"Sorry to keep you waiting, Katara." - coming out of my igloo, with an apologetic smile, I said to the girl waiting for me.
"It's okay, Aang, I didn't have long to wait." - Katara lied with a smile.
Still, I indulged in my thoughts for quite a long time and all this time, Katara stood in the cold. What a polite girl.
"Anyway, I'm sorry." - deciding not to embarrass the girl, I politely said, and then looking at the sky, I added: "And good morning."
Since we are located at the South Pole, the village of Katara and Sokka is located above the polar circle of the planet, so there are polar nights and polar days here.
According to Sokka, it's the first month of autumn, that is, September, or as the locals say, the month of the Ri Wu, or Superior Military, so Polar Day has just begun.
If, of course, in this world, everything works the same as in my old one, but so far, I have not noticed any significant differences.
Except for the fact that in this world, the year is divided into sixteen months instead of twelve, and the seasons last four months instead of three, although the total number of days in the year does not differ.
Only the number of days in one month differs, usually in the month of 23, sometimes 22. In the month of the Superior Military, twenty-three.
So, back to the previous topic. Yesterday, when we reached the village, it was already deep evening and all the inhabitants were already asleep, although the sky was as bright as it is now, except that the sun was practically invisible.
The sun is visible now, and if Aang's knowledge is right, it's about eight in the morning.
Still, it's good that old Aang memory's remained with me, otherwise, without the so familiar benefits of civilization, I would not even be able to know the time, let alone survive in this medieval world.
And Aang himself was quite independent and traveled a lot around the world, so he was used to surviving in the wild, and for him, there was nothing difficult about it.
In addition, I inherited from him the education of the Air Nomads, which greatly cleared my head from the dirt of the modern age and helped me become less sophisticated and spoiled.
So, now I do not want to sit at the computer every minute, and I can enjoy the simple joys of life and see the world in all its colors.
In general, I am very impressed with the lifestyle of the Air Nomads, nevertheless, in many respects they were right, and it was not for nothing that all the Nomads were magicians and were considered deeply spiritual people (which positively affects magic itself).
I will try to follow what was taught to Aang to honor his memory and the memory of his people, but still, I will have to make a few exceptions, because, in some ways, I do not agree with them.
The most important thing is the meat. I can't do without it. Although Aang was a vegetarian, like his relatives, so he grew up on fruits and vegetables all his life, I simply cannot survive like that.
I'm still a growing body, and quite skinny and short, so I can't hurt to build mass. In any case, it should have a positive effect on my body.
Of course, this is against the principles of the Air Nomads, but I am still the Avatar and must keep the balance and peace on Earth, so I can do a few concessions, especially since I am not going to hunt and kill, but I will only eat ready-made meat.
Moreover, Aang himself was not sinless and once ate meat when he traveled through the lands of the Fire Nation. His friend Kuzon made him try the barbecue, though Aang didn't like it, but still.
Another thing that does not suit me in the teachings of the Air Nomads is their excessive pacifism, for which they have already paid the price, as well as a certain narrow-mindedness and stagnation, unwillingness to develop.
But then again, this is already in the past and now the responsibility for the restoration of their civilization lies on my shoulders. So, in my power to change something, but this is for the future.
First I need to at least move forward a little, otherwise, I have so many plans, and I have not even set off on the road. I went deep into my thoughts again, almost ignored Katara.
I have to be more careful with my head in the clouds (figuratively speaking), otherwise, it may backfire on me in the future.
"Good morning, Aang." - Katara replied with a smile, but then, looking at my clothes and bald head, she asked with concern: "Aren't you so cold? Maybe you should wear a coat?"
"Don't worry, Katara, I'm not cold. My clothes are made of Sky Bison wool, so it keeps you warm very well, and when it's warm, it cools you down. In addition, I know one breathing technique that helps me heat the air I breathe, and then distribute this heat throughout the body, which also contributes to my clothes." - I told the truth.
This breathing technique is taught to Air Nomads in their very childhood when the comprehension of Airbending is just beginning.
Yet, though Nomads spend most of their lives traveling the world, they grow in the Air Temples, which are high in the mountains (not counting the West) and there is not too warm, especially in the South and North Temples, which are not far from the polar circles.
So, in order not to get sick in such a harsh environment (and not die), Nomads are trained to always breathe in a special way, which helps to ignore the surrounding cold or heat, because there is also a reverse technique that helps to cope with the heat.
As a result, it becomes a habit and the Nomad no longer notices how he changes the rate of his breathing to adapt to the environment.
If I had not felt the effect of this technique on myself, I would never have believed that I could feel quite comfortable in such a frost.
