Moon Drops

Nature will always Prevail in its Course, both Natural and Otherwise

Korra wasn't quite sure what she had been expecting upon her arrival to the Northern Water Tribe-but riots were definitely not something she would have considered. The people lined the streets with outrage deeply drawn over their faces. They jeered at her, mocked her, and one waterbender even had the audacity to hit the back of her head with a snowball as her escorted skiff drifted through the in-city canals. She angrily narrowed her eyes at the crowd and immediately pinpointed the bender-sending him flying into the air before he was finally dropped into the icy Northern waters.

Tarrlok hid his amusement by focusing his attention on the palace up ahead. Korra growled in frustration beside him, waterbending the melting snow out of her hair. "Ugh! What is wrong with these people?!"

A deep crease formed over his forehead and his brow lowered over his blue eyes like a hunting wolf. "That's precisely what we're here to find out," he replied to the avatar in a low and reserved voice.

Truth be told, Tarrlok hadn't expected things to be this bad, either. He knew that the Northern Water Tribe was suffering from the shift in power and that many of the residents were not pleased that a southerner was now governing the throne when there were two perfectly capable heirs that could have inherited it. The first thing on Tarrlok's agenda was to meet with Commander Bumi who, with his naval fleet, was currently stationed here. While Tarrlok's ultimate goal for this trip was to win Tonraq's favor, he also knew that would be pointless if he could not win the favor of the Northern tribespersons as well.

Tarrlok and Korra had left Republic City less than a week ago. Thanks to modern forms of transportation, time spent traveling on would-be long trips were much shorter. Tarrlok had not spoken much with her during this time; he could tell she was still rather perturbed with him about this whole marriage-thing. He had no doubts that she would come to her senses in time, however. One big step, he was sure, would be to get Tonraq's blessing-which not even the "esteemed" Mako had received, according to Korra.

As soon as the skiff passed under the palace gates, the voices of the protesting citizens became muffled and eventually disappeared altogether. Korra and Tarrlok stepped out of their boat at the base of the palace staircase where Bumi was waiting for them.

He was dressed in his United Forces uniform, complimented by a set of pink earmuffs, and greeted the couple with a wide grin on his face-in spite of the circumstances. "How'd you like the little welcome party? Not my idea, but still riveting I'm sure," He joked with a light snort as he clasped hands with Tarrlok.

"Quite," He managed to reply with a certain stoic tone.

Tarrlok wasn't in favor of those who would jest at the severity of a situation like the one that they were being exposed to in the Northern Water Tribe. It simply was not in good taste. Bumi turned to the avatar and extended a hand to her as well. "A pleasure as always, Dad-Korra."

Oh that was a creepy thought that Tarrlok had been desperately trying to keep out of his mind-Bumi's comment did not help him in those efforts. Tarrlok could tell that Korra had also not found the humor in Bumi's words. "I told you to call me Korra," she corrected him stiffly.

Bumi continued as if he hadn't heard her, "So! How about a little palace tour before we get down to business?"