Read, review, and enjoy!

I do not own The Legend of Korra.

"Li… Li… Honey, you need to wake up, or you'll miss your ride."

Li rolled over in her bed, pulling the blankets more tightly around her. There was a pause before the older woman standing above her sighed and walked out of the room.

"What?" The blankets were suddenly thrown off by the girl buried beneath them. Vision blurring slightly as her eyes adjusted to the light radiating from her bedside lamp, she stumbled out of bed and reached for the clean pair of clothes resting on a nearby reading chair.

A couple minutes later and she had donned a pair of grey pants and a long, sleeveless purple tunic. The older woman in the kitchen turned when Li stepped out of her bedroom.

"Hair?" She asked, looking the teenager up and down before her eyes came to rest on her head.

"Uhh…" Li made a heel face turn back into her room before emerging a moment later with her shoulder-length light brown hair in a loose ponytail. Approaching the kitchen table, her eyebrows lifted at the sight of her three-year-old sister squirming in her chair, none too happy to be awake at such any early hour.

The woman in the kitchen came over to the table, placing a tray of muffins in front of the three-year-old. "I know they're your favorite," she smiled at Li, who returned the expression.

"Thanks, Mama. Where's Papa?"

"I have no idea. He went out early this morning. I'm sure he'll be back in time to see you off." Her attention shifted to the pouting toddler.

"Mia, this is all there's going to be to eat before lunch. And you said you wanted to see sis off, didn't you?"

Li took a seat next to her little sister, looking at her out of the corner of her eye as she took a muffin from the tray and placed it in front of the toddler before taking one for herself.

"Mama, you make the best cinnamon muffins in the world," she grinned through a mouthful of the food.

"Don't want your muffin, Mimi?" She cocked her head at her sister, who pushed her lower lip out and looked away. "Suit yourself." She leaned toward her sister before slowly snaking her arm out and pulling the untouched muffin away.

"NO!" Mia shrieked, reaching for her stolen muffin.

Their mother jumped at the sudden outburst and looked at Li, who only grinned as her sister snatched her muffin back and stuffed half of it in her mouth.

"You're sure you have everything you need?"

"Yes."

"Remember your comb?"

"Yes."

"You have enough money?"

"Yes."

"Do you have directions for - ?"

"Yes, Mama!" Li laughed, setting the two large trunks down on the front steps.

"Mr. Jing should be here in a couple of minutes, so I guess – oh, there's your father."

Li turned to see the well-built figure of her father walking at a brisk pace towards them in the early morning light. Slightly out of breath when he stopped in front of her, he placed a small rectangular box in her hand.

"Sorry, but it won't be of any use until you get to the city." Before she could thank him, his arms encircled her, holding her close against his chest before reluctantly pulling away. "My brave little girl's grown up," he mused, his voice cracking at the end of the sentence before clearing his throat.

Li barely had enough time to place the package on top of a trunk before her mother was hugging her like they would never meet again, the fabric on her shoulder growing damp where her mother's head was. Her own eyes felt moist as she hugged her mother back.

"Liiiii." A small hand was tugging on her pants, and as her arms left her mother, she heard an engine approaching.

"Mmmm," Mia whimpered as she raised her arms toward her older sister.

With a good-natured sigh Li pulled her little sister into her arms before spinning around in a circle, Mia laughing in delight. "Take care of Mama and Papa for me, okay?" She smiled, kissing her on the cheek.

Mia responded by pushing her head into the crook of her neck.

"Mr. Jing's here," her father spoke up, and Li gave her sister a final squeeze before lowering her back to the ground.

"I'll send you a letter when I get there," she spoke up as she picked up her trunks, walking towards the rumbling satomobile.

Mr. Jing smiled and waved from the front seat at her parents, while Mia hid behind her mother's skirt.

Opening the rear door, Li slid her trunks onto the seats before taking the small package and sitting with Mr. Jing in the front.

"Ready to go?" He asked, and she nodded.

Looking out window, she waved at her parents and sister as the satomobile rolled forward.

"Seems like yesterday that I was in the same shoes as you, waving goodbye to my family," Mr. Jing commented. "The only difference being I had to walk to Republic City."

Li chuckled and wiped at her eyes. She knew Mr. Jing had been just as nervous and excited as she was now when he made the decision to move to a new city for a job.

The middle-aged man glanced from the road to the package in her lap. "What've you got there?"

"Don't know," she replied, pulling open one side of the box and dumping the contents into her hand. "The newspaper?" She held up the paper and something fell out from between the pages. Eyes wide, she inhaled sharply.

"What is it?" Mr. Jing asked, worried by her reaction.

Dropping the newspaper, she picked up the fallen contents. "Two tickets to the Pro-Bending Final?" Her voice rising as she read over the print on the think cards.

"That's a pretty good going away present! Those tickets are expensive and can be hard to come by."

Li was practically bouncing in her seat. "We don't have a radio, so all we know about the matches is what we read in the newspaper or hear from friends who have seen them. This is so cool!" She gushed, unable to stop grinning at the tickets.

"We're just about at Republic City," Mr. Jing announced, waking Li from her nap.

Instantly alert, she looked through the windows, her jaw dropping at the city gleaming in the afternoon sun, growing larger by the second. I'm going to live here? It's huge! The buildings are so tall, and all the roads… What if I get lost? Am I going to be able to keep up with the rent? Her thoughts began to go downhill as they drove over a magnificent bridge suspended above water and into the heart of the city. Mr. Jing noticed her expression.

