the thunder and the laughter, the last thing they remember

[unrestraint]

The ocean always makes for the best playground.

Even though Korra's gone to the public pool more times than she can count, when Naruto isn't around to be training with her, the ocean is always her setting of preference. The waters are still too cold for comfort, but it's that same shock in temperature that keeps Korra awake as she skates out on the surface, surfing out until the city looks small enough to fit in the palm of her hand. Some yards away, Naga bobs happily in the water, dipping down on occasion to chase for the few fish daring enough to flit close to shore.

Out here, anything feels possible, and the water is nothing but a canvas to be worked with.

Breathing in deeply and drawing her shoulders back, Korra relishes the warmth of the sun on her back before darting straight for the beach. With both arms, she works up a large wave behind her, the water rising higher and higher until all of the sun's rays are blocked from her body.

Narrowing her gaze, she skates away from the main beach, the wind whistling by her ears as she makes a detour towards the lighthouse. With the water underneath her feet, Korra goes flying towards the structure, roughly at height with the lamp when she finally breaks contact with the surf. A gust of wind twists her quickly onto her back, and gravity pulls her down as Korra sends a large breath towards the water, freezing it from top down.

It surrounds the lighthouse in a half-sphere of murky, fragmented ice.

Grinning as she hurtles back towards the ground, Korra stops her fall with a burst of fire underneath her feet, tapping gently against the balcony of the lighthouse. It might be far too showy — no, it's definitely too showy — and her entire body feels sticky and gritty with sand.

But it's still totally worth it.

Comments

[unfrangible]

"You're good," Temari says from where she stands up the beach, watching Korra from beneath the flat of her palm over her eyes, keeping the silver glimmer of the sun off the water out of her eyes. The salt smell of the ocean is still unfamiliar to her, as unfamiliar as the chilly air, but the wind that whips down the beach is familiar.

Her other arm rests loosely over the top of her folded fan, supporting her weight as she leans easily. "The boys told me I could find you down this way. That's a flashy style."

[unrestraint]

Even though Korra's consciously aware that she got off on the wrong foot with this woman... she's not very inclined to be the one to right it first. She got the low-down on Temari from Naruto some time ago, learning of their general alliance and the fact that Temari is kind of a hardass.

Which, naturally, only prompted Korra to point out that she can totally be a hardass too.

Still, she does her best to calm down when she sees the ease in the other woman's movements, seemingly unbothered by the nature of their previous encounter. Taking a deep breath, Korra turns back to the ice, raising both arms and melting it back down in one smooth motion.

"Yeah, I've been training all day. Needed to keep my endurance up," Korra says, turning back to the young woman and rubbing at the back of her neck awkwardly. "Flashiness not really necessary. I'd get chewed out by my masters if they saw it."

Tilting her head, Korra takes a hesitant few steps closer. In the distance, Naga pads back on the shore, shaking herself free of seawater.

"Naruto tells me you're really good at airbending. What's it called... fuuton?"

[unfrangible]

"There's nothing wrong with flashy," Temari says, disagreeing flatly with the idea that it should be avoided. She doesn't necessarily think it's always necessary, but it has its place. If the user can afford it. Someone like Shikamaru couldn't. Someone like Temari herself, that's another story. "It's part of intimidating. And intimidation is an art in itself. It can be one of the best tools in anyone's arsenal. Warfare is psychological, as much as it's anything else."

She lifts her head to give a curious look across the sand at the large animal the other girl has in tow. Some sort of companion. Shinobi of the Sand didn't tend to keep animals that weren't birds, unlike the Fire-nin. Seeing them around is still somewhat of a novelty to her.

She opens her fan with a switch of her wrists, pulling the heavy weapon up with apparent ease and catching the air around herself with it. She sends the blast toward the wet animal, grabbing at the moisture in its fur.

"I know my way around fuuton," she agrees, with the sort of modesty that manages to be false without being condescending.

[unrestraint]

"I don't really want to intimidate people, though," Korra says hesitantly, forehead wrinkled with distaste and hesitation. She knows that Temari's right. Amon was a prime example of intimidation really working to make people doubt themselves, setting them back both emotionally and in reflex. Korra buckled under everything that he threw at her, and most of the time, it wasn't even a physical challenge. "I mean, if I have to... and it's not like I haven't done it before."

She cringes. Actually, she's done it a lot, when she really thinks about it.

Putting it that way just doesn't settle well for some reason.

