See Me After Class (Sablerose)

[Toph Bei Fong]

The floor was only a million times better. Instead of fumbling around the table as usual, Toph was actaully able to sense her meal, even cut her own meat for once. A small, happy smile formed on her lips and didn't leave even as she started shoveling food into it. "This is awesome," she said after one particular large swallow. "You just dont know how much easier this is. I mean I've gotten good at feeling way way through a meal at a table, but this is so much more natural.

"When I was in the Gaia Kingdom armies during the war, this was pretty much how we ate every meal. If you could call those meals... they kept us going I guess, that ought to be good enough. I was a shrimp back then, though. My unit used to call me Pipsqueak. Or Tenderfoot -- I was still getting used to being barefoot all the time then. Before I left, my parents insisted I wear shoes when I was on the estate." She rolled her eyes. "Then I shot up like a weed when I turned 16. They didn't call me Pipsqueak anymore. Mostly they called me Legs. Cera still called me 'Mikiyok' now and then. Means 'little one' in her tribe's native tongue..."

Toph drifted off. Cera again. Everything always came back to Cera. She shook her head. She was being silly. No reason this mentioning of Cera would end up like the last one.

"The Fire Nation soldiers," Toph went on, "the ones who barely survived meeting us anyway, used to call me and Cera The Dancing Deaths. So my history with receiving nicknames was eclectic at best. You'll have to pick something appropriate, Sunshine."

[Sablerose]

The look on Toph's face at the mentioning of this Cera brought a twinge of pain to Calla's heart. Whoever she was, obviously Toph missed her. And if she knew her from the war...

"I'll see if I can come up with something a bit more upbeat", Calla said. "I think you need some good cheer in your life, Toph. Honestly, we all do. But some need it more than others." She chewed her food as she considered the potential options for nicknames. Then, she giggled as one came to her. "How about 'Chipmunk'?"

[Toph Bei Fong]

Toph nearly choked on her food. It took a moment of struggle to get to go down the right hole, and no sooner has she cleared her mouth than she sputtered, "Chipmunk?" Her sightless eye were wide in surprise and laughter that her bout of chocking had interrupted.

"Oh, I just cant wait to here how you came up with that one..." she said before taking another, slightly more cautious bite.

(ick. weak post is weak)

[Sablerose]

Calla shrugged and blushed. "I don't know. If you've ever really watched them, you have some characteristics that reminded me of them. You're energetic. You make sure that you're aware of your surroundings. Your Earthbending makes you a better digger than they are, admittedly, but they aren't half bad at it."

Then she shrugged again stirring her soup absently. "And you're cute."

[Toph Bei Fong]

"Oh." Was Toph's uncharacteristically quiet reply. Her face felt warm. She really wish she knew why it kept doing that. It was getting annoying.

"Well... in that case. I guess it okay." She dipped her spoon toward her bowl for more food, just to have something to do with her hands, only to find it empty.

Toph lowered her head, and though looking at the bowl. Mostly so she wouldn't have to 'see' Calla's face when she said the next part. "I... honestly can't recall the last time anyone has ever called me 'cute'. You might be the first, Sunshine. So, um, thanks? Or whatever the right reply is."

Cute. Me? Well... Toph thought.

She smiled.

[Sablerose]

At first, Calla wasn't sure what to take out of Toph's reaction. She seemed, well, underwhelmed, maybe a bit disappointed. Calla worried that not only had she possibly embarrassed herself, but that, more importantly, she might have insulted or otherwise offended her friend. Especially as the other woman wouldn't meet her eyes. Yes, Toph was blind, but her confession about being able to 'see' Calla had usually led her to look directly at the Druid. Calla thought that Toph's keeping her head down was not a good sign.

Crestfallen, she was felt that she should apologize. Maybe even retract the confession.

Then Calla spotted the smile on Toph's face. Whatever else the Druid had been feeling, seeing Toph's beautiful smile made all those negative feelings evaporate.

"Don't worry, Chipmunk," she said, returning the smile. "I'll only use it in private. I know that you need to maintain a certain image of, um, toughness. And, I don't want it to get stale too quickly." She picked up Toph's empty bowl and placed it on the table. "I think there's some more soup, if you'd like some."

[Toph Bei Fong]

"Oh yes please," Toph replied. "I have not yet begun to eat!"

Toph waited until she hand hew new bowl of soup, and had swallowed a couple of spoonfuls before speaking again. "Course I gotta be tough. Its practically my name, after all. Still, there are times..." she trialed off, opting to eat a bit more before going on.

"Don't get me wrong; I dont regret my choices. I knew what I was doing when I started fighting underground and when I went off to war. And when I was in the war, I'd be lying if I said some part of me didn't get a rush from all the fighting. Not the killing,' she added hastily. "I didn't like that part, but it was necessary, and I did it. But the part where its me an my bending and the whole planet is my weapon, and I know is down to my unit, my squad, or often just me and Cera between the invading army and the village or town at our back. It was a rush. A terrifying rush, but still a rush. Its really all I know how to do."

