Opal came back after the meeting between the world leaders to tell me that we weren't going to be getting any help from anyone to save her family. She was visibly agitated, angry even, so I comforted her. "It's alright, we don't need them. We'll save your family ourselves. I'm going to help you Opal, me and Fang here won't let you down." I promised as Fang lowered his head to rub against Opal in order to make her feel better. "Let us know when you're ready to leave. I assume Lin's going as well?"
"Yeah, thank you Kanna. You're a real friend." Opal said before hugging me, then thanked Fang too with a smile and scratched him under his chin. "Oh by the way, Bolin showed up. He said he'd got away from Kuvira and Varrick. Apparently Kuvira is building something using the spirit vines, a weapon." This did not sound good. Kuvira was really going crazy if she thought she could just build a weapon of mass destruction and use it on a whim. I'd bet anyone any amount of money that she had her eye on Republic City as of right now.
Opal and I stayed together for a little while, planning out how we were going to get her family back and figuring out all the recon we'd have to do, as well as planning for as many likely scenarios that we could think about. We then chilled for a while, though since Opal was reading a book I decided to stretch my legs for a while, Fang coming with me so I thought about maybe playing some fetch. I could throw a ball pretty much as far as I could since he could run over water. It wasn't a problem so that's what we did, only after a while I heard Bolin starting to call out.
"Pab-pabs, where are you?" He was calling Pabu and as I brightened, I quickly turned in order to go looking for him, following the sound of his voice. "Pabu! Oh, I missed you so much!" He was saying, his voice getting louder so I quickly ran towards it. "So I don't know if you've heard, but Opal's kind of mad at me. I was hoping you could help me win her back." Finally rounding the corner of the garden path, I saw him standing with Pabu who squeaked at him. "Awesome! Yes, I have an idea."
"Bolin!" Almost dropping Pabu with a yelp, Bolin then looked towards me and his eyes lit up as well.
"Kanna! You're here too? No way!" Rushing at one another, Bolin and I crashed into a hug as Fang came lolloping back with a ball in his mouth, dropping it down and panting, though when Bolin opened his eyes to see a giant spirit wolf-fox right in front of his face, he practically screamed. "Agh! Kanna look out!"
"It's okay!" I laughed as Bolin flung himself back and fell over, scrambling back comically as I scratched Fang's ears. "This is my friend Fang. He's like my spirit guide and companion. He's friendly I promise." Fang gave a sort of grin at Bolin, his tail wagging as my goofy friend picked himself up and dusted himself off.
"Oh well, then it's good to meet you Fang." Bolin said and stuck out his hand in order to offer a hand shake almost naturally before he realised that Fang didn't have a hand. "Ah…" Fang sat down and offered Bolin his paw, letting him shake it which only made Bolin grin. "Wow! Your spirit companion is so cool! He's like what Pabu is to me, right? Does he have any awesome spirit powers? Do you ride him into battle? How long have you known each other? Why didn't I see him before?"
"Well, Fang hung back out of sight when we saw you with Kuvira. He doesn't like her energy all that much, and yes I technically do ride on him because he's one of the fastest creatures in the world, even faster than an eel-hound. He can run over water, he can extend his tail and use it like a fifth arm which he usually uses to grab people, he can chew up mecha-tanks and spit them back out and he can share his feelings and memories through touch if he wants." I listened off everything I knew about Fang so far and to demonstrate, Fang closed his eyes and pressed his nose against Bolin's forehead, showing him some of his memories of him and me together, fighting against Kuvira's army and raiding prison camps to free the prisoners.
"That's amazing…wow, I heard about the camps after I left Kuvira, but I didn't…Kanna you gotta believe me, I didn't know everything that was going on. I thought we were just helping people, I had no idea she was throwing people in prison and forcing everyone to work for her! Really, I didn't know!"
"Calm down Bolin, I know." I assured him, rubbing his hair to tousle it softly. "You're too sweet and kind to go along with all that Kuvira did, you were just doing what you thought was right. Maybe you should have been in charge instead of Kuvira, then everything would have been fine." Bolin grew bashful at that, telling me not to be ridiculous and that he could never lead people like Kuvira could. Seeing him acting all goofy and adorable, I was glad that Bolin hadn't changed one bit since I last saw him. "I missed you Bolin." Reaching out I hugged him once more, making Bolin blink before he then returned the embrace.
