"Where'd you go, Toph?" Aang wondered between bites. He dunked his spoon into his bowl and chewed on his meal, continuing to speak through his food. "Yuhr foof's ahl cohhld."
"Heyheyhey," Sokka spat out indignantly. "What's all this stuff about manners, Aang? Ya hypocrite."
Aang forced his food down in one huge gulp, coughed a bit, and laughed.
Toph crawled onto her wooden chair, admiring its evenly sanded, smooth surface, and sniffed in the delightful scent of her dinner.
"I was at the Jasmine Dragon getting some tea before dinner," she explained. Ohhh man, that chicken, the rice, and what were these spices she was smelling? A merry melody to her nostrils, that's what it was. Sokka's doing, no doubt. He was pretty good with spices, that Meathead.
"Oh, yea, that fancy tea place in the uppity part of town?" Sokka wondered from Toph's left.
"That's where Zuko's uncle works now," Katara specified from across the table. "Remember?"
"He's the guy who owns it," Toph proudly added before scooping up a clump of sticky rice and chicken and chowing down. The savory flavor of the pepery spices hit the spot for a hungry tummy, the juicy chicken and boiled green beans serving as a delicious combination. "He's
my uncle now, too," she quietly slipped in after swallowing her first bite.
"Huh?" probed a curious Aang from her right at the end of the table. Toph savored the
clink-tinkle-clat-pak-soof of the dinner table as everyone fiddled their tools around to eat.
"He said he'd be my uncle," Toph bragged, slightly louder, before chewing into some more chow.
"You're just surrounding yourself with a whole new family, aren't you?" Suki cheerfully pointed out.
"Sure," Toph flatly agreed. What are you, then? My fancy-pants ninja cousin? No thanks.
"That's great," chimed Katara.
"So how are you liking this stuff?" Aang wondered. "It's good, isn't it?"
"It's yummy," Toph voiced with glee.
"I'm glad you like it," said Suki. "It's an old recipe my mother passed down to me."
Seriously? For Spirits' sake...
Toph refused to acknowledge that statement and continued to chew down her meal.
"Sooo tomorrow morning," Sokka began, breaking the pregnant pause. Oh, here we go again with his planning everything out. "Suki and I will get some food in town for the trip. Katara and Aang, you guys should make sure we've got water and clothing 'cuz it's gonna get cold - obviously. We'll probably need to get some stuff as soon as we touch down but I don't think that'll be a problem."
"Well, what do
I do?" Toph wondered.
"Have you decided that you're going?" Katara eagerly wondered.
"Why not?" Toph casually replied. "I've never really been anywhere with snow and ice all over. Should be different. And I'll get to meet a real Water Tribe!"
"Awesome," Sokka cheered in a goofy tone.
"So how can I help tomorrow?"
Sokka replied by slapping her shoulder with the back of his wrist.
"Hey, Rockie, you can just sleep in and relax, you've had a rough trip," he advised. This was his way of trying to make her feel better, if Katara was to be believed. Little Sokka, planning this whole trip just for her sake...Wasn't he just a sweet guy, trying to play it all cool?
After dinner, Aang coerced Toph into some earthbending practice.
For the third time, she swirled her arms around, rotating a smal tornado of pebbles and sand around her, only to lose her concentration and have it spill out across the ground. Earthbending was often about controlling single, large masses with great strength and focus, but an exercise like this could be tricky since it required precision to move every separate piece of earth together in tandem. Air was a continuous mass, like fire, and even water often was, but earth could be be tricky when broken into little separate pieces. If you weren't sharp, it'd fall apart and you'd lose control. Like she just had. Three times now. In a row.
"
Urgh, what the hell?" she growled at herself.
"It-it's OK, Toph," Aang shakily assured through his own tornado. She could sense that he wasn't cheating with any of that airbending of his, and was controlling it entirely with his index finger. A frown crawled across her face and Aang immediately flopped down his finger, cascading his tornado into the ground. "Uh, shoot," he mumbled. "Y-yea, I guess this
is harder than I thought it'd be." His heartbeat was a dead giveaway.
"You're a horrible liar, Twinkletoes," she seethed between grit teeth. This was
not how things were. She was better than him at earthbending. She could move a damned
mountain if she wanted.
"I-I'm sorry," Aang meekly stuttered. "Maaaaybe you're just off today. Have a lot on your mind?"
"No," she matter-of-factly spat. Yes, she had a lot. So much her head was about to freaking explode.
Twak! Ow.
"Looks like we're both liars," Aang teased,
tip, setting his foot back on the ground. He must have kicked a pebble at her now throbbing knee. Damn. She really
was out of sorts. "Maybe we should stop - I don't wanna stress you out."
Toph sighed a deep and drawn out sigh. "I guess. Sure."
"Ya wanna go for a ride on Appa?" he offered, gently disappearing somewhere above.
"Isn't it kinda late?" she doubtfully inquired, observing the chilled air and cold ground.
"If you're too tired we can just go to bed," Aang complacently suggested, his voice coming from the air like a ghost.
