#9

The flight from the center of the South Pole to the edge of the icy continent took me only forty minutes.

As I expected, I got lost and ended up flying into completely unfamiliar places, which is not surprising, given that I do not know the local area.

Dropping closer to the water, I flew west, hoping to meet at least some signs of civilization. As a last resort, I can always turn back, and sooner or later, I will find the village of Sokka and Katara. With the ability to fly, I definitely will not be lost.

The first result appeared in just ten minutes and I noticed boats that looked like canoes, which were moored to the ice pier.

Not far from the coast, there was also a settlement, the inhabitants of which were still sleeping. Unfortunately, this was not the village I was looking for, so I had to fly further.

At least I looked at another village in the Southern Water Tribe and saw that it was no different from the homeland of Sokka and Katara, except that there were slightly more inhabitants, judging by the number of tents.

But, the settlement itself consisted of the same small tents made of animal skins and a wall of snow protecting the village. Plus, a couple of outbuildings made of ice.

Although, there were more ships here since there were men left in the village who refused to go to war, which in my opinion was the right decision, given the current deplorable state of the entire Southern Water Tribe.

It would be better if the same Hakoda and his people were more concerned with restoring the infrastructure of the water tribes, who were completely degraded after the extermination of the Waterbenders than with the desire to take revenge on the Fire Nation.

Of course, I can understand them, after all, it's not pleasant that you have been terrorized for a whole century, and sooner or later the cup of patience would have overflowed, which happened after the last attack when Hakoda's wife was killed, but you have to set your priorities right.

What is the use of three dozen non-bender warriors in a war that has been going on for a century, I don't know. The most they can do is cause a little mischief in their native environment, at sea, by destroying a few ships, but compared to the scale of the Fire Nation's army, these are just insignificant mosquito bites.

It would make more sense if they stayed at home and took care of their families, instead of dumping all the care for them on a teenager who simply suffers from such a load of responsibility.

I mean Sokka, if anything, although I am sure that in other villages left without representatives of the stronger sex, some similar children had to grow up too early, because of the irresponsibility of their parents.

In general, the stubbornness and short-sightedness of residents simply kill me. Even when the Fire Nation attacked for the first time and, due to the disunity of the tribes, was able to capture or kill many Waterbenders, it should have become clear that it was necessary to unite into a single tribe and fight back together.

But, instead, the tribes, due to their unwillingness to limit their imaginary freedom, continued to fight alone, and, as a result, the Fire Nation simply conquered them one by one, and this led to the current state of affairs when only one waterbender exists, who doesn't even know how to use bending.

At least, the one I know for sure.

I understand that the Southern Tribe itself was formed from fugitives from the North Pole who did not want to follow the frankly stupid and outdated traditions of the Northern Tribe, but in my opinion, no freedom is worth sacrificing your loved ones because you participate in an initially losing war.

In some ways, the inhabitants of the South Pole are right and the traditions that oppress people and only spoil their lives are not needed, but there is no need to frankly go too far. Don't jump from one extreme to the other.

Security is a basic thing that a person needs and that is why people unite and live together. While in peacetime, the people of the Southern Water Tribe could live separately in small villages, when the war came, they had to sacrifice some of their freedom for their safety. For the future of your children.

This is a human instinct, and they had a chance to do it, but because of their stubbornness, they refused to unite, even when it became clear that only this would save them. And it frankly pisses me off.

Far from being the only Fire Nation to blame for the deplorable state of life at the South Pole. And even the disappearance of the Avatar is not the reason for this. Indeed, most of the blame lies with the Water Tribes themselves, who did not want to change when it was time to do so.

And because of this, now they are forced to live not much better than the cave barbarians, when all over the world living conditions are already close to the 17th century of my old world, if not better, considering that the industrial revolution will thunder in the world very soon.

Even the somewhat secluded Air Nomads had better living conditions than the people of the Water Tribes, and that already says a lot. And as always, children should suffer all because of the stupidity of their parents.

At the very least, I am glad that some were smart enough to leave the South Pole at the very beginning of the war and now their descendants live quite well in the Swamp, under the protection of the spirit of star anise, which, unfortunately, does not negate how terrible life is at the South Pole and that the locals don't even try to fix it.

And the worst thing is that I understand all this, but I can't fix the situation, even though I want to. And again, all because of the stubbornness of the locals, who simply will not listen to me, even if all my words are logical and true.

To them, I'm still an outsider who can't be trusted, and no matter how hard I try, I can never really become a confidant, so only a local can make a difference.

And this is another objective reason, why should I take Sokka and Katara with me on a trip around the world. They must see the world and understand that it is time for their tribe to change. They, as, in fact, the Prince and Princess of one of the tribes, can change their homeland.

