Disclaimer: Not mine.
A/N: Hey guys sorry it's been a minute. Just wanna say hey to new Story Alert and Fav Story readers: Melanda. You're awesome! On with the show!
Sakari clutched the blanket around her. Being out of the rain had made it easier for them all to dry off but even sitting around the fire didn't help her as she shivered again.
Toph, the blind Master Earthbender her father had boasted about, had brought them to an underground cavern, much to Houjin's despair. And the place wasn't any were near as nice as the one Katara, Mai, and Iroh had helped to build but Toph explained they hadn't had the resources. Mostly their home was made up of tunnels, some visible, some not. Walls shifted constantly, opening up to places like where they sat now in the main chamber, and to bedrooms with rocky beds and practice chambers, almost every inch of the place lit with torches.
After they had escaped Ba Sing Se, Toph had chosen to stay near the former Earth Kingdom City, just on the other side of the Serpent's pass. People leaving the city, Earthbenders and others of the like, were also seeking refugee and Toph provided it. They hid there in their little underground home, only leaving to fetch supplies from the nearest village.
Here though, they had been safe. Here they could not only keep an ear and an eye out on the ongoing siege but they were also able to freely practice Earthbending. It wasn't just about building like Earthbenders stuck in the city were forced to do. Here they were able to practice how to fight, just in case of course.
Toph had wanted to fight, wanted to take back the Earth Kingdom but Katara and Sokka had encouraged her to wait. The Avatar would reach age soon enough. Without the Avatar, all would be for naught. Toph would be charged with teaching the Avatar Earthbending and when the girl was fully trained, they'd get back what was rightfully theirs.
Sakari didn't tell Toph that she didn't think she'd ever be ready. She hated the fact that everyone stared at her with this great sense of wonder and awe and faith. She didn't have that much faith in herself at all, didn't think even Houjin did.
Why she cared so much about what he thought about her, she'd never truly understand but it did matter. She wanted him to have faith in her, faith that she'd be a great Avatar. Until he did . . . .
A wooden, bowl-like cup appeared in front of her face, the liquid inside steaming so appealingly.
Sakari looked up to see Houjin standing in front of her, holding the cup. She smiled at him, taking the cup. "Thank you. I mean for everything not just the soup."
Houjin shrugged. "Wouldn't help us any if you were to die or get sick. You're our last means of freedom."
Sakari's smile fell and she looked down. "Oh. Okay."
Houjin nodded before he walked off, leaving her to go and speak with a man Toph had introduced as Haru.
"He's lying you know." Sakari looked to her left to see Toph sitting next to her, a slight smile on her face. "Well, sort of. A lot of what he said was true but they aren't his only reasons."
Sakari stared at her. "How can you tell?"
Toph sipped on her soup, letting out a belch before she continued. "I was born blind. I learned Earthbending from the Badger Moles. They taught me that I could 'see' without actually seeing. I can feel the vibrations in the ground through my feet. It helps me to see where I'm going, who I'm fighting, and, like Houjin, who's lying. It comes in handy when people try to send spies into our territory."
"Really?" Sakari asked, amazed. "That sounds incredible. Could you teach me how to do that?"
Toph smirked. "It's not that easy but I can teach you what you can learn. Haru normally teaches the others, near noon. You'll be working with him but you also be working with me. Earth is not an easy element so don't think you'll be getting any easy treatment."
"Of course not," Sakari agreed enthusiastically.
"Good. We'll start first thing tomorrow morning."
"Um. How is this possibly –?"
"Concentrate!"
Sakari's mouth snapped shut at her Master's interruption. It was the only thing she could do since she couldn't see anything. Toph had forced her to put a blindfold on.
The past two days had been hard. Working with Haru, who was kind but firm, was hard enough. Of course she was far behind some of the other students and knew little to nothing about Earthbending. It wasn't like Waterbending, which was all about moving with the flow; no Earthbending involved her hitting things straight on like Toph forever reminded her.
