CHAPTER 7
Omashu and Psychiatry
---They have houses that don't melt.---
---You have to open your eyes to the possibilities.---
---Great. So they get their mail on time.---
"Welcome to City of Omashu." Aang said proudly as the great Earth Kingdom city looms ahead. Behind him, Sokka, Katara, and Suki gasp in awe. "I always use to come here to visit my friend Bumi."
"It looks amazing." Katara said in awe, staring at the huge city from afar.
"Wow. I've never been in a city this big before." gushed Suki.
"They have houses that don't melt." Sokka said in awe, sharing the other's sentiments.
Aang beamed proudly and said, "Well, come on, guys. The awesome stuffs are inside the city."
"Wait up, Aang." Katara said, halting him before he could run towards the city.
"Huh? What for?" The monk gave her a questioning look.
"It might be dangerous if people recognize you as the Avatar." She said.
"It might alert the Fire Nation of our location." Suki added. "You'll need to disguise yourself."
The monk thought it over for a moment before nodding. "But what do you want me to do, grow a beard?"
Minutes later, Aang found himself wearing a large white wig and white wiggling mustache. "This stuff itches. How do you live in these stuff?"
The subject of his question, who happens to be a ten ton bison, merely gave him a grunt in reply.
"Great. Now he looks like a male version of Gran Gran." Sokka said sarcastically.
"Well, technically, Aang is a hundred and twelve years old." Katara reasoned out, a smile on her face.
"I just hope there's a medicine store in there that sells very srong anesthesia. Sokka's whining at night is really starting to bug me." Suki added in a deadpan.
"Hey! Can't you see I'm still pretty much injured? And I got them defending your island!"
"And that's the only reason I haven't beaten your sexist ass from here to the North Pole for ruining my life! I mean, I always see myself married to a handsome, strong, dashing, and very refined gentleman with excellent manners."
"So what exactly are you trying to say, woman?" Sokka, who was in the process of picking his nose with a stick he picked up from the ground, asked.
Suki groaned in disgust. She took out her battle fans and turned to look pleadingly at Katara who, seeing what the other girl wanted, said calmly, "No, Suki. You can't kill him for being a disgusting pig since you're only engage at the moment. Once you're married, you're only allowed to maim him."
"Darn." The Kyoshi Warrior cursed. She had asked Katara to help her find some loophole in the Kyoshi code that would get her out of the engagement with Sokka after they left the island. Katara started studying the old code with her and became very proficient with the explaining the by-laws contained within the said codes.
Aang merely shook his head at them. He's starting to get used to Suki and Sokka's shouting matches ever since they left Kyoshi Island. He and Katara even started betting on the winner from each confrontation. "Let's go you young wipper-snappers! We haven't got all day!" The monk said in an impersonation of an old man's voice, using his air glider like a walking stick to better act his disguise.
The three soon followed, Suki and Sokka still glaring at each other.
Crossing a natural stone bridge across a very deep canyon, they came closer and closer to Omashu.
"You guys are going to love Omashu. The people here are among the friendliest in the world." Aang said proudly, reminescing the past.
"ROTTEN CABBAGE? WHAT KIND OF SLUM DO YOU THINK THIS IS?" Came a guard's angry voice up ahead.
All four teens saw three soldiers in green and yellow uniforms guarding the city gate. One of them was confronting a cabbage seller. They saw the said soldier thump his foot on the ground, causing the soil underneath the nearby cabbage cart to punch said cart over the canyon.
"My cabbages!" The cabbage seller shouted in despair as his cart fell off the very deep canyon.
"Friendliest in the world, huh?" Sokka asked sarcastically as he and the girls gave the disguised monk a half lidded glare.
"Um, heheh." Aang scratch the back of his neck nervously as he develop a sweatdrop. "Just follow my lead, okay." He then turned back to the walk towards the guards, the others following closely behind.
The same angry guard saw them coming and he immdiately used his earthbending ability to pick a good size boulder from the ground and float it threateningly above Aang's head. "What's your business in Omashu, old man?" The guard asked threateningly.
