As I promised yesterday, here's the next chapter! I've already got the chapter after this up and running, but I'm gonna be holding back so I can get back into a better sense of pacing.
Enjoy!
A small pebble bounced across the pathway and onto the grassy verge, having been caught on the heel of Korra's shoe as she purposefully strode down the gravel pathway. Her hands shoved in the pockets of her blazer; she glanced around curiously, clearly not familiar with her surroundings, and nervous as she really wasn't supposed to be there. Sure, it was lunch time, but she wasn't supposed to be leaving the school grounds during school hours, ever. Then why was she out there? Well, when she had been texting Kuvira that morning as the older girl had been off of school that day. (She had finally got a phone. It had taken a couple of years of begging but she was finally given one. It was a small, square brick of a thing that could barely send texts or make calls, and could just about play a pixelated game of snake, but Korra loved it.)
Korra had presumed that she was off sick, but an hour or so into classes she got a text from her friend saying that she had something for her, so if she really wanted to hang out then they could meet on the park behind the school for lunch. As it turned out, Kuvira did like to enjoy the feeling of skiving occasionally. It didn't surprise Korra in the slightest, the only thing that did worry her though was getting caught off-site by a teacher. She'd normally not run the risk but at this point it was either this or eat lunch on her own. Of course she chose the former, she hadn't made any effort to make any friends aside from Kuvira and she wasn't about to start now. Her parents had berated her for focusing so much energy into one friend, that she shouldn't 'put all her eggs in one basket' but she ignored them. She was only going to be there for a few more years, why bother making any new friends?
When she came to a break in the trees she was pleased to spot the older girl lounging on a slightly crummy looking old bench at the other end of the field. When they locked eyes, however, Korra noticed that her friend was quick to drop something on the ground and crush it underfoot. She was confused for a moment but when she approached the older girl, she wrinkled her nose as the smell gave her friend away.
Kuvira had clearly noticed Korra's expression, and was casually avoiding eye contact. Korra sighed.
"Were you smoking again?"
"Uh… I have no idea what you're talking about…" Kuvira said in an attempt to sound guiltless, but the evidence was undeniable. Korra just rolled her eyes and took a seat beside her.
"You know I can smell it, right? Ugh, anyway. You told me you were going to quit."
Kuvira let out an irritated huff and shook her head. "Yeah I know, I've had enough of the lectures from the parents, I don't need to hear it from you too, ok? For fucks sake..."
Korra raised an eyebrow but relented and instead took a seat beside her friend. The more Kuvira swore around her the less it affected her.
"So." She said as she leaned back in her seat. "Why'd you call me all the way out here? You said you had something for me?" Her tone was hesitant. Sure, Kuvira was always well meaning when it came to her 'gifts', but sometimes they were more trouble than they were worth. Take last month for example; Kuvira had given her, of all things, a packet of condoms. When Korra had attempted to return the items, flustered beyond words, Kuvira refused with a grin, saying that 'if she was to give in to any of the hormonal guys around her it was better to be safe than sorry'. Why Kuvira had suddenly decided to be her sex ed teacher was beyond her, especially since she herself had shown no interest in any guy she'd come into contact with at the school, but something told her that the older girl was speaking from experience. So she kept them.
Then they fell out of her bag when she was getting out her homework. At the kitchen table. In front of her mum.
This lead to one of the most uncomfortable conversations of Korra's teenage life. She had kept insisting she had no plans on using them any time soon, if at all, but her mum had continued her long, detailed lecture on the importance of protection and waiting until she was ready. If this wasn't bad enough it only got worse when her dad came home later that evening and was told about the incident. He, too, felt that he needed to put in his own two cents about the matter, much to Korra's mortification. In the future she'd most likely look back and be thankful that her parents were able to be so comfortable talking to their child about sexual matters, but in the moment and for a few days after, she just wanted the ground to open up beneath her and swallow her.
Therefore, as she sat on the bench beside Kuvira, she couldn't help but eye her worriedly. Kuvira noticed the expression and laughed, ruffling the darker skinned girl's hair playfully.
