Sorry! Sorry I'm late! Vacation, procrastination, lack of inspiration; but hey, it happens.
Don't worry, I'm hoping that things will get easier as time goes on. So yeah…
Here we GGGGOOOOOOOO!
"Wow. How is it possible for you to eat that much and stay so thin?" A disbelieving Toph asked with wide eyes, noting the loud munches and the rapid disappearance of food.
Aang, who sat across from her at low, square, table in the Dining Room, slowed his crazed ingestion and faced her. "I rarely eat this much." He said seriously. He took a gander at the very polished and prim room. Aang could only guess that it was constructed from the most expensive wood and marble available. If anyone had told him that he would be dining in a room like this tonight, he wouldn't have believed it.
"Right. Sorry." Toph said, regretting her choice of words. An awkward silence stretched on as the two children searched for something to say. Aang, at a loss, took a sip of tea to distract himself from conversation. Toph sat there curiously. She had never met someone who was homeless before. What did mother call these people? She pondered to herself. Tramps, she thought triumphantly, that's their name.
"Are you a Tramp, then?" Toph asked bluntly.
Aang set down his drink. "I guess so," he replied, his finger absentmindedly circling the rim of the cup, "though I'm kinda new at being a Tramp. I'm not very good at it."
"So if you weren't a Tramp when you were born, then what were you?" Toph asked.
"A monk." Aang stated simply.
Toph made a face, "A monk? Is that like a Tramp?"
Aang laughed, "Not at all. A monk lives in a...monastery, were we learn about the harmony of nature and the gift of life." Aangs' voice bubbling with excitement, "We're taught how to mediate to become spiritually whole with our mind, spirit, and heart. Understanding the balance of the universe becomes easier, it's said, when you detach yourself—"
"That doesn't sound like much fun." Toph interrupted while picking her ear.
"It was! I loved being a monk!" Aang smiled fondly at the memories. "Life was so peaceful there."
Toph tilted her head in confusion, "But if you liked it so much, why did you quit to be a Tramp?"
Aang slumped slightly. Toph couldn't read his expression, but it was obvious that he was upset. "I didn't quit," he sighed, "I…had to leave. I couldn't stay at the monastery; it wasn't safe anymore."
Toph nodded. From what she overhears, this wasn't uncommon. People were ripped from their homes to hide from the Fire Nation. As a Bei Fong, she never had to worry about the war, but that didn't mean she didn't think about the consequences of it. "I'm sorry, Aang."
"Why? It wasn't your fault." Aang said with false cheer. "Besides, what's done is done. I'll just have to make the best of it."
"But you can go back when the war's over, right?" Toph asked, and immediately regretted asking. Aang stiffened, not responding for a moment. Lost in his own thoughts, he glanced down at his reflection in the tea.
Almost to himself, he muttered, "I don't think that's going to happen."
"I'm sorry." Toph said.
Aang gave a small smile, "Why do you apologize for everything?"
"I do not!" she huffed, "It's just an initial reaction." She picked up a roll and took a bite, stomach grumbling.
"No–no, I didn't mean that offensively," he said, his voice flooded with false innocence, "It's just something that a Wealthy would do, I guess."
"What?!" Toph cried indignantly. "Are you calling me a sissy, fairyfeet?" Inspired, she chunked the half-eaten roll at his head, which bounced off the top of his skull, "Would a 'Wealthy' do that?"
"Fairyfeet? I'm not a fairy!" Aang feigned offense, laughing all the way. He then retaliated with a dumpling aimed at Tophs nose.
But Aang, who had only met Toph a few minutes ago, was oblivious to the fact that she was blind. Of course, Toph could still see to a certain extent, but when something is completely detached from the ground, she's as blind as most people believe her to be.
"Ow!" Toph yelped, clutching her nose with both hands. "What was that for?!"
Aang blinked, bemused. "But-but you started it! We're even now."
"Well, I couldn't see it coming, so that's cheating!" Toph shot back stubbornly, crossing her arms over her tiny torso, glaring at him through her sightless eyes.
"What do you mean? You were staring right at me!" Aang said, wide-eyed at her sudden change of mood. Toph, who had been joking only moments ago, now raged from something so simple! "What's your problem?"
"What's your problem?"
"I'm not the one with a problem!"
"Oh yes you are!" Toph snapped, "You're stupid enough not to notice that the person in front of you is blind!"
That stopped Aang right in his tracks. How could this girl be blind? That's impossible! Out of bewilderment, he asked dumbly, "You're blind?"
"No, I'm mute." Toph replied sarcastically, "Of course I'm blind!" The impatient earthbender pushed back her heavy bangs, revealing her pale forehead and even paler eyes. Her irises were bleached to a point of tasteless green. Cloudy and dim, it was clear to Aang that this girl was, in fact, blind.
But something about this picture didn't click. Scratching the back of his head, he asked, "But how did you know that I was in the kitchen, then?"
"I could feel you." Toph said off-handedly. "But are –"
"You could feel me?"
"Yes, stupid. Feel you. Now, are you going to say sorry, or am I going to have to break your fingers?" Toph growled, cracking her knuckles, trying to appear intimidating.
