Chapter 4

As Korra made her way to the Air Temple, she could not help but think about Tahno. Obviously, having one's bending taken away will traumatize and transform anyone into a completely different person, but she also wondered if she had pegged him wrongly from the start. She must have seemed hot-headed and naïve when she first came to the City, just as he seemed so vain and arrogant. But is what one seems synonymous with what they are? She wasn't sure. Being the Avatar very firmly taught her that all people are complex, every individual life has a story, and it is the Avatar's duty to protect these intricately woven hearts and memories. Today she remembered that Tahno, too, has his own story.

Upon arriving at the Republic City harbors, Korra hopped down some rocks to a narrow beach, and surfed across the water to the island docks.

"It's Korra!" she heard a small voice call out from above. Soon enough, three orange figures came darting over the edge of the cliffs on whirling air scooters. She slowed her surf to a graceful stop, only to smash into one of the zipping children.

"Meelo!" Jinora scolded, creating a light puff of sand as she lowered herself to the beach, "You need to practice your control more!" The little boy only brushed himself off while laughing.

"Wooooohoooo!" just as Korra propped herself up, another burst of orange zipped around them before tumbling into the sand. As the dust cleared, the small figure cried, "Korra! We were so worried about you!"

"Yeah!" Jinora turned towards her, "We got a phone call from your assistant, but it was cut off. We thought something happened!"

"We were ready for WAR!" Meelo started punching the air. Korra laughed, "No, nothing big. Just fell asleep from at work and stayed at Asami's… so now I have the day off!" This seemed to satisfy the children, and so the group began to ascend the stairs to the main temple grounds, talking and laughing about how they should spend this rare occasion.

As they passed the dormitories and made their way to the main hall, Korra saw Pema off to the side of the air temple, hanging up laundry by the trees. "I'll play with you guys later," Korra told the children, "I just want to talk to your mom first." She walked over and Pema smiled warmly as soon as she caught sight of the Avatar. "Korra! You're okay. What happened?"

Korra filled her in on the situation, and assured her everything was okay. "But you know, it's been kinda weird around Asami. She's being really nice. Like, really nice. She was the first number in my notebook, but I didn't actually expect her to personally pick me up, give me a room at her mansion, and reorganize my schedule so I could have a day off. If anything, I was bracing myself for her eternal hatred…" she squatted on a rock and rested her head on her knees, "I never had these kinds of problems back in the water tribe."

Pema paused her folding, and gave Korra a motherly, all-knowing look, "I think she's being nice to you because a part of her hates you."

"What?" This wasn't exactly the answer she expected. "Well," Pema continued, "She's left with single-handedly managing the most hated company in Republic City, with no one to help her. And on top of that… her boyfriend liked another girl more than her all along." She smiled sadly, but continued to pin the soggy clothes without pause. "I think she's being nicest to you because she's a good person. She doesn't want to hate anyone, and so she's doing everything in her power to pretend to love you so that one day she will actually love you."

The two women sat in silence, pondering this thought.

"Was it… Is it wrong for me to be with Mako?" Korra could feel a lump in her throat. She'd felt that same lump since Amon's fall, the same discomfort… the same guilt.

"I don't know," Pema's eyes shimmered slightly, "I ask myself that same question every day."

"I thought you told me to go after my soul mate! Fight for love and all that!" Korra looked up to Pema expectantly, wildly hoping that the mother would tell her she did the right thing. Instead Pema could only sigh, "That was before, when your situation was simple. If you like a guy, then you should tell him. If you like a guy with a girlfriend…" She grew quiet, "To this day I'm not even sure if my decision was correct. I love Tenzin and I love my family, but I'm not sure if I tried to win Tenzin back because of jealousy or because we were truly better together." She paused, trailing off into her own thoughts. "This is a situation that no one can give you advice on. Sometimes there's no "right" or "wrong" way to do things, there's only the way that happens with time."

"I guess so…" Korra mumbled. "Pema, what happened back then? With you and Lin and Tenzin. Just wondering."

"It's a long story. I'm sure you'll hear about it someday, but now's not the time—"

"HEY!" a voice called, "Long time no see!" The waterbender brightened, "Bolin! I've barely seen you in weeks." Bolin had been working hard at restoring the probending league after it briefly shut down for public security purposes. He would spend the early mornings training and the afternoons helping the managers to rebracket the teams and recruit new members for the Fire Ferrets. Luckily, he managed to get Hasook back as the team's waterbender, but he was hard-pressed to find a firebender that could replace Mako. Bolin wasn't concerned so much with finding the "best" bender as he was a responsive one. Solid and fluid communication between team members could overpower the most well-trained opponents.

Korra felt that guilty lump in her throat when she thought about Asami too much, but she felt a sad pit in her stomach when she saw Bolin. Ever since their early days as teammates, he had been extremely understanding and respectful of her feelings for Mako, and she never truly thanked him or asked how he felt since then. His feelings for her seemed to fizzle completely as he became more invested in his work with the league, but she couldn't help but hate herself for having to betray both Asami and Bolin, her best friend, for her own happiness. Was it really worth it?

She looked up at his smiling face, and noticed Hasook trailing behind him, walking at a snail's pace. "Ugh!" he cried, "I'm so sore! This guy is a regular drill sergeant…" The Avatar politely nodded in his direction; the awkwardness between them had never worn off because he was still bitter that they replaced him with Korra.

"Did you find a new firebender?" Pema asked politely.

"No," Bolin scratched his head, "Most of the good firebenders are returning to their previous teams, and the other ones don't understand how a true professional team operates. I'll keep searching though! There's always hope. Korra, you were a rookie but you managed to play pretty decently. Maybe we'll find someone like you!" He chuckled, "Although you are the Avatar I suppose." Hasook rolled his eyes.

"I'm sure you'll find someone," Korra said. She hoisted herself off the ground and brushed herself off, "I have a day off from Avatar duties, you know! Definitely come to dinner tonight. Hasook… you're welcome to join us too."

"Why in the world would I—" Hasook began.

"We'd love to!" Bolin finished. "But first, we have to take care of some business. See you at dinner then!" He waved goodbye and dragged Hasook off. She could tell her conversation with Pema would have to wait for another day, so she excused herself and made her way to the hotsprings to take a bath. If only for a short time, she needed to dissolve all this guilt and regret and relax.

Maybe Tahno was right… People and the world… It was beginning to piece itself togeth—OOF! She crashed into something firm, yet soft, and it smelled a bit like—Korra looked up: Mako!

(A/N: I'm splitting this chapter into two parts just so I can update faster! Does the pace seem too quick and choppy compared to the past chapters? I'm trying to introduce each character so the real plot can begin soon. Maybe I'm sacrificing quality for quantity...Anyway, expect more Tahno soon...heheh.)