A/N: Hello! Back again after a week and a little bit... I think. Keeping track has never been a strength of mine. I can't believe that last update I completely fogot about the promised party for the 50th review of Events Unexpected. As I do not actually know any of you dear readers... at least, I don't think I do... we must be a bit eccentric about it. So, bring your favorite food and drink whenever you read this, and treat yourself! Then, imagine all of the rest of the wonderful people out there reading this, and picture them enjoying their favorite dish or dessert or whatever! Yes, yes! And therefore we have one massive party spanning the globe... sounds awesome doesn't it? Well, if anything, at least you now get to enjoy something good while reading something, hopefully, equally as good. I was a bit bummed to see that no one gave feedback for the previous chapter, but I didn't throw a party so I guess we can call it even. That means no excuses this time though,so click that little button and send me a message. It can be full of insults and degredations for all I care, just as long as it is something. Smiley faces, frowny faces, drunken faces, all acceptable as well. And now I have wasted enough of your time. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: If I owned Legend of Korra then I would probably make the Fire Nation the supreme Empire of the World! As I do not, it stays on its little island at the corner of the map, all lonely and little... and alone.
Previously on Events Unexpected…
Tunnels ran all along the base, providing swift methods of reaching a problem area were there ever to be a need. The passages were constructed in such a way as to not weaken the foundation of the trunk of stone holding up the bustling metropolis, but were also large enough to comfortably fit the men who would be sliding through them at a moment's notice. It was through those tunnels that Korra and a small garrison of troops moved into at the day of their counter-invasion.
"Is that old arena, the one in which Avatar Aang faced his trials under Bumi, still under repair?" the sand on the floor would make for a hazy visibility, or so she hoped, for the Beifong woman. It was not perfect, but it would have to do. In a city made of the natural element of her adversaries, Kaji had small choice in the matter.
"I believe it to be finished," Izuru replied, puzzlement in her voice.
"We face them there."
"Where is she?" Korra growled at the figure clothed in evergreen robes woven with gold embroidery.
Kaji's hands began to circle in the concentric arcs that would bring forth her ultimate weapon, the fire so pure that it could tear apart the very atoms within the air into their various protons and electrons before they gradually regained their original, stable forms once more. The purple lightening danced along her arms and coalesced at the apex of her pointer and middle fingers; the very muscles beneath the skin tightened with the shocks coursing through the cells and tissues. But it did not come. Kaji's eyes widened in disbelief as her hand shot out and the sparks fizzled out on the tips of her fingers. She quickly, almost sloppily, repeated the motions, only to come to the same conclusion. Her lightening died before it could even come into existence outside of her body.
The white bone carved in the form of Water Tribe waves was resting delicately in Kaji's open palm.
"NO!"
Koh, she thought with dismay. He cannot have her. He will not have her. Kaji is mine! And then there was a burst of sultry, yellowish light and Korra knew no more.
Korra's head felt like an ostrich-horse had trampled all over it. Something sticky was holding her hair flush against her forehead and the sweltering heat beating down upon her body was not helping matters in the least. She tried to move a hand to cover her reddened face, but all she managed was a twitch from her left index finger. That too soon became unbearably exerting and she felt the digit fall back against the grainy surface she was currently sprawled over. From under her eyelids, her eyes perceived an angry vision of red, marking that the sun was currently sheathing her in its unwelcome heat. She wondered briefly how she had ended up outside when she could have sworn that she had been inside… where had she been? Her mind raced in circles, trying to discern anything past her name and the fact that it was blistering hot!
After another, she could not really think of a suitable time increment as she had no indication of its passage, Korra was able to laboriously sweep her tongue over her parched lips, tasting salt and brine as though she had been drinking sea water. Cracks along her skin were tinged in dried metallic blood and stung slightly with each flicker of movement. Korra swallowed the lump in her throat, hating the sensation of dust or sand scraping along her esophagus as peristalsis sent the little particles to her stomach.
