Previously: The gang arrives at Omashu and Yue and Mara spend a night together in secret.

Korra is a little worried that after 2 months they still don't know much about Yue. But Asami reminds her that complicated pasts can be a sensitive topic. They realize that whatever life Yue has, she put in on hold for Korra.

Yue is struggling with home sickness and her fears about sharing her life story with Asami and Korra.

She teaches them to play Ice Bowling and uses it as another precision exercise for Korra, and bending that is hobby motivated.

She asks Korra to start writing a journal, telling her she's not the first Avatar who had issues connecting with past lives, and that having that sort of access, to an Avatar's journal, could be very comforting and helpful. She tells Korra about Kyoshi's past.

Korra, hesitant about the journal, talks to Asami about it, explaining that she knows that part of being a fully realized Avatar is thinking about what comes after, but that she wants to live in the now and it feels selfish.

Asami tells her that reflecting on her present life, on things that she's proud of, might be comforting.

Korra tells Yue she's afraid she'll never regain the connection to her past lives. Yue helps Korra realize that whenever she found immense strength within, it was for others' sake, but when she needed help for herself she looked elsewhere. Korra realizes that in order to reconnect with her past lives it's time to look inward.

Chapter 7

"So you see, what you want to do is basically install an amplifier on these smaller units which gives them a bigger range."

Yue starred at Asami, totally at a loss. Asami came back to their camp after she radioed Varrick, and Yue made the innocent mistake of asking her friend how the long-distance radio worked. She was genuinely interested, except she had no idea what Asami was talking about. "Does Korra understand any of this?"

"No." Asami admitted. "And based on your expression I'm guessing you don't get it either," Asami pouted.

Mara would, Yue thought. More than would. She'd love it. "I'm sorry," she offered sheepishly. "When I look at you I see someone who does the impossible. I wish I knew how you do what you do."

"You think I do the impossible?" Asami snorted. "Then what do you call what you do? Or Korra for that matter? She's the freaking Avatar."

Yue shrugged. "We all have our… things. Neither Korra nor myself can even begin to fathom any of this," she gestured at the device. I cheat via Paco, she thought.

"I can teach you, if you're really interested?" Asami offered hopefully. She wanted a science pal.

"Believe it or not, but something similar has been tried in the past. I fail miserably at grasping technological concepts."

"Maybe you just didn't have a very good teacher," Asami winked.

She was a great teacher and I was definitely hot for teacher. "It's not that. I'm book smart. Not… whatever-this-is smart."

Asami chuckled.

"I really do think that what you do is incredible," Yue insisted. "You have such an innovative brain."

"You both do," Korra joined them, carrying some wood for the breakfast bonfire. "In different ways, but still," she smiled at them. "You're both brilliant, and I'm too, for surrounding myself with people like you."

She leaned in to kiss Asami's cheek.

One of these days, Yue thought, I'm gonna introduce you to someone who'll let you talk about these things for hours and actually understand what you're saying.

"So, boss," Korra dropped the wood on the ground and bent to start a fire. "What's on the agenda for today? Anything new and exciting?"

"As a matter of fact, yes."

"Remember when I told you that I believe there are four factors to consider when water Mindbending?"

"Yeah?"

"And remember the motion part?"

"I remember you telling me I'll like it! Are we there yet?!"

"Yes, we are. See? Annoying homework pays off. I think you're strong and precise enough, got really good grasp on water Mindbendining in general. So I think you're ready to take your Mindbending to go."

Korra's Bloodbending got better, too. It helped that every other day Naga walked right into one thorny bush or another, and Korra, who always treated her dog with much care, continued to do so. Except she stopped Naga's minor bleeding with bending. Naga always reacted to the bending with funny voices, as if it was an enjoyable sensation, like a tickle. They started to suspect she walked into these bushes on purpose.

"How do I do that? Take it on the go?"

"Ice ramp. Or ice sled!" Yue announced victoriously.

"Of course. Why haven't I thought of that?!"

"You were rather pre-occupied with a million other concepts," Asami pointed out.

