X. Second Interlude – What the Blind Girl Saw

Toph was again sitting in the middle of a room, holding a cup of warm fire wine, listening to people around her. The stress levels were going up, that's all she knew. She felt weirdly detached from the entire ordeal. Like it was happening to someone else. So she focused on eating and drinking. First time in the entire, and now very long day that she was actually eating. Wondering how her life had gone from ordinary to freaking unbelievable. Well, at least as ordinary as life usually is for blind metal benders courted by kings, kissed by avatars and befriended by warriors and princes. Being the obscure object of desire of an obscure contest in the middle of frozen nowhere at, literally, the end of the world was nothing compared to that.

Hakoda was again discussing with Iroh, Arnook, Bumi and the rest of the White Lotus guys the situation and the options. Next to her, Katara and Suki kept looking at her and whispering.

"She is so calm." Suki said. "It makes me nervous."

"She is acting the same way she usually does when she visits her parents." Katara said. "Look at how she eats. She is playing the lady. No one can play the lady better than Toph. But she only does it when she is shutting down the world outside. It means she is in shock."

Sparky's mom, with that ghost like quality that Toph had noticed since the first day she met her, was sitting next to her. Toph could feel her soft breaths, while pushing plates of food in front of her. Lady Ursa always gave her a diaphanous impression, like if part of her were made of pure essence. If it wasn't because Toph knew her to be flesh and blood, she would have swear that Sparky's mom was part Spirit.

The guys were gesticulating wildly, discussing with the older crowd. She could hear their gestures. Maybe it was that by now she knew them so well that they were imprinted in her memory. Aang was pacing around, branding the staff. Zuko would cross and uncross his arms, pinch his nose, berate Agni, while Sokka would play soldier and threaten the world with his replacement sword. Toph thought lazily that it was a pity that he never recovered the space sword. Luckily for him Piandao had kept part of the meteorite in his estate, and Sokka had done a pilgrimage to his master's house to forge a new sword, with Suki this time instead of them. Now he was probably branding the replacement space sword in front of people's faces. Toph was not sure what all the hoopla was about. So Kuei was willing to participate in a contest for her hand, and unless another suitor show up he would be running the race alone. That needed to be remedied.

"I need suitors" she said daintily, pushing tiny pieces of fish and rice into her mouth with chopsticks. Katara and Suki drew closer. The steady sound of cups begin refilled, and the Lady's brief absence lead her to believe that Sparky's mom was refilling cups for everyone.

"What did you say, my dear?" Lady Ursa asked.

"I need suitors." She answered while eating calmly. "Kuei needs some competition."

Katara sipped her drink.

"You are right, Toph. But unless you like the new suitors, I don't know if that will help much"

Toph kept eating small bites, chewing with her mouth closed, and delicately bringing a napkin to the corners of her mouth.

"It will help make Kuei's life miserable. Besides annihilating the sandbenders, that now is my new and only purpose in life."

The Lady (that's what Toph always called her. She tried pinning a nickname on her but somehow it did not feel appropriate) assented.

"It's a worthy cause" she said "but I am afraid it will get old fairly fast. So my dear Nu-er" she said turning to Katara "explain to me what the story is behind this contest" At any other moment Toph would have raised an eyebrow and inquire about the term of endearment that the Lady had just used with her friend, but she was too busy fighting the world with good manners and food to pay attention to what was going on around her.

Katara sipped her wine.

"The Contest of the Frosts is an old Water Tribe ritual for settling disputes between suitors. It is considered barbaric because there are no rules of engagement. Anyone can enter, but only one can leave. Traditionally, the fights are to the death."

Toph heard Zuko coming over and sitting next to his mother. She could feel how tired he was. Katara kept talking.

"Legend says that the first Contest of the Frosts was held for the hand of the Moon. The Spirit of the Ocean and the Spirit of the Sun were both in love with the Moon. The Moon couldn't make up her mind regarding which suitor she liked best and she kept dragging her feet and making both the Ocean and the Sun miserable. These are powerful Spirits but love was making them sad and they started neglecting their duties."

Sokka and Aang came over to listen to Katara. Toph heard Sokka whisper to Suki

"What's with Toph?"

"She is playing the lady"

"By the Spirits, she is in shock!"

Aang, on the other hand sat next to Toph. He very carefully put an arm around her shoulders and left it there. Toph didn't pause to think about the uncommon gesture, too intent on Kataras' tale. She continued.

