"I'm really sorry about your feet. You want me to run Zuko's hands over a couple times with my chair?"
Toph couldn't help a short, sadistic laugh at Teo's offer; she imagined Zuko yelping in pain and the sound of wheels running over his fingers over and over again.
"I'll think about it!" she said. "But I'd rather get back at him myself when my feet feel better..." She sighed, stretching her legs out in front of her. "It's strange, even though I'm blind I never thought of myself as being handicapped until now. It's like...if you suddenly hurt your eyes or a wheel fell off your chair!"
Teo laughed a little.
"Exactly," he said, wheeling his chair closer to her. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure, shoot," Toph said.
"What's it like? I mean, have you always relied on your feet to help you see, or did you have to have other people help you?"
Toph leaned back against the stone pillar, closing her eyes.
"I guess when I was little I had to have the servants help me out, but back then I didn't really have a choice. When I learned to Earthbend, though, that was it. I got sick of people helping me, treating me like some tiny fragile little thing," she said. "What about you? Did your father treat you like that when you got hurt?"
"I was too young to remember when I lost the use of my legs," Teo said. "All I remember is my dad working so hard to give me a better life, and building the gliders for my chair so I could get around easier. He's never really treated me like a handicapped person, so I never felt like one."
Toph smiled.
"I wish I had your father. I really do." A pang of sadness came over her as she wondered if her parents had even gotten the letter Katara had helped her write.
"Don't get me wrong, sometimes I envy people who can walk," Teo said. "I just don't like to let it get to me."
"Yeah. And I wish I could see like other people, but I kind of like using my feet. Makes me feel brave!"
Teo laughed, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
"You're really amazing, you know that? Not that everyone else isn't, but I've never met anyone like you before, Toph."
"Thanks..." She leaned against his shoulder. "You're pretty hardcore yourself!"
