Training day with a Beifong (part 2)

(Kai POV)

It's already been 5 weeks since I arrived at the training facility with Lin. And every morning she would wake me up, by banging a metal bucket with a giant spoon beside my bed, scaring the living daylights out of me. I would hurriedly wash up and put on my clothes, which were just a white tank top, and some pants, but no shoes. She said that I had to feel the Earth beneath my feet every time we would train. But as the days went on I got used to it, and I no longer needed her as my personal alarm.

I would make my way down to the training field, where she would wait for me with her hands behind her back. And whenever I arrived in front of her, she would bend a boulder; one even larger than the next, out of the ground and drop it in my arms. Then I had to run 5 laps around the whole training field, for warm-up.

Ha! Warm up my behind, I think she just wanted to torture me, to be honest.

We did several training exercises like what Toph used to teach Aang. To me, when I watched behind the screen I thought that, If I was an Earthbender, I would easily do those training exercises. But when I started training on the first day. Let's just say it didn't end well.

The training was extremely rigorous and tough, and the first day was even more so. And Lin expected perfection and persistence in everything. I always knew she was tough, uncompromising, and blunt, but Oh, man. What I saw on the screen was nothing compared to how she really was in real life.

Day in and day out, she would work me to the bone. She even did a surprise wake-up call in the middle of the night, and then made me do countless Earthbending drills nonstop. I would sometimes finish training with bruises and cuts all over my body, but she made sure to always have a Waterbender that could heal on standby. And when I was done healing, she wasted no time and threw me right back into training.

But I did improve over the 5 weeks. She said that I was a natural in Earthbending and that I quickly understood, and adapted to the training. She also said, that with how I'm progressing at a very fast rate, I could master Earthbending within a few months rather than a few years, along with Metalbending.

And speaking of Metalbending. Tomorrow we were going to skip Earthbending for a bit and begin with my first Metalbending lesson.

---------------------

(Kai POV)

I woke up around 4 o'clock in the morning, which was my standard wake-up time. I washed my face a bit and was beginning to do my morning work-outs. Like push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, you know, the usual stuff. Even went outside the training facility to run to the base of the mountain and back a couple of times.

Teach suggested that I had to find a quiet place to meditate to listen to the Earth beneath my feet, so I did. I found a nice spot surrounded by a few trees, high in the mountain overlooking the training facility, and also got a gorgeous view of Republic City when the sun came up. To reach it, I had to propel myself upwards on huge rocks using Earthbending.

I took me a few tries to do it, but I got a hang of it in no time. I even raced Lin a couple of times up the mountain when we finished training early. But she was always somehow the first to the top of the mountain, and always finished it with a smug look on her face.

Lin and I had also gotten very close, too. When we were done training for the day, we would sometimes talk after about certain stuff. Most of the time it was a brief conversation, but Sometimes it was personal. Like the time she told me a little bit about her relationship with her mother and her sister. I never actually really knew what it was like to have siblings, so I couldn't really say much. But I still listened to her though, which she very much appreciated.

Back at the training grounds, I returned from my meditation place up in the mountains. The guards saw me coming and they opened the gates. I was heading to my room to freshen up, when I saw Loui and a guard playing the game Pai sho in the front yard.

---------

(5 weeks ago)

I told Lin about Loui, the old man who took care of me when I arrived in Republic City. I asked her if she could find him and bring him here. She agreed and not long after, he arrived. When I saw him, I was so relieved. I slowly walked up to him and tried to go in for a hug. He opened his arms and I thought he was also reaching for a hug, but what I got were some ear pulling and very loud scoldings instead.

"KID!! DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG I HAVE BEEN SEARCHING FOR YOU?! I ASKED THE POLICE WHERE YOU WERE, BUT THEY WOULDN'T GIVE ME SQUAT!", Scolded Loui so loud, that his voice echoed through the whole mountain.

"I'm sorry, Loui! I just forgot, okay! Ow, ow! Not so hard!", I tried to apologize, while having my ear pulled.

"YOU FORGO--WHERE'S MY SLIPPER?!".

Loui grabbed his red slipper and chased after Kai the entire evening, while Lin watched on and said nothing.

Remembering what happened 5 weeks ago, I had a smile on my face. I walked to him and greeted.

"What's up, Loui", I waved at him.

Loui saw me coming to him and greeted back and returned to the game.

"Morning, Kai. When up to meditate in the mountain, huh?". Said Loui, while focusing on the game.

"Yeah. Hey, Li. Still trying to beat him, huh?", I spoke to the guard, who was scratching his head. I looked around the training grounds and saw that Lin was nowhere in sight. I looked to the guard and asked him, "Hey, Li. Where's Lin?".

