Brief Author's Note
This is my first story on this site, and I'm not exactly sure if it's a one-shot or to be continued. Please give me feedback/criticism and let me know if you'd like to see more. Also, I rated it T just to be safe for a possible continuation. Thank you!
And Then There Was Toph
by Ky0to
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A lot changed after the war ended, and I'm not just talking about the Fire Nation. For so long, I had been used to traveling with Twinkletoes, Princess, her meathead brother, and Zuko. After Aang beat Ozai, and the Fire Nation's colonial empire fell apart, we had nothing holding us misfits together. After a while, our new responsibilities made us drift apart.
Actually, let's re-phrase that.
Everyone else's responsibilities made us drift apart. First, Zuko became Fire Lord. Next, Sokka and Suki got married, and ran off together on a honeymoon. Then, Katara returned home to help rebuild the Southern Water Tribe to what it once was, as well as teach waterbending. Lastly, Aang did his typical Avatar peace stuff. Everyone else had things to do and promises to keep, but I kept a pretty open schedule.
Everyone left, one-by-one, until it was just me and Twinkletoes traveling around. About six months after the war's end, he stopped traveling and headed from Ba Sing Se to the Southern Water Tribe to help and be with Katara. He insisted that I stay in the Earth Kingdom, and he wouldn't tell me why. At first, I was pretty miffed about the whole thing, what with him just leaving me behind in the huge city, but I got over it eventually, and realized I needed to do something, or else I'd go crazy. For a few weeks, while living in an alleyway, I walked around the city, got into trouble, thought about our old adventures while wondering what to do next. One day, while running around the city, I turned on to a different street than usual and saw a tea shop that had apparently just re-opened called "The Jasmine Dragon". It was a cold and wet day in the city, so I decided to take shelter inside. Much to my surprise, I saw Zuko's old uncle serving some customers. I remembered the chat we had a long time ago that had helped me get things straight with Katara and everyone else. Iroh was a wise man, and I knew right then and there that he would have an answer for my problems.
"Well, if it isn't my old friend from the wilderness! Come, take a seat!". I replied with a weak thanks and sat down at the front table. "Please, let me get you some hot tea brewing," said Iroh. He hurriedly put a pot on the stove behind the counter. "Do you work here?" I asked. Iroh chuckled, and replied, "I own this shop. The Jasmine Dragon is my pride and joy!" As he started to pour my tea, he asked, "So, to what do I owe this visit Toph? Surely you must be here for something other than the tea?" I managed a slight laugh, then continued slowly, "Yes, there is a reason. Ever since the war ended and my friends separated, I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I'm so used to constantly moving and fighting that I don't know how to come back to anything else." I felt him nod before he replied calmly, "Hmm…yes. I can see it in you. You've reached a bump in the road, Toph. Everyone does at some point in their journey through life, and it always takes a person to a darker place, like where you are now. Your aura is but a bleak, dark grey."
"That would mean a lot more to me if I knew what grey looked like," I snorted. Iroh chuckled again and took a drink of his tea. "So, where is this 'path of life' taking me?" I asked, a bit impatient. I'm pretty sure he just simply smiled at me, and said this: "Toph, you must find the things in the world that upset your inner balance. For Zuko, it was his fear of losing the Avatar and never redeeming himself in the eyes of his father. This brought him down, and nearly drove him mad. But, in the end, he restored his balance and joined your group. Only you know what you must confront to attain inner peace." I slowly sipped on the last of my tea, contemplating what he had said. "Well, I better get back to tea-making," Iroh announced. "Wouldn't want the customers to get angry!" As he walked away, I stood up out of my chair and walked towards the door. I turned and said with a half-smile, "I really appreciate it…uncle."
I could hear his chortles until I walked outside into the fresh rain. While I walked back to my alleyway, I was lost in deep thought, wondering what I was supposed to "confront". I cut through a medium-sized market that was bustling with activity and sounds. "Great idea Toph. Go through the loud place," I thought. I tried to drown out as much of the chatter as I could, simply focusing on what I needed to find my way. Around the time I reached center of the market, the sounds of laughter took me out of the trance. I realized that all around me were families, with children. The kids giggled and the parents held infants as they purchased goods from vendors. As I became more and more aware of my surroundings, I heard and felt a growing number of the parents and children. They were everywhere, and for some reason, I was furious. Each sound they made seemed to echo around in my head, bouncing around and getting louder and louder. I kept trying to force myself to just ignore it, but this feeling wouldn't go away. Right as I was about to hit my tipping point and explode, I realized that something was tugging at me from inside. In an instant, I fell from my plateau of anger and became very…humbled. I wasn't angry because they were annoying, or distracting, it's because I was jealous, and didn't have what they did with my family. They had exposed what was upsetting my inner balance. My family. My home. That was what Uncle Iroh had been getting at.
Within the hour, I had taken the train to the Outer Wall, and started walking back to my home village.