The Avatar and the Fire Prince

Book 3: Earth, Chapter 7: The Bitter Chase, Part 1

"Gooood morning, earthbending student!"

The abrupt sound of Toph's voice in his ears caused Aang to jump out of his sleeping bag and shoot up several feet into the air.

"Are you ready to start your first day of training?" Toph asked as he floated back to the ground.

He yawned groggily, blinking his dry, tired eyes as he saw that the sun had only just risen.

They had spent the majority of the previous night flying, primarily at Zuko's behest. Both he and Toph had been eager to get as far away from Gaoling as possible, and Aang didn't blame them.

He wasn't oblivious. He knew that Toph likely hadn't been telling the truth when she'd claimed that her father had changed his mind. But what Zuko had said last night... It simply didn't feel right to force her return to the Beifong Estate, where she would be kept under lock and key for the rest of her life.

Despite this, he still couldn't help but feel somewhat guilty. If his hunch was correct, and Toph had run away without her father's permission... Wouldn't that make him a kidnapper?

"Hello?" Toph questioned with a frown, hands on her hips. "Anybody home, Twinkle Toes?"

Aang blinked his eyes several times before quickly straightening his posture. There was no use worrying about any of that now. The important thing was he'd finally found his earthbending teacher. This was what he'd been waiting for. He should be excited. He was excited.

But he was also still feeling the aftereffects of not having gotten a full night's sleep...

"Yes, of course, Sifu Toph," he replied with a curt nod, shaking his head again to try and wake himself up. He needed to take this seriously.

"Hey," Katara mumbled, rubbing her eyes as she sat up in her sleeping bag. "You never call me Sifu Katara..."

"Would you guys mind keeping it down over there?" an annoyed Sokka shouted from his sleeping bag on the other side of the campsite. "I would like to catch up on some sleep."

"You're not the only one," Aang couldn't help but grumble out of the corner of his mouth.

"What was that, Twinkle Toes?" Toph asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing," Aang replied nervously.

"Good," Toph replied with a satisfied smile. "Well then, let's get started. First-"

"Toph... Do you really think right now is the best time for you two to start training?"

Aang looked up to see Zuko sitting up in his own sleeping bag. The Fire Prince's hair was messy, there were visible bags under his eyes, and his expression appeared rather crabby.

"Of course it is, Grumps," Toph replied simply. "Why wouldn't it be?"

"Oh, I dunno," Zuko said sarcastically. "Maybe because we just had a very late night of flying, and the sun has barely risen?"

"I think what Zuko's trying to say," Katara interjected. "Is that I know you're both eager to start training, but I'm sure it won't hurt to rest for just a bit longer."

Toph frowned. "You guys wanted me to teach the Avatar earthbending, so I'm teaching him. Now you suddenly don't want me to?"

"Nobody's saying that," Zuko sighed, pinching his nose bridge. "I just think that it wouldn't kill you guys to wait a bit before jumping right into training."

Katara nodded in agreement. "Toph, I know this is your first time away from home," she said sympathetically. "It can be difficult to adjust to at first, and it's okay to take some time to-"