"Let's go for a walk," Toph suggested, mashing the side of her fist into her palm. "We're gonna be on Appa all day tomorrow, right?" There was something she had decided she wanted to ask him.
"Krititit," Momo growled, landing on Toph's shoulder and
swisle swis-ing his wings around. Her shoulders were stiff and sore from their trip and her strained attempts at bending, so his presence wasn't welcome - it was painful.
"Sorry, Momo," Toph grunted, grabbing his squirmy body and dropping him on the ground. She scrunched up her toes, bending the dirt to cushion his landing.
"
Graaaap," he groaned irritably.
"Haha, it's all right, Buddy," Aang empathized,
ti-tip, sciff-scaff. Pfftit. "There ya go. C'mon, let's take you inside."
Tip. tip. tip. "I'll be back in a sec, Toph, just gonna drop Momo in and let everyone know we're gonna be out for a bit."
"Krrrraaaa."
"OK."
His
tips faded away into the house behind her. Toph sucked in the thick city air through her nose and exhaled slowly. Somehow, Ba Sing Se just...seemed so much different after everywhere she had been, after all that had happened. She couldn't help but find herself wondering how long this would last: the bunch of them all living together like this. After this trip was over, would they still be together? Would she end up alone some how? It wasn't like it was all too unlikely: Katara and Aang could disappear in one direction, Suki could steal Sokka away somewhere else...Where would
she go? Stay here with her new Uncle or something?
"So!"
Tppph. Aang appeared at her side. "Where we off to?"
"I dunno," Toph shrugged. "Just...wherever. C'mon."
"What do you wanna talk about?" Aang immediately wondered.
"Wh-? I didn't say I wanted to...-" she trailed off.
Lies. He isn't stupid and why
else would you be going for a walk with him?
"Did something happen tonight when you were out?" he asked with a hint of suspicion.
She stammered a bit as she attempted to decide. She wasn't sure if something 'happened' so much as she had come to understand more fully how unhappy she was with this 'boy' situation.
"N-No, just...I'm still confused about stuff."
"Uh
-huh," Aang muttered, as if he knew something about what was going on. "I don't blame ya," he then conceded.
"So...
you're a boy," Toph bumbled about suddenly.
"Uh, yea," Aang agreed, perplexed. "I mean, I'm pretty sure-"
"Sometimes I wonder, Twinkletoes," she cracked.
"Yea, yea," Aang groaned through a laugh.
"Anyway, but, like...How did you and Katara...end up, like...-"
"Like we are
now?"
"Yea..."
"Hm..." As Aang pondered his answer, Toph enjoyed the cool, smooth stones of a small bridge as they passed over. Aang stopped at the middle, and she could feel his weight leaning over its edge. The air moved a bit quicker there, above the
blblblbl-ing creek below. "I don't know...At some point I just decided that I really liked her, and that I wanted to always be with her. And I just...I kissed her. I wasn't sure if I would ever see her again and I felt like she just needed to know how I felt."
"So you just...kissed her?" Toph repeated, shocked at the idea of Aang having the balls to do such a thing.
"Y-yea," Aang murmured, as if he were in awe with himself. "Wow...I can't believe I did that." Yep, he was totally in awe. "Twice."
"
Twice?" Toph giggled. "Are you serious? She didn't get it the first time?"
"Uh, or the second time," Aang sheepishly clarified. "The first time was kind of weird, I don't even know why I did it...And the second time...Well...She wasn't ready." Toph grinned, recalling Iroh's remark about seeking Destiny before it was ready for you.
"After the war ended, though...
She kissed
me. Then, um...Well, yea. We talked about it and decided we would give it a try."
"You both seem happy," Toph observed, her tongue a bit sour with jealousy.
"It's been pretty awesome," Aang informed her cheerfully. "Katara says that we shouldn't take ourselves too seriously until we're a bit older, though. But hey, I don't care either way. I know it's meant to be."
"Meant to be, huh?" Toph recited to herself in a murmur.
"Yea, totally," he vehemently insisted. "Like, just, a really deep and strong feeling, right? No matter what you do, it won't go away."
She sighed at his excitement and determination and wondered if what she was feeling was actually the same thing or not.
"What's kissing like?" Toph asked suddenly, almost with a cringe. It seemed kind of gross but she couldn't deny that she wanted to try it.
"U-uh, well, it's-" Aang stumbled around for words, and she could hear him rubbing at his head. "It's kind of weird at first but...when you get used to it, it's
really great." That cute little lisp melted around his words as he finished his thought, no doubt lost in the memories of the sensation.
"Like coffee? Or tea?" Toph recalled once finding both of those disgusting but she loved them now.
"Y-yea, like that! Kinda." Hm. Well, that didn't seem so bad.
"Does it have to be all...gross?" she winced. "I mean, it just...it sounds gross." She puckered her lips and sucked in air, imitating the sound as best she could. Aang snickered at her mockery.
"I guess it doesn't
have to be," he considered thoughtfully.
"When I used to go to bed, my par...-"
No. Stop. I'm not going to say it.
Why not?
I just don't wanna.
"Your...parents?" Aang finished darkly.
Toph snorted through her nose and continued.
