Story: Through Blind Spirits

Chapter: Just a Hug

Summary: It's been two years, and the young avatar has been training very hard. Can she keep up with the harsh training, or will she finally break?

Author's Note: This is 2 years later. Jaang, our heroine, is 12 years old. Her brother is 14, and her cousin's are 15. Roku is 14, and Ursa is 16. Onto the chapter!

2 years later...

Jaang blew a piece of her brown hair out of her face. It's not like she cared clumps of hair were clinging to her sweaty face. She couldn't see them anyways.

"Again!"

A rock flew in the air towards the young Avatar. She swept it towards the side, picked up some earth beneath her, and shot it back. But of course, her mother deflected it.

"Very nice. I should be training myself harder, because I think you are starting to get better than me!"

Jaang laughed, "Right mom. Me, better than you? Impossible."

Toph smiled and walked over to her daughter, "You're sweet, but flattery won't buy you anything from me. Go wash up, you smell."

The Avatar wrinkled her nose, "So do you."

She shook her head, "I don't smell: I reek of success."

"Riighhht."

After Jaang had scrubbed the unnecessary dirt off of her body, she dressed and set off to look for her brother. She found him in their garden, sitting on a patch of grass, staring up at the sky while earthbending pebbles above him.

"Hakoda?" she called out for him. He stopped earthbending the pebbles and looked over at his sister.

"Yeah, what's up?"

She sighed and sat next to him. "Are you okay?"

He snorted, "Yeah, should I not be?"

"Maybe," she frowned, "I know you're mad at me, because mom's training me now and not you--"

"Stop," he held up a hand. He put it down rather quickly, remembering she couldn't see it anyways, "Mom needs to train you. You're the...avatar. Sure, I'm a little upset that dad is obsessed with teaching me how to fight with a sword, and not letting me out of his site..." he coughed, "Anyways, you don't need to be sorry little sis." He ruffled his hand through her damp hair.

"Hey! Don't touch the hair. I just finished washing it. Do you know how long it took to get all of the dirt out of my scalp?!" the siblings laughed. "But seriously? Thanks for not hating me."

"No problemo. That was so...5 years ago."

"That just warms my heart."

"I try," Hakoda replied, shrugging. Jaang rolled her eyes. "So yeah, are you excited for tonight's party? I heard this is going to be one of the best Zuzu has ever thrown!"

Jaang stuck her tongue out in disgust, "We go to parties like every day, Koda. This isn't going to be any better than the last hundred ones he's had."

"You are such a negative person."

"I blame dad." she laughed again.

Hakoda pat his sister on the shoulder and stood up. He scratched his black hair, which was pulled back in a wolf tail to mimic his father's style. "So uh, guess I'll see ya later then?"

She nodded, and he waved as he headed off. Probably to go flirt with our neighbors. She sighed. Teenagers.

Jaang was glad she had never had any mutual attachments with anyone. Except...him. She shook her head. Don't think about him now! An Avatar should not be distracted by a boy. Especially him.

You get to see him tonight. She heard a voice say. She leapt up, preparing to fight something off. It's just me. The voice said again.

"Oh," Jaang said, looking down at her lemur, Ringo. Sometimes she hated the gift of being able to understand animals. It was her secret, no one knew. She was afraid her dad was going to run tests on her if he found out. She smiled and picked up her companion. "Don't scare me like that. And how did you know I was thinking about him?"

Ringo looked up at her with his big green eyes, You are always thinking about him when you have that look on your face.

Jaang was appalled, "What look?"

This one, the lemur tried his best to imitate his owner's facial expression. Jaang laughed, "You look constipated."

I wouldn't if you actually fed me something other than leechy nuts!

"You love leechy nuts!"

Yeah...so? Jaang scratched Ringo behind his ears. He purred in appreciation. He then shook his head, and climbed on her shoulder. I almost forgot. Appa misses you. He wanted me to tell you that he's lonely. Something about him being sick of me or something.

She laughed, "Okay, thanks little buddy. I'll go say hi to him before the party."

Jaang loved the fact that her aunt had moved to the house next to them. Ever since they had discovered the Jaang was a waterbender, and her parents begged her to move out of her old house to come and train her. It took some convincing, because Aang had died in that house. Katara felt as if that was the only thing linking him to her.

She loved it because her cousins and Appa were of short walking distance. When Toph or Sokka couldn't find their daughter, they knew she was probably training with Katara, Lei, or Mei.

"Hey buddy," Jaang said, opening the large door to Appa's 'house'. He roared with happiness as she greeted him. He licked her from head to toe. Or rather…toe to head. "Ugh...thanks for that. I just bathed!"

Sorry, he mumbled.

"That's okay."

Jaang spend the rest of the afternoon, talking to one of her only friends. Her cousins and brother were always there for her, as well as the firenation prince and princess, Roku and Ursa, but talking to Appa, Momo, or Ringo almost lifted all of the weight off of her shoulders. Sometimes, humans can just make that worse.

