BOOK ONE: OCEAN BLUE

Chapter Three

The week flew by like a gust of wind, and before Korzi knew it, she found herself berating Korra in the middle of the night. They were holed up in Korra's room, and the younger girl had just returned from the city.

"You did what!?" Korzi barked, feeling a tinge of disappointment that Korra had not invited her along.

"I went to a pro-bending match," Korra replied nonchalantly.

"And does my dad know about this?" Korzi questioned, throwing a pillow at Korra.

"Uh- yeah," Korra confirmed, her tone revealing that she was bracing herself for the worst.

Korzi was gobsmacked. Her father would never have allowed this. Not in a million years.

"I sort of joined the tournament too," Korra added, grinning sheepishly.

"WHAT?!" Korzi yelled, causing Korra to shush her. "Shut up, everyone is asleep!" she whisper-yelled.

"There's no way my dad allowed this," Korzi insisted.

"He didn't," Korra reassured. "He was on his way there when he heard the radio that a waterbender earth bent and I refused to go back with him since our team was winning, and he shockingly stayed and watched the whole match."

"There's still no way he allowed this," Korzi muttered, unconvinced.

"I used an airbending technique to win, so he's not completely angry at me," Korra explained.

"Let me get this straight: you've been here for a week, and so far, you've beat up the triads, blown up that stupid maze thingy for training, and joined a pro-bending team?" Korzi shook her head in disbelief.

"Hey, are you mad at me?" Korra asked, her tone softening. She was sitting on the other side of the bed, gripping the pillow Korzi had thrown at her earlier, waiting for an answer.

Korzi sighed. "No, I'm not, I just wish you'd invited me. You know I've always wanted to see one of those matches."

"You can come to the next one!" Korra offered, her face lighting up.

"Sure, when is it?" Korzi replied with a small chuckle.

"I have training tomorrow. You can come with me to that if you want and meet my two teammates, and the day after that, we're playing," Korra informed her.

"Fine by me. Now go to your room and let me sleep," Korzi mumbled as she threw another pillow at Korra.

"What is it with you and throwing stuff at me?" Korra chuckled as she caught the pillow and threw it back.

"It's three am. I have to get up early, and you're ruining my beauty sleep," Korzi grumbled.

"Alright , woman. Goodnight, then," Korra said, heading back to her own room.

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As Korra and Korzi made their way into the stadium, the morning mist still lingered in the air, a foreboding sign of the day ahead.

"Ugh, the morning is evil," Korzi grumbled, the words escaping her lips like a curse.

"Agreed," Korra replied, sharing her sentiment. As they stepped into the gym, they were met by Korra's teammates.

"Good morning," one of them greeted, but the other regarded Korzi with suspicion.

"And who might you be?" he inquired, his eyes narrowing.

"I am the leader of the triads," Korzi replied nonchalantly, eliciting a sharp jab from Korra.

"This is Korzi," Korra interjected, "she's just a friend who's obsessed with pro-bending."