I had been disappointed to see them leave so soon and I could sense Gran-Gran already missed them, however I also knew that there was no way Korra was going to halt her training. Sure enough later in the day she persuaded me to go with her to Republic City and although I was conflicted about leaving Gran-Gran, I also wanted to go out and see the world. I wrote her a letter telling her goodbye and that I loved her before packing up my few belongings and went with Korra down to Naga where we saddled her up and placed our stuff on her back.
"Nice night for an escape, don't you think?" Instantly I froze, eyes widening before I relaxed and looked back at Gran-Gran. To my relief, she was smiling.
"I have to leave. I have to find my own path as the Avatar." Korra answered her, trying to reason however my grandmother merely smiled further as she stepped closer to us.
"I know you do. Aang's time has passed. My brother and so many of my friends have gone, it is time for you and your generation to take on the responsibility of keeping peace and balance in the world." She told Korra first, placing her hand on her shoulder before embracing her. "I know you will be a great Avatar." This made Korra smile, relaxing in the knowledge that she had Katara's support. When she let go, however, my grandmother then turned to me.
"I'm sorry to leave you Gran-Gran, but I want to…" Before I could even finish explaining myself, Gran-Gran had already pulled me into her embrace and held me so tightly I thought she would choke the air from my lungs.
"You remind me of myself when I was your age, or even a little younger. I was fourteen years old when I ventured out into the world, it is about time you did the same." She said to me as she pulled back and placed her hands upon my shoulders and our brows rested against one another's. She still smelled of that seaweed lotion even after all these years. "I want you to experience many new things and go through different challenges both together and alone. I want to see you make something great of yourself, however you do it, my little water lily." Lifting back her head my grandmother placed her hand against my cheek. "Most of all, I want you to overcome your fears. Living in the past is not going to help you step into your future, so do not be afraid to accept the side of you that you do not wish to acknowledge. Your grandfather shall be with you as much as he will be with Korra, he will protect you." With a final kiss my grandmother stepped back but I flung my arms around her once more, feeling tears rise to my eyes.
"I love you Gran-Gran. When I come back, I'll have so many stories to tell you instead. I'll make you proud." I promised her before kissing her cheek. I felt her smile into me before I finally let her go, helping Korra with the last bag before we snuck off into the night, tunnelling our way underneath the compound before we were away. Korra stopped by her parent's house to say goodbye to them and I waved from Naga's back as we disappeared, racing to the harbour where we secretly boarded a ship and stowed ourselves away. By morning, we were out on the open sea.
"I can't believe we're actually doing this. I can't wait to get to Republic City." Korra beamed, leaning back against Naga as I sat on one of the crates, taking off my heavy fur lined coat and flicked out my hair. My stomach was tight with nervousness but excitement too. I've heard so much about the city, I couldn't wait to actually see it with my own eyes. For one there wouldn't be snow and oceans of water everywhere, perhaps I'll be able to work on conquering my fears like Gran-Gran said.
"So long as we get there soon and don't starve to death down here or freeze, that's fine by me." I answered as I rolled up my coat and stowed it away. Thankfully it was pretty warm so I placed my hands on my hips and smiled, looking around before taking a wander, curiously looking at all the stuff that was being taken to the capital. I even found a large collection of mirrors and I stopped, staring at my reflection. It was strange to see myself in a full length mirror, only having the reflection on ice or a small handheld mirror to see so I observed for a few moments.
My hair was a little dishevelled however a few moments of preening sorted that out as well as smoothing down the crinkles in my clothes. Of course I wore traditional water tribe clothing, sporting an aqua blue shirt with off the shoulder sleeves and the hem being cut just above my naval, exposing my toned stomach with low slung leggings of brown and a matching blue wrap which I tied in a knot at my side, three ropes of tribal beads hanging low on one hip with several tiger-seal teeth decorating it also. Korra and I wore a matching armband on our upper right arms with comfortable and warm shoes lined with fur. All in all, I was quite happy with my appearance.
Satisfied I returned to Korra who chuckled. "I haven't seen you dressed like that in a while."
"Hey, it's warm where we're going. I don't want to be wearing that massive coat all the time." I reasoned before I settled down next to her. "You think Tenzin will be mad?"
"He'll totally freak out!" Korra grinned mischievously before shrugging. "But he'll see things my way, I just have to do a little smooth talking. After all, I'm the Avatar and it's my job to help bring balance. If things are going wrong in Republic City then I should be there to help everyone."
