Published August 28, 2012. Edited July 13, 2014.
"The Serpent's Pass
I do not know when I will see you again. Someday, perhaps, the world will indeed be quiet once more, but until the fires have been extinguished we must go our separate ways and risk our separate lives. ~ Lemony Snicket, Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography
True to their word, the sandbenders gave them a ride out of the desert. The leader, Sha-Mo, tactfully sent his son to another sailer while Team Avatar rode on his. Aang sat on one side, not speaking, barely looking at their surroundings. Sokka spoke with Sha-Mo about the area and how they might get to Ba Sing Se. Katara sat on the side opposite Aang, wondering whether or not she should go and sit with him.
Before she decided, Toph came over to her. "Can I talk to you?"
Katara blinked. "Of course."
Toph sat down cross-legged next to her. She lowered her voice, but Aang could still hear her. "What happened to Aang back there?"
Both Aang and Katara tensed. Toph went on, "All I know is Aang – didn't sound like himself, and then there was a huge wind, before Sokka pulled me away."
Katara took a deep breath, almost sighing. "Aang is the Avatar … but he's human, too. He feels emotions, just like the rest of us. I guess one way of putting it is: when you combine his human capacity for emotion and his spiritual capacity for power … you get the Avatar State."
"What is that?"
"It's the name for what happened to Aang when he found out they had sold Appa. There are two ways it can happen: if he's in danger, or if he's feeling strong negative emotions. It's not pleasant."
"For him, or for the people around him?" Toph asked. She wasn't being snarky; she was serious.
"Both," Katara answered.
"I'm ashamed to say it," Toph confided, "but I was scared of him."
Aang felt his cheeks burn with shame. He had to learn to control his emotions.
"The Avatar State can save his life if he's in danger. But it also puts him at risk. When he talked to his past life, Avatar Roku, about it, he found out that if …" Katara hesitated. "It's awful to talk about … If he's killed in the Avatar State, that would end the reincarnation cycle. There wouldn't be an Avatar anymore."
For a moment Toph was silent, absorbing this information. "That's bad, right?"
"Aang was frozen in an iceberg for one hundred years. The absence of an Avatar was what allowed this war to happen. That's proof of how much the world needs the Avatar, to keep balance between the Nations."
The sandbenders dropped them off at an oasis, near where the desert ended. Sha-Mo provided them with a supply of food for the next part of their journey. "I am sorry for what happened," he said softly.
After being in the desert for two days, the waterfall and pool seemed like paradise. Toph wouldn't go in the water, but splashed her feet in it while sitting on a rock. The others didn't ask why; Sokka was busy studying the maps from the library, while Katara and Aang were two waterbenders were ecstatic to be submerged in the element they had lacked for the past few days. It was so cool, after they'd been so hot; it was clean, after they'd been sweaty and coated with sand; it was refreshing, when before they'd been sluggish.
Now everyone felt a fair amount of energy.
After poring over the 5,000-year-old maps, Sokka planned out the best route, and explained it to the others. "We just got out of the desert, so we must be around here; and we need to go to Ba Sing Se, which is here," he said, pointing on the map. "It looks like the only passage connecting the South to the North is this sliver of land called the Serpent's Pass."
"Are you sure that's the best way to go?" Toph asked. She couldn't see the map, so she had no idea of whether what he said made sense. And she hadn't forgotten that going into the desert had been Sokka's idea in the first place.
"It's the only way," Sokka said. "I mean it's not like we have Appa to fly us there."
"Shush up about Appa," Katara scolded in a hushed voice. "Can't you at least try to be sensitive?" The two siblings looked up at Aang, gauging his reaction.
Aang looked at them with lidded eyes. When he spoke, his tone was calm. "Katara, it's okay. I know I was upset about losing Appa before, but I just want to focus on getting to Ba Sing Se, and telling the Earth King about the solar eclipse."
Katara looked at him in surprise. "Oh, well, okay. I'm glad you're doing better," she said, offering him a smile.
Toph wasn't convinced, but she let it go for now.
Of course their plans would change, twice, before they finally started out.
A group of travelers, including a married couple expecting a baby, showed them the way to Full Moon Ferry Landing, where ferries gave refugees passage across the bay.
Here Toph proved part of her value to the group—not as a bender, but as an aristocrat. She hadn't completely left behind her past; she had brought one item, a passport with her family seal on it. It was slightly ironic, that she had to hold on to her past and her family in order to do what she wanted, travel the world. Now, the passport bought the four of them, plus Momo, passage on the ferry.
