closed

[sophos]

Characters: Annabeth & Korra
Date: mid-october
Location: Eva's Safehouse
Situation: taking korra to check on a comatose eva
Warnings/Rating: will edit/add as necessary

Is it really a risk, taking Korra to see Eva, when completely ignoring a possibility would do nothing to change the status quo? A couple days after Annabeth's chat with the so-called Watcher, she contacts Korra, and arranges the trip out. She shows up outside Korra's suite in Metal with Mrs. O'Leary, and before long, the three are shadow traveling across the city. The hellhound slides out of the shadows in the Wood sector, in a mostly empty of population area. She directs Mrs. O'Leary to do a bit of a sweep, but there's no one around out of the ordinary.

"The house is up the street," she says, sliding off the hellhound, and giving the dog instructions to come back in about an hour, but to do a little more shadow traveling in other sectors along the way. Throw people off.

So far, Annabeth's only gone to the house invisibly - but she only has one hat. If she makes Korra wear it, well, she's already revealed that she knows where Eva is; someone could easily track her to it. If she wears it herself, there's obviously no following an invisible person. But something hits her with that thought - something Korra said once, about the gift she'd gotten from Asti.

"Asti's gift. It lets you see through magic, right?" She's pulling out her yankees cap at the same time, though she waits, before setting it on her head. It's her secret weapon and trump card, but it's not like Korra's going to use it against her. "Like, invisible things too?"

Comments

[alphatar]

Shadow traveling's startling to Korra at first, but she manages to adapt to it. The fact that she already knows Mrs. O'Leary's a gentle giant of a dog and that Annabeth's trustworthy makes it all the more easier. Once they get some shadow jumps in, Korra adds another pair of eyes to look around.

Thankfully, no one even caught a glimpse of them so far.

Korra slid off and gave the hell hound a habitual scratch under the chin before following after Annabeth. "Yeah, it's kind of weird being able to see the kedan as they are even after they shapeshift."

She looked at Annabeth, finding the hat kind of cute and took a quick look around. "I thought you didn't have any of your parents' powers." If she went invisible, Korra didn't even notice the shift.

[sophos]

"I don't. Not really, not in the traditional sense of 'powers'." She spins the hat in her hand. "But I got a present once, from my mom."

It was one good thing about being here - somehow Asti's magic fueled her hat into working again.

Watching Korra carefully, Annabeth puts the cap on her head. In her own vision, she disappears entirely almost immediately, but she suspects that won't be the case with her friend. "Can you still see me?"

[alphatar]

Korra raised her eyebrow, a slightly puzzled look on her face.

"Uh, yes?" She looked around to make sure there wasn't anyone around and looked back to Annabeth. "You're sure that thing wor-"

But her words got cut off from what happened when she actually paid close attention to Annabeth. A faint hint of something, magic? Korra wasn't sure, but it emanated around her. Most of it coming from the cap itself.

"Oh wow. Yeah. Yeah, that definitely works." She lowered her voice into a whisper. "Works fine."

[sophos]

She starts grinning the further Korra's reaction goes on - it's a weird sensation, knowing she's invisible but able to be seen at the same time.

"No one else should see me," she says quietly, tapping at the cap. "But you should be able to follow me."

Then she frowns for a second. Her own boon from Asti - she's tried it very little, but she gives it a shot now, makes an attempt to send some thoughts to Korra.

'Can you hear this?'

[alphatar]

Korra raised her eyebrows in surprise at the telepathic message. She had some practice with Donatello on it, but that didn't mean she was expecting it to happen at any time. Not even with the turtle himself.

'I didn't know you could do that.' She waited an extra second to see if Annabeth got her reply, but nothing.

Annabeth had put effort into getting them here safely and Korra didn't want to jeopardize it. She nodded, not wanting to talk anymore than they had to until the got to the safe house. She'd definitely need to ask her about that, but for now Korra was ready to follow her and put the bit of stealth training she'd learned from Natasha and Michelangelo to good use.

[sophos]

'It's a recent thing. Like your gift, from Asti. I haven't used it much. But if I need to tell you anything, this is how I'll do it. No one can actually talk back to me, though.'

Which felt like half a gift - why not go all out? But Annabeth no longer feels like she needs powers, so she'll work with what she's got in any capacity.

And she takes off, making her way through the streets towards Eva's safehouse at a reasonable pace. She doesn't want it to look like Korra's lost, or out of place, or anything suspicious at all, really.

