A Rocky Encounter

After being in Gaoling for a few days, Zangpo had mapped out most of the large town in his head. Thanks to the unsuspecting patrons to his noble cause, he had gathered enough money that he wouldn't be struggling for supplies any time soon. When he moved onto the next city or town, he'd be able to comfortably stay at their inns for as long as he liked. 

As for his airbending, thanks to his repeated meditation and constant use of precision bending to garner funds, he's improved nicely. Stealing wasn't so much of a struggle anymore, untying the small strings became easy for him.

Walking down one of the less busier streets of the Earth Nation town, Zangpo was looking for a specific alley. The day before, he had heard a group of men talking about some underground earthbending tournament taking place today; Earth Rumble II, it was called. After bribing the two greedy gentlemen, which annoyed him to no end, they had given him directions to one of the entrances to the tournament. He only hoped that he hadn't been scammed, that would make him beyond pissed.

If by chance he had been lied to, he promised to hunt down those drunkards and get his money back.

Thankfully, Zangpo had finally reached the described alley. The alley was dark, but he could see a large man standing dutifully at the end of it. Only, it looked as though he was guarding a plain nondescript stone wall. However, the boy knew looks can be deceiving…

Approaching the buff looking long-haired man, he eyed Zangpo suspiciously. It wasn't often that you'd see a noble heir coming to Earth Rumble alone. 

"I'm here for the tournament." The airbender informed the obvious earthbender smoothly and clearly. With such an athletic physique and lack of shoes, the man couldn't be anything but.

Not saying anything in response, the intimidating doorman merely looked at the young boy in front of him seriously for a moment before offering Zangpo his hand in a wordless request. The boy smiled at the man's gesture and placed the entrance fee in his open palm. Thankfully, the cost of entrance into the tournament was only a single silver piece. It was much cheaper than he would have thought it to be. 

Pocketing the silver coin, the earthbender jumped into a low horse stance with his hands placed on top of one another, his palms facing downward. Almost immediately, the nondescript wall behind him slid down into the ground revealing a staircase lowering deeply into the earth.

Nodding respectively to the doorman, Zangpo began to march his way down the glowing crystal-lined staircase. Only a few strides down the stairs, the wall behind him shut. If it weren't for the green crystals, he would have been bathed in darkness. Making his way down, he began to hear the sounds of a large crowd.

As he exited the staircase, the airbender swept his curious gaze around the large chamber that he found himself in. There were several lines formed for different concession stands around a large pit that extended several dozen feet downward. All around the pit were stands filled with eager spectators that overlooked a large dueling platform in the middle. The high ceiling entirely consisted of the same type of glowing green crystal that lined the staircase, bathing the entire arena in a gentle light.

The overall atmosphere of the place gave Zangpo a good feeling. Everyone's cheerful and anticipatory mood was contagious, and he couldn't help but smile lightly. 

Since the tournament wasn't expected to start for another half hour or so, he got in line to grab some popcorn while he waited. "First time at Earth Rumble?" Someone asked from behind. Turning around, he was met with the very same teenager that had given him directions to Master Yu's Earthbending Academy. 

With much difficulty, Zangpo managed to suppress his groan and keep the annoyance off of his face. The airbender had half the mind to leave and find an empty seat in the stands, foregoing the delicious smelling snack of freshly made popcorn. Yet, his curiosity for the snack won over. They didn't have popcorn back in his village, and with a line this big, it must be a delicious treat.

"Yes, it is." He replied flatly, hoping that the teen would take the hint and stop talking to him. Unfortunately, the older boy didn't seem aware of such social cues.

"Really? That's awesome! It's my first time here as well. My birthday is coming up in a couple days and my dad thought that seeing professional earthbenders fight would be a good birthday present. Well guess what? He was right! I've heard rumors about this place before, but I never had the chance to see it myself. Do you think this tournament is sanctioned? Probably not, right?

