"Well, have fun teaching yourself, I'm sure you'll do a great job," Pakku replies condescendingly. He doesn't even ntion other benders, sothing I'm not sure the Avatar and his friend would consider, never having been to the city before as it is now.
They might think that Pakku is the one who was assigned to them, and that others would not take up the mantle.
...
While we all have a duty to defend our city, our ho and loved ones, we can usually do as we please. Hence, there is , doing as I please.
It needs to be ntioned though, that I am very much part of the ruling caste here. Male waterbenders hold all the power. Even if we might be doing the guard duties, or accompany the seal hunters, and fishern on their trips outside the city, we are what even allows for our civilisation to thrive in these unhospitable lands. Daily life revolves around us, and the civilian populace dares not forget it.
"Wait! Aang didn't an that," Katara tries to rescue the situation she instigated. Well, Pakku instigated it, but Katara's temper escalated it. She lays a hand on the Avatar's shoulder, says sothing and he cos back. The girl herself heads towards the healing huts.
"Great, why don't we get started, then?" and Pakku blasts the Avatar right off his feet.
Yup, been there, done that. A healthy taste of your own inadequacy helps to motivate. Or so Pakku's teaching thod dictates.
It goes like that for a while. Soti around midday I get bored of Pakku bullying a twelve-year-old and get us both so hot broth from one of the market stalls I've been a patron at since I was five. I get food for free every couple of months. The market is full of people to chat with, or chat up, and you always return with sothing worthwhile. Usually, gossip.
"So, Pakku, having fun yet?" I ask as I lounge against the ice block I bended for optimal lounging purposes. If you've got the ans to make your life the best it could be, I say make away. I had heaps of luck on my side, but hard work day in day out is what got to where I am now. And my days aren't always this relaxed.
"Teaching is always such a joy," he snarks and then tells the Avatar that he sucks on a fundantal level for waterbending.
Man, as an outsider that's funny to watch. Not, that I've forgotten the pain that is being Pakku's student. He knows exactly the ways with which he can make your existence miserable.
These days, I don't hold a grudge. I got my revenge long ago.
Even so, I kind of feel for the Avatar. Maybe… "Mind if I steal your student for the rest of the day?"
"And what," Pakku demands to know, "Would you be doing with him?"
"Why so suspicious? One of these days you're going to hurt my feelings. I'm not going to damage the Avatar, you know?"
"Do I?" Prick.
"Co on, I brought you lunch."
He aborts an eye roll. Ha, victory! The guy's kind of a foodie. "Fine. Make sure he's on ti tomorrow." He turns towards the Avatar, "You and I are done for today. Go with Kaito."
The Avatar eyes uncertainly as Pakku strides off. Should I introduce myself? …Nah.
"Co on, Avatar. I'm gonna show you sothing."
He follows eagerly enough, frustrations forgotten for the mont. Children. Wish I had the ability, sotis.
"Where are we going?" The excitent he radiates is palpable. New things are fun, I suppose.
I shrug without answering. This annoys him. But he's curious, so he bears it. The entire way to our destination. What patience. I don't have that much patience on a good day. Whether it's too much of imdiate accommodation of my wishes in a previous life or simply disposition, I have no idea.
Curious eyes follow us on our way through the city. My face is well-known, and often enough liked, and by now everyone has seen the Avatar. Kesuk must be cursing my luck by now.
I take him to the wall where I've always enjoyed the view. The way the horizon stretches along the bay is sothing to not only be rembered, but viewed well over a thousand tis.
Once we stand, looking out at the ocean, gentle today, wind biting at our faces, I speak. "There. Tell what you see."
He looks out at the ocean, then back at , then at the ocean again. "Water…?"
I snort, "I'm sure you can do better than that, kid."
I appreciate the irony of calling him that. After all, I'm only supposed to be seventeen myself.
He frowns and looks again. "Waves and their white bits on top and… ice." This is more confident than he was earlier. So he does well with a bit of encouragent, even if it's in the form of a slightly backhanded complint. Expectations, more like. Good for him. The world has many.
"There's more. You should be able to find it."
He casts a quizzical look, but searches. And searches. And searches.
Two guards walk past. They eye us curiously. I give them a wink. Both roll their eyes and move on.
A reputation has to be good for sothing. In this case, it's that I do strange things, and I stand on this spot quite a lot. Adding the Avatar to the mix doesn't really take from the familiarity of the routine. Non-bending guards are far more relaxed than their counterparts.
"The clouds!" the Avatar bursts out finally.
"Good," I pat his shoulder. He beams. "Ocean, ice and clouds. They're all water. So are mist, steam and snow."
The Avatar's huge eyes widen to alien proportions. "Oh! Oh, I see!"
He imdiately starts bending the exercise Pakku tried teaching him. It works. Nice. One good deed a day and all that. He plays around with it for a while.
I often felt that bending worked best with understanding. Perhaps a trip outside the city could work well for him. But I doubt there is ti. And his friends would want to join in. and Yue might, too. Then we'd be a party of seven, with an additional guard. So I'm not suggesting it.
As an airbender, water isn't all that different, but it works with gravity, can be a trendous force even, and air is… air, I suppose.
Considering how much work learning to bend as well I do went into my mastery, I wouldn't want to have to try to apply all my knowledge to other elents. One is plenty.
"Okay. How about we get dinner?" I suggest.
"Ooh! Can we pick up Sokka and Katara on the way?" He's very excitable, this Avatar of ours.
"Sure. They're your friends, yes? Mind if we pick up one of mine?"
"Sure! Thanks for the help!"
"No problem."
So we pick up a pining Sokka, who barely acknowledges us in favour of lusting after Yue – hormones of a teenage boy, I feel you Sokka – and a dejected Katara. Now, the female disposition is one I can't claim to have any experience with, nor any other depending on her preferences.
Who knows, this clear distinction between males and females in the tribe might have triggered a realisation that dividing by gender is redundant and stupid. But tackling that is a job for an entire people, and while I don't think it's all that bad, the system works to my benefit.
"Hey, Katara! How's the healing going?" Avatar Excitable asks. This is clearly the wrong question. There are many wrong questions one can ask a girl, but there are also a few one should go about more sensitively with anyone. Since this is about Katara's deep-seated desire to learn how to waterbend, Aang might want to curb the enthusiastic edge from his voice.
She huffs. "Fine." No, it is not fine. Not when she says it like that. "Just…"
Sokka seems to notice his sister isn't okay and pats her shoulder.
Then, she notices . "And who're you?"
"Ah, this is Kaito!" The Avatar introduces and I incline my head. "He's friends with Master Pakku."
Also the wrong thing to say. She glares, but keeps silent, which is interesting. I don't think she realises that even teachers have a social life. Not, that she'd have been all too wrong with Pakku, before I ca along.
"Just gonna stop by my place for a second to see if Hahn's still there," I tell them and they follow dutifully like – disgruntled, in Katara's case – ducklings.
I let them inside and they look around with interest. Probably didn't expect it to be neat. Or they're curious what a normal Northern Watertibe household looks like. Although they won't find much that is common about my living situation.
The reason I'm allowed to live on my own is that I'm already a master. Otherwise I would be forced to live with so of my cousins or other family until I reached the status of an adult.
I'm glad it never ca to that. My remaining relatives and I don't speak much.
...
Don't forget to throw so power stones :)
...
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