((I'm so glad that you guys absolutely adore my cliffhangers! I mean, who doesn't love them?

This is me using sarcasm, by the way.

Okay, without further ado, the next chapter!))

. . .

As Korra wrestled to untie the harness keeping her and Bolin together with a 70 lb wolf on them, said wolf went to bite at Bolin's head. It managed to get a jaw full of his hood before Naga walloped him off of her riders. The young Avatar used this quick opening to undo the strap while Naga batted away the wolves that lunged at her.

Korra was instantly up, hastily throwing fireballs at the wolves coming at her and Bolin. Her bending was sloppy and hurried, the wolves easily jumping out of the way. Fortunately it at least kept them at bay for now. Bolin had been awoken by the clamor, his consciousness hazy at best, but awake enough to know that they were in danger. He grabbed Korra's jacket, managing to stand up.

"Get behind me!" he ordered him as she sent a wave of fire towards the wolves. There were around nine of them now, having the group completely surrounded.

"I-I can help," Bolin insisted, coughing right after his offer.

"No! Don't exert yourself!"

The Earth Bender ignored her, stomping the ground to send a ridge of frozen earth at the wolves. It managed to hit one, but with barely any strength. The wolf had recovered in only seconds, angered by the hit.

Overall, they just weren't giving up. Korra didn't blame them, being that their own defense was terrible right now. Naga has sustained a few bites from the attacks on her, though the wolves were a little less interested in the polar bear dog now. Whenever they jumped forward, they attempted to dodge the heavy swings and get to the smaller targets. If they managed to grab Korra or Bolin, that might be it.

"Bolin, stay back!" Korra demanded again.

She was relieved when Bolin let go of her, though was concerned by the sound of him hitting the ground. She couldn't afford to look behind her, but she could tell anyways that he was out.

Naga let out a yelp as a wolf latched on to her right foreleg, breaking skin. Korra couldn't help but turn back to burn the wolf off of the polar bear dog. As soon as she managed that, she was tackled by two wolves. They ripped at her jacket and pants, one managing to give her hair a good yank.

She couldn't help but let out a scream of both pain and fear, seeing out of the corner of her eyes that Bolin was being dragged off. Naga managed to leap forward and knock it away, crouching over Bolin as a shield.

That was it.

Naga was bloodied.

Bolin was almost taken away.

Korra was close to having her throat ripped out.

A familiar warmth surrounded her. She heard the wolves give frightened yelps as their weight was suddenly lifted off of her.

Her vision was blurred. No, it was intensified. The wolves who had previously blended a bit into the snow and rocks were now highly visible. They seemed to now move in slow motion as Korra slowly approached them. The wolves backed off a little knowing that something was very different about their prey at the moment.

Although they obviously could not name it, they easily sensed the power now emanating from her while she was in Avatar State.

Korra rejoined Bolin and Naga, staying close for their protection. As the wolves decided to persist in their attack, the wind suddenly picked up. They were halted as the wind hit all of them in their circle formation.

The wind turned into a full-force cyclone, the savage animals pulled up into it and flung around as ice, snow, and rocks were also lifted into the makeshift storm. They were subjected to a barrage of the elements as Korra and her friends remained safely in the eye of it. The cyclone focused up into a tornado, the end of it around Korra's hand. With one solid movement, she flung the tornado away. It dispersed as it flew over the forest, sending the wolves away for good.

The Avatar's vision returned to normal as she kneeled to the ground with a sigh. She quickly spun around on her knees to check on Naga and Bolin. The polar bear dog now sat on the ground next to Bolin, her tail wagging a bit in relief. Bolin was breathing heavily and coughing a bit, his face bright red. Fortunately, he wasn't bleeding anywhere.

Korra went to melt from snow in her hands to water, using it to heal Naga's wounds. Fortunately they weren't very deep, being that the animal's skin and fur were very thick. It didn't take long for Korra to heal her injuries as Naga licked her head in thanks.

"Careful, girl. You're going to cover Mako's scarf in drool," she slightly chuckled, going to check it for tears. Fortunately, there were no new rips in it from the near-deadly encounter. Though, as he felt it around the back of her neck, she realized something was missing.

"D-Dad's compass!" she exclaimed, looking down her jacket and shirt in alarm. It was gone. Korra stood and looked around, thinking it possibly got ripped off earlier. But it was nowhere in sight. About to go looking for it, her attention was drawn back to Bolin as he gave a few rough coughs.

