03 | Gem of Amarra | OTA

[herotherhalf]

Harth was stunned.

The sun was bright and brilliant, gleaming off of his glasses. Even as a human he had seen so little of it under the blanket of smog over Haddyn. You had to give it to whoever was in charge, creating the universe, be it god, demon, powers that be, they had a particular poetic ism when it came to beauty. The sun gave life, life that sustained even those who were no longer living.

He walked through the courtyard, clumsily climbing onto a stone slab that seemed to have served a purpose at one point, but no longer. He sits there, enjoying the sun on his face warming his otherwise room temperature skin.

It was so warm.

But that warmth only served as a reminder about how much he yearned to have a decent meal. He he was starved, and no amount of birds or rats would satiate him. He needed a meal. Human. The problem was finding someone naive enough and gullible enough to follow him.

What he'd give to have that witch in his clutches, just now. Watch her scream into his hand before he bit her. Bonus? He wouldn't have to deal with her exposing him. But that would be too easy.

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[herotherhalf]

Harth raised his brows at the news, her being able to dense as much as his not having a heartbeat was almost alarming, if she even knew what it meant. He'd have worried if that were the case, but he didn't worry at all. He just smiled.

"My heart doesn't beat because I don't have one. It's a machine. It doesn't beat. It just pumps blood." Also explains why the sun makes him sick, he supposes. "Had heart problems, weakness. Ever since I was small."

[tophbeifong]

"Oh. Sorry."

She turned her head away and leaned back against the tree, stretching out and relaxing.

"I think that's kinda cool. Duo just thought his colonies were nifty, but hey- here we have a prime example of technology and machines saving lives. We even have entire people made out of it."

She cocked her head to the side, giving him a grin. "Kinda makes me embarrassed of my hot air balloons."

[herotherhalf]

"Hot air balloons sound great. If we had one here now we'd be free to leave, wouldn't we?" Good point, Harth. He looked around the courtyard and shook his head.

"We should look for a way out, Toph. Make ourselves useful."

[tophbeifong]

"But where do we start? Do you have any ideas?"

She tried her best already. She'd tried exploring as much as she could on her own, but she could only get so far without others with her. Not only would doors not open without at least one partner, she also didn't feel much like getting caught by the shadow beasts and not being able to fight because she couldn't see them.

But what else might work?

"I can't tunnel out. I've already tried that."

[herotherhalf]

"I don't know. Could you make a ladder off the side of the castle? We could climb down." It was a possibility. There had to be a way down that wasn't directly in the path.

"If only we had better weapons."

[tophbeifong]

"Weapons are only good for fighting the shadow monsters. They aren't good for escaping." Duh.

Then, a smile spread across her face.

"Hey! How about this? Catapults!" With nothing more, she flexed and made her motions, causing the ground under him to jet out and up, sending him flying into the air. The ground continued with him, though, and on the way down he only fell a foot or so.

She continued her toothy grin. Bah, that Toph.

[herotherhalf]

And he shouted out in surprise, gripping the hand the ring was on just out of reflex. Thankfully it was a tight fit. Conformed to his fingers. It wasn't going anywhere.

"Toph!" He yelped, looking down to his friend.

"What're you...!" Okay. Falling on his ass of course. He settled on the pillar he was now sitting on.

He sat up there, looking down at the girl. It wouldn't be fair to do what he wanted with her, but then again? He didn't care. She was expendable. And dangerous.

"We should give it a try."

[tophbeifong]

She quickly rose on a pillar beside him, arms folded over her chest as she stood and stepped over onto his.

"The only problem is, I don't know if I would be able to catch you. You'd be falling on your own once you made it over the wall."

She sat beside him, arms still folded and eyes closed as if she was disappointed.

"My Bending doesn't work beyond walls here."

What a downer. The place would be SO much easier to command if she could do anything past doors or walls or windows.

[herotherhalf]

"Not the catapult. That's reckless, far too reckless than we can afford." Harth replied, trying to peer down. He purposefully grimaced as if to indicate he was afraid of heights.

"We should try to explore. Something. Earn our keep. I know I'm almost completely useless. Can't even pick up a rutting piece of wood." Too heavy for poor little Mr. Fray.

[tophbeifong]

"It's not too reckless. There's water somewhere over there. I can hear it and smell it. I'll aim for it," she told him with a grin before simply sighing and lying back, wiggling her dirty toes in the warm air.

"Well, hey, you can be NOT completely useless. If you can tell me what's attacking, I can do everything else. That work?"

It always helped to have exploring buddies.

[herotherhalf]

He looked at her, looking her over. Could work. Could work specially to his advantage. Running scenarios over in his mind, he nodded in an agreeable way despite the fact she couldn't see him do it.

"Tell you were the target is? I can do that. Maybe we can make it farther out this time." So long as it's daylight.

He trembled a bit, looking down to the ground. "Could you let us down?"

[tophbeifong]

At his request, a smirk came over her face, one that screamed of evil and mischief. She lifted her fists and slammed them on the pillar. It instantly dropped. They stayed where they were for a split second before gravity took over and they plummeted, though the ground was only just a few inches below them at all times.

As they neared the ground, the pillar stopped before slowly lowering them to the grass and the shade, standing upright on their feet. Her talent could be terrifying and incredible.

"There. That's better." She dusted off her front before walking past him. "We'll try to go as far as we can, but it's not a great idea to get too far into the castle just by ourselves."

She could handle most things that came her way, but still, that outing with the Duos had made her want to be more cautious.

