Chapter 19: Taking Off (1)

"Here, have some soup," Nik glanced at the kindly smiling middle-aged woman who seemed to be staying longer in the tent than she should be.

"Just leave, Auntie," Sokka groaned as the woman glared at the youth and snorted before taking her leave. Nik looked down at the 'soup.' In a word, it looked disastrous. To Nik, the term soup meant clear soup, fresh vegetables, and a healthy portion of meat. It could be barely considered a broth here but he still picked the bowl with a gratified expression, sipping the southern concoction with an open mind.

Sokka continued to look at the youth in front of him with a suspicious gaze.

"How old are you?"

"20," Nik replied.

"Oh," Sokka raised his eyebrow in surprise, "Hmm, you've got good enough of a face. Not as handsome as a conventional southerner but you've got the tan. Psst," Sokka leaned forward, the back of his palm close to his lips as he whispered, "I don't really know you, but I wouldn't wish this fate to my worst enemy. Stay clear from all the aunties in the tribe. The older the better. Men of the tribe left for the war but haven't returned. That damned Phoenix King refuses to let go of any war prisoner! Ehm, anyway, I have barely avoided their vile clutches by monopolizing hunting trips all for myself."

Nik pursed his lips, sipping on the bowl while inquiring, "I'm sorry. I'm still stuck on this art you mentioned. Waterbending, is it?"

"Look," Sokka waved his hand in complete disregard, "It's moving water. I waterbend every day with the pedal to steer the canoe. Or I bend my boomerang through the air and get it back. See, airbending? I'm the freaking Avatar that never showed up. Guilty as charged."

Crossing his arms, Sokka sighed deeply.

"Sorry about venting suddenly. Kids around keep on harping about what Katara teaches cause... well, I'm the only man remaining of the tribe and the influence of the..." Sokka looked around with caution before whispering, "womenfolk... is far greater now."

Nik nodded. He didn't understand a thing from Sokka's explanation. It left too much information to be desired. Does peeing here is also considered waterbending then? Or farting as airbending? Because that's what Sokka's explanation would cover as 'magic,' too.

"Anyway, you're 20-years-old but travel around naked through empty space? What's up with that?" Sokka inquired.

"I don't remember," Nik sipped calmly.

This was an interrogation, a warmer one, but still an interrogation. Well within his rights and thoughts, Sokka clicked his tongue, "I'm not believing that. How can you prove that you've lost your memories?"

"I cannot," Nik lowered the bowl and set it down, "But aside from my name and other few personal information and social customs, I don't remember anything else."

"What is the name of the Phoenix King?"

"I don't know."

"How did he lay siege on Ba Sing Se and win this utterly useless war?"

"I wouldn't know."

"Where did you come from?"

"I don't remember."

"What's your last name?"

"Faran."

"Why did you pick such a weird last name?"

"I didn't."

"Aha! So you do remember something! You're lying!" Sokka instantly pointed his gloved finger at Nik as his expression froze.

'This guy... is good.'

Nik gulped. Did he accidentally encounter a genius in dumb man's interactions?

{A/N: Wolf in sheep's clothing.}

"So?" Sokka sneered, tightening the wolftail held by a white thread behind his head as he inquired, "Where did you come from?"

"Why did you bring me here?" Nik frowned.

"To question you, of course," Sokka shrugged.

"No, I mean, I did not ask to wake up in your tribe, right? Given that I'm here when I awoke, it must mean you found me unconscious and from Aang's words, I was found outside your tribe."

"And?" Sokka frowned.

Nik replied calmly, "Then why should I be attributed as the one to have some vile intentions? I didn't want to end up here."

Nik could only feign ignorance in his homeworld for the most part because of the choices he opted for due to the lack of AP. He had no such problems now in the beginning but his AP had fallen into the mercy of the decimal system of a high fraction yet again. But being able to communicate was already way better than waking up in a hospital where you can't talk at all.

However, Sokka simply shrugged, "Look pal, you don't understand how coming out of things works apparently.... you don't get a choice. You're here, and suspicious, and have been caught lying!"

Rolling his eyes, Nik countered, "You think a spy of this Mighty Phoenix King will drink this?"

