Jinora in the Past

Chapter 1

"Bye Korra!" Jinora shouted.

"Bye Jinora! Bye Ikki! Bye Meelo!" the Avatar shouted back. She was standing on a ship bound for the north pole for a meeting with the Northern Water Tribe Chiefs. Jinora shivered at the thought of sitting through a meeting with Korra's cousins. The Water Tribe was ruled by both Eska and Dezna, though Dezna was technically the chief.

"Jinora," she heard her father say. "Come, we have many things to do." The young Airbender smiled and followed him off the docs, back into Republic City. She watched as the spirits danced through the vines smiling as she remembered her time in the spirit world.

Tenzin walked through the streets with purpose and determination, with his daughter at his side. It had been four years since she got her tattoos, and she got better every day. The family walked up the steps of City Hall when they ran into someone important.

"President Raiko," Tenzin said. "Can we help you?" He looked nervous.

"Yes, these attacks by the vines are becoming more and more frequent. There have been three just this week!"

"I assure you, sir, we are doing everything we can to find the source and stop them."

"Everything? Everything? If you're doing everything then why did the Avatar just leave my city?" The President looked angry.

"To be honest, the more frequently they come, the easier it will be to find their source," Jinora said. She hoped that this would put the man at ease, though she didn't know how true it was.

"Very well," Raiko said. "Just solve this mystery quickly."

"Yes, sir," Tenzin said. The Airbenders bowed with their fist to their palm then straightened and left.

Jinora tugged on the sleeve of her uniform. It was red and yellow, with grey down the sleeves and shins. There were buttons on her chest and hips that held the red wings of the suit tight to her body. With a yellow collar and grey fingerless gloves, it was the perfect suit for an Airbender. It was thick cloth so she didn't get cold when flying through the air.

She was thinking about her boyfriend, Kai. She hadn't seen him all day, which was unusual. Then it occurred to her that Tenzin had probably sent him on a mission with the sole purpose of keeping him away from her. She let the thought slip from her mind and focused on something a little more important.

"Dad?" she said.

"Yes, Jinora?" His voice was distracted as he stared at the ground, deep in thought.

"Do you think we'll be able to find the source of these attacks as fast as President Raiko wants us to?" Jinora was quite concerned. There was something different about the energy the spirit vines were emitting. It was almost as if they were afraid of something.

"Of course we will," Tenzin said absent-mindedly. Jinora nodded looking at the ground wondering how she was going to figure this out.

A few days later, Jinora and her siblings, Ikki and Melo, were fighting a vine that was attacking a tour group.

"Melo, get out of the way!" Jinora shouted. "Go get dad!"

The younger boy said, "Ok!", and ran off.

"Jinora, duck!" Ikki said. She flattened herself to the ground just as a vine swung over her head.

"Thanks, Ikki!" She jumped to her feet and continued to fight with her sister. The girls kept the vine at bay until their father showed up.

"Dad! I think we found the source of the attacks!" Jinora flipped backwards as a vine swung at her again. She blasted it with air and drove it back a bit.

Tenzin started giving orders to them to relax the spirits and after a few minutes, the vine stopped fighting them and slunk back into a building through a hole in the outside wall mostly covered with vines except a small opening in the center.

"That must be where the problem is," Tenzin said. Jinora looked around at the thick green vines. Tenzin was studying the gap when finally he said, "I can't fit through there."

"I can go." Jinora offered. Tenzin hesitated then reminded himself that she was a master and better than him with spirits. He nodded.

"Very well. Just be careful," he said. Jinora nodded and smiled at him.

"I promise," she said then slipped through the hole.

She looked around at the way the vines all curled around one central vine, but it was more of a root than a vine. She tentatively walked up to it and touched it. It shocked her like electricity and she immediately recoiled her hand, rubbing it with the other.

Uncertain about what to do to stop the attacks, she sat down and started meditating. She focused on the root in front of her and went into the spirit world. Something about it felt different this time though. Somehow, even before she passed out, she knew that when she opened her eyes she wouldn't be in the spirit world.