Author's Note: Thank you so much for reading, every view means so much to me and every review makes me smile for hours on end. So, here's Chapter Two. The next few chapters tie in to the finale so, it's about to get really feelsy.
Jinora, like most pre-teens, had her mood swings, but never before had she regretted them. Until now, she couldn't have even imagined such immense sorrow and remorse for doing something. How could she be so stupid and disrespectful?
When she and Kai got to the stables, they split up the tasks; Jinora angrily shoveled hay, while Kai fed the bison. "I can't believe him, he treats me like I'm a child. Like I should be ashamed for actually having a friend. It's not my fault that I grew up," Jinora complained.
"Uh huh."
"I mean I understand getting mad because of you falling asleep with me, but he gets uncomfortable just by the fact that we're friends. He doesn't respect me at all."
"About last night-"
"I mean, I'm almost 12, he can't keep treating me like I'm 7."
"Maybe if-"
"I'm not that young. I'm growing up and he just needs to respect that. You know?" Jinora turned around for approval from Kai, however in that moment they crashed into each other and fell over. As they tried to pick themselves up, they simultaneously muttered apologies.
"I'm sorry." Jinora muttered as she untangled herself from him.
"It's my fault," Kai sputtered out. "It's all my fault."
"No it's not!"
They both paused looking into eachothers eyes as they brushed themselves off and got back up. "I should have left," Kai apologized.
"I should have realized how tired we were."
"I should have realized how late it was."
Jinora used her airbending to straighten out her clothes and then met Kai's eyes.
"I should go apologize to my dad, I was a bit harsh"
"If that's what you feel is right."
"It is."
"Well, I guess I should find the others and start practicing."
Jinora hugged him tightly and left with her glider to go find her dad. Why had she been so stupid?
She walked off, but her nerves kicked in. She started running around, opening and closing doors, until she was panting. The next door she opened, held her mother and siblings eating breakfast. As she flung the door open, all their eyes fixed on her, as he eyes darted around the room.
"Jinora, what's wrong?" Pema worriedly questioned her eldest daughter.
"I need to talk to dad," Jinora pronounced.
"Why?"
"Uhh.." her mind roamed off as she twirled her short, brown hair around her index finger. So many reasons.
"Meelo, Ikki, will you go look for your dad?"
"But why?" Ikki groaned. "Jinora is the one who wants to talk to him and besides, I have a feeling she has something good to say."
"Go." she said, pointing towards the door, with her youngest son Rohan asleep in her arms.
"Ugh fine." Ikki left, only to please her mother, but the whole time she actually eavesdropped outside the door. Meelo, however, ran off to find his father, but got distracted by some new airbending recruits slacking off. He got those maggots into shape and then left to finish his mission.
"So why do you need to talk to your father?" Pema asked once the door was closed.
"No reason," she said looking out the window, distracted. "I just need to tell him something."
"I don't need to be a truth-seer to know you're not telling me everything."
"Well-" she said drawing out each syllable, hoping she would be able to advert talking to her mom. However, her mother was the more reasonable one.
"Sweetie, you know you can talk to me."
She looked at the ground and mumbled, "I kind of got into a fight with dad this morning."
"Why was he so mad?"
"Because when he came into my room he found me asleep. "
"Why would he be mad about that?" Pema said knowingly.
Nervously laughing she told her mom, "You see it's a funny story. I've kinda sorta have been sneaking Kai into my room at night and he kinda sorta fell asleep there. " She tried to rush through each sentence, as if it would lessen its' offense.
"Mhmm. So you're father freaked out and you stormed out of your room?"
"He told you?" She picked her head up to meet her mother's concerned glance.
"He doesn't have to tell me for me to know that. "
"Oh." She paused. "But still, it's not my fault he never gives me space to talk to my only friend. I'm sorry that he found out, but not that I did it. "
"I know your father can be rather overprotective of you, but that's just because he loves you so much." Pena reached over with Rohan asleep in her arms, and gently placed her hand atop her daughters.
"But he never even lets me speak to Kai without either leaning over my shoulder or giving me some stupid task to do to get me away from him. It's ludicrous. I'm just trying to have a friend, mom, and he's sabotaging the entire thing. So, yes, we snuck behind his back, but it's for a good reason. "
"Just try telling him that."
"I know. I was so upset this morning, but he was so irrational. "
"I know, but-"
In that moment Tenzin pounded in through the door with Meelo and Ikki on either side of him. "We have to get to the Bison stables and evacuate. We're under attack."
Jinora's heart dropped and eyes widened in disbelief. Regret. "Daddy, I'm sorry," she nearly screamed, as she tried to control her raging fear.
"I know. Let's just get to safety, and then we'll talk." He said while running towards the Bison stables.
They ran, trying to escape to the bison stables. Their effort was to no avail, however, because despite their efforts, Zaheer, the leader of the red lotus a group whose goal was to capture Avatar Korra, glided into their path.
"Good the entire family is here." Zaheer evilly smirked as he spoke. Tenzin shielded his family with his arm.
