"Korra? Sweetheart, are you okay?" Pema's voice was soft against my ears, coaxing as I lay in my bed. "Korra, let me in please."
Groaning in pain I dragged myself from the tangle of thin sheets on my pallet. I was clad only in a flimsy blue nightshirt and a pair of shorts, feeling overheated and dirty. Sweat trickled down my temple as I pushed my snarled hair behind my shoulders. I looked a hot mess and I didn't want anyone to see me in such a weak condition but Tenzin's wife was persistent and I knew she wouldn't go away until I had let her in.
Picking my way across the cluttered floor of my room, I stumbled to the door, which I cracked open to see Pema standing outside with a concerned look on her face. Her airbender robes were bright in the sunlight streaming from hallway window and I blinked a few times to recover my sight. I had put curtains on the window on the far wall of my bedroom during the early hours of the morning and the drastic shift from dull gray to fluorescent yellow is almost blinding.
"Korra, what's wrong? You aren't acting like yourself." Pema frowned at me and pushed against the door lightly, asking for entrance. "Are you hurt?"
I moaned as a sharp pain stabbed at my midsection, causing me to double over. I gasped, "In a manner of speaking, yeah."
Seeing me crumple to a squat, Pema forced the door open all the way and placed a hand on my back, unable to crouch beside me because of her baby belly. I rose to my feet shakily but kept an arm wrapped around my torso as the jab in my stomach faded for a moment. I leaned on the door handle for support.
Pema watched me with understanding as I turned my head away, ashamed of the state I was in, "Are your cycles always this bad?"
Nodding, I whimpered as another flash of pain gripped my lower stomach. Pema rubbed my back affectionately and gently led me to my pallet once more, murmuring comfort and nonsense. She helped me into bed and sat on the edge of the mattress as I lay down in a fetal like position. I'd been curled in on myself like that all night, wallowing in self-pity and misery.
"I'm going to get you some herbs for your stomach, alright? They should help with the bleeding, too. I'm sorry you have to go through this, sweetie." Pema's words sound motherly and soothing and I sighed.
"Um…is Korra alright?"
My eyes jolted open at the sound of Bolin's voice. I sat straight up, only to be rewarded with several sharp stabs in the stomach. I cried out in surprise and pain, turning so that I faced the wall, pulling a white sheet over my head to hide my miserable body from him.
"I'm fine!" I yelled at him from under my veil of bedclothes, my words muffled from the pillow I had stuffed into my face.
Pema's weight left the bed then, and I heard her shuffle over to the doorway as she reassured my visitor, "Korra is fine, boys."
Wait, boys? As in, plural? Oh, shoot, is Mako here, too? I'm totally screwed.
"She just needs some rest, is all. Tarrlok and the council have just stressed her out." I thanked the spirits silently for Pemma and her magnificent self. "Now, Bolin, why don't you come with me to the kitchens to make Korra something to eat. Mako you stay here and make sure she isn't disturbed. Stay outside the door."
A simultaneous "Yes, ma'am" followed her instructions and the door of my bedroom closed softly behind the three. I sighed in relief into my pillow, throwing my new favorite blanket off of my steaming body. I leaned on my elbows and glare at my messy room. If Pema, Bolin, and Mako (especially Mako) were going to be in my bedroom, then I could at least tidy things up a bit. Moaning quietly I crawled from my pallet to push my possessions under my bed or stuff them into my travel bag.
After a couple of agonizing minutes of cleaning and standing I looked about the chamber with satisfaction. I then proceeded to the washbasin on the vanity next to the curtained window. I eyed my sordid appearance in the oval mirror and bent some water out of the sink, despite the warning Tenzin had given me about doing exactly that a few weeks earlier. At the moment, I honestly could not care less what Tenzin thought.
I washed my face and ran some water through my muddled hair, trying to work out some of the knots. I gave up on that after a few minutes, moving on to the wooden tub on the floor next to me, settling for a quick waterbending bath. I stripped myself of my grubby nightclothes and bent some more water from the faucet, hastily rubbing myself down with the cooling liquid.
