~Chapter 2~
"Alright, Aang, just aim the boulder over there," I said, pointing unknowingly toward Appa.
"But Appa's right there," he protested.
"Then aim it over there." I pointed over to the camp, again unbeknownst to me.
"Um...that's the camp."
"Then how about there?"
"That's Sokka."
"There?"
"Katara."
"What about there?"
"Sokka again."
I threw my hands up in exasperation. But the rock is strong, it does not crumble easily. I was even stronger. "Then throw it in the air!" I yelled. Yelling usually worked for me, at least it did in my past.
"But then I'll get hit with it."
"Pretend it's arrow roulette!"
"But you might get hit."
I closed both of my eyes and tried not let anger overtake me. I knew he was referring to my current state of total blindness and my inability to earthbend. I was still his earthbending master, wasn't I? But, hey, if the boy didn't want to learn earthbending, that was his call, not mine. "Just take me back to camp," I muttered to him.
I heard the loud thud of the boulder as he set it down to lead me back to the campsite. Any other time, I would fight tooth and nail for the right to walk alone. But this time, I knew I would only stumble around and be really lucky if I made it back to camp on my own. I needed the group more than ever now, but they sure didn't need me. I was positive I was only slowing them down. Heck, I could hardly get on Appa without hurting myself! It sucked because someone always had to carry me up; usually this was Aang because he had his airbending to help with the extra weight.
I put a hand over my stomach. Something wasn't right... I felt nauseous again, but had no fever and definitely not a bug. "Aang, nearest bush!" I warned. Over time, 'nearest bush' had become my little code for throwing up. Nobody knew what was wrong with me. We were still pretty far from civilization, so we constantly argued about whether we should move forward or turn back to see a professional doctor. Katara had even suggested going back to my family just so I could see my family physician. The answer to that was obviously a no.
Even though Aang led me to some bushes, I still had to feel my way to see that which was right in front of me. And thank goodness! I felt a bush right on time, as though I finally caught a break. Most of the time I never made it, and ended up grossing everyone out. But they understood that I couldn't see, so I was safe from being kicked out.
It was me I was worried about, though. Here I was, unable to tell where I was and where we were going, upchucking everything I ate for lunch, and I didn't even know why. Maybe all the food here was bad? I was starting to lose it. It always took alot of mental chastising to keep myself sane. I wasn't going to die. We were going to find out what was wrong with me. And we were going to do something about it. But even after trying my best to convince myself that I was going to be okay, doubts never stopped rising in my head.
I repeatedly spat to get the taste out of my mouth. It also bought some time so I could recover from throwing up before we had to get moving. Good ol' spit. Anyway, I couldn't keep spitting for long. It would get old and people would catch on. I had to keep moving. I didn't want anyone to think something absolutely horrifying was wrong with me, after all.
But as soon as I stood up, I was nearly overcome by a strange feeling. The feeling forced me to hold my head, at very least. Was I...dizzy? Or tired? Or...something? Aang was talking to me, but I had no clue what he was saying. Everything started to look hazy, as if in a dream world. I pleaded with my body not to pass out, to stay awake at least until I got back to camp. But my knees buckled, and I felt my eyes close before the rest of my body hit the dirt.
I tried to get up, tried to move...but my body had literally shut down. I could feel my heartbeat slow down just as much as my breathing. Then I wasn't thinking at all. I had fallen into a dreamless sleep.
What I didn't know what that Aang had called out to Sokka, who had been wandering nearby in his attempts to gather berries for our travels. He'd called out and both he and Sokka had helped carry me back to camp.
That was where I was when I finally woke up. I knew this because I was laying back in the tent, whose floor I had become very familiar with by now.
I didn't know what time of day it was. All I knew was night and day; I never knew afternoon or dusk or dawn or twilight. Most people would think it sad, but I'd learned to live with it and move on. Despite sleeping for however long I'd been sleeping, I was still kind of tired. I had no idea what was wrong with the world... I was messed up, and that's about all I knew at this point.
It took me a few minutes to regain full consciousness. But when I did, I wasn't too surprised to find Katara examining me. What did surprise me, though, was that she was examining my belly area. I didn't sit up, but rather, I let her do what she wanted. "I'm tired," I told her.
"I would imagine you are," her voice answered.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Toph, have you, uh..." Katara cleared her throat before continuing, "...h-have you...you know..."
"If this is about something I can't see, then the answer is no," I said. "And to anything else, no, I don't know."
"Well, with this, I think I'll just be direct. I think you're pregnant."
The words echoed over and over in my head. Me? Toph? ME? "Th-That's...not possible... I mean...I... I never..." The rest of whatever I was about to say came out in an awkward sigh. Seriously? She thought I was pregnant? No, no...surely there must've been a mistake! Me a mother...what a laugh!
"Toph, have you...you know...recently?" Katara asked me.
I laughed wryly and waved a defensive hand. "No! I..." I couldn't finish that sentence because images of my dumb drunk self flashed into my mind at that moment. I turned away from her, letting my actions speak even louder than any words I could've spoken. "...About a month or two ago, actually. But I got drunk by accident."
