I stood on the dock with Korra and my cousins waiting to welcome Mako, Bolin, and Asami. They'd have to stay with us now since Asami's father didn't seem like a safe option anymore. The boat in the distance approached sluggishly. There was no hurry I suppose. When sadness enveloped us, things always seemed to slow down for some reason. It's when you're happy that things pick up speed.
"You're finally here," one of the girls said as the boat halted in front of us. "Welcome to Air Temple Island! You're new home!"
"Yes," Meelo said in all seriousness. "Welcome to my domain!"
"Well, aren't you sweet, little monk child?" I shook my head as Bolin smiled down at him like I usually did, and Pabu took off between Meelo's legs.
"What's that furry creature?" Meelo asked pointing. I smacked myself in the face as Jinora went encyclopedia on us only to be interrupted by Ikki's screech that we only heard when she found something utterly adorable.
Pabu didn't seem fond of Ikki and ran away from her. I guess Pabu didn't expect her to actually chase him in circles. Then Meelo jumped up on Naga's back and pulled at her ears. "Fly, sky bison, fly!" He screamed. Well, at least the new residents got to see the jist of what life on Air Temple Island would be like before they unpacked. But it didn't scare them away, so I assumed they'd seen worse.
I walked over to talk to Bolin when the guys who went to help them all move brough a towering stack of luggage off of the ship. "How much of that is yours?" I asked him.
"I've got all of my stuff right here," he said as he pat the bag over his shoulder. "All of that is Mako's except for one of Asami's."
"What?"
"I was just kidding. It's all Asami's. Like us guys would need that much stuff. Me especially. I'm low maintenance."
"Of course you are," I whispered as we fell in behind the others marching towards the temple.
I stopped and let the others go ahead without me, still feeling tired from my injuries. As they split up to find their rooms, I stayed standing in front of the temple, suddenly feeling like taking my second nap of the day. But I had to stop sleeping so much. How would I ever heal properly if all I ever did was lay around? But first I needed a break.
"Are you alright?" My uncle's voice startled me, and I looked up at him from my seat on the steps.
"I'm fine, Uncle Tenzin."
"Very well then. I am looking for Korra."
"She's showing Asami to her room, I think."
Uncle Tenzin nodded and rounded the corner, heading for the girl's side of the island. Just as he was out of view, Ikki came up sulking. Apparently she'd been kicked out of Asami's room by Korra. I knew Ikki had a loud mouth, and there was no telling what she'd said. I didn't bother asking either. I knew I'd have to hear it from Korra later anyway. Ikki sat beside me sadly, but then I came up with an idea that we could me from dozing off and keep Ikki from pouting. "Hey," I said. "Is there some sort of training I could do that doesn't require bending talents?"
Ikki perked up like watered flower and immediately grabbed my hand. "There sure is! It's what we've been doing with Korra," she told me as she pulled me along behind her. Being dragged all over the place was starting to get old.
She took me over to a large, circular... thing with panels sticking out of the ground. "This is the first step for learning airbending. It's about learning how to move with the wind and avoid the panels. It's easy! And no bending skills required."
"Ikki, I don't know about this," I said after she used her airbending to make the panels spin blurrily. "I think some bending talent is required, don't you?"
"Nonsense! Just try it!" She screamed as she shoved me into the rotating panels. "Get to the other side! That's all you have to do!"
Two panels smacked my shoulders the moment my feet touched the ground, but I was able to dodge a third. That one success was enough to give me the courage to at least try. By the time, I'd made it to the center, I still hadn't dodged any more panels successfully. "You can do it! You gotta stop thinking. Just move with the wind."
"Okay!" I yelled, and I closed my eyes. I didn't know how well this would go, but I was going to full-heartedly try it. I breathed out. The wind blew from behind me pushing me forward and twisting me around to face in the direction I had come from. I could feel me hair and clothes contine to twist, so I did as well. The brush of panel against my shoulder startled me a little, but it hadn't hit me. The wind that made me turn in circles died down to be replaced with one pulling me to the left and then forward and right. I kept following the whirling path of the wind until I felt Ikki's embrace.
"See! You did it! Not even Korra could do it the first time, so you're really talented. I can't believe it actually worked. The Air Acolytes have tried it so many times, but they just can't do it."
"What? You just sent me through this thing knowing that non-airbenders have failed miserably, that even the Avatar had trouble with it? Ikki!" I screamed. She flinched a little but wasn't too worried about what I'd do. She smiled up at me.
"But it worked out, right?"
I rolled my eyes and sat on the edge of steps where I had come out of the panels. "You should do it again!" Ikki told me enthusiastically.
"I need to go in and rest now, Ikki. I think I was wrong. It's still too soon for me to be training in any way right now." I stood up and started back towards the girls' side of the island where I was hoping I would find Korra. I didn't.
