Maintaining the Balance: Ch. 15

"Kaaaaaaaaahn-!"

Without waiting for a response, Korra used her Waterbending to create a large, circular hole in Kahn's wall. The latter immediately awakened, but upon seeing Korra with glowing eyes, he was too taken aback to avoid the prison of frozen earth that spontaneously formed around him.

"Don't even think about running...!"

"..."

Instead of responding to Korra's words, Kahn closed his mouth and just stared back at her with a patient, unperturbed expression on his face.

Seeing Kahn sitting calmly despite his circumstances, the vibrant blue glow gradually faded from Korra's eyes. Her anger was still present, but it took a back seat to other, far more complicated emotions as she inquired, "Why...?"

Inhaling a deep breath, Kahn paused for a brief moment before closing his eyes and answering, "It's because there are still things I don't know. If I'm going to protect you, I need to see and experience more of the world."

Ignoring the majority of what Kahn said, Korra demanded, "How are you planning to protect me if you're not even around?"

Under normal circumstances, Korra would have insisted she didn't need the protection of anyone. Her young mind hadn't reconciled the fact that Kahn wouldn't be disappearing off the face of the earth. All she knew was that he was going away, and as far as she was concerned, that was pretty much the same thing.

Exhaling a sigh, Kahn was about to answer Korra's question when Katara suddenly entered his room, asking, "What's going on in here? Korra...?"

Tensing due to the sudden presence of an adult, Korra habitually looked toward the hole behind her. To her surprise, Katara didn't seem to notice it, her elderly face softening into an understanding smile as she remarked, "I see...I take it your mother informed you of Kahn's departure?"

Nodding her head, Korra's expression formed into a pout as she directed a 'hateful' glare towards Kahn. He had spent the last three and a half, nearly four years reiterating that he would always be around to protect her. Now that he was suddenly leaving, she felt betrayed.

Fortunately for Kahn, Katara and the other adults had already discussed what they would say when, not if, Korra threw a tantrum.

"You've misunderstood the situation, Korra. Kahn isn't leaving of his own accord. We asked him to go."

Directing her glare towards Katara, Korra's eyes began to emanate a faint yet noticeable glow as she exclaimed, "You did what!?"

As she hadn't seen Korra tap into the Avatar State previously, Katara was more than a little surprised to see the tell-tale glow in her young protege's eyes.

"Korra!!"

Hearing Kahn raise his voice for the first time in her life, Korra startled before turning towards him with a confused expression on her face and asking, "Kahn...?"

Though he was trapped up to his neck in an earthy prison, Kahn managed to appear serious as he said, "I'll be waiting for you in Republic City. Once you've mastered the elements of Earth, Water, and Fire, come and find me on Air Temple Island. Show me how strong you'll have become..."

Furrowing her brows, Korra balled her hands into fists as she asked, "Are you saying this is a part of my training? Is that why you're leaving?"

Closing his eyes, Kahn answered, "Think what you will. I just wanted you to know that I'll be waiting..."

Inhaling a deep breath, Korra looked as though she was moments away from blowing her top. Instead, her expression became progressively more severe until she finally asserted, "Fine. Go to Republic City and wait. Just know that when I find you, I'm going to beat you until your face looks like a rooster pig's."

Squinting his eyes, Kahn further aggravated Korra's competitiveness by calmly stating, "I'm certain you'll try. Whether or not you can is another matter entirely."

"Why, you...!"

Angered by Kahn's words, Korra threw a right hook that sent the wat

er in one of the nearby vases snaking towards him. Before it could smack him in the face, however, Katara waved her hand, redirecting the attack as she said, "Attacking a 'defenseless' opponent isn't something an Avatar ought to do. Remove the earth prison and apologize for breaking through Kahn's wall. After that, he can walk you home. Given how early it is, I'm guessing you ran out in the middle of breakfast."

Puffing out her cheeks, Korra was seriously tempted to tell Katara to mind her own business. Instead, she slumped her shoulders, grumbling, "Okay, Gran Gran..." in a defeated tone.

Nodding her head in approval, Katara turned to leave, saying, "Tenzin and his family will depart in three days. You have free time until then."

Though she was a little slow at times, Korra understood what Katara was trying to say. She had three more days to spend with Kahn, so, while she was still more than a little annoyed by his coming departure, she promptly lowered the earth prison, pulled Kahn to his feet, and asserted, "Let's go! I'm going to convince my mom to let you stay over. You can't say no. Got it!?"

Rolling his eyes, Kahn was about to refuse when Korra used her ultimate weapon against him. Tears began to build in the corners of her pale-blue eyes as she pursed her lips into an adorable yet aggressive-looking pout.

"Fine. But no matter what you say, I'm not going into the steam bath with you. I don't care how curious you are..."

Clicking her tongue, Korra used her immense strength to drag Kahn out of the hole she created earlier. Then, with a stomp of her foot, a slab roughly the size and shape of the hole popped up to close it like a cork. It was far from perfect, but it was a good starting point for future repairs...

...

..

.

After a borderline traumatizing three days, Kahn practically collapsed after the takeoff of Oogi, the Flying Bison used by Tenzin and his family.

"You okay, Can?"

