Terra

Street Rat by noble Earth Kingdom citizens

   Terra is a female Earth Kingdom citizen who lived the first fifteen years of her life in Ba Sing Se as an orphan. She used her earthbending to survive in the lower ring of Ba Sing Se and to help others. She later learns that she is the Avatar and that Avatar Korra is her immediate predecessor.

When the Great Spirit War spreads to Ba Sing Se, a spirit friend of hers helped her escape to Republic City, where she could later learn her identity and begin to end the Great Spirit War, as well as travel the world to learn all four elements.

## History

### Early Life

Terra was born to her parents in 196 AG. She doesn't know how long she was with her parents, if and how they died, what they named her when she was born, who they were, or if they had bending. Terra also had no idea who cared for her while her parents were gone and before she could remember. She had an inkling they were from the Earth Kingdom because of her appearance and earthbending. Terra doesn't care about her parents and never blamed them for how she began in life. She knew no other life and didn't complain. Since she didn't know anything about her parents, as a child, she would make up stories about them in her free time. Terra would say her parents were great earthbenders who were loved all across the Earth Kingdom, and just as they had her, died a tragic death for the good of the world. These stories comforted her and helped her get through her rough childhood in Ba Sing Se. She told them often to anyone who would listen.

Because Terra never knew her parents or anyone else who knew her parents, she grew up without a name and without a home. At the age of five, she met a nice girl her age named Lily who lived in the upper ring. Despite their differences, neither seemed to mind and would play in the streets of Ba Sing Se. Some time during these meetings, Lily would try to call out to Terra but came at a loss of how to do so. She asked for Terra's name, but when she replied that she had no name to give, Lily instantly thought of Terra. Terra loved the name and kept it. Unfortunately, Lily's parents caught them playing together in the streets one day and forbade Lily from seeing the "street rat" ever again. Terra eventually got over the loss of her friend, but still misses her from time to time.

When she was seven, she began to see an old man whom she never learned the name of. Every day, she would visit him and he would share with her the little food that he had. She was extremely grateful and enjoyed his company. She would tell him her far fetched stories about her parents and he would humor her happily. One day, a tracker with a shirshu hunted the man down and captured him for a bounty while the old man was in Terra's company. She was terrified and hid behind a pillar as this was done, and she regretted not doing anything for the rest of her life. This also began her fear of shirshus.

When she was nine, she met two siblings on the streets. They were both born in Ba Sing Se and earthbenders, like her. The oldest--by the age of 13--was a boy named Lee. The youngest--by the age of 11--was a girl named Fu. They had a very close sibling relationship and took Terra under their wing. They showed her the ropes on being a street kid and how to not have to rely on the kindness of strangers. According to Lee, "the older you get, the less cute you get, and the meaner strangers get." They taught her how to channel her earthbending into surviving in the city. While they hid in the trees to spy on earthbending dojos, they incorporated what they learned into creating more subtle and less violent movements to steal food. The siblings also taught her to share what she had with others, but to always look out for number 1 first. When Terra was 12, they were both arrested for stealing an upper class citizen's diamond engagement ring and she never saw them again.

After the siblings were arrested, she began to try to not care about what happened to her or outside matters. However, she never lost her compassion towards others. Terra tried to use her earthbending as little as possible and never trained. Her favorite place to steal from was a cabbage cart because she "could take many before he noticed [her], if he ever did at all."

Shortly after her 13th birthday, she began to notice spirits. Not a lot were always around Ba Sing Se before, but she always seemed to see one then. She befriended many of them and spoke with them about many things. This included the reason for the up-and-coming war, and the outcome of the Avatar Cycle. The spirits did not reveal much, but they did reassure her worries. They told her the Avatar Cycle did not end, and they implied reasons that brought Terra to the conclusion that "the poles had probably did something to upset the spirits." Some time during this year, she befriended a spirit named Mortar.

### The Invasion of Ba Sing Se

The Great Spirit War started when Terra was 14. She didn't know much about it, like everything else outside the walls of Ba Sing Se, and felt detached to the problem because it wasn't immediately affecting her. Her relationship with the spirits never strained until they invaded Ba Sing Se and attempted to kill a little girl she had met the day before. She blamed Avatar Korra for the war because she was the one that left the spirit gates open and even created another one right in the middle of Republic City.

