Bong! Bong!
The deep bass sound echoed through the dojo, forcing David toward wakefulness.
He was still in the tiny room he had fallen asleep in last night. It was austere, lacking furniture apart from a straw mat and desk meant to be used while on both knees.
Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he straightened and heard several sharp cracks. The straw mat and hard floor hadn't been kind to his spine.
On the desk, folded neatly, was a uniform of sorts. A dark green shirt with short, wide sleeves to allow movement and flexibility, a beige vest with a flying boar symbol on the breast worked with gold-colored thread and a pair of dark pants.
Getting dressed briskly, David began to wonder what kind of trials awaited him. The woman from last night had hinted that entry to the Academy was not granted to very many. He wasn't all that good with earthbending. He'd been practicing compulsively throughout his journey and, though his abilities were progressing far faster than his waterbending had, he was not at all confident with them.
A young girl wearing a similar uniform to his entered the room without knocking. "Sifu Toph is waiting for you. Follow me." Throughout her proclamation, her expression remained exactly the same as if it were carved in stone. She turned on her heel and left the room, leaving David to scramble out after her.
The rest of the dojo matched his room; only the bare essentials of furniture were present. The bare wooden halls were spotless.
David and his stone-faced guide arrived at a courtyard within the complex. A modest gathering of students sat on the ground in a semi-circle. A small group of individuals sat at the open end. A surge of adrenaline wiped away David's sleepiness. He had an audience? What if he failed? What if something went wrong? Everyone would see! No. He wouldn't fail. He couldn't. He ignored the students and chose to focus on the four figures at the head of the courtyard.
One of them was obviously Toph. David recognized her from descriptions he had heard from Katara during his training. She sat with a straight-backed posture, still as a boulder. Her clothes, strangely, looked threadbare; worn from many years of hard use. Of course, the master's most distinctive feature was her blank, sightless eyes beneath her black bangs. The milky green orbs wandered seemingly randomly around the courtyard.
The other three weren't so easily identified. A large, swarthy man sat to her right while a wiry, dark-haired man and a diminutive girl with mousy hair who couldn't have been older than David were on her left.
Stone-face made a deep bow in Toph's direction and joined the semi-circle. It seemed pointless to David. Why bow to someone who couldn't see it? Despite this, Toph seemed to acknowledge the bow with a nod. Strange.
Disconcertingly, the master's blank eyes snapped up and looked straight at David. Her gaze was so intent, David felt as if they were burning a hole through his face.
"Ping of the Earth Kingdom," she proclaimed in a clear voice. "You have traveled far to this school to study under these masters and learn the arts of the metal." Her speech had the ring of a ritual. She must do this every time a new student arrives, David thought. He nodded, still uncertain whether she could see him. She couldn't, could she? She was blind.
"To gain entry must complete three challenges over the course of three days. These challenges will test you in many ways and determine whether you are worthy to train here." Here she gestured to her left. "Your first challenge will be to face off against Master Penga. She will evaluate your earthbending skills."
The mousy-haired woman stood and approached David.
He struggled to slow his pounding heart. He had never faced off against another earthbender, let alone one skilled enough to be allowed to sit next to the greatest earthbender in the world. He didn't stand a chance. His near-panic must have shown on his face, for the woman, Master Penga, gave him a barely perceptible half-smile. It was reassuring, but only slightly.
As was customary, the two turned and bowed to the resident master, Toph, paying their respect to her before to each other.
Pleasantries observed, master and student fell into stance, raising their arms into defensive positions. It occurred to David that this was very similar to the beginnings of his sparring sessions with Katara. Those had always been his specialty. With that thought, a profound calm swept over him. This was just another duel. Old lessons drilled into him returned. Mind your surroundings, analyze your opponent, search for openings.
Penga was taking advantage of her small frame and crouching in a low stance, making it hard for larger opponents to reach her and easier for her to reach areas that were harder to defend. David adjusted accordingly, lowering his stance as much as was feasible.
"Begin." Toph's voice carried through the courtyard.
Penga didn't react. She remained in place, watching, waiting for an opportunity.
Well, two could play at that game. David stood stock-still, watching intently.
There! A slight movement of the elbow!
With the twitch of an arm, a slender spire of rock jabbed at the opening.
Moving quicker than thought, Penga snapped the spire in two, sending a piece of it rocketing toward David's face with a spinning kick.
They exchanged blows for several minutes. David began to feel a sense of futility. It was painfully obvious within the first few seconds that he was outmatched. He counted at least a dozen opportunities the small woman could have taken to end the fight there and then, but didn't. Why was she toying with him? Distracted as he was, the answer came to him only after she swept the ground from underneath his feet and sent him crashing to the floor, only to wait politely for him to rise and resume the fight. She was testing him. She was evaluating his skill in earthbending and battle in general. She wanted to see what he was made of.
Emboldened by this knowledge, David began to improvise. Recklessly combining and altering forms to gain some sort of advantage. Nothing seemed to be working.
After a moment of inspiration, however, he introduced a different style into his fighting. One that began to shake even master Penga. The one advantage he had that she didn't. Waterbending.
Fusing the two fighting styles together yielded mixed results. Sometimes the strike would flub completely. However, now and then, he struck gold. Figuratively speaking. A rigid palm at the end of a flowing arm. The redirection of an earth strike back towards Penga with a fluid gesture. The little advantages began to add up, bit by bit. Penga was uncertain. Faltering.
Experimenting madly, David was now on the offensive. Penga was choosing to literally stonewall his attacks rather than risk countering.
