"Airbender Sneezes" Avatar: The Legend Of Korra (Tenzin, M)

[SleepingPhlox]

I had never ever watched The Legend Of Korra before so I decided to rectify that recently.  And I am really enjoying it and I should have watched it ages ago.  I found myself digging Tenzin's personality, so uptight and easily flustered.  It is exactly the sort of personality that would totally go great with sneezing.  And searching the internet to see if anyone else had the same idea and made content of it led me to a transcript of some episode commentary that said "An airbender's sneeze can create more propulsion than a modern-day jet engine. You don't want to be around when they have a cold."  And although the page I got it from said it is unclear if the little factoids are canon or humour, my official take is screw everything this is canon and holy crap am I gonna write it.

This might be a one-shot or a longer story.  I have ideas for a longer story where more stuff happens but I've learned by now not to assume I'll finish anything, ever.

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When Korra woke up, she was not at all ready for – nor in the mood for – training. She had just enough time to fix her sleep-tangled hair and maybe make it just in time for meditation practice. And she knew Tenzin would give her a lecture about waking up earlier and taking things seriously, but in her defense, she'd had a weird night. She'd kept having this recurring dream about a violent thunderstorm threatening Air Temple Island, leaving destruction and devastation in it's wake. No matter how many times she went back to sleep, the dream came back. It had seemed so real that twice she'd gotten up from her bed to look out the window, only to be greeted by the sight of a perfectly clear star-filled sky on the stillest night of the season.

Of course that could only mean that the dreams were a portent of some sort, and that was a troubling thought, and worrying about that wasn't very conducive to sleep either. So she lay in bed until the very last possible moment, then leapt from her mattress, arranged her hair into a passable ponytail, threw on some clothes, and raced to the meditation area as quickly as possible.

“I know I'm late, I'm sorry, it won't happen again, I think I was having visions,” she panted as she ran up the stairs, her words almost tumbling over each other as they left her lips. It wasn't until she had reached the top, doubled over with her hands on her knees catching her breath that she realised that Tenzin was not going to scold her lateness. Because he wasn't there. Nobody was there.

This wasn't right at all. Tenzin was never late, and he never shirked his duties. He was way too uptight for that sort of thing. And this highly unusual occurence coupled with her strange repetitive dreams sent her mind into overdrive. Whatever her dreams had been trying to tell her, she needed to figure it out now. Wherever Tenzin and his children were, they might not have much time! Her stamina renewed by pure adrenaline, she raced down the stairs even faster than she'd come up them.

And nearly tripped over Meelo when she got to the bottom.

“Meelo, you're okay, thank goodness,” she gulped, bending down to look the young boy in the eyes and put her hands on his shoulders. “Everything is going to be okay. Where is everyone? Where is your father and your sisters? Is your mom okay?”

“Jinora and Ikki are probably doing stinky girl stuff,” Meelo shrugged. “Dad's in the hut.”

“The hut? What hut?”

“The hut he lives in when he's sick,” Meelo replied, with all the disdain of a small child having to explain the obvious to a grown-up who, by virtue of their grown-up status, should really know everything already.

“Okay...can you tell me where the hut is?” Korra ventured, tilting her head to the side to try to figure out why Meelo was looking intently into his pocket. Meelo pointed in a vague direction, not raising his head.

“Aw, they're getting away again,” Meelo lamented. “Come back, my army!”

Looking closer, Korra could see that there were a number of bugs writhing in his pocket, some dripping down his shirt, and yet more crawling around at his feet. She grimaced and, as Meelo bent down to start picking up bugs and putting them in his pocket, crept away from the odd scene as silently as she could.

Korra walked in the direction that Meelo had pointed in, walked for so long that she was convinced the kid had given her the wrong direction on purpose or by mistake.  Knowing Meelo, probably on purpose.  Then she saw it – the small stone rectangle that had to be “the hut”. She approached it, finding it had small windows, with bars instead of glass, and just a simple door that appeared to be made out of metal. This was officially weird. Hesitantly, she approached the door and knocked on it. She knocked softly, as if she feared a wild beast or crazed criminal might be contained within. Then she gathered her courage and knocked a little louder.

“Pema, is that you?” came a voice from within. It was weak, but it was definitely Tenzin's. Or a crazed criminal imitating Tenzin. But probably definitely Tenzin.

“No, it's me,” Korra called. Then added “It's Korra.”

“I'm not taking visitors,” Tenzin's voice replied.

