"Come along Korra." The man instructed as he led the little girl to the ice covered pond. The four year old, dressed in a thick parka and boots stumbled clumsily after him. Her small feet fought furiously against the large snowbanks as she clambered after the man. Her blue eyes sparkled with excitement as they came to a stop and the man faced her.

Dark brown eyes looked at her stoically,"You are rather...strong in the elements...aren't you?" He mused to himself while Korra just stared up at him enthusiastically. Her dark, brown hair was covered by her blue hood and her tiny hands reached out to him earnestly.

"Up!" She demanded as her brow furrowed and a pout covered her smile.

The man just stared down at her with a raised brow,"No, Korra. I expect you to show me your firebending, at this moment." He said sternly but she just stared at him, completely unfazed.

"I said, UP!" She yelled as she stomped her foot and glared at him expectantly. Her eyes flashed with irritation and she looked up at him demandingly.

He looked at her in anger before crossing his arms over his chest. His eyebrows furrowed and his mouth pulled into a frustrated scowl as she scratched his cleanly shaven head. He looked up at sky, praying for the spirits for strength, before rolling his broad shoulders in a calming motion.

He then looked back down at the girl,"Korra! No! Show me what P'Li has taught you, now!" He snapped as he glared at the dark skinned girl. Suddenly the man was struck in the face with snow and he yelped in shock before wiping the painfully, cold snow off his face.

"Pick me up!" Spirits! What was wrong with this girl! He thought angrily as he balled his hands into fists.

"You little brat-" Water struck his face again as did various amounts of tiny pieces of ice. He growled as he batted them away and reached out to grab the girl. He wouldn't be made of fool of by some four year old child. Korra looked furious as she punched the air and fire erupted from her fist. The man's eyes widened as he twisted away from the flames with ease and glowered at the girl.

"I'm the Avatar! And you gotta deal with it!" She roared and the young man bristled, knowing full well Ghazan had taught her that saying,"Now pick me up!" Her hood fell down revealing her brown hair that was pulled back into a pony tail. Lose strands of her chestnut hair got in her eyes but she made no move to brush the hair aside as she looked at the man challengingly.

"Korra, what did I say about firebending at Zaheer?" A new voice asked and she whirled around to see another man with a black mustache and long raven colored hair. He was broad and stood tall as he smiled down at her in amusement while she beamed up at him.

"Only do it if you're there." She lowered her guard before running to the man and jumping in his arms excitedly.

He laughed before hugging her closely,"That's right! Only beat up mean, grumpy Zaheer when I'm around!" He pulled away and in unison the two stuck their tongues out at the scowling nonbender.

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself Ghazan, but I'd appreciate it if you took this seriously." The bald man huffed and the lavabender merely smiled at him cheekily.

"Aw c'mon! She's just a kid-"

"She's the Avatar, master of all four elements, she's started her training and I expect her to learn some discipline. I don't care how old she is." Zaheer growled and his companion rolled his eyes.

"Honestly, I don't know what P'Li sees in you sometimes. She adores Korra, in fact, you're the only one that doesn't." He commented as he set the girl down. Korra noticed a penguin and began chasing it excitedly.

Zaheer stared at her blankly before looking up at his friend with a frown,"She's a mission. And I don't plan on getting attached. You all would do well to listen to me." He grumbled and Ghazan snorted as he closely watched the girl tackle the penguin and laugh triumphantly.

"I'm the Avatar! ROAR!" She yelled at the squirming penguin and Ghazan chuckled at her aggressiveness.

"I'm telling you, you should really utilize the position you're in, Korra looks up to you. Especially because she see's you and P'Li together. Take the father role like P'Li took the mother one!" He suggested with a shrug,"I know you're all about business and whatnot but she'd be much more loyal in the future if you actually tried to spend time with her and claimed to be her father. For example I'm uncle Ghazan, the fun one! And Ming-Hua is aunt Ming, the sarcastic one! You can be the grumpy dad." He pointed out and Zaheer paused and began to contemplate what the lavabender said to him.

