AN: Big thanks to bao-haus on tumblr for the cover picture.

Korra flattened the earth bench she'd made and held out her hand to Asami. "Come on. Let's go back to Xai Bau's Grove to set up camp."

Asami, as tired as she was, decided not to complain about the hike and took Korra's hand.

"Close your eyes," Korra said. The instruction perplexed Asami, but she followed it without question. "Alright. Now take a step."

Asami stepped forward and a sensation similar to static electricity passed through her body. "What happened? Can I open my eyes now?" Asami said, slightly impatient.

"Yep," Korra said brightly. "We're already here."

Sure enough, they were in the midst of the twisted trees and thick fog of Xai Bau's Grove. Asami could even hear the babbling of the stream nearby. "Dare I ask where you learned that one?" she said.

Korra chuckled and began unfurling her sleeping bag. "I guess you could say I've known how to do that since I was a kid," she said.

"How very cryptic of you," Asami said. "I'd ask for elaboration, but I'm probably too tired to even absorb it."

"Then you should be thanking me," Korra said. "The ground here in the Grove is so soft, you won't even remember you're not sleeping in your own bed!"

"I don't know about you, but waking up in the Spirit World and not remembering why I'm here doesn't sound so great," Asami said.

Korra sat on her sleeping bag and watched Asami rifle through her backpack. She pulled out a small piece of cloth, wetted it, and began wiping her eyes.

"Are you taking off your makeup?" Korra said.

"Isn't that obvious?"

Korra's head tilted slightly. "What are you doing that for?"

Asami laughed softly. "You're not supposed to sleep with makeup on, silly," she said. "It's bad for your skin."

"Oh, right. I knew that," Korra said stiffly, causing Asami to laugh again.

Korra's mind wandered as she absently watched Asami prepare for bed. It struck her how different Asami looked without her makeup; her skin was slightly less smooth than Korra would have guessed, the shape of her eyes and lips seemed completely different, and her cheeks were slightly freckled.

A question popped into Korra's head too suddenly for her to resist the impulse to ask it. "Do you think I'm pretty even though I don't wear makeup?" she said.

Asami paused and gave her a strange look. "What brought this on?"

"Most of the girls in Republic City wear makeup," Korra said, shrugging.

"Sure, but why would that have anything to do with whether or not I think you're pretty?"

"I'm just wondering if you think I'd look better with makeup, that's all," Korra said, starting to feel slightly self-conscious about pushing the conversation in this direction.

"What I really think is that you should wear whatever makes you more comfortable," Asami said. She retrieved a comb from her bag and ran it through her hair a few times. "But if you must have my opinion, I'd say you look great without makeup and you'd look just as great with it." Korra was about to respond, but Asami read her mind. "And I'm not just saying that as a cop out."

"Fine," Korra sighed. She lay on her back and stared up at the fog-obscured branches of a nearby tree. "For what it's worth, I think you're really pretty without makeup, too. I didn't know you had freckles."

"You're too sweet," Asami said.

Korra peeked to her right and saw Asami smiling to herself as she tied her hair up. "When we get back, why don't you give me a makeover?" she said. "I know I would have turned my nose up at it in the past, but it'd be nice just to know what I look like all spiffed up, Asami-style."

Asami laid out her own sleeping bag next to Korra's. "Of course. I'd love to help. I just hope you don't get any cuter, for my sake," she said with a wink.

Tenzin rubbed his forehead. "When was the last time you saw her? Did she give you any indication where she might have gone?"

"You were with us the last time I saw her. And no, I have no idea where she went. I'm really worried about her..."

"So am I," Tenzin said. "If this is anything like when she was recovering from the poison, there is certainly cause for concern. The problem is, now that there's a third spirit portal, it's possible that she entered the Spirit World without anyone knowing."

"Maybe we should look there first."

"I'm not so sure. It will be more difficult to track her down there than in the Physical World. Jinora succeeded in finding her last time...we'll just have to hope she can do it again," Tenzin said.

I feel so useless. We used to be so close. How could she do this again?

The lights dimmed and flickered. A radio projected Korra's voice into the room clearly.

"I left because I am no longer needed. You are all better off without me. My service to you has exhausted me beyond my will to continue living with the ungrateful, the demanding, and the unhelpful of this world. I may have bent the elements to my will, but I bent myself to yours."

The room darkened further and a faintly glowing blue silhouette appeared. Korra's voice lost the tinny timbre of the radio transmitter, instead booming through the darkness as though it came from all directions. "Does our friendship mean so little that you would guilt me for choosing my own path? Does my now free spirit, no longer trapped in your cage, offend you? Doesn't the sacrifice of a hundred lifetimes excuse a brief moment of selfishness? Will you blame me for not rejecting my own happiness for the sake of someone like you?"

"No...I love you!"

"What does one lifetime of unwanted love mean to an immortal being? What can you offer me that I don't already have? You think me naive, but you see so little in comparison..."

"Please, wait! I'll do anything!"

"That's the problem; you can't do anything. Goodbye."