As they walked through town, Korra kept her hood up and her face low. The lack of conversation didn't really bother her but she still wasn't given a reason as to why they needed to leave.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

"Finding Noatak." Tarlokk answered bleakly. "I'm going to get us some supplies. There's suppose to be a bad storm tonight and we need to stock up. He will escort you back to the house while I grab the necessities." Glancing down at her, he then raised a brow. "Although I suppose my brothers presence doesn't concern you anymore." The bluntness of his statement wasn't intended to be hidden. He wanted to clear the atmosphere between them and make sure there were no secrets being exchanged behind his back. Tarlokk knew his brother was one to lie in the past but from Korra, she seemed much more open and well, bad about keeping her mouth shut given her personality. One could only imagine how badly interrogation on her end would play out.

Korra stopped dead in her tracks to shoot him a warning glare. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"You did sleep in his room even after you clearly expressed your disinterest in sleeping in the other two rooms. I find that a little off for you, Korra. Have you changed your opinion on Amon so suddenly? Or are you just desperate?"

"Noatak is not Amon!" She protested now flaring with anger. What was he insinuating? If he had something to say then he ought to say it and stop beating around the bush. "Look, I had a nightmare. And the couch was not helping, alright?"

"So you slept in his room." He inquired flatly.

"He offered it, so it's not like I kicked him out. We just changed sleeping arrangements, that's it."

Now Noatak's scent on the blankets were coming back to her. That intoxicating musk of his. Damn him for smelling so good and flaring her sense. "Why does it matter?" Anything to get that thought out of her brain. If that required hammering down on Tarlokk, so be it. But she didn't need to be daydreaming about a man she didn't even like. Pestering would be sure to get her mind off the man who was starting to cloud her judgement with images of what it smelled like up and close rather than on objects.

"Well, Korra," he stressed her name, hearing the reluctant curiosity in her voice, but it was still annoying to have to be stuck on this conversation. He wanted answers yes, but he didn't want to look and sound like a creep by implying what it looked like from his point of view. "Being an adult, one can only assume. One female alone in a house with two older men? How am I supposed to look at that?"

Or was he wrong? What ever happened to that firebender boy just before they left? He seemed pretty protective over her - just like a loyal lap dog.

"Are you-" Korra was having trouble spitting out the words. As if being caught in his bedroom was one thing, this went to an entirely different level of embarrassment, awkwardness, and stomach aches. She was frustrated now and it showed in her voice. She considered her words carefully but none of the options would have came out right. "You think that your brother and I...?" Leaving the sentence open to let him fill in the blanks so she wasn't entirely mistaken.

Tarlokk nodded. "I can only imagine how your little boy-toy back at home would feel about this scandal of yours. Though I never took my brother for much of a cougar..."

'Scandal? Oh, now he crossed the line.'

"Look, pal," she poked his chest hard enough to bruise and he almost wondered if there was a bit of firebending used behind the contact to apply more sting to the contact. "Noatak and I are nothing, got it? And Mako is not my boy-toy either. Besides, I could care less what he thinks anymore. We're broken up and it's going to stay that way."

"Oh really?" Now was the time to keep pushing the buttons. It's not like he had much to lose anyways. "Because he made front page in the newspaper this morning. But I guess that doesn't matter to you at all, does it?"

"What...?" The shock was evident and the atmosphere changed instantly. Did Mako make a huge bust or something of the sort? It had to be something big otherwise there was no way he would make the header. How did Tarlokk see the paper before she did? She was cursing herself inwardly for being so distracted by food and talking to Shoichi that she didn't even look at the news this morning.

"Your firebender friend was last seen being kicked around by a couple of suspicious people. Some merchant saw a man dragging him off into the desert with them by force. Cops are saying it was a kidnapping. The merchant said the man had black hair. People are linking this to the same guy who massacred the metalbending police. Whatever the reason, the council is finally taking action and putting a hunt after them. They think the murder and kidnapping is some sort of sign or calling card. People around here are whispering and thinking the killer is calling you out on purpose, they want to draw you out."

