1420/A Discussion Regarding Tomes and Rocks

A Discussion Regarding Tomes and Rocks
Date of Scene:	26 January 2015
Location:	Bar and Grill at the Edge of the Multiverse
Synopsis:	A mage an an earthbender have different opinions on the best way to teach, and they are both stubbornly arguing their case over food.
Cast of Characters:	20, 634

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Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    The blind earthbender had been glad to be let out of medical this morning after spending most of her weekend there and healing up after the whole deal in Brockton the other night. It had been rough, and it's not often the earthbender is taken by surprise like that. And since hospital food sucks for the most part Toph had decided to stop by somewhere to get some decent food before she heads back home.

    Since she doesn't have her reading glove with her today it seems that ordering is a bit harder than usual...

    "Look, just get me the meatiest burger you got and toss some bacon and cheese on it," she says as she stands by the counter. "And some greasy fries on the side." The last minutes have been painful. No, she had insisted. You don't need to read the entire menu to me. No, a burger is fine. I don't need anything fancy. No I don't want any veggies with it. Yes, I'm quite sure I don't want the kids' meal. But it seems that the waitress finally has gotten the idea. And as she heads off to the kitchen Toph raises her voice and yells after her. "And don't forget that big bowl of chocolate ice cream for dessert!"

    Okay, with food ordered she only needs to find a place to sit. Though it appears that there are a lot of people in the Bar and Grill today. Not so weird considering it's a Sunday. Isn't there a free table around here somewhere?

Oberyn Levy (634) has posed:
    It's not just the patrons who have suffered this evening at the counter... not a whole five minutes prior the staff had their own customer service implosion to deal with: Hold on, how did I get here, what's going on, hey that smells delicious, is this a restaurant, do you take gil, let me stand here and read the whole menu twice and ask questions a lot!

    It's no surprise, then, that the somewhat confused accidental visitor has found himself ushered to possibly the worst table in the bar. That it was also the only one unoccupied at the time was just a happy accident. Still, Oberyn Levy, accidental extraversal traveller? settles in to wait, none the wiser. Sure, the light's bad and it's noisy and hey they have pinball tables and they're /right there behind me/ but it's still a seat and a meal, right?

    Plus, who cares what kind of a spot he's got. He has a dusty old tome to read through while he waits, because getting dust on the table isn't going to make things worse /at all/!

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Damnit, no free tables at all? Toph sighs, it doesn't seem like there are many free seats either. Just her luck. Like hell if she will share a table with lots of loud and annoying people.

    The first warning Oberyn gets is a firm tapping on his shoulder. "Hey, dunderhead. That seat taken?" The voice is clearly feminine, but the words and how the figure says them is not very feminine at all. The girl that stands behind him is only five feet herself, but her expression is firm and she seems almost a bit impatient for his answer. But she isn't looking directly at him, instead it appears that she isn't looking at anything.

Oberyn Levy (634) has posed:
    "Buhwha!?" Guess it didn't take Oberyn long to just lose track of his surroundings... of course, in a noisy bar it's probably not that hard to sneak up on someone anyway.

    (Wait, sit here? No way, my tab-- WAIT. Someone wants to sit at my table this never happens it's a trick a trap no right we're not /in/ school new people new rules I CAN BE ONE OF THE COOL KIDS.)

    "Uhm... no? I guess not?" It's not until halfway through this answer that he actually turns to look at who's talking. (... prrrobably a girl? Yeah. Monk, maybe? ... ... WAIT.)

    "... hold on... ... 'dunderhead?'"

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    "Good." Toph nods and then marches over to the chair on the other side of the table and flops down into the chair and flings her bare feet up on the table with a sigh. Now the table doesn't just have dust on it, but dirt as well. Not that Toph's feet are as dirty as they usually are, fortunately.

    His question does make her arch an eyebrow even as she raises her hand and starts digging into her right ear with her pinkie finger. "Yeah, I don't know you, so how would I know what else to call you?" she shrugs. Hopefully the food won't take too long to arrive. Her stomach rumbles slightly, and she shifts in her seat. "This isn't a library, by the way."

Oberyn Levy (634) has posed:
    (Okay, yes, definitely a Monk. Gotta be.) "... ew, do... do you have to... ..." Oberyn sighs, sounding a bit exasperated already. And under his breath - but probably /just/ loud enough to still be made out, he adds, "No, they're not like us, they probably don't /know/ table manners out here, don't make a fuss..."

    Speaking up again, he goes off on a different track as he edges his chair back from the table a bit and pulls the book along with him. "Well... my name's... my name's Oberyn Levy. So, you could go with that?" (... or four-eyes. Teacher's pet. Tonberry bait. That weird kid with the books. Maybe dunderhead was a step up?)

