"You need to stir the sand. That's right, with smooth strokes — don't forget to pull the grains of sand up after your fists, that way you'll understand the basics faster," standing behind Tof and whispering advice in her ear, I watched the results of this gifted magician's actions with extreme attention. Earth and sand, two sides of the same coin — it's easier to master the second if you've already mastered the first, and Tof was really succeeding. The thing is, the movements of sand mages are more technical and require more attention; in the end, control depends on this. And all of this was at the highest level.
She excelled at repeating any movements that needed to be memorised, and she also had a good memory, allowing her to repeat them after only a few demonstrations. Perhaps because I was so attracted to this ease of adaptation, I imposed myself on her excessively.
"Stop sticking to me, I understand what to do!" Toff grumbled at every opportunity. Perhaps she felt that she was being perceived as incompetent, hence her monolithic character that refused to accept any help. "Gr... the sand isn't rising behind my fists, why?"
Some people still didn't get that I just had high hopes for her. Not surprising, though — so that the servants spying on us wouldn't be scared by our "terrible" training, we sat in a small sandbox where little Tof used to love to play. She hasn't grown much now, but she still felt terribly humiliated by all the doting servants, laughing soldiers and kind parents who were delighted to see their child playing.
"Train harder," I said, crouching down next to her and letting her feel what I wanted from her, which caused a dissonance in the little girl. She had to understand the difference between how others perceived her and how she wanted to see herself. To her credit, she had already started doing this before she met me — her efforts in the Arena, where she showed her true self, allowing her personality to shine through. But at the moment, she has been fighting in this Arena for a very short time, less than a year, to be precise. And she will not achieve significant progress in her worldview even after meeting the Avatar, otherwise she would have awakened her Chakras. Maybe only much later.
Right now, she even wanted to avoid the attention of her loved ones. "That's it, I'll figure it out without you, stop following me, you're just attracting unnecessary attention." She went into the garden and built a stone tent in the shape of a simple triangle, closing herself off from me and starting to knead simple dust. "Do you think I'm little? Completely..."
Bang*
Before I could finish, the roof of the tent slowly crumbled and fell away with a slight movement from me.
"Ha ha, is that cardboard? Building protective structures is a whole art form. I doubt you'll ever learn it.
"Are you saying you can make a stronger wall?" Tof felt challenged.
"Easy.
By stirring up my inner desire to compete, I was able to achieve the desired effect. After letting her literally break against the wall I had created, I showed her the horizon she should strive for. And in order not to become her enemy, who only wanted to mock her and show that my skills were superior to hers, I spent time with her even outside of training.
"Come on, throw your food away," I whispered as quietly as possible to myself, sitting peacefully at the dinner table with the entire Beifong family, so that only Toph could hear me, as I looked at the girl's tense face.
She was panting, watching the movements of everyone in the room, trying to catch a moment.
"We're glad your teaching methods seem so peaceful. We were afraid you'd chase our girl around," Poppy said, smiling sincerely.
"Harsh treatment, Toph? No, she's a calm girl, she doesn't want to deepen her knowledge in this area," her cheekbones twitched immediately. "By the way, you should buy her some glasses for class. Earth mages sometimes damage their eyes if they create too much dust, and Toph might not realise she's caught an infection.
"An infection?!" Lao perked up, almost banging on the table.
"Yes, your Master Yu certainly warned her about that and taught her how to counteract it, but as an experienced sand mage, I will say that eye protection is the most important thing for an inexperienced, blind conqueror of the elements.
"Hmm... Tof, are you done eating?" Lao turned to his daughter and looked in surprise at her face, which was frozen in a pale expression, and at her empty plate. "The servants will run and buy you ten pairs of glasses right now. Listen to Master Dagoth and wear them from now on, understand?"
"Yes, Pa," she hid her food under the stone floor, forcing me to cover my face with my hand in an attempt to hide the laughter bursting out of me. "Can I go? I want to take a walk."
"Stay," I said firmly as soon as the girl got to her feet. Sharply drawing all attention to myself, I took my plate, which I hadn't touched, and handed it to Tof. "A healthy body means a healthy mind. She's so fragile, probably because she doesn't eat enough. Earth mages need to eat significantly more — this is due to a person's internal energy and a magical thing called metabolism, which is more developed in us mages.
And I wasn't even lying. If earth mages had a poor metabolism, it would be difficult to build such muscles, unless it plays a different role for Tof. She would drink banana and onion soup so much that it would be a problem to get the smell out of her mouth.
