Korra (teamavatar) wrote in thearenas, @ 2013-10-23 19:15:00 |
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Entry tags: | ⊗ korra, ⊗ rachel berenson |
WHO: Rachel Berenson and Korra.
WHERE: The Center.
WHEN: 10/23
WHAT: After a work out they get coffee
RATING: Light!
STATUS: log; in progress
kickyeerkbutt Rachel grabbed her water bottle and downed half of it in a single gulp. Her face was pink with exertion and her hair was messily pulled back into a ponytail. It wasn’t up to her usual standards for her appearance, but she’d spent her morning working out at the Center, so she figured she was allowed to look a little less than perfect. She’d been stepping up her training a lot lately. Not just her morphs, though she was keeping in practice there too, but just her regular body as well. Rachel knew there was going to be a day when she’d be thrown into an arena where her morphs wouldn’t be able to save her, or where she couldn’t morph at all. And she wanted to be ready when it did happen. She wasn’t going to let something like that stop her from coming out a winner. She finished off her water bottle and tossed it into her bag before she straightened her ponytail. She straightened up and slung her bag over her shoulder before she called over to Korra. “Hey!” The other girl had been in the gym with her most of the morning, and was looking like she was ready to wind down as well. They hadn’t said much to one another, but Rachel had silently stepped up her workout in an unspoken ploy to do better than the other girl. She was competitive that way. “I was going to go grab some coffee. You want to come with?” teamavatar Korra was an extremely physical person. She didn't like to be still. Every time she stood still too long, she started getting itchy and her mind drifted to more interesting subjects. She never got tired of fighting. Fighting people, yes, fighting emotionally or mentally or diplomatically, oh yeah, but the act of fighting was fun for her. She loved the adrenaline rush and everything made sense in that moment. It was simplistic, and she loved it. So most of the time she could be found in the training area or jogging around. She'd actually gone two rounds against an opponent before going to the gym, so she started a sweat early. Her position as the Avatar meant everything she did was harder hitting. Korra never concerned herself with how she looked; she had only a few pairs of clothing total and they were useful rather than attractive. It wasn't until she met Mako - and Asami - that she cared about it. Now though she was fine with the sweat and part of her swept up hair sticking to her skin. She felt good! The endorphins were moving. She was winding down when Rachel came over to her, and she flashed a quick toothy smile. "Hey!" While Korra was socially awkward on a good day, it never stopped her from being friendly to start with. It was after the greeting she got shaky. "Sure, that would be great. I'm used to tea, it'd be nice to shake it up." kickyeerkbutt Rachel was in her element in social settings. She’d had to become a little more reserved in her later years, because the Animorphs had never known who was a Yeerk in disguise, but there was a part of her that still loved getting to know new people. “I work at Brewed Awakening,” Rachel said as they headed toward the door. “We’ve got this pumpkin Latte right now that is to die for. I think you’ll like it. I’m Rachel, by the way.” teamavatar Korra had a lot of enthusiasm and liked people, but there was a distinct culture shock for her between what she was used to and the real world. She was sheltered in her tribe and then by all of her bending masters until she joined Tenzin in Republic City. Now she was there, and at least she always was comfortable chatting with teammates. Fighting was her second favorite thing to do, close behind eating. "Oh cool, I've been working at the Greasy Spoon, which is kind of great because free food." Only free sometimes. They learned quickly to curb her when she started eating too much. "Pumpkin Latte, I have no idea what that means but it sounds great." Latte. That sounded like something fancy a rich person would get. Cool! "I'm Korra. You were working out pretty hard, you seem to know what you're doing." kickyeerkbutt “I’ve grabbed something to eat there a few times before. The food is pretty good. I can see why that would be a total plus. I get free drinks from the coffee shop too. Which is a plus, since I’m addicted to the stuff.” Hey. When you’re fighting a secret war while maintaining an Honor Roll status GPA, coffee is a necessity. “A Latte is coffee and steamed milk. Completely yummy.” She breathed in deeply when they got outside. Much as Rachel liked working out, it was nice to get out of the sweaty gym and breath in some fresh air. She headed in the direction