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Taken	By : QuaqueNocte Category: Avatar - The Last Airbender > Legend of Korra, The Views: 33256 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own or make any money from Legend of Korra or the Avatar: Last Airbender franchise.

Chapter List
- 19
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Everyone had avoided Korra and Mako for the rest of the day. Korra stayed in the forest with Kajuq to keep herself calm and Mako had wandered off somewhere to think things over. When lunch finally rolled around, which wasn't long after the fight, he wasn't in sight. Asami had taken Korra her lunch in the forest, though she still didn't want to return to the cabin in fear of running into Mako again. By the time it was dinnertime and the sky was starting to darken, Nainai had grown irritated at the tension. Dinner was held off, much to Bolin's dismay.
"No dinner?! But I'm starving!" Bolin whined.
Tarrlok, Asami, and Bolin stood in the sitting room with Nainai who was sitting on one of the couches with her arms folds inside her spacious sleeves.
"I'm sick of all your problems. It's one thing after another. I've never seen such a pathetic group. Your energy signatures are all out of whack and it's irritating me. If you can't get them to stabilize then the Avatar can't get you out of here and I'm too old to be dealing with such a dramatic group of wimps. Bolin, go get Korra and her baby. Asami, go fetch Noatak. He's by the river again. And tell him to leave my beetles alone." Nainai said.
"And I suppose you want me to get the fire bender?" Tarrlok asked.
"No, I already sent Mongshou to get him. You can stay here and rub the calluses on my feet." Nainai grinned as she put her feet up on the coffee table.
A look of disgust spread on Tarrlok's face. "I'd rather not."
After 10 minutes of Bolin and Asami leaving, Korra entered the cabin with Bolin holding Kajuq.
"You wanted to see…-" Korra and Bolin stopped in their tracks.
Tarrlok was sitting at a now round table with an irritated look on his face that caused his right eye to twitch. His hair was braided down his back with flowers stuck in the braid. He also had a pink flower on the side of his head. Korra and Bolin looked at each other. They were trying their hardest to contain their laughs but they were close to losing it with each second rolling by. To make matters worse, Asami and Noatak entered the cabin, who quickly looked at each other then back at Tarrlok.
"Yeah yeah, laugh it up." He said.
Nainai walked behind him and put her hands on his shoulders. "Doesn't she look so pretty? I'm thinking of giving her a make-up tutorial as well."
Tarrlok shot up from his seat to turn towards the old woman. "No you are not! For the last time, I am not a woman. I am a man! I can strip down and prove it to you!"
A stick formed in Nainai's hand which she used to hit Tarrlok in the head. "Young lady! There are boys here! Keep your panties on!"
"Don't feel bad Tarrlok." Asami began walking towards the two. "I think you look cute like that." She laughed lightly.
Korra followed behind her while laughing as well. "Yeah, you look adorable."
Tarrlok groaned when Asami pinched his cheek.
"Your brother is a little feminine." Bolin whispered to Noatak.
"He used to prefer our mother's soaps." He replied.
"On to serious business. Everyone sit down." Nainai instructed.
Everyone took a seat at the table. Korra was holding Kajuq in her lap. On her left sat Bolin and on her right was Tarrlok. Next to Tarrlok was Noatak. Asami sat next to Bolin and Nainai.
"So..what about dinner?" Korra asked.
"No dinner. We talk for now." Nainai folded her hands beneath her chin so her elbows could rest on the table. "And here comes Mako."
As if on cue, Mongshou entered the cabin with a very agitated Mako thrown over his shoulder.
"I could have walked here." Mako said.
"You were showing resistance." Mongshou dropped Mako on the ground.
Korra watched Mako take a seat in between Nainai and Noatak. His arms were folded but he didn't look mad. He looked more like he was in deep thought. She quickly took her eyes off him, not wanting to be caught staring. There was still a pang of guilt that struck her whenever she saw him. She always felt like the bad guy. Her mind was taken off of Mako when she noticed her son leaning forward and putting his mouth on the edge of the table.
"Kajuq, please stop trying to eat the table." She pulled him away from the table but he started fussing. Defeated, she let him keep chewing on the table. "Why do I even bother?"
"So uh, what exactly are we suppose to be doing?" Bolin asked Nainai.
