Title: "Tunnel Vision"
Rating: K+ for family fun
Writer: ayziks
Word Count: 2520
Summary: After a record snowfall shuts down even the Southern Water Tribe capital village and the South Pole White Lotus Training Center, ten year old Korra, Katara, Senna, and Tonraq have a rare moment of pure fun together, and Korra shows some innovation in her snow bending technique. This story was inspired by the Snowquester storm that hammered through the Midwest to the East Coast this week.
...
It was a record snowfall at the Southern Water Tribe. Not even the eldest member of the tribe – Katara - could ever remember more accumulation. Despite the larger size of the tribal capital, dozens of times larger than the village had dwindled to at the very end of the Hundred Year War, it was hard to get around. Its implications were many. Technology had expanded to the South Pole. The snow-tracked vehicles created by Future Industries for construction and commerce were buried in feet of snow. The electrical generation station was inoperative, and so was the radio and telephone station.
Every able bodied person was about the business of digging out. There were still not that many water benders in the Southern Water Tribe, being reduced by the avenging Fire Nation to just one, and the influx of Northern Water Tribe immigrants was only on its second generation of raising water bending offspring. Most people had to clear snow the old fashioned way – with shovels.
...
In her room at the South Pole White Lotus Training Center, ten year old Korra awoke to a bright clear, frigid morning that followed the days of the record winter storm. She was absolutely delighted to see the compound buried in literally feet of new snow. The Center was at a standstill. The water bending Lotus guards were all working hard trying to remove it, but the snow was winning. There were a couple of water bending Lotus guards, but they were far from Masters, and snow bending took some getting used to with water as a flaky solid. They were actually making it worse.
Korra was hoping wouldn't be any training today. She hurriedly got dressed. She had to see Sifu Katara.
...
Katara was frustrated. She was 78, but didn't feel her age at all, and wanted to help, but the Lotus guards insisted she 'rest'. She knew she could have the Center operational in a few hours. She was quietly angry at Aang, or at least at the White Lotus who followed his orders to the letter, for their insistence on taking care of her as much as protecting the next Avatar. She understood fully what young Korra sometimes openly complained about – being a prisoner in the Center at the hands of the very people meaning well to protect her.
...
Senna and Tonraq, like all protective and loving parents, were worried as they cleaned the area around their dwelling and the neighborhood. As expert benders themselves, this was not really a hard chore. Their elderly and non-bending neighbors were grateful for their help.
Senna said to her husband, "Do you think she's OK?"
Tonraq only reflected a moment, "Our little water bender? Sure. She'll fine."
That didn't satisfy Senna as she insisted, "Tonraq, I have to know."
He knew headstrong Senna wanted to know immediately. It was clear where Korra got her stubbornness as he replied, "Yes dear. Let's head out there. It's been over a week since our last visit."
"The grumpy old White Lotus won't like that. They'd prefer we'd stay away forever," lamented Senna.
Tonraq grinned, "Well that's where our secret weapon comes in!"
Senna nodded, "Katara is so sweet. She understands a mother's love."
"And a spouse's," Tonraq added, though he didn't have to remind Senna about their daughter's immediate past life, and that added dimensional to Korra's relationship to Katara.
"I'm amazed how she deals with that, but so glad she embraces Korra in her life, and didn't turn Korra away. She didn't have to be Sifu to two Avatars," observed Senna.
Tonraq reflected, "Someday I hope Korra can truly understand just what Katara has done by being in her life."
"Yeah. Right now Katara is not just a Sifu to her – she's like a grandmother. If only she could have known her real grandmothers," noted Senna with a quiver in her voice.
Tonraq tried to make Senna feel better about their losses by saying, "Who could ask for a better one than Katara? Sometimes I think our mothers live on through Katara, Senna."
"Yeah. Well. All this talk isn't getting us there is it?" Senna smiled weakly.
They kissed, and embraced, while Tonraq said, "Don't you wish we could have another? Even Korra asked us about having a little sister or brother."
"I haven't given up hope yet, Tonraq. It's still possible, and you are always there for me. I'm not even in my 30's yet," Senna observed hopefully.
"We can try again tonight. Maybe the spirits will bless us this time," Tonraq suggested with some urgency.
"That would be nice…" and she ran her finger down the bridge of his nose, and blushed, pressing harder against him.
But they needed to get going. Tonraq and Senna dressed in their heaviest parkas, stood outside their dwelling, and formed snowboards out of ice around their boots. They directed their hands behind them, pushing the snow, and rushed off side by side.
