I didn't take as long to update this time, yay! Thank you all for the fantastic support so far! You guys rock! :D

Seeing Tenzin off early the next morning was less awkward than Korra expected. He hugged her and wished her well before she was engulfed by the tiny arms of his children, all of them lamenting Korra was not coming with them on the air temple tour, Jinora in particular. She made Korra promise to come see the Avatar statues with her some day before she twirled up to Oogi's saddle. Tenzin wished Korra well too, calling her by her name instead of the Avatar, so she knew he wasn't too upset with her. Still, Korra vowed to resume her training with him when he returned, which put a smile on his face.

After the sky bison faded from sight in the periwinkle morning sky, Korra walked to the royal palace. The sun hadn't risen high enough to cast the ice arches, pillars, and main dome in gold light, but even so, the tribal building seemed lit from within, sky blue compared to the gray stone and white snows surrounding it.

The halls gave off a glow that reminded Korra of the Avatar state. The lanterns strung along the ceiling made each block of ice making up the walls stand out, though when Korra ran her hand along the surface, it was smooth and seamless. The floor looked like it was built atop some massive light for Korra could see every white vein and crack in the ice slabs lining the ground.

She passed quickly through the maze of hallways, zipping through arches, past ice columns and carved tribal insignias and, as she got closer to the throne room, armored guards. The lanterns gave the men cooler, paler, almost spirit-like complexions. The steel of their armor looked frosted under the eerie light, and though she was never cold, Korra shivered.

Eventually, she found herself at the throne room. The Southern Water Tribe's main symbol, along with the Northern Tribe's seal just beneath it, was etched deep into the light blue doors, which were so smooth and opaque, they looked more like polished marble than ice. Two guards stood on either side of the doors. They shared a look before the man on the right sank into an attack position. Korra tensed and found herself sinking into a similar stance, her fists balled, though she had no idea why her uncle's guards would attack her, the very recognizable Avatar.

The guard made a quick, circular sweep with his arms and she immediately felt foolish as the ice doors swung open with a groan. Inside, the room was dark and relatively unlit compared to the rest of the palace. The hallway lights barely illuminated the stone steps leading up to the ornately carved ice throne. Chief Unalaq sat in it, rigid as if he, too, was carved from ice. Three moon and wave crests hung from banners behind him, the only decorations in the otherwise sparse chamber.

At the sound of her footfalls, Unalaq's eyes opened. He didn't smile at his niece, merely stood and said in a not unkind, but not warm voice, "You're early." Korra nodded. "Let us begin your training."

He flowed forward, his dark blue cloak trailing behind him. Korra followed her uncle out of a side exit behind the throne. They twisted through the frozen corridors for a minute before they stepped out into a snowy courtyard. The sun was higher in the sky and blinded Korra momentarily. She hadn't realized how dark it was in the palace.

Unalaq stopped walking and turned to her, his face unreadable. Korra shifted from foot to foot. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't excited to learn something new, even if it was just a waterbending technique. "Where do we begin, uncle? I'm excited to learn your brand of spirit fighting!" She wondered if any of the past Avatars ever learned how to do this to spirits. She'd have to try to connect to her past lives again soon and ask.

A sigh escaped from Unalaq and he shook his head once. "I'm not teaching you to fight, Korra, I'm teaching you to send a spirit away in peace, and it is only meant as a last resort. Ideally, you should be able to commune with the spirits, come to an understanding with them. The Avatar has such capabilities, being the bridge between spirits and humans."

Korra swallowed hard. "Right." Though he said it without a hint of judgment, Unalaq's words felt like a reprimand more than the wise words of a teacher. Still, it was better than incessantly arguing with Tenzin. "So…"

Unalaq picked up on her hesitancy. "I thought it would be best if you practiced the waterbending technique I use on spirits rather than you try to figure it out in the heat of battle. Watch." He turned the snow at his feet into water, then made broad circles with his arms, though Korra noticed the small rotations of his wrists as well. Two thin streams twined around in the empty air a few feet from where they stood.

The water strands kept spiraling upward, like two shark-eels dancing, but nothing else happened. "How come it's not turning gold?" Korra asked.

Unalaq let the water fall back to the ground without care and it splattered against the snow. "The water will not react until there is a spiritual presence to be contained."

Korra frowned. "So all I have to do is surround a spirit with regular waterbending and it'll disappear?" That wasn't hard.

Unalaq shook his head. "No. Encircling a spirit in water is only part of the process. You must then put your will into it, make it dissolve at your strong suggestion. If your resolve is not strong enough, then the spirit will break free." He stepped away from Korra. "Now you give it a try."

