[open] Day 215 - outside the Forge

[tophgirl]

Who: Toph & you!
Open: Open
When: 215, afternoon
Where: Outside the Forge
What: With her bending limited, Toph is looking for another way to fight.
Format: Will match!
Warnings: Excessive levels of awesome from Toph...err...I mean... none.


It's taken Toph a few days to come to terms with the fact that there are ridiculous limitations on her bending. She's tested and retested them, trying to see where she can push it, but everything leads to the same inevitable conclusion. Her bending is limited.

So what's she going to do about it? No way is she going to accept just sitting around and helping out with little odds and ends in this place. She wants to be out on that Skyway, kicking ass and maybe finding Aang, Katara, and Sokka. She needs to find some way of fighting that plays to her strengths without relying on her bending...which probably means learning to fight with a weapon. If Sokka could do it, it can't be that hard.

The question then is — what kind of weapon should she get? Which is how she ends up outside the Forge that afternoon, examining weapons and trying to determine what would work best for her.

Comments

[daughterofursa]

"I didn't say anything about fighting for your honor..." Although this is Zuko, so maybe she thought it was implied.

Zuko considers the weapons in the forge. Anything ranged is out of the question, and she can't see Toph wanting any kind of polearm, even if she isn't thinking of the wooden shafts being a problem.

"Well, what do you think of swords? That's something I could teach you."

[tophgirl]

"A sword, huh... That might work." They're metal, so she could still "see" with them. They might even extend her bending vision... maybe. It's an idea worth testing out.

"Okay. Let's give swords a go."

[daughterofursa]

The forge doesn't boast any swords quite like Zuko's, but she selects a broadsword not too different from those favored by Piandao. She draws it and takes a few swings to test its balance for herself before sheathing the weapon and holding it out to Toph.

"Here. See how this feels."

[tophgirl]

Toph takes the sword. She can see it in even greater detail than any of the other weapons; it's like everything else was just an echo and this is the first thing that's real. It's heavy, though -- she can move it around just fine, but she can already tell that her wrist will be hurting before long. Still...

She grins. "I like it."

[daughterofursa]

"Good," Zuko says with a smirk. Toph liking swords is almost like an endorsement of her fighting style, the one she's actually a natural at.

"My old master might have started you on calligraphy, but... I think we'll skip that part. There are some practice swords at the training building, though."

[tophgirl]

"Calligraphy? What does that have to do with swordwork?" Toph swings the sword a few times more. "And why can't I practice with this one?"

[daughterofursa]

"Something to do with confidence in your strokes. Honestly I thought it was a waste of time as a kid. And I guess you could practice with that one, but..." Zuko pauses, realizing 'I don't want you to get hurt' probably won't go over too well.

"I don't want you hitting me with that one."

[tophgirl]

"I'm not going to hit you! Not unless you deserve it." She swings the sword to demonstrate her point — and goes a little off-balance, coming perilously close to Zuko's arm.

"...okay. I get the point of a practice sword now."

[daughterofursa]

Zuko would have moved if that had come any closer, but Toph may have noticed her weight shift.

"At least until you get some control. You want to head over there now?"

[tophgirl]

"Yeah, sure." Toph sets the sword down, more carefully than she would have before. "Lead the way, Sifu Sparky."

[daughterofursa]

"Is there any chance I can get you not to call me that?" She's not sure if it's better or worse than 'Sifu Hotman,' but she suspects the answer to that question is 'no.'

Still, she will turn to lead the way over to the training building.

[tophgirl]

New world, new nickname. "I guess I could call you 'Sifu Sparkles,'" Toph says thoughtfully. "But Sugar Queen might get jealous when she finally shows up."

[daughterofursa]

"Never mind. 'Sparky' doesn't seem so bad anymore," Zuko grumbles. 'Sparkles' sounds entirely too... delicate. Even 'Sugar Queen' has more oomph to it.

[tophgirl]

Let's be real, here. Katara has, with the exception of Toph herself, of course, the most "umph" of anyone in their group.

Toph doesn't say anything else until they reach the the training grounds. "So how do we start?"

[daughterofursa]

That doesn't mean Zuko is completely lacking in oomph, okay.

"With your grip," she answers. She takes one of the training swords and hands it to Toph. It's roughly the same weight and balance as the real one--roughly--but the edges are completely blunt. "You want it firm enough that your opponent can't knock the sword out of your hand, but if you hold on too tightly, you stiffen up. You should think of it as an extension of your arm."

[tophgirl]

Of course not. Do you think Toph would waste her time on someone completely without umph?

She takes the practice sword and tries to grip it like Zuko says. "You know, it'd be easier to think of it as an extension of my arm if it wasn't wood. I know metal's sharp and all, but do you have any made of rock?"

[daughterofursa]

No, probably not.

"They don't exactly make stone practice swords. Anyway it's not like the rest of us are metalbenders."

[tophgirl]

"Yeah, I guess not everybody can be that awesome." Toph sighs with false sympathy. "Okay, so hold the sword like it's an extension of my arm. Then what?"

[daughterofursa]

Zuko can't even argue with that; inventing an entirely new form of bending does qualify as a level of awesome she can't reach.

"Next is your stance." Zuko steps closer to the other girl and, if it's all right with her, guides her into the proper form, bringing her arms up and nudging her body sideways. "Your sword is not only a weapon, it's how you defend yourself. You want to make yourself a smaller target, to make it easier to keep your blade between you and whatever your opponent throws at you."

[tophgirl]

Zuko can do what she wants; Toph is here to learn, and right now that means listening. "Be small. All right. Nooooo problem." As much as she would love to be eight feet tall and able to crush people under her heel like ants, physical smallness seems to be her lot in life. But that's okay too. It means people underestimate her.

[daughterofursa]

"You're not as tiny as you used to be," Zuko points out, a little amused. It's something she's still not used to, especially like now, when she's in close proximity to the other girl. Toph barely came up to her shoulder before, and now she's just about eye-level (plus hair).

[tophgirl]

"Maybe I'll just keep growing," Toph says thoughtfully. "Maybe when I'm 50 years old I'll be as tall as a house!"

Sure, she knows it's impossible, but that doesn't mean she can't think about it.

[daughterofursa]

Zuko steps away from Toph to pick up a practice sword for herself.

"And by the time you're 100, you'll have a city in your hair," she says, so smoothly it barely sounds like she's joking.

[tophgirl]

"My armpits too," Toph says confidently...and then stops. "Wait, did you just make a joke?"

[daughterofursa]

"Maybe. I have heard of jokes." She may be a serious and generally humorless person, but at least she's aware of it.