Sorry I haven't updated in two weeks, between the midterms and recovering from skiing and working on my website and . . . ugh, yeah, I have a lot on my plate right now, lol. So here we go, the next chapter!
Gang Chao's hand hurt, really hurt, he was floating in a sea of blackness and all he was really aware of was the mild, no, major discomfort in his hand. Soon though, the pain ebbed and he became aware of other things, the rustling of fabric, the soft padding beneath him.
He hear voices, muffled as if they were blocked by swatches of fabric, but soon they became clearer and he recognized some of this voices. There was the worried tone of his brother and the calm tone of the warrior he had met in the village.
"Will he wake up?" Kunwei asked anxiously, if not a bit impatiently.
A new voice drifted to his ears, another woman, "Calm down, he'll wake up when he's ready to. His body needs to heal."
Gang Chao struggled against the blackness, fighting the realms of his unconscious mind that held him in its dark grip. He managed a groan and he heard his brother give a startled yelp.
"He's waking up," the sibling started excitedly.
There was a flurry of activity as someone came up to his side, "Yeah, he's coming around," the woman said.
His eyes slowly opened, finally allowing him to see the world his other senses had explored, he quickly blinked away the disorientation brought about by the unconsciousness. He stared at the relieved face of his brother and the painted face of one of the Kyoshi warriors, it wasn't the one he met in the village. This woman looked the same age but her hair was black, not brown and her head dress looked a lot different.
"I thought you'd never wake up," Kunwei started happily, smiling now that he knew his brother was okay.
Gang Chao raised an eyebrow, "How long was I out?" he muttered weakly.
The warrior answered, "For a few hours."
Funny, the way Kunwei was reacting, it sounded like he was unconscious for a few years. He examined his surroundings, he was lying in a small clearing, it was daylight, probably around noon. All around the small field, the warriors were either foraging for food or setting up camp. The earthbender brought up walls of rock to serve as windbreaks for the tent.
He tried to set up, ignoring the pain that returned to his throbbing hand. A hand reached out cautiously to support him if he fell back, "Take it easy, you lost a lot of blood," the warrior stated.
"Where's Yinling? Is she okay? Are you okay?" Gang Chao looked over at his brother, he didn't look too injured, a few bruises were blossoming across his cheek and there was a long scrape on his forehead.
Kunwei nodded, "She's fine, she's asleep in one of the tents."
Gang Chao sighed in relief, smiling a little, so he hadn't failed completely at protecting his family, "What about the bandits that attacked us?"
"We took them back to the town and let the authorities handle their punishment," the warrior piped up, "I'm Akira by the way."
"Hi," Gang Chao extended his good hand, "I'm Gang Chao but I'm guessing my brother already told you that."
Akira smiled, "Yeah, he did," she giggled a little, "How's your hand?"
"It doesn't hurt too much," Gang Chao said, looking at the clean white bandage that was wrapped firmly around his hand, "It feels almost comfortable."
The warrior nodded in satisfaction, "Good, that's how it's supposed to feel," she said as one of her comrades walked up, "Go tell Suki that he's awake," she ordered the other warrior, her voice laden with authority.
"Who's Suki?" Gang Chao questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"She's the leader of our team, the Kyoshi Warriors," Akira explained as she handed him a cup of hot liquid, "Here, it's some tea to help with the pain."
"Thanks," Gang Chao said as he sipped the hot beverage, "Are you a healer?"
Akira gave him a wan smile, "Something like that, I'm the unofficial team medic and also second in command."
Suki walked up at that moment, Gang Chao smiled, "Thanks for saving us," he thanked the Kyoshi warrior.
"It was nothing," Suki replied, "We're obligated to protect citizens of the Earth Kingdom."
"So, who are the Kyoshi Warriors anyway?" Gang Chao questioned, being raised in a small village, he never heard much about the Earth Kingdom and its many towns and cities.
Kunwei meanwhile had left his brother's side to check on his sister and explore the camp. He walked around the small encampment, coming face-to-face with the earthbender who had helped the warriors.
"Hey," he said in greeting to the stern-faced master who was currently practicing his forms at the edge of the field.
The man nodded in acknowledgement, "Good afternoon," he said as he replaced his headband which had come a little loose during his practice, "Is your brother okay?"
"He's fine," Kunwei said, "Thanks for saving us sir," he added.
"It was nothing, and the Kyoshi warriors did most of the work, I just offered a little assistance," the bender replied as he began to walk back to camp.
Kunwei caught up, "Wait! I need to ask you something!"
The man turned to face the young boy, eyebrows raising in curiousity, "Yes?"
"I," Kunwei began before he got onto his hands and knees and bowed to the earthbender, "I want to learn earthbending from you. Please teach me sir."
The man was silent for a few long moments, seemingly pondering something, Kunwei stayed as he was, not daring to look up at the man lest he refuse then and there. Kunwei was nervous, he tried hard to control his breathing and keep his racing thoughts from straying too far.
"Well," the man started after a long while, his voice thoughtful if not a little teasing.
Kunwei gritted his teeth, waiting for the scathing rebuke and fast refusal of learning earthbending. He closed his eyes in defeat . . .
"I guess we should get started then," the man finished, he smiled and crossed his arms as Kunwei as he looked up in surprise, "Well, come on, show me what you know."
Kunwei grinned and jumped up quickly, getting into his stance, he kicked up small stones and raised a relatively puny column a few feet away, "I really only learned enough to hurl rocks and maybe raise a column or two, then I get tired," he admitted sheepishly.
"We have a lot of work to do then," the man said seriously, he motioned for Kunwei to sit on the ground, "My name is Shuu but you will address me as Master Shuu, Master or Sir. What is your name?"
"My name's Kunwei," the boy began, then noting the look on Shuu's face, he added, "Sir."
