Fire in the Sky (TLOK)

Chapter 23: In Which A Fever Rages in The South

I let out a little groan, collapsing onto the cold snow. We had finally arrived back at the South Pole. Desna, Eska and Unalaq dropped us off at Korra's family's residence. Desna helped me down from the camel-yak. Once my feet hit the ground, I gently nudged him away, quite literally face planting myself in the snow. The fever had seemed to dull, the farther we got away from the spiritual portal, but I was nowhere near recovered. Desna crouched down, gently patting my shoulder.

"It is not wise to expose yourself to the cold like this." I stretched out my body in the snow, sighing in content.

"Then why does it feel so nice?" I asked, turning my head to the side. The snow was probably turning my cheek numb, but I didn't care.

Korra, Bolin and Mako hovered above me, concern etched on their faces. Eska was already calling for Desna to depart with their father.

"Thanks for the ride." I said to Desna, managing to sit up. The world only spun a little bit. "You should probably get going."

"I will check up on you again." Desna paused before adding, "If that is alright with you."

I gave a small shrug, "You're welcome to visit. I'm not really going anywhere."

"Thanks again, Desna," Mako spoke up, "We'll handle it from here."

Desna and Mako locked eyes for a moment. I looked between the two, disliking how it made me even dizzier after turning my head so quickly. Both of their expressions were rather stoic. The few seconds of silence felt far too long. Eventually Desna gave a curt bow of his head, his eyes lingering on me for a little longer before heading towards his sister.

"Oookay," Bolin said, clearly noticing a shift in the atmosphere, "Should we get you inside?"

Korra, who had somehow not noticed anything, leaned down next to me, grasping my arm. "Feeling any better in the snow?" she asked, "How about standing up?"

"I can manage," I said, standing up with her help, "Maybe don't let go of me just yet." Mako appeared on the other side, taking my other arm.

"Let's get you in a chair," he said as both of them led me inside the house.

"Korra?" Senna rose from her seat and rushed over, taking me into her arms and settling me down onto a pillow.

"She's got a fever," Korra explained as Senna jumped up, already busying herself with something.

"What could have caused it?" Senna asked, pushing a cup of tea into her hands. I smelled the fumes. An odd sour yet sweet smell came from it. I took a sip, reeling at how the warmth coursed through my body. I coughed, feeling more awake than I did two seconds ago.

"We don't really know," Korra said.

I shook my head, "I have a theory." Everyone looked at me in question. "Let's say that the spiritual portal is exactly how Unalaq described it, a portal between the spiritual and natural world. My Dragon Spirit is from the spiritual world, but the connection that links me to her is probably weakened because the portals were closed." I took another sip of tea. "Even if the connection is weak, she's still able to keep me alive. The spiritual energy is just enough. But now that one portal is open, the connection is even stronger. Maybe a little too strong. Her presence in me has strengthened to the point that it would be too overwhelming for my body to take. So she dialed back her presence."

I recalled when Yume said, I will try to lessen it. "But she had to dial it back to the point where I'm actually weaker than I was before."