Author's Note: Hey guys, here is the next chapter! I know they keep getting interrupted but it's going to lead up to something good! We find out who is more willing to let themselves fall! Please review and let us know what you think!
I also added a longer talking scene please review!
If He Cannot Fly?
Korra quickly made her way out of the secret tunnel, and just like Zaheer had said, she ended up coming up through a hidden passage on the floor of the store. She gave the store owner quiet a scare when Korra "appeared out of nowhere", as the lady had put it. After Korra calmed the store owner down, and convinced the owner that she wasn't there to rob the store, Korra made her way out of the store.
Once Korra got onto the street reality hit her in the face like a brick, she let out a loud grown and palmed herself in the forehead. The team never came up with a plan just in case they got split up; to make it even worse, Korra was band from the city! She wasn't allowed to be there. Korra quickly dove into the nearest alley and disappeared into the shadows as she made her way to the harbor. Korra moved as fast as she could; her eyes darted from object to object making sure there was no one around to see her.
When the young Avatar finally reached the harbor, she took a moment and stared into the dark waves as they crashed against the brick wall. The leap never seemed scarier to Korra, she was always one to laugh as she took the jump, but for some reason this time the fall seemed so much worse. Would she be the same if she allowed herself to plummet to the dark waters below? Would she be happy? A sad smile reached Korra's face, she knew she would never know the answer unless she took the risk and let herself fall. Korra shook her head, and with a deep breath, she lifted her arms out to the side and let herself fall. The air was lashed against her tanned skin as she fell closer towards the water; with a sharp tug of her arms the waves reached up to meet Korra and safely bring her underneath the harsh current.
Korra reached her arms in front of her and started to swim in the direction of Air Temple Island; Korra had no idea if that is where they would be, but that was her only shot. Korra stopped for a second, and with a determined look on her face she curled her wrists once and pushed them behind her. The water jetted behind her, causing her to shoot through the water like a bullet; the water she commanded increased her speed by an immeasurable amount. Korra always loved the way the water felt as it passed by her; the ocean surrounded her body like
Korra could see the bottom of the island coming into her sight; a slight smirk reached her face as she shot herself out of the water into the open air. As she floated through the air she looked down and a smile of relief took her lips when she saw them waiting for her, all she had to do was let herself to fall, no, to float to the ground.
(With Zaheer)
Zaheer silently cursed every single soul in the room as another person rose up to ask yet another question. He did not listen to the question and only could hear the man's voice, not his words. His patience was quickly slipping through his clenched fists; if they did not trust his new technique they should just say so. Zaheer's eyes darted to each person; he could see the fear quickly appear when their eyes met his. These lowly benders should trust, not fear, him; they were not the enemy, the Avatar was. But was that statement even true anymore? Zaheer closed his eyes as he remembered how sweet the Avatar's lips tasted, how soft her hands felt in his calloused ones, how right she felt against his body.
Zaheer almost growled, when women with a high pitched voice interrupted his very thoughts; he needed to go somewhere peaceful. Somewhere quiet. Zaheer took a deep breath, and as he exhaled he felt his spirit crawl its way out of his body. His spirit raced into the spirit world searching for quiet, although subconsciously he was searching for a feisty water tribe girl.
When he arrived in the spirit world, he felt almost instantly at peace with himself and the world. The soft breeze blew by him and rustled his loose clothes with the leaves in the trees. He looked up and watched as the spirits calmly swam through the clouds with not a care in the world, as the sun gently shinned upon them. Zaheer got up and sat against the large tree; this is where him and the young Avatar always met, and he could not bring himself to leave this area just in case she were to arrive. Although he would never admit that was why he wouldn't leave.
A couple moments later a strong aura appeared from the other side of the large tree; Zaheer found himself smiling as a scent of the ocean hit his nose with a hint of ash and vanilla strangely, he quickly removed the smile from his face. The aura did not seem to be moving, he knew the Avatar was on the other side of the tree, and he knew that she could sense him as well. Then why wasn't she moving? Why wasn't she coming to see him? Was that why she came here? Maybe she is afraid of him. That last thought troubled him more than he thought it would. Zaheer was shaken from his thoughts when he heard a strong yet soft voice call to him from the other side of the large tree.
"Zaheer?" the voice called, and for a moment he wondered if she couldn't sense him, "What is your favorite thing to do when you are filled with emotion?" Zaheer's eyes widened for a second at the randomness of her question, but he leaned his head back against the tree and answered the young girl.
"I always escape to this land," Zaheer's voice sounded like silk as it swayed through the air, "Is this not the quietest place you have ever been? Does the wind not make the loveliest goosebumps rise up from your skin? Does the sun not warm you up to your very core? This place born from chaos now has a warm place among this world. And not many get to see it during their life time."
