The Calling - Part 1

Elira's room was steeped in an unsettling silence. The vibrant melody of the radio was absent, the laughter that once echoed off the walls had vanished, and even the familiar, comforting sounds of Elira's soft humming were nowhere to be heard. The most striking change, however, was her hair. Rather than her usual cheerful ponytail adorned with a bright ribbon or her hair cascading freely around her shoulders, it was pulled back in a tight bun at the nape of her neck—practical yet starkly unlike her perky self.

Pichi and Pabu sat on the bed, their eyes fixed on Elira as she shuffled about the room, packing her bags with almost mechanical precision. As Elira turned around, Pabu suddenly leapt into her open bag with a hopeful squeak, looking up at her with big, pleading eyes that seemed to say, "I'm coming too!" 

Elira's gaze remained empty, a shadow of the warmth she once radiated. She gently picked up Pabu, her expression unreadable, and placed him back on the bed, returning to her task without uttering a single word. Pabu let out a small, mournful squeak, his tiny heart heavy as he turned to Pichi beside him, who trilled softly before hopping over to Elira's nightstand. She grabbed a photo frame resting quietly atop it, and in one swift motion, she dropped it into Elira's bag. 

Elira remained still, a pile of spare clothes gripped tightly in her arms as she caught sight of the photo peeking out from her bag. It was a captured moment from years prior at the Glacier Spirit Festival. Bolin and Elira grinned foolishly at the camera, their arms wrapped around each other in carefree joy. At the same time, Pabu and Pichi were balanced on their shoulders. 

Elira picked up the frame, staring blankly at the image frozen in time. The reflection in the glass revealed a trace of her former self, her once-bright eyes now dulled and empty. Bolin's joyful face felt like a haunting spectre, a cruel reminder of a time when laughter was abundant and troubles felt distant.

With a steely resolve, Elira set the frame down face-first on the nightstand, concealing the happiness it held within. Pabu and Pichi trilled softly, their ears folding down, their eyes brimming with concern as they looked up at her. Elira ignored their quiet pleas, picked up her bag, and silently left the room. With unwavering resolve, Pichi dashed after her. 

Pabu was left alone. He curled up on Elira's bed, letting out another low squeak that echoed in the silence. The warmth of the covers did little to comfort him as he felt the same painful loneliness that Elira did; both deeply affected by Bolin's absence. 

*

Outside in the courtyard, Elira loaded supplies onto Mochi while Meelo helped Ikki load other bags onto Jinora's bison, Pepper. And Pichi was watching Elira from her perch on Mochi's horn. Meelo ended up throwing one of the bags on top of Ikki, which resulted in her chasing her little brother around the courtyard. 

Zira, Tenzin, and Pema watched them from the balcony. Pema had a bag full of food with her.

"Tenzin, are you sure you can't go with them?" Pema asked, concerned as Ikki ran past, still chasing Meelo. 

"Raiko asked me to stay here and help figure out a diplomatic solution to this Kuvira problem", Tenzin responded. 

Just then, Ikki appeared, leaning on the railing. 

"Mom, we'll be fine", she insisted, Meelo popping up beside her with Poki on his shoulder. "Grandpa Aang, Gran-Gran and their friends were around our age when they travelled the world." 

"Well, at least I don't have to worry about you starving out there." Pema smiled, patting the bag of food as Elira and Jinora also walked over. 

"I've even put some of my homemade mochi in for you. But don't go eating it all at once, or you'll get a stomach ache," Zira added, and Ikki grinned at her, happy for the delicious treat. 

"Mom, Gran Gran, we're going to be out in the wild, living off the land! We don't need your food!" Meelo complained and jumped down from the railing, his back to his mother and grandmother, arms folded. Poki, comedically, copied his motions. 

"But I made your favourite treat ..." Pema dangled one of the food packages enticingly. 

"Sweet buns with happy faces on them?" Meelo turned around, surprised. His mother nodded. "Well, I guess we're not officially on the road yet." 

He eagerly grabbed the food from Pema and opened it with his teeth but then frowned. 

"Aww, this one is smudged" He turned to show his mother the smudged face on his sweet bun. "I can't eat this." 

"You know, sometimes things get smudged in the wild." Pema smiled and booped her son's nose affectionately. 

