AN: totally not my brain going down the "kimodameshi" route in Japanese but then was buffering to translate that phrase in English LMAO (test of courage btw, test of courage :V)

Prompt 10: Ghost

Critters of the Night

"It's summer! Come on Cait, we obviously gotta test our courage and hit up that cursed shrine!"

Rolling her eyes, Caitlyn only crossed her arms. "That's so silly Vi. Why we would do that? There are better things we can do at the festival. You know that right? Instead of going to some remote cliffside with a shrine."

Snapping her fingers, Vi laughed. "Ah ha! I got it, you're just scared!"

Caitlyn immediately scrunches her face. "Am not!"

"Are too!"

Rolling her eyes, Caitlyn looked off to the side. "Some help here?"

On cue, Asami looks up away from her book on top of Korra's lap. "What's up?" She hardly flinched when Korra kissed her neck and twirled a strand of her hair playfully.

"A test of courage duh!" Vi happily chimed in.

Caitlyn, on the other hand, flatly stated. "Vi wants to waste time at some dumb ledge."

"That has a cursed shrine excuse you!"

That made Asami raise an eyebrow to which Korra squeezed her girlfriend affectionately and expanded. "Vi wants to do a test of courage at some cliffside with a cursed shrine while Caitlyn prefers going to the festival."

"Ah." Asami then shifts slightly to wrap her arms around Korra's neck. "Why not go to the festival first and cliffside later?"

Vi snapped her fingers at Asami. "Exactly you got it!"

"Because it's a waste of time!" Caitlyn countered with a frustrated huff.

This time Caitlyn and Vi look at each other before huffing and looking in opposite directions.

"..." Asami stared at them before nudging Korra slightly. In return, her girlfriend looks up with a slightly curious pout. Sure enough, Asami leaned down to whisper into her ear. "Argue against me."

Korra whispered back. "Huh? What do you mean?"

They continued to whisper to each other.

"At this rate, they're gonna be mad at each other the entire night so unless you want to spend the last night we're here with them fighting, let's try to come to a consensus."

"Ah… gotcha." Korra gave her a small grin with a wink.

Asami then proceeded to clear her throat before stating. "You know… on second thought, maybe Caitlyn's right. Wasting time at a cliffside, dark or haunted or not, it'd be a waste of our last night here."

Caitlyn brightened up. "See! I'm not the only that thinks that!" She practically bragged to Vi as if that decided their night.

Vi scoffed, "Oh come on! Not you too Asami! How can we not go to a haunted tourist attraction when this city is famous for it!"

Korra finally decided to pitch in. "Vi does have a point you know, it's like visiting Anaheim and not going to Disneyland when you live hundreds of miles away. Tourist spots are touristy for a reason."

"Hah! See, Korra gets me!" Vi shot back to poke Caitlyn.

"And besides…" Korra decides to add, "You two are totally just scared, aren't you? I recall a certain two jumping when we watched that horror movie last time."

Asami turned and cocked an eyebrow at Korra. She then pushes herself up before climbing off Korra's lap. "Is that a challenge I hear?"

Groaning with a slightly annoyed huff, Caitlyn puffed up her chest. "I. Am. Not. Scared. You two are acting ridiculous! Is this how you want to spend our last night of vacation? At some tourist trap! They're a total sham!"

Korra and Vi glance at each other before speaking at the same time. "Yup."

Asami finally walks closer to Caitlyn before resting a hand on her hip. "We're getting nowhere with this Cait," she then turns to look her in the eyes, "What do you think? Should we show these meat heads a thing or two?"

Caitlyn scoffs. "Fine, under one condition."

Vi gives her girlfriend a cocky grin. "Which is?"

"The first to jump or scream has to do whatever the other wants."

"Heh, you have a deal then cupcake. Get ready to brace yourself because the things I'm gonna make you do…"

Korra glanced back and forth between the two, sensing that sexual tension, before faking a barfing noise. "Ew, okay, no fucking with us in the room alright? We agreed to keep it PG-13."

Caitlyn only gulped before looking away with a scoff. "It's on, you're gonna regret it, Vi."

xXx

Turning on her flashlight, Korra squatted to get a closer look at the wooden bulletin board. "Alright… so it looks like they got four paths we can take to reach the cliffside. It seems like the one marked with the red mark is the scariest while the blue one is mild and the green and yellow routes are the tamest. What do you wanna do?" She reads out before looking back to the group.

