“No way! Never!”

“Come…on-Toph! This is… ridiculous!”

The villagers of Senlin, a normally peaceful, rather sleepy town, looked incredulously at the sight before them.

A tan girl, obviously Water Tribe, panted as she dragged a smaller girl throughout the town. The much shorter girl yelled and fought, writhing in the older girls’ grasp. She clawed at the ground, leaving deep depressions only an Earthbender could manage.

The Waterbender continued to drag the blind girl through the streets,  ignoring her curses.
The normally bustling crowd parted for the pair, creating a clear pathway to their destination.

“Why?! What I have on now is fine!”

“No it isn’t! They’re dirty rags! You need new clothes!”

The villagers retreated off the streets, enjoying the show. They were amusing, this pair, and events like this one happened often, whenever their group sought refuge here.

“Toph, it’s either shop or go naked! Your choice!”

Katara smiled smugly, taking Toph’s silence as defeat. But the blind Earthbender was seriously contemplating the choices she had been given.
Finally, the girl sighed.

Shopping it was.

And so she trudged beside the victorious healer, mentally preparing herself for what lay ahead.
Katara noticed Toph’s less-than-ecstatic attitude, and quickly tried to lighten her spirits.

“Come on, Toph! This is going to be fun! We’ll find you some new, clean clothes, and we’ll have some quality girl time!”

The Earthbender turned her head to hide her grimace. While Katara was her friend, and took care of her and the group quite often, there was only so much “girl time” she could handle. The spa in Ba Sing Se had pretty much filled her “girl time” quota for the year.

Toph’s thoughts were interrupted when Katara voiced a shrill squeal.

Right near her incredibly sensitive ears.

“Oh, this store looks perfect, Toph! I see some great stuff!”

With a quiet groan, Toph allowed herself to be dragged inside the store.

The wooden store.

How perfect.

“…Katara? This store’s wooden. I can’t see.”

The Water Tribe girl looked up from a nearby dress rack, spotting Toph still standing just inside the door.

“Oh…well, I guess I’ll just have to lead you around. No big deal.”

Very big deal. Being lead around like an errant toddler was high on her list of dislikes.
Before she could reply, Katara had snatched her wrist and led her towards what she assumed was a clothing rack. She heard Katara shuffling the clothes, inspecting each garment.

She grabbed several and shoved them in Toph’s arms.

“Here. Try these on.”

Katara pushed her into the dressing room, then went to search for her own attire.

“Don’t even see why  I have to do this.” Toph grumbled, yanking a garment over her head. “My clothes are fine…some holes maybe, some burns and dirt, but what do I care?”

She finally succeeded in wrestling the article of clothing over her body. It was long and silky, reaching down to her feet.

It was a dress.

“Katara!”

She got received no answer. Irritated, Toph felt her way out of the dressing room, listening for Katara.

“Katara?”

She walked uncertainly to one end of the shop, disliking the feel of silk against skin. ( So smooth it was almost…slimy. Too smooth, too silky)

Toph managed to get to the other edge of the shop when she was grabbed from behind, pulled out of the nearby door.

“Wha-ugh!”

Her captor had pulled her from the wooden shop and was now carrying her, slung across his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. She noticed, through her initial surprise, that he was having trouble keeping her there. She often slid this way and that due to the slippery dress.

Truly blind, Toph kicked at her kidnapper, pounding his back with her fists.

“Hey! Toph-ow!”

With a jolt, the Earthbender recognized her kidnapper’s heartbeat and voice.

“Sokka?”

With a smile unseen to her, Sokka set the blind girl down, onto the safety of her native element.

“You took me? Why?”

Sokka grinned broadly. “I have rescued thee, fair maiden, from the wrath of the Great and Powerful Katara!” He brandished an imaginary sword, widening his stance to mimic a heroic pose.

Toph cocked one eyebrow. “You rescued me from…shopping.”

“Yup.”

There was a long, awkward pause. Sokka shifted uncomfortably, not recognizing the look on the Earthbender’s face.

Toph beamed, her smirk still staying intact.
“Thank the Spirits! I though I was gonna die there!!”

Sokka chuckled. “You probably would have. Katara has a shopping obsession.”

She smirked at him. “You seem to have a bit of a shopping fetish yourself, Meathead.”
Sokka drew himself up to his full height. “Me? What are you talking about?”
Toph punched him in the shoulder. “You’ve never noticed? I mean-

Toph’s next comment was interrupted by shouts and scuffling. Sokka looked over to see guards pour into the shop he had “rescued” Toph from. Katara stood at the doorway, looking torn between anxious and irritated.

He turned to Toph, who leaned casually on a cart, still clad in a silken dress.

“Toph? “

“Yeah?”

“We should probably go pay for the dress.”