I'm not sure what exactly made me want to write a Toph fanfic on whim (considering I usually have to think out my chapters or whatever for a couple of days before getting it right), but perhaps it had something to do with seeing the atrocious adaptation of Shyamalan's "The Last Airbender" movie, because after seeing it, I kept thinking, "I'm cursed now dammit! I'll have to see the next movie, just to see what's left out!"

So I think that had a part of the creation of this.

Summary: Just as Aang went into the Avatar state for that first time at the Southern Air Temple, the other shrines in each nation began to react. It's the middle of the night in Gaoling when Toph gets involved.

Disclaimer: I don't own A:TLA. If I did, Zutara would be cannon! ...though the thought's completely unrelated to this fic, I thought ya'll should know ._.

Something felt…strange.

Toph had woken up when something had made the very earth, her element, tremble in fear of something. Of what? She didn't know. All she could remember in those waking moments was the shaky feeling of the earth under her hand as she lay on her futon that night.

She was going to find out just what had happened.

Using her hand to steady herself as she crawled out of the warm blankets of the futon and stood upright, Toph could feel the vibrations dying with each step she made towards the courtyard of her home. So she quickened her pace, being careful not to wake her parents or alert any of the guards her mother and father felt were needed around the estate, as she felt each vibration dying out.

But by the time she had made it to the terrace, the specific tremors that were different than anything she had ever felt before and had woken her from sleep were gone.

Just like that, gone.

So Toph stood there, wondering if it would happen again.

But as the blind earthbender was not a patient person and a few minutes went by, she decided to go back inside before any of the guards found her and took her to her parents to alert them of her being out of bed. Toph's thoughts wandered though as she went back to her room and crawled back under the blankets of her futon, her left hand touching the floor.

What exactly had shook the very earth itself, yet only she could feel it? Or rather, she guessed she had been the only one since her parents were in their room asleep and the guards were still at their posts.

Another thing, where exactly had it originated from?

Toph could pick up vibrations from far away, but the farther away their origin was when they came towards her, the weaker they were. It was one of the ways she was able to tell when someone was coming, but was not quite up close to her yet; basically, it gave her enough time to transform into the "poor little blind girl" her parents had always thought she was, or the tough fighter she actually was when fighting against The Badgermole opponent as the Blind Bandit.

But she couldn't tell where the vibrations had come from. Only that they had come towards Gaoling.

Towards her.