"But I think the town's guard turned a blind eye to it all. I'm sure it helps the local economy, with all the money coming in and out and all. Man oh man, I'm excited. I heard that today is Boulder's debut! I don't know who he is, but his name sounds cool, so I bet he's cool as well. I sure hope his bending is impressive. Is there a fighter that you are looking forward to seeing? The tournament is still pretty new, so I doubt there's too many in the lineup. But considering the big turnout, it must be really entertaining. I wonder why the rows lowest to the floor are left vacant? Do you think that's weird? I d-"

Zangpo had long since stopped listening and just stared at the rambling teen with a look of complete befuddlement. How the heck can someone talk so much?

Regretting his decision to open his mouth to reply before, the silver-eyed airbender swiftly turned back around and stared ahead. But even as he had very obviously left the 'conversation,' the teen continued to rattle off whatever nonsense came to his head.

Clenching his fist to resist the urge of just blasting the teen away from him with a powerful gust, Zangpo was happy to see that it was nearly his turn to get popcorn. The airbender was eager for the moment he felt powerful enough to show the world that he was an airbender and make a name for himself.

Receiving his popcorn in a large stone bucket, Zangpo hefted his snack down towards the stands. With eyes scanning the sea of people, he located an empty seat between two other spectators before promptly making his way towards it.

Even though it was a small chance, he didn't want that blabbermouth to try and sit next to him.

As he sat awaiting the tournament to begin, Zangpo couldn't help but think about ways to get stronger. He's kept up with his experimenting in different techniques, having the most notable success in his air-sensory ability. With his constant meditating and using his precise airbending to untie little strings, the airbender's control over his element has progressed scores above what it was only a week ago.

Now with higher control, he wanted to try condensing air. If Zangpo could somehow release condensed and controlled bursts of air, a whole slew of possibilities would open up for him. One thing he wanted to try was to launch a small rock or something similar with the condensed air, effectively turning a small harmless object into a lethal projectile. Once he figured out how to do such a thing, it would increase the penetration power of his bending significantly. More versatility in combat was always a good thing.

Whenever the airbender found someone with enough knowledge of the elements, hopefully with their help he could develop many more useful skills.

Though he hasn't really come far with it, having only experimented lightly, Zangpo was trying more and more ways to use his bending on himself to increase his abilities. Getting inspiration from using his bending to jump really high and even slow his descent, the ever-curious boy tried to make himself float. It was much more difficult than when he used his bending to make small objects float or fly around. With a rock or small item, he could effectively visualize exactly how to use his bending because he could actually see all around whatever he'd be using his bending on. 

When it came to himself, he'd need a fully body length mirror or something to get a good visual. Or, he could continue to use his meditation and air-sense to get familiar with his body. Until then, Zangpo would experiment with the idea of floating and eventually flying. Propelling himself with a consistent gust under his feet might work, but most likely it would take all of concentration and he wouldn't be able to multitask.

If only he could make himself weightless… Alas, such knowledge was beyond him at the moment. What he really needed to do was get his hands on some airbending scrolls, notes, or even books.

As he finished that train of thought, A large athletic-looking man with long black hair burst from the ground like a badgermole. The man looked to be in his early late thirties, early forties. He had high cheekbones that looked almost gaunt-like and had a prominent jaw.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Earth Rumble II!" He bellowed to the excited and cheering audience, his voice booming around the chamber. "I am your host, Xin Fu! 

The cheering of the audience was almost deafening, their enthusiasm for the upcoming show contagious as even Zangpo began to cheer. It was easy to get caught up in the moment, and he had never known stuff like this existed.

"The rules are simple! One earthbender knocks the other out of the ring and they win!" Xin Fu informed the first timers in the audience, jumping up to a high vantage point overlooking the arena.

