Prompt: Myth
Word Count: 1,982
Our love's a matter of when,
"Did you know Sky Bison and Badgermoles are natural friends?"
Toph kept her eyes shut as she relaxed the back of her head into the palms of her hands. "You're making that up," she said from her spot on the bench.
He lifted his head up from the book he was reading and frowned. "No I'm not."
"You're taking advantage of the fact that I can't read, and are making up stories about our original benders," she uninterestedly explained, "just so you can sweetly finish up and say, 'See Toph we were always meant to be.'"
He flushed in spite of the fact she was completely wrong.
"Don't worry Twinkle Toes," she smiled as she nestled into her hands with a sigh, "I know you love me, you know I love you, yada yada yada, mutualism."
He chuckled, shaking his head as he rose up from his seat. He made his way over to her. "Gee, way to make our relationship sound so artificial and boring," he remarked as he sat at her feet, prompting her to rest them on his lap.
She snorted. "If anyone's making it boring, it's you with your damn Air Nomad books." She feigned a yawn. "Truly, peak romance, Aang."
He rolled his eyes. "You wanted to come remember?"
"Only because you'd whine about how lonely you'd be be without me," she shot back.
He quirked a brow at her. "Like you can survive without having someone to beat up 24/7?" She unashamedly grinned at that, leaving him to lean over and peck her chin. She barely bristled at the gesture, maintaining her relaxed posture. "But anyways," Aang continued as he returned to his book, "this actually talks about an old tale between a Sky Bison and a Badgermole, watching over this temple together supposedly."
Granted, that got the better part of Toph's curiosity. After all, the Western Air Temple was quite possibly one of the most beautiful places she'd even been to and found it to be a marvel of Earth design. So, she bit on. "Supposedly, huh?"
Aang nodded as he went on, "The drawings here depict the two working together to mold this temple." His awe spoke within his tone as he scanned the pages. "The walls forming from the ceiling of the cliff, molded by the Badgermole's claws as it surfs a cloud casted by the Sky Bison's breath." He thumbed over the drawing, blown away by its intricate beauty.
"What were their names?"
"They…" a page turned, "didn't have any."
She raised a brow. "What?"
"The monks of that time didn't believe they had a right to decree a namesake for the two." He shrugged. "They were eternally grateful for the land the two worked to create, but asked nothing more of them. They just watched in awe of their craftsmanship, deeming them the carpenters of their home." He gasped, looking at the next set of drawings. "This is amazing, Toph. The way these drawings illustrate them making everything, it's like how you make our rock tents when we camp! It's simple and broad, but the Airbenders carved out the structures themselves."
She hummed. "So what, did the Bison and Badgermole just… wander off?"
Aang continued to flip through. "The story goes that they moved on to create more lands and temples. With the Sky Bison carrying the Badgermole off into the world to explore." He turned another page. "They're said to still exist in this day and age, still wandering and creating to give gifts to mankind." His eyes filled with wonder as he looked out the window, over to where Appa was sleeping. "Can you imagine it, Toph? Another Sky Bison out in the world?"
"It's a story, Twinkle Toes," she pessimistically pointed out, "a myth."
He sadly smiled down at the paper. "Maybe they pass on. Through reincarnation or some other form." A brief laugh escaped him as he spared a glance back at his companion, "Maybe Appa's the reincarnation of this Sky Bison."
Toph bit back her frown. Whenever he sounded like that, filled with such wonder and hope, it made her feel melancholy. His hopefulness of his culture and its ways, any facet of it being still breathing—he would cling onto it like a second heart. That was the reason she came. Ever since Aang declared his journey to seek out and recover artifacts and ancient texts of his people, she knew she needed to be there for the harsh realities. His optimism and hope could shatter so simply at something as simple as a page turn.
The Earthbender wondered if he was aware of her true intentions in that light, or if part of him silently convinced himself not to think much on it. And part that worried her. Did he understand that she really did get how much this meant to him? That she knew he'd need a shoulder as he dug through the carnage that was left? And was she enough to express that comfort for him? Toph had no idea if work as her boyfriend's travelling partner was in vain or not.
Nonetheless, she would still stay by him.
"Heh, maybe they're actually us!" he mused, jovially flipping to another page. She sighed at that, unfortunately not going unnoticed. "What's up?"
"It's just this Bison and Badgermole," Toph said. "I mean… how did they become friends?"
He chuckled. "Maybe the Bison saw the Badgermole in a vision at a swamp?"
She scowled. "No really," she emphasized. "How do two completely opposite creatures just… become friends like that."
He shrugged. "I dunno. Is it that strange?" She still maintained her confusion, leaving Aang to tack on, "I mean, we work, don't we?"
She nodded. "But…" she bit her lip as she reflected on the two of them. "How does that just happen?"
"I honestly don't know." He stared at her quizzically. "Why's this bothering you so much?" he innocently inquired.
"It's not," came the defensive reply. "I just—" she took a breath. "Travelling for the rest of your life together, working together like that, even when they're so different? It's…"
"Eye opening?" Aang offered.
"Huh?"
A sad smile fell on him as he moved his left hand from the book to her lap, tapping it gently. "You don't think we can do that?"
