Despite Uisce's assurances that she was ready, that she was strong, Katara insisted that they wait nearly a week for the full moon before attempting the procedure to restore Toph's sight. Toph finally had a name for what had caused so much trouble for her: congential glaucoma. She finally knew what had happened when she was so little, still in her crib, that had robbed her of her sight.
"The eye is surrounded with fluid that both protects the eye and brings in nutrients to maintain the health of the eye. This fluid is circulated constantly, draining through a network of cells and tissues surrounding the eyes. In your case, the fluid didn't drain properly, and pressure back to build within your eye."
All seven of them—masters and students alike—were present when Toph finally stood before the pond again. Cruinne had smoothed out the edges with a much steadier hand than Uisce was able to achieve. Steam gently wafted from the waters' surface. Toph could feel the warmth of it kissing her face as she stepped forward.
"At the back of the eye lies the optic nerve. This is what sends signals to the occipital lobe in the brain, where the signals are interpreted as images, sight. The increased pressure within your eyes began to press against the nerves, damaging the delicate fibers. These fibers, at least in traditional healing, cannot be recovered once they're lost."
Katara stood at the ready, her steady breathing presenting little more than a pretty mask to Toph, who could feel her anxious heart racing. Katara's head turned towards Zuko, who had been unfortunate enough to have been blindsided by the majority of what was going on, but whatever she saw in his face calmed her frantic heart. Toph stepped into the water.
"What we aim to do today is threefold. First, we must reduce the existing pressure in your eye by siphoning a small amount of fluid directly from your eyes. This will give us the opportunity to assess the damage done to the optic nerve. At that point, we will heal whatever damage is reversible. Lastly, we will address the primary cause of the condition: an underdeveloped drainage channel."
Uisce had gone of the theory of the procedure perhaps a hundred times at Katara's insistence. Toph had stopped listening after the second time. She was sure, and—although she'd never admit it to the other girl's face—she had faith in Katara. Katara would see her through this process, no matter what happened.
From a safe distance away, Zuko watched the procedure restlessly. It had been some time since he felt so truly useless, but this was a situation where he could literally be of little help. He knew enough about what Katara and Uisce were trying to accomplish to know that he'd only be in the way if he were any closer, but there was still a biting anxiety that grew as he continued to sit and contemplate that he couldn't help.
The anxiety began to quiet as Katara and Uisce began to work, voices low long after Uisce, with a gentle hand, had manipulated Toph's chi paths to put the girl into a sleep-state. Katara's hands had been still over Toph's face for a long moment as the waterbender closed her eyes and simply explored, extending her senses while being careful not to push or pull as she began mapping the pathways and channels echoing with Toph's heartbeat. Uisce was silent as Katara took her time memorizing the unique shape of Toph's eyes and face on a level that Zuko could scarcely imagine. Eventually, Katara raised her eyes to her master and nodded wordlessly.
Even though Zuko knew the procedure was one that had only been theorized before, he was in awe as the two began their real work. Uisce was focused on the most delicate work at hand—it was she that drew the excess fluid from Toph's eyes and gently perforated the membrane that prevented the fluid from draining normally—but it was Katara's steady hand that gently breathed life back into the younger girl's frayed nerves. Healers couldn't typically accomplish anything on this level, but Katara coaxed life-giving blood back into their long-forgotten pathways, healing and sustaining renewed life for the nerve. She was patient, following the path of the tiny passageways until her focus was carried towards the back of Toph's head, confirming that the area wasn't damaged, simply unutilized.
The work was so detailed, so incredibly detailed, that it was no small relief when Uisce finally looked up at Katara and smiled. Katara's hands fluttered and Zuko abruptly realized that—throughout the procedure—the young woman had maintained an open channel through the water so that Toph could breathe despite the majority of her head being underwater.
Katara and Uisce resumed their quiet conversation, comparing observations that quickly surpassed Zuko's limited healing vocabulary, but both of the waterbenders were smiling despite the exhaustion they were no-doubt feeling. A successful procedure then, without incurring any of the complications they had so feared. There was still risk as Toph's eyes healed, more potential uncertainty and opportunity for injury, but for now they could rest and recover.
Cruinne stepped forward at once, smiling with a rarely-seen fondness as he lifted Toph's still-sleeping form from the water. Awyr followed after him as he began walking her back towards the house. She'd be sure to make sure that Toph was put in clean, dry clothes before Cruinne began his vigil over his student. Zuko was certain that the spirit wouldn't move from her side until she woke.
As Toph was carried away, Zuko and Rhyu were in step as their approached their partners. Zuko could distantly hear the older couple speaking, but his focus was squarely on Katara as he wrapped his arms around her, so impossibly proud. Katara seemed to melt bonelessly into his embrace, and he swallowed a laugh, tempered by the knowledge that the procedure must have been incredibly draining for her. Not only was it the first time she'd ever attempted such delicate surgery, it was also her first time intentionally using bloodbending to heal an ally. Despite how utterly valuable the skill was in that regard, Zuko remembered how Katara's shaking voice when she tried to explain to him what she'd done to the captain of the Southern Raiders all those weeks ago.
