He woke up and tied his hair into its knot as he did every morning. It was almost automatic at this point. As he began to dress in his training clothes, he remembered the occupant of his guest room. It had been agreed that to maximize the tutelage, she should live in the same house. Of course, he had objected at first, but was quickly impelled otherwise. He knocked on her door loud enough to rouse her, but quiet enough to be polite.
He went to the kitchen to make a light breakfast, so she would not have much to vomit later if his morning regimen pushed her that far. She came in quietly and sat down at the table. After he set down the eggs in front of her, he took his seat opposite her and began to eat, watching her discretely. She kept her politely elegant demeanor, taking proper-sized bites, wiping her mouth delicately, eating as someone of her status should. He wondered how she would produce enough fire to light a twig, much less the bursts of flame her parents envisioned.
Once they finished their breakfast she followed him to his back yard. She sighed internally; the ground was flat and bare, nothing extreme or unnerving. And he walked into the forest beyond. Before he was out of eyeshot, he looked back and saw her still in the center of the field he had cleared for practicing his more extravagant flourishes. He walked back to her and looked down, making eye contact.
"Not afraid of a hike are we?" he asked with one eyebrow cocked. She shook her head, and then hesitantly walked toward the trees and the shadows they cast on everything within.
"Hold. While I can see you are uneager, but willing, you are not yet what I'd call, 'wilderness material.'"
She faced him with relief and threw herself to the ground as a small fireball passed where her head had just been.
"Not too comfortable with fire are we?" She shook her head after she stood and dusted herself off. "Have you bent before?" Another shake of her head confirmed his suspicions. "Sit. Before anything else you must learn to make and sustain a flame. While simple it is an elegant appearance and I've used nothing more than a flame the size of my hand to entertain the audience." She nodded and sat in the conventional meditation stance, her posture impeccable.
"Now, you must find something that drives you, a passion, because emotion is what fuels our fire. A memory, perhaps, a dre-" He was cut off by a bright flare and a scared squeal as the hem of her skirt caught fire. He quickly cut the flame off and examined the skirt. "Not horrendous, but not exactly formal wear at this point. Why did you choose a skirt that covered your entire legs?"
"It is the proper form of attire for a lady." She meekly responded.
"Here you are no lady. Here you are a student. If you like I can make this a more comfortable fit for moving and bending, or I could loan you an old pair of my pants. I recommend pants. We may get a little… acrobatic as time goes on." He said with one eyebrow raised. He would enjoy colliding with all the proper living brainwashing she'd been subjected to. She asked for the pants as politely as she could muster in her startled state.
After changing she returned from the house in pants that were large enough that they did not grip her waist, but fit well enough to hang at her hips, baggier than she was used to. She had tied the bottoms of the legs up to where they would not get caught under her feet. He sat meditating near the spot that was still charred from her first attempt at flame.
"Sifu may we please resume my training? I have proper attire now."
He cracked one eye. "Sure. Now, whatever you were thinking of before, that'll be a good source. Since you obviously feel very...passionate about it," he said with a smirk. "I want you to sit in the center of your turf wound there, and I want you to ease yourself into the feeling. Slowly let it manifest itself. As a Firebender you are a channel for your inner fire; your passions, hopes, and dreams. Firebending, as I will teach it, is not a combat art, but a form of revelry. It is immersing yourself in what you love and sharing that heat with everyone around you. You won't get this type of instruction anywhere else, since there really aren't any schools of Firebending entertainment, and the army still likes the tried and true blast-bending."
"Sifu do I sense a conflict of interest with the army?"
He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, "Yes. My family is not graced with your wealth. Their hopes were that I would be a great general. I barely made it to the end of the war without deserting. We shall leave it there as this does not follow the plans I have for your education. Please sit and ease into your passion."
She sat in the patch of newly blackened earth and set about trying to create a small flame.
"Waugh!" she cried as she burst into orange flames. At once they extinguished themselves and he smirked.
"Full of it aren't you?"
"I beg your pardon Sifu?" she snapped breathing heavily.
"Passion, aspiration, hope. What do you desire so fervently that you can't merely muse on it? What is this bonfire inside of you?"
"Sifu, what my dreams are does not truly matter to learning does it?"
"Have I struck a nerve now?"
She nodded. "I never like to burden those around me with my personal problems. They are my demons and only I need worry with them."
"It isn't necessary, but your act would be fairly limited. Although, if you choose it, comedy is a rarely followed Firebending art. I think that a fourteen year old girl running around the stage enflamed could be fairly amusing." He said laughing on his back imagining her thus.
"Very well, Sifu. My dreams are simple. To see beyond the Fire Nation elite and the Nation's borders themselves. I dream to see true Earthbenders sculpting with nothing but their own feet, a Waterbender healing someone with nothing but a pool of rain, the ruins of the Air Temples, the things you don't learn about in school."
"And a hearty dream that is. We'll do it."
Her head spun on her neck. "What?"
He stood up and brushed himself off. "To be able to flow and create as is necessary to entertain those people that will attend our shows; we must allow your dreams to be lived. If you constantly think of your dreams as a 'what if' then you will never be able to bend properly. Your repressed dreams will not allow the grace and elegance I demand from myself and now you as my student. We will become travelers."
"B-but, Sifu, what about my lesson for today?" she replied shocked.
"We will continue with it. You need more control before you are sent to spar and test yourself against people aside from me. Since your flames are still a bit, er, lively, you shall work on the heart of Firebending, your breath. Take in through the nose, push out through the mouth. It is a simple pattern that fuels the most elegant of flourishes."
