the legend of khione || korra

the avatar arrives

KHIONE

Khione considered herself a pretty rational person. 

She had gotten good at controlling her emotions, but as she gazed at the sunrise dawning over the island, a wistful pang tugged at her heart.

Air Temple Island.

It was the closest thing she had to a home, and it had become so familiar to her in the past months. She loved the smell of sea foam that the breeze always brought in, the simple architecture, the familial kindness that seemed to drape over everybody that lived there. That's why she'd begged Tenzin the minute she'd turned seventeen to allow her to live there.

To study airbender culture, she'd told him earnestly. It was only half of the real reason, but he seemed to understand.

She wanted to be as far away from her father in Republic City as she could.

Now, she felt freer as she watched the island grow closer. Her dark hair lashed in the wind, and she steadied herself as the ferry cut through the lapis water, slowing at the docks. Khione stepped down from the boat, politely declining the offered arm of one of the air acolytes who had been waiting for her. She stretched out her right knee, wincing slightly as a small jolt of pain -the result of too much time and weight spent on her feet- ran down her leg. It was one of her better days, where the pain was mostly gone, and she could use her brace without her cane.

"Khione!"

A small girl raced towards her, jumping up and down. Khione wasn't fond of hugs, but she allowed Ikki to hug her left leg gingerly, before bouncing around her.

"You're finally back! I can't believe you left- I can't wait to show you who came!" She prattled on, practically vibrating with energy, and Khione let herself smile. Ikki and her overwhelming positive innocence had been impossible to stay indifferent to. In fact, all of Tenzin's children had somehow managed to worm their way into her heart.

"Oh, did someone new come whilst I was away?" Khione asked, following Ikki to one of the training grounds, nodding politely to the young acolytes they passed.

"Yes! Her name is Korra and she's from the Southern Water Tribe and she's the Avatar!" Ikki spun around, her eyes practically lighting up into stars. Khione raised an eyebrow.

"Why aren't you surprised? DID YOU ALREADY KNOW?" Ikki demanded, standing on her tiptoes, hands on her hips.

"No," Khione gently ruffled Ikki's hair, ignoring her squeaks of protest.

"But it's not surprising because she was bound to come soon enough to learn airbending." She smiled at Ikki's pout, patting her on the cheeks. Khione's affection might've seemed slightly strange to an outsider, but those who received it knew that it was heartfelt, especially because it was so rarely given.

Khione could sense Ikki's impatience, and yet the little girl stayed beside her as Khione carefully climbed the last flight of stairs, her limp slightly more pronounced. It was one of the things she loved about Ikki; she was hyper, and yet she stayed by Khione to make sure that she wasn't going to further aggravate her leg by urging her to move faster.

"There she is," Ikki whispered, grabbing onto Khione's fingertips. "Oh, and there's my brother," she added, pointedly ignoring Jinora, who shot her a withering look.

Khione opted to address Jinora and Meelo first, sending them a small wave, which they both returned with matching smiles. From the way Ikki and Jinora were glaring at each other, she assumed they'd gotten into another silly argument. She then turned her gaze to the Avatar herself.

She was tall, rippling tan muscles and confidence, her black hair pulled into a ponytail. She was dressed in airbender garb, and looked slightly out of place.

"Hey, you must be Khione!" Korra brightened as their eyes met. "Ikki and the others have been talking about you ever since I got here."

"Is that so?" Khione mused, raising a brow at the children. "I didn't know I had a fan club."

Khione knew that she'd come off as curt, maybe even a little apathetic, but she wasn't sure what to think of Korra's clear cut confidence. It was closer, maybe, to naivety. She was sure that Korra thought she could take on the world. She was interested, though. After all, it wasn't everyday you met the Avatar.

"Nice to meet you, Avatar," Khione said cooly, inclining her head slightly. Korra's smile wavered slightly, but she didn't seem to take Khione's apathy to heart.

"Oh, Korra's fine."

"Korra, then," She amended. Korra grinned, her teeth flashing. Khione couldn't help but think: She looks pretty when she smiles. She shook herself mentally, looking for a distraction.
"Tenzin," she greeted, bowing out of respect as he approached them, grateful he'd come at this moment.
"Are you staying to watch? Korra has been distracted long enough." His words were warm, but firm, and Korra noticeably deflated. Khione surveyed Korra, who shifted uneasily under the weight of her stare.

"Sure," Khione shrugged, tilting her head. She gestured for them to proceed, and Tenzin led Korra back to the exercise. He thrust his hand out, and the paper panels began to spin quickly. Korra turned around to glance at Khione again. Khione raised an eyebrow, before giving Korra a small thumbs up. Korra smiled, all bravado and confident looks, rolling her shoulders back. She positioned herself in front of the spinning panels, muscles taut.

"Let's do this."

She charged straight at the panels, and immediately slammed into one, promptly being flung at several others before being spat out onto the ground. Khione must've looked extremely skeptical, because Ikki elbowed her, gesturing pointedly to her own forced smile. Khione poked her side, before turning her attention back to Korra, who had already sprung up and was readying herself for another turn.

Despite Korra's first massive failure, (Khione felt more entitled about thinking about it that way when she saw her second and third attempts) Khione still felt a twinge of jealousy at Korra's lithe body, the swiftness of which she got up and attempted to race in. Although she was, quite honestly, terrible at the exercise, she could still try it, which was more than Khione could ever do. Khione was used to feeling envious at those without her injury, the ease of which people like Korra moved through the world, swift and graceful, unlike her. 

She would never truly know the feeling of running, the freedom that painless movement brought. Her leg could never truly be healed, not when she was little, and never when she was older. She was used to it now, and although it was only a very rare occasion she found herself bitter, those moments always seemed to overwhelm her, like huge swelling waves that knocked her down.

Eventually, Khione got bored of watching Korra get knocked to the ground, and slipped away with a whispered goodbye to Ikki, Jinora and Meelo, ruffling their hair affectionately. She glanced at Korra one last time, her skin golden against the setting sun, before turning away. She certainly was persistent; Khione had to give her that.

It's a good quality for an Avatar to have, she thought. 

a/n: hi everyone! if you're new, welcome! i am currently in the process of rewriting chapters as i wasn't a fan of how i used to write. if you're rereading this, i hope you enjoy this even more than you did the first time!

love being back, saarah!