So hey guys! This is the next chapter! And yeah, Jinora is around 50 or 60 in this fanfic. And no, Bolin is not part a permanent member of this Team Avatar, though I hope to get more of him in here. He's mostly going to be a supporting character. Sean is NOT going to be a love interest for Cheryl, just saying. I don't think this chapter has as much action as the last one, but enjoy! And please review, I really need to know if the story needs improvement! Also, tell me if you want Lily's perspective, I'm considering her POV but her viewpoint may be too narrow.

T _ T

To karanathefirebender: Thanks! You're the first person to say that. And a surprise person!

Book 1: Wondering

Chapter 7: Meetings

Akina's POV:

When we got to 'Lookout Point', no one was there. I started to panic, and collapsed to my knees.

"Where is she?" I whispered, the Sun was already setting and I was worried like crazy. Did the Red Lotus get her? Is she hurt? Tears were already threatening to drop from my eyes out of fear. Sean put a comforting arm around me.

"Don't worry, she might have gone back to the palace."

"I hope so." Suddenly, there was this breeze that was blowing that sang in a sad way. A purple dragonfly-bunny spirit appeared in front of us, and a then sudden flash. After that, darkness.

Katara's POV:

While Cheryl had cried, I gently rubbed circles on her back to calm her down. Eventually, her breathing got back to normal a pace and she was sleeping in my arms. Jinora studied the girl while I put Cheryl into the correct sleeping position and placed the blanket on her. I sighed, it reminded me of the times I comforted Korra when she got frustrated, only this time I was dealing with a gentler girl, somewhat similar to Aang.

I got the small blue wet towel from the bucket of water and used it to gently wipe the dry tears off Cheryl's face. At first, the girl stirred, but then went back to sleep.

I smiled and left the room. I then went to the kitchen, and found Branyt sitting at the kitchen table with tea set up. His head was laying on his crossed arms and was staring at the teapot a couple of cm in front of him. I cleared my throat. The poor boy jumped and after realizing it was me, he bowed. I nodded back and sat across from him. He then continued to stare at the teapot.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"She's seems so different. I mean we used to be pen pals, and she still had her personality when we wrote to each other..." I remained silent, knowing who he was talking about.

" Times have changed, but I'm sure the Cheryl you know isn't gone. She's just in a … sort of depression currently, it won't last long." Branyt looked at me directly in the eye.

"You sure?" I nodded back.

"Just give her some time, and slowly reconnect. You seem to have had a good relationship with her, it'll be repaired." The boy smiled and gave me a hug.

"Thank you for your support." I smiled, and returned the hug.

"Why don't you train your airbending a little more outside today? I'll call Jinora." He nodded and went outside to wait for my granddaughter.

Jinora's POV:

Although it was night by now, the city was still bustling and lighted up. I stared at the new 'avatar', she seemed so innocent to me. Yet, she had to take on the pressure of the world. I remembered when I first met Korra, she was an amazing person. Headstrong, fierce strong, but later on she matured. It kinda took out the fun of things, but later on I also had to take on the task of growing up. When I became a Master Airbender, I couldn't play around as much.

"Jinora! Branyt is waiting for you outside to practice airbending!" shouted my Gran-Gran.

I stepped out of Cheryl's room and closed the door."Coming!" I shouted back. I took a deep breath and started to walk to the practice place.

Branyt was kinda hard to train in a way since he was goofing around nature most of the time. But I couldn't blame him, he had to work on the fields most of life, and just a few days ago he was finally allowed by his family to join us airbenders. He was enjoying his taste of freedom.

When I got to the practice place with Branyt I noticed a bunch figures laying by a nearby tree. There was also a purple dragonfly-bunny spirit with them. Branyt seemed to notice the dark bunch too, and he quickly went over there to check it out. I quickly followed him.

There were 4 unconscious people. Man, how many people do I need to find knocked out? Branyt poked a young 16 year old boy. The boy laying on the ground grunted before going to fighting position, but then he looked to his friends and tried to wake them up. With the 17 year old fire nation boy was a water tribe girl about the same age as him and a 13 year old fire nation girl. There was also a 70 year old Earth Kingdom Man with them. They shook themselves to wake their body up. The water tribe girl noticed Branyt's and mine presence. Her eyes widened in surprised and she bowed to me. She then forced the other kids to bow, though they seemed confused. The old man just kept smiling.

