….So it happened again. I'm genuinely so sorry that I keep forgetting to update on here, it's not intentional. I'm not going to go too much into it again as I'd just be repeating myself, I hope this chapter was worth the wait! To make it up to you I'll be posting the next chapter tomorrow, all the more for you to read!
Seriously though, I'm sorry, I really do appreciate the feedback you all give me and how much you enjoy reading my little fic.
Til tomorrow!
-Kieran
There was certainly a degree of hesitation from a few of Korra's teachers as they became aware of her budding friendship with Kuvira. They, too, had either dealt with the rebellious young teen themselves or had been told of her reputation by their co-workers. They hadn't gotten involved as of yet as the majority of them weren't too invested in any student's individual learning experience, but Korra was sure that if they did get involved it wouldn't be because they were worried for her specifically, it would be more along the lines of them preventing another student from becoming too outspoken. That was something that the young student had picked up on; that they were more focused on the school's appearance to the outside world than they were on situations that impacted a student's environment. Her experience regarding Tahno was a perfect example of this, as the majority of teachers who had been witness to his past harassment of her had been quick to pass it off as something less than it was; the principal, it seemed, took great pride in announcing that no bullying took place in their school regardless of whether it was the truth or not.
She just pushed the majority of incidents brought to her under the rug.
For Korra, the more she observed the school environment, the more she was glad that she had Kuvira for support. The older girl was clearly able to see through a lot of the smoke and mirrors put into place by the educational system and keep Korra in the know. Yes, as she built up her own confidence there were times that they butted heads, but what with Kuvira being so headstrong all the time it made perfect sense and Korra wouldn't change it for the world. The two grew close remarkably fast; Korra, to her surprise, found herself fitting into the role of the more level-headed companion, knowing when Kuvira was about to take things too far and being able to reel her in. This was the polar opposite of the person she'd been when she was younger and certainly gave her a newfound respect for her past companions for having the patience to deal with her.
Past companions… Now that at times made her stomach twinge. The more confident she grew the more guilt she felt towards Opal. The two had ended their friendship in such a messy way, something which Korra was now able to take full responsibility for. There had been times when she'd seriously wonder if it would be too late to offer at least an apology to her old friend, but a part of her reasoned that she should at least try. Eventually, one weekend she plucked up the courage to cycle to her house and make some attempt to speak with her. She'd rehearsed what she was going to say the whole way there only to arrive to find the house was empty. The family were most likely away on another family trip, and Korra took this as a sign that she should back off; granted she could call, but… Using the phone was getting increasingly stressful for her. She couldn't do it.
Kuvira was never told about any of this and Korra knew what she'd say. She'd probably give her a clip over the ears and say she was being a 'fucking wuss' or something along those lines. It was blunt but she knew it was Kuvira's way of showing she cared.
So, on a hot summer's day, when they were lounging in the shade of one of the many trees that crowded the borders of the school's football field, the topics raised were substantially different. The pair had been snacking on the remnants of their lunches while watching a group of male students play a rather messy game of football. One of the taller, lankier guys was passed the ball and made an attempt to head the ball to the goal, but tripped over his own feet in the process. The ball, however, still managed to slip between the two screwed up jumpers that were used as rudimentary goal posts as the goalkeeper was equally lacking in hand-eye coordination and focus.
Kuvira snorted, glancing over at Korra and rolling her eyes.
"What a wonderful display of total fucking idiocy, eh? I could play better than that with my eyes closed!" Korra chuckled and shook her head having now adjusted to her friend's casual use of crasse language. Kuvira continued her commentary. "And look! He's still getting the attention he was after." She gestured to the edge of the field where a group of girls were seated, a few of them cheering and descending into giggles when the source of their entertainment looked their way and flashed a bashful grin.
"For fuck sake..." Kuvira muttered. "I swear, those girls will do anything if it means getting a guy's attention." She flicked her hair over her shoulder in a large gesture. "Ooo, look at me! A boy looked my way I'm sooo special!" She batted her eyelashes in an obvious and overly dramatic imitation of the gaggle of air-headed teens.
With a roll of her own eyes Korra leaned back against the tree, biting her lip to stop herself from bursting out laughing. "Not looking for a guy yourself then, huh?" She asked teasingly, to which Kuvira raised her eyebrows incredulously.