How could she have let this happen? If only she had known sooner. This was just awful timing. Why did the ferry have to take a couple days to dock? She needed to dock as soon as possible. What if Mako had already been killed? What if it was true and the killers were planning something big? There was no time to waste. Korra felt utterly helpless. She needed to think positive, hope that Mako wouldn't cave in so easily. He would put up a fight knowing him. And if the killers did want to get to her, they wouldn't kill him, they'd only use him for information or as bait. What was she to do? Just have faith and hope things would improve? It was not in Korra's nature to sit back idly and let corruption befall the world without so much as a fight. Right now, she needed to have faith in her friend.

Before she had time to get any further details, Tarlokk spotted Noatak up ahead with a bag slung over his shoulder and a scarf wrapped around his neck, covering his face up to his nose. This must be his idea of a disguise. Or he was just cold. Approaching them, Noatak sensed the tension between the two and saw a less than happy Korra standing beside his brother. "Should I even ask?"

"I don't think it would change matters. There's nothing to be done. Unless you can think of some way of rescuing her little firebending friend or solving this murder problem in Republic City, I would drop the subject." Tarlokk spat rather bitterly. It's not that he didn't care, it was more on the lines of the remembrance of how much trouble that boy was when he was trying to woo Korra to join his taskforce back in the day. Mako acted far too out of character, even for a boy who didn't get the picture that Korra was no longer with him. By all means, he was not jealous. It was his sense of justice that overrode his opinion and it was unfair to Korra.

Noatak nodded, needing to hear no more. He had already read the paper this morning far before the other two even got into town considering he was an early riser. Old habits died hard. "Are you going to get the supplies then?"

"Yes, I was just about to do that. I may take a bit but don't worry, I'll be sure to return before the blizzard hits. The last thing I need is to have to ask for hospitality from one of the villagers until the storm passes." Just the idea of it gave him a headache.

Closing his eyes with a soft sigh, Noatak prayed for patience to handle whatever was going to be thrown at him on his walk back with the Avatar. Tarlokk simply gave a curt nod to his leave and then it was just the two of them. It wouldn't have bothered the man in the slightest if it wasn't for the negative energy Korra was feeding off from whatever depressing mood she found herself in, or Tarlokk put her in?

"Did you find something to eat?" He asked with calm. If she was going to react badly he wasn't planning on instigating.

"Yeah..." Korra seemed rather solemn and Noatak wasn't sure if she was just uncomfortable freely speaking around him or if there was a lot on her mind. Nevertheless he told himself he would let her open up to him, giving her free reign of speech once she felt ready to give him the full details of her sudden mood this afternoon.

"I met a guy in town who was pretty nice too. He seemed to know information on the cannibal from the papers. I didn't get out as much out of him as I wanted thanks to Tarlokk pulling me out of the conversation though. Any source of intel would help right about now. I'm seriously having a hard time wrapping my head around all these things that keep happening in the past three days..."

"I'm not surprised to see the stout Avatar managing to get information from cops. With your title I can only imagine they handed it out willingly." While his last job as Amon required a lot of undercover work and digging around for information.

"That's the thing though." Korra pointed out. "He wasn't a cop. And if he's here and not there, how did he know more than the papers were letting off? I don't suspect him or anything, but..."

"But?"

"But I feel like he wasn't telling me everything!" She threw her hands up in the air in defeat. "I guess he has reasons for not saying everything, maybe out of fear? Who knows. I just think that he's my best chance of getting this case solved right now."

"Even if he did give you all the information you need, what then? Do you plan on running head first without a plan?" The picture of that didn't surprise him. In his Amon days he calculated the enemy and he knew of her tactics, he had to if he wanted to undermine her and get the upper hand. But that was over a year ago and he was not the same. Whether he decided to help her was still up for debate.

"I'm going to have to think of a plan...If I just take action and use raw power it won't get me very far and it will just get people hurt."

To be blatantly honest, Noatak was surprised by this Korra. Maybe he was wrong about her in the past, or maybe she just had some growing up to do. Either way, she had a point. If what the papers said was true, her firebending friend, boyfriend? - The last encounter when knocked out of that window the boy was holding her so he assumed boyfriend - would be in more of a mess than he thought. The problem was he had no idea where the duo would have taken the boy.

Once back at the house, Korra removed and hung up her coat while Noatak did the same for his scarf. Taking a seat on the couch, the blankets and sheets were already folded up and neatly set aside to be used for later. The house wasn't too chilly but it wasn't warm either.

