Chapter Text
Chapter Three: Runaway
Knock Knock Knock. “Korra, you can’t hide in there forever,” Senna shouted through Korra’s bedroom door, “You have to come out eventually!” Knock Knock Knock “Your friends are here! They haven’t seen you in a month and are getting very worried!”
“Go away!”
“Look, if you won’t come out for them, then I’ll bring them to you!” Senna pauses by the door, waiting to see if she would say anything. Minutes go by. She finally frowns and heads for the front door. When the White Lotus came last week, she knew that Korra wouldn’t take the news very well, but she never expected her to shut herself in her room. She only came out to eat after Senna had gone to her room for the night, if she came out at all. And Naga was worried about Korra too. The giant polar bear-dog didn’t go out hunting anymore, and just slept outside Korra’s window all day.
Korra’s friends from the academy were waiting outside the door. Siku was lean and dark skinned, with darker, slicked back hair. They weren’t a Waterbender, but they were the academy teacher’s child, so they spent a lot of time there. Senna never talked with them much, but from what she could tell, they were kind of short-tempered and clumsy, but still a really good friend to everyone else. Buniq was a shorter, bigger girl, but that didn’t stop her from being the best waterbender under in the tribe under 40. This made her somewhat overconfident, but whenever she was shown up, she recognized the other person’s strength and congratulated them on the win. She would have tutored some of the other students, but Waterbending was so natural to her that she had a hard time explaining what she was doing differently, which is why Korra was the one training Asami.
Asami, despite her looks, was the least popular girl and worst Waterbender in the academy. Korra took it upon herself to try and tutor Asami, but she was still utterly terrible at the art. Whenever she came over, it looked like she was constantly trying not to let something slip, like there was some huge secret that would ruin their friendship. Probably the fact that Asami was crushing hard on Korra. It was easy enough to tell when you were 42 and had been through a marriage of 12 years. Korra, obviously, was oblivious.
“Hey, guys,” said Senna, “you can come on in. I’ve got tea on if you want some.” Korra’s friends all migrated to the couch. “She still hasn’t come out of her room”
“Can we ask what happened?” asked Siku. “Korra would never close herself off like this unless it was absolutely appalling to think about.”
“That’s probably something you should ask her. I don’t think it’s my place to tell.”
“Well, who wants to go first?” Asami asked. “If we all go in at once, that could overwhelm her, and she’d be even more likely to clam up.”
“Why don’t you go?” asked Buniq. “You two are the closest out of all of us. If anyone has a chance of getting through to her, it’s you.”
“Good idea,” remarked Siku. “And who knows, maybe you could get her to come out here to us. Ms. Senna, could I have a cup of tea, please?”
“Of course, dear.”
The matter apparently having been settled, Asami shuffles toward Korra’s door, wondering what could have happened. Did she kill someone? Did one of her other friends die? Thousands of possibilities swirled through her head before she realized that her hand was still poised to knock. Thunk thunk thunk. “Korra, it’s Asami. Can I come in?”
Silence. Asami knocked again. More silence. “Korra, I’m coming in.” The door opened with a lengthy crreeeaaak. Asami took in the picture in little segments. Her closet full of jackets and pullovers, floor covered in clothes, dirty and clean, her empty bed-wait, empty? A cold draft smacked her in the face as she swiveled her head towards the open window, curtains fluttering like white flags against the dark sky. Asami’s heart dropped and she rushed to the window, leaning her head out to look at the footprints she left behind. Instead, the saw a big negative space about the size of a polar bear-dog, with giant paw-prints leading away from the window.
Asami sprinted out too the living room. “Guys!” Asami shouted, causing Siku to spill their tea. “Ah, fuck!” exclaimed Siku.
“Korra’s gone!”
“What?!” cried Senna, dropping the tea kettle.
“Her window is open, and Naga is gone too. It looks like she rode her into the woods.”
“But there’s a blizzard coming!” stated Buniq. “She could die out there.”
“Korra hasn’t run from anything before,” stated Siku, wiping themselves down with a towel. “If this is serious enough for her to bolt, I don’t think she cares about some blizzard.”
