tampered | dance dance, we're falling apart to half time

dance dance, we're falling apart to half time

When; Friday, January 18th, evening
Rating; PG
Characters; Korra and her friends and anyone who happens to be in the club. Come one, come all!
Summary; Korra decides to celebrate 6 months in the City by dancing.
Log;She'd been woken up that morning by a incessant beeping noise; it took her a full three minutes to figure out it was her device and how to turn it off (she almost breaks it in her frustration, but she doubts she'd get any sympathy from Chekov if she broke yet another piece of electronic equipment).

What was so important that her device felt compelled to disturb her slumber?

CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR SIX MONTH ANNIVERSARY!

Who sent it? How did they know? Korra doesn't bother wondering. Six months… At first the thought horrifies her…but it hasn't been all bad. She fingers the necklace that Chekov had given her.

She can either spend the day distracted and wallowing, or she can remind herself of the good things she has here.

She decides to go dancing.

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It's clear no one ever taught her how to get dressed for clubbing; she's just wearing her "I Mustache You A Question" t-shirt and Chekov's necklace, a strange combination of casual and fancy. Somehow she makes it work. And it's a bit early in the night for the club to really be rocking, but that doesn't slow Korra down any. She's in the middle of the dance floor, being taught some new moves by the club's regulars and just in general having a grand old time.

Come join her?

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[ Jinora doesn't escape his attention either (tiny as they are, kids stick out like neon signs if they're buzzing around a nightclub. Especially if, as in Hei's profession, your focal points are prey and leverage). It helps that, by habit, he scoped out the crowd for familiar faces, reviewing the Guest List. The club isn't his style. But it's not a venue drug dealers and bootleggers hang out in, either. Jinora isn't exactly in the belly of the beast. ]

[ Slowly, he sips his water. Lets 'Li's schoolboy fluster slip in place. When Jinora approaches him, he starts, ] J-Jinora! Hello. [ Wide-eyed, he glances around a moment, ] Did, um, Korra smuggle you in?

[Maybe that's why no one has bothered to give Jinora the boot. It's a relatively tame club, even this late; the same can't be said for the clubs in the Underground.]

No, it's okay for me to be here. [Or it was a few hours ago.] Aren't you going to dance?

[ It could be argued that the clubs Underground are real clubs -- if you want a good hook on scuttlebutt, goods or contacts. This isn't a nightclub so much as a highschool twit-house. ]

[ Which, naturally, he'll never say. ]

Really? The rules in this place must be very relaxed. [ A gentle intimation that it's past her bedtime. ] Dance? Me? [ He shrugs self-consciously. ] I'm honestly not much of a dancer. Places like these always make me nervous.

[Like a ten year-old belongs in those clubs. Also, she's her own boss and can decide when her bedtime is, thank you.]

I'm not doing anything bad. [His admission of awkwardness makes her more sympathetic.] I don't really dance, either. I'd rather be in the library.

[ Hei isn't one to talk. He spent his childhood learning a dozen different ways to kill, not different ways to dot his 'i's and cross his 't's. His concepts of what venues are inappropriate for children... ]

[ There are no concepts. ]

I know. You're just here to celebrate with Korra. [ d e r p ] Whatever it is she's celebrating, anyway. [ Her statement gets a fond smile. ] I know that feeling. Clubs and big parties aren't for everyone. I always want to be alone to unwind afterward. Or else I don't feel like myself. [ That, at least, is true. But not for reasons outsiders might grasp. ]

I think she's celebrating mostly because things have been so bad. It's easier to ignore problems than to face them. [Now that Jinora is the closest thing Korra has to an airbending master, the girl is trying more than ever to be like her father. Dispensing zen-esque wisdom is all part of the job.]

Really? [And she's back to being ten. Jinora's opinion of Li isn't fully formed yet, but some of his earlier weirdness is forgiven by this confession.] I don't know a lot of other people who like being alone.

[ At Jinora's observation -- 10 year olds and drug-store philosophies -- he smiles again. It's more indulgent than patronizing. He'd call her precocious, but that's a four-letter-word for children these days, isn't it? Instead, mild-toned, he says, ] You're right. It's especially true if there're problems you can't solve with punches or diplomacy. Like the ones in a person's head.

[ The next statement, perhaps more appropriate for her age, is something of a relief. Jinora may have that wise-beyond-her-years thing going on. But she is, in the end, a well-adjusted and normal little girl. Not a child-soldier exuding ennui and opportunism. ] Well, there's all sorts of people like that. It's not that they dislike being around others, [ except he does ] it's just that they're content with their own company. Like someone with a good book? Except there's no book.

Those problems are the most important to fix. They block the flow of chi. [It doesn't occur to her that not everyone is familiar with chi, or even believes in the existence of a life-energy.]