"Then, one day the Dragon Gods got angry at the Sun and the Ocean for neglecting their duties. And told them that they would have to fight for the hand of the Moon. The winner would win her and she, in turn, as punishment for her flirting, would have to accept whomever the winner was. The battle between the Sun and the Ocean was ferocious. The legend says that the Fire Nation islands were born when the Sun fell from the sky during the fight. On the same note, the Poles formed when the Ocean got the upper hand and managed to bury the sun under the water, plunging the world in winter and darkness. At the end, the Ocean won the battle. It drowned the Spirit of the Sun and made him his prisoner at the bottom of the Ocean. And the poor Sun would drown a thousand times over because of his immortality. And the Ocean was proud because he had made the sky dark forever, for his beloved Moon to reign supreme in the sky. But the land was sad and the Moon was sadder, because without the Sun everything was terrible and cold. No food would grow from the earth, no warmth for the mortals, and even the fishes on the Ocean were dying. It is called the Contest of the Frosts because the world became dark and cold, covered in permanent frost. At the end, the Ocean regretted winning, particularly because the Moon was incensed against him and refused to let him touch her. The Dragon Gods intervened, and gave a mortal hero the strength to liberate the Sun. Since then the Moon and the Ocean dance together in an eternal dance, never touching, because she still spurns his advances. The legend says that the Moon got so angry at the Ocean that she took a lover. Once a month the sky grows dark because the Moon disappears to meet her lover. So the contest forced her to accept the hand of the Ocean, but she is now the lover of the Sun. Every night, out of jealousy, the Ocean drowns the Sun again, and every morning it raises to start the circle anew."

"Wow." Suki said. "What a sad legend." Toph had finished with her food, though she still was acting with refinement.

"So this entire Contest is a punishment for bad girls." Toph said, her voice very sweet. "Either way, it's a losing proposition for the girl: if she doesn't like either guy enough, she gets stuck with one. If she likes them both, she still gets stuck with only one. And I thought Earth Kingdom customs were backwards" she turned to Katara "So is your best friend the Moon like the ultimate tramp?"

Sokka was offended.

"The Moon is GOOD, is not her fault that she is pretty and those creepy Spirits keep trying to pick her up."

"She is doing the Sun." Toph said with composure. "Behind the Ocean's back. That sounds like a tramp to me. The Ocean deserves it, don't get me wrong. Kudos for the Moon! Yeah! Anyway, this is the ultimate Contest for the hand of the Ultimate Tart." She paused "and I am the tart." She turned her head to Aang, who was still holding her. "Your heard that, Twinkle Toes? I'm going to be punished like a loose woman and forced into marriage with any guy faster than Kuei, which right now is anyone on the face of this planet. Imagine what would happen to me if I actually start doing tartly things?"

"We are going to help you, Sifu T." Aang said with determination. "Kuei won't win this one."

"So." Suki asked. "What happens if after the contest the maiden says no?"

Sokka and Katara were quiet for one moment.

"The purpose of the contest is to punish the maiden more than to reward the warriors." Sokka said carefully. "She forfeits her life if she says no."

"But I haven't done anything wrong." Toph said. "If this is to punish the maiden that is flirting with two guys, that is as far away from me as you can get."

"You said no." Sokka answered. "Once the right to the contest is invoked, it removes from the maiden the possibility of saying No."

Toph covered her mouth aghast.

"This is the most vindictive, primitive and barbaric thing I have ever heard." She said. "Talk about not dealing well with rejection."

"That is the reason why this thing only gets invoked like every one hundred and fifty years or so!" defended Sokka "It usually ends in tragedy and despair. There is not a single instance of a happy marriage coming out of that contest, ever. It's considered a curse on the maiden, condemned to a life of misery and unfulfillment. The only guys that would risk it are either really desperate or just want to destroy the girl."

Silence let this sink in.

"So that was what your Gran-Gran meant by her curse." Zuko said, in disbelief.

"Why did your Dad say that he couldn't refuse the request for the Contest?" Suki asked. "What happens if he does?"

