I'll Walk You Home pt 6
Chapter 3
To the Library!
Toph woke up hard the next morning. She had not slept well, worrying about …, well everything. Suki obviously was having problems as well since the warrior was tossing and turning and up and down all night as well. At one point, after Toph was finally able to fall asleep, she woke up suddenly from a weird dream she was having. The blind girl was disorientated for a moment, not sure if she was awake or still dreaming before she realized that someone was standing at the foot of her "bed" staring down at the earthbender as she lay on the floor.
At first she wasn't sure who the strange person was, but after her earthbending finally kicked in she recognized the silhouette of Suki in her sleeping kimono. Suki was not moving, just staring at her, as the seconds dragged on Toph thought about moving or saying something. The situation was starting to creep the young girl out, but then Suki turned and returned to her "Kyoshi" bed at the other end of the room and lay down again.
Toph finally got back to sleep, but all too soon the others starting to get up. She could feel first Suki, then Katara, and finally Ty Lee get up and begin to bustle around the room. She could even feel Aang and Sokka Sokka? up and moving in the other bedroom. Finally she decided she should get up too, though it felt like she was moving through thick mud the whole time.
As the earthbender raised her arms to stretch the kinks out of her muscles she got a whiff of her own arm pit. Euuehh she thought, yeah maybe I should wash up a little today.
Toph searched for the robe Katara had gotten her when they first moved into the house, so she could go to the bath room in something other than her underwear. Her "bed" which was just a blanket on the floor was next to Katara's bed and Toph had shoved most of her possessions under her friend's bed to keep them out of the way. With the two extra "beds" in the room floor space was running scarce. She searched around through the clutter and found the robe, threw it on, and headed out into the hall and down to the wash room.
The Master Earthbender tapped her toes on the floor to determine where everyone was, to make sure the bath room was not being used by someone else. If she could not locate someone that would mean they were probably in the large wooden bath tub that Sokka had put in the room. She found everyone in the house, Katara in the kitchen, Ty Lee in the girls' room, Suki in the back yard, and Aang and Sokka in the boys' room. Good, she thought, she would have the washroom all to herself. She opened the door, went in, closed it after her, and she then threw the dead bolt to insure privacy. The other girls didn't seem to mind dressing and undressing and even bathing in front of each other, but Toph did not like it at all.
Toph took off the robe, hung it up on the peg on the back of the door then pulled off her tunic and her shorts, which left her in her breast wrap and under shorts. She thought for a moment, then with a sigh pulled them off as well, might was well wash all of me she decided. She did not like getting naked. She had a good idea of what the other three girls in the house looked like. Her earthbending sight gave her an excellent silhouette picture of them all. Especially Ty Lee whose clothes, what there was of them, did not register very well in earthbending sight. All of them were curvy and well…, "booby", the young girl was not curvy, she did not have "boobs" she had "bumps".
Toph was embarrassed by her lack of girly attributes, though she had never said anything about it to anyone. Her mother had told her that in a year or two she would blossom into a young woman. The "Blind Bandit" had no desire to blossom into anything. She wished she could have just stayed as she was and not have to deal with all this "blossoming" nonsense. Even though she could not see she could feel the way boys and men looked at the other girls, especially Katara and Ty Lee, and the way those same men and boys looked at her. She was the ugly one, the non-curvy one, the "bumpy" one.
The earthbender grabbed a bar of soap and stepped into the "rain bath" that Sokka had made, well not made really, she was the one who had made all the parts with her metal bending. She had earthbended the room as well. It was all part of his Kyoshi bathroom, as he called it. Apparently in Kyoshi people did not wash in the bathtub. They washed outside the tub, poured a bucket of water over their heads, then, when they were all nice and clean, they would sit in the tub and par boil themselves for an hour or so. This made absolutely no sense to her. Why would you wash yourself and then get into even more water. Toph did not like being in water, she couldn't "see" in water, especially if the water was in a wooden tub.
Making the rain bath had actually been fun for the metal bender. "Meathead" had come up to her one afternoon all excited holding something in front of him.
"Toph I have a project for us" he had told her.
She heard a rustling sound as he held the object she could not feel out in front of her.
"What's that?" she asked him.
"A detailed plan of my new invention, I am calling it a 'Rain Bath' since it's like washing in a rain shower."
"What part of blind don't you understand?" she asked conversationally.
