I've started this story after revistiting a concept I've sketched out years ago but never wrote after all, since I had other things to write at the time. When I picked this up again, I thought to give it a try and write it up, especially after seeing the comics and the Korra series, which finally gave me the needed ideas.
If you see the format you can by now see by my other works, that I've specialised in letting the canon story go in interesting directions by changing on factor, which ripples through the story. I found this gave me more freedom in my writing than other ways of doing so.
After positive feedback, I decided to go on with the story. I do rely on reviews to improve the story. So if you read it, please tell me your opinion.
Chapter-specific notes are always at the end of the chapter to prevent spoilers.
It didn't take long, only a liite delay due to Christmas.
"Even though I was born blind, I've never had a problem seeing. I see with earthbending. It's kind of like seeing with my feet. I feel the vibrations in the Earth, and I can see where everything is. You, that tree... even those ants. My parents don't understand. They've always treated me like I was helpless."
-Toph
Chapter 6: New Friends
Sokka studied their map of the southern Earth Kingdom. "There should be a city behind these mountains... Gaoling, if I read right. We can rest there before returning to the western coast. We really need it." Sighs of relief answered him.
The last few days had been especially difficult for them. First had been their visit to Omashu and the antics of its king. How should they have know that he was Aang's old friend Bumi, only 100 years older. It was astonishing that someone could even live this long. For being such an old coot however, he was a really strong earthbender. None of them wanted to remember his tests for Aang however, where he'd motivated Aang by covering them with rock-hard candy and they had believed his crazy claim he could turn them into candy. Thankfully, it had all went well in the end and Aang seemed a lot better, now that least one of his past friends was still with him.
Of course as soon as they had left the city, they'd discovered that Zhao was a sore loser after their meeting on Kyoshi Island and Fire Nation troops had literally hunted them, forcing them to make a long detour to the southeast, just to throw them off their trail. Good thing it seemed to have worked, as they were finally left alone and now on course to a non-occupied province town - obviously not important enough for the Fire Nation to occupy.
"Thank all goodness," Suki sighed. "When I went with you, I never imagined it would mean being cooped up in this saddle for days apart from breaks to take care of our... other needs. Thank goodness for these breaks."
"Be glad we are flying over land. You don't even want to know how complicated that is while flying over the sea with no land in sight. I wanted to die from embarrassment the first day," Katara told her, dreading when they would return to flying over the sea. As much as she didn't like staying on Zuko's ship, it at least had proper bathrooms.
Suki knew she would get this 'honor' sooner or later as well and didn't even want to imagine how they had managed that - not that she would have much of a choice in the end. She therefore changed the topic. "At least there won't be any crazy kings in that town. No offense, Aang, but being made to look like a huge sugar cake was not exactly good for my confidence."
"Well, that's Bumi for you. He hasn't changed at all and already did crazy stuff like that all the time when he was my age," Aang said. Despite Bumi being a century older now, it had been surprisingly easy to connect to him. Some people really never change at all.
He was feeling better, that was for sure. Talking to Bumi had been therapeutic and despite not wanting anyone to know, the old king did have a serious side. Bumi had told him that the disaster on Kyoshi Island was not his fault and that he should not hold himself responsible. Instead, he suggested Aang should actually work on getting reasonable control over all four elements - true mastery of course would take years and could only come later - so that he could actually work on repairing all the damage done by a century of war.
He did feel better now, although he knew some of the guilt would never leave him. However, Bumi's advice to actually enjoy his life despite the pressure was good. He would follow that.
"At least he gave us extra funds. Zuko might have been generous, but it wouldn't have lasted us all the way north," Sokka said, while rolling up the map. Truth to be told, he really liked Bumi. How could you not like a man who shared his love for well-made meat? That guy was a real man.
Aang had the feeling that Bumi had made quite an impression on Sokka. Then again, Bumi made an impression on everyone. Aang tried to concentrate on steering Appa over the mountains. While he still felt the weight of the world on his shoulders, it felt a bit less like a burden now. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Katara and Suki talking about something. It seemed Katara was overjoyed to have a girl her age she could talk with and had relaxed quite a bit. Sokka also acted a bit strange around her. He seemed less prone to act stupid when she was around.
He quickly looked away when Katara started to turn her head, not wanting her to catch him looking at her. While he knew he liked her, he was unsure what it meant for him. Time passed. Aang then saw how they had passed the mountains and beyond them...
"There, look!" Aang called. Before them, a cozy city was nestled between harvested fields. Being still further north than Kyoshi Island and more land inwards, no snow covered the ground.
"Yep, that's Gaoling," Sokka confirmed.
...a little later...
To say Appa was grateful for the rest after the last days was an understatement. The big sky bison had went to sleep as soon as he had landed in a small clearing in the woods near Gaoling. That was a clear sign that he would not go anywhere for the rest of the day. Momo seemed to agree to this course of action, since right after that he curled up on Appa's head and took a nap as well.
After having built the camp, this left them with nothing to do for the rest of the day and it still was morning. Their supplies were still plenty so there was nothing they needed to buy and they thus just aimlessly wandered down the main street of Gaoling, taking in the sights, having left Appa to guard the camp. Even when sleeping, a huge sky bison was enough to scare away would-be thieves.
Suki however knew there was something else they actually did need. Or better, what she and Sokka needed. She'd thought about it for a while and had finally come to a decision. However, this also meant she would have to ask Katara for money, since the girl had pretty much declared herself to be the most responsible one for their money.
"Katara, I hope you don't mind me taking some funds? There's something I need to buy for Sokka and me," she asked the other girl.
Katara arched an eyebrow, having no idea what Suki could want to buy, since they already had everything they needed. "As long as it isn't too expensive... After all this money has to last us for much longer. I hope it is something we do need."
"Don't worry, this is about as much as I need. And yes, it will be very useful," Suki said, taking a handful of coins out of the money bag. "Also let's say you'll be thankful for my idea. Come, Sokka. I know you will like this." She didn't wait for an answer and took his hand, dragging him away.
"Hey, wait!" Sokka protested to no avail.
"What is this about? All of a sudden she acted so excited," Aang wondered when Sokka and Suki had vanished into the crowd.
Katara got some thoughts which she quickly wished she didn't. She didn't want to imagine her brother and Suki doing these things! "I don't really want to know."
She got a puzzled look from Aang for this. "Why?"
