"You have to help me!" the boy cried, his adolescent voice cracking. "Please!" his green eyes bored into mine, his brown hair a tussled mess that was constantly whipped around as he shook his head.
At me. The reason he was doomed to fail. The defunct Avatar.
"Answer me!" he screeched, tears forming in his eyes. "You have to!"
He looked like Bolin. His eyes spilling over with tears as his throat puffed out with each breath and shook his thick frame. But I can't dwell on Bolin….
My duty is to cast my thoughts on this boy. The newest addition to the Avatar hall of fame.
"I just…. I don't know what to do!" he sobbed out, collapsing onto his knees.
And suddenly it all clicked. Everyone thought that we were all similar because of our characters… our abilities. They had no idea that this was what linked us all.
Powerlessness. I could never stop the wars in my time, not forever. Aang stopped the Fire Lord, but he couldn't cure the rest of the ailments.
"And you think I do?" I gave him a wry smile, trying to seem cocky. "I was probably the worst Avatar ever!" I chuckled, watching as he sat up and stared at me blearily.
"But the….. there are battles…. Skirmishes….. it's….." he shuddered, "Unbearable…."
"The world is. That's what makes it great." I rolled my eyes, "For others that is. We exist to make their lives easier. Even if it means giving up what makes us happy." I knelt down, looking into his eyes and wondering if this was what Mako and Bolin looked like as orphans…..
"And then there's the Spirit World…." He cringed, "I had to close it there was no way-"
"I opened it in the first place so I feel like I should say I'm sorry." I sat down on the ground and thanked the Spirits that my body retained the appearance and feeling it had when I was around twenty.
"Then there's this constant nattering of how I need to be like Avatar Aang, or you! And as much as I respect you both I just can't be you! But if that's what the world needs and wants I'm expected-"
I burst into a small fit of chuckles, feeling awful at laughing at the irony. It seemed like the one thing we were all cursed with was the expectations of others.
"You're….." he narrowed his eyes at me, "Is there anyone else I can talk to?"
"Sorry kid," I smiled, "I'm it."
"The others?" he lo looked around, his eyes darkening when the shadows revealed nothing.
"They didn't tell you?" I frowned, feeling my heart drop. Surely Genora would….. surely Asami would or Bolin or…
He shook his head, looking at me curiously. It hit me then that they might have died before he even met them. I had no guarantee that Genora or Mako had lived. Bolin and Asami had probably done some stupid stunt and died, knowing them.
"I made some bad decisions. Some stupid ones." I looked upwards into the nothingness, "And one of them got me…. Well…. It got me killed…." I looked at him, feeling my throat tighten at admitting I was wrong, "Because I was killed in the Avatar State I…. I cut all those ties."
I watched the boy's face fall, watched his mind whirl to comprehend what I had just said.
"So you're it?" he looked at me.
"Yup." I smiled, "Sorry kid."
He licked his chapped lips, fingers thrumming nervously. "Don't be." He looked at me, smiling, "I…. I haven't had much guidance….. so I might seem a little, ungrateful." He swallowed nervously. "Is there anything you can tell me? Any advice?"
I smiled, my mind whirling back to when I was a girl at Air Temple island. The lessons with Genora, arguing with Tenzin…. Meeting Aang…. My constant search for advice and guidance. "You're path is your own." I murmured, raising a hand to his forehead to brush his bangs away. "I was told to conform to my predecessors path. I was told to conform to this standard that wasn't mine. I can't be a pacifist… I have this need to fight." I took a deep breath, calming myself. "And while guidance is great and you need it…. Don't be afraid to make your own mark. Good or bad. All of us Avatars are proud of you. You're unique."
I put my hand on his shoulder and watched as his eyes brightened, his muscles relaxing and his breathing even out. I drew away from him and felt my heart lurch a little at how bad of an Avatar I'd been. This kid had no clue, he had little guidance and the Avatars who could help I had effectively gotten rid of.
"In short," I murmured, "tell them to 'Fuck off'." He finally burst into a smile and stood up, chuckling slightly as he swallowed back any uncertainty he'd had.
"Thank you Korra…." He murmured. "You helped me, believe it or not. I'll tell them where to shove it."
As he began to fade away I made sure to catch his cocky grin, and offering a small wave I felt myself fade away. Back to the Spirit Realm…. Further away from my now gone duties.