Sokka's POV

"Jaang!" I called for what seemed the millionth time. Her mother was throwing a tantrum, yelling at me as if I was Jaang. You need to put some nice clothes on! I know you don't care and I also couldn't care less, but other people care, so you should start caring!

Sometimes, I don't think Toph and I are on the same page. Even book, at times.

"Jaang..." I gave up. She's probably at my sisters.

So I went down to Katara's house, knocked on the door, and was greeted by my nieces. "Do you know where Jaang is?" I asked.

"Nope," they said simultaneously. They giggled and looked at each other.

"What?" I asked. They both shook their heads.

"Nothing. It's just that we're..."

"...saying a lot of things..."

"...at the same time..."

"...and even finishing each other's..."

"...homework."

Lei raised an eyebrow, "Not homework you twit, sentences!"

Mei coughed, avoiding eye contact with her twin, "Yeah I knew that. Just...testing you."

I sighed, "Well, do you have any idea where she could be?"

Mei nodded, "Yeah, I went to go feed Appa yesterday and I heard her yakking up a storm with him. She might be with him."

I thanked and hugged my nieces, then went off to find Jaang. Sometimes I wish she wouldn't run off like that. I know she's not helpless, but all I want her to do is be safe. It seems like most of the woman in my life have died on me...so I won't let that happen to Jaang or her mother.

I approached Appa's house slowly, not wanting Jaang to sense my presence. Apparently she didn't, because I could hear her still having a conversation with Appa.

"...I don't know buddy," she said, "I just feel useless lately. I mean, I mastered pretty much every element, but I feel like I can't impress my parents. My mom...she's the best. And my dad? He's not even a bender and he can whoop anyone's butt!" I heard sadness in her voice, "I just want them to be happy with me. They are everything to me buddy."

Appa grumbled. "I mean, you are too, don't get me wrong!" Appa made another noise. Jaang scowled, "Don't interrupt! I'm not done with my spiel. Don't tell anyone, but Aang keeps coming into my dreams, telling me what I need to know about the 'war' coming up.

"He says it's going to happen any day now. But yet again, he says," I peeked through a hole in the wooden room and watched as my daughter paced while imitating my brother-in-law, "Jaang! You are the key to protecting everyone! Of saving everyone! What if I don't want to save everyone? I'm exhausted! Between waterbending with Katara, earthbending with Toph, firebending with Zuko, and airbending with Lei, I'm just tired."

And then it hit me. My daughter was only 12 years old. And she had the burden of the world on her shoulders. She is so much like her uncle. Wait. What war? Time for father-interception-time.

I opened the door slowly. From just listening and peeping through a hole, I didn't notice she had been crying. Jaang gasped, and quickly rid the tears from her face. "Oh Jaang," were the only words I could think of saying as I took my little girl in my arms as she softly sobbed in them.

Jaang and I haven't bonded that much. Since she was born, Toph felt it was her fault she was blind, and did everything she could to make sure our little girl was never scared and always safe. I forced Hakoda into bonding with me, even though I'm pretty sure he's sick of me right now.

"It's okay sweetie. Daddy's here..." I rocked her back and forth, humming a lullaby her brother sang to her as a baby. A while had pasted before she finally said something.

"Thanks Daddy. I love you," she whispered. I pulled her closer to me.

"I love you too. You know, you don't have to talk to Appa about your problems. Your mother and I are here."

She sniffed, "I know. But Appa understands me. Sometimes I think you and mom...don't."

I was confused, "What do you mean?"

She shrugged. I could tell she was searching for words that wouldn't sound offensive to me, "It's just, I feel like I have to live up to you. I almost feel as if...I'm not allowed to have problems."

"What?" I asked. "That's absurd! I love you. You are a human, last time I checked, and that means you are allowed to have problems. You are the avatar, it's almost your job to have problems!" she frowned. Great Sokka, that'll make her feel better. Tell her all of her she's going to have issues and never be happy, "What I mean is, you are very brave. Your uncle would be proud."

Her pale blue eyes locked onto my own, "You really think so?"

"I know so," Jaang jumped out of my lap and stared blankly at me; as if I was suppose to give her orders. Right, Toph. "Your mother wants you to get ready..."

"...for tonight. I know." she smiled and hugged me, "Thanks again dad."

"Hey, it's what I do." my daughter rolled her eyes. Yeah, I deserved that.

"Bye Appa," Jaang said before darting off to our home.

I stared at the beast, "I'm glad to see my daughter likes talking to you more than me." I said before going back myself. On the way out, it almost sounded like Appa was laughing. Nah.

Ending Author's Note: Okay, I know you probably think Jaang is an OC now, because she has a power like that. But please. I'm sure every avatar has had a unique power. Hers is to talk to animals. It's going to come in handy later. Don't give up on this story! ;)