Chapter 157: Limited Wisdom (2)
"I'm bored!" Toph groaned while stretching her limbs as Nik scowled and glared at the girl... but not that it would have any effect on her since after her outburst she kept on looking aimlessly at the metal-edged glass front with a blank gaze as he continued to drive.
"Why not enter the personal space?"
"Why? Am I annoying you or something?" She frowned, not even believing that it was possible for even a second.
"Very much so!"
Her expression froze before she smirked. "Oh, well... what can you do?"
The underlying goading tone of hers was deliberately to edge him on as they'd been on the road for a full day now and both of them were frustrated in their own right. Of course, Nik wasn't a beast in human flesh that would always try to slake his lust on the girls around him just because he was bored or anything... but that didn't mean he would back down if, let's say, Toph had her thighs surreptitiously rubbing against his as she would constantly lean against him, stretching her legs against the metal counter and sighing constantly like some domestic pet in need.
'And she says she's independent enough,' Nik rolled his eyes. She could say whatever she wanted but Nik only believed her words when it came to earthbending and the like. She was certainly a genius at that and this also made her eccentric otherwise.
Knowing fully well that raising the pitch of her tone and asserting the obvious would make her successfully get on his nerves due to the heat around them, Toph drawled again, tugging against the collar of her green tunic to reveal her sweaty chest, "Fuck! I'm bored!"
His lips twitched. But his patience certainly did have quite a higher limit.
One of his hands, however, finally let go of the rather simple accelerating box that controlled the pace of the tank and annoyingly ruffled her hair, "Shut the fuck up, Toph... or go back into the personal space... better yet, go to your spot on the back and sleep and let me drive in peace!"
Finally, revealing that she did lack in many departments when compared to Nik, Toph scowled, "I'm already pulling on my clothes! Pay attention to me or—"
She couldn't complete her threat and Nik didn't actually care about such threats. What would she do? Find some cactus to romp in the middle of a desert?
Still, seeing that she had crumbled before him, Nik pulled her cheeks with the same hand he used to ruffle her hair and pull her up to seal her lips with his. Only after a few seconds had passed and he felt Toph's body gradually... turning calm did he pull back and sighed.
"Toph, it's too hot right now... can't you just sleep?"
And indeed, it was too hot.
Toph pondered for a second before quickly pulling her top out and then pushing herself upon him to face him while grinding her crotch against his straining crotch. A soft and cute snarl escaped her nostrils, "Heck, no! It's just sweat. Waterbend it away later!"
Nik pursed his lips.
"Toph, quickly wear your clothes..."
"I won't until you fuck me!"
"No, I mean, we've got company!" Nik hissed softly at her while pulling the tank to a stop and quickly pushing her top down on her once again as her hair turned further disheveled.
"I'm gonna kill them!"
She growled.
"Why? They're friends..."
Nik looked at her when she heard a loud, rumbling growl from the sky and a distant scream, "Fire Nation! Finally! Whooo— wait? Nik? That you? Aang! It's Nik!"
And then Toph something HUGE land and kick up a cloud of sound but she didn't need to see with her eyes to view the gigantic beast with a large tail that landed in front of them and then aside from a suspiciously light pair of footsteps, Toph counted one woman, two men, and a brat.
And—
"Aah! What's that?!" Toph suddenly tried to swat away whatever creature had just jumped her only for Nik to place his hand on her shoulder and pull the furry bastard away, "Hey, don't worry. It's a Winged-lemur named Momo. Aang's pet."
Their introduction soon came and others' wonder for Toph only increased as they saw her cursing under her breath while Nik did her hair with a stoic expression.
Demanding pointedly, she looked at the only pair of footsteps that still registered too light and blurry to her, "So? You're the Avatar?"
"Uh... yeah?"
"You don't sound too sure buddy... I don't like this. I'll have you turned more solid in no time."
Toph hummed and crossed her arms once Nik was done tying her hair up in a bun. Finally, Sokka couldn't help but ask, "Hey... Nik. Where's Katara?"
"Well, they wouldn't have imagined me running you into the desert... so they didn't want to travel in the desert for no reason."
"Finally, someone with sense," Sokka cheered before clearing his throat, "Well, these idiots wanted a vacation in the desert, too... but you always struck me everything but an idiot," With a shameless grin, Sokka stepped forward before elbowing his sister's boyfriend, "Say, you came here because of the treasure the Fire Nation is searching, right?"
"You guys know?" Nik raised his brows and looked at them before nodding, "Something like that. We ran into Fire Nation in a nearby village and they told us what they knew."
It's as they said. The Fire Nation's interest in the Si Wong Desert aside from the controlling the tribes within was to attain a treasure of some sort that could bring about an absolute advantage to them.
"But as long as you want to meet, all you need to do is enter the Personal Space. They're all inside, living and relaxing... while I'm out here..." Nik mumbled while letting out an exhausted sigh, "With her..."