Shuu nodded, "Alright, now let me start you on the bare basics of earthbending. Each of the nations has their own element and their own element reflects a certain philosophy," he began, "For example, firebenders are aggressive and direct, so their form requires a lot of punches and kicks. Waterbenders use more flowing movements, this is because their form of fighting is more about using an opponent's force against them. Airbenders are all about non-aggressive forms of fighting, this requires quick and agile movements to avoid an attack by the enemy. Now, in earthbending, the bender must stand his or her ground, you must become like the earth," he got into a stance.
"Now your forms are good for a beginner but they're nowhere near as strong enough," he said as he levitated a large boulder, he moved it several feet over and set it down gently on the ground, "The more solid your stance, the better chance you have of lifting large objects. But this is only part of the story, earthbenders must build up stamina to master the art. Kunwei."
"Yes sir," Kunwei answered as he head snapped up to look at his master.
"I want you to do twenty pushups, eighty sit ups and thirty squats," Shuu said as he turned to face the forest, staring at his pupil out of the corner of his eye.
Kunwei gave him an, "are you serious?" look, but began doing so he lowered himself on to the ground and pushed up.
"Count them," Shuu said.
"One . . . two . . . three . . ." Kunwei said as he counted out his pushups, his arms burned and even his heart was pounding from the exertion, he'd never thought that this would be so hard, but he could barely pass ten pushups, let alone twenty.
"You can do it," the master said stoically, "You must do it to even understand the roots of earthbending, you must endure the pain, stamina and determination are crucial to earthbending."
Kunwei finally got up to twenty pushups, counting each one as he completed them, he moved onto the sit ups then gritting his teeth at the burning sensation in his stomach. Shuu nodded in approval as Kunwei finished the set, moving onto squats. He wouldn't say the exercises were easy but they weren't as hard as he'd imagine they'd be, he guessed working on a farm did have its perks. He was impatient though, he wanted to learn earthbending he wanted to levitate boulders in the air and fling them far distances, he wanted to open large fissures in the ground and raise huge columns of rock.
Suddenly, the earth shifted under Kunwei, literally shifted, it was only a small amount and if he was concentrating, perhaps he would have kept his balance, but he fell flat on his back, yelling out in surprise.
"Pay attention to your surroundings," Shuu said harshly, "You won't be a good earthbender if you're not all there," he said tapping his head, "An earthbender who attacks blindly without cause or thought will lose against one who listens. Now pick yourself up and start the squats again, from the beginning and. Don't. Lose. Focus."
Kunwei got off the ground, he suppressed a groan and began squats again, "One . . . two . . . three . . . "
Later that night, the group sat around the fire, Gang Chao sat with the group, his arm in a sling just to keep it out of the way so he could eat. Yinling and one of the Kyoshi Warriors were in a conversation, it was the most Kunwei had ever seen his sister talk since they left home. He smiled, it was a good sign.
Gang Chao was telling something to Akira, she giggled at the end of it and the older brother looked down, a little color creeping to his cheeks. Kunwei smirked from across the fire until he heard his master talking to him, his attention shifted from the fire to Shuu.
"Training never stops, even when you're taking 'a break'," he began, his gaze shifting over to Kunwei, "There are still exercises you can accomplish without my help. Observation of everything around you is important for helping you win a fight. Do you understand?"
"Yes master," Kunwei replied, even hours after he had begun calling Shuu an earthbending master, the excitement of finally being taught was still flowing through his veins.
"Good, now I want you to be vigilant and begin to learn about everyone in this camp, observe their habits, analyze their strengths and weaknesses. They're not our enemies but this exercise will be good for training so you can analyze the people who are against us," Shuu said, "Part of earthbending is waiting . . . and listening, calculating the best time to attack and once there's an opening, you strike."
Kunwei nodded, noting the group around the fire, he still didn't exactly know what to look for, he was about to open his mouth when Shuu spoke up, "You can't rely on me for answers, I am your teacher, your guide, but some things you have to figure out yourself. Just sit back and observe."
The young boy sighed, he could have sworn he saw the corners of Shuu's mouth curve upwards slightly, but his gaze and attention soon reverted back to the group around the fire.
"So how was your first day of training?" Gang Chao asked as they bedded down for the night, he laid on his back, looking to Kunwei, his injured hand resting comfortably on his chest.
The younger brother groaned, "I feel like I've been trampled by a herd of ostrich-horses," he said as the tiredness hit him like a landslide, "Never went past anything but basic forms and stamina."
"Sounds tough," Yinling piped in quietly.
Kunwei smiled as he grabbed her in a half hug, "Yeah, it is, I thought he'd be teaching me how to make landslides by now."
"Maybe there's a method to his madness," Gang Chao offered, "Maybe he wants you to have a solid foundation in the basics before he moves on. Remember what dad always said, 'You can build the largest house in the world, but it won't mean nothing without a good foundation'."
Kunwei and Yinling snickered at that memory, "Yeah," Kunwei said, yawning, "Dad always knew what to say."
"He still does," Gang Chao replied, his eyes glinting in determination, "We'll get through this war and we'll get back."
The siblings soon bedded down and fell asleep, Kunwei gratefully falling into the realms of the subconscious as he rested for the next day of training that was sure to follow. Yinling stayed awake for a little while longer, thinking of home before finally allowing sleep to take over. Gang Chao closed his eyes, but he didn't sleep, not yet. His mind was filled with the events of the past two days, he had failed to protect his family twice.
Twice, they could have been killed. Twice they could have been beaten so badly, they'd hardly have a chance to get to Ba Sing Se.
His good hand curled into a fist at his side, two times was two too many, he resolved to get better and train so in the future, he could protect his family. As his mind finally gave into sleep, he thought, 'I'll protect my family, whatever it takes.'