9:00/ night/ 1 Day After Attack on Courthouse
"Lin." Tenzin greeted his old friend as he crossed the threashold of her boys' apartment with the avatar in tow, holding a small bundle in his hand, "Where is Bolin, I brought some herbs that will help him fall sleep."
"Too late, Airhead." Lin said simply, going back to her tea with Mako and Asami, "He's already asleep."
"But-" His jaw dropped slightly, "I thought you said he was-"
"I drugged his tea." Lin said with a shrug, then raised an eyebrow at Tenzin's disapproving look, "What?"
"Lin, if he must have help falling asleep, then a more natural way would be better for him." Tenzin reasoned, Lin stood up with a murderous look in her eye.
"You trying to tell me how to take care of my own son?" She growled.
"Why don't you leave those here, Tenzin?" Asami asked as she quickly got up and stood between the two older masters before rock really did beat airbender, "We'll try those out tomorrow."
10:00/ morning/ 3 Days After Attack on Courthouse
The jury watched the trial all over again thanks to Varrick's filming machine, and to the surprise of no one, the expected outcome hadn't changed because of the destruction. Noatak, otherwise known as Amon, was guilty of all charges. The judge sentenced him to death, and set a very quick date, both decisions were probably made to avoid another incident. Bolin saw the headline announcing the terrorist's death sentence in the morning paper, then he flipped it over and tried put it from his mind.
1:00/afternoon/ 4 Days After Attack on Courthouse
They all knew Bolin needed help, and they all wanted him to have help from someone he trusted. After a lot of discussion, the adults of the family agreed with Tenzin's suggestion to bring his sister to the city to tend to the young man. Healing the mind wasn't her normal area, but she had some experience (and success) with soldiers with similar troubles. Her kindhearted nature just made her so easy to talk to, and after a few short talks, she should be able to tell them how to help a troubled earthbender.
"Hey, Bolin!" She waved happily from the air bison, pulling him into a hug the second her feet hit the ground, "Wow, you've grown since the last time I saw you."
"I know why you're here, Aunt Kya."
"Well then, why don't we go talk for a bit?"
12:00/ noon/ 5 Days After Attack on Courthouse
The idea was to get him back into his normal routine as soon as possible, according to Kya. This meant he had to train with his mom, as he always had. But he didn't want to fight, he didn't even want to bend. He just couldn't. When she told him that she had to, something clicked in his mind, suddenly his normally optimistic mind started to believe the darkest thoughts that had been trying to creep in.
"No!" He shouted as she stood across from him in a sparing circle, "I'm not letting you do this to me!"
"Boy," she grabbed him by his shoulders, her voice dripping with confusion and a hint of angered annoyance, "what are you talking about?"
"You're not gonna turn me into you!" He shouted, and she froze stiff. "I'm not a monster!" Before the thought could even fully process in his mom's mind, he pushed her away, "Just stay away from me, Lin!" He shouted and stormed out. Leaving a very shocked woman behind him.
12:46 /morning/ 6 Days After Attack on Courthouse
It was a dumb idea with no sort of reasoning behind it whatsoever, but Lin still found herself on Air Temple Island, more specifically her ex-fiancee's roof. And not long after she sat down, she found Tenzin climbing on the roof to sit with her.
"The Boy thinks I'm a monster." She said sadly, staring at the ocean.
"Lin, I'm sure this is simply a misunderstanding. He's dealing with a trauma." Outbursts like that one were expected, she knew that. It should make her fell better knowing that, it didn't."You know he really didn't mean what he said, is just part of it."
"I know that." As were his poor sleeping and eating habits, and his distant and mean behavior. She knew all this, and it still cut through her like a blade, "He said he wasn't a monster, that he wasn't going to turn into me." Lin wouldn't cry, she wouldn't let herself.
"Now Lin, deep down Bolin knows that you were never trying to make him follow your down path." The wise airbender tried to use simple reasoning,"You did keep him from joining the force to stop something like this from happening."
