100 Theme Drabble Post: #33, #23, & #14
Here's my first post for the 100 Theme Drabble Challenge, focus: Toph Beifong.
#33: Expectations (500 words)
On their first trip to the command center, Aang took her through a series of stairs and doorways, which after a few minutes all began to blend together. Just as Katara was beginning to get seriously lost, they stopped in front of a plain white door with a placard labeled “11-B” centered toward the top.
“Ah, here we go,” Aang said with a cheerful grin, and pulled out a small copper key. He unlocked the door and ushered Katara into a dimly lit room that looked a little bit like the teacher’s lounge at her old school. A couple plush couches were complimented with several small coffee tables, a few of which had some dilapidated old magazines adorning them. A television sat dusty in the corner, and though there was a scattering of lamps, only one was lit.
What surprised Katara, however, was the person seated on one of the old couches.
“T-Toph Beifong?” she stammered, eyes wide. Of all the people she had been expecting to meet today - and given that it was Aang, the notorious Avatar, Katara had been imagining all sorts - the billionaire heiress was not on the list.
Aang ignored her shock, greeting the young woman with a smile. “Hey Toph,” he said, as though he wasn’t talking to a woman who just yesterday had been on the cover of at least three trashy magazines.
“My schedule might be retarded, Twinkletoes,” Toph replied, sounding irritated, “but I still have to keep it. Why are you late? And who’s the chick?”
“Uh,” Katara began, but Aang gestured for her to be quiet. He grinned, like it was all a big joke. As if Katara couldn’t see the scowl on the other girl’s face.
“This is Katara,” he said. “She’s a waterbender, and my new recruit.”
Toph raised an elegant eyebrow, expression changing from irritated to skeptical. She had yet to leave the couch, which was odd considering that she hadn’t even turned on the lamp for that side of the room. From the way she kept tapping her bare feet on the floor, Katara got the impression she was anxious to leave, though she seemed more bored than tense.
“Hm,” Toph said, slamming her foot down with finality as she stood up. Katara was surprised to see how short she was - in the magazines, she never seemed to be quite so small. Then again, in the magazines, the Beifong heiress was often seen either partying or experiencing the aftermath of partying, so height was never really the focus. Katara recalled the exact magazine cover where Toph had been lauded for apparently burning down her favorite bar, though she was never charged.
But despite her expensive clothes and perfect makeup, this Toph Beifong didn’t seem to be anything like the socialite the magazines seemed to portray.
This Toph Beifong gave Katara a slow, dismissive smirk and said, “We’ll see,” and Katara got the impression there was a lot more to Toph Beifong than the media had ever seen.
--
#23: Cat (400 words)
Sometime after the war - Toph was pretty sure she was fifteen, but she lost track of the days occasionally when she was on assignment - she found herself sleeping in a cave outside of Xi’anxi, a small Earth Kingdom town near the ocean. She had entertained the thought of getting a room in town, but the cave was a lot more enticing.
Before going to sleep, she had made certain that the cave was empty, just in case a brave moose-lion decided that it wanted an earthbender for dinner. With the exception of a few dry leaves, the cave was clear.
She was surprised, then, when she woke up to the sound of something rummaging through her bag. Toph frowned in confusion and then tapped her fingers gently against the stone ground, not wanting to alert the new presence to her consciousness. The image that she discerned was not what she expected.
“A rabbit-cat?” Toph asked out loud, sitting up.
The rabbit-cat froze in its exploration of her bag, tiny tremors going through its equally tiny body.
“Ah,” Toph acknowledged, noting the animal’s size. “A rabbit-kitten, then.”
Daringly, the rabbit-kitten responded with a pathetic hiss. When Toph didn’t reply with anything except a raised eyebrow, it took the chance to dart away, clearly terrified.
Toph shook her head, rolling her eyes. Before she left for the day, she left a small dish of dried fish out, and when she returned, the food was gone.
The next morning, Toph felt the rabbit-kitten padding quietly by her bag. Even though Toph couldn’t see, she could tell that she was being examined. With slow, careful movements, Toph propped herself up on her elbows to “watch” the rabbit-kitten right back.
“Hey,” Toph greeted.
The rabbit-kitten hissed at her, and Toph grinned. She left more fish before heading out that day.
On the third morning, the weather had changed during the night. Autumn had changed quickly into an early winter, and there was frost edging all the plants and stones in the forest. Inside Toph’s little cave, the warmth from last night’s fire still lingered, but even Toph could tell that it was time to go. Her mission was nearly complete anyway.
She woke up to the feeling of something warm and purring curled up next to her, tucked into her side.
“Okay, fine,” Toph murmured, careful not to startle her new pet. “You can stay.”
--
#14: Smile (100 words)
Katara knew she had a problem when her daughter started growling and stomping on all of her meticulously designed snow castles.
“Um, sweetie?” she asked. “What are you doing?”
“I’m a monster!” she gleefully replied. “Grrrr! Run away! I’m gonna destroy you all!”
She leveled one of the bigger houses with vicious shriek of glee. She smiled victoriously, and her stance was so familiar it made Katara feel fourteen again.
“Right,” Katara said. She took a sip of tea and sighed, predicting the headaches to come.
Somewhere in the back of her mind, she could feel Toph laughing at her.
