[Ongoing]

[rocklikerunaway]

Characters: Toph (rocklikerunaway ) and Godric (powerofgod ) [Closed]
Location: Sergei's
Date: Present
Rating: G

Comments

[powerofgod]

Though he did not often venture from his room, Sergei's was one of the few places on board that he went with any regularity. One, after all, needed sustenance.

He was being more prudent about it than he had been in the past, after his sparring match with Barricade. What reserves of strength he possessed he had depleted in that fight. If he wanted to plateau again at the level of ability this place allowed of him, he would need to drink more than blood kept on hand in the bar.

But he was not yet so hard-pressed as all that.

It was with no attempt to disguise his speed that he approached and entered the bar, though he slowed shortly thereafter. The girl seated nearby gave him pause by the simple fact that he had not yet seen anyone act similarly to her.

The young man, Zuko, he knew, could manipulate fire. His sister the same. There had been mention of one who could similarly turn the water to their will. He had heard very little of someone who could perform that same manipulation to - sand?

He watched her curiously from a short distance away, but her concentration did not waver from her task. When he saw her eyes, he understood.

She was blind. A fact that evoked no pity in him, though he did clear his throat, unnecessarily, to announce his presence.

[rocklikerunaway]

Toph flattened her palms and gritted her teeth, trying to maintain some kind of contact with the little dust ball she'd just created. Sand had always been difficult for her. She'd learned, but it had gotten harder to control since she'd been on the boat. Trying to keep focus on something fuzzy like that would probably tire her out fast. Already she could feel sweat forming on the back of her neck.

But if she couldn't form the sand into something more solid, something she could lash out with, then it would be no good as a weapon.

So she ground her teeth and tried to bring the sand back together again, even as it began slipping through her grip.

Someone coughed close by. Toph jumped. The sand dropped.

Toph pulled both arms in close to her chest and then struck out with her right. The stiff-fingered blow sent a wave of sand hissing toward the intruder before she'd even stopped to think about it.

Ah crud. She was going to get a warning again.

[powerofgod]

The concept of danger registered and in that selfsame instant, Godric moved. He was slower again than he was used to - hunger would account for that, in a vampire - but he took no damage from the attack.

It was from nearly eight feet away from his previous position that he canted his head to one side and spoke.

"Not the worst greeting I've endured. Nor even the most hostile."

Though his voice carried much of its usual monotony, there was enough humour behind it to suggest he wasn't upset with her actions. In this place, there were very few people that struck a stranger on purpose, and as children went, she hardly looked the part of one bound for a life of delinquency.

[rocklikerunaway]

Toph whipped her head round so fast that a spasm ran up the back of her neck. Rubbing at it, she scowled in the direction of the now-recognizable voice.

"Oh. It's you."

Well, at least it hadn't been Remy or Kate or any of the Kitchen Crew. Even if she'd missed them, they probably would have busted her for bending in the restaurant in the first place.

"How'd you get way over there?"

She sounds curious, if a little abrupt. He moved faster than Goten, faster than Aang. And she hadn't heard him. But it wasn't like she'd never met anyone light on their feet before.

[powerofgod]

"I am very fast. It's a matter of my kind." It wasn't a matter of bragging so much as simple truth stated as such. She might not understand the concept of 'vampire', which was his usual default answer. But her voice - recognized now - named her as Toph, and meant she hailed from the same world as Zuko and Azula. Their mythologies were different enough that unless the girl had heard the word and specifically sought its meaning, she would have no notion of it. Godric had once again ceased moving, though for conversational reasons he continued to breathe.

"What of you? I haven't yet seen anyone manipulate the earth here to that extent."

Though his tone contained only trace amounts of her curiosity, it at least sounded like a genuine question.

[rocklikerunaway]

"That's because there isn't much earth here." Duh. Toph picked up her cane and started heading in the direction she had sent the sand. She would actually like it back, all considered.

But as her feet found the grainy mess, she realized it wouldn't do her much good. It had scattered thinly across the floor. Even if she could lift it all into another dust cloud, there was no way she could control it or condense it down to fit back in the jars. What a waste.

She sighed.

"It's called bending. I'm an earthbender. Terra-sense, chi of earth, sound familiar?" Different worlds, different words; by now Toph had learned enough to be pretty good at explaining what she did to those who didn't get it.

"I use martial arts to control dirt and rocks and stuff," that? Was not one of her best explanatory efforts, "It's better when you see it in action."

[powerofgod]

He watched her as her feet touched the sand, and caught that disappointed sigh. "Is it necessary to sort it by colour, or would simply getting it back in the jars suffice?"

Brooms could occasionally do more than provide transportation to witches in fairy tales, after all. To her commentary about martial arts, he said nothing. The concept was understood well enough.

[rocklikerunaway]

"Huh?" She turned her head slightly so that her left ear was angled toward Godric. But she only stayed like that for a moment before turning and making her way back to her table to pick up the jars and their tops.

"Sort what by colour?"

He talked like her Dad, if her Dad had ever sounded like a teenager. It easily distracted her from what he was actually saying. She hadn't had to put up with society manners and stuff like that for a long time.

[powerofgod]

"The sand." Though it was possible she was unaware of the nuances of shade to the particles scattered across the floor. "It's various different colours, but if you've no preference, it could be swept up."

The kitchen would undoubtedly have a broom.

My name is Stellar and I fail at tense.

[rocklikerunaway]

Toph shrugged, "Whatever. Let the stewardess do it."

Servants: It's what they're there for.

"I'll just get dirt from flowerdeck instead." Sand seemed too hard to bother with anyway.

Speaking of too hard to bother with, Toph was visibly having difficulty managing the three empty jars and her cane all at once. It had been easy on the way here. They had been full of sand. If she'd started to drop one, a little bending nudge had brought it back into her grasp.

After nearly dropping the same jar twice, Toph set them all down on the table and then stabbed a finger in Godric's general direction.

"Hey Lightfoot, you wanna help?" It wasn't really a question. Even if it hadn't been his fault, she was going to go ahead and blame him for the loss of her sand. He owed her.

but my name is Roy and I LOVE YOU / SQUIRREL

[powerofgod]

Godric canted his head to one side. She couldn't see his smile, but that didn't mean it wasn't there.

He picked up the jars. Having a human - much less one so young - boss him around was something of an interesting novelty.

"Very well. Where to?"

WOODCHUCK!

[rocklikerunaway]

"Deck thirteen, where the flowers are."

And off she went, weaving a pretty round-about route between the tables toward the door. It wasn't the fastest way out, but it was the same route she came in by and so she'd stick to it.

But she stopped once she found the door. Was Lightfoot even following her?

NUNCHUCK???

[powerofgod]

He was. Albeit quietly. At her pause, he adjusted his gait. The difference was minute, but he was no longer quite so soundless. And the jars clinked together in his arms.

He couldn't quite pull off 'sixteen year old boy' but it was a near thing.

WATERBUCK

[rocklikerunaway]

There he was. Toph frowned just a little, her attention now divided between her cane, her surroundings, and keeping track of where this guy was.

He was like Mike. He could probably disappear if he wanted to.

She slapped the call button for the elevator and led the way in when it arrived.

Yeah, smalltalk really wasn't her strong suit. But standing around in silence in a tiny metal box with this guy would be too awkward even for her. Whatever, she'd give it a shot.

"So... What do you do for fun round here? When you're not making stuff 'convenient.'" She had not yet forgotten that conversation. Idly she wondered if she could trick him into calling someone else 'Captain.'