As always, Suki was in awe of Toph’s nonchalant attitude. Sure, looks were deceiving, but body language wasn’t. From the very first time she’d laid eyes on the younger girl, Suki knew she was a force to be reckoned with. Her stance oozed of power and control; anyone who was too foolish to recognize that would have to pay the piper.
“I heard a sudden rumble and had a hunch.” Suki began to explain with a chuckle. “Turns out I was right in thinking that you were involved.” An untroubled sigh escaped her lips as she turned to look at the man who’d faced the younger’s wrath, shaking her head.
“Should I even ask?”
“Well, some stupid old man,“ she snarled, twisting her head to the now cursing man who had tried to insult her. “Decided to mess with me. It is true that I kind of messed with him first, bumping into him as if I couldn’t see him, but today’s a bit boring, isn’t it?“ Toph turned to Suki, closing the distance between them.
Sometimes, Toph wondered why people subjected themselves to discipline indoctrinated by other masters. Twinkle Toes had his nomads, monks and meditating shenanigans, The Kyoshi Warriors had, well, Avatar Kyoshi. She never quite understood why people didn’t try to instill their own style when it came down to bending and fighting, Toph was the living example of this line of thought. However, there was something else with Suki, different than the other warriors and chi blockers Toph had met. Was it her love or drive, the blind girl couldn’t quite figure out.
“And what is binging a Kyoshi Warrior to these parts of town? Did Sparky send you on a mission to chase rebels or something? Ever since the protests, you and your girls sure do lurk the streets more often than not. Which reminds me, have you even seen Zuko ever since before his coronation? I’d imagine he’s going through a lot right now.“
This was Aang’s first free day since he’d defeated Ozai. Nothing had stopped since then – he hadn’t had a break. But today, the day after Zuko’s big meeting, nobody needed him. Nobody had called him to another council meeting, or asked for his help, or… anything. So, Aang decided to take the chance to slip out of the Palace before someone caught him and asked him to do Avatar stuff, and went for a glide over Caldera City. He hadn’t seen it properly, from up in the sky, and it really was beautiful. All the bustling people, going about their day, selling things, making their way home. Life was going on as normal for the people not involved in the protests and political struggles. Aang smiled to himself.
And then he saw a man trip over and land, face first, on the ground. Not so interesting. But then he saw Toph standing a few feet behind him, unmistakable, even from above. Aang sailed down and landed silently behind his friend, spinning his glider shut and giving her a slightly teacher-y look he’d learned from Gyatso and Katara. He was going to tell her she shouldn’t use her bending that way, to trip people – as someone close to him and Zuko, her actions might reflect back on them – but he hadn’t heard what happened, and she probably had a pretty good reason, right? At least, he wanted to believe she did, because she suggested doing fun things, and he immediately dropped his desire to do the ‘Avatar thing’ and tell her not to misuse her bending. It was Toph. He wasn’t exactly surprised.
“Hey Toph,” he said, warmly, deciding not to mention what he’d seen from his vantage point in the sky. “I hope I’m not gonna bore you.” He smiled excitedly at her idea, and nodded. “Yeah! We could have a soak. I dunno about throwing pebbles at squirrels, though.” He wrinkled his nose. That was way too violent to be fun. But he wanted to do something that wasn’t political and serious, for once. He knew he could count on Toph to have fun.
“Hi, Twinkle Toes! I thought you were meditating or something.“ Toph greeted him, furrowing her brows. “Listen, you will always find a way to bore me no matter what. We’ve been friends for long enough, I know you inside and out, my pupil.“ She punched his arm every so graciously ( but not weakly ) as a sign of affection. Each time the girl remembered how much their little team went through to stop this war, made her pause for a minute and actually consider spiritual help of some kind. Anyone could’ve perished but they were all alive right now, and small moments like these she learned to cherish during her trips with Aang.
“Oh come on, big wise Avatar. I’m not taking you for a mud dip. Now that the war is over it’s time for you to replenish your training with master Toph Beifong!“ The corners of her eyes turned in a devilish way, her face directed towards the boy. “Listen. I know how all those things with the protests, riots and forum meetings must’ve been for you. I’d understand if you had some pent up anger to get out. I know the monks taught you to meditate and do boring things like breathing, imagining auras like clouds, yada yada, but think what hurling large boulders of earth and metal could do to make you feel better!“ She paused, recollecting herself.