"Ugh, me? Piss off." She gave Korra a slight shove and chuckled. "As if any of them could keep up with me, I'd wipe the floor with any of their scrawny asses." She grasped another handful of crisps from her blazer pocket. "Why'd you ask? You liking the look of any of any of these perfect displays of manliness in front of us?" She gave Korra a playful grin and the younger girl just let out a puff of air, shaking her head.
"Eh… not really. I've never really gotten the point of this whole 'boyfriend' thing. Like, almost all the girls in my form have had at least two or three boyfriends so far this year, and I just haven't liked anyone… It's kinda weird, I guess."
Kuvira was quick to jump in.
"Nah, there's nothing weird about that. When I started school I saw all the girls around me getting boyfriends, but I quickly realized it's not because they liked them, it's mostly for appearances. Either that, or all this crap we're being fed in rom coms and romance novels telling us that if we don't find the love of our life by the time we're sixteen then we're fucked." The older girl let out another snort. "And I've been around enough sixteen year olds to know that they're far from adults, hell, I've even met twenty year olds who don't act like adults at all."
Korra gave a quiet nod, her gaze trailing back over the the match. In the summer heat two of the guys had abandoned their polo shirts and sprinted back into the fray shirtless. She scrunched her nose up in envy. She used to be able to do the same thing when she was little, but the second she hit double figures she was told she had to cover up. Kuvira noticed her expression and raised an eyebrow. Korra noticed her looking at her and sighed.
"Don't worry about it, it's just… I wish I could do that, I'm sick and tired of overheating so easily"
Kuvira tilted her head. "Huh… never thought about it like that. Still, you're wearing a skirt, surely that helps cool you down right?"
"Ugh..." Korra groaned at that and hugged her knees. "Don't get me started… Yeah, it keeps me cool, but I can't stand skirts. They make me feel so exposed and they look weird, not to mention all those bloody teachers walking around with tape measures making sure you're not wearing your skirt too high-" She saw Kuvira watching her, surprised and stopped herself. "... Sorry..." She looked down at the ground, tugging at the strands of grass around her feet.
It was quiet for a moment, both of them equally as surprised by her outburst, but the older girl spoke once again. "...Damn, didn't know you felt so strongly about skirts." She chuckled quietly. "They really stress you out that much, huh?" Korra nodded, brows knitted together in irritation; her mind now occupied with less than happy thoughts. Kuvira, noting the change in Korra's body language, decided it was best to change the topic. "So..." She clicked her tongue, racking her brain for ideas. Drawing a blank she went with a default. "What are you doing later? Anything special?"
Korra groaned and leaned back against the tree, shaking her head. "Eh... probably not. Just gonna go home, do my homework, play my drums maybe..."
"Hold on, you play the drums?!" The older girl sat up straight, staring at her companion with surprise. Korra nodded, eyeing her companion nervously.
"Yes…?"
"Seriously? I didn't know that about you at all. We've been friends for what, months now? And I had no idea you played drums? That's so fucking awesome! Hang on-" She rummaged in the inner pocket of her blazer and pulled a battered looking mp3 player out of her pocket. Turning it on she flicked through a list of songs, finally settling on one and handing Korra one half of the headphones with a grin on her face. Taking it hesitantly Korra gave her friend a confused look before popping the headphone in her ear. She was greeted with a blast of noise that caught her off guard to begin with, but after a few moments her eyes widened and she began bobbing her head to the beat, Kuvira watching her with a grin.
Once the current song ended, the headphones were returned and the mp3 went back into Kuvira's pocket. Korra, somewhat transfixed by the music, stared at Kuvira wide-eyed
"What… who was that?"
"A little band called System Of A Down" Came Kuvira's smug reply. "One of, if not my favourite bands. The best song hands down is Chop Suey - the one you just listened to."
"I don't think I've ever listened to something so… aggressive?" Korra shook her head in fascination to which Kuvira chuckled.
"Think you could do that?"
"Do what?"
"The drumming. Don't tell me you couldn't feel the beat of that."
There was a moment of hesitation before Korra spoke again.
"Uh... maybe? I don't know but I wanna learn it" The younger girl's eyes lit up, tapping her fingers on her knees in excitement as her mind began racing.