But Toph wasn't patient like Haru. Toph was just as tough as the element she yielded, unyielding, relentless. Sakari's feet were rough now, she felt dirty almost constantly, and she was sore. She couldn't even count the number of bruises she had on her body at the moment and those had been from times when she could see.
What on earth (no pun intended) was she going to do blindfolded?
"Earthbending is about what you can feel," Toph was saying. Sakari's ears pricked as the Earthbending Master walked around her. "You have to listen to it, be attuned to it. Here."
Sakari fumbled as Toph threw a club to her. It hit her squarely in her left shoulder before she could grasp it in her hands.
"Now listen, Princess. Focus on the earth and feel it."
And she absolutely hated the nicknames: Princess (because she acted so 'dainty'), Giggles (cause when they first started lessons, she couldn't stop laughing and 'shut her trap'), Wide Eyes (just because, Toph had said). That had gotten really old, really fast.
Sakari nodded, holding the club above her head. Suddenly the ground lifted underneath her right foot and she lost her balance, feeling a rock hit her shoulder. She hit the ground hard but she wasn't there long before a column of earth lifted her back on her feet.
"Stand firm, Princess!" Toph shouted angrily.
Again, she prepared herself, trying to stand still but the ground kept rising in columns beneath her feet, falling back to the ground. And still, rocks flew at her and she swung the club, rocks pummeling her arms, legs, and sides.
Sakari planted herself again, swinging to her right. The metal club vibrated in her hands as she busted a rock, little bits of grainy earth flying past her, sending a pain up her arms. A whistle in her ears alerted her to the rocks that were flying towards her.
With a cry, she flung her self to the ground, the rocks colliding with each other and bursting apart. She sat up, angrily ripping off the blindfold and getting to her feet, letting the club drop nosily to the ground.
Toph stomped over to her, an angry expression on her face. "What do you think you're doing?"
Sakari bowed quickly. "I'm sorry, Shifu Toph. This isn't working. I can't do this."
She was beyond angry really. She was hurt and tired and hadn't learned a thing about Earthbending since she had been among the rebels. This was pointless if all Toph was going to do was scream and throw rocks at her.
Toph stared at her. "You're lying."
"What?" Sakari said, aghast. "I am not!"
"Yes you are!" Toph poked her hard in her shoulder. "You're angry so show it! Stop acting like you have to smile all the time, Princess! It's time you got mad! You won't be able to just smile at Azula. You're going to have to use all that power that was given to you! Earthbending is about force so use it! Get mad! Scream, shout! Stop apologizing and do something!"
Sakari shook her head, taking a step back from her teacher. She wasn't an angry person, she never had been. She hated to cry, hated to show anyone anything other than her completely happy side. If it were up to her, she'd be happy all the time. "I'm sorry. Maybe I just need a break."
She quickly scooted it around the Earthbender, only to find herself faced with a stone wall. With a frustrated grunt, she stomped her heel down, raising the wall. It was the one and only Earthbending move she had gotten any good at. Not noticing the small smirk on Toph's face, she disappeared into one of the many narrow tunnels that made up the underground cavern. She stopped for a minute before going down the tunnel to her right, trying to remember which way Toph had led her. She had never come down this way without the older woman.
"Sakari right?" The Waterbender turned to her right, only to find a young man standing there. She recognized him from her classes with Haru. He couldn't have been much older than her. His hair was chopped short though the front was longer, dangling in front of green eyes. He grinned at her. "You look a little lost."
Sakari sighed, shaking her head. "Is it that obvious?"
The boy shrugged. "Only a little. Want me to show you back to the main chamber? I think I saw your friend Meifeng there a moment ago."
"Sure."
He motioned for her to follow him in the opposite direction of which she had been going, leading the way but eventually he slowed to walk besides her. "My name's Gen by the way."
