Sea and Sky

Chapter 21: The Gift of Foresight

Sea and Sky

Chapter 21: The Gift of Foresight

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"Sit down, young airbender. We have much to discuss."

Unlocking the massive wooden door, the woman guided Aang and Katara in the house. As they followed the woman, the pair was overwhelmed with the heady aroma of freshly cut herbs and burning incense. Waving her hand in front of her face, Katara coughed slightly at the smell.

Stifling another round of coughs, Katara spoke. "You never told us your name."

Motioning towards the empty sitting room, the woman moved about the house, busying herself as she gathered a teapot and empty mugs. Watching the woman flit about, Aang and Katara moved towards the sitting room. The woman was strange enough, yet her some seemed even odder.

Katara had never seen so much clutter in her life. Shelves upon shelves lay stacked with ancient books and scrolls, dozen of candles and bottles half-filled with suspicious-looking liquids sat upon the table tops. Strange clay sculptures and giant crystal geodes lay strewn about, capturing and refracting the sunlight that poured in from the open windows. By the looks of the room and it's contents, Katara would wager that the woman was a healer, or perhaps, something else.

As the woman entered the room, teapot in one hand and mugs in the other, Aang and Katara sat on the moth-eaten chairs tucked into the room. Lowering the pot and mugs onto the table, the woman let out a small laugh as she regarded the pair. She wasn't sure were to start.

"My name is Tahma, and I'm Kaptu, a healer of sorts." She offered, pouring some of the tea into the mugs.

Taking the tea she offered, Aang spoke. "How does that explain how you got my letter?"

Setting the teapot down, Tahma clasped her hands together, considering his words. "As a kaptu, I was privy to General Kuyu's home. I was his physician. Until Ba Sing Se, that is."

Flashes of Kilic's words came into Katara's mind as she listened to Tahma speak. Ba Sing Se, the siege, the healers and the battle. "Tahma, what happened at Ba Sing Se?"

Leaning back into the worn seat of the chair, Tahma crossed her legs and was silent for a moment. During the siege, she and the General's daughter had volunteered to treat the wounded and dying. Tahma had seen many things in the healing tents of the battlefield, the strangest had been the connection Rana had formed with a young Fire Nation naval officer.

"You already know Rana and Kilic, and their history. But you must know, I trained the girl in poisons..." Tahma trailed as she looked towards Aang. Studying Aang, she could tell the Avatar was fighting one of her concoctions, a particular specialty favored by a select few.

"For her own self defense, that is. Do you think I would have trained her if I thought she would do something so reckless?"

Confusion overtook Aang as he leaned forward in his seat and listened to Tahma's words. "What are you talking about?"

Standing from her seat, Tahma approached Aang, her bright blue eyes connecting with his. Aang's body seemed to freeze as she slowly approached him. In the eye of her mind, Tahma could sense the tangle of energy that emanated from him, the torment and inner turmoil his spirit was fighting. Slowly, as she approached, Tahma moved to stand behind Aang. Placing the tips of her fingers on his temple, she closed her eyes, a searing pain overtaking her.

Cursing herself mentally, Tahma knew what the Avatar's affliction was. As she removed her hands from him, it was like the air was sucked out of his lungs, leaving him grasping for breath and feeling drained.