Judging by the animated series, this happened, and although there were dissatisfied, by Avatar Korra's time, the South Pole had turned into quite a civilized and safe place.

Unfortunately, such changes take a lot of time, and even if I want to help the victims of their ancestors' decisions, there is nothing I can do now, especially since the first on the agenda is the still ongoing war with the Fire Nation.

Although, now is not the time to look so far into the future, and we need to act step by step. And the first step would be to find a place where I now live, otherwise, while I was immersed in my reflections on human stupidity, almost an hour passed and still not a single settlement is visible on the horizon.

Deciding that if I did not find anything in the next half hour, I would go back and try to look for the "White Wolf" tribe in another direction, I flew on.

If I am unlucky again, I will have to ask for help from the inhabitants of the village that I recently met, which I would not want, since by doing so I will attract unnecessary attention.

"Eh, next time I decide to fly, I'll take a map with me…" - I said sadly, regretting that with the ability to fly like a bird, I didn't get their ability to navigate.

"I also want to eat..." - I muttered, putting my hand on my unhappy stomach, speeding up the flight.

***

"Wuh, finally familiar sights!" - I said with joy, in the distance saw the iceberg in which I woke up two days ago. More precisely, what is left of it.

It was a little carried away by the current, but I was able to recognize the area without any problems and, orienting myself in space, rose higher and flew to the village.

The journey that Sokka and Katara and I had to cover on the floating Appa took me only five minutes, instead of the previous two and a half hours. Once again, how glad I am that I learned to fly. I love this ability. This alone was worth it to die and end up in this world.

Since I didn't want anyone to know that I could fly without outside help, I didn't fly to the village, or my igloo, but stopped at the edge of the coast, where my guardian animal was already waiting for me.

"GRRRRRRAAAAHHHH?!" - Appa growled, opening his sleepy eyes, apparently feeling the air currents that I create when I fly.

"Yes, Appa, now I can fly, just like you." - I said with a smile, turning off the flight and falling on the soft back of my flying bison.

"GRRR?" - Appa snarled, somehow adding a questioning tone to the snarl.

"It would take a long time to explain this. Consider it a miracle." - I said lightly, basking in the bison's fur.

"GRRRFF…"

"Don't worry, just because I can fly myself now doesn't mean I won't fly you anymore. You will always be my main vehicle and nothing will change." - I said with a smile, realizing that the big man was a little upset.

It seems that this answer completely satisfied my guardian beast and he exhaled contentedly, then growled: "GGRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAH?!"

"Yes, we will fly together, only in the evening, when no one will see." - I said with a nod of my head. I wanted to do it myself, so I'm only happy about this offer.

"Okay, it's already morning and everyone was supposed to wake up, so let's go have breakfast." - I said, jumping off the bison's back and heading toward my igloo.

Since Appa is always in favor of filling his stomach with something, he would be happy with my offer. With a slight growl, he rose to his feet and slowly followed me.

Yesterday's dream had a positive effect on him, and although he is not yet capable of flying, he can already move on his feet, so it makes no sense for him to stay here anymore and now he can live next to my ice igloo.

When we reached the igloo, I took out a bag of seaweed prepared yesterday for Appa, which he immediately began to eat, and then looked into the igloo itself, wanting to pick up his staff, but it turned out that a guest was waiting for me.

"Katara, what are you doing here?" - I asked the girl, who seemed to be asleep, but woke up when she heard me come in.

"Ah, Aang, I've been waiting for you. I was worried after yesterday's conversation and wanted to visit you, but you were nowhere to be found. Looks like I accidentally fell asleep while I waited. Where have you been?" - Katara said, rubbing her sleepy eyes.

"I decided to take a little walk to check my head, and then I went for Appa." - I said honestly, but not the whole truth. I was walking, just not on my own feet.

"I see, but next time, don't go too far, and then you can get lost." - standing on her feet, the girl said, sincerely worried for my safety.

"Of course, I understand that it's not safe, so don't worry." - I said, taking the staff in my hand.

"I'm glad." - said the water bender with a smile, and then looking with sympathy, she gently asked: "How are you?"

"Not to say that everything is perfect, I still need to digest all the news, but I'm more or less fine. I am alive, there is still a whole life ahead, and this is the most important thing." - I said with a weak smile. However, some feelings are not so easy to let go of.

"It's good that you understand that. If you want to talk or need help, you can always contact me. Yes, and Sokka will be happy to help, although he will never admit it." - Katara said softly, suddenly hugging me.

"Of course, but it will take me a while, so for now, let's forget about it." -I said and pulled myself out of the girl's arms. She has an unexpectedly strong grip. Well, or I'm so weak.

"Alright, let's go get some breakfast?" - Katara suggested with a smile and high spirits.

"Yes, let's go." - I said, skipping the girl forward. Today there should be a lot of work, so force will be needed.