"And it happened anyway." She sneered, throwing a hand up in the air, "Ain't life grand?" Unbeknownst to either of the old masters, Pema heard the whole exchange from the open window beneath them.
5:39/ afternoon/ 6 Days After Attack on Courthouse
Mako was busy buttoning up his uniform coat, getting ready for his second shift, when he heard a knock on the door. He opened it expecting to see Asami or Lin. But no, it was their Aunt Pema, and she looked really mad,
"I'll be looking after Bolin tonight." She told him with venom oozing out of her mouth with every syllable. The elder brother was a bit hesitant to leave his little brother in the hands of someone who looked like they were standing on the corner of murder and destruction. But he decided to relinquish his caretaker responsibilities with a quick goodbye before hightailing it out of the apartment. Now that the acolyte was alone with the boy, fangs appeared from Pema's mouth, her eyes turned blood red and she practically flouted over to Bolin at a seemingly impossible speed.
"HOW DARE YOU TALK TO YOUR MOTHER THAT WAY, YOUNG MAN?!" She shouted at the top of her lungs, pulling him down to her level by the ear, "YOU KNOW SHE'S ONLY DONE HER BEST TO GIVE YOU A GOOD LIFE, AND THAT'S HOW YOU TREAT HER?! I HAVE HALF A MIND TO BEND YOU OVER MY KNEE AND PADDLE YOUR BACKSIDE!"
He felt horrible.
5:30/ afternoon/ 10 Days After Attack on Courthouse
Bolin sat down at the table for the family meal. His mom didn't show up this time, which was cause for relief and guilt. No one spoke much, not even Ikki or Meelo. His Aunt Kya tried to get him talking, but he spent his time poking at his food. Everyone eyed him with concerned looks on their faces, before silently to each other for ideas,
"That's it!" Bumi slammed down his bowl, shot up, and made his way to his second oldest nephew. Getting in his face, the crazy uncle took the tone of a drill sergeant "In this family we all live, work and stick together. So if you don't eat," he pointed a finger in Bolin's chest, "I don't eat."
"Me neither!" Meelo was the first to back up Bumi, pushing his bowl away and knocking over. He got a glare for the mess he made, but the entire table followed in suit, without the mess, of course.
"Now, you gotta let the entire family starve, soldier," he started off slow, the worked in some dramatics, "or are you gonna eat that soup?!"
He ate.
5:30/ afternoon/ 13 Days After Attack on Courthouse
"Knock, knock." Asami called from the other side of the door cheerfully, a little too cheerfully.
"Hey, Asami." He opened the door, but stood in her way, not feeling like having company today, "Look, I know no one wants to leave me alone, but I really just wanna be alone for awhile." His friend didn't seem to care, pushing the door out of his hands and strolling past him to the kitchen table, where she pulled out a chair.
"I need you to braid my hair." She said sitting herself down and putting her bag of cosmetics on the table, "I can't seem to do it right today." Now where had he heard that before? Shutting the door with a sigh, Bolin walked over to Asami and grabbed her hairbrush out of the bag.
"Asami," he said tiredly, running the brush through her hair, "the last time you asked me to braid your hair, you really just wanted to know if I'd have a problem with you dating my big brother. What do you want now?"
"Remember how you always used to do my hair before dates?" Asami didn't even try to hide the fact that she side stepped his question, "We used to tell each other secrets, and one time you shouted 'she thinks you have a nice butt!' at Hitomi as you were leaving." She laughed, "I was so embarrassed, luckily she thought it was cute."
"That was Hotaka." Bolin fought the small smile that was threatening to appear on his sour face, as he put aside the brush and began to weave her hair, "And yeah, he thought it was funny."
"Yeah," She didn't know how she managed to mix the two up, "you're right."
"And to retaliate you told Sialuk about Rumble. Thanks, I still hate you for that." What fourteen-year-old boy wanted his girlfriend to know he still had a stuffed badgermole from his childhood? None. He'd turned as red as a Fire Nation flag when Asami spilled the beans.
