Toph sat on a rocky outcropping overlooking the scorched, barren landscape munching on dried meat while she contemplated her next move. It had been over a day since she had left her cave and so far she had done nothing but wander aimlessly. But she knew this wandering would do her no good. She needed a plan and she needed it soon, before the raiders she had battled figured out where she had gone, assuming they still lived. She wished Sokka was there. He was great with plans and would have figured out their next move before they had even left the cave. But Sokka wasn't there and Toph was left to come up with a plan on her own.

"How did you do this so well Sokka?" she muttered to herself. "Why can't I be more like you?" She paused then, considering the deeper meanings of that question, ultimately deciding it was the wrong choice of words. "I take that back." she muttered. "What I meant was, why can't I be better at coming up with plans the way Sokka is?"

No answer greeted her and she sighed with disappointment. Why was it that the universe refused to answer her questions when she wanted it to? Toph had never been the most spiritual person in the world, but she had found herself asking questions of the spirits with more frequency in the six years since the war. She hadn't gotten many answers though, which only added fuel to her cynical fire, a fact she was certain was not helping her cause. Still, she wasn't willing to stop trying to commune with the spirit world, for Aang had always insisted that it was necessary for benders to have a connection to the spirits and Toph was certain the spirits had answers for her, she simply wasn't having any luck getting them to listen.

The thought of Aang did provide her with a spark of inspiration however. If her friends were still alive and were not imprisoned, they would need a large place to hide out in. There were only a few locations in the world Toph could think of that would be suitable for such a gathering, though none of them would be easy to get to. She knew there were rumors of survivors hiding in the ruins of Ba Sing Se, but the great Earth Kingdom capital was many days to the east and would likely be the most difficult location for her to reach. This realization smothered the small hope that had flared in her soul and she slid down from her outcropping with another sigh.

As she gathered up her few possessions she paused, another thought occurring to her. Just because Ba Sing Se was the most logical location for refugees to hide didn't mean it was the only one. The others were likely to be equally difficult to get to, but perhaps it was worth it to investigate them. After all, the worst thing that could happen was she didn't find anyone and moved on to the next location. Well, that wasn't technically the worst thing that could happen, but Toph preferred not to think about the other options.

With this thought in mind she began laying out the other possible locations in her mind. There was Omashu, of course, as well as her home town of Gaoling. There were also the four Air Temples to consider, as well as the villages of both Water Tribes. And then there was the vast expanse of the Si Wong Desert, which would be an excellent hiding place assuming one knew how and where to find water and food.

"I doubt there's anyone there, though." Toph muttered, remembering her own past adventures in the desert with Aang, Sokka, and Katara. "So, let's rule Si Wong out for now and concentrate on the other locations."

As she thought, Toph sat in the shade of the rocky outcropping she had been sitting on, pulling out some more dried meat to munch on. "Okay." she said. "If Si Wong is out, where else can I look?" She smiled at that, chuckling at the humor of her question. Truthfully she couldn't "look" anywhere on account of her blindness, but she could still search, could still seek her friends even if she couldn't see them. The question was still funny however, and Toph could not help thinking about how her friends would have reacted to the question. With humor and sarcasm, most likely, she thought, smiling at the thought.

With that thought lodged in her mind she turned her attention back to the task at hand. The Air Temples seemed like the most logical choice, after Ba Sing Se, but they would be extremely difficult to get to without Aang and Appa. And so, Toph chose to rule them out as well, despite the fact that they would make excellent hiding places, something she knew from experience, having hidden at the Western Air Temple with the others following the Day of Black Sun.

The Water Tribes would likely be difficult to reach as well, given that they lay at the poles and Toph had no means of transportation save for her own two legs. This was disappointing, as Toph had never visited either of the Water Tribes before and was certain there would still be people at both poles who would help her. The people of the Water Tribes had been the last to begin to support Azula's conquest and very few members of either tribe had willingly chosen to follow her. Toph knew this meant there would likely still be people at the poles, especially the North, but without a means to get to the tribes, she was left to seek another option.

With the Water Tribes ruled out, Toph turned her attention to locations within the Earth Kingdom. It was possible that there were survivors in her hometown of Gaoling, but she doubted any of her friends would be there. Her parents might still be there, but Toph could not be certain and she was not willing to risk her chances on a hunch. Gaoling was a decent sized city, but the more Toph thought about it, the more she realized it likely wasn't large enough to be used as a stronghold for anyone resisting Azula's reign. And that was what her friends would be doing, if they were still alive and free. They would be resisting Azula in any way they could, of that Toph was absolutely certain.

This left only one other place for her to look and the prospect made her insides squirm. The great city of Omashu had been the last place she had been with her friends and it was possible some of them were still there. She had not attempted to search the ruins after regaining consciousness six years earlier and had no idea if Sokka, Suki, Penga, Ho Tun, and the Dark One had escaped from the city before it was destroyed. And even if they had, there was a chance some of them would have returned to Omashu in the aftermath of the war, as the city would make an excellent fortress. This, however, did not make the prospect of returning to Omashu any less painful to consider. The city represented Toph's greatest failure and was the site where she had lost everything, thus making her desire to return there somewhat less than willing.

But it occurred to her that this may be the only way for her to find her friends and so she decided she would at least consider the possibility of returning to Omashu. With that thought in mind she stretched out beside the outcropping and closed her eyes, letting the dark embrace of sleep take her into the world of dreams.


The next morning Toph awoke to a blood-red sunrise, though she could not see the brilliant shade of red the sun had painted the sky. Still, she somehow knew that the sunrise was the color of blood, despite the fact that she had never seen the color of blood in her life. Her head ached as she pulled herself to her feet and she winced in pain, sliding back down to a sitting position. She had not slept well the night before, her dreams plagued by images of her friend's lifeless bodies scattered around the ruins of Omashu. She knew it had only been a dream and yet she could not shake the feeling that this was some kind of omen warning her of what awaited should she return to Omashu.

Shaking her head, Toph grabbed her water-skin and took a swig of water, hoping the cool liquid would calm the chaos in her mind. The water did not calm her mind, but it did quench her thirst and helped ease the ache in her head. And with the easing of the ache came a clarity Toph had not experienced in a long time. She knew now what she must do. She had to return to Omashu, for only then could she have any hope of finding her friends. She didn't know what it was that awakened her to this realization, but she knew with absolute certainty that this was the only way. She had to return to Omashu or she would never know for sure what had become of her friends in the aftermath of the war. And if she never learned what had happened to them she would never gain the strength to challenge Azula and reclaim the world in the name of freedom.

"Shit." she muttered. "Omashu, the one place I never wanted to see again. And yet, it seems I have no choice but to return there. Well, if that's the case, I guess I'll do it seeing as how I can't just sit here for the rest of my life."

With that she rose to her feet and gathered up her possessions before starting on her way. It was at least a three day walk to Omashu and she was not looking forward to the journey, but she would make it nonetheless. She would put aside her dislike of this situation and forge ahead, for sometimes that is all one can do when one is seeking friends.

A/N: And there you go. The next chapter of Toph's journey is up. Sorry this took so long, by the way. It took me longer than I thought it would to finish A Destiny of Death, but now that that's done I'll be getting back to focusing on this and A Foundation Called Family. Anyway, I know this chapter is kind of short, but it was meant to be that way, as it is just Toph trying to figure out how to find her friends, hence the title. So, what other adventures await Toph as she seeks her friends? Keep reading to find out.