"Trust me, you don't want to know this," was the only aswer she gave him.
Suki meanwhile was dragging Sokka down the street by his hand. It had been difficult for her to adapt to her current situation, since all her life she had been following basically the same plan each day. She has caught herself almost doing some stuff from her old routine without thinking, before she remembered that she no longer was home. Thankfully her companions were most understanding that this was a difficult time for her. The pain of loss would always be there, but she knew she had to go on.
Her companions were actually very pleasant. Aang, despite what people might think because he was the Avatar, was basically just a nice and lively kid. Katara was quite motherly for her age when she wasn't getting angry because of her brother's antics. Sokka... while he did have a serious side, he could also be quite funny if he wanted to. Poor guy was still hurting however, that he never got to become the warrior his father had promised to make him.
Nothing I can't change, she thought determined, feeling a bit warm around the heart at the idea that she wanted to spend more time with Sokka. This was something new for her.
"Woah, wait! Suki, where are we going?" Sokka finally gasped, while trying to wiggle his hand out of her hold.
"Oh, it will be a surprise. A good one." She said nothing more until finally having found what she was looking for. "Here, that's the place I was looking for."
"A weapons shop?" Sokka asked when reading the sign and taking in all the different weapons displayed. "Aren't we armed already? I don't know what more we could actually want."
Suki shook her head. "No offense, Sokka, but I do not think that a boomerang and a war club are going to impress most of your enemies. I gave you instructions on how to use battle fans and I will teach you in the future as well, but I think it is time we both get serious. After all, do you really think I can only use battle fans?"
Sokka needed a moment to consider this. He had really wanted to use the weapons of his tribe. However, Suki was right in that they weren't exactly made to impress more serious enemies. He took a look at his trusty weapon boomerang and suddenly felt woefully underarmed. The fans tucked into his belt already were proof that he would hardly fit into into the imagine of a Water Tribe warrior anymore.
His club now seemed a bit crude to him and his boomerang not exactly cutting it, while the fans, although certainly a weapon of elegance he would continue to use, were not exactly suited for sending a message to his enemies. While he would always hold onto his boomerang - after all his father had given it to him - something more could be good. Perhaps Suki was right and a new weapon was needed. As it was now, they would be caught with their pants down in case they were drawn into a confrontation.
Yes, it certainly seemed smart to get a good weapon. Question only was, what should it be?
"Well, perhaps we should take a look..." he hesitantly said.
"I knew you would see reason," Suki said, then led him into the shop.
Inside, Sokka was awed by the sheer selection of weapons available. There was nothing this shop didn't seem to have. Maces, swords, flails, bows and spears lines the walls, while expensive-looking leather armors were put onto display racks. Sokka felt overwhelmed; he didn't know where to start looking and Suki seemed content to let him look around, saying nothing while watching his reactions.
Finally, his eyes were drawn to a display and he decided to investigate closer. "Oh...wow.." Now THIS is a man's weapon!... Well, although I guess a woman can use them a well. He added the last bit without thinking when remembering his very female companion.
Suki gave Sokka a smile when seeing him almost drooling while looking at his choice. "I knew you would drawn to that kind of weapon. After all, men do like sharp stuff. And you are in luck, I can use these very well."
Sokka by now had forgotten his reluctance. He just hoped they had enough money to pay for these.
o
"You know, I'm really bored. Let's find something to do. There must be exciting stuff in this city," Aang told Katara while they leisurely walked through the commercial district of Gaoling.
Katara knew that Aang was right. She herself also was bored. While her brother at times was really annoying, he had the ability to liven up the day significantly. She had not even noticed, having lived with him her entire life, until recently. Ever since he wasn't around all the time due to spending it with Suki (and Katara did not want to imagine what they could be doing!) she had become aware how boring things could become with him absent.
Not that things were bleak. Aang actually was really nice and it was hard to imagine that hje was raised by monks. It didn't go with the image that ppeople like that were always dead serious. Aang had a youthful enthusiasm that was addictive. While he was still coming to terms with how the world had changed around him, he seemed determined to not let this get to him.
She was brought out of her thoughts when Aang tugged on her sleeve. "Hey, Katara, look at that!" he told her excitedly, pointing to a big advertisement poster on a wall.
"What's this? 'Master Yu's academy for earthbenders is holding an exhibition of its teachings at noon on the central square. Admittance is free'," she read the advertisement, trying to ignore the flashy picture of supposedly cool earthbenders on it.
"Katara, I've never seen any real earthbending up close. I know I'm not ready to learn earthbending yet, but some pointers are always good. I really want to see this. Oh please, can we go there?" Aang asked her excitedly.
Looking at a nearby sundial, Katara saw that it almost was noon. "Well... we do have nothing better to do. So let's see what these earthbenders can do."
"Oh, yes, yes!" Aang then almost dragged her towards where a sign said the central square was.
Two streets later, they stopped when seeing what was on the central square. "Woah..." Aang said in awe when seeing a small stadium, complete with spectator ranks, made out of rock occupying almost the entire square. It was clearly created just recently. "These guys are not kidding around!"
"Come in, ladies and gentlemen, we still have free seats and the exhibition is about to start," a woman in the uniform of Yu's academy called.
There was no problem getting inside. Walking up the stairs, Katara and Aang found two empty seats in the upper ring of the stadium and then waited for the show to start. The stadium was packed with people who where hoping for some free entertainment. They didn't have to wait for much longer when a man in robes, obviously Master Yu, entered the arena, causing the crowd on the ranks to go silent.
"Welcome to the exhibition of my school. I hope that for the next hour, we can entertain you with all of the forms and skills my earthbending academy. Of course we are available for questions when the exhibition is over. Our academy is always happy to accept new students," Yu spoke to the crowd, clearly working hard to appear friendly to them.
Then the exhibition began and the students did start with basic earthbending skills, before moving on to more complicated forms. The crowd oohhhd and awwed when seeing these displays of bending powers. When the students started to juggle rocks and create various shapes from loose earth, the first applause thundered through the stadium. Even Katara and Aang were caught up in it, never having seen earthbending, so they were easy to impress.
"I've never before seen anything like this," Katara said excitedly, feeling younger than she was.
"Yeah, they are awesome! I can't wait until I learn earthbending myself. That will be so cool!" Aang told her, while enjoying the show greatly.
At least until they heard a snort behind them. "I don't see what's so great about this cheap display."
