Partners in Blades - Healing

Piandao the Swordsman sat alone in his bedroom, wrapped in the dark of the night, and pondered death.

It could very well be his own death that was coming, but it was hard to say for certain. Death might be just around the corner for his current allies, or his prospective ones. It could be coming for his enemies, but to figure that out, he would first have to identify both who his enemies currently were, and who he wanted them to be. It might very well be that Piandao himself would be dispensing this death, and no matter whom it was intended for, he had a feeling that he would regret the whole course of events.

Why did enemies of the Fire Nation come knocking on Piandao's door? It would most certainly result in a bother.

That night, Piandao would stay up through dawn pondering the matter of death, but Sokka couldn't have known that when he arrived at the swordsman's mansion shortly after breakfast. The Water Tribe teenager had started the day in an unusually dark funk, brought on by the most horrible feeling of all- uselessness. When he had started out on his journey with Aang, he had thought himself the Leader, the only one in the group capable of making the right decisions. (Despite what his sister Katara had insisted, he had done a good job, back then in the early days. Not that he was anywhere near as good as their father, but Aang and Katara had set the bar so low it wasn't hard to be more rational than them. Really, stealing from nasty pirates right on their own boat? Was the concept of 'consequences' that hard to understand?)

The only problem was that everyone else had grown during the journey, and Sokka hadn't. Just the opposite, actually. Well, maybe not. The opposite would be like getting smaller or younger or something, and Sokka wasn't doing that; his voice cracked much less now. Instead, he had lost his confidence. Sure, he might still be a good thinker, but what if no amount of thinking could keep the people you love safe?

How do you make important decisions, then?

He had lost Yue, up at the North Pole.

Then the group had lost Omashu. Okay, maybe the Fire Nation had conquered the place before Sokka and company had arrived, but they had failed in their attempt to free Bumi, and they had lost the friendship of the rebellion there when they sabotaged both their attempts to kill the governor. (The first time had been an accident, the second time not so much.) The history of ineffectiveness seemed to go on from there. One horrible time had been when Toph nearly drowned at the Serpent's Pass. He had just started to get suspicious that the younger girl had a crush on him, but when she fell into the bay during the fight with the serpent, he had been too slow to get to her, and by the time he had followed her into the water, she was too deep. They had both nearly drowned. Thankfully, Katara had become such a Master at Waterbending that she had been able to quickly rip them out of the water, but Toph had needed some magic healing mojo before she started breathing again.

Sokka thought about that every day, along with Yue.

Letting the Fire Nation capture Ba Sing Se and ruin Sokka's plan for the Day of Black Sun invasion had been almost as bad.

It had all come to a head last night, when he couldn't help the others put out a simple out-of-control-super-meteor fire. But now he knew there was a Master Swordsman in this town, and maybe he would learn how not to be a complete loser. That would be really nice, especially with the revised version of the Invasion looming in the near future.

Yeah, sure. No problems. Sokka grabbed the heavy brass knocker on the door of the mansion's outer wall, and knocked.

Mai awoke, as always, to the sounds of clashing swords. She really hated that.

The Fire Nation teenager got dressed and ready for the day, which was a small annoyance by itself. It always involved making a decision- did she want to keep to herself, or join Piandao on the training grounds? The former meant she could do whatever she wanted and train in private, with no one to bother her; the only problem was that hanging around this mansion, and the forgotten town of Shu Jing in general, was painfully boring. Of course, the latter meant spending all day with a bunch of arrogant soldiers who thought that the age difference between herself and her 'husband' was an excuse to stare impolitely; even the ones who didn't stare (which was the majority of the group, she had to admit) were unpleasant company, being both fanatically devoted to the Fire Nation and/or stupid.

Plus, it was uncomfortable to watch them train. She had enough skill with the sword, now, to see the flaws in their training- the very purposefully constructed flaws that Piandao had designed to make sure that none of the soldiers would be able to beat his real students. He had been a deserter, once, and he believed that this kind of subtle rebellion made up for giving in to the Fire Lord's will and selling out. Maybe teaching Mai in the proper style had been his own apology to her, for dragging her into the whole deception, including the marriage-on-paper-only that trapped her in this stupid situation.

Whatever.

Mai didn't have an opinion of the Fire Nation's war. If it won, then everything would be great, and the world would enter a new era of Super Happy Fun. (Propaganda never lies, no. Mai wasn't an idealist at all, and having seen the Fire Lord 'teach a lesson' to his son, someone Mai had held some regard for, by burning his face off had given her something to be justifiably cynical about.) If the Fire Nation lost, though, then there would be trouble of a different kind. Her family was over in Omashu, after all, and it wouldn't go well for them in any way if the locals retook their homeland. Never mind what would happen to Mai herself when the 'barbarian' hordes retaliated with their own invasion.

