Chapter 72
"Mmmmmm, I haven't eaten meat in so long, nya!" I exclaimed, happily devouring the fried meat. And even though there weren't any spices, just the chance to eat meat again was enough to make me stop paying attention to my speech. Shamefully, I almost got teary-eyed. Who'd have thought I'd miss tasty food this much? I'll definitely need to bring some to Master and stock up even more for myself.
"You really do seem to love meat," Granny said with a kind smile as the rest of the girls continued cooking and making natural refrigerators for the butchered meat out of snow.
"Mm-hmm," I nodded affirmatively, not looking up from my food.
Suddenly a signal flare shot up into the sky, and people around me stopped what they were doing to watch it with concern.
"This is bad," muttered the old woman standing next to me.
"Damn it, I knew he was a spy!" Sokka roared with anger before anxiously scanning the people around. "Where's Katara?! Has anyone seen Katara?!"
"She went off with Aang," a boy of about six quickly replied.
"That's just what we needed," the guy paled a little.
"Don't worry, she's fine—they'll be back soon," I decided to intervene.
"How would you know?" Sokka snapped.
"As long as I wish it, I can know anything," I stared into his eyes, making him gulp nervously—seems he remembered he wasn't talking to a human.
"Come on, let's meet them. We need to find out what's happened," said the village chief, heading towards the entrance of the settlement, and everyone else followed.
We didn't have to wait long for the guilty parties—they were already running in our direction, slowing down as they got closer until they finally came to a stop in front of the crowd, faces sheepish. The children didn't grasp what was happening and happily rushed to greet their new friend Aang, but the rest were clearly displeased.
"I knew it! You signaled to the Fire Nation!" Sokka stepped forward. "You want to bring them here!"
"Aang didn't do anything. It was an accident," Katara immediately countered.
"Yeah. We were on the ship, and it was a trap," Aang said, scratching his head awkwardly. "We got caught."
"Katara, you know you're not allowed on that ship," Granny scolded. "Now we're all in danger."
"Don't blame Katara," Aang quickly said. "It was me. My fault."
"Aha, the traitor confesses himself!" Sokka pounced on his words. "Warriors, stay away from the enemy. He'll be banished from our village."
"Sokka, you're making a mistake," Katara protested.
"No, Katara, he's right," the village elder declared. "The airbender must leave the village."
"Okay, everyone calm down a little," I decided to step in.
"First, he isn't just any airbender—he's the Avatar. Second, while I could protect you by wiping out the Firebenders, all that would achieve is bringing even more of them down on us, so we need to distract them with something else."
"The Avatar?! Him?!" Sokka exclaimed in obvious doubt.
"Silence, Sokka," the old woman ordered. "What do you suggest?"
"The Avatar will have to take responsibility for his actions. If he attracted the Firebenders, then he'll have to lead them away. But I should note something important: this may be Katara's last chance to learn waterbending, and the Avatar's success also affects when your kinsfolk can return home."
"You want to use him as bait? You can't!" Katara protested.
"It's okay, Katara. She's right," Aang sighed.
"Funny that's the only thing you focus on. He's not the only bait. I don't plan to stay at the South Pole, so naturally, I'll support him on his journey until I can return home. I also suggest you come along, Katara."
"She's not going anywhere with you!" Sokka jumped in.
"What if you came too?" I smiled slightly.
"I... Someone needs to protect the village."
"...Fine," the elder seemed to have made up her mind. "Sokka, you'll go with Katara."
"What?" the guy repeated. "But what about—"
"Thanks to Seras, we won't have to worry about food for a long time. And your sister would never give up this chance. It's better if you look after her."
"I... understand."
"So... I'm not the enemy now?" Aang asked awkwardly.
"Ha-ha-ha-ha! No, Aang," Katara laughed, clearly satisfied with the outcome.
"Go, get everything ready. The Fire Nation ship won't take long to arrive," I said, glancing at the elder.
"Granny, I hope you can give us some supplies for the road."
"Of course," the old woman nodded. "Katara, Sokka, come with me."
After that, almost everyone scattered to take care of their own business, leaving just me and Aang.
"Um... What should I do?" the boy asked uncertainly.
"Go get your bison ready—we'll have to leave the South Pole on him."
"Right! Thanks!" Aang immediately perked up and ran off to his flying bison.
"Heh-heh. Let's see how grateful you'll be when I spill the guts of Firebenders," I said quietly, allowing my mouth to spread in a bloodthirsty grin.
30 minutes later.
"There they are," I said as suddenly the huge mass of ice beneath us began to shake due to a massive ship plowing toward us, its prow easily breaking through everything in its path and only stopping in front of the village. The fence, built so painstakingly from snow, buckled and simply collapsed. Everyone lined up in front of the ship—except for me—when the ship's prow abruptly lowered, forming a ramp. Down it came Fire Nation soldiers led by a teenager in armor, burn scar covering half his face.
"All right, where is he?" the guy asked, looking over the assembled crowd. "Where's the Avatar?"
"I'm the Avatar," Aang stepped forward, uncharacteristically serious.
"You think this is funny? The Avatar should be over a hundred years old by now! Tell me where the real Avatar is!" The guy, known as the banished Fire Nation prince, Zuko, shot a stream of fire just above Aang's head to intimidate him. But he wasn't expecting Aang to respond with a gust of wind that buried the prince in snow.
"You're an airbender? You really are the Avatar?" Zuko was honestly surprised, but he didn't let his guard down. Signing to his soldiers to surround them, he prepared for battle.
"I've been preparing for this meeting for years. Training, meditating—and you're just a kid!"
"And you're just a teenager," Aang immediately shot back.
The banished prince said nothing, but began his attack, unleashing streams of fire. They were easily suppressed by the Avatar, but even so, some villagers shrieked in fear.
"Wait! If I go with you, will you let them go?" Aang cried out. In response, Zuko stopped attacking and nodded seriously—it was clear he was never really interested in this little water tribe, just the Avatar.
The soldiers quickly surrounded Aang to escort him onto the ship.
"Aang!" Katara called anxiously, though she knew he'd be all right.
"Set course for the Fire Nation! I'm going home." The prince's words held obvious relief—after all those years in exile, he finally had a chance to return.
The people of the South Pole silently watched the departing ship, until at last I stepped out in front of everyone.
"Katara, Sokka. It's time."