Just Like the Good Old Days
Redbayly: Hey, everyone, I'm back!
Sokka: Nobody cares.
Aang: Sokka, lay off Red for once. It is New Year's after all.
Toph: That's right, which means it's soon going to be time for our annual New Year's booze-up.
Redbayly: I thought I said no booze at the New Year's party this year?
Everyone: *Bursts out laughing*
Sokka: *Wipes away a tear* Ah, that joke gets better every time you say it, Red.
Redbayly: Just do the spirits-damned disclaimer.
Sokka: Redbayly does not own Legend of Korra.
Campfire Confessions
Korra's POV:
Everything I'd experienced today was still vivid in my mind. After seeing the sanctuary, Ituha took me to a secondary shrine dedicated to the Sacred Seven, the first seven Avatars of the Southern Water Tribe. Huata, Ahanu, Kachina, Ehane, Migisi, Gagii, and Chilaili; all of them symbols of my tribe's history and culture, but also viewed with a certain degree of fear. Ituha had told me that not all of them were ready for their role as the Avatar and many of them made some very stupid decisions in their youth. While my tribe has had many other Avatars since the Sacred Seven, they are still regarded as the most significant because of what they managed to achieve. I only hope I can live up to their legacies and not make the same mistakes they made in their lifetimes.
"Korra, are you alright?" my mom asked. "You seem distracted."
"Oh, it's nothing, Mom," I replied.
My family was all currently sitting down to dinner at Aunt Kaliska's house. My aunt, even though she's Chief, always insisted on living amongst the regular people, just like my granddad did when he was alive. So, instead of a huge palace, she and my cousin live in this igloo that's only somewhat bigger than an average one.
"So, kiddo, what's the sanctuary look like?" Ciqala asked me.
"It's…it's pretty cool."
Ciqala gave me a curious look but shrugged it off. That's one of the things I always liked about my cousin, he knew when not to push things.
"You have a lovely home, Chief Kaliska," said Asami.
"Thank you," said my aunt, "but please, dear, call me Kali. I never really like it when people call me 'Chief Kaliska,' it makes me feel old. Yue, could you give me a hand in the kitchen?"
My two aunts headed off into the other room while the rest of us continued with dinner.
"Man, this Water Tribe grub is great," said Bolin through a mouthful of food. "I think it even tops Narook's. What is this stuff?"
"Whale testicles," Adsila replied.
There was a tense pause before we all burst out laughing.
"Don't worry, Bo, it's not really whale testicles," I said. "It's actually turtle-seal brains soaked in squid-crab ink and brine."
Bolin gave an indifferent shrug before filling his plate with more of the native dish. Odd, usually when we tell people what it is they freak out. Can't imagine why, though.
My aunts had just reentered the room when there was a knock at the door.
"If it's Liluye and Shada, tell them I moved to the Si Wong Desert," said Ciqala.
But it wasn't Liluye and Shada; it was Chief Unalaq.
"Oh, great, what are you doing here?" my dad snapped.
"I am simply here for a few words with Avatar Korra, if you don't mind," Unalaq retorted.
"I don't-"
"Oh for goodness sake, Tonraq," my mom said in annoyance. "Just let the man have his say and stop acting like such a child."
My dad gave an indignant huff and refused to look at anyone.
"What is it, Chief Unalaq?" I asked.
"I was hoping to begin your training tomorrow," he said. "There is a very important task that you need to complete before the winter solstice arrives."
He gave a very vague answer when I asked what the mission was. All that was decided was that I would meet with him tomorrow to get ready for a journey onto the tundra. By the time he left, I was getting an ominous feeling again.
"I don't trust him," my dad said at last.
"Come on, Tonraq, he's your brother," my aunt Yue insisted. "If you can't trust family, who can you trust?"
"Oh, you mean like your family up north who refuse to even acknowledge their Southern heritage?" asked my aunt Kaliska.
"That is completely irrelevant and I am appalled by your accusations!"
"Yeah, well I was pretty appalled myself when you didn't come home for years after you married Kohana. Do you know how much you hurt Dad when you refused to even visit?"
"That's not fair. You don't know anything about…"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" I shouted. "Is there something the rest of us should know about?"
"It's nothing," Aunt Yue insisted.
"Oh, sure it's nothing," Aunt Kaliska said dryly. "It's perfectly fine to run off with a guy Mom and Dad disliked and hardly ever speak to your tribe and family ever since."
"You still haven't forgiven me for marrying Kohana, have you?" said Aunt Yue with an annoyed huff.
"Well, owing to the fact that your elopement with that reprobate broke Dad's heart and left me, Mom, and Senna to look after him after his health started to fail, yeah, I kinda haven't."
"Are you blaming me for Dad's poor health?! You weren't exactly helping matters with your little 'emergency wedding' to Ahote, in case you've forgotten."
Uncle Paytah began snickering at my aunts' argument until Aunt Yue snapped.
"And you!" she declared, pointing towards him. "You were no better than I was! Traipsing around the Earth Kingdom doing who knows what. You know, one of your little 'adventures' in Ba Sing Se nearly caused an international incident that could have caused untold problems for our tribe."
"No more problems than what that bastard Unalaq is going to cause," Aunt Kaliska retorted. "I know he's up to something, yet you won't hear a word against him. All you care about now is your stupid job! Your job and that delinquent you married! You don't care about any of the rest of us, do you, Yue?! You don't care about the Southern Water Tribe, you don't care about us, why did you even bother coming here?"
"To make sure you all would be safe!" Aunt Yue shouted before slapping her hands over her mouth.
"What?" we all said in disbelief.
"I-I…I shouldn't have…I have to go…"
"Yue, wait!" Aunt Kaliska stopped her, grasping her wrist. "What do you mean 'make sure we would be safe'?"
