Whoa, slow down.

[alphatar]

Characters: Bart, Jim, Korra, Zatanna, Zuko, Closed;
Dates: Late January
Locations: Various
Situations: Various
Warnings/Rating: N/A

((Kind of a mini-catch all for the end of January.))

Comments

[sizzle]

That was a good question... was she ready to train Aang. Zuko lifted up his arms to examine her healing work. There was no doubt about it, she could easily take care of burns like the one they'd received in this fight. Her firebending was good. She knew a range of techniques, and understood defensive firebending methods as well as the offensive ones.

Technically speaking she should be more than ready to train Aang, but...

It was the attitude. Being the Avatar and having access to healing that most firebenders didn't have Zuko had to wonder how much she respected the destructive power that came with the art. She'd be able to teach Aang the techniques without a problem, but he wasn't sure she'd teach him the right mindset.

On the other hand, considering all of Aang's experience with firebenders in the past Zuko had doubts that Aang would ever have the same carefree attitude that Korra had about fire. If anything, maybe Aang could be a good influence on Korra.

Zuko stayed silent the entire time he was mulling this over, giving her plenty of time to concentrate on her healing at least.

"I need more time to think about it."

[alphatar]

Thinking of the pause as nothing more than him giving her time to finish healing so she could speak properly, Korra closed her eyes and slowly rolled her head from side to side to test any lasting effects of the burn. But all good, and she patted the spot with her fingers.

Half of Korra wanted to protest that she was good enough to teach Aang, but the other half knew she wasn’t supposed to be his teacher. The Avatar needed to find his own teachers, she was robbed of that tradition and she didn’t want to take that away from Aang.

"All right, I understand." It was slightly off, but she didn’t look too put down. "Thanks for the workout, it was fun."

[sizzle]

Her logic wasn't bad either. It should be Zuko that taught Aang firebending, because in the proper timeline not changed by this place it was Zuko that did it. The problem was the Avatar didn't seem all that inclined to talk to Zuko right now, much less learn from him.

Maybe... maybe if it was just the basics then it would be fine to let Korra be the teacher.

Just one, curt nod at her thanks. Hesitating before saying "I'm the one that should be thanking you. .... I think I needed that fight."

[alphatar]

That got Korra’s smile back on. She knew exactly how a fight could help get some frustration out, and she knew Zuko had quite a lot given the time difference between him and Aang.

"Glad to help out! If you ever need another one, I’m available. Here or the dojo, or wherever you’d like. Not every day I get fight another bender here, you know?"

[sizzle]

"Yeah, I've been getting that sense." This was a strange, strange world. If the world happened to be devoid of benders at all Zuko might have been able to accept things, but it didn't stop there. People with powers completely unrelated to bending were a different matter, however.

That one was going to take him a little more getting used to.

[alphatar]

The only other firebender who might even want to get a good fight going would be Mako, but Korra knew he wasn’t much the type for sparring. So she’d let Zuko figure that out if the two ever crossed paths.

"It’s why I check the network every now and then. See if someone home comes." She picked up a towel that was near the pile of mats in the corner of the huge practice area. "And see if I get lucky like I did with you."

Smirking, she turned her neck from side to side to make it pop and stretch out the newly healed spot to see if there was any residual pain.

"But I need a shower." Korra pointed at Zuko with the towel. "You can stick around if you want, I got food in the fridge and snacks in the cupboards." She doubted he would, but it was polite to offer the Prince of the Fire Nation the hospitality anyway.

[sizzle]

It was true, kicking royalty out of your house probably wasn't recommended, even if said royalty didn't actually have any political power in this city. Then again, Zuko hadn't had all that much political power for most of his life. He'd either been too young or too exiled to really toss around much weight, and being told to leave would be just fin--

Okay, no. That wasn't true. Despite the fact that his ridiculous pride had been tempered greatly over the years, being told to get out still probably wouldn't sit well with him.

Thankfully though, Korra was right about her doubts. He shook his head once at the offer. "I have other things I should take care of today. Thanks anyway."