LoK Book 4! BOOK 4! This Friday! OMG! OMG!

This isn't even an AN, sorry! XD

Ch 25- In The Swamp

It was Aang's turn to sit with Aunt Wu. When Toph passed him in the lobby, she didn't acknowledge his presence, choosing to sit on one of the cushions at the other end of the room. He wondered what, if anything, she had learned... Distracted, he didn't wait for Aunt Wu to invite him in.

"Did Toph ask you anything?"

Aang had expected - hoped - Toph would have. The nightmares plaguing him weren't the usual run-of-the-mill kind everyone had from time to time. No, Aang had the strange sensation there was something else to them, they were too personal, too intimate, and Toph was in every. single. one. Something told him it might have been the same for her.

Aunt Wu shook her head. "Your friend did not wish to know anything about her future."

"How about stuff happening now?"

"What kind of 'stuff'?" she asked carefully.

"Dreams she may have had...?" he wheedled. "Maybe, nightmares?"

"No, nothing like that."

"Oh." Aang sat down, his gaze falling to his hands. After a moment and a long sigh, he reached for the jug of bones.

Aunt Wu watched him. "Was there something you wanted to ask me about?"

"Yes!" he blurted out, but just as quickly changed his mind. What if he was making more out of the whole thing than there was to it? "No."

"I have been told that I am a very good listener."

He appreciated the offer. Besides, what harm would it do to tell her?

"I've been having these bad dreams."

"Consisting of?"

"Me and Toph."

"Oh." Aunt Wu cleared her throat as delicately as possible. "Well, I would not necessarily call them bad. You are a teenage boy and-"

"Not those kinds of dreams!" Aang quickly corrected her, but the damage was done and he blushed furiously.

Not wanting to make another erroneous assumption, Aunt Wu waited patiently for him to explain.

"I've often had visions," he muttered. "Some have actually happened."

When he didn't elaborate, she asked, "And you believe these nightmares might come to fruition as well?"

"No!" His outburst startled both of them. "Sorry. I only meant...I don't want them to."

Toph burst through the door.

"Twinkletoes, you okay?" His heart was beating erratically, had been pretty much since he stepped into the private room. As much as she didn't have a problem with Aunt Wu, when Aang screamed like he had, something was definitely wrong.

"I apologize, Aunt Wu," Meng whispered. "She ran before I could stop her."

"You couldn't stop me on your best day," Toph snapped at the girl.

"Toph, I'm fine."

He was lying.

The earthbender stepped further into the room. "You don't have to be here if you don't wanna be," she said. "Or I can stay. If you need me to."

"You can't stay." Meng was adamant. "Readings are private."

"Toph, really, I'm okay. I'll be out soon."

She still didn't believe him, but muttered, "I'm right outside," before turning on her heel to go.

Meng whispered another apology and shut the door behind them.

"Are you okay?" Aunt Wu asked him and he shook his head.

"I lose her. In those nightmares. Toph gets taken from me. Sometimes I watch her die. Sometimes..." he shuddered.

What could be worse than watching someone die, Aunt Wu wondered, but did not ask. "Dreams have a way of rattling us from time to time," was her only comment.

"Yeah." Aang looked up at her, sheepishly. "The thing is...I don't know if the nightmares are bothering me because...because they're visions like I've had before, which would be scary. Or, if I'm having them because, um, I have a little...a, uh, small - tiny, really - crushonher. Which is scary, too," he whispered the last part.

Aunt Wu did not mean to, but she chuckled. "Love can be a scary thing," she said, clearing her throat.

"Hold on! I said a little, itty bitty crush." Aang was having enough trouble dealing with that, he wasn't sure he was equipped to deal with more.

Aunt Wu hid her smile behind her hand. "Why don't you choose a bone and toss it in the fire. Then, we will go from there." Aang did as she asked. "Do you remember what I told you last time?" she spoke, watching the flames begin to have their effect.

Aang nodded. "You said I have the power to shape my own destiny."

"Yes," she smiled. "That still holds true, young Avatar. Do not forget it. Now, let us look at the cracks which have formed in the bone."

...

"Okay, what? You've been staring at me since we came back."

Meng was surprised at being caught, but quickly composed herself and went back to glaring at Toph.

"Is this about Twinkles?"

