"Great, ambition!" she said, enthused this would be fun, after all it wouldn't be hard to teach some basics, the core basics of her training where her strength, "I need you too bend the largest rock you can Physically Lift out of the Earth, Not lift with your bending, but with your hands, You are going to..." she smiled Malevolently, "...Tie as much extra weight too you as you can Physically carry while we train."

She smiled, "Earthbending is about strength of stance, deepness of root, the power too move under the crushing weight of rock without bending will give you an edge, it will allow you to resist the crushing attacks of other Earthbenders and too be able to move with the weight will give you a more solid stance. I trained fastening large iron shackles to my wrists and an Iron Ball too My leg and then practice Climbing Trees, over and over." Hanabi was telling the truth, she didn't have any shackles or a large Iron ball, but the principle was the same. She was going to be Haru's ally, by putting him through training hell.

"I'm not sure about the Philosophy behind Earthbending, but I'd wager your enemies will have verities of tricks. I can't teach you bending, and trying to teach you enough unarmed fighting too make you able too counter bending before the Earth Rumble is impossible." Hanabi smiled at him, "I'm Sixteen now I'd wager, and I spent the past twelve years of my life training, if there is one thing I can teach, it is how to train."

She gestured to the ground, "Bend out a rock for each arm and leg, make each one as heavy as you can possibly lift. You need it too be hard too lift, but not impossible." Hanabi was seriously planning to train Haru like hell. She wasn't like anyone he ever met before, and she planned too try to make him train so hard that he either threw up blood or gave up on the Earth Rumble.

Haru took a deep breath. He was scared. Scared, not only of this girl, but of what he might accomplish...or lose...from training with her. Still, pushing himself to the limit was how he'd led a revolution among the Earthbenders in his village, and it was what was going to help him be the best Earthbender he could be.

He bowed respectfully to his teacher, stomping the ground four times in an odd semblance of walking. The boulders that shot to the surface were pretty good-sized, and he gulped. How was he supposed to lift those without bending?

Without waiting for further instruction, he walked over to the rocks, where they were all lined up in a neat row from when he'd bent them. He stopped by the two in the middle, jumping up in the air. With enough force to break the boulders, he bent them at the last possible second and caused his feet to go into the rocks as if they were made of liquid. They closed up around his feet, leaving them encased in pure stone. The force might have been enough to crush him, but it was as if he'd become one with the rock. Most Earthbenders used this technique to sink into the ground and move to another place. Here, he was using it to make sure that he didn't lose his grip on any of the rocks. Bending down quickly, he pounded the ground with both of his fists, causing the other two boulders to fly into the air at him from the sides. He got back up and punched outward with both hands, letting them become a part of the rock as he'd done with his feet. Unfortunately, gravity was a cruel mistress and he fell forward, his hands trapped by the rocks resting on the ground in front of him. He strained and strained, trying his hardest to lift them up even a small amount.

Then he remembered something she'd said earlier: the legs were a root in battle, keeping you closer to the earth you were drawing your power from. Focusing all of his energy into his legs, he heaved. The young Earthbender's heart soared as he realized that there was a small amount of empty space between the rocks attached to his hands and the ground. His happiness didn't last long though, as they fell to the ground again. Breathing heavily, he was slowly running out of energy.

"I don't think I can do this," he said breathlessly, not wanting to try anymore. He had a feeling that he wouldn't get off that easily...

Hanabi laughed lightly, "This is why it's called training." Hanabi walked over grabbing some cloth out of her pack, "I'm going too set up an Obstacle Course with peaces of cloth as Markers." Hanabi looked around, reached into her bag pulling out the box with swirls on it, reaching into it taking out a bottle of ink.

Hanabi started tearing the cloth, she was watching him attempt too move while she opened the bottle of ink drawing numbers of the torn tatters of cloth, labeling them 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and Goal.

"The way you bent the rocks around your feet will make balancing a bit hard, but its effective, with earth stuck to your feat keeping you off of your souls you should become more in tune with your Natural balance, with your hands inside the rocks you should be able to grab these flags if you pinch each flag between the two rocks." She said standing holding the ten makeshift flags.

