The airship was silent toward the end of its journey as its occupants were absorbed in the imminent event in Ba Sing Se, where they would meet the new king.
Even though they already knew him.
"I still can't believe your uncle is the new king." Korra stared at Lin, dazed. Even after so many days, the change was simply too abrupt for her.
She had laughed so hard at the "joke" that noodles came out of her nose.
She noticed no one else was laughing, and the truth left her shocked.
Then the questions started pouring out of her head.
Since Jin had taught her, didn't that mean she was something like the king's student?
Who was the Queen, Asami or Zhu Li?
Would their friendship be affected by the change in position?
Lin adjusted the luggage beside her; it would've been difficult to load everything if the suitcases that held their belongings weren't made of metal.
"Don't look at me like that. How was I supposed to turn down the king's summons?" Lin shifted uncomfortably, using her relative as an excuse, though the truth was a little different from what the Avatar knew.
Leave the Republic City police department for the summons of the Earth King?
If it had been Hou-Ting, Lin would've given the messenger the middle finger before kicking them out of her office. Her connection to the Beifong family would've allowed such disrespect.
But things changed when it was her uncle, even more so with the offer Jin made her (with every detail clearly outlined and the benefits). Not only had Lin resigned as chief of police, she directly gathered many of her metalbending officers and prepared to assume her new post in the capital.
Let's mention just one benefit:
The annual budget of the Republic City police department was two million seven hundred thousand yuans. Half of it went toward paying salaries and minor but essential items like coffee, while the rest was operating and maintenance funds.
It might seem like a large sum, but the truth was that this money was practically a leash for Lin. It limited her to mobilizing personnel only for the largest (and usually most media-heavy) cases, leaving her officers without resources for smaller but much more numerous cases.
If they wanted something to go with the coffee, they had to pay for it out of their own pockets!
Ten years ago, the budget had been five million.
But while crime increased, the Council and now the current President decided that injecting money into the police department was not a priority.
Jin was straightforward—he would provide the Ba Sing Se police department five million yuans monthly as long as she was willing to accept the position he offered. Moreover, this was only a tentative budget. If she needed to expand it, as long as she gave a clear and well-justified reason, she would receive the money.
And that was just one of the benefits on a very, very long list.
Her department could even request an unlimited supply of tea from the famous Jade Dragon!
As for what the oh-so-important President Raiko would do without her and with the few remaining metalbenders in the city—what did that have to do with her?
In a way, she felt an indirect, satisfying sense of revenge.
Hmm, she had the feeling she was forgetting someone.
…
Meanwhile, in Republic City.
"I told you I wanted a meat dish and a soup!" Wu shouted indignantly at the restaurant's chef with an air of mortal offense. "But you served me a soup and a meat dish—those are completely different!"
Mako wanted to slam his forehead against the solid mahogany table. The guy had spent half an hour with the same complaint and they still hadn't eaten!
Couldn't he just switch the plates around and eat however he liked?
"This babysitting job isn't worth it," he muttered in resignation. Even when he had taken care of Bolin as a child, he had been more sensible. "At least I can say I've protected royalty when this is over."
When was the chief going to transfer him back to the police?
…
"It doesn't matter," Lin concluded, tossing her worries out the window. "If I don't even remember it, it couldn't have been important."
"Right…" Korra couldn't argue with that, so she turned to the person next to her. "And how did you two end up boarding?"
"Oogi is waiting for his mate to give birth," Tenzin explained the situation of his flying bison while holding his youngest child, giving Pema a chance to move around the ship a little and socialize. "During this time, it's impossible to get him away from her."
A flying bison doesn't mind if their human companion plays with their calves out of trust, but getting close to them or their mate during such a delicate and vulnerable time would only result in a rather painful tail strike!
He learned the hard way as a child — Tenzin's nose hadn't always looked like this…
"It's also a good opportunity to experience new ways of traveling." Jinora turned her gaze away from the window. "I like Oogi, but not having my hair constantly messed up by gusts of wind is definitely an improvement."
Maybe Meelo didn't need to worry about that, and Ikki had fun, but that wasn't her case. The strong wind made it impossible for her to read comfortably during flights.
"It's not that bad," Tenzin defended Oogi in a low voice.
Jinora unconsciously raised her eyes toward her father's shaved head and restrained herself from pointing out certain differences, but Korra noticed her glance and connected the dots, almost bursting into laughter if she hadn't covered her mouth in time.
Tenzin looked at her suspiciously.
