The moon was full, positively bursting with white light. Its roundness stood out amongst the tar black of the sky like a feather on a platypus bear.

The city was asleep. The shops had closed, the craftsmen had gone to bed, and the housewives had long since said a final good night to their children. No one was awake except for some conspicuous Di Lee agents roaming the streets, and one, very little, very fragile-looking earthbender.

Toph crept through the house, her bare feet making hardly any noise on the bamboo floors and woven mats. She moved slowly, fearing that she might crash into something if she walked to quick. She could still feel vibrations and sense nearness on wood, but she was not as confident on this building material as she was with her own, familiar earth. She did not want to risk making a noise and awaking the whole house. Sokka, she felt, could sleep through anything, but she did not know how light of a sleeper Aang was. If he slept as lightly as his stepped, however, then little Twinkle Toes would have been up like a shot at the slightest peep, and she could not have that.

She ran her left hand along the wall as she moved through the living room, counting the door handles. One, two, those were the double doors that led to Sokka's room, filled with warrior pamphlets and plans, no doubt. One, that was the humbler bedroom that currently housed Aang, the simple monk, and his pet lemur. Finally, her hand brushed a forth brass handle. The swinging door which led to Katara's rather handsome room. The only thing about it Toph knew for sure was its size, but she could guess the rest of the details. She imagined a flowery quilt would don the bed, which she knew stood in the very center. Soft curtains would hang from the windows, mint green of course, for the earth kingdom. A slight breeze coming from her right told her that Katara left her windows open at night, allowing the pleasant Ba Sing Se air to sweep through her chamber, bringing with it the bright blue of the moon, which would of course reflect Katara's water tribe heritage perfectly.

Toph made her way to the left side of Katara's bed, passing a desk pushed up against the wall, which she was certain would be covered in girly Katara things, such as makeup and hair brushes. To be fair to Katara, however, there were probably a few books there as well, maybe even a journal for Katara to recount the fantastic tales of their travels in. Toph would like to hear such a book be read.

She knelt down on the side of Katara's bed, sensing the water bender's steady breath beneath the sheets. It was now that Toph felt a sense of foreboding, that perhaps she should turn back, return to her own room and sleep away this nagging voice in her head. But, she did not.

Instead, she reached a hand out and shook her friend awake.

Katara awoke with a start, as Toph knew she would, but she did not scream. Toph could sense her take a deep breath, as though steadying herself, then ask, in a gentle voice.

"Are you okay Toph?"

Toph could sense the worried look on her friend's face, perhaps searching Toph right now for any telltale signs of hurt.

"I'm fine, I just-I just wanted to talk to you."

The bed shifted, as though Katara was moving up to a more comfortable talking position before answering.

"What do you want to talk about?"

This was the question Toph knew for certain would be coming. She also knew it would be hard to explain exactly what she wanted to talk about. But she gave it a shot.

"I want to talk about the team. About Sokka, and Aang, and you."

"About our plan to defeat the fire lord?"

"No no, nothing like that." Why did Katara have to jump to such an extreme? Now Toph felt that her request would sound foolish. But Toph Beifong was not the type to step away from a problem simply for the fact that she might make a fool of herself. "I wanted to know…what you all look like."

There was a pause before Katara replied. Toph could hear confusion in her next words. "What we look like?" Katara questioned.

"Yeah, you know, I'm blind. I can feel where everything is, where people are moving, and hear what they say and how they mean it by their tone. But I can't see them. At least not the way most people see. I know it's more important to know personality and character over looks, but still, it'd be nice to know what you all looked like. What color hair do you have? Or eyes? How much does Aang really look like a fighter? Stuff like that."

"Oh, I see." There was realization in Katara's voice. She understood. "Come sit next to me, and I will tell you everything you want to know."

Toph felt Katara's hand brush her shoulder, and she took it. Katara helped her find her way to the head of the bed, and settled her under the covers. Toph felt comforted being this close to Katara, who she really did look up to, although she would not have readily admitted it.

"So, who would you like to start with?"

Toph thought for a second. "Aang," she said at last. "I've been curious about him ever since he beat me in my ring. What do air nomads really look like?"

Katara thought for a second, contemplating the look of the little boy she had pulled from the ice.

"Well, Aang is only twelve years old, so he's still a little short. Shorter then me, anyway. He has a kind face with blue eyes, like the sea. He also has air nomad tattoos all over his body, which run in lines down his arms and legs and up his back, and end in arrows at his hands, feet, and head. Oh, and he's bald."

"Bald?" Toph was surprised to hear this. She had never seen hair, of course, but she hand felt it. She knew her father and mother had hair, and that she herself had it. She had assumed everyone except for really old people had hair. A mental picture of her earthbending student was forming in her head, and she laughed to herself at the oddness of his bald head. "That's great. Tell me about Sokka next."

"Well, Sokka is taller and broader then Aang. He has blue eyes and the typical hairstyle of the water tribe, which is basically a Mohawk with a ponytail at the end."

This time, Toph laughed out loud. This description was so perfectly Sokka that it was necessary. She had always imagined Sokka to have a tough-man look to go with his war plans and sarcasm.