It's a mostly clear cut - she takes one unnecessary detour down between two houses, out of caution and paranoia, but it doesn't add much time.

'As a warning, the safehouse doesn't look like much of a safehouse. Try not to look surprised.'

[alphatar]

Keeping up with her friend wasn't difficult, and Korra had been around Keeliai long enough to not gawk around at the slightest thing. The only thing she tried differently was pretending that she couldn't see Annabeth, which was more challenging than she thought it might have been. But she managed well enough by following the blonde, curly haired girl discreetly through the detour.

It was hard for Korra to not picture Annabeth as an airbender, but she blamed it on the color of her eyes.

But her thoughts were punctured by the fair warning and Korra opened her mouth to say she wouldn't look it, but stopped and closed it instead. She had to look like she was by herself just in case, and talking was a dead give away something was weird.

Sure enough there wasn't much too look at. Korra looked around to check to see if they were followed and pulled her music player out of her pocket under the pretext of reading the digital display. "All Alone." There had yet to be a time she didn't appreciate the small gift in her hands. "By Al Jolson." She added before putting it back in her pocket and flicking her eyes briefly to meet Annabeth's grey ones before looking at the entrance to the safehouse.

[sophos]

Annabeth makes a mental note to ask more about the music player later. She hasn't really used one in over two years, which is weird enough to think about. She smirks at the display though - thinking she picks up on Korra's intent.

By the time she reaches the safehouse, it looks more like a deadhouse. The house looks to be in ruins, charred and broken apart from a fire. The damage looks a few days old, but Annabeth stands before it determinedly, glancing once at Korra.

'Just walk. Straight for the house.'

Which is exactly what she does herself. As she approaches the porch, she falls into the familiar sensation - ice cold, like walking through a sheet of water, an invisible waterfall as she closes her eyes. When Korra follows her, she'll feel the same - but when the feeling is over and their eyes open up again, the safehouse now stands in perfect condition.

She frowns though. The owl eyes didn't show up this time. Not that she has anyone to ask about why.

[alphatar]

Korra hesitated at just how it hardly looked like a safehouse, but she caught Annabeth's eye and knew it wasn't another detour before the telepathic message hit her. She nodded and followed onto the worn down porch. A violent shake ran down her spine in a fraction of a second and Korra's arms flared out as she turned to look at was surely water.

But nothing was behind her.

She turned to look at Annabeth quizzically, but her mouth fell open at what she saw behind the blonde haired girl. Her blue eyes widened as she looked at the actual safehouse. After taking it all in, her gaze drifted back to Annabeth and Korra canted her head at the frown.

"You okay?" And she instantly closed her mouth to look behind her. Being quiet had been at the forefront of her mind the whole trip, even now.

[sophos]

She tosses Korra a wry smile and nods. 'I'm fine. This has happened every time so far.'

But she's tired of being invisible and talking this way, so she beckons Korra to follow her up the porch and inside the house. Once she steps over the door, she pulls the hat off her head, watching herself come back into view.

"It's some kind of illusion." She drops the telepathic thoughts too. As far as she's aware, once they're inside, they should be okay to carry on as normal. Her face turns a little sour at the next remark: "Remind me to explain... who set it up. You're okay too, yeah?"

[alphatar]

Korra gave one last look around the porch before heading into the house after Annabeth. If her sight couldn’t show her the truth as it usually did, then the magic used to guard the house left Korra feeling a lot better about her and Annabeth’s safety.

“I’m not going to get used to that, am I?” Quietly, she asked the rhetorical question with a smirk, as Annabeth took off the cap. Less blurred by magic, like her eyes had come into better focus, Korra nodded to assure that she was doing good so far.

“I’ll make sure to nag you for the details.” Her teasing threat was playful at best and she took out the waterskin she had strapped to her chest under her anorak, stepping up next to Annabeth and looking around the interior. It really did look nothing like what the illusion showed.

“Where’s she resting?” Her tone was more concerned. Annabeth had those faded cuts and had been more concerned for Eva than herself. Korra wanted to knock out two birds with one stone, if her abilities were up to the task.

[sophos]

Annabeth snorts. "Probably not. It gets a little less weird, but not by much."

She nods over the request for more details, then tilts her head. "The bedroom, this way," she says, then starts walking for the room.

Once inside, Eva's laying relatively still on the bed. Annabeth frowns, but it hasn't changed at all since the last time she visited; hoping for something to differ might've been useless. For all intents and purposes, Eva just looks like she's sleeping, but it's far more than that.

