Unclothed from the waist up, the soothing night wind chilled her torso and nipped at her pearl-white skin around the flaring cover of her auburn hair. The draft crept in the open window but she had her covers were pooled around her waist, not bothered in the slightest by it. Light peeked through a crack in the door as it opened and she stifled a low groan, lifting her head as one blink switched her from lightly asleep to fully alert.

The man who lingered in her doorway sighed with exhaustion, absent from the heavy fur coat he usually draped over his shoulders, leaving him shirtless as well—and for some reason that stuck out more than the fact that he was uncharacteristically invading her room in the middle of the night. Usually if he wanted something he called.

Of course she knew immediately what he was visiting for. She half-turned, her arm hiding her chest from his sight, not that he was looking anyway. Too busy rubbing his eyes trying to coax the muscles into keeping them from shutting like a trap door.

"Kyoshi, it's been hours since she regained consciousness and she hasn't settled down yet. Every time we try something she becomes increasingly distressed and violent. Please can you do something?"

For once Kyoshi remained quiet as she sat up, her scarred back to him. She reached aside for her tunic as he spoke.

When they entered the recovery room, there was the strong, repugnant stench of herbs weighing in the humid air. Well no wonder she hadn't settled down—it was fucking boiling in the room. The hot bowl of water left on the table by the healers wasn't helping either.

The room was quite crowded with people all stood away from the bed. It filled Kyoshi with annoyance to see them hovering around the wounded Earthbender. She did not need an audience.

"Open up a damn window," she ordered while she lowered the temperature a few degrees. Healers would probably protest against that but they could whine all they wanted. "Half of you don't even need to be in here."

"We're worried," said Katara softly, sitting by the bed. Suki remained quiet against the wall, arms held behind her back, looking a little bit uneasy. "We can't get close to her."

A scoff answered that comment. "Yeah, I figured that. Haven't you thought about giving her space until she calms down? Keep grabbing at her and I guarantee you you'll get kicked in the face."

Kuruk's cerulean eyes were scanning something that nobody noticed. His mind absorbed information greedily like a cloth soaking up water and he compiled it, ready for use. Maybe Suki saw it as well, observant as always, but she remained stonily silent and made no comment if she did.

Katara's lips thinned slightly. "We can't just leave her alone. She's vulnerable."

"Didn't say anything about leaving her alone. I said stop poking at her," Kyoshi repeated slowly.

"I have ascertained that she is aware of her situation," Kuruk explained, hand twitching towards the fresh set of bandages on the table. "But afraid that she will not recover. I have tried various ways of communicating with her but she only has two—possibly three—senses now by which to converse with us."

Kyoshi glanced at him. "What about the Avatar Spirit?"

Kuruk spoke hurriedly, as though he couldn't get the information out quick enough, gesturing wildly as he did so. "Pseudo-Avatar, not a full connection, like a branch hanging off a tree. She kicked off when Aang tried to touch her. Roku tried as well, same result, which means she can't tell it's him either. I tried reaching out telepathically but not so much as a twitch—that little inner voice you hear while consciously thinking sometimes? She can't hear her own, so she's completely deaf, not just physically, otherwise she'd have heard me."

He paced the perimeter restlessly, talking as he walked. "The average person has five senses. Sight, smell, taste, touch, sound. Sometimes six, so let's add psychic just for the sake of being thorough. Smoke damaged her throat so she'll be unable to speak until that heals, I doubt she'll be able to taste anything. Explosion went off right next to her, so her hearing-" Kuruk clicked his fingers "-gone. Too early to tell if that'll come back but I'd hazard a guess and say it will, given time. So, no sound. That's two down. She was never able to see anyway but the impact was pretty hard and she's given no indication of Bending so the injury must have removed her second sight as well, which means no Earth- or Airbending. So sight, gone. Three."

"You said she had three senses, but you said before that you tried to talk to her telepathically but she didn't respond," Suki said.

Kuruk clapped and clasped his hands. "Ah, I said that, yes. Aside from the burns, she can still touch and smell what's around her, so she still has those senses. But I'd say we still have a way of communicating with her." The Waterbender gave a devious smile to the looks of confusion he earned. Pointing both forefingers towards Toph, he drew their attention back to the Earthbender.

Who was currently fiddling with Kyoshi's finger, as calm as a lazing cat in front of a warm fire.

Kyoshi blinked, having not noticed the movement before. Then the insinuation of what he was saying hit her and she whirled around on him, eyes burning with disdain. "Do I look like someone's mother to you?" she growled.

"Koko," Kuruk reminded her.

"Adopted."

"Difference?" Kuruk waved her away before she could say I only took her in because I pitied her. "Kyoshi, think about it. Anyone else she practically mauls. It has to be you. You sat on the bed without realising it because she began to panic again. She touched you. She recognises you. Probably something to do with your Bond but anyway, the way you've been acting towards her since about a month after you first met, it's not really going to be much different from how you already treat her. You'll just be a little bit more hands-on."

Kyoshi felt her cheeks burn beneath her war paint. "Excuse me?"

"You're excused, my dear co-Avatar." Kuruk stretched and yawned, heading for the door. " Well, my work here is done. Call me if you need me. I'm off to bed."

"Oh, no. You are not leaving me here to babysit this little shit on my own. You know how much I hate kids. Kuruk, get back in here!" Kyoshi leapt up after him but a protesting squeak and a weight on her right side stopped her mid-rising. Toph, mute-blind-and-deaf Toph, was holding onto her tight because of the sudden movements. She looked nervous.

Kyoshi must have growled for a whole half-minute before she kicked everyone out of the room and started sulking.

Roku bit his lip from where he'd stood outside the door. "Kuruk, was that really the best idea putting Kyoshi in charge of Toph? You know it's disastrous when she's left alone with children."

Kuruk smiled happily as he lay on his bed, arms folded beneath his head and legs crossed. "Oh don't worry, Roku. She accidentally kicked that kid out of the window hundreds of years ago. She won't make the same mistake twice."

"Uh, yes, she will. That wasn't the first time she did it. And that wasn't the only issue she had when put in charge of a child, either."

"True. Point taken. But really, don't worry. Toph's twenty years old. She'll stop thinking of it as babysitting soon enough and see it as guarding her wounded student instead. You know how protective she is. She is the best guardswoman in the world, after all."

"And the worst adoptive mother. Alright, but only if you're sure, Kuruk."

"I'm sure, Roku. Trust me. Now get some sleep. I have a feeling tomorrow will be interesting."

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ x ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

So I've had this idea in my head for ages, just haven't written it up. Please suggest themes in the comments section. I'd love to hear from you.

Gaz