Second chapter to "Revenge of the Full Moon." More are on the war. Disclaimer still stands
Korra waited days for Master Katara's arrival. Each day she waited at the docks patiently with Naga always by her side. Occasionally, Tahno would check on her to see how she was doing. The weather cooperated, and the skies were consistently blue, and the sun shone brightly. Tahno would come, they would chat for an hour or so, and then he would leave.
Four days had passed and Korra's mind ran with thoughts of the exciting trip to the North Pole. I can't wait to see how big it is! I wonder if Katara will show me the spiritual place she told me about in her stories. I hope I'm welcome there. I hope everyone isn't like Tarrlok! Oh I'm so excited! She couldn't help but smile for days.
On the fourth day of waiting at the harbor, a large cruise ship had docked. Korra watched the mass hoard of people walk down the ramp, but her eyes illuminated when she saw a small old lady with a thick blue parka walk down the ramp.
Korra couldn't sit still; even Naga was excited to see Katara. Her tail was wagging faster and faster, hitting Korra in the back of the leg. Korra ran up to Katara and tightly wrapped her arms around her. "I've missed you so much Katara," she whispered, while tears of joy started to stream down her face. Katara was the closest thing to home that she could get at the moment.
"I've missed you too Korra," Katara replied, patting Korra on the back.
Korra laughed, and wiped the tears from her face. "Come on; let's go meet everyone before we take out trip." Katara smiled and nodded. They traveled to Air Temple Island, where the two were greeted by the airbender family, as well as Korra's friends.
Ikki and Jinora cheered upon the arrival of their and rushed towards their grandmother for a hug. Meelo was hesitant; he hid behind his parents. "It's so good to see you Gran-Gran!" Jinora said cheerfully. Katara stroked the top of their heads, and walked towards the crowd of people standing. First she greeted her son and daughter-in-law with a generous hug. "It's so good to see you mother. Thank you for coming and travelling with Korra. You could've said no," Tenzin said.
"I was more than delighted to receive word from Korra. There is plenty I can still teach her, and the North Pole is the perfect place," Katara replied kindly. Korra gently pulled Katara's arm towards the crowd of her friends. "Master Katara, these are my friends," then she proceeded to introduce them individually, "This is Bolin, Asami, Mako, and Tahno. Tahno's the one who thought of the idea to travel to the North Pole."
Katara's eyes analyzed Tahno out of curiosity, "I see…" she mumbled, "Well we better get going if we want to make good time," Katara continued. Korra looked to Tahno with excitement. Her eyes couldn't help but glance at Mako, who wasn't excited at all. He just looked at his feet. Korra looked away from him, wishing that Mako was more honest with her. She pursed her lips, stared at the ground for a few seconds, then shook her head and smiled once more.
"I'm going to quickly pack and get Naga!" Korra shouted as she ran to her room. She threw a bunch of clothes in a small duffel bag, then to the stables where Naga had been waiting for her patiently. "You excited girl?" Korra asked, rubbing Naga's head. Naga barked happily, while her tail quickly wagged.
Korra walked back to the group, with Naga faithfully by her side, "Let's go!" Korra chanted. Her enthusiasm gleamed from every muscle in her body. Korra simply could not contain herself; she's always wanted to travel, but coming to Republic City was the only travelling she had done.
Korra, Katara, Naga, and Tahno began to walk back to the boat to sail off to the North Pole. Korra turned towards everyone and waved good-bye. It was only for a few days, nothing too long, but she was going to miss everyone, even the boy who was never completely honest with her.
They boarded a large cruise ship that was headed straight to the North Pole. It would take at least a day, but there was plenty of time, and wonderful company. The three could've sat in a large room of chairs filled with other passengers, but Naga had to stay in the cargo bay. Korra wouldn't dare leave her best friend all alone, so she convinced Katara and Tahno to sit with Naga. The three sat against the polar-bear dog's furry stomach, and waited.
For the first couple of hours, Korra and Katara chattered away, catching up. Tahno sat there awkwardly; once again he felt out of place. The two women were sharing so many stories, and he was just the loner on the outside; he felt like a third wheel. His presence went somewhat unnoticed. He did whatever he could to pass the time. He twiddled his thumbs, flicked his hair around, drew imaginary pictures, and would get up for an occasional stroll. Upon his return, the two women were still talking. It's as if they were sisters.
Finally, there was a lull in the conversation. Tahno saw this as a prime opportunity to become involved in the conversation for once. "Hey Korra," he said. She turned from Katara and faced him, "Yeah Tahno?" she asked.
"Have you heard of something called bloodbending?" Katara's eyes narrowed, and her forehead wrinkled. His single question sparked an extreme suspicion in Katara. She had never spoken of bloodbending to anyone after she was forced to learn it at age 15. Katara had hoped that by keeping it a secret, it would vanish from the world. Apparently not.
Korra looked puzzled, "I've never heard of it. What is it?"
"It's a refined form of waterbending. It's when you control the water in someone's blood, and can control them. Like a puppet," he seethed. Tahno's voice was cool and nonchalant, as if the matter he was talking about was mere child's play. "Only really skilled waterbenders can do it," he continued.
Korra turned to Katara, her face plastered with curiosity. "Master Katara," she asked innocently, "Do you know how to bloodbend?" Katara glared at Tahno intently for a few seconds before easing her stare, "No Korra I don't know bloodbending, but I've heard it's dangerous."
Korra turned back towards Tahno, "Who invented it?"
"I don't know the exact details, but the story I was told is that some crazy woman figured out how to bloodbend, an old hag. She was in prison and figured out a way to manipulate the guards or something along those lines. She broke out and passed on the technique to her learner student who has been nameless since the creation of this story." Katara's heart sank; that she was considered a student of the terrible Hama. It puzzled her how people still figured out how to bloodbend, despite Katara's hardest efforts to never use it on anybody, or tell anyone.
Korra was enthusiastically taking in this little anecdote from Tahno. "You know, maybe I could figure out how to bloodbend…maybe I can finally beat Amon that way!" Korra exclaimed.
Katara scoffed, "Korra! Don't think that way! You should never resort to that form of bending. It would only bring harm to the world, and fuel the Equalist movement. Using your bending to literally control another being, it would give more reasons for people to hate benders."
Korra looked at Katara apologetically. "I'm sorry Master Katara, I didn't mean to offend you," she apologized sincerely. Korra's eyes looked innocently into her elder's. Katara smiled and placed her hand on Korra's shoulder, "It's alright Korra, I know you didn't mean any harm. I'm sorry for getting so heated up about the issue. Let's get some rest kids; we should be getting there soon. I already have a lesson planned for you Korra."
Korra smiled back, and nodded. She leaned back against Naga and drifted asleep. Tahno groaned; the last thing he wanted to do on this trip was get a waterbending lesson when he couldn't waterbend at all. He had hoped to show Korra around his home, introduce him to his lifestyle, as she had so graciously done with him. He slid back, leaned his head downward and fell asleep as well. Katara thoroughly watched Tahno. Bloodbending was not an easy subject for Katara to discuss, but her coming on this trip could shed light on how this terrible secret came into the world.
Hope you enjoy this chapter, the third (and subsequent chapters) are on the way soon. Share with your friends and reviews are always appreciated. – Fire Bender.