"I…I can't…everyone have a good evening!" She yanked her hand out of Aunt Kaliska's grip and rushed out the door before any of us could stop her.
"What was that all about?" Tarro said after an awkward pause.
Noatak's POV:
Something was going on. It doesn't take a genius to figure it out. The fight between Yue and Chief Kaliska was unexpected, as was the little revelation about why things were so tense between them. No one pushed Chief Kaliska for more information about what happened, though I could tell it was news to a number of people present. And what did Yue mean about making sure we would all be safe? She clearly knew something was going on, but I doubted she would give anything up; after all, the woman is a diplomat.
Korra and I were getting ready for bed. We were all staying with Tonraq and Senna, and Korra and I were given our own room (under the condition that we wouldn't do anything 'unseemly').
"I can't believe I never knew," said Korra. "I know Aunt Yue only comes to visit a few times every year, but I didn't think there was anything other than diplomatic responsibilities that caused it. I've never seen my aunts fight like that. It was…"
"Scary?" I finished for her. She nodded and curled up next to me. "Whatever is going on, no matter what happens, I promise we'll get through it, Korra."
"We'll watch each other's back like we always do?"
I gave her a reassuring smile and kissed the top of her head. I know Korra is capable of looking after herself, but I will never let anything hurt her if I can help it.
My dreams were very disturbing that night. I kept seeing horrible things happening. I remembered holding a dying man in my arms and pleading with him not to die. I remembered stumbling upon a place where I found a young girl weeping; she looked badly beaten and her clothes were torn and stained with blood. I remembered watching on in horror as an island was completely destroyed by a volcano and knowing that someone I cared about was still on it.
I awoke from my nightmares in a cold sweat to find Korra missing.
"Korra?!" I yelled out frantically.
"I'm out here!" she called from the other room.
I let out a sigh of relief and started to get dressed.
It was only a dream, I assured myself. Just a very vivid dream. It was probably just the result of my concern for Korra's safety. Nothing more than that.
Upon entering the main room, I realized how early it was.
"That's strange," I said. "Usually we have to drag you out of bed first thing in the morning."
"Well, I'm eager to know what Unalaq can teach me about spirits," she said.
We were interrupted by a sleepy yawn from Tarrlok, who had just entered the room. He looked very disheveled and was clearly not happy about being up early.
"Morning, Blubber-Brains," I teased him, earning a scowl in response.
"You know you don't have to go with us, Tarro," Korra said.
"No, no," he said dismissively, "I said I would stick with you all and I'm not going to back down just because I have to get up at the crack of dawn."
Someone's being passive-aggressive, I thought amusedly.
After we all had gotten a quick bite to eat, we set off to meet up with Chief Unalaq. I wasn't sure why, but the thought of going on this 'journey' he mentioned last night was making me very apprehensive. While Korra spoke with Unalaq, I was helping Tarrlok and Mako to assemble the supplies; Bolin was supposed to meet up with us and Asami had another meeting with Varrick.
As I was working, I noticed Ciqala standing nearby; he waved at me and gestured for me to follow him.
"I'll be back in a sec," I said before walking over to him.
"Hey, can we talk for a minute?" Ciqala said to me. I gave a brief nod and he gestured to a patch of ground. We both sat next to each other and there was a moment of awkward silence. "I care about Korra," he said. "She's been more like a little sister to me than a cousin. I know that you love her and that you have every intention of ensuring that she will be happy. I respect that, I really do. It's just…it's kinda hard to see the little girl who beat me at arm-wrestling when she was only six years old as a young woman about to take such a big step in her life."
"I think I understand," I replied. "Sometimes it's hard for me to think of my brother as anyone other than a goofy kid. But I know that he's capable of making decisions about what is important to him and I know that, even if he doesn't need his big brother watching his back, he's still happy to have me around."
I turned and saw the young man smiling at me.
"I'm glad we understand each other." He then pulled something out of a bag he kept around his shoulder. He held out an object to me. It was an angular piece of metal that bore a tiny imprint of a wolf's head in the corner. "This boomerang belonged to my grandfather. It took him forever to find it after he lost it in battle years ago. I think…I think he'd be happy if you had it. It would make sense that someone who's sworn to protect not just the Avatar but Chief Sokka's granddaughter should carry this. Put it to good use."
Hesitantly, I accepted the archaic weapon. As my hand touched the cold metal, I felt a strange surge; like the spirit of the original owner had placed his hand on top of mine to recognize the "passing of the torch." Well, I suppose in this case it would be the passing of the boomerang.
"Thanks, Ciqala," I said. "This is really-"
"Ciqala! Where are you?!" came two female voice.
"Crap!" Ciqala exclaimed. "See ya later, Noak!" He then made a mad dash in the other direction.
I stowed the boomerang in my bag before heading off to rejoin the group. Korra had finally come back, along with Naga, whom she was currently saddling.
"I thought you said Bolin was coming?" she said to Mako.
"He said he'd be here," Mako replied.
"I'm sure he's fine," I said, getting their attention. "We got everything we need?"
"I think so," Korra said as she mounted Naga. She then glanced over her shoulder and I noticed that Chief Kaliska had also decided to join our little group. "My aunt said there's no way she's letting Unalaq take us out onto the tundra without her there. Frankly, I'm actually kind of relieved; my aunt knows the land better than most and it's always a good idea to have more people helping out."
That was when we were interrupted by the arrival of a snowmobile. It was Tonraq, and he didn't look too happy.
"Tonraq, what do you want?" Unalaq said testily.
"I heard you're taking Korra to the South Pole," he replied. "I'm coming."
"Absolutely not! You're a distraction to Korra and a hindrance to what needs to be done."
