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

[alphatar]

Korra let out an internal sigh of relief at him not being offended at her naive observation and even smiled at his tone. She could get used to the Blue Lantern, normally her personality dug in a little too deeply at others.

"Yep, you would! Not too many humans can have their spirits live in the Spirit World. It's complicated..." and she's not the biggest Spirit guru of her world. Not yet. "Might have to do with a spiritual connection, and probably a lot of meditation."

[burnseternal]

"I've done no shortage of meditation, and this is the first I've heard of the Spirit World. I would hear what you know of it, if you wouldn't mind," he said with a minute tilt of his head. He knew that the spirit world was vast and rich, and that it must contain multitudes upon multitudes, but even he hadn't the occasion to ever see it for himself.

[alphatar]

Korra smirks and folds her arms. "Yeah, I kind of had you pegged for the meditation type." Said fondly, because he was like an airbender and she had a soft spot for them.

"I'm not the greatest spiritualist, but the Spirit World exists parallel to ours. Or rather, my world's. The spirits that live there are different, very nature-y and immortal. If a human is in the spirit world, their emotions affect the Spirit World physically and a lot more so for the Avatar."

Korra blinked after saying that. "Uh, that's me by the way." Something she completely forgot to mention.

[burnseternal]

"Did you, now? I think I will take that as a compliment," Saint Walker replied with a wry smile.

He listened carefully to what Korra had to say, then remarked, "I came here to lend my advice, but it seems that I am the one asking all the questions! But I must ask another - I fear you have me at something of a disadvantage. What is an Avatar - or rather, the Avatar?"

That the Avatar had some sort of intimate connection to the Spirit World was something that Saint Walker could surmise from her description, but he could also guess that unless Korra was remarkably good at hiding it, she wasn't much for meditation in her own right. Perhaps that sort of training simply wasn't necessary for the Avatar, whatever that title may mean.

[alphatar]

That was a question Korra had been answering for close to a year, and she knew it was coming. "On my world the Avatar is the only person who can bend all four elements." She opened one hand to produce a small flame and swept other about her, drawing what little moisture she could from the air until a small blob of water was in her other palm. "Earth, Fire, Air, and Water. It’s the Avatar’s job to keep balance in the world, and they’re also the bridge to the Spirit World. Visiting it can be kind of crazy from what I’ve seen."

[burnseternal]

Saint Walker's eyes widened slightly as he watched Korra's little display. "Well! That's certainly not what I was expecting," he declared, looking just as fascinated as ever. There was still so much to learn from so much of the Turtle's population that it felt a little staggering sometimes - but only in a good way. He believed in looking on the bright side, and being able to see such things certainly counted in the Turtle's favour.

"And you haven't seen much yet? If I'm not mistaken, you are still terribly young for your kind."

[alphatar]

"Not ‘terribly’ young." But it wasn’t much of a complaint Korra muttered. She was rather proud of her eighteen years of age.

"Not of the Spirit World. Well, not yet anyway. I did see it, just at the palace when I asked to see my future." Something Korra looked back on often, because of what it held and it was the last time she saw Emperor Eshai. "But yeah, that’s the Avatar in a nutshell."

[burnseternal]

"A position of great honour, I'm sure. And now you are a Green Lantern in addition to being the Avatar! It seems that you are gathering titles as others may gather fruit," Saint Walker said brightly.

In truth, he found relief in speaking with Korra. He had only met Green Lanterns of the highest caliber thus far, but he knew all too well that great evil could possess just as much willpower as great good, and Korra seemed as fine a candidate as any. She may cause mischief, perhaps, but he sincerely doubted that she would cause any chaos.

"That's quite a lot of responsibility for a single person to take on."

[alphatar]

Saint Walker was too much for Korra. Every time she described the position of being the Avatar ended with either someone thinking she was too young for it or that she was too irresponsible for the task.

But for the first, time she smiled when she confidently said "I think I can handle it."

The constructs faded and the green aura around her returned, stronger and brighter than she had ever seen it; either for her or others. Even though she now knew a Blue Lantern boosted her ring's power, Korra felt more of a boost in her own sense of self.

"Why don't you show me how a Lantern should do a patrol around the turtle?" More of an invitation to just hang around him more than anything else.

[burnseternal]

"One perk of your new position is that it is very much a team effort. It is added responsibility, yes, but shared responsibility," Saint Walker said, clearly counting himself among their ranks. He may not be a Green Lantern, but he was more than willing to work alongside them, whether it be in the form of an ally, a friend or a guide.

In this case, he was happy to act as a guide. He took off, expecting her to follow along and said, "Come along! I will show you the routes I have been taking."

And if he were to stop by at a couple of the more picturesque areas along the way, well, that could be their little secret.