open | she had an earthquake on her mind

[seismos]

It's rare that Toph goes anywhere by herself. It's not too hard to tell that she's blind; considering she moves slowly and generally has a hand against whatever wall or rail is available.

What isn't immediately obvious is that she's normally relatively belligerent and combative. If Toph bumps into you, or winds up somewhere that's not near food or a lounge chair, she'll pipe up with a squeaked "Sorry! I'm having a little trouble, here," or a practiced "Gosh, guess I got kinda lost again!"

But she may not always show that she's almost always distressed: wisecracks in place of a sometimes stubborn pout set into her face. At least the rails and piecemeal parts of the ship that are metal provide some amount of comfort, though it's certainly not enough to calm her down completely.

"Stupid oceans. Stupid ships. Stupid kidnappings!" Where's her Zuko-shaped taxi when she needs him? Probably off stuttering somewhere...

Comments

[banishment]

Yes, but that's assuming Zuko is both cunning and bold enough to pull pranks on people. And while he may be both, he's also too insecure in his own skin to dare and do so against people he's worked so hard to earn the trust of. Nevermind so awkward in spite of his bender's grace that he'd likely fumble and ruin the entire attempt.

"I don't joke." It's said dead pan serious, Zuko's fingers curling around her palm in a dangerous gambit to worm the tips under her hand to pry it off the metal before she rips the railing clean from ship's side.

[seismos]

"Yeah. I forgot you have all the sense of humor of boar-q-pine."

If she was kind of cranky before, Toph is outright irritated now. She knows that it could be worse -- at least she has Zuko around to help her out. She moves to lean against the railing she'd just mangled, aggressively crossing her arms over her chest in what she would deny is any form of pouting at all.

"So what am I supposed to do? There's only so much I can see through a wooden skeleton." Still pouting. Toph thinks she would rather be riding Appa; at least he could land.

Then her eyes light up, blank but bright as her head swivels up to where she'd last heard Zuko's voice. This is a look many have seen, and few survive with their ego intact.

[banishment]

Were it anyone else sassing him about his lack of a sense of humor, he would've sassed right on back. But this is Toph, and he gets it. There's too much water, no land in sight. She's an earthbender who is literally out of her element with only the metal on this ship for her to peer through and see in that way she's learned to without the use of working eyes. She's mad, and she has a right to be. He doesn't blame her, and he'd rather have her snapping at him than biting someone else's head off.

...or looking at him like that. He knows that look.

"You're about to remind me about burning your feet, aren't you?"

He's about to become a living palanquin, isn't he?