    "And I /know/ it's not a library that's why I brought my /own/ book, jeez."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Perhaps Oberyn wouldn't be muttering if he knew just how sharp the girl's ears are. Her brow furrows, and she snorts. "I can hear you just fine, you know. I do know table manners, but the Bar and Grill is hardly a fine restaurant, now is it?" So why should she bother with it?

    "Huh. Where in the multiverse are you from? Never heard that name before," she shrugs, then pulls out her pinkie finger and flicks something off of it and off to the side. "I'm Toph Beifong, the greatest earthbender of all time. So are you with the Feds or Syndicate? Haven't heard your voice on the channels before." she continues.

    Though it appears that there is an interruption as the waitress arrives, carrying two trays with her, both Oberyn's order as well as Toph's. "Miss, you have to move your feet, otherwise you won't get your food," she gently chides the teenager, which leads to a slight mutter from Toph who moves her feet off of the table before she sits properly. So Toph gets her food and a soda, and Oberyn gets whatever he ordered.

Oberyn Levy (634) has posed:
    "I... wouldn't know. I guess it... doesn't look like the fancy places I hear about people going to, but... well, stuff's weird out here. This could have been the... ... well, no, Okay. With what they charge it's gotta be a bit of a..." Oberyn trails off a bit. He's got enough sense not to insult an establishment that's still handling his food, at least.

    "I'm from Galianda. You... might have heard of it? News is always going around about tentative talks and isolationism and stuff but... well. If we're already getting transfer students and stuff we can't be that cut off, I guess? ... 'course, you still wouldn't know about me, I'm... pretty nobody. I kinda signed up with the Syndicate, but I try to just blend in, not make much noise."

    (Earthbender? So, wait...) "Uhm... Earthbender? So is that... like a Geomancer? With environment magic and stuff? I never really got into that, too situational - I prefer general black and white magic."

    And then there was food! Oberyn's own plate is rather pointedly placed on top of his book - some sort of fried breaded rings, fries, a glass of grape juice, and a note: We don't care where you're from, fake ID is fake.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Galianda? That sounds slightly familiar. Then Toph blinks, her look one of recognition. "Oh, that academy place? Where Landon, Dominic, Kyra and Artyom go?" she inquires with a grin. Oh yes, she knows them. And a couple of more people.

    As for his question she nods, "I guess you could say that earthbending and geomancy is similar. I helped train a geomancer once for a friend of mine," she nods, her attention on the hot food placed in front of her on the table. Immediately she begins eating some of her fries. And then also decides to talk with food in her mouth. "Black and white magic? Isn't white magic healing magic or something?" Black magic, is that the opposite? Destructive magic? Death magic? Who knows, she never really paid too much attention to it before. "I was thinking of signing up to teach at the academy myself."

    Somehow the young girl seems serious about this where she sits, picking up her big burger and takes a sizable bite out of it.

Oberyn Levy (634) has posed:
    "Sounds right, yeah. The, um... what do they go by? 'Light Warriors', I think, big extraversal exploration club? Word's gotten around the academy a bit about it."

    Oberyn takes a minute to eat a couple of fries before he continues talking. "White magic is mostly healing, yeah. Some support, neutralization, a bit of offense but mostly leans toward destroying things that shouldn't exist, like ghosts and things." This, at least, is a topic he knows and is familiar with: he's taken on a more confident, if somewhat droning, lecturing tone. "Aaand black magic is... mostly the opposite. Defense, destruction, power at a cost, but it's better to be able to defend yourself sometimes, than to just be able to patch up afterward."

    Oberyn nearly chokes on a sip of juice at the mention of teaching, though. "Y-you!? Teach at the academy!? You... you can't be much older than I am! That's just /silly/, you'd need to have /years/ of study and experience for that! ... I... I think... anyway. (... then again, they let that toddler teach magical theory, so...?)"

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    "Yeah, some of them are in the Union, though others are unaffiliated or with the Feds," Toph explains and takes the chance to eat more of her burger while Oberyn talks more about the two schools of magic. Yup, that sounds familiar from what she has observed. There is no missing that tone of his either. Man, he sounds like Jarvis does when he is explaining stuff... "Gotta agree with that. You can't just let others bully you. Better to stop them before they go too far if you ask me."

