Wandering Firebender

Five: Blind Trust

"Hey, Elio! Back for another day, huh?" Autumn smiled.

Elio stepped into the lobby feeling groggy and tired. After the incident last night with the Blind Bandit, he spent most of the night preparing to get attacked again. And even though an attack never came, he did not get much sleep as a result, which was now causing him to be late for work.

"Mhmm, yeah," He answered with a yawn, rubbing the stinging sleepiness out of his eyes. "I'm ready as I'll ever be."

"Yeah? You don't look so good though." She observed.

"What makes you say that?" Elio asked, brushing his nappy hair back. It awkwardly sprung back up and curled back down over his eyes. Autumn made a face at him.

"Just observing. C'mon, let's get going!" She said, taking his hand and pulling him along.

"Huh? What about reporting in the morning? Where is everyone?" Elio asked, looking around and realizing that they were the only ones in the lobby. She pulled him outside.

"Yeah, you missed the opening meeting. The boss told us that from now on going forward, everyone working at the Beifong residence will be meeting outside their gates in the morning. Everyone went along already, but I figured since you didn't get the memo, you'd show up here." She explained.

"Oh, I see. How thoughtful." Elio said with a yawn.

Autumn raised an eyebrow at him but said nothing else.

Working with limited rest in the heat was probably one of the worst feelings Elio had ever had the displeasure of experiencing. As if the work wasn't already bad enough, now he had to resist the urge to fall asleep on the floor.

"Need some help getting that stone in place, kid?" Tay offered to help, seeing that he was being very sluggish in sliding over a wide marble stone to place in the walkway.

"Hmm? No no, I got it." Elio politely refused, curling his fingers around the edges of the stone.

He awkwardly lifted it up just enough to bring it over its spot. He dropped one side down and dragged it into its spot. He let the other side go and it dropped down with a thud in its spot. Elio gave Tay a thumbs-up, but Tay just looked at him strangely.

"What's up with your new boyfriend?" Sen asked Autumn, "He's slowing us down."

"He's not my boyfriend, Sen, and I'm not sure what's wrong with him," She answered. "He seemed fine up until now. Something must've gone down between now and last night after we left the tournament." She guessed.

"Uhuh, well just tell him he needs to work faster." He replied dismissively, rolling his eyes.

"Why don't you tell him, since you're apparently the one in charge now?" Autumn snapped, annoyed by Sen's attitude. He just scoffed at her.

"If I were in charge, I'd just send him home. He's clearly not fit to be here today." He shrugged.

"Ah!" Elio yelped in pain, dropping the stone he had just picked up. He held onto his wrist and exhaled sharply in pain.

"What happened, kid?" Tay asked quickly.

"Nothing nothing, I was just being stupid. I bent my wrist awkwardly picking up one of the stones." Elio grumbled, moving his wrist around. He could feel the numbness starting to make its way up his forearm.

"Tch, pathetic, dude. Why would you even take this job if you're that weak?" Sen insulted him. Autumn quickly elbowed him in the arm.

"Shut your mouth, Sen! It was an honest mistake!" She defended him.

"You wanna take a break?" Tay offered.

"Uh…yeah. I'll just sit out for a minute and stretch out my wrist. I'll be back." He promised before stepping aside. Sen shook his head.

"Like I said, he doesn't need to be here today."

Elio made his way to a bench placed against one of the border walls of the residence and sat down. He hissed in annoyance as he stretched his wrist, moving it back and forth and in small circles.

At the very least, the sudden shock and pain was waking him up.

"I thought I told you to get outta town." An unfamiliar girl's voice spoke to him. Elio looked up in surprise. He was so focused on his wrist that he hadn't even noticed this girl walk up to him.

She was dressed in fine white clothes and was apparently walking around barefoot. Her dark hair was mostly tied back in a large bun. She couldn't have been any older than his sister. Her pale eyes stared downwards absently.

"I…I'm sorry?" He asked in confusion.

