A/N: I haven't uploaded anything in so long but I've had so many feelings about Korra that there was no way I could pass this up. I understand that Tahno is probably a little OOC and that some details are weird but I just had to get this out. Mostly for my sanity but also for your pleasure (if this story is up to par with your expectations, of course). Either way, here it is. Thank you for reading and please review!

Reprieve

She just needed a friend.

The cold morning air nips at her skin and for a moment she remembers the frozen tundra of the South Pole. The walls and guard towers shaped from glaciers, igloos that stood proud and tall, the sound of her father's swords cutting through chill and ice, and the smell of her mother's home cooked meals.

She remembers a time of peace, where her duties as Avatar were nothing more than the act of mastering all four elements; where she was coddled and protected and Amon and his ambitions were a part of stories her mother would weave for her.

But that was a long time ago and Korra knows that it's time for new memories; darker, more frightening and painful, but memories nonetheless. She can only hope that the Avatar after her is not plagued with the same fear she is feeling now. She can only hope that the Avatar after her can channel the Spirit World the way she cannot.

It has been five, long, strenuous months since the war against Amon began and Korra has barely mastered the basics of airbending. Republic City is holding strong despite Lin Beifong's resignation as chief of police and Tarrlok's faulty laws have come in to play. And while the city and its people struggle to retain their identity, Korra is still trying to find hers.

Bolin and Mako are learning the art of bending in an environment where anything goes; in a place where referees do not exist to call fouls and where mistakes mean death – not the loss of chance to hold a golden trophy.

Asami fights with the demon inside of her that takes the shape of her father when she isn't looking.

Tenzin and Lin think together and whisper about the activities of the Council, of Tarrlok, and of rumors that Master Katara and Fire Lord Zuko are to arrive on Air Temple Island to see the newest threat to the balance of the world themselves.

Pema is being a mother, not just to her own children but to the ones she has gladly taken in. Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo are being strong despite their age – strong for everyone, especially their father and Korra knows that they are being strong for her too.

She only wishes that her friends, the ones who are supposed to understand her the most, were doing the same. But they are trying to put their own lives together and she isn't going to ask them to do more.

Even if she needs them so much that it hurt.

When Mako wraps his arms around Asami and Bolin laughs with them, Korra watches and does not wait for them to ask her to join them.

Because they don't ask.

They never do.

She senses him before she actually knows he's there.

Her whole body tingles; an unnerving sensation that begins at the back of her neck and travels down her spine and she feels him the way she feels the water in the air, the way she can sense the rhythm of the waves, and hear the hum of whirlpools.

"Hello, Avatar."

Silver eyes like she's never seen on a waterbender stare back at her. She notices he has improved in appearance and confidence since the last time she saw him at the police station a mere few hours after Amon had robbed him of his bending.

"Tahno." She dips her head courteously because he isn't an enemy. He had never been an enemy.

"Councilman Tenzin has you out running errands, hm?" The arrogant drawl is back and Korra finds comfort in his calmness. She still blames herself for his predicament but knowing he is still technically Tahno lessens the guilt a little.

"Just some extra things needed for dinner tonight." She replies tonelessly, weighing a few apples in her hand before choosing the ones that look best.

"I'm surprised the Fabulous Bending Brothers aren't keeping you company." She can feel Tahno's cobblestone eyes burn holes into the back of her head. "Are they too busy with the Sato girl?"

"Mako is." Korra answers flatly. "Bolin is…" she trails off, "I don't really know where he is. We don't talk much anymore. Most of the time he's with Mako and Asami. He may be following them."

She smiles softly at the vendor before turning on her heel to buy the next thing on the list Pema has given her. She tries to quell the annoyance that rises when she finds him following her. He doesn't say anything for awhile but when he does it makes her stop.

"So you're alone."

The way he says it strikes a nerve in her. At first she is angry but her rage dies faster than a storm and is replaced with fatigue. She's tired of people telling her things she already knows.

"In every sense of the word." She agrees and then continues walking.

He follows her some more and she isn't surprised.

She doesn't understand why she's entertaining him but she can't find it in herself to try and shake him. She just wants to finish shopping and then go home.

But then she realizes that home is in the South Pole with her mother and father and Master Katara and she is nowhere nearher home and it makes her chest tighten.

"Don't you have something to do, Tahno? Some girls to date or some other people to harass?"

