Korra
A hangover. Great.
It's not a bad one, and I know I'm not going to puke or anything quite so severe. But my head's pounding, and I couldn't be more grateful that we're not shooting today. An actress with a headache is a poor actress indeed.
I stretch out and pull my clothes off, shower myself, clean myself up. Then I sit on the sofa, and check my phone. There's three messages…
"Korra, this guy never runs out of energy… holy shit! - Kuvira"
"Finally, he went to sleep. I'm exhausted. What a night. - Kuvira"
"Korra, have you seen the weather, what the hell?! See you at the shelter, hun. Looks like we're needed today. - Priscilla"
The last one was sent ten minutes ago. I frown, walk to the window and throw open the curtains.
"What the…"
All I can see is white. I check the time on my phone… it's 10:15. I slept in. I should have been at the shelter by now. It'll be rammed if the weather's this bad.
I shove some bread into the toaster and quickly change into a jumper and thick jeans. I pull a wool beanie over my head, stick my winter boots on and throw a few blankets into my backpack. Then I quickly butter my toast and head out with a slice between my teeth.
Fuck, it's cold. The snow's pounding against my face… can't drive in this.
As I try to jog through the thick snow, I feel anxious, wondering how many people might be trapped outside… in this. I hope they've all gone to the shelter…. Especially Raven. I'm lucky that the shelter's only a ten minute walk away, though my movements are sluggish in the snow, so it takes a little longer.
When I get there I throw open the door, and I see exactly what I expected. Too many homeless, not enough help. Still, at least they're indoors, and warm.
Priscilla's here, looks like she's just arrived, too.
"Hey, Priss."
"Hey yourself, honey. Looks like we got a busy day."
"Heh. Yeah." I say, though I'm busy looking around the room, searching for a certain someone.
"You're looking for her, aren't you?" Priscilla asks.
"Yeah… I see our regulars. The others will be by the barrels… but she's a loner."
"She might be in trouble."
The words cause a ball of panic to swell in my chest.
"She probably is."
"Go look for her, I'll hold the fort."
I don't need to be told twice. I nod, tighten my gloves, and head back outside. Now… I just need to think. I've been there… I've been where she is. What would I do? Would I finally relent, give up my pride?
The cold blusters against my face, and it's an obvious answer. Yes, yes I fucking would.
Raven must have looked for shelter. There's a chance she found it, too. But I can't take that chance. Let's say she didn't find it… I close my eyes, thinking back to my time on the street. I'd try a few cars, though they'd probably be locked. I'd look for solace at the oil barrels, though it's hard for a woman to survive there if she wants to be a person, and not an object.
So next… I'd swallow my pride, I'd go to the shelter.
But she isn't in there. And sadly, I think I know why… as much as I'd like to believe that all the people in there are good souls, they aren't. When it's this busy I've had my fair share of bullying, of lust-fuelled pawing. I learnt how to deal with it… but judging by how Raven acts, always getting takeout food, she probably wouldn't deal… she'd flee.
Maybe… she'd finally relented, and decide to call me. It seems like the most logical choice, and from what I've seen, she's smart. Stubborn, but smart.
The nearest phone's right here, in the shelter. But if she'd left here… the next one's a good fifteen minutes' walk, four blocks away, northbound. It's a long shot, but I head in that direction, hoping she knows the streets as well as I do, or hoping that she's tucked away in a car, or in a stranger's bed by a barrel. Anything beats freezing to death, after all.
I stumble, step after step, trying to see something… anything out there in the cold blizzard.
All I find is sheet after sheet of white nothingness. My feet start to go numb.
I'm not a believer in fate, but when the blizzard grinds to a sudden halt, and I see a mound of snow ahead, one hand exposed to the side, I wonder if it might actually exist.
Fate. It's an odd notion….
I rush to her side and place fingers to her neck. There's a pulse, though it's weak.
"Raven… you fucking idiot…" I croak, whilst sweeping a thick layer of snow from her almost-stiff body.
I strip myself, wrapping every warm layer I shed around her instead, and pulling every blanket I own out of my rucksack, cocooning her in layer after layer, and running my palms up and down her back. I'm filled with an indescribable surge of strength, probably adrenaline… I don't give it much thought.
All I know is that I'm hoisting her into my arms, blankets and all, and it's like she's weightless. I run as fast as I can towards the hospital, in nothing but my pants and bra - three blocks further east, but the speed I'm going, we'll be there in no time.
It's only when we get there, and I collapse, that I realise how much I've exerted myself.
"Korra?!" A nurse rushes up, apparently recognising my movie-star face. Fame has its benefits.
"I'm fine… her… help her… now!" I pant.
The nurse nods, and there's a flurry of activity as they haul the unconscious woman onto a stretcher, put her on a drip and replace my blankets with electrically-heated ones. I follow them, in a daze of sorts as they throw a blanket over me and treat Raven, applying heat packs and fluids, then eventually checking her limbs. I hear some nurse mumble about how she's narrowly avoided frostbite, and I smile to myself, praising the lord, if there even is one.
"She's stable… she'll be okay. Do you want to stay with her?" The nurse from earlier asks me, and it takes a few moments for the words to register.
"Uh... yes. Please." I say. The nurse doesn't ask what our relationship is, for which I'm grateful, mainly because I'd have no idea what to say. I nod to her before she leaves the room, and sit myself on the bedside chair, content to watch Raven breathe for a while.
I'm so happy she's alive… and it's weird, but as I'm looking at her sleeping face, I feel like I know her, somehow.