Soul Bound

First Visit

"Korra?"

Korra lifted her head and noticed that the people at the table were looking at her curiously. Crap. Had Tenzin stopped talking while she was still thinking?

"Sorry," Korra said sheepishly. "I was lost in my own thoughts."

Tenzin nodded in understanding. "This is the time to reflect on how our actions helped shape the world."

Korra nodded in agreement and pulled her plate closer. "This looks great," Korra said before taking a bite. Even though she had to give up meat while she stayed in the temple, the food was still very delicious. She watched the family interact as she ate. Rohan was growing fast and appeared to be taking more after Tenzin with the way he was eating his food seriously and was listening to Ikki and Meelo intently. Although what the siblings were talking about wasn't that important. They were having an argument of what was a better animal as a pet: a flying lemur or a flying squirrel. It was getting very heated and Korra noticed how Meelo's hand was drifting ever closer to his berries. Pema must have saw it too because she gave the young boy a look and Meelo's hand stopped moving towards the food.

Korra turned her head and saw how Jinora was more moving her food around on her plate than actually eating. She frowned at the tired expression on her face and the way she kept yawning. The research was really taking a toll on Jinora, Korra thought.

"How are you feeling?"

The Avatar looked to her left to where Kya was sitting. She knew that the question held more weight than what Kya implied. Korra wondered briefly if Kya knew about Korra visiting Kuvira with Asami. "Better," she said. "I'm supposed to go see Asami tomorrow for a pickmeup."

Kya nodded and Korra could tell she understood the meaning under the words. "Good. Your aura is getting," she halted and stared at Korra for a long moment. Korra felt strange under the gaze, as if she were an animal being studied. "more stable," Kya finally said.

There was a look in her eyes and Korra wondered what her aura actually looked like. She remembered how she looked blue as her physical body manifested in the Spirit World and how Kuvira's was purple. Was that their auras? Did that mean that their auras was a mixture of the colors now? "What do you mean, more stable?" Korra asked in a low voice. The rest of the family were more focused on Bumi's recollection of how he saved Team Avatar and his brother from Korra's cousins with nothing but a flute and a music-loving dark spirit.

"It's more blended than before," Kya whispered. "Before I could easily tell which part was you and the other. But now, there's more of a unity in it." She looked at Korra for a long time again, looking at the Avatar's aura. "It's pretty."

"Thanks?" Korra wasn't sure how else to respond. She didn't understand why the statement made her feel a little smug either. She went back to eating and listening to Bumi's story. When he got to the part about Naga finding him in the middle of the vast tundra, Korra slipped the polerbeardog one of her carrots. Naga devoured it with one bite and nudged Korra for some more. Korra indulged her pet as discreetly as she could, although she noticed how Pema raised an eyebrow at her but the mother didn't say anything. Korra knew that whenever she had to leave Naga in the care of the acolytes, Pema had been very open-handed with the treats.

Once dinner ended and everyone was getting up to leave, Korra called out for Jinora to wait for her. Jinora heard her and they strolled out into the courtyard where they had their first conversation about the Soul Bond. "How are you?" Korra asked in concern.

"Tired," Jinora answered honestly. "But I'm learning so much about the Spirit World and how they can interact and change us. It turns out that the physical changes a spirit can cause can actually be reversible. If the spirit that first changed the human heals him or her, then the physical alterations will go away."