"Hey now, don't look at me like that! This is nothing but a helpful gesture. I mean it." She continued as Korra's eyes narrowed. Seeing that her friend was still suspicious, she grumbled to herself and fished something out of her bag, handing the bundle of black fabric over to Korra.
The younger girl blinked and stared at the screwed up item, still confused. "Uh… thanks?" She said, slowly picking the item over.
"Don't worry, it's not going to explode." Kuvira said with a chuckle. "You remember that time where you were complaining about having to wear a skirt? Well, you've now got a pair of trousers, courtesy of yours truly."
Korra stared at Kuvira for a moment before opening up the bundle to reveal that it was, indeed, a pair of trousers. She blinked for a moment.
"Wait… where did you get these?" She asked, perplexed.
"Eh, took 'em from one of the guys at home." Kuvira replied, holding up a hand when she noticed Korra opening her mouth. "And before you go on to lecture me about how I shouldn't be stealing and all that crap, just know that they go through so many pairs of trousers in a year that one pair going missing is hardly going to be noticed. Besides, those ones are too short for them now anyways, I swear, guys grow like weeds." She chuckled. "Just try them on, let's see if they fit, huh?"
Korra blinked. "What, right now?" She asked, flushing a little in embarrassment. Kuvira nodded.
"You don't have to worry about exposing yourself, just pull them on under your skirt, it's no big deal."
With a hesitant nod, Korra got up from her seat. She glanced about her before lowering the trousers and stepping into them, pulling them up over her shoes and fastening them at her waist. They didn't seem too bad, so she quickly unzipped her skirt and pulled it off, now able to adjust the trousers accordingly. She could probably do with a belt, but other than that, they fitted pretty well. It felt pretty weird with her legs being covered like that, but for some reason, it also made a lot of sense. She grinned and turned to Kuvira, who was sat with her arms folded and a smug smirk on her lips.
"You like 'em I take it?" She said, watching her companion as she began walking back and forth, giggling a little to herself.
The younger girl nodded, wanting to give Kuvira a hug but stopping herself, instead grinning wider.
"They fit great, thanks!" She exclaimed cheerfully, all worries about being off of school grounds finally leaving her mind. That is, until Kuvira spoke again.
"Glad you like it. Now, since I've been a good friend and helped you out, would you mind doing something for me in return?"
Korra paused.
"...What do you mean by that?" She asked hesitantly, to which Kuvira's smirk widened.
"Skip your last class and come hang out with me."
There was silence for a moment as Korra took in what she had said. Surely she was joking, right? She'd never tried to get Korra in trouble before so why would she start now? She let out a small laugh but it soon faded when Kuvira raised an eyebrow and looked her dead in the eye. Oh, so she was serious.
She'd never made any sort of attempt to skip class before; sure, the thought had crossed her mind but the risk of being found out would always outweigh her desire. Kuvira seemed to read her mind and gave another smirk.
"Look." She said as she stood up and stretched. "I know you're always a proper goody two shoes and all that, but look at it this way: I know your schedule, you've got Mrs Rakesh fifth period, and you know damn well that woman takes little to no notice of what goes on in her class. All she does is put on some random video on some kind of historical topic and sits there. She doesn't even take register, remember?"
Korra hesitantly nodded after a moment of silence. She couldn't help but see where Kuvira was coming from. Mrs Rakesh clearly didn't want to be there just as much as the students did, and every time, no matter what, she had never seen her take the register even once. Therefore that would mean that her absence from the lesson would go completely unnoticed. That was somewhat tempting.
Kuvira, seeing her friend's change of mind, speaking once more.
"And think about it this way. That's one less lesson with that prick Tahno." Which was, again, true; despite having toned down his pestering over time, having little to no punishment for his actions during that lesson meant he would have a field day, being a general pain in Korra's backside and really getting under her skin.
It was that that finally swayed Korra; she let out a puff of air and looked her friend in the eye.
"...Alright, I'll do it." She said, to which Kuvira grinned and slapped her on the back with a laugh.
"See? I knew you'd see it my way eventually. Don't look so worried! I'm not gonna get you into any trouble."
