Hello, all! Kris here! :)
figured id update, ive been itching to write this again! this chapter is a bit long, and a bit fluffy, but it really establishes Korra's place with the bending brothers, and gives us an insight to how she really could fit in with them as an outcast... time jump will occur soon enough! enjoy, and please review! any feedback is greatly appreciated!
Mako pressed his head against the cold brick wall of his tiny cell, face stained from crying so much. He'd been staying strong since his parents died, not showing any sort of emotion for Bolin's sake, and being the adult and protector his father would have wanted him to be. He reached up to his neck to touch his beloved scarf, and his stomach dropped when he made the realization.
It wasn't there anymore.
He began to panic, feeling around the dank little cell for it's familiar frayed ends, but came up empty handed. He thought it was impossible to feel any worse, but he took it back now. He slumped forward, beginning to cry again. He'd been feeling confident these past few months, making money, taking care of his little brother, and protecting himself… but now? He felt exactly how he looked. A scared, tiny little kid.
He hoped they'd just let him curl up and die already, he didn't want to do this anymore.
000000000000000000000
Korra and Bolin bounded through the dark streets of the city, catching passerby and policemen off guard. They'd been shouted at, a frustrated store owner had even thrown a rock, but Naga was way too fast. Korra felt on top of the world as they got closer and closer to the town plaza, and central city station.
"There!" Bolin shouted, pointing to a group of rough looking street kids near the statue of fire lord Zuko which lit up the entire area. "Those are Shin's friends… they're bad news… Shin is there too…" he shrank a little behind Korra, who looked back at him with sympathy. Something lit a fire in her gut when she thought of bullies, and it seemed as though Bolin had been roughed up by these nasty kids before. Narrowing her eyes, she nodded and steered Naga out of sight.
Soon, she and Bolin climbed down, and Korra rubbed her muzzle gently.
"Stay here, girl… and when I call, you know what to do…" Naga backed into the shadows as if she understood, and lay down. Bolin seemed to hang back, and Korra quirked a brow.
"What's wrong, buddy?"
"They're really mean… what if they hurt me again?"
Korra shook her head, and grabbed a hold of your hand. "With a big bad waterbender and polar bear puppy on your side? No way…" Bolin's frown disappeared, and she suddenly decided she'd start to hate herself a little bit less from now on. She nudged him forward, and he walked confidently towards the group of children, Korra trailing behind.
The kids soon took notice, and turned around. Shin smiled, and the young avatar knew right away that he was bad news. Bolin didn't seem to care though, for he gazed at him without flinching.
"Shin, I need your help."
His friends began to giggle, and Shin rolled his eyes.
"What do you want, runt? I've told you, we can accept crybabies in the triads… maybe some day… where's your brother? He's the one I'm really interested in…"
"Mako went missing." Bolin said, almost beginning to cry again. "Did you see him?"
Shin looked surprised, and got to Bolin's level. Korra raised her eyebrows. Maybe Shin wasn't a jerk after all… he was about to console him.
"Really? No way…" Bo nodded sadly, and Shin shook his head. "Man, that's too bad… I knew it would only be a matter of time… he's been talking about it for awhile…" the earthbender looked confused.
"Wh-what? Talking about what?"
"You mean you didn't hear?" Shin asked, not even caring that Korra was a few feet away. "Mako finally got sick of taking care of you! He left!"
Bolin looked like someone had just punched him in the gut.
"W-what? He… w-what?"
Shin sighed. "Man, I wish I didn't have to be the one to tell ya, buddy…" his friends began to crack up, and Korra clenched her fists, anger rising in her gut. "He said you were a huge handful… that you cried too much… yeah, he skipped town earlier today… he's probably halfway to Ba Sing Se by now!"
Bolin shook his head quickly, and tears welled up in his eyes. He was about to start wailing, but suddenly, Korra spoke up.
"Youre lying, and you know it! Mako wouldnt ever do it, but if you've seen him, you better talk… or else…" Shin and his friends looked at her, and began to laugh.
"Thats a good one, little girl… why dont you shut your mouth, huh? Everyone already knows Mako is sick of this little grease ball…" he drew some water from a pouch on his back, and turned it into a sharp icicle, drawing it close to Bolin's button nose. "Whoa! Careful! Want to lose it?"
Korra let out a loud whistle, to which all the kids winced, and jumped back.
"Whoa! What was that? I told you to shut your mouth!" Shin exclaimed, glaring at her.
Korra smirked as Naga crept from the shadows, towering behind the kids who hadn't seen her yet. She let out a low, deep growl, and snorted onto their necks. They all turned around, and when they did, she opened her wide maw, full of sharp teeth, and one that could engulf their whole heads before roaring as loudly as Korra had ever heard her before.
