Sandbending 101

Sandbending 101
Date of Scene:	16 July 2014
Location:	New York-199999
Synopsis:	It's time for Haru to learn further from his strict master, and Toph has a special introductory lesson for sandbending planned. Meanwhile, Tony observes some of this while he is working.
Cast of Characters:	20, 143, 301

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Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
With her own lessons over for the day, it's about time she spent some more time tutoring her student, right? So after reading with Jarvis and grabbing some quick lunch, Toph changed to something more fitting for what she had in mind for Haru.
After the brief radio messages she headed down to the beach by Tony's home, a place she often hangs out when she's not busy with her lessons inside. And her own bending sessions here is going to be the basis of Haru's next lesson. It might help him understand a bit more, who knows? It's certainly worth the try.
When Haru eventually arrives, he should notice easily where his young teacher is. There's the sound of earthbending from the beach, and some pillars rise here and there. And Toph?
The blind girl is clad in a tanktini, a very modest two piece bathing suit as she works on bending a rather sizeable sandcastle, working on the small details like windows and spires with patterns on them.

Haru (143) has posed:
A beach means it's going to be warm. So Haru's at least taken the time to change into something that won't have him passing out on the beach -- a sleeveless shirt and loose pants. He's finishing putting his hair in a braid as he arrives on the beach. He hears the earthbending, and heads in that direction.

Once he gets there, and sees what's going on, he blinks. Sand isn't something that's easy for an earthbender to bend normally. Then again, Toph is a METAL bender too, so she's probably used to bending the rules too! He doesn't say anything as he approaches, since he knows she's aware of his presence.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
Something Haru might notice is that it doesn't seem like Toph notices him all that early, not until he gets really close. Only then will she take a break and turn towards him, offering a wave. "Ah, there you are, Birdie! Ready for sandbending 101?" she grins and crosses her arms across her chest. "As you might know, bending sand is different from bending pure earth like most of us are used to. But there are sandbenders out there, just like there are some waterbenders who live outside the poles. They're... just not that many," she informs him before she clears her throat.
"So... have you ever tried to sandbend before, Birdie?" She listens intently for his response, standing still for now with the half finished sand castle behind her.

Haru (143) has posed:
It does seem pretty strange that she doesn't acknowledge him until he's quite close to her. But Haru assumes she's just busy with the sand castle. Which is pretty impressive! Not just the fact that she's bending sand, either. But it's a nice design! The mention of sandbending makes him blink. "I've heard of it, but never seen it before." Until just now, that is!

The question gets a nod. "I've tried to, but sand is pretty hard to bend," he acknowledges. "It's just not solid enough. There's nothing to 'push' against. If I could compress it maybe, but..." He trails off there. He hasn't compressed sand because he can't bend it. He has to be able to bend it to be able to compress it, after all.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
The blind girl gestures to the sandcastle. "Well, as you see it's possible to learn! I didn't do it until after I began teaching the Avatar, but now I can do stuff like this! It does help when you live somewhere with sand nearby. And if you manage to learn sandbending, then it will be even easier to earthbend. Understanding several aspects of earth and in different states will make you a better bender!"
So she believes at least.
"Now... I want you to pick up some sand," she instructs him. "And park your butt down as well. First you need to focus."

Haru (143) has posed:
Haru nods. "There's a beach not too far from my village," he notes. Coastal mining village is coastal! So there's probably sand somewhere around. Though he never thought about trying to bend it.

He blinks at the instructions. 'Park your butt' he takes to mean 'sit down', which he does. And 'pick up some sand' he takes to mean literally. So he reaches to his side and grabs a handful of the sand. It's difficult to keep in his hands, but he expects that. It's sand, after all. "Now what?" he asks.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
The blind girl remains standing in front of Haru even as he sits down as ordered. "Sand is still earth. It's just.. not as connected, I guess. The fragments glide against each other, making it less solid than the earth we are used to," Toph explains and then points to the sand in his hand. "Focus on the sand you have in your hand. Can you feel the earth there? Like how you do when you bend earth?" It's a bit weird, isn't she? With how she's not yelling as much as she usually does.

Haru (143) has posed:
Haru nods, and closes his eyes to focus on the sand he holds. It's earth, just like the earth he normally bends. Just... a lot of it, and not very closely put together. So... the same amount, just spread out over a larger area. And after a moment he says, without opening his eyes, "I... yes, I can." It's quieter than his normal tone, but it's still audible.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
Toph nods her head in approval. "Good. Always remember to sense for the earth. Might be easier for me, but in time you should be able to do it too. Next..." Her voice goes more stern and in that teacher-like tone that she adapts whenever she's with Haru. "Now bend that sand into a rock, and as solid as you can get it! Get to it!"

