Summary: Tired of hiding and ready to see the world, 14-year-old Korra escapes her compound in the Southern Water Tribe and heads to Zaofu. There, she meets Kuvira, a skilled earthbender who agrees to help her out... That is, if they don't get caught by Suyin first.

A/N: Since I couldn't find any Suvira fanfics purely mentor/student oriented, I'm making one myself!

This story is equal parts Suvira and Korvira. There aren't many multi-chapter fics with Kuvira as the main character, so please share if you liked it. : )

Many fics entailing Kuvira's childhood portray her as a really reserved kid, but I'm taking a shot at something a bit different. Considering that many similarities have been drawn between Korra & Kuvira, both having dominant personalities, I could also see them being quite rebellious as teenagers. Hopefully you don't find them OOC here.

Kuvira watched closely as the boys who stole her food walked down the alleyway, laughing as they swung her bag in hand.

She'd make a move on them soon, but she knew patience was of the utmost importance if she wanted to get all her belongings back in one piece. She was greatly outnumbered, and it was too close to Zaofu's curfew; anyone under seventeen years of age had to be home before nine pm. Though Zaofu was far from a dangerous city, measures were taken to ensure that crime wouldn't even begin to be a problem.

If she made a racket that lasted more than a minute, a guard would be on her heels in an instant and she'd have another situation on her hands.

One of the boys kicked his toes forward and brought a wave of earth with it, molding several seats and a table.

So they're earthbenders too, she noted to herself.

They dumped out half the contents of her bag, deciding how to split their ill-gotten gains between the six of them. They bickered back and forth deciding who deserved what while Kuvira studied them and her stolen goods. One loaf of bread, a few cups of pudding, and a small carton of noodles were being spread out and distributed. There was still some food left in the sack that they could run off with if she decided to face them right now.

She lay in wait, like a cat preparing to pounce on unsuspecting prey; only her green eyes could be seen peering out from her hiding spot.

She was positioned above them on the ledge of the roof, shoulders hunched and arms ready to spring into action.

Kuvira remained crouched there, eying them for a few more seconds, wondering what move to make first so that they didn't run off with the remaining half. After letting a fifth boy snake out an orange from her knapsack, she decided they had put their filthy hands all over her property enough.

She leaped from the rooftop she was nestled in. As soon as she landed on both feet, she slid forward and brought the ground all the way above her head to form a monstrous cavern.

The boys panicked, realizing that the immense wall had been effortlessly formed by a girl as small as they. It was clear they'd be no match for her; they dropped everything they had and her stolen pack, immediately splitting from the scene.

Kuvira's puffed out chest deflated when she realized they had no intention of fighting her.

"Good," she muttered under her breath, taking the sack and slinging it around her shoulder. The fourteen-year-old grabbed her things and hurriedly stuffed them inside. She had to make one more stop before heading home. Just as she took one step toward her destination, she felt a piece of metal clasp around her wrist and hold her in place.

"What the-" Kuvira turned around and saw the face of her captor, her eyes widening in response.

Normally, she kept herself aware of her own facial expressions; it was just another way in which she exercised control over all things. But now Kuvira wasn't sure if she was showing guilt, fear, anticipation, or a combination of all three.

"Kuvira, what are you doing out here?" The matriarch asked her, a threatening look in her eye. She had told the teenager a thousand times not to wander too far from the Beifong estate. "One of the guards spotted you running towards the roof. You knew that by coming here, you wouldn't make it back home on time for curfew."

"Oops." Kuvira's expression of surprise turned into one of amusement and she shot Suyin a lopsided grin. Guess I should've factored in time loss due to possible juvenile infractions.

The taller woman glared at the blatant display of enjoyment on the girl's face.

With one tooth missing and a few freckles dotting her cheeks, Suyin would have found the face adorable, but she had let Kuvira slide too many times before. Her innocent-act couldn't pay for her transgressions this time. She was in no mood to play games.

After seeing that the matriarch had no intention of letting her off the hook, Kuvira frowned.

"Let go of me!" Kuvira yanked her arm back to no avail. She furrowed her eyebrows in resentment and morphed the strip off her, using her newfound knowledge of metal bending, and ran away.

"Kuvira, stay where you are!"

The young earthbender dashed across the streets, laughing as she went.

Su grit her teeth at the defiance, chasing down the younger girl and leaping from one rooftop to the next. Yes, she was a busy woman, but she wouldn't allow one of her best students to escape the very laws she wrote and passed.

This chase strangely seemed to echo her past squabble with Lin as a young police officer.

Oh, how the tables seemed to turn once a person got old enough…

The teenager giggled as she evaded Suyin; she was just out of the matriarch's grasp but she knew she'd have to duck into a house soon to lose her.

Kuvira's triumphant grin faded as she saw the metal tiles beneath her liquify and lurch forward to capture her ankle. Just as she was about to lose the race, she felt a whip of water encircle her waist tightly, yanking her five buildings ahead of Suyin, and into an open window.

Kuvira shielded her face with her arms, bracing for impact. The window frame skimmed just the tip of her head and she somersaulted the moment she landed inside the room, tumbling into a young, dark-skinned girl.

"Oof!"

Both girls remained sprawled out on the old, carpeted floor. Kuvira rubbed her forehead and winced.

"Wow, you had a guard and the matriarch chasing you." the Water Tribe girl said, shaking her head. "You have to work harder on being stealthy."

"I'm an earthbender," Kuvira said, brushing off stray dust on her arm. "That word doesn't mean anything to us. What's it to you, anyway?"

"Well, if I gotta keep saving you, you're gonna get me caught too, dummy!" The girl said, rummaging through Kuvira's bag. "Oh- awesome, you got more noodles. Thanks."

"You think you can stay here forever? The White Lotus has been asking around for you. How are you going to go to school?"

"I don't need school. I need to master the elements. So are you going to help me master earthbending or not?"

Kuvira pursed her lips in contemplation. "It'll be really difficult for this to work since Zaofu is constantly monitored by the city guard. But… I guess we could train in the mountains on the weekends if I don't have a ton of homework."

Korra's eyes lit up. "Really? So... you'll help me?"

"I'll keep quiet if you keep quiet," the earthbender said.

"That's... So kind of you! Thank you!" The Southerner reached for a hug, trapping the other girl's arms to her sides, so her physical gratitude could not be rejected.

Kuvira sighed. "Don't thank me. Ever since I started getting honor roll at school, there's been a shortage of fun around here, so I guess you'll do for now."

The Avatar grinned, squeezing her tighter. "So the rumors don't lie…" Korra nuzzled her face into the other girl's chest gratefully. "I knew coming here was a good idea," she said happily.

"What rumors?"

"You know what they say..." Korra looked up at her playfully, ocean blue eyes locking on serious, forest green ones. "What happens in Zaofu, stays in Zaofu."