The girl's heartbeat spiked. Of course it was about Twinkles.

"You know, he's not that impressive," Toph said with a yawn, stretching her arms over her head and sounding utterly bored.

Meng could only stare at her dumbfounded. "Not...that...impressive?" she sputtered.

"Nope," Toph replied, the 'p' popping.

"You're joking, right!? Because he's...he's incredible!"

Toph shrugged as lazily as possible. "Meh."

"I can't believe you would say that!?" The girl's voice was getting on her nerves again.

"What exactly makes him so incredible in your eyes?" Toph asked, genuinely curious, but sounding like she couldn't care less.

"He's handsome!"

"Always important," Toph droned, making it very clear she didn't think it was important at all.

"He's nice."

"Sure, okay. What else?"

Meng didn't want to mention the ears thing. How Aunt Wu had read her fortune years ago and told her she would marry a man with big ears. Actually, now that she thought about it, Aang had kind of grown into his... Flustered, Meng said, "I have my reasons."

Toph only laughed. Was she being a little mean? Possibly. Was she hoping it would make her feel better? Yes. Was it? No.

"It's so unfair!" Meng cried suddenly. "I don't even know why he likes you?" she screeched. Toph raised an eyebrow, the girl was obviously losing it. On the verge of yelling again, Meng took a deep breath then said, "That other girl he brought here before you was so much nicer than you'll ever be."

"Most people are," Toph smirked, seemingly not offended at all. "But just so I know, who are you talking about again?"

"The waterbender!"

Ah, of course. Katara. Knowing Sweetness had been to so many places with Twinkletoes before she had didn't bother Toph. Nope, it didn't bother Toph at all.

"And she dressed better!"

"Probably," came the smirked reply. "With the whole blind thing, I will agree 'the waterbender' dresses better."

"And she's prettier!"

"Sounds to me like maybe you're crushing on Sugar Queen..."

"What?!" Meng sputtered, turning various shades and hues in the color spectrum. "I don't like that floozy!"

"Floozy, huh?"

Meng saw red. "I don't know why you're laughing! You act like you don't care, but I saw the panda lily Aang gave you and I know you've been carrying it with you everywhere you go." Toph was about to say it smelled nice, but the girl continued her tirade. "Do you even know what getting a panda lily means?"

"No clue."

Meng, usually a pretty happy, calm, and composed person—it's the reason she had been Aunt Wu's assistant for so long—was on the verge of strangling the blind girl, not simply because in her eyes Toph had sole possession of Aang's affections, but more infuriating than that because Toph was acting like it didn't mean anything!

"Pretend you don't like him all you want, but you ran into that room pretty fast when you thought he was in trouble."

Toph's laughter died instantly. "I don't- That's not-! Twinkletoes is my friend, you dunderhead! Of course I ran in when I thought something might be wrong! I would run in to help Sparky and Sweetness and Snoozles and Fangirl too!"

"You may be an amazing bender—and you seem to have rather excellent control of your hair—but at least I'm not scared to admit how I feel," Meng said as a parting blow. Then she stood and walked off, knowing Aunt Wu wouldn't want her antagonizing one of her guests.

Toph was left alone in the lobby, grumbling obscenities under her breath.

...

The sun was warm and bright as they flew high on Appa on their way to Gaoling.

"Feels like we've covered all of the Earth Kingdom!" Toph sighed dramatically, but she had enjoyed most of it.

"We have," Aang agreed with a laugh. "Sokka and Suki wanted things from all over!"

"I'm glad to be outta that last place. That girl was nuts."

"Meng's not so bad. A little misguided is all."

"Says her stalkee."

Aang chuckled uncomfortably. But knowing Toph couldn't sense how he was feeling while she was in the saddle made him feel better about it.

"Did you know she had this crazy idea I was into you?" Toph said, laughing like it was the funniest thing she ever heard. Though in reality, she was testing the water so to speak, trying to gauge his reaction to the notion.

"Oh yeah?" he laughed too, to cover the way his ears perked up to listen with the greatest interest. "So...what'd you tell her?"

Toph had denied anything and everything. It was instinct. Denial, self-preservation, survival.

"Wanna know what else she said?"

His shoulders sagged. Disappointed that Toph didn't answer his question, Aang steered clear of the topic anyway. If he came across as too persistent, it would give him away. "What else?" he asked instead.

