Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar; The Last Airbender, or anything related to Avatar.
Title: Badgermoles; The Original Earthbenders.
Summary: 'The first thing Toph learned about the badgermoles was that they were as old as the caves themselves, never changing but forever shifting and moving.' Toph's experiences with the badgermoles and home and family as a whole.
Author's Note: Just so you know, Toph fluff is the hardest fluff to fluff and still be in character. =)
...
The first thing Toph learned about the badgermoles was that they were as old as the caves themselves, never changing but forever shifting and moving. The second thing she realized was that, underneath all the grass and the plants and even the roots, the very dirt under her feet was alive. The world as a whole was alive, no matter what form it took. The earth bent to the badgermoles, and the badgermoles bent to the earth, but no one broke, and no one betrayed each other. That was the true spirit of earthbending- bending but never breaking, unyielding but never overly cruel. No matter what her parents and future teachers told her, Toph would always understand that they were far more than just animals, that they were older and more understanding than the city they lived in and the people who lived in it and were always to be respected.
The third (and possibly most important) thing Toph learned was that the badgermoles liked little ones. Especially blind little ones. Human or not, Toph was blind and they were blind and she was small but they were big but she wasn't afraid of them because it's hard to be afraid of something you can only tell what is from the sounds and vibrations it makes (especially when sensing said vibrations was a skill they had taught her in the first place) so they accepted her and loved her like she were a baby badgermole because she might as well be a baby badgermole at this point.
The badgermole she'd followed around that first day had curled up with her when it was time to sleep and Toph had never felt something so soft.
She was still a bit worried about going home, obviously. Her parents were nothing like the badgermoles- they didn't teach her to be herself or show her how to do anything because she was 'a blind little girl' and blind little girls couldn't see anything shown or taught to them- but they were still her parents and Toph knew that, if she didn't go home soon, they would tear the very mountains apart looking for her, ecosystems and animals living there be darned.
Toph loved the badgermoles. She couldn't bear to see that happen.
Three sleeps and plenty of time spent walking around later (which she had no clue what that amounted to in days because she was in a stinkin' cave and caves didn't exactly help her tell if the sun was rising or setting or not) she knew how to see. She wasn't a master at bending or sensing yet, obviously, that would take years and years of practice, but seeing was a dang good place to start.
She slowly got to her feet, a bit unsure where to step once she climbed over the tail she'd been curled up next too. Last week she couldn't see. Last week she was completely helpless.
But that was last week. Toph was an earthbender now, and earthbenders are never helpless. The day one was completely helpless was the day they died. Toph shivered at the thought.
She took position and stamped her foot against the ground. It took a few tries, but eventually a small opening, big enough for her to stand and walk through but not big enough to hinder the badgermole's sensitive eyes with sunlight should it be day appeared. Perfect.
A part of Toph really wanted to stay, stay and be a badgermole and be happy, but a bigger part of her knew it was too dangerous.
One badgermole- the one who'd found her originally, she guessed- firmly placed its foot in front of the opening to the outside world and stared. She couldn't see and it couldn't see but she knew it was staring at her and it knew it was staring at her.
Blindness is a funny thing. You can't see, but your guesses only get more accurate as the years go by.
Toph didn't need to sense or see to know it was looking into her eyes (although both sets were pretty useless, honestly) and feel the pure confusion and sadness and why radiating off it in waves.
Why are you going? It seemed to be saying. That's not the right way to go for a badgermole. That way is filled with loud noises and bright lights that burn even when you can't see them.
Why would you want to go that way?"
And for some reason she couldn't explain and would never admit to, Toph began crying. She grabbed the leg barring her way and buried her face into its fur.
Toph hated crying. This was the one and only exception.
She wished her parents could understand. Was that too much to ask? Not just her sensing abilities or her rough nature or even her secret hatred of being coddled. She just wanted them to understand.
Understand her.
The badgermole made a noise that she personally considered a version of a sigh that wasn't a sigh and moved away after she stopped crying. It didn't stop her from going through the tunnel, and it didn't go after her once she closed it behind her. The creature just stared.
Her parents hugged her and cried and promised her better protection (goody) when she arrived home, sun hot on her neck, but Toph didn't hug back, and she certainly didn't cry, because Toph Beifong doesn't cry.
All she could think about was the badgermole staring at the place where she'd disappeared, wondering why the little one left- why she left even though it was warm and there was plenty of food and water and she was protected from predators and she was safe, and-
And why did the little badgermole leave?
You wanna know what's a trip and a half? Laying on a bed, completely off the ground, and just trying to find it in you to sleep.
Her parents wouldn't let her sleep on the floor. Believe her, Toph had tried. Guards would come by to check on her at random intervals- which there was some sort of schedule involved, but it's kinda hard to tell time when you're blind and nestled away from the outdoors. Besides, the badgermoles didn't need to tell time to be happy, and neither did Toph (not that she could or anything- that would require being able to read numbers or letters, which she can't)- and reported to her parents if she wasn't in her bed.
Of course, now the guards only came by twice a night, sure of her being asleep and/or too helpless to get out of bed on her own, or something, and the second set had just passed by the doorway. Toph was in the clear.
Well, mostly. The need to burn off energy was immense, but Toph still had no real clue where the arena was. Her father hardly let her out of the garden to be escorted to the earthbending teacher; she hadn't truly been outside in years.
Relax, she told herself as she slipped over the wall. The earth was her friend. With the ground under her feet she could go anywhere, be anywhere. Toph was safe and protected on the ground.
(Although she was a heck of a lot more protected under the ground, but Toph took what she could get.)
She followed the vibrations in the ground, suddenly struck by how stupid this was. It didn't matter that she was a proud earthbender- she was still just 'the little blind girl.' If they had guards of some illegal sort posted, they probably wouldn't even let her in.
Badgermoles were the first earthbenders, she reminded herself to soothe her semi-frazzled nerves. Earthbenders, true earthbenders, are blind. Being blind only makes you that much closer to your roots.
Never be ashamed of who you are. The badgermoles weren't, and Toph was practically part badgermole.
No. No practically about it. Toph was badgermole, through and through.
The arena, once found, shocked her into a moment of silence. It was loud and rowdy and filled with people who just didn't care.
People like her.
They spit and cursed and they pushed and shoved. They didn't really care who you were, so long as you wanted to fight, and Toph really wanted to fight.
"You wanna get pounded?" The announcer shrugged. "Fine. You're on last. Just don't blame me if the arenas too much for you."
Just like that, Toph was in. No second guessing, no guards, no training wheels. Toph liked this place immediately.
It would never be the caves (nothing would ever be as awesome as the caves) but it could certainly work its way into her heart as a good back-up home, because the place Toph was from wasn't home. Never was, never would be. Home is where you're accepted and welcome. The Beifong estate wasn't home.
Her parents wanted a meek little kitten. The arena demanded she be a ferocious tiger. Instead, they got a badgermole.
In Toph's opinion, a badgermole was a heck of a lot cooler than anything else they could ask for. And, if they were lucky, they'd find that out soon enough.
Author's Note: First Avatar thing I've written in forever, so it might be a little off. (That, and it's only my second Avatar thing as a whole.)
There's no real plot, character development, or conclusion to this as a whole, but it's adorable Toph fluff, so it's worth it. =)
And you have to admit, little Toph was absolutely adorable.
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