a mixture of korra pov and katara pov, just so you know.
Something Lost and Something Found
"Are you guys sure it'll be fine if we just leave?"
Giving Eska and Desna a worrisome gaze from the doorway, they nod their heads in unison. So careless and nonchalant, free of all tethers to this world… Okay, maybe just carefree. I wish I could be like them.
I heave the large backpack on my shoulders up a bit; the straps chafing against my collarbone with the ridiculous weight of our supplies was getting a little uncomfortable.
"You worry too much," Eska slyly retaliates. "Weren't you the one who wanted to go exploring ten minutes ago?"
Desna walks out the door to side along his sister at the top of the staircase, and my mind hesitates and struggles to develop a comeback. They're right, I was the one who wanted to go do something more exciting.
"Yeah, okay."
At the bottom of the staircase I gather up my jacket that Uncle Unalaq set on the side of the hall, and then I slip on my boots. The pack on my back is large but not too unbearable (come on now, I'm Korra! Champion swimmer, remember?), and it sags up against my head as I lean down to put on my shoes. Goshdarnit.
Pulling my beanie down lower on my head and adjusting my jacket's hood, I look up to find my cousins waiting eagerly by the door. In the background, I can hear Katara and Unalaq chatting away, probably filling themselves up with delicious hot chocolate.
"Ready to go?" A slight smile forms at the corners of Desna's mouth, allowing perfect white teeth to shine in the brightly lit hallway. Eska cocks her head at me, and I grin.
"Let's blow this popsicle stand." I stride toward the two with a renewed enthusiasm, and we all exit the house, exposing ourselves to the Alaskan wilderness.
Okay, okay. It's not actually that bad. It's just snowing a bit. A snowflake finds its way onto the tip of my nose, and I try to lick it off. Desna gives me a weird look until I realize that my tongue doesn't reach very far, I look away and stuff my hands into my jacket pockets instead, scuffing the snow beneath my feet with the point of my boot.
"So, where're we headed?" I ask them. Eska immediately responds by pointing to a large, white plain off in the distance. A few hills dance at the farther end, and mountains rise near the horizon line.
"That's our destination," Eska informs me as she begins walking in the direction she just pointed out, and it bothers me that I'm still kind of confused.
"So we're going to the plain?" I ask, my breath condensing into large puffy clouds as I hustle to catch up to the two twins. They're surprisingly quick despite their malnourished look.
"Past the plain," Desna answers for his sister, of which I settle for. Whatever, they know where they're going. I'm just tagging along.
A few minutes later things are relatively silent between the three of us except for the crunching of snow beneath our feet and the shy whisper of wind whipping past our ears. I take in a large gulp of freezing air, and the cool oxygen furrows into the lining of my lungs. The cold is slowly eating me, but I choose to ignore it. By the looks of it, Desna and Eska are pretty at home with the icy temperatures… Geez, now is probably the only time in my life when I wish that I didn't live in California. Living in a southwestern state makes you really grow accustomed to the warm climates, and then you're not exactly at terms with a more frigid climate, you know? Which to me is anything below 75 degrees Fahrenheit.
Something stirs within me to start up conversation once again, and unreasonably I'm compelled to have words stream out of my mouth unfiltered. "It's cool how you guys have wilderness for a backyard. Pretty gnarly."
"Makes for an exciting playtime," Eska replies half-heartedly. By the tone of her voice I can easily tell she's more concentrated on reaching our destination - wherever that is.
"That right over there was my favorite spot to play tag with Eska." Desna points to an unspecified area off to his right, and I don't know if he's being sarcastic or not. "Oh, the memories."
Things fade quickly into silence once again, and something tells me it's a bad idea to voice any more of my stupid opinions.
Half an hour later we've reached the area at the farther end of the somewhat vast plain, and the piles of rock and snow that were once small in the distance have grown into exhilarating dome sculptures. Their rocky outcropping reaches toward the sky, daring the heavens to do their worst.
Eska raises her hand to the earthy protrusion in a gesture of importance. "After we cross this little tidbit here, we'll be one our way to the mountains. That's a decent viewing area near there to see the aurora borealis," she finishes off precisely, a little smirk tugging at her lips and making her seem a bit more intimidating.
I take a few steps forward to place myself in front of the rocky hill before us, it's siblings stretching out in a long line both to my left and right in a tireless parade. The thought of seeing the aurora borealis makes me excited, and the little muscle in my chest turns the speed up a notch or two. Yeah… The aurora borealis? I wanna see that!
