Kapitel 8: Maintaining the Balance: Ch. 8
Though her decision was opposed by many of the Elders, Katara's status as Grandmaster and wife of the previous Avatar gave her a lot of leeway regarding the way Korra was raised. The only people who had even more influence than her were Senna and Tonraq, Korra's parents.
As uncomfortable as Kahn made her feel, Senna couldn't dispute he had Korra's best intentions in mind. He also promised he would never try and take her away, so, as the months turned into years, Senna slowly grew to accept Kahn's presence around her daughter. At the very least, she knew he would never go out of his way to harm her.
With Senna supporting Katara's decision, the only person that could have opposed it was Tonraq. However, due to the sudden disappearance of his brother, Unalaq, he was effectively forced to take over as Interim Chief of the Northern and Southern Water Tribes.
Tonraq was resistant to the idea at first but eventually accepted after discussing the matter with his wife and the members of the Southern Water Tribe. They were hoping he could ease the tensions between the North and the South, so, after a short stay in the White Lotus compound, Tonraq moved to the North Pole to take over as Chief and help look after Unalaq's orphaned twins, Deska and Eska.
With Tonraq preoccupied with hew newfound duties and responsibilities, he had little time to concern himself with the specifics of Korra's training. He also didn't share his wife's sentiments regarding Kahn. The latter had risked his life to come to their aid, so while he did find Khan to be a little strange, Tonraq was content knowing the mysterious youth was willing to put his life on the line to protect Korra.
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Opening his subtly glowing eyes, Kahn was unsurprised to find Korra lying on her stomach, legs kicking, and arms supporting her head as she stared at him with a mischievous smile on her face.
Suppressing a sigh, Kahn reached for the mirror he kept next to his futon before raising his brows when he noticed there were no markings on his face.
"Did you suddenly grow a brain...?"
Unamused by Kahn's quip, Korra turned to the side before sweeping her legs like a breakdancer. The action caused a whip of wind to impact Kahn, but instead of injuring him or damaging his surroundings, it simply pushed him to his feet as Korra replied, "Did you forget what day it is? I shouldn't have to come and get you every morning."
Tilting his head to the side, Kahn pretended as though he was trying to recall something. This prompted Korra to ball her tiny hands into fists, but before she could lash out and lay waste to his bedroom, Kahn nodded his head in the direction of his closet, saying, "Check near the back."
Though she briefly squinted her eyes in Kahn's direction, Korra quickly regained her characteristically bubbly smile as she practically pranced over to the storage closet. After searching for ten minutes, however, she burst out of the closet with an angry expression on her face, screaming, "You tricked me...!" to an empty room.
Thinking that Kahn couldn't have gotten far, Korra wiped away the tears building in the corners of her eyes before charging out of the room like a Snow Leopard Caribou in search of its prey. She refused to believe Kahn had forgotten her special day, so, thinking he was playing a prank on her, Korra did her best to stay positive.
Fortunately, Korra's guess was correct as the moment she reached the exterior of the small compound that served as Kahn's abode, she found the hateful youth waiting for her with Polar Bear Pup panting excitedly at his side.
"Happy Birthday, Korra."
Rubbing away some fresh tears, Korra tried to force herself to appear angry but couldn't keep a smile from her face. She began to run toward Kahn with the intent to tackle him, but, before she was able to, the latter gave the Polar Bear Pup a light nudge. In response, it charged forward and pounced on Korra, eagerly licking her face as she laughed and tried to avoid its tongue.
Seeing the oversized pup smothering his childhood friend, a faint smile developed across Kahn's face. He had no way of setting in motion the events that led the original Korra to encounter the Polar Bear Pup that would eventually become her companion and mount. Thus, for the past six months, he had been sneaking out and befriending the local Polar Bear Dog population.
Polar Bear Dogs were challenging to care for, but they were a friendly and easily domesticated species. So long as you provided them with delicious food, they would typically follow you faithfully for the rest of their lives.
By befriending a few of the pregnant Polar Bear Dogs, Kahn was able to take away one of their runts without much of a fuss. After that, he asked Katara and Senna for permission to give it to Korra as a gift before hiding it away in one of the White Lotus's kennels. They reared a few Polar Bear Dogs as sledding animals so they could easily accommodate an extra pup or two.
The sneakiest thing about Kahn's arrangement was that Korra spent a lot of time playing with the Polar Bear Dogs. In other words, she had already been playing with the pup for the past three-and-a-half months. She even begged her mother to let her keep it but was shot down time and again on the grounds she was too young to have a pet.
Now that Korra had turned eight, officially old enough to start her training, she was finally old enough. At the very least, that was one of the excuses Kahn gave when he showed up and practically coerced Senna and Katara into letting Korra keep Naga, the name she had chosen for the Polar Bear Pup, as a pet.
After freeing herself from beneath Naga, Korra's expression was all smiles as she asked, "Does this mean what I think it does?"
Holding up his hand in a stopping gesture, Kahn said, "First of all, I can do without you pouncing on me. Secondly, yes. From today onward, Naga is yours. I al-"
Ignoring Kahn's opposition, Korra tackled him with all her might before causing him to tense like a statue with a kiss on the cheek. Then, with a cheeky smile on her face, she said, "You should see your face right now. You look even dumber than usual."