Ghazan was right. Korra would be extremely essential to his success in the upcoming future. Especially is she saw him as a father rather than some random teacher. Korra would be his little weapon...Ghazan wasn't typically the brains of the Red Lotus but his idea was brilliant. Over the years of the Avatar nearly all remained loyal to family. Korra would be no different, she'd be immensely powerful and bring the spirits back, then she'd cause chaos. It'd be perfect. If he filled Korra's childhood with happy memories, and she ever discovered the truth about how she was kidnapped from her original family, she'd be much more hesitant to retaliate against them. It was genius.

Zaheer forced a smile before nodding and looking back at the Avatar's bubbly form,"You're right." He mused as he walked over to the blue eyed girl and scooped her into his arms. She squealed in delight as he swung her upon his shoulders. And for the first time in four years, the nonbender grabbed her small hands in his large ones, and Korra giggled uncontrollably as Zaheer walked over to the smug lavabender.

Ghazan smirked,"I usually am. I'm telling you, you won't regret this." He promised, Ghazan had grown surprisingly close to the Avatar. He was her playmate, her friend, her 'uncle', her mentor. Ghazan was always one for fun, and everyone else was so serious, and then they kidnapped baby Korra. The child had loved fun, Ghazan had always been the one to sit with her and make funny faces, or tickle her, and he'd do whatever it took to make her laugh. Ghazan was the easy going one in the Red Lotus. He had been the only one who hadn't complained that he, Zaheer, P'Li, and Ming-Hua had to remain in the North Pole to continue Korra's waterbending training. Ghazan was adaptable and fairly laid back.

Zaheer was rather indifferent about Korra's appearance. She was a mission and that was that. He couldn't deny that she was a cute kid, with her pudgy belly, brilliant blue eyes, chocolate colored hair, and smooth dark skin. She was defiant, rebellious, powerful, she was going to make a great Avatar and he knew that. He just wasn't much of a...kid person. He was just supposed to be training Korra in the art of hand to hand combat, not become some father figure to her, but that's what it had suddenly come to. Zaheer was the best at such fighting skills due to his lack of bending. He was a formidable foe and that's why the Red Lotus assigned him to the Avatar.

"Fine." Zaheer muttered,"But for the mission's sake."

"Mom look what I can do!" The six year old cheered as she opened her mouth and fire erupted from lips. The flames dissipated in the air the raven haired woman smiled warmly at the child. Her amber eyes softened as she reached down and picked the girl up. The combustionbender kissed the girl's forehead making her giggle.

"Good job Korra! Did you show daddy?" P'Li was absolutely in love with Korra. Everyone knew it. The woman adored the child and was extremely protective of her, just like she was extremely protective of Zaheer.

Korra lowered her head bashfully,"No." Zaheer was a stern father. He rarely smiled or laughed or played games with Korra. But he held her and fed her and was beginning to teach her how to fight with her fists rather than her bending. He was strict but P'Li knew that the man somewhat cared for Korra though he'd never admit it.

"I hope you're happy P'Li, because of you, Korra is late to her waterbending practice." Korra perked when her armless aunt appeared in their cozy igloo. That's right, igloo. They still hadn't left the North Pole, but they would when Korra turned seven. They'd go to outskirts of Ba Sing Se so that Ghazan could properly teach Korra earthbending and lavabending. Korra could practice firebending and waterbending practically anywhere but the North Pole was the best place for such waterbending training. Korra was set down and P'Li gave Ming-Hua an apologetic smile.

The raven haired, sarcastic waterbender smiled as Korra ran to her. The woman had water for arms, so her disability wasn't so difficult for her. She scooped Korra up and smiled brightly at her.

"Are you ready to learn bloodbending today!" The woman asked with a grin and Korra looked at her in confusion while P'Li bristled.

