Hey guys, this is my first Avatar fanfiction and I had no idea how hard it would be to start it off. I promise you it will improve so please stick around and wait for more chapters. Thanks :D

Chapter One

"It's no use." Katara said, sitting on the step of the grand house on Ember Island. "He's nowhere."

"Don't you get it?" Sokka said. "Aang vanishes right before an important battle, its obvious… he's on a spirit world journey" He looked impressed with himself.

"Wouldn't his body be left behind?" Zuko contradicted.

"I- uh" Sokka huffed. "You're right."

"Hasn't anybody noticed who else is missing?" Toph said.

Katara, Sokka, Zuko and Suki all exchanged glances.

"Momo!" Suki cried.

"He's probably with Aang. Maybe we should split up and expand our searches." Katara suggested.

"Is it wise to split up?" Sokka asked.

"Well we've got to find the Avatar before the comet, otherwise… what's the point?" Zuko said glumly.

"I'm with Katara, we should split up." Suki said. "Aang's tracks lead to the water, maybe we should look outside the confines of this island."

"But if he wanted to run away, he would of just taken Appa." Toph said.

"It's still worth checking." Katara said standing up. "Sokka and Suki, you check the rest of the island, just in case. Toph, Zuko, you take Appa and circle the skies, and check any near by islands. I'll scour the waters."

Sokka and Suki linked arms. "Sounds fine to me," he said. "I wish I still had Hawky, we could have used him to tell each other when we find him."

"If we find him," Zuko said, walking towards Appa. "Are you coming?" He directed towards Toph.

"Ugh… I hate flying." She mumbled, shifting her foot and leaping onto Appa's saddle.

"Good luck!" Katara called, running towards the ocean, her arms apart as she guided the water around her feet, setting off into a surf.

Zuko climbed onto Appa's head and picked up the reins. "uh… yip-yip" He muttered. He looked down as Appa rose into the air. Sokka was waving manically before walking towards the town.

Zuko and Toph raised higher and higher, silence between them both until Toph finally spoke.

"You know… I sometimes think you guys forget that I'm blind" She sighed. "You better keep a look out up here cause I can't see anything… until we get to land at least."

"I never really understood that…" Zuko mumbled.

"Understood what?"

"Seeing with your… your feet, how does that even work?"

"Vibrations… I can pretty much paint a mental picture of my surroundings anywhere if my feet touch it. I can even pretty much tell what people look like"

"That's actually… pretty amazing." Zuko said.

"I can also tell when people are lying or scared and stuff." Toph said, grinning.

"No need to show off." Zuko moaned.

"Isn't there anything you can do?" Toph asked, truly intrigued as she sat up and faced the direction of Zuko's voice.

"Not really… My father, Uncle and sister can create lightening… I think that's the only extension fire bending has. I can re-direct lightening though" He added a little cheerfully.

"Lightening huh? It just gets better" she scoffed.

"It's better than metal bending" Zuko said rolling his eyes, "I bet you make lovely oil lamps with that talent"

"If you're going to be obnoxious, you can search for Aang on your own" She spat.

"I'm sorry." He said.

Toph snorted and lay back down against the edge of the saddle. A longer period of silence passed as the skies turned a vivid purple before turning to a dark blue.

"Maybe we should land and set up camp." Zuko said, pulling the reins as Appa began to descend.

"What time is it?" Toph asked.

"I'm not sure, but it's definitely night." He said.

Appa's feet gently patted onto the rock floor. Toph instantly jumped off and landed on the balls of her feet.

"That's the stuff" she sighed as Zuko clambered to the back of Appa's saddle and loosened a large bag containing camping supplies. He slid down Appa's tail and landed softly on the floor.

"It's pretty warm tonight" he said. "We don't need to worry about wind coverage."

He walked over to a large tree and threw the bag on the floor.

