He watched as she gracefully twirled, her partner not having a clue of what to do. She spun three times, bringing her arms up in several light movements. It wasn't normal for an earth nation dance to be so graceful, but she'd managed to make it that.
Her partner finally just pulled away from her, back into the crowd, unable to perform these delicate moves. She brought her hands up slowly, several small pieces of earth rising around her.
They rose higher and higher above her, spinning in a circle quickly. Around and around, causing him to long to catch her if she fell.
The earth pieces shattered into hundreds of tiny pieces, looking almost like dust. She'd wanted not to do this, perform. But being one of the avatar's friends, it was only fit she did some kind of performance.
Dueling would have been her specialty but it wasn't one of her options. Nothing that would damage the palace they were to do it in. Which would in fact be the fire nation's.
Now, she moved so amazingly… so… beautifully. It was hard to believe she wasn't a master at this work. She put her emotions into it, her heart. Even if she didn't know it… she captivated everyone.
His sister's performance had been nice, but for some reason this was more interesting to him, he was… amazed.
Maybe it was that fact that this girl before him, was the same, rough tough girl he'd met not very long ago. The same girl who loved to play in the dirt, went barefoot everywhere and never cared once about her attire.
She stood up tall, her hands extended, moving up in a strong yet surprisingly light way.
The dirt on the floor rose, standing still in mid-air, then it pulled back together into the several peaces of rock, spinning around her.
They started to change, into a circle like form, with a square hole in the center. The Earth Kingdom symbol.
She made a graceful bow after that, the symbols slowly floating down to the floor. Several claps and applause went up, including his. When the symbols fell over on their side, several young children ran forward, taking one.
One ran back his way, attempting to push past him. "Hey." he caught the little boy with his arm. "Can I see that for a moment."
The little boy looked up suspiciously for a moment, then realized who he was looking at. "Oh… sure."
He examined the symbol thoroughly. It was incredibly how someone blind could create such a magnificent sculpture.
He held it in the palm of his hand, feeling completely lost. Finally the little boy tugged on his pant leg. "Mister Sokka sir… I need to go. Can I have my rock back?"
"This is more then a rock." he knelt down, handing the piece of earth back to the boy. "Remember that this was made by her." he pointed behind him. "The greatest earth bender in the world."
The little boy glanced past him confusingly, then turned around to leave. "Okay." then he disappeared into the crowd.
The water tribe warrior stood up and turned back around. The reason why the boy had been confused was because Firelord Zuko was now standing out in the center of the room, ready to perform.
He looked around the large gathering hall, trying to spot the earth bender. He walked away from the show, attempting to spot her.
He started for curtained room where she would most likely be. He couldn't help but feel proud and jet a little envious. His performance had been pathetic compared to hers, all he did was show off a few of his boomerang moves.
He slipped behind the large red curtains, the fire nation symbol sowed onto them.
There were a few people here, mostly servants of the fire lord, rushing about with trays of food.
He spotted her again amidst everything, her raven colored hair tide neatly in a bun, with her light green dress swaying slightly as she moved. It was a simply attire, just a plain, long sleeved dress, yet it made her loot… different. The way it fit her curves so nicely, it made her look… pretty.
He wouldn't have thought of her this way before. Of course, that was when she was acting the way she usually does. This was just a performance. His liking for her would go away when she returned to her normal self.
Her small figured suddenly was gone from he crowd of servants, one of her creamy white ribbons that had been tied in her hair, lay on the floor.
He quickly went over to it, scooping it up.
"Excuse me." he stopped one of the servants. "Where is Toph's room?"
The woman bowed slightly. "Lady Toph is in the forth room of the third corridor."
"Thank you." he nodded, leaving her to her business.
He gripped the ribbon in his hand, moving his finger along it's silky surface. It was amazing how such a small detail like this could make someone look beautiful.
The unbearably longing to press the ribbon to his cheek, feel the softness on his face, was becoming a problem as he walked quietly down the empty corridor, in which he had turned into.
It was so different from out there, where hundreds of people cheered and chattered, probably already forgetting the earth benders performance.
He turned twice, into the third corridor, counting the doors to his left. He came to the forth, which was slightly ajar.
He wanted to knock, but something told him to just go in. To see what this girl did when no one was with her, to see how she truly acted.
It was a mean thing to do really, sneak in on someone like that. But surely she would know he was coming, his footsteps being so familiar to her.
He stepped into the room, in which he had never seen. They had been in this nation for months now, and he had yet to explore this palace.
He stepped onto red carpet, which held stone beneath it. No doubt placed there specifically for the guest whom occupied this place.
She had a large four poster bed, with the same silky blankets. A rather large closet next to it, the door ajar. Inside he spotted several dressed and night gowns, along with her usual green outfit she always wore.
There were several vases, in which mostly red and white flowers sat, that being the most common flower color around here.
Red curtains hung across from him, where it must lead out to a balcony.
When he confirmed she wasn't in the room he started for the curtains, feeling the ribbon rubbing against his palm.
He pushed the curtain away slightly, stepping out into the cool night air. He stopped though, when he felt wood beneath his feet.
It was strange it was made of wood, must have been a flaw in the making. Another strange thing was the fact that she stood there, in middle of it. Right across from him, yet she didn't know it.
