Toph could sense an intrusion within her mind even as she slept. Princess Azula had attacked the Western Air Temple earlier that morning so they had been forced to evacuate. They'd moved to a beach at the edge of Earth Kingdom territory across the sea and set up camp, though they'd be moving out again early in two days. Toph had opted to spend her time resting up so that she finished healing and could begin Aang's Earthbending training again as quickly as possible.

She was in a windy moor, her hair in its usual headband (Katara had fixed hers the day before), her fringe blowing across her face. She could sense someone approaching, light footed steps that barely made a sound on the earth, and recognised it as Avatar Yangchen.

"Is it time?" she asked.

"Yes," said Yangchen. "Time for your first Airbending lesson. Have you managed to consciously Airbend yet?"

Toph shook her head. "Too risky. I couldn't find time to slip away," she replied.

Yangchen nodded. "Nobody must know yet, at least not until this war is over," she reminded calmly. "Now, what do you know of Airbending?"

"It's the opposite element of Earth," said Toph. "While Earthbending focuses on trying to overcome opponents through strength, Airbending must be the opposite."

Yangchen sat down in the lotus position before Toph. "Not exactly. Airbending is the element of freedom. Your native element, Earthbending, does rely on strength, but Airbending is more or less completely defensive. You must find the path of least resistance, the key is flexibility."

Toph copied her new mentor's stance, except that she reached around and scratched her armpit. "I understand."

"Since you are an Earthbender, I shall treat our training sessions as if you are an Avatar. You must be patient – it will not be easy for you to learn Airbending …"

Toph was struggling to remain attentive to Avatar Yangchen's lesson. Despite having mastered the neutral jing, which was essentially learning how to wait and listen, all she heard was 'Earthbender … blah blah … Avatar, blah, Airbending'.

Yangchen was silent for a heartbeat. Toph nibbled on the inside of her lip. She just wanted to get on with it.

"Stand, Toph. Get into an Airbending stance."

Toph hesitated. "Aren't you going to show me?"

Yangchen gazed at her calmly. "You already have that information from our mind-sharing," she said simply. "Search within yourself" -Toph couldn't help it, she snorted- "and you will find your answer."

"Oh yeah, sure, okay," she said, standing up. Great, now she had to deal with a cryptic bald lady who spoke in riddles. She had hoped that maybe Yangchen would be less like Aang, but now she realised that being obstinate actually ran in the Airbending family.

Still, Toph was perceptive, she could figure this out. Dropping into a horse stance, she closed her eyes and thought back to when she had been caught by Aang moving in an Airbending stance. Sure, that was an advanced stance, but Yangchen hadn't been specific. She already had the knowledge she needed from Yangchen, she just needed to access it somehow. Perhaps she could associate her memories with one another and remember that way.

One hand by her chest, palm to the side, the other near her waist, palm down. Shoulders loose, legs spread a reasonable distance apart … she shifted from her horse stance into the Airbending stance and waited.

"This feels … unnatural … but familiar," she muttered to herself.

"It is not perfect but it will do for now," Yangchen said. "You will get used to it. Now I will attack you. I want you to evade but stay in that stance – do not retaliate."

Toph's lip twitched in preparation to ask how she was meant to defend them, but she remained silent. This was a lesson, Yangchen would have told her. She could figure it out for herself.

Yangchen walked casually until she stood about ten meters away from the Earthbender, and then unleashed a stream of fire. Toph could hear it; she could see Yangchen, and she instinctively rolled out of the way and back into a horse stance. Immediately realising her mistake, she tried to get back into the other position, but Yangchen struck her down.

"Ow," she grunted.

"Try again," said Yangchen simply.

Grumbling mentally, Toph tried again, stepping aside when Yangchen attacked her. She dug her heels down when Yangchen splashed her with water, facing the attack head on.

"No." Yangchen scolded. "You are acting like an Earthbender. An Airbender evades, we do not stand our ground."

"Well I'm not exactly an Airbender," Toph spat, but her remark was met with another jet of water that, this time, knocked her down. I don't care how much she claims she's emotionally detached. She did that on purpose.

"You have the knowledge, Toph. Use it!"

Wait. I've seen Aang Airbend before. In our first training session, he acted like an Airbender. He seemed to turn a lot while he struggled to remain in horse stance … side stepping isn't the right motion. I need to move like he does, like Bald Lady does.

