In Isolation

162AG Fall

The next time Kya and Izumi came, they built a sparring arena.

It was massive and designed to accommodate a battle between all of the elements. A water filled moat surrounded the main sparring platform, and eight giant pots sat equidistant from each other, each filled with a slow burning coal that was lit whenever the arena was in use.

Kya and Izumi taught the children forms from their respective bending styles as well as miscellaneous specialized techniques in the sparring arena until the children were brave enough to face masters of the other elements.

"I haven't even sparred mom yet!" Hungjian exclaimed when Izumi first suggested he begin sparring the masters.

"You're twelve already, you should try." Kya said from a seat on the bottom row of the bleachers, getting a drink. "Trust me, Lin won't actually hurt you, but if you're still afraid, it would be best do it when I'm here and heal whatever she does to you more or less immediately!"

"Okay," Hungjian took a deep breath. "Mom, can we spar?"

"Are you ready?" Lin asked standing, setting Kang down with a couple of toy sky bison and badgermoles.

"I think so," Hungjian said apprehensively.

"Okay. Remember you must feel the earth around you. The earth behind and to the sides. Sometimes, the eyes can be distracting." Lin said as they paced around each other. She threw her son with one slide of the heel. He bounced and rolled into his feet again and tossed a boulder at her. She caught it and instead of returning it, cast it aside and smiled.

"Good recovery. Never back down, my little badgermole!" She said kicking up an even larger boulder. He rightly dodged this one and sent smaller ones he could lift her way. He kicked and punched dozens of them and watched as she weaved between some, blocked others with walls or pillars and disintegrated a few to sand with her deceivingly feeble-looking wrists. He was out of breath.

"You will save a lot of energy if you wait," Lin began to say, lifting another massive rock. "and listen," she finished abandoning the rock creating a curved jagged explosion in the ground knocking Hungjian over from the side while he was distracted by the massive rock that he expected to come at his face. He fell over onto the ground and remained there, perfectly conscious but fatigued.

"I think that's enough for today," Lin smiled walking over to help him up. "No broken bones, right?" She asked.

He shook his head.

"Good," she replied as they made their way over to the bleachers for a drink.

"Mom, What was it like to be trained by Grandma Toph?" Huifan asked.

"Uh... a lot harder than how you guys are trained now."

"How so?"

"I remember a lot of 'suck it up and learn to defend yourself'!" Lin replied. "Followed by an onslaught of boulders, pebbles, and moving walls and then a good few hours getting healed by Aunt Kya's Mom."

"Often times, your mother simply ran away to train with your Grandpa Aang instead," Kya added.

"Grandma Toph wasn't a bad person, she just had really high expectations and wanted your aunt Su and I to be strong and brave. According to her, you can only be brave when you are afraid, so she made us afraid when we trained so we could practice being brave."

"Oh. Will we ever get to meet her some day? Her and Aunt Su?" Huifan asked.

"Maybe. I know Aunt Su is dying to meet you but she's busy building a city!"

"Woah!"

"Can we go visit her some day?"

"When the streets are safer maybe,"

"But that will NEVER happen,"

"Says who?"

"Says you! You said though the names may change, the streets ALWAYS stay the same!"

Lin sighed. "We'll see. Maybe when you're stronger and can keep yourself and each other safer, I'll let you go visit Aunt Su in Zaofu," Lin told them.

The children seemed satisfied with her answer and smiled. After the short break, Aunt Kya choreographed a dance for herself, the Fire Lord, the metalbending Chief of Police, and the earth and air bending children to all perform together in perfect synchronization and harmony, incorporating all of the elements and styles into one form. It was a spectacular sight indeed.