[Lot's of momma/daughter feels in the next chapter. Stay tuned! It's almost done as well!
Trial and Error Part 6
Appa hovered in the open space between the temple and the main gate just before plopping onto the ground with a thud. Katara came running out from the courtyard of the ladies quarters as they landed, extremely relieved to see her husband at the reigns indicating that he was alright. Without delay, Aang flew off of his bison and received a running hug from his wife as he reached the ground. He hugged her tight, unbelievably happy to be home with his family. As they embraced he remembered how lucky he was to be alive and how grateful he was to have people to love and who love him.
"I was so worried…" She whispered, her face buried in his neck. Katara finally opened her eyes and looked up at Appa, the light of the day fading fast behind him. "What's Sokka doing here?" She asked as they pulled away. "Are we celebrating?"
Her smile was so bright and sincere that it nearly broke Aang's heart to say what he was about to say…
"Looks like he just broke the news to her..." Sokka said as he watched Katara cup her hand over her mouth. He watched as the four children ran from the main house, Lin and Tenzin in the lead.
"Are those the kids?" Toph asked eagerly as she strained to hear as much as her ears could handle.
"Yep. Lin'll be happy to see you."
"Let me get down there. I need to get to her." Toph said and tried to crawl across the saddle base to the side, but felt nauseated from the flying and extra movement, so she ended up groaning and trying not to throw up.
"Just take it easy. Aang will be back in a minute." Sokka patted her back, but his gaze was kept by his family. Aang's children gathered around him, hugging his legs and waist. Aang picked up Tenzin and held him close, but was interrupted by Lin tugging on his tunic and asking him a question. A small crowd of other acolytes also appeared on the scene, unsure of the goings on. Aang leaned in one more time to say something more to Katara, seeming to finalize her confusion. A terrified look swept over her face then she looked up at him and shared a few moments of worried eye contact. Aang put Tenzin down then he and Katara rushed toward Appa, him, and Toph. "Alright. It's time. Come on." He said and carefully helped her up and over the side of the saddle into Aang's outstretched arms. He gripped her at the waist and slowly slid her down the furry beast's body to the ground.
As her bare feet graced the cool ground, she shut her eyes trying to feel something; anything… The problem was still the same; there were no vibrations, none at all… She shook her head, realizing again just how serious this was for her.
"Oh Toph." Katara said, close to tears as she hugged her lightly. Sokka then jumped down and took his position as Toph's shoulder to lean on.
"Mom?" Lin said, a little confused as to what was going on.
"Where is she?" Top could hear her daughter running, but was still too disoriented to make out her location. The running stopped and Toph asked again more desperately. "Where is she?" Toph lowered herself to her knees and held out her arms. Everyone just watched her, except for Katara who was crying a little into her husband's shoulder, unable to bear it.
"Lin…?" Toph asked anxiously and reached out further. All of a sudden a body hit her with a thud and two short arms wrapped around her torso.
"I missed you all day, Chief." She happily stated.
Toph was still for a moment, but then all at once she was overcome with emotion. She wrapped her arms around her girl and pulled her close. She began to tear up, but held back for the sake of the kids, but still the lump in her throat was gaining strength. She sniffled as she felt a few wet streams trickle down her cheeks, hopefully hidden by her hair. Lin squeezed her a little tighter, but that proved to be a little too much for her current weak stomach to handle.
"Easy, kid." She responded quickly and loosened her daughter's grip so she wouldn't lose her lychee juice.
"Today was crazy. I can't wait to tell you—"
"Crazy?" Katara asked, forgetting about her sadness for the moment to shoot a glance at her youngest son who looked away like he had no idea what she was talking about.
"I thought I told you to be good." Toph said, holding onto her daughter's arms as she pulled away so she wouldn't lose contact with her.
"I—uh… I was good." Lin stammered guiltily.
Toph chuckled a little and sniffed again. "We'll talk about this later."
With the assistance of Sokka, she stood and leaned on him then wiped her eyes with her free hand. Everyone was silent.
"What?" She said lightheartedly. "I just got something in my eye." Typical Toph.
"Come on, let's get you into bed." Katara suggested and motioned for them to follow.
"Do you want me to carry you? " Sokka asked quietly.
"No." She scoffed. "I have to save whatever dignity I have left." She muttered and put her other arm around Aang's shoulder for support.
Lin's smile faded as she began to really notice her surroundings. Why couldn't her mom walk without Uncle Sokka? Why was Auntie Katara crying before? Why was she going to lie in bed?
"Mom! Where are you going?" Lin called out then ran to follow them.
"Well, boog, I need a doctor and Auntie Katara's the best around." She said on the go. Aang and Sokka would not let up for her to talk.
"But—Why…?" She asked genuinely confused.
"I—I can't really explain right now, but—"
"She'll have to tell you later, Lin. Why don't you go play with the boys for a little while?" Katara recommended strongly.
"Uck. No way. I played with them all day. Can't I just come with you?"