Haru (143) has posed:
Instructions are given to bend the sand into a rock, and Haru nods. His eyes still closed, he keeps his senses attuned to the earth he holds. He doesn't think of it as sand here-- it's earth, and that's all that matters. He moves his hands apart, and the sand looks as though it's about to fall through his fingers...

...But it doesn't. It remains there, in his hand. And then he tilts his hands, moving them so that they're facing each other, cupped in front of him. The sand doesn't fall, but instead begins to slowly contract, compress, between his hands. Smaller and smaller. It's a slow process. Slow, but it's definitely happening. The crunching, grinding sound of the sand collapsing in on itself can probably be heard. And... it's a rock!

It's not perfect, not at all. Even as he holds it more easily in the air (since it's a small rock of sandstone now), sand crumbles off the surface. But it's a rock!

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
There's no need for Toph to touch the sand that Haru works on bending in his fingers. She can feel the sand slowly shifting, slowly turning more dense and compact. But it's still too slow... The earthbending master frowns just slightly where she stands, leaning down a bit as her eyes narrow.
"Do it faster."
It's not a request.
"Sand is yielding and tries to escape us. Are you going to let it, or are you going to show that pitiful sand who's boss?" It might take some tries, but he should be able to do it.
And only then will the real lesson begin.

Haru (143) has posed:
This may be where Haru has difficulty with what might be 'unconventional' earthbending. Toph approaches it in a different way than he does. She uses her emotions to help her bend. On the other hand, Haru tends to favor complete concentration over emotional response. One has to be calm to bend, his father always taught him.

Haru takes a breath. The hands cupped loosely before him tense, the fingers curling down a bit more, a little like claws. A frown creases his brow. And he keeps that in mind-- the sand is escaping. If it escapes, he will fail. Do not let it escape. The loose sandstone rock trembles, as if it's about to fall apart, help together only by Haru's will.

It tries to contract. Shivers a few times. And then with a scraping CRUNCH! the rock seems to literally collapse on itself, becoming a pebble about the size of a pea. He sighs, catches the pebble. He looks at it, as if not quite believing he'd managed to compress it that much.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
Emotions? Not as much as pure willpower. To bend a stubborn element you need to be stubborn yourself. Unshakable, solid. Toph takes these philosophies very seriously, and she enforces them on her students as well. After all, as the greatest earthbender there is surely her way is the best one, right? Of course it is!
And even if she is stubborn, she keeps a cool head. She isn't a hot headed firebender.
When Haru manages to bend the rock further, Toph blinks and raises her hand. Bending the pebble to her, she inspects it. And then grins. "Seems you understood it, Birdie!" she grins, then raises her other hand...
Suddenly there's a rumble behind him, most likely about to take the youth by surprise. It seems like Toph has bended a deep pit in the sand... and right after, she kicks the sand, sending the ground that Haru is sitting on back... and ends up tossing him down into the pit!
Stepping up to the edge, Toph places her hands on her hips as she leans forward. "Now that you have proven that you can bend sand, you can bend your way out of here! GET TO IT, BIRDIE!"

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
High above, Tony Stark stands at his living room window with a cup of coffee in hand, and looks down over the lesson taking place on his beach. And snickers.

Haru (143) has posed:
Haru turns to look at the source of the rumbling. "What's-- ?" Doing so has him /completely/ off-guard for Toph's subsequent use of the sand to throw him into the pit she just made. He gives a surprised cry as he tumbles in. The tiny sandstone pebble goes flying somewhere he can't see. When he lands again, he rights himself, standing up and dusting himself off. Looking up at Toph at the top of the pit, he blinks. "Hey, what...?" He trails off as Toph makes her challenge.

He's slowly learning more about Toph as well as about earthbending here. And both kinds of knowledge are useful! There's a threshold here. A kind of dynamic he's still figuring out. But he recognizes the challenge in her tone. And he smirks. He could probably just bend the sand into the pit and climb up it. But that would be boring. And probably not the way Toph intended him to get out.

