Chapter Text
“We should visit the swamp where I had that vision of you!”
Toph chuckled, amused by his ever-present enthusiasm. “Why?”
“You’d love it there,” he replied. “It’s quiet and the place is so big and you just get lost in there.”
“You want us to get lost in a swamp?”
“No, we won’t get lost! We’ll always know our way there. It’s hard to explain, but you can see everything clearly there. You can always be found in the swamp.”
Toph considered the proposal, because it seemed like it would be a fun adventure for them. “Yeah, sure, Twinkles. Maybe we can visit during the fall?”
“Yes! That sounds amazing! Hopefully I don’t get too busy, but it’ll be great!”
“Who would’ve thought you’d be so excited to visit a swamp,” she laughed.
“You’ll understand when we go, but the swamp is a very special place, and not just because it was the first place I saw you.”
She wasn’t sure what he was talking about, but she was all for an adventure.
Maybe the trip wouldn’t be so bad as she originally thought.
……
The swampy air was muggy during this season, as always, but she got used to it after so many years of visiting the area, four years and counting.
She never meant to make it a yearly trip, but after the second visit, Toph felt so close to Aang that she just had to keep coming back. It was wishful thinking, but part of her hoped for a vision of the one she loved, the one she lost.
No luck so far.
Her feet sank into the soft earth, opening up her vision to the entire area. She could see all the trees, all the creatures scurrying through the forest, and all the neighboring towns were fuzzy, but still there.
Toph breathed in deeply, losing herself in the swamp once again.
It was nice, coming to the swamp. There weren’t any visitors, no nosy people that asked her how she was or where the next Avatar was. Toph found solitude for a season, a whole period of time dedicated to sitting still and listening to the earth.
And in a way, as the world moved on, Toph stayed in place, and she felt closer to Aang in those moments. It soothed her, comforted her.
The kids always wondered why she went alone, and there were times when they all tried to come with her, but she was adamant that they lived their lives, that they not worry about her. And while they never loved the response she gave them, they all respected her wishes.
For that, she was grateful.
When she reached her seasonal home, Toph sat crossed-legged on the ground, feeling the world around her constantly in motion as she sat perfectly still.
The hum of the earth drowned out her thoughts, and the world and her body fell into a rhythm with each breath she took.
Toph grew calmer as she breathed in and out, and in the back of her mind, she wondered if this was how Aang felt when he meditated. If so, then she thought that perhaps she should’ve listened to him and tried meditating with him once in a while.
Suddenly, the wind picked up speed, chilling the humid air around Toph. The change caused her to pull her focus toward the area around her. She searched for signs of an intruder or a critter scamper across the ground, but she discovered no such thing.
Odd, even by swamp standards. Toph certainly had her run-ins with obscure occurrences when she visited, but this… this was different.
Just as she was about to go back to her form of mediation, she heard a laugh. A laugh that she hadn’t heard in years, one that nearly stopped her heart.
Aang.
Tears pooled in the corners of her eyes when she heard his laugh. Because it was his laugh. And she didn’t realize how much she missed it until now.
She cried when she heard his voice.
“Hey, Toph.”
It was a quieter, wispy version of his voice, but Toph recognized his tone and accent immediately.
Spirits, she really missed him.
Toph let out a quiet sniffle, wiping her eyes as she whispered, “Twinkletoes? Is that really you?”
“In a way,” he replied. “It’s good to see you, Toph.”
“I miss you,” she whimpered, because she did. For so long she remained stoic and tough after Aang’s death, but it didn’t make it easier. She still missed her Twinkletoes.
“I miss you too,” he whispered back. “How are you doing otherwise?”
She hung her head low. “Okay, I guess. The kids are good. Keeping busy.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“All our friends are getting old, too,” she commented. “They—well some even—”
“I know.”
“I’m just—” Toph bit her lip, hesitant to confess something she kept hidden deep in her heart, but this was Aang. “I’m just ready to go,” she admitted. “I’ve lived my life, the kids are older. I’m just ready for whatever’s next.”