"Obviously red." Caitlyn and Vi deadpanned at the same time. The two of them then glare at each other with a slight scowl.

"Oookay… looks like that's settled then. What do you wanna do Sami?"

"Mmh… well since it's alright like midnight, I don't wanna be out too late. If we go to the same route, we'd have to go at different times so let's just head down the blue route."

"Sure, sounds good to me." Korra finally stands up before resting a hand on her hip. "In that case, we'll see you two in like thirty?"

"Sure."

"Sounds good."

Korra and Asami glance at each other before standing next to each other's sides. Korra then points her flashlight at the blue route's starting line. "Alright, shall we?"

Vi switched on her light at the red route's starting point. "Let's."

xXx

Asami shivered as she stepped forward, crunching a branch in the process. "Shit it's cold… I should've brought another sweater."

Korra takes in a deep breath before exhaling, watching her breath turn white. "Is it me or did it just get ten times colder?"

The two of them stepped on some dry leaves before a distance rustling makes Korra point her flashlight its way.

"The heck was that?"

Asami simply shrugged before glancing at Korra. She then smiles before teasing. "What, you scared~?"

That makes Korra turn to face her with a 'really' look. "Babe, I'm not scared."

Chuckling in response, Asami started walking forward again and Korra follows after. "Sureee you aren't."

"Sami, just so you know, you're the one who wanted to come here! I'm only here cause you didn't want them fighting. Otherwise, I'd be happily cuddling with you not trending through some dark ass forest that eerie!"

"Mmhmm, thanks a bunch boo but that still doesn't change that you're scared!"

"Asami!"

Her teasing voice was still apparent. "Yeah?"

"The bets on baby, you're gonna regret the moment you jump or squeal!"

Asami laughs wholeheartedly this time. "Oh it's on Korbear, it's on!"

xXx

Caitlyn brushed away a leafy branch from her face as she stepped over a large tree trunk. She then let out another soft groan when she pushed away, yet again, another branch. "Why are these branches so long?"

"Why are you so tall?" Vi couldn't help but jab back.

That makes her girlfriend stop in place before turning to face her. She then smirked playfully before teasing, "How's the view from there shorty?"

Vi's eyebrow twitched before she continued. "Great actually." She then glances down at Caitlyn's ass with an apparent stare. "Free of leaves, nice and tight."

Caitlyn couldn't help but crack a smile before scoffing lightly and looking ahead. "I can't see much ahead so keep that hand of yours pointing forward at least. I may have good eyesight and all but it's pretty dark out here."

"Yes ma'am!" She then quickly runs to her girlfriend's side to hold out the light properly. "Ah, just so you know, my arm is free for whenever you feel the urge to latch onto it." She then holds it out while wiggling her eyebrows.

Her girlfriend barely turned around to look at her muscular arm before brushing it off. "In your dreams Vi, you're going down."

"Sure I am."

A sudden branch cracked in the distance, getting them to both stop in place. Vi immediately cocked an eyebrow before shining the light vaguely in that direction.

"What was that?"

"Beats me." Caitlyn then chuckles before holding out her arm, "My arm is free in case you wanna latch onto it."

Vi gives her scrunched look. "In your dreams cupcake, come on, let's go."

xXx

Korra cracks her neck before eyeing their surroundings, "Where the hell are we…? I feel like we've been walking around in circles."

Asami squints ahead, pretending as if she knew, before shrugging. "Who knows."

"What? I thought you knew where we were heading?"

"Kor, you're the one who looked at the map."

"But you're always the one directing where we go!"

Before Asami could speak a word, a loud snap gets their attention. The wind howled and something scampered across the deserted forest floor. Korra quickly shined their light in said direction before randomly calling out. "Hello?"

No response.

An unsettling chill goes down her spine making Korra shiver for once. "Is it cold or is it just me?"

Asami looked somewhat astonished at Korra's comment. "You're cold? You're never cold."

"I know."

They both blink before a weird clawing noise goes off. They immediately snap their heads in that direction before Korra nervously suggested. "We should probably hurry huh? I don't want Cait and Vi waiting for us…"

"Mhh… yeah, sounds good."

They both started walking again and by chance, they reached out for each other's hands, bumping their fingers along the way. They make eye contact before speaking up at the same time.

"Cause it's cold."

"Because it's cold."

"..."

"..."

Coming to a silent argument, they held each other's hands before continuing down this increasingly difficult path. The road was no longer smooth with gravel and was essentially covered with roots, rocks, and dried-out dirt. It didn't help that it was pitch black outside and the overgrown trees were blocking out most of the moonlight.

