A/N: So, here's my first attempt at writing in a long while. It's a Howrra two-shot, and part two will pick up directly after the end of part one. Be forewarned, there is a hint of Makorra and a decent amount of angst up ahead. That being said, I present you with Everything. Also, I own nothing but the words in my head and the laptop that receives them.
The pages of his book began to flutter in the breeze. He frowned and tried to shift his body in such a way that he could continue reading exactly how Lady Denko would react to finding out that the boy she had brushed arms with on the street just once, many years ago, was now stationed in the tea shop outside of her home. It was a story of love and loss, of hidden affection and brutal rejection.
A story, Howl felt, that he could relate to a little too well since he had arrived in Republic City and slowly watched Korra fall for a surly firebender with a jaded past. Now he was the one in the background, lurking in the shadows and waiting for her to come back.
The wind picked up again, and despite his valiant attempts to keep the damn thing open, Lady Denko's tale was ripped from his grasp. With a sigh that was more exasperated than annoyed, he bent down to pick the book up and - WHAM! - he was flat on his back, looking at the stars.
"Sentry three," his superior officer barked from a similiar position several feet away. "How many times do I have to tell you to stop reading those motherfu -"
The world turned upside down and night became day, blinding day, as a blue-white light overtook Air Temple Island. It faded quickly enough, leaving a stunned silence in it's wake. Even the rumble of the city, a sound that Howl was still getting accustomed to, had ceased.
And then the screaming began.
"Up, up, up!" The officer screamed, his pudgy hands grasping Howl's bicep in a vain attempt to pull him to his feet.
Was that...? No. It couldn't be.
Still, the fine hairs on the nape of his neck refused to lay flat as he struggled to stand.
"We need to move, now."
There were a few seconds where Howl - bless his soul - stood in something akin to awe but much more closely related to confusion. A flurry of blue and white and grey cloaks overtook him, and the corner where he had been standing guard not an hour ago was swarming with other members of the Lotus.
"What's going on?"
"What was that?"
"Did you see that?"
"Never mind seeing it, did you feel that shit?"
"Enough!" A voice rose amongst the rest and everyone, even the Order member in charge, stepped back to form ranks. After a second, though, the man moved forward once more.
"Tenzin, sir. Did you -?"
"Yes and yes," the father of the Air Nation said. Howl felt a little bad for his chief, but was ultimately glad he wasn't in the man's shoes. He'd already been reprimanded by Master Tenzin. Twice, actually. Once for listening to a pro-bending match (he'd been wishing Korra could be there to obnoxiously cheer for whatever team caught her fancy that evening) and one for letting the aforementioned Avatar sneak out to go see one of the aforementioned matches (even though Tenzin didn't know he had purposely let Korra get off the island undetected, he seemed to know, you know?). For a man who was supposed to channel the element of tranquility, Tenzin sure did like to get angry.
Ah, well. Howl wasn't the one on the recieving end of this temper tantrum, and for that he was glad.
"I understand. We'll leave at once. We'll find her."
The guards around him seemed to snap into action, running off towards the posts where they'd left their weapons, the quarters where they'd left their shoes. Howl turned a few seconds after the rest, and bumped into one of the few female guards. He scratched the back of his neck nervously.
"Sorry, I was just -"
"Daydreaming again, Howl?" The woman said in what could only constitute as a snide tone. "You'd better keep your head out of the clouds for a few minutes, otherwise we're going to get relocated again."
"Relocated?" Howl echoed, but she was already gone. He shouted towards the back of her head. "Relocated?"
"You're not going to be relocated, Howl." He knew that it was Tenzin before the man spoke. He just had a presence about him. "Not as long as we move swiftly and decisively. The metalbenders are already on their way."
"On their way? On their way to what?"
Tenzin looked at him with such pity in his eyes that, if he'd had time to think about it, Howl would have wondered if somehow the airbender knew. But there was no time to think, because Tenzin was speaking and Howl's world was, for the second time in ten minutes, turned upside down.
"That light... I'm afraid we have to assume that Korra has entered the Avatar State."