"Well, they used to kiss me when I went to bed, like, on the head."
"Yea. That's not the same kind of kissing," Aang clarified. Wow, really? No kidding?
Duh.
"So if you wanted to show someone you
like them like them," Toph processed, "you gotta kiss 'em the gross way? On the mouth?"
"Uhh...I dunno. That's what
I did." Well, he wasn't being very helpful with this. Maybe she should try approaching it from a different angle.
"Well, why'd you do it? How did you know Katara liked you back?"
"I
didn't."
"Oh...Well, if...If you didn't know, why'd you
do it?"
"Like I said, I wanted her to know how I felt. I guess I thought that would do the trick, heh..." He still seemed embarrassed by his own impulsive behavior from a while back.
"So..." She could feel a lump forming in her throat as she found herself conflicted by her own feelings and thoughts. "If I liked somebody-"
"Ha. Knew it."
"Shut up," she hissed before continuing. "If I liked somebody, but I didn't know if they liked me back...What do I do?"
Aang sniffed in some air and exhaled deeply.
"This is someone you're seeing at the tea shop, isn't it?" he quietly accused. "No wonder you were in such a rush to go there..."
"Whatever," Toph dismissed, quite perfectly fine with the fact that he was clueless. "Answer my question, Twinkletoes."
"Agh," he grunted, slapping the edge of the bridge and spinning around, leaning his back against it. "I don't know, Toph," he pleaded with a sigh. "I guess I'd say...just go for it. If you really like him, then it's worth trying for, right?"
Toph gulped hard to force down her sheepish doubt, and Aang continued, oblivious.
"If he's really your friend, then...So
what if he doesn't like you? You guys'll still be friends, right?"
Sure, unless I 'burn something that can't be healed.'
"R-right." She planted herself on the chilled rock bridge beside her friend and took a crawling, deep breath as her mind's gears clicked and whirred in an effort to decide how she would proceed with this situation. Uncle Iroh had told her to leave it alone but the more she left it alone the harder it became to hide. She couldn't dismiss his knowledge, but...she had to know. It would continue to eat at her until she did, she just knew it.
"So, what do you think you'll do?" Aang asked eagerly. "Can I help? You want me to try and sneak it out of him?" He offered his services with mischief thick in his voice.
"Pff, I think I'm a big girl, I can handle it myself," she smugly declined.
No, you can't. Liar. You can't even handle
yourself lately, can you?
Shut up.
"OK," Aang conceded, his pitch raised. "You gonna ask him out on a date or something?"
Pff. I wish.
"Er, wh-? N-no, dates are pointless. It's all...fake. And junk."
Would it be,
really, if you took him on one?
No, not really, but I don't want to even think about it.
Hm. Maybe that's the for the best.
"Nnnot really," Aang slowly disagreed. "It depends on how you go about it. I'm gonna take Katara on a date soon."
"Oh, yea?"
"Yea, I'm gonna take her cliff diving," Aang proclaimed slyly.
"That...sounds kinda dangerous."
"Uhhh, not if you're the
Avatar," Aang protested. "It's gonna be great."
"...Right. Yea. Well, you do that," Toph grumbled with a huff, skidding her bare foot along the stone bridge, smoothing its surface as she did so. Stupid. Crap. Hate it. Why? Don't understand!
"What's your problem?" Aang inquired in a tone lacking in hostility.
"
Nothing, I just don't know what to do." She folded her arms over her stomach. Can't believe it. Why her? What about me? Why do they get to-
"Stand your ground," Aang advised plainly. His bony hand gently rested on her shoulder. "If it's meant to be, it's mean-" Aang's sentence was cut short with a choking gasp as Toph pummeled her fist into his ribs, which caused him to quickly retract his comforting hand.
There. That's better.
Not really. Now it'sworse. Why did his hand have to go? Why'd you hit him?
B-because! I just...felt like it.
"Wh-?" Aang coughed, and she felt him squirming around. "What was
that for?" he croaked.
"It's real easy for you to say all that crap, Twinkletoes," Toph seethed, standing up. "You already know what's gonna happen for you."
Aang groaned in pain, remaining on the ground, leaning against the bridge's side.
"So you're gonna...
hit me?"
"I'm sick of hearing all about you and Katara and how freaking
great it is to know you're gonna be so damned happy-"
"
You brought this stuff up, Toph! Why are you getting upset with
me?"
Why, you...Tryin' to pass the blame on me like this is
my fault.
It
is your fault.
"You don't even know what's going on with me!" Toph cried. "So why do you act like you do?"
"Maybe I don't know because you have to keep everything a secret!" Aang countered, his breath still forced a bit. "I don't get what your
problem is! All of a sudden you're all mad with me? I'm sorry if I made you upset but I didn't mean to!" Aang clambered to his feet. As his steps vibrated the ground, she could sense he was still clutching his side. Had she really hit him that hard?
Tip tip. Wait, where was he going? "You
meant to hit me," he clarified. "I know you're mad, Toph, but
I didn't do anything to you! You seem like you keep switching around. I don't get why you're...'cooler' than me, when you're such a jerk to your little brother..."