Her eyes widened as she realized how this sounded to him. "No!" She felt him flinch, causing her to grit her teeth as she shot up from her spot. "Yes! I mean, no that's not what I meant." She sighed, shaking her head in frustration. She brought her hand up and pointed onto the page, aimlessly hitting the worn down ink. "It's inspiring," she corrected. "I just… how could they work so seamlessly together like that, so selflessly, and for each other?"
"Maybe it was love?" Aang offered.
She scoffed as she turned, letting her legs drop off the bench. "Maybe they'd birth an abomination."
He shot her an unamused smile. "Love is more than physical affection Toph, you know that." He bumped his shoulder with hers. "It can be deeper than that." He stomped his foot on the ground, creating a crater before them, but in its center—
A small sculpture of a Sky Bison carrying a Badgermole on its back as it held a small replica of the building they were currently in.
"It can be through acts of service or words alone," he gently whispered.
She giggled. "Since when did you get good at Earth sculpting?" She dropped her voice, "And smooth talking?"
He felt his face flush as he bashedly rubbed his bald head. "A-Ah, uh, just in my off time. Practice."
Her brow raised. "You practiced smooth talking?"
He tried to frown at her, but failed. "No," he smiled, "I meant the sculpting." A quiet air hung over the two for a moment. Toph let herself observe his artwork, allowing Aang a moment to think since she could practically hear his brain overworking. Eventually, he spoke, "You said 'inspiring', does that mean you want to aspire to be like them?"
She shrugged. "Can I answer with a question?"
"Yes?"
She punched his shoulder. "Don't get smart with me," she chided.
"Fine, fine," he groaned. Gesturing his palm to her, he prompted, "Go ahead."
"Do you really think friendships can last more than one lifetime?" The way his heart stilled at her question instinctively told Toph to wall up, but she forcibly let herself calm as Aang reached for her hand, interlacing their fingers together.
"Mind if I answer with a story?" he replied, already flipping back a few pages.
She threw her head back and groaned. "Why can't things just be straight with you?"
"Why can't you be less stubborn?"
"It's part of my charm, Twinkle Toes."
"Then I suppose I'm reading anyway," he teased back, earning a smile from Toph. "'The Sky Bison held the Badgermole as though they were the world's most delicate glass, as though it was the world itself. Gently and hastily, carefully and eagerly, they flew through the sky and helped the Badgermole carve out the shapes. They blew out and eroded dirt and moss to ease the Badgermole's struggles.
"'The Badgermole holed out homes and tunnels for the Sky Bison to rest and nap. They formed paths of bridges and widened steps to ease the Sky Bison's way of walking. Artistically and intrinsically, lovingly and passionately, they crafted statues and sculpted walls of the Sky Bison's likeness—as though to express its appreciation.
"'The testaments of the labour we inhabit. Gratitude for centuries to come and centuries to past, our carpenters need only shelter and we shall cover. Need only love and we shall adore. Need only food and we shall feed. Need only legacy and we shall tell. For they have crafted a home, and in turn, our story.'" He closed the book shut and smiled at Toph. "So whattya think?"
She faked a snore as she rested her head on his shoulder.
"Hardy har," he deadpanned.
He felt her vibrate as she laughed. "No, no, it was a beautiful story. I'll give you that." She tightened her hold around his hand. "But as long winded as it was, how's it relevant, Aang?"
"Toph," he squeezed her hand in reassurance, "it's not a matter of what we last through." He brought his forehead to hers and breathed against her lips. "It's what we leave behind that lasts through. Because it's what we create together that stands the tests of time." He stomped his foot again, raising the sculpture he had created on a pedestal as though to gain her attention toward her.
She chuckled at that as she blushed. His sculpture… it would stay there for a long time. Not counting the state of its stability, the structure it was housed in was still set to last for several decades to come. It would stay here. For years and years, long enough for it to be happened upon and made into a story of its own.
Toph didn't think that the spirits of these two animals were reincarnated within them. Nor did she think that Appa was the Sky Bison incarnate as well. Neither did she really believe the texts Aang read to her, for way literary documentation could so easily be stylized and dramatized. But she found solace in the story—it's a memento of a culture long forgotten, being retold to an opposite from another. She did think it had its merits, for what they could aspire to, learn from. She also thought…
Just before the sculpture, now raised by a pedestal, had three characters etched in. While Toph was still learning how to read and write, and all around see lettering, this? She understood. T + A.
She also thought… it was really sweet.
And hoped it would last lifetimes as well.
A/N: I know, really short. I think the insecurity card is played with Toph a lot—for good reason, mind you—but the conversation of what it really means to her to have long lasting friendships is something I think goes implicitly said. Aang knows what she wants to say and he tries to express it in the best way implicitly possible.
She doesn't want the bonds she's made to be cheapened by something as fickle as time. And Aang's culture is a reflection of understanding life beyond death, and time itself. The "Myth" is what friendship is. The "Myth" is the story. The "Myth" is the value of the story's meaning—did the two really live on, wandering the world and crafting wonders? Well, they crafted a story.
And maybe that's all that matters…
Until next time,
- Bleh