Looking behind them, they saw a girl around Aang's age standing there. She was quite short for her age, being smaller than Aang. She obviously came from a wealthy family, since she was wearing a very expensive looking white and green dress. Strangely enough she wasn't wearing shoes. However, her most striking features were her eyes. The green eyes were expressionless, a milky-white layer dulling their color. The girl was completely blind.
"I, uh... how..." Katara stammered, feeling very awkward all of a sudden, unsure if the girl would take offense if she would point out the obvious, which would make it difficult for her to actually follow the exhibition.
"Hah, I managed to do it again!" the girl suddenly laughed, waving her hand in front of her useless eyes. "People always get flustered when they are confronted with my blindness. That's the third time today! I'm really good at this. Never gets old."
The girl then moved to sit between them, obviously enjoying their discomfort. Interestingly enough, she moved as if she wasn't handicapped at all by her blindness. "Hah, these losers. Juggling around stuff is just flashy. ... Oh please! They need three of them to change the shape of that rock. I can do that with one hand! This is so lame, I'm really ashamed that mother wanted to see this crap and dragged me here."
They both looked stumped, since this was exactly what was happening in the arena. Aang finally couldn't stop his curiosity anymore. "How are you doing this? I mean... you obviously can't see what they are doing."
The girl laughed again, obviously enjoying their confusion. "Man, that's good. You are the first guys who actually wonder how I'm doing it. Well, since you've asked so nicely, I'll tell you. I'm using my earthbending to sense my surroundings. It's quite good, too. I do know that you are bald while she should not sit so stiffly. Hey, watch this!"
Suddenly a chunk ripped out of the stone floor, hovering between her hands and she commanded it to rapidly take different forms - far faster than anything down in the arena. "That's so easy... Nothing this idiot Yu had ever taught me."
"You were taught by him?" Katara asked, glancing to where Yu was watching the spectacle with a pleased smile, obviously already counting the money he would gain with new students.
"Yeah... Not that he could have taught me much in the first place, but the jerk mostly made me do breathing exercises and then claimed I accomplished something great. What were my parents thinking when they got this guy? Yet, my mother thinks he's some sort of genius," the girl griped.
"You're that good?" Aang asked, really impressed by the skill this girl was showing.
"Good?" She laughed so hard that tears came out of her sightless eyes. "I'm the best!"
"Toph!... Toph, where are you?!" they then heard a woman call and the girl lost her smile.
"Oh great, that's mother dearest calling. Well, you were the first guys who don't freak out and I have the strange feeling you are all right. If you guys want to see how awesome I am, just look for Toph Bei Fong!" She then got up and walked down the row to where a middle-aged woman was frantically looking around.
Aang and Katara by now had forgotten the exhibition, listening in to these two.
"Toph, there you are! I leave you out of sight for a moment, and you wander off," her mother scolded Toph, acting as if Toph was a four-year old.
"You know I can sense my surroundings just fine!" Toph clearly had had this argument countless times and seemed tired of it.
Her mother ignored it. "You have again taken off your shoes. Do you want to catch a cold in this weather?"
Toph rolled her sightless eyes. "Mother, I can't use my earthbending with shoes on. You want me to actually become the blind cripple you think I am? Also, these guys have no problem with the temperature. It's not that cold."
"Don't talk back to me, young lady. I see it was an error to take you with me. Let's go!"
They watched her mother forcing her to put on her shoes, before taking her hand and leading her away. Unlike before, Toph now seemed quite unsure and clumsy on her feet, almost stumbling several times. It was a huge contrast to how securely she had moved before. Aang and Katara shared a look, before leaving the stadium for a secluded spot to talk.
"That's the first time I've met someone who can see with her feet," Aang said in awe once they had retreated to a small side alley.
"Gran-Gran told me of people who lost their sight and relied on their ears, but this is a new one for me as well," Katara replied, also quite impressed. Then she looked a bit disappointed. "She also acted a bit like a brat. No wonder her mother is so disappointed."
"Come on, Katara, how would you act if your waterbending is constantly ridiculed?" Aang challenged her.
Katara knew she would not take it well and accepted that Aang did have a point there. "Let's go back to camp and tell the others."
o
Aang stormed back onto the clearing where their camp was. He really wanted to share their experience with the strange girl with the others. "Hey, guys, we... what are you two doing?"
It was an interesting sight, that was for sure. Sokka and Suki were holding wooden training swords, while they each had a real sword in a scabbard strapped to their backs. Suki was busy with doing moves and Sokka was trying to imitate them. Occasionally Suki attacked and Sokka was forced to defend himself. Momo was watching the whole thing with rapt interest from the sidelines, occasionally imitating them in sheer fascination.
"Don't tell me you have spent the money on weapons," Katara complained. In her mind this was a horrible waste of money, since they already were armed and didn't need anymore weapons.
Suki rolled her eyes, stopping the exercise. "Katara, nothing personal, but I think you should leave stuff about weapons to those who actually do have experience with them. To your information, Sokka was not well armed. A club and a boomerang are not very efficient weapons and as much as I like battle fans, they are not always useful."
Suki had a point, but Katara still wasn't sold on it. "Yes, but still..."
"Oh sure, let's complain to the guys who have no super-cool powers at all," Sokka snarked, seeing that his sister wasn't getting the point of the whole thing. "Has it ever occurred to you that we might want to defend ourselves?"
Katara knew she wasn't getting the point. She had never in her life touched a weapon and had no idea how they were thinking about it. She was starting to experiment with her waterbending powers and therefore probably would also never need any other weapon. The same was true for Aang, who as the Avatar would never have any need for a weapon.
Aang stopped the argument before Katara could give an answer. "Guys, you wouldn't believe who we found. Someone who can see with her feet."
"All right, now I know you are pulling my leg," Sokka said, since it sounded ridiculous.
"No, really. She's completely blind but can see her surroundings with earthbending," he excitedly told Sokka, still deeply impressed at such a feat.
Suki knew that there probably was more to the story and held up a hand. "All right, time-out. Please start from the beginning."
And so they did. From how they discovered the exhibition, to the stadium and then meeting Toph. They went into detail how Toph effortlessly sensed her surroundings and how she bragged about her powers while giving them a small demonstration. They also told them how then Toph's mother showed up and her powers seemed to evaporate as soon as she had been forced to wear shoes.
