Braya : The Lost Guardian

Trauma on the Surface

Braya stood helpless beside the woman. She was fading and fast. She ran outside to see if she could see Katara coming in but there was no sign of her. At this rate the woman was not going to make it. "Damn it! Why am I so useless!" Braya said while running her hands through her hair. She paced back and forth. Finally, she decided she had to try something. She waterbended the nearest source of water to her and used every bit of knowledge she had about healing. She focused and after a few minutes a light blue aura started to come from her palms. She felt as if her strength started to drain from her. This was different than any type of bending she had done before, and it was exceedingly difficult for her. Where is she? Braya thought to herself. After ten minutes Braya started to feel weak, her vision fading. She had to hang on just a little longer. "Braya!" Katara yelled entering the building. "Mom, the lady she needs you...." Braya's vision went black.

Braya woke up the next day in her bed at home. Her head was killing her. What happened? She got up and walked out to the living room where Katara and Lin were visiting on the couch. "Braya!" Lin said noticing her first. "How are you feeling sweetheart?" Katara added. "I feel like I got hit by a train. What happened?" Katara gave a small smile. "Well, you saved a little boy from losing his mom. If you hadn't been healing her, she would have died before I made it there." "What happened to me?" Braya said rubbing her head. "The way you bend isn't natural. When healing, even an experienced waterbender with great technique can struggle. You fainted from exhaustion.... you're going to need to stay home for a few days and recover." Katara said firmly. "What? No way! I just learned that I could heal! I want to be at the unit learning how to use it!" Braya said excitedly. Katara looked at Braya concerned "Braya you can't.... you push yourself to hard with this and it could kill you. I'm laying you off from work until we get your training done". "Are you kidding me? Braya said anger starting to burn in her stomach. "No, Braya we need to consider your well-being." Braya turned around and walked off to the bedroom. Entering the room, she locked the door and laid down on the bed. Of course, now I'm going to be that broken little girl that was stolen and can't handle anything. Damn it! Why did it have to be me! Why was no one there to save me! Braya closed her eyes and fell asleep.

The next morning, she woke up still burning with anger. She walked out to the living room to find Lin sleeping on the couch. "Lin?" Braya said gently, waking her up. Lin opened her eyes and smiled at Braya "good morning". "Why did you sleep out here?" Braya said curling up next to Lin. "The door was locked, and I figured I would give you your space". Braya wasn't sure why, but this infuriated her. "Oh, well I guess if I need space then." Braya got up and walked to the training area. She practiced her bending like normal.

Knock

Knock

Knock

Toph was at the door with Katara. "Hi guys" Lin said inviting them in. "How is Braya?" Katara asked. "She seems angry this morning" Lin responded. They walked back to the training area where Braya was. "Hey kid" toph said to Braya as they entered the room. "Hi" Braya said without looking away from her practice. The three women looked at each other. "Do you want to go for breakfast?" Katara asked. "No" Braya responded harshly. They got the hint. They turned around and left for the living room. "I don't understand why she is so angry about not training her healing abilities. I told her we would we were just waiting for her to tell us when." Katara said upset. "It's not you Katara." Lin had a worried look on her face. "Most of the time it's minor but since she put in that training room and started practicing herself......well she's been agitated. Nothing big just little things upset her or make her mad. I've even noticed days where her anxiety is worse after training." Toph had a look of realization on her face "are you saying the training is making her feel this way?". "Well, she has been fire bending a lot recently.... she uses her anger to fuel her firebending, and well, she's getting angrier". "It would make sense. "Let's talk more about this later. She's heading back inside." Toph pointed at the door as Braya was on her way inside.