tushanshu_logs

[He remains standing, just barely into her personal space, until she looks up at him again. Until he has her attention.]

[And then he sits down, his eyes on hers.]

Which part of what happened are you, [very slight pause of near-mockery,] suffering through, at this time?

[Holding her looks, Korra wasn't sure what to make of the question.]

I don't know. All the above?

[She slid the still steaming mug towards him.] You can have it, I'm not really in the mood for it.

[She set her arms on the table and leaned forward so she was on the same level as Damian.]

So you heard about it too, huh? [Not surprising, she doubted something like that would have gotten glossed over.]

I am not overly fond of chocolate.

[But he does catch the waiting kedan's attention and makes her bring them two big tumblers of water. That will probably not be wrong. He can use some tea, but water - clears the mind, too, better.]

I was there. I saw the result. And, yes, talked with Rayner.

[He was going to keep on talking... but then he decides to watch for her reaction to that name.]

[A small, sad frown flitted across Korra's face when Damian denied the hot drink. Chocolate was her favorite. A lone finger fetched the saucer and mug back. Water was always a good option, something light and clear to wash away the gummy taste left behind from her topped beverage.]

Rayner? I remember someone named Sucks-something. [Suxpiff? She couldn't really recall, fine details like that were just a blur. No names were exchanged, Korra only deduced who Kyle was from Zatanna's brief description.]

Was...everyone else okay? [The question was marked by concern in her eyes, sky blue that searched Damian's for any subtle hints. The only person she remembered unleashing her anger on Kyle, but she remembered the fires that were around them. Back then they didn't even register.] I know they evacuated.

[All of it was clear as day now that she wasn't blinded by rage over a mental image that poster painted alongside her concern for Jack.]

[Sorry. Maybe she could have it, at the end of the conversation?]

[Damian sighed, slightly, an older expression than his eleven years.]

Green Lantern Kyle Rayner. And the clinic is run by Lantern Soranik Natu. Lanterns are a corps of peacekeeping on a universal scale. They have been doing that, as an organization, for three and a half billion years.

It is that kind of experience that enabled him to actually protect the people there. Thankfully. However, the structural damage will take perhaps two week to correct. Some of them were not in a very good condition to be moved.

[He paused, slightly, and fixed her with his own, colder-blue eyes.]

I would recommend, considering your reaction at this time, that next time a stranger is asking you to stand down and talk with him, you listen, instead of attacking more. I am aware that it is tempting and challenging, but some people do actually mean it.

[Korra didn't try very hard to get it back.]

Yeah, I thought it was Amon's at first. [The mention of billions of years gets two raised eyebrows. Somehow she didn't see Kyle being that old.] Uh-huh. [The acknowledgement was somewhere between disbelief and confusion. The construction time seemed normal, after all it did take about that long back in Republic City.

That look was all too familiar, one she had received from multiple people, especially Lin, after causing a bit too much trouble. It was odd though receiving it from this young boy.]

Yeah, I know. Normally I do. It's just-

Well there was a lot of things happening at once. [Most of it was her own emotional clashings paired with a visual trigger from Amon and an irritating verbal feud with Kyle.] Made it kind of hard to think straight.

[And Damian's brows turned down at the disbelief.]

Do you always take things so literally? The corps has a collected experience of billions of years. Rayner has been at it for a decade, plenty of time to learn what is necessary.

To contain you.

To contain the other bender.

[After a slow pause, he added,]

You need to learn to think straight, no matter what. Or you get people dead. That is what having the power to cause destruction means.

[Korra actually smirked and raised an eyebrow.]

We're on an ancient turtle in another world with some people that can do almost anything. Yeah, I tend to take thing literally.

['Learning what is necessary' is an all too familiar phrase.]

I have thousands of spirits of the past Avatars that have mastered the elements thousands of times to keep balance and have been great spiritual leaders the world has looked up to. I've been learning what is necessary for thirteen years.

[If I can mess up, someone with billions of years can do so just as easily.]

Thinking straight is what I've been taught to do my whole life. [And it got her here. If she hadn't been found by the White Lotus, she'd probably more volatile than both Raphaels put together.

Korra gave a very simple smile.]

Power is easy to judge when you don't have it. [She wasn't angry or taking a snipe, she just saw Damian for the young kid that had been nice to her.] But thank you Mr. Wayne, nice to know you care.

[Korra had gone out of her way to avoid most everyone after that debacle, and it was nice to hear from someone who was clear-headed, regardless of age.]

Edited (fickle html) 2013-07-14 15:37 (UTC)

[His reaction was immediate, and not really irritated.]

Damian. Mr. Wayne will get you my Father, as an address.

[And, shrug.]

Apparently, it is not enough. You could have people last night. People who could not protect themselves and had gone there for protection.

[Pause.]

The fact that I do not have your power does not mean I do not have power that needs to be controlled, Avatar. And, as you can remember from last night, yours is not the greatest here, except others with powers make sure they know what they do and that they do not cause damage.

