Wei was the first to step forward, planting her Ji into the dirt and standing stiffly before her uncle. "I'll go."

Her voice held no hesitance, no room for argument, especially not on the general's part. She barely paid her future teammates any mind; she knew what this display of confidence and stubbornness would blossom among them. It would bathe her image in a brash light, one that warded others away from her and abandoned the idea of forming bonds.

Good. She preferred to work alone.

Her uncle straightened, the clenching of his jaw evident of his disapproval. Wei thrived in it. In the defiance. "Although I admire eagerness in my soldiers, being overly zealous in the battlefield can lead to your downfall," he chided.

"Don't waste your Zen shit talk on me, general." Wei spat general with a thick coating of disgust. General Huang nearly bristled at the disrespect, but clamped down on his emotions and stepped aside, arm swinging out to his veteran soldiers. Each brandished weapons of their speciality, all seasoned non-benders and aloof from years of bloodshed. "Very well then, Wei. Choose whoever you deem necessary to spar with--"

"The one with the stupidly long ponytail," Wei interrupted while jabbing the blade of her halberd at the man in question.

He appeared to be a part of the more stoic bunch and barely bat an eyelash at the girl's insult. Twin Dao swords rested in an X across his back. His loose, billowing clothing were bound around the wrists, ankles and waist by wrapping gauze. He approached silently, stopping before Wei to give the customary bow.

She scoffed and twirled her Ji around into an offensive stance. She rested low to the ground, leading leg fully outstretched to the heel and hind leg bent at the knee. Fanziquan spoke of a fighter's focus being completely honed into their opponent and environment all at once, always strategizing, always acting on a move five steps ahead. Of fighting with non-stop fluidity, of every move feeding into the next without pause.

And yet, Wei's gaze strayed back to General Huang. He wandered off to the side, joining the rest of his special squadron. Slowly, the man lowered to his knees and rested on his heels, fists placed astutely in his lap. He sliced one arm up.

His voice boomed across the courtyard.

"Stand!"

The swordsman unsheathed his swords in one smooth flurry of motion and fell into his stance. One leg raised from the ground, his ankle pressing into the back of his opposite knee, and his posture achingly erect. Wei knew an upper fighter when she saw one--the exact opposite of her style. Her opponent's gaze was hauntingly analytical, picking her apart piece by piece--

General Huang's hand dropped.

"Fight!"

Watch me, old man.

Wei launched like a loaded spring, clearing the distance with a spin carrying into an overhead slash from her halberd.

Clang!

The swordsman caught her blade between his own. He held steady against her strength, staring her dead in the eyes with the epitome of boredom.

The look shot fury down Wei's spine.

Gritting her teeth, she redirected her Ji in a windmill and cartwheeled aside to free herself. As soon as she landed, one leg jutted out to ram into his ankle with the force of a hammer. He tumbled onto his side--

Only for a blade to slide underneath her and swipe up, nearly cleaving her in two.

Eyes wide, Wei halted the sword with the staff of her halberd before parrying another swing and rolling away. She only had enough time to flip onto her feet before the swordsman was descending upon her.

He was fast--incredibly so. Wei loathed to admit that his speed outmatched her own by a hulking mile. It took every iota of focus to dodge and evade his double-bladed strikes. However, what irked the earthbender the most, what truly set her insides on fire, was the lack of effort in his visage.

This all seemed so trivial to him. As if he was sparring with a nuisance.

A snarl rumbled deep in Wei's chest. She jammed her blade forward, slipping through a narrow opening inside the man's guard and aiming for his shoulder. The tip just barely tasted flesh before a high kick snapped it skywards, forcing Wei's arms up.

The swordsman's heel dropped down into the vulnerable expanse of her chest. She wheezed under the power of it, slammed onto her back with a solid thud. Through the haze of pain and delirium, she could feel the shocks quivering up his ankle, the weight in his hip shifting ever so slightly--

And then his sword was poised at her throat.

"You lose," the swordsman muttered. Not a single drop of sweat could be seen on him. Wei shot him a dirty glare, her breathing shallow and heavy.

