6.Terror

Jinora sat cross-legged on her bed, she sighed contently as she turned the page in her book. The two protagonists were together, frolicking in fields and whispering romantic things to each other. She knew it was not to last, there was two thirds of the book left, so Jinora knew that an antagonist was not far off. A beautiful woman was introduced, envious thoughts already raising from the female lover, ahh, there she is… Her name is probably Anui… She placed her bookmark into the fragile pages, and placed it gently on the bed. She walked out into the hall and headed down to the infirmary, she had left Kai to rest for the night, and had decided to give him some room to recover. She didn't know why a past crush, or whatever she is… bothered her so much, perhaps it was that he called her pretty in front of her. Does he ever call me pretty to other people? She sighed loudly as she approached the infirmary, she breathed deeply and put a warm smile on her face, prepared to see Kai.

She rounded a corner and was surprised by the amount of spiritual energy she could sense. It wasn't like any type of energy she had encountered before, it was subtle, yet felt like it was established. She couldn't explain it any other way, she placed her hand against the wall, not here… She walked through the halls, slowly approaching objects, tracing her fingers over them. It is coming from this way, she moved towards the infirmary, this is so strange…

"I still don't understand how you burnt yourself, Kai." Jinora heard her auntie talking, she sounded suspicious. Kai burnt himself? Jinora thought, quickening her pace towards the doorway.

"It was an accident."

His voice caused Jinora to hesitate at the door, his speech sounded so strained. It was like he was reading from a terrible script, or like he was pretending to be enjoying something clearly tedious. She took a cautious step, the energy was stronger when he had spoken, it felt wrong like it shouldn't be wherever it was, is it trapped? Poor thing... Maybe Kai and Auntie Kya are scaring it.

She walked through the door into the infirmary, Kai's hand was engulfed in water, Kya swirling it skilfully. "Good afternoon, Kai." She said softly, Kai looked up and a small smile appeared across his face, there was the energy again, Jinora quickly spun. The spirit must be avoiding me… Or everyone else…

"What are you doing, Jinora?" Kya said, seeing her spin, "Have you lost something?"

"N-no," she said, the energy was gone again, "Just trying to find something. A spirit seems to be in distress."

No! Jinora, don't! Kai didn't want her to discover it yet, she needed to wait until they were in a more public place. There needed to be more people that could help him, or stop him.

"Well your uncle is singing to the masses about the 'ole days'…" Kya said, twitching her head towards the window.

"That must be it." Jinora giggled, hearing traces of her uncle's voice drifting through the window.

Kai was returned control after he smiled, he held the smile for a moment, genuinely relieved to have Jinora near him, equally frightened. He knew that whatever had control was watching, was waiting. He decided to abide until he had a plan, it was obvious they couldn't control his thoughts, just everything else… He pouted internally, "Jinora," He smiled, say something innocent, "How is your book going?"

"The antagonist was just introduced, so, it is pretty tense." She smiled, sitting beside him and watching her aunt swirl the water around his hand, "How did you burn yourself?" she took his free hand in hers.

"I know the feeling…" He froze, realising what he had said, "Yeah, umm, accidently." He said quickly, not wanting to hesitate too long. If they think you are working with them, they won't feel a need to hurt anyone. They won't feel the need to hurt Jinora.

"All done, Kai." Kya smiled, she parted with telling Kai to relax, and to stay away from fire. He and Jinora sat quietly for a moment as her aunt left the room, he peeked at her cautiously, watching her lips, her eyes, her cheeks as she spoke to him about something, he had no clue what. She had paused, looking at him expectantly, she had asked him a question.

He was too scared to open his mouth, what if I say something that they think might blow their cover? What if I kill her? I can't… The pain tore through him, "Yes, they were from my past. Nice guys, a bit slow though." He felt his body say, stay away from her! He felt physically sick that they were communicating with her, using his body, his voice. Nausea swarmed him as his mouth continued to move, as she continued to smile at her, it hurt. He knew from the words he had spoken, that she was asking about the men from earlier.

