After so many years of reading fanfiction, I finally decided to try my hand at writing some... and hopefully this won't disappoint. Helpful critique would be greatly appreciated!
Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any other copyrighted property that may appear in this work of fiction. Lyrics in this chapter are from "Wherever You Will Go" by The Calling.
Sand and Stone
So lately, been wondering
Who will be there to take my place
When I'm gone you'll need love
to light the shadows on your face
If a great wave shall fall
and fall upon us all
Then between the sand and stone—
Could you make it on your own?
Scroll I. Gone with the Wind
It was long past morning when Toph Bei Fong finally woke, sluggishly sitting upright and rubbing the sleep from her sightless eyes. After a moment she carelessly swung her feet over the edge of the bed she had spent the night in—dragging the sheets off as she did so—and made her way over to the balcony that adjoined her comfortable Fire Palace guestroom, hands feeling for the handrail and grumbling a little under her breath.
When she finally found it, she grasped it with both hands and tilted her head back, dropping tired eyelids over her cloudy green orbs. It was mid-to-late afternoon, she guessed—this aspect of time was easily told, as the sun's rays fell warm but not excessively so on her skin. When they first arrived, she'd asked for a room with a window and in the heady newfound rush of authority Zuko had graciously granted her request, commanding that she be allowed to make her choice unimpeded by the servants, who were willing enough to please but unsure how to treat her. Her balcony faced west, and according to the maids (who came in daily to clean despite her protests that she didn't need their help), it had one of the best views in the entire palace. None of them ever voiced the thought that it was wasted on the "poor little blind girl"… at least until they believed that Toph was safely out of hearing distance.
"I may be blind, but at least I can hear perfectly well," she muttered softly to herself, fingers tightening a little as feelings of indignation and mild annoyance warred within. "Stupid Fire Nation gossips. Stupid Fire Nation palace, with all its stupid walls and ears."
With all its well-meaning but intrusive friends… friends who could kill with kindness and pry in business not their own, for pity's sake.
Just then something caught her attention: a tiny muffled vibration with the regularity of a heartbeat. Someone's coming. Toph shifted her feet a little and waited.
By the time the footsteps stopped before her door she knew exactly whom they belonged to, even before the knock on her door and the question that followed.
"Hey… Toph? Are you in there?" For someone so naturally self-assured and authoritative, today Katara's voice was unusually soft. Maybe Zuko went and kissed her socks off again, Toph thought whimsically—an amusing idea, except she pretty much knew what had brought the compassionate Waterbender to this part of the palace… and it definitely wasn't an offer to bring her brunch in bed.
Fleetingly she considered saying Nope, nobody here! but quickly curbed the cowardly impulse. She was the world's greatest Earthbender, and too used to Katara by now to be properly intimidated at the prospect of her interfering. "What is it, Sugar Queen?"
"It's almost time for Aang's departure." The words came hesitantly, filtering through the closed wooden door to reach her ears. "Do… don't you want to come and see him off?"
" 'See him off'? Why, considering that I'm blind, that will be problematic, won't it?"
"Toph… please don't make this difficult."
It was already difficult, even before you got involved. "I'm not trying to. Just leave me alone."
A rather long uneasy silence reigned… until Toph broke it with a frustrated sigh. "I mean it, Katara. I can feel you still hovering outside my door."
As expected, that particular comment received the usual response—Katara instantly reverted back to her motherly I-know-what's-good-for-you-why-are-you-being-so-stubborn routine. "And you might as well know that I'm going to stay here until you actually listen to what I have to say! Aang has been moping ever since you blew up at him two days ago, and nothing seems to be getting through to him. Toph, you have to come out and do something about this."
Toph's throat constricted at the memory of the banquet—or more accurately, of the announcement Aang had made and her spectacular reaction to it. Releasing the railing and keeping her back toward the closed door, she spoke as casually as she could. "…Has he said anything about changing his mind?"
A sigh. "…No."
"There's your answer." Her hands balled into fists at her sides. "If he won't take back what he said, I'm not going to either!"
"Toph!" Again with the scolding… Toph merely rolled her eyes. "I know you're upset—none of us are exactly happy about this situation, Aang included. But at least we're dealing with it, okay? The very least you can do for him is let him go with a smile."
Who do you think you're trying to fool, Katara? You've got Sparky here to keep you company! "As if it matters whether it's a smile or a frown. If he's going to leave anyway, who cares?"
