…Through Blind Eyes…
…Chapter VI…
"Phobic Fortunata Pt 1"
From where he crouched up high upon his flying bison, there was but a glare from the blazing sun that had shrouded his sight. A freak heat wave had put the four of the travelers in a completely wearied state with its unrelenting temperature.
The Avatar, sweating intensely, crouched beside the reins, too exhausted to truly mind the bison. Sokka, begging for water every minute or so, slouched against the saddle, overlooking the landscape which had shifted from dunes of sand to endless forests and jungles. Toph, holding her head up with her hand as if in a bored manner, simply sat there without much to do. As for water-bender, she did all she could keeping the group hydrated, sacrificing the bending water as fluid for their bodies.
Coincidentally, as the temperature steadily increased, the moods of the group steadily deteriorated. There wasn't much to be said between the four save the arguments that ensued occasionally.
"You're giving me less water!" accused Toph in a bitter tone as the last bit of water entered her mouth purposefully starting an argument.
"No, I'm not! I'm giving everybody the exact same share like I always do."
"No, Katara, I know. Just because I'm blind doesn't mean I can't hear the different sounds of different amounts of water. I never forget a sound."
"What? Are you saying I'm a liar?"
"No, no, calm down. Toph, I'm sure Katara gives you the same amount of water that she gives everyone. And Katara, I know Toph doesn't mean that you're a liar," interrupted Aang whose exhaustion transformed his usual tone into a monotonous, dull quality.
"No, that's exactly, what I'm calling her" Toph pointed an accusing finger toward Katara still apparently having enough energy to shout, "You give more of your water to that lemur of yours than me."
Mo-mo peeked out from his sleep, obviously awakened by his name. Seeing that the argument didn't really concern the lemur, he went promptly to sleep once more.
"Look, Toph, Aang's right. We're all just a little bit bitter and on each other's nerves because of the heat. Right now, there's no more water left." The Avatar, clearly relieved, slouched back into position.
"Well, that's awfully convenient," murmured Toph under her breath as she crossed her arms, making sure it was just loud enough for Katara to hear. Afterwards, her face clearly showed aggravation but she did her best to restrain herself.
Sokka sighed observing his boomerang in his lap under the baking sun. "Hey, Katara, could I have more water?"
"Sokka, I just said I didn't have any."
"Oh, I thought you were lying to Toph," said the warrior, making an inquisitive face toward his sister as if a stare would break down the truth. When all that came back was a paralleled look from the water-bender, Sokka gave up quickly and shortly replying, "Okay."
………………………………………..
"This heat…" stated Zuko, riding his ostrich-horse with his Uncle, "…it's unbearable."
The prince swiped at a few beads of sweat that had slowly trickled down his forehead under the heated judgment of the sun. The Fire-benders rose with the sun and had a slight resistance against abnormally hot temperatures but even so, there was a limit to such ability.
"Perhaps we should stop for a very relaxing rest!"
"No, that'll hamper our progress. We're moving on."
"But I'm afraid that if I am out in the sun any longer, my feet will sweat more making the smell even more unbearable than the sweltering heat," grinned Iroh, pointing to his feet as his nephew respectively grunted in repulsed disgust.
"Fine, we're stopping." The prince pulled the ostrich-horse to a halt, settling near a soft patch of grass nearby. Unloading their possessions, Zuko pinched his nose as his Uncle removed his boots. Sighing in comfort, Iroh wiggled his toes.
"Uncle! How long have your feet been like this…"
"Oh, only for today. My feet sweat intensely under a prolonged heat – it will be best if I get new boots because…" Taking a whiff inside his shoes, Iroh conjured a disgusted face as he tossed the boots aside. "…these smell terrible."
"We're low on supplies; we need food for ourselves and the..." Zuko pointed toward their transportation but strangely finding the spot absent. He finished slowly, "…ostrich-bird."
Then, standing back up to his feet, the prince sprinted frantically over to the spot where the bird should have been, scouting the area. When his perusing effort had failed, Zuko turned back toward his Uncle.
"Uncle! Where's the ostrich-bird?"
