Eyes Are Windows to the Soul
Full Summary: Before her return to GaoLing, Katara persuades Toph to visit the practiced healers of the North Pole for a session that may diminish her blindness. Little does Toph know that the procedure was carried out by the young water bender herself. Rated for character death, suggestive themes. Taang, Tokka, Kataang.
Author's Note: Hello again, fiction readers. I just wanted to note that the timing is about 2 years away. Katara is about 16 to 17 years old, Toph is 14 to 15 years old, and that should set the stage for the rest of the characters. Please, remember to review.
One
The first morning of November found Aang and Sokka resting in separate cots in a dark and frigid chamber. Although neither was asleep, both were still and silent, waiting for Katara to come back from the opposite room. They didn't move much; only glanced at one another every once in a while, and quietly wondered what was happening behind the wall.
Torches had been placed in each of the four corners of the room, giving life to soft and energetic shadows that flickered and danced even though the friends were motionless. Red sunlight also spilled in from day break, but the single window was small and covered by a film of frost. Thus the room remained quiet, but very far from peaceful.
Aang had had enough of suspense for one day. He looked at Sokka. "You think she's okay?" he said finally, after about three hours of silence.
"Katara or Toph?" Sokka asked. He answered the question for one of them. "I trust my sister and the Tribal women enough to know they are good healers. I think Toph will be fine."
"And Katara?" Aang inquired, his voice obviously shaking. "She's never seen anything like this before. It's not like Toph asked her to do it...Katara suggested it." He paused briefly, cracked his knuckles. "It's not like it's a minor cut or something, you know. It's healing blindness. It must be very hard to watch...let alone to help." The young man stressed each word. He was worried for both of his friends, but, unlike Sokka, he was more concerned with Toph. She had never been able to see anything in her life, and this healing session was sure to change the world around her. Possibly for the better, possibly not.
Sokka snorted and clicked his chin forward. "What's so bad about being able to see?" The young man yawned loudly, stretching his limbs over his head. "Toph's going to love it, Aang. Just stop worrying so much."
Ever since the Fire Nation had fallen two years ago, everyone realized that Aang had had a lot on his mind. He was constantly standing up and sitting down impulsively, moving his gaze or staring at the sky for too long. He rarely spoke and, when he did, his voice was deep and attentive. Once, two weeks after Ozai's death, he admitted to Katara, "I don't know what I want to do anymore." It was as if his dream had been short lived, and now all actions after the fall of the Fire Lord were simply declining in interest since the Day of Black Sun.
It wasn't that he didn't have anything to do. He spent a lot of time with Katara before she had decided to come to the North Pole to help heal Toph. She praised Aang for everything he did, and always made it apparent of how much of a special person he was. To the world, and to her.
Unfortunately for the young Avatar, however, their relationship stayed in the awkward stage of friendship since he had met her. Every time he tried telling her anything concerning the interesting game of love, he would choke; and Katara, perhaps noticing what he was about to say, would quickly and nervously change the subject to something else, stammering on her own words and blushing furiously.
Aang realized now he was also worried for his young water bender: the girl that had saved him from permanent life in an iceberg, talked to him when he needed help, saved countless villages from destruction, and now...and now attempting to help cure her friend's blindness.
Suddenly the silence of the chamber and the sanctity of Aang's thoughts were broken with the soft slam of a door. The young Water Tribe woman emerged into their room, dark circles gracing her tired eyes. Her hands were slightly shaking, and her face, once a healthy and attractive tan shade, had visibly ran pale. Even Katara's clothes seemed wrinkled and stressed, as if what she needed to do had required physical activity as well.
The two boys looked at one another in disbelief and anxiety, and then to her.
Katara diverted her own gaze down to her trembling hands. She closed her eyes. "It's done," she murmured sleepily. "Everything is done."
Both of them ran up to her, but Aang arrived first, and swung his arms around her neck. The girl quickly returned his warm embrace. "Are you okay?" he whispered into her ear. "You were in there for so long. What were you doing? Is Toph okay?"
Aang led Katara to his cot, and she graciously sat down, Sokka and Aang sitting opposite to her, listening for every word. "The bandages have to be on for a while," Katara started. "I don't want light to pour in and blind poor Toph again. She has to get used to it first."
"So she's healed?" Sokka asked in uncertainty. "That's amazing!"
"That really is something," Aang added, shaking his head. "Who did it?"
Katara was silent. She breathed in and bit her lip, still not looking at the two.
"Well, Katara? Who healed her? I know I saw like five old ladies go in there with you," Aang recalled. "Which one was it?"
"We had to open her eye sockets," Katara stated quietly, her tone barely above that of a whisper. "It was very graphic...each of the healers had to work for half an hour, if not more." Katara paused briefly and crossed her arms. Aang noticed that her eyes had also reddened in the time she had been away. "There were certain blue biles that needed to be removed from Toph's eyes...at least, that's what one of the healer's said. No one was sure why but everyone kept noticing that Toph's sockets were too delicate...they were almost afraid to break them or something. It made all of the healers very nervous," Katara whispered. "Even the doctor that was with us had to leave for a short time."
"I would never think of Toph as being 'delicate,' as they say," Sokka said. "How did they do it if none of them had the guts to?"
"That's just it," Katara stated miserably. "They wanted to just give up and leave Toph alone. I couldn't believe it...and I told them that they should do their job."
"And they did it?" Aang asked.
"No, they didn't," the girl answered grimly. "I did. I had to."
The last statement hung the air for what seemed like hours. Both Aang and Sokka held their mouths open, staring with disbelief at Katara as if she had just come back from the dead.
