The Traitor Princess

Chapter 42 - The Tales of Ba Sing Se

"Mmhm." Eziri walked over to Toph and got into a defensive stance. "Alright." She pulled out one of her training knives. "Let's try hand-to-hand first."

Toph nodded and the pair started sparring. The sound of the sand whizzing past Eziri's face almost sent her into a panic once again, but she forced herself to stay calm.

I can do this. I can do this. She repeated in her head. She knew she was strong enough to get through it. It's just Toph. She's not going to hurt you. She tried to reassure herself.

The two girls ducked and dodged and maneuvered around each other–clearly evenly matched in close-contact. The longer they fought, the more comfortable Eziri got at the sight of the sand. After only a few minutes, her brain shut off everything else and she focused only on training. She ignored the crunch of the sand beneath her shoes and the slight breeze that would skirt across her face as Toph narrowly missed her.

After twenty minutes of practicing, Katara walked back through the door carrying a few small bags. The waterbender looked at the two sparring girls and frowned. All the furniture was shoved aside and there was sand all over the floor.

"What are you guys doing?" She asked curiously. Eziri turned to respond, but Toph took advantage of the distraction and knocked her to the ground with a face full of sand. The firebender landed on her butt and sputtered out bits of sand.

"Kicking inferno's butt." Toph answered. Eziri huffed.

"We're practicing sandbending." Eziri grumbled. Katara looked at the girls sympathetically–she knew both of them were upset with themselves after the events in the desert.

"Oh..ok. Well I'm gonna get started on dinner." Katara said. She took her bags and went into the kitchen.

"So, you over your sand fear yet?" Toph asked as Eziri got back to her feet.

"I'm getting there." She looked at the piles of sand and sighed. "I wish we could spar for real. I want to get used to countering sand with firebending. Back in the desert, that guy just smothered my flames like it was nothing."

"Well I hate to break it to you, but I don't think one bag of sand is gonna cut it."

Eziri chuckled. "No, it's not." She absentmindedly kicked at some of the sand. "We'll have to practice next time we're near the ocean or something. But for now, can we keep working on close-contact?"

"Sure." Toph moved her wrist and gathered a stream of sand around her again.

"Is this helping you at all?" Eziri asked.

"Actually, yeah. I haven't really worked with sand that much. This is good practice."

"Great. Glad to hear it." Eziri got back into her stance and prepared for Toph to beat her again.

The girls practiced together for a while longer, stopping just before the boys returned. Toph gathered all the sand and left it in a pile in the corner of the living room. She then shifted the earth and pushed all the furniture back in place.

Eziri made her way to their shared bathroom and tried to get the sand off her clothes. She stood in front of the mirror when Sokka walked in. He came up behind her and kissed her temple.

"Dinner's ready." He said softly. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and frowned. "Is there sand in your hair?" He asked with a hint of confusion. Sokka lightly brushed the side of her head and a few grains of sand spilled out onto her shoulder.

"Yeah, Toph and I were sparring."

Sokka shrugged. "Okay. Well, come out when you're ready." He kissed her again and left the room.