"Is she feeling airsick and wants to vomit?" he wondered, discreetly increasing the distance between himself and the Avatar.
"Ahem! Anyway, Opal," Korra urgently changed the subject, "how are the lessons with Tenzin going?"
The truth was that Opal, Suyin, Baatar and some Metal Clan members were on the ship with them, but there was enough space for everyone to move around freely. Opal had taken advantage of the trip to catch up with her family and then returned to ask Tenzin a series of questions about airbending.
In fact, Korra thought she had seen Suyin and Pema exchanging parenting experiences. Both were seasoned mothers in the field of multiple children.
What must it feel like to give birth so many times?
Korra was not going to find out; she was very clear that if she ever had children (very, very in the future), it would be one and no more. If living on Air Temple Island had taught her anything, it was that having multiple kids ate up almost all of your personal time.
She was not going through that, nu-uh.
"Although finding a boyfriend isn't exactly easy for me," she lamented inwardly as her eyes drifted unconsciously toward Opal, sinking into thought.
Jin had kind of ruined her standards toward boys, making her a bit demanding, unable to avoid comparisons.
If boys were too troublesome, maybe…
"Oh, it's quite… entertaining," Opal replied politely, glancing around, unaware of Korra's thoughts.
She was too kind to tell the truth in front of Tenzin. Though she couldn't deny the training was fun and she had made several friends outside the Metal City, the veteran airbender seemed too excited to have more people to teach, and his wife and children had had to calm him down many times.
"Opal is a great student," Tenzin had nothing but praise for her.
Maybe not as talented as his little Jinora, but close!
Opal could only smile at the comment.
Initially, she hadn't been part of the group her mother had organized to meet Jin, but as soon as she learned of the invitation, she asked to join. She wanted to thank him for letting her stay at his home and sparing her from sharing dormitories at Air Temple Island.
Jin had treated her exceptionally well, even setting aside time to get to know her better as a person and as family. When he wasn't busy with whatever he did, he even invited her to eat with Asami and Zhu Li.
She had seen the women's dorms at the island when she went to change for training the first time—modest and cozy, no doubt, but far too different from what she was used to in Zaofu. She probably would've had trouble sleeping for weeks if she had stayed there.
Besides, the student food was a little… bland, for her palate trained since childhood by a creative chef. She wasn't going to protest; she understood the difference in circumstances. But between having to eat food prepared for the majority out of practicality and being able to request something personalized from Jin's mansion chef, her choice was as clear as day.
Naturally, Suyin was delighted to have more family with her, so here she was.
But the current matriarch of the Metal Clan did not know that Opal's reason for wanting to thank Jin was a little different.
A few days ago, during one of her visits to Zaofu, in which she stayed for dinner before having to depart in the morning to return to the temple, she got up during the night to get a glass of water from the kitchen and passed by her mother's office.
She heard her crying.
Suyin, matriarch of the Metal Clan and a woman who had weathered storms for all of them, was crying while her father held her.
The realization made Opal lose her sleepiness instantly, and she unconsciously pressed herself against the door to listen for a while, returning to her room as quietly as possible.
Without the glass of water! (dramatic sound)
Even when she got into bed, which had already lost its residual warmth during her absence, she couldn't sleep for a long time.
She didn't know that Zaofu's situation had reached such a delicate point. She never really worried about money…
From the conversation, the family had been sustaining the functioning of the metal city for years. Sure, they had exports, businesses, and the city generated most of the money necessary for its self-sufficiency… but not all.
Now, Jin had sent her mother a packet of documents that changed everything.
The family businesses that Hou-Ting had "requisitioned" were returned, the targeted taxes meant to weaken them reverted to normal and, while he couldn't simply return the money from the "fines" imposed by the late queen, he had assigned them infrastructure projects for the Earth Kingdom worth several times more.
All of this happened barely on the second day after the news of the coronation.
Her mother wasn't crying from sadness, but from relief!
Opal knew that Jin had to be buried in work and responsibilities with his rise, and yet he had prioritized helping the family above everything else.
She spent the whole night thinking.
As the only non-bender in the family, she had always felt secretly self-conscious. All her siblings had plans for the future — even the twins!
But her? No, she didn't know what to do with her life.
Becoming an airbender had been liberating; it eliminated that secret insecurity she had. But… she still didn't know what to do.
Then that night, she had a fleeting idea.
Jin had helped her and her family so much, without asking for anything in return.
Maybe this time, she could help him.
Opal had the feeling that Jin needed help now, more than ever.