Chromatic Fades
Post-"Bitter Work"
Rating K (PG)
Across these highways and dead-end roads
You wandered down for somewhere new
And you travel lightly, just the air inside is all you'd take
To carry on your way hoping lesser 'til the end. "Chromatic Fades" – Autopilot Off
The vibrations she could feel underneath her bare feet were nothing to worry about. She knew that the earth was ever moving beneath her feet.
It almost made her laugh. Every time the metaphor "as constant as the rock" was used, she knew that it was not that at all.
The rock, the stone, the soil… it was forever shifting under the stresses of the life it supported. The earth had stories to tell, and if she sat and concentrated, she would listen to them.
Huge armies moved through the valley some time ago…the herds use the plain as migratory breeding grounds. The cracks far underneath the surface of the earth were telltale signs of a place's history.
It had its perks— being blind, that is. This ability to be so in tune with the Earth, it was something positive from her disability… if you wanted to call it positive.
Sometimes she wished she could see. She wished she could see people, rather than just motions, just strange shapes. She wondered what people looked like…what everything looked like. Yes, she knew the difference between Aang and Sokka, her mother and another woman her size, even the difference between two ants, she could tell.
But it was all a part of her black and white world. She was blind from birth, and colors were an unknown quantity and quality. What was green, what was blue?
No one ever ventured to tell her, or even could try to explain it.
Not that she needed to know, but the ways of the world was something she'd like to learn. The things that she couldn't pick up by her earthbending prowess. Sure, she could tell what people were built like as they moved, she could tell what mood they were in. Her abilities in Earthbending were so particular that if she tried hard enough, she could listen through the ground into a person to hear their heartbeat.
Each different tic of the heart's rhythm could tell her what the person was thinking. A long, slow tic meant they were at peace, calm, and collected. Rapid beats told her that they were excited. She could distinguish from angry to sad, enthralled to sleepy.
Not as good as reading minds, but it was good and useful enough to her.
"Toph?"
Katara was about twenty or so steps away, and as Toph's head twitched ever so slightly, she listened to the earth around her. Tic…tic…tic. Katara's heartbeat was slow, restful, and at ease. Not like usual, when she was in a screaming match with her or another one of her temper tantrums.
Though she would never admit it, Toph liked Katara.
"It's getting dark."
She'd never admit it. And it was only sometimes that Toph liked Katara. She felt an insult brewing inside her to yell at the Waterbender, but for once, Toph held her tongue, she was just too tired to instigate an argument right now. Of course she knew it was getting dark. The earth was hardening under her feet, not to mention it wasn't as hot.
"Katara?"
Katara was moving closer, somewhat reserved in her steps. Toph could sense she was anxious, and somewhat skeptical. Turning around to face her, Toph smiled— or at least the best imitation smile she could give.
She was sure that probably didn't help. But for once, she was not in an argumentative mood, she didn't feel like proving a point now.
"What do colors look like?"
She could sense Katara recoiling, and frowned as the action became clear to her. "I mean…like…I want to know what they're like… I don't know how to explain it."
Katara cocked her head to the side. Scratching her head, she bit her lip. "Alright, Toph, I'll try my best."
Toph's head immediately perked up, much to the relief of Katara. The waterbender smiled, tucking strands of hair behind her ears. Covering the twenty odd steps between them, she sat down on the brown earth, with Toph sitting down as well.
The canyon where they were camping in was full of ridges and plateaus, perfect for Aang to learn Earthbending. The valley that the two girls were in was sheltered by rock outcroppings high above the ground.
The sky was already pink with sunset. The desert heat had cooled down some, so it wasn't as unbearable.
When Katara got herself situated, she looked over at Toph, trying to think of a way to explain a void in the young girl's life. Rubbing her forearm, she meekly questioned the Earthbender.
"What color do you want to know?"
Toph sat cross-legged, leaning her head backward as she thought of a color.