"Well, that is the Avatar's role." I agreed before yawning. Having been up all night I was pretty tired so I fell asleep against Korra, resting until we both felt the ship grind to a halt and people started to call out. The air smelled different and it was definitely hotter, making me shoot upright and run to the small porthole where I could see outside. "We're here! Korra get up! Naga!" Waking them both we climbed up onto Naga's back before sneaking our way forwards, waiting until the last moment before shooting out from the hull and down the ramp.
"Thanks for the ride!" Korra waved cheekily before we raced down the pier. My senses were overwhelmed as I stared at the huge city. The buildings weren't made out of snow! They were properly made with brick and had glass windows. Everything looked so pristine and a thousand scents lingered in the air. I could only imagine what Naga could smell. For a while we just wandered, racing through the streets in exploration whilst yelling for people to move out the way, apologising as we went for any inconveniences. People stared at us but to be honest, I couldn't blame them. "Wow, look at this place! I've never seen so many satomobiles." Korra breathed so I gave her a small smirk.
"Korra, you've never seen a satomobile." I reminded her so she stuck out her tongue at me before flicking on Naga's reins, taking us forwards until we found a tall perch where we could see the giant statue of Avatar Aang. I pressed my hands together and bowed my head, greeting my grandfather as Korra stared in awe before then looking past the statue. "Air Temple Island, that's where Tenzin lives." She pointed and I looked, gulping at the huge body of water that sat between us and the island.
"Please tell me we're getting a boat." I said however Korra just grinned.
"You're with the Avatar so nothing's going to hurt you. I'll keep you safe." She promised me. "You ready for a swim girl?" However in answer Naga sniffed the air then bolted, attracted by something that obviously smelled delicious to her. All I could smell were gas fumes from the satomobiles. "Okay! Okay! Food first, air temple after." Korra agreed however I pointed ahead in warning.
"Look out! Naga! You're on the wrong side of the road!"
"Watch it! Sorry! Sorry! We're new in town!" Both Korra and I yelled as I gripped onto her tightly, narrowly missing being hit by several satomobiles as we dashed down the road before finally turning down to a quieter part of the city, the smell drawing Naga towards a stall that was selling different kinds of meat. "Naga, wait." Korra ordered and Naga moaned, tail thumping patiently as she gazed longingly at all the meat. "We'll take two of everything please!"
"That'll be forty yuans." No way! I can't believe we didn't think about bringing money. I'm such an idiot. It's not like I have money anyway but still.
"Uh…we don't have any money." Korra admitted bashfully however the scary lady turned on us.
"Then what good are you to me? Go on get out of here!" She ordered and I bit down on my lip, leaning away from her. People aren't so nice here. Guess this wasn't exactly the dream city I pictured. I'm not surprised, you can't trust everything you read in the paper.
"Come on girl, I'm sure we'll find something to eat. It's a big city after all." Slightly dejected, the three of us walked away.
"We could try finding a park for fish, or maybe go to the ocean and try fishing there?" I suggested and instantly Korra brightened at the idea. We had Naga sniff out a park and sure enough there were plenty of fish in the river so Naga caught them, I gutted them with my filleting knife and Korra cooked them with fire-bending on a stick. I have to say they smelled pretty good. Washing off my blade in the water I tucked it back into its sheath at my hip, the belt also holding my grandmother's old travel canteen which I filled up with water also.
"Say young ladies, think I can get one of those tasty smelling fishies?" A voice questioned and I heard Korra gasp so I turned around to see a rather bushy haired man standing in the bush, his clothes a little worn through with several tears and my fingers itched to mend them instinctively.
"Oh, uh…yeah sure." It wasn't as if he gave us much of a chance to answer as he'd already picked up one of the fish and was eating through it, scales and all. He must be hungry the poor guy. "So, do you…live in that bush?"
"Yes, presently that is what I do call home. Took me a while to procure a bush that beauteous. This park is quite popular with all the vagabonds." He informed us both and I chuckled at his bright optimism.
"It's a very nice bush." I complimented him as I sat down on the grassy bank with him and Korra. "But how come you live here? Isn't Republic City supposed to be the centre of harmony and plenty?" I asked him with a slight frown.
"Yeah, I thought everyone in the city was living it up." Korra agreed with me and we glanced to one another. We hadn't seen much of the city, however we were beginning to get a taste for its true colours. Not everything was as perfect as it was made out to be, after all I'd already seen numerous homeless people and it made me sick to my stomach to think that they didn't have a home that they could return to each day and feel safe.
