Collecting the Toll (Open)

[Toph Bei Fong]

"Venus," Toph lied easily, glad to be back on script. "T-though I'm told my... looks?.. closer resemble Gaia Kingdom features. Most notably the shape of my eyes and my skin tone..." she sighed wistfully. 'I've never been to the Gaia Kingdom... I'd very much like to go. I kept asking my Master and he kept promising... but I think he just wnated to keep me quiet..."

Toph trailed off sadly, then her face broke into a grin. She really should consider performing for the stage if the this whole sell-sword thing ever fell though.

"There...there was a war there," she went on, whipping the smile off her face frist. "I know that much... and, well, children often get lost in times of war... but as far back as I can remember I lived in Venus. Its where I was... was..."

She added a sniffle for good measure.

[Daring Jo Lockwood]

Jo felt less and less bad for the "royal"s little tumble. Not that she was particularly wracked with guilt over the accident. Still, she managed to keep her trap shut and listened to the "servant" girl's story.

'Ah...an exotic beauty?' she thought to herself.

"Was?" Jo gave a tilt of her head and a quirk of her eyebrow. Then the sound of a sniffle reached her ear. "Oh, now now....Daring Jo will not permit a lovely lady like yourself to be in such dower spirits! I simply cannot stand the sound of pretty girls crying...it's always such a shame! I can promise you this! You shall find find your freedom from servitude, today, my love!"

Jo had bolted upright during her impassioned speech, now facing away from the road and propping a foot on the roof of the carriage, speaking quite loudly and gesturing as passionately as she spoke, "This lord you serve has just been robbed by the Daring Lady...and the nobles of Terre de Conte rarely, if ever, see their treasures once I've had my hands on them. You will be no different! I'll make sure you're on the right path! Back to Gaia, should you wish...just tell me where you wish to go and I'll be sure to get you there! Safe and sound!"

[Toph Bei Fong]

Over the top much? Toph thought, but couldn't help smiling. Regardless of how it was done, it was always nice to see -- well hear -- someone so sure of their own place in the world. It was really to bad that Toph was going to have to bring it all down around her. But then, that was Toph's place in the world. Wasn't it?

"Right now, Lady Lockwood -- Jo, I mean" Toph said, allowing the smile to color her voice. "I would really just like to rest," She let the smile fade away and sighed a heavy sigh. "Its been so long... since I could just... relax without it being ruined by someone... some man barking for my... services."

She was silent for a time, then added haltingly, " C-could I stay...with you? Maybe? For a time? Just until.. I.. you know.. figure things out?"

[Daring Jo Lockwood]

"If it's rest you want, it's rest you'll get!" Jo declared, the broad smile on her face apparent even to someone as visually impaired as Toph was. Of course, this information was not yet at Jo's disposal. The Daring Lady made a large sweeping bow in her general direction, "And it would be my pleasure -- nay, my honor! -- to have your company!"

Despite not having any audience, Jo still moved with all the flourish and exaggeration of a stage actor. She spun on a heel and dropped back to a seat on the coach.

"Your troubles, my dear, are now a thing of the past! While I may not have the luxurious estate that I'm sure that fellow could provide, I certainly make do...I'll personally ensure your comfort during your stay!"

Having the company of a fine woman...that wasn't something she had for a long time. Or at least for the amount of time that this "Tabby" was asking for. It was going to be a difficult thing to manage...as she stopped talking (for a moment) she mulled it over in her head.

[Toph Bei Fong]

"My comfort..." Toph echoed with a weary sigh, leaning back in her seat in the carriage. "I'm not even sure what that is anymore."

Toph stopped breathing when she realized with a start that was the truest thing she had said that day. Was the whole 'slave girl' role getting to her? She had heard of sell-swords getting too wrapped up in their own fiction before when they tried to infiltrate the criminal world. But that was after months and months of deception. She had barely been at it for a few hours.

So her choices were she was either cracking up really fast, or she had just spoken from her heart.

