AN: To my U.S. readers, Happy Freedom! To everyone else? Happy um... Day?
winter
Winter was always harsh in the South Pole. It was perpetually dark, perpetually snowing, and perpetually boring. Staying inside was 99% mandatory for children, especially children who were the Avatar. The members of the White Lotus weren't too keen on having to carve her out of another iceberg.
The Avatar, however, had other ideas.
Not that she wanted to get frozen in an iceberg. She just found the perpetual torrent outside the walls of the compound to be rather… Exciting.
The seven year old Avatar-in-training ventured out into the hostile landscape one evening, bundled up and very aware that she'd get yelled at when she returned. But it was never enough to stop her. Her parents had already learned not to question things anymore. Besides, their daughter was VERY capable. There was nothing and no one in the South Pole who could really do her harm—except, perhaps, her masters who were all safely tucked inside their rooms. And of course they'd taken an oath to protect her so any harm would really be rather counter intuitive.
Korra couldn't see very well through the blizzard but she did manage to keep it from wetting her clothes. Heat burned through her skin from the outside in. She felt very comfortable and at ease, even with the wind blowing relentlessly at her back.
She wandered aimlessly through the snow for about an hour looking for something to occupy her interest. While the storm itself was rather exciting, the rest? Not so much. She was just beginning to resolve returning back to the compound when she heard an unfamiliar whimpering coming from a small snow drift.
She went over to the sound to investigate, bending away globs of snow.
Huddled shivering in the bank was a small white animal. It's tail wagged uncertainly, it's little head bobbed where it lay, and it let out a pitiful growl of warning. Korra's eyes lit up at the sight of the baby animal. "You're a polar bear puppy!" She cried excitedly, leaning down to reach out a hand to her. "Where is your mama?"
The puppy sniffed her finger curiously, growling a little before licking it. The animal shivered in the cold and buried it's nose in the snow. "Were you abandoned? Did someone hurt your mama?" Korra cooed in the dark, reaching hesitantly to pet the polar bear dog. The puppy didn't object, merely whimpered and covered it's face with it's front paws.
"Come on, girl. Do you want to get out of this cold? Why don't you come with me and we'll see about finding your mama tomorrow, okay?" Korra coaxed, picking up the puppy and pulling her into her arms. The dog didn't object though she did nip playfully at the ties in Korra's hair.
Korra laughed. "Okay, okay. Warmth first, then we'll play after. Deal?" The puppy seemed satisfied with this response and burrowed deeply into Korra's coat.
The two of them set off into the snow, never to be truly parted again.