Inspired by the most recent episode of Legend of Korra. (Best one so far! I heart Uncle Iroh!)
Jinora is trapped in the spirit world, with no way of return to her physical body. See the conversation she has with Unalaq concerning this.
Into the Woods
Jinora had been so excited when she found herself in the spirit world. The vibrant colors, the pulse of life, and awestruck beauty was enchanting. She let her guard down to take in the magic of the wonderful place and that had left her wide open as an easy target. Being stripped of her bending hadn't bothered her so much when she'd first arrived, yet had she known she would need it so suddenly, she might not have risked the journey.
She'd never been without her bending, not even when they had been captured by the Equalists, shocking though it probably was, when every other benders who'd ever run up against them had been stripped of that power almost immediately.
Truth be told, she wasn't positively sure she could much remember if any airbender had been successfully chi blocked. She didn't remember anything in her grandfather's notes about it. Even her dad, though overpowered on occasion, was never able to remain still long enough for one of those goons to get a hold of him to do their little finger tap-dance around his pressure points. Thus, they had to resort to electrocution and binds.
They must have caught on eventually by changing their strategy so it didn't involve hand to hand combat. Jinora could remember the time they'd been captured fairly well.
Oogi had landed in a valley about a hundred miles away. Their destination was a small camp off the slopes of Mt Makapu, where her father said they would be safe for a few days before fleeing to the Western Air Temple for sanctuary. They'd unloaded the gear and began to set up camp.
Her mother was nursing Rohan, Meelo and Ikki were busy gathering some roots and nuts for stew, and she and her father were setting up the tent.
With their first task accomplished, her father strode towards the forest in search of firewood. He was just walking when from out of nowhere, his hand came up to slap against his neck as if fighting off a bug, then without warning he fell over on his side, limp and unconscious.
"Daddy?" Jinora gasped, running up to his side. Her mother had gotten up, too, cradling little Rohan to her chest fearfully, and followed her daughter to where her father lay on the grass.
"Tenzin!"
Jinora fell to her knees, eyes growing moist and scared while she looked at his unconscious form. Something whistled towards her and Jinora smacked at her neck where what felt like a bee sting pinched her without provocation. Sudden exhaustion overcame her and she slumped against the surprised arm of her mother.
"Sweetie?" She cried with surprise.
Despite her exhaustion, dread overcame her as her quick mind made the connection to the sudden danger.
"Mommy, run." She murmured as her head spun in a circle. Despite her blurring vision Jinora still managed to make out the shapes emerging from the forest and the strained gasp that blew suddenly from her mother at their appearance.
Jinora's muscles were like soggy noodles as she struggled to hold on to her consciousness. She couldn't bear the thought of these horrible people hurting her mother or her brand new baby brother, who hadn't even been given the chance to really live. What if they needed her and she couldn't do anything to help them?
She heard someone talking now, a man's voice, grainy, deep, and menacing.
"Don't struggle and we won't hurt you or your family." he said to her mother. There was a pause as sudden whimpers from Rohan cut through all thought and Jinora didn't hear what her mother said next as her world was at last swallowed by the dark.
The next time she woke, she was upright and her arms and legs were bound by heavy chains behind her back. A cloth was also tied over her mouth to keep her from blowing out a windstorm of fury. Her mind was slow to register, but she tossed her head a bit and things became clearer. Her daddy, Ikki, and Meelo were tide in identical positions in a straight line on each side of her, going from oldest to youngest. Her father was fully awake and glaring furiously at a masked man across from them. Her little brother and sister remained unconscious to the happenings around them, though.
The voice from Amon had Jinora looking back at him, curious to know what he had to say for this.
"Please know that I hold you in the highest regards." He said to Tenzin, not looking at the now conscious Jinora. "You do your best to make sure everyone is treated fairly and I appreciate that. You're peaceful people and you only fought when you were threatened. However, you must realize that you, as benders, hold an unfair advantage against those without it. Were everyone as fair I would not be doing this to you or your children. Please note that as soon as this is over with, you all may be reunited with your wife and son."