"I'm sorry," her apology was heartfelt, "I had no idea she'd take it when you two broke up with her."
"Yeah, but the look on her face when Pabu stole it back..." His little buddy ran up the girl's dress and out her sleeve, grabbing his old stuffed animal on his way down, "looked like a hogmonkey that got jumped by a catgator. Priceless." Bolin imitated the face even though his best friend couldn't see it, and he finally laughed, Asami smiled at a job well done.
He was cheerful.
9:00/morning/ 15 Days After Attack on Courthouse
"A life for a life, Chief Beifong?" Noatak didn't even look up from his cot as she opened the metal door and walked into the cell on the day of his execution, "My father orders the end of your father's life, and your son takes my brother's life. I visit you while you were incarnated, and now you visit me, "Where does it end?"
"It never ends." Lin told him the hard truth quietly before asking the infamous question to change the subject, "Why did you send for me?" The Chief asked as she sat on the chair across. Of all people, he requested that she should spend his final hour with him. Did he really have no one else?
"Do you think we could have all been friends under different circumstances? If the universe didn't pit our families together?"
"Who knows?" She shrugged, "What's the point of worrying about it now?"
"We've both spent our lives trying to fight injustice by whatever means we thought necessary. I wish we could have found ourselves on the same side, Chief Beifong, I would have welcomed your friendship. I'm sorry that I didn't do things differently."
"Yeah," Lin crossed her arms and looked to the ground,"me too."
9:00/ morning/ 15 Days After Attack on Courthouse
"Bolin, Mako come on! Get up!" Korra pounded on their bedroom door after she and Asami let themselves in. Bolin sat up slowly, his waking up process slowed because of the sleeping herbs that his family forced him to take.
"Why?" He groaned, begrudgingly sitting up.
"It's time to leave for our camping trip." Korra replied, grabbing a satchel, opening his dresser drawers.
"..." Bolin Blinked as he watched the Avatar carelessly throw his cloths into a bag, "What camping trip?" He later learned that by camping trip, they really just meant that they'd camp out on Air Temple Island for the night. Neither of the girls had ever been camping before, and they decided that today was as good a day as any.
"Bolin," his big brother called for him as he stood over a pot and a fire, "Hand me the..." Mako stopped as the water he was about to add to his drying out meat stew was thrown onto Bolin's face, courtesy of a waterbending move.
"Korra!" The soaked teenager shouted, the offender just laughed and ran off shouting 'come and get me' as she went. The game went on for three hours, she hid in the trees and bended mud in his face, they ran from one side of the small forest to the other, bended their way down the cliffs and to the beach where Bolin finally got the better of her by suspending the sand in the air, taking away her sight, "Gotcha!" He laughed, catching her up and falling back on the ground, holding his grip tight despite being exhausted.
"That's cheating!" Korra shouted from his arms, laughing as she tried to escape.
"Hey, it's not like I used my cables." He almost did out of habit, but in a split second he realized that he just couldn't do it, and resorted to sandbending instead.
"Let me go!" She yelled, breaking his grip and getting up.
"No! You'll pay for your transgressions, Avatar!" He grabbed her ankle and pulled her back down.
"Never!" They wrestled until they were out of breath and their sides were aching from laughter.
"We'd better get back." Korra said as they laid side by side in the sand.
"Yeah, yeah...sure thing, Korra." Even though he agreed, his tired voice and closed eyelids made it very clear that he had no intentions of leaving his spot anytime soon.
He slept without aid.
11:00/ morning/ 18 DaysAfter Attack on Courthouse
"Why aren't Bolin and Aunt Lin talking?" Ikki asked out of the blue as she, her siblings and her father watched Bolin try to meditate in the pavilion with Kya,
"Because Bolin's having a hard time seeing her right now." Tenzin said gently, "And we don't want to make him do anything that makes him uncomfortable."
"But why does she make him uncomfortable?" The youngest girl continued to question.
