Inviting Blue Pools and Makeovers

"Come on, Korra," I say, tugging at her hand and leading her to the other end of the square. "I think I saw something that I might like in that stall." She casts one last, forlorn look at the entrance of the market place, and then grumpily trudges along with me.

"Oh, look!" I say excitedly, gripping a light blue shirt in my hands. "This looks almost Water Tribe, doesn't it?" I ask Korra, looking at her imploringly.

She spares a glance at the article of clothing in my hands, and says, "Yeah." Then her eyes widen and she smacks herself on the forehead. "Oh, spirits," she says, panicked.

"What?" I ask, feeling a bit alarmed as well.

She looks at me with that panicked look in her eyes. "Mom and Dad don't know you're safe," she says, wringing her hands nervously.

My eyes widen as well. "Wait. You told them I was kidnapped? Korra, why? You know how they get-"

"I know!" Korra says. "But I couldn't just lie to them, now, could I?"

I grumble. "Yeah, I guess you're right…"

"We have to send them a letter now," Korra says, then drags me away from the shopping centre.

"H- hey!" I cry out. "Korra, wait! I have to finish-"

"You can finish shopping later," she says without looking back.

"But-" I cast a forlorn look at the blue shirt I was gonna buy.

"Satori," Korra says sternly. I huff, but shake her arm off me and walk beside her.

xxxx

Dear Mom and Dad,

Hi. How are you? Well, I guess that that isn't something that's too appropriate to ask, considering you're probably worried sick about me right now…

Well, I just wanted to say that I'm okay. I'm fine. Or, you know, whatever.

I'm sorry you guys had to worry about that… I promise I won't get kidnapped by an evil organization again.

Oh, and you don't have to come all the way to Republic City to see how I'm doing. Really, I'm fine. I'm more than fine, actually. I feel good. I think staying with the Equalists has helped me gain more than lose, y'know?

On the bright side, I can chi-block now! You now have a chi-blocker and the Avatar as your daughters. How awesome is that, huh?

So, I hope everything's fine back home…

I love you guys.

- Satori

I read over the letter once again, checking whether it's appropriate or not. Korra reads over my shoulder.

"There," I say, brandishing the letter. "C'mon, let's seal it," I say, tugging at Korra's hand. We leave the courtyard and move to the right of the Island, where the messenger hawks are.

Such useful creatures, they are. Now, instead of being native just to the Fire Nation, the birds are used in almost all the Nations, except for, of course, the Earth Kingdom. And, of course, we people living on Air Temple Island use them too.

I tie the letter to one of the messenger hawks that I always use to send letters to my parents. Her name is Fira. She caws at me, then nibbles my hand. I giggle. I guess she missed me too.

She flies off with a majestic spread of her wings, the glint of dark red still visible in the distance.

I turn to glare at Korra. "Are we done now?" I say. "I wanna go back-"

"Nope," Korra says, shaking her head. "It's getting dark now. We shouldn't leave so late."

My jaw drops open. "You're kidding me," I say. "Korra, I've trained a week with the Equalists. I'm pretty sure that's reason enough-"

"That's exactly the reason why you're not going out," Korra says, not unkindly, and puts a comforting hand on my shoulder. "I don't wanna lose you again, Tori."

I huff, looking away. I will not cry. "There you go, saying those sentimental things again, Korra," I say. "Now I don't even wanna go."

I turn around to see her smile. Then it widens into a grin and she pulls me after her into the temple.

"I just realized," Korra said. "You haven't seen Ikki, Meelo and Jinora yet."

I blink in surprise. Oh spirits, how could I have forgotten them?

xxxx

"Meelo!" I hear Jinora's voice say, and turn the corner into the courtyard where they practice airbending to see Meelo hanging upside down from a tree with blood visibly rushing to his face.

"Meelo, your head will combust," I say, laughing. All the kids freeze, and then slowly turn around in surprise, with Meelo looking up slowly from where his gaze was on the ground.