She walks over and sits on the edge of the bed, beckoning Korra herself to come closer too. "So what'll you do first? Try to read her chi, right?"

[alphatar]

Korra smirked at the answer and followed after Annabeth to bedroom.

She looked from Annabeth to the resting figure on the bed. Korra had only seen Eva once when they were assigned lanterns that contained their souls. Nothing looked out of the ordinary from her gifted sight.

"Yeah. There's usually more water, but since she's alive then I can just use this." Korra went to the bedside, uncorking the waterskin. "Don't know what I'll find, but it's better than doing nothing."

A fluid wave of her arm drew the water out of the skin and into the air. Spreading out her hands thinned the water and she lowered the water down onto Eva. A bright, blue glow illuminated the room and the soft humming of the water was almost inaudible as she moved it back and forth over the comatose Eva.

"Something overloaded her energy. Could have been magic or something else, I don't know. But her chi's weak, it's doing just enough to keep her like this." She tried to encourage the flow of her life energy with each passing wave of the glowing water. "There's patients at the hospital that are like this, but not this weak. Whatever recoiled on her did a number."

[sophos]

Annabeth watches carefully as Korra works, trying not to get her hopes up too high. Knowing her luck, nothing'll end up coming out of this.

Except she needs to stop thinking like that. Because if they can't get passed this, she might never get home again. And that's something she refuses to accept.

Her face scrunches up when Korra drops her discovery, and she doesn't speak up right away, thinking it over. "Her magic is connected to the planes. Maybe something happened with Mally in his latest pushback - she was stronger than Eshai, she tightened the barrier. I feel like it had to be him, in some capacity, that overloaded her."

But she definitely doesn't like the sound of how bad it seems to be. Hesitantly, she asks, "Do you think waking her up is within your capabilities? Or at least - helping her get on that track."

[alphatar]

The silence after giving her initial findings leave Korra uneasy and she holds the glowing water still while looking at Annabeth, not making eye contact until she spoke. Her mouth opening ever so slightly at the mention of Eshai.

"Waterbending could help, it might take a while." It was worth a shot, Korra didn’t want to leave Eva like this or see Annabeth have to deal with something that was weighing on her this much. "I can’t feel or see any of his taint. I think, I think she might have overexerted herself. Pushed herself too hard, by doing something."

She resumed slowly swishing the water back and forth with graceful strokes of her arms.

"Or fighting someone, I don’t know." The blue light kept Korra’s face lit as she concentrated on coaxing her chi paths to give more flow. "But she’s lucky to be alive."

She paused the water for a brief moment before resuming.

"And you’re a good person for looking after like this."

[sophos]

Annabeth nods, slowly. "Overexertion makes sense too. Whatever the something was... is still probably related to her magic. Even if you can't feel Mally's taint, it could have been like a domino effect, from something he's done. I'm not sure who else she could have been fighting."

She gets distracted for a moment, by the way the water glows. Lucky to be alive is apt. "We're all lucky she's alive." And then she hesitates over the compliment, but her expression doesn't shift. It does, however, get her to admit to something she hasn't told anyone else, beyond fellow demigods and Zatanna. "I've known her for two years now. I like to think she's had my back too."

It's kind of a stupid secret to keep anymore, at this point.

[alphatar]

That was what connected the pieces of the small puzzle in her head together. An established connection like that, for that long, had been all Korra wanted and it was the same thing she was scared of having just so it would be taken from her. Like it felt everyone else had been.

"I'm sure she did." Her voice wasn't loud and she gave a brief, forlorn look before turning her attention back on Eva.

For something like that, Korra would do her best to get her chi paths to flow more strongly. Her arms continued in the same graceful manner, but her fingers gripped at the air at the peak and seemed to dig as she tensed them inwards, releasing at the very end so her hand was like the water washing over Eva.

She could do this, healing had become her most used skill on Tu Vishan and she was counting on all the practice and experienced she gained in that time.

[ironwood]

It takes another few moments of Korra's waterbending and silence except for the gentle swish of air movements-- that was broken abruptly as Eva came back to consciousness, launching upright with a strangled scream, her arms flailing as she tried to lash out at whatever she thought was there.

[sophos]

Though Annabeth is watching Korra work carefully, watching for any signs of - well, anything in her comatose friend, she's still startled when Eva does actually start to stir and move.

And panic; the scream sends a chill through Annabeth, almost makes her fall back into Tartarus, but it's the flailing and getting hit that pulls her back to the task at hand. She'll come back to the fact that Korra's healing actually worked in a moment.

