Weiss cursed softly at the tiny pebble that bit through her soft foot, lifting her leg off the ground to pick it off. She eyed the ground for more pointy rocks to avoid as she carefully tip-toed through the valley, trailing Yang who casually walked barefoot on the rough ground. It was Yang's turn to teach Weiss after the Avatar had spent the morning learning airbending with Ruby which resulting in Weiss being flustered upon being defeated by the spinning gates. Yang had been relentless in her teasing through lunch and now it was just the two of them alone. Weiss was already upset and now she had to deal with this.
"You should start walking normally, get your feet used to the ground." Yang spoke out suddenly, "You're gonna hurt your toes if you keep tip-toeing like that."
"It's not my fault! Everything here is sharp! It's like a damn minefield." Weiss huffed, she stepped on another pebble and let out a small noise before picking it off her foot. Yang could only chuckle before she stopped walking. She stomped the ground hard and did a motion with both hands to clear the surrounding area of small rocks. She turned around with that giant grin of hers.
"There, now you can relax."
Weiss furrowed her brow, letting her feet go completely flat against the ground. Yang unclipped her emerald cloak and allowed it to fall casually around her feet.
"Right, now we can start teaching you to earthbend proper." Yang crossed her massive arms against her chest.
"Today, we are gonna go through the fundamentals of the style and see how fast you can pick this up."
"But...there's nothing here?" Weiss looked confused. The area was desolate, devoid of almost any form of life.
"Yeah, there is. There's us and the ground beneath us. All of the tools we need is right here for us to use. No fancy training equipment or anything."
Weiss looked a bit concerned at Yang's statement. She was out here alone with one of the biggest oafs she ever laid eyes upon, far from the city and the fact that she was forced to walk all the way to the valley sans shoes added insult to injury.
"Could you explain why I can't learn earthbending without shoes at least?"
"Man you are stuck on that aren't you?" Yang let herself smirk a bit.
"Being barefoot helps with the training, helps you sense the changes around you much better than with shoes. Earthbenders rely on our natural connection with the ground to perform at our best and what better way to stay connected then with nothing obscuring you and the earth."
Weiss looked surprised, Yang's explanation made sense.
"Earthbending relies on us being able to switch between offense and defense at a moment's notice. We must be able to endure the attacks of our enemies and counter once the opportunity is given. We remain rooted on the ground like the stones around us, taking everything head-on. Think you can handle that princess?"
"Of course! I'll master this in no time!" Weiss was determined to ace Yang's training. How hard could it be to master shooting rocks. The evil grin on Yang's face however spoke volumes. She stomped the ground and took a traditional earthbending stance that caught Weiss by surprise.
"Alright, let's get started!"