They soared on Pepper, Jinora's adorable young sky bison that made a strange purring sound whenever Jinora scratched behind her ears.
"So, let's get something straight Korra." Ikki said, the wind blowing her hair into her face. "You and Asami, are going to get married?
Korra looked at Asami weakly who smiled reassuringly and nodded, reaching out for Korra's hand and grasping it firmly.
"That's right, Ikki." Korra said proudly.
"Aw! That's so sweet!" Ikki gushed. "Can I be your maid of honor? What color are you going to wear? It's like my big sister is getting married! I'm so happy for you two!"
Korra felt herself blush and knew her face was turning a shallow shade of scarlet like it had when she had first reunited with Asami.
"Hey, big sister here." Jinora reminded Ikki. "But why are we going to your home? Are you getting married there?" Jinora shouted to Korra from atop Pepper's head who roared in agreement.
"I just need my parents to know." Korra said. It would be the first time she saw her parents since she left the Southern Water Tribe under false pretenses to train.
She didn't know how her parents would react. Being the Avatar, her parents hadn't taken the time to really think about Korra's relationships like some other Water Tribe parents used to. The typical young Water Tribe girl would be set up with a future husband from as young as twelve.
This was certainly a first for the Water Tribe.
A part of her didn't care about how they would react. It was Asami who actually had willed Korra to tell her parents about their future together.
"Korra, at least you have parents you can talk to." Asami had said. "I'd give anything to talk to my mom again. And my dad, well, I can't ever trust him again."
"If I tell my parents about us, you should tell your dad to." Korra relented.
Asami looked conflicted, then gave in. "I guess. Maybe. I will eventually Korra. I promise."
Korra knew Asami never broke her promises. So that was that.
"Hey Korra?" Ikki's voice teased. "Are you day-dreaming?"
Asami smiled at the young airbender. "I guess she is."
Korra looked away sheepishly.
"Uh, you guys aren't going to start making out are you? Because if you are, me and Ikki can leave you two alone." Jinora called back. "Pepper can fly you two over and we'll come back later."
"Hey! I don't want to miss this! I need to see this. And besides, this will be a good experience for when you and Kai go to dad!" Ikki retorted.
Jinora fell silent. "There's nothing going on between us!" She replied.
"Oh yeah right, Jinora" Korra teased "It's so obvious!"
"Wait, Korra. I think she's serious." Asami stopped her. "Jinora? Jinora, do you want to talk about it? We're all girls here. You can trust us."
"Tell Ikki to go away." Jinora said, her voice heavy
"Ikki." Korra said.
The girl was furious. "Why? I'm old enough! I'm 12 now!" Nevertheless, she got up, muttering to herself about getting her own sky bison and jumped off Pepper, extending the wings of her flight suit.
"She'll be alright." Korra assured Asami.
They turned their attention to the oldest child of Tenzin.
"Jinora? Come on back here, Pepper can fly herself for a while." Asami called tentatively.
Jinora turned around. Her face was a mess. Tears were falling down her eyes and her face was flushed a deep red.
"Jinora! What's wrong? What did he do to you?" Korra said, raising her voice.
'He didn't do anything." The girl cried. "II told him that I loved him and he said he wasn't sure he loved me."
"Well that doesn't sound so bad." Asami said, trying to cheer the poor girl up. "What happened Jinora?" She reached out, bringing the master airbender into a hug.
Korra put her hand on Jinora's shoulder.
"It's nothing. It's just stupid. Before we left, Meelo my stupid brother told me that he heard Kai say to Ikki that he hated me and was sick of how clingy I was. II knew it wasn't true, but a part of me wondered, what if it was? Andand seeing you two togetherit just made me so happy and sad at the same time. Happy, because I love you both and you're like big sisters to me. Sad, because a part of me believes that I won't find someone like how you two found each other." Jinora broke down and buried her head into Asami.
Korra faced Jinora gently towards her. "Jinora. You're amazing. Don't you ever forget that. It's Meelo. Meelo say stupid things all the time, you know that. He once said he was the Fire Lord remember?"
Jinora sniffled and nodded. "Yes."
Feeling more confident, Korra continued. "And me and Asami, we didn't find each other for a long time Jinora. If Kai is the one for you, you'll know. If he isn't, you'll know to."
Jinora sat up and asked quietly. "But how will I know?"
Korra didn't know. She looked to Asami for help, who quickly understood.
"You'll know because you'll be happy. He'll respect you for the wonderful person you are. He'll love you on your good days and on your bad days." Asami added helpfully.
Jinora smiled sadly, wiping her face. "Thank you. I love you. Both of you." She pulled both girls into a hug.
Suddenly, Pepper roared.
A girl's voice interjected, "Wow big sister, I never knew you were so emotional." Ikki stood on Pepper's head with her arms crossed.
"Ikki!" Korra, Asami and Jinora shouted at her.
"I know, I know, I'm too young and I shouldn't have been listening in on your conversation. Just listen Jinora and listen fast because I'm gonna tell you everything." Ikki took a deep breathe and said, almost as if reciting. "Kai loves you and he's just too much of an air-head to tell you that directly he told me to tell you that he really likes you, only Meelo overhead us and thought it would be funny to tell you something else that's the real story." Ikki said in one long sentence. "Whoo! That was a mouthful!." She plopped down on Pepper's fur. "Don't make me say it again."
Jinora's eyes lit up in happiness. She jumped off Pepper and flew into the air, screaming "He likes me!" over and over again.
Korra looked at Asami and sighed. "Teenage drama right?"
Asami agreed. "I'm so glad those days are behind us."
"Hey guys! So can I be your maid of honor then?" Ikki yelled.
"No, I'm the maid of honor!" Jinora screamed in response from above.
Korra grabbed Ikki and threw her off Pepper, tossing the reins to Asami."See ya guys later!" She yelled, laughing with joy.
"HEY!" The sisters both shouted, chasing after them.
"Uh, Korra?" Asami said, her green eyes lit up in worry. "I don't know how to drive a sky-bison."
Korra scratched behind Pepper's ear who purred in delight.
"We'll figure it out." Korra reassured her, kissing the genius of an engineer. "You can drive anything."
Pepper rode off in the distance with the two young air benders hot in pursuit.
Next stop: Southern Water Tribe.