"Yeah…." He moaned. "Hey, I'm brilliant not smart"
After that he began to explain what he wanted and they had worked on it for two days. It was a lot like old times, the two of them working closely with each other, cracking jokes and accomplishing a difficult task. She had even forgotten that they were making it for "Fangirl". Once they were finished Suki, of course, refused to use it, she would rather stick to tradition and pour a bucket of cold water over her head. Everyone else in the house loved it. Especially Ty Lee, who would spend half an hour under the warm "rain", and use up all the hot water. Aang would heat the big water tank every morning and every evening, so people could have hot water for bathing.
The "Rain Bath" room was small and had a wooden grate on the floor so the water could drain out, which meant that Toph could not use her feet to "see" when she was in it, but the walls were stone and Sokka had, well she had really, but it was his idea, installed a copper railing around the walls at a convenient height. Touching either the wall or the rail with her hands restored her ability to feel the room. She found the handles that controlled the water and adjusted them until it was a good temperature for her and stepped under the "Rain".
Even though the metalbender disliked water in general and getting wet in particular she had to admit this was a lot better than pouring a bucket of cold water over her head.
The young girl stood in the cascade of warm water for a moment letting in run over her head and down her body, then she reached out for the wall, found the handle and increased the flow from the warm water tank until the "rain" was almost hot. She felt the muscles on her neck and shoulders begin to relax. The earthbender had not realized how tense she was until then.
Toph soaped her hands and washed her face and neck, working the kinks out. She knew why she was tense. It was all the water tribe boys fault. It always was. Why? she asked herself. Why was Sokka different then every other boy she knew. She spent as much time with Aang as she had with the warrior, she had held the Avatar's hand, had held Zuko's hand, but her heart did not skip a beat when she did, but when Sokka took her hand her heart would jump and her stomach would flip up and down, and she couldn't breathe for a second, the blood would rush to her face. It was just awful.
The girl began to soap the rest of her body, right hand holding the soap, and left hand doing the washing. She ran the soap over her "bumps" then down her stomach to her thighs.
Ty Lee had called Sokka a "Wet" but he wasn't wet, he was warm and dry, his hands hard like Toph's own. Their two hands fit together perfectly, they moved perfectly together, whether they were just walking to go shopping, or running for their lives in battle. She remembered the warriors warm arms around her during the last battle, his strong body over hers as they lay on the airship, holding her, protecting her. Hearing his breath in her ear, their heads together, as they lay there, Sokka on top of her, risking his life to save her. His lips close to her face. She thought about how his lips would feel, they would be warm, and gentle, like his touch.
The soap slipped from her fingers as she continued to wash herself. She did not notice the sound of the bar as it landed on the wooden grate at her feet. Standing on the wood she could not feel the world around her. She was standing, floating in a warm world of water running down her body.
Toph thought about the young man's lips and how Ty Lee had spoken of "wet" kisses. The earthbender felt the warmth of the water and felt a corresponding warmth begin to grow inside her, rising up into her stomach and chest. She was floating, warmth, heat now, growing all through her, rising up into her core.
"Sokka…" she breathed quietly.
The sound of her own voice shocked her. Her eyes flew open, she had not realized she had closed them, and her head came up. Her hands flew out to the walls of the "rain bath", seizing on the rail for stability. Her knees felt like jelly and her legs were weak.
Toph quickly stepped out onto the floor of the wash room. When her feet hit the stone floor she regained her "sight". She was standing dripping wet but now she knew where she was, she had returned to the world.
What just happened? she asked herself. That was really weird.
The young girl reached in and turned off the water, then grabbed a towel and began to dry herself off. She had never felt anything like that before and it unnerved her. Maybe she was getting sick, she really needed to get more sleep, she really needed to wash more often, and she really needed to pee all of a sudden.
After finishing in the wash room, Toph waited until she was sure the hall and the girls' room was empty before opening the door. She had not wanted to put her dirty clothes back on after cleaning herself and she did not want anyone to see her in just her robe. She dashed down the hall with her laundry under her arm and her hands holding the top and bottom of her robe closed. Just before she got to the bedroom door she heard Sokka's voice from the living room shout.
"To the Library!"
The she heard the front door close.
