Toph opened her eyes. Blackness. She knew it was morning, by the birds singing, Appa yawning loudly, Sokka and Katara making breakfast, Aang practicing Earthbending a little ways off, Momo chattering as he tried to catch butterflies. Those were the usual sounds, but Toph only knew them by feeling the ground and listening. Yet many times lately, she couldn't help but want to be able to see the "beauty of nature," like her friends had said.
"Ahhhhhwwww…" She yawned. "Mornin' Aang, Sokka, Katara, Momo, Appa," She got up and walked to get the last of Sokka's polar seal jerky.
"Hey Toph."
"Hello."
"Good Morning!"
"Eeechachaeeeco!"
"Arghunmmmph!"
She sat down next to Aang, who just sat down before her and was stuffing his face with rice. Katara sat down next to her, Sokka across. "It's a nice morning," Katara sighed, looking up. "Just look at that blue sky, and the grass in this valley is so cool and green! And that waterfall! Crystal clear! I wish we could stay here forever!"
The others talked about their favorite sights, while Toph listened quietly. She didn't know what the color blue was, she didn't know what grass actually looked like. She didn't know what her friends looked like, heck, she didn't even know what her own face looked like!
"Guys," she said quietly, "can you stop? Please?"
The others stopped talking and stared at her. "Toph," Aang said, "is there something wrong? You only talk quietly when you got something on your mind…"
"No, I'm fine. I'm just going to explore a little." She got up and walked into the trees.
"Is it just me, or has she been awful quiet since the invasion?" Sokka said. "Like she's down about something. I made a joke last night, and she didn't even try to make fun of me for it. Her joking on me has kinda become a usual activity." "You're right," Katara added. "Something's up. We'd better check on her."
The threesome finished the rest of their breakfast, and followed Toph's trail that she had left dragging her feet in the grasses. She had walked such a long way, that they spent half of the day tracking her. Finally, they came into a clearing of the prairie, and stared at her. She was doing something none of them had ever seen. She was on her back on the ground, lying face up, and her eyes were the widest they had ever seen. She wasn't moving. And it didn't look like she was breathing.
"Toph?" Sokka silently whispered.