Chapter 27

A new approach

Korra struggled to open her eyes. If she had any dreams, she didn't remember them. While her sleep had been uneventful, it hadn't quite cured her exhaustion. Lessened, yes, but it still lingered in the cracks and crevices of her body. A small amount of sun shone down on her face through the slip in the curtains. She forced her crusty lids apart and yawned as she rolled onto her back. After a quick stretch, she pushed her groggy torso upright. Her hands rubbed her face to help her wake. With another extension of her legs, she was out of the bed. Korra meandered over to the window and peeked outside. There wasn't a single storm cloud in the sky, though the snow had piled up a few feet. The scent of something fresh filled her nose. Her stomach grumbled. She abandoned the circular pane and followed the aroma in a half-asleep state.

"Good morning, Korra." Katara greeted her from the small table in the kitchen. She had a cup of tea between her palms and a gentle grin on her face.

Korra smiled back and sat across from her. She folded her hands on the top and stifled another yawn.

"How are you feeling?"

She shook her head and stared at her fingers. She noticed the knuckles on her right hand were no longer bruised thanks to the healing last night. "Not all that great. I slept alright, but I'm still tired. And I still feel… weird, inside."

"Tell me about it."

"Well," she locked onto Katara's eyes, "it almost feels like something is buzzing. Buzzing and swirling and it's all just…" She looked away. "Confusing." That wasn't the word she wanted to use. If anything, she felt broken inside, just like that glass from her dreams. Korra grimaced to the small amount of pain that leaked into her mind.

"Kya and I did pick up quite a bit of energy fluctuation inside of you. More than quite a bit, to be honest."

She returned her focus to Katara's face. "What kind of fluctuations?"

"All sorts of them. There were eddies and shocks and tangles. There's a lot of turmoil within you, isn't there?"

Korra fiddled with her thumbs. "It certainly feels like it."

"There's more than that." Katara reached over and held the back of Korra's hands. She closed her eyes and focused, as if she were reading Korra's insides. "Something has thrown your chi off. A lot of things, actually. It's never been so hard for me and Kya to reach out and try to grab someone's energy before."

She pulled her hands away and held her elbows, shrinking into the chair. "What am I supposed to do, Master Katara? I've tried to piece everything together, but the images keep slipping away from me. You two are the greatest Healers in the world. And if you can't help me…" She turned her head and gazed at the floor, sorrow in her voice. "What am I going to do? How am I going to get better?"

Katara examined the woman before her. "Perhaps we've been taking the wrong path to all of this. We need a new approach."

This got Korra's attention. She met the blue irises with a hint of excitement in her own. "You have an idea?"

"I always have ideas, Korra. Some of them, I'll need time to mull over. But for now, this is what I want you to do." Katara rose from her seat and Bent a mug full of tea. She brought the steaming cup over to her guest and placed it in her hands. "First, drink some of this. It will help you relax."

She raised an eyebrow and glanced into the liquid. Korra lifted it up to her nose to take in its aroma. "Is this special tea? Will it help me get better?" She squinted at the fluid, observing its mostly-clear color with suspicion.

Katara chuckled. "No, no, it's just a simple herbal tea. Nothing exotic."

Korra frowned for a split second before chugging the hot beverage. "What now?"

"Now, I get you a second cup, and you take your time drinking it." She Bent more tea into the mug. "Like I said, it's not some sort of healing elixir. It's just tea."

"Right. Just tea. Got it." She took a sip and closed her eyes. "Why is it making me feel better, though?"

"Because it's taking your mind off of things instead of forcing you to focus on them."

She raised her brow in confusion. "I don't think I follow."

"Korra, when was the last time you did something fun?"

"Something fun?" She set her mug down and crossed her arms, her face scrunched in thought.

Well, hanging out with Asami was fun. Then she went home, and things got…

Lonely?

Lonely. Yeah.

She frowned inside.

Then I got the letters. That wasn't very fun.

Then you ran away.

Then I ran away.

She let out an internal sigh.

I got food with Yezi. Met Ahyoka. Got attacked by the Triple Threats…

She scanned her memories, trying to find a good moment.

Then…

Fuzzy.

Then all that stuff happened.

She recalled her journey to and through the Fire Nation to the best of her ability. Korra refused to think of anything that would cause her additional mental pain and let the bleary images flow into her sight. Her time spent at Air Temple Island fluttered into her focus. While there were some smiling moments, none of them felt particularly fun or relaxing. It wasn't until she left the Island that she felt her first bit of real joy.

"Flying on Oogi was pretty exciting," she murmured to herself, lost in her thoughts.

"You took a ride on Oogi?" Katara pulled Korra from her contemplation. "How did you come about doing that?"

Korra froze, a hint of embarrassment in her expression. "I – uh – went to Air Temple Island. It wasn't too long ago."

"That must be why Tenzin didn't mention it in his last letter." She sat back in her chair and smiled. "How did you like your first ride on a sky bison?"

"It was amazing. One of the coolest things I've ever done."

Something tugged at her. A brief image from her dream in the storm came to mind, as if riding on Oogi wasn't actually her first time she rode a bison.

That wasn't real riding, though. It was just a dream.

"Have you done anything fun between then and now?"

Korra finished her mug of tea and concentrated. "Being with Naga. That made me happy again. And spending time with Asami." She muttered with a somewhat-absent mind. Her cheeks reddened when she thought of the engineer. It forced her to look away.

"Asami, huh?" Katara smiled, an eyebrow raised, as she sipped her tea.

