CHAPTER 60: Take a hint
"You are never too old to dream a new dream."
Toph let out another deep sigh.
She rolled her eyes behind her black hair strands as yet another couple of fidgety acolyte girls walked by, the vibrations of their footsteps and whispers cutting through the earth like a knife.
Toph was sitting near the entrance of the temple, enjoying a break in the warmth of the sun with the solid, reassuring feel of stone beneath her.
It had been a long day.
As she was currently trying to finish up her part of the restoration process at this temple here, getting herself ready to move to the Southern Air Temple, she had been working her butt off all day in the dormitory furthest to the East, making sure the last rooms were stable for future acolytes to occupy them.
Unfortunately, a lot of the current acolytes had been roaming around her all day, as they were working on some stupid woodens beams that, apparently, were oh so important, which meant that Toph had been bombarded the entire day with the constant hum of gossip revolving Aang and Nii's ritual last night.
Not that she was not happy for Aang and Nii - really, she was, but listening to all of the gossip around what they might have done and might not have done last night, each rumor more embellished than the one before…
It was getting old, really fast.
And now, just as she thought she had found a spot where she might actually get some peace and quiet, these two giggle twins ruined it.
Toph could feel the vibrations of their footsteps, the rapid, excited beat of their hearts.
Their voices were a constant hum in her ears, and she tried crossing her arms over her chest to tune out the constant murmurings but her keen senses made it impossible to escape their voices.
Toph groaned loudly, hoping someone would take the hint.
The acolytes, however, were too engrossed in their storytelling to notice, and they continued their animated whispers as they passed by, completely oblivious to her presence, as they made their way into the temple.
She grumbled a little to herself.
What was the big deal anyway?
There were far more important things happening in the world right now, like their crucial efforts to rebuild the temples and dealing with the Phoenix bandits causing chaos - and here, everyone was all worked up about some spiritual love ritual.
Toph's thoughts raced as she tried to comprehend the excitement.
Sure, relationships were important, but in the grand scheme of things, were there not bigger issues to focus on?
She could still feel the vibrations of the acolyte girls' unhurried movements through the ground, their steps light and joyful.
It contrasted sharply with the weighty responsibilities and threats looming over her at the moment.
She frowned.
A flicker of self-awareness broke through her irritation.
When had she become such a whiny brat?
Toph felt a sudden contraction in her solar plexus, like a boulder to the insides of her chest, a tightening sensation that brought a rush of clarity.
It was not just her two friends announcing to the world that they were banging each other.
It was the last airbender entering a committed relationship, a proclamation to the world, almost, that times were changing.
She let out a laugh that sounded like a bark, shaking her head at herself.
Aang was not just Aang in their eyes - he was the Avatar.
She kept forgetting what that might mean to someone who had not been friends with this goofy kid for years.
To the rest of the world, Aang was a symbol of hope.
And to the Air acolytes, people who had willingly come here to help the dude live out his vision of restoring the temples and his culture, his actions had weight and meaning far beyond what she gave him credit for.
The realization settled in her chest, mixing with the warmth of a new understanding.
This ritual was a momentous occasion, not just for Aang and Nii, but for everyone who looked to the Avatar for guidance and inspiration.
"Man, I really am a brat sometimes," she muttered to herself, the corners of her mouth quirking up in amusement, while her thoughts briefly traveled to her parents.
Toph relaxed as her thoughts about her parents drifted away, and she just sat there, her irritation melting away, as she turned her face towards the sun, feeling its summer rays bathe her with warmth.
She took a deep breath, feeling the steady, familiar pulse of the earth beneath her feet, and in this moment, there was no trace of any footsteps around her.
She basked in the newfound silence.
Peace at last.
Toph smiled slightly, the corners of her mouth turning up.
She WAS really happy for Aang.
His happiness was important to her.
Nii's too.
But at the same time, Toph could not wait to tease Aang about all the gossip circulating, especially the question of whether he and Nii had sex or not.
She was certain that they had.
She chuckled to herself.
Imagining Aang fucking a girl was just so weird!
And then, just for a split second, Toph found herself wondering what it must be like to sleep with him.
She winced at herself.
Ew, no!
Surprised and kind of engrossed by her own trail of thought, Toph quickly pushed the thoughts out of her head, shivering a little as she did so.
The ground beneath her shifted slightly when she moved her hand, giving her the lift she needed to rise to her feet in a swift, fluid motion.