Korra was quiet for a moment as the wisdom in his words hit her; it did not hit her hard, but it slowly made its way through to her heart and she quickly understood every word.
"Yes," Korra whispered as she rested her head against the tree as well and stared at the sky, "Nothing can compare to its beauty."
"There you are wrong, my Avatar," Zaheer whispered so quietly that the young girl who was lost in her own world did not even notice he had spoken. Her next question caused his very own heart to betray him and it stopped for just a moment.
"Have you ever been in love?" Korra asked in a voice that was filled with such admiration, that he had to force himself to keep a blank face.
"Why do you ask?" It was true; he had no idea where the Avatar was getting at with these questions.
"Well they say that when someone is in love, that they would do anything and everything for that person or thing." Korra said still staring up at the clouds, not sure where she was going either, "That if someone is in love that they will fight for them, protect them, stand in from of them, yet let them take the lead. Tenzin always tells me that I must allow myself to love in order to connect with my spiritual side in a better level. He says those who love, or are in love, or even those who even have loved are truly connected to their own spiritual side and connected to the earth on a truly deep level…"
Zaheer listened with closed eyes as Korra spoke so beautifully about something he had once felt; yet that was all gone now. Yet as the music of her voice filled his ears, so did he long to hold her in his arms and show her how it should feel.
"…and I thought of you." Korra continued after short pause, as if she was debating if she should say what she was thinking, "you are an extremely amazing air bender and you are truly connect to the spirits and your own. So I was just wondering."
"Ah…" Zaheer said, and once against the Avatar had found a way to leave him without worlds.
"I mean, you don't need to answer." Korra awkwardly laughed trying to relieve the tension she so foolishly created.
"Love is a gift," Zaheer only slightly hesitated but Korra was listening so hard she quickly picked up on it, "yet it is a ball and chain. It tethers you to this earth, and holds someone back from their true potential. Love sets you free, yet it is ones greatest prison."
"Ouch, that was uh…" Korra paused for a moment, she did not know how to react, but she did know her heart dropped a little when he described love in such a negative way. "…depressing."
"But yes, I have been in love." Zaheer sighed remembering he was trying to avoid her question from the start.
"Are you now, Zaheer?" Zaheer tensed up at the impact that her words hit his body, was he?
"I…" Zaheer began to speak, "I am not."
And with those three words, Korra's whole spirit deflated and she felt instantly stabbed in the back. She just sat against the tree, not knowing what to say to the air bender. She even questioned leaving, because now she wasn't in the mood to even talk to him. Zaheer sensing her spirit fall a great number decided to bring up another conversation.
"What is your favorite element, my Avatar?" Zaheer asked, truly curious of what her answer would be. Would she pick fire, because of her fiery spirit? Or water because it is calm and peaceful? Or earth because it is as strong and steady as she is?
"It is air." Korra mumbled, a slight blush covering her face. She felt weak when she said that, because it was something that no one would have guessed and it went against everything she was. "I love air, and not because it keeps me alive." She chuckled a little bit at her own joke, "I love air because it is the opposite of who I am. It took me the longest to master and it actually wasn't until I got my bending taken away by Amon that I learned air bending. The other three elements came to me so easily that it was almost boring to learn. Air bending feels so different than the other elements in so many ways. I feel so free, like I have no care in the world. It is peace. It is love. It is life, and it can bring life and it can take life. It is something so purely beautiful, yet so deadly at the same time."
"Just like you," Zaheer whispered, but this time Korra heard it and she jerked up from against the tree, "my avatar."
"Where did you grow up?" The question threw him off, but he quickly answered the young woman. Zaheer instantly realized that Avatar probably heard what he said and she felt so uncomfortable with it that she changed the subject. Zaheer internally cursed himself for being so foolish, and then he cursed himself again for caring what she thought of him.
"I grew up in the northern part of Earth Kingdom." Zaheer said as he closed his eyes, and thought back to when he was younger. "Where are your parents, my Avatar?"
"My mom is named Senna, and my dad is Tonraq. They live in the Southern Water Tribe." The voice seemed to warm up a little at the mention of her parents. "Where are your parents?" She sounded curious yet hesitant.
"My parents died when I was young." Zaheer opened his eyes as he rested his head against the tree and stared at the leaves of bright reds and yellows. "Earth benders attacked the village that I was born in, and they killed my parents. I was outside with the other younger kids in the village, and I hid when the village was attacked. When I went home, it was too late. A Red Lotus member found me a couple months later in the forest and brought me to a temple. I was raised by the Red Lotus. They are all I have."
