"He's turning out to be an interesting little creature," Asami said, gazing at the chick, who was bouncing around on a nearby log, exploring.

"Yeah, never thought Wan Shi Tong would ever be cute," Korra agreed. "I like him better this way, actually."

The last couple of days, ever since they had decided to take the tiny owl under their wing, so to speak, he didn't so much as chirp. He only hopped around, wide black eyes drinking in everything they saw with a hunger that even ever-learning Asami couldn't match. She must've seen something of herself in the little bird, since whenever they made the trek from place to place, Wan Shi Tong never failed to perch himself on her shoulder, watching the scenery go by. Sometimes, when they made camp, he would disappear for hours at a time, only to be found nestled under Asami's crumpled coat come nightfall.

At first they figured they had better return him to his library, since that only seemed the logical place for the avian foundling to go, but there remained the insurmountable problem of the plague. It had already infected the library and the knowledge seekers within, so in the end Asami and Korra decided that it would be best if they took the fledgling with them. It seemed the best course of action was to keep the new, pure spirit away from the damaging influence of the disease, both practically and symbolically.

But beyond that, they didn't have much of a plan. When Korra suggested that maybe she should try to meditate within the Tree of Time again, Asami was adamant that she didn't.

"You didn't see yourself, Korra, but I did. It was scary, when you meditated. It was like you went crazy. I don't want that to happen to you again, whatever it was."

Korra sighed, looking at her feet, where the white puff of down was hopping, circling her legs. "It was strange," she started, almost whispering. "When I tried to listen to the Tree, all I could feel was pain. It was all I could see, just this wide, awful terror, and it made me so angry, I couldn't…" she paused. "I couldn't make anything of it. It was like the spirit world was too angry to think, so I was too angry to think."

Asami's fingers intertwined with hers. "What was it like?"

Korra thought for a moment. "Imagine a part of you is cut off. Imagine…" Korra looked into her half-face, at the black band that covered her missing eye. "Imagine that the part of your face that you lost is still aware, still feeling, and it's in pain. Terrible pain that you can't stop because your face is no longer physically a part of you. You can't do anything about it, since it's so far away, so this pain is out of your control. And your eye, it can still see all the awful things that are happening to it, but you can't stop it, you can't escape what it sees. That's kind of how it feels, for the spirit world, I mean. Having vines ripped off and stuffed in a canister and blown up… that's what's happening to it. Every vine is connected to its source, you know, so when one vine gets cut up and tortured, the rest of the spirit world feels it… and being turned into a weapon like that... just feels horrible."

"I'm sorry you had to go through it, Korra." Asami drew Korra into her arms and squeezed. "And I don't want you to go through it again."

In truth, Korra didn't either. So they decided to leave the angry, blind Tree of Time behind. She spent hours meditating on other spirits, trying to get in touch with any that would help her. Unfortunately, the majority of those that had the ability to speak to her, those greater spirits with conscious minds, had been infected and had those minds twisted. Reaching out to one was just as dangerous as it was useless. There was always the possibility that they could spread the plague as well.

Korra had been thinking about the infectiousness of the plague recently. Not that it hadn't been on her mind these past few weeks, but her battle with the late Wan Shi Tong had left a sore spot in her chest she could not ignore. Occasionally she would cough up a spot of black phlegm, which she would quickly wipe on the nearest branch or plant, trying to keep Asami from seeing.

Wan Shi Tong, however, saw all. On their fourth day with the infant bird, he followed Korra out into the woods as she scouted out a campsite that had not been touched by plague.

"You're sick," he squeaked, and Korra was taken aback by the sudden speech.

"You can talk!" was all she said.

"Of course, you idiot," the petulant little thing replied. "But first I needed to learn your language. I had to listen to you and Asami for a while before I understood your barbaric dialect completely."

Korra was a little too surprised to be put off by his mild insult. "But…" she knelt to look at the owl a bit closer. "You're Wan Shi Tong… don't you already know everything?"

"I was reborn, remember? You're the Avatar but you have to relearn bending every time you're born. It's impossible to remember everything from the last time around. You of all people should know this."

Korra shrugged, conceding that point.

"The heart of the matter is, you've got the sickness inside you. The same one that all the tree spirits keep whispering about."

Korra hadn't heard the trees whispering about her. "I know." She didn't know what else to say.

"From what I've heard being passed around, I was the one who gave it to you. I'm sorry."

Korra sat cross-legged, and the tiny bird hopped onto one of her knees. "Do you know how to fix it?" she asked, relieved that after all this, she was finally able to talk to the great Wan Shi Tong, even if he was a little smaller than usual.

"I'm afraid not. I may have known, back when I was still curator of the great library. Now that I'm lost and without most of my knowledge, I can't help you."

Korra hung her head, her sigh turning into a violent cough. She put her hand to her mouth and it came away powdered with a wet black dust.

"But, I have heard of someone who may be able to."

Korra lifted her head. "Will they be able to help the rest of the spirit world as well?" she asked. "I'm not the only one sick, you know. The entire world is hurt."

"I know that!" The tiny bird fluffed up his down, frustrated. "Just listen. You're well aware of Koh the Face Stealer, I presume, since your friend seems to have had a run-in with him."

Korra nodded. Just the sound of his name sent a shiver through her.

"Well, he has a mother. A benevolent spirit, believe it or not. She is wise, cautious, and spends the majority of her time in the human world, which, according to what a birch tree told me, is still uninfected. So she might be able to be called into this world to help."

"Can she give Asami back her face?"

"Quite possibly," the little bird twittered. "But that's not the real reason we're going. She, along with a few other spirits like Hei Bai, have some degree of authority when it comes to silviculture of the Spirit world."

