I've just visited the Stone Forest (Shilin) in Kunming, China, and this little story idea kept bugging me because I just couldn't stop thinking about how much that place looked like Toph's playground, so I had to write it.
I am working on Protected, I promise. I'm just stuck on a particularly difficult scene and I needed a break from the Narutoverse. Besides, writing Toph is excellent characterisation practice.
Please note that this piece was written solely for entertainment purposes – there is no actual plot to it. I haven't actually re-read and edited it either, so please do forgive any spelling/grammatical errors.
Mild Zutara and hints of Taang. You have been warned.
Disclaimer: Don't own anything except the character Lina.
A
Making Improvements.
Toph BeiFong, revered and talented founder and young Chief of Republic City's newly-formed police force, was on a long-overdue, well-deserved holiday to visit some dear old friends in the Fire Nation, but the 'advisor' (more like chaperone) that the old farts on the Republic City Council had forced her to bring along because she was so 'youngandinexperienced' just wouldn't shut up.
"… there are protocols, Chief BeiFong, even with the nations united – you can't just waltz into the Fire Lord's palace without prior announcement of your arrival – they wouldn't be prepared – it isn't proper – I thought when you said 'holiday' you meant just a trip to the beach or something, not a visit to the Fire Lord which would have required planning and communication through the proper diplomatic channels – especially with your status, Chief BeiFong – " the middle-aged advisor from Earth Kingdom spluttered, and Toph could feel him pacing rather madly back and forth across the ship's deck. It was irritating her feet.
She had, of course, written Zuko that she was coming (that is, if he could read her chicken scrawl calligraphy – hey, she couldn't see, okay – and if the carrier hawk could get there before she arrived, since she'd just sent it this morning) but she hadn't informed the higher-ups where she was going because well, it was just so fun to watch (feel, hear) them panic.
However, this game was getting a little old and Toph wondered just how much trouble she would be in if she metalbended a scrap of the ship's railing around his big mouth.
"Chief BeiFong! Are you listening to me?"
Toph was saved from doing anything particularly stupid by one of her metalbending officers, Lina (her favourite student by far because she wasn't a lily liver like the rest) who stepped in. "We're arriving, Chief. It also seems that the Fire Lord himself is at the dock, along with the Dragon of the West and Lady Katara, the Southern Water Tribe Ambassador."
Goody. They got her letter, then. Toph nodded at Lina, and discreetly allowed the girl to lead her towards the exit point of the ship by following her footsteps. It was another thing that Toph liked about Lina. Apart from being a stellar metalbender unafraid of hard work, she made no fuss about Toph's blindness, but understood her teacher completely – like how Toph was no fan of ships because she couldn't see well enough on them while bobbing on water – and extended help without ever offending Toph's prickly pride. She was an excellent officer, unafraid of bending the rules to do the right thing, yet possessing a sense of mischief on par with Toph's own.
Her annoying chaperone towed after them, wringing his hands in despair. "This is terrible, terrible – what a Chief of Police – so young – so disrespectful of protocol –"
Toph felt the telltale vibrations of Lina's metalbending stance and nearly laughed as a violent vibration accompanied by a loud 'thump' followed, telling her that the advisor had tripped and fallen flat on his face, groaning. The little metal protrusion of the ship's deck smoothed out into its original state with another flick of Lina's hands.
The mischievous officer ran over to the sprawled man, gasping. "Advisor Fong! Are you alright? You tripped over nothing!"
A wide grin split across Toph's face. If I ever, ever have a daughter, I'm naming her after Lina.
"Perhaps you should rest, Advisor. You don't look too good. Won't you tell the Council that I'm having a lovely time in the Fire Lord's palace?" Toph grinned wickedly, before glancing in Lina's direction, knowing the grin was being returned. The girl was helping the disoriented man up with one hand, the other raised in a salute that Toph returned.
I'm counting on you, Lina.
For good measure, Toph hopped down the gangplank merrily and hollered to her friends on the dock – using her usual nicknames.
"Yo, Sparky, Sweetness!"
She could feel the vibrations of the advisor collapsing in a dead faint before the rest of Toph's rather cheeky officers saluted, then lifted the gangplank and prepared to return to Republic City – taking the advisor (who had been supposed to guard Toph throughout her holiday) with them.
A
"Toph!" Zuko, Katara and Iroh called out simultaneously, their voices warm as they strode forward to meet her at the end of the dock, and she hugged each of them. Toph was by no means a touchy-feely person, but she figured she owed family at least this much.
"It's good to see you!" Katara, ever the mother, was beaming at her while holding her at arm's length to get a good look at the young woman. "You look really good in your uniform, Chief. I'm so proud of you." Toph heard Zuko and Iroh murmur their assent, and grinned.
"Thanks, guys. You all look amazing, too."