"Granted, that's impressive, but we do have other worries," Sokka tried to slow down their excitement.
"Perhaps not, Sokka. I find it impressive. On Kyoshi Island we've had contact with some earthbenders over the years, but I've never heard of anything like this. However, she does sound a bit... arrogant," Suki said, trying to imagine what this Toph-girl looked like.
Katara snorted. "She surely wasn't humble about her abilities and seemed to have an inflated opinion of herself."
Sokka shook his head. "So what? It's not like we'll ever see her again."
...later that day, Bei Fong estate...
"I still don't get why we are doing this," Sokka sulked, not happy that he got outvoted.
How should he have known that Aang and Katara would win Suki for their idea to look for this Toph girl to talk to her? He honestly saw no point in the whole thing, but obviously their curiosity had gotten the better of them and they had started to ask around in town about the Bei Fong family so that they could find out where she was living.
Finding out where the Bei Fong family was living was simple enough, they just were the richest family in Gaoling, with lots of influence in other parts of the country. What was interesting was, how little people knew about Toph. They knew the Bei Fongs did have a daughter named Toph and that she was blind. Beyond that however, people knew little. It seemed Toph was quite sheltered by her parents and only few even knew what she actually looked like.
"See it as simply being nice. After what Aang and Katara told us, this Toph girl sounds to be quite a good earthbender despite her handicap. Admit it that you are curious as well about her," Suki told Sokka.
Sokka grumbled a bit, unwilling to admit that he indeed was a little curious about Toph.
"Well, I hope she can tell me how she's using her feet to see. That would be awesome to have!" Aang threw in, still finding this to be an incredible ability.
Thanks to it being early winter, it was already starting to get dark when they arrived at the wall that surrounded the big property of the Bei Fongs. The main gate was out, since it was guarded by two mean-looking guards who clearly wouldn't let them pass. This meant that due to Aang being the only one who could actually pass the high wall without trouble thanks to his airbending, they were forced to cool their heels while waiting for him.
At least this was the plan until suddenly a hole collapsed and Toph walked out of it, clearly not caring that it got her dress dirty. "Jeeez, you couldn't get any louder, could you? You made almost as much vibrations as a herd of rhinos."
"This shrimp is why we are here?" Sokka asked, annoyed.
"Hey, who are you calling a shrimp?" Toph sulked, using a rock column to get up to Sokka's eye level. "Just because I'm smaller than others my age doesn't mean you can rub it under my nose!"
"Woah, peace! Please don't get at each other's throats!" Aang panicked, fearing that things were already going south.
Toph laughed. "You obviously have no idea what angry for an earthbender actually means. I'm just a litte ticked off, nothing more. Man, I didn't think you would feel the need to seek me out this fast, and with friends nonetheless!"
"Won't your parents wonder where you are?" Katara asked her, still surprised at this girl.
Toph snorted. "No, not for hours. They think they can let me wander around the compound, where I'm kept safe behind high walls. Honestly, they always ignore I'm an earthbender. They must think I'm deaf as well, otherwise they would try to make a bigger secret of the fact they want to marry me off to some nobleman's son in the future. They just have another one of these here and are trying to get the best results for themselves. Clearly they think a cripple can't continue the line without help. They don't get the hint when I make these jerks change their mind when they want to introduce me to them!"
They had listened to this rant, which revealed quite a lot of anger. "You seem to be quite comfortable telling this stuff to a bunch of strangers," Suki observed.
Toph gave her a smug smile. "Well, I do have my ways to tell if someone is lying to me or wants my hide. I actually feel quite comfortable around you. I'm also not getting around a lot. It's a relief I can talk to someone without acting like a shy cripple as my parents expect. Although maybe your names would be nice."
The few seconds of silence were confirmation that they only now remembered this little fact. Toph smirked. "Boy, this day gets better by the moment. Wonder how often I can get you guys."
It again fell to Katara to save the moment. "No better moment than the present! I'm Katara and the guy who called you a shrimp is my brother Sokka. Both of us are from the Southern Water Tribe."
"Is it true that it's always cold there and covered with ice and snow?" Toph asked, clearly uncomfortable with the idea.
"The entire year," Katara told her truthfully and then got a grimace as an answer. Toph clearly disliked winter. "The girl next to my brother is Suki, a warrior from the island Kyoshi."
"Hello, nice to meet you," Suki greeted Toph.
"Once heard my father rant about a backwater province named Kyoshi," Toph said, due to her blindness not seeing Suki's annoyed look.
"And last but not least, this here is Aang. Believe it or not, he is an airbender," Katara introduced the last member of their group.
Toph laughed. "Oh, that was a good one! I did hear him clearly saying that he wants to learn earthbending. I didn't know you could be this funny!"
Aang looked downright offended. Of course she could not see what he actually looked like, which would have been an easy indicator. Creating an airscooter, he hovered a meter above the ground and then waited what Toph's reaction would be. He didn't have to wait long when her expression all of a sudden turned to complete surprise.
"Hey, where are you?" She was moving her feet, clearly scanning her surroundings, but of course couldn't find him. "You just vanished. That's not possible!"
"Oh, I'm still here. I'm just using my airbending to hover a little above the ground. You obviously haven't dealt with anyone who's capable of not touching the ground," Aang told her, his airbending pride restored at seeing Toph being totally confused.
Toph looked a little miffed when Aang again touched the ground, but nonetheless looked excited, even though she tried to hide it. "Granted, a nice trick. Then what is it with earthbending?"
Aang gave the others a questioning look. The way they looked to him made it clear they saw no problem with him telling her. "Well, I'm the Avatar. I can bend all elements."
"Avatar? Can dimly remember my house teacher mentioning that in a dull history lesson. Now that's a story I really want to hear!" Out of nowhere a few stone benches formed, a clear invitation from Toph to start telling the story.
Seeing as they wouldn't go anywhere and had the time, they decided to humor her and started telling what happened ever since they found Aang in that iceberg. Toph sometimes asked questions, especially when people she had not met were mentioned, especially Zuko and Mai. Otherwise however, she was surprisingly behaved and listened with a look of longing and excitement.
"Oh, you have it so good. Go wherever you want, with no one telling you what to do. Setting out to save the world. That's the life I always wanted and not the purgatory I'm living in right now," Toph finally said after they were done, sounding envious.
"Then why don't you leave?" Aang asked.
