Beneath the Oasis
Chapter 10
Taiyo-chan
Disclaimer. I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or anything related to it.
"Which one should we take?" Aang questioned.
Kuruk exhaled deeply through his nose. I knew this sounded too easy. He tells the kid to find her in the cavern and it turns out to be a labyrinth. Only Spirits know how long it will take to find them in here. He looked at Aang, who stared back at him. It doesn't seem to faze him though..... He shrugged. "I don't think it matters." He pointed half-heartedly towards the middle tunnel. "Let's take that one."
"Okay."
They resumed walking. With the silence residing between them, Aang found himself whistling an old Nomadic tune. Kuruk couldn't help but smile at the awkwardness. "Mind if we talk while looking?" Because this is going to take a little while.
"Uh, sure," Aang consented. "What did you have in mind?"
"Your friend."
Aang glanced at Kuruk. "Toph?"
"Yeah," Kuruk confirmed. "You said she's the reincarnation of my wife, right? What's she like?"
Aang shifted his focus to the ground. "Well, she's really great at Earthbending; she's the one who taught me everything I know. She's brutally honest, tough as nails, and a tomboy. But, she's loyal, caring in her own way, and she's a fun person to be around." Aang placed a thumb to his mouth in thought. "....And...She's the most perspective out of all of us. I know it has to do with her seeing through the Earth. It's still one of her strongest points."
Kuruk smirked. "So, she's quite similar to Ummi."
"How's that?"
"Ummi has most of those qualities," Kuruk clarified. "She wasn't a Waterbender but she still had decent skills in healing...with the customs in the North Pole and all. I'd say she was honest but she had her moments of white lies. She was certainly loyal to her family and friends and had that compassion she only shared with people close to her-"
"And towards the other people...?"
Kuruk smiled. "She'd just stay polite and aloof." He looked at the ceiling as he continued to talk. "And...She was fun to hang around with; she had her own sense of humor and a beautiful laugh. But, the difference between her and your friend were the guts and gender role. There were so many things she talked about doing but she never did because she was afraid of leaving the North Pole, traveling the world, going to the Swamp, and so much more. She wasn't the type for yelling or showing tough love when the situation called for it either. And the gender role...she wasn't girly-girly but she wasn't a tomboy either. In between, you could say. Of course, I found nothing wrong with her; she was perfect to me..."
"...Ah." Aang looked away. I know Koh said personality has nothing to do with reincarnation but...hearing what Kuruk said made more sense to me for the two...
"Are you two just friends?"
Aang blinked and shook his thoughts away. "Eh?"
"Are you and Toph just friends?" Kuruk repeated. He stared Aang in the eyes as he waited for the answer.
"...Yeah...we're just friends," Aang answered tentatively. There's someone else I'm still in love with. If Aang didn't know any better, he could've sworn Kuruk's face fell slightly.
"So that's how it is," Kuruk commented. He gave his successor a half-hearted smile and looked straight ahead; Aang resumed looking at the ground.
"Is that a bad thing?" Aang asked.
Kuruk sighed. "Logically, no." His shoulders slumped. "I personally just find it sad."
Aang shrugged in a shy manner. "Well, I'm sorry but, I'm not you and Toph's not Ummi."
"Yes, that's true," Kuruk agreed whole-heartedly. "...Do you love someone else?"
"Yes."
"Would you feel the same way if she had turned out to be Ummi's reincarnation? Would you still feel that your past lives shouldn't affect your present lives?"
Aang opened his mouth to speak. He closed it again when he saw that he didn't have the answer for Kuruk's question.
These tunnels sure love to twist, turn, and leave options for more, don't they? Toph commented in a flat tone.
I did warn you, Ummi replied.
I still say this is better than sitting around.
But I didn't say it was wrong that we are here, Ummi argued.
Toph gazed back at her; Ummi folded her arms. What?
I'm starting to feel like we may be similar after all.
Ummi smirked. Is that a compliment?
Duh.
Ummi giggled then sighed. So, since we finished your topic; I have one I want to talk about.
