Fandom Legend of Korra - After the War (jaydude x Necroknight)

[NecroKnight]

jaydude

"Perhaps...but from where did I start?" asked Li, starting to speak leaning against her table. "But before that - I wasn't always this finely educated young woman before you..."

"Infact....would you believe me, if I told you - that my true origin was that of a simple girl in an apartment of Republic City? Not a drop of royal blood in me," she spoke. "Interested how I got this far?"

 

[jaydude]

NecroKnight
"You started out in Republic City as well?" Suyin asked with an intrigued look in her eyes, as her curiosity got the better of her. "To tell you the truth, I wouldn't mind hearing more about your past. But why are you bringing this up now? I mean, I know we've got time to talk now that the bandits have been dealt with, but..."

 

[NecroKnight]

jaydude

"Cause as you will learn in my story - I am slightly adept at reading people and their emotions. Yours is rather well...in need of a distraction," she spoke.

"Wouldn't hurt to listen, eh?" she added. Namely putting on some small talk to help improve Suyin' mood.

"So basically, my life story was good parents, bad neighbourhood. I was the idealist in a cynical cesspool on the bad parts of town..." she spoke.

 

[jaydude]

NecroKnight
Suyin gave a nod of her head to show that she was listening, as well as a small look of sympathy for Li's summary of her life circumstances. Though she was slightly envious that Li appeared to have been raised by both her parents, seeing as she and her sister had never known their fathers when they were growing up

"What did your parents do for a living? And why was your neighbourhood so bad?" Suyin asked, hoping that this wouldn't be intruding.

 

[NecroKnight]

jaydude

"Dockworkers. Dad lifted stuff and mom helped paperwork. As for neighborhood...well, it was before that fanatic Amon time," spoke Li.

"Back then, benders had the advantage in those early years. Firebending for heat, water for maintenance...heck even earthbending was good for building stuff."

"You didn't have any of that? Well tough luck. Some of the best pay required such skill as well as the best housing...so yeah, I had to grow up being well... hard-working...since I wasn't born with such 'gifts'."

 

[jaydude]

NecroKnight
"That couldn't have been easy." Suyin said, referring to Li and her family's life as nonbenders, before the huge wake-up call that the anti-bending revolution had been for the United Republic. Her husband, her eldest son and Opal - before Harmonic Convergence had given her airbending - had all been nonbenders, and so she had firsthand knowledge of how harder things could be for those kinds of people. With this in mind, she felt a wave of guilt wash over her as she remembered her own involvement with the Terra Triad.

 

[NecroKnight]

jaydude

"It...was a decent living. My family while not well off, made sure I was raised decently," replied Li. "Most of the time I went to school and such - since well...I didn't have anything better to do. But, despite having only the purpose of 'keep my head down and finish school' - I hated one thing in my neighbourhood. The crime..."

"I saw benders whom could do anything, in my eyes back then, bully us around. I hated it...I hated criminals. Since I had to work for my gain and they could just steal it," she stated, before chuckling to herself. "Back then I was idealistic. I didn't understand why, such criminals had to do that way. When sometimes they could be better off than us...."

"It was also the first time I met Xiao..."

 

[jaydude]

NecroKnight
That was the thing about power, Suyin thought, as she heard Li talk about the crime around her. Some people, when they got it, just couldn't help but abuse it. You only had to look at the bending triads and the Earth Queen to realize that.

"So that was when you first met Xiao. Am I correct in assuming that you became her handmaiden shortly afterwards? And also, how did you even get the job in the first place?" She asked.

 

[NecroKnight]

jaydude

"Patience, patience," chuckled Li. "Just getting to that. I meet her...well, rather early. Back when she wasn't yet born..."

"Her mother... one day had well...drove the car into a wrong section of the city. Namely our neighborhood. Imagine that, a pregnant woman...alone. Easy picking back then..."

"Course...none of them. Even me, expected some seven year old to smack down an earthbender all by herself..." she spoke, admitting her craziest achievement in life.

 

[jaydude]

NecroKnight
"Wow, that must have been risky. No wonder the family wanted to employ you later on." Suyin said, looking impressed and smiling despite herself.