Toph wasn't sure which scared her more. All she was sure of was that she suddenly felt very, very weary. As though she had been running for sometime and it had just caught up with her. Lying was exhausting work, she thought. That's what I don't do it when can avoid it. Just more hassle than its --

Toph dozed off, mid-thought.

Toph was running, blindly, though the woods. Every step sent pain screaming at her as her burned feet struck the ground.

'ohgaiacantseekeeprunningshe'sRIGHTBEHINDYOU!'

She ran and ran, and she could smell smoke and fire and blood all around her, and she stumbled over and onto bodies. She couldn't tell if they were animal or human, friend or foe. She couldn't see, she couldn't see and gaia how would she survive without her earthsight? how would she ever make it back?

Laughter trilled though the trees. Her laughter. Toph ran faster.

-- and straight into the thick trunk of a tree, breaking her nose and sending her to the ground, unconscious.

Toph jerked awake in the carriage and was mostly successful in choking back her scream.

Mostly.

[Daring Jo Lockwood]

Her passenger, it seemed, had decided to take a snooze. Or inadvertently. Whatever the reason, Jo had kept talking perhaps longer than this Tabby had been active in the conversation at hand. But, soon enough, she ceased and piloted the carriage along the path.

Then, after the silence had settled, a scream cut through and put an end to that right away. "Oh my!" came Jo's rather surprised reaction. Bringing their ride to an abrupt halt, she rather nimbly raced from the driver's seat, to the door. She swung it open and was presented with a figure that matched the image she had constructed in her head. Perhaps even better.

In the blink of an eye, she was at Tabby's side and had the "servant" in a tight embrace, "Don't worry, beautiful!" she exclaimed, "I'm right here! My my, you certainly did sell yourself short! You seem more lovely than I could have imagined! Ah, but you should calm down..." Jo, though certainly pleased with the sight, found the idea of such a tragic dream befalling the rather striking young lady to be most disquieting, "...A pity, such a pity! Oh, my sweet Tabby, I do wish you a speedy recovery from whatever trauma has found it's way into your life...just know and rest easy in the fact that I am delivering to a place far away from such detestable events that have lead to our crossing paths!"

[Toph Bei Fong]

The terror of her brief nightmare threatened to choke her, and for a moment, Toph forgot where she was and what she was doing. She planted her feet firmly on the floor of the carriage, but saw nothing.

Forgetting that she was surrounded by wood, the color drained from her face. Where was she? Why couldn't she 'see'? Her feet, were they still...

The opening of the carriage door might as well been a thunderclap. She spun to face it, felt the sun on her face, and then --

Warmth. Arms around her, her chin on a shoulder, hair tickling her face. Soothing words. Wrong accent. Calling her the wrong name, but saying just what she needed to hear.

Trembling, Toph hugged back tightly, arms around Jo's chest, bare legs wrapped around the woman's waist. Her breath was still coming in gasps, but the gasps were slowing.

"Cera?" she asked, but knew she was wrong the moment she said it. Panic was fading, and in its retreat, memory came charging back.

She began to relax her hug. But it was slow process.

"F-forgive me, Jo," she said, and her stammer was genuine. "I believe that I..." but she trialed off before finally releasing the other woman and lowering her head.

[Daring Jo Lockwood]

Jo was only too happy to have this very attractive woman in her arms and in as tight an embrace as they were in. Still, it would appear that there had been quite an ordeal that had apparently led up to this current position. Cognizant of this, the highwaygirl refrained from bearing one of the broad smiles that typically lit up her face.

"Oh, hush now..." Jo said, when "Tabby" released her hold and lowered her head. With a gentle touch, she lifted her chin to meet her face to face. And found her to have the most peculiar looking eyes she had seen throughout the course of her brief, but profitable, career.

