Chapter 6 - Injury and Recovery

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Korra ended up falling asleep with her head on Mako's shoulder. Mako fell asleep too, and when they woke up the next day, they had just landed in the South Pole. Bolin started groaning again the moment he woke up, clearly still in pain. "Mako!" He cried. "I'm here bro." Mako said calmly. "You're gonna be okay, but I need you to do something for me okay? Just try as hard as you can to not to move, okay? It's gonna make it harder for Katara to help you. Just be as strong as you possibly can. Can you do that?" Bolin nodded slowly and stopped groaning in pain, but there were still some tears going down his face.
"His shoulder has been dislocated." Katara said. "He also has a cracked collarbone and a bruised rib." Bolin was laying down on an examination table, knocked out. Katara had given him a sedative to make it easier to look at his injuries. "Can you fix it?" Mako asked. "I can reset the shoulder and fix the bruised rib, but the best I can do for the collarbone is bring it a little further along in healing. Even so, it'll be two weeks for the pain in his shoulder to go away, and another week before he'll be able to bend with it." Katara replied. "We'll get them to postpone the match." Korra said. "But right now we have to focus on him."

"Have you seen Anya around?" Jinora asked. She and the other kids were in Katara's house with Pema, waiting for everyone else to get back. "She left a while ago." Ikki replied. Jinora nodded and headed outside to look for her sister. She found her where she expected. Anya was sitting on the ground, surrounded by otter penguins. Jinora chuckled. "Am I ever gonna figure out why animals love you so much?" She asked. Anya smiled and shrugged. Jinora sat down next to her. "There's something about your past." Jinora said quietly. Anya's smile faltered. Jinora continued. "Something you're not telling us. It's why you can't sleep at night, isn't it?" Anya was quiet for a moment. "Do you know how to get to the spirit world?" She asked. Jinora nodded. "I'm a spirit guide." "I trust you." Anya said to Jinora. "I don't know why, we just have a connection. But if I show you, you can't tell anyone." Jinora nodded. Anya took a deep breath. "Okay, but we have to go to the spirit world first." She said. "We need to find someone."

Korra knocked on the door to the room where Bolin was staying. Katara had put him on bed rest for the day. "Come in!" She heard from inside. Bolin was lying on the bed, his left arm in a sling. He had bandages wrapped around his his chest and going up to the area between his shoulder and his neck. Mako was sitting on the edge of the bed, and Pabu was curled up on Bolin's lap. "How are you feeling?" Korra asked. "It still hurts, but not as much as before." Bolin replied. "I'm just bummed we won't be able to play in the championship." "Tenzin is going to get them to reschedule it." Korra told him. "How is he gonna pull that off?" Bolin asked. "Korra chuckled. "I'm guessing there's gonna be some money involved."

