"Kya, what are you doing? Kya! Ahhh!"An extremely distressed Bumi slapped a hand over his eyes and continued to shout. "Kya! Put your dress back on!"
His cries went unanswered as Kya pulled her blue dress over her head, leaving her clad only in a dark grey slip. She left the dress on the grass and walked over to the edge of Air Temple Island. Below her, the water splashed up against the cliff side. Kya could feel the pull of the ocean and the need to embrace the element. The water wouldn't leave her; water couldn't leave her.
Behind her, Bumi was calling out for Opal and Pema, but Kya continued to ignore him as she stared out at the ocean. Kya had no concept of time since Tenzin and Bumi told her of Lin's death. When she had pushed away the food Pema had brought her, it had only felt like minutes. Right now, as she stood in the open air in just her slip, it felt like years; years since the last time she had seen Lin, touched Lin, talked to Lin. In actuality, Kya woke up next to Lin just two days before the attack. They had breakfast. Lin went to work and Kya left for Air Temple Island. Had she kissed her goodbye? Lin wasn't the over affectionate type.
A hand grabbed Kya's arm and the thought of that last morning vanished from her mind. Lin was dead. There would be no more mornings; no more goodbye kisses. Bumi, a hand still shielding his eyes from her state of undress, was trying to pull her back from the ledge. Kya had been stepping closer and closer to the ocean as she thought about Lin.
"Kya, what are you doing?" he asked desperately and Kya finally realized that her brother was worried about her state of mind. Her heart went out to him; the ever kind and caring Bumi.
"I'm not going to kill myself, Bumi," she reassured him gently. Her voice was hoarse and she realized that it was the first time she had spoken since Tenzin and Bumi had told her. "I just need to swim."
Kya gently pried his hand away from her arm and took a deep breath, feeling the water that was flowing nearby. Taking two large steps she began to pull the water towards her, up out of the ocean and she jumped with her arms reached out for the embrace of the element. A tunnel of water embraced her to pull her into the ocean. The water soaked into her hair and skin and she could feel the cooling sensation of the element. Kicking out her feet she pushed her way to the surface.
Although her mother had taught her that there was always water around her, but Kya always felt better when she was swimming. The connection was instinctual and she had learned in her youth to allow the ocean's natural waves to push her along instead of forcing her body to do the work. Kya could be quick and agile in the water, but she would rather just float. The water splashed over her shoulders and she closed her eyes.
Taking a deep breath, Kya concentrated on relaxing her entire body. She had been doing this for years as a type of meditation while in the water. Letting the water keep her body afloat, she started with her toes and feet, focusing her energy to relax them. Eventually, she worked her way up to her shoulders and neck, all the while displacing her body from its physical ailment. But as she began to relax, Kya realized that her pain was not physical. And although she had managed to connect her body with the water around her, her mind was in turmoil.
A dry sob escaped her and she wrapped the water around her tightly. Kya was tired of crying. Lin would have hated the tears. Of course, Lin didn't like anything that could be considered overly emotional. Lin's philosophy was that emotions were a personal matter that should not be exposed to or pushed onto another person. But Kya certainly didn't mind when Lin did share her feelings- especially when it involved sex.
Lin was firm and strong in everything that she did. The way she held on to Kya when they kissed or how she seemed to consume her when they had sex was captivating. But she was capable of such a tenderness that surprised Kya. From her experience, Kya had determined that many earthbenders made love in the same manner that they bend: intense, intentional, and steadily. And Lin was all of these things. But as the years had gone on, Kya found herself entranced by the gentle touches and lingering kisses that Lin would bestow on her skin. Kya had fallen in love with Lin long before she had realized it.
Kya thanked the spirits that Lin knew how much Kya loved her. There had been no loud declarations or proposals of marriage, but Kya made her feelings clear. Nothing had stopped her heart more than hearing Lin saying, 'I love you'. Lin lived simply and tried desperately to be private; it was a product of her upbringing. Katara and Toph had been very different mothers. But Lin had accepted Kya's emotional need to connect with more than just sex. So, Lin learned to share what she was thinking and Kya took in each little admittance as if it were the last drop of water on earth.
Moving her arms slowly around her, Kya bend the water around her. There was no purpose to her ministrations, except to distract herself. All these thoughts of Lin were the past. Lin was gone, but Kya still remained. Glancing up at the sky, Kya spotted an airship heading towards the island. It was green with a large symbol on the side: Zaofu. Suyin Beifong was here.
