It's the fifteenth! You know what that means? Celebration time! Here's two chapters!
(Sorry for the feels, btw).
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Chapter 16
A deal
"Korra? Do you want to sit down for a minute?"
She shook her head. "It wasn't a dream, Asami. It wasn't a dream."
"What wasn't a dream?"
"Master Katara, she… she never told me. She told me he died in a battle, but she – she never –" Korra gritted her teeth and rubbed her temple. A jolt of pain shook her, forcing her to stagger.
"Shhh, relax. I've got you." Asami pulled Korra into an embrace, stroking her hair to calm her while keeping her steady on her feet with the crooks of her elbows.
"Is she going to be alright?"
"Just give us a minute, please, Okema."
"I was there, Asami. I was young but I was there in the Southern Water Tribe when he died and I didn't even know it. It wasn't a dream, it was real. That – that dream I was telling you about. It was real." A soft growl escaped her with the onset of more throbbing.
"Breathe, Korra. Breathe. It's going to be okay."
She took two loud inhales and blew them out. Her face perplexed for a moment, her thoughts enough to quell her sadness for the time being. She pushed off of Asami, thanking her with her eyes alone, and faced Okema. "I don't understand, though. Master Katara never even mentioned that Sokka had a child."
"I'm not Sokka's granddaughter, Korra."
"But –"
"There are plenty of other people who come up from the Southern Water Tribe and end up staying on the Island. It's been that way for generations." She took a step closer and met Korra's eyes with fire in hers. Okema maintained an intimidating gaze as she spoke. "Let's keep moving. We have to get to Shili before nightfall." She turned from her and marched forward, her comrades hesitant for just a second before joining her.
"That was weird…" Korra watched after the group, befuddled.
"Yeah, it was." Asami faced Korra, concern in her peridots. "Are you alright?"
"I'm – I'm fine. I guess it was…" She sighed and started walking, though her steps were slow. She continued when Asami caught up with her. "It's just weird, Asami. Unless if that's just some whack dream. I mean, kids have crazy imaginations, and I was half asleep in the dream anyways, so it couldn't possibly be true… right?"
She opened her mouth to respond, but Korra jumped in again.
"I mean, what would Master Zuko and Tenzin even be doing in the Southern Water Tribe? Why would there be a battle? I get why it would involve my dad, but who else was involved? If the dream was true, I get why Master Katara was crying and why Master Zuko said what he said but why were they even there, Asami? I just don't get it!" She threw her hands up in frustration and grimaced at the pain in her skull. "I think I'm losing my mind, Asami. I need sleep. Real sleep. All these dreams and voices and hallucinations are driving me mad."
"Voices?"
Korra's heart sunk; she'd forgotten that she hadn't told Asami about the voice in her mind that tormented her. She lowered her head, realizing her own defeat. "Yeah. Voices. Well, only one voice. I keep saying voices, but there's only one. Just one voice. I'm not crazy."
"No, you're not. I think you're just very tired and confused." She noticed the agony Korra was in with each advance in the conversation. "We'll talk about this later if you want, when you're feeling better and this doesn't hurt so much."
She caught Asami's eyes, her own blue pair reflecting gratitude. Korra took a step closer to her and nudged her, resting her head for a moment in the crook of her neck before straightening again; she was in too much pain and exhaustion to communicate all of her feelings through words.
Asami couldn't help but smile.
Just like Naga.
Or is Naga just like her?
Are they really all that different?
She glanced at Korra. Her grin widened.
Not really.
They all halted when Okema raised her fist to the side of her head, about half a foot away from her ear. The Kyoshi Warriors crouched down beneath the bushes. Korra and Asami did the same. A faint howl could be heard in the distance, echoing from far away. Another growl and a yelp followed.
Korra jumped to her feet and ran towards the sound.
"Korra? What are you doing?!" Asami chased afterwards, the others staring after them in confusion.
"That was Naga!"
Asami needed no further explanation. She caught up with her and they sprinted through the forest, oblivious to what and who they left behind them.
"Come on, ladies! They're going to need all of the help that they can get!" Okema urged her comrades forward. They followed the strange pair, alert and ready to fight.
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"Naga!? Naga?!" Korra called as loud as she could, refusing to stop until her polar bear dog was in sight. "Naga!?" She put her fingers together and whistled, its sharp sound penetrating the forest like a battering ram through a pine door.
When she heard the squeals of a scuffle, she doubled her speed, ignoring the pain in her legs from doing so.
Asami was right on her tail, eyes scanning and searching for clues.
The Kyoshi Warriors weren't far behind. They spread out to cover more ground as they sprinted.
Each foot closer brought about new sounds.
Snarling.
Gnarling.
Biting.
Fighting.
Smashing.
Splashing.
Splashing?
Korra was the first to burst through the tree line, and the moment when she froze in her tracks, she really wished she hadn't been.
To her left were two large cougar bears that surrounded her Water Bending parents.
To the right, a cougar bear was trying to dig its claws into Naga.
Dead ahead of her was a fourth, who was rummaging through the abandoned bags of supplies, nose against the fabric.
Her instincts sent her straight to Naga, though her mind had told her to wait for everyone else to come.
"Get away from her!" Her growl was almost as menacing as the animals in the scrap. The cougar bear paid no attention to her, focusing solely on its potential kill. Korra jumped as high as she could and grabbed hold of a chunk of the predator's dark brown fur. It cried and tried to swat her away.
She was having none of it.
Korra pulled herself up its back, wedging her body between its shoulder blades where the cougar bear couldn't reach her.
