"Uh-uh, May," said the little one, clearly taking the name from her head.
Well, if she doesn't want to say who she is, then I won't even try to use logic. Let it be little May.
"And I'm Lee," I also lied and smiled brazenly.
Judging by her face, she guessed that I also decided to keep a little incognito.
"I see," she said again absolutely neutrally, turning her face back to the ocean and staring into the distance.I, too, was in no hurry to interrupt our sad silence and staring game with the ocean. The girl clearly doesn't mind my presence, but she's not eager to discuss anything, she just made sure that I, so to speak, slightly share her pain.- How is it, without magic? - May asked after a while."Usually," he shrugged, but what does she want to hear? I have nothing to compare it to - it's boring. Magic is something ephemeral, incomprehensible and cool. I would love to own it and study it."Ha," the girl chuckled sadly, "if only." Rather, it's brutal daily training and constant injuries and no, ha, magic for you."Maybe," I shrug, "I have nothing to compare with." Are you a fire mage?"Yeah," the girl turned up her nose slightly. Clearly proud of this fact.- Maybe you can show me something? "I asked, but seeing how the girl's face was clearly acquiring the wrong emotion, I hurried, "I mean, at least something." I have never seen anyone cast a spell."Hmm," they X-rayed me with a suspicious look.Apparently, two sides were fighting inside May: one demanded to send the impudent man to hell, because she is not a circus monkey, and the other wanted to show what she had learned, maybe even show off a little."You're welcome," I added, smiling a little."Okay," the baby was slightly embarrassed, turning her head away.An aristocracy is an aristocracy, but she is not many years old and there is a feeling that it has rarely been possible to communicate with someone like that. What can I say, I myself haven't succeeded yet - all communication is purely vertical, either some guy is taller than you, or below. In the first case, he is trying to humiliate you, in the second, to make fun of you. There is no average.May, having hesitated a little more, obviously for show, otherwise they force all sorts of things here, stood up, although she rather jumped off the rotten log and, brushing off her knees, which were already clean, walked a little forward."I'll just show you one easy kata, don't expect anything more," May clarified.What is she, a tsundere larva?So, you must remember to write down the new word. For some reason the associations stand, but I remembered the general meaning. Girls who cannot properly express their affection or love and give out something the opposite. The case when if she says "No, fool," she means "Continue." The main thing here is to understand whether she is hinting or really saying "No."In general, the girl in front of me began to show the standard hand-foot-waving dance. Kata, please. To be honest, I don't see the point in memorizing sequential actions, and never have, but the old Asian masters know better.I've already seen this kata performed by Daisy... but Mei's quality is clearly three heads higher. I don't know how to describe it, I'm not a martial arts master, but even without fire it was clear that this was practicing strikes and blocks, and not just intricate swinging of limbs.And when she moved on to the fire... Wow. Just wow.At one point, the girl, performing a complex, began to end each blow with a fiery stream and here, I already realized how much I wanted magic for myself. It's annoying to the point of gnashing your teeth.In fact, this is the first time I have seen such precise and beautiful use of magic. Previously, at most I watched how a steampunk car was refueled. And here... flashes of red fire in the evening twilight, which illuminated May's concentrated face, and her already graceful and precise movements.I looked spellbound at the kata, which I had watched a bunch of times from the window in my room, but only now I realized all the beauty... although maybe the fact is that it is not performed by an idiot brother, but by a cute little girl?No, it's some kind of nonsense.Jokes aside, May actually performed it much better. That's why I didn't hesitate to applaud at the end."Wow, I saw this kata from my brother, but compared to you, he's a bear duck trying to dance ballet," I said, still moving away from the spectacle.- Hmm, of course. I'm the best! - she said arrogantly, again raising her nose to the top of May, coming up and sitting back on the rotten log next to me."After what I saw, I believe it," I nodded importantly, after all, it really wasn't a child's level, even if an amateur like me catches beauty, "it was truly beautiful."- Do you understand Fire Magic? — May asked, ironically raising her eyebrows,"Little one, it's never funny," although in fact in my thoughts I'm flowing with emotion from her seriously ironic face, which she very often glances at, "but in general it's just visible from the outside." My brother is just doing childish exercises, but you… are clearly doing something at a much higher level."Hmm," was all the girl answered, again looking away slightly to the side to hide her redness, but then she came to her senses, "don't call me petty!"To this I only stretched an insolent smile, the sight of which only made the girl frown even more, although she tried not to show it."When you grow up, I'll call you something else." For now it's small and that's it."Hmm," May turned her head away, causing her ponytail to twitch funny, "then you're a big ass!"- Oh, little one, is that all you came up with? It's a bit weak, to be honest. I expected more imagination from you.- Oh you! You! You can't say that! - May exclaimed, already a little losing the humorous notes in her voice.- I, I. Don't be sour. I'm just making fun of you. "In a friendly way," I decided to clarify, because the girl seemed somehow really hurt by my words, and she tried to somehow respond, but the lack of experience in ordinary communication made itself felt and incidents could arise in connection with this. And we must remember that she is a child. Although I am relatively interested in communicating with her.It turns out that either she is too smart for her age, or I am an idiot whose level of development corresponds to the age of my body. Because the latter, well, for sure, cannot happen. It can't be, I said! Then let's take the first one as true. May is a smart, well-read child of high blood, who is slightly tired of the pathos and officialdom around her. Maybe. In any case, for now we will accept it as a working version. Parents do not show emotions and she is angry about this, she wants ordinary human warmth. Quite a popular topic among children of aristocrats. So to speak, the current trend of local youth.Considering the fact of the influence of the body on the mind, age on the body, and so on, we can say that my intellectual age is clearly less than at the time of death in the previous world. I don't remember how old I was, but I feel older than twenty and younger than thirty... well, let it be five. And now I'm at the level of a teenager, probably. Maybe a little older. And the girl next to me is also clearly mentally older and is already somewhere approaching a fully meaningful age.Well, because she was really smarter than children her age, I'm just speaking from the experience of communicating with even older children at school. Previously, I would have said that, supposedly, this is because "She, like an aristocrat, is drilled with everything possible," but, damn, somehow I haven't noticed anyone around me yet that they were somehow forced to study hard. Academy plus Fire Magic for those capable of it. Sometimes, very rarely, there are additional classes, like mine, in calligraphy, sometimes in philosophy, and in other disciplines too. But this is more of an exception to the rule, and more likely for those who are lagging behind than for those who are rushing forward.So Mae most likely acts the same way as I do, by and large. He reads everything he can get his hands on and absorbs this information like a sponge, hence such developed speech and intelligence.In some ways we are similar. Both will still be figuring things out in this world, haha, she's like a very smart child for her age, and I'm like Jashin, who knows.- Like a friend? — the girl narrowed her eyes, she would go far, her gaze was almost inquisitorial, "are we already friends?"- Do you have something against it? — I grinned.- Hm.Are you sure there is no Uchiha clan here? Maybe I confused the world I found myself in? Because these constant grunts from May were suspiciously similar to those of some red-eyed bug-eyed people. Hm, we must remember to write down a new word and an associative series."I have nothing against it," May pronounced the verdict, again childishly jumping from this long-suffering rotten stump, which creaked at this action. The girl stood in front of me with a very serious face and importantly extended her small hand for a handshake.I, with the same brick muzzle, gently shook it, although by all logic it was more likely to harm my palm than vice versa.
