AUTHOR'S NOTES: A little bit of a breather, but there's still problems brewing. We also get to see a bit more of Tarrlok and Kwan without trying to shoehorning them in, so to speak. Tensions are high, but that doesn't mean there still can't be happy moments now and again. And while I won't spoil it, I will say that Risha is an important player later on down the line.
Happy Reading!
BOOK THREE: WATER
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED THIRTEEN: CIVIL WARS, PART 2
=Southern Air Temple…=
There was a moment of silence as Tenzin processed the words his siblings had told him, but even with his pacifist nature he stood his ground and defended himself against the verbal assault Kya and Bumi launched at him—especially about Korra.
"I have my own family to worry about, and Korra is a grown woman," Tenzin argued, "if we burned ourselves out, what good would we be to anyone?"
"Or were you cutting and running when things started to get tough?" Kya argued, "sure, 18 might be the legal age when you're all grown up, but let's be real here, Tenzin. She's still a damn kid, and now she's got the weight of the Water Tribes and the Spirit World on her shoulders and she's going at it alone. I think you put too much faith in her uncle."
"If the two of you think you could have done a better job at instructing the Avatar, then why not visit her yourself?!" Tenzin threw his arms up, "If you are going to accuse me of trying to be some saviour trying to carry on Dad's legacy, then at least help me try to do it!"
"That's just it though," Kya argued, "you believe that whether we're in the picture or not. We're Aang's kids too, ya know."
"So much for Vacation Tenzin," Bumi quipped with a sigh. "We never should've come."
"I couldn't agree more," Kya chirped.
"Well I didn't want you to come in the first place," Tenzin put his hand to his forehead in exasperation, "remind me next time to shut the door."
"Well hey," Kya gestured, "When you decide you're finally ready to stop running from the issue, Bumi and I will be outside."
Tenzin did not respond to her baited remark, but regardless, his siblings exited the chamber and left Tenzin alone with the statues of the Avatars. Tenzin briefly glanced at the statue of Aang, before looking up at the statue of Korra. She was such a stark and borderline-divisive contrast to her predecessor that she often left Tenzin at a loss for words.
"Avatar Korra…" he whispered, looking up at the statue's stony face, "I hope I was able to serve you well in the short time we got to properly know each other… Perhaps I did go about doing it all wrong… but for my mistakes… I truly did care about you for much more than just my father's legacy… I just hope that I was able to make that clear."
=Southern Water Tribe…=
Tonraq and Senna's theories about Korra burning herself out were well-founded. While they were conspiring against Unalaq, Korra had spent the last several days trying to play peacemaker, which turned out to be a lot harder than she had hoped. To her quiet delight and relief, she found Asami waiting for her when she got home.
"Hey love," she put a hand on Korra's shoulder, quietly noting how tense it was, "how was your day? I take it nothing's changed?"
"Oh no, my day is just fabulous!" Korra ranted, "My tribe's about to go to war and I'm somehow supposed to stop it without taking a side, my uncle wants me to open a portal in the North Pole to help bring balance to north and south, but I think he's going to use it to try and bring an army. On top of that, no one else seems to want to listen to me, and I haven't even heard from my parents for two days now. I don't know where they went or what they're doing, and that's got me pulling my hair out because what if something happened to them? My dad's a rebel at heart and my mom… well, if you ever wondered where my wild and unrestrained personality came from, I can tell you right now my dad only accounts for a small bit of that."
"Umm…" Asami waited for Korra to breathe, "Did you want my advice, love? Or do you just want me to listen? I'm happy to help either way."
"Sorry, it was just a rant," Korra grabbed her hair, "It's just that the whole damn Water Tribe has gotten me worked up. Kids are harassing me because I'm not siding with the South; Unalaq's soldiers are chastising me for not "understanding the importance of what they're doing", and my uncle himself insists that I need to stay neutral. Not knowing what my parents are up to also has me worried."
"Have you considered talking to Ikiza?" Asami offered, "maybe a night out might help us both."
"You want to double date with Tarrlok and Kwan?" Korra raised her eyebrows.
"Why not?" Asami took Korra's hands, "Perhaps I'll get that much closer to coming to terms with Ikiza, and maybe she and Tarrlok might know a thing or two. Tarrlok's got politics in his blood and he's originally from the North anyways; and Ikiza always seems to know everything 2 days before it happens. Most of all though, I think it might be good to help you de-stress."
"What makes you think I'm stressed?" Korra pouted, knowing that there was no actual way she would have been able to hide it from Asami even if she had wanted to.