"And what exactly 'needs to be done'?" asked Chief Kaliska suspiciously.
"That is none of your concern at the moment."
"It is if you're going to be messing around in my tribe's territory."
Unalaq eyed Tonraq and Chief Kaliska angrily.
"It's people like you who have put the Spirit World out of balance," he said. "You've ignored my warnings in the past and haven't learned since."
"What happened in the past?" asked Korra.
"It doesn't matter," said Tonraq. "What matters is the Everstorm."
"The Everstorm?" inquired Mako.
"It's a blizzard that's battered the South Pole for decades." Tonraq then turned back to Unalaq. "I'm coming, unless you think you can stop me."
The two men glared at each other before we were suddenly interrupted by the arrival of two figures. One was Bolin on a snowmobile of his own and the other was Lomasi who was driving a sled pulled by several arctic dogs.
"Sorry we're late," said Lomasi. "I'm sure you're surprised I decided to join you."
"We are, but we're more than happy for you to come, Lomasi," said Tarrlok.
"Well, I just figured you all would need someone who knows about the creepy things lurking out there on the tundra. You know, the Wendigos, Corrupter-Spirits, and Shadow Men."
"Wendigos?" said Korra.
"Corrupter-Spirits?" I said.
"And Shadow Men," Lomasi finished.
"Oh my," Tarrlok muttered.
"Uh, so, anyway," Mako spoke up. "Bolin, where'd you get the ride?"
"Varrick," Bolin answered enthusiastically. "He's awesome! He also gave me this fancy snowsuit. It's inflatable, with an internal heater, emergency beacon, and food pouches. I mean, if get lost, I can survive in this thing for like a month." He reached into the snowsuit to get something. "Who wants some freeze-dried cucumberquats? Nobody?...Did we interrupt a conversation?"
"No, the conversation is over," said Korra. She turned to her father. "Dad, come if you want, just don't interfere with my training." Korra gave me a hand as I climbed up onto Naga behind her.
Tarrlok's POV:
We'd been traveling all day. The sun had long since sunk beneath the horizon and the temperature was dropping rapidly. There had been a number of arguments, mainly involving Tonraq and the two chieftains.
"You know, ever since we got back to the Southern Water Tribe I've noticed something," I said.
"Like what?" Noatak asked.
"Well, I came to the realization that this place is fricking freezing!"
"Ha! Don't tell me you've gone soft, Tarro," said Lomasi. "This weather is like a mild chill on an otherwise balmy day." Her face lit up in a grin and she began singing some ancient Water Tribe song. As she sang I translated the lyrics in my head.
"Wind blowing through the hills,
Heya, my cousins, come home,
Carrying with it the spirits of old,
Heya, heya, come home.
Kangee circling overhead,
His comforting wings outstretched,
Going to bring back our warriors,
Going to bring them home.
Moon shining bright in the midnight sky,
Heya, my cousins, come home,
She glides through it to light your way,
Heya, heya, come home.
The Red Panther Lady there to keep you safe,
Coahoma is her name,
Her claws are ready to defend,
She tears down the Southerners' foes.
The oceans churn and teem with life,
Heya, my cousins, come home,
Waiting for the fishermen to return,
Heya, heya, come home."
I stopped trying to translate it. The lyrics sound much better when I hear them in the original language. I got distracted from Lomasi's singing when I happened to overhear a conversation between Korra and Chief Unalaq.
"So once we get to the South Pole, what happens?" Korra asked.
"You will open an ancient spirit portal," he answered.
"I'm sorry, what now?"
"At the South Pole there is a portal that connects our world to the Spirit World, but it has long been closed."
"Maybe it was for a good reason," said Chief Kaliska adamantly. "That ever occur to you, Chief Unalaq?"
"Your input is neither wanted nor needed, Chief Kaliska."
"Like Naraka it is. You just expect her to believe that some portal she's never even heard of that only you seem to know about is the answer to the attacks from all those evil spirits?"
"As I have told you in the past, Chief Kaliska, there are no evil spirits. There is Light and Dark in all of them; however, when they are unbalanced, Darkness takes over."
"You really are a moron if you believe that." She turned to Korra. "Korra, please don't listen to that garbage. There are evil spirits as much as there are genuinely evil human beings. And no, Chief Unalaq, I am not preaching a black and white morality," she replied to the argument he was about to make. "About thirty years ago, a man was arrested for kidnapping, torturing, and killing young women. When he was on trial, do you know what he said? He said: 'I was born with evil inside of me. I know what I did to those girls was evil and will condemn me to Naraka when I die. But if I were set free I would continue to do it. I do it because it's what makes me who I am.' Now, tell me that guy isn't evil?"
"Humans and spirits are different," Unalaq insisted. "The spirits would not be violent if they were appeased."
"You try saying that when a Wendigo shows up and tries to eat your flesh."
Chief Unalaq glared at her before turning back to Korra.
"Avatar Korra, if you can open the portal in time then balance will be restored and the spirit attacks will stop."
"What do you mean 'in time'?"
"There is a reason the Glacier Spirits Festival ends on the winter solstice. That's when the Spirit World and the physical world are close together. Only then can the Avatar open the portal. We cannot afford to wait another year."
"What do you mean 'another year'?" snapped Chief Kaliska. "There's another solstice in six months."
"I stand corrected, but it is important that the portal is opened as soon as possible. The winter solstice is tomorrow and-"
"Another correction to your flawed logic. The winter solstice would be tomorrow if we were going by Northern time. However, you are overlooking the time that is gained from the distance between the two Poles. Your Glacier Spirits Festival actually starts seven days before the Festival of Lights, which is celebrated directly on the winter solstice. So, technically, we still have just under five days before the solstice ends. Rather fortunate as the journey to the South Pole is long and hard. Of course, if worse comes to worse and we end up having to eat each other to survive, I motion that you be the first one we off."