Hot, the word repeated in endless loops in her cerebrum, bouncing and echoing from the walls of her skull and swimming through the cerebral fluids coursing in and out of the cortex. The pounding near her temples had subsided to a rhythmic throb, sending her in and out of a lull. Korra could not think to call it sleep as she felt quite awake, despite having yet mustered the inner strength and willpower to open her eyes.
Hot. Would it end any time soon? She really needed a drink, something liquid. Water would be preferable. Master Katara's pouch has water. She was with me, I think. It was inexplicable how she knew that the waterbender had been in the general vicinity as Korra still hadn't the smallest inkling as to where she was or how she had gotten wherever 'here' was, but it was almost innate; the thought of Katara's presence scratching at her memory, goading it in some direction, perhaps to unlock the enigma.
There had been something rancid and a futon. Korra wondered at the randomness with which the items came to mind. Had the futon been rancid? No, the futon had been warm and soft and smelled of cinnamon and spice, just like the person who had undoubtedly lounged in it before it had been converted into a makeshift hospital stretcher. She had been wrapped in gauze because… because… Korra growled inwardly, her vocal chords feeling ashen and unusable. It was like piecing together a giant puzzle with over half of the pieces facing down. Korra had to turn over each one in turn before making any connections.
Before long, she felt that she was well enough to make another attempt at moving something. Her entire hand was able to strain itself aloft for three intakes of breath before flopping down. Korra's joints felt arthritic, weak and disintegrating. Still, she figured that, if she was able to pull that off, her eyelids could not pose much more of a challenge.
The first thing she saw was the mesh of her knitted eyelashes. Dirt caked them, making them stick to each other and lessening the amount of light filtering through. Gritting her teeth, Korra broke through the light crust of sand and squinted into the pale yellow that infiltrated her retina. There seemed to be light coming from every direction all at once, bathing her, baking her until her skin felt like some overcooked chicken-pig. She opened them wider, gradually, easing into seeing color after quite a long time in darkness.
A gust of oppressively warm air caressed her face, rummaging her unruly brown locks, swatting the hair strands over Korra's face and tickling her nose until she could no longer hold in the sneeze. The violent upheaval of her diaphragm jolted her entire being, acting like an electrical current surging along her nerves to excite her dormant heart. Mind in overdrive, Korra crunched her abdominal muscles and shot into a sitting position. Her eyes flickered back and forth, but she could hardly see anything beyond the stretch of her arm. The rest had been lost within a vortex of shifting sand and billowing torrential winds. Finding her voice, the Avatar called out into the streaming gale; she held no words on her tongue, just primal calls, searching for an indication, a proof of still being alive. Her voice cried out until she was raw and her throat was clogged up with the aerial sands of the desert floor. Her hands clawed at the miniscule rocks underneath her until blood dripped from her palms and she pulled them back, shaking, into her lap. All the while, only one question loomed in her mind: Had Koh taken them? Then, soon after: Them? Who else had she been thinking of?
Something cold grabbed a hold of her collar from behind. With superhuman strength, she was lurched onto her feet and swiftly pulled backwards into the swirling mists of dune and dust. Her feet, still too unable to support her weight, caved in beneath her and, with a conjoined yelp from Korra and her unknown companion, she tumbled down with the other person.
Low to the ground, the sounds of howling wind and the maddening rush of air and earth were gone, replaced by silence and stillness as if they had never been in existence. The light filtered in from everywhere and nowhere at the same time, basking Korra in heat and eradicating any form of shadow or darkness. Tears, unbidden, came to her eyes. The light stung, penetrating painfully into her optic nerve and scorching her rods to nothing. The cool grip was back then, pulling her up, stumbling on hands and feet; up and out of the bone-dry landscape and back into the winds and suffocating storm. She blindly followed, finally able to overcome the sickness within her body that had kept her from complete locomotion.
