TEST DRIVE MEME

[fairyfoes]

TEST DRIVE MEME

Considering apping to EACHDRAIDH? Why not give the setting a test run here! OPTIONAL SCENARIOS 01. ARRIVING IN THE DRABWURLD. The Seelie and Unseelie courts welcome you with mirthful revelry and hearty food. After you have been briefed on your purpose here, you will find an endless feast and a night filled with entertainment to placate your concerns. Mingle with new arrivals, sneak down the castle halls and make sure your eyes are always on your glass; fairies and imps have no bias when it comes to tricks! 02. THE STATION. Looking for a little slice of home? The Station gives you all that and more. Take advantage of the wifi, have a cup of fairy-brewed coffee (the one they didn't spit in) or sit back and relax on the patio. You can even move your things into one of the available rooms! 03. WILDCARD. Your own scenario! Explore the Drabwurld or simply take advantage of your Locket!

Comments

[sangilak]

[ almost immediately she relaxes, though her laugh is awkward. ]

Haha... Sorry about that. It completely slipped my mind.

[ awkwardly rubbing the back of her head before she stands up straight, giving him a grin that's all-too familiar. ]

It's Korra.

[actually112]

[Okay, that he saw, and that he will laugh at.

His laughter is soft, but it's bright and happy and makes his whole face light up. This is not the solemn-faced Aang statue that stares down at Republic City; this is an Aang with a huge smile and a laugh that makes his shoulders shake.

Then the laughter is cut short, because ow, his back.] Mmf. [He winces, but he's still smiling, even as he breathes to keep himself from laughing anymore. He'd rather not irritate his wound.]

No, it's okay. I'd probably do the same thing if I was talking to Avatar Roku.

[Then they reach the garden. Ah, fresh air.] Korra. I like your name.

[sangilak]

[ even though korra found said statue to be incredibly awe-inspiring, something about this reaction just feels more natural. it's how she sort of imagined aang to be as a kid—the complete opposite of her, and while she's never been one to shy away from a laugh, there's always been something mischievous brimming just under the surface. ]

Thanks, I like it too.

[ ... okay what do you even say to something like that? tenzin never taught her how to have an actual real-person conversation with her past lives, so she's trying to treat it like, well, a normal conversation.

she does catch his wince, but given the fact that aang's actually laughing right now and that she promised she'd show him some airbending, she continues to push asking about it back a little bit more. maybe if she can find a source of water, she can heal it a little more... ]

So, anything in particular you wanted to see? Tenzin taught me a lot of different forms, so do your worst!

[actually112]

[Tenzin. Tenzin must be her airbending instructor.

Is he an airbender? Are there still some Air Nomads left out there, hidden away and ready to wander back into the open when the war is over? Or does she learn from a non-bender like Pathik, who knows all the forms but can't actually bend the element?

But those are questions he's not sure he's quite ready to hear the answers to. First, he wants to see someone else airbend for the first time since he woke up in the south pole.]

Can you make an air scooter?

[He perks at the thought with a big grin. If she could, they could race each other once his back was better!]

[sangilak]

[ oh aang if only you knew... ]

An air scooter? [ pfft, korra says! here was was expecting something more difficult than that! let's just ignore the fact that airbending was basically impossible for her a few months ago because she is totally ready for the big leagues!! ] Just watch me.

[ said with confidence and flair, korra then cracks her knuckles and does a quick glance at her surroundings to make sure she doesn't make a fool of herself by flying headfirst into a wall. with a path laid out in her head, she twists her hands in front of her quickly, summoning a ball of swiftly moving air and balancing perfectly on top of it.

and then, to show off, she does a lap around the garden, zooming up the pathway and right past aang. ]

[actually112]

[As far as Aang's concerned, the air scooter is way better than any of the fancy stuff. But as it's inventor, he may be biased.

He doesn't expect the feelings that explode in his chest when he sees her jump onto a ball of air and fly. The tightness in his throat. The sense of spreading wings in his chest. The prickling behind his eyes.

He's not alone. He's dead in her time. He's with another airbender. She knows everything that will happen to him. He doesn't screw things up so thoroughly that there aren't any other Avatars. This place is messed up if there can be two Avatars at once.

He starts to laugh, because all the feelings are too much and he's happy, no matter how weird it is to be with another Avatar, because she's like him and he's not alone and she can airbend, and then he applauds and whoops when she whips past him, even though it's all swiftly cut short because it hurts to laugh and his back seizes up in pain and he can pretend that that's why his eyes water.]

Yep, you're the Avatar, all right! [The pain can't make his cheer go away, although he leans on his glider and he has to even out his breathing.] Just wait; I'll show you all the airbender games. Does your instructor show you those?

