Korra kept her head bowed as she rode Naga through the market. People would recognize her no matter what, but she did not want to invite conversation, or worse, complaint. She was the only daughter and heir to her father's kingdom, and nobles made a habit of cornering her with their problems.

The market was ordinary enough that day. The fresh grass had been trampled into a pasty mud with the arrival of spring rain. The smell of the day's work mingled with the distant scent of livestock.

Korra steered Naga in the direction of the blacksmiths and reined her to a stop out front. She patted the horse's mane and whispered, "Easy, girl," before dismounting. She guided the mare over to a post and tied her reigns in place, not that Korra expected Naga would run. Out of all the combat-ready horses under her father's command, Naga was the best trained. "I'll be back, all right?" She hoisted the heavy pack of armor off the saddlebag and slung it over her shoulder. Instead of taking the front entrance, she walked down the alley to the back courtyard. She looked from the forge to the anvil, then grinned when she spotted a young woman by a weapon rack. "Asami!" she called.

The raven-haired girl turned toward her and smiled. She took off her heavy gloves and wiped her hands on her soot-stained leather apron. "Korra," she called back. "What brings you here at this hour?"

Korra walked over to a free table and hefted the bag onto it, causing the armor to clang together. "Some quick repairs, if you think you can manage."

"So you carted your armor to me in a sack?" she asked. The scolding look in her green eyes made Korra look away.

"Well, how else was I supposed to get it here?"

"With a cart? With help?" Asami opened the bag and pulled out the cuirass, pauldron, and gauntlet.

"That would have required permission to leave." She watched Asami turn over the pauldron, undoubtedly observing the damage.

"And a lecture from your father," Asami added. "How did you manage to dent this?" She pointed to a pin that had been completely bent sideways.

Korra shrugged. "Oh, I don't know. I just...was having trouble raising my arm at practice this morning. I thought you could fix it real quick. I mean, you can fix it, right?" She leaned on the table, waiting for an answer. Instead of giving one, Asami grabbed a pair of tongs and a hammer and spent several minutes trying to maneuver the piece in different directions. "Well?" she prompted.

Asami glanced at her with a smile. "You were in here just last week to fix a dent in your cuirass, the gold leaf one your father had commissioned for your birthday."

"Yes, I know. He's still furious about that one."

"And the week before that, it was to fix that sword you had broken." The smile slowly curled into a grin. "And before that, the crack in your helm-"

"Yes, I know. And my father will lock me away in the castle if he finds another ruined set of armor, so please fix it for me? I'll pay double your rate."

Asami paused in her meddling and put down her tools. "Oh, you don't have to do that. I mean, we're friends, right? And friends help one another out."

Korra caught the inquiring tone in Asami's voice. "So, what do you want me to test out?"

"Oh, nothing. I mean, you don't have to. It's not that I'm forcing you to in some sort of exchange, I just-"

"Asami, as long as whatever it is won't kill me, I'm glad to help." Korra still had bruises from Asami's last failed project, but if it got her armor fixed, she was happy to help.

"Great!" Asami shoved her armor back at her. "And you should have full range of motion in your pauldron again. It just needed a small adjustment."

Korra accepted the pauldron with a frown. "Wait, are you serious? It only needed a little bit of work?"

Asami grinned. "Yes, now come with me before my father realizes I'm cutting out on work today and we both end up in trouble."

Korra nodded toward the alley as she began packing up her armor. "Naga is around the front."

"I'll grab what I need and meet you there."Asami grabbed her gloves and tools, but before she turned to leave she paused and said, "Thank you, Korra. I appreciate this."

Korra waved her away before hoisting the sack of armor back over her shoulder and walking back out to Naga. "Did you miss me?" she asked, securing the saddlebag once more. She patted Naga's snout and the horse snorted softly. "Lady Sato will be going on a ride with us," she said, straightening her tunic as she spoke. "Tell me, do I look presentable to escort a woman in public? Father always says I have the worst manners."

"Do you talk to your horse often?"

Korra turned and saw Asami walking down the alley. She had tossed aside her blacksmith's apron, but still wore her heavy tunic and stained trousers. Her face still had blackened smudges from working the forge all day. Korra realized she was staring and glanced back at Naga. "Well, what you should have asked was if Naga ever talks back."