"The Dragon Gods and the Spirits get really, really, angry. I mean, like apocalyptically angry." Sokka said. "The last time a Contest was refused happened over two hundred and fifty years ago and a horrible plague fell upon the tribe. People kept dying until the Contest was held. It is understood by all Water Tribes that angering the Spirits is not the way to go. The Ocean particularly takes the Contest very seriously. He is the one who starts placing curses and what not's. You should know, Aang, how angry that guy can get, you wiped out an entire fleet riding on his temper."

"Of course he gets angry." Toph said. "He's not getting any from the Moon, so he has to make sure mortals are miserable too. The guy is Full of tension."

"So." Suki asked innocently. "Do you think that Yue is like, you know, dating these Spirits? I mean, she got thrown in the middle of her predecessor's drama, is not like she has much choice in the matter."

Sokka was open mouthed.

"That's so …" He looked for the right word… "Eeewwww." He finished eloquently.

"I am the Avatar." Aang said suddenly. "Maybe I can travel to the Spirit world and have a conversation with the Spirits about this. Maybe I can convince them not to strike back if we refuse to go ahead with this."

"Good luck with that." Sokka said. "The Ocean and the Moon are at the North Pole."

"No, their mortal forms are, but their Spirits are everywhere."

"Yeah." Toph said, fully reverted to her usual self. "And while you are at it go and ask Sokka's ex to please take one for the team and put up. That should make the Ocean happy and spare us the end of the world." Sokka whistled below his breath who is buying tickets for the raffle to hell, now?

"Stop saying those things about Yue" he said, ill humored "She is innocent of all wrongdoing"

"So am I." Toph said. "So, lay it out for me: what are my options?"

"Basically, three." Sokka answered her. "Option number One: refuse the contest and risk the demise of the Water Tribes at the hands of the Gods. We can safely rule that one out. Option number Two: face the Contest and marry whomever wins. We can accept that one if the winner is someone you like. If it's Kuei, we need to warn you against the dangers of murdering your own husband. Option number Three: Face the Contest, refuse the winner and face death because if we let you live the Gods will go crazy on us again, so it will be either you or the demise of our Tribes. So number one and number three are basically the same, with the caveat that in number one only we die and in number three is either you or us."

"Whose idea was it to use Water Tribe traditions to save Toph?" Zuko mumbled, his muffled voice sounding like it was coming somewhere from under his arms. He was probably burying his head deeply in his hands.

"Chin." Katara said. "Who is now hiding from you and who, by the way, says that Sokka won the bet and left three copper pieces for him."

"Next time Chin is up for promotion I will handle his review personally." Zuko muttered.

Toph, however, raised her head.

"Wait." She said. "Let's not write this off yet. What Kuei doesn't know about us is that just because we are losing doesn't mean we've lost. We've faced worse odds. We finished a century old war with less than this. Sokka, think. Which of the three options is the less damaging for the Tribes and me at the same time?"

"Your death." He said without hesitation. "Save the tribes, avoid icky marriage, make Gods happy with human misery. It's the perfect combo. Except for the fact that you will be dead, of course. But single!" He added, helpfully.

"That's the solution." She said happily. "Let's fake my death."

"What part about the all-knowing-vengeful Gods you did not get?" Katara asked.

"That's why Twinkle Toes is here for. He's a charmer, he will charm his way into the Spirits and get himself invited to the pantheon of the Dragon Gods and intercede for my cause and for the Tribes."

"And if he doesn't succeed?"

"I will have to fake being dead really, really hard." She said.

The idea was preposterous, but somehow it lifted everyone's spirits.

"If you are going to be facing this contest." Zuko said suddenly. "We need to get you some suitors. There is no need to make this easier on Kuei. Let him sweat."

"I think he believes that no one else would like to participate." Katara said with annoyance. "We need to make sure we get enough suitors to get him to back down. Or at least worry."

"That's a fourth option." Sokka said suddenly. "If Kuei backs down he takes the challenge with him. No Contest, no foul."

Toph shook her head.

"He won't back down." She said. "I know him too well. Under his harmless demeanor rests one of the most stubborn and unwavering people I've ever met. Believe me, I know unwavering."

"How are we going to attract suitors?" Suki asked.

"Please, don't let Sokka do her portrait." Katara said. "And do not use her wanted poster from her Runaway days. That will scare guys away."

"We need a real artist" Aang said, who Toph suddenly noticed was still holding her. "Master Piandao!" Aang called. Sokka's master with the elegant voice came over. "We need you to draw a picture of Toph, we are going to make posters to get suitors for her hand."