That Korra seriously doubted, but regardless, the idea of getting out of school and spending some time with her best friend really did sound like the perfect plan. Speaking of plans…
"What do you have in mind then?" She asked as she picked up her bag, the desire to eat the ham sandwich most likely squashed at the bottom of her bag now long gone.
As the two of them fell into step beside each other, Kuvira thought for a moment, then shrugged.
"Eh, nothing really."
Korra paused
"Nothing? Come on you can't expect me to skip class just for nothing!" She eyed Kuvira in surprise to which the older girl chuckled softly and shook her head
"Look, sometimes when it comes to this sorta situation, anything is better that school; regardless of whether you have a plan or not. However, since you seem insistent on at least some kind of direction, we'll go in there."
She pointed ahead of them where, across the road and between the trees, Korra could make out a small line of shops. It appeared that the one Kuvira was pointing to specifically was a small, rather run down looking shop front; it was only when they got closer that Korra was able to make out the faded blue lettering over the door.
"Happy Time News?" She asked hesitantly as they crossed the road, Kuvira taking the lead.
"I know it looks shady, but relax! This place fine, loads of students come here after school to buy junk food and all that kinda crap." She grinned "plus their sweet selection is pretty sick, it's a full on pick and mix."
Kuvira herself wasn't all too fussed when it came to sweets…. She didn't really enjoy sugar, but she knew darn well that Korra was the total opposite. Many people had a sweet tooth, but Korra had a whole mouth of sweet teeth, and it showed. The minute she heard the words 'pick and mix', Korra's eyes lit up. Opening her bag she rummaged about in it for a moment before grabbing a handful of change she had left over from her fortnightly allowance. It wasn't much, a few pounds at most, but hopefully it would be enough for her to get at least some form of sugary confection.
The door swung open when she pushed on it, causing the small bell above the doorway to let out a sharp clanging sound. Behind the counter sat an old, slightly balding man with a pair of grey glasses balanced precariously on his slightly bulbous nose. He glanced up at the sound and only offered a brief nod, followed by a narrowing of the eyes when Korra gave him a polite smile in greeting.
Kuvira just rolled her eyes and guided her friend to the left hand side of the shop
"Don't mind him." She said quietly. "This is a family run business. When the son's running things it's a lot more laid back, but that's the dad, and that guy's been working here years; the amount of times he's caught students from our school stealing is ridiculous."
Korra raised an eyebrow. "Hmm… why do I get the feeling you were one of those students?"
"Eh… maybe..." Kuvira replied, giving Kora a toothy grin. "But not any more, trust me, last time he caught me he threatened to ban me from the store; needless to say I behaved."
Korra snorted. "You? Behave? I find that hard to believe."
"Look, believe what you want, but this place is the only shop local to the school that sells good food at a decent price, there was no way I was going to forfeit that all over a drink and a bag of wotsits." Kuvira replied as she grinned and picked up a couple of cans of 'relentless'. "You gonna buy anything or what?"
Korra just sighed, giving her friend a playful shove in response.
A few minutes later both girls left the shop, Kuvira cracking open a can while Korra eagerly dug into the paper bag stuffed full of sweets. She'd just had enough change, which she'd had to rummage for in her bag at the till. She didn't like keeping a cashier waiting, especially one that was eyeing her suspiciously the entire time. Thankfully all went well and she was able to gorge herself on the sweets that, up to this point, had been carefully regulated by her parents. They'd always cared about her health, her mum mostly, and as a result she was usually only given a certain 'allowance' of sweets she could have every month. Some might call it controlling, but it had helped Korra out in the long run as she'd remained fit and healthy throughout her childhood. Now that she had been introduced to an unregulated supply of food, however... There was a huge possibility that that might change.
Now that she had had her sugar fix she wasn't really sure what they were to do next. Lunch hadn't finished yet so part of her thought about returning back to school before the bell rang… but then again, she would be sitting in a classroom doing nothing instead of spending time with her best friend.
As they stood just to the left of the shop entrance, Kuvira took a swig of her drink and broke the silence.
"Right, we've got what we need, fancy having a little adventure?"
Korra looked up at her, brow furrowed slightly in curiosity. She carefully chewed, finishing her sugar-laden mouthful before responding, her head tilted to one side.