Going back outside to the shed just around the back, Noatak filled a bucket with already chopped dry wood which he brought back inside to use to make a fire. Once that was done and the flames sparked and engulfed, he took a seat on the opposite side of her and let himself relax, just watching the flickering of sparks and smoke build up.

In this moment Korra now recalled the moment before she went to bed when she caught a glimpse of his bare back and the burn mark. It was saddening to think of. How Noatak had endured such an explosion like that and survived. Even if he was Amon, she didn't wish anything like that upon anyone. Bringing justice was one thing, but killing was entirely different. The past Avatars may have, but not her. Neither did Aang, which gave her a pang of relief to know she wasn't the only one.

"Tarlokk showed me the injury to his arm. I haven't tried, but I could try using waterbending to mend what I can..."

"Thank you, but no thank you. Waterbending really only helps when it's a fresh wound, not after a year of healing. Unless you have some type of magic spirit healing abilities, I will have to decline."

Korra pouted sourly over the fact she just wanted to help and couldn't even do that.

Fetching two glasses from the cupboard, Noatak warmed up some tea and poured some for the both of them. He had already shared one of his packets with Tarlokk this morning so he didn't mind sharing one with Korra. Paybacks were not necessary. Once taking the cup from him, he faced her.

"About that man you met earlier. What did he say?"

"Oh! Right." Now she was trying to recollect all the data from breakfast and after Tarlokk intruded. It was the more finer details she was worried about. "He said that he believes the cannibal killer who murdered the husband of the Ryuni family is a girl named Vinioz. Said he knew her a long time ago when she was just a girl but didn't specify how many years, so I don't know how old that would make her now. He said she doesn't eat the body parts on purpose either."

"For an average person, I would think the aspect of the spectrum points to no in terms of raw carnage, but one who eats of their own free will who doesn't like it? I find that odd. Are you sure someone isn't behind it, telling the girl what to do?"

"No, that's all he said. He did say she's not really considered a person though...I don't really know what that means."

Rubbing his chin, Noatak sighed softly. "Well, let's assume it is her then. Could she be indoctrinated?" There was the possibility of being controlled if it wasn't of her own free will. Any other ideas were hard to come by. Another option could be that maybe the body parts weren't devoured but being taken. The news reports had interviewed the woman who's husband was murdered, but the article clearly stated that the incident happened at night when the family was in bed. No indication that a light was turned on. Perhaps it was just too dark and the woman missed the finer details.

"Maybe. What about the killer of the metalbending police? I didn't ask Shoichi about the killer, maybe he knows something on that guy too."

"Shoichi?" That name seemed to ring a bell somehow. In fact, if he recalls there may have been a story behind him that he read about long ago. Not that he has it here. Most all his collections were stored in his previous Equalist base long gone by now likely. It wouldn't be surprising if the former followers revolted to know their leader was a fake and burned the place down. The thought wasn't very welcome, but it was an expected outcome in the back of his mind.

"Yeah, that's the guys name. He had this book with pictures of criminals and notes under them. It's like he's an undercover cop but not, it makes no sense to me really." Korra gulped down her drink. It was very warm so it took her slower than usual to finish.

"Strange..." Noatak tapped his chin in dismay. That was unusual by all means. It sounded like trouble to him. If this guy was keeping tabs on people for his own profit, it led him to wonder if he was doing it for a reason. But what was the motive behind it?

"Anyways...I'm mostly worried about Mako too. I mean, there hasn't been any news today or yesterday about the cannibal. Only about the police massacre in Republic City yesterday and Mako's kidnapping earlier this morning. Well, at least that's what I figure. I didn't read the paper myself but if there was anything else I assume Tarlokk would have told me."

Noatak shook his head and took her empty drink from her, taking both their glasses to the kitchen while he talked. "No cannibal, only the kidnapping. But what of this black haired man that carried him off into the desert? People are saying he's the one who killed all those men all by himself. There was the possible accomplice, but even that is sketchy on proof. While it is in my view that whoever kidnapped him did it for a reason and is probably keeping him alive, there is the off chance he could be dead if your friend didn't give him what he wanted."

"And what do you think it is he wants?"

