tushanshu | Video

What are you making?

[No, you don't know her. But curious princess is curious!]

[Wow, okay, Korra has never seen someone be that curious and has no idea that's probably just the tip of this iceberg.]

Um, hi. I'm trying to gather enough stuff to make a wooden dummy, a heavy punching bag, and a speed bag. There's only so much training I can do without those, so they're pretty important.

I'm Korra by the way. Sorry, I thought I met most of the foreigners in Keeliai. [Not even close Korra.]

[Immediate brightening. Also potentially known as Doom.]

Are you a boxer?

Ah -- sorry! I'm Amelia!

[Lots and lots of foreigners in Keelai.]

[Korra's got no idea who she's dealing with.]

I- what? No. They're just really important in my exercises and I don't want to get rusty. [Well the boxer isn't too far off an assumption.] The speedbag's more for someone else than for me.

[This begs the question] Is boxing a big thing where you're from?

[At least she didn't ask if Korra worked at a pet shop.]

Edited (I can spell, really.) 2013-05-18 23:54 (UTC)

[Head tilt!]

. . . What is a "speedbag?" And you do some other kind of fighting, then?

On the boxing, not really! But I love it. I learned from Daddy, and I don't get a lot of chances to practice here. It would have been nice to meet someone else who does it.

[The pet shop comment is somewhat lost on the player.]

A speedbag is usually filled with air or just rubber and mounted on the ceiling or wall, that way you can punch it quickly and get a rhythm going. It helps with coordination and works off fat on the arms.

[She can't help but blink at that.] You're a boxer and you don't know what a speedbagis? But really, you're a boxer?

[Genuine surprise is genuine. This girl looked nothing of the sort, maybe a little on the prissy side, but mostly cutesy.]

Rubber?

[Kind of a blank look at that.]

Oh! We do have something like that -- just a different name?

[More head tilting. Why is this so hard to believe? Amelia does not understand.]

Of course I am! I love it.

[Stepping away from the keyboard, the girl grounds herself, taking a few light swings towards the monitor. She actually does have good form as she moves.]

And now . . . Amelia's special punch! One, two, three, go!

[The punch was meant to hit air, but Amelia miscalculates and hits the wall instead. There's an impressive CRACK!, and a large mass of plaster separates from the ceiling. Amelia only narrowly avoids it with a yelp, peering down at the remains on the carpet.]

Ah . . . oops.

Yeah, rubber. You know, stretchy and tough. Rubber... [Yeah, she's just going to give up trying to explain that.]

Wow.

[Seriously, Korra did not expect this girl to have that kind of strength. At all. So she'll just keep her mouth in that wow shape for a few more seconds.]

That was pretty incredible! I wouldn't have guessed you to be the hardcore fighting type. My regimen is martial arts, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate another fighting style.

[Amelia's looking up at the gaping hole in her ceiling.]

Mou, that's really bad . . .

[Back to Korra with almost visible sweatdrops.]

Thank you!

. . . Do you know how to fix a ceiling?

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[Oh look it's someone you have totally never met or talked to before, Korra. Ever. More importantly, it's somebody who looks like he's close to your age. Turtle teenagers unite!]

Have you tried asking around in the Wood Sector? The kedan there have been pretty friendly in the past, and they'd definitely be the ones to talk to for anything related to woodcutting.

I can also help you find the cloth, if you like. It could be a nice shell-warming present! And hopefully make up for the fact I didn't say anything when you first got here.

[~~and let the lies begin~~]

Edited 2013-05-19 03:19 (UTC)

[Another normal person aside from Mark? How is this possible?!]

I've been thinking about trying there, but really it comes down to me just trading some bending services for the supplies and I don't think any of the kedan are interested in anything that's not juulans or food. Especially from us foreigners.

Cloth would be great! Anything that won't rupture from being punched a lot would be ideal. But really, I can give you something. Not everyone's on the network all the time, right?

[Aww, he looks so nerdy and scrawny.] I'm Korra by the way, I'm out in the Metal Sector of Keeliai.

[Blatant deception, duh. ~~Seriously though he's just digging here~~]

Bending services? Like, shaping metal?

[He knows full well what she means, but the problem is, it's Spider-Man that knows. He'll have to play ignorant for a while.]

I'll only take you up on that offer if it's expensive. Otherwise, it's my treat.

[And he may be nerdy looking and deliberately wearing clothes that make him look puny, but he's going to be pretty stubborn about this. Though he does look a bit flustered when she introduces herself, mostly because he'd already forgotten they aren't on familiar terms enough to warrant a withholding of introductions.]

Oh! Right, sorry. Nice to meet you Korra, I'm Pete. And I'm apparently living in the same sector you are! What suite number'd they give you?

[You nice, normal guys with your lies and deceit.]

Whoa, slow down there. I can't metalbend, never had a teacher for something that advanced. But I can earthbend, firebend, and waterbend just fine. I haven't mastered airbending yet, so nor promises if I use that.

