The ground shifted under her and before she could react, her world had suddenly broken into pieces of terrifying sensations that did not make sense. The wind bit into her skin as she was free falling into an abyss. Toph extended her arms and legs trying to feel for solid ground, to stop the fall somehow, but spinning out of control, she could not command the rocks.
Without any warning, even those shattered pieces disappeared and she was surrounded by icy water. There was no up or down anymore, just a cold slipperiness that disoriented her. She kicked her feet in panic, trying to get somewhere. Anytime she managed to get her head above the surface a new wave crashed over her, pushing her back into the terrifying chaos.
Something brushed against her skin, and she thought of the fearsome water monsters or evil water spirits from the stories her old nanny used to tell her. The hold tightened on her even as she struggled against it furiously. As she managed to break to the surface with a loud gasp, a voice spoke.
"Stop flailing, I'm trying to help." The voice didn't belong to an evil water-spirit, but to the meddlesome guy who jumped into the fight earlier. His meddling was more welcome in this case.
Toph relaxed slightly against his arms and chest. He propelled them with a few strong kicks and pulled her to solid ground. Her hands and arms clawed into the familiar texture of clay, mud and silt. As her body revelled in the cool touch of the soft dirt, the contours of the world appeared again. She was on the riverbank, surrounded by tall cliffs with sharp edges. A canyon of some sort.
Once she had a strong grasp on her surroundings, she turned her attention to her saviour. The lines of his skinny frame etched sharply against the background. She did not feel any vibrations as he shifted on his feet. Definitely not an earthbender. Well, at least he was a swimmer.
Toph opened her mouth to speak, but her words came out as a violent cough. He pulled her into a sitting position and slapped her back forcefully a few times. Once breathing was easier, Toph jabbed his arm.
"Ouch," he yelped indignantly. "What was that for? I guess, next time I'll just let you drown."
"There won't be a next time. There wouldn't have been a first time either, if you hadn't distracted me," Toph barked back with annoyance. She was in control of the fight until he foolishly intervened.
"Well, I'll be on my way, just as soon as we find our way out of this ravine," he growled back. With fluid movement, he got to his feet. After some nervous pacing, he stopped back in front of Toph.
"If you hold onto my back, I should be able to climb this thing..."
"That won't be necessary," Toph waved dismissively. This guy obviously still didn't understand who she was. It was time to show him. "Hold on tight," she smirked slightly, and raising her arms she summoned a stone pillar under their feet, lifting them towards the brim of the canyon. He lost his balance at the sudden movement, but recovered quickly.
"Or we can just use your earthbending, I guess," he muttered as they reached the top. Toph could hear the begrudging respect in his voice. Maybe he wasn't such a bad guy. Well, it didn't matter. They were even now and she had to be on her way.
"Well, I'd say see you around - but since I can't see," she waved her hand in front of her eyes for effect. To Toph's utter disappointed, he didn't laugh. Not even a chuckle. What a hopeless grump. "I guess this is goodbye." She turned and started walking back towards the path.
She took four steps before he called after her, "Wait!"
Toph turned around, fully expecting the inevitable talk about how it was unsafe for her to be wandering alone. She took a deep breath, getting ready to give him a piece of her mind about interfering busybodies. But instead of a speech about the dangers of the world, he simply asked.
"Are you hungry, Toph?" After a pause, he added with a bit more uncertainty in his voice. "That's your name, right?"
"Yes, and now that you mention it, I am hungry." Toph's hand went to her empty stomach. In the heat of the argument with Katara and Aang, she didn't think of packing any food for herself. The last meal she had was a small rice-ball old tea-gramps shared with her. And that was hours ago. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to stick around for dinner. Even if this guy was an annoying do-gooder, he was offering a free meal. "Dinner sounds good… eehm...What is your name again?"
It was a simple question, but his heart quickened. There was just the slightest moment of hesitation, before the terse answer came. "Lee."
Well, who would have thought? Goody-two-shoes was lying. And he was terrible at it. Toph was intrigued.
-0-
Zuko let out an aggravated sigh. He was cursed by the spirits. Simply, there was no other explanation why they sent another bratty, spirit-damned bending prodigy in his way. It wasn't enough that his whole life he had to put up with his oh-so-perfect sister. No. Destiny condemned him to chasing the ridiculous child-Avatar who seemed to do everything so effortlessly despite never even trying hard. Even his annoying waterbender turned out to be an unnaturally fast learner. This tea-cup sized, insolent, ungrateful earthbending terror with no social graces really shouldn't be his problem. He saved her from drowning and she obviously preferred her own company. She was going to be fine by herself, as long as she kept out of the water.
So what demon possessed him to call after her, and invite her to share the last scraps of his measly dinner? Zuko did not know. But he felt with utter certainty that it was a choice he would come to regret. He wasn't sure whether he was relieved or disappointed when at the mention of food she predictably turned around with an eager look on her face. No stray could afford to turn down a free meal.
"Dinner sounds good… eehm...What is your name again?" she asked, for the first time showing any interest in him.
Zuko hesitated. She was just a blind kid, visibly far from home. But considering how messed up things got last time he decided to help a kid, it was better to play safe. "Lee."
The word tasted bitter on his lips, like the seaweed they ate with Iroh during their desperate voyage from the North Pole or the roots of the forest they were foraging on when the charity of the dusty villages did not yield enough to feed them. Lee was a destitute vagabond with no money, family, honor or country. He was desperation and hopelessness.