Seeing his Uncle shrug in ignorance, the prince realized either two possibilities were present:
One, the ostrich-bird had ran off on its own – an unlikely prospect. Two, their transportation had been stolen right from under their noses. Immediately recognizing what had just taken place, Zuko shot out several fire-blasts from his fists to no-one in particular, seething in anger.
"Worthless thieves! We've been robbed!"
"It doesn't feel so good, does it?" The fire-bender turned back to face his Uncle's question, face showing signs of utmost frustration.
"It doesn't feel so good to be stolen from," repeated Iroh again drilling his point into his nephew despite the angered glare in Zuko's eyes.
"I don't need that right now. We'll never catch up to the Avatar now just by walking."
"Do not surrender to despair, Prince Zuko. There is still hope; there must be a village nearby."
"How can you be so sure?"
"I saw a very big volcano from a distance before we arrived here. If I remember correctly, there is a prestigious fortuneteller who lives in a village that has been established nearby. Most likely, whoever stole our ostrich-horse came from that village – we will probably find them there. Now, sit Prince Zuko, we will get there no doubt, but for now, let us enjoy a satisfying cup of Jasmine tea."
Nodding in understanding, Iroh's nephew accepted the tea, sipping it in a peaceful manner next to his uncle.
The village, once they had reached it, didn't seem to be merely a village. In fact, it was a trading commerce with flocking business all around. With each corner turned, there was another bustling row of shops. Every stall that sold something had customers.
"They're not here…" mumbled the prince immediately as he made his first walk around the village, keeping an eye for his ostrich-bird and the thieves who stole it.
His Uncle sighed at his impatience, offering tokens of wisdom that he intended to drill into his nephew. "Prince Zuko; patience – we will find them."
But Iroh was only met with more impatience as the prince shifted his head to and fro, observing their environment for the thieves. When nobody was found, his faith in his Uncle's words seemed dampened as he whispered, "How are you so sure they're here?"
"If they indeed did steal our ostrich-bird, it will only be wise of them to exchange it here for money."
As they turned another corner, their eyes bestowed upon them two haggard men leading an ostrich-bird, evidently looking for merchants to purchase it or perhaps barter a few goods in exchange. Their faces featured an unfathomable greediness as they stopped at each merchant, shaking their head when the apparent offer wasn't good enough. Long minutes were spent while Zuko and Iroh observed the two thieves, haggling with other merchants.
"Very wise…," finished Iroh with a tone that settled between the tone of sarcasm and seriousness.
"And very stupid if they think they're going to get away with it." Zuko gripped the handle of the two broad swords, unsheathing them only a sliver, preparing for an inevitable fight. But once again, his uncle restrained him from his instincts, placing his hand on Zuko's.
"There is a time and place for such things, Prince Zuko." It took some effort in order for Zuko to restrain himself, heaving a deliberate grunt as he sheathed the broad swords back in, obviously somewhat irritated.
"Fine, I'm going to go find water and something to eat and then…" A strange malicious glint shimmered in the prince's eye as he walked off by himself. Hand still gripping the edge handle of the broad swords, Zuko hastily dissipated into the masses, leaving his Uncle behind.
………………………………………..
"Aang, can we please stop for a rest? I know, I know, usually I want to get as far as we can to defeating the Fire-Lord before Sozin's Comet arrives but it's too hot today," begged Sokka, pleading Aang who was minding the reigns.
No reply came from The Avatar.
"Aang…?"
"There's no need for rest here, Sokka…" The warrior groaned disappointedly and opened his mouth to argue but not before Aang finished his sentence, "…because there's a village right over there!"
The Avatar pointed a finger that directed the group's attention toward a rather large volcano with a recognized village instituted nearby.
"That's…" began Sokka.
"…Aunt Wu's village!" finished The Avatar with appropriate excitement. "Yip-yip Appa."
Toph sighed; she still hadn't gotten most of the people the group had met yet, finding herself asking the same question over and over.
"Who's Aunt Wu?"
"She's a fortuneteller that can predict your love-line and your future. Come on, let's stop there for a rest. It'll be fun."
