THE AVATAR'S BIG SISTER .
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𝐈 stood besides jinora and ikki as we watched Korra intently, who was on the road to mastering the Spinning Gates, which managed to get fixed yesterday after her little breakdown.
Jinora signalled Ikki and they directed a gust of wind at the gates to make them spin for Korra, who stood at the other side of the gates, took a deep breath, and elegantly weaved her way through the spinning panels, twirling around and avoiding every contact.
"Good! Light on your feet!" Jinora reminded shortly before Korra spinned out on the other side without being touched once by the gates and rested her hands on her knees, catching her breath. As Ikki gushed on how much she improved, Jinora and I noticed a distant figure behind Korra approaching.
"Ooh, he's cute!" Jinora grinned slyly as the youngest airbender jumped high to see who it was. I smirked teasingly and cooed, "Aw! Look, Korra! Your handsome firebender boy is here!"
"What?" Her eyes widened in confusion and glanced back at her shoulder to find Mako was approaching.
"You mean the handsome firebender boy that drives you crazy, Korra?" Jinora teased, making her glare at us with embarrassment. I pursed my lips, fighting the strong urge to snicker as Ikki giggled, "Does he drive you crazy in a bad way or does he drive you crazy like you like him?
I immediately broke into a fit of booming laughter as Korra quickly raised the earth underneath Jinora and Ikki, catapulting them in the air. My laughter quickly trailed off into terrified yelps as I sprawled my arms out, trying to catch them when they would land.
Of course, I forgotten that these weren't normal children, they were airbenders.
They giggled, softly landing back to the ground behind Korra with their airbending. When Mako pulled up to her, she turned to face him and cleared her throat, slight redness painted across her cheeks. "O-Oh hey, Mako."
I slightly nodded with a polite smile before turning to the children and silently shushing them for their stifled childish laughter, though I had been trying to maintain my own.
"You guys seen Bolin?" He asked, stuffing his hands into his pocket.
"Nice to see you, too." She rolled her eyes before her voice had softened. "And, no, I haven't seen him since practice. Is there something wrong?"
"I don't know. It's just that Bolin has a knack for getting into stupid situations." He tiredly sighed as he turned around and started walking back. "See you guys later."
Korra glanced down at her boots for a brief moment before raising her hand. "Wait!"
Mako stopped and turned around with a raised brow. She cleared her throat, smiling sheepishly. "I could, uh, help you look for him."
"Nah, I'm good."
She gently grabbed his arm, her smile replacing into an wide smirk. "Hey, cool guy, let me help you. We can take Naga!"
He inquired, "Who's Naga?"
"Oh, just my best friend. And a great tracker too!" Korra started to run off, leaving Mako puzzled.
I approached him and putted a hand on his shoulder. "Just a heads up, Naga may seem big and scary at first, but she's just a cutie once you get to know her."
"Huh?"
I put my hands over my head and stretched as I let out a yawn. "I would join you guys in your journey, but I wouldn't want to disturb any romantic moments, if you know what I mean." I winked at Mako, as I turn to walk away. Mako then starts to chuckle.
"Why? Are you jealous that I might have "romantic" moments with your sister, and not you?"
I stopped walking and stood there, dumbfounded. Jealous? Me? Oh, he was pretty bold for saying that type of stuff to me.
I start to laugh as I turn back to face Mako. "Aw, you're not denying that you'll have romantic moments with Korra. I knew you liked her!"
Mako's amusing smirk dropped. "You know I was just joking—"
"Yes, yes, of course, " I chuckled brightly with a dismissive hand, before a yawn took over. "I think I'm going to take a nap—let me know when you guys find Bolin, alright?"
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I opened my eyes slowly and letted out a yawn. I sat upright in my bed and noticed Korra wasn't there. "It's midnight, she should be here by now."
I quickly stood up and ran out of my room, going outside the dormitory, hurriedly walking over to the guard's tower and spot Tenzin talking to a few of them.
"Tenzin!" I called out.
He stopped talking and looked back with widened eyes. "Oh, Katrina! Have you seen Korra? I'm worried."
"Good to know we have the same thoughts. The only thing I know is that she went out to go find her friend, Bolin, but she'll be back. Hopefully."
Tenzin looked back at the guards, concerned. "Should we send a search party?"
A muscular figure suddenly came into view from afar, approaching towards our direction. I squinted and gasped. "Korra!"
Tenzin and the guards looked behind and saw her approaching. I quickly ran up to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Oh, thank goodness. Tenzin was about to send a search party. Are you alright?"
Korra's eyes dimmed down, glancing uncomfortably at the ground. I instantly noticed the shift in her behavior and took my hand off of her shoulder. "Hey, what happened? Did you find Bolin?"
"Yeah, I did." She replied quietly. "I was at an Equalist event. I. . .saw Amon."
My eyes widened, taken aback. "That masked weirdo that protester at the park was talking about?"
Korra nodded slowly in response, letting out a shaky exhale. "He can take people's bending. For good."
