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Post by Fateful on Jan 26, 2010 1:37:19 GMT -5
Toph sat up, resting her feet on the ground to watch him. He struggled, the rock seeming to get heavier the more he climbed. Eyes focusing on him, a grin passed her lips. There were other ways he could do this, but he seemed fairly content with carrying it like a bitch. So, she was going to let him. Her body didn't move; it remained firm and stiff like a small rock. There was confidence on her face. It didn't matter to her how he got it up there as long as he did. Truthfully, she wanted him to struggle so she could make him pay for what he'd already done. Eyes narrowing, she rolled her eyes.
Bending a pillar under his foot to raise his legs, she leaned forward a bit. "Come on Twinkle Toes! Move faster, lift your legs higher. Stop being a baby." She said, starting to become less irritated and more pleased. Torturing him would be fun. She was starting to debate causing a landslide RIGHT before he reached the top to make him do it again, but for now, she was waiting it out. It depending on how well he did.
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Post by nyrax on Jan 26, 2010 1:56:57 GMT -5
Aang was starting to feel it coming back to him. The same training was making him more and more focused as he kept going. He had to keep breathing and keep up with the weight of the boulder. He slowly pressed on, wanting to feel the pain and stress that Toph had done the first time through. It had motivated him to be powerful, to do his best no matter how tired or fatigued he was. He needed to feel it again. He wasn’t using advanced earthbending to move the rock because he wanted to feel the burn and pain. He needed it if he was going to remember what Toph’s training had been like the first time. He took several more deep breaths as he pressed forward, slowly making his way to his destination.
Suddenly Aang felt his foot rising up, right at a moment when he was struggling. Her voice reached his ears and he narrowed his eyes. “You got it!”, he shouted as he realized what she had done. He used the earth to start aiding him with the boulder, using pillars just like Toph had done to help him progress his way forward. He took a deep breath with every step, determined that he would meet this challenge head on and without fault. He wouldn’t let Toph look at him as she did. He would prove that he wasn’t weak.
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Post by Fateful on Jan 26, 2010 2:10:22 GMT -5
Toph felt herself smile. Well, it seemed he understood her subtle hints. At least he was learning, right? Letting out a small sigh, she stood up. Running up the cliff, she landed at the top, leaning over the edge to watch him. Being closer, she wanted to be much more critical the closer she was. "Come on Twinkle toes. Try harder." She kicked the ground, making it shake to throw him a bit off balance. She didn't want him to fall or anything, but wouldn't do anything if he fell.
Sighing, she seemed bored. Looking up at the sun without seeing it, she could feel the warmth, beating down on her partially covered face. "We don't have all day..." She said, a bored look on her face.
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Post by nyrax on Jan 26, 2010 2:22:34 GMT -5
Aang continued up, using the pillars to help his movements every time, slowly getting closer and closer to the top. However, Toph seemed to have more planned for him than that. He suddenly felt the ground shaking from beneath him, nearly causing him to fall over. What happened next surprised even Aang himself. He acted on pure instinct and what he thought would work. He stomped down both of his feet and caused a massive earth pillar to shoot him upwards and launch him a bit into the air. Aang suddenly let go of the boulder and punched it, sending it up and over to the top where Toph was.
Aang leapt down, running and using the earth to speed him up as he went. He ran as fast as he could without using air bending, determined to show that he could do this. Once he reached the top he shot himself upwards with another pillar, sending him high into the air and grabbing the boulder as it arrived. They started to descend, and quickly though. Aang let out a powerful yell, and when he embraced the earth a small crater formed where he was, softening his fall. He was now standing next to Toph and holding the boulder, breathing deeply to catch his breath.
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Post by Fateful on Jan 26, 2010 2:44:44 GMT -5
Him falling made her made her sigh, once again doubting her abilities. It was annoying to see him fall so far at this point. Closing her eyes, she seemed worried. If that boulder killed him, there would be a problem... When he landed on the ground again, her eyes widened and she grinned happily.
Well... I'll be a rat-monkey's wife... She thought, feeling him using earth bending, the earth thundering below him. A smile rested on her lips. "Well done twinkle toes." She said once he landed. When he caught the rock, she walked over and took it from him, easily able to hold it with one hand. It shattered in her hand, small tiny pieces of rocks flying in all directions. "Well, that made me proud of you." She crossed her arms. "Well you don't seem to be as helpless and weak as I assumed. There's hope for you yet."
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Post by nyrax on Jan 26, 2010 3:04:01 GMT -5
Aang smiled as Toph suddenly took the boulder from him and crushed it easily. He was still nowhere near her level or where he had been before, but he felt the mindset coming back to him for what it took to be an earthbender. He needed that feeling of fear, to stand up to something and show that he would do it no matter what. That fall was it for him, he needed to be scared and show that he had the bravery to stand up to a hard task. This was it for him. He smiled proudly as toph mentioned that she was actually proud of him. “Thanks Toph, I just needed to find my courage again”, he said with a grin. “I think I’m ready for whatever you’re going to throw at me, no more doubting from here on out”, he promised with a warm smile. “I swear it”
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Post by Fateful on Jan 26, 2010 3:07:58 GMT -5
Toph nodded. Very good pupil." She said, sitting down on the top of the cliff. "Come here." She said, patting the ground beside her. Now, she was relaxing, completely content with the fact he did so well. "Well, you seem to have remembered Earth bending enough to survive that. Which is what I wanted. And you're alive, so that's something." She nodded her head assertively. "Anything you want me to try to teach you?" She asked, turning her head to face him even though she saw nothing in the action. "Whatever." She shrugged her shoulders. "Come on..." She punched him softly. "There has to be something."
