I let Dakun rest for one and a half hours to recover some of his strength and same for me as well so I will be in good condition once I arrive at the village.
Hmm, the snow tent was really good at trapping the heat inside, which made it warmer for me. It's probably why Dakun was able to sleep almost instantly.
I decided to take a simple nap after asking Nova to wake me up after half an hour.
--
"Haru..." I heard her voice and I immediately opened my eyes.
I felt somewhat better so I sat straight.
The fire was almost burnt out so I have to start walking again.
Dakun was still sleeping peacefully, but I have no choice but to wake him up. I won't be able to carry him with how heavy he was, so we had to walk.
I shook him gently, waking him up.
He was obviously still tired, but we have no choice.
"Dakun, we have to leave now, buddy."
He doesn't understand my intention, so he just looked at me. I decided to pack my stuff and put them on my back and stood up. That's when he understood what I want.
He slowly stood up. He was still quite weak, but it's a lot better now and his body was stable when he stands. Not trembling anymore like before.
I pet his head first and smiled. "Let's go."
Within just an hour, I could finally see the shore from afar on a snow hill. But that's not important.
There's a small village below with smoke around. Small kids were visible from afar playing around something.
I couldn't help but be overjoyed.
I finally reached it.
It's a very small village, but that's not important. If they accepted me, then I will help them the best as I can.
Nova had told me that this village only has one warrior and even that person is just a little older than me and was also a non-bender. I couldn't help but think of the reasons how can they survive for this long? Especially when they're close to the shore where Fire Nation ships always patrol.
Does that mean that the Fire Nation couldn't defeat that person? He must be very skilled.
But Nova just told me that the Fire Nation couldn't just bother about something that doesn't pose a threat to them. They already captured all the waterbenders of this village.
That was very visible, since I couldn't see any men outside, just mothers and kids with one being an elder.
I approached closer and they soon started to notice me. The elder looked at me with bored eyes and waited.
"Where did you come from, boy?" The elder immediately asked.
"I came from another village one day long walk from here. I came here to ask if I can stay for a few days," I said straightforwardly.
"And you're alone?" She questioned.
I can't tell her about Nova because I will be just called weird, and she's probably asking if I have any companion with me that's also another human, so Dakun is out.
I nodded. I'm basically alone if she's talking about a human companion.
The elder then looked at Dakun for a few seconds before looking back at me. When I was approaching earlier, I saw her expression turn into surprised when she saw Dakun walking alongside me.
She must be curious about Dakun. After all, it's known that Polar bear dogs are not tamable and they're feared by most. It's because they tend to be aggressive and will quickly attack any humans they see when hungry, causing them to be feared and hunted.
I petted Dakun's head. "His name is Dakun and he doesn't bite." I wanted to say that he won't eat your flesh for food but there are little kids looking at us right now.
The elder nodded. "So why do you want to stay inside our small village instead of yours?"
This is going to be hard. I tried to think of any excuse other than I'm being hunted by my fellow villagers after I killed one of them out of self defense.
"Just tell them that you don't have a home anymore." Nova with her great wisdom came to the rescue as always.
'Thanks, Nova.' I didn't forget to thank her. She seems to always like it when I complement her supports.
"I don't have a home anymore," I said. Technically, I don't have a home anymore since the people in my village probably thought of me as their enemy now, not one of them. Not like they thought of me like so before.
After hearing my excuse, the elder's bored expression became sad.
Hm? What's going on?
"Hehe, from their past experiences of Fire Nation tyranny and the suffering they received from them, they probably thought that you're like them. Probably thought that your home village is destroyed. Just get along for now."
That makes it better for me if it was.
The elder's silence and sadness further reinforced Nova's guess.
"That journey must've been hard for you, child. Come inside and rest in one of our empty tents. Kana, please lead him the way." The elder said. "And before I forget, people call me Gran-gran, what's your name, child?"
"My name is Haru, thank you for accepting me, Gran-gran." I said.
Gran-gran nodded and gestured to what was probably the woman named Kana.
But then, a little boy shouted with excitement while pointing at Dakun. "Great! Can I pet that dog?!"
"Sorry, no," I immediately declined.
Dakun hasn't had enough rest, so I wanted to let him rest until tomorrow so he can regain back his strength.
Sniff, sniff.
The child suddenly had tears from his eyes.
"Hm. You should explain your reason why with a little gentleness on your voice so the child could understand," Nova said.
I looked back at the child that was about to burst into tears.
"Dakun is very tired after our long journey, so I planned to let him rest for today. If he manage to get back his strength tomorrow or a little earlier, then I will convince him to play with you," I explained the best as I can.
I'm not good at this...
But surprisingly, the child stopped crying. "Promise?"
What is there to be a promise for?
"Promise," I immediately said. There's nothing to lose anyways.
At that moment, I suddenly felt Dakun's head brushing against my feet. It seems that he somewhat knows what is going on.
I just ruffled his head.