"This does," Asami slipped behind Korra and gripped her shoulders tightly, but in such a way that it was targetting her tense muscles rather than trying to hold her in place. Korra cried out but then admitted defeat.
"You're right, as always," Korra shook her head, "so yeah. Date tonight? There's no Narook's Seaweed Noodlery down here, but this is the Water Tribe—we'll hit up the real deal instead."
"A double date with you and Asami?" Tarrlok was rather amused when he received the offer from Korra directly, "As long as there's something to satisfy my wife's cravings, I'm certain that I can convince her to tag along."
"I heard that!" Kwan's voice travelled from a nearby room, "you had me at 'double date' though. Would 7 tonight work out okay?"
"As long as the North doesn't give us any grief about it, yeah." Korra shoved her hands into her pockets, "and if they do they're going to be in for a world of hurt."
"Just play it safe, Avatar," Tarrlok warned, "there are whispers of rebellion on the wind and while I know you're staying neutral, if these rebels are a thing and decide to cause havoc, it will escalate quickly. I'd bet on it, but I'm a terrible better as I'm sure you know."
"I'm happy to give you back that money, by the way," Korra retorted.
"Wait a minute," Asami put a hand on Korra's shoulder, "you've been betting with Tarrlok?"
"More like he's been betting with me." Korra clarified.
"We still bet with each other too, you know," Kwan pointed out, "although since we're married now and technically share all our assets, the stakes seem a lot lower."
"Korra and I sometimes bet with favours," Asami pointed out.
"With tall, dark, and handsome?" Kwan thumbed at her husband over her shoulder, "I'd have to make a bet for him to stop coddling me."
"Is it so wrong that I wish to be the husband and father that my own father was not?" Tarrlok retorted, "you wound me, Kwan."
"That…" Asami actually gave pause. "Suddenly it all makes sense. I… well I'm sure you can see why I'd be biased but I… really admire that actually, Councilman."
"Always so formal," Tarlok shook his head, "Miss Sato, you remember that the Republic City Council is a thing of the past, do you not?"
"You're one to talk about formality," Asami riposted with a playful smile, "still and all… I think I've just developed a newfound respect for you, Tarrlok."
"Don't get me started," Kwan joked, "I give him shit, but that's just kind of how I show affection. I blame Korra, by the way."
"You blame me for a lot of things though," Korra pointed out.
"Well sure, because you're always getting involved." Kwan reminded her, "You're basically the one that played matchmaker between an ex-con and a formerly corrupt councilman. We can't exactly ever forget about that because of how powerfully it turned our lives around."
"So… it's a date then." Korra's smile was a lot warmer now than it had been a few moments ago. Asami noticed and smiled as well.
"Seems like it," Kwan quipped, "Without the festival to keep me occupied I've been doing a bit of scouting around. I expected that the Water Tribe would be able to have even more authentic cuisine than Republic City's Little Water Tribe district, and of course I was right. It's this fantastic place called Kunaluk's Wine-and-Dine; you both will love it."
"That doesn't sound like a seedy place at all," Asami snarked, "with a name like that…"
"That sort of thing happens there often I'm sure," Tarrlok mused, "lots of businessmen frequent it, but at the same time, it's
"Hold it," Korra pouted, "we invite you two to come with us and you suddenly choose where we're going? How does that work?"
"Because let's be real," Kwan gestured, "I know more about this place than you do."
"That's an awfully bold statement for an earthbender born in the Fire Nation that spent half her life in Republic City to make." Asami quipped.
"Ah, ah, Kwan raised a finger, "I spent 10 years down here with my sister spying on Korra. Well, 4 of those years were in prison; and there was that old iceblock jail that got torn down just before Korra was born. 9 months in that shithole can do things to ya."
"It's both amusing and heartbreaking that you take so much pride in your prison sojourns, Kwan," Korra pointed out, before turning to Tarrlok. "We'll be there."
Kunaluk's Wine-and-Dine turned out to be a rather nice little place not unlike Narook's Seaweed Noodlery in Republic City, although with an appropriately more obvious Water Tribe flair to it. Asami did not say anything about it, but she watched Korra almost the entire time, noticing that she started out very tense, but seemed to gradually loosen up as the night wore on. The two of them caught up with Tarrlok and Kwan as well, exchanging stories about their daily lives and plans for the future.
"As much as we like it down here, we'll probably go back to Republic City once all of this spirit and civil war mumbo-jumbo ends," Kwan shook her head, "I'd rather not fight with that Northern Blockade until Unalaq backs down."
