kyoshi | [Voice / Action]

We've been getting an awful lot of rain this month so far, haven't we? Was it this bad last year?

Speaking of "year"... getting pretty close to my first, now. A lot has happened to make it feel a lot shorter than it is. I guess it took me by surprise...

[Filtered to the Kyoshi Warriors]

Hey everyone, just a quick announcement:

Be sure to put in some extra practice today if you can, because tomorrow I plan on running a private tournament between you all to see how you're doing. It's hand-to-hand only, so you can use whatever techniques you've learned so far. Get a good night's sleep the night before, okay?

Next week I'd like to try some acrobatics, so we'll meet in the Battle Dome.

[Filtered to Toph]

Hey, Toph, if you're not busy today, want to work on some training? I have a few ideas I'd like to try.

[Suki is out and about today, picking some stuff up at the plaza, checking on the status of the uniforms, and hiding out in one of the shops when the rain hits. Otherwise, housemates can find her at home- probably soaked to the bone when she arrives, poor thing.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Maybe a little. [She's pleased, though, and it shows in her voice.] You're just as much of a pro as ever, though.

It's just listening. It's not like I don't do a lot of that anyway, even with my bending.

[Still, she is a little proud. Look at her, finding her way without her bending! She's such a big girl now.]

[Yeah, she sees that smirk on your face, you're fooling no one.]

Well, it's good to know that you don't rely too much on your bending.

[But since the rock test was too easy, she'll try something new, instead- she tugs off both of her shoes, then moving once more, halting on Toph's left side. with a flick of her wrist, she tosses one shoe to land in front of Toph, dropping the other in front of herself. Both shoes make roughly the same noise, but can she tell which was dropped, and which was thrown...?]

[Mixing it up, are we? This...does make her pause for a second, considering. The sounds were definitely different, and it takes her a moment just to deduce why--one definitely sounded like it had been tossed. She turns around to face Suki, still determined, but a little less assured.]

Oh, nicely done! [Suki grins and claps her hands.] I can't pull anything over you, can I?

Of course not! [Toph gives her a thumbs up.] I'd like to see you try.

Maybe next time. [This is Toph's training, not hers. And speaking of which-] Okay, can you backtrack? Try to remember where you started out.

[Oh...oops. Yeah, she completely lost track of that. She tries to play the moves she made backwards in her head, but she can't quite remember their order. She huffs.]

...I kind of forgot.

Oh, good! I was starting to think you wouldn't need to work on anything at all. [Suki pads over to the opposite side of the hall to retrieve her shoe.] It's important to know how to reorient yourself in case you need to make a quick escape. It would be bad news if you ran into a wall or something, and you never know when you might be stuck on your own in a bad situation.

[She sticks out her tongue. She wouldn't just go flying into a wall, but she understands what Suki means. It wouldn't be good if she needed to move quickly but couldn't because she didn't know where she was, either.]

Right. So how do I keep track of that?

It's mostly memorization. It takes practice, though, and I know it's not easy when you can't use sight as a reference. You can go by feeling- the way the ground is where you start out, the steps you take when you're moving, or the air flow, since just about anywhere you go has a sight breeze. [She licks her finger, lifting it up.] There's even one in here, if you can feel it- there's air vents, and a source somewhere down the tunnels.

[After a moment, she nods.]

Right. I can feel them. So I've just gotta work on memorizing how I move, then.

That's right. And that's something you can at least practice easily enough. [She glances up the ladder, then steps over to touch Toph's shoulder in order to guide her back.] I think that's good for today, though. We should head home before the weather gets bad again.

[She exhales and nods again.]

Okay, fine. It's not like I like the idea of getting wet out in the rain.

[And she doesn't really want to run into any other things she can't do right now.]

Same here. Come on, the ladder's over here- [And sure enough, it's right in front of Toph now.] How about we meet again in a couple of days? We can practice outside of the tunnel, too.

[Toph tentatively stretches out a hand, clasping onto the rungs of the ladder.]

Sweet. I'll even do my homework and try to remember the way I move.

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