"Huh?"

The owl sighed. "She's in charge of the forests. And since the plague is mostly affecting the plants and trees, she might be the authority to go to for help. Besides, rumor has it that her son has been rampaging through the infected areas, causing trouble and overstepping his bounds. This is a personal matter for her."

"So if we go see her, then she'll be able to help us?" Korra asked.

"In short, maybe."

Korra smiled and couldn't help patting his little forehead with a finger. "Good job, little bird."

Wan Shi Tong, however, was not as pleased as Korra. "How dare you address as 'little bird?'" the tiny thing screeched, bouncing furiously. Korra, still ecstatic that they at least had a lead, gently cupped him in her hands and placed him in one of her pockets. His muffled voice could be heard grumbling underneath the cloth: "Let me go, you ignorant creature! You need me to lead the way, you stupid, directionless human."

"Less than a week old and you're already a smartass," Korra smiled, patting her pocket affectionately.

When Korra explained the situation to Asami, she conveniently left out the fact that she herself had been touched by the plague. Korra figured that Asami knew to some degree, given the looks she shot her whenever she bent over, hand over her mouth, and coughed violently. But Asami didn't say anything and Korra was thankful for it. She would prefer to bear the burden of sickness without Asami worrying about her.

Asami, perhaps tempted by the prospect of having her face returned, agreed wholeheartedly that they should set out in search of the Mother of Faces. Led by the whisperings and rumors of trees that neither Korra nor Asami could hear, Wan Shi Tong hopped ahead of them, showing them the way.

"She can only be summoned back to the spirit world if you call her from her pond. It's supposed to be the most serene place in this world, untouched by disease or death," Wan Shi Tong squeaked. "Which means that we'll be safe from the plague there, too."

"Wouldn't that be nice…" Korra muttered. For too long they had searched so hard simply to find a place to camp where the plague would not sneak up on them while they slept. Those places, even in the vast and once-healthy forest, were few and far between, and growing farther still.

So it shouldn't have come as a surprise that when they finally arrived at the pond of the Mother of Faces, it was buried in a layer of grime. Its surface was dark, dull, and its waters sloshed at the banks as if they were trying to escape the blight that coated the bottom of the pond.

"No, no, no!" Wan Shi Tong was furious at his plan's failure. "It's not supposed to be like this!"

Korra sat down at the water's edge, ignoring the blighted plants that shed leaves and dust on her clothes. She crossed her legs and stared into the water. "Do you think she's in there?" Asami sat down beside her, following her gaze into the black liquid.

"Absolutely not," Wan Shi Tong said. "Not if she knows what's best for her. She'll still be in the human world, in her little forest, while the rest of us down here sicken and die."

Korra thought for a moment. If she could manage to send her spirit into this world, from her own, perhaps the reverse would be possible. She closed her eyes and lay her hands over her knees, palms facing upward.

"What are you doing?" Asami asked.

"I'm going to go find her. I'm going to see if I can project back up into the human world. Stay here and watch my body for me, will you?"

"Sure thing."

Korra took a deep breath, hoping against hope that it would work. For most people the transition seemed like only a one-way trip. Jinora was the only person she knew who could separate her spirit from her body at will and travel the human world. But this was their last resort, their only plan… if it didn't work…

It might've been through sheer desperation that Korra succeeded. When she opened her eyes again, she was in a dark forest, still strong with the smell of spirits, but definitely in the human world. Not sure where the Mother of Faces resided and what to do once she found her, Korra figured the only thing she could do was take this one step at a time. So she took that step, and started off in a random direction.

A sudden rustling in the leaves forced her to turn her head. She knew in her spiritual state she would be invisible to any normal animals, but instinct forced her to widen her stance and prepare to spring out of the way if needed.

A long snout, tipped with a shining black nose, poked out of the bushes, and two wise, dog-like eyes appeared above it, glinting in the shadows.

"Naga?" Korra tilted her head.

The animal emerged from the underbrush.

"You're not Naga," Korra said, but she reached out anyway, to let the giant wolf sniff her hand. "But you are just as pretty." Korra definitely had an affinity for all canines, and the sight of a giant wolf, especially a wolf spiritual enough to see her in her current state, was a relief. She felt like she was immediately welcome in this strange place. The wolf licked her hand once, then turned, swishing his tail as if beckoning her to follow. She let the wolf lead her through the forest, taking comfort in the sound of its panting and of its padded feet on the earth. It had been so long since she had seen an animal with any substance, and even if this wolf was a spirit, it had lived in the human world long enough to take on physical form. In this world, the smell of the plague was gone, and she was able to breathe clean air in for the hour or so that she followed the wolf.

She almost dreaded returning to the spirit world, to that smell of disease, to the strange and unsettling place in which trees spoke, plants and animals changed and morphed according to will, and where Koh resided, clicking and crawling across the expanse of blight which he now claimed as his kingdom.

The wolf stopped at a pond that glowed with blue light, lowered its head, and began to lap at the water. The ripples traveled across the water, bouncing off the opposite shore and returning, interfering with other ripples and dancing out a circular pattern. They bounced back and forth the same way that Asami described how sound and light worked, and for a moment Korra worried about her. She hoped she okay back in the spirit world.

She didn't have too much time to fret, however, since in response to the ripples, a giant spirit emerged. It was built like a tree, sprouting faces like leaves, arms and torso encased in green bark, eyeless and indescribably beautiful. The spirit had such a venerable air about her, Korra felt as if she should kneel in deference. But she only stood beside the wolf, as the Mother of Faces, big as a banyan tree and older by far, emerged from the water.