A/N: Hi! Thank you so much for the positive feedback! Now, let's see if I can possibly keep this going. Also, I'm sorry if this get's really dark. I have no control once I get started..!

Chapter 2. Reflection

Jinora woke up slowly as pale sunbeams peered through the curtains. She felt disoriented for a short moment, before she felt his breath on her neck and his arm hanging limply over her waist. She was never one to snooze off, but this moment was one she wanted to linger in for a little longer.

Naturally though, it could not last forever. A feeling of uneasiness filled her once she remembered exactly why she was in Kai's bed, and not her own. The image of herself covered in blood was still clear in her mind, along with the smell of it. She covered her lips with her hand. Was she shaking? Why would she dream something like that?

She sat up abruptly, tearing the sheets off of Kai. He woke up with a groan and just lay there for a moment. Jinora put a hand to her chest, right above her heart. It hurt.

"Good morning, miss not-afraid-of-thunder," Kai mumbled.

He rubbed his face violently while yawning. He was very tired in the mornings, but not too tired to pull off a goofy smile.

"It wasn't the thunder," Jinora said and looked at him over her shoulder. "It was a dream I had."

"A nightmare?" he asked and pushed himself up on his elbows. His smile was gone once he saw her. Jinora suspected she bore traces of her restless night on her face. She rubbed her face a little to try and gain some color back.

"Yeah. I actually fell out of my bed," Jinora said and forced a laugh.

"What was it about?" Kai asked, stroking her back lovingly.

Jinora blinked rapidly as she tried to remember the details. They made her feel dizzy. She glanced back at him. He was watching her with sleepy, green eyes. His hair was even more tousled than usual. When did he even get this handsome? She pulled her knees up to her chest and turned away.

"You don't want to hear it," she said.

He scoffed and sat up, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. Jinora tried not to notice his bare upper body too much.

"I think I can take a nightmare, Jin," he said and squeezed her shoulder. "You can tell me."

She flashed him a smile. "Thank you, Kai. But I don't want to talk about it right now," she said and gave him a peck on the cheek. He eyed her suspiciously, but, thankfully, he let it go.

Jinora expertly snuck back to her own bedroom. It only took some sneaking around corners, and a short climb up the wall and through her window. She washed up and changed quickly, giving herself no time to dwell on the dream.

"Jinora, I was about to come get you," Pema said as Jinora sat down by the table in the kitchen. She was in the midst of wiping Rohan's face. Around the table sat Ikki and Meelo, both of them eyed her suspiciously.

"Sorry. I didn't sleep well," Jinora said, avoiding eye contact with anyone.

Ikki was like a lie detector when it came to her older sister, and Jinora knew it. Not to mention how often Meelo would burst out with inappropriate comments about Kai and her around the dinner table. It was best not to take any chances. Especially as she could feel both their eyes glued to her as she ate.

"Where's dad?" Jinora asked.

"Preparing the airship," Pema said.

Jinora glanced up for just a second and that was enough.

"Ooh, someone is mad cause her boyfriend is leaving," Meelo laughed, pointing at her with his yoghurt spoon.

"Are you afraid that he's gonna have so much fun out in the world that he won't want to come back again?" Ikki asked sweetly. It was supposed to be a joke, but Jinora found herself unable to laugh it off.

"He wouldn't do that, you little -"

"Jinora," Pema said sternly. Jinora looked away. "Be nice to each other. All of you."

Jinora fell silent the rest of the meal. She still did not feel well after the night and she noticed that her mother knew something was up. Which was why she knew she was in for a pep talk when Pema asked her to stay and help her do the dishes when they had finished eating.

"But, mom, I have to go say goodbye," Jinora tried, advancing ever so slightly towards the hallway.

"You still have an hour before they leave, honey. You have time to help your mother," Pema said and handed her a cloth.

With a sigh she bit her teeth together and started drying off the dishes as Pema cleaned them in the sink.

"Are you upset that you have to stay, honey?" Pema asked eventually.

"No, it's fine," Jinora said, though she dried the dishes a little more aggressively.

