castleinthemist | 02

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02 - open

Toph knew she found the courtyard through various senses. She could smell the fresh air, hear the birds, and feel the warm sunlight and cool breeze. The hard stone from the castle faded into softer walkway stone as she moved out into the yard. When her feet touched the grass, she smiled to herself. No longer was the resonance of vibration from the earth surging out and back at her with all its strength. Instead, it met resistance and the grass muffled her senses as it tickled her feet, creating a sort of static for her until it gave way under her soles to let foot meet soil and allow the reverberations communicate to her nearly half a second later than solid ground.

It was a strange sensation, but she welcomed it. It calmed her, and she continued to smile while she moved to what she thought was a nice spot.

She breathed calmly and evenly as she took her stance. One move, another, and then a third, and a perfectly shaped chaise rose up from the ground. She felt proud of herself as she moved to it and lay down, body lying comfortably against the contour of the grass-covered reclining seat.

Once decidedly comfortable, Toph pulled a flask from her belt and took a drink from it. Nice, cool water. She'd stolen the idea from another castle inhabitant and had made one out of a chunk of metal ripped from her bed frame. He used his for naughty juice; she used hers for water.

Toph felt a little guilty. Most of the castle was trying to figure out how to get out of there. She, though, wasn't putting so much effort into it. Sure, she wanted to leave, but what could she do? She'd promised a new friend that she wouldn't go far without eyes to help her spot the monsters she couldn't detect. While she wanted to do her part of the exploring and searching for a way home, she didn't want to be useless in a fight against a flying shadow with claws.

There were very few times that Toph would admit her blindness to be a hindrance. A skirmish against the monsters that moved without contact or sound was one of those very few times.

"I'll just wait for a friend," she told no one before closing her eyes and laying her head back against her arm.

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It was a leap of faith. It was one he was willing to take for the good of the team and the fact he knew he'd at worst be roughed up, even if he did fall the two stories. That's assuming he landed correctly. And that made all the difference.

So when he was let go by the two he let himself fall, kicking the shadow behind him. At the very least he'd have something to fall on top of!

He had mere seconds to maneuver himself so the shadow was directly beneath him before he smacked right down into the platform that was thrown out just as he arrived.

Sad thing was that the shadow didn't offer as much cushioning as he'd hoped for. No broken bones, but he was effectively stunned. On the bright side, the plan worked.

"Heeeeeeeey!" Duo called out as he leaned over the edge, looking down at where his double had landed. He... looked okay, if not horribly winded and a little stunned. That had been... pretty damn intense, and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't shaking a little.

"You okay, man? Say something!"

The Earth Bender held her breath and her stance until she could feel Duo's heartbeat telling her that he was alive. Likely in a good deal of pain, but not incredibly injured. She breathed a sigh of relief, but didn't break her stance.

"Sliding. Hold on," she warned as she moved through another stance until the ground beneath her and the younger sloped into a not-quite-steep ramp down to the platform where the older lay.

"Duo?" she asked, worried.

Not incredibly injured, no. Just banged up a bit, bruised and battered. Yow. He slowly pushed himself up to sit and grunted, leaning an arm over his bent knee.

"I'm okay!" He said with a hollow and haggard voice. Okay being subjective. Yeah. He was just fine. Probably needed some help up. Guess they weren't going after the tracks after all.

Duo slid down the slope, catching himself in front of his double where be bent to help him to his feet without a second thought.

"That was insane... heh..." he said with a nervous, hesitant note to his voice. His heart was still racing, but the adrenaline rush would come crashing down soon enough.

So none of them were really in much of a position to carry on much longer or farther.

Toph let out a groan and fell back to sit down for a moment.

"... should we go back?" She wondered if either of them could do with a nap as much as she could.

Insane? Yeah. It was. Reckless too. He could feel a bit of shake from the other as he rose to his feet, aching as he did. Ow. So his body didn't agree with that and it was screaming at him for his stupidity.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I've had worse."