Korra opened the door anyway. She was greeted by the sight of a nearly bare room. There was a bed in the corner, and a small table near it with jugs of water and an impressive pile of handkerchiefs, a wooden pail next to the bed and...that was it. Upon the bed lay a very annoyed Tenzin in the worst state she'd ever seen him in. His eyes were glazed and listless and barely open and his nose was a gleaming beacon of red.  His lips were parted, clearly to accomodate breathing, because there was no way a nose that looked like that wasn't stuffed up beyond belief.  He was covered in what appeared to be multiple blankets and looked like the thickest that Air Temple Island had to offer. Looking like that, she couldn't blame him for wanting to go into hiding. He glared at her as she came in and shut the door behind her.

“You can't be here,” he chastised. “It is far too dangerous.”

Wait, was he...was he one of those people that absolutely freaked out when it came to sickness? Yeah, she could see that fitting in with his personality.  Suddenly all the weirdness made perfect sense.

“It's fine, I don't mind. I'll take the risk. I really need to talk to you about Avatar stuff.”

“Unless you're explicitly in danger from the...” he sighed before continuing. “Avatar stuff...you need to leave. Now.”

Instead of following his directions, Korra approached a few steps closer. Tenzin pulled himself into slightly more of a sitting position.

“Hey, it's fine, people get sick,” Korra soothed. “I'm okay with it...”

She took two steps closer, failing to notice that Tenzin's face had contorted into an odd expression.

“Get back!” he bellowed. Korra, in response, turned to look over her shoulder. There was nothing there. Then, suddenly, the room was filled with a thundering “HAHHHHDTSHHHOOO!” and she found herself knocked backward with a sudden blast of wind, the air violently knocked out of her lungs.. Shocked, she looked toward the only source the wind could have come from and found said source sitting there with an absent expression, his lip curled up and his nose flaring. Korra put two and two together just in time to think of rolling off to the side just in time to avoid the worst of the next ear-splitting blast.

"HAHHHHKTCHHHOOOO!"

Tenzin sank into his pillow, the strain of the sneezing taking it's toll on him. He reached with a listless arm toward the pile of handkerchiefs until he found one to bring to his face and blow his nose into. Korra cringed, expecting something equally as explosive, but to her relief though it was on the loud side, it was still within the range of normal.

“What was that?” she asked breathlessly.

“I have a cold,” Tenzin grumbled.

“Yes, I can see that. What was...that?” She made a broad gesture from him to the other side of the room to illustrate.

“I'm an airbender,” Tenzin replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Then he remembered that not only was this peculiarity of airbenders probably not common knowledge, he didn't even know if it was ubiquitous to airbenders or not.  There weren't a lot of airbenders around to ask.  He knew it happened to him and had happened to his late father. “It happens.”

“Does it happen every time you sneeze?”

“Yes. Unfortunately.”

“Wow. I thought you were, like, Mister In Control all the time.”

“That was with control,” Tenzin warned. “That was all the control I had. Even my father couldn't control them entirely.”

Korra contemplated that. She couldn't quite imagine THE great Avatar Aang overpowered by his own sneezes. Then she had another thought.

“Oh no, that's not going to happen to me when I learn to airbend, is it?”

Tenzin managed to manage a small chuckle at that. “That's not something I know. I suppose we will find out when the time comes. Listen, if you're going to insist on not leaving even though I explicitly told you to, you'd best come sit near my head. That's the safest place.”  Tenzin sniffled and folded his handkerchief over in search of a dry spot. The sneezing was bad enough, but the constantly runny nose had him at his wits end in it's own way. He sighed. This would be fine if he could just sleep it off, but his body had entirely other ideas.  “Truth be told,” he said confidentially. “Perhaps some company might be nice. I can't meditate if I can't breathe properly, I can't sleep, I can't concentrate on reading. I have had nothing to occupy my mind since this started last night. Why don't you tell me...oh, no. Cover your ears...hhhhhh....”

Korra obliged just as Tenzin unleased a massive “HAHHHKTCHHOOO!” that fluttered the blankets. Korra bit her lip. If this came with airbending, maybe she didn't really need all four elements after all. She was doing a pretty good job with the three she'd mastered. Tenzin blew his nose again – no wonder his nose was no red, Korra thought – and then he sighed.

“Where was I? Oh yes, why don't you tell me what's on your mind? What did you come see me about?”

“Oh, right...last night I had this recurring dream that I'm sure was a...” She paused. “Wait, did you say this started last night?”

“Yes, I'm surprised you slept through it. I was perfectly fine when I went to bed and then I woke up full of this awful cold. I'd certainly made enough of a commotion to wake my family and all the acolytes and caused a severe amount of damage to my bedroom before I managed to retire h-...here's another one...HAHHHDTCHHOOOO!”

This time he reached for a clean handkerchief. And yet another sigh escaped his lips. And Korra was smiling for some reason. He raised an eyebrow. He certainly hoped she did not find this funny, and if she did, he hoped that she would experience it twice as badly when she aquired her airbending. He didn't truly hope that, that would be unseemly. Except he really did.