"Believe it or not," Yue noted, "one of the hardest things about Mindbending an ice ramp is fighting the urge to use your hands. It feels weird at first to just move while doing absolutely nothing with your body for bending purposes. It's somewhat counter-intuitive."

"But you can still do it, right?" Korra inquired.

"What do you think?" Yue smirked, allowing herself a rare moment of cockiness.

Korra mirrored the smirk, enjoying the uncharacteristic display.

Yue bent her knees, taking a balancing stance. "Just remember, you might not need to use your body to bend and direct the flow, but you still need to make sure you don't fall." Before Korra had a chance to ask any questions, a wave rose from the lake beside them. It was nearing them quickly, clearly headed directly towards Yue. She bent her knees further and jumped just in time to lend herself on top of the wave, which she kept riding without using her hands for anything but balance, but it was mostly core work. She Mindbent the water into ice while still in movement, and kept riding the now icy ramp, circling Asami and Korra multiple times before letting herself slide from the edge of the ramp and landing in front of them in perfect form.

Korra facepalmed. "You make it look so effortless."

"And graceful," Asami provided.

"Ugh," Korra added.

"Just so we're clear, it's not the technique you hate, right?" Yue asked, now unsure. She really thought Korra would find this to be cool. "It's just the fact that I'm good at it?"

"What? No! I don't hate that you're good at it! I think it's amazing that you're good at it. I just know that I'm gonna try it and look like an idiot. The technique looks amazing."

"Once you get it it'll be so much fun!" Yue promised.

"Tell me you looked like an idiot, too, when you just started practicing it."

"Oh, absolutely. My entire body was tender for days because I kept falling in weird angles. I even sprained my shoulder once."

"Oh, shit," Korra winced.

"What helped you figure it out?" Asami, asked, evidentially curios.

"Well, don't forget I had no one to show me. And I thought, 'hey, I'm strong, I've mastered Mindbending', and honestly? I went too big too fast. I realized that rather than catching the wave, I should start on top of it. Learn how to Mindbend in motion, and after I mastered that sensation, adding physical elements of balance and form was much easier."

"Is that what we're doing then?" Korra gestured at the lake.

"Yes. And let me tell you, your starting point is much better than mine, so I think this will be easier than you expect. How about you get into the lake and plant yourself in there with some ice?"

Korra did as she was told. She bent herself a ramp that took her into the lake, but close enough to the bank, then she bent ice around her legs, up to the middle of her shins, to keep her in place. It still required some core effort, but that was familiar territory.

"Now what? Do I just… imagine a ramp?"

"It's a little trickier than that, but not unsimilar to your Mindbent rainbow in the sense that you do it bit by bit, at least at first. Consider this – the part of the ramp you're actually standing on is parallel to you, underneath your fit at all times, so that specific movement is very slight, almost one step at the time. Does that make sense or is it absolutely confusing?"

"I think so. But then what about what's behind me and ahead of me?"

"That's the next level. But if you start with the very minimal motion of both yourself, and the water you're bending and standing on directly, it'll give you a good foundation. Can you lift yourself up, just directly up and very slightly, and keep the water moving around you? You can remain stationary, but start with the water movement. That on its own isn't new."

Korra Mindebent as instructed. She found Asami with her eyes and noticed that her girlfriend was staring at her intently. Sometimes she wondered if there was anything Asami wasn't interested in. How big does your heart must be if you love everything so much, yet still find a way to make certain few feel truly special. She didn't plan the thought, it just snuck up on her.

"Korra?" Yue tried.

"Sorry, sorry. My mind wandered a second."

"I bet."

But both her friend and her girlfriend were smiling at her softly, no traces of teasing. They recognized sincere moments when they saw them.

"Okay, now try to bend the ice a little bit forward, just a little bit. The equivalent of a step. But remember, don't stay behind. Let it move you as well. Combine what you learned with the rainbow and your physical instinct. Let the ice support your weight."

