It had to be Captain Beifong. At least her father kept his word, Beifong wasn't exactly rude; she was just too serious. Not that the young woman minded . As the pair walked through the streets, Jinora couldn't help but glance over Lin's humourless face. The older woman kept her hands clasped behind her back and her eyes forward, she clearly didn't want to be assigned this job but she couldn't just refuse an order from the Colonel.
"I know you're staring." She said, scaring Jinora half to death with her sudden words.
"Sorry." Jinora stuttered out and looked forward as they were nearing the end of the town.
"I also apologise further."
"What for?" Lin replied, her tone of voice was harsher than she intended it to be.
"I know you didn't want to escort me out of town." Jinora explained.
"With everything going on, I'm sure you're really busy."
Lin's lips twitched into a small smile as she looked at the girl to her side.
"Don't worry about it . This is probably the longest break I've had anyway." She said.
"Besides, I feel honoured. It shows the amount of trust Colonel Tenzin has for me."
"Is my father all high and mighty at the Sato Manor?" Jinora asked, slightly pleased when she saw Lin's smile widen at her comment .
"Well, yes. He has to be." Lin chuckled.
"But let's keep this between you and me , kid. Your father cannot handle the rookies to save his life."
Jinora shook her head and laughed. Tenzin was never good with younger people.
"That definately sounds like him."
"He normally leaves that to my sister." Lin's smile faltered as she mentioned Suyin.
The younger girl raised an eyebrow.
"I didn't realise you had a sister."
"Many people don't and I'm thankful for that." The Captain said, her arms were at her side now.
"Why?" Jinora replied. She was generally intrigued.
"Suyin and I don't get along like you and your siblings probably do ." Lin sighed, remembering what happened the other day in the barracks.
"It can be humilating when we bicker considering we are old adults now."
"Siblings fight no matter their age. Ikki can get on my last nerves sometimes." Jinora explained.
"Also my Uncle Bumi can pull at my father's strings when he visits."
Lin sighed again, she couldn't believe she was going to ask a child for advise.
"So what do you suggest I do?"
Jinora thought back to when her and Ikki fought, they were always broken up by Pema or sometimes it was Meelo. But after their little quarrels, they always apologise to eachother after.
"Talk it out with her."
Captain Beifong clenched her jaw. She never really had a serious talk with her sister, it would always end up with them both arguing. Suyin didn't necessarily help since she always turned up to work late and Lin obviously always had to comment on that. Maybe Jinora had a point. Lin parted her lips to thank the girl but Jinora seemed lost in thought, her gaze fixed on the lake that was some distance away from their position.
"She didn't even seem like an assassin."
Lin knew who she was on about and a frown appeared on her face.
"That's what they want you to think."
Jinora moved her head away from the lake so she could see where she was walking.
"She was nice to me in fact. She seemed like a lovely lady." She explained, remembering how Korra had conversed with her that day by the lake.
"It seems bizarre that a woman like that is known to be a heartless killer." Lin stayed quiet through all this, letting the child ramble out her thoughts and problems.
"Have you killed anyone Captain?"
Lin's breath hitched as the sudden question.
"No." She answered. They walked in silence after that .
<->
"Bolin, there you are. I've been looking everywhere for you." Opal cheered, running over to the man that just took a bite out of his buttered bread. Mako and him were on their breaks and Asami had decided to join them in the barracks which was a bit unusual. However , her boredom had led her there .
Bolin almost choked on his food when he saw her running over to him.
"Opal? I thought you were with Jinora?"
The young woman shook her head.
"Jinora is going to stay with Katara for a few days. She's still shaken up by the encounter that she had with Korra." She explained, linking her arm with the Lance Corporal.
"So now I can spend some more time with you."
Asami shuffled in her seat a little, knowing that Bolin didn't really want to talk to Opal right now. Their converstaion that they had last night explained it all, he was completely heartbroken. Mako noticed her unease and tapped her shoulder.
"Are you alright?" He whispered. Asami lifted up her hand, signalling for him to wait.
"I want to show you something." Opal said, a wide smile on her face.
"It's in the market. come on."
Bolin's face paled at the mention of the market, was she perhaps going to introduce her to that stranger she spoke so highly of?
"I have a shift in a few moments, I can't just leav-."
"It's alright Bolin, you still have time." Mako said which resulted into Asami kicking his legs from under the table.
Bolin gave his brother a glare as Opal had lured him out of the barracks, a smile smile across her face.
"What happened there? Why'd you kick me?" Mako groaned, reaching down to his leg that hurt slightly.
"Bolin and Opal aren't on good terms right now." Asami explained, feeling sorry for the poor boy that just got dragged out the barracks.
Mako raised an eyebrow.
"They seemed fine to me."
"Opal met this Woman from the market yesterday and she can come into my room raving about her." The dark haired woman explained, Mako listened closely.
"She was telling me about how wonderful she was and Opal spoke so highly of her, it looked like she maybe had some form of feelings for her."
"But she's in a relationship with my brother, isn't she?" Mako replied, confused by the situation.
"I'm getting to that part." She hushed him and continued.
"While you were resting last night, Bolin had over heard Opal and I talking. He was completely heartbroken."
The man sighed and shook his head, regretting his actions a few moments ago.
"Does Opal know?" he asked.
