I own nothing! I don't own Harry Potter or The Legend of Korra, or any of the characters in either one! I just own the Snape family members (except for Severus, of course), and the other OC's. In other words, just one person so far that I can own and claim as mine. Well, so far.
General Iroh scanned the slopes for any signs of life and found only a seal. He frowned, using lightning to kill it before skinning it with a knife carefully so that he could use the skin for a bedding for the young female. He shook his head before starting the fire out of the seal and sent up smoke stacks using his coat to cover the smoke just long enough so that they could work. He sighed as his animal died out into nothing but jerky. He put his coat back on, the cold biting into him, and began to quickly ensure that his new charge was at least decently cared for. He found that a few polar bears had been called by the cooking meat, and killed one before the other one raced away fearfully. He skinned this, too, and cooked the meat inside a cave as best he could.
He lay the polar bear fur out, the fur on the outside, and used it as a sleeping back for his sleeping ward, as well as himself. He kept the seal skin as the bottom of his fire and set down to eat the seal jerky he'd cooked. He hesitantly drifted off to sleep with the female still asleep next to him inside the sleeping back. as indecent as it was, it would be something to at least keep her alive, he knew, since his body heat was a bit higher than most because of his powerful firebending chi. He awoke to a howling wind, only to find that a blizzard had overcome the area. He sighed heavily and began trying to rececitate the young woman, only to find that her figure was not feminine at all.
Her cheeks were shallow, and her body lacked its normal pubescent curves. In fact, he could see every rib on her chest, count them, and then count every single one of her spine bones. She was literally starving to death, even if she had survived hypothermia. He ground up some of the jerky and gently teased it down her throat alongside some hot water he'd melted from some ice.
Hours passed, then days. He found he was beginning to worry, and the blizzard never let up. He felt a small tremor in the ice, and fell back into his routine of trying to keep the poor girl from getting frostbite on her fingers, which was taking up a considerable amount of chi. She was truly dying, he feared, and he set his cloak on her before lying next to her and falling asleep from exhaustion.
The next morning, the blizzard hadn't let up, and he was beginning to wonder if Tenzin would really be able to find him here. He heard something, ever so faint above the wind, and looked up from his bed to find a small break in the wind. Dare he dream? Had Tenzin really found him?
"General Iroh!" Tenzin gasped as he surged forward, eyeing the cave. "General?"
"Tenzin?" he croaked weakly, his throat sore from drinking nothing but melted ice. "Councilman Tenzin?"
"General," Tenzin gaped before eyeing the teen beside him. "What-? Never mind, that can wait. How long have you been here?"
"As soon as I made this my shelter just after getting her here and killing a seal and a polar bear for food and blankets," he replied wearily, eyeing his makeshift shelter. He'd wasted nothing from the two animals, not even the organs and bones. The bones had become his new weapons of choice, since they could be used by those in the water tribes. Korra would be proud, he mused.
"Good god," Tenzin gaped, "You'd have made Fire Lord Zuko proud with this shelter. I'll bring Appa here as quickly as I can – it may take a bit."
"Okay," he croaked before falling back asleep unwillingly.
He awoke to a flurry of voices, but only just barely.
"What happened? Is he okay?" Bolin panicked.
"Of course he's not okay, he's covered in polar bear skin!" Mako yelled.
"Guys, who's that with him?" Asami asked, pointing at the mess of hair that Iroh had rescued.
There was an immediate silence as they looked to Tenzin for answers.
"I know nothing," he answered with a huff, "I only know that he saw her lying face down on the edge of the ice and saw the need to rescue her. Mother, could you help them, please?"
"I will try," she said wearily, "But the girl is badly hurt, and is already dying. The General must have used all his strength and chi to keep them both alive for this long. Korra, I will need a bucket of boiling water. Mako, can you get a fire started for me, dear? Tenzin, keep the grandchildren out. Bolin, Lin, I will need your help undressing and redressing them."
Iroh wanted to protest as he felt Tenzin's and Bolin's worried hands removing his wet clothes to put on fresh, thick water tribe clothing, and wanted to protest. He settled into the warmth, thanking the spirits of his ancestors for letting Tenzin find him before he died. He could only hope that the female he rescued wouldn't die.
"How was she?" Tenzin asked suddenly, and Katara's footsteps were heard.
"She is extremely weak, and the only food within her body was that which General Iroh teased down her throat," she said softly, and the two stared at her worriedly. "Lin was able to see and count all her ribs and spine bones, as well as most of her pelvic, ankle, and wrist bones. I've put her on a liquid diet, but the food will have nothing but vitamins, minerals, and proteins that she will need to survive. Her body has seen better days, but we will now know if she is the one until Korra can confirm this."
"Thank you, mother," Tenzin replied, "We got the General in bed, but he didn't even try to wake up as we changed him."
"He is probably thankful for the warmth and merely wanting rest," she said wisely. "We must take shifts. Bolin, you will take first watch, Tenzin, second, and Milo, the third alongside Mako. Lin, Korra, and Asami will take shifts to watch over our guest as she, too, rests. Was she clothed when he found her, Tenzin?"
"I think so," he said quickly, "Her clothes said nothing about where she was from, however. She was wearing nothing of the General's, except that his coat was pulled over her hands with hers in his."
"To keep them warm," Katara nodded, "He was protecting her from frostbite."
"What will we do?" Tenzin worried, and Katara looked at him sadly.
"All we can do is hope that they live," she said sadly before leaving. "Be careful, boys. They both have severe hypothermia."
"We will," the two benders promised as Bolin sat to take the first watch.
Do you think that the General should survive? Should there be lasting damage?
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