The young metal bender ducked into the girls' room and breathed a sigh of relief. She quickly found some fresh clothes and changed into them before anyone came in. She was just finishing by putting her hair up and adjusting her hair band when Ty Lee came in.
"Hey!" the acrobat called as she flopped down onto her bed.
"Hey" Toph replied.
"Well 'Dreamy' is off to the library at the university, 'Cutie' and 'Tara' are off to a council meeting, and 'The Kyoshi Queen' is off to the training ground, so it looks like it's just us for the day."
Toph just grunted in reply.
"I know, we can have a girls' day!" Ty Lee enthused as she hopped out of the bed and skipped over to the earthbender.
The younger girl, after her last experience with a "Girls' day out" had absolutely no desire for another one said.
"No thanks I good right here."
"Well… ohhh…, I know, let me fix your hair then?"
"My hair is fine."
"Sure it is, but a little change would be good, besides you have such nice hair you should show it off more."
"No really, I'd…"
"Oh come on, it will be fun! Where's your brush?"
"I don't have one." That should end that Toph thought
"Oh I have plenty, let me get one." And off the pink clad warrior flew, literally, over Katara's bed and landed on her own. Before Toph could run the acrobat was back and pushing the metalbender into a chair.
"You should brush your hair one hundred strokes every night." Ty Lee told her. "It keeps your hair clean and shiny."
There followed two hours of hair preparation and attempts at various "looks" for Toph. The younger girl tried to escape any number of times but the older girl was surprisingly strong and insistent.
Toph was sitting in the living room with her feet up on the table. She heard the door open and turned to hear who had come in. Until then Ty Lee and herself were still the only ones in the house.
"Hey Toph" She heard Sokka say from the door.
Then it was quiet for awhile, she did not hear the door close. The young girl did not know what was going on, but finally she heard the door close and the tribesman walk over to the table.
Sokka stood by the table for a moment before he said.
"Hair! You changed your hair."
The metalbender heard a disorganized sound of objects dropping onto the table then she heard Sokka begin to walk around the table in her direction. She self-consciously grabbed onto the long sheave of hair that was running down her back and pulled it over her shoulder, holding onto it with both hands.
Ty Lee had tried a number of different "looks" for Toph, single braid, double braid, a dozen braids, before settling on simply leaving the younger girl her signature long bangs and two small side falls that framed her face, then she gathered the rest of Toph's hair into a loose sheave at the back of her lower neck and tying it with a dark green, almost black, long thin ribbon. The younger girl had been trying to get used to her new hair all the rest of the day. She felt like someone was behind her all the time as it would move with her head, and it kept getting caught between her back and the back of any chair she sat in. She had thought more than once to just cut the offending thing off and be done with it.
Sokka continued his walk around the table and around Toph. She pulled her feet from the table and let the chair drop down on all four legs, putting her feet on the floor she stood and turned towards the young man as he paced.
"What?" she asked defensively, pulling on the long sheave of hair.
"Nothing," was his reply, "I just forget how long and pretty your hair is. That looks nice is all."
The young earthbender turned away desperately trying to hide the blush that quickly jumped up into her face. All thoughts of cutting her hair fled from her mind, as her right arm shot out and her fist connected with the warrior's upper arm.
"Well don't get used to it." She told him.
"No problem" Sokka answered, absent mindedly rubbing his arm. Then being distracted by Toph's hair, he ran into the chair on the other side of the table.
He didn't even bother saying "Ow", but looking down onto the table, he suddenly remembered his original intent and said.
"Toph, you have to see this, this is great!"
"I'd love to see anything" was her ironic reply. Especially you she added to herself.
"Oh, right… Well it's a map case." He twirled a leather tube up in the air.
"Did you know they have a store at the university?" He asked her then, "You can go to the library and shop, all in the same place, isn't that perfect. Maybe after everything is over I can live at the University and just read and shop all day and every day."
"Sounds great!" was her sarcastic reply.
This broke him out of his reverie and he got back to his original point.
"Anyway, in the library I found this great old map."
He explained as he opened the tube and pulled out a large scroll of paper that he spread on the table, using the map case and his shoulder bag to hold down the ends.
"I think it is even older than the one of the Fire Nation I found in Wan Shi Tong's library. Apparently there was an ancient empire and I mean really ancient, before bending, and before the Avatar, that used to rule most of the world. They had a small army that had to march everywhere, so they built this huge road system all over the Earthkingdom, many of them are still in use today but not all of them since cities have fallen and …"
"Blah, blah, is there a point here somewhere?" Toph cut him off.