"Absolutely not-"

"She needs to be able to use all forms of bending appropriately." A new voice cut in and they turned to see a dark skinned man in water tribe clothes. Dark hair splayed down in shoulders and some strands were wrapped in tribal blue beads. He stood proudly and smirked at P'Li's and Ming-Hua's scowls.

Korra merely wiggled out of her aunt's arms and ran to the man,"Uncle Unalaq!" She gushed as she wrapped her tiny arms around his legs in pure excitement. P'Li and Ming-Hua despised Unalaq, he wasn't a trustworthy man, rather a smooth talker and manipulative liar. He'd do anything to get what he wanted. He didn't come around much due to him being the leader of the Northern Water Tribe, which was why the Red Lotus members resided there for safety, but when he did visit he always brought Korra gifts.

Unalaq had helped capture Korra from his brother, Tonraq and his brother's wife, Senna. He was actually the uncle of Avatar Korra. He didn't care at all for Korra, he was much too concerned with figuring out a way to bring the spirits back.

He smiled down at the girl while patting her back with one hand instead of picking her up like everyone else did,"I brought you something I figured your father would approve of." He grinned as he pulled out a watertribe knife. It's blue handle was engraved with waves and the blade was a bright silver with the word, Warrior, etched on it.

Korra's blue eyes widened in awe as she took the knife from him,"COOL!" She yelled,"Thank you, Uncle!" She then proceeded in swinging the blade around excitedly, her first weapon! "Fear me! I am the Avatar!" She howled to her imaginary enemy as she stabbed thin air.

P'Li quickly snatched the blade from her,"I'll give this back to you when your father teaches you how to properly, and safely," She stressed,"use it." Her amber eyes darkened as she glared murderously at the smug Unalaq, spirits she hated that man. Everyone knew he didn't care about Korra, he only cared about his precious spirits and his position in the Northern Tribe.

Korra jutted out her bottom lip and crossed her arms over her chest,"No fair! Mom! I didn't hurt anyone!" She whined and Ming-Hua chuckled before tugging gently on Korra's shirt.

"Your mother is right, come now, we must start your lesson." The waterbender soothed and Korra continued to pout as she and Unalaq followed Ming-Hua for the bloodbending lesson. P'Li glared at Unalaq the entire time while Korra bounced excitedly in the snow and chattered aimlessly to her amused aunt. She didn't trust Unalaq, he was much too smooth for her taste.

The waterbending trio travelled far, Korra in Ming-Hua's arms, and Unalaq walking beside them as they walked through the tundra. It felt like hours to Korra as she aimlessly asked questions or bent snow or shot fire from her fists in sheer boredom.

"Are we there yet!" She asked impatiently for the millionth time and Ming-Hua smiled before setting the girl down.

"Actually, yes we are." They were stopped outside of a massive cave and Korra looked around nervously,"Korra, we're going to teach you how to bloodbend. Inside that cave is a polarbear dog." Her aunt explained,"And we'll show you the true control of bloodbending." Ming-Hua nodded to Unalaq who stepped forward. He let out a loud yell and within moments a giant, white beast appeared from the cave, it was roaring savagely as it bared it's sharp teeth.

Korra yelped and leaped backwards in fear. The large animal had massive front paws and a dog head, it's floppy ears stood up in defensiveness, and it's massive claws made the girl want to run home. What was Unalaq doing! She wondered nervously as he stood calmly in front of the beast.

The full moon shone brightly overhead and all waterbenders felt unimaginable strength surge through them. Korra felt as if she could run forever if she wanted to as she twitched slightly. She was far too scared to jump around and bend like she usually did on a full moon.

Unalaq let out a breath and raised his hands in the air. The beast suddenly jerked and stiffened, it yelped in pain as it was forced to bow down to Unalaq. Korra looked at her uncle in horror. The polarbear dog whined in terror as the waterbender raised it into the air with ease.

Korra's eyes widened and she ran to Unalaq,"Stop! You're hurting it!" She begged but her uncle didn't listen as he twisted his hand sharply. The beast's neck snapped and Korra screamed in fright as it fell to the snow with a thud.