"He cares. It's not like Aang wants to have to leave any of us behind. But he's the Avatar, and he has to. Don't resent him for that, Toph."
"…"
"Toph, are you listening to me?"
"…Go away."
Silence. Then a cough came very loudly and pointedly from outside.
"Katara! GO AWAY!" Toph yelled at the door, stomping her foot (and raising a random miniature earthquake on the far side of the palace complex).
"…Why are you so angry at him?" By now Katara sounded distinctly frustrated. "You know that he has to—it's his life's vocation, predetermined by generations upon generations before. Without him, there might never be peace in the Four Nations."
"Well, it's not like he has to do it alone! What if something happens, and all he's got is Momo and Appa! How can they heal him if he's hurt, defend him if he's ambushed? What if—" She stopped abruptly, afraid she had said too much.
"Oh, I get it now… You're afraid for him." There was a knowing air now to the Waterbender's words, and Toph immediately bristled.
"Afraid? Tch… Sugar Queen, all that lip-locking with Zuko has obviously fried your brain. I know Aang can take care of himself—he's the Avatar! …And if he can't he's a wimp. But no student of mine is ever a wimp!"
"… Methinks Miss Bei Fong is protesting too much."
"Methinks the Fire-Lady-to-Be is poking in business that isn't her own."
Katara sputtered, seemingly flustered by the references to her love life. "That—that was completely uncalled for! And besides, that has nothing to do with Aang… you have to come."
"No."
"Toph… what if something does happen, and this was your last chance to talk to him? You'd regret it for the rest of your life that you let it slip away."
And isn't that the truth. Toph could feel her resolve weaken just a bit in the face of her waterbending friend's admonishment. "… But I can't face him now, after I yelled at him. I'm not crawling back, begging for his forgiveness." Even though I probably should. I did say some pretty horrible things…
"No one's asking that of you, Toph. I'm sure no one blames you for being upset, either." Katara's voice became gentle and soothing, as if she was trying to calm a skittish ostrich-horse. "Just come and give him a chance to redeem himself to you, and to say goodbye."
………
If I could, then I would,
I'll go wherever you will go
Way up high or down low,
I'll go wherever you will go
………
"Do you need help with that?" Zuko asked, leaning against the doorframe and watching as Aang tightened Appa's saddle and checked the ropes securing the supplies for the fourth time in the past thirty minutes. Sokka was busy somewhere doing his own last-minute packing, and probably sneaking in a little quiet "alone" time with that Kyoshi warrior of his, who was still bedridden with injuries from their final battle.
"No… I got it," came the too-quiet reply, and Zuko resisted the impulse to bash his head into the nearest wall. Aang didn't even bother to look back, simply sitting back on his haunches and surveying his work with a somewhat tired, absent air. The tattooed Avatar hadn't said more than three sentences that entire morning, and showed none of his usual exuberance or cheer.
Why in Agni's name did I agree to this again?? The former Fire Prince silently cursed his luck, as well as his sporadic vulnerability to the suggestions of a certain blue-eyed Waterbender.
/ "I'm worried about how Aang's been taking all this, Zuko… do you think you could talk to him? In the meantime I'll go and see if I can argue some sense into Toph—it's not good for either of them to leave the situation hanging the way it is." /
Personally, he would have rather left things well alone. That little Earthbender girl had completely demolished a fine and rather expensive dinner table that night, and Zuko was in no mood to see more Royal property damaged because of unwanted interference. Then again, getting Katara mad at him—and right after they had, um, worked out their differences to some degree—was definitely not an option.
"…So why exactly is she mad at you again?" he asked finally, and Aang's movements abruptly stilled. "Toph," Zuko needlessly clarified, crossing his arms in an awkward attempt to hide his discomfort. "Why is Toph mad at you?"
For the first time in nearly forty-eight hours the boy seemed to come alive. Stricken gray eyes briefly glanced back at him, and then just as swiftly turned away. "I'm not sure. Well…" he paused, momentarily at a loss for words. "…I mean, I sort of know. You heard her too." He looked down, watching his thin fingers slowly clench and unclench in his lap. "Maybe I have been selfish."
