DISC: I DO NOT own any of the characters from LOK. They belong to Brike. I do however own the idea for this story.
Enjoy!
A/N: I wanted to show Senna bending and how far she would go to protect her family. This was supposed to be a totally other story, but it went in an entirely different direction.
"The Unexpected Healer"
Korra stared up at the spirit portal, her eyes glued to the swirling energy within its surface. She couldn't believe it was a permanent fixture. A part of the city people would just have to get used to. At least the portal in the southern water tribe was at the south pole, not smack dab in the middle of the village. Sighing, Korra continued her gazing, too many thoughts spinning around her head for her to sort them all out. As she tried to quiet her mind, one thought took front and center. Despite her efforts to banish it back to the recesses of her mind, it wouldn't budge. Unwillingly, she let the thought travel from her mind to the tip of her tongue. Before she could stop herself, she spoke it aloud, unaware she wasn't alone anymore.
"It's all my fault."
"No it isn't."
Korra didn't even have to whirl around to identify the person who had joined her. She would recognize that soft, gentle voice anywhere.
"Mom, how can you say that? If I had come back when I was supposed to, if I had dealt with Kuvira differently, then this…" she gestured at the circle of energy mere inches in front of them, "wouldn't be here. Spirit vines I can get rid of, but this is a completely different obstacle altogether"
"Korra…" her mother reached out and placed her hand on the young adult's shoulder, "if you would have come back before you were supposed to, you wouldn't have fully recovered. Your father and I are so happy you found a way to heal from what happened. We're so proud of you, honey," with that, she pulled Korra in for a hug. Running a hand through her daughter's hair, she kissed the top of her head. "Above all, I'm glad you're safe. I love you so much, little one."
"I love you too," Korra mumbled, her tone matching her mother's. "But you shouldn't be proud of me!" with that, Korra wrenched herself out of her mother's arms, turned and ran in the opposite direction.
"Korra! Wait!" Senna took off after her without a second thought. They had to talk. She had to convince Korra of the truth. Rounding a corner, Senna saw Korra heading for the docks of eubay. Catching up with the young adult, Senna called out to her. She was surprised to find her kneeling in between the entrance to a darkened shop and a wall of an alley.
"Korra, please, you're-" her sentence was interrupted by Korra shaking her head and putting a finger to her lips.
Senna was confused, but she trusted her daughter.
Standing a minute later, Korra turned back towards the wedding hall. Senna followed her.
"What was that all about?" she asked.
"Some of Kuvira's partners were in there talking. I wanted to see what they were up to," Korra answered.
"I thought most of them had been arrested," her mother raised her eyebrows.
"They were. But apparently some got away," Korra growled.
Senna didn't let her daughter's reaction bother her.
"Honey, I was telling you the truth back there," Senna began.
Korra sighed.
"It's hard not to blame myself when I should have-oof!" Korra fell to her knees as something hit her in the small of the back. Getting to her knees, she struggled to her feet at the same time her mother yelled her name. Through slightly blurred vision, Korra felt something cold graze her right ear. Hearing the whip meet the intended target, she concentrated on getting out of her current situation. Raising her right hand, she tried to summon a flame. When none came, she growled in frustration. Trying again, she tried to push her attacker back with air. When this tactic failed, Korra went for an old fashioned approach. Pushing with all the strength she had, she managed to get the upper hand.
"Let…me go!" she demanded. She managed to get to her feet just as another water whip sailed over her head. Fighting off dizziness, the Avatar stood. Putting some distance between herself and the morons who had decided to attack her and her mother, she realized who she was up against. "You!" she practically growled.
The person in front of her didn't speak, but instead shot a fire blast at her.
Korra dodged it easily. She was about to say something in response when she saw something that made her heart skip a beat. A jet of fire was heading straight for her mother! The older waterbender was concentrating so hard on getting the best of the guy in front of her, she didn't see the attack! Not thinking of the consequences, Korra ran in the direction of the flames. Getting there with seconds to spare, Korra pushed her mother out of the way. As she did so, she fell back from the force of the flames. Bringing her hands up to protect her face, she soon felt a searing pain hit her dominant bending hand. Try as she might, she couldn't bite back the cry of pain. Gritting her teeth, she watched through streaming eyes as the guy fled.
"Consider this a warning, Avatar!" he called before disappearing.
