Chapter 61 (Bitter Work)

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Elua's POV.

It was the early hours of the morning, the sun had just rose and I was meditating by a small pond. I hear footsteps behind me, but I ignore them and keep my eyes closed.
"Hey! You done with that, Spirit girl!?" Toph shouts from behind me, making me jump.
"Well, I am now," I sigh as I open my eyes, stand up and turn to her with an annoyed look on my face.
"Well then, come on time for earthbending!" She says as she begins to walk away and I follow.
"So what move are you going to teach me first?" Aang asks as we walk over to where he stands, looking extremely excited. "Rockalanche? The trembler? Oh! Maybe I can learn to make a whirlpool out of land!" He says as he does random moves with his hands while speaking.

"Let's start with 'move a rock'," Toph tells him as she begins to walk over to three big rocks.
"Sounds good! Sounds good!" Aang says smiling as we follow Toph.
"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 explains.
"Like a rock. Got it," Aang says as he jumps around, trying to find a good stance.
"Good. Now the actual motion of this one is pretty simple," She says as she shifts her feet and punches the rock, making it go flying before hitting a part of the mountain and breaking into a thousand tiny pieces. "Okay, you ready to give it a try?" Toph asks us.

"I'm ready," Aang says as he punches the rock but, instead of the rock moving Aang does and he goes flying into Appa.
"Haha, earth beats Airbender," Sokka laughs as he watches us from a ledge.
"Okay, that was terrible," Toph states. "You try Elua," She tells me. I nod and punch the rock, making it go flying into the side of the mountain and breaking it in half. "That's how you do it!" She says smiling.
"I don't understand what went wrong. He did it exactly the way you did," Katara states.
"Maybe there's another way. What if I came at the boulder from a different angle?" Aang asks as he moves around the rock.

"No, that's the problem. You've got to stop thinking like an Airbender," Toph says as she taps Aang's head. "There's no different angle, no clever solution, no trickity trick that's going to move that rock. You've got to face it head-on. And when I say head-on, I mean like this!" She says as she jumps up and crushes the rock with her head.
"Whoa!" Aang says as he backs up in shock.
"I've been training Aang for a while now. He really responds well to a positive teaching experience," Katara tells Toph as she walks over to her. "Lots of encouragement and praise. Kind words. If he's doing something wrong, maybe a gentle nudge in the right direction," She states.
"Thanks, Katara. A gentle nudge. I'll try that," Toph says as she and Aang continue lessons.

Later That Day.

Toph had tried several things with Aang, he did a few of them correctly but he hadn't been able to earthbend yet.
"This time we're going to try something a little different. Instead of moving a rock, you're going to stop a rock," Toph says as Aang stands in front of her. "Get in your horse stance! I'm going to roll that boulder down at you. If you have the attitude of an earthbender, you'll stay in your stance and stop the rock," She tells him as she points to a rock at the top of a ledge in front of us.
"Sorry, Toph, but are you sure this is really the best way to teach Aang earthbending?" Katara asks a little worried.

"I'm glad you said something. Actually, there is a better way," Toph says as she takes a piece of fabric from Aang's clothes and ties it around his eyes. "This way he'll really have to sense the vibrations of the boulder to stop it. Thank you, Katara!" She says with a smirk.
"Yeah, thanks Katara!" Aang says sarcastically and somewhat angrily.
"Heh," Katara says nervously as she and I back up a little. Toph sends the boulder at Aang, it rolls down the hill and picks up speed as it goes. Aang's stance is strong, but just as it's about to hit him, he airbends over it and lets it crash behind him.
"I guess I just panicked. I don't know what to say," Aang says sadly as Toph marches over to him.

"There's nothing to say. You blew it," Toph says with a glare. "You had a perfect stance and perfect form, but when it came right down to it you didn't have the guts," She says as she gives Aang a light punch to the chest that knocks him down.
"I know. I'm sorry," Aang says as he looks down sadly.
"Yeah, you are sorry. If you're not tough enough to stop the rock, then you could at least give it the pleasure of crushing you instead of jumping out of the way like a jelly-boned wimp!" Toph shouts. "Now, do you have what it takes to face that rock like an earthbender?!" She shouts again.

"No. I don't think I do," Aang says gloomily.
"Aang, it's no big deal," Katara says as she walks over to him and puts a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You'll take a break and try earthbending again when you're ready. Besides, you still have a lot of waterbending to work on, okay?" She says with a kind smile.
"Yeah...that sounds good," Aang says as he stands up and begins to walk away with Katara.
"Yeah, whatever, go splash around until you feel better," Toph says as she crosses her arms.
"You remind me of my old earthbending teacher," I tell her as I press my lips together and think of old memories.
"How so?" She asks me.

"He was hard on me, yelled a lot, almost killed me while training multiple times," I list things that had happened. "I hated him," I say shrugging.
"Oh," She says, somewhat provoked by my words.
"But eventually, I realized that he was like that because it made me work harder, it made me better and I'm very thankful for that," I tell her with a smile. "Aang will come around," I state.
"Thanks, Elua. Now come on!" Toph yells. "Just because your brother is being a wimp doesn't mean you get to be!" She says as she begins to walk away. I laugh as I turn and follow her, finally continuing my training.

Sunset.

Sokka had gone hunting hours ago, and he had yet to return. So, Aang went to look for him while Katara and I stayed at camp. Toph had decided to follow Aang, somehow seeing it as a chance to get him to finally earthbend. After about an hour, they came back with Sokka behind them.
"You found him!" Katara says as she runs over to them and hugs her brother.
"The whole time that I was in that hole, not knowing if I would live or die, it makes a man think about what's really important," Sokka tells us. "I realized..." He starts to speak again, but he gets cut off.
"Hey, Katara, Elua, look at what I can do!" Aang says as he earthbends a rock.
"You did it!" I say smiling at him proudly.

"I knew you would!" Katara says with a smile at him. "You tried the positive reinforcement, didn't you?" She whispers over to Toph.
"Yep. It worked wonders," Toph says smirking.
"I was stuck in a hole for hours and all they care about is that Aang can finally earthbend!" Sokka says in exasperation as he crosses his arms and pouts.
"Don't worry, I'm glad you're back," I tell him giggling at his overdramatizes state.
"Appa! Appa! I can earthbend now!" Aang says as he walks over to Appa. "The key is being completely rooted! Physically and mentally unmovable!" He tells Appa, who licks him and knocks him to the ground, making us all laugh at the irony.

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