A/N: at long last, it is here. The next chapter of Shifting Tides! I'm sorry this one took so long you guys. Two freaking months! Gah, I feel so ashamed. I wanted to post this yesterday, but I was afraid that I was rushing it so I gave myself a day to calm down so I could look over everything and make sure it was okay. But now it's here! Now, finally, on with the show…

Chapter 11

The bright light from the sun scorched Bolin's eyes as he forced himself awake from a less than peaceful slumber. His motions were sluggish as he rose from the floor of the alley that had served as his bedroom the night before. Though his dark and baggy eyes were beginning to adjust from the sunlight, his nostrils were just now starting to burn from the truly rancid odor of the overflowing trash can that lay next to him. The unbearable stench incented Bolin to react, so he swiftly covering his nose with both of his hands, clasping it shut as to prevent any more of the putrid waste from plaguing his sense of smell. This quick and sudden action helped to wake Bolin up, and put him into a far more alerted state. As he became more and more engrossed by this alerted state of mind Bolin realized something very important: he had absolutely no idea where he was.

Suffering from severe exhaustion, as he only received a couple true hours of sleep, Bolin was actually having difficulty recalling where he was or why he was there. Through his blurred vision he could make out the red bricked walls of the alley, the majority of which were coated in the graffiti of the Triad left by its members. He saw that a tattered old green blanket, likely procured from the demonic trash can, was laid over his body and had probably served as his source of heat the night before. As he slowly began to rise from his resting position on the ground, Bolin felt something stir on his stomach from beneath the blanket. Squinting in suspicion at the blanket, Bolin slowly lifted the green cloth from his body to see a furry orange creature curled up on his stomach. A small smile creased Bolin's face as he recognized the adorable creature as Pabu, his beloved pet fire ferret. Unfortunately, Bolin's smile did not last. As with the recognition of Pabu came the memories of the night before, and that was nothing to smile about.

Bolin had spent the entire night searching the lower ends of Republic City for his brother Mako. He had brought Pabu along with the hope that he would be able to sniff out Mako's scent, even through all of the alcohol he would surely be stanched in. Unfortunately, that strategy had yet to yield any results, and none of Bolin's other ideas had worked either. Of course every bartender in the area remembered Mako. They all shared similar stories of the young fire bender storming into their establishments, demanding something to drink, and then leaving angrily once they had cut him off or when he eventually ran out of money. Despite these accurate accounts, none of them seemed to have any idea of where Mako had gone next. People had seen him stumbling through the streets as well, but both the bars and witnesses were too scattered for Bolin to determine any possible direction Mako may have been going. Bolin felt as though he had torn the entire neighborhood apart looking for Mako. He found every place he knew Mako had gone to drink when they were younger. He searched every open sewer, ratty hotel, and construction site with a fine tooth comb. He even talked to some old connections from the Triad, desperately hoping that they might know where Mako was. No matter where he went or who he talked to, Bolin just couldn't find a single trace of Mako. By the time the young earth bender was too exhausted to remain conscious, he was just relieved that he hadn't heard that Mako had hurt anyone, or himself. Bolin had begun his search under the guidance of anger, and while the previous night certainly hadn't made him any less furious, by the end he was more sad than angry. He wanted to find his brother, and Mako sure wasn't making things easy for him.

"For a raging drunk, you're pretty good at hiding." Bolin mumbled with a groggy morning voice as he pushed himself off the trash covered ground. Startled from his own sleep, Pabu jumped from Bolin's now ascending chest. Once on the ground, Pabu extended his arms and legs to stretch his back. As if mimicking his companion, Bolin stretched his arms high above himself, simultaneously stretching out his aching back. He groaned; it seemed as though a dull but persistent pain was coursing through his entire body. No matter how much he stretched or pulled on every part of his body, Bolin could not escape the nagging reminder of the previous night's failures.

