[ But when Hei glimpses the red lotus tattoo -- he feels a strange fear resonate at a distant level, like a cathedral bell ringing many blocks away. He thinks of all the rumors he's been hearing lately. Whispers of a powerful group after Korra. Stirrings of revolution and chaos. News of airbenders appearing in regions where they've either been extinct for centuries -- or have never existed to begin with. ]
[ All these scraps of knowledge had settled into the sedimentary depths of his mind, to be gradually blanketed with other layers of news and thought, to lie there more or less undisturbed, sealed away. Now the sight of that lotus on the airbender is stirring that layer of thought, bringing a sift of understanding to the surface that carries the swampish, unpleasant reek of decomposition. Uprising. Chessgames. Deceptions. Buildings and walls toppling. Burnt flesh. Death. ]
[ Forcibly, he shakes the surging premonition off. He doesn't answer Korra. Just kneels before the dazed woman. Her face holds a simple geometry in profile, flat and sunken. Southeast Asiatic. The face of anyone on the street, anywhere. He regards her a beat -- then splays a palm across her chest. The volt that dances off his fingertips is like a jumpstart to the nerve-centers. Waking her, but disabling the large muscle groups so she can't airbend. She jerks, eyes snapping open, mucous running from her nostrils in webby strands. The shock leaves her trembling like a Parkinson's victim. ]
[ Leaning close, Hei speaks in her ear. Almost like a lover -- except his voice is cold and soft. ]
no subject
[ But when Hei glimpses the red lotus tattoo -- he feels a strange fear resonate at a distant level, like a cathedral bell ringing many blocks away. He thinks of all the rumors he's been hearing lately. Whispers of a powerful group after Korra. Stirrings of revolution and chaos. News of airbenders appearing in regions where they've either been extinct for centuries -- or have never existed to begin with. ]
[ All these scraps of knowledge had settled into the sedimentary depths of his mind, to be gradually blanketed with other layers of news and thought, to lie there more or less undisturbed, sealed away. Now the sight of that lotus on the airbender is stirring that layer of thought, bringing a sift of understanding to the surface that carries the swampish, unpleasant reek of decomposition. Uprising. Chessgames. Deceptions. Buildings and walls toppling. Burnt flesh. Death. ]
[ Forcibly, he shakes the surging premonition off. He doesn't answer Korra. Just kneels before the dazed woman. Her face holds a simple geometry in profile, flat and sunken. Southeast Asiatic. The face of anyone on the street, anywhere. He regards her a beat -- then splays a palm across her chest. The volt that dances off his fingertips is like a jumpstart to the nerve-centers. Waking her, but disabling the large muscle groups so she can't airbend. She jerks, eyes snapping open, mucous running from her nostrils in webby strands. The shock leaves her trembling like a Parkinson's victim. ]
[ Leaning close, Hei speaks in her ear. Almost like a lover -- except his voice is cold and soft. ]
Who are you working for?