Tip tip tip.No, please. Stop. Don't go. I didn't mean it. I'm just angry! But not at you!
tip. tip. tip.
"Hey, w-wait!" Toph called, reaching her arm out at nothing.
Tip ti-
"What?" he asked slowly. She could feel it in his voice: he didn't want to leave anymore than she wanted him to.
"I'm..." Sorry. You're sorry.
Say it. "I'm sorry...Aang."
-ip. Tip.
Tip.
Tip tip.
"Toph..." Toph could feel her legs wobbling and her head felt light all of a sudden. "Hey, it's all right!" Aang assured in a panic. Why? Oh. That was water running down her face all of a sudden, wasn't it? Damnit! Where did that come from? She simply stood there, unable to bring herself to wipe away her tears, unable to say anything more. Unable to resist Aang's soft arms wrapping around her, hands clenching her back gently, pressing her large braid. "It's OK, Sis," he said in an effort to calm her. She couldn't reciprocate his hug, she was too dazed, her arms heavy. She didn't sniffle, she didn't cough, but her eyes ran wet and her body trembled.
After Aang let her go, she could feel the tears on her face melt away, evaporating in an instant. What the-? Had Aang just
bended her tears away? Aw. He was such a little softie.
"What is
wrong with you?" Aang asked in a pitiable tone. Not the kind that said 'You poor baby' but the kind that said 'Why can I not help you feel better?'
"I don't
get it," she whispered. "I don't even understand
me anymore..." She could feel Aang tugging at her clothes, easing her to the ground beside the bridge. She sat down, pressing her hands into the cobblestone path.
"I know how that is," Aang muttered. "Every time I go into the Avatar State, I feel the same way when I come out. It's like all of this...
stuff...from inside is trying to break free or something. But it's not what I
want to come out...Ya know? It's like it doesn't even feel like
me, but I guess it has to be
part of me or it wouldn't be there..."
Toph sighed, drooping her head down. She could feel her eyes getting heavy. That cry had made her realize how tired she was.
"I didn't want to hit you," she specified solemnly. "I mean...some times I
do," she jested with a grin. "But not that time. I'm really
mad though, but not at you. I'm sorry I punched you. Even if you deserved it," she added in a tease, receiving a slap on the back of the hand. "Ow, hey!" she giggled, swatting him away.
"Why are you really mad? Are you mad at your parents?"
"I guess...that must be part of it." She huffed at the thought. They didn't even
deserve to be getting upset over. "But it's also this stupid boy, too."
"Why? Is he being mean to you?" Aang patted her shoulder with a rough tap. "If he is, you tell me, I'll beat him up." Toph chuckled at his attempts at being threatening.
"Whatever happened to solving things peacefully, Twinkletoes?"
"W-well, hey, you're my Big Sis now, I gotta bend the rules for my family."
Bend the rules for your family.
"I see," Toph mocked. "Well, all right. I don't want you to beat him up, though. He's kind of a wuss."
"Really?" Aang seemed shocked. "I'd figure you'd like some tough kid. Like you."
"W-well, I mean, he
can be tough. When he needs to," she defended. Why was she defending him? He didn't care whether she thought of him one way or the other.
"So am I gonna get to meet this guy any time soon?" Aang probed with strong implication.
"I'll-I...gotta decide what I'm gonna do," she blurted out. Her face was feeling warm again.
"Don't rush it, then," Aang suggested. "You gotta make decisions like that when you're ready." Zuko and Iroh's voices danced in her head.
I don't feel like I'm ready.
We never do.
"I guess," Toph complied.
You're ready to ask your brother that question, though. Right now. You should do it.
Yea, sure.
"Hey, Aang," Toph sheepishly muttered.
"What?"
"Could I...? Well, it's-I just...I'm so used to using my feet that I forget I can feel the world with my hands, ya know?"
"Sure. What about it?" Aang asked, baffled.
"If you guys are gonna be my family, I think...I want to know what you all
feel like," she whispered, as if what she were saying was some taboo.
"Huh?" Ugh, he didn't get it. She didn't want to have to
explain it...It wouldn't make sense to him. All of the physical contact she'd been focusing on, all of this talk of family and stuff...It made her want to try to understand what her family 'looked' like. They were shapes, heartbeats, voices...She wanted them to be detailed sculptures, she wanted to know if their faces were rough or soft or squishy or hard. She didn't understand
why she wanted to know this.
"Y-your face," Toph clarified in a squeak. "I wanna know what your guys' faces are like since I can't...-"
"See them," Aang completed her thought. "OK." What? That was it?
"Wh-? Is that OK?"
"Sure," Aang insisted, as if it were nothing. "I get it." He did? "Go on. Just watch the eyes."
Toph slid her hands along the ground which helped her realize that Aang had moved his face a mere couple of feet from her own. She reached her hands out boldly and without hesitation.
Whoa. What? Why was his head...scratchy? And fuzzy? She thought it was supposed to be all slick and stuff, like her grandpa's head...Right? Wasn't that what bald meant?
"Haha, I know, not all smooth, right?" he admitted. "I haven't shaved my head since we left for our trip, so it's a little fuzzy."