His words didn't make her feel better; they didn't make anyone feel better, though his attempt had been towards something…
"Kind" wasn't the right word, but perhaps "diplomatic"?
He wasn't doing it because it gave him pleasure to frighten children or abduct families, and Jinora could sense that. He honestly believed that bending was wrong. But how could that be true, when he himself was a bender? It contradicted everything he preached about.
After the incident and Korra's heroic rescue, Jinora had often been burdened with nightmares of their abduction, waking up in the middle of the night to her own imaginings of Amon's success and his lowering hand to remove her of her bending forever. Her tears and low sobs had always roused her, but she tried to ignore it, shaking it off as nerves. In time she wouldn't worry about that, and she'd be able to go on having good dreams about libraries and pretty things and playful spirits.
However, this abduction was much different compared to that time. Jinora hated to admit it but that incident had always been meant with some kind of purpose—horrible unfair purpose, but purpose even so. People were being mistreated and it sparked revolution that unfortunately caught Jinora and her family in the crossfire.
This wasn't the same as before. This wasn't that outcry that was started from desperate people.
This was cold and senseless imprisonment, by a cold and senseless person whose only aim was to watch the world burn.
This time when Jinora woke, she wasn't totally sure what to think as she squinted around the dark. Night must have dropped on the forest at last. She had fallen forward, probably from exhaustion after being in her meditation position for so long. Korra was probably waking up now, too, their trip to the spirit world over with, for now.
Jinora sighed, recalling small bits and pieces and realizing it had been a fiasco trip, perhaps, but at least they were both okay and back home in their bodies and Harmonic Convergence was still a ways off so they had another chance to set things right.
She sat up, yawning and blinking through the greenery around her, and taking solace that her auntie would probably have a nice, warm remedy for the bump on her head.
But when her gaze focused on her actual surroundings, her heart sunk deep and she forgot how to breathe for a moment.
"No."
Right then she remembered! It all came swirling back. Every horrible detail!
Furry Foot! He took her somewhere after the big fight between Unalaq and Korra, but she should have woken up! She should have woken up in her own body! Where was she?
Why don't you come with me so you can do some firsthand research?
Her stomach tied into knots at the memory of Unalaq's advancing approach, and the horrible curling smile that greeted his lips as he looked at her. If she was in her body she might have thrown up at the awful nerves that assaulted her by the look that was in his eye. She sat up, drawing into herself and looking around the dead, looming forest as if expecting that horrible person to materialize out of the shadows with that same evil smirk.
Her eye caught something move and saw a dark spirit Furry Foot towering over her, guarding her to make certain the prisoner didn't run. It was doubtful she could go anywhere, though. Not in a place as frightening as this.
Once over her surprise, she reached out timidly, wanting to rid that darkness from the spirit whom had been such a good friend. "Oh what did he do to you?" Jinora whispered touching the once fine and soft fur, yet whatever energy Unalaq had polluted him with left only sharp and hard spikes running across his coat. Jinora flinched back when one pricked her. There was no blood, but instead a small fleck of light, glittering with the essence of her soul.
Instinctively she popped the digit in her mouth, sucking on it to prompt healing. She didn't like being on her knees while the giant stood above her like a tower, and resorted to getting to her feet, hoping what was once her friend wouldn't shove her back to the ground. When he didn't, she tested a step forward, watching the dark dragonfly bunny for signs of disapproval or aggression for the move. After that, she took another till it was okay to push forward and measure her prison.
There were no walls, no sense of true confinement in this haunted wood other than the darkness and spiny trees that reached towards her like withered hands in search of easy prey to snatch up. Jinora gulped, trying to force those feelings down, searching for her chi and keeping it lit through this shadowy walk. All the while her dark spirit guard kept three paces behind her.
After a while, something loomed in the distance. A light? A campfire, she realized drawing closer. Maybe someone could help her there.
