Toph and Noriko, Friday evening
Jan. 25th, 2013 09:49 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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om_mainNoriko goes exploring; Toph is curious about the new kid. It's a little touch-and-go, but they get through it without anyone being offended.
Noriko wasn't used to being alone anymore. The thought struck her again that night, as she sat on the edge of her bed, her bed with the soft yet firm mattress, and the clean bedsheets, in her big room, meant for two, but she was alone. She was used to a number of kids being around - safety in numbers - and she was used to the life and the noise and the mess of her usual squats. She'd kept all of her few belongings on the one side of the room, but there weren't many, mostly just a few clothes put away in her dresser.
The room was clean, and quiet, and she didn't like it.
She grabbed a hoodie and zipped it up, throwing the hood above her head before she headed out. She didn't know where she was going, but if something was happening somewhere, she'd find it.
That was how she found herself on the first floor of the mansion, in front of a locked door, trying it again in the hope that it would budge. Nobody was around; it was natural curiosity.
Somehow it had gotten even colder, and it made Toph cranky. Especially given that there were people all over the gym, and she didn't feel like dealing with them at the moment. Sure, people had been great so far, but she was still just waiting for someone to suggest she be careful. It was stupid, maybe, but someday the other shoe was going to drop and she was going to be ready for it.
Even the wood floors were kinda cold inside, but it was either that or sit still and she was going to vibrate out of her skin if she tried it. She was of half a mind to go check and see if anyone had gone near the box she and Pietro had set up when someone moving caught her attention.
Vague as the sense was, she was pretty sure it wasn't a person she'd seen before. And they were trying to get into one of those weird, random rooms. Huh.
"Hey," Toph called as she got closer. "You lost?"
Noriko jumped when she suddenly heard the voice, and turned around immediately, then only just let out a sigh as she relaxed. Just a girl. Blind girl. Really short blind Asian girl - Chinese? The one who didn't like Surge, if she could trust these little pictures with the journals. "Nope, but you're sneaky." Noriko pushed a hand back through her hair, regaining her composure. "Sparky here," she added, wryly as could be.
Oh, new kid wandering around. Toph relaxed instantly, and offered the girl a lazy kind of smile. "And you said it didn't suit you," she snorted. "You looking for something or just bored?"
"Exploring," Noriko answered, since it really was neither. "This place is huge."
"Yeah it is," Toph agreed with an instant nod. "Not much that's real interesting, though. Mostly a bunch of empty rooms with uncomfortable furniture."
"Yeah?" Noriko looked back at the locked door; locked doors were like catnip to young delinquents, and this one called to her. Shame nobody had ever taught her to pick locks. "Why do they lock the doors, then?"
"Dunno. Maybe so no one gets in and breaks stuff." Toph shrugged, looking unconcerned by the idea. She could definitely tell that it was empty, at least.
Then there was stuff to break in the locked rooms, but Noriko dropped it, since the other girl didn't sound break-in-friendly. "Don't see why they'd be worried about that in a school full of superpowered teens," she commented dryly instead.
"Yeah right," she snorted with a grin. "Maybe they lock up all the stuff they don't want people to hit with whatever. There'll probably be a lot more to do once it's warm enough to go outside. There's a lot of woods and stuff."
"So are you actually blind?" Noriko asked, because there was no reason not to be blunt about it. It was the best way to get answers, and she'd gotten used to it. "I wouldn't normally ask, but - school for the freaks." And the girl wasn't walking with a cane or a guide dog or whatever, although she might just know the layout of this place by heart.
It wasn't that she wasn't curious about the grounds, it was that she was more curious about this girl.
Toph's eye's narrowed a little. "What, like you think I'm faking or something? Yeah, I'm blind." She paused for a moment before finishing, grudgingly, "But I can sorta see with my power. It's hard to describe. I can see vibrations on the floor."
"See? School for the freaks," Noriko answered wryly. The thought that the other girl was faking hadn't crossed her mind, not with the eyes on her, so that was all she'd say on the subject. She'd rather ask about, "Vibrations?" Because that made no sense to her.
"Told you it was hard to describe. I don't really get it, but it works," Toph said with an entirely offhand shrug.
"So it's as good as sight, but different?" Hey, what could Noriko say, she was curious.
"How should I know? I've never been able to see."
"I don't know, how about can you get around as easily as the rest of us with sight in this world that's completely made for us?" Noriko pointed out, wryness cutting slightly, as she crossed her arms over her chest. She wasn't going to go soft because the girl was blind. Noriko was who she was, always.
"If it's touching the ground, I can see it," Toph said firmly. "Plus, I'm not stupid. So that's how I do it. You got a problem with that?"