Once the dishes were cleaned, Noatak walks back over to sit on the couch and crosses his arms, gazing deeply into the fire as he tries to calculate his wording without coming off as offensive but being as practical as can be. "Hard to say. In cases of kidnappings, it doesn't happen unless there is something wanted out of it. In most cases as we're aware, a kidnapping is normally personal. The kidnapper wants their kidnapee for some personal gain, whether that be selfish desires, or revenge. I can't see our killer wanting your friend that way, so we'll shove that aside for an option. There is the off chance that the kidnapper is using him as bait though. Who to draw out is not for certain. It would mean that your friend is somehow linked to the one being drawn out, and we know little about this killer and what they want or who they know.

"There is also the option of personal gain. Or information, I should say. Your friend Mako knows something that they need. If they killed all those police and then kidnapped an officer, I want to guess that's our best guess. The only part I fail to see is how they would take an amateur officer over the rest of the metalbending police."

"So you're saying Mako knows something they don't know..."

"Correct. But what that is, I can't be sure of. You're his friend, I'm sure you can throw out some ideas as to what it is they want out of him. And if they don't get it, he'll certainly be killed if failing to deliver."

"Mako won't die." Korra grit her teeth. Her nerves were racked, all she wanted was to just punch a wall whether from anger or being upset, she wasn't sure which. Probably both. All she wanted to do right now was scold herself for letting this happen. She should have let Mako come with, that way he would have been safe here with her. This wasn't meant to happen, none of it.

"You can't be sure. While I give him credit for being a talented bender, if he is held captive by someone who can take down an entire force alone, his chances are extraordinarily slim."

A thought crossed Korra's mind then. There was information that Mako knew that none of the metalbending police knew. Information she knew too. She inwardly laughed at herself for being so oblivious, so naive! It had to have been the reason, it was the only logical explanation. "Tarlokk." The name came out flatly but her eyes grew with realization. Noatak wasn't sure what kind of resolution she came to but he had a gut feeling this was going to escalate quickly in a matter of seconds just by her distant glare into the couch while he mind raced.

"Mako is the only one who knows he's alive besides you and I. The metalbending police wouldn't have known that. That has to be why they didn't kill Mako!" Now it all began to click into place. "They kidnapped him for information. Maybe they're trying to track down your brother. It's so logical! I can't believe I didn't realize this before..." Korra felt proud of herself for discovering a lead - even if it wasn't the full truth without some form of proof. "When he was still a councilman he would arrest people falsely. Long story short, he pissed off a lot of people. Not only that but people tend to hate politics, of course he's going to have grudges against him." While Korra seemed ecstatic by the discovery, Noatak wasn't very thrilled by it. Though yes, she had a point, he had hoped his brother could live in peace away from his past. If it was coming back to haunt him, he'd be sure to help stick up for his brother through thick and thin this time. He'd be there for him even if he had once abandoned a young Tarlokk in the snow when they were just kids. His brother must have done bad things just like himself in his glory days, but that didn't mean they both couldn't repent for it. Karma had come and gone. Noatak wasn't having any more of it dispelled to them.

Standing up, the waterbender placed a hand on his hip while the other rubbed the tension from his forehead. "It's a logical assumption and it would make sense...But no grudge he created could be big enough to cause revenge that would spur a massacre like that. Harming anyone close or attacking him politically or personally, maybe...But I can't wrap my mind around why an entire police force is wiped out all for the search of one man. Tarlokk and I both are declared dead, there is no bounty for our heads so money could not be an objective."

"Are you just saying this to make your brother innocent?" Over this time being around the ex-politician she still loathed him to a degree but she didn't hate him either. In all honesty, she hoped it wasn't him. Korra saw a great length of change in the man and he did let on that he wished to change for the better. Lay low that he's alive and just live a natural life away from spotlight.

Noatak nodded his head and looked at her. His steel blue eyes were captivating, even in the dim light of the fire flickering in the corner of his eyes. "I hope more than anything it is not Tarlokk but I cannot just disregard the obvious...But I must ask, if they do pursue him and I chose to protect my brother, what then? Will you try to stop me...?" It was only an obvious question but his expression showed discontent, whether for her sake or his brothers.

Their eyes lock and she isn't sure what to respond with. It is her duty as the Avatar to bring peace.

