Rated T for Toph('s vocabulary) – I no own-y anythingy. Things are pretty much as they were up through the episode prior to Western Air Temple. After that, I will be making changes, subtle at first, but evolving to long term differences. Pairing will be different. Undecided at this point, but I will forewarn, there will not be Katara and Aang. So if that is not your cup of tea, that I would advise you to find a different tea shop. If you are open to something different, than may-haps you will find a new brew here. I have not decided but Zutara, Toko, Azulaang, Taang, Soki, Sokkla, Zuki, are all possibilities at this point as well as none of the above or something else entirely. I've even considered writing multiple goes at this story with different pairings. Only time will tell. Also: I have not read the comics, and do not plan to include them in my material. For all intents and purposes, I will also be generally ignoring LOK for the most part. You have been warned.

Review - Don't Review. Complain - Don't Complain. Odds are I won't check. I am writing this for me. As a release from the mundanities of life.


Firenation Airspace a few days after the day of the Black Sun…


If there was one thing that stood out in the silence of airship travel, it was the guilt. The guilt of leaving Uncle. The fire that sprung from his hand to feed the ship flashed before it hit the coals. His face contorted in pain as he considered his path. Since the day of Black Sun, he had officially sealed his destiny. There would be no turning back. He had already abandoned Uncle on that day.

A shudder ran down his spine as he pushed memories away. Memories of his first visit to the Western Air temple. How the crisp air had felt on his face. Of years stashed away on the tiniest Fire Nation Sloop, suffering through lessons on Pai Shao, tea, celestial navigation, tea, music, tea. He could almost smell the jasmine on the summer breeze as he forced those memories away. That was the past.

He looked down at the map. The Western Air Temple must be the only place they were going.

'And here I am, almost four years later. Still chasing the Avatar', he thought dryly to himself as he pulled on the rope to let steam out from the balloon. It slowly sank from the sky as he guided it toward a small opening in the trees. It hit the ground with a soft thud and he let the fire go out. The balloon began to deflate as he grabbed his bedroll and his pack.

He tossed the bedroll haphazardly open beside his war balloon while rummaging through his pack. It was mostly full with whatever food he could manage to grab before leaving, the occasional salve for healing, and extra clothing. The rations would last him three days, maybe four if he skipped a meal.

As he lay on his bedroll, he contemplated foraging for food. The dried meat that he had been gnawing on sat like a rock in he stomach. As the dying light of day passed towards darkness, he reached into his bag and grabbed a tunic. He balled it into a small lump and placed it beneath his head. Somehow, sleeping rough in the middle of absolute nowhere felt somehow better than his own room at the palace.

As he drifted off to unconsciousness, the memories he had been suppressing earlier returned with a vengeance. Just as there is a dark and a light, push and pull, Tui and La, the dreams that grazed over his memories were the opposite of his earlier musings.

He dreamed or yelling at his Uncle for standing up for the members of his ship's crew's safety. The disappointment on Uncle's face when he insulted tea. But mostly, his dreams were of that day. The look on his Uncle's face caused him more harm than the scar on his face. The sadness was deeper than anything he could ever recall. The soft green glow illuminated the memory-dream as he accepted his sister's offer. Her lie. He felt himself look over his quarry of the last three years, the Avatar, past the waterbender he had been speaking to earlier that day. He looked directly at his Uncle. And he circled his right arm around as the charge separated. The bolt arced straight and true.

He sat bolt upright; sweat was dripping down his forehead. Shame washed over him as he thought of his dreams. He still hadn't been able to generate even a spark in real life, but somehow, that only seemed to make things worse. 'For what it's worth, it wouldn't have changed anything.', he mused to himself as he felt the morning light break through the mist. 'The look on his face was as if I had just blasted him through the heart'

Breaking camp is easy when you travel light and alone. Within minutes, he had stashed his bedroll and sack back onto the metal floor of his war balloon. He took out the map and stopped for just a moment. Judging from the light in the east and the strong wind born of the south, if he were to set a course toward the Western Air Temple now, he could possibly be to the outskirts by midday. The thought had occurred to him that he hadn't seen the Avatar's flying bison in a while.