Nik tapped the empty bowl and Sokka pursed his lips.

"You're... probably right. Our tribe's destitute, yeah," Sokka groaned and fell on his back.

"Man... I want to go out and find what happened to dad and the others..."

"Where are all the men?" Nik inquired curiously as Sokka sat up once again.

"You're really like that kid chasing penguins," Sokka mumbled, "It's the 100-Years War, genius! Phoenix King Ozai won. The men of the tribe left to assist the other two nations in the war but we haven't heard from them ever since. Not a single letter or indication aside from the Royal Procession that traveled the entire world, announcing the merits of this Ozai and how he will keep the sinners of the war in his stronghold. They didn't hurt us pretty much... well, because we're no threat at all."

Sokka lowered his head as distasteful memories flickered in his mind and he shook his head.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Nik closed his eyes momentarily. This world is dangerous but even if he had the slightest bit of thought to stay and find if there are any valuable objects around him but it couldn't be done here in this frozen village. However, he also desired a safe way to leave this area and reasoned that if this was possible in the first place, this tribe would have already moved closer to civilization for survival.

*piiiiiiiiiiiiii*

A strange whistle suddenly resounded within the tribe and the two men looked at each other before quickly exiting the tent. In the sky alongside a trail of smoke was a beacon of light that finally began to descend after reaching its highest altitude.

"Fire Nation," Sokka whispered and cautiously glanced at Nik only to find him equally dazed and surprised. Relieving him of doubts, temporarily, Sokka shouted, "Get ready for anything! Jerkzu, Hina! You both aren't allowed to come out or waterbend if there really are fire nation soldiers!"

The man looked at the children and waved his hand, "Hurry!"

The boy and the girl mentioned not to waterbend were pulled away by their mothers and entered their tents. Meanwhile, Sokka looked at Nik.

"Can you fight?"

"Oh, no. I'm a scholar," Nik used the go-to lie taught to him from early on.

Sokka pursed his lips, "Hey, man! You drank that weird excuse of a soup, right? You're already a little like us! Take this!"

Sokka handed Nik a bony spear and Nik recoiled slightly, barely holding the shaft with his thumb and index and evidently feeling quite disconnected. He wasn't a warrior either in passion or profession. He only wore the outfit of one a few times only.

Seeing this, all the doubts in Sokka's heart vanished and he grumbled, "Make a fist! Clench it real good!"

He waved his club and then looked towards the direction of the beacon only to fall silent for a moment. And then he frowned and quickly walked past Nik and climbed up the broken watchtower before narrowing his gaze and looking far in that particular direction.

"Those two idiots!" Sokka cursed, "Hey, you! Come with me! I don't trust a stranger in the tribe."

---

"Where are we going?" Nik inquired. Sokka and he traveled outside of the tribe momentarily without any protection. But then again, Nik reasoned that the tribe by itself wasn't well protected either.

"Even before I was born, there has been a shipwreck near the tribe. Gram Gram made us all stay away from that ship because it belonged to the Fire Nation and might even have booby traps... when the procession of the Phoenix King reached the sight of the shipwreck, they refused to salvage it. Probably the cost of repairs wouldn't be worth it."

Nik nodded and followed Sokka. For the time being, the man in front of him looked dependable. After all, he even provided a set of thick boots and a furry and warm overcoat with a comfortable bluish hoody that Nik had worn to keep his ears warm. Both of their breaths would escape in the form of a cold mist and they continued moving.

'This is the direction where Aang ran in chasing a penguin with Katara following him. Most probably the two of them accidentally activated something,' Nik mused internally. Until now, he was most fascinated by the change in atmosphere. He felt that suddenly arriving in such a cold climate should affect him deeply but it didn't seem to have a lasting effect and the sheer lack of giant buildings or neat streets with organized architecture felt strangely clean. After all, his eyes only held a pure white and blue scape of ice and snow.

Traveling through ice proved more difficult than imagined and now made sense to use the spear in his hand as a walking stick to achieve balance but used to this climate, Sokka had no trouble balancing himself through the slippery slopes or fluffy land layered with snow that would try and devour one's legs in a cold coffin.

