Asami

"Are we nearly there yet?"

Asami was nearly knocked out of her seat by a flying airbender. She yelped and yanked the controls, causing the airship to lift its nose up for a second. She hastily corrected it and glared at Ikki.

"Yes we are, Ikki. Where are the others?"

They had been flying due south from Ba Sing Se for around two days; airships were fast, but not that fast, and their destination was a while away.

Ikki stopped and thought for a second.

"Jinora is meditating," she said. "And Kai is with her."

Asami nodded. "And Meelo?"

"He's throwing things out of the bomb bay."

Asami jerked out of her seat in alarm.

"He's doing what?" She cried, and slammed her hand onto the comms button.

"Meelo, stop doing that!" She shouted, her voice broadcast all around the ship. She heard a faint "sorry!" And then the whirr of the bomb bay doors closing.

She relaxed back into her seat. "That's better," she said. "We should be arriving in Omashu soon enough, apparently there's been recent sightings of Korra here."

Ikki nodded, and then rushed away.

This is going to be a long trip.

The city of Omashu was ringed by a deep trench that plunged hundreds of feet below the city. In ancient times this has served as a moat to keep attacking armies out; but now it was a convenient place to park airships. Asami manoeuvred the vehicle into the ravine, and then watched as metalbenders sent cables to attach themselves to the hill and guide the airship into position, neatly in front of a gangway leading towards land and the city walls. They gave her a thumbs up, and she powered down the engines before clambering out of her seat.

"We're here!" She called.

Immediately there was a whoosh, and Ikki and Meelo were stood in front of her; the other two were a little slower, but soon they were all assembled in front of the hatch. Asami twisted the handle and opened it, and they all stepped out into the sunlight. The four Airbenders, who didn't have to worry about falling off, rushed ahead while Asami chose her step more carefully.

Ahead of them, she could see an important looking delegation approaching, and one of them was holding a banner with the personal symbol of King Bayu of Omashu.

"Asami Sato!" One of the men hailed her. They were all dressed in modern green clothes, similar to the uniforms of Kuvira's men. Asami supposed that was because these were Kuvira's men.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance," the King told her. "These are my ministers for security and tourism, and my personal assistant. Kuvira told us you were coming."

Asami greeted the men in turn. "I won't hold you long," she said. "I'm looking for the Avatar, and I heard she was here."

"We think she was," the minister for security replied. "I have reports from the police about sightings only a few days ago."

"Do you think she's still here?" Asami pressed, but the man only shrugged.

"Who knows?" He replied. "But you might at least find out where she's gone."

"After you have finished searching for the day," the King told her, "you are welcome to dine at the palace with me. If you want."

"I would be honoured," Asami bowed her head slightly.

"Excellent!" The King bowed enthusiastically. "And then we can talk about potential partnerships!"

Asami let that go. She was curious about what exactly he meant, but he probably wanted Future Industries to invest in his city and hoped to make a good impression. He wouldn't be the first politician to make such overtures.

"I look forward to it," she told him politely, and with that she moved past the delegation, the four Airbenders just behind her. They were all carrying leaflets with "have you seen this woman" written upon them, and a large picture of Avatar Korra. She didn't necessarily expect it to work, but she didn't know what else she could do.

She pulled her leaflets out of her pocket as they passed through the walls and into the city, and looked down at the illustration of Korra's face.

She sighed. She had not seen her friend for years now, and she really missed her. The last she had heard was a letter, received about a year and a half before, in which Korra had told her that she needed to go away to find herself. Asami had understood, but she hadn't liked it. In the aftermath of her disappearance Team Avatar had drifted apart; Bolin had joined Kuvira, Mako had thrown himself into police work and Asami had been working with the United Republican Navy, on a special project to turn her father's work to a good use.

Meanwhile, Korra had been off doing... what, exactly? Asami did not know. She had been keeping a very low profile, certainly. Perhaps she feared that her enemies might come for her again, and this was a fear Asami understood; she had seen what the battle with Zaheer had done to her friend. Her heart had ached at seeing her in that state. But she was also a little angry at how Korra seemed to fear her friends coming for her just as much; no letter had ever disclosed the Avatar's location.

She was snapped out of her reverie when an orange and yellow shape darted past her. Meelo raced ahead, ran up the street with unnatural speed courtesy of his airbending, stopped to compose himself, and then slid in front of a girl selling flowers.

"What?" Asami couldn't stop herself from saying.

She watched as Meelo airbent a coin out of his pocket and gave it to the girl, who smiled, blushed, and allowed him to take a flower from the basket. Meelo immediately returned it to her, and Asami watched in astonishment as the girl blushed even harder.

The girl led Meelo over to a wall and pulled out a piece of paper. She wrote something and handed him the paper, and he tucked it into his pocket.

Just at that moment, there came a delighted screech.

"Oh my Spirits, Meelo's in love!"

And the moment was broken as Ikki rushed past and began crowding Meelo and his new friend. Even from her vantage point, and she was not standing close to them, she could hear her squealing about true love and princes (although she had apparently never taken Meelo for a Prince, he was too annoying) and marriage and dragons and a hundred other hopelessly romantic things. Meelo had suddenly gone very red, and so had the girl; a moment later, she turned and fled away up the street, causing Meelo to blast Ikki away up into the air. The girl floated down to land safely, and then ran for it as Meelo started chasing her shouting about how she had ruined it.

He still had that piece of paper she had given him though; perhaps not all was lost for him.

Asami looked at Jinora and Kai, who stood beside her watching the scene. Jinora shook her head, but Kai had a look on his face that suggested he found the scene funny.

It was going to be a long quest, Asami could tell.