Oceans apart

A sudden burst of cold air burst through the streets of Republic City as Mako made his way home after completing his latest mission for the Triple Threat Triad. He glared at the wind as he absentmindedly pulled his threadbare jacket closer to him.

"Just what I needed…more bad luck," he muttered to himself.

Things had not always been so bad for him and his brother. Before his parents died, he had lived a pretty good life, by his standards, and never had much to worry about. However, since the accident, he suddenly had to worry about everything around him as he struggled to take care of himself and his little brother.

Mako never wanted to work for the Triple Threat Triad, but he had no choice. No one else would hire him and he had to take care of his little brother. He would do anything for Bolin, even if it meant going against his morals.

Neither one of them deserved this kind of life, he thought to himself bitterly.

Tears sprung to Mako's eyes as he slipped up and allowed his mind to wander to thoughts of his mother. God how he missed her and his father. They had been such good and wonderful people; they didn't deserve to die the way they did. He angrily wiped away a tear that had escaped. Focus Mako, he thought to himself. Crying wasn't going to bring them back or make his life any easier.

Suddenly the wind picked up and his scarf was ripped off his neck and blown on the ground. Mako quickly reached out to catch it, but the wind picked up again and his father's scarf was swiftly flying through the air. He sprinted after it desperate to get it back. His feet slid out from underneath him as he skidded on a patch of ice and ended up landing face first into a pile of snow.

He brushed the snow out of his face and frantically looked around him as he brought himself to his feet. He searched for hours along the streets and alleys of Republic City, but it was pointless. It was gone. The last thing he had that connected him to his father was gone.

He lashed out and slammed his fist into the brick wall in front of him. His legs gave out and he slid to the ground in defeat and let the tears fall down his face freely. A dull ache began throbbing through the hand that had hit the wall. He did not care anymore. Losing that scarf was like losing his parents all over again. He wrapped his arms around his knees, careful of the hand that he had slammed against the wall, buried his face in his arms, and let all of the emotions that he had been holding back over the years flow freely. He cried for his parents. He cried for his brother. He cried in frustration for their life.

As his exhaustion and the cold finally overcame his body, he slumped against the cold ground and slowly slipped into unconsciousness. The last thing that he saw before he passed out was the image of a strange girl in water-bending clothes reaching for something on the ground in front of her as snow lightly flew to the ground around her…

Thousands of miles away, Korra was wandering out in the middle of nowhere in the South Pole attempting to relieve her frustration away from judging eyes. She was the Avatar for god's sake and they still treat her as if she was a child who is too young to do anything for herself. She growled in frustration as she recalled how her test today went. "You lack discipline and have chosen to completely ignore the spiritual side of bending! You still require more practice before we can allow you to move on in your Avatar training."

She paced around in front of Naga. How was she supposed to please them?! She performed everything perfectly and showed how well she could perform during a fight. She had grown up to be a strong young woman. She practiced her bending day and night until she perfected each move. She could hold her own against every bender on the island and yet she still was not ready to learn airbending yet.

"It's useless, Naga. They are never going to believe in me. No matter what I do I will never be good enough Avatar for them. What's the point in trying anymore?" She threw her hands up in the air and flopped down on the snow-covered ground. Naga whined and slipped her nose under Korra's arm. Korra turned her head towards Naga and laughed.

"At least I know you will always believe in me, Naga," she said as she buried her face into her polar bear-dog's soft and warm neck. Naga pulled back and licked her face.

"I love you too Naga," Korra said as she laughed and wiped away Naga's slobber from her face.

Suddenly Naga perked up and stared off into the distance. Korra's brow furrowed and she glared in the direction that Naga was staring. Which one of them did they send this time to come "fetch" her, she thought bitterly to herself.

Her eyebrows shot up as she realized it was not a "who," but rather a "what" that Naga had seen.

She stood up slowly and began to make her way towards the area that she had seen the flash of red. She glanced around in the snow for any sign of the mysterious object. Another gust of wind blew around her as she searched.

There! The wind had momentarily uncovered the object and Korra jogged over to it as it was once again hidden amongst the snow. She huffed in frustration as she lost the object again. Korra took a deep breath and went through the motions that had become as a part of her mind as they were a part of her soul. She lifted the snow around her and smirked to herself when she found it lying right in front of her. She sent the layer of snow up into the air causing a flurry of snowflakes to fall around her as she reached for the mysterious red object.

She smiled softly to herself as she realized that it was just a well-worn scarf that she held in her hands. She wrapped the scarf securely around her neck as she contemplated what kind of person owned it. A brief flash of a young man's face flashed across her mind and Korra shook her head at herself.

While on the outside, she gave off a tough and abrasive image, on the inside she wanted nothing more than to find a man that could break down her barriers and love her for who she really was. She may be the Avatar, but that does not mean that she does not want a happily ever after like every other girl in the world.

She smiled to herself as she breathed in the scent that remained on the scarf as she made her way back over to Naga. Surely, whoever it belonged to would be missing the scarf, she mused to herself as she leaned against her beloved Naga. The question was how she was going to find them…