(Untitled)

[tophsmash]

Characters:  Toph Bei Fong tophsmash , Kurama elegantthorns , AND YOU...YES YOU.
When: June 19th
Where:  By the river
Rating: PG
Summary:  Toph and Kurama both have the idea to try and levee the river to try and prevent any flooding

Comments

[elegantthorns]

That boy--Alphonse? His message had been worrying. Shuichi could see already that the young plants in his own garden were going to be washed out by the end of the day. He could always resow his garden, but there were others that were more established, like the orchard Alphonse had mentioned. It was easier to protect than to revive a plant, so keeping the plants from drowning was top priority.

Shuichi stood on the riverbank behind the house he had claimed, noting the river levels and current. If this kept up all week, the houses along the river would be damaged. If they could somehow build up the river-side, build levees, as it were, perhaps they could divert floodwaters from other parts of the city and prevent the rest of the plants from drowning that way. Others had responded to Alphonse's message with suggestions of moving earth. His own vines couldn't keep out that much water. But the earth would eventually slip.

He noticed it, then--here was a strong presence further down the river, Shuichi noted as he stood on the already-slick bank. He ran that way, and stopped as he noted just who that reiki belonged to. A few moments passed, and Shuichi watched the girl pull up a wall of mud.

...That was it! Shuichi stepped up to the girl to make himself known. "Pardon my intrusion," he said, ever the polite one. "But, I may be able to help keep these stable."

[tophsmash]

Toph could barely feel the other person approach due to the muddy earth around her. It was only a moment before he spoke she even knew he was there, but she really didn't mind at all. He sounded like he wanted to help and she wasn't going to turn someone away now.

"If you think you can help, I'm not gonna turn you away as long as you can be of use. Are you a bender or something?"

Because someone without bending or abilities of some sort was not really going to be of much help when it came to this. At least, not if they were alone.

[elegantthorns]

"I'm afraid I'm not familiar with that term," Shuichi said lightly, "But I have some affinity with plants. The rain will was these away again, especially if it goes on all week. To keep them from eroding, I can cover them with vines with an extensive root network, that will hold the soil in place."

The redhead reached up and seemed to flip his hair. But when his hand came away, there was something held in it. Specifically, a seed. "How much of the river do you think you can cover?"

[tophsmash]

"If that's gonna keep these from falling over, I say let's do it."

Toph could feel the movement, but she could not see what was in his hand. She assumed though it was something that would help him make his plants.

"I can cover a good chunk of it and I know someone else here who can Earthbend. I can give him a call and he'll come over and help."

[elegantthorns]

"We'll need it," Kurama assumes. "Depending on how high the water level rises, this may need to be built higher, later. If there are more than just your associate who can move earth, call them. Those who aren't working to protect their own gardens will be necessary. The faster we get these walls built, the faster we can move on to plants that need to be covered and protected."

[tophsmash]

"Alright. I'll call him once we've got this section taken care of. I can handle this on my own."

The ground around her feet was beginning to become slippery mud once more, so she pulled both feet out (since they had sunk further in) before attempting to solidify the ground below her once more. It wouldn't last long, but it didn't seem like she was going to be staying in the same position for long.

"So I'll keep making the walls and you'll follow with your plant stuff, right?"

[elegantthorns]

"That's right," Shuichi affirms, shifting his stance to keep from sinking into the mud as well. The seed in his hand sprouts little tendrils of vines that curl upward, almost as if in anticipation.

"I'll follow your lead," he offers.

[tophsmash]

"Let's hope you can keep up," Toph said with a cocky smirk.

And with that, she began to construct more earth walls on the sides of the river. She brought her hands down low, holding that position for a moment, before lifting them up in one steady motion, bringing the earth up with her. She repeated this step a few times in this section of the river, even making the same sort of walls on the opposite side.

Toph did her best to make them as solid as possible in the rain, so that the guy with the plants would have something to work with. But once the plants were in, from what it sounded, the walls would hold strong.

[elegantthorns]

"I'll try my best," Shuichi answered lightly, smiling despite the torrential downpour and the situation they were in.

The redhead waited silently as Toph worked, remaining still until she had worked up a considerable length of wall. He placed the hand with the seed against the wall before him calmly.

Toph might be able to feel the massive burst of youki from Shuichi. Vines raced along the wall from beneath his hand, spreading and embedding their roots deep into the mud wall. When he had caught up, he was breathing hard, but he still followed. Across the river, vines were spreading the same. (If one noticed the bridge, a single vine would be running across it.)