A Legend of Korra Fanfic
By Sakura Martinez (aka SMTsukishiro)

Summary:

A promising engineering student. A mysterious woman capable of controlling the four elements. When their paths cross, the resulting collision not only changes their lives and themselves, but the fate of the entire world as well. [Korrasami AU]

Author's Notes:

Welp, who knew I'll be updating this story any time soon?
To all those who reviewed/commented, thank you so much. You guys are my muses.

And to those who subscribed to my channel and sent me a message wishing for my well-being in such tumultuous times, you guys made my heart flutter with happiness and love. I could not thank you enough. It's still pretty rough, and I am still in danger of losing my job, so...there's that.

I might just end up quitting before that happens, though. But I still need to find a viable fallback.
Aaanyways, enjoy this long-ish chapter. :)

Legend of Korra

The Schism

Chapter 72: The Cave of Two Lovers

Their journey was a silent one, filled with trepidation, and encased in semi-darkness. Their only source of light was from the flickering flame that hovered above Korra's palm.

Asami felt claustrophobic. She also felt like she and Korra would end up toppling over with the speed Naga was going and that the Avatar wouldn't be able to stop the fall, what with Korra holding on to and maneuvering their over-sized, fluffy, white transport dog with just one hand. It was the reason why her grip around the shorter girl's torso was harder than it should be.

The Avatar wasn't complaining though, so Asami believed Korra didn't mind.

Though, at the same time, The Avatar's Chosen felt like her friend had been out of sorts for a while now, ever since Lady Toph had insinuated that their presence was much needed elsewhere. Korra had a faraway look in her eyes, lost in thought. She had moved so mechanically that it worried Asami.

She had asked, of course. She had asked Korra what was wrong, only for the Avatar to smile at her a smile that didn't quite sit right and mutter an "It is nothing. I am fine". It was such a bad lie she was certain Korra knew that she knew she was lying.

They hadn't exchanged words since then. There were so many things—so many thoughts—that their minds needed to grapple and come into terms with that Asami allowed the silence to continue, even when she could easily have broken it.

Neither of them knew where they were going, only that the tunnel led to wherever they needed to be. Wherever it was, Asami could only vaguely tell it was a place Korra didn't want to be.

Duo Xing bit her lower lip as she watched the soldiers of Zaofu rushing towards the center of the mayhem. The flames reflected in her eyes as she kept them trained on the inferno that was engulfing houses and other buildings, caused by something she couldn't exactly make out.

She was just about to finish her update to the Fire Lord—the second that night—when the explosion had occurred. It had cut whatever she was about to say to the woman that was on the other end of the line. What should have been her closing argument—for they had been arguing up until that point—became a concerned question that spilled from the lips of the Fire Nation's most powerful woman.

"What was that?" Fire Lord Izumi had asked. Incredulously followed by, "Was that an explosion?"

She was tempted to lie, though thought better of it. She was trying to make a good impression, after all. Trying to show Izumi that she was a good—no, scratch that, a great—asset.

Still, the temptation was far too great to pass up.

"Would you believe me if I said it was nothing?" She asked distractedly as the flames spread and the chaos grew.

The silence on the other end of the line was enough of an answer to that question.

"I'll take that as a 'no'," Duo Xing acquiesced before telling the monarch what she knew, which wasn't much. Before Fire Lord Izumi could give her a directive, the Secretary thought to herself to take matters into her own hands and take the initiative. "Don't worry, I'll go and have a look and report everything back to you."

She saw—from her spot on the balcony of her shared room—the young Prince, followed by her own charge, making their way to the heart of the commotion. She sighed and added, "And, I'll also make sure your son doesn't do anything stupider than what he is doing now."

"What do you mean by that?" The worry became even more notable in the Fire Lord's voice. There was also a groan somewhere by the end of her question that could only mean this was not the first time the Prince of the Fire Nation decided to do anything idiotic. "What did Iroh do?"