[sangilak]

[ even though she gracefully leaps off the air scooter to land easily on her feet, there's no way she can miss the way aang leans on his glider. she can't dance around the giant pink platypus-bear in the room. jogging up beside aang, she rests a hand on his shoulder to help him steady himself, laughing under her breath. ]

Who, Tenzin? [ laughing at the question, korra shakes her head. ] I'm pretty sure his head would explode if he relaxed for a moment and had "fun".

[ she waits until she's sure aang won't topple over before finally letting him go. ]

His kids taught me that.

[actually112]

[Tenzin. Kids. Kids who knew how to make his air scooter.

When he finds out, Aang will marvel at how dense he had to be to not even consider the possibility that they all could be his family, but as a twelve-year-old, the thought of having kids is so remote and far off that it doesn't even occur to him that that's what Tenzin might be. Instead, he just tries to crush the growing hope that there might still be other Air Nomads out there, and that he might not be alone.]

Really? That's no fun. The monks said that fun is an integral part of learning how to airbend. [Beat. Grin.] Weeeeell... actually, only one monk said that. My instructor. Before we airbended pies in the other monks' faces.

[Oh, Gyatso. He misses you.

But yeah, he notices how she tries to steady him, as grateful as he is that she's not bringing it up, he really should get help. With a sheepish smile, he says,] I don't suppose you know how to heal, do you?

[sangilak]

[ part of korra—a lot of her, actually—wants to tell aang about tenzin and his family, but there are so many reasons why she needs to bite her tongue and let it come out naturally. not the least of which is the fact that she herself has no idea how she would handle finding out about a potential future family even at her age, so how could she just spring that on aang right out of the blue? he's probably still reeling about everything else.

and, more importantly, he's hurt, and that means she needs to help him before they continue. ]

I was given waterbending lessons by the best waterbender around, so hmmm. [ she places a fingertip to her chin as she once more takes stock of their surroundings, spotting a glass of water several dozen feet away near a couple having a conversation. sorry guys, but she needs that water more, and with fluid movements she summons it to her. ] Yeah, I think I can heal you up a little.

[ the water twists around her fingers and then into a ball between her hovering palms. ]

Turn around.

[actually112]

[One part of Aang wants to ask, but the rest of him knows he's not ready yet to hear the answer. If she tells him that she's being taught by a family of airbenders, he'll be consumed with thoughts of his culture potentially surviving. If she's being taught by non-benders, he'll be crushed by the confirmation that he really is the last.

Right now, he's hurt and already overwhelmed and he doesn't have the emotional resources for either option, so he forces himself to ignore the part that wants to know.]

If we end up staying a while, you mind showing me how to do it some time?

[He dutifully turns around and allows her to look at his back with the angry red mark left behind by Azula.] My waterbending teacher keeps meaning to show me how to heal, but there's never been much time for it. [Between needing to learn three different kinds of bending and being hunted down by the Fire Nation, teaching Aang to heal has been put on the back burner.]

[sangilak]

[ the sight of the wound is enough to make korra's voice dissipate in her throat, and for a stretch of time, she's quiet. it's sobering to see this kind of wound on aang's back, and she can't imagine what it must have been like to watch it happen. there's a sudden pressure in korra's chest as she thinks about all the ways that scenario could have gone wrong and spirits is she glad everything turned out the way it did.

who knows if she'd even be here right now if it hadn't?

she has to shake herself out of those thoughts and put her healing hands to work. by no means is she as good as katara, and she's long since accepted that she might never be, but it's enough to take the edge off at least and make it more comfortable for aang to deal with.

breathing out a soft laugh before she replies, korra concentrates on the water around her fingers, ]

I probably wouldn't be that great of a teacher. [ not to put herself down! just speaking frankly because the idea that she is a fully-realized avatar now is still something she's coming to grips with. ] But I wouldn't mind sharing some tips.

[actually112]

[Aang relaxes immediately when the water touches his back, so much that he doesn't notice the pause before she answers. It only takes the edge off the pain, but it's better than nothing.]

Thanks. [He might end up asking her for earthbending tips too if they're here long enough. He's anxious about being away from the war with Sozin's comet coming near, and he'd like to not fall behind on his training if he's here for a while without Toph or Katara.

He won't ask for help firebending, though. He does not want to deal with that element again.] Do you have a glider? For airbending? [Korra. You are so going to go flying with him. This is a given.]

[sangilak]

[ that's too bad, given that korra's main element when giving a beatdown is fire. now that's an element she has an intimate relationship with and would be more than happy to share her knowledge.

blinking in surprise, korra leans to the side so she can search aang's expression. truthfully she's never tried flying with her airbending, not like aang is used to. all of her bending trends toward the physical, and how she can best utilize it in a fight. ]

Uh-uh. Not here, or in Republic City.