"Chief Kaliska, with all due respect, I find you a repugnant individual."
"Same here, Chief Jerkbender."
The wind was starting to pick up. The animals that most of us were riding began to act skittish. That's when we saw the malevolent-looking figures in the storm.
"What are those?" Bolin said nervously.
"Dark spirits," Korra replied.
"Let's keep moving," said Tonraq. "We have to find a safe place to set up camp."
Noatak's POV:
It wasn't long until we got to a cave and set up for the night. I really did not like being out here; something kept telling me we should turn around and go straight home. Everyone was on edge.
Suddenly, the air was pierced by a horrible cry.
"Help!" the voice shrieked. "Someone help me!"
Korra shot up but Lomasi held her by the wrist and tried to pull her back.
"No one go out there!" she shouted.
"There's someone in trouble," Korra insisted. "We have to help!"
"It's a trick, Korra!"
"Help me!" the voice wailed on. "Please! I'm so cold!"
"No one speak to it!" Lomasi insisted. "You grant it access and it will kill us all."
I helped her pull Korra back to her seat as the voice continued its crying.
"What do you mean it's a trick?" said Korra. "It sounds like someone's hurt."
"That's just what the Wendigo wants you to think," said Chief Kaliska. "Trust me, Korra. If you go out there, that thing will kill you."
"Surely you're overreacting, Chief Kaliska," said Unalaq.
"I most certainly am not. The Wendigo is a nasty creature. It has many methods of killing its prey, but its favorite is to lure an unwary person into its clutches. It devours the flesh of the victim and wears the person's skin as a disguise. It then walks back to the group or hunting party and pretends to be that person. It then waits until everyone else is asleep and then…" She made a slicing motion across her throat.
"We've had Wendigos out here since the beginning of the tribe," Lomasi added. "They're supposed to be agents of the South's greatest enemy, the demoness Hakidonmuya."
"You've had a few brushes with them yourself, haven't you, Tonraq?"
Tonraq looked at the fire with a somber expression.
"Twice," he replied. "I was out on hunting trips. I was the only survivor the first time and had to be put under guard for several days before they believed I wasn't the Wendigo wearing a skin."
The sound of the Wendigo was slowly fading, as though it realized none of us were buying its charade.
"But the Dark spirits that we've seen don't seem to be like Wendigos," said Korra. "Why are they attacking?"
"Can we not talk about Dark spirits?" asked Bolin pleadingly.
"My brother doesn't like ghost stories," Mako explained.
Eska turned to Bolin.
"I will protect you, my feeble turtle-duck," she said in that eerie monotone.
"Thank you."
"Sadly, this isn't a ghost story," said Unalaq. "This is real. The spirits are angry because he's here." He shot a glance at Tonraq. "Haven't you ever wondered how your father ended up in the South Pole?" he said to Korra. "Why he's never taken you to visit his homeland in the North?"
"Unalaq, this is not the time!" Tonraq retorted.
"You're right. You should have told her a long time ago."
"Told me what?" Korra asked.
Tonraq gave a defeated sigh.
"I left the North Pole because…I was banished."
"You were banished from the North? Why?"
"Because I almost destroyed the entire tribe." He paused for a moment. "Twenty years ago, I was a general in the Northern Water Tribe, sworn to protect my people. My troops and I were stationed several miles outside the city walls when Unalaq came and reported that the capital was under attack by a horde of barbarians. No one is certain where they came from, but it is suspected that they were descendants of the Fire Nation troops that attacked the North during the infamous siege that managed to escape but never got back to the Fire Nation. I drove them out of the city and deep into the frozen tundra. We tracked them into an ancient forest. Many believed this forest was the home to spirits, and the barbarians retreated there because they thought we wouldn't attack on such hallowed grounds. They thought wrong.
"We captured the barbarians, but in the process, we destroyed the forest. I didn't realize the consequences of what I had done. By destroying the forest, I unknowingly let loose angry spirits. They threatened to destroy everything, the entire city. Unalaq was able to guide the spirits back to the forest, but the damage had been done. For being the cause of so much devastation, my father banished me from the Northern Water Tribe in shame. That's when I came to the South and started a new life."
Tonraq hung his head in sorrow.
I wasn't sure what to think about this. The man I had come to see as a father had nearly destroyed an entire tribe. I knew I should feel resentment against him for his folly, but I couldn't bring myself to. I had committed my fair share of mistakes. Who was I to judge him for decisions made in the arrogance of youth?
"Whoa," Bolin spoke up, "so you were supposed to be chief, but then he became chief. No wonder you guys don't like each other." Mako elbowed his brother. "Ow, what? Isn't that what happened?"
"I can't believe you kept this from me!" Korra shouted, standing up angrily.
"I was protecting you from the shame I brought on the family," Tonraq replied.
"Why do you keep hiding things from me and then tell me that it's for my own protection?! I'm tired of you protecting me!"
"Korra, stop!" I exclaimed. I stood up and took her by the hand. "Excuse us for a moment," I said to everyone.
"Don't go off too far," I heard Lomasi caution us as I led Korra outside the cave to talk.
Once we were out of hearing range, I turned to face her.
"Look," I said, "I know it was wrong for him to keep something like that hidden for so long, but, please, don't just turn your own father away like that." She wasn't meeting my eyes so I placed my hand under her chin. "Hey, look at me." Korra's eyes locked onto mine and I could see how angry and hurt she was. "I know it bothers you when people act like you can't defend yourself, but what your father did was as much for himself as it was for you. Remember how hard it was for me to tell you about who I really was?"
