A/N: Surprise! I managed to sit down before my morning class yesterday and spit this out. As always, this is not beta'd or even proofread. Thank you to iguessimmaguest on AO3 for giving me the idea of giving each the kids a chapter to interact with Enya. I know you didn't exactly say that, but that's what my brain chose for now. Go yell at me over there: FireBlooded_WaterBender! I'm posting everything over there first.
By Tui and La, of course her life would become worse. First, she got separated from her kids in the forest, and now they were with Hama. Just great. Enya knew that Katara would fall for Hama's tricks just like she had. After all, Katara thirsted for the part of Southern Water Tribe culture that was gone. Enya really couldn't blame the fourteen year old at all.
She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. The power of the full moon coursed through her veins. If she ever had to explain to someone, she would say that it felt like an adrenaline rush without the crash when it was over. Wearing Fire Nation clothes again was the last thing that she wanted. She knew that the ones that she stole along with the kids were made of a very good quality silk, but they felt rough and wrong against her skin. These clothes made it feel like she hadn't made any progress in her journey at all. She knew that Hama would reveal her bloodbending to Katara tonight and she had to rescue the kids before Hama forced Katara to learn the technique. When Enya promised something, she was loathe to break it. Especially when it came to her kids. Sure, she had only known them for a couple of days, but that didn't stop her from being ridiculously protective of them.
To her right, a tree shriveled up, devoid of any water, and she knew that she was close. Clenching her fists once more, Enya took in a deep breath and settled into herself into the stance. She was only twenty, she shouldn't have to know this, like she shouldn't of had to know about the carnal crimes that men would commit at the young age of five. Hama had been a victim of war, that was of no doubt, but in her rage for revenge, she turned into a monster. She wasn't any better than the soldiers who went out attacking the other nations.
Enya's thoughts blanked out then. Afterwards, she had to rely on the kids to fill in the blanks after she had spotted the shriveled up tree. According to them, Hama had turned against Katara when she had refused to learn bloodbending and had dueled with her, using bloodbending to take control of Katara, Aang, and Sokka. Katara admitted that she had been seconds from giving in and using bloodbending to free herself when Hama's control suddenly broke. Katara had looked up and there was Enya, silhouetted against the full moon with tears falling down her face even though her face was blank.
"You will not corrupt her as well." She had apparently said before making it impossible for Hama to move.
Her secret was out. Enya wasn't sure how to feel. She supposed that she was alright with it since she made the subconscious decision to do anything that she had to do to protect the kids. She was angry that Katara had suffer knowing that bloodbending was a technique, but relieved that she had able to keep Katara from having to put it into practice. She sighed and leaned against Appa's side and watched the faces of the group. She hoped that they weren't too angry at her for lying by omission.
"You…saved us." Katara finally said. "By bloodbending…You're a waterbender."
"I am." Enya admitted quietly. "I'm sorry for not telling you, but I never imagined that you would run into Hama. I was her first victim…I wasn't as successful as I wanted to in protecting you from learning bloodbending from her."
Katara shuddered. "It feels…" She trailed off.
"Yeah," Enya nodded, knowing how Katara felt. "Do not worry. She's locked up now, and I would never use bloodbending on you guys. Only in extreme cases…if you ever want to learn it, let me know. It might be handy in healing…"
Enya knew how traumatizing Hama was for everyone, but especially Katara. When Toph and Aang were earthbending and Sokka was off hunting, Enya and Katara talked about it so that Katara could process it and have someone who understood. Enya knew that they wouldn't always agree or be this close, but she was glad to be Katara's support system.
Enya nodded when Katara finished her venting when it came to her mother's death and her father's absence. "Of course, Katara." She soothed. "Your feelings about this are completely valid. Both events were traumatizing, just like Hama was. However, I do have to call you out on telling Sokka that he didn't love your mother as much as you did. Her death was traumatizing for him as well, but he didn't experience it like you did…"
Katara sniffled as she tried to compose herself. "I guess you're right…Thank you for listening to me. Gran-Gran just didn't understand like you do. I really haven't thought about how Sokka was affected when it happened. He loved Mom…he was just closer to Dad, like I was closer to her."
"I'm glad I could help." Enya smiled slightly, opening her arms as an offering for a hug. Being forced to grow up very quickly had caused Enya to realize a lot of things that not even most adults realize. Her mother had explained to her about how trauma affected people in different ways, and that even siblings processed trauma differently. She hugged Katara after the younger waterbender accepted the offer. "I grew up around a lot of families that only had one parents or neither of them..and then my mom died last year. I really do understand…" She laughed slightly, trying to lighten the mood. "You focus on waterbending, ok? I'll cook, sew, and scold."
Katara giggled. It sounded a little wet, due to her recent tears. "You can't cook. You said that yourself."
She laughed again, heartier this time. "Ok, you caught me! But, I know I can sew and scold."
