It had been years since Katara had visited Republic City. It was a long way from her home in the Southiern Water Tribe, and although she loved seeing her family, she had lived with Aang in the city for many years. Throughout the city, she saw his legacy, the fruits of his life's work as the avatar, and it was usually too much for her to bear. However, when Tenzin wrote to her, describing how much Korra had sacrificed for the world, she knew she needed to go. The best way to honor her husband was to help get his reincarnation back on her feet.
Tenzin insisted that a large gathering be held when she arrived at Air Temple Island, despite her insistence that it wasn't necessary. Katara was pleasantly surprised that Bumi and Kya hadn't managed to turn the whole thing into a party. The atmosphere was subdued, but friendly and loving. Katara hugged her grandchildren and then sat down to catch up with her children. Pema tried to bring the kids together for some Pai Sho, but Meelo and Ikki were too busy teasing Jinora and Kai, who had recently become an official couple and were holding hands in spite of the teasing. Eventually Pema gave up and joined Tenzin and the others. Across the room, Lin and Suyin were talking quietly. Katara had been very happy to see them on speaking terms with each other, while seeing Katara with Tenzin, Bumi, and Kya had made the girls miss their own mother even more. They stayed near each other, greatful to not be here alone while everyone celebrated family. At a small corner table, Mako, Bolin, Opal and Asami looked out of place and concerned.
"Do you think Korra is going to show up?" Asami asked.
"I hope so", said Mako. "I'm worried about her, spending all her time alone in her room, it can't be good for her."
"She's not alone now," Bolin countered.
"Oh that's right!" Opal informed them. "Her mother came with Katara, she and Tonraq were going to see if they could convince her to join us. They're probably with her right now."
"If she'll even talk to them. She's been shutting all of us out. None of us have seen her since Jinora's ceremony." Mako looked hurt.
"She'd better let them visit her. They came all this way to see her. It's one thing to ignore us, it's another thing to ignore her parents," remarked Asami.
Bolin hesitated, then he spoke up. "You guys need to cut her some slack. She went through a lot. She could have died. She needs rest. Don't put any more pressure on her to pretend she's okay if she's not. She deserves some privacy, if that's what she wants."
"How do you know so much about what she wants?" Mako raised an eyebrow.
"I'm... Just speculating. Just trying to be sympathetic." Bolin didn't mention that he had spoken to here earlier in the week.
Just then, they saw Tonraq wheeling Korra into the small social hall of the Southern Water Tribe Cultural Center, with Senna walking beside them. There was a small hush around the room as everyone turned to see who had arrived, but after seeing the look of minor panic on Korra's face, they returned to their conversations so as not to overwhelm her with attention. Although Senna had helped her into her formal wear and done her hair, Korra still looked quite run down.
Tonraq started towards the table where Katara, Tenzin, and the others were sitting, but Korra protested.
"Korra, you need to greet the hosts. Katara came here specifically to help heal you, at least say hello," Senna pressed her.
"I don't want to interrupt them catching up as a family, I can meet up with them later. Can you please take me over to where my friends are?" Korra pleaded.
Her parents looked at each other. They knew it was bad manners, but they silently agreed that just because Korra couldn't move herself there didn't mean she couldn't decide who to sit with. They brought her over to the table where the other teenagers were gathered, said a quick hello to her friends, and walked off to join the adults.
"Hi Korra," Asami said gently. "It's good to see you."
"It's good to see you too." Korra still looked a bit nervous, but she seemed to relax upon being received pleasantly. "All of you."
"We've all missed you, it's been so long since we've seen you," Mako remarked. "I tried to stop by, but Tonraq said that you were busy."
"Well, I haven't exactly been wandering around, ignoring you while I go off on fantastic adventures, if that's what you've been imagining." Korra felt defensive. It was bad enough that Mako had to see her while she was still helpless and looked like a mess, but now he was going to make her feel guilty about not seeing him?
"Oh, I don't think that's what he meant..." Opal trailed off.
"No, of course it isn't! I just wanted to say, I'm glad you came," Mako clarified.
Attempting to change the subject, Bolin jumped in. "Hey Korra! Did you see the spread over there? The Cultural Center provided the food, they have the best noodles in the city!"
Korra visibly brightened, then her face fell again. "Oh, um, actually, I'm not really hungry..."