"Probably thought about playing the hero." Duo Xing replied, turning around to go to her travel pack and change into something that would not hinder her movements. Going out in the dead of night and into a potential battlefield in one's sleepwear was not something she intended to do. "Can't say the same about why my own charge is…charging along with him, but Bolin has—like your son—done crazier things."

The Fire Lord groaned once again before taking a breather. When she spoke, Duo Xing couldn't keep her lips from quirking upwards at the miffed tone that Izumi decided to use. It was all so very parental.

"Just make sure they don't make things worse than I believe they already are." Fire Lord Izumi instructed.

"I can't make any promises about that," she quipped. "Were you not paying attention to how much trouble these children can cause. You're not paying me enough for this."

"Miss Dou Xing," the monarch warned. "Is your freedom not sufficient enough an incentive? Perhaps you would like to not have that at all."

"Relax, Your Benevolence," Duo Xing drawled, rolling her eyes. "It was a joke. I'll report back when things have settled down."

There was a pause on the other end of the line. She had thought Izumi had cut the line, but when she was about to end their call, the monarch gave her one, last instruction.

"Don't do anything dangerous and idiotic as well, Miss Duo Xing."

That got her smile to widen despite not being able to make use of the retort that was already on her lips.

She should have known. She really should have.

It would not have been a lie to say that her gut was telling her this was going to be where the tunnel would lead them, but her thoughts had been a jumbled mess. She could not be faulted for not realizing it sooner.

It would have been funny though, had she had it in her to laugh.

"This is…" Asami gawked at the place before them. She, too, was familiar of it. They had been there recently, after all.

Korra could only nod. She felt a weird stirring inside of that she couldn't quite place. "The Cave of Two Lovers."

"Funny we should end up back here," Asami looked back at the tunnel they had just recently emerged from and towards the gaping maw that was the entrance to the said cave. There was amusement in her voice as she spoke. "The long way 'round."

The Avatar looked at her quizzically. She didn't really get what Asami was trying to say but thought that maybe it had something to do with their failed excursion to that place.

"Well, I suppose we would have had to turn back without this," Korra found herself saying, being at a lost for what else to say. She handed the gem to the Prodigy, who was quite surprised by the gesture. Upon meeting her questioning glance, Korra scratched the back of her head before explaining, "I do not want to have to worry if I misplaced it should the need to defend both of us arrives. Out of the two of us, you are more responsible anyway. Also, you have pockets," She patted on her tunic and shrugged, "I do not."

"Well, I can't argue with you there," Asami took the gem and pocketed it. She then turned back, facing the glowing sky where Zaofu was. "We have to hurry."

The Avatar nodded. She took the first step inside the cave, wary of any traps that the cave might suddenly spring upon them. Tourist attraction or not, they had the gem. And if the cave was special—as they believed it to be—it would know that they were no ordinary tourists.

Asami followed closely behind her, keeping herself from grabbing hold of the Avatar's arm. There was something about the cave, in the dead of the night, and under the circumstances that they were in that didn't make it feel like it was a cave for lovers.

Not that she and Korra were such a pair. It was just in the general feel of things. She could sense something about the cave that just…felt off and it made her skin crawl.

When they crossed the threshold of the cave's entrance, Korra looked back at Naga who was still lounging around the entrance.

"Come on, girl." She gestured for Naga to follow them in, but the Polar Bear Dog only whined.

That is not a good sign, Asami thought to herself. Don't animals have a sixth sense for things like these?

"Now is not the time for this, Naga." Korra's voice had turned stern. "Come here."

Naga replied with a soft bark, her eyes darted around the cave's entrance, before she looked away with a growl.

"You are being unreasonable." The Avatar argued. When the Polar Bear Dog still wouldn't budge, undeterred by the glare being thrown her way, Korra threw her hand up in the air both out of annoyance and defeat.