Seeing Kahn fall over, the three-year-old Jinora, a young girl with dark light skin, brown eyes, and brown hair that framed her face, crawled over to check and see if he was okay. It was possible to stand on the back of a Flying Bison while they were moving, but it was ill-advised unless you had impeccable balance.

"..."

Ignoring the toddler's attempts to stir him, Kahn remained face-down as memories of the preceding three days washed over him like hot, cold, and sometimes lukewarm water.

Though Southern Water Tribe tradition stated they needed to be fourteen to make such a promise, Korra had forced Kahn to carve a pendant for her from a material known as Ice Jade. She lied to him, saying it was meant to be a keepsake, but Kahn was well aware of what it actually signified. The question was, did Korra?

Using a rudimentary Airbending technique, Jinora made a warm swirl that blew through Kahn's dark-brown, nearly black hair in an effort to comfort him. Her mother, a gentle-looking woman with fair, naturally kind features and asparagus-green eyes, noticed this and couldn't help smiling.

Unlike Senna, Pema, the presently pregnant mother of Jinora and wife of Tenzin, felt no discomfort around Kahn. There were times when he could be remarkably aloof, but he was ultimately a very polite and adorable little boy.

"Jinora, sweetheart, don't bother Kahn if he tells you to leave him alone, okay?"

Hearing his wife's words, Tenzin briefly stopped paying attention to the skies, his expression turning solemn as he spotted his daughter leaning over Kahn with a concerned expression on her face.

Without shifting her attention from Kahn, Jinora responded with a curt, "Okay, mom." before reducing the intensity of her heated swirl.

"Pema..."

Turning to her husband, a knowing smile that didn't quite reach her eyes developed across Pema's face as she asked, "Yes, honey? What is it...?"

"..."

Deciding not to ask if it was such a good idea to let Kahn stay with them, Tenzin returned his gaze to the front. He wasn't exactly in favor of it, but he decided to take solace in the fact that Korra, very clearly, had a crush on Kahn. There was also a six-year age gap between them, so even if his eldest daughter did start crushing on Kahn, Tenzin didn't think it would be an issue.

Willfully ignoring the fact he was fifteen, nearly sixteen years older than his wife, Tenzin deflected, asking, "How are you feeling? Do you need an extra blanket?"

Rolling her eyes, Pema's response was to lean against Tenzin with a smile on her face. She knew exactly what Tenzin was concerned about, but, as a serious adherent of the Air Nomad way of life, she chose not to concern herself with the matters of another's heart. If two people genuinely fell in love, the only people that should have any stake in their relationship were themselves. If she had listened to the words others used to deter her, she wouldn't be married to Tenzin right now.

Unaware of what his wife was thinking, Tenzin created a swirl of warm air to keep her warm as he gently flicked Oogi's reins and said, "Yip yip, Oogi. Let's speed things along."

"Uwaaaaaaaaaaah~"

As one of the few Flying Bisons that enjoyed racing, Oogi issued a loud roar before kicking his six, three-toed paws in a manner that resembled swimming.

As their name implied, Flying Bisons were six-legged bison that could freely swim through and manipulate the air. Their bodies were covered in shaggy white fur except for an arrow-like strip of brown that ran along the entire length of their body.

While most people believed the Air Nomads had domesticated the Flying Bison, it was more accurate to say the Flying Bison had domesticated the Air Nomads. Humans may have received Airbending from the Lion Turtles, but the Flying Bison were the ones who taught them to utilize it properly. It was for this reason that Master Air Nomads had arrow-shaped tattoos etched onto their bodies. It was to pay homage to the original Masters of the art, the magnificent creatures that had inspired their entire culture...

...

..

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Though Flying Bison were one of the fastest methods of transport, their top speed was around 120km/h. They could also only fly around ten hours a day with ample food and water, so, with Republic City being just under 4,000km away, the trip took four days.

After recovering from his slump, Kahn figured he might as well get a jump start on Jinora's training. Sitting in Oogi's carrier for ten hours a day could be incredibly dull, so, as the only other kid present, Jinora hadn't stopped pestering Kahn since the outset of their journey.

Fortunately, Jinora wasn't your average three-year-old. She exhibited the signs of a remarkable intellect and was already well into her training as an Air Nomad. She was intimately familiar with the concept of meditation and demonstrated an appetite for knowledge comparable to Korra's interest in Bending.

Due to his ability to answer virtually any of her questions, Jinora began viewing Kahn as a veritable fountain of knowledge. He even knew things about the Air Nomads that her father was completely unaware of, so, for the duration of their journey, she could be seen following him around like a Turtle Duckling trying to keep up with its mother.

Near the start of their journey, Tenzin couldn't help worrying about his daughter. As a result, he would use an advanced Airbending technique to listen to what Kahn was teaching her. To his surprise, Kahn was a lot more patient and insightful than he expected. Whenever he lectured Jinora, he never raised his voice, and, even when she interrupted him in the middle of an explanation, he never lost his calm. Instead, he would wait for her to finish expressing her concerns or explaining what she knew before doing his best to clear up any confusion.

Simply put, Kahn was a much better teacher than Tenzin initially gave him credit. It was no wonder Korra was on the verge of mastering three of the four elements by the age of nine. She had a walking, talking encyclopedia of ancient knowledge to support her...