She squinted, seeing a figure casted by the flickering light, their back set to her. She could distinguish orange and yellow despite the inky black shadow blotting out most of it, along with a smooth head and a bright blue line running down the pale skin. Was it a monk? Maybe a passed air nomad?
She quickened her steps; hope surfacing as she drew closer to the promising aid till she was right behind him, raising a hand to tap him on the back. "Um hello? Are you a monk? I think I'm a bit lost and I need some directions. Can you help me?"
"That depends on the help you need, Jinora."
It wasn't the person she wanted to see at the moment. Not the person she wanted to see at all! The yellow and orange robes seemed to be blot out with dark blues and fur pelts as Unalaq turned in his seat to smirk up at her.
Jinora's hand snatched away and she jumped nearly out of her skin with surprise and fear. Normally she was considerably graceful, but that had just terrified her, giving way to a rare moment of inelegance.
"Unalaq!"
"Jinora." He responded calmly, nodding his head with acknowledgement accompanied by smugness. Somehow his composer that this whole ordeal he'd put her in was perfectly normal, did something to her nerves and she was overcome with a rare desire for violence. Typically something that involved her grabbing up her air glider and whacking that smug grin right off his old, ugly face!
"It's good to see you up and about." He continued in that same awfully pleased tone, sounding rather casual. "Sit. Meditate with me."
Jinora blinked, eyeing him and the place in front of him that he'd indicated. A moment of disobedience crept inside her, urging her to ignore his request (or order as it sounded like) to turn and storm away from him with a cold shoulder. But she knew that was too dangerous, considering he held ALL the power. He could bend and she couldn't. He had done something horrible to the spirits that had turned her own friend into a monster and traitor. He knew this world better than she did. For some reason she couldn't return to her body. And by some horrible power, he could reduce her soul to nothing and destroy her on a whim.
And even without all those factors, it still wouldn't help her in the least. He was bigger and stronger than her and if it came to a physical attack, he could have her in pain and crying with very little effort.
Her best tactic was to be compliant… for now.
Grudgingly, she took a seat facing him but out of arms reach, feeling safer with him that much further from her person, but not by much.
She didn't meditate as he'd instructed, but sat cross-legged, glaring at his ridiculously calm expression. A moment of silence passed and neither spoke. Him just sitting there, eyes closed and a triumphant smirk marring his already ugly face, and her with arms folded stubbornly across her chest, glaring at his expression.
"Well," he said expectantly, after some time. "Aren't you going to ask?"
He already knew what she was dying to say. As if he couldn't be any more overpowering, she could add "Mind Reader" to that long list of unfair advantages he had over her.
"Why can't I get back to my body?" she said as calmly as she could manage. "I should have woken up with Korra after our defeat"—oh that was horrible to admit—"but I'm still here. How come?"
Unalaq's smirk widened. "So quick to get straight to the point. Typical airbender."
"Oh I'm sorry," Jinora said sarcastically, "Let me start with some small talk. How has your day been going? Me? I've been better."
"Well I'm sorry to hear that."
"No you're not."
"You're right, I'm not."
"Can we dispense with the pleasantries and get down to business." Jinora said, trying to keep her irritation from running rapid.
"You want to know why you can't return to your body? Simple really. I put up a material block inside your soul."
Jinora's eyes widened and she couldn't help the yelp that rose passed her mouth. "That's impossible!"
"Oh really? If I can destroy a soul in the spirit world and turn light spirits into dark and vice versa, who's to say I can't accomplish a feat as simple as rendering a person from returning back to their physical self?"
Jinora was about to ask why he would do such a thing before she found herself answering her own question. "I'm a hostage! Korra got away and Harmonic Convergence hasn't come yet. If Korra comes back to close the portals you'll just use me as incentive to tell her to step back."
Unalaq's eyebrow quirked slightly by her wit and his smile returned. "Quick aren't you."
"All airbenders are."
"I beg to differ. Korra has proven to be very slow."