"Lin, we need your mom alone for a while, okay?" Katara said, trying not to lose her patience.
"But, mom, I—"
Toph stopped walking and let Lin catch up to her. "Listen, you need to stay out of our hair for a bit. I will see you later."
"But!" She protested, but got cut off again.
"That's enough!" Toph said assertively and continued on to the infirmary with her concerned friends, leaving Lin behind.
Tenzin walked up behind his friend and smiled.
"Come on!" He said playfully. "Let's play hide and shriek again. It's dark now. It'll be fun!"
"Leave me alone." She said bitterly and ran off, tears welling up in her eyes.
Katara opened the infirmary door and held it open as the guys and Toph hobbled inside.
"Okay, now rest her on the bed— gently!" She said and turned her back to retrieve one of her healing kits from a cabinet.
Together, Aang and Sokka lifted her and gently placed her on top of the comfortable bed.
"Ah, now that's the stuff." She exhaled. "Now could one of you do me a favor and hand me a trash can."
"Sure. What for?" Sokka asked as he handed her the waste bin.
"No reason." She said meekly then threw up into it.
Katara, Aang, and Sokka all expressed disgust and tried not to listen to it or pay attention.
After she seemed to be done dry heaving, Katara approached her.
"Feeling any better?" She asked in a calming tone.
"Eugh…" Toph groaned, her face pale and body weak.
"Well, I need to get started sometime, so it might as well be now." She said and set up her kit on the side table. "Do you think you can tell me what happened?"
"Yeah… I think I'm good now." She said slowly, holding out the trash can for someone to take it. Sokka reluctantly accepted the task and put it in the corner of the room for safe keeping. "Sorry you guys had to see that. I was trying to hold back in front of the kids…"
"Okay, I just need you to take me through what happened. Just the moment before you realized your bending was gone and then after." Katara said, avoiding the subject of puke.
"Well, Yakone had everyone in the courthouse under his grip. I couldn't move; he was holding me in one position. Before I knew it, he was moving me around against my will above the ground and forced me to grab the keys for his handcuffs. He made me unlock them, then—then I felt a lot of—pressure and—and I think that's when I blacked out—and fell, most likely…"
"And when you came to, you couldn't bend at all?"
"No. First I tried to feel the vibrations in the earth, but when that didn't work, I tried metal, then stone, but—nothing…" She trailed off and closed her eyes for a moment, recalling the whole episode. Katara nodded.
"And—what did it feel like—to you? Being bloodbent?"
"It was—uh…" Terrifying. "I—uh, couldn't control my body, I couldn't see because he lifted me off the ground. I—couldn't bend… When I woke up, I couldn't move right away, like my legs were locked or something. After a few minutes of being conscious, I could move, but I felt very—very weak… Somehow I managed to stand up, but I—passed out—again…"
"You fainted?" Katara asked in disbelief.
"If we must call it that—yes." She sighed.
"Hm…" She hummed then streamed some water out of one of the sacks. "Let me go ahead and take a—oh…" Katara put the water back upon this realization.
"What's wrong now?" Toph asked impatiently.
"Well, I need to get your uniform off first." She said and glanced at the guys, then gave them a head nod that meant "Leave".
"OH!" Aang and Sokka voiced then began exiting the room awkwardly.
"Say no more." Aang stated.
"We're out of here."
"Good luck. We'll be in the kitchen."
"Yeah, if you need any help just—" Sokka said, then realized from the looks on their faces that that was a very wrong thing to say. "Nevermind..."
Karara rolled her eyes and Toph sighed loudly.
"Just go!" Both girls shouted at the same time to which Aang finally shut the door.
"Men…" Katara scoffed.
"Seriously!"
Lin sat alone by the water next to the caves where the sky bison slept, tossing rocks into it and making the glassy surface ripple. She was still very sad and confused; why didn't her mom want to see her? Tears were falling from her eyes but that was okay; no one was around. Or so she thought…
"Lin, are you crying?" asked a voice from behind her. She gasped and snapped into her horse stance upon being so startled.
"Oh— Don't you sneak up on me like that twinkle-toes junior!" She yelled, blinking the teardrops away, and then turned back to the water with her arms crossed. "I thought I told you to leave me alone."
"Uncle Sokka told me and Bumi that when girls say one thing, they actually mean the opposite." He stated innocently.
Lin shot him a look then rolled her eyes and stared back into the shining black water where the moon's glow danced on the ripples she made.
"Never mind…" He said and rubbed the back of his head, remembering that he wasn't supposed to say that to any girl ever. He walked up and stood next to her. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." She responded quickly.
"You are crying" He said softly as he noticed a tear slide down her cheek.
"Am not!" She shouted and sat down, her back facing him.
"Okay!" He followed her lead again and sat. "So—I thought you liked hide and shriek… Why don't you want to play?"
Lin sighed. "I just don't want to, okay?" She said, exasperated.
