Greetings, avid readers!

I'd like to start with thanking all the reads, favs and follows in this story. Even if silent, your support means a lot. As for the ones that took their time to write a review, thank you as well!

I need either a break or to win the lottery. Either is fine, though cash is prefered. My voice is back to normal - much to Dommie's dismay and my cat's happiness. Bc she no longer hears an absolute stranger shouting her name in the middle of the night when I hear a crash.

Still obsessed with Ms. Ariana Cane, and now with Ms. LiAnne Kay because she ended the damn bOOK IN A CLIFFHANGER AND NOW I HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL THE END OF JUNE FOR THE NEW ONE TO BE PUBLISHED!

I'm okay.

I think.

Dommie, yes, I really like him! And Toph fighting will come soon, I pinky promise! And Zuko is coming, calm down! I swear, whoever hears you talk thinks Zuko is your favorite character! (I know it's not)

Brain Fart, damn, okay, here. Enjoy!

Evelynn1942, thank you so much for your review! I hope you continue to enjoy this story!

This is my first try at a Avatar fanfiction. Go easy on me. Reviews and flames are always welcomed, for they keep my cat and I warm at night.

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar nor any of the characters. Such credit should go to Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. I do own a... certain amount of characters that will be recognized further into the story.

Thank you, and enjoy the chapter!

Chapter VIII: The Greatest Earthbender

X—X

Two days later, they were arriving at a school in a small but plentiful village. Aang and Katara greeted the people at the front door, and Ahria bowed, keeping silent. She looked around as they walked through the corridors. The building was shaped like a dojo, with plenty of rooms for meditation and small practice. The colors green and brown were dominant in the space, but every so often you could see a pale yellow.

They found themselves facing the backyard of the school, a large expansion of dirt where a small class of students practiced earthbending while following a short woman standing in front of them. She shouted orders, bits of advice, and reprimands, and when the students didn't listen, she would throw small rocks at their heads.

Aang and Katara stepped out from the deck, and Rea followed, keeping behind Aang. She hugged herself and waited for Aang to speak up when the class stopped. The woman straightened up and lifted a small rock in her hand. Aang smiled and watched as the young woman smiled.

"Sugar Queen. Twinkle Toes." the young woman called. "You brought me the fake avatar."

Rea smiled and stepped forward, nodding when she saw Aang's encouraging smile. "I gather you're Toph."

"Yeah. Who are you?"

"Rea."

"Cool. What are you doing here?"

"Toph, can we talk?" Katara licked her lips. "In private?"

She nodded and dismissed the class clearly, by throwing a bunch of pebbles at their heads. Ahria snorted and Toph smiled but led them to a smaller room with a handful of pillows on the ground. They all took a seat in the circle, and Ahria waited as the friends finished greeting each other. She smiled softly when Aang sat down next to her and lowered her head as Katara began explaining their presence.

"And so, leaving the Air Dome, I talked to the Elders again and convinced them to bring along people that could prove to them that the world has indeed changed."

"And you want... me?" Toph raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. Not only you're... big in the Earth Kingdom, you're my master, Toph." Aang frowned. "I know you'll support me."

"Have you forgotten that I'm not the most... tactful person ever?"

Aang tried to stammer a reply, but Ahria simply snorted. She tried to cover it with a cough, but Toph heard her. Katara watched the two and secretly smiled. She knew Toph was a great judge of character, despite all her troublemaker-y, and if she felt comfortable enough around Ahria, then the young woman could be trusted.

"How did you do it?" Toph asked.

"Air can do a lot of things, Master Toph." Ahria brushed her pants. "Not just playing with a breeze."

"Hm. Would you be willing to fight me?"

"Spar with you? It would be my honor." she bowed her head.

"Toph can't see," Aang whispered in her ear.

"I know. But she can sense." Ahria whispered back. "Respects are shown when respects are due."

"Hm. You're kind of a Twinkle Toe yourself, but you're more..." Toph mulled over her words. "Spring-like. Skipper."

"... you know you can just call me by my name, right?"

"Boring."

"I like you."

"Thanks."

"So... is it just me, or...?"

