Winding Legacies: A 'The Legend of Korra' Rewrite

Episode 9: The Stakeout Part 1

Earth

Fire

Air

Water

Only the Avatar can master all four elements and bring balance to the world

THIS JUST IN:

Zaheer infiltrated Zaofu and attempted to kidnap the Avatar. After a tough battle, she was saved, only to discover a dark secret: Aiwei, Suyin's trusted adviser, has been working with the Red Lotus the entire time. The truth seer turned traitor managed to escape with Zhu Li and Zai as hostages, but Su tasked Team Avatar with tracking him down. The hunted has become the hunter as Korra and her friends desperately search for Aiwei as he looks for answers of his own.

None of them wanted to make camp for the night, but they would be no use to anyone if they were running on no sleep. Suyin packed them sleeping bags, and they curled around a makeshift fire they'd pulled together from tumbleweeds and rocks—there wasn't much else in the deserted lands they'd followed Aiwei into.

Korra leaned into Naga's side, letting her steady breath calm her as she watched Lemaya's eyes dance in the light of the fire she was staring at rather intensely. It seemed like a poor moment to think it in, but she looked beautiful, and part of Korra wished they were somewhere far away from everything, back to what they had been before.

While they hadn't been together, Lemaya wasn't being pulled into such dangerous situations as random kidnappings and attacks every other day. As much as Korra enjoyed being with her, she would much rather have Lemaya safe than anything.

Even if it meant not reminding her of how much she cared.

If her family member had just been taken, she would have wanted nothing more than to just hear those three words from Lemaya. And though Lemaya wasn't her, Korra wished that she could even give her those words, but she couldn't. Not when so much came with them.

Lemaya knew how she felt, she'd said it before. Things were different now, though, and Korra worried that she wouldn't be able to say them again without being terrified at the thought that at any moment she could lose Lemaya in a worse way than they lost Zhu Li and Zai.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked Lemaya to keep her mind off of her own dark thoughts.

"I was just thinking about the last time I saw Zai before..."

Lemaya sucked in a breath. Korra scooted closer to her and let Lemaya rest her head on her shoulder. "What were you guys doing?"

"Literally nothing. I think I originally came to ask about her and Asami because Asami wouldn't tell me anything. But somehow we got on the topic of Huan and his art, and then I was thinking about those awful paintings I used to make around the time she first came to stay in the Southern Water Tribe." Korra snorted.

"Those were really bad."

Lemaya shoved her as a smile graced her lips. It felt unusual after everything that had happened, but she didn't mind. Not when it was because of Korra. "Speaking of my dark painting days, I totally forgot about that jewelry box you gave me until you mentioned something about one earlier."

"Ouch." She turned to Lemaya and mulled over whether or not she should say anything else. If she was being honest, she didn't mind Lemaya forgetting about it.

"You found those hidden notes rather quickly," Lemaya said into the silence, breaking her gaze from the fire. She flickered her eyes over Korra's face and wondered what was making her face all scrunched up like it was. "What? Am I going to find something you don't want me to if I do that same trick to my jewelry box?"