Author's note: Two years after the last chapter; Toph is now ten years old.
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Silence reigned in the Bei Fong estate. The moon was the only witness to the small figure as she strode across the grounds. The dozing guards took no notice of her, and her parents and servants remained fast asleep in their beds. Toph no longer worried about being caught; she had perfected the art of sneaking around. Not to mention the fact that her parents were very deep sleepers…they probably wouldn't wake up even if a tornado ripped through their town.
When Toph reached the wall, she stomped her foot, grinning as the wall opened like a door before her. She walked through it and closed it behind her, pausing to make sure nobody had heard. As she expected, the whole estate remained still and silent.
With that, Toph walked quickly around the wall of the estate, finally reaching the road that led into town. After four years, her earthbending had greatly improved, but she could no longer practice in her room. Occasionally she still played with the Pai Sho tiles, but the things she wanted to try now required a lot more room and a lot more secrecy…something that the estate did not offer.
So, in the past year, Toph had begun sneaking out of the estate at night and searching for a good spot to practice. After a few weeks (and more exploration than she had ever done in her life), she had discovered the perfect spot, and it lay just beyond the town. The town of Gaoling was always bustling with activity, no matter what time of night. The main road was alive with shopkeepers and customers, but Toph preferred to take the side streets, which were practically empty. A young blind girl traveling alone would likely attract a lot of attention, and though the townspeople did not know that the Bei Fongs had a daughter, she did not want to take any chances.
Reaching the edge of the town, Toph veered off the side roads and headed into the woods. She finally reached a large clearing, surrounded and hidden by trees and located next to a tall rocky cliff. To a casual explorer, this area had nothing to offer…there was no grass, just rock and dirt. Definitely not an attractive place.
This was Toph's terrain. However, much as she wanted to, she did not start practicing yet. Instead, her attention was drawn to the mouth of a cave in the side of the cliff. It was not the same cave that she had wandered into five years ago, but it was one of the many exits from the same tunnel system. Toph stood in front of the cave, arms crossed. She waited patiently, feeling something moving through the tunnels toward her.
She smiled when the badgermole finally emerged from the mouth of the cave. "There you are, Yama," Toph said, approaching the huge animal. They had both grown so much since they had first met five years ago. Yama rumbled softly as Toph hugged him. "You're late tonight. You're usually here before me," she said as she stroked his nose.
Toph could never explain how she knew that Yama was the same badgermole from five years before…or if he even recognized her from back then. All she knew was that the gentleness she remembered was still there, and he came every night to her earthbending practices. She would bend, he would watch…with his feet, of course.
Toph ripped a chunk of rock out of the ground and sent it flying toward a small dead tree. The rock clipped the side of the tree before crashing to the ground nearby. Yama grunted.
"I agree," said Toph. "My aim was a little off that time." Taking her stance again and concentrating harder, she sent two more rocks at the tree. This time, both rocks hit, and the tree splintered and snapped. Yama grunted again.
"Yes, that was much better," Toph answered. She didn't know whether or not he could really understand her, but she didn't care. It comforted her to know that he was nearby. When she was finished working on her aim, she experimented with different techniques. She leaned against the cliff's wall and allowed her hand to sink into it, and then pulled it out again, covered with a rock glove. She did the same with her feet, and before long, she had a pair of rock shoes. Toph laughed, and stomped her feet, crushing the shoes into sand. All the while, Yama rumbled with approval, and Toph beamed proudly. There was nobody in the world she would rather have with her.
She hugged Yama again when she had finished practicing. "I'll be back again tomorrow night. You'd better be here on time, or I'm starting without you," she said, smiling. Her friend snorted and lumbered back into the cave. Toph waved goodbye and headed back into town, a huge smile on her face. Her secret practices were definitely her favorite part of the day, and she always left in high spirits. She was learning more with each passing day, she was having fun...and best of all, her best friend was with her every night. As Toph walked down the side streets of Gaoling, all she could think of was coming back tomorrow night and doing it all over again.
She didn't notice the two men following her.
