CH 13 | Amala and Haru

Appa was already calling excitedly before the Southern Air Temple came fully into view. Despite its rebuilt, modernized façade, the general landscape remained the same as he remembered it. And of course, there was the bison herd.

In the time between escaping the iceberg and the present, Aang had done everything possible to keep himself anonymous. It wasn't terribly hard as a small number of acolytes had re-established in the southern and northern air temples. Aang moved through the world claiming his parents were acolytes from the south and kept his airbending to a minimum. There were rumors that a small number of airbenders survived Sozin's genocide—enough that Aang didn't have to worry about keeping it fully secret. They were only rumors, though.

He was the last.

There was one piece of his past that he was not able to set aside, and that was his deep connection to the animals who had lived alongside his people. He and Appa's first years after escaping Azula and the South Pole were dedicated to finding wild bison to establish the herd. It had not been easy, but Aang had turned up at the temple four years ago with Appa and four additional bison in tow. Establishing the fledgling southern herd had earned Aang a small amount of regional notoriety, not to mention a generous college scholarship from the temple's foundation.

It was just sunrise when Aang landed in the courtyard. Yangchen, the herd's lead biologist, was already waiting to greet them. "Alright there, Appa?" she called as the happy bison nuzzled into her hands affectionately. "Aang, we were starting to worry you weren't going to bring him back" she chided, hands on hips. "I know, I know…" Aang apologized while rolling down to detach Appa's saddle. He knew Appa, a keystone male of the breeding population, would have a much more…exciting week than he.

"Try not to pull a muscle buddy" he called after the bison, who had already returned to the air. After chuckling and picking up his pack, he turned back to Yangchen. "Is Guru Pathik in?"

"Mmhm." She said, entering in some notes on her tablet. "He's doing morning mantra. The usual spot." "Great, thanks." Aang said, starting off immediately. "Aang, I'll need your data from this summer before you leave, and I want to get Appa's measurements."

"No problem, Yangchen. I'll be by the stables to see Amala tonight." Amala was Appa's primary mate, and their most recent pups were just starting to fly.

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Aang sank alongside Pathik without announcing himself, wanting to join his meditation rather than disturb it. There were few acts more grounding to Aang than feeling the sunrise on his skin, present in his mantras, seated alongside a friend.

At the end, he opened his eyes to find the kindly guru staring back at him. "It is so good to see you again, Guru Pathik." Aang said genuinely, with a deep and respectful bow. Pathik returned the motion and said without changing his expression, "My friend, your chakras are a landfill."

Aang laughed. It was a strange sound after a stressful weekend. "Yeah, I was hoping you could help me with that…I'm ready now."

Guru Pathik regarded him thoughtfully. "And how much are you ready for, Aang?"

Aang nodded with a mixture of resignation and confidence. "I'm ready to be the Avatar."

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"I'm so glad you're here Katara. So. Glad." Sokka murmured, sipping his coffee. Katara acknowledged him only with a soft tongue-clucking as she finished ladling scrambled eggs and seal bacon onto his plate. She had always been the early riser and, as she expected, was drawn into the role once again when it became apparent that Sokka had not changed his penchant for early-morning procrastination and Toph didn't appear to be alive.

"You know the rule, though." She said after pouring herself a cup and one for Toph. "You cook, I clean. I know." Sokka said through a full mouth. "Chew your food, you animal." She lectured.

The wild weekend seemed like a world away by the time the three were stepping out into the daylight. Aang had already left during the night, telling Sokka he would return the week after orientation. Neither Sokka nor Katara seemed interested in broaching Toph over the cryptic exchange that had sent him packing so quickly. Sokka was still locking the door when someone called from the street. "Hey, Sokka! Where's Aang?" said a young man, who was puffing heavily after easing out of his jog.

"Oh, hey Haru. He won't be in until next week. What's up?" Katara couldn't help but laugh a bit at Haru's reaction. It was the first day of orientation and the frazzled man grabbed his own ponytail and complained "Guhhhhhhhg. His damn rescue lemur opened the nursery door. Hog monkeys everywhere. Melon fridge pilfered." Now Sokka and Toph were laughing too. "That sounds like a Bio Department problem to me. Take Katara."

"Hey! I just got here; you could at least help!" Katara complained.

"Nope." Toph and Sokka said in unison. "You shoulda done engineering if you don't enjoy shoveling shit, probably literally in this case. Go catch hog monkeys then text me when you're done. I'll tell you where to find us."

After wrangling half a dozen spirited baby hog monkeys and (as Sokka predicted) cleaning up their aftermath, Katara decided to take Momo in Aang's pouch carrier for the remainder of the day. She figured his mischief was a result of boredom.

Before she'd left, she was excited to have made a new friend; The strapping young Haru turned out to be an Agricultural Studies major and occasional TA of the Animal Biology department. He was also an unapologetic defender of Earth Kingdom culture and outspoken critic of the "Citizen ID" policies that were creating a rift in the Fire Nation colonies.

"It's ridiculous. I'm paying more than a citizen student for my classes, but now I can't live on campus? Because 'Colonized' students are dangerous, and we clear out the cafeterias like a swarm of locust bees, and we steal books from the library." Haru vented sarcastically.

"So, we're having a sit-in on Wednesday to protest. Nothing crazy, and I already registered it with the police department. It's just…something needs to be said before this gets any more out of control than it already is." Katara nodded. "I agree with you, Haru. I mean…I'm glad Sokka was able to get us a place to rent, but it shouldn't have been under these kinds of circumstances."

"So, you'll come?" Haru glanced over to her with mild surprise. "Of course, I'll come." She replied plainly while bagging up some fruit slices for Momo. "Can I pick you up? We could go together." Haru asked. His expression was still stoic.

"Oh!" Katara exclaimed, once she realized what he was implying. Like a date. A date to a protest.

She considered Haru for a moment. While certainly attractive in his own intense way, she couldn't help but imagine how different an invitation from Aang would have been—probably all blushy and neck-rubby in comparison. Community service wouldn't be off the table, but something with more laugh potential. She honestly wouldn't mucking out an entire stable with him just to call it a date.

Still, the memory of the evening prior flooded back to her:

"We should probably…"

"—just be friends?"

He had too much on his plate right now, and she wanted to respect that.

"Yeah, let me give you my number."