It's been forever, I know! I lost my motivation to write stuff for a bit there, but it's back now! Anywho, enjoy the chapter!
"Aroooooooo!" Naga's piercing howl ripped Asami from slumber. She sat upright in bed but pulled her blankets up a second later when the cool air cut through her fur-lined pajamas. The polar bear dog kept howling, so she prepared to burrow back under the covers and mash a pillow over her head when the shouting started outside.
Sheets were thrown off and Asami shuffled across the floor to the secured flap of her guest hut, trying to blink to a more awake state. Before she could undo the clasps and peek out into the night, an orange swathe glowed outside. Asami heard a woosh of firebending, followed by another streak of light that bled through the hide walls, cast the room in a pale light.. Korra shrieked not too far away. Not a second later, a mild pain shot diagonally across Asami's torso, from left hip to right shoulder.
Fully awake now, heart hammering, Asami felt around for her boots, cursing as she tripped over them. She managed to shove them on her feet before she flipped open the trunk at the foot of her bed and snatched up the glove sitting atop a pile of clothes. Though she hadn't used it in months, the glove slipped on with ease. She supposed she still used it as a small way to rebrand her father's invention: use it to defend, not harm. Korra got hit again by who knew what, so Asami bolted across the room and all but ripped the hut flap open.
Despite her being dressed far warmer for bed than normal, Asami still shook as she ran outside. The thick coat she'd draped over the spare bed danced in hindsight but that thought was shattered by the sound of splintering wood and Korra's yelp. A spot between Asami's shoulder blades stung so she ran towards the other people sliding down the small slope to the festival grounds, where Korra was battling a large, black and purple…thing.
It wasn't like any animal Asami had seen before. Its limbs stretched in angles that shouldn't be possible for any living thing, its purple markings and aura glowed, and it made sounds like an amalgamation of six beastly cries. This must be one of the dark spirits Chief Unalaq talked about. At the bottom of the hill, just shy of the festival grounds, Asami drew up beside Mako and Bolin, who were busy shooting fire and hurling rocks at the spirit. The thing kept ducking behind wooden stalls several yards away. Korra pursued it, trailing a few yards behind.
"Don't hit Korra," Asami said as Mako prepared a punch that looked like it would land where Korra would be in the next few seconds.
He jumped, startled by Asami's sudden appearance, and shot a greater stream of fire at the spirit, hitting it in the flank. The creature screamed and its head—only it's head—snapped towards Mako, the violet eye slits locking onto their small group. Asami shivered as she watched the body of the spirit slowly turn to face them, it's head and neck once again aligned. It launched towards them, sending sprays of snow up into the air. The spirit moved unlike anything Asami had ever seen. It didn't run, it appeared in flashes. One second, it was beside a arctic hen vendor, then five feet closer the next second, sweeping at someone with a clawed fist. Asami blinked. The black and purple body pulsed with a strange energy that Asami could feel as it loomed over her. Breath caught in Asami's lungs as the rounded face dipped towards her.
There was hardly enough time to react. Asami dove off to the side, the creature's arm barely passing harmlessly over her prone body. She rolled through the snow as the spirit romped after her. Bolin tried to capture it by wrapping a slab of ice-crusted earth around it, but the spirit thinned itself like it was made of the air itself, and slipped free. Still, it was enough of a distraction for Asami to push off the ground, back into a standing position. A handful of snow slithered down her back but she could barely feel the cold; she was too focused on the being stalking towards her.
Too late she realized she had no idea how to fight spirits. In fact, she'd never seen one before until this moment, and this thing was nothing like the ones described in the history books or children's tales she'd read. But that didn't mean she wasn't defenseless. The spirit was probably solid enough for her to hit. And she had her glove, though she wasn't sure how it would affect a spirit.
Another burst of flame caused the spirit to leap into the air. It landed hard, mere feet from where Asami stood. It charged, but Asami sidestepped it easily. When it came back around, she dodged it again and landed a solid kick to its back, sending it stumbling away…until it stretched its arm to an unfair length and swept her legs out from under her.
Asami groaned as she fell back into a snowdrift. She sunk in too quickly to spring back up and the spirit pinned her, its hands wrapping around her biceps like vines. No matter how hard she flexed, she couldn't rip her hands free. The spirit pressed her deeper into the snow and chunks of white fell into her eyes, blinding her. But she kicked out, her legs unimpeded, trying to find any weak spot.
