Against All Reason

Ch 3

Asami stifled a laugh as she watched the novice airbenders blast their way through a maze of revolving doors. She had to admit, it was quite the spectacle. Several cried out in dismay as they flailed to avoid getting smacked, falling flat onto their rear ends if they were particularly unlucky.

She and Korra were seated on the grass some distance away, observing the acolytes as they trained. Though Korra was never more than a few feet away, and the Avatar's two companions—the surly firebender known as Mako, and his brother, a chatty earthbender named Bolin—were her constant shadows, Asami had been allowed outside every day since her capture. And she was... actually starting to enjoy herself?

It had been two weeks since she'd botched her mission to abduct the Avatar and wound up a prisoner herself. During that time, she had constantly revisited a single question. It haunted her every waking moment, nearly all of which were spent by Korra's side.

Am I going insane?

She certainly felt like it sometimes. Though Korra had kept her word (and her cock in her pants) since that first night, her mere presence was enough to light Asami's body aflame. Even now, glancing over at Korra, who smiled and laughed at the novice's efforts, set her heart racing and threatened to ruin her underwear. The alpha didn't even have to touch her to cause a reaction. Asami remained hyper-aware of the short distance between their pinkies, only a few inches apart on the blanket.

"I was even worse the first time I tried that exercise, if you can believe it." Korra gestured at the next acolyte to run the gauntlet, a slouching boy with shaggy hair. He didn't look anything like Asami might have pictured an evil bender. Nothing more than a slightly unkempt teenager, he blew through the revolving doors before face-planting into one and falling backwards.

"Really?" Asami asked. It was difficult to picture Korra struggling through what Bolin had informed her were beginner exercises. She'd never paused to consider the fact that bending took significant practice to master, much like martial arts. Apparently, this held true for every bender from the youngest acolyte to the all-powerful Avatar. Being born a bender was only the beginning of honing the power and control she'd assumed all benders took for granted.

"Really," Bolin said from his place on Asami's other side. "Trust me, Korra isn't as cool as she pretends. I've seen her make a tiger monkey's butt of herself plenty of times."

Mako cleared his throat from Korra's opposite side. "You probably shouldn't call the Avatar a tiger monkey's butt in front of an Equalist, Bolin. Or anybody, really."

Korra grinned and nudged him. "C'mon, Mako. Learn to take a joke. This one wasn't even at your expense."

As they squabbled like the old friends they were, Asami retreated into her own head, as she'd done plenty of times since her capture. All in all, she hadn't been treated poorly on Air Temple Island. They'd given her food and simple but comfortable clothes, and even though she was kept locked in Korra's room at night, with guards at every door and window, the Avatar often escorted her out of the building to show her other parts of the island.

She suspected most of her privileges were a direct result of Korra's advocacy. She'd overheard a few of the Avatar's whispered conversations with Tenzin, too. From what little she'd gleaned, he was wary about allowing her to venture beyond Korra's room, but had reluctantly allowed it.

Asami couldn't help but wonder why. Did Tenzin and Korra hope if she saw the way the airbenders lived, working and learning together in peace, she would change her mind about them and the dangers they posed to non-benders? That by allowing her to see what life on the island was really like, she'd revise her previous opinions?

The scary part was, their plan seemed to be working. Asami struggled to see anything dangerous about the young acolytes. They laughed and played and ate together, and although they gave her odd looks, they had adjusted to her presence. Some had even started to smile and wave when they saw her, though that might have been Korra's influence again.