“I think I figured it out. No portents of doom in my dreams. Just airbender sneezes. When you're water tribe, you learn to sleep through a lot of noise. The ocean can be very loud when it wants to be. Well, since that's solved, I'll leave you alone.  I'm sorry I disturbed you for nothing."

Korra got up to leave, and she'd managed to take all of five whole steps toward the door when Tenzin called out “Korra, wait! Perhaps you might stay and talk to me a while longer...maybe you have some news or stories to tell me?”

Korra reluctantly traced her paces back to the chair and sat down. Since she'd gotten her wish and training wasn't happening today, she could think of a few things she would love to do instead of entertaining her sick stick-in-the-mud Air Master. But he looked so pathetic and she felt so bad for him being lonely and exiling himself to a stone hut at the edge of the island.

“Well...there's nothing really interesting,” Korra mused. “Meelo is collecting a bug army in his pocket. I think. It's hard to tell what's going on in his head sometimes.”

Tenzin gave an affection chuckle which gave way to coughing. Thankfully, those were nowhere near as catastrophic as his sneezes.

“Yes, he does that,” Tenzin mumbled, sinking further into his blankets and closing his eyes.

 

[Mr. Black Cherry Berry Tea]

WOW I don’t know why no one else has commented yet but this was *incredible*! What a great fic! I love the way you worked in Tenzin’s worry about the damage and danger his sneezes might cause, but also how he wanted a little company. And the dream element was awesome too. 

Really enjoyed it! I hope you decide to continue!

[SleepingPhlox]

On 4/26/2021 at 6:54 PM, Mr. Black Cherry Berry Tea said:

WOW I don’t know why no one else has commented yet but this was *incredible*! What a great fic! I love the way you worked in Tenzin’s worry about the damage and danger his sneezes might cause, but also how he wanted a little company. And the dream element was awesome too. 

Really enjoyed it! I hope you decide to continue!

Thank you so much.  I really appreciate it.  Especially because I've seen you around the forum enough to know you're a giant sneeze connoisseur and this is my first foray into giant sneezes really so I guess that means I got some of it right!  So thank you for taking the time to read and comment, it means a lot.

 

So I wasn't sure if my inspiration to write was going to last or not, but holy crap it did and also I became super obsessed with this character and also the idea of him dealing with massive sneezes so...now he's going to go out and cause a ton of havoc just, like, everywhere.  At the time of writing this I'm only partway through Season 2 because I had to go back and pay more attention to the beginning of Season 1 that I breezed through before I realised I was going to be so into this show.  So I don't know any canon later than that.  And this is set sort of early Season 1

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Part 2 - Alarming News

Three times Korra had tried to leave, thinking Tenzin asleep.  Three times he had opened his eyes and pleaded with her to just tell him one more story.  She'd cursed what she assumed must be his phenomenal hearing, thinking a slight rustle of her clothes or the sound of her step upon the floor must have tipped him off to her attempts to leave. She didn't realise it was another airbender peculiarity – the ability to sense the subtlest changes of the air around him, even when he wasn't concentrating on it.

So every time he opened his eyes and whimpered at her not to leave, she sat back down. She'd told him all about how she'd met Naga, her faithful polar bear dog, given him all the details on her favourite Southern Water Tribe festival, and had started describing her favourite type of flavoured ice flakes.  The fourth time he closed his eyes she waited until she was sure he was asleep.  His flushed face was still, his lips slightly parted to allow the gentle, slow breathing.  He was definitely asleep. Now, she just hoped he'd stay that way long enough to make her escape.

She stood up as quietly and carefully as possible, and tiptoed toward the door.  Every few steps she turned to look over her shoulder to make sure he wasn't going to wake up.  She wasn't sure how it was possible, but Needy Pathetic Tenzin was actually worse than Grumpy Bossy Tenzin.  Not that she didn't feel bad for him, she did, but she was glad to be out of that hut.  When she closed the door behind her, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Anyway, Pema probably needed help even more.  With her husband out of action, three rambunctious bender children running around, and heavily pregnant?  That woman probably needed all the help she could get.  And hey, the kids were a lot of fun.  And they thought she was the greatest person they'd ever met, which wasn't bad for her ego. Korra didn't mind babysitting duties one bit.  Korra took her time ambling back to the temple, all the same, whistling to herself as she made her way.

And Tenzin...snored.  It was certainly loud but again in the range of normal.  Though it may have conjured up images of wall-shaking in the imaginations of anyone who heard it, it was simply normal congestion-induced snoring, nothing more.  And at least while he was snoring, he would not sneeze, giving his body a small respite from the toll constantly creating small hurricanes took. He might have been training all his life to strengthen his airbending powers, and his body's ability to cope with those powers, but he was after all, still human.

