Life of a heroine
Written for the 3rd round of the 3rd season of the Pro Bending Circuit forum.
Prompts:
life(word), tree(word), family(genre) and the swamp (location)
Word count: 1 289
A/N: I don't own The Legend of Korra or any of it's characters.
The scream of a new born baby echoed through the big mansion. Healers were clustered in the room the scream erupted from. One of them carrying the little crying bundle, gently rocking it and carefully handing it to her exhauted, but happy mother.
"Here, it's a healthy little girl. My congratulations." she said before leaving the room with the rest of the healers to give the young mother some alone time with her baby.
The father of the newborn, whom they called Toph, was later brought into the room to meet his new daughter. He threw a feast just in his baby girl's honor. Many were invited and many more came. They were Beifongs. And the Beifongs were an important family. No one turned an invitation down from them. It was an honor for everyone to be part at a feast of theirs.
Now as the feast for the young newborn sproiss of the Beifong family was held, many people came from their city, from the neighbourong cities and basically from everyplace were the Beifongs had relatives or friends. Everyone they knew or didn't really knew, in some cases wanted to see the newborn.
The young baby Toph was adored by many. However, something wasn't quite right with her. When she learned to crawl around the room, she often bumped into things. It made her parents worry. Concerned they searched for a healer, who could help their daughter.
The conclussion was shocking. At least for the parents.
"I'm sorry, but your daughter's blind. I think she won't be able to learn real Earthbending. She may try, but she will never be as good as the people who can see." the healer tolf them, pity and a feeling of sorryness foe the parents in his voice.
"Isn't there anything you can do to heal her? Can't her vision be restored. Please tell us there is something you can do." they pleaded with him.
Without a chance. The old and wise healer shook his head: "I'm sorry. This is something, not even the best healer in the world can cure. But I do know some teachers, that could woek with her, so she can have an almost normal life. If you want to I can give their addresses to you."
The parents, desparate with worry, agreed, taking the notes with the adresses of people who could help their daughter to be almost like another child.
And these people did help Toph. But the one thing that helped the blind girl more than anything in the world, were her journeys with Team Avatar. Because they gave her, what her 'teachers' never could have given her, they gave her friendship.
...
"So, how is she? Can I hold her?" asked Toph. She was an adult now, chief of police of the United Republic. Her question was directed at the healer woman, holding a crying newborn in her arms.
"Of course, here she's wonderful." smiled the woman, handing the blind earthbender the little in soft blankets wrapped bundle.
The woman was about to turn away, to prepare something for a different task, but she was held back when the woman on the bed called out tp her: "Wait, could you describe her please? How does she look? Please, Katara, I need to know how my child looks."
The waterbender turned around, smiling at her old friend: "Of course." she sat dow on the edge of the bed, " she looks like you, black hair, the same face, her eyes have a beautiful colour of green. I feel like she is going to be another strong earthbender, like her mother."
"Thanks, Katara. Can you...see if she's blind or not? Please, I need to know." gulped Toph.
"No, I couldn't find anything wrong with her, trust me, you've given birth to a perfectly healthy kid." reploed Katara in a reasurring tone.
And really, Lin, the name Toph gave her little girl, turned out to be perfectly healthy, nothing was wrong with her. As was with her sister, who was born five years after her (half)sister.
They were a happy family, until the kids started fighting for her attention. Su hung out with members of the Terra Triad, one of the infamous gangs in Republic City. Lin started to act like her. Joining the police force as soon as she was of age to do so and trying everything to be like her.
It wasn't easy raising those two kids, being a blind single mother with a very important job. Most of the time they were at Air Temple Island, playing with Aangs and Kataras and the other Gaangs kids. Lin even dated Tenzin, however, it didn't work out and they broke up.
In the end it all ended with Toph sending Su away to live with her grandparents, Poppy and Lao Beifong and with Lin being mad about her not putting the younger girl into jail. However she later made up, with her second daughter. Then everything was almost perfect again, only Lin was missing in the now happy again family. Toph really hoped, that her girls would learn to get along someday in the future.
...
Now there she was lying on the root of a tree, somewhere in the middle of the Swamp. She knew she was dying. She had felt it for a few days now. Surprisingly, however, she didn't really care. She had a long life, with many adventures, many ups and downs and a lot more.
All of her friends had passed away. Zuko a few months ago and Katara in the last year. Thinking more of it, she was a little excited. Would she see her friends again, when she camw to the Spirit World? Would she reunite with her (estranged) family?
But she was also afraid. She was alone. In the middle of the Swamp. When would anyone realoze, that she was dead? Woild they even find her and if yes when? Would her body already be rotten to nothing by then?
She thought about her daughters. Oh, they had grown up to be such fine women both. Lin was a great chief of police. Su builded her own city with her husband and had a loving family. She even was a grandma herself now.
Her thoughts wandered to the new Team Avatar. Those kids, now already adults were now what her friends wand she were back then. Those adults, she was proud of evryone of them. The proud and strong Avatar, who has to live thtough many hardships to be who she was now, her goofball earthbender friend, who reminded her of Sokka, ohh Sokka, how much she misses him. Would she be seeing him again in the Spirit World too? Then there was the earthbender's brother, a stoic man, who worked far too much, but did it with a passion that she had rarly seen on any of her officers. And then there was the non - bender girl, who had staywd with the Team through everything. Even through the Equalist uprising, where most non-benders sided with Amon.
She smiled. Yes, this world would truly be in good hands thanks to this Team. She smiled her last breath leaving her mouth in her last words: "Thanks spirits for my long life. Aang, Sokka, Katara, everyone I'm coming to you.