Title: Neutral Jing
Summary: Where Lin picks up her mother's nicknaming habit and Bolin finally gets an earthbending teacher.
Comments: This idea has been buzzing around in my head for a really long time. For the sake of this oneshot, Bolin really has no idea about traditional earthbending. Anyway, enjoy, and please review!
It wasn't until two days after the battle against the Equaists had ended that Bolin realized how amazingly relaxing earthbending was. For the first time in years, he bent for the pure pleasure of it – not to win a pro-bending match, not to protect anyone or fight anyone. It was almost cathartic, what with all that was happening, and while the old waterbending master Katara worked on restoring Korra's bending, he found himself wandering over to the Avatar's old training grounds and practicing his own bending.
He flung disks in all directions, inhaling the crisp air. He was barefoot, as he always practiced, and he surprisingly didn't mind the cold. "Not bad, Twinkletoes." All disks promptly fell to the ground, and Bolin turned to face Lin Beifong, leaning lazily against a wall and smirking. "But your style is too… pro-bending."
Bolin grinned. "Well I am a pro-bender," he said proudly.
All signs of mirth disappeared from Lin's face as she walked towards Bolin. "Might I ask who your earthbending teacher is?"
Bolin simply shrugged. "Don't have one."
This threw Lin for a loop, and she recoiled slightly in shock. "But surely someone must have taught you…"
"Nope!" Bolin answered proudly. "Dad was Earth Kingdom and Mom was Fire Nation, but neither of them were benders. I guess Mako and I just got really lucky. Anyway, I didn't know I could earthbend until after they died, and Mako and I couldn't afford to get a teacher." Lin frowned, and Bolin felt his face heat up. "N-Not that Mako got himself a firebending teacher or anything! We couldn't afford lessons at all, so we just sort of learned by watching other people bend."
Lin simply stared at Bolin with a blank expression, tapping her foot on the ground in a steady rhythm. She paced around him slowly as if to scrutinize him, and the young earthbender couldn't help but feel a bit self-conscious. "You're too light on your feet, Twinkletoes," she said after a long silence. Bolin flinched at the embarrassing nickname. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were an airbender."
"Wh-What's that supposed to mean?" he stammered, glaring and trying to look as ferocious as possible.
Lin simply chuckled, and Bolin vaguely wondered if he was even capable of instilling fear in someone else. She stepped behind him and placed her hands on his shoulders. "Here. Squat down. Legs apart. Shoulders square." Bolin obeyed each command, and she stepped in front of him, taking a similar stance. "You must be as firm and unyielding as the very earth you wish to control."
"Firm and unyielding," Bolin repeated a bit breathlessly. "Got it."
Without warning, Lin clapped a hand over his eyes, causing him to yelp in protest. "Don't struggle," she said as he fidgeted. "This is how my mother taught me earthbending. To master the element, you must feel the earth. Feel its vibrations."
"Vibrations," Bolin repeated. "Got it." But Bolin didn't feel anything. It was just the ground – stone. How could it have vibrations? And then there it was. He couldn't quite describe how he felt when he sensed his first vibrations, but somehow, he was suddenly aware of everything around him, even though he couldn't see anything.
"Breathe," Lin reminded him, and Bolin didn't have to look to know that she was smiling. "Now find something, preferably outside a five meter radius around us, and possess it." Bolin reached out for a disk and raised the palm of his hand to lift it. "Now crush it."
"How?" Bolin asked automatically.
"Do whatever feels… most natural." Bolin clenched his fist, and his eyes flew open as the sound of something exploding reverberated through the training ground. He was met with darkness, as Lin's hand was still there. "Now why don't you try lifting all the disks? All of them at once." Bolin squeezed his eyes shut and rooted himself in his stance. He could feel the vibrations of everything around him – the disks, Lin standing behind him, the pillars and walls of the training ground – all a quiet hum beneath the earth's surface. He couldn't ignore the surge of power that flowed through him as he lifted the disks littered on the ground and the unused disks organized into stacks. He didn't bother waiting for Lin's command as he clenched his fists and shattered them all. He opened his eyes slightly as dust hit his face, and he coughed.
"Wow," was all he said as he stared at the sandy remains of the disks on the ground.
Lin Beifong smiled proudly. "Good job," she said.
Bolin grinned and jumped, pumping his fist in the air. "Yes!"
"I think that's enough for today," Lin said, still smiling. "We should probably head back."
"Hey Chief," Bolin said. "Do you think you could teach me metalbending?"
Lin stared up and crossed her arms. "I suppose I could," she answered. "It will be difficult, however. I can't give you a demonstration."
"That's fine!" Bolin replied. "Thank you, Chief, thank you!" He threw his arms around her and hugged her.
Lin looked rather taken aback, but after some time, she pat his back gently. "We shall continue these lessons later," she said. "You still have a long way to go, Twinkletoes."
"Why do you keep calling me that?" Bolin asked as the two began to walk out of the training grounds.
"Why shouldn't I?" Lin retorted with a wry smile. "You're still too light on your feet. Besides – it's what my mother called the previous Avatar."
"Really? She actually got away with that?"
"She was his earthbending teacher."
And the whole time, Bolin was happy, despite all that was happening around him, and he could only hope Lin Beifong felt the same way.