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Post by nyrax on Jan 19, 2010 2:11:52 GMT -5
Aang smiled at Zuko’s words. It was true, Toph had even bested Azula once. In a fit of rage Sokka had attacked Azula in the hopes that she would tell him where Suki was. Right before Azula could make a deadly blow on Sokka though Toph shot a few rocks and caused the princess to be pinned to the wall. Admittedly she couldn’t use fire bending at the time, but Aang was certain that Toph could have defeated her if the need really did arrive. It was Toph after all! He grinned as a familiar site came into view.
Aang used a burst of wind to leap up onto the high reaching roots. He wasn’t sure how Zuko would follow, but he was sure that the young fire lord could manage. They hadn’t been allies for no reason after all. When it came to learning about fire Zuko was the best that there was, his firebending was a greater skill than his sister’s or even the avatar’s at times. Aang slowly closed his eyes, remembering the words that he had spoken when he had wanted to do this last time. He took a soft breath. “Everything is connected”, he said before feeling his energy reach out into the whole area. His own essence was swirling and moving around the entire swamp. It was only a matter of time now.
Aang found himself feeling a familiar presence, a strong and powerful one. “Toph?”, he asked weakly as he started to see wood and branches, also a shadowy silhouette. As Aang focused his mind more and more he found the image coming into view. Toph, smiling and almost cheerful for whatever reason. She was being held in a large wooden cage, surrounded by water. Even if she broke out of the cage there was still a heavy chance that she could drown at the same time. Aang suddenly opened his eyes and turned to Zuko. “I found her, she’s surrounded by several men in an area I can get to now. She’s being held in a wooden cage and being held over water. It’s their way of separating her from her element. If she tried to use brute strength she might kill herself”, he said before sliding down one of the roots and taking off at a run. “Come on Zuko! We know what we can do this! We have the time and abilities to save her”, he grinned. Toph was alive, and everything around her could be used by Aang at least. Using the water he could break the cage and catch her. They just needed to get there before the men did anything rash.
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Post by Fateful on Jan 19, 2010 2:24:48 GMT -5
Zuko watched the avatar jump into the tree. he waited at the roots, knowing that it was a waste to jump up there just to return. he was the avatar, and he had connections with the world and universe that no one else had. It's not as if Zuko could see what he did. His eyes closed, and his arrows glowed for a moment. It was interesting, that much he had to say.
When he heard his voice, he grinned. "... A wooden cage?" he asked, thinking over what he'd heard. Nodding, he seemed amused, but said nothing. She was a metal bender, so that was out. "Alright, let's get going." The bald monk slid down the tree and took off at a run. Zuko bolted after him, having a run a bit faster to catch up. He reduced the pace to continue to run beside his friend. "Well, you can water bend, so we'll be fine." He told him confidently. He smirked as they moved through the trees. More and more trees appeared, and the water got deeper and deeper. They had a harder time avoiding it.
Toph sat up, slamming her head on the top of the cage. "OW!" She yelled, holding her head in annoyance. Blinking, she was confused. How.. she heard Aan'g voice. He said her name. Shaking her head, she rubbed her eyes for a moment and laid down again. Her hand touched the bottom of the cell and she shifted strangely. It was strangely cold and wet.. Her eyes widened. It was glass? They'd only put her in it yesterday, and they hoisted it up here today. It pissed her off a lot to think that they were willing to let her drown if she fought. She'd kill them before they had the chance to take her out.
Moving towards the side of the crate, she felt the temperature lower, and heard a loud crashing sound. Thunder... again.
As they ran, Zuko looked up at the sky. If these guys were fire benders, they would be weakened by the rain. Zuko would be as well, but he has his swords with him. He was a skilled fighter, and fire bender. They could easily take her. The two would easily take these men. They were nothing.
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Post by nyrax on Jan 19, 2010 2:42:39 GMT -5
“Yeah, held over semi deep water”, Aang said. “They are probably trying to make her cautious. If Toph breaks the roots and not the cage she could be in for some serious trouble”, he pointed out. “Swimming isn’t Toph’s strong suit after all, it’s one of her few weaknesses”, he commented as they continued to run. Aang knew the way, it was still a good distance off so they needed to hurry as quick as they could. Normally Aang would run as fast as he could while using air bending to propel him forward, but with so many enemies he would need Zuko. The fire lord wouldn’t want to be left behind anyways. He wanted to save Toph as soon as they could, but they still needed to be smart about it.
