It wasn't until after she'd settled in for the night that she realized what she had done that day.
What was I thinking...no, I wasn't thinking, I was driven by anger, and... Tears sprang to her eyes. I swore to myself I'd never use it again.
She felt a poke on her shoulder suddenly and turned around.
"Hey, Sugar Queen! You've been awfully somber this evening," Toph said. "What's wrong this time, Zuko accidentally put salt in the tea?"
"No, it's not Zuko," Katara sighed. "Toph, remember Hama?"
"I'd rather not," the Earthbender said, shuddering. "Why are you all of a sudden?"
"Because..." Katara closed her eyes, gripping twin fistfuls of blanket in her hands. "Toph, I used bloodbending on a Fire Nation officer today! After I used it to save Aang and Sokka I swore I'd never use it again, but..." She swallowed. "I wasn't thinking, I may as well have been Hama for how crazy I was!"
Toph sat up, slinging an arm over the taller girl's shoulders.
"Trust me, you have a long way to go before you're that crazy," she said. "Look, so you used bloodbending once. No one died, and besides, you used it on a Fire Nation officer who probably would've hurt you and Zuko!"
"I know, but still!"
"Look, Katara. I know you think you have to be perfect all the time, but you really don't," Toph said. "All the rest of us have gone insane at least once, or done things we're not proud of in the heat of the moment. Aang going into the Avatar State that time we ran into the Sandbenders, Sokka's rage attack on Azula during the eclipse, me running away from the group that night Azula and her friends were chasing us..."
"Yeah, I remember all those times," Katara said.
"Your bloodbending that one Fire Nation dumbass isn't any different! Besides, he probably deserved it anyway." Toph shrugged. "My point is, you don't have to be the shining example of sane mature righteousness all the time. You're a human being just like everyone else."
"I know," Katara sighed.
"And if you keep beating yourself up for that one little incident, you will go crazy and none of us wanna see that!" Toph smirked; a comment like that normally would have annoyed Katara but there was nothing but affection in the Toph's voice. She wrapped her arms around the girl, pulling her close like she had that day in prison.
"I think that's what I needed to hear the most," she murmured. "Thanks, Toph."
"No problem, it's what I do best!" Toph grinned, nestling closer.