of the monorail station so they could hitch a ride to D-District. Rachel grinned a little over at the other girl. “To be honest, I was trying to keep up with you. I’ve been trying to step up my workouts so I’m ready for whatever gets thrown at me in the arenas.” teamavatar "I could probably eat all day if someone let me. This is my first job, it's not bad! I had to be warned once that I can't beat someone up if they don't tip well." Korra still glared at them. If looks could kill. Technically her look could probably kill, if she backed it up with any of her elements or the Avatar, but she wouldn't do that. Because she'd hear Tenzin somewhere in her head being very, very disappointed. She used a lot of energy simply by existing, so there was a good reason she always seemed ready to eat more. And never gained any weight. It burned off fast. Her eyes widened at what Rachel said and she laughed. "You did pretty well if that's what you were aiming for! I learned how to fight when I was … about four. So I have a few years on you." Benders learned early, and she was the Avatar, so forget about going slow. Korra didn't mind. It was fun for her. "The thing is, I lean on bending a lot … that's my powers, I control the elements. But sometimes I forget to hone on my normal physical thing. It's a crutch." Korra seemed to have no problem chattering openly about her powers. And why would she? kickyeerkbutt Rachel rolled her eyes in sympathy. “Bad tippers are the worst. We should be allowed to scare some decency into them. Cheapskates.” She smiled again at Korra’s laughter. “Thanks. Yeah, you’ve got a few years on me. I started fighting when I was 13.” She listened with interest when Korra began talking about leaning on her bending powers as a crutch. Since that was exactly what Rachel had been trying to avoid doing with her Morphing. “That’s actually why I’ve been working out harder too. I’m an Animorph. I can shapeshift into different animals. It’s really useful in a fight, but I want to make sure that’s not my only defense. There’s something cool about being able to kick butt just as myself too.” teamavatar "I don't get it. When I first got to Republic City I didn't know much about that, so I messed up a few times, but it was out of ignorance. They're just being jerks." Korra picked up quickly anyway, and she always apologized profusely when she crossed lines. Lin didn't seem to appreciate it either way, but Lin didn't appreciate anyone. "You're catching up quick. After awhile it's really just maintaining." Korra learned new fighting styles when she learned bending, they went together, but after a certain point it was doing the same thing in a different way. There was a peak for all people, but it was great to get to that peak and feel satisfied with it. She wasn't there yet either. "Oh that's great! I've never heard of that. What kind of animals can you turn into? Do you think like one or is it just you in an animal body?" Korra pestered people with questions once she got stuck on something. kickyeerkbutt “Maybe when I get a little better we can try sparring. I haven’t had a lot of official training. Most of it was the “I’d better learn to do this so I don’t die” kind of fighting.” If Cassie were there, she would have winced at the comment about dying. But it was kind of nice being around someone who didn’t know she was supposed to be dead. “I can turn into any creature whose DNA I acquire. Basically, I just have to touch the animal for a few seconds to get their DNA. Then it’s stored inside me and I can morph into them whenever I choose. I honestly don’t even remember how many morphs I have total. It’s got to be close to fifty. The ones I use the most often though, are my Grizzly Bear, African Elephant, and my Bald Eagle. The animals mind is still there with me when I morph, so I have all of their instincts and emotions. I can pull my own mind back and let them take over if I want, or I can be in complete control.” teamavatar "Oh I get it, so you're in shape, but you don't have a lot of formal training." Korra bobbed her head. There were plenty of non-benders who did that, and beyond that plenty of benders who were lazy and never bothered with other skills. "I'd be happy to show you some. I know several forms, they're all different. You don't need to be a bender to know the style." Her eyes brightened as she curiously listened to Rachel. To turn into animals, that would be so fun. "I have a polar bear dog, Naga. It would be so great to turn into one like her, and then we could run around the ice." Naga would love that too. And they could almost share a mind, in that way, if she got Naga's mind with it. "So you can fly." Korra could coast in the air or make slides for herself, but none of it replaced real flying. She was envious. "And you were born with this ability?" |