The Way Home
Chapter 1: Interference
The once persistent blind earthbender was finally caving in and losing hope. With the barely four-year-old standing before her, nervously obeying her orders while blindfolded with a piece of cotton cloth wrapped around her head tightly, training her each day for months on end without progress, she began to grow frustrated. At first, the child had complained and whimpered, asking to remove the blindfold, but her defiance had not been tolerated by her teacher. The latter was uncompromising and relentless, expecting to have her do precisely as told, no questions asked. As a teacher, even with her own child, she was rigid and resolute, as a rock.
In her home on the outskirts of Republic City, a low wooden house with a courtyard, she had created a rock garden and arranged it to be training grounds for her daughter. A boulder had been placed in the middle of it, assigned to be the child's teaching tool. But even though months had passed since she had brought that stone to the courtyard, it had never been moved from its spot; even some form of moss began to grow on it.
"If you want to become an earthbender," she instructed, "you've got to be like a rock yourself. That's the only way you will move that rock. Now, let's do this again, and be determined this time. Take your stance, steady and strong!" barked the blind earthbender.
Doing once again as she had been instructed, the girl took her position, for what appeared to be the fiftieth time that evening. Thus, with a swift motion of her arm aimed at the rock placed in front of her, she punched the air like she would be punching an enemy, exactly as she had been told to.
Distraught, the woman turned away from the girl as to conceal the scowl of disappointment distorting her features. Still, after all the training, nothing occurred. Once again, her action yielded no results; the stone had not budged, not even a millimeter, neither did the girl.
Sensing her mother's dissatisfaction, and afraid to upset her further, the girl backed away slightly.
She peeped feebly, "Mama…is it time to stop?"
The latter spun around to face her, hiding her emotions behind a wooden smile.
"Yes," she breathed despondently. "You did great, kid. That's enough practicing for today."
Tearing off the cloth from her head, the girl rushed inside, while her teacher remained in the garden, beside herself with desolation and shame, unable to accept her defeat.
Nearly all of her evening passed with trying to convince her daughter to wind down and head to bed, but all in vain. She had already lost count of the number of times she must have nagged her, but the girl simply refused to obey and defied her boldly as she had done the day before and the one before that. Each night, it was the same story. But now, with her most recent disappointment, she could no longer bear it; she was losing her patience at last, quite ready to snap.
The blind earthbender turned her head towards the door when she felt a familiar figure outside, about to knock. Already, she knew who it was, and she skipped across the room toward the door to admit her visitor.
"There's my favorite metalbender chief!" a well-known deep voice gushed at the mere sight of her.
"Great timing, Sokka," she replied sardonically and let him in.
"What are you saying? It's the best timing!" he cried in disbelief. "Guess what I brought with me."
The man held up a bottle, to which Toph replied in annoyance, "I have no earthly clue. It sounds like a bottle…but I'm guessing you're referring to what's in the bottle."
"Only the finest liquor the United Republic has to offer! It was pricey, but one doesn't simply become chief of police every day, am I right?" he praised with a wide smile across his lips and squeezed his friend's shoulder amiably.
"That's old news, I've been in charge for years," she corrected.
"Yeah, but it's official now. You've got the special outfit and everything, plus, I heard they're making a statue in your honor! That calls for a celebration!"
Their conversation was cut short by the sound of small feet pounding against the wooden floorboards. The little girl darted across the room, her black curls dancing in the wind. Before Sokka had time to react or speak, the girl was already attacking his legs, hugging them with glee.
"Lin, I'm happy to see you too," he acknowledged with such warmth, and ruffled the girl's obsidian hair affectionately. He joked, "My, you've grown! You were so much shorter yesterday. Are you sure you're not a sizebender?"
While the little girl giggled, very amused, Toph could not help but roll her eyes at him in embarrassment. "'Sizebender'?"