Toph slid her foot along the floor and with a dull crumbling sound, a perfect ring of stones appeared to hold a fire. Zuko grabbed a few fallen branches from beneath the tree and threw them into the circle before igniting them. He rolled out the comfy fur hides that belonged to Sokka and Katara and sat on one of them. Toph patted Appa's nose before turning to face Zuko. "There's a lake just through those tree's. I'm going for a splash." She said as she crossed the small clearing and disappeared through the opening. The lake was only a few feet from the trees. Zuko sighed out of boredom and stood up, following Toph through the trees but stopping dead as she sighed and pulled her green robes over her head. She stood in her under garments and felt with her toes for the cool waters edge. She bent low and cupped her hands, lifting up water before throwing it gently on herself. The water droplets rolled slowly down her curves, which were normally obscured by her baggy clothing. She reached up and pulled off her headband, throwing it onto her pile of clothes. Long black sleek hair fell deadly straight, all the way down to her hips. Zuko watched quietly as she swept back her fringe for an instant as the moons light covered her face, causing her translucent grey eyes to sparkle, before the hair regained its place in her face. Zuko shifted his foot slightly as Toph spun round.

"Zuko?" She called.

"Uh… I was just coming to… join you. I was bored." He said stupidly.

"Oh…" She said, backing up into the water before turning around and swimming out and floating on her back. "Aren't you coming in then, Sparky?" She said.

Zuko stepped forwards and kicked his shoes off and pulled off his shirt. He hesitantly stepped into the surface before backing up again. "Too cold for you?" She laughed, placing herself upright in the water, he feet touching the sandy bottom. She shifted her foot ever so quickly that the sand beneath her pushed the water into the air, consuming Zuko completely who shouted loudly. As the water flowed back into the lake, Zuko stood up. "What the hell are you doing!" he shouted, before grabbing his clothes, turning on the spot and storming away back through the bushes.

Toph frowned and wadded back to the water edge, picked up her clothes and followed Zuko.

"I'm sorry" She called, running towards him, dripping wet. He was sat on a boulder near the campfire, staring angrily into the fire.

"I didn't realise you hated water so much" She said, sitting beside him.

"I don't, I just…I don't-. It caught me by surprise… I'm sorry for over reacting." He mumbled.

"That doesn't seem like all it is" Toph said.

"It's nothing." Zuko said, turning away from her even though he knew she couldn't see him.

"You're lying." she said simply. "You're forgetting that I can tell." She smiled sheepishly.

"Really, it's nothing" he sighed.

"Oh come on. It can't be that bad." Toph scoffed.

"It was Azula…" Zuko said. "We were only kids. She wanted to fight me one day, but I refused to. It was the first time she ever used lightening. It wasn't powerful but it stunned me. I fell into the fountain and she jumped in and held me under. She might actually have killed me if it wasn't for my mother."

"Oh…" was all Toph could manage. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean too…"

"It's fine" He smiled. "It was a long time ago, I'm over it"

Toph smiled too. "How did you manage when you were fighting with Katara?" she laughed.

"Lucky escape" Zuko said.

"I guess" Toph said, standing up and walking towards her sleeping sack. She pulled on her clothes and dropped onto it in front of the fire.

Zuko followed suit and relaxed on his back, looking up at the stars.

"Aren't you afraid of anything?" Zuko asked.

"Not really. I guess that's an advantage of being blind, I grew up with a better awareness of my surroundings as apposed to just seeing them, but I guess I have my Earth Bending to thank for that." She sighed. "I used to be afraid of water myself you know."

"Really? Why?" Zuko said, turning to look at her.

"It's not like earth. It isn't still, it's always moving so it's harder for me to visualise my surroundings. But then I realise… there's usually earth in water, however small… and if I can sense that, then I can picture it. Plus I never knew how to swim until I met Katara." Toph said lazily.

"That's interesting… I like that." Zuko said awkwardly.

"Like what?"

"The way you see the world… it's inspiring… you sound a lot like someone I used to know." Zuko looked back up towards the sky and sighed again. "Do you think we'll find the avatar?"

"I honestly don't know." Toph yawned, rolling onto her side, facing Zuko. Her misty eyes set on his, even though unseeing. Zuko stared at them until her eyelids began to slowly drift shut, her breath becoming heavier and rattled with sleep.