"I missed you too. I would give you all the letters I wrote to you but unfortunately…they're all on Kuvira's train and I don't think she'll give them back to me." I laughed lightly.
"We'll have to grab them back once we beat her. I really want to read all those letters. I'm sorry I never told you where to find me, but I didn't want anybody to come looking. Why don't you tell me a bit of what happened to you since I left? I want to hear everything."
"That sounds great, but can we talk whilst I set something up? I want to make a gesture to Opal to tell her I'm sorry, and I thought maybe a romantic picnic might help." I arched an eyebrow.
"It's a lovely idea Bolin, but Opal is pretty mad. I don't think a picnic is going to solve everything." I said to him, making his shoulders slump so I reached out to him. "But I guess it's a good place to start. Come on, I'll help you and you can tell me everything." Brightening again, I waved to Fang for him to follow us so he picked up his ball. I bent the ice inside it that I'd purposefully made so that I could launch the ball far out to sea, making Fang bark excitedly before bounding after it as Bolin began to tell me everything that had happened, including what went down recently with Varrick and Kuvira with the spirit vines.
I couldn't believe it. She really was making a weapon out of them, and it sounded serious. If that kind of weapon reached Republic City, there's nothing we would be able to do to stop it. "So then Varrick and I helped the escaped prisoners get through the boundary, then boom we're back here. Honestly, it was crazy and I thought I was gonna die several times but I didn't, and now here we are." Bolin said as he and I laid out the blanket in a nice spot on the island so that he and Opal could maybe sit and talk things through whilst eating. "You know, I'm really glad you wrote to me and all Kanna, I was so relieved to hear that you were okay, but how come you never wrote to Mako? It really tore him out. I couldn't even share news about you after I left with Kuvira."
"I'm sorry Bolin, I didn't mean anything nasty by it, I just…couldn't think of anything to say to Mako. I still can't. Part of me doesn't want to see him again. I thought we were friends, but moment our bond was tested he pulled back and treated me like a dangerous criminal. He didn't trust me, just like my uncle, that's why I can't be near either of them right now." I explained as best I could as Fang came back so I threw the ball once more. "You heard what he said. He would have arrested me no matter what if he caught me blood bending in the city, almost like he expected me to do it."
"That was just Mako being dedicated to his job, I'm sure he wouldn't have…" I gave Bolin a look. "Okay, maybe he would, but Kanna…Mako and I both really care about you. Mako especially felt awful after you vanished. He took time off work to go looking for you, did you know?" Shaking my head, I stopped what I was doing to listen to Bolin. "Yeah, he went into a full on investigation to try and track you down, but he never came up with anything. He blamed himself back then for pushing you over the edge, and I think he still does. Won't you please go talk to him? Please? For me?"
"I can't Bolin. Not unless he comes here. I'm still banned from entering the city. If I go there, I'll be arrested." I pointed out so Bolin eagerly asked me if he brought Mako here, would I talk to him and try and straighten things out. "Well…maybe. I still feel pretty hurt you know. Korra's tough as nails whereas I'm more sensitive."
"Yeah I know, that's what makes you such a nice person. You're more in touch with your feelings and you're not afraid to let them show. It's not a bad thing at all, and you have every right to be upset after what happened. It wasn't a great experience, and no one felt good about it after." Smiling at Bolin I decided I should go now, getting up and ruffling his hair again before I then neatened it out, smoothing it so that he looked neat and presentable.
"I hope things go well with Opal. Good luck Bolin, just tell her honestly that you're sorry and that you know you made a mistake. Even if she stays angry at you after this, you've got to keep on trying. As long as you're sincere, she'll forgive you eventually." I advised him, giving him one last hug before then tickling Pabu. "It's all up to you now Pabu. I'll see you guys later." As Fang came back from fetching the ball, I swung up onto his back then let him run off with me, deciding that a thrilling ride over the ocean waves was exactly what I needed.
I didn't feel afraid of the ocean when I was with Fang, because I knew that he'd be able to save me. He could walk over water and he'd never let me fall, so I enjoyed the feeling of the wind whipping through me as the surf sprayed up against us occasionally, though it made me flinch at first I soon adjusted. Eventually though I just lay down and hugged Fang's glossy neck, feeling his spiritual warmth flow through me as he continued to run, letting me think my thoughts and wonder just how we were all going to fix this mess.
