A/N: I did the final edits of this on my phone, so I'm nervous about what autocorrect might have done. I already found that Korra's name was changed to "Korea" in a few places, but I think I managed to catch all of those.
This was written for Korrasami Month 2019 day 3 - occult AU. I've never written an occult AU and really had no idea what to do with this, so I hope this is satisfactory.
Word count: 3,462
Korra knew witches came in as many forms as the human race. The stereotypes were merely an attempt to scare away children and others who might be drawn to magic by those who had been scared away themselves. Despite knowing all of this, Korra was surprised when the witch who settled across from her looked like any middle-aged woman might, with a kind, smiling face framed with carefully styled light brown hair.
Korra become interested in the occult a year previously, but this was the first time she'd worked up the courage to visit someone who practiced magic. As she eyed the large crystal ball propped on the table, she wasn't sure if she'd made the right decision.
"What can I help you with?" the witch asked in a matter-of-fact yet friendly tone that hinted at her business prowess.
Korra had been expecting someone that raised alarm bells, someone who felt more like a con artist instead of a businessperson, but that wasn't the air the woman presented. Korra reminded herself that appearances meant little when it came to intentions though, especially when one had magic at their disposal.
"I need a love potion," Korra muttered, her cheeks turning pink at the admission. It was the first time she'd spoke her desires out loud, and it made her feel like a foolish child to watch such a thing.
But though she had expected some laughter, she didn't expect the dark look she received from the witch.
"I cannot help you," the woman replied in a cold voice.
"What?" Korra stuttered. "I thought witches would help anyone for the right price. If it's about money, I've brought enough. People online said that love potions always cost the most, so I brought my credit card. My parents will be pissed when they find out, but you'll be paid. You don't have to worry."
"It's not the money that's the problem, child."
The kindness was back, but it came with condescension and pity that made Korra's throat burn.
"Then what's the problem?" she asked through gritted teeth, fighting her urge to pound on the table in frustration.
"I do not brew love potions," the witch said, her shoulders stiff. "Magic is powerful, and that power can be used for evil as easily as it can for good. There are certain aspects of both the natural and supernatural which should not be messed with. Love is one of those. Death is, perhaps, the only thing that rivals it.
"There are certain problems related to love which I can help with, of course. If one's sex life is faltering, there are solutions. If one's lacking confidence, I can help them find it. One thing I cannot do is create love. No one can. Those who claim otherwise are lying. They create crude imitations that harm everyone involved. My magic works with nature as a partner; it does not seek to control or change it."
Korra's ears rang as she stared at the woman. She clenched her fists, desperate to fight, but there was a certainty in the woman's eyes that told Korra her position was unchangeable. Korra felt cold at the insinuation that she was chasing a mere imitation of love instead of the real thing. The love was already there after all, she was sure of it, all she needed was for Mako to see it.
"That's not what others have said," she bit out, her voice sounding far more confident than she felt. "There are so many stories of people in happy relationships thanks to the help of a love potion."
The woman nodded, a sad look in her eye.
"Because they want to believe that what they're experiencing is real," she said quietly. "Many of them have never experienced real love, so they have nothing to compare their relationship to. There are many witches who want to believe they possess power over something so essential to the human experience. It makes you feel like some kind of god, instead of someone who has to submit to the forces of nature. But we can't. Any witch worth their salt will counsel against love potions. The best advice I have for you is to encourage you to share your feelings wit the one you care for. You'd be surprised how often that takes care of the problem. If it doesn't, then we all must accept that things don't always work out the way we hope, and there will be others in the future."
Korra scowled.
"He has a girlfriend," she muttered.
Leaning back in her chair, she crossed her arms against her chest and poured. The witch chuckled in response, earning a glare from the teenager.
"In that case, I offer you condolences, and I acknowledge that makes the situation more complicated. However, I would still implore you not to give up if you truly care for the boy. Love works in far stranger ways than magic does. You never know what direction it will go in. Has he been with the girl long?"