They were round up- brought into a giant courtyard, that was historically used for meditation, but was now being defiled by the Red Lotus, a group whose goal was to make chaos and destruction the new world order. Everyone at the temple was filed in and ordered to sit. Ghazan, a lavabender,walked in and pushed Kai towards the airbender, right in front of Jinora. She leaned into him for comfort with her hand resting on his back to try and suppress her shaking body, as she listened to the words of their imminent demise.
Zaheer stepped up in front of Tenzin, "It's a pleasure to finally meet a true airbending master."
Tenzin was cold. "What is it you want from us?"
"Nothing at all. In fact, if everyone cooperates, you will all walk out of this situation unharmed." Zaheer responded.
"Then what are you doing here?"
"I want Korra," Ming-Hua and Ghazan were now in a fighting position as if begging to be challenged, "and I'm tired of chasing her."
" You're using us as leverage?"
"Yes."
Tenzin stood up sturdily standing in defiance. "I will never let you get to Korra."
Zaheer darkly retorted, "Unfortunately, you don't have a choice."
"Yes, I do." Tenzin then thrusted out his palms, blasting the three Red Lotus members that stood in front of him, slamming them against the wall.
"Jinora, get everyone out of here! Bumi, Kya, help me hold them off." Tenzin called out.
P'li, who was still in the airship, directed her combustion bending towards Tenzin. He bent a protective arch in front of him and jumped back. He then bent the smoke away. "And stay out of her line of sight. Go" he said pointing at the airship. Zaheer, Ming-Hua, and Ghazan started getting up. "Go!"
The airbenders ran off, leaving Tenzin, Bumi and Kya behind. P'li continued attacking as they tried to run to the safety of the Bison. Kai, being the last one in the group, jumped up, narrowly missing the combustion blast that hit the ground.
When they reached the end of the covered corridor that led to the bison stable, Kai peeked his head around the corner. He saw nothing, and signaled with his hand for everyone to move on. "Go." However, P'li was leering over them in the airship and shot down at them. They rushed back behind the corridor. P'li struck the ground where Kai was just at. Kai yelped pressing his back against the wall. Pema worriedly clutched Rohan, her son who was only 6 months old, and said "It's too dangerous. We'll never make it to the stables with her up there." Kai defeatedly, looked down to the ground.
The airship slowly the air in front of them.
P'li continued to strike the area around them, leaving craters on the ground around them. The airbenders huddled together all the thinking the same thing, how are we going to make it out of this alive.
Kai sighed, "I can't wait any longer."
He grabbed a staff and headed out through the tunnel.
"Wait!" Jinora called out to him. "What are you doing?" He can't just give himself up.
Kai stopped dead in his track at that sound of Jinora's shaking voice. He glanced back at her "Whatever I can." He ran out, and any hopes of everything working out in this situation diminished in Jinora's mind. "Get to the bison! Get out of here!"
The remaining airbenders ran for the stables, while Kai distracted P'li. He barely avoided getting shot by P'li twice, as she took aim on him. The second blast threw him off of the balcony, so he opened his glider and flew forward. She sent a blast his way, landing right behind him, which caused him turbulence, as he tried to evade her lethal shots. He then flew past the airship. P'li tried to shoot him, but she missed, hitting the mountainside. Then, P'li turned her attention to the airbenders who were desperately running to the stables, however Kai angled himself back up to the airship, flying into P'li's view. She combustion bent at him, which he combated with a gust of wind that caused her to looser aim and hit the mountain above the fleeing airbenders. P'li turned, watching Kai's movements carefully and shot him by surprise. He quickly bent a sphere of air around himself. The blast hit his protective arch and he plummeted down the mountainside.
Jinora turned back. Her fear came true as she saw Kai fall to his demise. "Kai! No." she called out watching him fall unconscious with tears blurring her vision. She wanted to completely break down right there, but she knew she couldn't. She had to keep going, despite that she just watched her best and only friend fall to his death. Not to mention that she had no idea the state of her father, uncle, and aunt. But, right then, P'li turned and blasted the bison stable, scaring the airbenders only means of escape away. How are we going to escape now?
Jinora turned to her mother, who was someone still composed. "Mom," she sobbed, "what are we going to do?" She knew the answer of course, there was nothing left fpor them to do. All the airbenders huddled together, staring at the airship honing in on them. Ikki and Meelo grabbed hold of their mother, out of instinct, even though they knew there was nothing that she could do.
The airship leveled with the airbenders, and multiple members of the Red Lotus rounded them up, handcuffing them and shoving them into the back of the airship.
"Don't try any funny business here. I don't have any problem with blasting you out of the sky." The group collectively gulped, looking around. Only Korra could save them now.
They airship moved forward, but they had no prospective as to where it was headed. No matter where they were led, they knew to expect trouble.
Jinora looked around the airship, the hunched, trembling bodies of her family and fellow airbenders. The scene she just witnessed kept replaying in her head so vividly. Kai was gone, her father was nowhere to be seen, and their future looked bleak.
Regret.