"Is that you Jinora?" He asked. I studied his face. It was Bolin!

"Bolin! Nice to see you again." He gave me a quick hug and began introducing me to the kids that were with him. He gestured to each kid and stated their name. The water tribe girl was Akina, the boy was Sean, and the girl in Fire Nation attire was Lily.

"Akina is a friend of Cheryl. Oh yeah, Sean & Lily are the Fire Lord's children." He said finally. I nodded.

"I'm Jinora, a Master Airbender. Nice to meet you," I shook hands with the boy.

"By any chance... have you seen Cheryl? I know it's a weird question since she is suppose to be in the Fire Nation...but a spirit brought us here...and it could be possible..." I nodded a yes. Relief spread across her face.

"Is she well? Can I see her?" Akina asked.

"Sure, but she's sleeping." I replied.

"That's okay, as long as she is safe I'm good." I nodded and was about to guided Akina when Lily sped up to Branyt and burst into several questions.

"Who is this? Why are you so tall? Are you a airbender?" Lily pointed to Branyt.

"I'm Branyt. Nice to meet you." He extended his hand, Lily shook it really hard. Sean went over to his sister.

"Lily, don't knock the sense out of him." He pulled Lily away from Branyt.

"Sorry about my sis."

"It's okay." I noticed Akina's head was titled and she was trying to decide on something about Branyt.

"Are you the Branyt that is pen pals with Cheryl?" Akina asked.

"How did you know?" He replied in a surprised manner.

"Cheryl talks about you all the time. She said that you try to make her laugh all the time, even in letters."

"Really?!" His face brightened up into a smile. Akina nodded.

"What's going on out here?" I heard Gran-Gran's voice behind me.

"Gran-Gran, we have some new guests." I gestured to the kids and Bolin.

"Hi Katara. It's me, Bolin!"

"How are you doing Bolin? Is your school working out?" Bolin rubbed the back of his neck.

"Actually no, but I made new friends on the pit stop to visit Mako." He introduced them once again to Katara.

"Why don't you guys eat dinner here? We have some leftovers, and you can stay here for the night."

"Thank you so much, Master Katara." Akina bowed respectfully before following everyone else inside. In the dinning room, we talked about our origins, it reminded me of the times when Asami, Bolin, and Korra joined us for dinner. Even though we all just kinda met, there was a sense of family in the room, it felt good to have that feeling back. Ever since Dad died, things have been kinda awkward, Mom had decided to help Rohan in the Southern Temple with the Airbenders there, so Gran-Gran stayed here with me in Republic City.

When it was time to go to bed, I passed Cheryl's room. I quickly took a peek inside her room, she was still sound asleep, but she looked like there was having another nightmare. I quietly went into her room, and then rubbed her back in circles to calm her in her sleep. I smiled, it seemed to help the girl. Her breathing began to returned to a steady pace and she wasn't sweating as much. I patted her on the back before leaving to go to my own room.

Cheryl's POV:

After falling asleep on Katara, I had the same nightmare, except this time it seemed more urgent, and more painful. 'Give in, Avatar. You are weak and I am stronger than ever. The Avatar isn't needed anymore.' No, the world needs the Avatar. But even I could hear the doubt in my voice. Eventually I couldn't take the burdening feeling, curled up into a ball, closed my ears using my hands and screamed.

I opened my eyes violently, this time I was in the Island, but I was in the same position as I left the dream world. I took deep breathes to calm myself down. I hope I hadn't woke up anyone. I recalled the dream again, and shivered. Is Korra trying to contact me? Do I get to meet her in that temple during the Winter Solstice? Maybe I can get answers, the Solstice was about 3-4 weeks away, hopefully I can survive the nightmares by then. My door creaked opened, and Akina came in.

"How did you get here?" I asked.

"Spirits." she simply replied and took a handkerchief from her nightgown and wiped my cheeks. I touched them again, and they were wet. Had I been crying in my sleep? After wiping them, Akina gave me a big tight hug.

"Don't scare me like that again," she said in a worried tone. "I'm so glad you're safe. Thank spirits." I gave no reply, she knows that I like to get fresh air, alone. She then patted my hair.

"I'm here for you if you need anything. You can tell me," I simply remained silent.