Bolin walked sluggishly to the end of the alley and leaned against the adjacent wall. He looked out to the city in front of him as the still rising sun began to bathe the silent buildings in a soft yellow glow. Bolin let out a heavy sigh, not at the beauty of the scene painted in front of him, but because he knew how misleading it was. Looking at it now, most would believe that Republic City was the urban paradise of tomorrow that everyone made it out to be, but Bolin knew from personal experience that that wasn't always the case. He knew that there were places in this city that would make even Korra shake in her boots; places where only the ruthless thrive and where showing even the slightest bit of weakness was no better than a death sentence. Places like that, he knew, were a problem; a problem that he and Mako had once been a part of. 'And now he is again.' Bolin thought with a scowl, 'After all the work we put into getting out of that life, all the tireless hours trying to make something of ourselves. All that work… and he's ruining it! The selfish bastard gets dumped by one girl and rejected by another, and in his mind that justifies all of this!? It's selfish! Stupid, selfish, and… and…' Bolin shut his eyes tight, his face cringing from every ounce of pent up rage he had accumulated the night before, all of which was now starting to boil over.

"GGGGGAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Bolin screamed at the empty street. He turned abruptly to face the wall next to him, and launched his fist like a rocket directly at its surface. A sound like an exploding bomb erupted from the impact, and countless cracks cascaded throughout the wall like a spider's web emanating from Bolin's trembling fist. He stood there, his fist fused to the now shattered brick, breathing heavily. His eyes opened wide, Bolin just stared at the ground beneath him, silently hoping that it would open up and swallow him whole. Every breath he took only served to further shatter his resolve. As much as he wanted to keep looking for Mako, if only for the sole purpose of beating the idiot within an inch of his life, Bolin simply couldn't proceed in his current condition. His physical state notwithstanding, he knew that he was in no condition mentally to look for Mako. His current actions proved this indefinitely. Still breathing heavily, Bolin slowly backed away from the wall, groaning in disappointment when he saw what he had just done.

Feeling something on his foot, Bolin looked down to see Pabu brushing against his leg. The look on his companion's face was inquisitive, as if he were asking what they were going to do next. With yet another sigh, Bolin tried to give Pabu a reassuring smile as he held out his arm. The small fire ferret eagerly jumped and climbed up the young earth bender's outstretched arm and rested on his shoulder. The two of them looked back out to the city as the sun continued to rise. There was a deafening silence between them as Bolin himself was trying to find any alternative decision, though he ultimately knew what their next move had to be.

"We're not looking anymore buddy." He finally said in a low, whisper like voice, "As much as I don't like it, I think we'll just have to wait until Mako burns himself out. When he does, he'll find us."

….

Asami shielded her eyes with her arm as the distant rising sun began to blind her. Step by step she slowly trudged further and further from her room, deeply inhaling the morning air. Since she had spent the majority of the previous day sleeping, Asami had spent the entire night jumping back and forth between a restless consciousness and an uncomfortable sleep, neither of which provided her with any form of comfort whatsoever. Her unusually pale complection and dark baggy eyes made her look as though she was on the brink of death, and her sluggish motions only served to support that idea. As her eyes adjusted to the orange light of the morning, Asami was able to lower her arm from in front of her eyes and take in the world around her. When her bloodshot eyes found their way to the city separated from her by a tranquil lake, she sighed a melancholy sigh. The city she had loved so much, the city that gave her hope every morning and every night, how had it come to hold so many unpleasant memories for her? Her father's betrayal, the destruction of the pro bending arena, Korra's kidnapping; each and every horrible occurrence that took place in the land across the water now plagued her memory as she gazed at its seemingly blissful concrete surface.

Unfortunately, it wasn't only the land across the water, but also the land beneath her very feat that caused Asami grief. Though perhaps not nearly as many, Asami has fought through a few unpleasant experiences on Air Temple Island as well as the city. Worst of all, the most painful of these experiences were fresh in her memory, as they had occurred within the last few days: Her breakup with Mako, her torturous debates over what to do about Korra, and most recently her violent outburst at Bolin. The thought of the last one made Asami cringe in shame; 'That wasn't right of me.' She thought to herself, her inner voice just as weary as her outer one. 'He thought he was helping. Even if he was wrong about Korra, he didn't deserve to get yelled at like that. And yet, if he wasn't wrong…' Not even permitting herself to complete that thought, Asami shook her head violently. When she stopped, she forced a scowl on her face in an attempt to wash away any hope with anger. 'No!' she chastised herself, 'I've made my decision; Korra and I will never happen. It's impossible and there's nothing more to say about it. I will not let myself fall asleep crying anymore!' Her scowl now set in stone on her statue like face, Asami began to pace around on the dirt beneath her, hoping to walk off any lingering uncertainties. As adamant about this decision as she believed she was, Asami knew that being around Korra would still be difficult. Though she had pledged to not pursue arelationship with Korra, her feelings for the beautiful water tribe girl were still alive and kicking. Asami had absolutely no idea how she would be able to fight the nagging urges in the pit of her stomach and spend time training with the very source of those urges every day for who knows how long.