She had only taken a couple of steps before she sensed someone approaching her.
Toph tuned in before she quickly recognized the vibrations in the earth, and all of the relaxation that she had felt before crumbled within her, when she identified the familiar patterns.
It was Chen.
A surge of panic ran through her and she quickly scanned the area around her to see if there were any possible ways of getting out of there before he noticed her.
But his direction was too obvious.
He was coming right at her.
She winced again.
"Hey, Toph!" Chen greeted in a light voice, a wide grin plastered across his face.
For just a moment she considered disappearing into the ground, but as he had already greeted her, she felt like that would be too rude.
Chen Haloung was one of the new acolytes.
He was probably just about a year or two younger than her, had a sturdy build, and he appeared to have short, kind of curly hair.
Also, he had been trailing her around all day.
Just like now, he would pop up at the most unexpected moments, peppering her with all sorts of questions.
His curiosity seemed boundless, ranging from her earthbending techniques to her thoughts on the latest events in the Earth Kingdom.
Toph could easily tell that he liked her.
The way his voice wavered slightly when he spoke to her, the nervous energy in his steps, and the hopeful tinge to his voice made it obvious.
At first, she had found his attention mildly amusing.
But after a while, he was getting as much on her nerves as the other acolytes.
He was fine, she supposed, but nothing more than that. Toph appreciated his enthusiasm but she did not feel any deeper connection or attraction. Besides, she knew they were heading off to the Southern Air Temple soon, and it was unlikely they would see each other again.
This fleeting interaction would be just another moment in her journey.
She acknowledged him with a nod.
"Oh hey, Chen," she said as she forced a strained smile over her lips.
"Come here often?" he asked before winking at her.
A brief, awkward silence formed between them, as Toph opened her mouth to give him an answer, but she did not really know what to say.
She felt one of her eyebrows twitching.
"Was that… a joke?" she asked.
Chen chuckled nervously before running his hand over his neck, scraping his foot awkwardly in the gravel beneath them.
"Uh… no?" he giggled.
Toph could tell that he was lying.
"So, anyways…" Chen said while tugging at the hem of his airhead attire. "I, uh… I'm on the dinner team tonight, and you know, you said you like spicy food, so I was wondering... If you could choose, what would you pick: fire flakes or spicy noodles?"
His speech was quick and light, laced with nervousness.
"Um…" Toph said with a furrow over her brow while weighing the two possibilities in her head. "Fire flakes, I guess?"
Chen made a weird sound with his mouth and pointed two fingers at her.
"You got it!" he said, smiling widely at her again, before he turned around. And to her surprise, he soon disappeared into the temple, probably off to the kitchen.
For a moment, Toph just stood there, feeling a bit dumbfounded, before she sighed out when she realized how he would probably approach her come dinnertime, and she could already imagine how awkward it would be if he had actually made fire flakes for her.
Damn.
She could not wait…
Toph picked up on her walk towards the temple showers, her footsteps soft in the grass below.
As she moved, a faint sigh escaped her lips, barely audible to the serene atmosphere around her.
It was like there was a small part of her, deep down inside, that imagined what it would be like to have a romantic relationship with someone. To have that connection, that companionship that went beyond friendship and camaraderie.
It was something she rarely allowed herself to dwell on, but in this moment, she thought to herself how easy it would be if she just… liked Chen.
Then, she could have all these experiences that she was curious about, like how kissing someone you truly love feels like, or what having sex is all about, or just… what being deeply in love with someone truly feels like when it is reciprocated.
Her thoughts meanered, as she continued her path over the courtyard, and she soon entered the cool insides of the temple, while her mind wandered to moments of fleeting attraction that she had experienced in the past, and how quickly she had brushed them aside in favor of her independence.
She thought about Sokka.
Not like he had ever come onto her, it was not like that.
But even if she did not wish to admit it to herself, Toph had felt attracted to him on several occasions.
She did not blame herself too much, though.
Apparently, a lot of girls were attracted to Sokka, so she had just reasoned it with her being a woman with hormones and stuff that react to certain guys, just like the other girls.
She was just another hormone wreck like the rest of them.
As Toph finally stepped inside the showers, she quickly made sure that there was no one else there, before she slipped out of her clothes and headed for one of the small waterfalls that cascaded softly against the smooth stone floor.
Air Nomad showers were impressive.
She would give them that.