"Don't worry. You'll be fine. And you have my address, so if there's something you need help with you'll know where to find me." He sent a reassuring grin her way, and the knots forming in her stomach loosened slightly.

After a few more minutes of driving down the busy main roads, Mr. Jing pulled over in front of an older apartment building. "Assuming I heard your address right, this is the place."

Li opened the door and held her package and its repacked contents to her chest tightly.

"Welcome to Republic City," Mr. Jing waved as he stepped out of the satomobile.

Grabbing her trunks, Li marched towards the doors as Mr. Jing held them open for her. Inside was a small reception desk with an old woman. She looked up as Li stepped forward.

"Hello, um, I have a contract for a room here," Li explained, fumbling for the signed papers in her pocket. Unfolding the leaflets, she passed them to the woman sitting across the desk. The woman looked at the papers before pulling out a large book from under the desk.

"If you could sign and date here." She flipped to a page with a number of signatures and handed her a pen.

Scribbling her name and the date, Li pushed to book back toward the woman.

"You'll keep this paper you signed earlier as proof of your residence," the woman explained, handing back one of the papers. "The other one is kept down here."

"Thank you," Li said as she stowed the paper in her pocket, the woman giving her a small smile.

"I trust you've read all that you're agreeing to and what we are not responsible for, as mentioned in the contract?" The woman called as she walked toward the stairs.

"Yes," she replied over her shoulder.

"Need any help? If you don't, I'll be heading on to the job now… Telling them I'm back from my vacation." Mr. Jing's expression turned gloomy.

"I think I'll be alright. And thank you for the ride," she lifted one arm and gave a small wave to the best of her ability with her trunk in hand. Mr. Jing gave his own small wave before turning for the front door.

"Good luck!" He called.

After giving the key a couple of hard twists in the lock, the door to room fourteen finally swung open. Li hesitantly entered her new home, the floorboards creaking under her feet. It was an old building, so it was understandable that everything wouldn't be very high maintenance. Living comfortably in the middle of the city was expensive, and with the money her family had, this apartment was the nicest she could afford without building up a debt. She also intended for her new job to pay for a portion of the rent.

The main room had an old green sofa and tea table, and on the left, the door to a very small bathroom. Against the same wall was a miniature kitchen area.

The bedroom was in separate room to the right, a low bed pushed in one corner with a dresser that might have been an antique facing it from the opposite wall. In both the main room and bedroom were a row of windows that ran along the entire length of the wall, giving a view of the restaurants and shops on the other side of the street.

"Hmmm," Li hummed in thought, placing her trunks and package on the bed. It would be getting dark in a few hours, and she didn't want to be roaming the streets of a foreign city on her own. "I think I'll go find a place to eat and worry about organizing and buying anything else tomorrow."

Stuffing a few bills in her pocket, she left the apartment, making sure the door was firmly locked behind her.

Stepping out into the early evening sun, she eyed the restaurants across from her, trying to estimate how much the food industries would charge for their meals. Spending would be more comfortable after she got her first pay check; right now her budget was limited.

Making up her mind on Mushi's Diner, she was just entering the flow of pedestrian traffic when a short scream came from behind. Several of the people beside her paused in their step and turned with her to see what the commotion was.

Li's eyes widened and she darted out of the center of the sidewalk, pushing a young woman and a man with her as a large polar bear dog burst form the crowd, a girl dressed in blue atop its back.

"Sorry, sorry! New here, sorry! Excuse us!" The teenager yelled above the surprised shouts of pedestrians.

Most people watched the large animal disappear into the distance before shaking their heads and moving on with their business.

Remembering the people she had pushed, Li spun toward them and gave an apologetic bow. "Sorry; I hope I didn't hurt you."

"Don't worry about it," waved the man, tipping his hat to her.

"Geez," muttered Li, looking in the direction the girl and animal had disappeared in. "Are all people in this city like that?"

"Not everyone." It was the young woman whom she had pushed that spoke, combing out her long dark hair with a gloved hand. "For the record, I've never seen that polar bear dog before," she chuckled.

Li smiled back shyly, suddenly feeling self-conscious in the presence of the beautiful teenager. She looked rich, and most girls from her hometown didn't dress up or put as much care into their appearance as the female before her had.

"Oh, sorry; where are my manners? I'm Asami Sato. And don't mind the shove – it probably saved me from being trampled." The beautiful youth extended her hand, gripping Li's in a surprisingly firm handshake, despite her delicate appearance.

"N-nice to meet you," Li stuttered, noticing a few people around them glancing at them and whispering as they passed. "Are you new here – I didn't catch your name?"

"Li," she quickly piped up. "Yes, I'm from out of town. I just moved in today."

"Well, welcome to Republic City! You'll love it here," Asami assured her with a grin. Her eyes moved to the watch on her wrist. "Oh no, I'm going to be late meeting my father!" Taking a few steps back, she gave a small wave. "Nice meeting you, Li. Enjoy the city!" She called as she turned and ran off into the crowd.

Apart from the wild animals running in the streets, the people here seem okay. Maybe I'll see Asami again sometime?

Looking both ways to make sure no satomobiles (or large animals) were coming, she darted across the road to the opposite sidewalk, skidding to a stop in front of the diner.

Wait a minute… Asami Sato? As in the satomobile? I just met someone famous and didn't realize it until after I said goodbye? Li face-palmed and shook her head. No wonder people were looking at us – er – her. Noticing a couple of people looking at her now, during her mental lecture, she dropped her hand from her darkening face. Eat and then sleep. Work starts tomorrow.

Moving from her stationary pose on the sidewalk, she opened the door to the diner. "Please have something cheap and edible on the menu."