Okay; shoot.
You and Aang are reincarnations of my husband and me...how do you feel about that?
I think we've already established that-
No, no; I mean the relationship. How do you feel that you and he were intimate in a past life?
Ohh, that. Toph scratched at her cheek but then shrugged. Oh well, different lives, different people. Not to say, that won't erase the awkwardness the second I see Twinkletoes again.
Twinkletoes?
That's my nickname for him.
And you two are only friends?
Toph's voice turned flat. I give everybody a nickname; his was only lucky to stick thanks to his light footsteps. Toph sighed. And yes, we are only friends; the dolt's still in love with someone else anyway.
But how do you feel about him?
He's like a big brother to me and whom I'm obligated to torture mercilessly, Toph answered, voice wearing thin. And that's not going to change. If you were hoping your love was able to be reborn and finish what it started by living through me and Aang, you're sadly mistaken. She faced Ummi and her voice turned sincere. No offense....
Ummi stood there for a few seconds, and then waved the blind Earthbender off. ...No, no; none taken. You're right. Personally, it's sad but...you're right. Though.... She approached Toph and rested a hand on her shoulder. Outside of this mess, I'm glad you're doing what you want and not what reincarnation would want you to do. That's a promise.
I know, Toph replied. She took a hold of Ummi's hand resting on her shoulder and squeezed it. Me too. The duo stopped when they heard muttering.
Oh no....
What? Toph asked.
It's them.
Them who? Toph pressed.
The other Faceless; we better change course. Ummi dragged Toph behind her as she made a sharp right turn.
The duo hadn't talked after Kuruk's last question, which Aang still had yet to answer. He was grateful, however, that Kuruk didn't press him for an answer but still...he felt defeated in some aspects. I know why I can't answer. If Katara was Ummi's reincarnation instead, I'd go along with it and call it destiny; that we were meant to be together. His shoulders fell. It would've given me hope.
Kuruk watched the Airbender change expressions while in thought. He sighed to himself. Perhaps I went too far. It wasn't my intention to chastise him. He cleared his throat before speaking, "I didn't mean to upset you. I apologize for that." Aang blinked in Kuruk's direction; the Waterbender continued. "My last question was out of pure curiosity." He gave Aang a smile. "So don't worry about it so much; you feel the way you feel."
Aang looked away. "There's nothing to apologize for." But...still, he had a good point.... Aang stopped in his footsteps. He could've sworn he saw two figures down the tunnel. Kuruk stopped behind him as he waved the torch from side to side. "Hello? Hey, if you're there, do you know if you can help us?" The figures moved slightly; Aang couldn't get a good look at their faces.
Kuruk frowned. "What would two people be doing in the cave?"
"I don't know but perhaps they know this place," Aang answered. He ran in their direction, Kuruk following behind.
The closer they got, the more light came in and revealed the two figures. They wore Fire Nation attire....and they were faceless. The duo stopped dead in their tracks. "...Oh....looks like you can't help us....."
The two faceless figures both pulled out their swords. Aang and Kuruk took a few steps back. Kuruk scoffed. "Looks like they don't want to either....."
Hey! What's the big deal about the others? Toph inquired, patience wearing thin at being ignored.
Ummi let go of her hand. They're not the type of people you'd want to run into if you're planning on finding a way out of the cave. Granted, we're relatively safe but...if they come across Kuruk and Aang, they're going to kill them...
Author's Note. First, I'm sorry for taking a long time, especially since several were asking for updates. Second, no back to back chapters (I'm sorry for that too). Chapter 10 had a completely different ending but I thought where I was going with that was pointless so I changed it. Then I wrote Chapter 11....it sucked; the action was horribly written, conclusions coming too abruptly, and the "ultimate Faceless villain"....I just want to remove him from my memory. So, I'm currently rewriting Chapter 11 at the moment. Hopefully it won't take as long.
Anyway, enough of my rambling. Thank you for reading this chapter and constructive criticism is welcomed/appreciated.