"Okay, here is the deal, I'm going too set these flags, each at a different point, each requiring a different type of balance or effort to reach, Your task is to get them all to me without loosing the rocks on your hands and feet." With that she bounded off leaping partway up a tree climbing a short way up and hanging flag one, just out of arms reach, if he didn't have the rocks he'd be able to just jump and grab it, this way however he'd have to jump taking the super heavy rocks up with him and pinch the flag with a clapping motions between the rocks and pull it down.

Hanabi then moved placing two, and three respectively in the middle and across a log suspended over the river, This one he'd have too walk across carefully to the middle of the log, kneel down and pinch up the flag with the cumbersome rocks, balancing, kneeling and then standing again, turning, returning that flag to her, then crossing the entire way across the log again to get flag three and doing the same thing crossing the entire log. The log itself was only 3 feet in width but sturdy enough to hold Haru and the extra weight of the rocks on him, the challenge would really be the roundness of the rocks around his feet and not sliding off or throwing himself off the wet log trying too put one foot in front of the other.

Hanabi after placing those two looked around and looked at a small flat cliff side climbing up about 20 feet lodging the fifth flag at the vary top of the cliff, taking a small stick scratching the words 'Bend the earth to launch you and your weights to catch the flag, if you break your weights you will have to reform them and try again, and if you overshoot you will miss the flag.'

Hanabi leaped down pocketing the other five flags, running back to Haru, her skill as a climber was obvious, "Okay, you have the first five flags set up for you, bring them too me one by one and don't bend unless you see instructions to do so, namely the 5th flag. The purpose of this is acclimating yourself to bearing the Earths weight." She gestured, "Go, there is no time limit, you have all the time in the world, this is earth, there is no rush, think, wait and time, plan. The Earth Will bear your weight in battle, but you must learn to bear the weight of the earth in battle as your enemies will surely make you do so."

Still bent over in an awkward position, Haru nodded to show that he'd understood her directions. Since he hadn't seen where she'd put the flags, this was probably going to be a lot harder, if that was at all possible. Rather than dwell on the negative facts, like that he had his hands and feet trapped inside rocks, he decided to take this as it was and do his best.

No, a voice in his mind said. He was confused, but it all made sense when he heard what else it had to say.

You will not do your best. You will succeed, it continued, and he smiled. Taking a deep breath, he concentrated every ounce of energy he had in his body into his core and legs, feeling the comfortable stability he was looking for. Almost effortlessly, he lifted the rocks on his hands several inches off the ground. Instead of letting them fall, he continued to lift them until, slowly but surely, he was standing upright. He let the rocks swing back and forth slightly, giving him balance. The earth on his feet served to keep him grounded, which actually meant that he could bear the massive weights he'd attached to himself. This alone seemed like a big accomplishment, but he knew it wasn't over yet.

Her remark about there being no time limit was probably the one thing he planned to keep in the front of his mind. That fact alone took a large amount of stress off of him, and that would probably be the thing that kept him going.

Taking a deep breath, he split the energy in his legs and put most of it in his left to keep him grounded. Slowly, he tried to lift his right leg up and sure enough, the rock lifted a small distance off the ground.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to him: why did he need to lift his feet up more than that? As long as it was off the ground, no matter how high, he could move it, even though it would only be a little bit. Holding his leg in the air, he moved it forward a little and set it down again. He repeated this procedure with his left leg, lifting it slightly and then moving it forward. This proved to be a harder task because he had to move it twice as far as he'd moved, beginning a vicious cycle. He sighed, not wanting to give up.

((Sorry. I'd RP the entire thing, but I think it would be better to break it up. If you don't want to reply, just let me know and I can keep modifying the post until it's finished.))

Hanabi herself didn't show it well, but she was impressed by Haru's determination, She herself had done this training when she was younger, back when her second father was hiding out at the base of the desolate Southern Air Temple, she had the exact same training, she had to climb the cliffs bellow the Air Temple and gather flags, however sense she had no weights on her he had done other thinks to make it hard, like throwing Fire at her and slowly following her making attempts to knock her down. It brought back a few memories.

