Post by Teяa253 on May 18, 2008 9:18:06 GMT 1
the 14th installment of the "The Cycle Survived" series.
since bending is not all mastered in a day, these two chapters span about 2 weeks each, totaling about a month.
remember, the world is seemingly at peace, but there is that strange unrest floating around...
THE EARTH KINGDOM QUEEN (II)
My earthbending training with Toph continued. Toph had told me that with the rate I was learning it; I could be a master earthbender by the end of the 5th week. We were at the beginning of the 4th week when Toph began teaching me the 3rd of her 4 moves.
“This one may not seem to be an earthbending move,” she said, “but it is, and that’s what makes it deadly. Watch me.”
I found it somewhat ironic that Toph was telling me to see and watch things, but I dared not question her training. Her first words to me
had still not left me.
“Kai Serenes II,” she had said, “if you listen to everything I say, no matter how stupid it may seem, you’ll become an earthbender as good as I am. Just never question my logic and you’ll be alright.”
In the meantime though, Sokka had showed up. I had forgotten that he was the Earth King, since he was married to Toph, who was queen. However, it seemed that of the two, Toph was the one with the authority. Sokka however, did not seem to mind. Occasionally we’d see him walking by, but when Toph and I were training, we had the whole ground to ourselves.
“Anyways,” Toph continued, “watch me closely.” Toph stood back, bent down as if she was picking up something, and then dashed right into me, knocking me down.
“Why did you do that,” I began to ask, but then took it back. “Sorry.” I said, for I feared that I was questioning Toph’s logic.
“Gee, Kai,” she said, “I don’t get angry over every little thing you do. My logic isn’t here to be worshipped—every student of mine needs that barefoot rudeness that makes them question the truth, not worship it.”
“I’m sorry,” I said
“Ah,” she exclaimed, “you’re doing it again!” Toph got up behind me and patted me on the back.
“Look,” she said, “I’m blind, I’m crude, and I’m queen. Do what I say, and I say don’t worry about it. You’re my best student I’ve ever head, and you’re not even from the earth kingdom. Now normally I’m not one who praises people, but you’re special, kid. Remember that, for I don’t say that often. Now, as for why I did that—that is the 3rd move. However, if you quickly do this before striking, you’ll do much more damage.”
Toph bended some earth in front of her entire body and stood there in her attack stance.
“Now normally I would have already dashed forward, and you would have been down. However, I think I’ll let you refresh your healing skills.” Toph paused, and turned to my mother, motioning her to come here. She seemed to know something I did not.
“Mother,” I exclaimed, “what are you doing?”
She did not respond. I suddenly put two and two together and knew what Toph had in mind. Sure enough, to my horror, I was right. Toph had gathered herself with earth and surrounded herself with earth. In that selfsame split-second, she had linked this with the other part of the move, and shot right into my mother. Kai Serenes I was blasted off her feet and landed several feet away, unconscious.
“What did you do!?!” I exclaimed, horrified at what I had just seen,
“I demonstrated the awesome power of the move I’m about to teach you,” Toph replied, “so heal her quickly and I’ll show you.”
I looked over at Toph, calmly standing there, a grin on her face, her arms folded and her legs crossed. I quickly raced towards my mother and used my abilities to revitalize her.
“Mother,” I exclaimed, “don’t do that, please! You know how much that scares me—that’s my worst nightmare. I can’t lose you—I just can’t!”
“Kai,” she said calmly, acting as if nothing had happened—my healing had done the trick; “I was the one who suggested that to Toph. Originally she was going to do it to you, but she knew it would be more motivating if you saw it happen to me. I understand your feelings towards me Kai, and I respect them. Some lessons must be learned in difficult ways though.”
“So,” said Toph from behind us, “you ready to continue, Kai?”
A hug from my mother made me smile again, and she smiled back. I worried about her more because she was getting older.
“So to begin,” said Toph abruptly, “first concentrate on dragging earth in towards your face. This move will obscure your vision, so remember the lesson I taught you about waiting and listening. It is invaluable for this movement.
I practiced bending the earth from around me onto my face, chest, and limbs. Last week Toph has taught me how to bend earth into a rock to throw, and so this was not too much different. I then dashed forward at her. She delved underground and dodged it, and so I did the same, appearing behind her and hitting her this time with her move, sending her sprawling on all fours.
“Yeah!” she said, “now you’re busting out some real earthbending skills.”
I smiled. I had finished Toph’s 3rd move. A couple days later, she was coming to teach me the 4th and final move.
“Now,” she said, “compared to the other moves,” she said, “this one is relatively simple. All you do is crouch down and punch the ground. That earthquake move I showed you on the first day is part of that. The only difference is you hit the ground multiple times, while that one you only hit the ground once. It’s best used if you get on your knees, but if you only have time to crouch down, it’s okay.”