"But sometimes... when the battle was done and bodies needed burning or burying... or when I woke up in the middle of the night on the side of some mountain clinging to Cera for warmth... or after it was all over and I couldn't go home... or in the years since as I wandered from land to land and problem to problem that could be solved with a well placed boulder upsides the right person's head... there are times where I don't want be 'tough' anymore. I just want to let my guard down and relax. Hell of it is: I'm not sure I remember how."

[Sablerose]

"I can't and won't judge you for your actions for what you might have done in war." Calla sat beside her now, rather than facing her. "It's a time when the best and worst in people can be seen. Shinning bravery and the darkest of cruelty, as well as everything in between. More importantly, though, is that no matter what my feelings, you are the one that has to live with the memories of your actions, and, for good or ill, those memories will be a far harsher judge than anyone else could ever be.

"But I will tell you that when we're in private like this, you will never have to put on airs with me. We are both teacher and student to each other. But more importantly, we're friends, or at least I think we are. I know what it's like to be forever tied to an idea of what people will think of you, simply because of who I was born from. Trust me, there are days when I wish that I had been born to a pair of simple, hard-working farmers. But I can't change that. What I can change is how people see me.

"You just need to be reminded how to relax, Chipmunk" She stood up and moved behind Toph. "Believe it or not, I give a rather good massage. It's something I learned on my own when I was much younger. I always found a chance to give my father a shoulder massage when he seemed troubled." Calla laughed lightly. "He always told me that it eased his mind when I did it. Oh, I'll admit that it's most likely a father make his daughter feel good about her efforts to make him happy. Still, the few other people I've been able to try this on have never complained. Or at least they've had the decency to put up a brave face for me. So, would you like to see if I can live up to my own idea of how good I am?"

[Toph Bei Fong]

When Calla laughed, Toph couldn't help but crack a smile herself. "Well, arent we sure of ourselves" she teased. She sat her bowl down and squared her shoulders. "Hit me with your best shot, Sunshine. But I gotta warn you, I'm a bundle of tensions back there. An athletic, well formed, eye catching bundle of tension, but still?" she shrugged.

"But you know," Toph went on as Calla began. "Something I wonder... at what point do the airs people put become the truth? Am I the pampered blind girl who became tough, or the pampered blind girl who only acts tough?" Toph shook her head. "Ugh, now I sound like an air bender, sitting cross legged leg on a mountain top, complementing my navel. Not my style. Now what I could use is a drink...and now I think I'm just rambling..." she said , and trialed off.

[Sablerose]

Calla's immediate answer was simply to begin working on Toph's shoulders. The Earthbender had not understated her tension, and the Druid had to spend minutes just getting one shoulder to relax enough that she felt it was okay to begin on the other. Once both shoulders had relaxed somewhat, she worked on the back of Toph's neck, from the bottom of the skull to where it joined the shoulders. She could hear Toph's breathing slow somewhat as the tension bled off.

She shifted the other woman slightly, leaning her forward so that Calla could work her massage down Toph's back. She never rushed her work, and only moved down when she felt that the area in question was loosened up. By the time Calla had made her way down to Toph's hips, she was actually sweating lightly from the effort.

But it had given her time to really look at her friend. And she had to admit that Toph was a very attractive woman. Muscular but in a way that emphasized her shape. There was no doubt that the woman bore scars, both physical and emotional, whose origins Calla would never know and whose reminders would never go away, no matter what healing could be done. Yet for all that, Toph was still a caring person, despite her veneer of brash and bravado. Calla had to admit that she truly wanted to learn more about her, in more ways than one.

When Calla found herself working on an area that she had already determined was as loose as her massaging was going to make it, she snapped out of her daze. "Well, that takes care of the top half of you." She cleared her throat. "I can do your legs, if wish. I'm not sure just how a foot massage would work for you, with you needing to be barefoot. Your soles might be too tough to really do much there, but I can also try there if you wish. Or I can stop with what I've done, if you prefer." Calla was not certain if she had hidden the disappointment in her voice as she gave the latter option. "What would you like me to do?"

[Toph Bei Fong]

When Calla started with her shoulders, Toph had to admit that she wasn't half bad. Her hands and fingers were stronger than she anticipated or experienced. Professional masseuses, which she had frequented now and then, were always so afraid to really bear into her from some reason. Probable because she was a woman.

Not Calla though. She attacked the tensions and knots with vengeance. Toph grunted once in surprises, and for a moment, tensed up even more. But the druid never let up, easing only when Toph's shoulders final realxed under their attack. "Oooooo," Toph sighed once she felt her shoulder's relax. "Okay you're kinda good," she admitted.