Toph felt Piandao come closer. The lightest touch grazed her chin, almost as he was asking permission. She didn't flinch away, offering her consent. Piandao gently put his fingers under her chin and raised her face.

"There won't be a scarcity of suitors" he said and she knew that he did not mean it as a compliment, but it sounded like one. "I will paint you tomorrow first thing in the morning."

"Let's make sure that the poster mentions her family and how rich they are." Zuko said. "Faces are a matter of taste, but money is universal."

"Yep, that's really flattering: whomever doesn't want me for my body will want me for my money. I feel so loved." Toph said.

"It's going to be a crazy week." Suki said.

"And depending on the results, we will at least have one wedding and maybe a funeral, hopefully not on the same day." Toph said.

"But I thought you didn't want to get married through this Contest!" Katara said.

"I meant your Commitment Ceremony, Sugar-cakes. You're so fussy about labels."

"Ah!" Katara sounded … surprised? "Yeah. The Ceremony. Right."

Uncomfortable silence fell on the friends.

"Yes" Aang said and for the first time removed his arm from Toph's shoulders. "Our Ceremony."

"Well …" Katara sounded prickly "With all that's going on, we should, I don't … er, … I mean, we don't know what's going to happen with this Contest, we may not have reasons to celebrate. It doesn't sound auspicious to me."

The silence felt like a physical presence.

"You are right" Aang said suddenly, and it was hard to figure out if he was affected or not by his fiancée's actions. Somehow reading Aang was becoming increasingly difficult lately. Toph wondered if it had to do with the fact that he seemed to be maturing into his role, his body and his personality. He also seemed to be developing hidden depths that so far had seemed reserved only for Zuko. There was something lurking beneath the surface with Aang lately, and Toph thought that, for the first time since meeting him, he was becoming an intriguing person. "We can talk about it later. We need to focus in arm wrestling Spirits and someone needs to ensure Toph dies a fake death."

"You need to keep your plan secret." Lady Ursa said suddenly. "From everyone here. Don't tempt the Spirits more than necessary. Take it from someone who knows." Toph heard Zuko embracing his mother.

"Yes my Lady." She said lowering her head. "We know how to keep secrets. We are all very good at them."

Suddenly Toph felt the length of the day in her body. At least, they had a plan. Maybe not a good one, but it was something. She felt like she could use some rest.

"I think I'm going to bed." She announced. "Sweetness, would you walk me to my room?"

"Of course." Katara said. Sokka yawned.

"I'm so tired." He said. "Suki, do you mind walking with me? There's something I want to talk to you about."

"Of course Sokka." Said the warrior.

Toph and Katara said goodnight to everyone and left, walking quietly towards Toph's room.

"Toph." Katara said suddenly breaking the silence. "I'm really sorry about the trial. I'm sorry I lost."

"Forget about it Sweetness. It wasn't your fault. It wasn't even Chin's. It was a good idea and we were doing fine with the lying in court and everything. How were we supposed to know that your Tribe traditions suck so much? I mean, the Northern Tribe is supposed to be the sucky one, not yours."

"I know, I'm still sorry." They walked in silence for a couple of minutes and then Katara spoke up, shattering it. "I'm going to try the goods tonight."

Toph was surprised.

"Why tonight?"

"Because I need to know." She said adamantly. "I've been thinking about the things you said and I think you're right about a couple of things. It's my decision after all. Not Aang's, not Zuko's and definitively not a tree's. The last thing I need is to guide my life by a tree. Whatever my destiny is, it shouldn't feel like this. So I'm trying the goods tonight."

Toph wondered why she felt weird in her stomach. Maybe it was the fish.

"Don't run too fast." She said in a low voice. Katara laughed, but it was not a happy laugh.

"I won't. I need to remember that the slapping happens afterwards."

Toph felt obligated to add the bit of information she knew about Aang.

"And take precautions." She said seriously. "All the ones you can. You never know, he flies and stuff. He may circumvent the precautions, so please be careful. Don't let 'trying the goods' become a lifetime trial."

Katara seemed moved.

"I'll take precautions. I am a healer. I know what to do."

When they reached Toph's room Katara gave her a hug, and Toph returned it with all her might.

"Whatever happens in the next couple of days Katara." She said. "You are my best friend."

"And you are mine." Katara left, soft steps fading in the distance.

