Erosion
Aang had decided that the rest of them would return to the Earth Kingdom with Uncle Iroh, rather than leaving the week prior. Zuko was rather enthusiastic about the journey that was ahead of them, but he was horribly afraid of asking the Fire Sages about the quest in general.
Sokka and Toph had both agreed that it would be much easier if Zuko held off the news until the last minute, that way, it would've been more difficult to decline him with the pressure of the entire gang at one time. On the other hand, Katara disagreed—she thought it would've been easier to get it over with in the beginning. That way, if they declined early on, they wouldn't have packed for Zuko and Toph for an invalid reason. Unfortunately for the waterbender, the Fire Lord was prone to prefer avoiding Toph's punches, and went with Sokka, and Toph's idea.
The following evening, Zuko had come around some upon some extra time and figured he'd adjust Toph's bandages on his own. It was just something that he preferred to help her with, himself. She didn't mind the maids helping her out, but with Zuko, it seemed like he'd already done it—and a routine wouldn't hurt. His eyes fell on his lap as she lowered her sleeve, exposing the dark crimson skin at her shoulder, and upper-arm.
"Do you think they'll really let me go back with Uncle?" His question seemed like there was a serious concern lying behind the composure that he'd been putting up the entire time that they'd been discussing going to the Earth Kingdom. As much as he didn't want to admit it, it was a much more likely chance that the Fire Sages would deny him the privilege—even while he was the Fire Lord.
Toph was tired, and she blinked slowly. The palace was nearly silent at that time, with the moon out, and after dinner with their friends, neither of them didn't exactly have much to do. Surely, a good night's rest would do the both of them good.
"They have to," She pressed, not really sure if her own words were even true. It was the best that she could come up with, though. "You're the Fire Lord. Not them."
Unsure, Zuko loosened the remaining covering from the flesh of her arm. "They seem to think they know what's best."
"For who?" Toph fired back, frustrated with his loss of motivation. "For you? You know, for someone who wanted to restore 'peace and love', you sure let people boss you around a lot!" Her sarcastic recollection of the quote he'd used on his coronation had made his eyes thin, throwing the tarnished compressors into a small bin to the side of them.
He hated when Toph got snarky. "Tell me about it," Beginning with a more natural remark, Zuko shook his head before unraveling another tube of bandages. "I've been listening to a girl half my size for about a week! It's driving me nuts!"
"Oh, I'm so sorry! I must've lost my sensible side when I saved your life!" Incredibly frustrated by his quick comeback, Toph shot back with a harsh one as well.
"Right, of course, that just changes everything!" While Zuko hadn't quite been yelling yet, his voice just raised in her direction, the angrier he got, the more tightly he wrapped the covering around Toph's arm. She had been about to shout back at him when she had to bite her tongue from wincing in pain. Instead of firing back, she tensed her face.
It took a good ounce of her pride for her to have asked anything of him, but she couldn't help it. "Can you not take your anger out on my arm…?"
Instantly, Zuko dropped his hands to his lap, his eyes wide and dilated—golden in their own confusion. He'd never meant to get so angry; after all, it wasn't intentional, but even then, when he'd been hurting her, she didn't seem to get angry. Evidently, when he did prove how his temper functioned, she softened up a bit. That didn't happen very often, so he tried to slow his pulse with a few, relaxing inhales.
"I'm sorry." His apology was as quiet as he felt small. How could he have gotten so impatient with her when she was wounded like that?
Toph huffed in response. "You should be!" Even while she'd been the first to calm down, that didn't make her reaction to the situation any less bitter. She was righteous, of course, but at the same time, she didn't take any joy in fighting with Zuko constantly.
He went on to fix her bandages much more carefully, lifting her arm with cautious hands and following through with a few turns before he gave the scar a quick look. It had been rather quiet for a few moments, and it wasn't before she felt his lips on her wound that she had gotten the urge to apologize, but before then, she gasped.
"W-what are you doing?" Not having understood what he'd meant by the gesture, she lifted one hand to cover her shoulder.
Zuko's cheeks flushed pink; it wasn't often that he was questioned for such an action. The only other romance he'd ever known had been dry, incredibly monotone, but at the same time, there was still an appreciation for the sweeter things that he'd known how to do. After all, it had been a decent attempt to make up for the mistake that he'd caused her pain with. Still, Toph was too stubborn to accept that much.