Hanabi slowly was following Haru, her original training that she had taken had been made to increase Balance, Agility, and give the ability to climb under pressure, Haru being an Earth Bender meant one thing.

"You're doing good Haru, I'm confident that you will pass this. The Earth Rumble isn't for another week, so as long as you keep moving forward your time will never run out." Hanabi watched him take small steps, she mused wondering how he was going to cross the log, the logs 3 foot diameter would mean he would have to think of a way to take large careful step without swaying himself into the river. But first, he'd have to figure out how to leap while wearing all that extra weight.

"Haru, just remember not too stop, you have all the time in the world as long as you don't totally stop." This advice was also an important lesson, you couldn't give up for a time, you would run out of time if you gave up, but as long as you kept trying as hard as you can, time itself would practically become limitless for you.

((One flag at a time would be a cool idea.))

Step by step, Haru lifted each rock on his feet just enough to move it forward. It was slow progress, but it was progress nonetheless.

Still, he had a daunting task ahead of him. He had to get five flags that he was sure would be easier to get if he weren't weighed down. He looked around for the first flag and saw it...up in a tree. He groaned as he struggled on, realizing that he'd have to jump to get them. That was going to be hard, considering he couldn't use his hands to grab it. After many more steps, he was under the tree, looking up at the flag and wondering how he could jump high enough to get it.

Finally, he realized that he'd have to just suck it up and do the best he could with what he had. Taking a deep breath and drawing energy from the solid root he'd created. Letting out a good amount of it through his legs, he jumped as he normally would have. The rocks on the ground barely lifted off, but he wasn't about to try for the flag just yet. He needed to see if he could jump that high first.

A few more attempts got him progressively higher each time until he looked up to see that he was in range of grabbing the flag. Satisfied, he turned his attention to the weights on his hands. He was used to lifting them and working with their weight instead of letting them drag him down, so they were getting easier to carry. He'd gotten accustomed to how they helped him balance, and he needed to take full advantage of it.

One more deep breath readied him for what he was about to do. Drawing more energy from his core, he jumped, swinging the rocks upward. They moved more easily than he expected, but he needed to be careful he didn't miss. Things seemed to go more slowly as the rocks on his hands flew up to grab the flag. With another burst of energy, he clapped the piece of cloth between the rocks and came back down, making sure he regained the solid foundation he'd been working on. He hit the ground, feeling his rocks stay intact as he did so. He breathed a sigh of relief and looked down at his hands; what he saw there made his heart soar.

The flag was trapped between the rocks.

It was a huge effort, but he turned around and beamed at Hanabi. Laboriously, he made his way back to her and dropped the flag at her feet, dangerously close to falling over. His breath came in deep gasps, but he'd done it. One down, four to go.

Hanabi smiled at Haru picking up the flag tossing it into the bag looking at him, "Good, this is going well, he adapts quickly." She smirked evilly.

"Haru, for the second flag I want you to make the stones around your feet and hands perfect spheres." she said, Rounding the stones to Circles would make it so he was always in danger of falling over and would force him to focus on his balance, and not just lifting weight.

Hanabi herself walked and looked at his hands, "Good Job, you are adapting well, be careful, the log is wet." She pointed at the log suspended over the river, it was indeed wet, and it was also 3 feet in diameter. Hanabi knew with the rocks on his feet turned to Spheres that he would have to carefully plot his course and make vary careful and balanced rotations to turn around and make his way back to her. This challange was going to be a harder one for him she knew.

"I'll be waiting here, after you get the flag turn around on the log and return to me." The flag she was talking about was on vary middle of the log right over the river, wedged in slightly so held have to get a good grip with the two rocks.

Haru groaned again at her newest instructions but rather than complain, he did as she asked. He lifted each boulder on his feet a few inches and then brought them down on the ground, causing most of the rough edges and angular pieces to fly off and create, more or less, rounded rocks. He was caught off guard at first, but only because he had reduced the amount of rock that was coming into contact with the ground.