So go back? He nodded, then looked to Toph. "Yeah. Let's to back."

"Yeah... I think... I think we're done out here today..."

Damn his nerves. The shaking, the rush, actually feeling afraid not for himself but for some one else and all the feelings and emotions that came with it. He hated that. It was just too hard to come back down from and feel remotely normal once it was all over. Piloting was so much easier to deal with, even after the rush of a major battle.

He sighed and shook his head, making sure to keep his double standing on his feet.

"Let's... try to hurry. I just want to get back to our rooms and forget this crap happened..."

"Sounds good," she agreed. However, she didn't make much motion to move. She sat there, building up the energy to form the will to get back to her feet, Bend them to the ground safely (though not without a few bumps along the way- hey, she was tired) and head towards the door.

How she was even upright was a miracle to her. She felt like collapsing and was convinced she would at any given time.

"Ow..." was all she could say as she slowly walked beside them.

What hurt worse of all? The claw marks on his legs. Caused him to lip a little especially as they started marching up those stairs. Damn. Damn.

He was starting to regret that fall, but he trudged on anyway, rubbing the sweat off his forehead. Couldn't fault anyone for not having the endurance to take care of those things. You needed a mob just to take down one of those things!

"You okay, Toph?"

Edited 2012-02-29 16:54 (UTC)

Duo was in a similar state of 'ow my everything' as he walked along side them, looking to his companions with worry. That had just been too damn close. It seemed any plan they'd made to deal with the shadows thus far always fell short of 'not enough', and they were already running out of options.

He was quiet, even as his double asked Toph if she was alright, figuring she didn't need the question in stereo if it had already been asked once.

No, she wasn't okay. She could feel her knees shake from weariness with each step, and could feel the coldness of the wet blood on her shoulders. She could smell the sweat and blood of the boys and sense their heartbeats. None of them were really okay, were they?

"L-let's just get you big lugs into bed. If you pass out on me, we're in deep dookie 'cause I can't carry either of you."

Not that she was too far from passing out, herself.

And Duo could see the blood dampening the back the torn fabric on her back. Hmmn. And then there were his legs, causing him to tread lightly on each step. Ow. "Fuck--!" Ow. Ow.

He grimaced but moved on, heading past where they pulled that metal and leaving it there, then leading the way down the hall back to the fountain. He stopped there, leaning against a pillar and leaned forward to roll up his pants, which were torn enough that they may have to become shorts.

Bed? Bed sounded good. So did a med kit. "What are the odds of the fountain here gracing us with a medical kit right this second?"

Duo was half tempted to pick Toph up and carry her just to make sure she got there alright, but he already knew given her temperament she wasn't going to be okay with that. He was slightly less beat up than the other two but that didn't mean he was in a good state either.

This sucked. A lot.

"Doubt we'd be that lucky... maybe some one's got somethin' we can use, though... not the first time I've had to make due without an actual med kit..."

At that point, the earthbender likely wouldn't have fought against being carried. The only thing keeping her awake was the need to keep herself upright. Any relaxation probably would have been enough to send her to sleep.

Toph followed them in to the fountain, then lifted an eyebrow at the sound of water.

"Too bad Katara isn't here," she muttered, walking past the boys until she felt the water touch her toes. She knelt down before tearing at her already torn shirt and dipping a large section in the water, using it to wipe at the marks in her shoulders. She couldn't tell if they were longer than deeper or the other way around.

But it stung, at least until the cold water soothed the ache.

Duo followed Toph's lead after kicking off his shoes and rolling up the bottom of his pants to his knees so he could wade in a little. Well, they weren't as deep as he thought they were, but they hurt. Just the one could probably use stitches. Stung like a bastard too. He waded in and let the water sting at his wounds and flow over them. He winced until all he could feel was the water.

After a minute, he pulled back and tore off from the bottom of the pants that were torn anyway, he started tying them around his wounds, trying to close them up at least a little bit.

