The Girl After

Chapter 23

"You need to train," said Tenzin. "Your grandmother was kind enough to allow you to stay here so you could train with Korra instead of taking you back to the Fire Nation."

"I didn't ask for that," I replied, burying myself under the covers of the bed and covering my head with the pillow. "I don't want to train. Just leave me be."

He huffed and grumbled something to himself. A gust of wind tossed me out of the bed and onto the floor with a hard thud. "You may not see it now, Leinani," he sighed, "but this is a blessing." With that, he turned and left the room. I stayed and the floor and glared after him. He had a point though. Gran Gran would've forced me to resume living in the palace with her and the others. No matter how much I disliked the Avatar and her little sidekick (especially the little sidekick), I wouldn't allow myself to live there again. Being referred to as "Princess Leinani" was not on my bucket list. The sudden bending, however, was still highly resented.

I sighed and stood up. I walked out of the room in my pajamas with no real destination. I just needed to walk. I needed to think everything through. Uncle Sokka would sometimes tell me stories about this assassin that he had named Combustion Man and how he had the ability to blow things up with his mind. I cringed at the thought of being able to do that.

"Leinani? Is that really you?" Bolin's voice called out. He gasped. "It is you! Nani!" He ran forward and crushed me in a big hug, lifting me off of my feet and twirling in a circle. Once I was set back on my feet, he looked at me with wide eyes. "Why didn't anyone tell me that you were awake? Master Mika and Master Saki wouldn't let me come see you more than once, and I—"

"Bolin," I interrupted, putting my hands on his chest, "breathe."

He obeyed, inhaling and exhaling deeply. The moment he was relatively tranquil, he asked, "How long have you been....you know?"

"A few days?" I shrugged. "Maybe a week. It's been kind of eventful since I've woken up. A lot has changed..."

"What do you mean?"

I shook my head. "It isn't important. Where is Dakota? What happened after she bloodbent me?"

He frowned. Something told me that they hadn't spoken after what happened, and, if they had, it wasn't a pleasant exchange. "She ran away," he replied. "We aren't sure where she went yet." He paused. "Before that happened, you came in saying that you needed to talk to me. It sounded urgent."

"Oh, right! Right!" I accidentally yelled. I lowered my voice. The memories came flooding in, making me trip over my words. "While we were at the South Pole, I-I saw something. I-I was drawn to this... this igloo. When I went in there, I-I got these visions. These visions! They were so weird! Gran Gran was there, but she wasn't old. She was bloodbending! Gran Gran was bloodbending, Bo! A-A-And, and..."

Bolin chuckled. He held my face in his hands and squished my cheeks so that I couldn't speak anymore. "Leinani," he said, "breathe. That sounds like a story you need to be calm enough to tell. How about we get some tea, and you can start from the beginning. Maybe Tenzin can give you some insight."

"Don't make me sound hysterical, Bolin!" I snapped and pulled his hands away from my face.

"You're not hysterical, Nani," said Bolin, sympathetic. "I know you're not, but I don't have the answers for you. Your best bet is to talk to Tenzin or Korra about the visions. Or your grandmother." When I frowned, he added with a goofy smile in attempt to lighten my mood, "In the meantime, Asami and Mako will be thrilled to know that you're okay. Let's go see them!"

I was technically under lockdown, by orders of my grandmother. I was to remain on the isle and under the watchful eye of the adults. But when have I been one to heed warnings? Wouldn't it be better to be with a chaperone than by myself anyway? "Okay," I nodded. "That sounds like fun. I can't wait to see them."

Author's Note
It's a short update, sorry! More to come!