trans_9 | Bene Gesserits for Dummies

The day after the Hannukah celebration, Katara had time to think about the last twenty four hours. The idea of a challenge, the training Sheeana was taking about, was still fresh in her mind. There was no avoiding it: she WANTED to be a Bene Gesserit, wanted to be trained well enough that she could move as the Mother did. She didn't know how enthusiastic she had seemed then, but she had even replaced one of her usual Yoga practices with trying to move a limb independent of all other: to no avail, sadly, but she was getting closer, she knew that well enough, but it wasn't enough for her to do the exercises, she wanted to know more about them too. So naturally, the Media library was the best place to go.

She made her way to the place and poured through the material, avoiding several interesting books about martial arts and looked up specific sisterhood paths. There were several interesting goddess ones she wanted to research later, and one called "Dianic Wicca" that would probably have bothered Sokka, but she was finally at the Bene Gesserit, and engrossed herself in her readings.

Thus spoke St. Alia-of-the-Knife: "The Reverend Mother must combine the seductive wiles of a courtesan with the untouchable majesty of a virgin goddess, holding these attributes in tension so long as the powers of her youth endure. For when youth and beauty have gone, she will find that the place-between, once occupied by tension, has become a wellspring of cunning and resourcefulness."

"Interesting," Katara said to herself aloud, reading on.

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Sokka skimmed the page, raising an eyebrow. "Uh-huh, uh-huh...interesting. So, is this like, a form of martial arts or something? Seems neat."

Katara nodded and shook her head. "Well yes, and no. I don't think its just martial arts, and its definitely different from anything I've ever learned. To do this, there are going to be times when I'm pushed to the limit. It's good that I'm very limber, but to do what Sheeana does, will take...skill."

She looked at her feet, thinking of the exercise Sheeana had wanted her to learn before.

"What kind of skill are we talking? Suki level? Ty Lee?" Sokka scratched his head, never having seen the Bene Gesserit in action.

"Besides, you have bending. You don't really need to learn to fight like them."

"More like both of them, really," Katara said, remembering how quick Sheeana had moved when she had been practicing her training. "You have to be able to move your entire body at will, Sokka: its as if all the nerves in your body reacts. It's very difficult."

Katara shook her head. "I don't agree Sokka. I'm glad that I'm a Waterbending master, don't get me wrong. But I still want to train, and I still want to get stronger. I don't think we ever stop learning."

"Whoa, that's some crazy stuff!" He grabbed the book and flipped through it, interested piqued. "Do you think I could learn this kind of thing, too? I mean...seems like it'd be pretty useful. Swords and guns are all good, but it'd be really good if I could kick some butt in other ways."

He shrugged at Katara. "Just saying. You never seemed interested in this kinda stuff at home." Yeah, there's a little wounded pride there. Apparently swords and spears and boomerangs weren't awesome enough.

Katara shrugged. "Well its a sisterhood, and I don't know if guys join, but you could always ask Sheeana. But I think it'd be a good thing, don't you? I haven't been able to train with water as much as I'd like, and if we're in a place where there's no water, it'd be better if I can use my body more efficiently."

Katar looked surprised. "Sokka, its not that I wasn't interested in the way YOU fight. But you need weapons for it, and you're really smart at how you use them. I'm a waterbender, and that means having an intimate knowledge of how my body reacts to situations and how quickly I can improvise. How else do you think I was able to beet Azula?"

Bene Gesserits for Dummies

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