The night before the spirits attacked was a normal day for Terra. She used her earthbending to steal 4 cabbages from her favorite cart after about 2 days of not eating. When Terra had arrived at the lower ring and began to eat her cabbages, she noticed a little girl named Su Lee silently begging and offered her one. They immediately became friendly acquaintances and Terra set off to sleep for the night.

Terra was awoken with a start and right in the middle of the spirits' siege on Ba Sing Se. She was panicked and confused, but quickly took to action once she saw Su Lee in danger of a spirit. Terra scared of the spirit and comforted the girl until her assumed parents took her away from Terra angrily. Terra later grumbled to herself that she deserved a thank you, but let it go easily. Quickly after this, she found her good spirit friend Mortar, who is described as a wolfbat-like creature with a human behavior and proper personality, flying into battle.

She called out to her friend, and he obliged to meet her. Terra demanded to know what happened, but Mortar only answered with vague and angry outbursts, also telling her that she needed to escape because no other spirit would let her live. She didn't listen and continued to badger him, causing him to angrily grab her and fly over the walls of Ba Sing Se. He told her that she needed to live and end this war.

While Mortar was assisting in her escape, Terra was met with a woman, who she would later learn was Avatar Korra. Korra told her that Mortar was right, that Terra needed to fix the relationship between humans and spirits, and that the world was unbalanced. Before Terra could comprehend what Korra was saying, she disappeared from her vision, and left Terra more confused than ever in her life.

At one last attempt, she tried interrogating Mortar on what the war was about, but he stayed silent the entire trip to safety: Republic City.

### Arrival at Republic City

#### Meeting the Shirshu and Protester

Mortar set her on a freight ship on the way to Republic City at dawn close enough for her to see the cityscape on the horizon. He said that he couldn't bring her closer otherwise he would be apprehended and left with a quick goodbye.

Once the freight was close enough to shore, Terra jumped overboard and was met with a baby shirshu still bigger than her. At first, she was scared and tried to get away from it, but soon bonded and played with the shirshu. However, in the midst of her dissolving her fear of shirshus and questioning her view on animals in general, a group of men started to attack the creature and say they need to transport him to a rich man's mansion named Mr. Chen by the afternoon. After having bonded with the creature and seeing that he wasn't going to be loved where he was going, she jumped on his back and head for the city before they could stop her.

They both arrived at Avatar Korra Park, where Terra tried to give the shirshu the name Smelly for his ability to see with his nose. He seemed to not like it and Terra said they could "put a pin in that for later."

While they walked around the park, Terra noticed a crowd forming around a public speaker and wanted to hear what he had to say. It turned out to be a man riling up civilians about the benders and Avatar being the cause of the Great Spirit War. Terra began to speak up and challenge the man. After a battle of wits and reason, it ended with the man and crowd concluding the only way to stop wars was to kill all the benders, and that Terra should be the first to go. Panicked, Terra mounted the shirshu to make a getaway, but the shirshu started attacking the people instead with his tongue.

This caught a police officer's attention. The remaining crowd dispersed, and Terra was under arrest, and the shirshu was taken into custody.

#### The Deal

Terra didn't spend too much time in the holding cell at the police station when her arresting officer said she was free to go. However, she refused to leave without her shirshu. The officer told her that the shirshu was being taken back to Ba Sing Se, to which Terra said was impossible because the city was overrun with spirits. The officer laughed at the absurdity of the idea, which caused Terra to become so angry that she accidentally caused a mild earthquake. The officer, who was upset at being public humiliated, threw her back in the holding cell.

Not even five minutes later, Jaya approached Terra and asked her if she was telling the truth, and Terra replied that she did. Jaya made her a deal: Terra would tell her story to the chief of police, and Jaya would give her shirshu back. Terra readily agreed.

Jaya took her to an interrogation room where they waited for the chief of police to arrive. When he did, Terra was surprised to find him familiar, and even more surprised at the fact that Jaya referred to him as "Uncle Mako." At first, Mako didn't seem to be very interested in what Terra had to say, but after she accidentally assumed that he had lived on the streets growing up, he was more open to the idea of hearing out her story of what happened in Ba Sing Se.

