It is here at last.

It was quiet.

Though not literally, it was quiet. Aside from the sounds of busy automobile filled roads and chatter of pedestrians, things seemed to be less noisy tonight than usual.

From his spot looking over Yue Bay, Skoochy thought that everything was looking rather ordinary on Air Temple Island. But of course he knew for a fact that that wasn't entirely the case. Jinora was most probably facing some sort of verbal storm from her parents or something or rather. That's what parents do when their children break the rules, right? Well, it had been a few days since she had been caught. Maybe the old man was done with the shouting and was simply keeping an eye on Jinora now.

He remembered arriving at the police station that night. Chief Bei Fong marched them inside to find that a certain airbending master already there in a worried foot tapping frenzy. Though he kept a calm demeanour, Skoochy's self-trained eyes could tell that Tenzin was holding in his rage and using his worry to cover it up. It was clear he didn't want to cause a scene and that he was saving his outburst for later. All he said was 'I'm very disappointed in you' before taking Jinora home. As she left, Jinora gave Skoochy one last look. A silent plea for some kind of help, but what could he, an untrained earthbender and malnourished homeless kid, do? Skoochy could only look back helplessly.

In the meantime, Skoochy himself spent the rest of the night being lectured by police officers who were at the same time expressed their supposed concern for his wellbeing. Though it was nothing he had never heard before. He had been dragged over to the station a number of times in his life. After spending the night in a warm cell, he was dropped off by police vehicle at an orphanage. But like the last orphanage he stayed at, he took advantage of a few free meals before taking off in the dead of the night. Now, a few days later, he found himself gazing toward Air Temple Island.

He couldn't help but feel sorry for Jinora. From what he gathered, life on the island was dull and boring. Sneaking out at night to hang out with him was her only form of escape from her realm of dreariness. But now that she had been caught, she would not be able to run off like she used to. There would be many eyes, in the form of White Lotus sentries, watching over her just about all the time.

That sort of made Skoochy feel a little disappointed. He was going to miss having Jinora around. She was fun to make fun of, especially when he called her an airhead. Unlike the other street kids he hung around, Jinora was more carefree which lightened the mood. But above all, she was a good friend to have.

A strong, cold sea breeze shocked him out of his thoughts. Chills ran around his body in response to the cold. Skoochy huffed in annoyance as he turned around to walk further inland. He really needed to do something about getting a coat for the winter.

Skoochy spun on his heels and made his way further inland, where the wind would assault him less. He sighed as he tried to think of what to do to burn his time. Maybe he'd go and try to find Xing. Or he could try picking a few pockets here and there to help him get by a little longer. But in the end he shrugged to himself, not feeling up for doing much today. He pressed on into the heart of the city with a huff.

He eventually found himself in front of Central City Station by Zuko's statue, the flame as warm and welcoming as ever in the cold winter weather. Looking up into the dancing glow, he had another thought of Jinora; this time a little more sentimental. This statue was their meeting point for whenever she would sneak out. He didn't know when she would or wouldn't but he'd made a trip here every night in case of the off chance she would show up.

Would I need to bother anymore?

He didn't know. But surely they couldn't keep Jinora contained forever.

Could they?

He shrugged to himself. He would just have to wait and see.

"Skooch'!"

A young and familiar voice brought Skoochy out of his train of thought.

"Oh," Skoochy turned to find his friend Xing approaching him, "hey Xing. What's up with you?"

"Nothing really," Xing shrugged, "But how about you, Skooch'? What are you going to do now that your girlfriend's been busted?"

Skoochy rolled eyes, "She's not my girlfriend."

"Yeah, and I'm the president of the United Republic," Xing said sarcastically with a smirk.

Skoochy could only sigh at his young friend, giving up any further argument. To which Xing laughed victoriously before changing the subject.

"So, it's winter now," Xing said before pointing a thumb toward a distant apartment district, "let's go find something warm to wear."

Skoochy gave him a blank look before smirking, "Alright. I could use new coat."

It was quiet.

Quite literally; you could hear a pin drop. But such was the atmosphere of Air Temple Island; quiet and peaceful. Well, at least until Korra showed up in Republic City over a year ago. When Korra turned up, life on the island was never the same. The island was populated with Order of the While Lotus sentries, Korra always caused a lot of noise and chaos and the presence of a certain pair of bending brothers who she had brought along had caused quite a stir.

But recently another cause for unrest on the island had arisen. It was revealed that young Jinora had been making frequent trips out to the city without anyone knowing, and a coincidental encounter with Lin Beifong had exposed her secret escapades. While it was said that airbenders were among the loudest snorers in the world, they were also among the loudest shouters. The force behind Tenzin's lecturing shouts were enough to push Jinora a step back with each lengthy bellow. It was a side of her father that she had never seen before, and it had frightened her. So much so that she had been reduced to tears under the weight of the verbal storm.

That was a few days ago though. Tenzin had since ceased with his outbursts at Pema's insistence, who was worried he might end up with an aneurism. Jinora decided to push aside the thought of those memories. She didn't want to be reminded of the fact that she was going to be confined to the island under a watchful eye for what she assumed would be a very long time.

Jinora pulled herself up from her prone position in bed and stepped over to her bedroom window. She leaned against the sill as she stared off toward the city. Out of the corners of her eyes, she spotted the two White Lotus sentries standing outside by either side of her window. They had been stationed there by Tenzin to make sure that she didn't attempt another runner in the dead of the night. Much like by her window, standing outside her bedroom door were another pair of White Lotus sentries. Only that pair were told to follow her around the island, at a respectable distance, and make sure she didn't try anything during as she wondered about. With a frown and a frustrated sigh, she tried to ignore their presence and instead focus on taking in the majestic sight ahead of her. Despite seeing the same sight for her entire life, she could never get sick of the sight of the capital city across the bay at night.