[herotherhalf]

She was going to make this difficult for him, wasn't she? And for that? Her pranks were becoming tiresome now. He offered a small chuckle though there was little emotion behind it.

"Let's go out and survey things. You can show me your tricks along the way." He said, stepping onward towards the common area.

[tophbeifong]

"Sounds fine with me. Just pick a hall and we'll go." She shrugged to him, hands behind her head as she walked.

She waited for him to make up his mind before following him.

Toph wanted to get more controlled face time with these creatures. She wanted to learn more and more about them, see what about them she COULD sense, if anything.

[herotherhalf]

He didn't bother making a gesture, or pick up a length of wood when he left the common area into the stair's room. He simply moved on up he stairs. They were going back to the trolley which seemed to be the most direct route and the easiest way far from the common area.

"This way, Toph." He said quietly, taking note of anyone he may have to answer to. Nobody watching just now. Safe enough.

[tophbeifong]

Toph didn't think much of his actions. Or, rather, the lack thereof. She'd been told the castle was mostly too dark to see far, but it was bright outside, or at least hot enough to convince her it was bright.

Or maybe Harth had a fancy "flash light" like she'd heard Duo talking about. As for his lack of a weapon, she was just a tiny but suspicious. Ah, but he didn't seem like the fighting type. He probably hadn't thought to get one. But hey, he had her, right?

The thought made her grin, even through the light tingle in the back of her neck.

Something didn't sit well about the whole situation, but she shoved the feeling to the back of her mind. She had no reason to suspect anything bad would happen aside from a mishap with the monsters.

Although she paused in her advance to try and reassure herself, it wasn't but a minute before she was right behind him again, albeit quieter. She was listening for things.

[herotherhalf]

It wasn't nearly as dark as people have made it out to be. Once they were in the sun lit stair room or the following long room, sure. It was dark in there. But once they were outside of that it was the sun beating down on them again. To think that Harth was just a mere lost ring away from a inferno. A fiery and untimely demise.

"I encountered the shadows with Heero. I think I'll be able to direct you properly." And hopefully he wouldn't need a weapon.

"This way." Up the second set of stairs onto that long stretch, up to the rooftop.

[tophbeifong]

She followed him, attention on the ground and the various sounds around them.

"Is there anything back here worth exploring?"

She counted her steps as she walked, measuring how far from the stairs and how far down each hall and how many total they'd taken. She couldn't see through the entire castle like normally, but she could make mental maps and try to memorize them.

It didn't always work, but she tried, at least.

[herotherhalf]

"Seems like the most straight forward direction to access the rest of the castle." He remarks dryly as he approaches the last step to the roof, then turning his eyes around. He could see and hear birds fluttering around, flying free in the blue sky. His eyes then fell down to the dome shaped structure to his right. He stepped towards it.

"Over here, Toph. Can you sense what's down there?"

[tophbeifong]

"Over where?" she asks automatically as if on impulse, but quickly makes her way to his side and focuses her attention at where she figured he was looking.

She put effort into it, going so far as to actually start squinting. It did her no good visually, but helped her concentrate a little.

Still, it was all in vain, really. A hand rested on the bars in front of her and she sighed, sounding annoyed with herself.

"I dunno. I can tell it's there, but I can't tell what's in it. Why, do you see something I can't?"

Y'know, besides the whole great big bright and clear obvious entire world around her.

[herotherhalf]

"Hole in the ceiling. Wonder what's in there." Privacy. Supplies. He just says it with nothing more than mild curiosity. Betraying not his intent to lure her anywhere out of sight and out of mind.

"How about bending a way down there?"

[tophbeifong]

"Just as easily done as said," she giggled with a mischievous smirk.

Her feet spread wide and she focused her concentration and pull on the roof, the iron, the wall, and the dome. A width of stone shot out from the roof they were standing on and stretched like taffy out to the dome. The iron bars were merely moved out of the way so they could get to the long walk way that she'd made.

She relaxed back, fists on her hips and a look on her face that screamed, "Behold!; the power of the greatest Earthbender in the world!"

"Okay. Come on." She climbed onto the walk way and headed down towards the dome. The walk way crackled and dropped bits as they walked, but otherwise stayed solid and strong under their steps.

[herotherhalf]

That smirk of hers was beginning to wear his paitence thin, not to mention cause him to feel concern whenever it appeared on her face. It wasn't fear, just apprehension. Whenever she assaulted her with her pranks out of boredom all it did was annoy him. Thankfully in moments it would nolonger be a problem.

He started down the steps on the walkway towards the dome area, looking down in what seemed to be a storage unit. A few metal crates on the floor, but it was spacious and roomy. Harth liked it, provided there was a new roof.

"We could use this place." He remarked, looking up at the hole in the roof as he looked for a door.

"There's no real way to access this place, but that roof could use a repair."

[tophbeifong]

"It seems easy enough to access from up here. I could just make stairs for the way down," she told him, standing on the edge of the break in the dome and the walkway.

Almost as easily as she'd formed the walk, she worked on the stairs. Her back was turned to him as she did so, and it wasn't until she'd pulled stone from the dome itself to form a door and an outcropping, did she turn to face him.

"There. How's that? It's not repaired, but it's certainly improved!"

She moved through the door and began tip toeing down the stairs.

"Geeze. Roomy in here, isn't it? What would we use it for?"

[herotherhalf]

"If you say so." Harth replied slowly, stepping fully into the domed room, moving, climbing down awkwardly into the room proper.

"A secondary shelter? A check point?" What did he know about exploring? Not that much, but it made sense to him.

He stumbled again once he was on the ground. This boy was not sure footed at all.