Asami grinned and passed over another saddlebag. "I know better than to ask that." She nodded at the bag Korra was securing. "Now hurry up, before anyone notices we're gone."

Korra swung up into the saddle and scooted forward. She turned and offered Asami her hand, pulling her up behind her. "You're just lucky Naga's the strongest horse in the regiment."

"I could get off and run beside you if you prefer," Asami said, wrapping her arms around Korra's middle. "We'll need an open space away from town."

"I know just the place, then." Korra dug her heels into the flanks of her horse. "Go Naga!" They took off down the main road, weaving through the foot traffic and out of the market. Korra steered them out of town as quickly as possible and out toward an open field. They rode for several minutes, Asami clinging tight the entire time. "Are you scared of falling off?" Korra asked, glancing back. She caught Asami staring ahead, her face flushed.

"I...what?" she asked, meeting Korra's gaze. "Never! I'd never be scared of riding!"

Korra laughed and looked forward again. "Of course, my lady."

"I'm serious! Korra!" But Korra only laughed and spurred Naga on faster, causing Asami to yelp and hold tighter. "Do you realize how many times I've almost set myself on fire? Why would a pony ride scare me?"

"Say whatever you like, Asami. Your secret is out now." Korra finally slowed Naga, bringing her down from a gallop to a full stop in the middle of a field. She looked around for signs of battle, but saw only the tall grass. No scorch marks. No gouges in the earth. Perfect. The field sloped down toward the start of the eastern hills, which eventually gave way to forests. It was as far from the battlegrounds as they could get. She snapped from her thoughts when she felt Asami crawl down from the saddle and chuckled. "Why else would you hold on so fiercely?" she asked.

Asami tossed her hair back and grabbed her bag from Naga's saddle. "To feel your perfectly sculpted body, of course." Korra laughed again and Asami stalked off to the other end of the field. "Whenever you are ready, I can set you up for the test."

Korra dismounted and joined her. "What exactly am I testing, if I might ask? Do you promise that it won't turn me orange this time?"

Asami pulled a bundle of what looked like sticks from the sack and brandished one at Korra. "That was one failed test." She began snapping the sticks together. "And you did not apply the salve correctly so it was entirely your fault." She nodded toward the sack. "There should be a tarp in there. Get it out."

Korra watched the way Asami's slender hands manipulated the contraption into shape. Each delicate finger worked quickly to form the framework for an arch. Suddenly, she realized Asami had said something. "Yes, my lady," she said, reaching into the bag. She pulled out the tarp and unfurled it, letting the breeze catch the edges. Asami quickly reached up and caught a corner. "Careful, this is very delicate."

"And light," Korra said, bundling up the fabric again. "How did you get your hands on this?"

Asami only offered her a smirk and said, "I have my ways." She held up the completed frame of whatever the sticks were supposed to make. "All right. We're ready for the fabric."

Korra handed her the bundle and patiently watched her pull the sheet over the corners of the contraption, pulling it taut. "I have no idea what this is," Korra said after a moment of study.

"This," Asami lifted the object, "is going to make you fly."

Korra took a step back. "Excuse me?" she asked.

"Well, not fly. But you should be able to glide on wind currents for a short time." She thrust the contraption at Korra. "You'll just need to hold onto these." She pointed at two leather straps at the head of the contraption. "Then, run for the edge of the hill with this hoisted over your head."

"You're going to get me killed," Korra accused.

"It's not a very long drop, honestly you act as if I want you to go jump off a mountain."

"If it's so safe, why aren't you trying it, then?"

Asami placed a hand to her chest. "A delicate lady like me?" Korra snorted and she rolled her eyes. "If you want the truth, it's because you're smaller and the only other person I can talk into trying this. I figure it has a better chance of working with a lighter load." Asami stood there, holding the probably lethal contraption and staring at Korra relentlessly with her pitying gaze.

Finally, Korra groaned and snatched up the device. "Help me do this right," she said. "And you better help me fix anything I do to my armor next time."

"Of course," said Asami, leading Korra to what felt like an arbitrary spot in the field. She spun Korra so that she faced the slope that dropped away. "Raise your arms." Korra did so and Asami helped loop the leather straps into place. "Just hold onto these and run as fast as you can toward the slope. When you get to the edge, jump as high as you can and keep your body tucked together. You might cause everything to tip over if you flail around too much."

