Night poured over the world, ending all actions except for sleep and dinner. Light chatting and a soft wind for sound, that was all that mattered…to Toph anyway. She was blind, so she only cared for sound and the vibrations from the ground. Sometimes I'd wish she could see the night stars, just once. Like tonight, when there was no moon and only the stars, she sat out by a hill, watching blankness. I sat on a large rock not to far off, watching her watch nothing. Aang kept sleeping as well as Katara. But I couldn't sleep, something felt different. Cautiously I stood and started towards Toph, but soon stopped.
Is that…whimpering?
"What do you want, Sokka? Shouldn't you be asleep like twinkle-toes and sugar-queen?" Her voice sounded weak when she started, but soon came to an understanding roughness.
"Nothing…"
"Yeah, then leave me alone. Go do somethin' else." I sighed and sat next to her. She started wiping her face quickly and I could have guessed why. Maybe she had been thinking the same things I had thought.
"Does sitting next to you count as something else?" Smiling at her I spoke, hoping she would catch my smile in her mind.
"No."
"I think it does, it's not bothering you like I was doing a minute ago."
"You're still bothering me, only in a different fashion."
"I see no problem in it." My arms out-stretched and rested behind me as I spoke leisurely. Toph didn't argue again, just kept staring into nothing. Dread came over me as I thought of what it must feel like to her. "It's a beautiful night."
"Yeah, well stop rubbing it in my face snoozles." Again, I smiled at her.
"Sorry…" Her distant gaze stayed the same, just like it always did. "Hey, I know it's none of my business, but were you crying before I…?" I stopped myself, not wanting to continue my words.
"Hmmp, what would I be crying over?"
"That's my question."
"Well I'm not giving an answer."
"Okay, that's fair. Al I've ever done is nagging you, make sarcastic jokes about you, and call you names and the occasional talks that you hated-"
"Sokka, stop, you've done more for me than just that."
"I agree, but just this one time, tell me what's wrong."
It took a couple of moments but soon she replied, "I get sad every one in a while about being blind, okay?" She made her voice sound tough as usual, but I still found beauty in it.
"Yeah…we all have our depressing moments." Not one of them spoke after that, since they had nothing to say. Just for once, just for this one time in a while, there was peace between us too.