Whoops doesn't even begin to cover it, folks. Unfortunately, updates will continue to be AWFUL with this fic. Not only have I hit a rough spot writing-wise, my life is a huge mess right now. I'll do my best to keep writing and updating because I'm as excited about this fic as you are, but no promises. :C Anyway, here's four and five is soon to follow. No word yet on six, and let's not even think about beyond that.
Her breath came in strained gasps. She was unable to run; her feet dragged as if she was slogging through mud. Bolin was drowning in front of her, just out of reach, begging her for help. But she could not reach him and could not bend, could not save him as the water smothered his screams. Mako's scarf hung from a tree branch, its owner nowhere to be found. Asami's car lay in a twisted heap, smashed against a cliff face. In the distance Korra could hear the sound of fighting, and she struggled against the invisible force toward the clashes and yells.
Tenzin and Lin stood back to back, fighting off a seething mass of Equalists. As Korra stumbled toward them Tenzin fell, his body disappearing into the earth and leaving Lin's back exposed. Korra did her best to fight through the Equalists to reach Lin, but many arms and legs reached out to grab her, holding her back. Lin saw her capture and leapt toward Korra with a yell, but before Korra could warn her away a gloved hand shot out and slammed into Lin's throat, gripping her by the neck as her body spasmed, electricity crackling around her. Korra searched the crowd for Lin's attacker, but-
Korra woke with a yelp, scrambling out of bed and to the window. Naga grunted in complaint as Korra threw it open and let the brisk night air in to nip at her skin. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths in the pattern Tenzin had taught her, forcing down fear and sobs until she began to hiccup uncontrollably and her tears broke through. Her legs gave way, and this time there was no Lin to catch her. As she slid to the floor, she cracked her forehead against the windowsill and had to press a hand against her mouth to stifle her cry of pain. Naga whined and crawled over to her. Korra sobbed into her best friend's fur, clutching her head and cursing angrily at herself through clenched teeth.
She lay there until the pain subsided, though the childish desire to be rescued still remained. She climbed back into bed only to find it soaked with sweat, and she scrambled back onto the floor to curl up once again by Naga's side. The wooden floor did not make for a comfortable place to sleep, and it was quite a while before Korra fell into a restless slumber.
Dawn broke without further incident, and Korra was roused as usual by the sounds of the stirring temple. Morning meditation blurred into breakfast, which slipped into sparring practice with Asami and the rest of the Fire Ferrets. Korra was distracted by the memories of her night and lost several matches in a row to Asami, against whom she was usually evenly matched. She quit practice early and headed toward her room, intending to nap until her metalbending lesson with Lin that afternoon. However, she was stopped on one of the covered walkways by a messenger, who bowed and handed her an intricately folded piece of paper. As the man jogged off, Korra opened the note and read the neat handwriting inside.
Change of schedule. Budget meeting moved to this afternoon, will have to postpone lesson. 8 pm instead of 2 pm, at gym. Checked with Tenzin, you'll stay night w/ me. Sorry for shortness, running late.
Ta,
Lin
"What're you so happy about?"
Korra looked up to find Bolin grinning lopsidedly as he strolled toward her, a towel hanging around his neck and his shirt dark with sweat. It was only then that Korra realized that she was smiling broadly, and she quickly tried to hide the smile.
"It's nothing," she said, but she re-folded the note very carefully and slid it into the small pocket sewed into her furs that she reserved for special items.
"Oh, okay," Bolin said. "I just wanted to check on you because you seemed distracted at practice. Everything okay?"
"Oh, yeah. I just didn't get enough sleep last night, so I wasn't exactly at the top of my game today." Korra felt bad lying to Bolin, but her dreams were not something she wanted to share with him. "I was actually going to go take a nap right now."
"Okay, then!" Bolin smiled, waving and turning to walk back in the direction he had come. "I'll leave you to it, then!"
"I'll see you at this afternoon's practice!" Korra called after him, and they both walked backwards so they could wave and giggle at each other until Korra had to round a corner and lost sight of him.
Though she was still exhausted, Korra found herself in a much better mood than she had been earlier. She was very glad to have Bolin as a friend, she thought as she undressed in preparation for her nap. She pulled Lin's note out of her pocket and placed it almost ceremoniously on the nightstand beside her bed, then curled up under the covers in just her wraps, pulling the sheets up to her chin and sighing contentedly.
But she could not sleep. The shadows slid across the walls as she tossed and turned, her thoughts whipped into a whirlwind by worries too misty to put a finger on. She picked up Lin's note and reread it several times, hoping to clear her mind. She had no trouble imagining Lin's voice, steady and surprisingly gentle, no trouble imagining Lin's face, her stern frame resting behind a desk but her eyes warm with welcome. She had no trouble imagining Lin's arms around her, no trouble remembering how it felt to sleep in Lin's embrace.
Korra fell asleep with the note clutched to her chest.
The noon bell woke her from her slumber, and she was dismayed to find that Lin's note had crumpled in her embrace. She smoothed it out on the nightstand and refolded it carefully as she put her clothes back on, then hopped to the kitchen with one boot half off. She still got to the table late, and she grinned sheepishly at Tenzin in the hopes that he would make an exception to his "no lunch for the late" rule. He looked pointedly in the other direction, and she sighed in relief as the bowls of rice and vegetables were passed around.
The meal made her even more excited about her evening with Lin, as she was hoping that she would once again get to eat some real meat. Her mouth watered at the thought of some nicely fried turkey-pig bacon, or a seared duckfish. She ate her meal with decidedly less abandon than usual, unable to convince herself that the cabbage, however crisp, was anything resembling a good hunk of meat.
The afternoon passed quickly; practice went much better than in the morning, and Korra found herself refreshed and raring to go by the time evening rolled around. Despite Tenzin's protestations, she decided to take the ferry over to the mainland an hour early, so she could take her time walking through the city. She spent the ride over imagining scenarios in which she met Lin by chance as she was walking downtown, and perhaps they went for dumplings or sat in the park and talked. Anything would be better than standing on her toes for three hours straight. Her legs still ached.
Upon disembarking Korra was stunned to find Lin waiting for her, leaning against a stack of crates and tapping her foot. As she walked up she opened her mouth to ask what was going on, but Lin cut her off.
"Tenzin," was all she said as she stood. Korra sighed and rolled her eyes. He had probably sent a telegram to police headquarters. "He should know by now you're not a child." Lin added. Korra cringed a bit, but Lin didn't seem to be impatient or irritated by the fact that she'd been recruited to escort Korra through the city. "Shall we?" she asked, gesturing toward the city. Korra nodded.