When he got used to the new, more precarious way of balancing, he made his way over to the log. This proved to be a chore since he had to be more conscious of using his weights to balance. The rocks on his hands were helping, especially since they compensated for the grounding he'd lost by rounding out the boulders. He needed to keep this in mind, especially since his next flag was...

...on the middle of a log over the river. He hung his head, realizing that this was going to be more torturous than he'd first thought, if that was at all possible. Still, he needed to suck it up because this could do nothing (aside from killing him) but help him.

As he approached the log, he noticed that it was wet. Great. Lifting one boulder up, he set it down warily on the log. So far, so good; he didn't slip. Taking a deep breath, he monitored the energy he was putting into lifting his back leg and slowly brought it level with the other, setting it down gently. He took a moment to get accustomed to the new balance he had up on the log, surveying the space in front of him. Although it was wide, he figured the best way to go about this would be to stick to the very center. He could find the most balance there and if he could manage it, he could walk to the middle without falling off.

As he went to take his first step on the log, he lifted his foot just enough so that most of the rock was off the log. Rather than step as he normally did, he kept a slight bit on the wood so that, if he started to lose balance, he could steady himself without having to wildly flail around trying to find it.

The method he was using seemed to be working; he was about halfway to the flag and he hadn't lost balance once. Finally, he was at the flag...

...that was wet and stuck to the log. He almost cursed aloud but contained himself, realizing that all he'd have to do would be to snag a small part of it with his rock. He bent down, keeping himself somewhat grounded as he leaned. Stabilizing himself with the rocks on his hands, he lifted them small amounts and brought them closer to the flag, eventually lifting them a little higher and placing them on top of the flag. Using the rocks, he pushed them together and bunched the fabric, making it stick up and away from the log. Now, even though it was wet, he could grab it more easily.

It took a little more effort, but he finally grasped the flag with his rocks and stood up, being extra careful not to tip over. Slowly and using the method he'd used to walk, he kept a small part of the boulder on the log as he pivoted on one leg, feeling the rock digging into the wood as he did so. When he was turned around fully, he crossed the remainder of the log more easily than when he'd first gotten on, giving a small jump at the end of the log to get off. Thankfully, his weights stayed intact, but that almost cost him the flag. He caught it at the last second and, still holding on, made his way back to her, dropping the flag at her feet when he arrived.

Hanabi saw the flag he dropped in front of her and smiled, reaching down picking it up and in the same motion giving an polite bow, her hand gracefully swooped up the flag, her looking at him, "Congratulations, Haru, you have done great, you passed the log, the one on the end of the log I am moving, you have been approved for..." Hanabi's fingers flexed in one hand, her readying to point her thinking for a moment, "...Difficulty level two." she said too him. After saying that she ran onward springing onto the log herself running too the end, grabbing flag three off of the logs end.

Hanabi moved too the center of the log where the first flag had been and wrapped her arms around the log swerving under the log, Hanabi felt the bottom of the log and examined it loosing a hand from the side quickly groping her finger into a crevice into the bottom of the log, she released her other hand and hung by one.

"Haru with the rocks on his arms and legs will have to make use of the logs round shape to hold on with his legs using the round rocks on his feet, much like a clothing pin to a line, and grab the flag upside down." she thought reaching with her free hand taking the peace of cloth, she dug her fingers into the wood causing a small splinter to rise from the woods surface and tucked the edge of the flag in it, the splinter held the flag in place and a good tug with those rock covered hands would have him the flag, that same grip enough to get the flag would also insure he didn't drop it into the water.

Hanabi was smiling, she was so glad she had found Haru, for a moment she was just hanging there thinking about how Agni had given her so much luck. Hanabi looked at the log seeing the deep crevices and spots of broken bark, she needed to get back to Haru herself.

Hanabi's Orange and White Eye's scanned the bottom and Sides of the log, her brow furrowing slightly, her examining cracks in the wood and places where the bark was broken looking for a new hold.

