Blinded By Your Love

Toph

The funeral was a small affair, with only 50 or so people attending including close friends and family. Toph liked it that way, fewer people to deal with, fewer voices to listen to. She had always hated crowds, being unable to tell where people were in the mess of vibrations was suffocating to her which was why she would not be going to the other parades which would happen later that night. Hopefully, she wouldn't be asked to say anything and she could just be left in peace, just for one night.

It wasn't that she didn't want to honour her parents' lives, she just felt too numb to face anyone. She had gone the past few days barely uttering a few words, never leaving the house. She'd stopped eating and sleeping, grief making food taste dry and bitter. Frequent nightmares plagued what little rest she got, some of them so bad she would wake up screaming and yelling tangled in her sheets and a cold sweat dripping down her back. 

Now she was almost afraid to close her eyes, terrified of what the darkness might bring.

Dark bags blemished the skin under her eyes like a violent bruise. Her body was growing frail and fragile from lack of food, exercise and sleep. She was so exhausted and wanted nothing more than to fall into a deep sleep and maybe never wake up again. 

She wondered what Sokka would make of the thoughts that plagued her waking hours.

She knew her friends were worried for her but Toph was past caring about that.

 All she knew now was the undeniable sadness that suffocated her, and the unconditional rage that coursed through her veins, baying for the blood of a firebender girl who had taken so much from her. Yet, despite her wrathful intentions, she did nothing, just let it sit there, mixing with her sadness until it threatened to become a whole new thing entirely until it began to take the shape of a monster. There it sat, sleeping in her body, but awakening ever so slowly at the prospect of revenge.

And revenge came in an unexpected form.

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They were sat in the living room, the fire crackling merrily in the hearth, its heat controlled by Zuko. Toph basked in the heavy warmth of the flames, letting the heat wrap around her like a weighted blanket. Her back was pressed against the foot of the sofa, her legs stretched out in front of her so that her feet were slowly warmed by the fire. Sokka sat silently behind her, his huge body stretched out on the sofa like a tigerdillo. Toph could tell he was deep in thought about something but couldn't bring herself to ask.

She sighed contentedly and her eyes slowly closed shut, the weight of exhaustion settling heavily on her body. God, she felt so tired, so weak. She hadn't felt this fragile in years, yet now, at such an important time, her body was shutting down on her. She knew she needed to get moving, they all needed to get off their butts and be out there but something was stopping them. It wasn't because they didn't know what to do next - although that was a problem - it was like a veil had been thrown over them all, stifling the sense of urgency. Yet, despite the importance of the situation, Toph didn't particularly want to deal with it now.

It was almost like everything had just... stopped.

The calm before the storm...

A sharp intake of breath behind jerked Toph out of her thoughts and she sat up quickly, her senses on high alert.

"What is it Sokka?" Aang asked.

"I think I know where Azula's going to strike next," he whispered, fear underlining the words like ice.

"What?!" Katara cried, "Where?"

"Think about it," Sokka began, "Where has Azula attacked before... The North Pole prison, Zuko's palace, Toph's home and parents," Toph winced slightly at the mention of her parents, "All of these places have a connection," Sokka continued, "They all have a connection to one of us. Azula has been targeting places that mean something to one of our group. And because Aang doesn't really have a place Azula can target because they were all destroyed in the 100-year war, the next person on the list is Katara and me."