The morning sky was a dazzling blue. A few stray clouds drifted along its' expanse, only adding to the serene picture.

Of course, all this natural beauty was completely lost on Toph. The blind girl was lying on her back, with her hands behind her head, admiring the ancient architecture. From what she could feel through the old rock, this area of the temple must've been some kind of nursery. Below her lay a set of rooms filled with child-sized beds. She figured it was where all the really young air nomads had stayed.

Toph remembered Aang telling her once that the young air nomads were encouraged, by their elders, to find their own feet. The Air Temples served as homes and sanctuaries but, once they'd learned to use their gliders and ride a sky bison, they were pretty much free to come and go as they wanted. Aang himself had made several trips, exploring and visiting friends around the world, although always with his guardian Gyatso.

Toph let out a small sigh. Boy, those airbenders had sure had it sweet.

She suddenly became aware of somebody behind her. They were approaching slowly, on the tips of their toes. A small smirk appeared on her face, and she waited for her visitor to get up close before speaking,

"If you're planning to scare me, you'll have to do better than that."

The Duke gave a yelp and fell back onto his rear. He picked himself up and dusted his clothes off.

"I really thought I was going to get you that time." He said.

"Sorry kid, but unless you can fly through the air, you'll never be able to take me by surprise." Toph sat up and faced the direction The Duke's voice had come from. "What's up? Still miss your friend Pipsqueak?"

The Duke looked up at this. He was about to say that he was fine, but then he remembered that Toph was a human lie detector.

"Yeah, I miss him. It feels weird being all on my own."

"Oh, so we're not good enough?" Toph replied in mock insult.

"No, it's not that!" The Duke answered quickly. "You guys are great. It's just… I don't remember anything about my real family. I'd been alone since I was very little. Then I found Jet and the freedom fighters, and they took me in."

He looked down at the floor and started playing with some loose pebbles.

"I know now that Jet made some bad decisions, but he took good care of us. Made us all feel like a part of the team. We lived together, ate together, and fought the Fire Nation together. I figured that was what it was like having a family." He let out a sigh. "But after what happened at the dam, Jet wasn't the same. Eventually, he left and most of our fighters went too."

"You didn't want to go with them?" Toph asked.

"I didn't want to leave my home. The forest was the first place I felt really safe." The Duke took off his helmet and sat it on his lap. "I guess I was just scared. I told Pipsqueak, and he said he'd stay with me, so I wouldn't be by myself."

Toph smiled.

"That was nice of him. It must've been like having a big brother."

"Yeah. A really big brother." The Duke raised his arms, indicating the size of his absent friend. He and Toph shared a giggle. He then asked,

"Do you have any brothers or sisters back home?"

"Me? Nah. Though I sometimes wished I did. Would've given me someone to play with." Toph leaned back on her elbows. "'Cept my parents probably wouldn't have allowed it. 'Don't be too rough with your sister. You know how fragile she is.'"

"Your parents used to worry about you?" The Duke asked.

"All the time." Toph answered, throwing her head back. "They'd always want to know where I was, if I was hungry, or sick; and they'd always insist on tucking me into bed at night."

"That must've been nice." The Duke said.

"Nice? It used to drive me -" Toph stopped, as she realized what the young orphan meant. She softened her tone. "Yeah, a part of it was kinda nice. But it would've been nicer if my parents would let me do things for myself sometimes. I know they only worried because they loved me; but, just because I'm blind, they treated me like this tiny helpless little girl, who couldn't look after herself."

"I don't think you're helpless." The Duke offered. "You're one of the strongest people I've ever met. Even Pipsqueak said he wouldn't want to have to fight you."

Toph beamed proudly. The smile dropped when The Duke added,

"You are pretty small though."

"Well, you're smaller." She pointed a finger at the boy.

"Doesn't mean I'm helpless." He crossed his arms contentedly. "I've taken on Fire Nation soldiers."

"Yes you have." Toph grinned as she thought back to their battle against a Fire Navy ship, where she and The Duke had acted as a catapult. "And look at Twinkletoes. I may be blind, but even I can tell he's a toothpick. And he's caused more trouble for the Fire Nation than anyone else."

The Duke placed his helmet back on his head.

"Maybe we should form a club. The 'Small but Strong Club'."

"Sounds like the name of a weapon." Toph remarked. She stood up and dusted herself off. "Alright then. The next time we go up against those Fire Nation goons, we'll remind them that we're not to be taken lightly."

She held her fist out towards The Duke.

"And we'll make both our families proud."

The Duke looked at her offered fist, and then smiled and hit it with his own.

"Yeah."

Toph turned around and began walking back to the living quarters of the temple.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm starving. I hope Katara's cooked up something nice for breakfast."

The Duke made to follow, but then got an idea. He waited for Toph to gat a little way ahead of him, and then began to quickly tip-toe after her. With a mischievous grin he held his arms up, ready to jump on her back. But, just as he was about to leap, a piece of rock jutted up from the ground and tripped him up. He landed on his front with his helmet falling down over his eyes.

Toph continued walking with a satisfied smirk on her face.

"Not unless you can fly, kid."