Well, at least that's what she had thought. But since being caught out, the sight of the city was simply a reminder of her lost sense of freedom. The unobtainable goal so close and yet so far. The sight of the city only disheartened her, but for some reason she could not bring herself to close the shutters of her room or to even simple look away for any extended period of time.

She was reluctant to leave her room because she didn't have the stomach to face her father for the meantime, typical of her nature as an airbender to avoid trouble. Additionally, she did not want to be constantly followed around by White Lotus sentries. It left her restless and her unwillingness to leave her bedroom left her no space to airbend her frustrations away without causing a mess or potential damage to her room or belongings.

The only thing available to her to help pass the time was to immerse herself in her books. But again, Jinora's stubborn disposition continued to work against her. Her unwillingness to leave her room left her with only the collection of books in her bookshelf. These books were a collection of her favourite books; books she had already read. There are only so many times one could read a book and still be able to enjoy it at its fullest. But despite that, she stepped away from the window, feeling compelled to pick out a book to read. Without really looking, she ran a finger along the spines of the books before pulling out a moderately sized book.

Book in hand, she sat herself down on her bed and opened to the first page. The book took her to a different time, where the world was completely different from now. It was a romance set in ancient Fire Nation, centred on a notorious, handsome and charismatic highwayman and a soft spoken daughter of a wealthy noble.

It was a story of a highwayman who one day robbed the wealthy noble, only to steal a glance at the noble's daughter in the process, and fall in love at first sight. Every night, he would sneak into the noble's estate and pay a visit to the noble's daughter. While at first she was frightened, his friendly and harmless demeanour allowed her to warm up to him. During his visits he would regale to her stories about the vastness of the world, as she had always been confined to the estate. Every time he would leave, she would comment how she envied his freedom and would ask him to return with a new story about a new place she had never heard before. The highwayman was more than happy to oblige.

These visits would continue for a long time, until one day the highwayman robbed one too many people. A substantial bounty was placed on his head and he was urged to flee to the Earth Kingdom, where there was no one to hunt him, by his fellow thieving brethren. But before he left, he paid one last visit to the noble's daughter. He urged her to run away with him. Run away and see a new world for herself. She was more than happy to go with him.

But before the preparations for their departure was complete, he was caught by the authorities and was later executed. Having loved him, the noble's daughter mourned his death for a long time, and soon she summed up the resolve to up and leave the estate that she had been confined to her whole life in order to journey to the Earth Kingdom and see more of the world as she had intended to.

Jinora started to cry. It was a sad story, but what tipped her was how she was in a way reminded of her own situation. She too had been, for the most part, confined to an 'estate' known as Air Temple Island. She had a misfit from the outside who would show her more of the world she lived in. And she too had been forced to be separated from him, only he hadn't been executed.

It was ironic. She had picked up a book to distract herself, only to be reminded further of her circumstances. It wasn't fair. She didn't want to be locked up on the island. She envied the freedom Skoochy had, even if it did come at the cost of a life full of hardships. She wanted to run away, she wanted to be free like him. She didn't care if it meant life would be hard, she just wanted to run away from this place and be able to be by Skoochy's side.

Although she muffled her cries into her pillow, her cries did not fall to deaf ears. She was momentarily pulled out of her angst by a knock on her door.

"Jinora?" said the voice of the avatar, "Are you okay?"

The door slip open to reveal a concerned looking Korra. Jinora could only sniff in response as she shook her head. Korra's shoulders slumped as she stepped into the room and shut the door behind her. She sat herself down on the bed next to Jinora and pulled her in for a comforting hug.

"Hey, I heard Tenzin has assigned those While Lotus guys to watch over you and isn't letting you off the island," Korra began as she held the young airbender, "But it's not going to be like this forever. You dad is just worried about you. And… A little angry, but worried either way."

Of course, Jinora understood that, somewhat. She nodded silently as she let Korra hold her.

"I can relate," Korra continued, "About the feeling of being locked up and watched over, I mean. That compound down at the South Pole… Don't worry, Jinora. The old man will become more lenient eventually. You just need to be patient."

"'Patient'?" Jinora questioned through her sniffling, "This coming from you… That's rich."

"Hey, come on," Korra protested, "I'm trying to comfort you here."

Jinora giggled half-heartedly before returning Korra's embrace.

It made sense to her. Surely her father wouldn't keep her locked up on the island forever. She would just have to be patient for the time being, she would be allowed out on her own accord soon. All she had to do was be patient. However, whenever 'soon' was, it certainly couldn't come fast enough.

Again, somewhat short in comparison to previous chapters. But quantity doesn't necessarily mean quality, right? Although I did rush this one a little in a bid to get this out. What did you think of it? Reviews are most welcome.

I attempted angst. This is why I don't do angst; I take forever because I can't depict these negative emotions well. So I resolved this by making it more light hearted in the end. So I'm going to stick to fluff. This is what you guys came for anyway, right? A cutesy childhood romance story? Yeah? Well that's what I was intending for this story anyway... Stay tuned for happy stuff from now on. Seriously. This took a long time, albeit I was also busy with real world responsibilities... But still, a wait since July last year is a horrible thing for me to put you guys through. For that, I apologise.

In regards to this story, originally this was intended as a sort of 'sequel' story to Legend of Korra so that it didn't interfere with the canon timeline. However, with the advent of Book 2 and all the new details put into the canon universe, I will now be treating this story as a sort of AU story due to a number of inconsistencies between this fic and the canon story. Though I may overhaul this fic in its entirety in the future in order to stick with the original aim, and improve the general quality of the fic. But that's still a long way away. We'll see what happens.

That's about it, really. Thank you for reading and leaving your reviews! See you when chapter 11 is ready. Whenever that is...