"Korra is going to kick your butt and defeat you and Vaatu, before Harmonic Convergence." She shouldn't have tested the waters like that. It was a poor idea that would probably end very badly for her, but she couldn't stop the anger from pouring out.
"I doubt that very much. The only way Korra can defeat me is if she travels to one of the poles and enters through the spirit gate with her physical self in order to bend. I have well-trained guards stationed at both of them. Even if she manages to get passed she won't dare try to close them, not when I have her little friend at my mercy."
Jinora glared, feeling her insides curl up on themselves. The memory of him manipulating her energies, slipping into her spirit and destroying everything she was, caused her to wince. Without a doubt, that had been the most terrifying moment of her life, so much more frightening than the concept of her bending being stripped from her forever. She could live through that, but having her very soul being tainted and eaten away till she became nothing… was a feeling she never wanted to experience again.
She was so scared, but she wouldn't show it. She'd be brave. She had to for everyone she cared about.
This was just like the stories she poured over for hours on end, delving into the trials and adventures of so many of her heroes. They'd struggled through things that had terrified them too, but they'd always come back, pushing forward to the end of the story and making sure that it was happy and resolved. Although some of those endings hadn't been all happy. Some friends had been lost along the way, never to be seen again. What could she do to keep that from happening to her?
"Let's say, hypothetically," She began, planning every word carefully, "that you manage to actually win. Harmonic convergence comes, Vaatu is released, we all die," she tried not to let her voice shake on that last part, continuing with a bit more bravery. "What will you get out of all this? More power?"
"You're very eager to assume the worst of me."
"Well it's not like you're doing this out of the goodness of your heart. Not that I think you even have one." As strange as it was, Jinora felt bad for saying that the very moment it had come out. Monks were taught to believe that there was some kind of good in everyone, and she sort of depended on that small bit of humanity he had to get back home, however hard that might have been.
"Nothing is all so cut and dry, Jinora."
Something about him saying her name played a horrible feeling in her gut. She hated it. She didn't want him using her name like he knew anything at all about her.
"You sold the world for your own gains. That seems pretty cut and dry to me."
"When Vaatu is released from his prison," he explained, going infuriatingly slow as if her child mind wouldn't be able to understand unless he spelled it out for her, "the world with enter into a new age of spiritual enlightenment. For too long mankind has turned their backs on the spirits, giving way to greed and hypocrisy and ultimately disrespecting the very celestial beings that sustain them. The hundred year war was the final bean to tip the balance, giving birth to this… deplorable age of gluttony and disarray. People use the gifts of the spirits for their own self gain, ignoring the shear divinity of their bending and preferring to use it as intimidation means and a scapegoat for their own selfishness."
Jinora just scoffed. "I don't see how you can come off acting so high and mighty when you've been using your bending for pretty selfish reasons lately."
"I assure you, when Vaatu escapes, the world will see the error of their ways."
"Error of their ways?" Jinora repeated with distain. "Vaatu is the bad guy. He's the spirit of darkness. All he's going to do is inflict pain and suffering on people, animals, and spirits." She gestured to Furry Foot who stood in the background keeping up his duty to guard Jinora. "My friend used be fun and nice, but now look what Vaatu's done to him—look what you've done to him!"
Unalaq didn't so much as glance towards where she was pointing; merely kept his stare on her. "I simply allowed him some insight. I also wanted you to see the extension of my powers in this place, so you'd understand that I am not to be tested or challenged. Not that you wouldn't see it eventually as your stay here is somewhat definite."
Jinora was quiet by that. In this place, he was all-powerful over her and even over spirits. Despite realizing that, she tried not to give in to the wash of helplessness that suddenly doused her. She had to be strong and believe in her hope that she would get back to her body and her father and everyone she loved. But… it was so hard.
Unalaq regarded her with a new look this time, something that resembled pity but nothing that made her feel any better. "You know you don't have to die. You could be a valuable part of the new world when it comes."