Hanabi was still hanging by one hand, examining muttering, "No... no... no... There, yes." She finally found a spot, Hanabi started rocking herself back and forth tell she was almost swinging, and she extended her free arm grabbing into a spot where the huge fallen tree's bark had come off, grabbing the edge of the bark next to the exposed part with her Calloused hand, she released her other hand clasping it to the same ledge, her begining to swing again, this time shifting her weight to pull herself upwards and grab the top of the log pulling herself back on top of it.

Hanabi walked over to Haru across the top of the log wiping some light sweat from her brow, "Flag three has been adapted for the increase in your training, you should be able to use your rocks if you are clever too help you get to the Bottom of the center of the log where I placed it, after you get the flag I grant you permission to dispel the rocks on your legs. Drop into the river and fight the current and walk under the water to shore, when you reach shore form rocks of the same weight as these back on your feet then return to me. Remember, this isn't a race, it's training, if you tire yourself too much grab onto the log as best as you can and catch your breath, the rocks on your hands will make swimming impossible, but the weight will allow you too walk on the river bottom. Your feet will be bare so you can solidly entrench yourself in the dirt under the water, you can use bending to keep your grip with your feet on the river floor, If you think your gonna drown don't risk your life and be stupid over the task, dispel the rocks, get air and return to me so I can set you to try again."

Hanabi was worried that even Haru might not be able to do this, but, it was training, and an exercise, if he did it, great, if not, try again, there was no competition, if he did things like this to the point he could do them with a practiced skill he would gain a surefire edge against most Earthbenders.

Hanabi herself had skill with these sort of Tasks, this one was a mix of the Upside Down Climb and the Moat Walk, Both of which she remembered well.

Hanabi closed her eyes remembering back to when she was younger, about 8.
-Flashback-
Hanabi stood at a rivers edge a tall black haired man who looked wild as the mountains in the backdrop with a thick beard standing over her, "Hanabi, the Moat Walk was a technique used by prisoners in moated prisons too escape, it required training and massive development of the of the legs, enough too pull the iron ball tied around there leg across the bottom with them. You will do the same." The man reached down Affixing a chain to her leg, on the end of it was a large Iron Ball.

"Father, I won't sur-" He cut her off smacking her on the back practically knocking the wind out of her, "You will, I have trained you for four years of your life now. I know rather or not you can do this." He retorted to her laughing.

Hanabi smiled grimly moving forward into the water, the tide pulling on her but the Iron Ball stopping her, step after step she waded into the water it getting deeper and deeper, she had been trained in this and could hold her breath a long time, but this would test even her.

The water was now over her head, her breath was almost out, her hafting to hold the iron ball in her arms to keep enough weight on her feet too keep her able to move on the bottom, it was still strenuous, her fast heart rate from the muscle strain was taxing her air.

After walking things started to get hazy and she started blacking out, stumbling choking on the water, dropping the iron ball her body instinctively fighting the iron ball to go upward but the ball holding her from reaching the surface of the water which she could reach her hands out of, but was to far away for her to get her head over, seconds drug on as the water and tide pushed on her, her thrashing, taking her belt off of her waist and tied it to her chest tightening it as tight so her lungs couldn't spasm and draw in water, then she blacked out.

Her eyes shot open and she saw her father standing over her, she knew she had passed out and he had went into the water and plucked her out before she could drown, but just after she passed out, tears where in her eyes, she had failed him.

"Daughter, this isn't a competition, it's a training exercise." he said to her putting a hand on her shoulder sitting her up, "You will learn to do this. I'll make sure you survive. You're my Daughter."

Afterwards Hanabi had returned to the River and had learned the Moat Walk.

Hanabi snapped out of her Memory, "Haru, I will be watching you for this Exercise, if you get into trouble I'll help you out and make sure you don't get hurt, never try this one alone until you can do it in your sleep." She said too him, a half hearted smile on her face.

((HUNT HUNT HUNT HUNT HUNT HUNT HUNT LET’S GO HUNT!!!))