"Sounds like you need a reminder." She said threateningly, sliding her foot back and seemingly getting into an attack stance. Elio was about to ask an oblivious question, but then he recognized her voice and it clicked for him.

"You're the Blind Bandit…? You attacked me last night!" He realized.

"I did. You wanna tell me why you're still here, firebender?" She demanded. Elio swallowed. He would hate to admit it, but this girl was actually kind of intimidating; maybe because he already knew what she was capable of.

His best bet here would be to tell the truth.

"I'm just here to work. I need the money."

"What, the Fire Nation doesn't pay their soldiers enough anymore?" She questioned sarcastically.

"I'm not a Fire Nation soldier." He quickly answered.

"You're a firebender that's not Fire Nation?"

"Well, no, I am Fire Nation, but I'm not a Fire Nation soldier… I ran away from home to avoid enlisting." He answered.

"You…ran away…" The girl repeated slowly.

"Please, I don't mean any harm. I'm just here until I have the money to move on." He pleaded.

However, before the girl could respond, Mr. Beifong himself suddenly came around the corner and rushed over, placing his hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Sweetheart, I told you not to come into the courtyard! There are people here working. You shouldn't be out here, especially without supervision." He scolded her. Elio quickly surmised that this was a father speaking to his daughter.

"I'm sorry, father. I must have gotten lost… This nice man here was going to find help while I waited here." She quickly lied, speaking in a completely different, much more fragile and confused manner.

"It's alright, honey… Thank you, sir…?" Mr. Beifong nodded appreciatively, wanting to address him by name but not knowing it.

"Elio, Mr. Beifong. My name is Elio." He answered, quickly standing up and bowing a bit in respect. Mr. Beifong nodded once again.

"Thank you, Elio, for stepping in to help my daughter. She is…unable to get around on her own due to her blindness." He explained. Elio nodded.

"I see…" Elio hummed, looking at her again. She turned her shoulders and shook her head once. Elio realized that this little girl was keeping a secret, but she was also keeping his secret. He would need to play along.

"You're very welcome, Mr. Beifong. It's a good thing I saw your daughter when I did. This helpless little girl was about to walk straight into one of the turtleduck ponds. The poor thing." Elio said with fake concern.

The girl's face scrunched up irritably, but she remained silent.

"Yes. In truth, this whole renovation project that I'm paying for is all for her. I want to ensure that she is safe here on the grounds and that there are no accidents." Mr. Beifong explained. Elio nodded in understanding.

"I'd do the same, sir. Well, I'll be getting back to work now." Elio said with a nervous chuckle, pointing back towards the others.

"Yes, yes, very well. Come on, dear, it's time for your earthbending exercises. The master's waiting." Mr. Beifong said to his daughter, taking her by the shoulders and beginning to guide her away.

However, she stopped, turning back towards the bench. Elio, who had already started to walk around them, saw this awkward pause and stopped.

"Thank you for helping me, Elio… My name is Toph, by the way." She introduced herself finally, extending her hand out towards the bench; a full 90 degree angle away from where he stood.

"Um… It was nice meeting you, Toph." Elio responded kindly, stepping back in front of her. He took her hand and shook it lightly, unsure what it was she wanted to get out of this.

"Very nice, dear. Now come, let's not keep the master waiting any longer." Mr. Beifong insisted, taking her and guiding her off again.

"Okay, father." Toph answered obediently, following her father's guidance.

"Oh, and Elio? I would appreciate your discretion in not mentioning to anyone your interaction with my daughter." Mr. Beifong suddenly requested in a firm tone.

"Understood, sir." Elio agreed right away, although he wasn't too sure why.

As they turned to leave, Toph subtly pointed a finger directly at Elio before they disappeared behind the corner.

Elio was left standing there for a few silent moments, processing this strange interaction that he'd just had. He was mostly just astonished that such a young, seemingly frail child could be such a fierce eathbender; the champion of an underground tournament.

