A/N: I know I should be writing my other fics, but this one-shot came to me and wouldn't leave me alone until it was written. It was going to be a little different to begin with, but because I'm me it came out totally depressing. I kind of hate myself for writing this.

I hope you enjoy my first forray into the world of Korra despite its depressing nature.

Reviews and crits are welcomed.


Lullabies in the Snow

Before you even turn around you know she's dying, but for that blink of an eye you dare to hope, because after all you've been through together you deserve that much. She deserves that much. But you see the red mingling with the snow. Not pink and faded like you imagined as a child but stark, bold against the whiteness of the south. You feel the tears well in your eyes and wend their way down your face, hot against your wind chilled cheeks.

By the time you realise you're running you've already reached her. She whimpers and shivers the way she did on the day you found her alone in the wilderness. Her breaths wheeze.

As you bury your face in her fur you finally let out a sob. Apologies clog your throat and you cling to her as if the world depends on it. In so many ways your own world does. You can't imagine life without her, but you can already feel her slipping away, and you know that even if you can't imagine it you'll have to live it. You're not sure how.

You stroke her and whisper words of comfort through your tears. She licks your hand. You close your eyes and sing her a lullaby as her breath slows. The words feel hollow in your mouth.

You're eight again, running into the tundra, away from the White Lotus compound. It's the fifth time this week. When you stop moving the snow has whipped into a flurry and you can't see the compound's walls anymore. Fear rises in your gut, but you quash it. You never wanted to go back anyway. You walk a little while longer, the snow reaches your knees and you have to wade through it. Eventually you grow tired of the slow progress and you waterbend the snow away.

You find it beneath the snow, a little grey-white shape whimpering and shivering. As you approach it, it lifts its head and lets out a weak growl, but you don't stop moving forward. You speak soothingly to it, holding out a gloved hand as you edge closer. It growls again, but you just smile. You ask if it's lost like you. Its growl dies, as if it understands, and you stroke it gently, letting it nuzzle you. You sing it the lullaby Katara sings to you and curl up with it to share your warmth. That's how Katara and the White Lotus find you later.

When you open your eyes you're no longer eight years old, and she isn't the scared little pup you found in the snow. You finish your lullaby, the same one you sang to her all those years ago. She lets out a wheeze and lies still. You push your face into her side and sob like a child, hands gripping clumps of her fur.

Later, when all the tears are dried up, you curl up to her, sharing your warmth. That's how Mako, Bolin and Asami find you.