"I was getting there" he answered defensively. "So this road system is still there and we will be able to use it for the trip. We can avoid the most heavily traveled sections and use the forgotten ones to go to Gaoling."
"Why can't I" The earthbender emphasized the "I" strongly, "just use the main roads?"
"WE can't use the main roads because with the Fire Army withdrawing to the coast and the Earth Army moving in, and all the refugees moving back into the once occupied territories it is going to be absolute chaos on the main roads. By using these side roads WE can avoid all that and still make good time."
"Sokka I don't NEED you to come with me."
"Fine, you don't need anything, but what about me Toph? I NEED to go with you. Come on, it will be like old times, you and me against the world."
"This will all end in tears." She said as she sat in her chair again.
"If we're lucky." He replied.
So much for my plan to get away from him she thought. When he got stubborn like this there would be no way for her to stop him short of breaking his leg. That's an idea she brightened for a moment at the thought, but then realized that it would not stop him only slow both of them down as he hobbled after her on crutches. She might as well accept it that "Meathead" was coming with her. With that thought a little bubble of hope started to rise up out of her stomach and into her chest making her heart beat a little faster. Stop that she told herself.
"Anyway," the tribesman continued "They wouldn't let me take the map since it was so old, so I had to make a copy."
"Oh no!" the metalbender said as she dropped her head onto the table. Toph had never seen any of the young man's art work but she had heard a lot of criticisms of it and realism had never been a word associated with anything he had ever done.
"Hey, you always said you liked my art." He said in a sullen tone.
"I'm blind, you idiot."
"Doesn't mean I don't appreciate the positive re-enforcement."
"We're going to die, lost and alone in the middle of the Earthkingdom." Toph moaned, while banging her head on the table again.
"I did a good job, besides all we have to do is keep going due south for five hundred 'milles' and we can't miss it." He pronounced 'milles' as me-lays. Toph had never heard the word before and asked
"Five hundred whats?
"Milles" He smiled proudly, "that empire I told you about, I wonder what their name was? Maybe I should call them the 'foot nomads' or maybe the 'walking nomads' you know like the air nomads, since they traveled around so much, but by walking, not flying like the airnomads… 'toe nomads' that would…"
"Sokka…." Toph said with a rising inflection letting a little frustration creep into her voice. She knew Sokka and when he got excited like this ideas would just start flooding into his brain, and trying to follow his thoughts became impossible.
"What?" he looked at her expectantly, seeing the expression on her face he realized he was going off again and tried to regain his original thought.
"Foot?, Feet? Toes? MILLES!, yes so the 'Toe Nomads' measured distances in milles which was their word for one thousand, because they measured everything by one thousand paces. A pace is two steps." He began to walk two fingers across the map as though his hand was a little man.
"Any way, according to the map I found, the distance from here to Gaoling is five hundred milles or five hundred thousand paces which is one million steps. Now we should be able to walk about three thousand paces in an hour or three milles. If we walk seven hours a day, with a one hour break for lunch, we should be able to cover twenty one milles a day, six days a week, with one day off for resting and resupplying, that makes one hundred and twenty six milles a week, which means we should be able to make the trip in one month. This will leave me plenty of time to get to the coast so dad can pick me up to help him salvage the fleet we had to scuttle during the war."
Sokka and his schedules she thought wryly I just hope he included potty breaks Toph knew that it would be impossible to keep to one of the young man's schedules but she loved the fact that he thought about these things. She was proud of him for going to all the effort, the research, the planning, it was something she would never bother with. He really was different than anyone else she knew.
That night Sokka laid his possessions out on his bed deciding what he was going to take with him on the journey. He had lost everything he had started with all those long months ago, when he and his sister had left their home to find the Avatar.
His father had replaced his machete, his war club, and most importantly his boomerang. It wasn't "boomerang" but it was a boomerang. Beside it was a new skinning knife, this one made of metal, that Sokka had just recently replaced himself.
Then there were the swords. When he had returned the giant eel hound to his master, Piandao had asked after Space Sword, not seeing the black blade with the young man. Sokka explained that it was lost in battle. The teacher looked at his student for a moment then offered the younger swordsman the sifu's own sword. Sokka was shocked into silence by the offer, all he could do was kneel before him and shake his head, unable to accept such a gift.