* * *
"Oh Agni, why are there so many people here," May exhaled irritably.That evening we sat for several more hours, discussing completely different topics. We actually had a lot of common topics to talk about. I'm a little embarrassed by the idea that I like talking to a six-year-old girl, but... she's smart, unlike everyone else around her, so it's okay. At least that's how I reassure myself, otherwise I'll even get bored with this movement.In general, we agreed to meet the next day, only this time earlier. Just to spend more time together and discuss different things.As it turned out, May was not satisfied with the cold communication. She is quite sure that communication must be strictly vertical and all honors and worship must be observed. In general, he fully and completely supports all this scraping and holding of faces and other purely aristocratic crap. But at the same time, she categorically does not allow me to tell anything about herself.I tried to tell her that self-deception is bad and the fact that you place all the blame for our unofficial and simple communication on the fact that you didn't know who I was and where I would be from doesn't change anything. But then my childish character came out and they didn't want to listen to me at all.Officialdom is important and necessary, but we will not comply with it, because we do not know who among us is who. Strange logic, but if it makes her feel better, so be it. I really don't want to lose such an interlocutor, for some stupid, far-fetched reason for the vertical relationship in the Fire Nation. And judging by the way she treats it, anything is possible.And now we were sitting on the same wild beach, near the same rotten stump, only there were more people around than we expected. These are mostly teenagers who wanted to separate from their parents and have their own parties.And, of course, it irritated me and May wildly. Instead of almost complete silence, which is sometimes broken by the sound of waves or the movement of leaves from the wind, we heard various hubbub, shouts, discussions, sounds of splashing in water, and so on. I didn't want to talk about something, much less show something to each other - I'm talking about kata in Mei's case and about the simplest philosophy in mine, no need for vile insinuations here - at all."Yes, there really are a lot of people," I confirmed with a heavy sigh.And unlike May, I was hot. It's very hot, because we were sitting right under the scorching sun, and if the Fire Mage even got henna from the heat, then I, damn it, am not a magician, and it just baked me unhappily.- Let's go for a swim, maybe? — I turned my head towards the girl. She did exactly the same thing, raising one eyebrow slightly, "what?" I feel hot. And we still can't do anything about this crowd.And the thought that I was a magician still haunted me. It's just that he's not a fire magician, but something else.Yes, with Fire Magic, whatever one may say, it's a bummer. I asked my new friend and the answer is unequivocal - I'm not the first who decided that only boiled eggs are cooler, but the ritual really works with a guarantee and no matter what, I won't see Fire Magic.But nothing! There are still two more elements ahead. True, I can't imagine how to test myself for the magic of the Stone. But with Water it's easy - just swim more, something has to come out in the end. Well, at least I hope so.In the meantime, all that remains is to splash in the water and listen carefully to yourself."Hmm," May sneezed at me, "okay, let's go," she immediately relented, because she herself didn't mind taking a swim.The girl got up from the sand, shook off her still dry swimsuit and walked towards the ocean, without even looking back at me.I know that it is important for her that I go with her, but she will never show it. The tsunderka is small.- But let's be more careful in the water? "I don't know if I can swim, but the beach is still wild, you never know," I realized, also getting up and approaching the girl, who was carefully testing the water with her foot.I really wouldn't want anything to happen to the baby through my fault. And it's not my fault either. Nevertheless, over such a period of time she really became dear to me. And this was very strange, given my recent problems with indifference to everything around me. That's why…"But I know for sure that I can swim," May interrupted my thoughts, staring with a malicious grin, "come on, let's go."Did I say something good about her? Forget it. I gave birth to her, I will kill her.- Ah-ah-ah!!! *Plump* - May squealed subtly when I grabbed her and threw her into the water, - Bulve... Fool! Why did you do that?!A completely wet, angry girl, who at the same time tried to save face - an unforgettable and incredibly cute sight.But it seems that painful retribution awaits me, judging by the pure, unadulterated anger in her golden eyes, which glare at me with an evil gaze. Okay, to hell with it, then I'll meditate on the water, as long as they don't drown.After all, as it turned out, I didn't know how to swim.The test of the water element, in short, failed. For almost the entire day, May and I simply freaked out in the water and, if initially the girl tried to adhere to some model of cold, or as I call it, tsunderist behavior, then after a short time she completely put it out of her head and tried her best to drown me.She really didn't like my extreme way of dealing with the difficulties of the journey into cold water. Hehehe.And the small one swam very well, which simply gave her an unfair advantage over me! I couldn't go any deeper than my neck, but she calmly swam, and her face just glowed with self-satisfaction. But despite this, I directly saw a slight excitement in her based on the fact that, because of this, I would refuse to play in the water with her. She may be smart, but she is a child, so it was not difficult to understand from her face and behavior. Although I'm sure it will take a couple of years and she will learn to control herself sufficiently.Or maybe not. Wait and see.We got out of the water tired, but very happy. At least I did, after all, I haven't had such fun for a long time. I really felt like I was seven years old, otherwise I keep reading books. Maybe even this holiday won't be as boring as I thought.May was also, apparently, pleased. Even her sarcastic responses became less venomous.- Okay, little one, in the evening at the same time in the same place? — I clarified some time later, when we were completely dry and had to go about our business. Or more precisely, after so much time, parents may notice that the second child is not around, and problems that I don't need may arise."I'm not small," May corrected me once again without a twinge, "And yes." In the evening on the same beach. See you later, Lee."Come on, bye, baby," I smiled and pulled her into a short hug. As always, she was a little numb from the contact, but quickly came to her senses and also hugged me goodbye.And after our physical contact was broken, we went almost in different directions.Okay, what books do I have left at home?
* * *
The rest of the time on the Coal Islands flew by simply unnoticed. May and I spent almost all our time together, mostly practicing sarcasm and swimming. She tried very hard and very unsuccessfully to teach me to swim, but I swim like an ax - I immediately go to the bottom.Not least because of how funny May was sulking at her failures in my training. She took them literally personally and got very angry every time I messed up somewhere.But besides the funny moments, there were also some not so good ones. One evening, on which we, as always, gathered near that same rotten fallen tree, May arrived before me. And she was already sitting, looking somewhere into the ocean, just like the first time we met.Damn, apparently something sad happened in her family again. She still hasn't told me absolutely anything about her surroundings. Well, like me, actually. We just silently support each other during difficult times.Yes, I also have difficult times, although this is mainly not related to my parents, but rather to the understanding of the perishability of existence and the assholes of upcoming events.Sometimes, you know, it was overwhelming, and you wanted simple human support, which May provided. Even without words, even without touching, we just sat and looked at the ocean and shared each other's pain.Only this time, May apparently couldn't just sit silently, and wanted to share what was worrying her so much.- Why doesn't my mother love me? - she asked quietly.- May... she loves you, she just probably doesn't show it. This often happens with aristocrats..."I'm not stupid, Lee," she looked up at me, as heavy as for a child, "I know this, but for some reason she always has time and emotions to show to my brother." But for me - no. Why?OU. Fuck. Not finding words right away, I simply hugged the girl, trying to at least support her in this way.- Is this your own mother?"Uh-huh," May nodded, snuggling closer and continuing to speak barely audibly, "my brother is actually the eldest." She just doesn't love me, no matter how much I train. I'm better than my brother at magic, I'm a better student, but no matter what I show her, at best I'll get cold approval. When she is ready to carry her brother in her arms for any little thing. What am I doing wrong? — by the end the girl was already crying.No, not as children should: sobbing bitterly, whining and rubbing her snot, rather the opposite - she cried very much like an adult. Tears simply flowed involuntarily from her eyes, and she, not noticing the salty paths, continued to tell her story, like a broken person. Although she is what she is: a small little man, broken by her own mother."