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Post by Fateful on Aug 14, 2010 15:16:33 GMT -5
Toph sighed. "Yeah, I have to admit that it does creep me out that someone has been following me around and I never noticed. Granted I don't do a lot of things to merit attention. Besides the gambling." Shrugging her shoulders she felt Appa land on the ground and opened her eyes to glance in his direction despite the fact she saw nothing with them. "Do you think it's been going on for a while, or they got most of the information in secret and just used some tests to see what I could and couldn't see?" She questioned, biting her lip, feeling him move closer to her.
"I'd actually really prefer walking to--" It was too late considering he'd already picked her up. Instinctively, her body tensed and she grew very still in his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck. Then, suddenly a realization came over her. "You're a lot stronger than you were the last time we were together...?" She muttered for a moment, resting her head on his shoulder, knowing that he wouldn't drop her because she was hurt so badly. After a few seconds they were running through what she assumed was a small village. Aang spoke to someone and hearing a response and sighed.
"Just to make this clear, I hate being carried." She said firmly, shifting just slightly in his arms to move her burn out of his muscles.
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Post by belated valentine on Aug 14, 2010 15:42:07 GMT -5
"Just to make this clear, I'm not going to let you reopen anything so just deal with it, alright?" He asked, smiling. "It's not a long run and I want you to get there with plenty of time to spare." He said, locating the doctor's house. Letting out a sigh, he paused for a moment. "I don't know how they got the information, but they have it and now they're using it against us. I'm pretty sure they don't have just you figured out though, I think they have information on all of us." He said slowly, pushing open the door and peaking in.
"Hello?" He waited for a response but received nothing in return. "Umm...is anyone here?"
"What? Leave before they find out you're here Jilly, they don't allow horses in the doctors office!"
Aang raised an eyebrow but decided not to question the man. Of course, he'd been around Boomy and he was pretty sure that man was a lot worse than this one. "I'm not a horse...and my name isn't Jilly. My friend is injured and she needs help really fast."
"Look kid, I only operate on humans." The doctor responded from his chair.
"She IS human. Can you please just look at her?"
The doctor let out a sigh and stood up, making his way over to Aang and Toph. He bent down slightly and examined them. "Oh alright, I suppose I could. Bring her in to that room over there and I'll see what I can do."
Aang nodded, carrying Toph over to the room and setting her down on the bed before he smiled. "Great, now we have a doctor. He'll heal you and you'll be fine. Then we can head off whenever you're ready."
"Wait, who are you again?"
"Okay..." He said slowly, pausing before he turned his focus back on Toph. "Maybe you won't be completely healed but...at least we found SOME help right? Even if it is a crazy old man.." He was beginning to realize how great this idea was. Oh yeah, let some senile senior citizen operate on your friend...Not like anything could go wrong.
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Post by Fateful on Aug 14, 2010 15:48:21 GMT -5
Toph rested her hand on his shoulder, sending a vibration from her hand, through his body in order to be able to see him. "Believe it or not, I sort of guessed that you weren't going to let me walk, but that doesn't mean I have to be happy about it." They entered a house, she supposed, from the sounds that met her ears and the movement of his hand to open a door. Despite not being in contact with the ground, as most people used context clues with locations and sentences to piece things together, Toph had a much wider variety of sounds that she recognized than the average person. Her blindness heightened her hearing, so things were much clearer to her than the average person.
This was used in the past to spy on others and was much more beneficial that they might have at first noticed. Hearing the man's reactions and she looked down at the floor. Oh... this was fantastic. He even sounded like a genius, he didn't seem dangerous however, so that put her at ease.
"As long as I'm not in a lot of pain and I can walk by myself out of here, then things should be fine."