"Fine. Just stay there and wait for us to return." Korra huffed at the same time that Naga did, which had Asami smiling despite herself.

They really are like two peas in the pod.

They soon began their journey deeper into the Cave of Two Lovers in earnest, walking side by side, with the light from the bulbs hanging on the sides of cave's tunnel, which Asami guessed was for the benefit of the tourists and lovers looking for something both romantic and adventurous. She could comment on neither.

It was as they rounded the bend when things turned awry.

They had just passed by an arch with a crudely made sign welcoming lovers when the ground suddenly shook. Chunks of the earthen walls and ceiling fell, accompanying the groaning of the earth. Korra was by her side even before she fully grasped what was happening and ensuring no debris fell on her, even when the Avatar's earth-bending had once again stopped working.

The earthquake happened for no more than a few seconds but it felt longer. When it finally stopped, there was rubble all around them with several hanging signage smashed to pieces while those that remained hanging were hung skewed.

Korra also did not leave without any scratches. She had a shallow cut on her forehead from when a pipe beside them wobbled and fell. She could see blood from the cut, but it wasn't—thankfully—a bad one.

It still irked her as much as Korra's chivalry flattered her. "You really should stop putting yourself in danger on my behalf."

The deity-turned-human laughed as she pushed herself from the protective cocoon she had given the Prodigy and proceeded to dust herself. "And you really should stop telling me that. You know what my answer will be."

"And you're the Avatar. Avatar's Chosen or not, my life doesn't weigh as much as yours would." Asami retorted with a frown as she wondered how she could get Korra to think about her own safety instead of throwing herself in danger constantly.

The Avatar's solemn reply, however, stunned her. "To me it does."

The chance to respond passed with Asami not being able to utter a word. Korra took that as a sign that whatever discussion they were having was done.

What was it, exactly, that I was expecting?

That was the question Iroh found himself asking as he gazed at the pandemonium that was Zaofu's city center.

People were running from every direction towards any direction. Confusion whirled all around, even amongst those who had been trained for such moments.

There was so much screaming. From people barking orders, screams of disbelief, wails and moans of the wounded and dying, the sounds of battle, and the roar of the flames as it attempted to engulf everything its path.

It was too much, even for the young heir to the Fire Lord's throne. So many things going on and he did not know where his help was needed most. All he knew was that Zaofu needed the help and he was going to provide as much as he was capable of giving.

A soldier ran pass him, an indescribable look etched on his face. Quickly, Iroh grabbed hold of his arm, stopping the shaken soldier in his harried way.

"What's going on?" the Prince had asked, raising his voice to be heard above the noise. "Where is the enemy?"

The soldier merely looked at him with haunted eyes, before he shook Iroh's hold away.

"They're not human," he said. "They're...They're monsters! Just...run! Just run away!"

And with those words, the troubled man scampered off, tripping on his own, two feet as he made his escape.

"Coward," Iroh scoffed. "Dishonorable."

But even as he muttered those words, the Prince couldn't help but wonder what the man meant. Monsters? Surely that's the over-exaggeration of a man deranged by fear and cowardice.

The darker skinned girl surveyed the scene.

So much for a place for Lovers, she mused. Turning around, she saw that the path they had taken before had been completely blocked. "And so much for our way back as well."

The opening they had entered from had been completely sealed as though it was not there to begin with. Pounding her fist into the newly-emerged wall told the Avatar that the earthen blockade was thick and would be impossible to dig through—especially not without her bending.

There was no other way but forward, now.

Korra sighed, before her mouth quirked upwards and she asked, "Tell me, Asami: is this how tourist attractions usually go? Is this part of—what did those people call it?—the Cave of Two Lovers Experience?"

"If it is, I want a refund." Asami responded with a shake of her head. She patted her breast pocket to ensure that the gem was still in her person. It was. She stopped, however, when she was Korra watching her with a frown on her face that led to the Prodigy asking, "Is there something wrong?"