...she's not even an aristocrat," May continued the story, "I heard talk that she was a simple girl who liked her father." She wasn't raised in an environment where you couldn't show emotions. Then why does she treat me this way?I already said that May is smart for her age. Here's a case in point. Who else at this age can make such correct logical conclusions?"Little one..." he hugged her even tighter, "people are illogical by nature." I don't know why your mother treats you this way, but most likely it's because she's just an idiot. Unfortunately, people don't need many reasons not to love you, you know?- Yes…"And I have to say this: you are smart, you will understand that no matter how hard you try to become better in her eyes, her attitude towards you will not change." Therefore, do as I do - do not pay attention to the opinions of strangers. And she, apparently, is just like a stranger to you."It looks like that..." apparently having exhausted her moral strength, May simply listened and assented.- What about your father? Is he also weakly present in your life?- No... present. And praises me for my achievements. Supports sometimes. But he's a father... not a mother," she finished quietly.Yeah, and he's also just a cold, aristocratic bastard, as is customary in the classics, and I wouldn't be surprised if he sees in a girl only a profitable commodity that can be sold to someone at the wedding in order to climb higher. In our environment, this is a classic.It probably happened from the time when the war began, and all the aristocrats were really advanced commanders and came from the front not very mentally healthy. Children have absorbed the behavior of their parents, and behave this way, in turn, with their children.And regarding May's words... Do I need to explain how important a mother is to a child? The father will not be able to, with all the desire, which the local does not have, will not be able to completely replace both parents."Your parents, of course, are not a gift." Mine, too, by the way, are about the same in essence.- ... - apparently not knowing what to say, May raised her eyes to my face, expressing something along the lines of "And how do you deal with this? How do you stand it?"I just don't care," I said, shrugging, "it just so happens that I really don't care about them." It's a shame, of course, when they don't pay attention to your achievements just because I'm "defective" and I don't have Fire magic, but...- But are you used to it? — the little one finished for me in the same slightly broken voice.No, I'm not used to it, I'm a damn adult in the body of a child who absolutely doesn't give a damn about random people and their attitude towards me. But I said something else out loud, of course.- Yes. And quite quickly, to be honest."Help me too... please," wow, words of politeness are not something May usually uses, so this is really a serious matter.- Baby, I would love to, but these are purely personal qualities. You cannot cultivate indifference towards someone, especially as a child. Especially being a firebender, who are renowned for their emotions.Now I'm not at all sure that she understands my message. Not all adults would understand that I mean hormones and strong instincts in children. And she most likely didn't understand, but she listened with a serious face and, apparently, given the number of simple words that add up to a complex meaning, she only understood that she couldn't do it, and that I was trying to help.At least I hope that's what she understood. Unfortunately, unlike standard people, I can't read thoughts or even emotions. For now.I still cherish the dream that I will find a way to become a magician. An ordinary magician will do for a start, and then maybe everything else will work out. In the end, memories with the concepts of "single mana", which exists in all living organisms, surfaced for me, and it is quite possible that it is still possible to learn any elemental magic.As a last resort, you can always create a firearm. Or at least try. Having the brains and local scientists, sooner or later I will find a way to create normal gunpowder, and even repeating the design of a revolver is not that difficult.Well, at a minimum, I hope my knowledge from another world is enough to invent at least a crossbow.- But one day I will be able... just like you?Well, what can you say when they look at you with such hope?- Certainly. You will grow up, you will be a strong, beautiful Magess of Fire, cold towards the sycophantic environment and you will prove to everyone and yourself, first of all, that you are the best!-...Magessa? — apparently that's all May could take out of my speech, even raising her head from my chest. Yes, while we were talking, I managed to hug her tighter.So, I understand that this world is not familiar with feminists... fortunately. Well, or unfortunately. I don't remember how I felt about it.- Female magician. I just came up with it."Stupid name," the girl muttered, resting her forehead back on my chest, hiding her tear-stained face.- Your words would be in the ears of some...
* * *
- Son, where do you go most of the day?On the third day, a keen eye noticed... I have been spending almost all day with May for two weeks now, and only today my great parent, father, noticed something was wrong.And he interrogated me right before the evening meeting with May. He has nothing to do, damn it. And the little one needs to be warned - with her injuries, she will think something wrong."I'm walking," he shrugged, "what?"- Are you out for a walk? Your brother trains almost all day, and you go out?Hm, yes, poor G was pinned down and forced to learn Fire Magic almost constantly. The basic katas are literally hammered into him, and yet, no matter how much I looked, until he reached five-year-old May, he was like a cancer to the North Pole."I don't have Fire magic," I said slowly, as if for a small child, reminding my father of the fact that is why he treats me like an empty place.- And what? You could just practice. For a soldier who does not own magic, physical strength is even more important than for one who does..."I'm not against training, I'm even for it, it's time to become a navigator, otherwise I'm just looking around and clicking my teeth, but I need a coach.""I'll train you," my father nodded to something. Did you expect such a question from me? Does he really know me enough to predict my answers? He and I have spoken less in our entire lives than May and I have in these few weeks.Somehow it's hard to believe that our dad is a great coach, but oh well, we'll see. In the end, he will give me the initial load... I hope. I don't know what's going on in his head.- Okay, when do we start?"Right now," oh, I see some kind of setup from the satisfied face.- Can I go and warn my friend that I won't show up today? — I put forward a completely adequate request, to which I was pushed back.- No, I said we start right now.- But…"No discussion, son," the father said louder and angrier, "directly." Now.After looking neutrally at my parent's face for about five seconds, thinking about the situation, I decided to agree. May will have to explain all this tomorrow.In the meantime, let's look at the efforts of our great coach.
***I knew it.My father's coach is worse than me. As his "great training" progressed, some images and memories began to pop up in my head. It seems that in a past life I did do something sports, otherwise how can I explain that I clearly understand that just push-ups and pull-ups will be as good as a goat's milk?Actually, yes, this was the training plan from my father. I did ten push-ups, rested, did ten pull-ups, rested, and so on in a circle until I collapsed from fatigue.Well, it seems to me that this is more of a sophisticated method of punishment than a real attempt to start training me. It turns out that the thought didn't appear for so long, but then it came. Yeah, I readily believe it.In general, he chased me like this all evening, even forcing me to run. On the sand. Damn monster.And I don't like sand. He is rude, tough, unpleasant. It gets everywhere. For some reason, I involuntarily grimaced at this phrase of mine, as if remembering something unpleasant. Hmm, why would that be?In the morning, of course, everything that this despot had loaded me with hurt. Arms, chest, and quite a bit of legs. It took me a good ten minutes to simply get out of bed, because the fever was wild. Oh, we need to somehow give up these very "cool" in quotes workouts. I can come up with a better approach myself... or I'll steal from May her warm-up before Fire Magic. Should it be?At breakfast, my father's eyes showed an extremely satisfied note. Just like a person who has done what he has wanted for a long time. Damn, bastard. And we are not talking about any morning exercises. He didn't even advise me to stretch my muscles to ease the pain slightly. What a bastard. It was a punishment after all.Well, never mind, the thought is still correct - it's time to get yourself into at least some form. Fortunately, this self-torture made something stir in my memory, and methods appeared.Okay, now it's time to go to May. Apologize. Because she was clearly upset.
