Riding on Naga behind Korra I leaned out a little to look at ahead to where the facility lay. The powdery snow rushed beneath us as Korra pushed Naga to run as fast as she could whilst everyone else rode Oogie above us, everyone tense with worry however the moment we arrived Korra practically flung herself from the saddle and I had to rush to catch Naga's reins and pull her up as Korra went racing towards the figure who had come out to greet us. "Mom!"
"I'm so happy you're here." Senna, Korra's mother, quickly embraced her daughter tightly and held her close. Looking around I noticed how there were less Lotus guards around the place and Naga was acting twitchy, whimpering slightly as I got down so I patted her head to comfort her.
"Mom, where's Dad? Is he okay?" Almost instantly Senna began to tear up with sadness, causing my chest to clench uncomfortably. This can't be good.
"Unalaq wiped out the entire Southern resistance and captured your father." Korra stood in stunned silence for a moment, completely motionless as I approached with Naga at my shoulder and the others landing behind us, the great Sky Bison causing a slight tremor in the ice with its weight. By the time I reached Korra she had recovered from her shock and was now wearing a determined expression, clenching her fists tightly until her knuckles paled.
"I'll get him back mom, I promise." Senna nodded her head before turning to Tenzin who approached with my mother and Uncle Bumi behind him, carrying poor little Jinora in his arms.
"Where is my mother?"
"She's in the healing hut. So many are injured, Master Katara is quite overwhelmed. Come, I'll bring you to her." Senna gestured for us to follow so I made sure Naga knew to stay put, both Korra and I glancing at one another in preparation for whatever lay behind the doors of the healing hut. When I looked inside, I had to cover my mouth with a hand to try and hide my shock. There were dozens of water tribe warriors sprawled out on beds covered in bandages and there was a strong smell of different ointments in the air meant for sterilising wounds and others for reducing bruising. I couldn't help but feel even angrier than before. These were my people that Unalaq was walking over, he has no right to do this. No right at all!
"What happened?" Gran-gran questioned as she approached us, eyes fixed upon Jinora who was unmoving still in her father's arms who looked morose and worn out as he answered.
"Her soul is trapped in the Spirit World."
"Oh, my goodness. How long has she been away?"
"Almost a week." My mom answered, stepping forwards with a fearful expression as she placed a hand upon my shoulder. "Kanna and I have tried to keep her energy flowing but we can feel her slipping away. You're the only one who can help her now, mom." Gran-gran looked startled, looking around at us all before looking back at Jinora and then to the rest of her patients, all in desperate need of attention.
"I can help out here Gran-gran, leave it to me." I assured her, stepping forwards and opening my flask to immediately start bending the water out, focusing as I separated it into several balls of water which I then guided to different patients and started to accelerate their healing with the energy of the water, keeping careful concentration as everyone else moved to a quieter room. Several people bowed to me in thanks, welcoming me back but I barely managed to give a reply as I kept my mind focused on my task. There were just so many injuries, no wonder my grandmother had looked so drained, she must be exhausted.
I did all I could with what I had and soon most of the wounded soldiers were resting and recovering which was a small comfort to me. At least Unalaq didn't win with these guys. "Hey sweetie, we're all meeting outside to talk. Are you coming with us?" Mom questioned as I stood up from securing a bandage and wiped my brow with my arm and took a quick breather.
"Sure, I'm coming." Stopping by one last guy to make sure his fever had gone down I noticed how my mother was watching me with a smile, making me frown. "Was there something else?"
"No, I was just thinking how proud I am." She told me, making me stop short of what I was doing. "You really know your stuff, you're a better healer than I ever was, maybe even better than Gran-gran. I've never seen someone heal the way you do, it's quite amazing." She said to me as she walked forwards until she placed one hand on my shoulder and the other lifted up to tuck my braids behind my ear. "I know you're still mad at me, but I want you to know that I'm here for you. This has to be hard for you, so if you need to talk then you know where to find me, okay?"
"Um…sure." Mom smiled at me and before I realised what was happening, she had leaned forwards and kissed me on the head. I blinked in surprise, staring at her as she playfully ruffled my hair then left me alone, following Tenzin and Korra outside just as my grandmother appeared at my shoulder.
"She's doing her best, you know. Maybe you shouldn't be so hard on your mother and give her another chance. All she wants is to make things right with you."
"Who said I was being hard on her? I'm not being hard on her what gave you that idea?" I shrugged it off rather too quickly, my face crumbling into a myriad of emotions, mostly confliction. "Besides, it's not right what she did. She just ran off into the blue and left me behind, what am I supposed to think about that?" I reasoned however my grandmother just gave me that all-knowing smile of aged wisdom.