'If the Avatar is not at the Western Air Temple, I am in deep shit. Twice a traitor with the most recognizable face in the Fire Nation, there is nowhere to go. Ba Sing Se, Omashu, and half the Earth Kingdom have fallen to Azula. Not to mention, my face will be plastered all over the wanted posters.'

Pushing the thoughts from his head walked over to the furnace and opened the door. With a quick flick of the wrist, a ball of fire sprang into the coals, sparking life into furnace. After a couple more blasts, the balloon was filling rapidly. It began to lift off of the ground, and he reached for the rudder controls. The light of day was shining brightly through the morning clouds as he banked sharp to starboard as he rose above the trees.

At the helm of his tiny airship, he could see the ground pass by. Forest gave way to rocks, which yielded to sand, sinking into ocean. The light of the sun shone brightly across the ocean.

Wistfully, he looked off his fore starboard side into the rolling blue crystalline ocean below. Foam sprayed as waves broke on the water. Light danced across the air as sea spray danced in the soft breeze. He felt his heart tighten as the sight of the ocean brought back his banishment. Of those first few days where he did nothing but lock himself in his cabin below deck. Of how the rocking of the sea was infuriating to him. Of his Uncle, who had taken him to the battle deck to stare into the waves. In typical Uncle fashion, he would normally wax poetically about water and its meaning. Freedom, change, vitality.

'If only I had listened…'

By now, it was nearly midday, and according to his map, his destination was arriving soon. It shouldn't be much further than that river up ahead.

Knowing it wouldn't be prudent to be spotted flying a machine with the Imperial Air Squadron logo blazoned in black on the red balloon, he again let the air out of the balloon. While he descended, he pulled the airship back to portside, hoping to find a clearing with some cover a little ways inland. It wouldn't do to have the Avatar out for a flight on that bison and spot him in the open. Or to leave such an easy target for the Fire Nation to spot. An unregistered airship out of formation deep in home territory would raise suspicions. Plus, there was no doubt in his mind, his sister had someone tailing him. 'The bounty on my head must be immense', he mused as he set down in a clearing and commenced stowing his ship.

Rifling through his meager supplies, he pulled out a length of rope and the same dark clothing he had used while masquerading as the Blue Spirit. Absentmindedly, he reached for the mask, in his pack. He felt his fingers drag over the ornate carvings. He couldn't recall why he had stopped to grab his mother's old mask, as it had nearly led to his capture. The feel of his mother's old mask reminded him that his mask was currently rotting at the bottom of Lake Laogi. He cringed at the thought as he slung the rope over his shoulder and set off on foot toward the temple.


Earlier that same day…


They had been trudging for days. Since the debacle of the Invasion of the Day of the Black Sun, their little group had been retreating. Katara and Sokka were walking side by side while Aang went from short reconnaissance flights with his glider to close to her side. Haru, Teo, and The Duke straggled slightly behind, talking amongst themselves. Momo hopped from tree to tree, occasionally stopping to inspect for lunch, in the form of berries. Appa took up the rear, still in the armour that Sokka had designed. His saddle was full of whatever their little group had managed to salvage from the invasion. Beside him, the world's self-proclaimed best earthbender trudged along, kicking a small rock in front of her.

"This is humiliating", Katara offered to break the uneasy silence that had gone on too long among the original trio.

Sokka looked over at his baby sister, "What, you mean getting our asses whooped by the Fire Nation on their weakest day, or having to walk all the way to the Western Air Temple?"

The sarcasm dripping from his voice was not lost on her, though there wasn't much that she could disagree with. "Both", she admitted.

Sokka felt his feet hurt. His legs hurt. His everything hurt. But mostly, his pride hurt. He had lost. Not only had he led them in their failure, he refused to call it off until it was too late. He had failed to maintain a level head and a warrior's calm in the tunnels. He had cost them so much. He had failed Aang. He had failed the invasion. But mostly, he had failed his family. His sister, who he had sworn to protect and look after all those years ago. And he had failed his father. He pushed the thought from his head as a he wiped a single tear that was forming in his left eye. A blur of orange movement brought him back to reality.

