Author's Note: I worked on this thing for quite some time, and I'm really happy with the finished product. I hope you are, too!
Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar. I'm just not that amazing.
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Chapter 4: Promising Destruction
Toph originally went to her room, but she didn't stay there for very long.
The only thing she did when she reached the room was take off the armband she'd made of the meteorite Sokka had given to her before the war's end. She simply slipped it off and made it join the meager contents of her single satchel, and, even if she felt sort of empty without it on her arm, she found that the action was slightly gratifying, too.
She'd then left her room in search of entertainment. She figured a little earthbending would do her good, so she set off toward the outside practice grounds, which could be found in the southernmost reaches of the palace's property. It was certainly the best option, so that was where she busied herself.
"Not bad, Bumi," she murmured to herself. "Not bad at all." Before her was a grassless, treeless earthen plain. Several formations provided perfect targets, and she was slightly impressed – there were pillars, rock walls, places where the earth was soft and places where the earth was more solid; there was even a plot of sand that she could work with for more practice with that aspect of her element. It was a very, very large area with plenty of room to move and do as she pleased.
She was looking forward to practicing. Perhaps, however, it was her eagerness that caused her to overlook a slight anomaly in the trees at her side – the forest held the least of her attention, though this fact would prove to be dangerous in the near future.
"It looks like I've got the grounds to myself," she said, surveying the earthen field by means of vibrations. She grinned. "Sweet."
Toph lazily walked out toward the middle of the practice grounds and began to work. Digging her foot into the ground and thrusting the heel of her hand forward, she shot a boulder through a circle goal. She kicked her heel into the ground several times, creating slanted pillars; lifting her right foot and bringing it down with a fury, she shook the entire field. It felt good to have so much power and influence, and it felt wonderful to have her raw element beneath her feet. It sent strength rippling through her, and she continued to move with stunning accuracy. The energy flowed through her veins, originating in the earth and moving through her, giving her the power to perform the next set of moves.
She was in her element, was completely consumed by it; it was easy to see, and the single spectator took note of it. He watched her and easily recognized a master – the way she moved, with solidity yet with grace uncommon in most earthbenders; the way she relished each attack; the way she zoned into her element and controlled it fully and completely, leaving no room for it to control her. It was her, and the connection would be apparent to even the most oblivious individual.
However, her spectator was not oblivious in the least, and he noticed details that many others would not. Her focus was on the motion she was performing at the moment, and she did not realize he was there. The fact that she was blind might not be evident to just any passerby, but he could see it in her – not when she was bending, because all such abnormalities were masked when she was working with her element to the extent that even he would not be able to discern that she lacked sight, but when she was not zoned in to the earth around her. She was hesitant, though just enough for keen eyes to notice; she was uncertain, though one who wasn't trained to detect such traits would argue against that fact. She was too headstrong for her almost imperceptible reluctance to be a product of inner diffidence. No – she was sightless, and it was a perfect explanation for one such as her.
The intelligent thing to do would be to wait until she was finished with her earthbending. The moment he stepped onto the earthen plain, she would know, and she would react – he knew this. However, he knew that his reflexes were quick and fluid, and he trusted his own physical ability to the extent that he figured that he would be able to make up for whatever edge her faint reluctance might give him.
Even so, he vainly wished that he was skilled in archery. Chances were something he couldn't afford; he had a job to do, and he had to do it without getting himself hurt in the process. A quick arrow to the calf would have pleased him, but only half of his assigned task would be complete. Leaving a note wasn't an option – she was blind; she couldn't read! Besides, written messages were evidence. Verbal words, however, spoken to the proposed target, were merely lost in the atmosphere – the perfect way to pass on a message. At least, it was the best way possible.
He inhaled a shuddering breath. He could wait no longer; despite his uncertainty at the fight ahead (sure, he had studied his opponent, but most of his observing had only discouraged him further), he had to get on with it. He prepared to leave his temporary refuge of the tree, attempting to come up with a plan but deciding that everything would come to him in due course.
He leapt from his shady perch and onto the barren wasteland of rock; he could not fight the surge of confidence that sped through his veins. No matter what the outcome, he always savored a good fight. Getting his task over with while staying unscathed might prove a challenge, but all doubts dissipated in a pre-battle high.
Toph whipped around as soon as his feet touched the ground. She frowned at the unfamiliar heartbeat, but she immediately recognized a challenger – a wave of nostalgia passed over her as she briefly remembered the Earth Rumble matches, remembered each contender's blood speeding up slightly, his arrogant stance, his probably ridiculously brave smirk that she could practically feel in the atmosphere.
