Hey everyone, this is Airumel's work... inspired by the Avatar series, most notably the Wan episodes, hence why this is in "Legend of Korra" fics. This is just something that I made up as I went along. Let me know what you think, if you want more or not. (To my readers of Bleached, Chev is putting her life back together after some turbulence) All characters are mine aside from the Light and Dark spirits and most were named on the spot. This chapter is mostly the intro; I got really wrapped up in the characters... Hope you enjoy!

A beginning

Bare branches shuddered in the harsh breeze, dropping clumps of snow from above. A small camp of humans had made shelter in a small stand of trees. Most huddled in blankets around a small fire that sputtered in the wind. The seasons had seemingly skipped autumn and rushed straight into winter after lulling the travelers into a false sense of security with warm temperatures and sunny skies since their journey began.

Following the departure of the turtle lions, humanity had been forced to rebuild their cities. Yet, with the sudden disappearance of the spirit creatures, a golden opportunity had presented itself.

Or what had appeared to be one.

Masses of people from each of the four turtles set out into their formerly unknown world, but it wasn't long before the seemingly endless world became too small. Fights broke out between neighbors, friends, even families as greed overcame so many. Each man wanted to be his own king, and those with the power of the elements usually found it. Wars broke out and disease and famine followed.

But not all was in chaos. Rulers overlooked the lands to the far North and South of the world after learning of their unfavorable weather conditions. For those who wished to escape the devastation left in the warlords' wake.

This was the case for the rag-tag assortment of people huddling in their shelter. Thier hopes of a good life rested in the cold reaches of the North. Already a group similar to theirs had traveled ahead to create a village hopefully out of reach of all man-made strife.

Around the fire three men looked over a crudely drawn map on the skin of a rabbit-gopher.

"Yannik's instructions were to follow the dragon's tail" A tall man hunched over the group, pointing at the curving line representing the nearby river. Dark brown hair fell about his shoulders from a receding hairline.

His companion chuckled sarcastically. "Quim, I know you're excited about having a map, but with all the rivers out here, how can we say for sure this one is the right one? Besides, Yannik is the one who named them all." Eberhard was Quim's junior in years, though he didn't look it. He was a burly man with a large frame and deep voice. "I knew the man personally. We met a few years back when he traveled through my village and labeled it as 'Northwood'. Did that without even consulting the locals." He sighed and raised a large hand to his head. "Waterbenders, think they can change everything just as easy as they can freeze your morning tea."

Quim sighed. His companion had a point. Having never met this 'Yannik', he was completely at the mercy of the map he held.

The third man chuckled. He was quickly greying, having lived many years and seen many of the horrors brought on with the collapse of the lion-turtle cities. "Take it easy on him, Eberhard. Quim's got his family to think about here."

Glancing over the fire for a quick moment, Quim checked on his family. His wife, Sacha, caught his glance and smiled back at him, the fire's reflection bright in her grey eyes. Three young children snuggled up around her like little turtle ducks. The two had met fleeing from their home villages; he from the Earth territory and she from the Wind. It had been a strange start to a relationship; not having anywhere to go home to or any relatives to introduced, but they were happy. Fortune had smiled upon them and blessed them with three children thus far. The oldest was reaching his fifth year while the twins had just made it to their second. Sacha's belly was full and round with their fourth, whom they were expecting soon.

"Earth to Quim!" Eberhard's large gloved hand swung in front of the proud father's vision.

"Uhh... sorry... I was just thinking about how much further we need to go and with Sacha's condition..." his voice trailed off again. Despite this being his fourth child, he was every bit as excited as he had been for all of his sons' births.

Eberhard shook his head, "What are we going to do with him, Rade?"

"Nothing, except maybe take the map from him so we can figure out where we're going before this love-stricken lump lets us freeze to death." He jabbed Quim in the ribs playfully. "Eh, sonny?"