"Thanks for that, Toph," Katara said gratefully as they walked away from the bureaucrat's desk.
"No problem. Glad to know I'm good for something."
Katara glanced at her, wondering what she meant by that. Then Sokka came running up to them, pulling one of the Bureaucrat's guards behind him.
"Guys, look who I found!" Sokka gestured to the uniformed guard. She was pretty young, not much older than Katara and Sokka.
Katara studied the girl. She did look somehow familiar, but she couldn't place it …
"Suki? Of Kyoshi Island?" Aang said.
"That's right," the girl said, beaming.
"Oh my gosh!" Katara exclaimed. "It's so good to see you!"
Toph cleared her throat, a not-so-subtle question in the sound. Sokka made the introductions. "Oh, Suki, this is Toph. She's teaching Aang earthbending. Toph, this is Suki, a friend of ours. She's the leader of a group of warriors—all girls."
"Nice," Toph said appreciatively.
They followed Suki up to a covered tower on the wall of the harbor, overlooking the landing on one side and the bay on the other.
"You look so different without your makeup, and the new outfit," Katara said, still trying to reconcile the appearance of the girl who stood before them with the memory she had of the Kyoshi Warrior.
"That crabby lady makes all the security guards wear them," Suki explained. She looked over at Sokka. "And look at you, sleeveless guy. Been working out?"
"I'll grab a tree branch and do a few chin touches every now and then, nothing major," Sokka said, sounding casual but proud.
Toph raised her eyebrows at this exchange, wondering vaguely if the two eldest kids had something between them.
"Are the other Kyoshi Warriors around?" Aang asked.
"Yeah. After you left Kyoshi, we wanted to find a way to help people. We ended up escorting some refugees, and we've been here ever since."
Katara smiled at this. She – and Iroh – had been right: things and people had a way of coming back to you, sometimes when you least expect it. It had happened with the Avatar, her necklace, Zuko and Iroh, and now Suki.
"So why are you guys getting tickets for the ferry?" Suki asked. "Wouldn't you just fly across on Appa?"
She knew something was wrong when everyone looked down at this question. It was Katara who answered sadly. "Appa is missing. We hope to find him in Ba Sing Se."
"I'm so sorry to hear that," Suki said, sounding surprised and concerned. She looked at Aang. "Are you doing okay?" Now everyone looked at him, waiting for his answer.
Aang's face hardened slightly. "I'm doing fine." Now he sounded annoyed. "Would everybody stop worrying about me?"
Before anyone could respond, someone called up to them from below. "Avatar Aang, you have to help us!" It was Ying, the pregnant woman. "Someone took all of our belongings. Our passports, our tickets … everything's gone!"
Aang called down to them. "I'll talk to the lady for you." He couldn't ignore someone who asked him for help. Besides, Ying and Than had showed them this cove in the first place; they had to help them in return, if they could.
But the bureaucrat was adamant. Since they didn't have passports, she wouldn't give them tickets. And Toph didn't think she would believe them if they claimed the family was with their group.
"What if we gave them our tickets?" Aang asked. It would slow down their search for Appa, but it was a small sacrifice to make.
"No!"
"But—"
"NEXT!"
Aang reluctantly walked away from the desk. Ying and her husband, Than, looked devastated. "Don't worry," Aang said, reassuring and firm. "You'll get to the city safely. I'll lead you through the Serpent's Pass."
They gave their tickets away to a group of people who didn't have passports with them. Sokka only stopped complaining about this when Suki rejoined them, dressed in her Kyoshi Warrior uniform, and announced that she was going with them.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Sokka said.
Suki was surprised. "Sokka, I thought you'd want me to come."
"I do, it's just …"
"Just what?" For a moment Suki wondered if he still doubted her abilities, because she was a girl.
"Nothing," Sokka said finally. "I'm glad you're coming." Suki didn't press the matter, but brushed past him to join the others.
They found
"Look at this writing," Ying said. "How awful."
"What does it say?" Toph asked. What words could make her so upset?"
Katara stepped forward to read the inscription. "It says, 'Abandon hope'."
"How can we abandon hope?" Ying said miserably. "It's all we have."
"I don't know," Aang said evenly. The others looked at him in surprise. "The monks used to say that hope is just a distraction. So maybe we do need to abandon it."
"What are you talking about?" Katara said, sounding incredulous.