    Unlike him Toph remains perfectly calm where she sits, chewing the food in her mouth as he nearly chokes on his juice and sputters at the thought of her teaching. Why, she even holds up her index finger, signaling for him to give her a moment to chew her food a bit. And so she does, speaking up clearly and with a determined look on her face as she turns more towards him. "I'm almost fourteen, and for the record... nobody understands earthbending like I do. I personally invented metalbending. I have more experience than all the big lugs I have beaten over the years... combined!" Somehow it doesn't sound as if she is bragging. "Heh, I'd even take on the current geomancy teacher they have if they want a demonstration of my skills," she offers, then picks up her glass and takes a sip.

Oberyn Levy (634) has posed:
    "Yeaaah... I can see them taking sides like that. Politics and all that. Me... I just wanna be able to go on cool adventures." While not exactly what you want to say on career day, but hey, in a world where dungeons are government regulated, maybe it's a realistic life goal...

    "Uh... yeah. Can't... can't go letting people push you around. ... though, really it's more for, like... real danger. Monsters and stuff." Oberyn's putting on his best poker face for this one, unaware that it doesn't matter.

    "Wait... FOURTEEN? ... ... ALMOST!? ... and you /invented/...!? ... do you not have /researchers/ out here to do this stuff?" Well of course not. Scientific method and magic are not supposed to mix, silly boy.

    At the last, though, Oberyn can only throw up his hands. "You know what? I bet they'd let you. You'd show up the guy who spent his life studying Geomancy with some tricks you just figured out one day, and they'd give you a class, and it would all make perfect sense!"

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Ugh, politics. Toph lets out a groan at that. "Politics is boooooring. I personally want to fight." Not what you would say on career day either, huh? The girl seems a little rough around the edges, that's for sure. "And I guess magic is good for monsters," she asides and munches on some fries, just to take a break from her burger which is half gone by now.

    However her expression turns far more serious when he throws his hands up and makes those comments. "... tricks I figured out one day?" she parrots with a huff, then points an index finger /straight/ at him. "Listen here, Dusty... I worked hard to get where I am today. I have practiced since I first found out I was an earthbender. Just because some old guy happened to be born before me doesn't mean diddely squat if he ends up being worse at this than me! For millennia they claimed that bending metal was impossible... and it was until I figured out how to do it." Somehow it seems that Toph is... annoyed?

    "Besides, I have taught before," she adds with a snort and leans back in her seat, stuffing the rest of her burger into her mouth. "Sho whad if ahm almosht fohteen? There's noh legal age foh dishcoveries!"

Oberyn Levy (634) has posed:
    Oh boy. Now it's an argument, isn't it. No no, don't look over here folks, nobody's making a scene in the restaurant at all! With a sigh, Oberyn pushes his book and the half-cleared plate of food atop it to the side, adjusts his glasses, folds his arms, and prepares to lecture in earnest. Nearby patrons of the bar may begin to nod off - while it's not the same flat drone as before it is just going to be that dry.

    "Okay. Look. I'm sure you've got lots of practice with your kind of magic - earth and metal bending, you say? Probably great at them. I won't doubt it. I won't question it. It's not hard to see someone learning how to do a thing and be able to explain how to do it." Deeeep breath.

    "But do you know /why/ it works that way? The theory, the underlying principles? That old man does. He's spent his life studying Geomancy so he can tell you, from memory and experience, exactly what is happening right down to the manacular level to make his spells work. He knows the /science/ of magic and /that/ is why we listen to him. Can you say the same?"

    Winding down and losing steam, Oberyn flushes a bit. That... prooobably wasn't a good speech to give if he wanted to be one of the Cool Kids. Or someone who could say he is not wearing the same article of clothing as both undergarment and hat. "But... but yeah. They... they'd p-probably... let you give, um. ... g-guest lectures or... someth... ing..."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Toph chews furiously on her burger, though by the look on her face it might seem as if she is eating something sour. And the expression only intensifies when Oberyn begins his little lecture. It's a good thing she is busy eating her food, though it look like she is tempted to speak up and spray crumbs of burger everywhere. Luckily she doesn't. No, it's only when she swallows that the blind girl lets out a huff. "Look, I don't know if you're a book fanboy or something, but how do you think you will learn the most about earth? In a dusty old office reading about it, or actually handling it? The best way to learn about it is to actually experience it yourself! That's the only way you will truly know what it is about, the only way you can realize it. Some things you have to do for yourself in order to get it!" Seriously... you can't learn about everything just by reading about it!

    "There is nothing magicky about earthbending, it's about attitude, guts and stance," Toph concludes. "About positive, negative and neutral chi if you wanna get really technical. You don't need to know all that booksy things in order to 'get' earthbending is my point. The reason people listen to me, why I have had people /beg/ me to teach them is because I am the best at this. I'm a tough teacher, but only because I know what it /takes/ to be the greatest earthbender of all time."

