Everything hurt. Still.

Aang groaned to himself and shifted slightly, shutting his eyes tightly against the morning's light. His back protested in return, as well as most of the rest of his body. He felt bruised and battered. The ocean hadn't been kind to him.

He tried to stretch, but the splint on his left arm restricted his movement. Slowly, the events of the previous night creeped back into his memory. The crash, waking up on the beach, the girl who'd found him, and finally his falling asleep on the way back to her house.

Aang cracked an eye open, ignoring the ache that resulted, and looked around. It didn't look much like a house. The ceiling had a large opening in it, and stone pillars replaced at least three of the walls.

He tried to sit up and grunted as his back cracked. The girl had splinted his arm, but just laid him down on a raised earthen slab covered by a thin blanket. The sooner he got back to Nancheng and a proper (if simple) bed, the better. Airbenders really weren't meant to sleep on the hard ground.

At least his clothes had dried out. Aang examined his arm. The splint was serviceable, though not very neat. He'd re-wrap it later and find a temple doctor to take a proper look at the arm when he got back.

Which, Aang admitted to himself as he walked around the simple, if sturdy, dwelling, might take a while. He didn't have a glider, and as the Earth Kingdom was a no-fly zone, he would need to find a merchant sea-ship that would carry him to one of the sea-level trading posts around Nancheng. His stomach twisted at the thought. That could take weeks. He needed to contact Rou Li and Gyatso as soon as possible so they knew he was okay. Maybe there was a town with a messenger hawk station around here. Nancheng didn't use the hawks internally (that's what lemurs were for), but outside news often came from hawk and they had a reception station in the temple for such messages.

That earthbending girl would know about that sort of thing. Aang didn't even know where he was, let alone the names or facilities of the nearby towns. He leaned against a pillar and looked around outside the house. Where was she anyway?

He didn't want to get lost or miss her if she came back. It would be best to stay around her house for now.

She'd said this property was hers. Aang turned and picked at the crude earthen pillar he was leaning on. If she owned all this property, why was she living in a dirt house? It had its charm, he supposed, but if all this land was hers, why live like this? She was an earthbender, yes, but these pillars weren't even or smooth at all.

Plus, there was something weird about this pillar. The density was all wrong. It was far too sturdy to be just dirt. He shoved his good (or, at the very least, better) shoulder against it. A few pieces of earth fell off.

On a whim, Aang started pulling at the dirt covering the pillar. He'd always liked mysteries as a kid, and the winding passages of the temple had provided him and Rou Li endless places to go exploring as temple orphans. Something about this girl and her estate and weird house didn't make sense.

A large chunk of dirt fell off and Aang squinted. There was still some dirt covering it, but the exposed stretch of pillar looked... white. He rubbed his thumb against it, clearing off the last of the dirt. It was... smooth too. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to have a light red streak on the top part.

Aang took a step back, looking at the tall 'dirt' pillars in shock. The girl's house was made of solid marble? Just one of these pillars would be worth more than-

"Its not very nice for guests to pick apart their host's house you know."

Aang jumped as the voice sounded behind him. He landed in a combat ready pose facing the source (and almost fell over from forgetting the splint on his arm) only to discover the earthbending girl standing there, arms crossed. He relaxed in relief.

His first thought was that she seemed shorter in the daylight.

"You're surprisingly unapologetic for someone who's spent the last several minutes picking apart the column in a stranger's house," she said.

Aang felt his jaw flop open slightly. "Your house!" he yelled, waving his good arm for emphasis, "Is made! Of Marble!"

She regarded him a moment, nonplussed. "And you," she said calmly, "are leaving now." She shoved a loaf of bread in his still outstretched arm before pointing north.

"The wall marking the edge of my estate is closest in that direction," she said, pale green eyes still unfocused, "once out there, its about a two days walk to the next village. There's fresh water on the way. Now get out."

Aang hesitated. She scared him a little. Well. Maybe more than a little. But...

"Please," he started, not quite sure where he was going with this himself, "I need your help."