Consider that.

[He was not actually angry - no more angry than usual, right now. But his opinion of her intelligence was, sadly, rapidly dropping.]

[After another pause, he added, thoughtfully.]

Thinking straight and going for the simple answers will put you at a great disadvantage with a lot of people here. If you decide you need help about that, I might be able to direct you to some decent teachers.

[Korra was satisfied that she could get away with calling Damian that without making him angry, but she didn’t tease any further than that. But his statement about hurting others got a nod, a slow ‘Yeah, I knoooow. nod. When he addressed just as Avatar, Korra didn’t blanch, after all she had just done something similar to him.]

Well it’s not like I wanted to do that. Just a lot of things- but yes, I know. Control.

[The word that had been told to her her whole life, right alongside ‘Restraint’ which she only found relief from that with Katara. She would give anything to have Katara stand up to her defense like she did back at her firebending test.]

No, I think I know someone who’s probably itching to lecture me about that.

[There was no way Lin wouldn’t find out about this. That called for a drink of water. A very long one. As she’s drinking something that she initially glossed over runs across her mind.]

Wait, control. You said-

[A beat.]

Are you a superhero? [Because anyone from any earth that isn’t her own that has powers has been considered a superhero, or at least by her anyway. She was having a hard time believing it though from Damian’s age.]

[If Damian had been here for himself? She wouldn't have gotten away with much. But this was priority. His - his friend had been hurt, tortured, barely recovering. Doing something good. And she had practically attacked him and his. She had to learn that she had done something wrong. But, as it was for Kyle who was holding his ocean of anger in check, Damian was going to try the alternate way, too.]

So you know. What are you doing about it?

[The words were actually said coldly, firmly.]

[Then he tilted his chin up, meeting Korra's eyes. He hadn't batted an eyelash at the superhero question - he wasn't here to reveal identity. But. His voice is calm as he answers with something different... which probably comes off kind of strong, from an eleven-year-old.]

I was raised an assassin. Using lethal force comes practically naturally to me.

[Pause, and the next three words are said heavily, the freight of a willpower that might match Kyle's behind them.]

But I don't.

[Korra didn’t have an answer to that question. It wasn’t one she wanted to think about. Korra had control of her powers, that wasn’t an issue at all, but she knew everyone was seeing that way. Her temper, especially when it came to Amon, that was what lacked control. Without Tenzin, the other father figure in her life, as a calming guide, Korra wasn’t sure what to do.]

…

[When Damian mentioned assassin, Korra’s eyes flared open and she stared at him. That wasn’t anything she had been expecting. Maybe that he had some type of super strength, flight, water breathing, whatever, sure. But that- well that actually made sense when she thought about how distant and mature he had always seemed.

She knew Damian had already told her his mother wasn’t here, but Korra couldn’t help but see a connection and asked:]

Do you know a woman named Aisha?

[Damian watched her make a face at that question. His voice even firmer, he pointed out (since controlling one's temper is linked).]

It is important. Recklessness here will likely get you killed - which probably won't last - and, even more likely, drown you in guilt. This place lures you into mistakes and gray areas, Avatar. You need to know what you will do when you get there - before you get there.

Do you understand?

[Pause.]

And, yes, I know Aisha. She keeps her knives sharp.

Yeah, I do. [Korra snapped back, angry that not only everyone told her this back home, but now here on Tu Vishan too. Quickly her face melted into apologetic sadness and she just let her head slam onto her folded arms, her words muffled a little.] I’m sorry. I do, I really do. It’s just not that easy. All of my teachers, the best in the world, have been trying to train me this since I was four.

…I’m just a failure.

[Leaving the thought she had with Aisha behind, it didn’t seem important at the moment.]

Can I have some of that cocoa? [Her voice dejected, still muffled from her keeping her face in her arms.]

[... she regained a tiny bit of credit back for catching herself right there. It was - a beginning. After a small pause - and a wince - Damian asked, quietly.]

They have been trying to train you - but have you been trying to learn?

[He stayed quiet after that, then slowly pushed the cup back closer to Korra's arm, the bottom making a slow noise over the tabletop.]

[It didn't even occur to Damian that it would by now be cold and maybe a bit icky. He'd have drunk it, probably, anyway.]

[Lifting her arms and sitting up, Korra put her hands on the cold mug.]

My first teacher, my waterbending master, made me want to learn. She made it fun to, she showed me how water works and how it's affected by the emotions of the wielder. Sher almost killed someone when she was younger than me because of it. But after that, my other instructors just demanded me to control myself. It's not a switch, you know? If it was, I would have done it just to shut them up.

[Without Katara, Korra is sure she would have been a walking time bomb like Raphael was. When Korra's finished with her spiel, she raises the now hot mug to drink deeply from, the whipped cream getting all over her upper lip.]

It just feels like no one takes me seriously when I tell them that I am trying.