    While she can't see the flush on his face, Toph does notice his heart and breathing having changed. But rather than seeming intent on doing anything to him, Toph gestures with her hands... and her unused fork moves up into the air, suspended in air between her fingers. "It's not like I have time to be a fulltime lecturer anyway, I have my own classes and duties as an Union officer," Toph adds, all while the fork starts twisting, the teeth on it becoming elongated and thin.

Oberyn Levy (634) has posed:
    (Oh no, ohhh no, panic panic panic NO stand your ground this MATTERS no it doesn't well it should.) Oberyn shrinks away from the harsh counter-lecture - briefly considering doing so literally - and manages to nearly tip his chair backward in the process. It takes some time before he regains composure, buuut the debate won't wait!

    "W-well, um... books are... kinda pretty awesome. A-and... and it's important to... to know what you're doing b-before you try to... ... *ahem*."

    The student slides his tome out from under the plate, and holds it open as he tries again. It may not be adding anything here but anything to try to recover credibility? "I-it's a question of control, and testing, and, and, replicating results. Your... your techniques sound like they're... pretty intuitive. Yeah. Probably like Monk stuff, with that chi thing. But what happens if... if you get someone who doesn't do the inner energy thing? And they try it, and nothing happens, but they just know they could figure it out? And all you have is... 'this is how you do it, you didn't, too bad?' Or if someone decides to push too hard, too fast? I can tell you exactly what happens if, say, I put too much force behind a Fire-2 without adjusting for it."

    Oberyn pauses to dramatically eat a fry. What? He's still hungry! "... you can be the greatest earthbender all you want. Until you settle down and figure it out well enough to teach someone /else/ to be /better/ though? Maybe you can take on students in a /cave/ on a mountain somewhere... but I don't think you could do it at Alexander Academy."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Okay, she's starting to get the idea here. "I understand why you aren't doing geomancy then. You don't have the guts for it," Toph snorts as she finishes off her fries. "Of course earthbending requires control, repetition and focus. There are some basics forms you can rely on, sure. But in a fight you do need intuition just to make up for how you /will/ meet somebody who does it differently," Toph informs Oberyn, and her tone is slightly dismissive as she adds, "If people can't get it without being pampered and coddled, then they aren't fit to be proper earthbenders anyway."

    This guy gets nervous real easily, it seems. And how he seems to use the book for mental support. "I have it all figured out, and I have seen," not literally of course, "that my methods work. Babble all you want, but you don't know diddely doo daa about earthbending or geomancy. And while a cave /would/ be the best place to learn earthbending, I'll follow protocol and teach at the academy." If only to rub it in this guy's face.

    But for now the waitress returns with Toph's dessert, and the blind girl blinks before a big grin spreads across her lips, bending the fork back into its normal shape as she puts it back down on her empty food plate. "Sweeeeeet." And sweet it is! Double fudge chocolate icecream with sauce and sprinkles, complete with a warm banana. Then she picks up her spoon and begins eating.

Oberyn Levy (634) has posed:
    Well. That could have gone better. Still, sharp and pointy things got involved without anyone being jabbed, so disaster averted! "Feh. Believe what you want - I'll take knowledge over guts any day anyhow."

    Seems, though, like Oberyn's ready to sound a tactical withdrawal... snapping the dusty tome shut, he stands and gathers what's left of his meal into a bag. "... but you know what. I bet you /would/ do just fine trying to show a bunch of muscle-headed fighter types how to do a mage's job. Heh... maybe I'll sign up just to watch you clean up the mess afterward."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    By all appearances Toph seems to enjoy her dessert a lot, though she does at least eat slow enough to prevent herself from getting a major brain freeze. "I don't believe, I know. That's why I am so good at what I do."

    Though there is a brief frown when he snaps the dusty tome shut, and she sniffs the air. "Keep that crap away from my ice cream, Dusty. And none of my students have been muscly, nor fighters. Sign up if you want, but know that I don't go easy on my students, even little bookworms like you."

    With that she resumes eating.

Oberyn Levy (634) has posed:
    "... yeah. See you in class, /professor/." Oo~oooh snap was that the top-shelf sarcastic tone Oberyn broke out? Special occasion or what? "'til then, I've got a library to finish going through..."

    Nnnot the snappiest oh yeah this isn't over line ever delivered. Some people just don't get to drop action movie one-liners as they stalk out of a bar.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    ... is that it? Toph smirks a bit. "Leave the nicknames and trash talking to the experts, Dusty," she advises him, then turns her full attention to her delicious ice cream. Oh yes, she totally deserved this after the fight the other day and for actually behaving in medical.