Wild At Heart (Zuko)

Chapter Eighty

Kali holds out the wooden staff to Zuko and then manifests her own to use. Her own is decorated with a bit more vine than his. She used a bat well enough against Azula, but she assumes she had the surprise factor to that. Also the fact that none of them had fought a naturebender before, she has that going for her with the army as well. She and Aang both have that to work with. Naturebenders and airbenders have not been fought in 100 years. But this training session is not about her bending powers, it is about her combat skills. She's put on weight since she was freed and some muscle, but she hasn't actually done any physical training. She perhaps should have, but they can start now. And the rule is no bending. This is not to show she can fight with her bending, he already knows she can do that, but he wants to see her actually fight. He spins the bo-staff against the back of his arm and lets out a breath as he drops into a defensive position, ready for her attack against him. Kali takes a deep breath and then lunges forward, swinging for him, but she is not trained, so her movements are imprecise and sloppy against him who is waiting for the attack. He dodges and then blocks with his own staff, pushing her back slightly as he moves forward. She stumbles backwards, letting out a surprised breath. He swings the staff around and sweeps it out, taking her off of her feet. Kali lets out a surprised squeal as she lands on her back in the dirt. Zuko's eyes widen and he immediately drops the staff to rush to her.

"Petal" He whispers and she chuckles. He lets out a relieved breath and shakes his head.

"I'm fine" She assures him as she digs her fingers into the dirt and lets out a breath. "Perhaps I should stick to bending" She comments. "And I have you to protect me" She adds softly and he looks down at her. "I don't think I am meant to be a fighter....I can take care of myself, but...I don't like it" She admits.

"No one likes having to fight" He argues softly. "But it has to be done" He holds out his hand towards her. "And you need to be ready...I need to go into this fight knowing you are ready or I will just worry about you" Her eyes soften a little. He means well and she should learn, but she doesn't want to be a fighter. She likes taking care of people. Her friends. Even when she was fighting Azula, she did so more because she hurt Zuko and because she wanted to hurt Appa more than because Azula was attacking her. It was about other people. Even Alchemilla, Kali was angry, sure, but it was never about the fact that she lied to Kali or tried to force Zuko to leave her. She was angry because of how that woman made him feel. How she was treating the other naturebenders. Her time away in Ba Sing Se, her time taking care of herself, just made her realize how much she likes being around other people, and taking care of them. She reaches up for his hand, but rather than letting him pull her up, she yanks him down into the dirt with her. "Kali" He scolds softly as he lands on his back, managing to twist so he doesn't hit his face. "We have two days" He reminds her as he pushes himself up onto his elbows. "Kali" He looks at her. "I don't know how we're going to be ready for this" He admits quietly. "Aang is barely sleeping, the others won't talk to me.....Sokka isn't nearly ready enough with that armour for Appa....and what about Momo, Bing, and Ran-Ya? Do they get armour? Are they coming with us? We don't even have armour...we have clothes"

"Worrying about it isn't going to change whether we win or lose" She points out. "We've both seen what they can do when they wing it, but Sokka has an actual plan this time....." He sighs a little and then runs his fingers through his hair. "Do you want me to ask him to talk you through it?" She asks him, he looks across to where Sokka is working on Appa's armour. "Would that make you feel a little better?"

"It would" He answers. "But I don't think he'll talk to me" She pushes herself up, touching the top of his head softly before she walks away towards Sokka who glances up at her with a big wide smile. She crouches next to Sokka and talks to him softly as Zuko watches. Sokka's eyes flicker over to Zuko, staring at him before he nods and turns back to Kali who smiles back at him in thanks. Zuko lets out a breath and closes his eyes. A little weight lifting from his shoulders.