MD: Wewt. Chapter Two. Thanks to lady-rai-frost on LJ for her beta. HEART.

disclaimer: See previous chapter.

Escapade Two: Bliss

Toph stumbled through the trees, driving her toes into the dirt. She felt no trace of anyone, anywhere! There was a brief moment where she was suddenly truly blind, and when seconds later her vision, so to speak, returned, she was alone. So she did the only thing she could do: stomped around angrily, yelling for someone.

"Twinkle Tooooes! Sugar Queeeen! Heeeeey! If this is some sorta trick, I'm not amused here!"

She was met with silence and groaned, pushing her way through branches and shrubbery forcefully. There was a pressure under her left foot, and her sightless eyes turned towards the left. "Hey there, old man!" she called, recognizing his careful but powerful strides.

"Ah, young Toph!" Iroh smiled, stepping between two trees. His arms were crossed as he came to stand beside her. "I was worried something had happened. I'm relieved you are okay."

"Of course I'm okay! I'm not like Snoozeles or something."

"Yes, I should have known. Well then, let's go find everyone else, shall we?"

Toph nodded, beginning to walk forward again. She felt Iroh slide into an equal pace next to her, and the two carried on in a quiet canter. She wanted to get back to camp and sleep in a nice, solid rock tent where no one could disturb her. No Sokka whining, or Sugar Queen butting heads with Angry Boy. She didn't even have a desire to practice earthbending with Twinkle Toes. Iroh was being particularly quiet, and she wondered if he sensed her need for tranquility.

"Oh, for crying out loud, where's our stupid camp?" she burst out, unable to hold in her frustration any longer. Iroh chuckled beside her, resting a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Perhaps there is a reason we cannot find our camp."

"Reason? Like what?" she barked, shaking his hand off. She stomped forward, hands curled into fists. "Oh, wait! Let me guess! Those spirits have come out to play!"

"Would that be such a bad thing?"

"At the moment, yes."

Laughing to himself, Iroh quickened his walk to catch up to the blind girl. "Allow them their fun, Toph. Even the spirits enjoy returning to this world now and again."

"So you believe that man's story?"

"Of course I do," Iroh replied, nodding even though he knew she wouldn't see the motion. "Contrary to the majority of my fellow firebenders, I still hold onto my beliefs and will continue to hold onto them until the day I join the Spirit World."

"How come?"

He didn't reply; he stopped short. Confused, Toph searched for his arm. "Hey! What's going on?"

He remained quiet, but she felt the earth beneath him quiver.

"What's happening? Is someone there?" she demanded, plummeting her toes deep into the dirt. There was nothing in front of them, or around them in any direction for that matter, so why did he stop short?

"Lu Ten…?"

Toph grew tense. There was obviously someone here, but why couldn't she see them? Slamming her foot against the ground, she sent a small quake across the area. "Who's there?" she shouted, threatening to use her foot again with more force.

"My son…"

She froze. Did he just say… what she thought he said? But hadn't he told her that his son was dead? So, did that mean…

"Hello, Father."

It took quite a lot to startle the Blind Bandit, but when the disembodied voice reached her ears, she fell backwards and stumbled to her butt. Her eyes widened, as she dug her hands into the earth, desperate for any extra helping in seeing what was going on. "Iroh! What's going on?!"

"It's okay, Toph. This is my son."

"But there's no one there!"

She sensed his body turn to hers, and then his hand pat her head. "It is because he is a Spirit, little one. As he is not of this world, you cannot feel the ground he does not touch."

Toph absorbed what he had just told her, letting the words run across her brain. If she understood him correctly, there was a spirit standing in front of them, and the spirit was Iroh's son.

She heard him crying. "I have missed you, my son."

"As have I." The pitch of his voice held a haunting melody, an echo of something it no longer was.

She wanted to accept this for what it was, but she couldn't understand. There was a voice, but no body. She had to take Iroh's word for it, and she almost wanted to, but she felt it might go against everything she believed, and she didn't want to doubt her feet.

"I am… so sorry."

"For what?" The voice was genuinely confused.

"Your death…"

"I don't blame you, Father. It wasn't your fault. Please stop charging yourself with my end." A plea, a hope, an honest truth.

"Oh, Lu Ten…" She heard his weeping increase, and she didn't need vision to know how desperately he wanted to reach out and hug his son.

"And I'm proud of you, Father. Zuko did always need a strong figure in his life. I was worried about my little cousin, you know?" No regret, a thankful wisp of laughter tucked away.

