Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender. :)
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Chapter 6: A Midnight Chat
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Unpacking was a fairly painless process, and afterward Ru assembled logs to act as seating arrangements around the fire so that talk would seem more appropriate. He'd always done it when he and his father had gone camping, even though the party had been much smaller then.
"So... you wanted to know why I want to fight the rebels," he mused. "They're dangerous, for one thing. Besides, I don't want to just sit on the sidelines while you guys are getting all the action. And I've never left my hometown, except once when my dad took me to some Earth Kingdom town on the coast. The rebels... I've heard rumors, incredible rumors, things that I want to see firsthand if they're fact or fiction."
Katara's expression was incredulous, but the look in her eyes also showed a hint of sadness. "Wasn't your dad upset that you left? Didn't he worry?"
Ru nodded, a thin smile creasing his lips. "My dad was worried sick, said I'd die out here. He told me I'd never make it. I'm out to prove him wrong." He threw back his head and took a dramatic swig of water from his canteen. It was a gesture that he pulled off with amazing ease, and Sokka crossed his arms, slightly jealous. "He let me go. He tried to discourage me, but in the end he let me live my life."
Toph felt a sense of longing. She wished her parents were like that, would have (even reluctantly) allowed her to leave. Sometimes she felt guilty for running away, but the feelings never lasted. She always reminded herself that they got what they deserved. They'd restricted her freedom and concealed her from the world as if ashamed of their imperfect offspring, and she'd given them a more than fitting punishment.
Ru's voice seemed to shatter her thoughts like broken glass. "You okay, Toph?"
Toph shook her head vigorously, surprised at being interrupted from the depths of her mind. "Huh?"
"I asked you if you're okay," he murmured.
Toph nodded. "Never better. Just thinking, is all."
Sokka regarded Ru with a malicious expression. Katara would've drilled him for it, but luckily she was lost in her own thoughts. Everyone was, actually, since Ru had given his brief explanation that they'd all gathered 'round the fire to hear... He thinks he's so cool, Sokka thought to himself. He's so ignorant. He's no better than any other guy that's tried to catch Toph's attention. Sokka's gaze drifted over to the girl in question, and his thoughts grew more bitter. Look at her, her face directed to him like she's never been around a guy before. What's he got that I don't? I'm older, have more life-experience...
Another voice, a conflicting voice, spoke up in the back of his mind. He's a bender, it told him, clearly and with a definite tone. What've you got? A measly boomerang. And you think you're competition...
The little voices in Sokka's head argued back and forth, and when he finally grasped reality, his companions were heading to bed.
Sokka had gotten into his sleeping bag, but rest had not captured him as it had his fellow travelers. He tossed and turned, repositioning himself multiple times; he counted fluffy animals, imagined himself in a calm place, and even did deep-breathing exercises to make himself tired, all to no avail.
Toph could have slept if she wanted, could have drifted off into a fitful, dreamy slumber, but Sokka's constant movement kept her awake. It wasn't that his constant vibrations were disturbing, though; she simply wondered what could be causing his discomfort. Insomnia? Something else entirely? She entertained random thoughts of possible causes instead of sleeping herself. At least then she wouldn't be at the mercy of her own thoughts. Dreams bothered her, and nightmares were worse.
Suddenly she felt Sokka stand and head over to the fire. This was so unlike him, not to sleep. He usually indulged in it, and now he was restless. Something had to be wrong, different, unstable, and she wanted to know just what it was. She exited her rock tent and approached the soft mound of earth where their fire was dying, giving off little heat.
"What's wrong, Snoozles?" Toph asked, sitting on one of the logs. Sokka looked up, just noticing her presence. He sat opposite her.
"Can't sleep," he said simply. His words didn't do the whirring gears in his brain justice. There were a million thoughts racing through his head at that moment, but all he could utter was a two-word phrase. It seemed ironic, and he chuckled.
Toph raised an eyebrow. "Something funny?"
"Nothing." Why am I responding so vaguely? Why can't I seem to tell her why I'm really so restless?
Why is he being so short with me? Toph didn't trust Sokka at that moment. Something was wrong, and she knew it. "Cut the crap, Sokka. What's really going on?" The assertiveness in her own voice surprised her (only slightly, as being direct and assertive was her custom), but she didn't show it. She was just going to flow with it.
Sokka was surprised, too. He'd been expecting something a little gentler, but then he had to remind himself that this was Toph he was talking to. "Oh, um, well, you see, the thing is..."
Toph's expression was expectant. "Yeah?"
"I, uh, I... I don't know."
"You're lying."
Sokka had briefly forgotten about her uncanny ability to detect whether or not a person was telling the truth. He mentally slapped himself for his own ignorance. "I've just got a lot of things on my mind, okay?"
Toph regarded Sokka suspiciously. "Stuff on your mind, huh? What kind of stuff?"
"The kind that keeps me from sleeping." He stared blankly at the burning embers of the fire that were becoming weaker and weaker each cold, silent minute that passed.
Toph's voice was clear and concise and obliterated any chances he had from getting any answers from the embers. "So it's that serious?"
Sokka looked up. Doesn't this girl sleep? "Yeah, it is. I'm just... confused, I guess."
"About?" Toph really had no need to ask. She already knew. She just wanted him to come on out and say it.
"Someone."
Toph stiffened. "I know you don't like Ru, okay?"
Sokka glared at her and bit his tongue to keep from lashing out, but his voice still had a razor sharp edge to it. "Then why are you so chummy with him?"
Toph considered her response. She could A, take the heat and tell him the truth - she was experimenting with how Sokka would react to it, or B, tell him that Ru was a fresh and new traveler that needed their guidance. She chose the easy way out. "I'm just trying to make Ru feel... comfortable," Toph said, feeling terribly uncomfortable herself.
"So your idea of making a guy comfortable is flirting with him and acting all... I don't know... un-Toph-ish around him?"
"Un-Toph-ish? Nice, Sokka." Toph stood up. "And I'm being myself, thank you very much. And I'm not flirting with him, I'm just... I don't know. I guess I was just keeping you on your toes, is all. There, ya happy?"
"Keeping me on my toes? What's that supposed to mean?" Sokka demanded. Toph stalked toward her rock tent.
"If you don't know," she shot, "then it gives you something to think about while you're out here pacing like an insomniac." She burst into her rock tent and slammed the earth upward behind her.
Sokka blinked blankly. What the heck just happened?
Toph slipped down onto the ground, a pleased smile dominating her facial features. Yep, that proves it. She turned over on her side and yawned, the urge to sleep overwhelming her. He's actually jealous.
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