All of the kids tumbled onto their backs, beginning to cry. A flash of white sent them each flying away, and Shin remained. He tried to use a water whip, but Naga was too strong, and pinned him in place with a paw that took up almost his whole chest. It had only been a month since Korra found her, but she had grown quick. She leaned in close, teeth bared, her big brown eyes burning into his. He began to shake, all confidence gone. Bolin gasped, but smiled, holding onto Korra's arm.
"I'll ask you one last time, because Naga sure is hungry…" she muttered, her eyes dangerous. "Where… is…. Mako?" Shin started to cry, struggling as Naga snarled at him.
"I- I don't know! Please don't eat me! I'm sorry!" Korra walked closer.
"You've seen something… you had to have seen something."
Shin began to go silent, staring at Naga in fear. He finally gasped, and nodded.
"Y-yeah! I did! I s-saw Mako earlier today… he was… he was running from something… he dropped a loaf of bread, and cops were chasing him… I don't know anything else! Please don't kill me!"
Korra nodded.
"Naga, heal." Naga stepped off of Shin at once, swishing her tail in disgust, and walking back towards the shadows. Korra smiled at him. "And which direction did he go in?"
Shin's knees knocked together as he pointed towards the east. Bolin laughed.
"Thank you kindly… hopefully we won't have to do this again." she whistled, and Naga bounded over, barking before scooping both her and Bolin onto her back once more. Korra held on tight, feeling Bolin's arms wrap around her waist and laughed loudly as her younger companion stuck his tongue out at the still shaking Shin.
Once they were out of sight, Naga slowed to a trot, sniffing along for any sort of clues. It had gotten even later, and there was barely anyone around. Bolin sighed, leaning against her shoulder. She looked back at him.
"You okay?" he shook his head.
"Mako was being chased by the cops… what did he do wrong? Did he hurt somebody?"
Korra kept her eyes ahead, knowing a six year old's mind tended to wander. "No, Bo… I don't think he would. Not unless that somebody was trying to hurt you… Shin said he dropped bread, remember? He could have just gotten busted and needed to hide out somewhere…"
"But what if he got thrown in the jail?" Bolin asked, holding her tighter. She shook her head.
"He's too little… they wouldnt put him there, would they?"
Bolin shrugged. "I dunno… last time a kid got caught taking food he did… and they couldn't get him out…"
Korra urged Naga ahead a bit quicker.
"Lets search the city a bit first, okay?" They went on for what seemed like hours, calling Mako's name, asking other street kids, when finally, they got into the part of town that housed the orphanage. There was a fountain in the town square here, and Naga walked over to it, lapping up some water greedily. Korra hopped down, as did Bolin, and they began to walk around.
A few minutes passed, and suddenly, Bolin let out a yelp as something tripped him, and he tumbled to the ground. Korra looked up, quickly walking over to him, and offering a hand.
"Whoa, you okay?" she asked. "What did you fall from?" Bolin looked around, rubbing his head.
"I dunno… something caught my foot…" he looked at the ground before jumping in surprise. "No way!"
The avatar watched as he bent down, picking up a familiar looking frayed scarf. Bolin smiled brightly, hugging the fabric to his chest.
"This is Mako's scarf! It's really his! He's here! MAKO!?" he called, and Korra smiled along with him. She opened her hands, and Bolin passed the fabric to her. "What are you doing with it?"
"Naga is really good at stuff like this, watch!" she looked up. "Naga! C'mere!" the polar bear puppy bounded over to them, and she held out the red article of clothing to her pet. "Sniff, like we practiced, okay? Find Mako." Naga stuck her nose to it quickly, sniffing for a few seconds before raising her head, and sniffing at the air. She started to wag her tail, moving forward, her nose inches from the ground.
"Good girl!" Korra praised, walking after her, a nervous and excited young earthbender following behind. Naga continued for a few blocks before suddenly stopping short. Korra looked up, a huge brick building with a sinister feeling looming ahead of them. Bolin gasped, and held Mako's scarf tighter.
"Oh no…. No, no… he can't be…"
"What?" Korra asked, not understanding the danger. "What is it?"
"Orphanage…" Bolin whispered, backing up a bit. "Mako told me that if we ever got sent here we were in big trouble… they're scary… and they hate street kids who steal… and M-Mako stole…"
Naga sat down, and Korra patted her head as a thank you. She stood tall, and looked ahead at it, though inside she was screaming in fear. She remembered Mako's devotion to his little brother, and if their roles were reversed, she had no doubt Mako would have already been inside by now.
