Turns out, train rides aren't all that comfortable, and there were way too many people which meant it was hard to move without following the crowd. I almost lost sight of Mako and Bolin but they both managed to keep sight of me since I was taller and more distinctive since I was the only one around here wearing blue. Bolin grabbed my hand before I could get lost, the two brothers keeping me close until the crowds passed and we could finally breathe again. "Alright, let's see if we can catch a train back to the upper ring."
"Sounds perfect." I cannot wait to get back. I'm hungry and sore, I want to take a long bath and soak away the events of today. We headed on over to the other side of the platform where another train carriage was waiting to depart, however we were stopped from boarding by the guard who requested to see our passports and tickets.
"We can pay, hold on." Mako and Bolin started to root around in their pockets, but they came up empty, making them both frown in confusion. "Where's my money?" Please tell me this isn't happening. "No. Kai wouldn't...aw, man!" You've gotta be kidding me. Neither of them have their wallets. "Kanna, you have money right?" I drew a blank.
"I've never needed money before. I got nothing." We're doomed.
"Alright, beat it you three, before things get ugly." We were pushed backwards away from the carriage, making my eyes widen in surprise as the brothers both protested at being treated so roughly, however Mako noticed some more official looking guards watching us so he put his hand on my shoulder and made us all leave. No wait, we can't leave, we have to get back!
"What are you doing? That carriage is the only way back to the upper ring, we have to get on!" I began to panic, feeling extremely lost and even a little frightened as Mako and Bolin brought me outside before just staring blankly for a while, looking at the scene of the lower ring before us as I quietly started hyperventilating. We're lost. We're trapped. Are we going to be stuck here forever? What do we do? Where's my uncle when I need him? I want to go home!
"The bad news is, we're stuck here. The good news is, you can go the bathroom wherever you want!" Bolin tried to make light of the situation but Mako was unimpressed, but when the brothers started to hear my hyperventilating and turned around to see true panic on my face, Bolin quickly reached for me. "Hey Kanna! What's the matter? Are you okay?"
"We can't…we have to go back. We can't be here, we have to go back right now!"
"That's not going to happen anytime soon." Mako told me bluntly as Bolin fluttered around me helplessly as I clenched my fists and lowered my head, feeling a strong sense of urgency to return to my family as nerves started to knot themselves in the pit of my stomach. "They'll come looking for us eventually, so we just have to sit tight until then."
"No, no, no you don't understand, I've never been away from my own family, not since I was born. I can't be here, I need to go back!"
"But you left home already, didn't you?" Bolin frowned in confusion as I looked at them both, tears streaming as I cried in a panic, making both of them gape at me and start to get flustered as they tried to calm me down.
"I was with Korra! I've been with my family my whole life, people of the Water Tribe have a deep sense of family and community, you know? I've never been separated from them before in my entire life, I've always been with someone in my family, my uncle, my Gran-Gran, my cousins…I've never been without them before, I don't know what to do. I'm…I'm scared…I don't like this place. Where are we going to sleep? How are we going to eat? What if they never find us and we can't even get home?!"
"Ah! Please don't cry, no, no don't cry, it's gonna be fine, you're with us! Me and Mako used to live on the streets so this isn't going to be a problem. We'll look after you Kanna, you're not alone." Bolin fussed, trying to comfort me by patting my back as I sniffed, unable to stop crying until Mako suddenly pulled me against him, placing his arm around my back and his other hand over my head so that my face was hidden from view.
"It's okay Kanna." He said to me in a firm but gentle voice, letting me cry into his shirt as he took charge, being the oldest of us here and being used to the role as big brother. "We'll figure this out together, but you need to calm down." Gulping down my sense of separation, I gripped onto Mako's jacket as Bolin came up and hugged me from behind, his arms winding around both me and his brother so that we were like some kind of whacky sandwich.
"Your family's right here Kanna, because we're here!" Bolin promised me so with that kind of mind set, I was able to take deep breaths and calm down, drying my face and apologising for losing my cool. Since it was too late for there to be anymore train carriages, Mako and Bolin found us a place to sleep, which unfortunately was outside and by a dumpster.
"You're kidding, right?" I asked sceptically, my face contorting with disgust at the dirty floor, the smell of rotting foods and pretty much everything else that made this the last place in the world I wanted to sleep for the night. "You guys used to sleep like this all the time?"
"No need to look so grossed out, it's not like we had a choice where we slept back then." Mako quipped at me so I dropped slightly, feeling guilty.
"N-No…I didn't mean it like that. I just like to be clean and, you know, not smell of garbage." I said to him, lifting my foot away from a suspiciously yellow looking puddle. "Is there really nowhere else we can stay?"
"Since none of us have money, we can't rent a room or anything so this is as good as it's going to get." Bolin explained to me cheerfully, totally upbeat about the situation. "Oh, and I'd cover up that necklace if I were you. If someone sees it whilst you're sleeping, they'll probably steal it." I instantly jumped to cover my throat, alarmed at the information.
"But my Gran-Gran gave me this necklace, it used to be her mother's, it's a family heirloom." Protectively holding my neck, I looked around for something to try and hide it with but had nothing, so in the end I just took it off and slipped it into my top in order to keep it safe. I mean, I'd know if someone was trying to cop a feel if I was sleeping, right? I'm a light sleeper anyway, Korra always wakes me up with her kicking and turning in her sleep.