"Oh, She went to down to Republic City, to grab something for your Metalbending training. She said she would arrive real soon", said the guard.

I nodded and when to my room to freshen up, leaving the two to their game. I almost forgot that today, I was going to learn Metalbending. I was in the bathroom, thinking about the training I was going to do, and I was getting super excited.

After a few minutes, I got out of the bath and I got in my usual training clothes. I went out to the front yard, where Loui and Li were still playing Pai sho. I sat down next to them and was spectating the game, while waiting for Lin to come back.

Loui tried to teach me while he was playing, but I couldn't understand any of it. A few hours went by, and I was resting in my chair with my feet up on the table. Loui beat Li again for the tenth time and both went their separate ways. Li went back to his duty and Loui was looking for another victim to play Pai Sho with.

"Airship ahead!", screamed one of the guards on top of the wall, causing me to almost fall out of my chair.

I looked up into the sky and saw a large zeppelin-like vessel coming closer and closer. It hovered right above the training ground, and a large panel started to retract underneath the airship. A metal cage started to come out of the panel with Lin on top of it and descended to the ground.

I walked towards the metal cage that landed in the middle of the training ground. Lin dropped from the cage and greeted, "Morning, kid. I apologize for being late. Things are getting quite hectic back at Republic City".

"Hectic, huh? Are you talking about the, uh, the rising conflicts between the benders and non-benders?", I asked curiously.

"Yeah. How do you know?".

"Oh, I heard it on the radio", I replied and began thinking how soon the story was going to start. During the weeks of training, I was wondering when I was going to meet Korra, and how I was going to meet her. I thought of different types of scenarios on how to introduce myself, but I let it slide for now.

Because now, I had to focus on mastering Earthbending and Metalbending first. And in the future, I was going to try Lavabending and other sub-bending skills of Earthbending.

"Alright, kid. Now we're going to work on your Metalbending".

She moved her arms across and the metal cage was starting to open. She gestured me to go inside and I did. Then she moved across again, and the cage sealed shut. Inside was very narrow, but not so much that I couldn't be able to move. If someone with claustrophobia went in instead of me, that person would've died.

There was a little window opening in front and above me, with the sun shining right on top of me. This seemed really familiar and it hit me. This was the same way Toph learned--no, invented Metalbending.

Lin was outside the cage beginning her lecture, "Kid! Do you know how we Earthbenders can bend Metal?".

"Well, since metal is just earth that has been purified and refined, Earthbenders can sense traces amount of earth in the metal!. Allowing us to target it and bend the purified metal itself!", I replied.

"That is absolutely correct, kid! Now, what I want you to do is to sense the earth in that metal cage and bend it open! Are you ready?".

"I'm ready!", I answered loudly.

"Begin!".

I took my stance and breathed deeply through my nose. I closed my eyes and I used my seismic sense that Lin taught in my Earthbending training.

"BANG!"

At first, I couldn't sense anything, so I tried again.

"BANG!".

I slammed my hands and my feet at the metal again, and then I began to 'see' something. It was faint at first, but it was there. So I hit the metal again, and this time became clearer. I continuously slammed the metal again and again, and it felt like I could 'see' everything. My eyes were still closed, but it felt like I was watching everything in third person.

I could 'see' the traces of earth buried within the metal. I touched the metal wall in front of me, and I balled up my fist. Then I retracted my arm back and I punched!

"BANG!"

I opened my eyes and I saw my fist making a big dent in the metal. I pulled back my fist, and it left a print of my fist in the metal. Then I was getting pumped up. I continuously punched the metal until it was littered with fist prints. I pointed my hands forward, and I stabbed the metal, penetrating it.

I grabbed hold of the metal and I started to separate it, creating creaking sounds. I tore open the metal, like it was paper, and walked out of the cage. Lin was right outside watching as I did so with her arms folded and had a satisfied look on her face.

She looked at me and said, "Congratulations, Kid. You're now officialy a Metalbender".

"Thanks, Teach".

I looked at my hands and they were slightly trembling. I was feeling ecstatic. I was finally a Metalbender. All that was next for me to do was Lavabending and then the other sub-bending skills.

"But, you're not done yet, kid. You're still restricted to close range. And you still need learn how to freely shape it and bend it from a distance", she said and continued, "So tomorrow morning, we'll begin Metalbending training along with your Earthbending training, understand?".

"I understand. And I'm looking forward to it very much".

Lin nodded and she went back to the airship, and headed toward Republic City. I looked at the metal cage and began to practise my Metalbending all day long.