"Yes! Today's the day! Can you believe it?"
Aang bounced around the campsite with Air Bending, clearly unable to contain his excitement. Apparently, a single day of sleep was all it took for him to return to his usual cheerful self.
"After all that time searching for a teacher, I'm finally starting my Earth Bending training!" Skipping across the camp, he arrived at where Katara and Sokka were still sleeping. "And this place, it's just perfect for Earth Bending, don't you think?"
"..." He blinked and looked down at Sokka. "Sokka?"
The only response he received was a tired groan.
"Oh, you're still sleeping, huh?"
Sokka cracked open an eye and shot him a glare. It did absolutely nothing to dampen Aang's excitement, though.
"Sorry." He whispered with a sheepish smile.
Meanwhile...
"I'll be doing my own training while you teach Aang," I told Toph as I combed through her hair. "Go easy on the kid, and remember what I told you about teaching people. Be patient. Explain what you're doing while you guide him through it."
"Yeah, yeah, alright." She waved a hand dismissively. "You already told me yesterday."
Patiently sitting still, she waited for me to finish tying up her hair. Once I was done, she hopped to her feet with a grin.
"No promises if he does something stupid, though."
"... Just don't kill him."
Toph snorted as she opened the flap of the tent and exited the tent.
"Good morning, Earth Bending student! It's time to learn how to Bend earth!"
Shaking my head with a chuckle, I reached for my backpack and dug through its contents.
Spirits, I packed a lot of things in here. The thing had to weigh nearly forty kilos by now.
After a bit of searching, my hand finally closed around what I was looking for.
"There we go."
One by one, I laid the items out on the ground. Hand wraps, iron bars of various sizes, a back cushion, and a yoga mat.
Simple equipment, really, but with how much traveling we'll be doing, they covered everything I needed without adding too much extra weight.
Gathering everything into my arms, I stepped out of the tent.
"Morning, everyone," I greeted the now-awake group as I made my way over to Toph.
"Could you make me some weights?" I asked, holding up the iron bars. "Something that can fit onto these."
She hummed and stomped a foot against the ground.
A chunk of earth rose up beneath us.
"This," she said, glancing toward Aang as she split it cleanly with a sharp chop, "is something a master Earth Bender can do freely."
She grabbed the rising stone and began shaping it like clay, molding it with practical ease. Within moments, several rough stone discs rested neatly on the ground.
"You can make almost anything out of earth if you put your mind to it," she continued. "It takes time to make something detailed, though. But it's useful when you need something quick and simple."
"Cool!" Aang's eyes lit up, stars sparkling in them.
Crouching to inspect the weights, I gave them a satisfied nod. "Thanks. I'll leave you guys to it then."
"Where are you going?" Katara asked, curious.
"Training. More specifically, body conditioning. These muscles don't train themselves." I flexed my bicep to prove my point.
I then lifted the makeshift barbell and rested it over my shoulder while the rest of my equipment hung from my other arm.
"Wanna come along? A little muscle will do you good in the long run. You too, Sokka."
"Me? I'm so coming along!" Sokka immediately shot up from his sleeping bag.
I gave him a small smile.
"Here."
He yelped as I tossed him one of the dumbbells, watching with quiet amusement as he struggled to lift it with both hands. I then looked over at Katara.
"Well... I think I should keep an eye out of Aang."
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I had modern knowledge of body training thanks to Zero and his strange obsession with martial arts and combat media. Still, I was surprised to realize that some of Sokka's routines—things he'd been doing since childhood—overlapped with some aspects of modern training methods.
"You know, Renji, I gotta ask," Sokka said, straining as he deadlifted the barbell. I had to reduce the weight for him to even carry the thing. "You're a Fire Bender, right? Why didn't you use your Fire Bending when you fought that Ty Lee girl?"
"Hm." I paused, considering it as I stopped what I was doing. "I'm just not used to using my Bending in fights, I guess."
"Not used to?" He repeated, confused.
"Well..." I mulled it over. A second later, I snapped my fingers.
"Think about it like this. Let's say you just discovered you could Water Bend—but you were born in the Fire Nation of all places. What do you think would happen if you went around saying, 'Hey, I can Water Bend!' in a place filled with civilians and officials who hate anything outside their nation?"
... A long "Ooooh" followed as it clicked for him.
"Yeah." I nodded. "The Earth Kingdom isn't as bad as the Fire Nation, but there's still some prejudice against anything that comes from the Fire Nation, including Fire Bending. I had to hide it."
My hand brushed through my hair. "Then again, not that I can really hide my ancestry anyway—my hair and eyes give me away instantly—but people can still tolerate an orphan that can't Bend fire."
"Not even the Beifongs? Your employers didn't know about your Fire Bending?"
"I've only shown my Fire Bending to Toph, and I only use it rarely during our spars. As for Mr. and Mrs. Beifong, well..." I paused, thinking back to when it had slipped out. "I'm certain that I bluffed my way out of that one."
After giving him a quick rundown of what happened in the Fire Nation, Sokka just stared at me.
"...Uh huh. I'm sure they totally believed you."
"Right?" I smirked, thumbing my nose with a bit of pride. "I'd admit that lying is not my strong suit, but that's one I'm actually proud of."
"In any case, that's also why I rely on martial arts instead of Bending—still, I do plan to incorporate more of it into my style. That's the other reason why I instantly denied teaching Aang Fire Bending." I shrugged. It was the question that came after the group discovered that I was a Fire Bender. "My Fire Bending is mediocre at best. I'm not letting the Avatar learn my third-rate, self-taught Bending skills when a more competent Fire Bender could teach him instead."
I gave a breathless chuckle. "Heck, I'd even sit down and learn alongside Aang if we can find one."
"... Think you could spar with me?" Sokka suddenly asked after a brief moment of silence. "If that Azula princess is around, that means Ty Lee will probably be around too. I'd rather fight her than let any of you guys—I can at least distract her while you Benders do your whole Bending shtick against other Benders."
I placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Dude," I said. "I'll do you one better. I've got a decent understanding of her fighting style, so I'll spar with you and teach you how to deal with it. Next time we fight, you'll have the advantage."
I raised a fist toward him.
Sokka grinned and bumped it with his own.
"Deal! Don't feel bad if I beat you, though. They don't call me the head warrior of the Southern Water Tribe for nothing!"
I let out a short laugh.
"Oh, buddy... Just get ready to be eating dirt from now on."
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NEXT UPDATE: 2 July, Thursday
A/N: We hit the goal of 5 new paid patrons in just a week! WOW!
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I'll do my best to fit it in my schedule!
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