“Saving Toph is obviously what we need to do first”, Aang said as they ran. “I don’t think these men will be any trouble, but if Toph is free on them than we probably wouldn’t even need to do anything”, he said with a small laugh. He could imagine how vengeful Toph would really be, those men would regret picking her over Katara to kidnap. Toph was an extremely strong and diligent fighter after all. She was hardly ever scared or worried, she could take on anyone. Aang chuckled to himself. Perhaps Toph should have been the one to stop Fire Lord Ozai. Then again, she didn’t seem the type that would want credit.
They were getting closer with every step, each movement getting them closer to the upcoming battle. Aang looked up as he felt it get darker, the clouds beginning to block the sun from view. He smiled. It was a good chance of luck it seemed. There was no way that anyone other than fire benders would want to make Azula rise to power. With this weather their power was going to be extremely limited. Admittedly so would Zuko, but he was the greatest fire bender on earth. Even with reduced abilities, and with his sword, Aang was certain that he could take down many men. “We are getting close……….ready Zuko?”
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Post by Fateful on Jan 19, 2010 2:54:45 GMT -5
Zuko nodded. "No, Aang. I'm not ready, let's go back and have some tea." He added with a grin as they ran. "Of course I am. It's been three days, come on. Let's get going." The two of them ran through the woods. Grinning, he looked forward, he pulled only one sword from it's sheath. "How much further?" He smelled sulfur from fire not far from them. "We need to find their leader. You take care of Toph, I'll take care of them while you get her out. You should probably bend some Earth for her. In case there isn't any." He nodded as they moved closer to clearing.
Toph shifted again, moving her hand over the glass. They were trying to find where the edges were, how much room she had to work with. It scared her to think that she could drown. She hated water... Unable to see, it meant that she didn't know which way was up or down. Water easily led to her being confused. She almost drowned once as a child, and since that day, she hated water, and her father kept her away from it. Shifting, water started to pour in through the top of her cage. Her skin pulled up around her nose, showing she was pissed off. She hating being wet too. "Ugh!" She complained, feeling hard and uncontrollable water start to pour in. It... almost felt like a monsoon. Like... a flooding.
The fires they had set around went out as the water level instantly started to rise from the lesser levels. They were unsure of how to proceed. They couldn't leave her there, but... Sighing, they started to pack up their things, moving up into the trees. They were would be a lot of water in the area, but it's not as if the Avatar was there. This would delay a bit... but the princess was worth waiting for.
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Post by nyrax on Jan 19, 2010 3:17:57 GMT -5
“I always did enjoy a good bit of tea”, Aang said with a laugh as he could tell that Zuko was really ready. The fight might not be easy, but he knew that they would win in the end. Aang wasn’t going to save the world only to be remembered as the man who couldn’t even save one friend. They would save Toph, and she wouldn’t even be scratched by the end of this. What good was the power of all the elements if you couldn’t do anything with them after all? “It’s not too far ahead Zuko, we’ll be there in just a moment”, he said as they continued to run. The rain was getting worse, at least Aang would have more water to use with his bending. The water was coming up a lot higher than expected though, would Toph be okay? What if it get too high?
And then Aang began to see something familiar, the trees and vines were images that he had only just recently seen. Aang took a breath as he continued his run. “Sorry Zuko, afraid that I have to make an entrance of my own”, he said with a grin before suddenly booking it at an extreme pace. He needed to cut Toph down before any of these fools actually tried to stop him. So for this, he was using as much energy as he actually could. HE ran forward, sending streams of water on either side of him away, the wind was just that strong at this point. As soon as he entered the area he could hear shouting, apparently he had been seen. Not that it made any difference now. Aany leapt up, swinging his hands to the side and shot force a concentrated shot of wind, cutting the vines off of her cage. He knew that this was a little bit of a rash move, seeing what happened next.
The water beneath them was growing, and with the cage suddenly dropping Toph would find herself with that scared feeling once again. It would seem like she might drown. Aang wasn’t going to let that happen though. He suddenly leapt into a diving position and swam after her, using the water to send him further up ahead. He reached down and found that he was close to the cage Toph was in. He suddenly shot his arms outward, propelling a large blast of water away from them. There was suddenly air in the area, and Aang kept using this force to push away the water beneath them until they landed on solid ground at the very bottom of the swamp. “Toph!”, he shouted as he saw that her cage had water in it as well. How did that work? He didn’t care though. His training with water had progressed greatly. While keeping the upper water away he used a hand movement to cause the water to leave the tank completely, giving Toph the air she needed.
