( it makes sense that the wary, vaguely paranoid horse-guy wouldn't want to just up and share everything he knows. it sounds pretty reasonable, and mako doesn't have a problem with it. it's not like he has any secrets. not about where he's from or what he does, anyway. it's with that in mind that he chances to go first, just barreling on ahead. )

That's fair.

( give him a moment to marshal his thoughts. he's never really had to explain his world before, he's just. been busy living in it. this is harder than the other way around, because mako knows how to ask relevant questions of other people but conjuring up those same answers himself? completely different. )

So, uh. My world has four nations each based on an element — Fire, Earth, Water and Air. Sometimes, people from those nations can summon or use... usually the element that describes where they're from, but not always. For example, I was a firebender back home, but I was born in an area that used to belong to the Earth Kingdom. The nations aren't... always at peace with one another, but. I like to think that we're getting better about that.

( he could talk about the avatar. the guiding light that ties them all together, but. he also doesn't really want to bring it up in a place it might get back to korra. she's miserable without her connection to raava, and it would feel too much like rubbing it in. )

That's really the big stuff, the rest is... you know, politics and everything, it would take a lot more context to explain. Any questions?