He snored until he heard a knock on the door.  It was in fact the third bout of insistent knocking that had occured, but the first one he'd heard.  He awoke, bleary eyed, looking for Korra's figure beside his bed.  She wasn't there.  He heard the knocking again.  This time, the sound was followed very closely by his wife Pema's voice calling to him.

"Tenzin...Tenzin my love...you must let me come in.  It may be an emergency."

An emergency?  Tenzin blinked the sleep from his eyes and attempted to process everything through the fever fog in his brain.  How could there possibly be an emergency?  He called for her to enter, his voice rough and hoarse both from sleep and his cold.  When Pema entered, she looked at him sympathetically.  He cut a pathetic figure and it pained her that she could do little for him. The usual comforts for most people that had a cold - soup, blankets, tea – brought him little respite. She had tried many ways through the years to ease his discomfort while sick but none brought more that fleeting, minimal relief.

His face turned to watch her as she scurried to stand beside his head - the safest place to be other than behind him.  His skin was drained of all colour, save for the fervent flushing on his cheeks and the angry red of his nose.  She hated to see him like this.

No sooner had she rushed out of the danger zone, Tenzin inhaled sharply, tilting his head back.  And moments later...

"HAHHRRRshhhhooo!"

Pema braced herself as she felt the gale rush through the room, escaping through the windows as it could. The air whined and whistled as the room struggled to cope with the sudden pressure. Even here she could feel it's strength as it rushed past her, almost threatening to knock her off her feet and pull her inwards towards it.  Tenzin sank back again, depleted from the effort once more. Pema tried her best not to show her fear, for his sake, but she was always wary of his sneezes. She'd been injured once and she knew it hadn't been his fault and he'd felt so bad about it he'd began the practice of retiring to the hut to keep himself away from everyone when it happened. But she was still afraid.

“Pardon me,” Tenzin said, with a polite clearing of his throat, as if he hadn't tested the very strength of the stone walls with the force of his own lungs. “Now, you said there was an emergency?”

“Yes. You see...Korra went into the city to pick up a few things we needed for tonight's dinner. And...she hasn't come back.” Pema played with her hands, squeezing her fingers for comfort.

“Oh, darling,” Tenzin soothed. “She's very free spirited. She very likely found something that caught her interest and will be a bit late. I'm sure dinner will be fine without whatever it was. Oh, here comes another...HAHHHTCHOOO!”

Pema cringed despite herself. She didn't want him to feel bad or self conscious about his situation. He was sensitive about things like this. And also pretty much everything.  And she knew that he did his best to warn people so they wouldn't be taken by surprise. But it was difficult not to react. The roar of the air coupled with the feeling she would be swept off her feet made her heart race every time.

“Well, you see, Naga swam back. Alone. And she's been distressed ever since she returned, pacing around outside the temple and howling...I think something may have happened to Korra.”

Tenzin sat up suddenly. Then immediately wished he hadn't, as stars swum around in his vision and the room tilted around him. He turned to face her, still swaying precariously from dizziness.

“Oh, lie back down, dear,” Pema begged. “All the temple acolytes are going into the city to search for her. Everything will be solved soon.”

Tenzin shook his head. The acolytes were helpful, and truly wonderful. They had come from different cultures to dedicate themselves to learning and living Air culture in order to preserve it. But they were not fighters, and they were not benders. If anything terrible had happened to her, he was the one who would be needed.

“I must go,” he said, while trying to will his legs to stand up and hold his weight. He grunted with the sheer difficulty of it all as his feet pressed against the cold ground and trembled in protest at the weight of his body. His whole body shook, wracked with shivers at the icy air around him, which felt like a rather pleasant warm day to anyone else. “She is under my guidance and she is my responsibility. Can you imagine if I let anything happen to the Avatar simply because I wouldn't get out of bed?”

Pema's eyes widened even further. She had thought that he was getting out of bed to pace around and fret as he often did when confronted with problems or maybe to try to come up with a plan and take charge but...she had realised that it was even worse than that.

“You...you're not meaning to go into the city yourself, are you? Tenzin, you can't! Not in this state! Think of all those innocent people!”

“I'll find a way to manage.”

“But you haven't found a way to manage them so far. How do-”

Tenzin interrupted by putting his hands on her shoulders and looking deep into her eyes. Pema stiffened. Normally she adored her husband and this closeness would be wonderful. But in these circumstances she found herself nervously studying his nose for any warning it was about to go off. When he took a sharp breath, she pulled away, but he merely raised his hand to his face to cough. It was hard to tell which one it was going to be sometimes.

“I must,” he said weakly, offering her his best attempt at a comforting smile.