"I don't know!" Zuko gulped. "What do you think I'm doing?" In his confusion, Toph's lips parted, eyebrows both pulled in towards the middle, proving her confused point.
"How should I know? That's why I asked!" Her tone had completely gone from irritated to flustered, and he was glad to know that she was more sincerely confused than she was angry with him. However, despite the relief, Zuko still got back to his feet once he'd finished up with the bandages.
"Then don't ask such stupid questions!"
Toph had made him pause right beneath the doorway, calling his name. It wasn't until situations like these struck the both of them that she used his real name. Zuko—rather than one of her many nicknames, and it made him shiver. It was just so different, and overwhelming, that he'd came to a complete halt.
His voice was a little softer. "What?"
It took her a moment, but after she'd swallowed and decided that it was okay to be grateful, Toph gave a gentle smile. Always stubborn, she'd never been the first to apologize, or feel remorse in an argument, but this time around, he hadn't meant to hurt her, and she knew that the Fire Sages were a touchy subject when it came to him. Likely, it had been her fault.
"Thanks."
The one word that left Toph's mouth made Zuko blink twice in astonishment. Her thankful statement had caused him to scratch at the back of his neck, his hair catching in the gaps between his fingers. A blush spread briefly across his face, but it was well hidden from her. She couldn't say much about the rising heartbeat, though.
"Yeah."
Some time during the following morning, Katara had opened the door to Toph's room with an urgent look on her face. Toph rubbed her eyes, her hair a mess before she'd worked it into her casual bun.
"Toph! Zuko's Uncle is here, but we can't find Zuko!"
Even with the worrisome sound to Katara's voice, Toph shrugged her shoulders. With her own measly confidence from the past night, she didn't really feel like acting like she was too excited to see him. The truth regarding whether she was, or wasn't didn't matter as much.
"Princess is fine—probably just getting Gramps a present or something!" Settling her feet on the ground, Toph smiled softly. Being woken up earlier than usual had led to her not having any dreams about Azula, and quite frankly, she was extraordinarily glad.
Even Katara noticed a different glow on the tiny earthbender's face, and agreeing with her, Katara bobbed her head. "Yeah, you're right! Come on, he traveled a really long way to come see us!"
Sokka, Suki, and Aang had gone into town for more supplies for their trip, but Katara had stayed behind, and Toph had to wonder why. There was a part of the smaller girl, though, that knew it was because Katara was worried. After all, she was the most motherly of the group, and Toph supposed that a wound that had been bothering her was enough to cause Katara to stress over it.
Whether or not Toph enjoyed having a fuss made over her, it was still pleasant to know that Katara cared. Even so, when they'd reached the smaller, evident 'tea room', where Iroh resided, Toph listened for the servant's leave and decided it was probably best if Katara didn't bother sticking around. It might have been rude of her to ask, but Toph couldn't help but to suggest it.
"Maybe you should go."
The door before them opened, and inside, Uncle Iroh sipped at his cup of jasmine tea. It wasn't long before he glanced up at the two of them, only slightly, but it didn't stop his long, expectant drink. It refreshed him, and he sighed in contentment as the females discussed matters quietly beneath the doorway.
In more than one way, Toph's pride rolled off of her in waves. Iroh sensed it immediately.
Katara tilted her head. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, Sugar Queen, don't worry. I'm sure."
Getting Katara to leave didn't seem to be as difficult as Toph had imagined it would've been; however, she guessed it had something to do with how they were in the presence of such a great man. Perhaps it would've been unwise to act immaturely right then and there, and Toph was quickly glad that she hadn't made a scene.
Taking a seat, cross-legged and across from him, Iroh watched her as he took another sip. Her face was tilted towards her lap, and the silence was deafening before he greeted her.
"Hello, old friend." His voice was incredibly soothing—just as Toph had remembered it. There was absolutely no resemblance to the rugged sound of Zuko's voice that Toph often heard in a more negative way. However, this was relaxing, and she was glad that he wasn't quite there yet.
Toph bowed as Iroh set his tea on the tabletop, wishing she could've seen the look on his face. She could sense his weight through his position—his incredible strength and pure power through an unbreakable influence, but she couldn't see his face, or even think of what it could've looked like.
It wasn't very often that Toph felt her blindness was a disadvantage, but this was certainly one of those occasions.
