It was a vicious fight from the instant they got to Yue Bay; they had no idea who was fighting, just that it had been water benders and explosions; they battled until a large blast nearly killed them all. Lin checked for the others. Most had been fine, deciding they should get people to Kya and the other emergency services, the healer trucks; there were firefighter trucks, more cops. The outlets were taking photos of the blitz.
"I have to figure out what this is, and maybe I should meditate" Korra had grown so much. Lin would never say it, but she was proud of that kid. She would have done something stupid but instead decided to be wise and not put herself in a situation. Lin also assumed having an intelligent woman at her side helped
She didn't notice the silence, the shocked faces. She coughed, feeling wet on her face; she just wiped her mouth. She was focusing on catching her breath.
"Lin, don't move." Kya darted toward her, and Lin looked at her, confused. She had no idea what happened, but she trusted Kya; Tenzin also ran over. Lin looked down, a little blood she hoped it wasn't coddling. Her vision started to blur. She saw Kya's light blue healer bending. "You have a huge spike in your back!" Tenzin fretted, seeing her face white, blood running down her lips.
"I think I would feel if I was injured," Lin said stubbornly, wondering when it became nighttime. Covers getting more and more black, pressure on her back suddenly lightened, and she saw black
Tenzin caught her softly, laying her down so Kya could do her job. Bolin, Opal, and Bumi looked for survivors still.
Have you ever thought of seeing a mind healer? He asked, concerned.
Lin had just told Tarrlock the stupidest thing she did in her youth when she was her mom's age; Lin was not saving the world; she was trying to make sense of something that happened five years ago. It manifested itself in having sex with a 23-year-old man. To Tarlok, it screamed daddy issues or some trauma. Lin promptly told him no. They remained cuddled. He admitted trying to end his life after his father, it was the first time either spoke of their past, but you could see it in their eyes. After that, he ended up in Republic City. Lin was drawn to his hidden sadness. It resonated with her. They understood what it was like, to repeat failures.
Lin asked him what he dreamed of in the future and her drunken heart melted; he said he wanted to spend his last days on an Island with her, to drink tea and play all her instruments and hear her sing. He loved when she sang. But she refused to retire. That's where it all went wrong. It's always we're it went wrong.
That and Tenzin.
He pointed out she was a Beifong, and she worked the force longer than anyone had, he didn't know it, but when her grandparents passed, she donated all the money to the people. She had a job, a decent place, and an education in the top five percent of the wealthiest people in Republic City, surpassing people in the world. Schools needed funding for the hospitals. The money she had, a fraction of the total wealth, could feed most people in the streets. It was disgusting to hoard that wealth, and it didn't help she didn't want her mom's affluent fucking parents' money. She didn't want anything to do with them. She might as well use her power to help the average person in her city. Sure she got a few things. She was still human, but she wanted to help people.
Tarrlok didn't understand they would be on the same page, but he would drop the book and open it somewhere else. He was almost there most times, like when she pushed he should put a vote on laws that would give higher taxes on the wealthier people or laws that stopped things like the Sato's or Cabbage Corp from using their influence to get laws passed that hurt citizen but helped their pockets.
He didn't listen in the end. Nobody listens. So Lin didn't either. She kept her job.
"Tarrlok," Lin groaned, the lights hitting her room giving her a headache and the taste of blood in her mouth making her queasy.
Tenzin's eyes narrowed, confused
"Maybe I should have Kya check on you." Asami stood up and headed towards the door,
"No, I can only imagine how many are injured."
" But, your injured," Asami said.
"Mhm, just a scratch. I didn't even feel it, still don't." She almost sounded disappointed.
Tenzin sighed. Would Lin ever change?
"Did we find anything else out? Mhm." Lin asked. She felt ill, and she dry heaved. She probably would've thrown up if she had food in her.
"No, relax. You need to be looked at." Tenzin almost yelled. She was so stubborn.
" Nope." That was all Lin said. She turned not to face them.
An hour passed, and the door clicked open; Lin felt someone stroke her hair. She panicked. Had Raiko not seen Tenzin and Asami, clearly not. Asami looked to Tenzin, confused.
" Are you okay? I was worried about you-"
"Peachy," Lin said with a growl. Raiko realized they weren't alone.
"Tenzin, Ms. Sato. How are you?" Raiko cleared his throat
"Amazing," Asami said, slightly amused; Tenzin nodded
"Didn't realize you were close,"
"Saved me many times. What would we do without Lin Beifong in our stead." He spoke like a proper politician.
Lin said nothing; she just stared into the wall.
"Guys, Maybe we should go into the spirit-"Korra paused. She noticed an outlier
"Raiko, what are you-" Korra was cut off.
" He came to check on Lin." Asami's tone twinkled with amusement, the scandal if what she thought was true.
"Okay, well, we should go to the spirit would with Jinora and Tenzin. I have an idea." Korra and Tenzin were unsure of why Asami was acting that way.
