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R&R - NO Warnings here! Maybe next time

Chapter 12 – Forest Capriccio

Part 1-

Toph:

Toph heard the door close; there weren't many times in her life when the tears were overwhelming and yet now she felt the hot liquid seeping down her cheeks. She closed her eyes and relished in the sensation on her skin, and with a mild shock she realized that for the first time in a long, long while, she finally felt whole again. It was a feeling she didn't want to loose. Not again.

Slowly she got up off the bed and found her clothes. Once she was dressed she sat back down on the edge of the bed and stared into the blackness. She could feel all the activity outside Jet's hut; Aang and Appa were nearby. Taking in a deep breath Toph got to her feet and went outside.

"Toph," Aang called to her.

She turned her head in the direction of his voice and walked towards him.

"We will see you in the morning Aang," said Smellerbee. "Goodnight Toph."

"Thanks Smellerbee, Longshot."

"What was that all about?" Toph asked him glumly.

"I have some good news," Aang said.

She could hear the cautious tone in his voice.

"Well," she said clearing her throat, "let's hear it."

"Zuko is looking for me, us."

"And that is good news why twinkle toes?" she asked him a little confused.

"According to Smellerbee and Longshot," he said, "Azula heard about the prison break and thinks I am the one who helped you guys. So she sent a letter to Zuko demanding that he be the one to search for me."

"Too good to do it her self, huh?" Toph smirked. "But I am still confused as to why this is good news."

"I'm getting to that. It seems that one of Zuko's soldiers is a spy for Jet. He sent information saying that there is a woman traveling with him who fits Katara's description."

"What? Katara with Zuko!" Toph screeched. "We need to tell Sokka, there is no time to waste, we should leave as soon as possible."

"Calm down Toph." Aang said smoothly. "Smellerbee and Longshot said that the spy said they were headed to Omashu, unless they find us first."

"This doesn't make any sense Aang," Toph said, "Why is Katara with Zuko, I mean if it is Katara?" She didn't want to get her hopes up and she didn't want to encourage Aang or Sokka either.

"I don't know, I thought maybe she was his prisoner, but the informant didn't mention anything about a prisoner. Smellerbee said hopefully they will have a little more on Zuko's location by morning. And she and Longshot want to come with us."

Toph wasn't sure that the two of them tagging along was a good idea, but it also wouldn't hurt to have the extra support.

"We need to tell Sokka about this," Toph said, a slight twist in her voice.

"Yeah we do," Aang agreed. "Where is he anyway?"

Toph shrugged her shoulders. She could only guess he was somewhere with Suki trying to explain what she saw away. She had to admit that she was gloating a bit on the inside. She had nothing personally against Suki, it was just she was selfish when it came to Sokka, and she didn't think she could share him that easily.

"Somewhere with Suki I suppose." Toph folded her arms indifferently.

"Oh," said Aang.

"We should get a good nights rest Aang," Toph said getting to her feet. "If what you just told me holds merit, it will be a long week ahead of us. We should find Sokka and tell him."

"Yeah, we should."

"I don't know which way he went though," she said solemnly. "It's kind of hard to find him in all these people." She lied, she could find him anywhere, and the truth of the matter was she was afraid to look for him. She was having a hard time following her own words of advice she had just given to Sokka.

"I saw him go that way earlier," said Aang. "If you want I'll go find him and meet you back at Jet's hut."

Toph nodded her head.

"Yeah, I'll meet you both back there." She gave Appa a great big hug before she headed back to Jet's hut.

Once inside she grabbed one of the rolled mats Jet had stacked and spread it out on the floor beside the bed that she and Sokka had been on earlier. The cushiness of the bed made it too difficult to feel who was coming in. She laid on her back with her arms behind her head for support, closed her eyes and waited.

Toph wasn't very good at sharing her feelings with others; Appa was the only one who knew her deepest most precious secrets, and that was only because he was a large furry beast that wouldn't tell anyone. Momo had been a good listener to her over the years as well. Now she didn't know what she wanted most, to run and be by herself again so she wouldn't have to face the disappointment of Sokka choosing Suki over her or to just simply open up the earth and let it swallow her whole. Either way she dreaded talking to Sokka again.

As she waited she thought back to when they had crossed the Serpent's Pass and she fell in the water; she could hear Sokka calling about to rescue her, but then the next thing she knew it was Suki who pulled her from the water. She had never been so embarrassed in her life.

It seemed like hours had passed before Aang and Sokka returned, but she knew it hadn't been that long. She felt them getting closer to the hut.

"Toph," Sokka said when he opened the door, "are you asleep?"

"How can anyone sleep with all the noise around here?" Toph answered sarcastically as she sat up. "Where's Aang?" She asked placing her hand on the floor of the hut.

"He will be here in a minute," Sokka said, she could feel him moving closer to her. "Toph listen, abut earlier-,"

"-Sokka I don't-," she interrupted him and stood.

Just then Aang came through the door.

"Am I interrupting?" he asked carefully.

"No, what you need to tell Sokka is more important." She felt Sokka's weight shift in front of her.

"What is it?" Sokka asked.

"We may have a lead on where Katara is," Aang said.

Before he could react Aang continued.

"Smellerbee has an undercover soldier in Ba Sing Se and according to him, Zuko is on the move looking for me and he has a female companion with him," explained Aang.

Toph got to her feet and sat on the edge of the bed, where Sokka had evidently taken residence as he listened to Aang.

"They think the woman is Katara," Toph added.

"What, Katara traveling with Zuko? That just doesn't seem right, not unless she is his prisoner." Sokka stood.

"They don't seem to think she is his prisoner." Toph could feel Sokka's heart rate accelerate as he stood beside her, as well as Aang's.