Pushing the mischievous girl off of him, Kahn rose to his feet with a blank expression on his face, whispering, "You shouldn't have done that..." in a tone too quiet for Korra to hear due to her laughter.
Shaking his head, Kahn looked towards one of the towers where a group of Sentries was keeping an eye on him. It had been more than two years since the beginning of his stay in the compound, but the White Lotus still didn't trust him. Not because he hadn't done anything untrustworthy, but because he consistently refused their requests to pass on his knowledge or obey their instructions. When it came to Secret Societies, anyone who didn't respect their hierarchy and rules was a potential enemy.
Noticing where Kahn was looking, Korra sat up in the snow, asking, "Is something the matter, Kahn?"
Returning his attention to Korra, Kahn surprised her quite a bit by smiling as he said, "No. Just a trivial annoyance. Now then, shall we head over to your place? I imagine the others are already waiting for us."
Staring at Kahn's proferred hand, Korra briefly hesitated before accepting his help in rising to her feet. She hated when Kahn acted all mysterious, but after discussing it with her mother and Katara, she found out he only did it to protect her.
Korra didn't like it, but she had come to accept that until she was strong enough to protect others, she was the one being protected. She had tried to defeat Kahn countless times, but he was always the one helping her up and teaching her new things. Thus, while she wasn't all that excited about having less time to play, Korra had been looking forward to her training.
Adopting a severe expression that didn't suit her young face, Korra stated, "Just you wait, Kahn. Once I master the elements and learn how to control the Avatar State, you won't be able to keep secrets from me anymore..."
"..."
Though he would usually dismiss Korra's words as her usual bravado, the kiss she had planted on his cheek was still fresh in Kahn's mind. He knew she had developed a crush on him, but he hadn't expected her to exhibit the signs of her growing affection so early. At this rate, there was a good chance that Korra would actively confess to him long before they left the South Pole.
While others in his situation may have been beside themselves with glee, Kahn had always viewed Korra more as a daughter than a potential love interest. In fact, he wasn't even sure he understood what love was. The knowledge and information stored within his mind didn't exactly provide a roadmap to understanding the complexities of human emotion.
Unable to think of anything more profound, Kahn averted his eyes from Korra's intense gaze, whispering, "Do what you want..." in a standoffish tone. Despite this, a massive grin developed across Korra's face as she gave him a not-so-gentle punch in the arm and declared, "Don't look so glum! Once I become strong enough, I'll be the one to protect you. Then you can spend all your time cooking, cleaning, and reading! Just leave all the fighting to me...!"
Resisting the urge to ask when he had been relegated to the position of a wife, Kahn just shook his head before attempting to liberate his hand from Korra's. In response, she squeezed his hand like a vice before adopting a toothy grin before pulling him along and shouting, "Come on, Naga~!" in a sing-song tone.
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Hearing the report of his Sentry, the Leader of the White Lotus, an elderly Waterbender with a round figure, balding head, and a full beard, couldn't help exhaling a sigh.
"I knew something like this would happen when that boy appeared out of thin air..."
Shaking his head, the Leader, known to his comrades as Master Tianshu, dismissed the Sentry before reaching into his drawer to pull out a brush and an expensive piece of parchment. Instead of dipping the brush into the ink well, however, he took a moment to reconsider his actions.
In the final few months of Aang's life, Master Tianshu was the one tasked with recording and carrying out his last will and testimony. This included a set of detailed instructions on how to train and, more importantly, protect the next Avatar.
Prior to his death, Aang had concluded that the Avatar Cycle was nearing the end of its usefulness as the lynchpin sustaining the balance between the humans and the Spirit World. He had worked tirelessly to ensure that the absence of an Avatar would no longer place the world in jeopardy. To that end, he asked that the Order of the White Lotus keep the next Avatar safe, secure, and, most importantly, away from the developing politics of Republic City.
After observing the impact he had on Republic City, Aang had concluded that an Avatar should never be directly involved with the administration or politics of any nation. For the sake of ensuring their neutrality, they should be kept far away from such things until they had fully matured and gained at least a basic mastery over the four elements. Before then, it was simply too dangerous, for themselves and others, to let them roam freely.
What Aang hadn't accounted for was the interference of his wife. Katara had always been the more sensible of the two, so, while she wanted to respect her husband's decision, she also knew that Aang had begrudged the Elders of the Northern Air Temple for deciding his fate and forcing him to train. She didn't want to see Korra forced into a similar situation, so the moment Kahn appeared, Katara used his presence as a justification to let matters take their course.
Recalling his many conversations with Katara over the past two and a half years, Master Tianshu breathed an exasperated sigh before setting aside his quill and reclining in his chair. Aang had repeatedly emphasized during his final testimony that Katara and the new Avatar's parents had the final say in their child's rearing. Thus, rather than penning a letter to inform Tonraq that his daughter was being 'stolen' from him, Master Tianshu just closed his eyes and muttered, "Let's just hope Master Katara knows what she's doing..."
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
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Rangliste 
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Stein