"Stay still, little grasshopper thing…" Sokka whispered in deep concentration.
The teenage boy hovered over a small, pale insect. He was armed with his sword and his tongue hung out of his mouth. Two days had past and the most Sokka had eaten was some blades of grass. His stomach erupted with frequent grumbles as he and Toph continued their long journey out of the trench and their investigation for food. Sokka raised his silver sword, which was covered in dry, crusted muck, high above his head. The cave-hopper chirped clueless of Sokka's murderous schemes.
"Steady… steady…" Sokka muttered, preparing himself to slay the tiny insect. "GOTCH'YA!" he shouted, swinging his sword downward. But just as he did so, the cave-hopper leapt out of the way, evading the assault.
"This is how it's done, Sokka," Toph told him, lifting a rock with her bending and crushing the grasshopper-like creature with it.
A faint squishing sound could be heard as Toph dropped the moderate sized rock on top of the cave-hopper. Toph kicked the rock back off the ground. Sokka poked his head underneath the boulder and examined the results. The innocent insect was utterly smashed into the crevices of the rock and coated in a layer of dirt.
Sokka frowned in disappointment, "Looks delicious,"
"Whoops," Toph shrugged before tossing the rock far off in the distance.
The ground shook and Toph dusted off her hands like a job well done. Sokka slumped sadly onto the ground and began to dry weep.
"It's not fair," Sokka whined. "Why does everything have to happen to me?"
Toph asked, "What else has happened to you?"
"Well, first I got sneezed on by Appa, then Aang made me nearly drown when he was practicing waterbending, my first girlfriend turned into the moon, I got attacked in a swamp, chased by Zuko's crazy sister, kicked out of a poetry haiku club, nearly killed by Combustion Man, oh and my body got taken over by some insane Fire Nation old lady, and the two of us almost died on the air ships during Sozin's Comet," Sokka rambled, counting the instances off on his fingers. "And there was way more stuff than that too!"
"You're just an unlucky person that's all," Toph told him.
"What?"
Toph dug her finger into her nostril and flicked the article off her finger tip. She then continued, "You got bad luck,"
"Yeah, well… you're uh… short!" Sokka countered.
"You were going to say blind, weren't you?" Toph chuckled in slight pity.
Sokka denied the accusation, "Pfft, no,"
"Let's get walking. I want to get out of this place as soon as possible," Toph suggested, as she climbed off the rock she was sitting on.
The two embarked on their walking for the day. They strutted lazily in silence and barely kept their shoulders suspended properly. Both strolled along like zombies with the back of their hands practically dragging on the ground. They were weary and sore from the constant two day walking they had already suffered through. Today would make it their third.
It was mid-afternoon and the lighting in the confined defile was already beginning to diminish. Today the trench had an especially beautiful array of oranges and pinks that dimly lit the hole which Toph and Sokka ambled through. A thin sheet of fog shifted at their ankles and made it difficult for Sokka to see where he was walking. However, the trench was unusually warm and the ambiance of the whole place almost made Sokka and Toph forget about their hunger.
About an hour later, it was early evening. Enigmatically, Sokka and Toph both heard the quiet, gentle playing of a guitar in the distance. They both picked at their ears, making sure they weren't hearing things. At first, the both of them assumed their starvation was playing tricks on them, but the further they walked the louder and more believable it got.
"Do you hear that?" Sokka finally asked, being drawn to the tranquil, harmonious sound.
"I'm glad I'm not the only one. I thought I was going crazy for a minute," said Toph in relief.
They spotted a crack in the trench wall up ahead. As they got closer, Sokka could see large quantities of smoke emanating from the large opening in the rocky wall. The two could also hear the soft playing of the guitar echoing from the small cavern.
"Is someone in there?" Sokka asked Toph, knowing she could most likely sense if there actually was a human being living in the cramped fissure.
"I didn't believe it at first… but yeah, there seriously is someone inside this crack," Toph informed him.
Sokka sprung forward, "Excellent! Maybe they have some food and know a way out of here!" he exclaimed before entering the cave without hesitation.