Once or twice, Korra could have sworn that her companion had attempted to call out to her, but the words were lost in the thrum of the gravel and dirt. All she could see of the stranger was an indigo clothed hand gripping her left forearm and tugging it into the murky dimness created by the sandstorm's billows. As such, the Avatar was uncertain as to whether she was truly hearing a spoken word, or if it was all simply the howling winds rushing in and out of her ears.
One foot in front of the other, by the tenth time Korra repeated the phrase to herself she had turned it into a sort of sing-song lyric. Her eyes drifted shut, trusting in her phantom guide to show her the way out of this. The memory fragments still flickering behind her lids told her that she was in the Spirit World, or somewhere connected to it in some way. She remembered the white bone necklace but couldn't seem to connect it to its importance. There was also something else nagging at her, holding her a captive in her head; she was supposed to be remembering something, or someone.
One foot in front of the oth- she was ungraciously dumped onto a hard stone floor. The roaring had dulled to a faint hum and Korra could no longer feel the barrage of earth scraping against her face and the exposed skin of her arms and legs. A groan sounded from somewhere beside her, but she refused to open her eyes and acknowledge it. She held the lids shut tight, waiting for some kind of command, a set of directions, specifying what she should do next.
"Korra," a gentle voice drifted over to her. It was male, but light; not gruff like some of the baritones she had heard from her father or teachers. "Korra, open your eyes. Korra."
Her cerulean irises constricted, opening up her pupils to the darkness encompassing her. About four-fifths of the space around her was complete blackness with only the occasional dark grey outline. A beam of grey illumination filtered in through a half-circle opening to her right. Outside, she could see the sandstorm raging in all of its fury. Further inspection did nothing to reveal the bodiless voice that came with her awakening. It was only obsidian and granite.
"Where- " a small crack in her lips broke apart further with the enunciation and she could feel the light trickle of blood run down her chin before she quickly wiped it away. Moving her hand up so that it was only a few inches away from her nose, she gasped at its transparent cobalt nature. The tank top and pants she had on were also quite ethereal, holding no consistency whatsoever, against the rock below. Korra shook her head, wondering why, of all the times she set foot in the Spirit World with normal coloration and solidity, she had become a veritable ghost now. The metallic liquid smudged on the back of her hand resembled something closer to ectoplasm than actual blood.
A shift beside her, nothing more than a quiet rustle of clothing and skin against stone, alerted her to the presence of another within her small sanctuary. Korra's eyes, having gradually adjusted to the dank little space, found the source of the commotion to be a huddled figure lying to her right. The silhouette groaned, louder than before, and rolled over until a lazy hand wrapped itself around Korra's outstretched legs. The heat coming from the figure was enough to boil water, causing the unfortunate Avatar to spring back with a yelp. Nursing her scalded skin, she marveled at how quickly the kinetic energy had saturated through her clothing. Ghost clothing simply did not act as a good insulator apparently.
The figure had picked itself off of the floor and commenced to rub its head, possibly nursing an injury attained at some point during Korra's frantic display. Korra briefly pondered on the obvious phenomenon that was the shaded figure. If it had been another spirit, then it would have been outlined in the same glow that had overtaken her body. Instead, it was sheathed in shadows, even its clothing remained cloaked from her curious eyes.
"Who are you?" she managed to say after a few colorful words came spilling out of the hidden mouth of her companion.
"Huh?" the whiplash from turning so quickly staggered the figure ever so slightly. A hand came to rest upon the person's brow as if trying to ward off a headache. "Korra?"