--
I think I'm gonna like this challenge. :)
#33: Expectations (500 words)
On their first trip to the command center, Aang took her through a series of stairs and doorways, which after a few minutes all began to blend together. Just as Katara was beginning to get seriously lost, they stopped in front of a plain white door with a placard labeled “11-B” centered toward the top.
“Ah, here we go,” Aang said with a cheerful grin, and pulled out a small copper key. He unlocked the door and ushered Katara into a dimly lit room that looked a little bit like the teacher’s lounge at her old school. A couple plush couches were complimented with several small coffee tables, a few of which had some dilapidated old magazines adorning them. A television sat dusty in the corner, and though there was a scattering of lamps, only one was lit.
What surprised Katara, however, was the person seated on one of the old couches.
“T-Toph Beifong?” she stammered, eyes wide. Of all the people she had been expecting to meet today - and given that it was Aang, the notorious Avatar, Katara had been imagining all sorts - the billionaire heiress was not on the list.
Aang ignored her shock, greeting the young woman with a smile. “Hey Toph,” he said, as though he wasn’t talking to a woman who just yesterday had been on the cover of at least three trashy magazines.
“My schedule might be retarded, Twinkletoes,” Toph replied, sounding irritated, “but I still have to keep it. Why are you late? And who’s the chick?”
“Uh,” Katara began, but Aang gestured for her to be quiet. He grinned, like it was all a big joke. As if Katara couldn’t see the scowl on the other girl’s face.
“This is Katara,” he said. “She’s a waterbender, and my new recruit.”
Toph raised an elegant eyebrow, expression changing from irritated to skeptical. She had yet to leave the couch, which was odd considering that she hadn’t even turned on the lamp for that side of the room. From the way she kept tapping her bare feet on the floor, Katara got the impression she was anxious to leave, though she seemed more bored than tense.
“Hm,” Toph said, slamming her foot down with finality as she stood up. Katara was surprised to see how short she was - in the magazines, she never seemed to be quite so small. Then again, in the magazines, the Beifong heiress was often seen either partying or experiencing the aftermath of partying, so height was never really the focus. Katara recalled the exact magazine cover where Toph had been lauded for apparently burning down her favorite bar, though she was never charged.
But despite her expensive clothes and perfect makeup, this Toph Beifong didn’t seem to be anything like the socialite the magazines seemed to portray.
This Toph Beifong gave Katara a slow, dismissive smirk and said, “We’ll see,” and Katara got the impression there was a lot more to Toph Beifong than the media had ever seen.
--
#23: Cat (400 words)
Sometime after the war - Toph was pretty sure she was fifteen, but she lost track of the days occasionally when she was on assignment - she found herself sleeping in a cave outside of Xi’anxi, a small Earth Kingdom town near the ocean. She had entertained the thought of getting a room in town, but the cave was a lot more enticing.
Before going to sleep, she had made certain that the cave was empty, just in case a brave moose-lion decided that it wanted an earthbender for dinner. With the exception of a few dry leaves, the cave was clear.
She was surprised, then, when she woke up to the sound of something rummaging through her bag. Toph frowned in confusion and then tapped her fingers gently against the stone ground, not wanting to alert the new presence to her consciousness. The image that she discerned was not what she expected.
“A rabbit-cat?” Toph asked out loud, sitting up.
The rabbit-cat froze in its exploration of her bag, tiny tremors going through its equally tiny body.
“Ah,” Toph acknowledged, noting the animal’s size. “A rabbit-kitten, then.”
Daringly, the rabbit-kitten responded with a pathetic hiss. When Toph didn’t reply with anything except a raised eyebrow, it took the chance to dart away, clearly terrified.
Toph shook her head, rolling her eyes. Before she left for the day, she left a small dish of dried fish out, and when she returned, the food was gone.
The next morning, Toph felt the rabbit-kitten padding quietly by her bag. Even though Toph couldn’t see, she could tell that she was being examined. With slow, careful movements, Toph propped herself up on her elbows to “watch” the rabbit-kitten right back.
“Hey,” Toph greeted.
The rabbit-kitten hissed at her, and Toph grinned. She left more fish before heading out that day.
On the third morning, the weather had changed during the night. Autumn had changed quickly into an early winter, and there was frost edging all the plants and stones in the forest. Inside Toph’s little cave, the warmth from last night’s fire still lingered, but even Toph could tell that it was time to go. Her mission was nearly complete anyway.
She woke up to the feeling of something warm and purring curled up next to her, tucked into her side.
“Okay, fine,” Toph murmured, careful not to startle her new pet. “You can stay.”
--
#14: Smile (100 words)
Katara knew she had a problem when her daughter started growling and stomping on all of her meticulously designed snow castles.
“Um, sweetie?” she asked. “What are you doing?”
“I’m a monster!” she gleefully replied. “Grrrr! Run away! I’m gonna destroy you all!”
She leveled one of the bigger houses with vicious shriek of glee. She smiled victoriously, and her stance was so familiar it made Katara feel fourteen again.
“Right,” Katara said. She took a sip of tea and sighed, predicting the headaches to come.
Somewhere in the back of her mind, she could feel Toph laughing at her.
--
I think I'm gonna like this challenge. :)