And suddenly, in a flurry of wind, I am engulfed in three small, but strong, hugs. Even Jinora doesn't contain her excitement at seeing me, throwing away her shy demeanor and just straight-out squeezing the life out of me.

"I missed you guys too," I say, my voice muffled by the orange-clad airbender kids.

The kids pull away, and then Ikki immediately starts to throw a barrage of questions to me. "Where were you all this time, Satori? Mum and dad wouldn't tell us anything, you know. When did you come back? How are you? Did the Equalists kidnap you-?"

"Ikki!" I say, interrupting her tirade before it became too much for me. "Yes, I was with the Equalists; they wanted to recruit me. They trained me all this time. I'm fine; don't worry. I came back just yesterday night, while you kids were asleep."

"If you were with the Equalists, does that mean you can chi-block now?" Ikki asks, not missing a beat.

"Yes," I answer.

"Ooh, can you teach us?" Meelo asks, bouncing up and down on his air-ball.

"Maybe," I say teasingly.

He pouts.

"I'm glad you're okay," Jinora says in her soft voice. I grin at her.

"Anyway," I say. "What have you kids been doing while I was away?"

"Oh, nothing," Jinora says. "Korra's been searching for you all over, so has the metalbending police, and dad…"

"Uh-huh," I say, feeling a tad guilty. "But I was wondering about you guys. What trouble have you been up to?"

"Surprisingly, nothing," Jinora says, blinking. "It's been pretty quiet."

"Huh," I say. "Well… I guess that's nice to hear."

"Yeah," Jinora says, kicking at the ground idly.

For once, even Ikki doesn't seem to know what to say.

… Wow. The universe must've exploded or something.

"So, anyway," I say, inching away. "It's getting pretty late." I look up at the sky, seeing that it's already almost completely dark. "I think we should go to dinner now." I smile at the three airbender kids. "C'mon."

When I am about to turn, I feel another hug. I look down to see Ikki there, her hands tightly gripping the fabric.

"We're really happy you're back, Satori," she says in a small voice, and I swear, my heart just combusted.

"Me too," I say; and to my horror, I can feel tears gathering.

Oh, no. I will not cry.

After she pulls away from her hug, I look at the airbenders and say, "Alright, guys. Enough mushy stuff. I'm starving."

With a yell, Meelo suddenly jumps from the ground and up in the air, landing with a neat little spin on my shoulders. He starts to bounce up and down excitedly, all the while yelling, "Let's go, let's go! Daddy's made a welcome feast for you!"

I grin, carrying the little guy to the dining area.

The moment I enter, I am greeted by Pema giving me a warm hug. "We're glad you're back, Satori," she says kindly.

I feel a bit stunned at the warm welcome. Last night was such a rush, there was no time to meet everyone and reconcile. Now, though, when things have calmed down, there's enough time to take it all in slowly and talk to the people I've missed.

Even if it was just for a week.

"I'm glad too," I respond, smiling. Pema laughs, leading me to the low table in the center of the room. I gasp at the delicacies laid out on the table.

"Oh spirits!" I breathe, looking in awe. "Stewed sea prunes?" I look to Pema with a bright smile on my face. "Oh, Pema, you shouldn't have," I say even as I sit down and reach a greedy hand out to the delicious dish. Pema smiles.

I am so glad for this. It's been so long since I've had a taste of home. And to think, that Pema prepared this for me! Just to welcome me home! A smile remains on my face for the whole meal.

Katara was the one who cooked us these almost every night for supper; she said that she had liked them a lot while she was younger, and still does. I wasn't surprised.

"These are delicious," I say. I knew how much the airbenders didn't like the sea prunes; I could tell by the way Meelo and Ikki lean away and the slightly uncomfortable expressions on Tenzin and Jinora's faces.

Korra, like me, is stuffing her face with the prunes.

"You know, I never quite got why mother loved that dish so much," Tenzin says, shaking his head and sighing.

xxxx

"Dinner was awesome, wasn't it, Korra?" I ask as we make our way down the hall, patting my stomach in a satisfied way.

"It was," Korra says, grinning.

