“Where are you taking me?” Toph said, pounding on the roof of the car trunk. The trunk wasn't air tight, but she had to shout to make herself heard.
“We're getting rid of the demon that lives in you.”
“There isn't a demon in me! You're crazy.”
“If there is no demon, you have nothing to fear. If there is, Lord Ozai will rid you of it.”
They started the car, and Toph pounded again. The metal did not give.
“You should stop,” the man in the backseat told her. “Even an 'earthbender' can't bend metal. The spirits have made this clear to us.”
She should never had showed her parents what she could do. She'd just wanted them to know that she could 'see.' That she wasn't helpless. And then they'd locked her in her room.
Pound on the metal, pound on the metal, pound on the metal, and maybe someone would hear her when they stopped at a light. Maybe they'd get her out.
But she didn't think so. She was alone here, and they wanted to take her- what had they called it? Her earthbending. They wanted to take it from her, and that wasn't going to happen.
Pound, pound, pound, pound-
Metal was made from earth, wasn't it?
-pound.
Well, maybe there was a little earth in it, still.
POUND.
They stopped at a light.
Couldn't bend metal, huh? That sounded like a challenge.
When they moved on, there was a hole in the side of the trunk, and they were short one passenger.
She couldn't go home. She was a tiny blind eleven-year-old girl, and someone was going to wonder what she was doing alone. Where could she go where she would be unnoticed?
She didn't know. So she wandered a bit.
Someone followed her. His footsteps were light but sure, and they were gaining on her. She turned corners and crossed streets, and still he followed.
“You look lost,” he said- he spoke slightly strangely, and she was positive he had something in his mouth. A cigarette, maybe? But there was no stench of tobacco.
“Yeah?” she said. She let her feet and hands move into a stance. He made a move, he'd be flying twenty feet into the air before he knew what hit him.
“Whoa,” he said, a laugh in his voice. “Take it easy. I don't wanna hurt you. I saw what you did to that car. You're stronger than you look, aren't you?”
“Yeah,” she said. “I am. What do you want?”
“We could use someone like you,” he said. “In my gang.” His voice was steady and his heartbeat was, too, so Toph figured he was sincere.
And there was Toph's answer. There was where she could fit in.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2010-01-08 07:20 am (UTC)“We're getting rid of the demon that lives in you.”
“There isn't a demon in me! You're crazy.”
“If there is no demon, you have nothing to fear. If there is, Lord Ozai will rid you of it.”
They started the car, and Toph pounded again. The metal did not give.
“You should stop,” the man in the backseat told her. “Even an 'earthbender' can't bend metal. The spirits have made this clear to us.”
She should never had showed her parents what she could do. She'd just wanted them to know that she could 'see.' That she wasn't helpless. And then they'd locked her in her room.
Pound on the metal, pound on the metal, pound on the metal, and maybe someone would hear her when they stopped at a light. Maybe they'd get her out.
But she didn't think so. She was alone here, and they wanted to take her- what had they called it? Her earthbending. They wanted to take it from her, and that wasn't going to happen.
Pound, pound, pound, pound-
Metal was made from earth, wasn't it?
-pound.
Well, maybe there was a little earth in it, still.
POUND.
They stopped at a light.
Couldn't bend metal, huh? That sounded like a challenge.
When they moved on, there was a hole in the side of the trunk, and they were short one passenger.
She couldn't go home. She was a tiny blind eleven-year-old girl, and someone was going to wonder what she was doing alone. Where could she go where she would be unnoticed?
She didn't know. So she wandered a bit.
Someone followed her. His footsteps were light but sure, and they were gaining on her. She turned corners and crossed streets, and still he followed.
“You look lost,” he said- he spoke slightly strangely, and she was positive he had something in his mouth. A cigarette, maybe? But there was no stench of tobacco.
“Yeah?” she said. She let her feet and hands move into a stance. He made a move, he'd be flying twenty feet into the air before he knew what hit him.
“Whoa,” he said, a laugh in his voice. “Take it easy. I don't wanna hurt you. I saw what you did to that car. You're stronger than you look, aren't you?”
“Yeah,” she said. “I am. What do you want?”
“We could use someone like you,” he said. “In my gang.” His voice was steady and his heartbeat was, too, so Toph figured he was sincere.
And there was Toph's answer. There was where she could fit in.
“Wanna join my freedom fighters?” he asked.
Toph said yes.