"Adventure?… I don't know about that."
"Again with the hesitation? Come on Korra, You've told me time and time again about how much you used to loved playing around both inside and out, what's stopping you now?"
"... Because an adventure with you sounds like it'd end up involving one or both of us getting into trouble."
Kuvira couldn't really argue with that; she was the exact opposite of a model student, but a big part of her didn't want to get her friend in trouble. That was the thing with Korra that made her different than any of the friends Kuvira had previously had: she actually felt the desire to care for her. Whether that was because she was younger than her or that she clearly seemed more vulnerable to the hectic world of secondary school and beyond… It was odd, but she didn't want to change that. So with that in mind she racked her brains before an idea struck her.
"Right, I know where we're going, follow me!" She exclaimed, grabbing Korra's free hand and yanking her down the road. Korra would have protested that she didn't have much of a choice since the older girl's hand was clamped around her wrist, but the surprise caught her off guard, and she instead found herself hurrying to keep pace while also trying to not get her arm dislocated… Damn Kuvira was stronger than she looked.
At the top of the long road Kuvira made a left, briskly passing a small, dilapidated church. Beyond that, the road seemed to have almost disappeared, only a small dirt track remaining which was dry and dusty from the sun. Finally feeling them slowing down, Korra panted as she attempted to catch her breath; upon realizing her young friend was feeling a little out of breath, Kuvira released her wrist and turned to her with a grin as she slowed down fully to a casual walk.
"Not much of an athlete huh?" She asked teasingly, to which Korra narrowed her eyes. How Kuvira was still able to outrun her despite being a smoker she'd never know.
"...No." She muttered, pouting, which caused Kuvira to grin wider and throw an arm around the shorter girl's neck as she fell in step beside her.
"It's worth it, trust me. This place we're going to? It's off the beaten track, like, literally" She gestured to the pathway they were heading up; to call it even that would be an overstatement, it was more like a small line of trodden down grass and other vegetation. "Not a lot of people know about it, so I'm able to come up here and just do whatever without much consequence."
"...Consequence? Do you mean like that?" Korra asked flatly, gesturing to the sign up ahead that stated in bold black letters: 'PRIVATE PROPERTY' with a brief description of what could happen to any trespassers caught on the land.
Kuvira eyed it for a moment, then shrugged. "Eh, they don't actually do anything, I've been up here loads of times and I've only been chased off once… at least, I think it was just the once."
Korra groaned.
"Seriously...? You said we weren't going to go anywhere that would get me in trouble!"
"And we won't!" Kuvira replied as she stepped over what appeared to be the remnants of old chicken wire fencing. "I've been here enough times to know where the safe spots are; all we gotta do is stick to the eastern side of the forests that's nearest to the area of farmland that's been left to go follow, so there won't be any farmers driving too close to our location to see us."
Once again, Korra had to pause for thought. However, at this point she was done with worrying about her friend's antics over and over again, so she shrugged. Besides, there was a part of her that missed goofing off in the great outdoors, it reminded her of when she was little.
"Fiiiine..." She said with a huff before following Kuvira up into the heavily wooded area. Despite her reservations, she couldn't help but find the area rather beautiful. Autumn was starting, so the leaves above them had begun the steady change in colour from green to various shades of yellows, reds, and oranges. It was also surprisingly warm for that time of year, which enabled the younger girl to take her time while viewing her surroundings.
Kuvira, however, had different ideas, striding ahead instead in a purposeful manner. She would occasionally glance behind just to make sure her friend was keeping up with her and grin a little to herself; it was clear that any stress or reservations Korra once had were now long gone, meaning the situation was finally a calm one.
Having been looking about her absentmindedly, Korra didn't notice Kuvira stopping and so bumped into her, letting out a small yelp of surprise. Kuvira just snorted and shook her head as she looked over her shoulder.
"You should look where you're going, shorty." She said teasingly, then continued before Korra had a chance to protest. "This is a pretty decent spot, I've been here several times." Korra looked over at the small clearing partially overrun by shrubbery. It didn't look like anything too special, until her eyes alighted on a small patch of blackened earth in the centre.