Korra tried, but while the ice did move forward, just like with her rainbow, she was left behind, which meant she fell right into the water with a yelp of surprise, hands flailing as she was trying to salvage the situation with regular bending. But it was too late and she was submerged. She resurfaced a moment later, with seaweed glued to her face. She wiped it off, realizing that the soft smiles turned into empathetic ones.

"Well, this could've gone better," she removed wet locks of her from her face.

"Funny, I was thinking it could've gone much worse," Yue commented sheepishly.

Korra Waterbent herself back up and Airbent the water out of her clothes. She was quick to plant herself back in an icy base on the water. "We're definitely doing this again. Any words of wisdom?"

"Really lean into it. I think you're a little worried about how it'd feel, but it'd feel the same. So plant your feet like you would on your regular ramp, because it is like your regular ramp. The element under your feet feels the same, the bending doesn't."

"Right."

"Lean forward for balance. At the very least you'll fall more gratefully next time," Yue advised, making Asami snort.

"Thanks for your faith in me," Korra narrowed her eyes.

"Like I said, I fell many, many times."

"Yet I'll never get to witness that."

"Never say never," Yue smiled sweetly. "You gonna do this or what?"

"Yeah, yeah."

"Go slowly, Baby. I saw you move the water, you just need to… stay on the water," Asami provided.

"Noted, thanks," Korra groaned.

"Well if you lean forward a bit, one leg would still be on the ramp even if you don't manage to move, and then maybe your body will kick in instinctively because you'll have that extra nano second before you fall?" Asami mused.

Korra and Yue starred at her in surprise.

"What?" she challenged. "That's just common sense!"

Korra bit her lip, trying to suppress a smile.

Yue turned to Korra but pointed at Asami with a thumb over her shoulder. "Is she just like… good at everything?"

"You've known her for almost three months," Korra reminded. "You tell me."

"Sheesh, Asami, leave some awesome for the rest of us," Yue smirked.

"You guys are idiots. Can we get on with the show?"

Korra looked at Yue, giving her a chance to add anything she deemed necessary.

"I mean," Yue started, "I suppose the only thing left to add is… do as Asami says," she grinned.

Korra nodded and prepared herself, leaning forward as instructed by both her companions.

"Slowly Korra. You're stretching the ice you're standing on forward. You've done this a million times before. Just trust the feeling."

Korra closed her eyes. She knew she won't be scolded for that. When they tried new Mindbending techniques for the first time, it was easier to concentrate with eyes closed. She had to get it first, let her body learn what it's supposed to feel like. She could worry about the presentation later. She put most of her weight on her front foot, following Asami's logic, and tried to move the ice beneath her. In reality, she didn't need to move herself at all. She just had to trust her body, like she would with regularly executed ice ramp. But since she could sense the water, she knew she managed to bend the ramp forward, and since she was still dry, she assumed she succeeded in moving with it, too.

"Did I just do it?" she cranked one eye open, cautious.

"You did!" Asami laughed. "A small yet firm step!"

Korra opened her eyes fully, checking her surroundings, finding that she managed to extend the ramp just a bit. There was little bit of ramp tail left behind her.

"Good," Yue approved. "Did you feel what you did? Can you repeat it?"

"I think so. Let me try." This time she kept her eyes open and stared right below her, at the ramp, as she bent it. It still took immense amount of concentration, but she knew the third time would be easier, because she began to understand what sensation she was looking for. And Yue was right, it was very similar to regular bending, she just had to actively remember that just because she was bending with her mind didn't mean her body could skip the balancing act. But in regular bending, the bending and the balancing went hand in hand, so the new sensation felt a bit weird, contradictory even. It was about coordination more than anything else.

She repeated the action a fourth time.

"That's great Korra. Now let's try ten in a row. Take a step, pause for a sec, another step, another pause."

"Okay," Korra took a breath, leaned forward, and did as she was told. Her pace was slow, but she grew more and more confident with each step. By the time she was done, she turned around to find a short ice path behind her. She jumped, throwing her fist to the sky. "Yes!" she landed on the ice gracefully.

"Do it again, faster," Yue ordered. "Make sure to still pause between steps, but make the pauses shorter."