Just then, two very large men entered the chamber from opposite tunnels. Their hulking forms made the assembled crowd cheer louder than ever as they took their places on each side of the arena. "For the first round, we have a new fighter amongst us! Tough as iron, hard as stone, I give you… The Boooouuulder!" The announcer boomed, gesturing towards the absolutely built man that donned a top knot. The Boulder smiled wide, flexing for the audience to show off his muscles, which were out in the open for all to see as he didn't have a shirt on. "And on the other side, someone you all know and love," He paused, waiting for the cheers to die down as the crowd yelled in anticipation. "The Great Khaliiii!" 

The Great Khali was the most massive person that Zangpo had ever seen, standing easily over seven feet tall. No one in this chamber could even come close to that stature. The man was built like a Komodo-rhino, his muscles bulging as he stared down The Boulder. He had shoulder length black hair and had also decided to forego a top of any sort.

"The Boulder is not scared of any man! While you may be intimidating to some, The Boulder thinks you are overcompensating!" The Boulder goaded show fully, making wild gestures as he attempted to rile the crowd. The Great Khali's face seemed to be set in stone, staring at the Boulder as if he was a waste of his time.

Lifting one of his large legs, The Great Khali brought his foot down in a terrifyingly ferocious stomp that seemed to shake the entire chamber. Almost immediately after, The Boulder jumped to the side as an enormous stone shot out of the ground towards where he was not even a second before. The boulder quickly retaliated by kicking three rocks towards his opponent that he had pulled up from out of the ground.

And just like the human version of a Komodo-rhino he was, The Great Khali took all three of the stones to the chest as if he didn't even feel them.

Now glaring at The Boulder, The Great Khali sent a counter attack towards him in the form of a large rock wall that was at least a foot thick. Merely smirking in response, The Boulder crossed his arms across his chest in an X shape and seemed to step into the wall as it approached. Zangpo thought that he would be knocked out of the ring or something, but watching as the earthbender sunk into the wall and came out the otherside while it passed him by, he was extremely impressed. 

When The Boulder made contact with the wall, it was as if the rock was nothing but sand or water.

Showing the first real expression so far, The Great Khali was too stunned to avoid a rock pillar that erupted from underneath, sending him flying up into the air. The Boulder swiftly took advantage of his airborne opponent's inability to dodge, launching a large boulder up into the air to connect with Khali's limp figure. The large rock carried The Great Khali's body clear out of the arena and into the empty stands below. 

Having secured his victory, The Boulder began to showboat, flexing his muscles for the cheering men and women in the audience. "The Boulder will wipe the floor with his competition in a landslide!" He exclaimed, earning even more cheers.

Caught up in the moment, Zangpo cheered loudly as well. He's never seen anything so awesome before. Combat between benders was beyond cool to him. The young airbender couldn't wait to be able to do something like that. He had confidence that he could beat most non-benders with his skill level, but he was doubtful that he could take on a trained bender, no matter the element they wielded.

"Soon…" Zangpo mumbled quietly to himself, thinking about the potential enemies that he'd have to face on his journey to power.

The next couple rounds went as well for The Boulder as the first. The earthbender was creative, the boy would give the man credit where it's due. Zangpo's favorite match so far was when The Boulder had flipped up a large square of stone and smacked his green-masked opponent out of the ring, turning the man into a high speed projectile.

The Boulder's opponent in the fourth round had probably given him the most trouble so far. The other earthbender was lithe and quick, making it very difficult for The Boulder to land a clean hit. He dodged, ducked, dipped, dived, and… dodged. The man with short brown hair was almost as nimble as an airbender would be. Or so he's heard. But, just as Zangpo was beginning to believe that The Boulder had met his match, he pulled through. By predicting his opponent's movements, he was able to successfully launch an attack that would hit him where he was going to be.

Maybe The Boulder wasn't just a showoff for entertainment value? He seemed skilled enough, after all.

Now on his last round, the up and comer's momentum seemed almost unstoppable. His final opponent was a man named SinkHole, he favored burying his opponents in everything from literally sinking them or collapsing a rock-a-lanche on top of them.