"It's nice to meet you," Sakari said with a bright smile.
Gen smiled back, motioning behind them. "Where were you coming from, anyway?"
"Lessons with Shifu Toph. She figured I'd need all the help I could get. . . . She's pretty much right."
Gen chuckled. "You've gotten better over the last couple of days in Haru's class. I wouldn't let Toph get to you. She's always like that really."
"I never expected her to be anything but, what with the way dad always talked about her." Sakari shook her head. "It's just hard. I don't understand what I'm not getting."
"Hmm." Gen drew a stop, gently taking Sakari's hand. "If you want, I could give you some advice. Would you like that?"
"I wouldn't want to bother you."
Gen grinned widely. "You act as if we have something better to do. Come on."
He pulled her just a bit of a ways further down the hall before stopping again. He stomped down his heel, the solid wall in front of them raising up to reveal another practice room. Fire-lit torches brightened up this darkened room too. It wasn't as big as the one she had been in with Toph, but it was obviously a practice room, the ground unleveled and broken, same with the walls.
Gen ushered Sakari inside, closing the stone wall behind him before he turned to her again, leaning against it. "So tell me what you know about Earthbending so far?"
Sakari shrugged. "It's about force and strength."
"Is that all?"
The young girl nodded and Gen shook his own head, a slight smile on his face. "Toph doesn't like to beat around the bush with details. It's always about diving in head first. No, that's part of it, but there's so much more."
"More than being stubborn and headstrong?" Sakari asked sarcastically.
"Much more." Gen squatted low, his hands forming fists at his sides. Taking a deep, stilling breath, he stomped forward, raising a rock the size of his head before he kicked at it, sending it crashing into the wall with a resounding boom. "Earth is the element of substance. Earthbending is all about strength and defense but it's also about waiting and listening for the right moment to strike, just like Toph does. Being blind hasn't made it easier for her to do this though but she is more attuned to the earth than anyone else. She waits and she listens to the earth and because she can do this, she can do anything a 'seeing' person can do but so much better. You can't always rely on your ears. Your other senses come in handy when it comes to dealing with Earth. Are you following?"
"Sort of."
"It's all about focus. Determination. Here. Sit down." Gen took her hands again, sitting her down across from him on the ground. He turned her hands so her palms were facing the ceiling, placing his hands under hers. "I had to force her to show me this. Now close your eyes and just . . . feel."
Sakari gazed at her new friend skeptically for a moment before she closed her eyes, taking deep even breaths like Gen.
For a moment, it was unnerving, sitting there in silence, doing absolutely nothing but breathing. She was tired. If they kept this up any longer, she'd fall asleep.
"Focus," Gen muttered, interrupting her musings and her fidgeting.
Sakari took a deep breath, shaking her head slightly.
"There," Gen whispered, suddenly. "Do you feel that?"
"No," Sakari admitted.
Gen took her hands again, turning them so that her palms were now facing her down. Gently, he pulled her forward, pressing her hands against the ground. "What about now?"
Sakari concentrated, her brow furrowing.
There.
It was hard to tell but she could have sworn she felt footsteps. She didn't know who's of course, or where they were coming from but they were definitely there, near by, echoing through her fingertips.
Was this how it was for Toph?
"I get it," she said, opening her eyes to find Gen smiling at her.
She smiled back, biting her bottom lip before she jumped to her feet. She stomped down her heel, the door wall rising.
"Where are you going?" Gen asked.
"To finish my lesson," Sakari told him, her smile widening. "Thank you, Gen."
"You're welcome . . . Sakari. Anytime."
Sakari hesitated slightly. "I'm holding you to that."
Gen smirked at her and Sakari couldn't help but blush. Giving him a small wave, she hurried down the hall, back in the direction of Toph's classroom.
A/N: Yay for Gen! BTW he's not really related to any of the canon characters. I hope you guys liked this chapter and I apologize for it taking so long to update. Thanks for reading.