Legend of Korra: Life
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights and characters to the Avatar Last Airbender & Legend of Korra Franchise, they are owned by Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino and other respective owners and creators. I gain no profit from this; it's purely for fun. I only own my OC characters.
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Chapter 4: The Search Begins Part II
The sun hung brightly high in the sky, looking down on the group as they continued their journey on the back of Oogi. Everyone kept their eyes peeled, staring across every part of the horizon, hopeful that they might catch even the slightest glimpse of Jinora and Kai. Any hint on the young Airbender's whereabouts would have been acceptable. However, travelling like this, wishing to stumble upon them was a fruitless endeavour.
Tenzin sat at the front, guiding his Air-Bison to where they needed to go. His gaze fixed in one direction. Despite his expression appearing calm and unmoving, the sound of his frantic heartbeat was almost as audible as the howling of the wind against their clothing.
Before long, he felt a comforting hand rub his arm and Korra seated next to him. He turned away shamefacedly. ''I'm sorry. I'm worrying everyone, aren't I?''
''Don't beat yourself up over this,'' Korra hushed. ''We're all worried about Jinora.''
''I know. But I'm finding it difficult to hold it together. It's bad enough that I don't know where my daughter is, but knowing that there is someone out there trying to hunt her down…'' His bottom lip quivered and there was a noticeable loss of breath. ''If anything were to happen to her, I could never forgive myself. She may be an awe-inspiring and incredible Airbender, but she is also my daughter.''
Korra nodded and turned towards the skyline, not responding to Tenzin at first, allowing the elder a moment to let the silence sink in and still his growing worry. ''I can't imagine what that's like. I don't want to assume that I know what you're going through. But, I do want you to know that we're Jinora's family too, and we're not going to stop until she's back home, safe and well.''
After a moment, Tenzin turned to face Korra and his lip curled into a small grin. ''Thank you.''
''Don't mention it.'' Korra smiled.
Another moment of peace passed between them before Tenzin cleared his throat. ''How about we change the topic for now? Just to keep our minds from becoming too clouded with worry.''
''I like the sound of that. What do you want to talk about?''
Korra noticed Tenzin glance her way before seemingly to bashfully turn the other way, leaving her slightly bewildered to see her master in such a state. ''Well…actually, you mentioning family reminded me of something I've been genuinely curious about. It's none of my business, and I would completely understand if you don't want to discuss this now, especially seeing as we're beginning a very serious mission and…''
''Okay, Tenzin, I'll bite. Why the ramble? Is something wrong?''
''No, no, not wrong. It's just a personal question and I wasn't sure how to ask.''
She gave him a hopeful grin. ''You can just ask.''
''Have you and Asami thought about…starting a family?'' He finally inquired. Korra's eyebrows rose into her hairline and she feared for a second that she would slip off of Oogi, but managed to adjust her balance and stare at Tenzin with wide eyes. Seeing her shock, Tenzin immediately apologised. ''I'm sorry. That was quite possibly the worst way I could have asked that question.''
''No, no, it's fine,'' Korra said, raising her hands to try and calm him down. ''I just…didn't expect a question like that.''
''It's just that…in all the years that I've known you, I've never been able to tell if you've wanted to have a family of your own.''
Letting the question sink in, Korra deliberated what she had just been asked. He hand gently patted against Oogi's saddle as she looked at the different clouds. Her mind was a muddle, trying to figure out the correct words. ''To be honest, I've never given it much thought.''
''You and Asami haven't talked about it?''
''Not really. We've just been focusing on ourselves.''
''There's nothing wrong with that.''
''I know,'' Korra paused and bit her bottom lip. ''I…I think I would like to. But how would we even start a family?''
''I'm certain that there are plenty of children out there hoping for adoption.''
''Yeah, but…I'm the Avatar. If I had children, who knows what kind of pressure the world would put on them? And I don't want that.''
Tenzin hummed amusedly. ''Believe me, I understand what you mean.''
''Did you ever feel that pressure growing up?''
''About being the son of the Avatar? No, not really. As far as I could remember, I had the ability to air bend, and that was where I found the true weight on my shoulders. There was more pressure on me to help restart the legacy of an entire culture, rather than be known as the offspring to Aang. My father never treated his role as the Avatar like a duty, more…just…as a part of himself. He didn't see himself as greater than others, instead, he would look at me as if I was the greatest thing he had ever laid eyes on.''
''Sounds nice.''
''Yes, it was,'' Tenzin look out into the distance. ''When each of my children was born, I had the exact same feeling. I saw Jinora, Ikki, Meelo and Rohan as my father saw me. That's what it feels like to be a parent.''
Korra beamed, seeing Tenzin so full of happiness, so much so that she could practically see the memories he was reliving play out in front of her. She looked behind, staring over at Asami who was in the middle of a conversation with the others. Her heart skipped a beat at the thought of them one day having a son or daughter, or even both. ''Maybe someday.''