"Hope isn't going to get us into Ba Sing Se, and it's not going to find Appa. We need to focus on what we're doing right now, and that's getting across this pass." With that, he stepped through the gate—the first step in this part of their journey.
Aang's statement bothered Katara, but she didn't want to waste time or energy arguing about it. "Okay, if you say so."
Toph actually thought this trek was more enjoyable than a ferry ride would have been, at least for her. Here she was walking on her own element, not blundering through sand or traveling on water. Sure, the cliffside was a bit treacherous, but she could keep her friends safe using earthbending to catch them when they fell, or divert a rock falling down on them. Sokka seemed strangely on edge about it—no pun intended.
The most eventful thing that happened was that a Fire Nation ship spotted the group. Suki explained, "The Fire Nation controls the western lake. Rumor has it they're working on something big on the other side, and they don't want anyone to find out what it is."
At dusk they set up camps on some plateaus, high above the water.
Aang was tired, but he didn't think he could sleep. Katara and Toph found him standing on an outcropping, staring out at the darkened water and sky.
"Are you sure he's okay?" Toph asked quietly.
"No. I'll talk to him," Katara said, before walking away from her, toward Aang. He didn't acknowledge her when she stood next to him.
Katara skipped the concerned questions and small talk; but she was still gentle. "You know, it's okay to miss Appa."
Aang didn't answer.
"What's going on with you?" Katara asked. "In the desert, all you cared about was finding Appa, and now it's like you don't care about him at all."
"You saw what I did out there," Aang said, sounding dejected. "I was so angry about losing Appa, I couldn't control myself. I hated feeling like that."
"But now you're not letting yourself feel anything." Katara looked at him with sympathy.
"I don't care, do you hear me? I don't care!"
"I know sometimes it hurts to care. The more you care, the more you have to lose. And you've lost more than anyone should."
In the back of her mind, Katara wondered if Zuko and Aang would ever realize how similar they could be.
Katara took a deep breath. When she spoke, her voice was gentle. "I know sometimes it hurts more to hope, and it hurts more to care. But you have to promise me that you won't stop caring."
Aang was silent. Katara stretched out her arms. "Come here. You need a hug," she coaxed.
But Aang just turned and bowed politely to her. "Thank you for your concern, Katara." Then he walked away, leaving Katara looking disappointed and a little hurt. He didn't notice Toph leaning against a wall of rock when he passed her.
Toph straightened up, and put a hand on Katara's arm as she passed her. "Let me handle this." She followed Aang toward the central camp. Katara watched the two youngest teammates, wondering if Toph could reason with Aang in a way that she couldn't. After all, Toph had done something right when he started earthbending.
"Aang," she began. "I think Katara's right."
"About what? Hope?"
"Maybe. But definitely about the way you're acting. You've got a whole crew of people who are here to help you, and you're pushing them—us—away."
"No I'm not. We're all working together, to get to Ba Sing Se."
Toph huffed, blowing her bangs out of her face. "Look, usually I get annoyed when people are overly emotional. But I think Katara's right—what you're trying to be is unnatural, especially for you. You're the fun and perky guy in the group."
"You haven't known me that long."
"I've known you long enough to know that this isn't you." Toph planted her hands on her hips. "Look, as your earthbending master, I'm telling you to shape up."
Aang rounded on her. "What do you want me to do? Pour out my emotions? Sit down and cry? Break down so I can't lead us out of here?"
"No, Aang—"
"Toph, there are times when I have no idea what I'm doing, but I still do everything I can to set things right. That's what I need to focus on now."
Toph was silent for a moment, keeping her face blank. Then she turned away. "I'm sorry I asked." She started to walk away, but then spoke over her shoulder. "If you want to cry, there's a shoulder right here."
"That's not funny."
"It wasn't supposed to be," Toph said quietly. She sat down and bended a small earth tent around herself, signaling that she was done talking.
They resumed traveling in the morning. They had only been walking for an hour or so when they faced their next obstacle.
Toph couldn't see the water, but she could sense how the earth sloped downward before them, and deduced that it had gone under the surface.
Katara stepped forward resolutely. "Everyone, single file," she commanded. As they followed her, Toph could hear moving water, and knew that Katara was bending it up on either side, creating a passage for them.
"Aang, I need help," Katara said when they went below the surface level; the water closed above their heads.
Aang silently handed his staff to Toph, who took it without question. She guessed that she was the only one who didn't feel claustrophobic in the eerie air pocket. Momo left Toph's shoulder; when he returned a moment later he was wet, and chittering in fear.