Jinora had felt the increase of spiritual energy when Kai had spoken, it seemed to be coming from Kai. Maybe the spirit is being drawn to Kai, hiding near him? Or perhaps, if, the spirit had bumped into him, it gave him a bit more spiritual energy… What if he can project himself! That would be amaz-

He felt the control return to his body, he audibly sighed, relieved to be free of the severe discomfort of possession, and that they were no longer talking to her. Jinora smiled at him, realising that this probably wasn't something to talk about yet, "Are you tired?"

"Just of being in here." He said cautiously. An idea struck him, if I go out there now, near Lin and Korra, and bring up spirits again, I can talk and they can stop me from hurting anyone!

"Well, Kya did say you just had to watch the hand for infection… We could go down for some lunch!" She smiled at the idea, "Do you want to do that?"

"I would love to." He said quickly, if they try and change my sentences mid-speech, she might notice… Someone might notice.

Someone needs to.

...

Lin was watching Kai carefully, she knew something was up, something was wrong. She watched as Kai smiled carefully, spoke quickly, even Bolin had commented on it. Everyone joked it was because Jinora's birthday was less than a week away, and Kai still hadn't gotten her a gift. But how his heart was fluttering ridiculously, Lin kept her feet on the stone floor, the sole of her metal boot retracted, that couldn't be it.

Blocking out everything around her, focusing on Kai, she didn't know why she cared so much for the young man. He sort of reminded her of Mako, troubled past, turned good… Slingshots for hunting? This isn't the old days, even mum had advanced weapons when she was young. And what game is even located in these mountains, well, the herd? Though slingshots couldn't take down a sky bison… This is ridiculous, there must be a reasonable explanation for why this is so suspicious. She watched for longer, her book before her, her tea gone cold. There was something in his eyes, something she could see from across the room.

Terror.

She knew it wasn't something Tenzin could have possibly threaten, violence or otherwise, he is harmless. She contemplated what it must have felt like, floating in nothing for, what he thought, hours. Consistent pain, with nothing to distract him, not having any control over a situation could cause panic and terror in anyone.

Her mind flipped to when she kneeled before Amon, the feeling of his fingers, unnaturally warm, pressed against her forehead. Losing her contact with the armour that covered her, the earth beneath her, he feeling of pure terror that she had endured.

Suddenly there was a loud sound as someone slammed a plate down in front of her, and another beside her. She spun quickly, grabbing the scruff of the individual's shirt and flicking her wrist, the armour that was wrapped around her forearm formed a blade. Bumi's eyes were wide and terrified, the room was quiet, she was breathing quickly, her heart was almost audible to him. Bumi slowly raised his hand to unhook her fingers from his shirt, "Don't tell me I managed to catch you off guard, Linny?" It went from a cocky statement to an almost concerned question, she was usually on-the-ball.

There was silence as she retracted her blade, "Don't call me that." She growled, sinking back into her seat, everyone still watched her. She scowled towards them, they all turned away, except Kai.

She held his eyes, they widened, then rapidly blinked, only a few times. Halfway through the fourth blink attempt, his eyes stayed wide, before looking back towards Jinora, whom was speaking to the small group they were eating with. Lin was confused, "What the fuck?" she muttered to herself.

"I said," Bumi smiled, "I hope you like Southern Water Tribe style noodles."

"Not you!" she hushed, but then she saw his face droop, she turned towards him, "Thank-you." She said quickly, he smiled widely, twirling a large amount onto his chopsticks and raising it to his mouth.

"Ah-ahem, err, what were you talking about?" Bumi said softly, leaning in while slurping up noodles, looking in the direction she was.

She placed a few noodles in her mouth, chewing slowly, "There is something off about Kai."

…

All he wanted to do was hold her close, to kiss her, touch her. But he couldn't, he didn't want anyone beside them to be in on one of their moments. They sat before the fireplace in the library, it was a surprisingly cold night and everyone else had left them at varying points. Facing him, reading her book aloud after giving Kai a brief synopsis on what had happened up to that point. Not that Kai would have minded, he just wanted to hear her speak. Her voice curved around the words in a way that had him intrigued, from the minute she started her current chapter, he was immersed in the sound. Every few minutes, the fear that someone would take his control in this moment away cause his heart to race and his stomach to turn.

He thought about the possibility of spending the rest of his life with someone watching everything that happened around him. It chilled him to the core, made him feel sick. He imagined never being able to talk freely, always the concern that someone may try to change him. He thought about never being able to kiss and touch Jinora in privacy, he knew they both wanted more of each other. They appeared new to the physical aspect of their love, but after years of building the relationship from all other angles, they felt set for anything. Except perhaps this, Kai thought.

