Chapter Text

Days passed.

Back at the Sato estate, Asami managed to get some sketching in for the Future Industries contract proposal: a multi-tiered highway system snaking through the districts of the city, a public transit plan that she already had a business partner lined up to collaborate on, and three new administration building designs with reinforced foundations to counter seismic activity or sudden spirit vine growth.

She spent her dinners with Mako, Bolin, and Opal. She caught up with them, reassured them that Korra was looking healthier, but more importantly, delayed spending her evenings alone.

At night, Asami studied Air Temple Island in the distance while Korra's few but cold words crept up on her again. Maybe Korra didn't want her there. Maybe Asami was pressing her too much. Maybe she was trying too hard to treat Korra like nothing was wrong, when what the Avatar really needed was someone willing to admit that her life had been left in pieces.

Sleep was hard to come by. The massive house echoed, dark and empty. She'd grown used to the bustle of people. The reassurance that Korra was only down the hall.

Asami's stomach was in knots the afternoon she stepped back onto the island.

The renovations to the Air Temple were winding down. The day had a pleasant heat, but as she climbed the path towards the main building, Asami prepared herself for a long day indoors. She hugged her large sketchbook to her chest, taking slow and deliberate breaths.

"Welcome back," Senna called. Asami looked up to find Korra's mother making slow headway towards towards her with Naga in tow. Strapped into her harness and saddle, Naga kept whipping her head around over her shoulder and whining, hesitating going any further.

Asami followed the dog's attention to a garden in the distance with tall cherry blossom trees in full bloom. Beneath the trees, Korra stared out at the bay from her wheelchair, a blanket draped over her lap. "You got her outside."

Senna had a death grip on a lead tied hastily to one of the harness straps. She dug her feet in, battling Naga's efforts to head back to the garden. "Naga's been cooped up in the bedroom for so long that she's started taking it out on the furniture. They're still cleaning up the stuffing." Senna looked to the garden with a sad smile. "Korra agreed to get some sun to convince Naga to come outside with me. She has to work off some of this energy. I've been trying to convince Korra she could stand getting off the island, too, but I will take my little victories."

Asami sidled up to the polar bear dog. When Naga finally noticed her, she nuzzled a massive furry forehead into the girl's chest. "Naga's a lot to handle," Asami smirked, rubbing behind the dog's floppy ears. Naga pushed into her harder in response, nearly shoving Asami off balance. "Do you want some help?" she asked Senna, "I could take her out."

"Don't you want to check on Korra?" Senna asked.

Asami avoided looking back up to the Avatar at the top of the hill. "You should get to spend time with your daughter that's not just taking her to a healer." She shook up the fur on Naga's nose. "I think that we could both use a bit of fresh air." She reached out for the reigns on the polar bear dog's harness.

Senna's entire body lost some of its tension when Asami took the lead from her hands. "You're an angel."

"I don't know when we'll be back," Asami said, tugging Naga towards the dock. "Give Korra my best."

The ferry that had brought Asami was still waiting at the dock for repair materials to be unloaded. Naga pulled lightly at the harness, but relented after a few more scratches behind the ears. They boarded the ferry, and Asami's stomach settled the further they sailed from the island.

If she added reinforcements to the stirrups, and a brace that supported from the sides, it would hold Korra's legs in place. She'd need to make it capable of securing with one hand. A harness attached to the saddle could strap in her lower body and keep her from sliding off. Would she prefer something more sturdy, like the woven fabric they used for parachute straps, or something more in line with the southern water tribe aesthetic? A dark leather matching the saddle, maybe, or a thick quilted rope...

Asami peeled her jacket off, letting the heat of the sun beat down on her bare shoulders. She squirmed on the hood of the car and slid her jacket underneath herself; a thin protection from the hot metal.

A wide expanse of fields opened up to her on the outskirts of Republic City, gorgeous and open. But her eyes were fixed on her sketches. She'd been designing alterations to Naga's riding harness all morning.

Laying back, she closed her eyes and breathed deep. In, and out. Letting the sounds of wind and grass flow around her ears. It felt like she hadn't been outside in weeks.

Naga seemed to agree. Asami listened to heavy footfalls and panting dart around the car. Naga was playing in the grass.

“You do not get tired, do you?” Asami smirked. Sunlight shone harsh red on the back of her eyelids.

There was a loud thud in the dirt. Asami's eyes squinted open and she found Naga staring at her expectantly.

Asami waved her away. "Go have fun," she said. The dog quirked her head to the side, staring.

"Really, I'll still be here." Asami looked back down at her sketchbook. A means for Korra to get down on her own would be a nice addition. Maybe a short rope ladder or a ledge so she could lower herself into her chair.

Asami nearly fell over as a massive, furry head crashed into her stomach. She reached out and hugged Naga's head, trying to steady herself and keep from falling off the hood. "Careful!"

Naga chuffed at her, trotting away back to her spot on the grass.

"What is it?"

The dog bent her shoulders low, panting at Asami playfully. She let out a whine.

"What, you wanna play?" Asami asked. Naga tore away and spun, kicking up grass and dust around her. Her tongue dropped out and heaved happily. The polar bear dog ducked down again, and shook her saddled back. The bark she let out rumbled in Asami's own chest, startling her a bit.

Asami fidgeted on the hood of the car. "You want...me to come with you?" The polar bear dog let out another roar of a bark.

Naga didn't want to go for a run. She wanted to go for a ride.

"I...don't think that's a good idea, girl."

Sprinting forward, Naga propped her giant paws up on the Satombile's bumper and rested her head in Asami's lap. The metal creaked painfully at the weight. She shoved at the girl with a big, wet nose.