"Don't be stupid," Zuko chided, although he remembered to retain a modicum of sympathy in his voice. "You're the Avatar. You nearly died—twice that I know of—to save the world from being completely ravaged by war and culturally assimilated into one entity under the banner of the Fire Nation. I suppose running away a hundred years ago could possibly be selfish, except that it protected you from certain death at the hands of my great-grandfather Sozin, and we probably wouldn't be where we are now. So basically," he concluded, "I think she meant to criticize you on a more personal level."
"I know that too." Aang's shoulders visibly slumped as he sighed, and the words began to come easier and smoother. "I mean, it's like I've been thinking about it so much that it's started to become a part of me—the Avatar, destined to bring balance to the world. If it wasn't for my position and the fact I needed a strong Earthbending Master to teach me, who knows if I would have met her at all? So when Roku said I had to go," Zuko cringed at the casual reference to his other great-grandfather, "I only thought, alright, I have to go. I just can't believe I didn't think about how she would feel—how it would affect her."
The Fire Prince counted slowly to ten, trying to think of something to say that wouldn't be 'insensitive' or 'discouraging' (Katara's exact words). He could commiserate with the kid, seeing as he had to deal with the snarkings of Katara and his psychotic sister for quite a while. But this was frankly ridiculous—anyone with half a brain could see Toph was just being unreasonable here, and as in Katara's case her anger probably stemmed from an injured pride. Figures…
"It's not your fault, kid. I'm probably not the best one to say this, but the main problem is that you're dealing with a girl. As Uncle used to say, 'Angering a woman is like prodding a komodo rhino with a firebrand—the stinging mark lasts far longer than the initial burn.'"
Aang's troubled expression began to slip more towards one of honest confusion. "But… what does that have to do with Toph?"
Zuko facepalmed. "Glad to see I'm not the only one who has problems understanding Uncle's proverbs… What I meant was that she's probably holding a grud—"
"How about 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned'?" Sokka asked as he came up from behind and entered the conversation. "That's a good one. Or maybe, 'A woman needs a man like a fish needs a glider.' I'll warn ya, though, that's just what they say."
"Uh… okay. Right." If anything Aang looked more subdued than before, so much that the lemur scurried over and climbed up his arm to his shoulder, chirping comfortingly. Meanwhile Zuko turned his Princely Stare Of Death And Destruction on the new arrival.
"How long were you eavesdropping on us?!"
Sokka backed up a step under the accusatory glare, holding both hands up defensively. "Chill, jerkbender! All I heard was the end part, and even then it wasn't that hard to figure out what—or should I say, who—you were talking about. Besides, if you're gonna try and have a heart-to-heart, you shouldn't do it where anyone can come up and join in."
"Ugh. Whatever," growled Zuko dismissively, and ignoring the other boy he knelt in front of Aang, gripping him by the shoulder and trying to make eye contact. "Look, Aang. You and I both know that really, right now you have bigger things to worry about. You can't afford to be distracted."
Sokka squatted as well, nodding sagely. "Sparky here has a point. So, before you leave, it's best you kiss and make up with Toph. Er, not literally, though… don't think that'd go over too well."
"…So how am I going to do that? What do you think I should do?" he finally asked, looking up with his questioning gaze of guileless gray. Sokka and Zuko looked at each other, united for one moment in their mutual unwillingness to admit they were at a loss.
"Why don't you send her flowers?" suggested Sokka at the exact same time Zuko said "Maybe write her an letter of apology…" Having said their parts, the two older boys instantly turned on each other, invisible hackles rising.
"Flowers? You dolt! Do you really think a stupid gimmick like that is going to work on Toph? You are such an idiot—"
"Says the idiotic jerk who thinks that sending a letter to a blind person is a good idea," Sokka shot back, his blue eyes narrowed. "Cheap bastard…"
"Take that back, you half-wit peasant!"
"Ha! Try and make me!"
"Uhhh… guys?" Aang's voice was high with nervousness, and from his shoulders Momo screeched shrilly. "I wouldn't—"
" 'Half-wit', huh? Well, I bet without your fancy bending you wouldn't last five minutes with a man who actually knew how to fight, jerkface!"
"Are you offering, then?"
"Like hell I am!"
"Bring it!"
"WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING??"
………
If a great wave shall fall
and fall upon us all
………
Katara glared at Sokka and Zuko, both of whom were sopping wet with water from the nearest trough. "I hope you two have come to your senses about how shamefully you were behaving earlier. Were you thinking at all?"
"Hey, he started it," Sokka grumbled, folding his arms and looking away. Zuko merely hmphed and did the same. Katara rolled her eyes.