*Khcch*

*Khcch*

The sound of their footsteps echoed with not a single animal in sight.

"Hey! Sokka!"

Aside from the social ones.

Katara and Aang were seen running in their direction. Their expressions were riddled with guilt and further away, Nik even saw the shadow of the shipwreck that Sokka mentioned. It was hard not to notice it even from this far of a distance.

"What did you do?!" Sokka instantly pointed the edge of his club at Aang, scaring the boy with a slightly intimidating expression as Katara pushed the club away, apologizing, "He didn't do anything, Sokka. It was an accident, sorry. I should have been more mindful but... I let my emotions get the better of me."

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Her head lowered as Sokka pursed his lips with a deep frown, "That's not gonna work! You used the same thing two days ago!"

Katara looked up, a mischievous glint in her eyes as she nodded, "Fine, you're right. But I'm not lying. It's not Aang's fault. I should have stopped him from entering that shipwreck. But I now know that Aang is not associated with the Fire Nation and the Phoenix City at all!

Come on, I'll cook you a nice bowl of fish sticks," she persuaded and it worked, only barely.

"Katara, that beacon threatened the entire Tribe! Not just our village, but the other villages, too! You've got to promise me not to do something so stupid or he needs to leave now!"

He pointed the club back at Aang who rubbed the back of his head with a guilty conscience.

Nik watched the two siblings bickering before glancing at Aang, coincidently meeting his gaze, too. They both shared a sentiment.

This was awkward.

Being the third wheel in an argument hurts a person physically and the two travelers felt it deeply.

"Um, Sokka—" Aang began and flinched as Sokka scowled, "Sir, ehm, I'm really sorry. Truly. If you want, I will leave right away—"

"Wait a minute," Katara turned to look at him before facing Sokka, "Don't you get it, Sokka? An Airbender has not been sighted for over a hundred years now! A hundred years!"

She emphasized and Aang lowered his head, sadness in his gaze couldn't be more prevalent.

"So? Good for him and his magic air!"

"You dimwit! I think Aang was inside that iceberg for more than a hundred years because he doesn't know anything about the war."

"Well, great, here, Nik. Do you know anything about the war?" Sokka turned to look at Nik as he shook his head innocently.

"Maybe he was trapped in a magic space for a hundred years. Maybe he's the avatar, too?" Sokka scoffed, crossing his arms.

"You're a stubborn brute!"

"And you're a sea freak!"

Both of them glared and Nik coughed.

"What's an avatar?" He questioned

"I think... that would be me..."

Aang raised his hand slightly but his voice was too low.

"Great... the Avatar, whoo-freaking-hooo..." Sokka groaned, "Nice of you to show up after the world is conquered, Aang. You're gonna do great."

Turning around, Sokka had his arm around Nik's shoulder, "Come on, Nik, it's the first time I'm gonna chat with someone my age. Good thing you're not into freakish stuff..."

"Hey! Is Aang still welcome?" Katara called out. In the end, she knew that Sokka wouldn't want anything bad for the tribe.

"Sure, whatever. Maybe he can help us catch some fish, cook them up, and build better defenses for the tribe. I mean, that's his job, right?" Sokka waved his hand, tired slightly.

"Come on, Aang. Don't mind Sokka's words too much," Katara patted Aang's head and his shoulders slumped slightly. Amongst the three grownups, he looked like a small kid and as such, treated was like one even when being the legendary Avatar.

But as they walked, everyone failed to notice the strange emotion coursing through Nik's body.

'Phoenix that rules the four aspects... more information is needed but it's probably related to the Phoenix King. And the Avatar... is that boy. Transmigration Paradise actually expects me to kill a boy for rewards?'

He felt slightly sick in the stomach at the thought of it.

Dying once surely does wonder to a human being. Nik couldn't have been more traumatized and realized that he needed to face a few realities to live a healthy life. And dying once made him value life even more. After all, he wouldn't want to inflict that utter despair just moments before the death followed by a soothing calm to children the least of all, or adults and possibly enemies.

The four of them returned to the village with Sokka announcing the false alarm, however, the nerves of the entire village were now tense.

'Holy... shit...'