Aang had just landed from another short flight. Somehow, he had managed to retain his eternal good attitude, much to the mild irritation of the Water Tribe siblings. He clicked his staff shut and took his usual place beside Katara before addressing Sokka, "I think we are almost there. Can you check that map again? I just saw a river up ahead. It shouldn't be much farther than that. I am sure we will make it there before night if we just keep going!" He heard Sokka mumble something incoherent, and Katara flatly replied, "I hope so". Aang slowed his walking so he would fall in with the newer members of their team. Hopefully they were more interested in talking.

Katara thought to herself about the last few days. Ever since the failed invasion, everyone was in need of a win. Their spirits were crushed. Sokka's worst of all. She knew he tried to put on a brave face, but she knew that he blamed himself for the loss. No amount of arguing with him seemed to work. He wouldn't even argue back. He just glumly mumbled along. His depression grew with every step further they took. Aang had been antsy around her as well. Sometimes she would forget just how young he was: only twelve. So young to have so much thrust upon him. She knew he was also hiding from the fact that he knew deep down he was going to need to learn firebending if there ever was a chance to defeat the Fire Nation. Haru had taken well to Teo and The Duke, and she was grateful for that, though she knew they also carried the same sadness of lost loved ones within them as well. Just like Aang, they were so young… while maybe no Haru but the other two. And she thought of Toph. Toph was always a tough case with her. Unruly, insubordinate, gruff, and unusually filthy, Katara had grown used to having to move a mountain, 'sometimes literally', she thought to herself, to get Toph to do anything. But since the loss, even Toph had been out of her usual self.

Not that she would ever admit it aloud, Toph was feeling a combination of jealousy and loneliness. It wasn't the fact that she wasn't the only earthbender in their group anymore. It was just the fact that their group had gotten larger. Over the last few months, she had grown close to her found family. Teasing Snoozles was just too easy, and too fun. He never seemed to mind, though she did wish that he would sometimes pay her a little more attention. Sugar Queen took care of all of the boring stuff, like laundry, cleaning, cooking, making camp, and gathering food, leaving Toph free to teach Aang the finer points of earthbending. And by 'teach' she meant pummel him with as many rocks as she could find. But all of that had changed now. Back then, they were on the offence. How she liked it. Now, there were running away. She knew it was what they needed to do, but it still sucked.

Toph mused on their group as she continued to kick the small rock along. Sugar Queen was stressed to the limits. Toph had felt how she had been more tense these last few days than when they had argued all those months ago about 'her fair share of the work'. Snoozles had lost his energy and his edge. Her teases and jabs were falling on disinterest. Twinkletoes was fairing better, but even he had been spending less time with her as he was split between short flights and mingling with the newcomers. Not that she had any quarrel with them, but it was just harder for her to interact with them than it was for him. He had a way about him that she just couldn't explain. People just seemed to like him. Although, she did have some suspicions that earthbender boy and Sugar Queen had something going on. She just didn't have the proof… yet.

After many hours of walking and one river crossed, she felt it. It was immense. And it was so close. She stopped to press her feet into the earth. 'Yes! This has to be it', she thought jubilantly.

"Hey! Were here! I can feel it!", she called out to the group. They all turned to look at her. Except for Aang, they boys just cocked their heads to the side as if to say 'Are you mad?'. Katara quipped, "Uuh, Toph, I think your feet need their eyes checked…"

Before she could reply, Aang answered, "No, she is right. We are here."

"It's built into the cliff, below us", Aang and Toph said in unison.

The closer they got, the more it came into focus for her. "Wow, it's amazing", she mused.

Aang called out to Appa, "Hey buddy. We're almost home. Well, one home anyway. Do you think you are up for a short flight with everyone?"

"AARGHUGH", came the reply from the ten ton flying bison.

"I know buddy, but it is only to get everyone inside. Then you can have a nice long nap. Sound good?", Aang countered.

Appa sped up to be just behind Aang and gave him a large wet lick in reply.