As if things couldn't surprise her anymore, that definitely took her off guard. Her voice cracked when she opened her mouth again. "Why would I want to help you?"
"Because I can teach you things your father never could. Though, I won't hesitate to destroy you if the Avatar tries anything to ruin my plans, I'll admit it would be such a waste. It's so rare to find a person who has an obvious connection to the spirits the way you do, especially for someone so young."
"I don't want to help you. I like my spiritual leader. Why don't you just teach your own kids?"
For the first time his face dropped the smug façade and became something different. Perhaps disappointed shrouded with a touch of… frustration?
"My children, though submerged in the study I had established for them since childhood, unfortunately don't have a spiritual bone in their body. They've never been able to connect with the spirits. Not until they passed through the spirit portal. They're too much like the world is now. They're spoiled children blinded by their own wants to understand the big picture."
Disgust ignited in her by his words. She was stunned to hear a father say those things about his own children. And he had the nerve to comment on her dad. "If they're spoiled it's because you made them so."
He paused then looked away. "Yes. I was too lenient to their whims. I should have been stricter, more alert."
"No. You should have acted like a father and given them some affection once in a while. That's why they're so emotionally desensitized."
His looked narrowed with anger as he pinned her with it. "I'll advise you not to test my patience, child. Don't forget the many advantages I have over you in this place."
Jinora went quiet, grudgingly, feeling a strong impulse to keep fighting despite the obvious danger that loomed with the thought.
Apparently the truth hurts.
She felt deep confusion for his actions. He was being tricky, trying to trap her somehow in some web of lies on deception he'd spun for this occasion. She needed to keep clear if she didn't want to get tangled up with no hope of escape.
"As I said, I think you might find my teachings a bit more substantial. Has your father ever been capable of performing even half the talents that I possess? Despite his endless study and drive to understand this world, has he even ever crossed into the realm?"
Jinora wanted to launch into her answer, snapping at him with a definite, Yes he has! But she didn't; the taste of the lie far too bitter in her mouth.
When she didn't answer Unalaq threw his head back and laughed (what a horrible sound). "Well that explains it then. Tenzin the-oh-so-powerful airbender and spiritual leader has never once crossed over to the spirit world. And he was so proud of his wisdom, but in the end he was just blowing hot air. That explains why you chose to guide the Avatar in instead. Such a pity. Perhaps then you're mission wouldn't have been such a mess. You should never send a child to do an adult's job."
"Don't you dare say a word against my father!" She bit out defensively. "He does everything he can! And as if you have anything to comment on. Your own children can't even see oh-so-divine light you're trying to shed. So don't even start criticizing my dad when you're nowhere near better!"
"That may be, but," Jinora didn't know what happened. One moment she was a safe distance away and the next the ground seemed to be rushing forward to launch her inches right in front of Unalaq where her face was free for him to grip roughly in his hand and forcing a startled whimper out of her. The look he'd given her in the library was back, curling his mouth into a devious grin while he looked at her as if looking at his next meal.
"Do you have much of a choice to refuse? You've already calculated the number of advantages I possess in this place. I could leave you in agony the likes of which are only told in nightmares. Would you like to risk that?"
Jinora was frozen, staring up at the man much the way she had when Amon had them all at his mercy, but that had been under much different circumstances. Amon had wanted to change the world, not destroy it the way Unalaq had in mind.
No sound left her mouth. Instead, her fear rose, turning into blind action while she swatted at him to release her and leapt to her feet, sprinting into a run. She had no idea where she was headed, just that she wanted away from that awful person. She wanted her family, her friends! She just wanted to go home now!
Tree branches swatted against her face as she sprinted through the dark, her destination just being far away. Panic drove her to chance a glance behind, wondering if he was pursuing. Her hesitation cost her, when her foot thudded against a loose root. A startled and terrified yelp escaped her as she was launched, face first into the dirt. She looked up quickly recognizing the familiar clearing, lighted with a campfire and the very person she was trying to escape.