"Does this actually have a practical application?" Korra asked, testing the strength of her grip.

"Haven't you ever wanted to fly?" Asami asked.

"I prefer to keep my feet firmly on the ground thank you."

Asami sighed. "You don't think it might be advantageous to be able to, I don't know, fly over an army? See their positions? Get behind enemy lines?"

"That...sounds reasonable actually."

"My father thinks it is a terrible idea, and so I want to test it."

Korra laughed. "Oh, I see what's really at work here."

Asami gave her a little shove. "Just do the test."

With a deep breath, Korra readjusted her grip on the new contraption and angled it above her head as best she could. She felt a breeze tug up on the fabric and she pulled down. "Woah, it's trying to escape."

"Perfect! Now's the exact time you should try."

Korra glanced at the slope. The rolling grass whistled as the wind gusted through. She grit her teeth and ran, taking off as fast as she could toward the slope. The contraption tugged upward, pulling Korra with. "Hey!" she yelled, holding on tighter. "I think it might work!"

"Excellent!" Asami yelled.

Korra ran faster, laughing as she leapt at the edge of the slope. For a second, she felt weightless, then the uncomfortable tug of the earth pulled her toward the ground. She yelled, tried to twist her arms out of the straps, and landed on one foot. She screamed when her ankle rolled and pain lanced through her leg. The rest of her body made contact with the ground and she tumbled down the hill, completely tangled in Asami's now broken contraption.

She lay unmoving at the bottom of the slope until she heard the pounding footsteps of Asami running toward her. "Korra, are you okay?"

She groaned and tried to toss the contraption aside, but it clung to her. She tried to stand, but pain shot through her leg and she lay back down. "I'm alive," she said.

"Oh, thank the ancestors." Asami knelt by her, reaching out and slowly prying her arms out of the straps. "Let me know if anything I do hurts." She tugged the contraption aside, but most of it remained trapped underneath her. "Oh Korra." Asami bent over and wrapped her arms around her. "Forgive me." She lifted Korra up and placed her back down, off the contraption. "I could have killed you."

"No, I don't think anything that dramatic could have happened." Korra managed to pull herself into a sitting position. "Though I'm going to bruise," she said, running a hand along her sore backside. "And I don't think I can walk quite yet. I landed wrong on my ankle. Do you mind having a look for me?"

Asami knelt in front of her. "Which one?"

Korra groaned as she stretched out her leg. "The left one. I just need to know how bad the swelling is."

Asami carefully pried off her boot and tossed it aside. She rolled up the pant leg to Korra's trouser. Her warm hands felt good against the cold skin. "It looks a little red," she said, gently pulling Korra's foot into her lap. "This is all my fault." She carefully turned Korra's ankle a couple directions causing the pain to flare up briefly. "I don't think it's broken, but we need to wrap it."

She reached for her invention and tugged the fabric off. Korra watched helplessly as Asami ripped the fabric. "What are you doing?" she asked. "I thought you said that was valuable!"

"It's ruined anyways," Asami muttered, tearing the cloth into strips. "It's my invention that got you hurt, so sit still and let me bandage your foot." She took a strip of cloth and began gently wrapping it around Korra's foot, brow furrowed in concentration. After wrapping the second strip of cloth around, she sighed and placed Korra's foot aside and leaned into the grass. "We'll have to wait a bit before heading back, but you should be fine."

Korra nodded and leaned back as well. "So, what do you want to do while we wait?"

Asami smiled softly. "Why don't you tell me how you actually ruined your armor."

Korra groaned and shook her head. "It's a long story."

"We have time."

A/N: So, on tumblr, swan2swan asked for an AU where Korra was a knight and Asami was the blacksmith's daughter, who she slowly fell in love with. Ozkit, another tumblr user, drew Korra in full armor and Asami forging a blade at an anvil. Sy Itha and I (Michelle Magly) saw the drawing, and just had to write this. Just a warning, this is going to be a slow story...we think. I'm imagining it like that, anyways.

Side note, you should not do what Asami did in the event of a sprained ankle. She doesn't know better though, and we wanted the feeeeeeels.

BTW, we are streaming via Twitch on the channel Luraline this Friday starting at 5 pm pacific. Stop by and watch us fail at video games.