"Haha! You've got a lot to learn newcomers. Welcome to Republic City!" Our unexpected dinner guest announced flamboyantly before continue to eat his fish. I was about to dig into mine when we were interrupted by the sound of a sharp whistle, making me jump slightly and look around in confusion. What on earth?
"Hey, you! Stop! You can't fish here!" Uh oh, busted!
"You best skedaddle!" Suddenly the hobo was gone and so were the other two fish sticks, leaving us with nothing. Never mind that, this guy doesn't look too happy about us breaking the rules. Who knew rules would follow us here too? It was so suffocating sometimes.
"Hurry!" Calling out to Korra and leaped to my feet as she whistled to Naga who sprang towards us. Korra mounted first and her hand swung out to catch my arm, pulling me up behind her as Naga then bolted away from the rather rounded policeman. Thankfully he did not pursue us for long and when I looked back he was hunched over his knees struggling for breath. "I think we're good, he's not going to follow us." I said to Korra after a few minutes so she reined Naga in, letting her walk towards a fountain where she took a drink.
There appeared to be a crowd gathering around a stage a few feet away so I turned my head to listen, curious as the man began to call out to the people. "Are you tired of living under the tyranny of benders? Then join the Equalists! For too long, the bending elite of this city have forced non-benders to live as lower class citizens. Join Amon, and together we will tear down the bending establishment." The crowd seemed to respond positively, nodding their heads and whispering in agreement however before I could stop her, Korra had angrily called out to answer him.
"What are you talking about? Bending is the coolest thing in the world!"
"Oh yeah, let me guess. You're a bender." The speaker guessed as he pointed to Korra who folded her arms and narrowed her arms.
"Yeah, I am."
"Don't make a scene Korra. We don't want to cause any trouble for these people, remember? We're supposed to be going to the air temple." I reminded her with a hand on her shoulder however she was still tense as she glanced my way.
"Then I bet you'd just love to knock me off this platform with some water-bending, huh?"
"I'm seriously thinking about it." I smacked a hand to my face. Not balance, Korra, that's not balance at all.
"This is what's wrong with this city! Benders like this girl only use their power to oppress us." This seemed to rattle the crowd and they glowered at us both, making me narrow my eyes in response as the jeered and shook their fists towards us.
"I'm not oppressing anyone! You're...you're oppressing yourself!" She said back before flicking Naga's reins to get her to go, shooting away to avoid any further conflict. Probably a wise choice, but this was something I had never thought about before. Did the non-benders truly feel so oppressed here? I'll have to ask my uncle about this, it doesn't make any sense. I cannot believe that he would allow the non-benders to be treated as lesser classed citizens whilst he had a say on the council. "Stupid non-benders, they don't know what they're talking about."
"They're just expressing their feelings Korra, there's nothing wrong with that." I reasoned with her lightly as we left the park behind us. "Maybe there is something going on here that we don't know about yet. It's a huge city after all and we haven't exactly been one with the world since we've been stuck in the south since we were born."
"I guess, but they just don't understand! Bending isn't the same for everyone. Some people use it because it's a way of life, because it's a part of who we are. We don't all use it to oppress others. Do we?" Korra sounded unsure so I tightened my grip around her in a hug, turning my cheek into her back as we rode further into the city. Eventually we both got off Naga to give her a break, walking around whilst trying to find our way back to the coast so that we could get to the island, however we soon realised that we were hopelessly out of our depth in this big city. "Excuse me, I think we're lost. Can you tell us how to get Air Temple Island from here?" Korra asked some people sitting outside their shop and the lady helpfully pointed down the street.
"Just head down this street." She pointed, however as she did so a flashy satomobile screeched around the corner and came soaring past us, a rush of air slamming in my face so I crossed my arms in front of me to keep the dust out of my face. "You should get moving, it isn't safe for young ladies such as yourselves." I heard genuine fear in the lady's voice as she and the others all ducked into their shops, firmly bolting the doors and windows as the satomobile stopped outside this one shop.
"Mr Chung, please tell me that you have my money, or else I can't guarantee I can protect your fine establishment." Korra and I looked to one another before frowning, gritting our teeth as we moved forwards to listen a little more as the poor shopkeeper flinched away from the three thugs. By the design and colour of the clothes, we were dealing with one water-bender, one fire-bender and an earth-bender. They look like thugs to me, mean spirited men who had this shopkeeper trembling before them.