"She tried to get him to train, he didn't want to do it." The father never noticed his son's face morph into an evil grin, "Come along, let's leave them alone for a little while." He herded his children away, and after a bit of convincing, let them play outside on the condition that they steered clear of their cousin.
"I'm telling you, we'll help him!" Meelo cheered as they searched for sticks.
"I don't know about this," Jinora said uncertainly, "Fighting isn't the airbender way."
"But if Bolin fights, then he and Lin will talk and be best buddies again." Ikki rambled on excitedly. The worrisome girl caved and grabbed a stick for herself.
Bolin didn't know what hit him. One second he was just minding his own business, vainly trying to do an air-monk inner peace exercise as taught by waterbender, the next second a stick flew out of nowhere and hit him square in the head.
"Defend yourself, pirate!" Meelo shouted, waving another stick in the air like a sword, "The Air Nation Army is here to defeat you!"
"Huh?" Was all the earthbender could manage before Ikki jumped in his lap,
"We're playing pirates, and you have to play too because we're airbenders in the airbending army and we need someone to fight." She picked up his 'sword' off the ground and tried to hand it to him,
"Actually," he frowned, "I'm just not in the mood to play today, Ikki."
"You have to!" Meelo stormed up to him, "We need someone to be the pirate! And you fit the part, Mister!"
"Well," Bolin looked to his aunt who motioned for him to go for it with a huge grin on her face, "it's better than just sitting around." He reasoned, getting up and picking up his sword, "Aye, give me your treasure!"
"Charge, my soldiers! Get the pirate!" They all swung there swords at him, hitting each other as much as they hit him. It became a free-for-all before long, and they all became pirates, complete with pirate talk and pirate flying lemurs.
He played around.
4:45 /morning/ 20 Days After Attack on Courthouse
"Bro?" Mako groaned tiredly as he got up and found Bolin sipping coffee at the table, "You should stop drinking that stuff and go back to bed."
"I can do what I want, Mako." Bolin shot back not even looking up from his drink, after the nightmares he just had, there was no going back to sleep, "And I want to sit here and drink coffee." The elder brother sneered, but sat down with his own cup of coffee, only to have Bolin jump up like somebody kicked him.
"Hey!" Mako said, throwing his arms out, "What'd I do?!" He shouted as his little brother ran back into their room, "Bolin!" He stormed in, ready to knock some sense into the man. True, he was going through a difficult time right now, and Mako was doing his best to support him, but right now he was just doing his best to keep his temper in check, "Bolin!"
"Go 'way, Mako." His little brother sniffed from from his bed as he faced the window. The firebender suddenly had a pretty good idea why Bolin was up so early, and he suddenly felt like a jerk for yelling at the man.
"Look, Bro-"
"I'm fine, Mako." He insisted, turning his face away when Mako sat on the bed next to him.
"It's okay, Bolin." Mako put an arm on his brother's shoulder.
"No it's not." Bolin shrugged the arm off and scooted away, his face twisting in pain.
"Nightmares are normal. Kya sai-"
"It's not the nightmares! It's not..." He scooted to the headboard and sat this his back to it with his knees to his chest, "It's what happens in them..." The eldest brother looked at the family baby in complete and utter confusion. Everything that happened in nightmares were scary, that's why they were called nightmares. But...he guessed there were awful things and horrible things in bad dreams, and maybe Bolin was ready to talk about those things, so Mako sat cross legged in front of his brother.
"What happens?" He asked softly as he could. Bolin started sweating, then he whimpered. A good ten minutes, each staring the other down and testing the hothead's patience, before the earthbender finally whispered something unintelligible, so Mako asked again.
"...I laugh." He admitted, breaking down into uncontrollable tears. Mako put a hand on each shoulder.
He talked about his pain.
5:45/morning/ 20 Days After Attack on Courthouse
"So he says 'I laugh'." Mako told Lin over coffee as they sat in her office. Lin's eyes widened, that actually explained a lot, but she'd never expected this from her son. But that's why it was hurting him so much, because it was Bolin, and he was still so gentle.
