deernet | Video; UN: Korra

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Video; UN: Korra

[The face that appears on video is not at all her usual self. If anything, she seems shell-shocked. In truth, an entire piece of her has been unceremoniously ripped out of herself, and frankly she's moving through the day, just carrying out necessary motions.]

[Like a ghost haunting her own life.]

...Asami's gone.

[There is a long silence after that. She wants to say things about her, say what she meant to Korra, say all the things she never said in this stupid, stupid hell she loathed with all her heart that trapped them all - but what would be the point? Those who knew Asami already knew, and those who didn't wouldn't care.]

If you had any projects with her, I'll keep her shop open long enough for you to collect them.

...That's all.

[And not once, in those words, did her eyes so much as move towards the camera, staring off into the far distance instead. Right now, she's holding herself together by a thread.]

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[So saying it was her sounded dumb of course: she's just said she was coming over, who else would it be? But Luz wanted Korra to be sure it was her, though she was surprised to see she wasn't in the living room, but the room she and Asami shared.

When Luz saw her, she couldn't help herself. She went right behind her friend and hugged her. It was a gesture to let her know she was here, that she was there for her, and she would help her get through this.

For now, Luz didn't say anything. She just hugged Korra tight].

[She just put her arm around Luz and held her tight in return. It was as if her whole body sagged a bit, in the moment.]

It's too quiet.

[Her voice croaked and cracked. She had absolutely been crying.]

[It was that catch in her voice that told Luz everything. It was like she needed to be told how special Asami was to Korra: Luz could see it in their glances and how happy Korra had been around her. Of course, Luz had also heard about Asami first from Korra too, so she knew how important it had been for Korra that she was here, and how sad it had been that she was gone].

I'm sorry. She was a really nice person, and I know you cared so much about her. If you want, I could stay over a few days. I know it's not anywhere close to the same, but I don't mind, and I'd feel better if you weren't alone, dealing with this.

[Her response was a long moment in coming, in part because she had to wipe fiercely at the tears forming. She nodded, finally.]

I could use it, Sprout. And being alone would be...really stupid of me.

[Luz gave her time. It wasn't easy to be vulnerable like this, and she knew other people might either be inclined to wave it off or at least try to keep her out of it so they wouldn't depress her].

I'm really glad you said that. Something like this, with this month? You can make a guess where that might go. Believe me: that is the LAST thing I want to happen to you.

[Varian had been corrupted when Fern died, but at least Fern came back. Asami, she knew, likely might not. That was a hard thing to come to terms with, and Korra wouldn't recover easily].

What do you usually like to do on a day in?

We'd curl up when we woke up, have breakfast together, then I'd go for a run while she got some work in.

[That was the problem - they'd worked around each others' lives like pieces of an engine. Or, no, something more natural, more organic. Like waters flowing together.]

That sounds nice. She always did seem to be tinkering around with something. I always wished I was that mechanically inclined.

But we can work on something together, if you want.

She sighed after a moment, putting a hand on Luz's shoulder.

"Something. I don't know what."

Luz sighed, looking up at Korra.

"I know this is hard. It's probably one of the hardest things you'll ever have to deal with, Korra. It'll take time to heal, and it won't happen quickly. But I can tell you that it'll help to try and at least take your mind off of it a little bit. Staying sad, well, this place is Trench. You don't need me to tell you what happens when you're constantly in emotional pain."

She hated even saying that. It was bad enough losing Asami, Trench shouldn't be making Korra have to put up emotional walls. But Luz loved Korra, so the thought of her pain being compounded by making her a monster was a worse thought.

She was going to ask when Luz got so wise with such things, but then she remembers.

"You know," she managed, putting on the smallest and most brittle of smiles. "One day you have to tell me all the good things about Eda Clawthorne."

But she nodded.

"No, I have to fight it. Fight back." She looked thoughtful then, moving to the doorway and taking up the staff she'd fashioned when she'd first arrived there. It had started as driftwood, which she had hardened and infused with metal - finally coating the whole thing in a layer of. She picked it up, holding it thoughtfully.

