"Toph?" Katara said, nearly losing control of her water. "Tui and La, you scared me! And why are you under this mountain? And what are you doing with a badgermole - "
"Geez! Calm down!" the younger girl said, looking alarmed. "I live in Gaoling. I come up here to practice my earthbending with these guys. We were just messing around, opening up shafts and that kind of thing, and then I felt someone fall down here, so I came to check it out. And again, what are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be going to the Fire Nation." Toph crossed her arms over her chest.
"I was," Katara said, with a laugh that could be considered somewhat hysterical. "I did go to the Fire Nation. I met Agni, and he set me three impossible tasks."
"What?" Toph's normally unshakable facade broke with her surprise. "This, I have to hear." The little earthbender bent two seats out of the cavern floor. Katara sat down heavily in one and told Toph about her mission.
"Well, they're not so impossible," scoffed Toph. "You're pretty much done with the first one," she pointed out.
"Getting a scale from a dragon? And I don't even know where the Sun Warriors are! Not to mention I have to get to the Spirit World!" Katara exclaimed, incredulous. Then she sighed. "But if I fail these tasks, Agni takes it out on my family and the rest of my people."
"Harsh," said Toph, with an air of not really knowing what else to say. Katara stared down at the snowball in her glove.
"You said it," she agreed quietly.
"Hey," Toph said, standing up and walking over until she stood next to Katara. Then the younger girl punched Katara in the arm. Katara yelped, one hand automatically summoning up a water whip. A smile appeared on Toph's face. "That's more like it," she said. "Stay on your toes. You're some kind of master waterbender, right? Act like it!"
"Ex-cuse you," Katara grumbled, sending her water back into her bending pouch, but the earthbender's confidence was definitely a boost to her own.
"If you're done moping, I can get you back to town," Toph said, opening up a hole in the wall with one stomp of her feet. Katara stood up. Her back ached, and the muscles in her legs protested at the sudden movement, but she managed to follow Toph through the tunnel. The younger girl pounded out a path through the mountain as they went along, thrusting forward with her fists and feet. Katara was soon following her by sound alone - the light from the hole she'd fallen through was long since gone. She had no idea how long they'd been walking.
"Almost there," Toph said after what had seemed like hours of nothing but the sound of her bending, and there was the sound of smashing rock, and Katara could suddenly see again. It was dark outside, but lighter than it had been inside the mountain - the moon was nearly full. The lights of the town glowed softly not too far away. She turned to Toph. "Thank you," she said, and the younger girl gave her a cocky smirk and a two-fingered salute.
"Any time, Sugar Queen," she said. "You gonna be good?"
Katara took a deep breath. "I guess I have to be," she replied, and Toph laughed.
"There you go. I'll see you again," she declared. "After all this is over. You'll see." Katara was inexplicably touched by Toph's confidence in her, and impulsively pulled her into a hug.
"Whoa! Hey!" Toph shouted, her arms flailing, and Katara pulled back, a smile on her face, though she knew the other girl wouldn't see it.
"Thank you," she repeated, and Toph rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, whatever. Get going - that snowball's going to melt," she pointed out. Katara checked it reflexively - it was still frozen.
"Goodbye, Toph," she said, starting down the slope. Toph waved, then slammed the side of the mountain closed behind her as she went back into the tunnel.
o0o
It took Katara about a week and a half to get back to the Fire Nation. She made it to the coast and traveled through the ocean for most of the journey, though she never got too far from the land. By the time she made it to the capital again, there were dark circles under her eyes, her hair was a tangled mess, and her clothes were stained and dirty. She drew a lot of strange looks as she made her way to the temple of Agni, her snowball clutched in her hand.
When she stepped into the temple, all the Fire Sages stopped what they were doing, staring at her with wide eyes. She took another step forward and they all tensed.
"I'm here to fulfil the first task," she said, looking at each one in turn. No one said anything, and so she continued walking forward, her footsteps muffled by the thick carpeting, until she reached the main shrine. She took a deep breath, then held out the snowball in her right hand.
"Agni, Spirit of Fire!" she shouted, trying to keep her voice from shaking. "I bring you snow from the peak of the highest mountain of the Earth Kingdom!" Her hand trembled as she vividly remembered the last time she had stood here. What if the Spirit of Fire wasn't satisfied? There was a low rumble, and the man of flames appeared in front of the shrine. His eyes still glowed like suns, but he didn't seem angry this time - his face was impassive. He stretched out a hand, and the snowball lifted out of Katara's open hand and hovered in front of him.
"Acceptable," he said finally, in a grudging tone. "You know your next task." Then he disappeared with a blinding flash of light.
Katara sank to her knees in relief, not caring that all the Fire Sages were staring at her with open mouths. She took a moment there, reveling in the feeling of being alive and successful in her mission. Then she got to her feet, looking around at the Fire Sages.
"You wouldn't happen to know where the Sun Warriors can be found, would you?" she asked.
The Fire Sages stared back at her, silent.
Katara sighed. "That's what I thought. In that case, do you think I could use your library? You do have one, don't you?"
The chief Fire Sage stepped forward. "Right this way, Master Katara."
A/N: I know this is really short, and I am sorry. I offer AP tests and graduation as an excuse - make of that what you will. I did want to get something out without going off the grid for another month and a half so here's Chapter 10.
Thank you, Guest, for your review, and also, PaolaRavenclaw - I'm glad you're liking the story!
Feel free to tell me your thoughts on this chapter (if it isn't too short)!