The Outsider- Avatar Fanfic

Chapter 33 - Chucking Rocks

I was woken by someone shaking me violently and screaming in my ear. No, we weren't under attack; Aang was just very excited this morning. Why? Well, today was the day we would be learning earthbending.

At least, that's what I thought he said. It was a bit hard to tell, if I'm honest, as I was still very much half asleep and groggy from my dream of Momo screaming at me. Which, I realised when I had woken up a bit, was actually Aang's voice infiltrating my subconscious.

I was well and truly jolted into reality when a deep rumbling shook the campsite, and Toph exploded from her earth tent. 'Good morning earthbending students!'

'Spirits,' I heard Sokka groan, voice like someone who'd smoked a pack a day for fifty years. 'Go and chuck rocks somewhere else, a man's gotta get his sleep.'

'Oh! Well there's no men here, so we should be fine,' Toph chirped, grinning as Sokka raised his head slightly to glare at her through squinty eyes.

I chuckled, rubbing my eyes. Katara was already up and making something for breakfast, while Aang was quite literally hovering around Toph with the biggest grin I'd ever seen. It warmed my heart a little, to see him so genuinely happy for the first time in a while.

'Alright,' I grunted, getting up and stretching. 'When do we start?'

oOo

'So what are you going to teach us first?' the young Avatar chirped, flitting about from either side. He was practically vibrating. 'The landslide? The trembler? Oh! What about a wall of earth—'

Toph shot her hand out as Aang passed by, jolting him in place by her side. 'How about we start with move a rock.'

'Oh, uh...' Aang blinked. 'Of course, of course.'

'You didn't think it was going to be that easy, did you Aang?' I grinned, following Toph as she took us to an arid rocky area not far from our camp. And it did turn out that chucking rocks wasn't as easy as it sounds. But really, are we surprised by now? Of course it wasn't so simple. Poor Aang; he was so excited about it, too.

'Maybe if I just approached it from a different angle,' the young Avatar chirped, hands raised as he circled the gigantic round boulder Top had tasked us with moving. So far, neither Aang or I had succeeded in moving the damn thing an inch in any direction.

And I thought I was stubborn.

'See, this is your problem,' Toph barked, snatching Aang back to her side without even glancing in the boy's direction. 'You're thinking too much like an airbender. Both of you are.'

'That is kinda all we know,' I quipped, raising an eyebrow. 'That and waterbending.'

'Does this look like waterbending to you?'

'Well obviously not—'

'Than stop thinking like it.'

I pursed my lips. 'You are the snarkiest twelve year old I've ever met.'

'Honey, I can be way worse.'

'Jesus, puberty's going to be a fucking nightmare,' I whispered under my breath, quiet enough for the girl to not hear. She may have had seismic sight, but didn't have super-hearing, thank the gods.

Toph turned to Aang, who's tunic was still in her small fist. 'There is no "other angle" with earthbending. Earth is stubborn; it doesn't want to move.' She shifted, letting Aang go and sliding into a wide legged stance with ease. 'It will push back. So you have to be more stubborn, and push harder.'

With a swift move she brought her left fist to the boulder and sent it flying across to the other side of the training site.

'You make it look so easy,' Aang grounded, rubbing his hands on his face.