1 ☼ joint tutorial video / open to both courts

[atoned]

[ for the first time since zuko had unlocked his locket, it turns on without fuss. perhaps because it's in the hands of toph that it does. for viewers with a keen eye, they'll spy a thin, red ring around the ring finger on his left hand. after tapping into the power when he had been practicing his firebending techniques, his flame hotter and brighter than anything it had been before, zuko's been attempting to tap into sozin's comet once again. but as he hadn't taken the time to note the time of day he had used his ring, he believes it to be broken (he’s momentarily forgotten what the imps had informed him of, overloading him with information when he had already felt overwhelmed at his boon actually appearing in his hand, a living ring that didn’t feel as hot as sozin’s comet, but had left him feeling invincible). with that thought in mind, he's almost fuming. ]

[ with a scowl, the right side — the good side — of his face can be seen. his left hand is currently occupied, but his right curls by his side into a tight fist, knuckles painfully white. unaware of being filmed, zuko's holding an imp by the scruff of his neck. the little creature snaps its small jaw at him, but the fire lord looks nonplussed. ]

Where are the dwarves!? [ the little beast twists, despite zuko's long fingers digging hard into his flesh, to try and bite at his wrist. leaning in further, he yells so loud the earth may move beneath his feet in fright, ] Where do I find them!? Stop snickering!

[ for good measure, he shakes the imp before his other hand forms into a gun, index finger aiming for the little beast's feet. small blasts of fire shoot at the imp's toes, the creature squealing as it tries to chomp at the air in front of zuko. ] Stop laughing every time I ask what a dwarf is!

[ at first it starts as a small, indistinguishable sound, then grows into a gigantic, unruly, loud, exasperated yawn. ladylike as always. then, a voice comes from off-screen. ]

You’re so predictable. [ a beat ] And loud. [ another beat ] Also boring.

[ the locket clatters to the ground, the view shifting to show mostly the ground, though zuko’s legs are still visible. closer to the locket, a leg covered in green pants is there, a foot crossing over the knee that’s mostly covered in dirt. the toes wriggle. ]

I know where the dwarves are. [ she doesn’t. ]

[ zuko doesn’t hear toph until he hears the d word. not that anyone can see — thanks, toph — but zuko’s head snaps in her direction. how his neck hasn’t is a trick of the spirits. his grip on the imp drops — his ugly feet hit the ground and scamper away — as he turns on her. he shouts, ] Where!?

[ if anyone’s paying close enough attention, they’ll see a subtle shift in toph’s foot that’s on the ground. there’s a soft rumbling and it looks as if something’s moving underground. in the distance, the imp flings off to the side with a yelp. she admits to nothing. ]

I can hear, you know. [ avoid the question. she’s not answering. ]

I know that! [ curling his fingers into a fist, he smacks his knuckles against his head. zuko sighs, exasperated. his shoulders slump slightly, as if the exhale of air has rid him of all the anger keeping his bones upright and stiff. (it hasn’t.) his tone is softer, less of an inferno and more of a comfortable hearth, ] Where are they?

[ she sniffs, then pitches the locket in his direction. sorry but not sorry for shaky cam. her voice grows a little distant. ] Don’t know if I feel like telling you.

[ his voice is as loud as ever, hands balled into fists as he yells, ] WHY NOT!?

[ her voice is definitely farther away now, but she does yell back: ] Don’t feel like it!

WHY NOT!?

[ there’s a long moment of silence, followed rapidly by a rumbling and a moderately sized boulder comes flying right at zuko, courtesy of one earthbender. ]

Comments

[atoned]

[ zuko speaks as he stands, brushing the dirt from his backside and his elbows. his tone is conversational, no longer projecting or speaking at her. ] The imp told me I had to go see the dwarves if I wanted my ring fixed.

[ he doesn't think to play a game of twenty questions — an answer for her to gift him one. he fingers his ring, glancing down toward it. such a small thing with so much power, and yet — ]

It only works once a month. [ and considering the ordeal they had just been through, zuko wishes to be at the top of his game all the time. ]

[metalhead]

[ a slow blink and she stops in her tracks. toph gives an incredibly heavy sigh and scrubs a hand over her face.

of all the people to be stuck with—

her voice is extremely deadpan when she speaks again: ]

And just like that you're going to believe what those things tell you?

[atoned]

They gave it to me! [ or morla did, his queen ... there's no time for dreamy eyes, though. his hands are balled into fists once again, going from negative zero to one thousand in a split second at her judging him with his own logic. ]

[ imps cannot be trusted, unless they deliver the shiny things he had asked for and hadn't cursed it with their ugly, imp magic. ]

[metalhead]

[ now she turns around. this seems more like a conversation better held face to face. or some form of it. zuko's right to think toph is judging him, because she is.

hard.

he's lucky she's not privy to his thoughts, or he'd be getting another boulder to the face, and this one wouldn't be laden with intended friendship. ]

So, you're just going to trust everything anyone here tells you.