Not that she really cared, of course.

Mai decided she would get some breakfast before planning out the rest of her day. Too much thinking in the morning was bad for digestion, or so Ty Lee said. (That didn't explain why the girl didn't turn her brain on after breakfast, though.)

She had just reached the mansion's ground floor when the sound of knocking at the gate came through the open windows. Mai looked around for the butler, Fat, but couldn't see him. He was probably in the rear courtyard with Piandao, either helping to train the latest batch of soldiers or taking care of some other servant business; Mai tried to pay as little attention as possible to the man's function. He was too much like herself to be pleasant company.

After a pause, the knocking came again, this time in rapid repetition, like the moron at the gates was working both doorknockers with all his strength.

Mai sighed. "I'm coming, already."

The door flew open, tearing the knocker out of Sokka's hand and nearly pulling him off balance. He managed to recover before falling, though, and quickly took what he hoped was a dignified stand. He looked up at the person who had answered the door.

"What is it?" she said.

Sokka blinked. This was not what he had been expecting. She was a teenager, probably around his own age, done up like a noble from a play. She wore long, dark robes, had her very shiny hair set in a style that looked like it broke several laws of knot-tying, and her whole angular face was pulled down by a small frown that must have had an impressive gravitational strength.

She wasn't the ugliest girl Sokka had ever seen, but it still took an effort of will not to take a step back. "I've come to train with the Master."

She sighed. "All right, come in. We'll see if we can work you into the schedule, at least for an interview. Cash, or gift to prove your worth?"

"Uh..."

The boy- Sokka, he said his name was, and life in the colonies must have been pretty corrupted if that kind of appellation was popular over there- had seemed quite impressed by the legendary Piandao. He maintained a formal attitude that contrasted against his earlier near-pratfall, and made his pitch in the most humble delivery that Mai had ever heard. Her 'husband' had seemed to really like that, and agreed to take Sokka on as a short-term apprentice, free of charge. Sokka had been appropriately enthusiastic about that, but quickly descended back into awkward stumbling and stammering when he had been brought to the courtyard full of soldiers. "You're teaching all those guys?"

Piandao nodded. "The Fire Lord has graciously given me a chance to serve the war effort by training his elite troops. I would personally prefer to focus more on students of my choosing, but part of being a Master is knowing how to choose your battles."

"Yeah," Sokka laughed. "Those wacky Fire Lords, am I right?"

Mai grimaced, but didn't say a word. This is why she hated company.

"You will attend my lectures throughout the day," Piandao went on, an askance glance his only acknowledgement of Sokka's joke, "but you won't train with the soldiers. They're a bit more advanced than you, and I think you could use some personal attention. My wife, Mai, is more than capable of teaching you the technical points, and I'll check in from time to time."

The two teenagers looked at each other. Mai decided that Sokka's expression was a bit frightened. She kept her own face blank; she was used to hiding annoyance by now.

Piandao's talk had been really good. Sokka really liked the sound of "the limitless possibilities of the sword," and his imagination being the guiding force. That was exactly what he needed, a way to turn all his ideas into things that could actually work, actually protect his friends and defeat the Fire Nation. It had been like the swordmaster was talking directly to Sokka, the soldiers around them just so much decoration.

Now came the not so good part. Mai had taken him to a private garden for his first technical lesson. "Pick up a practice sword," she growled. Then she began removing her robes. Beneath them, she wore a sleeveless tunic over a pair of trim pants. Sokka couldn't help but stare, because this girl had a quality that no other, especially not Yue, possessed.

She was covered in hundreds of knives.

At Sokka's stare, she raised an eyebrow, then let her face slacken again. "Oh. I guess I can take most of them off. You'll need to watch my stances carefully, since you apparently know nothing about fighting with a jian." She proceeded to do so, piling up an impressive collection of metal. "Now, get a sword and mimic this stance."

Okay, time to focus. Time to learn how to kick butt with a sword. Sokka grabbed one of the wooden blades- well, blade wasn't quit the right word, since the edges were all blunt- and copied the girl's position. He bent his knees slightly, kept his feed apart, balanced himself with his empty hand, and positioned the practice sword on an upward diagonal between his body and his opponent.

"Ready?" she asked.

"I am ready. I am so ready. I am Sokka, master of Ready."

"Stab me," she said.

He tried to do so. He pushed his blade forward, the tip aimed right at her center, but a quick flick of her own blade pushed it off course. When he couldn't bring the sword back into line quickly enough, she took a small step forward and shoved her own sword into his chest.

Well, that was one expression Sokka could put to rest. This kind of thing definitely hurt more than a sting to his pride.

"Okay," Mai said, staring down at him with dead eyes. "I guess we need to work on your control."

