See Me After Class (Sablerose)

[Sablerose]

Calla took several deep breaths while Toph explained her reasons not to worry about her fear. It helped, but it did not make it fade entirely. After all, Toph was used to working with someone who had solely an Earthbending talent. She knew next to nothing about how Druids worked. Yes, Druids cast spells, meaning that it had to be more a conscious effort than bending. But no one had ever had both a Druid and earthbending talents. Thus, no one could be completely sure where one power completely ended and the others began.

Nevertheless, she was more settled afterward than she had been prior. And she did not stop Toph when she pushed the stray lock of hair from her face. At least the next question she could answer easily. "I'm feeling much better now, thank you. Stupidly, I overreached myself. As I can guess, Grey was not too subtle about his opinion of that.

"Speaking of dinner, though, would you mind joining me? We don't have to speak about lessons. I'd rather just talk, friend to friend, woman to woman. Honestly, I don't get much of a chance to do that very often in my position."

[Toph Bei Fong]

"Can't recall a time I've ever turned down food," was Toph's reply. "Plus it is a nice change of pace to actually be able to see the person I'm talking too. So sure I'll join you. Fair warning though, I've been told that I'm not much of a conversationalists."

Toph shifted on the bed, unfolding her legs to stretch them out on the mattress in front of her. She 'looked' toward her feet as she wiggled her toes. "I mean I can go all 'Baroness' on you and speak in a manner," and here she threw up some air quotes, " 'deserving of my station'. But that's just not me. I'm loud, crude, and I drink too much." She shrugged. "To start with."

She turned her head back toward Calla, trademark smirk reborn on her face. "But hey, if you can stand all that, we'll get along just fine, teach."

[Sablerose]

"So long as you stop calling me 'teach', we'll be fine, my friend. After all, you're going to be instructing me as much as I'll be teaching you. Therefore, it's kind of redundant to call me that, don't you think?

"As for the rest, at least with Greystreak around, you don't have to worry about talking with your mouth full. That's one of the best things about having a telepath on your side."

Well, it seems that I have finally found my true calling, Greystreak said, projecting to both of them. It is certainly not as a Familiar who is supposed to be listened to when a certain Ward seeks to outstrip her own strength. Despite the chiding, there was still considerable warmth in his voice. The server and I are about a corridor away. Toph, I took the precaution of asking for a second meal as well. I suspected that you might be willing to stay for dinner.

[Toph Bei Fong]

Toph smiled, and rolled her eyes. "Alright, but preapre yourself. I'll be playing nickname roulette with you until I find something that sticks!" This was followed by another playful slug to the shoulder. "How about 'legs'? You have a nice pair, in case you didn't know. Nah, too personal. Still, I'll think of something..."

Grey's interruption was welcome, Toph needed an excuse to shut up for a second. "Seems like Grey's got me pegged," she added. "He must be great to have around all the time. At the very least, you're never lonely."

Toph wiggled her toes again. "Hmmm, 'princess' is too literal..." she mused, still working on nicknames. She had completely forgotten that she had locked the door after entering. Instead of getting up to open it, she flopped down on the bed beside Calla. "Well I guess I'll just have to keep hanging around you till I come up with a good one, Calla." She rolled onto her side, resting her head on one hand as she 'looked' up at her glowing friend. "Looks like you're stuck with me then. Whatcha wanna talk about?"

[Sablerose]

"Grey does have a talent for anticipating my needs. Then again, most Familiars do get that way, after awhile. And in all fairness, we Wards do as well. It's a friendship as well as a partnership."

Calla blushed at Toph's comment about her legs. Though she never thought of them as particularly attractive, she had to admit that being a Druid required quite a bit of walking and running. Staying in shape came as part and parcel of the job, especially when young. Even when Druids got older, they rarely gained more than a bit of a belly, though some did, especially if they were injured in a way that magical healing did not completely eliminate.

"I don't know," Calla replied to Toph's question on a subject. "I'm not really used to casual talk that either didn't involve politics or nature." She laughed casually, enjoying Toph's presence. "I was hoping that you might have some ideas."

[Toph Bei Fong]

Toph nibbled at her lower lip. Bending was out. Druidism was out. Politics was out (though she was grateful for that one).

Well that left one viable option...

"So what brings you to Terre de Conte?" Toph asked. "Official princess/druid business? Or," cue sly smile, "don't tell me you're here for Princess Fussy-Britches's wife search?" It was a shame the bed messed wither earthsight so, she would have love to feel what Calla's unconscious physical reaction would have been to that question. It was nice being able to see Calla via that strange glowing Toph was getting rather used to, but she was so used to feeling that it was kind of weird not being able to do so now. Is this how sighted people feel everyday? she wondered. Pass.

"Me, I was one of the bounty hunters out there looking to being Anactoria back home. I'm still kinda pissed at her for finding her own way back. The payday would have given me some breathing room to figure out what I'm going to do next. But oh well. I'll land on my feet. Kinda have to to see where I'm goin' after all."