Their matchup seemed anticipated, people in the audience were split on who they wanted to win. The entire chamber was filled with chants of either The Boulder or SinkHole, their excitement palpable.

Launching spear after spear of stone towards SinkHole, The Boulder started off aggressive. He was quickly moving from side to side as he advanced, just barely dodging SinkHole's return fire of boulders and columns of solid rock. But as he got closer to his opponent, SinkHole suddenly smirked, swiping his foot across the ground aggressively, effectively turning the area around him and The Boulder into sand.

A look of panic flashed across The Boulders features as he quickly tried to backpedal and gain some distance. However, SinkHole didn't allow him to move anywhere, burying the showy earthbender up to his neck in the soft sand. 

Zangpo was a little confused, was sand bending not a common technique for earthbenders? He could imagine that it may be more difficult to manipulate, having to control each individual grain of sand rather than solid earth. SinkHole was smart, he must have known The Boulder wasn't familiar with sand bending and took advantage of his lack of skill.

With his opponent now neutralized, SinkHole's lips curved into a savage looking grin, a high contrast to The Boulder's fearful gaze. Pulling back his arms with his palms facing forward, his fingers curling to look almost like claws, he then thrust his hands forward aggressively. In response to his will, the whole arena shook violently before half of it seemed to be obliterated into small rock and dust as it was blasted apart. The airbender could vaguely see The Boulder's limp form being sent forcefully out of the arena's boundaries and sent crashing into the empty stands below. 

In awe, the boy stood up and began clapping along with those around him. He didn't know that earthbending could be so powerful. Zangpo knew that each of the four bending styles were powerful in their own ways, but he only saw other bending in action only a few days ago. Seeing such power with his own eyes was much more awesome than simply believing something was powerful.

Jumping down onto what remained of the destroyed stage, Xin Fu congratulated SinkHole with his victory and proclaimed him the champion of Earth Rumble II. He then gave the victor some cool looking belt that the man raised above his head with a large smile splitting his features. SinkHole was a man of few words though, it seemed. He promptly walked off the stage and out of one of the side tunnels after he showed off the champion belt.

"Alright everyone, thank you for coming out, and I hope you all enjoyed the show our benders put on for you! Make sure to come by next year!" Xin Fu voiced loudly, his booming voice bathing over the assembled crowd. In response, the audience continued to cheer even louder before getting up from their seats. One man seemed to be overly zealous, waving his hands up and down intensely before frothing at the mouth and promptly passing out, earning himself a raised eyebrow from Zangpo.

Now that the tournament was over, the airbender left his empty bucket of popcorn in his seat and followed everyone out of the chamber.

The tournament was very educational, each of the fighters seemed to have different bending styles and techniques that he could observe. SinkHole's technique of turning the ground into sand was especially fascinating, and it made Zangpo curious. He was no earthbender, he knew that, but what if he could somehow weaken the structural integrity of something with his air? Maybe vibrate the air at a higher frequency somehow if that were even possible? With no airbenders around, there was no one to tell him what was and wasn't possible, after all. This was the result of Zangpo's imagination running wild.

***

It was night the next day that one could find the young airbender sneaking around the city of Gaoling. He had heard that one of the richest families in the Earth Kingdom, the Beifongs, called Gaoling their home.

Apparently, it was common knowledge that the Beifongs were avid collectors of books and scrolls, especially old ones. Zangpo figured that he could sneak into their estate and maybe, just maybe, snag a couple works about airbenders before moving on to the next town, if they had any. Even if they didn't possess anything written by airbenders, it wouldn't hurt to look. Also, sneaking around a large estate would be good practice for his stealth.

The Beifong's lived at the edge of town. Expectedly, they even had a wall erected around their home separating it from the rest of the town. If what he heard was correct, their family practically owned Gaoling, investing in nearly every business there was.