It did not, however, appreciate Asami trying to wriggle and kick free. The pressure of its grip increased and Asami bit back a yelp; she could practically feel the bruises forming. Then, the spirit's head leaned in close to her face and let out a roar that made Asami's teeth rattle in her head. Over the cry, she barely heard someone shout, "Mako, don't just stand there!"
The spirit's searing, purple, shimmery mouth was so bright, Asami had to squint. No matter how she thrashed, it kept her trapped in the snow. She tilted her head to the side and managed to twist her right forearm around enough so she could grab the spot where an elbow would be, if this were human. She cranked the glove's output to the max and delivered a shock, hoping it would at least get the thing to let go of her if not immobilize.
The spirit went rigid for a moment before its arm started to balloon in several places. Purple bubbles bloomed out of the black…skin? Asami didn't know anything about spirit anatomy. The largest violet bulge popped with a hiss, like air being let out of a Satomobile tire. Similar spots all over the spirit's body popped and hissed away. But the dark spirit, Asami noticed, was also increasing in over all size. It was like the electric shock was powering up but also overwhelming the creature's body.
The scream it let loose drowned out Asami's own cry as dark claws crushed her upper left arm in a vice grip. It was going to break her arm. She tried kicking at the creature's belly again but the spirit arched its back out of the way of Asami's feet. Her arm throbbed and she swore she could feel the bones bending. She couldn't do anything but wait for the telltale snap—
"Get off of her!"
A raging blast of fire knocked the creature away, ripping the claws from her. Asami had to close her eyes to shield herself from the white-hot flames and she felt the heat of the attack on every inch of exposed skin. Hopefully she still had eyebrows. The dark spirit skittered back, retreated deeper into the festival booths, but it looked like it was just waiting for an opening. Asami opened her eyes and sat up, cradling her left arm to her chest. The snow was now a puddle around her and it soaked into her pajamas.
Snow crunched nearby and suddenly Asami was pulled upright. A bare, brown arm wound around her waist while a hand gently probed the tender area of Asami's injured arm. Blue eyes. Wolftails. Korra. "Thanks," Asami breathed, shamelessly leaning into Korra's embrace (her friend was quite warm and she was soaked and cold). "I didn't know my glove wouldn't work on spirits. Or at least, not how it works on people."
"Are you okay? Your arm…" Korra pulled back when Asami winced at a particular brush.
Like Korra was one to talk. Asami still felt the sting between her shoulders. "It's probably bruised but—" Movement behind Korra sent a course of adrenaline through Asami's veins and she tackled Korra to the ground. Not a second later, the spirit flew over where they'd been standing.
"Thanks," Korra breathed and Asami felt every letter on fan across her cheek. They were so close, their noses were brushing, and Asami saw herself reflected in Korra's blue eyes.
But there was no time to marvel over Korra pressed underneath her because the spirit wheeled around, heading for them again. Asami leapt off but seized Korra's left arm, dragging her friend up with her. Korra gritted her teeth as her fist snapped forward, tendrils of fire flickering out from her clenched right hand, but she stopped mid strike when two streams of water effortlessly circled the rogue creature in front of them.
The water turned gold, and the light infected the spirit, taking over every inch of darkness, making it shrink in size, before finally dissolving into tiny, golden embers of light and drifting up into the pitch black sky. A few yards away, Chief Unalaq's hands fell back to his sides, his face lined and grim. They were out of danger, and he probably just saved them, but Asami oddly didn't feel at ease. As Korra bridged the distance between them and her uncle, Asami followed slowly, not sure if it was exhaustion or trepidation that weighed her down.
Right there, in front of everyone, she had it out with Tenzin and her father. Korra tried to keep her anger in check, but she was vaguely aware the snow at her feet was melting. Tenzin and Tonraq wouldn't look at her, even though she was doing her best to tell them how vital this was. People almost got hurt tonight. Asami did get hurt. Korra's arm still ached even now. Mako and Bolin could easily have been injured, too. If her uncle hadn't intervened…Which was why having him as an instructor was so important. Why couldn't Tenzin and her father see that?
