[Since he won't look away, Korra does, choosing instead to look at his hands. They fidget with nervous energy, a desire to do something that she knows very well.
The important thing is to talk about our fears, because if we don't, they can throw us out of balance.
He deserves to know.]
There's something I didn't tell you. About the future.
[It's only after he lets out his breath in an audible whoosh that he realizes he's been holding it. He isn't sure what he would've done if she kept refusing to talk, but he does know it would've been stupid and potentially embarrassing.]
Right. Because you're ahead. [A conundrum in and of itself.] Okay, oracle, let's get to business. Lay it on me.
[Bolin may be able to breathe again, but Korra doesn't have it that easy. Her breath is stuck behind the words in her throat.
How should she tell him? Does she give context first, build up to the reveal? Does she just say it? Does she mention the airbending first to soften the blow? She wished she could remember how Mako had told the others, but she had been lost in a haze of pain and relief. The entire fight was a blur.]
Amon took my bending. In that final fight.
[She bites down hard on her lip, but she has no more control over her tears than the glass of water on her bedside table.]
[Promise not to close yourself off. I want to know what's wrong. No matter what it is. No matter what. All right. Fine. What had he expected? What? Come on, Korra, tell me your feelings about not being the Avatar anymore. Let us discuss them in an clear and rational manner. No biggie, right? Naaaaaaaw. It's only part of your identity.
How do I fix this? How can I-
He hates when girls cry, but it's worse when it's Korra. It packs the same wallop as a right hook to the stomach.
How can I make this better?
He can't. He knows he can't. If Amon took her bending...they'd all been at the rally. They'd all been at the Pro-bending finals. They'd seen what the Equalist leader is capable of; his technique results in permanent damage. Permanent.
Bolin can't give her back her bending, but he can pull her close, wrap both arms around her and hold her because somebody has to. Might as well be her best friend, in the absence of...others (he thinks of Mako, and it hurts more). Friends are there to lean on, aren't they? To hold you up if you've lost the ability to stand on your own?]
[She clings to him and doesn't know how long she cries. Every time she thinks it's over, something else sets her off. The way he rests his chin on her head, like Naga would to comfort her, but Naga's not here. When she tries to tell him about her airbending, she remembers that Tenzin isn't here to teach her. She'll never see her parents again, or the kids, or Master Katara, or Mako or Asami. She'll never see Chief Bei Fong, probably the only person who could really understand what she's going through.
Eventually she's just too tired to cry anymore. She sags bonelessly against him, forcing herself to focus only on the rhythm of her breathing.]
[While she sobbed against him, he had run a hand up and down her back, had whispered nothing of consequence in an effort to soothe what couldn't be soothed. Now, his shirt damp with tears, Korra limp and cried out in his arms, he doesn't know where to go from here. What to say. Maybe Mako would've known. Tenzin. Someone, anyone.
But it's only him. He's it. So he has to put his own feelings aside and step up.]
You're still you, Korra. [His voice cracks just the tiniest bit, and he silently berates himself. When he speaks again, he sounds firm.] You're still the same amazing girl who barreled into our lives without slowing down and without warning. [His fingers find their way to her hair, toying with it.] Nobody can take that away from you. Nobody.
[She wishes she could believe him, but she doesn't know who that person is. She's never been anything but the Avatar. If she's not the Avatar anymore, who is she?]
I can airbend. [She admits softly, when she finds her voice again.] I don't know why or how, but when he took away my bending, I was suddenly able to airbend.
[And suddenly she's giggling hysterically, because she, Korra, an airbender. That was as ridiculous as a platybus bear with no beak!]
[The giggling is probably due to a combination of things he'd rather not think about or probe too deeply, because they're on thin ice as it is. Instead, he puts his hands on her quaking shoulders and draws her back enough to look at her, eyes shining.]
He didn't take it all. He tried to, but you bit back because that's what you do, even when all the chips are stacked completely against you. Korra, this is huge!
[Nope, not gonna sway him. He is determined to remain cheerful about the whole thing.]
You did have training, though. Master Tenzin and the kids showed you a few tricks, right? Yeah, I'm not an airbender but I'll practice with you every day. We'll figure it out!
A few tricks isn't enough to master! And no offense, but earth and air are complete opposites. You can't approach airbending the same way you approach earthbending.
[IT TAKES SO MUCH EFFORT TO NOT ROLL HIS EYES HEAVENWARD AND THROW HIS ARMS DRAMATICALLY IN THE AIR. So. Much. Effort. But he manages somehow.]
They aren't as different as you think. [he removes hands from her shoulders and crosses his arms.] Look, Korra- you're still pretty new to the probending scene, but I've been following it a long time. I started off as a traditional earthbender, and I fall back on that style outside the arena if the situation calls for it, which you know. But inside the arena? You can't rely on traditional earthbending, not if you want to succeed. You've gotta be light on your feet. You've gotta flow, like the air. You've gotta know, instinctively, the course the discs are gonna take before you send them out or you'll get sloppy. You'll lose control.
