Note: I didn't abandon you readers! I had to take a break from writing this because sometimes you need to be rejuvenated by writing other things. So for the other weeks, I just wrote other shorter Amorra fanfics. It was a great time. Anyway, so if you're reading this and finding my characterizations to be off, I suspect it's because I took time off from writing this fic and because I characterized Korra and Noatak/Amon much differently in those fics. But yay for updates!
"Are you ready?" Noatak said.
"Of course I'm ready," Korra said.
"You don't look ready. Do you have your mask?" Noatak said.
"I do. I do. Do you have your mask hoodie thingie?" Korra said.
"Of course I have my hood. I'm always ready," Noatak said.
Noatak pulled the black hood over his face and snuck into the alleyway. Korra placed her mask over her face and followed Noatak. After the violence in the district subsided, Korra and Noatak decided it would be a good idea to revisit the building they had stumbled upon those weeks before.
Tonight's full moon shone bright above the two of them. They were going to have to be more careful tonight then they were the other night. Korra thought of suggesting that they just walk the roofs to take their chances, but Noatak was leery. He asked Korra about her plans before they went out. He would run the scenarios in his head several times before agreeing to any parts of the plans. Korra liked to imagine that this was how he ran things with the Equalists- highly organized and flawlessly executed. She noticed a change in his schedule as they neared the chosen date of their outing. He installed an iron rod in the door way of his bedroom where Korra saw him do pull ups early in the morning prior to him going to work. He made time to spar with Korra and almost always beat her. Though he had always been rather fit because of his job, he gained back most of the muscle he lost after his Equalist hey day. Even at 43, people would say he was a prime male specimen at the height of his physical and mental game. Their sex became fiery and animalistic. Noatak dominated Korra's body, and Korra loved his strength and how incredibly passionate each of their love making sessions became. She thought about being worried, but when she asked Ingyu about his behavior, he shrugged and said that it sounded like the Noatak he knew.
They passed by the building where they had previously run into the Black Squalls. The building looked skeletal without the lights and noise. Noatak stared at the building before looking at Korra.
"There's no one in there," Korra said.
Noatak nodded and grabbed the set of lock picks from his jacket. He took one of the picks and started to wiggle the pick into the lock. He grabbed another pick and inserted it into the lock and continued to work on the lock. In a manner of minutes, Noatak had the lock picked. He shook his head and grabbed Korra by the shoulders.
"I'm going in first. Don't go after me until I signal for you. I'm worried about what's inside," Noatak said.
"Oh no. I'm going in there with you," Korra said.
"Okay… Just follow me. Don't do anything rash," Noatak said.
Noatak went in first. He resented the fact that he had removed Korra's bending because he certainly could have used some fire to see. Instead, they walked in pure darkness across squeaking floorboards. Korra felt around until she found a book of matches. She struck the match and tried to look around for something. She saw the gas fixture next to a fireplace. Right as she touched the lamp, Noatak blew the match out and took her hand off the lamp.
"Wait…" Noatak said.
The building was empty from the bottom on up. Korra began to worry that they had made a mistake in going out that night. That there was nothing, and that all of her worries were unfounded- as if paranoia had crept into her soul and controlled her body. When they walked into one of the upstairs bedrooms, Korra felt betrayed by her intuition. Noatak seemed unfazed by it all. He continued to look up and down and search every space. He stared at the floorboards of the rooms that they were in and smirked to him self. The burns on the floor seemed to be missed by Korra, but he was more familiar with them than he wanted to be. Everything about the place seemed obvious to him from the frayed curtains, the faded brocade comforters, and worn damask wallpaper.
"Do you ever wonder if there were ever prostitutes in here?" Noatak said.
"What kind of question is that?" Korra said.
"We're in a bordello or rather what used to be a bordello," Noatak said.
"How would you know?" Korra asked.
"Sometimes I got really lonely… and sometimes the Lieutenant wasn't enough," Noatak said.
"Oh… sorry for asking," Korra said.
"This is certainly the Black Squall's. Judging by the scorch marks on the floorboards. They tell me that this place was used but not recently," Noatak said.
"If this used to be a Black Squall hideout, then what were those people doing in here before?" Korra asked.
Noatak shrugged. Korra tapped her forehead and then snapped her fingers.
"Do you think… that maybe some members of the Black Squall are working outside of the gang but maybe… with some of the politicians," Korra said.
"If they are, there certainly would be reason to not want to be seen… especially if you were seen cheating the boss out," Noatak said.
"And if you're a politician, you wouldn't exactly want to be seen with a member of the Black Squall, but you might be comfortable working outside the confines of the Black Squall," Korra said.
Korra sat down on the floor and hit head against the old wallpapered walls. They were no further than they were before they got here. As she turned to stare at the floors again, she saw an odd slice of white in between the wood trim- a note. She tried to pry the wood with her fingernails, but the paper was definitely wedged well into the trim.
"Hey Noatak, do you have a knife with you?" Korra said.
"Of course," Noatak said.
Noatak grabbed the sheathed blade at his waist and handed it to Korra. She took the blade and inserted it between trim and walls.
"You're wrecking the blade," Noatak said.
"You aren't curious as to what is behind here? It has to be interesting if they hid it like this," Korra said.
