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the student becomes the master ততততত
Hika still couldn't believe they had actually walked into a Fire Nation town like that. The image of them still swirls around her mind, resurfacing in the sea of thoughts every once in a while and bringing a frown to her face.
First of all, a black cape with a hood was in no way obscuring the identities of the Water Tribe children. Hika could still blatantly see their telling blue eyes which stood out against their naturally tan skin. Even their clothes were still showing, the blue colors screaming 'I'm from the Water tribe but trying to hide it'.
And for Aang, well, spirits help him. All the boy did was pull the collar of his shirt up over his arrow. It didn't even hide his identity, instead just making him look like a really stupid kid with really weird-looking shoulders.
Sometimes Hika finds herself questioning the reality of it. If that's their avatar. . . well they need a lot more time before he can stop the war.
"Hika!" Hoji yells, causing the girl to snap her head back up towards the boy, "Focus. Feel the ground beneath you, feel the connection you have with it."
Hika rolls her eyes, bringing her arms to her center as she enters a horse stance, the typical earthbending pose for beginners. She was in no way a beginner-- she's been bending since she was seven and Hoji knows this well-- so why he's still giving her such basic training stances, she can't figure out the reasoning too.
She shuffles her feet until she's as low as possible, her squat soon turning to a parallel line with the ground that barely even made her flinch. With how many times she got stuck doing this on account of Hoji's training, there's no pull or tightness in her muscles. She could probably slide all the way down until she was in the splits, but that wouldn't appease 'Hoji the master'.
The rocks under her poke and prod at the soles of her feet, yet the girl doesn't wince like she normally does. Hoji said to embrace the earth, so here she is, disgusted at the feeling, yet accepting the crunch of dirt beneath her stance.
She carefully taps her foot with whatever beat belonged to whatever word, aware that she could knock herself off balance with the motion. "Now what?" Hika says, well aware of what happens next.
Hoji points to his feet, where a pile of rocks the size of a rolled-up sleeping bag lay. "Move it. I don't care how, but move it."
Hika can't help but laugh. Hoji knows she can't, and he knows that they've tried this ten times already, so why is he still going at her with the same stupid techniques.
His lips twitch down in a frown at the sight of her snorts. Where he'd usually be happy to see Hika's freckled nose crinkle with a laugh, he's well aware it's at him. "What's so funny?"
"We've tried this a million times!" Hika retorts, rearing her head back as she quirks up an eyebrow, the earthbender still stuck in the deep squat. For anyone else, holding this stance as long as she has would result in an acid that gnaws at their muscles, yet with how strong and defined Hika's thighs are, she feels as though she could sleep in this position.