Her frown passed, and her newest adversary took a few steps forward. She sucked in a startled breath when she recognized the light-footedness of a firebender, the bundled energy he held inside of him, pleading to be unleashed; she held a divine hatred for fire, for those who manipulated it, but she concealed it well in most cases. Now, however, she found it slightly difficult. There was something about the person in front of her that felt incredibly wrong – fighting him would be good, but she shouldn't hold back. He was dangerous, she was certain of that. It didn't matter how he had gotten past Bumi's security; he had, and he needed to be properly dealt with.
Without warning, the man twisted his wrist and pushed his right palm in her direction. A ball of fire erupted from his hand and shot forward with stunning speed. With barely enough time to react, Toph threw herself aside; she was on her feet immediately and attempted to trap his feet in a rock casing, but he leapt around, tossing dancing embers in her direction as he did so. He was constantly advancing in her direction.
She backed up a few steps and slammed her right foot into the ground pointedly. A pillar erupted a few feet in front of her; she brought her arms down in a forcible motion and the column collapsed back into the earth, sending tremors through the ground from that central point. This move unsteadied her opponent and he nearly fell; subsequently, her quickly composed flurry of earthen daggers certainly wasn't very helpful to him. Somehow he managed to maintain balance and, in one of the most fluid motions Toph had ever witnessed a firebender execute, he jumped up, spun in the air, and sent a swirl of fire her way.
Show off, she thought irritably.
He was terribly fast. She moved her arms and legs in two rigid motions, sweeping her arms to her sides after the movements were completed; their half of the battlefield was encompassed in a cloud of dirt and debris. She grinned wolfishly. That'll slow him down.
Indeed, fighting was made that much harder for Toph's adversary, but his other senses were just as refined as his eyesight. He stood, carefully listening for any signs of movement. Toph, hardly ever the first to make a move in a fight, waited.
Toph frowned. What in the world was he doing? Waiting for the dust to settle? Not wanting her cover to be a waste of time, she steadily approached his still figure, deciding that once she was close enough she would be able to perform a fairly strong attack.
She was about to be within ten feet of him. He could hear her quiet yet confident gait as she made her way toward him; he couldn't see her – he couldn't see much at all – but his ears perked up, and he shot a thread of flames in the direction of her footsteps.
She had little concept of fire. She thoroughly hated it, abhorred its weightlessness, its terrifying heat that had the inexplicable power to render her injured. How could something with so little substance be so destructive? She felt his foot move slightly, felt it give him strength for another attack, but she didn't understand it. How could he know where she was?
The blaze hit her just below her ribs. The power of it knocked the breath out of her, and the awful heat seared; the accuracy of the attack was stunning. How could he possibly have known where to direct the hit?
Deciding that she had underestimated him, she immediately knew that sneaking up on him wasn't an available option. She sidestepped, avoiding another ribbon of fire; pounding her foot to the earth, a boulder formed in front of her. She shot it at him, and he, mildly surprised, did not quite avoid the attack; it pounded into his shoulder, and he stumbled backward, slightly winded.
She took advantage of his single vulnerable moment. Nudging the earth with her heel at an angle, a slanted pillar popped up in front of her competitor, hitting him hard in his stomach; he was thrown back, landing face-up. She figured that this more than made up for his attack against her in the same area; after all, rock hit harder than fire, no matter the other destructive properties that flames had.
Her opponent pushed away from the ground, but she locked his feet into place so that he couldn't escape. No, he wasn't going anywhere, and he certainly wasn't going to elude her further; the swirl of debris had more or less settled, and she approached his struggling figure.
His feet were too close together and he couldn't steady himself well enough to make any reliable shots. Firebenders needed to have confident stances to attack; his strength had already eluded him, too, so that was another mark against him. Toph smirked, confidence running through her blood – she noticed the light catch in his breathing, the terribly slight pickup in his heartbeat. He was afraid.
"You challenged Toph Bei Fong, the greatest earthbender that ever lived, and you expected to actually have a chance?" She let out an amused laugh. "That – that's pretty funny. Really."
The man glared at her. His mind labored at stunning speeds – the gears in his brain worked overtime, whirring and spinning quicker than ever.
Her expression became serious. He could see the irritable lines in her face. She was certainly no stranger to pure rage, and he wondered if he had done enough to activate it within her; he doubted it. Usually that kind of anger only came when it was attached to some emotional trigger. "Who are you?" she demanded.
His mouth thinned sickeningly. He made no move to answer her; he simply continued working out his thoughts.
