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“How are you feeling?”
Korra’s tired eyes finally left Su’s retreating form and looked over to Mako, shrugging her shoulders.
“Still kind of dizzy, to be honest,” she mumbled, running her fingers through her tangled hair. “I can’t believe they just knocked me out like that.”
Behind her, Beifong shook her head.
“This wouldn’t have happened if we’d just gone back to Republic City,” she grumbled. Before anyone could retort, she addressed the brothers and Asami on the couch across the room. “You three make sure she gets back to her room in one piece. I’m going to talk to that Kuvira guard to get to the bottom of this.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Bolin saluted.
Beifong rolled her eyes and stormed out of the room after her sister, leaving Team Avatar to their own devices. Korra still seemed pretty out of it, rubbing her face and stretching her legs.
"I don’t know how I’m supposed to sleep now,” she mumbled into her hand, staring into nothingness.
Asami stood from her seat on the couch and walked over to her. The boys got up as well, stretching their arms above their heads.
“I don’t know.” Bolin yawned louder than necessary. “I feel pretty beat after my beauty sleep got so rudely interrupted.”
Asami and Mako each offered Korra a hand, pulling her to her feet. She wobbled for a moment and held onto their arms, her muscles still recovering from the Shirshu-spit’s effects.
“I got her,” Asami told Mako with a smile, snaking an arm around Korra’s waist. “You boys go back to bed. It’s late.”
“You sure?” Mako asked but he had already let go of Korra’s hand.
Korra rolled her eyes. “I don’t need a babysitter, guys.”
“Oh, so you’re fine to walk back on your own?” Asami asked, loosening her grip on Korra. She stumbled for a moment, blindly reaching for Asami’s wrist and bumping back into Mako’s chest.
Mako gently helped her regain her balance and sighed. “Guys, please.”
Asami raised a fine eyebrow at a frowning Korra. “Thought so.”
“You do realize she’ll end up crawling back to her room if she has to, right?” Bolin said, already dragging Mako with him out the door. “Just don’t let anyone kidnap her again, please and thank you!”
Korra looked after them, her gaze troubled.
“You sure you’re okay?” Asami asked quietly, as they made their way back to Korra’s quarters. With every step, Korra gained back a bit more strength in her legs but she still held onto Asami’s shoulder, just in case.
“Yeah, I’ll be okay,” she sighed. “But it sucks that my mere presence keeps putting you guys in danger. It shouldn’t be like that.”
“You can’t think like that,” Asami disagreed. “It’s not your fault those criminals are after you.”
Korra shook her head. “And yet, I’m the reason they followed us to Zaofu.”
They reached Korra’s room, Asami pushing the doors open in one swift motion.
“Naga!”
In the heat of the moment, none of them had thought to check on the poor animal who was also knocked out. Korra escaped Asami’s arms and rushed over to the mountain of white fur, dropping to her knees.
“Is she alright?” Asami walked around her, squatting and carefully inspecting the remaining two darts in the polar bear dog’s side.
Korra tapped Naga’s head, a small grunt coming from the animal. She blinked a few times, tired big eyes staring at her master. Her tail wagged weakly against the bedframe.
“Distract her for a second, will you?” Asami instructed, walking over to the adjacent bathroom.
“I think it’s already wearing off,” Korra mumbled, cradling Naga’s head in her lap. “You okay, girl? Just tired?”
Tired whimpers filled the room, Korra’s soft words soothing her best friend. Asami knelt next to the two of them, using a paper towel to finally remove the darts. Naga didn’t so much as flinch, the poison having numbed her.
“We should just let her sleep it off,” Asami said, standing and offering Korra a hand. “I’m fairly certain it’ll wear off pretty quickly for a big girl like Naga.”
Korra shook her head, looking down at her oldest friend with a frown.
“Can’t even protect her,” she whispered, more to herself than anyone else, it seemed. “All it takes is a couple darts of who knows what and the almighty Avatar turns into a useless ragdoll.”
Asami sighed, knowing she’d have to do some damage control here. Thankfully, a bruised ego was the most serious injury they’d sustained tonight, but she knew how much that could sting.
“Korra, nobody here thinks you’re weak,” she said, sitting down on the edge of the bed, while Korra still stood in the middle of the room, eyes trained on Naga’s snoring form. “Their security measures are advanced, but even that doesn’t work against a mole. So, how were you supposed to prevent any of this?”
Sighing, Korra finally tore her gaze away from Naga and met Asami’s.
“Just because you’re right doesn’t mean it’s not embarrassing,” she growled. Then she padded over to the bed as well, crawling back under the covers. “But whatever, I guess we’ll figure out how all this happened tomorrow.”
Asami sat there for a moment, mulling her words over before sighing. There was nothing else she could say or do to make her feel better. So, she took Korra's bitter tone as her cue to leave.
“Wait, Asami, I’m sorry,” Korra said quickly, grabbing her by the wrist. “I didn’t mean to snap at you.”
Asami studied her for a moment, lips forming a small smile at the Avatar’s pleading eyes. “It’s alright. I understand why you’re upset.”
“Still…”
It broke her heart to see Korra so upset and guilt-ridden. She gently removed Korra’s death grip from her arm to get her attention.
“Korra, you didn’t choose to be the Avatar and you certainly didn't choose your enemies either,” she reminded her. “But if you spend all night brooding over the Red Lotus, you won’t be able to kick their butts tomorrow, alright?”
Korra nodded, squeezing her hand once, before leaning back against the headboard. She met Asami’s gaze and they simply studied each other for a moment, features illuminated by the dim light outside.
“What?” Asami whispered into the silence. She wrapped her arms around herself, feeling the chill of the night catching up to her.
Korra’s brows instantly furrowed in concern. “Are you cold? You can join me, if you want. I don’t mind.”
Sweet, oblivious Korra held up the corner of her blanket in invitation, already scooting over to make room for two people. If only she knew that the mere offer brought warmth back to Asami’s chest and face in an instant.
“No, it’s alright,” Asami said, standing up. “I think I’ll go back to my own room and let you guys recover.”
She ignored Korra’s confused pout and walked back to Naga, running her hand over the animal’s back one more time.
“Goodnight, Korra.”
Glancing over her shoulder one more time, she saw Korra still sitting up in her bed studying her every move.
“Night, Asami.”