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Post by Fateful on Jan 19, 2010 3:40:52 GMT -5
Zuko threw his sword to stop some of the warriors from coming forward. They tried to firebend, but all of it went out within three feet. Zuko kicked one of them in the face, drawing his other sword and drawing the other from the tree branch. He spun around, tripping one, and hit the other with a sword. Another drew a sword and they slammed against one another. The others drew their own, circling around him, trying to knock him down.
Toph heard the sound of air. Sitting up, she looked around, trying to focus on the sound. It sounded so familiar. The cage shook and then it fell. Toph felt a flutter in her heart, instantly feeling panic in her heart. She was terrified, but never made a sound. When the cage hit the water, it hit it on it's side, rattling the glass, but it didn't shatter. Toph held onto the side and it instantly sunk down into the water. Holding her breath, she trashed around, kicking the glass which didn't shatter. Jerking around, she made a sound, feeling something beside her. All the water drained from the cage and she gasped. Panting, she kicked the bottom of the cage again, this time, the glass completely shattered, cutting her foot that she used to break the glass. As soon as she did, her foot touched the ground. Standing, she held out her arms and raised her hands. A circle island rose all the way up up through the water. Soaked to the bone, water blew Toph's soaking wet hair around her face. It was long, and down, reaching the curve in her thin back. Holding her hand out, she jerked forward and the trees shook. They shattered, the soldiers falling into the rising water.
They trashed, making her loose sight of them. Her legs held strongly onto the ground, and pillars of earth started to rise through the water, shaking through where the warriors were now unable to get out; drowning. Panting, Toph looked forward, her green eyes focused forward, hateful and a giant black mark was across the left side of her face. A bruise. It extended from her neck up her chin, and just under her eye. As one of the soldiers jumped out of the water, they grabbed a branch on a tree and ran off.
Zuko was up in a tree and grabbed the male, stopping him from running.
Toph let out a breath, lowering her hands. "So Twinkle toes." She turned her head to face the direction where she could feel him. "What took you so long?" A big smirk was on her face, she didn't just seem confident, but pleased with herself.
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Post by nyrax on Jan 19, 2010 3:59:08 GMT -5
Aang’s eyes visibly widened as the first thing that Toph did when she was free was raise the earth underneath her up in order to fight. Clearly she wasn’t going to waste any time with this revenge of hers. These men had touched her after all, bound her and taken her to a place where she couldn’t use the strength that she had come to known. These men had done their homework, but there was no amount of research that they could do that would prepare them for what was coming next. Toph was free and able to bend, a lot of people were going to die now.
Aang also turned and saw Zuko fighting with his body and sword, almost seeing the sword as an extension of his body. Zuko had taught himself how to use swords while at sea, and clearly that training had definitely been worth it. As some men tried to escape Toph took care of the majority. Occasionally Aang would send out some waves of water to crash down on some fighters. They had already won though, these men’s morale had been completely wasted. It was all over. Aang could only smile as he felt a bit of the old days coming to life again. It had been some time since they had all fought together.
Aang just blinked as Toph referred to him by his old nickname. Hearing it brought the largest grin ever to his face. “Toph!”, he said excitedly before pulling her into a close hug. He held it for a few moments before letting go. “Oh we were so worried, we debated for so long about what to do and then weather and all that you know”, he said with a small laugh to her question. “Did they hurt you? Are you alright?”, he asked. He knew that she didn’t like being babied or controlled, but Aang couldn’t help himself with that question.
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Post by Fateful on Jan 19, 2010 4:07:00 GMT -5
Toph shrugged, noticing how excited her was that she was talking to him. Feeling him grab her, she rolled her eyes. Considering he saved her from drowning in a sense, she wrapped her arms around him, holding him roughly for a moment. Smirking at him, she held him tightly. "I'm fine..." She shrugged, her foot bleeding. She didn't really notice it, and smirked confidently. Her hair was glued to her face from the wind and water. "They tried. You know how strong I am. They hit me once." she tapped her face. "But, I got my revenge, so." She looked around, but was unable to really see much. The water was making her vision fuzzy. Not to mention the wind pissed her off. Stumbling forward at the gust of wind, she grabbed onto Aang's shirt. "Can we get out of here?" She asked, standing up, looking to the side.