“Well, it’s not like we can go looking for her. Again, there’s a blizzard on the way” insisted Buniq.
“Senna, we need to know what happened,” demanded Asami. “Like they said, if Korra is running from something, we need to know what it is.”
The snow and cold were stinging at Korra’s face. She thanked the spirits she had decided to throw on a couple more layers before she ditched, but she had no idea how long she would last in the storm. When you were preparing for cold weathers, it wasn’t a matter of getting as warm as possible. It was a matter of how long you could stay warm. The more layers, the better, but if you weren’t properly prepared, the storm would win every time. Naga was lucky. She had all this soft, thick fur, and then long, wiry fur on top of that. She was literally built for this.
Korra had lost track of how long they had been walking. 10 minutes? An hour? Who knew anymore. All she did know was that she could never go back. She couldn’t be the Avatar if no one knew where she was.
Korra. Through the storm, Korra thought she heard her name being shouted. No, go away, Korra thought. Korra. There it was again, louder this time. She tried to walk faster but the snow, blizzard, and Naga stopped her. Maybe now is a good time to rest. That rock looks nice. “Naga, lets rest over there.”
Huddled next to boulder, Korra drew her arms and legs in to try and conserve warmth. Even snuggling next to Naga offered no comfort. So, this is it, huh? In the middle of nowhere, during a blizzard, cowering from everyone who loved me. “What a way to go,” she thought out loud, drifting off into unconsciousness. Then, suddenly, like a canon going off in her ear, KORRA!! Someone was shouting in her ear.
She bolted upright, and looked around, but no one was there. She swiveled around, looking for the source of the sound. “Who’s there!? Show yourself!” Over here, said the voice, but there wasn’t anyone there. But there was a slight glow from where she thought she heard the voice. Was it getting brighter? I’ve gone insane. First, the stress from being the Avatar, then the cold has driven me to the point of insanity.
The glow was, in fact, getting brighter, as well as taking shape. The glowing man began to take on color, yellow and red, with an arrow tattooed on his bald forehead. Korra, said the man, my name is Avatar Aang. Do you have moment to talk?
The blizzard had been over for a while now, and Senna was freaking the hell out. Frankly, Asami was getting tired of it. Not only did she refuse to tell them why Korra was reacting this way, but she also refused to go into town and tell the constables about Korra’s disappearance. Whenever Buniq brought it up, all Senna said was, “All Constables are Bastards.” Sometimes, Senna made no sense to Asami.
Everyone was throwing around ideas about what to do. Siku had the idea of following Korra’s footsteps, but when it was pointed out that the blizzard had blown them away, they couldn’t think of anything else to do. Buniq’s standing suggestion was to go to the police, but Senna had made it clear that that wasn’t an option. Asami hadn’t put forth any suggestions, but thought it would be a good idea to get some friends and family and form a search party. They had better chances of finding her body with more people looking, as much as it hurt her to admit.
Knock knock knock. All eyes turned towards the door. Senna didn’t dare hope it was Korra. Buniq rose from the couch and rushed to the door. There stood a snow-covered Korra, holding the reigns to an equally snow-covered Naga. “Hey guys,” Korra said ashamedly. “I’m sorry I worried you like that. I shouldn’t’ve-” she started, before being tackle-hugged by everyone present.
“What the HELL were you thinking?!?!” yelled Senna after they had all gotten up and stepped back inside. “There was a goddamn BLIZZARD coming, and you decide to run INTO it?!?!?”
“I’m sorry, Mama.”
“We were so worried about you!” cried Buniq.
“Tell us next time let us know what you’re going through!” demanded Siku as they slid their arms around Korra. “We’re your friends, that’s what we are for.”
Korra embraced her friends, basking in their warmth. Asami broke both the hug and the silence, asking, “So, are you going to tell us why you ran now?”
“Ok, but you guys will want to sit down for this. You especially, Siku. Last week, some old guys came to our house and told me that I was the Avatar.” Korra paused for effect and to let the information sink in. Everyone in the room gasped in surprise. Buniq’s was more disbelief, and though Korra did not hear it, Asami’s gasp was more panic than anything else.