Trial and Error Part 4
"I can't see." Toph said again a little louder.
Sokka huffed a laugh. "I know."
"No, I can't—I can't see—the way I see." She said quiet and in shock.
"You—you can't be serious." He responded as his smile faded.
"Of course I'm serious!" She said shrilly and slammed her hands on the ground.
"What are you saying?"
Toph's brow was furrowed in concentration. She closed her eyes hard and felt the stone beneath her, it was unfamiliar and she was unable to sense it like she could before. She made a motion, then another, and another but nothing happened, nothing shifted; the earth was silent.
"I can't bend." She said panting, her breathlessness affecting her speech.
"But— that's not possible—"
"No, no, no, NO!" She continued to make motions to no avail until Sokka placed a hand on her shoulder. She was still for a brief moment, but began hyper-ventilating as she attempted anything she could think of to move the smallest bit of metal or earth.
"Toph, you need to calm down!" He said and tried to restrain her.
"Get away from me!" She said and somehow had the strength to push him off of her.
"We can't figure this out if you don't relax!" He said and kneeled in front of her again.
"There's nothing to figure out! I can't—URGH!" She punched the floor, unbelievably frustrated and confused as to how this happened to her. She winced as she lifted her fist where thin streams of blood tricked off her knuckles. The pain mentally distracted her for the time being as she took the time to catch her breath. A silence passed.
"We need to get you to a doctor." He said in a very low and careful voice.
"No. I'm fine." She retorted quick and dismissive.
"Obviously not. Look, I can't help you if—"
"Just leave me alone." She said, her half-open blind eyes staring into empty space. She sat there for a moment in the quiet courthouse her eyes stinging with the hopelessness she couldn't escape. She bowed her head and was unable to control the tears that streamed down her cheeks.
Sokka looked at her sympathetically, his face drooping into a frown. He scooted forward, so she was directly in front of him and took her in his arms. She did not object; she sunk down, losing all of the will that she had before. He placed one hand on the back of her head as she let her face disappear into his shoulder to cry.
"Shh… It's going to be okay." He said softly and gave her body a reassuring squeeze.
Sokka's head turned rapidly as he heard footsteps echoing off the courthouse walls. Aang had come back, looking exhausted, the weight of this day hanging over him.
"What's going on?" Aang asked, concerned as he noticed Toph crying and the grim look on his friend's face.
"I— I don't know. It seems that she can't—" Sokka stammered and stopped abruptly, not exactly sure how to explain.
"I'm fine." She said and pulled away, wiping her eyes with her bleeding hand.
"She said she can't bend." He said quickly then looked back at Toph.
With a sense of urgency, Aang hurried toward them and knelt by her side. "But—how could this have happened? It's impossible—"
"That's what I said, but I can't figure it out."
"Where are the medics? Maybe they can try to—"
"Would you guys just buzz off?!" She shouted and swung her arms to the side, nearly punching Sokka in the face.
"Woah! Watch it." He said as he dodged her fist. She lifted her head and her face was angry. Aang just looked at him with disbelief that he was actually that oblivious. "Spirits… Sorry…" He responded, feeling like an idiot.
Her chest began heaving again, and for the third time she focused intently on her movements and feeling the earth but when nothing happened she slapped the ground hard with a grunt. "I can't—UGH!"
Aang and Sokka backed away and stood, not wanting to get in her way as she began to have an unprecedented fit.
"She's not handling this well, is she?" Sokka said quietly as they watched her.
"We need to get her out of here." He said shaking his head.
"I don't know what to do… Any ideas?"
"Yeah. I'll take this one." Aang said and patted Sokka on the back then got down to her level again. "Toph," He began calmly and very slow. "You need to relax.
After a few moments she stopped being frantic and listened to his words.
"Take deep breaths, okay? In through your nose and out through your mouth."
Without the mindset to fight back she obeyed and steadied her breath.
"I know you're scared, but you have to be calm so we can figure this out, okay?"
Toph sat in silence for a moment and breathed in then exhaled for a long time until she came to her senses. "What happened to me?" She asked through clenched teeth.
"Toph, we need to get you to the hospital." Aang said softly, purposefully ignoring her question.
"No. No hospitals."
"Then we'll take you to Katara."
Toph nodded hesitantly at first, then thought about it; of course she needed to go to Katara. She'd be able to heal her, do whatever she had to in order to fix this problem. "Okay."
"I'll carry you if you actually let me near you." Sokka said, trying to make the situation a little lighter as he moved forward to help her up.
"No. I'm fine." She said sternly in an attempt to recover whatever dignity was lost in the last 10 minutes. She felt around for the defendant's wooden desk that she fell near and grabbed onto the top edge. She pulled herself up; her uniform felt so heavy and her body was so weak that she could barely make it. As she stood up all the way, her knees buckled, but she managed to grab the table to steady herself, then stand entirely straight. "Alright, let's go."
The guys exchanged a glance then nodded.
"Sure." Aang said without much conviction and turned to leave, shaking his head.
Toph took a single step forward immediately bringing her hand to her head. Her eyes rolled back and a loud sigh escaped from her lips as she lost consciousness again. Aang turned around quickly, seeing her begin to fall and Sokka rushing forward to catch her. Acting fast, he bent a swirl of air beneath her body, keeping her off the ground just long enough for Sokka to get his arms under her legs and back. Toph fell limp into his arms as the wind wafted away.
"We still got it." Sokka said after a moment and repositioned himself to pick her up.
Aang sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. "Come on."
Sokka stood, Toph safely nuzzled next to his body as he walked over to Aang.
"You got her?" Aang asked.
"Yeah, I've got her." Sokka said with a light smile as he looked down at her peaceful face and carried her out of the courthouse.