* * *
- You didn't come yesterday.May was sitting, as always, on her half of the rotten stump, where we enjoy the views of the ocean together. And even though I approached quietly and from behind, she noticed and, without even turning around, immediately made a complaint.- Hello, Little One! "I waved my hand, falling next to her, "I'm sorry, yesterday my father suddenly remembered my existence and, without allowing me to leave, forced me to train." I wanted to warn you, honestly."Hmm," the girl twitched her eyebrow, "okay, I forgive you this time." But don't leave me like that again! I thought you wouldn't come anymore.With some absolutely childish, even uncharacteristic, spontaneity, May said, clearly laying out her fears in front of me.- Little one, don't be afraid - I won't leave you. And know that if something like this happened, then I was either forced or I died. There is no average. Agreed?"Uh-huh," she muttered, trying not to show how much she liked this answer. However, to no avail. She literally lit up with joy. - And training is good. They will not be superfluous for a non-magician either.- Yeah, if this is normal training. I have a feeling that he just decided to punish or mock me, and forced me to do push-ups, pull-ups, and run through the sand until exhaustion."It's nonsense," the little one said succinctly and accurately.- Yeah, I'm talking about the same thing. But he came up with a clever idea: we still need to take care of ourselves somehow. Any thoughts?"Nope," the girl simply shrugged, "they prepared me for fire magic and didn't put much pressure on me." Stretching and running. And then immediately Fire Magic. Everyone usually has the same program.- Hmm, damn it. I should have guessed that it was unlikely that the little girl was forced to train for strength. By and large, I don't need this either. Early problems with the heart, bones, joints. Not to mention that growth due to this will be average at best.You will need to take this point into account when creating your training program. Although, having listened to myself, I understand that it is unlikely that, in principle, I would suffer like this. Somehow it's not for me to build up lumps of muscle. Taking into account the fact that I will need to evade local magic, there is no time for using force at all. Although the best way to dodge is to run.In the opposite direction from the magician, yeah.So I'll just run for now. It's not that difficult for me, as I noticed. Despite the excessive load ala "training", my legs hurt quite a bit. And I really ran a lot. Considering that I had not trained at all before, it seems that running is for me."Today, I won't be able to walk for long," May interrupted my thoughts, "apparently something happened, so our parents simultaneously remembered about us and my mother wants me to be in sight."- Hmm, what could have happened? — I disagreed, "it's more likely just a coincidence." It's bad, of course, but at least I can study calmly so that you don't see my shame.The little one just giggled at this.- But I will see results. And if I don't like it, I'll fight like hell to train better! — May tried to say menacingly, even shaking her fist, however, the smile just wanted to break out from under the oppression of the facial muscles, which she tried to keep in a serious expression.- Ha, well, maybe at least something good will come of it.We sat and chatted about this and that for about half an hour, during which people began to slowly appear on the beach. Still, it was morning, and most people went to the beach around lunchtime.Then May said goodbye to me, heading off to her home. And I decided it was time to run.True, not along the beach, but it's better to first choose some adequate place. Somewhere closer to the water there are no such things, so you would have to go deeper into the island - there are quite large forest agglomerations there, and you can run there. Somehow it felt closer than sand.Right behind the wild beach, if you move a hundred meters away, there was an entrance to one of these forest plantings. Where, without hesitation, I simply ran along the nearest path, thinking about the meaning of life.Or rather, what to do next. So far, of course, everything is going quite well, and if I didn't know that there was a fucking thing ahead, I wouldn't have bothered at all. My studies were going well, there were a lot of job options, no matter what - I'm sure everywhere was better than the locals. True, it's not clear where such confidence comes from, but it doesn't matter. The main thing here is to have the nerve to get where I want, and everything will come with experience.Oh, if only everything were so simple. The first thing I would do is take on the local steampunk monstrosity. As I see it, my head immediately itches that this is complete bullshit. I'm sure that if I try to disassemble the structure in more detail, thoughts will definitely appear.Although, judging logically, the locals are not fools either. Most likely, such systems are cheaper/easier to produce/can be put into production; underline what is necessary. How to fence something with normal efficiency and come to the same conclusion as in my world.Namely, that "No, some kind of game, we need to look for alternative options."And somehow I don't even want to push to such conclusions, I'm happy with the local color, and so, knowing the locals, a movement for new minerals, wars, intrigues, money, and so on will begin. And the upcoming mess is enough for me, let Agni survive and get better after.Maybe we should start making firearms after all? This is still more than one year's development. Otherwise I keep talking and talking, and day X is getting closer and closer. I might not make it in time. There are literally six months to a year of events there, it seems.I'm not sure, my memory is still tricky.In any case, it's time to start and slowly carry things for yourself, set up a laboratory for a young chemist, because making a weapon in itself is not difficult, after all, it's the same double-barreled shotgun, the whole difficulty is in the product...Fuck.Only now did I pay attention to what was happening around me. And I'm running.No not like this.I'M FUCKING RUN. I'm rushing at a tremendous speed, a speed that no human can develop. True, as soon as I noticed this and thought about it, I immediately tripped and fell. I fell very painfully because the speed was really high. He cut off all the skin on his elbows and knees...And I ran far away. Groaning like an old man, I rose to my feet and realized that I had been running uphill, and now had a good view of the entire coastal area. So, even running, the usual kind, takes me at least twenty minutes to go back.Okay, stop. Somewhere my thoughts are flying to the wrong place.We need to think about the essentials.What.This.Was.Although who am I kidding, I know what it was. This was what I had been waiting for.From this thought, his mouth involuntarily broke into a stupid smile.Magic.
***I was already walking home at the usual pace, out of harm's way. Don't let Agni burn in front of someone. This is Air Magic. Well, the one that, in theory, only remained with the motherfucking Avatar. What is she doing with me? Who the hell knows.No, of course, the fact that I have Air magic is cool. Now, in principle, my jokes with behavior are clear. In the end, as it turns out, magic somehow influences consciousness. Fire magicians are all so emotional, hot-tempered... Are Air magicians indifferent? Sounds like crazy.You will need to carefully monitor yourself and collect at least some statistics on maturing fire mages. Maybe at least something will be understood. Because I don't like my attacks at all, even if they have disappeared.Which, by the way, is a surprise, but during all my time on the coal islands I was no longer stuck. And there is a feeling that there is only one reason for this - May. With whom I am interested in communicating, and with whom I am looking forward to meeting. And these are emotions, and they obviously are not going to disappear. Which is very good, because my emotional attachment to a past life is not good. Of course, I'm not a psychologist, but there is something abnormal about this.On the other hand, my attachment to May is also incomprehensible. I have, well, almost, a friend at school, but for some reason there is no such emotional return to him. He, of course, will not notice this in life, because I try not to show my indifference on the outside, and for him I am a hospitable, simple friend. But a fact is a fact.In front of Yoshi I have to pretend to be emotional, in front of Mei I don't.It's a shame that there is almost no literature on airbenders. Well, that is, almost none at all. It either burned down or is in the air temples, where you can't get anywhere if you're not an Air Mage.Just a minute. And I'm just an Airbender.All that's left is to learn to control the elements. Without a teacher. Without a manual or training manual, just based on your own feelings.Cool, give me about fifty years and everything will be fine. What a fucking pity that I have a maximum of ten in stock, which must be spent not only on magic, which in general cannot even be used in front of others, but also at least some kind of martial art.In fact, I just discovered a chest of gold without handles in the middle of the forest. It's unclear what to do with it. You can't throw it, and you can't drag it.It's the same here: you can't show it to anyone, otherwise they'll brand you with an avatar and do something, but you won't be able to score either - magic is not a sword, it can't be put on a distant shelf - sooner or later it will come out, like now. I didn't even notice how I switched to such decent kilometers per hour. What if I decided to go for a run with May? Of course, I am confident in her, but the Will of Fire is too strong in her, and I don't even want to be faced with a choice: me or the country. And she will most likely choose the second, no matter how you look at it.So you also need to somehow get to these temples. Which is not easy at all, considering that they are on the continent of Earthbenders, and most often not far from the front line.The age-old question arose: what should we actually do? And even the answer that we will solve problems as they arise does not work - that is the problem, it must be solved somehow.Hmm, well, we should probably try to somehow develop this magic in secret from everyone. I don't really see any other options.With this thought, I stopped about halfway home. And where is the best place to develop, away from prying eyes? That's right, in the forest.Therefore, turning sharply in a perpendicular direction from the shore, I went to look for a decent clearing. Or at least some clearing. Such that you can at least try to wave your arms and legs and not hit a tree in the process.I found one after just a couple of minutes; after all, the forest was not very dense. And when I walked out to the center of the clearing, my head preparing to begin ubermega training, I asked myself a reasonable question.What should we do?I don't have any stretching or techniques in stock to demonstrate something right away. What should I do now?We need to ask May for advice. Although the magic is different, I think I can learn at least some general principles.With these thoughts I left the clearing without even starting to do anything. Heading towards the beach and home. All my work is done, I'll wait for the evening meeting with May, and now I'll read something.Good plan. It's a shame it didn't work out. My parents went wild, and my father again sent me off to his "great training sessions." Maybe he's not an idiot, but just doesn't know how to train ordinary people?