But how did she… she had definitely been running in a straight line. So how did she stumble back here? Then she remembered that things were not always as they seemed in the spirit world. Down was up, up was down, and this forest ran on a loop. She felt utterly and completely trapped.
Unalaq observed her with amusement, not angry or disturbed in the least by her dash for escape. He got to his feet, unnaturally graceful, widening his smile while he looked down at her.
"So, now that you've gotten that out of your system, what's your answer, child?"
She looked at him from her position, the fear she'd been trying to fight, finally upon her face. "I… just want to go home," she said, voice trembling.
There was nothing on Unalaq's face. No pity, no empathy, just that cold look. "I can see this is obviously a very difficult decision for you, so I will give you till sundown tomorrow to make your choice. Till then, explore all you want and enjoy the world of spirits until we meet again. But I can promise you this, little one. If you refuse, know that after Harmonic Convergence, when Vaatu is at last freed and the Avatar is dead, I will have no more further use for you as a hostage, thus your significance will have lessened considerably unless you've proven to be a promising and willing follower. You might even manage to save your family from the rest of the world's unfortunate fate."
That thought was terribly persuasive. She didn't want to think of her family, especially her little siblings, being scared or hurt, or worse, killed in the crossfire of Unalaq's terrible plan.
One minute Unalaq was in front of her and the fire was burning bright in the clearing. The next, he was backing up into the trees, being swallowed up by the darkness. The moment he had gone, the light of the fire seemed to have vanished with him and Jinora found herself blinking through the inky darkness, terrified and completely alone. Even Furry Foot had gone somewhere out of sight and too far to be of any comfort (not that he had been to begin with).
The only company was the cryptic haunting sounds of the woods and Unalaq's final words ringing in her head.
I was originally going to stop it here, but I so badly wanted to see these guys in the new season that I couldn't resist putting them in. One more scene, in which Jinora is exploring the haunted forest in search of an escape and stumbles upon and unexpected traveler.
Jinora walked alone through the forest, eyes wide with her gaze whipping back and forth at every sound that caught her ear. She didn't know how she could feel such exhaustion outside her body, but her soul felt fatigued with the lack of rest, and her stomach growled, wanting whatever food could possibly be found in this place.
Something snatched at her and she jumped back, avoiding the creature that growled and hissed hungrily.
She screeched loudly choosing a direction and running blindly. For hardly the first time that day, she wished she had her bending. If she just had her bending she could've escaped this forest and maybe escaped back to the mortal plain to her friends and family. She'd be home free.
But she couldn't work with what she didn't have. She needed to rely on what she did. If there was just some real sense of direction in this place then maybe... or maybe if things made just a little bit of sense here.
Her foot dropped suddenly into nothing and she cried out, feeling herself falling forward and sliding down a steep hill. Branches and dirt scraped her sides and she folded into herself, trying to keep her limbs from catching up against anything and wrenching it away from the rest of her soul.
When at last she skidded to a stop, she was in a new clearing with a new monster looking down at her. She didn't think but got immediately up and began running again, desperate for some kind of light now.
What she wouldn't give to be back in that warm comforting meadow she and Korra had seen when they'd first arrived here.
Jinora had already run so much lately; it was certain she'd pass out from exhaustion soon enough. At last she halted, leaning against a tree, winded after so much running without her bending.
Hopelessness overpowered her and she drew into herself, locking her arms around her knees and burying her face in them. "Dad." She whimpered wishing now that he had been the one to come instead. Then maybe their mission might have been more successful than how it turned out. If he had been here instead of her, Korra wouldn't have lost, they wouldn't have gotten separated, and Jinora definitely wouldn't have been captured by Unalaq.
"What would you do, Dad?"
She took a moment to catch her breath and think, keeping her head in her knees in order to block out the images surrounding her. After a while, in which case she might have fallen asleep, Jinora's head looked up, alerted by a much different sound.
Was that crying? It sounded like a little kid.
