[ Minato passes by this building every day on his way home from school. It's why he immediately spots the girl pounding her fists against the building's side; that alley is typically empty.
He could keep walking but... if she keeps that up, she'll end up with two very bruised hands. So he instead of striding past the alley, Minato quietly heads down the alley. He stops a little ways away from her, offering the girl some space. It's hard to tell whether someone who's feeling distressed needs comfort or wants to be left alone, but he imagines most wouldn't appreciate being approached suddenly by a stranger. ]
...what are you doing?
[ It's an innocent question, posed with pure curiosity. There's no judgment behind it. It's a wholly open-ended question.
There must be some reason for this girl to be slamming her fists against a wall. ]
[ Toph herself doesn't really know whether she wants company or to be left alone when she's distressed. She thinks she wants to be left alone, but every time someone approaches her she ends up appreciating it, so long as they don't act like they pity her.
The simple question without pressure or expectation behind it makes her deflate. She angrily scrubs at her face to remove any trace of tears. They were tears of frustration, okay? ]
I thought I-- [ She cuts herself off. ] Have you been having any weird dreams lately? Like while you're awake? [ Toph certainly doesn't experience them as 'visions' and she knows by now that it isn't just her. ]
[ Not to worry, Toph. Luckily, she's crossed paths with the one guy who generally doesn't make a habit of commenting on things. Now that she mentions it though -- ]
Sometimes, yeah.
[ Like that time he'd come across a strange red armband that read "SEES" (whatever that meant). He'd caught a glimpse of someone who certainly looked a lot like him, sprinting down a dark corridor with a sword in hand. Then there'd been that time when he came across a white dog with red eyes, and he could have sworn in the past he'd seen a different dog that resembled it. ]
...doesn't that happen to everyone?
[ Those strange flashes were completely normal, weren't they? ]
Yes, [ she blurts out in enthusiastic surprise at his instant agreement. ] I think it does! But so many people are refusing to admit it, or -- or they like their stupid cushy life --
[ Needless to say, Toph does not enjoy being a lonely dependent child instead of a badass respected the world over. One of these is far more compelling than the other, and she has no patience or time for anyone who's trying to get in the way of her realizing her true self. ]
... What do you see?
[ This is a highly personal question, but Toph is emotional right now and off-kilter, feeling urgency down to her toes, and she genuinely wants to know. ]
[ Cushy? Is that how some experienced their lives? The description gives Minato pause. Each day he woke up, went to school, wandered about before returning home. Perhaps the uneventful nature of those days could be described as "cushy."
Judging by this girl's dirt-streaked face, it probably is in comparison.
He doesn't answer her question immediately. There are several different ways to respond, given the variety of things he'd seen, of other people he might have known. But there's one thing in particular that churns in his head. ]
...I see someone who looks like me.
[ Because that... couldn't be him, right? ]
He looks tired. Something knocks him down over and over again, but he keeps getting up.
[ It's puzzled him ever since he'd first had that dream. ]
...I don't know why.
[ Why would he keep struggling? What was the point? It didn't make any sense. ]
[ That sounds like something Toph can respect utterly -- having run away from her own cushy life specifically because she's too stubborn to accept what it would mean for her sense of pride, she just keeps trying -- but it's at odds with Minato's flat affect and confusion about what he was seeing.
Maybe it's like her, and who he is in the dreams is so much better than who he is here and now. ]
... I see myself, too. I mean -- I'm not seeing anything, I'm blind, but it's like I can see somehow. [ Her voice edges between frustration and excitement as she tries to explain. ]
I can hear and feel everything around me, and I'm -- I'm amazing. I'm powerful. I should be able to make this stupid rock wall do whatever I want it to do.
[ Being able to make the stupid rock wall do whatever she wants sounds way cooler than anything Minato's seen about his "other" self.
Typically, he'd cant his head and blink curiously to invite someone into elaborating on their points. But now that the girl's explained she's blind, he understands he'll need to vocalize his thoughts. ]
Mm. Like what...?
[ Now that he's somewhat confident that this girl isn't going to chase him away, Minato takes a few steps forward. He takes one of the overturned crates in the alley and drags two of them over: one for himself and one for the girl if she'd like a seat as well. ]
[ Toph is far from a bending-supremacist and she herself would rate getting up over and over again as far and above the most important quality a person can have. There's a reason she immediately gravitated to letting Zuko join their little group.
Her earthbending senses aren't acute enough yet to catch subtle body language, so Toph appreciates the verbalization. ]
In what I remember I can make whole buildings come up out of the ground. [ She gesticulates wildly in passionate urgency, mimicking the bending poses she's felt herself take in those flashes. Toph comes closer to stand nearby but is too worked up to sit. ] I can do a little, just...