* * *
- Hello, Little One! - I waved my hand, falling next to May, - why did you hang your nose again?- I'm not Petty! - the girl immediately reacted, - she found out why her parents were in such a mood. Prince Lu Ten died - the son of Prince Iroh, and although Ba Sing Se has almost fallen, Prince Iroh, apparently, will soon retreat - he has lost ground greatly.- Oh you…"Yeah," the girl nodded gloomily, "I think we'll soon go home, back to the capital."I did not clarify why and why. None of us wanted to reveal our incognito, she already said too much - which means that her family is most likely close to the palace, and returns there for the sake of all sorts of intrigues. At least that's how I imagine it.- It is sad. We will most likely be back towards the end of the summer. We need to figure out how to meet there somehow," I suggested.- Oh, actually you can! — May perked up.Oh, how little she needs to move from gloom to joy. I would like that.- We can set a meeting day for now... well, let it be the seventh day of the week. And where?- Hmm, let's meet for the first time behind the gun store on the main street? Do you know this one?"I'll find out," I nodded, it's not a problem to find a store on the main street, it's more likely a matter of a few minutes, "we'll meet there for the first time." Only I don't know exactly when we will return home, so you will have to watch me there almost every seventh day at the end of summer."Yeah," the girl nodded, and then admitted, "I was afraid that this would be the end of our meetings until next summer.""Be glad, Little One, that you have such a smart friend," I chuckled."Yes, you can be proud of yourself, you've said at least something smart in the entire time I've known you."— Hmm, maybe change "Minor" to "Ulcer"? "Small ulcer," for sure! - I threatened her. And then you look, she's already adding.- Hey! — the girl was indignant.- Okay, okay, don't sulk, I'm just kidding... Petty and such a good name.- That's not my name!"It's not without its drawbacks," I shrugged, "okay, I wanted to discuss one more issue." Tell me how you were taught magic? Of course, what is not a secret is something very basic. Before you start throwing fire, should you somehow get to know him?- Ha, do you really think that if the test didn't work, there are still any chances? - May said, raising one eyebrow, but then, seeing my slightly saddened face, she added, - although it has happened in history that someone did something wrong. Maybe your case is the same. In fact, they sat me in the center, and they lit a lot of fire around me, and I sat there, trying not to let the fire burn me. Although defending against fire is a natural skill of any Fire magician, the essence of this training is to find this skill, and so that it can subsequently be controlled. Thanks to this, you can then use fire without fear of burning at least items of clothing. And then, on the contrary, they sat me in front of one single candle, and I had to take control of it and make the flame either almost go out or flare up strongly. Once I passed these two tests, I was already cleared for regular firebending training. They only sound complicated, but in reality it takes a matter of days.Yeah, just days for a genius like her. For ordinary magicians, I'm sure this is a matter of weeks, if not months. However, how to transfer this to air magic? So I asked and asked, now there are more questions than answers. And what is the "natural" skill of airbenders that needs to be developed?— Does the first test hurt a lot of people? — I asked the question just to ask, so as not to drift away into my thoughts.- Usually, almost every magician has had accidents. Even though the mentors controlled this process and did not allow serious damage to be caused, the subject must feel a danger, if not for life, then at least for health, May said as if nothing had happened.Fuck, the rules here are strict. Shouldn't you accidentally swallow it before you start using the sword? Or balance on it? Or fight a teacher who will not hold back at all?Hmmm, wild people.Meanwhile, Melkaya came to her senses.- Just don't think about starting this on your own! It's better to try it with a candle right away, fire magicians should at least somehow control it right away! — she said almost quickly, apparently thinking that I was going to set myself on fire right now."Don't be afraid, I won't try to kill myself on the fire," I reassured her, but not myself. I had bad thoughts about how to initiate myself as an airbender, oh, not good, and apparently she read something like that in my face, but I carefully, quietly."That's good," May said, still looking at me suspiciously.- Shall we go for a walk in the forest? — I suddenly suggested, "otherwise it's all ocean and ocean." I still have to stare at this ocean all summer, and by myself."Well... let's go," Melkaya said hesitantly, "only there are wild animals there, my mother told me."Hmm? It didn't turn out well. One could guess that the area here is not at all friendly. It turns out I was wildly lucky that I didn't meet anyone during my journey? Well, or initially he scared everyone with his magic. I expressed these thoughts, besides magic of course, to May. To which I have already received a look that is almost characteristic of our relationship. Somewhere between "Are you an idiot?" and "Damn, cool!""Let's hope it's because of their small population," May said importantly.Sometimes it's so funny to hear some such serious, complex words from her. How many times do I repeat, I'm so lucky that she's a smart girl. Although, I think, otherwise we would not have communicated, because I simply would not have been interested.So, continuing to exchange meaningless phrases, we sank into the forest. This time, I think, we won't go that deep, but I'll show May at least a couple of beautiful places that I noticed on the way here.Let him remember more pleasant things from this vacation, because if Lu Ten is dead, then, as far as I remember, this means that the canon will soon wrap up, slowly gaining momentum.I wish I knew, or more accurately remembered, how. Unfortunately, only after May's words did I think of a slightly sad pot-bellied old man who is trying to look harmless and funny. This is so inconsistent with the image of the Man-Rock, which is now popular among people about Prince Iroh, that you are simply amazed.Okay, let's see how it goes, now we have a forest hike ahead of us. It's a pity we didn't bring any food with us.***Well, despite May's secret fears, we walked through the forest quite calmly: no one jumped out from behind a tree at us, or from the trees, thank God, either, so, in principle, it was a pleasant walk.- How did Lu Ten die? Some saboteurs, or how did they get to the prince? — I decided to ask a rather burning question. How could the prince of the country die - he must be protected like the apple of his eye.- Ha, it's clear that you are not very familiar with the topic. Both Prince Iroh and Prince Lu Ten were on the front line. It is a tradition that members of royal families should be on the front line and nothing else. A ritual of initiation, one might say."Oh, so the royal family may face serious problems at some point.""Maybe," May agreed accommodatingly, even nodding her head for authenticity, causing her hair to twitch funny and hit her open eyes. She didn't even wince. What a weird habit, damn it, but then it's not worthy of the title of royalty."You can't argue," I shrugged.What wild people. In some places they are building factories and creating trade unions, and in others there is savagery inherent rather in a tribal system. Well, okay, they don't interfere with someone else's monastery with their own rules. It works - don't touch it.— And even Princess Azula will be obliged to be somewhere in the thick of things? — For some reason, May stopped for a second at my question, but continued walking as if nothing had happened.Hmm, I somehow remember some close friend of the princess named May. But I simply can't remember anything other than this. Interesting situation.- If she shows herself as a warrior and studies fire magic, yes. But if she accepts the role of an aristocratic woman, then no. But then, she will most likely be married off to some profitable party, and it is unlikely that anyone will take her opinion seriously. I mean among the ruling elites, and not among ordinary servants," the little one said in a lecturer's tone.— In the first case, they can't marry her off? — I logically assumed."They can," May disagreed, "only her wishes will be taken into account." She can even go into conflict with everyone and not get married at all, the main thing is to prove by force her right to do so.— Hmmm, the cult of the Force in its purest form."Of course," the girl nodded importantly, "we are the Fire Nation, after all." Uh...what have you heard about Princess Azula? - May clarified in an innocent tone that I almost believed.- Nothing special. Unless I heard someone discussing her chances for the throne. But these are too theoretical speculations. If only. And I have little chance of somehow crossing paths with her. My family, of course, is high up, but not so close to the throne that I would have a chance to come to the palace and somehow see the princess. Considering that I will most likely go into the army anyway, now some chances are emerging there, but I don't see much point in it," I explained."Hmm," Small one chuckled provocatively for some reason, "why doesn't it make sense?" Look at your possible future ruler."But there's no point in this," he shrugged again, "I won't be able to influence who will become the Fire Lord, so at least look around and study - there's no point."