Campfire

"Today," Azula said, smiling sunnily as Korra continued to shiver miserably. "We are going to be working on your survival skills."

"Is that why you asked me to wade through a river of near-freezing water in the middle of winter before having me run through a forest where I was attacked by not one, not two, but three bear lions?"

"Yes." Azula's smile only grew sunnier. "But now comes the easy part: you get to light a fire to dry off and keep warm before night falls and your probably freeze to death." A howl echoed through the forest. "The fire will also help keep the wolves away."

Korra snapped her hand to one side to call up a flame, and just as quickly, Azula mirrored the gesture to put it out. "Hey! What are you doing?"

"You will be lighting the fire without your bending. After all, you never know when you'll find yourself too weak, exhausted, or injured to use your bending. Who knows, you might even find yourself on the run from a gang of crazy chi-blockers with a grudge. Some of them might even have pointy fans to stab you with."

Korra snorted. Chi-blockers with fans… that sounded weird, but this was Azula. It probably had happened to her. "Are you speaking from experience?"

"As a matter of fact, I am," Azula replied. "They stopped sending chi-blockers after me once I dealt with that particular group. I put all of them in the hospital. Of course, that told them where I was, and then they sent Ty Lee after me." Azula made a face. "Ty Lee is somewhat more formidable than the average chi-blocker."

Korra snickered. She knew that expression. "She kicked your ass, didn't she?"

Azula scowled. "Have you forgotten who I am? I am Azula. Nobody kicks my ass."

"Yeah, sure." Korra bit back laughter. It wasn't often that she managed to get a rise out of her firebending master. "What about Master Katara?"

"There were extenuating circumstances. Katara has also left out the fact that I've kicked her ass plenty of times." Azula looked away. "As for Ty Lee, it was a surprisingly intelligent move from my generally unintelligent brother." Her voice softened. "By the time they sent Ty Lee after me, I wasn't… the same as I had been before. Not weaker, not exactly, but I was… less violent, you could say." She paused. "I found it difficult to fight her with my full strength."

"Yes," Korra said. "And she kicked your ass."

"Say that again, Avatar, and I will kick your ass." Azula's eyes narrowed. "Now, you'd better get that fire started. I think I can hear those wolves closing in."

Korra sighed. "Fine." She frowned. "Wait… how do you start a fire without bending?"

Azula took a deep breath. "Do you really not know how?"

"Well, I've been able to bend fire as long as I can remember, so…"

"I suppose I should have expected this." Azula shook her head. "Listen closely because I swear if someone I trained freezes to death because they can't light a fire, I'll never hear the end of it from my brother. Here's what you do…"

X X X

Asami smiled and settled next to the campfire that Korra had started. To her surprise, the other woman had opted not to use her bending. "I have to admit, I'm a little surprised by how good you are at that."

"I'm glad I could impress you." Korra grinned. "Azula insisted that I learn."

"Oh, did she?" Asami chuckled. She'd gotten to know the old firebender quite well, and Azula's training sounded equal parts inspiring and terrifying. "What did she do, drag you into a forest and tell you to start a fire or get eaten by wolves?"

Korra gaped.

Asami's eyes widened. "Seriously?"

"To be fair, she didn't throw me into a pack of starving wolves and tell me to light a fire. She said that a pack of wolves was close and that I should light a fire to keep them away. Of course, she didn't tell me how close the wolves were." Korra shuddered. "They were pretty close." She stared into the distance. "And they were pretty hungry too."

X X X

Author's Notes

As always, I do not own Legend of Korra. I am not making any money off of this either.

There is an alarming tendency amongst benders to rely solely on their bending to achieve tasks that can also be accomplished without it. Now, that's all well and good when things are going well, but when they're injured, trying to avoid attention, or low on energy, being able to do things the normal way comes in handy. Azula, however, is not going to let a weakness like that exist in the Avatar that she has trained. Azula survived years on the run – she's going to make sure that Korra can do the same if she needs to.

As always, I appreciate feedback. Reviews and comments are welcome.