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"You know Zuko spent about an hour just putting your hair in it's usual bun, right?"
Toph only shrugged, not even lifting herself from her sprawled and flat position on the grass.
"He can braid it again later. And you scream like a girl more than Twinkletoes. And that's saying a lot."
Sokka dropped himself next to her and rested his arm on his raised knee.
She didn't even turn to his direction, just kept staring up at a sky she'll never get to view.
His head followed up where she had her sightless eyes at.
At the glistening stars that were able to be seen through the dense trees obscuring most of the sky from their view.
"Give me a pass, alright?" He grumbled.
"That was a snake. You'll never know it might be venomous."
The earthbender next to him didn't answer, only kept playing at her long hair that Zuko had carefully brushed hours ago.
They stayed that way for a while.
Quiet, and letting the wind brushing through leaves and grass, as well as their own breathing fill the silence instead.
"You know what's funny about snakes?"
Sokka looked over from polishing his boomerang to her, curious about her sudden question.
"That they're slippery and scary and dance weird?"
"You dance weird."
She blinked once and rest her arms on the forest floor.
Allowing her hands to roam on the grass, Sokka watched as her fingers run through the soft grass blades.
"What's funny about snakes?"
"It's that they just want to mind their own business, but everyone is instantly judging them. They could be helpless and blind, but people still won't touch them."
She took off her meteorite bracelet and began to bend it into different shapes in fluid motions.
He frowned slightly, watching as she turned the meteorite into a shape that vaguely resembled a star.
He didn't have to look deep to know she was talking about herself.
"Snakes also bite people?"
He tucked his boomerang into his pack and leaned back on his elbows.
Toph snorted.
"And people bite other people, but I don't hear you screaming and running away."
Sokka rolled his eyes.
"It looked deadly and ready to pounce, excuse me for vocalizing my panic."
She flicked a small stone away, and Sokka followed it as it skipped off.
"At least you voiced it out."
Her voice sounded neither teasing nor angry.
It sounded deflated. Tired. Guilty.
"Hey," He shifted a little closer.
He felt her tense at the movement, but didn't call him out for it, so he took it as go sign.
"No one is angry at you for blanking out earlier. You know that?"
She closed her eyes.
"I couldn't feel anything."
She admitted quietly.
"The ground was still..... the ground. But something was blocking my senses.
You know, the way a big wall is blocking your path and you can jump over it because it's too tall and its too deep to dig under it?"
He nodded, letting her continue.
"I couldn't find the nearest exit,"
Her tone now took on a more obvious shift.
"I just.... froze. Which isn't like me."
"Yeah, you are more of a loud person."
He quipped.
"If Aang hadn't been quick and broke us out, we'd be dead by now."
She wasn't crying, but Sokka heard a slight tremble as she spoke and her breathing a bit faster.
And that the ground is definitely shaking too.
Though Not bad enough to be a problem.
"I mean, we're always on that part where we all nearly die."
Sokka reached up to scratch the back of his neck.
"But that whole thing with the tunnel earlier? Kinda reminds me of our whole trip back in Omashu. In that Two Lovers cave."
"Our?"
"Before you joined," He started.
"We went to Omashu. But to get there, we had no choice but to go through this tunnel, which happened to be a whole maze that changes."
"Earthbending?" She inclined.
She had stopped playing with her bracelet by this time, and had returned it to it's usual shape and back to resting around her bicep.
Sokka nodded.
"It turns out, Badgermoles were constantly changing the layout. You get lost in them pretty easily. I should know."
"How'd you get out, then? None of you guys would have been able to do earthbending."
He only scrunched his nose.
"I had a faceoff with a Badgermole with music nomads for company. According to Katara, the only way out is if you 'Trust in love'."
He made air quotes at the last three words.
Toph didn't see it, obviously, but she picked up on his exasperated tone and her mouth twitched at the corners.
"It took guts, but I think they kissed and they found the way out."
Sokka visibly shuddered at the mental image.
It was already horrible that he has to witness --- and third wheel on --- his own little sister and his friend lip-locking every few hours.
He can't think about it without feeling woozy. And that's without cactus juice.
Toph had an eyebrow raised.
"Your point in telling this cheesy love story of Sugar Queen and Twinkletoes?"
"My point is," He propped himself up more on his arms.
"Is that it was really unconventional.
And gross. But it was how they got out."
Toph stared at him.
Metaphorically speaking, since she can't see.
"Snoozles, did they have a torch with them?"
"Well, yeah. Kinda needed one, since the tunnels were dark."
"I'm pretty sure Katara told me this before, about reaching two sarcophagi with the words 'most bright in the dark' or something."
Sokka looked at the grass.
".....yeah, she told me that too."
Then it sank in.
"Oh."
An amused huff came from Toph.
Not quite a full laugh yet, but close.