- Well, maybe you will get married and become the next Fire Lord! — May said chuckling, but at the same time looking at me carefully.I would have thought different things if we were older, but now this look is a little strange, as for me."Uh-huh, the chances of me having at least some contact with the princess are like suddenly revealing my magic," I blurted out, and then, after thinking a little, I added, "Fire."Otherwise I'll scribble some more. I have almost no memories of Princess Azula, at most that she was a negative character. But you can't judge here - in the end, it looks like I'll also be on the other side. And for the avatar most likely an enemy."You're overdoing it," the little one chuckled."Who knows, maybe you're right," he shrugged.Considering that I still have adventures ahead of me, anything, of course, is possible. In the end, at least I have to look around the air temples, which can already lead to various encounters.By the way, I took May to a cliff that I saw on the way back. A beautiful place from which you can see trees, the beach, and even the ocean.At the same time, the cliff itself rose a decent distance from the ground - the tops of the trees were far below, and the rock still towered about five meters above them. In general, I don't advise anyone to fall from such a height."Wow," even May felt some kind of bright emotion escape from this look.- Yes. Beautiful view. When I saw it for the first time, I also froze for about ten minutes with my mouth open. I just don't recommend going near the cliff, it might collapse."Thanks for the clarification," the girl said slightly sarcastically, still not looking up from the view.Well, it's understandable; by and large, it's difficult for the average person, and not just the average person, to see the view "from above," as it were. In the end, technological progress has not yet reached high-rise buildings here, just like aircraft. So such species are rare.They replaced the rotten log with a stone, and the view of the ocean... the ocean, only with a coastal zone.- Do you think we will win this war? - May suddenly asked a question.- Complex issue. The war has been going on for a hundred years and it has become a pure routine, so I have the feeling that no one really strives for an end as such. The front almost froze about twenty years ago, if my memory serves me correctly: a couple of villages would be captured there, a couple of villages would be surrendered there. It seems to me that the war serves more as a motivational factor for the entire Fire Nation... did you catch what I said? — I caught myself at the end. Because Mae is, of course, a smart girl, but still there is no need to overdo it."Yes, I understand," the little one nodded dryly, continuing to look into the distance.— So, by and large, victory is a purely political decision. The Fire Lord will decide, and there will be a large-scale offensive that will end this war. If it doesn't solve it, everything will remain frozen. The main thing here is that someone else doesn't interfere.- Ha, and who could it be? People of Water? There is almost nothing left of one tribe, while the other has locked itself in its own little world and very successfully does not even show its nose.- Avatar, May, avatar..."No one has seen him for almost a hundred years!" — the little one interrupted me emotionally."But sooner or later he will make himself known." As we know, the Avatar cannot disappear on its own, so... we can only hope that he will appear when we have already completed our campaign. But if it's earlier... I'm afraid we'll have problems.- Which for example? He may be a powerful magician of the four elements, but he is alone.- Well, first of all, don't underestimate the hope he will give to everyone. Morale is an important part of the army, and after the news of the avatar spreads, many will perk up. Secondly, this is not just a magician of the four elements. Have you read history books from the time of Avatar Roku? All the experience of previous magicians adds up and the avatar, with light gestures, can do things that many have never even dreamed of. The main offensive force of our army is tanks. There is no effective means against them, except for very strong magicians, of which there are not many, unlike our tanks. The Avatar, entering its state, will be able to sweep away armies from tanks with a few gestures, and it does not matter what element it uses."I think you're exaggerating," May frowned, "the same books say that in order to gain full power, an avatar must become a master of all four elements, and only then does he become the way you described him." And before that, although he is dangerous in his condition, he cannot use his full potential. Even if by some miracle he learns Water Magic and Earth Magic, then Air and Fire remain. He will not be able to master air simply because there are no more air magicians, and simply no one will teach him fire.And what is the answer? If I had no knowledge of the canon, I would generally agree - such a spindle of coincidences is unlikely. But fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, I remember for sure that the avatar will reach its maximum "condition". And it will do it pretty quickly. Usually it takes an avatar at least five to ten years, but here it's less than a year, because all the memories about him are a picture of a bald guy, about the same age."In addition to his previous incarnations," I broke the girl's logical chain, "not to mention the fact that he himself is more likely to be an Air Mage, and Fire... you never know there are apostates?" In the end, any deserter will teach him the basics, and then he will understand intuitively."The Fire Nation has no renegades!" — May flared up with some kind of rage, however, she immediately pulled herself together and added, "alive."This is not the first time I have noticed her strong devotion to the Fire Nation. This is already some kind of fixed idea. In many others, of course, I also noticed such things, but they were in a more passive mode. And in a less fanatical way.Unlike May, who was even slightly fanatical about the ideality of the Fire Nation. Of course, most likely this is due to age; her critical thinking is not yet developed enough to touch upon such a monumental topic in her head. It's a miracle that she even has this thinking at all, by and large.Many people live quite calmly their entire lives without it. And nothing, they live normally.- Uh-huh, are you one hundred percent sure? I'm not. On the mainland, it's crazy what's going on - in every settlement the local commandant considers himself almost the Lord of Fire. So don't give up.- How do you know what's on the mainland? — the girl raised one eyebrow."Rumours," he shrugged, "just rumors from different people...I was interrupted by a light growl that May and I simultaneously heard behind us.The moment during which we managed to turn around, see the fucking wolf, and start backing away, simply fell out of my memory. Here we are sitting, chatting nicely, but here I am, trying to cover May with my body, quietly stepping back.It was not just a wolf - a wolf. Huge, gray, with a mouth of sharp teeth, he incessantly looked at us and growled, baring his mouth, from which saliva was already dripping. In size, he was larger than May in full height and smaller than me by about a head, and was a good two meters long, if not more.Hearing the sound of small pebbles falling from the cliff, I actually felt that I would now give my soul to Agni, even without the wolf's attack.There was a cliff behind us and we retreated to the very edge. Feeling with my back how the little one was trembling, which was pressed behind me, and peeking out from behind my back, I understood that something had to be done.But what to do? I can't even blow the wind, I just don't know how!My thought was interrupted by the sound of a larger stone falling from the cliff, followed by another and another. I realized it was too late for May and I to jump away - a small tip of the rock began to fall, right the one on which the shallow one stood.All I had time to do was fall and catch May's hand as she began to fall, most likely pulling her shoulder.Crap. Crap. Crap.May was still hanging on my right arm, which hurt terribly in both the shoulder and elbow, but I held it with all my might.And the wolf, such a bastard, as if mocking, only slowly approached, growling, clearly mocking our situation. Brutes like him definitely have enough intelligence to understand the situation.Looks, bitch, doesn't want me to jump after May. The altitude there, of course, is high, but purely theoretically, the chances of survival are greater than during an encounter with a wolf."Lee, I can grab a hold of this!" - came a voice from May. She quickly let go of my hand and grabbed onto some kind of stone ledge. The bad thing is that it looks like the wolf understood it and heard Small. Either he understood, or he just guessed, but as soon as the weight disappeared from my hand, he stopped and prepared to jump.All I had time to do was grab some kind of stone, which was formed from eternal local landslides and had an oblong appearance, with a sharp end, as if one piece had been broken off from it.Yes, how it will help me against such a wolf, I didn't have time to think, but at least something is better, right?Volchara only bared his teeth even more at my actions when I stood up to my full height, clutching this stone in my intact hand, and putting my right hand, already slightly crippled, forward. An absolutely wild plan appeared in my head, which should never work, but the alternative is to jump down.Maybe I, as an Airbender, will survive, but May definitely won't.The