[ and, no, that's not even a question, but a bland observation. who the heck let this dumbass be fire lord? ]

[atoned]

No! [ yes. ]

It worked once. Like they told me! [ he turns, arm extended with his hand curled into a fist, as he shoots a blast of fire at nothing in particular. compared to what he'd seen at sunset, his fire is nothing fancy — it's nothing like how it had been during his agni kai with azula. ]

[ he turns to face her, the heat of his fire lingering in the air. ] And now it won't work!

[metalhead]

[ the biggest line faces of all line faces is given to him. ]

I can tell you're lying.

[ her foot kicks into the ground, popping up a flat piece of earth to sit on, which she does with an audible breath. she points in his direction. ]

You can still firebend. What's the problem?

[atoned]

[ she is so aggravating! ]

You weren't there! [ if she had been there, able to see the flames with her own sight, she'd understand why he's so desperate to feel the power of sozin's comet flow through him once again. but she had been in the air while he had been on the ground, participating in the agni kai he had been born to dance as a dragon in. even when he had seen the masters, she hadn't been there to see firebending at it's most beautiful. ] It was different. My Agni Kai with Azula ... Fire wasn't destruction. Hers may have been, but ... It wasn't just firebending, Toph.

[ he can't really find the words to describe it. he doesn't think she'd really listen, anyway, preferring to make fun of him for his quirks and eccentricities. it's embarrassment and not wishing to make himself more vulnerable to her judgement that has his voice quietening. ]

If I can make my ring work, maybe I can make a difference.

[metalhead]

[ he is the one who's aggravating. ]

Look. [ she says, ironically. because. haha. blind. ] The comet was there, Zuko. Of course it was different.

[ though she couldn't physically see the fire, she felt it. all the way up in the air she felt it. and though she'd like to say she's not scared of anything (and would claim it so easily), that had actually made her feel fear.

that's really not something she wants to associate with zuko. least of all here. ]

Why do you care, anyway? About making a difference here.

[atoned]

[ he doesn't find her jokes funny, nor does he think they're accurate. she can see better than he can, and he's the one many believe to be too observant for his own good, knowing how to track the avatar when she would know better than him. ]

[ of course it was different — and maybe she'll never get it, being the world's greatest earthbender. she'd discovered metalbending because she believed in herself. he can't even summon a good stream of lightning without it knocking him back and slapping his face sharply. he's the kid who came into firebending too late, much later than his younger sister. the comet had given him a massive power boost — and a part of him feels as though he's craving it, as though it's his tea and he's been made to go a day without holding a warm cup to lift to his face to smell. she will never understand what it's like to be sub-par. and it's not something he wishes to really tell her, either. ]

[ he hangs his head. any desire he has to lock himself behind a scowl so she won't be able to touch him crumbles to rocks. she'll be able to tell he's lying, anyway. his tone is snappish, ] Because then I'd know I can actually do it back home!

[metalhead]

[ no, she might not ever get that sort of thing, because she doesn't take the time to feel sorry for herself. that's the difference. it might've started out that way when she was younger, but she overcame. she learned how to make herself better because no one else would do it for her. spirits made it so she couldn't see, she made it so she could. there's nothing that can stop her.

or, at least, she'd like to say so.

toph doesn't know what it's like to be sub-par because she doesn't allow herself to feel that way. zuko needs to learn some pitybending.

she sighs, patting the space on the rock behind her. comfort isn't her forte, but she's been a little less than honest with what's going on in their future. so maybe she owes him a little bit of truth. but she'll wait until they're back to back. ]

Here and home have nothing to do with each other, Zuko.

[atoned]

[ it'd be easier to pretend he has his back to her, even though she'd be able to know — his voice doesn't sound distant, but in front of her, and she'd feel the shift of his feet, perhaps even see it without even looking for it — and ignore her own friendly gesture. toph's always been a cheerleader for him, one of very few, but he's never been able to stomach it quite as well as one would hope. even when she hadn't known him, she'd trusted her own instincts, and his own heart, to believe in him when the others had no reason to heed her words, nor did she, really, as she had become one of the few targets he had tried to wipe off the map out of a sense of dishonour. ]

They do. [ he sounds defeated, though. there's no real winning with toph. once she has her foot stuck in the rock, it will stay there until she deems it necessary to pull it from where she stands stubbornly. ] We're here for a reason. [ and that's to fight another war, one that his family isn't responsible for. while he may have no personal investment in it — he hardly had any prior to their trip with raonil — he now feels a sense of responsibility. uncle would tell him he had to do something. he had the power to do so. ]

[ he takes his time in even responding to her, remaining stiff and tall while she takes to her rock, a source of comfort from home when it provides him with none. but toph is the only person here he knows, and he takes her invitation begrudgingly, it tasting bitter if it's out of pity she taps the rock she sits upon. rather than disobeying her and sitting beside her, he does as she silently requests, walking around her to rest his back against hers. rather than remain far from her own, he leans against her, his own rock; his legs hang over the one they've taken to sharing. ]