"I can make a new sword" The master explained. "But I cannot make a student more worthy to carry this one. Please accept this poor gift from an old man who has seen his last great adventure. Of all the blades I have made this sword is second only to your own black blade, now lost, it should not be left to rust, hanging above my fire place. Please let it have at least one more great adventure."
Sokka, tears streaming down his face could not refuse, and accepted the gift.
"On loan" The young man managed to choke out.
"Alright, on loan until the day you return to me and make a new sword for yourself." Piandao answered tears in his own eyes. "It is called 'Spring Rain'."
Yes as Sokka looked at the sword on his bed he knew it would be coming with him where ever he went until he returned it to his master.
Next to 'Spring Rain' were the short and long Kyoshi swords as well as the two fans that Suki had given him. He was a Kyoshi warrior after all and should be armed as one. He would keep the fans they were compact and fairly light. He thought long and hard on the swords but eventually he acknowledged that one sword was more than enough for any journey and he was going to have to carry everything himself there would be no Appa to carry his belongings for him this time.
After the Kyoshi weapons were his new throwing knives and darts. He had gotten them after training with Mai. He had always been impressed with her skill, and had made his own holsters for the new weapons.
"Leather is pretty but it doesn't breath, sweat dries it out, and it squeaks. Stick with a good quality cotton cloth." Mai had advised him.
He had taken her advice and made his own. He was careful about the color choosing a brown that matched the brown of his own skin, so unless you were looking for them you would not notice them under his long sleeves, which he wore now, just to hide the holsters and their blades. The knives and darts themselves were also brown. He had had the blade smith "brown" them as they were made. "Browning" was a method blade smiths had of covering the steel with an oxide coating to protect it from corrosion, which luckily also came very close to Sokka's normal skin tone. The holsters which carried a layer of knives on top and a second layer of smaller darts underneath alternating with the knives were made for his forearms and his lower legs. An added advantage of this was that the weapons and the holsters acted as armor, protecting his lower limbs, and allowed him to block attacks without having to wear obvious vambraces and grieves. Yes the throwing knives and holsters were coming with him.
After the weapons were just his clothes. Four sets of underwear, four pairs of socks, an extra pair of pants, an extra top, and a heavy blanket, he had never replaced his sleeping bag.
Well that was it he thought, looks like I'm going into battle not a long hike, but can't be too careful. He would have his map and his map tube but there was still a lot he needed. Water skins, soap, something to carry the soap in, food that would last for weeks on the road. And something to carry all of this in. that meant only one thing. Tomorrow he would have to go shopping. The young man's eyes lit up at the prospect.
The next morning before he could escape his sister stopped him and reminded him that he was to help Iroh move in that afternoon.
Sokka had convinced the retired general to move in with Katara and Aang. He was not going to have his little sister living alone in a house with her weird tattooed boyfriend, even if the boyfriend was only twelve and the Avatar.
"Monk shmonk!" he had told Katara, "It ain't gonna happen so get used to it sis."
This meant that Sokka now had to help the prosperous tea shop owner move all his possessions into the house.
The house was full of activity as Suki and Ty Lee packed up to leave on their trip to Kyoshi Island. And it felt as if it was not long before a gentle knock on the door that afternoon announced the arrival of the grey bearded old man. He had his tsungi horn under one arm and his pai sho set under the other. Behind him in the street Sokka was unloading a cart full of his possessions.
"That is probably for the best. Haulage is much more reliable than produce after all. You don't have to worry about spoilage." The young warrior was heard to say as he paid the carter.
Once the older gentleman was settled in his new home, Sokka had surrendered his own bed, and would share Aang's for this one night. The old firebender announced that tonight would be music night. So after dinner, when everything was cleared away and the dishes washed, Iroh made tea for everyone and they all gathered in the living room.
Sokka brought out his recorder and accompanied Iroh on his tsungi horn, while Ty Lee gave an interpretive dance to summer. The dance was quite energetic and earned all of Aang's attention, as well as a few missed notes from Sokka and truth be told one or two from the old general as well.
Aang then sang an air nomad song which was really quite lovely.
After his song Sokka brought out a hand drum he had made and Katara joined him in a Water Tribe song which was in an old language. None of the others had ever heard anything like it. It was a chant more than a song, starting low then suddenly jumping up two octaves into a high pitched scream, then returning to the original chant.
