We built this city on Rock-

[toph_luck]

Who: Toph Beifong, Najaran, Iroh, and You!
Which: Log | Open prompts
Where: Exploring, Visiting Iroh and Najaran
What: Meeting Najaran's 'friends', or friends. And Hanging out with Iroh to talk about the world they're in. Exploring the world and meeting strangers!
Warnings: None yet



For everyone - The Open Prompt!

[ It doesn't really matter what brings you here, but something does, either way. Be it a trip between regions, the urge to explore, caught off guard by a wild spider monkey and chased down. Either way, along your travel you spot a peculiar sight. What appears to be... a tent? And several perfectly shaped circle slab seats around. Even more peculiar, there seems to be a young girl just... laying back against a stone arch like it's a hammock, sipping from a thin metal cup. Her eyes are closed, and her head doesn't turn as you approach. (Or perhaps you don't approach, either way, she calls out) ]

Hey! Are you lost?

[ So helpful. ]

For Najaran

[ Huh, another person way out here? It's not what she's expecting. A familiar figure is close by, and by the feel of it, not doing too hot. Toph's comfortable in her campsite, but she reaches out and slams an arm down, shooting small stone markers up to help guide Najaran towards her from a (surprising) distance. Slightly smug smile on her lips. ]

For Iroh

[ The noise comes expected, perhaps. There's a short shadow by the door and a quiet. Knock, knock, knock.]

Wildcard

[ You know the drill! Poke me on hantale or Hantale on discord, or DM here if you want to plan something. Otherwise, this is the catch-all for silly scenarios, memes, or whatever else you might want to throw at her.

For the sake of planning, assume she's travelling around a lot and sorting out her own food, often camping somewhere or relaxing in a calm area. Maybe helping locals repair structures. ]

Comments

Exploring

[abyssbound]

[ It's on one of Asura's hunting forays into the wildlands that he encounters the girl's camp site. Not altogether unusual on its own, and from the looks of the camp, she knows what she's doing. Asura's about to leave her to it and move on when she calls out to him. ]

No. [ He answers with a quirked eyebrow. ] Just hunting for dinner.

[toph_luck]

[ The closer he gets the more odd it seems. The stumps that seem to make seats are, clearly, made of stone. Have they always been there? A glance to the tent will confirm that it's solid rock as well, several inches thick on either side.

There's a soft laugh. ]

Right... Just don't go too far... uh, that way-

[ Her hand points off in one of the directions. Kindof vague. ]

There's some snappy rattledogs up there.

[abyssbound]

[ Truth be told, he'd just assumed it was some kind of Dreamotion since the very fabric of this world is so malleable. It's not enough for him to question her abilities if she's doing fine on her own. He does pause, however, when he realizes that she isn't looking at anything in particular... and her cloudy eyes explain everything. ]

The snoyotes? [ He offers, because otherwise she has no idea what she's talking about. ]

[toph_luck]

[ Oh, he's quick to catch on! Though until he gives something away she'll just assume he doesn't know. Still, there's a small smile on her lips. ]

Yeah, those things. We called them rattledogs where I'm from. Or something like that, usually. Unless they don't have rattlers I guess.

[ In which case, snogs? coyote-snakes? Everyone calls them something different. ]

They're not that dangerous usually. But I think they found some food nearby, there's a lot.

[abyssbound]

[ She wouldn't be the first visually-impaired person he's ever met if it helps.

Asura gives a small chuckle to that, crossing his arms over his chest in amusement. ]

Those creatures exist in your waking world? [ He does wonder what they might have found if there's more of them around than usual, but he can investigate later. ]

[toph_luck]

Mmmh, something like them. Yeah! Though there are some weird creatures here too.

[ Like, those redcaps. Those nasty little pieces of work. But they're not worth even being mentioned. ]

You don't have like... Rattle-dogs? giant-snake-rats or something where you're from?

[abyssbound]

[ Funny thing, Asura has some history with the redcaps. But since Toph doesn't bring them up, neither does Asura have any reason to do so. ]

Just the plain flavor of giant snakes. If you've run into any nagas, those are from my world.

