A. N. : Last Caldera Update before the day of the executions, once again with Ty Lee. Regarding this chapter's title, it's a reference to the Komainu, the "lion-dogs" guarding the entrance of Japanese shinto shrines (as well as, sometimes, other places). Given how I've characterized Ty Lee in regards to the Gal Pals gang, I thought the comparison suited her. Also, the content of this chapter has Ty Lee talking about acupuncture and, uh, well for one I am very much not a specialist of this art, and also mixing the research I did on real-world acupuncture with AtlA lore and things I already established in this fic wasn't easy. This representation is not accurate to the real-world practice, is what I'm getting at. Anyway, hope you'll enjoy !
Ty Lee had the net removed.
Or maybe it would be more accurate to say she ripped it off with her own two hands, in order to get the most spectacular of shows, all eyes on her, tickets sold out, the only audience one of her choosing.
She needs to take risks to have results. Han won't let much slip, even when she knows he has all the information she wants, even when what she thought was just tension caused by going too long without sleeping – his face will soon be all dark circles at this rate – might actually be something else.
There's no certainty. But his feet readjust themselves just slightly, his shoulders broaden by just a tiny bit, and his aura slides from water green to something bluer only when certain subjects are broached. It's subtle, too subtle not to be a conscious attempt at hiding something, rather than just stress.
He knows what she wants. Or he knows she wants something, and his secrets just happen to be what Ty Lee is looking for.
Which is why she needs to make things risky, to surprise him enough that he slips up and closes his eyes for an instant as she fakes a fall, before making a miraculous recovery under the thunder of everyone's applause, so flamboyantly pink that no one will think to look at their wallet until they're out of the circus.
But here she is working without the net, and little Wei's quick fingers won't help her get information out of Han's mouth.
She doesn't know what will happen if she falls, but it won't be good. So there's no point in focusing on that. It would only make her jittery and tense, would only make her feet unsteady on the rope, palms sweaty like a beginner and legs shaky like at the end of a long rehearsal.
Ty Lee smiles for her audience, holds the scrolls she borrowed from Auntie Mei Lin for Han to see and tells him about acupuncture and the flow of chi and how both physical and mental wounds can hinder it.
Han hms from where he stands close to the heating water, box of tea in his hand – it's different from Han's usual, the carved wood shaping lotus flowers, same as the one Ty Lee saw Qin manipulate times and times over these past weeks – then raises his head as if noticing only now what she said –
Mental wounds ?
And Ty Lee may have never fished before, but she knows when she's got her public hooked. She just took her first steps on the rope, umbrella spinning on her shoulder, smile brighter than the golden crown on her head, and almost just as fake.
Now, there's a timing to these kinds of performances – to all performances, really. You can't just rush things. Keeping the tension – the attention – high is essential to entertaining the audience. So Ty Lee doesn't answer immediately, instead remarking on the pretty box – it looks like Qin's, she says in a joking tone, eyes focused on Han's embarrassed reaction, his short laugh and scratching of his own neck and please don't tell him –
His aura veers blue, and Ty Lee doesn't know if that's because he's anticipating having to keep the secret from Qin – Han's superior, from what Ty Lee gathered, even if she doesn't know the details – or if there's something fishy here.
In any case, Han asks what it was she wanted to say about acupuncture, and Ty Lee can't drag things out for too long, lest the public falls asleep. She grins – right ! – puts both her hands flat on the table, before looking down at the scrolls displayed in front of her and picking up the map of the chi pathways.
Here comes the risky stuff. She prepares her jump, spares a prayer to her ancestors.
First, the basics. Chi flows through pathways, along which are pressure points used in acupuncture as well as Ty Lee's techniques. Deep in the body are seven pools of chi, connected together by one of the main pathways, called chakras. Physical wounds on the pressure points – needles, blunt force, or even a well-placed arrow – can either facilitate or hinder the flow of chi, but since the chakras are positioned in vital organs, touching them directly is too risky to be worth it. That's where the mental wounds come into play.
She pauses, waits for Han to serve the tea. He picks up his own cup and takes a sip, while Ty Lee simply presses her fingertips on the hot porcelain.
The first jump was a success, the crowd's attention is entirely focused on her, and it will soon be time for the grand finale.
Normally, the only way to change the flow of chi in the chakras is indirectly, by acting on the surrounding pressure points and related pathways. But one's state of mind can impact them directly, especially for benders. That's what she means by mental wounds, things like fear, or shame, or even grief.
Han nods slowly. The drums inside Ty Lee's mind beat a mad pulse, in anticipation of the final jump and the possible fall. Can acupuncture – his voice trails off, he looks between his half-empty cup and Ty Lee's untouched one. She hums, tilts her head to show attention, and brings her own tea to her lips – the drums stop as Han's aura grows bluer. Can acupuncture heal these wounds too ?
Ty Lee smiles. It can help – readjusting the balance of one's chi also opens the gate to one's emotions, and that allows the person to deal with them if they normally couldn't. It's not a direct solution, but few things are in acupuncture.
She drinks some more. Han is looking at her, blue as shallow waters, voice dead calm and relaxing as he murmurs that there's no way to do such things directly, and Ty Lee falls. Downs her cup.
She nods, smile playing on her lips when she sees Han going back to his usual water green. He seems more relaxed. Ty Lee reaches for the teapot, gives the both of them another serving. She asks Han when he'll be able to sleep again, and he groans, before complaining about his current co-worker's attitude, taking control of the conversation.
Ty Lee listens, smiles, runs her hands on the scrolls. One whose contents she didn't talk about mentions smokes and scents that help with the flow of chi – camphor, for example, frees the throat, and with it the truth. It's not a smell she likes very much, but the insects are vicious today, so she unfortunately had to perfume herself with it.
That's cheating, of course, but something tells her she's not alone here. She downs her cup, then stands before Han can finish what he was saying. She is so, so sorry, but Mai should almost be done and Ty Lee promised to spend some time with her after her appointment.
Only once she's left the room does she allow herself to stop smiling.
It's a standing ovation, but little Wei only brought back scorpion-tarantulas from his ruffling through the audience's secrets.
Changing someone's state of mind… Changing, if she read what Han tried to do correctly, someone's thoughts…
She shudders. Her head hurts.
She needs to hurry to Mai.