I noticed that there were smiles on Gran-gran's and Kana's faces at the interaction I had with the kid. They've been watching the whole time without saying anything, probably testing me.
"Also, Gran-gran, I forgot to tell you but I'm able to waterbend so tell me if I could be any help." They would have seen me training around here anyways so why don't I tell them now?
Though I didn't expect Gran-gran's face to turn serious and she shook her head.
"Don't carelessly tell that you can waterbend or show it." Fire Nation ships often patrol these waters so it will be dangerous for you if they saw you waterbending. They'll immediately capture and imprison you," she explained. "They did that to many of us, which is why you can't see any warriors here or many women."
I nodded.
She continued. "However, I'm not forbidding you to use it here. I just want to remind you that Fire Nation are around and they see waterbenders as threats."
"Thank you, Gran-gran," I said.
Just then, another voice came up. Nova long informed me about them, so I knew about them even when they're still far away.
"What is going on here?" Then he looked at me. "Who are you?"
So this is their only warrior, huh? He seemed pretty weak, but I don't underestimate him.
"Sokka, this is Haru. Haru, this is Sokka, Gran-gran's grandson, and this is Katara, Gran-gran's granddaughter," Kana said.
I looked at Katara after looking at her brother. But, finding her not interesting, I just focused back on Kana.
She then proceeded to explain to Katara and Sokka what Gran-gran and I had talked about. Though this Sokka guy seems like he had questions too.
"Can you hunt?" Sokka said, observing my whole body. He wants to approach me but was forced back when Dakun looked at him.
"Yes," there's no need to explain, I just removed the blue colored fish left on my hood and showed them the biggest one. "This is an example of what I caught yesterday. I want to gift this and the others to the village as thanks."
"I don't believe it!" Sokka crossed his arms while saying it.
I don't really care what he thought so I just ignored him. I had the option to show my waterbending abilities right in front of him as proof, but was there any need for that? This guy is nothing in front of me.
I approached Kana and gave her all my fishes. It's still too early when I arrived, so I have time to catch many again. Nova had said that this place had bountiful fish since it's on the shore and with my skill, I can definitely catch many.
Kana seemed surprised by the heaviness of them. "Ah, thank you then."
"If that's what you want then we will cook them for all of us to eat today," Gran-gran said with a smile.
"Thanks." Katara said.
While Sokka on the other hand just looked at me like I'm his enemy.
--
I created a solid snow shelter for me similar to the one I built before, but bigger after talking a bit with Kana who insisted of letting me sleep on one of the tents, so I just showed her I can build a better one for me. I let Dakun sleep there while I waited outside, sitting on the snow seat that I made by hand and watching the calm water in front of me.
"What do you think of them?" Nova asked, sitting beside me.
"They're friendly and kind..." I immediately said. They didn't even ask me anything in return when they let me in, they just knew that I needed a home, so they let me inside with a smile, even offering me a tent.
They're the only people who willingly helped me even though we're basically strangers while the people of my village, who knew me and probably my parents, didn't bother to offer their help.
Nova smiled. "I see..." she said. "She's here."
She informed me that Katara had been observing me for a while now after learning from one of the people who heard that I can waterbend and seeing that I can also do snow bending. Katara hesitated for a while before getting the courage to approach me.
"Hello, Haru," Katara said with a tentative smile.
I turned back and looked at her with a neutral expression. "Hello." I didn't say anything after that, causing a silence to erupt between us.
"So... I heard that you can waterbend..." Katara shyly said, her fingers were fighting each other below.
What does she want? I raised my brow and glanced at Nova.
She just chuckled and didn't say anything.
"What do you want?" I asked, feeling a little irritated.
Katara seemed surprised by my tone. "Eh?! Um, I just want to ask if you could... teach me about it? Please..."
Hmm. Since Gran-gran was kind, then I will accept, but I want to know what her goal is for learning waterbending. After all, she will affect my training if I have to teach her.
If her reasons for learning are not acceptable, then I will just reject it.
And it will also do her good since learning waterbending can be dangerous, like what Gran-gran has said.
"Why should I?" I asked.
Katara hesitated for a few moments. "I can cook for you? And many other things..."
"..."
"I can cook by myself, and I honestly prefer it that way." In truth, I don't really know how to cook, it's just Nova telling me how. Though I planned on learning if I have time after my training.
Katara hesitated. "I can wash your clothes?"
This talk will be long if I didn't clear things up with her, so I did. "No, I was meaning to ask you what you plan to do with it?"
"Ah, so you're asking about that," she said, her cheeks starting to get redder by the second. "Well, you see, I have very weak waterbending skill because I self-taught myself, so I was hoping to get a teacher to help me further it. I want to improve my waterbending and possibly learn snowbending to help around the village with things like hunting and other stuff, and also to be one of the protectors of the village if there's any danger..."
I looked her in the eyes, and she avoided it, her face getting redder. "Alright, I will teach you. We will start tomorrow."