Hot tears streamed down her cheeks as she ran to the dead animal. If that was bloodbending then she wanted no part of that. It was too much, the way the animal had cried out in pain, the way it's body trembled in fear, the way it's neck snapped at the flick of a wrist and it was killed just because she had to learn a new form of waterbending. Bloodbending was scary. She didn't want to bloodbend if it hurt animals like this.

She let out a small cry as she buried her hands into the polarbear dog's thick fur,"I'm sorry." She whispered and Unalaq was taken back by the girl's large amount of compassion. He knew that Zaheer had given Korra the, no mercy, talk. Zaheer was training Korra in the ways of being relentless and merciless to the enemy. He was stunned that Korra was so heartbroken about the death of this animal.

Ming-Hua whirled on Unalaq furiously,"That wasn't part of the plan you fool!" She spat as she looked at Korra's distressed state in anger. "We were going to show her bloodbending! Not scar her for life!" She roared as she brutally shoved him away and ran to Korra's side. She knelt down and wrapped a water tendril around the girl's shoulder and hugged her tightly.

Korra sobbed shamelessly into her aunt's shoulder at the inhumanness that had just taken place,"Shhh, it's okay Kor," Ming-Hua whispered as she rubbed the girl's back soothingly,"I know that was scary. Unalaq won't ever do that again." She snarled fiercely as Korra continued to ball into her shoulder.

The animal hadn't done anything, why did Unalaq do that? She wondered miserably as she looked at the limp beast somberly.

Korra jumped away from her aunt at the sound of a small whimper in the cave and turned to see a baby polarbear dog slowly emerge. Her blue eyes widened as she looked at Unalaq, worried that he'd try to bloodbend the pup. He just stood there and looked at her expectantly much to her relief. She crept towards the polarbear dog who was whining at the sight of it's mother.

At the sight of Korra approaching the pup snarled and snapped it's jaws defensively. But Korra continued coming towards the animal anyway.

She hesitantly stuck her hand out and stopped just before she reached the pup's nose,"It's okay." She soothed,"I won't hurt you." She sniffled and the polarbear pup's dark eyes watched her warily as she closed her eyes and waited. She felt a cold nose touch her hand and jumped in shock before smiling widely at the beast. The white furred animal slowly approached her and sat in between her legs, it's ears perked and it's tongue lolled out of it's mouth, it's tail wagged and Korra grinned excitedly as she scratched behind the animal's ears. She curiously glanced underneath it's belly and her grin broadened.

"Hi girl! I'm Korra...I'll call you Naga!" She decided and the pup barked in agreement before giving her a giant kiss with her bright pink tongue. Korra laughed and Ming-Hua grimaced, there was no way they were keeping that beast with them!

She and Unalaq approached the two but Naga tensed when she saw Unalaq and began growling. She backed away and bared her teeth at the man making him stop. Ming-Hua shot him a smug look that said, that's what you get for being a jerk, before she crouched next to Korra and Naga.

"Korra, you can't expect us to seriously keep Naga. She's a wild animal. She's huge! Even as a pup she's almost as large as you!" Ming-Hua attempted to reason with the six year old but Korra merely glared at her.

She picked up the large pup in her arms, it was almost as big as she was, before jutting out her bottom lip,"I'm keeping her." She then turned on her heel and walked away from the two. The giant lump of white fur in her arms looked around in confusion as her new friend carried her away.

Ming-Hua smirked after her,"She's a feisty one, much more of a backbone than Aang ever had." She chuckled before following Korra,"You should go, Unalaq." She said over her shoulder,"I think you've helped us quite enough." She snorted sarcastically before the two left Korra's steaming uncle behind.

Ming-Hua knew that she owed Korra the polarbear dog after what the girl had seen.

