Audrey (Legend Of Korra Fanfic) [TEMPORARILY ON HOLD]

Book 2: Chapter 3: Toph

"THE SWAMP?" Audrey shrieked, her voice reaching an unnaturally high pitch."What is grandma Toph doing in the Swamp?" Audrey exclaimed lowering her voice

"Addie if I knew, I'd tell you, I really would." Tenzin sighed, rubbing his head.

"Can you tell me where in the Swamp?" Audrey asked, picking up a pen from her Aunt's neat desk. Tenzin could hear the shuffling of paper on the otherside of the line as Audrey pulled a sheet out from a pile on the edge of the large desk.

"No need for the paper Addie, he quickly advised, hearing a sudden stop in movement," Your grandmother is an extremely talented woman, she will come to you as soon as you set foot in there." Tenzin responded to the silence.

"Right." Audrey mumbled, "Wish me luck then!" She blurted, before saying a quick thanks and putting down the phone.

Her Aunt, who had left the room a while before, returned after hearing her niece say her goodbyes.

"And?" She raised her eyebrows, as her niece stood up from the desk chair.

"I know where she is." Audrey responded.

"When would you like to leave?" Her Aunt continued.

"I do suppose sooner is better..." She trailed off, seeing the sad expression on her Aunt's face.

"We'll I suppose your time in Zaofu has come to an end. " She shrugged.

"Thank you so much for having me." Audrey gleamed back.

"Your grandmother will teach you well." Suyin smiled, putting her hand on Audrey's shoulder.

~•~

Audrey looked down hearing the sloshing of mud squish below her feet. She grimaced at the sight, not enjoying the idea of cleaning the mud off later. She left Zaofu in the early hours of the morning, travelling by foot to where she was told the Swamp would be. The trees were extremely tall and casted a strange darkness over the ground giving the wetland an eerie feeling. As soon as she passed the first line of trees a tickling sensation filled her body, starting from the back of her neck to the tip of her toes. 'This place is spiritually charged' she whispered, walking deeper into the dark depths of the Swamp.
There was a faint croaking noise from the many animals that dwelled within the Swamp, what she did fear was the fact she could not see them.

She had felt as if she'd been walking in circles, the Swamp felt endless and everything began to look the same. After a while Audrey realised that she was completely lost.

She found a particular dry spot and sat down. Trying to figure out what she should do next. She didn't know the way out of the Swamp and the sun was setting quickly. She had been in this wetland for hours and had no luck in finding her grandmother. She could feel a scream of frustration moving up her body, but pushed it down. The last thing she wanted was for something to find her...

"Something to find me." Audrey mumbled. A sudden memory found her, "You're grandmother is an extremely talented woman, she will come to you as soon as you set foot in there." The memory of Master Tenzin's advice reminded her.
"But it's been hours." Audrey frowned.

"You move around too much." A voice muttered behind her.

Audrey stood up quickly, turning around. There stood her grandmother, hair loose, bare foot and an unimpressed look on her face.

Audrey's jaw dropped as the elderly woman punched her. "How you doin' kid?" She asked.

"Fine..." Audrey responded still shocked at her grandmother's sudden appearance.

"Follow me." Toph responded turning around and walked in the opposite direction that Audrey was initially travelling. Audrey took at the scene around her, following her grandmother at a safe distance. There were multiple pools of water that almost covered all of the ground beneath her, these pools varied in colour some greener than others and some browner...
There were times Audrey was almost convinced that she had seen something swimming within one, something large and dark. She gulped with fear.

Not long later her grandmother stopped shortly.
" welcome to my humble abode." She sighed turning to Audrey and gesturing behind her.

Audrey looked passed her and saw what appeared to be a giant cave surrounded by tall trees with vines slithering down the trunks. Some of these trees grew within the walls of the cave, showing her that her grandmother had made the cave herself.

Toph walked straight into the cave, Audrey followed, still cautious of her surroundings. The inside revealed a few shelves with  basic cutlery on top. Ranging from jars to bowls, her grandmother seemed to have made a simplistic life on her own.

"It's lovely grandma Toph." Audrey smiled, her way of living- not the cave. She was certain her grandmother didn't catch the ambiguity of her response.

"Let's eat! I'm starving." Toph replied, walking towards a pot in the middle of the room. It was suspended over a fire and filled with a sort of stew. Audrey suddenly felt worried,"How do you see what you're cooking?" She blurted before stopping herself.

"Are you questioning my survival skills kid?" Toph responded, stirring the pot.

Audrey remained silent for a while. "Just looking out for you, grandma Toph." She whispered.

The stew wasn't half bad, considering Toph's surroundings and her resources, it was great.
When they had finished, darkness had fallen and the fireflies began to light the sky. The only source of light in the cave was the dimming fire.

"Let's go kid." Toph jumped up from her seat and walked to the entrance of the cave. Audrey followed quickly after until they'd gotten to a clearing that was not too far away from the cave.

"Right. Show me what you can do." Toph demanded.

"But I can't see- oh." Audrey cut herself off, realising that her grandmother cannot see whether  it is night or day.

"That's my point kid. Do something." Toph responded.

Her gentle grandmother had now turned into something else. Toph seemed to be reliving her days in Republic City, training benders and fighting crime.

Audrey stamped the ground with her foot and a rock shot up next to her.

"Wrong!" Toph screamed causing Audrey to drop the rock.

"What kinda stance is that? Is this the best Suyin could do?!" At this point Toph only yelled at her. It was late at night and Audrey could hardly see her short grandmother, all she heard were her screams of disapproval.
Audrey sighed, it was going to be a long few months...

"WHY ARE YOU SIGHING? ARE YOU TIRED???" Toph screamed

-------------------------------------
So should I carry on with these Author's notes at the end of every chapter? I'm not sure if it becomes irritating for a reader to be reading a book and have Author's notes popping up at the end of each chapter😅.