As if on cue, Asami's ears began to twitch at the sound of her beautiful tormentor's screaming in the distance. Immediately Asami jolted from her state of self loathing by the feeling of pure fear brought on by the mere concept of Korra being in danger. Asami could hear that the screams were coming from the meditation garden on the other side of the island, and she wasted no time sprinting there. With each stride she made and every breath she took, Asami's thoughts became increasingly more chaotic. 'What's going on?' she thought frantically, 'Is Korra hurt? Is it the Equalists? Are they finally attacking? Please be okay, please be okay!' Her high paced trek to the garden went by in a flash, and before she realized what was going on, Asami found herself crouching behind a tree, ready to strike at whatever force was causing this kind of response in Korra. What she saw on the other side of the tree did not scare her, but she was surprised. She saw Korra in a crouched earth bending stance, her eyes were closed and she was taking in a deep breath. Asami watched with her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion; Korra clearly wasn't being attacked, and while Asami sighed in relief at this, but she still had no idea why Korra was screaming? Korra lifted her right leg and stomped it back onto the ground, her face cringing with every movement. A large chunk of earth rose from the ground, and Korra jumped in the air, launching her foot out to kick the stone. However, a bolt of pain coursed through her leg as she began to extend her leg, and her face contorted even more than it had before. Both she and the stone fell to the ground, though Asami couldn't tell which had made a bigger 'thud' on impact. She watched, still very confused, as Korra rolled from her side onto her stomach, slamming her fist into the ground beneath her as she screamed.

"Damn It!" Korra cried at the top of her lungs. This cry, Asami realized, was not out of fear pain or sadness, but of aggravation. She wasn't having an emotional breakdown either, not tears adorned her face. Korra was just trying to train and failing, and it was pissing her off to the point of throwing a personal tantrum. Asami smiled lightly as she watched Korra make another attempt at earth bending; 'Just Korra being Korra.' She thought, 'Beautiful Korra…' The smile immediately vanished from Asami's face and her eyebrows scrunched back into the scowl she had had only moments ago, 'No, I will not go down that road again! I won't! I can still be her friend; I can still be around her, I can…' Another scream from Korra broke Asami from her thoughts. It occurred to her that Korra might actually hurt herself if she kept going like this. Still behind the tree, Asami rose from her crouched position and leaned against the wooden giant behind her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, pulling together any ounce of courage and self control she had left. With the mask of a smile she now wore on her face, Asami crept from behind the shade of the tree, and stepped into the light.

"You know," Asami said softly, almost timidly, "You're going to hurt yourself if you keep doing that."

Korra was so startled that she nearly jumped out of her skin; she hadn't expected anyone to be watching her while she trained. Korra knew that her training wasn't going to go so well, so knowing that someone saw her was bad enough, but when she realized that it was Asami who had just seen her flopping around like that, her stomach churned in embarrassment. Her heart pounded and her cheeks flared red; she had just made herself look like an absolute idiot in front of the love of her life. How can anyone come back from that? Her mind racing to find a way to make this somehow seem impressive to Asami, and in the end she did the one thing that's worked in the past: playing it cool and acting tough.

"Oh hey Asami, I didn't see you there." Korra said nonchalantly, though her flaming red cheeks betrayed her and Asami knew she was embarrassed, "What brings you out here?"

"Your screaming." Asami said in a matter of fact. Hearing this made Korra's eyes grow wide.

"You heard that?" Korra asked, almost in a panic. Of course she knew she had been screaming, but she hadn't realized how loud she really was.

"Yeah, all the way from my room." Asami replied.

"Your… Your room?" Korra muttered; had she really been that loud? 'CRAP!' Korra thought, mentally scolding herself for not being more discrete.