She chuckled. "Stubborn as usual. Being strong doesn't always mean holding back your true feelings. I know you only tell me some of them." Tears slowly came down my face this time, only it was me this time. What she said was true, I didn't want to burden others with my problems. I was so scared as to what was going to happen next. I have had the feeling that peace wasn't going to stay and it just made me more worried then ever. However, as the Avatar, I had to be strong for others. I tried to wipe the tears, but with Akina hugging me, my arms were pinned to my sides. When she let go, I stretched my arms.

"I'm fine, also I need to go to the South Pole." I said cheerfully to cover up my true feelings. She gave me a raised brow, sighed and shook her head back and fourth.

"What?"

"Don't pile it up. I'm here to talk if you need anything." She sat then at next to me in my bed, placed her arms over my shoulder and made me lean on her shoulder like the way my mom used to when I was 3.

"Don't worry about the South Pole, I'll ask Katara." she said softly before gently singing a lullaby.

"Hush now, quiet now

It's time to lay your sleepy head

Hush now, quiet now

It's time to go to bed..."

Branyt's POV:

I had gotten up a little later then usual, which was surprising since Master Jinora would usually poke me awake if I slept longer. I quickly dressed into my airbending training uniform and went to the kitchen to grab some bread before heading outside to the training grounds.

"We can take the sky bison if you want to go secretly. But I will have to alert the Fire Lord and Irwin on the current situation before we can go." I heard Master Jinora say.

"Where are you guys going?" I asked. Cheryl, Akina, Sean, Lily, Bolin, Master Katara and Jinora were standing by the training grounds talking and seemed startled by my sudden appearance. Master Jinora opened her mouth to reply to my question but stopped herself. They all looked to random directions and seemed hesitant to tell me. Katara was the only one that looked at me in the eye, her own eyes seemed to have twinkled for a sec.

"Cheryl, why don't you bring your old friend Branyt with you. You guys haven't talked in ages." Cheryl nodded.

"Ok. We'll talk on the ride there. But pack essentials with you, and be ready by noon." Her voice was in such a serious and hard tone, I flinched. Then everyone dispersed. Akina passed by me and placed her hand on my shoulder. She gave me a gentle smile.

"Don't worry, she's just... nervous. She's still the girl you know. Just be patient." She said before leaving to the girl's dorms.

Nervous? Depressed? I wanted to yell at Cheryl for acting this way. What was with her? It was only 2 weeks since I last contacted her, and suddenly her personality completely changed. She wasn't the fun-loving girl I knew anymore. She was either all sad or all serious. Hopefully I'll get answers on the ride. I then went to my room to pack what was needed.

Around noon after lunch we hopped onto the two bison. Katara, Cheryl,an female air acolyte, and me were on a bison named Alex. Lily, Sean, Akina, Jinora, and a male air acolyte were on the other. Sona, whined. Cheryl waved good bye. Apparently, Sona had to take the a ship that was going to pick up the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe too, and that we were all going to reach the Southern Water Tribe in about 2-3 days. The Air acolyte drove the bison and yelled 'Yip, Yip'. I watched Air Temple Island grow smaller until it was nothing. I turned my attention to Cheryl, she was being awfully quiet. I decided to break the silence.

"Why did you change all of the sudden?" I asked her annoyingly. I immediately regretted talking in a harsh tone when I saw her hurt face and she turned away. I stared back at the ground.

"I'm sorry that I'm being so assertive," I said in a softer tone. I turned Cheryl to have her facing me again. "Forgive me?"

"It's not your fault. I'm the one who is sorry. A lot happened so quickly," hugged her arms and bit her lip. "And I'm still adjusting" I nodded, wanting her to continue her story.

"You can tell me know." She took a deep breath and nodded.

"I found out that I'm the Avatar." she produced a flame to prove her statement.

"After that I was sent to the Fire Nation to train, but when I went to get some fresh air, spirits brought me to Air Temple Island. I then had a bunch of weird dreams about the Red Lotus. Jinora later told me about them, they tried to end the Avatar Cycle during Korra's time. But failed. Akina said they are after me again." I clenched my hands into fists, how dare they want to kill Cheryl. She is such a kind person.

"But I want answers from Korra, so I am going to try talk to her on Winter Solstice in her temple." Cheryl finished her story. I studied her face.

"You're still holding back." I replied. Her face expression softened.

"I know."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"You're always holding back. Don't think that by not telling us, you won't burden us. Seeing you bottle up your true feelings only makes me feel more anxious."