“Plus, doesn’t the all-powerful Avatar wants to learn how to metalbend?“
He was jumping to conclusions now? Hahn scoffed. “If you want to call people out on their flaws,” he turned his back to the wall she had just erected, eyes now on her, “best make sure you aren’t being a hypocrite.” He had intended to ignore her jabs, even if they had hurt, but she was doing a darn good job getting on his nerves. He let his eyes drift skywards as he focused on his breathing; he had already let his emotions take over him and that was his first mistake. He had to be in control.
He watched the whites meet blues, tracing whorls of drifting clouds as he felt the tension in his body release. This girl–his eyes flicked to her– felt like a splinter, and it had only been a minute of meeting her. He had probably been too quick to throw his emotions into the mix of his reaction, and now he was paying for it. Old habits die hard, he supposed, and his old habits might just be the thing to put him in his grave. It didn’t mean he wouldn’t stop trying to kick them, though. Consider it a metamorphosis– slow, but possible in the natural order of things.
“I don’t owe you an explanation,” he said quietly, regret from before already settling in the calcium of his bones. Extricating himself from the situation at hand wouldn’t be a walk in the park. “But spoiler alert: it’s boring,” he added, last word punctuated with a finality that he might have used back when he was in the army. He didn’t need to deal with this when he had better things to do. If she was any bit self-aware, she’d know when to surrender. She may have been part of the Aang’s stupid squad, but he wasn’t a sergeant for nothing. He knew his way with fists.
“Nice jab. Didn’t work, cause I’m not a hypocrite. I stand by my words and hardly contradict myself.“ Toph raised one brow, though much more than often she more forceful ways to be expressive. Her facial features were easily disregarded by simple people who saw her for her blind eyes. This man was no exception, his previously thrown pebble at her clearly showing how much he was worth her attention. Yet, this was the most interesting thing that had happened to her for the day. She wondered if this little confrontation would turn into a full-blown deathmatch with words. Katara was usually much better with words, but Toph knew how to throw sarcastic little vipers at people.
Toph waved her hand, disregarding his attempt of a joke. “Clearly you’re not funny as well.“ she paused, smirking. “But you’re right. You don’t owe me anything. That’s the best way to escape responsibility and hide your thoughts for whatever reason. At least speak them out bravely instead of hiding behind honor, a well-poised stoic, and a condescending look.” Yeah, Toph could see his expression through her Seismic Sense and she was going to tell if he lied about anything that would follow. “At least tell me which Nation you hail from so I can adjust my jabs accordingly. You sound like a spoiled Fire Nation Royalty kid at first sense.“
smellerbee couldn’t sleep, even if she wanted to sleep, she couldn’t. the rest of the freedom fighters were staying in harbor city, but she couldn’t go there yet, not when she wanted to know where people were going, when they were going to sleep, which rooms they slept in, which rooms their kids slept in. teo’s list had given her a lot to think about. so much of war was just war to her. the burning, the poisoned water, some of it felt like just what happened. but the idea that she was really, really looking at the men who decided towns she knew and people she loved had to burn just reminded her that she wasn’t just here for zuko. she had the council too, the people who deserved to pay.
she wasn’t really watching, used to moving silent and quick, so she didn’t expect anyone to see her slip down from the rooftop on the empty streets, tucking her quickly drawn map into a pocket. the last thing smellerbee expected was to have a rock the size of a horse ready to launch into her face. both swords were in her hand before she could finish a blink and assuming a defensive stance in response. “i’m not here to rob you. and i’m not fire nation. put down the rock.” smellerbee couldn’t see the voice behind the rock, but there was a tingling sensation of familiarity in it that she couldn’t place.
“you don’t want to do this.”
The vibrations in the earth beneath Toph never gave off any sign of movement up until now. Whoever she was facing was a silent one, ninja style. Upon hearing the opposer’s voice she was ready to attack, but something rang a bell in her brain. She definitely knew who the girl speaking was. “I’ll do whaever I want.” Toph snarled and dropped down her boulders with a force, dust spreading from the two craters they originally came from. “Well, you don’t have much to rob and if you were a firebender I would’ve sensed you from miles away. So I’m not concerned about any of these.”