In their teens, while they courted, they loved ice snowboarding together, and they sped westward at breakneck speed toward the Training Center nestled at the foot of the mountains. As they went, they laughed like teens again, dodging and weaving, and using bumps and drifts to soar, twist, and flip. Senna closed to within inches of Tonraq and stole a kiss, then zoomed off again. They had great skill, and it was still a favorite activity of theirs.
They slid to a stop outside the compound gates, kicking up twin clouds of snow.
...
"Sifu Katara?" asked young Korra at the breakfast table.
"Yes dear," smiled Katara.
"Will we train today?" she asked tentatively, not really wanting to know.
"No Korra, the training area is covered in about 5 feet of snow. It will take the White Lotus most of the day to clear it," answered Katara.
"Can't you and I snow bend it clear?" Korra offered to be helpful.
"The White Lotus insists on doing it for us, even doing the 'hard way'." Katara complained.
"Oh. Well. What are we going to do then?" Korra asked, while secretly happy about the break.
Katara got a sly grin, which Korra didn't notice, "Well, we could study the ancient scrolls."
Korra rolled her eyes and sighed. Nothing at all was more boring than reading ancient history of dead people, even though the Avatars she learned about were her past lives. At 10 years old, she was able to understand that, even though she'd never been able to 'talk in her head' to any of them, as Katara and the White Lotus educators put it for her still-young mind. She often concluded she had very boring past lives, and wanted this one to be much more fun.
Noting Korra's sigh, Katara got an even more devilish grin, "Or…we could play in the snow! Think fast!"
Korra hurled a concealed snowball at Korra's face and the partially melted snow splattered on her nose. She shrieked, cleared her mouth and eyes, and started to get up to tickle her old mentor.
Katara was faster, grabbed her parka, and rushed outside into the snow, which shocked Korra. Sifu Katara had planned this! Korra couldn't wait to 'get even' with her Sifu, but was perplexed by not remembering where her parka was, and watched as the old Master trudged quickly toward the gate through the deep snowpack. She moved fast for an old woman.
Finding her parka crumpled in a corner where she'd thrown it, Korra donned it and threw open the door to the dining area. She looked around and whistled. A white head popped out of the snow cover, cocked one ear, and barked expectantly.
Korra motioned enthusiastically, "Come here, girl! We have a Sifu to catch."
Naga understood that it was 'playtime', got up quickly, shook the snow from her fur, and romped over to pick up Korra.
As Naga ran with Korra astride her and bore down on the old woman, Katara formed an ice snowboard under her feet, and quickly lengthened her lead, and yelled at the sentry of the main gate, "Open the gate!"
The stunned guard barely got the gate open, and the Old Master escaped into the snowy plains, followed quickly by Korra and Naga.
Both came face to face with a very surprised Senna and Tonraq.
Korra was delighted, "Mom! Dad!"
Senna regained her composure with this surprise, "We…uhhh…were worried about you and this record snow."
"It appears we shouldn't have worried," chuckled her father.
Katara was embarrassed a bit, playing with their daughter instead of them, and stammered, "We were…erm…going for some snow bending practice."
Senna raised an eyebrow and snickered, happy to see the pair just playing instead of training, "I can see that."
"Would you like to join us?" smiled Katara.
"Absolutely. Let's play Yeti-Ape Tag. Korra you're 'it'!" quipped her mother as she tapped the adolescent Korra unawares.
Her mother and father zoomed out together, skimming effortlessly over the new drifts. Katara followed.
Korra pouted, sat in her saddle with her hands on her hips, and complained to Naga, "No fair! Adults against a helpless kid!"
Naga whimpered, but undeterred, Korra schemed with her best friend, "Naga, we'll never catch them. I haven't figured out ice snowboarding yet, and I'll never leave you behind. I have an idea."
Part way out, Korra and Naga disappeared from view. The three adults stopped in their tracks. They feared the worst – that Naga and Korra had dropped headlong into a bottomless crevasse that littered the permafrost. They began to call out in all directions. Distant echoes were not returned with a reply.
Senna fretted to Tonraq, "I'm worried. This is terrible."
Suddenly right next to the trio the snow erupted. An enormous canine face turned to them and yipped happily. Korra reached out, touched Katara, and said smugly, "Tag! You're 'it'!"
The small girl and her enormous polar bear dog dived right back into the deep snow, and disappeared from view. The adults all looked at each other in total shock, and broke into laughter.
"Snow tunnel bending! Who knew?" chuckled Katara.
"That's our girl! Always inventing a new way of doing things," stated her proud father.