"That's different…"
"I don't think so. What happened all those years ago is clearly a painful subject for him and I actually think it took a lot for him to tell you even now. And remember, Korra, if your father hadn't come down here then he never would have met your mother. I know he hasn't made the best choices, but everything he's done he's done out of love for you. I wish my own father had loved me half as much."
I could see tears starting to form in her eyes but she quickly rubbed them out. I know she hates being seen as weak.
"Korra, if your father really thought you were helpless, would he have let us go to Republic City?"
"He only did that because you and Tarro were with me."
"In the old timeline, you came to Republic City alone."
I could sense her anger fading as her heartbeat slowed. I really hoped she looked past what her father had done.
"Come on," I said. "Let's get back to the campfire, it's freezing out here."
Tarrlok's POV:
I watched my brother and Korra sit down again; Noatak had an arm wrapped around her shoulders. There was a tense silence in the air for several minutes.
"You know, the story doesn't end there," Chief Kaliska spoke up. "I suppose that's where my family shows up. It was several months after Tonraq's banishment before he arrived in the South."
Flashback:
Tonraq was standing on the deck of his ship, looking up at the night sky.
"Tonraq, you should get some sleep," said a gruff-looking man.
"I'm not tired," Tonraq replied.
"You know you don't have to face this alone. We've been friends since we were children and I am not going to abandon you."
"Thank you, Hakan."
Hakan took another look at Tonraq before walking back towards the galley where he was greeted by another man, one with shaggy brown hair that hung over his eyes.
"He still moping?" the new man asked.
"Wouldn't you?" said Hakan. "He just lost his home and everything he's ever known. I just wish he'd say something, Len."
"Eh, what are you gonna do?" Len said with a shrug. "He'll talk when he's ready. Big oaf never did go for the 'talk about your feelings' crap." Len pulled out a flute and began to play a gentle melody.
"I just don't like seeing my best friend like this. There's got to be something we can do."
"You can start by not talking about me behind my back."
The two men were startled as Tonraq appeared in the doorway. His expression was blank, just as it had been since they left the North Pole.
"Tonraq, we, um…" Hakan faltered.
"Skip it," Tonraq said. "No one bother me, I want to be left alone." He marched across the room and into his private quarters.
"Eh, he'll be fine," Len thought aloud. "All he has to do is see a Southern Water Tribe girl and he'll forget all about missing home."
"Southern girls are really as pretty as they say?" asked Hakan.
"You know it. But they're very strong-willed and, uh, can be vicious when provoked." Len rolled up his sleeve to reveal several long gashes. "Southern chick did that to me when I made some stupid comment about girls being incapable of fighting. I'm just lucky the dame didn't decide to cut something off, which she would have done and not lost a wink of sleep over."
"He's gonna get his ass kicked on the first day by a girl half his size, isn't he?" Hakan said with a resigned sigh.
"Yup."
Tarrlok's POV:
"Now, things had been going well at the Southern Water Tribe since the end of the war," Chief Kaliska explained. "My dad had taken up the title of chief after my grandfather got so old he decided to retire. I was almost twenty when we moved back home from Republic City. Few years later and my mom gave birth to my baby sister, Senna. Senna was always tough, even as a little kid, and she was the pride of the family. Everyone just seems to get along with her. Wish I could say as much about myself. I was the 'problem child' I guess; well, until Yue ran off with Kohana, then everything I did never seemed so bad.
"Well, anyway, Senna was always quite popular. She and her friends could walk around town and everyone knew who they were. Let me see, it was Honovi, Nituna, Algoma, and Chepi; the four of them followed Senna and always seemed to try to be like her. Honovi and Algoma were the only other Waterbenders in the group and would go with Senna to practice every afternoon. It was on one such day that a certain banished prince showed up."
Flashback:
"I told you, guys, I don't want to go to Waterbending practice," Tonraq declared as his friends dragged him to the dojo. Well, more like pushed him towards the dojo. "I'm already a master Waterbender, what do I need practice for?"
Hakan and Len exchanged exasperated looks.
"Come on, just do it, man," Len said. "You've been in a sour mood since we got here last night. Just go in there and blow off some steam or whatever."
"We're going to arrange a meeting with the Southern chief to ask about immigrating here," added Hakan. "Please, Tonraq, just try to get along with the locals. With luck this place is going to be where we spend the rest of our lives."
Tonraq glared at his friends and muttered something about wishing he was back home where everyone used to worship the ground he walked on.
"Oh, right, that was before I nearly destroyed the city," he thought.
Tonraq turned and entered into the Waterbending dojo where a large group of very attractive women were practicing their forms. The leader of the group noticed his entrance.
"If you're one of Chesmu's lackeys, tell him that I'm still not interested," she said.
Tonraq took a good look at the girl and realized she was the prettiest one in the room. She was very petite but clearly had some muscle tone under her clothes. She had long, dark (almost black) hair that she kept tied on either side of her head. Her big, bright eyes were the most remarkable shade of aqua-blue he had ever seen.
"I don't know who this Chesmu guy is," said Tonraq. "I'm just looking for a place where I can get a little workout."
"Well, you're in the right place, then," she said. "You must be new around here. Usually, this time is reserved for women to train."
"Heh, I guess that means you don't get enough opportunity to check out the competition."
"Excuse me?"
"Well, it's just that if you girls can't see how much better the men are at fighting you won't really know how to improve."
The woman's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"I guess it's something for us to be mindful of," she said dryly. "After all, us poor, fragile, Southern girls against some big tough guy like you; we wouldn't stand a chance."
"Yes, but don't feel too bad," said Tonraq obliviously. "I mean, I am the best Waterbender in the Northern Water Tribe."
"Wow, best Waterbender, huh? In the whole Northern Water Tribe? Maybe you'd be so kind as to give us a little demonstration?"