"But the good news is they are heading to Omashu," Aang began again.

"Why Omashu?" Sokka asked.

"It seems that Azula heard about your prison break and since it was reported that Appa was there she assumed that I was there as well. She deemed it fitting that Zuko be the one to hunt me down again, seeing as he had more experience than anyone else." Toph could tell that Aang was smiling, amused.

"He is probably using Katara as bait to lure you out then," said Sokka and then sat back down on the bed beside Toph.

"The good thing is though that we know where they are heading and it shouldn't take us too long to catch up with them," Aang said.

"Yes, but knowing where they are headed doesn't help all that much, we need to know what route they are taking." Sokka shifted his weight on the bed. "They could be taking one of several different paths, we can't forget that Zuko has the luxury of Fire Navy ships," he paused, "we should head back to Omashu. Hopefully we will catch up with them there."

"I think Zuko would travel on foot Sokka, if he is looking for Aang, he knows that he would have a better chance of finding him on land." Toph pulled her legs up crossing them in front of her.

"You're right," admitted Sokka. "We should leave first thing in the morning, heading back to Omashu."

"Smellerbee and Longshot want to come with us," Aang added.

"That'd be rough on Appa wouldn't it, carrying around five adults?" Sokka asked Aang.

"I think he can do it, we will just have to stop and walk when he gets too tired of carrying us," Aang answered confidently.

"It's settled then, Smellerbee and Longshot will come along, and we should leave as early as possible," said Sokka.

"Great, I will see you two in the morning then." Aang left the hut, leaving Sokka and Toph alone.

"You should get some rest Sokka; we have a long day tomorrow." Toph lay back down on her mat on the floor.

Beside her she felt another mat being laid down, then Sokka next to her.

"You know we could sleep on the bed, it would be much more comfortable." Sokka settled in next to her.

"I prefer the ground, I can see better that way, I don't like any surprises." Toph laid on her back, staring up in the darkness. "You don't have to sleep down here you know."

"I know." She felt his hand gently on her stomach.

Toph didn't know what to say. She didn't know if she wanted to say anything. Sokka lying there was enough for her right then. Honestly she was hoping that he wouldn't say anything either. The news of Katara outweighed anything that had happened up to this point between them.

"Do you really think that could be Katara traveling with Zuko?" Sokka said, turning on his side, his hand reaming on Toph's stomach.

"I don't know Sokka," she answered. "But if it is, I think we are better off that it is Zuko she would be with than Azula at this point."

"You trust him? After Ba Sing Se?" Sokka turned on his side, propping on his elbow.

"I don't know yet," she answered, placing her hand over his. "My main concern right now is finding Katara."

"Mine too, and if her traveling with him means she is safe for the time being then so be it." Sokka leaned over and kissed Toph.

"We should really get some rest." Toph tried to hide her emotion.

Part 2:

Sokka:

Sokka chased after Suki through the encampment; finally he caught up with her behind some huts on the edge of the woods.

"Suki," he said catching his breath.

"Sokka, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" she said putting her hands over her face.

"-it's okay." He wasn't trying to make excuses or even play down what she saw.

The silence was awkward. Finally Suki embraced Sokka tightly and began to cry.

"I thought I would never see you again Sokka, then Aang said you had been in a Fire Nation prison for the last five years, and Katara…," she said through her tears, "I'm so sorry that you have been through so much."

Sokka hugged her back, attempting to bring her solace.

"Hey, all that matters now is that I'm out of prison, and we have a lead on Katara."

Suki pulled back from Sokka and attempted to pull herself together. Wiping the tears from her eyes she stared at him, he could see the questions she had. The truth was he didn't know if he had an answer that she could understand.

"I'm glad your okay Sokka and I do hope you find Katara." Suki shifted her weight, still wiping tears from her eyes. "You will have to forgive me if I don't volunteer to come along, these people here need me."

Sokka smiled. He understood.

"You're forgiven. Besides, Jet needs someone like you around." If you had asked him two weeks ago how he imagined a reunion with Suki would have went it wouldn't have been like this. But then two weeks ago, he hadn't expected to fully realize just how much Toph meant to him and completed him. He hoped Suki would understand, he never meant to hurt her. But there was something that told him she would be okay.

They talked sketchily about the last five years avoiding the issue of Toph. But he wasn't going to press the subject. Suki had come to Jet's village shortly after he was captured and they all were separated. True he hadn't seen her since before that time; he had always wandered about her.

They talked until Aang found him. Suki hugged him one last time.

"Sokka I do hope you find Katara."

"Me too," he answered and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

She turned and walked in the opposite direction. Sokka looked over his shoulder once; she was walking into a small hut. He turned and continued forward until he reached Jet's hut, where he had left Toph.

After hearing that Katara could be traveling with Zuko, Sokka somewhat felt relieved. He couldn't say what it was, but if she was with Zuko, she would be as safe as she would be with him or Aang. He had had a bit of time to think about things, and the way they got separated, how Aang disappeared. Though he still didn't trust Zuko as far as he could throw him, he had a feeling that Toph was right, that maybe he wasn't the one who ratted them out in Ba Sing Se. Azula was everywhere, and she had accomplices and people who would do anything for the right price.

As he lay there with Toph beside him and the hopes of finding his sister soon, Sokka closed his eyes and attempted to sleep. Rest did not come to him easily as his dreams were filled with the days ahead of them.

I know this chapter was a bit slow and such, but it is necessary to move the plot forward. WE will catch back up with Katara and Zuko in the next chapter.

Just a quick note to say that the third season is flameo! Hope you all enjoy R&R!

Thanks!