Title: Bellowing Nights
Summary: [It's been months. The shadowed dreams never stop. | Korra. Asami. Nightmares. Friendship.]
Word Count: 1,153
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Blerp. Word vomit.
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-Bellowing Nights-
-8/27/12-
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Even though Amon and his Equalist Rebellion are gone, vanquished and purged from the city, locked away in the dark depths of history and its endless pages, Korra can't shut it off her mind. There are still monsters in the quiet city, silent and deadly; footsteps on the crosswalk and glowing green eyes over the corners of broken alleyways.
It's been months; too short a time to simply forget about them, and Korra finds herself looking behind herself all too often when boarding the boat to the island. She takes a glance even though her mind is telling her there's nothing there and steps onto the boat, the city shinning off the water's edge as it slaps and slushes against the bow.
The trip to the island is too short and Korra wants to stay on the deck a while longer, listen to the push and pull of the waves and the chirping of crickets. The stern look of the helmsmen sends her off, and she crosses the gangplank and begins the winding path to the top of the island. Resting her eyes on Avatar Aang's statue her previous worries fade into the sea-salted air and scatter, trailing in the sand behind her feet.
When the sound of distance laughter and the warm smell of Pema's cooking fills her senses, she gives a smile, and knows she's home.
-.-
Korra sits at the table in silence, listening to everyone tell their stories and speak about the comings and goings of the city. When it comes to her she simply drools off some boring tidbits and the conversation moves elsewhere. She yawns and twirls her chopsticks around a small pile of noodles left in her bowl, not finding it in her to finish them.
Bolin is happy to, and takes them off her with a cheeky smile and puffed out stomach. Her friends laugh, and Korra does too. They clean up the meal and she heads to the dormitory, ready for bed.
Crickets chirp outside her window.
She listens to them, and thinks of counting the stars outside her window. Then her mind grows fuzzy and dark, and she drifts to sleep.
-.-
Night bellows over the sky and the moon shines down, bright white light casted into her window.
Korra twists under her thin covers and sweat drenches her hair. They come in flashes before her shut lids; twirling ropes and fists and fingers jabbing at her and she dodges, but only just, and she is knocked to the ground, dust and pebbles in the air – the green glow of masks and red circle and shadows surrounding her. A man with a mask made of bone and she screams as it morphs into a dark tendril beast. Glowing yellow eyes shining out beneath the eye holes of the mask, sharp pointed things, like sticks poking out from the edges of the hood. She thrashes, squirming in her useless limbs to get away but the hand, (which remains human and whole even though the rest of him is now a monster) grows closer, closer and closer, blocking out everything else from the world.
Then the thumb presses to her forehead, and she can no long hear her voice screaming.
She awakens with a gasp and a torrent of air across her face as her sheets cascade to the wooden floor. Her eyes blur, even under the shinning moon, and she quickly brings her hand forward, drawing life and light, fire glowing in her palm. She gazes on it for but a few short moments before snuffing it out and she hears something in the hall that sounds like footsteps. She waits a second before setting her feet to the floor, hot and sweating from the visions under her eyes, she needs a drink to help her cool down.
The nightmares haven't stopped.
If anything, they've gotten worse.
-.-
The water is cool and refreshing, droplet sticking to her face as she cups the water in her palms, rinsing it over her tired eyes. She takes a glass from beneath the sink, fills it to the brim with the clear liquid and heads out to the walkways. The moon is still casting luminous light on the island and Korra sits on the wooden planks of the deck, watching as it spreads over the trees, rocks and buildings. She finds it an odd comfort and takes a drink from her glass before setting it beside her once more.
She hears footsteps behind her.
"Korra?"
Asami's voice flies into the padded paper walls of the hallway and Korra turns as the girl steps out of the darkness, a red robe slung over her shoulders.
"Hey," she says, her voice quiet and still as Asami sits down beside her; the glass of water between them.
"Couldn't sleep either?" Asami asks her, and she nods. She does say a word about her dreams, her nightmares. The visions linger in there, somewhere deep within but she tries to put them aside, looking out to the small part of the island she can see. Asami looks out too, for a moment, and lowers her head to the side, glancing at the girl beside her.
"Korra," she speaks and Korra turns to her, eyes sparkling, moist with wonder but in some ways – so very dead. And tired.
Asami doesn't know for certain what is behind them but she knows what she saw as she had walked back from the powder room; a gasp, the turning of sheets and the glow, the spark of flame and life. The slugged, downcast look of her friend's back as she exited her room, not even noticing her presence in the hall and instead, heading to the sink, then to here. Asami takes a breath composes herself, ready to help her friend if she needed it, ready to back away if she didn't.
"I was just wondering; are you okay?" she places her hand on the cool wood, leans her head to see Korra's face fully; eyes slightly widened by her question, but only for a moment, a second of time before they were back to the way they were.
"I'm fine, Asami. Just a bad dream, that's all." She replies with some form of joy. She's happy with her concern, really she is, but she doesn't want to talk about it, not now. Not while the shadows still churn and bellow out from the darkness. Not while the green eyes still glow in her dreams.
"Alright, but I'm always here if you need to talk." Asami places a hand on her shoulder and rises from the planks to head inside. Korra nods, watching as she goes into the hall once again. She remains there, sitting in the half-shadow for a while longer. She finishes her water and stand up, breathing in the salted air of the sea.
She thinks she'll sleep easier tonight.
She hopes she's right.
:Fin:
Well I wanted to write a Korra/Asami friendshippy thing. This isn't exactly what I had planned, but I wanted to practice with this style of writing (I just love this style so much). Hopefully I did it justice.