Borra :: Fate Makes Our Choice | Part 2

She let out a long breath, panting for a moment before turning to her master with a look that just begged to be praised. And when she caught sight of Katara's face, the little girl knew that she was getting what she wanted. Her master was staring at her, wide-eyed, unable to fathom what had just happened. All she could do was stare and let her jaw gape in awe at the sight before her. A six year old girl had just completely mastered and improved a waterbending technique in a single minute that the elder herself had spent years trying to perfect. This girl, this young Avatar in front of her was truly amazing. When the mother of three had finally regained her senses, she tried to appear calm and composed and gave Korra a small nod, smiling delightfully at her. Affection and pride showed in the master waterbender's eyes, as if she already considered this child to be like her own daughter.

"Very good, Korra. I think we're done with training for today. You've more than proved yourself worthy to take the rest of the day off. You've improved significantly in the four months you've been here. Very impressive."

The young child's cerulean orbs shined with joy as she heard the praise she had desperately wanted and even a bit more than that. With a bright smile, she nodded and then jumped into the air, spinning around before landing lightly on the ground. As soon as her feet had touched the dirt again, she ran closer to her mentor and new motherly figure and then hugged her waist, unable to reach any higher than that. For a moment, Katara seemed surprised but then she smiled warmly and hugged her new student back before watching as she hopped away, clearly running off to the kitchen to get some food. And the elder woman wouldn't stop her, because watching the way she acted, it just reminded her more of her late husband who she missed so dearly.

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As Korra emerged from the house, delightfully munching on the seal-jerky in her hands, she headed off towards the small garden that was on the other side of the courtyard where she usually practiced waterbending with Katara. This place really wasn't as bad as it seemed when she first arrived. The garden was relatively large compared to any area of space that anyone had owned back at the South Pole. Of course, she still missed all the ice and snow and the delicious smell of leopard-bear stew, and of course she missed her parents and all of her friends, but things could be a lot worse. After all, Katara sometimes bought some leopard-bear meat and cooked them a real Water Tribe meal with traditional Water Tribe noodles. It was really great having someone like Katara around, considering it gave her someone to relate to and actually be friends with.

As the six year old stepped into the garden, she kicked off her shoes and began walking through the springy, bright green grass, loving the feeling of it between her toes and underfoot. It was warm and very different from what she had felt at the South Pole the few times she had stepped on land barefoot. When the young girl arrived at her favorite rock that was large enough to sit on, she hopped onto it and gazed at her surroundings, eyes glowing with wonder and curiosity. There were tulips with the colors red, yellow, and orange streaked across them, causing them to look like bright flames when bathing in the light of the golden sunshine. Then there were little holes where gopher-rabbits made nests and occasionally popped their heads out so that you could see them.

Near the middle of the garden, there was a beautiful water fountain that spouted liquid at the top. Then the water flowed back down through the three "bowls" of water and then came back to the place where it would be shot out of the top again. It was crystal clear water too, completely clean and it held a glassy look to it. Sometimes when in the sunlight, it created mist that turned into a small rainbow. It really was quite lovely. And the best part about it to Korra, well, the best parts about it were that; Number one, she'd never have to go inside to get a glass of water if she were by the fountain. And number two, it made her feel right at home by the water since waterbending was her primary bending. Of course all Avatars could bend all the elements (though she had yet to learn the other three) but they had their own specialties and hers was water.

The child took one last bite of her seal-jerky, finishing it and she was just about to go throw out the package that it had come in when she heard a loud thud and turned to face the source of it. She set the wrapper of her snack down on the rock and then ran over to the edge of the fence where she saw a small heap of... boy. He looked about her age, with jet black hair and much paler skin than her own. But of course, most people had lighter skin that hers since she was a Water Tribe gal. As she gazed down at him, she took note of how he wore grey clothes that had bright green lining and a bright green collar. The edges of the sleeves were the same green color and as the male in front of her stirred, she continued to look down at him, yelping in surprise when their heads bumped as he raised his and she lowered hers at the same time. After her small squeak of surprise, she found herself being thrown back, off of the fence that she had been standing on.

However, the youthful Avatar wouldn't give up that easy. She ran back to the fence, clutching her head with her hands as her teeth clenched and she felt pain until it just... faded away. Now she could see the boy's face. He had emerald eyes and she stared at him for a moment, watching as he stared back and paused midway through standing up.

"Who are you?" Korra asked, moving her head closer to his until they were merely a hair's length apart. The boy jerked his head back, shocked at her sudden movement and then he stood up completely, dusting off his clothes before returning his attention to the girl in front of him. He stared into the depths of her sapphire eyes, investigating every fleck of blue. There were so many different hues of that one color, blue, in her eyes and each one sparkled differently than the other, mesmerizing him. She was so... pretty. However, he soon found his senses again and smiled at the girl, extending a hand.

"M-My name's Bolin. What's yours?"

She extended her own hand and smiled back at him, shaking his hand before responding. Their contact caused him to blush, but it didn't seem to bother her in the slightest. Korra grabbed his hand and helped him over the fence, watching as he slipped and fell over it while attempting to jump over it. When he landed in the grass behind her, she hopped down from the picket fence and then helped him up, voicing her own name.

"My name's Korra and you gotta deal with it!" she said, grabbing his hand and dragging him over to the rock which she had been sitting on before. She gestured for him to sit on it before climbing onto it herself and moving closer to him until they were right next to each other. Her eyes scanned him, running up and down his length before returning to his face. He seemed to 'gulp' as she moved her face toward his so close that they were just less than a millimeter away from touching. He scratched the back of his neck, unsure what to do except for stare into those magnificently blue eyes of hers.

"Are you a bender? If so, what kind? How old are you? What's your favorite color? Why're you here?" she asked him innocently. He blinked at her before putting a finger on his chin in thought before responding.

"Yes. Earthbender. Six. Green. And I got lost and ended up getting kicked in the rear by someone's pet Rabbaroo."

"Cool! I'm six too, by the way!"

"That's awesome."

They smiled at each other again and Bolin's heart skipped a beat as he watched this 'Korra' move backwards back into her own personal space bubble. He noticed how pretty she was, especially with her hair down the way it was, and he blushed at the thought.

"Where're your parents?" she suddenly asked, catching him by surprise. When the question fully registered in his head, he simply shrugged and replied with a "Somewhere, I guess. With my brother. I was on a walk with them, but then I got lost and wound up here. Where're your parents?" he asked, watching as her eyes widened. A somber expression appeared in her eyes and she looked up at the sky, swinging her legs back and forth against the rock.

"They're far away. I got taken away from them."

"That's awful! Are they dead?"

"No! They're at the South Pole, with all of my friends!"

He glanced downwards for a moment before patting her on the back, offering her a smile. "That's rough. But I'll be your friend if you don't have any here."

She seemed to brighten up with that and she turned her attention from her legs to him, her eyes suddenly shining with delight. "Really?" His grin grew larger as he saw the look in her eyes and he nodded. "Really." With those words, he got up from the rock and took hold of her hand, gently leading her back to the fence.

"Where're we going?" she asked, doubt beginning to seep into her gaze. She wasn't supposed to leave here. Not now, not until she was allowed to be free the way Katara had said. Bolin simply turned and gave her a look of encouragement, as if he read her mind and understood her feelings.

"I'm gonna take you to have some fun."