"I don't care who started it, as far as I'm concerned you're both equally at fault. And just as I convinced Toph to agree to come down, too… I trusted you guys to help Aang, and instead I come down and find you at each others' throats!"
"But we did help!" Sokka argued as he doggedly groped for the shreds of his 'manly' persona. "Or at least we were trying to, before you barged in and stopped us…"
"More like you were trying to kill each other! I don't know why I ever thought I could let you two testosterone-laden knuckleheads handle this together…"
Her voice faded in Aang's consciousness, and he drew up his legs and folded his arms around his knees, unhappily replaying his memories of the dinner banquet two nights ago.
"Um, guys?" He stood upright, chair pushed back and hands resting on the round table in front of him—trying not to look as uneasy as he felt. "I kinda… have an announcement to make…"
Katara, Sokka, Toph, and Zuko all looked up from their plates. Five people was an extremely small dinner party, but Zuko had expressly ordered it so—his only explanation being that he valued his privacy, and that in the future he couldn't expect to find much of it. He had also dismissed the servants after the meal was served, in an attempt to insure they would be alone. "What is it, Aang?"
"Last night, Avatar Roku appeared to me in a dream. He said that now that the war has ended, I have to fulfill my duties as the Avatar: travel about the Four Nations and do what I can to help maintain balance in the world."
"…Hn. Well, I guess that's to be expected—as Avatar, you can't exactly lounge around for the rest of your life, can you." Zuko leaned back in his chair, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "As fun as it's been traveling with you, I'm going to have to opt out this time—and take on the responsibilities of Fire Lord. I'm sorry, Aang."
Aang shook his head understandingly. "Don't apologize. Besides, it's not like I can fix everything wrong that's happened in the world by myself… I'll need all the help I can get." He turned toward the others, squaring his shoulders. "And anyway, there's something else I—"
"Wait, Aang." Katara chewed her lip, looking rather conflicted. "I don't think I can go with you, either. I'm needed here, to do my own part on behalf of the Water Tribes and our joint interests…"
("Ha. Is that all you're needed here for?")
("Toph!")
"Me, too," Sokka nodded, idly twirling his chopsticks around his thumb. "I made Suki a promise earlier, and now that this is all over I intend to keep it. If you could take a little detour on your way to wherever and drop us off at Kyoshi Island, that'd be great."
Something eased in Aang's chest, and he gave the other boy a genuine smile as he responded. "Sure, Sokka, I'd be happy to." Maybe this wouldn't be so difficult after all…
"Wow. Looks like I'm the only one here who doesn't have other plans holding me up." Toph grinned in his general direction while Sokka resumed his meal. Of all of them she had finished eating earliest; now she tipped back in her chair, arms folded carelessly behind her large bun. "So it's only me and you now, eh Twinkletoes?"
Aang flinched. "Um… actually…"
"…WHAT." Toph inquired flatly, her anticipatory expression fading into the one usually reserved for her I'm-really-not-going-to-like-this-am-I moments, and Aang nervously went on to explain.
"Apparently there's this tradition in which every incarnation of the Avatar must go on a solitary quest to master the four elements and the Avatar State. It's like a coming-of-age process, through which I have to learn independence. Because of what happened—the war, being stuck in an iceberg for a hundred years and all—I wasn't able to take it like I was supposed to. As a result I'm supposedly incomplete, with my motives and feelings twisted in the earthly passions and attachments. I have to go and untangle my true self."
" 'Untangle your true self'…?" Toph asked at last, her voice sharp and incredulous. "What the heck is that supposed to mean? Aang, you brought down the Fire Lord! You've mastered the elements already!"
Katara joined in the discussion quickly, attempting to head off Toph's vehement protests. "It does seem strange, Aang. You survived in the iceberg for one hundred years because of the Avatar State, and we all saw or sensed that you were able to reach it on your own and to use it during the final battle. Does that not constitute mastery?"
"Not really—for one thing I was practically unconscious when I made the iceberg. Although I was able to unblock my 7th chakra before confronting Fire Lord Ozai, I didn't have the chance to do much in-depth investigating on how entering the Avatar State actually works—and I can't afford to cheat by learning the technique without the meaning, or future Avatars may suffer. I have to study the arts of my own element as well, and add something to the body of knowledge held in store for the next Avatar."
