Scene #5390: Will and Consequences

Owner	Pose
Chevalier	Chevalier's meeting request was to one of the training halls, one with hard floors that'll help Toph's sensing abilities and not much in the way of ornamentation or obstacle. The sort of place you practice kendo, not wrestling. Chevalier himself isn't present immediately, though he comes into the place from an adjoining changing room. It might be hard for Toph to recognize him when she first sees him. Chevalier's a big man, but he normally moves around in his signature armor. Now he's got it with him, but it's layered plate-by-plate into an oversize gym bag which he carries casually. His sword's in there too, and he's hefting the lot with ease. Not the hundreds of pounds of metal it sometimes seems to be, but a burden less hefty than a sack of flour or an armload of groceries. The warrior himself, outside his signature armor, appears nowhere near so grand. It's not just the lack of the gleaming silver and gold, or even the loss of height and bulk. He's still imposing, but outside the armor he's almost ordinary. Still a powerfully-built man with scarred features, but just a man rather than a peerless hero. He wears track pants and a muscle tee, the shirt showing off plenty of bulky muscle - the kind of muscle you get from years of long work, not the sort you show off in the gym.
Toph Beifong	The young Paladin squire has also foregone her armour, though it pales in comparison to what Chevalier has. Hers is just standard issue armour, some metal she can use to protect herself in the field of battle. Nor is it that heavy. Then again, people who have fought the blind metalbender usually have done so when she isn't wearing armour. Today she looks even smaller as she shows up in slacks and an oversized t-shirt with an ACDC print on it, hair put up in a bun and away from her face, not that it matters. Her bare feet make barely any noise on the floor as she arrives after Chevalier. Sure, she's been able to know what his general shape is like, so him being clad like this isn't all that different to the teenager. Unlike him, she's not bulky. And while she's small, she's not scrawny either. In the end though, he's taller than her and outweighs her quite a lot. "So," Toph begins, stretching her arms and rolling her head from side to side, "any rules on how we do this, old man?" She's used to sparring with Tony like this without using bending, so there's that. Then again, Chevalier doesn't strike her as an amateur and possibly better at this than Tony, who relies more on his tech than his kung-fu skills.
Chevalier	Chevalier looks down on Toph. Not in a moral sense really; he's not that much of a dick. He just towers over the smallish earthbender. Not that she's weak. Toph has more than her share of physical power for a teenage girl, no doubt because bending requires strenuous physical activity. But even with all that, he's probably twice her mass, and very little of that is fat. He's not, however, that fine a martial artist. Chevalier packs a punch, but he only studied martial arts casually, as a way to help others who relied more on their training than their gear. He's picked up a fair bit, but he's a brawler rather than an artist. "Standard rules I guess. Punches, kicks, throws, holds." Chevalier states casually. "No pressing a joint lock. No eye gouging. No joint strikes." He shrugs, watching to see Toph's response. "I'm not trying to belittle you, but other than those rules you probably shouldn't need to hold back. I've done this sort of fighting before. If I really think you're in a position to hurt me I'll tap out. You know tapping out? Okay. And as for me, I don't make a habit of hurting my students. You might get some bruises but no big deal, right?"
Toph Beifong	The suggested rules earns a nod from Toph as she continues stretching, tapping her foot against the floor some. "Oh, I know you're not belittleling me," she states with a snort. "If you were you'd not want to spar in the first place. I spar like this with my dad, though he's smaller than you. And yeah, I know tapping out." Seemingly done with the stretching, Toph assumes a defensive stance, falling into her earthbending habits as she brings her arms up in front of her torso. Even if she's not going to use her bending she's still going to keep up the basics with breathing, stances and such. A snort leaves the girl where she stands however, as he talks about possibly hurting her with bruises. "Oh no, bruises. I've never gotten those before." The sarcasm is heavy in her voice, and she even rolls her eyes. "If I was scared of pain I wouldn't have become the greatest earthbender ever, so bring it on." She's no porcelain doll, and the prospect of bruises doesn't scare her, determination in her eyes as she stands ready, waiting for him to strike.