"Ugh, don't remind me," Korra groaned. But despite this, the rest of the evening went pretty well. A few hooded figures caught Korra's eye, although they also appeared bundled up as if from the cold. That was a bit unusual to her since they looked Water Tribe in origin and most of them didn't bundle up that much. There were four of them in all, and at least two were female.
Two of them glanced at Korra, although based on how quickly they turned back to whatever they were doing, it appeared this was done more out of that natural human instinct to turn to face a person when they felt like someone was watching them.
"Well hey," Kwan slumped backwards, patting her belly, "Momma's gonna get a bit of rest here, because momma's almost 40 and momma's full of deliciously greasy meaty food. I hope you and Sato will be fine without us?"
"Sure thing," Korra smiled, "thanks for coming along, by the way."
"Thank you for getting us out of the house," Tarrlok chuckled dryly, helping Kwan to her feet, "the two of us have had to tread carefully because of all these Northern troops. Hopefully it doesn't escalate because as much as I used to love playing politics, I have no power here."
"Don't worry," Korra promised, "I'll make things right."
Tarrlok and Kwan said their goodbyes while Korra and Asami simply enjoyed some fairly quiet time alone to themselves. Korra was usually talkative, but at the same time, it seemed Asami's mere presence had an effect on her to the point of being able to relax without needing to speak.
Korra did occasionally glance towards the hooded figures, but eventually, three of them got up and left, leaving only one woman by herself. Said woman shed her coat and Korra suddenly recognized her immediately.
"Risha," Korra glanced at her, "Strange seeing you here,"
"Is it though, Avatar?" Risha purred, "I came from here before moving to Republic, you know. I wouldn't mind me if I were you though… looks like you've got someone special at your side."
"That's not a threat, is it?" Korra's eyes narrowed.
"Now why would I wish to get on the Avatar's bad side when I have friends and interests that involve staying on her good side?" Risha retorted. "No, Avatar. Me and some friends were merely talking about how to protect our common interests after tonight. And no, before you ask, we have nothing to do with it."
"Nothing to do with what!?" Asami actually got up as well, beating Korra to the punch.
"Word on the wind is that rebels are going to strike out tonight," Risha cooed, "I wanted to get away from it all because this is far from where they'll be."
"Where are they going to be?" Korra demanded.
"East side of town; probably government buildings considering that it's a rebellion," Risha pointed out, "but I'm not 100% sure so don't cite me on this."
Asami took Korra's hand before she could react.
"Korra…" she whispered softly, "take a deep breath for a moment and think."
With a sigh, Korra took a deep breath and then looked Asami squarely in the eye.
"I need to prevent this from happening if I can," she explained, "I'd offer for you to come with me, but I don't want you getting caught up in this crossfire—and I really don't want one of these rebels or anarchists to try and use you as leverage against me."
She paused. "I know you can fight—you can probably hold your own a lot better than me… but I want to see if I can handle this diplomatically and without people getting hurt. If it comes to blows… I want you to be safe and out of it, okay?"
Asami paused for a moment, as if to interject, but then she thought back to the boat they had taken on the way down to the South Pole in the first place.
"... Alright, love. I'll trust you, and we can try it your way. Just… take care of yourself too, okay? I love you, and hope you can resolve your problems too…"
"Alright, Korra." Asami put her arms around the Avatar, "I trust you. If this is what you think is the best decision, I'll support you in it. I love you, Korra."
"I love you too…" Korra squeezed Asami with earnest, "I just don't want to see you get hurt."
"Then I'll do what I can to stay out of it," Asami nodded, "If my company took a side that'd be terrible for business too, just as it was when it got out that my dad used Future Industries to support the Equalists."
"Right, right… and I don't want to see you melt down like that again…" Korra nodded, not noticing that Risha had once again vanished right under her nose, "Hopefully I can quell this problem before it even starts…"
The two of them finished what they were doing and parted ways, with Asami heading home, and Korra deciding first to check on her parents. She felt a pit in her stomach as she peered into their hut and found no signs of either of them.
"Mom?" She called out, "Dad? It's Korra. You guys here?"
There was nothing but silence to greet her. Glancing around the hut, she didn't notice anything out of place. Everything seemed to be in order as if they had gone to travel somewhere, and there was no sign of any scuffles or break-ins or anything like that.
But it was also odd that there was no note or any kind of information as to where Tonraq and Senna might have gone. That was what alarmed Korra the most—or rather, was what alarmed Korra the most at first. After setting foot into her parents' room though, Korra's eyes widened with alarm, and she knew exactly where her parents were—or at least where her mother was.
Senna's entire hunting knife collection—which usually spanned an entire wall—was gone.
