The Spirit World

by VHsgin

The life and conversations of Korra and Asami as they walk through the spirit world. They talk and touch, growing closer as they encounter the spirits and seeing each other clearer as the days go by. Korrasami Ship.

"Ok so it goes something like this: your brain maps your physical body, it accounts for all your limbs all your anatomical features. It creates its own internal model. So for example you've got people with short circuits like Body Integrity Identity Disorder, where there's a break in the mapping system and a body part isn't accounted for. Your brain just doesn't recognize that part as its own. Then you've got Phantom Limb Syndrome which is like the opposite, where someone loses a limb but their brain remains aware of it, it's still mapped into your system so your brain thinks it still has control over it. That's why amputees sometimes reach for an object with a hand that's no longer there. That gets you thinking doesn't it? What if the elements are something like this, where some people are just born with the awareness of a particular element." Asami smiled at her looking like a kid with a weird art project.

Korra just laid on her back watching to clouds pass by, her arms folded behind her head for support. "Asami…" she glanced at the girl sitting cross legged beside her.

"Well what do you expect when you ask me a question randomly I can't exactly think through the whole thing in a minute"

"The thing is, I didn't ask a question"

"Yeah, you did"

"I made a statement, 'It feels weird not being able to bend', and you answered with a series of words I don't understand"

"It's not words you don't know, its terms you don't know"

"The difference being?"

"You know what Phantom means. And you know what Limb and Syndrome mean. But you don't know what Phantom Limb Syndrome means."

"Ohhhh, I get it now. You're saying you're a smartass. Ok, Ok. Makes sense" She over did the sarcasm on that last part and deserved the shove she got, but Asami was too busy laughing it off. Korra half smirked to herself, I want to see her excited again.

"Ok, so normally it's the brain and the limb and they're connected with your insides– "

"Your Nervous System"

Korra put her fingers to her forehead, "Ok Asami, your Nervous System", I hope she's enjoying this, "But what's connecting your brain to the element?"

Asami furrowed her brow and looked Korra in the eyes, unblinking "… maybe it's the awareness itself… or it could be some other spiritual factor we just can't see, like chi"

Korra thought about it some more, trying to put up a good fight for her, "Well why aren't there more people that can use all the elements? Or at least more than one of them"

"It'd probably put a considerable strain on your body. Going in the Avatar State leaves you exhausted doesn't it?... but then again you can still use all the elements outside the state so…"

Korra got up on her elbows and smiled at her, "The difference is the strength. When I'm like that, it's like I can move mountains. Naturally I guess Rava's the reason I can switch through elements so easily. But anyway, maybe everyone's connected to all the elements with different strengths or levels of awareness, their body probably has an internal limiter though so at most they can only bend one element. That way they don't overwork themselves."

Asami held her chin in that genius sort of way and Korra forgot their entire conversation, focusing her cognition instead on the adorable way Asami mumbled to herself.

"Different levels of awareness?... Yes, looking at the Cortical Homunculus we do naturally have different levels of awareness for our body parts…" Asami looked up at Korra instantly, "theoretically, we should be able to invoke bending, if I'm right"

"You're like a mad scientist you know, how do you know any of this? Biology isn't even your field. I don't think I've understood a thing you just said. The best part is, and this is apparently a new found talent of mine, I don't think I've understood all of what I've said." Korra grinned at her.

Asami blushed, "Sorry, sometimes I go off on this tangent when I'm alone… the spirit world just has me so excited. And well, you're actually proving yourself very fun to bounce around these ideas with."

Korra felt a lift in her heart and got up to sit cross legged like her. She looked at the taller girl sitting right next to her, those golden green eyes and soft smiles.

"Well speaking of the spirit world, here we are. In the spirit world. Together!" Korra felt herself slipping into an awkward air. She tested, and noted, that nervous laughter does not in fact help. Ok I've just got to get on with it, it'll kill you to go quiet again.

"Asami, um. Well I like you, I probably haven't said it a lot before but I do. And that… kiss… we had when we first came here, don't get me wrong, I liked it! The spirit portal, the night. Everything was so… romantic" Her blush deepened, she found herself starring at the ground in front of her and unconsciously pulling out blades of grass, "It's just… I was kind of wondering if we can talk about it? I just– I'm not sure what it means and–"

"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!"

Korra flinched, feeling a flick to her finger.

Asami jumped caught off guard, following Korra's eyes to the ground she saw a little pebble standing right before her with hands on its nonexistent hips.

Korra looked at it and blinked, "Um, what?"

"You're ruining MY DAM LAWN!"

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Just cause you're the Avatar huh" He (or rather 'it', but considering the sound of its voice much like gravel in a blender, probably 'he') pointed to the three blades of grass before him, "You think this is right?"

"Its… Wait, where do you even life? Its only three blades of grass– "

"Where do I? Where do I live? Are you kidding me?" He pointed to a hole in the dirt behind him, "ARE YOU BLIND WOMAN?"

He screeched like a Republic City intersection, "When you're lawn consists of five blades of grass, THREE BLADES IS A DAM LOT"

Korra got flustered with all the screaming and looked to Asami for support. Unfortunately Asami was preoccupied covering her mouth with a gloved hand and suppressing her laughter, although she did spare a moment for Korra, looking from her to the pebble, "I'm sorry… I can't even…" She almost chocked on her laughter.