"You mustn't ever think of yourself as a burden...a beautiful companion such as yourself? Why, you are only doing myself a favor!" she smiled brightly, "But! I will not have pretty ladies in sour spirits, while in my presence! I would love to a smile grace your lovely features!"

[Toph Bei Fong]

Toph didn't need her earth-sight to tell Jo was being genuine. Her nightmare had been real enough, as had the screaming the trembling. And though Jo must have had the wrong idea about the cause, her reaction was heartfelt and honest, and made Toph feel like dirt. Well not dirt, since she held dirt in high regard. But she still felt like an ass.

Toph shrugged away from the gentle touch on her chin. "I... I need some air," she said brusquely, so unlike her tome on the ride so far. Her hands and feet went out, feeling the bench and the carriage until she had a good idea where she was in relation to the door. She slid around Jo, who's body heat she can still feel, and slipped outside.

Once there, her bare feet hit the ground from the cut out soles of her shoes, and the world returned to her. Even the carriage, with its gold trimming, was sharper to her than most wooden constructions. Toph was looking more or less right into the sun, feeling its meager winter warmth. A chill wind blew, sending her veils flying about in the air.

She inhaled deeply and tried to think.

The slave girl thing had been her idea. It was a perfect plan. It would lure in the highwayman, get her to take her to her home of operations, then Toph would rat her out to the Venus guard for a tidy profit. Enough to keep her afloat until she found Anactoria.

Toph slid into a bending stance, to the untrained eye, it might have seemed like a dance move.

It was a good plan. It could still work. If anything the nightmare and the intimate hug might have only increased Jo's fascination with her. She could still pull it off. Easily.

Toph's body slid from one bending from to another, and the range of her earth-sight increased. She didn't call forth her active bending yet though. She was just trying to center herself.

She felt Jo leave the carriage.

Thank her, hug her, shake those hips a bit, get back in the carriage and finish the job! she told herself.

But she kept working her kata's flowing like a dance.

Theif or no, Jo was a good person. Toph wished she had been the lecherous ol' lesbian she had pictured in her head. All eager to show of her stash of wealth and jump on top of her that Toph could play her like a fiddle and call in the rear guard to lock her up and throw away the key without a look back. But the truth was, Toph could have just as easily been Jo. Minus the gay part.

This sh*t was easier when i was hunting down murder and rapists and oath breakers, she thought. She continued her 'dance'. The range of her earthsight spread even further.

A league and change away, she felt the thundering of hoof beats. Horses. Ten of them. Carrying armored men. The metal work was familiar: the all bore the crest of the Venus City Watch.

Toph froze in mid-step. They guard was coming up their back-trail. Fast. Too fast.

She spun on the balls of her feet to 'look' at Jo. "They're coming," she snapped, and she was herself again. The docile unsure tone of Tabby the slave gone in an instant. "The City Watch. How far is your hideout?"

[Daring Jo Lockwood]

While she couldn't say what specific reaction she was expecting, this certainly had not made it's way to the top of her list. "Tabby"s entire demeanor had changed in a split second. The slave girl made a hasty exit and left the highwaygirl sitting in the carriage with a rather ponderous look on her face.

After a beat, she made her way to the door, only to find the girl doing a rather peculiar dance. Which is not to say that she found it displeasing. Far from it, under most circumstances, Jo would have only been too happy to watch pretty women dancing. But, this was far from an ordinary circumstance.

'Rather odd time for that...' she thought as she exited the carriage, getting a closer look at the young woman she had "rescued". Although, it was starting to occur to her that she had done no such thing.

Her head tilted and an eyebrow shot towards the sky. Her traveling companion had just relayed some rather intriguing news. Intriguing and quite troubling. Jo was never one to take news about City Watch lightly..and whatever sorcery had enabled this strange girl to tell her this, she was not about to question it.

"On my trail, eh?" she said as she tapped her chin, "Well, this is most inconvenient. My personal hideout is actually quite far from here. And it was for this very reason I didn't want to go directly there. However! If we continue on this path, we should be able to lose them in the mountains. There are a number of cozy little spots to hide out for the time being. And plenty of dangerous little beasties to keep them occupied during their daring pursuit! Ho ho ho!"

