A Christmas Recital for Pepper (Toph Beifong)
| A Christmas Recital for Pepper (Toph Beifong) | |
|---|---|
| Date of Cutscene: | 22 December 2014 |
| Location: | New York - 199999 |
| Synopsis: | Tony and Toph have practiced a musical Christmas performance for Pepper. |
| Cast of Characters: | 20, 301 |
The scent of lit candles do add a certain atmosphere to the living room, Toph has to admit. And for the seeing people it should be nice with the lights turned down too, she guesses. Not that she has any way of knowing. Instead she focuses on the other things. The warmth from the fireplace as it crackles merrily and heats up her bare arms, the scent of cinnamon from the kitchen, the sound of Pepper laughing as she brushes by Tony and adjusts his tie, as well as the soft feel of her own formal dress.
Dressing up for this felt kind of weird, but Tony insisted, saying that if they were going to play Christmas music for Pepper, then they might as well do it all right. Otherwise it wouldn't just be the same. So the blind earthbender had gone with it. The dresses that Pepper have gotten her aren't scratchy at least, and this one was fitting for the Christmas season as it was red and sparkly. Not that she cared much for that. As always her adoptive father seems as comfortable in formal wear as he does in jeans and a t-shirt, but then again he is used to it.
But she does as planned and moves to sit on the floor next to the grand piano, and Tony isn't slow to follow, sitting down and cracking his knuckles as she places the guqin in her lap and plucks a few strings like she was taught. It's the first time she's actually playing for somebody besides her teacher and Tony, isn't it? It feels a bit weird, she must admit. But Toph manages to keep a calm expression on her face even as Tony hits a few keys, clearing his throat. In the background Jarvis turns off the music playing, and it's easy enough to tell that Pepper is sitting down on the couch, and Toph can only imagine the smile on her face.
Focus... don't blow it.
Tony counts down, his hands resting on the keys, and Toph moves her fingers to the correct strings as she goes over the chords and the lyrics...
The song starts as the sound of the piano and guqin fill the living room. Somber notes of The First Noel, a comfortable duet that might be a bit amateurish from Toph's side compared to Tony's skill and experience with the piano. Pepper seems to relax... at least until Tony hits a dramatic chord and Toph remembers her lead in and sings along.
As the two begin their musical tale of vehicular manslaughter by reindeer and jolly fat men in red suits caused the untimely demise of grandmothers, the blind girl can only hope that Tony is able to replicate the look on Pepper's face. For now she can only imagine it as she plays on and sings a bit more enthusiastically than she did during Ajora's mass!