"We're gonna see the aurora borealis?" I mutter under my breath loud enough for my cousins to hear, and the frown that I once saw on Eska's taught lips has managed to spread a little wider, revealing pearly whites identical to her brother's.
"Of course. If you came here all the way from California we can't let you leave without catching a glimpse of the lights touching the earth," she says, nodding at Desna. "Plus, maybe we'll be able to find that tree while we're at it."
"I'm hella down for that!" I exclaim, doing my best to climb over the rocky outcropping that separates me from my destiny. The echoes of 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty' soundtrack reverberate in my mind, filling every fibre of my being with something I can only label as excitement. Something that sounds like Eska and Desna chuckling makes its way into my ears, but I'm too focused on climbing over the most recent obstacle to pay it much mind.
Aurora borealis.
The words are there, haunting, almost as if they're a song someone just set on repeat.
Vaatu and Raava.
The two spirits, deities entitled with projecting their respective forces on the world and life itself.
Both sound absolutely amazing. And even if they're both fairy tales, I want to keep on believing in them. It gives me something to hope in, to want to see.
The sudden beating of wind against my cheeks tells me I need to quit playing the corny narrator, and this time when someone calls my name I don't try to ignore it.
"Korra, catch!"
Desna tosses something my way, and I jump back slightly in order to properly grab hold of the little dark object without dropping it into the snow. Sudden warmth blooms in the joining of my two hands, and I look down to see Desna's tossed me a pocket-sized handwarmer. The small gesture makes me smile, and I see Desna grinning back at me. He pulls his hood closer over his head, and nudges his sister in the side. Pulling her hands out of her pockets she fishes out a handwarmer of her own, and it makes me happy to see that they're both trying to keep an eye out for me.
"You're going to need that, Korra." Desna raises his voice slightly as the wind begins to pick up, more and more snowflakes seeking shelter on the expanse of land before us.
Eska nods in agreement and stuffs her hands once again back into her dark blue jacket. "He's right you know; we've still got quite a ways to go."
The kitchen here is warm, a comfortable kind of atmosphere that is surprisingly contrasting to such an odd, distant man.
Don't tell Unalaq that I think he's awkward or odd, it would just complicate things. But it's not a joke that things have been a little strained between him and his brother. It's the main reason as to why Korra had no idea she had relatives over here in such a desolate area of the world. Things were just tough between the two brothers, and for the longest time they never talked.
By now I'm really hoping that Korra will grow used to her relatives. Learn some new things, whether they be about herself or about them. She needs to know.
And even if her parents didn't want her to come along (heck, that's why I didn't tell them anything about our secret trip), I knew that this was something that she should take part in. Although I did receive a pretty harsh lecturing from her parents as well as my own son - well, it can't be helped. Korra reminds me so much of Aang when he was still alive. Making her happy is something that I feel is my duty, and it makes me smile whenever she's in a good mood. And even when she isn't - it makes me want to fix whatever may be wrong.
"Would you like some more hot chocolate, Katara?"
I shake my head, and the thoughts that since filled my mind are nothing more than a hazy daydream. It was getting a little hard trying to pay significant attention to what Unalaq had been saying not too long ago; he went on a tangent about the current Alaskan politicians in the area. Bo-ring.
"Oh um, yes please - thank you very much," I smile sweetly, hoping to not have appeared too bored earlier. Even though I most certainly was.
Unalaq carefully reaches out for my mug and heads back to the stove, where he refills my cup with more of the drink.
"It's quite delicious. The best hot chocolate I've ever tasted, most likely," I quickly share before I take another soul-warming sip. Honestly, I am quite amazed at how good this is.
"Why thank you." Unalaq smiles and retakes his seat at the table, an accomplished smile on his face. "It's a family recipe. Surprises me that Tonraq hasn't ever made this, has he?"
"No, that man doesn't know how to make anything besides cereal. And even that you don't technically make. He's a bit helpless actually when it comes to anything culinary, so the cooking is usually left up to Senna," I reveal, my mind falling back to the time when Tonraq tried to surprise his family with a special homemade dinner of spaghetti and meatballs with a side of parmesan chicken. The whole kitchen almost ended up in flames, and after witnessing large clouds of ominous smoke climb their way over my fence, I hastily made my way over to help make an actually presentable (and edible) meal. Also to help put out the almost-fire.