Tenzin looked down sadly. "I thought we had fun today… I guess not…" He used a gust of wind to get on his feet again. "My mom told me to find you so we could eat. You'd better hurry if you want some." He started to run back up to the house without her.
Upon the mention of food, Lin's stomach growled ferociously. She sighed and whipped around. "Tenzin, wait!"
While Katara conducted her examination, Aang and Sokka waited in the kitchen. Sokka sat on a stool at the kitchen table as Aang put on some tea and a pot of rice to alleviate their hunger. They were silent, unbearably so… This was the first time they were alone all day, and currently, after the almost fight they had earlier, tension hung heavy in the air.
Aang poured two cups of tea, sat at the table across from him then handed him one cup.
"Thanks." Sokka muttered as he held it in his hand. Another long awkward silence followed until it came to the point where Aang couldn't take it anymore.
"Sokka—" He started then shook his head. "I'm sorry…—about earlier… I—I just…"
"Hey, you and me both, buddy…" He said with disbelief that they actually acted that way.
"No. I really don't know what came over me…"
"I do." He said knowingly and cracked a sad smile. "We were both worried, and stupid and angry. That's all… Stress can do that to a guy."
"Not me." Aang responded solemnly with complete seriousness. "It can't happen to me…" Aang sipped on his tea, then set it down and rubbed his face with his hands, his fingers massaging his eyelids.
"Is everything going okay here, at home?"
"Yeah, yeah... Everything's great…" He shook his head again then smiled a little. "Tenzin—he—he's catching on so fast to all of the teachings. I'm so proud of him."
Sokka smiled genuinely then cleared his throat. "Is—uh… Is everything okay with you?"
Aang exhaled for a long time then spoke. "I guess I haven't been sleeping well. I've just been so nervous about this trial, and rightly so—apparently." He said resentfully and took a gulp of tea.
"Maybe or maybe it's from all of that caffeine you've been drinking." He said gesturing to the tea in his hand.
Aang squinted and let go of the cup. "Alright, you got me on that one."
The two of them talked a little while longer, finally having some downtime to unwind; they ate, Aang put on another pot for tea, and the house was quiet. They were just mentioning that the kids needed to be put to bed soon when Katara entered the kitchen. Sokka sat up straighter with anticipation.
"Oh, good. Toph will want some tea." Katara said and began fixing a plate of food for her patient.
"Well?" Sokka asked.
"Hm?"
"Has she made any progress?" Aang added.
Katara sighed and collected her thoughts first. "Well, she feels much better now, aside from being starving… Her dizziness has greatly reduced, her wounds are taken care of, and I relieved most of the muscle tension in her back and shoulders."
"And her condition…?" Aang asked seriously, hoping for good news. His wife sighed again, indicating that she had a theory, but not a sure fire answer.
"She is still very weak and unable to bend." She began. "Honestly, I've never seen a case like this before. It could be a fluke. There are no indications that this is more serious than an intense form of chi-blocking. If I'm correct, I believe that when Yakone bloodbent her, he somehow blocked her chi from within, which then locked those areas thereby preventing the energy from flowing."
"So, will she be able to bend again?" Sokka asked.
Well, if I'm right, which I hope I am, I am almost certain that this is temporary, and her bending will return in a couple days. Hopefully, with a few more healing sessions, she'll be back to normal in no time."
"Well, that's—good news…" Sokka said hesitantly.
"The most important thing for her health right now is to relax and stay away from stress and excitement. She needs time for self reflection and maintaining peace of mind. Who knows, her bending could return tonight. Regardless, for the next few days I will be keeping a close watch on her. We'll do healing sessions three times per day and I will try to un-block the zones near her pressure points; so to speak…" Katara said, receiving nothing but a hopeless silence from her husband and brother. "I know it's not certain, but I'm doing all I can. Unfortunately all we can do now is wait and help her out as much as we can, which reminds me; someone needs to stay with Toph each night until her condition improves, just in case anything—"
"I'll go." Aang said flatly and stood up to take the tray of food that Katara prepared. "If you wouldn't mind rounding up the kids—"
"Of course not." She said and kissed him lightly on the lips then smiled.
"No, no, no…" Sokka said standing. "I'll take this one."
"Its fine, Sokka. I really—"
"Look, If you really want to be up and down all night you can do it tomorrow, but for tonight, so help me, you two will get a good night's sleep." He said and took the tray from his brother-in-law's hands. Aang smiled and wrapped his arm around Katara's waist.
"Thank you."
"Hey, don't mention it. If you really want to make it up to me, you can feed me meat tomorrow. No wonder I never come over for dinner anymore, it's all vegetarian." He said as he disappeared into the hallway.
They chuckled then turned to each other, their arms keeping their bodies close.
"Alone at last." Katara said and smiled sweetly, causing her husband to reciprocate. He embraced her softly, letting his fingers gingerly fall through her hair. He pulled back and just as she went in for a kiss, he yawned, quite widely. Katara giggled. "Aw. Come on, world-saving guy, let's get you into bed."