Aang was suddenly in the guard's face, glaring at him. "IS THAT ANYWAY TO TALK TO YOUR ELDERS, YOUNG MAN. WHY, I SHOULD JUST PUT YOU ON MY KNEES AND SLAP YOU SILY UNTIL YOU LEARN THE MEANING OF RESPECT. DON'T THINK I WOULDN'T DO IT EITHER, BOY!"
Startled, the guard backed away from the crazy old man and raised his hands in surrender as he said, "Easy there, old timer. Just tell me your name and I'll let you inside."
"It's Moonsoon . . . Theodafethotopolis . . .the Third!" Aang said in his best old man's voice. "And this are my grandkids and my grandson's affectionate fiancee."
Sokka scoff. "Affectionate? Yeah, right."
Insulted, Suki immediately went into offense and said to him, "You wouldn't know affection if it bite you in your crude and ugly ass."
"My ass is very studly, thank you very much. All your fellow Kyoshi Warriors think so too. Why else would they be fighting over it?"
"Because they don't know any better!" She shouted in aggravation.
"You're just frustrated I couldn't cuddle with you anymore since I'm injured." He snarked.
"Cuddle this you bastard!" She shouted in rage, trying to stangle the boy but Katara held her back from doing bodily harm to her injured brother.
Aang laugh nervously and tod the guards, "Um, they're usually more affectionate than this most of the time, believe me."
The guard merely gave the old man a pitying look and whispered to him, "I know of a very good marriage councilor that could help those two. Saved my third marriage. Just ask for Kei at the lower market. He's famous there."
"Um, I'll keep that in mind. Thank you, sonny."
"Good." The guard said, loudly this time. "Anyway, enjoy Omashu."
The guard gave a hand signal and the wall begun to open up. As the four of them started walking towards the opening, the guard grabbed Sokka's shoulder and whispered, "You should really try to make up with that girl, kid. She's got a great pair of curves. It would be a shame to let such a nice specimen of womanhood go."
Sokka managed to hold all sarcastic comments that ran through his head and said instead, "Um, sure."
"Good lad." The guard said, giving Sokka a good luck slap on the back.
As soon as all four of them are inside the city, the stone gates closed up once again behind them.
The three newcomers had to gasp at the sight. The city was more amazing once inside.
Aang smiled at their astonishment and said in a manner similar to those of certain tour guides, "Omashu is the only city that utilizes a monorail system. Those things run everywhere in Omashu, using earthbending and gravity to transport stuffs all over the city."
"Great. So they get their mails on time." Sokka said sarcastically, still a bit miffed at the earlier confrntation with Suki.
Aang beamed. "They do get their mail on time. But my friend Bumi saw another use for them. He seems to be a bit loony at first but it just hides the fact that he's a mad genius. He always tells me to keep my mind open for the possibilities."
"He sounds like a great friend, Aang." Katara was happy for him, as shown in her smile.
"He was." The monk gave a smile of his own, before it turned mischievous. "How about we go do something fun?"
"Sure, Aang." Katara said, smiling at the monk before turning to the others. "How about you guys?"
"I think I'll pass. I wanna go find a good doctor and had my burns look at." Sokka said, indicating his bandaged right hand.
"I think I'll join you. This city seems a lot of fun, unlike spending time with a whiny Sokka." The Kyoshi warrior said.
"How about we give you a broken arm and a burned hand and see how you fair, Miss Wannabe-Warrior."
"Would you give it a rest for just one day?" Aang said in an exasperated voice.
Huffing, the bethroted teens gave a nod before turning away in unison.
"Do you need me to go with you?" His sister asked suddenly.
Sokka shook his head in negative. "Nah. I'll be fine on my own. You guys have fun. Let's meet up by the gate later for lunch."
"Well, okay. Try to look for for a supply shop for this afternoon shopping."
"Sure, Katara. Aang, make sure the girls have fun, okay."
"Don't worry, Sokka. They'll be having a blast."
"Good. See you all later." Then, he walked away.
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"Now, young man, the good news is that the burns on your hand looks worse than it really is." The doctor said as he finished bandaging Sokka's hand. "In about a week, the dead tissue would harden enough to easily peel off. Your hand would still be a bit sore by then. Do not put any pressure on it for at least another week and it would be as good as new. Your left arm, on the other hand, would heal itself in about two weeks. Whoever mend it sure knows what they're doing."