Korra did just that. And before Yue could even tell her to make her next set even quicker, Korra was doing it on her own accord.

"I'm doing it!" she announced with a joyous laughter. But she got too comfortable, and without even realizing it she reverted to using her hands for bending.

"No hands!" Yue barked, and a moment later Korra was in the water again, startled by the interruption.

"Oh man," Korra hit the water with her hands, frustrated.

"Is this a bad time to tell you that you look adorable?" Asami gave her a soft, stunning smile.

From where Asami was sitting, Korra looked like the happiest kid in the world, playfully running around. Even if her running around was on water. And when Korra fell in, she turned into a grumpy kid and that, Asami thought, was even cuter.

Korra wanted to huff, but the smile she was getting made it very hard to do so. Until Yue intervened.

"You got carried away, Avatar."

"You mean I got excited."

"I mean you got cocky."

Korra glared at her.

"But," Yue continued, "you looked like you were having a lot of fun while you were at it. And that's not nothing."

They kept going for a while. As long as Korra Mindbent step by step, she managed to maintain her ramp, even increase her speed. But the moment she tried to speed up too much and aim for one continuous motion, she instinctively started using her hands, which resulted in either Asami or Yue barking "hands!" at her, which resulted, in turn, with her dropping into the water, frustrated.

After about an hour she called it quits. Still, she had to admit she had fun, and that made her excited at the prospect of getting better.

She asked for a shower break, and even though Yue pointed out she can just dry herself (as she did after every failed attempt at mind-ramping) Korra explained that it's about the leisureal principal rather than the technicalities. And indeed, she treated herself to a 45 minutes long steamy bath in a pond, which she heated just to her liking. She even convinced Asami to drop work and join her. Asami did, but only for about 20 minutes, leaving a pouting Avatar behind.

Now, Korra was drying her hair with a towel as she neared the little fire Yue made to make lunch. Asami was seated across from Yue, notebook, as always, open in front of her. Korra liked watching the two women sitting in comfortable silence, each attending to her own task.

She sat herself next to Yue. "Hey, I've been thinking last night while I was journaling, so thanks for that."

"You're welcome," Yue deadpanned, making Asami snort.

"Don't you wanna know what I've been thinking about before you go collecting praises?" Korra rolled her eyes.

"I mean, I'm just happy to hear the practice itself has been stimulating for your brain."

Korra shook her head. "What if it's a very dumb thought?"

"The look on your face tells me it isn't," Yue insisted.

"And if it's important to you, it's important to me," Asami added and finally looked up from the pages. "To us," she exchanged looks with Yue.

Korra bit her lip but pushed forward. "I've been thinking about some significant moments I had as an Avatar, sort of going back to my early days in Republic City. You know, to see if there's anything the youngster next in line might find useful?"

"Yeah, and?"

But the Avatar seemed hesitant again.

"Come on, Baby. This is a safe space," Asami encouraged.

"I was thinking about one of the hardest moments of my first year in Republic City. When I lost my bending. But it turned into something beautiful soon after, when Aang guided me on how to restore everyone's bending. And then I thought… If I have the power to give people their bending back, does that mean I can potentially create completely new Benders? Turn non-Benders to Benders that is?" She jumped to her feet. "As a matter of fact, can I create another Avatar if I give bending to someone who's already a bender of another element?"

"Huh. Interesting questions," Yue seemed contemplative.

"And couldn't be further from being dumb," Asami added.

"My guess is that you probably could create new Benders," Yue commented, "an ability I wouldn't advertise. But I don't think you can create another Avatar. Raava is kinda like the glue the keeps it all together, right? She's holding the power for you?"

"That's actually in line with what I know from Wan," Korra nodded. "You think someone else's body won't be able to carry the power without her?"

"I don't know. I'd like to think that being the Avatar is so much more than just bending the four elements. I think it's spiritual. It's in your essence. You managed to defeat Vaatu without her. Either way, Korra, I don't think there can be another one like you," she offered her friend a bright smile.

The thought was comforting to Korra.