"She said you were handsome. Would you call yourself handsome, Twinkletoes?"

"How long were you two talking about me? And when did this even happen?"

Toph grinned. "Not long. While you were getting your fortune read. Now, quit avoiding the question."

"I don't know," he shrugged. "Do people actually think themselves good-looking?" he asked rhetorically.

"Snoozles does," she answered and they both laughed.

"Oh, before I forget, Aunt Wu told me we should avoid the swamp, especially during the spring equinox. Something about a rainstorm."

Toph looked confused. "Was there a reason for us to stop there? Thought we had everything on the list."

Not looking at her, Aang shrugged. "She only said to be careful." What he didn't mention was the conversation involving the nightmares he had been having. Or, what his reading entailed.

"Isn't flying over the swamp the fastest way to Gaoling?"

"It is, but we're going around it."

"Does Appa know that?"

"He knows and he's okay with it," Aang smiled, touched that she would take his pet bison into consideration.

"Make it a smooth flight, you big furball, will ya? Remember, no more mid air flips and you'll get that cart full of apples I promised."

Appa growled in agreement.

"You're bribing him?"

"Maybe."

Feeling better about the longer flight, Toph laid down to take a nap. Momo curled himself against her. After a few hours of relative quiet and turbulence free flying, they both woke up looking for a snack. When she failed to find anything appetizing, she settled on a bag of Aang's dried fruit and shared with the lemur.

Gray eyes lingered on her for a moment, studying her profile.

"Toph?"

When she turned to face him, as though looking right at him, Aang held her gaze, or rather he imagined that's how it would be if that was remotely possible. The wind was blowing her bangs aside and he studied her face for a bit, her eyes in particular. They were nice eyes. The shape, the color, those dark lashes lining them...

"What?" she said, sounding annoyed, but the smile she gave him made his insides do backflips.

You have the power to shape your own destiny.

"So...what exactly did you tell Meng? About me? About...us?"

"You say something?" Toph yelled back, though she heard him just fine. "I forgot how loud it got up here!"

The wind was rushing past them, howling from time to time, but not enough to prevent them from having a conversation. Knowing this and finally having built up the courage to talk about certain things with her, Aang let Appa know he would leave the flying to him for a bit.

When Aang landed next to her in the saddle, Toph sat up straight.

"Are you crazy!? Get back over there and fly this thing!" she cried.

Appa let her know he didn't appreciate being referred to as 'this thing' and grunted his displeasure.

"She didn't mean that, buddy," Aang said, rubbing the side of the flying bison. "Did you, Toph?"

If they hadn't been so high up in the air, she wouldn't have apologized. Since they were, she had no choice and did so. Begrudgingly, of course.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

"See?" Aang laughed and petted his bison one more time before sitting down.

Toph looked very uncomfortable, but that could have had as much to do with his presence and impending conversation as their flying high above the earth she loved so much.

"You okay?" he asked.

"We're flying, Twinkletoes," she muttered annoyed, crossing her arms over her chest. "What do you think?"

The fact she wasn't in the best mood wasn't going to deter him.

"So, what did you guys talk about?" he asked again, unable to contain his growing smile.

"Mostly you," she answered with a shrug, remaining vague on purpose. Toph didn't mention the panda lily. Nor did she ask what it meant that he gave it to her. She didn't bring up the whole thing about him maybe liking her...or the possibility of her liking him. What would any of it accomplish?

It looked like Toph wanted to say something else. Absently, Aang shuffled closer.

"You can tell me anything, you know that, right?" he whispered and Toph nodded after a long moment.

Consumed by what was happening in the saddle, Aang failed to sense the change outside of it until seconds before it was too late. Somehow Appa had drifted away from the edge to the swamp to fly directly over it. The shift in the air around them alarmed both airbenders because it could only mean one thing: tornado.

"Hold on!" Aang cried, at the same time Appa growled in warning. The former tried to secure the four of them inside an air sphere of his making. It wasn't enough. They spun and spun inside the tornado until Toph screamed, "I'm slipping!"

Panic-struck, Aang watched her barely holding on to the edge of the saddle with her fingertips. Momo was clinging to the side of Appa's fur and Appa was trying to shield his eyes from the violent winds spinning them round and round.

