As soon as she returned to her room, she felt a little bit safer, a little better more at home. And yet she knew she wasn't home. It was an empty shell of what had been her home, years ago. Asami walked around and looked over her things, nothing was out of place. Nothing had been stolen or touched and yet she felt so alien in her room. It was her room and yet she didn't feel like herself. So much had changed since the last time she was in it. War broke out, people were hurt, some killed. Her father had pushed her away and the city had almost fallen to its knees. Asami sat on the edge of her bed. On top of everything else, her heart had been damaged, so damaged. She met a boy named Mako, he stole her heart and ended up breaking it. And he didn't even have the common decency to give her back all of the shards. He had still possessed some. Asami closed her eyes, a deep restlessness rattling inside of her stomach. For a while, she sat and tried to clear her mind but memories kept interrupting her. Deciding it was time to get dinner started, she got up and headed straight for the large kitchen. Asami may have had servants but she wasn't too lost in the kitchen, she could get by well enough. She decided upon making some chicken and pasta. It would provide comfort as well as energy. She would need to go over to the headquarters as soon as possible, probably tonight. She grilled some chicken and seasoned it as it cooked on a small griddle. She then popped some pasta in boiling water, thankful she wouldn't need to fuss with making it from scratch. If she did, she'd likely make a huge mess. As she was finishing up, she found someone watching her. The feeling of eyes wasn't a difficult thing to detect. Of course it would be Mako. She looked up and he finally spoke up. She hated being watched, sure she was in the public eye a lot but Mako lurking wasn't the same as strangers eyeing her at dinner or at a store. He asked if they could talk while they ate. Asami wasn't sure if she wanted to. It would probably throw her appetite off. She picked up the plate she had made for herself, quite set on the idea of brushing him off but she stalled. [b]"Fine...make yourself a plate."[/b] Asami narrowed her eyes and walked off to sit in the living room. She sat down and when Mako joined her, she looked to him, [b]"You said that this isn't us, ignoring each other. That's a pretty funny thing coming from someone who ignored me while fawning over someone else."[/b] She couldn't help but point out to him. That comment really ticked her off. She couldn't believe he'd whine about a few hours of silence when she had to sit by the sidelines while Mako kept pushing her away. [b]"I hope you know I understand that Korra is the Avatar but you kissed her and never told me. So from where I stood, back when you wouldn't leave her side, it came off as pretty awful."[/b] If he wanted to talk, she would gladly let everything out. She deserved to. And if he wanted to explain himself, she'd listen but she wasn't going to be a victim anymore. - - - As they disembarked, Korra brought up the thing with Mako. He swore he'd help out, and he would. And if part of that meant helping a friend with earth bending, then so be it. He gave a nod to her, [b]"Nah, don't worry 'bout it, Korra. Mako and I will hang out together soon."[/b] To be honest though, he and Mako had rarely been apart for very long but Bolin had a feeling things would be alright. Before much else was exchanged, Tenzin seemed to be getting back to the mainland. He mentioned that he'd be going out to talk to Lin. Bolin didn't have much to say on the matter though it seemed to push Korra back into a more thoughtful mood. She muttered something which Bolin managed to catch, as soon as Tenzin left, he turned back to the brunette. [b]"Life's never been the same since I met you!"[/b] He smiled to her. [b]"What I mean is, change doesn't always have to be bad. You came and took the Fire Ferrets and everyone else by storm!"[/b] [b]"And you saved the city, it was awesome! And now you can finally focus on yourself. You've been so wrapped up in helping me and Mako and everyone else. Maybe this change is for you."[/b] Bolin suggested with an enthusiastic arm gesture to her as if she was the best thing since sliced bread. To him, she was though. His declaration may have been a bit fast in terms of summing things up but a lot of it didn't really matter now. It was in the past and Bolin liked to keep things where they belonged. It was a hard concept for the boy to grasp but the war had done something to him. Before, he had been so wrapped up in just goofing off and taking things in stride but really all he had been doing was looking at things too positively. He didn't think about the gangs or rebels. And now he was hoping he could see things and people for as they truly were. Korra was a friend. Mako was his family. And everything else could be sorted out over time. [b]"Come on then."