He picked her up into his arms. The man tossed her into the air and caught her, a motion which the girl apparently enjoyed, judging by her near hysterical loud laughter. Once she wearied of that, she instead climbed onto his shoulders where she sat herself, and grabbed his ponytail.
"Foward, orsie!"
"No, I'm not a horsie," he protested lightheartedly between laughs, "No, Lin, don't-OW! That's my hair…"
Still, Sokka's pain would not thwart her; his yelp only served to amuse the toddler more.
"Run, orsie, run!" the girl commanded loudly while tugging on the poor man's hair. In hopes of convincing her to cease her agonizing pull on his mane, he gave in to her request and played along, pretending to be an ostrich-horse.
"Faster! Faster! FASTER!" she yelled with delight.
Sokka merely obeyed. He lost count of the amount of laps he had made across the house. But the girl never seemed to tire.
An hour must have passed. Sokka found Toph outside in the yard, perched alone in silence on the porch, back against the wall and her chin resting on her knees. In his arms, he carried a slumbering Lin.
"There you are," he murmured at last. "Umm, I think she fell asleep."
"Finally," Toph cried, "I thought she'd never be quiet!"
"Shh! Not so loud, you'll wake her!" he chided under his breath. "I'll go tuck her in."
"Sure, you do that," came the woman's laid-back response.
She folded her arms behind her head and leaned against the wall casually.
Sokka brought the child inside and carried her to her bed while the woman waited for him outside. The night was warm. It felt amazing to be able to sit down at last and be at ease. Up until now, she had not even noticed how much her poor limbs ached after a long days' work.
When she had chosen to raise her daughter alone, she never realized how much labor it entailed, how full her hands would be. Rambunctious as her toddler was, as well as defiant, Toph certainly never had a chance to relax and care for herself. Despite that, she loved her child more than life itself, and always ensured her safety and wellbeing above her own. And still, she could barely handle the increasing anguish within her bosom. Serving the city as a police officer required a lot of her time, energy and presence of mind; she had to be alert, sharp and ready at all times, even when most inconvenient. But the woman would never complain about the challenges it brought about; she loved her occupation, and would give anything to uphold peace and order in the city she helped build. With her daughter, however, she could not push herself any harder in order to teach her a skill she may not even have been able to learn at all…
Steady footsteps echoed in the floorboards which trembled and groaned beneath her, then she heard the wooden door slide open.
"She's fast asleep," Sokka announced upon arrival. He added softly and smiled, "Guess we have the night to ourselves, then. It's just you and me right now."
"Thanks," she blurted out.
"Don't mention it," he bragged. "The fun has merely begun!"
"No, dim-wit. I meant for helping me out with Lin."
"Oh, that? That's no big deal," he alleged, waving it off with a smile.
"Are you kidding? I've been trying to send her to bed all evening, but all she does is disobey me every step of the way. I don't know how you do it, but you have a way with her."
"It's a gift," he bragged with assertion and a confident grin, seating himself next to her on the floor.
"You've been of so much help since she was born, I would never have been able to do it all by myself," she confessed, her sightless eyes staring blankly into empty space as she smiled thoughtfully. She leaned further back, crossing her legs.
Lightheartedly, she proceeded, "Who would have thought that being chief of police, tracking down criminal organizations across the United Republic, leading a metalbending academy and being a single mom would take so much out of a person!"
Sokka merely smiled without a word. He busied himself with attempting to open the bottle and pull the firmly plugged wooden cork out.
Something about him seemed off, Toph noted; he appeared unusually somber and quiet for the Sokka that she knew, but she couldn't quite grasp or explain why that was. The man was oblivious to her observation and her discreet scrutiny of his movements and heartbeat, as she heard the clink of small glasses, and the sound of liquid pouring into them.
"Here you go," he announced, handing her one of the glasses, which she readily accepted.
He raised his glass skyward. "To Toph Beifong," he announced, "the greatest earthbender of all time, and my best friend," he pronounced the last part with even more affection, then added good-humouredly, "and have I mentioned the greatest earthbender of all time?"