"Let's say you can make glass all on your own, like we discussed a few weeks ago," Yue proposed. "And let's say you can give bending to non-Benders. It means you're capable of creating something out of nothing. And if so, what else does that extend to?"

Asami straightened up, understanding were Yue was going with this. She wasn't the only one.

"Lost memories?" Korra guessed. "Lost lifetimes?"

"Maybe. Especially if they're not entirely lost, just… hidden," Yue shrugged.

Asami took one look at her girlfriend's face and smiled.

"What?" Korra asked sheepishly.

"Nothing, it's just… I know you. I know the way you think. You're finally starting to believe that you can do this."

Korra gave her a tiny smile in return, but Asami did know her, which meant she knew that behind this smile there was so much more.

It was quiet around them, so Asami assumed Yue fell asleep in the tent next to theirs. Ever since the nights gotten slightly colder, Naga squeezed herself into Yue's tent and let the short Waterbender cuddle into her, as if she sensed that Yue could use some extra warmth. Asami found them like this one morning and it was adorable. But Tui wanted to partake, and realizing that she was too big to fit, she only squeezed her face into the tent.

"Thank god I'm not allergic to fur," Yue joked one morning.

Asami smiled at the memory and turned to look at her girlfriend who has been staring upwards for a while. "Your thoughts are even louder than mine tonight," she joked. "I can hear those wheels turning. What's going on in this beautiful head of yours?"

"Aww, you think I'm beautiful?" Korra teased, turning on her side to face Asami.

"I think you're stunning."

Korra blushed and looked away.

"I'm sorry," Asami put a finger under Korra's chin, forcing her eyes back to Asami's. "Am I making you flustered?" she asked in amused disbelief. "You do realize that I'm in love with you, right?"

"I know," Korra smiled and put a hand to Asami's wrist. "But sometimes it still feels like a surprise. A really incredible one."

Asami offered her a soft smile, choosing not to tease any further.

"You were right, you know," Korra noted. "What you said earlier? I am starting to believe I can do it."

"Once you looked back at your past experiences critically and placed them next to one another, you suddenly realized that if you can restore bending and connect to the cosmic energy, maybe restoring past lives isn't totally implausible?" Asami offered.

"Yes, that," Korra chuckled. "This journal was a good idea, wasn't it?"

"It seems that bigger perspective and context are comforting to you, so I'd say – yes," Asami smirked.

"Maybe next time I should just say yes to Yue's ideas without getting all defensive first."

"I don't think she cares, Babe. And besides, it's good that you take the time to examine things and understand how you really feel about them."

Korra nodded. She looked like her mind was already wandering back to whatever she was thinking earlier.

"Hey," Asami said softly, almost debating if she wanted to approach the subject. "How come you never asked me if I wanted to become a Bender?"

"Well, first of all, I literally only thought about it last night," Korra chuckled. "But I'll never ask you something like that."

"Why?" Asami seemed surprised, and slightly hurt.

"Because," Korra grabbed Asami's palm and kissed her knuckles, "that would imply that I think you require an upgrade, an improvement, or a fix. And you don't need to be fixed. You're the most incredible person in the world."

"Wow, sweet talker," it was meant as a tease, an attempt to brush off the earlier hurt feelings, but Korra could see Asami was genuinely relieved.

"I'm serious, Asami. Wait, why? Do you want to be?"

"No. You're right. I love myself the way I am. But sometimes I get… curious."

"You would," Korra chuckled.

"What does it feel like? To bend?"

"Huh. No one has ever asked me that before." Korra took a moment to think. "Each element feels a little different, but it's always like this surge, this current of energy that flows through your entire body. An intensity that is strong, but also very natural somehow. An undeniable instinct."

"Oh, that's all? You made me feel that way last night," Asami bit her lip.

"So you're saying," Korra pushed herself slightly closer to Asami, "that being with me makes you feel like bending?"

"Well, you are the Avatar."

"That's probably the most beautiful thing anyone has ever said to me."

"I mean it," Asami's face turned serious.

Korra smiled. "I don't know how I got so lucky."

"That's because you're amazing."

"You make me really, really happy, Asami Sato."

"Ditto."