He dances with such lightness, he almost seems to fly; he trails curling smoke across the stage; he ignites his feathery red costume and spins out of its cinders, leaving himself in nothing but a pair of tight blue shorts (to vocal audience approval); and when he takes his final bow, instead of the signature flaming wings, a bolt of lightning from his right hand strikes the wall and the curtain drops like a guillotine.
That one is new. The audience erupts in applause. The lights come up slowly, and people start filing out; Jun usually waits a few minutes before he appears in front of the stage to greet his fans.
"...Okay." Beila is used to occasional cryptic instructions from Shifu Riko. "That was really something," she says to Dao.
"The bending part. I don't know if I can learn to dance that well, airbending or no airbending, and I don't think I'll be setting perfectly nice costumes on fire or doing any of this on stage, but I will learn the pretty bending."
"That costume has to have been made for that, though, did you see how fast it went up?"
"Made for it or treated with some kind of fuel, yeah," agrees Beila. "He must have spectacular control to walk away from that kind of trick without burns. Or his hair on fire."
"Looks like he got it the hard way," says Dao, shaking his head in amazement. "Did you see those scars?"
"Yeah. Yeah I did." She lets out a breath. "I'm going to have water on hand, when I get to firebending, in case there are accidents."
At this point, Jun comes out in front of the stage - wearing a loose black-and-red embroidered robe, over or instead of the blue shorts - to say hello to the small crowd of fans that have gathered for that purpose.
As the last one walks away, he looks at Shifu Riko and winks.
"You're about to get bored with me," Lee asserts. "Long before anyone expected the air Avatar to be, you're done formally studying earth. Fire's next. I decided to get in with a suggestion before the nuns did."
"Why don't you come backstage and we can have a chat?" he suggests. "I'm always thirsty after a show; I need my cup of tea."
"Sure. Why not." Beila wafts to her feet, kisses Dao on the forehead, and follows Jun.