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Post by belated valentine on Aug 14, 2010 15:52:17 GMT -5
Aang nodded and stepped back, glancing at the door. He had to admit that he didn't exactly want to be here during her healing process. Only because he was pretty sure this old man wasn't a water bender with healing abilities and that he was doing this the old fashioned way, meaning that there would be plenty of pain and blood, both of which he didn't exactly favor. "I'm just gonna...step on out of here and let you take care of her..." He said. He was slightly afraid of leaving her here alone with this man, but from the detail the man outside had told him, he was a good doctor and healed many, even if he was a little kooky.
The doctor leaned in closer to Toph, glancing at Aang as he exited the room. "Be careful little girl, but I think that guy might be the Avatar! I heard he learned to fire bend from the banished prince of the fire nation, don't let him torch you!" He whispered quite loudly.
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Post by Fateful on Aug 14, 2010 15:55:58 GMT -5
Toph heard Aang mention leaving and her entire body tensed instantly. "Aang if..." He was already moving out of the room and a very low growl escaped her lips. She didn't want to be left alone, but assumed he was doing this because he hated the sight of blood and he was most likely going to reopen her wounds. It would hurt her, and he couldn't watch that. He just couldn't face her being hurt.
Sighing, she laid down, knowing he was gone and waiting. Glancing at the older man, she arched a brow. "He..." she paused, unsure of how to proceed, but settled for the basic. "is the Avatar. And I will be sure to avoid his fire."
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Post by belated valentine on Aug 14, 2010 15:59:25 GMT -5
The doctor seemed surprised. "You know? Wow...I must be behind then." He said before giving a shrug and pulling out a pair of scissors - a devilish smile and manic laugh accompanied - to cut through the make shift tourniquet Aang had created using his shirt. "Just stay real still. I'm going to sedate you just a little but I can't use a lot since we're running short and I have more patients coming in! So I apologize for any pain you might feel, though it really is your fault for creating these injuries and not mine!" He said and the operation began, leaving Aang to sit outside the room and wait.
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Post by Fateful on Aug 14, 2010 16:26:10 GMT -5
Toph rolled her eyes and sighed heavily. "Yeah... just a little behind." She murmured before attempting to loosen her tight muscles so this would hurt less. Something punctured her skin, sedating her mildly, and she closed her eyes, wanting to just fall asleep rather than feel his hacking at her body.
She did relax and just waited. "My fault, right." She said sarcastically, sighing in an attempt to feel better about all that was happening. This wasn't going to be good, but at least it wouldn't end in death or something weird and super crazy like an explosion or a doctor trying to harvest her organs for spare parts or something. She was traveling with the Avatar... surely he wasn't that crazy, right?
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Post by belated valentine on Aug 15, 2010 2:29:38 GMT -5
The doctor made his way out of the room, walking passed Aang and to the window at the front of the room. He shook his head. "Poor thing didn't make it. I don't know why, but it seems like I'm always killing them. No matter how hard I try." Glancing back at Aang, he frowned. "It's very sad indeed..."
Aang's eyes widened, his breathing quickened, and his heart beat became so loud he was unable to hear anything, not even the doctor as he continued to ramble on about the topic. "You...killed Toph?!" He yelled. "I entrusted you with her life and you couldn't help her! They said you were the best doctor around!"
"Toph?" Blinking, he turned to face Aang. "I was talking about my plant." He said, pointing to the little hibiscus plant that sat in a pot on the window sill. It was wilted and hanging over to one side. "I can never keep it alive, but it's such a pretty thing and it was my mothers favorite flower. But anyway! Your friend Tooph is fine. The wounds aside from the one on her torso were infected, but I fixed it. She's still asleep but she should be up in a few minutes. You can go in and see her whenever you want."
"Oh..." Aang muttered, his face falling back to normal. "Well don't go around tricking people like that! Someone might kill you before you explain to them you were talking about something other than the person being treated!" He shook his head, calming down. "Anyway, thank you for helping her. At least now she's safe.." He said, pushing open the door to Toph's room.
