Of Needles and Thread
by Nevermore's Shadow
Author's Note: Written for Pro-Bending Tournament Semi-Finals
Team: Laogai Lion Vultures
Character Growth Prompt: Katara's Childhood
Prompts -
Easy: Teal
Medium: Content
Hard: "Sick"
Element: Water
Word Count: 933
Tendrils of water floated serenely around Kya's form, the amorphous fluid rippling as the waterbender shifted her weight from one leg to the other. The Fire Nation had been performing raids near the village quite frequently of late, and it was becoming more and more difficult for her to find a safe time to practice her bending, but she cherished those quiet moments where she could focus on nothing more than the soft gurgle of flowing water. Raising a seven and six year old was rather hectic work, but when the pair went off to play, Kya had these moments of contentment to herself. A soft wailing from nearby broke through Kya's serenity, and she let the water drop around her, rushing to the adjacent room to see Katara sitting on the floor, clutching her favorite doll. Upon closer inspection, Kya saw that the doll was in both of Katara's hands, in separate pieces, tufts of fur falling to the ground from the gaping wounds.
"Oh dear, what happened?" Kya asked gently, dropping to her knees beside her crying daughter.
"Sokka said that a sabretooth walrus-cat attacked Naja and he ran off to go fight it," she explained in between sobs, trying to stuff the fur back into the light blue body of the doll, "I don't think I believe him, though. I think he was playing rough with her again when I wasn't looking."
"Well, unless Sokka comes back with a walrus-cat hide, I think I am going to have to have a strong word with him," Kya grimaced, reaching her hand out, "Here, let me take a look at Naja." Katara reluctantly surrendered the doll and Kya held it up to the flickering lantern light, "Well, it seems she was lucky, it was a very clean wound."
"But she's in two pieces, mom! How could she ever be okay again?" Katara cried, her lower lip starting to tremble again as Kya began rummaging around inside of a bag, procuring a spool of teal thread and a small bone needle.
"Just you watch, we'll be able to take care of her. In fact," she said, sitting on the ground and patting her lap, "come here, I'm going to teach you how to help Naja." Katara wiped her soaking cheeks with her sleeve and came to rest facing her mother, their knees touching. Kya expertly threaded the needle and made the first few passes through the doll's fabric herself before handing the delicate operation over to Katara, "All right, now be careful not to prick yourself with the needle… just go in and out… in and out… that's very good," she beamed. Katara's first few stitches were rough and uneven, but she quickly got the hang of things as she worked her way around the doll's body. "You see, I've told you about how waterbenders can heal people. Now you sort of see how it works. Think of the teal thread as spirit energy being channeled through the water, mending the wounds, closing them up."
Katara gently pushed some errant fur back inside the doll, soothingly caressing its dark black hair, "I see, so it helps bring things back together and seal them. Even if someone gets ripped apart?"
Kya winced, realizing that she may have overstepped her metaphor, "No, dear, some wounds are too deep for even the best healers to repair. That doesn't mean you shouldn't try, of course. Never, ever turn your back on someone who needs you. Whether you're a bender or not, there's always something that you can do to make a situation better."
Katara held up her handiwork, the needle still dangling from the sewn up body of the doll from a length of thread. "The thread doesn't match the rest of her body," she said, disappointed, "she doesn't look the same anymore…"
"Sometimes," Kya said, finding a new foothold to teach her daughter yet another lesson, "there will be wounds that run so deep that they can leave scars. Terrible, hideous scars that can make a person look like a monster. I once knew a man, a very brave man, who was covered from head to toe in scars. Many of the children in the village were afraid of him, but I asked him what had happened to him, and he told me that he got his scars when he saved his family from a burning hut. What you need to remember is that those scars do not make a person who they are. They show where they have been, but each person chooses where their life takes them next." She gently took the doll from Katara's hand and cut the thread neatly, bringing the doll close to a flame lamp to singe the end of the thread. Kya turned Naja over in her hands to inspect her daughter's work, ensuring that there would be no complications from the surgery. "It looks like you're a natural healer, Katara. Great work!"
Katara threw her arms around her mother, "Thank you," she said, happy tears filling her eyes, "I wonder if Sokka is going to come back soon."
"Oh, I'm sure he will as soon as his stomach starts grumbling. And I'm going to have to have a word with him about playing rough. If he doesn't stop, he's going to wish he had run into a sabretooth walrus-cat." The mother and daughter laughed, hugging each other again. Perhaps her meditation had been interrupted, Kya thought to herself, but this moment was even better for her spirit than any length of peace and quiet might have ever been.