Nik's eyes widened as Aang had another particular individual. An 8-foot long and two-meter high white furry beauty with a broad nose and kind brown eyes. The fur, too, had a natural arrow-shaped design of brown stripes with the arrow pointing down from the horned behemoth's head.

"Appa!" Aang jumped, his body instantly latching on to the top portion of the beast's head as Aang began to pet him.

"I'm sorry, Appa. I'll find you something to eat soon, too," Aang smiled.

*Graaghuuu*

The beast opened its mouth, revealing a set of giant molars as it let out a natural, growling call.

Seeing Nik in shock, Katara smiled, "See? I told you that Aang's friend is nothing like him. He is also the one to help us return when our last canoe broke apart."

"Appa is a Sky Bison," Aang smiled, "He has been with me from the moment we were taught Airbending!"

Nik tilted his body slightly, observing the flat-shaped broad tail behind Appa, wondering what this mix of a platypus and a bison could actually accomplish. According to Sokka and his sarcastic remark, it flies. There was yet to see a hint of such a remarkable accomplishment but seeing Aang flying once was good enough of an indicator that most probably Aang wasn't boasting empty praises.

"You were in an Iceberg, right? How did you turn into an iceberg if you're supposed to be flying?" Nik inquired curiously as Aang closed his eyes and buried his head into Appa's fur, "It's a long story... apparently 100 years long now. Anyway," pulling himself up, Aang looked at Katara, "I know I promised you to bring you to the Northern Water Tribe... but I really want to check up on my home, too. I'm sure that many would have survived the war. If they see a familiar face, maybe they will come out of the hiding," Aang smiled, his words brimming with optimism.

But Katara didn't seem to hold the same thought, her expression told it all.

"Aang... I—"

"Katara, they're going to be alright. I'm fine even after a hundred years. There are airbending masters much better than me in the temples," Aang grinned as Nik inquired.

"Can I request you for a ride, too? I'm not from here and I don't want to impose more than I already have."

Nik didn't have a plan. What could someone even think of while coming into yet another world? He was new to this. A rookie needs experience and for once, seeing such strange animals and abilities, Nik had the slightest bit of desire to see more of the wonders... from a safe distance, of course.

"Sure!" Aang nodded, "I won't be bored during the trip, then."

They were just a little further away from the village and when the trio returned, they felt an instantaneous shift in the mood. The women and the children would eye Aang.

"Oh... god. What did you do, Sokka?" Katara had an ominous feeling when she saw the Black, grey, and white Tribal Paint on Sokka's face.

"Newcomers," Sokka smiled as the villagers gathered around. The village was extremely small so Nik, and Aang in particular felt slightly stifled.

"After discussing a few things with the tribeswomen, as an acting Chieftain, I have come to a decision.

Aang, do you deny that you're the Avatar?"

Aang's hold around his staff tightened but he shook his head nonetheless.

"I'm sorry for not telling you all after you gave me a place to stay. But... I'm the Avatar."

Gasps rang in the village.

'I would gasp, too, if I understood the importance of a 12-year-old boy... huh, I actually do know the value of a 12-year-old boy. A pouch of 100 gold coins...' He thought with a depressed expression.

"Then!" Sokka shouted before bowing his head, "Help us reinforce the tribe. I request of you and apologize for my constant ridicule!"

"Eh?" Katara's lips twitched.

Aang grew dumbstruck.

"Legends say that the Avatar controls all the four elements. Please use your absolute waterbending skills to help reinforce the tribe so that I can leave without worries to finally look for the men of the tribe!"

"Sokka—" Katara called out.

"Not now, Katara. We cannot survive like this. But if the village is safe and has enough food to last for a month, maybe I can find a solution outside."

"No, I understand that but he's just an Airbender..."

Sokka blinked, straightening his back.

"Excuse me? So the Avatar doesn't control four elements?"

"No," Aang waved his hand, "I need to train to control the four elements. I am an airbending master... but I don't know a thing about waterbending or other forms of bending."

"Well..." Sokka sighed, "fuck."

"*Gasp* Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"

Jerkzu instantly copied the curse as his mother hurried to cover his mouth, berating him and glaring at Sokka. It would seem that his rating as a chieftain had fallen yet again.

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