Korra turned red, why now?,

"LOOK AT ME DAMIT?"

Korra looked back at him at attention, "Ok Ok look I'll fix it" She was getting more embarrassed by the minute, "Look, I'll just pick some other leaves and cover it up?"

"OF COURSE, THE NEXT TIME SOMEONE KILLS MY DOG I'LL TELL THEM TO PUT ANOTHER DEAD DOG ON TOP OF IT. THAT'LL FIX IT"

"WELL WHAT DO YOU EXPECT ME TO DO?!"

Asami was audibly choking to death. Korra looked at Asami, flustered, confused, and more than anything embarrassed, "ARE YOU OK? WOULD YOU LIKE SOME WATER?" Asami calmed down and looked at Pebbles, "Look, the grass isn't even dead. The blades are just leaves, it'll grow back in a few days. I mean, this is the spirit world"

"Well" Pebbles wasn'tt happy with that, "you are a smartass aren't you"

Korra leaned over him, "You were listening to us?!"

"THAT'S NONE OF YOUR DAM BUSNIESS"

Asami got up and stretched, "Hey Korra lets just get out of here" she said lifting up her bag and looking around the horizon.

Korra hesitated a minute, "Um"

"You're the Avatar, you can't leave after what you've done" the way he said it made her feel worse. Korra bowed her head deeply, "Please forgive me"

Asami looked back, is she actually taking him seriously?

"I can, and I won't"

She bowed deeper, "Is there anything I can do at least?"

"No"

Her forehead almost touched the ground this time, "This is my first day in the spirt world in a while. Please, forgive me"

"No"

Asami rolled her eyes, he's just a very angry pebble Korra, but still, she waited the fifteen minutes for Korra to make amends which was achieved by remarkable lengths of groveling.

"What was that all about?"

Korra blushed again, "I just don't want to make any more enemies than I've got. Plus it was my fault" "Korra.." Asami stared at her while they walked down the dirt path. Korra finally looked back, "He was a pebble living in a dirt hole Korra" Asami smiled while she said it, making Korra blush again, "Well doesn't that just make it worse? I mean, he had a dirt hole and five blades of grass. And I took away three of em"

Asami didn't even try to hide her laughter, "You are so dam sweet"

Korra blushed harder and mumbled a "thanks I guess"

"No stop." Asami said laid a hand on her shoulder, "You're sweet" Korra looked off to the corner but Asami gently turned her chin toward her again, "You're sweet and you're kind. You're smart in that clever way and the most beautiful girl I've ever seen" Korra swallowed hard but kept looking at her, forgetting herself, "I like you too, Korra". Asami leaned down and gave her a soft, faint kiss.

Asami pulled back and looked from her lips to her clear blue eyes, letting her hand fall. But that didn't stop Korra from wrapping both arms around her neck and drawing her down for a deeper, longer kiss. Asami wrapped her arms around the shorter girl's waist in return, and slipped her tongue between her lips. She felt the new sensation and the odd feelings it stirred in her, gasped, opened her eyes, and bit down. And Asami did as Asami dose and slowly retracted her tongue and pulled back, leaning her forehead against Korra's to keep contact, "Too soon?"

"I just… I'm sorry, I just got excited"

Asami closed her eyes, this is not the time to laugh or tell her how adorable she is Asami, nor is it the right time to push her up against a tree and kiss her harder. Self-control Asami. Self-control.

Korra couldn't quite hear her internal dialog so she just buried her face into her neck, "I liked it though"

Asami pulled her in tighter, "Well, this is only the first day. We've got the rest of the vacation"

Korra raised her head, "Yeah, the day's almost over". The spirit world never got dark, just dimmer towards the evening hours, "We should set up camp here" Korra looked around the clearing. Asami used the moment to pull her in for one last kiss, on the cheek this time. Korra laughed "Asami, we should start setting up" but only turned away reluctantly.

"Ah, well fine" Asami let her go and found a rock to sit on, dropping her bag on the ground and resting her head on her knee.

Through the entire process of raising the tent Korra never looked back at her, although all she ever did was stare at Korra with a smile. Asami had extensive knowledge in engineering and could have probably finished in three minutes flat without instructions, but Korra looked as though she knew what she was doing. By the first ten minutes it became clear that while her movements were fluent and decisive, not one of them was productive. She did not know what she was doing. What Asami thought was interesting though, she did not appear to know that she didn't know what she was doing.

"Asami" Korra said her name,

"Yeah babe?"

"I have no idea what I'm doing" she continued to do whatever it was that she was doing, with the same expression and confidence.

"You seem to know what you're doing"

"That's very different from actually knowing"

"Would you like help?"

"No"

"Do you need help?"

"Yes"

"Should I help?"

"If you don't we probably won't have a tent tonight"

"Dose it even rain all that often in the spirit world? Why do we need a tent?"

"Well, for privacy–" Korra heard herself and snapped up, turned to Asami "–SO WHEN YOU'RE CHANGING OR LIKE SLEEPING NOTHING'LL SNEEK UP ON YOU GOSH ASAMI WHAT ARE YOU EVEN THINKNIG"

Asami rolled her eyes, "Ok, Ok, I'm helping"

Hey, tried a thing in this fiction. Tell me if you like it so I'll know if to continue or try again with a better start. Any criticism or tips help, thank you.