''It's a decision only you two can make. You may change or mind one day, or you may not, it's up to you.'' Tenzin said.
They looked below Oogi, the ground unseen by the endless sea of clouds. Their options on where to look for Jinora was small, which meant that it should be relatively easy to start looking for her, however, they knew that their journey wasn't going to be as straightforward. Jinora was a very intelligent young woman. If she were on some kind of mission, so top secret that she wouldn't even involve Korra or her father, then she would constantly be on the move.
Not to mention the added obstacle that Shǔ represented. Even if they got to Jinora first, if they got to her, there was still the realistic worry that they could encounter the shadowy foe along the way. Although this troubled Korra and Tenzin greatly, for others, they relished the challenge.
Behind them, Meelo proclaimed proudly. ''You know, I think if we bump into Shǔ again, I could probably take him myself.''
Ikki rolled her eyes and turned to her brother. ''Oh really? Why do you think that?''
''Simple, he's a Waterbender, right? So, if we're going to be travelling across the land, we'll have the elemental advantage over him. He'll be outnumbered and outmatched. It'll be a piece of cake.''
Despite his confident tone, Ikki didn't look impressed. ''Is that what you think?''
''Absolutely,'' Meelo smugly replied. ''Don't worry, I'll make sure that you guys get some of the glory too.''
Whilst Ikki groaned loud enough to startle a flock of birds nearby, Asami giggled amusedly. ''Well, thank you for thinking about us too.''
''Don't mention it.''
The young man leant back, resting against the edge of the saddle and rested his head to look up at the wondrous sky. A mixture of blue and orange that could melt the icy tips of mountains, it felt like they were floating into another world.
Meelo's moment of tranquillity was interrupted when he felt an arm wrap tightly around his shoulder. At first, he was going to throw a snide comment, expecting it to be Ikki, but instead was surprised to see Bumi starting at him boldly. ''That is the kind of spirit that separates the adventurers from the Tenzin's. In all my years of service, I've found very few with that kind of bravado and confidence that you possess.''
''Really?'' Meelo beamed before he cleared his throat and folded his arms over his chest, radiating poise. ''I mean, of course. I laugh in the face of danger.''
Ikki smirked. ''Does the danger then laugh with you or at you?''
Before Meelo could throw a retort back at his sarcastic sibling, Opal, who had been very quiet since they started their journey, spoke up. ''You do realise where we're heading, right?''
Panicked looks shot across both Meelo and Bumi's faces. Meelo remained silent whereas Bumi stood up and pointed in the direction they were going. ''I know exactly where we're going. I wouldn't be a master tracker if I couldn't look out over that landscape and say we were heading in the direction of…'' He stalled his sentence for as long as possible, gazing around in the hopes of something jogging his memory and giving him a clue to answer his niece's question.
Not wanting to waste this opportunity, Ikki scoffed. ''You don't know, do you?''
''I do!'' Bumi argued. A few seconds of silence passed as the others waited for his answer. ''Can I ask for a hint first?''
''We're going to the Foggy Swamp,'' Asami answered. ''Korra can't go into the Spirit World, but there was nothing said in Jinora's message about not using the Swamp as a way to find her. She could connect with the spiritual energy there and hopefully, we can maybe find a clue at the very least.''
Opal quickly followed up. ''And the Swamp is mostly covered in water. So, if we come across Shǔ, he will actually have the advantage over us.''
A sense of dread slowly crawled its way into Meelo and Bumi. All of a sudden, his overwhelming confidence didn't shine as brightly as it did a moment ago. However, after a while, he shrugged his shoulders and smirked. ''It doesn't matter. We still outnumber him, and we have the Avatar on our side.''
The buoyancy quickly rubbed off on Bumi. ''That's exactly what I was thinking. I have been in many a situation where the odds were stacked against my crew and me, but we always pulled through. In fact, it happened so often, I was known as a lucky charm with whoever I sailed with.''
Seemingly, out of nowhere, Tenzin called out. ''I find that hard to believe, considering a vast majority of ships you sailed with sank in battle.''
''They didn't sink,'' Bumi shouted defiantly. ''They were…momentarily out of commission due to excess of enemy firepower. Besides, that would just make the victories at the end of the day taste even sweeter. For example…''
''Here we go.'' Tenzin exasperated under his breathe.
''There was this time we had found ourselves lost in the middle of an infinite desert. With no water and no hope of being found, we were on our own. It didn't help that we had five different Sandbender Tribes chasing us down…''
Once again, Tenzin mumbled under his breathe. ''Last time, he said it was three tribes.''
Korra quietly chuckled. ''He told me it was four.''
