Don't forget the sun

A/N: Hi! I'm going to try and write a fanfic again. *laughs nervously*. I feel like the Kainora fandom lacks some epic, dark adventure stuff, so here goes - in hopes that it'll prepare me for my script writing class. Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Hope someone finds this intriguing! I should also mention that it is now past three in the morning, and I don't know what I am doing anymore.

Officially disclaiming any ownership of anything

Chapter 1. Thunder

Embraced by the never ceasing warmth of the spirit world, Jinora sighed happily. The air was sweet. The scents surrounding her melted into a mellow aroma that calmed her. When she opened her eyes, however pleasing the bright colors and the soft lights were, she could not help but to huff in disappointment.

She was back in the spirit world, a place of endless possibilities and wonders, but yet again she was there alone.

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and, with a frown on her face, she was back in the pavilion on the Air Temple Island. The sound of the waves on the sea and the wind in the trees used to be calming, but nothing could calm Jinora when her boyfriend still was not taking his meditation seriously.

'Kai, are you even trying?' she asked, with a forced, light hearted voice.

His eyes snapped open and he jerked up in a upright position. Jinora groaned as she realized he had fallen asleep. Again.

'I am!' he said. It was not too convincing though, as he started rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

'I've been into the Spirit World and back already. What have you done?' she asked and crossed her arms over her chest.

'I did have a really nice dream,' he said with a cheeky grin. Jinora silently cursed him. He was always sweet, but when she got mad at him he always got charming, which usually sent all Jinora's defenses shattering in a heartbeat.

Not this time.

'Kai, honestly,' Jinora started.

'Common, it was about you,' he cut her off.

He untangled his legs and scooted closer to her on the floor. Jinora rolled her eyes. She fought the smile that was pulling at her lips. It got harder as the faint scent of him filled the air.

'It was in the middle of the night and there was a thunder storm. You got afraid so I had to hold you all night,' he said and leaned closer, trying to land a kiss on her lips. Jinora turned away ever so slightly.

'I'm not afraid of thunder,' she said and got up. She dusted off of her legs and stretched. The sun was starting it's decent behind the mountains in the west.

'I'm sorry, okay?' Kai said and got up himself. He towered a whole head over her now. He always seemed to be leaning into her when they were together. Jinora never minded the closeness, but it always made it harder to keep her hands off him. 'I just get so restless, you know? I miss being out on peace missions.'

'You miss the war?' Jinora asked in disbelief.

'I just miss the adventures,' he said and grinned.

'You're an air bender, silly. You're supposed to like peace and quiet,' Jinora said and punched him weakly in the chest. She regretted it the moment her hand made contact with his toned torso. She stepped back and cleared her throat. 'I just really want you to see it with me.'

She met his brilliant green eyes and sighed. What was she gonna do with him?

He cupped her face in his hands. His touch was warm and instantly sent hundreds of butterflies fluttering inside of her.

'I'm gonna try harder tomorrow,' Kai said quietly and kissed her softly.

'You always say that,' Jinora said, before he landed one more kiss on her lips.

'Man, I can't go anywhere on this island without having my eyes scorched by kissing!' the not-so-delicate voice of Meelo cut through the air like a chainsaw.

The two of them parted abruptly. Jinora had to reach far into her air bender soul to remain calm.

'Meelo, why?' she muttered under her breath.

'I take it Bolin is here?' Kai said and grinned from ear to ear.

'Yes. Everyone is inside. They want you to come as well,' Meelo said, annoyed to be sent as messenger.

'Why?' Jinora asked, getting a bad feeling.

'I didn't get all the details. Something about eternal darkness and the end of the world, I think,' Meelo said, nonchalantly.

Jinora groaned. Kai chuckled under his breath and dragged her along.

'You're so cute,' he whispered and put his hand on the small of her back.

'Shut up,' Jinora said, feeling her cheeks burn.

Inside, everyone was gathered in the living room. On the couch sat Bolin with his arm wrapped tightly around Opal. He only got up to give Kai a bear hug, swing him around a couple of times, comment on how big he had gotten (even though it had only been a week since they last saw each other) and ruffle Jinora's hair slightly.