OoOoOoOo

Toph couldn't sleep. She just couldn't. She didn't even try, frankly. She lay on her bed fully dressed for what felt like an hour, but could have been fifteen minutes for all she knew, and then said:

"Sod off!"

She jumped from her bed, leaving the room. She walked to the only place she knew how to reach without getting lost, Zuko's room. She wondered if he would be there, and if he wasn't, then at least she could steal some chocolates. Chocolates felt like just the thing for right now. There were no guards outside of Zuko's room, so she opened the door directly.

"Champion!" He said startled. And she stayed at the door, not knowing what to do.

"Sorry Sparky." She answered honestly. "I didn't expect you to be here. I thought you would be with the White Lotus contingent solving the world problems."

"I'm tired." He said. "And my mom wanted to retire." He paused. "Why are you here? Fire whiskey?"

"Chocolates." She admitted. He chuckled.

"Come." He said and grabbed her hand, guiding her to the bed. She sat and he put a box on her lap. She started nibbling on one.

"How are you feeling, champ?" he asked.

"So, so." She responded. "Hopefully now that we have one of our half-baked crappy plans. It makes me feel that precisely because we have all the odds against us, we may just be able to get away with it."

She heard him move his head, probably nodding.

"I'm nodding." He said and she smiled. He always remembered that she couldn't see "Yes, it feels like we are drowning, this is definitively like old times."

"How are you doing?" She asked in return.

"About what?"

"Twinkle Toes, Sugar Cakes, you know, the entire thing."

"So, so." He said honestly. "It's hard to reason with Aang sometimes. He refuses to see a different point of view than his."

"It's because everything comes easy to him." She said, meaning it. "And he doesn't get challenged enough. At his core, I mean. Sugar Queen doesn't challenge him, she enables him."

"He doesn't challenge her either." Zuko said in a low voice. They shared a moment of silence, then he added. "I finally did it."

"Did what?"

"I talked to him about the facts of life."

"The real ones?" She was surprised. "What brought this decision on?"

"You." She raised an eyebrow. "You and Katara, whatever you were doing in Suki's room."

Toph tried not to laugh, but couldn't help it.

"You got it all wrong!" She started.

"I know. But a guy's imagination usually gets everything wrong. Add some visuals to it, and you have a recipe for disaster. I had to intervene."

"And how did it go?" He considered this for a moment.

"I had to fill in details. Your trashy romance scrolls might have been helpful, actually. Trying to answer Aang's questions with drawings, well, no good. But it is done now. I did my duty." He seemed wretched, though.

Toph nibbled another piece.

"I want to ask you something." She said.

"Fire away."

"How did you know about Hama? You called her Katara's teacher, but she never talks about Hama. Aang hates to talk about Hama's techniques, he calls them an abomination."

"Because I've seen Katara using those techniques and she told me the story behind them."

"You've seen her? More than once?"

"Yes" Toph understood that Zuko would give her the same 'it's not my story to tell' thing if she kept digging, so she decided to let it rest.

"It's interesting." She said. "She trusts you with seeing the worst in her." He did not answer.

She kept nibbling.

"Sweetness says that you never write to her." She said. He shrugged.

"I do. I just don't send my letters."

"Why not?" He did not answer. Sparky was being particularly taciturn tonight. She wondered if it had anything to do with Katara trying the goods.

"Do you know where Katara is right now?" She asked, tentatively.

"With Aang." He answered without hesitation. "He told me that she was coming over to his room tonight."

"Was he nervous?"

"Didn't seem so. More like excited I would say." Sparky's voice was controlled, but she could feel raw emotion coiling like a serpent underneath.

"Good for them." Toph said, but didn't feel it. She thought for a moment, and decided that life was short and bitter. "Sparky, I have a favor to ask."

"Anything." He said.

"Kiss me." She said before she knew she was about to say that. He froze.

"What did you say?' He asked incredulously.

"You heard me." She said putting the chocolates aside. "I want you to kiss me."

He made a noise, and she found it hard to tell if he was snorting or chuckling.

"But why?"

"Because my life is turning into a freak show right in front of my own eyes, and there are certain things that I want to do for myself by myself before I am forced to do them for someone else."

He still seemed undecided. It was definitively easier to seduce Twinkle Toes than Sparky.

"Are you sure it's me you want?" He asked.