*

Soon, everything was packed onto the bison, and it was time for the youngsters to leave. Jinora jumped down from Pepper to hug Tenzin, and Ikki and Meelo hugged Pema and Zira goodbye. Then, Ikki moved to do the same with little Rohan. Elira stood back, arms folded. 

"Were you able to get a read on Korra yet?" Tenzin asked Jinora as Meelo and Ikki ran past behind them and airbent into Pepper's saddle. 

"No. But once we're further out, El and I should be able to hone in on her spiritual energy. We should be able to find her within a few days." Jinora explained before hugging her mother and grandmother goodbye. 

Zira then turned and held her arms out to Elira for a hug, but Elira only bowed respectfully. 

"I promise to return with Korra" she pledged 

Pema, Tenzin and Zira shared a concerned glance. 

"Well...Alright then," Tenzin muttered, and Elira turned to airbend herself onto Mochi. Tenzin called up one last time to his children, "Good luck! And be careful! Remember, Elira's in charge!" 

"I answer to no man. Or girl. Even if she does have tattoos," Meelo declared, standing up in Pepper's saddle. 

"Meelo ..." Tenzin warned as Elira scowled at her little brother.  With a quiet "Yip yip, " she flicked Mochi's reigns and took to the air. 

"Now, let's move out, soldiers!" Meelo exclaimed, pointing towards the horizon. 

 "Ugh ... Pepper, yip-yip!" Jinora flicked Pepper's reins and took off after Elira. 

 From the ground, Tenzin, Pema and Zira watched them leave, pride and concern in their eyes. 

"Are you sure it was a good idea to let El go?" Pema wondered. 

"You know as well as I do that keeping her cooped up won't do anyone good," Tenzin replied, keeping his eyes on the sky where the bison were slowly disappearing from view. "But I'm worried about her too." 

Zira smiled softly to herself. "She'll be alright; she just needs time." 

"How do you know?" Tenzin asked, turning to his mother 

"I've seen that same look in her eyes before. In her grandfather...and myself. And we were both going through similar situations," Zira said 

"Which was what?" Pema then asked  

Zira fiddled with the locket around her neck as she watched her grandchildren disappear into the clouds. "Losing our best friends" 

*

The kids flew for miles over mountains and fields. Elira led the way on Mochi while her siblings, riding on Pepper, followed behind her. Soon, they stopped just outside of a town, landing beside some towers on the outskirts where a couple of spirits were flying around. As soon as the bison touched down, Meelo jumped off. 

"Finally! I've been holding my pee for an hour!" He yelled, running off. 

Elira jumped down from Mochi but was soon swarmed by the spirits which floated around her. They squeaked softly in greeting, causing Pichi to chatter back at them. But Elira only moved to swat them away. 

"Shoo. Leave me alone; I don't wanna play", she huffed, walking off to try and escape the pesky spirits. 

Jinora went behind one of the small towers, sat down, closed her eyes, and started meditating, trying to locate Korra. 

Ikki popped her head around the tower. "If you get through to Korra, tell her I said hi" 

Jinora opened her eyes, slightly annoyed, before closing them again and returning to her task. 

Seconds later, Ikki popped her head around again. "You feel anything yet?" 

Jinora made a frustrated noise, keeping her eyes closed as she tried to concentrate. 

"What's taking so long?" Ikki came entirely from behind the tower, hands on her hips. 

"Ikki, I can't concentrate if you keep talking." Jinora scowled. "Why don't you go play with some of those spirits?" 

Ikki sighed and leaned against the side of the tower as Meelo and Elira came over. "Jinora's spirity powers are broken, and she doesn't know where Korra is." 

"My powers are not broken. I just need more than two seconds and some quiet." Jinora snapped 

"While you try to pull yourself together, Poki and I are gonna go into town and find out if anyone has seen Korra." Meelo declared as Poki climbed onto his shoulder. 

" Sounds like a good plan to me!" Ikki grinned, bouncing in front of Meelo. 

Meelo pointed his finger at Ikki to quiet her. "Enough chit-chat. You can hold the picture of Korra I drew." 

He took a highly lifelike picture of Korra out, presenting it to his sisters. 

"Wow," Ikki gasped, taking the picture from him.

Elira looked at her brother suspiciously. "Since when do you know how to draw?" 

"You don't know a lot about me, sister," Meelo smirked, folding his arms. Then he turned around and signalled the girls to follow him. "Let's roll!" 