[ Swallowing hard, she implores in a softer tone: ] Don't laugh if it takes me a few tries to show you.
[ Blind and powerless, Toph is used to having little recourse to school people who want to make fun of her. She's desperate to regain even a fraction of the ability to command respect that she recalls. ]
[ Minato takes a seat on one of the empty crates, plastic scraping a bit against the floor as he settles down. He's seated, so she can take as many tries as she needs. He's not going anywhere.
She might not be able to raise entire buildings, but just lifting a rock a few inches off the floor would be pretty impressive to an ordinary student like Minato. ]
It's fine.
[ He sets his bag in his lap and looks up at the girl. ]
I don't have to be anywhere else.
[ She can take as many tries as she needs, as many tries as she wants. And though she can't see it, there's a small, reassuring smile on his face. ]
I won't laugh either.
[ What is there to laugh at anyways? Yeah, the frantic movements are a little strange, but Minato gets the sense that he's seen weirder in the past. ]
[ She can't see it, but maybe there's some trace of it in his tone; certainly the unruffled calmness helps her nerves. She can tune into her breathing a little more easily than before, when she was getting frustrated.
From all the practice she's done by now, Toph knows that getting emotional does not help her. It's not that she needs to be in some blank mental state to hear things through the earth or move something, but it just doesn't seem connected to her feelings at all, so getting worked up makes it harder to concentrate and does her no favors.
It does take a couple tries. Having a patient audience weirdly seems to help. Toph's a social person and it's comforting to have someone nearby, silently supportive. With each try she settles herself a little further, gradually shifting her weight back into her heels until her stance is firm and rooted. It feels like her body wants to take that position, like it's automatic for her muscles.
The third time she slides her foot forward along the ground and punches the air above it, a loose piece of stone from the neighboring rubble shoots down the alley at high speed.
This seems too trivial to celebrate as a victory. Toph slumps out of her bending pose, complaining, ] I can do that, but I should be able to do so much more.
[ The small stone whizzes down the alley at a blink-and-you'll-miss-it speed. Fortunately, it's just the two of them here, so there's no risk of it accidentally hitting anyone. Only after the rock stops moving does he glance back at his company. ]
That was cool though.
[ She's bemoaning her inability to do anything more than lift a single rock, but even that's impressive to Minato. He rises to his feet and wanders down the alley until he finds the piece of stone. Minato plucks it off the floor and returns to sit on his crate with it grasped between a thumb and an index finger.
He holds it up, observing it as he turns it over, studying the tiny grooves along its surface. ]
...I can't move this rock without touching it.
[ If she can send rocks hurtling down alleys without touching any rocks, how much more could she do if she put her own hand on one? ]
[ Toph was definitely not thinking of it hitting someone. She's still a long way from her normal acute control and constant spatial awareness.
Minato's trying to be reassuring, but Toph scowls, disgruntled. It's too close to patronizing for her. She doesn't want someone to tell her something basic is incredible like she should be surprised she even managed something basic. ]
It's a party trick, [ she complains. ] It seems so easy in what I remember, I don't know why it's so hard.
But... [ A short pause. ] I guess I don't know why any of this is happening.
In any event, Toph's descriptions are reminiscent of learning how to re-use a muscle that's languished and atrophied from disuse. If that's the case, the only way to get better at it is to keep practicing: keep shooting tiny rocks down alleyways over and over again, gradually working up to bigger pieces of stone.
It's probably not a solution Toph's going to like. ]
Me neither.
[ Hm. ]
Maybe you'll be able to move bigger rocks as you remember more things.
[ Which can be brute forced, but it's difficult to provide any assistance when he doesn't know a single thing about this girl. ]
[ That hadn't occurred to her, and the idea forces Toph to think about it, lapsing out of her irritation and into thoughtfulness. Truthfully, she wouldn't mind the practicing; she's not afraid of hard work and she'll do anything to stop being dependent on others.
But if there is a faster way... ]
If these really are memories, maybe my abilities are coming back when they are. Like I only remember a few things, so I can only do a few things.
If that's the case, that's really annoying, because I can't control it.
[ At this point, it really will be luck of the draw. There's no telling what might help Toph remember things. They have to start from somewhere though. ]
...I think I started seeing flashes when I picked things up.
[ There'd been items scattered across Aldrip here and there. Some things, strangely enough, disappeared shortly after he'd picked them up. Other times, there'd been sights that were always a part of Aldrip that triggered a vision, like that time he'd caught a glimpse of someone's dog.
Hm. ]
Maybe you'll remember more if you find something from those dreams.