Zuko cleared his throat, drawing their attention. "I think I've heard of something similar to what you're talking about. In Fire Lord Sozin's final testament, I remember he mentioned that Avatar Roku left for twelve long years in order to master the other elements."
"Twelve years?! You mean we aren't going to see Aang again for twelve whole years??" exclaimed Sokka as he stopped chewing, his jaw hanging open comically. Without even a sideways glance Katara reached over and snapped it shut, but she too appeared deeply shocked. Aang fidgeted under the combined weight of their stares.
"…If it's any consolation, Roku says it probably won't take so long as last time. Especially as I had such great teachers already." He got proud little smiles from both his Waterbending sifu and Firebending sifu with that statement, and Sokka huffed to himself in the background. "What I need now is experience. And that, Roku says, only comes with time."
"Some consolation!" Toph stood abruptly, one hand splayed flat against the table while she pointed accusingly at him, her sightless eyes glowing with a pale and violent fury. "Who the hell said you had to go by yourself?!"
"Toph, Roku said—"
"No Twinkletoes, I'm coming with you," the diminutive Earthbender continued inexorably, and Aang thought he heard Sokka whimper as he scooted further away from the danger zone. "I refuse to be left behind in this—this hole!"
"You call this place a 'hole'?" echoed a very nettled Zuko. "And here I thought you actually appreciated—" Katara quickly shushed him, and the comment went unobserved as the two twelve-year-olds stood locked in a battle of wills across the table.
"Toph… if you don't want to stay here, I'll take you anywhere else you want to go. Anywhere, I promise! But you can't come with me."
"Well why not?" she snapped, slicing the air with her upraised arm in a thinly-veiled show of contempt. Behind her, her chair shivered and fell backwards with a crash that had Zuko looking uneasily at the doors to see if they had attracted any unwanted attention.
"You just can't, that's the thing. Roku said that I must travel without worldly possessions and unaccompanied by others, or the consequences—"
"Oh yeah…? You think this is all about you, don't you? All of these people saying over and over what you have to do: save the world, fulfill your destiny, do the other Avatar things, blah-blah-blah." Her voice, previously so strong and scornful, suddenly shrank to a harsh, almost tremulous whisper. "But what about me, Aang? If I don't go with you, where will I go? Where can I go?"
………
Run away with my heart
Run away with my hope
Run away with my love
………
"Toph…" Aang started—but then stopped, unsure of what he wanted to say. What could he say to her? What would anyone else say, in his place—Sokka, for instance?
'Oh don't worry, I'll only be gone a few (possibly several) years; you can just wait here and kick around some rocks until I come back and show off all the new-and-improved Avatar tricks I've learned.'
…Yeah. That'd go down reeaal well.
Why was everyone else so silent? Aang tried not to look, sensing that they were just as engrossed as if they too had been participating in the argument. It was hard though, almost as hard as watching his friend and mentor tread the very edge of hysterical tears.
The blind Earthbender slowly mastered herself, closing her eyes as she took a deep, shuddering breath. When she opened them again they were as hard as agates, and she was once more firmly in control.
"Take me with you." She spoke quietly, but each word was stressed with a ringing finality. "Twinkletoes… please."
Aang lowered his gaze to the tabletop, heart rising thick as phlegm up into his throat and choking off the answer he knew he had to give—even though he knew that Toph was begging him to do something, anything to bend the rules with her Please, because she had never said Please to him like that, ever, and meant it.
"…I can't. If I do, I risk leaving the Avatar cycle incomplete, thus endangering the future of the world and the lives it will hold. I'm so sorry, Toph… but I can't allow myself to sacrifice that for your sake." There was a heavy silence as he finished speaking, and they all waited for her reply.
It was a long time in coming. Finally: "I thought… I thought you said we were friends." Her voice was small and filled with hurt, and Aang rushed to reassure her.
"We are, Toph. It's just I don't need you as a teacher anymore. Now I have to be on my own." (Looking back, he realized that if he'd been better at explaining maybe things wouldn't have turned out the way they did. But the fact was Toph had selective hearing when it came to his explanations, and in her current state of turmoil she seized on exactly the wrong thing.)
"…Fine. Leave then." She bowed her head as if in acquiescence, but Aang noticed the tremors running up and down her stocky form with a definite sinking feeling in his gut. "—You selfish jerk!"
