She grinned at her rival, and though she couldn't see, she knew that he grinned back.
"GO!"
The earth at first momentarily gripped at her ankles and then pushed her forward so hard that she would've gone flying if the ground hadn't risen up and caught her again. It was quite like a Rabbitroo bouncing along, except little of the power was from Toph's own legs. The earth propelled her along, pushing her, eager for her to win this race as she was herself. After a few seconds, she changed her way of travel, opting to move like she was ice-skating, except, once again, the ground moved her. She grinned wildly and hoped she didn't get any bugs in her teeth. His laughter reached her keen ears in the wind he rode, and she pushed herself even harder.
A problem arose. I very, very large problem. A mountainous one, to be exact. The mountain was indeed very big, it's peak lost in the clouds and no visible edge at the base. Toph gritted her teeth together. Going up or around it would take too much time, probably causing her to loose this race. And she absolutely refused to loose.
She took a breath, pushed herself up from the earth, and jumped. There was a moment of suspense, when she glided through empty air, much like a diver, arching her back and clasping her hands in front of her for her entrance back to earth. She could feel it, her faithful element, very close. With a quick movement of her hands, the side of the steep mountain parted, and she returned back to the earth, burrowing into the mountain. She moved just as fast as before, her hands out to part the compacted dirt in front of her. She could feel small insects around her, and the comforting presence of a large badgermole nearby, coming closer to investigate the reason for someone invading it's underground home. It was next to her for a brief moment, like how a dolphin would appear beside a swimmer, before disappearing back into it's own tunnels.
The edge was close. With a final push, the Blind Bandit burst through the otherside of the mountain, into open sky, and fell back onto the ground that once again caught her. She was close to her destiniation now, and she could tell that he was just as close. She had lost her headband somewhere along the way, probably when she had dived into the mountain, and her ebony hair streamed behind her. She kept going, almost to the clearing that marked the finish line.
She crossed it with ease, then drew herself to a stop. She was sweaty and panting, but she grinned as just a moment after her, her rival whooshed past the finish line.
"Beat that," she said, smirking from ear to ear.
"No fair," he panted, landing beside her. "You could go through the mountain. I had to go around."
"Excuses, Twinkle Toes? It's not my fault that air can't go through earth. What's that saying? No matter how hard the harsh wind howls, the mountain will not part to it."
"It's still not fair!" Her opponent, the Avatar, continued to complain. "And the saying is No matter how hard the harsh wind blows, the mountain will not bow to it."
The small earthbender made a 'Pfft-ing' sound, flicking her bangs out of her eyes, only to have them spring back in place. "I still won. So, what was it you had to say again?"
Aang mumbled something.
"What was it? I couldn't hear."
He growled, cleared his throat and said in a much louder voice; "Toph Bei Fong, the almighty Blind Bandit and awesome Runaway, is the greatest earthbender in the whole world. She could kick the Avatar's ass any day of the week."
Toph grinned. "Now that didn't hurt, did it?" She said, patting the sulking Airbender on the head.
"It hurt my pride," he grumbled. Toph laughed.
"Pride? Pride in what? You're thin as a stick, and weak! You're just a little kid!"
"Am not," he said, kicking the ground.
"Sure you aren't, big guy."
"I'm not! I'm tough and...manly..."
Toph burst into laughter. "Manly? You're....manly...haha..."
He was an aribender, after all. And airbenders were fast. Quicker then she could feel, he had grabbed her around the waist and covered her mouth with his. She was shocked for a moment; it was, after all, her first kiss. Fireworks exploded inside her, and her brain scrambled for reason.
He pulled apart after a few moments of Toph's helpless mental flailing, and smirked.
"Beat that."
In English we had to write something "Involving travel on land, sea, in the air or underground." Good stuff.
Having fun, isn't hard, when you've got a library card! XD
