Although the sudden spike in Korra's strength was a curious topic, no one dwelled on it for long after she claimed she had no idea why, which wasn't necessarily a lie. Korra and I had no idea as to why she got stronger after sleeping together; I could only assume it was from a shift on the spiritual level from becoming one with me, her lover, though that was merely a theory.
Anyway, we focused on our expedition, continuing further through the realm of Jathr, searching for Father Glowworm's location, which we weren't having much luck with, but given how we were walking and fighting off spirits, it wasn't like we covered that much distance. The distance we searched in one week, I could cover in one day; of course, that brought a bunch of other problems.
However, thanks to our slow progess, it gave Korra and I plenty of time to ourselves. Well, 'ourselves', might've been a stretch; for the safety of the expedition, we refrained from making love or anything of the sort. Though even so, just playing around, talking, arguing, being in each other's presence, was more than enough for us; so long as we could be together, neither of us would complain.
Of course, when we returned to Jathr, we would make passionate love during the night; if I didn't start creating a void around our bed, our voices probably would've woken Roku and Kyoshi. That would've been an incredibly awkward situation.
Just like this, exhausting and dangerous, yet lovely and enjoyable days passed; they were days where, if the worst were to happen, we could be seriously injured or even die, though even so, they were the happiest times for me.
Days turned into weeks, weeks became months, and eventually, months evolved into years.
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"We… We've finally found it." Fan muttered, his voice was one of awe, fear, relief, and anger. Hiding behind a large stone, the five of us peered from around the stone, observing the mountain in the far distance.
The mountain was a cess-pit of that sickly-green energy, which we've all had the unfourtane of being inflicted with at one point. The sky just above the mountain was green, having been corrupted by the energy emanating from the mountain, there was even a flowing river, the only one within this destroyed world, though of course, it wasn't filled with water, but the liqufied version of the sickly-green energy.
To top it all off, corrupted spirits roamed around the base of the mountain, clearly serving as Father Glowworm's last line of defense. 'Maybe not the last line, there might be a few more within the mountain.' Shifting my focus to the grand staircase leading into a cave at the halfway point of the mountain, I furrowed my brows.
"Kyoshi, can you see inside?" Retracting my head behind the boulder, I glanced at Kyoshi, who did the same and closed her eyes, concentrating on her seismic sense. "Man, that place looks like it smells terrible." Korra, her voice laced in disgust, hid herself behind the boulder while Roku and Fan did the same, just in time for Kyoshi to open her eyes, her expression one of mild annoyance.
"No. The corruption is hampering my senses." Obviously, that wasn't good to hear, though while it would probably be the same, I tried doing something similar. Using the wind, I created a soft gust of wind directed at the mountain, sensing everything the wind hit, yet, just as it entered the range around the mountain, my senses became overwhelmed, as if all of the wind was hitting everything at the same time.
"So?" Glancing at Korra, I furrowed my brows and shook my head, causing her to click her tongue. Unfortunately for Korra and Roku, they wouldn't prove helpful right now, and it wasn't because they didn't have a way to sense their surroundings through their elements.
Four Avatars, each with different experiences, had been isolated together in a realm for years, fighting daily. Our understanding of the four elements has drastically deepened. With our help, Korra and Roku managed to create a technique that allowed them to sense through their element. Whether it was due to his natural talent or the technique itself, Roku took the longest to master his sensing technique.
By focusing, everything the sun touches would be within his sensing range; of course, there was a limit to his range, but even so, it was still incredible. As for Korra, she could sense everything within water, such as an ocean or lake, or even if it rained. It was powerful, but it wasn't particularly useful in most situations, since people don't live in bodies of water, and the weather was unpredictable to us.
During the night, though, specifically, on a full moon, her sensing technique mimics my own; she's able to sense everything the wind touches, given the moisture within the air. As the improvements on her blood bending, well, let's just say if she doesn't allow it, I'll never go flaccid, though I digress.
Neither Korra nor Roku would be helpful since the inside of the mountain wasn't within the range of either of their sensing techniques.
"I say we stop here and speak with Jathr." The four of us nodded in agreement with Roku, we'd be returning home earlier than usual, but this was the end of our mission; not to mention, who knew what Father Glowworm might've prepared for us to face. "I wanted to fight them, though." Seeing Korra pout, I rolled my eyes, gently knocking her head while Kyoshi lowered us deep underground, going much lower than normal, to the point where the temperature started to noticeably increase.
"Okay, Kyoshi, I think this is plenty deep enough, unless you intend to cook us alive." "Oh, be quiet, Korra. Ignore her, Kyoshi. Continue deeper; this warmth feels nice." "Huh, who the hell are you telling to be quiet?" "You little girl, now shush." "Tch, annoying bastard."
Watching Korra and Roku argue in amusement, Fan started creating the portal, which only took a few minutes; when we finished, we all entered, stepping back into the familiar room of Jathr. "Ah, nice, I no longer feel like I'm being cooked alive."
"I'll inform Jathr of our findings. Hopefully, we'll finally put an end to all of this." Stepping forward, Fan nodded at us before walking away, transforming into a goat. "Alright, time to bathe!" Throwing her hands into the air, we followed Korra, leaving the room behind as we stepped out onto one of the many branches of Jathr, where we found a random cupped leaf filled with water.
Now, because I accidentally spilled the beans to Korra regarding the hot bath Roku and I got to enjoy, she told Kyoshi, and the two teamed up, forcing us to share our bath with them. So as I removed my clothes, entering the bath alongside Roku, Korra, and Kyoshi did the same, their bodies on full display as they stepped into the water.
This would've been incredibly awkward if this were around the time when we first met, but we've spent years together, and when one deals with the stuff we deal with, the bonds one ends up forming are unlike any other.
"Mhm, yeah, that's the spot, ahh, so warm." Muttering, Korra practically submerged herself; only her face remained above the water as she floated close to the surface. "I'm still incredibly annoyed at you two." Shooting us, Roku and I glare, Kyoshi wiped her makeup off her face, causing the two of us to groan. It's already been three years since we started bathing together, and since then, Kyoshi has almost always mentioned this topic.
"Haa, Kyoshi, how long do you intend to stay annoyed with us?" Sighing, I glanced at Kyoshi, who raised an eyebrow, a pondering expression gracing her face, causing my eye to twitch. 'Is she really thinking of an answer?' Feeling the urge to slap some sense into Kyoshi, she finally responded. "Until the amount of time bathing in hot water has surpassed the time we bathed in cold water… Looks like you won't surpass it."
Five years, that's how long they spent bathing in cold water. Subtract that from three years, and we still needed two more years before her annoyance would finally vanish, but considering how we've finally reached the source of corruption and Father Glowworm's hideout, it definitely wasn't happening.
"No. No, we won't." Staring at Kyoshi with a blank expression, I leaned against the leaf, staring at the thick canopy of branches and leaves while the four of us enjoyed the hot spring-like bath.
Eventually, Roku leaves, followed by Kyoshi a second later, leaving just Korra and I; watching Kyoshi walk across the branch, once she entered Jathr, I grabbed Korra, lifting her from the water and plopping her onto my lap.
"Fufu, it's barely been a second." Chuckling in amusement, Korra leaned into my embrace, her modest breasts pressed against my chest, while my hands dropped to her butt, gripping each cheek. "Says the one who was also waiting for Kyoshi to leave." Smirking, I leaned forward, kissing her while she wrapped her arms around my neck. "Fair, fair."