"I can't make any promises..." Her gaze falls from him and she looks back into the flames of the fireplace. Not once had she lied since she has been here and she doesn't plan to now either. Before he can say any form of correlation, Korra is already standing and making her way for the door. Noatak wonders if it's his fault, if he had said the wrong thing to upset her or if she was just already sick of being near him.

Walking around the couch he does not chase after but he does follow before she makes it to the door. "Where are you going?"

Her lips purse and it is clear to see she is conflicted. She wants to go confront Tarlokk about this face to face but she knows she can't make some scene in public while he's getting supplies. Or was he even doing that? Who knows, as they converse here Tarlokk could be plotting something or be already in trouble. "To find your brother, or am I not allowed to leave?" The tone was more of a threat than it was a question. Both of them knew Korra was a wild spirit and caging her like an animal inside the house would be a difficult feet, even if Noatak was confident in his skills to restrain the Avatar.

"You will do no such thing." The demand was official. If anyone was going to confront the man, it would be him. Just to enforce his superiority in this house, he grabbed her by the arm firmly but not enough to hurt her just in order to move her to the side of the door and sit her down on the foot locker. "Listen, I know how you work, Avatar." 'So we're back to that name, are we?' Korra grit her teeth. "In this state of mind, it would be in your best interest to stay put. With that mood you're in over that boy? You're bound to act out brashly if Tarlokk is exposed, whether falsely or truly."

Now it was getting hard to tell which brother was the more infuriating one. Both got on her nerves and were set off given certain circumstances. This trip was just getting worse and worse. At this rate Korra may just get ahold of Tenzin somehow to come get her with Oogi. Though to both waterbenders dismay, it was a pointless quarrel. Korra was just about to send him hurtling with a punch full of air the moment she stood up but something hit him first before she could.

It all happened so quickly that it took her a moment to realize what it was she was feeling. Noatak's large frame was over her, both hands on the wall for balance on either side of her head. Even if she had been previously sitting, now her back was against the wall pinned with his body. The front door had opened, slamming into Noatak which in turn led him to falling against Korra. What shocked her most was the feeling on her mouth.

Noatak was kissing her.

It was awful. Awful how much he liked the feeling of her lips on his. How much he liked how well they molded together. But this was all wrong. It was just an accident that wasn't meant to happen and he knew exactly who caused it. Korra was just as shocked as him, if not more from the bright red streak across her face. His smell was overbearing, more so than on those blankets of his. It was all the better up close which drove her to hating herself for falling limp to such a petty thing. Noatak didn't need to rely on his bloodbending to feel her pounding heart rapidly beating against his broad chest.

"Noatak! Korra?" Tarlokk pushed the door completely open, not even noticing the two of them in a heap behind the door. No response came which led him to believe either they were out, or were sleeping. Whether together, Tarlokk really didn't want to know.

Just as Noatak pulled away, he saw Korra beginning to open her mouth. He knew what that meant - she was about to firebend out of her mouth like a flamethrower and burn him to a crisp. If she did that, she'd be blowing away their spot behind the door and this was not something he wanted his younger brother to see. So just before she conjured up enough air, Noatak forcefully pressed his lips onto hers this time in order to shut her up. Even as she tried to squirm and wriggle beneath him to alert Tarlokk, Noatak ever so quietly moved his arms off the wall and wrapped his arms around the girl in a vice like grip so she couldn't squirm. By all means she was powerful, but there was no way in hell was he going to be caught in a situation like this that wasn't his fault.

Once he heard Tarlokk descend up the stairs to the top to investigate the room, Noatak released her and drew his mouth from hers. His composure was as stoic as ever on the outside, even if it lied how he was feeling on the inside. Korra on the other hand made it blatantly obvious she was embarrassed beyond belief with lack of words.

"I'm talking to him, so don't move." With his final command, Noatak ran a hand through his slicked back hair and left Korra in the red streaked crimson of her boiling blood to go talk to his brother privately.


AN:

Was going to make this two chapters since it's longer than usual but I decided against it since I promised Amorra. Once more, sorry for errors. Lots of stuff going on over here and let's just say I haven't been getting much sleep and autocorrect likes to show up when I don't notice.

Song is Lights We Burn by Nine Lashes