"Heehee. It feels cool," she snickered with delight, rubbing her hands all around his head, overloading her fingertips. Ohp! Wait, what was-? Oh, that was his ear. What a weird feeling thing the ear was, all floppy but hard on the inside. His ears felt like they stuck out a lot, huh? What a goof. His cheeks were squishy, his skin dry and smooth. His mouth was curved into a smile, and running her palms over it intrinsically made one crawl across her own face.
"You probably look pretty goofy," she picked on him as she pulled her hands away. "With ears like that and your bald head?"
"Gee, thanks," Aang sarcastically muttered. "My ears aren't
that big."
"Twinkletoes, I just grabbed them - they're
huge. Surprised I could fit my hands around them."
"Hey, come on!"
They laughed a bit, Toph's devolving into a yawn, which consequently led to Aang yawning as well.
"We should probably get back home," Aang advised, messing up Toph's bangs as he stood upright.
"Yea, long day tomorrow, huh?" Toph groaned, propping herself up with the stones behind her before setting them back in place.
"You're gonna love the South Pole," Aang guaranteed as they journeyed back. "It's so awesome there."
"That's what I've heard."
"But...you won't be able to do any earthbending..."
"I know," Toph casually shrugged. She had certainly already considered that. Not being able to bend earth could feel helpless, but not near as helpless as she felt at the thought of being separated from 'Team Avatar.'
Toph sat in a clump, her back pressed against the side of the Jasmine Dragon, processing what Zuko had just advised to her. What a jerk...Trying to, like, flip it around and make her look bad.
Damnit damnit damnit. Why does he have to be right, though?
You should probably think about what he said.
Yea, I should...
The sounds filtering out from the doorway to her left had been tuned out, but she decided to start focusing on them again. Clatters and slurps from tea drinkers were aplenty, a lake of idle conversation rolling over her. When she was able to lock down on Zuko and Iroh, she intently followed their conversation in whispers.
"She is still young, Nephew. Even when they mature, reason is not exactly their strong suit." Were they talking about girls or something?
"Ha, you don't need to tell me. I have one at home." Crispy had a girlfriend, didn't he? That weird depressing girl...Yea.
Toph had vague memories of her. They had shared some quality time together before going their separate ways after the war ended.
"Ahh, yes. Mai. I'm surprised she was so patient with you through all that has happened."
"Not as patient as you've been, Uncle," Zuko expressed with gratitude.
"You have proven to be worth the patience, Zuko - just as I knew you would. I am sure Mai feels the same way. How is she coping with your situation?"
"I think she's dealing with it better than I am," he muttered, laughing at himself. "To her, it's something that's curing her boredom. But I'm just not sure...I wanted to be a leader for so long. Now I am and I have no idea what I'm doing."
"You will do well, Nephew. You will possess something few Fire Lords have: an understanding of being humbled by failure and correcting your own mistakes."
"I hope you're right." He sighed in contemplation and doubt. "I don't feel like I'm ready."
"We never do," Iroh said sagely. Clakker clak. "Now, then, I believe I have a customer waiting. Please continue catching up with your old friend."
"I'm not sure I'd say that we're friends, exactly..."
"You and Jin may have become acquainted under uncomfortable circumstances," Iroh observed, "But you are indeed friends. I can tell just by the way you look at each other. You should not trouble yourself with the past. She no longer does." Tud. Tud. Tud. He had big beefy footsteps.
What was that all about? So Zuko and that shop girl knew each other from before, huh? Little lovin' go on there? Yea, unlike me and my stupid boy who's totally not into me 'cuz he's got some makeup ninja all over him. Great.
Tud. Tud. Tud.He was heading her way.
Swuff.
"There you are, Child," he greeted. "Your tea is ready, my Dear. Would you care to join me?"
She could feel his thick form towering over her, inviting and calm.
"Sure." She pushed herself onto her feet. Yes, finally! The entire reason she had come here.
"Here you are," he indicated. She drummed her left toes a couple times to feel where his arm had extended, and carefully retrieved the cup and saucer from him. It was piping hot, so she had to be careful. The heat pressing into her palms was soothing. Guided by his tuds, she followed him to a small spring behind the shop. It must have been where they got their water from. Blubblebububgupgublubblugup...
As Iroh got ready to set himself down, Toph slid her foot across the dirt, calling a bench of earth to rise up for the two of them. Iroh laughed and planted himself solidly onto the makeshift seat. Toph set her tea cup down and scooted herself onto the bench beside him. As she retrieved her cup, Iroh sucked in a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. Her senses suddenly oriented themselves to pay attention to the scents around her. That tree beside the spring must have been a willow based on its scent and structure. Her tea was strong and lemony, with just a touch of mint, as Iroh had indicated. She remembered how much she enjoyed mint - that coot had practically read her mind before she even knew what would hit the spot. The bubbling of the spring, the skssssssssss ffffffffffffff of the swaying willow branches in the evening breeze, the soft dirt beneath her feet, the relaxing aroma of citrus and mint...
"It is quite beautiful, isn't it?" Iroh's crawling voice considered.