"Yes. You are my friend." She stopped for a moment, and then added honestly. "I really like you." She grabbed his hand and put it on top of her chest, where her heart was. "I liked you like this. Like a heartbeat." She murmured. "I'm your friend. Your steady, firm, grounded friend. I don't drive you crazy, I don't pick up fights with you thinking they are foreplay, I am not temperamental or moody or depressed. And I don't do moon nights. This is me. All of me. What you see is what you get."

His hand moved over her heart and it cupped her breast and her breath caught in her throat at the light contact. She felt him coming closer, the warmth of his hand over the breast and the heat of his breath closer to her face. He kissed her cheek very slowly. And moved his mouth toward her mouth.

"You are not allowed to hit me if you get too nervous with what is going to happen now." He said softly, centimeters from her mouth.

"I won't"

"I am serious. No hitting, not pushing me out of the bed, not complaining."

"I know. You are not lying."

"But I am smiling." He said on the corner of her mouth. She smiled back.

"That you are!"

The kiss started surprisingly chaste. She opened her mouth in exploration and he pressed a bit further. She liked his smell. She always did. She also liked his warmth. She decided that she really liked kissing him and could keep doing this for a while. His hand left her breast and went to her waist. And stayed there. He did not try to move it further and she was too busy learning the subtleties of a good kiss to care or notice. When she was starting to feel this unusual warmth spreading down to her toes, he broke the kiss and put his hand on her cheek.

"That was…" He looked for the right word "… sweet" and there was some surprise "very sweet."

Toph wasn't sure that she liked that adjective.

"I'm not your little sister." She said with assurance (dammed if she felt it though).

He seemed surprised.

"I know you are not."

"So, don't treat me like I am. I can tell if you are lying."

He laughed now.

"I know." He said and she heard him rubbing his chest.

She suddenly understood something about Sparky. It had to do with the way he tended to fixate on things and with something Suki had said earlier.

"I'm not Katara." She said and honestly, it did not hurt saying it. "I don't do, you know, fancy bending with inner fluids and stuff and I'm in your face most of the time." He was still chuckling. She grabbed his arm, stopping his movements over his chest. "The difference between me and Katara is that I can see. Every time you rub your chest you are thinking about her. You don't even notice that you do it." He froze. Toph let go of his arm. "I honestly hope that you don't do that all the time when you are with Sunshine or that girl is going to end up murdering someone by mistake soon."

He stayed quiet, his hand over his chest, paralyzed.

Toph tilted her head.

"So Sparky." She asked directly. "Why haven't you told her that you love her?"

Zuko paused for a long moment before speaking.

"Someone who feels less may be able to say more."

"Wow." Toph said seriously, shaking her head. "That was deep."

She waited for a moment, before asking

"Is that the reason why you don't send your letters?"

"Those letters," he said slowly, "are ramblings. The yearnings of a lost soul under a tree. No one should read those letters. I don't know why I haven't burned them yet."

"Because they remind you of her" she said matter of factly. She then felt like adding something else "I know you are trying to get your country's honor back, but no self sacrifice is going to resurrect a race that died almost one hundred years before you were born. Think about the concept of sacrifice. It may not be what you think it is, and you being miserable is not going to bring a single dead airbender back to life."

She stood up and leaned to kiss his forehead.

"Good evening Sparky. Thank you for the chocolates and the kiss. You certainly are a natural."

Sparky grabbed her hand.

"Champ, we are going to get you out of this one." He said fervently. She patted his head.

"I know."

She left his room with a spring in her step. Feeling renovated and full of life. Like she had closed a door that was open letting in the cold.

When she got to her room she closed the door behind her back, and leaned on it feeling like giggling. That's when she felt a presence in the room. Someone was sitting on her bed.

"Good evening Sifu T." Aang said. "Where were you?"

A/N: TVMaster2000 mentioned that my summary says Zutara but this story is Toph centric. This is the unwilling result of painting myself into a corner. When I started writing this I wanted to do Zutara from an outsider's point of view, and the ideal outsider was Toph. However, that person is blind and I put her on ice, which made her cranky, so the Great Master hijacked my story in retaliation and ran away with it. I haven't been able to get it back. So I find myself going down a path that I never imagined. This is at heart a Zutara story, believe me, but Toph has the annoying habit of getting under your skin. So when I am done with this, I am going to write a Zutara lemonade from their point of view and won't let Toph near my computer.