"It's glowing," Korra replied as she moved closer to the raven-haired human to the point where she was at eye-level with her breasts.

Heat crept up Asami's face then and she immediately backed away and turned around, stuttering a question as she did so. "W-What are you talking about?" All the while she wondered if Korra had been hit in the head one too many times to turn her into some kind of pervert.

"Your breast," Korra pointed out, as if she could not have uttered any other thing to embarrass Asami some more. "It's glowing."

Asami looked down and saw that what Korra was saying was partially true. But, to be more specific, it was not her breast that was glowing, but rather her breast pocket that was. Knowing what was in it, the Avatar's Chosen quickly took the gem out.

Sure enough, it was glowing; pulsing with a soft, emerald light.

"So, I guess we're on the right track?" Asami's statement ended up sounding more like a question.

They were not given much information by Lady Toph to begin with. Apart from saying: "You'll know it when you see it," when asked where they were supposed to place the gem, the Lady of the Swamp had sent them off clueless as to what to do and what to expect.

"Considering that there is just one path to take now, I suppose we are." Agreed the Avatar.

They began walking once again, neither girl wanting to talk about whatever it was that had just happened—or whatever the air was that had descended upon them. Focused were they on getting to their destination, wherever that may be.

As they continued on, they saw murals and paintings on the wall depicting some kind of story neither Korra nor Asami could put together in its entirety. It was a story of two villages—that much she they could gather, from the meagre remains of what they guessed were once-colorful and beautiful artworks.

It felt as though they had been walking in circles. For a popular tourist and dating site, the Cave of Two Lovers was pretty labyrinthine in nature. There were barely any signs to point them which way they should be going or where, exactly, they were. It wasn't as though they were lost—Asami knew they weren't—it was just they had no real clue as to where they were heading, or where they were supposed to go.

The murals, she took notice, also appeared less and less frequently. And the times that they did, they looked a lot less taken cared of and maintained. It was the only real proof she had that they were going farther in. That, and the scarcity of lighting that the Prodigy really would not want to dwell upon.

The murals, though, and the story they were trying to portray piqued Asami's interest. The Avatar's Chosen made a mental note to ask Opal about it later.

The thought of her friend made Asami feel guilty of her musings and the lack of urgency she and Korra seemed to have allowed themselves to have.

"Watch your footing, Asami." Those words cut through the haze of thoughts that had begun to cloud over the prodigy's head.

The reminder, however, came a bit too late as Asami's foot got caught on a protruding rock that sent her tumbling with Korra barely catching her in her arms.

"And right when I had asked you to be careful as well," Korra sighed her comment out, though the quirking of her lips told Asami she was not really upset with her.

"S-Sorry," Asami mumbled, still too embarrassed to look at the Avatar dead in the eye. "I wasn't really paying much attention to where we were going."

Asami expected Korra to chastise her. She didn't expect the deity-turned-human to chuckle as though she had uttered something comical.

"I could see that. We really picked the worst time to visit this cave," the Avatar said as she helped Asami to right herself back up. "Two people whose minds are elsewhere traipsing inside a cave looking for who-knows-what. It spells trouble." Korra rolled her eyes and scoffed. "What kind of direction is 'You'll know it when you see it'? Can that old woman speak more vaguely than that?"

"You really don't like Lady Toph, do you?"

Korra crossed her arms and looked away. "Should it come as a surprise to you? I hardly like humans."

When one were to ask Korra what prompted her to say what came next from her mouth, the Avatar would—without a doubt—merely shrug. Regardless, she had looked at Asami then, at that moment, and added, "You're really the only exception."

It was as though the Avatar had a penchant for timing words carefully, just like how she seemed to have timed her earlier admissions. For the moment those words were uttered and Asami thought she had at least a comeback for that, an earthquake once again rocked the cave.