"Intelligence? Not generally," Noriko answered evenly, unfazed by the attitude. She dished out too much not to be able to take some back. It didn't mean that she wanted to stick around and offend the girl some more, though. "Anyway, I'm really not done exploring."
"Okay then," she said, slightly mollified. The trouble with always expecting a fight was that Toph was never quite sure what to do when she didn't get one. After a moment, she offered, "There's more stuff on the other wing. Most've it's not locked."
That was a peace offering if Noriko had ever heard one, and after a second's hesitation, she stayed put (for now) and asked, "Like what?"
"Same kinda thing. Empty rooms. A couple closets. Nothing really interesting, but at least they're open."
"Thanks," Noriko told her, "I'll go check it out. Did you tell me your name on my post? Too many introductions." And them not being in person, it made it tougher to remember.
"It's Toph," she said, a grin slowly making it's way back onto her face. No point in holding grudges for no good reason. "Think I'll stick with Sparky for you, though."
"I had a feeling you might," Noriko admitted, wryly enough, but there was no hostility in her tone. "I'd call you vibey in retaliation, but people would get the wrong idea."
"Whatever that means," Toph said with a snort. "I work with earth, anyway. The vibration thing is just part of it."
Curiosity got Noriko to stay put a while longer. It really was fascinating, all the different kinds of powers here. "Work with earth how?"
"Anything that's earth, I can control," she said, as if it was the simplest thing ever. To Toph, it really was.
"Control how?" Noriko could think of so many different ways - moving it, reshaping it, making it change texture, color, any, everything - and she didn't know which sort of control Toph meant. Or if she meant all of them.
It made Toph stop completely, her eyebrows drawing together in confusion. "What do you mean how? I can make it do anything I want. That's just how it works."
"Anything-anything?" Noriko challenged. This felt a little like pulling teeth, and she was going to get going, but first, she'd like an answer. "Like, can you turn random dirt into pink sand or whatever? Make earth poison its plants?"
"Can't do sand," she replied instantly. "Too hard to get hold of. I can't like make it into anything else. Just make it do what I want," Toph finished, still looking unsure. This was probably the weirdest conversation she'd had about her power to date.
"Well. Cool," Noriko commented. All she could tell was that the other girl had no idea how to take anything she was saying, so it was probably best to cut this short. "So I'll go explore that other wing now. See you around, Toph."
Noriko wasn't used to being alone anymore. The thought struck her again that night, as she sat on the edge of her bed, her bed with the soft yet firm mattress, and the clean bedsheets, in her big room, meant for two, but she was alone. She was used to a number of kids being around - safety in numbers - and she was used to the life and the noise and the mess of her usual squats. She'd kept all of her few belongings on the one side of the room, but there weren't many, mostly just a few clothes put away in her dresser.
The room was clean, and quiet, and she didn't like it.
She grabbed a hoodie and zipped it up, throwing the hood above her head before she headed out. She didn't know where she was going, but if something was happening somewhere, she'd find it.
That was how she found herself on the first floor of the mansion, in front of a locked door, trying it again in the hope that it would budge. Nobody was around; it was natural curiosity.
Somehow it had gotten even colder, and it made Toph cranky. Especially given that there were people all over the gym, and she didn't feel like dealing with them at the moment. Sure, people had been great so far, but she was still just waiting for someone to suggest she be careful. It was stupid, maybe, but someday the other shoe was going to drop and she was going to be ready for it.
Even the wood floors were kinda cold inside, but it was either that or sit still and she was going to vibrate out of her skin if she tried it. She was of half a mind to go check and see if anyone had gone near the box she and Pietro had set up when someone moving caught her attention.
Vague as the sense was, she was pretty sure it wasn't a person she'd seen before. And they were trying to get into one of those weird, random rooms. Huh.
"Hey," Toph called as she got closer. "You lost?"
Noriko jumped when she suddenly heard the voice, and turned around immediately, then only just let out a sigh as she relaxed. Just a girl. Blind girl. Really short blind Asian girl - Chinese? The one who didn't like Surge, if she could trust these little pictures with the journals. "Nope, but you're sneaky." Noriko pushed a hand back through her hair, regaining her composure. "Sparky here," she added, wryly as could be.
Oh, new kid wandering around. Toph relaxed instantly, and offered the girl a lazy kind of smile. "And you said it didn't suit you," she snorted. "You looking for something or just bored?"
"Exploring," Noriko answered, since it really was neither. "This place is huge."
"Yeah it is," Toph agreed with an instant nod. "Not much that's real interesting, though. Mostly a bunch of empty rooms with uncomfortable furniture."