Zuko groaned. "Not the blind jokes, Toph, please."
"If the mighty Fire Lord repeats that with a pouty face I might agree."
Iroh's laugh, hearty as ever, sent a deep, rumbling vibration beneath Toph's feet, accompanied by Katara's lovelier, lighter one. She'd never say it out loud, but she had really missed them all. Iroh seemed slower, older, but still as jolly. Zuko was definitely taller and broader, growing into his mantle of Fire Lord. And even if she couldn't see, Toph knew Katara could only be more beautiful than ever. The latter duo also seemed to be standing closer together than was strictly necessary… Toph grinned inwardly. There was some investigating and lots of teasing to be done. If only Aang and Sokka were here to complete the picture.
Zuko sighed, almost immune to her jibes. "We spent two hours trying to decipher the two words and your signature in your letter, you know."
"'I'm coming?'" the Earthbender translated with a grin. "Aang's given up on trying to get me to write in a straight line and telling me that the characters go into an imaginary box and to 'feel the vibrations of the brush on paper'. (1) Oh, and that proper letters shouldn't only consist of two words. What a fussy Avatar."
"You never do change, Toph, even with all those achievements and that fancy armour." Iroh sighed wistfully.
"Oh, there's nothing fancy about my armour, old man. You'll see." Toph laughed. "Now, enough with the sentimental chat – let's have some entertainment! I've had it with the stuffy old farts in Republic City telling me I'm not supposed to have fun!" the Earthbender stomped her foot to emphasize her point.
The earth rippled, and Zuko and Katara leapt out of the way from years of practice. Iroh, with his dulled reflexes, was a little less lucky, and landed on his rump in an undignified manner.
"Toph!" Katara chided as she rushed to help Iroh up. The old man simply sat, stared, then chuckled. Toph decided this was why she loved Iroh so dearly.
"You will have your entertainment in due time, Toph. First, shall we have some tea?"
A
None of them fancied staying in the palace – a constant reminder of politics, work and the heavy responsibilities on their young shoulders surrounded them there. Toph had come here for some time off, and Zuko was adamant that they all got exactly that.
"Since the Ember Island Players are still butchering 'Love Amongst the Dragons', and neither of you have actually travelled Fire Country, I thought we could forgo Ember Island and visit one of the most famous scenic spots in our country instead," Zuko explained as he slid off his ostrich-horse, before hurrying over to help Iroh down as the women dismounted – Katara in her usual fluid, graceful manner; Toph in a solid, confident move. "There are usually lots of tourists, but I've reserved the place just for us today."
Toph paused for a moment where she stood, then wriggled her toes, smiling widely. "I think I'm going to like this, Sparky. I sense a lot of rock here."
Zuko returned the grin, relishing in how un-Fire Lord-ly an expression it was. He led them through a winding, grassy path lined with ancient trees. "I thought you would. Welcome to Shilin, the Stone Forest. It's one of Uncle's favourite places in the Fire Nation." (2)
Their merry quartet ended up on the top of a grassy slope, looking down upon an impressive sight. Tall, jagged boulders of various shapes and sizes rose from the grassy plain before them, as far as the eye could see, half-reaching for the skies like a petrified forest. Many of them were at least five, six men tall, standing majestically in the afternoon sun, sides smooth and straight.
Katara let out a gasp of awe.
"It used to be a sea," Iroh said proudly, surveying the beautiful scene with his hands clasped behind his back, "many, many years ago – but the lands moved, and the sea receded, and this natural masterpiece was left behind. Some of it has been destroyed over the ages by earthquakes, but it is still such a beautiful place." The Dragon of the West sighed wistfully, almost dreamily. "Nearly every stone has a name, or a proverb, or a legend behind it."
"Uncle knows them all." Zuko rolled his eyes, molten gold bright in the afternoon sun. With his hair down and in his old travelling clothes, he looked younger, less burdened by Fire Lord duties. "I've heard them all, too – more than once – but I'm pretty sure I tuned him out after the first horrifying experience."
Iroh reached up to whack Zuko upside the head. "Such an unappreciative child," the old man shook his head with an obvious twinkle in his eye as the Fire Lord yelped in indignation. "However, Fire Lord Zuko, I do believe that you still remember every single one of them – so won't you escort Lady Katara around while this old man hogs the Chief of Police's company for himself?"
Toph half-snorted, half-chuckled. It looked like she wasn't alone on this little mission. She took Iroh's offered arm like a proper lady, then proceeded to drag the Dragon of the West down the grassy slope. "Come on, Iroh, I want to see everything properly!"
Katara and Zuko vaguely heard Toph's cheers of excitement accompanied by Iroh's pleas for 'mercy upon an old man's bones' and 'damned arthritis' as they were left alone on the hilltop. Zuko turned towards the Southern Water Tribe Ambassador, secretly admiring how lovely the Water-tribe blue, Fire-Nation style vest, trousers and boots looked on her.
