Chapter Text
Since the trial, sleep had become more and more elusive. Even when she managed a few hours, it was restless and fitful. Since her ill-conceived notion to end it all, the Healers had been sedating her in an effort to keep her calm. Medicated sleep had to be the worst. Images flooded in and out of her mind in a haze, and she couldn’t hold onto a tangible thought for longer than it took to blink her eyes. Kuvira’s sleep wasn’t just restless right now, it was downright haunting.
The few times she had managed to pull herself awake, she had bolted upright in bed. The room would be swimming, and she could not focus. A hand would always gently guide her back down to the mattress, brush her hair from her eyes, and lay a cool cloth on her head. Then, Kuvira would drift back into another restless sleep, where her dreams would take over.
Kuvira wasn’t sure how long she’d been walking, or how far for that matter. When her parents had tossed her out--which was a weekly occurrence-- they hadn’t returned. Normally, they would come back round fo her when the drink had worn off, or their tempers had calmed. It never took longer than a few days. This tie, after the normal few days passed, Kuvira began to notice the regular passersby were watching her closely. They took in her tattered, shoeless appearance, and lack of a decent bath. When a pair of pedestrians exchanged looks and whispers, Kuvira knew it was time to move on. She wouldn’t be put in the orphanage again. If her parents didn’t want her, then they didn’t need to be able to claim her at the overcrowded home for kids later. She could take care of herself, after all. She practically did that already.
So, before someone could grab her, Kuvira clutched the bag in her arms to her chest as if it were the most precious thing in the world, and she ran. She didn’t stop running until she was far outside the city. Instinct told Kuvira to follow the train tracks in an attempt for guidance to the next town.
Now, though, she had been walking for what she assumed was days. Her feet were bloody and blistered. The sun had burned her skin red, and her knees threatened to give out with each step. Kuvira knew she needed shelter. She needed rest, and food if she could scrounge it. Some sort of cover in case anyone came across her.
Soon, the tracks led to a small wooded area. Near the incline, leading towards the metal rails were a patch of bushes. Kuvira made her way over as quickly as she could. The cover wasn’t much and was too near the tracks for her liking, but there weren’t any other options. Kuvira fell to her knees, but before just passing out, she managed to erect a crude shelter with what little earthbending she knew. She set her pack gently inside before letting the darkness take hold of her.
“Madam Beifong, I must insist you return to the train. My men can handle this.” Kuvira could hear a deep voice calling from somewhere nearby. She was too exhausted to open her eyes or move her limbs, but her ears seemed to work perfectly. Her hands, buried half deep in the fresh mud-- it must have rained at some point-- she could sense people nearing her.
“Nonsense, Mao.” A softer, more melodic voice spoke, “I am more than capable of a simple investigation. I am the one who saw...whatever it was in the first place.”
Kuvira could sense them nearing closer and closer. She began to panic. Her heart started racing as she willed her body to move. The moment she felt a hand against her shoulder, Kuvira used what strength she had left and flipped onto her back. Her eyes were wide and feral, half her face and hair caked in mud. She startled the woman and her guard as she let out a yell. Kuvira scrambled as far back as she could, the skin of her arms and face being ripped open by the thorny bushes.
“Hey! Hey, it’s alright,” The woman held one hand up to signal her guard not to move. Then she turned back towards Kuvira and knelt in the mud, her hands up with palms facing the child. She offered the warmest smile Kuvira had ever seen directed at her.
“We aren’t going to hurt you. Are we, Mao?” The woman’s eyes never left Kuvira, but the girl gave a tentative glance up towards the guard in time to see him huff in response. He did take a step back so as not to scare the child.
Kuvira reached up with a muddy hand and pushed the stray hairs from in front of her eyes. Her hair was already wet and muddy, a little extra dirt wouldn’t hurt. When she did this, the woman’s smile grew and she rested her hands in her lap.
“Well now, we can certainly see that beautiful face. My name is Suyin, but you can call me Su. What can I call you?”
Kuvira chanced a look at the guard and then back at Su. She opened her mouth as if to respond but then stopped. If this woman was connected enough to have a private guard and train, then she would certainly know how to contact the authorities regarding an abandoned child. Kuvira simply shut her mouth and turned her head, choosing to stare at the crude earth shelter she had made for her bag.
Su frowned, but took a patient, deep breath. “Are you a Bender? I used to make little huts like that for my dolls when I was your age. See?” She raised her hand and an almost identical structure rose on Kuvira’s other side. The little girl gasped and Su smiled again.
Kuvira was not used to seeing bending so close and personal. Whenever she had done the slightest bit of bending, the act would earn her a beating from her father. Neither of her parents were fond of Benders, and having a daughter for one was even worse. Kuvira had learned to fear her power, not enjoy it. For that reason, when Su took one of her metal bracelets and began to mold the metal, the girl shrank back in fear.
Su immediately stopped, “Oh no, sweetheart! It’s okay! I’m not going to hurt you.” That’s when she heard a muffled cry, high pitched and raw. Su knew that sound. She had heard it twice before in her lifetime, and hearing it coming from the bushes where an abandoned child sat huddled and scared, terrified her. Su immediately reached for the bundle inside the structure. Kuvira lunged for the bundle but wasn’t fast enough.
“No! Don’t touch!”
Su cradled the bundle in her arms before pulling piece of cloth down. A piercing cry sounded through the air as the incredibly thin baby stretched her arms. “Captain! We need the Healer now!”
Kuvira mustered all her strength and got to her feet. She reached out for the infant but stumbled forward. She opened her mouth…
“Kevari!”
Even medicated sleep couldn’t keep long forgotten memories away. Kuvira found herself sitting upright in bed, one arm outstretched as she reaches for a phantom child who wasn’t there.