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Bitter Work

(Woo-Hoo! New chapter! Sorry for the delay, but here it is. Now, who is ready to learn stuff?)

Whew! Nothing like some well-deserved rest after being chased by three crazy chicks for days with no sleep. I cut up some fruit since I was the first to wake up after having slept for two days, I was more exhausted than I thought, (Clearly. 🥱) and make a little breakfast. We also moved to a more secure location that was nothing but dirt and rock, a perfect place to start Aang's earthbending training. I put my knife away and eat some fruit.

"Aaaaah." I look over and see Aang wake up. Then he smiles and jumps into the air, "Today's the day. Can you believe it?" He asks as he lands beside me. I give him a smile, "It does feel a little overdue, bud." I tell him, offering a piece of an apple. He takes it and eats it, "Right? After all that time searching for a teacher, I'm finally starting earthbending. And this place, it's perfect. Don't you think?" He says. I nod my head and Momo appears as he swipes some fruit then goes over to be on Appa's head. (Yep. 🍎)

He looks over at Sokka while he and Katara are still asleep. "Sokka?" He asks. And said grouchy groans a reply. "Oh, you're still sleeping, huh?" Aang asks. I eat another slice as Sokka goes back to sleep. I smirk, "Ah, let him sleep. He's enough of a grouch as is." I tease. "Sorry." Aang whispers. The ground starts shaking and I look over at Toph's tent right as it explodes into pieces, "Good morning, earthbending student." She says. "Welp, Toph's awake." I state, standing up and grabbing some fruit. "Good morning , Sifu Toph." Aang says, bowing his head respectfully to her. (Morning! ☀️)

"Hey, you never call me Sifu Katara." Oh, Katara's awake too. "Well, if you think I should." Aang says. I walk over and offer Katara some fruit and she takes it, thanking me before eating and I walk over to Toph. Sokka growls and he sits up to glare at Aang. "Sorry, snoozels. We'll do our earthbending as quietly as we can." Toph says. Before Sokka launches into the air and screams. He lands on the ground, "Hm. I think that did it." I comment. He grumbles and hops away in his sleeping bag. I offer fruit to Toph, "Huh. I haven't seen him that energized in a while." I state. "You're welcome." I smirk at Toph as she ate the fruit.

I step aside as Aang stands next to her, very excited to get started. "So what move are you gonna teach me first? Rockalanche, the trembler? Oh, maybe I can learn to make a whirlpool out of land." Aang says. "Let's start with, move a rock." Toph tells him. Yeah, best to start with the basics. (ALWAYS.)

We moved to a another area where Toph bended two large boulders in front of her and Aang. Katara and I are on a ledge to watch, her sitting while I did a sideway splits. The key to earthbending is your stance. You've got to be steady and strong. Rock is a stubborn element. If you're going to move it, you've got to be like a rock yourself." Toph says, assuming said stance while Aang copies her but he got pushed and almost lost his balance. "Like a rock, got it." Aang says. "Good. Now, the actual motion of this one is pretty simple." Toph says, then moves her stance before bending the boulder into a wall.

"Simple but effective." I comment, moving to be on my hands and turn around to still watch. Aang assumes the same position she did but blows himself away from the rock and into Appa. "Oh." I wince from that. (Ouch. 😣) "Rock beats airbender." Apparently, Sokka. Apparently.

Third Person P.O.V.

In a grassy field with a lone tree and the sun shining down, Iroh runs as he smiles while looking back at someone. He is much younger as his hair brown and his beard not as long along with being slimmer. A boy, no more than eight-years-old, appears and moves his hands to mimic firebending, "I got you, Dad." He says. "Oh! No!" Iroh mimics being hit and falls on his back. The boy jumps on him and the two share a laugh.