"What'd you tell him?" She asked simply, putting her coffee down on her desk.
"I didn't know what to say." He admitted, they both fell into an awkward silence.
"At least you managed to get him to talk."
6:58/ morning/ 20 Days After Attack on Courthouse
"...And he told Mako that he laughed as he did it."
"Good!" Kya said excitedly over her tea, Lin cocked her head slightly and her eyes narrowed. How could that possibly be a good thing,"I mean it's good that he's finally talking about his feelings to someone else."
"You knew about this?!" She slammed her cup on the table, "And you didn't tell me?!"
"I told him I wouldn't, but I did tell him that it'd be better for him if he he talks about this to his closer relatives." Kya explained as she sipped her drink. Lin remained unconvinced and unamused, "What can I tell you?" She shrugged Lin's glare off, "It's better for him if he decides to talk about it himself, Lin. And the fact that he's talking to Mako, that's great. He's been something of a painful reminder to Bolin."
"At least he's getting better."
"But I think you staying away from him is doing more harm than good." Yes, she told this to the stubborn policewoman before, and she would tell her again. "I know he's chosen to take fear out on you, but he needs you, Lin."
"I don't know what to do with him."
"When someone experiences a trauma, it's important to get them back in that unconformable spot as soon as possible. He's been running away from this, and despite being a stubborn Beifong, you've been letting him."
10:00/ night/ 22 Days After Attack on Courthouse
"Boy." Lin greeted her son as Mako pulled him into the sandpits. Her armor stood in the corner, swapped for a pair of training blades and waist cables.
"Mom." He mumbled, shuffling his feet in the dirt like a little kid who was afraid he was about to get into trouble. But at least she was 'mom' again, that was better than she'd been expecting. An extra set of blades were tossed over to her son.
"Come here, Boy. We've gotta talk."
"Okay?" he sat down next to her on the ground, "About what?" Was he really asking her that? The mother couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes, but she explained the obvious anyway.
"Tarrlok, Boy."
"Oh..." his gaze turned to the dirt, "I don't wanna talk about that."
"You're going to, whether you like it or not. I've let you be coddled you too much as it is, so talk about it."
"What's there to talk about?" He sniffled and his lower lip quivered, "He's dead."
"And?" Lin raised an eyebrow, trying to get him to continue.
"And I did it." Bolin grumbled quietly.
"What of it?"
"What of it...I killed a man!"
"Yeah, I know." She nodded sadly, "I'm sorry you had to do that. You having nightmares?" Lin looked him in the eyes, he obviously thought his brother sold him out. He was right, but going on about it wouldn't do either of them any good right now, "I had a lot of nightmares about Makya." she admitted.
"Oh, really, I...wait, who is Makya? Was he a friend?"
"He was one of the waterbenders that attack me and my father." She admitted quietly, wanting to ignore that part of her life more than almost anything...except helping her son, and if a dreaded heart-to-heart had a chance of doing that somehow, then so be it.
"What happened?"
"He tried to fight them off, I ran to get my mom...then I heard him scream." Lin's eyes began to tear up, "I ran back and they had him...I just reacted. Ten years later, I'm looking through old case files, trying to find Yakone and make him answer for his lackeys' crimes, and I finally find out why I got these." she reached up and traced her scars.
"Why..." Bolin whispered. The largest part of his mind didn't want to know, but the smaller part of his mind was stronger and it just had to know. Even if he had a pretty good idea where this was going, even if he was certain that he would regret having his suspicions proven.
"I killed him, Boy." She ran a finger over one scar, "My father killed a man named Arketah.", she ran her finger over the other, "They didn't care that it was an accident, or I was only eight, they wanted to make me suffer." Lin saw tears go down his cheeks out of the corner of her eye,
"I'm sorry..."