Korra crawled over to where her mother was sitting. She had her hand pressed to the back of her head.
"Wha-who was that?" she stammered as pain shot through her skull.
"I'm not sure," Korra shakily replied. "Come on, we have to get back before-" her sentence was cut short by the sound of a familiar male voice.
"Korra! Senna, what happened?"
Korra glanced up to see her father and Tenzin running towards them. Her father got to her first.
"Help Mom, I'll be okay," Korra insisted, even as she whimpered in pain.
"Princess, are you sure?"
"Yes," Korra gritted out.
"Okay," Tonraq went to his wife's side and gently lifted her into his arms. "I've got you, sweetheart."
Senna relaxed into her husband's embrace easily.
"Korra…she's burned…her hands…" her voice trailed off as she hissed in pain.
"Shh, Tenzin has her," he assured.
Senna nodded, wincing.
Meanwhile, Tenzin was kneeling beside Korra.
"Korra, I'm gonna lift you now. You're safe," he assured her.
Korra merely whimpered as pain shot through her hands. She allowed Tenzin to pick her up. She closed her eyes as she felt Tenzin start walking.
*****
Korra opened her eyes to find herself in a familiar room. She went to sit up, but someone pushed her back down.
"No, honey, you have to stay still," a calming female voice coaxed.
"Mom?" Korra mumbled.
"Sweetie', it's me."
"Pema," Korra stated rather than asked.
"Your father's gonna help you," Pema assured her. "He asked me to stay with you while Tenzin is on the phone with Lin."
A small part of Korra was interested in what Tenzin and Lin were discussing, but a much bigger part just wanted the pain to go away.
"How's my Mom?" Korra asked.
"Katara's seeing to her. She just has a small concussion."
"Great,Korra was about to say something when she suddenly felt nauseous. She went to clap a hand over her mouth, but was stopped by the young woman.
"Korra, what's wrong?" Pema asked.
Swallowing hard, she gasped out, "Pema, I'm gonna throw-" she swallowed again, unable to finish her sentence. She soon felt something being slipped underneath of her chin. She heaved, losing the contents of her stomach. She repeated the process a second time before finding relief. Catching her breath a few minutes later, she closed her eyes.
"Here you go," Pema gently pressed a cup of water to her lips.
Korra took a few sips before lying back down.
"Thanks," she gasped.
"You're welcome. Does your stomach hurt?" Pema asked.
"No. I just felt sick all of a sudden. Maybe it was that stuff those guys hit me with," Korra mused.
"What stuff?" Pema frowned.
Korra explained what had happened.
"After Katara heals you, you can try bending. Hopefully it's just temporary," Pema patted her shoulder.
Korra nodded. She prayed Pema was right. As she thought about the afternoon's events, she sighed. She had really messed up. Not only that, she had gotten her mother injured in the process, through no fault of her own. "way to go-"
"Don't even finish that thought," a familiar male voice stated.
"Dad," Korra locked eyes with her father. She watched him set down a basin of water next to her bed. Having a feeling what was coming, Korra tried not to flinch when she felt her father gently take her hands in his. As the freezing water hit them, Korra bit back a cry. She hated showing weakeness in front of her father, but her hands really hurt. Hissing, she furiously blinked back tears.
"It's okay, princess, it's okay," her father assured her. After a minute or so, he turned to Pema. "This isn't going to work. Her right arm is burned pretty badly. Can you help her undress and carry her to the bathroom?"
"Of course," Pema replied. With that, she did so. Lifting Korra into her arms, she tried to be as gentle as possible. "There you go," she set the young adult in the tub.
Korra shivered immediately. Even though she was used to the water back home, her injured hands and right arm didn't like it much. Hissing in pain, she prayed her father returned soon.
Meanwhile, Senna's eyes opened to find her second mother glancing down at her in concern.
"Ka…Katara, wha-where's Korra? What happened?"
"Shh, you need rest. Korra's going to be fine. Tonraq's going to help her after I start the process. I'm concerned for you right now. How do you feel?"
"A little nauseous and tired. My head hurts a little," Senna admitted.
"I'm not surprised. You hit it hard when you fell. Do you know where you are?"
Senna looked around.
"Air temple island," she replied.
"Good. I'm going to have Tonraq come and stay with you while I tend to Korra. I'll be back. I'm so glad you're both going to be okay," with that, she kissed her second daughter on the forehead and stood.