"Focus, Korra! Attack! Show no mercy!" Zaheer snapped as he threw a hard punch at her face. The ten year old ducked with ease as she brought her two fists up to block the furious blows from her father. Sweat beaded down her forehead and her arms strained with effort as she lunged at her father.

Zaheer narrowed his eyes and attempted a high kick at her midair form. Korra had easily predicted this and grabbed his foot and twisted it as she landed on her feet. The bald man fell on his butt and rolled out of the way from Korra's incoming punch. He was on his feet again and they both stared at each other intensely, daring the other to make the first move.

Zaheer charged and Korra waited till the last minute before sidestepping his attack and throwing out her foot. He tripped and slammed into the ground making Korra laugh triumphantly. Zaheer was a sore loser. He didn't like losing in a fight, and at the moment, though he was going easy on Korra, he was furious.

"Korra! Zaheer! Dinner is ready!" Ghazan called from the small house the five shared. Korra perked and began to run inside but Zaheer wasn't finished with her yet. He was miffed about Korra, ten year old Korra, being able to knock him down. Though he was proud that she was doing so well he was still angry about her getting a hit on him.

Pulling out his dagger he brought the blade down where her head was. Her blue eyes widened in shock as she fell backwards. The knife had grazed her, the blade had run struck her eyebrow and barely missed her eye before running down the length of her cheek. She yelped in pain as blood gushed out of the wound.

Zaheer's eyes widened in shock when he had realized what he had done as he rushed to the Avatar's side. He hadn't meant for things to get so out of control. He just wasn't ready for the sparing match to be over. When he lost battles of any kind he grew irrational and frantic. He couldn't help it, like Ghazan he was extremely competitive. But that wasn't an excuse for what he had done.

Ghazan was hovering over the girl and snarled when Zaheer got closer,"What is wrong with you!" Korra laid in his arms and was fighting back tears as she cupped her eye in sheer pain. Blood gushed through her fingers and she was breathing rapidly at the agony that consumed her face. She curled up and squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to keep from crying out in pain. It felt like her face was on fire and a bead of sweat rolled down her forehead as she withered in Ghazan's arms.

"It hurts!" She screamed and Zaheer panicked. Over the years he had grown rather fond of the watertribe girl. She was an affectionate child. The girl always insisted on cuddling even when he didn't want to be around her, which was the majority of the time. He'd pick her up and play games with her on occasion but it was difficult. As the years went by he found himself being charmed by the young Avatar.

Her personality was developing quite nicely, she had acquired Ghazan's laid back personality and humor, Ming-Hua's sarcasm, P'Li's fierce loyalty and protectiveness, and she had gained his charisma and smooth speaking. Though she was a rather fiery girl with a rebellious nature, she showed immense compassion, she hated bloodbending due to it's harm on innocent creatures. Korra continuously strived to make him proud and he noticed this, he was impressed with her development

"Korra! I'm sorry!" He stammered, he never lost his cool, but knowing that he possibly blinded Korra worried him immensely. She was the Avatar, she needed to be at tip top shape, and being half blinded would slow her down. He felt little guilt and more panicked due to the probability of slowing down the Avatar's bending progression. She had mastered water, she was extremely close to perfecting her firebending, and she was currently learning earthbending. Being half blind would make her duty as the Avatar and future Red Lotus member much more difficult.

"Korra!" Ming-Hua and P'Li were out of the house and sprinting towards the girl they had all come to care for so deeply. Zaheer stood back as his flustered form was replaced with his usual calm one. He didn't know how to improve the situation and he had already apologized, he'd just sit back on this one.

Ming-Hua quickly took Korra from Ghazan and rushed her into the house to heal her. Korra clung to her aunt and let out a small sob as the woman pulled her hands gently from her face and looked at her niece in relief. Two teary, sky blue eyes looked back at her in utter pain. The knife had just missed her eye and Ming-Hua's water tendrils began working to heal the future scar on Korra's eye. It was rather deep but luckily it wouldn't require too much healing.