The trio ran and jumped off the ledge, opening their wingsuits and flying to a nearby village. Pichi and Poki followed them, finally leaving Jinora with some peace and quiet. 

*

In the village, the trio walked around, asking anyone if they'd seen Korra. Each person either shook their head or was surprised they still had an Avatar. To say Elira was getting frustrated was an understatement. As the airbenders headed through a square, Elira looked up and narrowed her eyes. She saw a large black and white poster on the side of a building showcasing Kuvira and her Earth Empire. Elira scoffed and quickened her pace to catch up with her siblings, who were approaching a little old lady by a fruit stand. 

"Have you seen this woman?" Meelo asked, pointing to the picture of Korra that Ikki was holding. 

Instead of answering the question, the old woman simply cooed at Meelo, " Well, aren't you an adorable little thing." 

"I'm not adorable! I'm dangerous." Meelo declared, striking a pose

 "Dangerously cute with those cheeks." The woman smiled and pinched his cheeks before walking away. 

"Aww." Ikki teased, smirking 

"This. Never. Happened." Meelo scowled, and Elira sighed, frustrated with their lack of progress.

 "Let's split up. We'll cover more ground. Just do me a favour and stay out of trouble." She ordered before turning and walking away without another word. 

Hours went by, and still, no one had seen any sign of Korra. So, as the sun began to set that day, the kids were back on their bison, flying through the sky. 

The next day, Elira, Meelo and Ikki were in a tavern talking to a man with various piercings. 

"The Avatar? We still have one of those? Haven't seen her, kid. Sorry," The man said, and the airbenders sighed in disappointment. 

"Man..." Meelo whined as they left the tavern. 

That night, the kids set up camp in a forest. Jinora handed out food around the campfire. Ikki and Meelo sat on a fallen tree by the fire while Elira sat in Mochi's saddle with Pichi. 

*

The following day, in another town, Meelo was on a rooftop, looking around for Korra, when he spotted a girl in the alley below him giving out flowers. He let himself fall down gently with his wingsuit open until he landed next to her. 

"Can I trust you?" He asked 

"I guess so." The girl answered 

"I'm on a top-secret mission to find the Avatar," Meelo whispered, holding up the picture of Korra. "Have you seen her?" 

"I haven't, sorry. Top secret mission, huh?" The girl smiled 

"Yeah, it's been pretty dangerous. I've seen some things." Meelo bragged, putting away the picture. 

"Really? What kind of things?" The girl asked 

"Craaazy things." 

"Cool." 

"I'm Meelo. What should I call you, other than "beautiful"?" Meelo smirked, stepping closer to the girl 

"I'm Tuyen. Nice to meet you," The girl said. 

"Ooh!" Meelo and Tuyen both turned to see Ikki sitting on a roof, smirking down at them. 

"Meelo found a girlfriend!" She teased 

"Go away, Ikki!" Meelo glared at his sister, who jumped down from the roof and caught herself with airbending. 

"Jinora and El've been looking for you. We're moving on," Ikki said 

"Looks like you got to get back to your mission. Good luck, Meelo" Tuyen handed Meelo one of her flowers before walking past him, tousling his hair as she went. 

Meelo stared after her, blushing and smiling big before turning to Ikki, annoyed. 

"Thanks a lot, Ikki. You drove away the love of my life!" He exclaimed, throwing the flower away 

"There you are!" Elira then appeared, looking as frustrated and annoyed as she'd been the entire journey. "What are you doing? We don't have time to be messing around." 

Ikki and Meelo exchanged bewildered glances, taken aback by Elira's stern demeanour. They were so accustomed to her lighthearted spirit, always ready with a joke or a playful adventure. 

"Sorry," Ikki mumbled, her eyes downcast, a hint of guilt creeping into her tone. 

"Just come on," Elira commanded, turning sharply on her heel and striding away, her expression still stern. 

"I miss the old El," Ikki whispered as she and Meelo fell into step behind their sister. 

"Yeah, this Elira is no fun," Meelo pouted, mimicking their sister's serious expression, which only made Ikki stifle a giggle.

Elira, who had heard the quiet exchange, let out an exasperated sigh but didn't respond. She just kept on walking. 