"People don't care about that kind of stuff. If they see something of value, they'll take it if they can." Mako said as he and Bolin made themselves comfortable on the driest spots they could find. "Just come sit down. Try not to think about the smell." Still rather repulsed, I squeezed in past the cart that the guys had chosen to sleep behind as they'd said it provided cover and kept them out of sight of the street, so we'd less likely become targets.
"So you guys really used to live like this? I know you told me and all, but actually seeing it is another thing." Deciding I didn't like the bare ground because I just didn't trust it, I poured out all the water from my pouch and froze a nice area for myself where I could sit on the ice and at least be clean.
"We got by." Mako answered before we both looked at Bolin who was already snoring, fast asleep. Guess they really were used to this kind of thing. For a while I just sat there on my ice bed feeling miserable. I hated this place. It reeked of all kinds of things I didn't even want to know about, the people were mean, it was dirty, and we had no food or money. Being poor must really suck, I never knew how easy I had it all my life. Everything had just always been provided for me, so I never really thought about where everything came from, or about people who'd gone without.
Noticing that Bolin was shivering, the newspapers kept on flapping in the breeze which made him whimper in his sleep so I got up and untied the waist skirt I was wearing, the lining of fur and thick material perfect for a blanket, which was why I always wore it back home. It always paid to have an extra layer, and since coming to Republic City, it was just a habit. Opening it out, my skirt was large enough to cover Bolin's body, his legs sticking out the other end and once I'd laid it over him, he instantly snuggled into it with a happy, sleepy smile which made me giggle quietly. He really was cute.
"Thank you." Mako said to me as I sat back down on my ice floor. "But won't you be cold?"
"I'm used to the South Pole, this kind of cold doesn't bother me at all." I said to him as I hugged my knees against my chest. "I know you think I'm just some naïve, spoiled girl who's had it easy all her life, but I don't want that to make you look down on me. It's not a competition or anything, but I've had my fair share of difficulties too, just different to yours. All of us have a struggle in our lives, Uncle Tenzin says that it's not until we've experienced true suffering that we can know our true selves. I don't exactly agree, I just think life is unfair."
"It is unfair, and I don't think that way about you at all Kanna." Mako said to me as we stayed up talking for a while. "I think you don't know a great deal about the real world yet, but you're not naïve. Besides, you don't act all high and mighty like most of the entitled, wealthy people I've come across. You're a good person." Smiling at him gently, I noticed that the stars were starting to come out and it was getting quieter.
"Bolin said before we left something about you drifting, and you mentioned you felt like you were pulling apart from the rest of us." I began, wanting to talk some more and also feeling like I should reassure Mako that this wasn't the case. "You may feel that way, but the rest of us don't see it like that at all. In fact, if anyone feels like the odd one out of the group, it's me. You all get along so well. First you, Bolin and Korra were all playing pro-bending together, then Asami showed up and you two started dating, then everyone started getting closer and after we took down Amon, you all started getting your own jobs and moving on with your lives. Korra had her Avatar duties and I was just…left behind. I felt stranded, a little like I do now, like I was just a side character and you guys were the main act."
"That's not how it is at all Kanna, you're our friend and you've helped us a lot. You helped me save Bolin from the chi blockers that time, and you're the only one who actually tells Korra when she's being unreasonable or making a mistake. You were the only one who kept on trying to get us all together after work started get in the way, reminding us it was important to spend time together as a group, and when that didn't work out too well, you'd always come check in on us individually." Mako reasoned before he smiled nostalgically. "I'll admit, I always looked forward to when you came around because you always brought my favourite foods and snacks."
"That's because you forget to eat all the time, Mr Detective." I teased him, nudging at his leg with my foot and he chuckled softly.
"What I'm trying to say is, you're just as important to this team as the rest of us are, so don't put yourself down Kanna. I mean, after I broke up with Korra, for a while you were the only one who would talk to me normally. Even Bolin seemed nervous around me for a while" Mako said to me so I looked over at Bolin who was still snoring.
"Well…Bolin is sensitive to other people's emotions. That's what I liked about him in the first place." I mused before then turning back to Mako as I lay down on my ice bed, preparing to get some rest and hope this nightmare would soon be over. "We were friends before you dated Korra and Asami, so I just figured since you broke up with your girlfriend, you needed a friend too." It seemed Mako didn't have anything to say in answer to that as he was quiet thereafter. He seemed to brood over it for a while so I closed my eyes and went to sleep, waking slightly whenever I heard or sensed movement.
At most it was just Bolin and Mako turning over in their sleep, Mako being the closest to me. I guess he must have felt guilty for me wearing very little in terms of clothes that covered my arms, torso and neck because he actually took off his own jacket to put it over me as well as his scarf, rolling it up to make me a pillow which he carefully placed under my cheek after lifting my head. I felt him try his best to make me comfortable, putting my beaded braids away from my face and brushing lightly at my jaw with his fingers before he turned over and went to sleep, using his fire bending to keep warm.
It made me smile, thinking briefly just how soft centred he was just like his brother. They really were two of a kind.