"I'm really glad you're okay!" She exclaimed as soon as she'd sat, resting her palms on her knees and leaning forward. "I bet Ba Sing Se is doing great, now. The others were planning on heading back with you, if that's okay!"
Iroh nodded his head. "That is very much okay. Though, I don't think that is what you wanted to discuss with me." At his words, Toph straightened out, her face hardening before smoothing her expression over in the midst of her ridiculous worries.
"No, I guess it's not. It's…" She tilted her head in the direction of her wounded arm. "About my wound." While his entire aura was calming and serene, Toph wasn't about to deny that she was still horribly afraid that there was nothing that either of them could do.
"I see. You're very tense."
Toph shrugged at his observance. She wished she could've 'seen', too. "Guess I'm a little on the edge. I've been having these dreams…"
"Of darkness." Iroh noted, nearly sounding like he'd corrected her statement. She merely shifted her weight to her elbows, resting her cheeks in both of her palms.
"Right. And…Azula's in them, and I'm not really sure—"
Iroh was far more knowing in these situations than Toph could've ever understood completely, but the majority of her comprehended that his wisdom was an immense part of who he was. Regardless of her perturbed anxieties, she was glad that he'd taken the time to even attempt at helping her.
"My nephew had plenty of bad dreams after his battle with his father."
Toph tilted her head. "He told me a little bit about that…and I guess since I lost, it's kind of normal. But they…keep getting worse."
Iroh creased his forehead. "What happens, in these 'dreams'?" His question was vague, and Toph's nose tilted towards her lap once more, and instead of facing him, she was much more humbled.
"They're always the same, but the end is different. First, she killed me with lightning. The one after that, she burned my wound…again." The admittance was incredibly difficult, but it was necessary to share the information with him—all of it, as long as she wanted them to stop happening.
Bowing his head, the eldest member of the White Lotus set his tea down after another drink. Noticing that Toph had already finished her own cup through her anticipation, he poured her another one.
"I don't think that this is something I can help you with, old friend."
Toph's mouth trembled. "What do you mean? Even Zuko said you helped him with his 'transition', why can't I do the same?"
"Zuko's transition involved what he believed was the right thing. You are not troubled by your conscience, but rather, by your pride." His words were incredibly puzzling to the smaller girl, and she cocked a brow, mouth agape in confusion and disbelief.
"My pride?" She leaned back, offended. "How do I battle my pride?"
"You don't—You can't. However, if you go about this in the right way, your destiny will surely look brighter. You have many friends that care about you, and it would be a shame to see you destroyed for the win of a battle."
While he was cryptic, she was at a loss, and the deeper he got into the subject, the more she wanted to get out of there, and start running. However, that was the absolute last thing that she needed to do, and she was completely sure of it. As much as she would've liked to handle things the way that she used to, this was her own problem, and running away from a solution of her own would make her ignorant—it would make her a child all over again.
Her voice was rather shaky with how much she wished she could just leave. It wasn't like she wanted to take back her moment of strength, but at the same time, leaving Azula while she'd damaged her, had nearly ruined Toph's spirit, which had once been unbreakable.
"What's that supposed to mean?" She lowered her voice soon afterward, lifting her head to face him in a questionable state of respect, as well as a distinct note of accusation. "Destroyed?"
Iroh frowned, taking another drink of his tea. However, this time around, it didn't soothe his expression one bit. "I cannot assist you beyond this point, as much as it would be my pleasure to. The disrupting of destiny would not look kindly upon either of us."
Even while she knew he was right, Toph wanted to fight back. Why had he come such a long way for absolutely no reason? Did he have a pretty good idea beforehand that she was too far away to even bother with trying to fix at all? He was wise enough to understand that she was damaged, but how much did he know about it? Figuring that much out from the sound of his voice had certainly proved to be a challenge.
"I guess…" She trailed off. "But I don't know what to do!" Toph wanted to fight against destiny, so that way, she didn't lose touch with herself sooner than later. She wanted to go back in time and get rid of anything that stood in her way—to prove herself, and all the more she regretted the right actions that she'd taken, the farther she lost herself to her self-regard.
Her sense of dignity was far too deep in her veins, and she could not escape it, not without one life-concerning battle.
"Surely my nephew will have wisdom for you that I may never comprehend. He is the Fire Lord, you know." Iroh's frown faded, leaving his face more relaxed and while Toph couldn't see his expression, even the sound of his voice was hard to detect his mood from. The derivative was much too difficult, and she decided that she would give up until the situation seemed more worth it in her eyes.