Zuko jumped over to them, landing on the small island. "We need to find some cover for now. We can interrogate this one." He held one of the soldier's he'd grabbed when they tried to escape. "See what this was about." He smirked, feeling how powerful the wind was. "This has to be a hurricane or something..." Looking around, his eyes narrowed. "Let's find some high ground."
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Post by nyrax on Jan 19, 2010 4:49:47 GMT -5
Aang smiled in surprise as he felt Toph hug him back. He had a feeling he would, but he wasn’t sure if she had become more of a loner since they last met. The nickname, the way she acted, the usual bored tone of voice, it was definitely the same Toph that had had gone on so many adventures with. She hadn’t changed, and that made him really happy. “Yeah I noticed that your revenge was pretty effective”, he remarked as he saw the damaged state all the soldiers were in. Toph definitely had improved even more than he had suspected. He was once again standing in the presence of the greatest earth bender that history had ever known. Even King Boomie, now gone, would have had nothing on Toph in both their primes. Aang had a feeling that Toph hadn’t reached her max yet anyways. “Yeah let’s get out of here guys”, he said as he felt Toph holding onto his shirt. Right now it must seem strange to her, like standing on a lone dot in the middle of a black void. “Allow me”, he said as he slid his foot forward in an earth bending stance. Suddenly a long row of earth pillars rose in order to allow them all to cross to the other side. “I’m not sure what kind of high ground is here Zuko”, he remarked as he scratched his head. “The highest point here is that large tree……maybe we could reach some of the higher branches”
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Post by Fateful on Jan 19, 2010 5:01:39 GMT -5
Toph made a face. "Are you kidding me?" She asked, glaring at him, she instantly seem displeased. "Pretty effective? Psh, please! I totally won and destroyed them." Crossing her arms, a grin crossed her lips. "So, Lord Sparky is here too, eh?" She turned her head to look towards the fire lord.
Zuko smiled at her. Walking over to her, he bent down, so he was face level with her. She promptly punched him in the chest, knocking him back onto his butt. "Don't mock me." She warned. Whereas all of them, including Katara had gotten taller, Toph stayed much the same size. She was a few inches taller, around 5'3, but couldn't be too much taller than that. Perhaps her blindness had other consequences in her development, which showed in her stunted height. Her body was small, but she was strong. Her arms were tight, her legs were firm and sturdy. Even after being held in a cage for days with little water and no food, she still looked like a powerful Earth Bender.
Her cloths were ripped, and part of her shirt looked as if it had been burned. She was unable to see fire, she could only feel it. Her curves were much more drastic than one would expect from her. Long ebony hair was plastered to her face, neck, back and partially exposed chest from where her shirt had been ripped. "A tree?" She asked, agitation in her voice. "I can't see in trees, Aang... You know that." She muttered, looking up at him. She used his name, showing her seriousness and discomfort. "But... if you think that we'll be safe. I'd rather be unable to see than drown." She added. "Just don't let me go."
Moving into an earth bending stance, she made more pillars and ran across them away from him. She could sense the tree. Even with water, she was able to see it, even feel it's immense weight resting on the earth. "Come on slow pokes!" She yelled over the howling winds. As they move, she couldn't help but grin, feeling them running after her. Her hand moved downward, dropping one of the pillars they were approaching about 10 feet down.
Zuko pulled the male he was holding, but soon after knocked him out, tossing the lighter male over his shoulder. "I'm going to get Appa! I'll meet you at the tree!" he called, darting off towards where they left the bison.
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Post by nyrax on Jan 19, 2010 5:18:45 GMT -5
Aang let out a light laugh. “Yeah, I was looking for something along those lines actually”, he said in regards to Toph’s comment about how she had completely destroyed the enemies. “I don’t think they’ve ever been more afraid of the very earth itself. You have improved greatly since I last saw you, I’m still way behind you though in your own talent”, he grinned.
Yeah this was definitely the same Toph that Aang had always known. To watch her punch Zuko right in the stomach because he tried to talk face to face with her made himchuckle. Despite the losses that the fire nation took during the war it was still one of the most powerful nations in the world. The war had cost everyone, but especially the fire nation when it neared the end. Toph still held that powerful ability to be important and demand attention whenever she was anywhere. It was just who she was, you noticed and respected someone like Toph because of what she was able to do. Her family always looked at her like she was handicapped and she needed protection. They had no idea the daughter they had raised.