"I know that, bro. But when have you ever had a wound that looked like you got mauled by a goddamn dog?"

He was probably the only one NOT scratched, and he felt horrible for that. If he had just been a little bit better...

No. He couldn't think like that. If he started, it was a slippery slope in to a mentality he did not want to embrace at all.

His shoulders ached, arms more so, and his back probably the most. Aches would fade faster than scratches and cuts, though, and right then his friends needed whatever help he could possibly offer. He didn't offer an answer to his double's question. Just a shrug.

"Here..." he said to Toph, taking the wet cloth she'd torn away to dab carefully at her wounds, getting the areas she couldn't easily reach.

She didn't so much as hand the cloth over as she did just not fight about it when he took it. She was exhausted, and reaching too far and molding her torso into a shape that would allow access to her wounds was uncomfortable. If he wanted to help, she'd let him.

It hurt less when he did it. Maybe it didn't even hurt at all. She wasn't sure why. Sokka had explained it once, something about even the most simple and basic of touches and contact being comforting, or something. She hadn't paid that much attention.

Either way, the pilot's help was greatly appreciated... and after she'd been mean to him. She bit her lip while he worked. After a short time of that, she sighed.

"Sorry, Duo," she muttered.

Duo sat on the little stone bench around the water looking at the two. He watched as his double took care of the girl then frowned, looking down as he finished mending his wounds. He was still shaking himself, a sick feeling in his stomach from the pain and the blood. He leaned back on his arms, sighing. It was times like this he felt alone, even when he was with somebody.

It's just that he realized at the end of the day that there was nobody who was going to comfort him. No mother, no sibling or father, not even a girlfriend or something!

The closest he had to that was his double and... Right. Hmmng. So he sat there quietly, unable to help and feeling pretty damn awful about it.

"Sorry... ?" Duo echoed, looking down at her curiously. "Oh. About earlier? It's cool, really..."

He wasn't trying to brush off her apology, but he figured now after everything had happened it was kind of a moot point. They had barely survived the attack. There were other things to worry about.

He dipped the cloth back in the water and continued cleaning her back, glancing over his shoulder at his double. He could try to do something for him next, but what he didn't know. He just hated how they were all feeling now.

As moot as it may be, she still felt bad over it.

After a few seconds of silence, she turned an ear towards the older, trying to pinpoint him. She couldn't see him that well through the sand of the fountain, but she could hear the occasional breath he took.

"You okay over there, Space Brain?" she asked quietly, wincing at the echo.

"Or do I- OW! Do I need to come over there and make you cheer up?"

Duo snorted a laugh at the nickname, rubbing a hand down his arm. He was sore all over. His back, his sides, his legs. He shook his head and waved, despite knowing Toph couldn't see him.

"H-hey. Don't you worry about me kiddo. I'll be just fine after a while." Throw that mask right back up. As much as he wanted to let down his defenses he wasn't about to, not easily.

"Concentrate on getting better."

Duo glanced over his shoulder, staring at his double with an unreadable expression. He knew what he was doing. He knew because it was the exact same thing his double did all the time. But calling him on it would have just been met with animosity. He wasn't going to.

"... we'll all feel better after some sleep."

"Sleep does sound amazing," she agreed, taking the rag away and offering a muttered thanks before taking the time to wash her face with it and continue wiping down her exposed arms and legs. While that destroyed her beloved healthy coating of earth, it also depleted the smell of sweat and blood and musty old castle.

"Maybe we'll try to find the tracks later. With more people. And better preparations," she suggested.

"We'll have to. Yeah. Sounds like a good plan." He said, still a bit dismissive as he pushed himself to his feet, wobbling forward once he got there. His eyes landed on his double and his expression faulted for just a moment, frowning. What's the look for? What? He shook his head and turned towards the corridor back to the living space.

"Strength in numbers." And wobbling again he knelt against the seat he'd been sitting at.

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