This is an odd little interlude, and shorter than the rest, but I felt compelled to write it anyway.
Talking To Yourself
"Hello. If you're watching this, then I am dead, and you're the next Avatar. Sorry kid, but those are the breaks; take a deep breath, calm yourself down, and try not to freak out too much." Korra looked into the camera and smiled, "If my instructions have been followed, then you should be watching this shortly after you're informed that you're the new Avatar. Hope I didn't leave you too much of a mess to sort out, but knowing my luck, I probably died doing something monumentally stupid, and for that I apologise. If you're sitting there, hoping for some inspirational words of wisdom to help you cope, then I'm sorry to say I've not got any. I plan to update this recording periodically, but if this is the only one, then it means I died a hell of a lot younger then I'd hoped, long before I gained any true wisdom for myself."
She paused for a moment, leant forward and clasped her hands together under her chin.
"What I can tell you is that you don't have to go through all this alone; there will always be people ready and willing to help you. These people are your family, even if they're not related to you by blood. They are precious, and you should treat them accordingly. Trust them, listen to their guidance, but always remember that you and you alone are the Avatar, and when push comes to shove, you're the one who has to decide between right and wrong. I'm not saying don't let anyone get too close to you; love is one of the most important aspects of what it is to be human, and for all your awesome power, you're still just as human as everyone else. But you also need to be able to stand apart and see the world as a whole. It'll be hard; you'll probably not want to do it, but you will find a way. I was luck enough to fall in love with someone who understood my duties and responsibilities as the Avatar, and who helped keep me on the path. Don't worry if you're worried that you don't have it in you; you wouldn't have been chosen unless had that inner strength. Even if, like with me, it takes you a while to find it."
"Now, you'll no doubt have a lot of people talking to you about the need for you to bring balance to the world. Well, balance can be a tricky thing, and it may not be evident at first. I allowed the spirit portals to remain open, and I'm still trying to find the balance in that almost three years later. So don't be afraid if you make mistakes, we all make them. The trick is learning from them so you don't make the same mistake again. And that goes for love as much as anything." Korra chuckled, "You know, it's actually kind of funny; me sitting here, talking to you about love and life when you probably know how mine worked out. I still have all that to look forward to, and so do you. Being the Avatar is the greatest adventure in the world; you will go to such wondrous places and meet the most amazing people, and you'll touch the lives of people you'll never meet in ways you'll never comprehend. And I'm not trying to weigh you down with the responsibility that goes with it; you'll find that out for yourself soon enough. Just never forget the good that goes with it. If I hadn't been the Avatar, I probably would have spent my entire life without leaving the Southern Water Tribe, gotten married, had kids, grown old and died. And it would have been a good life, don't get me wrong, but I never would have travailed to Republic City, made the friends I have, or fallen head-over-heals in love with the most amazing woman in the entire world, who agreed to become my wife as well as my best friend. And if you're expecting me to tell you how we managed to managed have a family together on a film that anyone could find and watch, then you're sadly mistaken. If you're really that interested, come seek me out in meditation some time and we'll talk."
"I don't really have anything else to add right now, so I'll call it a night. As I said, I plan on adding to this film as times goes on, and hopefully there's a whole stack of them for you to watch, and you'll see me growing old and grey with maybe a marble or two rolling around upstairs." Korra tapped the side of her head, "So I'll leave you with this for now: the world is yours now, so take good care of it. And remember, when you need me the most, I'll be there to offer what advice I can. Sorry I went and got the connection to all the other previous Avatars severed, but that'll probably hurt me than it will you. On the plus side, no long line of long dead people telling us how badly we screwed up, so there is that. Good luck kid; I'll be seeing you."
Korra shut down the camera, removed the film and placed it in a tin. She carefully marked it for the attention of the next Avatar, then sealed it with wax before placing it in a box she had bought especially. The box then went into the bottom draw of the desk in the small office she had created for herself shortly after moving into the Sato estate with Asami. She had been planning to make the film for some time, but had kept it to herself; she knew that Asami was still worried for her state of mind after her near death at the hands of Zaheer and his Red Lotus maniacs, and she didn't want to give her any more reason to worry. But after her extended mission to the Earth Kingdom, and more close calls than she was every going to admit to her wife, she'd felt it was finally time to sit down and compose what would hopefully be the first of dozens if not hundreds of messages to her eventual successor. She'd considered writing letters or keeping some kind of diary, but writing really wasn't her thing, where as talking was. So she'd secretly dug out the camera Asami had bought to record their daughters growing up, and committed what wisdom she had to the ages.
Putting the camera back where it belonged, she made her way though the near silent house. Naga was asleep outside the girls room, but looked up when Korra approached. Satisfied that she wasn't an intruder who needed their throat ripped out, the polar-bare dog settled back down for the night. Korra carefully opened the door, the light from the hallway spilling in over the cribs that held her two sleeping daughters. They looked so peaceful; Yin clutching her favourite stuffed Sky Bison to her chest, Senna having got herself into some strange pose that only a yoga master should have been capable of, that Korra didn't want to risk waking them by entering the room, even if she desperately wanted to kiss them goodnight again. Closing the door again, she patted the ever-faithful Naga on the head and made her way to the room she shared with Asami. The main light was still on, but Asami was fast asleep, pages of the report she'd been reading scatted about the bed and the floor. Gathering them up, Korra placed them on her wife's dresser and quickly changed into her nightwear. Turning off the light, she slipped into bed and curled up beside Asami, her chin resting on her wife's shoulder.
Korra closed her eyes with a smile; it was good to be home.
To Be Continued...