I do not own any of the original Avatar characters.
The Runaway
Sado watched Toph and Katara's attacks fail to hit Aang again and again, Aang expertly fending both of them off blindfolded, having been training to see as Toph did recently. Finally, Sado saw an opening and sent a blast of fire at Aang, only for Aang to defend himself with a wall at the same time as redirecting Katara's water back at her, then spun and kicked a boulder at Toph, who caught it.
"Good job Twinkle Toes," Toph said. "Visualize, then attack!"
She punched the boulder, sending it flying back at Aang, but he dropped into the ground, the boulder slamming into Katara instead, throwing her backward. She shouted in annoyance, shoving the boulder away and pushing herself up.
"Maybe you should take your own advice, Toph!" Katara said.
"What's the matter?" Toph asked. "Can't handle some dirt, Madam Fussybritches?"
Katara glared at her before bending a massive wave of water around herself and Aang, then dropping it on Toph. "Oh sorry, did I splash you, mud slug?"
"Oh boy," Sado sighed as Toph took off at Katara on a mobile mound of debris.
Katara took off on a growing ice path until they crashed into each other, both flying back the way Toph had come from, crashing down in a mud puddle.
"Are we taking a break?" Aang asked finally.
Suddenly, Sokka was sprinting toward him, arm over his head like a blade. "Sneak attack!"
Aang formed a pillar in Sokka's path, which he ran headlong into, then dropped it again. "Sokka, sneak attacks don't work if you yell it out loud."
Sado turned his attention back to Toph and Katara, who were wrestling in the mud, bending mud into each other's faces, since it was a combination of their elements. Finally, Toph used a rock pillar to force Katara back to a cliff face, then charged at her.
"Uh guys, I thought we were supposed to be training me," Aang said, both freezing.
Katara recovered first. "Very well pupil, I believe we've had enough training for today."
"While Katara cleans up," Toph said, bending the mud off of herself, "let's go have some fun!"
"Yes!" Sokka said, giving her a thumbs up.
"Yeah!" Aang cheered.
Sado held his hand out, Toph accepting his help out of the mud pit, unnecessary though it was. Then, they all headed into town. As they were walking, several messenger hawks flew overhead, shrieking loudly.
"Look at all those messenger hawks," Sokka said. "Ya know, I've been thinking about getting one for myself. Then I wouldn't have to talk to anyone. I could just send them messages."
"I gotta say, I like the idea of not talking to you," Toph said, Sokka glaring at her.
"You opened yourself up to that one," Sado said.
"So guys, what are we going to get with our last silver piece?" Aang asked.
We can get more money," Toph said, stopping suddenly.
Sado and the others turned and she pointed to the side where someone had set up a shell game, several people gathered around to bet on it. One of the people placed a coin down and the dealer lifted the cups to show the small green rock they had to find after, then placed the cups back down, beginning to shuffle.
"This is where you seeing people are at a disadvantage," Toph said. "Everyone guesses wrong because the dealer moves the rock at the last second. But I can feel it with my earthbending."
Just then, the person playing the game chose a cup, incorrectly, as expected, and began to weep dramatically, being led away.
"Let's do it," Sado grinned. "Since one silver piece won't be enough, we can bet my jian as collateral."
"You sure you want to risk it?" Sokka asked.
"Toph says she's got this," Sado said as they walked down to the game, Sado holding Toph's arm as though helping her walk.
"You there, want to play a friendly game?" the dealer asked, looking directly at her.
"Me?" Toph asked.
"That's right," the dealer said.
"How could I possibly play?" Toph said. "I'm blind." She waved her hand in front of her face.
"You don't have to see to be lucky," the dealer said.
Toph knelt, feeling around for the table, then the three cups.
"You just have to guess which cup the rock is under after he shuffles them," Sado said as the dealer lifted them. "Right now it's under the middle one."