"Only a few weeks," Korra answered before she could wonder why she was sharing so many details with a random witch who had already told her that she wouldn't help.
"Then it's far too early to declare him taken for life," the woman said, leaning over the table to meet Korra's gaze. "Listen to your heart, but try not to hurt others while chasing your own happiness. If you do those two things, I promise that love will find you eventually. I've seen it many times."
Korra nodded, though she wasn't sure why she was agreeing. She tapped her fingers against the arms of the chair she sat in, her eyes scanning the room for the first time as the witch lost her draw. The decor fit all of the stereotypes Korra had been raised with, but more than ever, Korra was sure that was nothing more than a business decision.
"If you ever need help with something besides love potions, I would be pleased to help you," the woman called after her as she made to leave.
Korra tossed words of agreement over her shoulder even as she swore to herself that she'd never step foot in the unhelpful woman's business ever again.
Korra eyed the elaborately decorated rooms of the Sato mansion with distrust, though it wasn't the rooms that made her uneasy. No, it was the girl leading her down the hall who was responsible for that.
If Korra had made only one mistake in her life, it had been agreeing to a sleepover with Asami Sato when she could have made any number of excuses to avoid it. She hadn't planned to say yes, but Asami's offer had caught her off guard. And then Mako, always wanting to please Asami, had mentioned that it sounded like a nice idea. I'm an attempt to make him happy, Korra had agreed before the reality of spending an entire night with Asami had hit her.
One full night with no one around except Asami. Even Asami's father was absent, too caught up in his work to check in on his daughter and her friend except through a couple phone calls. Korra probably could have gotten out of the sleepover if she'd "accidentally" revealed the lack of supervision to her parents, but part of her was also curious to see the inside of the mansion that was the envy of everyone in Republic City.
Korra's eyes widened as Asami brought her into a large theater room with a projector and a screen which took up an entire wall. Rows of seats straight from a movie theater filled the room. Korra laughed from surprise without caring if it was rude.
"You've got to be kidding me," she said. "This place really is everything us normal folk imagine for the rich, isn't it?"
Asami gave her a small smile that was only a little self-conscious—Korra had made small jokes about her family's money before after all—and shrugged.
"This is my favorite room in the house," she admitted. "I spend hours in here playing video games."
Korra froze, eyeing Asami with distrust. Bolin had likely let it slip at some point that Korra was a video game fiend. Because she was. Her gaming skills were something she prided herself on, and despite the countless times she'd been annoyed by other gamers discounting her, she was distrustful that Asami could be a good player.
"What kind of games?" Korra asked, holding her breath in anticipation for the answer.
"Lots of different things," Asami said, a light blush on her cheeks as if she expected to be mocked. "It depends on my mood. I'm working my way through Final Fantasy XV now, but I keep getting frustrated by its portrayal of women and have to put it down for a while. Mario Kart is a good destressor when that happens."
"I fucking kill at Mario Kart," Korra said before she could stop herself.
Asami's embarrassment was gone, replaced by a confident smirk that Korra couldn't help but respond to with a grin of her own.
"Really?" she asked.
She walked over to a set of shelves that Korra noticed held all of the most current gaming systems. She itched to get her hands on it.
"Care to see if that's true?" Asami asked.
Korra eyed the XBox controller for a second and debated getting out of the challenge with excuses that she only had a PlayStation at home and played better on that system. But a quick glance confirmed that Asami would only hand her a PlayStation controller if she said that. She took the XBox controller, fixing a confident smile on her face.
"You're on," she said.
Korra quickly learned that the shelves of gaming consoles hadn't just been for display. Asami knew how to play, and Korra wasn't a good loser. The tournament escalated into a war that had the potential to become never ending until Asami called it off after several hours over Korra's loud protests.
It was with a pout that Korra ambled into Asami's bedroom, trying to console herself with thoughts of a rematch later on.
The sight of a small talisman hanging inside Asami's door pulled her from her thoughts, making her pause in the doorway.
"You practice magic?" Korra asked, turning around and stumbling backward when she realized how close Asami was standing behind her.