A piercing scream filled the air as Toph's grip gave way. Aang had no choice but to go after her. He yelled for Appa and Momo to meet him under the banyan-grove tree, prayed they heard him over the roar of the air currents, and went after Toph.

...

Everything smelled musty. Everything.

The air.

The earth.

The water.

Her skin.

But Aang's scent hung close by. "Twinkletoes?" she croaked, her mouth and throat dry from disuse.

"Hey! You're awake!" His back had been facing her while he tried to get a fire going. "You've been sleeping for a while."

He sounded happy and relieved, but mostly happy and she smiled. Still, Toph ignored the heat that rose to her cheeks when he hugged her. As he pulled away and she tried to sit up, her hand sunk into a puddle of...mud?

"Where are we?" she asked. He offered his hand, but she flicked it away and stood on her own. Two steps in and her feet sunk into more mud. "Don't tell me..." Dread swirled in the pit of her stomach. "We're in the swamp."

"Yes."

"Where're the others?"

"We got separated." Aang tried to keep the concern out of his tone as he spoke. He saw her struggling with a few tree roots, but when he tried to take her hand in order to assist her, she remained obstinate and refused.

"I don't need your help," Toph muttered, making her way to drier land. There wasn't much and she chose a sturdy root to sit on instead.

She remembered most of what happened. Toph knew she wasn't able to hang on and Twinkletoes had to save her. She recalled feeling exhausted when her feet finally touched land again. She didn't remember falling asleep though. Still, none of that meant she was helpless. They had been in the air, but they were on the ground now and she was fine. Well, close to it.

There was too much water mixed into the mud and the vibrations she usually picked up with ease were blurry. Not as bad as it had been in the desert, but almost. What bothered her even more, she couldn't see very far. Alternating patches of mud and water, trees, roots, and vines must have made up the entire scenery because that was all she could see. That and Aang.

"So what's the plan? Find Appa and Momo and get outta here?"

"Pretty much."

"What are we waiting for? Let's start looking."

They had no supplies with them, no food or water, no change of clothes, nothing but the muddy outfits they wore, so clean up was a breeze. Aang put the fire out and they were ready to go.

"How do you feel?" he asked.

"Dirty," she replied, "and not the good kind."

"There's a good kind of dirty?"

"Just when I think you might be a decent earthbender, you say something like that," she frowned, making him snort in amusement. "So, any idea where we're headed?"

"To the center of the swamp."

The dread intensified. "Shouldn't we avoid heading further in?"

"I know, but that's where I told Appa and Momo to meet us."

Toph paused. Why would he do that? She was about to call him all sorts of names when a thought occurred to her. If she hadn't needed his help, they wouldn't have gotten separated. And the fact he chose to go after her was probably the only reason she was still alive... Nah, she would've figured something out.

"You shoulda stayed with them. I woulda been fine."

"It was a tornado, Toph. No one would be fine stuck in one." He had barely managed to reach her before they were sent crashing through the canopy of branches.

"But you left Appa and Momo." Her voice was very soft.

"They'll be okay."

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh and I wouldn't? Why, because I'm blind?"

"Because you can't fly."

He wasn't angry, tired was more like it. No doubt he was worried, too. She should probably apologize. Or thank him. Actually, she needed to do both.

"Hey, Twinkletoes?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for making sure I didn't end up stuck in a tree somewhere."

His laughter made her forget where they were for a moment.

"You're welcome."

The damp clothes against her skin reminded her. "How far to the center?"

"I don't really remember. I've only been here once."

Toph couldn't help make a face. "Lemme guess, with Katara?"

"Yeah and Sokka." There was a hint of something in her tone that puzzled him. "We were on our way back from Omashu."

Was that a bit of anger or was it jealousy? No way it was jealousy. Whatever it was, it went away as quickly as it appeared and Toph visibly relaxed.

Aang continued, "Bumi told me that to learn earthbending I would have to wait and listen."

"So the old-timer's not completely crazy."

"Not even close."

"What made you think you'd find an earthbender here?" Toph asked, maneuvering over the thick roots sticking up from the ground in haphazard formations.

"I didn't," Aang replied, then a smile appeared on his face. "But, I did."

Toph paused to turn around and face him.

"Say what now?"

"This is the first place I saw you."