The dealer began, Sado's eyes following the cups, carefully keeping track. Once he was done, Toph raised a hand, hesitating, then pointed to her left. The dealer lifted that cup, revealing the stone.
"Way to go," Sado grinned.
"Wow," the dealer said. "Fancy guessing. You're amazing at this. Would you like to make the game a little more interesting?" He held up a stack of silver pieces, then began to roll a coin down the outside of each hand's fingers.
"More interesting, how?" Toph asked.
"Well, let's say you put up your friend's fine sword there, and then I'll put up twenty silver pieces against it, and that's more interesting," the dealer said.
"Throw in five gold pieces and we'll bet my sword instead," Sado said, unslinging it. "It's worth at least fifty gold, so you'd be getting a good deal."
"Alright," the man smirked. "You've got yourself a deal. And a lot of trust in a little blind girl."
"Yeah, my gambling habit already lost me a house, a girlfriend, and my family heirloom sword," Sado said. "Maybe I shouldn't bet this after all."
Toph snatched it away from him before he could resling it and the dealer grinned wickedly, beginning to rapidly shuffle the cups, Sado almost instantly losing track, not that it mattered. After an extended period of shuffling, he finally stopped and Toph raised a hand, hesitating before pointing at the middle one.
"Sorry little lady, but-" he froze when he saw the stone under the cup, bending down to stare at it up close.
Sado picked up his sword, slinging it across his back, then picked up the bag of gold. "I am so glad your luck's better than mine."
"I won?" Toph asked.
"You sure did," Sokka grinned. "Now come on, we need to go and get something to eat."
Sado and Aang nodded, Sado again taking Toph's arm and guiding her away until they were out of sight. Then, they went shopping, getting food and supplies for their travels and heading back to camp, all four laughing and celebrating Toph's excellent cheating skills. They found Katara cooking dinner and set the food down around her.
"Where did you guys get the money to buy all of this stuff?" Katara asked.
"Toph got us money," Aang said as he picked up an apple, Toph already halfway through hers. "She scammed one of those guys in town who moves the shells around all sneaky like."
"She used earthbending to win the game," Sokka said. "Classic!"
"Ah, so she cheated," Katara said.
"Only because he was cheating," Sado said. "If she hadn't earthbended, there wouldn't have been a stone to find."
"Yeah," Toph said. "I cheated a cheater. What's wrong with that?"
"I'm just saying, this isn't something we should make a habit of doing," Katara said.
"Why, because it's fun?" Toph asked. "And you hate fun?"
"I don't hate fun!" Katara scoffed, picking up Momo and setting him on her head. "See? Fun!"
Momo slid off, landing on his head before chattering at her and running away.
"Katara, I'll personally make you an Avatar promise that we won't make a habit of doing these scams," Aang said.
Katara smiled and thanked him. Then, the next day, they went into town, and went on a gambling spree. A game where stone sticks with four sides and spikes on the ends were thrown and you won if you could get both sticks to show their alternating "X"s or "O"s at the same time. A strength competition. They even pulled a trick where Toph pretended to be hit by a carriage and Sokka played the part of a corrupt guard, getting a dozen bags of silver pieces before cutting his losses and agreeing not to tell anyone, Sado, pretending to be Toph's brother, taking his sister away for medical attention. When they got back to where they were staying later that day, Katara decided to try again.
"Guys, I think these scams have gone far enough," Katara said. "If you keep doing them something bad is going to happen."
"Could you for once stop being such a sour puss and just lighten up?" Toph asked.
"Actually, I'm going to have to agree with Katara on this," Sado spoke up. "That last scam was crossing a line. If we had been called on our bluff, we'd have been thrown in jail, and then probably executed."
"Thank you," Katara said.
"We should stick to the small scams at the games," Sado said, Katara growling in annoyance.
"Fair enough," Toph said. "You're probably right about that."
"I'm serious!" Katara snapped. "Stop it before something bad happens!"