She seemed confused, but began to breathe just as he said. "I can almost feel a current through my body."
He stood up, "That's the idea. Now, follow me. You're going to run with me."
"Run?"
"Yes. Run. It's like walking, but faster and more difficult to sustain. Generally you do it while in a rush, but we do it to train. Let's go."
"Yes, Sifu," she exhaled as she stood and braced herself for this new and daunting task. He took off at a brisk trot without warning and she had to sprint to catch up. Rather, she tried to catch up. She started straggling as soon as she got close and he turned around quizzically.
"Problem?"
"My home life did not exactly involve 'running' in any form."
"Ahhh, now this is where the fun happens. Get up and try again."
She reluctantly stood and began to run. He immediately had something to say.
"Breathe like I told you, it keeps you from tiring as easily and prevents cramps. If you huff and puff through everything you won't last the first minute. Lengthen your stride, the more ground you cover with each step the less you have to take." She tried to widen her legs and promptly fell over.
He called to her, "Where do you keep your balance? It does you no good if you drop it!"
She called back embarrassed, "Where should I? It seems to be a slippery beast that enjoys playing tricks on its owner!"
He chuckled to himself; she had a healthy amount of wit, "Where does it feel like all of your weight is while you run?"
"My hindquarters!"
"Well there is your problem. Make it so that your weight revolves around your core." He was enjoying himself more than he expected to when he undertook this endeavor.
As she ran he could see her struggling still, but she seemed more in control. As he called her to a stop in front of him, her hair was damp with sweat and she rested her weight on her knees, breathing heavily through the mouth.
"None of that breathing you're doing now. Stand up and breathe like I taught you. It should be second nature. As mindless as, well, breathing. Rest your hands on your head, it opens your body and lets your energy and breath flow more easily. That will conclude us for today. You seem a bit winded," he finished with a smirk on his face.
She glared daggers up at him, her full height still below his eye-line. "Thank you so much Sifu. Nothing gets by you does it?" Upon hearing herself say this she instantly covered her mouth and took a shocked expression.
Before she could begin to apologize he said, "Now, now, none of that. I'm not a drill sergeant that punishes a hair or word out of line. I enjoy it. Express yourself; it is what you will hopefully use this training for. Now let's get running again, shall we?"
"Sifu, why must we do things in such haste? Surely if taken at a slower pace I would be able to smooth into each form and pose."
"Ahh, and here is one of the few times you'll hear me agree with the army. Walk with me as I tell you," he said as he began to move around the clearing. "Speed and efficiency are key, but the speed is what wins wars. If I let you 'smooth into' my lessons, you'll only be regurgitating what I tell you when you perform. That is the only way to fail at a performance. I could show anyone my moves enough times and they could technically reproduce what I show them, but honestly, why would I? Why do you want to see these marvels of the world beyond our borders?"
"Because all my life has been monotonous. One formal event after the other. I was not paying attention to them by the time I was eight."
"So you desire change, something different, out of your life?"
"That, and also excitement, discovery, and the ability to share it with those around me."
"All good reasons why your form's perfection should not come one by one in a clean-singed and planned matter. If that happens, how will you ever make it your own? I will show you how to Firebend. You will show me how you Firebend."
"I understand, Sifu. Now, I suppose I should start running again. I would like to be presentable as quickly as possible."
"Agreed. Now get to it. Run around my cleared area eight times and come to me when you finish."
As she began her set path, he moved to the center of the circle and dropped to a sitting position. He began breathing deeply, visibly swelling his chest with each breath. He placed his hands on the ground and closed his eyes, continuing to breathe deeply. She watched him from the corner of her eye as she paced around her track, and stumbled as he rose from the ground supported by jets of fire. He readjusted himself so that he was in a handstand position half a foot off of the ground. He began to do motions resembling pushups, moving only above the elbow. Sweat rolled up his arms and evaporated in the columns of flame he created. After completing five repetitions, he lowered himself to the ground, remaining in a handstand. He lowered himself back into his sitting position and began to breathe more normally again.
"Sifu… I finished… my … running."
He sat like that for a moment and slowly tapered his breathing. "Good, and how tired would you say that you are?"
"More… exhausted… than… I have… ever felt."
"Alright. Now, sit and extend your legs together in front of you."
As she did he moved behind her. "Now, touch your toes."
She could only reach to the length of her ankles before halting progress. "Now breathe, and try to relax the muscles you feel burning right now. That burn is the fire in those muscles trying to escape and lengthen your reach. Do not respond just yet, it will make this harder." He kneeled behind her and gently placed his hands on her shoulders. "I am going to push down on you to help you stretch more. Tell me when you can go no further," he said calmly and slowly as he began to press down.
After a moment, "N-now!"
"I will hold this here for another five seconds." After that time he released her and laid her on her back. "That is among the hardest stretches you will learn. It is brutal now, but it will ease. Let me tend your legs; they must be screaming," he said soothingly as he laid his hands on her calves. "I am applying a very light heat to them to relax the muscles. Do not try this yourself until I tell you to, you could horribly hurt yourself."
"Y-yes, Sifu. That feels better."
"We will be done for the day. I'll heat you a bath. It will create a plethora of steam, I want you to breathe as I taught you even though there will be less pure air. It will strengthen your lungs and give you a better control of your breath."
"S-sifu, my legs are numb, I cannot walk."
"That's understandable, I can carry you in," he said as he lifted her onto his back. He left her in her room to change and prepared her bath. After carrying her, wrapped in a cloth, to the edge of her bath, he said, "Good first day. You're going to do just fine. I promise."
"Thank you, Sifu, now if you'll excuse me?"