"They're my parents. Where else am I supposed to go?" Toph looked downright unhappy. "I even started attending illegal earthbending matches to get out of this hole, but even that isn't cutting it."
Sokka raised an eyebrow. "Anything we need to know?"
Toph snorted. "Well, my life story is simple, won't take long. I was born blind, so my parents treat me like a raw egg that could break at any moment. They feel that I'm a helpless cripple and that they have to make sure I in my ah-so-great helplessness have to be taken care of. When I ran away at age six and met a herd of badgermoles, they were way nicer than my parents and more helpful to boot. Where do you think I learned earthbending?"
"Wow, so it's like with the airbending and the sky bisons. They taught the first airbenders as well," Aang said excitedly.
Toph turned to where the house was. "My parents don't understand. I tried to tell them countless times I can now see just fine with my earthbending by feeling the vibrations, but they insist on what they think I am. They'll never change their mind."
Sokka shared a look with Suki. "Well, that's too bad. I know little about all this bending crap, but I bet you could have shown Aang here some nice tricks."
"I know nothing about bending as well, but I think after what you learned at this age on your own, Aang could use someone like you," Suki added, deeply impressed by Toph's skill.
Toph actually did look interested for a moment. "Teaching the Avatar earthbending... Talk about bragging rights! Hah, then everyone would have to show me respect... Too bad my parents would never allow that."
"I'm not yet ready to learn earthbending anyway. Water has to come first. Hey, maybe you can get them around when we return in a few months?" Aang offered.
"Aang, what are you talking about?" Katara asked, clearly not happy with Aang simply making these decision. "I thought you felt Bumi should be your earthbending teacher."
"Come on, Katara, Bumi might be my friend, but I can't imagine him coming with us. And... no offense to Bumi, but I don't think you guys would manage to go through several months with him," Aang honestly told them. As much as he liked Bumi, his quirks could be very bothersome for most people.
"Ha, fat chance I can get my parents to allow me doing that," Toph finally waved it off, then sighed. "I guess that means back to playing the obedient cripple."
The meeting didn't last much longer than that and Toph returned to her family's garden before there would be someone looking for her.
So much for getting out of here, she thought in regret. She was not desperate enough yet to run away and burn her bridges. Still, she was allowed to dream.
She didn't even bother to remove the dirt from her white dress while she walked back to the house, already knowing that she now would have to scare away another prospective wannabe father-in-law who wanted to make a contract to have her marry his son at age sixteen. For her age she was wiser than her parents would ever suspect.
"Toph, what have you done to your dress again?" her mother scolded her as soon as she saw the dirt on it.
"Nothing much, just enjoyed the dirt," she said, not even bothering with making an excuse.
"This won't do. Come, Let's get you into something clean. You really have to meet Lord Worfan. It does look very promising and your father wants you to be present," her mother gushed, obviously excited.
Suddenly I do have a very bad feeling about this... Toph gulped, hoping her usual tactics would work.
...back at the camp, next morning...
The next morning, they were about ready to climb into Appa's saddle and leave Gaoling. A full night's rest had done wonders to refresh them and they now felt ready to finally return to the western coast and meet up with Zuko. While Aang talked with Appa to prepare him for the long journey back, Sokka was busy with loading the last of their stuff into the saddle, Suki was covering their fire pit and Katara was filling up their emergency water skins.
"Hey guys, you weren't easy to find, you know?"
This routine was broken when Toph walked into their clearing. Gone was the dress they'd seen her in before. Instead she now was wearing normal street clothes of the Earth Kingdom, in the usual green and yellow colors. She was also wearing a backpack.
"Toph? What are you doing here?" Aang asked her, while hopping off Appa's head.
"Weeeeell... Circumstances changed and actually showing the Avatar how earthbending is done looks to be a good thing." She then turned to Appa. "That's your sky bison? I know yo told me you're flying around, but to be close to it..."
Katara finally found her voice. "Toph, don't tell me you ran away."
"Oh no, don't even start! I'll tell you what happened after you left!" Toph looked decidedly unhappy. "My parents in their infinite wisdom again presented me to a noble to whose son they planned to wed me to at sixteen to make sure I'm kept safe in my helplessness and the family fortune in good hands." Every word was soaked with sarcasm and hurt.
"Of course I do start the usual stuff to make him change his mind and what does he say each time? He says it's just a phase I will grow out of! To make matters worse, he and my father then wrote up a damn contract and my parents told me the 'news' about my future wedding to that guy's son! They acted so happy it was sickening. So you now understand why coming with you is such a better prospect."
"I wonder if we should really let you just run away from your problems. I bet you didn't even try to convince your parents otherwise," Katara said, crossing her arms.
If anything, this made Toph look angry. "Oh, suddenly you think I have to face this? I do remember how you told me that your grandmother left her home because she was to get married against her will. And what about how you were ranting about how you disapprove of arranger marriages? Face it, Princess, either you measure me the same, or you are a real hypocrite," Toph ranted, her sightless eyes staring at Katara.
Katara gulped and touched her necklace. Toph's rant had hit too close to home.
Katara knew that denying Toph to come with them would now make her look like a hypocrite after her opinions about arranged marriages and her grandmother's history. She could hardly be set against it in the Water Tribes, only to suddenly find nothing wrong with it in the Earth Kingdom. She knew they were going to regret it, but there was little choice.
"All right, this point goes to you," she finally admitted,still with her arms crossed.
"Great!" Toph said, her sour mood evaporating instantly.
"Wow, I won't even have to look for an earthbending teacher now!" Aang cheered.
Toph then laughed. "Oh, don't think I'll go easy on you. Avatar or not, I'll put you through the third degree until you've got it. Still eager to learn it?"
Aang paled a bit. "Uhhh yes, yes yes. Although too bad I have to learn waterbending first, so this has too wait. Yeah, really too bad."
"I'm blind and yet you're transparent to me," Toph snorted. "Don't think I'll make it easier on you even after the wait."
"Toph... How exactly did you leave your parents? Hopefully you didn't do too much property damage?" Suki asked carefully, hoping it wasn't a mess.
Toph waved it off. "Nah, just told them my mind this morning before I took off, surfing away on an earth wave... Although I might have ripped out a big chunk of the perimeter wall just to spite them."
Suki shook her head. "So much for no property damage..."
"They most likely have also sent their guards after me to get me back, so maybe it's better to leave now," Toph remembered, a bit peeved she'd forgotten this point.