"Oh, well, I don't know…"
"Come on, girls! Don't you want him to show us how it's done?"
The other female Waterbenders all giggled deviously and nodded.
"Okay," said Tonraq smugly. "You talked me into it. Now, you stand right there. This might be kinda tough, but try to block me…"
Tonraq sent a blast of water at her that she quickly deflected.
"You go, Senna!" shouted one of the other girls.
"Uh, good," Tonraq said uncertainly, "but I was going easy on you."
"Sure you were," Senna replied with a smirk.
With that, the fighting recommenced until Tonraq was left prone on the floor, his ankle tied to his wrist.
Tarrlok's POV:
I was shocked. Even I had never been that suicidal.
"You can imagine what Senna said when she got home that evening," Chief Kaliska continued. "We were all sitting down to dinner when Tonraq and his two buddies show up to talk about their request to immigrate to our tribe."
"I certainly wasn't expecting to see the girl who beat me up earlier that day," said Tonraq. "Although, I admit I kind of deserved it."
"Yes, you really did," said Chief Unalaq with a harsh smirk, causing the two men to glare at each other again.
"Anyway," said Chief Kaliska impatiently, "Tonraq actually cleaned up his act more quickly than expected and even apologized for his behavior. After that, Tonraq and Senna became friends fairly quickly. It wasn't too long before the two decided to get married. Of course, Tonraq wanted to make his membership in the Southern Water Tribe official rather than just marrying into it."
"What did you do, Dad?" Korra asked, speaking for the first time since her tirade.
"I went through a Southern initiation ceremony," Tonraq replied solemnly. "It's called the Healing and Rebirth."
"I know what happens in that," said Lomasi. "It's a seven day rite wherein the initiate symbolically casts off his or her former heritage and is adopted into a clan."
"Exactly. On the first day, I had to march to the Temple while onlookers were instructed to shout abuse at me to remind me that I was an outsider at the time. None of them meant what they said as far as I know, but the practice is there to keep the person receiving it humble. That was the first time I was allowed into the Temple sanctuary. I was instructed to meditate at the foot of the statue and it made me realize all the mistakes I made. On the second day, I was told to go on a Vision Quest as it is a rite of passage for all Southerners."
"Why didn't you let me go on one, then?" Korra demanded.
"I tried to. That was something I wanted you to experience, but the White Lotus had decided it was too dangerous and stopped me from letting you. Just like they stopped me from taking you ice-dodging."
I saw Korra look down thoughtfully. I remembered how disappointed she was when she found out we weren't going ice-dodging.
"The Vision Quest was one of the most intense things I have ever experienced," Tonraq continued. "I still remember it. It was on the morning of the fifth day. I had been in that cave since the evening of the second without food or water. That was when I saw it…"
Flashback:
Tonraq was shivering in the cold. The small fire he'd made to keep himself warm was going out and he was starting to wonder if he'd even get out of this alive. Suddenly, the cold seemed to disappear. Tonraq felt warmth creeping up through him and he suddenly felt more alert than he'd ever been before.
He looked out at the storm and noticed a glinting light. As he looked closer, he saw that the light was a lantern being held by a little girl who was riding on the back of a giant polar bear-dog. The child looked up at him as she drew closer and Tonraq saw that her eyes were the same shade of blue as Senna's.
That's when the little girl spoke in a rich tone that was far too mature for someone of her age.
"You have been tried, you have been tested, and you have been found worthy," she said. She held up the lantern. "I am the light that shines through the darkness. I see into the hearts of all my children. You, Tonraq of the North, are now a son of the South."
With that, the child turned the polar bear-dog around and disappeared into the storm. Tonraq shot back into awareness and immediately began his long trek back to the Temple where he related everything he had seen. Prophetess Ituha and the Shaman who preceded Guyapi, a man named Aditsan, told him that he had been claimed by the totem spirit of the Polar Bear-Dog Clan and that he was destined for a great honor in his life.
Tarrlok's POV:
"The Shaman and Prophetess always know when someone lies to them," said Tonraq. "And they knew that I was telling them the truth. The day after I came back from the Vision Quest, I underwent a ritual healing to ensure I wasn't harmed from my experience. On the night after that, I was again processed to the Temple, this time escorted by the Southern chief, the man who would soon become my father-in-law. During that ceremony, I was officially declared a member of the Southern Water Tribe and the head of the long-dead Polar Bear-Dog Clan."
"And, of course, you married my little sister and the rest is history," Chief Kaliska finished. "So, I guess, things didn't turn out so bad for you after all, did they, Tonraq?"
"I think I'm much happier here than I was up North. The South is my home and I wouldn't change that even if I could." Tonraq shot one last hard look at his brother.
"Well, as much…fun as hearing stories around the campfire is," said Lomasi, "perhaps we should all turn in for the night. We've got a lot of ground to cover tomorrow."
Everyone was silent as we all began to go to our separate corners for the night. Korra still didn't say anything else to her father and simply fell asleep against my brother. I wasn't really aware that Lomasi was sleeping next to me until I felt her head fall against my shoulder. I managed to catch myself before I let out a startled yelp of surprise. As I looked at her resting there, I realized just how pretty she was.
Get ahold of yourself, I thought. You have the mentality of a man in his late thirties to early forties and she's a sixteen-year-old. You should not think that way.
I simply did my best to ignore that Lomasi was leaning against me and allowed myself to drift off to sleep as I watched the snow blowing violently past the cave entrance.
Redbayly: Finally got this done. Been working on it all day. So, I was recently re-watching some episodes from the original series and something struck me in the episode "Zuko Alone." When Zuko was helping to repair the roof of the barn and that kid Lee kept asking Zuko questions about his past, Lee's father said "It's not nice to bother someone about things he might not want to talk about. A man's past is his business." I felt that sort of resonates with what happened regarding Tonraq's confession and how Korra was all angry because he hadn't told her sooner.