*

Later that afternoon, as the sun was getting low again, the airbenders stopped at a tiny port village in a tropical archipelago. Meelo was walking past a man in a dockside shack when he suddenly stopped and turned to look at something in the shack. 

"El! Jinora! Ikki!" He called for his sisters "It's Korra!" 

"Where?! Where?! Where?!" Ikki cried as she and the others sprinted over. She stopped herself by clinging onto her brother's shoulders.

Meelo pointed into the shack with a grin. At the back of the shack, two picture frames were hung side by side. One showed Aang doing his marble trick with two pieces of seafood, his face bearing a look of unadulterated enthusiasm reminiscent of his childhood. The other showed Korra smiling awkwardly at the camera. 

The three girls mirrored disappointed expressions. Elira's more annoyed than her sisters. 

"It's just a photo of Korra." Jinora frowned 

"At least it's something," Meelo argued 

"Pretty neat, huh? She came by here about, uh, six months ago." The fishmonger grinned 

"Looks like someone just strummed up a good old-fashioned lead." Meelo smirked at his sisters, looking pleased with himself. 

Elira ignored him, keeping her attention on the fishmonger. "Do you know where she went?" 

"Oh, I don't know. But she wasn't looking too good." The man replied 

Elira furrowed her brow. "What do you mean?" 

"I mean, she couldn't even stop a couple of thieves from stealing from my friend's shop over there," the fishmonger said, pointing to a shop across the dock.

Elira looked down in concern as her siblings shared a worried look. 

"Ikki, this is all your fault." Meelo suddenly accused. 

"What? I didn't do anything." 

"Exactly! You need to start pulling your weight!" Meelo pointed at her, very close to her face, before turning to Jinora and Elira. "That goes for you, too; Miss can't even find Korra and so-called leader!" 

Meelo then stormed off in a huff as his sisters watched him. 

"Remember when he used to be so nice and sweet?" Ikki asked 

"No", Jinora replied plainly. 

Elira just shut her eyes in irritation. 

*

In the peaceful depths of the Foggy Swamp, Toph was happily lounging on a tree root, softly whistling a cheerful tune, when Korra strolled over to join her.

"So ... what's the plan for today?" She asked, stretching 

"You're looking at it," Toph replied, not even opening her eyes 

"We didn't do anything yesterday or the day before that". Korra frowned and sat down on another tree root, looking bored. A second later, she perked up, "I know! Tell me the story of how you taught Aang how to earthbend." 

"Hasn't Sparky already told you all the stories?" Toph huffed 

"Zira? Well, yeah. But I wanna hear it from you" Korra smiled 

"What's there to tell? I threw some rocks at the Avatar, he got all whiny and Sokka fell in a hole." 

Korra looked disappointed with her answer. 

"I thought there'd be more to it than that, " she muttered before becoming excited again. "What about the time you took down the Fire Lord? That must have been epic!" 

"Oh yeah," Toph grinned before crossing her arms with a disinterested expression. "It was hot. I was on a blimp. And I think a giant turtle showed up. Wow. What a day." 

"Okay, well, how about why you call Zira 'Sparky'? What's the story behind that?" Korra asked 

"Why'd you think I call her Sparky? She's a firebender; that's her whole thing," Toph explained, exasperated. 

"I guess that makes sense. But then, I've heard Zira refer to you as Melon Lord a couple times; what's with that?" 

Toph sighed, annoyed by all the questions. "Sparky was determined to give me a nickname. We were training, and I was throwing rocks at the others that Sparky had set on fire...That was a good day." 

Korra looked disappointed again. "That's it?" 

"That's it." 

" Okay, you're terrible at telling stories." Korra frowned

"You're terrible at listening to them!" Toph snapped 

Korra sighed and started tapping her foot on the ground. Toph bent a rock underneath her feet to stop her, and she sat up. 

"Quit making all that racket!" She scolded, "If you're so anxious to do something, why don't you collect some mushrooms for dinner?" 

Korra stood up. "You got it." 

"Take the path until you see the boulder with the hole in it. Then go to your left. Oh, and make sure you get the big, slimy ones!" Toph chuckled. "They're the tastiest!" 

*

Back with the airbenders, they stopped in a field for lunch. Elira sat under a tree by herself, trying to meditate. She wanted to spend some time alone in the spirit world, away from her siblings. But for some reason, she couldn't cross over. It was as if something was blocking her from getting in, and every time she tried, the aching feeling in her chest worsened. It was really irritating her.

