"Toph, are your thirty six hours up yet?"
"No, I've still got around nineteen hours left."
"Oh…"
"I'm almost there." Toph reassured him, with a smile. Sokka wondered if this smile was a good thing for him, his wolf-tail shivered in anticipation.
They were trekking through the mountains, Sokka getting tangled up in various situations and Toph helping him out with a yawn or two. The low sun told them that a certain wrestling match was about to begin on a certain side of a certain mountain, and I'm certain that this joke is...old. Toph was gliding along the earth with a certain grace that Sokka couldn't help but notice.
The continued to stroll up the mountain side, Sokka positively marching. Toph was enjoying their time together, contently listening to his heartbeat and trying to fight the disappointment that instead of a date in a fancy food…well what do they call restaurants in the Avatar World? Instead of a lovely date, they were going to watch wrestling. Now we KNOW that this delightful little girl loved "watching" skulls being splintered and teeth skittering across the blood-stained floor, but she had FINALLY realized that the "Stud" Sokka FINALLY liked her, so she was expecting a BIT of romance! All the ladies ---the majority of the readers I suppose; guys don't get the subtle loveliness that is Tokka---know what I'm talking about! You understand right? Toph wants a lovely picnic, or a walk through the woods or maybe just lying on the grass, appreciating the time they have together without two crazy girls in the background gnawing through each other's crazy hairstyles. Of course, there happens to be someone with a Y chromosome in this relationship (a guy) so we can only hope…
Meanwhile, Cari and Katara were getting along.
…
…
…….
Readers: S'cuse me?
I kid ye not! Just picture this:
Two girls were up two adjacent trees, holding the ends of a thick rope. Below them, was a large bed of leaves with a pile of juicy, plump meat placed upon a golden plate resting on the top. Underneath this Bounty was a concealed net, of which Cari and Katara were working together (!!!) to tie to the top of the tree.
"You know, Cari," Katara said, pausing to take a deep breath of fresh air, "I think this plan is brilliant!"
"Of course it is!" Cari agreed buoyantly, "I devised it!"
"It's a lot more complex than Sokka's plans- and I'm very surprised that he never used meat in his."
"He probably intended to," Cari thought aloud, "But changed his mind and ate the meat instead halfway through planning."
"That's the safest bet."
They laughed together, harmonizing as they chuckled lightly. Before their chortling had died there was a rush of air and Aang appeared. Hooray!
"I've set the track! They'll find this place with no trouble at all!" He announced proudly, holding up what was left of brightly coloured sign posts with an all too obvious arrow.
"You just couldn'tnot put an arrow on there could ya, Aang?" Cari drawled supremely. The Avatar happened to be the only one of the group that Cari hadn't made a nickname for. Some may say the writer couldn't think of anything but I like to believe that she just loved his actual name. I think we should all believe the SECOND one. (Grins)
"They are sign posts, after all." Aang pointed out. Cari just pretended she didn't hear him, so she wasn't caught out as in the wrong. Such terrible things would happen otherwise.
So here's how it all happened. The mayhem, the mania, the chaos, the hysteria, the MADNESS all occurred because of one. Little. Rabbit. No, not a freakish Avatar Lemur-Bison-Poodle-Raincoat-Rabbit, just a regular rabbit.
Toph and Sokka were enjoying their walk, Sokka regularly checking whether thirty six hours were finished yet and Toph never failing to punch him as a response, when they came across the first of Aang's signposts.
THIS WAY TO WRESTLE-HEAVEN, HOTMEN!
"Hotmen…?" Sokka said, wrinkling his nose in confusion.
"Where?" Toph asked in interest.
"On the sign." He said, slightly irritated in her hope for Hot Men.
"Hotmen…that's a Fire Nation saying!" Fire Nation theme tune. Unfortunately a court order says I mustn't sing it for you.
"This must be a Fire Nation trap!" Sokka concluded. Jackass…anyway we can do nothing about it, "That was a close one! Come on Toph, let's ditch the wrestling."
"Ok!" Toph said happily as Sokka grabbed her hand and pulled her in completely the opposite direction.
So let's just watch them take another trail, walking off into the sunset. I do love a good cliché!
But how about wefollow the trail and see what's going down with the others? Now, I know you want to follow Sokka and Toph, Tokka fans, and see a bit of smooching but sometimes a couple needs their privacy. You can complain later.
"How about we add just a little bit of cabbage?" Katara suggested. Cari pulled a face and replied: "I hate cabbage."
"Toph doesn't, and when they're trapped in the net she might want to eat something other than meat!"
"Believe me, she won't."
"How do you know?"
"I'm her oldest friend!"
Aang decided to intervene, and quickly.
"Let's just put a little lettuce in anyway. Lettuce is good for you!" He beamed at them both. The clouds cleared and a rainbow sprouted from nowhere, greeted by the sweet chorus of birdsong. Cari grinned.
"I love lettuce!" She said appreciatively. Katara rolled her eyes.
"Do you wanna go in this net?" She offered. Aang disappeared and reappeared almost instantly, holding up a springy leaf of lettuce. He carefully placed it at the very top of the pile of juicy meat.
Enter the Rabbit!
Hop…hop…hop.
"Hey!" Katara hissed, her ears pricking and her eyes shifting side to side. Cari and Aang watched curiously, "Do you hear that?"
They listened carefully.
Hop...hop…hop.
"It's getting closer!" Aang told them.
Hop…hop…hop.
"What the hell isthat?" Cari demanded, searching around. Her eyes locked onto a cute little rabbit, a rich chocolate brown with long ears it was trying hard not to trip over. It's shiny eyes were fixated on the juicy lettuce leaf, upon a pedestal of meat.
"RABBIT!" Katara screamed, pointing furiously at the little animal. It didn't seem to hear her; it was too busy gazing at the lovely lettuce…
"DON'T LET IT TOUCH THE LETTUCE!" Aang roared, and all three of them, bending abilities forgotten, threw themselves at the rabbit.
The rabbit neatly hopped up to the lettuce, took it in its mouth and sped off. Aang, Katara and Cari were still flying through the air. Until, that is, they landed on the meat. And activated the net.
SPRING!
BOING!
CLATTER!
RIGAticktickticktick…
Silence.
"What just happened?" Katara whimpered, her face squished against a grilled flying boar's carcass.
"I believe we are in a net." Cari said dully, two Parrot Chicken drumsticks under each elbow.
"I need the bathroom." Aang murmured miserably, chewing absently on some Leopard Bear.
…"HEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLP!"