 

[NecroKnight]

"Heh. Kinda, my dad shouted my ear off for doing something so stupid..." replied Li. "Although Xiao' soon to be mom, was very grateful...as it happened they were looking for a handmaiden back then..."

"Namely someone they could tutor up and in turn have me tutor and watch over their future daughter or son. Since as it was with the Earth Queen back then - political intrigue and outright assassinations returned..."

"No monarch the order meant more open and bloody rivalry between families. Which was the idea of a handmaiden. Any servant could be bought, bribed or threatened. But not one raised to defend their ward..."

"Plus...in all honesty...it would have meant a more prosperous and better life for me than my family would be able to give," she sighed.

 

[jaydude]

NecroKnight
When Li talked about how her bond with Xiao would mean that she could never have betrayed her, Suyin's dark mood returned.

"I used to think that way myself." Suyin admitted. "I believed that those whom you had closest of bonds with would never turn against you. But then Aiwei - my former truth-seer - turned out to be a member of the Red Lotus. And then Kuvira and Baatar Jr - two people I'd raised since they were children - they used what I taught them to try and take over the Earth Kingdom." Another deep breath of frustration and bitterness.

"I'm sure you have your reasons for getting Kuvira and Baatar Jr back together, and I'm not going to interfere. But quite honestly, seeing them acting like a couple again - it's like seeing my son turning against me in favor of her once again. I mean, Kuvira tried to kill him for crying out loud!"

 

[NecroKnight]

jaydude

"Strange isn't it huh?" replied Li. "That Kuvira did such an act - yet still agreed to surrender after being 'saved' by the Avatar - not to mention having those emotions deeply hidden...."

"I don't mean to say it Suyin, but some of what I can do - borders on some dark aspects. Like for instance, reading the facial expressions of people. I had been with Kuvira for some years and-" she sighed. "Lets just say, her mental state might be more fragile than even mine. The woman...while strong on the inside...has a rather balanced state of mind..."

"You recall how I reacted to that bandit whom proved to be a former soldier?" asked Li, or namely when she had started water-boarding her. "I have for a long time considered how and why Kuvira snapped so easily...and my guess is she is in truth rather...socially...weak. I advice keeping an eye on her - cause she does have a consciousness...although it strangely behind time of her actions. I though suspect - that any day now, she might have all that crash down on her...so the best thing to do now is to keep her busy..."

"...once that has happened - I think you can talk to Kuvira more openly...and ask why she did what happened..."

(Can I temp Kuvira for that moment?)

 

[jaydude]

NecroKnight

(Sure)

"Given that Kuvira's your Commander of the Guard now, I think that you and your in-laws would be more suited to keeping an eye on her." Suyin said matter-of-factly, before standing up and turning towards the wall, her hands clasped behind her back. She let out a sigh, before she spoke again.

"As for me, I'll do what I can for Kuvira, and that includes talking to her. I was discussing her with Baatar - my husband - a few nights ago, and one of the points he made was that it hardly seemed fair not to try and forgive her for what she did, when I was willing to do the same for my son. He has a point, but that doesn't mean I'm finding it any easier to consider." Another sigh. "I think I'm finally starting to understand how my sister felt towards me and Mom when I left Republic City."

 

[NecroKnight]

jaydude

"I understand Suyin. I am not talking about forgiveness...but the chance for redemption at least..." she sighed. "Since you saw how my attitude towards bad people was..."

Or in layman terms, she didn't have Suyin' will or patience - as she had directly assaulted one such bandit. "...listen. I am not trying to hide what Kuvira did..."

"We honestly didn't know half of what she did until the end of the war. But back then, none of us knew how to fix the Earth Kingdom."

"I mean...could it had been done? An tyrant ruined our nation....sad to say only a tyrant could unite it. I agree that she did bad things...but that discourage from the few good things she set out to do. Before her...the bandit armies were much bigger and dangerous..."

 

[jaydude]

NecroKnight
"I know that Kuvira did some good things for the Earth Kingdom, regardless of what else she might have done. And as I said, I'll do what I can for Kuvira." Suyin replied.