"I'm sorry, business has been slow lately and I don't have the money to pay you. Please, take one of my phonographs instead." He offered however the fire-bender kicked up a leg then slammed it downwards with a burst of flames which destroyed the beautiful looking phonograph into ashen splinters. My jaw went slack in shock before I then recovered. Those jerks!
"My friend here is not a music lover. Give me the money, or else..."
"Or else what, hoodlum?" Korra questioned in a badass tone, the two of us standing at an angle to one another with a hand on our hips, glowering darkly at the thugs who were trying to intimidate this old man.
"Haha! Since you're obviously fresh off the boat, let me explain a couple things to you two little girls. You're in Triple Threat Triad territory, and we're about to put you in the hospital." The water-bender grinned, cracking his knuckles but I merely arched an eyebrow and tilted my head. He seriously thought he was going to put us in the hospital? It's a shame we don't come with huge labels over our heads, then idiots like this wouldn't challenge us so readily. I may not be your average water-bender, but did not mean I was defenceless. Ice was my specialty and I've been training with Korra since I was five. Fighting was something she lived and breathed.
"You're the only ones who are gonna need a hospital and for your sake, I hope there's one nearby." Korra answered as I pointed my finger at them in warning.
"We'll give you three this one chance to get back into your fancy ride and move along. Trust me, this won't be pretty for you if you don't get out of here now." I warned whilst my feet slowly shifted into stance, uncapping the lid to my grandmother's water canteen where I held my hand ready to use it.
"Who the hell do you punks think you are?" In answer Korra grinned, seeing that we'd rattled the leader slightly as his sneer dropped from his face into anger.
"Why don't you come and find out?" Remaining in a confident stance the two of us faced down the thugs as people curiously began to peek out from their windows, watching us face down these three thugs. Suddenly the water-bender flung out his coat and sent a whip of water straight at Korra however she caught it in her palm then sent it right back into his face where I then froze it with a single movement, locking him down onto the pavement where he kicked and struggled to get up in vain, shocked and astounded to have been bested so quickly.
For a moment the other two backed off, surprised by our boldness before they then recovered. The earth-bender came next, sending a punching motion towards us but Korra twisted her feet and changed stances, ripping up the ground beneath him to send him propelling up into the air with his yell echoing around us, a grin coming to my face as he came hurtling back down whilst hitting several shop signs and canopies on the way down. Could have been worse for him, to be honest.
Seeing his final compatriot down, the fire-bender finally turned on Korra, shooting a massive spurt of flames at her however with a swirl of her hands she parted the flames and breezed through them, smirking all the while before locking hands with her opponent. Oh boy, now he's in trouble. Grappling with her opponent, Korra finally flung him across the street before I could stop her, yelling with a hand held out towards him but a little too late to stop him from flying through a shop window. "Damn it Korra! Restraint! Restraint! This is exactly what those old geezers were talking about!" I yelled to her as I stood with Naga who was taking a nap in the sun. "You're busting up everyone's shops!"
"Relax! I got this all in hand." Korra assured me and I smacked a palm to my face. This is bad, she's supposed to be stopping the bad guys from smashing things up, not doing the job for them. "So, got an idea about who I am now, chumps?" She crowed and I had to sigh. It's just the first day, just the first day. Hopefully she'll improve with a little practice. What am I talking about? It's Korra. She gets so fired up about a fight that she hardly ever notices what's going on around her. We have a long way to go, it seems.
From behind I heard the revving of an engine and I only had a bare second to dive out of the way, rolling on the ground as the satomobile flew past me and Korra, the earth-bender catapulting his friend into the vehicle in order to escape. "You're not getting away!" Running a few steps after them, Korra ripped up the road and my jaw dropped in horror at the destruction, forcing the car to crash into the front of a store and I almost collapsed at that point.
"K-Korra?" I spluttered, unable to believe my eyes. "You just smashed up another store!"
"Huh?" Blinking in confusion Korra looked around her but didn't seem to notice anything wrong. Without warning a siren wailed overhead and I instinctively jumped into a stance, hands held upwards and before me however as metal-benders dropped out of the skies I stared in awe. They moved so gracefully, spiralling with their long metal wires down to the ground. "Cool, metal benders." Korra breathed before stepping back to proudly showcase her work. "I caught the bad guys for you, officers."
"Arrest them!" The officer ordered and the three were wrapped up in wire, trapping them. He looked around at the mess that Korra had made and I hid my face in embarrassment.
"I don't know her." I tried to insist however I don't think he bought it as suddenly he had gripped Korra's wrist and was pointing at me.