[Sablerose]

Calla laughed at Toph's idea, though it was certainly understandable. "Actually, I'm here for official business as Royal Princess. Laurelmoon does have an official embassy here, but we've rarely used it for more than a way to pass news of events in Terre de Conte or Venus to home. However, when Princess Anactoria disappeared, it became our concern that she might have been kidnapped. That led to a number of various other concerns, such as if she had been kidnapped, who was responsible and could it lead to war.

"By the time we decided to offer our assistance, she had come back on her own. It didn't take long for the rumors that she had actually left of her own accord to be confirmed. At that point, my father decided that it was a good idea to reaffirm our support of Terre de Conte and its Royals, in case something like that happened again. And the next time she disappeared, it might not be as voluntary."

She rolled over on her side to look at Toph. "I volunteered to come and represent my father for more personal reasons, though they aren't quite what you suggest. Ever since I've known that I'd be the next Queen, I've been having...problems accepting how to be both a Druid and a Queen. And I won't deny that running into the forest hasn't crossed my mind. But with Greystreak, not to mention a nation full of forest savy Druids, there'd be literally no place to hide."

She rolled over onto her stomach and let her feet dangle off the side of the bed. "So I want to ask her some questions about how she's come to deal with who and what she is, Princess to Princess." She snorted quietly. "Sounds a bit juvenile, I'll admit, but she is the best chance I have to get this issue behind me."

[Toph Bei Fong]

"Juvenile?" Toph echoed. "Not in the slightest. I can kinda relate, actually. The whole 'baroness' bit in front of my name is more of an ancestral title. I was groomed to assume it since as far back as i can remember. It was a stupid little juxtaposition really. My parents never let me do anything by myself because I'm blind, yet I was also being trained to run the province after they died. How they expected me to do that when they didn't even think I was capable of bathing myself was beyond me. Me? Ever since it was discovered I could bend, that's all I wnated to do. I was winning underground fighting tournaments at the age of 12. I loved fighting. I loved earthbending, and I was so good at it."

Toph shook her head, then frowned as she noticed that the same lock of hair as before escaped its position behind Calla's ear again. She moved it back without thinking. "When it came time to figure out how to be Toph the earthbending fighter and Toph the baroness, my answer was: 'to hell with this, I'm outta here!' and took of to join the army. I told myself it was because the war was going on and the kingdom needed all the benders it had, and even then, at 14, I was one of the best. But now I wonder if I wasn't just running away. Now that's juvenile."

[Sablerose]

"Maybe it was," Calla agreed with a half-smile. "But it seemed in your case that everyone underestimated what you were capable of. I fear that everyone is overestimating what I can do. I've been trained since I can remember to be the next leader of my nation, but once I became a Druid, it didn't seem quite as important to rule one nation when I could help the very world that nation sits on."

Reaching over, she brushed away some of the long bangs from in front of Toph's eyes. It wasn't to help her see, but it did help gather her thoughts. "I am not trying to get out of being a future queen, though. But I just don't know how to balance both. And in this, my parents haven't been particularly helpful. They basically have said 'You will just have to find it'." She sighed. "That answer was not very enlightening, to say the least."

[Toph Bei Fong]

"Enlightening, no, but maybe accurate," said Toph. "Balance is a funny thing. What is balanced for one person could be horribly skewed for another. I guess that's why no one can tell you how to find it. Its something you have ta figure out on your own."

The conversation was stimulating, but Toph fond herslef enjoying the little touches they were sharing more. It was all perfectly chaste and platonic, which actually made it better somehow. The smile that had formed on her face when Calla had played with her bangs still lingered there. She was already looking for some more stray lock of hair of Calla's to fix , but aside from that one wayward lock, the other woman's shorter hair was remarkably compliant .

"Not the answer you wnated to hear, I'm sure," Toph went on. "But look at this way: At least you're asking the question. Some people, a lot of people really, would just charge straight through, thinking they'd work it out afterwords. Then they get there, crown on their head and everything, and have no idea what to do with themselves, or their kingdom. These feet of mine have carried me though a kingdom or ten since the war ended. You have no idea. Trust me, asking this question of yourself now puts so so far ahead of the game its not even funny."

With a smirk. Toph rolled over in the bed, swung her feet over the edge and planting them on the floor. "Ah, Grey's and the castle servant is just a few doors down now," she announced once her earthsight kicked in.

[Sablerose]

Calla looked over at the small table in the room. Flanked by a couple of comfortable chairs, it was currently covered in reports that she had been reading from the embassy staff of her nation. She patted Toph arm for a moment. "Guess I better get the table cleared so we have a place to eat. Hang on."

With a light groan, she slid off the bed. The stone was somewhat cold beneath her bare feet, but she adjusted to quickly to it. Gathering the papers quickly and placing them in their original containers, she gestured to Toph to join her. She realized just how useless the action would be with her if someone else had done such a thing. But she took a surprising amount of personal satisfaction in knowing that she might be one of the few individuals that Toph could actually 'see' in as close to a normal way as Calla saw her. She liked it, and she was realizing, that she also liked Toph.