Terra relayed her story, all the way through noticing Mako's brooding look. When she was done, Jaya was outraged at the possibility of another Equalist riot, but Mako was more interested in the information Terra was holding back. She eventually told them about Korra, and Mako's suspicions were confirmed. He told Jaya to call for Pema and Ikki to bring the test to their location. At first, Terra was outraged at her stay being extended, but Mako was able to calm her down by saying that if she failed the test, she would be set free with her shirshu.

#### The Test

It was a few minutes until Jaya arrived with only Ikki and not Pema. During those minutes, Terra couldn't stop complaining about not being able to leave, thinking that her being cooped in one place made her unbelievably restless. During these rants, Mako interrupted to ask where she learned his name, and she disappointingly answered that Jaya said it when he walked into the room.

When Jaya entered the room later--and after this conversation--and gestured for Ikki to come through, Terra was astounded at Ikki's airbending tattoos, since she had never met an airbender before, and never a fully-realized airbender. Her awe was soon replaced with puzzlement at Ikki's excitement towards seeing Terra, which was soon replaced with a headache at Ikki's rambling. She death-grip hugged Mako and went on to say that it had been too long since she last saw him, to which Mako countered with it had been less than a day since they saw each other. He then went on to ask where Pema was, and Ikki said she wasn't feeling well. After introductions made from Mako, Ikki shooed him and Jaya away, saying she couldn't administer the test with them in the room.

When they left, Ikki made formal introductions with Terra and showed her her bag of toys, telling her to pick out whichever four toys she found that stood out the most. Terra did as she was told, although reluctantly, and ended up choosing the four Avatar relics hidden in the bunch. Ikki began to sob uncontrollably, scaring Terra, and then asked if she could hug Terra. Terra said yes, not realizing that Ikki had a death-grip hug. Ikki said she was glad to have Terra back, and when Terra registered this began to question her. Ikki didn't reply and only gathered the toys in her bag and told her to visit her and her mother some time at Air Temple Island. Ikki left the room and nodded to Jaya and Mako that Terra indeed was the Avatar. They couldn't help but gawk at Terra in awe for a few moments while Ikki left, leaving Terra puzzled.

Mako told her the test was to she if she was the Avatar, and that Terra had passed. Terra laughed in his face and asked him what was really going on, only for Jaya to start drilling the information into Terra. Terra, scared of her life changing so dramatically and wanting a normal life started to angrily deny everything they were saying. She became so furious to the point where she accidentally entered the Avatar State and locked Jaya and Mako out using metalbending that she didn't know how to use outside the Avatar State. Of course, Terra didn't remember any of this, and could remember blacking out and speaking with Korra, although she still didn't know--or wouldn't accept--who she was at the time. After an argument with Korra, Terra woke back up to the mess in the interrogation room. After replying to Jaya's question if she was calm, Mako asked Terra if she could fix the doorway.

She began to freak out again, thinking that she had nothing to do with what just happened because she couldn't metalbend and only blacked out. After Jaya asking for her to talk to them, Terra earthbent a way for her to get to the ground safely, and made her escape to Avatar Korra Park so she could think. She coincidentally made her way to Avatar Korra's statue, and once she recognized that she was the woman spirit she spoke to, became angry. Korra made an appearance and spoke with Terra about accepting who she was. At first, Terra was in denial and didn't want to face her new chapter in life, but during the course of their conversation, she began to accept her fate. After their conversation, Mako showed up and spoke with Terra about what they would do next. They agreed that Terra would go with Mako to a family dinner his brother was holding, and they would ask Bolin to become Terra's earthbending instructor.

## Personality

Terra thinks of herself as an orphan. She sees herself at the base of the social pyramid and doesn't think there's much of a chance of clawing her way up. She has a bittersweet outlook on life. Terra will be pessimistic a lot, but she thinks she's being a realist. She also keeps herself distant from things that don't seem to affect her immediately, like when she was hearing news about the Great Spirit War. Despite her dark outlook on life, she never lets it stop her from having fun. She enjoys playing games and hanging out with people her age. She can be very mischievous, like teasing and hiding things she knows people are looking for. Terra loves animals and spirits alike. She can befriend anything that comes her way.

