Tokka: Sword in the Forest, Chapter 1

No Means Yes

"No." The response was short and blunt, unsurprising for the mouth which had spat it out. Toph Beifong had been anticipating this conversation for weeks now. Not long ago she had received a letter from her best friend, Sokka, which had detailed his plan for a "vacation". It had been several years since the Great War had ended. Although everyone had set out to solve the aftermath of problems in their own ways, the gang had found themselves back at each others' side often as conflicts arose.

"What!? How can you say that? After all the traveling I've done to get here… You know getting around isn't half as easy when you don't have a giant flying pillow to carry you everywhere!" Sokka reasoned as they both walked to Toph's residence from her metalbending academy. To Sokka's puzzlement Toph had chosen to take a rather long and scenic route, apparently to get away from all the villagers and students who would follow the two heroes. She had even summoned a rather large stone wall to discourage local onlookers from pursuit.

"I figure you still have it easier than most in one of those flying machines." Toph responded curtly. A bit of shock came over Sokka's face.

"How did you- Ooow!" Sokka yelped as Toph punched him in the arm.

"Those still aren't a common sight you know, especially when a certain war hero pilots one and makes a flashy entrance in town." Toph interjected.

"I was informed by a student who happened to beat your parade here."

The Water tribesman looked down with a bit of embarrassment at missing the obvious before propping his head back up for another round of verbal sparring.

"Alright you got me there, but that still doesn't explain why you're suddenly against the trip."

Toph smirked and responded, "Suddenly? I don't remember ever saying yes."

Sokka furrowed his brow, "Well you never said no either!"

Stroking his chin and closing his eyes he continued in a sagely tone. "It's why I even ordered Hawky to stay with you so I could have your response faster. In fact I was quite worried something had happened to you when I didn't receive a response." Looking at her with one inquisitive eye he pressed on.  "You've never been against traveling before, why now are you against this vacation?"

"That's another thing," Toph asserted while waving a finger as-a-matter-of-factly. "How exactly is going on a wild lion-goose chase to find your special little boy sword a "vacation"?"

"Hey, for one it's not "my special little boy sword"," Sokka responded defensively. "If you'll remember that sword was made from a metal that fell from space! One that landed not far from us and conveniently around the time I received training from the greatest swordsman on the planet! The sword is far from some nostalgic toy and more along the lines of an artifact of destiny central to my, nay, team Avatar's legacy! It would be a shame to let it be forgotten, the only trace of it being my testimony and that chunk I gave to you. If you still have it, that is."

"My bracelet..." Toph monologue to herself.

"What?" Sokka asked.

"Um, yea! I usually keep it in the form of bracelet. I'm sure it's around somewhere…"

She still remembered when Sokka had given the hunk of meteor to her after forging his sword. It went without saying that it was the most interesting material she had ever encountered. It was something she could always keep with her, and in its infinite malleability was something that had proven its usefulness over the years. It was something she could fiddle with when she was bored and something she could touch to remind her of the good times, or at least the interesting times.  A gift from a friend, a good friend, the best friend; a friend she loved more than most, more than anybody.

With minute effort she made her bracelet slither from its hiding place near the top of her left arm into her hand. She clutched it and began to blush.

Within a fraction of a second she snapped herself out of such reminisce. Embarrassed, she quickly returned the metal to its former shape and position and picked up her pace to make sure Sokka couldn't see her red cheeks. Sokka wasn't finished, however.

"Besides, I would think a rough and dirty adventure is more along the lines of a vacation you would enjoy, at least in comparison to simply being pampered in a spa or listening to some opera."

"Well that's awfully presumptuous of you Snoozles," She chided playfully. "Especially when the alternative is for me to act as some human divining rod in a place that could take a lifetime to search."

"Ah ha! I know from experience that you can detect metals from quite a distance. Like when you found the Fire Lord's underground bunker. And for your information we're hardly going into this search blind, no offensive of course."

Striding up to Toph he continued in a voice of hopeful enthusiasm. "Scouring the reports from all the Fire Nation airships and their crew members I've been able to narrow down what sections of the Wulong Forest are most likely to contain the sword."