“You can't go a few minutes without sneezing! How are you even going to get there? You can't exactly take the ferry like this.”

“I will fly over on Oogi, that way I can bring Naga with me.”

Pema huffed in resignation. Yes, she would concede that riding his faithful sky bison would be relatively safe. Sky bisons were of course the first airbenders and their strength far exceeded what any human airbender had ever achieved. And Oogi, with his sheer size and strength, had proved before to be able to handle Tenzin's sneezes as easily as a light breeze. But did he have to have an answer to counter every one of her extremely valid concerns? It was getting very frustrating. She folded her arms and gave him a Look. It was a very familiar Look, that said she wasn't going to argue any further but for the record needed him to know that he was being ridiculous.

“I thought yours was the element of flexibility. How can an airbender be as stubborn as a rock?”

Tenzin flashed her an affectionately apologetic smile as he grabbed a few handkerchiefs to shove into his pocket and walked toward the door. Pema stayed a few steps behind him...just in case.

“If I were stubborn, I would have insisted on staying here where it's safe rather than considering other options.”

“I suppose...but Tenzin, wait-”

“I've made up my mind, dear, I must do this.”

“I was going to say wait until I fetch your warm winter cloak. It might help you keep more comfortable.”

To Be Continued...

[SleepingPhlox]

I cannot stop thinking about this fandom at all.  It owns every last brain cell in my head.  So:

Part 3 - Arrival In The City

Tenzin tugged on the reins attached to Oogi's gently curving horns, guiding the immense sky bison down from the sky.  They touched down near the ferry dock, Oogi's six legs lighting upon the ground far more delicately than a massive creature descending from the sky should be able to manage, a perfect illustration of the beautiful contradiction that was the flying bison.  Only a small amount of dust was kicked up as they came to a serene halt, which was fortunate for Tenzin's nose and for everyone in his general vicinity.

He had managed the short flight from Air Temple Island to Republic City without too many...incidents.   There were a few sneezes, but nothing Oogi couldn't handle.  And he was sure that he was getting much better at willing himself not to sneeze.  One's mind controlled one's body after all and with enough mental discipline one could overcome any bodily problem, and though he'd been trying to put that into practice every time he became ill - or had a run in with dust or flowers - he was certain that this time he was actually managing to do it.  He thought that every time, but this time he was certain without a doubt, that he had finally mastered it.

Normally, he would dismount by guiding himself down on a small pocket of air, floating gently down until his boots touched the ground.  This time it quickly became apparent that it was not going to work that way.  In his current state, focusing his chi to airbend in any meaningful way was nearly impossible.  Between his heavy, aching head and his exhaustion, he couldn't focus enough to create anything more than haphazard gusts that stuttered and failed within seconds.  So, he'd have to get down the hard way.  Getting down the hard way was...hard.

Grabbing fistfuls of Oogi's thick abundant fur, he swung his legs over the side and dangled there awkwardly.  This was so difficult without airbending to help himself out!  How did non-airbenders do things? How did they get through the day?  They must somehow, seeing as how aside from himself and his children, nobody else in the world was an airbender.  But he couldn't comprehend it.

Of course, he was only pondering the life of non-airbenders to avoid thinking about his current situation. But it wasn't the sort of situation that would get any better by avoiding thinking about it, so he was going to need to face facts and find some way of getting himself down from here. The fur was just thick enough that he could find footholds in places where it tangled together. But they were precarious footholds and gave way as soon as he put any sort of weight into it, which he unfortunately discovered the hard way, falling some way down the length of the shoulder and stopping himself by grabbing fistfuls of fur.

Oogi gave a low throaty rumble and turned his head to eye his bonded human. They had been companions for such a long time, the animal could tell that something was wrong. Oogi bowed low to the ground to try to make things a little easier. And it did, though Tenzin immediately stumbled as soon as his feet hit the ground. He quickly righted himself and, after looking around to make sure he hadn't been seen in such an embarassing position, patted Oogi on the jowl.

“Thagk you,” he acknowledged with a croak, then coughed to clear his throat. “You wait here, I'll cobe back for you as sood as I cad.”

He turned his gaze up to the saddle.

“Er...Naga?” He called out “Are you ready to help me look for Korra?”

He felt a little foolish – he wasn't sure that polar bear dogs could understand speech, at least, not in the same way sky bisons did. Of course sky bisons did, it was unquestionably obvious from the way Oogi reacted any time he said something.  Oogi absolutely understood their conversations, he would never question that! But polar bear dogs didn't really have the long history with humans and-

Naga's large white head appeared over the side of the saddle with an affirmative “woof” and with a stunningly impressive leap, sailed over the top of Tenzin's head and landed gracefully on the ground just ahead of him, giving another bark as if to urge him to stop fooling around and hurry up already. Naga loped a few paces ahead, then turned around and looked at him over her shoulder, bobbing her head to encourage him to follow.