Toph's already intimidating frown defined, and she tightened the earthen shackles that bound his feet. He struggled to maintain a standing position, resisting the temptation of flailing his arms to keep balance; his legs were rigid, refusing to adhere to the action of falling.
"Why are you here?" she tried, finding herself more aggravated than she figured she should be. Perhaps anger from the morning still fueled her; perhaps it was merely the fact that he was a firebender. It could have even been the fact that he'd interrupted her practice, but that didn't seem likely – she'd been dying for something to do, someone to beat. A sick smile played on her lips; she hoped it would have the desired effect. "Talk or I'll crush the bones in your feet." She didn't really want to do that – but it seemed like a nice threat.
A contemplative silence followed. Toph exhaled slowly, purposefully; he was too quiet for her taste. He probably deserved to have his feet crushed. She compressed her hands, and the stone casing tightened over his feet to the point that he felt nearly unbearable pain. Still, he refused to cry out.
When she relinquished her power on the rock surrounding his feet, he acted. Summoning certain strength reserves, he focused on his balance and punched in the direction of her legs. A ball of fire scorched her ankles and tops of her feet, putting her off guard for a brief moment.
He shot a similar hit at his own feet, sending just as strong of a blast of fire past his legs and into the earthen tomb that held his feet. He burned himself, but it was nothing he wasn't used to and couldn't deal with; the rock shattered, freeing him. He leapt up, stretching his legs and leaving her vision. He knew she would be beyond furious, and facing her wrath was something he desperately wanted to avoid.
He still had half of his task to accomplish. As he landed, he swept behind her, saying softly, "Kanaye sends his greetings."
Toph exhaled lividly. She tried her best to focus on him, but he was moving faster than any bender she'd ever witnessed, except perhaps Aang. She couldn't pinpoint his location, and what's more, he was speaking to her. How could she let him get close enough to talk to her? His voice, cold and sinister, sent chills through her body. This merely enraged her further.
He made a movement that she could just identify as conjuring a strong blast of fire. She lifted a wall around her, refusing to subject herself to further embarrassment and torture; she needed a moment to think. He was good, but surely she was better! She'd fought more worthy opponents than him. His agility simply gave him an advantage. He was certainly a strange fighter; why hadn't he used his speed to give him a lead at the very beginning?
She noticed that he was slowing down. Perhaps he only had enough energy for a short burst of speed, and that he had been saving it until he needed it; that seemed likely. Still, he was dangerous. He slowed to almost a stop, fifteen feet away from the high walls of her shelter.
She brought down the walls, feeling too muffled to perform well when she was within them. In a flash, she sent a line of sharp earthen daggers at him, but somehow he was no longer there. He wasn't anywhere in her vision.
She felt him land from his jump as the torrent passed; he was a little closer to her. She pounded her foot into the ground and he, recognizing the movement and the sure to follow attack, noticed the ground shaking beneath him a half-second before the pillar broke the surface.
Instead of finding himself at the top of an unbearably high perch, he used the pillar's powerful lifting motion to assist himself in his jump. He leapt into the air and toward her, making contact with the ground at an intolerably close range of the irate earthbender.
She began to make the motion of lifting a boulder from the ground, but he bounded forward so quickly that she could hardly notice the movement until it was too late. She didn't expect him to come so close to her on purpose, but in the time that one could blink, he was holding a smooth dagger to her neck; she had known that he had other weapons from the extra weights she'd noticed when vibrations had coursed up the figure of her adversary the first time she'd seen him, but she was surprised that he was putting one to use.
She caught her breath, but she made to move to get away. Surely if he wanted to kill her he would have already done it, so she waited, more annoyed and angry than she was scared. She wasn't afraid of him, and she wasn't afraid of the probable imminence of death. Fear for her own life was something she rarely felt.
"You're the first to face his path of destruction. Keep this in mind on your journey." The words were bitter, deadly – not a warning so that she might watch her back, but a promise foretelling the pain that was to come. A low growl formed in her throat; her muscles yearned to thrash about so that he might release her from his iron grip, but the icy steel at her neck caused her to keep her temper.
Without warning, he freed her from his grasp. Then he was gone; she realized they were at the forest's edge, and that he had disappeared into the safety of the woods, probably leaping between the treetops to make his escape.
Her fingers hesitantly traveled to her throat. She discovered that he had drawn the knife across her neck during his leave of her; she felt liquid gathering at the site of the shallow cut. As she drew her hand away, she felt that her fingertips were wet with her own blood.
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Author's Note: I'm hoping it wasn't too bad. I've been trying to think of ways to spice up the story, and this is the product. I thought it was refreshing after the past three chapters of intro/explanation. What about you? What do you think?
Review, please!