Watching her friend's obvious excitement, Kuvira chuckled. "Well, I figured as much, hang on." She unzipped her bag and pulled out a blank CD in a clear plastic sleeve. "I made a copy of the tracks." She explained to her confused companion. "See, I used to burn them onto CD's and sell them to classmates, but when I realized it was more trouble than it's worth… not to mention illegal... I stopped, but I still kept the old copies. Sometimes it's kinda fun to pop one of these in a school computer and have it blasting when another student boots it up." She chuckled for a moment at what was clearly a memory. "But here, you'd get a better use out of it." She handed it to Korra who took it, wide-eyed.
"...You sure?" She asked, flicking her eyes up back and forth between the item and Kuvira. Her companion nodded, ruffling the younger girl's hair.
"Like I said, you'll get a better use out of it."
Korra nodded enthusiastically and leaned forward to give her companion a hug, but was met with a hand smooshed in her face.
"No way, remember what I said? You want a hug, you can hug the damn tree." Kuvira said flatly, but there was a certain degree of amusement in her voice. Korra shuffled back awkwardly, having forgotten that despite Kuvira's caring nature towards her she seemed to lack the desire for physical contact. It was still odd to her as she still had that affectionate side to her that she'd been so open with during primary school, but she understood that some people just didn't enjoy hugs as much as she did.
Opening her mouth to apologize, she was cut off when the bell sounded, marking the start of fifth period. Kuvira grunted and got up with a stretch, looking down at her younger friend in amusement.
"Right, guess that's my cue to leave." She pulled Korra to her feet and patted her on the shoulder as if reading her mind. "C'mon, don't worry about it. I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?"
Korra gave a small nod, followed by a smile before the pair of them parted ways, each having their final lessons for the day at opposite ends of the school grounds.
Thankfully, Korra's final lesson of the day was Art. Her teacher, Mr Kumar, was very laid back and would be more lenient with his students than most, which was both a blessing and a curse depending on how you looked at it. Usually for Korra it meant she ended up being left alone as the rest of the students would move seats to sit and chat with their friends as they drew. Most of the time it saddened her as she had no one to talk to, but this time around she was thankful about being given her own space. Seeing how Mr Kumar had been so lapsed about what students did, she saw no harm in listening to some music while she worked. She had a rather clunky portable CD player in her bag that her father had given her when she'd started school, but being the sort of person who didn't really enjoy listening to music on the regular she barely used it. Now, however, it had the perfect use. She popped in the headphones and clicked play, soon nodding her head to the beat and drumming her fingers on the tabletop. Any bemused looks or giggles directed her way went unnoticed as her mind was totally focused elsewhere; up until now she'd only been comfortable listening to music from the confines of her room, so having the sounds surrounding her and blocking out the noises from her classmates enabled her to slip into her own little world.
The headphones stayed in her ears for the entire journey home too, her mind drifting off as she took in the sounds flowing into her ears. Sure it was mostly just the one song on repeat but she didn't feel she could get sick of it. It was fun to just sit there in silence and have something to occupy her thoughts aside from her constant worries.
Pausing the music momentarily to greet her mother when she finally got home, she hopped up the stairs and into her room. After that it was a simple matter of popping the disc into her CD player and turning it up as loudly as she wanted, listening to it over and over again while making many an attempt to imitate what she was hearing on her own drums. She was having fun… her parents, not so much. They were most likely regretting buying her that drum kit, but they could draw comfort from the fact that she was keeping herself busy, at least.
She had to stop eventually, of course; drumming wasn't the type of activity one could do long into the evening, but luckily she was still able to listen to the music whenever she wanted thanks to her headphones. Which is exactly what she did. After having her tea and engaging in only brief conversation with her parents she scampered back up the stairs and sat at her desk with her headphones in. Sure her homework took longer whilst her mind was partially distracted by the beat but she was happier and to her that's really what really mattered to her.
The next morning she put the headphones in before getting on the bus in the morning and found she was able to mentally prepare herself for the day ahead of her at a much quicker pace than usual thanks to the music filling her ears. At lunch she enthusiastically recalled to Kuvira her first attempt at imitating the drum solo to her companion's great interest and amusement. At the end of the day she'd put the headphones back in again to block out the sound of her rowdy peers; being quiet and staying within her own imagination had never been this fun.
