Three harmonious years have passed since the very day the world was considered a peace-infested place. Of course, reality reveals that crime, evil, and delinquency will always be around. But the gaang feels relieved that the fire nation is no longer power-hungry under the rule of Firelord Zuko. A new era of love and unity is continuing, and that's enough to keep unknown chaos from erupting for a long while.
Avatar Aang, the legend who defeated the previous hostile fire nation from enslaving the other kingdoms, is now fifteen years old. His maturity has greatly progressed. He's old enough to think of his future, his duties as the avatar, and will to protect the innocent. Few things make him happier than a saved life. But, he's far from being the type to brag. He never shows off, no matter how many lives he saves or how powerful he can be when he activates the avatar state. And he doesn't feel good about being in a conflict either. As a matter of fact, he's the type to avoid confrontation as much as possible when it's not necessary, but if something threatens the people, he will face overwhelming odds head-on without second thoughts. One who meets this young fellow for the first time would automatically categorize him as a young man already.
Hakoda, Aang, Katara, and Sokka bought a house in Ba Sing Se to live together there. Tonight, Toph came over for a visit. Everyone greeted her. "Hey Toph", said Aang, "how's it going?"
"Good", she responded.
Aang noticed that Toph came in with a semi-negative look on her face. He asked, "what's up with you?"
Toph was involved in a severe argument with her parents. She tried her best to seem as if she's in a good mood and answered, "Nothing. I'm fine."
"You sure?"
"Yeah. It's nothing, trust me."
Aang nodded and took a seat. They all sat down at the table for that matter. Katara got up, went to the kitchen, and brought some leftover tea after heating it for everyone to drink. They all said "thanks". Katara asked Toph, "So Toph, what brings you here tonight?"
"I just decided to pass by", she replied.
"Okay, that's cool."
"Hey Toph", began Sokka, "guess what new pet we got."
Toph asked, "what is it?"
"... A lion-mastiff."
"... Are you people insane?"
"You should ask that to the genius next to me", Sokka said, reffering to Aang.
"Yeah bro", Aang started, "I'm crazy because, of course, that mastiff is gonna break in the house at night while we're sleeping and eat our faces. Moron."
They all laughed as they knew what was about to come.
"Hey stupid", said Sokka, "I guarantee you that that beast is gonna either seriously injure someone, or kill at least one person, and when it does, you can bet that guilt will be surrounding the household."
"No, of course", continued Aang, "because us human beings can't defend ourselves in any way, shape, or form. Good one there. Two thumbs up on that one."
As the battle of wits between the two kept on, Katara, Toph, and Hakoda were cracking up. Then, after realizing something, Katara asks, "wait, hold up a moment. Sokka, aren't you the idiot for allowing Aang to have a lion-mastiff in the house?"
"Oh, I see", said Sokka, "defending your boyfriend, huh?"
"No", responded Aang, "she's defending the person that has a brain."
More laughter followed. Sokka says, "this guy has some nerve, copying my style. Now Aang's gonna capture the title for 'sarcasm guy'. Jerk."
Suddenly, Hakoda got up and said he was pretty exhausted. He said goodnight to everyone and went to bed. Ironically, the talking got much more serious after he went to sleep. They were talking about their past adventures and Aang's grand accomplishment for the world. This led to a dark topic: the death of their loved ones.
Katara says, "it was so hard when our mother passed away. She suffered a tragic fatality."
"When a tragedy like that occurs", began Aang, "there's no doubt that we're gonna have our ups and downs. One day, years from now, you might start thinking about it all of a sudden, and the day can easily turn gloomy."
"Yeah", said Sokka, "... that's what stinks."
"But I could tell you one thing, though. The monks used to tell me to always keep a positive state of mind. Always think of the things that make you happy when you're feeling angry or deppressed. Ozai is my eternal adversary, but I barely think of him, because when I think of a power-hungry assassasin like that, I get enfuriated. Every time my parents or Gyatso come to mind, I immediatly entertain myself with something else and get that off my mind as quickly as possible. Being positive will get you through anything, trust me on this one."
"... I admire you for that, Aang", said Toph. "Not many people are like that."
"Toph, you could do it too. Humans are capable of doing the most surprising things all the time. You must also look on the bright side. We're happy here right now. Not many people are so close to each other as we are. You see others of this world, and it will seem repulsive almost beyond belief. Selfishness, greed, families breaking apart. Most people are miserable. We should consider ourselves lucky. Most importantly, keep two things in mind. One, there's nothing in this world that time can't heal. Remember that. Secondly, whenever any of you guys are feeling down, I'm here for you. I can help you."
Katara's eyes got quite watery at the sound of these words. The gaang joined together for a group hug, but ended quickly for the purpose of not having a long-lasting emotional fest. After that, Toph says that she has to go to attend her parents. She says goodbye, and leaves, with Aang's words echoing through her mind. Everyone gets dressed to go to bed. Aang kisses Katara in the mouth goodnight, and they all go to sleep, awaiting a new day.