"It was a long time ago, Boy. It's fine now." Maybe that wasn't completely true, but it's what the kid needed to hear. Who knew how long they just sat there in an uncomfortable silence? Lin was trying to think of a way to work this conversation back to Bolin while Bolin was mulling over this new information.
"I don't remember anything about a 'Makya'." He said softly as he wiped his tears away, he only remembered three names, "I remember Chihiro, Gakuto, and Zolt." Damn the boy and his good memory. She hadn't included him in her list of kills, mainly because it brought a lot of painful memories. Lin heaved a deep sigh,
"That's because was an accident, Kid, it doesn't count." well, it was sort of true, "Just like you and Tarrlok."
"Mine wasn't an accident, I meant to kill him. "
"You reacted. You didn't mean for him to die."
"But I'm glad he's dead." Bolin's eyes widened, he hadn't meant to say that out loud, "I mean... "
"You're glad that Mako's safe, and that Tarrlok can't hurt anyone anymore. That doesn't make you the monster you think you are."
"But how can you be sure?" He asked loudly and nervously, "What happens i-"
"You wanna kill again?" She interrupted sharply.
"No, but I-."
"You thinking about it?"
"No, I don't want to."
"You think you would kill anyone you fight with?"
"What if I do? What if I get mad and just...pow?"
"Get into a stance." She told him as gently as she could, pointing to the blades next to him. He just stared at the weapons, almost as if he was staring at evil itself.
"I can't..." The boy whispered, he hadn't touched his blades since the incident, and he didn't want to put on this new set now.
"Yes you can, Bolin. Look." She saw his head snap up out of the corner of her eyes as she extended the blade of her left arm, and she saw him panic when she dragged it across her right hand, "They're dulled down. Go on, put them on.", he still didn't move, so she put a hand to his shoulder. "You have to do this, Boy, you can't keep running."
"I..." he whimpered, but he put the blades on and hesitantly extended them, "I don't know about this..."
"Calm down, we won't hurt each other." Seemed like only yesterday he'd extend fully sharpened blades and spare without a second thought, what she would give to see him like that again...just smiling and bouncing all over the place like an idiot, "Come on, kid get's the first shot."
The hit was pathetic, slow and soft, and purposefully armed at her blade, but it was a hit. She tapped his blade with her own, prompting him to do it again, and then again. Slowly but surely, they almost looked like they were actually training. He wasn't having fun, though, he looked like he was just going through the paces. Finally, he had his fill of humoring her and stopped, keeping his eyes on the ground, "I don't wanna fight anybody."
"No, you don't wanna hurt anybody." She'd been told not to push him too hard, so she wouldn't make him spar anymore, even if she wanted him to work until he got back to normal. Putting a hand under his chin, she made him look her in the eyes. "You'll be alright."
"How long before everything goes back to normal?"
"Never, Boy, but you'll learn to live with it." The mother barely finished the sentence before her son practically tackled her in a hug, there was nothing she could do except put her arms around him and let him cry on her shoulder.
He accepted that he never would ever really be the same again.
8:00/ morning/ 23 Days After Attack on Courthouse -Zaofu
"Well," Su sat causally behind her office desk, waiting for a group of bounty hunters to deliver a message from her sister. Not that she believed this would be worth her time, like Lin would ever let go of her grudge and contact her. They were probably just trying to convince her to turn over one of her citizens because of a crime committed in the United Republic, "what message do you have for me?"
"A wanted poster. Commissioned by Lin Beifong." One of the thuggish people brought a rolled up piece of paper out of his sack. Well, she hit the nail right on the head, hadn't she? Pushing the paper away as he tried to hand it over, the matriarch glared,
"You have been informed that bounty hunting is illegal in Zaofu. That doesn't change because my sister is the one who released a warrant." Her sister released a warrant on her, after all, it would be hypocritical to ship someone else off in chains because of Lin.
"Not even when the criminal hurt the Beifong family?" The leader asked smugly. Her eyes narrowed, this was obviously a trick, but they had gotten points for managing to catch her attention,
"I'm listening."