Knowing that they should better make an exit, they quickly climbed into the saddle and Aang make Appa take off, before any trouble would find them. Toph had already looked uncomfortable when jumping into the saddle from a conjured stone column, but now that they were in the air, she grimaced and groaned.
"I knew why I hated your description of flying," she complained, looking unwell. "As long as I'm up here, I really am blind. Geez, that sucks!"
"Better get used to it, as you will be in this saddle for a long time," Sokka told her sarcastically, while unrolling his map. "Oh, and let's hope you won't get airsick. That would be a real mess."
"Thank you soooo much!" Toph groaned, knowing this REALLY was going to suck.
"By the way, what is it with 'Princess'?" Katara wondered, remembering what Toph had called her.
"Oh, it does fit you wonderfully. Sometimes you act high and mighty and sit like you have a stick up your ass." Everyone look horrified at Toph and her vulgar choice of words. "You'll all get nicknames I call you when I feel like it. Too bad I don't have any ideas right now."
"I have the feeling this journey just got a lot more complicated," Suki sighed, knowing that Toph would be difficult to travel with.
Toph didn't look too thrilled to be in the saddle. "Where are we going anyway? Didn't pay attention to that part."
"Didn't I mention that?" Sokka looked like he was about to have some real fun. "We are heading for the North Pole. You know, really cold and ice and snow all the year with not one bit of earth around."
Toph paled. She hadn't considered that waterbending would mean going there. There was no going back, but her horror manifested itself in a scream of despair.
"Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"
...at the same time, costal village...
"I tell you, something is seriously wrong in this village. I can see it in the faces of the people; as if in invisible weight is resting on their shoulders," Ursa told Zuko and Mai, while they were entering the village.
"Yes, they do look more depressed than Zuko had ever been. Which means something, considering Zuko's tendencies to get depressed," Mai added, while looking around.
"I'm no longer like that," Zuko reminded her.
"Perhaps. However, it's my job to remind you of your shortcomings, as it is yours to remind me of mine," Mai told Zuko. "I wasn't kidding about this. Just walking towards this village is starting to depress me."
Ursa watched them talk and how easy they got along, even though observers might think they were arguing. Zuko did like Mai's snarky, sarcastic and brutally honest personality and it didn't throw him off anymore. That they were walking through this village however was just the product of chance.
They had already arrived in the bay closest to the coal rigs two days ago and now were waiting for the Avatar to catch up with them; not knowing what was keeping him for so long. With nothing to do but to wait, they had been forced to find ways to fill the time. Sadly, Iroh had found this day to be the perfect moment to test out a new music instrument he had bought before their journey to the South Pole. While he was great with the tsungi horn and Zuko no longer went depressive when he heard the horn as it reminded him of Lu Ten, Iroh was really bad with other instruments.
The infernal noise which could hardly be called music made the crew avoid that part of the ship whenever possible. Mai had claimed that she was in danger of her ears bleeding, while Zuko outright called it a war crime. Even Ursa, normally not one to say such things openly, was finding it horrible. Since it would be useless to tell Iroh - indeed he probably would only lose interest once he saw that really no one wanted to listen - they had fled the ship.
Sometime during their journey, Ursa had suggested them getting some Earth Kingdom clothes so that they could visit villages outside the colonies incognito and not cause any scenes. Zuko at first had been against it, hating the idea of sneaking around. However, Mai had asked him in the face if he expected everyone in the Earth Kingdom to be mighty impressed by him and offer any information he was looking for. After all, they either were afraid of the Fire Nation, or hated it. Not exactly the best circumstances to get honest answers.
He had accepted that she did have a point and at least got some payback, when Mai had complained that Earth Kingdom colors looked totally ridiculous when looking at herself wearing her new outfit in the mirror. He'd then reminded her of her own words, so she'd been forced to swallow down her pride and accept it. She now no longer said anything about it, since Ursa's idea had been right. No one blinked an eye at them once dressed like this. Even Zuko's scar got no reaction, apart from people whispering how cruel firebenders could be.
However, in this village, people barely seemed to notice them at all.
It was a small village close to a mountain near the sea. However, things seemed to be seriously wrong, as all people they had met on their way looked depressed, afraid, or a mixture of both. No one had spoken a word to them, not even looked in their way, as if afraid of strangers. Ursa was right in that something had to be seriously wrong.
"Quick, hide!" Ursa called, and pulled both teenagers into a shadowed side alley as soon as they had passed the gate into the village. They didn't question her and hid behind some crates, watching what had alarmed her.
It was easy why she had been alarmed. A patrol of Fire Nation soldiers were walking down the street, and these would have recognised them easily. Not only that, they also saw a second patrol coming from a different street. The villagers shied away as soon as they saw the soldiers, their looks haunted.
"All right, I now have a good idea what's wrong," Zuko said, while watching one soldier screaming at a child to get out of the way or regret it.
"We should get out of here fast. No need to tempt fate," Mai suggested, having no wish to get arrested due to stupidity.
Waiting until the coast was clear, they quickly left and didn't stop until they were on one of the hills surrounding the village, allowing them to look down on it. It looked very peaceful from the distance, but this clearly was a wrong impression. This many soldiers in such a small village could only mean complete occupation.
"I now get why they are afraid. But even an occupation should not cause such a depression," Ursa wondered, while looking at the village.
"Maybe it's more that that?" Zuko wondered. He'd never before seen anything like that.
"Oh, it indeed is more... A very sad story." They had not even noticed someone else approaching. An old man who unlike others didn't look afraid. "Strangers are not seen often in this area. You have already seen the state our village is in."
"Hard to ignore it. I severely doubt it's just because the Fire Nation occupies it," Mai said, not wanting to beat around the bush.
"Sadly, that's true. Our village was conquered six years ago. It was determined that the mountains surrounding it have big coal deposits, so many are now forced to work in the mines. It obviously was not enough for Bozu however, the leader of the local soldiers and final authority now. He's also taxing us heavily and his men simply take whatever they want."
They knew that there were enough supremacists in the army who would misuse their position to make themselves small dictators and make the conquering of the Earth Kingdom more difficult by enraging the populace. This seemed to be one of these cases. Jerks like these never understood that in order to conquer the land, you should not turn its inhabitants against you.
"Surely they were not accepting this? I can hardly imagine them being happy about this," Ursa asked.
