Hello everyone. This is me from 2023. To those of you who are new to this story: Welcome! Kick your feet up and enjoy the ride. For my returning supporters, thank you for the previous and hopefully continued love of this story.

Now on to business: T his story has been re-edited from its original posting. I have done this to clean it up and make sure anything that was missed has been corrected. All of the story has and remain the same as it is, so if you have already this story and want to continue from where you left off, you don't need to worry about missing any new information from previous chapters.

Thank you all again.

-Blaki-Ice

Chapter 1

Korra pushed hard against the raging snowstorm as it whipped relentlessly all around her. The five-year-old had, once again, outsmarted her protectors, members of the Order of the White Lotus, who were no doubt going to be in serious trouble for losing track of the Avatar. Although the fact that they were tricked by a child was probably embarrassing enough as it was.

A determined looked etched across her face as she stomped through the snow with Naga, her best friend and pet polar bear dog puppy. Her white fur made it easy for her to blend into the background around them, which would have worried Korra that she wouldn't be able to see her in the storm, but the thought was virtually mute as Naga never moved more than few feet from her side. This was a large comfort to the young girl as, unfortunately, while wandering off and hiding from the guards, she had gotten distracted and was now lost.

Naga stood by her side, protecting Korra as best she could while Korra focused on keeping warm and moving. In retrospect, she probably would have been better staying in her hiding spot in that abandoned hut; at least then she would have been protected from the storm for a while. But Korra knew that the longer she was out here, the colder she was going to get, and the worse the situation was going to get.

A whimpering sound came from the small sling she had made to go around her before the sound elevated into a full out cry. Korra shivered as the wind picked up, pushing her backwards as the icy flakes pelted her and the baby. She had been doing her best so far to prevent him from getting hit by the terrible weather, but her efforts were going to be in vein if it continued like this. However, being the stubborn child she was, Korra refused to stop moving.

"Don't worry, baby," she whispered to him as she hugged his small blanket wrapped body closer to her own. "I'm gonna protect you because I'm the Avatar and that's my job. We're gonna get back to the village and then we're gonna be all warm and we're gonna have lots of yummy food and-" Korra stopped as Naga began to bark before taking off down the hill. A small flicker of hope grew in the young girl as she began to pick up the pace and took off after her companion.

Her eyes instantly fell on the shining light of the lamp that one of the guards carried as they searched for her. A large smile instantly crossed Korra's face at the site of them, and without any hesitation, she took off down the hill, sliding and tripping a bit, but keeping her balance as she began to cry out and wave her free hand. "Hey! Over here! Hey!"

One of the guards turned around at the sound of her cries as well as Naga's barking. Relief instantly flooded his features as the Avatar came into site, unharmed. Quickly calling the rest of his team, the White Lotus sentries ran up to her, meeting her just as she reached the bottom of the hill while Naga ran in circles around them happily.

"Radio headquarters and let them know we've found the Avatar and will be back as soon as possible," he commanded. One of the others nodded his head and pulled his radio out to give the call. Turning back to the young girl, he quickly wrapped her in a blanket he had prepared for her. Korra shivered in satisfying delight at the feeling of the warm material around her, pulling the baby in her arms closer to her. "Are you alright? We need to get you back to the compound immediately and-"

"Look what I found!" Korra cried out happily as she opened her parka. The small baby in her arms curled against her as he tried to get away from the cold. The White Lotus sentries looked at her in surprise.

"Where did you get that baby?" One of the female guards asked.

"He was all alone in a hut. It didn't look like anyone was living there anymore but me and Naga found him by himself so I took him because I bet he was lonely and cold and hungry and-"

"Ok, ok, Korra. Why don't we get you back to the compound and warmed up and we'll figure out what to do about him," the female sentry said. Korra smiled as she was led back to the compound by the other guards. Turning back to the guard with the radio, the sentry commanded, "Radio the compound and let them know that Korra found a baby and that someone should go back and check on the hut in case the parents come back or if there's anyone else still there."

The fellow sentry nodded his head and quickly called back to their base with the news of the Avatar's recent discovery.