[Then it hits her that he probably has no clue just what bending is exactly.]

Bending means control over one of the elements. Some people are born with the gift, lucky me I'm able to master all four. Eventually. ~~Hopefully.~~ But you know, I've never thought of how much bending services would even be worth. I mean a small thing like breaking down some rocks or burning something down wouldn't be easy, but constructing something big out of earth or transporting a ton of water would take a lot more effort. [Something to think about.]

Back at you Pete! Always good to meet another sector mate. I'm in the ME-2B block.

That...sounds incredibly useful.

[Mostly the earthbending, at least as far as Mr. totally-not-a-superhero is concerned. There's practically no end to the useful stuff that could be made out of- wait.]

Wait, if you can make stuff out of rocks, why not just make stone tools? They might not be perfect, but they'd be free. And unless the turtle's got some really sturdy trees, they should work just fine.

[Sector things can come later, he's more concerned with whether or not this is possible.]

Edited 2013-05-19 06:48 (UTC)

Bending's is useful stuff. Even now benders are finding new uses and methods for their gifts. [Now being a relative term since nothing is changing in her home world until she returns.]

Oh cutting down a tree wouldn't be that hard, I could probably use waterbending to be more precise than using stone. But the Wood Sector has the sturdiest lumber I'm guessing and I'm pretty sure it's illegal for me to do that.

You're using your noggin though Pete. I like that. Just how old are you anyway? [She really wants to say he's fifteen, but better safe than sorry.]

It definitely is, I'm pretty sure you need a permit. I haven't exactly heard good things about the jail, either, so it's probably best to stay out of it.

[He'd been under the impression she needed the tools to help shape the logs into whatever she was building, but it wouldn't be the first time he was wrong.]

And I'm sixteen. Probably around the same age as you, right? Unless I'm totally off.

[He could give her maybe a year on him, two tops, but he was pretty sure she couldn't be any older than that.]

I'm sure that permit is going to cost a foreigner an extra juulan or three and that's not going to work out so well. [And he'd be right if she was fast enough to catch his drift.]

Hmm, close. I'm seventeen. Still. [She's not dying to be eighteen so she can actually qualify as an adult. Nope. Not her.]

Have you been on the turtle long? I'm still having trouble getting used to the kedan's customs. [Because hers are so normal.]

[video] Well I did, so judging averted.

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If it's extra wood you're looking for, there's certainly no shortage of dead trees in this plague-- though I can't say how suitable rotting logs will be for the work you need to do.

[ a wry smile. ] Nor can I say how pleased the locals will be to see them cut down, even as far beyond salvation as they are.

Oooh-nope. Needs to be sturdy, though a soft hardwood is the ideal stuff for this project. Yeah, I didn’t think taking a tree down on my own would be a good idea. I’m really hoping one of us foreigners has some extra laying around some where [Or even better, can make some out of thin air with magic. Given what’s she’s heard some people can do, it’s not too far off. Right?]

I’m Korra by the way.

[ forget magic-- a miracle is what he needs to make anything grow here, with the state the turtle's in. he probably would have as much luck simply trying to conjure it out of thin air.

a polite nod! ] Qilby. It's a pleasure, Korra.

Unfortunately, there isn't much extra of anything at the moment. You'd be luckier trying to find an alternative-- what is it you're planning to build, anyway?

I’d use some stone for myself, but it needs to be softer than that. I’m trying to get a wooden dummy built along with a punching bag and a speed bag. Gotta stay in shape after all, right? [Because everyone does and should. Apparently.]

Getting all the training stuff I needed had been easy up until I needed the wood and the cloth. Or maybe a tarp would do if it’s strong enough…

Of course. [ there's a distinctly ironic sound to his reply. after all, she's talking about staying in shape to someone who looks kind of like a plant that hasn't seen the sun in a few millennia.

but hey, appearances can be deceiving! ]

Well, there's certainly no shortage of Foreigners at the very least -- surely you can find a sparring partner among one of them, if worst comes to worst.

Actually I’m planning to be teaching someone so they’ll need this stuff before sparring. But I like your train of thought. You look [She pauses to find a good nice word-] tired. [And old. But mostly tired.]

You know I think I might be biting off more than I can chew when it comes to fellow foreigners in terms of sparring. [Going by what she’s heard anyway.]

[ and he laughs good and loud at that. ] You can say "old." It's not untrue, Goddess knows.

But believe it or not, there was a time when I was a teacher -- like you -- to students of my own. [ many times, in fact. many times over many, many lives. ] We've all been brought here for a particular reason, so I wouldn't be surprised if many of us had similar qualifications.

[ The word had lingered the air when she paused and an icebreaker like that causes Korra to chuckle a little bit too. Anyone who was that honest about their age deserved to smile more often.]

Well this is my first time teaching anyone anything. I’ve been studying under different people since I was four, so this is all new ground to me. There are some pretty unusual things I’ve heard about what other people can do so whatever that reason is it must be really important.