Toph heard water approaching quickly from her right, forced herself to remain in stance and twisted on her heel. The water flew past her and doubled back. She repeated the movement again a few times as Yangchen continued to attack, and then realised something else.

Opponents aren't going to repeat the movements. They're going to learn and adapt. I need to do that too.

"Good," Yangchen said, pulling back the water. "You've figured it out quickly. But now try using that technique against an element you cannot see."

Great. She's going to Airbend at me.

The last time Toph had been the victim of Airbending, it had been when Aang had stolen her championship belt (unintentionally, apparently) and she hadn't been able to see it coming. True enough, as Yangchen proceeded to summon the wind against her, Toph was thrown around time and time again. Eventually Toph shielded herself with the earth and kicked it towards her. Yangchen avoided it easily.

"How can I fight against an element I can't even see?" she shouted at her teacher.

Yangchen dispelled the winds around her. "That is for you to figure out," she replied. "And you are not fighting, you are evading. Your task is to figure out how you can stand against Airbending – you have until tonight. This training session has come to its end. It is time for you to wake up."

"What-?"

If Toph could see, she would have seen the illusion of shattering glass before she could have said another word. As she could not, she just jerked awake to find the camp empty and Appa gone, and sunlight streaming around her, warming the sand beneath her feet.

What do I do?

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ x ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

"Not like I'm going to be fighting against Airbenders anyway," Toph muttered under her breath, kicking a pebble at the edge of the beach. Sand disturbed her vision and made it fuzzy and difficult to see, so she was glad that there was solid ground not too far from the camp. Sometimes she wondered if everyone just forgot she was blind. Even Yangchen seemed to have forgotten.

How could Toph compete against Airbending? She was blind for earth's sake! She needed answers and she only had a few hours to do it, and she would be damned if she failed on her first ever lesson.

"There has to be some way for me t-"

"Toph!"

Toph's ear twitched and she stopped. Aang landed on the sand behind her, twirling his glider, switching it back into a staff.

"Where were you?" she asked frustratedly.

Aang was taken aback. "Well I was scouting around on my glider," he started.

"Where's Appa?"

"Katara and Zuko took him," said Aang. "They're going on a mission."

"And Sokka?"

"Exploring."

Toph snorted. "Right. So what are you doing now then?" She knew her tone sounded disinterested but she wasn't in the mood at all. She'd been training all night and her body felt stiff.

"Well, I was thinking maybe I could practice some Earthbending, or maybe we could go and look for a Sandscorpion – they're these really big bugs which-"

"Live in the sand?" Toph said.

"Yeah!" Aang's loud, cheerful tone lifted the smog that had fallen over Toph for an instant.

"As long as you don't suggest we go swimming, Twinkletoes."

It was actually just Aang who went looking for a Sandscorpion. Toph could sense them tunnelling beneath the sand and she pointed him in their vague direction and 'watched' him dive into the sand. Sandscorpions weren't poisonous but they had a notoriously nasty bite.

"Careful, Twinkletoes, we have training later. Loss of limb will not excuse you!" she called over to him.

"I got one- OW!" Aang scampered over to her with his head low like a kicked puppy. The Sandscorpion scuttled across the floor for an instant before Toph Sandbended it into the water. "I got bitten."

Toph shook her head. Airheaded Airbenders. "I warned you. Come on. It's time for training."

Maybe I could ask him for a Bending duel, Airbending against Earthbending. We're both masters of those elements, though I would be at a serious disadvantage with my blindness. Still, he hasn't practised Airbending in a while … it would be worth it. Maybe I could learn something from him without letting him know.

It was a good thing there was a small field not too far from the beach. There was nothing but grass and earth for about half a mile in each direction and it wasn't the most perfect place for Earthbending, but it was great for Airbending. There was a stiff breeze that Toph could sense high above that would give Aang some strength to fight with.

"Right, so what will you be teaching me today?" asked Aang excitedly. "How to make rock columns? How to do that upwards landslide?"

Toph stared at him. "With no cliffs around?" she observed. Aang blushed. "No, today we're going to do something a little different. We're going to duel-"

"WHAT? I'm not ready to duel you – I mean, I'm still nowhere near mastering Earthbending! There's no way I can-"

"SILENCE!" Toph shrieked. "You're not going to duel me using Earthbending. You're going to be Airbending."

"But … but why?"

