I have a message from another time...

                      Eyrie Productions, Unlimited
                                presents

                 UNDOCUMENTED FEATURES FUTURE IMPERFECT
                    - SYMPHONY OF THE SWORD No. 5 -

             SUITE FOR TRINITY AND AVATAR (THE DIQIU SUITE)
              Third Movement: Goodbye and Hello, As Always

                          Benjamin D. Hutchins
                            Philip J. Moyer
                            with Anne Cross

                 (c) 2013 Eyrie Productions, Unlimited


                        THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 2410
                        AIR TEMPLE ISLAND, DIQIU

        Corwin Ravenhair woke up, but remained perfectly still, because
he knew exactly where he was.  The room where he lay was dim but not
dark, the daylight outside diffusing softly through medium-weight window
blinds, and silent but for the soft and pleasant sounds of those who had
not yet awakened.  Corwin didn't even bother opening his eyes at first.
He'd have to do that soon enough anyway.  Right now he was just going to
savor the unique combination of being conscious of his situation and not
actually needing to be yet.
        On some level, he had expected many things about the night that
had just passed to be difficult, or awkward, or logistically complicated
beyond his fatigue-and-stress-diminished capacity to cope with them.  In
practice, though, it had all just been really... quite nice.  There had
been frequent interruptions for routine maintenance, sure, but it was
-still- one of the best nights' sleep he'd had in ages.  He wondered
idly whether - the cosmos being an inherently perverse place - that
meant there was something wrong with him.
        If so, he decided, the hell with it.  Let it be wrong.  If it
was wrong to enjoy lying here in this pleasantly cool, dim space,
wrapped up in bison wool and warmth and love and subtle scents of roses
and cinnamon and human beings, Corwin was reasonably sure he didn't want
to be right.
        Presently the person to his right - technically in front of him,
since he'd turned onto his right side at some point - stirred and made
faint waking noises.  He knew without looking which she would be, from
the sounds and the flatness of the belly under his left hand; but he
opened his eyes anyway, for no better reason than that he wanted to
watch her open hers.
        This Utena Tenjou did a moment later, blinking awake with
something just short of a start.  Corwin watched her clear blue eyes
focus on the unfamiliar ceiling, her face assume a demi-frown of
thoughtful concentration as she considered it; then she blinked again,
turned her head toward him, and smiled.
        "Corwin," she said quietly.  "Good morning."
        "Morning, elskr," he replied, kissing her gently.
        Utena's smile became slightly wry, but also slightly dreamy, as
she lay her head back against her pillow again.  "I don't think I'll
ever get tired of hearing that," she said.
        "That's good," Corwin agreed, "because I plan to keep saying it
for... some time."
        "Get a room, you two," Anthy Tenjou mumbled from the far side of
Utena, but when she raised her own head, she was smiling at them both.
        "Good morning, High Priestess," said Corwin cordially, moving
his hand to place it on her arm where it crossed Utena's chest.  "I
trust you slept well?"
        "Astonishingly well, my Pillar, considering," Anthy replied.
        "OK, the formality is creeping me out a little," Utena observed.
        Anthy chuckled and gave her a kiss.  "Be patient with us, my
love.  It's only the second time we've woken up together!"
        Utena would have replied to that, but before she could do so,
there came a soft sound from the cradle next to the bed, alerting the
three that the newest and smallest member of their household was awake
as well.
        Three-quarters of an hour or so later, everyone was sorted out
and ready to face the day.  Showered and dressed, Utena went and opened
the blinds, flooding the room with daylight and revealing another lovely
day in Yue Bay.  Standing by the sink in the ensuite with the door open,
Corwin finished tending his beard.  This, in its neatness, was
considered a slightly weedy attempt by many of his maternal relations,
but he was simply not up for growing the full Grizzly Adams, even if
either of his ladies would have tolerated it (which he sincerely
doubted).  For their part, Anthy and Annabelle went back to bed -
together, now that they were the only ones in it.
        "So," said Utena.  "Plans for the day?"
        "Well," said Anthy, "you two should get to breakfast.  Annabelle
and I will stay here today, I think.  She's likely to have a busy enough
day without us venturing to the dining hall.  Besides," she added with a
smile, "call me old-fashioned, but I think when a woman has given birth,
she's entitled to spend the next day in bed if she likes."
        Utena laughed.  "I wouldn't presume to argue -that,-" she said,
remembering vividly the ordeal she'd watched her lover endure the night
before.  Anthy had bounced back from it amazingly.  Utena expected that
if -she- had gone through an experience like that, she'd still be a
mumbling wreck the next morning, but here was Anthy sitting up in bed
all bright-eyed and cheery, plainly just taking it easy because she felt
like it rather than because she had no choice.  It was a thing to be
marveled at, and Utena did so as she bent and kissed her.  After a
moment's hesitation, she did the same to Annabelle's forehead, lightly.
She thought the infant looked pleased about that, but she couldn't
really tell.
        Anthy's smile was a little bit gentle as she squeezed Utena's
hand and then let her go.  Their instant's eye contact was all she
needed to convey her understanding of that hesitation - that Utena was
still working on getting her head around the very -concept- that their
family now included a baby daughter, and that Anthy had faith in her
adaptability.
        For his part, Corwin seemed to have no trouble with that.  He
kissed his daughter first, and then her mother, before he and Utena took
their leave, promising to return straightaway after breakfast.
        "You're taking to this incredibly well," she observed to Corwin
as they made their way down the hall.  Taking his hand as they walked,
she laced her fingers with his and added, "I figured you'd be a little
shell-shocked today.  I know I am."
        Corwin squeezed her hand.  "All my panic's on the inside," he
assured her; then, less flippantly, he added, "Though actually, yeah, I
feel pretty good.  I mean, I wasn't sure -how- I'd react, and I think
I'm still loading a bunch of the software patches, but overall?  Not as
unready as I expected to feel."  He grinned wryly.  "That'll probably
change as soon as something doesn't go exactly right."
        Utena laughed and kissed his cheek.  "Don't be so sure.  I've
seen you handle a crisis or two before, remember?  You're gonna be
awesome at this dad thing," she said.
        "So are you," he replied, making her laugh again, as he pushed
open the exterior door with his free hand.
        They had gone perhaps five paces beyond the front door, down the
front steps and onto the path toward the refectory, when it suddenly
dawned on them both that they had just passed a pair of colorful
figures.  Pausing and turning as one, they were faintly surprised to
discover Maki and Izumi, still fully kitted out in their old-fashioned
Kyoshi Warriors dress gear, standing at parade rest on either side of
the door.  As Corwin made eye contact with her, Maki smiled very
slightly, but otherwise didn't move, like one of the famously impassive
Cheltarine Legion guardswomen outside Queen Asrial's palace on Salusia.
        Backtracking to regard her closely, Corwin said, "Have you guys
been out here all night?"
        "Of course," Maki replied.
        "Uh.  Why?"
        "For the honor of the regiment, milord," Maki replied stolidly.
        Corwin eyed her dubiously.  "Maki," he said.
        Maki held the stonefaced pose for a moment longer, then smiled,
becoming much more human.  Taking her cue from her commander, Izumi
relaxed at that point as well, letting a smaller smile come to her own
face.
        "It's a traditional first-night courtesy for the children of
royalty," Maki explained, giving Utena a wink.  "Normally, here on Air
Temple Island, they have the White Lotus sentries for that kind of
thing, but this was a special occasion."
        "Well," said Utena, grinning back, "I think regimental honor has
been satisfied, Commander Maki.  C'mon and have some breakfast with us,
and then you guys can get some sleep."
        "I won't put up a fight about that," said Maki, having to stifle
a little yawn now that she'd stopped holding herself rigidly
expressionless, and the four of them set off for the dining hall.
        The building Corwin and Utena had just left was the last
surprise they had received in their surprise-filled previous evening.
They had vaguely expected, when Korra came to help them relocate from
the Air Temple Infirmary's birthing room to some more suitable sleeping
quarters, that they'd be taken to a room in the quarters usually used by
the married Air Nomads when their endless travels brought them to the
island.  In the event, though, Korra and Ikki had conducted them not to
the married airbenders' quarters, but instead to the big house by the
pond, where once Ikki's father and his family (including the now-aged
master herself) had lived.  After her parents' passing, Ikki's elder
sister Jinora (the Air Nomads' grandmaster) had lived there for years,
until her own children were grown and gone, after which she'd moved to
the smaller quarters in the Air Temple itself where she still dwelt.
        Though no one had lived in Tenzin's house (as everyone still
called it) full-time since then, the Acolytes had maintained it
meticulously all the while, as part of their regular upkeep of the whole
temple complex.  After the fashion of everywhere else on the island
Corwin had ever seen, it was a spartan but beautiful and welcoming
place.  He was surprised that Jinora had given Ikki and Korra
permission to bring them here, given the powerful attachments it must
have for her, however much her airbender philosophy taught her to
release such things.  He hadn't been sure they'd all be quartered
-together,- even tonight; he was still not entirely certain how Jinora
felt about his oddball domestic situation.
        At his questioning look, though, Ikki only smiled and told him,
        "When a powerful enough wind blows, who tries to resist it is a
fool, Corwin.  Your family is a curious one... but there is no doubt in
Jinora's heart now, after seeing you all challenge this great unknown
together, that you are one."  Then, to his fatigue-fogged surprise,
she'd kissed him chastely - but not on the forehead or cheek - and then
gently propelled him through the front door after Korra and the now-
three Tenjous.  "Go and be with them, with her highness's blessing and
with mine.  Good night, Corwin."
        Grandmaster Jinora was, coincidentally enough, the first person
Utena and Corwin saw when they entered the dining hall, followed by Ikki
and their two brothers, all of whom rose from their seats at the head
table and led the Air Acolytes and the younger airbenders in a round of
applause.
        With a blushing smile, Utena held up a hand as if to fend them
off.  "No, please.  Really.  We didn't even do anything."
        "(Speak for yourself,)" Corwin murmured to her as they took
seats by Kaitlyn and Korra at the usual corner table.  "(I did plenty.)"
        "(Pff, your part was months ago,)" Utena replied.  "(And frankly
not that challenging.)"
        Maki snickered quietly, as did Korra and Kate over their morning
tea, having overheard them.  Utena grinned at Maki while Corwin went a
little red and mumbled something about that not having been what he
meant.

        They were late for breakfast, and most of the temple's regular
denizens finished and left shortly after they arrived.  Korra and Kate
stayed with them, lingering over their tea and chatting, while Corwin
and Utena accustomed themselves to the strange notion that not
everything in the world might be about the momentous happenings of the
previous evening.  When they finished eating, they packed the Kyoshi
Warriors off to bed with grateful thanks for their gallant gesture and
hugs for their friendship, then headed back to the house.
        Jinora met them as they emerged from the dining hall.  Utena
wondered whether the airbenders' grandmaster had been waiting for them,
or had artfully arranged her morning's rounds so they would bring her by
this spot at the precise time she calculated they'd be coming out.  She
suspected the latter; the former was far too inefficient for Jinora.
        "Corwin.  Prince Tenjou," said Jinora, saluting them.  "A
moment, if I may?"
        Utena smiled.  "Sure, but please, call me Utena.  We don't need
to be so formal, and besides, I'm really only Prince Tenjou when I'm in
Cephiro."
        Jinora smiled slightly.  "Surely the owner of a truly princely
heart is a prince wherever he... or she... happens to be," she said,
"but thank you, Utena.  I wonder if you think Anthy would be willing to
receive visitors shortly.  Ikki and I would like to call upon the four
of you."
        Utena and Corwin glanced at each other, then turned back to
Jinora.  "I don't think she would mind," Utena agreed, nodding.  "She
was pretty chipper when we left for breakfast."
        "And as for Annabelle," Corwin added with a grin, "I think it
might be a little too early to expect an opinion from her."
        Jinora chuckled.  "Indeed.  In that case, Ikki and I will be by
in... let us say an hour's time."
        "We'll see you there," said Corwin.  As the elderly airbender
walked away, he turned to Kate and said, "How about you?  Ready to meet
your niece?"
        "Of course," said Kate with a smile.
        They were about halfway back to the house when Corwin's omni-
tool phone rang, the generic old-fashioned-phone ring it made when
someone was calling for whom he hadn't set a special ringtone.  Corwin
raised his hand to look at the caller ID, then grinned and keyed open
the link.
        "Hey, Ryo," he said.
        "So listen, Corwin," said Ryo Sato, skipping straight over any
introductory small talk.  "I was just over in Minmin's office, and some
guy from the Tribune had slipped past Security and was trying to get her
to speculate on whether she thought you were going to, and I quote,
'take our Avatar away from us'.  Now, pardon my Kokugo, but what the
-honk,- son?"
        Corwin blinked.  "Do what now?" he said.
        "That's what I said," Ryo replied.
        "Wait a second, -guy- from the Tribune?  Not a woman?"
        "Now don't you go believing my sister when she says I can't tell
the difference," said Ryo mildly.
        "OK, fine, um... hm," said Corwin.  "Gotta level with you, Ryo,
I don't even know what that -means.-"
        "Yeah, well, neither did Minmin," Ryo replied.  "Not that the
guy from the Trib was prepared to take that for an answer.  I had to
show him out before she put a serious hurt on him.  She was starting to
get that twitchy eye thing going on.  You know what comes after that.
Shocky-shocky time!"
        "Hm.  Well, uh, I don't have any idea how I might've managed to
cause -that,- but I'm sorry about it, anyway," Corwin mused.  "Listen,
can you guys get out to Air Temple Island later on?  I can apologize to
Minami in person, and there's somebody here I want you both to meet.  A
couple of somebodies, actually."
        "But certainly, young man," Ryo replied jovially.  "We'll be out
as soon as I can pry my beloved sister's talons from the corners of her
desk.  Ta ta!"
        Corwin closed the connection, then gave Korra a mystified look.
Arching an eyebrow, she shrugged as if to say, "Beats me, man," and they
all continued on their way.
        They arrived back at the house to find that Anthy and Annabelle
were already entertaining guests, in the form of Korra's distant
relative Karana, her professional bending partner Azana, and Anne Cross,
who was Azana's student in firebending and Kaitlyn's in swordsmanship.
When Corwin, Utena, Kate, and Korra arrived, Karana was bending over the
bed to conduct a cheerfully one-sided conversation with Annabelle, while
Azana stood by a trifle awkwardly and Anne watched her with a crooked
little half-smile.
        "Hmm, getting a bit crowded in here," Korra observed.  "Maybe I
better come back later."
        "Don't be silly, Korra," Anthy chided her.  "You're Annabelle's
godmother, your presence is never going to be a problem for her.
Besides," she added with a wry little smile, "this isn't a particularly
boisterous gathering, however many of us there are."  She turned the
smile to her infant daughter and added, "We're all reasonably low-key at
the moment, mm?"
        Korra's grin was a little sentimental as she crossed to the
bedside.  "OK," she said.
        "'Sides, I have to get back to town," said Karana.  "So you can
take -my- place, Gran-gran," she added with a wink.
        "Ehh, I oughta..." Korra mumbled, half-heartedly flourishing a
fist.
        Karana laughed, hooked an arm around the Avatar's shoulders, and
gave her a squeeze, then turned her loose and said, "Bye, all, it's been
real.  C'mon, Pabu.  See you at practice this afternoon, Princess?"
        "Hnh?  Oh.  Sure," said Azana absently, as if jarred out of a
reverie.  "Later, Karana."
        Karana eyed her faintly-puzzled-looking partner skeptically, but
declined to say anything; instead, she tagged Utena's shoulder on her
way past, kissed Corwin on the cheek, and bounded out of the room, fire
ferret on her shoulder.
        "Hm, suspected morning person," Amy Pond observed as she passed
Karana coming in.  Glancing back over her shoulder down the hall, the
Scottish redhead added without rancor after a moment's reflection, "I
think I hate her."
        "Aw, don't hate Karana, she's awesome," Anne chided her.
"Where's Dr. Pond?"
        "Still sleeping it off," said Amy with a grin.  "So.  Any news
from eggland?"
        Sitting in the corner with his feet up on the iron-banded chest
containing his Aunt Matalde's egg, Nall shook his head.  "Nope.
Nothin'."
        Amy's grin slipped slightly; looking a little concerned, she
crossed to him and crouched by the chest as he took his feet off it.
        "I hope nothing's wrong," she said.
        "Nah, she's fine," Nall replied; then, with a sardonic smile, he
added, "She just won't come out.  Claims it's too cold right now and
she's waiting for summer."
        Amy blinked at the chest, then at him.  "Are you messin' with me
now?" she asked.
        "I am not," Nall replied cheerfully.  "Believe me, Mrs.
Williams, when I'm messing with you, you'll know."  He patted the chest.
        "What are you two talking about?" Azana wondered as she and Anne
approached.  "Who won't come out?"
        Nall turned to regard her, then got that twinkly-eyed look Amy
remembered from the train.  "You wanna see?" he asked her.  "It's pretty
good."  At Azana's puzzled nod, he produced the key, unlocked the chest,
and swung it wide.  "May I present my cousin, name as yet unknown," he
said, patting the faintly glowing surface of the egg.
        Azana arched one perfectly shaped eyebrow at him.  "Your...
cousin," she said.
        Nall nodded.  "Daughter of my father's sister," he said.  Then,
drawing himself up grandly, he went on, "Matalde the Red, most dreaded
dragon in Jotunheim."
        Azana didn't quite snort derisively - she was far too well-bred
for that - but she looked as if she might've wanted to.  Instead, she
said slowly, "Your father was a dragon."
        "Yep.  Mom, too.  That's more or less how it works," Nall
explained patiently.  "Anyway, li'l red here, she's supposed to be
Annabelle's childhood companion, like I was for Himself over there," he
added, gesturing to where Corwin sat on the edge of the bed.  "But
evidently she's none too pleased that our girl was born in March and
not, say, August.  Despite our careful packing - " he gestured to the
bed of hot coals in which the egg was nestled, " - she insists she's not
coming out until it's at least 20 degrees warmer."
        Azana eyed him.  "And you know this because... ?"
        "She told me.  We're telepathic in the shell," Nall said.  "With
each other, at least.  It's how we find out where our eggs are, once the
Dreaming is over."
        "I'm completely lost now," Azana admitted, mostly to Anne.
        "OK... short version," said Nall.  "Dragon eggs aren't like, you
know... turtleduck eggs.  They don't hatch after a set time.  Someone -
usually one of the parents, or a dragon priest - sets certain magical
conditions on them when they're laid.  They develop for a year and a
day; after that, the dragon inside is fully formed, ready to take on the
world.
        "Only, if the conditions haven't been met, we don't hatch.
Instead, for however long it takes for our eggs to be ready, we roam the
astral - you guys would say the Spirit World.  We learn things -
languages, history, our culture - from the spirits of our ancestors.  We
call that phase the Dreaming.  Whenever the conditions that were
originally set on our eggs are met - which could be anything from 'let's
give it six months' to 'hatch when the dynasty is threatened' - the
Dreaming ends.  We wake inside the shell, check with anyone who might be
outside, and if we think it's safe, out we come."  He rolled his eyes at
the red egg.  "Usually."
        Azana turned to Anne.  "Do you believe anything this young man
is saying?" she inquired, sounding genuinely curious.
        Anne smiled.  "I've been to his homeland," she said.  "I even
met his uncle Bahamut, the Dragon King."  She nodded to the chest.  "I
was there when Bahamut gave that egg to Corwin."
        Azana looked her student straight in the eye for several long
seconds, her face impassive, and Anne looked right back at her,
unflinching.  (Truth be told, the hardest part about that wasn't not
flinching, it was not -blushing.-)  Then she nodded with a fair-enough
sort of expression, turned back to Nall, and asked, "Would a little
extra heat help?"
        Nall looked puzzled for a second, then grinned.  "Right!  Duh!
Firebender."  He stepped away from the chest and gestured to it.  "Be my
guest!  I mean, worst case, you're not gonna do any -harm.-  As long as
you don't set the house on fire," he added wryly.
        Azana gave him a sardonic smile.  "Please," she said.  "I am a
professional."
        She squared herself up to the chest, closed her eyes for a
moment in concentration, then struck a firebending stance and thrust
both hands forward, playing a concentrated jet of orange-yellow fire
over the surface of the egg.  The eggshell's dull-red glow brightened,
then began to shift to orange.  Azana's eyes flicked questioningly to
Nall; he nodded, so she kept it up, keeping the flame carefully confined
to the space within the chest's opening as she stepped up the intensity
a little more, to a pure, sunlight-like yellow-white...
        ... and the egg cracked with a sound like a rifle shot, drawing
a startled cry from Annabelle.  While her parents reassured her, the
others drew nearer to look.  Azana cut off her stream of fire and
withdrew her hands, then took a handkerchief from her pocket and mopped
the sweat from her forehead as she, like the others, watched the single
crack in the glowing eggshell grow and branch out, spreading in
crackling, percussive jerks as the dragonet within hammered at the
weakened shell.
        "Should we... ?" Azana wondered, but Nall shook his head.
        "Nah, she's got it," he said, a broad grin spreading across his
face as he stood, hands in pockets, and watched his cousin emerge into
the world.
        Anne realized, in that moment, that she had unconsciously been
expecting the new dragon to look like Nall - a creature not unlike a cat
in shape and proportion, but for a pair of feathery wings.  What emerged
from the red egg, though, was nothing like that.  This creature was
perhaps twice as long and very slender, much more serpentine than Nall,
with no real distinction between neck, body, and tail save for the
positioning of four fairly short legs, more like the way dragons were
depicted in Asian cultures.  Her face wasn't catlike either, but nor was
it the face of a Chinese-style dragon; instead, she had the classic
European dragon's head, with muzzle, crest, and a pair of backswept,
gently spiraling horns.  She did have wings, about halfway along her
sinuous length, but they were batlike, not feathered.
        The new dragon finished battering her way out of the shell of
her egg, pushed the remnants aside, and sprawled full-length on the hot
coals in the bottom of the chest, faint plumes of steam rising where
they boiled away the residual egg-moisture clinging to her scales.  In
the bright sunlight streaming through the window, these glittered - not
metallic like Bahamut's scales, but bright and with a curiously
translucent depth.  They were like thousands of minutely tessellated
little jewels, each one a beautiful, rich blood red.
        "... oh," Azana breathed, her amber eyes wide with astonishment.
"-Spirits.-"
        Then, following some ancient cultural precept she might not even
have been consciously aware had been instilled in her as a child, she
fell to her knees before the chest and bowed her head: an instinctive
obeisance to one of the original firebenders.
        A short distance away, Korra glanced at Corwin, her eyebrows
rising.  "(OK, I was impressed when Nall hatched, but -this-... wow,)"
she murmured to him behind a confidential hand.
        "(I know, right?)" Corwin replied, watching the scene with a
fond smile.  "(Fire Nation girls.)"
        Korra blinked, then realized what he was getting at and smiled.
"(Oh yeah, right,)" she said quietly.  "('Course.)"
        Behind them, Utena glanced quizzically from one to the other,
then leaned her head between theirs and whispered, "(You guys are doing
that -thing- again.)"
        "(Remind me, I'll tell you later,)" Korra responded, a
millisecond or two before Corwin could.
        After resting for a few moments, the hatchling dragon stirred,
raised her head, and opened her eyes.  Azana, still kneeling by the
chest, met the creature's gaze with her own, awestruck anew.  The
dragon's eyes, like her scales, resembled gems: they were a clear and
sparkling yellow-gold, like fire opals.
        "You are -so beautiful,-" Azana whispered.
        The dragonet blinked slowly back at her; then the corner of her
mouth quirked in an unmistakable little smile, revealing a number of
very sharp-looking little teeth, and she spoke.
        "I was just thinking the same thing," she said.  Her voice was
mellow and not very loud, like a quiet teenager's - nothing like what
Azana might have imagined the voice of a dragon would sound like, even
if she had been expecting a hatchling to speak at all.
        Receiving no response to her opening foray, the dragon
continued, "Hi."  Then, looking around, she added, "Hmm.  Quite a
crowd."
        Still grinning, Nall looked around at the dumbfounded little
group, winked at Juniper (who seemed as taken by Azana's reaction as by
the hatching itself), then nodded to Amy and said, "Mrs. Williams, a
towel, if you please."
        "Huh?  Oh!" said Amy, and she stepped forward with the specified
article.  Nall crouched by the chest and, without regard to the coals,
scooped up the tiny dragon carefully in his hands, then placed her upon
it.
        "Oh hello!" said the hatchling as the young Scotswoman carefully
enfolded her in the towel and started gently rubbing away the last of
the moisture.  "Mmmmm, that's nice," she went on, snuggling down.
Glancing from Amy to Azana and back, she asked, "Are you all like this?
Nobody told me," shooting an accusatory look at Nall with the last.
        Nall smiled and stroked her head.  "Nalliuniqsiutsiarit, little
red," he said fondly.  "We meet at last.  I'm your cousin Nall."
        The dragonet looked puzzled.  "Um, gesundheit," she said, and
then, quizzically, "What kind of a name is Nall?  Can you even write
that in dragonscript?"
        Nall actually giggled at that, for reasons not immediately
obvious to anyone but Corwin.  "I don't use my Draconic Name among
humans," he explained.  "Whether you do is up to you, of course."
        The little dragon frowned thoughtfully.  "Hmm.  Well, people
have to call me -something.-"
        "What about Ruby?" Nall suggested, but his cousin rolled her
eyes at that, emitting a snort that brought with it a little puff of
flame (and a surprised sound from Amy).
        "That's so obvious," said the young red.
        Anne nodded agreement.  "You're a darker red than that anyway,"
she pointed out.  "You're more like a garnet."
        The dragonet turned to regard the young human thoughtfully for a
second, then smiled.  "Hmmmmm.  Yeah.  That'll work."  Then, craning her
serpentine neck in an attempt to look past Azana and Nall, Garnet went
on, "Right, so, where's the baby?  I distinctly remember something about
a baby."
        "Oh.  Right," said Amy.  "Here..."  She carefully crossed the
room, drawing all the others from near the chest along with her like
iron filings after a magnet, then knelt at the bedside.  "Hey,
Annabelle," she said with a quiet smile.  "Here's another new friend to
see you..."
        Garnet wriggled partially free of the towel and reached her
snout toward the infant, who was regarding her with that same look of
intense, vaguely bemused curiosity Corwin had registered the night
before.  The tiny dragon and tiny human examined each other for a few
moments while the adults tried not to crowd around, but watched the
scene intently, some holding their breath without realizing it.
        "Drem yol lok, Sovngardsekiir," said Garnet, her voice hushed
and serious now.  "Zu'u Yolvahlok."  Reaching closer, she touched her
forehead to Annabelle's and went on, "Fen kos hin spaansebriinah."
        Though any of them who knew anything about human newborns was
well aware that it was far too early for that, several of the adults
could have sworn Corwin and Anthy's baby daughter took that intelligence
(whatever it may have meant to one who couldn't speak Draconic) on board
with a certain grave focus.  Then, with a delighted sound, she attempted
(unsuccessfully) to put the dragon's head in her mouth.
        "Ack!" Garnet blurted, twisting away from her human companion's
tiny hands.  As she readdressed her strategy, coiling her body around
the infant's, Korra failed to restrain a giggle.
        "What?" Utena wondered.
        "Oh, just remembering days gone by," Korra replied, casting a
significant glance at Corwin and Nall.  The former coughed, reddening,
while the latter rolled his eyes and took a theatrical half-step away
from him.
        Most of the well-wishers dispersed at that point, congratulating
the new parents one last time and filtering away to various other
pursuits, until the three and Korra were left by themselves with newborn
and hatchling.  As she followed Kate and Anne out, Azana hesitated, then
turned back and lowered herself to one knee by the bed.
        "Aw, are you leaving?" said Garnet drowsily from her new
station.  "I was just thinking I'd like to look at you for maybe a
couple more hours."
        (This time it was Corwin's turn to snort and glance
significantly at Nall, who looked frownily away, and Korra, who giggled
again.
        "History repeating, eh," said Korra, to a nod from Corwin, a
cough from Nall, and a puzzled look from Utena.)
        Azana's cheeks went a bit pink, but she put it aside and bowed
her head again, saying in a reverent murmur, "Thank you, honored dragon.
I'm greatly blessed to have witnessed what I've seen today."
        Garnet smiled lazily at her.  "What's your name?"
        "I'm... My name is Azana."
        "Well, Azana, it was my pleasure, believe me," said the dragon.
"Oh, hey, before you leave - you might like this."  So saying, she
raised her head clear of the bedclothes, drew breath, and then breathed
out a short cone of fire, sparkling and scintillating in a swirl of
colors Anne had never thought of fire coming in.  Watching the scene,
the teenage samurai felt somehow as though she'd just opened a door and
glimpsed a tiny part of the machinery that ran the universe - and Azana,
sitting so near that the flames cast glittering reflections in her eyes,
looked as if the heavens had winked at her.
        Looking at the young firebender's stunned expression, Korra
quipped, "Ah, could someone help Azana get to the ferry, please?"
        "We're heading that way anyway," said Kate, smiling.
        "Yep," said Anne, cheerily taking Azana's arm as her slightly-
dazed-looking teacher rose, stammering out a nearly inaudible thank-you
to the dragon and last congratulation for the others.  "C'mon, Sifu,
this way.  See you guys later!"
        After seeing them off (and Nall and Amy with them), Utena
returned, pulled up a chair next to the bed, and sat down, putting her
feet up on the corner of the mattress.  Corwin had by this time gotten
onto the bed itself opposite her, watching with an enigmatic little
smile as Annabelle and Garnet dozed in Anthy's arms.
        "So," said Utena as Korra sat down Indian-fashion on the foot
end of the bed, "what was the deal with Azana there?"
        "She's a firebender," Corwin and Korra began at the same time.
They glanced at each other; Corwin smiled and made a be-my-guest
gesture.
        "The dragons of this world were the original firebenders - the
beings Azana's ancestors learned the art from," Korra went on after a
moment to regather her thoughts.  "People all over the world have
venerated them for centuries, but in the Fire Nation, before the
Hundred-Year War, they were especially revered.  Rare people - including
my predecessor, Roku - were able to commune with them and have them as
companions, as I've always done with polar bear dogs, like Niri."  She
looked more closely, making sure Garnet was asleep, then sighed glumly.
"Unfortunately, after Roku died, the Fire Nation nearly exterminated
them.  It turned into this bizarre firebending machismo thing during the
war - kill a dragon and prove you're more powerful."
        "What a tragic, senseless thing to do," said Anthy, sounding
faintly shocked.
        Korra nodded.  "Everything Fire Lord Sozin -did- was tragic and
senseless.  He and his son and grandson between them did this world -so-
much harm.  I'm the third Avatar since he came to power, and the mess
still isn't entirely cleaned up.  Hell, it may -never- be, not entirely.
Those guys were special with a capital 'spesh'."  She sighed again.
"Anyway, the -only- reason dragons aren't extinct in Diqiu today is
because certain groups of people who I will not mention by name did
their best to keep the last Firebending Masters alive.  They're still at
the top of the endangered species list.  Even -I- can't get any
information on where they're living now without a damn good reason.
        "The only creature that's rarer than dragons in Diqiu these days
would be lion turtles, but they're in a classification all their own,
and ever since we got global satellite coverage, it's made it easier for
conservationists to keep track of them and to adjust shipping lanes so
they aren't disturbed."  She thought about it for a second, then added,
"Well, lion turtles and Meelo.  There's only ever gonna be one Meelo.
And it's best to keep the shipping lanes away from him, too, but for
different reasons."
        "So watching a dragon hatch was like seeing a vision out of
ancient history," Utena mused.
        Korra nodded.  "More than that, in Azana's case.  She's from the
actual Fire Nation, not descended from colonists or expats, and she
comes from an old, old military family.  Two of them, actually.  On her
mother's side in particular, they've been firebenders for generations -
since -long- before Sozin's time.  She'll have been raised on the
stories of the ancient masters, the adventures of Avatar Roku and Fang,
all that stuff... and been told a thousand times since she was little
that she would never, ever see one alive."
        Utena nodded, understanding, as Korra went on, "And then,
suddenly, she was not just watching, but -helping- one be born.  And in
return, she got a look at the True Fire, which is something maybe a
dozen firebenders currently living have ever seen."  The Avatar grinned,
recovering her good humor at the memory of the look on Azana's face.
"Pretty special day.  I hope Juni-chan's willing to guide her all the
way back to her apartment; left to her own devices, she's liable to
wander in front of a truck or something."
        Corwin snorted; Korra glanced a question at him, and he grinned
and replied, "Uh, I suspect Anne's more than willing to go annnywhere
Azana might need or want to go."
        Utena chuckled and agreed, "Yeah, she goes for the elegant
snappy-dresser type."
        Korra looked none the wiser for a second.  "Uh?  Oh!  Hmm."
Then she shook her head with a little smile and said, "Well, I suppose
that'll be motivational.  Azana will keep it professional, though.
Anne's too young for her anyway."
        "For now," Corwin agreed thoughtfully; then he shrugged and
said, "Ah well, what is is."  He might've gone on, but there was a quiet
knock at the open door just then; looking up, he saw Jinora and Ikki
standing in the doorway, smiling.
        "Good morning, Grandmaster, Master Ikki," said Anthy, gesturing
for them to enter.  "Please, come in.  Excuse us if we don't get up,"
she added with a wry smile.
        "Of course," said Jinora as she crossed the threshold, her
sister right behind her.  "No, please, all of you stay where you are,"
she said as Corwin, Utena, and Korra all made to rise.
        "The Apsara Lama declines to stand on ceremony," said Ikki with
a devilish grin.  "Where's that girl from the Tribune who's been
following you guys around, Corwin?  This is some -real- news for her to
report."
        Jinora shot her younger sister a half-hearted glare, then sighed
and turned back to the new parents.  "I didn't have a chance to extend
them in person last night, but please accept my congratulations," she
said.  "All of you."  Then, smiling in a warmer, more human way than she
had before, she said, "Your daughter's beautiful."
        Corwin blinked to hear someone else pronounce the phrase; Anthy
smiled fondly at her sleeping offspring and agreed, "She is, isn't she?"
        "In olden times," Ikki put in, "there would have been a lot of
drumming and chanting at this point, but do you know, we've found that
such things rather tend to -upset- newborns, so we tend to skip them
these days."
        Utena chuckled.  "Thanks for that."
        Annabelle stirred, half-waking, but it was only to fumble around
until one of her hands found Garnet's smooth, gleaming scales; once
she'd accomplished that, she went almost immediately back to sleep.
        "She's a quiet one, at least so far," Jinora observed.  "That's
unusual for this place.  Even with the drumming and chanting omitted,"
she added with a wry glance at Ikki, "Air Nomad babies tend to be...
loud."
        "I think that's my late mother's gift," Anthy replied.  "For her
people, silence is an important survival skill."
        "Hmm."  The grandmaster lowered herself smoothly into seiza at
their bedside, her movements, as always, betraying no sign of her great
age.  Meeting Anthy's eye, she asked, "May I?"
        "Please," said Anthy, nodding.
        Jinora reached out and very gently touched Annabelle's forehead
with one hand, bowing her own head over the child.  Annabelle stirred,
murmuring, but didn't quite wake as Jinora said softly,
        "Welcome to our world, little one.  Your family is a peculiar
lot to this old woman's eyes, but no one can doubt their love for each
other or for you... and in the end, that is all that matters.  The
blessings of the Air Spirits upon you.  Wherever you go in your life,
whatever you do or see or become, may the wind always bring you home
again."
        After a moment's silence, Corwin said, quietly, "Thank you,
Jinora."
        The elderly airbender smiled at him, knowing that he wasn't just
thanking her for the blessing, but for the remarks preceding it; for
letting them stay in her father's house; for welcoming them to the
island in the first place.  For accepting what was.  She knew all that,
and he knew she knew it; nothing more needed to be said, and so she left
it all unspoken and replied simply, "You're welcome, Corwin."  Then she
turned back and regarded the sleeping infant for a few more seconds, her
expression kindly thoughtful.
        When she rose to her feet, she turned to Korra and asked her,
"Have you told them?"
        Korra blinked at her.  "Told them... ?  Oh!  No.  Uh, sort of
waiting for the right -moment?-" she said, a trifle aggrieved.
        "Moment for... ?" Utena prompted.
        "Your daughter's chi is very strong," Jinora said, which Utena
wasn't really sure was an answer, but seeing Anthy's nod and Corwin's
thoughtful look, she held her peace and let the airbender talk.  "I can
sense it because I've devoted my life to the study of vital energies,
spirit and human alike: how they flow and interact; what we can do with
them and what they do with us."  Nodding toward the Avatar, she went on,
"Korra can sense it because she's the Avatar."
        Korra rolled her eyes and muttered, "(Yeah, no lifelong study
HERE.)"
        Jinora gave her an arched eyebrow and cleared her throat
ostentatiously, then turned back to Anthy and continued, "As -such,- I
think it's very likely Annabelle will be a bender."
        Utena blinked.  "... Uh, how?"
        Jinora shrugged.  "Who knows?  I very much doubt anyone has ever
been born a bender who didn't have at least one parent from Diqiu
before," she went on with an indulgent smile, "but as ever with you
three, it's a brave new world."
        "Do you know what she's likely to be a bender -of?-" Anthy
wondered, regarding her daughter thoughtfully.
        "No idea!" Jinora replied cheerfully.  "It's rather exciting.
She probably won't manifest any really noticeable abilities until she's
at least able to walk."
        "I was four," Korra put in.
        "Yes, but you've always been a slow learner, Korra," said Jinora
with a serene smile.
        Korra half-grinned, half-scowled at her.  "... one of these
days..."
        "You'll stop opening doors for me that way?" Jinora wondered.
"I hardly think it likely."
        Korra raised a finger as if to object further, then subsided
with a muted, wordless noise.
        Ikki slipped up next to her and patted her affectionately on the
shoulder, whispering, "(Welcome to my actual entire life.)"
        "At any rate," Jinora went on to her now-quietly-snickering
guests, "when that stage is reached, be on the lookout for flying
rocks..."
        "Or for bathtime to suddenly become much more interesting,"
Korra noted, her momentary, mostly feigned dudgeon over with.
        Utena looked from one of her spouses to the other, then at their
daughter, then at Jinora, and said a little awkwardly, "Not for the
first time in the last couple of days, I'm... not sure how to react."
        "That's perfectly normal, Utena," Jinora told her kindly.
"Every parent's reaction to this news is unique.  Some are thrilled,
some are scared..."
        "Mine were pleased... sort of," said Korra.  "I mean, they were
happy when I told them I could bend, but Dad was a little nonplussed
when fire was involved."  She chuckled wryly.  "I didn't understand the
look he gave Mom for -years.-"
        It took a second for that to sink in, but they were all still
giggling about it a moment later, when there came another knock at the
door and the tall, elegantly robed figure of Chief Civil Servant Chin
appeared on the threshold.
        "Good morning," he said.  "I hope I haven't come at a bad time."
        "Not at all, Master Chin, do come in," said Anthy.
        Chin beamed at her and bustled into the room.  "Thank you, Lady
Anthy."  Bowing first to her, then to the three women who stood by the
side of the bed, he addressed them politely in turn: "Your Holiness,
Master Ikki, delighted to see you again.  Avatar Korra, I trust you're
well."  Then he turned to Utena and Corwin, his beaming smile unchanged,
and went on, "And our mystery couple, of course.  The Tribune's people
have been badgermoling my staff relentlessly for any information we
might have on you."
        With a twinkle in his eye, he polished his spectacles on an
immaculate red silk handkerchief and continued in a cheerfully didactic
tone, "But, of course, it is the strict policy of the United Republic
Office of Records and Vital Information to disclose nothing whatever
except through proper channels, which they, naturally, can -never- be
bothered to follow; and thus our traditional impasse persists for, I
believe, the one hundred fifty-seventh consecutive year."  He popped the
spectacles back on, folded the handkerchief fastidiously and put it
away, then bent to smile at the baby in Anthy's arms.  "And -this-...
must be Annabelle."
        "Have you come to register her birth record?" Korra inquired.
        "Yes, indeed," said Chin.  "Oh dear, where -are- my manners."
He bowed again, first to Utena, then to Corwin.  "Maximilian Chin
Yongmin XVII, Supreme Civil Servant to Their Excellencies the President
and Senate of the United Republic of Nations and Hereditary Chief
Bureaucrat to the Celestial Emperors of the Western Reaches, at your
service."
        And with that, he removed from his back a dark-stained,
beautifully made wooden pack that turned out to be a sort of portable
secretary with shoulder straps, placed it on the end of the bed, and
began to unpack a surprising amount of kit from within it: documents in
expensive-looking dark card folders, an inking pad and roller, adhesive
wafers, paper-wrapped gold foil, and a pliers-like sealing device.
        Annabelle complied without comment as her hands and feet were
inked, printed, and cleaned with fastidious care by the fussy but
competent hands of the bureaucrat; but even she, the quietest baby the
Central Air Temple had ever seen, drew the line at the blood sample.  At
the sound of her wail, Garnet snapped awake, dismayed to be roused by
sounds of distress.  The little dragon wrestled herself free of the
bedclothes, rearing up in furious confusion.
        "what WHAT I'm AWAKE," she declared, looking around.  Spotting
the startled civil servant bending over her crying charge with syringe
in hand, she recoiled, baring her tiny fangs.  "HAVE AT THEE, VARLET!"
        "Whoa, WHOA, easy there, champ," Utena declared as Garnet spat a
small bolt of fire at Chin.  The bureaucrat jumped back, instinctively
raising his free hand to shield his face with one broad sleeve of his
official tunic.  The fire splashed against the fabric and dissipated,
failing to take hold, as Corwin reached over and pinched Garnet's snout
shut with thumb and forefinger.
        "hrrmmphh mrrrph!" Garnet objected angrily.
        "Uhh... what'd I miss?" asked the voice of Rory Williams from
the doorway.
        "Oh, just Garnet taking exception to official procedure," Corwin
replied, gesturing him into the room with a jerk of his head.  Then,
turning back to the restrained dragonet, he said sternly, "Don't set
government officials on fire."
        "nrrggmph," Garnet growled.
        "Are you all right, Chin?" Korra asked.
        "I'm fine, thank you, Avatar," Chin replied with aplomb.  He
brushed a few traces of soot from his sleeve.  "That was unexpected, but
one is always prepared to deal with obstreperous firebenders in my line
of work."  Bending to address the still-growling Garnet while Anthy
soothed Annabelle, he doffed his cap and went on, "I apologize for
startling you, honored dragon.  Your young friend is quite unharmed, I
assure you.  I had only to cause her a moment's pain.  Regrettable, but
necessary."
        Garnet blinked at him, apparently surprised to be addressed in
such a cordial fashion.  Corwin released her snout with a warning look,
whereupon she shook her head, a bit flustered, and subsided with a
grudging, "Well... don't let it happen again."
        "Another sample won't be required," Chin promised, filing the
one he'd acquired away in his secretary.  "There are certain inborn
conditions that are easily treated at this stage of life, but they must
be caught very early," he explained.  "The Republic Medical Service's
laboratory will tell us all we need to know within a day or two - not
that I anticipate any troubles with a child as healthy as this," he
added with a smile.  Then, rummaging within the secretary, he went on as
if to himself, "You'll also need to complete a 47C-stroke-Wo, free-range
dragon identification and census form.... I hope I have one in here
today."
        "Oh, now I -know- you're just making it up," said Korra.
        Chin looked up from his work with an affronted frown.
"-Please-, Avatar," he said, and then, to her considerable surprise, he
produced the exact form he'd been talking about.
        It took him mere minutes to process the remaining paperwork,
logging Annabelle's birth and Garnet's hatching for the official records
of the United Republic of Nations.  While he finished the documents,
Jinora settled on a corner of the bed, regarding mother, child and
dragon with a thoughtful smile as the latter two settled back to sleep.
        "We have one other small gift we'd like to extend," she said,
looking from one parent to the other to the third, then glancing at Ikki
with a little nod.
        Ikki grinned and picked up the thread.  "You were already
welcome on the island at any time - I hope you knew that - but as your
first child did us the honor of being born here, Jinora and I would like
to make her a citizen of the Air Commonwealth, if you agree."
        Anthy glanced from one of her husbands to the other, polling
them with a look, and then smiled.  "Thank you very much.  We'd be
delighted, of course," she said.  "But may I ask - what does that
entail, Master Ikki?"
        "Well, not much, really," Ikki admitted.  "It's mainly a
symbolic gesture.  We Air Nomads don't claim any sovereign territory of
our own.  Even this island is technically part of Republic City, though
under the arrangement we have with the United Republic, our own laws and
customs take precedence here.  The other Air Temples around the world
exist under similar agreements with whichever nation they're in."
        Nodding toward Chin and his papers, Jinora said, "As such,
Annabelle is already a citizen of the United Republic, by virtue of
having been born here.  That means she's eligible to hold Republic
identity documents - not that such a thing would be of much use in the
'big universe,'" she acknowledged with a little smile.  "In practical
terms," she went on, "our offer means that, if she wants it, she'll be
able to obtain an Air Nomad passport as well."
        "And there's one nice thing about having one of those," said
Ikki cheerfully.  "You can go anywhere in Diqiu you want, any time.  No
visa applications, no border controls, no questions asked.  They can't
even look in your luggage."
        Jinora nodded.  "It's an Air Nomad's sacred right to wander this
world at will.  International law has been very clear on that matter
since it was first properly codified, during the Republic's founding."
        Utena smiled.  "That's handy."  She switched places with Corwin,
sitting next to Anthy as he rose to stand by the bed, and stroked
Annabelle's hair gently.  "Zeta Cygni, the United Republic, the Air
Commonwealth, Asgard.. you're going to have more nationalities than you
have parents," she told the child cheerfully.
        "Her passport's going to be an inch thick," Corwin agreed.
Then, turning to Anthy, he said, "This seems like as good a time as
any..."
        Anthy nodded.  "I was just thinking the same thing," she said.
        "What did I miss?" Korra wondered.
        "Nothing yet," said Corwin.  "But Anthy, Utena, and I have been
talking about it off and on for the last couple of days, and... well,
we're going to see about getting ourselves a place somewhere in Republic
City.  We won't be around all the time, obviously - lots of other stuff
going on - but, you know... maybe a month or three a year?"
        Korra's cerulean eyes went wide.  "... Are you serious?"
        "Sure I'm serious," Corwin replied.  "If you think you can stand
having us around that much," he added with a wry grin.
        Korra stared at him for a couple of seconds; then, with a
delighted cry, she jumped into his arms, her own going around his neck,
in a gleeful, feet-off-the-floor hug.
        "I guess she likes that idea," Corwin observed over her shoulder
to Utena.
        "I guess so," Utena agreed dryly.
        "Honestly, you guys," Korra said.  She turned him loose and bent
over the bed to put an arm each around Utena and Anthy, then kissed
Annabelle on the head.  "That's the best news I've had in... well, quite
a while.  And it's not even my birthday!"
        "Well, under the circumstances, we can hardly expect you to come
to us," Anthy pointed out.  "Besides - this is Annabelle's homeworld
now," she added with a fond smile.  "We wouldn't want her to grow up not
knowing it..."
        "There!" said Chin, completing his work with a flourish.
"Official copies made... everything ready to go on file back at
headquarters," he went on, closing up his portable secretary.  "For your
records, Your Holiness," he said, handing one of his elaborate folders
to Jinora.  "And this," he said, presenting an ornately capped and
ribboned scroll to Anthy with a deep and courtly bow, "is your copy of
the official birth record.  Your daughter is now a citizen of the United
Republic of Nations, and a freewoman of the Commonwealth of Air Nomads
and Air Acolytes, with all the privileges thereunto appurtenant," he
concluded formally.
        "Thank you very much, Master Chin," said Anthy, her twinkling
smile putting the lie slightly to the gravity of her response.
        Chin smiled in return, then shrugged his secretary onto his
back.  "I must get back and file these," he said, reaching back over one
shoulder to tap the case.  Bowing again, hands in sleeves, he said, "A
pleasure.  May all your days be excellent ones."
        "What a charming man," said Anthy thoughtfully once he'd gone.
        "For your information," Rory said, crouching by the bed with a
smile for mother and daughter, "I ran the same scans the national lab
will be doing last night, and everything's fine.  You were all pretty
well out of it by that point, and there was nothing to report, so I
decided not to pester you with it just then."  His smile becoming a
touch rueful, he added, "I'm not licensed here... or indeed anywhere...
at the moment, so it's just as well to have official confirmation
anyway."
        Anthy smiled and touched his arm.  "Thank you, Doctor," she
said.  "You must tell me how you came by your training sometime.  I'm
sure it's a long and convoluted story."
        "It is that," Rory agreed.  Then, straightening up, he said with
exaggerated casualness, "Well, I must go and find Amy.  At the moment
she's wandering round unsupervised on an island full of monkish young
boys.  The mind recoils in terror... for the boys..."
        The others chuckled and bade him good day.  As he left, Anthy
raised a hand in a wave, then looked down and said cheerfully, "Oh, is
it that time again already?" as Annabelle woke and began hunting for
sustenance.
        "Ohh, this was not in the briefing," Garnet remarked dubiously,
hiding her head in the covers as the process got underway.
        "Corwin... may I have a word?" Jinora asked quietly.
        "Sure," Corwin replied, letting her draw him off to the other
end of the room.
        "I'm pleased to see that the three of you have taken my concerns
to heart," she told him, her voice low.  "I hadn't expected you to take
action so quickly.  In fact, I must say, if you intended to act on your
plans during this visit, you've left it rather late."
        "We do our best work on the spur of the moment," said Corwin
with a grin.  "Particularly Utena and me.  Anthy's generally a little
more... deliberate."  He turned his head and regarded the cheerfully
domestic scene by the bed, where Korra and Ikki were pitching in to help
Utena (dismayed, but game) get to grips with certain aspects of routine
infant maintenance.
        "... That's my daughter," he observed, for about the hundredth
time that day (though not nearly all of them out loud).  He turned to
Jinora and gestured vaguely.  "That's my -daughter- over there, Jinora."
        The elderly airbender nodded, smiling.  "Yes, Corwin," she said
gently.  "I know."
        Corwin turned and looked back again.  "I have a daughter," he
said for a further time.  Then he faced Jinora again and asked, "Does
this wear off at some point?  'Cause I have to be honest, it's freaking
me out a little."
        Jinora's smile became slightly indulgent.  "Not really," she
said, "but it does eventually become... somewhat less -intense.-"