[toph_luck]

[ One day they might bond over it. Who knows. Toph's not the most talkative type. Even this is a bit more forward than she normally is. ]

How big is giant? 'Cause maybe... Big creatures I usually just wander away from... As fun as it might be to fight one.

[ There's a moment of awkward silence, and she gestures to one of the stone seats. ]

You can sit down if you want. Unless you want to leave.

[abyssbound]

[ The same can be said for Asura. There's really only one particular person he really enjoys talking to, and that person hasn't been in this world for more than a year.

He regards her invitation with a lingering look at the makeshift seats before shooting a glance in the direction he'd been headed before their encounter. He'd gone out to hunt, but he can spare some time--his pantry is hardly bare. ]

Big enough to swallow a mountain. [ He chuckles as he takes a seat, though it's not as much of an exaggeration as it might sound. There's still a few smaller nagas in the forests of the wildlands, but nothing like the kaiju-sized monsters that had been around during the fight with the Story Eater. ]

Sorry if it's rude, but I have to ask; how would you fight a big monster like that?

[toph_luck]

Oh-... Woah.

[ That part does earn a smile though, and she sits up a bit straighter. A chance to brag? ]

Maybe not a mountain-sized one... but I could give it a shot. You probably don't know what it means, but I'm actually a powerful earthbender! The strongest in the world!

[ She's got a proud, smug grin too. ]

[abyssbound]

You're right, I don't know what it means. Something to do with the stonework in this campsite, I'd guess?

[ So probably not dreamotion after all. ]

[toph_luck]

You got it-

[ Her hand shifts, palm out flat and lifting. The seat he's on lifts into the air, 10, 20, 40 feet. The stone rumbles, and then lowers back down to it's original position uncomfortably quickly without dropping him entirely. ]

Stuff like that, you know, bending the earth.

[ It's very self explanatory. ]

[abyssbound]

[ His reaction is immediate--as soon as the seat lifts, six bladed, spinelike tentacle arms emerge from Asura's back and spear into the stone before propelling him backward through the air only to land on his feet a few paces away before the seat can return to its original position. The dark arms remain out as he straightens up, hovering protectively around his body. Yet despite his reaction, he lets out a soft chuckle once he realizes that she hadn't, in fact, been attacking him, and they slowly retract into his back once more. ]

Got it. [ Though he shakes his head in exasperation, he really is amused by the whole thing. ]

[toph_luck]

[ WHAT. Hold on a second...

It takes her a moment to even realize what happened, blinking once and sitting up straighter. ]

What was THAT!? You can do cool things too!?

[ She looks far too excited. ]

[abyssbound]

[ Define "cool things." ]

You surprised me. [ He says in lieu of a proper answer, brushing the dust off his pants. ] A lot of people here are capable of unexpected things, I'm not that unique.

[toph_luck]

You did ask. Easier to show than to explain.

[ Settling into a more subtle smile, she nods like that explains everything.]

But what were those anyway? I can only really feel the shape.

[abyssbound]

[ Asura lets out a grumbling sigh as he crosses his arms and thinks over the best way to answer that question. From his experience here in the dream world, the concept of Spiritual Entities is one unique to his own world, so it's not a simple thing to explain. ]

You have the concept of a 'soul' in your world, right?

[toph_luck]

[ Toph's arms just settle behind her head, leaning back again with that quiet, confident smile. ]

Nope. What's a soul?

[abyssbound]

Then forget it. Just think of it as my power. [ Look, it's hard enough to explain Spiritual Entities to people who do have the concept of souls. Without even that baseline, it's way more work than he's willing to put out. ]

[toph_luck]

[ They totally have spirits, but the terminology in her world is so different. They can figure it out one day. ]

It's cool either way. How much rock do you think you could smash through?

[abyssbound]

[ One day maybe. ]

Depends on the type of rock. Granite is a lot harder than sandstone, after all.

[toph_luck]

Right. Hold on.

[ She stomps again, a few hand motions and four square pillars rise from the ground, about his height. One only a foot thick, the next one two, four, then eight. They're just made of the local rock, no alterations. So given where they are it's modestly thick granite and volcanic-style shield rock. ]

Try these!

[ Oh no, her real interests are showing. ]