"Hey!" Sen stepped out from the corner, gesturing him to come over. Elio walked over.

"Hey, Sen, right?" He recalled.

"Yeah. Rule number one, bud, never interact with the man paying for the job. Believe me, I know from experience how pretentious rich guys usually get. You didn't cost us the job, did you?" Sen asked. Elio shook his head.

"No."

"Good. Look… I'm sorry about what I said before. I think we're all just a little on edge because of this heat. Nothing personal, okay?" Sen asked, offering a handshake. Making peace in this way was a surprising gesture for Elio.

"Sure, Sen," Elio nodded in agreement, shaking his hand. "No hard feelings." He answered with a smile.

"Great. Now how about we get this work done, huh?" Sen suggested, gesturing back to the others with a turn of his head.

"I was gonna say the same thing. I think my wrist is better enough." He said with a faint chuckle.

"Cool…" Sen nodded, beginning to walk back. "Oh, uh, Autumn wanted me to tell you that the guys and I are having something of a bonfire tonight. You're welcome to come if you're feeling up for it."

"Alright. Thanks." Elio nodded.

The rest of the day went on without another incident. Elio did his best to mind his wrist. The others occasionally tried striking up conversation with him and asking him how his conversation with Mr. Beifong went, but his mind was too busy for him to really notice.

His mind was on Toph. He had a lot of questions, but most of them were nowhere near as important as the main question: Why had she covered for him? Why had she chosen to trust that he was telling the truth?

Elio packed up his things in his pack. He started making his way towards a forest away from the city. As he made his way there in silence, the sun was already almost fully set behind the horizon. That was when he heard a noise he was starting to become all too familiar with:

The sound of earthbending.

He quickly turned and dropped his pack on the ground, holding his hands up in preparation of a fight. However, when he turned, he saw nothing. No one was coming for him. And the sounds he had heard also went away.

"Huh…" Elio hummed suspiciously.

"Relax, hotfoot, it's just me." Toph's voice suddenly spoke, making him flinch in surprise. He turned to find Toph sitting on a rock dressed in her Blind Bandit gear. She casually rested her ankle on her other knee.

"Hotfoot?" Elio repeated oddly, standing a little more at ease now.

"That's how I found out you were a firebender. You bent fire through your foot back at the tournament." She explained.

"Oh… How did you know where to find me? I thought you were…you know." Elio asked.

"I am blind. But I can see things another way. Have a seat, hotfoot," She invited, bending another rock for him to sit on. Elio slid his foot back suspiciously.

"Relax. I'm not here to attack you this time. I just wanna talk. And ask you a few questions," She reassured him. It wasn't very reassuring, but Elio hesitantly sat down anyways. "And you better tell me the truth. I'll know if you're lying." She warned.

"Okay then." He agreed. She leaned back comfortably on her hands.

"That's a big pack you got on you. What are you, some kind of nomad?" Toph noticed.

"I'm just going from town to town. I'm not really making my way anywhere. I just don't want to stay in any one spot too long. I've been attacked enough times to know that's not a good idea." He commented.

"Yeah. You picked a real bad place to run away to, hotfoot. The Earth Kingdom probably hates the Fire Nation more than anyone else. Since, you know, most of the war happens here." She pointed out.

"Yeah, I don't need a reminder on that. I just didn't have much of a choice." Elio quickly answered back.

"Why did you run away? I've heard of firebenders doing all kinds of crazy, messed up stuff, but I've never heard of anyone ditching their country to avoid fighting in the war." Toph asked. Elio clasped his hands together.

"I…had to. I'm not oblivious to what the Fire Nation has done. It's never sat right with me. My father is a high-ranking general; I knew that he wanted me to join the fight. He never even considered the possibility that I would want to do something else with my life." Elio lamented.

"He put you in a box," Toph spoke up. "He already had a destiny picked out for you, and he expected you to go along with it even though you knew that it wasn't right. So you ran away to make your own path."

