"We've got five minute until the horn goes off folks and it's looking neck and neck between some of the girls out there. Could be a real close one this year!"
"Your telling me! There's some definite competition for the three slots on Varrick's team, but fours girls vying for it!"
"at the four minute mark it looks like Rivers is going for the last wave. In the blue rashie, Korra Rivers has out paddled Kuvira Steel for this swell. Oh my Spirits, look at that snapback, she's easily taken this wave and claimed it as her own,"
"perfect pop-up there, smooth and easy, folks you can see why they call her The Water Bender, every wave does what she wants. Nice controlled snaps on the rail, good swing back into the tunnel,"
"Its the last 30 seconds now, and she's coasting through the barrel, her signature move. Its closing up pretty fast though, and I'm not seeing Rivers anywhere,"
"Oh Spirits, where is she!? Someone get the speeders out there!"
"Well there's the front of the board, clean snapped through, looks like the piece of drift wood was the cause of it. But Rivers hasn't resurface yet,"
"Where are the speeders!"
"Such a shame folks, the marks on that wave would have won her the competition. Looks like she hit the reef when she went under."
Korra jolted awake, a cold sweat clinging to her body. The images of water cascading around her, dragging her under, then the reef meeting her body flashed through her mind. With a growl of frustration she threw aside her blanket and forced herself from her bed. She began to pace, ignoring the pain in her knee, her mind flashing through the memories of the year before.
She'd been a shoe-in to join the Varrick surf team as the leading boarder, miles ahead of all the others; Opal, Jinora and damn Kuvira, but just one piece of wood and the reef had taken it all away from her. The brunette angrily kicked at the base of her orange board, sending shock waves up through her knee and reminding her of the damage the reef had done to her. The orange board tumbled over and startled a sleeping Naga, she gave a gruff woof at the board as it landed in front of her. Korra sighed and scooped low to rub behind the dogs ears,
"Sorry girl," she murmured, her knee aching at the thought of the reef. She'd hit the coral with her left knee, slicing it open and taking her away from the water for 6 months, the head injury hadn't been too bad; just a slight concussion but her knee had made life so much harder. Everyone had been so supporting and careful around her.
Opal and Jinora had made the team, they'd visited her everyday till they left to travel every surf spot with Varrick abd Kuvira, they'd apologised everyday and left with sad eyes. Kuvira on the other hand had been a smug bitch. Which had been the deepest blow to Korra.
Worse then her knee or snapped board. Her ex girlfriend, who'd trained with her, spent hours figuring out battle plans for the water, and even longer between the sheets, had up and left without a care in the world.
Korra grumbled to herself again as she stood, trying to force the memories out of her head. Korra gathered her running gear, dressing quickly, then grabbed Naga's leash intent on hitting the beach for a run.
"Whhhhyyyy am I here so early?" Bolin groaned as he flopped down onto the sandbank, pouting at Korra as she jogged back up the sand slope and down again,
"Keep me company and throw Naga's ball," she huffed, reaching the bottom, turning and heading back up towards her friend. Bolin watched with sleepy eyes. He couldn't help but appreciate his friends body, Korra was smoking hot, but totally no interest in him. Or anyone with his anatomy really. Korra was dressed in knee length black tight shorts, a deep blue sports bra that left her midriff bare, her muscular stomach enough to out Bolin to shame. She ran bare footed, back and too up the sand, her face set in concentration.
Naga nudged Bolin's hand with her nose, and the boy tossed her ball towards the water, tearing his dark green eyes away from Korra as she jogged past him again. She'd called him about an hour ago, around 6 am, complaining of bad dreams and needing to see a friendly face. Bolin didn't have to ask to know that she was having nightmares about the reef again, ever since that day she hadn't been right.
Korra had always been an amazing surfer, out of all their friends, she had been the most dedicated and driven to be in the water. Bolin loved to surf, though he preferred to skate, but now it was just him and Korra left out of their old gang, they took to the water most days, Bolin even helped Korra out when it came to teaching tourists how to surf. Made good money from it too, enough to keep his battered Mustang running at least.
"the whole team is coming back Bo," Korra sighed as she dropped onto the sand next to him,
"Kuvira too?" He asked softly, placing his hands on her bare feet, getting ready for Korra to start her sit ups. The tanned girl began dropping up and down, counting under her breath as she did. Bolin waited for a reply, trying not to look at her sweat coated form that just made her ridiculous fit body more prominent to Bolin.
"Yeah," Korra muttered as she pulled away from, her reps finished. She flopped into the sand and let out a long sigh. Bolin remembered when they were together, Korra and Kuvira. They where unstoppable, everything was surfing; training every morning, surfing every afternoon, and then there was the sex side of it. That everyone knew about. Always together, it was almost sickening how buddy they were. Then they officially got together and it was twice as bad. Korra had been so in love with her, and then Kuvira had to just throw it all aside when it came to the competition, left the younger girl high and dry after the reef got her.
