Author's note: This takes place two years after the last chapter; Toph is now eight years old. In the next chapter, she'll be ten.
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The Pai Sho pieces in Toph's hands had been carved by the most skilled artisans in the town of Gaoling. They were not made of wood or clay, as was common for the ancient game. No, these pieces had been specifically carved for the Bei Fong family. Each individual marble piece was like a work of art…the carving of a beetle was set into one, while another bore the image of a wheel. Each white piece had its own unique design: a leaf, a badgermole, a lotus flower...and all were beautifully fashioned to perfection. Why, the Earth King himself would probably be envious of the set.
Not that Toph cared about any of this. They were made of earth, and that was all she needed.
Standing in the middle of her room, she unceremoniously flung the pieces in different directions before taking her stance. Tapping her foot lightly, she sought each individual piece. Breathing deeply, she stretched out her hands and flicked her wrists.
Together, the pieces quivered and stood on their thin edges. Toph brought her hands closer to herself, and the round pieces began rolling toward her. She shifted her stance before they reached her, and began moving her hands in circles. Her targets obeyed immediately and began rolling together in a large circle, with Toph at the center.
The girl smiled. Two years of practicing her earthbending in secret had served her well; the stone pieces followed every motion of her hands. A flick of the wrist, and they skipped lightly across the floor. An upward motion, and they rolled up the walls, dancing on the ceiling in different patterns as Toph saw fit. Once she allowed them to fall back toward the floor, but would stop them with a swift flick just before they hit the floor. Toph laughed about the control she had over them; not a single one made contact with the floor.
Her lessons with Master Yu hadn't changed at all. He and Lao had given up the charades a long time ago; it was painfully clear to everybody that Yu's purpose was to keep Toph well out of harm's way. Toph was sometimes tempted to suddenly reveal her earthbending skills during one of his "lessons". But in the end, she always decided against it. This was her secret, and she was determined to keep it; her father would stop it in an instant if he ever found out.
Ever since the disastrous trip to Ba Sing Se, Lao had kept an even closer watch on his daughter. She was never to roam the grounds without supervision, and he was extra careful to keep her away from the pond. Toph thought this was very silly; true, she had developed a fear of deep water, but the water in the pond was very shallow, and on hot summer days, Toph sometimes longed to dip her feet into the cool water.
Poppy still blamed herself for Toph's near-drowning in Lake Laogai, and she kept a slightly closer watch on Toph than she had before. Still, however, she still kept Toph's feelings in mind and left her alone if she wished, but she had been extremely protective of Toph after the trip. Poppy finally relaxed after a few weeks, but Toph feared that another disaster would cause a complete breakdown.
The pieces were rolling in every direction now; she sent them weaving between each other, dancing in circles, back up the walls again…everywhere they went, the vibrations painted pictures in Toph's mind. She laughed aloud at the patterns and wondered if they would be just as lovely if she could actually see them. Practice time was also her playtime; the pictures she drew would bring hours of enjoyment for the girl.
Footsteps in the hallway…someone was coming! Toph quickly brought the pieces together in a neat pile in front of her, then sat down and began stacking them. Her door slid open, and Poppy peeked in. "Toph? What are you doing in here?"
"Just playing, Mama…" Toph replied, innocently toppling the tower she had built. "Just playing with these pieces…"
Poppy shook her head and smiled. "Well, be careful with those, okay? They are very valuable." She began to slide the door closed. "I never knew that Pai Sho pieces could be so much fun…"
As soon as her footsteps faded down the hallway, Toph leapt to her feet, assuming her stance once again.
Toph grinned as the pieces began rolling. Lady, you have no idea…
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Author's note again: I was thinking about what Toph would do for fun, and this is what I came up with. The idea is that she obviously can't see what's on paper, so she uses her earthbending to "draw" on the walls and ceilings. And it works for her, since she sees with vibrations. I liked the idea so much I almost made it into a oneshot. :)