The old man shook his head. "Of course not. Shortly later, a rebellion led by a man named Tyro tried to throw them out. It was futile. They were outnumbered ten to one. Tyro and the survivors were imprisoned and deported to one of the coal rigs to serve as slaves. Any earthbender found is arrested brought there as well. Earthbending itself is illegal now as well."
Now, this wasn't unheard of. After all, the Southern Raiders were busy with killing or kidnapping every single waterbender from the Southern Water Tribe. However, earthbending being made outright illegal in an already conquered area was unheard of. Even in or near the colonies, earthbending wasn't unusual, as long as the benders accepted the laws of the Fire Nation.
"Is that why everyone looks so depressed?" Zuko wondered.
"Oh yes... People lost hope and it has been like this ever since. I'm old and have seen so many horrible things that nothing can scare me any longer. The others however live in terror that they could be next for even the smallest thing. They don't need a reason to arrest you nowadays."
"Talk about complete over-reaction from this Bozu," Mai snorted.
"Maybe, but now it's too late... Well, I need to get going. Just an advice: don't enter the village. You'll only get into trouble with the soldiers as they turn up at random. They don't like to see strangers," the old man warned them, before leaving.
"This Bozu must have gone off the deep end. Imagine if everyone would act like him," Mai told them, shuddering at the idea.
"I wonder whose idea was it to let him continue doing this in the first place?" Zuko wondered.
"Take three guesses and the first two don't count," Mai sarcastically told him, knowing the answer was clear due to the importance for the coal supply in the southern waters.
Ursa shook her head. "Another of Ozai's decisions coming to haunt us... Even worse is, that we right now can do little about it."
Mai frowned. "Oh yes, I can imagine the Fire Lord just looking for a reason to declare us traitors."
"Well, technically we already are traitors," Zuko reminded her.
Mai gave him an annoyed look. "You know what I mean, Zuko. Honestly, I can live without spending the rest of my days in a prison cell. I wouldn't last a month before dying of boredom."
Zuko again looked down at the village. "It's unfair. I want to make a difference, and now I can't even help a single village out of fear what my father could then do. Somehow I imagined helping the Avatar being something different than this. Something more meaningful."
Ursa and Mai know that Zuko, while far better than he had been, still was prone to having self-doubts at times. "Don't worry, my son," Ursa told him, putting her hand onto his shoulder. "Our hour will come, and then you can show that you do mean it serious with helping the world."
Mai didn't say anything witty and gave Zuko a look he knew was meant to be encouraging. Over the years he had learned to interpret her very subtle body language. He also knew that despite not appearing like it, she as well wanted to make a difference; only that she wasn't so obvious about it.
They were both right. Their hour would come - just not yet.
o
Returning to the ship, they saw some of the crew being close to tears and the reason was obvious, as Iroh seemed to now test how his new instrument sounded outside. To their dismay, it didn't sound better - in the contrary. Outside, Iroh being inept at playing it became even more obvious. Even the seagulls were avoiding the ship, fleeing as fast as they could as soon as they heard the infernal noise.
While Ursa really liked Iroh, this was one of the times she didn't want to be anywhere near him and she fled downstairs to the safety of her own cabin - behind a thick steel door which would absorb the worst of the noise. Mai and Zuko fled up the stairs of the command tower, knowing the thick windows of the bridge would shield them somewhat from the noise.
Zuko tried to catch his breath, once upstairs, leaning onto the map table. "How are the men even capable of enduring this torture?"
"Well, most can't and simply hide away when they can," Lt. Jee said, while approaching Zuko. "The smart ones block their ears." He pulled some cotton out of his left ear and showed it to Zuko.
"Better get some for us as well. If I have to listen to this for much longer, there will be a murder," Mai hissed, her head starting to hurt from the noise coming in from the outside.
Jee quickly put one cotton back in so that the noise wouldn't be too bad. "I have known the General for some time. While a master on the tsungi horn, he is dreadful with most other instruments."
Zuko groaned. "Let's pray that he does get the hint when no one is willing to listen to this infernal noise."
...the next day, afternoon...
Thankfully their prediction had been right. The whole crew giving Iroh the cold shoulder while he was trying to learn playing his new instrument had done the trick. Instead, Iroh had returned to his favorite hobby: playing Pai Sho against Ursa while enjoying some warm tea. After all, she was the only opponent on this ship who could give him a serious challenge.
Zuko and Mai had not said anything, but their relief was great at this turn of events.
Not wanting to waste their time being idle - and knowing there literally was nothing to be found in the area - they had resorted to sword training. As much as Mai had back then ripped into Zuko for relying too much on his firebending, she had been forced to admit that while her throwing skills were phenomenal, once someone of enough skill got close enough she was in trouble. Learning how to use a weapon seemed wise.
Mai had been forced to admit that while Zuko had relied too much on his firebending, the lessons he'd gotten from a swordmaster named Piandao made him quite good with the sword; at least when he followed his teachings as Zuko himself admitted. It also gave Mai something different to do, since her throwing training had become boring routine. And if there was one thing she feared, it was boredom (she would never admit her fear of boredom was a childhood trauma).
"Helping the Avatar really doesn't turn out to be that great. It's almost boring. Most of it just sitting around or doing the stuff we do anyway," Mai griped.
"Maybe we should buy him an hourglass so that he can be punctual?" Zuko suggested.
Mai knew Zuko was trying to play on her level. "Not bad, a good attempt. Sarcasm is difficult to learn, but you are making progress."
A sound from the skies finally stopped them in their activities.
Mai took a look up and spotted an approaching sky bison. "Finally. This means we won't have to sit around for much longer."
"Don't you know that patience is a virtue?" Sometimes Zuko caught himself that Mai's sarcasm had rubbed off on him a little.
"You talking about patience is a joke in itself..." Mai countered. At times it was a really strange way of flirting, but they enjoyed it.
The big sky bison landed on the deck without any problem, but they then saw that something was amiss. Katara was missing from the group and in her stead a different girl was in the group. There also was some... thing with white fur perched on the Avatar's shoulder. Last but not least, all three of them looked like something severe had happened.
"Zuko, we need your help!" That was the first thing they heard from Aang when he jumped off Appa's head. "Katara, she... she..."
"Stop, young Avatar," Iroh said, approaching. "You can't help your friend when you can hardly explain yourself. Calm down a bit first."
