Disclaimer: I don't own Sokka, Toph, Aang, Katara, Ba Sing Se, Joo Dee, Momo, Appa, and all other characters, creatures, types of bending, or locations that are present in Avatar: The Last Airbender. They belong to Bryan Konietzko and Mike DiMartino. Again, because they are nice, sophisticated, god-like men, they will hopefully not sue me.
Following the Blind:
A Sokka and Toph Story
Sokka's POV:
"Are you sure this is the way to the curio shop?" Toph asked me for what seemed like the millionth time. "It didn't seem like it took this long last time, and I'm pretty sure we were supposed to turn left when we last turned right."
I hate it when she does this. I'm the one with the map, not to mention the working eyes, but she always insists she has a better sense of direction. We were trying to get to an old curio shop that held some interesting stuff, all of which included a necklace the owner insisted helped increase Earthbending power when worn. Toph and I had been there a couple of days previous with Aang and Katara trying, and failing, to get information on where Appa was. Aang all but dragged us out of the shop when he had no luck, not allowing us to look through the stuff any further.
Now Toph and I were trying to find the shop again so we could actually look around, or in Toph's case feel around. I wished Katara and Aang were there to keep little miss backseat-navigator busy. Katara, however, was keeping Joo Dee the creepy smiling wonder busy with boring questions about the history of Ba Sing Se. Aang, meanwhile, was continuing his desperate search for our beloved flying, six-legged mass of fluff.
Now that I had to actually spend time alone with her, I hated to admit it, but Katara was right. Toph was a stuck-up, rude, selfish know-it-all. Mind you, she also has many redeeming qualities. She's the most wild, rebellious girl I've ever met. The entire time we were in Ba Sing Se she complained about how stupid the rules were and that we shouldn't have to follow them, and I couldn't have agreed more. She can also be funny, even if most of the jokes are aimed at me. And I guess, in her own way, she can be pretty…and smart, talented, powerful, and maybe even cute…whoa, sorry, guess you really don't want to hear about all of that. So, anyways, as I was saying about our trip to the curio shop…
"I know where we're going!" I shouted back. I had said this exactly as many times as she'd asked if I was sure we were going the right way. Okay, the truth is that I really wasn't quite sure if we were going in the right direction. I wasn't going to admit it, though, especially not to her. I had my masculine pride to consider.
"I don't think you really do," Toph persisted. She was really starting to get on my nerves.
"Oh, yeah? Well, what do you think?" I snapped. As soon as I asked it, though, I regretted it.
"I think you have no idea where you're going," Toph said matter-of-factly. "You think that just because you have a stupid map that you know more about this city than I do. Well, here's a head's-up, moron! From what I can tell, you've been leading us farther and farther away from the shop!" She stopped abruptly and stomped her foot on the word 'shop', most likely to emphasize her point. As soon as she stomped her foot, though, I felt a part of the ground shoot up and very painfully ram me in the rear, causing me to jump.
"That," I shouted, getting in her face, "was completely uncalled for!"
"It was perfectly called for!" Toph shouted back. "Now, get out of my face before you regret it!"
"Fine!" I yelled, ripping up the map. I threw it into the air and glared at her. "You think you're so smart? Then you lead us to the shop, dwarf!"
"That's the first smart thing you said all day!" Toph huffed, turning on her heel and storming the opposite direction of the way we came.
We walked in silence for a while, both fuming. I couldn't tell if she was starting to crack, but I can tell you that I, for one, was starting to feel just a little guilty for yelling at her. But I wasn't going to admit it until she admitted that I was right.
"Will you stop not talking, already?" Toph suddenly huffed at me.
"What?" I asked, taken off guard.
"I hate the silence, it's more annoying than listening to you talk."
"Okay…" I tried to think of something to say. That was when it occurred to me. "Did you just insult me?"
"Took you long enough, genius!" Toph snapped at me.
I couldn't take it anymore. "You know, if you're going to be rude to me I could just leave!"
"Fine then, leave!" Toph shouted back at me.
"Fine then, I will!"
"Fine!"
"Fine!"
You know what I did? If you're thinking I left, you're wrong. I stood there and waited for her to ask me not to. Hey, I wasn't really going to leave the little blind girl all alone in Ba Sing Se.
"Well?" Toph huffed, tapping her foot on the ground. "Aren't you leaving?"