"I thought...I could defy them by doing constructive things, just living my life."

The metal at the end of the shaft takes on a different hue as she stands there, shimmering and then reshaping - and becoming an elaborate spearpoint. She hadn't done any metalbending in some time, but it was still in her. The staff shifted back and she said, distantly.

"Maybe if I'd fought them the whole time, I could have prevented this. Or the unhappiness of others."

Oh, Korra does all right. She'd been there for some of Luz's worse times, after all.

"Maybe you'll be able to meet her someday. I don't know the next time, if ever, someone from my world will wind up here, but if it's Eda, the first thing I'm having her do is meet you."

She figured Eda would probably be a little impressed with Korra anyway.

"I don't think you could, Korra, and you have amazing powers. I've always been pretty envious of them. But no one can save everyone. Half the time, you wind up corrupted thinking like that. I know at least two people who have."

She looked at the staff and managed a smile. "You know, there is something you might be able to help me with, actually."

"Might be worth it, if I can punch a hole in this place," she replied, a bit grimly. "Avatars very, very rarely die in bed, you know."

But she's distracted for the moment by Luz's last - waiting for what she has to say next.

"Maybe!" Luz said, though the smile on her face was a sad one. She never got her hopes up when it came to getting out of this place: it always felt like that was a plan doomed to fail.

"I hope you don't die anytime soon, even if you do come back to life."

Luz could hope, anyway.

"When we completed that last crazy exercise, I got a prize I wasn't expecting, a very IMPORTANT one. For me to use it, I'll need to carve it myself. Can you help me with that?"

"Not if I can help it," she said, quietly, putting the staff down. She sighed.

"Yeah, I can help you with that."

Luz couldn't help but give her friend a hug again. Korra had been there for Luz when Eda had woken up, of course she was going to try and be as helpful as she could.

"I'm glad to hear it. I'd be pretty sad if you were gone too."

She smiled. "Thanks! This is actually going to be a pretty personal project, and I can only trust it to someone who knows what they're doing. You see Owlbert?"

She pointed to the staff. "This is a Palisman. You've seen him active, of course. But this staff is Eda's, so it always felt like I was borrowing it, you know? But now that I have this Palistrom wood, I can carve my own Palisman!"

"Owlbert?" She'd never actually heard the name.

But she looked carefully, nodding.

"Ok, well, that's...that's definitely a personal project. How could I help with that?"

"Eda named him, not me. I might have come up with something different."

Actually, she rather like that name.

"Korra, it is personal, but it's also important. It'd be one of the most important things I've ever done. I can only trust someone I care a lot about to help me do it right. It has to be you."

What else could she say to that? She nodded, slowly.

"Anything you need, Sprout," she said with a nod. "I understand. My staff, there's a bit of all the elements in there, because...because it was me. So let's make this about you."

Luz smiled. She hoped that Korra would say yes.

"Thanks, Korra. I really appreciate this. I wouldn't ask this on a whim, and please don't think it's just because of Asami. I know you'll take this seriously."

"I know you wouldn't," she replied. "But it's...something to do."

Luz nodded. Korra needed the distraction; she could see that much. It hurt that she couldn't heal the emotional wound of losing her girlfriend, but Luz quietly vowed to be there for her however she could in the meantime.

"If you need help with anything too, like with the shop, you'll let me know, ok?"

She nodded, slowly. "Going to close it up for now," she replied, simply. "It can come back when I do."

"Right, of course."

Luz paused, then put her hand on Korra's shoulder.

"If you need anything, or want company, don't hesitate to ask. I might not be around all the time, but if I am, I'll be over, ok?"

She nodded, slowly.

"Just...keep checking on me if I go silent, please?" she said. She knew full well where she'd gone wrong the last time she'd felt like this.

"You know I will! Just so you know, I'm going to be at some karate thing later on when you don't find me. I'm gonna be getting my butt whipped though, since I was told we can't use magic, but I'll do my best to check up on you after that, ok?"

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