Chapter 2
Korra
Korra glared at Asami’s retreating figure until she had cleared the doorway and was out of sight.
How dare she! Korra fumed. It’s only fitting she walked out on me. Everyone else has.
For the first couple minutes, Korra expected Asami to walk back in and apologize, and when she didn’t, it only made Korra angrier. She was halfway through composing an artfully constructed string of insults for her supposed friend, when she realized that she had no idea how she was going to get back to her room.
Ever since her fight with Zaheer, someone had always been there to help her, and most of the time, that person was Asami. Whether it was getting dressed, eating, or, hell, even going to the bathroom, Asami had constantly been there, never complaining and always with a hopeful and encouraging energy.
And most certainly never yelling at her.
As the seconds ticked by in silence, Korra’s stomach started to twist sickeningly in something that closely resembled guilt. She knew that she was moody, and she wasn’t blind to how people frequently saw her being rolled down a hallway and quickly retreated back into their room from whence they had come. At the time, Korra had taken some kind of sick satisfaction seeing how much people were going out of their way to leave her alone, but right now, all she felt was shame.
As much as she didn’t want to admit it, Asami was right. She had given up hope. Even though it had been weeks since the Red Lotus had administered that horrible poison, she could still feel the pain and ache as though it were yesterday. The muscles in her arms and legs felt like they were on fire whenever she tried to move them too much, and even thinking about bending made her head hurt so bad it felt as if her skull would split right in two. While she had initially braved the therapy and healing sessions everyone insisted would one day make a dent in the destruction that had been wreaked upon her body, the lack of progress made her feel more broken than when she had started.
The only thing that had been keeping her going was Asami.
Asami, who would pick her up when she fell and somehow made Korra feel as though needing help doing the simplest of tasks - such as getting dressed - wasn’t quite as cripplingly shameful as she had thought it would be. Asami, who had taken her to every healing session with a smile, and picked her up every time with one to match.
And now Korra had even driven that person away. While she knew people were only trying to help, she had practically spit in their face every time they made the attempt. Seeing the dwindling hope in the eyes of those around her only had verified her feelings, but right then, she realized they were only reflecting the lack of hope in hers. The only person who hadn’t hinted at giving up on her in any way was Asami. The realization of how wrong and mean she had been was so crushing, it was difficult to breath.
Korra had no idea how long she had been sitting there, clutching her chest trying to breath through the waves of remorse and shame before Tenzin entered the room, declaring his presence with the characteristic clearing of his throat. Korra was miserable, so she tried to ignore him as he walked over and grabbed the handles of her wheelchair.
Oh, right. The healing session, Korra thought with dismay. As if things couldn’t get worse.
She was vaguely aware of Tenzin trying to make small talk as he wheeled her over to where the water healers were staying, but she mostly tried to tune him out. Tenzin obviously had become pretty used to being ignored by the Avatar because her silence didn’t even phase him. Like usual, everyone they encountered on their way gave her wide berth as she was wheeled through the compound, but seeing this only made Korra feel worse.
As she was wheeled closer and closer to the healing hut, she steeled her resolve. No more self pity. Yeah. The universe had dealt her a pretty crippling blow, but Asami was right. Enough was enough. Eventually she had to start getting better, right? There’s no way the damage the poison did could be permanent. And if it was… well, she’d have to learn to live with it in a way that didn’t make everyone around her miserable as well. If not to herself, then she at least owed it to her friends and family to put as much effort into healing herself as they all were. Most of all, she owed it to Asami.