It was a sad a grim flow of events that had lead to this.

The Hunt, once a glorious group of fighters, had been reduced to three people; Jun, the bounty hunter; Toph, the blind earthbender (a.k.a the Blind Bandit); and Jiao, the last Galgori still functioning in the group. A somber tone, previously unfelt, was now lingering on the group. What was once a shining example of many different people working together and coexisting was now nothing more than a testosterone deprived, estrogen powered train of sadness. The caravanning group of fem fatal was heading westward away from Ba Sing Se and hopefully away from the city that had bought only hell to these people.

Jiao’s gray eyes looked straight on ahead as her white cloak covered her gray clothing. Her black bun continually jumped up and down with each step that Ling, her ostrich horse, took. She was trying her best to forget what had happened, but she knew that she couldn’t. It wasn’t that she was attached to her fallen Huntsmen it was just that…she would have to inform her former leader on the current turn of events. No, that wasn’t right; she did miss them all of them.

She missed the strange naïve personality of Yuan; she missed seeing the white hair and being shocked at how one so young had hair that belonged to the aged. He was an odd one that Yuan, a waterbending boy with two swords. Although he didn’t die, abandoning him in the city like that was just as bad, he sustained injuries that were very grave, and if they brought him along he would be dead.

She missed young Shijin who had a huge grudge against his own people. But why would he? From what she had gathered, he was abused, ridiculed, and treated like shit by people who should have embraced him. Strange how his life paralleled hers, but she never got a vendetta against her people; instead, she learned to hate one sole person, even though she hated him she could stand him. But enough about her, she still wasn’t through mopping; she had spent the most time with Shijin. She had taught him some fighting skills and had even hoped to hook him up with Toph that was to be an attempt to soften his heart. The things that were never to be; it was strange how Koh still filled the mind with such childish images and hopes even though they are never to exist. Bastard Koh, how dare he do this to her; no her duty was to finish Halaku’s job and capture the Avatar for the Galgori.

But how could she with this pain? How could she when the Hunt had been cut in half? June was the sole remaining senior member of the Hunt. How could she let things get this way? Halaku put her in charge because she was the best, right? Not because she was the only Galori left.

Jiao looked back at the remaining Huntswomen. Toph and June, wow they were both incredibly beautiful, and even in this condition anyone would be lucky to be with them. Shijin would have been one lucky boy if it had gone according to her wishes. June might have ended up with Kenji.

Wait, no. Kenji was to unemotional for that wild woman. That stone of a man; Kenji was the prime example of what a proper Galgori should be. Loyal, robotic, and willing to die for the cause; it was strange how he did. But they all died valiantly.

“The Galgori Village lies a couple miles ahead. I want you two to go and make camp near a river. However, do no get near that ring of trees a couple miles out.” Jiao commanded as she pointed to the forbidden path. “If you two get too close to that…I can’t guarantee your safety.”

“See you in a bit, lades,” Jiao said. Just then, Ling took of like an angered Saber tooth moose lion protecting its young.

(OOC: I don't know which forum skin you're using, but if this is too dark, let me know. )

The day was lazy, thick with summer heat and the dusty smell of baked earth. Even under the trees' shaded protection, the air itself was unnaturally heavy, throwing a staggering weight onto the shoulders of all who traveled these roads and sapping their precious strength. If the weather's harsh effects could be felt so strongly in the shade, Hayase couldn't begin to imagine what it would be like to walk out in the open, at the sun's complete mercy. Doubtlessly, the torture would be tenfold for her, a native of the North Pole, raised to endure endless ice fields and bone-freezing winds, the very opposite of her current conditions. Never in her wildest dreams had she thought the Earth Kingdom could be this hot.

She sat crosslegged at the base of a tree, sagged against the trunk with one of her waterskins uncapped and lying in her lap. She'd lost count of how many rest stops she'd made since leaving Chuei San, though the double-digits was very likely; she was running out of water. Considering she'd filled her waterskins to maximum capacity before leaving town, that was saying something. Ah, how she missed Chuei San now. Earth Kingdom summers were difficult to hide from, but Chuei San was a quaint settlement in the hills, where the sun's wrath was markedly reduced and at least there she could breathe without feeling as though she were swallowing sandpaper.