[ It's worth pursuing, maybe. Certainly better than nothing. ]
Oh... you're right. It's like I find something that triggers it. I was so caught up in what came after, I wasn't really paying attention to that.
[ Which obviously suggests the next step if she wants to regain more of her abilities. ]
That means we should be looking for things that are out of place, [ she says eagerly. ] You want to remember more stuff, too, right? We can look together!
[ Even Toph absent of most of her true history bosses people about by default. This is what she wants to do, and he hasn't protested anything so far, so of course he'll go along with it.
And he does. ]
I've found a couple things in the woods. And I found something by this big stone house.
[ He repeats the name, committing it to memory, before offering a small nod out of habit. ]
Minato Arisato. ...just Minato's fine though.
[ He takes his schoolbag in hand again before shuffling a bit closer to Toph. It seems she's already decided that he'll be accompanying her, so he'll wait for his new fearless leader to march onward.
Little does he know, this is just a dress rehearsal for their future shenanigans. ]
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expiationlogs2024-03-09 08:37 am
no subject
He could keep walking but... if she keeps that up, she'll end up with two very bruised hands. So he instead of striding past the alley, Minato quietly heads down the alley. He stops a little ways away from her, offering the girl some space. It's hard to tell whether someone who's feeling distressed needs comfort or wants to be left alone, but he imagines most wouldn't appreciate being approached suddenly by a stranger. ]
...what are you doing?
[ It's an innocent question, posed with pure curiosity. There's no judgment behind it. It's a wholly open-ended question.
There must be some reason for this girl to be slamming her fists against a wall. ]
no subject
The simple question without pressure or expectation behind it makes her deflate. She angrily scrubs at her face to remove any trace of tears. They were tears of frustration, okay? ]
I thought I-- [ She cuts herself off. ] Have you been having any weird dreams lately? Like while you're awake? [ Toph certainly doesn't experience them as 'visions' and she knows by now that it isn't just her. ]
no subject
Sometimes, yeah.
[ Like that time he'd come across a strange red armband that read "SEES" (whatever that meant). He'd caught a glimpse of someone who certainly looked a lot like him, sprinting down a dark corridor with a sword in hand. Then there'd been that time when he came across a white dog with red eyes, and he could have sworn in the past he'd seen a different dog that resembled it. ]
...doesn't that happen to everyone?
[ Those strange flashes were completely normal, weren't they? ]
no subject
[ Needless to say, Toph does not enjoy being a lonely dependent child instead of a badass respected the world over. One of these is far more compelling than the other, and she has no patience or time for anyone who's trying to get in the way of her realizing her true self. ]
... What do you see?
[ This is a highly personal question, but Toph is emotional right now and off-kilter, feeling urgency down to her toes, and she genuinely wants to know. ]
no subject
Judging by this girl's dirt-streaked face, it probably is in comparison.
He doesn't answer her question immediately. There are several different ways to respond, given the variety of things he'd seen, of other people he might have known. But there's one thing in particular that churns in his head. ]
...I see someone who looks like me.
[ Because that... couldn't be him, right? ]
He looks tired. Something knocks him down over and over again, but he keeps getting up.
[ It's puzzled him ever since he'd first had that dream. ]
...I don't know why.
[ Why would he keep struggling? What was the point? It didn't make any sense. ]
no subject
Maybe it's like her, and who he is in the dreams is so much better than who he is here and now. ]
... I see myself, too. I mean -- I'm not seeing anything, I'm blind, but it's like I can see somehow. [ Her voice edges between frustration and excitement as she tries to explain. ]
I can hear and feel everything around me, and I'm -- I'm amazing. I'm powerful. I should be able to make this stupid rock wall do whatever I want it to do.
no subject
Typically, he'd cant his head and blink curiously to invite someone into elaborating on their points. But now that the girl's explained she's blind, he understands he'll need to vocalize his thoughts. ]
Mm. Like what...?
[ Now that he's somewhat confident that this girl isn't going to chase him away, Minato takes a few steps forward. He takes one of the overturned crates in the alley and drags two of them over: one for himself and one for the girl if she'd like a seat as well. ]
...what are you trying to do to the wall?
no subject
Her earthbending senses aren't acute enough yet to catch subtle body language, so Toph appreciates the verbalization. ]
In what I remember I can make whole buildings come up out of the ground. [ She gesticulates wildly in passionate urgency, mimicking the bending poses she's felt herself take in those flashes. Toph comes closer to stand nearby but is too worked up to sit. ] I can do a little, just...
[ Swallowing hard, she implores in a softer tone: ] Don't laugh if it takes me a few tries to show you.