After little searching, Zangpo spotted the gateway to the Beifong estate, their insignia of a flying pig situated proudly for all to see. There were two armored guards with spears standing on either side of the entrance, just waiting for someone dumb enough to try and sneak past them. Unfortunately for them, the young airbender had gotten pretty good at stealth. 

Sneaking outside of the view of the guards on the far side of the Beifong estate, the boy smoothly jumped over one of the walls and found himself inside of a large beautiful garden. The garden was quiet, and barely lit by the occasional lantern. There was a large pond at the center, with a small bridge going over it. If he wasn't there to sneak into the house in an attempt to steal ancient knowledge, he would stay a little longer to admire the traditional aesthetic of the place.

As quietly and as carefully as he could, Zangpo was quickly making his way across the garden, his feet barely even touching the ground. But, he wasn't careful enough.

After only about a couple dozen steps, the silver-eyed airbender found himself sunk into the ground up to his neck with a gasp before he could even comprehend what was happening. Frantically looking around for the culprit, Zangpo spotted a young girl wearing a white nightdress calmly walking towards him. Just as he was about to call out to her in an attempt to defend his actions for trespassing, the girl flicked her wrist and a rock covered his mouth and seemed to morph around his head.

His eyes widened in surprise, a sliver of fear wiggling its way into his conscious. The girl had trapped him so easily without him even having a chance to try and fight back. Zangpo had no idea anyone was even there. He should have used his air-sensory ability to make sure it was clear first, but he hadn't even thought about it at the time.

The young girl walked closer to him and he began to make out her features. She was small, maybe only a year younger than he was. Her black hair was tied up in a large bun on top of her head, and a couple of locks seemed to frame her pale face.

Stopping only a few paces in front of Zangpo, he was able to make out her most surprising feature yet. The girl was blind—her eyes milky white.

Even though she appeared blind, she seemed to stare directly at him.

"I'm going to talk off your gag, but you are going to be quiet and only talk when I ask you to. My parents are sleeping, and you do not want them or my guards to know you are here or you'll be in real trouble, do you understand?" She demanded in a cold whisper, her voice soft and laced with youth.

Zangpo couldn't do anything except nod his head, so that's what he did. He didn't have any choice but to listen to her, the airbender didn't want his journey to end before it truly began. Maybe he could talk his way out of this? Considering she didn't turn him immediately after she bound him, the girl seemed reasonable enough.

Feeling the boy nod his head, the blind girl made a subtle gesture with a couple of her fingers and his stone gag fell away from his face.

Almost immediately, the boy began to apologize for being there. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be here, I know, please let me go?"

The young earthbending girl's immediate response was a complete deadpan look on her face before rolling her eyes. "What did I literally just say? Only talk when I ask you to." She reminded him with a tone of irritation.

"You're right, I'm sorry-" He rambled nervously.

"Alright , listen," She cut him off before he could go into a full blown apology or something of the like. "Let's start from the top. Who are you?" The girl asked curiously, feeling exasperated with the mystery boy already.

Swallowing audibly as he seemed to try and calm down, he eventually responded to her after only a moment. "My name is Zangpo." Silently rolling his name around in her head, she began to feel his heartbeat to see if he was lying. He wasn't, not that he had any real reason to lie to her anyway. 

"Why are you here, Zangpo?" The girl questioned seriously, wondering what a kid like her could be doing sneaking onto her family's estate. He seemed way too young to be some kind of assassin or something of the like. Unless that was the point? 

Shaking that idea from her head, she decided that was too unlikely. She had subdued him far too easily for him to be anything like a trained killer. Maybe he was a thief? That was the most likely. Was he even a bender? If he was an earthbender, he would have tried to get out of the ground by now.

Zangpo seemed to contemplate his answer before answering her. There was no point lying at the moment, and he doubted he could come up with any reasonable excuse for trespassing so late. "I heard the Beifong family collected books, I just wanted to see if they had anything that I needed."

