"Ugh…" She woke with a groan to frigid air, and a feeling not unlike the one she felt when her lungs were opened up after her panic attack. She felt the feeling at her feet and at her right eye. She had a woman at the head of her bed in traditional water tribe robes and a woman who was older than the other at the foot of her bed dressed similarly with similar features. Kai thought that they were probably mother and daughter.

"You're awake," the older one spoke with a smile that told you she really did care that you were well. "Go tell Tenzin and his guests that she's awake." The older woman told one of the women waiting off to the side. Kai realized that the older woman was Master Katara, Tenzin's mother, which meant the younger woman still working on Kai's eye was Tenzin's older sister, Kya. "You gave Lin quite the scare, you know." Master Katara told her after the woman left with the message.

"How long was I out?" Kai asked, trying to ignore that comment.

"Two months, give or take." Kya told Kai.

"What'd I miss?" She asked, worried something important had happened.

"I can't tell you that," Kya spoke, "But I can tell you that I've done all I can to help your eye." Kai furrowed her brows and reached up to her right eye, remembering the pain from Min Chang's attack. As she did so, she found that her long fringe wasn't hanging there and blocking her vision like it usually did. Then, Kai's eyes widened as she realized something, she still wasn't able to see. She was completely blind in her right eye. Min Chang had blinded her. "I'm so sorry." Tenzin's older sister told her softly.

"What does that mean, you've done all you can do?" the strong, commanding voice that Chief Bei Fong used to command her officers filtered into the room.

"I'm really sorry Lin," Kya told her old friend, and Kai could tell she didn't want to try and explain herself, because Bei Fong was a hard woman to argue with. Bei Fong set her jaw and nodded, not making eye contact with Kya or Kai. Kya sighed, "I'll give you two some privacy." She then left the room.

Kai moved to sit up in her bed. Realizing her top half was only dressed in her wrappings and some bandages on her back she pulled her blanket up to cover her chest. "They had to remove you shirt to heal your back." Chief Bei Fong spoke.

"Figured," Kai muttered squirming to try and get comfortable. After of few moments of squirming she gave up on ever being comfortable in the bed and spoke again, "Kya told me I was out for two months," Kai spoke, trying to get her and the woman in front of her out of the awkward silence they were in, but all Bei Fong did was nod in confirmation. "What did I miss?" She asked, hoping that would finally end the silence.

Bei Fong took a deep breath in and then began to speak. "After Min Chang shot you with lightning you passed out, and that friend of yours, the fight happy earthbender one–"

"Dimitri," Kai tells her.

"Yes. He and Mako both had to hold Bolin back from trying to attack him." Kai felt herself trying not to smile at the idea of Bolin trying to attack him. "He really likes you, you know." Bei Fong tells her. Kai nods raising and eyebrow, silently asking her to continue. "We were able to apprehend Min Chang during the time they were calming down Bolin, he and his mother are now facing time in a White Lotus prison. We came to the South Pole as quickly as we could to get Katara and Kya to heal you, and Korra tried to keep it from getting worse on the way here." Kai nodded telling her to go on.

"We didn't want to, but after three weeks we had to go back to Republic City because of work and Tenzin's obligations to his family." Bei Fong continues. "We came back now to see how you were doing, and because of the Solstice Festival, it's a–"

"Southern Water Tribe tradition celebrating the spirits, I know." Kai cut her off to stop the unnecessary explanation. "Troy's father used to take us before Min Chang attacked."

"What changed that?" Bei Fong asked.

"His mother was the waterbending master that was teaching the waterbenders in our class." Bei Fong furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, "She and the earthbending master were killed by the blast of fire that scarred us all." Kai explained softly. "His father became very bitter and shut everyone out after that." Bei Fong opened her mouth to ask a question that Kai had predicted would come, "The firebending teacher was one of Min Chang's followers, and the reason he was able to break into the school." Kai watched as the woman struggled to hide her fury at the situation.

Kai took a deep breath, it's now or never, she told herself. "I heard what Destan said to you." Bei Fong – should I refer to her as Lin…or mom? Kai thought to herself, No, she decided. It's too early for that.

Chief Bei Fong thought carefully on what to say. "He wasn't wrong," she finally decided to say, "If that's what you're wondering."

"I know," Kai spoke, "I knew long before he said anything."

"I–" Lin cut herself off, apparently feeling that what she was going to say wasn't the right thing. Kai watched the woman's eyes study her face for a moment, and then finally asked, "Why aren't you angry? Or upset? Every time I thought about how I would respond, you were never so…calm."

"I did blame you when I was really little, thinking you were the reason my father was so bitter and cruel." She explained, "But…" Kai trailed off, thinking about how to word the story on what made her change her view of her mother. Kai sighed, deciding to just come out it: "On my tenth birthday I received a letter from Poppy Bei Fong telling me the story of my birth in a completely different way from how my father had told it." Kai told Lin, "She had only signed it as Poppy, and she never said your name, but with the letter had come a stuffed animal of a flying boar. Every self-respecting earthbender knows that that's the symbol of the Bei Fong family, and after that, by process of elimination of the very few women in your family I figured it out." Kai remarked rubbing the back of her neck.

X

"Why didn't you ever say anything while we were in Republic City?" Lin asked in shock.

"After Poppy's letter, I came to the conclusion that it was better that you weren't there at all as opposed to my father who was there, but didn't seem to care about me unless it benefited him. With that, I at least knew where I stood with you." Kai told her.

"And where was that?" Lin asked her, wondering what the girl thought about the situation.

"Somewhere half-way between inconvenient and unwanted," Kai replied.

Lin wasn't sure what surprised her more: that Kai had actually said that or the stab of pain Lin felt. "That's not why I left you with Poppy and Lao," Lin told the girl, trying to get her to understand. "You weren't inconvenient or unwanted by any means," Kai raised an eyebrow at her. "The circumstances you were born under made it difficult for any other outcome. I was…" Lin didn't want to admit it out loud.

"You didn't want to see the disappointment on her face." Azule spoke from the entranceway. Lin looked over at her, and realized the firebender girl probably understood that feeling more than anyone.

"I can understand that." Kai replied with ease as Lin silently agreed with Azule.

There was a lull in the conversation as Lin took in what the girl had said. After a few moments, she realized there was only one more question that really needed to be asked: "How do you want this to go from here?"

"I'm going back to Republic City," she replied easily, "I know that. I'm not sure after that though. I…" Kai trailed off awkwardly. "I'd like to get to know you though." She muttered.

Lin smiled softly, "I'd like that, too." She said. Kai smiled. Azule nodded and walked out at the happy reunion, deciding to talk to her friend later.