Aang took some deep breaths, trying to calm down. Not that it helped much. "Katara, she got herself into trouble. We need your help to get her and a friend out of it."
"See, it does help." Iroh told him, before taking a look at the girl with them. "I do see you have made new friends in your travels and it surely will be fascinating to hear the story, but what happened exactly?"
Sokka shook his head. "My sister's idealism is, what happened. I knew it would get her into trouble one day... But I guess I better start from the beginning."
"You see, we traveled an entire day to get back to the coast after having to evade some Fire Nation troops. Arrived late at night and got woken up in the morning by something felt like someone was striking the ground with a huge fist. What do we find? An earthbender training with a big rock. Toph wasn't impressed, said they guy was a beginner."
"Who's Toph?" Zuko asked.
The unknown girl answered. "Oh, she's the friend who is in trouble. An earthbender who will teach Aang once the time is right. Don't be fooled by the fact that she's blind, she can hold her own very well. Oh, and my name is Suki, so that you know right away."
Sokka then took over again. "Well, Katara greeted him and he ran away. My sister then got the idea to ask about him in the nearby village and did find him. Haru is his name and man, is that village messed up."
"If you mean what the Fire Nation did to all earthbenders, we know. We visited the village yesterday," Mai told him, so that they'd be spared a redundant explanation.
"Yeah, but what you don't know is, that Haru's father is Tyro, the guy who led the rebellion. Well, Katara left to talk more with him and then later ran back into our camp, totally in tears. She told us Haru saved an old man from being crushed by some rocks, only to get arrested and shipped off to the rig. I should have known she would do something without considering the consequences."
Suki shook her head in disbelief how Katara had messed up. "No idea what exactly they had planned and how she roped Toph into it, but it got her and Toph arrested and shipped off as well. I don't even want to know what went wrong that Toph couldn't defend herself. Now we have to get them out of there."
Mai shook her head. "That's why I think too much idealism is bad. Well, this is a fine mess they got into."
Zuko had facepalmed at so much naive idealism getting them into trouble. "That's great... that's really great! Now we have to get them out of there. And we tried to avoid trouble You know that means we have to cut down all of the guards on that platform? If even one survives, we'll be hunted like animals."
"Kill them? All of them?" Aang gulped, only now understanding the situation. "Can't you, you know, use your authority?"
"What authority? I'm in exile and have no command power whatsoever. Sorry, but as much as I want to solve this without bloodshed as well, there's little choice," Zuko explained to Aang, still cursing the two girls who had gotten them into this bind.
"I think I'm gonna be sick..." Aang ran to the railing, throwing up into the sea.
Ursa sighed. "Poor boy. He has seen lots of death already, and now he knows more is to come if he ever wants to see his friends again. He just discovered one of the unfortunate things being the Avatar brings to you: you get drawn into nasty situations."
Zuko shook his head. "I can only hope he doesn't lose it." He then looked up to the bridge and saw Lt. Jee looking down to him. "Raise the anchor! Full ahead towards the prison rig!"
"Young Avatar, is this such a harsh truth to you?" Iroh asked, when Aang was done parting with his breakfast the wrong way.
Aang shivered. "I was raised on principles of non-violence. It's... it's so..." Aang tried to find words for it.
Iroh knew what the problem was. "Pacifism is a noble goal. Sadly, reality wants to show us how difficult it is to actually live that way. Even your mentor knew when to set his beliefs aside in times of need. Think about it, young Avatar."
Aang sighed. "It's just so difficult. It goes against what I knew all my life."
"Don't worry. You will find you own way, I'm sure of it." Iroh then looked to Appa. "You know, a huge sky bison is a little obvious. We should better find a way to disguise your friend," Iroh then suggested to Aang.
"Later... right now I need to calm down..." Aang looked paled when he sat down and started to meditate in order to not lose it after hearing what would happen. He hadn't done so in a long time and it couldn't hurt to try it.
Deep breaths, in and out, in order to calm down. He did this for a few minutes before he tried to find his inner center, like Gyatso had taught him. Slowly, he felt his burdens leaving him... that, and him leaving something else. He was so occupied with concentrating, he didn't even notice his tattoos starting to glow, not that he suddenly felt quite different despite what had just happened. At least until he heard gasps, opened his eyes... and looked at himself.
"What the...?" His body still seemed to be meditating while he had somehow turned into a spirit. Everyone else was looking at his body, unsure what to do. "What happened to me?" Aang then looked around and... "Woah!"
Everyone had watched Aang' tattoos starting to glow and he then became perfectly still, although a quick check showed he still had a pulse and was breathing. He just seemed to be out of it. Unsure what to do, they did keep their distance.
"All right, I think this definitely falls under 'weird Avatar stuff''. I honestly have no idea what to do now," Sokka said, scratching his head. This was way outside of his frame of reference.
"Didn't you tell me you saw him glowing like this before?" Suki asked, remembering what Sokka had told her about Aang losing it in his village.
Sokka shook his head. "Yeah, but back then he freaked and almost flattened my village. Now he's just sitting there. I don't get it."
Only Iroh was looking at the scene and what had appeared with entire different eyes thanks to his past experiences. The Avatar was perfectly fine, despite him looking a bit unnerved about leaving his body. Therefore he wasn't concerned. He however also saw something else the others didn't. Something that surprised him a lot.
"By the spirits..." After all, what else could you say about a grown-up spectral dragon landing on the deck of the ship?
to be continued...
Next Episode: "The Fate of the World"
Notes:
Since I let Suki join last chapter, I saw no reason why Toph shouldn't join in as well. It took a bit of thinking how to get her on. If you think her parents giving her away for marriage is a bit far-fetched, gain look at how they act in canon. Also it's not unrealistic, considering the Earth Kingdom seems quite a patrichalistic society.
If you noticed Toph acting quite a bit different than in canon, remember that for a twelve-year old, three months are a long time (even if Toph wants to deny her young age). As I see it, in these months in canon, Toph went through something that was hell for her (namely her parents' overprotectiveness getting worse with each day) and soured her significantly. Sure, she already is loud, sarcastic and rude, but getting out of there early left her more approachable.
Now, I actually wanted to show scenes with Katara and Haru as well, but the chapter became too long. So I save these for the next one.
As for the village in the forest, I simply think the inhabitants are smart enough to get what Hei Bei wants. The episode lost its usefulness with my changed story.