Korra took in a deep, meditative breath, partly to calm, partly to show her airbending teacher how serious she was. "I need a break, Tenzin." He cringed and the lines on his face seemed to deepen. "I don't want to stop being your student. You've helped me come this far, and I appreciate everything you've done for me, but now I feel like I'm at a standstill in my spiritual training and my gut's telling me touring the air temples isn't what I need to do right now."
Tonraq stepped forward. "Korra, Tenzin knows what's best for you—"
"Let her finish," Tenzin said with a small wave.
With a sigh and a quick glare at her father, Korra continued. "This spirit problem—because it is a problem—needs to be handled and uncle's proven he can do something about it." Korra cast a glance towards Chief Unalaq, who nodded. "I need to learn how to do that, especially when people are getting hurt." She fought not to turn and look at Asami. "I'd like to learn from him if he's willing to teach me." She glanced at her uncle.
"It would be my honor, Avatar Korra." Unalaq bowed.
Her father crossed his arms and a defiant light filled his eyes. "Korra, you're not finished with Tenzin's training yet. You need—"
Accusations of having her isolated in the compound rolled around her mouth. Biting her tongue stopped the bitter, angry words she desperately wanted to say. He loves you and wants to protect you. Asami's words echoed in her head. Still, the anger burned on. So Korra took a deep breath through her nose, closed her eyes, and focused on the oxygen swirling in her lungs and the chi paths in her body. She felt a pleasant buzz amid her usual stores of energy, something she'd slowly picked up on during Tenzin's (dreadfully boring) meditation exercises over the last several months, but it was more prevalent now, like coming home strengthened it.
When she finally felt calm enough to speak, she opened her eyes and cut off her father. "I need to do things my way, dad. I'm the Avatar! I'm supposed to be the balance between the physical and the spiritual worlds. Uncle can help me and I'm going to do this, with or without your support."
"Korra's right," Tenzin said, stepping forward and placing a hand on her shoulder. He gazed down at her, his gray eyes solemn. "She is the Avatar and we should respect her decision. She's proven herself against Amon and if this is what she feels she needs to do, who are we to stop her? Perhaps her past lives are guiding her."
Though he was taking Korra's side, Tenzin sounded terse, hurt even. Guilt tinged her resolve but Korra didn't back down. She would pick her training up with Tenzin again when he returned from his vacation. Her father scoffed and looked ready to say something, but at the precise moment, Asami sneezed. All eyes flitted to her. "Sorry." Her usually pale face was red and she shook violently. "It's a little cold out here."
Korra frowned, sidestepped her father, and closed the distance between her and Asami. She touched Asami's cheek and almost recoiled; her friend was freezing. Asami reached up with her left hand and placed it over Korra's, like she was trying to contain the warmth. "You're freezing. Let's get you back to bed."
Somewhere behind them, Bolin cleared his throat. Korra withdrew her hand and Asami immediately shivered, so she reached around and her hand found the small of Asami's back, squishing against the snow-sodden pajamas. Korra glanced back at her father.
"Korra." He sounded strained. "We still need to talk about this. You can't just—"
"We've talked. I've decided. Goodnight, dad." With that, Korra shoved past him, urging Asami forward and up the slight incline, back to the guest huts. Mako and Bolin jogged up a few seconds later.
It was a silent trek, Korra and the boys not exactly sure what to say, Asami's teeth chattering too quickly for her to form anything coherent. They paused at the top of the hill, the brothers drifting towards their own guest house. Bolin bid them goodnight, throwing a suggestive wink at Korra, though she was too stressed to register it fully. Mako seemed like he was going to follow his brother into the hut, but he stopped at the last second and said, "For what it's worth, Korra, I support your decision." With that, he went to bed.
Korra thanked him a beat too late before helping a shaky handed Asami indoors. Once they were inside Asami's hut and Korra secured the loose entrance flap to seal in what little heat remained, Asami took a seat on one of the two beds. "Are you sure—"
"Don't tell me I made the wrong decision." Korra was impressed at how calm she kept her voice. "I need to know the things my uncle can teach me. It'll balance the humans and the spirits and maybe nobody will get hurt next time." She frowned and dipped her head, her brown bangs falling across her eyes.
Suddenly, Asami was across the room and forcing Korra to look at her. "I agree. I think you do need to know how to handle dark spirits. I just want to make sure that you're not doing this to piss off your dad. He really cares about you, Korra. He means well."
