The young earthbender stared, well not really, back at the overweight man. He looked tired and very nervous, practically sweating bullets.
"Sergeant Wayfare. Are you aware that that the province you are protecting is within the top five safest provinces in the Fire nation?"
The garlic-scented man gulped very audibly. The two people sat in an interrogation room inside the town's police staion. Toph was leaning back against her chair, while the Seargent sat opposite of her on the edge of his seat. Between them was a simple wooden table, and on it's surface were papers all laid out for the two to clearly see.
Toph smiled as sweetly as she could at Wayfare. She had learned that this method of quiet accusation was way more effective than her previous method of yelling profanities and cussing people out as much as she was able. It worked; she scared the daylights out of them. It was obviously also working on the man sitting in front of her. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, and Toph folded her hands together on the table.
"Sir, these papers are a history of the people whom have been arrested in the past six months. Are you aware of how many people have been arrested?"
Wayfare grunted in reply.
"Four people, sir. The first was a man stealing food for his family, so his sentence was light. The next two were a couple of teenagers caught drinking alcohol. Their parents bailed them out. The last arrest was no more than two days ago, a girl, I believe. This record states that she was arrested for attacking an officer. It seems this girl is no more than fifteen years old..."
Wayfare froze, an Toph raised an eyebrow at this sudden change in behavior. "Sergeant, specifically, which officer did this girl assault?"
"Um..." he mumbled. Judging by his embarrassment, Toph knew she was going to have to fix a very stupid mistake. "That would be me, mam."
"I see," she said coldly. "Sir, you have been complaining directly to the top manager of prisons that the officer's salaries here should be raised. You complain that the number of officers working here is short, and the amount of crime is too high for you to handle. This is obviously a joke. You are becoming a pimple on the manager's back, and we want you to stop. You are paid quite enough as it is, Sergeant, as is everyone else here. So please, shut up and be happy, or I will personally come back here to kick your sorry ass."
By now, Wayfare had gone stark white. The threat to her words had forced the man to go limp in the chair. Toph smiled sweetly again and tilted her head.
"Understand, sir?"
He immediatly straightened up, suddenly finding new determination within himself. "Yes, Miss Bei Fong!"
Toph was serious, and Wayfare was a suck-up.
"I will be leaving back to the fire-lord's palace, now. But first, would you mind escorting me to your cells? I'd like to have a word with this dangerous little girl."
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Noemi lay on her back, staring at the black ceiling, wondering what kind of luck she had had up until now.
After all of her misfortune, Noemi still considered herself quite lucky. Uncle had once told her, that when life had seemed to be looking down everywhere you look, count all the things that you are thankful of.
The list was short. Nevertheless, she was still intensely thankful. She was glad that Uncle was there to take care of her all those years, and was thankful that she was healthy and strong. Most of all, she was glad to have found Mother. It gave her almost a giddy feeling, knowing that once she got out, she would find Mother and then live happily with her, since Mother is no longer imprisoned.
But how am I going to get out of here, she thought despairingly. How am I going to find Mother, even if I'm released? She could be anywhere, in any province. Those men who took her meant business. She might even be dead.'
Noemi shook her head and rolled onto her side. No, she thought. Don't think things like that. You need hope, even when there is nothing left.
She closed her eyes, not wanting to see the iron bars.
The door to the room screeched open. Just another guard coming to check on me, she thought.
"So, which cell is she in?" said a young, feminine voice.
Noemi heard the sound of feet shuffling. It stopped near where she was lying.
Another gruff voice said, "In here, M-Miss Bei Fong."
A silence followed.
"Are you going to let me in the cell, Sergeant?"
"Ah! Y-yes, of c-course!" Then came the sound of jingling keys, and the cell door swung open swiftly.
Someone walked into Noemi's cell, stopped right beside where she lay, then silently kneeled down next to her.
A small hand gripped Noemi's arm and shook it tenderly.