        Air Temple Island was no stranger to dramatic entrances.  Any
time even one sky bison arrived, it was an occasion.  In the summertime,
when virtually the whole Air Nomad nation passed through as part of its
unending cycle of migration, the spectacle was such that people would
park boats out in the harbor and watch the comings and goings with
binoculars and telescopes.  It was one of the major events on the
Republic City social calendar.
        The show that took place an hour or so later was not on that
scale, but the residents of the island - particularly the youngsters -
took even greater delight in it than they did the coming of the summer
migration.  For one thing, there was a lot less work to be done; and for
another, the arriving aircraft was of a type many of them had never seen
before, which aroused a personal as well as professional interest.
        For his part, Corwin had - inasmuch as he'd even thought about
it - assumed that Minami and Ryo Sato would be arriving by boat, either
the ferry or their own.  He knew from prior experience that Minami had a
passion for powerboats; he still vividly remembered an afternoon spent
aboard her steam launch, charging up the coast to whatever that little
town was called with the greenmarket.  Instead, as the sound of her and
her brother's arrival drew him outside to witness it, he was amused and
delighted to find that they were coming by air - aboard one of his very
favorite Early Aviation Contraptions.
        "Huh," said Utena as they jogged together toward the plaza near
the ba gua circle, where the craft was setting down.  "A helicopter?
Hang on, no tail rotor..."  She brightened as comprehension arrived.
"An autogyro!  Wow!  I've only seen those in Crimson Lizard movies."
Grinning, she added, "I suppose that stands to reason, I mean, Minami
basically -is- a Koji Aho character."
        Corwin laughed.  "I'll tell her you said so," he remarked.
        They arrived at the circle to find the younger airbenders and
Acolytes crowding around, curious about this strange machine, but
unafraid.  Ryo, in the rear cockpit, shouted and waved for them to keep
clear of the propeller, but he needn't have worried; they might never
have seen an autogyro before, but they knew what a prop was and why to
avoid it.  A moment later it spun down to a stop as Minami cut the
engine.  With the rotors gently windmilling to a halt a safe distance
above, she climbed out of the front cockpit and jumped down to the
ground.
        Once there, she took off her leather flying helmet, shaking out
her long, wavy black hair in a gesture that was so obviously unstudied,
and yet so effortlessly glamorous, that Utena was reminded (not for the
first time) of Juri Arisugawa.  Near the front of the little crowd of
youngsters, Tenzin and Gyatso glanced at each other in astonishment,
their cheeks going red; beside them, Sita hauled off and slugged Tenzin
in the shoulder, nearly knocking him down.
        "Hello, all!" Minami declared cheerfully as she began tugging
off her gloves.  "Can I trouble a few of you to help me tie this beast
down, please?  We don't want it wandering off if the wind comes up."
        She had no shortage of volunteers for the task, which was
accomplished in mere moments.  Then, tossing her gloves into her helmet
and the whole affair into the cockpit, she trotted across the paved area
to give first Corwin, then Utena a hug.
        "Hey, strangers," said Ryo, who opted for the Manly Handshake
instead.  "You've got this whole town in an uproar."
        "Yeah, uh, not really our -intention,- but it sort of started
without us and we ended up deciding to just go with it," Corwin replied
sheepishly.  "We'll have to get into that later.  First things first,
though," he said with a mischievous grin as the four of them started
back toward the house.  "C'mon and meet my newborn daughter."
        Ryo stopped walking.
        "I'm sorry, I could have sworn I just heard you say 'c'mon and
meet my newborn daughter,'" he said conversationally.
        Corwin paused and turned back, still grinning, while Minami
halted next to her brother and stared at him in turn and Utena giggled
at both of their reactions.  "I did," he said cheerfully.
        Ryo pondered that for a moment, then raised a finger as if to
object, then lowered it and thought some more before saying slowly,
"Now... I realize I'm not the most -observant- prairie hog in town
sometimes..."  He glanced pointedly at Utena and concluded, "... but I
was definitely clocking your good lady thoroughly enough the other night
that I would have -noticed- a thing like that."
        Utena would probably at least have considered punching most
guys, particularly most relative strangers, for a remark like that; but
coming from Ryo, it was so straightforward and sincerely complimentary
that she found herself just rolling her eyes with a wry little smile and
a slight blush - which deepened a bit when Minami put in helpfully,
        "For the record, I concur!"
        "Well, I did -say- there were a couple of someones I wanted you
to meet," Corwin said, gesturing for the Satos to get moving again as he
resumed his course for the house.  He said nothing more until they
arrived; Utena knocked on the bedroom doorjamb and put her head around
to make certain new company was appropriate, then entered, waving the
others in after her.  The airbender elders had gone, but Korra remained,
slouching in the chair Utena had placed earlier, her own feet up on the
bed.
        "My, my, we are popular today, aren't we," Anthy remarked to
Annabelle with a smile.
        "Anthy, this is Minami Sato and her brother Ryo, I've told you
about them," said Corwin.  "Guys... I want you to meet my daughter
Annabelle Tenjou, and her mother, Anthy Tenjou."
        "I'm very pleased to meet you," said Minami with one of her
movie-star smiles and a near-90-degree bow.
        "Likewise!" said Ryo; then, turning to Corwin, he said in a
matter-of-fact voice, "I'm -hugely- confused, Ted."
        Minami chuckled indulgently.  "I'm sure there's a very simple
explanation, Ryo."
        "Oh ho hooo, not so much," said Korra with a knowing smile and a
shake of her head.
        Anthy gave them the short version - after summarizing the matter
for Jinora the other day, she felt she was getting to be something of an
expert at it.  Once she'd finished, there were a few moments' silence,
during which neither Sato's face was easily readable while they digested
what they'd just been told.
        Then Minami seemed to reach a conclusion.  She blinked in sudden
epiphany; then her green eyes went wide with delighted amazement.
        "Corwin!" she declared, turning to face him.  "You're prepared
to father other women's children as a personal favor?!"  Then, to his
complete surprise, she became the second woman that day to leap into his
arms (though the overall effect was slightly different, given how much
taller Minami was than Korra).
        "There's a future for the Sato line after all!" Minami declared
happily, hugging him soundly.
        "Uh - that's not - " said Corwin, while Ryo gave a painful-
sounding snort that turned into a short coughing jag, Anthy giggled,
Korra gave Minami a disapproving frown, and Utena just eyed the scene
dubiously.
        "It makes so much -sense,- though!" Minami persisted, stepping
back without entirely releasing him.  "You're a genius, I'm a genius,
you're good with tools, I'm good with tools, you're handsome, I'm... a
Sato... our children will be -supermen!-"  She threw back her head and
let out a film-villain laugh.
        "What's going on?" Garnet demanded blearily, raising her head.
"Can't a hatchling get a little sleep around here?"
        "Wha!" said Ryo, taking a half-step back.  "Hello!"
        Minami jumped slightly, startled out of her reverie.
"Hatchling?"
        Corwin gently extricated himself from the remains of her embrace
and sat down on the edge of the bed, stroking the little dragon's head.
"Sorry," he said.  "It's just Minami being herself.  Minami, Ryo, this
is Garnet.  Remember Nall when we were kids?  Well... same deal."
        "Oh," said Ryo.  "Right.  OK.  Dragon.  Sure!  Why not."
        "For the record, the dragon companion thing would be entirely
optional," Minami allowed.  "That might actually make the product of our
destined union -too- powerful."
        "I am not out to stud!" Corwin objected.
        "At least not until Utena and I figure out the fee structure,"
Anthy put in not-very-helpfully, making Utena utter an I-didn't-really-
want-to-laugh-at-that laugh.
        "Well I'm not talking about RIGHT NOW, I mean it's a PROCESS,"
Minami said.  "I'm only 22!  I have a lot of things to do!  But, you
know... eventually... -someone- has to carry on the line, and it's no
use looking to -Ryo- to pick up that slack."
        "Oi!" Ryo protested.
        Korra sighed.  "Don't make me lightningbend you, Minami.  Ryo
would complain."
        "I would?" Ryo asked, as if that were news to him.
        Minami sighed as if unfairly put upon.  "Fine, forget it.  It'd
probably be too much like kissing my brother anyway."  She smiled again,
a little slyly this time, and couldn't resist tossing in as a parting
shot, "He -is- good with tools, though.  And that -is- hot."
        Cornered that completely, Utena had to admit that this was so,
and then, the moment having broken, everyone laughed.

        Minami and Ryo stayed for lunch, where there was plenty of room
at the Avatar's table.  The Ponds and Anne had all gone into town, Anthy
had already declared her intention to remain in or near bed all day,
Nyima had matters to attend to elsewhere, and Nall and Lhakpa seemed to
have wandered off somewhere, leaving only Corwin, Utena, and Kaitlyn
(who had returned to the island just before lunchtime) to share the
midday meal with Korra and the Satos.
        Ryo considered the items on offer - rice, seaweed, various
sliced vegetables, and a bottle of vinegar - and, without comment, began
assembling hosomaki.  While he worked, his deft hands seeming to be on
autopilot, he picked up the thread of an earlier conversation and said
to Corwin,
        "So listen, son, this thing with the Tribune."
        "I told you, Ryo, I have no idea," Corwin said.  "I don't even
get what it is they think I'm trying to do."
        "To hear the man who sneaked into my office tell it, their
society editors think you're planning to sweep Korra off her feet and
carry her off back to your fairy castle in the sky, or wherever it is
you keep yourself when you're not here," said Minami dryly.
        Korra choked on a sip of tea, then coughed explosively into a
napkin as Corwin thumped her in the center of the back with the flat of
his hand.  Thanking him absently, she wiped her face, put the napkin and
teacup down, and hunted among the stack of papers by the side of the
table until she came up with the morning's Republic City Tribune, which
they hadn't had time or inclination to give its usual inspection at
breakfast time.
        Sure enough, there on the first page of Section 4 was the usual
blaring headline, this one reading:

                           WHAT CAN IT MEAN?

