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Airbenders are pretty thoroughly repopulated now, but they're still minorities anywhere but the handful of enclaves that have retaken the open temples or integrated into the populations that have woven into them. Beila doesn't live in one of those enclaves. She lives in Republic City. Benders are a minority, airbenders more so. She's the only one in her class. It could still be a coincidence that she's supposed to do her history project on Avatar Aang, her some-number-of-greats grandfather, and not casual stereotyping. Whatever. Her partner's not a bender at all unless he's very quiet about it, he's just a random cute boy who sits to her left. Dao, that's his name.
"Hey," she says. "When's good for you to meet up and work on this thing?"
roc_on
roc_on
"I'm not, like, overwhelmed with people who wanted to be my friend before knowing I was the Avatar," Beila points out. "I'm not saying I can never make new friends, but they'll be a little trickier to vet, you know?"
roc_on
"So is this a - a 'I am concerned in spite of your reassurance that you may unexpectedly firebend' or a 'I want some distance from your incipient fan club' or a 'get away from me, spirit-touched creature, I certainly do not want to go flying with you next weekend' or what?"
thinklikethis
"Um... it's not really any of those," he says. "...Did you want me to go flying with you next weekend?"
roc_on
"I had considered asking you," Beila says. "You seemed to have fun. It's better when it's not commuting."
roc_on
"But now I'm the scary Avatar, woooooo?" She waggles her fingers. "I mean, if you don't want to sit next to me in class you probably don't want to sit behind me on a roc."
roc_on
Beila does too. Especially to the significant looks the teacher keeps casting in her direction. That could get annoying before it gets useful.
After school, Beila hangs around talking briefly to a handful of reporters. She agrees to be interviewed on video in a couple of places at times in the future and makes generic statements about looking forward to serving the people of Dìqiú. She dismisses everyone politely after half an hour and takes to the air, where mercifully none of the reporters can follow her.
She glides for a long time, and doesn't go straight home, but eventually she gets there, and does her homework, and hugs her parents, and goes to bed, and in the morning she glides to school again. Liqing's going to feel so neglected.
After school, Beila hangs around talking briefly to a handful of reporters. She agrees to be interviewed on video in a couple of places at times in the future and makes generic statements about looking forward to serving the people of Dìqiú. She dismisses everyone politely after half an hour and takes to the air, where mercifully none of the reporters can follow her.
She glides for a long time, and doesn't go straight home, but eventually she gets there, and does her homework, and hugs her parents, and goes to bed, and in the morning she glides to school again. Liqing's going to feel so neglected.
roc_on
Of course he is. Fine.
School things school things school things, the schoolmaster wants her to give a little speech in front of the entire student body at lunch, she wishes he'd warned her so she could have written something, whatever.
"Hello, everyone!" Beila says to the entire student body at lunch. "I'm Beila Guxiao, and, turns out, I'm also the Avatar! I have my first waterbending lesson this afternoon, and I'm going to be working on developing my spiritual powers, too, so it shouldn't be long before I'm able to help with anything that needs doing in this city, or anywhere else in the world. I've been lucky enough to be born in a time of peace, so, like I told those reporters the other day, I'm on the lookout for other ways to help people than were available the last time an Air Avatar was called. If you have ideas, just put them into my public filebox - the nuns are going to set one of those up for me, the screen number will be advertised during my video interviews." Is that enough things to say? That should be enough things to say. "I look forward to serving you!" Korra's iconic line, one of the first things said by any Avatar to be recorded for posterity, reiterated by the intervening two and now Beila's picking it up again, may as well.
She wafts dramatically off the stage, buys her lunch - the cafeteria worker tries to give it to her for free; she declines - and sits at an empty table which is immediately mobbed.
Beila declines to talk with her mouth full.
She starts learning waterbending. The water moves for her, in case there was any doubt; she picks up the skill quickly, as if there was any doubt. She gives her interviews; they go well, if blandly, and she stirs the interviewer's ice around in his drink with a small smile.
She goes to school again. The nuns have been talking about pulling her out, which would be neat.
School things school things school things, the schoolmaster wants her to give a little speech in front of the entire student body at lunch, she wishes he'd warned her so she could have written something, whatever.
"Hello, everyone!" Beila says to the entire student body at lunch. "I'm Beila Guxiao, and, turns out, I'm also the Avatar! I have my first waterbending lesson this afternoon, and I'm going to be working on developing my spiritual powers, too, so it shouldn't be long before I'm able to help with anything that needs doing in this city, or anywhere else in the world. I've been lucky enough to be born in a time of peace, so, like I told those reporters the other day, I'm on the lookout for other ways to help people than were available the last time an Air Avatar was called. If you have ideas, just put them into my public filebox - the nuns are going to set one of those up for me, the screen number will be advertised during my video interviews." Is that enough things to say? That should be enough things to say. "I look forward to serving you!" Korra's iconic line, one of the first things said by any Avatar to be recorded for posterity, reiterated by the intervening two and now Beila's picking it up again, may as well.
She wafts dramatically off the stage, buys her lunch - the cafeteria worker tries to give it to her for free; she declines - and sits at an empty table which is immediately mobbed.
Beila declines to talk with her mouth full.
She starts learning waterbending. The water moves for her, in case there was any doubt; she picks up the skill quickly, as if there was any doubt. She gives her interviews; they go well, if blandly, and she stirs the interviewer's ice around in his drink with a small smile.
She goes to school again. The nuns have been talking about pulling her out, which would be neat.