"Really?! I will be in your care then! Thank you!" She was overjoyed.
I nodded. "Do you know any place here where there is a body of water but where Fire Nation ships won't reach?" I asked. Like what Gran-gran said, it will be dangerous if Fire Nation soldiers spot us practicing waterbending, so I have to be careful for now.
"And it would be better if there are fish to catch there," I added.
"I know a place around here! Don't worry, it has everything you said," Katara said.
"That's good."
That's when I noticed Sokka approaching us with his usual suspicious look.
"Come, Katara, and you too 'so good at hunting guy,' the food is ready."
I sighed, this guy will be a problem to deal with.
--
We all ate outside with different dishes. Though all of them were made of fish, it was still quite great, after all, I could finally taste something that's prepared properly, and there were many of them.
They asked me about myself, like what I like to do, when I learned waterbending, who my master is, and if I can also bend ice. They avoided asking me about my home or my parents since they thought I was still saddened about it.
I told them that I liked waterbending since I was a kid after seeing the warriors of my village do it, that my master was a woman who saw talent in me so she decided to teach me, and I even showed them my freezing breath, which literally accidentally put out our fire pit.
I'm still very new to this kind of atmosphere and kindness that was shown to me, but I promised myself to repay it.
--
[Outside the Wolf Cove]
The sun was about to dip, Katara wanted to show Haru the training area today instead of tomorrow so they can start right away. It was an area hidden by massive ice structures but was still connected to the coast, giving it water for them to train themselves. This is where she usually trained herself when she's not out hunting with her annoying brother.
She glanced at Haru beside him who for a while now didn't seem interested in talking to her. He looks like a person too hard to be communicated with but from how she observed him, he's kind but just has a very hard time on expressing himself properly, as if he just talked to others for the first time in his life.
"So... When did you start learning waterbending under your master?" She asked to create a topic instead of an awkward silence.
"Yesterday," Haru answered like it was nothing.
"What!?" That's impossible. She took months of practice to barely even learn waterbending yet Haru just learned yesterday? It was mainly self taught, still... "How is that possible?"
Haru glanced to the side, unsure of what to say to her. "With training?"
But... she saw him bend snow easily to create a large looking tent for him and his bear dog and he doesn't even need to concentrate while doing it, like he was already used to using it. Literally breathing a freezing air enough to put out fire and freeze the woods. Yet, he was saying he just learned them yesterday?
"Does that mean that you and your master only met yesterday?"
Haru nodded. "She saved me from being frozen to death and started teaching me."
That means his master was really great or he was just super talented unlike her... Or both which insanely accelerated his learning ability. She would have thought that he's the avatar had he not have a hair.
"Then where's your master?" At the last moment, Katara realized that she must have hit something that she didn't intentionally mean. She forgot about that, his reason for coming to their village... "Oh I'm sorry." It's easy to conclude why his master was not with him... She must be gone too.
As expected, Haru was unable to talk. She felt guilty but saw an opportunity to divert the topic to something else. "We're here!"
"Hm... this should do it," Haru said with his usual expressionless face.
Katara felt a relief seeing that Haru already forgot about it, probably. Though there is still a thought that he might just be hiding his pain inside.
"What are you doing?" She asked, seeing him approaching the water.
"Com here too, there's many fish here, we will get them using our waterbending," he said without looking back. "It's also a way to see each other's waterbending so we can see each other's differences."
"Okay!" She followed and stood beside him.
"You do it first, let me see how much mastery you have with waterbending," Haru said.
It's going to be embarrassing to show him her pathetic waterbending but she needs to do this since he was going to be her teacher starting today. She gathered a little courage and closed her eyes, controlling her breath and extending her hands forward. After that, she slowly gestures her hands upwards, a blackish fish inside a water bubble came out to the surface. She tries to slowly pull it towards her but she's having a hard time doing it.
Then... "No!" She loses control of the water bubble causing it to explode which made the fish fell down.
She looked at Haru with an embarrassed smile. "That's my waterbending... If you can even call it one."
Haru just looked at her without saying anything, then turned back forward. With a swift and calm motion, he pushed his hand forward and slid it back. Simultaneously, the water spit all visible blackish fish to their back, responding to Haru's motion.
"Even though I'm pretty new to waterbending, what I learned from my master was that waterbending responds to fluidity and the flow of your hands. You're still not strong yet you're trying to control the water as if you're a master itself, you need fluidity in your body, not control," he said, grabbing one fish and throwing it back to the water. "Now do it again, don't control it, you either push or pull."
Katara smiled at the enlightenment. So that's why... "Thank you, teach!"
"You don't really need to call me that..." Haru seemed uncomfortable with the title but she doesn't care. He deserves the title for how amazing, strong and wise he was!
Then she did it again and for the first time in her life, she finally knows the flow of the water. Push and pull. The fish landed in her hand, fighting for its life. Katara smiled seeing that. "I did it!"
xxx
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