Toph sighed impatiently. "Because even masters need to practice their elements, otherwise your skills will get rusty, and because there hasn't been an Airbending-Earthbending showdown in a hundred years, give or take," she murmured gently, being careful not to remind him of his people. Sterner, to distract him in case he had thought about it, she added, "and the last time you fought me with Airbending, you bloody cheated and nicked my Championship belt. I want a rematch."

"For the belt?"

"You wish, Twinkletoes. Loser has to do whatever the winner wants, no question, for one hour."

Aang was silent for a minute. "Okay. First one to get knocked down loses?"

Toph shrugged. "Sounds fair to me," she said. "And you can't use any other type of Bending." Neither can I, she added to herself. "Best of three."

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ x ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

Study his movements, Toph told herself. Observe his stance, look for a way to get past the blindness. Airbending, like every other element, makes a sound. You just have to wait and listen. Having mastered neutral Jing, just starting the match was going to be interesting. Airbenders used defensive techniques, but if what she had heard was true, they would never willingly initiate a fight. That meant it was Toph who would have to make the first move. She would have to be careful.

Her experience (which consisted of a few hours) with Yangchen told her that Airbenders were swift and nimble, very athletic and light. Any immediate move she made could leave her vulnerable to a counter-attack.

Or, she thought, I could leave him vulnerable. I could study him easier if he was already distracted. He's seen this move before but it should earn me a few seconds at least.

Raising her hands parallel to the ground, she summoned the earth to rise with her. It rumbled, growing louder, and she stomped. Aang jumped as the dust cloud exploded up beneath him, a thick, suffocating plume of earth. Toph was engulfed within it, bending the dust around her subconsciously so she didn't have to inhale it. But rather than stay in the same place, she began to circle around in an Airbenders stance.

Whoosh!

Toph heard it; Aang spinning his staff like a fan, trying to blow away the dust. She raked her fingers in a smooth arc and across the ground, sending four fissures splitting across the ground like lightning. As Aang landed, he stumbled, but did not fall.

Good. I don't want this over too quickly.

Aang's footsteps were light; Toph dropped back into horse stance as she sensed the dust dissipate, and sent a boulder towards him. Aang spun out of the way, dodging the other projectiles she sent at him. He moved so gracefully and fluently that she wondered if he was actually dancing to avoid her, or making fun of her.

But he's not fighting back, she realised as Yangchen's knowledge flew into the front of her mind. That must be a tactic of Airbenders … they let your tire yourself out until you're too exhausted to fight, and they only use their skills to block attacks. Toph stopped Earthbending immediately. Clever. But not clever enough.

"Are you going to dance around all day or are you actually planning on fighting me?" she taunted.

...wait, what's that?

As Aang leapt over her and landed lightly on the ground, Toph could sense something else near him. A gentle movement, she wasn't even sure if she was sensing anything. There was the sound of Aang Airbending and Toph felt it ripple, whatever current it was sever, and she dug her feet in instinctively as she was blown back several feet.

That's … that's a wind current! I felt it … are there more around here?

There were. There were so many more as Toph 'looked', gloriously swirling around her, unbeknownst to anyone else but Aang, that for one fleeting moment Toph felt the irresistible urge to reach out and snatch one of the up, to do what she had never done before, and Airbend. A strong gust of wind curled upwards; Aang had redirected it so that it punched her up into the air, and she crashed to the ground with a gasp.

I nearly blew my cover!

"Toph? Are you okay?" Aang was calling to her, his voice worried. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

Toph pushed herself back to her feet. "Just who do you think you're talking to, Twinkletoes?" she sneered. "Of course I'm alright! Now stop worrying and get back into stance."

Wait a second … Toph lifted her head in an inquisitive challenge. She tapped her foot against the ground and saw silvery outlines of her surroundings, light against the unending darkness. I can feel the wind currents around me. I can hear them too. What if I try to sense the force behind his Bending? I can read his movements to get an idea of what he's doing. That way I can 'see' in the air.

Toph dropped into horse stance, and this time it was Aang who moved first, sending a gust of wind in her direction. In one swift movement she pivoted on her heel and stepped out of the way like an Airbender. In Aang's momentary surprised lapse in concentration, she brought an earth spike forward, hitting him behind the knees and sending him sprawling in a heap to the ground.

"How'd you–?" Aang stumbled to his feet, brushing off his robes.

