Opal sipped on her tea as she listened to Jinora talk. They had finished their morning meditation and now were engrossed in their normal gossip over tea. It wasn't really gossip. Not like back on Zaofu. Nothing of much scandal actually happened at any of the air temples and Jinora didn't like to spread rumors. Ikki was more informative in the local gossip. Nevertheless, the two girls had made a habit of sitting outside and drinking tea after morning meditation.
Jinora was midsentence when she paused, staring off into the distance. "That's weird. I didn't think Dad had to go into the city today. Especially not this early."
Turning, Opal saw that Oogi was flying back from Republic City. Tenzin wasn't alone though, but she couldn't tell who was in the saddle. Jinora reached for her glider and nodded for Opal to do the same. Effortlessly, the two young women flew down to the paddock where the sky bison were housed. They glided in about the time Tenzin landed Oogi. Opal smiled when she saw who had accompanied him: Korra and Asami. It had been a couple of days since she had last seen her friends.
"Dad- what's wrong?" Opal glanced from where Korra was helping Asami out of the saddle to Tenzin when she heard Jinora's question. To her shock, her mentor looked pale and sick. Jinora approached him carefully, but was immediately swept into her father's arms in a hug. Jinora peaked at Opal with a confused look as her father continued to hold her.
Korra and Asami had stopped a few feet away from the embracing father and daughter. Now that they were closer, Opal noticed they had been crying. Something terrible had happened this morning. Her normal cheerful smile faded quickly as she rushed to her friends.
"Is Tenzin ok?" she asked, but Korra only looked at her feet and Asami seemed to be at the brink of tears again. Behind her she heard footsteps and felt a heavy hand on her shoulder.
"Opal, I'm afraid I have some bad news," rumbled Tenzin's deep voice. Jinora looked like she wanted to ask another question, but Tenzin was completely focused on Opal. Opal felt the blood rush to her face at Tenzin's intense stare.
Flashes of her parents and brothers sped through her mind. Had something happened in Zaofu? But why would Tenzin have been in Republic City? Or brought Korra and Asami? If anything had happened to her family, they would have just called Opal directly on Air Temple of Island. The only people she knew in Republic City were Bolin, Mako, and her Aunt. Her stomach clenched and she looked quickly at Korra and Asami again. Was it Bolin? Had something happened to Bolin? Is that what they didn't want to tell her?
"There was an attack on the Police Station last night. I'm so sorry, Opal. But your aunt…" Tenzin nearly choked over the words, "Lin didn't make it."
"What?!" exclaimed Opal. Aunt Lin? Of all the awful scenarios she could have come up with, Aunt Lin being dead wasn't one of them. Jinora leapt towards her, wrapping her thin body around Opal's, but Opal didn't react. "What do you mean? Aunt Lin is tough…she was just fine a couple of days ago. I just talked to her!"
"I'm so sorry, Opal," spoke Korra as she and Asami tried to join Jinora's embrace, but Opal wriggled free of them all and focused on Tenzin.
"No, something is wrong...You can't be serious!"
Tenzin sighed deeply as if he was trying to keep from breaking down himself. Opal didn't want to believe him. She'd only really known her aunt for four years now. That wasn't nearly long enough. Tenzin was speaking again, "I was just there to see her, Opal. I came back to call your mother. But I wanted you to hear this from me."
"She's…gone? Like really gone?" Opal reached around blindly for Jinora who grabbed her again. They both had matching tear streaks on their cheeks. She wasn't sure what to do. But it seemed she wasn't the only one at a loss. Tenzin looked as if the world had been turned upside down. In fact, they were all so wrapped up in their own grief that none of them heard Bumi walk up behind Korra and Asami.
"You all look awful. Who died?" His words finally pulled a sob from Opal as the impact of what Tenzin had told her finally sunk in. Her aunt was dead. Bumi stumbled around Korra and Asami to Opal's side to stand in front of his brother. "I didn't mean to upset her…what's going on?"