Toph smirked and replied, "Most likely being key words. I think this is still a rather selfish "vacation". I have responsibilities here you know. As master I can't just leave my metalbending academy whenever adventure calls. And where is Aang and Katara, or Suki for that matter?"

"Hey! The reports are conflicting and I was kind of focused on saving your life at the moment I lost it, thank you very much! As for the others, well Aang is the Avatar and so is busy with important business, really important business as a matter of fact. I was actually hoping to talk to you about it on the trip. It goes without saying that Katara is with him. As for Suki…"

Sokka began to tilt his head and his face changed to an expression of contemplative stress. Even though she could not see his face, by his hesitation and the change in his heart rate, Toph could tell this was a topic of pain for him.

"The Kyoshi warriors are still guards to Zuko after that assassination attempt, so she is still probably following him around from the Fire Nation. I haven't seen or heard from her in quite awhile. All the messages I send go unanswered. Maybe she is sworn to secrecy or something but it makes me wonder if we're…"

There was an awkward silence between the two. Toph didn't know how to respond. Hearing how melancholy Sokka was over this ensnared her empathy. Yet there was another feeling, one of excitement over the potential opening in Sokka's heart for her. Yet again there was a feeling of guilt for wanting to steal him away from a person that also loved him.

Well, perhaps in the same way, but not nearly as much as she should, or else she would be with him now and not in the Fire Nation.

At least that's what Toph told herself. They were both thankful that they now neared Toph's dwelling. A few people we're waiting outside, some from town and some from Toph's metalbending academy.

"Ah! There he is!" Sokka perked up and ran ahead to idling crowd.

He relinquished one of the townsfolk of a cage containing a rather large, furry, frog that possessed two horns, a tail, and what appeared to be a bloated vocal sack.

"What is that suppose to be?" Toph inquired in a somewhat irritated tone.

"It's a bull-frog!" responded Sokka with enthusiasm. Toph didn't appear very amused but he continued.

"I told you I've been preparing for this trip and I am absolutely positive it won't be a waste of your time! For example, this little guy is from the trip I've already made into the forest so we'll know exactly what we're dealing with."

"Alright Snoozles, that makes sense, but why exactly is it here?"

"Well…um, I thought you would like him you know…as a pet."

Sokka scratched the back of his neck while his eyes wandered to escape the psychic glare he knew Toph was giving him.

"And why exactly would you think that Sokka?"

"Er, well because you two are so much alike. You're both rough and tough and like…mud and…"

"And what?" Toph prodded in a conversation that had now become an interrogation.

"Well, heh, you see he also possess an ability I thought you might find…endearing."

"and what exactly would that be?" Toph pressed. Though blind she knelt down to where Sokka was holding the animal. At eye level with the amphibian she inquired.

"Tell me froggy, what is so endearing about you?"

With that the frog expanded its bloated sack as if to croak. Instead of releasing a call, it launched of ball of slim and mud that broke itself against the cage and Tophs face. She was, however, unshaken. With a swift motion of her hand she bent all the mud from her herself and slung it to the ground before standing up.

"I like 'em," She stated.

Sokka's face beamed with excitement.  "Does that mean you'll come along? I just can't do this without you! Seriously, it would be nearly impossible do this without your metal finding powers so…"

"I said I liked the frog, I'm still not convinced about this trip."

"Oh come on, Toph! What do I have to do?"

Toph grinned; looking away she tapped a finger against her lips in mischievous thought.
"You could say please while on your knees."

Within a moment Sokka was on his knees. "Please? Please? Please? Please? Pleeease?"

"Well…ok!"

"Wah..really?"

"Ya, really. Just let me pack my things and inform my students."

With that Toph pushed the door to her home open to reveal a pile of luggage at the door. In moments her students had the bags in hand and were carrying them to town and to the airship. Sokka's jaw had dropped and his arms hung lazily as he stared, hunchbacked, at the scene.

"You…"

Toph leaned on the doorway with one hand and smiled coyly. "What's that old saying? Girls got to play hard to get? Though now I need to find someone to take care of that frog…"

They were off by nightfall.