Hours passed by, filled up with Bumi's countless tales of his heroics, only interrupted by the occasional question asking about the validity certain events, which Bumi would always have some ludicrous answer for. Tenzin listened in, at least now having something to take his mind off of Jinora, if only a little bit. There was no guarantee that even the Swamp could provide them with the answers that they needed, but it was their best shot.
Korra wasn't sure if this was going to work. She had been practically barred from entering the Spirit World under Jinora's unusual instructions, but also couldn't seem to sense Shǔ beforehand when he escaped the city. Even if they couldn't find Jinora using the spiritual connection embedded within the roots of the Swamp, she hoped to at least understand why she couldn't sense the Waterbender at the time. Either way, she wasn't going to rest until she found one of them, whether it is separately or together.
It wasn't hard for them to find the Swamp once they got close enough. The tall trees and their sea of thick branches and vines stretched outwards, encompassing the land. Already, Korra felt her body become lighter and warmer. A sense of relief and serenity seeped into her very being, making her feel like a home away from home.
Tenzin carefully guided Oogi through the large branches. Swiftly passing over some and underneath others, until eventually, they found a large body of body, covered in moss. The Air Bison was clearly not too enthusiastic about dipping his feet into the murky water, so Tenzin glanced around until he found a root of a tree that was stable enough for them to land on.
One by one, the team dismounted off Oogi and took in their surroundings. Immediately, Korra's eyes were drawn to the familiar Banyan-grove tree, towering over everything in its sight. It was still a marvellous sight to behold even with the scars that Kuvira's battalion had inflicted two years ago. During that time, the tree had started to heal, with new life blossoming. Smaller tree and plant life rooted up from beneath the water's surface.
However, Korra knew that there wasn't much time to admire the natural beauty. Although, having returned here for the first time in quite a while, she felt compelled to do one thing before they ventured off to the epicentre of the Swamp.
She kneeled down, pressed her knuckles together and closed her eyes before taking a few soft breaths. A smile crossed her lips as memories flooded her mind, bringing with them a small wave of sadness.
The presence of another nearby caught her attention. She opened her eyes slightly and saw Opal resting on her knees next to her, taking the same pose as the Avatar and saying a silent prayer. It wasn't too long before Opal's gazed at Korra, eyes fluttering open, so clear that Korra could see her rippled reflection in them. ''I miss grandma Toph too.''
Korra offered a reassuring smile, quickly holding Opal's hand for support before the two of them stood back up and turned towards the others, who had allowed the two a moment to pay their respects whilst getting themselves ready.
''Do you think the tree will be able to help us find Jinora and Kai?'' Ikki asked.
''I'm not sure. But it's at least a good place to start,'' Korra replied. ''We'll head over, and maybe I could use the roots to find a trace.''
''Why couldn't we park on the actual tree itself?'' Bumi questioned.
''Ever since Kuvira's forces disturbed the Swamp, the trees have been extremely protective of the Banyan-grove,'' Tenzin answered. ''If we had attempted to land on it, we might have been attacked by the vines. We can settle Oogi here for now and walk the rest of the way. It shouldn't take us more than ten minutes to be there.''
Before another argument could be made, Korra stepped towards the edge and looked around for something. Eventually, she caught sight of a giant lily pad, big enough to carry all of them. Using her bending, she beckoned the waves to carry it over, gently so not to topple their mode of transportation. ''All aboard.''
Once everyone was on and they were certain their weight wouldn't cause them any problems, Korra directed the lily pad using the water. Meanwhile, the tired Air-Bison remained behind and rested himself on the root, taking a well-deserved rest.
They all kept their movement to a minimum, careful so not to tip themselves over and make their travel harder, or messier than it needed to be. All eyes were peeled, on the lookout for anything strange, however, there didn't appear to be anything out of place…and that's what was most troubling.
Asami turned to Korra, the Avatar waving her arms to keep pushing the waves against them. An anxious expression plastered over her face. ''Is it just me, or does the Swamp seem too quiet?''
''I was thinking the same thing,'' Korra responded. ''Where is the wildlife? The spirits? Anything?''
''Maybe they left when they heard us coming?'' Ikki suggested.
''I don't know,'' Korra muttered. She looked towards the distance, trying to see past the trees and further into the Swamp, however, the pitch-black shadows made that impossible. Anything or anyone could be hiding and they wouldn't have a clue. ''I've got a bad feeling about this.''
Bumi pondered, scratching the hairs of his beard. ''If it's us that the spirits are afraid of, then there's only one-way to find out,'' He shoved his hand into the collar of his jacket, fumbling around inside for a bit, earning a few perplexed looks from the others before he undid the zip a little. Just enough for something bright, blue and fluffy to hovered out from inside and nestle on his shoulder. ''I'm sorry it took so long, I hope you weren't cramped in there, Bum-Ju.'' He cooed to his little companion, who responded by nuzzling his head against the man's cheek.