Quim snapped his attention back to the map in his hands. "Looks like there's a lake we'll have to cross up here." He squinted at the map in the flickering light.

"How exactly are a group of non-benders supposed to achieve that?" complained the larger man.

Rade cleared his throat and arched an eyebrow.

"Last I checked you weren't a waterbender, old man."

The elderly man gave a sigh as deep as his many years.

"What?"

"By all means, it doesn't take waterbending to do something as simple as that! Don't tell me you've forgotten how to build a boat."

Off in the distance a lone coyote-owl sat over its freshly caught prey. Hungrily, it sniffed the odd shape. The smell was unfamiliar to the predator and no blood issued from where her claws had punctured the dark shape. Was it even food?

A rumble from its stomach was all the convincing she took to take the first bite. As fangs closed around the dark object, it vanished.

Pain stuck from every place inside of the coyote-owl's body. Surprised, she yelped in pain and took off running.

Suddenly, the pain stopped. Chest heaving, the coyote-owl stopped and stood rooted to the she had not heard before caused her ears to raise. A scent of fire filled her nose. Yet it wasn't just fire she smelled, something else was there, something more delicious than a grouse-frog. Normally she fled when humans crossed her barren territory, but today she now sensed them as something . The thought of a full stomach caused her to salivate.

Drool slowly dripping from her snout, the coyote-owl let out a howl before opening her snow-white wings and began the hunt.

Further off still, a dark presence watched with amusement. "You can run, but you'll never hide, Raava..."

By the time it was Quim's turn for watch, the fire had succumbed to the prevailing wind. Shuddering, the expecting father tucked his blanket around his family before tapping the current guard on the shoulder.

Tonight it was Rade's teenaged granddaughter, Rubina, who had drawn midnight's stand. She leaned on the hoe that served as one of the group's few weapons, a sleepy expression on her face. A smile crossed her face in the darkness as she passed the hoe to Quim before she made her way to the fire pit to get some shut-eye.

Before starting his watch, Quim counted the dark shapes sleeping on the ground. Seventeen. Everyone accounted for. Looking up at the cloudy skies he thanked the stars for their safe travels and asked for their guidance. A more superstitious man would have waited for a clear sky, but so far the journey had been easy once they had made it outside of all the territories. Tonight, Quim's prayers would fall on deaf ears.

The coyote-owl moved without a sound thanks to her streamline body covered with feathers muffling any noise her landing would have made. Humans were foolish creatures, why hadn't she seen it before? They slept peacefully with one guard watching the distant South with his back to her. Even turkey-lizards had more common sense.

Carefully she padded forward, saliva dripping on the cold ground. Steam issued from her breath as the coyote-owl calculated who her target would be. The elderly couple on the edge? The young child who slept just a little further out than he should have?

A sharp breeze blew through the camp. The man on guard shuddered.

Crouching down, the predator waited until he was sure he wasn't about to turn around. Before she rose again, the scent that had originally put her on the hunt filled her nostrils. Her eyes locked onto its source: a woman, large with child.

Memories that were not the coyote-owl's own played through her mind. This very scene had happened multiple times before, each in a different location and each from the eyes of a different predator. Suddenly, the hunt became more personal than just a matter of food.

Quim stifled a yawn. He knew he should take his guard duty a little more seriously, but he just couldn't keep his thoughts on the matter tonight. Instead, names for his next son, or maybe a daughter drifted through his sluggish mind. Another rush of arctic wind tried to knock him off his feet. Keeping his back to the wind worked well enough, but after remaining motionless for even a short time invited cold into his body. His thoughts still on his family he turned to look.

Something white glinted in the corner of his vision. Startled, Quim let out a shout.

Mass confusion broke out as the encampment was suddenly awoken by the guard's shout.

Frustration and a frantic desire took over the coyote-owl. The element of surprise lost, she had to take advantage of the temporary commotion before the humans organized. With an involuntary snarl, the predator leapt for the pregnant woman, jaws open.