"Kaji?" Korra gasped. She reached out, tugging at the wrappings that hid the girl's body. The scraps of cloth fell away, revealing the signature black, silky hair and glistening golden eyes that were most assuredly Kaji. The memories came swirling back in a deluge at the familiar sight of the firebender. Omashu, Izuru Kain, the fight, the k-k-kiss, and the necklace; each little thing fell into place with the fluidity of water. Kaji's lips quirked into a smile before she threw herself on top of a startled Avatar. Korra's skin shrunk away from the intensity of sweltering fire that enveloped her body along with the firebender. Reflectively, she drew both hands between herself and the other girl, flinching as her palms burst into blisters, and forcibly pried her from her body. Scooting away, she couldn't help but sigh as her burned hands met the cool surface of the rock face beside her thighs. Looking up, she almost regretted her actions, as her eyes met the hurt-filled ones of the Fire Lord.
"I'm sorry," they said unanimously, blushing at how rushed the words came out.
Kaji slid back until her back hit the opposite wall of the cave, closing her eyes and resting her head against the solid stone behind her. A hand absentmindedly drifted to her side where Korra could see a dark stain spreading over her clothing.
"Kaji?" she started hesitantly, afraid of what the splatter represented. "Are you okay?"
"Hmm," Kaji inquired before following Korra's gaze and finding the area where her hand was resting. "Oh, that. Don't worry. You're past life, Aang, bandaged it up before he left to find you."
"Aang was here?" Korra exclaimed. If the former Avatar had indeed been there, then why had he not stayed? Had someone else fallen into oblivion with them, or had something called him away from them. All Korra knew was that she would have felt immensely better with the elder man around. He could have explained why she was not one of Koh's masks and Kaji was not a Faceless.
"Yeah," Kaji nodded. "And to be honest, I think it was the most awkward few hours of my life. I mean, most of the time I was somewhere between consciousness and a coma, but the times I was coherent enough to actually hold a conversation with the guy… well, let's just say that I enjoy your Avatar cycle more than his."
Korra gaped at the girl, speaking so nonchalantly as though this was a merry little jaunt in the gardens of the Fire Nation Palace instead of a life-or-death situation, in the Spirit World no less. Seemingly unfazed by the incredulity directed at her, Kaji happily continued her analysis of the older monk, "and I sort of had a stupid epiphany… or something of its like… about how, since you two are connected and he was together with the Water Tribe woman, that Katara, then it was almost like I was dating the person she had been married to. I swear, if I hadn't already lost all of the contents of my stomach, I might have hurled after that one… but then I remembered that its only a shared spirit and the person is their own sort of person, so everything was better after that-"
"How long have we been here?" Korra interrupted. She decided to ignore the blatant disrespect toward her past life and her beloved mentor, attributing the uncharacteristic word vomit to the stress on Kaji's body and mind caused by the journey to the stellar plain.
"To be quite honest, I have no idea. The storm hasn't stopped since I came to and the light never seems to dim or brighten in accordance to a time shift," Kaji replied thoughtfully, resting her head in her palm whilst simultaneously propping up the arm with a bent knee. Her silky hair, pulled up in a rather messy ponytail, swished to cascade down a sagging shoulder.
"I see," the news was unwelcome, but not thoroughly unexpected. The Spirit World functioned on different principles than the corporeal one. The transition between night and day was trivial if not completely nonexistent in some areas. And even if they had been able to somehow discern the passage of time in the particular section they occupied, there was no way to know that it was synchronized with the passage of earth or any of the other domains. "Well, I suppose we should start seeing about getting ourselves out of here."
The firebender shook her head in a negative, "Your past reincarnation was good at healing, but he couldn't fix everything."
Korra was about to inquire as to what exactly Kaji was referring to, when the girl pulled back the draping covering her lower body. A grisly strip of dark dried liquid, resembling oil in its distorted hue, spread across a makeshift splint and bandaging like some twisting river; it was clear that the firebender was going to have trouble walking for quite a while yet. Had Korra been able to provide some form of crutch, they might have stood a chance, but with the peculiar increase in temperature exuding from the pale girl's pores, they were veritably stuck in the cavern for the duration of Kaji's recovery.
