Here, have some more feeling-vomit of mine.
She's walking through town, alone, on her way back to Air Temple Island; it's late at night, and the streets are deserted. She's thinking about the Pro Bending championship, so focused on remembering all the rules and various strategies, that she doesn't even notice the figure in the shadows before it's too late.
He appears behind her, and she barely manages to get a glimpse of him out of the corner of her eye. Whirling around, she plunges her fist forward in a sharp, Firebending movement, but no fire appears. She can't bend.
She can't bend.
Why can't she bend?
Fear overwhelms her, nearly incapacitating her, as Amon stealthily darts towards her. Unsteadily, she takes a few steps backward, preparing herself for the hand-to-hand combat; the one thing she's never been good at, the one thing she refused to practice because she wasn't good at it from the very beginning, didn't excel at it.
She manages to avoid his first few blows, ducking and dodging clumsily, but then, faster than she can comprehend, he's dealt sharp, jabbing hits to various places of her body, and, temporarily paralyzed, she falls to the ground, unable to move.
She's hyperventilating with fear, her heartbeat so loud that she's surprised she can hear his words over the frantic pounding in her ears.
This is it.
Amon takes a step towards her, his masked face seemingly leering down at her.
"I told you I would destroy you." He says coldly. "And I intend to fulfill that promise, Avatar."
He reaches for her, his hand slowly nearing her face, and then-
She wakes up, screaming at the top of her lungs, drenched in sweat and still terrified. Frantically, she looks around the room, reassuring herself that she's safe, that nobody's going to ambush her, not here, because one of the guards must have noticed if someone unknown had arrived at the island.
Naga whines uneasily, looking at her with soulful, questioning brown eyes.
That does it. Sobbing, Korra crawls out of bed and hugs as much of Naga's large head as she can, burying her hands into the soft, warm fur.
"Oh, Naga," she whispers sadly. "If only you could talk to me. I'm so afraid, and I don't know what to do."
Naga sighs, resting her head in Korra's lap, and Korra reflects upon the fact that she's never felt so alone before. True, Naga had always been her best friend and was always there for her, but Naga didn't have an opinion on this issue, not really, and while Naga could comfort her and offer companionship, she couldn't give advice.
Which was what Korra needed most at this point in her life.
"Right, so if the opposing team's Waterbender plans on striking with their Firebender over here-" Mako points to a spot on the diagram of the arena spread out on the table in front of them "-then that move's called a- Korra? Are you even listening?"
"Huh?" She asks blearily, trying to focus on Mako's explanation.
He sighs. "We don't have a chance in the championship if you don't start trying. We were already rookies before you came along, and now we're the rookiest of the rookies. You know, I don't know what's gotten into you and Bolin; you're both completely distracted and you guys are getting everything wrong when we practice. Don't you understand that if you two don't-"
"Yeah. Whatever." She cuts him off mid-tirade, getting up and heading for the door.
"Just give her a break, Mako," Bolin calls wearily from the other side of the attic, setting down the newspaper. "We've still got a week, and it's late."
Mako's scowl deepens. "Do the two of you even understand how important this is? Why- ugh! The two of you drive me crazy!" Throwing up his hands in disgust, he strides over to the door, yanks it open, and leaves, slamming the door in his wake. Korra walks over to the couch, plopping down next to Bolin and yawning hugely.
He glances over at her. "Having trouble sleeping?" She nods, rubbing her eyes. "Can't remember the last time I've slept through the whole night," she mutters. Bolin nods sympathetically.
"I still can't sleep well!" he exclaims, repeating his words to her when he brought her a flower and a cupcake at the island. "I mean, man, I thought I'd be over it by now, but nope. It still gives me nightmares."
Suddenly, it strikes her that Bolin understands. He understands what it's like to be afraid, understands what it's like to be alone; in a way, his confrontation with Amon forced him to grow up, forced him to face the harsh reality in which they all lived. Just as her confrontation with Amon forced her to confront her fears, forced her to accept that she wasn't invincible.
"Me too," she mutters. "Hey, can I stay over tonight? I'll sleep on the couch, I've already missed the last ferry and it's too cold to swim."
Bolin nods happily. "Sure you can, Korra! I bet Mako's gone to see Asami, so he's probably gone for the night. You can take his bed."
Mako. Usually, the implication of him spending the night with Asami would have sent a pang of jealousy through her, but Korra's too tired to care. He can do whatever he wants to, the jerk. All she wants is a good night's rest.
"Come on," Bolin says. "I'll show you the loft."
Eventually, she falls asleep, lying in Mako's bed and trying not to think of the fact that he's probably lying in Asami's bed. Without clothes. With Asami.
She wakes in the middle of the night, gasping for breath, the vague memory of a nightmare creeping into her mind. Indiscernible faces in the shadows, whispering, everything cold and dark. Bolin's turning in his sleep, muttering uneasily.
Korra breathes deeply and closes her eyes, trying to fall back asleep. Her eyes fly open at the anguished scream that comes from the other side of the small loft; dashing out of bed, she runs over to Bolin and realizes that he's still asleep. He's thrashing around wildly, face contorted into a mask of pain. She grabs his shoulder and shakes roughly. "Bolin! Wake up!"
His eyes snap open and he draws in a shuddering breath. "Korra? What's going on?"
"You were having a nightmare. Me, too, actually." She says in way of explanation.
He laughs hoarsely, weakly. "This happens almost every night. Mako usually has to shake me awake, too."
Suddenly swaying on her feet from lack of sleep, Korra gives Bolin's shoulder a small shove. "Scoot over," she says. His green eyes widen slightly in the dark, but he complies, and she's too tired to care about whatever consequences her actions might have. All she wants now is to sleep.
She crawls in next to Bolin, relishing the way his arm snakes around her waist, holding her tightly against him. She curls against his chest, tucking her head under his chin, and falls asleep.
She wakes in the morning from the light streaming into the attic from all angles. Blinking, she sits up, rubbing her eyes. Bolin stirs next to her, and the events from the middle of the night crash down upon her. Strangely, she doesn't feel awkward or embarrassed; this feels right to her.
"I didn't have any more nightmares," she tells him quietly, shyly smiling. He smiles back, a shy yet sweet expression on his face. "Me either," he tells her, slinging his arm casually around her shoulders. "So, uh, can we.. continue with this?" he asks. "Just, you know, because both of us will be able to sleep better. Not that I'd want this for any other reason, I mean, it's not like, well.. can we do this?"
Korra doesn't see the harm in this arrangement. She nods.
They've been sleeping – literally sleeping - together for about a week, when it happens. Mako, whose been absent every night up until now, stumbles in just as dawn breaks and climbs up into the loft. Korra, always a light sleeper, opens her eyes and wearily regards him head for his bed.
Suddenly, he spots her, curled, as usual nowadays, into Bolin's side, his arm wrapped around her, her messy, tangled hair spread over Bolin's pillow. His eyes – red and puffy, she sleepily notes – widen at the sight, and for some reason, he looks sad, so sad.
Korra thinks she sees a tear slip down Mako's face, thinks she might have heard him stifle a sob, but when she wakes again, late in the morning, she's sure it was just a dream.