Toph replied in a theatrical manner, "Gee, thanks, Sokka. You're too kind!"
"…Whose name will go down in history! Cheers, Chief."
"Yeah, go down in history, indeed…" she whispered scornfully, more to herself. Luckily, Sokka didn't hear her.
Each lifted their glass before they consumed the contents. Sokka stared wide-eyed at the woman sitting next to him, who guzzled down the liquor in one go, unflinching. She wiped her lips nonchalantly on her forest green sleeve and assumed her former position.
"Not bad, not bad!" an astonished Sokka praised. "Where'd you learn to drink like a man?"
"Not from you. You're too much of a wimp for this stuff," she mocked.
"Glad to know some things never change."
Although she appeared to be as carefree as ever, Sokka took notice of her unusual behavior. To be sure, he had never seen her drink liquor like that, but her general silence puzzled him the most; he suspected something was not entirely as it should be. On a night like this, when she had in fact been recognized by the world as someone remarkable, she did not even rejoice. She wasn't the boisterous woman he had gotten used to. Instead, she leaned gloomily against the wall, her thick black fringe covering her eyes more than usual, as if to obscure her face completely.
"Hey, is everything all right?" he inquired at last, concerned. He encouraged tenderly, "Come on, you can tell me."
There was a pause. She hesitated, but after several seconds, she decided to speak, though rather reluctantly.
"It's Lin," she breathed. She sighed and frowned. "I have done everything I can, and taught her everything I know, and still she won't even move a pebble!"
She complained, almost on the verge of tears, "What if she will never learn to earthbend? What if she…can't bend at all? Maybe I'm just deluding myself. Maybe I should just…stop."
Distraught, she pulled her knees up to her bosom and hugged her legs. She looked so miserable; it was a heartbreaking sight. It pained Sokka to watch his friend suffer.
He edged closer to her and rubbed her back gently. "Toph, come on, you're giving up hope a little too soon. She probably just needs more time. Listen, I know you love to push people around, and you want results…but she's only four years old. Maybe you should take Aang's advice on patience," he added with a smile.
As though lightning had struck him, he suddenly had an idea. "Maybe I should train her! You said I have a way with her. I might just be what she needs!"
"That's a great idea!" Toph cried cynically. "Have the non-bender teach bending! Why didn't I think of that?"
"Very funny, Toph. But I'm serious."
"Yeah, how will you do that?" she inquired in disbelief. "With another one of your motivational speeches?"
Sokka ignored her sarcasm, still in a good mood, and egged her on even more. "Just trust me. Sokka has done it before, and Sokka will do it again! You'll see. You will be kissing the very ground I walk on when I'm done."
Toph sniggered to herself, finally yielding to this man's crazy idea. "Sure, whatever you say, O 'great Sifu Sokka'."
That felt wonderful. For the first time in weeks, her mood lifted, and she could laugh again. Although she wholeheartedly believed that his plan would fail or backfire in some way (as it has done many times in the past), she realized that he was right: perhaps all hope wasn't lost; perhaps she was simply being too hard on herself and too impatient. Maybe her daughter simply wasn't ready yet and she needed more time for her teachings to finally sink in. How happy she was for her friend's company; even in the darkest of times, he somehow always managed to raise her spirits.
"I've got to say…I've really missed this. Just you and me, hanging out like old times. Those were the days," she recounted nostalgically.
"Yeah, we've had some good times together, didn't we?" the latter acknowledged, with a wistful smile.
His tone was different, she noted. Just then, a strong arm encircled her shoulders and drew her near him. Eager arms pulled her into his embrace. Uneasily, she played with the meteor bracelet on her right arm, bestowed upon her by her friend many years ago; to this day, it was still her most treasured possession; she wore it day and night, wherever she went.