"You two are more alike than you think. Perhaps if you understood yourself a little better, you will be able to understand one another." She said before taking the bundles of blankets from my arms. "Go on now, you children have a long and hard road ahead of you. You'll need each other if you're going to succeed." Before I knew it I was being chased out into the snow, my grandmother ushering me out of the healing hut and towards the others who had all gathered and Bumi was talking about one of his many adventures.
"You know, I was in a similar situation once. My platoon had crawled through the desert with no water for a week but when we finally located the only oasis for a hundred miles, it was surrounded by angry sand benders. I realized our only chance to get to the water was to drop in from above. So I fashioned together a catapult and with the help of a few well trained hog-monkeys…"
"Enough of your ridiculous lies! Can't you see that the fate of the world and Jinora's life depends on what we do here today?" Tenzin demanded angrily, cutting off his older sibling who balked in surprise before looking rather hurt. Poor Bumi, I sure hated it when people just wrote him off like that.
"Hold on, maybe Bumi's right. We don't have a catapult and hog-monkeys, but we have a flying bison and there's a plane on Varrick's ship. Maybe we can attack from above." Asami reasoned, trying to calm everyone down and come up with a reasonable plan. Mako, Bolin and I can use the plane to create a distraction and scatter some of the defences. Korra, you and Kanna as well as Tenzin, Bumi, and Kya can fly into the spirit portal on Oogie when you see an opening."
"Sounds good to me. We should get moving." Korra nodded her head however I lifted my hand.
"Just a moment, if you guys are attacking from the air then I think I should take Naga and attack from the ground. It'll be a perfect diversion. Whilst everyone below is watching you guys and trying to take you out, I can attack the fort from the ground and crash straight through them." I said before pulling up the snow beside me and forming it into an ice spear which I gripped in my hand. "With all this snow and ice around, I'm completely in my element. I can easily create an avalanche and knock out any defences they might have, giving you guys a better opening."
"That I like even more. Okay Kanna, you take Naga and follow us. Let's just hope this works." Korra said, bumping fists with me as she walked towards Oogie. I dropped the spear, allowing it to melt back into the snow before whistling for Naga who pricked up her ears then bounded over to me with a bark and a lick of my face.
"Hey girl! Gross!" I chuckled just as Pabu scampered up my body then curled himself around my neck. "Oh hey there Pabu, are you coming with me? Alright then just be careful, I don't think I could ever face Bolin again if something were to happen to you." I tickled the little fire ferret under his chin before making sure Naga was all saddled up and ready to go, checking the straps. There was the sound of snow crunching underfoot so I turned around to see my mother and Uncle Bumi coming towards me.
"Be careful honey, okay? I don't want you getting hurt so if you get into any trouble then just send up a signal. I'll be watching." Mom said to me worriedly, gripping my shoulders however Bumi just laughed boisterously and placed a hand on his sister's shoulder.
"Kanna will be fine, right Kanna? There isn't anybody alive who's as brave and courageous as our girl here. You be sure to watch out for any sneak attacks, if you know what I mean." Bumi murmured to me with a hand lifted up to hide his mouth as if it were some big secret, however his antics only made me laugh.
"Sure thing Uncle Bumi and don't worry, I believe your stories." I said to him, making him smile happily before he ruffled my hair and called for my mom to hurry it up and that we were moving out. "Hey mom?" I spoke, making her pause and look back towards me hopefully as I shifted from foot to foot, unsure of what else to say. "I just…I just…wanted to tell you to be careful. I know any water bender Unalaq has under his command is going to be no match for either of us but still, don't do anything reckless and make sure Korra doesn't do anything like that either. So…uh…" Mom wheeled around and grasped me in her arms, squeezing me in a hug so tight I felt my back click.
"Don't worry sweetie, everything is going to work out just fine, you'll see." She promised me softly and for a brief moment, I felt totally relaxed in her arms. I felt warm and comfortable, like I was untouchable and safe. This was how it was supposed to be, but then my own pride made my hands push her away from me before all of my walls could crumble away.
"Yeah. Okay. See you on the other side." I blabbed quickly before leaping up into the saddle. "Let's go Naga, no time to waste!" We launched forwards with her howl ringing in the air and as I travelled across the land the others streaked ahead in the sky, leaving me feeling rather alone amongst the endless white and blue of snow and sky. I just hope we aren't too late. Forget about Vaatu and Unalaq, if we can't get to Jinora in time then all of this would be meaningless.
