Toph

A smooth metal ball was in between her fingers and a big grin on Toph's face. After several tries some mistakes and some cuts on her feet Toph had managed to move metal just as easily as she could move earth. The feel of it was totally different however, as were the shapes Toph could make because as it turned out even if Toph could bend it with precision metal still broke if there wasn't enough of it around.

She also noticed that there was a lot more sound coming from outside her room so it was very possible they had arrived or were about to arrive which meant that Toph 'mastered' a new bending style in an hour. There was still a lot to explore and many new things to try with her new bending style, but she would sure give the princess the fight of her life once she unveiled it.

"You seem to be in a good mood" Mai startled her and Toph cursed her muted senses, she still hadn't managed to 'see' beyond a few feet on metal but that would change.

"Don't do that and yes, I'm in a good mood. Check this out" Toph moved towards the source of Mai's voice and held out the metal ball proudly, she also concentrated on her feet and managed to get a 'blurry' image of her. After so long at sea even so little managed to lift her spirits.

"A ball?...Toph if this is your idea of a funny gift because I always tease you about how 'perverted' everyone is then I gotta say it's not that good"

Toph felt herself blush "Why does it always turn into something dirty when I talk with you? but that's not what I was getting at check this out!"

Toph couldn't move metal without touching it like she did earth, well not yet anyway but what she could do was push her foot into the metal floor and scoop out enough metal to make another ball. In a few seconds after applying enough force she had another smooth metal ball in her hands.

"I made it! I invented metal bending! I am the greatest earthbender in the world!" Toph laughed maniacally as she let Mai bask in her awesomeness, this was the moment where the world would say metalbending started.

"That is certainly impressive" Toph quickly stopped laughing, that wasn't Mai's voice, Thankfully it wasn't her mother's voice either or Toph would be in a lot of trouble.

"Wow so shiny! Hey can you make one for me too!" another girl called out from the side and Toph was surprised that she barely heard her walking even when she was so close to her. But why was she doing a handstand?

"Azula! I thought you were gonna be busy greeting our parents" It didn't take a genious to know that Mai was nervous, it was also evident that this was the super strong princess Mai had told her about.

"Please, as if I would ever waste time with people who don't matter" Toph was about to protest because overprotective or not those were her parents she was talking about, however she didn't get a chance to as her well-honed instincts told her to dodge.

Toph felt the heat of firebenidng for the first time as the princess's attack passed just above her head "Clearly this is the kind of person I should be meeting" Toph was ready to throw hands and show that stuck-up bitch how the blind bandit fought but once more she was interrupted this time by a hug.

Toph felt the softness of the chest of the still unknown girl "Azula that wasn't very nice, I thought you wanted to be friends and she still hasn't given me a metal ball! Look how perfect it is! I bet I could balance myself on its surface with one foot!"

Toph puffed up her chest at the compliment but that just pushed her face further into the cleavage of the mystery woman, then she remembered that air was a necessity and started to struggle.

"Ty Lee I think you're going to make her faint, How about giving her some air" Mai commented with a deadpan tone, and the nervousness that was previously in her voice was gone as if it was never there. Ty Lee let go of Toph and after taking a deep breath Toph had something to declare.

"You guys are so weird" Toph spoke with full confidence and she had expected many things but laughter wasn't one of them.

"It wouldn't be the first time someone thinks I'm strange but that's just because they don't understand my genius" The princess spoke with so much confidence that Toph almost believed her but there was a little flaw with that statement.

"Well, I'm a genius who invented a new bending style and I think you're weird. So what are you going to do about it"

Toph's silent challenge was met with laughter "You were right Mai she is interesting, Let's get out of here and into a training room. I'm sure someone around here can tell your parents you're with us"

Briefly Toph wondered if royalty was so free with their kids that they would allow them to just wander around, because if that was so then it sure beat being a noble and having to have a guard at all times, then again, maybe it was just because the clearly violent princess could take care of herself and would probably injure anyone accompanying her but if it was truly the royalty thing then maybe Toph should look into making a kingdom of her own.

It's not like there weren't a dozen or so Earth Kingdoms besides the so-called true Earth Kingdom, what was one more added to the list? Even better Toph, with the help of the Fire Nation, could probably make a metal kingdom and teach metalbending there. Toph the Queen of Metal sounded pretty good or maybe Metal Queen Toph, Fullmetal Toph!

Nah that last one was just silly. Toph had to put on shoes just in case someone saw her walking with the princess so she grabbed onto the girl called Ty Lee for some support and they soon began walking.

"Oh! Right you can keep this one I can always make more" Toph said as she put her metallic creation on Ty Lee's hand.

"Great! I can't wait to play with it" The words were so childlike and innocent that Toph couldn't help but wonder how a person like Ty Lee became friends with the princess.

They walked quickly and the moment they finally descended from the ship and Toph felt herself standing on the sand she immediately took off her shoes sending them flying off into the distance and buried her feet into the sand. Once more she could 'see' and was back to one hundred percent strength! If the princess tried to surprise her again she was going to end up with a mouthful of sand.

Toph turned to the side and watched amazed as Ty Lee walked almost as if gliding on the ground her feet touching only when necessary and so softly that if she were less experienced Toph might have mistaken her for a bird.

"How does it feel to touch the earth?" Mai asked while the princess observed.

"Like home! I don't like being away from it"

"You're going to have all the time you want to play with the dirt after our spar so let's hurry" the princess said rudely and now with nothing to stop her form fighting at all Toph was ready to answer back.

"If you're in such a hurry to lose then how about a proper greeting right here? Unless you're too scared to fight me in a place with real earth?" Toph raised a brow, the princess didn't even need to speak her answer as Toph stomped the ground sending sand everywhere and using it to block another gout of fire.

"Interesting, let's see just how much heat you can take" the princess walked froward sending fire from her feet but Toph merely sidestepped the attacks and pushed forward with her own.

With another stomp, a pillar of earth surged from beneath the sand, it was a bit muddy but it did the trick as the princess was forced to move, and move she did just in the direction Toph wanted.

From below and from the sides muddy earth came at the princess who in a pirouette of fire stopped the projectiles.

Toph didn't need to see to know that the princess was staring into her eyes quite hard and she had something to say about that "You know if I wasn't blind that look you're giving me would actually do something" Then she gave the princess the same smirk that drove the Boulder mad whenever they fought.

The princess surprised her again by relaxing her posture and smirking?

"You're not bad, but we shouldn't get carried away it will draw too much attention and I'm sure you're not in any hurry to tell your parents about tour bending. Let's hurry to the palace so we can actually fight for real, also, just so you know we have 'real' earth there despite what you may think you're not the first erathbender to visit the Fire Nation"

And just like that the princess started walking again. Toph's attempt at goading her had failed and she didn't know how to feel about that however she didn't have to think too much about what just happened as Ty Lee started talking.

"She likes you! that's great! Azula needs more friends and now that you're friends we're also friends. Isn't that great?" Ty Lee hugged her again and lifted Toph off the ground while spinning her around.

"Ty Lee put her down, you heard Azula let's hurry and Toph you were awesome" Still in the arms of her new friend Toh puffed out her chest again, yeah, she was pretty awesome.