The Original Nature of the Heart

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All of them crept silently around the boatyard. Ghazan was walking ahead of them, deciding which boat to take in order to leave the Southern Water Tribe. Korra stuck close to Zaheer and P'Li. Ming-Hua looked around with caution, the tips of her water arms curved into scythes of ice. It was midnight and the light of the full moon revealed the battleships hidden behind the fog.

"Isn't stealing… bad?" Korra said, rubbing away the drowsiness in her eyes.

"We do what we need to survive," Zaheer whispered back, "I promise, once we find a boat then you can get some sleep. For now, I need you to be awake just a little longer."

"Guys. I found the perfect one," Ghazan called out. He was standing on a canoe.

"Are you serious? That is a canoe," Ming-Hua said, "You couldn't find a boat with, oh I don't know, an engine!?"

"Well it's not my fault there's a blockade, our cover would be blown once they hear the engine of a motorboat coming straight at them," Ghazan folded his arms, "And I also happen to know what a canoe is Ming-Hua."

Zaheer pulled out his telescope and observed the capital-class battleships. He recognized the Northern Water Tribe flags flapping in the wind. His hands started to shake and his grip on the telescope tightened. That bastard Unalaq...

"Zaheer, are the White Lotus going to catch us?" Korra's worried voice called the non-bender back to reality. Zaheer placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder and he knelt down, meeting the Avatar eye-to-eye.

"No. They won't. We're going to be fine," Zaheer stood up, "Wait right here, I'm just going to go talk to the others."

Korra nodded and Zaheer walked over to his friends.

"I've always hated Unalaq right from the start," Ghazan complained.

"I know. He's such a prick," Ming-Hua snickered.

"Now is not the time to talk about that traitor, we need to figure out a way out of here," Zaheer said.

"Well a canoe doesn't stand much of a chance against the Northern fleet," P'Li said, staring at the ships that dotted the distance. Ming-Hua's eyes lit up with an idea.

"Ghazan, how much do you lift?" Ming-Hua asked.

"Huh?" Ghazan looked at her in disbelief. Zaheer and P'Li exchanged looks of confusion. The waterbender realized what she had just said and looked mortified.

"No! Wait. That's not... W—What I meant to say is," Ming-Hua stammered, "I have a plan!"

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"Your plan sucks Ming-Hua," Ghazan grumbled. He dragged the canoe with Korra sitting inside by moving the earth beneath it. Ming-Hua led the way, maintaining the shape of the bubble with her waterbending. The flame P'Li carried bathed them in yellow light. They were walking beneath the ocean floor.

Ghazan cringed as freezing sea water spilled on his shoulder, "Hey! You did that on purpose!"

"Oops. I am so sorry Ghazan. My bad," Ming-Hua said.

The Avatar was captivated by the display of skill and power Ming-Hua possessed. Looking up, Korra could see the rippling shape of the battleship floating above her. They were walking right underneath it!

"Ming-Hua, you're amazing!" Korra exclaimed.

"Well aren't you sweet," Ming-Hua said, smiling.

"So let me get this straight, you woke up in the middle of the night, saw that Korra wasn't in the cave, and you just left without telling us?" Zaheer questioned his girlfriend.

"Look in my defense, she left a trail of footprints and I followed them. It only took me about a minute to find her. She didn't really make it that far," P'Li said.

"What were you doing out there anyway?" Ghazan said, glancing over his shoulder at Korra.

"I was looking for that lost polar bear pup P'Li scared away," Korra said.

"Did you find it?"

"Yeah, but she found her mom so—"

"Wait. How do you know that was the polar bear pup you were looking for?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, what if that was a different polar bear pup and the one you were really looking for is still out there," Ghazan theorized. Korra's eyes went wide and she gasped.

"Ghazan shut up," P'Li hissed through clenched teeth. Before anymore could be said, Ming-Hua stopped.

"Alright, everyone get in the canoe! We've gone far enough!" Ming-Hua yelled. Once everybody was seated inside, the waterbender stood at the bow, "Ghazan?"

"On it."

Ghazan raised his arms and a column of earth lifted them up. They burst out of the water and Ming-Hua wasted no time. She propelled the canoe forward and proceeded to bend the fog around them. Korra could only catch a small glimpse of her tribe before it disappeared behind the haze. It was the only home she ever knew. Within seconds she could no longer see the Southern Water Tribe. Nothing would ever be the same.

Goodbye.

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"Hard to imagine it's only been a week," Ming-Hua remarked, "It almost feels like a whole year went by."

"Yeah, I know," Ghazan paused, taking a swig from the bottle of rice liquor he had stolen, "I didn't think we would make it back there, I mean, who knew the Last Airbender could put up a fight?"

He passed the bottle to Ming-Hua and she took it eagerly. They were sitting on the roof of the inn they were staying at for the night.

"I'll admit, there were a few close-calls. But as Guru Laghima once said, 'There is no use struggling. Not when the outcome will always be the same'," Ming-Hua nodded sagely and took a sip of the whiskey.

Ghazan chuckled, but the laughter soon faded away with a sigh, "It's not going to get easy, is it?"

"What is?"

"Moving around from place to place. Teaching her all four elements. Lying to her."

"We'll manage. We always do," She handed him the bottle. Ghazan examined it for the longest time. He looked at her and then looked up at the sky conquered by darkness. Diamonds were scattered across its black skin, arranged by design.

"Look at all those stars Ming-Hua. Aren't they beautiful?" She turned to find that his gaze rested upon her.

"Yes. Yes they are."

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A/N: Thank you for reading, following, and reviewing! A lot of chapters and the winter solstice were cut out of the story because they weren't going to advance the plot any further. A timeskip at this point is a must! And since Korra is growing up, it's time for the story to reflect these changes...