Spiraling down toward the village, the four travelers stopped beside a community gathering next to the village square. It was a silent gathering, waiting for the fortuneteller to bring news. As Aunt Wu ascended the stage, the village people cheered loudly, ready for the yearly predictions.
"A solid-looking rectangular cloud…there will be lots of rain this year!"
An uproar originated from the audience to the positive reading.
"A daisy flower cloud…hmm…this year shall be a great year for the birth of girls!"
"And lastly, a cumulus cloud with a distinctly twisted nob at the end – the volcano will remain dormant!"
Another uproar came from the crowd as the popular fortuneteller, after bowing, stepped down. As Aunt Wu came down the steps, Katara rushed to meet up with her again with Aang, Sokka, and Toph clearly out of her mind.
"Aunt Wu! Wait up!" cried the water-bender eager for more predictions.
"I can't believe these saps –even my sister! They still believe that Aunt Wu even after we proved her prediction was wrong?"
"Well…technically Sokka…she was right, the village wasn't destroyed by the volcano since we saved them. If Aunt Wu said that the volcano would remain dormant, then she would have been wrong."
The warrior made a disgusted face toward Aang as he said this, obviously still disbelieving the fortuneteller superstition.
A familiar voice shouted from afar as the group walked toward Aunt Wu. "Aang! Aang!"
"Meng!"
Toph, standing to the side, as they hugged sighed again. She found herself asking the same question yet again. "And who's she, Twinkletoes?"
"Oh, sorry Toph. Toph, this is Meng. Meng, this is Toph."
"You're…blind..?" Meng observed the earth-bender. Aang stood behind Toph, shaking his head frantically, signaling that she was going down the wrong road.
"Yea…what about it…?" Toph's voice was gruff and harsh. Not only shaking his head now, Aang began to wave his hands to get Meng's attention who finally noticed them.
"Oh, um, nothing, I guess…" The girl was taken aback after seeing Aang's wild gestures who sighed in relief. "So…what are you here for, Aang?"
"Nothing really – just for a rest from the heat after flying on Appa. Toph's my earth-bending teacher and I think she might want to get her fortune told to her."
"Fortune…told…?" A sense of fear struck her as she backed away filling her feelings with a lie, "No thanks, Twinkletoes, I don't believe those kind of things."
"Good choice, Toph," smiled Sokka, happy to have somebody who didn't believe in fortunetelling superstition too. But there truth was, Toph did believe in it – she just didn't want to be told…what she probably already knew…
"Come on, Toph, it'll be fun!" Aang took her hand, attempting to lead her to Aunt Wu but the earth-bender stood her ground, immobile.
"I already said 'no'." Swatting Aang's hand away, Toph turned her head away, recalling what the air-bender had told her before.
"I'm destined to be with her."
"What!"
"The Fortuneteller…she told Katara that she would marry a powerful bender."
A slight indecision came between Toph and her fears, curious to know what her own love-line was. Yet, she had already decided.
"Besides, I don't want to know what my fortune is…" Toph reminded herself.
"I think…" Aang's face lit up after hearing those two words hoping that she would comply, "I'll go and take a walk around here." With the finished sentence, The Avatar's smile reversed to a frown.
As Toph walked away, the air-bender attempted once more to convince her. "Come on, Toph!"
But it was met with a hasty "No." as the earth-bender continued walking.
"Toph, wait up!" The air-bender hurried over to walk with Toph, leaving his warrior friend behind alone.
"Well…" Sokka stated to himself realizing Meng had gone elsewhere whilst kicking a small rock that ricocheted from a wall and hit him squarely in the head, "Ow."
Aang had been sprinting past shops and stalls, yelling out "Sorry" every time he bumped in one stranger or another in search for Toph who seemed to have dissipated away into thin air.
"Toph! Toph!" The Avatar yelled a couple times after he came back to his original tracks coming back to square one.
"Toph!" shouted Aang again as he passed by a seemingly deserted store, either closed or abandoned. It wasn't long until he was ambushed and dragged into the forlorn stall with a hand masking his mouth, preventing any noise from coming.
Voice muffled, the air-bender squirmed around temporarily forgot about his bending powers, simply determined to see the ambusher was.