After that, the following days continued with the same schedule as she built up her skills and knowledge of the music. Kuvira seemed impressed by what Korra was telling her, but every time she invited her round to watch her play, the older girl would decline, stating she wasn't able to make it and quickly change the topic when Korra would press for reasons. This saddened Korra somewhat as she was eager to show her friend how much she had learned so far, and as a result she would keep asking on and off. Usually in these sorts of situations Korra would take a step back, but Kuvira was her friend, and had been the one to help her build her confidence, so this time round she wouldn't let up. She'd bring up the question every now and again only to receive the same response. She'd pout and whine and Kuvira would just roll her eyes, playfully mentioning that Korra looked like she was having a tantrum to which Korra would grumble and stick out her tongue before swatting at the older girl. This would often result in them having play fights, mostly resulting in Korra losing and ending up with grass in her hair and all over the back of her blazer. She would get looks from her teachers when she'd attend fifth period, but she eventually learned to ignore them. The blazers were black anyway, so she knew there wasn't going to be any stains.
Eventually, after weeks of pestering, Korra's persistence paid off. Lunch break had just finished and they were heading back inside. The younger girl had brought up the topic shortly before and they were currently walking in silence for some reason. Korra found this odd as Kuvira was usually chatting away as a way to change the direction of the conversation, but this time it was like she was deep in thought. The silence was broken when Kuvira spoke up again
"Heh… you really want me to come visit, huh?"
Korra blinked, surprised, but nodded swiftly. "Of course! Why would I ask if I didn't?"
"I dunno." Kuvira said with a shrug. "I just thought…. Anyways." She cleared her throat. "I guess I can make time."
"...Wait, really?" Came Korra's surprised reply. She hadn't expected such a sudden change of heart, but she welcomed it nonetheless.
"Duh." Replied Kuvira with a half smile. "I wouldn't say so otherwise. Why, you changed your mind all of a sudden?" She continued, quirking an eyebrow.
"No no! Of course not!" Came Korra's quick response. "I was just surprised, that's all. You've said no so many times… It caught me off guard I guess."
"Fair" Kuvira said, patting her companion on the shoulder. "But anyways, let's plan something yeah? Just gimme your address when you can and I'll come visit. You don't live too far away right? Cause I can probably bike there..." She tapped her lip, thinking.
Korra nodded. "Right, sure! Yeah, I don't live too far away, the roads get a bit narrow at times though, so you'll have to be careful." Hefting her bag off her back and unzipping it, she rummaged through before tearing out a scrap of paper from her notebook and scribbling her address down on it. "Here." She said, offering it to Kuvira with a grin ."I've put our home phone number on there too, just in case you wanna ring ahead and plan outside of school, yeah?" Kuvira took the paper, chuckling.
"You really are eager, huh? Wasn't expecting you to be so prompt giving me this. Guess I should take it as a compliment." She ruffled Korra's hair, causing the younger girl to pout that quickly turned back into a grin.
"Well yeah, you're my friend, why wouldn't I want you to come visit?" Korra replied, sticking her tongue out at her older companion. The two had a bit more of a shoving match as they headed back inside, earning several severe looks from the teachers they passed by. Neither payed them any mind though, as caught up as they were in their own little world.
As the day came to an end, Korra found herself walking with a little bounce in her step. It had been so long since she'd socialised out of school hours, and it certainly had perked her up more than expected. She hadn't had the chance to talk to Kuvira again that day, so she presumed that her friend would call her and organize something at a later date. This was exciting.
So, when she had finally gotten home and was up in her room finishing her homework, she had expected the knock at her bedroom door. However, when she opened it her mother wasn't standing with the phone in hand, instead she had a rather confused and slightly irritated look on her face.
"Korra… why didn't you say you were having a friend over to visit?"
Korra blinked. "Huh? I… I wasn't- I mean- I haven't-" she looked up at her mother wide-eyed.
"I see..." Came the flat reply, followed by a sigh. "Regardless, there's a young lady at the door, she says she's a friend of yours… Kuvira I think her name was?"
Korra stared silently for a moment before speaking. "Oh..! Yes I do know her… but, uh- I only gave her my address so she knew where to go when we'd made plans, she was supposed to call before..." She mumbled the last of the sentence. Her mother, seeing her child was clearly telling the truth, relented. She let out another sigh, but a calmer one this time.
"Well… alright then." she said shaking her head. "Since she's already here it would be rude of me to send her away, you have finished your homework though, right?"
Korra nodded, closing her notebook. "Yes! I finished it an hour ago, I was just writing some random uh... stuff."