Jinora and Anya went into one of the guest rooms in Katara's house. "We'll have to meditate to get there from here." Jinora said. "Don't get frustrated if it takes a while." On the contrary, it took about a minute for Anya and Jinora to both be transported into the spirit world. "That was fast." Jinora commented. "Well, Tenzin is my dad." Anya replied. "I guess it comes naturally to me." "Where do we need to go?" Jinora asked. "It's a grassy valley between two hills." Anya told her. "This way."
As they walked, spirits swirled around Anya. "Spirits too?" Jinora questioned. Anya nodded. "Ever since I was little, animals have always been protective of me." She answered. "When the spirit world and the human world became connected, spirits started hanging around me too." They finally arrived at the valley. The picnic table was still there, and new plates of food appeared as they got closer. The bushes nearby the table rustled, and Iroh came out of them. "You're back." He said with a smile. "It's always so nice to have visitors." "Iroh, I- I need you to show Jinora what happened." Anya said. Iroh's smile disappeared. "Are you sure?" He asked. Anya nodded. "She needs to know." Iroh sighed. "Very well." He said. He sat down on the ground, and Jinora and Anya did the same. They started to meditate.
     When Anya opened her eyes, they were sitting outside of a large house, obviously in the Fire Nation. "This is your old house." Jinora realized. Anya nodded. "Come on." The two girls walked up to the house and went inside. "Iroh is controlling the memory." Anya said. "Making sure nothing goes wrong." Jinora nodded. They were standing in a living room. A fire was crackling in the fireplace. It was a cozy looking home, but it was empty. "Where is-" Jinora started. Anya shushed her. "Watch." A crash came from upstairs. There was someone running down the steps. A six year old Anya ran into the room. Her hair was long and curly, unlike now, where it was short and straight. She ran over to the door and tried to open it, but she couldn't. There was a bolted lock on the door, too high for her to reach. More footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs. The six year old Anya turned around, tense. A man came into the room. He was tall and beefy. "It wasn't my fault!" The six year old screamed. The man looked extremely angry. "I didn't mean to!" The man stepped forward, and the little Anya braced herself. As the man raised his hand, a woman came through a door in the back. A young platypus bear  about the size of a common dog followed her in. "Zaion!" The woman exclaimed. "Zaion what are you doing?" "Teaching her to follow orders." Zaion replied. "It was an accident!" Anya yelled. The woman ran forward and got inbetween Zaion and Anya. "What did she do?" She asked frantically. "We can work this out!" Zaion shoved her out of the way, knocking her into a nearby table. The woman collapsed in a heap on the floor. "Mom!" Anya cried. She looked back at Zaion, her eyes now full of rage. "Don't ever touch her!" Anya sent a fire blast towards Zaion. He was momentarily shocked. "You're a firebender?" He asked. Anya didn't say anything, she just continued attacking him. Zaion's rage returned. "You're all worthless! Nothing but a sad bunch of cowards!" He exclaimed. Anya got towards Zaion again and he slapped her, hard across the face. Anya was sent to the ground and lay still, but she wasn't crying. At this point, Zaion stepped towards her again, but this time, the platypus bear got in front of him. It growled at Zaion and slashed at him until he was back against the open door. "Leave!" Anya screamed. "And don't ever come back!" Zaion ran through the door and Anya immediately went over to her mother. "Mom! Mom, are you okay?" She asked. Anya's mother didn't reply, she was knocked out. A tear made its way down Anya's face. She then ran out the door, and the memory faded.
     Almost an hour had passed in the real world. When the girls returned, Iroh was extremely sympathetic. "Come," he said. "Let's eat." Anya nodded, but she didn't eat anything. "Where did you go?" Jinora asked. "When you ran outside?" "A local woman I knew was a doctor. She had helped us before." Anya explained. "How often did that happen?" Jinora asked. Anya sighed. "Almost every day." "That is why the animals protect you." Iroh interrupted. "That is why the spirits like you. They can sense that you've been hurt, and how much you've been through. You went through all of that, and you did not isolate yourself, you did not withdraw. Your heart is pure, Anya. The spirits think it is their job to make sure you are never hurt like that again." "What did you do?" Jinora questioned. "I broke a vase." Anya said. "That's it?" Jinora said in shock and anger. "He did all of that because you broke a vase?" Anya nodded. "He would flip out over every little thing." She replied. "That man is evil." Iroh said. "One of the worst kinds of evil. The spirits know that. And so they protect you." "We should go back." Jinora said, standing up. "And, don't worry. I won't tell anyone."
   When they got back into the real world, Bolin was up and walking around. "I thought you were on bed rest." Jinora said. "I'm a man." Bolin replied. "I can do what I want." Anya smiled. "Hi Katara!" She said loudly. Bolin gasped and hid behind Mako, making everyone laugh. "Ha ha." Bolin said. "Very funny." "I thought it was." Said a voice behind the four of them. Everyone turned around. "Oh, h-hey Katara." Bolin stuttered. "I thought I told you to stay in bed." Katara said. "Well, I uh-" Bolin started. "Come on Bolin!" Anya said laughing. "Be a man!" She and Jinora walked out of the room. "I'm just gonna-" Bolin said, pointing towards his room. Katara nodded and Bolin headed back towards his room, and he could hear Katara laughing the whole way there.

Me: Wow that is really satisfying. Not counting the Author's Note, this part is exactly 1,600 words.

Anya: How do you find time to write all this?

Me: It's easy! You just don't do your homework!

Anya: Wait, what?

Me: *laugh* Stay in school, kids.

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