Toph paused, and then said one last thing;
“You have to feel the earth. If you have a strong will and firm resolve, you’ll be able to master it.”
I had this. My strong will was in the support of my mother and the love of everything good. I fell to my knees and began nailing the ground. Toph mimicked my movements, or, rather, I was mimicking her.
“Excellent,” she said after I had mastered the move a few days later. It was the end of the 4th week. My first two had been spent on the basics and the first 2 moves, and these next two had been for the other 2 moves. I now had the key to my “freedom”.
“Toph,” I said, “I’m going to accept your challenge.”
“Huh?” she asked, but then understood what I meant. “Go for it.”
I jumped up and hit the ground with sheer force. After I did that I went straight into her earthquake move and began hitting the ground.
“I’ll check for the initial shockwave,” she said, chuckling, and sure enough, a few minutes later, the walls twitched.
“Congratulations, Kai,” she said, “you have completed my training. However, if you want a bonus, you can learn one more technique form me that I teach only to those deemed worthy of facing the Earth Queen herself—that’s me by the way.” She laughed when she said this; “if you can do it by the end of today, I’ll even join your group.”
I looked at my mother, and she nodded indicating it was my choice.
“Okay,” I said gently, “I accept your challenge.”
“Thing is,” said Toph, “Just like with earthbending training, if you fail, you stay till you learn it, but get no reward.”
“Okay,” I said, feeling confident, “what is it?”
“Follow me,” she said, and took me into a chamber surrounded by two metal doors. She pushed me in and locked them.
“Your objective,” I heard her say from the other side, “is metalbending. Bend the doors open and escape—if you ever want to.”
I closed my eyes, remembering the subtle hints Toph had dropped regarding this. I felt the doors for a long time for the “impurities” in them. I could feel them after putting my hands there.
“I’m waiting,” said Toph from behind the doors. She had been standing there for several hours waiting for me to learn her trick.
I tightened my resolve, stuck my fingers in the crack in the door, and pulled them apart, bending them with my newfound earth—and metal—bending skills.
“Congratulations, Kai,” said Toph happily, “not only have you gained the Earth Queen as a member of your group, but you are also now a metalbender.” Toph then took me back outside, where I watched the sunset with my mother. Next up was firebending, and I wanted to see who the new Fire Lady was...
~Kai~
since bending is not all mastered in a day, these two chapters span about 2 weeks each, totaling about a month.
remember, the world is seemingly at peace, but there is that strange unrest floating around...
THE EARTH KINGDOM QUEEN (II)
My earthbending training with Toph continued. Toph had told me that with the rate I was learning it; I could be a master earthbender by the end of the 5th week. We were at the beginning of the 4th week when Toph began teaching me the 3rd of her 4 moves.
“This one may not seem to be an earthbending move,” she said, “but it is, and that’s what makes it deadly. Watch me.”
I found it somewhat ironic that Toph was telling me to see and watch things, but I dared not question her training. Her first words to me
had still not left me.
“Kai Serenes II,” she had said, “if you listen to everything I say, no matter how stupid it may seem, you’ll become an earthbender as good as I am. Just never question my logic and you’ll be alright.”
In the meantime though, Sokka had showed up. I had forgotten that he was the Earth King, since he was married to Toph, who was queen. However, it seemed that of the two, Toph was the one with the authority. Sokka however, did not seem to mind. Occasionally we’d see him walking by, but when Toph and I were training, we had the whole ground to ourselves.
“Anyways,” Toph continued, “watch me closely.” Toph stood back, bent down as if she was picking up something, and then dashed right into me, knocking me down.
“Why did you do that,” I began to ask, but then took it back. “Sorry.” I said, for I feared that I was questioning Toph’s logic.
“Gee, Kai,” she said, “I don’t get angry over every little thing you do. My logic isn’t here to be worshipped—every student of mine needs that barefoot rudeness that makes them question the truth, not worship it.”
“I’m sorry,” I said
“Ah,” she exclaimed, “you’re doing it again!” Toph got up behind me and patted me on the back.
“Look,” she said, “I’m blind, I’m crude, and I’m queen. Do what I say, and I say don’t worry about it. You’re my best student I’ve ever head, and you’re not even from the earth kingdom. Now normally I’m not one who praises people, but you’re special, kid. Remember that, for I don’t say that often. Now, as for why I did that—that is the 3rd move. However, if you quickly do this before striking, you’ll do much more damage.”
Toph bended some earth in front of her entire body and stood there in her attack stance.