"Brown."
Katara paused. Reaching over, she took Toph's hand, and brought it down to the earth. She pulled Toph's small hand along the ground, where the gravel and desert rock shifted and moved underneath.
"Brown is the color of the Earth, the rocks, the sand. It's somewhat bland, but a color essential to understanding your art. It's strong and constant."
Silence.
Katara frowned, but Toph spoke up. "No one has ever told me what it's like… what about blue?"
The waterbender blinked, and then smiled. Reaching to her side, she unplugged the water gourd on her hip, willing liquid into a ball in front of her. Taking Toph's hand again, she brought it up to where the orb floated.
Toph's nose scrounged up. "Water?"
Katara nodded. "Blue is the color of water and ice. It's the color of…the cold. It's dark, but not something you can't see through. Blue is also the color of sadness."
"Sadness?" Toph asked, confused. "I know what that's like, but why blue?"
"Well," Katara looked away, then looked back at Toph with keen interest, "There's a Water Tribe legend that explains it…do you want to hear?"
"Not really, but you can tell it anyway."
Katara snorted. Rolling her eyes, she willed the water back into her gourd. "Before the oceans and rivers were blue, they were crystal clear…like air. You could see all the earth underneath the waters, every living thing you could see."
"So it was the color of nothing."
"You could say that, Toph. Anyway, one of the first waterbenders, a woman named Tatkret, was one of the founders of the Great Ice City in the Northern Water Tribe lands..."
"One day, her small tribe was visited by a strange man in a much different garb then anyone had ever seen. He arrived out of nowhere, no boat was ever seen to bring him. He lived among the Northern Water Tribe for some time, becoming close to Tatkret. But as the cold winter frost approached, the man decided that he needed to leave the tribal lands…
Tatkret was devastated. She pleaded and pleaded with him not to go. She followed him to the very edge of the tribal lands, to the waters of the great ocean. She begged him not to go, but there was no changing his mind. Legend had it that he disappeared into the blue sky in front of her eyes, flying away, never to be seen again. In Tatkret's sorrow, she raised pillar upon pillar of water to the sky that she stood on to follow the man, but she never was able to find him. When she at last reached the sky, in her sadness she gathered as much sky as she could carry and brought it back down to the earth. With the last reminder of her love, she spread the sky pieces into the water, so that she might always be close to the one she loved."
"So Tatkret took some of the sky down and made the water the same color?" Toph asked, genuinely interested in the tale.
Katara smiled, "Uh huh. And it's said that the man was actually an Airbender. But that's why my people say blue is related to sorrow."
Toph pulled her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. "Okay, what about green?"
Unfortunately, in the desert, Katara could find no help to explain this color. "Well, green is the color of grass, and plants… all the living things that are connected to the earth are green."
Toph nodded, shrugging her shoulders. "Yellow?"
Katara stood up, wiping the gravel and dust off the back of her skirt. Toph stood up as well, following Katara's steps as she walked back to camp.
"Yellow is the color of the sun. You know the way your skin feels on a sunny day? That's yellow."
"But fire's not yellow." Toph said, crossing her arms over her chest in a manner-of-fact way.
Katara paused. "No, fire is red."
"And red is with bad things, right? Cause fire is bad."
"Not all fire is bad, Toph."
"Well, the Fire Nation is."
Katara stopped walking and looked up to the night sky, as a soft desert breeze swept through the canyon. Toph went forward, looking back as Katara stood. She could tell the waterbender was looking up, and engrossed in her thoughts.
Maybe she did want to be able to read minds. That would have helped.
Katara sighed.
"Yes, Toph, I guess you're right."
But deep inside, Katara wished she was wrong.
Author's Note: Toph is one of the most dynamic characters I've seen. She needs more love.
Reviews are MUCH appreciated. Please. If you favorite this or alert list it, please, just write a review. You have no idea how much it means to me as a writer.
Arcadiana