Desna and Eska

"water"

- You amuse me. I will make you mine.

Desna and Eska are the twin son and daughter of Chief Unalaq and the first cousins of Avatar Korra. Eska is the current Princess of the Northern Water Tribe. They traveled to the Southern Water Tribe with their father to attend the Glacier Spirits Festival.

Meeting Bolin
In 171 ASC, Desna and Eska accompanied their father to the South Pole for the Glacier Spirits Festival, and they stood silently by as their father and their uncle, Tonraq, curtly greeted each other.

As the children of the Chief of the North, they sat at the table of honor during the royal banquet that was thrown in honor of their father. There, they attentively listened in on the conversation Unalaq was having with Korra, though remained silent the entire time.



After dinner, they attended the festival carnival, where they stood solemnly, gazing with disinterest at the passersby, before Eska was approached by Bolin, who was trying to charm her. Eska intently stared at him, causing the earthbender to become unnerved, and Desna monotonously stated that he thought Bolin was trying to establish a bond with his sister. Amused by the idea of spending time with someone of such a different cultural background, Eska promptly stated that he now belonged to her. However, when Bolin asked if she wanted him as a boyfriend or a slave, she remained ambiguous and ordered him to win her prizes.

Journey to the South Pole


Some time later, the twins accompanied their father, Korra, Mako, Bolin, and Tonraq to the center of the South Pole, where Avatar Korra would open the Southern Water Tribe's dormant spirit portal to stop the dark spirit attacks. Desna and Eska were set to travel on an arctic camel, though when Bolin arrived on a snowmobile with a side car, Eska inquired whether or not the side car had the capacity for two passengers. Bolin eagerly told her that it sure did, interpreting her question as Eska wanting to ride with him, though she had intended it as Bolin driving both her and her brother as passengers, much to Bolin's chagrin.

As the party later made their camp for the night, Korra asked Unalaq if he had a theory as to why the dark spirits are attacking. Bolin got scared, and scooted closer to Eska, putting his head on her shoulder. She dryly stated that he did not need to worry as she would protect him, dubbing him her "feeble turtle duck".



As the group moved on again, they were ambushed by dark spirits, one of which entered the snowmobile's engine, causing the machine to go haywire, sending the twins and Bolin speeding toward a mountainside. The twins grabbed Bolin and hopped off the machine before it crashed. They let Bolin slide down the slope on his own, while they used their bending to create some ice shoes and skate down the mountain in perfect control, stopping with the rest of the group. As Bolin came to a halt there too, his snowsuit was entirely inflated, and Eska helped him to deflate by puncturing his coat with three ice spikes. The twins rode the rest of the way on Mako's arctic camel, dragging Bolin, who remained seated in the now wrecked snowmobile.

After Korra managed to restore the southern lights and emerged from the forest unscathed, Bolin was the first to hug her. However, Eska broke it up by waterbending an ice wall between the earthbender and the Avatar, sliding the former back to her, demanding to know why he was initiating physical contact with another woman. Bolin nervously smiled, and Eska released him, before walking away with her brother.

The Northern invasion


As the Northern forces began to occupy the South, Desna and Eska were traveling through town in a rickshaw pulled by Bolin. In an attempt to joke around, Eska stated that she would hate to leave the "quaint" Southern Water Tribe. When Desna inquired whether she was sincere, she immediately expressed her relief over leaving the South, as she immensely disliked it. As the twins started chuckling dryly, Eska commanded Bolin to laugh at her joke as well. As they halted before a building, Eska descended from the rickshaw on a makeshift stair that Bolin bended for her. When Bolin expressed how sad he would be when she left, she corrected him by stating that he would accompany her to the north to live out the remainder of their lives in "icy bliss".

From that moment on, Eska continuously threatened to ice Bolin up and feed him to dolphin piranhas whenever the earthbender attempted to break up with her. That night, Desna and Eska accompanied Bolin, Mako, and Korra on a date.

The arrest
After the news about Varrick being the leader of the rebellion against their father, Desna and Eska set out on a search for the businessman in order to bring him to court. One stop they made was the entrepreneur's house where Mako, Bolin, and Asami were waiting for him. The three soldiers that accompanied them searched the entire room while the twins explained to the gathered threesome what was going on. As the search proved to be futile, Eska proposed to her brother to continue their hunt elsewhere. He promptly left the room, though as Eska was about to do the same, she turned back to Bolin, snapping at him that he should, as her boyfriend, bow when she left a room. As the earthbender instantly complied to her command, she affectionately commented that he was cute when he groveled.



