i. it's the rain, not just the sun that helps it bloom
Fear creeps in and she can see nothing else. Embers light up the sky and there are explosions all around outside. Screams and cries drown in a blaze of destruction and as much as she tries, she can't ignore them. She swerves at the sound of the loud booms outside her window and her hands clench into rigid fists as she tries to overcome the dread that grips her heart in a chokehold. The air is hot, sizzling with crisp smoke and the smell of burning metal, sharply pricking her eyes and she struggles to see what is happening.
She could save them. She's the Avatar. This is what she was born to do.
And yet as Korra swallows the hard lump in her throat, she finds herself not able to move towards the door. Her head is demanding her body to go, but it won't and she can only watch in horrified silence as men, women, and children flee from their homes, their panicked looks permanently scarring her mind. A mother holds her baby, trying to run into the forest, stumbles and drops her son's hand and he gets lost in the crowds. Her screams, full of desperation and anguish, for her child burrow deep inside her and she knows she will never forget them now.
Someone's grabbing her, but she's still frozen and feels herself being dragged along. The hand that holds her is trembling and she recognizes the familiar calluses that blot her mother's skin. Realization makes her look up and she sees blue eyes tinted with dark terror. Senna is afraid for her.
Her strong, wonderful mother who has loved her since she came into the world and sneaks her bits of seal jerky whenever she can get any and rocks her to sleep in her arms with her native Northern Water Tribe lullabies is scared. Korra wonders if she ever wishes that she didn't have the Avatar for a daughter. Life would be easier.
They wouldn't be in hiding and fleeing from town to town almost on a monthly basis, narrowly avoiding the slow, slithering invasion of her predator and his followers. His influence permeates the world like a sickness, a shadow. The Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation, and the Water Tribes are falling, one by one, bowing down to a masked face. His words bring voices and power to the unheard, the non-benders. And yet, as her father pushes her downstairs, she wonders if the spirits made a mistake.
A coward doesn't deserve to be the Avatar.
There are Equalists at every corner, prowling the streets like black spots under the dim glow of flickering lights and their grim uniforms remind her of spiders creeping into the night, on the hunt for prey. Benders are the victims and she is the grand prize.
They kick down doors and drag out innocent civilians, young and old, earth, air, fire, and water. Their weapons are strong and the elements don't stand a chance against the harshness of modern technology.
"Korra!"
"Korra!"
She distantly registers her parents trying to snap her out of her stunned daze, trying to get her away from their burning home. Her eyes squeeze shut as they prepare to flee again, but she can still see sparks of blue flaring from metal gloves, bringing down people left and right. Families are being torn apart right in front of her and she's running. Because she's the Avatar, her mind coldly reminds her, she gets to be safe and protected while everyone and everything goes down in flames.
A father throws a little girl into the arms of her mother as they surround a family from all sides. Sharp whips of water lash out from his hands as he tries to protect them, the people he loves. Twirling them around, he manages to throw off a band of them back and hope begins to trickle as she watches the fight. Maybe he'll win. Maybe, they'll make it.
But just as quickly, more take their places. The man pushes them away again and shouts at his wife and children. Run! I love you! His last words collide into them, spurring them into action as they swerve around, running away, but when they look back, her heart shatters. His sacrifice. With his eyes still on his family, the man falls to his knees with a resounding thud as someone lands a final blow across the back of his head.
She sees the tears forming in his eyes as he silently mouths to them. Goodbye. The high-pitched scream of the little girl crying resonates into the night, tiny fingers reaching forward even as she bounces in her mother's unsteady arms. Papa! They drag his body across the dirt and throw him next to the others.
The others. Nearly every bender in the town has fallen. Piles of bodies line the streets, some unconscious and others barely awake. Their faces are bruised and battered, terror is the common denominator among them.
An elderly couple leans against a pole, their hands are clutched together. The woman is in tears, wisps of gray strands fluttering in the wind as she holds up a clenched fist, before opening it. Korra recognizes the hand motions of a firebender. She's trying to bend, but nothing happens. The man's grip around her tightens to the point where she can tell it hurts the woman's old bones, but she doesn't care. She's lost half of herself. The woman's brown eyes are murky, glistening with liquid as he squeezes her, kissing her forehead. Her heart recoils at the sight and fear pulls her deeper into the dark.
There isn't any spilled blood from what Korra can see, but there may as well be. Former benders are hardly alive, their bodies are empty shells. Their bending stripped from them, snatched away in an act of cruelty. Is this what the fight for equality is for?