One of the residents had even advised against journeying through the lowlands, as the temperature during summer could reach unbearable highs, but had Hayase listened? Of course not, because that would've been the smart thing to do. It was a decision she kicked herself for right now. At this rate, she might run out of water before reaching the next town.

Well, what could be done about it? Only to continue forward and hope for the best. That was about all Hayase was good for these days, stumbling forward and hoping blindly.

She heaved a strained sigh and wiped her brow, willing herself to ignore how much water her body was losing. As she struggled to her feet, a sudden snapping noise in the bushes behind her whipped her senses onto high alert and whirled her around, one hand shooting reflexively for the dagger sheathed at her waist. Her heart pounded; a sudden attack by bandits or, spirits forbid, something worse was all she needed to add onto her list of woes.

Oh, no. It was just a stray lizard-rabbit looking for food. Hayase watched as it hopped from the bushes, stared at her with frightened eyes, then hopped away. She gradually relaxed, then chuckled softly. This terrible heat was ruining her.

{Sorry for shortness.}

Tora smiled. Honoo was obeying. The young, naked boy was busying about making the beds properly. Undoing what Tora had done. He felt a flash of annoyance that reflected in his glinting golden eyes, but it was gone, replaced by gratefulness. Was this how Koh would have it? That they met that fateful day on the road?

Tora hoped so.

"Honoo-kun, that's enough of that. Get dressed." He tossed a neatly-folded Earth Kingdom outfit towards Honoo's feet, and then dropped the rest in a neat heap on the floor. He then took over the younger's previous task of making the bed. Why was in Tora a good mood today? Honoo had deliberately disobeyed him last night... But now he felt refreshed, happy. He wanted to eat breakfast with his new lover. He wanted to spend many hours and miles with the boy. Had it really only been yesterday that they exchanged their first kiss, the one Tora had been so blatantly uncomfortable with? And now Tora felt like lip-locking at any given moment.

In fact, he leaned over and lifted Honoo's chin to peck him gently on the lips. He stroked Honoo's cheek, and then turned back to his bed-making. It took only a few minutes to make the beds exactly like they had been before they left... If it weren't for the fact that Tora had totally moved them from their bed-foot indentations in the carpet. Oh,well. The hotel could figure that out on their own.

Without a glance to Honoo, Tora went into the washroom. At least all the spilt water had dried up overnight. No, it hadn't frozen. Something happened to make it vanish, not that Tora cared much. He just didn't want to be slipping and sliding all over the floor. He went to a sink basin and quickly brushed his teeth, and then combed his hair to make it look less crazy. Finally, he flicked his bangs out of his eyes. He re-entered the bedroom portion.

"Honoo-kun, do you want some breakfast?" Tora rubbed his chest absent-mindedly, and felt the aching grumble underneath his hard abdomen. He patted it affectionately. You'll be fed soon, my friend... he thought to his stomach. Already, his thoughts were wandering from Honoo and traveling to the refuge of Ba Sing Se to what he really wanted to eat. Tora suddenly was in the mood for something sweet, like fruit... Or maybe a nice sweet flat-cake...

Haru listened intently at her instructions for retrieving the third flag. His heart sank when he heard that he had to cling onto the log upside-down to get the flag, but soared when he heard that he could bend the rocks off his feet when he got it. A smile crept over his face as he realized that he could use the sheer motivation to fuel him while he completed his task.