"Yes, and now that you mention it," Asami took a quick look around the area; "I'm surprised that every monk on the island isn't here with me, especially Tenzin."

"Yeah well," Korra began as she nervously scratched the back of her neck, "I had him tell the other monks that I was training and that things might get a little… well you know."

"Ah," Asami replied calmly, as this explanation made perfect sense. If they knew that Korra was training, the monks could watch the entire island split in half and not bat an eye.

"How is that training coming along?" Asami asked.

"You saw, you tell me." Korra huffed, sounding far bitterer than she had intended. She looked down at her foot as it kicked a small pebble and sent in bouncing along the dirt. It seemed as though Korra was trapped in an endless state of helplessness. First she could barely move after Tarrlok had tortured her and now, right after she had gotten better, her showboating at the pro bending ring had put her right back in the same position. Korra hated the feeling of helplessness; regardless of the fact that she knew the pain would subside in a couple of days. Even more importantly, all physical pain aside, the situation with Mako had left Korra feeling more helpless than ever. She thought that maybe if she could get back on her feet physically, it would help her deal with her guilt, but it had now become obvious that that wasn't going to happen, at least not yet. She felt as though all control was slipping away from her life, and that hadn't proved to be a good feeling. A single tear fell from Korra's eye; she hadn't planned on thinking about all of this right at this very moment, and it was beginning to overwhelm her. Just when she began to worry that she would start sobbing, a single melodious voice cut through the darkness and brought her out of her place of self loathing, though not in the way she would have expected.

"Yeah," Asami began, "You were looking pretty pathetic"

Korra's head shot up, her gaze breaking from her feet and locking onto Asami. Her eyebrow was quirked up in both surprise and confusion; "Excuse me?"

Asami shrugged her shoulders, "What can I say? Your form was off, your movement's were slow, and what good is having a rock in the air if you can't send it anywhere? Frankly Korra that was some of the worst bending technique I've ever seen."

Korra's jaw was flat on the ground; she couldn't believe this. Here she was, at what was possibly her lowest, and it seemed like all Asami wanted to do was drop her down lower. Korra's eyebrows contorted into a scowl and she was about to curse the heiress out like never before. Whether she was in love with her or not, Korra knew that when someone needs to be set straight, there's no way around it. However, just as she was about to let her words fly like bullets, Korra realized something: Asami wasn't scowling back. In fact, her eyebrows were raised, and her lips were pulled back into a mischievous smirk. Korra's face relaxed as realization dawned on her, 'She's egging me on.' Korra put on a little smirk of her own, 'Alright Ms. Sato, you wanna play? Let's play.'

"Pathetic, huh?" Korra asked, her own playful disposition holding strong.

Asami nodded affirmatively, "Pabu could beat you up."

At this Korra laughed wholeheartedly, "Is that so? Well then, coach, how to you suggest we refine this pathetic technique of mine?"

Asami's grin grew wider, "There's really only one way." She crouched down into an offensive stance and raised her fists directly in front of her face. 'This is good,' Asami thought, 'This is what friends do; they play around and they help each other out. We're just being playful. We're just being friends. I can live with this.' And she was almost convinced that that was true. Korra however, was not convinced of the situation, in fact she was a little concerned and afraid that their game had gone a little too far.

"Asami," Korra began hesitantly, "You're not suggesting that we… spar, are you?"

Asami nodded from behind her fists, "The only way for you to get your fighting mojo back is to get into a fight, so quit being a wimp and put em' up."

Still hesitant, Korra crouched into her own fighting stance and raised her own fists. 'This is fine,' she thought, 'I mean, what could be wrong with it? I'm just getting physical with Asami. Physical… up close… personal," Korra lightly shook her head, breaking herself from this train of thought, 'Knock it off. It is WAY too early to start trying any of that stuff. You asked her to train you so you could ease into this kind of thing. This is all about testing the waters,'

"Oh, and Korra," Asami called, to which Korra answered by looking up over her fists at Asami's gorgeous green eyes; "Don't hold anything back." She said, followed by what Korra could have sworn was a wink.

Korra hid back behind her fists and let out the breath she was holding, sweat beginning to bead up on her forehead. 'Oh yeah,' she thought, 'some waters are definitely about to be tested.'

….