Toph crossed her hands, furrowing her brows. There was a bold fighter facing her and she knew that with every fiber of her body. If she wanted to do any harm to Toph, she would've already done it. The cogwheels in her head were twisting and turning like crazy. “What I am concerned about is that I know you from Ba Sing Se yet I can’t quite put my finger on you.” The puzzle pieces slowly came together. The underground fighters who Team Avatar had encountered while Toph was imprisoned and busy inventing a new bending style. A lot of things missed from her brain since the events at Ba Sing Se, but Aang and Katara had filled her up on everything she had missed. “You fought at the cave, didn’t you? When Twinkle-... Aang got struck by Azula?” she inquired, hoping she had the right person.
Location: Cadera City, silent and low populated streets
Time: After the forum, late at night
Closed starter for @smellerbeesting
A lot had been said in the public forum that Zuko decided to muster up. Toph wasn’t sure if her friend would now regret his decision, but she also couldn’t deny the people were right. As a citizen of the Earth Kingdom, one who lived shielded away from the war and bathed in gold pieces, she felt like her opinion on the matter wasn’t needed. Her two cents, however, was that the protestors were right, no matter if Zuko and Twinkle Toes liked it or not. She wasn’t the one to advocate patience and nomad-like ways of teaching and learning. Everything that Toph was brutality and impulsiveness -- that’s what saved her skin all the time, not overthinking. Yet, no one would get what they wanted out of this war if there was impatience.
Toph was walking with her face pointed at the floor, kicking at dirt and pebbles as she walked. The time of nocturne always suited her better. It reminded her of the many restless nights spent in secrecy mastering the one thing she truly loved in this crazy world - earthbending. Upon hearing an abrupt sound behind her in one of the narrower alleyways, her instincts spoke their word. Toph shot her head at the direction of the noise, bending a massive boulder out of the ground and letting it hang in the air, feet in a wide stance, and fingers curled into fists. “If you’re brave enough show yourself. Either way, if you try to do something stupid, you’ll regret it.”
The fire nation palace unsettled Toph. It reminded her of Beifong Manor in the worst way possible. Guards every ten or so metres, pretentious items in weird shapes and total silence as each and every member of the personnel served their duty. She wanted to visit Zuko, however. Some would say she's concerned for his mental health after the angry protests just a day after his coronation. There was some truth to that, but what Toph would voice out was that she was in the Palace to terrorize Sparky with unneeded jokes and punchlines.
She stopped at some obviously very important room adorned with huge metal double doors which were guarded by two soldiers. "Miss, the Fire Lord may currently not respond to-" one of the two men had began, only to be interrupted by the blind girl.
"Save your formalities, I'm here to see him anyway. If you'll excuse me," she quipped, opening the doors by herself with her metalbending, whistling an annoying tune under her breath as the guards were bedazzled at the sight before them. When they once again tried to interrupt her, she closed the doors in their faces, letting out a big sigh.
The room was spacious and airy, not many items of leisure present by her feet’s judgement. By the lack of a huge bed, she concluded that this was a pretentious book reading room or something boring like that.. "Zuko? Spaaaarky? Are you here?" Toph liked to play hide and seek simply because she'd never lose on that game. "Twinkle Toes told me you'd be here all day!"
“Your child-like joys are absolutely envious,” Hahn drawled, tossing a pebble he’d just picked up in her direction. He wondered how old she was– she barely looked fourteen, but he was never one to be good with guessing ages, anyway. He shook his head, watching the man she’d just tripped throw a vexed stare backwards. “The spirits give you bending, and you use it to do this,” Hahn muttered, face contorting in distaste. He could still remember the bitter taste on his tongue when he’d learnt that he wasn’t a water bender. That he wasn’t special. That he wasn’t part of them. He could still hear the benders’ taunts echo between walls, smell their disdain permeating the growing distance between them, feel their feelings of superiority burning against his back.
He remembered the way his childhood had been ripped through the middle, a timeline split at that point of discovery. Two distinct pieces, damaged beyond repair, never to be made a whole again. And in the same way, the fact of his existence stripped the world bare before his eyes, revealing the horrors of humanity, and stealing his innocent belief in the capacity to be good. A sorrow passed through him at the memories.
So for this teenager–child?– to be blind to the sheer power and privilege her powers provided, frustrated him more than he was willing to admit. Without realising, he’d let his anger seep into his other limbs quietly, rage building between his lips. “Must be nice to not have to see the cruelty of world,” he sneered, moving to walk away. She had little benefit to him, anyway, it seemed.