"You're both under arrest too."
"What do you mean I'm under arrest? Those are the bad guys over there, they were smashing up a shop!" She protested hotly and defensively, drawing back away from the officer as I took a step backwards and bit down on my lip. This is bad, we're in so much trouble and we've only been in the city for a day. A great way to start, just perfect.
"From the looks of it, you smashed up a lot more than that." The officer trying to arrest Korra shot a wire towards her however she managed to doge and caught it, wrestling against him as she tried to worm her away out of getting arrested.
"Wait, you can't arrest me, let me explain!"
"You can explain yourself all you like down at headquarters." The officer retracted the wire to shoot again, however this time I had already swung up onto Naga's back and she gave a deep snarl, slamming against the officer from behind as I held out my hand to grasp Korra's and pull her up behind me whilst wincing. Guess we're going to get charged with assaulting an officer too, just great.
"Go Naga!" I called, gripping the reins and leaning forwards as I directed her out of the street and away from the metal-benders. If we can just get to the temple then Tenzin can help us explain everything and maybe we'll get off with a warning. Maybe. "Hurry!" Whirling Naga around both Korra and I lashed out with our feet, kicking two officers down so that Naga could make the sharp turn down a small alley where she dashed forwards, long legs carrying her quickly away from the crime scene. As we entered into a new street and headed for the bridge ahead I heard Korra hiss in pain and I looked back to see a wire wrapped around her ponytail which ripped back her head painfully. "Korra!"
"I got it!" She answered back before swinging her arms like a flap of wings before shooting them upwards and brought two pillars of water upwards to then form a wall of ice which the metal-bender crashed into, releasing her. I smirked at the success of her idea before turning my head back to watch the road, guiding Naga through the streets and avoiding traffic. We needed to find cover and fast to get away from these benders, they were keeping pace with us overhead and we weren't going to escape them if we couldn't outrun them.
Ascending some stairs I yelped, quickly pulling up on Naga's harness to keep her from slamming into a satomobile before having her turn and run along the bridge, jumping off onto the top of a moving train which she dug her claws into to drag herself upright. "Okay, this is not how I pictured our first day in Republic City going!"
"Are you kidding? This is way more fun!" Korra laughed however when a shadow loomed over us we both looked up to see an airship overhead. Just perfect. "Let's go girl!" Korra encouraged and Naga leaped forwards, clearing the train and landing on a building roof however as she took the next jump, wires shot down and wrapped around her feet and body whilst Korra and I were trapped together with a yell. "No way! Damn it, we were so close." I twisted slightly so that I could shoot her an evil glare.
"Close? Are you kidding me? I'm going to kill you Korra!" I threatened as she struggled, making the wires dig tightly into my body and I winced in pain as Naga whimpered and hung her head. "It's not your fault Naga, you did a great job." I assured her and she gave a soft snort as we were carried through the air all the way to the huge police station where we were booked and detained. Korra and I were separated though she protested, struggling against her captors until I calmed her down. "Just take it easy Korra, this will all be over soon." I smiled at her fearlessly. "Just try to be polite, okay?" Korra rolled her eyes but gave me a more relaxed smile all the same as I was placed in a different room on my own.
I must have been waiting there at least an hour before the door opened and in walked my uncle, looking stern faced and very angry with a bashful Korra at his shoulder. "Oh, hey Uncle Tenzin, what a surprise to see you here." I began with a measly laugh, rubbing the back of my head. "What did they bring you in for?"
"Enough with the jokes, young lady, this is a very serious matter. You are lucky that Chief Beifong and I have a good standing relationship otherwise you would be facing the full penalty!" He said to me with an angered tone so I lowered my head, feeling a little ashamed.
"Come on Tenzin, none of this was actually Kanna's fault, I was the one who wrecked the street, all she did was freeze that guy's head." Korra tried to come to my defence however my uncle sucked in a deep breath to try and stay calm before all at once turning around.
"You are both returning with me this instant. Let's go." Boy, he was angry. Stepping out of the interview room I instantly slipped my hand into Korra's, the two of us sharing a sigh of relief that we weren't going to face prison before following Tenzin to collect Naga. On the way we passed Chief Beifong, Toph's daughter Lin. I couldn't help but smile at her, giving a bright grin as I thought about the fact that her mother and my grandfather had been good friends. She, however, did not share the sentiment and merely looked back at me with a stern and disapproving look but that didn't faze me at all.
"Tenzin, please don't send me back home." Korra pleaded as I leaned against the desk, looking around me curiously.
