氷

Near the Ma To Glacier.

The wind howled across the frozen snowdrifts, rushing and whipping away as it brought a chill to anything it touched. They swept over the barren hills that surrounded the massive glacier, now shores for the waters that constantly flowed from the melting ice.

One of the stragglers in the yak herd to shake itself to keep the warmth going through its body as it snorted and twisted it's head to the side, peering at the top of a snow-covered hill through slowly blinking eyes. The animal snorted again, dismissing the strange shadowy figures forming inside the blizzard that had just crested the hill. It slowly caught up with the rest of the herd, dipping its head to lap at the icy cold water, doing the exact same thing the fifteen others were doing. They all stood next to each other, drinking their fills in preparation for the long walk to the sunnier parts of the snow-blasted land near the coastline. The Yaks continued to lap at the water, their thick tongues slapping and whipping at the surface of the water noisily, masking any sounds something would make if it decided to creep up on the vulnerable herd.

Ten of these somethings silently weaved between a scant line of dead bushes, approaching the rear of the herd. They all stopped, and the largest of them bared yellowed fangs as it stared at the appetizing mounds of meat and muscle laid out for them like a feast. At an unheard command, the three thinnest of them moved away from the group, using the ring of dead bushes as cover as they ran around the flank of the herd, stopping when they were but twenty meters away from one of the outliers.

The leader of the pack took a step forward as it lowered it's head, keeping two eyes on the herd as it continued to drink the water, unchanged from before. The other members of it's pack kept at a distance as they followed. As the leader's snout poked out of the bushes, in plain view of any Yak that turned around, it bared it's teeth and uttered a low growl. The three that were lying in wait all howled together, spreading panic among the herd as they began to bay and moo, tripping over themselves to get away from the three fast-moving wolves that sprinted towards them, teeth flashing as they barked and growled.

A brave and large Yak stood it's ground, steam rising from it's snorting nose as it scraped at the ground with a hoof, preparing to charge the group of thin wolves. Before it had a chance the leader's howl joined with the others as they burst out of the bushes, fangs bared as they ran straight towards the herd as it trampled towards them. The leader's howl was cut short as the wind shifted, and it skidded to a halt. The other pack members did the same as they flattened their ears, whining and shifting about as the herd ran around them, trying to escape from the two dark shapes rushing down the hill towards them.

"A question if I may, young man?" a withered and old man, looking like he was weighed down by the dozens of medals pinned onto the front of his crimson overcoat, shuffled forward a little, addressing the young inventor who was currently crouched next to his pride and joy.

The young inventor waved his hand airily. "I am young, and yes you may." he held up a finger to the gathered generals and admirals as he poked a tongue out in concentration, trying to worm his way towards the firing chamber to get rid of the spent round that decided to get stuck in there. He was rewarded with a satisfying clunk as the ejection port did it's job, neatly depositing the spent shell into a bucket on the ground beneath, the first of many that would be fired today. While he was the son of the now richest man in the world, and at the same time the head of a huge shipping magnate, that didn't really compare to the sheer joy he felt when watching his creation do it's work.

He shook his hand to dull a ache, and thought he could see a cracked nail as he nodded at the old Fire Nation General, who frowned for a moment. "We've all seen the destructive magnitude of this contraption." his next words were overtaken by murmurs of acceptance and agreement among his slightly younger peers, who stroked their salty black beards while next to them a group of brown and green clothed men glowered. The old man waited patiently for them to keep their peace, and he started up again. "But I must wonder; what is the point of such a device if it does the same job a earth or fire bender can do?"

Murmurs broke out again as the young man shook his head and chuckled, straightening as he ran a hand through his shiny brown hair. "Glad you asked, general Urso, glad you asked." he scanned the gathered faces of the crowd, mentally filing away the most likely to invest in his company. He turned and rapped the side of the the carriage, the tough metal answered back with a series of dull dings, which perplexed the gathered military officials.

