Round 3 submission for Probending Tournament
(easy) love
(medium) amber
(hard) "Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment." - Buddha
Round Element For Managers: Spirit
Word count - 1,194
The young avatar lay in bed, consciousness fading in and out while her heart monitor beeped with each heartbeat. The sound was like music to her girlfriend's ears, giving her hope that maybe she would pull through this after all. Asami sat at her bedside holding the once tan girl's pale hand in her own, a desolate lost look on her face. Everything had been different, since Korra had been diagnosed with cancer. She had had to start treatments, which slowed her down just as much as when she had that metallic poison in her system. Her movements were sluggish, and she had to work twice as hard to do simple tasks. The disease had left a blood clot in Korra's left lung, and another fatally close to her heart. Any strenuous exercising could cause the clots to move and instantly kill her. Due to this, Asami felt it best for Korra to stay in the Sato Mansion with her, where she could be waited on hand and foot (quite literally). At first Korra refused, for she felt it necessary to continue her avatar duties until she absolutely couldn't, and then it was time to step aside for the new avatar. Asami refused to hear any of this though, and insisted frequently that Korra move into the mansion until she finally gave Korra no choice.
"Korra? Are you awake?" Asami asks, her voice practically a whisper as she pushes Korra's hair back gently off of her face.
"..A..A-sami?" the avatar groans, attempting to sit up although she knew it was futile. Asami quickly releases her hand and moves to gently pull Korra up, putting more pillows behind her to make the transition as painless as possible.
"I'm sorry I'm such a burden on you these days" Korra mumbles, so low that the Heiress can barely make out what she's saying. "It was never suppose to be like this… I was suppose to be the one taking care of you…" Silent tears escape the avatar's eyes as she puts her head down on her chest.
"You aren't a burden at all" Asami says, a small smile tugging at her lips. "In fact, do you remember our first date?"
It was a warm autumn evening in Republic City, and Korra was sitting in the gazebo on air temple island, overlooking the bay. A ball of water swirled over the avatar's head, and she played with it and did tricks to amuse herself, the crashing of the waves beside her the only noise to be heard. She had always felt a deep connection with the water, not only having been born in the South Pole but it was also her base element.
"It's been a few weeks since I've seen Asami… I think I'm gonna ask her to go on a-"
"Hey Korra! It's been awhile. Tenzin said I might be able to find you here." Asami said, walking up with a cup of tea. "Here, this is for you, I thought you might've been cold sitting out here."
"Thanks," Korra says, a small smile and then a look of indecision crossing her face for a fleeting moment. After a few long moments of listening to the sound of the crashing waves, Korra finally had the courage to ask Asami what she had wanted to ask almost five years before ."Would you um.. go on a date with me tomorrow night?"
"Korra I'd love to" the Heiress says, an easy grin sliding across her face. "Where do you want me to meet you?"
The Next Evening…
"Come on Korra… It'll be alright… you're only taking her for a stroll through the park. Just do what Tenzin said, 'don't dwell on the past, don't dream of the future, concentrate on the present moments.' If it works for airbending then why can't it fit into this situation?" Taking a deep breath, she slowly turned around, just in time to catch a glimpse of Asami confidently striding towards her. A slight blush colors the darker girl's cheeks, as she glides towards the Heiress, coming up beside her to match her pace.
"Fancy seeing you here," the avatar draws, flashing her adorably awkward grin.
"Quite the surprise for me as well" the taller girl giggles, going along with Korra's charade.
"Well since we're both here, care to accompany me on a stroll this fine autumn evening?" Asami takes the arm the avatar extended to her. As they take off down the little trail beside the river, the shorter girl gently caresses the arm of the taller girl. Neither speak as they walk along the winding path, watching the changing leaves fall slowly from the trees. The beautiful shades of ambers, oranges, reds, and yellows were like a painting above their heads, mother nature's palette blending together in a breath-taking display. The spirits had come out to play, taking advantage of the falling foliage. They were everywhere, gathering up the leaves into big piles, and then cannon balling into them. Some of Republic City's children had joined in, running and laughing with the spirits. Korra was elated to see peace in harmony after all she had done to uphold it over the years, seeing it let her know that after all of her struggles, that the avatar wasn't pointless or irrelevant, that indeed she had been victorious.
"Everything is so beautiful this evening," Asami murmurs in awe, taking in everything going on. "I don't think I've ever walked out here in the evening."
"Well during the day everyone is always bustling about, in the evenings towards dark not many people are out, making it the an almost perfectly peaceful place." The setting sun casts an orange glow upon everything it could grasp. The two had hence decided to sit beneath the old gnarled weeping willow found off the path to watch the sun slowly creep away in the peace and silence of the evening; crickets chirping around them, hand in hand, the orange slowly fading away to black…
"Korra?" Asami whimpers, a look of panic and distress firmly imprinted on her features. While she had been telling her story to the semi-conscious avatar the sounds of the heart monitor let her know it was safe to continue on. The beeping noise had in recent moments seem to start to fade, but she had dared not to remove her eyes from the love of her life wanting to be able to close her eyes and see Korra there. *Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep* Finally sparing a moment to look up at the monitor, all the Heiress could see was a single flat line moving across it and silent tears began to fall as she realized the avatar was no longer breathing. "Oh Korra.. I wish there was more I could have done for you. I wish there was a cure, a way we could have removed those blood clots so you would still be here. That way you wouldn't have to die in this bed feeling so helpless… I vow to you that I will find the new avatar and help them train. I will help uphold your legacy, and I will never stop loving you…"