"What is that thing?" Katara said. Toph felt uneasy, not being able to see what she was referring to.
Suddenly something crashed through the bubble. Katara screamed, and her breaking concentration threatened to bring the water crashing down on them. Reacting quickly, Toph bended the earth beneath them, a column of earth that brought them up to the surface.
They stood on a small island in the middle of the stretch of water. Toph handed the staff back to Aang. She could hear something slicing through the water, making frightening noises—like hissing.
Suddenly something huge broke through the surface, sloshing water around, and screamed at the group—the sound was like a cross between a hiss and a bird cry.
"I think I just figured out why they call it the Serpent's Pass!" Sokka exclaimed. "Suki, you know about giant sea monsters. Make it go away!"
"Just because I live near the Unagi doesn't mean I'm an expert!" Suki snapped.
Aang swung his staff in an arc, sending a blast of wind that knocked the serpent backwards. "I'll distract him. Katara, get everyone across." He opened his glider and took off; the serpent's head followed him.
Katara froze a path of ice from Toph's island to the land of the pass. Then, while the others crossed over to safety, she bent an ice surfboard under her and propelled herself toward the serpent to help Aang fight.
Suki, Sokka, and Than's family had made it to the other side when they realized Toph was still behind them on the island. Sokka shouted back to her. "Toph, come on! It's just ice!"
Toph lowered one leg; her foot touched the ice—cold, unfeeling. She shrank back. "Actually, I'm going to stay on my little island where I can see."
Just then she felt the serpent's body crash on the land behind her, shaking the entire island. Toph yelped and moved onto the ice. "Okay, I'm coming!" She inched sideways, in the direction of her friends.
"You're doing great!" Sokka shouted encouragingly. "Just follow the sound of my voice!"
"It's hard to ignore!" Toph said acidly.
"You're almost there!"
She was just starting to gain some confidence, she heard and felt the ice before her break apart as the serpent crashed through it. Toph screamed as she fell into the water. "HELP! I can't swim!" She thrashed around in the water, willing herself to stay at the surface, but not knowing how.
"I'm coming, Toph!" Sokka shouted.
Toph started to sink in the water. Her head slipped beneath the surface; she couldn't breathe; she stopped thrashing her arms and legs.
After everything she had survived, how could she die from something as trivial and common as drowning? It didn't seem right.
At least drowning would be faster than dying of thirst or starvation or heat …
Suddenly two strong hands grabbed her, and she could feel herself rising up. Toph and her rescuer broke the surface; she coughed up water, leaning against the other person.
"Are you all right?" That wasn't Sokka. It was a girl—Suki.
"I'm okay." Toph tried not to sound disappointed. She coughed again, and cleared her throat. "Thanks for that."
"You're welcome." With that Suki started to kick her legs, bringing them back to the next part of the Pass.
Katara held on to the glider, and Aang flew them back to where the others were waiting. The group cheered when the two of them landed.
"Thanks for that, guys!" Sokka said encouragingly.
Katara smiled. Then she glanced at Toph and Suki. "Why are you guys all wet?"
"Well, while you were busy saving us, I nearly drowned," Toph informed them. "Did I ever mention that I can't swim?"
Aang blinked at her. "Oh." Of course, it made sense that Toph's parents wouldn't have though it safe or necessary for her to learn to swim.
"Are you okay?" Katara asked, bending the dripping water out of Toph's hair and clothes.
"I'm fine," Toph said. "Just wounded pride," she muttered, barely audible. Katara kneeled down and put her arms around her. Toph didn't protest; then she leaned into her.
Aang turned away from them, clenching his hand around his staff. He wished he'd been there to help Toph … but on the other hand, he'd been busy fighting the serpent, something he had to do to save his friends.
The thought reminded him of something, another thing to do with Toph … Hadn't she said that she couldn't save Appa because she'd been occupied with helping the rest of them?
But this was different. There had been other people to help Toph, so Aang hadn't really needed to be there for her.
Why didn't that make him feel any better?
His nagging conscience answered for him. Because you have some idea of what it was like for her then.
They had just reached sight of the wall when Ying realized the baby was coming. Sokka panicked; but Katara knew what to do and told each of them how to help. Even Toph obeyed willingly, feeling genuinely glad that someone could take charge of this situation. She was starting to admire that about Katara.
The worst part was waiting. They couldn't travel without the others; they had to wait to get to the city itself.
"Can you tell what's going on in there?" Aang asked Toph as they sat outside the earth tent.