"Toph!" Katara protested, but weaker than her usual reproof. Toph ignored her, the entirety of her attention being focused on Aang.
"Who was the one who wanted me to come and teach you earthbending in the first place? Huh? I gave up everything to follow you!" Sokka scooted his chair even further away with a loud scrreee as she continued to rant. "And now that you don't need me, you're just going to abandon me? You used me, Twinkletoes, and I HATE YOU!" She ended her declaration on a shriek, making simultaneous knife-slashing movements with both hands across her chest, fingers held parallel and close together.
Almost immediately after, the table exploded. (More accurately, a sharp ridge of stone erupted through the table's smooth surface and slammed it upwards into the ceiling, crushing it into so many flying chunks of wood… but for a moment it seemed like it had exploded.)
Everyone threw themselves backward—Sokka, for one, had already been inching his way to safety for most of the conversation. In a flash Katara had bent the water from her cup and used it to block most of the wooden missiles hurtling in her direction, and Aang used his airbending to create a miniature wind spiral, diverting the shards' outward movement into uselessly dissipated energy so that they clattered to the ground at his feet. Zuko had simply retreated behind his chair, which unlike the others was large enough to create an effective and sturdy shield—firebending was too unsafe to use indoors, he commented later. (Besides, flaming bits of wood were a lot more dangerous than the non-flaming variety any day.)
By the time the dust had settled, they were left staring at the wreckage of a once-fine table that had been laid with a once-fine meal—and Toph was gone.
Sokka groaned. "Y'know, just once I'd like it if we could get through one of these dinner occasions without something big and bad happening in the middle of it—like the table getting destroyed by Earthbenders. I mean, is that too much to ask?"
"Hey." Aang blinked, and found himself staring at a pair of bare dirt-stained feet. "Up here, Twinkles."
"T-Toph!" He scrambled to his feet, his usual Airbender's grace forsaking him in his half-excited trepidation. To his anxious eyes she looked like the old familiar Toph, smirking at his agitation—not the angry desperate near-stranger of his recently-relived memories.
"Whassamatter? You sound shocked—plus, you let me sneak up on you." She punched his shoulder just hard enough to sting. "Can't be so careless when you're out traveling, you know. You might be the Avatar, but that doesn't mean you can't be eaten by a platypus-bear or something."
Aang laughed half-heartedly with her, rubbing his arm where she'd hit him. "Heh heh, well, I guess I was distracted. Just thinking about… stuff." He hesitated, but as it was he didn't even have to specify what kind of 'stuff' it was, for Toph's smile faltered as soon as the word left his mouth.
"…Yeah. I was thinking about… stuff earlier, myself." She bent her head and drew a random swirl in the dust with her big toe, doodling around it with successively smaller ones. Aang watched her quietly, unsure of what to say.
Katara finally broke the silence with a cheery "Um, hey Sokka, why don't you and I go check on Suki? Her injuries might still be bothering her…" She moved back toward the staircase, grabbing Zuko's sleeve in passing. "You're coming too."
"What? But I hardly know her," the Firebender protested in vain, but allowed himself to be dragged along all the same. "Oh, this is going to be so awkward…" Aang heard him half-groan, half-mutter under his breath as they departed.
Then he was alone with Toph, and all the unsaid words that existed between them felt heavy enough to smother them both.
………
Could it be any harder to say goodbye and without you,
Could it be any harder to watch you go, to face what's true
If I only had one more day
………
The vibrations of the footsteps ascended and soon faded into insignificancy—and as they did Toph couldn't help but feel an exasperated fondness for her friends. Especially Sugar Queen, acting as if her little 'let's-give-them-some-privacy-please' maneuver wasn't so blatantly obvious, the way she dragged the others out like they were a pair of recalcitrant pack animals. Still she appreciated the gesture, and the motivation behind it.
…Never mind that it was currently being wasted, since Aang seemed to have lost his voice in the last couple minutes.
"Alright Twinkletoes, I know you know I'm not psychic. You have to actually use your tongue and make words—" she put her hands up on either side of her mouth and tapped the pads of her thumbs with her fingers to imitate speech. " 'Cause otherwise I'm not getting it."
She could tell she'd startled him, the way his heartbeat suddenly spiked and how he self-consciously coughed in an attempt to cover his lapse in attention. "Eh, yeah. Sorry, I was just thinking about something else… again."
