a soft breeze in spring

The sky was violet, and it was nothing like Opal had ever seen before. It was like an eternal sunrise, as far as she could see- the trails of green light stretching over the sky as far as she could see.

“It’s like the Northern Lights…” Her mother whispered as they stared at the sky. They had all gathered outside to stare at the heavens above.

“What are they doing down here?” Bataar, Opal’s father, turned to Suyin. The woman only replied with a shrug.

“Maybe we should call someone about this…” Kuvira responded. “It can’t be a good thing that the sky is purple.”

Opal didn’t take her eyes off the multicoloured sky, ignoring the discussion happening around her. “It’s incredible...” She whispered to Huan, her closest brother in distance, age, and personal relation.

“It is.” Huan said, brushing his long hair out of his eyes so he could better focus on the sky above them. “Do you know what it is?”

“Uh.... no?” Opal hesitantly responded, unsure if Huan knew what was happening.

“Neither do I.” He responded; not showing any emotion in his voice or face. “Though it could be spiritual.”

Opal laughed, she could be sure that Huan would bring up vague spiritual topics in day-to-day conversations. The more she thought about it, though, the more her brother seemed right. “I think you have a point.” She outstretched her hand, reaching towards the sky. “I think I can feel it.”

“Really?” Huan replied, turning to face her- to look her in the eye.

“You can’t?” Opal replied. She was surprised, as a bender, Huan was more susceptible to picking up on the various energy flows of the world. To her, a nonbender, the sky seemed to be calling to her, a cacophony of voices singing in unison and calling her to sing with them. She expected it to be even more intense to Huan.

Her brother only shook his head. “What does it feel like?”

Opal paused to think. “Like music. Not like listening to music, but being part of it, almost. And… and it feels like balance, but also change. Like how it feels when the seasons change- the dawn of spring. Not in a physical sense, but I feel how I feel when the snow just starts to melt and the valley gets foggy in the mornings.”

“Huh.” Huan paused to think, putting his hand over his chin. “I’ll have to read more about this. It might be worth making a piece about.”

Opal smiled. “Sounds great.” She looked up at the sky, afraid she might get lost in the color above. “I wonder what’s happening to make the sky so bright.”

“I don’t know…” Huan took a moment to think. “But I think I understand what you’re talking about. It feels like a shift in energy, almost.”

Opal nodded. Huan was probably her only family member who could make sense of her ramblings. “Yeah, it feels like a shift in energy. A change in energy.”

“It’s not just that, it’s-” Huan started, but was interrupted by the sound of footsteps approaching them. Opal turned around to face her mother.

“Hey Mom, what’s up?” She smiled, giving her mother a polite wave.

“Just that your father, the twins and I are turning in for the night.” Suyin explained. “Kuvira is going to stay out, so you two are free to stay out here as long as you like. Don’t be out two long.”

Opal checked behind Suyin to see her older sister looking not at the sky, but scanning the area around them. Leave it to Kuvira to constantly be checking for a threat. “Yeah, sounds good. I think we’re going to stay out here for a while longer.”

Huan nodded in agreement to her statement.

“Alright.” Suyin smiled, then turned to make sure that Kuvira hadn’t gone anywhere. “Don’t stay up too late.”

With that, Suyin turned and left for the safety and warmth of inside. Opal turned back to her brother. “What were you going to say?”

“Oh, nothing.” Huan shook his head. “I forgot. Let’s just take in whatever this is, I get the feeling we won’t ever see anything like it again.”

Opal nodded and turned to the open sky above them, taking its beauty- magnificent and temporary and almost terrifyingly unknown. She felt that, even just in her memory, this night would last forever.

“Mom, you will not believe this!” Wei shouted as he kicked open the door to the living room. There was no reason she needed to kick it, other than for emphasis. He was closely followed by his twin brother and sister, the latter being held by her shoulders.

Suyin, alongside the rest of the family, was seated on various couches in the living space, enjoying a quiet afternoon. She stood up to greet her children. “What happened? Are any of you hurt?”

“No, it’s way crazier than that.” Wing shoved Opal forward. “Do it again.

Now the center of attention, Opal started to panic. She looked at her hands, unaware if she could recreate what she had done earlier. “I don’t- I can’t….”

“What even happened?” Suyin turned to her twin sons for an explanation.

“Opal’s possessed now!” Wei grabbed his sister by the shoulders as emphasis. “It’s probably because she spent too much time outside when the sky was purple.”

“She moved the wind with her mind.” Wing added.

Suyin paused in thought. “Moved the wind… like airbending?”