There was a deep, meaningful silence. I felt grateful to be blind right at that moment. The look on the waterbender's face was boring a hole into my back, and if she stayed there long enough, I knew I wouldn't be able to take it. At least now, though, something in my life made sense. My sick and dizzy spells, why I passed out earlier...it finally amounted to something, finally added up. It meant my stomach would swell and get huge, and it meant I'd have to endure the pains of pregnancy and labor. Then I'd bear a child.
"I didn't mean for it to happen, Katara," I managed to choke out.
I scolded myself for letting just one tear slip out, but I punished myself for letting the rest slip out. Life could be so cruel. I was born blind, for goodness sake! Could the universe just...lay off?
The waterbender stayed silent. It hurt far worse than anything she could've said. I knew what she was thinking. I knew what I would be called. I knew what my life would be like. I was trash; I was way too young to be with child. I made one little slip-up, and BAM, life got me and it got me good.
"I need some air," I said, excusing myself from the one-sided conversation. I ran out the tent only to feel the curious and worried stares of the two other boys there. I turned to face them, feeling the warmth of the campfire.
"I'm fine. I just need air."
"I can go with you, if you want-"
"No!" I hadn't meant to interrupt Sokka or seem upset, but the rock was about to crumble. I needed to get away, to a nice secluded place where I could think things through and figure out what I was going to do with this baby. The rock couldn't crumble in front of its friends. I dashed away without thought as to where I might end up.
It had been an hour. I had absolutely no idea where I was. I'd hit about a hundred trees, and felt my way through a hundred bushes. I couldn't find my way back, though. I was lost. It was damp and cold; I wanted warmth. It had only been an hour, but when you couldn't see a single thing...
I couldn't stop crying. The rock had finally crumbled. Crumbled into nothing more than fine grains of dust. I felt like nothing more than just that. Dust. I was hollow, an empty shell of the person I once was. I was blind and hours away from any civilization. Being blind, I wasn't able to tell what plants were poisonous and what plants were edible. Or even if they were plants at all. I couldn't see my environment. I couldn't pinpoint my location. I couldn't retrace my footsteps. I never thought being blind would be so frightening and debilitating. But it was.
It was like when I was a small child. My past was coming back to me through what was normally a blessing. WAIT! The baby, that was it! The baby's heartbeat... I was sensing those vibrations inside me, and that's why I wasn't able to see. That's why I still can't see. The vibrations from the baby's heart were obstructing my ability to feel the vibrations in the ground because the vibrations were inside of me. It suddenly made perfect sense.
But it didn't change the fact that unless the baby's heart stopped beating, I wouldn't be able to find my way back to camp. I wouldn't be able to build a shelter or collect food. In fact, I wouldn't be able to do anything good for myself unless I happened to stumble across a small stream of water or chanced a village. I was more than ready to take my chances with a village after stumbling around in the vast expanse of the forest for a long hour.
I swore, I felt the baby kick or move, either one. Maybe it was hiccuping. So I laid a hand gently across my stomach to comfort him or her, whichever gender it may be, and cooed, "Don't worry, baby. Everything will be okay." It was how my mother would calm me down when I was younger. I figured this way, the baby would simply calm down at the sound of my voice and keep calm. I don't think it did.
I was lying. My feet were getting blisters, my body was running out of energy, and I was all scratched up from traveling blindly through the forest. I could tell I had cuts everywhere because I had a brutal encounter with a thorn bush only about five or six minutes ago. Those devil plants were no easy feat...
At that moment, I felt blood run down my face. I traced it, only to find that it stopped at a large gash on my forehead. How had I gotten that? I took the back of my hand and wiped it off. Truth was, though, I had no experience in the woods. I probably wasn't going to make it if someone didn't find me. I knew that. Was it time for me to give up and accept my horticultural fate? Whether I gave up or not, I didn't know. But I had to sit down and rest.
"Katara was right; I am pregnant..." I muttered to myself. Exhausted and sore, I laid down to try to rest. If I could sleep, I would lay there until I heard an animal or felt sunshine. That way, my body would be rested even if my mind wasn't. And in the wild, brawn beat brains anytime. The good news for me was that I had brawn, and plenty of it. I just needed to keep that brawn nice and rested and give it its beauty sleep. It was my best chance of survival.
Sometime in the middle of the night, I heard a twig snap. My eyelids fluttered open at once and I hoped that what I heard was Aang, Sokka, or Katara. Even Appa or Momo would be nice.
But the low growl I heard after the twig snapping suggested it was neither human nor a friendly pet.
"Woah... Take it easy, now," I whispered to whatever it was. "Surely you'd want a fair fight, right?"
"Where's the Avatar?" a masculine voice asked me from-to my surprise-behind the direction I was facing. Only once person would ask something like that...
"Zuko? ZUKO!" And I felt hope, despite the fact that he was the enemy. I wanted to run up to him and give him a hug, hoping he'd take me to a prison. Once I had the baby, I would be able to see and therefore, I would be able to get out. Until then, I would get free food and water, and maybe even the medical care I needed. "Zuko, I know this sounds weird, but I nee-" I stopped.
There was a familiar warmth near me. I assumed it was Zuko's fire. He was probably holding back, thinking I knew something.