During the trial of the Southern Water Tribe rebels, Eska was in a room somewhere in the courthouse. During the judge's recession, Bolin cautiously asked her whether or not they could talk. She granted him permission to talk freely and listened to how he told her that he felt the spark between them had faded. She agreed to his assessment of their feelings, though as opposed to taking it as a breakup like it had been intended, she took it as a reason to engage herself with him, seeing a marriage as the only thing that could save their relationship. The princess promptly tied a betrothal necklace with a skull and spikes on it around Bolin's neck, announcing they would be wed at sunset that evening and that he had permission to express his joy through tears. She subsequently led him away, guiding him by the necklace, and gave him and Pabu a new attire and style, so that he would match her own long regal robes of the Northern Water Tribe.

After Eska found herself stood up at her wedding by Bolin, she learned of his escape together with Korra, Mako, and Asami on Varrick's yacht. Enraged and hurt, she gave chase, propelling herself through the water with a powerful wave in order to keep up with the fast moving ship.

Tracking the Avatar
After Team Avatar successfully managed to flee the South Pole, Eska, who was still dressed in her wedding outfit, and Desna met with their father, who charged them with the task of retrieving Korra, informing his children that she was the only one able to open the northern spirit portal. Desna inquired to Unalaq as to why he had told Korra her services as the Avatar were no longer required, and Unalaq responded them that he had lied to Korra, telling her what he "thought she needed to hear". Eska determinedly told Unalaq that she would find Korra, blaming her for stealing Bolin, and agreed with some reluctance to her father's request that she be captured alive.

The twins managed to catch up with their cousin as she was traveling to the Fire Nation by speedboat, and launched several attacks at her with their bending. Eska blamed Korra once again for ruining her wedding, and after dodging Korra's counterattack, they pulled up either side of the speedboat. Eska jumped into the air, and directed a stream of water at Korra's boat, causing it to break in two, and throwing Korra into the water. Korra rose into the air on a water spout and begin firebending at the duo, but they were able to dodge her attacks, and fired another stream of water at Korra, knocking her into the air. Korra subsequently formed a much larger water spout, which enveloped the two siblings. Desna and Eska attempted to defend themselves against the effect of Korra's bending, but after spotting a glowing green light below the water, they pulled back, as the light was revealed to be a massive dark spirit. Korra attempted to pacify the spirit, only for the technique to fail and it devoured her. With their cousin gone, the twins fled the scene.

Personalities
Desna and Eska show very little emotion except for boredom, which is attributable to their shared distaste for most people, places, and things. This distaste extends to Korra, whom they look down on due to her Southern Water Tribe heritage, despite her being the Avatar and their paternal first cousin. They speak in a very monotone and matter-of-fact tone, seemingly over-analyzing whatever situation they are in. When they do show humor, their laughs are very awkward, and choppy.



Eska has also demonstrated herself as possessive, as she dragged Bolin away from Korra while the earthbender was embracing the Avatar. She also told him that he would come with her to the Northern Water Tribe, where they would live out their lives together in "icy bliss", and threatened to freeze him and feed him to dolphin piranhas whenever he tried breaking up with her. She also forced Bolin to marry her, and gave him a restyling so that he matched her more in appearance. After she was stood up, she broke her characteristic emotionless state by crying and tracking Bolin down in a fit of rage. Later, when she and Desna caught up with their cousin, Eska was ruthless in her attacks, blaming Korra for stealing her husband away from her.

Abilities


The twins are very powerful waterbenders, able to cooperatively accomplish incredible feats of waterbending, such as launching entire icebergs at opponents. They were not to be underestimated on their own either, as Eska displayed the ability to create a fast moving wave that could easily propel her through the water to track down a fast moving motorboat. They both display a great deal of agility, as they were able to leap from a snowmobile and slide down a hill yet remain unscathed.

Trivia

 * Desna and Eska have been described by the writers as "androgynous, creepy twins".
 * Similarly, Korra remarks that they are "creepy", and that they "smell like a [grandmother's] attic".
 * They are the third pair of twins shown in either series, the first being Poi and Ping, and the second being Lo and Li. However, they are the first set of twins to be not only fraternal, but also of different genders, as well as the first to both be benders.
 * The twins seem to be able to communicate without saying a word to each other.
 * Bolin was initially infatuated with both twins, as he failed to realize that Desna is male.
 * Eska is the only known female waterbender from the Northern Water Tribe to freely use combative waterbending, as the tribe considered the idea taboo until 100 ASC, limiting female waterbenders of the tribe to the practice of healing.
 * Eska is also the only known female from the Water Tribe to present a male with a betrothal necklace, when it is usually customary for the female to receive a handcrafted necklace from a male admirer.
 * Both twins share Mai's constant boredom and distaste of most things, as well as her monotonous voice.