He doesn't answer so she doesn't ask anymore. She just walks.

The war is raging – it is in the way people walk, in the way they whisper, in the way fear dances in their eyes. Tahno isn't stupid. He knows danger when it's real and Amon and his men are as dangerous as something can get.

But he believes in Korra.

Not only because she is the Avatar but simply because she is Korra and he had been a firsthand witness to her strength. Despite her command of water, Tahnno understands that her soul burns. She is an inferno. Passionate, willful, determined, courageous, and loyal. To him she resembles a torch in a lonely tunnel or a candle in a blackened room.

But the Korra he is looking at now is not the Korra he knew.

She has paled, dimmed. Like a flame trapped, she shudders and dwindles. It is as if her heart, the fire that pulsed and raged within her body, had been snuffed.

He frowns.

This was not the woman he had trusted.

This was not the Avatar.

"What are you doing, Korra?" he asks. He watches her tense before her shoulders drop. "You're not fighting me at all. I'd actually say you're a little boring."

"More like tired." She throws over her shoulder. "I just want to go home."

"So now you're running."

She turns to look at him. "I meant the Air Temple." But her voice quivers and he looks at her firmly. "You and I both know that's not what you meant."

She lifts one shoulder. "Think what you want."

His gaze intensifies. "Haven't you ever heard the saying that home is where the heart is? I hated this place when I first came here too, you know. But I met Ming and Shaozu and I found my heart here. I found pro-bending. My friends," he watches as her jaw twitches at the word, "is what made me love Republic City."

Korra smirks a little, bitter. "You have good friends. And there wasn't a war when you got here. I'm sure you're trying to comfort me, despite the absurdity of the idea, but your situation differs greatly from mine, Tahno. I carry the weight of the world on my shoulders."

"You can share that weight." He says coolly.

Korra smiles now, and there is a sadness in her eyes that contradicts her smile but Tahno can see the way her lips shake and he knows it is fake. "No one wants this weight. No one cares. There's only one Avatar and only the Avatar can restore balance to the world."

"There is also only one Korra," Tahno explains softly.

She shakes her head disbelievingly. "Empathy from the pompous Wolfbat. Amon has changed people in more ways than one." She comments ruefully.

"Not too much," Tahno replies. "Have you ever tried getting angry, Avatar?"

Korra blinks. "I'm sorry?"

"Anger." Tahno reiterates. "You used to be very good at it."

She shakes her head. "I've been too tired."

He smirks. When his tapered fingers wrap around her wrist and he pulls her along she does not protest. It feels good to be tangible so she lets Tahno drag her through the streets.

The gym is old.

The equipment is barely functioning and she wonders why he even uses the place if nothing works. Then she remembers Tahno can't bend and the guilt returns tenfold.

He lets go of her and strides purposefully to the other end of the room, fingers working to unbutton his coat. She looks at him puzzled.

He turns to her, quirks an eyebrow, and begins to remove his shirt. "You're going to spar with me in a parka and your groceries in one hand?"

Her eyebrows shoot upwards. "Spar?"

Tahno chuckles and it is deep and throaty. "Yes." He discards his shirt somewhere to the left and begins to wrap his hands in bandages. "You can use bending if you want," he offers, "But the fight won't last very long since you'll kick my ass. If you want something that'll test your endurance you'll have to fight me bare."

She smiles slightly. "So you admit I'm stronger."

"I've always known you're stronger," Tahno replies nonchalantly. "But I know I can also hold my own. Just because you're good doesn't mean I'm going to let you throw me around." He looks at her. "You're not tired. You're numb and let me tell you, Avatar, that's shitty."

He pulls the end of the bandage tight around his palm. He brings the cloth to his teeth and rips. "So get angry. Let it all out. Agni knows you won't lash out at those brothers, that heiress, or your airbending instructor and you have no one else to yell at. So yell at me. You need a punching bag and I'll offer you my services. I need a little bit of exercise myself."

He finishes with his preparation and looks at her. She has shed her coat, groceries, and even her own shirt preferring to train in her wraps. "So," he asks, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Weapon of choice?"

"These," she answers and there is a hint of eagerness in her voice as she lifts her fists.

"Give me your best shot, little girl." He smirks.

She drops into a stance and snorts, "Don't blame me if I trash your face, pretty boy."

The spark in her eyes is evident and Tahno thinks, That's my girl, just before she strikes him.