"In order for Korra to get you guys safely out of here, she needs to be able to be in tune with everyone's energy, but you all have so many personal problems that your energy signatures are just horrible. Death, abuse, rape, betrayal, oppression and just general angst. Sounds like the writing of a bad book if you ask me. Like with this one." Nainai's hand slammed against Mako's backside, forcing his head to hit the table.
"OW!"
"You mope around here being angry at everyone and everything. It's pathetic. You reject the girl you're madly in love with and then want to act like an entitled pile of arctic hippo manure because you think she was intimate with another man. The death of your parents doesn't give you half the right to be this stupid. You need to start realizing how much your foolish attitude hurts those you love."
Mako slumped in his chairs with his arms crossed. He wanted to be angry but her words struck a nerve with him. Instead, his guilt ridden face stared at the table.
"Then you have these two." Nainai's boney fingers pointed at Noatak and Tarrlok, who looked at each other. "You two are just as idiotic as Mako. You have no idea how to handle any kind of power. Your actions may have good intentions at first, but as soon as you get a little taste of power then you want to go all berserk. So what if you came from an abusive household? That's no excuse to act like a couple of dictators. You can't keep holding onto the past and using it as a crutch. You wasted a good portion of your lives trying to prove you're not like your father but you are. Obsession took over his life and now it's taken over yours. Bloodbending is not the problem. Bending is not the problem. It's your minds that's the problem. But I guess we can't expect much from you two, since all both of you seem to know is how to abuse."
Korra quietly tried to pry Kajuq away from the table.
'Come on, the table can't be that tasty.'
She didn't notice Mongshou approaching behind her until he held out a pacifier. She silently thanked him and pulled Kajuq away from the table before quickly putting the pacifier in before he had time to start fussing. It seemed to do the trick, for he sucked on his pacifier and seemed content with just looking around at everyone. Then her eyes met Nainai's. She gulped.
"Now we get to Avatar Korra, who has a habit of blaming herself for everything. You need to stop that. Believe it or not, the Avatar is still human. The only difference is you have a spiritual side that allows you to bend more elements than others. You can't blame yourself for Republic City's rebellion, you can't blame Tarrlok and Noatak's abusive past on yourself, and you can't blame Mako's temper tantrum on yourself. It's not like none of them had a choice to not be morons. You're too busy trying to punish yourself for having Kajuq and it's not going to help you or keep the world in balance. You think you're fine but you're not, you're still a mess. You still need to come to terms with the fact that all these problems aren't your fault or else you'll drag everyone around you down."
Korra sighed. "You're right."
"I know I'm right. Otherwise, I wouldn't be saying it." Nainai looked out the corner of her eye at Asami before looking in front of her. "Asami."
"Um, yes?"
"Forgive your father."
"What?"
"Forgive him. He did a terrible thing, well multiple terrible things, but it won't do you any good to let it eat away at you. I don't know if you realize it or not, but he's still greatly hurt by your mother's death. Every bender he sees is a constant reminder of her death for him. His thinking is similar to Noatak's. You take away bending, you might be able to take away some of the pain. Unfortunately, both are too stupid to realize it's not true."
"I can't do that. There's no excuse for what he's done." Asami whispered with tears threatening to fall.
"That is true, but no one said you had to do it for him. If it makes you feel better, he still actually cares for and loves you very deeply. You might even say he's starting to regret his choices." Nainai slammed her hands on the table and eyed everyone around the table, who had their head down, except Bolin."You guys need to learn how to cope better. The world around you is not going to stop and heal you so you must learn how to do it on your own. Stop letting your hurt feelings and pain affect everyone around you, otherwise you're no better than the people who hurt you in the first place and then you end up hurting those you actually care for. By then it's too late. The damage is done. Pull yourselves together!"
"How do you know all these things about my father? Can you feel my father's energy from here or something?" Asami asked.
"Sometimes I send Mongshou into the physical world for things. He can detect energy as well and read them back to me. He's still learning how to de-code everything, however."
"Wait, he goes into the physical world? Wouldn't he, you know, scare a lot of people?" Bolin asked.
"I put on a disguise." Mongshou, standing behind Korra, spoke up. A moustache slowly formed on the upper lip of the monster-like being while a top hat suddenly appeared on his head. Everyone stared at him.
"You are a master of disguise. I have so much to learn from you." Bolin said.
"So, you can learn all these things about people from the energy they give off?" Asami asked.
