It felt, in that suspended instant, as though the heavens themselves had conspired every wandering star coaxed into a rare and deliberate alignment.
A shard of stone, a mere pebble not yet worthy of being called a weapon, hovered in the air. The Earthbender's focus held it there, trembling ever so slightly, as if the world itself resisted her will. Near her, the scholar and the bodyguard observed in utter silence, bearing witness to what, for all its modesty, bordered on the extraordinary.
With a sharp, decisive thrust, the Earthbender loosed her will over the rock. The tiny piece cut through the air and struck the straw dummy with a dull, percussive thud. It did not pierce the tightly bound husk, yet the impact sent a visible shudder through the effigy. It was not power, not yet. But even a pebble, given sufficient force and precision, might one day maim the unwary.
Mayumi's gaze drifted slowly toward the scholar seated at her side.
"A marked improvement." Shan flicked open his paper fan with a crisp snap, stirring a faint breeze across his face. His expression remained composed, almost indifferent. But the commendation was unmistakable. It did not even matter that the 'technique' just demonstrated bore little resemblance to the orthodox forms detailed in his scrolls.
At least in this moment, both the pupil's ambition and the scholar's repute received some kind of progression, as little as it may be.
"Is this… acceptable?" Satchiko asked cautiously, as though she feared the answer might undo her progress. "What I did just now."
A pause followed. The White Scholar weighed the question, openly proclaiming he is a man more accustomed to ink than impact. At length, he exhaled softly.
"Yours truly would suggest that matters of combat are best entrusted to those who make it their life's discipline," he said reasonably. "Nevertheless, your progress in Earthbending is evident. It would be prudent, however, notto neglect your calligraphy nor the study of those dynastic failures that wrought famine and drought upon the realm."
With that, today's lesson dissolved as neatly as it had begun. Satchiko bowed and took her leave, departing the White Scholar's siheyuan with quiet haste.
"Thank you, Shan," Mayumi said once her sister had gone, her tone softened. At long last, Satchiko had demonstrated at least something resembling to control of earth, something real.
"Candidly, yours truly cannot claim sole authorship of Yuko's advancement," Shan replied, folding his fan with unhurried elegance. His gaze lingered where the small piece of stone had struck. "What she demonstrated bears only a passing resemblance to the forms I have imparted. A stricter master of Earthbending might take umbrage at such deviation. However, as you may have already been aware, yours truly is not as easily offended as those petty sages. Even within Ba Sing Se, one must concede that the art of bending takes many shapes across the vast realm."
The bodyguard nonetheless doubted Shan's 'slow to offend' statement. Most wouldn't wish to be in the crossfire of the White Scholar's scathing eloquence.
Strange though it was, the day resumed its habitual course. After the lesson came a modest repast, but thoughtfully prepared. Seated upon cool stone chairs at the courtyard table, the two shared tea and congee, the latter studded with tender morsels of duck. Steam rose in delicate spirals, carrying with it a quiet sense of reprieve.
"How far do you believe my sister might go?" Mayumi asked, pouring Shan another cup of tea as she posed the question.
It was not an idle curiosity. Given their station, such matters bore weight. Any competent educator worth their salt would wish to see their pupil ascend to greater heights. Though Mayumi harbored no unrealistic illusions, as Satchiko would never stand among the exalted ranks of the Zhuangyuan. Yet, to truly measure the limits of her sister's potential in the realm of the Earth Kingdom literati, there might be no voice more fitting than that of the White Scholar himself.
"If you had asked yours truly a week ago," Shan began, lifting a spoonful of steaming porridge to his lips. "I would have offered a rather conservative assessment of your sister's prospects. In both scholarly pursuits and Earthbending, her aptitude appeared… serviceable. The likelihood of her ever sitting a civil service examination seemed slim, though not wholly beyond reach."
With a good pause, the scholar weighed his next words with greater care.
"And yet, yours truly find recent estimations increasingly negotiable. One is occasionally reminded that some of the most formidable statesmen of the past, often main pillars of the dynasty, have arisen from circumstances far less auspicious. There are eccentric origins, unconventional educations, and even illiteracy in certain cases."
Mayumi could not decide whether to accept this as praise or endure it as a veiled slight. Still, Shan had at the very least fulfilled his obligation. Satchiko's literacy had improved markedly under his tutelage. Even if the sudden bloom of Earthbending talent she now displayed could not be attributed to him, the value of this arrangement is not diminished.
Her thoughts drifted, unbidden to their first meeting upon the bridge, especially about his unflinching declaration regarding law and loyalty. When she once again brought it up during this meal, Shan had merely worn that same detached composure, reiterating that justice must remain unsullied by personal ties. Friends, family, such distinctions are irrelevant before the law.
The next few words were picked with meticulous care.
"And who would you consider exempt from such… impartial conviction?" Mayumi said with surgical precision.
Shan took several unhurried spoonfuls of porridge before answering, as though momentarily captivated by the humble dish Mayumi had prepared. Only then did he respond.
"Yours truly is quite certain you already know the answer about the immovable position," he said evenly. "Unlike those sanctimonious Earth Sages, and especially certain Avatars who cling to their ornamental ideals of virtue, yours truly do not mortgage allegiance to the state with sentimental indulgences. Favoritism, nepotism, these are the maladies that have rendered this realm so lamentably fractured. It seeps deep into the culture itself."
The swordswoman lowered her gaze to her bowl. Within the pale, glutinous surface of the congee, morsels of meat and vegetables lay concealed flawlessly, revealed only with patient searching. A few deliberate strokes of the spoon were all it took to uncover what had been hidden.
"Having said that," Shan continued, gently wiping his mouth with quiet refinement. "Yours truly believe it may be more instructive for your sister when she personally meets the machinery of justice itself. Rather than another tour of the administrative offices, she might attend a live sentencing where personal ties are inconsequential. A courthouse in the Lower Ring is presently in need of a temporary scribe, requesting the presence of yours truly. It would grant her an unobstructed view of judgment in its purest form."
Hearing that, Mayumi's grip tightened slightly around her spoon. "Shan, if she were to witness the worst proceedings against wanton criminals, would she be exposed to—"
"Quite possibly," the scholar interjected without hesitation. "Petty thieves often share the docket with murderers and other miscreants deserving of more permanent resolutions. This is Ba Sing Se, after all. Though naturally, a student need not remain for the executions themselves. Yours truly is not inconsiderate."
This answer was at least satisfactory for the swordswoman. Perhaps living here for too long made it dangerously easy to forget that both herself and Satchiko are by no means strangers to the horrors that would terrify delicate girls of affluent households. This fleeting semblance of domestic calm, the quiet routine of meals and study, have dulled the edges of Mayumi's memory. Yet, they are still warriors tempered from childhood, taught to wield steel before mastering speech. Why should they fear when those like their own mother had dealt out similar justice that are by no means the most pleasant to watch.
Would a more civilized courtroom unnerve any of them?
"If it offers you any reassurance, yours truly doubts your sister would be unsettled by the executioner's blade," Shan's words forced Mayumi to listen more intently, almost as if he correctly anticipated her thoughts. "Being a student of Legalism, as I once was and still is, one comes to understand that the failings of people are neither shocking nor tragic, merely inevitable."
The other diner could only ponder what precisely was conveyed by such a remark.
In time, their meal concluded. All that remained was to summon the student in a few days' time.
Until then, Mayumi believed there are personal matters best attended to.