Bolin pressed the keys with some skill, creating a wonderful sound that echoed throughout the whole room. Practice makes perfect, he could see now how that phrase was true. He had been practicing this song with Yasuko for a few days and he was better. A lot better actually.
The two women applauded him when he finished playing the final notes of the song he had been learning.
"That sounded much better Bolin." Yasuko said, flashing the young guard a smile.
"I agree. That was really impressive!" Opal exclaimed. Opal had started to venture out of her room lately, with the help of Bolin of course. He had reassured her every day, made sure she had at least taken a bite out of her food. When she needed something, Bolin was sure to get it for her. He was just.. there. He was there for her when she needed him most. And slowly but surely, Opal started to realise that she was safe. Possibly the safest person on the whole planet when she was in this Manor.
Hiroshi had also forgiven her in an instant. What happened at the warehouse was not her fault and the old man helped her realise that too. She was threatened at knife point, of course it wasn't her fault. Her mother had also been there for her but not as much as she would've liked to be. Suyin Beifong was busy, no doubt about that. Of course she had her days off but they were rare. She was a Sergeant after all and with Red Lotus assassins around, she needed to be on alert around the clock.
The younger woman's mind occasionally snaps back to the lady from the market. The tall dark haired lady that always wore that blue coat. The lady with the polite manners. The lady who always seemed to buy a pencil every time she visited the market. Kuvira continued to haunt her and there wasn't much she could do about that really. Every time she fell asleep, she seemed to find herself back in that alley with the cold steel blade against her neck. The nightmares were lessening as the days go by, but she always had an episode from time to time. She hoped it will all wash over soon.
"Thank you ladies." He responded to the two as he got to his feet. He straightened out his uniform and clasped his hands behind his back, just like his brother would do all of the time.
"And thank you Mrs Sato for teaching me."
"That's alright Bolin." Yasuko chuckled as she played a few chords but her playing stopped as her eyes caught vision of another guard standing at the door.
"I think Mako wants your attention."
Bolin spun himself around and rose a brow at his brother.
"Mako?"
"Captain Beifong wants to talk to us both." Mako announced.
Bolin sighed and turned to Opal. She gave the guard a nod and gestured for him to go. Bolin strolled over to where his brother was waiting patiently and walked out of the room, leaving Yasuko and Opal with the piano.
"What does she need us for?" Bolin asked.
"I told Captain about the man that we met." Mako replied. That didn't necessarily go according to plan. It was quite stupid of him to visit Captain Beifong on her days off, especially when it was midnight. He got a scolding for that but, Lin also took the papers off his hands. Hence why she called this meeting.
"Oh, you mean that man that's probably the most innocent being on Earth? That man?" Bolin sarcastically remarked, rolling his eyes in the process.
Mako gave his brother a glare as they both stopped out side of Captain Beifong's office.
"We don't know that for sure."
"He was just looking at a poster Mako." Bolin replied as he crossed his arms in frustration. Before he let his brother speak, he pushed open the door.
"Whatever lets just get this over with."
Captain Beifong looked up from the map on her table. Her wounds had mostly healed apart from a few bruises on her cheek.
"Lance Corporal." She greeted as the guard took a seat.
"I've called you both here because I need to address this situation that you brought to my attention last night Corporal."
Mako earned a glare from the Captain which he totally deserved. Bolin huffed but kept his mouth shut, listening to what the Captain had to say.
"You said that this man looked suspicious Corporal. Care to elaborate?" Lin asked, looking at the markings on the map that Mako had given her the other day.
Mako leaned forward and pointed to a location on the page.
"I first saw him here. He was looking at Kuvira's wanted poster however, he seemed to recognise her. He was hiding something for sure." Mako explained his point of view.
"When I asked him if he knew her, he panicked."
The Captain then turned to Bolin, motioning to give her his side of the story.
"He looked completely innocent to me." Bolin answered, earning another glare from his brother.
"He probably panicked because you were so forceful."
Lin sighed, she didn't really have any evidence at all to side with eiterh of the brothers. Mako had a point; he had told her that any one could be apart of the Red Lotus. This man that he described seemed really suspicious. But, Bolin had a valid point too. They were possibly being a little too paranoid about it all and the man was probably innocent. There was no real evidence to take much action.
"We can't take action unless we have enough evidence." Lin said, making the Lance Corporal smile slightly.
"However, if you see this man again; question him a little further. I'll keep my eye out."
The brothers nodded, agreeing between them that this was a good idea.
"Yes Captain."
<->
She snuggled into the duvet, smiling as her senses were filled with that aroma of jasmine. Asami's scent. The scent that she knew all too well now a days. The scent that seemed to be addictive to the assassin. Every time they were close, that jasmine smell filled her nose immediately and she loved it. Her hand trailed across the soft matress, searching for the Sato. However, she couldn't seem to feel anything but an empty space beside her. Korra groggily opened an eye, her smile faltering once she realised that Asami had gone and she was alone. Last night, she slept reasonably well. Her nightmare didn't repeat at all, in fact she was pretty sure she had a dream of some sort. Perhaps Asami was the reason behind that? The Sato's closeness made her feel calm and safe? She protected her from the bad thoughts and memories? Korra didn't know the answer to that but, she would love to find out.