"Yeah?" Noriko looked back at the locked door; locked doors were like catnip to young delinquents, and this one called to her. Shame nobody had ever taught her to pick locks. "Why do they lock the doors, then?"
"Dunno. Maybe so no one gets in and breaks stuff." Toph shrugged, looking unconcerned by the idea. She could definitely tell that it was empty, at least.
Then there was stuff to break in the locked rooms, but Noriko dropped it, since the other girl didn't sound break-in-friendly. "Don't see why they'd be worried about that in a school full of superpowered teens," she commented dryly instead.
"Yeah right," she snorted with a grin. "Maybe they lock up all the stuff they don't want people to hit with whatever. There'll probably be a lot more to do once it's warm enough to go outside. There's a lot of woods and stuff."
"So are you actually blind?" Noriko asked, because there was no reason not to be blunt about it. It was the best way to get answers, and she'd gotten used to it. "I wouldn't normally ask, but - school for the freaks." And the girl wasn't walking with a cane or a guide dog or whatever, although she might just know the layout of this place by heart.
It wasn't that she wasn't curious about the grounds, it was that she was more curious about this girl.
Toph's eye's narrowed a little. "What, like you think I'm faking or something? Yeah, I'm blind." She paused for a moment before finishing, grudgingly, "But I can sorta see with my power. It's hard to describe. I can see vibrations on the floor."
"See? School for the freaks," Noriko answered wryly. The thought that the other girl was faking hadn't crossed her mind, not with the eyes on her, so that was all she'd say on the subject. She'd rather ask about, "Vibrations?" Because that made no sense to her.
"Told you it was hard to describe. I don't really get it, but it works," Toph said with an entirely offhand shrug.
"So it's as good as sight, but different?" Hey, what could Noriko say, she was curious.
"How should I know? I've never been able to see."
"I don't know, how about can you get around as easily as the rest of us with sight in this world that's completely made for us?" Noriko pointed out, wryness cutting slightly, as she crossed her arms over her chest. She wasn't going to go soft because the girl was blind. Noriko was who she was, always.
"If it's touching the ground, I can see it," Toph said firmly. "Plus, I'm not stupid. So that's how I do it. You got a problem with that?"
"Intelligence? Not generally," Noriko answered evenly, unfazed by the attitude. She dished out too much not to be able to take some back. It didn't mean that she wanted to stick around and offend the girl some more, though. "Anyway, I'm really not done exploring."
"Okay then," she said, slightly mollified. The trouble with always expecting a fight was that Toph was never quite sure what to do when she didn't get one. After a moment, she offered, "There's more stuff on the other wing. Most've it's not locked."
That was a peace offering if Noriko had ever heard one, and after a second's hesitation, she stayed put (for now) and asked, "Like what?"
"Same kinda thing. Empty rooms. A couple closets. Nothing really interesting, but at least they're open."
"Thanks," Noriko told her, "I'll go check it out. Did you tell me your name on my post? Too many introductions." And them not being in person, it made it tougher to remember.
"It's Toph," she said, a grin slowly making it's way back onto her face. No point in holding grudges for no good reason. "Think I'll stick with Sparky for you, though."
"I had a feeling you might," Noriko admitted, wryly enough, but there was no hostility in her tone. "I'd call you vibey in retaliation, but people would get the wrong idea."
"Whatever that means," Toph said with a snort. "I work with earth, anyway. The vibration thing is just part of it."
Curiosity got Noriko to stay put a while longer. It really was fascinating, all the different kinds of powers here. "Work with earth how?"
"Anything that's earth, I can control," she said, as if it was the simplest thing ever. To Toph, it really was.
"Control how?" Noriko could think of so many different ways - moving it, reshaping it, making it change texture, color, any, everything - and she didn't know which sort of control Toph meant. Or if she meant all of them.
It made Toph stop completely, her eyebrows drawing together in confusion. "What do you mean how? I can make it do anything I want. That's just how it works."
"Anything-anything?" Noriko challenged. This felt a little like pulling teeth, and she was going to get going, but first, she'd like an answer. "Like, can you turn random dirt into pink sand or whatever? Make earth poison its plants?"
"Can't do sand," she replied instantly. "Too hard to get hold of. I can't like make it into anything else. Just make it do what I want," Toph finished, still looking unsure. This was probably the weirdest conversation she'd had about her power to date.
"Well. Cool," Noriko commented. All she could tell was that the other girl had no idea how to take anything she was saying, so it was probably best to cut this short. "So I'll go explore that other wing now. See you around, Toph."
