"You... look like someone I met recently." Who has hopefully already moved on. Agni, please let that group have left town already...

"I suppose I might have one of those faces!"

"Mm. Yeah."

"My name's Eliko, by the way. Did you want to start right away, or...?"

"I'm Mara! And sure!"

"Okay." Eliko takes a wide stance, torso angled leftward. Slowly, deliberately, she pulls her rear foot forwards, pushing the opposite hand down at the same time. The dirt beneath her flattens and hardens, the effect spreading out in a circle around her. When she has a big enough platform, she returns to a more neutral stance and beckons Mara over.

"The first step is your stance. Earth is hard to move. It won't listen to you if you're not grounded. Plant your feet here and here. Bend your knees a little. Square up your shoulders."

She does!

...She seems to be having trouble with the 'grounded' part.

Eliko stomps a foot and the field rolls like a wave.

She goes tumbling!

And then bounces back to her feet, eyeing Eliko warily, in a loose stance.

Eliko is standing in exactly the same manner and place she was.

"Grounded, I said. Not bouncing. If you're not as firm as the earth, it will knock you over."

"Hmmmm...."

She keeps trying. Eliko's probably going to have to knock her over a few more times, though, but Mara doesn't seem frustrated about this.

Eliko will knock her over as many times as it takes. If she can't get the stance, there's no point in going any further. (She's maybe a little more perfectionist than strictly necessary. But this is the Avatar. If anyone should do it right, it's her. And if this convinces her to give up and leave, well. So much the better.)

And then a familiar voice is calling out - "Found a new friend, Eliko?"

Dammit.

She turns. "One night, I said."

"It was a night! And then I slept in. Who's this."

"Her student," says her very dusty student, turning around. " - Why do you have my face?!?!"

"I'd say it's my face, I appear to be older!"

Dammit.

"She's from another world. Mara, this is Hisame. Hisame, Mara."

"I'm pretty sure we're being simulated," she tells Mara, grinning.

"Oh? By someone interesting, I hope?"

"At least someone with good taste! Though I'm curious if you're actually a me..."

"What would that even mean?"

"Who we'd be if we swapped places - probably different from reincarnation, at least here, I'm certainly not the past Avatars - "

"Hm."

She twists her foot and knocks Mara over again.

Mara 'eeps.'

Hisame starts laughing.

"Good luck explaining solid stances to anyone at all like me - though maybe I can knock some sense into her..."