        Below, the usual stack of ever-shrinking subheadlines was
absent, but there was a photograph of Corwin and Korra at Narook's
Seaweed Noodlery the previous evening.  This was slightly grainy, but
quite good considering how surreptitiously it must have been taken.
They were both smiling broadly, plainly having a blast; she had him in a
headlock (having had to climb more or less halfway into his lap to do
it, given the disparity in their heights), his near arm trapped between
them, and was administering a brisk mock noogie, while he had the heel
of his free hand under her chin in what was obviously a deliberately
ineffective effort to fend her off.
        "Republic City, Sanyue 17," Korra read, more to herself than
anyone else at the table.  "The story of this city's exotic visitors
took a strange turn tonight..."  She trailed off into inarticulate
mumbling, skimming through the article, her expression becoming more and
more incredulous; then she put down the paper and dropped her forehead
into her hand.  "Oh, my aching back."
        "What?  What is it?" Corwin wondered as Kate picked up the paper
and started perusing the article herself.
        "When we saw Emily last night at Narook's," Korra said without
looking up.  "Remember at the end, when we were leaving, she was all
worked up about something?"
        "I was kind of in non-maskable interrupt mode by then," Corwin
remarked dryly, "but yes, I seem to recall something to that effect."
        "She seemed angry," Kaitlyn observed.  "... And I think I see
why now," she added after a moment's reading.
        "I don't," said Corwin, sounding a bit lost.
        Korra dropped her hand and looked at him.  "She thought we were
on a DATE date," she said.  "And she's been covering YOU guys..." she
added, gesturing between him and Utena, "... on your honeymoon."
        Corwin blinked.  "... Oh," he said, and then, philosophically,
"Well, that -would- explain the you-beast-how-could-you look she gave me
on her way out."
        Utena raised her eyebrows.  "That's quite a conclusion to jump
to," she observed.  Then, getting a good look at the photo, she went on,
"Although having seen this..."
        "It's true," Kaitlyn concurred with a slightly evil smile.  "If
you HAD been on a date date, given that it's YOU two, it would have
looked exactly the same to Miss Wong."
        "We just, we were - that's FRIEND stuff!" Korra protested,
nearly losing hold of the sentence for a second.  Then, picking up her
tea, she gave Kate a sidelong glare and repeated in a low mutter, "We're
friends, that's what friends do."
        "And that's exactly what you'd say," Kate went on, her smile
becoming a little more wicked as she glanced pointedly from Utena to
Corwin.  "I know the signs."
        Utena gave a sheepish grin, her face going red over the bridge
of her nose, and took Corwin's nearer hand.  "Was it really -that-
obvious?" she wondered.
        "No more so than a car accident," Kate reassured her, taking
another bit of veggie sushi from the serving platter Ryo had been
preparing the whole time and popping it in her mouth.  In exchange, he
snagged the paper from her and started reading the article.
        "All those in favor of throwing Master Kaitlyn in the ornamental
pool out by Tenzin's house, raise your hands," said Korra, putting up
her own.
        "Threaten me all you like, Avatar," said Kaitlyn placidly.  "I'm
not afraid to speak truth to power."
        Korra subsided, grumbling, then gave her a speculative look as a
thought struck her.  "Is that so?" she wondered.  "Hmm."  Seeming to
will herself back to casualness, she picked up her chopsticks and helped
herself to a bit of hosomaki as well.  "How'd you like a job?"
        "I have a job," said Kate.  "Actually, I have several jobs.
What's one more?  What did you have in mind?"
        "Well, it so happens that the Order of the White Lotus is short
a Master Lotus or three just at the moment..."
        "Whoa, did you read the rest of this?" Ryo interrupted.  "It
goes way beyond 'you guys were on a date' at the end here.  I think
Minmin was right, what she said earlier.  Check it out: 'What Avatar
Korra plans to do with her new conquest now that she has severed him
from his exotic companion is far from clear, but we cannot ignore the
possibility that she may return with him to wherever on the Outside he
comes from.  The cause for concern here is plain: the consequences of
such a cavalier abandonment of her duties would be grave indeed.  We can
only wait and hope that discretion and the needs of her world win out
over our hot-blooded Avatar's latest fiery infatuation.'"
        He put down the paper and gave the rest of the table a startled
look.  "Conquest?  Abandonment?  -Infatuation?-  Them's fightin' words,
boys and girls."  He frowned thoughtfully at the article.  "-And- they
ended a sentence with a preposition.  Though in fairness that would be
an awkward one to recast.  'Whencesoever on the Outside he may come'?
Hmm."
        Korra's chopsticks snapped in her hand.  Without another word,
she took out her GearPhone and thumbed it to life, speaking sharply to
the person who answered her call.  "Cheong.  Yes, I see it.  No.  No
longer amused.  I want - what?  Hang on."  She reached and took the
paper from in front of Ryo, dragging it back to her own place.  "Aha.
No, I didn't see that, good catch."
        She gave a tight little smile at something Cheong said, then
replied, "OK, fair enough, I'll stand down from DEFCON 1, but I'm still
pretty damn ticked.  Get hold of Miss Wong and tell her to get her ass
to the Jasmine Dragon at Fifth and Plum RTFN.  Non-negotiable.  No, I'm
not meeting her myself.  You are.  I'm sending someone from my new team
to go in with you.  Get down there and size her up.  See how much of
this came from her.  If you think she's still being straight with us,
bring her here.  If not..."  Korra sighed.  "... I dunno what if not.
I'll have to figure it out then.  OK?  Thanks.  No, she'll meet you
there.  You'll know her when you see her... no, not Utena, she's too
much like me.  There'd probably be punching."  Corwin snickered and
elbowed Utena, who rolled her eyes, drawing a muted giggle from Kate.
"OK.  Yeah.  Thanks, buddy.  Seeya."
        Switching off the phone, Korra closed it and put it away, then
let out a great, weary, slouching sigh.  After a moment, she became
aware of the others' eyes on her again and looked up.  "What."
        "Your new team?" Kate wondered impishly.
        Korra shrugged.  "Everybody says I've got one, who am I to blow
against the wind?" she replied.  "Also, I think I just accepted that
place in the White Lotus for you.  Sorry about that.  Got a little
carried away."  Mustering a wry little smile, she added, "The duties are
largely ceremonial."
        Kate smiled.  "I was planning to take it anyway," she said.  "It
sounds interesting.  Is there a snappy uniform?"
        "As a matter of fact there is," said Korra.
        "What got you back from scorch-the-earth mode?" Minami wondered.
        "This," Korra said, turning the paper around and pushing it
across to her, then tapping the place where Emily's byline would
normally be.
        "Hm.  No byline.  A staff report," Minami said, understanding at
once.  She glanced to the bottom of the article.  "'Our correspondent
Emily Wong contributed to this report.'"
        "She must have filed something a little more cautious," Corwin
mused.
        "And her editors decided it wasn't punchy enough," Utena agreed,
nodding.  "Typical.  Remember that Zeta Cygni Post article after our
fight with the Amar?"
        "The one with the picture of you being all adorably pissed off
at the girl from Avalon This Afternoon?" Corwin replied with a grin.  "I
have a copy of that front page on my wall at home."
        Utena snorted.  "No, that was the Cornet-Sci.  That article was
all right."
        "Well, I don't look at the nameplate that often," Corwin
explained, waggling his eyebrows.
        "ANYway," Utena went on doggedly, "the Post article was about
me... and Dad... and how they figured I got the Valiant job."
        "Oh THAT article," said Kate, nodding sagely.
        "Yeah," said Utena, scowling at the memory.  "The one that's why
the Post got all new editors that month."
        "I had erased those memory sectors," Corwin objected.  "Now
they're back.  Unclean.  Unclean!"
        Utena shoulder-checked him, knocking him into Korra, which broke
her out of a frowny reverie over the newspaper; instinctively, she
bumped back, and there ensued a bit of a jostling match at that end of
the table that dissolved into giggling.
        "OK," said Korra.  "I feel better.  For the moment.  Kate, you'd
better get ready to head into town.  Go see Jinora - she'll set you up.
It's important to look the part..."

                                1:24 PM
                      THE JASMINE DRAGON TEA HOUSE
                   5TH AVE. & PLUM ST., REPUBLIC CITY

        Emily Wong arrived in the tearoom feeling... well, if she were
to be honest, feeling ever-so-faintly scared.  She had, over the last
week or so, developed what she had flattered herself was a reasonably
good working relationship with Master Cheong, the White Lotus master who
managed Avatar Korra's press relations.  He hadn't told her much of
anything useful, but their conversations had at least been cordial,
bordering on friendly.  Her interactions with him, like her pursuit of
the mysterious foreigners' story generally, had taken on the flavor of a
game.
        Now, though, she had the distinct impression that that was all
over.  His call - not to her desk in the Section 4 bullpen, where she
hadn't been all day anyway, but to her personal mobile phone - had been
terse to the point of curtness, and he had sounded very much displeased
about something.  His tone made it plain that she wasn't being asked to
meet him at the Jasmine Dragon, she was being -told- to, and not for any
purpose she was likely to enjoy.  She wondered what had happened to make
him angry.  Surely it couldn't have been anything she had done.
        Emily was a little early, having agreed to meet Cheong and an
unspecified colleague at 1:30.  Taking a table in the corner, she
ordered a pot of jasmine oolong, hoping that it would simultaneously
perk her up and settle her nerves, and then settled in to watch the
entrance.  At this time of day, the customers were mainly students from
nearby Republic City U, coming in to use the freewire, talk over their
morning classes, and/or cut their afternoon ones.
        She was sipping her first cup and watching the entrance when a
lately-familiar voice said behind her, "Miss Wong.  Thank you for
coming."  Emily nearly jumped out of her skin, coming halfway upright
with a yelp that drew looks from the nearby tables, as a middle-aged man
in a blue business suit slipped around her and took the seat opposite.
        He was tall and thin, rather dark (but not Water Tribe dark),
with a narrow, ascetic face; his only evident hair was a pair of heavy
black eyebrows.  As he seated himself, his expression betrayed carefully
contained vestiges of the anger that had been plain on the phone, but
also a faintly apologetic air.
        "Sorry," he said.  "I don't know how I keep doing that."
        "Where did you come from?!" Emily demanded, sitting back down
and mopping up the tea she'd spilled.  "I was watching the door."
        "Through the kitchen," said another voice, from the same place.
Emily turned to see the second speaker: a young woman, slim and pretty
in a foreign sort of way, dressed in a skirted version of the same natty
blue suit the man was wearing, and with the same discreet White Lotus
lapel pin.  She had long, slightly curly brown hair and big, round
outlander eyes a shade or two darker, behind circular wire-rimmed
spectacles.  As she seated herself at the side of the table, she leaned
her dark wood walking stick carefully against its edge, ready to hand.
        "As I'm sure you've figured out by now, I am Master Cheong of
the White Lotus Society," said the man.  Nodding toward the woman, he
added, "My colleague, Master Kaitlyn."
        "You were at Narook's," said Emily to Kaitlyn, surprised.  "And
Chau's before that."
        The woman smiled slightly.  "You're perceptive," she said.
"That's good."
        Emily looked her over, taking the remark as a sort of challenge
(besides which, it was an instinct by now).  "You have the same ring as
the others," she said.
        Kaitlyn surprised her slightly by not glancing at the pink-rose
signet ring she wore, which would surely have been the natural reaction;
instead, her smile got a little wider and she said, "You're -very-
perceptive."
        Then, her expression suddenly hardening, she withdrew part of
the morning Tribune from inside her suitjacket and slapped it down on
the table in front of Emily, adding in a slightly cold voice, "Much TOO
perceptive to have drawn these conclusions."
        Emily blinked.  "What?  I didn't draw any conclusions.  In fact
I went out of my -way- not to draw any conclusions."
        "You haven't read the article, then," said Cheong.
        "I haven't even -seen- today's paper yet," Emily told him.
"I've been up to my armpits in the morgue all day."  She paused as what
she'd just said seemed to dawn on her, then added, "Uh, the newspaper
one, not the... dead bodies one."
        "Well, perhaps you should familiarize yourself with it now,"
Cheong suggested.  "So that we're all on the same page."  Now it was his
turn to pause.  "... As it were."
        As Emily read the morning's Section 4 front page, Kaitlyn
marveled silently as she watched the stages of the reporter's reaction
march plainly across her face: Curiosity, confusion, dawning horror,
embarrassment, fury.  At length she put down the paper, looked from one
blue-clad figure to the other, and said in a voice that almost trembled
with a mix of the last two,
        "I did not write this."
        Cheong regarded her thoughtfully for a moment, then turned a
questioningly arched eyebrow to Kaitlyn, who nodded.
        "What -did- you write?" Kate asked.
        "I..."  Emily hesitated, then pulled herself together with a
sigh and a sip of tea.  "I can show you, I still have my own copy," she
said, touching the cover of her notebook.  "The first couple of grafs
here are mine, mostly.  The factual part," she added with a trace of
dark wryness.  "What I saw and where I saw it.  The rest of -my- version
was the exact opposite of this... trash.  I warned my readers not to
jump to conclusions.  The 'analysis', if you even want to dignify it
with that name... that's someone else."  She considered for a second,
then said, "Probably Kazu.  He's hack enough to come up with a crap
phrase like 'to wherever on the Outside he comes from'."
        Cheong steepled his fingertips before him and said judiciously,
"I'm curious how you thought you could present this information -
particularly this photograph - without any explanatory context and
expect people NOT to jump to conclusions."
        Something in Emily broke loose at that; banging a fist down on
the newspaper, she blazed, "Don't take that tone with me!  Have you ever
had to work to a deadline?"  She gestured vaguely in the direction of
the Tribune building and went on, "I've been searching for that context
for the past 16 hours.  I've -had- to, because -someone- thought it
would be funny to just string me along all week."  Folding her arms, she
shook her head at him and snapped, "Ohh, no, Master Lotus.  I'm not
taking the fall for this on my own."
        Cheong gave her another one of those long, thoughtful looks,
then turned to Kaitlyn and said dryly, "I am forced to concede that Miss
Wong has a point, Master Kaitlyn."
        Kate nodded.  "Mm," she agreed.  Then, addressing Emily, she
said, "No one's looking for anyone to take a fall for anything.  We just
want to get this situation back under control."
        "I was supposed to meet with them on Air Temple Island
tomorrow," said Emily.  "I had hoped that my -own- analysis would be in
print by then, so they could tell me how close I came, but now... well."
She sighed, shrugging.
        "Exactly," said Kate.  "Which is why we'd like you to come out
to the island -today,- so we can get everything sorted out."
        "How stupid do I look to you?" asked Emily.  "I'm not going
anywhere near the Avatar after this.  She'll kill me."
        Cheong gave her an incredulous scowl.  "No she won't, don't be
ridiculous."
        Kaitlyn shot him a slightly severe glance.  "Don't belittle her
concerns, Master Cheong," she said.  "Of course Korra isn't literally
going to kill her, but she has a perfect right to be anxious."
        Cheong frowned, then nodded.  "You're quite right," he conceded,
and then inclined his head to Emily and said, "My apologies, Miss Wong."
        "Emily, it's true Korra was very angry when she read this," said
Kate, touching the newspaper.  "She still will be, with the people
responsible.  That's why Cheong and I came here - to assess whether you
were one of them.  If we thought you were, well... we wouldn't be
inviting you to the island.  You'll be perfectly safe, I promise."
        Emily held eye contact with her for a moment, then sighed again
and took another sip of her tea.  "All right," she said.  Then,
signaling the waitress, she asked, "Can I get this to go, please?"
        Cheong insisted on settling the bill, including springing for
one of the Jasmine Dragon's cunning little Thermos jugs in place of the
usual paper to-go cup.  Emily gathered up her notebook and the paper in
one hand, took the Thermos from the waitress with the other, and
followed the two Master Lotuses outside.
        She assumed they would be heading for the ferry terminal, but
instead, she found that there was a third person waiting for them: a
young Air Nomad girl, rail-thin and buzzcut, sitting perched on the head
of a sky bison.  She had a winged lemur stationed on one of her narrow
shoulders, and was dressed in what Emily recognized as very formal
Air Nomad clothes: full, blousy pants and an oval-hemmed cloak over a
high-collared tunic.  Instead of the usual oranges and reds, her
outfit was the same rich dark blue as the suits Cheong and Kaitlyn wore,
but for the broad, tasseled white sash around her waist.
        Seeing them emerge, this remarkable specimen smiled broadly.
"Hello, Miss Wong," she said.  "I'm Nyima, and this is Makoto and Vayu,"
she added, petting first the lemur and then her bison's head.  "Have you
ever flown before?"
        "Only in an aeroplane," said Emily.
        "And did you enjoy it?"
        Emily hesitated.  "... It was all right?"
        "Well, this will be much better," Nyima assured her, gesturing
for her to climb up to the saddle behind her with Cheong and Kaitlyn.
"Just relax and we'll have you on the island in no time."
        Emily began to comply; on her way up, she asked, "Wait, you're a
Master Lotus?  How old are you?"
        "Sixteen," Nyima replied, unconcerned.
        Emily reached the top, where Cheong gave her a hand over the
gunwale of the saddle.  She thanked him, then went forward to lean over
the pommel and ask Nyima, "How'd that happen?"
        Nyima's smile was undiminished as she replied blithely, "I
studied hard and ate my vegetables."  Then, twitching the reins, she
declared, "Yip yip, Vayu!"

        On Air Temple Island, Korra, Corwin, and Utena had determined
that Anthy, though still fully intent on staying in bed basically all
day, would be happy to change rooms if, for example, they were to set up
a nice futon-style daybed for her in the sun parlor on the south side of
the house.  Since this was a particularly pleasant room anyway, and
would make a good site for receiving further company, they'd inquired of
Jinora where such a thing could be found, and she'd directed them to one
in an upstairs bedroom.  They brought it down, then hunted up a couple
of armchairs to go with it and the couch that was already out there,
setting up a nice little conversational grouping.
        Now, as Anthy finished arranging herself, Annabelle, and Garnet
upon said futon and Corwin carried in the last of the armchairs, Korra's
GearPhone rang.
        "Hello," she said.  "Yeah.  OK.  Problems?  Good.  OK, thanks.
See you soon."  She closed the phone, put it away, and said, "They're on
their way.  Kate says she thinks Emily's just as surprised as we are."
        "This should be interesting," Jinora remarked.
        Utena nudged Korra with an elbow, grinning.  "I'll give you ten
thousand gold ren if you give her that cute photo Kate took of you and
Corwin Monday night and tell her you're eloping."
        Korra gave her a startled look, but before she could remark,
Corwin said to Utena, "You -started- this, elskr, don't make it worse.
Also, where are you going to get ten thousand gold ren?"
        "I could turn to banditry," Utena suggested, settling on the
daybed next to Anthy.  Addressing her next remark ostensibly to
Annabelle, she went on, "I mean, you saw the paper, right?  What have I
got to lose?  The Avatar's stolen my husband."
        "(It's like herding cat-owls,)" Korra muttered to Jinora, but
the airbender only smiled her this-is-your-problem-dear-but-I'll-gladly-
watch-you-try-to-solve-it smile.  Rolling her eyes in response, Korra
turned back to the others and said, "I can't believe I'm the one saying
this, but let's try to focus, people."
        "Hey, I'm the injured party here, I get to laugh," Utena said.
She stretched her legs out full-length in front of her, crossed at the
ankle, and leaned back with her hands behind her head.  "I'll be good
when she gets here, I promise."  She paused, thinking, then added
offhandedly, "That really is a cute photo, though."
        "It's true," Anthy agreed.
        "Not helping, Anthy," Korra grumbled.
        Anthy smiled benevolently.  "It's sweet how you assume I was
trying to," she said.
        "OK, they're here," Corwin reported from the window.  Turning
back, he proposed, "How about we -try- to pretend we're grown-ups?"
        Anthy sighed.  "Oh, very well, if you insist."
        "Well, I'll leave you to your conference," said Jinora.  "My
hopes for a satisfactory resolution.  I'll see you at dinner."
        "Thanks, Jinora.  See you later," said Corwin.
        "I don't know how you do it," Korra admitted to Jinora as she
walked with the grandmaster to the front door.
        "After growing up with Ikki and Meelo, the rest of the world is
easy," Jinora replied serenely, then took her leave.
        Korra stayed at the door to greet Emily, Kate, and Cheong when
they arrived.  Cheong parted from them at that point, remarking darkly
that he thought he might best serve by heading back to town and
depositing a word or two into certain ears at the Tribune.  Korra showed
the other two down the hall to the sun parlor.
        Before she could start making introductions or find some other
way of breaking at least a little of what was, in frankness, some pretty
thick ice, Emily took the matter out of her hands by marching up to
Corwin and declaring flatly,
        "Your name isn't Watari Karasu; you're Corwin Ravenhair, the
eldest of IPO Chief Gryphon's three sons.  You had been visiting this
world semi-regularly since a few months after you were born in 2391, but
you stopped coming in 2404 and this is the first time you've been back
since then.  No one seems to know just what it is you do for a living,
but by all accounts I could find, you're quite clever."
        Leaving him to give her a surprised, impressed look, she turned
to Utena (who had risen to her feet alongside the futon when the
reporter entered) and went on, "-Your- name is Utena Tenjou.  The 'big
universe' wire service reports say you're a master swordswoman and one
of the IPO's crusader-for-galactic-justice types.  You've never been to
Diqiu before; in fact, you don't seem to be -from- anywhere, you just
appeared out of nowhere not long after Corwin's last visit here."  She
shook her head.  "A real international mystery woman.
        "But that pales in comparison to -you,-" she went on, addressing
Anthy.  She was carrying a notebook, but they'd all noticed by this
point that she wasn't consulting it as she hit the high points of her
findings about each: "There's virtually nothing about you in any public
record I could get my hands on in the past 16 hours or so.  I know your
name is Anthy, and you and Utena have been married for four years as of
yesterday, but before your wedding you don't appear to have -existed at
all,- which is frankly a little creepy."  She angled a thumb back at
Corwin.  "Also, I'm fuzzy on how she can have been on her honeymoon with
-him- last weekend, given the preceding, but let's leave that for the
moment."
        Finally, turning to Kate, she said, "And -you- are Kaitlyn
Hutchins, Chief Gryphon's eldest daughter, Corwin's half-sister.  You're
a rock star, a movie star, you do your own stunts, and you'll be New
Avalon University's associate professor of music the -nanosecond- you
finish your Ph.D.  And," she added without missing more than one beat as
Serge sauntered in from the hall and pushed his head under Kate's free
hand, "you apparently have a pet tiger."  Turning a slow circle to take
all of them in, she concluded, "Plus, you all seem to be pals with the
Avatar.  I feel like I just crashed an Overachievers Anonymous meeting."
        No one replied for a moment; then Utena said, "You're not doing
so bad yourself.  That's more than I thought you'd have turned up."
        Emily put her hands on her hips and gave Utena a challenging
look.  "You want to know the really impressive part?  I got all that
since nine-thirty last night."  With another, this time rueful, shake of
her head, she went on, "Normally I wouldn't brag about that, but it
comes with its own shameful confession to balance it out.  Save that for
later.  What the heck is goin' on?"
        Before anyone could attempt an answer, she turned to Korra,
gestured to Corwin, and went on, "And why were -you- two out on a -date-
last night?  I mean, I understand now that it was their wedding
anniversary," she said, nodding toward the futon, "so that's why they
went to Kwong's by themselves, and I know it was Kaitlyn's birthday, but
that scene at Narook's... -something- was going on there."  Looking
Korra in the eye, she asked bluntly, "What -are- you to him, Avatar?"
        Korra thought about her answer for a moment, looking steadily
back at her; then she said, "Well, I suppose, if you get right down to
it, I'm his godmother."
        Corwin stepped up next to the Avatar and put a hand on her
shoulder, adding in a gentle voice, "And a very dear friend."
        Korra smiled wryly, reflexively reaching up to touch his hand,
and glanced at him.  "Well, that went without saying," she said.
        And just for an instant, as she glanced at him, there it was
again: that same look, the one from the photo Emily -hadn't- submitted
for publication, the one that had set her on the sixteen-hour odyssey of
research she'd just finished: many-layered, hypercontextual, and so
intensely personal that Emily felt she was intruding on something just
by having witnessed it.  What the young reporter received then, seeing
it live and in person, wasn't a flash of -insight-, exactly; in many
ways she was none the wiser for it... but it was certainly a glimpse of
some higher-level, cosmic-basecode truth.
        Emily didn't know what that truth -was.-  Rather, in that moment
she understood that it probably wasn't hers to know... and that whatever
it was, there was beauty in it.
        "Oh," she said, feeling that it was a trifle lame, and yet the
only thing she could say.
        Corwin gave Korra's shoulder a squeeze, then released it and
crossed the room to sit down on the edge of the futon, next to Anthy.
At the same time, Utena resumed her station on the other side; once she
was settled, Kaitlyn perched herself on the mattress's edge next to her,
with Serge curling up contentedly on the floor beside.
        "You mentioned that you know I haven't been back to Diqiu since
2404," Corwin said.  "What you probably don't know is that that wasn't
by choice.  Korra and I haven't seen each other in six years because we
-couldn't.-  There were people scheming to keep us apart."
        "So she wouldn't meet -me,- of all the lamebrained ideas," Utena
put in.
        "So that's what you saw last night," Corwin went on.  "Old
friends making up for stolen time."
        "-Not- me breaking up my godson's five-day-old marriage," Korra
added sarcastically, seating herself in the armchair next to the daybed,
alongside where Corwin was sitting.  "Take a seat," she said, gesturing
to the one on the opposite side.  "And what was that crap about me
running out on Diqiu?"
        Emily sat, feeling a little awkward now.  "That wasn't me," she
said, and explained - her annoyance smoothing over the hesitancy - that
the article -she'd- filed had been, if she did say so herself, a marvel
of circumspection, and that she suspected her stupid so-called colleague
Kazu had been the one called on by her editor to "spice things up a
bit," with catastrophic results.  By the end, she'd reached the point
where she was unconsciously speaking more loudly, and Anthy was just
about to ask her if she'd mind keeping her voice down when Garnet raised
her head, peered around, and then inquired wearily of Annabelle,
        "Why is it our destiny to be surrounded by shouty people today,
dovfahdon?"
        Emily recoiled in shock and stared for a moment.  Her cheeks
reddened as she realized that, for all that Kaitlyn had recently praised
her perceptiveness, she hadn't noticed that the adults weren't alone in
the room.
        "A baby," she said, as if not quite certain whether to believe
it.  "And a... dragon?"
        "Yeah, you're definitely a reporter," Garnet snarked, snuggling
back down against Annabelle's shoulder.
        "This is our daughter Annabelle," Anthy said, "and her boon
companion Garnet."
        Emily smiled at the infant, who looked back with an expression
of vague, abstract benevolence, then seemed to dismiss the visitor from
her calculations and return to considering the ceiling instead.  Then, a
thoughtful frown coming onto her face, the reporter said, "Who is 'our'
in this context?"
        "Well," said Anthy, taking Utena's right hand in her left, "I
prefer to think of us all as her parents, the three of us, but if you
must look at it technically, mine and Corwin's."
        Emily's natural reaction to that was to glance at Utena, who
shrugged and said wryly, "I'm a multitalented woman, but that particular
trick is beyond me."
        Emily blushed again, looking away, but couldn't quite suppress
an embarrassed smile at that.  These people were strange, but very
charming in their strangeness; she'd felt that about Utena and Corwin
the first night she'd met them, at the Velvet Palanquin, and she felt it
again now.  She could see how a person would get drawn into their orbit
and never get out again - never particularly want to.
        "So, yeah, you've got most of the rough outline already," Corwin
put in.  "If your editor hadn't gotten so antsy, your follow-up probably
would've been good enough that our meeting tomorrow would just've been
us giving you a gold star," he added with a grin.
        "I still have a couple of questions, if you don't mind," said
Emily.
        "Sure, but I have one for you first," Utena said.
        "What is it?" Emily wondered.
        "You said you had a shameful confession to balance out the
bragging about how good you are at research," Utena prompted.  "Fair's
fair."
        Emily smiled.  "I suppose it is."  Then, sobering, she
considered how to phrase what she had to say for a moment before looking
at Corwin and saying, "When I saw you and Avatar Korra at Narook's last
night, I... well, I did assume more or less what Kazu's version of the
article ended up saying.  Not necessarily the part about Korra leaving
us," she qualified, "but I thought you -were- there on a real date.
That she had..."  She reddened again.  "... I don't know, convinced you
to leave your bride and be with her instead.  I was... hurt.  Shocked
that she would do such a thing, disappointed that you would go along
with it.  A woman I've looked up to and respected my whole life, and a
man I thought I'd gotten a pretty good read on when he rescued my Minox
from the bouncer at the Velvet Pal," she added with a wry little smile.
        "What changed your mind?" Anthy wondered.
        "Well..."  Emily looked across the futon at Korra.  "It was
you, Avatar," she said.
        Korra looked puzzled.  "Me?"
        "After our little... confrontation... outside the noodlery, I
went home and developed my film.  I had that same minicamera with me,
and I knew I had managed to get a few good shots."
        "You process your own film?" Corwin asked.  "Nice."
        "I have to," Emily replied.  "The Tribune's photo lab wouldn't
know what to do with Minox film.  They're going all computerized anyway,
but I don't trust that stuff.  Where's the archival permanence?  They
can't even read the magnetic tapes from the Phoenix Flight mission -at
Future Industries- any more."  She reddened slightly as she realized
she'd wandered of the beam a little.  "Anyway.  I developed my film and
started printing the better frames.  And... well... in one of them..."
        Emily opened her notebook to the back, removed a photograph, and
tossed it onto the futon; it slid across the smooth coverlet, stopping
just before it would have gone off the edge and fallen at Korra's feet.
She bent forward in her chair, turned it so it was right-way-up for her,
and considered it with eyebrows rising.
        It showed herself and Corwin, framed roughly the same as they
had been in the photo that had run on the Section 4 front page, but in a
different moment; he was talking to someone off-camera (Juniper, if
Korra remembered right how they had been sitting), and she was looking
at him, their eyelines such that she would've had him in profile.  She
didn't remember having had that wistful, where-did-you-come-from-all-of-
a-sudden look on her face, but she supposed she must have.  Seeing it
now, and knowing the others around her were seeing it too, she felt the
bridge of her nose go a bit hot.
        Corwin leaned in over her shoulder to have his own look at the
photo.  After a moment's consideration, all he said, in a judicious sort
of voice, was, "Well."
        "That is... not the look a woman -gives- a man she's just stolen
from his wife," Emily said hesitantly.
        Anthy leaned forward a bit so she could get a closer look as
well, then smiled.  "No," she agreed.  "No indeed."
        "When I saw that, I knew I was wrong," said Emily.  "And for a
second I..."  She hesitated again, looking down at her hands in loose
fists on her knees, then went on in a smaller voice, "... I was
disappointed."
        Korra looked up from the photo.  "Disappointed?"
        Emily nodded, not meeting her eyes.  "Yes.  Because I thought I
had a really juicy thing to report, and then it slipped away from me.
And then it hit me how -wrong- that thought process was.  How... sleazy.
And I suddenly realized that I'd turned into exactly the thing I've
always prided myself that I -wasn't.-  I might be paying my dues at the
Trib by putting in a couple of years in Section 4, I always told myself,
but I wasn't going to be just another society-page celebrity gossip
creep.  I wasn't going to take pleasure in human frailty or glory in
making people's private things public.
        "Except that's exactly what I had been looking forward to doing.
I didn't even realize it consciously... until that photo brought it all
back into focus for me."  She looked around from one to another, shame-
faced, then back at her knees as she continued, "I hadn't even -tried-
to take up the challenge Utena laid out for me at the Velvet Pal, to go
and find out who she and Corwin really were on my own.  To -be a real
reporter,- like I always told myself I was.  I just merrily trailed them
around town, waiting to see what they would do next, spinning theories
and looking for evidence that backed them, waiting for someone to do
something that my editor would be really interested in.  Ignoring most
of the potential for real news... looking for dirt instead."
        Emily looked up again, seeming like she might be on the verge of
tears.  "I don't know when it happened, exactly; it was so subtle I
can't trace it back now... but somewhere in the last couple of years, I
lost my way.  I was disappointed that my childhood idol turned out NOT
to be a homewrecker.  How screwed up -is- that?!" she demanded.
        Not waiting for an answer, she went on, "That was about nine-
thirty last night.  I went straight to the office, filed a different
photo and a really cautious report - I had to file SOMETHING - and then
I really went to work.  I trawled the morgue, I hit the lightningweb, I
phoned the New Avalon Cornet-Sci - spirits help me, they'll probably
make me pay for that call - I dug up everything I told you when I came
in here, and a few more things besides.  I had a good start on my
follow-up to the report I -thought- had hit print this morning when
Cheong called... and, well, you know the rest."
        Korra picked up the photograph of herself from the bed,
considered it again for a few moments, then handed it to Kaitlyn and
said, "OK.  You messed up.  Like you said, you lost your way.  You
recognize that."  Emily nodded miserably.  "Then we don't need to dwell
on it any further," Korra went on, causing the young reporter to blink
at her in faintly hopeful disbelief.  "The important thing isn't that
you ended up down a hole," Korra explained to her disbelieving look.
        Utena nodded, recognizing where she was going, and said, "The
important thing is that you climbed out."
        Korra grinned and high-fived her without looking, then said to
Emily, "Doing whatever it takes to fix a screwup goes a lot further with
me than never having screwed up in the first place.  If you -never-
screwed up, that probably just means you weren't -doing- anything.
Staying up all night to -fix- one?  That shows character."
        "I..."  Emily reddened once more, lowered her eyes, and
mumbled, "Thank you, Avatar."
        "Call me Korra," said the Avatar with an easy smile.
        While Emily was taking that on board, Utena said, "So.  You had
a couple more questions, you said."
        Blinking rapidly, Emily took a moment to get herself back on
task, then said, "Uh, yes.  This one's not for publication, so much as
my own understanding, but, um..."  She looked from one end of the
little group on the futon to the other, reddening a bit, and asked
hesitantly, "How did you three... you know."
        Anthy momentarily considered remarking that as yet they -hadn't-
all three... you know, but decided that between them they'd put the poor
girl through enough already.  Instead she glanced at the others, then
said, "Years ago, Utena and I were roommates at boarding school.  In
time," she added, taking the pink-haired woman's hand and exchanging a
smile with her, "we fell in love.  Unfortunately, there were some
difficulties with my family - "  (Utena stifled a laugh.)  " - and she
was obliged to leave me for a time.  Her roommate at her -new- school
was Kaitlyn - "
        "With whom she did -not- have the courtesy to fall in love,
thank you -very- much," said Kate mock-petulantly, earning herself a
grinning swat from Utena.
        " - and Corwin is her brother," Anthy continued as if she hadn't
been interrupted.  "He and Utena are naturally very compatible, so it
was only to be expected that they would find themselves together.  I
won't bore you with the details," she went on lightly, "but eventually,
Corwin was able to reunite Utena and me - for which gallant act he
earned my heart as well," she added, leaning to kiss his cheek with an
impish smile, "and, well... it took rather a lot of doing, to be honest,
and got a bit tiresome at times, but here we are at last!  Utena is my
husband; Corwin is -her- husband; Annabelle is our daughter..."
        "And dragon makes five," said Garnet sleepily.
        "There are dragons in the Big Universe?" Emily wondered.
        "Oh, sure," Garnet mumbled.  "Loads.  Place is swarming with us.
What are we talking about?"
        "Nothing, go back to sleep," said Corwin, reaching to stroke her
head, then Annabelle's.
        "K," murmured the dragon, her gemlike golden eyes slipping shut
again.
        Emily shook her head.  "You guys are crazy," she said.  "I
thought so at the Velvet Pal and now I'm sure of it."  Then she grinned,
taking most of the sting out of it, and added, "I like your flavor of
crazy, though."
        "Hey, sometimes crazy works," said Utena, leaning to kiss Anthy
on the cheek.
        "OK, next question," Emily went on; this time she actually
opened her notebook and got out a pencil, propping the one on her knee
to stabilize it for the other.  "This one -is- for the record.  What
have you got planned next?"
        Utena, Corwin, and Anthy glanced at each other, all puzzlement
between them.
        "You said it yourself," Korra put in before any of them could
attempt a response.  "Corwin's the IPO chief's son and Utena here is one
of his up-and-coming galactic go-getters."  She threw Utena a wink.  "In
the next little while, we'll all be looking at ways of increasing
communications across the Veil.  Strengthening ties."  She sat back in
her chair, ankles crossed, and grinned.  "It's a project I've been
trying to get off the ground for years, and now it looks like we finally
have an opportunity to make a start on it."
        "How will that affect day-to-day life in Republic City?" Emily
wondered, perking up at the scent of actual news.
        Korra shrugged.  "Odds are it won't, at least in the short-to-
medium term," she said.  "I mean, we're not looking at wholesale
integration into the galactic community.  I don't think you'd find many
people who even -want- that.  On the other hand, we need a better way of
knowing what's going -on- over there.  It's really about communication."
        Emily nodded, jotting some notes.  "Isn't everything," she said
wryly, recalling again their own recent difficulties with same.
        "Yeah, uh, listen, I'm sorry about that," said Utena, hand
behind head.  "My brilliant plan got a little out of hand.  In my
defense, it seemed like a good idea at the time," she added sheepishly.
        "Thank you," said Emily, a surprised and pleased smile touching
her face.  Then, a little ruefully, she added, "I think it's fair to say
that this whole mess doesn't represent -anyone's- finest hour."
        "Except maybe Cheong's, for putting up with the lot of us,"
Corwin quipped, drawing an only-slightly-awkward laugh.
        "Speaking of which, Miss Wong," Korra put in.
        Emily turned back to her.  "Yes?"
        Korra gave her a judicious look, then asked bluntly, "Tell me
something: Are you brave?  Like, -physically- brave?  I already know
you've got moral courage, or you wouldn't have just admitted all that to
a room full of total strangers.  But can you handle it when dangerous
stuff is happening?"
        Emily looked confused.  "I... yeah.  I can take care of myself.
I'm an earthbender."
        Korra's eyebrows went up.  "Really!  Even better.  OK.  I'm
gonna let you in on a little secret.  You know the Red Monsoon Triad?"
        "We haven't been formally introduced," said Emily dryly, "but
I'm familiar with the name."
        Korra chuckled.  "OK.  One more question.  Do you know what
Comet is?"
        "In the astronomical sense, or... ?"
        Korra shook her head.  "No.  It's a street drug."
        "Oh," said Emily.  "No, I haven't heard of it.  That's not
really my area at the moment."
        "Mm.  Well, it's some kind of designer variant on speed, we
think.  I'm not a chemist, so I couldn't tell you the details, but
basically what it does is supercharge firebenders."
        "Ah.  Hence the name," Emily said.
        Korra nodded.  "Exactly.  It's fairly new, originated out west
somewhere.  Caused some real problems in Caldera City and Fire Fountain.
The RCPD and I have been pretty lucky about keeping it from coming into
the city in bulk so far - but it's starting to turn up regardless, and a
buddy of mine in the Organized Crime Task Force, Inspector Imanishi, got
a tip that the Red Monsoons are going to try and start a -serious-
pipeline into town soon."
        Emily's brow furrowed.  "The Red Monsoons are waterbenders," she
said.  "Why would they be interested in a drug for firebenders?"
        "They don't want to -use- it, they want to -sell- it," Korra
told her.  "From that standpoint it's actually better if it's something
their own people don't have any use for.  No reason for them to sample
the merchandise."
        "But they'd be making their own enemies more powerful if they
sold it to, for instance, the Agni Kai."
        Korra nodded.  "I know.  They must think they have some kind of
angle.  We're still looking into that.  Anyway, the point is, we're
reasonably sure they're going to move a major shipment of the stuff into
the city sometime in the next few weeks, and we think we'll know when
and where in time to put a stop to it.  So I'll cut you a deal.  If you
do what you can to tidy up the mess your editor made so I don't actually
have to have the White Lotus sue the Tribune for libel - which I don't
want to do, but I will if I have to - and if you can keep the story
quiet until you and I are agreed that you can break it without screwing
up Eitaro's case, I'll talk to him about getting you embedded with the
task force when we go in for the raid."  She grinned, her eyes
twinkling.  "If you think you're up for that."
        Emily stared at the Avatar, her own eyes going wide.  "I - ...
you would do that for me?  That, that could be my break.  It -would- be
my break.  With my byline on a story like that, I could go anywhere."
        "I know," Korra said, still grinning.
        "For a chance like that, I'll typeset the retraction myself if I
have to," Emily promised.  She got to her feet and bowed, hands linked
in front of her chest.  "Thank you, Avatar.  I can't... I can't thank
you enough."
        Korra rose, walked around the futon, and clapped Emily on the
shoulder.  "I told you to call me Korra," she said.