"Toph?" A confused look upon the boy appeared, neither knowing whether this was a joke or simply what the earth-bender was doing.
"Shh!" swiftly replied Toph, pointing towards the nearby vicinity directly across from the two. Turning around to see what the girl was directing his attention to, Aang saw a figure.
"Could I get some water and some hot food?" The prince stopped in front of the stall, offering a few coins for the supplies.
"Sure, sure." The shopkeeper nodded, turning back to get the supplies as he pocketed the coins. Rummaging his inventory, the man seemed to start some sort of small talk as even Toph's heightened sense of listening didn't manage to pick up on the incoherent conversations going on.
"We have to find Katara and Sokka and get out of here!" whispered the air-bender, maintaining his voice into a hushed tone. Making a move to stagger onto his feet, Aang's arm was met with a force, pulling him back down into their hiding place.
"Uh, Aang, we just got here. Plus, I'm sure Katara and Sokka can look after themselves. This place is huge, according to the vibrations I'm feel; there's no chance that this Zuko guy will even find them."
"Why even take the risk? Let's go." Another attempt was made as the Avatar air-bended himself back up to his feet, promptly glancing at the stall to see if Zuko and his uncle were there.
"Well, you go ahead Twinkletoes. I'm going to have my own little adventure." Lifting herself back to her two feet, Toph motioned to leave, smiling from her fifth sense that had told her the air-bender felt torn between the two decisions. Proceeding her advancement, she was abruptly with the vibrations of the air-bender's feet next to her, notifying her of his presence.
"You're right; I guess I was just… paranoid…" The Avatar, seeing as there was no convincing Toph decided to trust her judgment, accompanying the girl on her "adventure". It was a risk he supposed he could take after all.
"Of course I'm right, Twinkletoes… Now where should we go first; somewhere with lots of rocks and Earth." The girl smiled not only for her plans but for the air-bender who was clueless to the fact that Toph's heart beat several paces faster when he stood next to him inconspicuously representing her feelings for the boy. Inconspicuous was the keyword – she was Toph, the tough earth-bender, not some sappy girl who harbored feelings for certain boys.
………………………………………..
"So then!" joked a man to his company, gambling with dice. It was a bony man laughing a boisterous chuckle as he told his story to anybody who was willing to listen. Continuing to shake the dice, the man continued his story with an unkempt voice, noisy and oblivious to the traders who walked past him, wincing in agitation as they passed by, "I snatch th' bird righ' from under the guy's nose! He didn't even notice! Whadda sap!"
Another loud guffaw came out as he threw the dice, evidently the predicament that had occurred extremely amusing. Whilst laughing, he slapped the ostrich-bird upon the back, causing a loud croak from the bird which promptly bit the man back. Almost at once, his noisy hubbub of laughter turned into grumbles of anger as he prepared to strike back the bird. Seemingly undaunted to its newfound master, the bird stood its ground, not even so much flinching at the assault.
As the fist came down, it was hastily intercepted at the wrist, immobilized in another's firm grip.
"What th'…?" Obviously in a mixed state of confusion and anger, the man's face turned furiously red and he spat out words, "Whattya doing! You have no right! This is my bird! Let go! Wait till I call the guards on you! Let go!"
At that moment, the man shifted his face toward Zuko, realizing that the "sap" he had referred to earlier was back for his stolen bird. Beads of sweat slid down his forehead not sure what to make of the situation.
"You have something that's mine." The prince said it slowly and deliberately as if to enunciate each word to its clearest precision. On the contrary, the other man did the exact opposite – sputtering out a mix of fragmented sentence, some flat out lies.
"Whyouhavenorighit'smine! Youcan'ttakeit it's – what, im outraged of the insinuation – you can't do this!" were some of the things that Zuko could make out from the string of period-absent sentences.
Not wishing to make a scene from the matter, Zuko kept his Uncle's words in mind. There was only one thing he could do.
"You have something that's mine. Give it." The fire-prince extended his hand toward his ostrich-bird attempting to draw it back to him but the other man swatted it out of the way, lifting himself to his feet as if to draw himself to a bigger size for intimidation matters.