This was going to be easy, Korra thought. Thawing her surroundings into water was child's play and the water formed up into two massive jets, jaggedly coiling around in the air faster than her uncle had done. Unalaq folded his arms behind his back and breathed heavily. "Sloppy. Focus on flattening out the water. Your current state is far too aggressive to contain a spirit and reflects the impatience in your will."

Korra gritted her teeth. The water rippled and tiny droplets dripped back to the ground. She knew waterbending like she knew how to breathe. Being called sloppy was like an icicle through the heart. "Then what am I supposed to do?"

"Breath." He emphasized his point with a long inhale and exhale. "Relax your stance. Calm yourself. You must remain cool-headed in battle, against both humans and spirits, but spirits in particular. They are sensitive to the emotions of humans but with your connection to them as the Avatar, they will be more susceptible to reflecting your mood. If you're furious, they will undoubtedly reciprocate and will be much harder to bend to your will."

With a flick of her wrists, Korra dropped the water and froze it before it could seep into the hard ground. "Bend to my will? Isn't that wrong? Spirits aren't meant to be tamed or forced to do people's bidding. In fact, any time someone's tried, it goes badly. Really badly." She'd read plenty of horrific spirit-human run-ins, including Avatar Kuruk's obsessive hunt for Koh.

Unalaq's eyes widened and he was silent for a moment. Then he said, "I mean that only in dire circumstances, it would be beneficial to stop spirits from hurting innocent people. Like your friend the other night. Miss Sato, was it?" His eyes bored into Korra's.

"I suppose," she said, though it didn't sit right with her. Then again, the spirit last night was destructive and violent. Maybe it was better to control something so unpredictable and dangerous.

"Try again. This time, refine the water. Shape them as tendrils, as ropes." Korra did as instructed, diligently shaping the water for several minutes until it started to resemble Unalaq's bending. "Excellent."

Korra practiced for several more minutes until moving the water around in spirals became second nature. A glance to the side revealed her uncle was giving her a fraction of a smile. She dropped the water and stood straight once more. "I think I've got it."

"I agree," her uncle said, and it felt so good to hear agreement instead of a quip about having a long way to go that she broke out into a grin. "I think you're sufficiently prepared now for our journey."

"Journey?" Korra tried to recall her uncle mentioning a trip earlier but came up empty.

"Yes. The next part of your training requires us to be in a place of where spiritual energy is in greater abundance. This city is nothing but a desolate wasteland in terms of spirituality. Humans rule too heavily here. That is why I wish to bring you to the South Pole, where there is a significant spiritual presence."

Korra blinked. She was going on a trip to the pole. A real Avatar adventure, just like Aang. Her smile widened. "When do we leave?"

Unalaq gave her a brief smile. "I was thinking this afternoon. Do you think you can be packed by then?" Korra nodded. "We'll have to stop over night, but we should reach the pole sometime tomorrow, so make sure you bring sleeping gear."

This time, Korra jumped, too antsy to stand still, and she hollered wordlessly in delight. Once she calmed down, she said, "I can't wait to tell As—my friends. If you don't mind, I'd like them to come with me. We're kind of a team."

"Of course. Whatever the Avatar deems necessary," her uncle said. "You best run and inform them so they can prepare, too. I shall meet you in front of the palace at noon."

"Yes, Uncle." Korra bowed respectfully before scampering back into the palace and to the nearest exit. As the Avatar, she probably should've shown more decorum, but as she burst through the doors and jogged down the steps of the palace, she couldn't help but say (louder than necessary), "I'm going on a real Avatar mission!" She had to find Asami and the boys and share the good news.

Varrick's office was more like a lavish sitting parlor with an ivory trimmed business desk shoved off to the side. An oversized, plush, red sofa stretched beneath the arched windows. Pelts and stuffed heads of various animals hung from the walls, hiding some of the beautiful, hand painted blue designs that reminded Asami of Korra's blue and white tribal armband. A gilt chest, an elaborate armoire, and a drink cart lined the wall across from the desk. And there was a large, white pelt that looked suspiciously like a polarbeardog spread out on the floor like a rug. But what was most striking about the whole room was the taxidermy platypus-bear looming off to the side of the door. Asami nearly jumped at the sight as Varrick ushered her in, his arm around her shoulders.

"Zhu Li!" He barked, successfully making Asami jump, his mouth being so close to Asami's ear. "Fix me a drink. Some of the juice I like, you know the one. With ice!" He let go of Asami and crossed the room before flopping down on the sofa and loosening the silk, purple ascot at his neck. "So Miss Sato, what can I do for you today?"

