Chapter Text
Water
Raava was never certain just who the next life of Wan was going to be. She was well aware of the Avatar Cycle, as it has come to be named, but she always looked forward to knowing each and every one of her new partners in Peace and Balance. They were all similar, yet unique in their own personalities. Aspects of Wan always bled into each life, but every one of them were inevitably shaped by their experiences and companions as they lived. Ever since she first traveled with Wan and fused with him forevermore, she grew to appreciate and love humanity and its potential for all that was good. Wan had taught her of humanity's bravery, selflessness, compassion and more. They traveled the world and time to teach Wan's people and her fellow spirits peace and balance in the hopes of keeping Darkness away forever, even if they couldn't vanquish it entirely.
But with each reincarnation of her dearest friend, the Avatar slowly forgot their connection and friendship with Raava until it was only Wan and his successors that could give guidance to each Avatar and she could only watch and aid her friend in times of great need. No longer could they speak to one another until the Avatar passed into the next and regained their connection to her and even then the Avatar was unable to pass the knowledge on. Raava, and Wan himself, had passed into legend; incomprehensible to anyone. A story that held little meaning besides its entertainment value. The Avatar could not reconnect with their first life, the distance was too great and thus the meaning and emotion of their friendship with Raava was lost forever. Eventually, Raava accepted her separation with her living friend and grew content with simply watching their efforts. She and Wan's lives eventually gave up passing the legend. But, she was always ready to intervene when the Avatar unconsciously called upon her. She and all of Wan's past lives would always come to the Avatar's aid. She had made a promise to Wan and she intended to keep it through all his lives. He was her family and their mission was one they both believed in. Her oldest friend's spirit was a near mirror of Raava and he carried a desire for peace and balance through death itself. She would always remember that.
Through time, her family grew. Each lived up to their ultimate mission and they, along with Raava's occasional help, lived as the bridge between the human and spirit world. They kept darkness at bay and at a minimum, sometimes through her friend's ultimate sacrifice. Roku was one such reincarnation and Raava as well as Wan and the others had believed that his tragic ending was going to be the world's darkest time since the last Harmonic Convergence. Aang's efforts were greater than any Avatar before him since Wan. Perseverance and determination defined the boy and he was able to restore balance against humanity's darkest threat in millenia.
Aang's time as the Avatar had passed, however. Raava was hoping that the next Avatar would be born in a far more peaceful world after Aang's enormous efforts. Her past two friends lived in very difficult times. Being the Avatar was never easy or simple, but she never enjoyed it when her Avatars suffered as greatly as Roku and Aang did. Sometimes she wondered if Vaatu could reach through his prison. Betrayal and genocide were his instruments.
Sadly, she never could have foreseen the threats the newest Avatar was destined to face.
Korra was... different than her past lives. Raava had not seen such a precocious child in a very long time. She had Aang's playfulness, that much was certain, but she was far more fiery than her predecessor. She was no gentle, patient monk, which could be expected. The people of the Southern Water Tribe were warriors that had survived the worst the world could throw at them. Proud, stubborn and adaptable, their culture would define Korra for the rest of her life. Something Raava always found rather fascinating about her friends. The cultures that raised them always brought out different aspects of Wan as well as birthing personalities that were of their own. Korra seemed to fit her people perfectly. Always acting and reacting on their own terms. One could not stop a flood when it was determined to leave its banks, just as the Avatar would not keep to tradition forever. The monks had decided to inform Aang of his destiny early to suit their own purposes (a fortuitous stroke of luck that turned out to be), Korra revealed her own abilities through sheer strength of will.
It started innocently enough. Korra was a very competitive person, she hated losing more than anything else (something that she likely got from Wan and his determination to defeat Vaatu at the very beginning) and she was raised on stories from her past lives, as many children are throughout the physical world.
“I'm the Avatar! You gotta deal with it!” Korra declared angrily at a Water Tribe boy she was playing with. They had been fighting over who would be playing Aang in some make believe reenactment of his life.
“You aren't even a boy, you can't be Avatar Aang!” He cried back. “Why don't you be Master Katara?”
“Yeah? You aren't bald,” Korra shot back with as much smugness a four year old could muster. “I'm the Avatar!”
“But you aren't a boy!” He repeated. The poor child seemed absolutely flummoxed that Korra would want to play the Avatar. “Besides, Master Katara is cool and she's a waterbender like us.”
“I am the Avatar.”
Later, Raava felt she should have anticipated what happened next, but regardless it came as a severe surprise. Korra seemed absolutely set on the fact that she was the new Avatar. She would have to simply conclude that she sensed their old connection and acted on it early. Exceedingly early.
The girl stomped her foot stubbornly and the ground buckled in ripples radiating from the tiny limb. It was Raava's turn to be caught entirely flummoxed. She could feel Korra's shock mirroring her own and the poor boy she was arguing with seemed to be struck stupid. This was entirely unprecedented and very worrying. No Avatar had ever discovered their destiny at such a young age. Raava wondered if her ancient battle nearing day by day had something to do with it. The thought was concerning.
Korra recovered the fastest.
“Ha! I told you!”
Could nothing faze the girl?
The boy could only blanch, call out for his father and run off.
Surprisingly, Korra did not do anymore earthbending for the rest of the day. She had been puzzled by her friend's reaction, but soon disregarded it and found other children to play with. The topic did not come up again until she was back with both her parents at the end of the day, playing with her food in a show of what Raava assumed were terrible table manners in any human culture.