"I'll take that as a yes", Aang replied with a laugh.

By midday, they had finally landed on a grand balcony inside the Western Air Temple.


Just outside the Western Air Temple…


A small fire burned in the center of a small clearing in the woods. The sound of a stream nearby provided a slight babbling in the distance. The deep green leaves of the trees swayed slightly in the midsummer's breeze. It would be the picture of a peaceful evening if it weren't for the recently re-exiled prince of the Fire Nation pacing a circular rut into the ground.

"Hello", the scarred royal said while raising his left hand in greeting, not to high, nor to low, "Zuko here, but I suppose you probably already know me…" He trailed off as he stopped his walking to rub the side of his head with his hands. "Well, umm, as you know, I have a lot of firebending experience, and well, I am considered to be pretty good at it", he crossed his arms across his chest in pride. "Well, I suppose you already knew that, since I have been, well, attacking you. Umm, I suppose I should apologize for that. But anyways, I'm good now. I mean, I thought I was good before, but then I realize I was bad, but anyways, not I know better. I think it is overdue for me to join your group and teach the Avatar firebending."

Silence was the reply. He demanded, "Well, what is your answer?"

He looked up at his test audience, a rather disgruntled badgerfrog.

"Crooooaaak", it replied, somehow with anger obvious in its reply. It promptly hopped toward the prince, using his head as a springboard before disappearing into the underbrush.

"Yeah, that's what I'd say too. How am I supposed to convince these people that I am on their side!? What do I need to do? What would Uncle do?", he thought for a moment, resting his chin in his left hand.

He dropped his voice in an imitation of his Uncle, "Zuko, you have to look deep within yourself to save yourself from your other self. Only then when your true self reveal itself."

The though of his Uncle again brought forth a rush of self-loathing at his previous actions. "Even when I'm speaking for him, I can't understand what he means. What would Azula do?"

He raised his voice to a high and whiny pitch, "Look, Avatar, I can either join your group or I can do something unspeakably horrible to you and your friends. Your choice.", he ended the statement by cocking his head to the right and smiling a sickeningly sweet smile.

"This is hopeless", he thought before taking a deep breath. The sounds of the badgerfrogs mixed with the sounds of nature.

He reached behind him and took his twin swords off from his back. It would do well to present as least threatening as possible. Dropping them on top of the bag with his mother's blue mask, he picked up a roll of rope. He started toward the temple. As he got closer, the memories of his last time here flooded back to him.

Pushing the unwanted thoughts aside, he set about tying the rope to a nearby tree. By nature of their element, the Air Nomad temples had been dreadfully inaccessible to those without flight. The Western Air Temple, being so situated underneath the cliffside, was one of the easier ones to access without the gift of flight. As he slowly lowered himself down the rope, he wondered what it would be like to fly. The Avatar had his flying bison. His Uncle of all people had ended the last of the dragons.

"Odds are I will never know what it is to fly on something that wasn't an airship", he mused as he touched down on the ground.

As if the universe continues to taunt him, he looked to the sky and noticed the Avatar in the air on his glider, pursued by his flying bison. Alight the bison is a trio of figures that Zuko assumed were the usual suspects.

"The enigmatic earthbender, and the water tribe siblings", he mused aloud to himself. 'I suppose I will just wait here until they return.'

Despite his tracking them across the world, he had very little first hand experience with the Avatar's earthbending teacher. The short girl with wild hair. On the contrary, he was all to well familiar with the other two. In what the water tribe brother lacked in bending, he made up with in spirit, dedication, and sheer stupid persistence. And that boomerang was not to be taken lightly, either. The younger sister had grown up much since he first crossed paths with her. From hardly being able to control a droplet, she had grown in power and versatility. The avatar has grown more powerful as well. From that fateful sight of the flare, when the twelve year old had just been able to control air.

He had lost track of time as he mused on his potential new companions. It was only when he noticed the large furry bison wander behind him that he knew they must be back. The thought of the impending conversation turned his stomach and hastened his heartbeat.