"I didn't say I wasn't curious. I'm telling you that you will owe me a new knife," Noatak said.
Korra pried the trim apart and snuck her fingers in between to catch the paper. She grabbed the paper and unfolded it. Korra stared at the strange scribbling on the paper before shrugging and tossing the note to the floor.
"It's nothing… Just weird scribbles," Korra said.
Noatak took the paper and smoothed it. He read the writing and looked at Korra.
"Iluq could read this. I bet," Noatak said.
"Are you trying to say I'm stupid? Because you will pay for that," Korra said.
"No. What I'm saying is that this note is written in a really ancient Water Tribe alphabet. I can only make out a couple of the letters… It's probably written in code anyway… So I don't know," Noatak said.
"Why would you say Iluq knows it?" Korra said.
"Because the only people that know this are either royal or steeped in academia. Show this to Iluq. She might be able to help us," Noatak said.
"They taught me ancient Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom in the compound. I can cite Love Amongst Dragons in its original form… maybe they should have taught me ancient Water Tribe," Korra said.
"There are very little text on waterbending in ancient Water Tribe, but there hundreds and possibly thousands of texts on the other bending forms in their native language. Our people relied on oral tradition… By the way, you will have to entertain me in bed with your rendition of Love Amongst Dragons. I hear it is beautiful in its original form," Noatak said.
"Only if you're lucky… Let's get out of this place. It gives me the creeps," Korra said.
Noatak put the note in his jacket and took Korra's hand in his. They walked downstairs and entered the parlor. The breeze from outside pervaded the building. Noatak shoved Korra to the wall under the stairwell. Her heartbeat thudded rapidly throughout Noatak's body- too much for him to hear any other person's heartbeat. He probably didn't need bloodbending though. He could smell and hear the person that entered into the building. They walked quietly and stalked about the parlor. The glimmer of a blade shone in the moonlight that streamed from outside. Korra almost bit through her lips trying to keep quiet. She felt a hot tear roll down her cheek as she gripped tightly onto Noatak.
"You're gonna have to work harder if you're going to hide from a bloodbender," the man said.
Korra flew from the grip of Noatak and into the air contorted. She cried and screamed that cut through stale air of the brothel. The man took his knife and poked at the fabric of Korra's suit.
"What's a pretty girl like you doing in a place like this? If you don't answer, I guess I can see how long it will take your man to," he said.
Noatak came out from the shadows and gripped at the knife.
"You can tell me the same," Noatak said.
Korra coughed as the man continued to torture her. Noatak weaved between them to try and stab him. Distracted, the man dropped Korra from his bloodbending grip and concentrated his efforts on Noatak. He straightened Noatak's back and cracked the ribs. He dangled Noatak in the air and smirked.
"Stop!" Korra said.
Korra ran up to man and went to jab him in the arm. He dropped Noatak and immediately placed Korra into a chokehold. Korra grabbed for her neck to try and pry his fingers off of her. Noatak felt the surge in his body as he came to his feet. That long feeling of blood rushed along his. He let the moon guide his motions. His eyes widen as he pulled up the man and slammed him to the ground. Noatak put his foot on the man's back and grounded his weight in between the shoulder blades. The man groaned as Noatak gripped his head and slammed it to the floor. Noatak's fingers swept across the man's forehead. The temptation was there. He already felt the power of bloodbending that night, but that power was a different sensation altogether from this moment. Noatak eased his fingers from the man's forehead and held the crown of his head while Noatak pulled his wrist out from underneath him. He touched the black ink on the man's skin.
"You were there…" Noatak said.
Noatak turned around to Korra. Korra nodded and promptly chi blocked the man. She stood far back and looked at Noatak. This was more familiar to her than she wanted it to be.
"What is your name?" Noatak said.
The man spat at the floor. Noatak stomped on his back and placed his fingers between the joints of the man's hands, slowly separating and causing the man to cry in pain.
"Let's try this again. Your name?" Noatak said.
"Mumik," he said.
"Good… So why does one go to an abandoned Black Squall hideout?" Noatak asked.
"Fuck you," Mumik said.
Noatak went back to placing the pressure in Mumik's joints.
"Heh… what makes you think this is about the Black Squall?" Mumik said.
"Well, Tui and La do not grace the wrists of all Black Squall members…" Noatak said.
"The rise of the snow squall will crush the republic," Mumik said.
Mumik, with all of his strength, pushed off Noatak and ran. Noatak and Korra chased after him down the alley until they were face to face in the moonlight. Mumik laughed as he pulled out his knife. Noatak readied himself in a bending stance, but Mumik drew the knife close.
"It has been a pleasure," Mumik said.
Mumik smiled. It was the kind of smile that knew too much for its own good. He placed the knife at his throat and glided it slowly across. Korra cried and buried her face into Noatak's chest. The blood drained from Mumik's body and melded with the street.
Noatak carried Korra home. She cried and shied away from Noatak. In bed, he held her tight to his chest. She didn't look at him. Instead, the image of Mumik blurred her mind, and she felt the tiniest seed of regret planted inside her heart. The fight of whether or not she was wrong about the man she fell in love with stayed in her thoughts. She shut her eyes tight and thought about it. I would have died if he hadn't bloodbent. He had to because he loves me. He loves me. He loves me. He loves...