"Don't be silly, Korra. We can all go over and get something to eat." Asami stood up, but then learned down to Korra's ear and said quietly, "I can help you with eating it if you want, it's no problem." Korra was a little embarrassed, but relieved that she wouldnt have to ask for help. Although she had regained some of the movement in her arms, she wasn't sure she'd be able to use chopsticks just yet. Luckily, the Cultural Center had also provided forks, and if Asami spun some noodles onto her fork, Korra could lift them to her mouth on her own. As they ate, Korra loosened up and began to feel much more like herself. Her friends noticed that even the bags under her eyes seemed to be fading as the night progressed.
"Korra, I'm sorry to interrupt you, but Katara was hoping to talk to you before she goes to bed for the night and she had a long journey so..." Tenzin trailed off.
Korra looked at the clock. "Oh, I didn't realize it had gotten so late! Sorry Tenzin. Could you bring me over to her?"
Tenzin was momentarily taken aback by how animated she was, and how willingly she had asked for help. He collected himself, and replied, "Of course."
After they left, Mako turned to Bolin. "Why are you being so protective of Korra? It's like you think you know more about her than anyone else."
"Do you want to go see what Kai and Jinora are doing?" Opal quickly asked Asami. She nodded, and they left the brothers alone.
"Look, I don't know if I'm supposed to tell you this, but I hung out with Korra a few days ago," Bolin admitted.
"Dude, why would you hang out with her and not tell me?" Bolin started to speak, but Mako cut him off. "Better question, why did she let you visit her and not me? Do you guys have these super close friendship meetings that I'm not invited to?"
"No, it's not like that. I think she just wanted a different perspective on this whole healing thing. She said she wanted to see you, but she was worried you would only be focused on helping her get better," Bolin explained.
"Well, yeah. Isn't her healing the most important thing?" Mako asked.
"It is important, but she's already putting so much pressure on herself to heal as fast as possible, and with President Raiko always asking her when she's going to take care of the spirit vines in the city..."
"Those spirit vines are a pain in the butt," Mako pointed out. "Korra's the only one who has a shot and doing anything about them."
"It doesn't matter!" Bolin was getting frustrated. "She knew you'd react this way, it's why she wasn't ready to hang out with you. You always want to help her save the world, but that's not what she needs right now. She just needs someone to relax with and cheer her up. If you care about her, that's what you'll be."
"Korra! How are you, dear?" Katara looked tired, but as wise and alert as ever. She really was doing well for someone of her years.
"I'm good. I mean, not really, I haven't really gotten too far with healing yet," Korra admitted, "but I am feeling better."
"Good. Your parents warned me that you weren't doing well, but it seems like time with your friends did you a world of good," Katara observed.
"It really did," Korra agreed.
Katara looked around the room and saw her grandchildren happily running around and playing. She looked over just in time to see Ikki ride an air scooter away from Asami, who was trying to tag her. Meelo laughed and said "You'll never be able to catch us airbenders!" Just then, Jinora blew his shirt up over his face and Asami used her quick reflexes to catch him and they all dissolved into laughter.
Katara smiled. "Sometimes, the company of the people we love is the strongest healer we have."
The party was a big success. Everyone remarked what a wonderful time they had before heading home. Even Tenzin was in such a good mood that when Kai and Jinora shared a quick peck on the lips at the end of the night, his face only turned a light mauve rather than the magenta such displays of affection usually evoked. When Mako noticed that Korra was alone for a moment, he walked up to her.
"Hey, Korra." He pulled up a chair so he could sit at her level.
"Hey, Mako. Sorry I snapped at you earlier," Korra apologized.
"No, it's okay, I understand," he assured her.
"I just got done talking to Katara, she said she thinks I'll be able to make a full recovery," Korra shared. "It'll take a while, obviously, but it was pretty good news. I should be back up to speed in a year or two, and then I can start training and helping to rebuild the city."
"Yeah, that's great." Mako hesitated. "Korra, I want you to know that it doesn't matter to me how quickly you get your bending back or start fixing the city or take care of the vines or if you ever do any of those things at all. I was so worried that we were going to lose you. Now that you're back, I just want to spend time with you. I'll be on your side no matter what. As long as we have Korra back, we don't need the Avatar. You're so much more than your duties to the world; first and foremost, you're our friend and we're just happy to have you back."
Korra was speechless for a moment. Then she smiled, and leaned her head on Mako's shoulder. "Thanks. I needed to hear that." She squeezed his hand. "I think the company of all my friends will be the strongest healer I have."