"Where is the Avatar? Talk!" he demanded.
"You think I'd strand myself out in the woods on purpose? I'm lost!" I spat at him, whichever direction he was at.
"I know you can find your way back! You may be blind in the eyes, but you can see, can't you?" he said, more of a statement than a question.
I felt my chest heave with remorse for ever leaving the campsite. "I'm blind, Zuko. I can't see anything anywhere. Watch and see for yourself." I lifted up a rock at what I presumed to be a few meters away from me and tried to throw it at him, only to have it fly in some other direction. Either that or he dodged it. "If I'd hit you, you'd have a broken bone. And that's if you're lucky enough to survive."
"You could've been faking it." The woods made his voice bounce off trees. The trees scattered the sound, making it impossible to tell where he was.
"Trust me, I'm not going to be the bait in anyone's trap. I can't see anymore, Zuko. If I could, you would be buried under twenty tons of earth right about now. Besides, I'm looking for the Avatar, too. I need to get back to him before..." I let my voice trail off, realizing too late that I'd said too much.
"Before what? Tell me!" he yelled, making my ears ring with the sound of his voice.
"Is...is it okay if I just don't talk about it?" I put on my best smile, knowing it wouldn't work but wanting to try it anyway.
Silence was heavier in the forest than it was anywhere else. It seemed to cling to every part of me, including my heart. The rock had crumbled further. "I'm pregnant..." I whispered. I hoped he wouldn't hear me, but I knew he could. The forest was completely quiet, and any sounds made could be easily heard.
There was more silence, too much for my liking. But this time, I knew better than to run. It was how I got lost in this place, after all.
Finally, he replied. "What?" It wasn't an angry voice or a disappointed one, it was just a stunned voice. He couldn't believe I was pregnant.
I took a deep breath and prepared to explain the situation. But telling him where the Avatar was would be a traitorous deed. I couldn't risk Aang getting hurt, unless he was getting hurt from my training. No pain, no game. And Aang needed game if he was ever to be an earthbender. "I have to get to a village, but I can't tell where I'm going. I see by feeling the vibrations around me, using earthbending, but the baby's heartbeat is messing it all up. I'm completely blind. If I stay in the woods, both of us will die. I need your help, as much as I hate to admit it."
This time, after around ten whole minutes of nothingness, I assumed Zuko had run off in search of Aang. Made sense... After all, I was on the opposing team; with me out of the way, Aang would have a lesser chance of mastering earthbending.
"I'll help you." His voice came from right behind me, scaring me into a typical and steadfast earthbending stance. Everything near me was lucky I had refrained from using my earthbending on him, because if I had, no miracle would save anyone or anything. Stones would fly, boulders would crush, and pebbles would soar. It would be a horrible sight. I couldn't even see and I knew this!
He seemed to sense my unease with his closeness, and backed away a few steps. "If you really can't earthbend, like you said, then try not to get so uncomfortable with me near you. You're the one who asked for help, remember? I'll take you to the nearest village, but then you're on your own. I have the Avatar to chase down."
I let out the breath I didn't even know I was holding in and nodded my agreement. "Fine. Just make sure I get there safely."
"Safely?" He let out a long laugh followed by a sharp intake of air. "Have you seen- Uh...nevermind. Point is, you look pretty bad. Did you tussle with a boarcupine, Blind Bandit?"
Tired as I was, I managed to widen my eyes. "You know me?"
"Everyone in the Fire Nation knows about the Blind Bandit. But no one ever actually thought you were really blind," he replied. Yeah, as though I, someone from the Earth Kingdom, was supposed to know that.
"Anyway, for your information, I avoided any contact with wild animals," I retorted proudly, "but I've been in the forest fighting thorn bushes instead."
I heard a snort, and knew instantly that he was trying to hold back a laugh.
"Yeah, just wait until you're born blind..." I muttered spitefully, "...then we'll see how well you do in the wild."
"Sorry, sorry. It's just...under normal circumstances-"
"NORMAL? YOU THINK I'M NOT NORMAL? I SWEAR, WHEN THIS BABY'S BORN, YOU'RE GONNA REGRET THE DAY YOU EVER SAW ME!" I screeched. The rock had truly crumbled now. Either that, or it was my pregnant hormones. I had been wondering why I was changing moods so suddenly.
"Um...we should probably get moving now," Zuko said nervously, eager to change the subject.
I nodded, still angry, and began walking only to trip over a rotting log. I landed with a thump, and as if that wasn't enough, Zuko helped me up, much to my disgust, and told me I was going in the wrong direction.
Once up, I made sure he knew I could still deal some serious damage by stomping my feet on the ground, using my earthbending to shake the soil underneath me. I did this for a good minute or so, just to make sure he got the point.
I think he nodded and I know he grabbed my arm, a little too rough for my liking.
It was time to finally get to safety.
A/N
And another chapter, courtesy of CrypticMoonFang. PLEASE review and tell me what you think. And again, always always always open for new ideas, otherwise this story may very well end in just a few chapters. I can't seem to come up with anything good anymore... Enjoy the next chapter, which is on its way!