Then she turned around and looked at Li with a small smile. "Thanks for coming to speak to me. You're not the only one struggling to deal with what's happened to the Earth Kingdom, you know. And as long as you're willing to be Zaofu's ally, I'll help you in whatever ways I can."

 

[NecroKnight]

jaydude

"Don't worry. I may not be the leader of it, my wife is the heir to the Qutong title anyway after her father has passed on," replied Li.

---

Outside Baatar and Kuvira had returned. As the surrounding area was calm and collected. Kuvira turned to look at the area.

It reminded her of what had been here before. Although it reminded her of some older times. The incense that was burned didn't help at all - since the woman in question simply smelled it's scent...and suddenly went blank-eyed.

 

[jaydude]

NecroKnight
Suyin would emerge from her study a few minutes after finishing her conversation with Li, and she soon came upon Xiao.

"Hey, do you know where Kuvira is? I'd like to talk to her about something." The older woman said. Xiao looked surprised to hear this, but then she smiled, wondering if Suyin was planning a reconciliation attempt.

"I don't know, but I'm happy to help you look for her." Xiao said, and the two women set off. They soon came across the place where Kuvira and Baatar Jr smelled the incense, not knowing what they would find.

 

[NecroKnight]

jaydude

The sight was...honestly not good. As like Li had mentioned before-hand, the incense that Suyin had been using in and around her house - during the time that Kuvira had attacked was being spread in the air.

As such, like clockwork - she spotted the woman whom had caused enough suffering of her own to her state. Like expected the woman was unmoving, her eyes unfocused - while Baatar was snapping his fingers in her face, shaking her even a few times - to get her out of this sudden...catatonia.

 

[jaydude]

NecroKnight
Xiao came running over to where Kuvira and Baatar Jr stood. Suyin moved towards the scene more slowly, though she did appear concerned for Kuvira's health.

"Kuvira, what is it?" Xiao asked, visibly worried, and trying to figure out what was happening. Sensing that she might not get a response from the woman in question, Xiao turned to Baatar Jr.

"What's wrong with her?" She asked, thinking that he might know what had happened.

 

[NecroKnight]

jaydude

"I don't know. We were driving back here and then suddenly her eyes went blank and she went unresponsive," explained Baatar.

Namely similar how Li had spoken of. "I don't know what happened. To you mother?" he asked. Despite what he and Kuvira had done, she could see how honestly and truly he loved Kuvira - no matter what she was or had done.

 

[jaydude]

NecroKnight
Suyin shook her head. "I've got no idea. Come on, let's try and get her into the city. Xiao, can you help me?"

She quickly explained to Xiao what was needed, and then the two of them used their earthbending to lift up the earth beneath the group, turning it into a levitating platform, which they flew towards Suyin's estate. They kept an eye on Kuvira the whole time, going as slowly and gently as they dared to prevent her from falling off, as they didn't know how well she'd be able to keep her balance in her current state.

The two earthbenders softly guided the platform back down onto the ground, just outside the mansion doors. Su got off and turned to the others on the platform. "Okay, do you think you can get her to walk with you? We'll try and get her into one of the guest rooms, where she can lie down." Despite everything, Suyin found herself worried for her former protege, although she tried not to show it.

 

[NecroKnight]

jaydude

Baatar nodded in reply, picking her up and carrying her into the room. The woman in question not doing anything to stop or hinder them. Just...being there.

Li eventually arrived as well and was surprised at what she saw. "What happened?"

 

[jaydude]

NecroKnight
Xiao turned to her wife with a look of helplessness and worry. "Honestly, Li, I don't know. According to Baatar Jr, she suddenly became catatonic while the two of them were outside a few moments ago. We got her inside just now."

It occurred to Xiao that there might have been some truth in all of Li's past talk about Kuvira having a delicate mental state, and she wondered what had happened just now to inflict such a wound on her mind, as well as how they could help her. Xiao was uncomfortably aware that she was no therapist.

 

[NecroKnight]

jaydude

"Ughh. I really need to keep my mouth shut on these topics. It just strikes like lightning whenever I talk about it," she sighed.

As she had Baatar show her the room where Kuvira was located in. It wasn't a nice sight, as the woman was simply lying there. Silent and alone.

Li sighed at the sight and went over to check up on her.