Gradual Changes

The Tales of Thanksgiving, Part 2

The Tales of Thanksgiving, Part 2

The Tales of Aang and Toph

Toph sat on her bed tapping her foot impatiently, infuriated with herself. Ty Lee was tearing through her closet to help her find something nice to wear after already having put her hair up in two long braids. Why? Because her mother had asked her to and she was dumb enough to say "yes." Outfit after outfit fell to the floor as Ty Lee tossed them aside. The pile was getting rather large.

"You have so many cute things yo wear, Tophy," Ty Lee said as yet another hanger hit the ground. "Why do you always wear those jerseys?"

"They're comfortable," Toph shrugged.

"Oh! This one's perfect!" Ty Lee squealed as she lay a skirt on the bed next to Toph. "And it's long too so they won't see your feet!"

Toph looked over the skirt with her hands. No frills. No ribbons or bows. No lace.

"And I won't need shoes with this one?"

"Nope!"

"Cool," Toph replied as she removed her shorts. "Try and find a sleeveless."

"But it's so cold," Ty Lee whined. "And you have so many nice sweaters! You'd look much better if you wore one of those!"

"What do I care about appearance?" Toph asked. "I just wanna be comfy."

"Well you should care sometimes," her friend grinned. "Isn't Aang coming to dinner?"

"Maybe."

Honestly, she had not spoken to Twinkle Toes about having Thanksgiving dinner with her family at all. After finding out that Qiang, Rou, and their parents were coming she had more to consider before asking him. Each time she ran the scenario of all of them together she reached one of two conclusions: one massive food fight or someone suffering grievous bodily harm. As much fun as that sounded, Toph really did not like the idea of starting a war in her own house while ruining one of the few days that her family got together peacefully. Her mother was actually in the kitchen right now cooking for them.

"Hey, I think this one might work," Ty Lee said, breaking Toph's train of thought.

Without asking what it was, Toph snagged the article of clothing from her bubbly friend and put it on. Ty Lee smiled at the sight in front of her. Her little Tophy was wearing a plain white skirt that fell to the ground and a beautiful one shoulder light green shirt.

"So adorable!" Ty Lee said as she hugged the blind girl.

"Girls?" Kuzon's voice called from outside the door. "The guests have arrived. They are awaiting us in the living room."

"Great," Toph moaned.

When the girls reached the living room, Toph did a quick view of the people occupying it. Her parents were standing at the head of the room with Kuzon as they usually did when greeting guests, and the four others were standing at respectable distance in front of them. The twins she had recognized immediately so the two standing behind them had to be their parents.

One set of vibrations was very calm and cool in demeanor, and they had an air of quiet dignity about them. The other set was in constant motion. It was nothing noticeable to anyone else's seeing eyes, but Toph could feel the person constantly shifting weight, as if the person was trying to draw everyone's attention.

"She looks like a mouse," Ty Lee whispered with a quiet giggle. "Pointy little nose!"

"Allow me to introduce Miss Toph Bei Fong and my daughter, Ty Lee," Kuzon said as the girls stepped into the room.