"…yeah. That's what I did… So you get it?" He asked.

"More than you probably think I do. In case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly the helpless little doll of a girl my dad thinks I am." She commented.

"Not really," Elio chuckled. "I saw what you can do at the tournament last night. You're honestly pretty impressive." He complimented her.

"Heheh, yeah I know," She chuckled and smiled proudly. "But he would never understand that. So…I keep it a secret." She explained in a more serious tone.

"I get it. If I were in his shoes, I can't imagine I'd be that different." He admitted honestly. Toph nodded in agreement.

"My father is overly concerned with my safety. He makes me stay within our walls. He hovers over me like I'm a baby. But I don't need protecting."

"Obviously." Elio agreed.

"I just wish they would listen to me. But I don't even know where I could start with them." She said, shaking her head.

"I'm sorry, Toph. My father's stubborn like that too. When I tried to bring up things I was interested in, he always dismissed them or didn't pay them much attention. Maybe if he hadn't, I wouldn't be out here now." Elio thought.

"Yeah… It must've been hard. Even though the Fire Nation's super bad, it couldn't have been easy giving up everything you had to do what's right." She considered.

"No it wasn't. I'm just figuring out how to deal with it now," Elio said before standing up. "Does that answer all of your questions?" He asked.

"It does," She answered, standing up as well. "I get it now. It all makes sense now. Thanks for not tryna lie to me."

"You're welcome," Elio replied oddly. "Thanks for not attacking me." He replied with a chuckle.

"Anytime." She responded with a chuckle.

"So…you really do believe me, huh?" Elio asked, surprised at how trusting she was being.

"Like I said, I'd be able to tell if you were lying,"

She hummed and opened up a hole in the ground. A sack shot up from the hole and she caught it.

"Umm, here. I figured you could use this since you said you're low on cash. You can take it and, you know, get outta town." She offered, holding out to him while turning her head away.

Elio's eyes widened in surprise. He stepped forward and took it from her. He opened it up and was shocked to see how much money there was inside. He exclaimed happily.

"Toph!"

"What?!"

"This is too generous! I can't take all of this!" He said.

"It's not that bad, jeez. It's not like my family's struggling or anything. Just take it and keep moving, alright?" She insisted. He nodded in agreement.

"Ok… Thank you. This really helps me more than I can say." He said genuinely. She smiled down at the ground.

"Yeah, you're welcome…baby wrists." She threw in a tease at the end.

"Tch, I'll take it." He chuckled, placing the money in his pack and securing it inside.

"Also…" She paused again, stepping to him and punching him forcefully in the arm.

"Ow!" He yelped, rubbing his arm.

"Stay safe out there. Whatever it is that you do wanna do with your life, I hope you get the chance to do it one day." She said sincerely. Elio smiled, still rubbing his arm.

"Yeah, thanks. You too, Blind Bandit." He replied in kind with an ironic chuckle. She scoffed and began to walk away.

Toph paused some paces away from Elio. Elio watched her. It seemed like she wanted to say something else. But rather than say it, she disappeared into a hole suddenly forming in the ground. It closed over her, and just like that she was gone.

"Elio! You finally made it!" Autumn smiled when she saw him approach the bonfire. She walked over to him and gave him a hug to greet him. He smiled and hugged back with one arm, setting his pack down.

"Hey. I had a little trouble finding you guys, but when I saw the smoke I figured it out." He answered with a chuckle.

"Glad you could make it, kid!" Tay said with a laugh. "Come on! The food's fresh out the fire!" He invited, gesturing him over.

"Alright, I'm starving!" Elio grinned.

Elio ended up being glad that he had accepted the invitation. It was fun to wind down with some food and some friends. Well, they weren't really his friends, but for the time being, they felt like friends. It was a nice change from getting attacked by earthbenders every other day.

