"I'm sorry" Akemi clung to Asami, hiding her face in the crook of her neck. She had refused to look at them since arriving home but kept apologizing over and over.
"It's okay, we are not mad, we know you didn't mean to" Asami's hand ran up and down the girl's back while Korra worked on the other, an iridescent blob of water wrapping around her wrist. "See? Korra can heal me" The woman said, in an attempt to draw Akemi's attention somewhere else, but her face remained hidden.
"Don't worry, tiny, we'll get Asami up and running in no time" Korra looked at Akemi's turned head, and then up at her wife, who wore the same contrived look as her.
"I'm sorry" was Akemi's only reply. Reassurance was clearly getting them nowhere.
"You know, being scared is perfectly normal" Korra said instead, nonchalantly.
"Definitely, you should see me every time Korra gets behind the wheel, it's terrifying" Asami played along. Korra looked at her with fake indignation, splashing some water in her direction. Akemi turned her head slightly, watching the exchange form the corner of her eye, a subtle smile creeping across her face.
"And I used to hate scary movers, but now I quite like them, since Asami made me watch so many of them"
"That's right, sometimes it just about facing your fears with someone by your side"
"Maybe we can go all together to the Spirit Portal one of this days, so you can see that spirits are not all that bad" Korra seemed to have struck a chord with Akemi, cause she immediately turned her head around to face her fully, determination written in her eyes.
"No" she said, before turning her head back around.
"Care to elaborate?" Korra said, a little bemused.
"If you are scared, we can take it slow, and we promise to be by your wide the whole time, right Korra? the woman nodded enthusiastically.
"I am not scared" Akemi declared, her voice muffled by Asami's jacket "They were going to hurt you"
"Is that why you attacked the spirits? Were you trying to protect me?" Akemi nodded, and let go of Asami's neck to look at her in the eye.
"Oh, you don't have to worry about that, Asami is an expert butt kicker. Spirit or otherwise" said Korra, but Akemi didn't seem quite as convinced.
"But spirits are bad, they hurt people" It dawn on Korra that Akemis's fears were likely not unfounded.
"Did they hurt you?" Korra let go of the healing water and lightly stroked the back of the girl's hand with her thumb. Akemi looked at her own scars and nodded slowly.
"Did they hurt anybody else?" Asami noticed the girl's eyes watering as she nodded again.
"You know, spirits can't be bad" Korra said, changing the subject "It's people that make them that way… bad people" Akemi looked at her with a trace of understanding in her eyes. "You know how when you are angry or sad, you can't quite control your firebending? Well, something similar happens with spirits. Sometimes people make them angry on purpose so they will get mad and hurt people for them. Like a weapon"
"Bad people use spirits?" She asked, trying to grasp the concept.
"Exactly. But that doesn't make it the spirits' fault" Asami chimed in.
"It is their fault. They shouldn't let that happen" she said, her forehead creasing.
"They don't know any better, sweetie" Asami tried persuading her, but it didn't work.
"They should, they shouldn't hurt people, never ever" Korra and Asami looked at each other, suddenly realizing they were no longer talking about spirits.
"I don't know about spirits, but you can learn to control your firebending" Korra said hesitantly.
"How?" Akemi opened her eyes wide, as if the idea had never occurred to her.
"I bet Korra can teach you how" Asami tucked a loose strand of hair behind the girl's ear.
"Sure, I can teach you to defend yourself. Asami and I weren't much older than you when we first started learning" the girl jumped from Asami's legs, suddenly unable to contain her excitement and grabbed Korra by the hand.
"Can we start now?" She said enthusiastically, her voice raising in volume as she pulled insistently on the Avatar's hand.
"I don't know, can we, Sami?" Korra said, smiling, having already gotten up to her feet, giving in to the tugging. Asami looked up at the clock on the wall behind them.
"You can go, but you got an hour before nap time, young lady" the engineer told Akemi seriously "And I expect no resistance then, understood?"
"Yes, yes, yes" Akemi jumped up and down.
"Let's see if she is that excited after stance training" Korra said to her wife with a smile.
"Go easy on her" Asami kissed her on the cheek "And don't get her too riled up, or we may never sleep again"
"Copied that" Korra was slowly being pulled towards the door "Aren't you coming?"
"I'll catch up to you in a bit. I'm gonna get a water bucket ready… just in case"
"Good thinking" Korra took a finger to her temple.
"Come oooon" Akemi insisted, already at the door.
"I'm coming, I'm coming" As soon as Korra opened the door to the yard, a mountain of drool and fur welcomed them at the other side. Akemi stumbled back and landed on the grass, Naga on top of her as she licked her face, laughter pouring from the girl.
