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"Stupid Tree of Time, calling me like that, making me walk all the way instead of transporting me there itself," Korra grumbled, kicking a pebble out of her path as she sluggishly walked, her shoulders slumped.
Truly, this must be the height of indignity the young Avatar had ever faced, out of everything she had faced thus far.
She sighed. Still, she can't complain; after all, it's not like there was some ultimate threat she had to defeat or a spiritual journey she needed to go on to restore her bending... right? This isn't a spiritual journey, is it?
She stopped walking in realization.
...
Oh, Tui and La, it absolutely is.
Korra's hands started to go up to her hair as a growl threatened to escape her throat, but she forced them down, palms facing the ground, with her long exhale, her eyes closed. Okay, so this calling might be leading to spiritual growth; why would she be angry about that? Korra knows herself well enough to know that she still has a long way to go before she can actually be at peace with herself.
"Oh," she mumbled.
This journey is going to help her control her anger.
She's... okay with that.
With a self-assured nod and a small smile, she continued walking, finally arriving at the Tree of Time and promptly sitting at the base of it in lotus style, hands on her knees with her pointer fingers and thumbs pressed together.
"Okay, Tree of Time, what do you have to show me?" she asked out loud, closing her eyes and breathing deeply.
Contrary to what she was thinking, she didn't immediately get bombarded with images, leaving her right eyelid to twitch angrily. She reminded herself to breathe in the positive energy and breathe out the anger. This negativity of hers will leave her closed off, unable to receive messages. She must.. she must..
SHE MUST DODGE!
Quickly rolling out of the way to the left, she opened her eyes to assess the situation- only to realize that there was no attacker to begin with. Only her and her thoughts. The same thoughts that had just betrayed her.
Korra huffed through her nose with red cheeks, crawling on her hands and knees back to the Tree. Thank Tui that she's alone, otherwise she'd never live that down.
Breathing in purposefully once she returned to her meditative pose, she forced herself to let the embarrassment go. "There is no shame in feeling fear," Katara had once said, on one of the days she couldn't get out of bed, having night terrors, "or in regretting the past. Eventually, you will move on from this, and it will only make you stronger."
A shiver went through her, her face gaining a pained expression as the memories washed over her. Amon. Unalaq. Zaheer and the Red Lotus- it's in her fucking spine getitoutoutoutgetITOUT!
She gasped as her eyes shot open, sucking in greedy gulps of air as she realized she had been hyperventilating. Realized she was slumped forward and crying when a tear hit her hand. Realized that she was still not over what had happened with Zaheer and likely never would be.
Eventually, she swallowed the lump in her throat and straightened up after having caught her breath and calmed down. One more try. She'll give it one more try and then leave. And so, she closed her eyes again.
In. Out.
In. Out.
In. Out.
Her body went slack as her spirit left it, but before she could get a chance to wonder why, her surroundings faded away to be replaced with more memories. The fight with Amon and then Unalaq. Zaheer and his cohorts injecting her with platinum- somehow, she remains calm through this particular one. Kuvira's surrender in the Spirit World. Memories of how she's had to struggle and fight, and-
"It's made you strong," Aang's familiar voice says from behind her.
She gasps, turning around instantly and running up to hug him.
He chuckles, easily returning it. "It's good to see you, Korra."
Pulling away from him after an embarrassingly long time in his embrace (somehow, she doesn't feel like he minds), Korra asks, "Was it you that called me here?"
Aang's brow furrows in confusion, which is all the answer she needs.
"Right," she continues, stepping away and running a hand through her hair as she turns to look around- "Where are we, anyway?" It's a good question, considering that 'here' seems to be an empty white void of nothingness, and yes, she knows she's being repetitious.
Aang hums, looking around as well, and when Korra turns to look at him again, he simply shrugs with a smile. She crosses her arms and scowls, making him laugh. "I don't know, but it'll be fun to find out," he says, holding out his hand to the side to gesture at the void.
She sighs, her face smoothing out. "Sometimes I forget how much of a kid at heart you still are, Aang."
His smile slowly turns into a grin, and, immediately, she knows what he's about to do. And yep- he's doing his airbending marble trick again with that open-mouthed grin he does. She rolls her eyes and heads toward him to walk past him, unable to keep the uptick of the corner of her mouth down. Aang sighs, putting the marbles away and catching up with her. For a while, the two walk in silence. It's a comfortable silence, and in a way, she's walking with herself.
Slowly, however, the void changes their forms, or, rather, their ages; Korra returns to seventeen, when she was still arrogant and stubborn (she kind of still is), whereas Aang goes back to his twelve-year-old self, his old staff bonking him on the head as it materializes out of thin air. Korra snorts, putting her hands on her hips and cocking it to look down at him.
Aang picks up the staff and holds it steadily as he straightens with a raised eyebrow.
"Finally, you get to look up at me for a change," she taunts with a smirk. He doesn't rise to the bait, but that's fine. "Gotta say, I've never realized that the arrow stays the same thickness. I thought it thinned out."
"Oh, that?" He reaches up to touch the tattoo, and, Tui and La, he sounds young. The world depended on a kid to end the Hundred Year War? "Yeah. The monks said it represented the strength of my kindness." Letting his hand fall, he gestured for them to keep walking. For a second, Korra thought she saw a look of old regret on his face, but it was gone the moment it came.
"Really? What do the other ones mean?"
"The ones going to my hands remind me to lend help where possible and with patience, and the ones on my feet remind me to stay grounded, which," Aang stroked his chin in thought, "I suppose I should have remembered that during the war." He stopped and grabbed Korra's hand, having her drag a fingertip up his spine. "All of them are connected to a line running down my spine, and it signifies that all life is sacred and all things lead to kindness," he explained, and by the end of it, Korra's finger was at the top of his head.
Her eyes were wide with wonder, her lips slightly parted, as she drew her hand back.
Korra thought on that for a moment.
Yeah... this is why she was called here. This is what will help her control her anger.
Aang gave a knowing and warm smile. "You're ready."
She breathed in deep and nodded gratefully, sitting down in her meditative pose, Aang following suit soon after with his staff laid across his lap. This time, as Korra shut her eyes and began breathing deeper and deeper, she wouldn't be alone. She realized that she never truly was.
This time, it worked.
This time, it felt like something unlocked inside her, something that made her shudder and shiver and whimper and cry as it released, but once it was gone, she felt leagues better.
Dimly, she was aware that her spirit had been sent back to her body, which she was also faintly aware was leaning against the Tree of Time, her hands in her lap. She breathed in and sighed in contentment.
"Thank you," she whispered, awkwardly reaching up and behind herself to pat the tree.