Aangs turned to Toph as she expressed concern about being in the tree, and not being able to see at all. He knew that she hated that, it made her feel powerless. She didn’t really want to go back after just escaping the same situation. At least with this choice she’d be with friends and able to live. That was something. Aang was about to point out that going anywhere would certainly mean death, especially for her. It looked like she got the point though, beating him to the punch before he said it. “Don’t worry, I promise that I won’t”, he said honestly. Toph would know that better than anyone. She always knew when someone was lying.
Aang ran off after Toph and along with Zuko as they were heading towards the tree. She did seem to have changed her mind pretty quickly though, not that he was complaining. If he could think of something that Toph could see at than he would go with that, but this was the only way right now. “Woah!”, he shouted as he leapt over the fallen pillar and used his wind to make sure he landed on the next one. “Hey that was close!”, he called after her.
Aang turned his attention to Zuko and nodded. “Good Idea, make sure that guy doesn’t try anything”, he added before Zuko darted off to get Appa. Aang continually ran after Toph, not sure of how she was hoping to get that high in the tree once she got there. He used the wind to speed up his steps, trying to get closer to Toph as they ran.
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Post by Fateful on Jan 19, 2010 5:29:42 GMT -5
Toph felt the purpose of his nickname. He was so lightly touching the ground it was hard to sense him. He moved fast, catching up to her much easier. Smirking, the ground under her move, darting her forward. Two could play the bending game here. He was strong, and his affinity was air, but hers would always be Earth. There was more earth around her, but there was so much air from the strong winds that he had a lot at his disposal. As they ran, she moved her foot to bend again, the ground behind her started to grow jagged, crumbling, and falling apart in certain places. A grin remained on her lips as she darted.
Turning around, her brought her wrists together, hands open, fingers curled slightly inward. She bending a boulder towards him, sending it flying into the air. "You're earth bending is slipping, pupil!" She yelled over the winds, water whipping across her body. She hated the feeling and it reminded her of sugar queen - whom she didn't part company with in the best possible circumstances. They'd argued before Toph took off. The Earth bender wouldn't walk the three miles back to apologize, and the water bender's own pride was at stake. Her argument was that Toph was unable to read, so sending her an apology was pointless. She'd just wait until she returned.
The prideful bender never did return however, and it had been two years since she'd spoken to the blue eyed bender whom she once considered to love her more than her own mother. Her body was starting her hurt, her leg and foot stinging. But she ignored it, continuing her fast paced running. As she got closer to the tree, she slowed, feeling the earth grow less and less vast. Without realizing it, she left the ground and touched the tree. A sonic wave ripped through the tree in her confusion. Off the earth, this tree was connected. It was alive and connected to the earth. It had minerals inside it... minerals that the roots absorbed from the earth. She could see... but it wasn't much. She knew where the ground was, but that wasn't too comforting. Her eyes were closed, but it was mostly her being out of it. Shifting, she let out a deep breath. Glancing up, she heard Aang moving over to her.
"I see better with living wood that dead wood." She whispered, but reached out for him. They were under some leaves, so the winds them less harshly. Blood trailed down the back from the cut on the ball of her foot; the main source of her vision.
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Post by nyrax on Jan 19, 2010 5:57:08 GMT -5
Aang should have known that Toph would still try to play off a challenge, even after this kind of a fight. That was just the way she was, she always joked around even at the most serious of situations. Her blindness was key in her jokes, and they really did have a way of getting to someone. Suddenly he found his steps to nearly cause him to fall over. Toph! She was cracking the earth with every step that she took. Well, he would show her that he hadn’t stopped learning just because she was gone. He started taking larger, more powerful leaps and steps. Toph would definitely see these with the vibrations. Aang forced his foot down even further into the pillar, causing the earth beneath his feet to crumble even more before leaping to the next pillar. He was using what little earth Toph left for him and using it like a spring board to move further.
Aang was doing fine until he looked up at what was coming next. “Woah!”, he shouted before leaping high in the air barely having the rock avoid crushing him. He glanced at Toph as she said that his earth bending was slipping. She was right, he had always learned best when she was yelling and teaching him after all. Since then he just wasn’t able to use earth as well as he could. Toph brought the best out of Aang, inspired him to become something truly amazing when it came to the earth. It was only thanks to Toph that he had ever been able to do earth bending. That style just required such a different feeling than he was used to. His skill was air, but he was being asked to work with his opposite, and that wasn’t something that came easy.
