Wandering Firebender

Ninety Eight: Teacher

For once, Elio felt like a kid again.

He hadn't been home to see his family in awhile so he decided to have lunch with them. They caught up on how things were going with his job as well as what's been going on in the capitol lately.

After lunch, Elio was getting ready to take his leave when his sister, Taiga, suddenly requested that he not leave yet but instead come outside with her. So they went outside; assumingly to talk.

"Is everything alright, Taiga?" Elio asked with a touch of concern.

"Yeah. Does something have to be wrong for me to want to talk to you?" She asked with a snarky little eyebrow raise.

"Haha...well I figured there was something on your mind is all." Elio explained himself.

"Not anything serious. I just wanted to ask if you still know how to do some of those circus tricks you used to do." She brought up.

"Huh? My old fire tricks? Why?" Elio asked curiously.

"There's a firebending demonstration coming up at school and I wanna impress the teachers. I figured something with a bit more flare would get me a higher rating."

"Oh haha I see. Well...perhaps we can figure something out." Elio said with a smile.

He took a moment to remove the outermost garment of his uniform. He folded it carefully and placed it at the foot of the family home. Then he put his focus back on his sister, brushing his hands together and moving his wrists in small circles to prepare for training.

"So, what's your first lesson, teacher?" Taiga asked in a teasing manner.

"Heh, have you been keeping up with your regular practice?"

"Of course I have." She nodded.

"Alright. I'm going to start by teaching you how to curve your shots first." He decided.

"Really? You've never been willing to share before." Taiga pointed out.

"I never knew how to explain it before," Elio responded with a faint chuckle. "But this is a fairly advanced technique, and this is only step one. That's why I'm asking. It's gonna be a lot harder if you haven't been keeping up with your fundamentals." He explained.

"What are you teaching me?" Taiga asked with a bit of astonishment.

"Can't spoil the surprise," Elio answered simply while cracking a smile. "So to start off we're going to get in the usual neutral stance. Right foot back, left foot front, arms ready." He instructed. He stood next to Taiga as they both assumed the stance.

"Got it."

"Okay. Take a few breaths. On my count, fire punch with your right hand. Ready? 1...2...3." At his count, they both threw a fire punch, sending out a small fireball that disappeared immediately afterwards. They did this a few times to warm up.

"Your fire punch look a little loose, old man." Taiga teased him.

"Focus on your own form, you dork," Elio shook his head with a sideways smile. "Now what we're going to is fire punch again but this time you're going to want to keep pushing out your fire instead of letting it go."

"What do you mean by that?" Taiga asked, not really understanding.

"Here, let me show you. Just watch." Elio said, scooting a few more inches away from Taiga.

Elio took in a breath before throwing another fire punch. Fire shout out from his fist but did not disappear. Elio kept his arm extended, taking in several breaths, all the while fire continued to shoot out of his fist extending further and further until he let it go.