"Is he as muscly as his warrior talk always is?"

Katara seemed taken aback by this. At any rate, her next words were muddled with confusion. "What on earth do you mean?"

"You know," Toph struggled to describe the mental images of Sokka she had concocted in her mind. "He's always talking about strategy and plans, and he seems like a pretty good swordsman. Does he have the look of a warrior?"

Katara was hesitant with her answer. "I guess….he is pretty strong, although I guess I don't usually think about that. But he used to pick me up and carry me around all the time. I suppose he still could if he tried."

Toph nodded to herself. She could see Sokka as a strong fighter. She was grateful to him, even though she teased him any chance she got. His humor and shocking sense of reality made him the person most like her on the team. They were natural opponents to Aang's otherworldly mindset and Katara's constant emotional outbursts. Toph loved the two, but she felt Sokka put her more at ease. She felt something towards him she didn't really feel for the others. She was happy he was so good at making her feel at home in the group, crude sense of humor and all.

Toph shook herself out of her daydreaming and realized it was time to make another request.

"What do you look like?"

Although many people are hesitant to describe themselves to others, especially those that could not make three own assessments, Katara gave it her best shot.

"Well, I have long brown hair-about the color of the rock you bend-that I usually wear bits up around my head in "hair loopies," as Sokka likes to call them. I have blue eyes, like Aang, I'm about medium height, and well, that's all there really is to tell." Katara seemed unsure with her answer. Toph was ready to take her descriptions to another level.

"I'm sure you're beautiful." Toph meant it; she'd heard how the guys they passed in the streets commented amongst themselves on Katara's beauty. And she knew from hints dropped by the other team members that Katara had met at least two guys on their travels that were crazy for her, one strange fellow named Jet and another named Haru.

Katara laughed nervously at Toph's comment. "Thanks Toph."

The two sat in silence for a minute.

This was the moment. Toph had to make one more request. But she did not know how Katara would take it.

"Katara? What-what do I look like?" She'd always wanted to know. She had imagined how her hair and face would look in many different ways, ranging from unequaled beauty in her girly fantasies to dirty manliness in her more realistic imaginations. She'd been too nervous to ask her mother, and they'd never really been that close anyway. But she felt close enough to Katara to at least ask. She hoped Katara would be willing to answer.

And of course, she was.

"Well, Toph, you are really gorgeous. I know you see yourself as a tough fighter, and that is who you are. But you look like a beautiful young woman, like how your parents saw you, but more then that. You have beautiful silky black hair-like coal-that I envy you for. It would probably be the prettiest in Ba Sing Sea if you ever cared enough to thoroughly brush it. You have light green eyes-the same color as the earth kingdom insignia-and a completely smooth, light face. If I didn't know anything about you, I'd say you were an earth kingdom noble lady."

Toph didn't trust herself to speak much after hearing that. That Katara actually thought she was beautiful was a huge compliment. Toph generally tried not to care what people thought about her, looks or otherwise. But every once in awhile, a few insecurities would slip in. She trusted Katara, however, and her words were more then enough to put any of Toph's petty worries to rest. Blinking quickly, she moved to get out the bed.

"Thank-you, Katara, for telling me all this. It's nice to know a bit more about the people I'm fighting with."

"I'm glad I could help."

Toph made her way quickly out of Katara's room, closing the door behind her.

She walked past Aang the Baldy's room, past the muscly water soldier Sokka's room, and back to her own chamber.

She tucked herself into bed, feeling her hair-which she now knew matched the coal used to fuel tanks and boats-slid down her back with a smoothness she had not previously recognized.

By the next morning, the insecure little Toph that had shown herself to Katara in the night was gone, and Toph Beifong, the master earthbender and sarcasm chief was back. She continued on her day much in the same manner, making jokes about Sokka's art and Aang's vegetarianess. And yet, in the night before she slipped into bed, and in the morning when she awoke, she began taking extra care to brush out her hair. As she felt the silky strands brushing against her face, she imagined their inky darkness contrasting with her milky pale skin. Katara had called it beautiful, and suddenly it wasn't another nuisance thing for her to dress up before going out. It was a small part of her identity that Katara managed to unlock.

Hey guys! I am new to Avatar fanfiction, but I am in no way new to the fandom! I am simply in love with the show and all of the characters. I got the idea for this short when I was re-watching Sozin's Comet for about the 40th time. In part I, Toph calls Aang "Blady" when their having their beach party. That got me thinking. How did Toph know he was bald? She couldn't feel something like that with her earthbending. So, this story grew from that quote. This scene would explain how Toph knew what Aang looked like, and alows for some nice bonding between Katara and Toph, and Toph and herself. My idea is that after Zuko joins the group in season 3, Toph will have another late-night session with Katara to talk about the looks of the latest team member. Of couse, Katara might not be as ready to talk about Zuko at the time. o_o If you guys would like me to write a second part to this story talking about Zuko, let me know in the reveiws! Also, tell me what you thought about my story and/or writing style! :)