AN: I got the idea for this as I was rewatching the first season. Basically, I will be writing five oneshots, each one about a different member of the Gaang, and each one mildly reflecting on one of the five senses. They all tie into the Western Air Temple in some way. The first one is from Toph's POV and the sense is sight. This is also my first time writing anything ATLA, so I would highly appreciate feedback and advice. Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar, the Last Airbender.
SIGHT
TOPH
A blaze of heat surrounds me. I scramble backward, startled, calling my element to me a moment too late. It gets nearer, and I can feel the intensity, the ferocity, of the fire. I step back by reflex and-pain. When it comes in contact, all I can feel is pain. Red hot pain. Everything else doesn't matter. All that matters is the agony coursing up my body. And then everything darkens and the world disappears.
I open my eyes to darkness. It was just a dream. A terrible dream. Stupid! I scold myself. I am the Blind Bandit. I am Toph the Magnificent! The Runaway. I am Sifu of the Avatar. I show no fear. But still, I am rattled.
I reach one hand into the cool pool of water that surrounds me. I'm assuming I'm in the fountain in the middle of the courtyard that I sensed when we first came here. I wave my hand around and sigh. I've never liked water. It drowns everything out and makes everything fuzzy. It's annoying and gets in places people don't want it to go. Just like Katara. I smirk at this. Ever since my "talk" with Sokka 'bout Katara I've tried to be more open minded about her. But she thinks she can relate with me because we both don't have our moms, and that irritates me all the more. She doesn't understand, and she never will. At least her mother loved her. At least her mother believed in her. Her mother protected her from danger. Mine hid me from the world. Speaking of Sugar Queen, where is she? I'm about to slap my foot back onto solid ground when I realize that may not be the best idea. Dang it. I gently reach my hand back into the water and poke the bottom of my foot. Damn it. It hurts. A lot. The only thing I can sense are wavy lines radiating from my finger. That's it. The world is completely dark. And now I'm scared.
The darkness isn't anything new for me though. For the beginning of my life all I knew was darkness. Before I learned earth bending there was always a darkness. Like some part of my identity was missing and had been replaced by a void. Once I learned to "see" with my earth bending, the void was filled. But I always wondered what caused that hole to be there. What was I missing? But I guess that's stupid. So instead I use my other senses. I listen, and I wait.
No one is nearby right now. Sugar Queen has gone off somewhere. My guess is that she's making Zuko feel at home. And from what I know about his sibling, I'd say Katara will be able to do a darn good job. I hear the steady whisper of a brush. Aang brushing Appa, murmuring words of praise for his efforts during the invasion. The repeated clicking of wood on stone, growing fainter and fainter: Teo, Haru and The Duke racing around the temple. Sokka is polishing his beloved boomerang in a corner, the cloth sliding across the shiny surface with a quiet 'whoosh', the acrid smell of polish filling the air. He cuts his thumb on the sharp edge and I can hear him quietly curse. I feel alone even when I'm surrounded by people.
I wish I could see. There. I have never told anybody this wish, and I never will. It will always remain my secret. I know that no one would ever want to see the world as I do, but I want to see the world as everyone else does. And really see it. Sokka chatters on and on about how the colors of his war paint reflect who he is, but when I ask him what 'color' is he is speechless. Katara talks about how her blue necklace was her mother's, but when I ask what 'blue' is she quickly changes the subject. I demanded an answer from Aang, but he didn't tell me anything. It wasn't that he didn't want to; he just couldn't explain to me what a color was. And that makes me all the more curious. I can't feel a color. I can't taste a color. So what is blue? If I had my eyes, I'd know.
I wonder why I was born blind. Was it just because I was supposed to teach the Avatar? If so, I've got a bone to pick with the spirits. But I like to think it was because I'm supposed to prove to the world not to underestimate people. Maybe once this war is over, I'll travel the world beating people up the entire way. I'm sure Earth Rumble VI has different branches everywhere. I'll return to my old life, except everyone will know my name and know my face. Not that I know my face myself, but that's not the point.
I wonder what the rest of the world looks like. Probably just more bumps, hills and mountains. It makes me kind of sad that I won't ever be able to see what the sky is, or how 'green' the trees are. But it's not like I'll ever be able to see, right? So I sit here, with my feet in the pool of water and I use my other senses. I listen. And I wait.