Chapter 22

Zuko had been certain that taking Mai away from Toph was a good move and that Toph would be grateful for it. He had been wrong. Toph couldn't believe that he had the nerve to leave the girl who could barely see and the girl who had been imprisoned most of her life alone a mile away from other people in an icy tundra. In a snowstorm! With each step became a stomp, her frustration at Zuko building.

The last stomp was a mistake. She never should have let her anger out like that. Too late. The ice beneath their feet began to crack, crumbling away beneath them. Both girls fell for at least 20 feet before landing hard on another sheet of ice. Neither moved Joy felt every nerve in her body scream with cold and pain from the impact. She raised her head slightly and saw almost complete darkness.

Toph felt the smooth ice surface with her hands. The vibrations were masked by the gloves she wore. In fact, she could feel practically nothing. Nothing all around her. For once darkness. The only other time she had felt this was on the day Aang had take out the Fire Lord. That moment when her and Sokka were forced to the edge of the airship. All holding her to anything was that one hand which was gradually slipping away. She wasn't connected. There was nothing, nothing in the world at all. It was the scariest moment of her life. It couldn't happen again.

They would get out of this situation. But how? There was nothing at all around them except freezing darkness. Both were truly blind to everything. Joy had to pull them both together. She knew her sister could see and feel nothing so she focussed of what she could see. It wasn't completely dark and she could make out the opening where they had fallen through. From there, it looked as far as the moon, the edge of which was visible through the large crack.

It felt like there were no walls for miles. No way up. All Joy could do was try to calm her shaking sister and wish she was a waterbender. She would stay calm. She had to. It had only been a week since she had been locked up, but she felt changed. She couldn't revert back to her old self...

A shadow passed over the hole in the ceiling, partially blocking any light seeping through. A cloud? A snowdrift? A wild animal bearing down on them?

"Who is that?" The voice was female but unfamiliar to Joy. It echoed across the ice, filling the area with the sound. The ice beneath them seemed to change, in fact it was no longer ice, but water. Water that swirled upwards, bringing the girls with it, pulling them in a soft current.

Toph's hands unclenched. "Katara?"

"Come back to the village with me."

-oOo-

A warm round hut and a hot cup of tea. Toph looked into the face of their saviour. Last time she'd seen Katara had been just after the war had ended. The group had gone back to the village so Katara and Sokka could reunite with their tribe but after that, they had gone their separate ways except for Aang who had stayed. Katara didn't look much different to when they'd last been together. Perhaps she looked more worn that before, seeing as she spent time helping oversee the building of new homes for people.

They had sat in silence for too long and an introduction felt necessary. "This is Joy, Katara. She's... my sister." the blue eyes widened in shock.

"Your..."

"It's a long story." Toph looked over at Joy who didn't look as frightened as she did her last introduction. She smiled at her younger sister, then Katara. "It really is."

-oOo-

Sorry for posting so late today, for some reason this took a long time to write even if it's short! Where I am it was super hot today so I recon I got kinda frustrated :/