"Kuvira… do you light fires here?" She asked, her eyes having slightly widened as she spoke. Kuvira responded with a raised eyebrow and a grin.
"Only a couple of times. I like fire..." she trailed off when she noticed the slight fear on Korra's face. "...In a controlled environment, of course. I always make sure to stamp it out before I leave; I may be a troublemaker but I'm not that kinda girl." Heading towards the remnants of the firepit she dropped her bag beside it and began rummaging inside. "I've got a lighter in here somewhere, you want to get the wood?" When she heard nothing she turned to Korra who was stood stationary a few feet away, brow furrowed. The older girl clicked her fingers, startling her before speaking again. "Hey, earth to Korra? Geez, what is up with you today?"
Korra blinked and scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "Uh… sorry, just got a little distracted is all." She didn't want to admit it, but she'd always had a certain… curiosity... regarding fire. She'd never really been allowed anywhere near them so naturally, she was now interested. Kuvira rolled her eyes.
"Fair enough… Now, how about you get me that wood? I'll need small twigs to start with, then we'll slowly build up to the bigger stuff as the fire starts, alright?" Korra nodded, placing her bag beside Kuvira's and heading off into the woods. Despite her initial hesitation, this was starting to become sort of fun. She found herself feeling almost gleeful as she collected up the kindling, returning with most likely far too much of it and dumping it beside a rather surprised Kuvira.
Taking in Korra's now rather dishevelled appearance: her dirt-covered hands and trousers that had a variety of leaves attached to them, Kuvira grinned.
"Well damn, you don't mess around huh? Come on, let's get this fire lit." She gestured for Korra to come closer and the pair sat together, Korra watching her friend curiously as she pulled a bag of cotton wool from her pocket, followed by a small tub of vaseline.
"Best way to start a fire." Kuvira stated, having taken notice of Korra's confusion. "Found a few videos online about outdoor survival when I realized a lighter wasn't enough." Popping open the tub, she grasped a bundle of cotton wool and used it to scoop out a substantial blob of vaseline. She then placed it on two charred logs that she had pushed into the centre, before handing her lighter to Korra. "Want to do the honours?" She asked, holding back a smirk as she saw the younger girl's eyes light up. "Just be careful, don't hold your hand too close okay? Once the spark hits the vaseline it should go up pretty quickly."
Korra nodded, clasping the lighter firmly in her hand. It took her a few tries, and some teasing from Kuvira, but she finally got it to work and reached down, her face screwing up slightly in concentration and hesitation before the small flame finally reached its target.
Once the small flame began spreading, Kuvira grabbed a fistful of the smaller branches and held them over it until they began to catch. She then gently placed them on top and went to pick up another bundle. Slowly but surely, the two of them built the fire up until Kuvira deemed it sustainable enough, and sat down beside it.
Korra was transfixed by the flames, clearly fascinated by the way the wood blackened and twisted under the fire's touch; she would occasionally chuck something else in just to watch how it burned, whether that be a fresh leaf or rotten piece of bark. Kuvira chuckled knowingly, finding her friend's interest somewhat endearing… others would have found it more worrisome than anything, but not her. She knew Korra.
"Hey, if you want to burn more things on it, why not try these?" She asked, chucking a packet of… something Korra's way. The girl in question looked up in time to get hit in the face by the bulky projectile. She let out a squawk of surprise and flailed for a moment, grasping at the item while Kuvira's shoulder's shook, eyes glinting with mirth as she tried not to laugh out loud at her behaviour.
After shooting a glare her way, Korra looked down at the package in her hands and almost instantly forgot her initial annoyance
"Marshmallows?" She asked, surprised. "But you don't like sweets… did you buy these for me?"
Kuvira shrugged as her young friend looked over at her. "Well yeah, I know you love candy, and besides, what would a fire be without roasting some marshmallows over it huh?"
Now that was something Korra had never tried before - sure, she'd seen it done in movies and such, but it had never been something she'd gotten the chance to try herself. Grinning, she thanked Kuvira and opened the packet before glancing about. Finding a suitable stick, she picked out one of the squishy confections and pushed it onto the end before holding it over the fire.
