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Nasrin     THE FORTRESS OF ALAMUT.

    The Assassins have been on edge since the retirement, and exit, of several high-ranking members, leaving some infighting to decide leadership.

    Far apart from this infighting was Nasrin bint Hadir al'Halabi, who had no interest in trying to defeat the others for leadership over a dying Brotherhood.

    Instead, she was teaching the next generation, the Orphans who had stayed with her from Al Masr -- from Cairo. She had her hood down, practicing in the courtyard, the ring of metal on metal cutting through the air.

    "Good!" she calls out, and a lanky, young teenage boy draws back, awkwardly holding a longsword just a bit too long for him. Sitting on a bale of hay is a younger boy, perhaps ten, and Leila, the other young teenager who gives a cheer "Go Imal!"
Toph Beifong     It might be a dying brotherhood, but there are still some people who care for its members. Especially a young girl who helped them out on several missions and still has the hood she was given, even though she seldom sees a need to wear it.

    Since she does like some of the members more considering she doesn't know them all, she has decided to drop in for a quick visit today. And for once she's quiet about it.

    It's only when Imal's sword shifts slightly in his hands that somebody might get a hint that a certain metalbender has arrived. "Aren't you holding it a bit wrong there?" an amused voice calls out, and then Toph steps into the courtyard with a big grin on her face. Sure, she doesn't know these kids except for Nasrin, but she has no reason to mess with them. And perhaps that slight adjustment of the sword will ensure that Imal knows how to better balance it. "How's it going, Stabberina? I decided to drop in before I head home to Malibu."

    It certainly looks like Toph has been on the road, all right. The entire girl is covered in dirt and mud, and there are even some twigs in her hair. Even if she's only been gone for four days, it seems like she's been really working on her bending and been on the road... The yellow in her clothes look almost as dark as the green cloth!
Nasrin     Imal feels the shift in the weight an balance of the sword, and he tries to shift his stance -- and ends up tripping. The martial arts wasn't his forte, as it turns out. At the sound of the voice, though, all three of the kids turn, and Imal drops his sword.

    Leila turns her head, and she lights up at the sound of Toph's voice. "OH! OH! I know your voice!" she calls out, and the girl tumbles out of the hay, followed by Zain, the youngest, and the two kids come up alongside Nasrin, who just gives a smile, and draws up the longsword off the ground.

    "Dustbunny." she greets the other girl, and reaches out a hand for a quick grasp.

    "It is good to see you in the flesh again. How fares the bending?" she questions amicably.

    "Naz. Naaaz. I thought she'd have /short/ hair!" Leila calls out. "Do you have short hair or long hair? I have a bet!"
Toph Beifong     At least Imal won't be in danger of getting hurt, as Toph will bend the sword away from him if it's in danger of cutting or stabbing him when it falls. But it's a good thing he drops it.

    It should be easy to see that the blind teenager is pleased at being recognised. "Yup, the greatest earthbender of all time has decided to visit Alamut again after having been gone away for a while! I mostly talk with Stabberina here on the radio nowadays it seems..." Nasrin earns a friendly punch to the shoulder, and she nods at the question. "My bending always goes well, you don't really need to ask," Toph teases with a grin. "How about you? Teaching the little ones?" Though she does arch an eyebrow at Leila's comment. "Why would you think I have short hair? I might be tougher than most guys, but that doesn't mean I need to shave my hair, does it?" But if the kid is curious...

    The blind girl reaches up to the large hairbun on the back of her head, undoes the knot there... and it should be clear that the teen has more hair on her head than most people. Thick, long and black messy hair is now set free, parts of it sticking out in places thanks to the twigs.
Nasrin     Nasrin accepts the punch on the shoulder, but doesn't punch Toph back. For one, bad form. For two: hidden blades. Deadly noogies. The like.

    Imal had a bit of a sour face, his practice having been interrupted, but seemed curious. After all, the teen boy was... a teen boy. And he draws up after his sister and little brother, trying to seem like he's nonpulsed by everything going on.

    "Allow me to introduce my younger... sister and brothers. Imal, stand up straight, please." Nasrin states, and Imal shuffles his feet.

    "I'm Leila. And it's not that you should shave your head -- although long hair can be used to grab at you in a fight, so short hair has its advantages --" she states, and pulls down the scarf covering her head a moment, not that Toph could /see/ the hair on her head. "But I like having long hair because it's pretty and feminine!" Leila states, and she purses her lips in a little jealousy as she sees Toph's hair.