"No." Asami said, tearing off a piece of bread from Mako's plate and eating it.
"Oh." He felt like an idiot .
<->
"Is this it ?" Lin asked, looking at the cottage that sat at the end of the dirt trail. Jinora nodded and begun to walk up to the wooden gate that was a few steps in front of them.
"Alright then, I'll start heading back now."
Jinora stopped and turned around, a frown on her face.
"Do you not want to stay for a little ?"
Lin shook her head, standing up straight like she normally did.
"I'd love to Jinora but I have a meeting to attend to soon. I'll be back here in a few days to escort you home."
Jinora nodded and smiled at the older woman.
"Thank you Captain, and take care."
"You too kid." And with that, the Captain turned and started her journey back to the Sato manor.
Jinora reached her arm over the wooden gate and flicked the latch up to open it. Once she had stepped onto the other side, she made sure that she latched it shut again . She forgot to do that last time she was here . She approached the cottage door , a wide smile on her face as she knocked.
"Gran Gran." She said, she pushed the door but it didn't move. Locked.
"Just a moment dear." A voice called from inside the cozy home. Jinora heard the door handle rattle before opening to reveal an old woman with a grand smile on her lips.
"It's lovely to see you again."
"It's nice to see you too." Jinora said and stepped inside. The warm of the cottege hitting her face and made her shiver in delight. However, she could smell an ointment that she hadn't smelt in a while. That was strange.
"Father couldn't make it, he's been extra bus-." The words had disappeared from her tongue. Everything was slow and warbled as if she was underwater. Her wide eyes blinked to make they weren't deceiving her. Nothing had changed. The scene that lay on her Grandmother's table in the front room was in fact real. Her eyes moved to the pale face of the asleep woman, the face of the assassin that she had met days ago. The very reason why she wanted to visit her Grandma in the first place was here, right on her dining table. She was at peace almost, eventhough her body was damaged to the extreme. The poor woman's lower back was charred and blood soaked. She was not well at all.
"What is she doing here!" Jinora yelled, glaring daggers at her grandmother.
"Calm down dear." Katara said, in an attempt to reason with her grandchild.
"That's the assassin! She'll kill you!" Jinora was panicking now. Korra could wake up at any moment and god knows what could happen to them.
"I have to tell the Captai-."
"You need to calm down and listen to me." The old woman boomed, silencing the panicking girl immediately. She had never heard her Grandma shout like that. Katara hobbled over to the unconscious girl ,that had been laid on her front, and pointed at the incinerated flesh. Jinora took a breath and examined the wound. It was an awful sight, Korra's skin was already developing a large scab. Katara must've used that ointment Jinora inhaled a few seconds ago to help with the healing. However, Jinora could see that this wasn't just a burn. She could see that patterns were engraved into her skin.
"What happened to her?" Jinora muttered, letting her eyes wander up Korra's muscular back and up to her face. She noticed the light bruise on her cheek.
Katara sighed. She uncapped a jar of an oil of some sort and poured a few drops onto Korra's back . She placed the jar down and massaged the oil into the wound, slowly as she tried not to peel any more skin off of the poor girl.
"She has been branded."
"Branded? By her own Guild?" Jinora was in shock. Perhaps this was a sort of procedure that The Red Lotus did.
"Do they really do that to their members?"
"No." Katara said, wiping her oily hands with a rag.
"This was a punishment."
"How do you know this?" The younger woman asked, watching her grandmother wipe her hands clean.
"When someone is branded, the stamp should only tickle the skin for a few short seconds." Katara explained. She put the rag down and pointed to Korra's wound again.
"Here, someone has pressed onto her skin with force for a painfully long time. It has burned through her tissue." Jinora winced, she couldn't imagine how much pain this woman felt.
"However, she is lucky. The stamp didn't reach her nerves, she'll be fine."
"Christ.. that's horrible." Jinora said, her eyes landing on the stitching in her shoulder. bullet wound.
"This really is her." She whispered to herself.
"Where did you find her?"
"I found her unconcious outside the gate last night." Katara explained, attending to Korra's shoulder.
"You managed to drag her in here by yourself?" Jinora asked, watching her grandmother reapply the stitches into Korra's shoulder.
The old woman smirked.
"I may be old, Jinora. But I'm not obsolete."
"Why did you help her in the first place?" Jinora was full of questions but she knew blurting all of them out at once wouldn't answer them all. She had to take it slow.
"I couldn't just leave her ouside my house now could I? That would be rather odd." Katara said, earning a chuckle from her grandchild. The old woman manoeuvred around the table to look at the unconscious Korra, her dry lips were parted and the bruise on her cheek was swelling up. The old woman felt herself smile. Under all those cute and bruises, she had grown up so much.
"Her mother would never forgive me if I did."
Even more questions flooded the poor girls mind.
"You know her mother?"
Katara chuckled at her curiousity, she couldn't blame her though. This was all very strange and sudden.
"We should wait until she wakes up. Then I'll answer your questions."
"But Gran Gran, she could be dangerous." Jinora whined, eventhough she felt bad for Korra; she was still an assassin.
"Her body is fragile and will be for a few days. She will be barely able to walk." The old woman flashed a smile.
"We will keep Korra under our protection until she is well enough to speak. Do I have your word?"
"Yes Gran Gran." Jinora nodded, she felt like this was a bad idea.