Her target stumbled backwards, shoving the young ones away from her body. Instead of the neck, the coyote-owl's teeth sunk into the woman's outstretched arm. Predator and prey locked eyes. Fear was written all over the woman's face and something else glittered on a deeper level. When the woman screamed, the coyote-owl's released her jaws and leapt backwards preparing for the lunge that would bring the final blow.

Springing forward on her short hind legs with all her might, the coyote-owl surged forward.

She never made it to her target.

A sharp pain in her side erupted and all her sense went black.

Quim stood breathing hard, hoe in his outstretched arms. That had been too close. Flinging down the hoe, he knelt down to his wife's side. Blood streamed from the puncture marks in her arms. "Sacha! Are you okay?"

Tears were streaming down her face and she nodded meekly. "It was after me..." she squeaked, "I saw its eyes... it was... it was horrible!" she burst into tears and clung to her husband with her good arm.

Three distraught children joined in, adding their tears to their mother's. The twins were too young to comprehend what had happened, but they were startled by their mother's distress.

"It's okay. I got it pretty good. You're safe." As Quim softly murmured reassurance to his distraught family the rest of the camp huddled around. There was no healer in their group, but a few of the older women had brought some slaves with them and quickly attended to Sacha's wounds.

Nearby, Rubina picked up the discarded hoe and examined the still body of the coyote-owl. Curiously, she nudged it with the metal end.

The coyote-owl's white form shuddered.

"Grandpa!" the teenaged girl yelled.

"I'm right here, Rubina. No need to shout, I'm not that old yet." He moved in almost as much silence as the predator had. "What's wrong."

She nudged the body again, "This."

Despite having taken a good blow to the stomach, the coyote-wolf was still breathing. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, each breath seemed to be quite labored.

"I think it's dying."

"Probably internal bleeding."

The two watched in silence, but nothing could have prepared them for what happened next. A shallow cough came from the animal's form as it began to shudder and shake. Rubina tightened her grip on the hoe, readying for an attack. Yet the coyote-owl remained on the ground and began to gag and retch.

"I-is it a h-hairball?" The girl's hands shook. She had never seen an animal act like this even having grown up on a farm.

Before anyone could provide answer, a dark shadow emerged from the open jaws of the wounded animal. The shadow glowed purple then red in light pulses, before it was extinguished by a well aimed strike with a hoe. the shadow evaporated with a hiss.

"D-did you see that?!" Rubina turned a panicked gaze to her grandfather.

"Yes, my dear... I did..."

The coyote-owl let out a mournful howl before going still again.

A dark expression crossed Rade's wrinkled face. "Rubina, do you know what that was?" He asked his granddaughter.

She shook her head.

"I fear that was a spirit. A dark one at that." He waited for Rubina to respond, but she stood in a shocked silence. "Come. We must let Quim know what attacked his wife."

-Three days later-

A weary group arrived at the shore of a large lake. Footsore and sleep deprived, the welcoming sight of another camp and docked boats renewed their strength. Ever since the attack of the coyote-owl, few had slept. Sacha was not faring well, an infection had set in the wound and was slowly growing worse. Quim helped her along, one arm slung over his shoulders as their children were ushered around by Eberhard.

The men camped at the shore turned out to be Yannick's friends. They were surprised to see the group as they had been expecting their arrival for well over a week. After recounting their tale of the journey, the travelers loaded into the boats and for the first time in days, felt a sense of relief as the boats took off from the shore.

Even with a trained waterbender driving each boat, the voyage took the better part of the day. As the sun began to fade on the distant horizon to their left, the far shore came into sight. "Welcome home," said one of the benders to Quim's twins who had been crying for most of the way, scared they would never see land again.

"Home?" one asked.

"Home!" the other cheered.

"We're almost there," Quim whispered to Sacha and kissed her forehead lightly. She didn't respond and stared blankly up at the darkening sky.