His expression was all the other group needed to be wary of the impishly grinning blind girl.
"Um... King Bumi said that my Mom left with Mai... she wouldn't be there, right?" Tom-Tom questioned at this moment as Nik grinned, "Nah, she isn't."
And the foolishly naive boy believed the big bad wolf.
---
"No! Please!"
*Pah*
Another spank resounded as everyone grew silent for a second before continuing their discussion with only Michi and Tom-Tom not being a part of it.
Sokka couldn't help but be uncomfortable for a second as he and Rena were the first to realize... the changes and the meaning of addition to Nik's group. It was quite obvious but if Sun couldn't see things with Meng despite the hints then he certainly couldn't see it here, too. But at the moment, Sokka kept to himself while he heard about Katara's encounter with the men of his tribe and finally a relaxed exhale emerged from his parted lips.
"Then... I'm no longer a chieftain, right?"
"Well," Katara rubbed the back of her head as she explained wryly once she saw how relaxed Sokka looked, "They said that since you adopted the role of responsibility, and since dad was also the chieftain... you're going to take their responsibility once we return."
His expression froze before he clicked his tongue, "Lazy bastards!" He muttered under his breath.
And finally, Nik revealed the mysterious map to the other group and they couldn't help but fall thoughtful. Koh's actions hadn't only endangered Nik but it had also almost killed Sokka, too. Aang wasn't a big fan either. But this was the best thing about sharing information. Aang's revelation that he could now more easily connect with his past lives meant that the boy could scare off spirits and others hadn't stayed weak either.
Besides, Aang wanted to learn Earthbending and Toph readily agreed to teach someone else but when she began to pat the boy down and then return to Nik's side with a shake of her head... others couldn't help but feel a little awkward.
And this time, it was Poppy's turn to drag her daughter away. Although she hadn't ever been physical with Toph... she felt it was about time to change a little to keep up with her daughter's behavior. After all, no mother worth her salt would put up even with a tyrant, much less a bratty imp like her.
"Toph! What is that plugged inside of you!" The loud gasp caused others to feel embarrassed... too embarrassed.
Although, Nik wasn't. The sound of Toph getting spanked and her embarrassed cries were music to his ears.
Toph felt that had it been previously, she wouldn't have tolerated Poppy's spanks at all... but now they had opened up, Toph felt naturally vulnerable in front of her mother.
Once everything was shared and once it was made clear that the other group didn't want to turn Nik into some form of carriage, they all came out and flew on Appa this time.
There was a moment of silence as Sokka glanced at Nik a few times until Nik finally questioned, "What's up?"
"Nothing..." Sokka muttered and shook his head while Rena smiled like usual, "He's just worried for Katara."
Nik blinked in confusion.
"Did I... do something? Did she say something to you? I thought she was quite happy to stay inside while I see what was in the desert. We have been traveling for so long... so many of them just wanted to take a couple of days for themselves."
"It's not that..." Sokka shook his head, "And probably... it's just me... I just feel a little weird, dude. The first time we met, you came from the sky naked... and now I know why but... I'm just worried for Katara... no, you're a nice guy and all, but you know?"
"He's jealous," Sun picked his nose and flung the dry treasure off of Appa as Sokka spat, "Fuck, no. Seriously... I just..."
"I get that," Nik nodded, "You think I will get bored of her..."
Sokka's gaze flickered and he nodded eventually while Nik rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, "Dude... it just physically hurts to talk about this with you... but if you knew the things we do... bored is the last word that would come into your mind."
"Hey! That's my sister!"
"See?" Nik shrugged, "I'm not trying to be disrespectful... but... " he hummed and closed his eyes to think his words carefully since he did find Sokka a great friend... and probably his only friend in the same age group, "I like your sister... and when I do tell her everything... I want her to marry me..."
His words caused everyone to look at him.
Sun, Sokka, Rena, Aang, and Momo.
*Aaannggggghhhhh*
Appa's growl resounded as Aang translated, "Appa likes the idea."
"Wait, back-up... you're staying?"
Rena couldn't help but frown, "Why, Nik, were you going somewhere?"
"It's complicated."
Nik and Sokka uttered in tandem and Nik pondered for a second before stating, "I still don't know... I mean, I'm not a guy with a plan. But as I said, my intentions with the girls—"
"You mean, Harem," Sun corrected as Sokka's and Nik's expressions turned bleak. Of course, he meant harem. But he also had to consider Sokka's feelings! The dude is cool as hell!
Both Nik and Sokka looked at one another and the latter finally spoke up, "You're right... it physically hurts right now. But..." He gave Nik the obvious warning look.