What also surprised her was just how much she enjoyed having the woman around. Her bluntness would probably have annoyed a more stuffy royal, but being a Druid gave Calla a different view of how to look at the world and people. It probably didn't hurt that Calla was not quite as attached to her title as her parents were. In any case, even though the Baroness was still in the room with her, Calla was already looking forward to their next encounter. And, she hoped, it would be far sooner than later.


The knock on the door came just as the last of the papers were being placed away. It wasn't until she took a moment finally to look at what she wore that she realized Toph had picked a rather interesting garment. Surprisingly, it didn't bother her...or at least as much as it could have. Calla blushed slightly and smiled but other than that, she walked to the door to answer the knock.

The servant said nothing, just as she was trained to do, other than to ask where the food should go. Calla directed her to the table, as Greystreak, oddly enough did not enter. Are you going to join us? she asked through their link.

I think not, Calla. His mental voice was tinged with a suppressed laugh. I think I will actually explore the castle a bit more. The young lady seems quite unphased by my communication method, though the other serving staff wanted to pet me as if I were still some large dog. I figured that I would spend a some time with them.

And it doesn't hurt that you're hoping to get a hunk of meat or a large bone or two? she replied, barely holding in her own laughter.

Please! I have more dignity than to beg. But, a few stories about Druid life couldn't hurt. And if they pay such stories with a bit of food...

All right, Greystreak the Bard, go have some fun. Heavens know you've earned it.

Looking her up and down and offering another of his canine smiles, Grey said It seems that you have earned some fun as well.

Before she could respond, the food was completely laid out, and with a curtsy, the servant left. Oddly, she giggled as she did so, looking down at Grey. Calla closed the door behind them and leaned against it, now laughing herself.

"Apparently, the old wolf has a way with the ladies," she said as she wiped a tear from her eye. "But it looks like it'll be you and I for the evening, Toph. I hope you don't mind."

[Toph Bei Fong]

As the servant set out the meal, Toph hovered nearby, carefully paying attention to what the woman had in her hands before she set it on the table and it vanished from her earthsight into a blurry mess that wood reduced her perception to. The woman was careful and direct in her duties, which was at odd with the slight thump-skip-thump Toph had felt her heart give when Calla had opened the door. She wondered what had caused that? Did the poor several girl like what she saw? Toph wrinkled her nose at the thought and was sorely tempted to kick up a slight rise in the floor for the servant to stub her toe on.

The desire surprised her, and Toph shook it away. Was she...jealous? The thought made her uneasy...

Calla's laughter and question caught her off guard. "What? Oh! N-not at all," she said quickly. She then snapped her fingers. "Chopsticks! I forgot to ask for chopsticks. Oh well..."

Toph made her way to one of the chairs, or the one of the small fuzzy spaces in front of the larger fuzzy space that she was reasonably sure was the table. Her feet grazed the foot off said chair, her hands and fingers grasping the back as she committed it's size and shape to memory before moving to have an actual seat in it.

"Sunshine!" she suggested, still on the nickname kick. "Ugh, that's just weak. But it fits your smile. And your laughter. But maybe I'm biased 'cause yours is the only one I've seen."

Toph's fingers glided over the table looking for utensils. "Could have sworn she put them right here," she mumbled...

[Sablerose]

Calla chuckled at Toph's suggestion of 'Sunshine'. "I would never have thought about it being appropriate." The smile she gave Toph was probably as warm as a summer day. "But I'm honestly flattered that you see me in that way."

She made her way over and slipped next to Toph. She found the utensils Toph wanted. Then, gently taking Toph's hand, Calla slipped a spoon into Toph's grasp.

"Would you be a bit more comfortable if we ate on the floor? I'm not sure just how you're Earthsight works with food and the like."

[Toph Bei Fong]

Toph felt her face grow warm when Calla sat near her and took her hand... even it was to help her find a spoon. "Sunshine it is then," she said.

At Calla's question, she shook her head. "The food is fine. Its the table that's the problem. My earthsight doesn't work on wood. The vibrations move differently... everything becomes really fuzzy. If... if you dont mind, I would actaully prefer to eat on the floor." Toph's face felt warmer, the blush she didn't know she was having deepening in color and spreading tp her neck. "No one has ever offered that before..."

[Sablerose]

Calla began to move the plates and bowls to the floor. "I suspect most Royals you've dealt with are reluctant to do much more with the ground than walk across it while people worship in their wake. There are some advantages to being a Druid as well. We not only don't mind getting our hands dirty as needed, we're actually pretty good at cleaning up afterward."

She made sure that Toph was settled with her food before she took a seat herself. "Now, if you're going to get to call me 'Sunshine', my friend, then I should be able to call you by a nickname of some sort." She began to cut a slice of her some meat that had been provided. "So, what does 'Sunshine' get to call her friend?"