"Hey," the voice said, concerned, "Are you alright?"
Noemi opened her eyes to see a goddess kneeling before her.
n-----------------------------------------------------------------------------n
Toph had never felt anyone so lean. The girl seemed as though she hadn't eaten in a week, and on the mat she seemed so fragile and lifeless. It almost hurt to sense her.
Toph turned her head sharply towards the entrance of the cell. "You idiot! Can't you tell she's starving?! Bring her some food, now!"
She generated a look so menacing that the Sergeant tripped on his hurried way out the door. Toph moved her hand from the girl's arm to her face, making sure she was really alive and not just a corpse. Her face felt smooth but cold, and her hair fell all around her like a main. Her lips were plump and her eyelashes were long and full. If Toph could see, she might think that the girl was pretty.
Noemi was speechless. A young woman with long black hair was sitting right in front of her, staring at Noemi with clear, glassy eyes. The hand on her face felt as soft as it looked, for her skin appeared to be silky white. She itched to reach out and feel the other girl's face just as she was doing to Neomi. She was beautiful.
Beautiful and blind.
Noemi quickly sat upright and gawked at her. She is blind, she thought, confused. Aren't only old people supposed to become blind? I suppose young people can become blind, too...
"I guess that anwsers my question," she murmured.
"Who are you?" Noemi said, blushing.
"The name is Toph. You can call me glorified master, if you like. The question is, who are you?"
"My name is Noemi."
"Nice name."
"Thank you. I'm told it means 'beautiful'."
"Really? Mine translates to 'small drum'."
The two stared at each other for a few seconds. It was an awkward silence, so eventually Noemi said, "Did I do something wrong?"
Toph looked surprised. "I could be wrong, but I think that's why you're in here."
"What did I do?"
"Apparently, you assaulted an officer."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. Can I go now?"
Toph sighed. Maybe this girl was stupid. "You have to compensate for trying to attack someone, Noemi."
"But glorified master, I thought he was going to attack me. He reached out to hit me, so I protected myself. He got angry because I spilled something on his shirt..."
Noemi stared at Noemi, amused. "You don't have to call me glorified master, you know."
"I thought you said to call you that."
"I was joking..." The more Toph talked to Noemi, the more she felt like she was talking to an alien. She knew hardly anything, and she didn't understand Toph's sarcasm. Toph's other hand reached for Noemi▓s waist.
Noemi jumped, surprised by the movement. Her heart skipped a beat, but then she realized that the lady was only feeling her clothing to ⌠see■ it.
"What's this get-up you're wearing?" smirked Toph."You must really be quite poor. I'll get one of the idiots here to get you a change of clothes."
Noemi suddenly jerked away from Toph's hand. "No. This cloak is important to me. You cannot take it."
If someone blind could roll their eyes, it seems that Toph could do it. "What? Did it belong to a dead parent or something?"
Toph heard silence. With a jolt of realization, Toph felt instantly regretful for her words.
"Damn, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that."
"It's fine. They've been dead for a long time anyway. So why are you here?"
The blind girl smiled mischieviously."I am here to bust you out. Don't worry, I'll work things out about your 'crime'. You should be free to go within an hour."
Noemi then smiled a smile that could melt mountains. "Thank you so much, glorified master!"
"You seriously don't need to call me tha-"
Before Toph could say anything more, Noemi reached out and gave Toph a tremendous hug. Her arms wrapped around Toph as easily as a glove on a hand, and she held the smaller girl with much enthusiasm. Toph's mind seemed to have stopped functioning. Her white face was blushing tomato red, and her heart started to beat a million times per minute. Why the heck am I reacting this way? she thought incredulously. She's a girl! A very weird girl!
"Are you alright...?" asked Noemi.
Toph snapped out of her hazy state, realizing that Noemi had let go of her. She quickly grabbed Noemi's hand.
"C'mon. Let's get you out of this place."
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