Toph grimaced. "Kind of … but you don't want to know."
"Do you wish you couldn't tell?"
Toph shrugged.
"If you don't mind me asking," Aang said, "do you think you'd want to go through with that?"
Toph snorted. "No one's ever asked me that before … And honestly, I don't know that I'd make a good parent. I don't have the best examples to go by."
"I never knew my parents … but Monk Gyatso was my guardian, so I guess I could compare him to a father. Katara's been the closest thing I've had to a mother," he said, only half joking. Toph let out a short laugh.
Aang rested his arms on his legs. "Toph?"
"Yeah?"
He didn't look at her when he spoke. "I'm sorry I turned on you when we lost Appa. I just – I was angry, and I wanted someone to blame. But I shouldn't have taken it out on you."
Toph half-smiled. "S'okay. I guess that's partly my fault; I was the one who taught you to get angry at me," she said, remembering the first time Aang earthbended.
Aang blinked at her. "Is that what you think? Because I was already capable of anger; it's just not something I feel very often."
There was a pause. Then Toph spoke again. "You know, I never had a pet in my life. But for a while, my best friends were badgermoles. So I know what it's like to have a connection with an animal, especially one that was like a teacher to you."
Aang had never thought of that as something that they had in common. Yet it made sense: he valued life; her element was earth, which supported life.
"We're going to find Appa. I promise."
Just then Sokka came stumbling out of the earth tent, his skin pale and clammy. He pressed his back against the earthen wall and slid down. "You do not want to go in there," he said flatly.
"Don't think it'll make much difference for me, but I'll take your word for it," Toph said ambivalently.
"Another thing," Aang said. "I'm sorry I didn't do anything when you were drowning."
"Oh … well, you were kind of busy, saving everyone."
"Still—I didn't stop to think—it never occurred to any of us that you couldn't move on ice, or swim in water."
Toph chuckled. "Pick your poison: death by fire, or death by ice?" Then her voice turned serious. "I felt blind when we were in the desert, with all the sand, but this was worse. I felt helpless … just like my parents think I am."
Aang looked at her, and then turned his head to look out at the water behind them. He made a decision then. "One day, I'll teach you how to swim," Aang promised.
Toph was silent, for just a moment. "Sure. Good luck with that."
"I mean it. I'd do it right now, but I don't think we should go back in serpent-infested waters."
He was starting to think outside the box, almost like King Bumi. Other ideas occurred to him, things that he could teach Toph to do: fly a kite, maybe even read or write. That last idea reminded him of something.
"When we were in the library, I did find a book that I thought I could read to you," Aang remembered.
Toph smiled. "Thanks. I'd like that."
When they stopped conversing, they heard a sound that made their hearts leap: a baby's cry. Then Katara exclaimed, "It's a girl!"
Toph spoke to Sokka. "So, do you want to see the baby, or are you going to faint like an old lady again?"
"No, no; I'm good this time," Sokka said, getting to his feet. He followed Toph inside.
Ying was lying down, leaning back against the rock wall. She was taking slow, deep breaths, and holding a small bundle in her arms.
There was another, new heartbeat, so faint that Toph almost missed it. The baby.
She didn't think she should ask to hold it, when Ying probably wanted to do that right now, just after giving birth.
She felt Aang enter the earth tent, and take in the scene: everyone gathered around the newborn and its parents.
"She sounds healthy," Toph remarked, listening to the baby coo.
"She's beautiful," Katara said softly.
"It's so … squishy-looking," Sokka said, almost ruining the moment.
There was a moment of silence, but it wasn't awkward; everyone was looking at the baby—except Toph, who was gauging the emotions of everyone around her. They were calm, and happy.
"What are we going to name her?" Than wondered.
"I want our daughter's name to be unique," Ying said. "I want it to mean something." She sounded so loving.
Toph couldn't help wondering. Had her parents been this happy when she was born? For the first time she wondered how they might have felt when they realized she was blind. Had they recognized it right away, when she first opened her sightless eyes? Or had they realized it over time, when she never responded to what she saw?
Aang spoke up quietly. "I've been going through a hard time lately," he said, addressing the small family. "But you've made me … hopeful, again."
There was a very short pause. Then Ying said, with more confidence than any of them had heard from her before, "I know what I want to name our baby now. Hope."
"That's a perfect name," Than agreed. "Hope."
A short while later, Toph followed Aang outside. "Did the monks ever give you that sense of family?"
"Not quite like that—with two parents and a child."