"You blatantly disobeyed my wishes and the orders of the White Lotus!" He responded angrily and I flinched slightly. For a guy who was supposed to embody the ideals of peace and patience, he sure wasn't showing those qualities now. He could be kind of scary when he's angry.
"Katara agreed with me that I should come, she said that my destiny was in Republic City."
"Don't bring my mother into this!" He said before then turning on me. "This kind of behaviour is something I did not expect from you of all people, Kanna. What would your mother say when she finds out that you ran away from home all the way here?" He demanded however I just frowned at him.
"Um…good job?" To be honest, it's probably true. My mother was always off gallivanting so to be honest, that's exactly what she'd say. "I'm not a child anymore, Uncle Tenzin and I'm not the Avatar. I can leave home whenever I want to and who's to stop me from coming to see my family?" I reasoned with him smartly as I smirked and folded my arms. "There's nothing more that I want than to spend some time with my cousins and get to know them. I can be a big help, I can watch over the kids whilst Pema rests. Trust me Tenzin, you're going to need me." My uncle opened his mouth to argue however the words faltered as he failed to come up with an argument, so instead he smacked a hand to his forehead, growling slightly before shaking his head.
"That is not the point! Both of you should know better than to run away when people have already decided what is best for you!"
"Look, I can't wait any longer to finish my training. Being cooped up and hidden away from the world isn't helping me become a better Avatar. I saw a lot of the city today, and it's totally out of whack. I understand now why you need to stay, Republic City does need you, but it needs me too." Korra reasoned rather calmly and for the second time, Tenzin was left speechless. Thankfully he was rescued when a rather bedraggled porter arrived with Naga who was happily licking his face.
"Excuse me miss, but is this your polar bear dog?" He questioned and instantly both Korra and I flung our arms around Naga's neck.
"Naga! Good to see you again girl!" Happy to have her back we went obediently with Tenzin back to the island though our spirits were a little depleted. I had really hoped that Tenzin would simply accept us here but he didn't seem to be shifting his stance at all. Sure enough when we docked at the pier, a White Lotus ship was already there waiting for us. Well, it was fun whilst it lasted. I guess. Korra hung her head with a sigh as she led Naga forwards with me on her other side, however when we heard the kids call out our names we stopped and looked up to see them gliding down to us.
Ikki leaped up into my arms as Meelo jumped off of Jinora's glider and bounded into Korra's grasp as we all embraced, smiling at their winsome and excited faces. "Are you guys coming to live with us on the island?"
"No, sorry Ikki. I have to go home now." Korra said and I nodded my head in agreement so as her face fell in disappointment I hugged her tighter. We shared a moment together before I put Ikki down and gently guided the children back to their father who stood stoically.
"Goodbye you guys, next time I promise to visit for longer. I really want to get to know my adorable little cousins better, okay?" I said with a wave before turning around and walking towards the White Lotus guardians who looked less than happy with us.
"Wait." Tenzin suddenly called and both Korra and I whirled around to face him, hope shining in our eyes. "I have done my best to guide Republic City towards the dream my father had for it, but you are right. It has fallen out of balance since he passed. I thought I should put off your training in order to uphold his legacy, Korra, but you are his legacy." He said as he approached us and placed a hand on each of our shoulders. "You both are. You may stay and train air-bending here with me Korra and Kanna can remain as your companion at her leisure. Republic City needs its Avatar once again." Tenzin announced before his head bowed with weariness. "And I really could use some help with the children." He muttered as Meelo jumped onto his neck and hung from him rather awkwardly, making me laugh as Korra celebrated.
"Yes! Thank you Tenzin, you're the best!" Grinning broadly I grasped Meelo and Ikki into my arms with Jinora, hugging them close as we all whooped happily before Korra wrapped her arms around all of us as well as Tenzin to then lift us off the ground. I forget just how strong she is sometimes. Wrapped up in laughter I immediately punched the air.
"Alright! A brand new chapter in our lives starts right here, look out Republic City, the Avatar is coming your way!" I pointed towards the bright lights of the city before I turned and chased my cousins all the way back to the temple, happily playing chase with them as Tenzin exhaled with relief and began to make the permanent arrangements for us to stay here. It made me happy to be close to my family, ones I barely knew and I could not wait to get to know them better. What made it even better was that Korra was here with me too and as we lay back on our rather stiff and uncomfortable bed side by side, our large smiles did not disappear even as we fell asleep with our fingers laced together, the three kids sprawled over us like blankets.