[ Have another pause, because damn it, it's logic. Not just that, it's the kind of logic he's most accustomed to complying with: slightly snappy and coming from someone with a very full plate of Serious Survival Concerns. The kind that builds up those old, familiar "I need you to stay safe" boundaries, which. Well, which is fair enough. She's Korra, and she's kind of the Avatar and everything, so these are her boundaries to establish boundaries in.

And maybe he doesn't like that, and maybe that kind of logic has been pulling at him like a second skin that's almost too tight lately, but neither of those things change the facts. He's not a great liar, even to himself, and the truth is, there's kind of... nothing that they can do to actually help her. Bolin's not the smartest dude around, but he knows this tune. If running into the unknown wilds will help get Korra out of the unknown wilds faster at any point, she'll ask them to do it. Like, probably not as soon as Asami would ask, but way sooner than Mako would probably ask? There's a scale in there. Just like there's a silver lining stuck in here... uh, somewhere.

He trusts that. ]

Well hey, I'm your go-to safekeeping guy! Seventeen years and counting. Great with animals, as talented as he is dependable, the mighty hero of the South! [ Yes that is the sound of a bicep being patted, he's so manly and totally a thousand percent serious right now hdu imply otherwise.

(Guess who's putting all his eggs in the "Korra will clearly handle Mako's handling" basket and making zero plans in the event that she didn't. This guy right here.) ]