I sigh. "I'm so happy that Pema decided to cook us the sea prunes… I've really been craving those, y'know? And, spirits, that was delicious."

Korra grins. "Totally," she says, just as we reach my room.

"G'night, Korra," I say, giving her a smile and wave before entering the room.

I strip to my sleepwear and let my hair loose from the braid I'd put it into earlier that day, and then snuggle into the covers. The bed is hard, but it is very welcoming nonetheless.

It's a full moon tonight. Lulled by the bright, hypnotizing light of the moon and the luminescence it gives off, I slowly fall asleep.

xxxx

I wake to the sound of mischief and air swooshing about: of course, Meelo and Ikki creating their routine morning ruckus.

I smile, and pull myself out of bed. I stretch, resulting in my stiff muscles to pop.

I get ready quickly, then run to Korra's room with excitement bubbling in my stomach. I knock on her door rapidly, the eagerness radiating off of me. When I don't hear any response from my sister, I just open the door and barge in.

I am met with a pretty funny sight.

Korra lays spread on her stomach, her limbs splayed about. Her hair is a mess, and her butt's high in the air. She is snoring softly, and I stifle a giggle.

"Korra," I sing, walking over to her bed. I poke her cheek once. Twice. Three times. She grunts, rolling over, and I let out a chuckle.

"Oh, Koraaaa!" I say, and then roll her over the bed so she falls on the floor with a loud thud.

She gets up instantly, this wild look in her eyes and in a bending stance. She looks to hilarious then, that I just can't help but laugh uncontrollably, clutching my stomach and nearly falling to the floor in the process.

Korra grunts, annoyed. "Someone's overly cheerful this morning," she grumbles, dusting herself off and getting ready to shower.

I grin at her. "Yup! We're going to Asami's, remember?"

Korra freezes for a moment, before grumbling, "Yeah. How could I forget?" The sarcasm is obvious in her voice.

"Oh, c'mon, Korra! Cheer up! We're gonna swim, right! Don't waterbenders love to swim?"

She glares at me, still grumpy.

"And, Korra," I say, pausing just by the door. She looks up at me grumpily. "Your bedhead looks so hot." I flash her one last grin, dodging the pillow she throws at me then and darting out the door, laughing.

xxxx

"Oh, wow," I mutter, staring up at the impressive mansion with wide eyes. "This place is huge."

"Damn right," Korra mutters back.

Korra and I are lead to the pool area by an impeccably styled butler that looked posh-er than us. I nervously fidget with hem of my shirt. Thank goodness I didn't let Korra shop for me – or Korra would have her way and make me wear some piece of trash. ("It'll be in Bolin's favor, I swear!")

Whatever that means.

We arrive at the pool to the exuberant shout of, "Earthbending bomb!"

Bolin, of course.

Tentatively, I step out from behind Korra to see Mako and Asami hanging out on the right side of the pool, lounging about. And Bolin... splash!

He looks like he's having fun.

I gaze around the room, taking it all in. A lionturtle statue with a waterfall pouring out of its carved mouth, into the large pool. The whole room is decorated luxuriously with carved golden walls, lawn furniture, and potted plants.

So this is what it's like to have lots of money. How... fancy.

"Avatar Korra and Mistress Satori have arrived," the butler said, leading us in. I would have snapped at him - I don't like being called 'mistress' - but, I haven't even realized it, me and Korra are gawking at the sight. Well, Korra's openly gawking at the sight - mouth open and eyes wide - while I am quietly in awe.

"Hey, Korra! Hey, Satori!" Mako calls out, waving.

"I'm so glad you could make it," Asami says.

Bolin surfaces and grins at us. "Welcome to paradise."

He flashes a grin at us. His gaze lands on me, and he just stares for a second. I fidget, uncomfortable with his gaze.

"What's your problem, Earthbender?" I say, flashing a nervous grin, trying to sound playful.

He snorts. "Nothing! I'm just, uh... admiring your... ears! Yeah."

I raise an eyebrow. "Really? I didn't know that my ears were that fascinating, Bolin."