Though she could not see the pebble, Toph immediately raised her hand to take control of it and proceed to play with it by making it dance in her palm. So the stranger liked to bite, huh? Well, Beifong liked to ravage. “It’s called conjoining and being one with your element. I’m an earthbender, hence all this fire and heat unsettles me and makes stuff... well boring!” she threw the pebble at the stranger, making it go right past his ear. She wasn’t in the mood to listen about the spirits. Twinkle Toes always rambled about them anyway, she didn’t need another lecture. “The spirits gave me bending and here I am. Fifteen and already mastering earth and metalbending, helped the Avatar kick ass with rocks, was part in defeating Ozai and, well, obviously helped save the world. Not that I’m bragging.” She pointed her head towards the direction of the unfamiliar. “What did you do in your ‘oh so mature life’ beside whining?”
She furrowed her eyebrows. Toph was not stupid and knew that everybody suffered from inner turmoils in today’s world, even herself. Sarcasm wasn’t going to fix the situation and the stranger obviously allowed rage to overwhelm him more than reason. Toph was kinda guilty of that too. She raised a little wall to block the young man from moving forward, bending it away after she rushed to catch up to him. “I might be blind, but I’ve seen the cruelty of the world as well. Seems like you like to jump to conclusions.“ She crossed her hands and pointed her milky gaze towards him. There was something odd about his presence that she couldn’t quite put her inger on and the tremors of the earth didn’t help her much. “Why do you have to be so negative?“
Location: Caldera City
Time: A day after the City Hall meeting
- Opened for anyone -
Toph had her hands extended and waving helplessly, wandering around the streets of Caldera City and bumping lightly into strangers. Muffled and innocent ‘I’m sorry’ escaped her lips each time she did it, a secret smirk harboring inside her conscience. Today was one of those boring days. She had nothing to do, Sparky was probably doing some boring Fire Lord stuff, Twinkle Toes was probably meditating at some boring cliff and Katara and Sokka probably still slept... boringly. Toph wasn’t sure if Suki would be around, the Kyoshi Warriors were usually early birds.
“Oof, I’m sorry,“ she said to a stranger who she sensed turning around on his heels after their collision.
“Be careful, stupid girl!“ he said, a flick of her finger enough for him to stumble on his feet when he later continued down the path, kissing the ground. “I guess pretending to be helpless can also turn out to be boring.“ She turned to the feeling of presence beside her. “Are you gonna bore me as well? Let’s do something fun for once after this hell of protests and political issues. We can throw pebbles at squirrels or go find a mud or a swamp and go soak ourselves in!“
Location: Caldera City Center
Time: Shortly after Aang and Zuko’s statements
TLDR; Toph encounters protestors and stands up for Zuko. Tension and aggressiveness cultivate during their ‘conversation’ and ultimately, Toph leaves a message behind.
Toph Beifong considered rebellion as an artform. A rebel was what she always was, after all. She rebelled against her parents and became the greatest earthbender the Earth Kingdoms ever knew, fought against anyone who dared stop Aang and the rest of her friends, held her ground against Ozai's pawns and ultimately her rebellion had won her a ticket to freedom. She was disappointed that everything seemed so boring now that there were no dangers lurking everywhere. Her usual ritual of kicking somebody's butt on a daily basis was now just a distant memory. Up until the protesting villagers showed up before the Palace Courtyard.
Minding her own business and whistling away a tune, Toph couldn't help but be annoyed that her peaceful strolling around the overly-done and rich buildings of Caldera City was interrupted by chants of uprising, demands and riot. The pebble circulating in her palm was ceased of its dance as she grabbed it with her entire fist, her head turning to the direction of the sounds. She briefly heard Sparky and Twinkle Toes talking to the crowd and silencing most of them, but few other groups still remained too opinionated. Beifong didn't really give a damn about the protests, because she knew they would eventually die off. She allowed the people with patience to handle it.
Her feet had seen it all for her - lots of people, more than she ever imagined that courtyard could handle, all with posters, signs, pitchforks and opinionated voices scrambled all around and pressing against Zuko's meeting. Some of them had lost interest after the Avatar's statement, others whispered, the rest still screamed like little rascals. Toph was never interested in that meeting. She believed that Zuko would go to the Avatar and the rest of them should he face some real concerns. The girl hadn't had the chance to check if Zuko was just pretending that he had everything under control. Maybe he had second thoughts, maybe he was too confused what the next step should be. But she trusted him, because he rightfully took that throne as a man of his word.