A collection of lanterns jumbled along the village entrance as the whole village turned out to welcome the group they had given up for dead. Most were in their nightgowns and shivering in the cold night air. Snow was falling softly, but no one seemed to be bothered.

"Eberhard! You dare show your face after being this late?!" A voice shouted from within the small crowd.

"Yannick! Is that any way to greet your old pal?" The burly man shouted back.

A shorter man with a shaggy mane of brown hair emerged from the crowd. "Well, I suppose late is still better than never." He clasped the large man in a brisk hug before turned to address the rest of the group. "Welcome, everyone! To the village of North Shore! We have laid out places for you all to stay in our meeting hall for the time being." He swept his arm in an arc at the large wooden building at the center of town.

"Many thanks," Eberhard bowed to his friend, "But we have to ask for your healers. My friend's wife was attacked under some odd circumstances..."

Yannick's eyebrows rose as he looked at Sacha. "I'll see what we can do, but first, lets bring her inside."

Sacha's grey eyes looked into Yannick's blue, a pained expression crossed her face and she winced. "The baby..." she muttered.

Suddenly Yannick laughed, "Oh dear, it seems there's to be a new addition to our village already!"

The worried look on Quim's face increased.

"Oh don't look so grim! She'll be fine. I'm not just a cartographer after all. I'm a healer too!"

Sacha was quickly brought inside the nearest home and laid on the resident's bed. The homeowners stepped aside willingly once they learned of the situation at hand.

"Now, let's see about that arm." Yannick sat on a chair next to the bed while Quim looked on. Rubina had taken the children to explore the village and to get some food. Eberhard was helping the other travelers set up in the town hall. The only other member of the group in the room was Rade, who stood by Quim for emotional support. Neither were sure Sacha would survive.

The healer placed Sacha's infected arm on his lab and began to work with water he had just boiled. Slowly, he drew the infection from the wound.

Quim and Rade held their breath as they watched. Neither had seen a waterbender healer in action before. The only infections they had seen prior had resulted in death. "It's a miracle," muttered Quim.

"There! That should do it!" Yannick smiled.

Quim began to return his smile when Sacha cried out.

"I'd better find the midwife, excuse me." The waterbender left hastily.

Rade and Quim exchanged glances, "She'll be fine. This is her fourth one." The elderly man tried to calm his younger companion.

A very elderly woman rushed into the room on creaking old bones. Wordlessly she went about her business and shooed the men outside. "It's bad luck if men are in the birthing area!" she shouted to them.

Outside, snow fell with increasing intensity. "Wonder if it's a storm," mused Rade.

Quim was silent. Something was different this time around, but then again, maybe he was just imagining it. Sacha was going to be fine. His child would be born soon.

"Quim?" Rade asked.

"Huh?"

"What names do you have picked out?"

"Oh, uh, well... I was thinking on it..."

Just then a strong blast of cold wind blew through town, extinguishing all the candles and lanterns on the street for a brief moment.

"An omen," whispered one of the homeowners, who was waiting outside as well.

From within the house came the cry of a baby.

"Go!" Rade pushed Quim lightly.

The father ran into the house and slowed when he reached the bed. There was his wife cradling a swaddled newborn. For the first time since the attack, she smiled at him. "It's a girl." She held the bundle for him to take. "I know you have a name all picked out, like always."

Quim took his daughter into his arms and smiled. She opened her eyes and blinked at him.

He gasped.

Deep purple eyes stared up at him. What could that mean?

"Well?"

"She's gorgeous. How about..." he thought for a moment, the name he had originally picked out seemed inadequate. "How about Naira?"

"Naira? Sounds wonderful."

And for sometime all was right in the lonely Northern village, but soon the wars would make their way to remote shores and beyond.

Well, want more? Just ask! I might just write this for my own amusement, but it definitely helps to have interested readers, even just a few. :)

~Airumel 10/21/13