"You sure about this, girl?" Naga Barked and wagged her tail, whining and looking ahead at the building, and Korra sighed. "Let's go, Bolin… we'll get him back."
"But how?"
She smiled, and grabbed a hold of Naga's reigns with a wink. "The fun way, of course." She climbed onto her back, and helped Bolin up. "Hold on tight little buddy…"
"We're coming bro!" Bolin yelled, and Korra cracked the reins. Naga began a fast charge as they came up to the heavy wooden doors, fast. The attendant standing outside dropped the bedsheets she was carrying, and screamed, diving out of the way. With an explosive crash, the doors flew off the hinges.
0000000000000
It had to be more towards the end of the night, the time where it was still dark out, but the cool mist of the morning air was starting to show itself. Mako exhaled, warming himself up with firebending, and lighting the dim and murky cell. His eyes were glazed over. He was exhausted, but refused to sleep. His nerves were wound into a tight little ball, and rest was far from his reach. He was about to try to doze off for the fifth time that night, when suddenly, loud screams from above made him jump nearly ten feet.
"Catch those brats!" he heard shouted upstairs, and he heard the distinct sound of a dog barking… a big dog… except the orphanage didn't have dogs...
"Whoa, Naga!" he heard a familiar voice cry. No way… could it be?
"Korra, that way!" a higher pitch demanded. He felt so relieved he could cry. He stood up in his cell, banging on the bars.
"BOLIN!" he screamed, throwing himself against them. "KORRA!" the commotion still continued, so he yelled once more: "NAGA!"
Korra gasped as her polar bear dog's ears stood up, and she bounded towards the stairs as the orphanage staff chased after them. The various children cheered and laughed from their bunks, some making a break for it through the busted down doors. The animal cleared two flights of stairs with ease, and Korra slid down from her back, slamming the door to the cell block shut. Naga stood in front of it, keeping it closed tight. Bolin hopped down next, looking around expectantly.
"Mako?" he called, and a sudden shout caught his attention. In the last cell on the left, a familiar pair of gloved hands was reaching eagerly through.
"Bo! Here! In here!" Bolin ran over, and Korra followed. She told Mako to stand back, drawing some water from a bin near by. She froze the bars solid before taking a deep breath, and yanking with all her might. It took a few tries since her bending wasn't as strong as it should be, but the bars finally gave way with a loud squeak. Bolin laughed happily, running into the cell, and throwing himself onto his older brother.
"Mako! Youre okay…" he murmured, hugging him tightly. Mako smiled, his eyes falling closed, and Korra stood watching, seeing a few tears fall down his face. She felt like an outsider, until Mako came back, looking up at her, and opening his other arm. She smiled warmly, and strode over, wrapping him in a bear hug of her own. The trio stayed like that for a few seconds.
"Are you okay?" Korra finally asked, pulling back while Bolin stayed on him like a barnacle. "Did they hurt you?" Mako nodded a little, rubbing his wrists from the rough cuffs they had thrown him into.
"Im fine… a little banged up, but fine… much better now…" he stroked Bolin's hair gently. Bolin cried silently, his face buired in Mako's shirt, and his chubby little hands holding onto the fabric for dear life.
"I'll see what I can do when I get back…" Whines from Naga suddenly brought her back to reality. "I hate to break up a family reunion, but… we have to go. Now." Mako nodded, and nudged Bolin.
"Come on, pal… let's get outta here." Bolin nodded, and followed as Korra jumped onto Naga's back. It was a tight squeeze, but her, Bo, and Mako managed to all just fit. The polar bear puppy backed away from the rattling door, and Korra held the reins tightly.
"Wait for it girl… wait…" the door rattled and shook, and finally exploded open. Four staff members, one with a pole to no doubt hurt Naga, rushed inside. "Now!" Korra cried, and Naga charged forward. She rushed past the first two with ease, and Mako let out a snarl before lashing a wall of flame at the one with the pole. He flew out of the way, and Naga bounded up the stairs. They rushed towards the still open exit, when suddenly, four metal bending officers who had heard the commotion and came over stood in their way. All different cables rushed at them.
"Not this time!" Mako cried, and Naga went even faster. Suddenly, she pushed with her back legs, and soared through the air. Mako leaned over her side, spraying a massive amount of fire. He sent the cables flying back, tangling up some of the officers, and tripping others. Naga sent the final man back with a clip from her foot. She finally landed on the outside, skidding a bit before Korra cracked her reins, and she took off down the street.