Opal shrugged, then returned her gaze to her feet. She adjusted the metal bracers she wore. “Something like that? I think…”

Suyin exchanged a glance with her husband, then put her hand on her daughter’s shoulder. “Opal, could you do it again?”

Opal nodded and closed her eyes. She extended her hands in front of her, holding an invisible ball a foot away from her chest. When she had moved the wind the first time, it had been a brief moment not warranting thought, only reflex. Now, she had to focus. Ever since that night under the violet sky, she had begun to sense things differently- she felt attuned to the air around her. She hadn’t thought of it much before, in part because it had been so subtle- but now it rivaled her sight. She could feel the currents of the air around her just as she could feel something she held, and if she just tried enough she could move it, creating a swirling sphere of air just above her fingertips. It spiraled within her control, delicately grazing her palms. Opal was sure that if she tried, she could move the wind faster and faster, she could create a vortex in their living room. She decided not to, out of sheer common sense, and opted instead to open her eyes to the bewildered faces of her family.

Bataar had stood up and was now standing behind his wife, a hand on her shoulder. “Opal…” He whispered, his voice low and cautious.

“Opal, you airbent. You’re an airbender.” Suyin whispered, her hand still on her daughter’s shoulders. “You’re an airbender.”

Opal turned to her brothers, who all seemed as surprised as her parents. For a family of earthbenders, none of them seemed steady or reliable, leaving Opal to crumple in her emotion alone. She looked down at her hands and started to cry. “I- I don’t-” She stuttered, wrapping her hands around herself in want of comfort.

“Oh, sweetie.” Suyin wrapped her arms around her daughter in a warm embrace. “You don’t have to be scared. New things are scary, but you’ll always be the same.”

Opal couldn’t think of a response to her mother’s statement.

“So, what’s airbending like?” Kuvira asked as she and Opal sat on the garden steps, watching the sunset. It was one of Kuvira’s off-shifts, and for some reason she had decided to spend time with her little sister.

“I don’t know…” Opal muttered, staring more at her shoes than the brilliant sky above them. She couldn’t bear to look at the sky anymore. “It’s…. I can control the wind now. Whoop-dee-doo look at me, wow.”

Kuvira sighed. “I guess it’s a dumb question. I mean, I’ve been able to earthbend all my life, so I never really thought about what it might be like to suddenly have bending after not having it for all your life. It must be rough.”

Opal looked at her hands. She was still getting used to thinking of herself as a bender- an airbender at that! Everything about the world seemed so fresh and new now, it was terrifying. For the first time in her life, she had no idea what lay in front of her.

“Are you ok?” Kuvira asked, sounding genuinely sincere.

Opal shrugged and pulled her legs closer to her. “I don’t know.”

“You aren’t different anymore.” Kuvira pointed out, referencing a conversation they had once had in which Opal had confessed how othered she felt amongst her own family. Being a non bender born to a Beifong, she had grown up a disappointment. It felt like her mother kept trying for that perfect, earthbending daughter to inherit her legacy, and none of them lived up to it.

“Aren’t I?” Opal replied. “I’m still different- I’m even more different now! At least back then I was like Dad, we had that in common. Now I don’t have anything in common with anyone! There aren’t any other airbenders in our family, there aren’t any others in the whole city! I feel like… I feel like I don’t belong here anymore.”

Kuvira hesitated to respond. “Yeah. About that, Mom called her old friend Tenzin- you know, the airbender guy? Apparently, he knows the Avatar and she’s gonna come here to train you or something.”

Opal looked up from her feet. “Really?”

“Yep.” Kuvira nodded. “You’re gonna get personal training from the Avatar. That’s pretty cool, right?” It was clear that she was forcing positivity into her words.

“I guess so.” Opal sighed. The personal training and attention would be more embarrassing than anything. All she wanted was to be like the rest of her family, but somehow everything had gone wrong.

“Are you gonna be ok if I leave you here?” Kuvira asked, already preparing herself to get up. “I’ve got a guard shift in five.”

Opal nodded. In a sense, she had already left Kuvira behind.

a waking moment by fall

When Tenzin had suggested Opal getting her mastery tattoos, she had first been surprised. She hadn’t been expecting the topic of conversation to come up, ever. It would explain why he had requested her to come visit his study, but it raised more questions than it answered.

“Me?” Opal asked, gesturing at herself. She had long since graduated from her training uniform and was wearing a modified tunic, but that certainly didn’t deem her a master.

Tenzin nodded. “Yes, you’re one of our most skilled benders and have long since passed the thirty-six required forms to become a master. You teach classes now, correct?’

Opal nodded hesitantly. “Yes, I help Jinora with her courses. But- but that doesn’t qualify me to be a master, does it?”

