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Korra awoke to warmth. It felt like her whole body was enveloped in a warm blanket. Someone was stroking her hair back from her face in a soft caress. She yawned and nuzzled into the warmth, feeling the top of her head brush against something solid. Her brow furrowed. She slowly opened her eyes. Her whole body stiffened.
She lay curled in Amon's lap, her head resting against his chest, just under his chin. A fierce blush lit across her face as she remembered the events from the night before. They'd almost... gah. His arms were wrapped around her, one hand gently twirling in her loose black hair. Korra sat up, slamming her head against the base of his chin. Her hand flew to the sudden pain.
"Ow," she moaned.
"I could say the same," came the slightly amused grunt. "Good morning to you too."
Korra blinked, struggling to lose the grogginess of sleep. She tried to pull away from him, but his arms tightened around her, holding her close against his chest. Korra's heartbeat quickened.
"Let go of me," she demanded, struggling against him. It was like fighting against two arms of stone.
His breath ruffled her hair, making her shiver at the proximity. "What if I said no?"
Why did the sound of his deep voice make her heart race like that? That couldn't be normal. Korra struggled to maintain her cool decorum. "I'm afraid I'd have to break that nose of yours. Give you a real reason to hide behind that mask."
Amon chuckled. "Such spirit. You know, that's what I've always admired about you."
To her relief, he released her. She slid to her feet, shaking off the remnants of sleep. She looked down at him, then sighed and offered him a hand up. He clasped it and rose to his feet, standing a good twelve inches taller than her.
"You talk in your sleep, you know," he suddenly said, making her cheeks instantly darken.
"Yeah, whatever." She turned away, moving to scoop up the uneaten fox-rabbit and badger-hare from the floor. She tucked them into her bag, wincing when she heard his footsteps behind her.
"I wonder if this handsome young firebender feels the same way about you as you do about him?"
Korra choked. Wheeling, she slammed a finger into his chest, hating the ungodly twinkle in his golden eyes. "If you tell anyone about that," she snarled. "I'll hunt you down and turn you and all your unfortunate Equalist buddies into eunuchs."
He laughed. Her face still aflame, Korra turned and stomped back to the fire, kicking dust over the still-glowing embers. They fizzled and died. Her stomach rumbled, and she suddenly remembered how long it had been since she'd last eaten. Stooping again, she reopened the bag and ripped off a chunk of the badger-hare. The meat was cold, but it was still tender and life-giving. She moved to sit against the far wall, pointedly putting a fair amount of distance between her and Amon, and began to eat.
"You know," he said, settling himself against the opposite wall, meditation-position, his golden eyes fixed upon her. "We are both fully recovered. I believe it's time we begin our trek back up the mountain."
Korra tried not to let him see how her whole body slumped at those words. She kept her eyes fixed on her knees, matching his position, and took another bite from the badger-hare leg. Chewing thoughtfully, she waited a moment before answering.
"I suppose that means our truce will be off."
"As it must be. Things will return to normal as soon as we reach the cabin."
"And we'll be enemies again."
The silence fell between them, lasting a little longer than necessary. Finally, Amon cleared his throat, moving away from the wall. He bent down and retrieved his mask and hood from beside the fire. Korra felt a strange twinge of sadness ripple through as she watched him refasten the cold, smooth ivory mask over his face, slipping the hood up over his head. A small part of her wondered why he was putting the mask back on. After all, it was just them. But before she could ask, he was standing, crossing the cave to her and offering her a hand up.
"Come. We'd best be heading on our way if we want to reach the cabin before sunhigh."
Setting the half-eaten badger-hare leg on the ground beside her, Korra took the proffered hand and he hauled her to her feet. He let go of her quickly, and against her will Korra found herself missing his warm, strong grip. Banishing the feeling, she kicked another puff of dirt over the fire, for good measure, and followed him out into the softly falling snow.
Her boots crunched through the layer of ice that had formed over the surface of the snow. She marveled at the way he was able to move almost silently across the snow, a dark phantom gliding through the whiteness. She shivered, aware that he'd used the uncanny ability for silence to ambush her on more than one occasion. She had to quicken her pace to a half-jog to keep up with his long strides.
They made their way out across the snow, pausing once they reached the riverbank. There they stood, looking up at the base of the snowy mountainside. Korra felt her heart sink. That would take all day to hike up, and only then if they kept up a steady run the whole way. Korra was just about to let out a breath of exasperation, when Amon's arm snagged her waist, pulling her snug against him. Korra gasped.
"What are—"
"Hold on tight."
The ground suddenly pitched beneath them. Before she could think to pull free, the ice underneath her feet took on the shape of a frozen surf-board, and the snow screamed away at its underside. The wind tore at her ears, stripping her hair back from her face and stealing her breath away. Korra screamed, wrapping her arms around his waist with all her might. They flew up the hill, Amon waterbending the snow beneath them so that it shot them like darts up across the icy surface. The landscape streaked by in a blur of white and black. Korra's screams filled the air, and she felt Amon's amused chuckle rumble against her.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of screaming wind and ice, their ascent slowed. Korra felt the snow returning to its normal pitch beneath her feet, and the rhythm of the ice coursing beneath her trickled to a stop. Korra kept her eyes clenched tight, her arms frozen around his waist, her face buried in his bicep. She felt a hand slowly disentangle her from him.
"You can let go of me now, Avatar."
Korra opened her eyes. Her heart still drummed in her ears, but she stumbled back, releasing him. Tarrlok's cabin stood, right where they'd left it. The wall was still smashed in from her hasty escape, debris littering the ground, half-covered in powdered snow. Korra walked forward, glancing back down the mountainside. She could just make out the river from this height. Their little cave was nowhere in sight.
A sound from inside the cabin made her turn around. Four dark figures emerged, striding across the snow toward them. Korra felt her whole body tense. The stiff gray uniforms, the masks, the sickly green goggles. She backed up, her fists coiling at her sides, and ran into something—or rather someone—solid.
"Amon," she gasped, hoping somehow to make sense of this situation, hoping somehow whatever he said would dispel her doubts, the frightening thrill of premonition that swept through her. She should have seen the signs. When he'd re-donned the mask before leaving the cave. When he'd pointedly reminded her that their truce would be over the minute they arrived back at the cabin.
A steel grip tightened around her elbow.
"I'm sorry, Avatar." There was a coldness in his voice that hadn't been there before. Korra's pulse spiked. Her mind snapped into battle mode. In one quick blow, she drove her elbow back into his ribs, stomping his foot in the same motion. She heard his painful huff of air as he released her. Korra lurched away, spinning across the snow, and landed a kick against the nearest Equalist's temple. The man dropped with a startled cry.
The ominous hiss of steel rods made the hair rise on the back of her neck. Korra tried to duck. She heard the whistle of air beside her face, knew what was coming. The electricity surged through her, buzzing in her teeth and screaming in her ears. Korra's hoarse scream ricocheted off the mountainside. She dropped to her knees, seeing the blue spider webs coursing over her body.
The lieutenant drew back for a second strike. Korra's vision grayed. She clenched her teeth, tasting blood, and looked up through the haze to see Amon's cold mask staring down at her.
"You bastard," she rasped, spitting all the hatred she felt for him in that moment into the two words. His golden eyes flashed with something akin to pain. Then Korra screamed again, her back arching as the second wave of agony rushed over her. The blackness swept over her, and the last thing she knew she was falling. Falling into a pair of strong, horrible, betraying arms.