wolf, as if its whole body had shrunk, suddenly straightened up, jumping at me with a powerful leap. In my head I only managed to note that the faint hope that the beast would not calculate, and I just had to dodge so that he would fall off the cliff, did not justify itself.This bitch calculated everything and jumped exactly so as not to fall and bite me. He was aiming, of course, somewhere in the neck, but he clamped my hand in his mouth, knocking me to the ground.I don't know why he couldn't just bite it off for me, maybe, judging by the drool from the sight of us, he was very hungry and tired, so he didn't have enough strength to chop off my hand, but he squeezed it - mom, don't worry.Blood sprayed out, pouring down his hand and staining the mouth of this monster. Whether it was life-saving or not, depending on how you look at it, I didn't faint from pain, only because before that my hand had become very numb.The eyes of this creature were directly opposite mine, one might say I saw his soul, and he saw mine. Most likely, none of us could correctly assess the time we looked into each other's eyes, but I saw the same thing in him that he saw in my eyes - none of us was going to give up and give up.The second point of my plan was executed better than expected. The stone entered the wolf's eye even more easily than I expected - with such an unpleasant, slurping sound. Out of pain, he even slightly let go of my hand and I... here came the third point of my plan, which I am inventing as I go.Adrenaline helps a lot in such matters: from the outside, literally seconds can pass, but in your head you have time to think about what is happening and even make some decisions. Most often these are instinctive, which you do not have time to properly understand, extremely rarely - something meaningful.But now it was the latter, because I decided at the very beginning that the only chance to get out of this mess alive was to throw the animal off the cliff. With both legs, with all my stupidity, I propped up this carcass and was able to push it through myself. The wolf recovered from the pain too late and realized what was happening, even clicking his jaw and trying to cling to me. Did not work out. Most likely, I even used air magic in the process, otherwise I probably wouldn't have picked it up. Or maybe it was adrenaline.With a strong but short howl, the animal flew down, thank God not catching May, who was almost out. We no longer heard the sound of the fall, but it's no wonder, it's not stone on stone, but a soft body on soft soil."That's the forest, business for twenty minutes - they entered and left," that's all I could say to pale May, who looked at my hand with horror.I myself, having difficulty starting to get up, tried not to look at my hand. Nothing critical, but the scars will definitely remain. The whole forearm has clear marks of teeth, at least by some miracle it didn't hit any large veins. Well, or I've already lost so much blood that it stopped flowing like a stream, but I'm afraid I would have been at least passed out by then."Lee..." was all May said in response to my attempts to get up."Come on, Small one, don't turn pale, help me get up and somehow bandage myself," the small one stopped trying to say something, and helped me get up and move a little away from the cliff, sitting me down on the same stone where we had recently chatted.They put my T-shirt on the rags, and quite deftly May began to bandage my hand. I don't know if she's doing it right or not, but she bandaged it well, even attached it to the body. Well, as good as possible, having only a T-shirt and not normal bandages."Let's go to the beach quickly, otherwise some other creatures will come running at the smell of blood," I said, trying not to lean too much on the small one. After all, my legs are intact! It's true they don't hold anything, but they're intact."If I hadn't fallen, I would have helped with fire magic," May said, trying not to show too much how hard it was for her. I couldn't help but fall on her.She may be a good fire mage, but she's not a warrior yet, she didn't have the necessary reflexes. By and large, she could immediately puff out a stream of flame and, who knows, maybe the dog would change her mind about trying to kill the bald monkeys shooting fire. But she didn't get her bearings. And I will never mention it. A six-year-old girl should not be able to navigate such situations, period.True, I won't save her from soul-searching with this - she's not stupid either, she understands.- I have no doubt. Although, most likely, if you hit him with fire, he would have acted for sure and quickly, so consider everything turned out well," I tried to cheer her up.Something tells me that the wolf probably acted anyway, he was just not in good shape, let's put it that way. But again, I will never say this to her, under any circumstances.But May was not reassured by my words. On the contrary, she just pursed her lips and, collecting her thoughts, continued:- I'm sorry that I...- Hey Hey! What it is? I'm the hero here! Rescued a beautiful warrior maiden in distress! I want accolades, not apologies! - I said with exaggerated pathos, so that May would definitely understand that this was a joke.Well, at least she smiled.- Come on, May, don't lose your temper. We got out of such a mess alive! And almost intact. There will be something to tell your friends while sitting around the fire.- Yes. "You saved me," May still added soap to such a relaxed atmosphere.- You're welcome, Petty. Anyone in my place would have done the same - oh, fuck, this will be the second most embarrassing moment in my new life. The first was when I decided to see if my new body would correspond to its usual dimensions in all places. From a young age, so to speak, we learned what we would dance from, and at that moment, right with a ruler, my father burned me. And the second one was this one, when I said a stupid line from some stupid super hero. But May was impressed, by my stupidity, of course, but she was impressed, which she immediately said:"With this approach, you will die before you have time to grow up and understand the stupidity of your words," Melkaya quipped. Of course, most likely she immediately regretted it, she clearly wanted to thank me and hug me for saving her, and not be sarcastic and call me stupid, but...Tsundere.Such a tsundere.- Don't be afraid, I won't die. Just blurted out some nonsense. In my defense, I want to say that I am in very, very pain and I don't know why I haven't fainted yet."And I'm not afraid of anything," apparently my stupid sense of humor awakens from the stress, and her degree of tsunderism increases. Perhaps a couple of studies could be written on this matter, but I have no time for analysis right now. If she wants to relieve the stress of the ulcer, let her relieve it, I still know that she values me very much.- Yeah, well, we'll still have to take down some creature, you call, call, I'll do it for you - with pleasure!- It was you who dragged us into this forest!Exchanging roughly the same phrases that seemed to help me stay conscious, which May apparently also understood, we got to the beach. We dumped a ton of jokes and sarcastic phrases on each other - I was responsible for the first, the petty one for the second.- Where to go? - May asked when we finally reached the beach."Go home further," I answered simply.- Don't take me for a fool, you won't get there on your own, where should I take you? — apparently she hasn't given out all her sarcastic reserves yet.- It didn't work. May, I live nearby, so I'll go there myself. Everything is fine, I assure you, you can feel it, I even almost walked on my own for the last few minutes of the journey - I tried. Very."Uh-huh," I don't know how she could do that, but it was clearly a very sarcastic hooting.- Come on, May, don't be stubborn. It's time for you to go home, I'm sure you're even late," I continued to persuade, and even after moving away from May, I stood up straight and walked around, making every effort so that I wouldn't stagger, "come on, everything will be fine." Otherwise I'll be offended and think that you think I'm a weakling!This is an unfair weapon, against the girl's slightly turned on the stump strength, but nonetheless."Hmm," she expressed everything she was thinking, but then, apparently accepting the arguments, she simply rushed to hug her, "Don't even think about not showing up at the agreed place at the agreed time."- I'll show up wherever I go.She blushed slightly and, kissing me on the cheek, said:- And thanks.And, turning around, she ran home. Ha, well, it's unlikely that a six-year-old girl, even if she's smart, can fall in love; rather, it was just a repetition of a moment that she saw and read somewhere. And I decided that now was the right moment.That's how it is if we were older.True, as soon as May disappeared from sight, I immediately lost all emotion on my face. They were replaced by my favorite light breeze in my head, as I called the feeling of indifference. Well, I'm an airbender, why not that name? True, Magician is still a loud word, rather... a magician or a magician. To me, a magician is like a cancer to China.Along with the emotions, the pain began to go away, that it was time for me... it might make me happy.No, of course, the pain has not gone away, and the glory of Agni - pain is a necessary thing in life, but it has become very easy to endure it. It just exists, and this fact makes me neither warm nor cold.All that remains is to hobble home and come up with a working version of what's wrong with me. Although there is no need to invent anything, I will explain the truth, except for May.Oh, that's easy to say.