"Uh...If you say so," Toph grumbled. How would she know? Was he picking on the fact that she couldn't see?
"You do not think it is?" Iroh inquired suspicipously. What was he getting at? And why did she feel like it'd somehow make sense in a minute?
"Not to be a jerk, but...Did you lose a few marbles during that big battle or somethin'? I can't see. I'm blind."
He 'fufu'd' a few times. Ssssppp. Clak.
"They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But who is to say it cannot be in the nose, the ears, the tongue, or the hands? Beauty is whatever pleases you, Child." Aaaand yep. Made sense now.
"Thennnn I guess it is pretty beautiful out here tonight," she agreed slowly, still grasping the idea. Muscles flexing through the water. A hand scratching across her head. A heartbeat against her cheek.
"That is quite an interesting trinket you have there," Iroh observed. Huh?
She suddenly realized she had habitually started twitching her fingers to roll her bracelet around her wrist.
"O-Oh, this?" She melded it into a sphere - that perfect sphere that Aang had made her study - and handed it to him. "It's something a friend gave to me. It's a piece of a rock that fell from the sky."
"Mmm," Iroh appreciatively hummed. "It is quite a stunning stone." Toph's soul smirked as she recalled Aang's analogy. "Quite unlike any other I have seen." He placed it in her lap. "A fitting charm for such a young lady as yourself." He said it in the same way Toph's grandmother used to refer to her before she had passed away. She didn't know how to respond, so she simply warped it back around her arm. Why had Sokka given it to her in the place?
Sweetie. Dear.Smootching, rubbing, whispers, giggles...
Why Suki? What was so special about her?
They all think of you like a sister.Does he look at me just a sister? Can I ever be anything else? Anything more than that?
Maybe you can, but maybe that's not what's meant to be.
Pff, I think I should be the one who decides what's best for me.
Sometimes, when we try doing that, we end up being mistaken.
Whatever...
Ssssppp. Clak.Iroh's steady drinking snapped her from her thoughts.
She finally decided to drink her own tea. She tried to slurp some up, but her tongue lit on fire, causing her to ssffppbbbhh it back out all over the ground. She was glad she didn't spill her cup, at least.
"Wahaha!" Iroh slapped his knee. "You must be patient, Child. Why the hurry? I have seen you drink here before - I know you are not unwise to the ways of proper tea etiquette."
"I-I'm just...-"
clickleclattatat.Her hands were trembling, shaking her cup against its saucer. She set it aside on the earthen bench and mushed her hands between her legs, startled by her own trembling.
"My Dear, whatever is the matter?" Iroh's suddenly concerned tone questioned.
"Nothing," Toph firmly lied as smoothly as she could.
Ssssppp. Clak.
"The turtle who remains inside its shell goes nowhere." Ohhhhhh bah. Fine.
"I have a lot of...stuff...going on right now."
"And the sun sets at the end of the day. I am aware of these things. You are the Bei Fong girl who ran from home."
"Not Bei Fong anymore," Toph grumbled, sliding her feet through the dirt. It was getting real damn old, having to repeat that.
"This is true," Iroh plainly agreed. "Your parents are most displeased. They speak of you as if you were a curse." As if she were a curse? What had she ever done to them?
"...Th-they do?" Her stomach twisted around. "H-how do you know?"
"They have been customers of mine."
"I hate them," Toph blurted with a huff on impulse.
"Because you love them," Iroh clarified. "The fires of hate are a darker shade of the flames of love, and they burn from the same coals." How many metaphors was this guy gonna spill out?
"I don't wanna love them."
"Because they do not want to respect you."
"Yea!" Sure, that sounded right.
"Sometimes love's flame extinguishes itself when left to burn away - but fanning the fire can only make it grow. This is true of both shades, light and dark." Ugh, couldn't he just speak regular talk?
"What do you mean, Mr. Iroh?"
"I am saying that you need to follow my Nephew's advice and stop worrying about what your parents think. They have broken your trust and your heart, pushing you further from them than any parent should, just as Zuko's father once did to him. The more you dwell on how unhappy you are with something you cannot change, the longer those painful thoughts will remain."
"I know, I know," Toph moaned, flopping her head lazily to the side. She was getting sick of everyone singing this same old song. "I'm trying."
"I am glad to hear this. It takes time but I am certain you will find your way, Child."
Ssssppp. Clak. Oh, right. Tea.
Toph clutched her cup, her hands now steady, and took a sip. It slid past her tongue, sending a minty-sweet greeting to her body before cascading down her throat, massaging it the whole way. She sighed in relief and satisfaction.
"This tea is..." She giggled. "Beautiful." They shared a brief laugh before a moment of mutual silence.
"You waited until that tea was ready for you," Iroh sagely pointed out. "Just as we are not always ready for Destiny when it calls us, sometimes Destiny will not have us when we try to find it ourselves. When this happens, we must wait until it will accept us."
"Destiny always gets what it wants, doesn't it?"
"Haha, indeed, my Dear. Indeed, it does."
Ssssppp. She joined in and soaked in some more tea, taking a bigger gulp this time. Man, that was good. She recalled Sokka's pessimistic saying.