"Easy Naga, be careful" Korra patted her on the side and the polar bear dog recoiled slowly, Akemi holding onto her fur helping herself up.
"Please Naga, back off, I'm about to firebend" the sentence came with its matching pose, chest forwards and hands to the side. Naga, clearly intimidated, gave her another lick on the side of her face, further messing up the intricate updo Asami so carefully had concocted that morning.
"Actually, we are not going to firebend today" said Korra, and couldn't help to chuckle at the blatantly disappointed look from Akemi "Firebending is all about control, you will have to learn restrain before actually producing flame. And don't be fooled, sometimes it's just as hard" Korra couldn't quite tell if what she was saying was going over Akemi's head or not. After all it was her first time teaching a kid.
"First, we greet each other" Akemi positioned herself in front of Korra and bowed deeply, a closed fist over her open hand. Korra returned the favor. "It's a sign of respect, it means we'll take care of each other while we train" Akemi nodded in understanding.
"Try this" Korra positioned both of her fists at each side of her hips, elbows pointing backward. Akemi followed suit. "Now, open your legs elbows wide, bend your knees, toes pointing forward, straight back… tuck your butt in" As best as she could Akemi followed Korra's instructions into a clumsy horse stance. "This position is supposed to ground you, keep your body steady and solid, so… Naga?" Korra called upon the polar bear dog laying down next to Akemi. Naga nuzzled the girl on the ribs, making her laugh and lose her position. She quickly realised what had happened and straightened herself up again, and this time she was the one asking Naga to check her form.
"Naga, please" and the polar bear dog tapped her with her snout on the back, and this time, Akemi remained steady.
"Well done" Korra praised. "Now, I gather you already know how to make a fire fist" Akemi nodded "Well, we are doing those without the fire part" Akemi nodded seriously, frowning at the ground as she got ready to launch the fist nestled on her hip. Korra saw what was going to happen beforehand, quickly signaling Naga to step behind Akemi and ducking as the flames cursed the air above her head.
Akemi was propelled back by the sheer force of the flame exiting her fist in a continuous stream of angry fire, out of her control. Naga was prepared behind her, and as soon as she saw the girl falling, she rested her head flat against Akemi's back to steady her back up, and without wasting a breath, Korra redirected the flame to a small pocket of air between her hands, where it died not a second after.
Akemi looked at Korra abashed, not quite sure what had just happened and whether or not it elicited a scolding. Korra suppressed a smile.
"Your stance was good enough to draw a more powerful fire fist, but not to completely control it yet. You'll get there, try again" she encouraged, but Akemi seemed hesitant. Korra pursed her lips, trying to think. "Okay, let's try this instead. Get on horse stance… now, close your eyes" Korra guided her, but noticed how tense Akemi was, her shoulder blades smushed together and her eyes moving fast behind her eyelids, uncomfortable with the blindness. Korra placed a hand flat on Akemi's back, trying to bring her ease, but she just flinched at the contact instead.
What have they done to you?
"Relax, you need to be in control of yourself in order to control fire" the words fell on deaf ears. But to be fair, when telling a nervous person to calm down had ever worked? "You don't have anything to be worried about, Naga has your back, and you are with me. You are safe" she felt the muscles on her back begin to untangle "Now, breath in and hold the air deep in your belly before letting it go. When I tell you, you will open your eyes, and throw a punch"
Korra waited a bit, watching Akemi's demeanor relax with every breath, her features softening, more serene.
"Now!" Akemi opened her eyes, an assertive look crossing her face as she punched the air, smoke coming from her fist, but no fire. Korra smiled. "Again" the fist in front of her returned to her hip and the other launched forward at the command. "Good job, keep going" Korra said with enthusiasm. Somewhere along the way, Akemi started enjoying the process, smiling with glee at every fire-less punch. She only stopped when Asami stepped into the garden.
"Asami, look what I can do!" Akemi shouted and proceeded to demonstrate.
"Impressive" this one said, looking at the fuming punches as she walked towards Korra "I guess we won't be needing this" she said to her putting the water bucket down before wrapping an arm around Korra's waist.
"What can I tell you, our daughter is a natural" Korra responded, her words betraying her. Their smiles faded out, awkwardly "Akemi, I think that's enough for today" the girl stopped, letting herself fall theatrically on top of Naga.
Asami closed the distance between them, and looked down at the sweaty child. "Are you ready for your nap?" the girl nodded and stretched her hands out for Asami to pick her up, too tired to walk.
A/N: Didn't have as much time to proof read this one, so sorry if I let some mistake slip.
Hope you enjoyed it nonetheless!
See you next week
TyppingMitten