"You're so strong." She said kindly as she smiled sympathetically at the girl who was doing everything she could to fight back her tears. Azure eyes met her dark black ones and the Avatar's, already rather toned arms, hugged herself as she struggled to maintain her scream while her aunt healed her.

The armless waterbender sighed as she used her free water tendril to wipe up the blood from Korra's wound. The scratch went from her eyebrow to the middle of her cheek.

Naga bounded into the house and Korra smiled as her furry companion nuzzled Korra's chest with her large snout. She whined softly at her master's pain and looked up at Korra sadly while the watertribe girl buried her hands into white fur.

Naga had grown to be gigantic during the three years the Red Lotus had remained on the outskirts of Ba Sing Se. It was a big move for Korra, she had to change clothes and get used to the different climates, she was taken from the only home she had ever known and she had been bitter at first. The North Pole was her home. Ba Sing Se could never compare.

Ghazan walked in while P'Li and Zaheer were in the middle of a heated argument. When the lavabender saw Korra he smile widely at her,"Hey Kor Kor!" He sat next to her and grabbed her hand comfortingly,"How are you feeling?" He asked gently and Ming-Hua stopped her healing to examine Korra.

"How do you think she's doing, moron." She grumbled and Ghazan snorted.

"Must you always be so sarcastic, you big fun sucker." He muttered and Ming-Hua merely smirked at him before returning to her healing.

Korra sighed in relief as the pain began to subside,"I-I'm feeling better now." She stammered as she smiled at Ming-Hua and Ghazan assuringly. She then turned her attention to Naga and focused on petting her large friend. She knew her father hadn't meant to cause her pain, he just wanted her to be in good shape, like her mother she held unyielding loyalty to her loved ones. She'd give up anything for her family in an instant. Her father just wanted her to be prepared for the worst and he was only trying to help her.

Korra was often confused by her father. Half the time he seemed indifferent about her, the other times he'd be willing to play games with her, and take her out to do fun things. He was either annoyed with her or happy at her presence. There was no in between.

Ming-Hua pulled away and looked at her work. The once, bloody scar was replaced with a bright, white scar that contrasted with Korra's dark skin. The scar didn't look too bad on her and Ming-Hua sighed in relief. Korra was alright and that was all that mattered.

"I'm not going!" The seventeen year old snarled as she stood toe to toe with her father. Her hands were balled into fists and her bright, blue eyes sparked with rage as the two got in a staring contest. Both were too stubborn to look away.

"Korra!" Zaheer snarled,"You're going! You've mastered all the elements! Even metal and lavabending! You need to master airbending, do you understand? How can you be the Avatar if you can't airbend!"

Korra gritted her teeth,"I'll teach myself-"

P'Li gently put a hand on the girl's shoulder,"Korra, you haven't gotten any progress with airbending, you need to find Tenzin in Republic City!" She insisted and Korra scowled before jerking away from her mother. Betrayal flashed through her eyes, her mom wanted her gone too? Why did she have to leave? She was already powerful in all the other elements? What would airbending cost her!

"Mom! Dad! I don't want to go! Why can't I just stay with you guys! Who cares about airbending?" She spat in utter rage as she felt her fist heat up in anger.

Ghazan jumped in,"What if we wait-" He didn't want Korra to leave them.

Ming-Hua interrupted,"We've waited long enough." She reminded,"Korra, you can even take Naga-"

"Why can't you all come with me then!" She challenged and they all looked at each other nervously except for Zaheer who regarded his daughter calmly.

"We're needed here."

"In the Fire Nation?" She threw her hands up incredulously. Her blue eyes darkened as she glared at her father. Korra was a rather restless spirit, if she wasn't pulling pranks with Ghazan or playing with Naga or sparing with her dad, she was bending the elements. She loved to keep busy, she loved bending, and she loved moving around.

Airbending was not ideal, the thought of sitting there and meditating sounded horrid. Having to sit still and only breathe for hours sound miserable. She had to run, to bend, to fight! She didn't want to be peaceful! She wanted to be active, beat up bad guys, be the Avatar. Did she really need airbending?