"Of course. And when one's energy is as unstable as everyone's here, it makes reading it a snap. Your energy is fed from your emotions, past experiences, and health. When either one of those is erratic, you can feel the cause of it. It's an ancient technique. Been around for as long as energy existed."
"Your health? So, if something was wrong with someone and doctors didn't know what it was then you could feel their energy and find out what's wrong?" Bolin asked.
"I could. It's similar to how water benders heal people except I don't need to touch the person to figure it out. But enough about that. Now that I've told you all what a bunch of pitiful wusses you are, it's time for dinner." Nainai stood up from her chair to retrieve that night's dinner with Mongshou following her, leaving everyone at the table to their own thoughts.
"She didn't have to call us wusses." Mako mumbled.
"She's not wrong, though." Tarrlok said. He noticed Kajuq staring at him. He didn't have much experience with kids, so it made him uneasy when there was any interaction between him and one. "Korra, I think your kid is giving me the evil eye."
"Huh? No he's not. He just thinks you're pretty is all. He likes pretty girls." Korra said with a sly smile forming on her lips.
"At this point, I think you and Asami just love annoying me."
"Here, why don't you hold him." Korra passed Kajuq over to Tarrlok.
"No, I don't think-" Too late. He was already holding the infant in his lap. Kajuq stared at the strange man. The uneasiness in Tarrlok's stomach grew with each passing second. He was unsure if the infant would start screaming or spitting up. Relief finally washed over him when Kajuq started playing with the slash hanging on his waist. At least it'd keep him occupied for a while.
"See, he likes you."
"Nothing more adorable than a woman holding a baby." Asami said with a smile on her face.
"I don't know what's more insulting, being called a woman or being called adorable like I'm some kind of puppy."
"Everyone."
Everyone turned their head to look at Noatak.
"I think he just spoke." Bolin whispered to Asami.
"I want to apologize for everything I've done. It wasn't suppose to get out of hand like that. I'm sorry for any pain I put any through. I can sit here and make excuses for my actions all night but it doesn't excuse anything. I'm not expecting anyone to forgive me, I just want everyone to know that I'm sorry."
"But man, I don't get it. Why would you waste your time attacking benders when you can make these cool things?" Bolin placed his figurine of a water tribe woman on the table. "Do you know how rich you could be? Maybe even richer than Asami."
"Well, I don't know about being richer than Asami." Mako said.
"That's because you're not seeing the big picture. Imagine this: He starts out in a small shop in the Earth Kingdom. The locals rave about his artistic abilities and eventually the upper-class people learn about it and start paying him for custom artworks. Then people from all the world come just to buy his art. Even the Firelady wants to buy dozens, maybe hundreds of his artwork for the palace. He ends up making sculptures for the wealthiest people in the world and then he can quietly retire to a life of teaching young people the art of…art."
"Isn't that the same plan you had with Pabu 5 years ago?" Mako asked.
"Well, yes but it would have worked. I just missed one crucial thing."
"And that would be?"
"I'm a terrible artist."

The next day
Korra had convinced Nainai that she was ready to resume her training. After sending the rest of the group off with their chores, aside from Noatak, she decided to attempt the lesson again. This time, she had Korra and Noatak sitting across from each other in a field.
"We're going to try this again. With Noatak closer to you, a connection should be easier. Try not to panic like last time."
Korra took a deep breath. "I'm ready."
"I still don't understand." Noatak said.
"Shush. Close your eyes, Avatar. Feel your energy, let it reach out. By now, you should be used to Noatak's energy signature. Let your energy feel his."
Korra closed her eyes and concentrated. Nainai watched her closely. After a minute, Korra's eyes began to glow. Noatak's eyes flickered as his eyes attempted to glow like hers.
"Interesting." Nainai's hand began to emit a blue light. She pressed a finger to Korra's forehead. "I know you can't respond, but listen to my directions carefully. I am going to re-direct your chi-flow. Do not resist, otherwise it will be very painful for you. If you let it flow, it'll be painless and you'll be able to feel others' energies without using so much of your own strength."
The blue light radiated from her finger through Korra's body. It felt like she was laying near a fire to get warm and toasty as Nainai's energy began to flow through her. By now, Noatak's eyes had fully started glowing.
Korra and Noatak stood across each other in vast nothingness. It was dark but she could see everything perfectly, or rather, she could feel everything perfectly.
"You don't want to live anymore." She said.
"I have no place in this world."
"You can make a place in this world. You can help people."
