Earth.

Toph didn't like radios. Tried to use them as little as possible. Could only hear the person on the other side, not feel out their heartbeats, see if their words were true. But here she was on one now, just because Fire Lord Hotpants couldn't be bothered to actually come visit, even while out on some sort of diplomatic trip.

"Listen, I don't think it's a good idea. The letters from Katara…" Zuko's voice rang through the ear-piece, with the odd tinny resonance that always came along with the over-line conversation.

"Ohh-oh, so you'll write to Sugar Queen, but can't be bothered to send me anything." She snorted into the receiver with her signature huff.

"Toph. You couldn't read it anyways." Zuko didn't miss a beat.

Damn. He'd always been smart when it came to her attempts to trip her friends up over her blindness. "You know I have a lackey for that." She did. Usually whatever rookie cop that Lin decided needed some humility ground into them that month.

"I do, and I heard the last thing you had someone read to you, you ordered they do it Ember-Island style."

That elicited a snicker from the now-retired chief. The criminal reports always sounded better when done emphatically. "Those boring reports need a little spice, Sparky. I don't have anyone else around to make my life interesting. Why try to deny an old woman one of her few joys?"

There was a long-suffering sigh from the receiver, and Toph was sure that Zuko was about to bang his head on his desk. She couldn't help but grin. "And of course they'll want me to train her. I'm the Greatest Earthbender in the World! Who else should be teaching the Avatar? I've trained all the best candidates! They'd want to go straight to the source."

"It's not just me saying this, even Katara thinks-"

She must have hit the desk hard enough for the noise to carry over. "Listen, I don't give crow-lizard shit about what Katara thinks. She got to train the girl in water, so the Order is going to want me to teach her earth. Simple as that. Now, do you plan on visiting the city or not? You know it takes a few days to get proper security set up..."

Her tone must have carried well, because on the other end Zuko let out a defeated sigh. It was a shame she couldn't sock him a good one, so instead Toph started bending her space-earth one handed to work out some energy as they talked. Politics and escort duty was dull as bad dirt, and the thought of being a teacher again was enough to make her want to stomp out to Air Temple Island and 'borrow' a Bison early. Tenzin had backbone enough at least to not cower when she was the one that showed up. Or an Airship. That was actually a better idea, memories of a wooden saddle and not enough places to hold onto was never a pleasant one.

Their conversation ended tersely enough, and afterwards Toph had sent her current assistant/minion, a heavy woman named Fan off to get the necessary arrangement started. "And I want the good airship. Not the one they task out for the councillors, that thing couldn't fly if they strapped two whole packs of hog-monkeys to it." She scrunched her toes into the floor for a moment, rippling the steel outward in circles from her chair.

Toph could feel the other woman step gingerly to avoid the ripples; she was a metal-bender, but no so accomplished as to be able to bend with her toes. "What route will we be taking, Lady Bei Fong?" Fan's question was asked with her usual courtesy, but the woman had a solid head on her shoulders, minus the small altercation of hanging some of her comrades from Kyoshi Bridge by their ankles. With regular rope.

"Straight to the South Pole, and then I think a trip over the coast of the Earth Kingdom back up to Republic City will be a good start. Poor girl has been stuck on ice for her whole life. Probably never even seen solid earth before. Kyoshi Island, Omashu.. Oh, and at least hit the edge of the Si-Wong." Another toe scrunch, and the ripples changed into a map of the continent, as least as much as Toph knew. Still accurate. "That might be harder to do, though. The Earth Queen has a tight leash around the border areas."

"On foot from Omashu would draw less attention. And there are still badger-moles in the area, so tourists aren't uncommon." Fan's response was still courteous, but there was a hint of a smile. Every officer knew how the great Toph Bei Fong had learned how to earthbend.

Toph returned the smile, then stomped the metal floor back flat. "I like the way you think, Officer Fan."

AN: Wow I'm sorry this took so long to get out. Toph is my favorite character from ATLA, and I am so worried that I won't get her just right. Enjoy, review, all that jazz! Also still looking for a Beta to help me tame the plot-bunnies! -Blue