Toph kicked at the dirt. "So, do you think you'd be okay having that kind of family? I mean, as opposed to a monastic society."
"Yeah. Actually, I think I want that. One day."
Katara came out of the earth tent. Aang turned to look at her. "Katara?"
She stood and looked at him. Aang bowed his head slightly. "You were both right. I thought I was being strong, but really I was just running away from my feelings."
Katara could understand that. She had done the same thing, after leaving Zuko's ship.
"Seeing this family together, so full of happiness and love … It reminded me of how I feel about Appa." He paused, choosing his words carefully. "And how I feel about you guys."
Tears streamed down Katara's smiling face. She wiped them away. Then she and Aang both stepped forward and hugged each other.
"Aw, you guys are sweet," Toph said mockingly. Then she turned her head sideways and spat on the ground.
Aang laughed and let go of Katara, only to extend a hand toward Toph. "Come here."
Toph pretended to consider, then came over and hugged Aang. It was the first time they actually embraced. She was just a bit shorter than Aang, who was more used to hugging the taller Katara and Sokka.
But Toph didn't let go. She couldn't remember the last time she had held anyone so close. With the possible exception of her parents when she was an infant, she had never felt, and thereby looked at, someone so closely before. Aang stiffened in slight surprise as her right hand came to rest over his chest. She could always feel his pulse through the earth, but now, under her grimy hand, she could feel his heart pumping blood through his whole body.
At a time like this, who needed eyes that could see? She could see him quite well enough.
"Toph? What are you …"
She grinned and stood on tiptoe to whisper almost teasingly in his ear. "Just getting a good look at you." Then she walked away. Katara had to stifle a laugh when he saw Aang's bemused but strangely happy and hopeful expression.
A short distance away, Suki approached Sokka, who was kneeling down as he packed his bag. "Sokka, it's been great seeing you," she began.
Sokka stood up, looking at her in surprise. "Whoa. Why does it sound like you're saying good-bye?" Without realizing it, he had gotten used to the idea that she would be a part of their group. Why had she chosen to come with them if she wasn't going to stay in Ba Sing Se?
"I came along because I wanted to make sure you got through the Serpent's Pass safely. But now I need to get back to the other Kyoshi Warriors."
Sokka was stunned. "So, you came along … to protect me?" Sokka remembered how Suki had dove in to save Toph before he did. Had she done that so he wouldn't have to risk his life? Or because she knew he didn't want to lose anyone else?
"Listen, I—I'm really sorry about last night." She looked askance, remembering. Last night had been the first time they actually sat down and talked, instead of fighting or training or traveling with each other. "We were talking, and … saying things …" Suki closed her eyes, embarrassed. "I just got carried away and before I knew it I …" She was cut off by Sokka's lips made contact with hers, catching her by surprise.
Sokka pulled away, looking into her eyes. "You talk too much," he said simply. Then he kissed her again, and she responded, sliding her arms around his neck. Suki hadn't realized just how much the Water Tribe warrior meant to her.
After a minute they both pulled away. Now Suki felt reluctant to leave.
"Will I ever see you again?" she asked, wondering aloud.
"I think so," Sokka said thoughtfully. "Things have a way of turning up again, even when you aren't looking for them." He was thinking of Katara's necklace, the one she had lost and found, which Pakku had made and rediscovered after sixty years. "I'm like Boomerang here: I'll come back, even if you don't expect it."
That gave Suki hope. "Come and get me," she said softly, cupping his cheek in her hand. She kissed him on the cheek, the way she had the first time they said good-bye; then she turned around to start the journey back. She didn't cry; one of the things Sokka liked about her was that she was rarely emotional.
Sokka sighed, smiling infatuatedly as he watched her form become smaller in the distance.
Song: "The Long and Winding Road" by The Beatles
Artwork: "Suki and Sokka" by AnywhereButReality on DeviantArt
Author's Note: I'd just like to say, I got the idea for the hug from the story "See What I See" by Geth Therapist (formerly Cadmos), who is on my Favorite Authors list. Also, I actually wrote a oneshot, "Footsteps in the Sand," in which Aang uses earthbending to teach Toph how to read. (I can't say yet whether it can be considered to be connected to this story.)
Today is my last day of summer vacation. Between school and work, I'm going to have more limited time for fan fiction, but I'll still try to update fairly often. I'm almost done with "Beauty and the Blue Spirit" and "Mutual Support"; once I finish those, I'm going to start my first multi-chapter story for The Legend of Korra.