He went on to think about the conversation Jinora had shyly approached on the way back to the infirmary after lunch, about how she would seek Kya about contraceptives for a later date. The conversation would have excited them both in any other scenario, but Kai hated the thought of someone else listening in on them, he ended up dismissing the topic to stop Jinora from speaking about it. She looked hurt, and that made Kai angry. Angry at the spirit living within him, angry at the being controlling him, angry that no one was able to help him. He sighed internally and lifted his eyes to the beautiful young woman before him, his heart ached.

He had noticed that Jinora had stopped talking, he looked up properly and saw her mouth slightly opened, her eyes wide, "What is it?" Kai said carefully.

"The characters are," she blushed, "I think they are about to have sex…"

"Really?" Kai smirked.

Jinora slowly turned the next page, she scanned it quickly, her blush deepen, "Oh! They are…" she started to close the book, Kai raised an eyebrow.

"You aren't going to continue?" he smiled.

She thought about being dismissed from the topic of sex earlier, she was worried. She didn't want to seem like she was pushing the topic, so she made an excuse, "I don't think I would be able to, I would be too embarrassed!" she almost giggled, "I have never read a book like, this, before."

"You haven't?" he smiled wider as her blush became almost a glow.

"Have you?" she said incredulously.

"Well actually…" Kai said, scratching the back of his neck and smiling guiltily, "There are a few books down here is the education section. A few of us have snuck down and flipped through them, they are more for education, and some are in the comedy section… They aren't as terrible as you think."

"I didn't say 'terrible'! I said it would be embarrassing for me to read out to an audience." She said, peaking at the page again. Embarrassing if I made you uncomfortable again…

"I will read it." He smiled. Jinora raised an eyebrow, she didn't know if he was just going to make fun of her, "Granted, I may not be as good of a reader, but I can try."

She slowly handed him the book, he took it and pointed at the top of the page, raising an eyebrow, as if to ask if this is where he reads from. Jinora smiled widely and nodded, curious to see if he would actually read the story, or make something up. "He had her against the wall, their kiss was thoughtful and unhurried." He peaked at her over the top of the book, Jinora was smiling widely, still blushing furiously. He continued, "The air became trapped in her throat, as his large hand toured up her leg, already hooked up over his waist. His lips slid over her neck, she couldn't believe the e-… Ec-tassy?" Kai was struggling on a word, he turned it around and held his finger beneath it, Jinora leant forward.

"Ecstasy." She smiled, he nodded to himself and turned the book back towards him. Maybe I just needed to give him some time to get used to the idea… Perhaps we better stick to kissing, he likes that. She felt better almost immediately.

"She couldn't believe the ecstasy she was feeling in this moment, she wished for it to never end." He took a deep breath, looking at the next page, "His hands were gentle as the stroked up and down the inside of her soft, silky thighs, his lips never leaving her neck. He felt the temp-per-a-ture… Temperature… He felt the temperature change under his hands, he moved them slowly towards her-"

Kai was knocked back by a force, his mind automatically flipped to being controlled, but he realised what was actually happening when Jinora's lips crushed down on his. For a moment he was alarmed, but the lack of pain eased his worries. He dropped the book next to their bodies and ran one of his hands down her back, the other up into her hair. Their lips moved together, Kai was on his back, Jinora lay on top of him, her body fitting between his legs. He blushed as his body reacted to their contact, he knew Jinora could feel it too, but she didn't say anything.

Fear was still strong in his mind, but he hadn't realised how much he needed a moment like this. He moved his lips from her own and kissed softly down her chin and to her neck, she moaned softly in his ear, barely a whisper. His entire body was on a high, he revelled in the closeness, feeling safe with her. He pushed up off his side and rolled on top of her, she let out a surprised laugh, he pulled away to gaze at her.

The fire light set off her skin in the most perfect way, he carefully reached forward and pushed a large section of hair that was draped across her forehead and cheek. He studied her eyes, wide with excitement, they were that rich burgundy colour again, like on the balcony, like the grapes.

