Written for Tokka Week 2021

Day 4: Strength/Weakness

Toph sat in the group's campsite, still playing with the chunk of meteorite Sokka had given her, metalbending it into every shape she could think of. The material didn't feel like anything she had ever handled, and the fact that he had thought of how much she would love it hadn't stopped making her face get hot since they had left Piandao's estate.

Sokka was sitting a few feet away from her, admiring his new Space Sword like a kid on his birthday, sharpening it even though it was brand new and he could already easily shave with it. They were the only two in the campsite, as Aang and Katara had found another excuse to go off and practice waterbending.

She would be annoyed with Aang neglecting his earthbending, the element he had much more trouble with, just because he wasn't in love with his teacher, but this gave her an opportunity to say something she didn't want anyone else to hear.

"I'm sorry," she blurted out.

The sudden break in the silence made Sokka jump. He looked at her. "Uh…for what?"

Toph sighed and moved closer to him. "When I first joined you guys, and the Fire Nation girls were chasing us, I didn't count you in the fight because you're not a bender. I just wanna be clear, you know, for the record….I'm now aware of how stupid that is. I don't think you're weak or useless for not having bending."

Sokka frowned thoughtfully. "...Huh. I had honestly forgotten about that."

"Really?" said Toph skeptically. "So that had nothing to do with you suddenly talking nonsense about being 'normal?'"

"Well, I am normal, Toph, but I don't see anything wrong with that," said Sokka. "I don't really wish that I was a bender. At least—uhm…"

He cut himself off and his body stiffened. Toph felt his heartbeat spike and he rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"What is it?" Toph prodded.

"Well…." he looked around, making sure they were alone, "Look, don't tell Katara this, okay? But when I was a kid, I used to really wish I was a bender. After Katara first started waterbending, my mom, my dad, and the whole village would talk about how special and important she was, how she represented the future of our tribe, how we had to do anything to protect her."

As he spoke, Toph was surprised his voice didn't care any bitterness or jealousy, just sadness.

"It just sometimes felt like….if the Fire Nation got me it wouldn't be that big of a deal."

"...Well, that's a lot of lemur crap," said Toph, understating how angry she felt that the amazing boy she knew ever felt that way.

Sokka poured a bit of water out of his canteen into his hand. He watched as it trickled between his fingers and fell onto the ground.

"Some nights, I would sneak out of our tent, and I would try with all my might to waterbend," said Sokka. "I would glare at a single snowflake, willing it to move until I cried."

Toph's hands twitched as she almost threw her arms around him, but stayed herself and let him finish.

"One night, I was out there so long, I passed out from the cold. My parents found me in the morning, nearly frozen to death. That was when I realized how stupid I was being, and I haven't looked back since. It took me a while to get here, but I know my strengths. I told Katara and Aang, I'm the plan guy. I guess now I'm the sword guy. So no, you didn't make me feel useless."

Toph breathed a sigh of relief.

After a moment of silence, however, Sokka added, "Well…you kind of did, but not by anything you said. You didn't do anything wrong."

"What did I do?" she asked.

Sokka chuckled. "You just kept finding new ways to be amazing. All of you have. I don't really want to be a bender anymore, I'm happy being me, I just want to be the best me I can possibly be, you know? You three were already great, but I've watched Aang master two new elements, Katara go from picking up fish to riding her own tsunamis, and you just casually decided one day to bend an unbendable material.

"But me….lately, I've just felt like I'm the same me that headed out from my village, knowing nothing about the world. And then, even my role as the Plan Guy came up short against the Evil Plan Guy — or, Girl, rather."

Toph realized what he was talking about. "Azula," she whispered.

Sokka nodded solemnly. "As much as I hate to admit it, her taking of Ba Sing Se was perfect, there's no other word for it. I don't even think that was her goal going in, I think she was just there to capture Aang, but while she was there she just decided to overthrow a city and win a hundred-year war. That's what we're up against. I feel like I should have seen it coming. Should have been suspicious when they said that Kyoshi warriors had shown up at the palace. Now, I'm in charge of the plan for the Eclipse, and I can't shake this feeling that something will go horribly wrong. That's supposed to be my strength, but it's the only one that's failed us so far.

Toph couldn't help but laugh.

"Glad my deep insecurities are so funny," said Sokka.

"Meathead, Aang died in Ba Sing Se, I'm pretty sure that was a pretty big failure of his strengths. And trust me, there have been plenty of things that I've messed up too."

"Such as?"

"Give me a second, it will come to me. No, but seriously, remember when I almost quit after one day because I hated being part of a group that actually took care of each other?"

She felt Sokka starting to relax. "Thanks, Toph."

"Good. Now, if you're done talking nonsense about not being good enough, and I'm done making lame apologies," Toph stamped her foot into the ground, and Sokka yelped as the rock he was sitting on skidded several dozen paces away, turning him to face her.

"Let's see if all that battle training was worth our time," Toph said with a smirk. "If you manage to counter all the rocks I send your way, you'll know you've improved."

Sokka readied his sword and got into a fighting stance. "Nothing like a beating to make a guy feel strong, thanks sifu."

This prompt let me address an issue I've always had with "Sokka's Master." I've never liked that episode much because it solves a "problem" that didn't exist before hand. No one was questioning Sokka's role in the group, not the other characters, not the audience, and certainly not Sokka himself. He was always comfortable with his role as the strategist in the team, so him suddenly being all self-loathing and the show stopping to justify Sokka's existence feels unnecessary. So this little blurb is me trying to make that make sense.