Next to him was Mako, sitting with his legs crossed, looking pretty gloomy. In the second couch sat Asami, with a cup og tea in her hands. Korra and Tenzin was standing on the floor in a heated discussion about the issue at hand. Jinora felt the bad feeling tug at her heart when she saw the expression on Korra's face when they first stepped into the room. The avatar put on a smile when she greeted them, but Jinora recognized the worry underneath it.

'What is going on?' she asked hesitantly as she and Kai sat down next to Asami.

'There is a rumor that a storm is brewing in the Southern parts of the Earth nation,' Tenzin said and hesitated for a moment. '… and they say it is growing. It will cover the entire Earth Kingdom, and Republic City, in a matter of weeks.'

'Don't you think it's true?' Jinora asked.

'What's so bad about a storm?' Kai shot in.

'Tenzin,' Korra started, rather accusingly, 'thinks it's just fuss from a bunch of fanatics in the south. I, on the other hand, think a land covered in darkness for over a week, is pretty avatar-worthy business.'

'We don't know if it is a spirit storm yet, Korra. I think you are underestimating the rest you need after -' Tenzin tried. Korra would not have it.

'I've had plenty of rest!' she said, gaining a quiet giggle from Asami.

Tenzin sighed and put his hand to his temple. Jinora suspected Korra was giving him a headache again. In an attempt to pull herself together, Korra took a deep breath and lowered her voice.

'It's been five months, Tenzin. I'm well rested; and if something is scaring people, I want to check it out personally.'

'Ehm, just for the people here that potentially don't know… What in the name of all things holy is a spirit storm?' Bolin asked, rubbing his chin dramatically.

'It's a disturbance in the Spirit World that reflects upon our world,' Jinora said automatically. Next to her Kai smirked knowingly. She suspected that he knew exactly what she was going to say next, yet she could not stop it from coming out. 'I've read about it.'

A deep blush spread across her cheeks.

'Will it have any effect on us?' Mako asked, turning from Jinora to Tenzin.

'It depends on the situation in the Spirit world. Legends have it that there was a storm once, so powerful that split the continents, but there is no proof that it is true,' Tenzin said, pulling at his beard.

'There is no proof of an ancient, gigant lion turtle either, but that your buying,' Korra mumbled sourly.

'There is proof!' Tenzin half shouted, hands balling into fists.

'Why don't we just head into the spirit world and see if anything is happening ourselves?' Jinora asked hurriedly, hoping to stop them before another argument broke loose.

'I've already checked. I can't find anything. None of the spirit animals have noticed anything either,' Korra said, throwing her arms out in frustration.

'Which means it is not a spirit storm,' Tenzin said.

'Maybe it is a spirit trapped in our world that is trying to get home but it can't so it is upset and that is why there is a storm because the spirits negative energy is messing up the balance in our nature,' Ikke said in one breath.

'Spirits don't really have that issue, Ikki,' Jinora said, eying her father to check her facts. He nodded approvingly.

'Talking about it isn't going to solve it. We can use one of future industry's airships to go down there and see for ourselves,' Asami said, putting her cup of tea down on the table. 'We could leave tomorrow if you want,' she said as she got up.

Korra smiled warmly as Asami approached her.

'Thank you,' Korra said, and turned to face Tenzin. 'Please, come with us. I'd feel a lot more confident if I had your guidance,' she said.

Tenzin sighed the worlds longest sigh, but Jinora knew already before he said anything that he would agree. There was very few things he could deny Korra.

'Fine,' he said.

Korra launched herself at him. His face became visibly paler as she squeezed the living daylight out of him.

'Ooh, field trip! Can I come too?' Bolin asked with a childish excitement.

'Oh, me too!' Kai shot in, eying Bolin with an eager grin.

Jinora was instantly struck by the feeling of being left behind.

'The more the merrier,' Korra said, before Tenzin had the chance to say no.

Jinora looked from Kai to Korra, and realized that if she did not want to be left behind, she would have to act fast.