"Well, if that's the case, I suppose a little impromptu visitation couldn't hurt. I haven't prepared anything extra for tea though, so she won't be able to stay too long."
"Okay mum." Korra responded as she got up from her chair and grinned. "We might just go for a bike ride or something then, if that's okay?" She looked up at her mother who stepped to one side, letting her pass.
"Just don't go too far, and be back in time for tea!" Senna called after her rapidly retreating daughter. She relaxed when Korra glanced over her shoulder and grinned, nodding briefly.
"Of course mum!" She exclaimed before hopping down the last step, making sure to grab a jacket and pulling it on as she headed out the door. Once closing it behind her she glanced around and noticed Kuvira stood a few feet away, holding her bike and with a smug grin on her face.
"You took your time." The older girl said with a chuckle.
"Only because you showed up without saying anything!" Korra said with an indignant huff as she unlocked her bike from the fence. "Sure I'm happy to see you, but you were supposed to ring ahead so we could plan what we were gonna do, not just appear." She pouted, causing the older girl to raise an eyebrow and shrug.
"Alright, sorry, lesson learned, huh? I'm guessing that's why your mum looked less than impressed to see me." The taller girl said in amusement as she hopped back on her bike. "So, where are we going then? I thought we were chilling at your place, but considering you just got your bike I'm guessing we're going somewhere."
"Well, we would have been able to stay home, if someone had called ahead so my mum could plan the meal around an extra person." Korra replied with another pout. Kuvira rolled her eyes and chuckled.
"Alright alright I get it, boy, you love to complain huh?" She laughed as she dodged Korra's attempt at a swipe in her direction. "Since your mum clearly doesn't want anyone else getting under her feet, what do you fancy doing? Got any ideas?"
Korra furrowed her brow, her fingers drumming on the handlebars of her bike as she thought. It didn't take too long for her to respond.
"Well, how about we go to yours then?"
Kuvira blinked, clearly surprised. "Uh... why?"
"Uh, hello? You came over unannounced to my house, seems only fair I get to do the same with yours too." Korra grinned, then hesitated when she noticed the change in her companion's body language. "What's wrong?" She asked hesitantly, as Kuvira stepped back slightly and looked down at the ground, clearly nervous. When she got no response she stepped forward towards the older girl, confused. "Did I say something wrong? I mean, I don't like showing up at someone's house without planning but in my defense… you did do that to me so..."
"I know I know..." Kuvira replied, shuffling from foot to foot. "I get it, but can we not?"
"...That's hardly fair." Korra continued, feeling herself becoming slightly irritated as well as confused by her friend's behaviour. "What, are you afraid of getting in trouble or something? No offence, but you don't really strike me as the type to worry about that sorta thing."
"I said no!"
Korra jumped, the sudden raising of Kuvira's voice catching her completely off-guard. Her friend was staring at the ground, her hands gripping the handlebars of her bike so tight that her knuckles were white. It wasn't anger though, Korra could tell that much; it seemed like maybe nerves? Anxiety? Regardless, this was very uncharacteristic of her. She never snapped at Korra; sure she raised her voice but this was different.
Kuvira, looking up and noticing Korra's shocked stance, shook her head and let out a long sigh.
"Sorry..." She said, her tone quiet now. "I didn't mean to shout like that. I just don't… ugh. Look." She got back on her bike and let out another sigh. "...Can we just go for a bike ride or something? I hate just standing here talking like this."
Korra stood there, still surprised, but hopped up onto her own bike when her companion began cycling off down the road.
"Hey! Wait!" She called out, beginning to frantically pedal after her friend. Sure that outburst had caught her off-guard, but she still wanted to know what was going on. Kuvira couldn't react like that and just leave; she should at least get some sort of explanation, right?
As she rounded a corner and Kuvira came back into view, she sped up in an attempt to catch up to her. Once parallel with the older girl she edged closer.
"Hey! Slow down!" She called out, panting slightly from the exertion. "I don't know what's up with you, but there's no need to run off like this. If I said something to upset you I'm sorry, but we can't leave things like this. Can we just stop for a moment and talk this out? Please?"
There was a moment of quiet between them, well, as quiet as two people riding bikes fast down a country lane could be. Then Kuvira's shoulders slumped slightly.