"Easy!" Asami chuckled, "Alright, alright..." She pat Naga's muzzle, pushing against it with little success. "Hop off. You're gonna dent it."

Asami slid off the roadster and tied her jacket around her waist. She stared up at Naga for a long moment. The dog was immense, all muscle and legs and snow white fur. "Just like driving a car," Asami tried to remind herself quietly, "With no wheels...or shocks." Asami breathed slowly as she reached up to grasp the riding harness and saddle. She slipped her foot into one of the stirrups and hoisted herself up. Naga squirmed in her harness, rocking Asami forward. The girl grabbed the edge of the saddle and dug her toes into the stirrup to keep from careening off the side. "Or seat-belts," Asami breathed.

She stared down at the ground, and held on tighter. Naga was a good six feet higher than her driver's seat. She'd flown in airships that flew thousands of feet in the air, but there was something about being strapped into a living animal that made that fall seem much more intimidating. Staring out at the fields ahead, Asami slid her driving goggles down, and the world tinted green. "Just go easy on me, okay?"

The moment that Asami managed to settle into the seat, Naga spun in a circle a couple times, chasing her tail. Asami clung to the hand straps on the saddle, fighting the momentum to roll off. She bit back a yelp when, without warning, Naga took off away from the car.

Asami's fingers went white, gripping the straps as the saddle rocked underneath her. The wind roared in her ears, blowing her hair wildly around her face. She clamped her jaw down, focusing on the movement and momentum of Naga's strides beneath her. Leaning into the motion of the dog loping forward.

It was strange and almost terrifying to do this without Korra. Naga was a giant, and despite the fact that they weren't moving nearly as fast as she knew they could go, Asami felt the raw power underneath her. Through her own legs, Asami could feel the mass of back and leg muscles flexing beneath Naga's fur, driving them forward. The dog picked up the speed. Asami may have been in a saddle, but she was very much along for the ride.

She had ridden Naga only once before on her own - trying to escape with Korra from the Red Lotus. Then, it had been a matter of life and death. She'd braved it because it was the best way to get Korra to safety. Even Naga had understood that. They were both focused on protecting Korra. The rush of adrenaline and panic had made that ride move so quickly that Asami could barely remember it, save for the sudden earthbender ambush that had trapped them in a cage of rock.

A deep, heavy growl rumbled beneath Asami, and Naga let out a roaring bark, startling her out of her thoughts. They were racing along a riverside. The fields were a blur of color. The sun warmed her shoulders, while the wind was cool against her face and chest. Every sensation was sharp, intense.

Asami ventured a tug on the hand straps and pulled them to the right. She felt muscle roll beneath her as Naga's shoulders shifted. They banked to the right and made a leaping run into shallow bank of the river. Water sprayed up around them, cooling the air. Asami wiped water droplets from her lenses, and smiled. She leaned low to keep their shape sleek in the rush of wind. She tugged Naga left, out of the river bank, and they followed the winding path along its edge.

The speed she was used to. But this was coming from another living creature. The power felt shared, somehow. They were moving together, connected by a primal urge to just keep running.

Asami grinned fiercely.

She leaned forward in the saddle, stretching out to get closer to Naga's head. She yelled over the roar of the wind.

"Go, Naga."

The dog sped off like a rocket, letting out a happy bark. Naga sprinted at full speed, tongue dangling out of her mouth and flapping.

Asami yelled into the wind, laughing. Her head was light, blood rushing to her ears, but the sensation of Naga's massive form beneath her, hurtling them both out into the open land, kept her grounded in the moment.

Korra had tried to describe what it was like to ride Naga back home. The South Pole was covered by wide snowy plains that went on for hundreds of miles. Korra's eyes had lit up at the memory of days spent out with her best friend in what looked like a cold wasteland. What it really was, though, was freedom. The rush of speed and possibility. The whole world open in front of you. Connecting with another life. Fueling and feeding off of each other's excitement, power, and trust.

This was what Korra had felt. This was what Asami had to fight for. To bring Korra back to share in this moment. To get her back into the saddle. It wasn't going to be tomorrow, or a month from tomorrow, but Asami was going to fight with every ounce of strength that she had to help Korra push through the fog and find her way out and back to this feeling.

They did not stop running till Asami ventured a glance up at the sky and noticed how high the sun had gotten. A few pats from Asami's leg slowed Naga down to a trot. They paused at the riverside, Naga taking massive panting gulps, before they turned back for the car, keeping a brisk pace.

Asami's shoulders stung, red from the sun and sore from the ride. Her leg muscles burned, her hands chafed from the straps. But she didn't care. Every fear and frustration had melted away, left in the dust. She breathed heavily, as though she had been the one sprinting across the plains, a weary smile on her lips.

The tiny silhouette of her car got bigger and bigger as Naga sped them back to the outskirts of Republic City.

Asami hopped off the dog's back, her legs nearly giving out on her. Naga collapsed onto her side, breathing heavily but grinning like a puppy. Asami crumpled to the ground after her. She leaned back against the dog's massive, rumbling chest.

She tugged her goggles away and chucked them onto the grass by her feet. Sweat beaded down her face, into her eyes. Her head was buzzing, her face too exhausted to do anything but smile from the rush.

Naga curled up against her, tucking her head onto Asami's lap. The polar bear dog's rib cage swayed Asami back and forth with each breath. She wanted to just sink into that feeling for the rest of the day.

Asami threw an arm around Naga's neck and held her close. It was the first moment in two weeks that she felt tethered.