Sorry for the hiatus. Here's the next chap!
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my words.
(Newfound Family)
Chapter III (Questions)
Zuko looked at Toph cautiously as he mentally prepared for their 'serious conversation'. He liked Toph, for all that he had just met her the other day, but was constantly on guard by force of habit.
I trust Toph… but I wish I understood her reasoning a little better.
"All right, Sparky, this won't be too painful if you just cooperate."
Zuko stiffened on the stone bed.
"Give me your wrist." She held out her hand expectantly.
He sighed something that sounded like, "Fine," as he complied to her order and placed his wrist in her small hand.
"I," she began, "have no idea who you are. None." She paused and snapped the metal sheet with her spare hand so she was holding a long, thin rectangle. "The others have come to know you since you were stalking them for almost a year and all, but I wasn't there. We've never been formally introduced or the like. So lets start like we've just met." She smoothed the edges of the metal splint and made another one.
Zuko blinked at her. Her 'serious conversation' was… getting to know him?
That's all… ?
As though she were psychic, Toph grinned at him. "Don't get to comfortable, Sparky, that's just the beginning. I have some harder questions to ask you later on."
"All right. That works." He smiled at her as she fitted the two splints to his wrist and started wrapping it.
"So," he started, "how did you learn to treat a sprain like that?"
She raised an eyebrow at him when she answered. "I'm asking the questions around here, but I'll allow you that one." She finished binding it and checked it's tightness before going on. "I was a competitor in Earth Rumble VI for a while, the undefeated champion in fact, but I received some injuries during the beginning of my career." She spoke in a tone that left no doubt in Zuko's mind that she hadn't sustained any recently. "I wasn't supposed to be able to Earthbend well at all, let alone be fighting." She sounded slightly bitter and sarcastic and he thought he might have caught her mutter the words, "heaven forbid," under her breath.
She continued after a moment, "So I couldn't ask anyone in our household to treat my sprains and the like. I just learned what I needed to learn on my own, I'm no expert on first aid, but I can treat a sprained ankle or wrist as well as Katara."
He nodded, satisfied that she had answered his question the way he like people to answer: short and concise, but with enough depth to make an anecdote interesting. Zuko knew that it was his turn to answer her question. He stood up and placed himself in front of her.
"Gentle lady," he began with a flourishing bow and his best stuffy, Fire Prince voice, "I have neglected you for too long here on the ballroom floor." Toph snorted and he ignored her. "Allow me to introduce my humble self. I am his highness, Prince Zuko the Obvious." Toph wasn't even trying to contain her laughter as he continued. "I go by many names, The Blue Spirit, Sparky the magnificent, Prinssy the brave, The Twice Banished Prince, and Hothead." He remained grave and serious even to the end as he kneeled dramatically and took Toph's hand in his own. "Please, O light that shines in a moonless night, would you honor me with your name and a dance?"
He looked up at her earnestly while she attempted to get her laughter under control. Finally, she composed herself and looked down at him with an ambiguous expression that any courtier would envy. She leaned in close, squeezed his hand, and opened her mouth to speak…
"Gracious sir… no." Her voice went flat as she kicked him in the chest and he landed on his back. They were both roaring with laughter.
This… is the most fun I've had in weeks!
After several minutes of laughter, Zuko and Toph finally managed to quiet down. Zuko wiped tears from his eyes and sat up on the floor.
"Now that I've introduced myself, thus answering your question, it is my turn to question you." He repositioned himself on the floor and raised an eyebrow. "How is it that a young lady educated in the manner of the highest caste of the Earth Kingdom, a caste well on par with that of the Aristocrats and royalty of the Fire Nation, is dressed as an earthbending peasant traveling with the Avatar?"
A/N: Haha! Somehow, I manage to put a slight cliffhanger on the end of every chapter. Which is why its sucked when I disappeared. I'm sorry. I didn't die... but I might if you don't review.