Disclaimer: I own none of these characters. If only…
Thank you so much for the reviews! Keep them coming :)
Anyways, happy reading!
Lin was taken aback. She knew that it had to happen, but she didn't think it would be so...harsh.
"What?"
Tenzin sighed. "Lin, we knew it was going to happen sometime. I'm the only airbender left, and unless Bumi's kids magically start to airbend it looks like it's staying that way."
Her eyes filled with pain as she looked away. If it weren't for her problem, everything would be better. Well, maybe not, but at least she wouldn't be in this predicament, right?
"I'll go pack my stuff," she said, her throat tightening. "Korra and I will be gone by morning."
"What? Why are you taking Korra? As her airbending master and son of the last Avatar, I should be the one raising her."
"With all due respect, your 'definition' of raising her would be sticking her with acolytes who can control her temperament until you have the time to work with her."
"And how do you know so much about child-rearing?"
"Tenzin, we have so many nieces and nephews! Whenever you'd go down to City Hall after hours, I'd stay behind and watch them as often as my shifting schedule would allow. Now as Chief of the Metalbending Force I finally have a regular schedule and more time to devote to the Avatar. She's going to need an Earthbending teacher soon, and I would hate to break a family tradition."
"She's the Avatar, Lin! My father reincarnated!"
"Yes, reincarnated! She deserves the chance to be raised as a person in her own right, and being raised by you, her predecessor's son, and her predecessor's Acolytes, at her predecessor's old house? She will never get a fair chance at her own life by constantly being raised in Aang's shadow!"
Tenzin stepped back, surprised by Lin's increasingly passionate responses. While he had envisioned starting a family with her, he had never imagined her being so...maternal? Not that this new development is bad-quite the opposite, really-it's just that when he had imagined their family he always imagined himself as the softer side of the family's dynamics.
Lin softened ever so slightly. "Ten, I've spent time with her, we both have. She is stubborn, hot-headed, inattentive-but she is also sweet, and kind, and so, so loving. I always had a hard time imagining myself as a mother, but with her it's...different. It just clicks."
Her new ex percolated over his thoughts. She really did click with Korra, better than he did. And at the rate that she was learning waterbending she would soon need an earthbending master...
"Fine. You may take Korra with you."
Lin visibly sagged out of relief. "Thank you," she whispered.
After a short period of silence, the airbender hesitantly reached out and put his hand on her shoulder. "We had a good 25 years Lin."
She reached for it. "I know," she said, her fingers grazing his. "But I want more." With that she dropped her hand and swiftly broke the stone floors of the dormitories.
"Lin, what are you doing?!"
"What does it matter? Not like you care anyways!" With each step she took towards her bedroom the floors and walls became mangled. The smooth stone flooring was broken into hundreds of pieces, and plaster was falling off the cracked walls.
Once there, she dug out her old suitcase and carelessly threw her clothes in; they fit with room to spare. Going through her bookcase, she dug out her favorites and put them in the suitcase as well. After grabbing another bag (and making sure to tear the stone four-poster bed they shared in two), she moved on to Korra's room.
Korra was sound asleep when Lin came. The metalbender sighed.
Such an innocent face, she thought. I wonder if she has any idea what she's been through-or what she's about to go through.
Lin started to pack up Korra's clothes, books, and toys. She was about to move on to pictures when her hand brushed by the little girl's forehead. The metalbender frowned.
Hmm, that's odd. She feels too warm. Then again, she's under about five layers of blankets. I'm probably worrying about nothing.
Everything fit neatly in one bag, and she soon slung both over her shoulder. After carefully extricating the little girl from her blanket cocoon, she put a jacket and shoes over her pajamas and was soon out the door and at the dock.
Lin quickly and silently settled everything in her boat. She placed Korra on a makeshift bed, and then got down to business.
Thank goodness I talked Tenzin into putting these metal rudders in. I knew they would come in handy.
With a bit of bending, the duo were on their way to the mainland. It took only half an hour before they reached land and were walking the streets looking for a place to stay. Lin, with Korra in her arms, took a few turns here, then there, and soon ended up right where she wanted to be.
Where she wanted to be was a large house in one of the nicer districts of Republic City, somewhat equivalent to the Upper Ring of Ba Sing Se. The stone house was well kept, as was its gardens and courtyards. Lin, transferring Korra and her bags onto the same arm, opened the gate protecting the house and walked up to the imposing mahogany door, which was carved with a flying boar insignia.
"Lin, is that you?"
Lin wheeled around to find a woman about six years younger than her carrying two sleeping toddlers in a sling. She was of average height, with tanned skin and short, wavy black hair that she had pinned back to reveal bright green eyes. The woman wore a concerned look and reached out towards her.
"Suyin!" Lin exclaimed before shifting Korra to her side and engulfing her sister in a hug. "I can't believe it, it's you! When did you come in from Zaofu? Are these the twins? My god, I haven't seen them since they were born!"
"We got in just after dinner actually, I was going to call you tomorrow morning to see if you wanted to get lunch during your break. Now come inside, let's get you all settled and I can fill you in on all the details."
The woman led her into a large foyer, where Suyin put her twins in their cribs as Lin laid Korra out on a loveseat. Once back, Suyin poured Lin a cup of freshly brewed apple blossom tea.
"If you're here for a playdate, the kids have long gone to bed, yours included it seems. They're very excited to see you though, Auntie Lin—Junior especially, now that he's old enough to take the tour of the Metalbending Academy," Suyin said as she swirled a sugar cube into her tea. "But you know that, of course. So what's going on? Are you okay?"
Lin silently drank her tea. Suyin, the younger, more free-wheeling half of the Beifong sisters, was the visionary and head of the autonomous state of Zaofu within the Earth Kingdom. While her duties kept her occupied, she still found time to visit her mother and sister in Republic City.
"We broke up," Lin said quietly. "Airhead and I. I should have seen it coming, especially after what the doctors told us about our chances of having a family. That, and the Air Acolyte he's been eyeing—well, kissing, really. I caught them in the halls, and I couldn't be there anymore. So I came here with Korra because this was the only place I could think of."
Suyin's face hardened.
"Tenzin is such a JERK! Does he not realize what's he's losing? He's giving up life with LIN BEIFONG for that mousy 20-year-old Acolyte?! Why?"
"Well, there are many reasons, you know that, but the fact that I might not be able to carry children I think is the main deal breaker. Mix that with a young, fertile, and adoring Acolyte and it really was a matter of time before our relationship imploded."
Suyin's countenance softened as she pulled her older sister into a hug. "I'm so sorry, Lin," she breathed.
"Lin, you care to tell me why the Air Acolytes are calling me to fix their buildings?"
The two women turned around to find Toph leaning in the doorway, frowning.
"Tenzin broke up with me, so I might have gotten a little...angry."
Toph harrumphed. "Twinkletoes Jr. broke up with you and all you did was break their floors and foundations? Kid, you let them off easy!"
Lin said nothing, only gathering up Korra and taking the little girl to her new bedroom. It was nicely done, with cool stone floors and plaster walls. There was a nightstand and armoire by the bed, which was made up with cream sheets and pillows, a brown comforter, and green duvet. She laid the little girl down in the bed, and felt her forehead again. Her eyes widened.
"Mom, Su!" she called out.
The women came crashing into the room a moment later.
"Lin, what's wrong?" they asked.
"Call a healer. Korra's burning up!"