He winks at me. "Everything about you is fascinating, ba-"

"Don't finish that sentence," I say, putting my hand up, even as a blush was forming on my face.

From the corner of my eye, I see Korra and Mako exchange these smug looks.

"Stop it!" I say loudly, whirling on Korra. She looks at me with an eyebrow raised, smirking.

"Stop what?" she asks innocently. I glare at her.

"Stop... doing that! Exchanging those looks with Mako, like you're planning a heist or something! Those darn-awful smug expressions are seriously getting me annoyed."

Mako fakes nonchalance. "Why, Satori, I don't know what you're talking about..."

"I hate you all," I say, turning away. I decide that I want to swim right now, because the water just looks so inviting. I haven't swam in... how long? Since I left the tribe, I think.

Darn it. I should've gotten my costume, but Korra insisted on being difficult.

"Satori," Korra says, "you look like you're about to jump in that pool with your clothes on. Stop it with that puppy-dog gaze of yours."

I glare at her. "I'm still mad at you. Don't talk to me."

She just laughs.

"So, anyway," Korra says airily. She looks to Asami with an uneasy smile on her face. "What have you set in store for us today? Let me guess: shopping... makeovers..."

"A makeover sounds just right for you, sissy dear," I say with a sarcastic smile.

"I second that!" Bolin shouts, dunking Mako's head in the water. Mako pops back up and shoves Bolin's head into the water in retaliation.

"Sorry to disappoint you guys," Asami says as she emerges from the pool. "But I have something a little more exciting mind." She gives us a little smile, looking over her shoulder.

xxxx

When she said exciting, she wasn't kidding.

The race track is huge. The loud noise of the Satomobiles being driven around it reach us from the stands, where we watch eagerly from the seats as the two mobiles jockey for the lead position.

Asami turns to all of us with a smile. "Pretty cool, huh?" she says, with just a hint of pride in her voice.

I grin at her. "It's pretty awesome. Is this where your dad tests out the Satomobiles?"

Asami nods. "Yeah. Would you like to try it out?"

I shake my head. "I'm good. I prefer to watch it. And I can't really drive." Lie. I'd learned to drive in the Equalist compound. Well, I'd learned to confidently drive a motorcycle and only knew the theories of driving a Satomobile... A Satomobile.

Satomobile.

We'd all been required to drive it, and I was about to learn it completely after the whole fiasco at the bending arena - obviously, that didn't happen. But we were all required to know... because we had a huge supply of them.

And I suddenly remember how Hiroshi Sato's name is familiar to me.

Of course. He is their supplier. Not just for the transport, but the weapons too, and oh my goodness. Why did I not remember this sooner?

My entire thought process takes barely a second, the epiphany barely changes my facial expression - just a small, uncertain twitch of the mouth

Asami laughs. "That's cool. What about you, Korra?" Asami asks, turning to my sister.

One side of Korra's mouth tilts upward. "The only thing I know how to drive is a polar bear dog," she says with a bit of irony.

"You want me to take you for a spin?"

Korra's eyes light up, wide and excited. "Let's do it."

xxxx

"Where are they going?" Bolin asks as he watches Korra and Asami leave the stand.

I grin, albeit a little unsteadily. "To race, of course."

I turn my gaze back to the track, my brow furrowing together in thought. I keep up the happy face as I cheer for Asami and Korra. I can feel Bolin watching me. But my mind is far away, trying to think of ways to handle this problem.

Bolin's POV

I can not even begin to explain the onslaught of emotions I had felt when I'd first seen Satori, alive and well. I had wanted to go and embrace her, but something in her gaze and the way that she held herself had stopped me.

Something had changed. Maybe it's the hardened gaze, or the firm stance. And the pang of uncertainty that it had filled me with left me wary.

And the next day, when she had stopped by and I'd finally gotten the chance, it had filled me happiness when I'd discovered that I'd still been able to discover that I could still make her blush as I had before she'd been taken away.

She still seems reserved, though. With me, at least. And I don't want that, at all.