"Make sure not to hold it over there too long." Kuvira said casually. "Otherwise it'll burn. I don't like marshmallows as it is, and burnt ones are even worse." Korra gave a nod, twisting the stick so that the sweet at the end of it was heated on all sides. When it started to hiss and the lowest edge began turning black, she quickly pulled it back from the heat of the fire.
"Make sure to blow on it!" Kuvira said a little sharper than usual. "It's hot, remember?"
Korra blinked, then chuckled. "Okay, mum, since when were you the logical one here?" The only response was a sigh and an eye roll from Kuvira which made Korra chuckle again. Nevertheless she did give the marshmallow a slight blow before biting into it, eyes widening in surprise at how the outside had remained solid, yet the inside had become a soft, gooey liquid. Quickly she munched down the rest and picked up another, starting the process all over again much to Kuvira's amusement.
… In hindsight, having already eaten so many sweets beforehand then chowing down on half a bag of marshmallows really didn't seem like the good idea it had once been, but Korra had done so anyway. Now, almost an hour later however, she was definitely regretting it. Letting out a slight groan she held her stomach, grimacing as the sugary concoction burbled away inside her. To Kuvira, this was yet another reason why she herself didn't indulge in anything that sweet and clearly she found the situation more entertaining than anything.
Reaching over and picking up the packet she waved it in Korra's direction
"Sure you don't want any more?" She asked, a shit-eating grin on her face. Korra glared and groaned again, shaking her head as her stomach grumbled loudly. "Well alright, I'll put them in your bag then, you'll want them later, right?" She winked and Korra pouted. She was about to respond when the grin left Kuvira's face and she looked upwards.
"Wait, you hear that?"
"...Hear what?" Korra asked, prompting Kuvira to shush her. In the silence, she heard what sounded like the low droning of an engine, but it sounded… Odd? She gave Kuvira a questioning look, to which her older friend responded.
"Sounds like a helicopter"
… Okay…? Korra didn't have a clue why a helicopter would be such a dramatic thing, but it obviously set Kuvira off. Seeing Korra's confusion, Kuvira continued. "You know this is the countryside, right? Means a lot of places are hard to get to by road… therefore, it makes sense for a lot of services to have helicopters, like ambulances… or police."
"...What makes you think it's anything like that?" Korra asked, definitely surprised now. "There are helicopters in the sky all the time, why should this be any different?"
"Well..." Kuvira hesitated, then gestured to the smoke from their fire that was spiraling up into the sky. "Because people lighting fires in places they shouldn't could be seen as a major fire risk… no matter how careful they are about it."
There was a silence as Korra stared at her friend. It took a moment, but the nervous look on Kuvira's face made her put two and two together.
"...Kuvira… are you saying this has happened before? To you?"
Kuvira nodded twice, which prompted the younger girl to jump up and grab her bag, ignoring the protests of her bloated stomach. "Then why the hell are we still here?! Put the fire out and let's go!" Once again, Kuvira nodded and got swiftly to her feet, kicking dirt over the remains of the fire and quenching it out for good with the remains of her drink. By this point the engine noises overhead were getting louder, causing Korra's heart to drop to her stomach as she bounced on the balls of her feet. "Let's go!" She cried, wanting to run ahead but she had honestly no clue which way was back until Kuvira grabbed her wrist once again and pulled her alone with her.
"Why didn't you tell me this had happened before?!" Korra shouted breathlessly as the pair bolted between the trees.
"I did!" Kuvira shouted back. "I said I'd been chased out a couple of times!"
"I thought you meant by people, not a freaking helicopter!"
"We'll talk about this later, just go!" Kuvira grunted as she skidded round a large tree stump, almost tripping in the process.
Before they knew it, they were back out in the open again. Kuvira came to a halt but Korra kept running, only to be tugged back by her friend. She turned around, panic in her eyes.
"Why did you stop? We need to get out of the area! We need to-!"
The words died on her lips as she locked eyes with Kuvira, who was now sporting a rather sheepish looking grin. When Korra glared at her she couldn't help but snort.
"...Yeahh… About that… You know there's a private runway behind these woods right?"
Korra frowned, not understanding the significance the words apparently held. "...And...?"
