Toph hit, with all strength in her tiny frame, against the bolder in front of her. One two; one two… the mantra continued on repeat in her head as her gritted teeth bit down on her bottom lip to keep all emotions back. It was only when the image of Sokka and Suki snaked itself inside her mind again did she lose the balance and control and broke the bolder with a force no one would think the little blind girl had.

She began breathing heavily after the huge rock had broken into a hundred smaller pieces. Why, why am I so weak? Toph asked herself, biting down on her bottom lip harder than ever. Why do I care? Why does it hurt? She couldn't stop the questions now as they flowed into her mind, just as she began to attack the ground itself.

It wasn't long before someone would wander into her little battle field, what with the noise she was making, however the thought never crossed the blind girls mind, but it was only when the vibrations behind her started going off like crazy, coming closer with every long stride, did she realize that someone was coming. However, it was too late to do anything but turn around, because there he stood, in all of his glory, baring nothing more than a confused and worried look and his usual expressive eyes.

But that was all deaf to Toph, and she merely looked up at the figure that she suspected was in front of her, and leashed out her fury.

"What do you want?" she asked with enough venom to scare the toughest of any earth benders; however, her voice didn't scare Sokka. What did were her tears that decorated her face, streaming down from her colourless eyes.

"W-why are you crying?" Sokka asked, taking a step forward, using the gentlest tone.

But his mere voice sent stabs to her heart and she could do nothing but lash out more in defense. "I'm not crying, you idiot." She bit back, sending him death glares that chilled his bone.

"Yes, you are." He said firmly, taking a few more strides in her direction, before she immediately put up a wall of earth a few inches in front of him, separating the two of them.

"NO, I'm not!" she cried to him, "So just go away! Leave!" Her voice seemed so desperate that he almost ran away just to satisfy her; but he heard the sorrow in her voice, and couldn't make him legs to move forward or back. "Just go back to Suki." Toph answered in a small tone, turning around to return to stabbing the earth.

Confused, he tried to walk around the earthy wall to move towards her. "Why would I do that?" he asked, "you're obviously sad. I wouldn't leave you like this." He gently shifted his weight forward, shuffling quietly towards her, hoping the quieter vibration wouldn't give away his movements.

But he obviously underestimated her, since she turned around again, and spoke in the same harsh tone, all traces of sadness gone. "So, once I'm happy again, you'll go running back to her, huh?" she asked, glaring with her sightless eyes.

"Is that why you're angry?" he asked, giving her an odd look that she couldn't see. Hope fluttered within her, quickly followed by worry, wondering if he finally figured out everything; every smile, every sarcastic remark, every love that he never noticed before.

"Don't worry," he said, giving her the same smile he'd given her thought out their journeys, "Suki is a good friend, but you're still my subordinate little sister." He said, intending to pat her on the head, she took a step to the left, blocking the pat.

She curled up against the earth that she had abused a few moments ago, and hugged the it with all her might. "Just go back to camp." Her voice echoed in the night, eerily cold and soft. "I'll be back later."

He frowned and plopped himself down beside her. "No," he said firmly, "I promised to protect you, and your in need of protecting now." He said, uneasy at the usually strong girl's tears. He wanted to wipe them all away, and pray that they would never return to cloud her perfect face ever again, but he was afraid to move any closer, for fear that she would move away.

She chuckled sadly into the ground, faintly wondering if he would hear it or not. "So, that's all I am, huh?" she asked the ground again, "another thing to protect." He quickly began various words of protest, that she was so much more than that, that she was important, but she just looked up from the ground and stared at him, at where she suspected him to be, and said the coldest words he had ever heard. "I hate that word." She said.

To him, it felt as if she had just professed her hate for him, instead of her hate of a few words, but it shocked him about how much it hurt. "Hate what?" he asked his voice still cautious.

"Important, worth while… protect." She vaguely trailed of the words, as they rolled off her tongue and vibrated in the ground, replaying in her mind. "…Sister."

The tears rolled off her cheeks and kissed the earth, as she brought herself in an upright position, and began to make her way back to the camp site. Never skipping a beat, she replied to the boy behind her with a few cold words of "Don't use those words ever again," before disappearing in the trees, on the path back to their group.

She left Sokka alone, and she knew that he would pretend that this conversation never happened in the morning. She would go on her sarcastic way, and he would still pat her head, and smile goofily at Suki. Tears over poured her eyes again, and she hastily began to wipe them away. Nothing changed, she thought, everything's the way it should be.

And Toph found out that that thought saddened her more than anything else in the world.

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flame no. you no do.

flames are not accepted, note, this was roughly done in about 10 minutes, and with a knowledge of Avatar only going as for as half of the 1st season, the rest stolen from spoilers.

Thanks for the read though. :)