Shifting, he takes that stance Toph has been training him to rely on. Concentrates. That's a lot of sand. But he can do it. Like she said-- it's escaping, and he's not going to let it get the better of him. Aiming his palms downward, he concentrates that energy downward, into the sand under his feet. And then he brings his hands together, directing the sand to crunch and compress. This is significantly louder than the pebble. It takes him a few minutes. But he will get that sand together enough to lift himself out of the pit with a block of sandstone under his feet.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
At least the sand should provide a soft landing for Haru. So Toph doesn't feel bad about what she did, as Haru /needs/ to handle these things if he's going to call himself a proper earthbender! Some people might go soft on their students, give them gentle nudges, but if you do that in earthbending... well, you are pretty much screwed. This is not flower arrangement or tea drinking. This is what might keep Haru alive in the multiverse.
So better he cries at her than at their opponents.
Good, he's working on getting himself out of the pit. His stance is good... So she waits patiently even as the minutes pass, not saying a single word as she just pays attention. But when it seems like he's about to escape the pit...
Toph kicks into the sand again, and a pillar shoots out straight the sandstone underneath his feet. "Again!" Toph demands with a stern tone to her voice.

Haru (143) has posed:
The move is surprising, and the pillar of sand knocks the sandstone block out from under his feet. A good sign is, when it falls out and away from the pit, it thunks onto the sand and only cracks into a couple of pieces rather than completely falling apart. He's dropped back into the pit with an 'oof', but he just gets back up and repeats the process. This time it takes an almost unnoticeable amount less time than it did. It's still far too long for a battle.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
There's a slight frown on Toph's face still when Haru resumes shaping the stone underneath his feet, and this time she interferes before he can begin his ascent. Reaching out, she gestures to the sand in the pit, having the sand swallow up the stone Haru's busy making. "If this was a fight, I would have had the opportunity to kick your ass several times already," she says. "In a fight you have to be efficient! Why waste your time bending something big when you can do something smaller and quicker? You don't see me bending big during fights unless I have to, right? Now use your brain!"

Haru (143) has posed:
Haru pauses to answer the question as the stone is drawn down and away. He shakes his head. "I can't bend the sand enough to move it very well unless I compress it first," he replies. Nonetheless he tries again. Use his brain, do smaller things, keep it simple. All he has to do is get out of the pit, he doesn't have to fly.

He's still compressing the sand to get the job done, but this time it's not a big block under his feet. This time it's just two small areas directly under his feet, only big enough for his feet to stand on. This doesn't take quite as long. And he doesn't levitate himself out, but rather launches himself out of the pit with the much smaller pieces.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
"Then that only means you need to practice more," Toph concludes as she narrows her eyes. What will he try now? Can he think of something? "With practice you won't have to!"
But at least he seems to have gotten the idea! Toph arches an eyebrow as she feels him bend the sand underneath his feet... and when he launches himself up from the pit, she grins a little. "That's better! Now jump back in again and try getting out of there another way!" The way she points into the pit means that she won't take 'no' for an answer... or might push him in again if he is too slow with obeying orders.

Haru (143) has posed:
Get back in and then get out another way? Haru's not sure he knows how to do that. But Toph's not someone who appreciates slowness in that respect. So Haru gets back into the pit. But... how else would he get out besides to compress the sand under him. Well, maybe he can not-quite compress it...

Haru brings his hands together, a quick push to the sand, under him. Which does propel him out of the pit. In a wildly uncontrolled fashion. As a result he ends up landing facedown in the sand, arms out to his sides, with a muffled 'mmf!'.

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
In his workshop, Tony glances up from a circuitboard at the security feed, and giggles.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
At least he obeys. Good. But when Haru tries to come up with yet another oh so brilliant way of escaping the sand pit, she blinks. Only to groan when the results show themselves. "Seriously...?"
Perhaps she should let him stay like that. It might motivate him to get the hang of sandbending sooner. But in the end, the blind girl kicks the ground and grabs Haru by the back of his pants before tugging him up. "Next time you need to focus on control, Birdie. And try something /different/, since that obviously didn't work." With that she lets go of him. "Class is over for today, we will continue next week. Until then, you need to work on more sandbending, got it?"
For now though it's time to head back to the house.

Haru (143) has posed:
Haru mumbles something the sand muffles, and pushes himself to his knees. He's spitting sand the whole way, too. Ptui. Sand does not taste good. As he raises a hand to dust it out of his moustache, he notes, "That's all I could think of to get out." Ptui. He stands. Nods. "I'll work more on it," he promises. Hopefully he'll be allowed in too. Because he needs a rest. And he's kind of hungry, too. And it would suck to have to go all the way back home to get something to eat.