Because only in death are people equal. Everyone dies.
Senna throws a coat over her daughter, shoving her out the door and into an Order of the White Lotus guard's arms. He pulls her up and she vaguely hears murmurs of the other guards flitter in and out of her hearing. Her parents hastily climb into the car behind her and the door closes, letting them ride off into the night. Her fingers tug the curtains slightly back, blue eyes peeking behind them.
The world is on fire and its savior has forsaken it once more.
They are sitting at the table in the midst of dinner when the letter arrives. The Order of the White Lotus sentries surround the room, enjoying their own meals in the calming silence.
Each person appreciates it. Quiet is good. Quiet never lasts.
Her father's eyes grow wide as he reads, before the parchment slips from his grasp altogether. Her mother casts him a confused glance as she reaches over to pick up the letter. As Senna reads it, Korra sees her brows knit together as she glances up at her husband once, before continuing on.
When she's done, the letter follows the same path, floating quietly to the ground, light as a feather, but its impact is heavy. Both hands are pressed over her mouth, blue eyes brimming with unshed tears.
Emperor Tenzin has issued a call to arms; all viable men are to honor their duties to their nations.
"But you're my father," Korra says quietly, curling the napkin in her lap around her hand. "You're the father of the Avatar! Tell them no!" Her voice rises and all eyes are on the family.
"If I tell them, they will know who you are, Korra," Her father argues, shaking his head furiously. "And they will come for you. I can't. I can't let him take you." His back crouches over, propping his downcast face on the palm of a closed fist, before he wipes weary eyes with the back of his hand.
She dives into her father's arms, twin trails of tears gliding down her cheeks. "You're my father," her devastated tone makes his stomach churn with pain, every word a distinct blow to his heart. By the time she pulls away so that his somber wife can be enveloped in his arms for the last time, Tonraq realizes something.
Amon's influence is stronger than it seems. His physical might is destroying families as he punishes them for being benders, for being blessed with the power to control an element of nature. But his mental prowess is just as powerful. He isn't only tearing people apart, but he is also succeeding by forcing them into the fight. Whether old, young, able or unable, everyone is now involved.
He's tired of running, but for his little girl, he would keep running to the ends of the earth to protect her.
Korra has known that she is the Avatar since she was four.
And for years as she grew older and trained under the Order of the White Lotus' tutelage, Amon and his army amassed power in all four nations. Knowing this and wary that war would come sooner rather than later, her identity was kept a secret between the Order itself and her family.
As cities began to crumble under the might of the masked man, the Order evacuated them in the darkness of night from the South Pole. Their only orders were to keep her safe, away from the clutches of the one who desired to orchestrate the downfall of the legendary Avatar and subsequently, benders around the world.
The fall of the elements in all their blazing, bright glory is beginning.
After her parents settle in for the night, after her father gathers the required armor and weapons, and after her guards are long gone to sleep, Korra slips out of bed. She's lost track of where they have been and where they are now, but she knows this isn't the South Pole. This isn't home.
And yet it feels like it, because the blanket of fresh snow that covers their surroundings reminds her of home. Clean white paints the canvas of the landscape, iridescent snowflakes twinkling down upon her, dotting the blues of her overcoat.
Using her fingers to let out a sharp whistle, she only has to wait for a few seconds, before stampeding sounds of her most loyal friend make their way around the corner of the house. Glowing warmth fills her heart at the familiar sight of the polar bear dog. Naga shoves her nose into Korra's embrace, playfully licking her face.
She throws a saddle over Naga and carefully ties her bags securely together. One contains her few treasured possessions and the other contains her father's armor and weapons. Clutching her coat tighter against the bitter cold, Korra swings herself onto her friend's back.
"Korra!" Her father runs out the door, only a short distance away. He's standing there in the snow, barefoot and wide eyes alarmed as he takes in her appearance and what she's taken. "What are you doing?" His shout is almost unheard in the whistling winds of the harsh weather.
Her mother runs out not a second later and her fingers instinctively wrap around one of her father's arms. Korra smiles faintly at the gesture, before yelling back to her parents with a wave. "I love you!"
And as she takes off on Naga galloping into the unknown, her blue eyes focus on the journey ahead. She's neither naive nor stupid. When she looked around the room that night, she could see everything. What the Order of the White Lotus sentries gave up to pledge their lives to her. What her parents gave up to keep her from harm. It's time she made a few sacrifices of her own.
Avatar Korra will hide no longer.