“Korra, eat your seaweed noodles,” her father ordered in a now well practiced, patient tone.”
“I don't wanna.”
“You don't want me to teach you some more waterbending tomorrow?” Tonraq said in a fabricated puzzled tone.
“What?! No, Daddy! I don't wanna eat seaweed noodles,” Korra corrected, stricken.
“But they're your favorite,” her mother pointed out.
“They're my old favorite,” Korra informed them as if that was the most logical thing in both worlds.
“Korra, you have to eat your food if you want to be able to train tomorrow,” Tonraq told her.
This only made the small girl angry. Raava knew her newest Avatar did not like hearing she couldn't do something. This would be a welcome quirk when she was older and knew when to apply it, but now? Now it was mostly used when she didn't want to nap or eat dinner. Still, Raava actually welcomed the immaturity. This part of Korra's life would not last forever, soon she would be pushed into a conflict older and more dangerous than she could imagine.
“You can't tell me what to do! I'm the Avatar,” she declared while starting a massive pout.
Both parents looked at each other in an exasperated, look at what she's come up with now, manner.
“That's enough, Korra,” Senna said firmly. “You can eat five more bites of your dinner and then stop.”
“You don't believe me,” the small Avatar accused. “Hiryu didn't believe me either, but I showed him!”
Tonraq gave a long suffering sigh.
“Were you bending at other kids again, young lady?” He asked sternly.
Raava could empathize with Tonraq. Korra never bullied anyone with her waterbending, but she did have a tendency to over-zealously defend her friends from those that would. Korra had little restraint at this age and was thus not responsible enough to use her waterbending in this manner. Not yet at least.
“No! Well, it was an accident,” Korra said defensively.
“I thought Hiryu was your friend,” Senna said disappointingly. “Why would want to try and hurt him?”
“I didn't hurt him!” Korra shouted. “We were playing and he wanted to be Aang but I told him I wanted to be Aang and he said that girls couldn't be the Avatar and I said yeah-huh and 'sides Hiryu doesn't have tattoos like Avatar Aang,” Korra gasped in a breath, “I told him I really am the Avatar so I should play Aang and he didn't believe me so,” here she stood up, “I went like this.”
Korra stomped like she did earlier and the stone floor of her family's eating area buckled similarly. It was a smaller demonstration, thankfully for her parents' sakes, since she was far more tired after going through her day. But it got her point across.
Tonraq and Senna regarded their small daughter blankly. She was grinning, proud of her show while the two clearly struggled to make sense of what just occurred. Finally, they looked to one another, as if to make certain that their daughter really had just earthbended.
“Didn't you see?” Korra asked uncertainly. She wasn't one for long periods of silence and even as young as she was, Korra could tell her parents were tense, though she couldn't understand their concern.
“Of course we did,” Senna finally said warmly, though with a barely noticeable quiver in her voice. “But, even the Avatar has to finish her dinner. How do you think Aang beat the Fire Lord?”
This seemed to stump the little girl. Raava had to acknowledge their handle on the situation. She had watched this same discovery many times over throughout the past ten thousand years (though with Avatars much older) and the family and friends who took in this surprise as well as Senna and Tonraq seemed to were fewer than she would have liked. Being the Avatar was a very difficult path, she hoped they appreciated that fact and would act accordingly in the years to come. Of course, they did have practice with the unexpected given how unpredictable Korra was herself, Avatar soul notwithstanding.
Korra was silent for a few moments as she pondered the question her mother posed. She truly was a stubborn child. Never doing anything unless she was convinced she wanted to do it. Something Raava had watched her parents adapt to quite easily and she once again had to admire the Water Tribe peoples' ability to move with change. Never quite giving way, but not entirely steadfast either. She had seen this demonstrated to her countless times in grand ways through her waterbending Avatars, but she always liked to see the day-to-day aspects of human culture as well.
“Okay,” she pouted. “But you're gonna waterbend with me tomorrow?” She asked her father hopefully, “ooh, what about earthbending?”
This made Tonraq laugh. “Of course, but I don't know how to earthbend like you. How about you teach me tomorrow?”
And just like that, Korra finally started eating with gusto, excited about what would come tomorrow. She didn't notice the pensive looks her parents exchanged once again, but Raava did. She would not find out what they were worried about until the newest Avatar slept and she could hear them in the next room.
"Our daughter is the Avatar," Senna said softly. "Tonraq, this is going to change everything."
"We don't have to say anything now," he tried to reason.
"Don't we? I know the Avatar is usually revealed at sixteen, but Korra is already bending other elements. We can teach her how to at least control water, but earth?" Senna asked doubtfully.
Tonraq gave a heavy sigh. "I know, I'll send a letter to Master Katara and ask her how to get in contact with the White Lotus. I just think Korra is too young to deal with being the Avatar. Can you imagine what she'll have to deal with later? Even Aang was only thirteen when he ended the Hundred Year War. I wanted a simple life after everything in the North Pole."
"That isn't Korra's fault," Senna pointed out gently.
"I know. It's just going to take me time to get used to the idea that our toddler is the reincarnation of peace and balance supposedly," he said with a bittersweet chuckle. "I wouldn't have guessed with how hardheaded our daughter is."
Senna laughed with him, but it was also tinged in sadness. Raava sympathized with them. She knew of all the possibilities of what being the Avatar would mean to Korra's family. She hoped that her parents would continue as they were, as it seemed they were well on their way to being supportive and understanding of their daughter. Only time would tell.