***Hmm, at home I raised quite a fuss. How I hobbled home is a separate story, worthy of a novel, film adaptation and fan fiction. It was hard and not a single bastard offered to help.My parents dragged me to the local hospital, where, surprisingly, they fed me some herbs quite advanced and even gave me an injection... from a glass syringe with a thick, blunt needle, compared to modern ones.Perhaps it's better to meet the wolf again. I wonder if they got to penicillin? Probably yes. Because they obviously injected me with something from this path.As for me, by the time I was taken to the hospital, the wound was already showing signs of infection, but the kind girl doctor clearly explained that this could not be so, too little time had passed.Well, okay. I'm sure it must have started there anyway!From the size of the creature's mouth, which was quite clearly visible on my hand, namely two deep wounds from fangs and several other smaller ones, my parents turned from anger to shock.The dog really was a seasoned dog, if you think about it that way. As soon as she didn't chop off her hand. In general, they bandaged me deftly, decided not to stitch the wounds, I don't know why, and sent me home.Under the eyes of my parents, who demanded the full version from the already cheerful me, even with a slight blush on my cheeks. And what? They injected me, bandaged me, fed me, praised me, how could I not get better?In general, I didn't give up the scene of events, because I still need to pull out the fangs from that wolf's corpse, as a souvenir - yeah.By and large, I will still continue to go to the forest - without May I can easily run away at my own wind speed. Horseradish will catch up with the wolf.Actually, for the first time my parents showed some excitement, which pleasantly surprised me. Although, they quickly set priorities, albeit unwittingly. They were more afraid that I would die, become crippled, or get scars. Damn, what am I doing here, working for marriageable age? One gets the feeling that yes.Considering local regulations, this may well be the case. Because I'm prettier than my brothers, although not by much, but they have aristocratic features... they don't harmonize too much. We can't call them ugly, but we can't call them handsome either. People are like people. Actually, I didn't go far either, but apparently the genetic randomness played in my favor, and my face collected more compatible features, and all together it looks nothing like that. I came to this conclusion while looking at myself in the mirror. Yes, I know, I won't die from modesty.So, maybe my portrait, along with my dossier, is already passing through the hands of ladies in their early thirties, and they can't wait for me to be fourteen, after which they can get married. Although, of course, it is unlikely that the age of marriage is now being raised, if not to my standard eighteen, then to sixteen for sure.Hope. I made this conclusion using the inductive method, judging by other dying and losing force traditions. And so, who knows.Oh, I feel like I'll have to run away from home. Some kind of gender-swap world, damn it, where I have to run away from home so as not to get fucking married. It's good that at least there's a little world without blue colors. Otherwise, I would have hanged myself altogether, in the hope of another rebirth.Then time flew by. Everything I did was the same as before I met May. I read, read and read again, and sometimes ran. The most ordinary run along the beach, because I don't dare go out into the forest until I fully recover. By the way, my parents, judging by the slips of the tongue, thought that I told a big lie and that wolf, or whoever bit me, somehow died. Either he fell off the cliff himself, or the forester came and dispersed everyone - I certainly didn't understand from their conversation among themselves. They don't want to recognize my strength.It seems like even subconsciously. The Cult of Power here is, whatever one may say, strong, very strong, and if I had brought the head of such a dog, then even without magic they would clearly look at me with respect. Well, or I would have been sent to a psychiatric hospital, considering that I am a small kid who hunted a wolf without magic. These kind of people are out of harm's way and can be shoved… further away.Again, before I recovered, I gave up on air magic. Now my hand will heal, the bleeding will stop, and I'll go into the forest to do something. Just that, I don't know, and the ideas are just stupid.I tried to meditate and feel the air around me until exhaustion. He came to May and I's place on the beach and sat for almost hours... okay, but for half an hour he sat and listened, listened, tried to get at least a light breeze to blow - all to no avail.In general, all the recovery was spent on trying to produce: "The second method named after May" for airbenders. And, obviously, it was unsuccessful, damn it. The expected result is that everything, damn it, is in my ass and not according to plan.This is already becoming my tradition - get down to business, make a plan, screw it to hell, and come up with a new one along the way.Bad tradition! Very bad!Let's go back to the first test. Fire mages, one might say, are slowly burned - what else can you call being in the middle of a circle of flame, and they have to take control of the most basic instinct of a firebender?How does this extrapolate to air magic? What the most basic instinct of an airbender, damn it. Breathe?Okay, who am I kidding, the guess is as simple as a crowbar - soar. No, no, not vaping and other crap, but in the air. After all, it's not just that they live in temples built on mountains? Why do they need safety if even a child, falling, simply glides down. Another question, are all airbenders there? Fuck knows, non-magicians are probably weeded out quite quickly, after all, they have a temple life there with frequent flights from place to place - what kind of "non-magicians" are you supposed to do with them?Hmmm, how can I do this super workout without risking my life? More precisely, it's not, can it even be carried out without risking life? Or is there simply an element of fear there?Cool, so what should I do? Go throw yourself off a cliff and hope it works?Hm.Although, it's not a bad idea. I definitely have air magic, why else could I run so fast? I don't really have anything to lose, and the magic of the land needs to be awakened or initiated, or at least found out how it works.Well... let's do it.Another week passed, during which I completely recovered, and without hesitating too much and without thinking about the decision a second time, so as not to inadvertently refuse, I went to the rock.There was no fear or any other emotions, although it would seem that the place of my life-and-death battle was not there. I simply walked to the edge of the cliff and, looking indifferently at the landscape, jumped down.And as soon as my feet left the surface and I finally looked down, it dawned on me.Previously, I easily noticed attacks of "wind in the head" and, I think, if I had thought at least a little longer, I would have noticed this time, but I outsmarted myself.I'M FUCKING FALLING!My mind immediately flashed to May, to whom I promised to come to the meeting place, and the fact that I had never learned anything about my past life.This is if you skip the swear words.If you don't miss it, then there is a three-volume treatise that should be written down, because I never knew such words and phrases in my life, but here, of course, they came out.God, if only I remembered in the next life that there is no need to remember the previous one, otherwise I will smash my forehead against the wall from such a stupid death.A sick person of the Air who tried to take off and crashed on the ground.All these thoughts rushed through me at breakneck speed, even to the end, rather, without taking shape, while I, as if in slow motion, watched the treetops approaching.A breeze, although this time it was more like a powerful wind, quickly filled the emptiness of thoughts in my head, abruptly displacing all emotions and leaving a dry understanding - I will most likely crash.But that same wind in my head did not stop inside: I felt as if this very lightness of thoughts was beginning to fill my whole body - an indescribable feeling. It's as if I'm some kind of weather vane, through which a strong stream of air blows, and, like a decent weather vane, it becomes in the direction of the wind.Another moment, and I feel it go beyond my body and envelop me completely, beginning to slow down my fall. I felt absolutely no pressure from the rather abrupt deceleration. And the process itself did not cause any feeling of outside interference, rather the opposite - I clearly understood that it was I myself who was slowing down my fall. You know, it's comparable to how some people don't know how to blink one eye, and after several attempts they have difficulty finding the right muscle on their face to get something done. So here too, it was as if I had "found the right muscle."And I started planning down! Full awareness of the situation came a second later, when I was already just a few meters above the ground and I was overwhelmed with wild joy from this fact!And as soon as the emotion took control over me, the breeze in my head disappeared. And along with this, so does everything else. And I flew the rest of the way down again in free fall, at least I fell on my feet, and was able to at least dampen the inertia a little and not break anything.But that's the only way my walkers dried out, yes. I swore for a good few more minutes, although not in the same expressions as before.And I fell straight to the ground where I had fallen earlier. I recovered from the adrenaline, from my stupidity, and waited for the pain in my legs to go away.I hate this rock already, honestly. I almost died near her twice. Well, fuck him, don't take another step here. Some kind of unfortunate place, maybe some spirits have settled here and are not happy with me? In the end, this is not a hoax, but a harsh fact.In any case, I'll leave now and won't come back. Well, to hell with it - what will fate come up with next time?Okay, let's get back to the results? Why is it that we have such an interesting thing?Following the example of fire magic, trying to do something was a stupid idea, I should have realized. They subjugate fire, force it to obey their will.But with air it's not the same. Try to control it, damn it, when there are tons of this willful element around you. Here, on the contrary, it's like a sail: head with the wind and sail wherever you want. Or rather, do any techniques. It's like with a ship - anyone can direct the sail so that the boat floats with the wind, and you can direct it so that it goes in the opposite direction?You can say that magic taught me all this time how to accept it, and I, a fool, decided that this was either a personal quirk or a side, unnecessary effect. Magic doesn't have the latter; it has everything it needs.Oh, and smart thoughts creep in, I always do this after the fact, which means I'm providing a philosophical basis for magic, but in reality I'm jumping off a cliff like an idiot.Okay, it's time to get up - perhaps we should at least pull the teeth out of the wolf's corpse. Although he probably stinks, mom don't worry.Barely standing up, still staggering a little, I began to scan the ground with my eyes. Oh, and I was lucky that I fell exactly on the ground, there are a lot of different stones here, if I had fallen from such a height two meters to the left, I certainly would not have managed without a fracture.It's true that I don't see any kind of decomposing corpse of the wolf. Which is actually very, very bad. Oh, if this creature survived, then it's really time for me to stop going into the woods, I'll only find problems for myself.Although, my magic is now completely with me, I thought, grinning and blowing the breeze throughout my body.Honestly, that's all I can do for now...But it's okay, I'll learn! Maybe.