Again, she was right, and again, Korra's stomach twisted with guilt, remembering how un-fatherly Hiroshi was to Asami. She sighed. "I know."
"Good." Asami smiled, but it faded when Korra couldn't tear her eyes off of her injured left arm. She shrugged and smoothed out the material of her shirt over the arm. Korra felt a flutter in her own left bicep. "This isn't your fault. I went outside. I had every intention of fighting the spirit head on."
"If I had known how to disperse it, I could've sent it away immediately." Korra couldn't look at her. "Can I heal you?"
A long pause was followed by a very tentative, "Okay." Korra had to look at her now. For once, Asami looked nervous—outside of preparing for a fight, that is.
"It feels weird but it's nothing to be scared of," Korra said. "Do you want to change into something sleeveless?" She'd need to see the full extent of the damage.
Asami nodded and headed over to one of the small dressers pushed into the corner of the room. As soon as she slid open a drawer, Korra faced away. Clothing ruffled behind her and the squelch of wet garments hitting the floor made Korra grow antsy. Asami was behind her, taking her pajama tops off, which meant Korra was in the same room as her half-naked soul mate. A lump formed in Korra's throat. She pulled at her collar, which was chafing against her neck. Maybe she should leave, though Asami hadn't asked her to, so standing here was fine probably. As long as she didn't try and peek, not that she would because…because…
A finger tap on her shoulder almost made Korra summon a gust of wind and shoot through the hide roof. Instead, Korra spun around and tried to look cool instead of frantic, twitchy. Asami's eyebrow rose. "Ready?" She'd changed into a crimson undershirt that, for once, didn't cover her neck but instead dipped in a low cut, exposing her collarbones, not that Korra noticed or cared.
"Yeah, take a seat." When her friend did, Korra tugged the top blanket off the bed completely and clumsily wrapped it around Asami, making sure that her left arm remained free. "You looked cold," she offered when Asami shot her a questioning look.
The water wrung from Asami's sleepwear worked well enough for healing this wound; Korra sat beside her and passed the water over the dark bruises on Asami's arm. Thankfully, they were only deep contusions, nothing more serious. The technique eased the ache—Korra felt it fleeing from her own arm, so she knew Asami had to be feeling better, too—and soon the dark, discolored marks faded as well. Her friend shifted underneath her hands as Korra finished up.
When she pulled back, Asami looked her arm over, turning it from side to side. "Wow, it's like it never happened. I think my arm actually feels better than before." She smiled. "Thank you for healing me."
"You're welcome." Asami looked like she wanted to say something else, but she bit her bottom lip and drew the blanket tighter around herself instead. "What is it?"
Asami tucked a strand of hair behind her hair quickly before slipping her hand back into the warmth of the blanket. "Do you want to stay here tonight?" She kept avoiding Korra's face. "You seem really stressed out about your dad and since you're staying with them, I don't know…there's an extra bed here so if you needed a break, I wouldn't mind if you slept here tonight."
Sharing a room with Asami? Well, it's not like they'd be sharing a bed. It'd be a sleepover. The more Korra thought about it, the better it seemed, though that was in part because she didn't want to run into her dad on the way to bed and start another fight. "Sounds good. Perfect, actually."
"Cool." Asami yawned and burrowed under the sheets and pile of blankets on her bed. Korra crossed the room and took off the top fur of the spare bed and tossed it on top of Asami.
"You need it more than I do," she laughed when Asami rolled her eyes but pulled the top edge up to her chin anyways.
The next few minutes passed with idle chatter (Asami must've sensed she didn't want to talk about what happened down the hill) as Korra and Asami got settled into their beds. Eventually, Asami's yawns and words muffled by copious layers of blankets cut the conversation short. They bid each other goodnight and Korra extinguished the lit lamps around the room.
Though, she sounded exhausted, it was a long time before Korra heard Asami's breathing even out into shallow, sleep-filled breaths. Korra squinted through the dark when her friend turned over and she smiled when she saw Asami's nose barely poking above the blanket line. Korra found herself yawning not too long after. She punched her pillow into a more comfortable shape and flipped on her side, so she was facing Asami. The last thing she saw before slipping unconscious was Asami's relaxed, sleepy face.