Toph waited, listening. It was harder for her to picture the world as people described theirs, but she could imagine the solid ground, thundering with the footsteps and hoof troddings of the life around her. She could imagine the smell and the heat of so many people in such a small space, and could think of all the various smells that came with people and their businesses and their animals, and more recently, their simple machines.

She decided she wouldn't want to live there.

"Sounds crowded."

Once again, she monitored the heat of the water by holding her hand over the pot, switching it from her palm to the back of her hand every so often.