A little earlier, high above the Western Air Temple…


Aang had taken to the sky in an attempt to avoid the conversation they were trying to have. It's not that he didn't understand why Aang was running away, because he did. It was a lot. It was immense. It was more than he could ever imagine.

'To have the weight, the fate, of the world on your not quite thirteen year old shoulders. How could we understand what he had been through? Really been through. We lost mom so long ago. Then dad left for the war. And poor Toph had never actually had parents that supported her dreams, but they did provide for her. But Aang had lost everything', he though as Appa pulled up close to Aang.

"Aang, can we talk about you learning firebending now?", his sister called out. Katara was nearly leaning completely off the saddle as she called out to the airbender.

"What? The wind is too loud in my ears. Check out this cool loop", came Aang's reply as he sped off. The airbender did manage to loop through a rather complicated series of loops and corkscrews.

Toph sat near the front of the saddle, clinging to the front. He felt a pang of worry, the same kind he gets when Katara does something dangerous. He had to stop the urge to lean over and comfort her.

"Aang, I think we need to be making plans about the future. Our future.", he called out to his friend. From his initial skepticism, he had grown to trust the airbender as a dear friend. But sometimes, his friend needed some not so subtle pushes in the correct direction.

He could see that his friend had heard, and he flew adjacent to the flying bison. Sokka could see the worry ripple across the boy's eyes. The boy called back, "Okay. But we can do that while I show you the giant Pai Sho table. I'll bet I can beat any of you. Oh, and you, Sokka, are going to love the all-day echo chamber. Toph, you too. It is deep underground made out of stone!"

"At this point, any earth will be great, thanks!", the earthbender snipped.

Conceding defeat, Aang directed his glider towards the temple's open courtyard and fountain. Appa followed suit and soon after they were all on the ground again.

Toph was overjoyed to be back on sweet, sweet earth. It's not that she didn't like Appa, in fact, she had grown rather close to the giant furball after they had been reunited. Giant Fuzzball didn't judge when she was covered in a fresh coat of earth, or when she belched louder than Snoozles after a full meat dinner. As her feet hit the earth, the shapes returned to her. The temple, the fountain, Giant Fuzzball wandering down a hallway, and her friends all walking a different direction. It was all so wonderful to be able to have awareness again that it took her a moment to notice a different presence. One that she had only encountered in passing previously.

"Uhh, guys", she called out, "I think that tour of the Western Air Temple will have to wait." She jerked her head behind her, signaling to where Giant Fuzzball was standing. She could feel the curiosity of her companions. It felt like a slight tremor in Snoozle's breath, whereas Twinkletoe's heartrate increased slightly. Sweetness's muscles tightened as she turned around. Toph felt Giant Fuzzball move a little, but she wasn't expected for the response from her friends. She felt Snoozles jump sightly and she heard the sound a boomerang being pulled from its sheath on his back. Twinkletoes gripped his staff and planted it firmly in the ground in front of him. But she wasn't prepared for the response from Sweetness. Her heartrate spiked as her muscles tightened ever further. If she didn't know any better, Toph though she could feel the anger, no hatred, wafting off of the normally overly sweet waterbender.

A rough voice spoke, "Hello, Zuko here".

The stone of the floor told her everything. Her family (because that's what they were, her found family) braced for attack. She had felt it times before, the familiar tensing, blood pressure spike, and breathing changes. What she didn't feel was a equal yet opposite response from the new voice. He stood a few meters away, not moving not tensing.

"I heard you guys flying around out there, so I thought I would just wait for you here", the prince of the fire nation said. As he was speaking Giant Fuzzball gave him a large wet lick. Toph could hear it, and had to refrain from laughing. She could feel Twinkletoes relax a little, but neither Sokka nor Katara relaxed. Momo chittered as Princy ('That doesn't feel right. I need a better name', she mused to herself) continued speaking, "I know you must be surprised to see me here"

Fireboy ('also not right', she thought) was cut off by Snoozles, who interjected right over him, "Not really. You have followed us all over the world. Through pretty much every nation"

She could feel the change in stance from New Guy. He shifted uncomfortably in silence for a moment before speaking, "Uhh, Right. Well, anyways… what I wanted to tell you about is that I've changed, and uhh, I am good now. And well, I think I should join your group. Oh, and I can teach you firebending too. See, I uhhh"

She cut him right off, "You want to what now?"

