thehometree | Glimmer, glitter, shine...

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Glimmer, glitter, shine...

One by one, new adventurers now arrive in the Tree. As one gain wings and rises to the second floor, another light brings in the next person. Soon, a steady stream of people from all kinds of worlds, times and realities come to join the others. Whether confused, angry, excited or scared, your arrival is welcomed with nothing but joy as the fireflies and glow worms descend to greet their new friends.

The Tree offers no explanation and no reason, but the truth is undeniable.

As you will soon realize, it isn't easy to be tiny.

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"And now I'm recovering." Her voice comes out a little sharper than she intended. As well-meaning as Kuvira might be, Korra doesn't need a reminder of her current less-than-satisfactory condition.

She sighs, one hand on her hip. "Anyway, that's not important right now. Do you know what's going on?"

Korra is clearly on her feet. She seems taller, too. Curious. "Of course," she says carefully.

"I'm afraid I don't know anything yet. If this is a spirit's work I would have expected to hear from it by now. -is this the Spirit World, do you think?" Or they could be dead - no, Kuvira's quite sure that when she dies there will be more than a flash of light heralding it.

"I thought so, too, when I saw the light." Korra nods toward the center of the tree, where the light stream casts a warm glow on everything around it.

"But it's not a portal. I already checked." A lot of things aren't making sense to her, especially the part where they somehow got transported without their knowing. Korra has a feeling the bright flash of light she remembers seeing has something to do with all this, though.

"And I still have my bending, so our bodies aren't comatose somewhere." Probably. Kuvira only knows so much about the Spirit World. "-You do have yours, don't you?"

"Yes," Korra replies, with a blink-and-you'll-miss-it clench of her jaw. Her bending's just fine, but other parts of her abilities... not so much.

This isn't a topic she really wants to linger on, so she gives a quick flick of her hand, letting the burst of air ruffle the plant-life around them. Just a demonstration, a way to show--pretend, really--that all is well with her.

"I have a feeling this isn't the Spirit World anyway. It doesn't feel right."

Kuvira will have to keep an eye out for her if anything comes up, the Avatar is clearly not at her best. 'Recovering', yes. In truth she's almost glad for something to do, to be certain of.

"You would know better than I would," she says dryly. "Something else, do you think?"

"Something else," Korra says decisively, relieved that they've moved on.

"There's this mist that I saw outside when I was testing out the wings. It looks like mist, but it doesn't actually budge when you try to get past it." She turns her head slightly, looking toward the exit. "I guess whatever brought us here doesn't want us wandering off on our own."

"It can't be blown away with your Airbending?" Now Kuvira's frowning. "That is something else. Have you gotten a look at the rest of the tree inside here?"

"Not just that, it feels solid."

Korra shakes her head. "I saw the floor with the water basins and the houses, but that's about it. What about you?"

"That's - strange," she says out loud, thinking maybe hearing some of her thought process will put Korra more at ease.

"I think you came here before I did. I haven't seen either of those." She frowns. "Houses. If they don't have occupants already, this is supposed to be a prolonged stay."

"I was afraid of that," Korra admits with a quick look up at the hole in the ceiling.

"Aside from the people showing up like us, this place looked empty when I checked it out earlier. That means it's new--new and meant for us." Just as Kuvira suspects.

"Is this a prison?" It may be big and well appointed - and the weirdest she can imagine - but this is all very unsettling.

"It could be. Obviously they want us for something, if they've gone through this much trouble."

Korra gives Kuvira a considering look.

"If we want to figure out what's going on, we should work together," she says, working hard to keep her expression even. "If you're okay with that--I know I'm not at my best right now."

Kuvira looks back steadily. She's out of her depth, and there isn't anyone she feels like she can look to for direction, not yet. Korra is here but weakened and uncertain. If someone is to make decisions and plans it's going to have to be her.

She reaches out, and clasps the Avatar's shoulder. "There's still a lot you can do that I can't. It would be my honor, Korra."

Finally, she manages to bring a small smile to Korra's face. It means a little more than Kuvira might think, that those words are coming from someone who Korra had been unconsciously jealous of for the past few years. Someone who had been doing good in the world while Korra had still been struggling with just simply walking.

Toph's words echo in her head now. Your problem is you've been disconnected from everything. Kuvira might not be her parents or her friends from Republic City, but she's familiar. It would be a good first step to take, figuratively speaking.

Korra puts her hand over Kuvira's, looking a little less uncertain now. "I guess it's settled then. We should check out the rest of this tree and try testing the mist outside again later."

She nods decisively

"We should. It may be too much to hope for, that we can tunnel out of here, but we still need to check. Even if nothing else presents itself, you should find me and tell me where you plan to sleep." Kuvira will not shadow her everywhere. She doesn't seem like she needs it, thankfully.

Time to prepare for a bit of a stay, Korra supposes. Hopefully it wouldn't be one that lasts too long.

"We should just use the houses on the other floors, since they're already there," she says thoughtfully. "Let's take a look at those first, see if we can find anything."

Kuvira really doesn't want to resign herself to this. It doesn't look like there's a choice, though.

She decides against offering the Avatar one of her cable spools. Korra doesn't carry water with her and there's scarcely any earth to bend, but she still has air and fire. "All right. I haven't seen those yet anyway."

"No better time to check them out," Korra says, already turning on her heels.

She leads them toward the stream of life, pausing just in front of it. After a determined glance at her wings, Korra jumps into the air and takes off. Though she seems to struggle a bit, she eventually makes it through the hole in the ceiling.

Kuvira doesn't really like the feel of the light. It's just... strange, and inexplicable.

She hangs back a bit before following, not sure about her trajectory, and has to get a running start before jumping. The armor is heavy. To speed her way Kuvira broadcasts one of her cables when she's close enough, and lets it guide her up as she flies. Flying, admittedly, she enjoys the feeling of. Unlike dance, it doesn't need a partner, but it reminds her of that all the same.

Korra waits for her on the second floor, gaze a little distant as she watches the life stream. She seems to shake off her odd mood when she sees Kuvira, though, walking over to her.

"There's a few people already poking around, but I think most of the people we showed up with are still down there." She gestures at the four houses lined up against the walls of the tree. "Doesn't look like these will fit all of us, so there must be more on the higher levels."

"The ceiling here looks as high as in the other chamber, and I think the walls are the same distance," she estimates, craning her neck. She's not sure whether it would be promising or not, if there wasn't enough space for everyone. Through her outfit Kuvira can feel that it's a little chilly in here, not dramatically but enough that sleeping inside the tree might be uncomfortable.

"Is that a leaf on the next floor?"

Korra tilts her head up, squinting until she sees what Kuvira does. "Oh yeah. There's a fern up there and some other plants. Water basins, too... at least, I think that's what they're supposed to be."

Her attention drifts as she examines the houses on the current floor, until it's caught by the hole in one part of the wall. Somehow she'd missed it the first time around.

"Think that goes anywhere?" She asks Kuvira, pointing.

"There's just one way to find out." It occurs to Kuvira that she should be able to fly a straight line, too, not just up and down, so a few steps in she starts to move the wings, breaks into a trot and skims along the floor, touching down a few times just long enough to push herself off again.

Landing at the hole, which becomes almost a hallway, she assumes a serious face again. Kuvira likes the flying, but feels like she shouldn't, she should stay professional.

Korra takes off after Kuvira just a second later, wings fluttering behind her as she flies at a slightly slower pace. She learned her lesson the first time around.

Once they've stepped out onto the branch, Korra immediately notices the slab of rock and the flowers surrounding it. "Is that...some kind of altar?"

Glimmer, glitter, shine...

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