This time, however, the porcelain-skinned, young woman managed to hold her footing as the rocking was not all that strong. They carefully watched the walls and the ceiling of the tunnel they were in, looking for any path that may open for them and ensuring they would not be hit by any falling rubble.

The thing they weren't paying attention to, however, was the ground beneath their feet. When they finally did notice what was happening, it was much too late.

"Uh...Iroh?" He was snapped from his thoughts by a tug on his sleeves.

He had forgotten about Bolin who had, for some unknown reason, decided to tag along with him.

"What?" He looked pointedly at the wide-eyed mover star.

But Bolin wasn't looking at him. Rather, he was staring, slacked-jaw, at something a couple of blocks from them. His fingers shook as he pointed to the thing that had occupied his attention.

Iroh frowned before looking at what it was. At first, he couldn't make what it was out. Squinting proved inefficient. It wasn't that the hunched figure was far, nor because of the lighting—for there was an abundance of that with the raging flames around them. It was simply because his mind couldn't grasp the sort of juxtaposition his sight was providing him.

There was that moment, however, when the word the cowardly soldier chose to use came rushing back at Iroh. It was the exact same moment that those bright red eyes turned their sights on him and Bolin and the bearer of those eyes pushed itself to its full height in a way that was spasmodic and fluid at the same time.

"Iroh..." Bolin's voice was but a whisper, shaking and weak.

The Prince unsheathed his sword and took a stance, not bothering to reply to the Mover Star or even show any sign that he had heard him. He knew he had to focus. He knew what he was facing could not possibly be normal or human.

There was a hissing and screeching sound that emanated from the creature making its way towards them, slow at first, before gaining momentum. It grated on their nerves and dug deep into their bones. Yet, Iroh stood steadfast.

I will not be cowed. He willed himself to bravery. I will not dishonor my family's name by running away.

There was another hissing sound from the creature before it sprung into the air and towards Iroh, sharp claws extended towards the young prince. It slashed down with its claws as Iroh hacked upwards with his sword. The two attacks hit and a clang rung out amidst the noise.

The thing's head moved in a way that was humanly impossible, cementing once more the words uttered by the soldier who had chosen to run away.

Monster.

A noise to the side made Iroh break focus and look. From a couple of blocks away, a group of soldiers were trying to push two of the same abominations he was fighting away. It seemed as though the soldiers were winning, but the tide of battle quickly turned as one by one the soldiers fell, their bodies left as nothing but chopped-up body parts one could not even sew back together even if they tried.

Monsters.

"Gaah!" The scream came much closer. Behind him, Bolin had found himself face-to-face with one of their foes. "Iroh! Help!"

The Prince growled at how troublesome things have become. Quickly, he pushed the enemy he had before him away with a quick—yet strong enough—roundhouse kick. It pushed the abomination away, but only just a fraction, and only enough for Iroh to quickly make his way to Bolin's side.

Her whole body ached. Silence was the music, darkness the atmosphere. Her eyes could barely adjust the deep blackness of the space they were in. Their only source of light was the tiny pebble of a stone that lay a few feet away from them, having clattered there when they had fallen.

Asami didn't want to think how far their fall had been, all she knew was that it was a miracle she was still alive and breathing. She knew Korra was, too.

"Are you alright, Asami?" Korra asked. The lack of movement and its accompanying sound told the Prodigy her mystical companion and friend hadn't moved an inch just like her.

She took a sharp breath, the sting told her she might have broken something. "All things considered? Yes."

"That is good," A healthy pause before, "I am certain I will be feel even more sore come dawn, however. I hope we do not have any plans for tomorrow that would require extensive, physical exertion."

"If we have any, we'll tell them we'll be staying in and resting," Asami agreed.

Korra groaned and Asami heard her move. "Rest sounds good." Another groan, followed by Korra cursing in the Ancient Tongue. "I would take that as an incentive to get this over with."