        Despite her fatigue and the emotional roller coaster she'd just
ridden, Emily looked like she could've floated back to the mainland
herself, she was riding so high on the outcome.  Nyima and Vayu gave her
a lift anyway, just to be neighborly.
        "Where do you live, Emily?" Nyima asked as Vayu sped out over
the bay.  "We can run you straight home."
        Emily, leaning over the prow of the bison's saddle with her arms
crossed atop it, opened her mouth to reply; then she hesitated, a
thoughtful expression stealing over her face, and she said, "Actually,
Master Nyima, if you don't mind, I think I'd like to check in at the
office first..."

                      REPUBLIC CITY TRIBUNE TOWER
                             TRIBUNE SQUARE

        For just a second, Luo Qiang thought he'd dozed off in his
office and was having that dream again.  The one where the Wong girl was
yelling his name.  She was an irritating little creature in person, all
full of airs and ideas that she was going to be a Real Reporter someday,
and she had zero tolerance for old-fashioned newsroom paternalism; but
in certain of Luo's dreams, she tended to be much more amenable to
the... -traditional- role of a junior reporter.
        Then he realized that he was -not,- in fact, asleep at his desk,
and furthermore that Wong's voice seemed to be coming from behind him.
Which was a bit puzzling, since the only thing behind him was his office
window, and his office was on the 21st floor.
        He swiveled in his chair and then stared in amazement at the
sight of Emily Wong, standing with a face like thunder about ten feet
from the window, as though the office were at street level and she stood
on the sidewalk.  Startled, he bolted from his chair and threw open the
window.  Leaning out, he saw that Emily had not, in fact, somehow
learned how to fly, but - very nearly as astonishingly - was standing on
the back of an Air Nomad sky bison, whose master was keeping it in a
very steady hover just below the window.
        "Wong!  What in the world - " he began, but Emily cut him off.
Fists clenched and arms akimbo, face nearly crimson with rage, she
bellowed in a voice that could be heard plainly out in the bullpen:
        "You IMBECILE!  What in the WORLD!  POSSESSED you!  To LIBEL THE
AVATAR!  _IN AN ARTICLE WITH *MY NAME ON IT?!!*_"
        For a moment, Luo was so taken aback he couldn't even react;
then, a fury of his own rising, he leaned out the window and shouted
back,
        "Who the hell do you think you are, Wong?  I haven't seen your
cute little butt in the bullpen all day, and then you show up taking
that tone with me?"  Drawing himself up in a slightly futile attempt to
assert his authority over someone who was shouting at him from the sky
outside his window, he added lamely, " You're lucky I don't fire you!"
        Emily snorted, sneering at him, all the disdain and resentment
she felt at having spent two years as this patronizing cretin's lackey
boiling up at once.  "You CAN'T fire me!" she shot back.  "You don't
have the BALLS to fire me!  I'm the only thing standing between YOU and
the ENTIRE WHITE LOTUS LEGAL TEAM, you pusillanimous sack of talentless
mung!"  Pointing toward his chair with an imperious finger, she went on,
"Now you sit there and you THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU DID.  I'll be back to
clean up your mess when I'm FRIGGIN' GOOD AND READY!  And if you know
what's good for you, you'll stay out of my WAY while I'm DOING it!"
        Then, turning away, she sat down behind the low wall at the
front of the bison's saddle and gave it a couple of thumps with her
hand.  Not very convincingly hiding a smile under an impassive front,
the skinny Air Nomad youth at the "controls" twitched the reins and
guided the animal away from the building.
        As soon as they were a reasonable distance from the Tribune
building - which didn't take long at Vayu's cruising speed - Nyima
glanced back over her shoulder with a grin and said, "That was nicely
done."
        "I feel so much better," said Emily, sagging wearily against the
prow of Vayu's saddle.  "OK.  Now I can sleep."  She told Nyima her
address, but by the time they arrived, she was already out like a light.
She would always wonder thereafter how the spindly young Air Nomad had
gotten her up to her fourth-floor walk-up apartment and into her bed.

                           AIR TEMPLE ISLAND

        "Well, that must have gone well," Minami Sato announced,
striding into the sun parlor once the reporter had left the house.
        "Yeah, the walls are still vertical and I didn't see Miss Wong
launched into the harbor," Ryo added, carrying a small basket with him
as he followed his sister in.  "I still remember that one time when we
were at that joint meeting..." he continued, looking over at Korra.
        Korra, for her part, hadn't reacted to the siblings' words.
She was standing by one of the open east-facing windows, watching the
buff-colored form of Vayu receding towards the city skyline as Nyima ran
Emily home.  Once the bison was out of view, Korra's broad shoulders
sagged, and she turned and flung herself back into the chair she had
been occupying with a great sigh.
        "Four things never change: death, taxes, the spirits, and the
rumor mill," Korra grumbled as she looked up at the ceiling, not
addressing anybody in particular.
        There were murmurs of agreement from those assembled, especially
from Ryo and Minami.  Since Kate had taken the chair Emily had vacated,
the Satos found the chairs full and the futon-daybed arguably over-full
(since it had Annabelle, all three of her parents, and her dragon on
it), so they seated themselves at opposite ends of the sofa which stood
along the wall.
        "Still, it could have been worse... -much- worse."  Korra let
out a self-deprecating chuckle as she lowered her gaze from the
ceiling to her friends.  "The media's come up with some -whoppers,-
particularly back in the day."
        "Oh?  Do tell," Kate said with her impish smile.
        Korra rolled her eyes into a sidelong glance at the samurai.
"Well, since you asked so -nicely-..."  She reached back with her arms,
hands interlaced, stretching her body briefly before settling back down
into a more relaxed slouch.  "As you can imagine, with a job like mine,
in the public eye all the time, there've been all -sorts- of
contradictory theories as to who I was with at any given time, even if
the actual concrete evidence was right -there- in front of them.
        "Right from the start of my public career, I mean, you take my
original team - Mako, Bolin, Asami - any of them at any one time, or all
three of them at once (which, if nothing else, I have to take as a vote
of confidence in my stamina)... oh, don't give me that shocked look,
Minami.  I might be a girl, but your great-great-grandmother was -very-
attractive.  I had quite a bit of adjustment getting used to that, let
me tell you!" she added, reddening slightly with a smile.  "Nothing in
my woefully limited experience of the world up to then had prepared me
for Asami Sato blowing into my life."
        She grinned at Minami's blushing startled look, and Ryo's brief
dumbfounded expression.  "Hey, Asami had no shortage of suitors.  You
have to accept -that-, at least.  Do I have to explain the sparrowkeets
and the bumbleflies to you again?"
        Ryo shook his head.  "No, no, we're good."
        Korra chuckled.  "Good.  Anyway, that was just the tip of the
iceberg.  Pretty much -anybody- I've spent any significant time with, in
some fashion, I've been paired with romantically in the press.  Even
some of my enemies, weirdly enough - opponents in the pro-bending ring,
various people I've butted heads with out in the field... I never
understood that.  I mean, c'mon, -Tahno?-  I had to touch that guy to
give him his bending back, and afterwards I just wanted to go and wash
my -hands- for an hour."  She looked around at a small sea of puzzled
faces.  "You have no idea what I'm talking about now.  OK!  Moving on.
It was mostly my friends, anyway.  Bending teammates, colleagues from
Project Phoenix Flight or the White Lotus... even -Aang- didn't have to
put up with so much commentary on his social life."
        She sighed and made a what-can-you-do-with-this gesture.  "And
that was just the fanzines and stuff like Section Four!  It only got
worse when TV and computers started really taking off.  That was about
when the White Lotus finally got their act together and made a media
division to handle all of it."
        "So that's why Cheong's a Master Lotus," Kaitlyn mused.
        "Well, yeah.  He's not my first press agent, that position's
been around for nearly a century now.  They certainly managed to reduce
the number of embarrassing pictures I was in - spirits, that one of me
and President Raiko back in 171..."  Korra shook her head at an awkward
memory.
        "It can't have been easy for them - especially once you got to
the 'ubiquitous electronic media' stage," Utena commented.  "Harder to
get people to throttle back by talking with them, like we just managed
to do with Emily there."
        "Oh yeah," Korra nodded.  "For instance, back in 193 - that's
what, 2312 to you... agni, almost a hundred years ago," she said,
pausing for a second to fathom that.  Then, shaking herself slightly,
she went on, "I backseated for Asami in the Future City Historic GP -
the first one! - and for weeks afterward, this one guy on the Avatar
Spotters BBS (no lightningweb yet, remember) was -obsessed- with the
'crypto-lesbian subtext'."  With a faint smirk, she added, "Guy was
-really- reading into the winner's-circle champagne thing, if you know
what I'm saying."
        "Hmm, yeah, I've seen the pictures at the Sato Museum," Corwin
commented, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.
        Korra rolled her eyes and gently punched his shoulder, unable
to entirely suppress a smile.  "Pervert."
        Corwin shrugged.  "You guys looked awesome together," he said
mildly.  "I don't see how diggin' that is perverted."
        Minami opened her mouth, trying to think of something to
say. "That's..."
        "... well," Ryo finished for her, equally at a loss for words.
        Korra nodded sagely to the Satos.  "People will think the
craziest things, I know.  I've just had to get used to it.  Ah, you know
what it's like, right?"
        "We do indeed," answered the voice of Master Rohan, standing at
the doorway.  Behind him could be seen Meelo, with two lemurs on his
shoulders.  "Good afternoon, everyone.  Lady Anthy, I do hope the
discussion with Miss Wong did not upset little Annabelle?"
        "Oh, no, not at all," replied Anthy with a smile.  "She seemed
to be quite taken with her."
        "(Nobody cares if -I- was upset, oh noooo,)" Garnet mumbled.
        "My apologies, Mistress Garnet," Rohan replied, making the
airbender salute towards the dragonet.  "I did not wish to distract you
from your duties."
        Mollified, Garnet nestled back against Annabelle's shoulder.
"Fine.  Just see that it doesn't happen again."
        Rohan nodded graciously.  "Of course not, milady."
        "(mmm, 'milady'... I like that.  Can we keep him?)" the dragon
murmured to Anthy, drawing a chuckle from her and Utena.
        "I don't know, I'm pretty sure he's already taken," Utena
commented with a thoughtful look towards the airbending master.
        "That would be a correct assumption, Prince Utena," Rohan
replied, unperturbed.  "But I'll let my wife know that her good taste
is appreciated."
        "Speaking of which, I believe there's somebody else who would
like to meet the newest member of the family, isn't that right, Makoto?"
Meelo announced as he moved his way past his younger brother.  "And a
pleasant and delightful afternoon to you all as well," he continued as
he made the airbender salute and bowed, allowing Makoto the lemur to
take off from his perch and sail over to Anthy's shoulder.  Meanwhile,
the other lemur (a grey-furred ring-tailed specimen) absently picked
crumbs from Meelo's beard.
        "Thanks, Master Meelo," Utena replied, as she watched Garnet and
Makoto eyeing each other from their respective positions.  "It's
definitely been... different."
        "Also, Korra, I couldn't help overhearing the subject of your
discussion from earlier, about your colleagues," Meelo went on.  "What
would -my- romantic chances be, perchance?"
        Korra rolled her eyes with a put-upon expression.  "I changed
your diapers, Meelo.  That's an automatic disqualification."
        Meelo did not appear dismayed by this blatant dismissal.  He
just shrugged and replied with an amused smile, "Oh well.  Maybe in
another twenty years..."
        "(In another twenty years we'll be back where we started,)"
Korra muttered, almost inaudibly.
        "Spirits, I did -not- need that image," Minami said with an
exaggerated twitch, which her brother mirrored.
        Rohan coughed, and raised his voice.  "Be that as it may," he
said, trying to get the conversation back on track, "I have been in
discussion with Jinora about your plan to establish a homestead within
the borders of the United Republic, and I believe we have a potential
solution for you."
        "Wait, you're planning on moving here?" Minami asked, her
previous discomfiture forgotten.  "Why didn't you tell us earlier?"
        "Not full-time, but yeah, we're looking into building a home in
the Republic.  We just figured it out ourselves this morning," Corwin
admitted.  "And it might still be a little early to be using words as
generous as 'plan'."
        "Hell, son, if we'd known, we'd have gladly given you the back
forty on the ranch!" Ryo added.  "It's got a lake, you know..."
        Corwin laughed.  "Thanks, Ryo.  I appreciate it, I really do.
But I think we want something a little closer to Republic City.  Anyway,
we can dig into it more later on."  He smiled, looking over at Anthy and
Annabelle, who were watching the stare-off between Garnet and Makoto.
        Finally, the dragonet apparently judged the lemur no threat, and
moved aside so that Makoto could approach his mistress's daughter.  "All
right, you can pass.  But no funny business!"
        "Garnet, it'll be all right, believe me," Anthy said with a
smile.  "Makoto, this is Annabelle.  Annabelle, Makoto."
        Lemur eyes met baby eyes for several moments, and then with a
chitter Makoto turned around and scampered over Utena's lap to reach
the fruit bowl that had been placed on the endtable there, retrieving
one of the fruits within.  He then darted back to his place next to
Anthy and tried to offer the fruit to Annabelle.
        "Oh, that's very thoughtful of you, Makoto," Anthy said with a
gently reproachful smile as she guided the lemur's paws away from her
daughter's face, "but please don't take offense - Annabelle doesn't want
that right now."
        The lemur let out a puzzled chirp, looking around in confusion.
Corwin grinned and reached out his hand.
        "Hey, I do!  Is that a lychee?  Awright," he said as he accepted
the offered fruit and peeled it.
        Kaitlyn let out a thoughtful hum, and looked over at the Avatar.
"Korra, do you still -have- those pictures?  I'm curious."
        "What?  Yeah, on my laptop.  Ironically enough," said Korra with
a wink, thinking of Emily's recently declared distrust of digital photo
archiving.  "It's in my room, let me go get it," she added, starting to
get out of her chair.
        Meelo stopped her with a raised hand.  "Oh, no need to get up,
my love.  Let me handle it."
        With that, the aged master pulled out a small cylindrical
whistle from beneath his robes, and blew three sharp notes on it.
Immediately the lemur on his shoulder came to attention, and three other
flying lemurs soared in from the open sunroom windows and perched
on his other shoulder and his outstretched arms.  "Good, good!  Poki,
Tosa, Ogo, Limu, if you would be so kind..." he said, and then trailed
off into a series of chittering, clicking chirps and whistles.
        The four lemurs appeared to take this onboard, and as one they
leapt off Meelo's robes and soared back out the window, in such a hurry
that they didn't even seem to notice there had been a tiger in the room
the entire time.
        "Gonna be honest: That was a little disturbing," Ryo stated.
        "It is not for nothing that Meelo is called the Master of
Lemurs," Rohan stated gravely.  "Father always wondered what he had
unleashed upon the world when he taught my brother how to train them."
        "Well, I think it's charming," Anthy replied.  "Isn't that
right, Makoto?"
        "Pbrlt," replied the lemur.
        "She's got you there, Rohan," Korra remarked with a smile.
        "Mmm, yes," Rohan muttered.  "In any case, if you wish, I can
take you and your family out to see the site tomorrow, Corwin."
        "Sounds great," Corwin replied.  "Let's all go!"
        "Actually, I'm afraid I'll have to pass, Corwin.  I need to
meet with Eitaro tomorrow to let him know we're bringing Emily on board
for the Comet case," Korra explained.
        "And I think Juni-chan and I will be spending most of our last
day in town at the Zuko Academy," Kaitlyn added.  "So that she can show
Master Ito and me just how much she's improved in... gosh, a little
under a week?"
        "Time flies, doesn't it?" Korra asked with a grin.
        "Aw," said Corwin disappointedly.
        "I'd love to go, but I'm afraid I just can't," Minami said
ruefully.  "I'm already skiving off work today.  Ryo can go, though!"
she added brightly.  "His office is just for show anyway."
        "My loving sister, ladies and gentlemen," said Ryo cheerfully.
"But no, really, love to.  I can help you size up the site."  With a
sarcastic look at Minami he added, "I do have a little experience in the
building trades."
        "Sure, glad to have the help."  Corwin smiled at Anthy and their
daughter.  "Annabelle's first big day out!"
        Utena chuckled slightly.  "Man, the poor kid's going to be all
tired out, and she was just -born- less than 24 hours ago."
        Korra looked like she was about to say something, but at that
moment, the four winged lemurs returned through the open window,
carrying a pillowcase with a blocky item slung within it, grasped by the
open end in their lower paws.
        "Hah!  Not bad!" Korra exclaimed, catching the bundle as the
lemurs dropped the cloth-wrapped laptop in her hands.  "Good work, you
four.  Have some fruit," she said, gesturing towards the fruit bowl
before she extracted her Cabbage Computers laptop from within the
pillowcase.
        The lemurs thought this a fine suggestion, and scampered over to
the fruit bowl, ignoring the protests from Garnet in the process.  Once
they ate their fill, they chittered and squeaked at Makoto as they
exited out the window; all save the first ring-tailed lemur, who glided
back to Meelo's shoulder to resume his station.
        "-Very- good, Poki!  Here, have another," Meelo said as he
produced a lychee from a pouch beneath his robes and offered it to the
lemur.
       "All right!" Korra said as she pulled her armchair closer to the
futon, setting the open laptop on the bedspread so that those assembled
could get a better view.  "Gather 'round, kids, it's Avatar Storytime!"

        They whiled away an hour or two riffling through Korra's
enormous collection of photographs, which she had gathered together and
electronically conserved in a mildly deranged fit of diligence one
weekend not too long ago.  She had evidently run out of steam before she
got to the part where the pictures got -curated- in any but the most
rudimentary sense, so what she had was basically the digital equivalent
of a giant drawer full of photos - loosely stratified chronologically,
but otherwise mostly unsorted.  For their purposes today, though, that
was good enough, and half the fun came in the thrill of random
discovery.
        The eight (Annabelle, Serge, and Makoto weren't too interested)
were just starting to think about adjourning for dinner when Maki and
Izumi arrived, in civvies, bearing between them a large, bucket-shaped
object.  This proved, when set down and unpacked, to be a multi-leveled
bamboo arrangement for carrying prepared food.
        "Master Jinora's kitchen sends dinner for everyone, with her
compliments, so that Lady Anthy need not be left alone for the afternoon
meal," said Izumi with a smile as she started handing out plates.
        "Ah, the famous Air Nomad hospitality," said Ryo happily,
cracking a fresh pair of chopsticks.
        "If you don't mind, we'll stay and eat with you," said Maki,
only slightly hesitant about inviting herself.  "We're heading back to
Kyoshi Island tonight," she explained, "so this will be our last chance
to see you for a while."  With a wry grin for Corwin, she added,
"Hopefully not quite as LONG a while this time."
        "Bet on that," he said.
        "By all means, join us," Anthy agreed.  "There are more chairs
in the hall - Corwin, be a dear..."
        They dined informally in this cheerful, sun-drenched setting,
from collapsible tables or plates balanced on knees or just the free end
of the futon, making pleasant conversation.  Juniper arrived toward the
end, virtually bouncing into the room to inform her sensei breathlessly
that the afternoon's practice had gone very well indeed.  The Ponds
checked in shortly thereafter, having been out who-knew-where getting
all windswept and picturesque.
        "So... has anyone seen Nall since this morning?" Amy wondered.
        "Nope, no sign of him," said Utena.
        "This is, perhaps, not that surprising," put in Corwin dryly,
making her snicker.
        "What'd I miss?" Ryo wondered.
        "Uh, he and Lhakpa... sort of..." said Corwin, trailing off
with a vague "you know the rest of this verse" gesture.
        "Ohhh," said Ryo, nodding thoughtfully.  "She finally caught
him, eh?" he added with a wry grin.
        "Or he caught her," said Utena.  "I'm trying not to look that
closely."
        Ryo nodded again, repeating, "Ohhh."
        "Well," said Minami pragmatically after a moment's thought, "I
hope at least -one- of them has acquired some rudimentary capacity for
discretion, or Jinora may become the first airbender in history to kill
a dragon."
        "Be nice, Minmin," Ryo chided her.
        At meal's end, the party dispersed.  Anne excused herself first,
remarking that she was beat after a day of throwing her chi at the wall
(the phrase made Kate, Korra, and Corwin, all of whom had heard Azana
say it, glance at each other with little smiles) and wanted her bed
badly.  She bade everyone a fond goodnight and took herself off to it.
After packing up the dishes in the empty food carrier, Maki and Izumi
semi-formally took their leave with bows and polite words, though Maki
was hardly allowed to get away with -that- and received a sound hug from
both Corwin and Utena before she left.  Amy and Rory went along to see
them off at the train station, and shortly thereafter, the Satos
prepared to depart as well, saying their goodbyes and nice-meeting-yous
to Anthy, Annabelle, and Garnet.  Corwin and Korra went with them back
out to their autogyro and helped them get it untied and ready to go.
        "I'll see you in the morning, son," said Ryo, shaking Corwin's
hand.  "What time are you figuring on leaving?  I'll see if I can't get
out here by nine or so."
        "Why don't we just pick you up?" Corwin wondered.  "I mean, it's
Rohan's party, I assume we'll be going by sky bison, wherever we're
headed.  I'll call you when we leave."
        Ryo nodded.  "OK, sounds good.  We're still in the same place as
before."
        "Goodbye, Corwin," said Minami, hugging him warmly.  "It's been
wonderful to see you again, and I really enjoyed meeting your family.
Your daughter's lovely."  She kissed him on the cheek and let him go,
giving him a twinkling emerald wink.  "I was kidding before, but it
-does- make a girl think," she added with a grin, then trailed her
fingertips along the line of his bearded jaw as she turned away and
headed for the aircraft.  "Ready to go, Ryo?"
        Getting an affirmative thumbs-up from the back, Minami climbed
into the front cockpit, made certain the prop and rotors were clear, and
fired up the autogyro, then spun the rotors up to full RPM, cut the
power to the rotor head, gunned the main engine, and took off.  The
aircraft jumped into the air after only a short run across the grass by
the ba gua circle.  Corwin and Korra stood together and waved until the
autogyro was just a dot and a winking running light, far out across the
bay, then turned to each other.
        "Welp," said Korra, "I've got some stuff I have to do.  Besides,
you four deserve some alone-together time.  It's been a busy day!"  So
saying, she hugged him the way she had when he was a kid, picking his
feet up off the ground, and when she put him down, he did the same in
turn to her; then she, too, kissed him on the cheek, murmuring,
"G'night, Corwin."
        "Night," he said, and she broke away and trotted off toward the
ladies' quarters, giving him a wave back over one shoulder.  He watched
her go, smiling to himself, and then turned and walked back to Tenzin's
house.