As he'd done seemingly a million times before, he took a deep breath and turned back around, walking as he'd become used to. It wasn't long before he was in front of the log, looking down at the unknown regions into which he was going. He climbed on top of the log, walking with the same careful steps. When he got close to halfway, he started moving his legs slowly apart until he was doing the splits. He felt the rocks on his feet digging into the grooves of the bark, pinning him to the log. He could feel the force pushing him down onto the wood, and he prepared himself for what was about to happen, he focused his energy into his legs. Bending forward and using the rocks on his hands as support, he slowly swiveled himself around the log so that he was hanging upside down. Finally, he let go with his hands and immediately swung down, hanging by keeping himself pinned to the log with the rocks on his feet. As he breathed heavily, he saw the piece of colored fabric dangling off the log, caught on a large splinter. He swung the rocks on his hands forward and clapped them together, trapping the hanging flag between them.

With that done, he sent a burst of energy towards the rocks on his feet and they shattered, sending him plummeting into the water below. He managed to use the weight of the rocks to turn over in midair so that he wouldn't be crushed when he landed in the river. Despite the current, he felt himself drawn to the riverbed by the rocks on his hands that were still clasping the flag. He remembered her instructions; that he could bend with his feet on the ground. He dug his feet into the sand and bent it around them, giving him a stronger foothold. Slowly, he dragged the boulders in the sand to face the other way; from the bank which he'd just come. He pushed forward and bent the earth around his feet as he walked, pushing himself closer to the bank. Up the side he trudged until his rocks rested on the most stable section of the bank. He dug his feet in the ground still, making sure he was fully on dry land before he lifted his feet out of the ground and stomped twice, one for each foot. A boulder rose up from the ground and enveloped his feet, recreating the spheres that had been on them before. Grounding himself, he lifted his body upright, facing Hanabi. As he had twice before, he walked over to her and dropped the flag at her feet.

Hanabi smiled at him seeing the rocks on his feet, her vigor herself to exercise was back for her more then ever, after getting plucked out of the river she had been tired from the almost drowning and she had finally got all of her energy back.

Hanabi smiled looking at the round rocks on his feet, "Time for the fourth flag, I never placed it, for a good reason, this test is going to be your most physically tiring test, while you have been working I have come up with the next exercise and I'll be joining you in this one."

Hanabi pointed to her feet, "Bend Rocks identical to yours around my feet, I have been climbing all my life so twenty pounds per foot should do. Perfect spheres." she said to him.

Haru nodded as he heard what he had to do. He honestly had no idea how he'd been going this long; perhaps it was his desire to show Hanabi he had what it takes to finish her hellish training. He thought that it was more his fear of failure that had been driving him all this time; after all, he didn't want to let her down. He saved her life, and she was doing something to try to repay him, even if it didn't fulfill her original requirements for paying him back. He didn't care, though, and wanted to do his best for her.

Lifting up each boulder attached to his feet and bringing them down, he focused his energy on bending rocks around his trainer's feet. He did, and her feet were encased in rock.

"Now what?" he asked, unsure of what they were going to do next.

Hanabi pulled up one foot slowly feeling her balance tilt, her rotating into the tilt letting her hands meet the ground pulling both of her feet into the air above her head, she could feel the exact weight of them, and was getting a feel for the rocks balance.

Hanabi's wiry and taunt arms braced her weight with ease as he spun around on her hands spreading her legs performing a circle spin, her dark tanned rough skin gleaming slightly in the light that was slowly changing from morning to noon.

Hanabi after the spin rotated herself putting a foot too the ground standing back up, "To get the fourth flag you are going to join me in some weight training, the style that builds up Agility, and Strength, as well as balance."

Hanabi walked towards the river stepping into it tell she was up to her belly in water, "Come, join me." she said, She felt her balance and lifted her leg doing a forward kick under the water, it adding resistance slowing her kick, slowing it a bit. "You are going to practice kicks underwater with rocks on the end of your feet with me." She did another kick with her other leg.

The way she was kicking was leaping doing a forward kick, then landing on one foot, lowering her other foot back to the ground slowly then leaping again and doing the same with the other foot. With the twenty pounds of rock on each foot and the water resistance it probably was equivalent to one hundred pounds of resistance to her movement whenever she performed a kick, one hundred pounds that after the kick stopped reduced back to twenty. "You can get rid of the rocks on your hands for this, if you don't the current will catch them and drag you to your back."