Not to be outdone, Sweetness shouted, "You can't possibly think that any of us would trust you, can you? I mean, how stupid to you take us for?!"

Followed closely by Snoozles, "Yeah, all you've ever done is to hunt us down and try to capture Aang."

New Guy interjected, "I've done some good things too! I mean, I could have stolen your bison in Ba Sing Se, but I set him free. That has to count for something."

She again heard Appa schlop another wet lick on the New Team Applicant. She chortled, "Appa does seem to like him."

"Probably just covered himself in honey or something so that Appa would lick him. I'm not buying it", Snoozles countered.

"I can understand why you wouldn't trust me, and I know I've made some mistakes in the past", New Guy protested, only to be interrupted again.

"Like when you attacked our village", Snoozles countered.

"Or when you stole my mother's necklace and used it to track and capture us", Sweetness added.

"Or maybe when you burned down Suki's village", Snoozles continued. Not that she would ever admit it, even to herself, she flinched a little at Snoozle's on again off again girlfriend. She had put that past her, but it still left her feeling… alone.

The Fire Nation royal was now desperate, and the desperation leaked into both his voice and his breathing, "Look, I admit I've done some awful things. I was wrong to try and capture you. I am sorry I attacked the water tribe. And I never should have sent that assassin after you."

Her face involuntarily stretched in surprise, hearing about that.

"I'm going to try and stop –", the prince tried to continue before he was cut off.

"Wait, you sent Combustion Man after us?!", Snoozles retorted

"Well, thas not his name", Prince Awkward replied

"Ooh, sorry. I didn't mean to insult your friend", came the retort.

"He is not my friend", was the reply.

Interjecting her own thoughts on the subject, "That asshole did lock me and Katara in jail and try to blow us into tiny pieces.

Maybe it was her statement, or perhaps the vulgarity of it, but the courtyard fell silent. Even Momo had silenced himself. Only the sound of breathing could be heard.

The fire nation exile made his final plea, "You. Why aren't you saying anything. You once said you though we could be friends. You know that I have good in me."

Another moment of silence grips the group as she feels her friends turn toward each other. She senses Snoozles shake his head. The anger wafting off of Sweetness was palpable. She was honestly surprised that their unwanted guest wasn't just incinerated by Sweetness's anger.

Finally, the Avatar broke the silence, "There is no way we can trust you after everything you've done. We'll never let you join us."

"You need to go. Now!", demanded Sweetness.

"I'm trying to explain I am not that person anymore", he tried in vain.

"Either you leave, or we attack", came the ultimatum from Snoozles.

She felt the tremors as the exiled prince's knees hit the earth. She could sense he was holding his wrists together in front of him. "If you won't accept me as a teacher, then maybe you will take me as a prisoner", he stated flatly.

The impact of the water from the fountain pushed him at least three meters back before he thudded on the ground. "No, we won't! Get out of here. And don't come back. If I ever see you again, well, I'd just say we'd better not see you again!", the sheer hatred from Sweetness was a side of her that actually worried Toph. If she was a lesser person, she might admit to even being a little scared, but it takes more than that to terrify the world's first metal bender.


Western Air Temple, after Zuko departed for his camp…


They had gathered around a small fire outside the fountain. Katara had put a pot to boil, and tossed in the last remnants of his last hunt. Sokka's stomach grumbled as he thought about how little food they had left. 'Well, actual food. Meat. There is plenty of vegetables left… Aang won't go hungry, for sure.'

"Why would he try to fool us like that. How stupid does he think we are?", his sister inquired gruffly.

"Obviously he wants to lead us into some kind of trap", he replied.

"This is just like when we were together in Ba Sing Se. He just starts talking about his mother and making it seem like he is an actual human being with feelings and emotions", his sister sulked to herself. He knew better than to ask about that night. It was a sore subject that had left him soaked after the last time he tried to press.