"Yeah," Nik smiled and nodded. Hurting Katara, or others was the last thing he wanted... maybe not Toph. She'd been constantly making Nik want to truly rough her up until she was nothing but a slobbering mess... but on another thought, that may exactly be what Toph want from him given how she'd silently ridiculed Aang for his childish frame... because he was still a child!
"Oh," Nik exclaimed as a furious little figure suddenly appeared in front of him because she was screaming his name constantly within the personal space and the moment she felt the dry breeze hit her, she calmed down and felt around. Feeling the familiar lap, Toph ignored the obvious discomfort she felt over her butt after her mother's tactics...
She had gotten crazy and surely, Toph now wanted to avoid infuriating her mother. There weren't any consequences before but now there were reddening ones.
"So? What did I miss?" Toph played it cool for a second as Sokka suddenly broke into laughter.
"What did I miss?" He mocked her tone, "Your mom's spanking! Oooh, I should also say that to Tom when he comes out!"
His words made Toph blush with anger.
"You and me! Right now!" She pointed towards Appa's tail as Nik nudged her shoulder until she was pointing in the right direction.
"Pfft, no way I'm fighting a blind girl."
"Afraid that I'll kick your ass?"
Sokka was actually afraid. None from Nik's side had brushed away Toph's skills so chances were she would kick his ass if they fight. Of course, since he could win without fighting, he did just that.
"Afraid? Oh, I'm afraid of your mother... she's hella scary. You? Not so much."
As Toph clenched her jaws with indignation, she eventually scoffed and leaned her head under Nik's chin.
"There's no need to fight," Nik smiled and hugged Toph as Rena shot Sokka a glare, "Why don't you ever hug me like that?"
"Why?" Sokka looked visibly confused and Toph instantly grinned, "Hah! You're fucking dumb, aren't you? It's the sweetest spot to sit on!"
Sokka glared at Toph... but again, that wouldn't work as she all but sprawled on Nik with a silly grin.
"Hey, guys, I think we're here," Aang called out and let Appa land. Once everyone had gotten off, Toph stayed still... curiously rubbing Appa's furry body and then submerging herself in the fur while everyone looked around. While Nik's map hadn't been concise, had directed them enough to make it clear that the 'treasure' must be somewhere near but without any indicator... all they could watch was the unending sand.
"Ohhhh, this is cool. Appa, right? Your fur is awesome~!" Toph giggled and then called out, "Use your legs, genius!"
"Oh, what the hell would we do with our legs?" Sokka complained while Nik blinked and smiled, "She didn't mean that for you."
Closing his eyes, Nik took off his boots and stomped his feet into the ground. Bearing through the sheer heat of the coarse sand, Nik found his dark vision completely layered by sand and within it was... a gigantic structure!
Taking a deep breath, Nik bit his lips and let out a strained grunt. The veins in his body began to positively pop out. For a second, Toph stopped playing with Appa and looked at him with her eyes widened in surprise. She had only heard of Nik's raw abilities from Katara but this was the first time she was seeing them in action.
"Woah!"
Sun muttered in surprise. Last he checked, Nik barely kept a pebble afloat but now...
As the sandy ground shook, a lone tower began to slowly rise from the ground as Nik's face turned red from exertion. Yet, he didn't stop. The surrounding sand had begun to harden and turned into a platform to support the giant structure still beneath this tower and continued to pull it up.
"Just a little more!" He groaned, his knees quivered as even with his amazing chi reserves, pulling up a giant structure like this was a task in its own right that would leave him sore the next day. Finally, he could only bring out the full length of the tower... which was only one-twentieth if not thirtieth of the entire structure.
"Phew~" Toph whistled from the side as she walked over to Nik, patting his back, "Katara and Suki weren't lying. You just aren't a beast in the bed."
His face crumbled as Sokka groaned out loud, too.
Rena and others were amused by the sheer embarrassment and second-hand embarrassment Nik and Sokka felt due to her words.
"Just... shut it," Nik scoffed and huffed before changing the topic of conversation, "So? Is this the so-called treasure?"
Of course, he wasn't expecting any confirmation. They didn't know what this structure was and it was too vast to just sense with Seismic Sense which was already quite cushioned by all the sand around them.
"We should go inside and check it," Rena muttered and Nik nodded.
"What about Appa?" Aang questioned as Toph grinned, "Leave the big guy to me!... Take Momo with you though."
"Or... it's just an idea... why don't I take Appa with me?" Nik blinked and it then hit Aang's group once again just how convenient Nik's existence was. Appa was quite cordial and once he was within Nik's personal space with Momo, the group entered the tower from the only window at the top using earthbending. Their group had three Earthbenders now, it would be quite stupid to not use the situation to their advantage and they soon slid down an earthen platform within the empty tower before entering a gigantic structure full of shelves, platforms, and even more isolated rooms that probably held more books and scrolls.
The moment Toph sensed where they'd entered, her brows scrunched, "Should have stayed outside..."
***
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