"Eva!" Annabeth fights against her lashing out and tries to reach for the mage's hands, or arms, whichever she can best get a hold on in hopes of calming her. "Eva, shh, it's Annabeth! You're safe!"

How safe might be up for deliberation, but that's not the important part right now.

[alphatar]

The abrupt and jarring scream made Korra pull the water down to the foot of the bed, instinct kicking in as she took a readying half-step back for her next movement in case Eva had to be restrained. One thing was for sure, it stirred up her chi flow enough.

But her wariness faded quickly and she drew the water into an orb by her hand.

She looked concernedly from Eva to Annabeth. "Everything's okay, no one's going to hurt you." As if to make sure her own words weren't a lie, she looked over her shoulder at the doorway. The way things had been on the turtle, watching one's back was becoming a good habit.

[ironwood]

Initially, Annabeth's attempts to restrain her only make it worse. But her voice does eventually break through the haze of panic and she starts to slow, her shoulders hunching forward. "Annabeth? Where are we? What's-- no, the Palace. It's not just the Palace!"

[sophos]

She expected that, having been roused from her own rounds of nightmares before; she'd definitely punched Percy in the face, at least once.

But she knows how to be the supporter, too. When Eva slows, Annabeth watches her carefully, her grip firm but calming. "We're in a safe house. It's hidden from most eyes."

She frowns. It's not a question she wants to ask right now, but the answers she could get might be more open than if she waits. "What's not just the palace?"

Something tells her she's not going to like the answer.

[alphatar]

Korra furrowed her brow, flicking her eyes between Annabeth and Eva. The only thing she knew about the palace was what Rex had told her before he returned home, and what little she gleaned from his notebook.

But it didn't fit with her claim of the palace.

A single motion sends the water back into her waterskin and she took that half-step forward to be back where she was. Last Korra had seen of the palace was when she spent her last moments with her hatchling's body. She looked at Annabeth, the look on her face let her know this wasn't going to be good.

[ironwood]

Eva lifted a hand and pressed it to her temple as if fending off a scathing pain there. "When the barrier around the Palace broke, it knocked me out. But not before I saw where he has been hiding. He's been in Tu Vishan."

She had no way of knowing, having been unconscious, that much had already been made abundantly clear by Malicant himself.

[sophos]

Annabeth flinches at the revelation, which isn't as big a bomb drop anymore. She steals a glance at Korra, then looks back to Eva.

"Someone else found that out too. Dropped it over the network. You've been out... for some time." To put it mildly. "How did you see it? Do you know?"

But she glances at Korra again with a somewhat urging expression, should she want to add on any of her own questions.

[alphatar]

As much as Korra wanted to tend to Eva's abrupt recovery, she knew how important this was. She exchanged that glance with Annabeth and had to ask the main question.

"Can we pull him out without hurting Asti?" The direct approach was always her go to.

[ironwood]

"Some time?" Eva repeated, startled. "I saw it when I was trying to keep the barrier from breaking. It was an old, old spell that likely cannot be cast anymore and it weathered even the Palace's possession. But I couldn't keep it from shattering and the backlash..."

She sighed, running a hand down the non-burned side of her face, and looked up at Korra. "That's not a question I can answer right now. I--"

A faint grimace. "I don't seem to have my magic at this exact moment."

[sophos]

Something hard and cold slams into Annabeth full force. She should be more concerned about the fact of it and what it means on the upfront, what it means for Eva herself to be without magic - but for over two years now, Eva has been Annabeth's core hope for getting home. If her magic is gone, what does that mean for her goal? Is it permanent? It's probably selfish, but Keeliai keeps taking and taking from her, and she's so tired.

For a second, her faces flashes with that very real fear, before she gets it under control. And then her rational thoughts take over, and she tries to go on straightforwardly. Logically. She needs to get the facts.

"Is it - drained? Like when Asti was sick, or is it something else?"

[alphatar]

"I don’t think so." Said unsurely since she had little to go off of aside from how everything suffered from it last time, even the foreigner’s powers and abilities. Though she gave an apologetic shrug at Annabeth before looking to Eva. "I’m not sure it would work, but I could try to restore your magic if it’s been blocked off."

Magic and bending were two different things as far as she thought, even though others have said differently. But she could at least off that.