        Evening was settling in, the shadows beginning to lengthen and a
touch of springtime chill to enter the air, but they stayed in the sun
parlor all the same, to eke out every last drop of the beautiful day
that they could.  Having seen to Annabelle's frequent but not onerous
needs while Corwin was parting from the Satos, Anthy was sitting up
reading as baby and dragon dozed in her lap.  When she'd returned to the
futon after the operations, she'd settled nearer to the edge.  Utena, in
the middle, slid over a bit closer so that Corwin, in turn, would have
room to lie beside her.  While Anthy read, they quietly, contentedly
cuddled next to her, discussing the day's events and how well the
meeting with Emily had finally turned out.
        An hour or so later, Anthy reached the end of the hardback
volume she was reading, closed it, and asked, "Corwin, dear, would you
do me a favor?"
        "Sure," said Corwin.  "What do you need?"
        "I've finished my book a bit sooner than I was expecting," she
said, holding up that item.  "Would you please take this one back to the
Air Temple's library and bring me back the next volume?" she said,
offering him the book.
        "I can do that," he said agreeably, rising.  Walking around to
her side of the futon, he bent and took the book.  Glancing at the
spine, he grinned.  "Aha," he said.  "Avatar Yangchen's memoirs.  I
think you would have gotten along with Yangchen..."  He bent further
and gave her a kiss, then headed off down the hall and out of the house.
        Despite the Air Nomads' well-deserved reputation for being an
orderly and scholarly people, the Air Temple's library was not very
well-curated, or at least Corwin had never thought so.  If the way it
was organized had some underlying logic, it had always eluded his own
mind.  It took him several minutes to find the rest of Yangchen's
memoirs, and they weren't filed in what he would have thought of as
order, either, so further hunting was required to find the volume he (or
rather Anthy) actually wanted.
        He was still engaged in that task when he noticed, out of the
corner of his eye, that one of the library's side doors was open.  He
turned to find Nyima standing framed in the doorway, regarding him with
a hard-to-read expression.  When his eyes fell upon her, she blinked and
reddened slightly, taking a half-step back as though she intended to
retreat.
        "Oh, hey, Nyima," said Corwin, preoccupied enough with his task
not to notice the details.  "What's up?"
        "Oh, uh, nothing, I - " Nyima began, but then, with a startled
yelp, she suddenly lurched into the room, bounding over the threshold to
keep from -falling- over it as she was unexpectedly shoved from behind.
        "Nyima has something she wants to tell you, Corwin!" said Lhakpa
cheerfully from the hall.  Then she slid the door shut with a bang and
could be heard trotting off down the hall, humming tunelessly.
        Nyima stood a couple of feet inside the closed door, feet a
little awkwardly placed where she'd had to put them for balance, her
face crimson and grey eyes wide with horror.  She looked back over her
shoulder, saw that the door was closed, and seemed to be weighing the
possibility of just crashing through it to escape, then turned back to
Corwin with a look of helpless dismay.
        For his part, Corwin just looked baffled.  He had seen the often
contentious relationship between the two sisters take many different
turns over the years, but this was a new one on him.  Nyima looked
terribly perturbed about something, out of all proportion to what Lhakpa
had just done.  All the calm, easygoing serenity she'd manifested on
this visit - the payoff, he assumed, for the diligent study and
discipline she'd undertaken to earn her master airbender's arrow so
young - had deserted her with her elder sister's precipitous act, and
she found herself hovering on the brink of blind panic.  He couldn't let
-that- go on if he could help it.
        "Hey," he said, his voice gentle.  "What's the matter?  You look
like she just trapped you in a cave with a wild animal."
        "I - I," Nyima stammered, her face going even redder.
        "C'mon," said Corwin, holding out an open hand.  "It's just me.
I'm not going to bite you."  He grinned wryly.  "Whatever it is, it
can't be -that- bad."
        Nyima hesitated, her continued impulse to flee warring with her
innately honest, trusting heart.  She took a slow step toward him, then
another; then she paused again and just looked at him, one fist pressed
against her lips to stop them trembling.  She stayed that way for a few
seconds, breathing deeply, visibly getting herself under control.
        Then, in a tiny, brittle voice, she said, "... i love you."
        Corwin looked back at her, his ice-blue eyes widening slightly,
not with alarm or even particular surprise, but a vast and warm
compassion.  He didn't flinch from the intensity in her eyes, nor the
raw and aching vulnerability of her; didn't recoil from her declaration
or seek to distance himself from it, physically or verbally.
        Instead, with a warm, slightly sad smile, he opened his hands
and said softly, "Aw, Nyima.  C'mere."
        She went to his arms, not embracing him in turn, but putting her
hands against his broad chest and resting her head between them instead.
The wool of his sweater was soft on her cheek and smelled faintly of
cedar.  Now that she'd made a start at confessing, the rest of it
spilled out of her in a low, husky murmur, the words almost jumbling
together as they rushed to escape.
        "I've had a crush on you since I was 10 but then you were gone
for six years and now you're back and you have a -child- and you're
married and I'm supposed to be a Master Air Nomad and I should be able
to move -beyond- all that kind of thing but I just can't I'm so sorry."
        "Hey, no, shh," said Corwin soothingly, enclosing her in his
powerful arms.  "You don't have anything to be sorry about."
        Nyima's eyes were moist as she raised her head (when not ducking
against his chest, she was nearly as tall as he) to look at him.
        "Are you angry?" she asked.
        "No, of course not," Corwin said; then, downcast, he went on,
"I'm a little sad, because..."  He hesitated, then went on with regret
in his voice, "... nothing I can say right now won't hurt you."
        Nyima lowered her head, resting her cheek against his chest
again.  "It's all right," she said softly.  "I wasn't expecting... I
wasn't even going to mention it."
        Corwin nodded, holding her a little tighter.  "I know.  But it
still makes me sad.  I don't like hurting people I care about.  And I do
care about you, Nyima.  I don't ever want you to doubt that... but I
can't give you what you want."
        Nyima nodded, her face still pressed to his chest, and asked
without looking up, "Is it because I'm ugly?"
        "Stop that," Corwin said, levering her chin up so that she had
to look at him.  "You're not ugly, Nyima.  The only ugly thing about you
is your belief that you are.  You're sweet and kind and -incredibly-
brave and honest.  I mean, you could have run away just now, or you
could have tried to bluff your way out, but you didn't.  No one can ever
take any of those things away from you."
        Corwin saw a shadow cross her eyes then, and couldn't help but
smile wryly.  "I know.  You're thinking 'well, if he thinks I'm so
great, then why... ?'"  She reddened slightly and ducked her head again.
"I don't know," he said.  "Not even the gods know how these feelings
work.  Only that they are what they are."  He lowered his own head onto
her shoulder, squeezing her in his arms again, and said quietly, "So...
I'm sorry."  He kissed the top of her head, prickly fuzz and all, and
added in a near-whisper, "I hate to let you down."
        Nyima made a sound that was half laugh and half sniffle, then
said quietly into his sweater, "You're not letting me down.  I let
myself down.  Some master airbender I am.  We're supposed to be able to
let go of earthly attachments, and here I am..."  She let out a faint
whimper.  "Great-Grandmother would be so disappointed in me."
        "Jinora was 16 once," Corwin said.  "Airbending master or not,
she knows you're not a machine."  With a faint, wry chuckle, he added,
"Where do you think your grandfather came from?"
        Nyima giggled in spite of herself, then raised her red-rimmed
eyes to his again.  "Even now you can make me laugh," she said.
        "Well, I'm glad I can help a little bit, anyway," said Corwin.
"I'm sorry it couldn't be more.  If it's any consolation, I do love you,
Nyima, just... not the way you were hoping."  He paused, then grumbled
self-critically, "That was less lame in my head."
        Nyima sniffle-giggled again; then she did put her arms around
him in turn, burying her face deeper in his sweatered chest, and said in
a muffled voice, "I'll take it."

        He was visibly out of sorts when he returned, later than
expected, to the sun parlor of Tenzin the Elder's house.  Both Utena and
Anthy noticed it; with a shared glance, they decided between them who
would raise it, and it was Utena who beckoned him to settle on the futon
between them, then asked him softly, "What's the matter?"
        Corwin gave her a thoughtful, slightly mournful look,
considering his reply carefully, and then said, "I just had to break one
of the kindest, gentlest, most loving hearts I know."
        "Ah," said Anthy with an understanding nod.  "Nyima."
        "You knew?" Corwin wondered.
        "Everybody knows," Anthy replied.  "I'm surprised she broached
the subject, though.  It isn't like her to do something she knows will
cause a disruption, however much healthier for her it's likely to be
that she's pulled off the scab."
        "Lhakpa sort of forced her hand," said Corwin ruefully, and he
explained what had just happened in the library.
        "Hnh.  Classy," Utena grunted, frowning.  "Someone needs to
teach that girl a lesson or two."
        "I intend to let her know as soon as I see her that I don't
appreciate the way she treats her sister," Corwin said, nodding.  "I
mean, they've always had kind of an adversarial relationship, but what
she just did was beyond the pale.  There's no excuse for treating
someone like that."  He sighed.  "Nyima's three years younger than
Lhakpa, Nall and me, so I can't remember when she was born, but I do
remember her as a toddler, then a little girl.  Lhakpa... and Nall, too,
sometimes... used to consider her kind of a nuisance.  The tagalong
little sister.  Me, I never saw her that way.  She's always been...
she's always been -interesting.-"
        He lay back against the upright part of the futon and stretched
out his arms along the back, one behind Anthy, the other behind Utena,
and sighed.  "When I was 11 and she was eight, and Lhakpa was out
chasing Nall around, Nyima taught me the ancient airbenders' language,
Xiaerba.  It's nearly a dead language nowadays, but she wanted to read
to me from the writings of Gyatso the Wise, Avatar Aang's mentor, and
she didn't want anything to be lost in translation."  He smiled slightly
at the memory.  "That's the kind of mind she has."
        "Huh, wow," said Utena, nestling into the crook of his arm.
"How long did that take?"
        "Three weeks," Corwin said.  When she glanced at him in
surprise, he shrugged a little sheepishly and said, "I'm good with
languages.  Get it from Dad.  It's a Detian thing."
        "Well," said Anthy after a few moments' thought, "I hope you
were gentle with her... assuming, of course, you don't reciprocate her
feelings."
        "I was," Corwin assured her.  "And I don't.  Well, I do and I
don't.  I mean, I do love her, and I don't mind saying so, to you, or
her, or anybody.  She's an old friend and a genuinely beautiful soul.
But I'm not -in- love with her."  He sighed.  "Philos, but no eros.
Standard needs more words."
        "Mm," Anthy agreed.
        They lay together, lost in thought, for perhaps half an hour,
during which time the last of the sunset filled the room with red light
and ever-longer shadows from the west.  Nobody bothered getting up to
turn on any lights until it was almost fully night, and then only
because Annabelle required routine maintenance that could not readily be
accomplished in the dark.
        That homely task seemed to return them all from their respective
reveries, though, and - with Annabelle fed, changed, and awake for the
moment - the revitalized trio and their offspring and dragon turned
happily to piling up some of what used, in Corwin's father's youth, to
be called "quality time".
        A while later, Utena had to retire to the smallest room by
herself for a time.  When she emerged and headed back toward the sun
parlor, she discovered that the hall offered an excellent vantage point
on the daybed well before the threshold.  From this angle, Garnet was
hidden in the covers somewhere, but everyone else was perfectly visible.
Utena paused about halfway along the corridor and leaned against the
wall, arms folded, and quietly watched with a fond smile while Corwin
and Anthy played with their infant daughter.  They were such a perfect
little picture, the three of them.  Mother, father, child.  She hadn't
anticipated how -right- they would all look together.
        And just like that, the feeling from last night was back.
Suddenly, without warning, she felt like a voyeur, possibly even an
intruder, and she knew that walking back into that room in this
condition would be both unfair to them and possibly unbearable to
herself.  They would sense her disquiet; they would ask her about it,
all in loving concern; and how could she ever admit to them, these
people she had sworn never to lie to or hide things from, that she
abruptly felt like an outsider in her own family?
        Silently, she took herself away - from the parlor, the scene,
the house itself.  She had to get out, get some air...
        ... try to figure out what she was feeling, and what in all the
worlds she could do about it.

        Late night on Air Temple Island, and Korra was on the prowl with
Niri by her side.  This was not an uncommon occurrance.  While she had
come a long way since her early days at the White Lotus compound in the
South Pole, some part of her would always feel more comfortable walking
alone with her thoughts, accompanied only by her faithful polar bear
dog.  It wasn't the healthiest of behaviors, and she well knew this,
but it was a long-established habit and she had come to terms with it.
She would never feel entirely comfortable bringing certain subjects up
with other people until she'd had at least a little time to process them
herself.
        Still, she knew that she was never truly alone, not any more.
There were her friends in Republic City and on Air Temple Island, her
extended family in the Southern Water Tribe and her surrogate siblings
that were the "airbabies" and their multitude of offspring.  And that
wasn't even factoring her past lives as the Avatar into the equation -
while she had not always appreciated their wisdom or presence, she
certainly valued their existence and Raava's connection to them all.
While many of the people whose lives she'd crossed had passed away, that
didn't lessen the impact they had made on her own life, and she
treasured each of their relationships in her own way.
        "In diversity, there is beauty; in diversity, there is
strength," the thought occured to Korra as she walked through the bamboo
forest to the northeast of the temple's training complex.  She forgot
exactly where she had read or heard it, but it resonated nicely with a
phrase in a text that Gryphon had lent her during one of her prior
visits to New Avalon: "Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations".
        The Avatar reflected on that statement as she climbed over the
rocks that defined the northern edge of the bamboo forest, followed by
Niri.  There was a certain undeniable truth to it, a wisdom brought from
a world of logic that she had never seen, but hoped to visit someday.
Nobody in Diqiu would even have had an opportunity to learn about the
worlds beyond Zipang, if not for the efforts of herself and others in
widening the cultural bridge between the two worlds and the galaxy
beyond.
        -That- was what the members of the White Lotus who had
perpetrated their ill-timed deception had forgotten, or never really
brought onboard in the first place.  That their homeworld could only
benefit from increased contact and interaction with Outside, that
perhaps their world -needed- a little "revolutionizing" every so often
to stir things up.  Not change for change's sake, of course - that sort
of thing rarely turned out well, consider Fire Lord Sozin - but
stagnation was death, and it had been both Aang's actions and her own
which helped break Diqiu from the stasis that had so gripped the world's
long history.
        And if she got outside help in doing that - and if they were
good, dear friends - well, the learned masters would just have to Deal
With It.
        Korra chuckled to herself as she worked her way past the ridge
and down to the scrub and brush that clung to its base.  She could see
the city lights now in the distance to the north and east, and the
waning quarter-moon that was Yue, just rising over the far peaks of
the eastern horizon.  She smiled at the sight, and looked out towards
the bay and Aang's statue beyond the cliffs below.  All quiet, all well,
nothing but the deep blue of the water reflecting the moonlight and
city light, the faint pink streak of hair at the cliff's edge...
        ... wait a second.
        Korra halted in her tracks and squinted to get a better look.
Yes, that -was- Utena Tenjou sitting there, in a heartbreakingly
familiar pose, at the edge of the cliff.  She couldn't see Utena's
expression from this angle, but she didn't need a diagram drawn to
figure out what it could be.  With a murmured word to Niri, she quietly
made her way to the clearing at the cliff's edge.
        Coming to a halt a few feet away from Utena, Korra was seized
by a brief moment of a kind of third-person deja vu.  She shook it off,
and then quietly stepped the rest of the way to the Duelist's side, Niri
hanging back a bit.
        "Utena?" Korra asked quietly, and then crouched down as the
younger woman didn't answer.  "Hey, what's wrong?" she asked again,
resting a gentle hand on Utena's shoulder.  As she did so, she got a
good look at the prince's face as she looked out over the bay.
        Korra blinked.  "Are you -crying?-" she queried, with no
accusation or censure in her voice, only concern.
        Utena shook her head jerkily, the first acknowledgement that
she had heard Korra at all.  "No," she said huskily.  "Maybe.  I don't
know.  There are definitely tears happening here."  She gave a helpless
shrug as she gestured aimlessly toward the water.  "Honestly?  I've got
-no idea- what's going on in my own head right now."
        "You picked a good place for it," the Avatar nodded quietly,
and she settled herself down next to Utena in a similar posture.  "Trust
me, I've been there, sister, and you're not alone."
        Utena glanced over at the shorter woman as she pulled one leg up
to her chest.  "Yeah?"
        "Oh yeah," Korra confirmed as she earthbent a few pebbles
between them, then chucked one of them into the waters of the bay.  "I
was a real -mess- back in the bad old days.  Seriously... but I doubt
you want to hear about that.  If you -did-, there's books in Jinora's
library that -really- go into depth about my psychological foibles.
'What Was the Early Avatar Korra Thinking?!' is practically an academic
category in and of itself."
        At Utena's dubious look, Korra caught herself, coughing into her
fist.  "Sorry, I know what that sounded like, and that wasn't what I
meant.  -My- issues were due to upbringing and circumstance, which are a
different barrel of cuttlefish."  She looked at Utena in profile,
studying the drying tear tracks on her cheeks.  "I get the feeling your
worries are a lot closer to home."
        Utena made a halfhearted nod.
        "So look," Korra went on, "just... say what you want to say,
however you want to say it.  It won't go beyond these ears, unless you
wish it.  Avatar's honor."
        "All right," Utena replied, and then her brow furrowed and
she directed a curious glance at the Avatar.  "What did you mean by,
'a good place for it'?"
        Korra smiled faintly and gestured for Niri to approach.  Lying
down behind them, the polar bear dog made a quiet, solid presence at
their backs.  Thus situated, Korra leaned against her companion's warm
side, and looked out across the bay at Aang's statue.
        "Once... longer ago than I want to admit..." she began quietly,
"I came up here and sat right about where you are now, looked over at
that big crazy city that I didn't even -slightly- understand, and
thought, 'Great spirits, I cannot do this.  This is so much bigger than
I can be.'"
        With a sigh, Korra flung another pebble into the water below.
"Believing in myself had never been a problem for me before, but up to
then it was mostly bravado, and that night, alone in the dark, it was
all just falling down around my ears.  I was a sham.  A failure.  I was
the worst Avatar ever and pretty soon everyone was going to know.
        "I wanted to quit.  Run away.  Just crawl back to the South Pole
with my tail between my legs and admit that everyone who said I wasn't
good enough was right.  I sat right there and I knew, I -knew,- that
whatever it was going to take to cope with my situation, it just wasn't
in me."
        Korra took a quiet breath and let it out, briefly lost in an old
memory.  Utena waited a few moments before asking,
        "... And then you found it?"
        The Avatar came back to herself, and shook her head.  "No; it
found me.  Or rather they did.  See... I had forgotten for a second that
I -wasn't- alone.  I had friends."
        Utena considered this, and nodded.  "They must've been really
good friends.  I saw the way you looked at their pictures earlier."
        "They were the best," Korra said with a smile.  "Oh, we had our
ups and downs and weird communication problems and stupid fights and
ill-advised intersections at first.  We were just kids, after all,
trying to navigate uncharted waters, at the same time we were all up to
our eyebrows in stuff real grown-ups would have had a hard time coping
with.  Of course it was all going to go wrong sometimes - it was like
ice dodging with blinders on.  But at the end of the day, Asami and the
Bros were the best friends anybody could hope for.  We could tell each
other anything."
        Utena managed a smile, the first of that night.  "Heh.  You just
reminded me of something I said to Himemiya years ago."
        Korra looked puzzled.  "Who?"
        Utena glanced at her, then chuckled at herself.  "Anthy.
Himemiya is her maiden name.  I got in the habit of calling her that
when we were at school - before we were even really friends, much
less... anything else.  That was the kind of school it was."
        She took a deep breath, and continued.  "Anyway, when we were
-becoming- friends, I realized that she was keeping a lot of secrets.
Painful ones.  And I thought it was because she didn't have anyone
who... who cared enough about her to hear them.  To... to -be there-
for her.  I didn't think that was right, so one day I told her that -I-
wanted to be there for her.  'Whatever's bothering you, bring it to me.
That's the kind of friends I want us to be.'"
        Korra took that onboard for a moment, then smiled.  "I like
that.  That works for me."  She gave Utena a gentle, playful nudge to
the shoulder.  "So bring."
        "... OK."  Utena turned her eyes away from the Avatar and gazed
out to sea, falling silent as she gathered something inside herself.
Then, without looking at Korra, she said as if confessing a terrible
crime,
        "I didn't want this."
        Utena cringed inwardly for a moment, but no reaction came from
Korra except for a quiet, gentle, "Go on..."
        At the Avatar's nonjudgemental tone, something inside Utena just
broke loose.  The sluice gates were open, and the words poured out.
        "I don't know how much Corwin's written about me in his letters
to you, but I'd never really thought about having a child before Anthy
brought it up.  I didn't have any idea Anthy was even interested in
having children of her own until she raised the subject last year, which
shows how much -I- was paying attention at the time.  I mean, Juni-chan
had just come into our lives; she was enough of a kid-raising experience
for me as it was, and she's more Kate's student than mine, anyway.  Then
there was Corwin's graduation, and the whole 'Big-Fire-Invades-the-Prom'
thing that happened - I assume Corwin told you about -that- at least."
        Korra gave Utena a wordless nod, and motioned for her to
continue.
        "Huh, now that I think about it, that night might've been the
point where the idea started to germinate in Himemiya's mind.  Allfather
knows -I- was worried about him when the big throwdown in New Avalon
happened, and I wasn't even thinking 'father of my potential future
child' like she probably was by then... "  Utena trailed off, then shook
her head.  "Sorry, that just -clicked- for me, right now."
        The Avatar smiled slightly.  "No problem.  Happens to the best
of us."
        Utena managed a dry chuckle, took another breath, and continued.
"-Anyway.-  I've never had any desire to bear children myself (and quite
frankly, having seen it happen, I now have -less- than zero interest),
but if Anthy wanted to go through with it, who was I to stop her?  And
if Corwin was OK with it, sure!  It's his DNA, after all.  So I... went
along.  It's just, now that it's -happened-..."
        She paused, trying to regain the thread of the conversation as
her confused thoughts intruded once more.  Korra waited patiently as
Utena re-gathered herself, and took a different tack on it.
        "I mean, look.  A lot of my life has been stepping up to the
plate, even if I have no idea what the batting order is, and giving it
my best, swinging for the horizon.  Kate and the Duelists, Dad and the
IPO - full steam ahead, doing the best I could, no matter how much I
stumbled along the way.  Thanks to them, I think I've done a lot of good
in the world, and even if my life path isn't anything you'll hear about
in a college career center, it's been pretty satisfying.
        "The thing is, -parenting- definitely didn't factor into it.
At least, not for a good long while!  Building a family with Himemiya
and Corwin - sure, I didn't have any problem with -that-, I proposed to
-both- of them in the first place!"
         At Korra's curious eyebrow, Utena coughed and blushed slightly.
"Well, not at the same -time-.  It was three years apart, give or take.
There was a long time there where Corwin and I... sort of held ourselves
back, until Anthy finally got fed up with it, sat us down, and told us
we didn't have to."
        Korra made a wordless "ah" and nodded.
        "Please don't think I'm hating on them - on US - having had a
child," Utena said, her scattered mind scampering back to the previous
thread.  "I mean, Annabelle's -wonderful.-  She really is, she's
amazing, and I'm glad that she's here with us now.  You've seen how
everybody's taken with her, and the joy on Corwin and Anthy's faces when
they look at her... "  She shook her head.  "It's a -marvel.-  The only
times I've seen them come close to that were the days when we got
married.  I'm -not- envious, and I -know- they're still a part of my
life, and always will be, but..."
        Utena trailed off, then went on in a quieter voice, "... but
that's -Corwin's daughter- there.  And they look so -natural- together.
So -right.-  And however much they say I am, however much they want me
to be, on some fundamental level I'm not really part of that.  That's
just biology.  We can't change it."  She squeezed her eyes tightly shut,
and another tear trickled down her cheek.
        Korra reached over and rested a gentle hand on Utena's shoulder,
patiently waiting for her to continue at her own pace.  After several
sniffles, Utena brushed the tear-streak away, and looked down at her
hands with a mixed expression.
        "I didn't -want- this," she gestured with her right hand, "but I
didn't -not- want it either," she added with her left hand.  "I don't
think Corwin could even -work out- the logic for that.  I'm not sure
even -Aunt Bell- could!"
        With a cry, Utena threw up her hands and looked up at the night
sky.  "Aaagh, this is confusing enough already!"  With an angry sound,
she snatched up one of the pebbles that Korra had earthbent, and flung
it out into the bay.
        The Avatar didn't have any time to appreciate the Rose Prince's
throwing arm, however, for just then Utena turned where she sat, facing
Korra fully for the first time that night.  Her eyes were intense, her
face serious as she sat up straighter, no longer slouching towards the
cliff edge, but leaning towards Korra as she gesticulated.
        "There's something you've got to understand, Korra... Himemiya
spent -years- being denied any agency whatsoever, partly by -herself.-
But only partly.  The situation she was in... I can't even -describe- it
properly right now, at least not with a level head!  One of the main
things Corwin and I fought for was to give her control of her life,
restore her sense of... of her own -identity.-  Her value as an
individual.  Back when I was in school at Ohtori, and when Corwin came
to Cephiro for his Trial.  And always, ALWAYS afterwards, we did
everything we could to enable the opportunites she didn't have when she
was in her 'birdcage'.  And she loved them!  And we loved her having
them!  When she came back to Midgard with me, she fit in with the rest
of us like she was always -meant- to be there!"
        Korra nodded, unperturbed by Utena's intensified, rather
disjointed explanation.
        "So," Utena went on, "when she came to me and said she wanted a
child... I mean, what was I going to do, tell her no?  'You can't do
that'?  After we fought the whole damned -world- so that none of us
would ever have to hear that again?" She threw up her hands again and
slumped backwards against Niri's side.  The polar bear dog accepted the
treatment without complaint as Utena crossed her arms.
        "I was kind of trapped by my own principles.  Corwin and I moved
-heaven and earth- to win her freedom.  Naturally that included the
freedom to have aspirations I didn't share.  If it didn't, that would
mean I was a liar."  She turned her head to look directly at Korra.
"-I'm not a liar.-"
        Korra met Utena's blue-eyed gaze with her own.  "I know you're
not, Utena," she said with such direct earnestness that it calmed the
Rose Prince somewhat.  Utena relaxed slightly as she returned her focus
to the sea, sky, and statue beyond, and gained a newfound appreciation
for the warmth of a polar bear dog's sides.  She let out a long sigh,
and stretched her arms back against Niri's fur before lowering them
again.
        "It's just I'm not sure -what- I'm feeling," Utena admitted
quietly.  "And Emily's words didn't help any.  'Sometimes crazy works.'
I quipped it at the time, but... -are- we crazy for having done all
this?  What's -wrong- with me, for thinking this in the first place?
Why couldn't I tell Himemiya and Corwin about it?"  She looked up at the
fully-risen quarter moon, the moonlight reflected in her eyes.  "Our
entire -relationship- is based on being able to tell each other
-anything.-  Me and Anthy, me and Corwin, Corwin and Anthy, all three
of us together... we're the the -Trinity-, for pete's sake!"  She shook
her head.  "I just feel like I'm letting them down, -twice-."
        With that, Utena let out another long sigh, her energy spent.
She and Korra sat there in silence for several drawn-out moments, the
only sounds between them that of Niri's heavy breathing and the surf
below.
        "Mmm.  Heavy stuff," Korra finally said once she judged enough
time had passed.  "I admit, it's a bit of a puzzle, but I'll give it
my best shot."  She stretched her arms back (much like Utena had
earlier), then relaxed, and looked over at the pink-haired Duelist.
        "Okay, first off - I assume you've already internalized the
whole 'a person's body is her own, nobody else has the right to dictate
what happens to it' thing, right?"  A nod from Utena, and Korra
continued, "Good, good.  Well then, take Azana, for instance."
        Utena raised an eyebrow.  "What about her?"
        "Well, she's a career woman, like you.  One of our best and
brightest, and I doubt she'll be playing pro-bending forever - not that
I think she'd fail if she went for the long haul, but...  She's got
the knowledge and the skills to really make a career out of teaching
if she wanted, and if not, there's always other places that could make
use of her talents to protect others.
        "Despite what her -mom- might want," (at this Korra rolled her
eyes,) "Azana doesn't see herself ever bearing a child either.  She's
comfortable with that - happy about it, even.  And that's perfectly fine
by me."
        "How do you know about this?" Utena wondered.
        "After-game beers with the Fire Ferrets after the championship
last year.  Wan and I were the most sober people in the room, and that's
not saying much."  Korra picked up a pebble and tossed it into the bay
before continuing.  "So, not seeing yourself raising a child (however
you do it) at this point of your life - perfectly understandable.
Child-free's a completely legitimate life choice."
        Utena nodded slowly.  "All right... but that's not really my
problem.  I don't feel pressured to... uh... join the club myself.  I
just... where do I fit?  How do I -react?-  Knowing my own choice is
legitimate doesn't help me address any of that," she pointed out.
        Korra considered this fact for a moment.  "True.  Hrm.  Well,
there's always sparring..."
        "Wait, what?" Utena asked, briefly derailed.
        "Get the blood flowing, all the negative energy out and spent.
I'm sure you and Kate've gone a few rounds to settle matters or clear
the air before, right?"
        "Well, -yeah-, but that wasn't involving stuff between me,
Anthy, and Corwin.  Also, would that even be fair?  I mean, you're the
Avatar, and I'm, well... -me-."
        "Well, sure, if we set a few ground rules," Korra said with a
grin.  "No bending, no blades, no magic, no Avatar State.  Just you,
me, the ground, and the bay beyond."
        "Thanks for the offer, Korra, but... I'm not sure that'd help,"
Utena admitted.  "Besides, I've never really learned -how- to fight
empty-handed."
        "Really?" the Avatar replied with raised eyebrows.  "I thought
that was standard training for IPO agents."  She shook her head, quietly
amused.  "First Anne, now you.  Man, do I need to tutor -everybody-
here?  Ah well, another time, then."
        The two of them looked out toward Aang's statue in silence for
a while, until Korra spoke again.
        "Anyway, to address what Emily said, I don't think you're crazy.
But you've gotta be willing to take time for -yourself-.  'Cause believe
me, buying too much into your assumed self-perception as 'The Rose
Prince' or 'The Trinity'... or 'The Avatar'... can get painful."  She
closed her eyes briefly at an old memory, before opening them again to
look at Utena.  "You're all connected, and that's -wonderful-, I've
rarely seen anything like it... but you're all -human- too.
        "And being human means you're gonna stumble sometimes.  There's
gonna be doubts, things you fear you can't tell anybody else, for
whatever reason.  But that's -OK-.  And you don't have to worry about
negative reactions from Corwin or Anthy whether you bring it up or not.
If you tell them about it, or don't tell them about it, they won't turn
you away or censure you.  That's not the people you and I and Kate and
all the rest know.  It's not the Anthy Jinora's grown so fond of, and
it's for -damn- sure not the Corwin I've known all his life."
        Seeing the slight fierceness in Korra's eyes as she said the
last part, Utena couldn't help but smile a little, even under the
circumstances.
        "I like how sure you are of that," she said.  "Y'know, it occurs
to me that you basically knew him for all the time I didn't, and vice
versa.  Between us we more or less cover his whole life, apart from a
few months... "  She trailed off, looking thoughtful, then said, "I
never thought about it before, but there must be a big adjustment
happening lately for -you,- too.  Those were pretty important years."
        Korra chuckled.  "Eh, not so big," she said easily, then
admitted, "I -was- a little worried that it might be.  I mean, I had his
letters, but still - before I left for Cephiro, I tried to prepare
myself in case the boy I knew so well had grown up to be a man I didn't
recognize.  Maybe even didn't particularly like... "  She shook her head
with the same sentimental smile Utena had seen during their conversation
with Emily, when the reporter had asked Korra what she was to Corwin.
"But he hadn't.  I mean, yeah, obviously in some respects he's -very-
different from the last time I saw him... but in all the ways that
MATTER he's exactly the same as he always was."
        "'And Corwin will always be Corwin, even on Judgment Day,'"
Utena quoted.
        Korra nodded, recognizing the line.  "Yeah, exactly.  So no
worries there.  Heck, he's better than before.  All that realized
potential.  Remember the photo I showed you earlier of my original crew?
Grown-up Corwin is like somebody made the greatest hits album.  Bolin's
effortless charm and his huge heart, Mako's bravery and dedication to
his work, Asami's amazing brain and her spirit of adventure.  Having him
around is... "  She grinned.  "Not hard work."
        Utena surprised herself slightly by coming up with a genuine
giggle for that.  "That's good, I have to remember that."
        "ANYway," said Korra.  "The point is, you know these people
better than anybody.  Maybe better than you know yourself.  So if you
stop and take a deep breath, you'll know: They're not going to push you
away or come down on you for having normal human feelings about such a
huge change in your life.  I mean, you tell me... -does- that sound like
your family?  Judging without cause?"
        Utena blinked.  "No, of course not!"
        "Well, there you go, then," Korra said with a smile as she
leaned back against Niri again.  "I think it'll work out... and I think
you'll do fine."
        The Rose Prince brought that onboard with a "-huh-," and then
chuckled a bit.  "I think you've got a point there, Korra."
        "I generally try to," the Avatar grinned, and gently bumped her
hand against Utena's at her side.  "Funny thing about families, Utena -
they may start with blood, but they don't end there.  Heck, sometimes
they don't even -start- there.  Karana and Azana are family by their own
choice; have been ever since they were twelve.  And Aang, Katara, Sokka,
and the rest of the Gaang - they were family long before Aang and Katara
got married."
        "You know, that sounds familiar," Utena mused with a smile.
        "I know, right?" Korra agreed.  "So yeah, Annabelle may be
genetically Corwin and Anthy's kid, but -family- wise, she's just as
much yours too."
        "So... what do we do now?" Utena asked after mulling it over.
        "Well, our doors are always open here, you know," the Avatar
offered.  "Even if you don't technically have a place in Republic City
yet, Jinora and the rest would be more than willing to host you for as
long as you need.  Give you a little more time away from the rest of the
outside galaxy, to get some more breathing room and find a new balance."
        "Hm, I don't know... I wouldn't want to impose, but it -is-
tempting," Utena admitted.  "I'd have to discuss it with them."
        "Well, there you go!" Korra proclaimed with a playful tap on
the shoulder.  "Heck, stay long enough, I could even take the three of
you ice dodging.  I kinda was planning to take Corwin all those years
ago, but then you happened, and well... " She gave Utena a sheepish
grin.
        "Sorry about that," Utena replied with one of her own, her hand
behind her head.  "Believe me, it wasn't planned!"  She then paused, as
something from earlier linked up with what Korra had just said.  "Wait a
second, what's ice dodging?  You mentioned it before."
        Korra answered with a smile.  "It's a Water Tribe rite of
passage, one of several that we have.  You basically have to show that
you can command others in treacherous water conditions - it's a big
way to demonstrate mutual trust.  When people outside the tribe do it,
they'll often be made honorary members - that's how Aang got formally
recognized as part of the Southern Water Tribe, for one."
        "Wait, so that means..." Utena said, eyes widening.
        Korra nodded.  "I intended long ago to make Corwin part of the
Tribe - MY tribe.  And I would be more than pleased to extend the same
invitation to you and Anthy."
        "I... wow.  We'd be honored!"
        "Sounds like a plan, then."  Korra grinned, and held up a fist
to Utena.
        Grinning, Utena held up a fist of her own, and bumped it against
Korra's.  "I'm proud to be a part of it."
        With all that worked out, Utena at last began showing signs that
her mind was spinning down enough that she could rest.  Falling silent,
she leaned against Korra's shoulder for a while.  Eventually, her head
nodding, she began drifting gently into sleep, sliding slowly to one
side and down as her body relaxed.  Korra sat looking out to sea, a
thoughtful look on her face, while Utena semiconsciously made herself
more comfortable alongside her.  She probably ought to have packed the
younger woman off to bed, but it would have broken the moment somehow,
and besides, after all they had just challenged together, she was
content to let her be.
        The Avatar sat for a minute so, reflecting on all that had just
passed, while the surf washed against the rocks far below and Republic
City gleamed on the disance.  As she did, the sights and sounds and
scents of her surroundings called a bit of a favorite "big universe"
poem to her mind:

The lights begin to twinkle from the rocks:
The long day wanes: the slow moon climbs: the deep
Moans round with many voices.  Come, my friends.
'Tis not too late to seek a newer world.

