CHAPTER 4: The sky sanctuary
"There is a condition worse than blindness, and that is having sight but no vision."
Toph and Sokka had been exploring the Eastern Air Temple for quite some time now, and while they were focused on their task, they could not help but to marvel at the grand sights that met them whenever they turned a corner.
"You know…" Toph sighed as they left the bison shelter and made their way outside into yet another beautiful and heavily overgrown courtyard, "It doesn't really happen that often. But in moments like this, I really wish I could see some of this."
Sokka took another hungry look around at the stunning panoramic view of the courtyard with all the vines that grew along the many structures adorned with intricate carvings and spiritual symbols. He also let his eyes travel to the towering spires above that rose high into the sky, seemingly reaching for the heavens.
He furrowed his eyebrows as he let his eyes fall to Toph's eyes.
He had never actually heard her admit what it was like for her to be blind, well, at least not without her making a joke about it.
Sokka felt a slight twist of pain in his heart.
"Yeah," he said in a serious tone. "I wish that for you too."
Toph stopped in her tracks and sighed heavily, breathing deeply in through her nostrils as if trying to smell all of the flowers and fruits around them at once.
"But then, I wouldn't be able to do this," she smiled with a raised eyebrow, moving her bare foot just a slight inch to the left.
And just like that, Sokka knew that the young woman in front of him was already scanning the entire area from the inside.
He had known Toph for some years now, and he felt warm inside as he looked at her. She was no longer the little girl that he met in the Earth Kingdom back then. She had grown, her features slightly more mature now, even though her height was almost the same.
He wondered what it would feel like to be her, having the skills to seemingly penetrate, follow and grasp all of these structures from the inside.
Sometimes he still felt envious and saddened that in a world full of benders, he was the unlucky one to be the non-bender. But right now he just felt happy for his dear friend.
She was such a badass.
"What d'ya got?" he asked in a smile, tightening his grip around the boomerang in his hand.
"Urgh," Toph shrugged, "That guru man isn't anywhere in this place. How can we be the only ones here?!"
Sokka felt disappointment wash up into his mouth and he shook his head in a slight movement.
"It doesn't make any sense. Where is that dude even from?"
Meanwhile, Zuko and Katara were making their way along the path towards the sky sanctuary.
They had already passed varying types of terrain on their ascent with sections of gently sloping hillsides and what seemed like over a thousand pale stone steps that had been carved into the natural landscape.
Ancient trees lined the path, their branches reaching skyward in a silent salute to the heavens. Occasionally, the path opened up to panoramic viewpoints, offering breathtaking vistas of the temple grounds below and the majestic mountains in the distance.
They had currently stopped to catch their breath.
It was hard to breathe properly at this altitude.
Zuko wondered whether Airbenders never got caught out of breath. He smiled as he imagined the former monks having to stop their ascent on these stairs to take a breather.
Probably not.
Zuko let his eyes travel to Katara next to him.
He felt himself blush slightly at the sight of her heaving chest and the small pearls of sweat that had gathered near her hairline.
To him, she was one of the most beautiful women he had ever laid his eyes upon.
His mind wandered back to one of the first times that he had really taken notice of her, down in the Crystal Catacombs beneath Old Ba Sing Se.
Back then, he had been a completely different person.
The memory had his smile fade.
It was a time where he really did not know himself.
"Hey you," he heard Katara's voice soothe, before he realized that he had closed his eyes. He let the muscles in his face relax again, and he loosened his fists that he absentmindedly had tightened.
Katara cupped his face with her cool hand, and Zuko opened his eyes to lock with her icy blue ones.
"Where did you go?" she smiled at him.
She was close enough for him to catch the scent of her skin.
It was like a sweet perfume to him, reminding him of one of uncle Iroh's jasmine teas, and it made his nostrils flare slightly as he inhaled, eager to capture every nuance.
It felt like an invisible thread that connected his thoughts and senses back to his heart again.
"Huh," he sighed with a curl on his lips. "I just remembered that time when we met down in the Crystal Catacombs. And how much we've changed. How much I've changed."
Katara smiled with her entire being at him, before leaning closer to him.
"Yeah," she sighed in a sweet breath. "You were a real jackass back then."
Zuko chuckled and nodded his head, before he swooped his arm around her waist and pulled her slightly closer, causing her to giggle out.
"Agreed," he whispered, before he planted a single soft kiss on her lips.
Zuko closed his eyes as he felt his heart beat slightly faster, and he inhaled her scent once more, trying to take it all in.
He was deeply in love with this woman, and there was nothing he could do about it but give in.
Katara soon pulled away from him, and Zuko watched her glance towards the stairs that lead them further up towards the sky sanctuary.
He saw her hand touch the pouch in which she kept the breakfast soup for Aang.
Zuko swallowed hard and looked down at his feet.
"We should keep moving," she said before sending him a quick and quirky smile.
"Yeah," he nodded, and they started moving further up the many stairs together.
He could not help but to feel a sharp pang of discomfort and a tightening in his chest. The feeling had hints of jealousy, regret and dismay, even though he did not care to admit it.
Zuko knew that Katara and Aang had been involved with each other in a romantic relationship back in the days.
And even though he also knew that they had grown apart and discovered that they were not meant for each other as romantic partners, not a single person who met them could deny or even doubt the deep love they still held for each other.
And it made him insecure.
Zuko shook his head.
He was done seeing Aang in a light of rivalry or competition.
This was just a shadow of his past.
Later on, after what seemed like a long and arduous journey, Zuko and Katara finally reached the Sky Sanctuary perched atop the highest spire of the temple.
They were met by a serene panoramic view of the surrounding landscape with the vast expanse of sky stretching out endlessly above. Amidst the swirling currents of the wind and the soft glow of sunlight, they both felt a profound sense of peace and connection to the spiritual energy of the universe.
There was no doubt that this was a place of deep communion with the elements, and the couple both felt the whispers of the ancient wisdom of the Air Nomads in the breeze as they once more stopped to catch their breaths.
And right there, in the middle of the sanctuary, they saw the young monk seated cross-legged on the ground facing away from them.
It seemed like his arrows were shining with an ethereal blue light.
The Airbender in his right element.