Empress Of The Old World {Legend Of Korra}

Spirits

Iroh and Sukara arrived in a small Earth Kingdom town just outside the Fire Nation. The people were welcoming though not very interested in what they were doing.

"We should ask around," Iroh suggested, "see if anyone has heard or knows of Azula."

"Or any old woman from the Fire Nation," Sukara said, looking around.

As she watched the square, a bar keeper came bursting out his door, hitting a small spirit with a broom.

"Hey!" Sukara yelled, bending some nearby water to whip the broom out of the bar keeper's hands, "leave him alone."

"Oh yeah?" the bar keeper asked, he looked annoyed as he stood with half a broom in his hand, "what you gonna do about it, water bender?"

He bent the earth to make a large rock pull up in front of her. She smirked before hitting the rock out of the way. She used air bending to pick up the spirit and pull it behind her, then she lit up her hands with fire to threaten the man.

"I have a very wide skill set," she told him as he took a step back, "wanna try me again?"

"You-- you're the avatar?" he stuttered, "aren't you meant to help with this stuff?"

"Wrong avatar," Sukara told him as she turned away, she could see Iroh standing wide eyed and confused off to the side of her. Instead of addressing it, she turned to the spirit, "are you okay?"

"Yeah, thanks to you," it said walking up to where she had knelt down, "you're not the avatar that let the spirits out are you?"

"No, I'm not," Sukara said softly, as she went to explain, another spirit came running out from behind the buildings.

"Sukara!" it shouted, "you're out!"

"Jai min?" she said, turning to face the small spirit, "how are you?"

"You're a human!" the bar keeper shouted to her, "you should be helping us!"

"Do I look like Korra to you?" she snapped at him angrily. As she stood up, the spirits around her turned dark. They began to snarl and growl at the man as they stayed just in front of her feet.

The man backed off again. He looked terrified as he looked into her glowing red eyes.

"Sukara don't," Iroh called, finally breaking his silence.

Hearing his voice was enough to ground her again. She had known that her anger was strong and pushing at the surface but she had no idea how powerful it was going to be.

"I'm sorry," she said, her eyes going back to their usual blue. She turned to the still snarling spirits and reached out to them, "I'm sorry."

As fast as they turned dark, the spirits calmed at her touch and went back to normal.

"What's going on?" she asked them.

"When Avatar Korra opened the portal, many spirits chose to rejoin the human world like our parents and grandparents before us," Jai min told her, "us included. All we want to do is build our home but this human won't let us."

Sukara frowned and looked up to the bar keeper who was against the wall still staring at her, terrified. "Show me."

#####

The spirits lead Sukara and the other humans behind the bar. There was a small broken hut sitting behind it that led to a hole in the back wall of the bar.

"And you want to live here?" Sukara asked, just to confirm. The spirits nodded. "Well you can't live in the wall."

They went to protest but Sukara cut them off with a shake of her hand and a laugh.

"You don't want to," she laughed, "they'll be full of rat roaches, I'll make you something nicer."

"No they're--" the bar keeper started but he was stopped by Iroh who jabbed him in the ribs.

Sukara stood up properly. She took a solid stance and began to earth bend. The other avatar made a tall system of rooms and corridors for their house.

"There, your own mansion," she smiled down at the now happy spirits, "much better than an old wall. And you, don't touch it."

The man backed off from her as she passed him on her way back to the street. Iroh hurried after her to get some answers.

"Are gonna explain what the hell is going on?" he asked as he caught up, "you're not Korra so you're not the Avatar but you certainly have the abilities of one so... Explain?"