He was going to speak up, but she moved. Her hands lifting up in the air, moving gracefully around, as her feet brought her gliding across the wooden floor. She bumped into the wall once, causing him to step closer to her, but she recovered quickly, making him step back again.
It was amazing yet again how she moved, how she smiled so sweet. It was in fact, another girl he looked at. She seemed older, her face, still so soft and young, showed signs of age. Not growing old with wrinkle or anything, but a mature look to her.
Her hair hung loose over her shoulders, her bangs in her face. Her rosy cheeks almost glowed softly in the torch light, the night sky growing darker and darker.
Finally her little dance came to an end, her small figure tiring.
It was then he made the smallest mistake. The un-refundable sound that would ruin his secretive presence. The small, soft sound of a sigh.
Her head snapped up abruptly, looking past him. "Who…?"
He stepped back abruptly. "It's just… me Toph."
She straightened up, suddenly growing nervous. She straightened out the crinkles in her dress, looking down uneasily. "What… are you doing here?"
"I'm sorry. I meant to knock… I should have." he stuttered, sighing again. "You… are an amazing dancer."
She silently started toward him, stepping back onto the rock floor where she could see. "Thank you Sokka."
She went past him, toward her closet. "Not really a common thing for earth benders."
"Why didn't you ever tell us?"
"We were kind of being chased by Azula most the time Sokka, I didn't really have the time."
He suddenly remembered the clothe he held. "Oh… I think this fell out of your hair… when you were coming back to your room." he held his hand out.
She hesitantly reached forward, almost missing his hand, but was able to grasp the ribbon. "… My ribbon." she muttered, fingering it the same way he had. "Thanks again."
"No problem." he uneasily looked around, biting his lower lip. "So… do you want me to put it back?"
"Hm?" she questioned, rubbing her arms.
"Your ribbon, do you want me to put it back… in your hair." he felt so foolish saying that. "If you can't I mean."
She smiled softly, one side of her lips rising higher then the other. "I can usually do that, but if you want you can."
She turned around, reaching her hand back to hand him the ribbon. In the briefest of seconds that their fingertips brushed, his felt warm.
He pulled the ribbon away quickly, angry at himself for even asking if he could do this. He was just giving into yet another pretty face… yet hers was different.
She was a friend… a true friend. One that he knew would never hurt him. Would never leave him willingly like Yue, even if she was doing it for the greater good.
He gently grasped the hair that flowed down to her shoulders, his cold hands brushing against her neck, causing her to shiver slightly. He wanted to apologize, but didn't. He tied her hair untidily into a bun, feeling like a total fool for thinking he'd have any sense on how to make it fashionable.
"Sorry… I'm not really good with stuff like that." he muttered, watching as she felt the strangely made hairstyle.
"No… it's fine." she turned back around, smiling at him. "Is there… something you needed?"
He thought for several seconds, thinking of an excuse to stay. "No… I just wanted to return your ribbon was all."
"Oh…" she said quietly, he voice sweet and soft, though he detected disappointment. "Alright then."
He turned around, starting for the door, only to stop when he reached it. "Toph." he sighed, turning back to face her.
The girl had been approaching her closet again, but swiftly turned, looking at him hopefully.
"A dance."
"What?"
"I'd like a dance." he said nervously, regretting haven said that.
"Uh… alright." she nodded, stepping over to a clear spot in the room.
"Not here." he went over to her. "Out there."
She knew he spoke of the balcony, which caused her to doubtfully step toward the curtains. "But I can't see out there Sokka."
"You didn't need to when I just saw you. You did a great job then."
"But… that was different." she whispered.
"I'll help you." pushed the curtains away for her.
She stepped out onto the wooden floor, feeling the breeze ruffle her hair slightly. "Are you sure about this?"
"Yes." he took her hand, spinning her around once. It would have been fit to do a traditional dance, but he didn't want to.
Instead he pulled her close to his chest, letting her hand rest on his shoulder, while his on her side.
"Sokka." she muttered, gracefully moving to his dance. "Why… are you here?"
He stepped back, twirling her. "What do you mean?"
"Why are you here, dancing with me. Wouldn't you rather be out there with everyone else? Enjoying the party?" she whispered. "I mean… you never would have done this before… would you?"
"No." he admitted. "I don't think I would have. But then again… we were just a few crazy kids a few months ago."
"What are we now?" her sightless pale eyes looked up at him.
"We're just… different." he whispered, his hand reaching up behind her neck. She seemed skeptical. "Do you not think that?" he questioned.
"But in what way are we different? I'm still Toph and you're still Sokka. I'm no different then before." she slowly grew quieter as their heads drew closer. "We're… the same…"
He felt her soft, warm lips on his before he expected it. His head bowed slightly to reach her.
They stopped dancing, both of her hands on his shoulders. His hand went to her cheek, feeling it's softness against his palm. They stood there for the longest moment, everything quiet around them, as if time stood still itself.
She pulled away gently, moving to make them sway. She was dancing again. He let her, just moving slowly in circles, her head pressed against his chest.
The moon hung in a silver sliver high above them, several stars twinkling brightly. The cheering and music several corridors away didn't stir their dance, and so the earth bender and warrior swayed softly, completely oblivious to anything and everything around them.