"Yes. The Red Lotus requires us to remain here." He spoke calmly and was obviously sure of himself as he stood up a little straighter. Korra knew little about the Red Lotus, only that they wished to create a bridge to the human and spirit world so everyone would be connected. That's all Ming-Hua had told her and she never questioned them about the Red Lotus.

She did question her family about her heritage, seeing as she didn't look like any of them, apparently she was abandoned as a child. They found her in a cave in the North Pole and saved her life. She was indebted to them. They actually treated her like family rather than the orphan she truly was and she appreciated that. And knowing she'd be away from the only family she'd ever known, pained her, it frightened her. She had travelled the world with them as they trained her in the ways of bending, and now she'd be traveling alone. She knew she had to learn airbending, but spirits she didn't like the idea of going out on her own and knowing absolutely no one.

"B-But...I don't want to be away for so long...afterwards I come home right?" She pressed and Ghazan laughed.

"Of course! You're family!" He winked at her and the Avatar grinned widely before embracing her uncle. After all the hugs and goodbyes were given, Korra and Naga took off on a ship to Republic City.

Korra laid awake throughout the entire ride, anxious of meeting Tenzin though she had rehearsed what she'd tell airbender when he questioned her whereabouts.

She was halfway to Republic City and she was already homesick. She wanted to challenge Ghazan to an lavabending contest, she wanted to hear Ming-Hua's outrageous stories, she wanted to be held by her mother, she wanted to listen to probending matches with her father while making fun of and critique the players. She just wanted to stay with her family.

"Watch where you're going!"

"Then get out of my way, moron!"

Republic City was...intense to say the least. Korra had never been surrounded by so many buildings, cars, and people before. Her family had always stayed on the outskirts of towns, or in wooded areas, or farms. They were never big on meeting new people or settling down in a bustling city.

The teenager sighed as she walked around on top of Naga,"It's really pretty here...but it's so loud." She muttered to her polarbear dog and Naga barked in agreement as they watched cars zoom by and people chatter loudly to one another. There were many different food stands and the smell caused Korra's stomach to growl.

She was rather grumpy, she was hungry, irritated by the noise, and annoyed by the looks of awe and shock people gave her. Maybe it was because she was sitting on top of a polarbear dog, or maybe it was the giant white scar that ran over her eye and down her cheek, or maybe it was because she didn't look like she belonged in Republic City.

She was wearing a black, leather Fire Nation jacket that her mother had bought her. The jacket had red flames etched onto the sleeves and were various shades or red. Underneath her unzipped jacket she had on a blue tank top given to her by her aunt. The tank top was made in the North Pole by Unalaq's people, and Ming-Hua had acquired it for free. It was nothing special but it was one of Korra's favorite articles of clothing.

Her pants were a dull grey and went down to her ankles, her footwear consisted of black shoes given to her by her father. It was the first and only gift he had given Korra and they were her favorite. Her brown hair was pulled back into a pony tail with two tribal beads that held two thick strands of hair framing her face.

Though it wasn't visible, Korra had one watertribe armband on her bicep and another armband on the other bicep that was from Ba Sing Se. Ghazan had wanted her to have earthbender pride so he went to the market and bought her the armband. It was a dull green color and etched onto it was the great wall, the great wall was a bright green so it contrasted with the darker color.

In Korra's pant's pocket she harbored her knife given to her from Unalaq, just incase she couldn't use her bending to get out a situation, her father had told her to keep it on her at all times just in case. But she knew that she would probably never use it.

"Excuse me, can you please direct me to Air Temple Island? I believe I'm lost." Korra asked a man that happened to be walking by her. His brown eyes assessed her greedily as she slid off of Naga.

"Sure, only if you let me buy you dinner first." He waggled his eyebrows and she snorted.

"It's fine. I'll just go ask someone else." She muttered before walking away.