However, it takes a lot for her to open up with humans. She will be compassionate towards someone if she sees them in trouble or in need of her aid. During the Invasion of Ba Sing Se, she was specifically looking around for people that she could help. She was willing to dive in front of them to take a blow, so long as the person was protected. In this way, she ignores Lee's advice to look out for herself first. When she doesn't know someone, she can be very aloof and confrontational. It causes problems with people her age and alike, but she does find friends eventually.

When she lived in Ba Sing Se, she did what she could to survive. That meant that she used her earthbending to be sneaky and to steal food, but she never did anything obvious or violent. After Lee and Fu were taken for stealing a ring, Terra vowed to herself to only steal necessities. She'll wait a long time before having to steal again, and when she does so, she does it without attracting attention. She doesn't mug people. If she sees someone mugged she will try to talk the mugger out of it but will not force them to do anything or call for the police. She does this because she knows what they're going through and sympathizes with them. She only acts violently when she is forced to do so with people. Most of the time, she will act cunning and underhandedly.

Terra never had any problem not knowing her parents. She never blamed them for her being an orphan on the streets and she never wanted to find out who they were. When people ask her why, she can only say something like "I don't know any better. Besides, it can't change how things turned out. It'll only make me depressed."

When Terra found out she was the Avatar, she freaked out. So much, that she accidentally triggered the Avatar State, confirming everyone's suspicions. After her panic attack, she ran off and to calm down. She never wanted to weight of the world on her shoulders and only wanted to live comfortably one day. Eventually, with a talking to from different people, she was able to come to terms with her new identity.

Terra, while she likes to play and just be a child, more often than not acts mature for her age. That is because she had to raise herself and think about things normal children shouldn't have to think about.

Terra was always on the move growing up in Ba Sing Se as an orphan. She could never stay in one place because she never had the right to settle down. She was always moving somewhere, whether it be with friends, to steal food, or to find a nice spot to sleep for the night. It was also very rare for her to ever be inside, especially for very long, so she grew accustomed to being outside for long periods of time. So much so that she becomes restless from being inside for only half an hour. She always needs to be moving or become impatient.

## Abilities

### Bending

#### Earthbending

Terra always had a natural affinity towards earthbending, but she had never had a formal master. As a child, she neglected to hone her skills until she met Lee and Fu, who showed her an earthbending dojo, then showed her their interpretation of it to use in stealth. While that was useful, these teachings made it harder for her to later learn the traditional way of earthbending, which is stronger and more useful in fights. However, when Bolin showed her his way of staying light on his feet while earthbending, she found it easier to move around and it was much more her style.

Although she never was told she could seismic sense, she had already been using it constantly while trying to look innocent and steal at the same time. While looking away, she would have to subtly earthbend and manipulate things she couldn't see visibly. Without knowing it, this greatly improved her earthbending skills later in life. When Terra found herself learning earthbending from Toph in the swamp after getting lost on her way to the Eastern Air Temple, Toph told her that she already knew seismic sense and that she was probably the "least awful student" she's ever had.

Terra also came up with a very strange technique that uses earthbending completely backwards. She can quickly bring up earth to a high altitude and spring herself up to *evade and run,* which is entirely against earthbending philosophy. She can bring up the earth to catch her and continue her escape just as easily, despite being so far away from the base of the ground.

#### Firebending

Firebending was probably the worst skill for her to learn simply because she was better at thinking outside the box and evading and strategy, and firebending was just simple and straightforward and involved a lot of power that Terra had a easier time building over time. Once she was able to overcome her barrier and fear of going all out and tuned into her aggressive side, it came easily to her. In fact, she often incorporated her firebending with her earthbending. Bending two different elements simultaneously is very difficult, even more so outside of the avatar state. Her firebending teacher was Ursan[1], the second Fire Prince. His interpretations on the nation's best teacher helped more than what the actual teacher said, so she replaced him with Ursan immediately.

#### Airbending

Because of Terra's tendency to be sneaky in her bending, she already had a good proficiency in airbending. Also, because of when she was young she would always have to figure out ways that weren't as straightforward to get the end results, this helped her understand the airbenders' way of using different factors to increase their skills. Terra was actually able to harness the most power when it came to airbending, although she didn't like using it so much because, as she told Jinora, "she couldn't see it like the ground she was used to bending." Jinora told her she was contradicting herself because she normally used seismic sense while earthbending, but Terra brushed it off and ignored her, causing Jinora to storm off in a sour mood.