Right. She was here to talk shipping terms. Hopefully Varrick actually listened to her this time instead of giving her yet another tour of his yacht. She affixed her best polite smile and said, "If we could work out the terms of our agreement today—"

"Don't worry about it, Sato! We've got a deal, we'll get to the details later!" He accepted a glass from Zhu Li and took a sip. He smacked his lips, then patted the empty space beside him. "Take a seat! Relax!"

"No thank you." Asami stood straighter, tilted her chin up. She was going to get Varrick to commit today. She had to. Not only for her business's sake, but if she wanted to go with Korra to the South Pole, she had to secure a written contract with Varrick, lest he take off on some wacky venture while she was away, leaving her without a paddle. "I'd really like to lay out the specifics of our partnership. I have several units that need to be shipped soon." Really soon. Before Future Industries sank completely.

"Sir, perhaps we should negotiate the contract now. You have other meetings to attend this week," Zhu Li said, pouring more of whatever Varrick was drinking into his cup from a crystal carafe in her hands.

Thank you Varrick's assistant. Asami would have to think of a way to repay the tireless woman later. "I want to get things squared away today, as I'd like to accompany Avatar Korra to the South Pole. She's leaving this afternoon, so if we could—"

Varrick slammed his glass down on a small table beside the sofa with enough force to send one ice cube flying out and across the wooden top. "What? Why is the Avatar heading to the pole?" He turned to Zhu Li and threw his hands up in the air. "Why wasn't I notified about this?"

Why would you need to know, Asami wondered. She sat up straighter and cleared her throat, garnering Varrick's attention. "It's part of her spiritual training and she requested I go with her as support." She hoped he wouldn't ask to tag along with them, too.

Yet she was met with silence. Instead of an animated remark, Varrick's eyes darkened and he rubbed his chin. Finally he asked, "Is Chief Unalaq traveling with the Avatar as well?" Asami nodded hesitantly. Varrick frowned. "That's not good. What is he planning to do at the pole?" The businessman leapt off the sofa and started pacing the length of the room, muttering to himself.

"Planning?" Chief Unalaq was vehement in his convictions about the spiritual state of the south, but that didn't mean he was scheming something. Why, then, did Varrick's words leave a pit in Asami's stomach?

Varrick stopped mid stride and turned sharply to face her. "Unalaq is up to something big if he's bringing the Avatar to the incredibly dangerous South Pole. There's the Everstorm plus all the wild animals in between and who knows what other wacky stuff is down there." If Varrick didn't look so serious for the first time since Asami met him, she would've thought he as telling another wild tale.

Worry gnawed at her. If even Varrick, a man willing to try any ridiculous venture for a profit, was afraid of a voyage to the South Pole, why was Unalaq taking Korra there? Sure, she was the Avatar, but when Asami ran into her friend and learned of the trip mere minutes ago, Korra was excited and…come to think of it, didn't mention exactly what the purpose of the trip was. "It's for her spiritual training." Asami repeated what little was told to her, hoping to find conviction in the words. "The pole is apparently rife with spiritual energy, so Unalaq is training her there."

She was answered with an eyeroll and a scoff. "Sure it is. Listen, Asami," Varrick put a hand on her shoulder and pulled her in close. "If you're a true friend to the Avatar, you'll watch her back around Unalaq. As the chief, he may proclaim he's all about protecting the Water Tribe people, but he's ambitious. I've made more than a few deals with him in the past where I got the raw end of the agreement. He'll do whatever it takes to get what he wants and on his terms." Varrick released her shoulder and as he did so, any trace of excitement for a trip with Korra and her friend was replaced with fear.

Unalaq was Korra's uncle. He wouldn't use her, would he? His own niece? Somewhere beside her, Varrick was barking at his assistant, but she couldn't make out the words. The image of Tonraq's outraged face as he stared down his brother last night burned into her mind. Varrick wasn't the only one who distrusted the Chief. Maybe there was something to this. Maybe she should talk to Korra before they headed out. If she headed out. She really needed a solid business pact first.

A stack of papers shaking an inch from her face snapped Asami back to the commotion in the room. Varrick clutched what looked like an actual, legally binding contract in his hand. "C'mon, let's hammer this out. You've got an Avatar to back up." His smile was grim, but in the blink of an eye, it was gone. He jabbed a finger at the print of the top page, his eyes bulging as he shouted, "Zhu Li, figure out this contract for me!"