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Post by Fateful on Aug 15, 2010 2:46:15 GMT -5
Toph finally phased back into consciousness slowly and slowly became away of where she was. She was on a bed rather than the ground, one which didn't have any stone or earth on it. Shifting on her bed, bed, her intention was to touch the ground, but a pain ripped through her side stopping her from rolling over. Grumbling, she moved her hand until she touched a wall, sending vibrations through the stone wall to feel how large the room was and where everything was.
She heard voices muttering something about a flower, and heard her name. A hand slid over her body, feeling above the injury, all the way over it and just below it. Her skin was tender, but it was wrapped with what felt like cotton bandages to keep them clean and protected from the elements. More specifically the earth and her lack of interest in cleaning her injuries - especially since she couldn't tell if they were clean or not.
Her hair was tied in the back of her head, making it harder for her to get comfortable. She wasn't used to sleeping on her back. She either slept on her now injured side, or her stomach. The injuries made this impossible. Pushing her body from the bed, she used her muscular abdomen to support her body as she pulled the tie that held her hair. Tying the ribbon around her wrist, a door to her right opened. "You seem tense." She muttered, able to tell who it was from his breathing and the way he walked.
Long ebony hair cascaded down her back, framing her face, neck, and shoulders. Laying on the bed again, she shifted on her back, trying to get comfortable. It seemed nearly impossible. "I feel better if that helps, and he must have put something on my skin to numb the burn."
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Post by belated valentine on Aug 15, 2010 3:01:17 GMT -5
Aang scanned the room until his gray eyes settled upon her. She was a small lump in the large white bed, her black hair poking out from beneath the sheets. He smiled, watching as her eyes fluttered open, meeting his even though she was unable to see through them. Making his way over, he stood beside her bed, pressing his hands gently to her shoulders and pushing her back to the bed when she tried to sit up.
He made a small sound when she mentioned him being tense. "Well yeah, the doctor made me think you were dead, when in reality he was just talking about his flower. Then he decided to tell me you were fine, after I was already worked up." He said, looking down at her. Her black hair was sprawled around her head. Her bangs, for once, didn't cover her eyes.
"How do you feel? Are you in more pain now or do you feel better?" He asked anxiously. So many feelings were tangled up in his stomach at this point. He was relieved that she was okay, happy that she had gotten to the doctor in time but he was also angry because he didn't know who had done this to who - and that someone would do something like this. He was regretful, wishing that it had been him instead of her.
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Post by Fateful on Aug 15, 2010 3:34:54 GMT -5
His hand rested on her shoulder, pushing her back into the bed. She grunted her disapproval, but didn't fight him. Laying back down, she sighed, her eyes wandering to his face, following his voice. Despite her inability to see, Toph retained all of her eye movement and control of them. His touch gave away how tense he was.
"You thought I was dead and you didn't go all Avatar state and destroy the house? Impressive." She teased, shifting her body on the bed to move a little closer to the wall, then rotated her body to face him with her uninjured side. Running her hand over her face, she rubbed her eyes. The sedation made her tired, but she wasn't tired enough to sleep.
Tilting his head to face him, she shrugged. "My side hurts, I won't lie to you, but I feel better than before. It's not like i doubted I'd live." Resting her head on the pillow, she closed her eyes, her long black hair blanketing around her on the off white sheets. Despite her not being able to see very well, wood having dulled many of the vibrations, she could tell he wasn't pleased with all that had happened and he was worried. "I'm a lot tougher than you... If this would have happened to you and I'd have hit you with a rock, the knife wouldn't have been visible. Besides, it's not like I can fly Appa and find a town. Don't so that stupid guilty thing you do because you feel bad I got hurt. I didn't see anything either."
Her body started to relax after she took a few deep breaths, in an attempt to dull the searing pain in her torso. "I'm starting to think that this wasn't random." She muttered. "I think this was a test so that later they could see how best to evade us. Something like this wouldn't have killed you. The only reason I needed any medical attention was because a rock pushed it into my skin."