"Zuko and me just argue." She countered, turning her face away from him, but he smiled rather wisely.
"Yin and Yang often find conflict in passion."
In response, her cheeks flushed pink, but she disguised it with the heat of her tea, gulping it down before waving her hands in front of her face. "T-that's not passion! Especially not with how badly I want to punch him in the—"
Toph's outburst came to a quick halt when she heard the sound of the air around them changing; she'd literally felt him lift his hand to stop her from going on with whatever it was that she had to say. In his opposite hand, he lifted his teacup to his lips, a relieving drink calming him down and leaving a lingering grin on his relaxed expression.
"You and my nephew are far more alike than I ever could have imagined. He is lucky to have someone as bright as you around."
His comment had thrown her well off of her trail, and Toph couldn't help but smile just a little bit. All the while, Toph had thought that she'd just been a bother to Zuko. After all, he'd certainly made it seem that way, and while they often fought, after Iroh's notions, it seemed that their fates might have been brighter than Toph ever could have imagined.
After all, she would not deny such an incredible man his right of way—his chance to speak his opinion, and his beliefs on the matter. Perhaps, Toph figured, he may have given her an insight that was simply different than the one that she'd been looking for.
"Bright?" The word blurted out from her mouth, leaving her rather shy and unsure of where to go with the rest of her sentence. Those kinds of things often took place whenever she was asked about her condition with Zuko; her feelings on the matter often took turns for the worst. She couldn't help it, she was—even if she didn't very often want to admit it, a girl.
"Of course," Iroh nodded. "In helping you find yourself, I imagine he, too, will conquer some of his own battles." His words were incredibly reassuring, and Toph smiled wider than she thought possible.
She bowed to him, her expression lighting up. "Thank you, Uncle."
At that, Iroh's smile grew as well. "No, dear friend. Thank you."
He bowed back, and Toph blinked. Being able to sense motion detection was certainly something that she was thankful for. Regardless of how honored she felt that he'd done such a thing, she got to her feet.
"I should probably find that good ol' nephew of yours. I thought he'd be back here by now."
Iroh arched a brow, decently confused by her reaction. "My nephew greeted me upon my welcoming…he said he had important matters to handle." He paused for a moment before his voice hushed slightly. "I thought you might have already known that much."
"Matters? That he didn't tell me about?" Her question seemed obligatory, but they were incredibly brief. Whatever it was that Zuko wasn't telling her, it was probably something that she had been meant to hear about.
"I'm sure he had good reason."
Toph merely frowned in response, her eyebrows tugging inward. "I doubt that." Turning on her heel, she'd left Iroh with a saddened expression, starting back towards her room. However, upon crossing between one of the hallways, she'd opened a door that led to her own, where an uncomfortably familiar presence stirred, reclining on one of the large, crimson chairs.
Mai, cold and calculating, rested her arms over the chair, crossing her legs and glancing up to the sight of the blind girl. Toph, however, could not see the other—merely acknowledging the fact that she was there. For all Toph knew, it could have been one of the maids lazing around.
"So, Toph, right?" The limber female asked, devastatingly uninterested with the smaller one.
"Yeah, who's asking?" She snapped briefly, pressing a hand into her hip. The curiosity had already been overwhelmed by irritation—she was already piqued by the fact that Zuko was hiding something from her. Now, some random girl was asking who she was?
Mai paused. "…Why does it even matter?" She sounded unbelievably indifferent to the question, to all of their surroundings, really, and Toph thinned her eyes. How could she have asked Toph who she was, and not respond with an answer of her own? It just seemed redundant—ridiculous, like a complete waste of time.
"Who are you?" Toph spit out, her hands tightly wound fists at her sides. Mai shrugged her shoulders, rolling her eyes and slouching.
"Mai."
The brief name had reminded Toph of one of the females that had fought alongside Azula. "Mai? Mai who?"
"It doesn't matter." The girl began, her dark hair falling down her shoulders as she lifted them towards her neck. "Figured you should know that I kissed your boyfriend, before he had to be the one to tell you."
It was almost too nonchalant for Toph to handle. First of all, Zuko wasn't her boyfriend, but if that wasn't true, why did everything inside of her heat up, instantly? The jealousy was overwhelming, but this could've easily just been one of the plots, set up by Zuko's sister, Azula. As far as Toph was concerned, those girls always lied and ruined everything.