"There are the rare times though that Tonraq will volunteer to help with a meal, if he and Senna are both home. But usually she doesn't want to take the chance of burning her house down again."
Unalaq almost chokes on his beverage, and I smile into my mug again.
Wiping around his mouth with a napkin he leans forward in his chair, looking as excited as I have ever seen him since the moment I got here. Probably even more excited than when Korra and I arrived earlier today.
The kitchen is filled with what I would label as maniacal laughter for a few short seconds, and after taking another sip of my drink I meet Unalaq's wild blue eyes. In a way, I wish his brother was here laughing with him instead of me - they need time together to sort through all those years of disassociation.
"Do you -" he takes a moment to catch a breath, which makes me crack a small smile. He's slowly beginning to show his more sociable side. "Do you have any other stories about him?"
"Hmm…" I pretend to think, but only do it to look like I care. Which in a way I don't. If you want to know why it's because it's his family and brother he needs to ask these questions to, not me. As much as I'd like to sit here and talk about Tonraq's hilarious blunders all day, I have better things to do. Like maybe go with Korra to that buffet we saw along the way here.
"Nothing really comes to mind," I lie. "Although Korra might have a few more stories in her pocket. She naturally does spend more time with her father than I do, after all." A devious smile tugs at my lips. "Perhaps we should call her and the twins down? They could join us for some hot chocolate."
Unalaq mulls the idea over for a few seconds before nodding in agreement. "Wonderful. Yes, it has been a while - and it would be good to get to know my niece better, wouldn't it?"
"Smart man," I say as Unalaq glides across the wooden floor to the base of the stairs.
"Eska… Desna… Korra - would you three care to join Katara and I for some hot chocolate? I've made some fresh. Especially for this occasion," he calls out. His strong voice is answered by nothing except silence.
Frightful silence.
Frightful because maybe it's just me, or maybe it isn't - but I could have sworn maybe half an hour ago or so I could hear the occasional shout of disapproval or excited roar. From what I gathered (plus this little message Korra sent me not too long ago), what the three of them were doing was very apparent.
I pull out my phone and press the home button.
A single sentence floats across the screen.
Korra: we're playing videogames - the evil twins aren't so bad :)
A curious feeling begins to unfold within me, something constituting of a mixture of dread and curiosity. With every step I take toward Unalaq standing puzzled at the bottom of the stairway the feeling grows stronger and stronger, clawing at the walls of my stomach and causing me to tread my feet faster and faster against wooden floor. If I didn't know better by the way I was moving and the reason for it, I would have guessed I was twenty again and killing it on the stair master of my university's gym. Sokka always used to tease me about how he could do more steps than I could.
The door's hinges hiss at me angrily as I push the door open, and perhaps rather harshly.
Unalaq's disturbed breathing doesn't go unnoticed by me, because at that exact moment I am breathing heavily too. And it's not because of the stairs.
"They're gone," I mutter, the words ghosting past my lips. And then I can only shake my head as I wander around the room dazed. "But - where - where could they have gone?"
"I - I don't know," Unalaq answers in a voice that's almost hysterical, judging by the wavering tone. He sounds frightful. "They've never left the house before for the longest time… It's so - unexpected of them. They never go anywhere."
I dash back down the stairs again and my stomach drops when I see that both Korra's jacket and shoes are gone.
My hand reaches for the handle of the doorknob, of which I quickly turn to force open. A cold wind whips my face, scattering a brash sprinkle of white into the hallway.
"Korraaaaa!" I shout, although I am certain she can't hear me.
My old fingers fumble to close the door as I feel twin trails of something cold and wet streak across my face. My throat burns. I try harder and harder to pull the door closed, but it's almost like the white expanse lying right outside is taunting me, chiding me and my desire to get it out of my sight.
So I go back to the kitchen, and in the background I can hear Unalaq telling me something. But right now all I can really register is my raspy, heavy breathing, and although I know I shouldn't I silently curse myself for whatever just happened. Whatever is happening.
I pick up my phone which I had deserted on Unalaq's dinner table and desperately try to dial Korra's number, to get through to her…
My trembling fingers make everything a thousand times harder and more frustrating, and when the phone finally starts ringing I grasp it as close to my ear as possible.
It's my only way to talk to Korra…
It rings and rings and rings.
My throat burns and burns and burns, and I swallow air that feels like it melts and freezes at the same time.
A click sounds.
"The number you dialed cannot be reached…"
My old frail hands can't find the strength to hold onto the device any longer, and it falls to the floor.
