[ When Hei jerks awake to the surface from a black hole of sleep, he opens his eyes to find that it is still dark. Floating in a void, his clock's digital numbers are feeble and flickering: zero five zero zero. He lies tangled in the bedclothes, confused, disoriented. Though he can see nothing in the blackness except the flickering clock, he's aware of Korra snoozing beside him, a warm landscape under the sheets. Wisps of her hair tickle his brow. Huffing, he swipes them off with the back of his hand. Except it doesn't feel like his hand. Smaller, finer-boned, the fingers spidery as they tangle in the hair. ]
[ Hair, which isn't Korra's. ]
[ Shit. Cautiously, Hei stretches his limbs; nothing feels painful, just different. He'd fallen asleep in a black T-shirt and snug gray Y-fronts. Now the former hangs off him in voluminous folds, while the latter is tight, the elastic cutting into his wider hipbones. Not this again. Scowling, he sits up. Runs his fingers through his tangled mass of hair. He's shorter, top-heavy, paler, but all ten fingers and toes are securely in place. He breathes deeply, sucking the clean air through his nostrils, keeping his spine straight. Outside the window, the predawn light casts a blue-gray penumbra, and he can hear the distant slosh of sea-waves beyond. ]
[ It's just a curse, he thinks, bleary-eyed but grim. Deal with it. It settles him, at least by degrees. Until he gets a better look at Korra. ]
❊ Backdaaaated to Feb 8
[ Hair, which isn't Korra's. ]
[ Shit. Cautiously, Hei stretches his limbs; nothing feels painful, just different. He'd fallen asleep in a black T-shirt and snug gray Y-fronts. Now the former hangs off him in voluminous folds, while the latter is tight, the elastic cutting into his wider hipbones. Not this again. Scowling, he sits up. Runs his fingers through his tangled mass of hair. He's shorter, top-heavy, paler, but all ten fingers and toes are securely in place. He breathes deeply, sucking the clean air through his nostrils, keeping his spine straight. Outside the window, the predawn light casts a blue-gray penumbra, and he can hear the distant slosh of sea-waves beyond. ]
[ It's just a curse, he thinks, bleary-eyed but grim. Deal with it. It settles him, at least by degrees. Until he gets a better look at Korra. ]
What the -- ?!