That meant Kya needed to go back up to the house. Suyin was always a difficult subject with Lin and for years, Kya and Lin never spoke of her. But that had changed, little by little, due not in a small part to Lin's newfound niece and nephews. Kya had been aware of Opal's presence in her rooms during the first few hours after Tenzin and Bumi had broken the news, but Opal wasn't Lin. And Kya needed Lin.
But she knew that Suyin was going to need to talk about Lin, so she took a deep breath and pulled the water around her to project her back up the cliff side. Ikki was waiting for her when she landed. Her niece was holding a clean dress and Kya was certain that Pema had put her up to it. The little airbender was as grounded as Kya had ever seen her and the thought that Lin had meant that much to Tenzin's children brought a flash of saddness.
"Mother said you would need this and to tell you that everyone would be meeting Su in the dining hall. And that if you didn't feel like seeing anyone, she would tell Su to come to your room. But I told her that if you didn't want to see anyone, why should she send Su? Being alone doesn't include other people, and if you want to be alone, then you should just be by yourself," rambled Ikki as Kya pulled the water from her skin, hair, and slip and returned the water back to the ocean.
"Thank you, Ikki," replied Kya quietly. As much as she wanted to see Su, the prospect of reuniting with Lin's sister in front of the entire island was a little daunting. As she pulled on the dress Ikki offered, Kya realized her niece had stopped talking. Ikki rarely stopped talking unless she was sleeping. The eleven-year-old was staring at her intently with wide eyes. "Ikki?"
"Jinora and Kai said that you and Chief Beifong were like, more than friends…like Mommy and Daddy. So, I was wondering…" Ikki trailed off, bouncing back and forth nervously on her heels. Kya braced herself for the questions about how two women could be like her mother and father or why Kya liked women more than men. Instead, Ikki asked, "Does that make Chief Beifong my Aunt Lin? Because I'd really like another aunt. Does that make Su my aunt too?"
Before Ikki could ask any more questions, Kya swept her niece into a hug and held her tightly. Pressing a firm kiss on the top of the young airbender's head, Kya said softly, "I love you. And you can have as many aunts as you want."
"Ok!" said Ikki brightly and she grabbed Kya's hand and started to lead her to the main house. Kya followed, knowing she was going to have to see everyone at some point. Better now than later.
To her surprise, the only people greeting Su and Baatar were Tenzin, Pema, Jinora, Bumi, and Opal. As soon as Su saw Kya, she let go of her weeping daughter to embrace her sister's lover. Neither had the energy to cry or speak, knowing there was nothing they could say to comfort each other.
Su held on tightly to Kya's arm as she turned and asked Tenzin, "Have you heard from Mother yet?"
"No," he replied with a shake of his head. "Jinora even tried to project her spirit to where Toph had been living in the swamp, but she wasn't there."
"If she doesn't want to be found, sweetie, then no one is going to be able to find her," murmured Baatar as he stroked Opal's hair.
"Korra and the others are in the city helping the police. I promise, Su, we'll find who's responsible for this," assured Tenzin. "For now, why don't we let you get settled and we can talk about everything later."
"I could help you with your luggage," offered Bumi to Baatar and the two men headed back to the airship. Pema grabbed Tenzin by the hand and dragged him toward the kitchen with Jinora and Ikki, leaving Kya with Lin's sister and niece. Su settled herself on the couch with a deep sigh and Kya leaned back into a nearby chair.
"It doesn't feel real," protested Opal as she paced back and forth. She had forgone her airbender robes for something more Earth Kingdom traditional and Kya briefly wondered if it was for Lin.
"I know, dear. I feel like I just got her back. After everything I did, she finally forgave me and now this happens…" Su trailed off, lost in her thoughts of Lin. The woman looked just about as miserable as Kya felt. Which reminded Kya that she should probably eat something soon as her brief swim had left her exhausted.
"You can't think about the past like that," said Kya gently. "It will only make you feel worse. You are Lin were sisters again and there's nothing that can change that. She loved you and your family, even if she wasn't very good at showing it. Never doubt that."
"How long has it been, you and Lin? She never answers me when I ask about you," asked Su lightly, changing the subject.
Kya smirked. Even after all the effort both sisters had made to find peace, Lin still insisted on keeping her life private. With a sigh, she answered honestly, "I don't really know…Lin and I have always been…fluid."
