[Thread] Brotherly concern.

[banishment]

Characters: Prince Zuko (OU) & Toph Bei Fong (OU)
Where: the park
When: shortly after this
Summary: Zuko's worried about Toph and goes to find her.
Warnings: N/A

Comments

[rockingurworld]

Toph was aimlessly wandering around the park. The ground was cold on her feet and they felt a little heavy, but the feel of the dirt was reassuring. Which she needed, because nothing else was comforting right now. Although he didn't yet know it, Zuko's assumptions about her state of mind were right on the money. Of all the things they'd experienced, it wasn't the hallucinations of the townspeople dying -- or even of themselves dying, although that had certainly frightened her -- but she'd been helpless.

Not useless, because apparently none of the people access to anything they could normally do and so she didn't feel terribly upset by losing her bending. It was that without her bending, she'd needed to rely on other people for even the most basic needs -- like walking

[banishment]

Normally, when he called her by his nickname for her, she'd respond with her nickname for him. But this time, she didn't. She called him Zuko instead of Sparky, something that only worried him more.

He looked her over as he moved closer, noting that she wasn't dressed properly for the weather and although seeing her barefoot wasn't a strange sight, it was something that alarmed him due to the temperatures around them--along with the fact that her feet didn't look in all that great of shape. Zuko frowned at this, reaching out a hand to touch her shoulder, remaining silent for the moment.

[rockingurworld]

Toph looked up at him, her green eyes somehow managing to look even more unfocused than their usual whitish haze. He touched her shoulder and she hesitated as though she wanted to say something; but nothing came out, and instead she put her around around him and buried her face against his tunic. He was warm and she was only just beginning to realize she was cold.

[banishment]

Toph normally wasn't this affectionate towards him and for a moment, his good eye widened in surprise. He wrapped his arms around her in return, realizing then just how cold her skin felt against his fingers. Sages, just how long had she been out here? Had she even gone back to her apartment after they'd all woken up? He knew he should've gone looking for her after hearing from all the others that mattered to him here, especially with the way she'd replied to his own entry after he'd woken up.

Zuko held her for a while, rubbing her back in a way that his mother used to do to him when he was a kid, hoping it was soothing to her. He drew back eventually stepping back to shrug off the jacket that Quatre had given him and drape it over Toph's shoulders. He'd be fine without it, as he could use his bending to keep himself warm for a while.