"Aircraft take off and land on it all the time, much like that one." She gestured to the sky, where the helicopter was now visible. It didn't have any police markings on it whatsoever… In fact, it looked like a regular helicopter…
Wait...
That's when it clicked.
"Kuvira… was this some kind of prank?"
The fact that Kuvira's mouth was curling upwards in a smirk and her shoulders were starting to shake was all the answer Korra needed. She glowered and strode back to her friend.
"You absolute ass!" She shouted, pushing the taller girl back as she jabbed her finger into her chest. "You scared the heck out of me, it's not fair and... and- Don't laugh at me!"
Kuvira snorted as she shook her head, giggling at the angry expression on Korra's face.
"Aww come on now! You have to admit that was funny, I mean.. The look on your face sure was!" She stepped back and stuck out her tongue, taunting her young friend. It worked, Korra narrowed her eyes and launched herself at her with the intention of shoving her back, however the momentum carrying her forward was greater than she had expected, and soon lead to Kuvira falling backwards. It caught them both off-guard and the pair yelped in surprise before hitting the grass with a thud.
It took a moment to get over the surprise, but Korra was determined to continue reprimanding her friend for such a cruel joke; she opened her eyes with the intention of wrestling an apology out of her, but her mouth opened and remained that way, silent. Kuvira's breathing, fast and shallow, was hitting Korra's face in waves of warmth; as she continued to remain stationary, she became increasingly more aware of just how close they were and the position they were in. It appeared that in an effort to to remain upright, Korra had widened her stance which had now lead to her legs being either side of Kuvira's waist, straddling her. Her hands, still shaking from the adrenaline, were gripping tightly to the other girl's shirt, closer than they probably should be to her chest.
Korra's heart, having not been given the chance to slow down from their panicked run, was now thrumming in her ears; her face began heating up, which went unrealized until Kuvira raised an eyebrow and spoke.
"Uh… you okay? You're gone bright red." She tilted her head. "You're not gonna be sick on me, are you? All those marshmallows plus running probably wasn't a good idea… darn I should have thought that through." She muttered the last part to herself, but they were so close Korra could hear every word. She swallowed and sat bolt upright, clamping both hands over her face in embarrassment.
"Uh… n-no! I mean, I'm fine I just-" She looked about frantically then realized she was still sitting on Kuvira and jumped up off her like a jackrabbit. "...Let's just go..." Holding out a hand she gestured for Kuvira to take it, which she did very hesitantly, before getting up slowly with Korra's help. Right away Korra let go of her hand and reached down to pick up her bag once again, trying to hide her still very pink face behind her hair.
"...You sure you're okay?" Kuvira asked, one eyebrow still raised. "Look, if that whole thing really did scare you that much, I'm sorry, it was just meant to be a little bit of fun-"
"I'm fine Kuv." Came a quiet reply, Korra swallowing and turning to look at her friend with an awkward smile as she tried to calm down. "The fall just… made me jump is all."
Now that really didn't make sense to Kuvira at all, and she was definitely confused, but it was clear Korra didn't want to talk about it so she just shrugged her shoulders and slung her bag on her back once more and patted the smaller girl on the shoulder
"Alright fair enough… so you had fun right? Nothing like a bit of adrenaline to make your day, huh?" She asked, tilting her head as a familiar grin spread across her lips. Korra looked over at her with narrowed eyes before snorting and shaking her head in confusion and amusement.
"Ugh… fuck you." She said flatly, sticking out her tongue at the other girl.
Kuvira's eyebrows shot up in surprise before she laughed.
"Damn! Didn't think you'd end up being such a potty mouth! Guess I'm rubbing off on you huh?"
"...You could say that." Korra continued as they walked back down the path. Sure the whole thing had been kinda funny, but what just happened… it felt, well, off. She'd wrestled with Kuvira many times beforehand, so why did it feel so weird this time?
As Kuvira chatted away, oblivious to the situation, Korra shoved her hands in her pockets and stared at the ground; her brows were knitted together and her mind was whirring. As much as she hated to admit it, she really needed some time to think about this, whatever 'this' was.
The heck was going on?