[He pauses, both to catch his breath and to grin at her.]
Master Tenzin and his family may be the last airbenders, but their teaching spread. We can do this. We are going to do it, period. I won't accept any answer other than yes.
[She hadn't thought about it like that. Looking back at the matches she'd witnessed, she felt stupid for not realizing it sooner. A lot of Mako's best moves had been circular in motion, like a tornado.
Maybe it was because she so rarely saw Tenzin airbend that she didn't see it before. But now it gives her hope. Maybe Bolin can teach her. And maybe she can adapt the techniques she already knows, the way she adapted Tenzin's airbending technique to water. Maybe...just maybe...this can actually work.
A smile spreads slowly across her face, shining as brightly as the snow at high noon. She launches herself at him, wrapping her arms around his chest in a bone-crushing hug.]
[Yeah, bone-crushing is a pretty apt description of this hug. It knocks the wind out of him, mostly because he didn't get the chance to prepare for it. Once he can breathe again, he returns the hug, laughing. Words aren't really necessary at this point.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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The important thing is to talk about our fears, because if we don't, they can throw us out of balance.
He deserves to know.]
There's something I didn't tell you. About the future.
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Right. Because you're ahead. [A conundrum in and of itself.] Okay, oracle, let's get to business. Lay it on me.
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How should she tell him? Does she give context first, build up to the reveal? Does she just say it? Does she mention the airbending first to soften the blow? She wished she could remember how Mako had told the others, but she had been lost in a haze of pain and relief. The entire fight was a blur.]
Amon took my bending. In that final fight.
[She bites down hard on her lip, but she has no more control over her tears than the glass of water on her bedside table.]
I'm not the Avatar anymore.
❊ action ...the icon seemed appropriate idk
How do I fix this? How can I-
He hates when girls cry, but it's worse when it's Korra. It packs the same wallop as a right hook to the stomach.
How can I make this better?
He can't. He knows he can't. If Amon took her bending...they'd all been at the rally. They'd all been at the Pro-bending finals. They'd seen what the Equalist leader is capable of; his technique results in permanent damage. Permanent.
Bolin can't give her back her bending, but he can pull her close, wrap both arms around her and hold her because somebody has to. Might as well be her best friend, in the absence of...others (he thinks of Mako, and it hurts more). Friends are there to lean on, aren't they? To hold you up if you've lost the ability to stand on your own?]
I'm sorry. [Murmured, near her ear.] I'm sorry.
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Eventually she's just too tired to cry anymore. She sags bonelessly against him, forcing herself to focus only on the rhythm of her breathing.]
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But it's only him. He's it. So he has to put his own feelings aside and step up.]
You're still you, Korra. [His voice cracks just the tiniest bit, and he silently berates himself. When he speaks again, he sounds firm.] You're still the same amazing girl who barreled into our lives without slowing down and without warning. [His fingers find their way to her hair, toying with it.] Nobody can take that away from you. Nobody.
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I can airbend. [She admits softly, when she finds her voice again.] I don't know why or how, but when he took away my bending, I was suddenly able to airbend.
[And suddenly she's giggling hysterically, because she, Korra, an airbender. That was as ridiculous as a platybus bear with no beak!]
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He didn't take it all. He tried to, but you bit back because that's what you do, even when all the chips are stacked completely against you. Korra, this is huge!
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[She is less than impressed with herself.]
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You did have training, though. Master Tenzin and the kids showed you a few tricks, right? Yeah, I'm not an airbender but I'll practice with you every day. We'll figure it out!
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They aren't as different as you think. [he removes hands from her shoulders and crosses his arms.] Look, Korra- you're still pretty new to the probending scene, but I've been following it a long time. I started off as a traditional earthbender, and I fall back on that style outside the arena if the situation calls for it, which you know. But inside the arena? You can't rely on traditional earthbending, not if you want to succeed. You've gotta be light on your feet. You've gotta flow, like the air. You've gotta know, instinctively, the course the discs are gonna take before you send them out or you'll get sloppy. You'll lose control.
[He pauses, both to catch his breath and to grin at her.]
Master Tenzin and his family may be the last airbenders, but their teaching spread. We can do this. We are going to do it, period. I won't accept any answer other than yes.
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Maybe it was because she so rarely saw Tenzin airbend that she didn't see it before. But now it gives her hope. Maybe Bolin can teach her. And maybe she can adapt the techniques she already knows, the way she adapted Tenzin's airbending technique to water. Maybe...just maybe...this can actually work.
A smile spreads slowly across her face, shining as brightly as the snow at high noon. She launches herself at him, wrapping her arms around his chest in a bone-crushing hug.]
Thank you!
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