“I don’t see why it wouldn’t.” Tenzin shrugged. “I’m not going to force you into a decision either way, but know that if you wanted to, you certainly meet the qualifications.

Opal stared at her hands- clenched fists pressed into her thighs in worry. If she accepted, she would be only the third master of the generation- following Tenzin’s two daughters. She was only twenty-five, it felt both a second and eternity from the day she had airbent for the first time. It was hard to think of herself as a true master now. It was as foreign as the thought of airbending has been to her back then.

“All I ask is that you think about it.” Tenzin said. “I don’t need an answer by any given time, but I do need to know whatever your final decision is, whenever you have it.”

Opal nodded, though she felt uncertain about the entire circumstance. “You’ll be the first to know.” She said, not sure what she would be informing Tenzin of.

“I can’t believe you’re a master!” Bolin exclaimed. “I mean, I totally can believe it- you’re the best airbender out there. But it’s still exciting!”

Opal blushed as she walked through Avatar Korra park with her boyfriend. “Thanks, but I’m technically not a master yet. I don’t even know if I’m going to get my tattoos. They’re part of the mastery process.”

“Really?” Bolin asked. “I never knew that… y’know, there’s nothing like that in earthbending. You’re basically a master whenever you say you are, as long as you’re good enough. It’s kind of confusing.”

“Sounds like it.” Opal echoed, though she knew firsthand how vague the concept of earthbending mastery was, having grown up exclusively around earthbenders.

“Yeah, that’s something really cool about airbenders. You can tell which ones are masters just by looking at them. It’s like a message to the world- you’re telling everyone how you're an airbending master!”

“I suppose so…” Opal mused. “It’s kind of like a branding though, don’t you think?”

“What do you mean?”

Opal outstretched her hand. “Once you get your tattoos, there’s no going back. It’s a full commitment, I don’t know if I’m ready for that.”

“I think you’d look beautiful with them.” Bolin smiled. “If that makes you feel any better.”

Opal laughed. “Thanks. I guess it does, but I don’t know. It… it kind of feels like I’m rejecting who I was before Harmonic Convergence, like I’m denying my roots. I’m from the Earth Kingdom, I don’t know if I’m deserving of Air Nomad tattoos, or if I even want them.”

“Hmm…” Bolin looked to the horizon. “I mean, you’re an airbender, so it’s part of your culture, right? Even though I’m an earthbender I can celebrate and embrace my Fire Nation heritage because I’m still Fire Nation. And Mako can celebrate and embrace his Earth Kingdom heritage. We can be both. You can be both, too, I think.”

“I guess so.” Opal looked to the ground, at her and Bolin’s matching bracelets- his green, hers orange. “I’m going to put more thought into this before I make a decision. Like I said, it’s a commitment. I want to be sure of it before I make any definite decision.”

Bolin nodded. “Yeah, I can see that. It’s a lot to take in. I’ll support you in whatever decision you end up making, I want you to know that.”

Opal smiled and leaned on her boyfriend’s shoulder. “Thanks. It means alot.”

For some reason, Opal felt nervous before calling her mother. It felt like all too important a topic to discuss over the phone, though she suspected she would’ve felt just as nervous in person. The pleasant hold music seemed to taunt her as she waited for her mother to pick up.

“Opal, it’s so nice to hear from you again!” Suyin’s voice crackled over the phone, giving Opal both anxiety and relief. “How are things in Republic City?”

“They’re good.” Opal replied, forcing confidence and positivity into her voice. “My airbending has improved a lot lately, I’m even teaching classes now.”

“That’s incredible! You have to come down to Zaofu to show us at some point, I would love to see it. You’ve probably mastered it by now!”

“Yeah, about that.” Opal laughed awkwardly. “A few days ago, Tenzin actually told me that I’m eligible to get mastery tattoos if I wanted to.”

Suyin took a while to respond. “Did he now?”

“He- he did. I’ve mastered all the thirty-six forms so if I want, I can get my tattoos.”

“Hm. That’s interesting. Never in my years would I think that one of my daughters would be eligible for Air Nomad mastery tattoos. That is…. Wow. You’re not going to do it, are you?”

Opal bit her lip. “Actually, I was considering-”

“Opal, you’re a Beifong.” Suyin interrupted. “We’re earthbenders, it’s not part of our culture.”

“Well, I’m a Beifong and I’m not an earthbender.” Opal retorted, her voice harsh. She never spoke so harshly, especially not to her own mother. “And it’s part of my culture now, I’m an Air Nomad as much as I am an Earth Kingdom citizen. Airbending is part of who I am now.”

Three minutes of silence passed before Suyin responded. “I never… When you first got airbending, somehow I never considered this day would come. I… I know it’s selfish of me, but I fear that you’re drifting away from us, Opal.”

