swift

The second morning at Moonhowl Academy began with a gray sky and air that smelled faintly of rain.

Korra stood before the mirror in her room, adjusting the stiff collar of her vest for the third time. No matter how she tried, it never seemed to sit right. The fabric still felt foreign, too fine for her calloused hands, too clean for a girl who once scrubbed floors and fetched firewood before dawn.

Mara, already tying her boots, caught her staring. “You will be fine,” she said with an encouraging smile. “You survived day one.”

“Barely,” Korra muttered.

Mara chuckled, tossing her an apple wrapped in cloth. “Eat. You will need strength. The second day’s always worse, they start calling on people.”

Korra frowned. “Calling on people?”

“You will see,” Mara said, winking as she slung her bag over her shoulder.

By the time they reached the Academy gates, the courtyard buzzed with noise from the students. The same groups clustered together as yesterday, the confident upper years, the murmuring juniors, and somewhere within that, Korra, who was trying to stay unnoticed but failed.

“She’s back.” 

“Who”

“The rogue girl,” came the reply, hushed but not enough to miss.

A soft snicker followed. “I heard she can’t even read properly.”

She ignored them, tightening her grip on her bag and walking faster.

“Why is she even here?” another voice murmured-a boy this time.

Someone chuckled. “Maybe the Alpha pitied her.”

A ripple of laughter followed, light and cruel.

Korra reached her seat at the far corner and sat down quietly, her pulse a fluttering drum. She opened her book even though the words on the page blurred into meaningless shapes.

*************

The morning class was on Pack Strategy, taught by Master Iriel, he was a short man with silver-threaded hair and eyes that had seen too much. 

“War,” he began, pacing before the board, “is not always fought with claws and teeth. Sometimes, it’s won by knowing where to stand, and when to kneel.”

Korra sat near the middle this time, her pen poised but unmoving. The words on the page blurred into lines she couldn’t decipher fast enough. Her mind raced to keep up, but the lessons came too quickly, maps, hierarchies, past battles of Moonhowl and the Eastern Clans.

Then, suddenly, his voice cut through the murmurs.

“Korra,” Master Iriel said.

The room went utterly still and heads turned.

Korra froze, heart slamming against her ribs. “Sir?”

He regarded her curiously, not unkindly. “Perhaps you can tell us—what was the key failure in Alpha Tyren’s defense during the Siege of Black Hollow?”

Her mind went blank. The name meant nothing to her. She tried to recall the notes, the words she had scribbled only moments ago—but all she saw was ink that swam and smeared.

“I…” Her throat closed up. “I don’t know.”

A soft snicker came from the front row, then another.

Master Iriel’s gaze softened, though his voice remained steady. “Then perhaps, next time, you will read ahead.”

Heat burned her cheeks as the laughter grew.

She nodded quickly, her eyes on her desk. “Yes, sir.”

The rest of the class passed in a haze. 

When the bell rang, she gathered her books quickly, hoping to slip away unnoticed. But they were waiting for her at the corridor was already waiting for her.

Kate the girl with the glossy black hair leaned against the wall with her little entourage. Her lips curved into a familiar, mocking smile.

“Well, look at that,” she drawled. “The rogue can’t even answer a simple question.”

Korra gripped her books tighter. “Leave me alone.”

Kate stepped closer, her perfume sweet and cloying. “You think you can sit among us, wear our sigil, pretend to be one of us? You don’t even know your history.”

“I’m trying,” Korra said quietly.

“Trying?” Kate laughed, turning to her friends. “She’s trying. Isn’t that adorable?”

“Maybe she needs a different kind of lesson.” someone said from behind her

Korra stiffened, taking a step back.

He moved closer, too close, his breath stunk with arrogance. “What’s wrong, stray? You think you can talk back to pack-born wolves and walk away unscathed?”

“Move,” she said in a low voice.

He reached for her wrist, but Korra moved faster.

It wasn’t thought through it was pure instinct. Years of surviving ambushes in the wild had honed something sharp in her. She dropped her books, twisted her body just as his hand came down, and ducked beneath his arm. In one fluid motion, she caught his elbow and used his weight to spin him slightly off balance.

He stumbled forward, slamming into the wall with a grunt.

The hall went silent.

Korra stood frozen, breathing hard, every nerve screaming. She hadn’t meant to move like that. She hadn’t meant to remember that kind of speed.

The boy turned, his face darkening with fury. “You…”

“What’s going on here?”

Everyone turned and Kate immediately pasted on a sweet smile. “Nothing, sir. We were just talking.”

“Talking?” his gaze lingered on the boy still rubbing his shoulder. Then it shifted to Korra “I see.”

He took a step closer, the authority in his stance enough to make the group scatter slightly. “If I hear of talking like this again, I will make sure every one of you scrubs the training yards for a week. Understood?”

“Yes, sir,” they murmured, backing off.

Korra swallowed hard, her pulse still racing.

He turned to her, lowering his voice. “Are you hurt?”

She shook her head quickly. “No, sir.”

“Good.” His gaze softened, “Next time someone tries that, don’t hold back.”

Her breath hitched. “Sir?”

He smiled faintly. “I can tell you are faster than you let on.”

Before she could respond, he was gone, his long stride carrying him down the hall.

The others lingered only long enough to shoot her venomous looks before dispersing.

************

Korra could not stop thinking about what happened at school, she should have been terrified. Instead, a part of her felt awake.

Mara entered quietly, holding two cups of warm tea. “I heard what happened.”

Korra flinched. “Who told you?”

“Half the Academy, apparently.” Mara handed her the cup. “They are saying you flipped Rowan into a wall.”

“I didn’t flip him,” Korra muttered, cheeks warming. “He tripped.”

Mara smirked. “Sure he did.” Then, after a pause, she added softly, “You handled it well.”

“I shouldn’t have fought back.”

“You didn’t fight, you defended yourself. There’s a difference.” Mara sat beside her. “They will talk, but eventually they will see that you are not someone to mess with.”

Korra stared into her tea, watching the steam curl upwards. “Do you really think so?”

Mara smiled faintly. “I do. And if they don’t well, I will make them.”

Korra smiled at her friends words and took a long sip of her tea. She reminicienced her swift movement from earlier, the reflex that had saved her, it didn’t feel ordinary. It felt old, like something buried deep within her blood had stirred awake.