Nightmares

Repetition

I'm treading water. I gave up trying to bend the fluid around me a long time ago because bending doesn't seem to exist in this world. Everything is dark. Every now and then a wave hits me in the face and water engulfs my mouth. I choke on it and the salt burns the inside of my nose.

Where am I?

This place seems familiar. I feel something bump against my leg. I look down as another wave hits me in the face and I start to panic. I open my eyes and the saltwater that eased in feels like acid. I quickly raise up a hand to wipe them and open my eyes again to try to see. I can see again but the pain made my eyes water.

It grazes my arm as it swims past me again. My legs start kicking hard as I start moving forward to swim away. Maybe if I splash more I will frighten whatever it was and so that it will leave me alone.

I soon find out the answer to that as something starts to wrap around my right leg. I kick as hard as I can to try and sling it off. I keep kicking as something else wraps around my other leg. I kick even harder as I try to swim away and whatever is wrapping around my legs starts moving up my thighs. The things start to tug on me and it makes me gasp. It starts wrapping tighter and I can't move my legs anymore because of it. My arms start to furiously move to try and make up for what my legs can't do.

It starts to tug at me harder and water floods into my nose as I'm being drug down. I make one more effort to stay at the surface and as I do I take one more breath of air before I'm drug completely under the water. I blow water out my nose to keep it from flowing in. I open my eyes and they burn but I don't care about them. I look up and notice that I'm about six feet below already.

I incline my head down to try to see what the snake-like creatures are. I recognize them immediately as dark spirits. I wonder if they or suffocation will kill me first. My lungs are burning for air and I take my right hand to pinch my nose to try and prevent myself from breathing in water.

I can't keep this up for long. I've let my body go limp as I realized that there is no way to get out of this situation. I close my eyes as I'm still fighting the urge to breathe. It's no use because sooner or later my body will force me to. I feel lightheaded and I know I have maybe a few more seconds before-

I jerk upright and gasp hard for breath. I look all around, desperate to bring myself back to reality. It takes me a few moments before I can slow my breathing down to normal. Once I do, I just stay sitting upright thinking about my dream. I'm telling myself over and over that it wasn't real.

I get up and walk out of my room and arrive at another one a few doors down. I don't hesitate to open the door and walk in. I make sure I close it behind me before I make my way over to Mako's bed.

"Mako," I whisper.

He doesn't respond.

"Mako," I say a little louder.

His mouth twitches but he still doesn't wake up.

"Mako!"

His eyelids flutter open.

"Korra!" Mako says as he raises up. "What's going on? Are you alright?"

"I had another nightmare," I mutter as I look down.

"Korra.. We should seriously get you to a healer."

"I'm okay," I say.

He sighs and says, "I've got another pillow in my closet."

I go get the pillow out and climb in bed with him.

"Thank you so much, Mako."

"It's nothing," he says.

I scoot closer to him. When I'm right beside him I realize he's not wearing a shirt. He doesn't seem to care that I'm this close to him so I don't bother to move away. His bare skin is warm and inviting. I've only seen Mako without a shirt on very few times and it's always made me blush but now this is something completely different. I turn my head over towards him to my left. I watch his chest rise and fall. I look at the muscles in his arms and reach my arm out to gently touch them.

"Korra, what are you doing?" Mako asks.

I look at him and my mind searches for an explanation to give him.

"Oh um. Nothing, sorry; I thought you were asleep," I say.

"So me being asleep gives you the right to fondle me?" I can hear the humor in his voice and it puts me at ease.

"Yeah, as long as I don't get caught," I say, smiling.

Mako laughs. His laugh is sleepy and it's adorable. I laugh too and turn to my side that is opposite of him. He copies my movements and turns on his side towards me.

"Good night," I say.

He puts his arm around me. I feel my cheeks get hot and I silently thank the spirits for being in a dark room.

Just as I'm dozing off I hear something. It's barely a whisper and that makes me think I was just imagining it. I don't bother trying to concentrate on what the sound was because I've already drifted far away into sleep.