"Then what is bothering you?" Pema asked, turning to face her daughter. Jinora had always been good tempered and gentle, but the teenage years had brought with them a few changes; secrecy and a slight impatience was two of them.

Jinora reached out and took the cleaned plate out of her mother's hand. "I'm just grumpy cause I didn't get enough sleep," she said. Pema leaned onto the counter and gave her daughter a knowing smile.

"You sure about that?" Pema asked.

Jinora just smiled back, nodded her head and left the kitchen without another word. She loved her mother to bits, but there was just certain things she did not want to discuss with her parents. Her relationship with Kia was one of those things.

"He's crazy about you, honey," Pema called after her as she escaped into the hallway. Jinora stifled a groan and went outside.

The airship stood ready for departure down by the docks. Jinora made sure to say goodbye to everyone else first, saving Kai for last. She gave her father a long hug, after receiving a long list of things she already knew she needed to do while he was gone. He chuckled when she finished his sentence for him, followed by a impatient 'I know, dad.'

"I know I'm leaving the island in capable hands," he said as he got up.

"I love you, dad," Jinora said and smiled.

"I love you too, dear," Tenzin said and squeezed her shoulder before boarding the air ship.

Farther up the docks Bolin and Kai was wrestling in a play fight, that obviously Bolin was winning. Kai was so pumped with energy, completely opposite from when Jinora was trying to help him with his meditation. Completely opposite from how he had been the last couple of weeks in fact.

Korra walked up to Jinora from behind, eyeing the younger girl sympathetically.

"I'll keep him occupied while we're away, Jinora," Korra said and elbowed her in the arm. "He's not going on a vacation."

Jinora breathed a joyless laugh. "One week?" she asked, without taking her eyes off of the two as they made their way towards the airship.

"Tops," Korra said. She pulled Jinora into a tight hug, which Jinora realized was much needed. She hugged her back, feeling her worry slipping away for a moment. "See you soon," Korra said as she walked over to the airship, flashing one last reassuring smile.

"See you," Jinora said.

"Bye, Jinora! Have fun doing Tenzin's job!" Bolin said smoothly as he walked past her, leaving her and Kai to say goodbye alone.

Kai stepped up to her, slightly out of breath, with a wild spark in his eyes. The same spark she had fallen in love with in the first place. She smiled helplessly.

"I'm gonna miss you," she said quietly.

"I'll miss you too," he said and hugged her tightly. "But it's not for long this time," he added and kissed her softly on the lips. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed the tip of her nose. Jinora giggled and pulled away. "See you soon," he said.

"Bye," Jinora said and watched him walk towards the ship. Before he walked up to the door, he turned and waved with an excited smile on his face. Jinora smiled back. She stayed there until the ship had taken off and watched it fly away, until it was just a black dot on the horizon.

It was only her left on the docks. Her and the sound of the sea and the wind in the trees.

The day went by slowly. Jinora did everything she was supposed to: running training sessions for the air benders, alphabetize some old books Tenzin had imported from the Fire Nation and checking on the bison down in the stables. By the time dinner was done, there was only one chore left. A meditation session in the Temple.

The reverb in the temple made her voice sound much more powerful than it usually did. On the floor in front of her sat a group of seven other air benders. They usually did this session with Tenzin, to help them detach themselves from their daily worries, hoping to help enhance their focus during training.

'Alright everyone, assume the position and close your eyes… and breathe out… slowly,' Jinora said in a gentle tone. She cracked her eyes open to make sure everyone was doing it right, before she allowed herself to fall into focus.

She was a natural at it. She could find peace within herself by counting backwards from ten. All she would hear was her own steady breathing, and then eventually, her heartbeat. She knew the rhythm of it by now.

Ba bom, ba bom, ba bom…

But this time something was off. The darkness wasn't as soothing as it used to be. Shapes twirled around in front of her inner eye. She could see shades of blue and purple. Then she heard it. Her heart.

Ba tish, ba tish, ba tish…

It was different. It beat faster and faster, but different from what she was used to. A coldness washed over her, filled her from her chest and all the way out into her fingertips. Something was wrong.

