-Recap-

Her mother follows close behind with another bowl of seal stew in her hand and places it on the bed side table, "Korra dear, the announcement has already been made. We will begin your lessons tomorrow."

-Chapter 2-

And so it began, much to the delight of Senna. The next morning Korra awoke to her furs being ripped from her body. Immediately, she curled into a ball to defend herself from the threatening cold.

"A good wife rises before the sun to prepare breakfast for her beloved family," Senna sang.

Korra glared up at her mother thinking that this had to be some sort of cruel punishment. Instead she saw the truly delighted, sunny exterior of her mother, perfectly made up, not a hair out of place, and beaming with pride.

Korra sat up slowly, "Mom, look, I don't—"

Senna cut her off by engulfing Korra in a warm hug, "I am so happy," Korra actually saw tears running down her mother's face, "After all those years spent watching others raise and teach my daughter while I had nothing to contribute, now I am able to teach my daughter, as a proper mother should be able to."

Korra sighed and begrudgingly hugged her mother back. 'Maybe…this won't be so bad,' she thought to herself.

Senna stood back to compose herself, and then once again smiled down at her bed raggled daughter, "I have already laid out your clothing for today. After you are dressed, I will do your hair in a style more befitting a young woman as yourself. Afterwards, we will begin breakfast for your father. While we wait for your father to awaken, we have mending to do and I have arranged a class in simple medicine for you to attend two times a week, and then you will be caring for the children of the village five days a week. In between your duties, you will return home to prepare lunch and dinner for your family."

Korra tried to listen to the schedule her mother merrily retorted to her, as if every activity was Korra's dream come true, but instead she stared past her mother into her partially opened trunk. Her mother has obviously been busy this morning going through her things. Senna sat on the bed as Korra went to her trunk to look at the clothing her mother took out for her and frowned. Opening her trunk, only caused more anger as she turned to glare at her mother.

Before she could say a word, Senna brushed her off, "Korra, heavy snow pants are for men. They're fine for training and fighting, but as a young woman in your new training, leggings are more fitting for showing off the curves of your shapely legs."

Unhappily, but with no dispute, Korra put on the new leggings and closer fitting parka. Senna was behind her daughter immediately to tie the fur waist wrap. Surprised, Korra inhaled sharply as her mother tugged firmly on the wrap, tied it swiftly, and tucked the loose ends. Korra ran her hands down her newly accentuated figure. It did give the beautiful illusion of an even fuller chest and rounder hips. This was definitely one thing she could get used to. What she couldn't get used to were the hair styles her mom tried on her. She didn't want her mom's hair style. She didn't want hair loopies. She didn't want one braid, two braids, red ribbon or blue ribbon. She just wanted her wolf tail back. Lost in her pity, when Korra finally looked back into the mirror, she was surprised by the intricate braiding and bead work her mother was able to devise.

This, however is where Korra's new found joys ended. After a month, Korra's finger tips were wrapped in gauze from pricking them so much with her needle, when Korra lost her patience, she didn't have much of a caring touch, especially when it came to the bone headed, sea sponge brained boys of her village. After all, if you come to see Korra with two hooks in your thumb because you tried to get the first one out with another hook, she will laugh in your face. And the fact that she gets in trouble for laughing at the misfortune of others will lead to a not so tender nurse who will rip the hook from your thumb, toss you a towel to stop the bleeding, and send you on your way while calling you a baby to your face. Speaking of which, Korra had to admit that the kinda liked taking care of the babies, as long as they were asleep or quiet. Her only complaint is that they did a lot of spitting up. Being in the day care center and taking care of the children made Korra miss Tenzen's children. She wondered how the new baby, Rohan was and if Meelo was adjusting to no longer being the baby of the family. As for preparing meals, Korra turned out to actually be a fairly good cook when she put her mind to it. Her food normally didn't look very appetizing—varieties of mashed and charred browns and greens—but the taste was always there. Soon she realized that she actually liked experimenting in the kitchen. At the very least, it was warm.

On one such day Korra was experimenting in the kitchen, she heard a knock at the door. Her father answered it as usual. It was Monday, so another shipment has arrived.

"When are you finally going to marry her off? There are a lot of eager suitors out there," the man at the door stated.

Korra's ears perked up at the conversation.

"Whenever that day is, it will be too soon," Tonraq answered.

"Well, if you can wait a bit longer, I have a son on the way."

Tonraq laughed in response, "I don't know if Senna can wait that long. Could you please put the gifts with the others?"

Korra pretended not to pay attention as the man walked into her father's home and the bundle he carried in his arms. After he left, she peeked out of the kitchen into the living room to see, among the flowers, pelts, clothes, jewelry and ivory combs , what looked like a saddle.

"Has something caught your eye, my daughter?" Tonraq asked from behind Korra. She jumped at his sudden appearance.

"No, not at all," she lied.

That night, Senna began her weekly discussion with her daughter as they, or rather Senna, evaluated the gifts. Her mother used to tell her the names of the senders, but without knowing their faces, the names didn't mean a thing to Korra. All she could wonder was, how much is she worth? As her mother bragged about the fine quality of the jewelry and pelts, Korra traced and intricate swirl design in the leather saddle that came earlier that day, and felt the fine wool and furs that created a buffer underneath it for increased comfort for the mount. Something practical, yet beautiful. As Senna continued to go through the gifts, Tonraq's focus was not lost on his daughter's first sign of interest in a gift. Although he had the final say in who would be allowed to marry his daughter, he did want her to have some sort of interest in the candidates. As Korra's father, he too has received many gifts of weapons and pelts for the hand of his only daughter, the former Avatar, and as his wife oohed and ahhed at the luxury, Tonraq stayed focused on his daughter. As a courtesy to the other suitors, Tonraq was only given three months to decide on an eligible husband. Although he could decide whether to keep the gifts or send them back, he was responsible for writing a letter to suitors stating if their gifts were worthy enough of his daughter and his final decision.

A week later, as Korra slept soundly in her room, Tonraq sat up at the dining room table writing his announcement.

"Who did you decide on, dear?" Senna asked as she leaned over her husband's shoulder. She quickly scanned the parchment, and then smiled with delight. "My husband is very wise."