"Don't worry though, he said that it should be alright in another two weeks or so; something about increased healing in the Spirit World, completely went over my head though. I was always quite content with letting Agni's priests worry about the afterlife while I was busy learning more pertinent techniques," Kaji lightly ran a finger down the expanse of the blotchy cloth.
"And Aang; he just left?" Korra was certain that her mentor would not have simply abandoned them to fend for themselves in the unknown environment.
"Well, he said that he would return with supplies… but that was quite a while ago. I mean, as far as I can tell. The storm hasn't stopped since he brought you. And that was quite a while ago too, though I was still somewhat out of it then."
Korra's mind spun. She had not been unconscious for that long! She could not have been. Her knees had barely hit the ground before the voice had bid her to open her eyes. How then, had Aang taken her to the cave, nursed her back to relative health, and then left, all without her awakening. Again, the randomness of the metaphysical plain was garnering a headache for her.
"…" Kaji looked at the other girl's confused expression. She did not wish to admit it, but she was feeling very unsettled by how events were progressing. She had no inkling as to how to react to being dragged through some portal by a betrothal necklace that had been in Korra's pocket. The other girl had seemingly not wanted her to touch it… which led her to conclude that Korra had known information about the pendant's abilities beforehand. That too, was disconcerting. She did not care for being hypocritical and blaming the Avatar for keeping things from her- she had done more than her fair share of deception- but that did not alleviate the crushing force compressing on her heart.
"I wanted to tell you," as though Korra had guessed the firebender's thoughts, she whispered it, almost hoping that, if said quietly, the words would sound more genuine.
"But?"
Korra's sapphire depths shot up, her mouth spewing the words so quickly that they became more of one elongated syllable than an actual phrase, "ThatsnothowImeantit!" Kaji's befuddled face begged for a translation to the sudden outbreak so, abashed, the Tribeswoman repeated, "That isn't how I meant it. I was going to tell you, period. That's why I was at Omashu… not because I wanted to defeat you. I wanted to save you, to keep this from happening, but I was too late. Spirits I was such an idiot to bring that accursed thing."
The Fire Lord pityingly reached out for Korra's hand, drawing concentric circles in the sand that had been blown into the cave, creating a mixture of dank stone and beige dust. The fingers immediately retracted as the firebender's came within proximity of them. Frowning in hurt and confusion, Kaji ceased her advance and moved back. The cave was too small for there to really be any space between them, but she tried her best not to infringe on the strangely distant young girl. What irked the prodigy more than anything was the disparity between the Avatar's behavior before the whole fiasco and the attitude she was displaying now. As far as Kaji was concerned, she could not recall doing anything to piss off the girl… recently. For Agni's sake, Korra had only just woken up a few minutes ago! Kaji could be a pain, she wouldn't deny that, but she couldn't seem to pinpoint what she had done.
Korra curiously observed the blank face of the firebender across from her. It didn't take a vivid imagination to envision the gears turning. It must have been quite the dilemma as it elicited the girl to nibble absentmindedly at her lower lip, almost obsidian in the low lighting. The seventeen year-old grinned to herself, loving how, in the wake of everything, they could find a peaceful moment away from everything.
"Are you upset at me?" it was said aggressively at first, almost irrationally so. Then, catching herself, Kaji added, less menacingly, "Have I said something; done something, to cause you to be angry with me?"
"You mean apart from the entire global war?" Korra teased. It was comical how open Kaji could be at times, her cheeks immediately turning a red to match her nation's flag. Then, puzzled on the cause of the firebender's question, the tan-skinned bender continued, "Why?"
"You won't let me touch you," Kaji's facial veins dilated completely, worsening the color in her cheeks. She hated feeling embarrassed, especially in front of the girl she had seen lying naked beneath her so many times, but the feeling did not go away. "Every time I reach out, you pull back like you're being branded."
It was Korra's turn to give her an incredulous look, "You mean, you don't feel it?"
"Feel what?"
