Winding Legacies: A 'The Legend of Korra' Rewrite

Episode 10: A New Spiritual Age Part 1

"I'd like to see you try," Bumi countered as Kya's face fell into a scowl.

"Both of you, hush!" Tenzin yelled, interrupting their squabble. A few nocturnal birds scrambled out of the trees at the sudden noise and Bumi and Kya quieted down. "This is ridiculous, Bumi just give her back the whistle. And Kya, stop antagonizing Bumi."

"He started it!" At her brother's stern look, Kya simply rolled her eyes and threw her hands in the air. "Fine! I'll forfeit."

"And here's your stupid whistle, I guess," Bumi muttered.

Tenzin smiled in relief at the soft silence finally filling the air and turned his head to sleepily look at his siblings. "Why don't you two get some sleep. I'll take the first watch."

"You look like you're about to drop. I'll take the first watch," Bumi suggested as if he hadn't just been arguing with his siblings moments ago. Tenzin waved him off, stopping Bumi from moving closer to Jinora and Korra.

"Nonsense. I'm sure your bothering Kya took a lot out of you. I hope you two sleep well." Kya and Bumi leaned over to hug Tenzin, whispering good nights back to him.

"Don't stay up too long, Tenz. Call us after a while to relieve you," Kya said with a yawn.

Tenzin kissed Jinora's head lightly. "I will."

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Jinora roamed her eyes wistfully over the luscious bright colors of the Spirit World as she and Korra stood in a breezing field. "Isn't it beautiful?" Jinora murmured.

"Yeah, just stick close to me, okay? We never know when we might run into-" Korra's words immediately lapsed in her throat as the ground beneath them both caved. They screamed as they slipped down into a dark hole, their bodies nearly instantly colliding with ice-cold water. They swirled around the darkness and clung onto each other, but flung apart as a huge wave collided with them as soon as a bright light broke into their vision.

"Ahh!" Jinora screeched as a current harshly pulled her under its waters. The water pulled her off to the right as a fork in the stream appeared, and Korra's lungs threatened to fill up with water as her breath quickened as she tried to swim toward Jinora.

"Jinora!" Korra's attempts were to no avail as her own current swept her under. Bubblies fizzed all around her as the stream shot her out and she fell back-first onto the still water at the end of a grand waterfall. As she gathered her labored breaths, the lake pushed Korra onto the nearby shore and she clawed against the ground as she tried to get far away from the water. "Jinora? Jinora!" Korra called hoarsely. She slowly got to her feet and stumbled around the forest, calling out to Jinora as she wandered aimlessly around the forest.

Hearing the forest snap and whisper at her, Korra hurried through the forest more, brushing past all the vegetation that might slow her frightened momentum. After what felt like years, Korra's voice slipped from its tired and hoarse roar into a child-like sadness, her significantly smaller body falling to the ground as she devolved into cries. The spirits circling her in the woods watched her carefully as Korra, appearing as her four-year-old self, curled up against the base of a twisting tree and hugged herself tightly.

Meanwhile, at the edge of the thick forest Korra was stuck in, Jinora coughed up the water suffocating her lungs as her stream dropped her in the middle of a bright, green field much like the one she was in before. Getting to her feet, she shivered as she looked around and cupped her hands to her mouth. "Hell? Korra! Where are you?" When she heard nothing from Korra, Jinora resorted to calling out to the spirits that she knew were watching. "I'm lost. Can anyone help me?"

A sweet chirp sounded over her left shoulder and Jinora craned her neck to see where it came from. "Furry-Foot?" Jinora gasped as her eyes studied the bumbling spirit flying over a hill in front of her. Jinora laughed ecstatically as she cut through the grass field, her hands swarming around Furry-Foot's body as he floated right in front of her face. "It's so good to see you again! You're so big here!" Jinora cooed, rubbing his belly after she pulled away from the gigantic hug she had to give him.