Toph: Hey, Red, are you coming to the party or not? *Takes a swig from a bottle*
Redbayly: In a moment, Toph. Say, how much have you had to drink?
Toph: Don't worry your pretty little head about how much I've had to drink. Why don't you go make some brownies or something?
Redbayly: You know, Toph, if you were a guy and had said that then I would accuse you of being sexist.
Toph: Whatever.
Sokka: Come on! We don't want to miss the big countdown!
Redbayly: Sokka, that's not for another three hours.
Sokka: There's no such thing as starting too early, now hurry up!
Redbayly: *Sigh* While we enjoy our New Year's party, please enjoy some omakes.
Omake: (Just a little moment I don't think I can work into the main story)
Adsila turned her head slowly so that she was looking right at Eska and Desna and a rather sinister grin spread over her face.
"If you are what you eat, I could be you by morning," she said.
Eska and Desna exchanged an uncertain glance and scooted a few feet away from the manically grinning Earthbender.
Omake: (Tonraq meets Guyapi for the first time)
"You seem troubled, stranger."
"I've been through a lot in the past few months," said Tonraq. "At the moment, I'm not even sure who I am anymore. I've lost everything I once thought made me who I was. But now…"
"That is quite the conundrum," Guyapi said, stroking his beard. "Let me tell you this, though; there's no problem you have that can't be solved with a little bit of this." He held up half of some strange green plant.
"What is it?"
"We've named it peyote, but you probably know it more distinctly as cactus juice."
Omake: (Tonraq's official initiation ceremony.)
He was currently sitting inside a tent, waiting for it all to start. Tonraq took a calming breath and held his hand up to his face. His skin was still smooth from where he'd shaved off his beard; he'd been required to do so as part of the ceremony as Southern men were only allowed to grow beards if they had done something worthy of respect.
He heard the tent-flaps open and looked up into the kind face of the Southern chieftain. Chief Sokka had become a father-figure to him since his arrival in the South; especially since his own father clearly didn't care enough not to banish him.
"Are you ready?" Chief Sokka asked.
"I am," Tonraq replied.
Chief Sokka held up a small bowl of black war-paint and drew several markings on Tonraq's face before setting the bowl down and motioning for Tonraq to follow him.
Tonraq followed him up the long pathway to the Temple. Everyone had come out for the event. All the clan leaders were dressed up in their ceremonial clothes and chanting. There were two lines of warriors in full battle-gear, each line stood on either side of the path. For a brief moment, Tonraq looked into the crowd and noticed Senna; she was dressed in wolfskin and had never looked lovelier.
He continued to follow up the steps to the courtyard in front of the Temple where the sacred pyre burned brightly. Chief Sokka accepted a knife from the Shaman and passed it to Tonraq. Tonraq, remembering what he had been instructed to do, held his hand just over the top of the flames and slit his palm with the knife. The sound of the music below was growing louder but Tonraq suddenly felt a sharp sting in his hand and yanked it back. When he examined the cut, he noticed that the wound had sealed shut and the blood dried. For a fleeting moment, Tonraq thought he saw the image of two large eyes shimmering in the flames of the pyre but shook himself back into reality.
He knelt down as Chief Sokka approached holding a small box. From the box, the chief removed a large, ceremonial necklace; it was carved from bone into a hexagonal shape and contained several smaller circles within it while the string it was attached to was decorated with animal teeth.
"By the will of Setna and the Southern guardians," proclaimed Chief Sokka, "I name you, Tonraq, as a son of Eyanosa, father of the Polar Bear-Dog Clan." He placed the necklace around Tonraq's head. "Arise, Tonraq, brother of the Southern Water Tribe."
Tonraq stood amidst the cheers and adulations of the people below. He was finally in a real home, a place where people accepted him in spite of his mistakes. And Tonraq planned to make the most of his opportunity for his new life, he would make every second there count.
(If you want to know what the people chanting sounded like, look up "Sioux Honoring Song" on YouTube; it's what I imagined Tonraq's initiation ceremony to and sounds incredible.)
Omake: (When Senna was a little girl, she and her siblings got into all manner of mischief. This particular omake is the result of watching too much Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy)
Kaliska was lounging in a hammock humming as she read an ancient tome she had borrowed from the archives.
"Hi, Kali!" an enthusiastic voice shouted, causing the young woman to become startled and for her hammock to spin out of control before dumping her harshly in the snow. It was Paytah, Kaliska's annoying little brother, who had shouted.
The ancient document hit the ground with a thump, drawing Paytah's attention.
"Oooooh," he said in awe. As he reached over to pick it up, Kaliska swatted his hand and yanked the book away.
"No!" she said firmly. "You are not to touch this. It is not meant for the eyes of man, or idiots. The Spirit Book is the official, illustrated handbook of the Spirit World." She gave his hand another swat and clambered back into her hammock to continue reading.
That's when little, eight-year-old Senna approached.
"Kali, it's time for that manicure you promised me," said Senna. "Let's go."
"What? Now? But I was just getting into my-"
"Now," Senna repeated in a threatening tone before crossing her arms and scowling up at her eldest sibling.
Kaliska gave a resigned sigh.
"Fine." Kaliska dropped the book into the hammock and followed after Senna, still grumbling about her quiet time being interrupted.
Unfortunately, leaving a curious, twelve-year-old boy like Paytah alone with The Spirit Book was probably not a good idea. In a matter of minutes, Paytah had snatched up the tome, raced to the basement of the family's igloo, and began reading. However, he soon reached a page that began to illuminate the room in an eerie, greenish light.