"Can I join you?" Jinora asked, walking over. 

"Whatever", Elira muttered, keeping her eyes closed. 

Jinora sat beside her and began to meditate. But every few seconds, she'd glance at her sister from the corner of her eye. Feeling her eyes on her, Elira grew annoyed. 

"What?" She sighed, her eyes remaining closed. 

"I've been meaning to ask...But are you okay? You've been acting strange since before we left home," Jinora said 

"I'm fine", Elira replied simply. 

Jinora turned to her, concern evident in her eyes. "You know I'm always here if you need to talk."  

"There's nothing to talk about", Elira huffed 

"El--" 

"Jinora, I am trying to meditate. If you want someone to talk to, go bother Ikki or Meelo and leave me alone." Elira snapped bluntly 

Jinora fell silent. Although she understood that her sister's anger stemmed from the hurt she was feeling, her words still stung. Not wanting to upset her further, Jinora quietly went back to meditating. However, her thoughts remained focused on her older sister. 

Over by the peacefully grazing bison, Ikki was rummaging through their bags while Meelo ran around playing with Poki and Pichi. 

"Hey, where's all the food Mom and Gran-Gran gave us?" Ikki questioned as she searched through the bags. 

"I threw it in the river," Meelo revealed proudly. 

"You did what?! That food was supposed to last us two weeks!" Ikki screeched 

Jinora noticed the commotion was annoying Elira again and turned to her younger siblings before Elira could snap at them. 

"Hey, keep it down! We're trying to meditate," She scolded 

"Yeah, keep it down, Ikki," Meelo added, smirking as Poki landed on his shoulder, wanting to continue playing while Pichi landed on a nearby rock. 

"Meelo threw away all our food!" Ikki yelled 

"From now on, we hunt for our meals." Meelo declared, thrashing the air with the stick as Poki reached for it. 

"Meelo, we're vegetarians. We don't hunt!" Ikki explained, exasperated. 

"Enough whining. Poki and I will go find some grub," Meelo stated and sauntered off confidently, causing Ikki to let out an angry yell. 

And she wasn't the only one who was annoyed. Elira suddenly stood from her place beside Jinora and began storming away towards the forest nearby. 

"El? Where are you going?" Jinora called out 

"To find some peace and quiet!" Elira called back and disappeared into the trees. 

Pichi flew over and landed beside Jinora, resting in her lap. Jinora sighed and petted her softly, making her purr. 

*

Elsewhere in the forest, Ikki, too, had gone off alone to calm down. 

"My name is Meelo. I like to throw away food and fart at inappropriate moments." She imitated her brother as she walked 

"I'm Jinora. I'm above it all because I'm meditating all the time." She stuck her nose up, acting pretentious as she mocked her sister. 

"I'm El. I'm in a bad mood because my boyfriend dumped me, and now I have to make it everyone's problem!" Ikki folded her arms with a grumpy expression as she imitated Elira before blasting air as some bushes in front of her, revealing a scared sugar glider just trying to eat some berries. 

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't see you there." She apologised. 

The sugar glider dropped the berry it was holding, sprinted up a tree, and glided away. 

"Wait! You dropped your breakfast!" Ikki picked up the berry and flew after it.

She caught up to the animal and tried to hand the berry back, but the creature broke off, distracting Ikki, who slammed into a tree branch. 

She was sent crashing to the ground, and when she came to a stop, she sat up and discovered the berry was now squished on her cheek.

 But then the sugar glider suddenly landed on her head and climbed down to her shoulder. 

"Hey!" Ikki giggled as the critter licked the remains of the berry off her cheek. "Does this mean we're friends?" 

Ikki stood up and looked around, seeing that she was in a large part of the forest that had been cut down.

"You're trespassing!" Whirling around, Ikki saw two Earth Empire soldiers standing in the tree line. "Hold it right there!" 

Ikki ran for it. One of the soldiers tried to restrain her with earthbending, raising earth shells from the ground and attempting to grab her, but missed twice. On the third attempt, Ikki went to fly away, but her feet ended up caught in the earth's shell before she managed to take flight. 

She turned around as she landed, and two more earth shells encased her arms, trapping her. She looked up, fearful, at the soldiers while the sugar glider buried itself in her wingsuit. 

