Flow [Sokka - Book Two]

⚝Chapter Fourteen⚝

"Everything is . . . fuzzy," Toph said, grimacing. "I can see a little, but not much."

"That must suck." Konno grew quiet, watching as Professor Zei pulled a small shovel out of his satchel. "Have you been blind your whole life?"

"Yeah."

"I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't see," Konno said, shrugging. "I'm not an earthbender like you, so I wouldn't be able to see like you do."

"Sometimes, it's not that bad." Toph laughed, shaking her head. "Enough about my disability. What is the professor doing now?"

"He's trying to dig up the library."

"What?" Toph let out another laugh, saying, "Bring me closer to the spire. I want to see what I can see." Konno walked Toph forward, and let go of her when she placed her palm against the spire. "Actually, that won't be necessary to dig up the library. The inside seems to be completely intact, and it's huge."

"That fox thingy went in through a window," Sokka said, looking up at the top of the spire. "I say we climb up there and give it a look."

Toph crossed her arms over her chest, saying, "I say you guys go ahead without me."

"You got something against libraries?" Katara asked, nearly making Konno laugh. 

"I've held books before, and I gotta tell you, they don't exactly do it for me."

Katara nervous laughed, scratching the back of her head. "Oh, right. Sorry."

"I think I'll stay with Toph and Appa," Konno said, planting herself next to Toph. Konno wanted to take a look inside the library, but she didn't want to climb up the spire. "If you guys find anything that I might like, grab it to show me."

"And let me know if they have something you can listen to," Toph said. 

Sokka stepped in front of Konno, handing her his club. "Take this. If something happens while we're in there, use it."

"Thanks," Konno said, giving him a tiny smile. "Have fun in there!"

He smiled at her before throwing his boomerang through a window. A rope had been tied to it while him and her were talking, and she guessed Professor Zei did it. Sokka was the first one to begin climbing the rope. 

"Don't worry buddy," Aang was saying to Appa. "I'm not making you go underground ever again. You can stay out here with Toph and Konno."

Konno nodded to Aang before he climbed up the spire with help from airbending. When she looked back at Toph, Appa gave a soft grunt. "What's up?" Toph asked Appa. Appa obviously didn't answer Toph's question, so she turned to face Konno. "What's up with you? Why are with them?"

Konno shrugged but realized that Toph couldn't see her. "I actually didn't want to stay with them," she admitted. "I feel like I'm . . . I don't know, like, trespassing on their journey."

"When did you join their group?"

"Well, I had the chance when they came to the Northern Water Tribe," Konno said. "I didn't, though, because I had just lost my sister and best friend."

"How'd they die?"

Konno blinked. Her throat burned when she thought back to how they died. "My best friend got stabbed in the stomach. He bled out. My sister gave her life for the Moon."

"Oh. That's . . . I'm sorry."

Konno shook her head. "You don't have to be sorry. You didn't know."

Toph nodded awkwardly. It seemed like she wasn't really good with the whole emotions, just like Konno. Even if Konno didn't really like Toph as a person, she respected her. They were pretty similar in character, and she couldn't totally hate her.

They sat down on the sand together and stayed like that for a little bit. Toph didn't have anything else to say, and Konno didn't want to say anything at all. The thought of Navrek and Yue's deaths hit her hard, especially since she hadn't been thinking about them lately. 

"So, you like flyin'?" Toph asked Appa after a few minutes of silence. Appa responded by grumbling and scratching his ear. "Of course, I'm more comfortable on the ground, where I can see. Well, I don't see the way you do. I feel the vibration in the ground with my feet, but this sand is so loose and shifty, it makes everything look fuzzy." Appa yawned loudly, and Konno smiled. She didn't expect Toph to be talking to Appa at all, but there were a lot of things she didn't know about Toph. "Not that there's anything wrong with fuzzy."

The three of them fell into another awkward silence. Konno probably should've gone with Aang and Katara and Sokka, but she couldn't now. She picked up the club and looked at her reflection in the metal. Her face was distorted, but she could clearly see her blue eyes. They were dim, but she could see the tiniest light shining through the darkness. Her time with his group had given her hope, and she couldn't repay them for it.

Suddenly, Appa lifted his head and gave out a loud roar. The ground underneath Konno shifted and shuddered. A low rumble echoed through her ears. 

"I already told you, I don't want to snuggle," Toph said.

Konno glanced behind her at the spire, and her eyes went wide. It was slowly sinking through the sand! It was like her voice couldn't work, though, and she couldn't tell Toph what was happened. Fear had gripped her heart, sending the largest wave crashing through her organs. 

"The library's sinking," Toph said. This time, she shouted, "The library's sinking!"