"Fluid is not a word I would use to describe my sister," said Su with a dry chuckle. She was right of course; Lin was stubborn and steadfast.
"I guess that's not the right word. It's just that I never wanted to 'settle down' and Lin was always too busy for a real relationship. We would go months, even years, without seeing each other and then suddenly we would be together." Kya tried to remember those early years; the years that she wished she could have back now. But Kya had hated the thought of staying still and Lin didn't want to stop her.
Opal joined her mother on the couch and snuggled up beneath Su's arm as she listened to Kya talk. Sweetly, Opal murmured, "Sounds romantic. Like star crossed lovers."
"It didn't start out that way," Kya reminisced. There was nothing inherently romantic about sleeping with your younger brother's ex-girlfriend. In fact, the first time Kya had sex with Lin, it was anything but romantic. With a short chuckle, she decided to share the story. "Actually, the first time anything physical happened between us was probably ten years ago. I was in Republic City for a friend's birthday and because Ikki had just been born, I decided to stay at Lin's instead of coming here. I came back that night higher than a sky bison and she gave me quite the lecture."
"You showed up at the police chief's house after smoking lilyweed?" Su burst out laughing imagining her by the book elder sister putting up with Kya.
"No, I showed up to my friend's house, who happened to be the police chief. Spirits, she was angry at me. And the entire time she was lecturing me, I just kept thinking she looked beautiful and so in my inebriated state, I thought it was a good idea to kiss her." Both Su and Opal were laughing now and Kya felt a rush of pleasure that she could distract them from their grief. Lin didn't share the details of her life with anyone and Kya was more than happy to make Su feel just a little closer to her sister. "We ended up having sex on the kitchen table…still have no idea how that happened. And mind you, we were both very sore the next day. But then I left. I don't think it really bothered her, but it never made sense for us to just suddenly start dating."
"You lived so far apart," murmured Su, suddenly sobered as she thought about Lin. "And Lin was married to her job."
"Exactly. So we both had other relationships, but when we were in the same place again…" Kya closed her eyes and let out a sigh. She felt like she had wasted years not pursuing Lin. "But Mom needed me and Republic City needed her."
"What changed?"
"Harmonic Convergence," stated Kya simply, but she shook her head with a small smile. "That and we got old. I came here to help out with the kids and the new airbenders. I didn't mind being tied to one place or one person any more. All I wanted was her…"
Su blinked back tears and said, "I can't imagine Lin was easy to convince."
"She wasn't. Oh, she didn't mind meeting up every once in a while, but she is not domestic at all. But then Zaheer attacked us at the Air Temple and when it was finally over, she came to me. I had scared her, being hurt in that attack. Lin was actually afraid that something had happened to me…I couldn't figure it out. Lin had seen Republic City fall to mad men, she had lost her bending and quit her job; she had even gotten her job back and tried to restore peace to the city only to face the fall of the Earth Empire and what scared her was losing me."
"She loved you," said Opal simply.
A light cough from the doorway to the kitchen stopped the conversation. Jinora was waiting with a tray of tea. Su waved her in and made room for Jinora to sit next to her. "Thank you, Jinora. And tell your parents thank you for letting us stay here."
"Of course," replied Jinora. "Are Wing, Wei, and Huan coming?"
"Yes, I talked to them a few hours ago," said Su with a frown as she continued her train of thought. "I can't believe Mother isn't here already. She called me in the middle of the night to say something was wrong with Lin, but I haven't heard from her since."
"She knows, right? That Lin is…" Kya trailed off and she felt a sudden rush of nausea. Saying the words out loud was a step too far. She wasn't ready to admit that Lin was really dead.
"Mother said that she could see us, or rather feel us, through the vines in the swamp. When we were little she used to tell us that she had loved us since our hearts first started beating and that she could still tell that heartbeat apart from every other person in the world." Opal handed her mother a cup and Jinora poured the tea carefully.
Kya politely declined a cup and walked over to a nearby window that faced Republic City. In a low voice, she said, "I'm sure Toph is just dealing with her grief. She always loved Lin, even when Lin didn't want her to."
They were all dealing with their grief. Kya's eyes were misting up again. Toph should be here. The whole world was collapsing around Kya, but something felt off in the universe. Toph should be here. But so should Lin. Lin should be here too.