[/b] He tapped her shoulder. [b]"Let's see what we can do about helping out around here, then we can get started with some earth bending."[/b] Of course he knew she might not be able to do anything right away, nor did he know if he'd be a good teacher to her. Still, they had to try. That was the point of change wasn't it? They continued toward the main house and helped set things back up as they once were. The kids were kept busy cleaning so that left Korra and Bolin to get to training. Bolin felt a little weird having to teach the Avatar earth bending, she already knew it. Bolin wasn't sure if he'd be any good but he was sure they could have some fun, somehow. [b]"So uh you already know how to earth bend, yeah...it's like about brute force. Taking things head on!"[/b] He tried to relax a little. This was just Korra, He could talk to her right? He then lifted a medium sized slab of rock from the ground. [b]"See if you can move this, take your strength and turn it into bending."[/b] He stood by her. He wasn't sure if it was the right approach but with earth bending, the right approach was the most direct one. You couldn't hold anything back, you couldn't shy away, you had to just go for it! - - - While Tenzin had said he'd met up with her soon, she waved a hand. His place was with his family. It's where he belonged. And she belonged to the city, regardless of rank or title. Lin, without her bending, wasn't exactly as useless as the ruffians would like to believe. She may not be a spring chicken but she was more fit than most around the city. And she knew it so well, knew every alley and corner, knew every sign and every shortcut. She first went to the station and city hall. She was quickly put back in command of everything which was a no brainer. Lin then gave out orders for where people should patrol for crime and where people needed to set up stations for injured. There was the bigger task of construction and making sure order was restored to the city as soon as possible. Someone who may have been an alley would be Tenzin. He was on the council, after all. Lin decided to go toward on of the rougher parts of Republic City to make sure things weren't too overrun. When she got there, she saw things were pretty bad. Many buildings were in ruins and people were either looting or crying on the sidewalk. She had taken two officers with her to help get some work done on the buildings but it all seemed rather hopeless. Lin wasn't one to give up though. Turning, she heard Tenzin. A small feeling echoed inside her heart for a moment before she quickly shut whatever it was, down. [b]"They're scattered it seems, for now I can't waste my time hunting them down, I thought I'd leave that job to you."[/b] Lin told Tenzin. [b]"An air bender isn't going to be too much help, what we need is earth benders."[/b] She said and folded her arms. Of course he may be able to help with lifting stone but she didn't think it would make that much of a difference. His diplomatic skills could be used elsewhere. She motioned for him to come with her as she decided to check out one of the back alleys of the area. [b]"This place was a great nesting ground for young criminals. Hopefully with the destruction, we can make it into some a little less barbaric."[/b] Lin mentioned. She looked around and heard someone calling out, a girl. Lin hurried down the alley and saw a young woman running out of a building. There were two fire benders chasing the woman who was carrying a bag. Lin was quick to assess the scene. It looked like the fire benders weren't Triad related but were still attempting to rob or even murder the woman for whatever food or goods she had. Of course the woman could be a criminal as well. Acting rashly wouldn't get Lin anywhere. As soon as the three saw Lin and Tenzin, the woman called out for help and said the two men were trying to take her food. The two men quickly turned to Lin and Tenzin and began to fire bend. That answered that mystery. Lin ducked down and ran off to the left placed her hand on the brick wall. It was a force of habit for the earth bender. With a few seconds of delay, she bent backward to evade a blast of fire, before she aimed a strong side kick to one bender who had tried to light her on fire. Then she grabbed the back of his head and slammed him into the wall, face first and twisted his arms behind his back. [b]"I'm going to have a lot of fun writing up this report. Robbery, attempted murder on a woman and a police offer. And evasion of arrest."[/b] She smirked, growling into his ear as she pulled out her handcuffs and locked him up.