“I'b cobi'g,” he grumbled, pulling a handkerchief out of his pocket and unfolding it. “Go easy od be, I'b sick.”

He blew his nose, hoping it might leave his nose clear long enough for-...nope. Already completely blocked up again. He hated colds so much. He hated getting sick at all, which happened with surprising regularity considering he kept his mind and body in peak condition at all times. Meanwhile, people who seemingly never stopped indulging in every vice known to man – his brother for example – never got sick. Just another example of life's cruel unfairness.

Naga doubled back, gripping his wrist gently between her imposing jaws, insistently trying to guide him in entirely the wrong direction. He pulled his arm away – very carefully lest it get caught on any teeth.

“No, we have to go this way. Come on, we're going to the police station.” Naga simply stared at him and barked. Tenzin shook his head. What was he thinking, trying to explain his plans to a polar bear dog? Firm, calm commands. That's what the situation required.

“Naga. Come.” he ordered. The beast just stared at him and whined, so he added an even more emphatic: “Come.”

The beast reluctantly stood, and began to plod along after him, but every bit of her body language made it perfectly clear that this was not what she wanted to do. Tenzin couldn't concern himself with that, not if he wanted to find Korra. He wasn't exactly thrilled about trudging through the city either, not in his condition. He raised the handkerchief he'd used before and used a dry spot to wipe his nose with. He hated colds so much.

Now he just had to get from here to the police station. The police station that was right in the middle of the city. The city that was full of people. Having to push himself physically when he felt miserable was bad enough, without the added worry of whether or not his nose would go off in the middle of a crowd. No, he would not allow himself to worry about that. It would be fine. He would be fine. He just needed to keep his mind strong, and everything would be okay.

Except now his mind was very firmly fixated on his nose. And once he started thinking about his nose, that was all he could think about. His nose...it was so full and heavy. And itchy. So very itchy. Had it been this itchy all along or had that only started now? No matter, he needed to stop thinking about it before...

Before...

Oh dear.

He took in a swift breath, unable to stop himself. And before another thought could flutter through his mind...

“Hahh....EHHshhu!”

The gust of wind blasted along the street. It whipped litter into a frenzy, shook the small trees that lined the street, blew hats from passers-by, sent sandwich boards outside of shops flying, and caught the attention of absolutely everyone in the vicinity. Tenzin gulped and ducked into the nearest alleyway. He could hear the confusion of the people around him, the voices wondering what had happened and where it had come from. He heard a voice declare that the sudden wind had come from a man, which was quickly laughed at and shot down by another voice. People don't make wind, the second voice said. The first voice insisted that airbenders do, which was dismissed as “reaching”. Now the two voices were having an argument about who didn't take who seriously and accusations of being condescending, and the topic of the wind was forgotten. Tenzin breathed a sigh of relief.

His relief did not last long.

He gasped again, eliciting a groan from Naga, who had the sense to get out of the way.

“Hahhh...HHHGGHHeehhshhhh!”

This time the air was funneled by the small alleyway. It made it's way to the end, tossing trash cans and boxes into the air, hit the wall at the end, and then howled deafeningly as it was forced up along the buildings and back out toward the sidewalk. Even Tenzin himself nearly lost his footing, stumbling backwards as the wind hit him on it's return journey. Discarded papers and leaves were blasted out onto the sidewalk.

Now a crowd was gathering.  There was a stir of voices, all mixing together, overlapping each other.

Whats going on? Is that Councilman Tenzin? What is he doing? Why is he airbending? Isn't that illegal? I think it's only illegal if there's damage. Is there damage? Maybe we should call the police? Do council members have legal immunity? Maybe he's snapped?  Did somebody say one of the council members did that?  What is the city coming to?  I heard that airbender guy snapped and started attacking people? The one that lives on the island?  Yeah, I always thought he was weird.

Tenzin's face went red with embarrassment. This was far too much attention for his liking any time, let alone right now. He was going to have to explain himself. He didn't want to explain himself.  He put a hand over his face.  He hated colds so, so much.

________________________________________

To be continued...

 

[Freshair]

My fave Fandom too! Thanks so much!

 

[SleepingPhlox]

5 hours ago, Freshair said:

My fave Fandom too! Thanks so much!

 

Thank you so much for reading and commenting!  It means the world to me.  I love this show so much, I can't believe I didn't get into it earlier. 

Anyway, as luck would have it I have been using my time off to polish up new additions to my fics so I have a new chapter ready to go.