"Y' trying to start something there?" Exacting his posture, he stood up to Zuko about six or seven feet tall.
"No." It was a simple, dull reply but it was met in an entirely different fashion.
"Good! Then get out of 'ere!" With that said, the man shoved his hand forward, attempting to push Zuko back but it never made contact; it was cut off at the wrist. A minute bit of steam rose from the man's wrist as small fire-bending made contact simply a caution warning to the man that Zuko was a fire-bender. Letting go, the prince made for the reigns but not before an assault came into light.
"Y' threatening me?" A fist came toward Zuko and just as quickly, it was knocked out of the way as the fire-prince pulled out his two broad swords, pinning the man in a guillotine or scissor fashion against the wall. From that, the man instantly reversed from an angered state of assault into a pitiful fearful.
"You're th' Prince Zuko! Heir to the throne? Son of Fire-Lord Ozai? Please don' kill me! I didn't know! I didn't know! Please spare my life. If y' do, I can tell y' what y' wanna know! I know 'ere the Avatar is! Yes! I've seen him pass by! I know where he is! He's in this city! I can tell y' where! If you let go!" Zuko had no intention of killing; it wasn't in his nature to hurt needlessly and flaunt his power unnecessarily. He just wanted his ostrich-bird back but the man's offer had been too appealing to resist so he played along.
Simply nodding his head in unspoken agreement, Zuko released the man from the guillotine position against the wall and mounted his ostrich-bird appropriately. On the other hand, the thief was still shaking in fear, hastily guiding him to the Avatar.
………………………………………..
The two of them had been through most of the village, meandering and weaving through the area, joking, laughing around and keeping a light-hearted manner but at the same time keeping a level head for Zuko. For Aang, it was just another simple stop in his travellings but for Toph, it was much more.
How long has it been since I've done this?
Finally, legs just a little bit wearied, they stopped their exploring, settling near a rocky isolated area in the midst of no disturbances. There hardly seemed to be any sign of civilization in the vicinity which was remarkable to due how near it was from the village. With that said, it yielded a comfortably serenity but not so tranquil as for Toph to feel uncomfortable in the sense that something demanded her to break the silence – it was exactly how she liked it. The two emerged shoulders touching and the occasional, bumping of hands in which Toph didn't seem to notice or care and Aang well, his face blushed furiously.
They say that the first sign of romance originates from just one simple walk together. Proven, that was the case.
"Today was…well…today was fun." Toph spoke tenderly, an uncharacteristic manner of hers, one that Aang hardly knew she was capable of after his earth-bending lesson. It seemed all too out of her common attitude to say something like that.
The two settled in the area, sitting quietly among themselves as a silence passed by. Toph, laying on the ground nonchalantly, found herself doodling with earth-bending in a relaxed fashion. There was a light-hearted manner in the matter, the doodling, the stillness of its entirety.
Toph sat up, slightly grinning, turning her feet toward the relaxed Avatar who was just enjoying the serenity of it all. Yet then subsequently, she shifted her back to the boy, knowing it was out of her own character and embarrassed by that fact.
"I know I haven't said it enough…" The girl chose her words carefully, as if sidestepping a landmine – the landmine of a full blown 'I love you'. "…but you're the only person who really…treats me as an equal…what I'm trying to say is…thanks. And when I think about it…I…"
When the girl realized that what she had truly been doodling was a small carving of lightning, she gasped, instantly earth-bending it away, entirely obliterating.
When I think about the things I'm going to do…I…I…
Toph then in her position, swiftly turned a 180 and embraced the Avatar in an expected hug with her eyes quickly watering. She held the boy tight as if in another moment, he would be lost; everything would be lost. A few sniffles came out as she hugged with a very surprised Aang that at first, held his arms out in the open but gradually hugged back, encompassing his hands around Toph.
It wasn't the uncharacteristic hug that was so unexpected or the slight crying or the sniffles. No, it was a combination of all three. Toph, the Blind Bandit as Avatar Aang had known, wasn't like this.
She wouldn't cry; crying was the last thing the air-bender would expect her to do. It seemed all too preposterous for the Blind Bandit to unveil such a sensitive side.