Aang blinked nervously and attempted closing his jaw. "You...you...healed her...all by yourself? But...how?"
Again Katara looked down at her hands, her face emotionless. "I don't know. I had to. It's like when Toph learned to metal bend...no one really knows how these things work."
"You said they were each working for half an hour," Sokka recalled. "What were they doing if they weren't healing her?"
"They were just removing bile," Katara replied disgustedly, frowning. "None of them really knew how they were going to heal her. They were just hoping for the best. Besides, they all knew that Toph was born blind. I told them. But they kept saying it was caused by bile. There was no way that was true."
"So you healed Toph..." Aang shook his head, grinning from ear to ear. "Katara...this really is something. This is amazing."
Katara grimaced faintly and twirled a strand of hair around her finger. "I need to ask you both...please, don't mention any of this to Toph. You know, about my healing her." Katara paused uneasily, shifting her weight. "I don't...I just don't want her...you know...I don't want her to think that I brought her up her to act as my experiment or something. She has to think I was only there to supervise the whole thing...just to watch it."
"Are you sure?" Sokka inquired. "I think she'd be pretty thankful if she knew it was you and not those snobby old women."
"I don't care," Katara replied, a little louder than she had intended. She sighed heavily and moved her hand through her hair. "Listen, just don't tell her, okay? I just don't want her to know."
The two young men nodded slightly, and then Aang stood up and offered his hand to Katara. "Come on," he stated. "You look very tired. Let's go get some rest."
Katara took his hand and walked to the next room, where Aang helped her find a reasonable cot and then helped set it up next to his and Sokka's.
Around noon the same day, Toph had awaken to the usual darkness. It was easy to see her discomfort and sadness when the same dim awakening happened to her again, right after the longest and only healing session of her life. Toph was truly convinced that the healers weren't able to do anything.
She lifted her hands and felt her face, only to find that thick bandages were wrapped all the way around, concealing her eyes and forehead. Happily, Toph began undoing them, when a soft hand grasped hers gently, and put her arm down.
"I wouldn't do that yet, Toph. How are you feeling?"
It was Katara's voice, tired and apprehensive, and Katara's trembling hand.
"Fine, fine..." the younger girl said excitedly. "How did everything go? Why can't I take these off?"
Toph could hear Katara struggling to find words. "Eh...you know...the healing session...it went fine. Really smoothly," she stated. "Everything is okay. The bandages are only there to keep the light out. I just...I don't want this to come too quickly." Katara was glad that Toph was resting on an elevated bed, and that she could not feel her quick and anxious heart beat.
"What? That's the only reason?" Toph lifted her hand to the bandages and began undoing them again. "Katara, you know I'm not some frightened little kid. If everything is as okay as you make it sound, then I'm taking these bandages off. I think I can handle it."
But again Katara grasped Toph's hands and pulled them down. "Please listen, Toph. I know you can handle it and I know you aren't afraid but I am." But deep down Katara wasn't afraid. She was horrified. "I want you to take it easy and relax. Light can be very harmful when you've been used to the dark for so long."
"Whatever. I'm taking them off." Toph attempted moving her hands, but Katara's grip was firm.
"We will take one bandage off every day," Katara promised. "That way everything will come slowly."
Toph sighed heavily. She wanted to take everything off today. She was sick of waiting so long for something so simple to happen. But she had traveled with Katara and her brother for a very long time, and if she had learned anything from the two of them, it was that it was no use arguing with the girl, no matter what the cause.
"Fine," the earth bender hissed. "Can I take one off today then, mom?"
Katara's eyes narrowed. Again she was thankful that Toph couldn't see her depressed expression. "You can take one layer off today, Toph...just make sure you don't take them all of by mistake."
"Mistake," Toph repeated, smiling. A short laugh escaped her as the first layer of bandages was removed.
Toph's sarcastic and boastful expression, however, immediately changed. Katara could see rapid movements underneath the remaining layers. Toph was blinking.
Toph could see.
"What? What is it?" Katara asked quickly, obviously concerned. "What happened? Are you okay?"
Toph continued blinking, her face twisting this way and that. She moved her head in all sorts of directions furiously, as if she wanted to soak the small amounts of light in. She frowned and grimaced as she moved, taking in every angle of the room.
"Everything is...different," Toph said doubtfully. Katara couldn't help but notice how young she sounded. How fragile.
"It isn't black," the girl continued. "Everything isn't black. There are shapes..."
"You can see shapes?" Katara asked in distress. She instantly regretted not placing more bandages over the girl's head. "What color are they?"
Toph's face wrinkled. "How the hell am I supposed to know?" she replied angrily. "Let me take off another layer."
Katara was silent for a moment, but again she stopped Toph's hands from removing more bandages.
"Let me go!" Toph demanded, kicking off the comforter. "Just let me take off one more layer!"
"No!" Katara responded, still holding the girl down. Her tone was frightened and and high. "You aren't taking off any more layers today. Probably not tomorrow either. And to make sure you aren't tempted, I'm going to have some one supervise you."
"What?" Toph asked, obviously hurt. She stopped kicking. "Katara, please!"
"No," the young woman said again. "No more layers today."
When Katara left the room that evening, one of the older healers stood on guard, and Toph sensed their presence. Katara couldn't help but feel shameful and angry. One more layer couldn't have hurt Toph. It was only one layer.
But then Toph's expression of fear and uncertainty made it's way to Katara's memory. The way she looked around the room. The way her face twisted into confusion.
It's for the best, Katara told herself. We'll have to wait until she's ready.