trans_9 | One more reason to keep on going

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One more reason to keep on going

Irma was gone. Matt was gone. Just about everyone from their universe seemed to have been podded, and Kaya decided, in the wake of this, that she should still make sure the classrooms were kept clean. The place she was staying, Will's room with all of the gymnastics, had been clean after Kaya ad attempted a fairly rigorous workout. She had made sure that Matt's wares were stocked, the common room swept and cleaned, so that when the other came around, they would have a nice place to sit and talk.

First there was Cornelia's room, with all of its earth nation goodness and flowers, making sure that the architecture was carefully polished and everything watered so nothing was neglected. She couldn't help passing by this room and thinking of Toph.

Then she moved onto Hay Lin's room, which never failed to remind her of Aang with all of its wind implements, very much something an airbender would have loved: she would have to make sure to tell both Aang and Nima about it if they had the chance to visit. It always seemed so big and grand and open to her, as she thought the element air should anyhow.

Tarnee's room, while once making her wary with its affiliation for fire, was gotten over once you stepped inside: it was kept in balance with all of the books and the globes that were a representation of energy everywhere. She always loved coming here to expand her mind a bit, and it was a perfect reflection of an intellectual girl Kaya never had the pleasure of meeting.

And then, of course, there was Irma's room. She knew there was an obvious bias here, stepping into the room that reflected her best, with all of its watery element and the ability to swim in and out of the water that surrounded the room. She was cleaning here a little, and then could not help herself: she discarded her clothing, wrapped only in her underclothes and jumped in, allowing the underwater environment to envelop her. Perhaps her favorite thing about this place was how she could still breathe underwater.

She was so entranced, she did not notice anyone coming in.

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"Trust me, I know all about disciplining my body!" Kaya said, gesturing. "Keeping myself this tone has taken nothing less than hours of training, even when I felt I was going to drop. But I'm sure you'll get the rhythm down!"

"This is normally where I'd peel off my shirt to show off my tone," he said, prodding the plantsuit over his chest. "But I haven't quite gotten the knack yet. But you DID promise me a training area in this bus, didn't you?"

Kaya flushed slightly, but regained herself. "It's not necessary for you to do that. But yes, I definitely did. That would be Will's room. Think you've digested the food well enough?"

"No, it never IS necessary, but after all the hard work I put into this --" He thumped his chest with a fist -- "can you blame me for enjoying the fact that I can flaunt it?"

Putting his hand on the table, then, he pushed himself up. "Oh, I'm plenty good to go."

Kaya couldn't help but giggle a little. Guys were SO weird sometimes. Somehow he reminded her a little of Sokka when he did that. "I guess not."

She took him by the hand and led him to Will's room (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v102/elpedrososama/w90-19.jpg), showing him around.

"What do you think?"

Guys also had a lot more opportunity to show off their fine upper bodies than girls did, it must be admitted.

He followed quite docilely, as any sensible guy would do when being led by the hand, to the training room.

"Interesting combination of the mystical and practical!" He gave the floating punching bag a curious tap of the fist, grinning at it. "I don't think I've ever seen a training room quite like this before!"

Yes, but even the little girls showed of their upper body was usually met with approval. Not that Kaya had any problem with this: once you were in the Earth Kingdom, guys with no shirts on was pretty normal.

She nodded. "I thought so too! Will, from what I knew, was apparently a pretty accomplished gymnast, and I've been trying to keep that alive. There's still plenty of other things you can use those: this is perfect for when you have a sparring partner, don't you think?"

Hmm. Pugilism sticks. He casually picked one up, spinning it around him like a staff to check its balance and heft. "It's definitely good variety! I'm accustomed to a more traditional 'isolated mountaintop shrine' sort of training ground, but that just means I need to break habits and get some new experiences under my belt."

Impressed with the stick, he spun it lightly back onto its rack. "I think that's one of the highest-quality training weapons I've ever seen."

"I thought so too!" Kaya grinned, taking the staff in one hand and moving it around her, behind her back and around her side. "If you want that kind of training session, you go to the Sensoriums though. I would be game for that though."

"Oh, I should warn you, in an environment I'm familiar with I'm a cruel taskmaster," he said, flashing her a grin. "A fan of the old classics, like moving rice from one bowl to another one grain at a time through vertical crunches and whatnot."

Kaya grinned. "Don't underestimate me. I've had several teachers before you, none of which privileged me or treated me kindly just because I was nice. Even I know when you get a teacher, you deal with what you get."

Not that she understood that thing about the rice.

He lifted a finger. "If I was underestimating you, I wouldn't have implicitly invited you, now would I? I'm sure I'll get my chance for beginner classes, but I'm equally sure you won't be in them!"

Kaya shook her head. "I am definitely not a novice when it comes to fighting! I'm still going to be evaluating you as you go, but you'll be doing the same, so its to be expected, right?"

His grin turned into an amused but happy laugh. He couldn't remember the last time anyone had felt the need to evaluate him. In some ways this was like a fresh start, a new opportunity to prove himself all over again. Could be fun. "Yup, fair's fair, after all."

"Glad you agree," Kaya said, grinning. "That said, I can tell you that I will do everything possible to be a good student too-I don't mess around. Obviously you don't need me walking around in a midriff or something to know that I'm fairly fit."

"I should be so lucky for that, but it's pretty obvious nonetheless. It's written all over the way you move. I'm guessing you have a very fluid style."

No pun intended by that, since he doesn't know yet.

She wasn't sure what he was lucky about (not baring her midriff or the not being a novice part?), but she did not eagerly.

"I'm a waterbender from my world, so yes, I resemble my element. You'll see a few more styles in there though: Some I learned from Sheeana, a former teacher, some from my swordwoman teacher, and some from Chase, another trainer here on the ship."

"Waterbender?" He wondered if that was a literal translation of a style name.

"Yes," Kaya said, "its my ability. Anything that uses or requires water, I can bend to my will. It sounds like magic that way, but its actually understanding your element and knowing how to maneuver your body so that it flows with you. Much of that is actually mirrored in martial arts."

"Show me?" The downright plea came almost immediately, born out of boyish curiosity. It sounded almost inverse to his own methods; how could he not be curious?!

Well so much for just explaining it and not actually demonstrating. She brought out her water pouch and dribbled some on the floor. She then got into stance and the water, simply laying in a puddle, now stirred. She brought her hands upward and now the water was still, and then started to whirl around until it was a whirlpool in the shape of a tendril.

It was a basic water whip, but with the way she moved and had it flow about the air, he should get the message of what she could do.

What can he say, he's a visual and kinesthetic learner.

It was what he expected, but there was pleasure in watching it, and all the subtle nuances of her motions. He could see what she meant by her description. And he could see she was good, which made watching all the nicer!

"Is that a learned talent, or innate?"

"Both," Kaya replied. "Being able to do it is something you're born with, but how well you actually fare with it is a different story. Many of the adults in our world learn the basics ands a bit more, and that's the end of that: kids, we tend to try different trick, experiment, so we learn a bit more. Also helps when there's a war bearing down on you that you learn by doing."

He nodded, quite unable to disagree with both points. "Can you teach it? Or, if not the actual innate part of the ability, at least the motions and control that go with it?"

"The movement? Well yes, I guess I could do that," Kaya said, thinking a moment. "Actually, I was doing that with a boy, Fletcher, once before. He was trying to get stronger. No reason for me not to give it a shot again!"

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