A veil of steam fills the cavern, and Korra takes a deep inhale. Conjuring fire comes easily to her. But heating the once-cold spring takes much less effort than holding a pleasant temperature. Korra sinks up to her throat into the water, letting the heat soak into her. Her hands wipe away mud, and grime, and blood.
She needs to wash away the day.
The whole valley has fallen into turmoil. Rumors spreading about the untimely deaths in the companies. People are getting scared. Some of the company governors are losing their hired muscle. The bosses have found themselves in unfortunate accidents. And the mercenaries don't want to be caught in the crossfire if some tribal war is about to start.
Good. The fewer that Korra will have to deal with.
She takes another slow, steady breath. Her shoulders relax. Korra drifts back into the water, her hair loose and free floating around her face. Arms spread out, sending another ripple of quiet heat through the pool. Clouds of steam gather over the spring's surface.
Tenzin hadn't given the kill order this time. Not directly. He never does. Just laments the woes of the township, and the sad state of men's souls. Then, soon after, he will report news of a violent criminal, now missing. A very wealthy man, widely known to beat his wife and children, found dead in an alley. A mining foreman, who chooses to take his boredom out on local tribespeople, never returns to town after a long night of drinking.
He does not mourn them.
The air shifts slightly in the cavern, sending goosebumps along Korra's scalp. Her eyes open, finding a familiar, beautiful figure standing at the edge of the pool. Asami has managed to sneak up far closer than before.
"You're getting quieter," Korra says.
"I'm sorry." Asami smiles. "Did I startle you?"
The heat of the pool doesn't stop Korra's skin from breaking out into bumps. "Why are you following me?" Korra asks, lifting her head from the water.
"My days have been dull without your company," Asami pouts. Resting her rifle on her shoulder, she lowers herself to the damp stone around the natural spring. "And someone stole my job from me." Her eyes are sharp, but playful. "Killing a recruiter? Seemed like a higher target than you normally hunt."
"He hurt plenty of people," Korra says, rubbing a dark stain from her forearm. "Not just mine."
Asami's eyes focus intently on Korra's, never drifting. One could almost assume that Asami hasn't noticed how crystal and revealing the water is. But the corners of her lips cling to a smirk. Her usually porcelain skin casts a pinker shade. From the warmth of the cavern, the chill outside?
"Well, between you taking my mark, and Company Councilman Tarrlok indisposed-"
"Indisposed?" Korra repeats sharply, "You laced his drink." She remembers that night too vividly. Watching from the crowd at the company governor's home. Asami's delicate dance of chess moves. The right words whispered into an ear. Conversations spurred on between business competitors of the right animosity. A 'clumsy' slip of the right tray. An intricate weave of distractions. All culminating in a droplet reaching the edge of Tarlokk's wine glass. It had been beautiful to watch. Like most everything Asami does, it had been swift, controlled, and elegant.
More than that, it had been terrifying. For something so seemingly insignificant to thread into your bones, clutch at your heart. Kill you.
Korra hasn't spoken to her since that night.
Asami kneels beside the pile of Korra's discarded clothes. She inspects a fur parka wrapped in a tight bundle. Her fingers come back flecked with blood. "And I suppose all this is from an elk?"
Korra dunks her head under the surface of the water, wiping her hair from her face as she surfaces. The heat of the pool giving her focus.
"What I did was clean," Asami insists gently. Confidently. "It will take a few days, but traces will be gone before a doctor can examine closer. And he'll be unconscious for the end."
"He didn't have the chance to defend himself," Korra mutters.
Asami raises a delicate brow. "You like things fair?" A chirp of laughter escapes her. "You should tell Mako and Bolin to stop making those bombs for you, if you want a fair fight." Dipping a hand into the water, Asami rubs the drying blood off her fingertips. "It was a kindness. And far better than he deserved. Am I wrong?" She glances up and finds Korra avoiding her eyes, but not arguing the point. "We're on the same side here," she sighs.
Her hand drifts above the surface of the water, just barely touching it. Steam wafts around her fingers. "I didn't think there were any hot springs in this region."
With a deep inhale, Korra's hands spread heat out across the pool. The water steams up. Soothing every inch of her skin.
Asami smirks, dunking her hand in, swirling the water. "May I join you?" she asks, "I've been riding all day."
She nods awkwardly as Asami begins to undo the buttons at the front of her coat. Her rifle is left on the rock floor beside Korra's clothes.
Korra turns to her edge of the pool, leaning against the rock. A stark cold compared to her generated heat. She watches shadows play on the wall. Township women are ashamed of their bare form. They find it indecent to expose themselves. Korra is trying to be polite.
She scarcely hears Asami enter the water, but the water shifts. Korra feels the tension of ripples against her skin.