Korra caught her tone and when she caught her face, her blush worsened. "We're just friends."

"I never said you weren't." She set her mug down and Bent more tea into both of their cups from her chair.

"'Cause we aren't friends – no, we're friends, we just – aren't more than – friends. Just… friends…" She wanted to throw herself into the ocean out of mortification.

"Tell me about her."

Korra's tongue got stuck in her throat. "I – uh – well… You have the letter I sent my dad, I'm sure you know plenty about her."

"I didn't read your entire letter out of respect for your privacy."

Dammit, Master Katara, why are you so considerate?

"Well, um – she's…" Her face was burning. She tried to drink some tea but only choked on it.

"It's pretty obvious that you have feelings for her."

"I – what? What? No, no I – I don't – she's – we –"

"Korra, you're not doing yourself any favors by denying it."

"I –" She sighed and lowered her head. "You're right." She took another sip and opened up. "It's weird, Master Katara. I – I know I've been feeling something for her for a while now. And everything was fine. I was fine, we were fine… But ever since we've been apart I've – I've missed her. A lot. And now that we're together again, it's like I can't even talk straight or look at her without blushing and turning into a complete fool." Korra threw her hands up in frustration and crossed her arms afterwards into a slouching pout.

"Sometimes, when people are separated, it gives them a chance to miss each other. It's then that we start to realize just how much we love them."

"Did you ever feel that way with Master Aang?"

"Absolutely. There were times when he would be in Republic City and I would be here with the kids and really just start to miss him. I missed the adventures we would go on, missed being by his side to solve the world's problems." She looked away from Korra and stared out the window. Her hand wandered up to the blue-carved charm around her neck. She traced the pattern with her fingers as she had done a thousand times in the past. "I suppose it's better to be grateful for those times when you're apart and you know that they'll return, because there will come a time in your life, Korra, where people stop coming back."

Korra frowned and reached out to Katara's free hand. She clasped it.

Katara met her oceans, surprised at the amount of warmth radiating from Korra's skin. "I'm glad you're here, Korra. And that you're alive."

She smiled. It was a gentle grin, not unlike the one Katara had greeted her with this morning. "Me, too."

Katara took another sip of her tea, freeing herself from Korra's grip. "Now, tell me about Asami. I have yet to meet her."

"Asami? She's –" She couldn't even think of one word to describe the engineer; a hundred different adjectives flew through her mind, all fitting the woman in some way, shape, or form. "She's amazing. She's smart, strong, creative, funny, generous, beautiful… she's absolutely perfect. Or, at least, she is to me. We've had our bad times together, and we each have flaws, but every time I'm with her, I just feel… better." Korra looked away, a stupid grin and a stinging blush on her cheeks. "She brings out the best in me. Sometimes, I can't stop thinking about her." She put her elbows on the table and held her head. "I've never felt like this about anyone before. It's so confusing at times." She sighed, unable to stop the burning on her face.

"Did you meet her at the University?"

She nodded. "She was in my chemistry class with me. And she was my lab partner."

"And it turned into so much more, didn't it?"

"Yeah." Korra smirked and met her eyes. "It did."

"Then I think Asami is exactly what you need right now."

The blush faded into a confused expression. "What do you mean?"

"All this time, you've been dealing with these bad things, non-stop. I think you need to take a break."

"Take a break? How do I take a break from something inside my head?"

"I never said it would be easy, now. But I think you need a good distraction, just for a little while."

Korra raised her eyebrow. "So I should just run away from my problems?"

"I'm not saying 'run away'. I'm saying do something else for now. Something refreshing to rejuvenate your mind and to help you sleep better at night. The more relaxed and recovered you become, the easier it will be to deal with everything that's going on inside of you. It might even calm your chi enough for me and Kya to help ease it."

"Clear my mind by spending time with Asami."

"Exactly."

She finished the tea in her mug and set it on the table. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt. I could show her around the village. Who knows how long she'll be staying here."

"I bet she would like that very much."

Korra grinned and rose from her seat. "Thank-you, Master Katara. I – I really appreciate it. And, well, everything."

Katara stood and walked to Korra's side. "Of course. Anything to help. But please do come see me again, once you've rested and relaxed a bit."

"I will." She turned to leave but stopped herself. "Hey – um, Master Katara, can I ask you another question?" She faced the elder with a bit of hesitation. "Is – is the fact that I like Asami – weird? You know, because, like… well, I'm a girl and she's a girl? Like, are you okay with that?"

She chuckled. "Korra, it shouldn't matter what I or anyone else thinks about who you love. Besides, my brother dated the woman who became the moon. You're going to have to do a lot more than that to shock me."

Korra laughed, though the nervousness didn't recede.

Katara held Korra's cheeks in her palms. "I don't think it's weird at all that you like Asami. She sounds like a wonderful person. I fully support you, Korra. Both of you."

She beamed, relief running through her veins. "Thank-you, Master Katara." She pulled Katara into an excited hug. "I'm going to go see her right now," she exclaimed as she departed. Korra spun on her heel, waving behind her as she dashed. She ducked under Kya – whom she almost crashed into – and threw a 'sorry' over her shoulder before bolting out of the front entrance.

Kya eyed her mother with a raised brow. She put her hands on her hips and spoke in a playful tone. "What was that all about?"

Katara smiled and stared at the path that Korra had taken through her home. "Oh, nothing." She walked to the sink and cleaned the mugs, the smirk never leaving her face.

(-)