I breathed deeply as I felt the needles withdraw from my skin; I felt like one of the stones on Ember Island, wrought smooth by surge and upheaval. I felt changed, a sense of peace brought on an understanding. My mother was hurting, and I needed to be there for her as she unknowingly was for me. I smiled wearily up at the acupuncturist. "That…wow, was something," I concluded.
"You may feel a bit fragile for the next few days…try to take it easy."
I slipped my head through the robe, and softly asked, "I understand if you cannot answer this, but has Lin Beifong been here?"
"Mhm, she finished her session before yours. She had something to do-"
"-Oh no!" I groaned, and launched into a sprint. I took the tram back up to Su's estate, and then hurtled down the steps to the lower courtyard where Su trained Korra. I found the earth cracked and Lin confronting her sister.
"When we were in Mum's office that day, you could have taken responsibility for what you did. But instead you stayed quiet and let Mum throw her whole career away!" Lin raged, her chest heaving.
"Mum didn't throw her career away- she retired the next year! She was a hero!" Su dismissed incredulously.
"You think she wanted to retire?! She was so guilt-ridden about what she had to do to protect you- she didn't feel worthy of her badge!"
"Look, I admit that I was not a perfect kid," Su explained patiently, hands clasped behind her back, "And I've made some mistakes in the past, but-"
"-Ho ho!" Lin laughed coldly, "You made some mistakes?!"
"Lin! Mum and I already talked about this years ago, and worked things out. If you had gotten together with us like we'd asked, you would know I'm a different person now. I've been a different person for a long time," Su replied, her voice taking on a familiar hard edge.
"You think just because you live in a big fancy house, and have a chef who cooks you fancy food that you're a different person?!" my mother shouted, "Maybe you can fool everyone else, but you can't fool me. I see right through you."
"You know what, Lin? You're the one who hasn't changed. You're still a bitter loner, who only cares about herself. No wonder Tenzin ended things with you years ago."
"End game- that's the winning point for Mum!" Wei cheered softly.
"Lin happens to be your aunt," I snapped.
"So- what's it to you? Mum is going to turn her into gravel," Wei fired back.
Lin sent a boulder hurtling towards Su with a snarl. "Okay, I guess this is how it's going to be," Su announced coldly. The younger Beifong knocked my mother off her feet, and while Lin soared through the air she shot a meteorite into my mother's stomach. Lin rolled backwards onto her feet with a grunt, and sent one of the metal ground plates soaring towards Su. The latter deftly pushed it aside, and regarded her elder sister with narrowed eyes.
My mother sent a volley of rocks from the ground, and with a surging thrust of her hands sent them all at Su. Su danced, ducked, and weaved- evading each shard Lin fired.
"Go, Mum!" Wei cheered as the aforementioned cartwheeled away to evade Lin's erupting line of earth. "She'll beat that ol' villain easy!"
My control snapped, and I spun on my heel. Using the metal around Wei's neck, I sent my lurching off his feet and face-first into the unsympathetic earth. I dragged him across the ground to stop at my feet, and then wrenched him off the ground by the collar of his shirt. "That's my mother!" I hissed, and punched Wei in the eye.
"Mother?!" he exclaimed as he staggered in Wing's flailing arms.
"Care to finish what I started?" I snarled, rolling my shoulders.
"Oh, yer gonna eat gravel!"
I smirked, but said nothing. I had learned from power disc that Wei relied on his right foot for a tether. I took a step forward and then executed a stiff, calculating slice through the air with my hand. The earth beneath his tether shifted, and sent Wei clambering about to regain his foothold. I kept shifting the ground about beneath him as I advanced; I shot forwards, placed my hands on Wei's shoulders, and used my momentum to push us to the ground.
Wei gasped hoarsely when the breath was knocked out of him, and I heaved myself forward using my grasp on his shoulders. I brought my knee up as I leapt over him, and let it connect with the sensitive underside of his jaw. I let myself smile when I just barely caught the sight of Wei's eyes rolling into the back of his head as he fell unconscious.
"Kailyn!" Korra shouted, and I saw her sliding to her knees to catch Lin's head as my mother sagged to the ground.
"I've got her," I rasped, and jogged up to my friend. I hooked an arm under my mother's knees and the around her shoulders. I got to my feet with a faint huff, and gave Korra a thankful smile. "Thank you," I murmured.
"Yeah, I- er, saw you were busy…"
"Huan, Wing, what happened to Wei?" Su asked.
"Mum, you won't believe…" Wing began, but I was soon out of hearing range.
I carried Lin to her bed and set her down gently. I metalbent her boots off, and placed them with the rest of her uniform. I went to the washroom and filled a basin with warm water; I snatched one of the hand linens off the rack, and then returned to her side. I washed away the sweat and dirt that dusted her ivory skin until the only sign of her fight that remained were the dark rings beneath her closed eyes. I took up my vigil in a chair at her bedside.
Lin would flinch or wordlessly cry out, which urged me to reach out and take hold of her hand. It was the very same hand that struck me but yesterday. But unlike Cassia, I did not shudder at Lin's unknowing touch. I realised that yes, what Lin did was wrong- but she never meant to hurt me…not as deep as she had. We looked out for each other; we were family. And sometimes even family mess up, but that love transcends all of that, for it is something that is beyond full comprehension. I kept her hand in mine, and patiently shushed her cries.
"Kailyn!" Lin called out wildly once.
I struggled to find the words strong enough to soothe her, and so I murmured lamely, "I'm here."
For twelve hours, I stood watch and waited for my mother to wake. The front door faintly groaned as it was pushed open. "Kailyn," Su spoke softly, "We need to talk. Lin will be fine."