Apparently, the intense discomfort Korra experienced when coming into contact with Kaji was not a shared one. Perhaps the conclusion was a bit delayed as, looking back, it was quite clear that the firebender had not been nearly as explosive in her reactions. Sheepishly, Korra tried to find the best way with which to tell the overreacting firebender that she was fried alive each time they so much as brushed fingertips. Anything less than subtle would probably send Kaji into a guilt-infused tirade.
"W-well, e-every time we, umm, sort of, have any sort of skin or clothing contact… w-well… you sort of… get hot," Korra wanted to smack herself. That was horrible. If anything it left the poor Royal even more perplexed.
"I… am… not quite sure what you mean," Kaji attempted to discern whatever hidden meaning Korra was trying to convey to her, but the descriptions were not much of a help. She got 'hot.' As in, warmer? Or was it… something underlying sexu-
"I mean, like, temperature!" Korra peeped, noticing the golden eyes start to trail down her body and then assess the body in possession of them.
"Oh," Kaji sighed. That, at least, was far less shameful. "Wait, how hot, exactly?"
The Avatar did not need to say anything. The brief squinting of her eyes and the stiffness with which her shoulders hunched against the wall, as though she were a trapped animal surrounded by flames, spoke volumes. Kaji quickly drew herself up, giving as much space as she could without jostling her injured leg and aggravating the bandages along her side.
"It isn't your fault," Korra quickly interjected, noticing the efforts put in by her companion. She did not want Kaji moving, not in her current state. "You had no way of knowing."
"How is it that you can feel it, but I feel nothing?" Kaji's temper flared. She hated it when she was in a situation in which she held no knowledge. Those were the ones that usually left her less than unscathed.
"I don't know," Korra murmured, "but it doesn't matter. We'll just have to wait it out, like your leg. Then, when you can move well enough on your own, we will start to look for a way out of here."
Optimism, she told herself, putting on a brave smile. Of course, Kaji being a horrible interpreter of mood when it didn't have anything to do with conquest, snorted in disbelief and muttered darkly, "If the bald guy couldn't find his way in and out of this Agni forsaken desert, how in the hell are we supposed to."
She was promptly flicked in the forehead and, while one girl was complaining over her burned fingers, the other verbally assaulted her with insults and cradled her head in a dainty hand. Both glared at each other before bursting into a fit of laughter. It might have been strained at its foundation, but it made them feel better.
"It's going to be a long two weeks," Korra joked.
"Too true," Kaji smirked.
The sleepy Avatar rubbed her eyelids, forming tie-dyed colors against the black background. Stretching her arms up and arching her back felt good within the cramped space she was sharing with the disheveled Fire National still lying dormant in the innermost area of their cave. Korra did not think of herself as a paranoid individual, nor did she think that a little bit of granite rock could hide them were Koh to truly start searching, but it made her feel slightly better for Kaji to remain sheltered from the outside. That along with the motivation caused by two nights (they had eventually made up a system for telling time, even if it was somewhat flawed) of sleeplessness caused by waking up and finding Kaji missing under a large pile of sand and debris- along with the minor heart attacks that came when she first awoke and found that she was, seemingly, alone- and Korra was happy to take the more uncomfortable spot. Honestly, how the other girl managed to not suffocate under her small dune, Korra would never know.
That night, however, Korra was awoken by a different kind of feeling. Her sleep addled senses took longer to focus in on the disturbance than she would have liked, but in the end, she had unearthed the underlying change. It was quiet, too quiet. For the duration of the five days they had been stuck in the cavern, there had always been the constant presence of rushing wind and billowing dust filling the wordless moments with a blanket of white noise. On that night, it was completely gone, taken, snuffed out of existence.
