03 - Open

[tophbeifong]

Tea. The past few days were incredibly rough and all rough days call for tea. Lots and lots of tea. The well had come through and she was graced with a lovely tin of flavored tea straight from the Jade Dragon. It was a blend made specifically for the delicate senses. 'Bandit's Brew,' Iroh had called it, specially mixed just for her after she expressed an intense fondness of a fruit flavored jasmine that hadn't quite taken off the way he'd hoped.

Toph, though, found it as calming as it was delicious, as tasty as it was smooth, and it was exactly what she needed at that point in time. She'd had enough adventuring and exploring for the time being. Instead, she wanted to relax and let her injured back and shoulders heal.

Toph Bent a fire pit under the shade of the tree in the courtyard and let a small blaze grow while she crafted a sturdy pot and a set of cups out of clay. She monitored the water in the pot with the back of her hand, waiting until it had reached the perfect temperature to boil the leaves. She judged the time by smell and before long had a nicely brewed pot of rosy red tea, sweet and fruity in both taste and scent.

She poured herself a cup and hesitated before filling the other three.

The general turned tea guru had always said that the best tea in the world didn't taste half as good unless it was being shared with someone. Friends made it delicious enough, but complete strangers often added a unique zing. At first she thought he was finally hitting that nutty stage of old age. As she sat there, taking tea alone for the first time in ever, she wondered if, like everything else out of his mouth, there was some underlying wisdom that she didn't understand until... well, until she simply understood.

((Ooc: Free tea for all!))

Comments

[tophbeifong]

"Sure! Hey, I'll even talk to one of them for you," she offered, taking another sip.

"Or, maybe, introduce you. That might be easier. That way you can tell them what you need."

[sakedrinking]

"I-introduce me... ?" Haku stammered nervously, fingers curling tightly against the cup. She wasn't shaking. Yet.

"Y-you don't... have to do that..."

[tophbeifong]

No, but Toph could still sense her apprehension, so she dropped it.

"Okay... if you want. I guess I could just ask for you, instead."

Though she didn't know what to ask or how to ask it. She'd figure it out, she guessed.

"If you change your mind or need the help, the offer's still there."

[sakedrinking]

"O-okay..." Haku said after a pause, nodding slowly. She was always nervous, but the castle as of late seemed bound and determined to turn her in to a paranoid mess. She hated it.

"Thank you..." she added a few more seconds later, gaze on her feet. All the awkward, this one.

[tophbeifong]

Toph only grinned, taking the time to pour herself another cup of tea.

"I don't guess you'd be too interested in exploring, huh?" she asked, leaning back against the tree again.

Although her shoulders and back hadn't even completely healed yet, she was still making plans to head out again, search and seek until she found something worthwhile, something that might help them all.

A few attacks were not nearly enough to deter her.

[sakedrinking]

"Exploring?"

Haku frowned thoughtfully, going back to tugging on her hair as she often did when she was contemplating something.

"Well... I'm not... completely against it, I just don't want to slow anyone down..."

[tophbeifong]

Toph knew how she felt. Sort of. Once she'd gained control of her earthbending, Toph honestly hadn't been a burden, though sometimes she felt like one.

"Even if you are, that's okay. We'll slow people down together. How about that?"

[sakedrinking]

Haku blinked a few times, honestly surprised at the offer.

"R... really? Are you sure... ?

[tophbeifong]

"Sure! Or we can be slow together. Whatever works. It's always good to have back-up, isn't it?"

She turned her attention back to her tea, focusing her senses on it.

Egads, that was good.

[sakedrinking]

"Ah... it... it is..." she stammered a little. She was nervous about exploring with anyone, really, but there was still a happier note to her voice. The fact that Toph was willing to go with her at all was enough to bring an awkward but warm smile to her features.

"... thank you..."

[tophbeifong]

"Yeah, no problem," she smirked, closing her eyes and relaxing again.

"If nothing else, we can figure out small stuff. I think it might be beneficial to know the quickest route between two rooms at any given time, or the fastest, easiest, safest way to the safer living areas."

[sakedrinking]

"I wonder if anyone's thought about making a map yet," Haku mused thoughtfully, sipping at her tea again. It had gone cold, but she didn't mind it like that. It was still good, flavorful tea.

[tophbeifong]

"I know a map-maker. We might be able to ask him," she shrugged. "But I don't know if he's gotten much farther than we have. A map wouldn't do me any good, anyway. I'd rather figure it all out myself, and create my own mental map of sorts."

[sakedrinking]

"Oh, you do? I wonder if he can use other people's maps to make a more complete one..."

For the relative clarity and intelligence of that thought, her next question wound up being the complete opposite.

Because it really had taken her this long to realize there was something different about Toph.

"Why wouldn't a map do you any good?"

[tophbeifong]

Toph gave another shrug.

"He might be able to. If I come across him again, I'll ask him."

She honestly had no idea of where to find the old guy, and filed the thought away with a sip of her tea.

"My feet would have a better read of the terrain than my eyes would of a map," she shrugged yet again.

"Blindness does that." She wasn't shy about it.

[sakedrinking]

"You're-- ... you're blind?!" Haku yelped, slapping a hand over her mouth.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is the sister of Miku Hatsune - the biggest derp in Japan.

She was bound to have these idiotic moments.

But it didn't take long for her to go from shocked to sheepish, shoulders slumping.

"I-I'm sorry... I didn't even--"

Wait.

"... how... did you know I was here if you're blind... ?"

[tophbeifong]

Not her fault. Toph liked to think she hid her blindness well. It didn't take much to do, really. All she had to do was work around it, not make a big crybaby deal about it, and not let it hold her back. Sometimes, it took people a long time of knowing her to realize she was blind, and more often than not, her closest friends who had known her for a long time forgot that she was still blind.

She smirked at Haku's reaction, but hid the smile behind her cup.

"For one thing," she started, answering her question, "You spoke when you walked in. Second, while I can't see, I can sense, and know where you are. It's pretty cool," she smiled at her.

[sakedrinking]

"O-oh."

She knew that. Really. Why would she forget that she spoke? That's silly.

The explanation, however, was very interesting and made her sit up a little to listen. Sensing? That was pretty cool.

"Wow... that's amazing."

[tophbeifong]

"You make vibrations when you walk on the ground. I can feel them and tell where you are."

It was a simple explanation. It usually satisfied most queries.

[sakedrinking]

"That's... really incredible..."

It made her wonder what would happen if she sang, but she wasn't about that to bring that up.

"You're kind of amazing, Toph-chan..."

[tophbeifong]

That surprised her.

... what had she been called?

"... Just Toph is fine... but thanks. I know I'm amazing."

She couldn't hide her smile, though.

[sakedrinking]

"Oh... sorry..." Haku grumbled, rubbing a hand over her face. "I keep forgetting no one here knows honorifics... Just... Toph. Right. I'll remember that."

[tophbeifong]

"Don't worry about it," she told her. "If it's a habit that makes you comfortable, go ahead, but there's really no need for it."

The tea was great, but she wondered if next time she shouldn't ask for a box of the cookies to go with it.

[sakedrinking]

Cookies would have been nice. Haku was suddenly having a craving for rice crackers herself.

"I don't mind not saying it. It's just confuses most people."

[tophbeifong]

"Where I come from, those words haven't been used in centuries."

She remembered hearing about them in her classes about etiquette and manners and being a polite, quiet little girl hiding from the world behind her father or something like that- she'd honestly stopped paying attention.

"Sometimes if you're lucky, you'll meet some old spirit or grandpa that wants you to use it, but no one really knows what to say, so the point is moot for the most part."