"Fire Lord Zuko will lead us to doooom!" A bitter old man had screamed at seven or at most ten people in front of him, just to the sides of the bigger mass of rioters. "He cannot be trusted, he will turn on us! The Avatar and the new Phoenix silenced us now but we must continue to raise our voice!" Toph's head shot up like a lightning bolt to the little affirmative speech that was taking place. She pointed her fists towards the ground thus shooting a rock underneath her feet and propelling herself in the air. Once she landed right next to the old man, everyone gasped at her sudden arrival.
"Why don't you just cut him some slack, huh? Probably none of you were in a position of responsibility large enough that it affects thousands of people. It's easy to talk when you don't know what he's go-" she began with annoyance in her voice, just to be offed by someone behind her.
"Don't try to silence us! We know who you are, Toph Beifong! Not only are you a close friend of Zuko's, but you probably have ties to shady Earth Kingdom royalties!" The same man had snarled at Toph so aggressively, that a bit of spit landed on Toph's cheek. Making a scene out of this wouldn't change the fact that the Fire Nation had a lot to think about. Their government had to scout and make big names in the Earth Kingdoms pay for their allegiance to Ozai otherwise the people would never fully get what they wanted. The former Fire Lord wasn't the only one to blame. A lot of people participated in this intricate game of chess called The Hundred Years War.
"See, that's your problem, ya dingus!” she raised her hand, looking straight ahead, not even in that man's direction. Her fingers picked up the residue from that man's profanity off her cheeks, and she exclaimed. "Your problem isn’t Fire Lord Zuko! He needs a bit of time to reconsider what to change. You can't rebuild a nation in two days!” Toph took a breath, shaking her head. "Your true problem is everybody who would be fine if your new Fire Lord decided to act like his father. Which he won't. There are many who contributed to this war and you should at least say what you want instead of putting the blame out of nothing!"
"Bold coming from a Beifong." A woman had said, her words filled with sarcasm.
Toph abruptly turned to the voice's owner, eyes staring off in the distance but her words pointed at the right person. "Hey! If anybody's gonna piss on my family, that's me! Nobody gave you the right to-"
As she spoke, her feet sensed turbulence. The vibrations in the earth beneath her gave off a signal of rushed movement or as she would call it - a big, regrettable mistake for her new attacker. A man with a metal bo staff charged towards her from a distance, completely fooled by Toph's blindness. Quickly, she ducked as he swung at her, her arm raising a pillar from the ground. When her fingers clenched, so did the pillar captured the man's fighting hand inside of it, incapacitating him. With her other hand, Toph made the metal weapon curl into a ring, joining both of its ends and rendering it useless. People gasped at her display of metalbending -- they probably thought she was a spawn of the Devil Badgermoles themselves.
"As long as you attack blind little children, you'll never be better than the false idea you have of Fire Lord Zuko. You live in uncertainty and rumours. If you want to enter a new era of another war, that's how you do it. By spreading stupid information. Congratulations, you dumb fool." She turned her back at the crowd and removed the dust off her shoulders, twisting her head to the direction of the mass. “Also, I find it quite funny a blind girl saw this poor attack way before all of you.” Toph scoffed, shrugging in the process.
"Sit on your butts and learn some decency before joining a rioting mob that demands reformation of an entire Nation for under twenty-four hours." Toph waved in the air releasing the man who had tried to tickle her with that joke of a staff. He used it more like a toothpick anyway. Raising another boulder from the ground, she propelled herself once more in the air, thus escaping the crowd.
Toph likes to wear her hair down more often after she ran away from the Beifong Manor.
She wants to create a Metalbending Academy where she can have her own pupils (who won’t see any mercy from her when it comes to learning) adapt the intricate style of the complicated sub-bending technique.
Toph will be honest with everyone and anything, however brutal she may sometimes be.
She still calls Aang ‘Twinkle Toes’ and recently began calling the new Fire Lord ‘Sparky’ for the fun of it. It’s mainly so she can mess with them at official meetings.
Toph was attacked by a blinded by rage protestor during the Palace Protests that took place the day after Zuko’s coronation. ( further expanded on in a self-para)
She wants a pet. They are usually better than most people.
Toph is considered by some citizens ( who have seen her metalbend ) of Caldera City as an evil spawn of a Devil badgermole.
She likes to mess with people by tripping them or act like a helpless blind child.