"Sounds like you've been doing an awful lot of thinking these last two days," Toph observed, folding her arms across her chest and cocking her head to one side. "Ever thought about changing your mind and taking me with you?"
Of course she already knew he wouldn't—Toph wasn't dumb enough to think that Aang would just throw up his hands in defeat this late in the game, and in good conscience she wasn't sure if she would've been able to accept if he had offered. Still, he'd dealt a severe blow to her pride by saying "no" point-blank… deliberately bringing up the topic seemed a good way of letting him make amends.
But now he was still too quiet for her liking. The blind Earthbender decided to stir the coals some more.
"I remember back when you told me about giving up the Avatar State for a time because you couldn't make yourself let go of Katara. If you can't do the same for me, does that mean I'm not as important to you as she is?"
"Of course not!" His response was immediate and vehement, surprising her with its intensity. "Toph, I would never—! I mean, Katara, she… you and Katara are… you are—" He sputtered to a fumbling halt. "Ughhh, why can't I just get it to come out RIGHT?!"
She blinked, unsure which was more unexpected: the way her carefree Airbender friend had just spontaneously channeled Inner Sparky, or the fact that his last outburst was apparently addressed to Appa and Momo on the sidelines. Tough call, but it sure looks like he's starting to go a bit banana-sandwich on me. "Uh, Aang… You sure you're okay?"
"…Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay," was his reply, although the dejected way he said it wasn't altogether convincing. Well, at least his heart wasn't thumping like he was about to get charged by an angry saber-toothed moose-lion anymore.
"You do remember I can tell if you're lying, right?" She poked his cheek experimentally, and was startled to find that she could practically feel him blushing. He ducked his head and she hastily pulled her hand away, somehow not so sure that her cheeks weren't as hot.
"It's not you, it's me. It's my fault—I had the wrong impression for a lot of things that happened. Katara and I are friends, and just friends… I guess we were never anything more. You can't say I'm not telling the truth about that."
After a moment's contemplation, the blind Earthbender nodded slowly. He was pretty much right on all counts, especially about it being his fault. "Uh-huh. So…?"
"It's… I thought you understood. I-I can't explain it too well, but… you are important to me, Toph. You taught me everything I know about earthbending—this time around, anyway— and I don't know much what else I can learn about it by myself." Aang's hand moved to cover hers as he spoke, and the sensation of his callused fingers sliding against hers was like a gentle affirming sigh. "But more than that, I need you. I need you just as much as I need Katara: as a friend, and someone who comforts me and whom I can always count on."
"Hey, no going all mushy on me, Twinkletoes." Toph wrinkled her nose in mock disgust, trying to simultaneously laugh and ignore the way their hands hung right between them, loosely linked and slightly too close. "…I'm sorry that I'm not really able to say the same of you. But let that slide."
His grip tightened on hers, and suddenly she had the eerie feeling he was gazing deep into her eyes, meeting her unresponsive stare with a resolute one of his own. "I also wanted to say sorry for having to leave, and for leaving you. But it won't be forever; I'll be back."
"And when will that be? Ten, twenty years?" Toph laughed mirthlessly. "Don't kid me. You'll forget long before then, and if you don't I will." Hah. As if I could…
"I won't forget. As for you… well, lemme give you something then." Aang withdrew his hand and jumped up onto Appa's back, rummaging through his few packed things. When he leapt back down Toph felt the staff holding Aang's glider being pressed into her hands. "I used this staff in the final battle, when I defeated the Fire Lord. It's the last of my worldly possessions… I want you to keep it for me."
Her fingers automatically curled over the hard polished wood and light bamboo sheath, testing its weight and texture. "But this… this is your glider you're giving me. Won't you need it?"
"Nah, I got Appa. Besides, if I really need one I'm sure it won't be too hard to find." Aang patted the sky-bison's side fondly. "But this staff is special, and it's connected to something I think we're all going to remember for a long time. Please take it as a reminder, and a promise."
"…Promise of what?"
"That I'll return someday. That we'll go on adventures again, together—a promise I will solemnly make to you in my capability as Avatar."
Toph smirked a little, remembering the last time he had used that particular phrase. "Well, this time you better keep it, Avatar Aang. I don't want any half-baked 'Avatar Promises' from you."
………
And maybe, I'll find out
A way to make it back someday
To watch you, to guide you
through the darkest of your days
………
"Now Suki, are you sure you're gonna be okay?" Sokka anxiously asked for the tenth time, rolling out blankets and stuffing random cushions underneath in order to pad Appa's saddle. The subject of his attentions bore his fussing patiently, although not without a fondly exasperated comment or two.
