Fire Nation Capitol
Toph Beifong
Toph moved with purpose, striding through the crowded streets. She knew she was drawing attention – she could hear whispers following her: An Earth Kingdom citizen! What's wrong with her eyes? Is she… blind? What's with the metal on her arms?
Toph smiled. She liked standing out. People moved around her, parted in front of her. She felt their hearts quicken as she came closer, footsteps hastening.
A door slammed near her, someone inside yelling about the state of the place. It felt like a shop, with shelves of goods and people milling about inside. Down beneath her the sewers ran, thick metal pipes and open stone tunnels.
A commotion attracted her attention. Down the street, a komodo rhino was rearing up. It snorted angrily, and the ground shook as it landed. It was one of the largest rhinos Toph had felt. People were running and screaming. A large man in armor, presumably the owner of the rhino, was blasting fire at it to try and keep it away from the crowd, but it only served to enrage the animal further.
Toph narrowed her eyes as the rhino turned toward the fleeing people, pawing the ground in preparation to charge. "No, you don't," she muttered. As the rhino began to move, its heart pounding in berserk rage, she slammed a foot forward and brought her hands up. A wall of stone erupted from the street, and the rhino slammed into it.
Stone flew as the dazed creature lurched to it's feet. Toph heard the screams turn into exclamations, people shifting to look her way. She moved forwards. "Am I a little tougher than you thought?" she asked the rhino loudly.
The komodo rhino's head jerked up, and it faced her for a moment, then started to charge again. This time, Toph erected a low stone wall in front of its feet. It tripped spectacularly, skidding towards Toph on its front. Before it could get up, she encased its legs in rock. It struggled in a futile effort to free itself, roaring.
Toph raised her head as the large firebending man approached her, followed by another man. Toph's brow furrowed. This man had a strange skip to his heart and a bounce to his step, even though she sensed he wasn't super happy. He felt tall and slender, and fairly young.
"Thank you," the large man said, his voice deep and surprisingly smooth. "Your help was greatly appreciated."
"We never could have done it on our own so easily," the second man added. His voice matched his step: fairly high-pitched, with a cheerful sounding lilt. "That was amazing!"
Toph shrugged. For some reason she liked this man instinctively. "It was nothing. Just everyday work for me."
"Well, if that's normal, you must be an extraordinary person!" he enthused. "I'm Kanto, the owner of that rhino you just trapped, and this is Fozu, the trainer."
Kanto, huh? "You might want to keep a better hold on you rhino next time."
Fozu headed towards the animal, presumably to get it upright. "You want me to let it go?" Toph called.
"Nah," he called back. "I'm going to prick it with a sleeping dart first to make it a little nicer."
"So what are you doing here with a crazy komodo rhino?" Toph asked Kanto. She didn't normally make casual conversation, but he seemed nice. Besides, she had to hang around until they wanted her to let it go.
"It's for the royal stables," Kanto explained. "My uncle raises some of the best stud rhinos in the world, and Fozu and I are transporting this one to its new home." He paused. "I don't think I caught your name?"
"Toph Beifong," she said, and she could feel his heartrate about triple. "Toph Beifong?!" he repeated. "The world's greatest earthbender? Inventor of metalbending? The Avatar's companion?"
"Yup, that's me."
He was almost jumping up and down. The skip of his heartbeat had turned into a dancing, drumming rhythm. "Fozu! This is Toph Beifong!"
"Good for her," the larger man shouted back.
Kanto didn't seem dampened by his companion's disinterest. "I can't believe it!" he gushed. "I'm so excited to meet you! So excited!"
"Really," Toph said. "I couldn't tell." Despite herself, she could feel a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. He was just so darn contagiously excited.
He seized her hand, startling her, and pumped it up and down. "I just can't believe it! Can I see you metalbend? Is that okay?"
Toph shook her head a little, chuckling. "Well, I don't see why not." She gestured, and one of the glistening steel strips from her right arm shot off, curling around Kanto's wrist. She did the same for the other wrist, then brought her hands together. The metal bands around his wrists slapped together and melded into cuffs, attached together.
Far from being put out that he was just handcuffed, Kanto seemed more excited if possible. "Metalbending! If that isn't the coolest thing ever!"
Toph allowed a smirk to stretch across her face. People didn't appreciate her like this enough. "Yeah, it's pretty cool." She released his hands and flicked her wrist, sending the metal strips flying back to attach around her upper arms again.
"What's that?" Kanto asked curiously, pointing at her right arm. "The dark band?"
"Oh, that's my meteor bracelet." She bent it off her arm and into a sphere, letting it float above her hand. "It's made from space rock." Kanto might wet his pants if he got any more excited, she thought in mild amusement.
"All right!" Fozu shouted. "You can let 'im go now." Toph retracted the rocky bindings around the rhino's legs, smoothing the road out again. The animal stumbled woozily to its feet, much more docile now. Fozu led it past them. "C'mon, Kanto. We have to get this to the stables soon."
Kanto sighed, sounding like he'd much rather stay, but he nodded reluctantly. "I'm coming." He turned back to Toph. "It was really great meeting you!"
"Nice to meet you too," she said, smiling as he hurried after Fozu. "It was fun."