"No, as soon as you're ready, we're going to the Southern Water Tribe to get Sokka and Suki, and then to the Fire Nation to get Zuko," Aang explained.

"Oh, good, Sifu Hotman can do all the talking and convincing then." Toph leaned back on her hands. "So, let's see. How soon can I leave?"

"We have two months to get there. Well... one month and twenty-seven days." Katara declared. "If you need time to get your affairs in order, now would be the time."

"Nah, I just need two days." Toph shrugged. "Today to finish up with that class of himbos and tomorrow because there will be a special meeting in the morning for Spirits know what. After that, we're good to go!"

"Are you sure you won't need more time?" Aang pressed.

"I'm sure. They're just waiting for the ground's final approval, and then it's off with the building part. So, I won't really need to be around for that."

"Ah, the project for your metalbending academy was approved?" Katara smiled.

"You can bend metal?!" Ahria gasped.

"Yap," Toph smirked. "Bet you can't do that, huh, Skipper?"

"Never tried, to be honest." She shrugged. "Will you show me what that's like?"

"...sure. Tonight?"

Ahria nodded but then replied. "Yes."

"Great. I'm off then. One of them can show you to your rooms. Sugar Queen... won't you show Skippy Skipper around? I'm stealing my favorite student to show him off to the himbos."

Katara giggled. "Sure thing Toph. Enjoy yourself."

"Oh, I will."

–X–

"And guess afterward was all good." Katara declared, taking a deep breath.

"But... you can heal? Yet you'd rather not?" Ahria frowned.

"No, I... I do want to heal." the waterbender picked at the grass at her feet. "But Aang needs me, he needs to be guided, and I'm supposed to be with him. And I can't heal and accompany him at the same time."

"... and where do you fall in all this?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it seems to me that you're taking the... girlfriend role quite seriously, and that's great Katara, really. To be supportive of your significant other is always great, especially when it comes to their dreams and hopes. But... what about you?"

"What about me?"

"Where does Katara fall in this plan of yours? Where do Katara's dreams and hopes fall in this plan? Where is their space to grow and come true?"

"There's not room for both."

"Then you need to consider the fact that there's something wrong with those dynamics." Ahria declared.

Katara glared. "I thought you said there was nothing wrong with being supportive."

"And there isn't. But what you're doing right now Katara, is making Aang your entire world while eliminating yourself from the equation. You're not just a puppet. You're not a trophy wife, nor a cushion. You have to be your own person." Ahria pursed her lips. "I know this is bad coming from someone you barely know. But... where are you?"

The young blue-eyed woman gulped. "Funnily enough, you're not the first person to tell me that."

"Whoever told you this before me is a smart person."

"...yeah, he is." she bit her lip. "But I don't know what to do."

"You don't have to make a decision now, Katara." Ahria placed a hand over hers. "But it's something to think about. You can't push aside your dreams for another person's sake."

"... you said you've been there before."

"I have. And it came the time when I had to choose between him and me. And I chose me." Ahria licked her lips. "It hurt so much at first. But look at where I am now."

"...on a hill in the Earth Kingdom?"

"Being an escort to the Avatar himself." she wiggled her eyebrows, and Katara laughed.

"How is that better?!"

"Because I got to know the world. Because I got to make my own decisions, suffer my own consequences, and learn from my own mistakes. I got to grow as a person, Katara. And I chose not to be someone's trophy." the curly-haired woman shrugged. "You tell me, what's better?"

But the waterbender simply smiled. "I understand what you mean. But that leaves with another question. What happens to Aang and me if I decide to follow my dreams?"

"If he doesn't accept that, then he never loved you in the first place. Or he doesn't respect you as a person to let you go trek your own path."

A/N: I stand for independent people that compliment each other when in a relationship. Support one another, not live off each other. And yes, the moment I started to apply that ideology to all my relationships, I lost a lot of toxicity in my life.

Repeat after me, if they do not add to my life, they do not belong in it. And that goes for all kinds of relationships.

Keep in mind, I'll keep this story up or drop it depending on your feedback.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to review if you want, or if you don't, I hope you liked it!

First to review gets a cookie!

Lots of love from this weirdo,

LoneeWolf :)