It had been an annoying first half of the day.

A prototype engine had blown up spectacularly because of reasons.

Disaster was barely averted because someone discovered that a lathe had been miscalibrated, ruining a whole batch of Satomobile parts.

Another round of Equalist-aligned workers were making noise about competitive pay and opportunities compared to their bending counterparts.

And to top it all off, her father had been away to assuage one of his bigger investors, leaving Asami to deal with everything.

It promised to be a very lousy day, so Asami found herself pleasantly surprised when she found Xing sitting by a Downtown waterfront noodle stall. Curiously, he was in cheery conversation with two children in dull, threadbare clothes.

The White Lotus minder spotted her and gave a simple wave, which Asami took as a reasonable invitation. The two children followed his gaze, and their smiles became muted into something more sheepish as she walked over.

"Good afternoon, Asami."

"Xing," she returned with a bright smile. "I thought you'd be stuck on the island?"

His lips tugged into the briefest of smirks. "I've been…convinced to take some time off in my daily schedule, now that the Avatar is in the capable hands of Master Tenzin."

How did Xing make getting leisure time sound like such a chore?

"And you didn't have the courtesy to inform me?" Asami teased.

"I haven't gotten the opportunity to meet you until now," came the dry but amused reply as he gestured for her to join them.

"Well, I'm glad you're taking some time off to yourself at least." Asami then redirected her smile towards the shy kids sitting across from Xing as she pulled over a stool. "Hi there, you're Xing's friends?"

Two heads set with wide eyes turned to face each other for a second before they bobbed in tentative agreement.

"Kai and Ren," Xing introduced. "Local guides I've contracted."

Asami turned back to him with confusion. "Guides?" The rest of the question went unsaid, not wanting to be rude to his two young guests.

Xing still picked up on the tone of her question though. "Kai and Ren are familiar enough with the area, and they have a…grounded view that has proved highly informative."

Grounded view? What did he mea- Oh.

"You're talking about your work, aren't you?" Asami accused with a raised eyebrow.

Xing's shrug was all the answer she needed.

"Wait," the girl Ren suddenly spoke up, staring at Xing with surprise. "Your troublemaking charge… You mean the Avatar?"

Xing let out a sigh before nodding.

It was the boy Kai who spoke up next, his face scrunched up in a rather comical manner. "So all the questions about who not to piss off…"

"Avatar Korra is not so reckless as to seek senseless conflict," the White Lotus minder said in a deadpan voice, and Asami was aware of how he verbally swerved around the accusations. "But with her strong sense of justice, she can be…lured into detrimental situations."

There was a few seconds of silence before the two kids nodded in understanding. "So you need to know who might try to trap her," Ren said with a tinge of admiration.

"That's awesome…" Kai muttered. "So the Avatar beats up bad guys a lot?"

Asami blinked at how they interpreted Xing's non-answer about the Avatar's impulsiveness into something positive. How long has he been doing this?

"The Avatar's foremost mission right now is to master the elements," Xing explained with some weariness, "but if she comes across something objectionable, she will not hesitate to respond."

Kai was about to nod but then frowned instead. "So how come you don't look so happy about it? Isn't that a good thing?"

"Well, duh," Ren interjected, "if the bad guys are like the triad bosses, they'll make themselves look innocent."

"Oh yeah…"

Asami was blinking again, this time at the implications of the children's brief exchange. "Where are you two from?" she asked kindly.

Their animated faces went back to sheepish again as they remembered she existed. "Um…" They turned to Xing, who seemed ready to roll his eyes as he answered for them.

"They stay nearby."

Not wanting to frighten them any further, Asami happily left it at that and switched topics. "So, I need some lunch. Is anyone else still hungry?"

With that peace offering, Asami slowly acquainted herself with Kai and Ren, and while she wore her smile easily enough, she held back her sympathy and horror at the casual hints of their destitute states.

They found eating at a roadside stall (or even on a table she guessed) as a novelty. They knew a bit too much about the current politics and borders of the triads. Xing was taking them to buy new clothes later (that he 'now' had an allowance was a surprise to process for another time), but they were adamant that the clothes couldn't be 'too new' to avoid drawing unwanted attention.

Yet for all that, both kids were cheerful and lively. It was both highly admirable and depressing at the same time.

After enjoying lunch with them - which she fully paid for, of course - Asami managed to get a moment's privacy with Xing while Kai and Ren hurried to deliver their takeaway to their bedridden grandfather.

"They're from a rough place?"

Xing confirmed with a nod. "Quite rough even by most standards."

Asami looked out to the direction the children ran off to and sighed. "I always knew Republic City wasn't all bright lights and prosperity, but to see them so…"

"Don't pity them," Xing cut in with surprising firmness. Asami shifted her gaze back to him, and was startled by the bitterness in his eyes and tone that betrayed a sour past. "Help them if you can or if you want, or just outright ignore their states. But don't pity them. They're smart enough to be insulted by that hollow gesture."