"You are blind. Look into my heart and know that I am destined to repeat my actions. The sins of my father are burdened upon me."
"It doesn't have to be that way."
"Shut up. You can't save everyone and you can't save me."
Her heart sunk into her stomach. She didn't want to admit it. She could feel his energy, his heart, his very soul. They couldn't lie. He was right.
"No, no there has to be a way. You can't just give up. I want to help."
"You only want to save me because you still blame yourself for everything."
"That's not true-"
"Don't lie to me. I can see into your heart just like you can mine. Neither of us have that type of power."
Powerless.
Korra blinked. Her eyes were blurry. "What happened?"
"You tell me. Are you tired?" She heard Nainai ask her.
It took a few seconds to blink away the blurriness. Once her vision was clear, she saw Noatak was still sitting in front of her. He had something in his eyes. What was it? Hopelessness? Regret? Anguish? Maybe everything.
"I feel…fine. I guess." She said as she stared down at her hands.
"You should be able to connect with energy signatures better now without all that eye glowing stuff going on. I've already redirected your energy source, you just need to follow the flow of your chi. We'll take a little break. In the meantime, I want Noatak to go wander off somewhere. We'll see if Korra can detect your energy and see where you are."
Meanwhile
Nainai had tasked the rest of the group with cleaning the cabin. Bolin cleaned the bedrooms and bathrooms, Mako and Asami cleaned the kitchen, and Tarrlok cleaned the dining and living room. It took them all morning to clean. By the time noon rolled around, they were finished. Exhausted, but finished. Tarrlok sat on a stool with Asami behind him, holding a pair of scissors in one hand and a comb in the other while she was in deep thought. Bolin sat on the couch with Kajuq strapped to his chest in a cloth baby carrier. Mako sat next to him with an eyebrow raised at Tarrlok and Asami.
"I know you're an expert on beauty, but do you really know how to cut hair?" Mako asked.
"If I can cut a woman's hair, I can cut a man's hair." She replied.
"I actually kind of like his long hair. You could put it in a ponytail, tie a weapon to it and you have a swingable weapon." Bolin said with a smile on his face.
"Somehow, I think that would be dangerous for Tarrlok." Asami stared intently at Tarrlok's hair. "How about we cut it just above shoulder length?"
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Tarrlok asked.
"Sure. Just hold still."
Tarrlok gulped when he heard the scissors start snipping. The comb glided through his locks shortly before the scissors would snip the portion of hair.
"What do you put in your hair? It's so well-taken care of for a man."
"Just cut my hair." He mumbled.
"Alright, fine. I'm almost done."
Bolin and Mako watched Asami give the final snip of Tarrlok's hair. She gave his head a few strokes with the comb before giving him a mirror. "What do you think?" She asked.
"Hmm." He turned his head to get a full visual on his new look. His hair now barely touched his shoulders. It was just enough to cover his bare neck. He was surprised how neatly she had cut it but then again, beauty and cosmetics seemed to be her specialty. "I suppose it'll do."
"Now all you need are some flowers." She teased.
"I have some flowers." Bolin raised his hand.
"Don't encourage her!" Tarrlok groaned. He felt her hands slick his hair back to begin fiddling with his hair. "She's braiding my hair, isn't she?"
Bolin and Mako nodded. "Yup."

Korra took another deep and closed her eyes as she sat in the grass.
"This time, I want you to just find his energy. Concentrate on how his energy felt earlier."
Korra felt a surge inside her. She concentrated on that surge. It turned into a steady pulse that wasn't her own. It radiated through her body and soul. "He's by some large tree. There's flowers everywhere and fox antelopes frolicking."
"Very good. You've taken the first step to being an expert in energy reading and detecting."
She opened her eyes, which fell on the grass in front of her. "Yeah, thanks." She said in a dull voice.
"Tell me, Avatar. What do you plan on doing when you leave here?"
"I don't know. I need to fix Republic City. I'm going to find Tarrlok and Noatak some kind of help. And I want Noatak to answer for his crimes."
"And you think they'd be willing? You really are a fool. They already made their plans when they leave here."
'Tarrlok too?'
"I won't let that happen. I'll do whatever I can. My job is to help people and that's what I'm going to do, no matter the cost."
"You need to realize that you can't protect everyone. Some people are broken beyond repair. Their spirits are so battered that it's like a poison to their mind. Even if they survive, they're just going to repeat their actions. Their thirst for power runs too deep. They're too dangerous and powerful to be left to their own accord."