Opal rescued Tenzin's blank stare by whispering the words out loud. "Aunt Lin died."
"She was murdered!" spat Korra in anger, but Opal couldn't find that sort of rage inside of her. It was all too confusing. Why did it matter how she died? That wouldn't change the fact that Opal would never see her Aunt again.
Bumi pressed a chaste kiss to Opal's temple and whispered, "I'm so sorry, my girl. I'm so sorry for all of us." He kissed the tip of his niece's blue arrow and then turned to his brother. His voice was one Opal had never heard come from the rambunctious man before. He sounded soothing and calm. "Hey, Tenzin. Why don't we go inside…"
"We have to call Su," answered Tenzin, but Bumi placed a hand on Tenzin's chest.
"Why don't you let me do that? You should sit down. Take a minute."
"I don't have a minute," Tenzin replied gruffly.
Opal found her voice and said, "I want to be there when you call Mom."
Opal knew this would break her mother's heart. Growing up, Suyin loved to entertain her sons with stories of her wilder days. But for Opal, she saved the treasured stories of Toph and Lin. Opal knew that her mother had many regrets about Lin and how things had gone. But Su was good about putting the past behind her; something that Lin had never been able to do. But losing her sister would come as a shock and a devastation to Su.
"I'll come with you," offered Bumi, obviously concerned not just for his brother, but Opal as well. Opal wondered briefly how close Bumi had been to her aunt. There was a large age difference between them and Opal had been under the impression that Bumi had spent most of his adult life away from Republic City.
"No, I need you to find Kya," stated Tenzin firmly. "She can't hear about this from anyone else."
Kya. Opal's eyes widened. For a few brief minutes, Opal had forgotten she wasn't the only person on Air Temple Island that had a close relationship with her aunt. She guessed it was because no one seemed to mention Kya's sudden closeness with Lin starting a few years ago. Su had made a few jokes about Lin moving on with the fairer sibling of her ex, but other than that, not much had been said about the two women being romantically involved. But losing Lin would devastate Kya. Of that Opal was sure.
"I'll find her. And after you call Su, we'll tell her together. Ok, little brother?" Tenzin managed to nod and Bumi turned to Korra and Asami and said, "Go find Pema. Tell her what has happened. And if you see Kya, just tell her I'm looking for her."
Korra and Asami walked off, hand in hand, toward the main house where Tenzin's family would be having breakfast. Bumi started toward the women's dormitory, where Opal knew Kya would still be getting ready for the day. Slender fingers squeezed Opal's hand and she realized that Jinora was still beside her. Quietly, Jinora grabbed her father's hand as well and the three of them walked to the radio tower.
It didn't take long for Tenzin to be dispatched through to Zaofu. They were transferred a few times as it seemed her parents were on an airship. But when someone finally answered, it wasn't Su that was speaking, but Baatar. "Good morning, Tenzin."
"I'm afraid it has been anything but a good morning," replied the Airbender in a chipped voice. There was an unusual silence on the other end and Opal wondered for a moment if they had been disconnected. But her father's voice finally came through.
"We were expecting this call. I'm afraid Su is avoiding it. Toph contacted her this morning to tell her that Lin was in trouble. We're on an airship on our way to Republic City right now." Opal shouldn't have been surprised that her grandmother already knew that something had happened to her daughter. But when Baatar spoke again, Opal felt her heart drop. "Can you tell me what to expect? How bad is it?"
They didn't know Lin was dead. Her parents just thought her aunt was injured. Beside her, Tenzin's breathing had become rapid and he seemed to be unable to speak. On the other end of the line, Baatar called out Tenzin's name, trying to get a response. Taking a deep breath, Opal leaned over and removed the microphone from Tenzin's hands. In a soft voice, she said, "Dad?"
"Opal, honey? Is that you? Your mom and I are on our way…"
"Dad, she's gone…" Opal held back a sob and Jinora stopped trying to comfort her own father to rub small circles on Opal's back.
