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Toph didn't go into the pizza party. Partly because she doesn't know what a pizza is, partly because the linoleum on the kitchen floor makes everything annoyingly out of focus, but mostly because she wanted to be on her own. It seems she wants to do that a lot these days.

She surveyed the bunker: fixed some structural damage, reinforced it, expanded a little. But then she ends up crouched on the edge, toes curling against the rock, head bowed.

She could be accused of staring into space, except she doesn't really stare anywhere.

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"Mel's awesome," Steph says with assurance, settling on the edge of the roof far enough away that she hopes she won't be intruding and passing the pizza over. "She's --"

Steph's about to say 'the one with the pink and blue hair' but passes on that.

"-- about my size, but she's way quicker. You'll know her by the babies though, they're so totally adorable. They're always with her or with my Sokka."

"Oh those babies," Toph says. "Sokka's nieces - what's all that about anyway?"

"They're great." Steph loves them more than she really should for someone who's known them only a year or so. "Hana set one guy's hair on fire by mistake the other day, it was hilarious. We're totally trying to teach them to steady their breath, but they're so young."

Toph opens her mouth.

Toph shuts her mouth.

"They're Firebenders?"

Steph freezes.

Whoops.

"...what?" she settles on, after just slightly too long. "What's that?"

Toph is remarkably good at giving the impression of eyerolling in just the tone of her voice.

"People who can control fire," she informs Steph in a 'you totally know this' tone of voice.

"Huh," Steph says brightly and innocently. "I guess they must be, then?"

Her voice says I've never heard of this term and am totally innocent of everything!

Unfortunately, the rest of her is saying guilty guilty guilty oh shit I'm going to get in trouble I hope she believes me D:.

Beat.

"I can tell when you're lying, you know," Toph points out, conversationally.

"Aw, man, you're like Batman in a little-girl body," Steph complains, flopping back on the roof. "Okay, they're Firebenders. But if you try and hurt them I'll rip your throat out, and I won't even be the only one."

"Hey," Toph says, defensively. "You think I would hurt babies? What kind of person do you think I am?"

"I have no idea," Steph points out, rolling her head to look over at the other girl. "One with a reason to have a grudge against Firebenders and the power to build a dorm out of the dirt?"

Even if she's not too clear on what exactly that reason is. Sokka -- her-Sokka -- doesn't talk much beyond 'Zuko and I were enemies at home but not here' and the other Sokka didn't really get into the subject with her in their handful of brief conversations besides mentioning that there was a war he needed to get back to.

"What are you going to do?"

"Yeah, but Idon't go around hurting innocent babies," Toph objects. "That's what the Fire Nation would do."

Thus. Firebenders bad. Earthbenders good.

"How'd Sokka end up as their uncle, anyway?"

Steph is about to object, but then shrugs. She doesn't know what Fire Nation people would do, apart from sit on their rooftops and sulk for a year.

"Adopted," she explains, relaxing a bit. "He and Mel went through a whole lotta shit together and wound up family."

"Huh."

What? Toph knows Steph's telling the truth, and Sokka hates Fire Nation more than Toph, so he's have to have a reason.

"What kind of name is Mel anyway? It doesn't sound Fire Nation."

"It's not. They met in a totally different world. Mel's home's more like mine, I think, but, like, years in the future. They have flying cars. Sokka -- my one -- he totally got to drive one on the way to Gotham, way awesome."

Steph isn't entirely subtle about attempting to change the subject, no.

Toph shudders.

"I hate flying. Trust Sokka to invent new ways of doing it."

She says it fondly though. Sokka is Sokka is awesome.

It is very true. Steph laughs. "He didn't invent that one, but he was better than me at the driving. I would've been good if I had practice. Totally."

Edited 2008-02-27 12:40 (UTC)

Toph shudders again.

"At least metal's got to be better than flying by bison."

"Flying is awesome! How come you don't like it?"

Leaning back on her hands, Toph wriggles her dirty toes into the air in front of the bunker.

"Can't see anything if I'm not on the ground."

"So you see ... like, through the dirt?" That sort of makes sense. Steph had been wondering if it was some kind of ESP thing.

Toph nods. "That's why Earthbending is the best bending ever."

"It does sound pretty cool," Steph admits. "I dunno, I think the girls are kinda awesome too, though."

"They aren't being brought up in the Fire Nation," says Toph. "Maybe they'll be OK."

"They will definitely be more than okay," Steph insists. "They're the best kids in the history of ever. Apart from setting people on fire sometimes, but that doesn't even count."