"So that's it then? I should give up on them?"
"Why are you so hung up on helping them? Tarrlok I can understand, but why would you bother helping your rapist? Do you think helping him is going to take away any of the pain he brought upon you?"
"No. I mean, maybe. I don't know. Maybe that is it. Maybe I actually feel compassion towards him, after seeing all the suffering he went through. Maybe I just…I just want to prove to myself that I'm a better person than him. Maybe I just hate that I wasn't able to stop a family from suffering. I don't know the exact reason. Maybe it's multiple reasons but I just know inside, I don't want anyone to suffer anymore."
"Your intentions are noble indeed, but very foolish and childish. Not everyone is going to get a happy ending. It's time you got used to that. Those two are unfixable and offer nothing positive in the world now. It's too late for them."
Korra's eyes began to well up with tears. She didn't know why she was crying, she just knew that she wanted to cry. Her blurry eyes stared at the swaying grass blades as Nainai's words echoed through her head.
'It doesn't seem fair. They live almost their entire lives in pain yet can never know salvation.'
"Can you teach me energy bending?" Korra whispered.
"Energy bending? Do you plan on taking their bending away?"
"I do."
"One thing that never disappoints me is that the Avatar never gives up, no matter how useless it is. Alright. Once you master energy detecting, I'll teach you how to energy bend. It shouldn't be too hard for you. You learned it once before."
"Thank you." Korra stood up. She felt like she was finished with today's training. She needed to be alone for a while. "I think I'm done with today's lesson."
Nainai watched a defeated Korra walk away from her, but something stopped her.
"You really think I should give up on them? Is there really no point in helping them?" Korra whispered. Nainai was old but her hearing was still excellent.
"My honest opinion is yes. They're a lost cause. Once the damage sets in, it's irreversible and the world will be better off without them in it. You puzzle me, Avatar. Most people would rejoice to the thought of their attacker suffering and dying."
She nodded but didn't say anything. Her legs carried her away from the old lady. Maybe she was a fool. Months ago, she wanted him hurt and battered. She wanted him to suffer the way he made her suffer. That didn't do any good. He was already suffering. Maybe it really was too late for him and Tarrlok. Maybe..

The cold night began to set in. It was dinnertime, she assumed but she didn't have an appetite. She fed her son and left him in the care of Asami and Bolin. As soon as he was happy and full, she left to wander through the realm until she came across the large tree Noatak was at earlier. She found herself staring at the leaves on it. It was a rainbow of colors, some of which she didn't think she ever saw before. Some of the leaves had flowers that looked like they might be blossoming with fruit soon. She was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't notice Mako walking behind her.
"Korra."
She turned around but didn't greet him.
"Are you alright?"
She nodded.
"You don't seem fine. Do you want to talk about it?"
She turned from him to face the tree. "No, I don't."
"Oh." He moved closer and placed his hand on her shoulder. "I'm here if you need me. And, listen, I just want to apologize for what I said yesterday. I didn't mean any of it. I was just..angry about this entire situation. I know that's not an excuse for hurting you but I just want you to know I'm sorry. For everything. Even the love triangle with Asami. I was too blind to see what was in front of me until it was gone."
There were the tears again flowing down her cheeks. She didn't want to cry in front of him but she couldn't help it. Sometimes, it was all too much to bear. She didn't respond to him in fear that her voice would break in front of him, so she opted to just nod hoping it would be enough for him. It wasn't.
He spun her around and wiped her tears. She kept her head down, unable to look him in the eyes. "I'm sorry. I care about you so much, Korra." He tilted her chin up. "I love you." He whispered before planting a soft, longing kiss on her lips. But she didn't kiss back.
She pulled away from him and shook her head. "I can't. Mako I just…I can't. There's too much.." Her tears were flowing faster and every second that passed was a second closer to breaking down and sobbing. "I just want to raise my son. We can't…"
"I understand. You don't need to explain anything. I don't know what you've been through for the past year or so, but whatever it is, we're going to get through it. Together. I don't care if we're lovers, friends, or you end up hating me. I'm going to be there for you. You and Kajuq. I won't hurt you ever again and I won't let anyone hurt your son." He pulled her towards him into an embrace. She didn't fight it. She wrapped her arms around him and sobbed into his chest. And he held her for as long as she needed him to.
"Compassion means to suffer with."
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