"I'll take it from the top. This here?" he swept an open palm at his pride and joy, which seemed to gain an lustrous sparkle just by getting all eyes to fall on it. "This gentleman, is what the boys over in Tui Industries R&D call a cannon." he pressed a hand to his chest. "Me? Pride and Joy. Several years of my life went into making this gal, and owing to the fantastic people at Future Industries, she's now ready to be shown to the world." he hid a grin as they were taken in by his words again, he stood and faced them. "The assemblage is comprised of a tungsten and steel alloy, using a mixture only now classified as a company secret. It has one barrel, that can be aimed in any direction-"

"Future Industries? That may present a problem, young man. If any the Sato girlhad a hand with this device, we won't-"

The young man's smile was tight as he fixed the old general with an icy glare. "We won't what? We won't keep up with the times? We won't be associated with the kind folks at Future Industries? My dear general Wu, just because ms Sato helped get this project off of the ground doesn't jeopardise its effectiveness or capability in any way." his smile became genuine as the old fart shut his trap for once. "So. Next question.

"What happens if the enemy flanks this contraption?" Wu asked again, making Verick's teeth ground with the way he kept saying 'contraption'. Like it was some kind of unstable pet project of some science fair kid.

He beamed. "Simple!" he ran over to the thick disc that supported the entire marvel. He stopped near one of the many iron bars poking out it's sides, serving as a quick way for a team of people to change the barrel's facing. Still, he had designed it, so it could also be operated by one man if need be. He grunted a little as he put his all into pushing against the iron bar, slowly the entire thing began to turn direction slightly, much to the gasps and awe-struck murmurs in the assembled generals. "This method of changing direction was inspired by your country's antique catapults, which I'm afraid have almost negligible maximum range when compared to this baby."

Urso frowned again as Verick pushed at the bars again to bring the cannon back into it's original facing. He snapped his fingers and two men wearing grey jumpsuits rushed out from the tent nearby, donning goggles and thick earmuffs. One of them flipped open a box nearby, which contained strangely colored shells compared to the ones they were firing beforehand. The man bent down and wrapped his arms around one, bending down to pick it up before waddling over to the artillery emplacement, the other one had just opened a port on the side and dragged out a slide with a hole punched through the middle, just the right size for the shell.

Verick gave them a thumbs up as he turned back towards the generals and admirals. "As you can probably tell, this round looks a little bit different than the others. I suggest you watch closely. General can you please refrain from any more questions until after the test fire?" he didn't wait for an answer as he glanced at the two men, who had placed the black colored shell into the slot in the tray, and were sliding it back into the firing chamber. One of them grabbed a wheel mounted nearby with two hands, and turned it, causing the tray inside to begin turning as well until a loud click was heard, signalling that the round, firing chamber and barrel were all aligned.

"Gentlemen. Goggles and earmuffs. This one's gonna be loud." he announced, pulling out his own from one of the pockets on his cream colored pants. He pulled them down over his eyes, slapping them into place as he placed the earmuffs on. He turned around to make sure everyone else had as well, and waited a few seconds before pulling out a pair of binoculars, flipping a switch on them that made a small but powerful light sputter to life. He gazed through them at the massive hunk of ice in the distance, sitting alone in the middle of a massive pool of water which had been steadily getting larger each year.

He spotted the tiny red flag standing on top of it, and gave a thumbs up to the two men as he cleared his throat. "Direction: Northbound. Angle: 30 Degrees. Fire when ready." he stated loudly to the two men. They both strapped on their ear muffs and goggles before confirming. The one on the seat nodded slightly, and ground his teeth a little as his partner pulled the lever nearby.

And then everything shook.

With a mighty roar a burning hot lance shot out of the barrel, slamming into the side of the glacier and sending massive cracks throughout it's surface as it embedded itself in the ice. Verick smiled as some of the younger Fire Nation generals nodded in approval, in contrast to the older ones who bickered and shouted in outrage and shock. He noticed that the Water Tribe contingents still hadn't said much, but he would change that when he showed them his next invention. The roaring subsided and the ground stopped shaking enough for the young inventor to talk normally.

"Now."

The fuse on the black canister had run out, and the metal skin ruptured as the potent powder inside was detonated, resulting in a massive explosion that absolutely vaporized the unfortunate glacier, and threw up most of the water around it into the air. A few drops managed to land on Verick's goggles as he fixed his pride and joy with a proud look.

A shrill noise was heard. And he frowned, that wasn't coming from the lake. The wind began to pick up, and the generals and officials began shouting in alarm as it quickly became impossible to beyond five feet in front of themselves. Verick staggered towards the artillery gun as something heavy slammed into his side, sending the young man sprawling face down in the snow.

As the group of officials shouted in alarm trying to weather the freak blizzard, a dark blur rushed over the tops of their heads, unseen as it followed the piercing cries of it's quarry.