“Whatever’s next, you say?” His tone was… teasing, prompting her to prod a sleeping platypus bear of sorts.
Even as a spirit or a figment of her imagination, Twinkletoes still tried to tease her.
Toph scowled. “What are you getting at, Twinkletoes?”
“What if I told you I have a request of sorts?”
“Sounds like fun times,” she muttered sarcastically.
“It might be!” Aang replied enthusiastically. “Well, depending on your thoughts on the matter.”
“You’re beating around the bush, Aang.”
“Right.”
Toph waited patiently, searching for where he “stood.” She wanted to get closer to him, to hear him as clearly as she could.
But then he spoke again. “So the new Avatar. She’s a little girl from the Southern Water Tribe.”
“Okay…”
“And, I need you to train her, be her guide until she’s ready.”
She had to clear her ears out, because she wasn’t sure she heard him correctly. “I’m sorry, did you say be her guide until she’s of age??”
“Yes.”
“Aang, you realize that could be another 15 years on earth, and I’m old as dirt,” she argued with the air.
“C’mon, Toph, I know you say you never cared for the spirit mumbo jumbo, but I know you.
“You know how to extend your life.”
The earthbender bit her lip. Of course she learned the technique after so many years of perfecting her craft, especially since it was such a challenge for her. But that didn’t mean she intended on using the skill.
After all, what was the point? If all her friends were already gone, there wasn’t much she was looking forward to about the future.
Despite her reservations, Aang always had a way of making her listen. “And if I do?”
“I just… I want you to be there for the Avatar as long as you can. The road ahead will be fun, but challenging, and she needs the support from a friendship, or a love, from her past life.
“Lucky for her, you’re both.”
“Aang this is insane,” she replied. “How—I don’t know if I even can extend my life—”
“Oh, c’mon, you’re the Greatest Earthbender in the World!”
“Okay, but I still don’t understand why this is so important,” she argued. “It’s not like I’m the only person that can teach the kid earthbending or about Avatar duties. Our kids could probably do a better job!”
She heard Aang let out a quiet, somber sigh at the mention of their kids.
Spirits, he must’ve missed them so much.
Aang cleared his throat, then replied, “I’m so sorry, Toph. There’s so much I want to say to you, so much I want to talk to you about, but I don’t have much time.”
The breath caught in her throat when he said that. Toph would lose him again. This wasn’t permanent.
“You don’t need to help the Avatar, but I think that she’ll be a better bridge between worlds, a better leader, a better mediator, if you help her for as long as you can.
“It would be good for the both of you if you met her and trained her. I can’t see the future, but I know that hers will be brighter and better if she knows you on a personal level. My life certainly was.”
His voice was fading, and she hated the fact that he was drifting away again. Because there was so much she wanted to talk to him about. So much that was left unsaid between them even after more than sixty years of knowing each other.
But she didn’t get any more years to talk with Aang.
Or… did she?
The wind picked up like it did before Aang arrived, and Toph knew that their time was up.
“What if I don’t like helping out the kid?” she blurted out before his spirit disappeared, hoping to hear his voice one more time.
Aang scoffed at her. “C’mon, Toph. Traveling the world? Helping the Avatar understand their duty? Kick them around a bit? It’s not like you haven’t done it before. It wouldn’t be so bad!”
She heard Aang give a light, fading chuckle as his spiritual form fluttered further and further from her. When his presence was finally gone, Toph wiped the residual tears from her eyes and considered Aang’s parting words. The task seemed simple enough, but it felt more meaningful. She thought she craved for the world to be still since Aang died, but really, she was searching for her next big adventure. One that was just as impactful as the one she shared with Aang.
And in a way, this new adventure was still with Aang. Just… a different version of him. And Toph would get to help the new Avatar and guide her through her journey. Like she did all those years ago, she’d find freedom and solace in helping the Avatar.
And for the first time in what felt like an eternity, Toph genuinely smiled.