Sokka was rather surprised that she didn't resist him, and wouldn't immediately push him away, elbow him or punch him in her usual manner; he had been prepared for a painful blow, but none came. Instead, she allowed him to hold her. This wasn't typical of her. He brought his face closer to her head, where he could feel her smooth hair against his face. It was silky to the touch, and smelled of earth and steel; a scent so familiar to him, and a scent he had come to love.
He admired her long raven hair, which tumbled in thick locks over her shoulders and back, all the way down to her bottom. There was something doll-like about her countenance; about her porcelain pale complexion and how it contrasted against her black hair. He found her strangely beautiful in the dimmed light from inside the house, which played on the side of her face.
Although the blind earthbender couldn't see his features, something in his behavior was different. Arms tightening around her, pressing her tiny frame against his strong chest, where she could feel his heart pounding. His breathing, now heavy, caressed her cheek with each exhale. He ran his fingers through her lovely hair. Toph's heart fluttered and her face grew hot when she unexpectedly felt his lips brush against her cheek, where he planted a playful but tender kiss. She fidgeted nervously in his embrace.
"I'm glad you're feeling better," he cooed.
"I certainly also get the feeling you want to tell me something," she stated.
"Huh? N-no…I'm just happy you turned that frown upside down."
"No. You've got something on your mind. You didn't just come here to celebrate, did you?"
"There's nothing 'on my mind'," he professed. "What gave you that idea?"
"Don't lie, Sokka," she ordered. "You're not very good at it."
His features softened, as well as his tone when he conceded, "All right, all right. Since you insist…there is something I've been meaning to tell you."
"Really? What did you do this time?" she teased playfully, raising an eyebrow.
He chuckled gently. "No, it's not like that. I've never told you this before, well I've never told anyone, and…maybe…I should have told you years ago…"
"Oh?"
She waited, very much intrigued, lingering in his warm embrace comfortably and listened intently.
He paused to catch his breath, then faltered, "I-I've always admired you, Toph. You are the bravest, strongest, toughest and most…amazing person I've ever known," he confessed.
Smilingly, he went on, "Sure, you can be a royal pain sometimes, but…I hope that never changes. I want you to always be the Toph Beifong I know. You're my best friend in the whole world. And…also, these past few years made me realize some things…" he hesitated for a moment, then breathed, "I guess what I'm trying to tell you is that…I-"
"Someone's at the door," Toph interrupted.
She tore herself away from him when she detected intense vibrations in the floor. Sure enough, a banging on the front door echoed through the house. Without further delay, the earthbender took to her feet and left a befuddled Sokka behind.
A police officer who Toph recognized at once spoke. "Chief Beifong? I apologize for the disturbance at such a late hour, but I've come with urgent news."
"What's so important that it can't wait till morning?" she demanded somewhat irritably.
"Some of our officers have gone missing. They've been absent for hours and there's no way to contact or locate them. We're suspecting a possible abduction, and the involvement of an underground criminal organization," the policeman declared gravely. "Time is of the essence. We need you on this, Chief."
The officer diverted his eyes to the man behind Toph.
"Evening, officer," came an uneasy greeting from the man.
Sokka counted himself lucky this time that Toph was blind; she didn't see the officer shifting his eyes between the pair, as though he understood the situation perfectly. He even smiled sagaciously, which caused Sokka's face to heat up in embarrassment.
"I'm very sorry for interrupting…something," the officer claimed, increasing the man's discomfort all the more.
Much to his relief, however, his friend remained oblivious, and the policeman let the matter go. Toph appeared to be deep in thought.
"Sokka, can I ask you a favor?" she asked in earnest, her tone demanded an answer right away.
"Sure," he replied, though blinked in confusion.
"Could you watch over Lin while I'm on duty?"
He nodded and gave her back an encouraging pat. "Of course. She'll be in safe hands while you're gone, don't worry. You do what you have to, Chief."
With that decided, the woman left her home with her officer. Her friend threw her a worried glance, and added with genuine concern, "Be careful."
And she was gone.