There was something in his voice...it made her stomach turn to knots. If Toph could have seen him then, she would have witnessed the way his gray eyes lit up with such warmth.

"Saw me?"

"Yeah, I had a vision of you before we'd ever met."

"That's not weird at all."

"Laugh all you want, but that's how I knew you were meant to be my earthbendering teacher when I saw you at Earth Rumble VI."

Huu's words echoed in his mind.

"In the swamp, we see visions of people we've lost, people we loved, folks we think are gone. But the swamp tells us they're not. We're still connected to them. Time is an illusion and so is death."

"But what about my vision? It was someone I had never met."

"You're the Avatar. You tell me."

"Time is an illusion. So, it's someone I will meet."

What if...what if they had met before...? Aang shook the strange thought away.

"You know, Toph, I think maybe I was always meant to find you," he said, his voice wistful.

"Think maybe you could find me some food instead?"

Chuckling incredulously, Aang shook his head. "Way to ruin the moment," he muttered, giving her a playful shove with his shoulder.

"Is that what that was?" Toph flashed him a toothy grin before shoving him back.

They both grew quiet after they nudged and elbowed each other one too many times, failing to realize how close they stood until then. With a lingering awkwardness, they continued in silence until they reached the bank of a small river.

"We need to get across. I can fly us over," Aang suggested.

"Yeah, that's not gonna happen."

"Want to swim then?"

"Aren't these waters full of cat gators?"

"Yup."

From bad to worse.

"Fine," Toph grumbled, but she didn't let him carry her, instead choosing to climb on his back.

"One piggyback ride coming up," he announced and took to the air.

Her arms were locked around him, her face buried into the back of his neck. When he hooked his hands under her knees to keep her from falling off, Toph had to admit, if only to herself, it wasn't a bad way to travel.

...

Momo was perched on the saddle as Appa flew at a cautious pace through the narrow openings between tree trunks and branches. Wondering if they were headed in the right direction, he chittered eagerly. Appa replied with a low growl.

Since the big guy seemed to know where he was going, Momo sat back and enjoyed the ride.

...

On the other side of the river, the raindrops started softly. But, too quickly the gentle drizzle turned to heavy rain.

"When's the spring equinox again?" Toph asked because the rainstorm Aunt Wu warned Aang about was obviously here already.

Alarms went off in his head and Aang swallowed thickly. "Tomorrow." At least he hoped it was tomorrow. He couldn't be sure how long they had been in the swamp.

They sloshed through the rising water, but it was getting more and more difficult to do so. When Aang reached to the side, offering his hand, Toph didn't argue and took it. With the heavy downpour from above and the growing puddles below, she was have a hard time seeing much of anything.

"We should take a break."

"We can't stop. The furballs are out there somewhere." And she was no help at all. "I know I can't see a thing out here, Twinkletoes, but can't you use your Avatar powers or something?"

"Toph, you're brilliant!"

"True," she said without missing a beat though she had no idea what he was going on about.

"I don't know why I didn't think of it earlier!"

"Think of what?"

"Huu said that this whole swamp is actually just one tree spread out over miles." Toph's expression said she clearly didn't believe him. "It means everything is connected."

"Right..."

Still holding her hand with his right, Aang knelt down and placed his left on the nearest tree. He ignored the thick raindrops hitting the top of his skull and bare shoulder. He ignored the warmth of Toph's hand. All his focus went to trying to find Appa's location and the arrow on his hand began to glow. However, unlike the previous time he felt that connection, this time nothing happened.

"Maybe it's all the rain?" he said with a defeated sigh, standing once more.

When Aang looked over at Toph again, her green eyes were wide and her other hand had come to rest over her mouth.

"You okay?" he asked, wondering what she was picking up on with her seismic sense, especially now that the rain had suddenly stopped. How'd that happen? He glanced around and it had indeed ceased falling. One minute it was pouring, the next, nothing?

"Aang."

Her voice cracked and her small hand trembled within his.

"What do you see?" he asked. Maybe a cat gator or two.

"I...I see you."

"Well, yeah," he chuckled, slowly taking in and trying to make sense of the fact his clothes were no longer soaking wet. "We sort of established that over three...years...ago..." The rest of the words faded to nothing when the realization of what was possibly happening struck him.

Gray eyes snapped to green ones. Aang knew it the moment she blinked. Toph was actually looking back at him.