I let out a long sigh, feeling much better than I had for several hours. I stepped out of the tub and limped over to my dresser, still bent over by the jab in my stomach. I dressed briskly in fresh wrappings, a clean pair of shorts, and an over-sized t-shirt. After opening the window and bending the dirty bath water outside into the bushes below, I ripped the covers off my bed down to the fitted sheet then crawl back into my fetal position. After washing I felt much better but my midsection still harbored the sensation of being sawn in half. Whimpering slightly, I folded in on myself.
Just as I had done so, the door creaked as Pema entered. I looked up at her weakly and then glared at the brothers who were peeking in at me from behind the doorframes. Pema hummed a quiet tune as she sat next to me on the bed again, the dip in the mattress almost a comfortable thing. She held a bowl of herbal soup; green leaves and pink flowers floated lazily in the cold water. Smiling sympathetically, the kind woman helped me sit up against the wall, handing me the bowl and a spoon.
"I'll be in to check on you in an hour or so. Meelo needs a bath." Pema spoke in a low tone that soothed my nerves. "This should help with your cramps. You should be as good as new by tomorrow morning!"
With that she cheerfully stood and waddled out the door, leaving the two confused brothers behind to wonder what kind of ailment I was afflicted with. They looked in on me questioningly, silently asking permission to enter. I smiled weakly and nodded, chuckling softly when Bolin bounded into the room.
Dragging my chair from my desk next to the door, Mako joined his brother, positioning the chair so that the back faced me. He sat down in it backwards and Bolin took a spot at the end of my pallet, a silly grin on his face.
"Pema says we aren't allowed to ask what's wrong with you." Bolin stopped smiling and eyed me with mock suspicion.
Mako hung his head at his brother's ill hidden inquiry, "Bo, did you seriously just say that?"
I watched the firebender with amused interest as I tossed aside my spoon and drank directly from the bowl. He obviously knew what was wrong with me; his usually pale face was bright red with embarrassment. I chuckled again, enjoying Mako's uncomfortable moment.
"What's wrong, Mr. Hat Trick? A little biology lesson is in order, I presume?" I waggled my eyebrows at Mako, only laughing harder at his uneasy manner. I downed the rest of my medicine as he twitched nervously.
Bolin still hadn't caught on to my predicament and he went on, "But seriously, what's wrong? You weren't at dinner last night. You never miss an opportunity to eat!"
Mako groaned out loud this time, "Please, Bo, just stop. Do we have to have that conversation again?"
"What conversation?" Bolin glared at his brother in confusion.
"You know that conversation."
"Wait, that conversation?"
"Yeah, that one."
"Oh…that conversation…" Bolin was an even brighter shade of red than his brother. He looked over at me with a very serious expression, "I am so sorry Korra."
"Bo!"
"What?"
By this time I was in a fit of laughter, uncontrollable giggles bubbling up from my throat as I watched the two brothers bicker back and forth. When they finally become aware of my peals of laughter, Bolin cracked a grin while Mako struggled to keep his own smile hidden.
A sudden stab shot through my stomach and I winced, obviously noticeably because both boys frown. I glanced down and noted that I'd placed my hand across my abdomen and I pulled it away, blushing. Bolin set his hand on my arm, rubbing his thumb across my skin in an attempt to comfort me. I smiled gratefully at him but look away again as my self-consciousness pooled in my cheeks.
"Bolin? Bolin, where are you?" Asami's muffled call drifted in through the open window. The three of us exchanged glances and Bolin sighed, dragging himself off the end of my bed.
"See you two later I suppose. Mah love is calling!" Bolin waggled his eyebrows at us before sprinting out my bedroom door and around the corner. The poor guy had had a major crush on Asami for quite some time and Mako and I were both rooting for him. I chuckled lightly at him as he disappeared.
"So…" Mako left the sentence unfinished.
I glanced up shyly at him, biting my lip. I briskly trained my gaze on the empty bowl in front of me when he made eye contact. My breathing picked up, just from being alone with him.
"Not to make things awkward but are you really okay? I hate that you're so miserable." Mako's voice sounded smoky in my head. His scent of burnt firewood filled my nose and I breathed him in slowly, deliberately.
"I'm okay. It's just…become…harder to deal with…the past few months…" My face was so red that I could feel it all the way down to my toes. I thanked the spirits for the second time that day, grateful that I was tan enough to hide most of my blush.