        Without really thinking about it, she began to sing, the well-
worn words of a lullaby in her native tongue rolling softly and sweetly
from her lips:

<This day is over now,
Tomorrow soon will come;
So rest, my child, and dream,
And know that you are loved.

The hunters will return soon,
The fishers with their catch.
The spirits dance above our land
To light them to their homes.

This day is over now,
Tomorrow soon will come;
So rest, my child, and dream,
And know that you are loved.

Yue smiles upon us, child,
Tui and La swim ever on;
And you and I are warm and dry
And safe from every harm.

This day is over now,
Tomorrow soon will come;
So rest, my child, and dream,
And know that you are loved.>

        By the time she finished, Utena was fast asleep, her head
pillowed on Korra's thigh, one fist drawn loosely up under her chin.
Looking down at her sleeping face, Korra found that she was one of those
people who sleep like children, all their cares erased from their faces
in repose.  She smiled at the sight.
        <Man.  Haven't sung like that in a while.  I missed it,> Korra
mused, mostly to herself, as she looked up at the quarter moon.
        <You've always had a beautiful voice, Korra,> replied the moon,
the Avatar's dear friend, her face reflected in her own light.  <And it
looks like it was just what your young friend needed.>
        <Heh, thanks.  And hey, Yue?  Thanks for the light tonight.  It
really helped the mood.>
        <It was my honor and pleasure, Korra,> said the Moon Spirit.
<I look forward to seeing more of your new friends in the future.>
        <I'm certain there'll be plenty of times for that, Yue.>  Korra
yawned deeply, relaxed further back on Niri's side, resting a hand on
the sleeping Utena's shoulder.  <And that's it for me, I think.
Unnukkut angijuga Yue.>
        <Unnukkut nukara Korra,> replied the moon spirit with a fond
smile, before withdrawing fully to her celestial abode.  Korra waved
with her free hand as she departed, then gently rested it on the
side of Utena's head and very slowly, carefully straightened her legs,
so that she could fully relax, without disturbing the younger woman.  As
she drifted off to sleep herself, running her hand through Utena's hair,
she gave the Duelist one last look, and smiled softly as she murmured,
        "Unnukkut paniga Utena."

                            FRIDAY, MARCH 19

        Utena returned to Tenzin's house not long after dawn, feeling
surprisingly good considering she'd slept on the ground.  In the opening
light of what looked like being a gorgeous day, the shadows - outer and
inner - of the previous night seemed as though they belonged to a time
much longer ago.
        Roused by the sunrise, she and Korra had parted without
exchanging a word beyond morning greetings.  In one moment the two women
had shared, smiling silently at each other, hands still clasped where
one had pulled the other to her feet, they felt as though they had known
each other for -years-, not a week; and having known each other for
years, they had no need of conversation on an occasion such as this.
The smiles, and the hands, said whatever needed saying.
        She entered the house quietly, assuming the others would still
be asleep, and indeed, she was 75 percent correct; entering the bedroom,
she found Corwin sprawled on one side of the bed, one of his hands
outstretched and resting on the edge of Annabelle's cradle, while their
daughter and her dragon slept within, Garnet coiled protectively around
Annabelle's body.  The only evidence of Anthy, though, was the mussed
covers on the empty side of the bed.
        Utena kicked off her shoes and went into the bathroom,
unbuttoning her wool shirt as she went.  Anthy was in the bathtub, sunk
down to her shoulders in suds.  She looked up as Utena entered, an
expression of relieved concern on her face.
        "We missed you last night, darling," she said, without
aggression.
        "Yeah, uh... sorry about that," said Utena.  She shrugged out of
the shirt, balled it up, and put it in the corner hamper, then went and
sat on the wide coaming around the capacious tub, peeling off first one
sock, then the other.  "I went for a walk.  Had a... lot of stuff on my
mind."  She looked up, meeting Anthy's eyes, and smiled.  "I think I'm
OK now.  I'm sorry if I worried you."  Then, looking around the room
(for what, she wasn't sure), she said, "Come to think of it, I'm a
little surprised you didn't come looking for me.  Or, well, that Corwin
didn't.  Or at least Lens me."
        "I asked him if he thought we should," Anthy said.  "He just
shook his head and said we ought to leave you be; that if you were in
any difficulty we could help with, you would call for us."
        Utena's cheeks colored; she glanced away, abashed.  "Damn," she
said softly.  "I didn't think I was that obvious."
        "You wouldn't have been," Anthy said gently, "to anyone who
didn't know you so well or love you so much."
        Utena hung her head.  "I'm sorry," she repeated.  "I didn't want
to worry you."
        "It's -all right,- my love," Anthy insisted.  "We're all going
to have moments when we need to step back and gather ourselves.  I hope
you don't think I have -ever- assumed that no adjustment would be
required on your part, or that it would be easy for you to make."
        Utena looked up at her, then gave a wan smile.  "Thank you."
She really did feel better about the things that had been bothering her
the night before; now she was just working on the revelation that she
hadn't been as discreet about them as she thought.  Recovering something
of the equanimity she'd come in with, she chuckled wryly and quipped,
"You give birth and I get post-partum depression.  That seems fair."
        Thus restored, she rose and said with a grin, "I don't suppose I
can interest you in switching to the shower."
        "Plenty of room in here," Anthy remarked, indicating the size
of the bathtub.
        "I've kind of gone off tubs at the moment," Utena replied.  She
reached into the shower cubicle, turned it on, and left it for the hot
water to start coming while she took off the rest of her clothes.  Then,
turning, she saw that Anthy had pulled the draincock and risen from the
tub while her back was turned.
        "Wh - "  Utena blinked, resisting an urge to ostentatiously rub
her eyes.  "You... where's..."  She looked suspiciously around the room
again.  "Is this -real?-  Did I -dream- the last year?"
        Smiling just a little wickedly at her confusion, Anthy stepped
out of the tub and walked over to her - right up to her - draping her
arms around Utena's neck and pressing herself as close as if they had
been slow dancing.  Slender and athletic, honed by the Duelist training
regimen she'd adopted not long after their wedding, Anthy's body fitted
almost perfectly to Utena's when she stood on tiptoes.  This had not
been the case for some time now, and, Utena had been given to
understand, should not reasonably have been expected again so soon.
        Forehead to forehead, so close Utena could feel her lips moving
as she spoke, Anthy murmured in a low, amused purr,
        "I'm a witch, darling."
        With that, she kissed her dumbfounded husband thoroughly, then
guided her into the shower and closed the glass door behind them.

        As if to make up for her disappearing act the night before,
Utena took her first turn at minding Annabelle alone (apart from Garnet)
so that Anthy could go with Corwin to breakfast.  She regretted missing
the stir Anthy would cause, turning up looking as though nothing much
out of the ordinary had happened to her at any time in the past year,
but on the other hand, she'd seen it first and, as it were, in the
greatest detail.  Besides, she'd gotten to see Corwin's reaction when,
at length, they emerged from the bathroom and found him sitting on the
edge of the bed, smilingly contemplating his sleeping daughter.
Glancing up, he'd performed a double take for the ages, the thought of
which could still make Utena giggle twenty minutes later.
        As they were preparing to leave, Corwin drew Utena aside and
asked quietly, "Are you OK, elskr?"
        "Yeah," she replied, nodding.  Honestly, she added, "I wasn't?
But I am now."  Smiling, she added, "Thanks to your imaginary friend."
        Corwin gave her a thoughtful smile, but didn't press for
details; instead, he kissed her gently, said he was glad, and then he
and Anthy went to breakfast.
        In the dining hall, just as Utena had predicted it would,
Anthy's transformation stopped the breakfast conversation dead upon her
entrance.  None of the clothes she had brought with her fit any longer,
of course, so she was wearing Utena's - a pair of her cargo shorts and a
Fire Ferrets T-shirt - which made the change doubly impossible to miss.
Everyone, from the young Air Nomads to the aged masters, stopped talking
and eating to gaze at her in dumbfounded silence.
        Silence which, after a second or two, was broken by Master Ikki
declaring flatly,
        "-That- is -cheating.-"
        Then, grinning broadly, she applauded, as did several of her
fellows.  With a slightly blushing, self-deprecating smile and wave,
Anthy went to take a seat at Korra's table.
        "How did you do that?" Rory wondered, not incredulously, but in
a tone of simple curiosity.
        "Magic," Anthy replied cheerfully.
        "Ah," he said matter-of-factly, "that'd do it," and he returned
to work on his pancakes without another word.
        "That's a spell every woman should know," Amy quipped dryly.
"Just in case."
        "As far as I know - oh, thank you," said Anthy as an Air Acolyte
brought her a tray of food.  "As far as I know, my mother's people
invented it," Anthy said, then smiled a touch darkly and added, "Most
magical researchers probably don't know about it because they're looking
in the wrong grimoires.  Its name hasn't anything to do with pregnancy
or childbirth.  It's called 'The Assassin's Last Surprise'."
        Amy tilted her head curiously, then smiled a little cruelly
herself as the scenario unpacked in her imagination.  "Ahhh," she said.
"Clever."
        "Good grief, where did your mother come from?  Renaissance
Florence?" Rory wondered.
        "Svartalfheim," Anthy replied blithely.  "Almost as bad.  Amy,
would you pass the lychee jam, please?"

        After breakfast, Anthy went off to the Air Temple, deep in
consultation with Jinora.  Corwin didn't mind being abandoned; he had
business of his own to attend to anyway.
        He found Lhakpa alone on the pavilion at the southwest corner of
the island, meditating with her back to the morning sun.  A westerly sea
breeze was blowing across the island, wafting her waves of dark hair
gently behind her, her profile perfectly composed and serene, but at the
moment, Corwin was unusually indifferent to the aesthetic value of his
surroundings.  He mounted the steps to the pavilion, stopped a few yards
away from her, and spoke her name.
        She ignored him for a few moments, perhaps finishing a sutra
internally; then she opened her eyes, turned her head, and regarded him
quizzically.
        "What?" she asked.
        "Don't play the innocent," Corwin replied.  "You know very well
what."
        Lhakpa rolled her eyes.  "Oh, is this about Nyima?  Sorry, was
she very awful?"  She rose to her feet and inquired casually, "Did she
get clingy?  Spirits, she didn't try to kiss you, did she?  Ugh."
        "What she did or didn't do is none of your damned business,"
Corwin snapped.  "Much like her feelings.  How -dare- you?"  He shook
his head, his face part angry, part sad.  "I've watched you take your
little shots at her for years, but there was a line I never saw you
cross before last night.  That was -cruel,- Lhakpa.  There's no other
word for it, and there's -no- excuse for it."
        "Oh, you think so, do you?" Lhakpa shot back.  "Well, -you-
haven't had to live with her.  My sister the prodigy, Great-Grandma's
favorite, the great scholar.  Breezing through all her trials and
getting her arrow at 16, and all the time dragging around her big fat
crush on you that was only a secret from the -old- people."  She folded
her arms across her chest and gave him a scornful look.  "Earthly
detachment, my ass."
        Corwin scowled at her.  "So you figured you'd throw it in her
face in the most embarrassing way you could think of?  That's real
mature.  And don't even get me started about -your- detachment," he
added pointedly.
        "-I- am not a master airbender," Lhakpa said.  "I don't even
-aspire- to be a master airbender.  Besides - our parents, their
parents, -their- parents?" she added with a sweeping gesture.  "How
detached were -they?-  Not very, obviously, we're here now."  She folded
her arms again and gave a derisive snort.  "That whole thing is a scam
designed to keep us in line.  Anytime we take a fancy the elders don't
approve of, they can trot out the detachment sermon.  Well, I'm not
buying it any more.  It's not my fault if Nyima still is AND she's crap
at it.  It's actually kind of refreshing that there -is- something she's
crap at in the -first- place," she added with a faintly malicious little
smile.
        Corwin just stood looking back at her for a few moments, not
trusting himself to speak.  Lhakpa took his silence for conceding the
point and sat back down, facing away, to resume her meditation.  "So
hey," she said over her shoulder.  "I'm sorry I put you on the spot, but
if you're looking to give me guilt about poor little Nyima and her
feelings, forget it."
        At that point, Corwin became aware that he had two, and only
two, options: Go over there, haul her back to her feet, and slap her
across the face; or walk away.  He walked away.
        It's just as well Nall doesn't seem to be around just now, he
thought as he walked back to Tenzin's house.  If he had been, he'd
probably have felt obligated to take her side, and at that point, I
don't even know what.  This just won't do.

        "So what do you kids do for fun around here?" Rory inquired of
Sita as he, the young Air Acolyte, and Amy sat by the ba gua circle and
watched Master Meelo put a group of other youngsters through their
paces.
        "Yeah, really.  It can't just be train train train all the
time," Amy agreed.
        "It feels like it sometimes," Sita replied.  "The airbenders
have -their- training, and we Acolytes do most of the physical forms
too.  And then there's all the maintenance and housekeeping.  Between
that and our studies, the days are pretty full."
        "Oh, c'mon," said Amy, elbowing the girl gently.  "You must have
some time for games.  You'd all go -mental- otherwise."
        "Well... I mean, there's pai sho, and that other game from
Zipang," said Sita, uncomfortably aware that the visitors probably
didn't mean sit-down-and-think-type games.
        On the circle, Meelo dismissed the students, who scattered
almost at once.  One of them, young Tenzin, crossed to where they sat.
        "What's up?" he wondered.
        "Amy was just asking if you guys ever have time for games," said
Rory.
        "Sure," Tenzin replied, nodding.  "Meelo just gave us the rest
of the morning off, as a matter of fact."
        "You -should- spend that time working on your reading," said
Sita primly.
        "She's probably right," said Amy; then, with a slightly wicked
little smile that raised a blush in the boy's cheeks, she asked him, "So
what're ye gonna do instead?"
        "Do you have any sports on the island?" Rory wondered.
        "Well, we don't have room for a baseball diamond," said Tenzin.
"We have to go to town and use one of the ones in the park if we want to
play that, and that's a whole afternoon.  But there's airball!"
        Amy grinned.  "Aha, now you're talkin'."  She rose, brushing
imaginary dust from the knees of her black tights.  "What d'ye say the
four of us play a little two-a-side?  Shirts v. skins, sorry lads,
you're skins," she added with a wink, making Tenzin blush again.
        Sita blinked.  "Tenzin's the only one of us who's an airbender,"
she said.  "That wouldn't be fair in any way."
        "Pff," said Amy dismissively.  "We can take 'em."  With a
conspiratorial, eyerolling smile for her newly declared teammate, she
added, "They're only -boys.-"

        Corwin's lingering dissatisfaction began to dispel when he
reached the house.  From the front steps, he could see that the
expedition was almost ready to depart over in the courtyard.  Under
Ikki's cheerful supervision, the Air Acolyte ground crew was saddling
up two sky bison, Mogi and Rohan's mount, Pivi.  At the speed with which
they usually worked, they'd be finished in minutes.  Corwin smiled, his
good humor mostly restored, and went inside.
        In the front room, he found Anthy just completing preparations
as well, putting the finishing touches on getting Annabelle neatly
swaddled.  To his surprise, she (Anthy, not Annabelle) was dressed very
like an Air Acolyte, in a robe-over-dress combo not unlike her
anniversary outfit from Ming's, but all in shades of red.
        "Where'd you get this?" he wondered, brushing the crimson outer
robe with his fingertips.
        "Jinora was kind enough to let me borrow a few things, until I
have a chance to get home and unpack my old wardrobe again," she
replied, smiling.  "She says I've done enough reading over the last few
days that she practically thinks of me as a novice Acolyte anyway."
        Corwin chuckled.  "Well, the look does suit you," he said.
Then, crooking an eyebrow, he said as if he'd just noticed it, "No sash,
though?"
        "It's there," said Anthy, indicating a neatly folded bundle of
scarlet cloth lying next to Annabelle.  "One of its many uses is as a
wrap for carrying babies.  Would you care to try it out?  I thought you
might carry her on the flight out, and perhaps Utena would like to give
it a try on the way back."
        "Uh, sure," said Corwin.  "If you don't think - "
        "Wonderful," said Anthy, beaming.  "You just get that sorted,
then, and I'll go and pack some things we'll probably need once we get
there."  Addressing Annabelle, she declared, "It's all very exciting,
isn't it?"
        "Um," said Corwin, but she had breezed off to the bedroom to
collect the required items by that point and left him to his work.
        Utena emerged from the same room a minute or two later, togged
out in one of her jacket-and-tie rigs (having felt that the occasion
called for a dressier touch), to find Corwin... well, she wasn't really
sure -what- he was doing.  While Garnet watched with an air of deep
bemusement from the sideboard, he and Annabelle appeared to be in the
process of losing an argument with several yards of red silk.
        "Well -that- can't be right because now I can't see," Corwin
muttered, unwinding a coil of fabric he apparently had expected to
settle somewhere other than around the top of his head.  "I don't - hang
on.  No..."
        "What are you doing?" Utena wondered, unable to keep from
giggling at the look of comical bemusement on his face.
        "This is evidently supposed to be configurable as some kind of
baby-carrying device," Corwin said, momentarily losing one of his hands
into an unexpected fold.  "I can only assume," he added, turning
completely around, "that it's intended to be set up by someone with four
arms.  Maybe Avatar Yangchen invented it."
        "I see," said Utena, folding her arms with a smile and watching
him work.
        "This is just a piece of cloth," Corwin remarked a fruitless
minute or so later, sounding slightly desperate.
        "Yes," Utena agreed.
        "It doesn't have any buckles... it doesn't have moving parts of
-any kind,-" Corwin went on.
        "No," Utena agreed.
        "It -can't- be this hard."  Corwin winced a little as Annabelle,
slightly caught in a twist of silk, made a mild noise of protest.
"Sorry."
        Utena, unable to help herself, started giggling again.  "Yes,
yes it can," she observed.
        Corwin mock-glared at her.  "Stop laughing and come help untie
me before I drop her."
        Utena complied, still giggling.  "How did you get into this
predicament in the first place?"
        "Anthy asked if I wanted to carry her on the flight out.  I
don't know, it seemed simple.  Maybe you should try it."
        "Ohhh no, not without expert help I don't," Utena said,
unwinding the cloth from around his middle.  "If the Norse God of Mecha
can't make this work without help, I'm not dumb enough to try it by
myself."
        "This isn't mecha, this is a textile," Corwin protested.  "Well
outside my field.  Although I -will- build a baby-carrying robot if I
have to."  He tugged his free arm out of a loop.  "I swear they must
airbend this on."
        "We don't, as a general rule," said Jinora from the door, "but
it does help sometimes.  Would you like assistance?"
        Corwin rolled his eyes at the once-again-giggling Utena, who
said, "Yes please.  I believe we will stop and ask for directions now."

        When Anthy returned, carrying a small bag over one shoulder and
Makoto on the other, she found Utena knotting the ends of the sash
neatly at her waist, just below the folded pouch where Annabelle was
tucked securely against her chest, facing her.  Corwin was standing
back, looking impressed, while Jinora fussed with the details, precisely
arranging the way the wide, many-folded fabric lay on Utena's shoulders
and back.
        "There's also a version of this method with which you can secure
her to your back, which is useful if you need your hands free, and more
comfortable for long stints - particularly once she starts to get a bit
heavier," Jinora explained as she tidied up the folds over Utena's left
shoulder.  "That's probably the one you and Corwin will be using most
often, but I thought it best to start with this one."  She smiled
slightly.  "The other is a more advanced technique."
        "Thanks, Jinora," said Utena, twisting her waist this way and
that, then raising her arms a couple of times.  "All right?" she asked
Annabelle, who made a sound that might've been approval.
        Garnet coiled around Utena's neck and draped her head over one
of her shoulders, looking down at their infant charge.  "She seems
comfortable enough.  Are you sure this thing is safe?"
        "She's quite secure, I assure you," said Jinora.  "This
technique has been used for thousands of years all over the world.  Ikki
and I carried all our children this way, and never once dropped any of
them, even when sorely provoked," she added with an arch little smile.
She double-checked Utena's knot.  "Good.  There!  Snug as a rabbaroo
joey."  She smoothed Annabelle's violet hair with a kindly smile.  "Her
first flight.  That's a particularly momentous day in the life of an Air
Nomad child."
        The elderly airbender kissed the infant gently on the head, and
then, rather to Utena's surprise, her bearer on the cheek; then she
wished them all a happy flight and departed.
        "I guess she likes us," Utena remarked to Annabelle.  Then,
turning to Anthy, she asked, "So, uh... how do we look?"
        Anthy smiled.  "Very good together," she said.  Then, with a
slightly arch look at Corwin, she said, "Defeated?"
        "I'll try again, have no fear," Corwin replied, smiling.  "Utena
-is- better at textile management than I am, though."
        Anthy laughed.  "You should have known that would be the case,"
she told him.  "I'm sure she's told you about the time she made a dress
for me out of a tablecloth."
        Corwin grinned wryly.  "I always assumed there was a bit of
poetic license going on there," he admitted.
        "Wait, did you just call me a liar?" Utena wondered, eyeing him
narrowly.
        "No, elskr, I called you a poet," he said, giving her a kiss.
"Besides, I'm driving," he added, making both women wonder briefly what
that had to do with anything, before they realized he'd gone back to why
he wasn't the one wearing the sling.  "Speaking of which - shall we?"