"C'mon! Don't be like that!" The man called after her and she blushed furiously as she gritted her teeth and kept walking away. During her time with her family she hadn't interacted with people her own age. It was strange and unfamiliar. She wasn't sure how to respond to being...flirted with...and while it was flattering she certainly didn't like it. Especially from that guy.

"Are you tired of living under the tyranny of benders!" A voice shouted and Korra jumped. She turned to see a man gesturing wildly and speaking of the evils of bending,"Join Amon's cause! He'll make equality, a reality." The man thundered and Korra frowned as she told Naga to stay where she was and slid in amongst the crowd.

"Excuse me, out of natural curiosity what have benders done?" The Avatar was genuinely curious. She hadn't met many people and she didn't know how people were treated in Republic City. Her father had always told her to think rationally and to always ask questions before speaking against something she didn't believe in.

The man looked at her with a frown,"Benders rule this city! And abuse all of us who can't bend!" He explained heatedly,"The council abuses us, the triads, and even the probenders flaunt their power and look down on us! Benders are cruel people..." He trailed off once he saw her various amounts of bending clothing and sneered,"I take it you're a bender, or a bender supporter?" He spat and the whole crowd turned on her expectantly.

She shrugged,"Yes, I'm a bender. But I don't see why it's a big deal, especially if I'm listening to your complaints, if anything wouldn't it be good that I'm taking your words into consideration? I'd like to know of anything I can do to make life easier for...so many unhappy people." She crossed her arms over her chest and frowned as people looked at her with a mixture of irritation, relief, awe, and gratefulness. She was the Avatar, her duty was to bring peace, and by the looks of it these people were not happy by the lack of peace caused by benders in Republic City.

And maybe she was far more openminded to nonbenders because her father couldn't bend. He had always told her that the life of a nonbender was a difficult one, in certain situations he had lacked the ability to help his friends and he felt powerless. He admitted that in defeat he got reckless and irrational. And not being able to bend sometimes made him feel left out. He was an astounding fighter but he knew any of his Red Lotus companions could kill him without a second thought. He had confessed that his powerlessness scared him at times, but to make up for that he trained even harder.

Korra knew these people felt powerless and she wanted to help. Especially if a bunch of benders were running around acting wild.

The speaker against benders all but gaped at her,"Erm...uh yeah." He stammered before nodding at her in appreciation,"Thank you. Maybe if we had more benders like you this wouldn't be necessary." He grumbled and Korra smiled slightly before bowing her head respectfully.

"I hope you all can get the equality you deserve." She then turned and with her faithful companion the two continued to seek out directions to Air Temple Island.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting visitors today, what's your name?" The bald airbender asked as he looked at her quizzically and stroked his beard. His hazel colored eyes examined the dark skinned girl before him and he absentmindedly adjusted his robes. The two stood near the sea and out behind the Air Temple, the girl looked at the scenery in awe, while also feeling a bit irritated about being here. Ugh, sitting still for hours meditating sounded horrible.

Korra smiled and stuck out her hand,"I'm Korra, the Avatar, and I need to learn airbending-"

Tenzin's face turned a bright red,"The Avatar! Don't be silly! I don't have times for your childish games. The Avatar has been missing for years and you aren't the first to make such a bold claim-" She rolled her eyes, knowing that she'd have to demonstrate all her power. Spirits was it that difficult to believe that she was the Avatar? As Ghazan would say, she was awesome!

Tenzin paled the earth rose up beneath the girl, putting her on a rocky pedestal, the waves crashed violently against the rocks holding up the island and water flew to the watertribe girl's free hand while fire danced on her other palm. Azure eyes brightened and a smirk appeared on her lips as she looked down at the stunned airbender.

"I'm the Avatar, and you gotta deal with it!"

First time writing an Avatar fanfic. Dang. And Salami will be in the next chapter so don't worry. Besides I'm total Korrasami trash so how can she not be. Review and whatnot. Hope this didn't suck.