The hike, or whatever one would call it, was longer than expected and the two of them were starting to get antsy. More spooky noises crackled and fluttered and the two of them were on edge. It didn't help that it was cold too so talk about being uncomfortable. Sometime later, they finally stumbled upon a flat space, or rather, a small graveyard?

"Oh shit… that's not… what I think it is, is it?"

Asami stared at what Korra was looking at with a blank face. "If you think it's a small tombstone then… yes, yes it is."

"Huh."

They both blink.

"Was there supposed to be one out here?"

"Beats me."

Loud rustling gets them both to jump but before either of them could react, a certain critter pops out from behind the tombstone.

"Dah!" Korra shouts while Asami simultaneously latched onto her girlfriend faster than one could blink.

They both make eye contact with the animal behind their surprise.

It was a raccoon.

"Shit what the fuck it was just a raccoon?"

Asami lets out a sigh of relief. "It's kind of cute actually.

They stare at it for a hot second before the raccoon suddenly breaks out into a fit and starts running their way.

"OH SHIT?!"

Korra was quick to pull Asami away and run them to safety, aka, just away from that damn raccoon. Their feet pattered against the rough path, shoes crunching on the small gravel, as they pushed through countless small bushes. They could hear the rodent's pestering squeal and Asami accidentally tripped on a tree root, yelping by reflex.

"Sami!"

Her girlfriend was quick to scoop her off her feet, carrying them both to safety. Once in the clearing, Korra gently set Asami down before they both panted for air. After a moment of regaining their composure, they glanced back in the direction of the small tomb sight before looking at each other.

"W-What on earth was that!" Korra huffed out with one of her eyes closed shut.

Asami was in no better state. "B-Beats me…"

After a second of processing, they gave each other this look before Korra cleared her throat. "Shall we?"

Her girlfriend stood up straight before grabbing Korra's hand. "Let's." They took a few steps forward Asami continued, "None of that just happened."

Korra only blinked. Being chased as if your life depended on it by a random raccoon was slightly embarrassing, to say the least. Not something she'd brag to others that's for sure. She didn't bother expanding further on Asami's statement. "Yeah. Agreed."

xXx

Another distance crunching gets Vi to turn around. She points the flashlight in that direction before speaking up. "The heck do you think that is?"

Caitlyn simply rubs her arms to keep warm. "Who knows, perhaps a rodent like a raccoon or a mouse."

Scoffing slightly at that, Vi had a hard time believing that. "A raccoon? Out in the middle of this forest? As if."

"What? Got any other ideas then miss smarty pants." She paused for a second before cockily adding, "You can admit you're just scared babe, I won't get mad."

"Who's scared? Me? As if!" She scoffs before pointing the flashlight ahead. "If anything, I can't wait until we get to the cursed shrine. I heard that it's pretty eerie."

Her girlfriend raised an eyebrow at that. "You heard that it's eerie? From who?"

Vi just shrugged. "From Kat."

Caitlyn scrunched her nose at that. "Kat who?"

"From the bar we went to last night. Ah, that's right, I think you went to the bathroom when she came over. A real nice gal. A local actually. She told me about this place and it sounded fun so I wanted to come here with you." She beamed with a small smile to which Caitlyn pouts at.

"Hmm…"

"What? What's wrong?" Vi asked with a confused face. "Why are you mad?"

"I'm not mad."

Vi gives her a look. "Yeah, you are." She then quickly runs in front of her before looking her in the eyes. "Come on, what's up?"

Caitlyn looked at her eyes before looking away and mumbling, "You're always…"

Having not heard her, Vi cocked her head. "I'm what?"

With a sigh, Caitlyn repeated herself. "You're always talking to people I don't know."

She rose her eyebrow at that. "What's wrong with that? It's called being friendly."

Her girlfriend just rolled her eyes at that. "I know." She then walks past Vi, continuing down the path.

"Hey…" Vi started before quickly walking after her. After it clicks, her face lit up. "Ah! I got it, you're jealous aren't you?"

"What?" Caitlyn immediately snaps back as she snapped her head her way. "Am not!"

Vi's shit-eating grin grew. "Are to!

"Am not!" She repeated with more oomph but before Vi could react, a sudden rustling sounds off. They both turn towards the source before a crow flew out from the top of a tree, cawing at the night sky. A cool breath then decides to blow, causing Caitlyn's hair to fly all over her face. "..."