Yet somehow, here she was, crying her eyes out in the shelter of his arms. Something had to have been desperately wrong…
"Toph…what's wrong…?" mustered out Aang whose heart felt slightly broken, seeing his teacher, his companion, his comrade, no, his friend, in such a broken-down, state. Just an hour ago, she had been herself, rebellious and snappy…but now…what truly had gotten into her?
The girl shook her head sadly a few times, groaning. She wasn't sure what was wrong…she, after all, took the offer…she, in deciding the choice, had freedom, something that proved invalid to her from her family. But now, it all seemed so grim; there was no way out. It was like an incarceration without bars, something far worse than what she had ever experienced before.
Aang, withdrawing from the hug, stared into her head on, determined to find out the truth. Toph, not really caring where her head stood, shifted it to where it should have went with her feet – directly in front of Aang's.
"Aang…if I…if I told you…" The girl drew closer; it pained her to be so vulnerable in front of the Avatar when she stood her own ground and carried her own weight. She was Toph, sturdy and strong as most earth-benders were – for exterior attacks that is…
"An ambush! Aang -" The earth-bender too entranced within the moment had only barely received the vibrations for the incoming assault. It was all too late.
Halfway into the sentence, Aang committed the remaining distance between them, lips locking for a good few moments…
…before a fire-blast interrupted them, scalding them just a bit from such unexpected ambush.
"Let's go!" The Avatar took Toph's hand, whispering in a slightly panicked fashion. "Grab on to me; I'll fly us out."
Aang's immediate idea when encountering Zuko was to flee. As an air-bender, that was only a natural train of thought. Although for Toph…things were a bit different. Even in such a previous different state of mood, the earth-bender held her ground, stubbornly refusing to run from battle.
"No way, we can take him. It's two on one as far as I can tell." A familiar figure appeared from behind making his way up to the two from the trail. Preparing her fighting stance, Toph eagerly awaited battle with an indecisive Aang still with his glider flipped out.
Dead serious, Zuko held his position, breathing in deep breaths.
"What are you doing? Meditating before battle as preparation! Ha ha ha! Whenever you're ready!" taunted Toph, patiently waiting for her opponent's next move. Focus on the vibrations of the Earth, there was something just a bit weird about her adversary's battle stance…she had seen it before…
"Well look at this. Enemies and traitors all working together. I'm done."
A…lightning-bender's stance?
It hit her all too late – physically hit her. A fierce crackle of electric charge issued from the fire-prince's fingertips, striking Toph squarely in her shoulder.
Her "sight" was useless here…
Zuko waited the earth-bender out, not damaging her while she was still absorbing the first blow. With luck, she would back done and needless fighting could be prevented.
"The Avatar" That was all. Zuko looked down on a slightly injured Toph who Aang sat beside, still insecure about whether to join the fight or...
But the earth-bender pushed her air-bending friend away, determined to suck it up. She wouldn't back down – no, never.
The reason I got hit was because I was surprised at his stance. That's all.
"Hurry up and hit me with all you've got! Unless you're scareedd. I'm ready when you are!"
There was a slight temper to Zuko's next attack as he lashed out three or four strikes at the earth-bender. Yet all was negated through a stone shield. Aang still stood by in the midst of it…but finally deciding to join the battle, he was met with Toph's stubborn voice.
"No, Twinkletoes, I'll take care of it. It's my battle."
With that, the air-bender backed off, worryingly watching the fight as Toph and Zuko exchanged rock and lightning.
And with each strike through Zuko's fingertips, the earth-bender could only barely evade.
She's blind. She must "see" through the vibrations in the Earth… The fire-bender had finally clued in. Smirking as if victory had already been achieved, Zuko suddenly halted his attacks and in curiosity to the matter, Toph did likewise.
"What's the matter? Stopping for your meditation? Ha ha ha."
"No." With that said, the fire-prince jumped solely into the air, allowing himself another smirk at Toph's confused expense.
"Where'd you go…" mused Toph to herself, shifting her head side to side.
When Zuko landed, the earth-bender immediately sent out a sharp rock which promptly met with an evasion of jumping.