"It doesn't seem to suit you." The girl's unseeing eyes seemed to pierce right through him, reading his gloomy thoughts. It was unnerving. Her toes were drawing lazy circles into the soft dirt. "We'll have to find you a new name."
Zuko blinked. Was she mocking him somehow? It was probably just a coincidence. Iroh would no doubt have a proverb about it. Instead of responding, Zuko busied himself with collecting firewood. He made a big show of hitting two rocks together as if they were spark rocks, before he lit the pile of dry twigs and leaves with a flick of his wrist, controlling the spark tightly. Not being able to firebend openly was also going on his nerves; his bottled up energy coursing through his veins like fire ants just before a thunderstorm.
"Mmmm, that feels good," commented Toph with a satisfied look on her face. She laid back in the dirt next to the fire, crossing one leg over the other, picking her dirty toes with a stick. Clearly, the girl was raised in a barn.
Zuko turned away from the revolting sight with a grimace. He pulled out a small metal plate to warm up the last portion of the food he got from Sela. There was barely enough for one.
He divided the noodles and small scraps of meat evenly, handing a bowl to the girl. She wolfed down her portion, slurping loudly. Zuko shot a disapproving look at her, like his mother used to give him and Azula - well, mostly him, Azula had of course, perfect dinner manners - when they did not eat gracefully, but realized that it was completely useless - Toph could not see his frown or his grimace. And even if she could, she probably wouldn't care.
"Do you like it?" he asked, hoping she would take the hint.
"I've had better, but it will do. Do you have any more meat?" she asked, her mouth full.
Zuko fished out some more scraps of meat from his bowl and tossed them into hers with his chopsticks. She was a scrawny little creature and he was used to skipping meals by now. He would have to get supplies the next day, which meant going into populated areas; always a risky proposition, but especially now that he stupidly revealed himself to a village full of Earth Kingdom peasants.
"Do you have some tea by any chance?" she asked once she licked her bowl clean.
Perhaps it was an innocent question, but it felt like a punch in the gut. Tea reminded Zuko of Iroh and the guilt that was gnawing at him for leaving his uncle behind to fend for himself in the wilderness. Being alone was not at all what he imagined it would be like, and if he was honest with himself, which he rarely was, he missed the old man. Even his snoring, his maddening proverbs and his stupid tea.
"Drink this." Zuko handed over his waterskin to Toph.
She took long gulps and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
He tossed the waterskin back to him with precision. It seemed that despite her lack of vision, she sensed the world around her with frightening clarity.
"Well, we'd better make camp here for the night. It's getting late," Zuko noted, realizing too late that he'd used the plural pronoun.
-0-
Dinner was the bland cooking of country bumpkins, but Toph was famished, so she ate it with relish. Once her stomach was sated, she turned her attention back to her companion, who was most definitely not called Lee.
"So where are you from, Lee?" she asked, pausing just a little before mentioning his fake name.
Loud gulp. Shallow breathing. "You know…here and there," he rasped finally. Lie number two.
"What do you mean?" Toph continued her interrogation on her sweetest voice, the one that always lulled people into thinking she posed no danger.
"I traveled around with my uncle." His heartbeat was normal, he was telling the truth on this one.
What were the chances that on the same day she would run into an uncle trailing his nephew and a nephew who used to travel with his uncle? Maybe that was all there was to the mystery - the boy was just like her, running away from his family.
"Your uncle. Where is he now?"
"I'm not sure. We got separated." Long beat. Truth. Two short thumps. Lie number three.
Toph pulled her knees to her chest. "I also got separated from my group."
As the day turned into night, she started missing them a little. Definitely Sokka's silly jokes around the campfire. He was a big goof, but also kind of sweet. Appa chewing on hay. Momo chirping excitedly as he settled down next to Aang. The Avatar's soft snores. Even Katara... no! She did not miss her bossy grumbling at all, Toph reminded herself. "But they were annoying, so not that big a loss, really," she added.
"Where are you heading? I can help you get home," Not-Lee offered. There he was again with his annoying chivalry.
"I'm not planning on going back home. And I'm fine by myself. I can carry my own weight - I don't need to be treated like a helpless little girl," Toph huffed angrily.
"I don't think you are helpless. But I have an ostrich horse and the closest village is two days' walk away," he replied, his heart making a weird flip as he mentioned the ostrich-horse. There was something dodgy about the animal. Toph wondered if she should count it as a half-lie. "Anyways, you don't need to decide now. Let's set up camp."
Toph extended her arms to the side, summoning a stone-tent. This move always got a rise out of Sugar Queen. "Done," she announced smugly.
"Neat trick," not-Lee replied in a flat tone. He didn't sound either annoyed or impressed. He shuffled through his bags without making any commentary about Toph's lack of offer to help. Strangely, the absence of nagging made her want to pitch in.
"I can make one for you too, if you want," she offered.
"No, thanks. Just rest - it's been an eventful day. I'll take first watch," his voice was warm and reassuring.
Toph yawned. She was a bit weary indeed. The soft ground vibrated around her with the crackling of the campfire. It was kind of soothing. As she drifted off to sleep, in that curious place between dreamworld and wakefulness, where sounds and sensations became blurry and bled into one another, she thought she felt the fire move in rhythm with his even breaths.