Silence met her again on the other end of the line for a moment. Then the line crackled and her father spoke again, "We'll be there soon, honey. Call me if you need me, but right now, I need to tell your mother."
"I love you, Daddy," sniffed Opal. She wanted to be there with him, to hold her mother's hand while they told her the news. This wasn't fair; they had just fixed their family. Even her grandmother had been reunited with her daughters. But it would never be that way again.
Beside her, Tenzin had gotten up and left the room, in search of Bumi and Kya. Jinora continued her ministrations on Opal's back. Jinora's sweet voice was soft when she spoke. "Thank you for helping Dad. We're going to get through this."
"I just wish I could be there when Mom finds out. She's been so happy since Aunt Lin and she made up. I just can't…" Opal hiccupped on emotions and stopped talking. She knew the guilt that her mother felt about her broken family. She also knew how much Suyin blamed herself for the distance between the sisters. But Aunt Lin had forgiven her…they were a family again.
"You want me to call Bolin?" asked Jinora, but Opal shook her head. Oh, Bolin. Her Aunt Lin was his idol and he was always so much more emotional than the rest of them.
"I don't know if I can tell him…he worshiped Aunt Lin."
The two girls hugged and then Opal let Jinora lead her out of the radio tower. Something in her mind couldn't stop replaying her father's words: Toph contacted her this morning to tell her that Lin was in trouble. In trouble- that was the phrase he had used. Opal's grandmother hadn't given any indication that Aunt Lin was dead. But Grandma Toph should have known that Aunt Lin had been killed…so why didn't she tell them?
The thought slipped away from her grandmother as they approachedthe main house and saw Tenzin with Bumi and Kya. Opal wasn't sure if they should intrude on this notification, but Jinora clearly wanted to be there to comfort her own aunt, so they stood back a ways while Tenzin tried to tell Kya what had happened.
"Would you two just spit it out? Bumi is acting like he's an actual adult and you look like death warmed over, Tenzin," Kya was saying as the girls got closer. Bumi tried to take her hand, but Kya was clearly not interested. "Did something happen to Mom?"
"No, Mom's fine," Tenzin tried to assure her, but was failing.
Bumi, suddenly taking charge as the older sibling, turned Kya to face him instead of Tenzin, his hands firmly on her shoulders. "Kya, Lin was killed last night in an attack on the Police Station."
Kya stopped resisting him instantly and tried to look over his shoulder at Tenzin for him to tell her it was one of Bumi's jokes. Albeit, not a funny one. But all Tenzin could say was, "I'm sorry, Kya."
"No!" cried the waterbender and she tried to wrench herself free from Bumi's grasp, but her older brother held on tight. "No! No, no, you're wrong!"
Bumi used his superior strength to pull Kya toward him into a forced embrace, but she was fighting him all of the way, yelling at him inconsolably. Tenzin approached his siblings as Kya dropped to her knees, the strength to stand suddenly having left her. Both Bumi and Tenzin ignored as she tried to shove them away, crying, "Get off of me! She's not dead!"
It was an uncontrollable grief that Opal hoped she would never feel. Beside her, Jinora had finally begun to cry at the sight of her aunt breaking down. Bumi had gathered his weeping sister into his arms and was rocking her back and forth. Tenzin was kneeling beside them, his arms swept over them both. Kya was murmuring Lin's name over and over again.
Jinora nudged her shoulder and Opal turned to look behind her. She felt the tears start to swell up again as she noticed her boyfriend rushing towards her. Red eyed and trembling, Bolin threw his arms around her and sobbed, "Mako just told me. I came as quickly as I could."
Opal barely noticed when Bolin lifted her up to cradle in his arms and walk towards the main house. She laid her head against his chest and tried to concentrate on his heartbeat. Bolin was here and her parents were on their way. Somehow, she would survive this loss. But right now all she wanted to do was go back to bed and pretend that none of this had ever happened.