[actually112]

Republic City? Huh. Is that somewhere in the Earth Kingdom? [It's the largest land mass and the most likely to have cities lying around that he hasn't heard of before.

But at the glider news, his eyebrows go up, but he doesn't seem too surprised. He supposes that it'd be hard to make a new glider for the Avatar without tons of Air Nomad craftsmen making them every day.] Well, have you ever flown on one before? [Yep. Just assuming that she can fly on some capacity. The thought of someone being able to airbend and not immediately wanting to fly is completely foreign to him.]

[sangilak]

[ korra nods—but upon realizing that aang can't see that, she expands upon her answer. ]

Yeah, it was originally a fire nation colony, but now it's the capital city of the United Republic of Nations. [ casual spoilers all up in here, sorry about that, aang. ] The city's really nifty, unlike anything I'd ever seen before. Tall buildings, amazing parks and Satomobiles everywhere. There's also a statue of you there too, looking out over Yue Bay.

[ if she sounds a little bit in love with the city, it's because she is. there's no place like home, but the city, for all its flaws, is where korra discovered herself. so there's definitely a lot of love there.

—but right!! he asked her a question, didn't he?

clearing her throat, korra pours a little more of herself into the healing and her voice drops a little. ]

I've been on a flying bison before but... not a glider. [ there's a definite note of hesitation here, which is weird for her. possibly it's because she's telling aang about this. ] Air wasn't exactly the easiest element for me to learn.

[actually112]

Wait, wait, what?!

[Yeah, he's ignoring that she's healing him. He immediately twists in place, wincing and seizing a little when he moves his back, but like hell will that stop him from asking questions.]

Could you repeat that?

[He doesn't even know what to ask about first.]

[sangilak]

Hey, don't move—!

[ it's no use, and there goes the water even though korra tries quickly to salvage it. there's a confused look on her face that she fixes on aang for a second. ]

... Which part?

[ please not the airbending, please not the airbending, please not the airbending. ]

[actually112]

Uh... [He counts off on his fingers.] How about, what's the United Republic of Nations, why do I have a statue, when did a body of water get named Yue... [Excuse him while he flails, or flails as best as he can with his back problem.] And what's a satomobile?

[Beat. Slightly less flailing, since he knows how insecure he can be about his own difficulty with earthbending.] And I can show you how to fly on a glider, since you'll give me tips on healing.

1/2

[sangilak]

[ there's a long moment of silence as korra tries to figure out how exactly she can explain this. by no means is she an expert on earth kingdom politics or even all of republic city's own history, but she at least knows about what aang did as the avatar, if only so she could understand the incredible pressure on her shoulders as she followed in his footsteps. ]

[sangilak]

[ she screws up her face in frustration. not at aang, but just at the whole situation. ]

...How much do you want to know?

[actually112]

I...

[He's about to say everything, but something stops him. What if he goes back home, and knowledge of the future messes everything up? From what it looks like, things went well. Should he risk that to sate his own curiosity?]

...How much should I know?

[It's a genuine question. She probably knows better than he does how fragile their future might be. Or, at least that's what he thinks, because he just assumes that everyone has the wisdom to know that kind of thing.]

[sangilak]

[ well, korra's about to shatter that assumption completely: ]

How should I know?

[ it's an innocent enough question, and only now is she starting to think about what kinds of repercussions this might have once they're able to go home. that's what she gets for running her mouth and not really thinking ahead.

ohhh boy, she's probably screwed this up royally. neato. ]

[actually112]

[...Huh. Well. This could be difficult.]

...The war has to end. It'd be really easy for me to fail. [Just like he did in Ba Sing Se. Just like he did in the Southern Air Temple.] Then the Fire Lord would rule the world. If I do something wrong, your future could change. Everything could change.

[There are no smiles now. Aang is fingering his glider and looking off into the distance.]

You shouldn't tell me anything else. Not until we know if we keep our memories when we leave.

[sangilak]

[ something in korra's chest tightens at that, and the words are out before she can stop herself. ]

I don't think it's possible for you to fail at anything, Aang.

[ korra what did he just say... ]

[actually112]

[Welp. That answers a lot of questions for him. Not that her behavior hadn't already been implying it, but...]

I don't know how history has painted me, but...

[He gives a small self-deprecating smile, but there's a sad undertone to it.] I'm just a kid. I've failed at a lot of things.

[Failed to help his people.

Failed to save Ba Sing Se.

Failed to master the Avatar State.

But he can't think about all that right now. Right now, he has to think about what they're going to do next.] How much have you found out about this place? I've been trying to figure out if we could get back home and if time passes there like it does here. [Because seriously, if time is moving on back home as usual, he really needs to get back as soon as possible.]