She snorted, flipping her bangs to the side. For the first time, she tilted her head up to look at his face. "I don't owe you anything, Twinkletoes. You washed up on my beach, I helped you and splinted your arm. Now you're starting to ask funny questions, be generally intrusive, and are now trespassing on my estate seeing as I asked you to leave."

Aang blinked and rubbed his neck. She was scarier now that he wasn't looking at the goggles perched on the top of her head more than her face. Her eyes were... different too... almost like she was...

"You're blind!" he exclaimed in surprise, voicing his thoughts aloud.

Blind or not, her exasperation was clear as she rolled her eyes at him. "Yeah, Twinkletoes? I never would have known if you hadn't said anything."

Aang winced slightly. "Uh, sorry. You just... don't act like any other blind person I've ever met."

That pulled a slight smile out of her. It was a slightly cocky smile and reminded him of Rou Li in a way. "That's 'cause I'm not like any other blind person you've ever met."

He struggled to put together all the pieces together in his head. She couldn't be any older than he was, yet she owned a huge (by his standards at least) estate and a house made out of what he could only assume was the finest marble. And now she was blind. His head hurt. As fascinating as she was, he still needed to get back.

She seemed to sense his change in mood, cutting him off before he could say a single word. "This doesn't change anything. You're still leaving. Right now, got it?"

"... please," he said, a bit quieter this time, "I just want to go home. I have a bad sense of direction and I just want to get back to the Southern Air Temple at Nancheng. My adoptive father, Gyatso, and brother, Rou Li, are going to be worried about me."

She seemed unmoved thus far, though she'd averted her 'gaze' a bit and was now 'looking' off to the side.

"I just need to know where the nearest messenger hawk station and southern port are. That's all. I won't tell people about your house that is secretly marble or anything. I just want to get home to my family and my people, you can understand that, can't you?"

She was silent for a long moment before shrugging not quite as uncaring as she'd probably meant to appear. "Actually," she said, "I can't. I don't care about my family anymore. Besides, you've got bigger obstacles than a short blind girl in your quest to get home."

His stomach twisted. "What... what do you mean?"

She frowned slightly. "You haven't heard?"

He shook his head before remembering she was blind. "No... heard what?"

For the first time, she seemed to hold some modicum of regret at delivering his bad news, needlessly fiddling with the strap of the goggles perched on her head.

He felt his anxiety growing. "What bad news?"

She sighed. "The Earth Kingdom's newest anti-piracy measure was passed yesterday. They're closing the borders to all non-governmental trade and communication until the Fire Nation starts enforcing their anti-piracy measures. They can't start a war with no official evidence of the Fire Nation financing the pirates and promoting the slave trade, so they're going to try and force an answer with a self-imposed embargo."

"But... I'm not Fire Nation!" he protested.

She shrugged. "You're still stuck here as much as anyone else. Yesterday was the last day for foreign merchants to pull up anchor from Earth Kingdom ports. Looks like you're stuck here for now, Flyboy."

x x x

"Your sacrifice was a valiant gesture, but I think I should inform you of how your life is going to be from now on."

The girl met his eyes with defiance, her chapped lips curling up in a sneer. "Don't bother," she said, voice reflecting the dryness of the cell, "I assure you I won't be here long, Captain."

Zuko ignored the jibe in her voice. While she was spirited, she certainly wasn't the first. "When we get to Gangkao, I'll deliver you to one of the markets there that specializes in your age bracket. You're trained, so as long as you don't do anything stupid you won't be mistreated."

She snorted in disbelief and Zuko shrugged. "Understand now that you're no longer a poor peasant sitting on an iceburg in the south pole. As a slave trained in the operation and efficiency of steam engines, you have valuable skills. Once you've been broken, you'll likely be sold to the captain of a merchant ship. Slaves are expensive. You're now worth more money than you've ever seen in your life. If you're damaged or rebellious, you only cheapen yourself, which will only hurt you in the long run."

He met her eyes as she glared up at him. "I have no quarrel with you personally. Don't give me trouble and I'll make sure to keep my crew entirely in line."

Her face paled as she absorbed his implications and he stood up. It was a mostly empty threat really, given that his crew were mostly of the milder cut of pirates, but it usually served to keep the new female slaves in line, as well as a good deal of the males.