"When you passed on… I did not know if I could live with myself."

"I'm very glad you did! If you offed yourself, I would have killed you again!" Warning, but he jested in his mannerisms. Or maybe he didn't.

She felt observant eyes gazing at her, knew what direction they were coming from, but felt nothing under her feet.

"Father, I don't believe we've been introduced. Who's your young friend here?"

Iroh's calloused hands slipped around hers, pulling the girl to her feet. She clutched his hand tightly, unwillingly to admit the ounce of fear in her stomach, but not able to deny it. "This is Toph Bei Fong, the Avatar's earthbending master. She is one of my traveling companions."

"It is an honor to meet you, Miss Toph."

Before she could stop herself, she blurted, "Just Toph, thanks."

A chuckle. "My name is Lu Ten. Iroh is my father."

"I figured as much." It was out of her mouth without a second thought.

Another amused chuckle. "I'm happy to see he's doing well. I worry about the old coot."

"He's doing more than well. Drinks all our tea in a day faster than four of us did in a week."

An unrestrained laugh. "I see he hasn't kicked the habit!"

Toph found herself smiling. She liked this voice, even if she couldn't see him. "Far from it. We first allied with him at a Tea House."

"Ah, I remember. Ba Sing Se, was it?" Only a slightly rhetoric question

Beside her, Iroh cringed. She tilted her head slightly at him in concern. Did he have bad memories of Ba Sing Se, other than it being the place of his greatest defeat?

"Father." A warning tone again. "I have no regrets in my life. Neither should you."

"If only we had more time, Lu Ten… That is my biggest regret."

Had Lu Ten died at Ba Sing Se? She tossed her eyes between Iroh and the place the voice was coming from. That had to be it. She wanted to ask, but kept her mouth clamped shut.

"Well then, Father. I can safely say that you have no more regrets. This is time we're sharing right this moment, and when it runs out, you need to return to Zuko. He needs you now and in the days coming, more than you realize."

She felt him lift an arm, as if to touch his son, but it slowly drifted back to his side. "You are right. I… am …"

"Father, I'm not really gone. I'm always watching you. You may not be able to speak with me at any time anymore, but I'm still around."

"I know, I know…"

The gears turned in Toph's head. Lu Ten – he must be the reason why Iroh so adamantly believed in the Spirit World and all the legends. If he lost faith, he would lose the only connection he had left to his son.

"And Father – Zuko's grown, but he has a lot more growing to do. Try not to torture him too much, okay?"

Iroh let out his signature chortle. "I will not tease him any more than what he deserves. Surely you've seen the way he acts?"

A happy laugh. "He amuses me most around the female species. Particularly a rather feisty waterbender."

Even Toph giggled at that. "I couldn't agree with you more there."

An invisible smile. "It was very nice to meet you, Toph."

"Same to you, Lu Ten. Your dad's got nothing but praise for you."

"That's nice to hear."

"Lu Ten…"

"Father, please don't ever give up."

"Of course not. I promise I will look after Zuko as I always have. As I would look after you."

"Then our crown prince is in the best of hands."

Toph felt Iroh's body shaking with tears, but they were no longer that of sorrow or regret. She squeezed his hand in reassurance.

"I will miss you, my son."

"I'm always here."

She didn't see it happen, but she knew the spirit was gone. It was just something in the air. She turned back to Iroh, hearing him steadily cry. "Well, old man, guess you were right."

"About?" His voice cracked, but she didn't bring it up.

"The Spirits. I'll never doubt them again. Or you, for that matter."

"Thank you, Toph."

"And Lu Ten. I liked him. He was a good guy."

"He was… he was. Thank you…" There was a deep, sincere flicker in his voice, and it went way beyond any bouts of wisdom he's uttered through the years. She didn't know why, but she reached up on tiptoes and gave the old man a quick hug. He was astonished by her actions, but said nothing and was unable to keep a smile from sneaking onto his face.

"Now what do you say we find our camp, huh? Gotta keep good to your word: Who knows what Zuko's up to right now? We can only hope he and Sugar Queen aren't going at it again."

He laughed. "We can only hope. Although I do think it's just their way of showing they care –"

An explosion from somewhere out of sight silenced his sentence, and two sets of eyes widened. Toph instantly darted towards it, ordering Iroh to follow.

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MD: I turn into an imitation Crazy Foaming Guy when I get reviews. Any thoughts are welcome!