Korra lets herself be distracted instead by the strong gust of wind thrown Naga's way. Naga barks her surprise, briefly growling before her feet find the ground fully again, and then tilting her head in curiosity, fur suddenly puffy.

"Wow. You're definitely a lot better than Naruto with that," she murmurs, resting her fingers against her chin.

[unfrangible]

Temari allows herself a quirk of her mouth in satisfaction at the praise, but no more than that. She knows that she's better than Uzumaki Naruto, by far, and she knows why. It's good to have a reasonable idea of your strengths, less good to be hubrised or falsely confident.

Still, false modesty is just as bad.

"There aren't as many shinobi in Naruto's village who are wind element by nature. The consequences are two-fold. There's less skilled training available, and less interest in researching how to improve and develop techniques. I'm not from Konohagakure. I'm from the Wind Country. Shinobi with this kind of ability there aren't rare. It's still the most rare type. Even saying that our country has more than any other, Sunagakure is much smaller than Konoha, the ccountryside leaner, and the people, harder."

[unrestraint]

"There aren't a lot of airbenders in my world, either. Actually, there are only five, if you include me. And probably six in the future, if Master Katara was right about Tenzin's youngest child... but anyway," Korra shakes her head, not wanting to dwell too much on the time that's passing home without her. Or at least, the time she feels like she's missing out on. That's too quick of a route to panic. "But it's really different where I'm from. Each one of the bending practices kind of resulted in its own culture. Four nations built up from long ago, in ancient days, and they've started to mingle more and more now, but were still pretty separate up until I was born."

She crosses her arms, relaxing her stance slightly. Talking about home feels... more personal, and lends more of an idea to this young woman than Korra's had before.

"It was a huge tragedy that so many airbenders were wiped out, especially since they were all pacifists. Rebuilding them and maintaining some memory and practice of their ways is one of the most important movements going on today, where I'm from. Each one of the airbenders is pretty darn talented. Except me. But I'm an unusual case, since I can use all of the bending types."

[unfrangible]

Temari looks at Korra with solemn surprise, when she reveals that there are so few air manipulaters in her world. Temari can hardly imagine something so off. Something so unbalanced. She studies Korra thoughtfully, with her too-serious eyes, a few shades darker than Korra's own.

"You're an unusual case, because you're the Avatar?" she asks, bring up the term that she'd heard Naruto use in description. It interests her; not a little. If it's true, Korra possesses kage-level abilities.

[unrestraint]

"That's right," Korra says, smiling hesitantly. She doesn't mind sharing the fact that she's the Avatar, but she does wonder how much Naruto's shared with those from his world. In her brief talks with Shikamaru, Korra already got the sense that he understood the concept even better than Naruto had — without Korra ever having to explain.

"I'm the Avatar. The person destined to keep balance between the people. The Avatar is reborn once into every generation, and lives among people so that she or he can better understand them. I'm pretty sure that's why I have all of the bending abilities, too. Easier to get into the minds of the Fire Nation when you're able to wield fire," she shares, taking a seat on one of the large stone barriers around the lighthouse.

[unfrangible]

"It isn't a bad idea," Temari says, her face impassive but her voice approving. She stepped closer to Korra, folding her arms across her chest and giving the girl a more surveying look. That Uzumaki Naruto found himself in a relationship with such a person doesn't surprise her in the slightest, given how she's come to see him. Although Naruto did not necessarily unite people by having anything so directly in common with them as ninjutsu, he certainly intuitively understood that everyone had something in common that they ought to meet others at as a step one.

Temari taps at her chin. "There are a lot of kinds of leaders in the world. It's important to value your own people, but just as important that there be someone who values all people."

[unrestraint]

To be honest, Korra's never thought about it on such a broad level. Maybe because the needs of the people in the world have never really conflicted with the interests of the Southern Water Tribe. Korra's always hoped that both are bound to come hand in hand — but she supposes that everything she knows about Avatar Aang shows how that isn't always the case. Aang had to put the world above his own culture for many years.

Korra purses her lips, hand coming up to rest briefly by her chin.

"I... don't really feel like I'm much of a leader yet. I'm definitely still learning and trying to understand the world. The Order of the White Lotus kept me kind of sequestered at the South Pole for fifteen years, and only once I left did I realize that there's so much I missed out on that way. I'm still learning. But I definitely like the idea of having the Avatar. It's the one thing I've always wanted to be in my life."