That's right, Bolin needed help. He needed to be checked for injuries, just in case. They couldn't afford to stop, medicine and treatment essential right now. Korra knew her priorities, yet she couldn't keep tears from welling up in her eyes as she checked for broken bones first.

Dad's compass. No broken bones. Dad's compass. Moving on to check under his jacket for damage. But Dad's compass…

A rash.

That wasn't there before.

Korra frowned through her tears as she noticed it on his lower neck and upper chest. This was definitely not good at all. As she pulled away his hood a bit to see if it spread even more, she noticed something else missing.

Pabu wasn't in his hood. Korra grit her teeth, looking around. She looked at Naga then at her surroundings for the little, red animal. She couldn't see him anywhere.

"Pabu!" she shouted, her voice echoing through the valley. There was no response of any kind, stimulating a muffled sob from Korra. She tried to angrily wipe away her tears, her chest feeling almost too tight to breath.

Did the wolves snatch him up? Did he accidentally get swept into the cyclone? Or did he just get frightened and run away for good?

Pabu was gone. The compass was lost. And now Bolin was twice as sick. "This is all my fault…" she hoarsely let out, going to sit up the other and hold him close. I shouldn't have suggested this. It was stupid of me to think that this journey was a good idea…

Her wallowing in misery was short-lived as she felt something hit her shoulder. Korra quickly turned her head only to immediately bury her nose in reddish-orange fur. The familiar fire ferret had jumped onto her shoulder, now jumping back a little to look at her.

"Pabu!" she exclaimed, going to grab the small animal and hug him with her free arm. He gave a chirrup of surprise and displeasure, Korra squeezing him a little too hard. Though, from doing that, she felt something hard press into her chest.

She let go of Pabu, dropping him into Bolin lap. He let go of a cord in his mouth to cuddle up to Bolin's neck. Attached to the cord was her father's compass.

Korra felt over-flooded with joy now, her spirits greatly lifted. She went to ruffle the fur on Pabu's head, earning another small sound of displeasure from him. "Naga, lay down," she said.

The polar bear dog complied, lowering herself down. Korra pulled Bolin closer to lean him against the much-larger animal. She then hurriedly grabbed two tin canteens of seaweed noodle broth from the saddlebags. After heating them up with Fire Bending, she went to feed Bolin. At first, it dribbled out of his mouth a bit from him not swallowing. But after a bit of coaxing, Korra managed to get him to drink some. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing.

After drinking her own broth, Korra had everything and everyone back on Naga. It was time to keep going. Her confidence and optimism were now renewed.

. . .

Cold… Yet hot… No, mainly cold…

Hazy… Everything in a blur. Cold…

Face cold. Everything else warm.

Restricted…

Burning… Burning… On fire, it hurts… Throat hurts…

Cold and burning… Tired… So tired…

Warm neck. Hands? Being stroked?

Mom….. Taking care of… Mom…

Mommy…

. . .

Korra was saddened as she heard Bolin muttering in his sleep. He was calling for his mother. The young Avatar greatly cared for Bolin, and was trying her hardest to help him. But she would never come close to the mother who once cared for him so many years ago. Did he remember her taking care of him whenever he got sick all those years ago?

There was certainly no way of finding out right now. And Korra felt too bad about it to ask later.

If she had to guess now, only about four more hours of riding and they would be at the port. It would be nighttime by then, so they would have to find a place to stay. Fortunately, there were a good number of small establishments around the port. It was a small trading post area, and the people there familiar with Korra would easily help her. Then they would take a ship in the morning to Republic City.

They were so close.

Bolin had started squirming around a little, suddenly. Korra could hear him groaning. Was he having a nightmare?

Suddenly, she was yanked backwards by Bolin.

"No! NO! S-Stay away!" he yelled, his voice very hoarse and strained from the infection. "No! Amon!"

Korra held on to Naga as the polar bear dog kept going. She turned her head to see that Bolin's eyes were open as he stared to the right.

Korra looked to the right, only to see barren, snowy tundra.

"Bolin- there's… no…." she struggled to get out, as Bolin jerked her back and forth.

"Stop it! Stop it! Korra! Help! Mako! Mako!" Bolin cried out, grabbing onto the young Avatar and trying to pull away.

Korra let out a small cry of pain. "B-Bolin! That hurts!" she quickly let out.

No amount of pleading would get through to him. He was hallucinating too heavily to hear anything Korra was saying.

She was taken off guard by another heavy yank from Bolin, accidentally yanking hard on Naga's reins herself. Naga gave a yelp, suddenly pulled out of line. She accidentally got tripped up, throwing her riders off her back.

Korra felt something snap as they hit the ground.