 

Part 4 - Meeting With Lin

Tenzin cleared his throat, partly because he had to and partly to let the police officer that walked in step beside him that he was still very aware of his presence. And not entirely un-offended by said presence. Because though he insisted it was just all a coincidence that this officer decided to accompany Tenzin to the station – they were both going the same way after all, and he would just accompany Tenzin in case he needed anything – the officer made it a point to match Tenzin's walking speed no matter how much he varied it. Which was something Tenzin had definitely tested, speeding up and slowing down just to see what happened. Though, now speeding up was not much of an option any more.  He didn't have the energy for that. Naga resigned to plodding along aside him, having given up on her attempts to get his attention.

Since sequestering himself with any illness that carried the slightest possibility of sneezing had been something he'd taken for granted for his entire life, the concept of being up and about while feeling miserable was an entirely new experience for Tenzin. And it was an experience he did not care for one bit. It was awful! His entire body was heavy, every movement a chore that took more energy than he had. His head ached, a mix both of a regular headache and the dull ache in his sinuses from his heavy congestion, both intermingling to create a unique sort of pain that was more than the sum of its parts. Since breathing through his nose had long since been rendered impossible, he breathed through his mouth, laboured and strained, further irritating his dry and sore throat. And although he had been shivering moments before, now his heavy winter cloak felt oppressively heavy and warm. All in all, it was unbearable, and he barely tolerated it. He wondered precisely how anyone did – he knew there were people who would carry on business as usual when unwell. How did they manage?

He let a small groan escape his lips. “Let” being not entirely correct. It was a nearly involuntary action, that happened without him even noticing it. At least, thank goodness for small things, they were at the station now. He would talk to Lin, perhaps she would even be good enough to look after the whole finding Korra thing for him, leaving him free to go home.

He narrowed his eyes and pulled the corners of his lips downward in a display of displeasure at himself for even daring to think such a thing. His face still painted in sternness, he turned his head to glare at the officer. He hadn't meant to glare, he'd just forgotten to change his facial expression.

“Well, now, we're here,” he said. “I trust you have no further need to accompany me?”

“I wasn't accompanying you...well, strictly speaking...”

“It's okay,” Tenzin said, in a tone that was more brusque than reassuring. “I understand.”

And he turned with a flourish of his cloak and went inside, leaving the officer to heave a sigh of relief. He liked Tenzin. Well, he had no idea what the man was like on a personal level, but he liked Tenzin as a council member. Perhaps respected him was a better word. Tenzin cared about the safety and prosperity of the city. He became an officer because he cared about the safety and prosperity of the city. They were on the same side. And though technically he should have at least issued a fine for the scene Tenzin had created in the city...really, nothing was damaged. Probably. A few trash cans were moved around. Those could be put back. So technically, looking the other way was entirely within the extent of the law. Technically.

 

Anyway, it didn't matter now. Tenzin was inside, and by his own admission he was going to talk to Lin. She was the chief of police, after all, so she could make any choice on the matter that she liked.  Tenzin was her problem now.

Naga sat, then with a heavy sigh and a yawn, lay down near the door and rested her chin on her front legs.

When Tenzin found Lin, she was sitting at her desk, head bowed, deep in concentration. She was doing paperwork...which meant that she would be in a bad mood, but also meant that she'd likely welcome any distraction at all that took her away from it. And since she was always in a bad mood when it came to him, that particular part of the equation didn't affect him all that much.  He coughed, because he had to and because he thought it would get her attention. She didn't look up, though, and he resorted to coughing again to announce his presence. That time it hurt. He reached up to gently stroke his neck, though he knew it would offer little comfort to his inflamed throat.

This time, Lin raised an eyebrow and acknowledged his presence, though she didn't fully look up. Tenzin started to feel slightly impatient. It was only a matter of time before his nose would act up again, and he did not want to be in here when it happened. He didn't want to be anywhere when it happened, but that was a wish that was unlikely to be granted.

“What is it, Tenzin?” Lin snapped with a harried sigh. “I'm very busy here.”

“I have an urgent matter for the police, of course.”

“And? You couldn't have asked any of my fine, capable officers? Or did you just want to see me?”

She spat out the final sentence with such wry acidity that Tenzin flinched slightly. Maybe this had been a bad idea. Maybe he should have asked someone else for help. No. There was no use thinking like that. If Korra was in danger then the world was in danger of losing it's Avatar and he was just going to have to suck it up for the world's sake.

“It is a matter of utmost importance. Korra's missing.”

“Are you sure she's missing? She's probably running around recklessly getting herself into trouble. That is what she does, isn't it?”

“No, I'm certain it's something more sinister than that.”

“How long has she been gone?”

“A couple of hours.”

“See, she's not missing. Now, if you don't mind, I have so much paperwork to do and I'd like to get it done some time before dinner.”