#### Waterbending

Waterbending is all about being adaptable and level-headed to change, and that was just about how Terra handled everything. Because of her thinking-outside-the-box strategic mind she was able to understand the flow of water and how to use it in battle. Even when water didn't seem around, and without having to be taught by anyone, she was able to figure out there was water everywhere, even if she couldn't see it, and used it right when she needed it in battle.

### Other Skills

Terra is able to come up with a course of action simply by taking in her surroundings and predicting how things will turn out. She's not very good at planning ahead, but quick thinking and executing is her strong point. During her earthbending training, she gained a lot of strength, and is able to effectively use it in combat.

Less on the fighting side, she is, as noted by a friend, "surprisingly good at storytelling." On their journeys, she would often entertain them by the fire with tales of faraway lands filled danger and adventure, much like they were, although it didn't feel exciting to them at the time.

Meditation is something she very good at. She was first introduced to it by Rohan at the Eastern Air Temple and joined him, accidentally joining Avatar Korra in the spirit world. She's very in touch with spirits and life in general.

### Avatar Spirit

As the Avatar, she should have a connection to all of her past lives, but because of Raava having to be reborn during Korra's battle with Vaatu, Korra lost her connection to her past lives for not just herself, but for every Avatar after her. During their second meeting, Korra apologizes to Terra for this, but Terra says it's fine so long as she has Korra's guidance. She spoke often with Korra and felt very close to her, similar to how Avatar Aang felt close with Avatar Roku. However, Terra did not have to live long without guidance from her other past lives, because during a venture into the spirit world, she found Vaatu's old prison and connected with it. She saw Korra and Vaatu's great battle, and was able to restore her connection to her past lives. Terra teared up during the experience, along with Korra, who thanked her for correcting her mistake.

Terra could not willingly activate the Avatar State until she had a talk with Avatar Aang and realized that she needed to open up her chakras. While at the Eastern Air Temple, she gained control of the Avatar State. However, she still eventually would go into it when in heated and emotional moments. Her power was immense during those times, much like Aang. Even when she had not mastered all four elements, she could unlock great strength from any element during the Avatar State.

### Medium

Terra has always been able to get along with spirits. During the war, she wasn't able to come to many peaceful conclusions due to their minds being clouded about humans. She's able to travel freely from spirit world to the material world, and even unlocked the ability to travel the astral plane of the material world in her spirit form during her stay at the Eastern Air Temple.

## Relationships

### Relatives

#### Parents

She has been an orphan for as long as she can remember. She doesn't know anything about her parents and is oddly not curious to ever know anything.

### Allies

#### Gopan

Terra first met Gopan at the docks of Republic City. Having an already developed fear of shirshus, she was terrified of him. Of course, she soon realized that the shirshu was nice and had had no formal training in being the ferocious beast she was really afraid of. After having a bonding moment with Gopan, five men came running at them and told Terra that they need to deliver the shirshu to a rich man by the afternoon. Terra didn't want to let Gopan go because she knew they didn't care about him and they would turn him into the monster she fears, so she mounted him and ran off into the city, all the way to Avatar Korra Park, where she had a run in with a protester. When things got bad, Terra mounted Gopan again, who started to attack the crowd to protect himself and Terra. Terra told him to stop, but it was too late, as a police officer came to arrest Terra and take away Gopan.

When Terra was released, she asked for Gopan back, but the officer only laughed and told her he was going to Ba Sing Se. Terra was determined to get Gopan back and argued with the man, only to be thrown into the cell again. That was when Jaya approached her and offered her a deal: she would release Gopan and Terra would explain everything to the chief of police. Terra happily agreed, thinking "there was no way I could down down her offer with the shirshu on the line."