Taking the Avatar's cue, Asami also pushed herself to sit. She felt wobbly for a moment, feeling disconcerted, and the pain from her rib didn't ease at all. It wasn't painfully bad, but it still stung enough that she uttered a curse, softly, herself.

The light from the gem moved as Korra picked it up and walked to her side. She couldn't see the expression on the face of Raava's human incarnation, but it seemed Korra could see hers and the pained expression she knew was on it.

"You are hurt." A ruffling of Korra's clothes told her that the Avatar was searching for a phial of their emergency ration of Spirit Water. "Where?"

"Broken rib, probably." Asami didn't bother to hide the fact. "Quite possibly my arm as well. I can't really tell since it stings all over."

"I am going to find and kill the person who made this labyrinthine place to hideaway the Elemental Core of the Earth."

"Korra," Asami warned, to which the Avatar responded with a grumble as the latter gave the glowing stone to the former. "It was our fault we weren't paying that much attention. Whoever made this the resting place of the Elemental Core of the Earth knew it needed to be protected, and they're doing a pretty good job of it."

"Why do you have to be so reasonable about this?" Korra tsked as she knelt by Asami's side, pulling the human close. With both of her hands preoccupied—one hand supporting Asami's back to help her sit and the other holding the vial of Spirit Water—Korra popped the cork of the vial with her mouth.

Asami rolled her eyes, "Well, one of us clearly has to be. We can't always be as gung-ho as you are, Korra."

"Oh, hush." Korra casually dismissed her, getting ready to use the Spirit Water. She paused for a moment, unsure of what to do, a frown etched on her forehead.

The frown was something that concerned the Prodigy.

"What is it? Is something wrong?" she immediately asked.

"I…do not know how to proceed," Korra admitted. "You say you have broken a rib…but, how am I to heal it with this when…?" Her words tapered out as though the Avatar didn't know how to properly end it.

Asami understood what the shorter girl was trying to say, though. Her clothes were on the way. It was weird as it was adorable seeing the Avatar fumble for words had the realization that she may need to bare her skin to the other girl not hit her. As it was, it did. And instead of finding amusement in it, she simply found her face flushing once more.

"Oh, right." Asami's voice sounded a little too loud and forcefully nonchalant even to her own ears. Her face was much too warm, though that it seemed impossible Korra would not have noticed how red on the face she was. She didn't even know why she felt so embarrassed.

That was a lie. She did know the reason why. But it wasn't as though what Korra was asking—albeit non-verbally— had nothing to do with healing her injuries.

It didn't change the fact that she found her hand shaking a bit as she fumbled for the buttons of her shirt, unbuttoning it from the hem up to the button close to her ribs.

"That should solve that dilemma," said the Avatar's Chosen. She then quipped, just to hide her embarrassment, "I'm surprised you didn't just yank my shirt away."

Korra snorted. "I am certain you would not have preferred that. I do remember how you are with modesty." She chuckled at the times Asami had chastised her about it. Having lived her life in solitude, it had not been a big deal to her until then. But Korra knew this was not about her, it was about how Asami felt. That was the whole reason why she had asked, though it was something she kept to herself. "Now, do not move. This will hurt a little."

"I don't think anything can beat this pain that I'm already—"

However, Asami had planned to end her sentence, she was not able to deliver it as all she could do the moment the water hit her. It was just one drop, but once it seeped into her skin, she could feel that one drop trying to mend her broken rib.

The scowl returned on the Avatar's face as she willed the healing process to quicken its pace. She let another droplet of Spirit Water fall and Asami flinched.

Korra then let a few more fall into the palm of her hand, then placed that hand on Asami's lower rib. She willed her bending to work, feeling it sputtering in and out of existence.

Asami, for her part, sucked in a breath the moment Korra's hand touched her bare skin. It was warm and calloused, a stark contrast to her own skin and the coldness of the Spirit Water and at having her midriff exposed. She tried not to look at Korra, to keep her thoughts in check, but it was a difficult undertaking with the Avatar so close by.