I felt my face turned ghostly pale, quickly eyeing Tenzin, who putted his hand on his forehead. "That's. . .that's impossible. Only the Avatar has that power to do that."
"But I saw him do it!" Her eyes became misty as she tightened her folded arms against her chest.
"I believe you. I don't know how Amon has achieved this power, but this means the revolution is more dangerous than ever."
"That means that. . ." I hesitated, before continuing fearfully. ". . .No bender is safe."
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I tried my hardest to drift off to sleep that night, but it seemed like my mind had other plans as questions had fumbled throughout, with occasional panic and fear enlaced inside them. How could it be possible that someone other than the Avatar had the capabilities to permanently take away one's bending? Surely, I would've assumed all of it to be some type of act of bluff, but the cold fear on Korra's face when she told us about him said otherwise.
The tranquility of the psithurism slighting crashing against the closed window of our bedroom couldn't ease the overwhelming ball of tension that formed inside my chest. Could Korra actually be able to defeat him? She hadn't even completed the last element in order to become fully known as the Avatar, and yet with the wavering threat that was affecting the city greatly, it seemed like she was going to have to step up and take the role sooner than planned.
A strained gasp cutted through the silence of the atmosphere, causing me to abruptly snap my head towards Korra's direction, where she had been seated upright in her bed with small beads of sweat that formed against the skin of her forehead. Inhaling slowly to calm my thudding heartbeats, I unconsciously reached under for my pillow and threw it at her with annoyance, muttering, "Spirits, you scared me!"
With her head faced slightly towards me, she swiftly caught the pillow with one hand, though clutching it bit too tightly. Her chest had been rising and deflating repeatedly and looked as if she was trying to maintain herself. My irritation had softened, now straightening up against my headboard as I worriedly questioned, "Are you alright? You look a little pale."
She gulped, shaking her head dismissively. "I'm fine. It's just some stupid dream I had."
"Aw, did someone have a little nightmare? What was it about, hm? That firebender kid rejecting you or something—mmph!" I cooed teasingly with bottom lips jutted out before letting out a painful groan when an irritated Korra threw the pillow straight at my face.
"It wasn't about—just forget it!" She huffed, resting her head against her pillow once more with a bitter frown and pulled the covers above it.
I rubbed my slightly stinging nose, yet still keeping a humorous smile. "I was just messing with you. What're you getting so worked up for?"
"Can you shut up, Kat?" She lowly grumbled. "I'm trying to sleep."
"Aw, is someone mad at me?" I humorously sanged, getting off from my bed and approached besides hers, poking her shoulder. "I'm sorry, okay? If you actually had a bad dream, then. . .I don't know, do you want me to sleep next to you tonight? You know, like back when we were kids?"
"I'm not a kid anymore, Kat. I can handle a small nightmare, alright? Not that big of a deal."
"Well, if you insist." I hummed nonchalantly with a shrug, turning around to head back to the comfort of my bed before Korra's head peeked out of her covers with bottom lips jutted out and called out, "Wait! . . .You could, uh, I-I guess you can sleep next to me—but, only for a while, okay?"
I turned around and chuckled brightly, "Alright, alright, now scoot over."
She letted out a small sigh, scooting over more to the right to give me some space. Carefully sitting down onto the bed, I grabbed the blanket and pulled it up towards us, making sure it had covered Korra fully. "What're you doing?" She questioned with a frown when I had wrapped an arm underneath her neck and shoulder and pulled her closer.
"Cuddling, duh. C'mon, Korra, this was how I used to handle you when you were younger and had nightmares."
"Spirits, your breath freaking stinks, Kat."
I rolled my eyes, though internally I had been deeply offended. "Okay, and? Yours does too, yet you don't see me complaining, hm?"
"Oh, it doesn't bother you, huh?" She smirked mischievously and proceeded to open her mouth, huffing her disgusting, hot breath straight at my face.
I hurriedly pulled back and straightened up, loudly choking with tears slightly stinging the corner of my eyes. Pulling the covers off me with a irritated frown, I huffed bitterly, "Alright, that's it. I'm getting outta' here! When you get another horrible dream, don't expect your sister to waste her precious time comforting you!"
Korra laughed, pulling my hand back to my original spot on the bed. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I was just messin' with you."
"What type of pathetic apology is that?! Do a proper one, and maybe I'll be kind enough to forgive you!"
She rolled her eyes and sarcastically muttered, "I'm so sorry, Katrina, for breathing straight at your face, even though I was completely aware my breath wasn't the best. I promise never to do it again, blah, blah, blah, can you find it in your heart to forgive me, oh beloved sister of mine?"
"I'm going to ignore that sarcastic tone of yours and accept your apology!" I grinned brightly, wrapping my arms around her once again. After a brief moment of tranquil silence of resting my chin against her carob locks, I had asked softly, "Hey, what was the dream of yours about, anyway?"
No response had followed, making me take off my chin rested on her head and peer down to her face, who had been sleeping peacefully. I couldn't help smiling, taking my arms off her and carefully laid her down onto her pillow.
"Goodnight, Korra."
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