Korra sat up on the bed and stretched herself awake, letting a yawn escape from her lips. She got to her feet and gazed out the window. Her eyes widened as she saw the position of the sun. It wasn't morning at all. It was actually just passed midday. Goodness, how long have I been sleeping for? No matter, she felt absolutely great. Her arms didn't ache at all anymore and she could keep her eyes open without any struggle.
After her much needed rest, she walked out of 'Asami's' room with a skip in her stride, greeting Katara as she sat down at the table. However, she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. Where were Asami and Jinora?
"Good afternoon Korra." The old woman said with a chuckle as she crunched up some leaves. She noticed the enthusiasm of Korra and found it amusing.
"Afternoon." Korra replied, studying the older woman's movements.
"How long was I asleep for?"
"Since last night, according to Asami." Katara responded as she placed the crunched up leaves into a glass of water.
"How are you feeling?"
Korra felt her cheeks heaten up at the fact that Katara must have known that the two women shared a bed last night. Korra scratched the back of her neck and let out a nervous chuckle.
"I feel great now actually." Korra exclaimed as she looked around the room. Her blue eyes stopped in the corner of the room. That's where she normally kept her equipment, her bow and quiver. But they were missing. Did the girls have something to do with that?
"Where are Asami and Jinora?"
Katara swirled the glass around, mixing the leaves in with the water; making it turn a light green.
"They're down by the river." She replied, placing the glass down in front of Korra. Perhaps they were practicing.
Korra rose a brow at the green substance in the glass, glancing at the older woman in curiosity.
"What's this?" She asked, taking the glass in her own hands so she could examine it better.
"You have nightmares don't you?" Katara asked, wandering over back to the kitchen counter so she could clean up a little bit.
Korra stiffened at the mention of nightmares. How on Earth did she know? Was it that obvious?
"Yes." She sighed, still looking at the water in the glass, crunched up leaves dancing around.
"If you drink that now, it should start to settle in later." Katara explained. She knew why these nightmares were occuring for the small woman. This cottage was of course her old home and it was triggering these to happen. Katara couldn't just sit here and do nothing, so she managed to fix up a remedy for the small woman. It worked wonders and she would know. Besides, Senna would be grateful for her help.
"It'll make you calm. Calm enough to keep your mind at rest when you sleep."
Korra rose her brows in surprise as she flicked the glass with her free hand. It made the water ripple and the leaves within dance again. If this was true then it was quite impressive that such a small glass of water with leaves in it could do such wonders as she says. Korra downed the water in one gulp. She was expecting a vile taste like all of the other serums she had in the past but, this was different. It was fresh, minty; it made her mouth feel cool. She swiped her lips with her forearm when she was done before placing the empty glass back down onto the table. If Katara was right then maybe she would be able to sleep in her own bed, not that she wanted to though. Being close with Asami like she was last night, that was probably the best sleep she's had.. ever. However, she did need to give the Sato some space at least.
"Thank you Katara." Korra said as she gave the old woman a smile.
"I think I might go down to the river to see how the girls are doing."
Katara only nodded in response. And with that, Korra sprung to her feet. She quickly dashed into her room and slipped on her boots, tying the laces in a specific way. Kuvira's way. After she had done that, her coat was next. This was also one of Kuvira's things. Perhaps she should start thinking about getting a new one but, she doubted that anyone could make a coat that would fit her like Kuvira's one did. It was thick but also light, comfortable. She could move easy. Not many coats are like that. Her hand found itself gripping onto a piece of cloth that was hid in one of her coat pockets. She frowned as she pulled it out.
The green face covering that also belonged to her old friend. The assassin sighed, clutching the cloth in her fist. She would be lying if she said she didn't miss Kuvira. No matter what she did, Korra still missed her. The short assassin hoped that she was doing okay. She stuffed the cloth back into her pocket and continued to get ready.
She fastened her belt around her waist, gently patting her sheath that held her dagger in it. She always had this with her, she never knew when she might need it. Korra waved Katara goodbye before she closed the door to the cottage.
<->
The ink dribbled off of his chin and splattered onto the page that lay on his desk. Rage built up like deep water currents, his knuckles whitening as he clenched his hands into tight fists. He could see now, the ink had been swiped away from his eyes by his coat sleeves; staining them black in the process.
He sat in his chair, fists on the desk as he kept his gaze fixated on the seat where Kuvira was sat earlier. The woman had thrown ink all over him.. She had turned against the Guild, just like Korra did. Does that mean she knew the truth too? Does anyone else know? He sat there, not blinking. Not even once.
Kuvira probably fled the grounds by now, not wanting to feel the wrath of Zaheer. That was a sensible idea since there was no way Zaheer would let her off after doing something like this. His paper work was stained, big splodges of ink splattered all over them. New contracts, ruined. Future plans, ruined. He bellowed out in frustration, letting out a war cry as he gripped onto the empty pot of ink. Zaheer threw the pot across the room, watching it smash into little shards against the cobble walls.
The man bites the insides of his cheeks as he sat back down in his chair again. He calmly pulled out his drawer and set a clean page onto the driest part of his desk. Zaheer also grabbed another pen from out of his draw, a pen that didn't need a pot of ink like the last one. A pen that didn't need a pot of ink that could be dumped all over him and his work. He took in a breath and begun to write up a contract.
With fury whizzing through his veins, he scribbled down the two names that he wanted.. no. Needed dead.