Smelling victory, David pushed his advantage. He advanced, pushing Penga toward the edge of the dueling ground. She stumbled, exposing her side. David struck-
He was on his back, gasping for air. Bands of compressed earth wound around his wrists and ankles, pinning him to the ground.
What had happened? He wasn't sure. A dull pain throbbed in his leg and slowly faded. Did she hit his leg? A sweep, maybe? It had happened so fast.
"The fight is over," Toph's voice announced. "Retire to your room, Ping, and we shall call upon you when we have reached a decision.
David fought the urge to fidget in front of the masters. He had spent most of the day stewing in his tiny room; much longer than he had expected. They were apparently very thorough.
"We have discussed your test in great detail," said Toph. No kidding! "And we have deemed your skill with earthbending to be sufficient to merit further honing."
David heaved a relieved sigh. He bowed. "Thank you for your kindness."
Toph frowned severely. "This is no kindness. It is simple statement of fact."
David was unsure how to reply. He gave another bow instead.
"Your next challenge will commence tomorrow one hour after dawn." Toph and the other masters rose. Taking this as a dismissal, David turned and began to make his way back to his room.
"Ping," a voice called out. He turned. It was the mousy-haired woman he had dueled.
"Master Penga. To what do I owe the honor?"
"Oh, you can drop the formalities now," she said, waving a dismissive hand. "The uptight part is over, at least for today."
"Um…okay."
"Good." She gave him a sunny smile. "So, no hard feelings about me kicking your butt back there?"
David started, not expecting this from one of the masters. "N-not at all." He gave an embarrassed cough.
"Lighten up a bit, Ping! Here at the Beifong Metalbending Academy we pride ourselves on being informal…most of the time." She glared at Toph's retreating back.
"I saw that!" Toph called in their direction.
"Just testing!" Penga shouted back. Toph turned to their direction briefly, grinning at them and continued on her way.
David frowned. "Wait, she saw? How? Isn't she blind?"
"You don't know?" Penga seemed genuinely surprised. David shook his head. "I would have thought that it was common knowledge by now, but if you really don't know…well, Toph is, obviously, an incredibly good earthbender."
"Yes, I think we both know that."
Penga flashed him a grin. "When she was a little girl she developed the Seismic Sense; an advanced technique that allows her to sense the vibrations in the earth around her and use them to paint a mental picture of what is around her."
"Like bats."
"You mean Wolfbats?"
David's heart skipped a beat. "Yes. That's what I meant."
"Her Sense is so…well… sensitive that she can usually even tell if someone is lying."
What? That was not good. At all.
David tried to change the subject. "Why was she so stiff and formal before? She seems friendly enough now."
"Toph doesn't like being like that, but she very much likes to have an air of mystery around this place. Keeps the commoners from snooping around, you know."
"Then why are you talking to me like this? What if I don't get accepted? Then I'll just be another outsider."
"Well, let's just say that the four of us are optimistic about your chances of getting accepted."
David's heart leaped in his chest. "Thank you…I-I'm honored."
"Don't get cocky, hotshot. You still have a ways to go."
"Still…I appreciate the vote of confidence."
Penga nodded. "It's getting late. You should probably get some rest for tomorrow."
David felt a twinge of apprehension. The second challenge. "You're probably right."
"Sleep, well, Ping." Penga gave a slight bow, as was appropriate between master and student. David responded with a deeper bow, indicative of the respect he had for her.
As David walked away he marveled at the exchange. Not only do I have a new friend, she's one of the masters! He began to search for Mei-Kun. He wondered what she would say about that.
"Yeah, that's great." Mei Kun was lying on her cot in the temporary huts scattered along the edge of the construction sites of more permanent lodging. She didn't seem too thrilled.
"That's it? I thought you'd be pleased." Was something wrong?
She looked up. "No, of course I am. It's just…" she rasised an eyebrow. "Could you maybe ask your 'friend' if I could actually get in next time?"
David frowned. "They didn't let you in?"
"They tried, but they didn't really have a choice in the matter." Here her accent shifted. "The lady Mei-Kun of the Lung family does not enjoy being made to wait."
David chuckled. "I bet she doesn't."
Mei-Kun smirked. "They didn't stand a chance. But that doesn't mean it was easy."
"Did they say why you couldn't come in?"
Her smile faltered. "Apparently I'm an 'outsider' and I 'don't attend the Academy'." She rolled her eyes. "I thought that you would have chosen a place that was a little more accommodating."
"I'm sorry. I didn't know."
"Yeah, well, that's past. I saw your test." The corner of her mouth quirked into a half-smile. "You fought well."
David felt a warm glow in stomach. "Thanks. I still have two tests to pass, though."
Mei-Kun sat up in her bed. "Do you know what they're going to be?"
David shook his head. "No. They're pretty close-mouthed about them."
"You probably have to lift a mountain. Or fight a giant winged boar. Blindfolded."
David grinned. "Now you're just being ridiculous"
"Well, they have a winged boar on their sign. If I don't see a giant winged pig, then that's just false advertising."
David laughed. Mei-Kun's quips comforted him. They reminded him of their time spent on the road. It felt good to know that whatever they had there had not gone away.
"Well, I should be going. Have a nice night."
"You too."
A/N- Here's the new chapter. I hope you enjoy. If you did, please give some feedback. What did you like? What could use some work? It would really mean a lot and help me out. Thanks!
Disclaimer- Avatar the Last Airbender belongs to Nickelodeon.