Asami gave her a small and ran a finger over the talisman.
"A little," she admitted with a shrug. "My dad doesn't like it, so he won't let me put anything in the rest of the house. I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but it works. I've seen proof of it."
"I'm not judging you for it," Korra said, flopping herself down on Asami's bed and trying not to get distracted by how comfortable it was.
Asami joined her, her smile wider at Korra's words.
"Actually, I went to a witch last week," Korra blurted out before she thought better of it.
Asami's eyes lit up.
"What for?" she asked. "If you don't want to try any spells yourself, I'd be happy to help you out instead of paying for it. I'm at least decent at many of them, and I always appreciate some practice. Is there something I could help you with?"
Korra's mind raced. She couldn't tell Asami the truth: that the whole trip had been an attempt to ruin her relationship with Mako. She also couldn't refuse to say anything, as that would make her look more suspicious.
"It wasn't a big deal," she said, feeling her cheeks heat up. "I just wanted to ask about the future."
She wanted to cringe the second the words left her mouth. They made her feel like the girls she'd gone to elementary school with who always played MASH at recess. It was too late to take back her words though.
Her embarrassment was quickly forgotten, however, when Asami scowled at her.
"The future?" she asked. "Please tell me you didn't mess with fortune telling."
Korra leaned back from the force of Asami's disapproval. She'd been expecting scorn, not frustration.
"What?" she asked. "Loads of people go to witches for fortune-telling."
"And every single one of those people is stupid," Asami said with passion. "Magic should help people. All fortune telling does is mess with their heads."
"But it's not dark magic."
"It can be, depending on who's listening to the future and how they take it. People have ruined their lives because of fortunes, even positive ones, and most of the time they don't come true."
"Because people manipulate the future every day and change things," Korra finished for her. "I know that. I just wanted to have a look for curiosity's sake."
Asami bit her tongue. Korra stared at her for a few seconds, prepared for the argument to escalate, but in the end, Asami took a different approach.
"Did the witch show you what you wanted to see?" she asked.
"Uh," Korra hesitated. "No, I didn't see anything. To tell you the truth, I didn't like her, so I of got out of there as soon as possible."
Asami's shoulders relaxed.
"Good," she said before abruptly asking Korra if she wanted to listen to music.
There was no more talk of magic that night.
Asami: Korra, please tell me you didn't go back to that witch and ask about the future.
Korra: I didn't go back to that witch.
Why do you think I did?
Asami: Did you think I wouldn't notice how weird you were today?
You flinched when I handed you a pencil. And then there was forgetting your pencil in the first place. Something's going on.
Did the witch show you something that had to do with me?
Korra: Asami, I really didn't go back to that witch. I was just tired today. Everything's fine. I promise.
Asami: What did you see?
Korra: I didn't see anything, but why are you asking anyway? Remember how you didn't want to know anything about the future?
Asami: And this is exactly why. Now that I know you saw something that apparently made you nervous around me, not knowing is driving me crazy.
Korra: I didn't see anything. I swear. You don't have to worry about it.
The witch was frowning at Korra before she'd opened the door. For a split second, Korra thought her arrival had been predicted, but then she remembered the window right beside the door. She took two seconds to observe Korra before declaring, "You've divined the future. All on your own too, with no guidance whatsoever."
She shook her head and took her place at the rickety table, her crystal ball still perched in the middle. Korra watched the ball distrustfully as she lowered herself into the chair across from the witch.
She wasn't sure what she expected to gain from the visit. The idea of the witch telling her more of the future was nearly revolting, even as Korra longed to see more of the images that wouldn't leave her brain. She worried they were growing fuzzier and less trustworthy the more she replayed them in her head.
"You shouldn't have done it," the woman said with a sigh that made Korra's blood boil. "The future is nearly impossible to interpret even for those of us with experience. Lesser women than you have suffered greatly after wrongful interpretations.
"I don't trust anything I saw," Korra said, her voice hoarser than she'd expected it to be.
She swallowed, trying to get rid of the block in her throat.