    "It's so pretty! How come you don't take care of it?!" she laments, reaching up to try and take some of it in hand like an old lady.

    "Nn-- Leila, you migth not want to --" Nasrin begins warningly.
Toph Beifong     If Toph notices Imal being pouty, she doesn't comment on it. Instead she keeps her focus on the ones who are actually talking. Toph herself is standing straight as always, carrying herself with confidence seldom seen among most teenage girls. Leila's comment makes sense, and Toph nods. "That's why I put it up into a bun, lily liver. "And I keep it long because... well, kinda a habit." The fact that her biological mother managed to at least convince Toph to not cut her hair short again after one mishap in her childhood years has stuck at least.

    The warning that Nasrin issues isn't necessary it seems, as Toph doesn't mind Leila touching her hair as long as she doesn't pull on it. The colour of Toph's hair is a dark ebony shade. As for why she doesn't take care of it...? "I wash it now and then, it's not like I see the need to do much with it when I can just put it up in a bun." It's only for special occasions that she lets Pepper do something with it, because she at least doesn't make a big fuss about it. And the straightening iron isn't too bad to get some curls in some of her hair. "I'm not that girly in case you didn't notice," Toph adds with a shrug.
Nasrin     "I'm not that girly either, but Nasrin braids my hair for me. She used to do it for all the girls, because it's easy to hide knives and lockpi--" she begins, and Nasrin clears her throat.

    "Iie. Sister." she comments quietly, and Leila husehs, crossing ehr arms. "Well. Nasrin /is/ good at braiding hair. Except her own. She doesn't take care of hers either, but that's because she's so busy." she defends Nasrin, and gives a soft huff.

    The smallest assassin comes up, and is circling around Toph.

    "And this is Zain. The youngest brother." Nasrin introduces the kid quietly, before he comes back up to the front, and makes his desicion. "You're pretty." he states, and gives a nod and crosses his arms, trying to look stern and very serious.
Toph Beifong     Oh? A hiding place for various sharp and stabby things? "Should have known," Toph snickers. "You are always so sneaky, Stabberina..." It's kinda their job, so it's not like she will make too much fun of this. "And of course she's busy, she's gotta train you guys. Teaching can be really hard at times." Which is the way it's supposed to be. If it's too easy then the students won't learn anything.

    Somehow it doesn't look like she's aware of Zain walking around her, obviously not regarding him as a threat. She's about to say hi to him, but then he comes with his comment... it only takes a second, and Toph is already snickering. "Here's a tip, kid... blind people don't really care what they look like... because I honestly don't know nor do I know what pretty looks like to begin with," she teases, shaking her head a bit. "So... who wants dumplings?" she asks and reaches into her bag.
Nasrin     "Mmn." Zain pauses, and puts his hand to his chin, his head canting to the side lika bird before he speaks up again. "Your hair is the color of smooth glass. Your skin is a cross between the feel of a flower petal and the cold of the thin desert snow. And yes, I would like a dumplings."

    The three other assassins pause, and even Nasrin raises her eyebrows in surprise before she and Leila look at one another. Zain just holds up his hand, dumplings please.

     "She's a difficult teacher. Leila replies, and Nasrin sort of rolls her eyes, and gathers the swords up to put away.

    "I am a fair teacher and I expect my younger siblings to learn. Elsewise..." she trails off.

    "There used to be more of us. There used to be /fourteen/ of us." Imal begins

    "But she scared them away!" Leila wiggles her hands in a 'oooh, spooky!' manner.

    "They chose to be adopted instead of become Assassins."
Toph Beifong     Okay, this kid is hilarious. He doesn't seem that old either, but man... it's as he acts like an adult. She doesn't see a reason to be too mean, but...

    "Here you go, little Casanova," she grins and hands him a dumpling first before she hands them out to the other kids, starting with the youngest to oldest. So Nasrin is the last one to be handed a dumpling.

    As for Nastrin being a difficult teacher, Toph arches an eyebrow. "If she wasn't tough you would only get your asses handed to you in the field," she points out. "I mean, I toss boulders at my students and I expect them to be tough enough to deal with it. Otherwise they aren't cut out to be my students in the first place."

    Getting to choose your own path in life is important, that's something Toph knows better than most people. But that's kinda obvious, so she won't comment on that, instead she takes a bite of her dumpling and talks with her mouth full. "Yeah, She Who Bleats can be real spooky indeed..." she manages to get out through bites of food, reaching her free hand up to begin trying to tame all that wild hair. But getting it back up into a bun with all the twigs in them seems to be a difficult task.
Nasrin     The three kids try not to laugh. She Who Bleats.