Meanwhile, outside…
"Done," Kaliska said.
Senna inspected her nails and gave a short nod.
"Mhmm, adequate."
Just then, the air was rent by a horrific scream.
"That sounded like Paytah," said Senna. "He must've gotten himself stuck in the sea-prune jar again."
Kaliska, however, was overcome with a terrible realization.
"The Spirit Book!" she exclaimed.
The two quickly made their way back towards the house.
"Stupid boy," Kaliska grumbled. "He's probably fine…"
That notion was killed stone-dead, however, as they were accosted by the floating figure of their brother. His hair had come out of its wolftail, his eyes were glowing a malevolent green, and he was carrying The Spirit Book.
"You!" he declared, pointing at Kaliska. "Give me the Pendant of Setna!" He was referring to the sacred medallion that Kaliska wore around her neck, an ancient artifact that had once belonged to Avatar Setna, the foundress of the Southern Water Tribe.
"My pendant?" said Kaliska. "Why do you want that?"
"I require it for a ritual to open an inter-dimensional portal so that I may summon my master Yog-Sothoth," he replied.
"Yog-Sothoth? Is that some type of Fire Nation dessert?"
"Fool! He is an entity far beyond your comprehension! You will give me the pendant!"
"I will do no such thing, Paytah," Kaliska asserted.
"Then…suffer!" Paytah shouted, slamming The Spirit Book down onto her head, hard, and stealing the pendant while she was disoriented. He then turned and floated away, whistling cheerily.
Senna slowly walked around the prone form of her sister, just as Kaliska was lifting her head back up off the ground.
"Wow, you sure showed him," Senna said dryly.
"I must get the book back so that I can figure out how to fix this," said Kaliska.
"Obviously Paytah's too powerful for you to take on now, Kali. Alone, anyway." Senna marched over to the public telephone. "Operator, get me number 665." She waited for a moment for the line to be connected. "Hello, yeah, come on over." She then hung up the phone and began to wait.
"Who were you just calling?" Kaliska asked.
She didn't have to wait long to find out, though, as a sled driven by a burly young man with long, dark brown hair knocked her over. The man himself leapt off the sled and tackled her before she could get up.
"What are you up to now?" the man demanded as he held a whale-tooth dagger to Kaliska's face.
"Nothing, you lunatic," she answered sharply.
The man paused over her statement for a moment before shouting: "LIAR!" He then grabbed her by the front of her parka and began ramming her head against the ground repeatedly.
The two continued in their brawl until the man had Kaliska in a headlock, during which she bit down onto his arm, making him yell out in pain. The fight only stopped when Senna sent a blast of water at them.
"Will you two stop flirting?" Senna demanded. "Ahote, this is not what I called you for. Kaliska is not the problem."
This was not the first time Ahote had attacked and/or done serious bodily harm to Kaliska. When they first met, Ahote had somehow come under the impression that Kaliska was a demonic skin-walker posing as the eldest daughter of the beloved chief of the Southern Water Tribe. Even after he had been dissuaded from his delusions, Ahote maintained a level of fanatic paranoia in regards to the young woman.
"Huh?" Ahote said, unconvinced. He untangled his arm from around Kaliska's throat, causing her to fall to the ground with a thud, and approached the diminutive Waterbender. "Well, what is the problem, then?'
"Oh, I dunno, maybe that." Senna pointed towards the family's igloo which had flattened out into a greenish mess before shooting up again only to resemble an evil-looking ancient temple.
"So it's not normally like that, huh?" Ahote said. After a brief pause, Ahote began to walk towards the house. "You kids stay close behind me. I'll do the talking."
Together, the three of them entered the structure where they were greeted by the disturbing sight of bizarre-looking dark spirits floating or crawling around.
Ahote let out a gasp.
"Oh yeah, this definitely looks like the work of Yog-Sothoth," he said. "Yog is a supernatural being from another dimension. Bad stuff's gonna go down."
Suddenly, the sound of maniacal laughter filled the air as Paytah levitated down from above them. Paytah pointed to the floor in front of them.
"Look below!" A swirling, evil vortex had opened up in the ground and from within its depths a monstrous creature seemed to be emerging.
Ahote let out a war-cry and tried to attack the possessed boy, only to end up smacked against the wall.
"Muahahahaha! You'll soon learn respect for…huh?" Paytah was startled when Kaliska swiped the book out of his hands while he was gloating.
Kaliska quickly scanned the book for information on how to stop what was happening.
"The only way to seal the portal is to throw the book itself into it!" she exclaimed.
Kaliska tossed the ancient tome towards the portal only for it to be snatched out of the air by Paytah. Paytah laughed again and then swallowed the book whole. He then descended so that he was standing at the edge of the vortex, right in front of Senna.
"Okay," she said calmly. "Later, Paytah." She then pushed her startled brother into the portal which snapped closed as the house instantly returned to normal.
When all was restored, the three found themselves standing in the basement. A thump from upstairs indicated that Senna and Kaliska's parents had been released from the clutches of a malevolent monster that had been seconds away from devouring them.
"Great work, kid," Ahote said to Senna. "You saved the whole world from total destruction. You do realize that you've sentenced Paytah to an eternity in another dimension, though, right?"
"We all have to make sacrifices," Senna replied with an indifferent shrug.
Just then, the portal reopened a fraction and Paytah was tossed back out before it sealed back up again.
"They didn't want me," Paytah said sadly.
"Well, I guess that makes you a total loser," Ahote said with a laugh.
Paytah gleefully joined in laughing with the older man as the two sisters exchanged a look and headed back upstairs.
"What on earth have you kids been up to?" asked their very shaken mother.
Kaliska and Senna exchanged another look before nodding in agreement.
"It's all Paytah's fault."