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Post by nyrax on Jan 26, 2010 3:13:39 GMT -5
Aang followed Toph as she motioned for him to get next to her, originally thinking that they were immediately starting on the next part of his training. Apparently not quite yet though, she just wanted to relax and talk for now. “I just needed you to remind me why I was here Toph”, he said with a smile. “You always had a way of doing that, putting on pressure in the best way…..if I couldn’t handle you I wasn’t ready for the fire lord after all”, he pointed out with a smile. He thought about her question. “Well, I’m not sure how well it will help my bending but learning how to tell if people are lying would be nice”, he admitted. “But whatever you want, I am your pupil”
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Post by Fateful on Jan 26, 2010 3:20:33 GMT -5
Toph stood up. "Ok. Have you ever been rock boarding?" She asked, a smile on her lips. "I learned it in the earth kingdom. It's one of the funnest games ever." Standing up, she took an earth bending stance to make something like a solid board to stand on. Shifting her weight onto it, a grin crossed her lips. "Make one like this." She instructed. "We're going to surf down the side of the cliff, and then up the other side, down and over again. Think of it like a surfing through the cliffs. Come on." She said, a grin on her face, moving to the edge of the cliff. "If you win, I won't be as mean." Sliding off, she took off into the canon. "But if you lose!" She screamed. "You'll regret it!
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Post by nyrax on Jan 26, 2010 3:25:39 GMT -5
“Rock boarding?”, Aang asked curiously as Toph brought it up. He had definitely never heard of anything like that. He wondered if it was anything like what he and Boomie would do in Omashu! Now that was a fun game, and it definitely never got old. Aang quickly followed Toph to the edge of the cliff as she told him to. He had a feeling that this was going to get ugly, for him that is. “Something tells me I’m going to regret this”, he said with a small laugh as he got into the stance that Toph did. “Ready”
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Post by Fateful on Jan 26, 2010 3:43:53 GMT -5
Toph slid off the side of the cliff before he finished saying read. Turning her head she cupping her hands over her mouth and yelled. "Go!" Back to him, laughing slightly. "Come on twinkle toes!" She slowed down a bit, as she met the lowest point in the canyon. Flying up the other side, she spun around and left the ground in doing so; going about twenty feet of the top of the submit. coming back down, she slid down, a grin on her lips. "You need to earth bend to help it move! There is a reason behind this!" She called out to him. "Keep up with him or I promise you'll regret it!"
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Post by nyrax on Jan 26, 2010 4:42:30 GMT -5
Aang watched with wide eyes as Toph just leapt down and began to slide down the side of the mountain. Now that looked…….fun. Aang just shrugged, knowing that he’d get his face punched in unless he did what Toph told him to do. With a small sigh he leapt off, doing his best to slide down and not crash and look like a complete moron and idiot. He did his best to earthbend down the mountain, but it was quite sloppy to say the least. He wasn’t very good at it quite yet. He was too used to the earth being at least stationary when he controlled it. This was a completely different field of specialty though. He followed Toph sloppily, not able to go quite as fast as her yet. “There any tips ya got master?”
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Post by Fateful on Jan 26, 2010 4:46:08 GMT -5
Toph nodded. "Yeah, when you're sliding..." She paused as she stopped moving at the top of one of the peaks. "Use gravity to your advantage. keep the bottom of your rock board flat. Use earth bending to smooth out the path in front of you to go down. It'll give you momentum to go up. Then, once you start losing power, use a jagged teeth like earth formation to help pull it up. Like a flight of stairs moving the other. Move the grounf, not so much what's on your feet." She said, seeing him start to catch up. Waiting until he was just behind her, she slid down the canyon once more.
This would help him gain more control and he liked to play games. This helped adjust to his own learning needs and interests. That, and she wanted to do this, and had for a while.
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Post by nyrax on Jan 26, 2010 4:51:18 GMT -5
“Oh! I get ya Toph!”, Aang said excitedly. Some things never changed with time, and Aang’s love of all games was definitely one of them. He had always learned best from them when he was a kid, it was one of the great ways that he had mastered his air bending so quickly. “Alright let’s just give this a try!”, Aang shouted with a large grin as he tried to smooth out the path in front of him like Toph said. It was exactly like that slide he and Boomie would ride! That was easy to create and think about. “YEAH!”, he shouted as he began sliding down at an even faster rate than before. Toph seemed to find a way to get him to learn quickly. He began to bend according to her instructions, looking at them like rules and advice for a game. He stayed close behind Toph as he went.
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Post by Fateful on Jan 26, 2010 4:56:51 GMT -5
Toph smiled at him, feeling how easily he learned this was impressive. He proved himself with that display with the boulder. So, maybe this 'play time' was justified. As they moved, she made it to the edge of the canyon. Turning to face him, she grabbed the rock board he'd created. He didn't seem to see her, because he slammed into her.
Anyone else would have instantly fallen over. Toph on the other hand bent her knees and took the full force of the impact, but was shot backwards several feet in the progress. Drag marks where in the ground from where her feet firmly set into the ground, keeping her standing. "Nice one twinkle toes..." She muttered, looking at him, pushing him a little so he wasn't against her body. "I guess we have to work on you stopping, huh?"
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