Ikari laughed, light and genuine, and gently ruffled her hair. "Of course you can. I'll teach you later."
Gran-Gran, who had remained frozen in shock until then, slowly rose to her feet. Her eyes were fixed on Ikari, wide with reverence and disbelief. "You… you're an airbender?"
Ikari tilted his head, surprised that there were still people in the world who didn't know about him. "You really are isolated out here, huh? Then let me introduce myself again. I'm Ikari, the last airbender… at least, as far as I know." He bowed his head in a humble gesture, a striking contrast to the weight of his words.
***
"Ohhh…"
"Wow…"
"A miracle…"
"By the spirits!"
"How?!" Katara asked, unable to contain the excitement bubbling inside her — not just because of the revelation itself, but because of the countless possibilities opening up before her. 'He's a bender! Maybe he can teach me how to control water!—No, more importantly! Maybe he knows what happened to the Avatar or… he might be the Avatar himself!'
Ikari raised his hand, as if anticipating everyone's questions. "I know exactly what you're thinking. And no, I'm not the Avatar." He spoke quickly, with the tone of someone who had repeated that many times before. "Here's the short version of how I ended up here: my dear great-grandfather, during his rebellious teenage years, decided to leave the Air Nomads to live in the Earth Kingdom. Two generations later, I was born. End of story. And no, I have no idea what happened to the Avatar either."
A sting of disappointment ran through Katara — but it was quickly swallowed by the overwhelming thrill of standing before an airbender.
Sokka, on the other hand, picked up his spear from the snow and straightened his posture, determined not to look impressed. "Right, so you're an… airbender. Whatever that means. But you still haven't explained why my father trusted you."
'That's enough!' Katara lost her patience with her brother and stepped forward. Couldn't he understand the importance and meaning of the person standing before them? Fine then— she'd knock some sense into that stubborn head of his. But before she could do anything, Ikari spoke:
"I imagine that, since we fought side by side over the past few weeks against the Fire Nation, he ended up liking me enough to trust me with your location."
Katara froze at the new information, while Sokka's mouth fell open in a comical "O." "Y-you fought in the war?" he asked, voicing exactly what she wanted to know.
Ikari tilted his head with a half-smile. "Doesn't it look like it?"
"Not at all! You're skinny, you look about my age, and you're not even carrying a sword or spear— just those… tiny little knives!" Sokka exclaimed, gesturing toward Ikari's waist.
The airbender laughed and tapped the hilt of one of the blades. "These are daggers, not knives — and they're perfect for my fighting style."
"Your fighting style?"
"Yeah. Fast and agile."
"I still can't believe that— Ow!" Sokka shouted when his ear was yanked hard.
"Hehe, sorry about my brother being so annoying. He hit his head when he was born," Katara told Ikari with a strained smile, before dragging Sokka away.
"Katara, stop, that hurts!" Sokka complained, struggling to free himself from her iron grip. He couldn't. "Let go of me! I'm not done questioning him yet."
Katara ignored him and dragged him away from the campfire, only releasing his ear once they were far enough away no one could hear them. "What is wrong with you, Sokka?! Why are you acting like an idiot? More than usual! Don't you realize that it's thanks to him that we know Dad is okay?"
"I know that," Sokka muttered, rubbing his reddened ear with a pained expression. "It's just… I don't know how to explain it. Every time I look at him, I get this chill in my gut. It's like… my instincts are screaming that he's dangerous."
"Your instincts?" Katara raised an eyebrow, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Sokka, your instincts are about as reliable as your fishing skills."
"I'm serious, Katara. That guy is dangerous."
"Dad trusted him!" Katara shot back, raising her voice.
"He could have been fooled!"
"Ugh! Even you don't believe that!" Katara threw her hands up, exasperated. "You're just jealous because he… I don't know, can do things you can't!"
"Jealous? Me? Ha!" Sokka scoffed, but the blush that crept up his cheeks betrayed him. "I'm just… trying to protect us, Katara," he muttered, looking away.
She sighed, her expression softening. "Look, Sokka… I get why you're doing this. But don't you think that, at least today, we could… set all the worries aside? We just heard from Dad after months. Let's just enjoy the moment." Katara glanced back at the campfire and gestured with her hand. "Look at him. Does he look dangerous to you?"
Sokka frowned but followed her gaze — and saw everyone gathered around Ikari, who was now making the snow dance in spirals in the palm of his hand… using air. 'What kind of strange magic…'
"So?" Katara pressed, lifting an eyebrow.
Sokka hesitated for a long moment, his posture stiff. "I… fine," he finally said, letting his shoulders drop in resignation. "But I'm keeping an eye on him. If he makes any weird move, my spear will be ready."
Katara rolled her eyes, knowing that was probably the most she was going to get out of him.
***
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, images or songs featured in this fic. Additionally, I do not claim ownership of any products or properties mentioned in this novel. This work is entirely fanfic.