"He just want's to make you trust and feel sorry for him so that you let your guard down. Then he will strike", he offered instead.

"Umm, guys, I actually have a confession to make", Aang interjected. Everyone looked over in his direction. Everyone except for Toph, who just tilted her head in his general direction. Aang continued, "Do you recall when you were sick and I got captured by Zhao?"

"How could I forget? You made us suck on frozen frogs! I had a wart on my throat flappy thing for a month!", he interjected.

"Sokka, I looked at that. If I told you one, I have told you a million times, there was nothing there.", his sister replied.

"Anyways", Aang took control of the conversation again, "when Zhao had me chained up, it was Zuko who came in and got me out. He risked his life to save me."

Katara was exasperated, "No way! I'm sure he only did it so he could capture you himself"

He agreed with his sister, "Yeah, face the music Aang, you're nothing but a big prize to him"

Aang sighed, "Yeah, you're probably right."

"And what was all that crazy stuff about setting Appa free. What a liar!", Katara huffed.

To all of their surprise, Toph took the moment to interject, "Actually, he wasn't lying".

He couldn't contain himself and the sarcasm dripped from his lips, "Oh, hooray. A lifetime of evil, but at least he didn't add animal cruelty to the list."

The little earthbender replied calmly, "I'm just saying, considering his messed-up family and how he was raised, he could have turned out a lot worse."

Now Katara's sarcasm came out, "Oh, yeah. You're right Toph. Lets just go find him and give him a medal. This year's recipient of the 'Not as much of a jerk as you could have been' award!"

Now Toph was worked up, "All I know is that while he was talking to us, he was sincere. Maybe you all are just letting your feelings keep you from thinking clearly."

Katara turned her nose up, "Oh, easy for you to say. You weren't there when he had us attacked by pirates."

"Or when he tried to capture me at the Fire Temple", Aang added.

"Why would you even try to defend him?", Katara huffed.

Sokka could tell that Toph was angry now when she replied, "Because, Katara". At that, Sokka knew she was serious. She never used their real names. "You all are ignoring one critical fact", she stopped to jab Aang in the chest, nearly knocking him over, "Aang needs a firebending teacher! We can't think of a single person in the world to do the job. Now one shows up on a gilded platter, and we won't even think about it."

He felt the earth rumble as she stomped into the ground, standing up.

Aang replies, "I am not having Zuko as my teacher"

He supported his friend, "You're darn right you're not, buddy."

His sister added, "Well, I guess that settles that."

Toph huffed off in the direction that Zuko had headed when he left. Sokka could just hear her reply, "Ergh! I'm beginning to wonder who's really the blind one around here.

He just looked over at his sister and friend, and they just stared back at him in silence.


A small clearing just outside the Western Air Temple…


She felt where he was. It wasn't hard to discern the trail he had walked in the foliage. Soon enough, his entire campsite was within range. She could feel his heartbeat, slow and steady. He must be sleeping. She was about to leave, when she stepped on a twig. The snap was resounding in the silence of the night. She felt him snap bolt-upright and suddenly the world was hot.

"Who's there?", he called as fire flung toward her.

She pulled up a wall of earth, but it was too late. "It's me!", she tried to call, but the world went fuzzy. Pain burned her world. "Ow, my feet! Damn it. That hurt!", she cursed him.

"I'm sorry. It was a mistake", he said, arms held up. "You just scared me", he admitted.

Despite the pain and the fuzziness of the earth, she did believe him. She had enough sense to tell that he wasn't lying. He might have even been remorseful. Even through the pain, she managed to chortle, "Heh, I suppose I did. Doesn't mean you don't owe me big time. I can't see straight." His frank admission of fear had caught her off guard. Her initial plan was to storm off when he hit her with fire, but that made her pause. Maybe he was trying to be different. But the others would be worried if she was gone too long. Sweetness would probably even organize a search party. He must have sensed her indecision.

She heard him speak, "Look, you have two options. You can either try to find you way back in the dark, or you can trust me, and I can try to help you"