But the adults were perplexed about how to track her now. There was not even a bump or ripple on the surface of the snow - not like the bumpy ground a prairie dog squirrel would leave burrowing in the dirt in the Earth Kingdom. The pair was deep under the snow pack.
Katara finally announced, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em."
Katara evaporated her ice snowboard, and burrowed into the snow pack with her bending, while Senna and Tonraq looked on in amazement. Katara was a Master but snow tunneling was a new technique, so it took some trial and error. Deep under the snow pack, she could hear amplified sounds of Korra and Naga burrowing through it. She paused and tried to triangulate the origin of the sound, but it stopped. She barely surfaced, and looked around. About a hundred yards ahead were Korra's and Naga's heads poking through the snow, watching for the adults. In the far distance, Senna and Tonraq saw the three heads popped out of the snow, pointed toward them, and took off in hot pursuit on their ice snowboards.
Katara could hear the sound direction but could not measure the distance, so she concentrated harder. She could hear Korra and Naga bending the snow underground and the scraping sounds of Senna and Tonraq snow surfing along the surface. This new technique was fascinating. She thought that someday it might become very important to escape a foe. For a fleeting moment, she wondered if her Aang - buried deep inside Korra - had planted the idea, given his infinite penchant for playing games, but she dismissed the thought. Korra was her own Avatar, and had her own ideas.
She could feel Senna, Tonraq, and Korra all moving around nearby.
Korra was pleasantly surprised that her Mentor had learned snow tunneling so quickly. She felt Katara gaining ground, but knew her parents were probably unable to track either one, based on the search pattern they were doing above ground. Korra needed to give them a fighting chance to play Yeti-Ape Tag. So she surfaced, waved her arms, and taunted them.
They converged on her, and both parents blocked her escape into the snow.
What they didn't see was Katara surfacing next them. She touched Senna, and yelled, "Tag! You're 'it'."
"Katara! Darn you!" Senna tried to swipe Katara back but missed as the old woman dove below the snow line.
The four of them played for hours in the snow, but eventually they were all exhausted. When they ended, Tonraq was 'it', and couldn't catch any of them. They all stood together on the steppes, bathed in the stark afternoon winter sun. It had been exhilarating to all play together, and their rapid breaths clouded around them.
Korra punched the air, and shouted,"Best day ever!"
She hugged her favorite adults.
"Mom, Dad, Sifu Katara; you guys are the best playmates," cheered Korra. The three adults looked at each other happily. This was a special moment.
"Is anyone hungry?" asked Katara cheerfully.
"I know someone who makes the best stewed sea prunes in the entire Southern Water Tribe," noted Tonraq.
"I thought mine were, you lying seal-turtle!" chided Senna with a wry grin.
"Umm, well, uh…" stuttered Tonraq, knowing he'd pay for that later. Katara, Korra, and Senna all laughed at the flustered father.
...
The guards at the Southern Water Tribe were worried that the most precious humans in their charge had been gone the entire morning, and were about to organize a search party. But soon, on the horizon, they saw a girl riding her enormous polar bear dog, and three ice snowboarders, and were filled with relief.
Before they could open the gates, from her stance on her ice snowboard, Katara made an ice bridge from the very humid coastal air around them that went up and over the gate and down the backside in less than a second. The five zoomed up and down the ice. It was fortunate for the defenders that Katara seemed to be the only water bender on earth that could create ice bridges from humidity, having invented the method – along with ice stairs - when she was barely 16 during the Yu Dao crisis. It unnerved them that she made it seem was like the gate was not even there. The old Master's abilities were still daunting.
The Captain of the Guard just rolled his eyes and muttered to himself, "I just hate it when she makes our defenses look non-existent. It's gonna be a long, cold winter."
Chattering non-stop about their fun, the family went inside, but not before Korra tossed Naga an enormous meaty whale-rhino bone to chew on.
Dinner was wonderful and Korra told many stories to her parents about what she was learning and heaped praise after praise on her mentor Korra. Accepting Katara's invitation to Senna and Tonraq to stay to for the night, Katara gave them the guest house for their privacy with their daughter, and later that night just by themselves as a couple to fulfill their promise to each other from the morning.
...
As the family chatted prior to Korra's bedtime, Katara quietly slipped away to her quarters with misty eyes, and scribed a new entry into her continuing private journal, "Today was one of the best, with Korra and her parents spending the day and the night with me. We all just played. It was like you were here, sweetie, through her. It was just the kind of fun we'd have together. Thank you– because of their warm hearts, it wasn't just another cold day of winter."