The Universe is out to get us.
"So...What do you do when Destiny won't let you have what you want?"
"Sometimes, my child, the fruits we want most are on the highest branches that we cannot reach. If we are lucky, one may fall from the tree, but it is not always the fruit we had our eye on." More about trees, huh? Iroh must've had a thing for trees.
She sighed and rubbed at her bracelet longingly before sipping more tea to ease her pain.
"What if someone stole your fruit from you?" she bitterly wondered.
Iroh replied with a calm but ever-so-slightly scolding tone. "Someone cannot steal something from you that was never yours to begin with." That was...He...But! "Destiny is not always kind to us, Little One, especially when we try to steal from it." Sssspp. Sssssssssspp. Clak. Sounded like he was done. "You are still young, Child, and have many long years ahead. Even in my old age, standing under the Tree of Desire and waiting calmly will still yield fallen fruits." From what Toph could gather, Iroh was telling her that she ought to be patient. She didn't like this business about "not always the fruit we had our eye on," though. What did he mean? Like, someone who wasn't Sokka? She couldn't even imagine the idea.
"I don't want any other fruits," she pouted, slurping on her tea some more. "I already picked mine, it's the only one I want."
"Sometimes, when we stare at one paint stroke for too long, we lose sight of the art itself." OK, seriously. This was getting real old.
"Maybe I like a boy," she spat out in frustration, sick of all of the fancy talk. "And maybe he likes some other girl."
"Then maybe," Iroh slowly ventured. He paused for a moment, carefully considering his answer. "Maybe you need get over yourself." What?
It was as if he'd taken a chisel and hammered into the crack Sokka's relationship with Suki had created.
"Fire is dangerous," Iroh explained. Again with the damned metaphors. She was too angry to bother protesting. "It spreads and consumes all in its path. This is true of hate and love. And it sounds as if you are fighting both. As much as these fires may burn within you, you must face the truth that you are still young, and keep those flames in their hearth. In time, if left alone, these flames will die out. This is the nature of things. But if you continue to fan the embers, the fires shall spread and scorch a path through your heart. You may never be able to heal what is left burned."
Toph snorted in disgust. What did it mean? She had a feeling this was basically what Zuko had been telling her earlier...
"Could you just tell me in normal words?" she grumbled. She swallowed the rest of her tea in one long swig. He sighed, scriff scriff, scratching at his beard.
"This boy you speak of...The one from the Water Tribe." Urk. How'd he know? "I have no doubt you truly care for him, and that he does possess love for you, but love of a different kind than what you seem to be after. It sounds as if you could destroy what you have been given if you are not careful."
"A different kind?" Toph growled. "A worse kind is more like it."
"You speak of love as if it is a ladder that you are trying to climb, but I assure you, there is no kind of love that is more powerful than another."
"He sure seems to care more about that other girl than he does me."
"Ah, this might be true - who are we to say? We are not him. His loves may be compounded together for this other girl. But my love for my Nephew, the love I once gave to my own son, the love I once had for his mother...These are all different kinds of love, yet I would not dare say that one eclipses another. His time may be spent more with this other girl, but it is entirely possible that he loves you both equally."
Toph hadn't considered this idea, but...she didn't want to. She deserved what Suki had. Only, well, maybe without all the smootching and gross stuff. OK, maybe a little smootching. Ehhhhh maybe not? Bleh, she couldn't decide.
"W-well...What should I do? I really care about this guy but I don't like seeing him with this other girl. It just pisses me off."
"If you truly cared about him, as you say that you do, you would want to see him happy - if you loved him, you would put his own happiness before your own. Selflessness is love put into action."
Ouch. That...is probably true. Wow. Maybe I am being a jerk...?
The first step to solving a problem is acknowledging it.
"I know it is difficult to consider - you are but only a child, and should not even be fretting over such things. But you came to me seeking counsel, and I have given it."
Toph set her empty tea cup to her left, running her hand over her face, through her bangs, over her useless eyes. Her head bulged, her stomach was sideways, her lungs were tight. The volcano was about to erupt again. She curled up and laid herself on the bench, her head resting in Iroh's lap, hands clutched to her head.
"I'm sick of this," she groaned miserably. "When did everything have to become so...so stupid? My family, my friends, this dumb boy...I don't even know what I want right now, I'm just...I want to punchsomething." Iroh gently patted her on the head. It wasn't the way Aang or Katara or Sokka would, but it was still cool.
"Growing up is not fun," he admitted. "Even at Zuko's age, one is certainly still growing. My advice to you, my child, is to stop worrying so much about all of these things you are so concerned of. Appreciate what Destiny has given you. It always takes things from us, but not without giving us something else in return."
She had managed to hold back tears, thankfully. That was a sight she didn't want him to see. She didn't even understand why she felt like crying for a second there. Was it about Sokka? Her parents? She didn't get it. She released the grip on her own head and rolled over, her face pointed up at his.
"My friends told me that I'm like their sister now," she said hopefully. "Mr. Iroh...Would you be my uncle?"
There was a long pause, a deep breath, a scriff scriff.