It wasn't long before Tonraq entered the room. He rushed to his wife's side. Sitting down on the bed, he pulled her into his arms.
"Senna, thank the spirits you're okay. You and Korra really need to stop doing this to me," he kissed her cheek and ran a hand through her hair.
"I'll try not to do something like this again. As for Korra…" her voice trailed off as if to say Korra will be Korra. "Korra really saved me out there. We protected each other. She was great."
"I wouldn't expect any less," Tonraq helped Senna lay back down before joining her. "I love you."
"I love you too," Senna softly replied. "I hope Korra's going to be okay. She looked pretty bad."
"She'll be fine. Katara and I will see to that," Tonraq assured her. "Just rest for me."
Senna nodded as her eyes started to close. She felt safe and the events of the afternoon were catching up with her fast.
******
Meanwhile, back in the bathroom, Korra was trying to ignore the pain. Where was her father? Had something changed with her mother's condition? Before too many horrible possibilities could fill her mind, someone entered the bathroom. Glancing up, the twenty-one-year-old blinked in confusion when she saw Katara instead of her father.
"Wha-where's my…Dad?" she half asked, half gasped as pain shot up her right arm.
"He'll be in. He's staying with your mother for the time being," Katara patiently answered. She knelt beside the tub. Seeing the pain in Korra's eyes, she laid a gentle hand on her left shoulder. "You can talk to me."
Korra nodded. She looked down as more pain shot through her hands. Feeling a hand lift her chin upward, she locked her eyes with Katara's.
"It's okay to admit pain. It doesn't make you weak. You can always admit it to me. I know it hurts. I know all too well. I'm going to slowly lower your hands into the water," Katara forewarned her.
Korra shook her head, unshed tears in her eyes.
"Please…don't. It hurts too much!"
"Korra, believe me, I know what you're going through," Katara gently empathized with her former student.
"No…you…ahh…da-don't," Korra stammered through painful breathes as her hands made contact with her native element. Instead of feeling soothing, it made the pain worse. Sucking in a breath, she fought against the tears until she couldn't hold them back anymore.
"Yes, I do. I was burned once. In fact, almost in the exact same place as you," Katara revealed.
"Who burned you? Zuko?" Korra halfheartedly asked. She was still fighting the pain as she struggled to allow Katara to help her.
Katara shook her head.
"No. It was Aang."
Korra gasped, her eyes widening.
"Why? How?" were the only words that came out of her mouth.
"We had gone to a fire day's festival so Aang could study firebending. This master, Jeong-Jeong, agreed to train him. But he wasn't right for the job. Aang was playing around with a flame, even after I warned him to be careful. He didn't listen. He tried to do a trick he had seen at the festival and The flame went out of control. I reaped the consequences of his actions. I brought my hands up to protect my face. The next thing I knew, pain like I had never felt before ripped through my wrists. But it was nothing-nothing compared to the pain I experienced when I tried to find solace in my native element. I tried three times. The first two times I couldn't do it. The pain seemed to double whenever I tried. Then, finally, the third time, it worked. That was the day I discovered I could heal."
Korra nodded. She was so taken by Katara's story, she had forgotten about her current situation. She was quickly reminded as Katara once again tried to submerge her hands in the water. Hissing, Korra tried to pull out of her grip as a new set of tears fell.
"Korra, look at me," Katara gently instructed.
Korra did so, breathing hard from the pain.
"Thatta girl. Take a deep breath for me."
Korra did so, succeeding after the second attempt.
"Again?" the ex war heroine requested.
Korra did so.
"Good girl. We're going to take this slowly. Ready?"
Korra nodded even as her lower lip trembled. As her hands were lowered into the water for the fourth time, she let out a sob. Breathing shakily, she soon felt slow relief.
"How's that?" Katara asked.
"Better," Korra softly replied.
"I'm glad. I'm going to heal your hands now," Katara explained. With that, she started the process.
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
"Gran-Gran?" it was Ikki.
"What's wrong, sweetie?" Katara asked.
"Daddy needs to talk to you."
"Tell him I'll be right there," Katara instructed, "I'm helping Korra right now."
"Uncle Tonraq said he'll finish helping Korra," Ikki told her, "it's important."
Katara sighed. She turned to Korra.
"You don't mind, do you?"
"No," Korra replied. She let her hands drop back into the water. As her hands started to feel better, her right arm seared. It wasn't long before her father joined her.