#### Ikki

Terra first met Ikki in an interrogation room in her first hours of being in Republic City. Ikki was brought there to administer a test on Terra. At first, Terra was in awe at her airbending tattoos and the fact that she was an airbender at all. She had never laid her eyes on an airbender. Of course, after hearing a few minutes of Ikki rambling, Terra admitted that she was starting to get a headache, going so far as to note that she thought airbenders were supposed to be calm and peaceful, and not like Ikki. Terra was also confused about why Ikki was excited to see her. Once Mako and Jaya left the room, Ikki formally introduced herself, bowing and all. Terra tried to respectfully do the same, but used the wrong hands, making Ikki laugh. Ikki then dumped out her bag of toys, the Avatar relics carefully hidden among them.

Ikki told her to just pick any toys that stood out to her and waited patiently and on the edge of her seat to make her final decision. When Terra had picked the four relics, Ikki was absolutely stunned into silence. She was excited to finally be meeting her long lost friend once again. Ikki began to cry, scaring and confusing Terra. Ikki gave Terra her death-grip hug and told her she was glad that she was back. After collecting her toys, Ikki told Terra to visit her home any time and she would always welcome her. Ikki then left and nodded to Jaya and Mako like a bobble head that Terra was indeed that Avatar as they had suspected. While leaving, she couldn't help but start jumping in joy. She couldn't wait to relay the news onto her mother, but decided to withhold the information to her siblings until she was given further instructions from Mako or Bolin.

#### Jaya

Terra first met Jaya in a holding cell at the police station. Jaya had overheard Terra yelling at a police officer and wanted her to relay what Terra has seen at Ba Sing Se to the chief of police, who would later be revealed to be Jaya's uncle, Mako. At first, Terra seems almost scared of Jaya. Because of her stern and fierce aura, Terra didn't know if she was going to say the wrong thing. However, because of the fact that Jaya was going to help her shirshu, who would later be called Gopan, and that Jaya believed her about the invasion on Ba Sing Se, Terra found that Jaya couldn't possibly be as bad as she seemed.

When the chief of police came in, Terra was surprised to hear Jaya refer to him as "Uncle Mako". After a thoughtful evaluation of the man, she realized that the two had no family resemblance and voiced the thought. Jaya only glared at Terra for the outburst. Later, Terra finally got around to telling her story. Almost immediately, Jaya interrupted at why Terra was sleeping on a tree branch, but she was "coolly ignored". Later on, when Terra was talking about meeting with Mortar, Jaya commented about how preposterous her befriending a spirit was because of the war. Once Terra was finished with her story, Jaya was outraged at the thought of Equalist riots happening at the same time as a war between humans and spirits, but she completely missed the information Terra was leaving out that Mako noticed.

Once Terra relayed what she had hidden from them, Mako sent Jaya to call for Pema and Ikki to bring the test. Jaya was described to have "rushed out of the room with contained excitement." Jaya came back with only Ikki. After Mako gave introductions, Ikki told the m to get out so she could administer the test. Although Jaya was reluctant, she left without giving protest. For the few minutes Terra was taking the test, Jaya anxiously paced by the door. Once Ikki came outside and nodded quickly to tell them Terra was the Avatar, Jaya looked over to Terra in astonishment. But when Mako told Terra who she was and Terra started to freak out, Jaya argued with her and forced the information on her. Jaya couldn't believe that someone wouldn't be excited to hear about themselves being the Avatar.

Unfortunately, Terra snapped into the Avatar State and locked Jaya and Mako out of the room. Worried, Jaya continued to call out for Terra, even even Terra blocked their view of the room by closing the doorway using metalbending. Finally, Terra did answer to Jaya and Jaya couldn't help but voice her relief. However, when Mako asked Terra to fix the doorway and there was no answer for ten minutes, Jaya became frustrated and forced the door open using metalbending. They soon registered the fact that Terra had escaped. Jaya asked Mako if they should send out an amber alert, but Mako thought that was a bad idea because they needed to help her before anyone else knew she was the Avatar. Mako told Jaya to try to find her as quickly as possible, because they didn't know if she was still in the Avatar State or not.

Jaya agreed and looked at the train station, the docks, and the Spirit Wilds. When she came up with nothing, she picked up Terra's shirshu and brought him to her father's mansion, where she explained what had happened.