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Post by belated valentine on Aug 15, 2010 3:53:25 GMT -5
Aang rubbed the back of his head. "He corrected himself before I did anything." He said pulling a chair over from the corner of the room and sitting down next to the bed. "Thank god that he did because I don't know what I would have done..." Shaking his head, he smiled at her, not wanting to look upset. "I know, I know. But I just somehow feel like this is all my fault. I wasn't able to protect you and it makes me angry." He said, leaning in toward her and examining her wounds. They were covered and seemed well taken care of. Maybe this man wasn't as crazy as he played himself out to be.
He glanced out of the window that was next to her bed, watching the branches in the trees move as the wind blew. "Do you want me to get you anything? Water or something to eat?" He asked, looking back at her. "I don't know how long we'll be able to stay in here, so we might have to buy a hotel room for you to rest in. We can stay in this town for as long as you want, everything else can wait until you're better." Watching her, he smiled. She was alright and that was all that mattered at the moment, his earth bending and fire bending could wait.
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Post by Fateful on Aug 15, 2010 4:50:13 GMT -5
Toph grinned at him. "I'm glad you didn't destroy anything, because I'm not gifted enough to stop one of your rages." This was mostly due to the fact when he was floating the ground she couldn't see him. Not to mention, his avatar state was one of the most threatening things she had ever seen, and she helped take down a fire nation fleet and fought against Azula. Bolting into a sitting position, Toph reached out to grab his shirt, only to have her finger tips graze against his chest, having forgotten he'd ripped apart his shirt to wrap her injuries.
"Twinkle toes, shut up. I don't NEED your protection! I'm perfectly capable of caring for myself. This wasn't your fault, it was mine. I didn't protect myself. You're approaching the line that separates caring about me to the obsessing sheltering nature of my father. If you keep it up, I'm going to punch you."
Moving backwards, she rested her back against the bed's headboard and sighed, her hair falling over her shoulder and down her chest. In a sitting position, her hair streamed to her hips. "Naw, I'm fine for now. We ate before we left. And we don't have to stay here too long. I'm going to make sure you earth bend. Just because I can't fight doesn't mean I can't supervise. You can find a place for us to train. We're in the Earth kingdom, so it's not like we're short on rocks. I suppose I can just make you some rocks if worst comes to worst."
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Post by belated valentine on Aug 15, 2010 5:15:37 GMT -5
Aang widened his eyes when she swung up to grab him. "S-Sorry! I didn't mean to. I'm just..really angry because I don't know who this person is and it's frustrating." He shook his head, taking her hands and un-gripping her fingers so that she let go of him. He gently pushed her back to the bed and looked at her. "I'll stop, I promise." He said, sitting back down.
"There's pretty much rocks and earth wherever we go, minus the north and south pole. When you go back to sleep, I'll go out and train some more, okay? Just don't worry about it now, I have a lot of time to earth bend. I mean, at least I know how to so if anything were to happen where I would need it at least I know the basics." Leaning back in his chair, he put his hands behind his head and looked up at the ceiling.
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Post by Fateful on Aug 15, 2010 5:26:17 GMT -5
Toph sighed. "I'd assume you'd know more than most people how much everyone assuming I need protection and to be taken care of. I can take care of myself. But I understand what you mean." Her hand let go of his body and she laid back down after he half coaxed and forced her to do so. "I'm sorry I was so upset with you, it just really frustrates me when you do things like this. Especially considering well you seem to think it's your job to protect everyone. You're the avatar, not the personal body guard of everyone in the world. I'm alive. You saved me after I was injured, which is more important."
As she laid down, her bangs swiped across her forehead due to the open window, letting in a breeze. They moved across her skin, but didn't obstruct her eyes. "I know there's earth everywhere, but sometimes you can't train everywhere. And I said I was going to train you, so that's what I'm doing. That and I'd rather be somewhere in a canyon then in a bed." her shoulders shrugged to show her lack of interest in staying here for an extended period.
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