Conflict Resolution

Chapter 4

Korra woke up at 2 pm to Naga licking her hand and whining. She rubbed her eyes and sat up. "Are you hungry, girl?" she asked, petting Naga's fluffy head. Naga only answered with a whine and the frantic wagging of her tail.

With a groan, Korra pushed herself out of bed and walked after Naga, who scampered down the hall. She let the dog outside and stumbled over to her food bowl. After she filled it, Naga had returned to the door and barked once. Korra let her inside and stepped out of the way as she dashed over to her food bowl. "Easy girl," she said. Naga ignored her and greedily swallowed down her meal. Korra felt a pang of regret for staying away so long. "I bet you're sick of being cooped up in here." She patted Naga on the head as she licked up the last of her food. To be honest, Korra did not want to be stuck inside either. "Let's go for a walk."

At the mention of the word, Naga frantically ran over to the front door, skidding to a stop by her leash and harness. Korra laughed and walked over, trying to slip the harness on Naga as she sat there and whined insistently. Finally, she managed to buckle everything into place through the mass of white fur.

"All right." She opened the door. "Let's go." Naga tugged her outside and almost dragged her down the steps before she got a chance to shut the door, but Korra pulled her back into place and locked up her house. As they set off, Korra let Naga choose the direction of the walk. She took them uphill, toward the city and most of Naga's favorite stops. As they walked, Korra tried to ignore the lingering memories of last night. She had been in such a hurry to get away that she had brought the sparring gloves and headgear home with her. She would have to return those to Asami.

What a nightmare. The whole situation was just that: a nightmare. Asami probably thought she hated her, or was dead, or something equally awful. Whatever happened to playing it cool? With a sigh, Korra fished her phone out of her pocket. She would have to call or text Asami. She had to do something to explain away her weirdness. There were a couple messages from her friend already.

Are you all right? You sort of just ran away. That was from moments after she left. Korra checked the next one, which Asami had sent only a few hours ago. Hey, just let me know if you're alive. Is everything okay?

Korra frowned. What is a good excuse? Her fingers lingered over the phone. Sorry I wasn't feeling well. She looked at the words. "She's not going to buy that," Korra muttered. I suddenly remembered that I had to get ready for a meeting. Korra deleted that as well. Gee Asami, I wanted to roll you over and rip all your clothes off. That's all. She growled and turned off her phone without sending the message.

"I'll deal with it later." She looked up to see Naga pulling them toward Be The Leaf, a small wellness center nestled between other shops. "You want to visit Tenzin?" she asked. Naga pulled more insistently the closer they got. "I guess it won't hurt." Naga would have some kids to play with, and hopefully Korra could think of a way to calm down and sort out this mess.

She opened the front door, cringing at the wind chime that clanged to announce her arrival. "Good afternoon!" Pema, the owner's wife, walk into the lobby. "Oh, Korra! We didn't know you were coming. The kids just got home from school."

"Cool, I'll just go say hi to them." Korra waved and headed to the back room. The four children were gathered around a table in the back with papers spread out, probably doing homework.

"Hey guys."

"Korra!" The all looked up and beamed.

Korra smiled and relaxed somewhat. "I know it's been a while, but Naga wanted to say hi." Meelo, Ikki, and Rohan immediately bolted out of the room in search of the fluffy dog. Jinora, however, kept her focus on Korra. "You don't want to see Naga?" she asked.