#### Korra

Terra first met Korra when Mortar was helping her escape Ba Sing Se. While they were flying over the walls, Terra saw her spirit telling her that she had to restore balance to the world and fix the relationship between spirits and humans. At the time, Terra didn't know who Korra was because she had never seen a picture of her, and described her as "an aged and muscular woman with bright blue eyes and dark skin", and she went on to say that "she looked Water Tribe." Although she didn't know who Korra was, she said she "[felt] like [she's] known her for [her] entire life."

Terra didn't see Korra again until Terra freaked out over hearing the news of her being the Avatar and blacked out. Later, she would know that her blacking out was her emotionally and unintentionally entering the Avatar State. Korra told her that she needed to restore the balance and fix the relationship between humans and spirits. This, paired with the news Terra had received moments earlier, infuriated Terra. She began to yell at Korra, telling her that she was "just an orphan" and she had nothing to do to help a "messed up world". Korra was calm throughout the entire rant from Terra, and told her, again, that she needed to restore balance. She told Terra that she needed to accept her connection to Korra, and that Terra needed to accept who she was. Then, Korra disappeared. Terra screamed out for her to not walk out on her like that, and shrieked in frustration when Korra didn't reappear.

#### Mako

Terra first met Mako in an interrogation room. She was meant to inform him on everything she knew about the invasion on Ba Sing Se, per the deal made by Jaya and her. Her first impression of him wasn't the best. She noted that he had a stoic and brooding way about him. She also noted that he seemed very familiar and could perfectly picture him in his younger days, even going on to say he was handsome. Terra was surprised to realize that Mako was Jaya's uncle and voiced it. Mako distantly replied with "she looks more like her mother."

Terra's dislike of him started with his distant and aloof aura, and then further strengthened at him calling her a "little boy". She didn't correct him, however, and only mentioned that she had a name. He ignored this, causing further disliking on her part. When Jaya referred to Terra as a girl, Mako was shocked at first, but upon seeing Terra's glare, felt embarrassed and apologized. Instantly after apologizing, Mako went on to question how Terra could possibly know anything, even calling her a street rat. Terra laughed at him being hypocritical, saying he turned out just fine for living on the streets.

She only realized later with Mako's stunned silence that she wasn't supposed to know that and apologized for her assumption. He said it was okay and let go of any doubts he had of Terra before. Terra told her story, noticing Mako's brooding aura the entire time. When she was finished, Mako demanded that she reveal the information she was hiding. Terra did, which confirmed a suspicion he had the entire time. He sent Jaya to fetch for Pema and Ikki to bring the test. Terra was outraged for her extended time in the interrogation room, but Mako calmed her with saying that she could leave freely if she lost.

During the wait for Jaya, Ikki, and Pema, Terra wouldn't stop complaining about being cooped up in one place for so long. Terra noted that she could see Mako growing more and more frustrated with her, but she continued with her ranting. At some point, Mako looked over at her suddenly and asked what she had called him, her only answering that she had called him by his name. Mako questioned further on how she knew his name, and Terra replied that Jaya had said it when Mako entered the room. Mako was dejected and ceased questioning her. He wanted to know if he was familiar to her in any way and if that could hint to her connection with Korra.

Once Ikki arrived, and after Mako received her death-grip hug, he introduced Ikki to Terra. Ikki then told him to him to get out with Jaya, and he reluctantly did as he was told. For the few minutes that Terra took during the test, Mako waited outside the doorway; the only hint at his impatience was his foot tapping. When Ikki came out of the room and nodded her head frantically to silently tell them Terra was the Avatar, Mako couldn't help but slightly gawk at Terra. He then went to tell Terra the news, but she wasn't happy to hear it at all and began to argue with him.

It continued until Terra accidentally and emotionally entered the Avatar State. Jaya pulled Mako out of the room with her, narrowly missing the table Terra had thrown at them, and Jaya tried to talk sense into her. Eventually, Terra answered in her normal voice, and Mako asked her to fix the door. After ten minutes of silence, Jaya tore the door open with her metalbending and realized that Terra was gone. Jaya asked Mako if they needed to put out an amber alert, but Mako knew no one would be a match for her. They also needed to do this subtly, in case anybody would try to sell her, kill her, or whatever crazy things people did those days. Now that Mako knew Terra was the Avatar, he knew that she was the reincarnated soul of one of his dead best friends. He wouldn't ever admit it, but he felt very protective of her because of it. Mako told Jaya to search the train station and any other place the Avatar would go to escape, and Mako said he would search Avatar Korra Park, where she was arrested. He didn't know why, but he had a feeling she would be there.

