a day in the life

The Party: Part 2

After their discussion in the kitchen, Kya had been quiet as she carried food to the guests. Lin took note. It was very unusual for Kya to be silent for an extended period of time. She began to worry maybe she had done something wrong. 

Once they finished, Kya disappeared down the hall. Lin could feel her walking hurriedly, and then she felt Kya almost running to her bedroom. I should go check on her. I didn't mean to make her upset and ruin the party... Was it something I said? 

Lin managed to get out of a boring conversation with Tenzin by saying she had to go to the bathroom. She slipped down the hall and stood outside Kya's door. Lin hesitated before knocking. Maybe I should just leave her be, when I'm upset I don't want to talk to anyone... But this isn't me, it's Kya. Super chatty, won't shut up, loves a party Kya. 

Lin knocked. "Kya? Are you alright?"

Kya whipped the door open. "I'm fine, I just spilled lychee juice all over me and I had to change."

"Oh."

Suddenly a big smirk grew on Kya's face, "Why? Were you worried about me Chief? I didn't think you were such a softie."

Lin growled. "I am not a softie!"

"Oh yeah? Then why'd you come check on me?"

"Because you love parties! And I figure you wouldn't be missing one as big as this one if something wasn't bothering you. Does checking on a friend immediately make me soft?" Lin asked defensively.

Kya's smile changed from a cocky smirk to a softer one.  "A little," she said quietly. She hadn't realized how much Lin cared for her, and today was very telling.

Lin rolled her eyes. "I shouldn't've even checked on you. I could've snuck out no problem."

"You blew your chance, cause now my eyes are gonna be on you all night." Kya said, grinning from ear to ear. 

---------------------------------------------------------

"Aunt Lin! It's so good to see you," Opal pulled her aunt into a hug. 

"What are you doing here kid? I thought you were staying at the air temple."

"Korra and Asami invited everyone, see? Mom and Dad are right over there," Opal said excitedly.

Sure enough, when Lin looked across the room, she locked eyes with her sister. Su waved her over.

"Look what the wolfbats dragged in," Lin said sarcastically as her sister pulled her into a brief hug. 

"It's good to see you, too, Lin."

"How long are you in the city for? I can't believe you'd come for just one day, it's a long trip," Lin prodded. She wanted to know where her sister was staying, and how long she'd have to put up with the hugging and chatting.

"We're here for a week." Great. "Tenzin and Pema have offered rooms to us here."

"That's kind of them," Lin muttered. She was glad none of them had asked to stay with her. That was probably the only perk to her incredibly small apartment.

"Grandma's here too!" Opal suddenly interrupted.

"What?! She left the swamp for this?" 

---------------------------------------------------------

"Umm Kya...? Honey? Are you even listening to me?"

"What? Yeah, I'm listening..."

"What was the last thing I said then?" Katara said, placing her hands on her hips and narrowing her eyes in suspicion. 

"You were talking about your new waterbending students. They're more promising than you expected." Kya was only half listening, but that was enough to get her mother off her back. She was distracted watching Lin from across the room, making sure she didn't try and ditch, and also admiring the view...

---------------------------------------------------------

"Dinner!" Pema called. The clock was just rounding 6 as everyone made their way to their seats. Kya took a seat at the table nearest the bar, it was a party after all. She started looking around for Lin. It was just now occurring to her that the mass movement to sit down would be a pretty good diversion for Lin to sneak out. She sat up straight, craning her neck to get a better view at the tables farthest from her. 

"Looking for someone?"

Kya looked to her left and saw Lin, taking the seat next to her. "You, actually."

"Well here I am, still at the same party I was at 6 hours ago," Lin sighed. 

"Oh come on, it couldn't've been that bad. Do you really hate this that much?" Kya gestured to the rest of the guests.

"Yes. Well, no. I don't know. I've never been very good at socializing. Ya know, all the small talk and that crap, and that's all parties are, small talk."

Their conversation was interrupted by some air acolytes setting their plates down in front of them. As the acolytes turned to leave, Kya spoke, "Well, what setting would you prefer? I'm guessing nothing with large crowds."

"I guess something small. Maybe two or three people? Just a little get together," Lin spoke softly, as if she was unsure of herself.

"Ah, I see. You're more of the intimate type," Kya exclaimed.

"The what?"

"You like small get togethers because you get to know the person you're talking to on another level. You can talk about real things. Everything said at a huge party has to be taken with a grain of salt. People trying to impress others, or trying to hide things they're ashamed of. No one ever really talks about anything important. They talk about their facades and niceties, not their real thoughts and opinions. I guess that's why I used to like them so much."

"Used to?" Lin looked surprised. She thought Kya still enjoyed these huge gatherings, but now it was starting to sound like she hated them.

"Yeah. When I was younger, I didn't want to talk about anything, I mean, I wanted to talk obviously, but not about stuff that mattered. I think I used the big parties to avoid the real questions a more intimate setting would ask of me."

"But now you want that?"

"Yeah... I do."

Lin smiled. "Then maybe we should talk sometime, just the two of us."