六

[anatural]

action
[Korra and Naga are sprawled in the lot behind the apartment. Korra snuggles up against
her friend, and has been for the past few hours.

Her t-shirt reads "A lunatic stripped me of my entire identity and all I got was this lousy t-shirt."

It had freaked her out that morning, when she had woken up and been unable to take it off. The reminder of her lost powers hurt, like soaking an open wound in salt water. But she's had a few months now to come to an uneasy peace with that. It hurts her, but it doesn't hold her down.

She doesn't usually deal with the network much, but she's flicking through it today, watching other people and their open wounds. It puts her own pain into perspective. She can't believe how many people have so much pain in their pasts. She'd never thought the world could be so cruel.]

[video]
[Korra clearly looks uncomfortable. Public speaking -- seriously not her thing. She doesn't bother trying to hide what's on her t-shirt.]

I know a lot of people get jobs to earn money for things, but what do you if you just...want to help?

[She doesn't even really know what's she's asking for. She just knows that people are hurting -- not just today but every day -- and she's tired of doing nothing.]

Comments

Action! <3

[mortemscintilla]

[ This seems a curse for spilled secrets. Useful. But also unnerving. He's among those cursed. His shirt, in ugly block-print, reads Lost The Only Thing That Mattered. He can't get rid of it. At least the wording is ambiguous. But he's far from grateful. ]

[ He knows what -- who -- is being referred to. ]

[ He's tried ignoring it. Tried to have breakfast, but the food tastes like chalk. He's shrugged on his jacket, and set off walking instead. The streets are crowded with exuberant life. But no matter where he goes, he feels himself dogged by cold rage. Even so, he wants to go on. Go on moving, go on escaping. Not get anywhere. He hates this so much. This, what? Nothing. He refuses to examine what this curse makes him feel. At an empty lot, he stops. Leans against a wall, head tipped back. Staring blankly at the cloudy sky as if it's going to reveal something to him. ]

[ And spots Korra with her pet. It seems the curse got her too. ]

Action! omg ilu

[anatural]

[When Korra sees Li, she gives him a sad but honest smile. She still doesn't like the guy, but today has her feeling unusually vulnerable and open.]

Hey.

[She notices how down he looks.]

You okay?

Action! ^^

[mortemscintilla]

[ His face is blank the split-second before he shifts to 'Li'. He feels too drained to act. But he's been doing it for years. He's very good at it. ]

[ It's almost second-nature. ]

Hm? Sure. [ A self-conscious little smile. ] Is everything all right?

Action!

[anatural]

[A subconscious part of Korra registers the blankness, but since she has no idea what it means, her conscious mind makes no note of it.]

Yes. No.

[She sighs and leans back against Naga.]

Honestly, I don't really know.

Action!

[mortemscintilla]

[ He affects Li's pinched look of worry. As if Korra's constitution is beset by mysterious female issues he can't understand ( whereas Hei, the obsessive older brother, knows how to correct all issues, interior and exterior. ) ]

[ But he isn't Hei here. Korra isn't Pai. ]

There's some pretty sad things on the Network today. [ Hesitating. ] You aren't cursed too, are you?

video;

[wouldnotkindly]

Getting a job doesn't have to be all about earning money. You can do it just to help people, too.

[The text on her shirt doesn't escape Jack's notice, but he's not going to say anything about it. He feels as though he knows what it's like, but even so, he doesn't want to presume.]

video;

[anatural]

Like what?

[She rubs the back of her neck awkwardly.]

I've never had any kind of job before.

video;

[wouldnotkindly]

Like...anything, really. No matter what you end up doing, you'll be helping somebody.

I never had a real job before I came to the City, either. Except for working on a farm, but...well, that wasn't much.

video;

[anatural]

That's more than I've done. I've just spent my entire life training.

action;

[candothat]

Korra! Korra Korra Korra!

[When Chekov saw Korra's network video--or, more specifically, the words on her shirt--he immediately ran off to find her. Stripped of identity... that's something he can relate to, and he hasn't been able to talk about his recent deity trade with anyone for fear that they won't understand.

Fortunately, locating someone in the City based on the background in their video post is not something that requires great skill. Unfortunately, it's too damn hot out to be running around the City in an over-sized corduroy jacket, but that is a necessary evil.

He comes to an abrupt stop when he sees Naga. He hadn't noticed her in the video and she's...

Big. Very big.]

action;

[anatural]

[Korra had perked up like a prairie rat when she heard someone shouting her name. When Chekov finally comes into view, she smiles at him.]

Hey Chekov, what's --

[She notices his distraction.]

up. [smirk] I guess you haven't met Naga yet.

[Naga sticks her neck out and starts sniffing Chekov.]

action;

[candothat]

Naga?

[He holds a hand out for Naga to sniff, as he would do if she was a horse.]

What is she?

action;

[anatural]

[SNIFF SNIFF SNIFF. And then Naga licks him, signifying her approval.]

She's a polar bear dog.

[tangledintower]

Well...I know that the Welcome Center and the police always need help...but you can really do anything you want to help here. Did you have something in mind?

[anatural]

No. I'm not really good at much. Except fighting.

[tangledintower]

Well, then you could join up with the police, or help people during the bad curses...

And you're probably good at a lot of things, you just haven't tried them yet!

[anatural]

The police?

[She sounds both suspicious and interested. She became friends with Lin Bei Fong, but she still doesn't have a very high opinion of cops in general. But it does sound like the closest thing to being the Avatar -- helping keep peace and restore balance.]

action;

[firesneeze]

[ Needing to get out of the apartment Mako heads out, moving around to the back where the lot is. He stops at the sight of Naga and then spots Korra leaning up against her. He can make out some of the wording on her shirt, but it's not enough to read it completely. ]

Hey Naga, Korra... You all right?

action;

[anatural]

[Korra hates the way her heart leaps when she hears Mako's voice. She'd chickened out of actually knowing on his door that morning. She's afraid of what she'll do if she gets too close to him.]

Yeah, I'm fine. [She forces herself to smile at him.] How are you doing?

action;

[firesneeze]

[ Of course he still remembers what happened, back home and here. That won't stop him from being her friend and caring, or from wanting to help when she's down. ]

You tell me. [ Gestures to his own shirt. ]

action;

[anatural]

Yeah. I guess it was a dumb question.

[She skooches over a little, silently inviting him to take a seat next to her.]

[shortcut]

What's wrong with the money?

[anatural]

Nothing. It's just not what I'm looking for right now.

[shortcut]

So go out. Look around on the street.

[anatural]

Gee, thanks a lot, Mr. Helpful. I'll get on that right away.