Note: This chapter was longer than I intended it to be. Essentially what I'm telling you is that I'm a wordy lady. Also, the song for this chapter is by Voxtrot.

Korra woke up early. The guards were few at this time of day. She could easily get by even in her blue parka and brown pants. How could he even get up at this time? The sun hasn't even come up. Mornings are evil. She thought. Him. Amon. Noatak. Whatever he called himself. Korra could only picture his face. She felt stupid about thinking about him- especially after hugging him like that. The hug was actually unexpected on Korra's part. She never planned to place her arms around him the way she did, but when she placed her arms over his neck, she felt like it was completely natural. Noatak was much warmer than she expected. He almost felt as warm as a firebender. And there was the way he smelled- smokiness mixed with his natural musk and the ocean. He smelt like what Korra thought a man should smell like. Then there was the way he said her name when they departed…

She easily walked to the docks where she met with Noatak the previous night. Men were already there getting ready to set sail. Korra shouted out Noatak's name even though most of the men were busy with their morning duties. She almost came to the edge of the harbor before one man jumped up and looked at her when she said Noatak's name. He wore a fur-lined vest and had a tattoo that crawled up his arm. He looked almost as pale as Noatak did.

"You lookin' for Noatak?" he said.

"Yes. Is he here?" Korra asked.

The man looked at Korra. His eyes paused at her breasts, and his eyebrows perked up. The man had no shame.

"He might be. You his wife or something?"

Just before Korra could react, a different man came by- this one with a wild beard and equally wild hair. He smacked the guy who talked with Korra earlier in the head.

"Sirmiq, your wife would kill you if she saw you looking at another woman like that," the man said.

The one named Sirmiq heavily sighed and punched the man in the arm.

"It's hard not to look. Did you see them! Hard to avoid. Plus Nanuq, did you know Noatak had a woman?" Sirmiq said.

Nanuq looked at Korra and looked back at the boat.

"Nope. He never said anything about a woman before. But then again, I wouldn't say shit to a guy like you if that's what was waiting in my bed at night!" Nanuq said.

Korra wanted to fume at what was being said about her and Noatak, but she also wanted to giggle at Nanuq who clearly liked egging Sirmiq on.

"I can't believe he does. With that ugly mug of his?" Sirmiq said.

"Who knows? Hey Noatak! Your wife is here!" Nanuq said.

Noatak came to the rails looking surprised. He then saw Korra standing with Nanuq and Sirmiq. He shook his head at Korra. She laughed to herself at this. He looked totally flustered by the time he got to them.

"Korra, what are you doing here?" Noatak said.

"You said you were here before sunrise. I was hoping you would be free today," Korra said.

"I also have a job," Noatak said.

"C'mon Noatak. Your wife came all the way here to see you. I'll just let Pakak know you had to attend to your wife today," Nanuq said.

Nanuq and Sirmiq then left Korra with Noatak, snickering their way back to the boat, and murmuring about Noatak being whipped by his incredibly young wife. Korra and Noatak stood alone in their own world despite the hustle at the pier.

"Why did you tell them we were married?" Noatak said.

"I didn't. They just assumed we were. Do you not actually talk to your crewmates?" Korra said.

"I talk to them. Just not about myself," Noatak said.

Noatak stuffed his hands into his pockets and started walking in towards the city. Korra scurried behind him. Around the piers were tents. Some tents were fish merchants getting ready for some of the catch of the day. Other vendors carried produce that got dropped off by some of the ships from the Earth Kingdom or Fire Nation. Lastly were the lowly food tents pitched by dedicated individuals who fed the other merchants, customers, and sailors every day. Noatak knew most of the food tents very well. Even though he could cook, Noatak preferred the ease of purchasing food from the food tents for the convenience.

This morning, Noatak picked out the seaweed soup stand that was run by Miki, a widow whose husband used to work on Pakak's boat before Noatak did. Most of the men on Pakak's boat knew Miki fairly well and frequented her stand out of respect to her and her husband. Occasionally there were tales of men from the boat taking her to bed. Noatak was one of these men. He only slept with her once when he first arrived. Noatak liked her black hair and full lips that had the slightest bit of natural pink in them. She was the first Water Tribe woman he had been with in a long time. He never went back to her after their one night to the dismay of Miki.

Noatak pulled out a stool for Korra and one for himself in front of the bar at Miki's stand. He casually signaled with his fingers for two bowls of soup. Miki smiled at Noatak and glared at Korra. Noatak ignored Miki's jealousy and pulled out the money for the soup.

"Keep the change," Noatak said.

"I don't need your pity," Miki said.

"So you say," Noatak said.

Miki ladled out two rather large bowls of seaweed soup for Korra and Noatak. The steam from bowls rose like clouds in the sky and misted Korra's face. She looked down at the milky looking broth with long strands of seaweed mixed with chunks of beef and whole mussels. The aroma was enticing. Korra glanced at Noatak who carried his spoon and chopsticks in his one hand. He switched between the two utensils easily. He ate quietly- never slurping and sloshing like Korra did. Some times Korra saw Noatak take a mussel and suck on the mussel. He would place the empty shell in an empty bowl placed between he and Korra. Korra didn't know that Miki only did this for Noatak.

"The university's library should be open by the time you finish," Noatak said.

Korra had barely made a dent in the soup in front of her. She couldn't multitask like Noatak did, and her appetite had diminished ever since she went back to the Southern Water Tribe. The portions were not sized for someone in Korra's condition. They were perfect for sailors like Noatak, and he already finished his soup. The metal spoon and chopsticks rested on his bowl that Miki took quickly and placed in a large bucket of soapy water.