"Yeah. My sister is the resident nurse aid in our tribe. You should see her take care of frostbites, she specialize in that." He said proudly.
The clinic was situated near the lower market but the clinic itsef is on the fifth floor, giving the people inside a good veiw as well as a cozy feel of the place. There's a fire lace on the side and several flush chairs for visitors.
The old man with a sunny disposition gave out a chuckle and said, "I would very much like to meet this sister of yours. Maybe we can compare notes. Anyway, you seem a bit down when you first came in. What seems to be the problem."
"Oh. Nothing really. Just a bit of trouble with my life in general."
"Really?" There was a sudden spike of interest in the doctor's voice. "Why don't you have a seat at one of my more comfortable chairs and tell me about it. Maybe I can help."
"Thanks, doc. But I don't want to bother you than I already have."
"Nonsense, my young friend. Doctor Kei is always ready to listen to people's troubles."
"Um, okay. Sure." Sokka said unsurely but the doctor seems adamant. Besides, this doctor is a stranger. It's not like he's going to pour his heart out on a complete stranger.
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"Two years. Two freaking whole years. I mean, I understand why he had to leave in the first place with helping the Earth Kingdom in the war and all but couldn't he even spend a few minutes to write and send a letter to his waiting family back home? We're his freaking children. We already lost our mother in the war, we wouldn't want to lose our father as well." Sokka kept going as he pour his soul to the old doctor.
'Patient has parental issue with his father.' The doctor wrote.
Doctor Kei listened patiently on his fushed chair, a scroll and ink brush in his hands. He took a glimpse of his new patient laying down on the flush chair, his right arms on his stomach, his eyes staring at the ceiling. He had the most interesting stories to tell. Living in the South Pole; his childhood; living through Fire Nation raids; loosing his mother; seeing his father left for the war; taking care of the tribe and his sister. . .
'Patient was forced to grow up faster than he should due to parental abandonment as well as a subconscious sister complex.''
. . . finding a new friend inside an iceberg; meeting with a prince with anger management issues. . .
"Tell me, Sokka, how did you feel when you save the prince's life?"
"Well, first I felt so stupid for purposely loosing my boomerang to that jerkface. I mean, he was going to attack my village and take away my new friend. I sholdn't be bothered if he gets hurt or not, right? But when I saw him falling, something inside me just snapped. My body moved before my mind caught up with it."
"How do you think you would feel if you had let him die?"
"I don't really know." But his grimanced told the doctor all he needed.
'Patient have a subconscious sacrament to life and consciously and subconsciously prevents himself from taking any.' He wrote at the scroll, adding it to the list of other things the doctor had already wrote in there about the young man. "Please tell me more."
Sokka told him about visiting his new fiend's home and finding it desecrated.
"So did you feel any resentment when you were helping put to rest a fallen enemy despite knowing it was their fault that your friend's home was desecrated?"
"Not really. I mean, they were already dead."
"I see. Please continue."
Sokka told him about his time in Kyoshi island.
"Is it the first time you had meet females of the same age rather than your sister?"
"Um, yeah. I tell you, girls are strange and scary, my sister included."
Doctor Kei nodded and wrote, 'Patient have no prior experience with dealing with females of possible companionship age.'
Sokka told the doctor about Suki.
"So neither of you wanted the engagement but neglecting it is not an option for the girl."
"That's right. I mean, I'm from the Water Tribe. Why should I care for rules of a place I didn't even grew up on?"
"Are you planning of telling her that?"
"And risk getting killed by that crazy woman while I can't fight back? I aint that suicidal."
Then, Sokka started telling the doctor about his dreams, at least as much as he can remember. Finding the Avatar; meeting the prince; leaving home; The Sothern Air Temple; Kyoshi Island; Suki. He told the doctor what should have happened rather than what had actually occured.
"Do you believe this dreams of yours was the catalyst that changed such events?" Doctor Kei asked.
"I know they are. I mean, in my dreams, I was useless. I saw so many things that could have gone better if I wasn't such a burden in the first place. That's why I started training myself ever since those dreams started."
"Uh-huh." The doctor nodded as he wrote, 'Patient could possibly have latent psychic abilities and suffers from low self esteem but is willing to work for it.'
