Chapter 6
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In Which Exposition is Finally Provided and Part 2 to the Story is Introduced
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Toph had been correct not too hold onto hope, though she secretly had, but would not admit it to herself.
Sokka had slept long and soundly, but symptoms of his concussion appeared, namely memory-loss of events following his fall. By the time Toph had told everyone Sokka was awake and returned with his sandwich, Sokka had forgotten he had even spoken with her. He'd simply grabbed for the sandwich and thanked her with a wondering remark about how could she have known he was starving. Toph had bitten back an angry cry and remained speechless while the others asked Sokka a series of questions to gauge how he was recovering.
It had been a month since then, and in that time Aang and Toph and Katara had returned to their separate lives while Sokka stayed with his dad and Mazane while his leg healed. Aang and Toph were both for the time settled in the Fire Nation, though they lived and worked in separate regions. Because of the hard work of Lord Zuko and his various officials, the Fire Nation was no longer considered a threat by the other nations for the most part. Minor problems yet arose from time to time, but fortunately, they had declined dramatically over the years.
In the era of peace he had helped create as the Avatar, Aang now worked as the last Airbender to rebuild his people's realms. The Fire Nation had assumed it had wiped out all the Air Nomads, but this was not the case. Some had survived and had been in hiding for the past hundred years, and still others had immigrated to the Earth Kingdom, living there as non-benders, keeping their skills secret. Aang needed to base himself in the Fire Nation for diplomatic reasons. Keeping relations between the Fire Nation and the Air Nomads peaceful was increasingly important as more and more Airbending peoples (and even those who suspected Air Nomads in their ancestry) came forward seeking—and at time even demanding—remunerations for losses sustained over the past century because of the Fire Nation's tyranny. Aang's job was by no means a small one, and it left him stressed and tired at the end of every day, even though he was passionate to reestablish the home of his childhood in honor of his long past friends and mentors.
Whereas Aang's life held great purpose for himself and others, Toph's was more carefree and pleasantly happy. She lived in the Fire Nation simply because it was far from her parents and their ongoing dream to turn her into a lady. Discussions, arguments, and angry Earthbending demonstrations changed neither their outlook nor Toph's outlook, and Toph had found it easier to love her parents by being as far away from them as possible. She spent her days doing entertainment gigs dueling other Benders. It was a form of legal gambling for attendees of the matches, and Toph considered it a dream job. She won most of her fights, and when she did, not only was she paid, but so were some other lucky people with the brains to bet on her for the win.
The only area in which she felt her life lacking was the Friend Department, as she called it. Without Aang, Katara, and Sokka around all the time, she found she grew very lonely very quickly. To remedy the situation, she had been going out and socializing more, which had been difficult for her to do at first—she had met some real morons!—but gradually she had made friends at different clubs and bars, which she attended on her nights off from work. Sometimes a nice and/or interesting guy would ask her out, and she usually consented and made plans to meet them at another time and place. She enjoyed these friendships and casual relationships because they were convenient; she could go to them when she needed company and leave when she got bored. They were all good people, but they were a sad substitute for the camaraderie she had shared with her best friends. Still, she did see Aang at least once a week, and Katara and Sokka once every two weeks when Katara and Aang were still together, though things were different now.
Katara lived in the Northern Water Tribe working with increasing satisfaction alongside her own mentor Master Pakku as a Waterbending teacher. Sokka had moved up there as well when he had grown tired of instructing the half-adopted students of his sword master. Master Piandao basically took on pupils he thought worthy of learning swordsmanship, but with whom he also did not want to deal or manage. He was growing old, he had said, and putting student after student through drill after drill took too much out of him. So he said. That was until Sokka had discovered he was shirking his duties as a master swordsman by devoting all his time to entertaining a mistress, as Sokka put it, though Piandao consented she was more like a "glamorized girlfriend." Since teaching was not his passion anyway, Sokka decided to quit working for Piandao and doing said master's job, and they parted ways, though on surprisingly good terms (Sokka couldn't help but laugh at the lady's man he never knew his master was). He had then moved up to the Northern Water Tribe to work for Princess Yue's parents, who were still grateful for his and Aang's help from years before.
Before Aang and Katara's "break," as the two called it, Katara and Sokka had made biweekly trips, Aang picking them up and taking them back on Appa. All four of them would meet in restaurants downtown and then stay up till dawn wandering the town together or dancing at clubs before they all crashed at Toph's place to sleep off the night.
Toph really wished Aang and Katara were still together. It made her life more fun when they were because then Katara and Sokka would visit; and aside from that, as a couple/unit/romantic-duo-team/whatever they provided hope for her, hope that childhood friends really can fall in love.
Toph felt herself going in the direction of thinking too much, and the kind of thinking too much that led to making herself miserable, so she decided to change clothes and go out to Volcano, her favorite bar, which was well-known as a mecca for Earthbender travelers and emigrants within the Fire Nation. She hoped an evening out would do something good for her mood.
Even though it hadn't worked any other night for a month.
"Damn you, Sokka…"
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To be continued…
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A/N:
So here we are at chapter 6, and I finally clue you all into where the Gaang and their lives are. Better late than never, right? There is more action to come, of course, so I hope you enjoyed this little breather of tonsofinformationtakeitallinandchokeitdown and are ready for the oncoming chapter 7…
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P.S.
Avatar belongs not to me. Not to me. Not to me. Not to me. Oh, sigh.
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To the reviewers:
Demonking101-- Dude, sorry for teasing you like that. lol I'll be updating regularly over the next few days, so I hope you check back and let me know what you think! : )
PandoraNC-- I'm glad you're enjoying the Kataang! Aang having backbone actually really helps me to move my story along in the direction I mean for it to go! Besides, it's time he manned up! ; )
destinygirl-- Yeah, I see what you mean with Katara and the ending at all. I like her as a character, and I prefer to see her doubts as a result of her giving in to peer pressure then, rather than seeing her as just a bitch or something. lol
Lord Sneeze-- Glad you were surprised! ; )
8675309-- Relationship shrapnel? Now there's a deadly weapon!