*

Deep in the forest, at an Earth Empire outpost, the soldiers had Ikki tied to a chair as they interrogated her.

"All right, little airbender. Tell us what you're doing in the Earth Empire. Are you spying?" The first soldier questioned

"No! I swear I'm not a spy. I've been travelling with my brother and sisters. It's our first big mission, and my dad, Tenzin, is counting on us. But if we don't find the Avatar, he's gonna be really disappointed." Ikki explained in one breath, looking down at the thought of disappointing her dad.

The first soldier looked up at his buddy and asked, "Can I talk to you for a second?"

They walked a short distance away from Ikki and started whispering to each other.

"This girl is Tenzin's kid, and she's looking for the Avatar." The first soldier wrapped an arm around his friend as Ikki, in the background, freed her arm from the ropes binding her to the chair to scratch her nose. "Do you know what that means?"

"No, but try this macaroon!" The second soldier grinned and held up the sweet treat. Behind them, Ikki put her arm back into the ropes.

"Get that out of my face!" The first soldier angrily slapped the macaroon out of his friend's hand. "Look, if we capture these four airbender kids and bring them to Kuvira, I bet we get a big-time promotion."

"You mean we get out of this dump?" The second soldier picked up the macaroon and ate it.

The first soldier nodded, and the two turned back to Ikki with friendly grins.

"Sorry, little lady, it looks like we got off on the wrong foot. So, you're out here with your brother and sisters. Where's your campsite?" The first soldier asked, kneeling down to Ikki's height.

"Why do you want to know?" Ikki replied

"We just want to get the family back together again. Maybe we can sit everybody down and have a nice plate of macaroons" The second soldier grabbed a plate of macaroons from the table and placed them in front of Ikki.

" Where did you get those?" Ikki questioned suspiciously.

"I found a whole sack of food down by the river! And with each delicious snack comes a lovely handwritten note." The second soldier revealed the sack of food and took out a couple of the notes. "This one says, 'You're my handsome little man.' And this one says, 'I love you to the moon and back.'  That is so touching!"

"My mom and Gran Gran wrote those notes! That's our sack of food!" Ikki glared

"Enough with the cute notes!" the first soldier yelled back, getting aggravated. "Where are your brother and sisters?"

"Who cares ... I don't want to see them, especially with El being in a mood all the time. I'd rather hang out here with you guys. Hit me with one of those macaroons." Ikki opened her mouth for the snack, and the second soldier threw a macaroon into it, much to the displeasure of his friend.

*

Elsewhere in the forest, Jinora was peacefully meditating by some mossy stone statues with Pichi sleeping at her side when Meelo walked out of the bushes with Poki, looking miserable and dragging a purple-stained sack behind him.

"Are you okay?" Jinora asked

"Yep, totally fine!" Meelo lied, sounding awful as he gave Jinora a thumbs-up

"I hope you're hungry because we found some ..." Meelo covered his mouth, nearly throwing up. "We found some berries!"

Jinora took the sack from him, opening it to see the food. Pichi sniffed at it curiously before immediately recoiling with a disgusted chitter as Poki gagged nearby and vomited. Seconds later, Meelo ran off to the bushes and threw up as well.

"Ugh. Looks like you got some bad berries." Jinora cringed, revolted and threw the sack of berries away. "So much for living off the land."

"They're fine; I just ate too many of them because they're so ... so delicious." Meelo looked up from the bushes with a grimace, wiping his mouth of berry juice and vomit.

"Did you run into Ikki while you were picking your poisonous berries?" Jinora wondered

"No, what? Did she run off or something?"

"I think so"

"Great. Now I've got to go find the Avatar and her. This mission is getting worse by the day." Meelo huffed

"This isn't only your mission, Meelo. I thought we were doing this as a family." Jinora glared at him as she stood up. "I'm going to get El."

*

Elsewhere, the sun filtered through the emerald canopy above, casting dappled shadows on the forest floor. Elira sat cross-legged on a moss-covered stone, her brow furrowed in concentration.

The gentle rustling of leaves and the distant chirping of birds created a soothing symphony. She inhaled deeply, filling her lungs with the crisp, fresh air. With her eyes tightly closed, she envisioned the peaceful, serene landscape of the spirit world, yearning for solace.