Of course, we are far from the very center of the South Pole, where the temperature is the lowest, but even here it is not very pleasant, somewhere - 19°C.
'Although, - I thought, putting my hand on my bald head, - my head is still cold. I need to start growing out my hair. Besides, I don't like being bald myself.'
Of course, Airbenders don't just shave their heads, there's a good reason for that. Like Toph's seismic sensitivity, which helps her to pick up vibrations in the earth and thus see the world, Airbenders can pick up air currents, which we can, shall we say, read and understand what is happening around us. It can be said that, we see our the back of the head.
This helps a lot in combat because even if we do not see or hear, we can feel what is happening behind or to the side, and understand the intentions of the enemy, by the movement of air that he causes with his movement, and then react accordingly. A tautology, some turned out, but the essence, I think, is clear.
This is undoubtedly a useful skill, and not only in combat, and even, I think, it can be developed further, but the fact is that at my skill level (Master of Bending, after all), I no longer need to be bald, to feel the air currents perfectly. My hair doesn't bother me.
In addition, Nomads were never forbidden to wear hair after the training was completed, but all men continued to do so, as a tribute to tradition, and, well, habit.
Yet, from birth, Nomads are taught to shave their heads every morning (everyone even has special razors for this) and after so many years, it's hard to just stop doing it. And I, nevertheless, will try to get rid of Aang's habit and grow long and beautiful hair. I repeat, but I wan6't to be bald, especially at the age of 12.
Well, here I am again thinking. I need to quickly return to reality and stop floating away in my thoughts. It seems, it affects me so much my resettlement in this world and I constantly want to think about everything to get used to my new situation. This is how I deal with my stress. I need to stop doing this, especially when I have an interlocutor.
"It's sounds great. Can you teach me how to breathe too?" - Katara asked excitedly.
"Sorry, but no, Katara. Only an Airbender can learn this." - I said carefully, trying not to upset the girl, but I didn't succeed.
Hearing the answer, Katara quickly lost her smile and frustratedly said: - "Is that so? It's a pity..."
"Well, you're a Waterbender, perhaps there is some kind of magic trick that allows you to do something like that. After all, you can control not only the water but also its temperature, so maybe you can warm yourself in some way." - I quickly added, unable to bear Katara's sad expression.
"Is it true?" - the girl asked with incredible hope.
"Yes, I am sure." - I said honestly, but seeing that Katara wants to learn this right now, I quickly laid siege to her, saying: "Only in this I am not your helper. Although I know bending, only Airbending. Waterbending is a completely different direction, so I can't teach you anything."
"Yes, I understand that. To learn Waterbending, you need to go to the North Pole, and this is literally at the other end of the world." - Katara said sadly while giving me a hopeful look.
"Well, I've been to the North Pole once, and thanks to Appa, I can get you there. But, the journey will take more than one month and it can be dangerous, so you better think about whether you are ready, drop everything here and hit the road with a stranger." - knowing what she was thinking now, I said truthfully, so as not to embellish anything.
Yet, unlike the old Aang, I understand that it is far from easy to pick up and go on a journey, especially if you have lived all your life in one place. Katara is not an air nomad and she is not used to it. In addition, she has relatives and friends. And responsibility for them lies in it.
I want Katara and Sokka to come with me, but I also want it to be not an impulsive decision, but a fully conscious decision, taking into account all the risks. This, after all, is the real world, and I am an adult (in my soul), and I understand that their lives will depend on me and I am not ready to take on this responsibility if they are not aware of all the risks.
Fortunately, Katara is still smart enough and still was able to understand all the subtext that I tried to convey to her in my words, but at the same time, she said the following: "You are not a stranger..."
"We have known each other for less than a day..." - slightly speechless, I said.
"Yes, but I feel that you are good and I can trust you." - Katara said stubbornly, looking into my eyes.
"Maybe, but it's still an important decision, so think it over first." - I said, but noticing that Katara wanted to say something else, didn't let her, adding: "I'm not going to be leaving any time soon anyway, so you have time to think. Don't rush, okay?"
"…Okay, Aang." - still accepting my arguments, Katara said after a moment's hesitation.
"Good girl." - I said with a grin.
"Hey, I'm older than you, by the way." - the girl said unhappily.
"Only if physically. Mind, I'm much wiser than you." - nodding my own words, I said, infuriating Katara even more.
Knowing full well that she was about to explode, I quickly said: "I'll visit Appa first, so we'll meet in the village in a couple of hours. See you later."
And then, corny ran away, at all the speed available to me, in the direction of the place where Appa spent the night, finally hearing a furious: "AANG! GO BACK HERE!"
Hahaha, it seems that some playful vein from the old Aang has remained in me.
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