"He's not my—you what?"
Toph's jealousy rung, likely vibrating through her voice, the tone lifting to one that was incredibly shrill and impossible to ignore. Mai lifted a hand to cover one of her ears rather irritably, not looking too entertained with the situation, or even sounding so, any longer.
"I was saying goodbye. Zuko dumped me a long time ago."
Even while Mai didn't seem bothered by the action, Toph felt as though there was steam pouring from her ears. If Zuko hadn't stopped her, then why was Mai there? Why had this girl even left, if they'd shared a successful kiss?
Oh, spirits, she'd always known it'd been a bad idea to get involved with absolutely anyone—and she hadn't even committed herself to him! She just felt like a complete idiot, and the most that Toph could do was hope that this was some sort of awful joke, and that there was a way around all of this. While that option seemed far away and distant, Toph's eyes hardened.
"You're joking, right? Is this some kind of prank from his sister?" As much as she didn't want to sound like she was hallucinating this—she almost hoped it was another bad dream. She hadn't felt like there had been too many things that were going wrong between the two of them. Sure, she found one too many reasons to complain, and she punched him, but the ball after the coronation had sure made it seemed like he at least had seen something in her that she hadn't even noticed.
"No, it's not a bad prank." The female's voice was monotone. Was she the girl that had made him so upset when he'd come back from the Boiling Rock? "But there's no reason to still be here—I just figured you should know. I'm leaving."
Toph's questions simply weren't about to be answered, as much as she would've liked to have a stronger control over the situation. "Are you serious? What happened?"
Would he hide that all behind a mask, and pretend like it wasn't worth it any more? Toph bit her tongue, awaiting Mai's response. However, the girl simply got to her feet, waving a hand flippantly over her shoulder and started toward the door. Toph stomped her foot, much too frustrated to have her simply walk away without any answers.
"You kissed him, and you want to leave like it's nothing!"
Mai only turned slightly. "It is nothing, so stop acting so stupid. I've already made my choice. Make yours, the right one—and leave me alone."
The door slammed shut, and Toph simply stood for a few moments, trying to recollect what exactly had happened. Regardless of the fact that it hadn't been any type of hallucination, Toph took her steps backwards until she felt her back press up against the door.
The only thing that she could find herself asking, when she'd finally reached the comfort of her bed, was simply: How could she have wasted so much time?
"Toph?" Katara's voice startled the small girl who'd been comfortable, curled up into a ball, and when she tilted her head up, she had to wipe the redness away from her eyes. It didn't work very well, though, and when the waterbender approached, Toph sniffled once. "Toph, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Sweetness. What's going on?"
Katara sighed, defeated, and the crinkling sound of an envelope caused Toph's ears to twitch.
"A letter came in this afternoon. It's…from your parents."
AN: 4,300 words flat! That's a first 00 that I've gotten, I think. Not TOO long, but decently, I think! I definitely got the point across.
Wanted to show some of Iroh, finish up what happened with Mai-will definitely need more clearing up with that in the next chapter.
Plus, Toph's parents? Whoa. I've got tons planned. Figuring out the rest of this plot with a friend was really fun. It took a lot of thinking through, you have NO idea. But it's all ready, and I've just got to write up the actual chapters! This time around, I literally wrote this one in a few hours with a friend over?
Anyhow, I liked it plenty better than the last, and it was more fun to write. :) Hope I did an alright job with Iroh.
Phew. Mai's intentions were REALLY hard for me to figure out. It went from Zuko kissing her, to me not wanting Zuko to have been like Mako in LoK, to just.. a bunch of things. But, I just settled on her not really caring-it was the closest I could get to her in canon. I do love Mai, though.
She just doesn't really give a shit about a guy who moved on after she saved his ass. I wouldn't, either! In any case, I really hope you guys thought that was alright. I tried keeping it as in character as possible.
Toph, on the other hand, is learning a lot of new things about herself, so I'd like you to go easy on me when it came down to her emotions, this chapter! She's been confused enough, as it is, and that evidently rolled off on her shoulders. Anyhow! Hope you guys enjoyed the Dragon of the West. :)
If things go as planned, I'll get another chapter done as soon as possible. I'm going to a convention this weekend, and tomorrow is my best friend's birthday.
So, busy busy bee! Please leave me nice things. :D They always help!