I sink to the ground along with it, my throat burning and burning and burning, and the inside of my head ringing, ringing, ringing…
Aang… What have I done?
"Dude, this is nice! Like, it feels like I'm laying down on a giant marshmallow," I laugh and continue to jerk around on the inflatable mattress, probably looking like I'm suffering from a seizure. Eska and Desna just stare at me like I'm a lunatic for a moment, and then share a knowing look between themselves.
I stop my wriggling and sit up as a thought comes to mind. "Wait a minute… Are we going to spend the night here? What about Katara and Uncle Unalaq? We - We've gotta tell them where we are…"
Eska blinks a few times. "You honestly didn't register that until now?"
I feel like shrinking down into the inflatable mattress, never to be heard from again as I disappear into an unfathomable abyss of dark squishy marshmallowy-
"Nooo…" I drawl stupidly, allowing my brain to take in all the details from the past hour. Which in translation is the small two man tent (supposedly we're going to try and fit three) along with a single sleeping bag on the floor, a small battery-powered lamp, a caboodle of easy to eat finger foods (not surprised since the two of them are professional gamers), and then our three backpacks. Also a few sticks of that dynamite-looking stuff and some bottles of water. "Oh man, I totally missed the entire point, didn't I?" I smile crookedly, inwardly lecturing myself for my unperceptive state of mind.
Desna folds his arms. It reminds me of how my dad looks when I come back home late and he's there sitting at the base of the staircase. "Cousin Korra, the aurora borealis only happens at night or early morning when it's still dark. You wouldn't expect us to come out here and head back before it got dark, would you?"
"Errrr, no?" I try, praying to god that I don't look as dumb as I sound. Which I'm sure I'm failing miserably at.
But still, they should have said something! About having to camp out here at night in order to see the aurora borealis. Or then again, I should have known things were a little fishy when I was watching them pack enough food to last almost an entire weekend.
I swing my legs over the side of the inflatable mattress and fiddle with the little handwarmer that Desna had tossed to me earlier that day. It feels grainy in my palm, and I pick absentmindedly at the corners. "But… Katara…" I sound sad. And truthfully, a part of my heart feels burdened. I'm worried she's going to think I ran off. Okay, I KNOW she's going to worry, but I didn't know that we were going to be gone for so long.
I should have realized.
Eska plops down beside me, and I jump some when I feel her small hand rest itself on my thigh. "Don't worry. We'll go back tomorrow. It'll be fine."
I meet her emotionless gaze, holding nothing but a sea of blue. Blue like the Californian sky. Blue like Katara's bright eyes. The only difference between theirs would be that Katara's are warm, friendly… Eska's are icy and distant.
I know she's trying her best to comfort me, and it's not exactly helpful that the two of these guys are recluses, so I do the best I can to nod and smile back at her.
"Okay," I say as Eska pats my leg before making her way over to Desna, who's settled himself on the ground among a pile of various snacks. He's got a Nintendo 3DS in his hands, and I shake my head when I see Eska pull one out of her own bag and begin to click away.
It seems like they'll be off in their own little worlds for a while.
I allow the only inflatable mattress in the tent to get the best of me again, and falling back down into the heavenly giant marshmallow I sigh. The thoughts of Katara worrying about me I attempt to slowly push out of mind. "So, uh…. What time does the aurora borealis magic happen?" I ask, hoping that neither of my cousins is already so sucked into their game that they can't hear me.
"They usually ensue during the late hours. Maybe after ten. We'll need to keep an eye out," Desna replies, eyes never leaving the screen. What sounds like the background music to a Pokemon game makes itself prominent over the whistling of the Alaskan wind.
"That's-" I fish out my phone from my back pocket and turn it on.
3:28.
"Um, that's like seven hours from now…"
"Better sit tight then."
I frown. Ugh, sit tight for almost seven hours? That's impossible! Well, for someone like me, maybe. I always feel like I've gotta be moving. It's just the way I am.
I turn on my phone again to catch a glimpse of the top left corner. Two small words draw my attention, causing me to huff. No service.
Well, guess I won't have much to do with no phone service. And I won't be able to tell Katara where I am.
Damn, I feel horrible not realizing we wouldn't be coming home sooner than I did. Which was literally just like two minutes ago.
To fight off the guilt (or maybe I should say to forget about the guilt) I close my eyes and invite sleep to haul me away from my problems.
