((I do not own any of the characters affiliated with the Legend of Korra or Avatar- TLA franchise, I am a fan attempting to write a story. Here goes my first attempt…))
It was well into the night when Korra returned to the air temple. Her whole body ached furiously and melted under the heat of the armour. It had been a week since Mako, Bolin and Asami had moved in with her and the air benders; Tarrlok's taskforce raids had been successful in keeping Korra's mind distracted.
As Korra walked through the halls of the temple she could hear Tenzin's snoring resonating off the walls and her mind was racing with replays of the night's events. There was no way she was getting to sleep with that racket, she thought to herself.
Pain shot through her arm as she remembered that she had a pretty nasty gash in her arm that needed seeing to. Korra sighed, pouted, and strode back out the temple towards the springs. As she strode across the courtyard she began to remove her armour piece by piece, her wrist guards fell to the ground first, clattering against the hard stone. She left them behind her like a breadcrumb trail, she couldn't care less about the noise she was making she just needed to be out of this armour. It weighed her down and her impatience in taking it off only fueled her frustration. "Bloody thing… shit…ow!" Korra muttered to herself as she pulled her left, now broken, shoulder plate off. Korra examined the wound; the cut was fairly deep and it ran from the back of her shoulder to her forearm. Her fine blue armour was stained with crimson red blood that had started to dry, forming a skin between her armour and her own flesh. The feel of the breeze was piercing making her wince. Korra slid to the floor panting slightly; eyes squeezed shut, trying to bear through the pain. Korra had exerted her physical energy; she lay defeated against the stone statue hands soaked in her own blood.
When Korra opened her eyes again a few moments had passed, she stared at her palms re-reading that evenings events. They had attacked Amon's second in command successfully arresting 3 equalists. They had proven to be outnumbered and so the team took out what they could before retreating. 16 men accompanied Korra and Tarrlok on their mission, and not all of them returned. Korra could see the faces of the fallen; 2 of their own. Korra's eyes felt forced open, she could see the bolts of electricity coursing through them, their bodies shaking uncontrollably, their screams spreading through her, the draining of life from their eyes. "NO!" Korra choked, as tears spilled over her eyes, her hand reaching up to her face as though she was forcing the thought from her mind. Her tears were stained with the blood from her body. "I need someone too!" She cried out, but the noise that came out sounded more like a howl than a sentence. Korra knew she was the avatar and that she had to be strong, but she was also only 17. She felt a bubble of guilt stirring in her stomach, 'if she had only mastered the use all 4 elements… if only she was strong enough to take Amon alone, all these other people would not get hurt for her cause…' This was her first experience of death and she had caused it. When Korra had finished crying she became limp, her hand fell back down into her lap and her head drooped as she fell into an empty state of sleep.
A/N- would really appreciate some feedback on the style… also trying to decide on what happens next is tricky… had some ideas but, can't find one that fits just perfectly.