It was a question Toph had asked herself a lot. Would she rather be blind or deaf?

Back when she had lived with her parents, maybe she thought deafness was better than being blind; she wouldn't have to hear her parents telling her to stay away from the gate, or tell her that the outside world is dangerous for her. Nor did she have to hear her parents talking about her behind her back, which happened most of the time.

But maybe, when she had joined Earth Rumble 6, it was different. At first, she sat there and felt the vibrations with her feet, learning more and more about earth-bending. When they had asked a member of the audience to come out and fight one of the best in the business—The Solid Rock—for 500 gold coins, she couldn't resist. It wasn't about the money, but to see if she could beat a master earth-bender. When she had stepped into the ring, she was ready. Most of the earth-benders at Earth Rumble were taught by Master Yu. But she had learned from the source—Badger Moles. For the first few minutes, she failed miserably. Dodging the man's attacks was a bit hard. However, she knew what she had to do. She went into an earth-bending stance, and when the man realized she wasn't doing anything, he made his move. The man knew nothing about neutral jing; he didn't listen to the earth. But she did. She moved her foot just a little bit, causing an earth trail towards the man. In one swift moment, she had received the belt and the money. She smiled. For the first time in her life, she had fought to stay with the earth, and she won.

If she had been deaf, she would not be able to tell when the man was about to strike. Being blind made her able to do such thing, feeling the movements of the man and the vibrations in the earth.

But most of all, she wouldn't know her new found friends.

If she had been deaf, sure she could see them. But nothing else. She would not be able to hear Sokka's mediocre jokes, Katara's constant complaining, or Aang's frustration with his earth-bending.

Maybe she should just stay the way she was.

A/N: This is my first A:TLAB fan-fic!