She got to her feet, moving towards where the crying was loudest, keeping her guard up despite her concern. She'd heard of supernatural monsters that sometimes mimicked the voices of people in desperate need to lure their prey to their doom. She moved slowly while she approached, circling around a thick tree to see a huddled and small figure leaning against a far tree.
She was immediately reminded of Unalaq's deception earlier, which had tricked her to approach him. She wouldn't be fooled again, but the tiny sobbing mound tugged ruthlessly on her heartstrings, drawing her nearer.
"Are you okay?" She murmured gently, not wanting to startle whoever it was.
A little face looked up at her, stained with tear streaks and desperately frightened. She was able to distinguish the look of a little boy with a fur lined blue coat and two little ponytails tied at the base of his skull. Water Tribe, she recognized quickly. She took a small hesitant step back, suspecting deception from her captor again, but this face didn't seem to resemble Unalaq at all, and yet there was still something oddly familiar about him.
He looked terribly afraid of her, shifting away slightly as if expecting an attack.
"Who are you? Are you another monster?"
She was surprised by that, taking another step forward carefully. "No of course not. My name's Jinora. Are you… alright? Do you need some help?" She silently lectured herself for such a foolish notion. How was she supposed to help someone when she couldn't even help herself?
"I'm lost." He hiccupped, voice cracking with fear. "I don't know where I am." And more tears erupted in his eyes so he could bury his face once again in his knees.
Jinora moved forward then, overcome by her big sister instincts. "Hey it's okay." She knelt down to him and dug in her suit, finding a handkerchief and offering it to him. "Here. I know it's scary right now. I'm a little lost, too." He took the rag, blowing his nose and wiping away his messy face. Jinora smiled, reminded of her own little brother. She gave him a smile, hoping it would lessen his troubles, as well as her own. "Maybe you would like to stay with me? That way we can help each other and find a way out of this place. It's not as scary if you're not alone."
He sniffed, looking a little better while he studied her. After a moment he nodded, deciding that she didn't seem dangerous and allowed her to help him up.
"There we go." Jinora said gently, dusting him off and feeling infinitely better herself now, too. Having this new companion made the forest seem much less intimidating and brought out a new bolt of strength in her. Now that he stood, she guessed his age might have been four or five. "How'd you get here?"
"I came here with my brother." He said timidly, squeezing the hand that she offered him while they walked. "But we got separated. I don't where he is. I hope a monster didn't eat him."
Jinora kept up her optimism, feeling new hope with the possibilities coming out of her mouth. "Well, let's see if we can find him together. If we can find him, then there'll be three of us and we'll be even less scared than we were before. It always feels better when there are more friendly people around."
"I guess." The little boy agreed quietly.
They walked together, hand in hand through the morbid forest, yet Jinora was able to forget for a moment about her terrible imprisonment, feeling a comforting responsibility and protectiveness over the little one beside her. "So what does your brother look like?"
"Well he's two years older than me, and he has a ponytail on top of his head and then two ponytails in front of his ears. He's got blue eyes and he's kinda bossy."
"He sounds a bit like someone I know." Jinora chuckled, envisioning a littler male version of Korra.
The little boy shuddered as the sounds of the forest alerted them in every direction. "I'm scared." He whimpered feeling something brush up against him and cringed away in response.
Jinora looked down. "I'm scared, too." She admitted, wishing she wasn't but unable to lie to the little boy. "But, just remember that the greater the struggle the more glorious the triumph."
The boy looked blankly up at her. "I don't know what that means."
She smiled feeling her own words rather than speaking them. "It means that if you struggle but you continue to push forward despite the obstacles in your way, you'll eventually find your goal, and when you do," the darkness seemed to suddenly dissipate, giving way to a bright light and a new beautiful wood, blanketed with a fresh mound of snow and pretty pine trees. Colorful floating twinkled around them like multicolored fireflies. Both of them felt a brand new warmth enter them at the comforting sight and Jinora sighed the rest of her statement, "It'll be even more wonderful than you had imagined."
