Shine a light in the dark

[alphatar]

Characters: Korra (alphatar), OPEN
Date: March 17th (Day after her return from Teyran)
Location: Brazen Turtle, Flying around
Situation: Korra finds a ring...
Warnings/Rating: N/A

Sliding the last empty glass on the bar into her small tub, Korra wiped the counter off as she made her way back to the other end of the bar. The smooth surface shone against the light from the hanging lanterns of the Brazen Turtle and she looked around at the nearly empty bar. Just her and the bartender left to clean up now that they were closed.

"Be back to help with the tables after washing these and taking out the trash." She promised over her shoulder as she went into the kitchen. Of course the dish washing was easy, all she had to was fill up the sink with soap and water, load it up and just bend the water to scrub them spotless. And drying them was just as simple as letting them air dry, only she used airbending to do so. The small amount she needed for it had been helping her refine her technique and control.

When she went to take out the garbage to the bins outside the bar, the bags practically overflowing and heavy; all of which she held up easily thanks to her physical strength. A single kick of air lifted the lid with a loud bang and she was just about to heft the bags over when a single glint of green flashed across her blue eyes.

Pausing, Korra blinked and slowly lowered the bags to the ground. It was too fast for her to get a good look at what just landed in the trash. Putting her hands on the edge of the bins, Korra rolled up onto the balls of her feet and then had to go to her tippy toes to see the inside of the bin. Despite the strong smell of old garbage, Korra’s mouth fell open and she stared at a ring.

A green ring.

It bore a symbol she recognized and, tentatively, Korra brought her arm up and tried to reach for it. There was no way it could have been real, of that she was sure. The power ring was the most important thing to a Green Lantern and no one would be foolish enough to just-

She couldn’t reach, her fingers came shy of just a few inches.

Then the ring twitched and Korra stopped moving to watch it. It hovered into the air and smoothly slid onto her finger. She shook her head at first and then the words came, causing Korra to stare at the ring on her hand.

"Suitable host located."

"What do you mea-"

That sentence was interrupted when a green glow drew her attention downwards and the symbol of Oa was alight on her chest, and from it the light spread out to cover most of her body. Then her clothes were replaced by a black and white suit that looked much like Kyle’s since he was the lantern she had the most experience with.

"No way…" Pressing her luck, Korra curled her fingers in and pointed the ring at the sky in hopes that it worked just like she had experienced only once before.

And it did.

Her feet lifted off the ground and she surrounded in a green aura, made purely by her considerable will, flying upwards. Against the night sky, she was a glowing beacon of green light and she looked around at the city below her as it shrunk away. Even her hair tubes had turned green and the smile on her face was more genuine than most she had given in the past few days.

Avatar Korra wielded the most powerful weapon in the known universe, and she knew it.

Comments

[looksfine]

"You are referring to the one known as Jim Kirk." Aya's tone and expression remained neutral at first, before warming considerably. "We have spoken. He is a close acquaintance of Kyle's."

It would be apparent to Korra the affection she held for the Honor Guard Lantern. Familiar. Like a younger sister would look up to an older brother she greatly admired.

"Physical Forms are not restrictive. They are merely outer shells in which my essence is contained. Being the navigational computer of the ship, I had access to many facilities which allowed me to create and mold the parts necessary to take on a form as you see now, which I had been informed was necessary to move around and interact with others, as a Green Lantern should."

Of course, this was before it was made known that entire planets could become Lanterns, but hey. It all worked out in the long run.

[alphatar]

Oh she definitely knows that look, it’s one she sports for Jim from time to time without realizing it. It made sense to her, Kyle was the most experienced Lantern she’d met. "Yeah, I’ve met both of them." And Korra was more than willing to leave it at that. Her promise to both Kyle and Jim, keeping their private lives private, was something she’d uphold.

"That’s almost spiritual… The whole essence thing I mean. But hey, I’m glad you decided to do it. This is a lot less weirder than meeting a talking ship." And she meant that.

[looksfine]

"Yes, it had been my experience that physical appearances appear to weight heavily on varying social interactions. Not always. But often."

[alphatar]

"...Right." Korra understood it perfectly, but the phrasing was just so unnaturally technical.

"Next time, try 'Yeah, sometimes.' or something like that." Offering pointers on general lingo was something she felt confident in being able to do. Korra even smiled and pointed her finger at Aya. "Let me know how it goes."

But on to more important matters.

"So are there any Green Lantern meetings or stuff like that I should know about?" A very legitimate question. Her schedule was less packed, but still manageable if she had forewarning.

[looksfine]

"...is there something wrong with the way I talk?"

It wouldn't be the first time an individual had commented on it. For her part, Aya was comfortable with who she was and how she functioned. But nobody had ever brought such things to her attention before her arrival in Keelai, and the fact that more than one continued to do so...surprised her.

"There are no set schedules at this time. We operate independently, although we do still function as a team." Somewhat. In the loosest of terms. "If it is necessary, then we will communicator a need to convene at a predetermined location and time, but those are often the direct result of unforeseen circumstances. Kyle is our senior officer, so he would be the person to speak to on such matters."

[alphatar]

Korra was completely unsurprised at Kyle being the Lantern in charge if something came up. Honor Guard was one title she heard, but being called the Angel of the Corps because of what he’d done; well Korra had more respect for him than she’d ever admit.

"I’ll make sure to check in with him tomorrow at least. Pretty sure he’d like to know what happened." And possibly just take the ring from her as soon as he learned it. Operating independently with a power ring was something Korra felt she could do. Greatness had always been thrust on her shoulders, and she wouldn’t treat this any different than being the Avatar.

"But nothing’s wrong with how you talk, you’re right I mean. But think of how other people talk. Like if I told a friend of mine ‘Kyle’s my senior officer, so he is who I speak to on matters in regards to Green Lantern obligations’ they’d take a few seconds to get it. But if I said ‘Kyle’s my boss, so I check in with him’ then they’d get it right away."

She scratched the back of her head and batted away some of the thicker clouds Oogi was flying through.

"Do you see what I mean? Go for more casual." Korra held up her ring. "Sound less like this thing and more like someone you know."

[looksfine]

It took a moment longer than usual for Aya to process and reprocess the two statements. Comparing them. Analyzing. To her...they sounded exactly the same, with only a difference in vocabulary.

"You are implying...there should be a more familiar tone when speaking to someone you are close to?" Non-judgemental. Merely trying to understand. "I will...try."

[alphatar]

"Good." She was almost expecting an 'I will perform to the best of my function's capability.', so Korra smiled at that answer. "Try it with your friends first and see how it works. Never hurts to practice."

[looksfine]

"I will be certain to do that. Thank you, Green Lantern Korra."

[alphatar]

"Anytime, Green Lantern Aya." Oh, she was already enjoying herself and Aya would be fun to have around. And to think that she used to just call Kyle a 'green ring' with some disdain.