A few miles out from Inna, the Southern Water Tribe capital.

The boy had never been bothered by the cold. It was a inconvenience to him, and nothing more. It didn't bother him the way it did others, which at one stage he foolishly thought it meant he was better then them. His older brother had threatened to cave his head in if he kept that up.

So he stopped. Thoughts of his lost home brought a wistful look to his grey eyes, and he found himself going back to his encounter with Tarrin at the arena, and the words he spoke.

Amon never lies.

But that was the problem. He did lie, he did kill their parents and he did burn down their home. Even after all of that he still couldn't convince his older brother that his idol had been lying to him from the start. Then again, he wasn't sure what was true anymore, especially after the man's words to him in that storage room.

A shiver ran through him, and working on instinct he clamped his gloved hands to his sides, rubbing them up and down to get warmth flowing through him again. Well, he wasn't usually bothered by the cold. He was grateful for the new hood as well, and while he wouldn't admit it, he appreciated it immensely, and how warm it kept him.

The next time he saw Senna, he would thank her. In private, hopefully without Korra listening in. He'd never hear the end of it. He sighed as his thoughts drifted towards her, and how different she'd been acting over the past month. Katara wasn't able to restore her connection to the other elements apart from air, and Tai was sure that was still the case when she came back from those cliffs. Something was different with her though, and it wasn't the fact that she was holding hands with Mako. He immediately shied away from those kind of thoughts.

Instead he focused on Amo- Noatak's words to him about his master. At first he had dismissed them as the words of someone trying to deface a dead man. But now, as he thought about them, he couldn't shake the fact that Telei may have been hiding something from him the two years he was training with him. He had always been cold and abrasive to the boy and bossed him around, but that was just a natural part of being a student to a master, not a sign that he was evil or anything.

"You do realize how cold it gets out here?" he jumped a little, and turned to see Korra standing there, fully covered up in her fur parka. A little smirk played on her lips as she tilted her head at his little display. "Weren't expecting me?"

The urge to snark overwhelmed him. "I was. Just with Mako in tow or something."

"Uh huh." she didn't sound impressed as the boy flipped the hood over his head, providing a warm haven against the biting winds. "How's my mom's handiwork doing?"

He gave her a thumbs up as he pulled on the draw strings. "It's alright, I suppose."

"You love it." she chuckled, he nodded before turning back to watching the frozen wastes, a frown forming on him as he noticed a massive cloud rushing towards them.

"Looks like there's a blizzard coming." she stood next to him as he watched it slowly draw closer and closer to them. He glanced at her as an idea formed in his cold-dulled mind. "How's your uh... problem?" he hadn't actually asked her about that particular topic until now. Knowing to take it slow with her, especially when it concerned stuff like that. Of course she was prone to being wildly unpredictable, so his method wasn't concrete.

He lowered his head as her shoulders sagged a little. "Still the same." she muttered, looking at the snow for a moment.

"Look- I'm sure you'll get them back. But - um - look at the bright side! You can now focus completely on airbending! Isn't that cool?" he grinned cheekily, trying to at least get something out of her.

It took a few seconds, but somehow it worked. She chuckled as she glanced at him with a little grin. "You are horrible at cheering a girl up, you know that?"

"I take offense to that." he replied, still keeping the grin on as her shoulders rose just a little. "But don't worry, I'm sure if you follow Aang's advice, you'll be slamming rocks, throwing water, and blasting fireballs in no time!"

Her chuckle was a bit stronger this time, and sounded much better as she folded her arms. "Okay, that attempt saw improvement." she admitted, shaking her head in amusement as the boy bowed. She noticed that he had tried to hide a frown from her as he straightened, and she wouldn't let him off the hook. "You have that look again."

The boy blinked twice in confusion. "Of course I do. My default expression." he said, trying to deflect her question, and was failing horribly at it. She tilted her head and smiled evilly at him. "Fine." he sighed, looking away from her and back at the frozen wastes, which played host to a slowly creeping wall of rushing snow and wind. "It's what Amon said, back at the arena."

"Tai-"

"Hang on." he took a deep breath, letting the cold and frigid air rush down into his lungs, the little action having a therapeutic effect that cleared his thoughts of the terrible images that still haunted him. "He said that he didn't kill my parents, that he didn't burn down my home."

She took a step closer to him. "Tai, he was lyi-"

Another deep breath as he fought to keep his hands from clenching into fists. "As much as I hate to say it. I don't think he did."