Korra sat surprisingly patiently in her room, though with a large smile on her face. She had done it! She had done her first real good deed as the Avatar! She was awesome! She was gonna be the greatest Avatar ever! Everyone was probably talking about how proud they were of her and how awesome she was and all that.

She gripped the blanket wrapped around her with one hand while the other brought the steaming cup of hot tea to her lips. The warm liquid trickled down her throat pleasantly while her tongue danced at the sweet natural sugars of the honey that had been added to it.

"I wonder if the baby likes tea," she said out loud to herself. Turning to Naga, who was laying next to her with her head on her paws, she asked, "Do you think the baby likes tea, Naga? I bet he does! Tea is really good, so I'm sure he does. Everybody likes tea."

Korra paused in her ranting as the door flew open, her parents standing in the doorway. A look of relief and happiness came to their faces as their eyes fell upon their daughter who was safe and sound.

"Korra!" Senna said as she and Tonraq crossed the small room and hugged their daughter. "Thank goodness! We're so glad that they found you and that you're safe!"

"We were worried sick about you. What on earth were you thinking running away like that?" Tonraq reprimanded.

"Mommy, Daddy, I found a baby!" Korra said excitedly, completely ignoring her father's question. The two parents were taken by surprise and caught completely off guard by their daughter's statement.

"You found what, Korra?" Senna asked.

"I found a baby!" She repeated with just as much enthusiasm.

"How and where did you get a baby?" Tonraq asked.

"Naga and I found him when we were outside playing! I slipped down a hill, and at first it hurt, but then when I got up, I saw a hut, and it looked kinda funny because the tarp was all torn and so I went to look because I'm the Avatar and it's my job to protect everyone. So Naga and I went inside but the whole place looked really messy and dirty and there was stuff all over the ground and it was broken so I think someone ran away because they knew that they were gonna be in trouble. I didn't wanna get in trouble for it either, so I was gonna leave but then I heard someone crying. Actually, it was more like screaming and it was kinda loud so I followed it to this room in the way back of the house and the baby was just there all alone so I took him with me because I know I get lonely when I'm by myself and Naga's not there and-"

"Ok, ok, Korra, we understand, dear," Senna said, calming her excited daughter down. "That was very good of you to do, and we're very proud of you."

Korra smiled at the praise she received from her parents, happy to see that her work as the Avatar was already making the world better. Opening her mouth to speak again, she stopped as a knock came from the open door. Standing in the doorway was none other than the famous waterbending master, Katara who was not only charged with teaching Korra waterbending, but was without a doubt her favorite teacher in the compound. She was much more lenient and understanding then the White Lotus masters and sentries, as well as patient.

"Master Katara!" Korra cheered before noticing the baby in her arms. "Baby!"

Katara chuckled at the young girl as she walked into the room, nodding to Senna and Tonraq respectively. "It's good to see you both again."

"And you as well, Master Katara," Tonraq said before letting his eyes fall onto the baby in her arms. "So, is this the baby that Korra found?"

"Yes, it. We've checked up on him and he seems perfectly healthy for a boy his age. It was good that Korra found him when she did. I'm sure that he wouldn't have survived out there alone in this weather for very long if she hadn't."

"There were no signs of his parents? At all?" Senna asked sadly. The expression that came to Katara's face spoke volumes to the young mother, her heart hurting just from the thought alone.

"Can I hold the baby!?" Korra asked excitedly, interrupting their conversation.

Katara smiled, walking over and sitting next to her. "Of course, but you must be very careful with him," she said, as she carefully handed the baby to Korra, making sure to adjust her arms to cradle him properly. "Very good, Korra."

"Hi, baby!" she said happily as he giggled, patting her face with his tiny hand. "I'm Korra! I'm the Avatar! But you knew that already. And this is Naga. She's my best friend."

"May I speak with you both, please?" Katara asked the two parents. Walking out of Korra's hearing range, the older bender spoke in a low voice. "I'm afraid it's worse than we thought. The White Lotus went back in the direction that Korra had come from and found a hut out there by itself. They searched the entire place, and there was without a doubt an attack there."