Then Calla moved on to her back. Toph scooted her food bowl and plates out of the way slightly, and leaned forward to give the other woman better access. "Okay..." she crooned in a softer voice after a while and the tension seemed to flow away. "You're more than kinda good."

Which was and understatement. It was odd, Toph had no idea just now tied up in knots she was until the knots were gone. It was like... like she had been holding her breath for a long time, or flexing a muscle for so long that she had forgotten whet it felt like to exhale or stop flexing. Until now. The relief was rush. Toph stopped talking and allowed her eyes to half-close.

She hadn't realized she had spaced out or dozed off until Calla's voice brought her back.

"Yeah, not the feet," she replied, surprised at the softness of her own voice. She must really be relaxed. "Halflings probably have softer soles than me. But if you think that you can do that good a job to my back and not do my legs, you've got another thing comin' sunshine."

Toph looked over her shoulder at Calla, and even the smirk on her face seemed softer. "So where do you want me?" she asked.

[Sablerose]

There were answers that flashed through Calla's mind, most of which surprised her with their rather carnal intensity. This time the flush to her face was felt as much as probably visible. In the end, however, she stammered out. "Umm...how about we roll you over on your front, and I work on the calf muscles?" But with a smile, she added "After that, we'll see."

[Toph Bei Fong]

The infinitesimal skip of a heart beat, the tightening of certain muscles and the relaxing of others. The pause in the voice... and did the glow around her cheeks get brighter?

Toph's smirk slipped a bit as she took in those signs, then her eyes winded slightly as she suddenly got it. The smirk grew, but her face felt warm. She wondered if she should see a healer about that. It was getting bothersome. "We'll see, alright," Toph replied. Her usual devil-may-care tone was subdued by her recent bout of relaxation, and it came out somewhat...curious in its tone.

Toph scooted on the floor away from their dinner area, and lay down chest frist on the stone floor, resting her had on her arms. That only took a few seconds, but it gave her time to think. Calla's physical reaction to her unfortunate(?) choice of words was...oddly flattering. But that was silly, wasn't it? She knew better than anyone that physical attraction came and went with such a fickle passion; what was there one second was gone the next, and only rarely consulted the heart and mind on its way. Calla might have already gotten over it by now.

Plus, was it even her place to think about such an attraction? Her own attraction to women.. or at least two of them... ugh confusion!.. was still fresh. And Calla didn't deserved to be confused sexual experiment number 2. That just seemed so... so... well the other woman just deserved better than that, Toph was sure.

Her thoughts going in circles, Toph's body began to tense up again.

[Sablerose]

Calla watched as muscles clenched as Toph lay on her front. It was odd, given that she had been so relaxed such a short time ago. The Druid was determined to not have her work ruined, especially given how much Toph had seemed happier with the tension bled off.

Calla began again, kneeling as she had to get Toph's shoulders and back. Once those were done again, she did not stop, going immediately to her legs and calves. She actually surprised herself with just how professional she kept her work. What surprised her more was just how much she found that she did not want to keep it professional. The temptation was there to take advantage of the situation and...explore. And just as quickly, she discarded the idea. First, whatever else they might be, they were still friends, and she would not violate Toph's trust in her. Second, she did not even know whether the other woman even had any interest in Calla that way.

No, she would just be satisfied with what she could do here, and be pleased with Toph's relaxation.

"How is that?" she asked as she patted her friend on the back after she had finished most of her efforts.

[Toph Bei Fong]

The only sounds Toph made as Calla worked Her magic was the occasional grunt as she worked stubborn cluster of muscles, followed up by a sigh as they finally relaxed.

Was it possible for hands to firm and soft at the same time? She could tell form Calla's touch that she was no stranger to working with her hands, but in spite of that and her forceful pressure, her touch was bizarrely soft. Toph idly rubbed her own hands on her crossed arms, feeling ever callus, every inch of dried skin, their overall coarseness. Man hands, Toph thought, frowning.

Not so with Calla, and as the other woman worked down to her legs, Toph surprised herself by wondering how it would feel if Calla's hands passed the dress-like hem of sari and would touch her own skin directly.

It wasn't thoughts she should be having, but it was proving hard in her relaxed state to reign such thoughts in. Toph sifted on the floor, her legs spreading slight to give Calla better access to inner portions of her legs. never did a finger stay to far from message to foreplay, a fact that Toph was as grateful for as she was disappointed in. Any other time the conflict would have her up in knots. Today... she just seemed to be floating on top of it.

"Heavenly," Toph replied. to Callas question. She stretched. "I dont think I've been this relaxed without drinking by own body weight in alcohol."

She looked over at Calla, smiling a dreamy smile. "You've got magic fingers, sunshine. Is that a druid thing too, or are you just that awesome?"