Empress Of The Old World {Legend Of Korra}

She'll Be Back

Korra waited impatiently as she paced across the path in front of the Inn. Kai sat peacefully on the step with Lefty not far away. It wasn't long before Asami and Kuvira arrived to join them.

"Are we ready to move?" Asami asked, looping her arms around Korra and giving her a squeeze.

"In a bit," Korra smiled, resting her head on Asami's shoulder, "Sukara just went to talk to some guy she met last time she was here."

"Where?" Kuvira asked, looking around a bit to see if Sukara was still there or at least coming back but, she wasn't anywhere to be seen. "Did she say where she was going?"

"She'll be back in a minute," Korra reassured her, "don't worry."

Kuvira didn't want to worry so much but, something wasn't quite right with Sukara at the moment and she wanted to keep an eye on her until they sorted it.

"How long has it been?" Kuvira asked Kai as she took a seat next to him.

"Like ten, twenty minutes ish," he told her, looking out across the street to where Sukara went, "it's not been that long. We'll go look for her if she takes too long. She'd probably only have wandered off or something. You know how she is."

"Yeah," Kuvira sighed, resting her chin on her folded arms as she waited.

Sukara could be so reckless sometimes. She just didn't want her to get hurt again. Ever since they left Zaofu things had just been getting worse. Sukara had always had the odd nightmare, ever since she'd known her but, recently it was deeper than that. The angry outbursts. The passing out. It didn't feel right to her. Kuvira just wanted her safe.

#####

It took all of three seconds for Azula to react to Sukara standing in her room. A small bolt of lightening shot right at her head.

"Uhh!" Sukara exclaimed, dodging quickly out of the way, "what was that for?"

"For leaving me," the old woman chuckled, relaxing back into the pillows on the bed.

A soft smile lay on Sukara's face as she watched her. Azula was frail now in her old age. She lay in her bed, wrapped in two blankets with candle light glowing from the night stand.

"Are you going to sit down?" Azula asked, waving her hand aimlessly at the chair next to the bed, "I won't try and hit you again, I promise. I haven't got the energy. Not anymore."

The bittersweet feeling in Sukara's heart felt like a dumbbell sitting on her chest. Her feet shuffled on the floor as she went to sit down. She brought the chair as close to the bed as it would go so that she could hold Azula's hand comfortably.

"You've barely aged at all," Azula smiled, reaching her other hand up to touching Sukara's face, "not like me."

"You're still just as beautiful Zu," Sukara smiled, leaning into Azula's hand. It didn't feel the same but it was still hers, that was all that mattered.

"Oh, you're sweet," Azula coughed.

Sukara quickly shot forward, helping her sit up to stop the cough. Her heart broke silently as she steadied the old woman. Her arms around her for the first time in decades as she held Azula up.

"Let me take you to the spirit world," Sukara smiled as she pulled back to look at Azula's face, "it'll be more comfortable there. We can talk properly."

"Alright," Azula said, leaning on Sukara's shoulders, "just like old times."