Chevalier	Chevalier nods, beginning to move loosely, swinging his arms casually. Apparently he stretched out earlier, because at his age this casual motion's nowhere near enough and he's hardly the type to go recklessly without. "You've been doing this sort of thing a while. Figured you'd know the common conventions but it's better to ask." he agrees. Then he squares up, forearms raised, hands open with his palms mostly forward. Judo or wrestling perhaps, should Toph be able to recognize such things, or something from a less common hybrid style. He smirks at Toph's sarcasm, taking a shuffling step closer. Then he moves hard and fast, lunging forward and stomping with his left foot down upon the floor. With the momentum from that lunge he shifts, lashing out with his right hand, a piledriver-strong shot aimed to whiff inches before Toph's face. She could block it, but even if she doesn't the punch will cleanly miss. This time he's gauging her cool, not her reflexes or toughness.
Toph Beifong	"Been fighting most of my life, yeah... most fun thing I know," she states sincerely. Fun. That's something Chevalier should know too, that the blind girl might be powerful, but she's not bloodthirsty at all. Killing is something she's only done a few times when matters were desperate. Hopefully this fight will be fun too, and Toph has a calm but focused look on her face, eyes unblinking as she breathes evenly, body ready but not tense. When he moves, her eyes narrow slightly as she takes in the vibrations from the floor that he sends out with his movement. Quickly she judges his momentum, the force he puts into his stomp, the distribution of his weight upon the floor... huh. So that's how it is. Just as Chevalier punches out, Toph raises her hand, but not into a fist. Instead she claps it against his first. "High five to you too." At the same time she brings her knee up, aiming to send it into his abdomen and drive him back. Hey, she would be stupid to not take the chance, right?
Chevalier	Chevalier lets out a blast of air, a sharp 'hah' that's as much a laugh at Toph's joke as a martial artist breath technique. He doesn't defend against her knee. Well okay, he does twist his hips slightly, putting a meaty thigh front and center to protect a weak spot from what could be a dangerously-aimed knee. He takes the hit to his gut, letting it rock him backwards rather than standing ground. As his hands return to high ground he chuckles. "It's not like you need to earn my respect, kid. You've got the respect of one of my best friends." he says. He steps back up, sending his arms into attack patterns. Sparring patterns rather than actual attempts to strike bruising blows; attacks meant to be blocked, dodged, countered. Ones that test and perhaps teach rather than ones for points. "I wouldn't insult him by doubting your ability. So I figure what about your thoughts?" he asks, still weaving effortless attacks (and possibly defenses) at a fraction of his earlier punch's power. "Like, say, that Foodbringer thing? What do you think about the latest report?"
Toph Beifong	It's a good thing Toph didn't intend to let the knee hit anywhere serious, but there's still force behind it as it drives into Chevalier's thigh when he blocks the attack. And then Toph takes a step forward when he goes with it, not intending on letting him get too much distance between them. She's smaller, and probably faster, so it might be better for her to keep it close. Heh, perhaps she can even use some of Aang's tricks if necessary if she can't use her bending when fighting like this... not that she'd ever let him know! "Wait... Suzy has /friends/ now?" she asks, arching an eyebrow. There's little time to consider it though, as he's on the attack again, and Toph quickly reacts. It doesn't seem like she has much problem reading his attacks, already reacting when he's about to strike out. Some punches she blocks with her lower arms, others she dodges and leans out of the way of, and a few she tries to counter, striking out at his arms or torso. There is a slight frown on her face however as she does this, and she's clearly strong for a girl her age, but still... physical strength nor fighting like this is obviously not enough to face off against an Elite whose speciality is brawling or martial arts. The question he poses does grab her attention, though she's clearly still focused on reading his movements and reacting to them. "It's a goddamn mess," she responds. "Not exactly what I expected when I joined the Paladins... assholes who use the law as a way to continue doing crud like that pisses me off, honestly."
Chevalier	Chevalier's not really interested in fighting Toph, though he takes teaching and training as seriously as she does. The fight, and his offer with his armor, was just to lure her in. That, and it's a distraction so when she speaks, she's got something else on her mind as well. So neither of them have the chance to be clever with words. He switches up, realizing she can see his attacks probably before he even makes them. Chevalier's not really fast or skilled enough to defeat Toph's encyclopedic knowledge of stance and shifting weight. Instead, since she's not striking back, he shifts into a more forward stance and reaches out. He tries to grab at shoulder, arm, or for that matter sleeve or belt - not that Toph's actually wearing the latter. Harder to avoid this sort of attack, because while he's not moving as fast, he just keeps on coming and any blocks just give him something to latch onto. "And the Grandmaster being in the hospital? Dead cops? A criminal going into surgery because lawbreakers cut him up?" he asks. "Does that bother you as much as the shitbag using cops as a private army?"