Edited 2013-07-16 22:32 (UTC)

I was never allowed to make do with 'trying,' [Damian shrugged.] There had to be results. Always results, to demonstrate what I had learned.

['Results' could be 'ah, you survived the night. Now tune your violin.']

It is not a switch. It is a constant effort, applied to everything that you do, every hour of the day or night. If you do not want to exert your will that way, you fail.

Which is why wanting to learn it matters more than it being... fun.

[The last word was said coldly. He still didn't understand it, and was way past tired with most people that obsessed with it that they brought it up for the oddest reasons. Like learning control? Was there even anything in common at all?]

Your motivation can originate with somebody else, but if you do not find some of your own, trying is all you will have. No results.

Sounds like whoever taught you just wanted results, not to watch you learn and grow. [Korra wipes the whipped cream off her lip with her finer and puts it in her mouth. That emphasis he put on fun grabbed Korra's attention. She was quite sure Damian never had any fun in his entire little life.]

Do you know Jack Frost by any chance?

[She knew Jack had always mentioned of his being around kids and using his wintry powers to induce some good play time.]

Yes, but you are changing the subject.

I am saying that I understand. And you have no right to give up merely because it is not easy.

[Beat.]

Only because it should not be done. That can be the only reason.

And controlling yourself is not that way.

Me, give up. On being the Avatar? [Control of both powers and one's self is synonymous with being the Avatar.] No can do. I'm stuck learning it. I just need the right teacher. Usually the Avatar has sought out their teachers, finding them when the time is right. Up till now, they've pretty much been lined up to instruct me. [She shrugs her shoulders towards her chin, 'What can you do?']

Well, my subject's better. [A sip from the hot cocoa.] So you didn't say no.

No. The teacher matters, but the student must prepare to learn.

[The boy pointed at Korra across the table, his hand reaching, very fast, until it is a bare couple of centimeters from the middle of her chest (he was even faster, but he did not care to show that right now).]

The onus is on you. Then you will not depend on the shortages of this or that teacher. People are not as you expect them to be, and if you are looking for somebody who is exactly right to what you want, you may wind up burning the whole city and everyone in it.

Is that what you are trying to do?

[He simply ignored the 'better' subject. It was of less consequence, so the comment did not merit his acknowledgment.]

[The sudden motion did cause Korra sit back until she was sitting completely straight.]

I've been here for two months, if I just randomly firebended every time I got angry then trust me, I would have been in jail on day one. Things work differently on my world than it does on yours. Waiting for the right teacher is what thousands of Avatars have done in the past, I just kind of got ripped away from mine when I showed up here. It's not my fault he didn't come here with me.

And yeah, of course I want to learn. It's all I've wanted since I was able to bend. In fact it's all I've been doing.

[Korra leaned forward, disregarding his finger sticking into her chest.]

So who put you up to this? I know you don't talk to me this much and don't like to tell me anything too important, at least not before.

Do you want to learn to be powerful, or do you want to learn control?

[There was plenty derision in that question. The implication that she was power-hungry, rather than looking for actual progress. And, no, Damian wasn't seeing enough to discount that possibility.]

You are no longer in your world, Avatar. The right teacher may not exist here. What would that mean, that you stop learning, because it cannot be done as thousands have done it before you? The only reason you are not in prison - or worse - for what you did is that Rayner is good enough at containment without harming that you failed to hurt anyone.

The only reason.

[He paused, blue eyes (darker than hers) boring into hers.]

I saw what you did to that hospital. I do not need anyone to put me up to it.

[The question was a firm reminder that she had never actually seen Damian in person until just now, so of course he had no idea what kind of person she was aside from some seventeen year old girl on the network. Not one to be intimidated, Korra met his stare with her own vivid sky blue eyes, and after a long pause she just quietly says.]

Asami would have trusted me.

[Practically turning the mug upside down, Korra finishes off the last bit of the hot cocoa.]

[Eyeroll.]

I am not Asami. The number of people I trust is generally lower than what you can count on the fingers of one hand.

What have you down to deserve a place in such a number?

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(I AM SORRY FOR DAMIAN)

(I think the same of Korra every time I hit "Post Comment")

KORRA YOU ARE TOO LITERAL an eleven-year-old does better with abstract than you.

ABSTRACT IS A MATH THING, RIGHT?

ABSTRACT IS A LIFE THING, geez, get with the times.

I'm hip, I have a telegraph.

Uhoh. DANGER!

OMG DAMIAN IS A LOVE CHILD ACCORDING TO KORRA

PFFFFFT HIS PARENTS WERE MARRIED... according to his mother... (he was also grown in a tube.)

WELL KNOW HE'S AISHA'S SPAWN.

Naaaah. They're sort of twins with a couple of decades of age difference.

Now that makes perfect sense.

Yes good.

AND NOW SHE WANTS TO "FIX" DAMIAN.

She can take a number.

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