    Nasrin handles it well, and just stuffs the dumpling in her own mouth to stop herself from trading verbal barbs, before she glances at Toph's hair, and then at LEila. They apparently have a pretty good understanding, because Leila gives a /bright grin/, suddenly getting very happy before she rushes for the door, calling back between bites, "Ill be /right back!/"

    "... what is a Casanova?" Zain asks, confused, but he accepts his dumping and eats it contentedly, watching Toph like a hawk. Imal is a little more wordy though.

    "Well, we were all theives in Cairo." he explains, and hops up onto a balance beam in order to eat his sitting down.

    Nasrin, wordlessly, comes up behind Toph (and wipes her hands on her cloth pants first), then begins to deftly pick twigs out of Toph's hair.
Toph Beifong     "You'll figure out what a Casanova is once you're old enough, kid," Toph states, a bit occupied with eating her dumpling now and listening to Imal. "So... thieves, huh? You must be really sneaky in order to pull that off." Kids usually do better at being pickpockets than adults most of the time from what she's heard.

    The earlier grins were of course not noticed by Toph, and while she isn't concerned about Nasrin walking up behind her, she does look a bit confused when Nasrin begins picking twigs out of her hair. So she swallows the food in her mouth and speaks up. "I'm able to get those out myself later, you know." It's not typical of Nasrin to treat her like a disabled person, so this is kinda weird...
Nasrin     "I have no doubt. It's your own hair and you are one of the most capable fighters I have ever met." Nasrin replies, and then she gives a slight smile,"However, sometimes it's nice to be reminded that people care for you, and I would hate to think what Mrs. Stark would do if she saw you walk in like this." Nasrin states, tossing the twigs into a pile. "Such a state of disarray."

    "EEEE!" Leila replies, coming back out. She's carrying some items, her arms full. Comb. Flowers. Bits of thin ribbon and leather strings.

    Someone is going to get their hair did.
Toph Beifong     Oh man... Toph rolls her eyes at being reminded about her adoptive mother's preference for order and neatness. "Trust me, she's seen me way dirtier than this," the blind teen assures her friend, batting a hand at Nasrin's arm. You can stop that now.

    Except Leila returns holding something, and even if Toph doesn't know what it is, she can tell that this probably won't end well.

    "What the crud are you planning...?" she asks, narrowing her eyes.
Nasrin     "Nasrin's going to braid your hair! I have everything we need, I have the big comb for the big tangles, the little one for the little tangles, I have leather or these really neat silk ribbons that I got from the market, and this one's even green so it matches your clothing, but if you want we could go inside and I could fill the basin and wash your hair too so that it's all clean and nice smelling and then it'd be so pretty and /I'm So Excited/ because Nasrin doesn't braid her own hair and I want to learn so badly how to braid it like she does!" Leila's pitch goes up as she keeps talking until she just takes a deep breath and gives an 'eeee'! sound.

    Imal and Zain look at one another, and then Imal leans forward.

    "I can distract them and you can run."
Toph Beifong     A heavy groan leaves Toph, and she rolls her eyes even more where she stands, even though she doesn't actively try to fight the girls off.
    Leila... sounds absolutely /thrilled/.

    She could refuse this easily, push them away and stomp off with her dumplings. Why should she care what Leila wants? It's not her student or her friend. Imal offers her a way out. She /should/ just leave, but..." A sigh escapes past her lips, and Toph closes her eyes.

    "If you use anything that smells strongly, I'm out. Same if you pull on my hair so much that it hurts," she grumbles, then turns to head inside.
Nasrin     "The worse I use is jasmine flowers, just enough to cover the smell of the road." Nasrin chides slightly, but as she works it's with hands familiar with thick, unruly hair. Deft fingers begin to work out the knots, and more twigs and ... was that a pebble? -- from the thick hair of Toph Beifong. Her eyes are focused, her mouth forming a straight line as she works.

    There's not much tugging, any difficult knots are massaged out carefully, then gently combed through.

    "Leila has been keen to learn how to braid hair, but... my hair is difficult." she explains, "... and currently, we're the only two women here. Some of the men in the Brotherhood object to even /our/ presence." she replies quietly.
Toph Beifong     Toph keeps her pace even so Nasrin won't accidentally pull on her hair, though she does walk with her arms crossed across her chest, as if she objects to this and truly doesn't want to do it, even if she's fully capable of getting away from this forced hair styling if she didn't want to be here. Whatever treasures are lurking in Toph's hair, there's bound to be more than enough twigs, pebbles, dust and mud in there. Even some grass and leaves! And a little spider.