"Find the calm. Find the connection," she chanted softly, each word a plea to herself.

Yet, as was with every attempt to reach for the ethereal connection to her inner spirit, haunting memories of him flooded her mind. The sound of his voice echoed in her ears, replaying the very fight that had finally torn them apart. Each syllable felt like another dagger added to the already aching pain. No matter how hard she tried to push them away or bury them deep within, they resurfaced with relentless persistence—a broken record of pain.

"Focus, Elira. Concentrate," she muttered under her breath as frustration bubbled up inside her like a pot threatening to boil over.

The air pulsed around her, charged with a faint energy that mirrored her turmoil. Her emotions stirred, a stark reminder that her spirit was restless and unwilling to cooperate. Elira clenched her fists, feeling familiar anger ignite within her. Her heart, aching and in pain, tightened until it felt almost suffocating. She was caught in a storm, torn between tormenting memories and the peace she so desperately sought.

"El?"

Elira felt her focus shatter like delicate glass as Jinora emerged from the branches, Pichi on her shoulder.

"I know you're trying to concentrate, but this is an emergency," Jinora said. Elira opened her eyes, and concern replaced her irritation. "Ikki's missing."

Elira's eyes widened in alarm. All her earlier worries faded as she instinctively leapt to her feet. The urgency of the situation propelled her forward, and she rushed into the trees, her mind racing, with Jinora and Pichi close behind.

*

Back at the outpost, all the macaroons were gone, and the two soldiers were sitting down, talking with Ikki.

"So, why is your sister always in a bad mood?" The second soldier asked

"She didn't used to be. She used to be way more fun. But ever since Bolin left, she's been really grumpy and mean." Ikki replied

"Oh, I'm sure she's not intending to be mean; she's probably just missing her friend." The first soldier said, "I mean, losing your best friend is kinda like losing a part of yourself."

"I guess", Ikki muttered. "It seems pretty lonely out here. Where's everybody else?"

"I ... don't want to talk about it." The first soldier looked away

"He's just upset because Kuvira's taking all the troops to Zaofu, and we had to stay here." The second soldier revealed

The first soldier stood up in frustration. "Well, it's the last city left, and then the whole empire will be united! And you know there's gonna be a huge party afterwards."

"It's tough to be left out, huh? I know exactly what you're going through." Ikki said

"You do?" The first soldier turned to her, surprised

"Yeah. My brother and sisters are always leaving me out of fun stuff. I mean, we're supposed to be looking for the Avatar together, but they won't even let me help." Ikki complained

"Well, that's not fair. Maybe we can help you out!" The second soldier stood up and grabbed a map lying on the table in front of Ikki. "So, where have you looked for her?"

Ikki casually pulled her arms from the ropes in order to gesture to places on the map, but the soldiers did not seem to care. "We've been travelling down the West Coast, and the only lead we have is some guy who said he saw her six months ago."

"Well, we have troops ... pretty much everywhere. If anyone saw her, they would have reported it." The first soldier suggested, leaning on the back of Ikki's chair.

"What about this place?" Ikki pointed to a large green area on the map.

"Well, that's the swamp. No one goes there."

"Don't get discouraged, Ikki. You're a valuable member of the team, and you have a big heart!" The second soldier encouraged, "I know you're going to find her. Now, let's get you out of those ropes."

He went to stand up when Meelo suddenly blew the door off its hinges. Elira and Jinora effortlessly blew the soldiers against the far wall, knocking them out cold. Elira immediately moved over to Ikki.

"Are you hurt?" She asked, kneeling to her height.

Ikki only gave her an angry look."I'm fine."

"You're welcome, Ikki." Meelo folded his arms

"Why did you do that?" Ikki huffed, standing up and freeing herself from the ropes.

"We're saving you. Let's go." Elira scowled, annoyed at her ungratefulness.

"I had everything under control. I just found our food, and I have an idea where Korra is." Ikki explained, picking up the sack of food.

"You do? Then let's get going!" Jinora declared

"Hold on" Ikki turned and placed a snack on the knees of the soldiers who were still sitting against the wall. "Sorry, my brother and sisters knocked you out. Nice chatting with you!"

"Ugh ... Macaroon ..." The second guard muttered unconsciously as the airbender family turned and left. The sugar glider squeaked and flew after them, landing on Ikki's head.