"If I asked again, would you tell me what happened?" Asami's voice is closer than Korra expects. She glances back. Asami is within arm's reach. Naked. Pale. Lovely. She ties her dark hair up into a messy knot as she stares at Korra's back.
The old, worn scarring. The discolored skin. "Mercury," Korra says stiffly. "…Among other things."
"Poison?" Asami says gently, a hush in her tone.
Staring at the edge of the pool, Korra rubs at the stone dust beneath her hands. "Not all of them are as kind as you claim."
"Mercury is a violent toxin." Her anxious gaze follows the full path of the scarring down Korra's back. "I've seen few survive it when their symptoms are this severe."
"I very nearly didn't. If not for the elders of our sister tribe, I would have died quickly."
"What happened?" Asami asks slowly, suddenly very timid on the subject.
"I was too young to protect myself when I was taken. A nomad tribe were trying to dissolve the chieftains' power. Zaheer saw my existence as just another means of authority for my father, for my uncle. To get rid of me would take the source of their power. "
For many tribes, Korra's gifts make her a symbol of the spirits. To others, she is a danger. And a chieftain's daughter, no less. It is little wonder that she has been under threat her entire life.
"I thought that I had lost the connection to the world around me forever." She touches the water, swirling it into a tiny current without touching the surface. "I was bedridden for some time…I wouldn't say I've ever fully recovered."
Echoes of the water fill the silence between them. Korra follows the sounds, the sensations of the water as Asami circles her.
"I'm sorry for my levity earlier," Asami breathes softly. "Had I known your experience with-"
"You couldn't know," Korra shakes her head. She turns in the water.
Asami has floated beside her. Clinging to the rock wall in a deep spot of the spring. She smiles with a shiver. "It's cold at the depths," she laughs, pulling her legs up against the rock wall.
Korra manages a small smile, and with a quick and deep breath, she dunks under the water. The rocky floor below slopes down several heads deeper than Asami can reach. At this depth, the water is a little darker, noticeably colder.
Before she can follow the water deeper, Asami's feet tap her head playfully. Korra clenches down on her air, fighting a grin. She snatches a bare ankle and gently pushes it out of the way. Asami's skin there is so soft. Flawless.
Closing her eyes, concentrating, Korra slowly blows some of her stored air out into the water. Bubbles rupture out. A flash of heat spreads out from her breath.
The rest of her air escapes in a tumult of bubbles as she surfaces. Asami's laughter rings out around her. They gently kick to remain afloat, nearing each other's space.
"Better?" Korra asks, shoving hair out of her face.
Asami nods, running a handful of warm water over her bare shoulders. She studies Korra's face. "What do they mean?" she asks, tracing her own cheeks where Korra's etched line tattoos would be.
"It's a tradition of our elders. Marking our passage into adulthood. It also shows respect for my ancestors. Though I can't feel them, I hope that they know I think of them often."
"That's a lovely sentiment," Asami smiles. She reaches out a hand, but hesitates. "May I?"
Korra cuts the distance between them, nodding.
The warmth of the pool has left her skin sensitive. Korra's eyes drift closed. A shiver runs through her as Asami gingerly touches her face. The girl's fingertips drift along Korra's tattoos. Tracing the individual dashed lines across her cheeks. She brushes hair away and finds the symbol etched into Korra's forehead. A familiar arrow.
"And this one?" Asami asks. "I can't imagine it's traditional."
Korra opens her eyes to find a knowing smile shining at her. The question focuses her. "Tenzin wouldn't tell me what his arrows meant, but they were clearly powerful to him. So I had it done in town."
"He must not have been very happy with you."
"He was furious," Korra chuckles. "He wasn't the only one. I got an earful."
Asami laughs along with her. "What did they say?"
"Oh, I couldn't say," she teases. "It would upset your gentle sensibilities."
Still brushing back strands of Korra's bangs, Asami finds her eyes. "What if I wanted you to?"
Korra feels the warm rise up her cheeks. She swims back an inch or less before bumping the rock's edge.
Asami's smirk broadens. "For a trained killer," she says gently, "you have the loveliest blush."
Korra lowers Asami's hand from her face. "You're making fun of me."
"No, not at all." Asami swims closer. Their legs brush against each other. "I'm wooing you, in point of fact."
The warmth of the water masks their body heat from each other. Korra can feel only pressure. The silk of her skin.
A faint smile graces Korra's lips. "Is that so?"
Asami nods, and leans in closer. Their breath mingles. "Rather successfully…"
Thank you for reading! You can find a bunch of background, character designs, and images for this Korra x Assassins Creed AU by searching for "tumblr darling gypsum 130824916777"
Reviews are appreciated!