The voice had gone silent for a couple of moments, as if she was trying to think of the correct thing to say. Zaheer had to reassure her that she had said nothing wrong, and that it did not hurt as bad.
"It was a long time ago; I can't even remember their faces." Zaheer said in a soft tone, "Do you ever miss your parents?"
"All the time," the voice was quieter than before, "but I know that this is my duty, and I need to complete it before anything else. The world's wellbeing goes before my own. I would rather the world be balanced and me be broken, then me be happy and the world in shambles. I grew up knowing I am the Avatar, and that my only duty in this life was restore and keep balance. That is all I know."
This hit Zaheer hard; he had no response to that. Once again this young Avatar left him speechless; she took his voice away as she took his very breath out of his lungs. This woman was wiser beyond her years; she can see the corruption in this world, yet she held onto her childlike innocence and didn't let the world destroy her.
Zaheer stood up, and walked around the tree. He almost smiled to see the Avatar standing up against the tree, in her normal clothes with her eyes closed and the wind blowing her hair. Zaheer walked towards her, with a straight face, and held out his hand to her. The young Avatar slowly opened her eyes, and with a small smile on her face she took his hand and he dragged her in close to his body. She wrapped her arms around his neck, as he wrapped his arms around her torso. As if there was a song dancing in the wind, Zaheer started to rock her as he rested his forehead against hers. Their eyes fell shut as the two slowly danced back and forth to the music that was playing in their heads.
Zaheer gently lifted her chin up and placed a soft loving kiss on her lips, and like every time he was with her, the chaos in his mind seemed to stop and all that he could think of was her. Zaheer leaned down to the young Avatar's ear and before he second guessed himself he spoke, "What if I told you, I could take you away from all this? What if I asked you to run away with me?"
Zaheer could feel the young woman tense up almost immediately and she stopped moving all together. He quickly shut himself down and he shoved her away from him. The anger that was written on her face scared even Zaheer, but he would not let her know that.
"What was that for?" The young Avatar sneered as she walked towards Zaheer and jammed her finger into his chest. "Why the spirits did you shove me like that?"
"If I wished for you to know I would tell you." Zaheer spoke in a deathly calm voice, "Now wouldn't I, Avatar?" He all but sneered when the word 'Avatar' hit his tongue.
"Oh, we are back to this now?" The Avatar screamed, her hands balled up into fists as the anger was as clear as the sun above. "I thought we were closer than this!"
"Clearly you were mistaken." Zaheer said as he turned his back on the young woman and started to walk away.
"Do you even know how to love?" The young woman whispered, Zaheer froze when he heard the last word slip past her lips. Zaheer turned around just in time to swatch her disappear into the air. Only a second passed before Zaheer disappeared himself, words he wished he had said still hung in the air with no one around to hear them.
When Zaheer opened his eyes he was back in the meeting room, he looked down at his lap and clenched his eyes and fists closed. Zaheer abruptly slammed his hands on the table as he stood up, he did not lift his head to look at the crowd, his eyes were still closed and his head was still facing down.
"This meeting is over." Zaheer said as he felt his hands fist against the table; his voice seemed forced as anyone could feel the agitation coming off of him in waves, "Thank you all for coming. We will send out letters to all who wish to help."
At first the crowd did not move from their seats, all were still in shock to move. Zaheer took a deep breath and snapped his neck up so he was looking at the crowd; that is what did it. All of the people quickly grabbed all of their belongings and filed out of the door. Once the crowd had left, the Leaders of the Red Lotus stood up and starting saying their goodbyes; Zaheer did not move until only his group was left in the bunker. Zaheer stood straight up and headed towards the exit, not even glancing at his peers as he headed towards the harbor.
Zaheer heard his group's whispers from behind him, but he did not need to turn around and face them about the questions they had. They knew not to bother him; for him to show emotion, it must be massive. Although he seemed quite calm from the outside, but his group knew that there was a storm battling on inside of him. They just didn't know it was about the young Avatar that their group chased after.
Once the group arrived at the harbor, no one wasted anytime getting onto the airship. None of them wanted to make Zaheer anymore angry, but he did board the airship right away. Zaheer stood at the edge of the wall and watched as the dark waves as they crashed against the brick wall. The ocean reminded him so much of the young Avatar. She could never be tamed, she was just meant to be free. He knew she would plague his dreams, but in that moment he could not even bring himself to say her name. For he knew if he said her name, he would allow himself to fall. Why should he let himself fall, if he cannot fly? With that thought Zaheer quickly turned his back on the ocean and boarded the airship without even a glance back.