Korra was quiet as he continued. "He knew Telei, said that he served with my dad in the United Forces. They were sent to investigate the disappearance of everyone in a village on the northern coast; Korra, he said that Telei was the cause." suddenly those rebellious thoughts of change were quelled, and all he could do was laugh bitterly next, as if he had just said some kind of twisted joke. "But that's crazy right? My master would never have done that!"

Her eyes were fixed on a rock poking out of the snow nearby, as she nodded slowly. "Yeah..." she looked up, noticing that the blizzard had covered a lot of ground, and was beginning to close in on them. "We should get back to the others. We'll need to start heading out soon if we don't want to get caught in that blizzard."

"Huh? Oh, right." he started his trudge down the hill, stopping as he was about to leave the crest. He looked at Korra, whose hands clenched into fists briefly before she nodded to herself and walked to his side. The two of them kept close to each other as they left the little hill behind, lessons about survivability in the south pole going through their heads. The boy paled as one lesson came to mind: It was always death for those out here alone.

"So what's Inna like?" he asked, adding his voice to the softly keening wind as she glanced at him.

"Fantastic. You'll love it, and it'll look even better since the New Moon festival began." she really wanted to show her friends what a Southern Water Tribe city was like, and she was sure that they would all agree with her. "You have to see the Sokka memorial, oh, and the Penguin-Otters! They're cute!" she found herself gushing as a scarcely-felt vibrance sprang up inside, making her want to talk more and more about what her tribe had to offer.

"I'll take your word for it. Sounds nice." he said, stopping the tide of information he was sure she was barely trying to hold back. He spotted a group of blurry orange lights in the distance. "Looks like we're nearly there."

The boy sighed as he kept the fire going for just a little longer, rubbing his hands together to get some warmth inside him before straightening and heading towards one of the nearby gas lamps. The orange light they threw off was meager, and only reached to about a quarter of the campsite by themselves, rectified by having one stand in each of the four corners of their camp.

Mako extended his finger and concentrated for a second, a shot of familiar warmth ran down his arm and into the tip of that finger, heating up to a brilliant height for a brief second before being released as a single flame resting just above the tip of his index finger. He held it near the sputtering flame inside the grey canister, fueling the lantern for a few more minutes before it would inevitably start sputtering again.

He shook his finger, and the little flame died out, to be honest he was getting a little tired pf having to light and relight the lanterns and fire every few hours, not for the first time a dark little thought ran across his mind, asking why Korra couldn't do it herself. He put a clamp down on that thought, right now he - and Tai - were the only ones who could keep the campsite warm.

Walking over to the green tent nearby, he pulled the flap over it's side, letting him and the elements get access to attacking his snoozing little brother, who was completely obscured by a fur-lined brown swag that didn't move at all, save for a little bundle of red fur that shivered as the wind began to blow over him.

His little brother mewed something as he approached, making him roll his eyes as he nudged the side of the swag with his thick-soled boot. It had a little effect on Bolin, whose arm rose up into the air and pawed at some invisible annoyance, and mewed again as he gave up, letting his arm fall limply onto his gently rising chest as he rolled onto his side, providing the perfect opportunity.

The urge to roll his eyes was too great as Mako grinned evilly, winding his leg back as he looked for his brother's weak spot. The butt. He noticed that Pabu was still in the way, and before he exacted his own brand of personal brotherly love he bent down and rubbed the little ferret's chin.

Pabu woke up and shook himself, chittering when he saw that it was his partner's older brother that was giving him the treatment. He enjoyed it like a rare delicacy, stretching out slowly as he slowly fell back to sleep. He squeaked in alarm as the giant picked him up by the scruff and deposited him on his shoulder. Not really caring why he did that, the Fire Ferret did a little shrug and curled back into a ball.

Now he could begin. He took his left foot off of the ground, bending his knee and bringing his leg back so that he could maximum wind up. He closed one eye, using the other to spot his target with pinpoint precision, which he was always better at than Bolin. Like the hammer of destiny he swung his leg forward, slamming the thick tip of his boot into his brother's backside, whose yelp was loud and piercing as he woke up, looking around in desperation as he searched for the source of the almighty kick.

"Wake up, Bo'." Mako's tone was calm as he brought his foot back down to the ground, not able to contain the smirk on him as Bolin sat up and scowled.