She can't see where I am when I jump but she can probably predict where I land. That won't matter, though.
Another crackle of electricity pulsed and emitted from Zuko's fingertips as he was airborne. It hurtled through the air to an unsuspecting Toph; there had been no vibrations to notify her of the incoming assault. And when the fire-bender had landed…
"There you –" It was only her ears that gave away the assault but even then, it was all in vain for such method was too late – the strike had landed its blow already, impacting Toph back. The attack had been too swift to see where it had landed but it certainly seemed to have drained all of Toph's energy.
She never got back up.
"Toph!" cried Aang who had been watching the fight for some time, taking steps to aid his earth-bending friend in the fight…but he knew Toph wouldn't let him. He reached an impasse in respecting his friend's health or his friend's trust that she would beat her adversary.
"Toph!"
Zuko stood, secretly astonished at the destructive firepower of his lightning-bending. A few fire-bending blasts wouldn't ever yield such effect. But his mission was the Avatar not to dwell on the damage he delivers, even if he may have seriously wounded his enemy. There was no time for pity; the fire-bender took another stance.
There was a bizarre feeling that surged through Aang. No longer did he feel divided for fight or flight. There was but one thing that came upon his mind and one thing that his instinct dictated him to deliver. His tattoos glowed; the arrows emanated a white aura. A tremendous upsurge of power was bestowed upon him.
"Toph!"
Several airbending blasts toward Zuko and then, his consciousness temporarily was lost. A divine control and instinct raged throughout him and took over. He was in The Avatar State.
Oh good, I'm finally done with this chapter – just finished it with sleep deprivation creeping up on me. This has been a long chapter, at least for me – not in writing but in the thinking-out process, carefully minding the plot and her character.
To me, Toph seemed quite out of character and you may think it too but I partly did it on purpose. The thinking behind that is that anybody is always penetrable under the watchful eye of guilt. It changes people (at least that's how I see it). So although it is necessary for further plot development, it is also logical thinking to display Toph that way.
But yay, Toph was back to her own self before the end of the chapter.
So please review and tell me what you think of this chapter. Better than the previous chapters? Worse? And please tell why! It frustrates me to no end when people say (so and so) was OOC and doesn't tell why.
Anyways! I'm hopeful for some reviews on how the chapter's doing so that the next part will be more to your liking! Thanks!
Lightningstrxu – I am aware of that fact. Unfortunately…I can't imagine how Iroh's actor will be replaced. On the other hand, Book Two has been completed already…I don't know about Book Three.
Petitio Principii – I'm glad that you think so. Hopefully, this chapter will be of the same opinion!
MetalDragon FX – Undoubtedly, Toph is going through some…struggles to say the least. Guilt can change a person. Earth-benders are sturdy and strong at the exterior at least…
ReckAndCardi – Nope! That leaves only one person…hmm…
Yuffie-Chan2 – It won't take a backseat but I guarantee you there will be some bumps in the road there.
Dragon Jadefire – Unfortunately, I'm not a Zutara fan. I don't hate the ship but at the same time, I don't like it either. I really don't care for it. You know, if Katara wakes up one day and decides she likes Zuko, then that'd be that.
Xt0ph – Thanks for the review! Another Taang shipper ftw!
Zatcher – Progressively, there will be more! I promise.
Evilchik – Lol, I see you're a fan of the triangle. Well the triangle's solidifying soon.
Black-Tailed Rattlesnake – Haha, thanks for reviewing! Appreciated. I see your triangle is one edged (I hope that made sense lol)
Silver Shadow 75 – Indeed, you've landed spot-on! Thanks for the review!
Dianarules55 – Thanks for reminding me. Although I always viewed the Swamp as in "Aang will meet Toph", I am going to address the matter…in a dream sequence! Woop Woop!
Dan Heron – I've already addressed your insightful review in a PM! I hope you stay in for this one for more pointers.
Sifu Toph – Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad that your opinion remains the same and I'm sorry this story took a little while to develop.
Denisen – Thanks! I appreciate your view! Here's the next chapter!
Likesay85 – I have implemented your suggestion in this chapter! Thanks!