"Start him with the calligraphy," a grave voice called from the garden's edge. Sokka quickly turned and bowed to Piandao.

"The calligraphy," Mai repeated, deadpan.

"Of course," Piandao said. "The fine control that goes with well-crafted characters can be easily applied to the way of the sword. Once a person can stamp a paper with his identity, fluidly and with confidence, they can direct the blade of the sword to their will. I'll check in again in a little while."

Mai sighed. "Have Fat send down a writing desk."

A little while later, they were seated on opposite sides of a small wooden table, right on the ground of the garden. Well, Sokka was on the ground. Mai had spread out a patch of fabric under her backside. Did she keep that in a pocket just for sitting in this garden?

"Okay," she said. "Write your name."

Sokka brought the brush close to the paper, but hesitated at the last second. Katara said his handwriting was terrible, and he wanted to do this like he was wielding a sword, and...

"What are you waiting for?"

Sokka looked up at his temporary teacher. "I'm nervous?"

"Oh, poor baby. I know how to get you over that."

"Really?"

"Yes. Every time you hesitate, I will go back to my pile of knives and throw one at your head."

Sokka finished the characters in under a second. Even he had trouble telling them apart from the inkblots that had been thrown around in his haste.

Mai sighed. Again. "I get it now. I'm teaching a remedial class."

An hour later, he finally had it. Mai guided her student's hand, making sure that even as she moved his arm, she applied just the right amount of pressure to keep his wrist moving in the proper ways. "Now lift the brush gradually, so that the tips of the hairs leave the page just at the end of the tail, and... good. Now do it yourself." She stepped back, breaking the contact between their bodies.

"Okay," he said under his breath. "Focus, Sokka. You can do this. HAIIIIIIIIIIII-YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" With a shriek that actually made Mai jump, he slapped the brush down on the parchment, whipping out the lines of the characters.

Actually, they were pretty good. Nowhere near as good as hers, but acceptable. "Not bad," she drawled. "Now, let's get back to stabbing each other."

"Wait!" He held up a hand. Unfortunately, it was the one with the brush in it, and flecks of ink sprayed at Mai. "Oops, sorry!" Mai glared at him, but he was too enthusiastic to notice. "These are the best characters I ever made in my entire life. I want to sign them! They're like art!"

She stared at him. "How do you sign your own signature?"

His expression fell, then immediately picked itself back up again. "I got it!" He proceeded to dip the brush back in the ink, and then smeared the messy hairs all over his face. Before Mai could say anything, he went on to plant his face into the corner of the parchment, digging back and forth like a burrowing rabbaroo. "There!" He held the result up for her to see.

His characters were still in the center, but now a face-like blotch was smeared below them. 'Suo Ka,' the characters read, in the classic form, and his personal grin was somehow visible in the mess he made just below.

Mai wanted to disapprove. Yet, she somehow felt herself smiling in return. It was just too ludicrous. "Right," she drawled, to cover up the laugh that wanted to escape. "Do you want to clean yourself up before we get back to the swords?"

They trained for the rest of the morning, and Mai actually started enjoying herself. Sokka wasn't an easy leaner, but he was enthusiastic and optimistic, even against his temporary setbacks. He was a little like Ty Lee in that way, but Mai much preferred the way he would focus on her instructions, compared to Ty Lee's attention issues. She could almost understand, in a little way, why Piandao so enjoyed teaching. It had the same rewarding feeling as nailing a perfect shot with a throwing knife. She aimed her student at the target, and both her own skill and the quality of the weapon- in this case, the student himself- came together to follow the path of their shared will.

They finished up a quick spar, Mai letting Sokka block her last attach, and she didn't even notice that she was sweating. "Okay, that's enough. Piandao is giving another talk in a few minutes.

Sokka bowed low to her. "Thank you. You've been a great teacher."

Mai wasn't quite sure how to respond. Should she bow in return? "Yeah, well," she elected to say, "I'm sure we both have a lot more work ahead of us today."

And they had indeed, Piandao reflected. He had stopped by to observe as often as he could, throughout the day, and while Sokka didn't make it easy for her, Mai had persevered through the rough patches and actually passed on some skills to the Water Tribe boy.

Yes, he was Water Tribe. Of that, Piandao had no doubt. Why had he come to the Fire Nation? Was it just to learn the way of the sword? Piandao very much suspected that was not the case, especially given the quick-traveling news of the fall of Ba Sing Se. Whatever Sokka's reason for being here, Piandao had a feeling it would become trouble, and soon.

To be honest, a significant part of himself hoped that it would be.

Piandao's terrible hopes were fulfilled the next day, the day Sokka was to forge his own sword, and brought the Avatar himself to help.

TO BE CONTINUED