Naga took advantage of the distraction to swipe at the animal's belly, using both of her powerful front paws. The blow was strong enough to draw blood. The cougar bear tossed Korra off with a flick of its torso, but backed away from the angry polar bear dog.
Korra bounced off of the ground multiple times just as Asami and the Kyoshi Warriors sprinted into the center of the clearing.
The Warriors split themselves between the four beasts.
Asami ran to Korra, noticing her ejection from the back of the cougar bear. She knelt down beside her and held Korra's shoulders. "Are you alright?"
She nodded and sat up, groaning from the pain in her sides. Her eyes wandered between the humans, her polar bear dog, and the cougar bears. She met the light green irises of the baby animals hiding in the brush behind their mothers, cowering away, and felt their terror in her chest.
Korra, what are you doing?
Korra scrambled to her feet, running on instinct alone, because she knew.
"Everybody stop!" She walked into the middle of the clearing, her hands up just above shoulder height and her arms outstretched to either side.
Asami rose – face in shock – as everyone, even the cougar bears, froze in their places.
Korra, what are you doing?
She ignored the repeated question and followed the powerful pulse inside of her. "Listen. We need to stop fighting."
The humans looked at her with confusion. The cougar bears and her polar bear dog lifted their heads, attentive.
"We all want the same thing." She approached the two green bags in front of one of the cougar bears and opened it. Inside was a small array of fruits, vegetables, and dried meat. She grabbed a piece of the latter and took cautious steps towards the bushes.
All of the little cubs backed up for a moment, except for one. Its green eyes stayed locked on the oceans moving towards it.
Korra knelt down several feet away and offered the meat. "It's okay. I won't hurt you."
The baby animal stepped out of its hiding spot, slow and steady. It sniffed the air as it went. One of its ears flicked back and forth. It stopped about a foot or two from Korra in hesitation.
Everyone's eyes were glued to the two. Their hearts almost stopped beating.
The cub put one paw closer. And another. And another. When it was within range, its small teeth sunk into the edge of the piece of meat. It hardly wasted time chewing before swallowing the hunk.
Korra smiled, preparing herself to stand.
What she wasn't expecting was the baby animal coming closer to her.
She held her position as the cub rubbed against her hand. Her expression softened as she stroked its spotty fur. "You must be part of a late litter, aren't you?"
The cougar bear purred against her.
"I know why you attacked us." She rose and locked onto the adult cougar bear closest to her. "You just wanted to take care of your babies. All of you did." Korra gestured at the line of wild animals around her. "But attacking and killing us is not the answer. People can be your friends, not your food." She took a step towards the cougar bear and reached her hand out.
The animal snarled back at her, bearing its teeth.
Naga was between them in an instant, growling with the same amount of intensity – if not moreso.
"Easy, girl. I've got this." She stroked the neck of her polar bear dog and faced the cougar bear. "Let's make a deal. I'll help you feed your cubs and you let us pass, unharmed."
"Korra, why do you want to help them? They tried to kill us. They're just wild animals." Tonraq bellowed, keeping some water swirling around him.
"Normally, I'd agree with you. But something is different this time." She looked down and met the eyes of the baby animal she hand fed.
Of course.
"It's the cubs, dad. They're just little babies." She knelt down and offered her hand. The baby cougar bear ran up to her and rubbed against her, acting more like a kitten than a cub. "Who knows how long it's been since they ate. Sure, the adults come and go. But the babies…" She stared at the little animal beside her. "They might not make it through the winter if they don't eat. They're too young to know how to hunt and if poachers are killing the adults… The least we can do is share some of our food with them. We've got plenty." Korra rose and returned to the bag. She removed half of the dried meat and spread it before the bush. "There."
The rest of the cubs – taking the lead of the affectionate baby cougar bear – scrambled from the shrub and scarfed up the food.
She turned back to the adults with her hands on her hips. "There. Your babies are fed. Now unless you want to risk another fight, let us pass."
One of the smaller cougar bears growled and dug its nails into the dirt, ready to pounce; it had been the same one that was battling Naga earlier in the scuffle.
Korra faced it without an ounce of fear on her face.
When the animal lunged, it wasn't Naga or Tonraq or Asami that jumped in the way; it was another cougar bear, a much larger cougar bear, the one that Korra had been addressing about the deal. She snarled at her own kind, roaring until the other backed away. Once it was at a good distance, the defending beast twisted around to Korra and nodded.
The attacking cougar bear roared in frustration and circled in the corner.
"Thank-you." Korra bowed to the alpha and scurried to the bags. She threw them over her shoulders. She spun around to her human companions, all of whom were frozen in awe. A grin crawled onto her face as she approached them. "We should get out of here before they change their minds," she spoke through her teeth, concern starting to pour back into her.
The Kyoshi Warriors nodded and returned to the forest. Tonraq was hesitant, keeping his eyes on the cougar bears as he stepped towards his daughter. Senna followed him. Asami was at her side in an instant, though the shock didn't leave her expression.
"Come on, Naga." Korra ushered her polar bear dog with a wave. The animal locked eyes with the hostile cougar bear that she had been fighting with and snarled, teeth bared, before joining Korra past the forest line.
Once she was close, Korra tossed the bags onto Naga's saddle. "Hope you don't mind, girl. Don't worry; I saved some meat for you." She rubbed her floppy ears. "I'm glad you weren't hurt. I didn't want that to happen to you."
Naga licked Korra's cheek and rubbed against her. They walked side-by-side, trailing the group as they moved further away from the predators and further away from the main road.
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