The water tribe siblings became so involved in the song that they both stood and began to dance around an imaginary fire in the center of the room. Aang and Iroh were mesmerized by the primal feeling and the beauty of both the song and the dance.
Ty Lee was fascinated by the young man as he became a hunter pursuing his prey, who was danced by his sister. No, she realized they were not the hunter and the prey, but the spirit of the hunter and the spirit of the prey. It touched her deeply and she had tears in her eyes when the prey was killed and its' spirit returned to the sky.
Toph loved the strong rhythm of the song and the dance, she was surprised by how softly the dancers stepped, their feet were feather light as they danced around the "fire".
Suki felt both the song and the dance lacked structure.
Afterwards the two dancers embraced, then they explained that the song and dance is a famous one in the tribe about a hunter who is seeking a wily prey, a snow fox, and when he finally kills the fox he asks its' forgiveness, telling the spirit of the fox that its' flesh will feed his family, his bones will be made into weapons, and his beautiful pelt will be the bride price to the family of the girl that the hunter loves.
Suki then performed a dance from her home island. It was very stylized and formal, and made use of her fans. It was really quite beautiful, and the young woman moved so gracefully and with such precision, that Sokka could not take his eyes off of her.
They next tried to get Toph to sing or dance for the group but she vehemently refused.
Iroh then ended the evening by singing the Song of the Four Seasons.
Winter, spring,
Summer and fall.
Winter, spring,
Summer and fall
Four seasons,
Four loves
Four seasons
For love
As the party broke up and the members of the household began to go to bed, Sokka took his sister's hand and led her out to the garden behind the house.
"Well, sis, I just wanted to say that between this trip, and the fleet and Zuko, it's going to be months, maybe longer before I see you again, and… Well not that you have ever needed me…, but at least I was near all the time."
"I've always needed you Sokka, you're my big brother, you're the one…"
The young man held up his hand and gently stopped her before she could go on. He then offered her his two hands and she reached out and took them.
"Katara, this is going to be…, well I'm frightened that by the time we see each other again we'll be different. That you won't be my little sister, you'll be a young woman, who won't need a big brother anymore."
"When I am older than Gran Gran I will still need my big brother." She said with confidence.
"Well if you ever need me for any reason, just get the word to me and I will be here. No matter where I am or what I am doing I will be here for you."
"I know! I have always known that you would." She told him.
They stood holding each others' hands in the dark garden.
Finally Sokka squeezed her hands and said.
"One more thing"
"This is the, don't have sex speech, isn't it?" She asked
"Yup" he answered. "And it is going to be even more painful and embarrassing for me than it will be for you so don't interrupt, just let me get through it, pretend you are listening, and then you can ignore me like you always have."
"I've always listened to you." Katara protested.
"And you've always ignored me, oh mistress of the purple berries."
This at least got a smile from his sister. Sokka then went on
"I know you love Aang and he loves you, but you are still very young, you have plenty of time, I know how much you can want someone. I know you think that it will be no big thing to take that next step, but now I also know that it is not a step but a giant leap over a great chasm, and you won't know just how wide or how deep that chasm is until you are in the air trying to get over it."
"It changes everything Katara. Oh you tell yourself that you know the other person and that you love them and that you will spend the rest of your life with them, but it changes everything. You don't know who you will be let alone who the other person will be afterward."
"You have time, take it. Don't be like your stupid big brother and ruin everything, and make two people miserable just because…"
He trailed off then, but he took a deep breath and finished with.
"After all that's what big brothers are for, to totally mess up and to show you what not to do."
With that he gave her a sad smile, held up her hands and squeezed them one last time, then let them go. Katara reached out and pulled him into a hug which he returned as if he never wanted to let her go.
The next morning everyone was up early. Iroh off to the Jasmine Dragon, Katara and Aang to see everyone else off on their journeys. Suki and Ty Lee were in their full Kyoshi Warrior make up, uniforms, armor, and weapons, (Suki had insisted). Suki had a small duffel bag over one shoulder, the acrobat had two large ones. Sokka dressed in a long sleeve water tribe top and pants had his new back pack which was festooned with his sword, his map case, as well as any number of strange unidentifiable objects. Toph was dressed in her simple green tunic and pants with her yellow surcoat and studded leather belt, and her travel bag over her shoulder.