Bolin slowly slugged his way through the across the dock as he began to approach his boat at the far end of the wooden walkway. Pabu lay curled around Bolin's neck, his soft orange face looking just as sad and dejected as that of his owner's. Finally reaching his small boat, Bolin knelt down to untie the boat from the dock as Pabu hopped inside. Once sitting himself, Bolin grasped the steering rod of the motor and began to start it up. However, just as Bolin was about to pull on the motor's starter cord, he suddenly stopped. He wasn't excited or happy, he hadn't had an epiphany, and his face still bore that same look of defeat it had held all morning. But, rather than starting up the boat and making his way home in defeat, Bolin instead looked up at the sky, which was now a bright sky blue, and sighed.

"Why couldn't we find him Pabu?" The young earth bender asked his furry companion with a sigh of remorse. Pabu simply twitched as he curled himself into a little ball of fuzz on the floor of the boat. He wasn't listening, and Bolin knew it; he just needed to talk.

"I mean, we looked everywhere right?" he continued, "We checked every single one of his old hangouts, and we talked to every old friend. Every hotel, every bar, every dumpster, we searched them all. He just… he just wasn't there." Bolin allowed his head to drop down and he just stared at his shoes, "He just wasn't where he used to be."

That's all he did; for what felt like hours that's all he did. He just sat there with his head held low, staring at his shoes. Pabu, still curled in his little ball, was perfectly fine with the current situation. He simply laid in his little spot on the boat, catching up on some much needed rest. At least, that's what he did for a couple moments longer. Because right then, after what had felt like an eternity, Bolin finally did have an epiphany.

"THAT'S IT!" He declared much louder than he had intended. His head snapped up from is lap, and his face finally held a smile after over a day of frowning. This sudden outburst startled Pabu, and he jumped up from his resting place and fell right into the water outside of the boat. Bolin stuck his hand into the water and searched for his beloved fire ferret, all the while his smile remained plastered on his face.

"Don't you get it Pabu?" He asked, still fishing for the orange haired animal, "I was looking for Mako in all of the wrong places, the places he used to go. Sure he may have gone back to his old ways, but a lot has changed between then and now. I was just so angry that I didn't realize it." Finally finding him, Bolin pulled Pabu, who's fur was now unimaginably drenched, up out of the water and brought him close so that they were face to face.

"If we stop looking for past Mako, and start looking for present Mako," He said excitedly to his waterlogged companion, "Then we just might find him!" He stared at Pabu, almost as if he were expecting a reply, but all he received as a tiny sneeze directly in his face from the small animal. After putting Pabu down and wiping the fire ferret spittle from his face, Bolin stood up within the boat and looked out into the city around him.

"Now," he muttered softly, "If I were present day Mako, where would I go to feel safe after a night of self destruction?" He thought for a moment as he scanned the forest of buildings, and then it hit him. All the moment needed was a light bulb shining bright above Bolin's head as he turned to face the only place he knew Mako would go.

"Of course," he whispered, "Where else." There was no hesitation now. Bolin dropped right down into his seat and pulled the starter cord with all his might. Pabu was shaking off the last bits of water from his fur when the small vessel went into overdrive. Bolin held the steering rod tight, turning it to go exactly where he needed it too.

"Hold on Mako," Bolin whispered, his actions guided by a determination he never knew he was capable of, "Just hold on a little longer. We're on our way." And on their way they were. The earth bender and his furry companion; never stopping, never slowing, never once having any doubt. They just kept riding the waves as quickly as possible; riding them all the way to the Pro Bending Arena.

A/N: Was it worth the wait? I certainly hope so. I know that this probably isn't my best chapter, but I hope it was still enjoyable to read. I definitely want to know what you guys liked and what you think I could do better next time so REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! Once again I'd just like to thank you all for your patience and your support, including those of you who followed or favorited while I was on hiatus. It's thanks to each and every one of you that Shifting Tides has reached over 11,000 overall views, and that's pretty freaking awesome! Now, I don't know about you guys, but I'm not a huge fan of monthly intervals between chapters. Thankfully I'm almost finished with high school so I'm certainly hoping to crank out more chapters sooner once summer break begins. That being said, we've still got a long way to go before Shifting Tides comes to a close, so stay tuned.