The adolescent propped herself on her arms before swinging over to lie on the side that would allow her visual access to the outside world. What met her eyes was a sight that took her breath away. The landscape was a glistening river of silver tendrils. The sands had quieted, slumbering in dunes that reached the size of mountains laden with long, metallic ribbons that fit perfectly to their forms. The sky above was black as pitch, dotted with more stars than Korra had seen since she left her tiny village home as a child. They were not simply the white, flickering flames of the heavens either; these were of every color, ranging in hue from copper green to rustic orange. Brilliant yellows danced with serene blues while energetic reds twinkled playfully amidst purple dancers. Three moons hung in the jet blanket, two great massive things whilst the third was a miniature comet. All were glistening in the reflected rays of some distant star, who's in particular, Korra could not have known. Moving out of the rags that were her makeshift bed sheets, the Avatar slowly walked out into the open night; and for the first time in what could have easily passed for millennia, Korra could breathe. She had nearly forgotten what sweetness clung to fresh air. Not the clustered, stale breezes that blew hotly into their small cave, parching their throats and drying the beads of sweat against their feverish brows. This was freedom. This was magnificent.
Excitedly, Korra swept into the entrance of the dark outcropping of stone, calling to her firebender. Kaji would surely appreciate the openness just as much as Korra had. Neither of them were true-bred earthbenders, and both could only take so much enclosure. Being careful not to actually touch the blistering skin of the Royal, Korra nudged the sleeping girl with a densely coiled cloak. Grumbling alerted her to the newfound consciousness finding the stubborn dreamer.
"What is it?" Kaji yawned, sitting up slowly so as to not overextend something in her haste.
"The storm stopped. Come out and see," Korra smiled.
"Huh," the words took some time to fully sink in. Then, dulled brass excited into its usual golden fire and the Fire National picked herself up, leaning heavily on the wall of the cave. "Let me see!"
Korra struggled against the instinct to help Kaji as she half stumbled, half walked into the field of shining starlight. The audible gasp was met with an appreciative grin in agreement. Both girls gave each other a warm look, remarking without words at the wonderment of the spectacle.
Laughing Kaji moved her gaze back to the largest moon, sloping down into a dune to her far left. Korra's silhouette was just barely discernible against its white face. The cool streams of air whisked her tussled hair, wiping away the few particles of dirt that had become stuck in the long locks. Not for the first time did the Fire Lord muse over her past actions and wonder as to whether she had made the correct choice. Could it not have been enough to simply have been Fire Lord? Would it not have been enough to let the world alone, to prolong the tentative peace for only a lifetime more? Maybe, she shook her head dispelling the thoughts, but they kept coming, Maybe it might be nice to stay here forever with my Avatar. Kaji blushed at her possessiveness. The question of whether or not Korra still wanted any form of affiliation with the firebender was completely up in the air at the moment. Yes, they had cherished a moment together, but fate seemed keen on keeping them apart. And Kaji found herself questioning her commitments once again. Her tongue swirled over her chapped lips, relishing in the way the cold seemed to stick to them once they were moistened, "This place might actually not be so bad."
Korra glanced over to the outlying dunes. 'Not so bad' she says, came the unbidden thought, as if she has given up. Movement caught her attention, arms reflexively reaching out to steady the falling person, only to fall short as Kaji's bare knees- her pants torn from the continued usage- crashed into the soft granules packed at the front of their sanctuary. The firebender's arms moved out to try and catch her, but the weight was too much and she had an overwhelming feeling of weakness taking over her entire body. Her face hit the ground in a flurry of displaced sand, causing her to have a minor sneeze attack. Pain was running through her frame, coalescing at her calf, right underneath the wrappings that suddenly felt like they were made of tiny needles biting into her flesh. The once cool night felt stifling, horribly hot. A hand reached for anything that she could use to steady herself, or at least use as leverage to flip herself over so that the pressure of her leg against the grainy earth diminished. Nothing offered itself. Kaji's mouth gaped, trying to let out a scream, a mumble even, but all that the action did was gain her a mouthful of sand; more like coals, it was so heated against her tongue.