"Katara lighten up," Toph said, leaning back against a rock, folding her hands behind her head. "Maybe then you'll see how good we have it. We're traveling around the world, making easy money, having fun, with no parents around to tell us what to do."
"Ah, I see," Katara said. "You're acting like this because of your parents."
"Whatever," Toph said.
"Katara, don't," Sado said.
"They were controlling over you, so you ran away," Katara said. "And now you're acting like your parents don't exist. You act like you hate your parents, but you don't. You just feel guilty."
"I do hate them," Toph said.
"I don't think so," Katara said. "I think you miss them."
"Katara, that's enough!" Sado snapped.
"Fine," Katara sighed. "You know what, it doesn't matter. These scams put us all at risk, and we don't need that. We've already got some third-eyed freak after us."
"Speaking of that third-eyed freak, I think I've come up with a name for him," Sokka said. "What do you think of...Sparky Sparky Boom Man!"
Everyone remained silent.
"Just think about it," Sokka said.
"We have enough money," Katara said. "You need to stop this!"
"I'll stop when I want to stop, and not when you tell me!" Toph snapped, stomping her foot and launching a bag of money into the air, catching it.
Then, she walked away from the others, sitting down off to the side and forming herself an earth tent, sealing it. Sado sighed, staring at Katara for a moment before walking over, kneeling on the side away from them and knocking. After a moment, the side dropped, revealing Toph crying quietly. He sat down, Toph extending the tent to hide him as well before he pulled her gently into his lap, wrapping his arms around her.
"It's okay," Sado said. "Just let it out."
Toph continued to cry for a long while before it finally began to taper off. "I miss them. I hate them so much, but I miss them."
"I know," Sado said. "I know."
"Do you ever miss yours?" Toph asked.
"Sort of," Sado said. "I miss how it used to be, before I could firebend. Before my condition, when my family was a real family. Or, at least, when I was young enough that I thought we were. As they are now, though, no. I don't. I probably never will."
"I don't know what to do," Toph said.
"After the war, we'll go back to your family, and we'll make them understand that you don't need protection," Sado said. "We'll make them understand just how incredible you are."
Toph smiled. "They're going to hate you."
"That's alright," Sado smiled. "I don't need anyone but you."
Toph smiled, kissing him for several seconds before someone knocked on the wall of the earth tent.
"Toph, it's Sokka!" Sokka said. "We need to talk!"
Toph sent the walls of the tent back underground. "What?"
"I was in town and I found something you're not going to like," Sokka said, unrolling a wanted poster of her.
"Well it sounds like a sheet of paper," Toph said. "But I assume you're referring to what on the paper."
"It's a wanted poster of you," Sado said.
"Oh cool!" Toph said.
"They've nicknamed you the Runaway," Sado said. "Fitting name. Picture's pretty accurate too, except that it gave you pointy teeth."
"The Runaway," Toph grinned. "I love it!"
"Toph you're missing the point!" Sokka said. "Both of you are! Maybe Katara was right. These scams are drawing too much attention to us."
"Oh don't be such a worry wart," Toph said, picking up a bag of gold. "Just think, now you have enough money to prepare for the invasion."
"Well, I had this idea of making armor for Appa," Sokka said.
"Here's a little extra so you can get yourself a nice map of the Fire Nation," Toph said, dropping a few gold pieces into his hand. "You know what? Make it an atlas." She held out the entire bag.
"I do like expensive atlases," Sokka said, slipping the gold into his belt then accepting the bag.
"Of course you do," Toph said, taking the poster. "And that's why this wanted poster is going to be our little secret."
She turned, walking away and Sado followed. After a little ways, he stopped, Toph sighing and turning to him.
"Relax," Toph said. "I'm done scamming. And I'm going to stay out of town for a while."
"Thank you," Sado said. "Come on. Let's go find you something new to look at."
"Shouldn't be hard," Toph snorted, Sado chuckling.
They left the camp behind, eventually finding a plateau with a nice view.
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