Tenzin sighed. It seemed as if all he was doing today was sighing. That did seem to be the general mood of the day. Sighing. That and sneezing. But he shouldn't think about...doing that. Even thinking the word was dangerous and would give his nose ideas. Of course, right now his nose was tending toward the other unpleasant end of the spectrum of being sick: far too stuffed up and heavy to do anything. It was painful, but at least it was safer.  He reached up and massaged the bridge of his nose, right at the part where it jutted out prominently from his face. It relieved the pressure slightly, but even the slightest relief felt like a tidal surge of respite. He moved his fingers downward, massaging near the base. Anything that took away the heaviness was welcome.

It did cause his nose to run slightly, which he should have expected. It was a sign of how fuzzy his mind was that it hadn't occured to him right away. The sudden runniness tickled. He sniffled against it, which tickled even more. He sniffled again – and now his nose was definitely watering. And itching. No, it wasn't itching, it was positively on fire! He should leave.

Lin looked up, the moment she heard him sniffling. That sound coming from that man was never a good sign. And, for the first time since he'd arrived, she truly got a good look at him. That pallid skin, those circles under his eyes, that weary look...and most of all, that bright red nose.  Her eyes widened.

“Are you sick?” she demanded in alarm. “How could you think to come here if you're sick? Of all the-...shoo!” She waved her hands at him as if he were a small animal rooting through her garbage. “Go on, get out of here. Get out!”

She had no reason to worry. He had no intention of not getting out as soon as humanly possible. His breath had already started to hitch, and he had precious little time to get out of the building before he was overcome. He didn't have the time or the spare breath to reassure her. She would just have to trust him.

“Get out! Get out this instant!” she insisted frantically, picking up a pen and throwing it at him in some sort of attempt to scare him away, again like a small garbage-rooting animal.

Tenzin, not entirely understanding what was going on, instinctively reached up and created a burst of air with his hand, sending the small projectile back from where it had come...smacking Lin right in the middle of her forehead. Tenzin bit his lip and cringed.

“Lin! I'm so sorry! Are...you all right?” he said, with wavering breath.

“Never mind that! Just get out of here before you-...oh, no. Tenzin, no! Don't you dare!”

But pleading with him was useless now. His head was reared back, the underside of his large, proud nose revealed, with nostrils flaring and streaming. His shoulders heaved as his lungs took in as much breath as they could manage.  Lin cast her glance around the room, immediately thinking what might be breakable or easily damaged. But another look at Tenzin told her there was no time for that, and she ducked behind her desk.

“hahhhEHHHSHHHUU!” Tenzin exploded, and the gust of air filled the room, ringing in her eardrums with the sudden change of air pressure. At least the windows were open. She covered her head and neck as everything that had been on her desk rained down over her- pens, papers, books...everything. Somewhere at the wall behind her, something glass shattered loudly, the pieces raining down onto the floor.

For a moment, there was silence. But she dared not come out. She knew better than that. And true to form, only seconds had passed before she heard him gasping for air again. She hunkered down beneath her desk, though it was likely anything that could be blown around already had been from the first sneeze. She wasn't going to take any chances.

“hahhhNGGYYTCHUUUU!”

She gritted her teeth at the rush of air again. This time, the heavy wooden desk itself inched along the floor with the sheer force of the wind. The already chaotic papers were picked up again and swirled around the room.

Lin waited after the wind died down. Waited until she heard the sound of him loudly blowing his nose until she dared come out.  Of all the sounds in the world, that was possibly one of the least pleasant - but at least it meant he'd stopped sneezing for now. When she saw the state of her office, she was aghast. She glared at Tenzin, a sorry sight of a man wiping his sorry red nose with a sorry damp handkerchief.

“My paperwork!” she cried. “Do you have any idea how long that took me to do! Everything is ruined! I'm going to be here until midnight!”

“Lid, I'b so sorry. I-”

“I don't want to hear it! Just get out before you do any more damage! Out, out, OUT! Before I throw you in a cell for...for...obstructing police business!”

Tenzin wasn't sure that counted under the letter or the spirit of that law, but he wasn't about to wait to find out. Sheepishly, he trundled out of her office, past the curious gaze of the officers that stared at him on his way to the front door. Now he had no idea where Korra was, no chance of getting police help and...

And no Naga? The polar bear dog was nowhere to be seen. Tenzin sighed. Yes, indeed, sighing was the mood of the day. Sighing as he ran a finger under his damp nose, Tenzin made his way to the street to contemplate his next move.

____________________________________________________________________

TO BE CONTINUED...

[Freshair]

Awesome descriptions here!  You just did my fave ship also, Lin and Tenzin!  😍😍😍😍

(Goes and rereads all of it instead of remote work hehe)