'Dad, can I -'

'Jinora, I need you to stay on the island and watch over everyone,' Tenzin said with a fatherly pride.

Jinora quieted down at once. Tenzin was incredibly proud of his eldest daughter being an air bending master, but Jinora had learned that all the responsibilities that followed the title, was not always to her advantage, and never to be taken lightly.

Fifteen minutes of planning followed, where Jinora did not say much. Everyone except her, her siblings and Opal was going. She was pretty sure Kai had not even thought about how many days this trip would take. How many days she would have to be without him.

When they all finally finished up Jinora pulled him out on the balcony and closed the door behind them to make sure no one was listening. The air was cooler now and faint glimmering stars were starting to appear on the dark sky.

'What's wrong?' Kai asked, sliding his fingers in between hers gingerly.

'Are you gonna go with them even though I can't?' Jinora asked hurriedly. She knew her worry was showing in her expression, but there was no way to hide it.

'I-I really want to, Jin,' Kai said and stroked the back of her hand with his thumb. 'But it won't be too long. Only a week.'

'That is a long time for me,' Jinora said and hung her head in defeat.

'Hey, common,' Kai murmured and wrapped his arms around her. She nuzzled her face into the crock of his neck and wrapped her arms around his waits. 'We've been together for a long time now. And we've been apart for way longer periods than this. It'll be fine.'

'You better practise your meditation while you're down there,' Jinora muttered against his collarbone.

He only chuckled in reply; his way of responding without committing to anything. Jinora let it pass for now. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the closeness.

Jinora left her window cracked open that night, allowing the sound of the sudden rain to lull her into an uneasy sleep. She kept waking up by the slight movement of her curtains, only to find out it was just the wind. When she finally turned to face the wall instead, the faintest sound caused her to jump upright in her bed.

Jinora…

She stared out into her room. It was too dark to see much. She sat there, completely frozen for what felt like several minutes, until she was absolutely certain it must have been a dream, or her imagination. She turned towards the wall again, about to lie down when she suddenly stared into her own eyes.

Another Jinora was sitting in her bed, with dark eyes and pale skin. It was like looking into a mirror. Only, she had a bleeding gash across her chest. Jinora jumped back and knocked her bedside lamp over in the process. In her hands, the other Jinora was holding her own, still beating, heart. Blood was dripping into the bed, soaking the white beddings. The black stains grew larger and larger, until Jinora could not get away from them anymore.

She woke up to the sound of thunder. There was a moment of complete confusion and terror, before she realized that she was on the floor, and that there was no one else in the room. The lamp was on the floor along with her and all her beddings. She jumped to her feet as a lighting flashed across the sky, lighting up her room for a moment.

She had to take a minute to collect herself. What was going on with her tonight? She rubbed her eyes and her face for a long time, but there was a tenseness in her whole body that would not seem to fade. In her desperation for sleep, she stumbled out of her bedroom, down the hallways and out across the yard and into the building where the other air bender's sleeping quarters were. Kai had been granted his own bedroom two years ago, which Jinora visited quite often, but nearly never at night time.

She knocked ever so softly and slipped inside his bedroom without waiting for him to answer. He was a heavy sleeper. She crossed the room and sat down on his bed. When that did not wake him, she gently nudged his shoulder. He stirred and managed to crack one eye open.

'Jinora?' he aksed groggily.

'Can I sleep here?' she whispered.

'Sure,' he said.

He looked confused, but mostly tired. Jinora was not even sure if he was awake when he lifted the covers for her to slip under. He wrapped his arm around her and pressed her back against his bare chest. She would probably be blushing, had she not been so shaken after her nightmare.

It took only a couple of moments for her to relax in his arms. The sound of his steady breath, and the knowledge that she was not alone in the room, made her relax enough to start feeling sleepy again.

'Not afraid of thunder, huh?' Kai mumbled against her neck. Jinora breathed a soundless laugh. She let it pass for now. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the closeness.

If you made it down here I LOVE YOU.

Any feedback would really help me. Thank you and goodnight xx