"Katara, shall we…?"
"Fire Lord Zuko, you are an idiot."
"Wha-" Did being on holiday from his Fire Lord duties give everyone the right to insult him as they liked?
"You heard me, Zuko, you idiot. What part of 'bringing Toph BeiFong to an ancient, priceless, natural stone forest' sounded like a good idea to you?"
"Well, it's a famous place for visitors in Fire Country that generates lots of revenue through tourism, and it's all rock and earth. Toph likes rock and earth." Zuko retorted indignantly.
"Yes, Mister Fire Lord, but she's an Earthbender. What does Toph love doing to rock and earth?"
"… crap." Zuko muttered under his breath in horror. To Katara: "And you're not allowed to talk to the Fire Lord like that, Waterbender!"
"This Master Waterbender who does half the Fire Lord's paperwork can say whatever she wants to the Fire Lord, oh mighty Fire Lord Zuko." Katara sassed right back.
"… damn it."
They both felt the powerful vibrations of the ground under their feet and watched in horrid fascination as some of the stone pillars closest to them crumbled to dust, while others rose higher. One of the tallest were lifted right out of the ground and tossed into the middle of the stone forest with a mighty crash, with Toph's victorious, excited holler echoing after it.
"Come on, Zuko, damage control!" Katara shouted back at him, grabbing a flask from the saddlebags of her ostrich-horse before running towards Iroh, who was standing stunned behind Toph, looking just about ready to faint. He'd been in the middle of pointing out a stone formation that looked like a 'bird in flight' before Toph declared that it looked nothing like a bird to her poor feet and it was time to do some redecorating. Then proceeded to mutilate millennia-old structures.
"… ginseng… oh, where is my ginseng tea… the natural karsts… the stories, the legends – dear Spirits…" Katara offered the shocked man a flask of still-hot ginseng tea from the entire crate they'd brought along (that was Iroh's forced concession regarding refreshments for their trip, or they would have had to get servants to carry his newly-acquired, traditionally-elaborate tea set all the way out here).
Zuko was racing after Toph, who was already in the midst of the sea of boulders, in a solid bending stance, laughing. The previously uprooted boulder was easily lifted high into the air, redirected, and planted solidly into the ground several feet in front of her.
"TOPH BEIFONG! STOP DESTROYING MY TOURIST ATTRACTION!" The Fire Lord shouted after the Chief of Police who was enjoying herself just a little bit too much, breaking the top off one of the boulders near her, and planting it between the tips of two tall, closely-situated boulders so that they hung precariously above the heads of any who dared pass beneath it. It was hard to run with the ground rumbling beneath his feet, but Zuko hadn't spent three years on a ship without learning how to cross a constantly tilting floor.
"Oh, stop being such a pansy, Sparky. I'm making improvements!" Toph shouted back gleefully, pausing for a moment to survey her handiwork – using her feet to sense the positions of each boulder and the pieces she'd 'rearranged'. Satisfied, she easily dodged Zuko's fireball of frustration before focusing on the largest boulder she'd just repositioned in the middle of the stone forest.
"Sparky, quit covering my works of art in soot and stand back!" the blind Earthbender hollered as she dodged another jet of fire. "Iroh, old man, time to show you what my 'fancy' armour can do!"
Zuko could only leap back as Toph raised her hands and two metal wires shot out from the backs of her fists, one of them whipping past his torso with millimetres to spare. He had no doubt it was a deliberate payback for his previous attacks (come on, this was Toph), and decided that he was going to confiscate her armour and make her wear court-appropriate robes and attend every formal gathering held in the coming week.
Toph, unaware (and unafraid) of Zuko's plans of revenge, sent another two metal discs soaring out of their holsters on her back, forming their edges into curved, spinning blades reminiscent of shuriken. In an impressive display of excellent bending control, the Chief of Police sent both the discs and the whips flying towards the tall boulder, chipping off shards and shaping grooves in the rock while moving in a circle around it using some complex footwork. Katara recognised traces of Aang's Airbending style in her movement, and wondered just how often the duo had been training together for Toph to adapt his more flexible bending form into her solid Earthbending stances.
The Earthbender felt sweat beading upon her forehead. She was showing off, but that didn't mean that this wasn't difficult precision work all the same. The lighter, constantly-changing footwork she'd adapted from sparring with Aang helped a lot – she was able to detect minute vibrations from different places almost simultaneously as she carved, allowing her to better 'see' what she was carving. Slowly, a four-sided roof structure not unlike those of the Fire Temples began to form at the very top, and Toph quickly carved tiles and eaves into the rock.