What Korra was doing wasn't even sensual—her hand didn't roam, but stayed where it was—and yet Asami felt this insatiable pull—this desire—to get closer. It was such a powerful attraction that had her looking at the other girl's lips and had her thoughts wondering to places where it shouldn't.

She knew she liked Korra. She had accepted that for a while now, though she tried not to let that consume her. She was attracted to her for reasons she couldn't fathom, even back when Korra was acting like a jerk. It was only then that Asami found herself entertaining the thought that maybe—just maybe—she had long abandoned liking and being attracted to Korra in favour of something more.

She was crossing into dangerous territory and she willed herself not to get too far ahead of herself, balling her fist and letting the stone she held within and her nails dig into her skin in the process just to distract her from her body's reaction and what it wanted to do.

It was not the time, nor the place.

The spell was broken the moment Korra's touch left her and Asami was both thankful that it had and annoyed at herself for yearning more of it as a shuddering breath escaped her.

"How do you feel?" The Avatar asked, not knowing what it was she had done to Asami.

There were so many ways to interpret and answer that question, thankfully for Asami, her brain managed to comprehend what was being asked and she was able to answer accordingly.

"I don't feel as though I'm being gutted every time I take a breath," she croaked, before clearing her throat and taking a deep breath to cleanse her thoughts.

Korra nodded. "Good. Now give me your arm."

Asami obeyed without another word, wincing as she moved her injured arm. Korra took it gently into her free hand before letting a few droplets of the Spirit Water fall. Once it hit her skin, Korra placed a hand once more on the area where the Spirit Water had dropped and willed her bending to work in hastening the healing process.

The Avatar took care in how gently she held the porcelain-skinned girl, not only because of her injuries but also because she felt a strange emotion come over her. It was like something was telling her to do so in not so much as words, but in feeling.

She tried not to marvel at the softness of Asami's skin nor the way gooseflesh seemed to arise on her at her touch—it was not the first time she had held Asami, after all. But this felt different from all those other times. So much so that it was difficult for her to concentrate and that made it all difficult to control her still-haywire-bending.

The silence between them stretched with a tension Korra had not felt so strongly before. She wanted to act, but knew not what action was needed. It was confusing and annoying and all those other different human emotions she was still trying to come into terms naming and understanding.

Before long, Korra and the Spirit Water had healed all of Asami's bruises and she let the taller girl go, busying herself with healing her own person with what remained of the magical water.

"Good as new," Korra nodded with relief, pocketing the now-empty vial and the cork for future use. "Now let us hope neither of us gets injured again anytime soon."

"I think we have a bigger problem than that," Asami was glad her voice had returned to normal and that it showed no signs of the inner turmoil she had a while back. She took another look around, raising the glowing stone in hopes that its feeble light will reach farther. "How are we going to climb back up? We did fall pretty far down with that trap."

"I do not think it was a trap," Korra admitted after looking around and giving their surroundings much thought. "It seems we may have found the correct path to take, accidentally as it was." She then pointed at a large mural, hardly discernable from the darkness, its earthen make camouflaging it a bit from view. "Inaccurately drawn as it is, that looks a lot like Bai Hu, the Elemental Spirit Lord of the Earth."

Post Chapter Notes:

And, that's that for this chapter.

I was on the fence about adding that particular part in regards to Korra and Asami's story, BUT during the conception of the idea for this story, that particular scene was amongst the first that came into being...so, I couldn't take that away. Also, I believe it was high time to push these two straight towards that...though, it might seem like baby steps still.

Next chapter, which is entitled "Revelations" will get the ball rolling some more.

Again, if you guys will be so kind as to check out (and subscribe) to my channel on YouTube, that would be awesome. I'm also doing a giveaway right now for Stardew Valley for the Playstation 4, which is open to all.

Until the next chapter, dream on; fly on!