"Alright..." She mumbled, slowing her bike down. Eventually she turned onto a small patch of grass on the side of the road and got off, Korra following suit. After the two of them had pulled their bikes up onto the grass high enough to keep the road clear, Korra turned to Kuvira, a worried look in her eyes. She wasn't usually the one to be mature in these situations, but right now it felt necessary.
"Okay." She said calmly, sitting herself down on the grass and patting the patch beside her. "C'mon, talk to me."
Kuvira hesitated for a moment, before taking a seat beside her younger companion with a low grumble. Korra had a lot of questions, but decided to keep her mouth shut for now. The ball was in Kuvira's court now, not hers, and it wouldn't be fair for her to pressure her any more than she already had.
"...It's just awkward, that's all." Kuvira said quietly, causing Korra to raise a questioning eyebrow. Having noticed her friend's confusion, Kuvira let out a puff of air and slumped slightly before continuing.
"I just… you see. Where I live... It's not always been the same- and I don't mean it as in I've moved or anything like that." She continued as she spotted Korra about to open her mouth. "I, it's kinda like that but uh… how do I put this. Ugh what the heck, we've been friends long enough… I should have probably told you this a long time ago." She took a deep breath and turned to face a very confused Korra. "I've moved around a lot, not from house to house but more like… more like family to family."
She watched Korra's face change as she began putting two and two together.
"... Wait." Korra said hesitantly, her mind whirring. She thought she got it, but she didn't want to upset her friend "... You mean you're-?"
"A foster kid, yeah." Kuvira cut in, wringing her hands hesitantly. She hadn't expected to be talking about this so soon, but it was as if the floodgates had opened and it just came spilling out of her. "I've just been moved from one family to another, I didn't get to stay for long before they just got bored of me..." She swallowed. She could feel herself getting upset, it was embarrassing. Nevertheless, she kept going. "I never wanted friends to come over, to see that I wasn't normal like they were. I just told them I had a family, just like they did. I didn't want them making fun of me, I didn't need that. I had such a tough reputation to uphold and I just… ugh. Just the thought of them finding out I had a weakness, something that made me different from everyone else… I couldn't stand it."
Hugging her knees to her chest, she avoiding looking directly at her friend as her eyes began watering slightly. "Yes, I changed and grew up, but it didn't make much of a difference. I was still looked at as a problem. A broken child from a broken home who had no future. Some of them tried to 'save' me, but all they did was look down on and pity me. The others, they just ignored me. It was like I was just an invisible lodger."
She let out a shaky breath, trying her hardest not to cry. She shouldn't be doing this. Being vulnerable wasn't what she was all about. Ever since she and Korra had met she'd been nothing but the stable, unshakable friend who never showed weakness. She opened her mouth again to continue, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her.
Looking up she saw Korra looking at her. It wasn't a pitying look as she had expected, but a caring one.
"Kuvira..." Korra said gently, squeezing the older girl's shoulder and offering her a small smile. It had taken her a good minute to process all the information she had been given, but now she knew what to do.
"I'm not really good with words, but I just want to say this. You're not weird or abnormal for having the life you do. Sure, I don't know what it's like to go through what you've been through, but that doesn't mean I can't be there for you. You're my best friend - you've helped me out so much and given me the strength to be myself. I look up to you, so much. Sure the swearing might be a little bit much at times, but that's just part of what makes you, well, you!"
She grinned, patting Kuvira on her back before her expression shifted back to a more serious one. "I get now why you wouldn't want me to come visit you, but know that me finding this out about you doesn't change how I feel, doesn't change our friendship. We're friends regardless of where we come from or what we do with our lives, alright?"
There was a brief silence before Kuvira sniffed, trying her best to stop her watering eyes from spilling over.
"...Thanks." She managed to choke out, blinking her eyes rapidly. Korra smiled warmly in response.
"Anytime, bestie." She replied. "And like it or not, you're getting yourself a hug now." She wrapped her arms around Kuvira and squeezed gently, leaning her head on the older girl's shoulder.
Kuvira chuckled quietly, shaking her head.
"Dork." She said half-heartedly.
"You know you love it reeeaaally." Came Korra's teasing reply, which caused Kuvira to snort and playfully shove Korra in return.
"Yeah sure, whatever. You get a free pass with that one. Next time you won't be so lucky."
The pair of them chuckled for a moment, the stress and worry of earlier dissipating as quickly as it came.