Zuko, Iroh and Katara could only stare in awe as Toph retracted her metal whips and readjusted her stance, before drawing her spinning metal discs back and throwing them hard against the stone, embedding them deeply right under the roof structure. Straining, the Metalbender drew each spinning disc down vertically, cutting through the rock, repeating the motion several times to cut through the rock under each face of the roof. With another flick of her hands, the blades on the discs melded back into their original smooth edge, and the discs soared back into their holsters.
Adapting a more familiar Earthbending stance, Toph crumbled the rock between the cuts, lifting them out and tossing them away, leaving four slightly uneven stone pillars supporting the rock roof, with low walls connecting three of the pillars – forming, in its entirety, a stone pavilion on a high platform, from which one could survey the entire stone forest and feel as if they were standing right above it.
Zuko, Iroh and Katara tentatively made their way through the stone forest towards Toph once the rumbling had stopped, watching out for falling rocks and metal whips. They found her standing before her handiwork with her hands on her hips and a satisfied grin on her face as she turned towards them.
"Impressed?"
A moment of silence met her words. Zuko was calculating damage costs in his head, Katara was still thinking that this whole thing was a bad idea, and Iroh… well, Iroh liked it.
"Very," Iroh found his voice first, a pleased smile on his face. "What an excellent idea, Toph!"
"It's not finished yet," Toph announced. Turning away from them, she stomped her right foot once, and a set of spiralling steps leading up to the open side of the pavilion protruded from the boulder itself.
"You're still cleaning up the mess, Toph BeiFong," Zuko said dryly, although he was no less impressed by this display. The precision of her movements spoke volumes regarding just how much she had grown as a bender. Of course, it didn't hurt that this new vantage point Toph had just created with her viewing platform would be pretty popular with the tourists.
"It's not a 'mess', Sparky, it's called a display of creative ability," the blind woman scoffed. "What do you think, Sweetness?"
Katara surveyed the rough pillars of the pavilion, and the deep crevices across the neighbouring boulders created by the backlash of Toph's metal whips. It seemed a little crude, but it did fit in quite well with the natural landscape.
"I think that we should never let you near another natural heritage site, especially one filled with stone and earth," the Waterbender replied with a sigh. "But I suppose this look works pretty well."
"Well, change is a good thing!" Iroh declared heartily, seemingly forgetting his despair from when Toph started mutilating the millennia-old stone forest. "This old man now has a lovely new place to enjoy his tea. Come, Toph – I must see the view from up there! Do you think you could add some furniture to the pavilion? A stool would be lovely, to rest these old bones. And perhaps a tea-table for our refreshments?"
"Anything you like, Iroh. Stressing Sparky out is fun." Toph laughed. "And since you're so nice to me, I'll even save you the trip up the stairs." Grinning wickedly at Zuko and Katara, Toph stomped her foot again while holding on to Iroh's arm, and a stone pillar carried them swiftly to the pavilion platform.
"What a lovely view!" the old General enthused once Toph had created his desired tea-table and stools for him to sit on. "Now, where is that Ginseng tea…"
"You heard the old man, Sparky, Sweetness!" Toph called cheekily from her perch on the side wall of the pavilion. "Go get the tea!"
Zuko glared up at her, hoping she could feel it. Katara sighed and took his arm, towing the grumbling Fire Lord in the direction of their ostrich-horses and Iroh's crate of tea.
The old man hollered after them. "Zuko! Since Miss BeiFong has done such a splendid job here, I think we ought to hire her to redecorate the Palace gardens – perhaps even some of the more tasteless rooms?"
The Fire Lord whirled around, horrified. "Uncle, I am not paying Toph to destroy my house!"
Toph was grinning so wide her muscles hurt. "Oh, don't worry, Sparky, I'll do it for free. Gladly."
Zuko grimaced, turning towards Katara. "Why do I even bother?"
Katara shrugged, barely concealing a smile.
"I told you it was a bad idea."
"Shut up, Katara."
A
The End.
(1) I'm referring to Chinese characters here, they have various strokes that make up a character but each character, when written neatly, generally fits into an imaginary square box.
(2) This is an actual place, located in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China. I took a few liberties with the descriptions – the broken pieces of the boulders, and the fissures in the stone (basically, the havoc that Toph wrought) are actually the results of earthquakes. The real place is a certified UNESCO Geopark. Do Google it if you want to know more. I like to think that the United Nations in the ATLA/LoK world might also have created an organisation like UNESCO to protect places like the Air Temples, and this stone forest in the Fire Nation.
Cheers to those who got the Lin reference. I always thought that Toph would have a favourite student/officer in the Police Force – who helps her deal with situations she can't openly retaliate in due to her status, like the situation with the advisor in this story. Lina was fun to write.
Hope you liked it!
Rave-chan.