"Pfft—" Vi covered her mouth before reaching up to brush away the hair on her face. "You good?" There was a smile persistent on her face.

Caitlyn slaps away her hand. "I'm fine, let's just hurry. I don't want Korra and Asami waiting for long."

"Uhuh, sure you do."

They walked a few steps forward before their flashlight started acting up. It flickered on and off, making Vi scrunch her eyebrows before tapping the light.

"Stupid thing." She shook it side to side, "What's up with you?"

Out of nowhere, another cold gust of wind blows by as the leaves from the surrounding bushes and branches began to rustle. All happening within a split second, a mouse squeaked and scurried by as a crow cawed and flew by the two of them, too close for comfort. They both ducked and avoided nature's critters before Vi tripped on a tree root.

"Shit—" She felt through a bush before coming face to face with a wooden box, or rather, rundown shrine. "Fuck—" she was about to collide into the box but thankfully for her, Caitlyn narrowly grabs the collar of her shirt, stopping her from falling forward.

"Vi!" Caitlyn steadied herself before pulling her girlfriend back up.

They collide into each other with a solid 'oof' as Caitlyn wrapped her arm around Vi's waist and Vi braced herself on her girlfriend's chest and in her arms.

"T-Thanks."

"No prob."

A second passed before Vi cleared her voice and commented. "Well, that was… interesting."

"That's one way of putting it."

Caitlyn finally removed her arm from Vi before taking in a good look at the shrine. "So this is the rumored shrine…?"

Vi started observing it too. "I guess so… it does look… shabby." Curiosity got the better of her and she reached forward to grab the small handle of the door.

"Wha— what are you doing? Don't touch it Vi!"

"What? What can go wrong?" She latched onto the handle before slowly pulling it open. However, to her surprise, an ear-piercing meow sounds off before a stray black cat jumped out at her. "OH SHIT—" unable to dodge the cat, she gets scratched on the face as Caitlyn's eyes popped open.

"Vi!"

Once the cat bounced off, Caitlyn quickly leaned in to cup Vi's face. "You okay?" She then gets a good look at the scratch on her face. "Good, it's not too deep but still… we need to clean it. You could get an infection."

Vi chuckled before cupping Caitlyn's hand. "I'm fine cupcake," she then leaned into peck her lips. "Maybe not my pride but I think I'll survive."

Caitlyn smiled before a smug look washed over her face. "So that means I win right?"

"What? No way! Since when did I get scared?"

"When that cat jumped at you obviously."

She scoffed, "What? That's not fair! That doesn't count!"

Caitlyn laughed victoriously, "Yes it does!"

"Does not!"

"Does too!"

Amidst their heated exchange, they let their guards down when a voice called out to them. "Vi, Caitlyn are you two here—" Korra said as she popped her head out from a bush. "Oh, there you two are."

Asami walks out from behind her. "Hey, everything alright?" She blinked before noticing Vi's cut. "Vi, you're hurt? What happened? You okay?"

Vi was quick to shrug it off. "Oh, it's nothing. Just a scratch, I'm good."

"Heh, yeah sure you are." Caitlyn playfully pokes at her.

Korra and Asami cock an eyebrow at each other.

"Hey!"

Caitlyn finally showed them a cocky grin, "Guess who won the bet?" She then pops at herself, "Me."

"Did not!" Vi quickly shoots back, "That cat was different!"

"Was not. You still jumped."

"We were at the finish line!"

Caitlyn practically sang her victory. "Doesn't matter~ that wasn't the bet."

"Of course it doesn't count! We made it to our destination didn't we!"

"Sure sure, if you say soooo." She teased.

"That's unfair!"

As their bickering continued, Asami leaned into Korra's ear before whispering. "Well, there goes a peaceful night."

Korra let out a dry laugh. "You're telling me."

They both sigh before Asami took the lead. "Can you continue your bickering elsewhere? It's late and I'm cold so why don't we head back?"

Caitlyn was quick to agree, "Sounds good to me."

"Hey! It's not over yet cupcake!"

"Yeah yeah yeah, now then… what shall I have you do for me…?"

"Hey! I didn't lose!"

Korra and Asami sighed again as they all made their way back. However, what they did miss though was the distance laughing behind the shrine. The door that Vi had left open began to creak as it closed shut. Shortly after, the legs of the shrine were surrounded by the critters of the night. Their eyes were glowing in the darkness as they watched the four of them leave, never to return.