Sokka offered to carry Suki's bag but she refused, with ill grace. He then offered to help Ty Lee who gladly passed one of her bags off to him, Aang took the other and almost fell over from the weight.
"No thanks, I'm fine" Toph said under her breath.
Just as they were heading for the door, there was a loud chittering and a black and white blur flew into the room and landed on Sokka's head.
"Hey little buddy, no sorry you can't come with me on this trip."
There followed a long series of chitters and barks between the water tribe warrior and the lemur. At one point Sokka pointed out Katara and then Aang to Momo and chittered a long series of what sounded like instructions. Momo responded several times then flew out the window into the garden.
"What was that about?" Katara asked, she put her hands on her hips looking suspiciously at her brother.
"Nothing" he replied," I was just telling the little guy where I had hid some leechee nuts for him in the garden."
Sokka then adjusted his burdens and headed for the door.
The trip to the train station was a quiet one for all three couples. Even as they waited for the train there was little conversation. Finally as the train pulled in, Katara and Aang pulled Sokka and Toph into a group hug.
"I'll miss you big brother, and I'll miss you little sister" the waterbender told her sibling and her friend.
Sokka shook the Avatar's hand and with a stern look said to him
"Don't forget what I told you."
"Never" was Aang's reply.
Ty Lee came over and hugged Sokka then stepped away.
"What was that for? We're all going on the train together." He asked her.
"Oh are we? I must have forgotten." The pretty young warrior replied.
On the trip out of the city Sokka and Toph sat on one side of the car and Suki and Ty Lee sat on the facing side. No one spoke. Finally they came to the station where the tribesman and the earthbender we're to get off, the Kyoshi warriors where going to continue on to the ferry landing. Sokka passed the duffle bags he had been carrying for her over to Ty Lee who pulled him into another hug. She then reached for Toph and pulled her into a hug.
"Be nice to him, he really likes you." The acrobat whispered to the earthbender as they hugged.
Sokka held out his arms to Suki, but instead of walking into the hug she bowed formally to the warrior, caught off guard the swordsman responded in kind. The commander of the Kyoshi Warriors made sure she bowed lower than he did.
I'll write." He told her.
"Fine" she replied coldly.
The young man watched the train pull out of the station, then he offered his hand to his friend, who took it and they stepped down off of the platform into the road.
"Tui and La!" the water tribesman exclaimed as he looked at the road.
"What?" Toph asked him.
"The road, it's a churned up mess, full of animal dung, ostrich horse droppings, debris, and anything else you can imagine. I thought it would be bad but not this bad. You can't walk on that with bare feet, you'll get every disease know to man and a few more besides."
Sokka took off his back pack and re-slung it around so that it was hanging on his chest. He had to be careful that he did not wack himself in the head with his sword that was tied onto the side. Once he had it settled he squatted down in front of Toph and said.
"Climb on"
"What?" she asked
"Climb on, I'll carry you."
"Sokka you can't carry me this whole trip!"
"Not the whole trip just till we get past this really nasty part here then I'll put you down. Now come on my knees hurt."
Reluctantly Toph slung her pack around to her back and throwing her arms around the young man's neck she hoisted herself up onto his back. Sokka used his arms to pull her legs up around his waist then stood up. It took him a moment to adjust to all the weight he was now carrying but finally he got it and started off down the road, trying to avoid the worst of the muck.
The young girl settled herself on the young man's back. She could feel his muscles moving under her as she pulled herself tighter onto to him in a warm hug. Her heart beat a little faster and her stomach seemed to flutter inside her at the contact. Up here out of contact with her element she was truly blind but for right now she didn't really care.
To be continued:
Disclaimer : "Avatar the Last Airbender" the characters and the world were created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko and owned by Nickelodeon and Viacom or Paramount or some huge corporation. This is purely a work of fan fiction because I wanted to play in their world and I love the characters that they created.
Comments:
Thanks to all who have put this story in their alerts and in their favs I really appreciate it, and thanks especially to all those who have sent in reviews. They really do keep me going.
This was another really long chapter I will try to tighten them up in the future.
Finally I have got them on the road together and the story has begun. Thank you all for your patience, and I hope you will continue with the story.
Thank you to all for reading
All comments and/or criticisms are more than welcome.