Huh. Weeks… Zuko wondered idly, with Katara still mumbling so softly that he could hardly discern her words, how much time had passed. He knew that Toph had finally begun growing, but she was still maybe eye-level with his shoulder. He ran a hand through his hair with a distracted smile—maybe the most accurate indicator of time was how ridiculously long his hair had begun to grow. At this point, he should probably learn to braid it to keep it out of his eyes.
"You're smiling," Katara mumbled, her words almost slurred as she sleepily looked up at Zuko. As if the universe loved to prove her correct, Zuko could feel his smile widening as he looked down at her.
"And you're about to fall asleep standing up." Although he wouldn't usually dare to make any sort of assumptions on Katara's hardiness, this seemed to be one of the rare times where it wouldn't be inappropriate to give her a little more than a shoulder to lean on. He took the briefest moments to weigh again how far they were from the house only to completely throw out the implicit suggestion that Katara was too heavy or his arms too weak to carry her that far. Either option simply wasn't acceptable, so he carefully shifted Katara's arm to loop over his shoulders before sweeping her up into a bridal carry. To his quiet relief, Katara didn't attempt to argue that she could stand or walk unassisted. Instead, she breathed out a happy sigh, tightening her grip about his shoulders and nestling closer to his chest. Without bothering to look towards their masters, Zuko turned towards the house and began following the path home. Toph would be okay, and Katara would be fine with rest. Zuko would watch over her until she was recovered.
Toph awoke to darkness and a resurgence of the fear that it wouldn't work. Her other senses began to work, branching out to explore the world beyond her bed, and she realized that her master sat in a chair that he'd no doubt stolen from the dining patio just a few feet from her bed. He wasn't looking towards her, facing out towards the window, but his attention shifted as he realized from some subtle cue that she had rejoined the land of the living.
"Toph. Good morning. Or afternoon, I suppose," he greeted lightly, a smile parting his lips. He leaned closer to her, reaching out towards her before seeming to think better of it. Toph was surprised to realize distantly that she was disappointed at the aborted gesture.
"What happened?" she asked, voice still rough with sleep.
"From what I understand, they did a bang-up job. It was like Uisce figured, so they were able to go with the original plan," he explained succinctly. That was more of a relief to her than Toph could quite explain. The way Uisce had spoken about the complications they might have run into… Even if she would have gone ahead with it all even if those complications did arise, the idea of anyone slicing even a tiny slit into the surface of her eye was nauseating. "Your eyes are wrapped in bandages. You'll have to keep them on at least a week, with Katara checking them every night to make sure you don't develop any infections. After that, slow exposure to very low light to let your eyes and that brain of yours get used to it. If all goes well, you might be able to kick the bandages totally to the curb within the month."
A month. Toph had gone thirteen years of her life without sight. In a month, that would end. She'd be able to see. The idea of it was more intoxicating than she was willing to admit, but Cruinne only pat her hand when she went too long without talking.
On an unspoken agreement, none of the masters held lessons for several days after the procedure was carried out. Katara and Zuko spent much of their time with Toph, and all of their talks involved what the future would look like. It was easy for Toph to imagine it now, even if her sight would be lost however temporarily when she was beamed back into Gaoling's prettiest prison cell. Uisce hadn't exaggerated how intense the procedure was, but Katara became more and more certain with each reflective moment that she'd be able to do it without a second bloodbender. She'd need to continue practicing the art, gaining expertise with the sort of precision that any surgery required, but she could do it, especially if she worked on one eye at a time.
They'd go back to that fateful day. Katara would awaken Aang, bring him back into the fold of their family and drag Sokka along, no matter how he kicked and screamed about it. That light would still shine in the sky for Zuko and he'd—he'd talk to his uncle. It would take time, but he would convince his uncle that he wanted to chase that light for the right reasons. They would rendezvous at the Southern Water Tribe, but Zuko wouldn't attack. He'd approach with the tact he should have used the first time around and request an audience with the leader of the tribe. In Hakoda's absence, leadership fell to his mother and his daughter. Katara.
Toph would awaken in Gaoling, but all would be well. She'd be more conscious of her parents, perhaps making some grand point of wanting to visit other principal locations within the Earth Kingdom. She could have heard of the interests of Omashu from any number of whispering servants or visiting business contacts. If her parents wouldn't let her go peacefully… She'd run away from home once before. It would hurt her to leave again but staying away from her new family so long would be a far worse fate. Bumi, mad as he was, would make sure she was fed and sheltered until the Avatar came in search of an earthbending master, following a whisper Zuko had likely heard of the crazy king of Omashu.
They planned how they'd behave, how they'd act when they met their fallen. Their plans were painfully straightforward, but they were beautiful and shining dreams. As the war continued to wage above them, the three laid plans for the days they'd never gotten to live. The days that were hopefully still waiting for them.
Published 5:22, 7.24.20