Mako ended up being right, and found her just as she finished her conversation with Korra. He found her flipping off Avatar Korra's statue, and immediately reprimanded her for such a vulgar action, to which she ignored. He was excited to hear that Terra had spoken with Korra, and was content that Korra had mentioned him to Terra. After a moment of honoring Korra's memory, he asked Terra how far into learning the elements had she gotten. Mako volunteered his brother to teach Terra earthbending and invited her to a family dinner Bolin was hosting, where she could officially ask him to teach her earthbending as the Avatar. Once she agreed, Mako said he was glad to have her back, which disappointed Terra. She said that she wasn't Korra and to not misplace feelings, but Mako took the comment lightly. Without knowing it, he from then on gave Terra special treatment and affection because he felt a connection to Korra through her.

#### Mortar

Terra first met Mortar when she was 13. He was the first spirit she had ever met. She was sad about her friends being missing for over a year then and was crying, but Mortar was able to cheer her up. Since then, they were very good friends. Terra often asked Mortar about spirit affairs, like what happened to the Avatar and when the spirit war started, she asked about that. Mortar only answered with vague explanations, and at the time, they were enough for Terra.

During the Invasion of Ba Sing Se, Terra found Mortar and demanded to know what was happening. He told her he finally understood the humans' vileness and had come to help his fellow spirits in their war. Of course, upon conversing with his good human friend, he came to realize she was the one human he didn't want dying. When he advised her to escape and she wouldn't do so until he answered questions he couldn't answer, Mortar decided to abandon the invasion and instead help Terra escape Ba Sing Se. He ignored her questions while flying her all the way to a freight ship on the way to Republic City. He wished her good luck and set on his way to join his comrades. He sincerely believed in the spirits' cause, but was now feeling guilty because of Terra. He would spend a lot of times contemplating what was right and wrong.

### Enemies

#### The protester

Terra first met the man while walking around in Avatar Korra Park with her shirshu, Gopan. She saw him surrounded by a crowd and went over to hear what he had to say. After listening for a while, she began to challenge the man with reason. One thing led to another, and it ended with the man convincing everyone that they needed to kill all the benders, starting with Terra. Him and the crowd attacked her, and her shirshu attacked them, causing Terra's arrest. The two do not like each other.

## Trivia

* Despite her favorite food cart to steal from as a child being a cabbage cart, her favorite food was not actually cabbage. Ironically, she doesn't even like cabbage.
* Terra had a fear of shirshus for the longest time before overcoming it by bonding with a baby shirshu.
* Terra never had a favorite food because she always had to live off of scraps and cabbages. It wasn't until Bolin treated her to dinner with his family that she understood what fine cuisine was. She said that she immediately liked the "garlicky grey things", which Bolin explained to be snails.
* Terra means "earth" in most languages, referencing her Earth Kingdom ethnicity.
* Terra is Avatar Aang's reincarnated soul, who is the grandfather of Jinora and is similarly related to the rest of her family, which makes Terra spiritually related to all of them. This could also be said for the Fire Lord's family, as his great-great grandfather was Avatar Roku.
* Terra is ambidextrous.
* Terra never left Ba Sing Se until the invasion.
* Terra had never slept in man-made shelter until she arrived in Republic City. She had always slept on the roofs of buildings and tree branches. She ungratefully remarked when given a place to stay at Mako's home "it's too soft."
* She never knew what Avatar Korra looked like until she saw her statue in Avatar Korra Park.
* Terra prefers working with earthbending, but is more powerful in airbending.
* Terra doesn't like music or dance.
* Terra's favorite pastime is to tell and invent stories.
* Terra is a heavy sleeper. She "woke with a start" during the Invasion of Ba Sing Se, but she should have woken up much sooner if she woke up to a full out invasion in the process of winning.
* She's never stolen something she doesn't absolutely need.
* Because Terra has always lived on the streets, she has never had the opportunity to see a mover, as she noted when first meeting Bolin.