Toph smirked. "Best of three, remember. We've both got one under our belt. Next one takes all." She gave an evil cackle, causing Aang to shiver with dread.

Toph attacked him confidently, paying attention to the environment she was in. Every time he jumped to avoid a boulder, she could sense where he was by feeling for subtle tugs in the wind currents where he was moving. She was backing him into a corner, her eyes alight with fire. Aang stopped hesitating and started fighting back until wind and rock collided fiercely between them.

Toph had realised something else that could help her against Yangchen – every time the wind drew low against the ground, she could feel the vibrations rush across the grass and stir the settled dust there.

Eventually the match came to an end – Toph batted Aang out of the sky with a boulder just as he knocked her feet from beneath her. They fell to the ground, the field laid to waste, panting and sweating in exhaustion. Toph was grinning from ear to ear, her clothes ruffled and hair frizzy and peeking out from her bun.

"That was fun," she said.

"Neither of us won though," Aang told her, "so what do we do?"

"Share it?" Toph suggested with a shrug. "You do whatever I want for half an hour, and I do the same for you."

"Sounds good." Aang smiled.

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ x ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

"Well done," Yangchen said approvingly as Toph breathed a sigh and settled down on the grass before her teacher. "I didn't expect you to pick it up so quickly."

"Well I am the world's greatest Earthbender," she said. "So, what's next?"

"Next," said Yangchen, "you will be learning how to control Airbending before you actually try it. Now" -a small ball of air swirled in the Air Nomad's hand- "hold this in the palm of your hands. Keep it as it is – do not alter its size. When you have perfected this, then we will move on to the next stage of your Airbending training."

Toph could 'see' the ball in Yangchen's hands wildly thrashing. It blew against Toph's bangs as she reached out and held her hand towards it, feeling the energy it was releasing. Yangchen's shoulders were loose, her stance relaxed, but she sat up straight and regal.

Rather than take it all as she once might have done, Toph decided to play it safe. She gently coaxed the ball into her hands, trying to feel it as energy rather than command it like earth. This is the opposite, it shouldn't be treated the same way as earth. Twinkletoes is a gentle person, very shy and meek. That's how I should treat the wind.

Once it was hovering over her hands, Toph steadied her breathing and gazed at it blindly. She sat with her back straight, one leg pulled up to her chest, the other lying in the same folded position but resting on the ground. Toph's right arm was propped on her knee.

I already have the information. I just need to access it … yes … yes, I was right. I need to coax it. I have to be gentle.

"This sucks," Toph said flatly as the ball of wind evaporated. "Can I have another?"

Yangchen formed another and passed it over to her. Toph took it, but this one immediately faded. "You're being too rough with it," the Air Nomad explained. "You need to be gentle."

"I am being gentle," Toph barked.

"Try again," Yangchen ordered, and passed her another. "You have the knowledge. Use it."

Bloody cryptic answers again. Fine. She took the air ball and cupped her hands together. Perhaps if I try some breathing exercises … I need to be calm, otherwise the wind won't respond to me, so in through the nose …

With each inhale the ball increased in size, and with each exhale, it decreased. Toph cleared her mind, seeing the pure white spiralling energy bright against the silver outlines of her surroundings. It was odd, she thought, that she could see each wind current weaving around the skies when she turned her head upwards.

Gradually she stopped focusing on her breathing, and when she 'looked' at the white outlines of Yangchen's Airbending, it was relaxed, submissive. Toph smirked triumphantly and passed it back to Yangchen. She couldn't see the approving nod that the Air Nomad gave her.

"Shape it," Yangchen instructed, not taking it back. "Explore what you can do with it."

Toph bit slightly on her bottom lip and nodded. For a while she experimented with the little ball of wind; she separated it into two, into three, altered the sizes for a few moments, and then pushed them back together to form one ball. She lengthened it, the knowledge slipping out of her mind like water, and made it circle around her in a smooth ring, then increased the size until it circled both her and her teacher. She kept it there, controlling it, and turned her attention to Yangchen.

"This is surprisingly easy," she said. "I thought it would be harder."

"It will be," said Yangchen. "Your native element is the opposite of this, and you are manipulating pre-existing wind that I created. Creating your own wind will not be as simple, and that is your task to complete. You have one day."

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ x ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

"Stupid git," Toph muttered blearily as she woke. Aang jolted from his sleep and stared at her in surprise.

"What?"