"I only lose when I die," she growled. Unimpressed, the Rebel Armada soldier retracted his Dao swords and sheathed them with a grunt. He spun on his heel to leave, nodding in General Huang's direction to signal that the fight was over.

The general was just about to call it when--

"Hands on! Come at me without a weapon, if you're man enough!" If Wei could breathe fire, she'd had set the courtyard ablaze with the amount of anger emitting from her. She rolled up the cuffs of her tunic before twirling her Ji in a flourish, then stabbed it into the ground.

Without turning around, the swordsman said, "I'd rather not. You're far too temperamental for my taste."

"Not my fault you can't handle spice." Smirking, Wei settled down into her preparatory stance again, except this time, her body moved with far more grace and fluidity. Her arms splayed out like the wings of a fowl setting off to fly and the heel of her leading foot dug loosely into the dirt, rolling ever so slightly from side to side. "How about you get over yourself and grow some hair on that bird chest of yours?"

General Huang's lips pressed into a thin line. It was hard to tell on the squadron's part whether or not he was trying to squander a laugh, but it was no mystery to the swordsman. The veteran soldier cleared his throat, heaved a deep sigh...and discarded his Dao swords.

"So be it," he said while approaching Wei once more, "But don't expect me to spare your ego." He instantly snapped into the flamingo stance from before, his fists reversed with the knuckles angled towards the ground and his body leaning.

"I can't promise the same either," Wei countered, eyes scouring him up and down. As an afterthought, the palm in front of her crooked at the fingers, forming a tiger claw.

General Huang raised his arm.

"Stand."

A soft breeze ruffled their robes.

"Fight!"

Roles reversed as the swordsman moved first to strike. He weaved and slid into range with sophisticated footwork, before pounding a two-fisted strike into Wei's torso. However, his balance was suddenly ripped from the ground and he found himself falling forward from a yank at his wrist. He attempted to dig his heel into the ground and gain resistance, but the earthbender's sweeping kick forced him onto his stomach.

A hailstorm of punches struck him. Upper back. Shoulder blades. Center of the spine. Mid back. Lower spine. The sensitive flesh behind his kidneys.

He grunted under the assault before windmilling his legs out. His kicks barely grazed Wei as she jumped back, falling into a kneeling perch with one leg extended.

The soldier shot up, but winced as pain raced up his calves. His ankles throbbed.

"Damn, and here I thought you were a stand up guy," Wei taunted, her eyes shimmering.

Somewhere in the crowd of spectators, Kazu's cheer carried over everyone's heads. "Go Wei go! Beat his booty!"

She had to bite back a grin.

On the other hand, her partner appeared to be far from amused. He shook his legs, fending off the aches. He practiced caution this time around, not daring to move a muscle until Wei did--which was perfectly fine by her. As her loyal fan said, "Time to beat your booty, wussy chest."

The swordsman's eyes narrowed into slits.

They pounced at the same time, one leaping off his feet to deliver a flying kick while the other slid into a low squat with her tiger claws clenched to her waist.

With a cry, Wei rocketed up to stab his inner thighs with all ten fingers and squeezing like a tiger sinking their teeth into its prey. The muscles in her opponent's lower body tensed and he flew back from the explosive hit. However, her nails scratched down his legs and wrapped his ankles, yanking him towards her while still airborne.

All in the blink of an eye, her whole body leaned back as her Iron Leg rammed forward--

Crack!

Her heel snapped into the underside of his chin with a satisfying crack and he fell, his skull thwacking against the ground. In the next moment, a burning agony wracked his lower body as Wei flipped over him, landing with her feet on either sides of his head and forcing his legs to stretch, the tips of toes pinned over his shoulders. The swordsman released a string of curses, struggling to free himself from the humiliating position before tapping in submission.

"I-I give! I give!"

Wei grinned at General Huang. In that moment, her expression said one thing and one thing only: Don't underestimate me.

"Woo! Yeah, Wei! You did it!"

Kazu was having an absolute party.