As they arrived at the tree Aang slowly his pace, only running up the roots when he felt like losing the momentum would have made him fall back into the ever rising water. Toph seemed to be looking deeply into it, as if recognizing just a little something. “Well they did hold you here for a reason”, he pointed out. “They knew that you’d be weakest here……….not that you’re weak or anything, but you did have a serious……..I’m gonna stop now”, he said before he wanted to invoke Toph’s wrath on him. “Anyways, we need to reach higher areas before the water reaches us”, he said for a quick change of subject. “None of the elements but air will help us here”, he began nervously. He already had a plan, but he knew that Toph wouldn’t like it. “But we’d have to travel together…….I can’t just shoot you up there afterwards”, he pointed out. “But if you have a better idea that works too!”, he said quickly with a small laugh. He really hoped that Toph wouldn’t break his nose for this.
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Post by Fateful on Jan 19, 2010 6:10:12 GMT -5
Toph looked at him, pissed off that she couldn't feel his heart rate, or see the way his face moved as he spoke. She was only able to see small pieces of the world around her, but his physical reactions would have helped her. She did have one huge indicator however, and that was his voice. It cracked, and whereas it was much deeper than before, it showed how unsure and worried he was. Slowly, and very carefully, she took a few steps forward, towards him. Her hand made contact with his torso, and she was shocked to feel how much taller he'd gotten, even though she'd already made contact with his body. Even the hug however, she wasn't trying to look at his body.
Now however, she sent a pulse through his body to see him. Closing her eyes, she sighed. "are..." She paused, unsure of how to proceed. "you telling me that you need to carry me?" It angered her more that she was helpless to see anything in this situation than the fact that he would touch her. Truth be told, she didn't care if he was around her. She was never one for physical contact, but she trusted him enough to know that he'd never hurt or take advantage of her. Come on... he was Aang?
"I understand what you meant. I'm weak and useless here... Shut up." She muttered, her voice foul and irritated with his implications.
Besides, he was still probably head over heels in love with Katara. Maybe they were married by now? Stumbling, she felt a huge stab to her pride, like a buffalo bird had plowed it down, took it up in it's strong horns and flew off with her to throw her in a water pit for it's children to devour. Her eyes opened, but they didn't do much. Even though she was blind, she still had some motor control of her eyes, and she still felt pain in her eyes. The water whipping into them was painful.
"I have no other ideas. I can't bend wood." She said, biting her lip. "Just... don't drop me..." She muttered, looking away from him, her lips slightly twisted, showing her discomfort. Feeling water against her feet, she moved closer to him. Her chest bumped against his. "I hate water..." she muttered, holding onto his shirt. Now she wanted to punch him, just because she didn't want to be weak or vulnerable. Not helpless like she'd felt over the past few days.
"Let's... just get this over with." Her voice seemed nervous. On Appa's saddle, she had something to hold, but depending on how he held her depend on her ability to hold on, and how worried she'd feel.
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Post by nyrax on Jan 19, 2010 19:49:32 GMT -5
Aang hung his head in shame for a moment as Toph told him to shut up. He always said things to get her angry it seemed. He really hadn’t meant to, but that didn’t change the fact that he ultimately had. Toph wasn’t defensive or sensitive, she just hated to feel useless. Aang would feel very much the same way. This place was like a worst nightmare for Toph, she couldn’t do anything to help herself now practically. It was either go up there or drown though, what choice did they really have at this point? He knew that she hated it, but circumstances just called for it sometimes.
“Yeah that’s kind of what I was getting at”, Aang said, still with that bit of edge and nervousness to his voice. He really wouldn’t have been surprised if Toph suddenly just punched him in the gut for even suggesting such a thing. It was just the way she was, he loved her for it, but sometimes it did get a little annoying. She hit hard after all, for having short arms. Aang’s eyes widened considerably when she agreed to it, as long as he promised not to drop her. Well of course he wouldn’t do that, he was lacking in some of his earth bending skills but he wasn’t that much of a klutz. “Don’t worry Toph, I won’t”, he promised her.
As the water continued to rise Aang knew that it was time. He looked towards Toph who suddenly moved closer to him and grabbed onto his shirt, not wanting to lose complete feel of everything. “Just hang on Toph, it will be over soon”, he said before wrapping his arms around her tightly while she held onto him. Toph was light, so that would definitely make this easier. Right before the water got up to their knees Aang took off while he still had the power and momentum on his side. They rocketed right into the air, only stopping once they reached the branch in question. Aang guided where they landed, and Toph and Aang both felt the branch beneath their feet. Aang held her for a few seconds more before letting her go. “Alright, we’re good”
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