Chapter 15
Shock
Asami rotated as slow as possible, bracing herself for whatever it was that was behind her. There stood a mighty beast about double her height, with the body of a bear and the fangs, claws, and tail of a cougar. Its eyes were green like that of a cougar, too, as well as its whiskers and snout shape. It rose from its front paws and hissed. When it touched the ground again, it pounced.
"Run!" They both yelled at the same time, each of them sprinting beside one another. They ran off the central path along the flatter side of the mountain to their left.
"Are you satisfied now, Korra?"
"I honestly didn't think that cougar bears would be that big! Or hunt during the day! Or hunt us!"
"Look out!"
Asami jumped over a large branch while Korra slid underneath it.
She caught up to Asami, huffing as they ran. "Do you have any idea where you're going?"
"Yeah, away from that thing!" She pointed behind her to the cougar bear just as it smashed right through the branch they had dodged, hot on their tail.
They ran through the forest, avoiding tree after tree and slipping into paths that were too narrow for the animal to pursue them.
It was no matter for the cougar bear; it just went around the obstacles at a quicker rate.
They could almost feel the animals' breath on their backs. Their legs were getting tired from the sprinting, but they kept going. The mountain was steep beside them, too steep to climb. The cliff to the left of them was too vertical to descend. Soon, the shrubs were replaced with a stone path. They kept going, approaching a ledge leading down to a small lake.
Shit.
"Asami? Do you think cougar bears can swim? Because I think we're about to find out!" She grabbed Asami's hand as they reached the edge, knowing there was nowhere else to go but down; they certainly couldn't fight this beast on their own.
The cougar bear lunged at them, seeing that its prey was going to escape.
With a deep breath, they jumped.
The wind whipped through their hair as they plummeted. Korra refused to release the gloved palm in hers. She pulled Asami closer and wrapped herself around Asami's torso. With a slight redirection of her weight, she angled her body so that the back of her left shoulder made contact with the water.
They slammed under the surface, the cold liquid soaking into their clothes with ease.
Korra kicked up to the waterline, Asami in her arms. The pair emerged, gasping for breath. There was a potent sting on Korra's back where she smacked the water.
"Are you okay, Asami?"
She nodded, though she was a bit disoriented from the ordeal. They rotated and squinted at the cliff above them. The cougar bear growled and cried out in frustration before sulking away with a huff.
"I don't want to go find cougar bears anymore, if that's alright with you, Asami."
After bobbing her head, Asami laughed and pushed on Korra's right shoulder in a playful manner. "Come on; we've got to get to the land and figure out where the hell we are."
"Good idea."
They swam to the shore and plopped onto the sand, grateful that the cougar bear stopped its hunt. The grains stuck to their skin and clothes, adding an additional layer of dirt to their bodies. They panted and closed their eyes, utterly tired of this day. Neither of them looked forward to navigating this unknown terrain, or at least, trying to.
"Do you know which way we were heading before the cougar attacked?"
"I think we were only on the second left bend, but the road itself was pointing east when we ran the opposite way." Asami sat up and rubbed her eyes. "I guess our best bet would be to head in that direction."
"How about no direction?"
Within a split second after the rhetorical question, they were surrounded by at least ten women, all of which were wearing dark green robes with black frontal padding. They each held a metal fan in one of their hands. Their faces were painted red and white, similar to –
Kyoshi.
Korra gritted her teeth and buried her fingers into her hair from a mental pain.
Asami was on her feet, prepared to defend and protect the woman beside her. "Who are you and what do you want with us?"
"We're not here to answer questions. We're here to ask them." One of the women – who was an inch or two taller than the rest – approached the pair, fan at the ready.
Asami growled inside and adjusted her footing.
"Who are you and why are you in the protected forest?"
"Protected forest?"
"Don't play dumb with me." She snapped the fan in Asami's face.
Asami had to fight the urge to rip it right out of the woman's hand. She kept her arms at her sides, though her fists tightened.
Calm down, Sato. Calm down. Don't do anything you'll regret.
"We didn't know this was a protected forest. A cougar bear was chasing us and this is where we ended up."
"And how are we to know that you aren't poachers?" Another painted woman spoke up.
"If we were poachers, don't you think we would have equipment with us? Or did you think we were going to catch them with our bare hands?"
"You could have gotten chased away from your equipment. Or you could be Benders."
"I'm not a Bender."
"And what about the Water Tribe girl who's with you?" The leader pointed to the woman at Asami's feet.
Asami glanced at Korra, a bit of worry in her eyes.
"Seize them!"
Asami morphed to a defensive stance, preparing to take the women on.
"Wait!" Korra threw her hands up, her head pounding. Each of them froze in their tracks as she stumbled to her feet. "I know you. I know who you are."
"Oh really?"
"Yes." She held onto one of Asami's shoulders for support, a grimace on her face. "You're Kyoshi Warriors."
The leader shifted her weight to her other foot, an unimpressed expression on her face.
"Look, we aren't poachers, we're just lost." Asami took over, noticing Korra's pain. "Our ship broke down on our way to the Southern Water Tribe and we docked here so that I could make repairs. We were heading to Shili when the cougar bear attacked us."