"Tenzin is throwing a massive party for Jinora too tonight, so you know she's gonna be there," Korra continued, taking the slobber covered ball From Naga's mouth and hurling it towards the ocean. Bolin wrapped a arm around his friend, tugging Korra into a lopsided hug,
"Maybe she'll say sorry and you'll make up and it'll all be okay," he said hopefully, Korra scoffed and shoved him aside, just as Naga returned. The malamute took Bolin falling into the sand as a sign to play and leap upon his chest, licking his face franticly.
Korra returned to Air Temple an hour later, sweat soaked and sandy. The impromptu play fight With Naga had led to both her and Bolin being pushed around in the shallow waves by the white dog, who was quite happily padding along next to her master, dripping wet, tongue lolling out of her mouth.
"Hey, kiddo!" Bumi called as he caught sight of his board shaping apprentice, waving her over. Korra groaned inwardly as she walked to the long haired man, wanting nothing more then to grab a shower,
"Hey Bumi, what's up?" she queried as she reached him, drawing the back of her hand across her sweaty forehead. Bumi grinned brightly at her, continuing to rub down the board he was working on,
"Had a lady call up this morning, asking for a few days worth of lessons, said you'd head straight over," Bumi looked up briefly to meet Korra's blue eyes, "Be some extra cash for that car..." Korra glared at her adoptive Uncle as he trailed off, still grinning broadly,
"Whats the address?" she grumbled, flicking her hand through her hair again,
"She said they'd meet you at Ehukai,"
"Did you even get a get Bumi?"
"Sato, something Sato."
The walk down to Ehukai beach wasn't a long one, it was also one Korra knew well. She usually took a short cut through the tree line, walking Naga at her side, but today she took the tourist route, just encase this Sato person was lost down it. Tourist usually got lost in the trees, stopping to gape at the connecting roots, or how the trees where shaped. Typical really, Korra though as she kicked her sneakers against the pavement.
Under both her arms she carried her two longboard, the easiest board for a novice to begin on, and for Naga to sit on in the water. One was a brilliant purple with a black tribal design down the main body, the other black with a red graffiti print down the left hand side, her own designs that Bumi had helped her create and paint at the start of her shaping career. She refused to surf on anything but a Air Temple board now, the shaping business was a tough one, local shops always suffered the most, especially when big company's like Future Boards were currently dominating the surfing market.
Air Temple mostly made its business from the cafe that Tenzin and Pema ran, but. Some of. The locals stuck by Bumi and always went to him for their boarding needs. Korra always donated half her earning from teaching the tourists and refused any sort of payment from Tenzin or Bumi when she worked for them. They fed her, hosted her and clothed her, so she refused to pay. Plus she got to make her own surfboards, what could top that for payment?
As the tanned girl reached Ehukai beach, she caught sight of her dog on the sand. The malamute had trotted ahead towards the beach, and was sat at the start of the surf, jumping to catch each wave, woofing loudly each time the water backed away from her. Korra couldn't help but grin as she made her way towards the public carpark. The only vehicle that sat there was a crimson red Jeep, but there was no driver. Korra wasn't exactly sure what to expect of this Sato guy, usually the tourist she taught were teenagers or middle aged men, Sato sounded like a prim name, so she pegged him as a middle ager trying to recapture his youth.
As she peered into the Jeep windows and around the car she still saw no one to fit her mental description, just Naga on the beach and a dark haired woman sat close by. With a shrug Korra headed down onto the sand, driving the boards into the sand as she whistled Naga over. The malamute bounded over to her, ruffling loudly. Korra's arrival caught the attention of the dark haired woman, who pushed herself up off the sand and headed over to her,
"She's a beautiful dog," the woman commented, Korra smiled awkwardly, flicking her hair with her hand and rubbing the back of her neck. The woman was all leg, slender and lithe, dressed in a wrap around sarong which was the same shade of red that Korra felt her cheeks going, her top half was hidden beneath a throw of some sort, all tribal patterns that reminded Korra of Anchor Point and the blankets her mother used to make,
"Er, yeah, thanks. She's great, really great, just abit weird," Korra mumbled, trying to look anywhere but the woman's eyes. They where a striking green, brighter then Bolin's, like blazing emeralds, her entire facial structure was goddess like, along with the flowing waves of her raven hair Korra couldn't help but blush and look away. This woman was drop dead gorgeous, and since the 21 year old hadn't had any kind of female contact since Kuvira, it was hard for her to stand before this Aphrodite and not feel like a bumbling teenager. No one had made her feel this way since Kuvira.
"I like your boards, there not Future Boards though are they?" the woman queried, eyeing the longboard sticking out of the sand. Korra looked from her handy work to the woman,
"No, no. I made them, their Air Temple boards," Korra replied with a slight shrug. The woman nodded and made a small noise in her throat,
"You must be Korra then, I'm Asami, Asmai Sato, your student for the foreseeable future," Korra felt her jaw drop open. This was Sato?! Not some stuffy middle aged guy, but this drop dead gorgeous woman.
Shit.