Shouts from behind warned of how close they had come to losing after all, but they weren't pursued. They ran and ran for almost twenty minutes before Naga ducked into the park. She slowly walked under the bridge by the river before giving the kids a chance to climb down. Once they were off, she flopped onto her side, exhausted. Korra rubbed her head, smiling.
"Good girl… very, very good girl…" Mako joined in, rubbing her soft belly.
"Thank you, Naga… you saved me…"
Bolin laughed, and hugged her paw.
"Best puppy ever!"
Naga fully enjoyed the attention, and soon got up to go get a drink of water. Korra led Mako down to the water, and focused on his cut-up wrists. He looked at her nervously.
"It's okay… just relax… someone from where I came from taught this to me…" she remembered her many beginner healing lessons with Katara, the stories of her first time accidently healing her own burns, to the stories of how many lives she saved during her time running a hospital in the south. She then felt a twinge of sadness. She missed her "gran gran" as she called her, as well as everyone else in the tribe. Her father's death haunted her once more, and a tear fell from her eyes as she imagined Katara's disgusted stare. She forgot all about Mako. She couldn't ever, ever go home…
"You alright?" his voice snapped her back to the present, and she put on a fake smile, nodding.
"Yeah! I'm fine… just hold still, okay?" she focused again, taking a deep breath, and bending the gentle water back and forth over his wrists. It soon began to glow a bright blue, and she closed her eyes as she felt his wounds mending. She exhaled, and the water returned to normal.
"Wow…" Bolin whispered, having watched the whole thing. Mako rubbed his now healed wrists, and nodded.
"Thanks, Korra…"
As the sun would be rising soon enough, and the cover of darkness was still on their side, Korra quickly gathered up Naga, and her and the boys all set off for their alley. They were home in no time. Mako started a fire, and after a quick meal more to feed the hungry Bolin more than anyone else, Korra listened as the older boy told him a story, and then closed the tarp on their makeshift shelter as he snored quietly. Korra stoked the fire with a stick, and Mako sat beside her, looking into the flames,
"What a night, huh?" he began, and she let out a sigh.
"You could say that again…"
Naga lay behind them, and Korra leaned against her soft fur, as did Mako.
"I thought I was over…" Mako murmured. He glanced longingly at the tent where his little sibling slept. "I thought he'd be alone… nobody to care for him… I thought i'd never see him again…"
"It wasn't easy…" she replied. "Naga did most of the grunt work… if it want for her… I wouldn't have been able to take on those men alone."
"Give yourself some credit, too…" he turned to look at her. "You didn't have to come and get me, and you didn't have to take care of Bolin… spirits, any other street kid would have taken all of our food and supplies, then booked…"
Korra gasped. "I… I would never, Mako… I-" he raised a hand and quickly.
"No, no! I know, I know…. It's just… it's what he and I are used to out here, y'know?" he turned back towards the warmth of the fire. "There's no such thing as helping someone to help on the street… everything comes at a price…"
"For what it's worth, you aren't like them…" she whispered. "Look at all the stuff you did for me…" he bumped her shoulder playfully.
"I think you've more than repaid your debt…" she giggled, and they fell into a silence once more. A few minutes passed before Mako spoke again.
"So… if you don't mind me asking… when you first came to us… you said you couldn't ever go back to where you came from.. And earlier, when you talked about home, you were crying…"
Korra felt a knot in her stomach. She knew this was coming.
"What happened to you that was so bad?"
She was quiet for a very long time before eventually answering his question.
"I… I lost my father…" Mako gave her a sympathetic stare. "I… it's… it was…" she almost told her story, but sighed. "It's behind me now… I can't do anything to change it… but… I know for a fact I can't go back… I'm not welcome… don't tell Bo, okay? He doesn't need to worry…"
"If it makes you feel any better, we can't go back either…" he touched her arm. "And my lips are sealed…" she smiled at him.
"Thanks… I guess we're all stuck, huh?" he nodded.
"Like glue… Korra, you've proved to me tonight that you really are here to help… and I don't want you to leave." She looked at him, surprised. "You kept my family together, and for that? you're my family too…" he reached his hand out to her, like they'd done before he left in the first place, and she grabbed it tightly. He pressed his forehead against hers.
"Brother?" she asked, tears filling her eyes.
"Sister." he whispered back, and they soon broke apart, both with a new bond, and better understanding. That night, Korra slumped against his shoulder, and slept like a baby as Naga's tail kept them warm.
Maybe going home didn't matter.
Her uncle was right, he'd take care of all that avatar stuff, and Mako and Bolin didn't seem to care that she was a big mistake. They loved her, and now she was allowed to stay. She had two brothers of her own.
For the first time since her father's demise, she smiled.