"Alright, alright, everyone. I'm bringing this out," Sen chuckled, reaching back and pulling out a pipa: a pear-shaped, lute-like instrument. The others began to laugh and get riled up teasingly. "Who's singing the first song?"

"I think that honor should go to our newest regular." Tay suggested, slapping Elio on the back.

"What? Oh ho no thank you." Elio sheepishly tried to refuse, shaking his hands. However, the others all began to groan and insist in an encouraging yet teasing way. Elio quickly began to feel the peer pressure.

"Uh, n-no, I'm not talented like that. I don't even know that many songs." Elio continued to refuse.

"They aren't gonna let up on ya unless you sing something." Autumn chuckled, encouraging him with a nudge of her elbow.

"Give us a song, kid!" Tay laughed. Elio swallowed.

"Um, okay... I do know one song. Um, Sen, could you just play a bouncy little…?" Elio requested, humming two notes for Sen to play. Sen's fingers slid down the neck of the pipa and he began to play the notes.

"Yeah, like that. Just back and forth." Elio said, moving his hands up and down in rhythm.

"Alright, kid, don't screw up now." Tay teased. Elio swallowed, letting Sen play a little before forcing himself to start singing:

"My lady Spring is coming, the dawn will bring her song. The spirit of a flower, she flies above the western wall. Ooh-ooh, the rain will fall.

"She blooms her painted petals and crowns a king. And once the storm has settled, the birds will join to sing and call. Ooh-ooh, the rain will fall. She will call, ooh-ooh, the rain will fall.

"Pleasure is my pleasure, I'm pleased to see the clouds depart. Passion is my passionate flame, oh she's a work of art.

"Alright, I'm done, please." Elio stopped just as everyone was beginning to clap along to the rhythm. He held up his hands and chuckled nervously, sitting back down. There was a mix amongst the others of laughter, applause, and disappointed groaning.

"Aww but it was just getting good!" Autumn laughed.

"Not bad. Where'd you learn that one?" Sen asked curiously with a chuckle.

"Uh, just an old song my mother liked." He answered.

"Nice job, kid," Tay smacked him on the back again. "You just made me some money." He said with a laugh.

"What?" Elio asked.

"Tay and I had a bet going as to whether or not you would actually give in," Sen revealed. "And it looks like I lost." He revealed with a chuckle and shrug.

"You guys are so mean." Autumn giggled. Elio groaned and shook his head with an amused scoff.

"Thanks again for inviting me, guys. I had a really good time." Elio smiled thankfully as he began walking back with Tay, Sen, and Autumn.

"No problem! It was Sen's idea to invite you." Autumn giggled.

"Really?" Elio asked in surprise.

"No…" Sen denied it, turning away in embarrassment.

"Consider it a warm welcome to our crew!" Tay laughed. Elio smiled, but then he turned towards them.

"Uhh, guys, I do appreciate the thought behind it, but I'm actually going to be moving on. I'm starting on my trek to the next town tonight." Elio informed them. The others nodded silently, seemingly disappointed by this news.

"Oh. I see." Autumn commented.

"Ah. Well, it was nice having you while it lasted, bud. Be careful out there." Tay said, patting him on the back with a smile.

"Yeah." Sen agreed. The two brothers continued on, but Autumn lingered a little longer.

"Take care." Elio said with a polite smile, offering a handshake to her. She shook it in return.

"You too, Elio… Where are you going?"

"I don't know. I'm just moving on now," He admitted. "I came into some cash; enough to get me by for awhile. That's the only reason I came to work, after all."

"Right, yeah, of course," She nodded. "Well, hey, if you're ever around again, look us up, will ya?" She said, managing a smile as she began to back away.

"I will." Elio nodded and waved. She waved back and then turned around and went on her way.

Elio sighed to himself. For the first time since he had left, he had actually had a nice time, and he'd found potential friendships that maybe could have been long-lasting if he were to give them more time. However, that just didn't seem like a smart option for him. He'd be taking too big of a risk.

So he turned towards the next trail and began walking…