        Corwin and Mogi led the way for the first leg of the trip, out
over the southern corner of Republic City and to the Sato family
estate in Future City.  There they collected Ryo, who bounded out of the
enormous manor house at the sight of the bison landing in the courtyard,
carrying with him a small toolbag of the kind used by surveyors and
architects.
        "Morning, all," he said cheerfully as he clambered up Mogi's
side.  Reaching the top, he climbed over the gunwale onto the saddle
platform itself, put down his bag, and grinned around at his fellow
passengers.
        "Good morning, Ryo," said Anthy cheerfully.
        "And how's everybody doing to - ..."  Ryo paused, raised a
thoughtful finger, lowered it, scratched his chin, and then said
chidingly, "Now, ladies... this is just not fair to poor old Ryo."
        "Hey, don't look at me, -she's- the one who cheated," said
Utena, angling a thumb at Anthy with a grin.
        "You weren't complaining before breakfast, my love," Anthy
replied serenely, making Utena snicker and blush.
        "All set back there?" Corwin called from the "pilot's seat".
        "Corwin?" said Ryo.
        "Yeah?" Corwin replied.
        "Your ladies are very charming, but your daughter's mother, in
particular, passeth understanding," said Ryo matter-of-factly, drawing
giggles from both.
        "Ha, tell me something I -don't- know!  Mogi, yip yip!"
        From that point, Rohan took the lead; he guided the little
convoy northeastwards, skirting Republic City's sprawling suburbs, then
into the jagged and dramatic mountain range that ringed the city.
Utena, now sitting Indian-fashion at the front of Mogi's saddle, smiled
at the memory of the drive she and Corwin had taken up into these same
mountains during their honeymoon, then glanced down to check again how
Annabelle was taking the aerial experience.  She was pleased to see that
the baby seemed delighted, looking around as best a person could before
she developed much in the way of command of her neck, with no fear or
dismay in her emerald-green eyes.
        Utena was vaguely surprised to feel none of the misgivings she'd
grappled with the previous night attempting a reprise.  Being out here
with an infant lashed securely to her chest was an utterly unfamiliar
experience and not one she had ever even daydreamed about having, but
now that she was doing it, it just seemed... -right- somehow.  She still
felt emotions she couldn't describe or catalog when she looked down at
this tiny person's face, but none of them was alarming or disturbing.
It was a very warm and pleasant experience - though she supposed part of
the warmth came from Garnet, who had insinuated herself into the wrap as
well and was now, apparently less interested in the aerial experience
than her human comrade, fast asleep.
        She wondered idly if this was what awakening maternal instincts
felt like, then decided it probably wasn't.  She still didn't feel
particularly nurturing.  That remained a task best left to people more
qualified to undertake it.  After mulling it over for a while, she
decided that what she felt most was -protective.-  She knew, of course,
that mothers felt protective toward their offspring too - sometimes
epically so, she well remembered Kaitlyn's nearly going on a rampage
once - but there was a difference.  She couldn't put a name to it right
now, but nor did she feel she had to.  She wasn't explaining it to
anyone else, after all.
        Utena shrugged inwardly and ducked her head to give Annabelle a
kiss on the forehead.  "OK, kiddo," she murmured privately to the child,
"I can do this.  I'm not cut out to be a mom, but your father could be
right - I might just be able to handle the dad thing."
        She didn't get an answer - it would've been more than a little
startling if she had - but she liked to think that Annabelle didn't mind
the idea.  A moment later she felt Anthy's hand on her shoulder;
turning, she saw her wife settling down alongside her with a smile.
        "You look comfortable," she said, snuggling against Utena's
side.  "Is she enjoying her flight?"
        "Seems to be," Utena replied.  Sensing a change of course, she
looked up and saw that Pivi was descending toward one of the mountains,
with Mogi turning to follow him.  Within a few more moments they had
swept through a cut and were skimming over a meadow at the bottom of a
short valley, the mountain's crags rising on three sides.  Ahead, the
valley ended in a jagged cliff face, down which a waterfall streamed
into a small, irregularly semicircular lake.  Pivi flared and landed
near the rocky lakeshore; Corwin set Mogi down alongside him.
        "-Wow,-" said Corwin as he slid down from Mogi's neck.  He went
aft to help first Anthy, then Utena descend from the saddle; Ryo, his
wits recovered, was so gallant as to hand them down from above, then
jump down after them.  Once regrouped at ground level, they all went
around to join Rohan and Ikki at the edge of the lake.
        "This is -amazing,-" Utena agreed, gazing around at the scene.
        The mountain's grey-blue flanks rose all around them, rearing to
snow-capped peaks to left, right, and center.  They gave the valley a
sheltered, secure feeling.  It would only be approachable on the ground
from the west, up the cwm that led to it, and even coming in by air from
any other direction would be a challenge with that ring of peaks in the
way.  There was plenty of sunshine, though; the thriving meadow
grasses and wildflowers, and the lack of snow in what was, after all,
early spring in the mountains, attested to that.  They were just below
the treeline, with only a few hardy pines standing here and there.
        And yet, despite the site's splendid isolation, Republic City
could still be seen, a distant blur of buildings and streets, down
below, rambling down to the bayshore.  Utena guessed that it would be a
blaze of golden light at night, far enough away not to be bothersome,
close enough to provide a comforting sense of community.  In the far
distance, just barely visible, she thought she could even make out Air
Temple Island itself as a speck on the blue arc of the sea horizon.
        "Not -bad,-" Ryo declared.  "Minmin'll be jealous when she sees
this.  Our mountain retreat hasn't got anything like that view of the
city."
        Rohan beamed like a magician who has just pulled off what he
knows is a really good trick.  "This is Mount Weitang, the Three
Brothers," he said, gesturing around them.  "So called because of its
triple peak.  Legend has it they were first climbed by three brothers
from Omashu."
        Anthy smiled in recognition.  "The Weitang brothers - great
explorers from the time of the Western Emperors.  I read about them in
Avatar Jangbu's History of the Earth Kingdom."
        Rohan gave her a smiling salute-and-bow.  "You're becoming quite
a scholar of our history, Lady Anthy."
        "I have to congratulate you," Ikki agreed, then grinned and
added, "Not everyone has the stomach for the Blessed Jangbu's prose.  I
never got through volume one!"
        Utena walked a couple of paces to the lakeshore, then turned and
looked back at the Air Elders with a baffled look.  "You're -giving- us
this place?   It's - real estate like this must be worth a -fortune.-"
        "Oh, at -least- one," Ryo put in.
        "I daresay it may be," Rohan agreed, "but we have little use for
money.  Jinora and I agreed, once we determined to grant the four - "
        "Five," said Garnet.
        " - five of you one of the Central Air Temple's holdings in the
Republic, that it had to be this one.  The other parcels we still hold
are either too far from the city, too -near- the city, or so utterly
inaccessible that not even we could make worthwhile use of them."
        "How did the Air Temple come to own such a place?" Anthy
wondered.
        "Grandpa Aang was originally going to build Republic City's new
Air Temple up here," Ikki said.  "It's a much more typical spot for one
than the island.  Eventually, though, he decided it was too isolated and
grand - would send the wrong message, like the Air Temple was meant to
lord over the city rather than be part of it."
        "Some say Gran-gran Katara was the one who actually made that
decision," Rohan put in with a little smile.
        Corwin laughed.  "I'd believe that," he said, causing the two
elders to exchange a slightly puzzled look.
        "At any rate, the temple was never built," said Rohan.  "At
various times one or another of us has given thought to building a
retreat up here, but that's never come to pass either."
        "We believe Grandpa would want you to have it," Ikki concluded.
"After all, you're among his next life's dearest friends."
        Utena's smile had a dimension it wouldn't have had the day
before as she replied sincerely, "Well, I think I can speak for all of
us when I say we're deeply honored, and very grateful, to accept your
gift.  This is... beyond generous.  You've all done so much for us in
the last few days already..."
        "Great-Uncle Sokka once said that if a man doesn't have his
family, he has nothing," Ikki said cheerfully, which didn't really seem
to be a reply at first.  To her distinct pleasure, Utena got there
before Anthy for once, giving the airbender a sage little smiling nod a
full second ahead of her wife.
        "Well, son, what do you say?" Ryo asked Corwin, clapping him on
the shoulder.  "I brought my tools - let's survey this bad boy."
        "No time like the present," Corwin agreed, nodding.  "Rohan,
Ikki... Utena -does- speak for us in this, I think, but let me just add
my own thanks anyway.  This is amazing."
        "And mine as well," Anthy added with an earnest nod.
        With gracious goodwill all around, Rohan and Ikki pitched in to
help Ryo and Corwin perform a full survey under Garnet's aerial
supervision, complete with a set of topographical scans that could later
be converted into a holographic mockup of the entire site, suitable for
construction planning.  Utena and Anthy sat down on a boulder by the
lakeshore and gazed out at the waterfall, smiling at their private
thoughts.
        Presently, both were roused from their parallel reveries as
Annabelle stirred, waking from a nap, and began diligently investigating
Utena's shirt front.  Anthy watched closely, a little smile playing at
her lips, to see how her husband would react.
        To her delight, Utena's response, once she looked down and
twigged to what the infant was doing, was to grin wryly and say, "Nope,
sorry, kiddo.  Barkin' up the wrong tree there."  She reached to her
waist and began to untie the knot of her Air Acolyte wrap.  "Himemiya, I
believe this is your department."
        Anthy smiled, both at the mirth in Utena's voice and the
evidence it represented of a better, easier frame of mind.  "I believe
it is," she said.
        Just as they were finishing up the transfer (with the sash in
the same configuration), Corwin arrived; he smiled at the sight of Utena
in pit-crew mode, making sure, as Jinora had for her, that the knot was
secure and all the folds and pleats correct.  Once all was arranged to
specifications, Anthy moseyed off along the lakeshore, talking quietly
to Annabelle about how lovely their home was going to be while they took
care of business.
        "I guess you -are- feeling better," said Corwin with a smile as
he and Utena stood by the rock and watched their combined figure recede.
        "Yeah," Utena agreed.  "I don't know as I'm completely done
adjusting yet?  But it's a lot less..."  She considered her phrasing
for a second.  "... up on top of me than it was last night."  She leaned
against him, looping an arm around his waist.  "I told Annabelle on the
way out here - I'm not the mothering kind, but you might be right about
the dad thing," she said wryly.
        Corwin chuckled and leaned down slightly to kiss her.  "I'm glad
to hear it.  Like I told you yesterday morning, I think you'll be good
at it."  He looked around for a moment, making certain that the survey
team didn't need him just now (which they didn't - Ikki and Rohan had
taken Ryo up on Pivi to get a comprehensive aerial scan), then turned
back to Utena, his arm around her shoulders, and said, "While we've got
a minute to ourselves, I have something for you."
        Utena raised her eyebrows.  "Oh?"
        Corwin nodded.  "Do you remember when we met Korra's cousin
Kemba at the market?  She gave you something to give to me."
        "I've been wondering about that," said Utena with a smile.  "I
assumed it had something to do with the thing she was giving you a hard
time about."
        "It did," Corwin confirmed.  "She though I might be from the
North Pole.  See, in the Water Tribes, it's traditional for a man who
hopes a woman will marry him to make a special kind of necklace for her.
He carves the necklace with a unique design that identifies it as his
work; if she accepts it and wears it, that's an announcement to everyone
who sees her that she's chosen him."
        "Nice," said Utena.  "More personal than a diamond ring."
        "Yeah, the Water Tribes are big on that," Corwin said.
"Historically, they haven't had much in the way of material wealth -
there aren't a lot of resources on the ice caps - so they make up for it
with a lot of personal investment in the things they make."
        Utena considered certain of her own possessions that had been
made by Corwin's hands, and her smile became a little sentimental.  "I
can see where that's an ethic that would appeal to you," she said.
        "Probably at least partly where I -got- it," he agreed.
"Anyway, that being the case..."  He unfastened one of the top pockets
of his wool jacket, reached into it, and removed a small item, then took
a step away and turned fully to her so that he could offer it on an open
palm.  "I don't expect you to wear it, but I hope you will accept it,"
he said with a little smile.
        Across his palm lay a length of blue fabric about an inch wide,
the same rich royal blue as the Water Tribe blanket Utena had bought
from Kemba on that same visit to the Railway Square market.  Affixed to
the middle of it was a circular piece of some finely translucent
gemstone, similar to the brooch Utena remembered on the formal dress
Korra had been wearing at their wedding - like a piece of smooth pale-
blue ice.  This had been carefully carved and polished, its edge notched
into a bas-relief of gearteeth.  The center, slightly convex, was
crossed by the same circled-lightning-bolt symbol Belldandy had
painstakingly drawn on Utena's forehead for both wedding attempts.
        She took it up and examined it closely, a broad smile coming
onto her face, then closed her fist around it and hugged him tight,
saying quietly, "Corwin, it's beautiful.  Thank you."
        "You're welcome, Utena," he replied, returning the hug just as
tightly.  "I'm glad you like it."
        "Show me how you put it on," she said, and while Corwin was
reasonably sure she could have figured that out for herself, he
certainly didn't mind complying.  Quickly and deftly, he snugged the
necklace gently around her slender throat, choker-fashion, and tied the
ribbon in a flat bow knot at the back, so that the gem was centered in
front.
        "There," she said with a satisfied smile, touching the gem with
her fingertips.  "Now I'll at least look like an honest woman to Kemba
and Korra," she added with a slightly wicked grin.

        Back in town, Anne Cross spent the morning training with Azana
in a corner of the Zuko Academy's vast main dojo.  This was the first
time they had done that, instead of going up to the roof or meeting in
one of the practice gyms at Shiro Shinobi Arena.  It was Anne's first
real experience with communal training at all.  Her studies with Kaitlyn
were necessarily one-on-one now that Kate's other student had gone
walkabout, and even before he had done, Kyouichi Saionji had not exactly
been a crowd.
        Of course, they weren't all training -together-, strictly
speaking; the other students and their instructors were scattered around
the huge room in little groups, ranging from pairs like Azana and Anne
up to clusters of four or five, and each group was pursuing its own
agenda.  Still, all being at work in this same space conveyed a sense of
community that Anne hadn't really felt before while training in a
martial art.  She quite liked it, at least as a change of pace.  She
would never want to trade her solo sessions with Azana for training in
here all the time, but as a special-occasion kind of thing, it worked.
        On the downside, one of those other instructors was Deng, and he
would occasionally take a moment out from berating his students in
slightly shrill drill-instructor Tongyu to give Azana and her student a
baleful glower; but that meant nothing in the grand scheme of things,
and Anne found herself fairly well able to tune him out most of the
time.  She was much more interested in what Ito-sensei and Kaitlyn-
sensei were making of it.
        They, in turn, were making a great show of -not- observing,
though both Anne and Azana knew very well that they were.  The two
masters, with Sergei sprawled at their feet, were sitting at a pai sho
table in the very back of the corner where their students were training,
pretending to be so engrossed in their game that they were paying no
attention at all.  Anne's developing zanshin, though, told her plainly
that her every move was being scrutinized, and Azana clearly had a
similar sort of facility.  Such was the rapport that they had developed
between them, to boot, that each knew the other was aware of it without
asking.
        All in all, a very nice set of feelings, even marred by the
occasional searchlight-beam sweep of Deng's disapproval.
        "All right!  Very good," said Azana, squaring up to trade bows
and firebender salutes with her student.  "You're coming along in great
bounds, Juni-chan," she went on, smiling.  "It won't be long before
you're taking my place on the Fire Ferrets."
        "Don't lay it on -too- thick," Kaitlyn cautioned her with a
grin.  "She still needs to be able to get her head through doors."
        Anne gave a self-deprecating laugh.  "No, sensei, I'm OK.  I
know she's only joking."
        "Perhaps," said Ito, "but I have to say I'm also impressed.  You
do learn quickly, and I can sense your respect for the craft.  It's a
rare thing in someone who comes to it as late as you have."  He smiled.
"I'm satisfied.  If you wish to return this summer and train with Azana,
you'll be most welcome.  I may even take it upon myself to show you a
trick or two, if your sifu doesn't object to an old man's meddling," he
added, his smile becoming a grin.
        "That depends on whether they're -firebending- tricks," said
Azana wryly, "or your infamous practical jokes.  I'm not having that."
        Ito laughed.  "I suspect this young lady could come up with
pranks of her own that would leave my feeble repertoire in the shade,"
he said, giving Anne a wink.
        "I don't know what you mean, Ito-sensei," Anne replied with
unconvincing piety.
        Azana smiled fondly at the pair of them.  "Right, you, let's hit
the showers and get some lunch before Grandfather corrupts you further,"
she said, tagging Anne's shoulder.
        Ito and Kaitlyn watched them pass through the side door to the
ladies' changing room, then turned to each other and smiled.
        "Korra was right to send you here," said Ito.  "She'll be a
credit to my granddaughter's name."
        "I hope so," said Kaitlyn.  "Shall we go in search of lunch
ourselves?"
        "Let's have one more game before we go," said Ito.
        Kate considered that, then nodded.  "Very well."
        Ito sat back in his chair.  "It's your turn to make the first
move," he said.
        "Hmm, so it is."  Kate considered the tiles for a moment, then
picked one up and placed it in the exact center of the board.
        Ito raised an eyebrow.  "Hmm," he said.  "I see you favor the
White Lotus gambit..."

        After spending a couple of hours surveying, examining,
considering, reflecting upon, and just generally enjoying the site on
Mount Weitang, the party broke up and returned to town by two different
routes.  Rohan and Corwin ran Ryo home on Pivi, then went into the city
proper to register the transfer of ownership formally at the Republic
City land office.  Ikki, meanwhile, saw Utena, Anthy, Annabelle, and
Garnet back to the island on Mogi, though, to her glee, Utena got to
drive - or at least sit there looking like she was in charge while Mogi
found his own way home, which she acknowledged was probably closer to
the truth.
        Having completed their task at City Hall, Corwin and Rohan were
having a spot of lunch (well, Corwin was having lunch; Rohan was having
tea) at the nameless sushi joint around the corner when someone
approached their table.  Rohan noticed her first; glancing up, he
blinked in surprise at her approach, then rose from his seat and said,
"Er, I'll just... go and... make certain Pivi is comfortable," before
beating a hasty retreat.
        "... Rohan?" a puzzled Corwin inquired of the space where the
airbender had been; then he looked up and saw the person standing in
front of him, and his confusion only deepened.
        It was Zanya, the firebender from the Frostbite Point Ice
Wraiths - a ruthlessly competitive, dirty-fighting professional bender
with whom Corwin had had a difficult time a few days before, while
subbing for the Temple Island Fire Ferrets' absent regular earthbender.
She'd evidently taken some kind of personal dislike to him (possibly
because she seemed to have a particular hatred of Karana, the Fire
Ferrets' waterbender and a childhood friend of Corwin's), and had
blatantly fouled him twice.
        Now she stood before his table, dressed in civilian clothes with
only a faint Fire Nation flavor about them, and glared at him with arms
folded across her chest.  Taking his first really good look at her,
Corwin was mildly surprised to discover that, with her dark hair cropped
as if by a prison barber, the willfully undecorative patch over her left
eye, and her perpetual glower, she was effectively compensating for the
fact that she was really not a bad-looking woman.
        The silence stretched awkwardly for a moment.  Zanya didn't seem
to be looking for a fight - they were in a very public place, after all,
and Major League Bending had very strict rules about that sort of thing.
She just stood there, regarding him with a sort of neutral hostility,
until finally he decided -someone- had to say something and asked,
        "... Can I help you?"
        Zanya kept her glower fixed on him for a moment; then -
surprising him again - she sighed, dropping her arms to her sides.
        "I don't know," she said.  "Can I sit down?"
        Corwin gestured to the seat Rohan had vacated.  "Please," he
said.  As she seated herself, his natural hospitability kicked in, such
that even though he had no reason to suspect her of any friendly intent,
he automatically asked, "Have you eaten?  The maguro is excellent
today."
        Zanya eyed him narrowly.  "Are you for real?" she asked.
        "I'm no more than 25 percent imaginary," Corwin assured her.
Looking more closely, he saw the dark circle around her one visible eye
and her generally worn appearance, then added, "You look like you've got
something pretty heavy on your mind."
        "You could say that," she replied sourly.
        "Well, there's no sense dealing with it on an empty stomach,
whatever it is," said Corwin pragmatically, signaling for the waiter.
Zanya protested, but only half-heartedly, and when he went away again it
was with a substantial order in hand.
        "So," said Corwin.  "What's up?  I would have thought you'd be
back in Frostbite Point by now.  Don't you have preseason training to
do?"
        Zanya sat looking at her knuckles for a minute, as if gathering
her thoughts, or possibly mustering her courage.  Then, looking up at
his face, she said, "The Ice Wraiths are finished."
        Corwin arched an eyebrow.  "Oh?"
        "Well, Kassa still owns the name, and he might put another team
together under it," she allowed, "but Rockalanche and I both quit after
our match against the Ferrets."
        "Hmm," said Corwin.  "I can see why he would have, he was
plainly what they call 'not a good fit for the organization,'" he went
on dryly, "but you..."
        Zanya sighed, slumping back in her seat.  "I know.  But..." She
looked up at the ceiling for a second.  "I'm not sure I can put it into
words.  I'm not sure why I even -want- to put it into words." Fixing him
with a one-sided amber gaze, she asked him in all evident seriousness,
"Are you a witch doctor or something?"
        "Well... not as -such,-" Corwin said, then added, "I've
certainly made no effort to bewitch -you.-"
        Suddenly animated, Zanya leaned forward, her elbows on the
table, and said intently, "Look.  All my life I've had to fight for what
I had.  You understand?  I wasn't a little rich girl like Azana or a
scholarship kid like Karana.  And I didn't lie down for it, either.  I
earned everything I've ever had in my life with my fists.  In -my-
world, there were two kinds of people: victims and victors.  Kindness
was either weakness, or a ruse to get your guard down.  To survive, let
alone come out on top, I had to strike first.  Always."
        "I'm sorry to hear that," said Corwin sincerely.
        "I think you really are," Zanya replied.  Then she put her
forehead in her hands and groaned, "And it's -messing- with my -head-."
        "Oh, come on," said Corwin sharply, making her glance up at him
in faint shock.  "You're what, twenty, twenty-five?  I cannot possibly
be the first nice person you've ever met.  In fact I -know- I'm not; I
can think of at least three you met before me."
        "Maybe," Zanya allowed.  "But you're the first one I can
remember really believing in.  And now I can't help wondering if I was
wrong about the others."  She shook her head.  "You don't understand.
There was never any place in my world for doubt.  I knew - I -knew- -
that I was only doing unto others before they got the chance to do unto
me. But then you came along.  You and the Ferret girls, you'd never
worked together before, and you were making the most -pathetic- rookie
mistakes..."
        "Thank you," Corwin put in dryly.
        "... well you -were,- and then... the three of you, you just...
turned it around.  Turned it -right- around and whipped the three of us
like we were kids on a playground.  I didn't even go home that night.  I
just walked around and around the city, trying to figure out how you had
done it.  At first I assumed you had cheated.  Because I would have.
Because that's how the world works, right?  Except however I turned it
around in my head, I couldn't work out how you could have done it.
        "Sometime around dawn, I finally realized that you hadn't," she
admitted, sounding strangely crushed by the realization.  "You three had
just... beaten us.  You got hold of yourselves and came together as a
unit without any practice or training because... you trusted each other.
We could never do that.  Kassa and I worked together for years, but we -
never- trusted each other; we were just reasonably confident that we had
more to lose than gain by turning on each other.  And Rockalanche,
well... you saw."
        The waiter arrived with her order then; only when he had laid it
out before her and withdrawn did Zanya continue speaking, in the hushed
and vaguely awed voice of someone who has just recognized a great and
terrible truth:
        "You didn't beat us by being better benders... you beat us by
being better -people.-"
        Corwin frankly thought that might be overselling the issue a
bit, but he was hardly going to split that hair.  She did have a point,
and at the moment he couldn't grudge her a little hyperbole.  Instead,
he said nothing, only made a noncommittal grunt, covering his lack of a
response by taking a drink of water.
        She didn't seem to be expecting one, anyway.  She sat looking at
her food as though not certain what she was supposed to do with it, then
began to eat mechanically, like a hospital patient who has little
interest in food, but has been ordered by her doctor to get some on
board.
        After a few minutes of this, she put down her chopsticks and
asked him abruptly,
        "Who are you?"
        Corwin looked up from his own meal and smiled slightly.
"Everyone seems to want to know that lately," he said.
        "Please don't play games with me right now," Zanya told him,
surprising him yet again with her use of "please".  "I need to know.
You're obviously a foreigner, and you bend earth like no one I've ever
seen before... where did you come from?  Where does Karana know you
from?  Who -are- you?" she repeated, now sounding slightly desperate.
        Corwin considered her for a second, then said, "OK.  I'll tell
you.  But you might not believe me, and I want to ask you something in
return."
        Zanya hesitated, but only for a moment; then she nodded, looking
determined, and said, "OK.  Anything you want to know.  Just tell me who
you are.  Maybe if I know that, I'll be able to figure out how you were
able to turn my whole world upside down."
        So Corwin told her.  Not the complete and unexpurgated version,
because that would have required complicated adjustments to her cosmic -
Weltanschauung- he simply didn't have time to make, but the version that
included his being from the Big Universe and his lifelong association
with Avatar Korra, anyway.  Zanya took it all in, not interrupting, and
then sat in thoughtful silence for a few moments after he'd finished,
picking at her food.
        Then she said slowly, "You're right, that's hard to believe. But
then, I've had trouble believing a -lot- of stuff that's gone through my
head since Tuesday night."  She sighed, a long, deep sigh, and looked
glumly at the table again.  "I don't know what to think.  For the first
time in my -life,- I don't know what to think."  Then she looked up and
said, "All right.  You answered my question.  What I do with the answer
is my own problem.  Your turn."
        Corwin looked thoughtfully back at her for a second.  She
probably expected him to request more information about the difficulties
of her childhood, or to investigate further her behavior in the bending
arena.
        Instead he asked her point-blank, "Why do you cover your left
eye?  I know it works."
        Zanya went pale and actually drew back slightly, her uncovered
eye going wide and its pupil contracting with shock.  For a moment she
looked like she might bolt; then she got hold of herself with a visible
effort, clenching her fists on the edge of the table and reining herself
in.
        "No," she said quietly, as if to herself.  "A deal's a deal."
Then, looking him in the face, she said, "But you've got to promise me
you won't tell anyone.  -No one- knows about this.  Not even Kassa."
        Corwin nodded gravely.  "Done."
        Looking slightly afraid now, Zanya glanced furtively around the
restaurant.  The lunch rush was over now; empty tables had appeared all
around the dining room, and none of the others near the corner where
Corwin sat was occupied.  Only a couple of the staff were in sight, and
they were off tending to other matters.  They were as alone as they
could get in a public place.
        Moving slowly, almost as if unwillingly, she reached up and
lifted the patch away from her left eye, flipping it up onto her
forehead.  This revealed the fine mesh, much more obvious on the inside,
that made it so she could see out with it in place.  Then, after
steeling herself, she raised her face and looked him in the eyes with
both of hers.
        The right one, as he had noticed before, was that distinctive
amber-brown color, bordering on orange, that was stereotypical of
firebenders... and the left was a clear, bright blue, not too unlike his
own.
        Corwin looked momentarily confused.  "Why would you hide that?"
he wondered.  "It's beautiful."
        Zanya blushed flame red - it might have been the first time
she'd ever been complimented on anything other than her ruthlessness or
her bending technique - and hurriedly snapped the patch down, covering
her blue eye again.
        "My mother came from an old Fire Nation family," she said, her
voice hushed and hoarse.  "Maybe even older than Azana's.  So did her
husband."  She let that sink in for a second, then added with cold
emphasis, "Obviously my -father, didn't.-"
        "... Ah," said Corwin, and then, "That's hardly -your- fault."
        "Apparently my mother's people disagreed," said Zanya with a
bitter smirk.  "She might've gotten away with it; I turned out pale and
black-haired, like her... but the eye gave her away.  They sent her to a
sanatorium and me to an orphanage in the North.  Not Fire Nation enough
for my mother's family, but to the other kids there I was - well, I
won't trouble you with the details."
        "It's no trouble," said Corwin, and he was faintly surprised to
discover that he meant it.  Why his heart should go out to this
willfully unpleasant creature he wasn't entirely sure, but there it was.
        She reminded him a little of Liza Broadbank, in that brittle and
precarious time before she had gone away and become Liza Shustal,
scourge of the spaceways.  With Zanya there was that same sense that her
malformations of character might not entirely be her fault; and that she
could go a number of different ways from here, not all of which boded
well for her future.  He still wasn't attracted to her - he'd never had
a thing for Bad Girls - but he did feel an undeniable compassion now.
        "Look," she said, though there was little heat in it.  "Don't
try to be my buddy all of a sudden.  I didn't come here hoping you could
fix me.  It was just an impulse.  I saw you and I wanted to try and find
out how you got inside my head so easily... and I still don't know. This
was a waste of time."  She got up from the table.  "Thanks for lunch.
If I find out you told anyone what I just showed you, I'll kill you."
        "Zanya," he said, but she left without looking back.
        A few moments later, Rohan reappeared, seating himself and
pushing the remains of Zanya's lunch discreetly aside.  "Since the
restaurant isn't on fire," he said dryly, "I'm going to guess that went
relatively well.  What did she want?"
        "I'm not really sure," Corwin admitted after a few seconds'
thought.  "Maybe just... someone to talk to."  He sighed and signaled
for the check.  "I guess we'd better get back to the island."

        Upon his return to Air Temple Island, after making certain Mogi
had been unsaddled and returned to the bison caves when Utena and
company got in (which of course he had), Corwin poked around a bit, but
found no sign of Nall.  He would've liked to get the dragon's take on
the strange conversation he'd had over lunch; besides which, he knew
they would have to discuss his confrontation with Lhakpa sooner or
later.  He'd been hoping to get to it before Nall had a chance to hear
about it from her and form a solid opinion, but it was what it was.
Truth to tell, he was a bit weary of the whole business anyway, so he
gave up after a single sweep around the dragon's usual haunts and
returned to the house instead.
        There, he found Utena and Anthy under Jinora's supervision in
the front room, experimenting some more with the length of silk that had
so summarily defeated him that morning.  Not very to his surprise, it
seemed Utena had decided to attempt the alternate configuration Jinora
had described as an "advanced technique" - though at the point in the
process where Corwin came in, she appeared to be regretting her rashness
very slightly.
        "You're spotting me, right?  I don't want to drop her," she
said, glancing hesitantly back over her shoulder at Anthy.
        Anthy nodded.  "Of course I am.  We're not terribly practiced at
this yet, any of us."
        "Oh, I can't watch," said Garnet, but she kept watching.
        "Relax, Garnet.  Nothing will go wrong.  Have faith," said
Jinora sagely.
        "OK, here goes, then."  Utena tucked the fabric up, looping one
end over her back and shoulder and the other around Annabelle and her
own chest.  She bent down, and with Anthy's help, scooted the baby high
up onto her back, keeping the fabric as taut as she dared.
        "You can snug it tighter, dear," Anthy said from behind her.
"She doesn't seem to mind."
        Utena glanced at Jinora, who nodded slightly with a little
smile.  Thus reassured, she pulled the sash's long edges - rails, to use
Jinora's word - more, until the fabric felt like it didn't have any more
give.
        "Corwin, give her a hand with the next part, won't you, while
Anthy keeps everything steady," Jinora prompted.  Under her direction,
they got everything wrapped up and tied securely, using a general
technique very like the one she'd learned that morning.  With everything
folded and knotted just so, Utena found that Annabelle was situated
neatly between her shoulder blades, with the child's head resting on her
(Utena's) shoulder, and the whole rig felt snug and tight and very, very
well-balanced.
        "Say," she said, "that's not bad."  After walking around in a
little circle and testing the range of her shoulders - largely
unimpeded - she tried an experimental lunge; Annabelle made a faint
noise of approval, squirmed just slightly, and hiccuped.
        "I... think I could probably even -spar- wearing her like this,"
said Utena, blinking in surprise at Anthy.  "I, wow.  This is actually
pretty comfortable."
        "I'm pretty sure she'd enjoy it if you did, actually," Corwin
said, then grinned.  "I'm told I loved bouncing around on Mom's back
while she was training with the Valkyrie back in the day."
        "Somehow, I'm not surprised," Anthy said wryly.  "Once you're
more used to her, love, by all means, wear her through your workouts.
As she grows, you'll get some extra leg strength from the added weight,
and as long as you don't think she'll slip, she should be fine."
        "I'll check with Kaitlyn," Utena agreed.  "She can keep an eye
on her too, and we can stop if anything slips."  She tried another
lunge, deeper this time, and laughed at the cheerful sound it elicited
from the baby.  "You like that, eh?" she said, turning her head to catch
Annabelle's face in the corner of her eye.  "Want to go for a little
run?  Maybe check out the view from the meditation pavilion?  C'mon,
Corwin, you can spot me.  Let's give this rig a proper test."
        "Not without me you don't!" Garnet objected, darting after them.
        "This from a woman who said yesterday that she wasn't sure how
to react," Jinora observed dryly when the four had gone.
        "That's our Utena," said Anthy with a smile.  "Her engine room
telegraph has only one setting: 'damn the torpedoes'."
        Jinora nodded.  "Mm, yes.  I begin to understand why she and
Korra have taken to one another so quickly."

        They came back together at dinner, those who had ventured into
town and those who had gone for experimental jogs - everyone but Nall,
who remained curiously absent, and the sisters, who sat at opposite ends
of the main table with the rest of the airbenders and paid as little
attention to each other as possible.  This gave the occasion a slightly
frosty undertone, for those conscious of the subtext, but no one else
seemed to notice.  Most were too busy cooing over Annabelle, who,
freshly cleaned, fed, and securely affixed to her mother, was making her
debut at Korra's table.
        Kaitlyn and Anne arrived a little late, the latter a trifle
singed; this gave people a new thing to exclaim over, though she turned
aside their concerns as gracefully as she could.
        "I'm fine, it's nothing," she said.
        "Training accident?" Rory wondered, examining her scorched
cheek.  As always, he looked decidedly un-medical, a teenage boy in
Dockers, sneakers, and an unzipped hoodie over an old T-shirt emblazoned
with an outdated Sirius Cybernetics Corporation slogan ("Your Plastic
Pal Who's Fun to Be With!").  In spite of his perpetual need of a shave,
he was obviously little, if any, older than the girl whose injury he was
inspecting; but word of his calm competence in attending Annabelle's
birth had spread, and Anne was prepared to take his credentials as a
matter of faith.  If Anthy and Utena believed he was a doctor, that was
good enough for her.
        She shook her head.  "No," she said.  "Sifu Azana and I had a
little, um, problem at lunch."
        "Not with each other, I hope," Amy put in, a bit startled.
        "Oh, no, no," Anne hastened to assure her.  "No.  We're..."
She smiled a little abstractly.  "We're great.  No, this was a, um, a
third party.  I probably shouldn't say any more, the police are looking
into it - "
        Korra arrived then, striding over to the table with a purposeful
frown.  "Anne, are you all right?" she asked without preamble.
        "I'm fine," Anne repeated, looking both pleased and a bit
exasperated at all the attention.  "Really, it doesn't even hurt."
        "I take it you heard?" Kaitlyn inquired.
        Korra nodded.  "I just came from the scene," she said.  "Eitaro
and I were having lunch with Emily when he got the call.  Is what
Dispatch told him true?  The man who attacked you was hopped up on
Comet?"
        Anne shrugged slightly.  "Well, I'm no expert," she qualified,
"but he was hopped up on -something.-  And technically he didn't attack
-me,- he attacked Azana-sensei."  She indicated her own most visible
burn and added ruefully, "I got this from falling rubble."
        "It's not very serious," Rory agreed, "but I'd still like to get
a little Dermatrex on it after dinner, just to be on the safe side."
        "I'm not gonna argue with that," said Anne; then, taking a
closer look at him, she noticed the jaunty American Civil War head
bandage he was sporting and asked, "What happened to -you?-"
        Amy giggled.  "Girls 21, boys seven," she said.
        Despite her serious mood, Korra couldn't help but snicker at
that.  "Nice," she said, bumping fists with the young Scotswoman.  Then
she turned her attention back to Anne.  "Did you give the investigating
officer at the scene a statement?" she asked.
        Anne nodded.  "I didn't see most of the actual fight, I was too
busy trying to keep the block from burning down."
        "Mm.  Well, from what I saw, it looked like you did a pretty
good job," said Korra with a distracted smile.  "Inspector Imanishi will
want to get a more detailed account from you - it's a Comet incident, so
his task force is taking over the case... hmm.  Aren't you guys leaving
tomorrow?"
        "That was the plan," Kate confirmed.  "We're both supposed to be
in New Avalon first thing on Monday."
        Korra thought that over, then nodded.  "I'll see if I can get
him to come out and talk to you tonight, then, just to get that loose
end tied up before you leave town."
        "OK," Anne agreed; then she smiled crookedly and added, "I'm not
used to being so comfortable about talking to the police."
        Korra chuckled.  "Well, Eitaro's a sweetheart, you won't have
any problems with him.  He just wants to make sure the record is as
complete as it can be.  -You're- certainly not in any trouble."
        "Well, that's good to hear," said Anne.

