Prompts:
Easy- easel (word)
Medium- Spirit World (location)
Hard- Colours of the wind (song)
Colors:
Purple
Brown
White
Word Count: 1, 614
Colors in Perspective:
Looking at the clock I bite back a groan, realizing my partner is already fifteen minutes late. The art room is empty, in fact the only other people here are the teachers who are working. I tear my eyes off of the easel I've been drawing to keep me preoccupied while I've been waiting for Korra. After several more minutes I get up feeling annoyed. Not only was Korra one of the goofballs of the class, she is always trying to distract me from completing my assignments in class. Just today she bumped me while I was working on a pot, making the flimsy wet clay collapse in on itself after I spent three grueling days working on it. To add insult to injury, we were paired together to do a project.
Now I'm here, waiting in the art classroom. During lunch we meet up in the library to discuss what we are going to work and meet up. Being stood up stings surprisingly, I gather my things. Walking out I bump into the school's guidance counselor, a monk-like man that insists we call him by his first name, Tenzin. "Terribly sorry…what are you doing here Asami?" He asks, sounding concerned. "Korra and I were supposed to start our art project together, but she stood me up. Do you have any idea where she could be?" His grey-blue eyes seem to lose some of their life, he lets out a sigh.
"What do you know of Korra?" He asks, I shrug. "Not much, but didn't she move here from the South?" He nods. "Her parents died in a car crash one year back. I suspect she is visiting their graves and paying her respects to them. It's not surprising that she didn't mention it, she doesn't talk about them. She's in the Eastern forest," he offers, motioning for me to follow him. "The Eastern forest…wait isn't it called the spirit realm?!" He nods. "The legend of the spirit realm, the supposed border where the worlds of the living and the dead meet. It's an interesting story that dates back several hundred years supposedly. In all truths it's just an old forest," he tries to reassure.
Entering the spirit realm I shiver at the sudden drop in temperature. Pulling my jacket tighter around me, I walk quickly down the path, wanting to get back to society as soon as possible. Trees reach towards the sky, the many arms of branches and fingers of leaves blocking most sunlight. The affect is immediate, a forest of little light and full of mist. I try to keep my calm as I quicken my pace seeing something from the corner of my eye. A scream rips from my throat when my shoulder is grabbed, the touch making me jump. Heart pounding, I turn to see no one. Definitely time to get out of here, this place is creepy as heck. I turn to only see forest, making me panic. "Where is the path?!" My voice shakes, betraying how fearful I feel of this otherworldly realm.
"Asami?" Hearing a croak, I turn to see Korra emerge from a section of trees. Her eyes are red, she has her arms wrapped around her. The usual playful aura is gone, replaced with sadness. "Korra," I walk forward, pulling her into a hug. "Sorry about the project, I lost track of time here," she sniffles, I hug her. "That's okay, I have a better idea. How about we put the past behind us and start as friends," she nods, smiling weakly. "Okay," she offers, shoulders hunched. "Let's have a sleepover tonight, then we can start the project tomorrow," she bites her lip at my offer, looking nervous. "Won't your parents mind?" She asks quietly, I shake my head. "No they won't, they're cool like that," realizing I haven't let her go I quickly do so, blushing.
"Where are we anyways?" She grabs my hand, leading me. "The spirit realm, once you step off the path you end up here. It can be dangerous if you don't know how to navigate the paths. I was talking to the spirits of my parents," she offers, I find us outside of the forest, next to the sign posted outside. "Where is your car?" She bites her lip, I see a skateboard propped up next to the sign. "I skated here, I don't have a car. Just let me run home…" I touch her shoulder, stopping her. "Just get in the car," she nods, grabbing her board as we pass the sign. She looks uncomfortable in my mustang, staying quiet. "So have you started doing any research yet?" She nods, I begin to drive. "I started doing my research on purple sense it seemed to be the most popular of them. It stands for royalty of course, but I learned it stands for bravery, imagination and pride," I nod, acknowledging the new information. "That makes sense, the Purple Heart is a military metal awarded to those who have shown bravery during battle and have gotten severely injured or have died," I offer.
"So…did you start on brown or white?" I smile gently at her, feeling glad that I'm getting to know her better. "I chose brown since I know nothing about it. It stands for protection and security which makes sense as uniforms for certain types of police have it as their color. But it also stands for being serious and strangely enough friendly," Korra looks surprised. "Seems a little odd…take a right," I follow her instructions, pulling up to a several story house. Korra goes out, there's a loud bark before a white dog races out of the house. "I'm sorry Naga," Korra offers, rubbing its head. Taking out my phone, I call home. "Sato household," hearing my mom's voice I relax, clearing my throat.
"I'm having a sleepover with a friend, that's okay right?" I hear her talk with my dad a moment before answering. "You know our rules, and we know you'll respect them. Is she a girlfriend by chance?" I cough a moment to cover my laughter. "No, we're doing a report together so I thought we could have a sleepover and start it tomorrow," we chat until Korra comes back, then we leave. "What are your parents like?" She asks, duffle on her lap. "They're strict but I know they only want what's best for me," she nods, conversation easily flows until we get to my house. Her jaw goes limp seeing the mansion, I park in the garage. Inside I head for the dining room, dragging Korra along so she doesn't get lost. "Asami welcome home, and you must be Korra," mom smiles warmly at us. We eat, Korra answers her questions timidly, clearly not comfortable with being here.
In the home theatre, I pull out a movie. Korra laughs seeing it, sinking into a bean bag chair. "Hey, pay attention. Pocahontas has a good use of colors," Korra snorts at my defense. We watch it together, she grins when the scene when Pocahontas is showing John Smith her perception of the world. "Any moment now they're going to break out into song, I know it. You don't mind if I sing along do you?" She asks, I shrug. "As long as you aren't too much off-pitch," she smirks. As soon as the song starts she begins, singing with a rich, melodic tone. I turn to face here, trying to hide my shock as I watch her sing along to the song.
"You think I'm an ignorant savage
And you've been so many places
I guess it must be so
But still I cannot see
If the savage one is me
How can there be so much that you don't know?
You don't know ...
You think you own whatever land you land on
The Earth is just a dead thing you can claim
But I know every rock and tree and creature
Has a life, has a spirit, has a name
You think the only people who are people
Are the people who look and think like you
But if you walk the footsteps of a stranger
You'll learn things you never knew you never knew
Have you ever heard the wolf cry to the blue corn moon
Or asked the grinning bobcat why he grinned?
Can you sing with all the voices of the mountains?
Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?
Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?
Come run the hidden pine trails of the forest
Come taste the sunsweet berries of the Earth
Come roll in all the riches all around you
And for once, never wonder what they're worth
The rainstorm and the river are my brothers
The heron and the otter are my friends
And we are all connected to each other
In a circle, in a hoop that never ends
How high will the sycamore grow?
If you cut it down, then you'll never know
And you'll never hear the wolf cry to the blue corn moon
For whether we are white or copper skinned
We need to sing with all the voices of the mountains
We need to paint with all the colors of the wind
You can own the Earth and still
All you'll own is Earth until
You can paint with all the colors of the wind."
She finishes, turning to face me. She blushes realizing I'm staring at her. "Why aren't you in choir?" She bites her lip. "I get nervous singing in front of people," she admits, looking away. "That was amazing Korra!" We talk until we fall asleep.