[ Blind and powerless, Toph is used to having little recourse to school people who want to make fun of her. She's desperate to regain even a fraction of the ability to command respect that she recalls. ]
no subject
She might not be able to raise entire buildings, but just lifting a rock a few inches off the floor would be pretty impressive to an ordinary student like Minato. ]
It's fine.
[ He sets his bag in his lap and looks up at the girl. ]
I don't have to be anywhere else.
[ She can take as many tries as she needs, as many tries as she wants. And though she can't see it, there's a small, reassuring smile on his face. ]
I won't laugh either.
[ What is there to laugh at anyways? Yeah, the frantic movements are a little strange, but Minato gets the sense that he's seen weirder in the past. ]
no subject
From all the practice she's done by now, Toph knows that getting emotional does not help her. It's not that she needs to be in some blank mental state to hear things through the earth or move something, but it just doesn't seem connected to her feelings at all, so getting worked up makes it harder to concentrate and does her no favors.
It does take a couple tries. Having a patient audience weirdly seems to help. Toph's a social person and it's comforting to have someone nearby, silently supportive. With each try she settles herself a little further, gradually shifting her weight back into her heels until her stance is firm and rooted. It feels like her body wants to take that position, like it's automatic for her muscles.
The third time she slides her foot forward along the ground and punches the air above it, a loose piece of stone from the neighboring rubble shoots down the alley at high speed.
This seems too trivial to celebrate as a victory. Toph slumps out of her bending pose, complaining, ] I can do that, but I should be able to do so much more.
no subject
That was cool though.
[ She's bemoaning her inability to do anything more than lift a single rock, but even that's impressive to Minato. He rises to his feet and wanders down the alley until he finds the piece of stone. Minato plucks it off the floor and returns to sit on his crate with it grasped between a thumb and an index finger.
He holds it up, observing it as he turns it over, studying the tiny grooves along its surface. ]
...I can't move this rock without touching it.
[ If she can send rocks hurtling down alleys without touching any rocks, how much more could she do if she put her own hand on one? ]
no subject
Minato's trying to be reassuring, but Toph scowls, disgruntled. It's too close to patronizing for her. She doesn't want someone to tell her something basic is incredible like she should be surprised she even managed something basic. ]
It's a party trick, [ she complains. ] It seems so easy in what I remember, I don't know why it's so hard.
But... [ A short pause. ] I guess I don't know why any of this is happening.
no subject
In any event, Toph's descriptions are reminiscent of learning how to re-use a muscle that's languished and atrophied from disuse. If that's the case, the only way to get better at it is to keep practicing: keep shooting tiny rocks down alleyways over and over again, gradually working up to bigger pieces of stone.
It's probably not a solution Toph's going to like. ]
Me neither.
[ Hm. ]
Maybe you'll be able to move bigger rocks as you remember more things.
[ Which can be brute forced, but it's difficult to provide any assistance when he doesn't know a single thing about this girl. ]
no subject
[ That hadn't occurred to her, and the idea forces Toph to think about it, lapsing out of her irritation and into thoughtfulness. Truthfully, she wouldn't mind the practicing; she's not afraid of hard work and she'll do anything to stop being dependent on others.
But if there is a faster way... ]
If these really are memories, maybe my abilities are coming back when they are. Like I only remember a few things, so I can only do a few things.
If that's the case, that's really annoying, because I can't control it.
no subject
...I think I started seeing flashes when I picked things up.
[ There'd been items scattered across Aldrip here and there. Some things, strangely enough, disappeared shortly after he'd picked them up. Other times, there'd been sights that were always a part of Aldrip that triggered a vision, like that time he'd caught a glimpse of someone's dog.
Hm. ]
Maybe you'll remember more if you find something from those dreams.
[ It's worth pursuing, maybe. Certainly better than nothing. ]
no subject
[ Which obviously suggests the next step if she wants to regain more of her abilities. ]
That means we should be looking for things that are out of place, [ she says eagerly. ] You want to remember more stuff, too, right? We can look together!
no subject
Okay.
[ Aldrip isn't huge, but it isn't a tiny village of population one-hundred either. ]
...where was the last place you found something weird?
[ He doesn't say "where you saw something weird" because... yeah. If Toph needs him as a set of eyes, who is he to say no? ]
no subject
And he does. ]
I've found a couple things in the woods. And I found something by this big stone house.
My name's Toph, by the way. Toph Beifong.
no subject
[ He repeats the name, committing it to memory, before offering a small nod out of habit. ]
Minato Arisato. ...just Minato's fine though.
[ He takes his schoolbag in hand again before shuffling a bit closer to Toph. It seems she's already decided that he'll be accompanying her, so he'll wait for his new fearless leader to march onward.
Little does he know, this is just a dress rehearsal for their future shenanigans. ]