"I'm fine, Sokka—really, I am. Katara, could you please…?"
The Waterbender obliged by dragging her brother aside, close to where Aang sat. "Sokka, we've already been over this. You know from previous experience that you aren't about to launch into the sky like a rabid rabbiroo, and Aang says that he and Appa will also be extra careful in case you run into turbulence on the way. Isn't that right, Aang?"
"Yep!" the tattooed boy chimed in cheerfully, patting Appa's giant head with one hand while wrapping the reins about the other. Katara smiled at his positive reply, relieved to see that the conversation with Toph had been good for him. But Sokka only smacked his forehead and groaned.
"Excuse me if I continue to freak out, but that isn't really reassuring."
"What isn't?" There was a grinding noise of stone against stone, and all three turned to see Toph rise on a rock column of her own making. There was a light traveling bag on her back, strap crossing from shoulder to opposite hip, and when the column leveled she stepped confidently into the saddle. "Scoot over, Sokka. I'll need room too."
"Wait… WHAT??" Aang leapt up from his place between Appa's horns and hurried to intercept his Earthbending Master, clutching her shoulders. "But Toph, you said—"
"Geez, Twinkles, no need to get your panties in a twist," Toph batted away his hands, sounding annoyed at his obvious apprehension. "I'm just taking up your offer from earlier. I'm going to need a ride to Gaoling."
For a moment Aang looked bewildered. "Gaoling?"
"Yes. Gaoling," she repeated as if to a slightly slow child. "You promised to take me anywhere, didn't you? Take me back to the Bei Fong estate."
Sokka took the opportunity to add his two cents: "Ha! See, Katara? Even Toph's going home! Now all we need is for you to come too—no need to stay with Mister Grumpy Fire Lord here!"
"Why don't you come down and call me that to my face!" Zuko growled threateningly from below, but Katara only shook her head and sighed at their joint immaturity. Sokka, bless his overprotective brotherly heart, had been getting along quite well with Zuko until he ran into them… er, discussing the nature of their relationship. Now he harbored a very petty loathing for the Fire Prince, who likewise became super-touchy and paranoid whenever Sokka came within hearing range.
But Aang ignored the drama around him—his attention completely absorbed by the petite, unpredictable Earthbender he called his friend. "But why?" he asked finally, his expression lost and softly questioning. "Why do you—? I thought…"
Toph smiled bitterly, and with a flick of her wrist she flattened the column behind her back into the ground. "It's the only home I can go to now. Whether I like it or not, that's how it has to be."
"It doesn't have to be that way," Katara protested. "You can stay here for as long as you want. Right, Zuko?" Zuko started a bit at his sudden inclusion into the conversation, but before he could say anything Toph cut in.
"It's nice to see you're already taking charge of this place, Sweetness, but no thanks. Besides, weren't you the one that was saying that I should try to fix things with my parents?"
"Well, yes… I suppose…" Katara admitted, but with great reluctance. Something just seemed off about this scenario… actually, a lot of things did. After all, what in the world would cause the girl who valued her independence over almost everything… return to what, for her, amounted to a prison?
"Maybe someday I'll drop by and see how things are going. But for now—" she turned and brushed past Aang, striding to the back of the saddle and plopping down next to the hole she had claimed as her own. "We should get going. Places to go, people to see and not see."
Sokka snapped back into the present and gave the shorter girl a sulky glare. "Hey, I was going to sit next to Suki!"
"Calm down Snoozles, it's not like you can't still sit there. Big saddle, plenty of space," reasoned Toph in a bored voice, stretching out and using her pack as a pillow. Meanwhile Aang slowly moved to resume his seat, only to be stopped by a hand on his shoulder.
"Good luck on your quest, Aang. I know you'll be fine," said Katara with a smile, giving him a warm motherly hug. "She's not still upset with you, is she?" she whispered as an afterthought next to his ear.
"…I don't know, Katara." Pulling away, he sneaked a glance at the girl in question as she ignored Sokka's sputtering complaints with an air of supreme indifference. "But I hope not."
……….
If a great wave shall fall
and fall upon us all
Then I hope there's someone out there who
can bring me back to you
………
And so the first chapter ends... should I continue? Please, read and review!