Now, watching her smile excitedly as she watches the race, I can't help but smile. She cheers, and my eyes flick in her direction once again. A bit late, I cheer as well, just after Asami overtakes the other Satomobile and crosses the victory line with a flourish.

"That's so cool!" Satori exclaims as we meet with Korra and Asami. Her smile is uneven, with the right side tilted a little higher than the other. Her brows have a little crease between them. I frown a little. That didn't look like Satori's usual smile. Did her smile change as well?

I get distracted from my thoughts by the fact that I really, really have to pee. The moment we enter the mansion, I yell, "Emergency! Emergency, coming through! Beep, beep!" and run really fast deeper into the mansion where I knew the bathroom would be. Behind me, I could vaguely hear Korra ask whether there was another bathroom she could use and Satori commenting on the fact that I'd seemed to have left a smoke trail behind me.

After I relieve myself, I go back to the hall, noticing that Satori and Korra are not there. Maybe Satori is with Korra? That seemed a bit awkward.

Either way, the butler caught my attention. I grin as I recall the bottle of perfume that I had spotted in the bathroom.

Satori's POV

The moment Bolin disappears and Korra excuses herself, I silently hook my arm around her and start to accompany her to the bathroom. She turns to me with a raised eyebrow and opens her mouth to question me, but hesitates. It must be the look on my face: an eyebrow is raised, my smile is tight, and I am shooting a warning, not-so-discreet glare her way. I usually make that face when it is something serious I have to talk about. Korra closes her mouth and nods, then begins to casually walk up the stairs, as if it is totally normal for two sisters to go the the bathroom together.

I can hear Mako behind me. "I knew the two of you are close, but close enough to go the bathroom together?" he jokes. I turn and see Asami giving him a reprimanding look. She has to turn partially, because Mako is behind her, with his hands on her shoulders. I can practically feel the pain and jealousy emanating from Korra.

"Well, Mako, I can understand your jealousy at our relationship," I joke back, just to distract Korra. "We are pretty close, though, aren't we? Yeah. And Korra's totally comfortable with this arrangement. Right, dear sister?"

Korra gives an uneasy smile. She was always the worst at pretend amongst the two of us. "Yeah, sure. Anyway. Be right back. Come on, Satori." She continues to climb up the stairs, pulling me with her. Mako and Asami don't seem to notice our supposedly 'skittish' behavior; they talk in hushed tones with each other about something different, the topic of mine and Korra's strangeness evaporating.

"Okay," she says once the door to the – quite ornate – bathroom closes behind us. She wanders over to the sink and turns on the water. "I know you wouldn't follow me to the bathroom, of all places, unless you have something really serious to talk about. What's up?" Korra asks, looking at me in the mirror.

"Korra," I say, taking a deep breath in. "I- Hiroshi Sato's a part of the Equalists."

She stays silent for a moment. Her face is blank, and seems devoid of emotion.

"What?" she finally asks after a pause. Her eyes are wide now, and I can see the shock coming through.

I sigh. "Yeah. I just remembered." I tug at the ends of my hair nervously. "I feel so stupid." The tugging becomes harder now. "I should've remembered sooner. I heard his name before at the compound, I was sure. I knew it. Why didn't I realize sooner? I don't know, sis. I'm so sorry. Maybe I was so caught up with getting away that I forgot… I should've told Lin at the interrogation. Gosh, I feel so stupid…"

"Satori," Korra says. She grabs my shoulders and stops me from tugging at my hair. I look up with wide eyes. "Stop. It's not your fault. Everybody makes mistakes, okay? The only thing that matters now is that we know, and we have to do something about it. Okay? Let's go and tell Lin now, alright?"

I nod. "Okay."

Ehehehehe…. Sorry! Oh God, I really am. I just got so busy these past couple of days… weeks… months. Ahhh! Please forgive me!

I was supposed to update a reaaaaaaallly long time ago. For fanfiction-loving-fangirl's birthday. I'm so sorry!

I do have a reason though… I got blocked so many times and I had to re-write the chapter twice.

I do hope that you enjoyed this, though! ^^

~ Sophie