"I don't understand why I need to learn to use chopsticks all over again! What possible use could I have for this nonsense?"
"The way you use chopsticks is appalling! I nearly lost my dinner last night when I looked up at you!"
"Well I am blind – cut me some slack!"
"Ha! You can't use your 'blindness' as an excuse anymore! Not when it made you 'the greatest earthbender in the world'!"
Suki coughed quietly from her place in the doorway, observing this heated exchange between Toph and Guanyin. She hadn't wanted to interrupt, but she didn't see the argument coming to an end anytime soon, and so she spoke up at last.
Guanyin and Toph both turned towards Suki, though only Guanyin really turned her crazed gaze on her. Suki smiled, seeing Toph's blank eyes staring into space. It had been a long time since she'd seen Toph, and she hadn't realized until now that she missed the scrappy little girl.
"Sorry to interrupt," Suki said, "but I came to speak with Toph. I've just come from the Earth King's villa; he wanted me to come and do so."
Toph was a little surprised when Guanyin put up no fight, but nodded and left her alone with Suki. She was a little disappointed really.
"I see you and Guanyin get along well," Suki said flippantly.
Toph grinned. "We have a healthy back and forth relationship," she said. She leaned in closer to Suki and added quietly, "Don't tell her this, but she's one of my favorites around here. It's nice to have someone who will properly argue with me, and not simper and flatter me and ask favors."
Suki nodded sympathetically, though her own experience in the royal palace had been quite different. But then, she was in no position to be granting favors here, and so she was of no interest to those nobles who would bother Toph.
"Anyway, Suki, what are you doing here?" Toph asked, not in an unfriendly manner.
"Well, I work for the King now," Suki explained. She didn't tell many people about her job, so she didn't expect Toph to know. "I'm his eyes and ears around the Earth Kingdom, one of many."
"You're a spy?" Toph asked. She looked more excited than suspicious, and Suki nearly laughed.
"It's not what you're imagining I'm sure," she said. "I check up on villages and people, to see how well the kingdom is faring, crops, taxes, governments etc. I don't do any of the cool spying stuff, digging up dirt on people, or dressing up and sneaking into fancy parties. Not really. But that is why the King wanted me to speak with you, to tell you his plan."
"Oooh, a plan? This sounds good."
Suki frowned at Toph, and wondered what exactly had possessed the Earth King to name her as heir. She liked Toph, and she was well aware of how powerful she was, but she was a child, an eternal child. Suki wondered if she would be able to be serious if the kingdom needed her to be. She sighed and pushed her doubts away.
"The Earth Kingdom has become divided. It used to be one kingdom under the Earth King, now it is city-states and walled cities, and towns living disconnected from the rest of us. There is no cohesion; that's why the Fire Nation was able to invade so easily during the war. If there was some more communication between the kingdom, at the very least…"
"The King wants to take over the Earth Kingdom?" Toph asked. "But he doesn't even have any real power."
Suki shrugged. "That's not exactly true. But well… He doesn't want to be ruler of the Earth Kingdom, not really. But he's right when he says we should be more united. He won't start a war or anything, don't worry about that. We're just trying to put in place some more efficient structures to keep the kingdom together. In case there is another invasion, we would be able to work together better, and then, in everyday life, we could get help to people who need it, or build roads, or create subsidies where they need to be."
Toph nodded. She could see the wisdom in all this, but all the same, she found it quite boring. "So what am I supposed to do about this anyway?"
"Oh just… watch. And learn. Whatever you feel you can."