Aang, even though he regretted hitting her with that dumpling, found the fact that a short, blind girl was threatening to beat him up hard to believe. He looked at her uncertainly, "Um, do you always threaten to break other people's fingers?"
"No, but this makes you special." And without warning, Toph began chucking food particles, that down poured on the unsuspecting boy. Rice balls, wontons, apples, and whatever Toph could get her hands on became a deadly weapon. Laughing manically, Toph smirked at the sight of Aang desperately trying to avoid the airborne food.
"Toph! What– EW! No, I didn't mean to– oof! I'm sorry! I'm sorry— just please stop!" Aang pleaded, covered completely in a various morsels. Noodles mopped his hair and hung off his ears like ornaments. Sticky buns and dumplings were glued to his entire body, and soup bronzed his face. Toph triumphantly ceased fire and admired her work, knowing that she had gotten her revenge.
"You are forgiven—" Was all she managed to say. What Toph didn't realize is that Aang's pleading was all a ploy. But Toph figured this out quite quickly when the honey boat was upturned over her head, Aangs smile devious. Time froze as Toph spluttered with shock, seeming to find reality unbelievable; though it didn't take her long to get a grip.
"You little PEST!" She cried as she leaped across the table. Surprised by her strength, Aang toppled off of his chair, both children wrestling in a heap. Screaming, laughing, and taunts rang throughout the Dining Room as their all-out food war raged. Chowders and bowls of rice smashed into the wall, spoons clanked as they collided with various objects, and an entire smoked salmon flopped against the floor. The pristine rug that lay beneath the table lost its original color, courtesy of the growing layers of filth.
"Had enough, twinkles?"
"I could go all night!"
"Is that a challenge, Trampy?"
"It ain't a marriage proposal!"
"What is going on in here?!"
Perhaps Toph and Aang were too loud. Maybe they lost too much control. No matter the reason, together they had caused a disturbance that aroused the majority of the house from their slumber. Much like Toph, the servants were concerned of a break in taking place and immediately rushed to confront the noise. But whatever the servants expected, the reality was far from it. The Dining Room was unrecognizable; the sight almost appeared as if a restaurant dumped its contents across the room. The servants who were in charge of tidiness and cleaning groaned audibly, knowing full well that this horrific mess instantly became their responsibility.
But what seemed to stun the crowd the most were the culprits. Their blind, fragile, and small mistress, young Miss Bei Fong, who had been splattered with various food particles, was kneeling on top of a boy, soup bowl frozen above her victims head. Her cheeks were flushed, and she appeared to be panting heavily. A ghost of a smile remained etched on her face while she held the boy down.
The boy in question was filthy, and not just from the food. His cheeks were dark with soot, and dirt etched every corner of his clothing. But under the clear markings of a street rat, he was just a young kid. And he seemed frightened by display of people looking at him.
In the back of the crowd, many people began shifting to make room for a very angry man. "Out my way! Move! Move!" The man barked, shoving his way through the forest of bodies. Breaking into the front, a man dressed in an elegant nightgown stood, caught off guard by the scene that lay before him. A woman who was equally dressed stood behind him, looking as if she would pass out at any moment.
Toph leapt to her feet feverishly, her smile gone. She didn't mind the servants gawking at her like they were, but the two new pairs of feet distressed her. One pair firm, the other rather bouncy—
—her mother and father.
"Toph!" her mother wailed girlishly, rushing to her daughter, but stopped to avoid getting herself dirty. Maternal instinct overpowering, however, she pulled Toph by her small hand toward a servant, who had a cleaning cloth ready. Her mother rambled on worriedly. "What happened? Are you hurt, popkin?"
Toph didn't really like being rubbed with towels while asked so many questions. "Mom," she said delicately, "I'm fine, really—"
"What are you doing in my home, boy?" Her father, Lao, erupted at the sight of Aang still lying, paralyzed, on the floor. But as soon as Lao yelled, Aang sprang to his feet, frightened. Lao, not waiting for an answer, barked at his quad of guards who had rushed to the scene only moments ago, "Take this street rat to the gaol for assaulting my daughter!" Then in a softer, yet equally dangerous voice, "And afterward you shall explain to me how a mere child made it through your protection."
The Quad, determined not to mess anything else up for them, rushed at the frozen child. "Let's get a move on, runt." One guard spoke in a husky voice.
"Dad, no! He's my friend!" Toph cried in a desperate attempt to save Aang. She didn't want to lose the only source of fun she had ever experienced.
"Be quiet, Toph." Her mother, Poppi, cooed gently. But her mother's words could not stop her rising panic.
Aang, facing his on dilemma, was panicking as well. He wanted nothing more than to escape, but the risk of having to face four guards? And that was beside the fact that it would be dishonorable to do so. Instinct, however, made his arms rise into his defensive position. Nothing could stop them from trembling.
"Goodness, what is all of the commotion?"
Everyone turned to the new female voice.
Meh, cliffhanger. Sorry.
I don't know, it wasn't my best work. But hopefully the next chap will be sooner!
Kk! You know the drill: comments, criticism, pointers. They are good for the soul (and the arteries)
See ya later
-Mahokana