"Korra, Korra where are you?"
"Korra this isn't funny, answer me young lady!"
"Korra, what are you doing?" When Korra's newest guardian finally found her, she could see why Korra wasn't answering. A few days ago a penguin hatchling had almost been scooped up by a bird. Korra had saved the hatchling, bringing it back and trying to take care of it. Everyone had told her she was better off letting it make its way back home, but Korra had guarded it with everything. However, it seemed her little friend had tried to make a break for it, despite its broken wing. Korra cupped its frozen body in her hands.
"He died." At eight, there weren't many things Korra would say she couldn't do. She'd been living with the order for a year already, and her bending had improved rapidly. Everyone agreed that she was a natural, taking to firebending, earthbending, and waterbending with ease. It was hard to forget that she was still just a little girl.
"Oh, honey." The woman had never had children. Technically she didn't work for the order; she just lived with them to nurture Korra. So far the girl didn't seem to need nurturing, but the woman thought this may be her chance.
"Sweetie, everyone dies." She tried to hug Korra, but once again the girl wriggled out of her grasp.
"I know that." Far from sad, Korra sounded vaguely exasperated.
"Oh, well, are you okay?" The woman couldn't help her fidgeting. She wasn't sure how to handle this. When she'd been asked if she wanted to look after the avatar, she pictured a little girl. Korra was anything but. Sure she was eight, but she was more determined than half of her instructors. All she wanted to do was bend.
"Kalak?"
"Yes Korra?"
"What happens when you die?" The woman was taken aback. She hadn't expected the question.
"Well, when you die you become a spirit. You go to the spirit world."
"What's the spirit world like?" The woman smiled. Storytelling she could do. It was right up her alley with children. She'd tell stories to her little cousins all the time, and they loved it.
"Oh, it's a beautiful place Korra. It's like the best of every kingdom, very pretty. It's the kind of place where you can lose yourself and never want to be found." She started. She was surprised when Korra huffed in irritation.
"Yes, but what do you do there?" Kalak frowned. She'd never really thought too much of the spirit world. There was no use thinking about the dead when the living were still around. But Korra wasn't really asking about the dead, she was asking about the place in general.
"Well Korra. How would we know? The only people who ever go there are avatars. Maybe one day you'll tell us?" Just once she'd like to see the young avatar act how she thought a child should. Korra's dreams were all so plain. She loved probending, and wanted to be the best avatar every. There wasn't really a costume for that. It was for nothing anyways, Korra was not dissuaded.
"How come when Avatar Aang went to the spirit world he didn't see all the dead people? How come I can't get to the spirit world? If I go there, will I see the people who died?" Kalak did not know how to handle the onslaught of questions.
"Korra, I, this isn't, shouldn't you ask Master Katara?"
"You're an adult, why don't you know?" Korra was never afraid to challenge her superiors.
"Korra, that was very rude." Instead of looking sorry, Korra just huffed.
"You don't know anything!" She snapped. Before Kalak could stop her, Korra had already dropped the dead penguin chick and was well on her way back to the base. That night, Kalak packed her things and went home.
"Mother?" Tarrlok didn't want to wake up his dad. He knew if he did his dad would get angry with him. He wouldn't show it; Yakone never showed negative emotion in front of his wife. But Yakone knew what Tarrlok didn't like, and he'd be sure to make Tarrlok do only the worst of things the next day.
"Mother?" Tarrlok was going to give up, especially when he saw his father stir, but then his mom's sleepy head popped up.
"Come here baby" she smiled, holding her arms out for her son. Tarrlok ignored her, running out to the kitchen. She followed as usual, catching him in the kitchen and swinging him around.
"What's wrong Tarrlok?" In the light of their cooking area, she could see the tear streaks on his face. From the kitchen they could hear only the snores of Yakone and Noatak, oddly in synch. She kept her arms wrapped around him.
"Mother, what happens when something dies?" She gasped, making Tarrlok feel instantly bad. His father had told him he could never tell his mother what they did in the wild. He'd cautioned him that the boys' mother was too weak, being a non-bender. She couldn't be burdened with that, or it would kill her. As seven year old Tarrlok heard his mother's surprised coughing, he imagined her falling dead to the floor. It would be his entire fault, just like Yakone said. Frantically, he tried to wriggle out of his mother's grasp.
"I'm fine. Baby, Tarrlok I'm fine. You boys are so funny. You act like I'm made of loose snow, like I'll crumble in your hands. What's the matter Tarrlok? Why would you ask me that? You know about the spirit world. Did you all see a dead animal today?" He wanted to tell her what they really did when they went on their walks. He wanted to tell her how wrong it felt, how you could feel the life of the animal you were bending, and how disgusting it felt to kill an animal from the inside out. How disgusting he felt. Instead, he nodded.
"My poor darling. That must have been scary." Trapped in his lie, Tarrlok nodded again.
"What was your father thinking? Don't worry baby, I'll talk to him. You're too young for that." His mother was smiling, but Tarrlok had never been so scared.
"Mother please don't tell him that I asked you. Please?"
"Tarrlok don't be silly. Your father has to be more careful. You two could have been traumatized, seeing something like that!" Tarrlok frantically shook his head.
"You can't, he'll be mad at me." She giggled at that.
"He doesn't know he scared you. He won't be mad." Tarrlok felt the tears but couldn't stop them.
"Mommy no." He hadn't called her mommy since he was four. Not since Yakone had discovered Noatak's bending and had begun to take them both out to train. Not since Yakone had begun to raise the men he wanted. Men who were ruthless, who didn't have a soft spot for anything. Not even to call their mothers and fathers by such inappropriately childish names. Tarrlok's mother seemed surprised by his reaction, but she still kissed his tears away.
"I won't tell. This time it'll be our little secret." She acquiesced. She pulled him closer, resting her chin on his head.
"Mother," Tarrlok already felt better.
"What do the spirits do?" Tarrlok asked. "Are they happy?" His mother smiled, pulling Tarrlok closer still, until she was cradling him in her arms. It had been a while since he'd last let her do that.
"Okay baby, maybe it is time we talk about spirituality."