''Was he sleeping inside your jacket the whole time?'' Opal questioned.
''Hey, he finds it quite snug in there. He can sleep in here for nights on end if he wants too.''
''Congratulations, Bumi,'' Tenzin mumbled. ''You have answered my eternal query on whether the spirits have a sense of smell.''
''Aww, thanks, I try to…'' Bumi beamed before his face dropped and he turned sharply towards his brother. ''One second, what's that supposed to mean?''
Suddenly, Bum-Ju's winged-ears perked upwards and his blue eyes appeared to bulge outwards in shock. He let out a frightened squeal before darting upwards like a missile. Somehow, Bumi reacted quick enough to reach up and grab the startled dragonfly bunny. He desperately tried to calm the spirit and pull him down, but the little guy almost pulled the Airbender up into the air in an impulsive attempt to escape.
No one was sure of what to do. They had never seen the spirit so scared before, and Bumi's heart was torn to see his friend in such a state. ''Bum-Ju, what's wrong?'' He cried out.
As he held on for dear life, almost being thrown into the water, the spirit continued to shriek.
Korra could see that Bum-Ju was trying to fly in a certain direction. A theory came to her and she turned in the opposite direction, watching behind them into a tunnel of shadow and darkness. There was no other sound besides Bum-Ju's until she felt the wind seem to pick up and the water trembled at an alarming rate, starting with small ripples before spiralling into small waves. She could feel that something was in the water, heading in their direction.
It quickly crossed her mind what was coming for them, or in this case, who.
''Everyone! In the trees, now!'' Korra yelled.
She didn't waste a second, quickly grabbing Asami by the waist and using her air bending to soar high into the air until they landed on one of the many thick branches.
Following her actions, everyone else was quick to find their own branch to call their own and hide on. Bumi didn't have to, as Bum-Ju was able to carry him upwards highest of them all, and they hid within the leaves and vines out of sight.
Once everyone was in the trees and hidden, all was quiet once more, even Bum-Ju's cries had ceased now that he had gotten what he wanted. Asami leant in close to whisper to Korra. ''What is it?''
''He's here.''
Sure enough, just a mere moment later, something rocketed from out of the shadows. It skidded along the surface at tremendous speed before coming to a halt right next to the giant lily pad. Korra's body tensed once she caught a good look at Shǔ. The hooded figure eyed the plant curiously, and Korra feared that he had spotted them before they had a chance to properly hide.
Shǔ's head tilted upwards, scanning the area around him, possibly looking for the disturbance he had felt in the water. He moved slowly and deliberately, as if afraid if he rushed he might pass over a vital detail.
Korra glanced over towards the others, seeing each of them remaining as still and quiet as possible. She caught Tenzin looking back at her, and the two appeared to be considering their options through looks alone. It didn't seem like Shǔ saw them move, otherwise, he would have surely attacked them at this point. They had the element of surprise on their hand, but did they really want a fight?
After what seemed like forever, Shǔ turned around and looked towards the Banyan-grove tree. His head lowered and he took one step backwards. It was only then that Korra realised the individual was standing on the very surface of the water. Droplets flowed up along his shoes and froze into ice. Shǔ walked towards the tree on top of the water, then he started to run, before suddenly going into a full-on sprint.
Once they were sure that Shǔ was far enough away, the group let out a collective breath of relief. ''That was close,'' Meelo stressed.
Ikki turned towards him with a smug look. ''I thought you wanted to find him so that you could fight him!''
Meelo did everything in his power not to look his sister in the eyes. ''I…I wasn't ready. Gotta get myself prepared, you know!''
''We're not here to fight Shǔ,'' Opal stressed. ''We're here to find Jinora and Kai.''
''But Shǔ is heading in the direction we were going,'' Ikki pointed out. ''So what do we do now?''
It was just as Korra feared. She had hoped that they wouldn't cross paths with the Waterbender, at least not until after they found Jinora and Kai, and had a better understanding of what they were dealing with. The only positive they could take from this sighting was that Shǔ hadn't found Jinora yet and was probably still looking for her.
That's when an idea came to her. ''We follow him.''
''What?'' Everyone gasped.
''Are you sure that's a good idea?'' Asami asked.
''Look, if we want to have any chance of finding Jinora, we need to get to that tree. But…if Shǔ is here, then maybe he might think Jinora and Kai are here too, or maybe he's going to use the tree somehow, I don't know,'' Korra strained, doing her best to keep her composure. ''Shǔ, doesn't know that we're here. As long as we keep our distance, and stay out of the water, we can follow him and see what he's up to. At the very least, we can catch this guy and make sure that he's not out there hurting anyone else.''
Tenzin breathed heavily. ''It's risky.''
''I know. But at this point, we have to take some risks.''
To Be Continued…
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