Toph Beifong	The goal is to make him sweat, tire him out, which means it's wise to not go all out and run out of energy before him. Stamina is something she has a lot of, as it takes a lot to exhaust her. Why go all out when she can be smart about this? When he reaches out to grab at her however, Toph's eyes widen, clearly showing she can tell he's planning something, and she kicks off, trying to avoid the grab. But without bending, with him having a longer reach than her, Toph is unable to avoid it, her arm grabbed as she digs her heels in, doing her best to surpress the urge to bend herself free while she grits her teeth. Why the crud is this guy talking now anyway?! As she's pulled in Toph does her best to yank her arm against his thumb in an attempt to wrench herself free, all while she strikes out with her free arm towards his chest. "Of course it bothers me! Who the crud wouldn't be bothered by people getting killed, people abusing the law for their own gain?" Toph snaps, sounding a bit irritated as she strikes out.
Chevalier	If Chevalier really wanted to or if he were a better grappler, he'd easily be able to keep control of Toph despite her struggles. As it is she'll have to work for it. She might squirm out of one grip only to have his other hand latch onto her shoulder, or he might end up smothering her strikes so she can't bash her way free. He isn't really interested in testing her physical might though. Colin's Chevalier's friend and all, but when he respects someone like Toph that's all about their strength and their will. It gives little insight into their morals and values, so Chevalier has to make up his own mind there. Hence this training exercise. "I didn't ask if you were bothered." the big man says harshly, turning aside from Toph's latest strike with a grunt, shoving her away, and swinging a foot low to try to sweep her should he catch her off-balance. Probably utterly futile given Toph's grounding, but it's a continuation of his attempts to press her physically while challenging her morals as well. "Gimme something here. What do you THINK?" he grates. Does Toph wish she were the one who could've raided the place, so no one would've gotten killed? Does she resent her role in a messy operation? Does she regret what happened to the Grandmaster? Oh, Chevalier knows what she did. Or at least he strongly suspects what she did even if he knows none of the specifics. And while he might not blame or criticize her for such things, he definitely wants to see if she gets angry, or defensive, or even contrite. It's more important to him than why she did it.
Toph Beifong	A grunt of frustration leaves Toph, and she strikes out again at Chevalier in an attempt to free herself. Oh, she's willing to work for it it seems. When she's shoved she yelps, stumbling backwards, but she quickly regains her balance when the leg sweep comes in. Jumping back, Toph is barely able to avoid it. Her expression is annoyed at this point, and she huffs before she rushes forward, aiming to feint a punch before she kicks off to the side and instead aims a punch for his side. "What I think?! I think it's absolute ostrich horse crap that we can't do anything openly to uphold the law /while/ doing the right thing in this entire mess!" This is said while she tries to duck away from any attack he might counter or retaliate with. "That people who try to actually help others are paying for it while those shitbags are the ones partially responsible for all of this...!" Another huff. "I think it's a fucking waste of time with all this drama bullshit going on in the background, behind closed doors... and I think you're a cruddin' sneak."
Chevalier	Chevalier doesn't press the attack immediately. Not when it's clear Toph's started to talk from her heart, not her head. He waits, his open hands moving in small rhythmic circles, and lets her vent. Finally though, he snorts. "I'M a sneak?!" he says incredulously. He laughs roughly, then opens his arms as if for a hug. "If I'm being sneaky here, go ahead. Beat my ass." he invites, leaving himself wide open. This is good stuff. It's what he wanted to hear. Not necessarily the words, but the sentiment. "Maybe I should tell you a story about the Protectorate's leadership. Unless you want to hit me that is."
Toph Beifong	The laughter earns a glare from Toph. "If you wanted to talk, then you should have said that instead of asking me to come here to fight," she points out. That's something else that should be written down in Toph's file. She's not one to avoid stating her opinion, far from it. When he spreads his arms Toph remains out of reach. Her expression is serious, her mouth set in a frown all too typical of a teenager. When he mentions the Protectorate, Toph snorts in derision. "I've heard them talk when I was in Brockton Bay.... but go on. I'll hit you after," she states, still standing ready if he's about to continue the sparring.