    "And my hair isn't difficult?" Toph inquires. Heck, she knows how much Poppy has struggled with it at times.

    The talk about men objecting to women though, that makes Toph let out a huff that should convey just how she thinks about that. "If they are that uncertain about their masculinity, then let them. It's not like their opinion matters if they're that dense in their skulls." Though of course she's familiar with that too, considering her own experiences as a young, female earthbender who fought against big, beefy guys who thought they were tougher than her due to their size and gender.

    "Just don't make it too complicated, I don't want to have to sleep all weird tonight and wake up to Buster chewing on my hair."
Nasrin     "No, not as difficult as the head it's on." Nasrin replies in a dour tone, and she just continues to comb calmly, removing -- a spider?! ... that gets a quiet look and Leila raises her hands to her mouth, trying not to giggle as Nasrin flicks her fingers to discourage the spider from staying.
    "It is not that they are uncertain. Where we are from, and I can only assume it is similar to your own home, women are expected to..." Nasrin tries to find a polite way to put it.

    Leila finishes it up "We're expected to look pretty and be quiet. Which is easy, unless you live with a jerk goat-headed bull-man who refuses to do any housework. Even Baba Altair cooked!" Leila exclaimed, "And Ezio's sister was capable with knives, and I can make poisons easily 'cause some of the older assassins, they think it's a coward's way but it can be really, really useful to drug someone so that you don't have to fight them, which can even b-" she begins, and then her mouth flaps a moment... "I'm sorry, I talk a lot. Someone's got to make up for Nasrin since she doesn't talk much out there."

    "Mnn." Nas replies, and she smooths out Toph's hair. She separates it slightly, turning the thick locks this way and that, and she reaches up. She begins tot he right of Toph's natural part in her hair, and begins to eave the strands of hair togehr, working easily with experienced fingers as she pulls more and more stands of the hair in, snaking the braid along the side of Toph's skull.

    "No, nothing complicated..."

    At the sound of people, though, there's a quiet 'Maao?' sound, inquisitive as something fluffy sneaks around the corner, padding over with an inquisitve tail in the air.
Toph Beifong     The blind teenager seems to have accepted her fate, getting ready for the hair to be washed and then styled in something she thought she escaped once she ran away from home for good three years ago. But she bears it, listening to Leila babble on about the men of the Brotherhood, and well, she can't help but smile when Altair is mentioned, a slight grin at her lips. "Well, she bleats instead at least," she notes. If she's going to go through something like this, then she can at least tease Nasrin some more! It's only fair.

    So Toph will sit down where she's able to, though she does note the sound of what she assumes is a cat. "Hey, you guys got one of the fluff balls too?" And the blind girl is quick to reach out one hand, gesturing for the creature to come closer.
Nasrin     They're now inside at least, sitting in an off hall. The floors here are stone, not composite or any modern material. Nasrin seems just as comfortable sitting down to do hair as she did walking.

    "i've never heard Nasrin bleat... like a sheep, or like a goat? They have two different bleats because sheep are like 'maaa maaa!' and goats are grumpy and they kind of 'meeh!'" Leila states, talking but watching intently as Nasrin's fingers work. There's something being incorperated into the hair as she works, and Toph might find the sweet smell of jasmine clinging to her. SO GIRLY.

    Almost made up for by the nosepad that bumps against the outstretched fingers, whispers brushing over a hand and then the purring rumble of a cat.

    "Dust, Toph. Toph, Dust. She is our resident mouser."

    "Mrrraoo." the cat replies.
Toph Beifong     Toph is used to sleeping on rocks, so sitting on them is nearly as comfortable for her. She's far from delicate, after all. Though she does make a slight face as she smells the scent of something flowery. Ugh. "Eh, a goat. She was rather scary," Toph not as much explains as comments, feeling and 'seeing' the cat approach. And as it seems friendly, she does reach out to stroke it around its eyes and scratch it behind its ears, something she knows Buster loves.

    The name of the cat does earn an amused chuckle from the earthbender. "That's a good name. And I can imagine it's handy having a cat in a place like this," she agrees. Oh well, at least she gets something to do while Nasrin works on her hair...

    "So what kinda stuff is she teaching you kids anyway?" Might as well ask while she's here. "Besides sword fighting, of course. Sneaky stuff? How to get all three of you into the cinema for the price of one? Or none?"