"I…"

"I know you didn't mean to," he continued, the bitterness receding. "But it's an easy trap for one to fall into, to say that you feel bad for someone without actually doing anything. Thoughts and prayers..." The way Xing scoffed at those last words was so thick with disgust…

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Asami flinched but did not break from his gaze. "I…"

"Hey Xing! Can we go now?" The conversation was cut short as Kai and Ren returned, waving over at them.

Asami and Xing shared a glance before they rose up, and she took the chance to mutter a soft but sincere offer.

"I want to help."

Xing's sternness melted away into a smile, and he nodded as she dealt with the fluttering in her stomach. "Thanks, Asami. We'll brainstorm some ideas next time?"

As much as she'd like to join the three of them right now, Asami still had the rest of the shitty day of work to look forward to.

*****

As much as she liked Korra, Jinora had to admit that the older girl was quite…impatient. Xing's absence meant that she was almost literally bashing her head against Tenzin's exercises. Trying to skip a few steps to show her the basic stances was also proving to be counterproductive because failing to make up for airbending's swift and smooth movements with waterbending's fluidity added to Korra's irritation.

Her footwork was ok, but there was something to Korra's movements, a stiffness or…spikiness, that just didn't feel right. Something that neither Tenzin nor Jinora could clearly grasp to offer any solid advice for improvement.

The young airbender could feel the frustration building in the Avatar, even in something as simple and serene as meditating. At least most of it evaporated when dinner came around.

Most of it.

Maybe giving Xing time off was a bad idea.

As was the case in the previous evenings, Korra gave Xing a mild glare when he returned from Republic City to join them at the dinner table, which he ignored. Jinora also had the feeling that him never asking about Korra's progress might be adding to her annoyance for some reason. The White Lotus boy simply replied to any conversations directed at him - usually by Jinora's mother - and otherwise ate quickly and in silence.

This time though, rather than patrolling or standing discreetly aside, Jinora noticed him approaching her father after dinner, while Korra was at the baths. Quietly, she made sure Ikki and Meelo were distracted before darting after the two men, keeping to the shadows outside of her parents' room as they conversed. It was startling to hear just how tired her father was.

"I have to admit, I'm feeling at a loss on how to proceed. Korra is making little to no progress at all…"

"Avatar Korra can be…stubborn, Master Tenzin, but I'm afraid unless you can find an alternative curriculum that draws her interest, you will have to measure her progress in inches instead of leagues."

There was a heavy sigh from Tenzin, loaded with resignation more than anything. "Is that why nobody has taught her the spiritual aspects of bending?"

"It…is, admittedly, the most convenient excuse," Xing answered. "Most attempts are deferred in favor of making clearer progress with the more…engaging side of bending. But even then, with her complete inability to airbend, I think that sparring with her might not produce the results you wish, Master Tenzin."

Her father gave another heavy sigh. "I fear that you are right, Xing."

There was a brief pause before Xing spoke again. "Perhaps you could find a more practical application of airbending movements?"

"The gates-"

"With all due respect, the airbending gates are a test of competence, and one that is quite physical in signaling failure. Maybe there is an alternative to visualizing airbending or its concepts? Like how firebenders have to nurture a candle's flame in the wind, or waterbenders melting a lump of ice in their bare hand… Something that incites the motivation - or desperation - for a bender to instinctively wield their chi?"

There was a thoughtful hum from Tenzin. "That…could work. I might need to search the archives to find a suitable exercise for that."

"Hm…"

As silence descended on the other end of the door, Jinora found herself ruminating for potential ideas as well. The seconds that passed felt like hours when Xing suddenly spoke up again. "Maybe a simple task, like keeping a feather or two from falling to the ground purely by blowing on it?"

Jinora had to press both hands on her mouth to stop herself from breaking into a laugh. Just imagining Korra running about with her head pointed upwards, huffing furiously at a feather…

"Maybe keep it constrained within a border, like a circle, as added pressure?"

Now Jinora had to fight off the picture of Korra running in circles and huffing away at the sky.

Despite the potential hilarity of that (or was it because of it?) her father seemed to approve. "That might not be a bad idea. A weighted feather, perhaps. Yes… Maybe with a…a fan instead of just blowing… I'll need time to work on the details, obviously… Still, you have my thanks, Xing."

"I'm pleased you find the idea worth considering. If you wish, I could assist-"

"No, no. You've been of immense help already, Xing. It would be rude of me to impinge on your down time, especially since it's barely been a couple of days since we've decided upon it."

There was a brief pause, maybe Xing was coming up with a reply, but then Jinora's father spoke again.

"It's fine, Xing." His voice became lighthearted and jocular, to reassure Xing. "Training Korra is my responsibility anyway. It'd reflect poorly on me if I can't mentor her after I've taught airbending to my much younger children."

Despite the soft chuckle at the end, Tenzin's words didn't convince Xing as his doubts were clear in his voice.

"As you say Master Tenzin."

At that moment, Jinora felt some offense at the minder for not putting faith in her father.

On the following day though, after Korra finally snapped and burned the airbending gates, and seeing the look of defeat on her father, Jinora wished she had jumped into the room to convince her father to get Xing's help.