"I will not deny that you are a lost child," he said pensively. "If you truly would like an old man such as myself to watch over you from time to time, I can certainly do my best."
"Really?" He was such a sweet old man. She knew he'd say yes. She rolled up into a sitting position and gave him a squeeze. Whoa. Yea, he was a lot harder and less squishy than she remembered. Had he been working out or something? Major, it seemed like. "Thanks, Uncle Iroh. You're pretty cool for an old guy." That sounded a lot more natural than "Mr. Iroh," that was for sure.
"And you are...'pretty cool' for a youngster."
"I promise I'll think about what you said," she muttered. She wasn't really sure how much she'd consider it, but since he was going to be her uncle and all that, she ought to make due on really thinking about this stuff.
"Always remember that you are the one who must make these choices, Toph," Iroh specified. OK, so he did remember her name. She had been wondering. "I am but only one man with his own opinions. True wisdom in this world means seeking knowledge from everywhere you can."
"Meaning I should listen to my friends, too," Toph agreed.
"Precisely."
She shuffled through her satchel and pulled out a couple of coins for her tea, dropping them in Iroh's empty mug. Clinklechink.
"I'll try," she repeated. Maybe if she just kept saying it she'd actually do it.
"You are a stubborn little girl," Iroh told her with a warmth she knew to expect. "If you set your mind to this task I see nothing in your path that cannot be bypassed."
"Thanks for everything, Uncle. I'm going off on a trip but I promise I'll bring my friends to see you when we get back."
"Leaving again so soon?"
"I guess we're headed for the South Pole," Toph proudly declared, pouncing off the bench and landing behind the elderly sage. "I've never been there but I think I'm gonna suck it up and try to have fun."
"Speaking from experience, I can tell you it is very lovely down there," Iroh informed her. "Very beautiful. I am certain you will agree."
It certainly didn't sound like it would be beautiful, but...if he said so, maybe it was, after all.
Toph stomped her foot, making her bench crumble back into the earth from whence it came, bringing Iroh down with it. The tea cups on their saucers remained afloat on slim discs of ground, which she flung into the building with a flick of her wrist. Iroh belted out an amused laugh from the dirt.
"What have I gotten myself into?" he cried between chuckles.
"I'm a trouble child all right," Toph declared with a prideful smirk. She was feeling a lot better. That tea had soaked in. Her talk with Iroh, while frustrating in some ways, made her feel more hopeful about figuring her way through all of this problems, and she now officially had the most awesome uncle in the world.
Pad pad pad pad schuf.
"Uncle," Zuko called. "There are more customers, and Jin can't serve them all at once. You'd better get back in here. Wh...Why are you sitting in the dirt?"
Schiff shiff, he dusted himself off. Crick-crack-popple. Yow. Were those his bones?
"Just...enjoying your cousin's company," Iroh replied, shuffling his way over.
"My what?" Zuko muttered, barely audibly.
"I shall await your return, my child," Iroh assured with a light pat on her back. "I hope you find the answers you are looking for on your travels."
"Me, too."
As Iroh entered the Jasmine Dragon to resume his business, Zuko stood silently by the door.
"You've become more like your Uncle, ya know that, Crispy?"
"What makes you say that?" Zuko wondered, approaching her.
"He told me practically the same stuff you did. Just, ya know...about trees and fire and stuff. Or whatever."
"Oh, Iroh-Speak," Zuko acknowledged, as if this were common sense.. "All the metaphors?"
"Yeaaaa, that." Another pause. "I like him. You're not so bad, either, Crispy."
"Yea? Well, neither are you, um...Foot. Girl."
"Er...Maybe you should leave the nicknames to me, huh?"
"S-sounds like a good idea..." Another awkward pause. "I'm sorry if I was harsh on you, Toph. But I did mean what I said. I've been where you have, and you don't have to go down the road I did."
"No, you're right," she dismissed. Might as well get this 'apologizing' crap out of the way and be done with it. "I was being a jerk, and you didn't deserve it, and...Yea. Just...don't worry about it. It's in the past."
"I think that's the attitude you need to exercise here with what's going with your parents. Good luck."
"Sounds like you need luck more than I do, Lord Crispy."
As Toph merrily passed by, she sent a rapid shock through the ground with an otherwise unassuming footstep, causing a small pillar to sharply spike up and retract, nailing Zuko between the legs. Fump. A nice, satisfying face-to-the-ground.
"I'm guessing you probably don't remember this either, but...That was my revenge. For burning my feet. Figured I'd put that behind us, too."
"I thought...it was...in the past..." he managed to whimper. She giggled.
"Changed my mind about that one." Toph tapped at his back with her dirty foot. "Well, it's been real, and it's been fun...But it ain't been real fun," she snickered. "I guess I'll see ya later, Crispy."
She slipped through the Jasmine Dragon's back door where that Jin girl was preparing tea for the clump of fresh customers that had passed in as Iroh was serving it out.
"What happened to Zuko?" Jin whispered to her.
"He got what was comin' to him," Toph devilishly answered. She marched through the crowded shop, chiming, "See ya, Uncle!"
"Farewell, Niece."