She raised an eyebrow at that. He wanted books? Her family did indeed collect ancient books and scrolls, but what use would he have for them? Of course, he could try to sell them, the girl bet that he'd get good money for some of the tomes her parents possessed. Maybe he just wanted to read them to learn something? That made sense as well, though books had never really interested her, mostly because she couldn't even read them.

"And why would you want any of my family's books?"

"I'm trying to learn more about my element," He notably hesitated, his heartbeat fluttering. "My goal is to be the best bender in the world, but I can't afford to have someone teach me."

The girl narrowed her eyes at him, shifting her feet slightly to get in a some kind of earthbending stance. "You're lying."

Zangpo widened his eyes. How did she know? He knew that he wasn't the best liar there was, but that was a pretty believable excuse. She couldn't even see him, so it's not like his clothes gave him away.

"Tell the truth." She said menacingly, raising a large rock over her head. 

"Okay okay," Though he didn't want to tell her the truth about him being an airbender, that rock she was holding would probably kill him if she dropped it on his head. He's already lied to her once, but she instantly called him out on it. "I'm an airbender, and from what I know, I am the last one. I have no one to teach me anything, so I was hoping your family had something that could help me." Zangpo uttered quietly, but loud enough for her to hear him.

Now that he told her the truth about him being an airbender, he fully expected her to react the same way his parents had—wrathful and full of disgust.

Instead, she did what he didn't expect. The young earthbender dropped her rock and looked at him in shock, promptly 'pushing' him out of the earth. Zangpo didn't know how high he got launched out of the ground, but it definitely felt like it was higher than five feet when he landed with a wheezing breath.

"Thanks for that." He voiced sarcastically as he regained the air in his lungs.

Looking at him with a thoughtful expression, She knew that he wasn't lying, but it was difficult to believe him. Airbenders had been gone for almost a hundred years, after all. The chance of one finding their way to her house was pretty slim. "Prove it." The earthbender pressed rather eagerly, her thoughtful expression changing into one of excitement.

Still surprised that she wasn't attacking him or spouting vile words into his face, Zangpo blew a light breeze at her, his gentle wind causing her bangs and light dress to flutter.

"So that's what you were doing in the forest…" She said to herself, coming to a sudden realization.

Even if the girl was quiet, Zangpo still heard what she said. Was she the one that saw him in the forest doing airbending? Well, 'saw' isn't exactly accurate, he guessed. "You were the one stalking me." He accused, pointing his finger at the girl.

She scoffed at his accusation. Stalking? That was a little far-fetched for her liking. It was by mere chance that she stumbled across him. The girl had been looking for someplace secluded to train her bending outside of Gaoling. "I wasn't stalking you," She denied with a roll of her eyes. "I felt someone make a racket as I was passing by and got curious." 

"What do you mean 'felt'?" He inquired curiously, tilting his head a little to the side in wonder.

"Well, if you haven't noticed yet, I am blind. I use my bending to see what's going on around me using the vibrations in the earth." The young earthbender explained, her voice a little hesitant in her explanation as though she hadn't told anyone that before.

"That's awesome!" Zangpo exclaimed, much to the girl's confusion. He must have seen the confusion on her face, because he explained. "I use my bending the same way, only I use the air currents in the air." 

His explanation caused the girl to smile. "Now that is awesome." She said with a smile, thinking about how he wasn't so different from her. Sure, he wasn't blind. But if what he said was true, if he was blind, he could use his bending to see much like how she could. He was the first person that the girl had ever told about her bending ability before. Though she couldn't confirm it, the girl presumed that she was the first person he's told about his ability to as well.

Matching her smile, he felt more at ease with her than before now that he wasn't stuck in the ground.

"Now that you know my name, what's yours?" The boy asked innocently.

"I'm Toph, Toph Beifong."

"That's a nice name, it's also cool because it sounds like 'tough.' He noted, his smile becoming larger by a fraction. 

Hearing his comparison of her name sounding like tough, she actually laughed, her smile growing as well. "You're not so bad, Zangpo. Maybe I won't have to crush you after all."