"Is Mom okay?" she asked before he had a chance to sit down.
"She will be," her father replied. "Now let's get you sorted," with that, he dipped his own hands in the water, wrapping it around them. Once the water glowed, he gently took Korra's hands in his.
Korra gritted her teeth for a minute before relief made her sigh.
"Thanks," she said. "I forget you can heal too. Mom's always the one who heals me when I get hurt."
Tonraq nodded.
"It's okay," he smiled to show her he wasn't upset. "Remind me to tell you how I first took up healing lessons. I need to heal your arm now."
Korra sighed. She had a feeling this part was going to be harder. Taking a deep breath, she let her father do what had to be done. She felt him gently position her so that her whole upper right side was in the water. She let out a whimper as the pain seemed to double. It felt like the first time Katara had submerged her hands in the water. After a few minutes, she felt water touch her right arm. As the burned skin healed, she suddenly felt her mind flashing back to a different time and place. Pulling it back to the present with all her might, she fought to keep it there. As images from that horrible day threatened to engulf Korra, she found it was no use. Before she knew what was happening, she was back in the stone basement, chained as before. As she felt the poison being administered, she struck out. She heard someone calling to her, but she couldn't connect with the person's voice.
"Korra! Korra, stop! You're safe. Open your eyes and look at where you are. Look at me."
Still, Korra couldn't pull herself back. As she struck out again, she felt her hand connect with another person's flesh. Hearing a crack, she struck out again, only to feel someone take both of her hands in theirs. This time, she recognized the touch.
"Korra? Little one, open your eyes and look at me. You're safe, honey. Little one, open your eyes…"
Korra struggled for a few more minutes, but she was finally able to do so. The minute her eyes were open, she locked them with an identical set of cyan ones.
"Mom," she breathed.
"Yes, little one, it's me. Katara's going to lift you out of the tub and bring you to your room. I'm gonna stay with you. Do you understand?"
Korra nodded.
"Katara's gonna lift me," she repeated.
"Yes, very good," her mother gently praised.
Before Korra knew it, she was lying in her bed. She felt her mother sit down beside her.
"I'm sorry," she mumbled.
"Little one, you don't have to be sorry. You were afraid, you didn't know what you were doing," her mother told her.
"I didn't hurt Dad, did I?" Korra blushed.
"A little, but he'll be fine. Katara healed him," her mother reported. "You need rest. I'm going to stay with you."
"It's my fault this whole thing happened," Korra whispered.
"Korra, you're not responsible for other people's actions. I've told you that, I know Tenzin has told you upon occasion."
"If I hadn't run off…" Korra's voice trailed off.
"I agree you shouldn't have done that, but you were frustrated. The rest of what happened was NOT your fault. You need to believe that because it's true. Have I ever lied to you?" her mother inquired.
"No," Korra replied without hesitation.
"And I never will," her mother bent down and kissed her forehead, "I love you. Get some rest."
"I love you too. Are you feeling better?"
"Much," her mother confirmed.
"I'm glad," Korra said as her eyes closed.
Senna sighed as she watched her daughter fight exhaustion.
"Little one, don't fight it. You need sleep," she encouraged.
"Uh-huh," Korra mumbled as sleep claimed her.
Korra awoke to the sound of someone calling her name. Opening her cyan eyes, she locked them with a set of cobolt ones. Turning away in shame, she gazed at the comforter.
"Korra, I don't blame you for what happened. It was my fault. I should have warned you before I touched that area," her father said.
"I shouldn't have struck out at you. You would never hurt me," she countered.
"Your conscious self knows that," her father explained.
Korra sighed.
"I'm okay," he insisted.
"I'm glad," Korra sincerely said.
"How's your arm feel?" her father inquired.
"Better," Korra replied.
Tonraq smiled.
"Your mother wants you to eat," he informed her.
"I'm a little hungry," Korra admitted.
"That's good," her father reached over and ruffled her hair.
Ten minutes later, Korra found herself in the kitchen, surrounded by two of her four siblings. Sighing as Ikki hugged her around the waist, she returned the embrace. If there was anything good to be said in everything that had happened in the battle with Kuvira, Korra was experiencing it. Just being with her family made everything worth it. And as she took a seat next to her mother and across from Ikki and Tenzin, Korra had a feeling the rest would work out in time.
THE END