"Why do you want to go to Shili?"
"My parents are there. Chief Tonraq. And my polar bear dog." Korra groaned, the pain intensifying. Her legs buckled.
"Korra!" Asami lowered herself with Korra to keep her from smashing into the ground. She held her close.
The leader crouched beside the pair and put her fan away. "What's wrong with her?" She placed her palm on Korra's forehead, much to Asami's chagrin. "She doesn't have a fever or anything. Is she sick?"
"She's been through a lot these past few days. She needs rest."
She paused, taking the strangers into consideration. She rose and turned to her companions. "We will escort these two to Shili. If their story proves to be false," she met Asami's peridots with suspicious eyes, "we'll let the village handle their punishment."
Asami bit her tongue and helped Korra to her feet. She swung one of her tan arms around her shoulders, her other hand tight on her torso to keep her in place. They whispered between each other as they walked, the Warriors surrounding them on all sides. "Are you alright, Korra?"
"I didn't know we were on Kyoshi Island."
"Is that bad?"
Korra shook her head. "No, it's not bad, I don't think. But… I'm pretty sure I saw this island in my dream last night." She staggered a moment upon the thought, a palm to her temple.
"It's hurting to remember again, isn't it?"
She nodded.
Asami adjusted her hold. "We'll get you somewhere so you can rest, okay?"
She repeated her motion and closed her eyes, just for a few seconds. For once, something mind boggling or pain inducing didn't fill her sight. It was simple darkness. She inhaled and sighed, steadying herself. "I can do this." Korra pulled herself off of Asami and took a few shaky steps on her own.
"Are you sure?"
"Mmhmm." Determination set in. It almost felt like she was walking to Caldera City again, except this time she was surrounded by Asami and Kyoshi Warrior women instead of General Iroh and his United Forces men. She also wasn't as tired and rickety, which was a good thing; she didn't need to almost fall down anymore mountainsides.
"So, what happened to you?" The leader of the group walked on Korra's opposing side.
When Korra raised a confused eyebrow, the woman added "your shirt." She nodded towards the stain. "That's blood, isn't it?"
She bobbed her head. "Yeah. This guy stabbed me yesterday."
"Stabbed you? Why did he stab you?" Her tone was suspicious.
"We're from Republic City," Asami interjected, "we were attacked by a group called the Strikers who –"
"The Strikers?" One of the other women from the back called out.
Asami looked over her shoulder and nodded. "Do you know anything about them?"
"I've heard about them. My sister says they defend the Non-Benders in the City and protect them from corrupt Benders."
"If by protect, you mean murder, then yes, that's what they do." Korra commented, a dark sting in her words.
"They kill Non-Benders?"
"No. They kill Benders. Murder them in cold blood. That's what they tried to do to us, to my parents." Korra switched her focus from the woman behind her to the leader beside her. "We were camping out on the southeastern end of the City when they attacked us. They did some sort of chi blocking on them and –"
"Chi blocking?" The leader stopped. The rest of the Kyoshi Warriors halted as well. "Did you say chi blocking?"
Korra and Asami turned to her, half a pace ahead. "Yeah. Why?"
The leader spun around to the Warrior who had asked about the Strikers, her eyes holding a bit of anger. "We're going to have a talk about your sister later, Yoki." She put her back to the woman after she finished her statement.
"You act like she's not your sister, too." The woman grumbled a notch above a whisper, her fan loose at her side.
"Let's keep moving. We don't want it to get dark before we arrive." The leader stepped forward, her group following on cue.
"Because of the cougar bears?" Korra asked, once the pair caught up to her.
"Because of a lot of things." She kept her focus ahead. "I'm Okema, the leader of this and all other Kyoshi Warriors on the Island."
"Okema? That's a Southern name."
She paused for a moment, just enough for Korra to notice.
"You're from the Southern Water Tribe, aren't you?"
"No. I was born here, on Kyoshi Island. But my mother was born in the south, as was my grandfather."
Wait a minute…
"Was your grandmother from Kyoshi Island as well?"
Okema nodded.
"No way. Asami," she nudged the engineer beside her and halted until everyone else did the same, "this is Chief Sokka's granddaughter."
Every single painted face was wide with shock, including Okema's. Korra's was full of delight while Asami's was somewhat confused.
"I didn't know Chief Sokka had any children, but then again, I don't know much about him. He passed when I was only a child."
The blood drained from Korra's skin. Her dream floated to the forefront of her mind. She turned to Asami and clutched her shoulders. "Wait, what did you just say?"
"Chief Sokka died when I was a child? I think I was four or five when it happened. I remember hearing it on the radio, because he was the Chairman of the Council. It was a huge deal. My mother was pretty upset about it." Her face grew as sad as Korra's was stunned. "She really liked him as a leader. He was always fair in his judgments and he looked out for the Non-Benders in the City." She took another look at the woman in front of her. "Is everything okay, Korra?"
An image flashed across her sight. An older woman, sobbing, with an Air Bender and a Fire Bender comforting her.
"He was brave, Katara. He was a brother to us all. He'll – he'll be missed."
"No."
(-)