“I’m not drifting away, I promise.” Opal whispered into the receiver, her voice threatening to break. “It’s just… I’m an Air Nomad now. And I’m a master-level airbender. I want to celebrate that part of me, and I want you to be proud of me for it.”

“I am proud, sweetie.” Suyin replied, a smile in her voice. “It’s just… the concept will take a while to get used to. My daughter, a master Airbender. Opal, I am so proud of you. If this is really what you want, I will support it wholeheartedly.”

Opal sighed, letting out tension that she had been holding for years now. “Thank you, Mom.” She could feel warm tears running down her cheeks. “I’m… I’m so, so glad you’re proud of me.”

“I’ll always be proud of you, Opal.” Suyin spoke her name like a blessing onto the earth, a tone only a mother could accomplish. “I love you so much.”

“I love you, too, Mom.”

Opal was cold, but that could’ve just been her anxiety. Tenzin had been overjoyed when she had told him her decision. He had assured her that he completely supported her in the decision and was happy to welcome a new master airbender to the ranks, and they planned for the first tattooing session to be in a week. Now, she sat in a small room, watching Tenzin prepare his instruments.

“I won’t lie to you and say that it won’t hurt.” The airbending master said. “But the masters used to say that the pain was part of the process, that enduring it is what cemented you as a true master.” He paused in thought. “My father told me that when I earned my tattoos.”

Opal couldn’t respond and stared at her bare feet. The simple tunic and pants she was wearing made her feel exposed. It didn’t help that they were already beyond the step of shaving her head and all her body hair- Opal had never shaved her head before and the sensation was completely new.

“Don’t be nervous.” Tenzin smiled, his voice soft and comforting. “There’s nothing to be afraid of, this is something airbending masters have gone through for century upon century. If they could endure it, I’m sure you can too.”

Opal smiled. “Thank you.”

“Now, will you give me your hand?” Tenzin outstretched his own, resting it on the table between them . “We start the process on the limbs and work up to the spine, it helps you get more used to the pain.”

Opal nodded and rested her arm on the table. She closed her eyes as Tenzin started to tattoo her forearm, certain that the person who came out of this process wouldn’t be the same as who she was now.

The pain wasn’t as sharp as she was expecting, and as long as she kept focus it didn’t hurt that much.

“You know, one thing I’m going to miss is your hair.” Bataar sighed. He, and the rest of their family, had traveled down to Air Temple Island to attend Opal’s master ceremony and now, afterparty.

“It’ll grow back.” Opal shrugged, putting a hand to her scalp. “I’m probably going to leave part of it shaved, though, like Kai has his. It helps with airbending and feeling the wind.”

“Is that why all the airbenders have their heads shaved?” Bataar asked. When Opal nodded, he looked astounded. “I never knew. I mean, it makes sense but still.”

Opal smiled. “It’s not too well known outside the airbender community, so it’s not just you.” Opal looked out onto the party that had gathered- all her closest friends and family members here to watch one of the most important moments of her life.

“Did it hurt?” Bataar asked.

Opal laughed. “Of course it hurt, it’s a full body tattoo. But I was able to endure it.”

“I’m sure you were.” Bataar smiled. “Opal, I am so proud of who you’ve become. When you were born, I never would’ve guessed I would get to attend your airbending mastery ceremony, but here you are, and I couldn’t be prouder.”

Opal smiled. “Thank you, Dad. I’ve changed so much in the last few years, but I feel like I’m finally embracing who I am now. I’ve changed, and that’s a good thing.”

Before Bataar could respond, they were interrupted by Wing approaching them. “Mom wants to get a family photo and we kinda need you guys to do that.” He pointed at Opal, “Especially you. You look epic, by the way. Have I told you you look epic?”

Opal laughed. “Yes. Multiple times.” She turned to her father and shrugged. “Let’s go take a family photo, I guess.”

Opal stood in the center of the photo, framed by her family- a new for her, but it was her day. Moments after the camera flashed, she was handed a brilliant colored photo.

“How do you like that, it’s my brand-new color photo technology!” Varrick exclaimed as he handed the photo to Opal.

“It’s amazing.” Opal responded, though she was more impacted by the image’s contents than just the color alone.

She stood out amongst her family like the first autumn leaf- them all in green and her wearing orange, the blue of her arrow the color of a summer sky. She shared the same smile as her father and the same eyes as her mother, but was altogether different. She stood tall and on her own, proud in who she had become. After years of hard work, she had grown and changed and blossomed into a person she didn’t know could be real only a few years ago. Opal smiled and wiped away the tears growing in her eyes. “It’s perfect.”