        At the far end of the main table, Lhakpa ate her dinner as
quickly as she could, then excused herself and slipped quietly away.  No
one seemed interested in her departure; the youngsters were wrapped up
in their own matters, the elders as well, and Nyima had done an
extremely convincing job of acting as though she hadn't noticed her
sister was even in the room throughout the meal.
        She found Nall exactly where she'd left him - exactly where he'd
been all day long: on the topmost level of the Air Temple's tower,
gazing meditatively out not at the Republic City skyline, but rather at
the jagged mountain peaks to the north of the city.  He didn't seem to
hear her coming up through the trapdoor; only when she slipped up behind
him and put her arms around him, her hands sliding across his chest, did
he acknowledge her presence, raising a hand to grip one of her wrists
gently.
        "Hey," he said.
        "You've been up here all day," Lhakpa pointed out, entirely
unnecessarily.
        "Mm."
        "Why?" she wondered.  "What are you looking at over there?"
        "The mountains," Nall told her.  "They remind me of... a lot of
things.  Draconia... and Hyeruul."  He sighed.
        "Where your last girlfriend was from," said Lhakpa.
        "Where I lost her," Nall replied.
        Lhakpa held him a little tighter and asked quietly, "Do you wish
she was here now?"
        "Not really," said Nall, squeezing her wrist a little in
response; then he added wryly, "If she was, and she saw us like this,
there'd probably be a godawful fight."
        Lhakpa snorted.  "That's not what I meant."
        "I know.  I was dodging the question," said Nall matter-of-
factly.  Then, before she could press the matter further (if indeed she
planned to), he took a deep, slow breath and said, "I dreamed about Nax
last night.  He wanted to know if I had enjoyed killing him.  If I
understood yet that a real dragon would have."
        "Nall, stop it," said Lhakpa.  "Just stop it.  Dragons -don't-
have to be cruel.  You should read Avatar Roku's book about his travels
with Fang.  They were best friends all of their lives."
        "Wasn't Roku's -other- best friend Fire Lord Sozin?" Nall asked
skeptically.  "That doesn't really recommend him as a judge of
character."  He sighed.  "I'm sorry, Lhakpa.  I know you're trying to
help."  He turned around in her arms, so he was facing her, and put his
hands on her shoulders.  "I'm not very good company today.  Maybe you
should go hang with the rest of the crew instead.  They're heading back
in the morning."
        Lhakpa glanced away.  "I... don't think that would be such a
good idea," she said.  "Corwin's pretty mad at me right now."
        Nall quirked an eyebrow.  "Uh... why?"
        She told him - about both her prank on Nyima the night before,
and her defensive reaction to Corwin's displeasure with it in the
morning.
        "... Oh," said Nall.  He took another deep breath.  "Yeah, I
could see where that would tick him off.  Twice, even.  Once because you
were mean to Nyima, and once because you copped an attitude when he
called you on it."
        "I know," Lhakpa said, resting her head on his shoulder.  "It's
been nagging at me all day.  I didn't want to admit he's right, but...
he kind of is.  I mean, everything I told him was true.  But..."  She
sighed.  "It's not Nyima's -fault- she's so damned perfect.  She just
is.  The spirits favor some people.  It doesn't do any good to envy them
for it."
        Nall chuckled wryly.  "Nyima's probably telling herself the same
thing about you."
        "Me?"  Lhakpa stepped back to regard him quizzically.  "What in
the world would she envy about me?  She's smarter, stronger, a better
airbender than I'll -ever- be, graceful, confident... the -one- thing
I've got that she hasn't is my looks, and Nyima doesn't care about
appearances."
        "She knows she -shouldn't- care about appearances," Nall
corrected her.  "But sometimes we can't help ourselves."
        "Hmm," said Lhakpa, as though the possibility had never occurred
to her before.
        "I mean, -you- know better than to get attached to -me,- but...
here we are," Nall went on.
        "Here we are," Lhakpa agreed, and kissed him.  "At least until
tomorrow."
        "Actually, I think I'll stay," said Nall.
        Lhakpa looked pleasantly surprised.  "Really?"
        "Not right -here,-" he qualified, "but in Diqiu.  Maybe I'll see
if I can find a proper dragon peak over there," he added, gesturing to
the mountains that were now behind him.  "Stop pretending to be a man
for a while and see where that gets me."  With a sardonic grin, he
added, "You can come visit when you get your bison license.  Venture
into my lair and risk your monastic chastity."
        "Bah," she said, "I only -dress- like a monk," and she kissed
him again.

        After their own dinner, the rest of the visitors and Korra
retired to the parlor of Tenzin's house for a low-key last evening of
team togetherness.  Those who hadn't made the trip to Mount Weitang
oohed and aahed over the photos Corwin and Ryo had taken.  All agreed
that it was going to be a -dynamite- place for a vacation home.
        "The hard part's going to be access to the site," Corwin
observed, looking over one of the aerial shots they'd taken upon
departing.  "We'll either have to build some kind of a road or bring
everything in by air.  Either option could get complicated."
        "Well," Korra mused, "a rough construction road is just a matter
of a few days to a week with an earthbending team.  Anything more
refined than that, you'll have to go to the roadbuilders' union.  And
probably the Republic DOT, if you want it to tie into the public roads.
The Planning Office probably has some information on that.  You should
check with Chin, he'll know who you should be talking to over there."
        Corwin nodded.  "Mm.  Man!" he declared, shaking his head and
flipping through a couple more of the images.  "Wish I had a couple more
weeks, at least, to really get started on this."  He looked up from a
panorama of the falls and grinned at her.  "It's exciting!"
        "Actually, Korra and I were talking about this last night," said
Utena.  "Why -don't- we?  I mean, we haven't got anything really
pressing to rush back to, have we?"  She gestured to her wife, who was
giving her an interested look, and went on, "Anthy and I don't have to
be back at NIT until the fall semester starts, and you're pretty much
completely at liberty, Corwin."
        "And that being the case," Korra added, "why don't you guys stay
a while longer?  Stay right through the summer if you want!"
        "We can actually -build- the house!" Utena declared.  "People
can come visit us once their spring semesters and whatnot end.  It'll be
good times!"  She picked up the nearest book and gestured with it.  "We
are grown-up people with a child and everything and we can do whatever
we darn well want.  It says so right here in the handbook."
        "That's my copy of Love Amongst the Dragons," Kate pointed out
with a little smile.
        "Details," Utena replied.
        Corwin's grin widened.  "You're not gonna get any argument out
of me," he said cheerfully.  Then, his brow furrowing, he went on,
"Although, hmm.  No Valiant summer tour this year?"
        Kate gave him a lovingly indulgent look.  "Did you think I've
been planning on one this whole time, knowing there'd be a newborn in
the captain's family?" she said, reaching to ruffle Utena's hair.
"That'd be pretty optimistic even by -our- standards.  We can find
something else to do with ourselves for a summer..."
        "We have got rock 'n roll in Diqiu, y'know," Korra pointed out
with a grin.  "Alternate-reality world tour, anyone?"
        Kate laughed.  "I bet the guys would love it.  We've never done
a proper one-planet world tour, and it's always fun to break in new
audiences."
        "Oh man," said Anne.  "Do you think Diqiu is ready for Azalynn?"
        "She's been here before!" Kaitlyn said.  "Nobody went to jail...
although admittedly it was only the one time."
        "Anthy?  You haven't had much to say," said Utena.  "What do you
think?"
        Anthy smiled.  "I've just been enjoying all your reactions," she
said.  "I think it's a fine idea, so long as Jinora doesn't mind us
staying in her house for a while longer.  I wouldn't want us to overstay
our welcome."
        "Oh, don't worry about that," Korra assured her.  "I ran it by
her while you were all up checking out Mount Weitang this morning.  She
likes you guys.  Particularly you, Anthy," she added with a grin.
"You'd better watch yourself, if you stay here all summer she's liable
to try and recruit you."
        Anthy chuckled.  "It'd be an honor," she said.
        With that, the Trinity started discussing the particulars of
extending their stay, trying to anticipate anything that might need
doing either back in the "big universe" or in Cephiro in the next few
months.  Getting back and forth wouldn't be a particular problem, nor
would communications, but it would be important for people to know where
to find them if there were issues, and there were a few logistical
matters that needed handling.  They'd only packed for a few days, for
instance.
        While they were working on sorting all that out, there came a
knock at the door, and Korra got up from where she'd been lounging
against Niri's side to admit a middle-aged gentleman in a crumpled grey
suit and overcoat.
        "Hey, Eitaro, c'mon in," she said, gesturing him inside.  "Meet
my new team.  Everyone, this is Inspector Imanishi, you've heard me talk
about him."
        She introduced him around; Imanishi greeted everyone politely,
bowing to all, and then asked if he might have another word with Miss
Cross before she left his jurisdiction.
        "Of course," she said, rising.  "Let's go to the front room."
        Imanishi's manner, once they were settled in armchairs in the
front room, was calm, affable, and soothing, putting her immediately at
ease.
        "Let me just assure you again, Miss Cross, you're not in any
trouble," he said while he got out his notebook.  "Far from it.  By Fire
Marshal Kaziro's estimate, your actions most likely saved a half-dozen
buildings, and perhaps three times as many lives, today."
        Anne felt herself blushing slightly; she glanced away, grinning
crookedly, and said, "Well, uh... I was... I'm just glad I could help."
        "You certainly did.  There's no doubt about that, and it is a
thing you shouldn't hesitate to be proud of.  I know that the temptation
is always there to assume that no good deed will go unpunished," he
added with a small smile, "but we try not to operate that way in
Republic City."  Opening his notebook, he went on, "Now, let's just go
over what you saw and heard one more time, and I'll let you get back to
your evening."
        It took Imanishi only about ten minutes to take a second
statement from his witness, since her initial statement had been very
comprehensive and his few follow-up questions were direct and easily
answered.  At the end, he rose and closed his notebook, saying,
        "Well, thank you, Miss Cross.  I think that's all I'll need from
you.  I'm sorry this happened; I hope it won't color your impression of
our city too badly."
        Anne gave her crooked smile again.  "I wouldn't worry about
that," she said.  "Even given this afternoon, I think there's a lot more
good than bad in Republic City.  Believe me, I've seen -so- much worse."
        Imanishi smiled.  "I'm pleased to hear it," he said.  "Not that
you've seen worse, but that you find Republic City agreeable in spite of
your experience today."  Tucking his notebook away in his coat, he bowed
to her.  "Have a safe journey home.  I understand you're planning to
return in the summer?"
        "That's the plan," Anne confirmed, standing to return his bow
with a firebender salute.  "Probably in early June.  Do you think I'll
need to come back before then to testify at the trial?  I can if I have
to, but I'll need a little advance warning."
        Imanishi's face was solemn as he shook his head and replied
slowly, "I... doubt there will be a trial, Miss Cross."

        Anne looked a bit troubled when she returned alone to the sun
parlor, but no one noticed.  The mood was dispelled almost instantly,
anyway, by the sight that greeted her when she arrived.
        Niri had shifted her position, sprawling on her side and taking
up most of the floor space between the futon-daybed and the sofa.  Serge
had positioned himself alongside the futon, more or less at right
angles, so that the two lay almost nose-to-nose, and both were dozing
contentedly while their mistresses brushed them.
        "-Look- at all these orange hairs," Korra remarked, scraping her
brush.  "People are going to -talk,- girl!"
        "They do make a genemod that would turn his orange parts white,"
Kate said cheerfully, "but then you'd still have the black ones to deal
with."  She looked up and smiled at Anne.  "All set?"
        Anne nodded.  "No problems," she said, and at this moment, in
this room full of friends and love, she meant it.

                           SATURDAY, MARCH 20

        The next morning saw a bustle of activity after breakfast, as
most of the visitors prepared to leave and just about everyone else got
ready to see them off at the station.
        In the foyer of Tenzin's house, Utena - by now feeling like an
old hand - was getting Annabelle prepped for the field while Corwin
sorted out the travel kit.  They were in a slight hurry, as there was a
ferry to catch, but everything appeared to be going smoothly and there
was no cause for concern.
        "Where'd Anthy get off to?" Utena wondered, looking around.  "We
can't wander too far without her, now can we?" she inquired of
Annabelle.
        At that moment, Anthy appeared on the landing at the top of the
stairs overlooking the entryway, dressed for the excursion in her
borrowed Air Acolyte clothes again.
        "Corwin, would you come up here for a moment, please?" she
asked, smiling.  "I need your help with something."
        Corwin glanced in faint puzzlement at Utena, who shrugged.
There wasn't anything up there, as far as either of them knew - they
hadn't used any of the upstairs rooms apart from stealing the futon
daybed out of one - but neither was inclined to argue, so Corwin said
only, "Sure, be right there," then zipped up the bag, put it next to
Utena, and trotted up the stairs.
        By the time he got up there, Anthy had turned and now led the
way up the hall into one of the side rooms.  More puzzled than ever,
Corwin followed her inside; it was the room they'd taken the futon from
and now lacked anything much in the way of furniture.
        "What do you - " he began, but before he could finish the
question she had turned, shut the door, and then backed him up against
the inside of it, kissing him with a sudden, unaccustomed ferocity that
brought Titan instantly to his mind.
        "Oh 'ello!" he remarked quietly when, at length, she partly
relinquished him, her hands still framing the sides of his face.
        "Do you remember," Anthy asked a trifle breathlessly, "when I
said 'this is only for today'?"
        "Yeeees?" Corwin replied, arching an eyebrow.
        Anthy gazed into his eyes for a second, then smiled wryly and
said, "I've changed my mind," before setting back to work.
        They nearly missed the ferry, arriving dockside at a run just
before the boat was to sail, and received some deeply skeptical looks
from some, and deeply amused ones from others, of their party; but no
one said a word as they scrambled aboard and the boat set off for the
mainland.

        The timetables lined up such that they had ten minutes or so to
kill at Central City Station before the Saikyo Limited (doing business
as the East Bao Sai Limited until the Veil) departed.  Azana and Karana
arrived at almost the same time as the party from Air Temple Island, and
Master Ito as well, and they had a sort of miniature going-away party on
the concourse.
        "A gift for you, from one peer to another," said Ito.  Bowing,
he handed Kate a polished wooden case, like a small and unusually ornate
fishing tackle box with a cylindrical scroll case attached to the lid.
"You will have to find a craftsman to make the table for you," he
explained, "but everything else you need to continue your study of pai
sho is there."
        Kate smiled and put the box down on top of her suitcase so that
she could return his bow properly.  "Thank you, Ito-sensei.  I shall
treasure it."
        "Health and happiness to you, Master Kaitlyn, until we meet
again," said Ito.  Glancing a few yards down the platform to where
Azana, just out of earshot, was seeing Anne off, he smiled sentimentally
and went on, "Thank you for allowing your student to enrich my
granddaughter's life.  I believe that in teaching her, Azana has found
something she didn't think she was missing."
        "Well, I guess this is goodbye for now, Juniper," said Azana,
who seemed none the worse for her adventure the day before.  "Do keep me
apprised as your travel plans for the summer solidify - we have a fair
number of road games in June, and we'll need to coordinate our timing
carefully."
        Anne nodded.  "I'll do that."  Then, composing herself, she
saluted and bowed, saying, "Thank you, Azana-sensei, for agreeing to
teach me.  I've learned so much in just the first week."
        "As have I," Azana replied, returning the salute.  Then the
elder firebender hugged her, adding in a much less formal tone of voice,
"Stay safe, Juni-chan.  I hear it's dangerous out in the big universe."
        "It has its moments," Anne conceded, returning the embrace.
"But so does this place.  You watch out for yourself too."
        "Ah, no worries," Karana said, putting a proprietary hand on her
bending partner's shoulder with a grin.  "With the MLB season starting,
she'll be too busy to get into any more fights with those assholes from
the Agni Kai - and I'll be around to put out any new fires that might
start," she added, winking.  She hugged the younger girl as well, then
trotted off to give her regards to Kate and the Ponds.
        "One more thing before you go," said Azana.  So saying, she
unslung the small black leather valise she was carrying from her
shoulder and offered it to Anne, who took it with a puzzled expression.
"The books I promised you," Azana explained.  "There ended up being
four, so I thought you would appreciate it if I included something to
carry them in," she added, smiling.
        Anne examined the bag for a moment - it was a soft briefcase
with a top flap, like a messenger bag, and was obviously well-traveled.
Embossed on the front of the flap was a seal or crest, bearing Tongyu
writing she couldn't read.  With a smile, she shouldered it opposite her
small duffel bag, then bowed again to her teacher.
        "Thank you," she said.  "I'll try to have read them by the time
we see each other again."
        "There won't be a quiz," Azana assured her.  "Safe travels,
Anne.  I'll see you in June."
        "Well, well, look who finally came up for air," said Amy
with a grin, a short distance away, as Nall and Lhakpa entered the
concourse from the street doors and hurried toward them.  "As it were,"
she added playfully.
        "We were beginning to think you weren't coming with us," Rory
put in.
        "Actually?  I'm kind of not," said Nall.  "But I wanted to see
you guys off and thank you for coming.  I hope you had a good time."
        "Are you kidding?" Amy asked him.  "We've had the -best- time.
Thanks so much for inviting us."
        "You're welcome back any time," Korra told her, then grinned.
"The airkids'll be talking about you guys for months."
        "What do you mean you're kind of not going with them?" Corwin
wondered.
        "I, uh... can we not talk about this right now?" Nall replied.
"It's complicated.  Later."
        "OK..." said Corwin, drawing it out a trifle skeptically.  Then
he added, "Anyway, you probably hadn't heard - we're staying too.
Utena, Anthy and me.  And Annabelle and Garnet, obviously.  Building a
house up on one of the mountains outside the city.  Man, you should've
seen the place.  Rohan and Ikki took us up yesterday.  You'd like it,
it's all dragony up there."
        Nall looked somewhere between pleased and awkward, an anomalous
expression indeed for him.  "That's... great," he said, sounding as if
he wasn't quite certain of that.
        The conductor shouted for all to board the East Bao Sai Limited.
With final hugs, kisses, handshakes, and whatever else was warranted,
the party separated into two, one boarding the train, the other standing
back to watch it depart.  As it pulled smoothly away, Rory leaned out a
window to call a last bit of medical advice to Anthy, but his message
was damaged somewhat by the Republic City Railway Authority's safety
regulations:
        "If she starts - " SUSTAINED TRAIN WHISTLE " - worry, it's
perfectly normal!"
        "I'm always going to wonder now," Utena observed matter-of-
factly in the quiet that settled once the train was gone.
        Niri watched the train disappear around the bend just beyond the
switchyard with a downcast expression, then sat down, raised her nose to
the glass-and-steel latticework above, and uttered a mournful howl.
Korra blinked in surprise, looking around, as people paused in their
comings and goings to stare in alarm.
        "Oh, stop that howling, you big baby," she chided the polar bear
dog, reaching up to rub her head.  "You'll see him again in the
summertime."  She glanced around again, noting the reactions of passers-
by, then tugged at Niri's collar and muttered, "Seriously, Niri, stop
it.  You're scaring people's children."
        Niri subsided grudgingly, rose to her feet, and trudged with
Korra and the others (most of them trying, and largely failing, not to
laugh) toward the exit.
        "Was that your old school bag you just gave the kid?" Karana
asked Azana, near the back of the group, as they left the station.
        "Mm?" Azana replied, as if she hadn't quite heard; then, "Yes, I
suppose it was."
        Karana rolled her eyes and addressed her next remark to the fire
ferret on her shoulder.  "Oh, listen to her, Pabu.  'Yes, I suppose it
was,' she says, like she hadn't really noticed."
        "Well, what?" said Azana.  "I could hardly expect her to carry
four hardcover books back to New Avalon by hand.  It's a bookbag.
That's what it's for."
        Karana nodded.  "Mm-hmm."
        Azana glanced narrowly at her friend.  "Karana."
        "I didn't say nothin'," Karana protested, spreading her hands
innocently.
        "Say," said Utena to Corwin as they emerged from the station.
"While we're here, we should go show Kemba your handiwork."
        Corwin smiled.  "Indeed we should," he agreed.

        Kemba welcomed them back to her handicrafts stall in the Railway
Square market like old friends.  Once she'd received her hug, Utena
touched the necklace Corwin had given her and said with a grin,
        "I just wanted to come by and show you - he's done the decent
thing at last."
        The middle-aged Water Tribeswoman's eyes widened.  "Ooh, that's
some nice work!" she declared, then elbowed Utena with a sly smile and
added, "He IS good with his hands!"
        Then, as the rest of the group that had come with them laughed,
Kemba looked them over, noticed Anthy, took a close look at Annabelle,
and then turned a judicious eye to Corwin.
        Uh-oh, thought Utena.  She had been wondering how long it would
be before something like this happened.  She, Corwin, and Anthy had
never been ashamed of their unusual relationship, nor shy about it; they
had accepted that it would occasionally dismay people as part of the
cost of doing business.
        Generally speaking, they didn't care if it did, taking such
dismay as evidence that the people who -were- dismayed were people whose
opinions they didn't need to value in the first place.  Still, it wasn't
as though they customarily set out to -flaunt- it, to throw it in
people's faces, and it was always a little awkward and a little painful
when someone they liked turned out to be on that list.  It was...
disappointing.
        Kemba, though, didn't disappoint them after all.  After eyeing
Corwin for a moment, she grinned and made a sweeping gesture that took
in his whole family.  "You must be quite a hunter, handsome, to be
worthy of these three ladies," she said cheerfully, firing a wink over
Anthy's shoulder at Korra, who quirked a smile in return.  Turning to
Anthy, she went on, "He hasn't made a necklace for -you,- either!  And
here you've borne him such a fine daughter, too."  She whacked Corwin
theatrically on the shoulder and declared, "Hopeless!"
        Then, ignoring him, she addressed herself directly Annabelle,
leaning toward her with a smile and saying, "Hello!  How old are you,
sweetheart?"
        They sorted through introductions, at which point Utena wryly
pointed out that if anyone should be getting a hard time for failing to
make Anthy a necklace, it was herself, not Corwin.
        After chatting with Kemba for a while longer, the group began to
break up.  Azana and Karana had practice to get to, and said their
cheerful farewells with promises to be in touch.  (Utena noticed as they
were leaving that Karana, too, was wearing what appeared to be a
betrothal necklace, and wondered as to its provenance.  She made a
mental note to ask Corwin if he knew.)  Master Ito, too, parted from
them at that point, catching a streetcar in the direction of his
academy.
        "She took that awfully well," Utena observed as the somewhat
reduced company made their way back toward the ferry quay.  "I was
worried for a second that we might be in for a disappointment."
        "Nah, Kemba's seen it all," said Korra with a grin.  "Besides,
deals like yours aren't completely unheard-of in the South Pole.  Not
-common,- by any means, but most people know someone who knows someone,
and so forth."  She nudged Utena with an elbow.  "That was what she
meant when she said he must be a good hunter," she explained with a
wink.  "In the old days that was the only way anybody could -support-
more than one spouse."

        Hours later, as afternoon drew in toward evening, the East
Bao Sai Limited made steadily for Ba Sing Se.  In the compartment she
shared with Kate, Anne lay in the upper of the two bunks a conductor had
appeared to conjure magically out of the bulkhead and unpacked the bag
Azana had given her.
        There were, as promised, four books inside, all hardcovers,
three bound in leather and one in the kind of old-fashioned cloth
binding Anne always associated with antique schoolbooks.  She opened
that one first, and found stamped on its front flyleaf the same seal
that was embossed on the bookbag's flap.  Below it, someone had written
a short message in an angular script.
        "Sensei?" she said.
        "Yes?" Kaitlyn's voice replied from the lower bunk.
        "You can read Japanese, right?" Anne asked.
        After a short pause, Kate's head and shoulders appeared next to
the upper bunk.  "Mm-hmm," she said.
        "The book itself is in Standard," said Anne, turning it so Kate
could see it, "but I think this note is Kokugo."
        Kate's eyes scanned the flyleaf; then she smiled and said, "Heh,
so it is."
        "What does it say?" asked Anne.
        "'This is Azana's book,'" Kate translated.  "'Form 4, autumn
term, 280 ASC.'  The stamp above it is the school seal - Piandao
Academy, Shu Jing."
        Anne blinked and turned the book back to look at the note again.
"Huh!  Azana's -from- Shu Jing, I remember her mentioning it.  This
must've been one of her schoolbooks."
        Kate read the spine and laughed again.  "Ah, Love in the Time of
Space Sword," she said.  "A classic.  It would be a natural choice for a
Standard-language class; they would have read it in the original Tongyu
in a previous year."
        "Hmm..."  Anne investigated the other volumes.  "These are all
by the same author.  Where have I heard his name before?"
        "Sokka?  He was also an artist.  You saw one of his drawings at
the museum."
        "Oh!  The cartoon of Aang!  Maybe I'll find out in one of these
what the punch line meant," said Anne with a smile.  Examining the books
further, she giggled.  "He had a flair for titles, too.  Crazy from the
Heat... The Adventures of Snow Savage and Dirt Girl... To Wang Fire,
Thanks for Everything! Ty Lee."
        Kate chuckled and returned to her bunk.  "Sokka was one of his
generation's great wits," she said dryly.
        After a bit more investigation, Anne put away the other books,
rearranged her pillows a bit more comfortably, and settled in for the
long haul with Love in the Time of Space Sword.  As she opened it, an
item fell out from between two of the pages, landing softly on her
chest; closing the book again on her finger, she picked it up and turned
it over.
        It was a color photograph of two girls in their early teens, one
pale and raven-haired, the other all in shades of brown, both dressed in
natty black and red uniforms with pleated skirts over tights, golden
sashes at their slim waists, shoes with slightly upturned pointed toes,
and a familiar structure to the shoulders of their single-breasted
jackets - school uniforms as seen through the fashion sensibilities of
the Fire Nation.
        With a mild shock, Anne realized that they were Azana and Karana
in their early teens, maybe nine or ten years ago.  Karana, grinning
broadly, had one arm hooked around Azana's neck and was making a V-sign
for the camera with the other hand.  Her jacket was open and the shirt
beneath it undone to the third button, showing just the top edge of what
Anne recognized as a sports bra, and she was wearing what looked like
the same stylish little choker-style necklace Anne had noticed on her as
an adult.  Azana - somehow unsurprisingly, fully buttoned up - was
glancing at Karana; she looked slightly startled, but there was a little
smile playing at her lips.
        Anne's face wore a similar expression as she regarded the
picture.  It appeared Azana hadn't been expecting to get glomped like
that when whoever had taken the picture produced the camera, but apart
from having been startled, she didn't seem to mind.
        I had no idea they'd known each other that long, she thought.
She guessed the photo had been used as a bookmark, then forgotten, and
wondered if Azana might want it back.  She'd have to check.  Looking at
it again, she rather hoped not; she'd like to keep it, if she could do
so without coming across as all... -weird- about it.  She liked Azana
too much, and valued their working relationship too highly, to want to
risk that.
        Anne tucked the photo into the back of the book and sighed,
turning to the first page of the introduction.  Don't overthink it, she
told herself sternly, and began to read.

        Back on Air Temple Island, Korra's table felt a little empty at
dinner, with most of the party gone; but Nyima was back, her equanimity
repaired by a night's sleep and a day's meditation, and they were a
cheerful, if diminished, group as they ate and planned the next few
days.
        After eating, when the Air Acolyte stewards cleared away the
dishes, they set to working out which of their things they would need to
retrieved from New Avalon in the next few days, and how they would
arrange that.  Corwin's parents wanted to visit anyway, in order to see
their first (jointly and separately) grandchild, now that she wasn't
being brought back to the big universe anytime soon; both he and Utena
confidently expected that they could be counted upon to bring most of
the stuff that was wanted, if they were provided with a proper list.
        Compiling that took an hour or so, after which - with the dining
hall otherwise deserted and the staff lingering in the mode of
restaurant personnel who want the last customers to leave so they can
get on with cleaning up - they adjourned once more to Tenzin's sun
parlor to continue plotting.
        "This is perfect," Korra declared.  She stood at the side of the
room that faced east, hands on hips, considering the windows and
skylights - dark with evening now, but holding their promise of abundant
sunshine during the lenghtening days of spring.
        "I'll move my old drafting table from college in here tomorrow,"
she went on, turning a grin to Corwin.  "Couple of stools, some lamps, a
desk for the paperwork - everything we need to set up our own little
design office."
        "Hey, nice," Corwin agreed.  "With the mountains right over
there for inspiration, and the doors open so we won't go into mole
mode..."
        "Yeah, exactly.  People can come hang out.  We'll take it easy,
work at a nice steady pace... not get all hyperfocused about it..."
        On the futon-daybed, Anthy turned a little smile to Utena, who
rolled her eyes cheerfully.
        "Yeah, I see that happening," Utena murmured, but Anthy only
giggled softly and gestured toward the pair with her eyes.
        "It should have a -tower,-" Corwin was saying, using the
sketchpad app on his omni-tool to draw a rough, glowing outline in the
air.
        "I was thinking maybe more of a longhouse effect," Korra
replied, reaching into the holofield to draw another shape with her own
fingertip.
        "With a tower!" Corwin agreed, adding a child's cartoon tower to
one end of it...
        ... and so on into the night.


                            /*  Joe Satriani
                         "Unstoppable Momentum"
                   _Unstoppable Momentum_ (2013)  */

                      Eyrie Productions, Unlimited
                               presented
                         UNDOCUMENTED FEATURES
                            FUTURE IMPERFECT
                    - Symphony of the Sword No. 5 -

             SUITE FOR TRINITY AND AVATAR (THE DIQIU SUITE)
              Third Movement: Goodbye and Hello, As Always

                                The Cast
                        (in order of appearance)
                            Corwin Ravenhair
                              Utena Tenjou
                              Anthy Tenjou
                            Annabelle Tenjou
                                  Maki
                                 Izumi
                                  Ikki
                                 Jinora
                                 Korra
                            Kaitlyn Hutchins
                                Ryo Sato
                                 Karana
                                 Azana
                               Anne Cross
                                Amy Pond
                            Nall Silverclaw
                                 Garnet
                     "Maximilian" Chin Yongmin XVII
                             Rory Williams
                              Minami Sato
                                 Tenzin
                                 Gyatso
                                  Sita
                               Emily Wong
                                 Cheong
                                 Serge
                                 Nyima
                                  Vayu
                                 Makoto
                               Luo Qiang
                                 Rohan
                                 Meelo
                                 Lhakpa
                                  Niri
                                  Yue
                                  Pivi
                                  Deng
                                  Ito
                            Eitaro Imanishi
                                 Kemba

                               written by
                          Benjamin D. Hutchins
                                  and
                          Philip Jeremy Moyer

                      infant management consultant
                               Anne Cross

                          suspicious behavior
                         The EPU Usual Suspects

                     Inspector Imanishi inspired by
               the character created by Seicho Matsumoto

                         excerpt from "Ulysses"
                 by Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson

                         Sokka's literary agent
                             Matthew Giglia

                    The Diqiu Suite will continue in
                   Fourth Movement: Familiar Spirits

                          E P U (colour) 2013