"I never get any peace with you around!" he complained as he rubbed his tortured backside.

Mako couldn't contain his laughter as he watched his little brother make strange little sounds, with words to do with torture, violence and large boulders mixed in. "As long as I'm around, peace is a foreign concept!"

He actually attempted to contain his amusement as he turned around the leave the tent, only stopping for a moment to glance at the hilarious sight of his little brother. "Bro, can you close the fla-"

"Time to wake up, Bolin." he replied, waving his hand a he left the tent and took a deep breath of the cold air, which gave him feelings of refreshment rather than little needles of pain now. It took a while for him to acclimatize to the incredibly inhospitable land. He noticed two blurry figures jogging down the hill nearby, heading towards the campsite. He frowned before he realised who they were, and walked to meet them by one of the warm gas lamps.

A few minutes later they came into view properly, and he couldn't wipe the smile off of him as Korra spun him around in a wild embrace, locking her lips with his as she sighed happily. He didn't see the look of minor disappointment on Tai as he trudged past the two of them, crouching down near the fire for a moment to relight it before heading into nearby tent.

"Took me a while, but I found him." she whispered as she planted a little kiss on the side of his neck, flushing Mako's cheeks a little bit.

"What were you two talking about?" he ventured, planting one in return on the spot on her cheek she really loved.

She fell quiet as she pulled away from him a little. "I really think that he wouldn't like me telling you." she muttered.

He frowned. "Korra I- sorry, okay? It doesn't matter." he smiled as he released her, glancing around as Asami popped out of her and Korra's tent, and walked towards the two of them, dropping a heavy pack near the fire.

"We'd better get going." Korra said, leaving him to head towards the tents. She sidestepped Bolin as he burst out of the boy's tent, eyes darting to and fro as he ran for his bush, hoping that it wasn't covered by snow as he practically hopped from foot-to-foot.

The girl opened the flap on her and Asami's tent and ducked inside, kneeling down to start rolling up her navy-colored sleeping back, which she noted with delight was still incredibly warm and snug even after all the years since Mom and Dad first made it for her. She didn't have many clothes to pack up, but all of those thick socks were treasures, and she placed all five of them into a pocket on the swag, zipping it up as she grabbed a length of rope nearby, placing a hand on the rolled up swag to stop it from moving as she wound the rope around it's length. Once she tied it off she rolled it across the floor to the side of her pack, using the straps to keep it secure. She grunted a little as she hefted it onto her back, stepping outside into the cold to deposit it by the fire.

It took a few more minutes for everyone else to get their gear together, with the brothers taking the longest since they had no clue how to even operate a sleeping bag, she took great pleasure in ribbing her boyfriend constantly, only stopping when he gave her a kiss to keep her quiet. She didn't mind.

But soon enough everyone was ready, and the tents were packed up and securely fastened to Naga as they prepared to set off towards the nearby city lying at the bottom of the hill. And none too soon, as she looked back in the blizzard's direction, she realized it was beginning to pick up pace again.

"Your turn." Bolin grinned as he scratched Pabu's chin, currently the only thing visible to the naked eye, as the rest of him was currently curled up underneath his partner's fur lined collar.

"Ice." he answered with a sigh, trying to wonder just how Bolin expected a different word beginning with I if all he could see was Ice.

"Are you sure?" he poked Tai to for two reasons; to get him to answer quickly; and to also stop the numbness spreading through his hand.

Tai stopped for a moment to look Bolin in the eye, trying not to roll his own in the process. "Yes, Bolin, I'm sure." he continued his walk, trailing behind Asami as she followed the happy couple down the gently sloping hill of snow. It was tough going without having to answer inane I Spy questions.

"Correct." he searched for some other word to use, something wildly different to ice, something that would even leave the smart airbending speechless. He rubbed his hands together with glee as he spotted his target. "Alright then. C."

"Cold." his friend answered immediately, tugging absent-mindedly on one of his hood's drawstrings.

"Nope." Bolin cheerily said, now grinning.

"Crack." his next answer was, Tai pointed out a tiny little crack on top of a ice-covered rock nearby.

"Nah."

The boy was grateful for the hood so Bolin couldn't see the frown forming. He rubbed his chin with a gloved hand as he scanned the foggy expanse around them, getting a little desperate when he noticed that there couldn't possibly be anything out there that would start C apart from Cold. His scanning eyes accidentally settled on the backs of the two teens at the front of their little group, and he found himself scowling as he realized what Bolin meant.