Inside looked like a place where a troll might live. The space looked composed of a living room and a kitchen and on the far wall was a curtain which probably led to the occupant's bedroom. The diminutive area was dark with only a couple of candles lit on a few tables to provide some visibility. The four rocky walls which confined the overcrowded space were completely covered in useless garbage and other strange items, such as rusty tin cans strung together, headless dolls, pages of books, exotic looking headbands, a rubber boot, animal pelts, dried cacti nailed to the walls, and sacks filled with buttons, tarnished keys, and old coins.
The couch was a pile of hay covered with a sheet that had numerous patches of different fabrics on it. A wooden chair that appeared to be creaky and about to collapse sat next to the couch and across the room was a small table for two and a counter space where you could prepare meals of some sort. The table was a flat rock and other meaningless items were scattered on the floor and placed in the corners. The cave was very low and throughout most of it Sokka was forced to slightly duck because the space was so small.
A man pushed open the curtain and startled the two teenagers. However, he did not seem alarmed at all. It was then that Toph and Sokka noticed the place had a strange odor to it.
"Whoa, people?" he questioned in disbelief. "Haven't seen a human since I last saw a human."
The man was a little shorter than average with broad shoulders and burly arm muscles. It was a wonder how he fit in this miniscule cavern. He wore loose, tan pants which were badly sewn together. They resembled a potato sack. The man also fashioned a green poncho with knotted tassels dangling from the edge of the fabric. He had a mass of curly red hair on his head and a fuzzy beard. His face was wizened with years of experience but it appeared like he didn't remember much of what he has learned or saw over the course of his life. But overall, the man looked satisfied with everything.
"Hi, sorry to barge in like this but we got lost in this trench and need to get out," Sokka informed the man speedily.
Toph added keenly, "And you wouldn't happen to have any food, would you? We haven't eaten in days,"
"It's funny. Last time I saw humans was six years ago when…" the man stopped and glanced down engrossed in thought, "when the others came…"
Sokka and Toph stared at each other strangely, both perplexed by the man's strange behavior.
The man looked up at the teens once again, smiling, "How can I help you?"
Sokka reminded him, getting a tad impatient, "We just said we wondering if you knew a way out of here,"
"And if you had any food," Toph extended.
"Oh, of course!" he exclaimed, tossing his arms up in the air.
Minutes later, Toph and Sokka found themselves sitting at the man's rocky table, watching him prepare them some comestibles. He sauntered over and placed a plate in front of each of them. Neither Toph nor Sokka took the time to examine their meals. Immediately, the two snatched the rations of food off their plates and shoved them into their mouths. Sokka continued to make soft munching sounds as he chomped on the strange plants that the caveman had provided. Toph basically inhaled the plants and cleared her plate in seconds. The man was happy to give them more.
Sokka stuffed another herb into his mouth, "These taste horrible," he commented yet ironically continued to engorge himself.
"What are these?" Toph asked as she took a bite of another one.
They were stumpy, swelled plants the color of burnt wood. The vegetation was dry and it painfully stabbed the two in the mouth with its thorns as they proceeded to feast on them. Toph and Sokka both thought the plants tasted awful but they did not care. They hadn't eaten in two days. They were about ready to start snacking on their own legs.
"I call 'em 'prickers'," the man chuckled.
"Why?" Toph questioned.
"Ohhhh, I get it! Because they prick you on the insides of your mouth as you eat them," Sokka guessed.
The man chuckled again, "I never thought of it that way. That's funny,"
Sokka exchanged another look of bewilderment with Toph. This man definitely behaved strangely.
"So my free wanderers, what are your names?" the man sat down and asked them politely.
"Well, I'm Sokka and this is Toph," Sokka introduced hesitantly. He wasn't quite sure if he could trust this guy yet.
"The name's Yasuo," he informed them gladly.
After patting his stomach and burping obnoxiously, Sokka stood up and questioned, "Yasuo, if you don't mind me asking, why do you live in this cave?"
The young male threaded his fingers through his tangled hair and explained, "It's all because of the war, man. I used to live on the surface but life where the birds don't sing was just too crazy. So I have my own crazy times down here,"
"Birds don't sing down here either," Toph pointed out rudely.
"Don't you get lonely?" Sokka interrogated.
Yasuo sighed, "My female specimen used to coexist with me in our love cave, but she left years ago…" he bowed his head sadly.
Toph informed him intolerantly, "Well, you know the war is over?"