Carved ages ago by skilled earth- and waterbenders, each of the gentle waterfalls had been meticulously sculpted into a series of small showers, and surrounding them, verdant plants and vines thrived in the moist air, their delicate fragrance mingling with the fresh scent of the waterfall mist.
As she stepped into one of the cold streams of mountain water, Toph sucked in a hard breath.
The sudden chill of the water hitting her skin sent a shiver through her entire body, causing her muscles to tense momentarily. The sensation was sharp and invigorating, like tiny needles pricking her skin.
Her feet sank slightly into the smooth stone beneath her, and with a deep breath, Toph leaned forward slightly, allowing the water to envelop her fully.
It was a refreshing contrast to the warmth of the Eastern afternoon sun outside.
Later that day, when the sky had transformed from its clear, azure blue to a canvas adorned with wispy clouds that caught the last rays of daylight, glowing with hues of crimson and apricot, Toph had made her way down to the meditation garden in which they all normally dined together.
At first, she just stood in the archway that led into the garden, and she furrowed her brows a little, sensing her surroundings.
Something seemed off.
But then, she slumped her shoulders a little as she realized what was going on.
Great - another one of their silent meals…
She hoped that this would not be a tradition in the Southern Air Temple as well. But right now, she felt kind of lucky, because then she would not have to talk to Chen about his fire flakes.
She could smell them all the way over at the archway.
They smelled nice.
Toph turned her senses to the ground, searching for Aang and Nii in the crowd. When she found them, she quickly swept through the crowd, and she greeted Aang with a quick jab to his shoulder.
"Ouch!" Aang whisper-shouted, before his gaze found her.
She could feel him loosening the tension in his body when he realized that it was her, and it made her lips curl into a smirk.
"Shh!" Toph said with her finger pressed to her lips, earning for Aang to roll his eyes at her and chuckle slightly under his breath.
Toph turned a little towards Nii next to him and gave her a short nod.
As a way of saying congratulations, she smiled at them both.
She hoped that they could see how genuinely happy she was for both of them.
Dinner was actually pretty nice.
Around her, Aang, Nii, Chen and the other acolytes ate in respectful silence, the occasional clink of chopsticks on a bowl breaking the tranquility. Toph was not quite sure why they were eating in silence this time, but she figured it probably had something to do with Aang and Nii.
She did not really care, and after having swallowed down the last bit of a fire flake on her plate, she let out a sigh of content.
Suddenly, Aang rose from his seat, drawing everybody's attention to him.
Even though they were all quiet, a hushed anticipation seemed to fall over everybody, as they awaited his words.
He broke the silence by clearing his throat.
Toph smiled.
"Thank you everyone for your silence," he announced in a soft voice, while he spread his arms and looked around at everyone as if to embrace them all. "From both of us."
Aang let his arms fall, and he rested one of them on Nii's shoulder.
Toph heard one of the young acolyte girls sigh out dreamily, causing her to roll her eyes.
"In a few days, Toph, Nii and I, along with others, will depart for my old home, the Southern Air Temple, to begin its restoration," he continued, his words carrying both pride and the weight of their shared mission. "And as you know, anyone who wishes to join us is welcome."
Toph listened intently, her senses attuned not just to Aang's voice but to the subtle shifts in the room - the collective inhalation of breath, the rustle of robes as acolytes exchanged glances, and the underlying current of anticipation mingled with determination.
"The Fire Nation has been so kind as to gift us an airship for transport," Aang smiled, his expression reflecting both gratitude and resolve. "It'll be here in a couple of days, and from there, we'll go together."
Toph nodded to herself, feeling a surge of purpose stirring within her.
It was going to be great to get some different kind of soil under her nails. She secretly hoped that the temple in the South would be a bigger challenge than this one had been.
As the acolytes exchanged nods and quiet expressions, Toph glanced at Aang with a hint of a smirk, silently acknowledging the trust placed in them to restore what was lost.
With the evening sun casting a warm glow through the temple's windows, Toph took a moment to appreciate all of the progress she had made here.
As she sensed the temple around her and its sturdy structures, Toph casually turned her face slightly to the left, and all of a sudden, she sensed someone staring at her.
And of course, it was Chen.
Hopefully, he was not coming with them…
Right?
But when Toph sensed how his eyes had widened, the rhythm in the palpitations of his heart, and the way his body shifted and fidgeted a little in his seat as he was looking at her, she knew that he was not going to let her get away that easily.
Fuck.