So you understand what that's like... [Jinora is pleased that someone gets it. Her siblings and mother are all incredibly outgoing and her father is a politician; sometimes she feels like the only person in her family who likes how quiet it usually is on Air Temple Island.] How it's nice to be alone with your thoughts.

[ After years of practicing hard and soft martial arts, he's more than familiar with the concept of qi. But he doesn't buy into the spiritualism. (Or if he does, he treats it with the same offhandedness as oxygen. There -- but not worth wasting words on. ) At her statement, his gaze goes dim and inward -- but only for a split-second. ] Some problems aren't as easy to fix as a leaky sink. Mainly because a lot of adults aren't sure what the problem is. They've accumulated so many, they're nothing but bad qi.

[ Realizing that sounds a bit harsh, he softens his next remark with a smile. ] I think lots of people don't get the difference between 'loneliness' and 'solitude'. That, or they just don't have the patience for books. [ It's true that he enjoys silence, if not stagnation. A peaceful evening. A good book. The trajectory of his thoughts when he turns the pages isn't always pleasant. But he appreciates the calm for the simple fact that it's not the volatile energy of conflict. ]

[ The energy he grew up in. ]

Of course people aren't like leaky sinks, and there's no such thing as bad chi. [It's a neutral force and she will fight him about that. Her tone softens into one of curiosity.] Do you really think people can accumulate that many problems?

[Li is gaining points with Jinora. There aren't a lot of quiet book-lovers in the City... or if there are, they're hard to find.] What do you like to read?

[ He lets off a mild chuckle at her vehemence. ] I know. It's just a figure of speech. [ Pausing, he cards a hand through his hair. Tries to express his thoughts in a simple manner, the way he sometimes does for Yin. ] It's hard to explain. The world can be a cruel place. For some people, it's even crueler than for others. When you get older -- unless you've already learnt about it -- you might understand sha chi. Attacking Chi. It's supposed to be destructive energy. A threatening feeling, like you get in certain buildings? Or when people are always fighting? That sort of thing. [ His smile fades a little. ] Some people live in environments like those. And they grow up to carry that bad energy with them wherever they go. [ And there are some people who are just born evil. That, he doesn't say. ]

[ At her next question, the timid smile renews, ] Science fiction. Thrillers. Horrors. But nothing too scary. [ A pause. ] I should introduce you to Ken. He's a year or two older than you. Spends most of his time at the library. I think you'd get along.

[She nods solemnly.] I've learned about sha chi. Some benders make their attacks more powerful by directing it, but only when they want to hurt someone badly. [There's a reason it's also called killing chi.] I never thought about what would happen if someone lived in a place with a lot of sha chi... I guess that would pollute their chakras and their mind.

[But let's talk about books again!] Science fiction? I don't know what that is. [Jinora perks up at the mention of someone else her age--who likes to read, no less!] I wonder if I've seen him. I don't usually talk to anyone.

[Talking about sha chi has her thinking and she can't fully draw her mind away from it.] Li? Have you lived around a lot of sha chi?

[ He files away the details about bending into that part of him that takes snapshots of everyone's backgrounds on trained instinct. Jinora's homeworld may lean heavily toward the spiritual aspect of life. But it shares startling similarities with the fundamentals of Chinese culture. It's a pity Hei doesn't have spiritual bone in his body. ]

[ Again, that slip back into a normal Little Girl, which is oddly endearing. ] It's not a genre everyone enjoys. It's futuristic. Mostly about science and technology -- but in a made-up way. People think it's a little immature. [ He maintains his amiable smile, ] Ken's not that talkative either, from what I've noticed. But he's a nice boy. I think he lives with Miss Charlie these days.

[ There's a thoughtful beat at her question, one where he takes an inventory of possible replies. When he speaks, it's with a sense of ruefulness. Not outright lies, but a quiet generalization, ] You could say my homeworld if full of sha chi. There's a lot of turmoil there. Social. Political. Everything is a mess.

That doesn't sound immature at all! If it's about things in the future, it has to be made-up. [She nods again, clearly committing this to memory.] Then we should get along.

[Li's assessment of his world makes Jinora's face fall. She moves to give him a small, cautious hug.] I'm sorry. Is it better here?

You're right. But everyone has a different picture of what the future's like. If the book doesn't match it, I guess it's hard for them to stomach. [ Because a lot of people are narrow-minded blocks of concrete. But whatevs. ]

[ He blinks at the unexpected hug -- Korra sure knows a lot of touchy feely people -- but takes it in good part. ] It's ...more stable. If you can believe it. [ is his reply, carefully chosen for the kernel of truth there. ] You could say this is like a vacation.

That doesn't make sense. Only someone who can really see the future knows what it's like, and no one can do that.

[It's a thing. There are a lot of hugs on Air Temple Island.] Then I hope you get to stay here for a long time.

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dance dance, we're falling apart to half time

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