Prompt 35: Rest
Characters: Korra & Mako
A fire surrounded her, the flames engulfing her. She looked every way, but all she saw was the fire, burning loud and strong, smoke filing any space that the flames didn't touch. The heat radiated off of the flames, licking at her skin.
A chuckle came from behind her. As she turned, she saw a man emerge from the flames, like he was invincible to them. He walked right through them, penetrating her circle, closing her in. Whenever she got close to the fire she only felt her skin burning. He cornered her until she had nowhere else to go. As she got closer, the fire reflected shadows off of his face, his mask. Her eyes widened as she realized exactly who the man was, and what he was going to do to her.
She screamed and grappled up to a sitting position in her bed. Her breathing was heavy, and she had a line of sweat covering her forehead. Her blanket was a jumble around her body and one of her legs was halfway off of the bed. She looked around, and realized that she had awoken from her nightmare and was back in her room. She put her head in her hands, trying to calm herself down. She was back in the real world, she was safe, and she had nothing to fear.
But she did have to fear. Even though her nightmare wasn't real, the war that was happening in Republic City was real, and she was a key player in it.
A soft knock came from her door, and a voice carried through it, just above a whisper. "Korra?"
"Come in," she said, her voice shaky, catching in her throat as she tried to speak. She was still shaken from the nightmare she had just had.
The door opened, and Mako stood halfway in the room, looking at Korra with concern. "Are you okay? I heard you scream."
Korra stared at the ground. She wasn't okay. She had been having nightmares like this for quite a while now. No matter how much she tried to tell herself that she could stop Amon, the nightmares just kept rolling into her mind when she fell asleep.
Mako took a few steps toward her and knelt down next to her bed. He took one of her hands in his and stroked the back of her hand gently. "Everything…isn't alright, is it?"
Korra shook her head. "No, it isn't. I'm scared, Mako. I don't know what to do."
He watched her with genuine care. He wanted to help her, but he didn't know how much he could do. "Well, when we were younger, Bolin use to always have nightmares too, about our parents. I always told him to rest, and that there was always the next day."
"But whenever I close my eyes I have these nightmares, I see Amon everywhere."
"That's why I'll stay with you," he said, getting to his feet and helping Korra get her bed back to normal and placing the blanket back over her body as she laid back down. "I'll make sure you're alright. You need some sleep."
Korra closed her eyes in response, and instantly felt sleep fall over her. She had very little the last few nights, and she actually thought this might be a somewhat more peaceful sleep. She felt Mako's presence as he sat next to her bed, watching over her, making sure her rest was peaceful and nightmare free.