The Traitor Princess

Chapter 13 - Wisdom in the Woods

After flying for a few hours and satisfied they were a safe distance from Zuko, the group decided to land near a patch of woods a couple hours before sunset.

They all got off Appa and started unloading. Aang and Eziri grabbed items from the saddle and handed them down to the Water Tribe siblings. Once everything was unloaded, Aang and Sokka removed Appa's saddle.

Before long, the group had a small campsite set up beneath the trees. With nothing else to do, Eziri got an idea.

"Alright, everyone. It's time to learn how to fight." Eziri chirped. Everyone stared at her with mild confusion. She rolled her eyes and explained herself. "I've been thinking about Aang's suggestion earlier today. You could all use some training in hand-to-hand. Plus, I haven't sparred in a while and I don't want to get rusty."

"But why would Aang and I need that? I mean, we both have our bending," Katara chimed in.

"No offense, Katara, but you're not exactly a master yet. Plus, what would you do if you didn't have access to water?" Eziri asked. Katara thought for a moment and then dropped her gaze to her feet. "And Aang, you're the Avatar. A little extra training couldn't hurt. Besides, I'm going to start with something really simple. It's good to know some basic defense if you're ever in a bind. As an airbender, defense and evasion should be a piece of cake, right?" Aang used his airbending to propel himself into a standing position.

"Okay, let's do it!" Aang said excitedly. Reluctantly, Sokka and Katara stood too.

"Great! We're going to start on some simple disarming." Eziri reached into her bag and pulled out a sparring knife. She silently thanked herself for grabbing it when she left Zuko's ship. Sometimes she and Ju would use sparring knives when they practiced. In all honesty, it was more for Ju's safety than Eziri's. But Eziri never said that. Eziri's mind started drifting to Ju's kiss and impromptu love confession and she shook her head. She made a mental note to talk to Katara about it later.

"Ok, pupils. This--" Eziri held up her knife. "--is a sparring knife. The blade is dulled so it won't cut or hurt you. I'm going to teach you a simple tactic and then I want each of you to try and disarm me." Eziri motioned towards Katara. "Here, take the knife. I want you to stand behind me and hold it to my throat." With a bit of hesitation, Katara did as instructed.

"Alright, watch my movements. I'm going to do it once in real time and then I'll break it down slowly." Eziri instructed. "You ready?" Eziri asked Katara. The younger girl nodded. "Okay, I'm not going to actually hurt you, but try to keep a tight grip on the knife."

Without hesitation, Eziri slid her dominant hand around Katara's wrist and started pushing her arm. Katara pushed back and tried to keep the knife by Eziri's neck. With Katara's attention on her hand, Eziri was able to shift and bring her foot up. She lightly stepped on Katara's foot--careful not to actually hurt her--and simultaneously pushed her right hand out. With Katara's focus now on her stepped on foot, she released the pressure on the knife, dropping it. Eziri was quick to catch it in the air.

Aang clapped with a smile and Katara looked impressed.

"Alright, now in the real world it won't be that easy. Your opponent could be stronger than you, they could have on protective footwear, or a million other advantages that make your disarming attempt useless. This is just a move to get you started. Now I'm going to do a variation of the same move. Just for fun, let's pretend my hands are bound this time."

Eziri motioned for Katara to bring the knife back to her throat. Katara did as instructed and Eziri brought her wrists together as if they were bound. This time, Eziri brought her elbow back into Katara's stomach. When Katara reacted to the hit, Eziri used both hands to shove the knife forward and take a few steps away.