"You're a monster," she whispered viciously.

He shrugged; it was hardly a new line. "This is what I have to do," he replied as he shut the first layer of the door behind him, then the second.

He could practically feel the hatred radiating off of her, but it was hardly unexpected. He made his way to the deck.

"Jee!" he shouted, looking around for his first mate.

"Captain," the man replied, walking over.

"Have you had the men check our trail?"

Jee nodded. "Yes sir. Since you ordered it last night I've had the lookouts specifically checking the southern skies. We've been clear the whole time."

Zuko gave an absent nod in acknowledgment and dismissed the man before making his way to the rear of the ship. Scanning the southern horizon, he willed the uneasy feeling in his stomach to go away. It refused to leave, however, and the former prince decided to make due with his paranoia. Someone was following them, of that he was sure.

x x x

"There has to be a way!"

She plod forward, determined to evict him. "No, there isn't!"

He was following her to the outer wall on his own, but only because he was sure there was a way. "You're obviously rich, don't you, I don't know, know the right people to pay off or something?"

This stopped her in her tracks; she turned and glared at him. "Even if I was the kind of rich bastard who bought favors, I'm certainly not loaning any money to you and you don't have a gold piece to your name."

He paused, but only for a moment. "I don't even need to take a boat! I just need to find someone who can help me make a glider. From there I can make my way to the ground levels of the Eastern Air Temple at Ri Chu. I know the Earth Kingdom is a no-fly zone, but surely there's someone who can-"

"No!" she cut him off, "Even if I did know someone who would help you, Twinkletoes, there is absolutely no reason for me to do so! You're a scrawny, annoying airbender who repays my charity by nagging me to death!"

It stung, and he wanted to back down and disengage... but... something about her made him want to push back. He stomped his foot down.

"Whats your problem?"

She stomped her foot in return, making the earth shake, and glared somewhere in the vicinity of his chin. "Whats your problem?"

"I don't owe you anything," she said quietly after several moments of glaring passed.

Aang sighed. "I know that... but... haven't you ever been in a situation where you couldn't help yourself? Hasn't anyone ever lent you a hand? I... I'm stuck here, kept away from the place I love most. You're the only one here, the only one who can help me..."

She didn't respond for a moment, then laughed lightly. It was higher than he'd have thought from her voice. "Look Twinkletoes, the little speech was cute, and I know you meant every word, but you're not going to win me talking sweet."

For a moment he was glad she was blind and couldn't see his face fall. He opened his mouth to respond, only for her to speak before he could.

"But you're right. There were some people who helped me once when I didn't have a penny to my name," she said, smiling, "and I think they can help you too."

Aang felt his eyebrows shoot up. "You're... helping me?"

She snorted. "I'm getting you out of my hair, Twinkletoes. Plus they probably wouldn't mind a new face. You're probably not that ugly."

He choked back a laugh. "This coming from the blind girl?"

She tossed her head and her bangs flipped the the side. "Beauty's something you sense, not something you see. Anyway, lets head back. If I'm coming with you we're gonna need some meat for the journey." She paused as they started walking back and he got the impression she was sizing him up in her own way. "... Whats your name anyway, Twinkletoes?"

He smiled. "I'm Aang."

"Toph."


This chapter was brought to you by Golden Oreos and my beta Zekey, also known as Cap'n.

Well... two 'mysterious' character's names have been revealed. Ooooh~ You'll get to meet Toph's mystery friends next chapter. At least probably. *shrug*

Anyway, I mostly live on deviantart, but I don't post the fic there because formatting it properly is a pain. Instead, I do a page of doodles for every chapter and link here from there. I also link to the drawings from my profile here if you're interested. I'm mentioning it this time because this chapter's doodles come with hints as to Toph's mystery friends, and anyone who guesses right in their review gets a virtual oreo from me. :)

The drawings are usually pretty quick, but if you're bored or want to see my vision of the characters in this world, go ahead and take a look. Unfortunately, they tend to suffer from update fail (unlike the story itself thankfully) and get posted a day or three after the fic itself is up. Today, however, the page is going up as soon as I finish typing this.

Kia out.