letting every Lion Turtle know that the spirit portals are now closed and it's safe to let humans start living in the world. Well, relatively safe. They're not going to have to fight with spirits for food. But there are still a lot of animals they're going to have to get used to.