Almost invigorated by this new challenge she smirked at "Tabby"...although, this seemed to be a far different person than the one she had held up, just a few miles ago.

"Come, my dear, we've given them enough time to catch up! Let's be off..." she took a step back towards the carriage, before halting to look back at the "servant", "Ah...one favor, first...would you be kind enough to honor me with your true name?"

[Toph Bei Fong]

It was a perfectly reasonable request, and yet Toph hesitated. Suppose she was wrong about Jo? Suppose she wasn't as good a perosn as that one moment of weakness led her to believe? If she told the highwayman her name, and it got back to the City Watch that she broke cover, life could get very difficult back in Venus. She was less worried that Jo would attempt to harm her following a revelation of truth. She was certainly very capable and resourceful, that much was clear, but Toph could move the very earth under their feet. If it came to a fight, there would be no contest.

With a deep breath, Toph straightened to her full height, her mind made up. "Toph Bei Fong. You might have hard of me under a different name though: the Blind Bandit." Her mouth curled into a smirk. "You should feel quite flattered: They cared enough to send the very best to bring you in." The smirk faded almost as fast as it came. "But, I've decided not to do that.

"Seems to me you haves a choice here, Jo. You can hop on that borrowed carriage of yours alone and escape... though I am going to have to insist on keeping the chest inside. Its my fee and if I'm not bringing you in, I'll have to return it. I wont look for you again.

"Or, if you're just that curious as to why I'm telling you all this, I can go with you to these 'spots' and explain myself. After which I'll be on my way, chest in hand, and not look for you again."

Then, the smirk was back. "I guess a third option would be to try and attack me in an effort to keep the chest, but that would be a really stupid thing to do. And you're not a stupid woman."

Toph placed her hands on her hips. "What's going to be, Sweetie?"

[Daring Jo Lockwood]

"Me? Betray such a fine beauty as yourself?" Jo said, looking quite shocked at the accusation...but, then breaking into a rather mirthful smirk, "Why, I wouldn't think of it...and for such a wonderful performance, you certainly have earned your reward my dear."

She gave a bow, quite genuine in her remarks. After all, she did have to admit that she had bought Toph's story and was certainly on her way towards a rather unpleasant trip towards the city. With some rather unpleasant looking guards.

"I would be honored if you accompanied me, Toph...ah, what a pretty name that is...not that you don't make a good a Tabby." Jo continued and offered a hand to the bounty hunter, "Ho ho! At least the fine folks at City Watch were smart enough to reach out to someone with talent!"

[Toph Bei Fong]

Toph eyes face Jo, as unfocused as ever. Her earthsight, however, saw no hint of betrayal in the other woman's manner.

"Sweetie, you haven't seen my talent yet," she replied, smirking anew.

She rubbed the soles of her feet against the earth again, reaching out as far as she could. Her 'sight wasn't as wide as it was when she was fully centered, but it was wide enough. Company was still on its way.

"We'd better hurry it up," she said finally. She 'saw' the offered hand, hesitated, then took it.

((New thread in the mountains?))

[Daring Jo Lockwood]

Smirking (still mirthfully) Jo took Toph's hand and headed back to the carriage. Her true talent? That was an interesting statement. Of course, she was dealing with what was easily the most interesting woman she had ever encountered. Had anyone else succeeded in fooling her as badly as she had just been, Jo might have been angry. But, she was too enamored to care at this point.

"Yes, I suppose, we should!" Jo easily scaled the carriage and guided the Blind Bandit up to the driver's seat next to her. Taking the reins, she snapped the horses back into action. A trail of dust kicked up as the two made their way, away from the City Watch that was currently in pursuit.

(OOC: Gah! I almost forgot! Yes, a new thread'd be fine...you wanna start or should I?)