Chevalier	"I wanted to fight AND to talk." the big man says, a slightly boyish grin forming on his lips. And yes he could've just invited Toph to talk, but then he wouldn't have been sure of hearing honesty from her. He takes a step back and relaxes his fighting stance. After a moment he bows, mostly just a dip of the head for formality's sake, a symbol that he doesn't intend to resume, at least not without warning. "Yeah, you met Alexandria, Legend and Eidolon. Not sure if you ever met any of the directors. We went through a few of them a few years back." he notes, a certain something in his voice. Wariness or caution. Something utterly absent when he was challenging Toph. "I'm gonna tell you something, and I'm only saying it because everyone directly involved is long gone, the organization gone too, or it's out in the open." Chevalier says. He pauses, then gestures towards his armor. "Go ahead if you want, by the way." he offers. "Try not to wreck it. It's replaceable, but my armorers get annoyed easily."
Toph Beifong	A groan leaves Toph. Yes, she's a teenager all right. "... ugh, are you going to /blabber/ me into submission or something?" she asks. When he relaxes his fighting stance though, she blinks, listening. "... no, I never met any of the directors. How come?" It's even stranger when he seems to want to tell her something, and even more when he gestures to the armour, indicating that she can try her bending on it. At that the blind metalbender cants her head a bit. "Are you sweaty /already/? Or just out of shape?" Or is he just feeling nice all of a sudden? Either way she doesn't move from where she stands, giving Chevalier her full attention.
Chevalier	"Toph." Chevalier says, looking down with a frown. "I fight in full metal armor. Do you really think I get tired when I fight like this?" he asks, gesturing down at his chest. In point of fact he's already sweaty but he's clearly not winded. Not tired at all, and the sweat's light yet. "Call it payback for being sneaky, or whatever. We can still fight or train or just bullshit back and forth. I figure if you want to see some things, no need to be bored just listening." he shrugs. Besides it's not exactly an easy thing to talk about, even with it being purely something from the past of no relevance to anyone now alive. Chevalier sighs, then nods. "Look. Rule one of the Commonwealth and the Paladins? We take our orders from ordinary people. Those who enforce the rules aren't the people who make the rules. That was one of the founding principles of the Protectorate. It was our way, as Capes, to ensure people were ready to trust us." he says. Then, abruptly, he drops a bombshell. "It was a complete fucking lie, of course. The first director was a Cape. Secret identity."
Toph Beifong	Damnit, he has a point. Toph huffs slightly, looking pensive as she stands still for a moment. Then after a few seconds she flops down on the floor, getting seated. Her expression is serious as she listens to him talk. True, it seems like that's the case that people love being in control by either making the rules and then making others enforce them. It's something Toph has observed before, and she nods. The moment Chevalier decides to share that shocking bit of information though, the girl's eyes widen, and she looks honestly surprised, eyebrows raised. "Wait... they fucking /lied/ and put rules in place against what they were doing behind everybody's back?!" Irritation is all too easily seen on Toph's face. "Just fucking great... no wonder ordinary people fear us if shit like that gets pulled..."Crossing her arms, Toph slouches where she sits. "Why are you telling me this, though...?"
Chevalier	"Yeah. The Protectorate broke the rules." Chevalier states. He drops slowly to the ground, settling himself into a kneeling sei-za. "Kinda like how we have rules about investigations with no due cause and evidence." he says with dry irony. And that, perhaps, says more than words why Chevalier's telling Toph this right now. "Your friend Suzy never knew. Not till it went public." Chevalier says. "I was told only when I became a regional commander. "It wasn't even the worst secret the Protectorate had, just the worst I knew before it went public." he says with a sigh. "Of course if you'd been in the Protectorate, I wouldn't have told you this. Not back then." he adds gruffly. Sounding perhaps like he's building up to something.
Toph Beifong	The moment Chevalier mentions investigations, due cause and evidence... Toph's expression changes just slightly, barely perceptible. Then she lets out a low huff and turns her face slightly away. "I bet he was just /thrilled/ to hear that..." Just how did Colin react when he heard about it? Not that he was the best either, with how he manipualted things during the Leviathan deal. Now that had upset Toph greatly at the time, and she hadn't been merciful in the way she had torn into him for that. Even if it was for what he believed was a good cause, to get rid of a rotten villain, it... it still wasn't right. Swallowing, Toph looks uncomfortable where she sits, tightening her grip on her arms. "... it's hard. And it shouldn't be that we can't do things honestly if we're going to protect people and do the right thing."