"Couple." he muttered darkly, not bothering to hide his disappointed tone as he increased his pace, catching up to Asami. He tapped her on the shoulder, and her eyes widened for a moment as she quickly turned towards him, before she smiled.

"What's up?" she had some difficulty tilting her head under the thick and heavy hood, a question in her stunningly beautiful eyes.

He was about to answer when he noticed that the wind had changed direction, and had increased in speed. He held up a finger as he stopped, listening for anything that disturbed the quiet keen of the wind. Unfortunately that was the problem, as was pointed out when Korra ran towards him, alarm in her eyes.

"The blizzards about to hit, we're gonna be caught in the middle of it!" she had to raise her voice over the wind as it began to howl louder and louder, and there was actual fear on her features.

"What can I do?" he asked, not sure why she came to him specifically. She growled and slapped him on the back of the head.

"Airbender remember! If we work together, we can keep the brunt of it from hitting us." he knew instantly what she meant now, if he concentrated enough he would be able to force the winds to go around their group, rather than straight through. It was tougher than it sounded though, and he realized even Tenzin hadn't attempted something like this.

"Okay. Korra, are you up to this?" he asked, cautious of her problem affecting her.

"I can. You and Tenzin taught me the basics. I'll tell the others." she put a hand on his shoulder before running off towards the front of the group, holding a hand over her eyes to keep the rapidly moving snow from getting in them.

A minute later, everyone was gathered in a little circle around Naga, who Korra had instructed to to lay down as flat as she could. Next, she got Bolin to earthbend a clear patch of snow-free soil around the polar-bear dog, while Mako walked around the group keeping the air as warm as possible.

Tai whipped his head towards Bolin. "Can't you earthbend a dome or something?" he had to practically shout to even be heard as the howling increased to an almost unbearable level, every time he turned he risked being completely disoriented by the blinding snow. He moved his arms in large sweeps, working at moving all of the constantly moving snow out of the warm air to keep their vision clear.

He turned towards him again, another question rising before he saw that he was beginning to shiver constantly, and his breath was becoming ragged. His eyes were wide as his lips had gone pale, and his skin was quickly going the same color. Korra ran to his side and began rubbing his back, trying to get some warmth circulating as she guided him towards Naga's warm flanks. He shook his head as he gritted his teeth and knelt for a moment, closing his eyes. Korra and Mako looked at each other with worry as his eyes flashed open as he released a deep and shuddering breath. He straightened and flung his arms skyward.

The ground rumbled and the ice below their feet cracked and shattered as the earth trapped beneath followed his command. A ring built itself around them, enclosing them from the elements as the two halves met above their heads, dulling the sound of the winds and snow raging outside. Bolin swayed for a bit before he flung his palm out in one direction after another. Slits in the walls opened up, to let enough air in for them to breathe.

Mako grabbed him as he stumbled, and gently laid his little brother on Naga's side, only having eyes for him as the blizzard begun throwing it's full force at them.

It was hard keeping track of how much time had passed before the keening noises outside slowly died down, and none too soon. Bolin was awake long enough to make a opening in the side for them to crawl out of, and everyone began to move towards it when the sound of footsteps outside coupled with a strange howling stopped them.

"I'll go." he said after a few minutes of tense silence. They all responded with varying degrees of surprise, Korra most of all when she scowled at him, shaking her head firmly.

"Nuh uh, you don't know the terrain-" she began to argue when he stopped her with a quick grin.

"I know that, look, I won't be going far, and sorry about this, but you won't be able to survive out there with the winds as they are. Not a snowball's chance in Caldera."

"Be careful." she sighed, looking more than a little worried.

"If I'm not back in five minutes or so, well, you get it. But try to at least make an attempt and rescuing me." his smirk was wry as they all nodded sombrely.

Tai nodded, taking deep breaths before crawling through the little gap in the stone, immediately snow got into his eyes as his head poked out from the bottom of the dome. The boy shook his head to throw the snow off ass he pulled his hood up, closing it up as much as possible. It was pitch black, and almost impossible to hear anything apart from the keening. He made sure his gloves were on tight as he straightened, keeping close to the dome as he trudged towards the side where he heard the howling and footsteps.

He stopped for a moment as he heard another howl again, this time coming from further off in the blizzard. If it was only a howl he wouldn't have bothered, but then he heard a unmistakably human voice follow, gruff and almost indiscernable, but still there.