They cleared from the thicker darker forest and entered into this new more peaceful wood, hearing now the comfort of chirping winter birds, in replace of the hisses and growls of their former surroundings. They walked on till they were faced with a fork in the road and a new decision of which road to take.
Jinora eyed the one to her right, which looked to be the smoothest one out of the two, but jumped suddenly when her companion jerked in the opposite direction.
"There's my brother!" The little boy said, pointing to a figure off in the distance. His hand left hers to sprint up to the older boy, and launched excitedly into his arms. "NOATAK!" He yipped with joy.
At the name, Jinora stopped dead in her tracks. Noatak? Korra had spoken of that name after her bending had been taken away. So that meant the little boy was…
"Tarrlok, there you are." The older boy said hugging his brother back, grateful that he was alright.
Jinora couldn't do anything but stare at them. These two… these children were the villains Korra had faced seven months ago. Noatak was really Amon, who'd robbed so many people of their bending, who would have taken her bending, too, and here he was in the spirit world, nothing more threatening than a child like her. And here was his brother, the frightened little boy she'd helped through the forest, who was really corrupted Councilman Tarrlok, the same who'd attacked and kidnapped Korra. Who'd locked her away and bloodbended her dad and Lin and Bolin and everyone at City Hall.
She didn't move for a moment, wondering if maybe acting on the troubled thoughts running through her head might somehow invite unwanted activity and the harmless kids in front of her would vanish to turn into the two powerful men they were back in the material world and she would be faced with two new enemies. But she pushed that thought away. For the moment she had to believe these were nothing but children.
They were only children.
Noatak's gaze fell on her just then, looking at her questionably and deciding whether or not she was a threat to them. "Who's that?" He asked his little brother.
"That's Jinora. She helped me find you." Tarrlok said eagerly, and added, "She's really nice."
Noatak neared her and Jinora shuffled a small step back, conscious that things and physics were so much different here. She needed to be prepared when these boys finally remembered who they were.
"Hi. Thanks for helping my brother, I'm Noatak."
Jinora shook his hand when he offered it, trying to forget as he had who he really was. "It's nice to meet you, and I'm glad I could help. He helped me, too."
"We should go meet dad." Noatak suggested to his brother, pointing towards another figure, small and black in the distance, and Jinora wondered distantly if that was actually Yakone, the same man her grandfather had taken his bending from.
The two seemed so happy and serene in this place, perhaps they were reliving a time before their bending; before everything changed for the worst. "You can come too if you want. You could meet him."
Jinora smiled sheepishly. The innocence on his face was so sincere. There was no trace of the man he once was in the living world; there was only this little boy.
Perhaps, she thought looking back at him, we're all really children underneath.
"Thank you," she answered gratefully. "But I have somewhere else I need to be right now. I have to find someone and I need to do it right away."
"You're going away?" Tarrlok said, looking sad again that his new friend was leaving.
"Yeah. But I'll try to come back someday and visit. I would very much like to meet your father and talk to him. Your mother, too."
The little boy released his brother's hand to wrap his arms around Jinora's waist, taking her in a big hug goodbye.
"Thank you for helping me." He said against her stomach.
And she returned it, feeling better and forgetting about the true sinister nature of her predicament, if only for a moment. "Anytime." She straightened and turned in the opposite direction, starting down the trail and throwing a final wave goodbye over her shoulder as she grew further away.
Her head was clearer now, more at peace. She understood more now. Jinora had been so clouded with her anger and hate, that she'd forgotten the peaceful code of the monks. She had a new mission now. When Unalaq came back, she would talk to him. Try to reason with him, make him see that the cup he wanted to fill had no bottom. What he was doing was wrong, and she was sure that deep down, he knew that.
But how could she make him see that. If Tarrlok and Amon had been able to find peace, what was the trigger to convince Unalaq?
I personally don't share in Jinora's views and believe Unalaq to be PURE EVIL!
I'm not going to continue this. This is just a oneshot, but go ahead and tell me what you think.