Beside her, Korra frantically tried to think of something. She had no idea what had happened. Sure, Kaji had not completely recovered from her injuries, but she had been getting stronger with each passing day. Her journey from the cave's interior had been undeniable proof of that… unless she had overexerted herself in the process. Korra felt the waves of guilt wash over her, heart clenching in sudden shame, but she pushed it down. She would have plenty of time to berate herself and her overexcited nearsightedness after she figured out a way to get Kaji back under shelter.
"Stay here," she said, earning an irritated grumble from the face-down firebender. Of course she was going to stay there. It was not as if Kaji was magically going to hop up and do a jig when her leg felt like it was about to snap in two. Sarcasm was soon blotted out by a fresh wave of agony as her weight slid her down the slight downward slope leading up to the entrance of their temporary living quarters, her wound scraping along the dip as gravity pulled her a few inches further.
"Alright," Korra's bodiless voice came from behind her. "This is going to hurt… a lot."
Kaji groaned, but she couldn't possibly imagine it hurting all that much more. That was, until Korra actually caught her by the waist and practically flung her onto the musky, moth-ridden cloak the Avatar had fetched from inside their cave. Kaji's scream was only outdone by Korra's shriek as her arms burst into boils and blisters from the extended contact to the firebender. Neither one of them moved for another hour or so, heaving and trying to grit their way through the abuse they had inflicted upon each other. Nothing really seemed to alleviate any of the oversensitive nervous cells, but the body grows accustomed to a stimulus quickly, and Korra was soon thereafter able to stand up from the sandy hill where she had fallen shortly after dropping the Fire Lord onto her 'blanket.' Grasping at the corners of the material, she grimaced at the prospect of having to pull the thing with the current state of her fingers and palms. The frantic moans coming from her companion gave her the necessary motivation. That, and she was starting to see a domineering cloud spreading out to the right of them. She could not afford getting caught in a dust storm, and neither could Kaji.
Once back inside, Korra quickly flipped the girl over, using all of her willpower to bend a rock so that it gently scooted the prodigy's body onto her back. Her eyes were glazed and her forehead was beading with sweat. Korra knelt beside the leg still clothed in the stained cloth bandages. She held her breath before propping the leg up on a flat rock and unwinding the thing as fast as her fingers allowed for.
The smell was the first thing that hit her, blood and iron mixed with the sickly sweet scent of festering flesh. Yellow puss lined the edges of blackened muscle tissue. The edges were red and inflamed, swelling the calf to twice its normal size. Korra's hand went to her mouth to suppress her gap reflex, leaving her to dry heave into her palms. She frantically searched for any form of water she could find, but there was none. In desperation she tried to absorb some from her mouth, calling it out of her salivary glands, but there was only the bluish energy that ran through her vascular system. Nothing usable. Kaji reached out to her, frantically grasping for something to hold onto, but the fingers soon went limp as the girl's eyes closed and her breathing became shallow. Despairingly, Korra grabbed the slack hand and pressing it against her tear-stained face. It was only after her sobbing had subsided to dry gasps that she noticed that the skin was no longer burning her. In fact, Kaji's body had mostly cooled, the only patch of warmth lying in the small alcove just below her chest where her heart thrummed rhythmically.
"You're going to be alright," Korra chanted, as much for herself as for the comatose firebender next to her. "You are going to be fine."
P.S: I know it is a tad boring and slow, but the entire chapter was spanning to be more than twenty or so pages so I decided to split it into a few chapters. Next chapter should be a little more intense... probably. I realized, halfway through editing, that I spelled 'desert' like'dessert' so forgive me if I missed one. I tried my best to catch them but I am human and I have no idea where my damn glasses went. Alright. Please review! It will make me happy and with CST's and AP's coming up, a little bit of happiness goes an extremely long way. Like, to Neptune long. I like that planet, it is blue. Uhh, what happens when I am a zombie after a long day of cramming and feeling guilty about not cramming. REVIEW! And I will give you infinite love! Or not, if you prefer I don't, platonic is doable.