Despite what his suspicions were, he was certain that it must be a hunting party. That meant they could get help in navigating through the blizzard. He chewed his lip as he considered moving out into the blizzard after them. It sounded like they weren't that far away, and at times he noticed a tall and dark blurry shape standing still.

The boy made his decision, and trudged forward, keeping the brunt of the wind off of him by constantly swirling his wrist to manipulate the air. It was slow going, and he found it hard to keep track of the direction he was headed, the compulsion to change direction kept coming back even though it would only serve to get him lost in the constantly howling maelstrom.

Another howl, except this time, it sounded more like... a yelp? In fact, now that he was getting closer he realized those howls were very high pitched, and it almost sounded like whatever was out there was hurt and in pain.

He sighed. He hated this compulsion to help out sometimes, and his weakness for animals really didn't help. He picked up the pace, going into a light jog as the wind continued to whip around him. Luckily the snow thinned out a little, taking him longer to tire out, he fought the urge to go into a run, following Korra's advice of taking it slow and steady.

A man's voice again, this time far more distinct and clearer than before as the boy saw a blurry figure standing in the snow just up ahead. He slowed down, not wanting to spook him in case he had a weapon. Carefully he advanced, noting somewhere in the back of his mind that the wind was strangely nonexistent around the man, wait, actually it was being guided around him. That surprised the boy, since it meant that someone else apart from him was controlling the wind nearby.

Continuing forward, he spotted a strangely shaped mound of snow near the man's feet, which were wrapped up in thick boots. The man made a slight movement, tipping his head up slightly to watch the boy draw closer. Tai was getting cautious now as he approached, stopping a few metres before the hooded man. It was impossible to see his physical features, being that a massive fold of cloth stretched in between the sides of the hood, hiding everything but his eyes.

Grey eyes, cold and uncompromising stared at him, and the boy fought the urge to shiver as he returned the look back. The mound of strangely shaped snow whimpered, and Tai's blood ran cold when he realised it was the one making the noises from before. Strangely enough, the man didn't even react to the small animals injured cries, instead he reached behind his back towards a handle poking out from his shoulder.

A sharp rasp of metal on leather followed, and the boy's eyes boggled when the man's hand came back wrapped around the handle of a wickedly curved sword, the edge impossibly sharp as fresh blood coated the tip of it. The man continued to stare into the boy's eyes as he fished a cloth out of his pocket and ran it down the naked metal, cleaning it and placing it back in it's sheath.

He did this.

The boy couldn't stop his hands from shaking as he narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?" he demanded, taking a step forward, the man moved like the wind itself and the touch of a sharp edge made itself known on the boy's throat. He resisted the urge to swallow when the sword was withdrawn, and as the man walked away, he was certain that something had whispered in his head. He froze, not daring to move as the wind died down quickly, and the snowstorm cleared up slightly, enough for him to see a bit better.

"You-" he whipped around, a growl rising before it died down. He was gone. A whimper made him turn towards the small mound of white fur laying half-buried in the snow nearby. Without a moment's thought he jogged towards it, bending down as the animal tried to move around, probably thinking he was the one who did this to it.

The boy placed a gentle hand on it's side to still the little creature. He grimaced as he felt the shuddering movements of it's chest, carefully, he dug out the snow around it, placing his hands underneath it. The creature growled, but he didn't care, his grip on the little guy slipped for a moment as he felt a slick and sticky sensation. As he slowly lifted the animal off of the ground, more shuddering ran through it's tiny frame, and it whimpered again.

Even though it was seriously wounded, it's eyes still looked strong and defiant as a growl rose in it's throat. He held it close to his chest, taking a deep breath to warm himself as he turned around, beginning his trek back towards the others. Luckily he hadn't needed to go far, as something large and whiter than it's surroundings bounded towards him, barking to alert the four people trailing behind her that she had found Tai.

As the large polar-bear dog padded towards the boy, her head tilted as she noticed the white bundle of fur cradled in his arms, which growled as she leaned forward to sniff.

Tai's eyes narrowed as he saw the others running towards him, and a niggling thought in the back of his head told him he shouldn't tell them just yet.

A/N

And we are back!

This will just be a little short story, about five chapters or so, that will bridge the five month gap between Book 1 and Book 2.

I look forward to those reviews, guys!