Chevalier	Chevalier shrugs at that, grimacing. "Shit's tough, kid." he says, telling himself as much as Toph. He clenches a fist then relaxes it, slowly and deliberately. "I've heard of fantasy worlds where the good guys are always good and the bad guys are always bad, but I've never actually been to one. If you do the best you know how, you hope it's good enough." he says philosophically. He looks over, tilting his head. "Kind of like what you did, huh." he asks rhetorically. Not judging. Then he sighs. "I just wish you weren't so stupid about it."
Toph Beifong	It doesn't seem like Toph buys into that philosophy either, and she rolls her eyes. "Things aren't always that black and white, though I would prefer it things were that simple. I hate it when people make things way more complicated than it needs to be..." That he should know from reading her file too and from hearing her on the radio. True, she hadn't exactly been happy about it... but the Paladins did need to investigate the Richmond Company. Which is why she had leaked the info. And well, they had kinda been asked to do so in a really annoying way, she supposes. Which is why her expression hardens when Chevalier speaks next, and Toph snaps her head towards him. Sure, she can't see him with her eyes, but she intends to let him see the expression on her face. "WHAT?!" Her fists tighten their grip on her knees, and she leans forward, looking /pissed/. "Who the crud are you calling stupid, Sir Blabsalot?!"
Chevalier	Well THAT got a reaction. Chevalier figured it would. He didn't really expect to say it quite like that. It just sort of ended up that way... but he wouldn't take the words back either. Not yet. "Give it a rest, kid." he says, leaning forward and thrusting his chin out belligerently, as if daring Toph to take a swing at him. "I know what you did, giving information out to someone who could act. Hell, I bet EVERYONE knows it. And THAT'S why it was stupid!" he yells right back. The man once called The Destroyer slams his hand into the floor, and it's a wonder cracks don't appear in the wood and perhaps the bulkhead underneath. Not that Chevalier's that strong or the blow that forceful, he just seems to bear the kind of gravitas that if he smashes something, one just naturally assumes it gets really really smashed. It seems to calm him though, somewhat, or at least bring Chevalier back to himself. He continues, no longer yelling. "You did the right thing. I'd have done it if I had your contacts. Most of us would've. But you were obvious about it because you were trying to show off how clever you were. And you've put Fairfax in a bad spot because of it."
Toph Beifong	Give it a rest?! Toph is clearly trying to act calm where she sits, her entire pose tense as her fingers dick into her slacks. For a moment it looks like she's considering punching the offered chin, and then he continues talking, making the blind girl grit her teeth even tighter as he yells back at her, though she's not backing down. Not even when he slams his hand into the floor. Her breathing isn't exactly slow where she sits, inhaling and exhaling through her nose as her knuckles turn white. Sure, Chevalier might be calm right now, but Toph? Toph doesn't look calm nor happy at all. It appears as if she's tasted something extremely sour as her lips twitch. No words leave her yet though, as he is allowed to speak without interruption, only the girl sitting there, tense as a bow string. Some seconds after he's done speaking, the blind metalbender pushes herself up on her feet, her face turned ahead as she's no longer 'looking at him'. When she speaks, her tone is terse. "Tell me something I don't fucking know already." Without warning she begins marching off, her pace brisk and her foot steps no longer silent.
Chevalier	Chevalier was pissed too, when he'd first heard Toph's catty replies to Eryl's veiled directives. He's a good officer though, even if technically he's Toph's own rank. He didn't take anything out on her at the time; he waited until there was no one to witness her shame. Eryl probably wouldn't say this sort of thing. He has too much authority and a reprimand from him would carry a ton of extra weight. In large part that's why Chevalier felt he had to be the one to say it. He considers saying something, trying to claim it's not really so bad. It's probably not. The Grandmaster ought to be able to handle his bosses well enough. But Chevalier LIKES Toph. It's not just Defiant's description of the girl... it's her straightforward nature and desire for things to be better. And, he has to admit, her anger. She'll go far yet, if she survives without breaking. But no, nothing Chevalier can say would really solve anything. Best to just let this go for now, see what happens. With a faint groan, the man pushes himself off the ground. "Getting too old for this shit." he grumbles to himself, before going to see to his gear.