They were still new to the physical side of their relationship, but, their progression together was, in their eyes, perfect. He kissed her softly, she sighed again, this time the sighed enfolded around his name, his body caught alight in a pleasurable warmth as he sighed hers in return. Jinora could feel his erection pressed against the inside of her leg, her body hummed with excitement, her mind running through what may happen. She felt her whole body warm with his, she gently reach for the buttons on his shirt, only undoing the top four. She was surprised she had gotten that far, her hands were shaking slightly, she could feel his smooth, warm skin. She pulled her lips away from his mouth and pushed them to his neck, as he had done to her. His hands tighten in her hair, but he was careful not to hurt her, then it happened.

There was flicker of pain.

He recognised it immediately, having become used to it, his breathing quickened and sweat broke out across his body. He didn't know why there was only a flicker, perhaps they weren't prepared to actually control him, trying to think of something to make him do. He didn't want to give them a chance, he pushed himself off Jinora, jumping back into a book case and gripping the stone and wooden shelves.

The sweat was visible on his forehead and his heart thumped so heavily and quickly, that it was noticeable in his own vision. Jinora sat on the floor, her lips were reddened and her face flushed, she looked concerned, scared even. The pain flickered again, quick, severe, something must have been wrong on their end, the first flicker had practically knocked the air from his body. He backed away, when will it explode and take me over completely? I can't be near Jinora, I can't let them be near Jinor-

"K-Kai?" Jinora whispered, getting onto her knees, "Is-is something wrong?"

He didn't answer her for a moment, he was yelling at himself to get away from her, "I… I have to go." He turned and ran, hearing her yell his name once more. He burst out of the library door, the cold air hit him like a wrecking ball, the contrast with the sweat and heat on his skin almost burned. He gripped a pillar in the hall for support breathing deeply, he heard Jinora coming, he ran, he needed to get away from her.

He crashed into something, they fell to the ground, there was a thump as their head hit the ground, Lin shoved him off her and stood quickly, "What are you doing, you imbecile?!" she yelled, Suyin, Opal and Bolin watched wearily, he had come out of nowhere. He leapt to his feet and ran, Lin threw her cables after him, I am getting to the bottom of this!

Kai heard them coming, he turned a blasted air towards them to deter them, I can't be near anyon-, the pain flickered once more before erupting, they had control of him. The blast knocked Lin's cables into the stone pillars leaving two long, deep marks, they became struck fast in the stone, "Su!" Lin said loudly, trying to unstuck her cables. He panicked, only wanting to knock the cables back, don't hurt them! His body began to strike more towards them, stop!

Suyin threw her cables out as Kai was spun back for another strike, one of the cables scraped across him arm. He struck again and again, as if the long cut down his arm was nothing, Bolin raised earth to deter the air from the group, when he lowered it, Kai was gone.

…

"You idiots." The master growled, Bú Yi snarled in synchronisation with the master.

"But master, we didn't know…" one mumbled, they had been in charge of watching the pendent, only to act if Kai planned on speaking out about what was happening to him. When they saw Kai and Jinora kissing, one of them decided it was the appropriate moment to go to the bathroom. He was not overly comfortable with watching two sixteen year olds kiss, thinking it was too private. He had bumped the table in the darkness, diving to catch the pendent, his thumb pressed on the glowing centre. He realised and released immediately, but for a moment he had control, when they realized Kai had noticed, one ran to wake the master, another panicked and pushed it again, trying to find a way to reverse their mistake. He then placed it on the table, decided to leave it for the master to handle. By the time the master had arrived, Kai was running away from the two metalbending women. Bú Yi, having extensive knowledge of bending, gained from taking over benders and teaching himself the basics, fought them off before making Kai bolt away.

"Because of your stupidity and rash thinking, we have no choice but to bring him here. The plan needs to be pushed forward, and actions rushed. We were expecting to have him inside the temple for another six days! He was only there for two under our control! How could be so stupid?!"

"Bu-but!" one of the mumbled, tumbling over the simple word.

"Get them out of my sights." The master grumbled, waving his hand.

The men were removed from the room, Bú Yi swirled himself around, showing Kai, walking against his will, to the base of a large cave. He had been walking and airbending for nearly three hours, the master having set a competent ally on the pendent, assuring her arrives. "Let us prepare for our guest."

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