my skin has turned to porcelain, to ivory, to steel.

militxrist:

               Things in Republic City hadn’t exactly been peaceful lately,
               which was why the General was even out in that corner of
               the world to begin with. It would have seemed strange, if
               not for the fact that there was a correlation that Republic
               City had its ties with the Avatar - both the previous Avatar
               Aang and the current Avatar Korra. When their was trouble
               brewing, you could always count on it eventually crossing
               paths with the Avatar, who stood firmly to eliminate it. That
               was their purpose, after all, and everyone else could either help
               or get out of the way. Iroh chose the former.

But, for now, Republic City was relatively at ease - though
it was likely just the calm before a storm. He wouldn’t think
about that now, not when the day was so fair weathered and
he’d been allowed time away from his post. He’d take his leisure
time while he could.

                                          Admittedly, even considering the circumstance, his
encounter with biplanes had piqued his curiosity in forms of
                           transportation aside from ships. To quench his curiosity, he
                           knew no one better than to go to the head of Future Industries
                           herself, Miss Asami Sato.

          To say he was awed to watch her race the test track
           would be an understatement, as his eyes carefully
           followed the Satomobile with every turn of the corner
           and analyzed what he could of the machine while it
           was accelerating so quickly.

However, as inspired as he was, it was only the somewhat lopsided
grin on his features that expressed so, as his military training had
engrained in him to always stand straight and formal. His hands
were folded behind his back, and it was only after Asami had exited
the vehicle and acknowledged his presence that he greets her.

               ❝ I apologize, Miss Sato, I should’ve told you
          ahead of time that I was stopping by. I hope I’m
          not interrupt anything. I must admit… what you
         do absolutely fascinates me. Future Industries
         was very aptly named.”

        Things had been difficult for Asami. Her father’s ties to the
        Equalists and his subsequent arrest had made forming
        business transactions with other companies all but impossible.
        For a while, she had been afraid Future Industries would go under
        completely. That is, until Varrick and she had agreed on a deal that
        would save the company from bankruptcy. Even after that hadn’t gone
        exactly as planned, it still ended up helping her company in ways she
        hadn’t expected.

                                  For now, the crisis had been avoided; but for how long
                                  that would last, she couldn’t say. On slow days, like today,
                                  when the weather was inviting and new cars were ready to
                                  be tested, Asami was more than happy to take them personally
                                  for a spin to check their build and maintenance and to report
                                  back anything that needed to be changed or fixed. Asami,
                                  much like her father, would not accept a product as finished
                                  until it was virtually flawless. Now, more than ever, that needed
                                  to hold true. She couldn’t afford any more mistakes.

        It is nice to see General Iroh again, under much calmer
        circumstances. She can’t say she knows much about him,
        but he’d come across as nothing more than a gentleman for
        the handful of words they had exchanged, and merely watching
        him interact with the others. There was a noble professionalism
        about him that she could admire.

                               "Not at all. It’s good to see a familiar face around here,“
                               she smiles, pulling off her gloves and extending a hand
                               to shake his.

        She’s polite and almost formal, giving Iroh the much needed
        respect he’s entitled to, both as a man in the military and as
        Fire Nation royalty. At times, it was almost easy to forget the
        latter —- Iroh was humble and never corrected others when
        they referred to him by his military status instead of his royalty.

                              His compliment to her family business has her beaming
                              with pride. For all her father’s faults, he really had created
                              something great that would push Republic City towards a
                              a better future.

        ”Those biplanes caught your interest, huh? I’ll admit, you piloted
        that thing like a pro. Anyway, I was just about to take this next car
        out for a spin. You’re welcome to ride shotgun with me if you like.“