Work Text:
The town of Gaoling knew more than let on
They knew that the Beifong family had a daughter
Young, quiet, blind, helpless
She is only 12, a child by all accounts
She is still learning how to write and bend
There is little hope
A young girl with a sad life
A lady is told to be seen, not heard
She listens to poetry and stories read by instructors and lectures from her parents but she rarely raises her voice above a whisper
A quiet girl with a sad life
Her eyes have always been cloudy
She has never seen her parents face
What a colorless world she was forced into
A blind girl with a sad life
She walks the garden and is always guarded
Who knows what could be lurking in the shadows
A helpless girl with a sad life
One day, she disappeared
No one knew why
Who would take a girl like her?
What kind of monster?
The girl was there one day and gone the next
She had lived a short, sad life
The town of Gaoling knew more than let on
They knew there was a war going on
They knew that the avatar was young
Like the girl who disappeared
They knew he and his teachers were ruthless
Warrior was spoken like peace and violence
Airbender, Avatar, murmered like reverence and trepidation
Waterbender whispered like hope and fear
Firebender muttered like respect and unease
But Earthbender was yelled in joy and solidarity
That was one of their own out there
Risking her life
But if you listened closely, their hearts stuttered
The earthbender terrified them
Who was this girl who could hear their lies?
Who was this girl who could bend what no one else could?
Who was this girl who rejoiced in the destruction of her enemies?
The town waited in limbo
They did not know who their saviors were
But they were strong
The town of Gaoling knew more than let on
They knew the earthbender was young, loud, blind, and strong
She can't be any older than 13
But the way she moves speaks of ages of training
And her eyes speak of wisdom beyond her years
A young girl with a war torn life
She always speaks her mind
It often gets her in trouble, but she never holds back her opinion
It seems like she has years of speech to make up for
A loud girl with a war torn life
Her eyes are cloudy too
Like the girl who disappeared
But you would never know from the way she moves
Every step is calculated and precise
Like the ground moves with her
A blind girl with a war torn life
She is a guard to the Avatar, a protector
She is trusted to watch their back
And Oma & Shu help the poor soul who tries to fight her
A strong girl with a war torn life
The town of Gaoling knew more than let on
But only after the war did they find out the names of those children:
Sokka, warrior
Aang, airbender, avatar
Katara, waterbender
Zuko, firebender
Toph
Earthbender
Young
Not quiet
Blind
Not helpless
The town of Gaoling knew more than let on
The Beifong family once had a daughter
She was not theirs anymore