Autumn/Workout
Asami stepped out onto the balcony, glad she’d switched to a rather warmer dressing gown than the light and floaty one she’d taken to Zaofu. She leant against the railings, cradling her teacup between her hands. It was getting colder now; the misty morning air had a little bite to it. The trees around the mansion were losing their leaves, staining the lawns a thousand shades of orange and brown. Naga was having the time of her life. Autumn was still something of a novelty to the polar bear dog, what with the seasons in the South Pole being a matter of how much day or night there was rather than any discernible change in weather barring the subtle shift from “really, really cold” to “the penguins are beginning to freeze together”. She’d thought Korra had been joking about that before she’d spotted the crowbar type device amongst the hunting gear. Asami had felt a little bad about that but, as Korra had pointed out, any animal dumb enough to get itself frozen to another one a) would have quickly been eaten by any of the dozens of predators and b) probably shouldn’t be allowed to reproduce for the good of the species as a whole. Plus they were as delicious as they were cute. And speaking of cute...
Korra came into view, nearly finished with her morning run around the estate’s boundary, Naga keeping pace beside her. She was clearly not feeling the cold, dressed in her usual uniform of a sleeveless shirt and loose trousers. Asami had offered a hundred times to buy her proper training gear but Korra was something of a traditionalist. It had to be said, it did seem to be working for her so far.
It was hard for Asami to tell at this distance, especially with Naga about, but Korra was steaming in the place sunlight, her body heat throwing up her own little personal trail of mist as she ran. Naga bounded along behind, producing her own rather more sizable cloud.
Korra came to a halt, resting her hands on her knees for a moment. She gave Naga a quick scratch behind the ears and moved carefully onto an undisturbed part of the lawn, still slick with the morning dew. She flexed her fingers, drawing a small stream of it towards her, leaving a dry streak in the grass. From the balcony Asami watched as Korra moved, slowly at first, with all the precision and grace of a dancer. The intricate pattern began to form, every line etched, every footstep a part of the whole. Korra’s eyes were closed as she turned briefly towards the balcony. Asami didn’t know if Korra knew she had an audience beyond her faithful animal companion. She certainly gave no sign of being aware of it as she moved in careful and, dare she say it, fluid motions, a slight halo of water orbiting at her waist.
Eventually Korra came to a halt, standing in the middle of the pattern she had woven, hands clasped together in front of her almost like she was meditating. And then she flicked out her hands and sent the dew and the mist back to where it had come from, scuffing it out like a drawing in the sand.
She met Korra in the kitchen, being pulled into a slightly sweaty, clammy hug.
“Spying on me?” Korra asked, amused, feeling just how cold the outside of Asami’s dressing gown was.
“Can you blame me? I never get to see you bend like that. It’s normally, wham, smash, whoosh!” Asami mimicked with hand motions. Korra snorted. “It’s nice to see all the delicate stuff too. Even if I have to freeze my ass off to do it.”
“Freeze your ass off?” Korra repeated. “Ah, you soft Republic City folk!”
Asami shoved her.
“Rude.”
“Always.”
“Well, your royal hotness...” Asami paused, registering what she’d just said. Korra smirked as Asami tried to rally. “...are you going to shower before breakfast?”
“Probably a good idea.” Korra agreed. She turned to leave but paused in the doorway. “You know, showers are a great way to warm up. I’d hate for your to actually freeze that ass off; I’m rather fond of it.”
“I’ve noticed.” Asami said dryly, as Korra vanished down the corridor. A moment later her head popped back round the doorframe.
“Did your ears freeze as well?” She inquired. Asami shook her head. “Your brain?” Another shake. Korra sighed. Some days Asami was worse at mornings than she was, and that was really saying something. “Are you going to get your frozen, pasty butt in that shower with me or what?”
Asami blinked, registered what Korra had said, and hurried after her. She bumped Korra with her hip, making her knock gently into the wall.
“Jerk.”
“You love it.”
Asami didn’t deny it, even as the retaliatory bump knocked her into the banisters. “And you love my ‘royal hotness’!”
“...how long before you let me live that one down?” Asami asked as they began climbing the stairs. Korra pretended to think about it.
“Oh, I don’t know. Never? I think never would be pretty good.”
“You know something?” Asami turned to her girlfriend. “Just for that I’m going to use all the hot water!” She took off up the stairs at a run. Korra grinned, starting after her.
“Like I need the hot water tank! I’m the royal hotness!”