The girls' side of the island was empty of familiar faces. Well, the Air Acolytes were there, and I knew some of them... But not well enough to speak to any of them. I did ask one if they'd seen Korra or Asami. No one had seen them. Normally, I would have went to my room, but instead I stayed in the common area where the female Air Acolytes talked, ate, and meditated together. This feeling had surrounded me so suddenly as if I'd fell into this sea of absurd emotions with no sense of which way was up and which down. There was no untainted air to breath, and I was sinking. A friendly face, I hoped, would wash it all away.
I stood quickly and walked to the main house where Pema stood in the kitchen washing dishes. The kids must have been outside playing because the house was so quiet. "Aunt Pema," I said quietly, making her jump.
"Oh, you scared me!" She said, exasperated.
"Where's Uncle Tenzin?"
"Oh, he took Korra to some political thing about Lin Beifong's replacement. They should be back soon enough."
"Oh, okay. Well, if you see Korra before I do, tell her to come find me."
Aunt Pema nodded and assured me that she would do so the moment she saw her. I turned back out of the house, not wanting to get caught up in an awkward chat with Aunt Pema. She and I weren't exactly close. Every time we were together, she'd been pregnant. Who knows what normal Pema is like?
I shook the thought of pregnant Aunt Pema from my mind before it lead to mental images that I could most certainly live without, and walked towards the edge of the island. I was ready for some time with the sea.
I always thought it strange how close I felt to the ocean or to lakes and rivers. I liked water, and the sound of the swooshing ocean could always bring me peace of mind, something I had lacked lately. I perched myself along the edges of the cliff when I came to it and glared down at the ocean below. With every wave that brushed against the rocks, I felt relief. It was as if those rocks were my mind, and the ocean waves were washing away the foreboding feeling that it held. I was grateful for the ocean and this healing it gave me though I knew it to be temporary as it always was.
Sitting on the edge of this cliff, I lost all sense of time until the ground beneath me shook slightly, giving way to footsteps that approached me. But how could I have felt such slight vibrations in such solid grounds? Surely, it was the solitude and the calmness... Perhaps even the closeness I felt to nature at that point that allowed me feel Korra coming. I hadn't known then it was her. But I had a feeling that it would be.
Korra stepped out from the brush not far from where I sat and plopped onto the ground, taking her face into her hands. She hadn't noticed me. Slowly, I stood up and walked over to her side. Laying my hand on her shoulder, I said, "Korra, what's happened?"
She wasn't startled by me. Maybe she had known that I was there. Korra shook her head at me, refusing to move her hands. She was far too strong and proud to let even her best friend see her cry.
"Korra, please. Talk to me. That's what I'm for," I told her. Then I heard the shouts of the others coming in her direction. For a moment, she lifted her eyes at Mako's voice, and I saw her needing him and not me. It hurt to think that there would come a day when she didn't want to tell me what was wrong, when she wanted to tell someone else.
But still she and I were friends, and I assumed she would appreciate the opportunity to speak with only Mako, so I stood and headed for the direction their voices were coming from. I found them not far away, heading in the right direction.
"Hey," Mako said slowly when he saw me. "Have you seen Korra? We saw her heading this way but can't find her."
"I haven't seen her. I came from this way over here though," I told Mako, pointing behind me and looking into his eyes trying to convey the truth. "She could be anywhere. Maybe we should split up and head in different directions?"
"I'll go check the girls' rooms then. I know she came this way, but we could be out here looking and Korra just show up there," Asami said, turning on her heel and sweeping her hand across Mako's shoulders.
"Well, I'll go check where you came from then," Bolin added. "She might be moving around."
"Um, no. Bolin, you come with me. Mako can go check there." I added the last sentence to make sure that he'd gotten the point. He nodded at me and disappeared into the brush.
I grabbed Bolin's arm and pulled him away in the opposite direction as confusion colored his face. It was cute how dense he could be sometimes. But at that moment, not so much. "Bo, Korra's over there. That's why I sent Mako that way. That's who she really wants to talk to... Which is strange since that person used to be me."
"Why didn't you just say so?" He asked me, giving me the 'duh' face.
"Isn't it obvious? For both Korra and Mako's sake," I said, mimicing the look he'd given me.
"I don't understand."
"Well, good. We should all pretend to not understand until things straigten themselves out. And they will."
"But Z, I really don't understand."
"What did you -" Bolin held up his hand to stop me.
"If you can call me Bo, then I can call you Z. Your name's too weird."
"My name's weird? Okay, sure. We all know it's Pabu who has the weird name."
The fire ferret sitting on Bolin's shoulder popped over his head to look at me at the sound of his name. "You leave Pabu alone," Bolin told me. "Don't listen to her, buddy. You've got the best name. The best name ever."
Not long after that, Korra and the "new Team Avatar" went to patrol the city against the Equalists. I was invited to go, but I still didn't feel ready. Instead, I spent the night doing something else. I went back to the training area where Ikki took me. I wanted to try it again. Somehow, Ikki had a feeling I would go back. She met me there, and we trained together for a long time. Each time I tried it, I moved through the panels without touching a single one of them, something that should be impossible for me according to Ikki.
When dawn finally came, Korra had been the only one to return last night. And now she was missing.