I looked for an excuse for why I hadn't left yet. It was in vain, so I finally just sighed. "I'll keep following…"
"That's what I thought," Toph said triumphantly, continuing the way we were going.
"So…" I said, trying to think of something to make conversation with. "That Joo Dee is really something, isn't she?"
"What? Do you like her?" Toph teased. "You'd make such a beautiful couple."
"I'm going to stop making conversation if you're just going to make fun of me," I threatened.
"Oh, no! Sokka stopping talking!" Toph said in mock-horror. "It's too horrible for words!" I didn't reply, wondering what she'd say if I really did stop talking. After about three minutes I almost went nuts from not being able to talk, but was surprised when she broke the silence first. "Okay, okay," she said. "I'm sorry. I'll stop making fun of you. Can I still make fun of Joo Dee?"
I smiled. This was one of the things I liked about her. Not like liked. Just liked. Cause I totally don't think of her as anything other than a friend. Yeah.
"Sure, she's fair game," I replied. "I mean, she's about easy as you can get."
"Tell me about it!" Toph sounded like she'd been holding in the Joo Dee insults for days. "I mean, I can't see her, but the vibes alone are creepy! And what's with those rules? Fliers are not permitted in Ba Sing Se! Fighting is not permitted in Ba Sing Se! Fun is not permitted in Ba Sing Se!"
"Apparently, in her case, personalities aren't permitted in Ba Sing Se either!" I added. I was glad when Toph laughed at that one. I was quite proud of it. And Toph has a unique and, in my opinion, lovely laugh. "Be glad you can't see her. That woman smiles so much that she makes my cheeks hurt just looking at her. And she always has this vacant look on her face, like her brain was sucked out by zombies or something."
"She has the same feel, too," Toph said thoughtfully. "Like everything she does is mechanical or something. It's not natural."
"Maybe she's a machine built by the Fire Nation as a spy!" I suggested. I was mostly kidding, but at this point I wouldn't rule any possibilities out. Toph wasn't so open to the idea, though.
"Come on, mechanical people? Next you're going to be suggesting that people will be able to go to the moon!" Toph scoffed. I cringed a bit, reminded of Yue. She didn't need a way to go to the moon; she became it. Toph must have sensed this, and said sheepishly, "Sorry…" There was another little silence between us as we turned another corner. I was becoming convinced that she didn't have anymore idea where we were going than I did. "So, tell me about you and this Suki," Toph finally says. "You seemed close."
"Yeah, you could say that," I replied, a bit modestly. "She was the first girl I ever, you know, liked. We met her in Kyoshi right when our adventures started. She's an awesome warrior; I'm hoping she'll be helping us fight the Fire Lord again."
"Are you together?" Toph asked casually. I knew better than to lie to her, those feet of hers could detect the smallest fib.
"I don't know," I admitted. "I thought we were. We might be. It's really up to her."
"I think she wants to be."
I felt my face turn red. I was suddenly very glad she was blind. "So…do you have anyone you like?" I asked. "Maybe met a boy here in Ba Sing Se? Or, maybe, it's someone I know?" I wasn't trying to be too obvious.
"…Maybe," was the only response Toph gave. I waited for more. Nothing else came.
"Oh, come on!" I said, exasperated. "I just told you about who I like! The rules say you have to tell me who you like!"
"What rules?" Toph snorted. "I don't have to tell you anything if I don't want to. Besides, if I told you you'd tell Katara and Aang. You can't keep a secret to save your life."
"Okay, you see that?" I snapped. "This is why we don't talk that much! Cause it always leads to you making fun of me, then I get mad, and we yell at each other, and then we just give each other the silent treatment until one of us snaps and it's back to the beginning of the conversation!" I waited for a response. None came. "Well?"
"Well what? I thought we were at the silent treatment stage," Toph said. I was about to say something nasty back then I came to a realization. That was a joke. It was a really bad joke. And I laughed.
"I don't believe it! You always make fun of my bad jokes! That was worst than any of them!" I gasped, trying to calm down.
"Hey, they can't all be winners!" Toph snapped. But then she started laughing too.
It took me a moment to register the fact that we had stopped walking. I looked up, and my mouth fell open. I didn't know what to say. We were standing in front of the shop I was looking for.
"You coming?" Toph asked, walking in. I was about to say something. I thought I'd be mad. I'd snap at her and we'd argue. But I couldn't think of one mean thing to say. The truth was I wasn't mad.
The truth is that that girl never ceases to amaze me.