Regret

She was hesitant to leave out the window, even though she would be getting the freedom she was waiting for for so long. She didn't know why though, she's been dreaming of this for so long. Toph was extremely puzzled, her parents meant well enough, but they were overbearing and overzealous in keeping her safe from the outside world. Being outside, she imagined, would be just perfect, doing whatever she wanted, bending without a care of whoever was looking at any time and getting to explore the world her parents tried so hard to keep her from. What was keeping her from that? She shook her head, trying to dispel her hesitance; this was the chance of her lifetime! Maybe even once in a lifetime now since her parents found about her hidden activities…

With that in mind, she shook her head to erase her doubt and jumped down her window. Immediately upon landing on the ground, she ran to the walls and with a bit of bending, traveled under it and came out on the other side, running to meet Twinkle toes.

-1-First Day-1-

When she entered the forest, her feet stumbled a bit. That feeling was back, stronger than before. She growled, she was as sturdy as the earth she bended, she didn't hesitate on doing anything she wanted to do! She ran faster to prove to herself that she'd get over it and leave in no time at all. The feeling just grew stronger every time her foot hit the ground. She was getting angrier and angrier as well and suddenly stopped slamming her foot into the ground, causing several rocks to erupt from the ground around her. She breathed heavily for a bit, her eyes narrowed and her brows scrunched up together, This was starting to annoy her. She was so close to her ticket out of this place, she could feel the group in front of her, and some little feeling that was knocking on the back of her skull was keeping her from it. She stomped her foot again, what was with this! Was she afraid of leaving her home, her parents? She nearly scoffed at the thought, she wasn't the flower child her parents had thought her, nothing could scare her. But then maybe she was a bit sad that she was leaving her parents, knowing that she might miss them, despite their attempts to keep her lock inside the house...

She huffed as she began to take one more step to her destination; she was getting too sentimental for her tastes. The stupid feeling however kept knocking. Well it could keep knocking Toph thought, she was getting out of here.

She was just getting out of the clearing as she felt that Twinkle toes' group was leaving. She ran faster, already panting from running so long in the night.

"Toph!" Twinkle toes shouted, having seen her. "What are you doing here?"

She came to a stop next to the monk's bison before she spoke.

"My dad changed his mind, he said I was free to travel the world." She lied, but she couldn't help but feel a sort of smile coming on her face. Her desire was coming true and that annoying feeling was getting smaller.

"Well we better get out of here before your dad changes his mind again." Spoke the water tribe boy.

She nodded her head, "Good idea."

"You're going to be a great teacher Toph" and somehow she felt better with what Twinkle toe said.

But… "Speaking of which, I want to show you something."

"Okay" and as he jumped down from his bison, Toph struck the ground with her foot and sent the airbender flying before right as he landed on the floor. Payback always felt good.

"Now we're even." She smiled as he hung by his legs on a tree's branches.

"Um I'll take the belt back" Toph held out her hand for said item.

She could just feel the water tribe member's irritation as he unbuckled her belt. What she didn't feel was the belt's path in the air.

"Ow!" She said as she fell on the ground with her possession on her head.

"Sorry"

Her only consolation was that Twinkle toes landed on his back second later. "Uhhh!"

It was a while before the pain in her head became bearable and she could get up.

"What the heck was that for!" She raised a fist at the guy.

"Hey I said I was sorry!"

"Well sorry doesn't cut it!"

Toph would've bended a stone at the teen, had it not been for a certain Avatar in front of her.

"C'mon Toph you know he didn't mean it." Aang spoke with a soft voice.

"Hmmph" She closed her eyes and turned from him to face Appa. "Whatever let's just go." She didn't want to wait for that feeling to get stronger again or for her father to show up.

The air bender shifted awkwardly for a bit before offering his hand to her. "Well glad to have you aboard Sifu Toph."

Toph opened an eye and moved to where he was at. She could feel his hand held up in the air waiting for her to shake. The earth bender stared at it for a bit before relenting.

"Glad to be here, now let's go." If she could see, she would've saw the mischievous smile creep up on Aang's face. But she did feel sort of like she was getting lighter and lighter.

"Hey what are-" She didn't get to finish her sentence as she and the boy in front of her was propelled up in the air. Her sudden blindness frightened her a bit before she gathered her nerve and was about to yell at the boy in front of her, but by then she was already seated on Appa with the boy already laughing.

She felt heat coming onto her face, so she hid it by turning her face to the side and punching the air bender on the arm. "Shut it Twinkle toes."

Yet she couldn't deny that there was also a smile on her rosy-colored face. Or that the annoying feeling was gone.

She knew she wouldn't regret leaving with Twinkle toes.