"Don't pressure yourself to eat any more. I was joking," Noatak said.

Korra smiled. She never imagined Noatak being the kind of man to joke, but she assumed it was something he picked up after being on that fishing boat. It made sense when you had to work with someone like Nanuq and Sirmiq. She laughed and placed her utensils into the soup bowl. Noatak tapped Korra's shoulder.

"Come on. I'd rather not be here any longer," Noatak said.

He got up and started pacing towards the long street that headed for the central part of the city where the university and other public buildings were located. Korra followed him like a lone polar bear dog whelp. Korra would remark about the buildings, and Noatak would nod to make it seem like he was listening to her babble about how much bigger the capital city was compared to when she was a child. Noatak finally stopped in front of a large columned building with stairs stretching out to the entrance. He walked up the steps and turned around to see Korra staring at him.

"I have to check the records in here. You're welcomed to join me, but it is not necessary," Noatak said.

"I don't really have anything else to do today," Korra said.

"Okay. Then let me advise you to not disturb me while we're in here," he said.

They walked into the large library, only frequented by a few people. The building was expectedly quiet. Noatak seemed rather familiar with the building. He walked directly to the large cabinets in front of the dimly lit stacks and pulled out a tiny drawer full of indexed cards. He thumbed through the cards and pulled out two. Without a word, they walked up two floors and navigated through stacks and stacks of books before Noatak stopped in front of one section. He took a couple of books and placed them in Korra's arms. Korra looked at him in what seemed like his native element.

"You look… really natural here," Korra said.

Noatak lifted his brow at Korra.

"So am I not a natural fisherman?" he said.

"Not as natural as this," she said.

Noatak laughed at Korra's statement.

"I didn't grow up in some intellectual playground. So I see it otherwise," he said.

Korra and Noatak walked to some tables at the end of the stacks. They placed the books down and settled. Noatak pulled a small notebook and pencil from a pocket inside his jacket. He took one of the books from their pile and opened it up. Noatak read and made notes while Korra just looked at Noatak in his trance. He only took a break from reading when he felt annoyed by Korra's staring at him.

"I took out Fundamentals of Chi and Healing for you. You could start reading it," Noatak said.

Korra looked at the pile and found the skinny book Noatak was referring to. The leather book appeared to have never been touched. Some of the pages stuck together as Korra tried to thumb through it.

"Let me look at it," Noatak said.

Noatak took the book from Korra's hands and read the cover. He flipped the book to the title page and sighed. He shook his head and looked at Korra.

"This book won't do," he said.

"Why not? Isn't this the book you want me to read?" Korra said.

"It is, but this book is the wrong edition. It's the fifth edition. You need the second edition," Noatak said.

"What's so special about the second edition?"

"If you are interested in understanding the fundamentals as to why chi blocking works, you will want the second edition of this book. Unfortunately, I assumed the library would have a copy of that, but I should have known."

"Is it illegal to own it?"

"Yes and no. It's more controversial than anything. They removed those sections out in the subsequent editions. Though if you are smart enough, you can understand chi blocking by reading any edition of this book."

"Ah… so what about the book you're reading?"

"It's a history of the first waterbenders. It's mainly myth though. However, it's the perfect place to look for the information I desire."

"You said before that most books on bloodbending were destroyed."

"That's true. Bloodbending happens to be one of the oldest healing techniques. However, you've seen its other uses. So it was banned and erased from most of the books. Some scholars believed that the use for bloodbending was still valid. So they wrote those techniques down in secret codes in texts about waterbending so they might not be lost. That's where I learned my power."

"What other things did it teach you?"

"Take out your arm."

Korra placed her arm on the table in front of Noatak. He slid the sleeve of her parka and saw the green hues of her bruises on her forearm. He took two fingers and placed them gently over one of the bruises. Korra glanced at Noatak's face. It was relaxed and deep in concentration. Then she looked back at her arm. The bruises faded into the tan shade of her skin and soreness disappeared as Noatak tapped her arm.

"I have some more bruises on my other arm if you feel like healing those too," Korra said.

Noatak laughed and took her other arm to repeat the process.

"You make a good healer," Korra said.

"Not really. My face would look a lot better if I were actually good at this," Noatak said.

"So you did go to the Spirit Oasis to heal your face?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"To me it is. Is it worth the risk to go there?"

"I'd ask you the same- you and your Blue Spirit."

"It's different."

"I don't think so."

"I think we've been here too long."

Korra grabbed the books and started to make her way to the library exit. Noatak was behind her, concentrating on the little notes he wrote.

"I didn't mean to pry. Whatever reason you have for wearing that mask is yours alone. I don't begrudge you that," Noatak said.

Korra stopped on the steps and took a look at Noatak leaning against the wall with his arms folded. He wore his sincerity on his face.

"It's okay. I'm just not used to everything. Still… Even though it's been over a year since you…" Korra said.

"I took your bending. I'm not so averse to admitting my transgressions, Korra."

He placed his hands into his pockets and stood next to Korra. They slowly walked down the stairwell where Korra checked the books out and exited the library. Korra and Noatak stood outside the steps long before either of them spoke to each other.

"I don't know what I can do with these books. I think they'd be more useful with you," Korra said.

Korra shoved the books into Noatak's chest. He quickly grabbed them and took one. Noatak placed the book into one of Korra's outstretched hands and took her other hand in his to place it onto the book.

"I hope you will have read the first few chapters before I see you tonight," Noatak said.

Noatak walked away from Korra. She stood on the steps of the library thinking about her hand tingling. Then she saw him turn around and smile.

"You can bring the mask if you want," he said.