Yasuo leaned forward and gasped in delight, "It is?!"
"Yep, so you can just move back to the top and everything will return to normal," Toph replied, then reconsidered, "Well, more normal compared to this,"
Yasuo waved his hands in refusal, "No I can't do that. The trench needs me… and I need it,"
Toph raised a brow and stared at the man like he had four heads, "What do you mean the trench needs you?"
"The trench wouldn't be here without me. The trench is here because of me," Yasuo attempted to convince them.
Sokka asked, gesticulating earthbending arm movements and partnering them with sound effects, "So you mean that you earthbended this entire place or something?"
"What's earthbending? The only thing I know of is earth communication. I can talk to the earth. I can feel what it feels. Right now it's sad," Yasuo assured them. He seemed to be in a daze.
Toph walked over to Sokka and elbowed him softly in the ribs. She murmured through her gritted teeth, "This Yasuo guy is insane. Let's ask him how to get out of here and scram,"
"So Yasuo, how do we get out of here?" Sokka asked casually.
The caveman placed his guitar on his lap and began to strum it delicately. "Alls you have to do is listen to the music and let it guide you to your destination of life,"
Toph scowled, "No seriously, where the bleeding hog monkeys do we go?" she asked intolerantly.
"There is no way for certain. As long as you believe in love of each other and love of the earth… the way out will make itself clear to you," Yasuo hummed as he continued to play his guitar.
Sokka slapped his palm to his forehead, "What do you mean there is no way for certain?! There has to be! How else could you have gotten down here in the first place?!" Sokka shouted angrily.
Yasuo tapped his chin in thought, "Hmmm, I don't know. But that's a good question, ponytail guy,"
Toph grunted in aggravation, "I can't take it anymore! We're wasting time so let's just get out of here already!"
Sokka spun around and whispered, "You're right. This guy wasn't helpful at all. It's best just to keep moving,"
"Hey, Yashu-poo," Toph said incorrectly. "We need some grub for the road. You got any?"
"Sure do," Yasuo smiled as he hopped off the couch. "Got plenty of prickers left for you guys to take,"
Sokka grinned unenthusiastically, "Oh, great,"
Yasuo gave two backpacks filled of food to Toph and Sokka for their travels. Their only worries were that the canyon crawlers would smell it and ambush them once again. They were willing to take that risk.
Sokka poked his head in the bag and uttered in disappointment, "No meat?"
"Nope, how could I take a life just to support my own?" Yasuo asked. It was now apparent that he was a vegetarian.
"Easy," Toph responded bluntly.
Yasuo enlightened them, "So remember, my little nomads, just keep heading left and you'll get out of here in no time,"
Sokka's jaw dropped in disbelief, "Why didn't you tell us that before when we asked you?!"
"Asked me what?"
Toph answered irritably, "How to get out of this stupid place!"
"I don't recall that. Anyway, Soph and Tokka, I enjoyed the company. You know what they say? 'Those who have lemons don't have limes'," the man recited.
Toph responded, "I've never heard anyone say that ever."
The two received a hug from Yasuo. He almost began to tear up. He then went into his back room and emerged with a strange necklace. It was strung together with large animal teeth, beads, and acorn tops. Hanging from the center was a flat, oval pendant which was printed with pink, red, and white oleanders. The pendant was beautiful but the rest of the necklace was ruined by the unwanted and repugnant animal teeth.
"Okay, my courageous voyagers, I want you to have this. It'll give you luck on your journey and hopefully be of some use to you," Yasuo presented the bizarre jewelry to Sokka and he accepted it politely.
Sokka and Toph said their last good-byes to their newly acquired friend Yasuo. He stood at the entrance to the cave and waved dopily as the two disappeared into the fog. Nightfall was approaching so the duo decided to stop and set up camp for the night. Once again Sokka attempted to create a fire but remained unsuccessful. The two gave up and went to bed, cradling their sacks of food to protect them. Tucked inside Sokka's was the odd necklace Yasuo gave them. Sokka was sure that he would never wear the ugly piece of work and probably toss it in some corner and never think about it again once they got out of this place. The pair slept soundly with full stomachs and spent the rest of the night slumbering.
A/N: Please review! Constructive critism is welcome and greatly appreciated.