"Nothing I saw felt right," she continued, focusing on the crystal ball to avoid the witch's eyes. "Before, I knew there was something between Mako and me. That's why I wanted to break him and Asami up: I knew they weren't right for each other. But when I looked in the future…" She took a deep, shaky breath. "I couldn't find a single possible outcome where Mako and I were together for more than a few years."
"Ah," the old woman said, leaning forward. "So you did account for different possibilities then? Perhaps I was too quick to judge you. You could have the makings of a talented seer.
Korra's frustration didn't allow her to accept the compliment. The frown in her forehead deepened as she fought the temptation to knock the crystal ball from the table.
"It didn't matter," she said. "Nothing I saw made sense."
"I suspect that you didn't just see yourself alone your entire life," the witch said slowly. "That often incites fear in people but not confusion. You saw yourself with someone, just not the person you expected."
Korra let her eyes slowly travel to the woman's face. After a moment of hesitation, she said, "It was Asami, Mako's girlfriend. Not in all of the futures, but in the ones where I looked happiest, she was always there."
The witch's lips morphed into a smile. She didn't look the least bit surprised by Korra's revelation, something that made the girl's mouth open in wonder.
"The other woman?" the witch asked with a small chuckle. "It's easy to see how that might be confusing, but it need not be alarming, child. You are, after all, only in the same position that you were in before."
Korra grinded her teeth together, her shoulders drooping. It was true, though what she would do (if she did anything at all) hadn't yet crossed her mind. Before she'd come, she realized, she'd wanted the witch to tell her the visions weren't true or that there was an alternate explanation that didn't involve her being happy with Asami. Sitting across from the grinning woman, though, Korra knew she wouldn't receive that confirmation.
"Do you have anything to relieve stress?" she asked instead.
"I do," the witch answered. "However, what I recommend above all is being open about your feelings. That should solve your problems without a need for potions or spells. As much as I love my line of work, I don't believe in using magic for things that can be easily taken care of without it. It's like giving morphine to treat pain from a papercut."
Korra scoffed.
"I guess I'm on my own then," she shot at the witch as she stood to leave.
Just like last time, she was determined to never return.
It took several months before Mako and Asami broke up. Their relationship seemed to go on forever as Korra watched their increasingly frequent arguments with a shameful hope that she tried not to feel.
Over time, her thoughts about Asami strayed from the visions she'd seen of the future and morphed instead into visions entirely of her own making. It became impossible to deny that the visions had stirred feelings in her that she couldn't ignore. The minute she learned that things were over between Asami and Mako, Korra had to fight the urge to blurt out her feelings then and there.
Days after heartbreak wasn't the right time for someone knew to profess their love, but Korra stayed by Asami's side as she mourned her relationship, doing her best not to appear jealous of the influence Mako still held.
There was only so long she could keep her feelings bottled up though. As she sat across from Asami in the latter girl's bedroom, the words fought to be free. She'd analyzed every interaction between them over the past month, and she was increasingly sure that she wasn't imagining that her feelings were reciprocated.
"I really like you," she said, startling Asami from the car magazine she'd been focused on.
"What?" Asami asked, eyes wide in a way that made Korra unable to look away from them.
"I like you," Korra repeated, feeling bolder the second time around. "I have since you were dating Mako."
Asami smiled, and Korra's heart soared.
"To clarify: you mean that you like, like me, right? Not just as a friend, but as–"
"Definitely more than a friend," Korra confirmed, her own smile reaching embarrassing proportions.
Her breath caught in her throat as Asami leaned towards her. Every cell in her body screamed at her. In the second before their lips touched, Korra thought she might die from the anticipation, but she didn't. As soon as they were kissing, her veins rushed with adrenaline that pushed her to move and tangle one hand in Asami's hair. Her other hand found Asami's waist.
It was over too soon when Asami pulled away, laughing slightly.
"I like you too," she said before pressing her lips to Korra's once more.
There was no talk of the future, and for the first time in months, no visions were on Korra's mind.