"Do they know what or who would have attacked them?"

"Based on the evidence they found, they believed that it was a herd of Tiger-Seals at first. There were tracks all over the places, and their food supply was completely depleted. But, upon closer inspection, it's become obvious that there was another attack, and it was most likely that…this is what orphaned him."

Senna could feel her heart breaking at the tone in Katara's words. Being a mother, it always hurt her to hear about things like this. She couldn't image what she would do if it had been Korra who had been abandoned out there. Tonraq, sensing his wife's distress, wrapped an arm around her in comfort before nodding for Katara to continue.

"The White Lotus searched the entire hut. Beyond the Tiger-Seal tracks, there were signs of a struggle. If we had to guess, his parents were most likely attacked in their home by some roaming bandits who were looking to get out of the storm or to rob them," Katara said sadly with a shake of her head. "They were able to find his birth certificate, but it appears that his parents aren't from around here which means he has no more family that we know of or can contact here in the South Pole. He's been completely orphaned."

"That poor boy," Senna said.

"I'm so glad I found you!" Korra said, still oblivious to the adults' conversation. "We're gonna play games, and I'm gonna teach you stuff. I wonder if you're gonna be a waterbender! I hope so because then I can teach you how to waterbend! Or maybe you can learn with me and Master Katara! But it's ok if you're not though because I'm still gonna be the best big sister ever!"

"Big sister?" her mother said as the three adults looked to her, surprised. Senna got an uncomfortable look on her face as she approached her daughter and tried to think of a way to let her down gently about what would happen. "Korra, you can't keep him."

"Why not?" She asked, hurt and confusion on her face. "I got to keep Naga when I found her."

"Sweetie, Naga's a Polar Bear Dog. This boy, he's not an animal that you can keep as a pet. He's a person, and he needs to go where he can be properly cared for."

"So, he's going back to live with his mommy and daddy?"

"Well…no, sweetheart," Tonraq said as he kneeled in front of her. "He doesn't have a mommy or a daddy, so he has to go to an orphanage with other kids who don't have parents."

"What's an orphanage?"

"It's a place where kids who don't have families go to grow up and learn and, maybe, even get adopted and brought into a nice family."

"So…they're gonna take him away?" Korra asked sadly as her bottom lip began to quiver and her eyes began to water.

"I'm afraid so."

"No!" She screamed, holding him a little tighter in her arms. "You can't take him away from me!"

"Korra, you have to be reasonable, and-"

"No! NO, NO, NO, NO! I found him! I saved him! It's my job as the Avatar to save and help people! You can't take him away from me! I won't let you!"

"Korra-"

"Perhaps it would be a good idea," Katara said, surprising the two parents. "I remember that Aang was very lonely as a child before he met Sokka and me. It was one of the many reasons he was so adamant about having more than one child, even if Bumi had been an airbender. Not to mention, it may give Korra a good sense of responsibility and help her progress in her Avatar training. After all, standing up for what you believe in and protecting those you care for the most is the first step in becoming a good Avatar. Besides, it's very clear that the two of them have bonded, and it would be a shame to have to separate them."

Tonraq and Senna looked at each other, a look of uncertainty going between them.

"Well…" Senna thought out loud. "We have been considering having another baby…"

"And Korra does seem pretty attached to him," Tonraq continued as a small smile came to his face. "I suppose it could work out."

"So…we can keep him?" Korra asked hopefully.

"Yes, dear. We can keep him," Senna said with a laugh as Korra cheered happily. Naga, who had been at attention at her side, jumped off the bed, barking and running around happily, her tail waged fiercely.

"Welcome to the family, Baby!"

"You know, he has a name, Korra," Katara laughed as she pulled the birth certificate from her pocket and handed it to Tonraq to read.

"Sota," he said before a proud smile came to his face. "Sota of the Southern Water Tribe."

"Welcome to the family Sota!" Korra said as he giggled in her arms. "I promise, I'll be the best big sister ever!" Looking up to her parents, she declared, "I love him already!"