"Wow," Poppy turned to her husband, "Honey, then you need a supplement too. Maybe you'll stop complaining about your health?
"If Master Dagoth says so," Lao rubbed his chin thoughtfully and nodded seriously, "It's okay if I don't practise the art of conquering the earth myself. I don't have any time for these games.
"It's okay. Let me just write you a simple exercise routine. Paper, please!" Placing several sheets of paper on the table under the attentive gaze of the Beifongas, I wrote down simple exercises for each morning. I memorised them while still living in the desert, and had to repeat them often since childhood," She warms up the muscles, gives a boost of energy and adds masculine strength, if you know what I mean.
"Ho-ho-ho," Lao, slightly reddened, took it from my hands with satisfaction and read everything carefully several times. "You have good handwriting. Well, let's start tomorrow. And you, Tof... oh, you've eaten everything! You should have said earlier that we don't feed you enough — now you'll get double portions at every meal. And I'll assign a guard to make sure you eat everything — thank Master Dagoth.
"Uh-huh... Thank you very much, teacher," she said, kicking a small pebble at me, which I quickly caught with my heel.
"It's my job. Anything else?
As a spiritual mentor, I was required not only to teach someone magic, but also to become someone they could talk to about anything. Before resuming training, I walked with Tof in the courtyard, periodically pouring him more of that foul-smelling onion drink.
Sometimes I had to hide him from the guards who periodically appeared, bowing politely to them and receiving the same treatment in return. By the end of the day, I resembled Tof's personal bodyguard, and rumours to that effect were circulating among the guards. They thought I would be hired on a permanent basis as his personal bodyguard.
"Glyba's character is too bold. I could defeat him with a single move.
"Now imagine if he jumped as high as I do. With his mastery of earth magic, his landing would cause a huge earthquake. Wouldn't the shockwave knock you off your feet?
"Pff, no," her haughty nature was evident in everything she said, especially when it came to opponents she had already trampled into the dirt. "Actually, I became the arena champion almost immediately and defeated a bunch of guys like him. The first couple of fights were difficult for me because I wasn't used to it, but then I just listened and instantly eliminated my opponents without wasting my stamina on the fights. But the way you waste yours is shameful.
"What are you talking about?
"I'm stating facts. You're tough, so you think you don't need to conserve your strength? You have to move economically, moving your legs like a mole rat," the girl said with a smile, demonstrating how to move smoothly, making wide arcing movements. It was literally like those animals in the arena that were clearing away debris. She imitated them so skilfully that her senses responded in time with the movements, conveying an accurate picture of each action. "Oh, well done, you're a quick learner,"
she said in surprise as soon as I traced the same pattern on the ground. Literally without lifting my heels, maintaining constant contact with the ground...
"I liked that my teachers were just as blind," she said with a smile, taking a deep breath. "It's easier to understand someone when you have the same problems."
Clap*
"Eh? Dagot, why are you hitting yourself in the face?
"I'm an idiot.
"Pff. You just figured that out? Hey, hey, hey," she grinned cheekily, not immediately realising that I had already grabbed her hand and led her to the gazebo by the lake, where the sun wouldn't bother us. The guards who were passing by at that moment looked at us strangely and didn't hesitate to follow. There was nothing wrong with that. I sat Beifong down at a birch table and immediately took a folding board for Pai Sho out of my bag. "What's that board for?"
"A board game.
"I don't like playing them," she replied immediately. "Sighted people have an advantage; they don't have to remember where everything is.
"I'll make myself blind too," and in the next moment, I took out a blindfold and covered my eyes, blocking my view of the beautiful lake with the ducks swimming on it. All that remained was darkness and the impulses created by our movements. I couldn't see it, but I felt Beifong slightly open her mouth, her heart beating faster. "In Pai Shou, you can implement any strategy you want: imagine our board as an arena and your chips as magic tricks. Now I'll tell you the rules of the game.
Here's the right approach to getting closer. Rivalry, the opportunity to understand each other, and the difficult conditions in which we both don't feel very comfortable.
"...Okay," she said, clutching the hem of her dress, and for the first time she began to listen to me seriously.
At that moment, guards were watching us from afar. They couldn't hide, even while we were blind. Their voices could be heard even from dozens of metres away, and considering the crowd, they were more of a distraction.
"Is Master Dagoth really playing some kind of game with her? The lady always refused before.
"Just look, he's wearing a blindfold. Can he really see without his eyes? Damn, that's scary.
"She seems to be smiling... It's surprising that Lady Beifong is having fun.
***
Advanced chapters:
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