In the darkness, the colors changed. The shades of blue turned white, like thin smoke twirling around in hypnotizing shapes. In the twirls, a face took shape. As much as she wanted to open her eyes and get away, she could not. Her mind kept digging deeper into the darkness, unfolding the misty layers of color until the face was clear as day. Until she stared directly into her own eyes.

She floated closer and closer and closer, until she was standing directly in front of her own reflection. She looked drained of all energy. Her eyes were cold, her gaze was distant. Jinora wanted to reach out and touch her, to see if she was real. She lifted her hand, reached out. She froze only inches away from her reflection. Her eyes were glued to the skin on her knuckles. She could see every single vein under her skin. Even in the dark, they became clear, as if her skin had become transparent. As she stared at her outstretched hand, the veins turned black. It looked like ink filled her veins, starting from her fingertips and running down her arm.

She could feel it sting. Burn her from the inside until she could not take it anymore.

She cried out. Her voice echoed throughout the temple. She jolted backwards, confused to find herself back in front of the air bender group. Seven puzzled faces stared at her.

She lifted her hands up in front of her, examining the skin. It was normal. The veins were only barely visible on the back of her hand.

"Jinora, are you alright?" a woman asked. She was about to get up, when Jinora jumped to her feet.

"Yes, I'm fine. Please excuse me," she said hurriedly and broke into a jog as she crossed the floor. She ran out of the wide open doors, and practically sprinted home.

She spent several minutes examining her skin in the mirror. Her air suit was sprawled out on the bathroom floor. When she was entirely sure there was no black veins anywhere and that nothing felt out of the ordinary, she got dressed and headed to the only place that could help her make sense of things. The library.

There were rows upon rows with books. So much knowledge collected into one hall. Growing up, most of Jinora's free time was spent in this place. She would start from A, and work her way through the entire alphabet, and not once could she remember to have felt bored. This time however, she found herself hesitating in front of the many shelves. She had absolutely no idea what to look for, or where to start. What was even going on with her?

Was it a result of stress? Maybe an illness? Or maybe, spirits forbid: puberty?

She made her way down an ile where she earlier had located books on dream interpretation. There were many ways to decipher a dream. One could look for symbols and colors, or analyze the events of the dream and compare them to the examples in the books.

She picked one at random and started looking through it. She stopped on the page that described what dreaming of a heart could mean.

A bleeding and/or aching heart can represent desperation, despair and extreme sadness. You might be lacking support or love in your life.

Jinora frowned. She had not felt particularly sad lately. Maybe frustrated that Kai did not seem to take his spiritual training seriously but… Her eyes fell on the last line of the paragraph again.

You might be lacking support or love in your life.

Jinora stared at it for a while. For a moment she felt like the whole temperature in the library sunk several degrees. The light even seemed to go dimmer.

She shook it off. It could not be. She focused on looking up blood instead.

To dream that you are bleeding, can represent suffering, exhaustion, or signify that you are feeling emotionally drained. It may also be a warning of upcoming bitter confrontations between you and your friends.

The frown on her forehead grew even deeper. It did not make any sense for her to dream of these symbols, when she was feeling completely fine. All logic told her that these interpretations were completely wrong in her case, yet a part of her worried that they might be true. That maybe there was something in her life she was not seeing. That maybe it had to do with Kai.

When she looked up the color black, to see if she could find anything about the blackness filling her veins, she got really worried.

… symbolizes the unknown, the unconscious, danger, mystery, darkness, death, rejection, hate or malice. The color invites you to dig deeper into your unconscious in order to gain a better understanding of yourself.

The book fell heavily against her thighs. She was sat on the floor, looking up at the ceiling far up above her. She had mastered meditation long ago. She had meditated nearly every day for as long as she could remember. What on earth could there be that she did not know about herself by now?

Half heartedly, Jinora closed her eyes and counted backwards from ten, mentally preparing herself for what she might see.

But she could not make it past four. Her eyes shot open as she felt her chest ache again. She bit her lip. She had no idea what was happening to her, but on thing she knew for sure:

All the people that could possibly have helped her with this had all left that very same morning.

A/N: Thank you for reading and I really hope you enjoyed it! I'll appreciate any feedback. Thank you! :)