"Branyt..." I sighed and ruffled my hair, I knew from past experience that it was going to be hard to say what truly was bothering her. She gave me that tired smile again. And idea popped into my head! I opened my bag and placed chopsticks in my mouth, making me look like a walrus. Cheryl laughed at my attempt to cheer her up.

I smiled and took the chopsticks out of my mouth. It was nice to hear her normal self after such a long time apart. Akina was right, it was going to take time to get our friendship back. After talking about what happened so far that we didn't speak of in our letters, I felt like we were best buds again, just like the old times. When the sun was setting, Cheryl started to get sleepy. She wanted to continue talking, but eventually the sleep caught up to her. At first it was kinda weird having her sleeping on my left shoulder, but I got used to it. Katara gave me a blanket to put on Cheryl and we both watched her sleep peacefully.

"She looks so much relaxed then before." I said. Katara nodded.

"It was nice to have you make her feel like herself and not the Avatar...I'm sure she'll remember these moments."

"Being the Avatar is such a big job. How do they handle it when they are kids?"

"They are not suppose to know until 16. But in some cases, they are told earlier. I fear that Cheryl is not really that accepting of her new proposed role." She studied the sky. I readjusted the blanket and put a protective arm around Cheryl to keep her from shivering.

"Aang was 12 when he had to save the world. Most of the time he preferred playing around. But the people kept calling for him, for the Avatar to bring balance to the world. He did, but lost his childhood." She sighed.

"I think that Cheryl knows her role, and will try her best. But I don't think she is liking it much." Katara brushed some hair off Cheryl's face.

When the sun was nearly down, we stopped in the middle of an forest somewhere in the Earth Kingdom area. Sean, Akina, and the air acolytes are already gotten off their sky bison. Lily was about to get down too until noticed Cheryl sleeping on me.

"Awww. You guys look cute together." Lily said loudly. Everyone looked at me. I felt my cheeks burn up a little. I saw Akina and Katara share a smile.

"Lily dear. Why don't you help Sean gather Firewood?" Akina said gently as she helped Lily down.

"Ok!" she said cheerfully before tugging her older brother into the forest. I looked back at Cheryl, I didn't want to wake her up, so I placed her into my arms bridal style, and slid down the bison's tail. I then gently placed her by the unready camp fire. Looks like its going to be a harder journey then I thought.

Mako's POV:

I was babysitting my two twin grandchildren today and serving as an interim Southern Water Tribe Chief until my son, Irwin, came back. And believe me, doing both at the same time was hard work. I sighed and looked out the Palace window and into the dock. I felt a tug on my right sleeve and looked down. It was my 5 year old granddaughter, Ivy.

"Grandpa! Grandpa! When is Daddy coming home?"

"He'll come back soon. Why don't you play with your brother Alex for now? Spar a little."

"Ok!" She said cheerfully before leaving to go to the court yard.

"But don't melt too many things!" I shouted at her. She simply smiled back at me and laughed. I shook my head, I had a feeling she wasn't going to listen. Hopefully, she won't melt one of the building walls with her fire bending, again. RING! RING! RING! I quickly picked up the phone.

"This is Mako, interim Southern Water Tribe speaking. Who is on the other line?" I asked politely.

"Hey Dad! It's me, Irwin!"

"Hey, kiddo. Why did you call?"

"The Avatar and me are going to head back to our home. The Red Lotus are back." Irwin said worriedly. I felt my blood boil at that name

"We're getting there in about 2-3 days. Can you get an extra place ready for her friends? Uncle Bolin, Katara, and Jinora are coming too. I made sure the Fire Lord is safe, hopefully we'll be more prepared this time."

"Yeah, I'll get the place ready. Be safe okay?"

"Thanks Dad. See you soon." I hung up the phone and took a deep breath. I was still getting used to Korra not being here with me, I'm not sure if I could … handle seeing the new Avatar. Toughen up , Mako, its been already 15 years, you can handle it. Man, I hated the battle in my head. I'll just have to see what this new Avatar was like and provide as much support to Korra' reincarnation.

Once again, if you want Lily's POV, PM me or add a review saying that you want her viewpoint. Please also review on this chapter. Hope you guys have a nice 4 day weekend! (I'm not sure if you guys have it, but I do, so I will be able to get more writing done.) =D After re-reading this, I noticed I barely put Sean and Lily talking, oops.