The doctor is genuinely excited. He now have, in his office, Sokka of the Southern Tribe, better known as the Southern Wolf. He'd never had a patient with so many flaws and such deeply rooted personal principles. He's getting a glimpse on the mind of a newly rising legend in the making, his flaws, his strength, his true persona. His practice would bloom once words get out that he had the Southern Wolf as a patient. Of course, being a medical professional, his work ethics wouldn't allow him to divulge anything that has been talked about in this room.
"Now then, Sokka, on my professional opinion, you are a hard working young man forced to grow up faster due to the responsibilities your father had shouldered you with at a young age, which you secretly hate him for. You hate wars and had decided to end it by leaving home to assist the Avatar. You care for your sister very much and you use her as a comparison to other females of the same age bracket that you meet, which isn't really healthy socially speaking. Also, I believe your dreams of the future are a result of your mind's dormant psychic abilities. Considering the way things are moving in parallel with your dreams, you should try utilizing such rare gifts of foresight to alter things for your advantage."
Sokka blinked a couple of times at the doctor's analysis. "I don't know, doc. Me, psychic?"
"Hmm. You're right. We shold at least try to do a few experiments to make sure. Tell me, Sokka, what happened to you in you're dreams at your first visit in Omashu?"
"Well, Aang talked about his old friend that he always visits here. He convinced us to go on a ride down the monorail and got arrested for it by the king."
Just then, a shout came from outside the window. Turning, both saw Aang, Katara, and Suki riding down the monorail like a giant slide. Suki was screaming like a little girls, tears fowing down her terrified eyes.
Both blinked for a few moments at the sight until the Avatar and his friends disappeared from sight.
Sokka finally found his voice and said, "Um, yeah. Just like that."
"See. You do have a latent psychic ability to see the future. What do you think would happen next?" The doc asked excitedly.
"Um, in my dream, we wreck a cabbage cart, get caught, given a feast by the king, put into a newly refurnished dungeon that used to be bad, held as a hostage with expanding rock candy while the king gives Aang some tests that is really meant to teach Aang a lesson in diverse thinking."
"Hmm. Yes. The king is known for doing stuff like that." Doctor Kei nodded. "Anyway, since your presence wouldn't be needed for the moment, would you like to stay for the night?"
"That's very gracious of you, doc. By I don't want to be a bother."
"Nonsense. I would really like to continue our talks. I rarely meet a more interesting patient like you for a while and would appreciate helping me with my practice in the new branch of medicine I'm trying to introduce to the world."
"What new branch is that, doc?"
"Psychiatry."
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"No offense to your friend, Aang, but that Bumi is seriously freaking mad." Suki said as she, Katara, and Aang finally left King Bumi's palace, heading towards Omashu's gate. She was still a bit miffed at being encased in rock candy. At least the king allowed them to take a shower before they left.
"None taken, Suki. Bumi had been always like that." The monk said, smiling at the thought of his old friend and the lessons he learned from said friend.
"I hope Sokka didn't get into any trouble searching for us yesterday. He must have been real worried." Katara voiced out.
"I just hope he doesn't find out about the ride we took yesterday. I'm never gonna live that down." Suki groaned.
"And I'll make sure you don't, either." Came Sokka's smug voice from behind them.
Turning, they saw Sokka there smiling at them with a large sack hanging on his left elbow. "Had fun sliding down the monorail?" he asked, giving Suki a nasty smirk.
Quickly going on a defensive, Suki snarled at said, "Why don't we just forget the whole thing and I don't break your other arm?"
Looking at her, Sokka knew she wasn't kidding. But he wasn't about to back down, yet. "How about you become my personal servant and I don't spread the news of you screaming like a little girl down the monorail?"
Seeing the upcoming fight, Katara immediately put heself between the two and said diplomatically, "How about neither of you mention anything about it or else I'll be spreading that news around as well as Sokka's potty training disaster and Suki's dream talkings at night?"
Both Suki and Sokka gasped at the threat. "You wouldn't dare!" both said in eery unison, fear in their voice.
"Am I?" the waterbender asked smugly.
"Fine!" Both said.
Aang was awed at the scene. Who knew Katara would be so good at blackmail?