Sometime later I'm awoken by harsh whispering.
"-wake her up.."
"-you do it, … put this away…"
My eyes flash open when a cold hand burns like ice on my cheek, and yelping I jump back and (of course this'd happen to me) end up wedged between the inflatable mattress and one side of our small tent.
The chuckling and devilish smirks from the opposite side of the bed illuminated by the lamp on the floor lead me to think that I somehow ended up getting kidnapped and being the sacrifice to some satanic ritual, but then everything clicks back into place and I remember it's just Eska and Desna.
"Oh hey -" I try climbing back onto the bed, and sit cross-crossed on top of the sturdy but soft plastic. "You could have just shook me or something to wake me up, y'know," I grumble, still a bit groggy from my lengthy nap.
"Eska thought it'd be more entertaining." Desna cocks his head at his sister, who rolls her eyes. I scrunch up my nose at her.
"Brother, you know we don't have time to be arguing about this," she retorts. Then she looks at me sternly, yet with a tidbit of excitement barely noticeably in her slightly robotic tone. "Cousin Korra, the aurora borealis should be starting soon. It's best we get a move on to the viewing area, then return back here to rest."
I nod. "Uh, okay… Sounds good to me." I'm guessing they sat up playing videogames the whole time I was sleeping, but hey, I'm not about to ask. Ain't nobody got time for that.
Within a few minutes we've repacked our bags, and timidly I step out into the cold again, scrunching soft white snow underfoot. Desna and Eska follow behind, and I can't help but wince when they zip up the tent behind us. God I wish I was back in there, I'm freezing my butt off out here. It's worse than it was during the day, because there isn't any sunlight to warm me up or anything… I wish Asami was here, she'd probably let me cuddle with her.
A quick wave of Eska's hand signals for us to follow, and again there we go trekking along in the darkness. I don't feel much like talking, since I've just woken up. But the prospect of seeing the northern lights finally is enticing, and I don't mumble anything about the cruel Alaskan winds whistling past our ears teasingly.
Within half an hour we come to a kind of sloping, descending area of land, which extends a ways out.
It's a lake. A frozen lake.
I step forward, somewhat stunned as Eska and Desna keep walking. Up ahead there seems to be a few picnic tables, all of which (of course) are coated with thick blankets of snow. "The-There's a lake here?" My voice rises enthusiastically. Man, things just keep getting better and better!
"Yes. It's a popular tourist spot during the summer," Desna calls out, following quickly after his sister as I try to catch up with the two. It's kind of amazing; they're so frail looking, but dude these guys are more hardcore than me. I almost slip on a patch of ice, but pull myself upright and laugh stupidly, hoping my cousins didn't see me almost eat snow.
"It's also a good area to view the borealis when they happen during the winter. That's why we're here," Eska calls out over her shoulder.
Arriving at a picnic table she swipes her elbow over the top, moving a majority of the snow to the ground. It trickles down in clumpy loads before me, and I watch as some lands on the tips of my boots.
"Sit."
When I look up there she is, sitting comfortably on the top of the picnic table with her brother on the other side. A strangely inviting smile decorates her features, and the nearly full moon dancing high in the sky scatters light over her.
Without hesitation, I jump up onto the table and throw my backpack onto one of the benches, smiling to myself.
The sky is pure; dark and tranquil. The black surrounds our only source of light in a celestial hug, and for some reason it makes me giddy. I'm excited about this.
We sit for a few moments, and I take in the scenery again while we wait.
Lake…
Moonlight…
Awaiting something spectacular, but you're not sure what.
Green eyes flash through my mind.
Or maybe not.
The sky bursts into a flurry of rainbow.
"It's beautiful," I breathe out softly.
Green plays with vibrant magenta in the sky, both billowing like silky ribbons. Aqua slowly appears, followed by a sunset orange, and pretty soon the four colors are full on partying together; twisting and twirling, performing the most incredible optical spectacle I've ever seen in my entire life.
Something tugs in my chest. I'm not quite sure why.
The lights play on, and my eyes greedily consume the colors just ask quickly as they explode and fade away, shimmering into nonexistence.
i know it's been a while, but thanks for all of you who have been keeping up with the story. it means a lot to me that people are still reading this, honestly, and thanks so much for those who were able to review!
also i'd like to give a special thanks to Pro Assassin, my new beta who helped with getting this chapter out. she's an amazing friend, and i couldn't thank her enough. :)
see y'all next time!