the branch between us

New neighbors

It was a sunny, beautiful day in Republic City when Korra and her parents, Tonraq and Senna, moved into their new home. As their parents settled and unpacked the house, Korra decided to go explore their new neighborhood. She was excited to meet her new neighbors.

As she walked around, she suddenly noticed something in the distance. Between her window and her neighbor's window, there was an old tree. And on that tree, connecting all the way, was a single branch with enough strength to support her.

‘Wait a second, there must be a window that connects to mine over there,’ said Korra to herself as she climbed onto the branch.

With great caution, she crawled over to the window of the second house. Sure enough, there was a window there. This caught her off guard. What a peculiar coincidence.

Her neighbor was a beautiful girl, Asami Sato. And Korra couldn't help but notice how kind, and soft-spoken she looked.

Korra and Asami locked eyes, and for a second, it's like all of Korra's worries and concerns melted away from her. They both blushed, but couldn't help but smile. They both climbed out of their windows and met on the branch. Asami let go of the branch and let Korra climb down on her own, then she asked, "Hey, I'm Asami, I don't think we've met before. What's your name?”

"My name's Korra." Korra said, a little embarrassed that she had to rely on Asami's kindness to get down on the ground. "I'm your new neighbor, nice to meet you." She smiled.

Despite their meeting having started in a little bit of an embarrassing way for Korra, she couldn't help but admire how Asami's eyes seemed to glisten in the sunlight. She thought to herself, ‘’Wow, she's beautiful.’

"Nice to meet you too." Asami smiled at Korra. Asami didn't know quite what to say next, she wanted to get to know Korra better, but she didn't know where to start. So she thought of something pretty mundane.

"What got you and your family to move to Republic City?" She asked. She thought it was a good way to start up a conversation since Korra and her family were the new people around.

"Well, we just wanted a change of scenery, I guess. I was getting pretty bored with living in the south pole," Korra admitted. She was never really a big fan of the cold weather, and her father had talked about moving away for awhile now. She was just glad to be trying something different. "What about you and your parents? Have you guys been here for a long time?" She asked.

Asami thought for a moment. Before answering, her face suddenly showed a slight sign of worry. She replied with a tone that was a little less cheerful than Korra's.

“Well, this is just me and my mom actually. I don’t really see my dad very much, he always travels for business so he’s hardly ever around," she paused, then added, “It’s been this way ever since I was little."

Korra felt like she had hit a nerve. She couldn’t tell if her question brought back bad memories for Asami.

Korra saw the sudden tone change, and wanted to cheer up Asami. “You know, your mom seems really nice. And even though your dad’s hardly ever there, it must be okay being around only her." Korra thought this would help ease the tension in the mood.

Asami looked up at Korra with a little more warmth in her eyes. She didn’t want to go into details about her childhood just yet, but seeing the genuine care Korra had for her and her family made her a little more comfortable.

“Thanks…” Asami said, smiling at Korra. Korra noticed Asami's smile and couldn’t help but notice how happy she looked. Asami’s face seemed to glow, and there was a sparkle in her eyes. Korra couldn’t help but take notice. Asami’s smile had melted away the awkwardness that Korra had felt earlier and she now felt more comfortable with Asami.

“You know, you’re really beautiful when you smile," Korra said. It was more than just a compliment she gave to Asami, it was true. She meant it.

Asami blushed, not quite sure how to respond. She hadn’t really been complimented before, at least not by someone that wasn't her mother. Korra’s comment had her a little flattered, not to mention the fact that she could feel the heat rising in her cheeks.

“Uh.. thanks. You’re not so bad-looking yourself." Asami replied, trying to match Korra's confidence. She thought in her own mind, "Wait, did she actually mean that? Does she really think I'm beautiful?”

Before Korra could reply, they both suddenly heard a voice calling out to them. They turned to see Korra’s mother, Senna, calling for her.

“Korra! Korra! Come here sweetie, we’re going to grab lunch!” She yelled from her house. Senna hadn’t even realized that Korra had left the house to explore her neighborhood.

Asami and Korra made a quick wave before parting ways. Before going back to her own house, Korra took one last look back at Asami. She couldn’t help but smile again, and Asami returned the gesture