[ironwood]

Eva is keeping her voice level, so it's hard to discern exactly how the magician herself feels about it. "I don't think it's entirely removed," she says. "Seeing as how I'm still breathing and all. But I can't feel it either. Sealed might be a better term for it."

Then she looked at Korra; she didn't know the Avatar as well as she knew Annabeth, but she trusted Annabeth and that was therefore partially extended to Korra.

"Might as well try. Will you two catch me up on what's been going on?"

[sophos]

"If it's sealed, that means it can be broken." And she really hopes Korra can help that along too. The Avatar managed to wake her up, after all.

She nods at Eva, even though the mage already gives her own consent for the attempt.

Annabeth grimaces though, at the prospect of explaining what's happened. But one of Korra's turtles was lost, so she takes the lead there, explaining through the announcement Malicant left over the networks with the bodies in tow. "I tried to contact you after... it obviously didn't work."

But she has some other questions. About Watchers. And if Korra hears it, the more the merrier. "You had a visitor, while you were out. He called himself Wlodislaw." A beat, because she can't help herself. "He was kind of a jerk."

[alphatar]

Korra was curious on magic being what keeps Eva alive, but she didn’t have time to entertain the thought.

"Never heard of Watchers or anyone called Wlodislaw, looks like I’ve got some catching up to do too." She gave an uncertain look as she got closer to Eva.

"This won’t hurt, I promise. Here’s hoping this works like it does back home." She reached out to place one thumb on Eva’s chest and the other directly in the center of her forehead.

Her eyes become flooded with light as she tried to bend the life energy within Eva to unblock her use of magic and restore her back to full capacity.

[ironwood]

"That's what I'm hoping, or we're all in a fair bit of trouble," Eva said grimly, and that expression turned even more ashen when Annabeth described the carnage Malicant had wrought on the hatchling turtles.

"And Evandau too..." she muttered with a shake of her head, her mouth firming into a tight line. "He and I may have been at odds over many things, but he didn't deserve such an end. He might have been a strong Emperor one day."

She sighed at the mention of Wlodislaw. "He is," Eva agreed with Annabeth's observation. "What did he say?"

Despite Korra's assurance that the energy-bending wouldn't hurt, the magician's scarred face tensed, obviously feeling something at the attempt, and she did her best to keep her voice level. "Now there's an odd sensation... like someone's taking a meat hook to my magic."

[sophos]

She looks at Korra. "He was here, checking on Eva, just after I told the network about her condition. We exchanged a few words." Suddenly she looks kind of grumpy.

"He was a condescending jackass," Annabeth hisses, without really thinking about it. But anyone who's known Annabeth long enough knows how much she hates being talked down to. It spoils her views of the person, until they can prove themselves otherwise.

But then she looks over at Eva a bit more seriously, a bit more expectantly. "He said you were the Watcher of Life. Among other things."

If she sounds annoyed, it's only because she hates information being withheld. It feels like something she should have been aware of much earlier than now.

It lessens a bit, when Korra seems to have done something with Eva's magic. She wants - needs - it to work, badly.

[alphatar]

Korra's lips thinned in concentration at Eva's words. Reaching out with her own chi, grabbing a hold of Eva's magical energy was new and yet similar to restoring one's bending. The new part was Korra energybending to release Eva's magic and her eyes narrowed when she was sure she had a firm grip. Breaking the block wasn't easy, but Korra was set on forcing her energy to flow freely once more. This would be a good example of how magic was different from bending, but putting it into words wouldn't exactly be easy.

Whatever kind of energy struggle she was doing internally, it looked like nothing more than Korra being completely still and staring at Eva through glowing eyes.

Until she closed them and lowered her hands from Eva.

Korra's eyes opened, baby blue and as normal as always. She gave an encouraging nod. "See if your magic works." She didn't miss the Watcher of Life part and she shot Annabeth a raised eyebrow. It's nothing she'd ever heard before.

[ironwood]

"I don't disagree," Eva replied to Annabeth. "But he also has more knowledge than anyone else I know, and I don't say that lightly. As for being a Watcher..."

She sighed a little, contained a wince at what Korra was doing, and gathered her thoughts. "It's not something that I mention because it's not something that I wanted. Did he mention that he press-ganged me into it? Probably not."

She was interrupted as Korra lowered her hands, evidently finished with what she was doing. Yet when she tried to pull some of her magical energy forward, it was almost as though it slid sideways, out of reach. Blocked differently, more elusive, but it was progress.

"You did do something," Eva confirmed for the Avatar. "It might take me a while to get a handle on it."