“Now normally I would have already dashed forward, and you would have been down. However, I think I’ll let you refresh your healing skills.” Toph paused, and turned to my mother, motioning her to come here. She seemed to know something I did not.
“Mother,” I exclaimed, “what are you doing?”
She did not respond. I suddenly put two and two together and knew what Toph had in mind. Sure enough, to my horror, I was right. Toph had gathered herself with earth and surrounded herself with earth. In that selfsame split-second, she had linked this with the other part of the move, and shot right into my mother. Kai Serenes I was blasted off her feet and landed several feet away, unconscious.
“What did you do!?!” I exclaimed, horrified at what I had just seen,
“I demonstrated the awesome power of the move I’m about to teach you,” Toph replied, “so heal her quickly and I’ll show you.”
I looked over at Toph, calmly standing there, a grin on her face, her arms folded and her legs crossed. I quickly raced towards my mother and used my abilities to revitalize her.
“Mother,” I exclaimed, “don’t do that, please! You know how much that scares me—that’s my worst nightmare. I can’t lose you—I just can’t!”
“Kai,” she said calmly, acting as if nothing had happened—my healing had done the trick; “I was the one who suggested that to Toph. Originally she was going to do it to you, but she knew it would be more motivating if you saw it happen to me. I understand your feelings towards me Kai, and I respect them. Some lessons must be learned in difficult ways though.”
“So,” said Toph from behind us, “you ready to continue, Kai?”
A hug from my mother made me smile again, and she smiled back. I worried about her more because she was getting older.
“So to begin,” said Toph abruptly, “first concentrate on dragging earth in towards your face. This move will obscure your vision, so remember the lesson I taught you about waiting and listening. It is invaluable for this movement.
I practiced bending the earth from around me onto my face, chest, and limbs. Last week Toph has taught me how to bend earth into a rock to throw, and so this was not too much different. I then dashed forward at her. She delved underground and dodged it, and so I did the same, appearing behind her and hitting her this time with her move, sending her sprawling on all fours.
“Yeah!” she said, “now you’re busting out some real earthbending skills.”
I smiled. I had finished Toph’s 3rd move. A couple days later, she was coming to teach me the 4th and final move.
“Now,” she said, “compared to the other moves,” she said, “this one is relatively simple. All you do is crouch down and punch the ground. That earthquake move I showed you on the first day is part of that. The only difference is you hit the ground multiple times, while that one you only hit the ground once. It’s best used if you get on your knees, but if you only have time to crouch down, it’s okay.”
Toph paused, and then said one last thing;
“You have to feel the earth. If you have a strong will and firm resolve, you’ll be able to master it.”
I had this. My strong will was in the support of my mother and the love of everything good. I fell to my knees and began nailing the ground. Toph mimicked my movements, or, rather, I was mimicking her.
“Excellent,” she said after I had mastered the move a few days later. It was the end of the 4th week. My first two had been spent on the basics and the first 2 moves, and these next two had been for the other 2 moves. I now had the key to my “freedom”.
“Toph,” I said, “I’m going to accept your challenge.”
“Huh?” she asked, but then understood what I meant. “Go for it.”
I jumped up and hit the ground with sheer force. After I did that I went straight into her earthquake move and began hitting the ground.
“I’ll check for the initial shockwave,” she said, chuckling, and sure enough, a few minutes later, the walls twitched.
“Congratulations, Kai,” she said, “you have completed my training. However, if you want a bonus, you can learn one more technique form me that I teach only to those deemed worthy of facing the Earth Queen herself—that’s me by the way.” She laughed when she said this; “if you can do it by the end of today, I’ll even join your group.”
I looked at my mother, and she nodded indicating it was my choice.
“Okay,” I said gently, “I accept your challenge.”
“Thing is,” said Toph, “Just like with earthbending training, if you fail, you stay till you learn it, but get no reward.”
“Okay,” I said, feeling confident, “what is it?”
“Follow me,” she said, and took me into a chamber surrounded by two metal doors. She pushed me in and locked them.
“Your objective,” I heard her say from the other side, “is metalbending. Bend the doors open and escape—if you ever want to.”
I closed my eyes, remembering the subtle hints Toph had dropped regarding this. I felt the doors for a long time for the “impurities” in them. I could feel them after putting my hands there.
“I’m waiting,” said Toph from behind the doors. She had been standing there for several hours waiting for me to learn her trick.
I tightened my resolve, stuck my fingers in the crack in the door, and pulled them apart, bending them with my newfound earth—and metal—bending skills.
“Congratulations, Kai,” said Toph happily, “not only have you gained the Earth Queen as a member of your group, but you are also now a metalbender.” Toph then took me back outside, where I watched the sunset with my mother. Next up was firebending, and I wanted to see who the new Fire Lady was...
~Kai~
