The Mahaha Tribe Arc 7:
The somewhat pleasant weather of the night before seemed a blessing in disguise; the blizzard had returned at full force in the morning, and their campsite had fallen victim to nature's unrelenting torment. Sokka and Haru, unfortunately, were rudely awoken when the howling, raging winds literally carried their tents away… with them still inside, surprisingly. Haru fell out of his small prison a few feet above the ground and suffered no serious damage, but Sokka wasn't so lucky. Aang had to airbend himself to a higher altitude to catch the southern warrior mid-air, otherwise Sokka himself would've been as dead as the seal-jerky he'd chomped down on the night before. The friends got a good laugh out of it, even though they were somewhat worried, before they decided they'd wasted enough time as is. After cleaning up and gathering their belongings, the five left the campsite and let Sokka lead the way. Due to the unfortunate incident in the morning, Sokka and Haru's supplies were significantly reduced. Therefore, they'd concluded that they'd need to make it to Ilanaaq Village before the moonlight began to haunt the nebula sky, otherwise the entire mission would become much more, increasingly difficult.
It was around midday; Sokka had notified them that they were only a few hours away from Ilanaaq Village. Everyone nodded mutely and continued following his lead, navigating their way through the thick forest as they avoided the paths in which the air-current was stronger against them. Sokka was leading the group, with Haru behind him, Suki in the middle, Kaisa behind her, and Aang at the rear. While Sokka focused on finding the best, and most efficient path, Suki and Haru kept a lookout for any dangers ahead of them, and Aang used his innate waterbending abilities to constantly analyse their surroundings. He used the immense moisture all around them to 'see'; without turning, he could 'see' the branches of trees smashing against the ground, he could 'see' the pack of moose-lions lurking just behind the valley by sensing their heavy footsteps upon the snow, and he could 'see' that Kaisa was stepping off course.
Opening his eyes, he notified the others and asked them to wait while he checked on her. They all nodded, more relieved than they let on; walking through a thick layer of snow while also combatting an unforgiving blizzard begins to take a toll on you. As they rested and took a moment to catch their breath, Aang followed Kaisa's footsteps and eventually found her kneeling by a tree on one knee, apparently assessing something. Walking around her, he stood behind her, to her left, as he peered over her shoulder.
"What's wrong?" He asked, worried something might've happened to her while he was busy scanning the area..
With concern filled eyes, he watched as the master waterbender shifted and allowed him to assess the situation as well. "I heard something crying through that thick blizzard… and when I followed the sound, I found her." She was referring to the tiny and delicate, baby moose-lion crouched beside the tree. A rather large branch had apparently detached from its host and fallen onto the innocent animal - even now it whimpered as a section of the branch had impaled her right leg. "Just give me a few minutes," Kaisa stated, leaning closer as she slowly began lifting the branch off the baby. However, as she did so, the child began whimpering and thrashing in pain due to the movement causing the large splinter to shift in her leg. Panicking, sky blue eyes met storm grey and he was instantly by her side, holding the baby moose-lion still while Kaisa focused on lifting the branch, making sure the large splinter was being pulled out carefully, inch by inch. As soon as she had it removed, the master waterbender threw the branch to the side, removed her gloves, and gathered water in her hands, liquifying the snow beneath her. Slowly, she approached the still whimpering and crying delicate, baby moose-lion and covered her right leg with her glowing hands. It took a few moments, but eventually, the child had stilled and the wound was completely healed.
"There you go," Aang watched in admiration as Kaisa grinned when the baby moose-lion stood up on all fours and began skipping about, marvelled by her compassion and desire to help others; reminding him of someone else dear to him.
Shaking his scattering and confusing thoughts away, he became slightly alarmed however when a rather large, adult moose-lion approached them, materialising from the woods. It was huffing and roaring at the pair, and although he hadn't moved a muscle, the Avatar had his defences prepared just in case. Kaisa, in a similar fashion, simply stood still, opting to remain motionless even though she was much closer to the 'mother' moose-line than he. Aang remained prepared as the moose-lion took a few steps towards them, still huffing, that is until the baby ran towards her and wrapped itself around her front left leg. The smaller of the two began squeaking and the larger simply huffed in return. Fortunately, as soon as the baby had neared her vicinity, the mother moose-lion had taken a few steps back and was likely preparing to leave. And soon enough, she did - Aang guessed the baby and mother were among the herd he'd 'seen' travelling just behind them, through a valley.
As the mother and daughter moose-lions left the vicinity, Kaisa finally turned back around to face the airbender. He was still gazing at her, observing the way she smiled, the kinda smile your lips automatically form when you know you've helped someone else, even though you didn't need to. She walked towards him, their eyes still locked. Hers were searching for something, while his were seemingly absent… The master waterbender wondered what he was thinking.
"What?" She asked with a chuckle, "do I have something on me?"
Aang inhaled slowly. "No," he breathed. Without thinking, he murmured, "You just remind me of someone."
"Who?" She asked, an eyebrow raised and arms by her sides as the hood of her cloak was knocked back due to the increasing intensity of the wind. "Someone you care about?"'
He took a moment to consider his answer, before turning back around and gesturing for her to follow, "Let's go."
Despite the howling winds, Suki could practically hear the sigh of relief Sokka let out when the gate leading to Ilanaaq Village revealed itself through the white. The wood had been slightly damaged, but the lettering was clear. A few short metres away stood rows of infrastructure, ranging from igloos, stone huts, log houses, dwellings perched upon large trees - probably for security - seemingly abandoned markets and even small farms in the distance. After analysing the area to ensure there wasn't any immediate danger, the five entered the village, growing slightly uneasy as shadows - likely casted by lamps and firepits from within houses - highlighted the shadows of the villagers. They felt everyone's eyes on them as they descended the snowy plane, unable to see but certain the eyes of each and every shadow were locked on them. Neither Suki nor the others felt threatened, but it would be a lie to say they didn't feel the least bit uneasy.
While keeping an eye out for surprises, Aang and the others were led to a stone hut by Sokka. The roof, underneath all that snow, seemed dark-grey, and the stones of the remaining structure were of a cream-like colour. The windows were obviously closed shut, but through them, the warm glow, likely originating from a fire pit, brought a sense of comfort among the five.
Sokka stood by the door, knocking twice before it was opened slightly by a familiar face. The man took a moment to peek at everyone through the small opening, his eyes calm as they glided across their faces… that is, until he identified the cloaked figure known to be the Avatar. Slightly surprised, he closed the door before opening it completely, allowing them to rush in as he hurriedly shut it to keep the warmth within and the howling winds out once they were inside.
"What're you doing here?" The man asked immediately as he set his sights on the Avatar.
Aang turned to face the man, slipping his arm out of his cloak as he approached him, "Just passing by."
Upon a face that was usually nonchalant and lacking emotion, grew a smirk, "Somehow, I doubt that."
Smiling back, Aang shook the man's hand WaterTribe style, "It's been a while, Master Pakku."
"Yes, it certainly has," nodding, Pakku looked towards the other four who'd also tagged along. "Suki, Haru, how've you two been?"
"Very well, Master Pakku," stated Suki, while Haru bowed awkwardly.
"Yeah, we've been alright."
At that, Pakku's eyes finally landed on a face he'd only seen about a week ago. "You," his terrifying blue orbs narrowed down on Kaisa, "didn't we find you half-dead in the snow a week ago?"
Smiling sheepishly in embarrassment, Kaisa nodded, dipping her head to hide her blush.
"Why have you brought them here Sokka?"
"We're on a mission."
He raised an eyebrow while crossing his arms, "What mission?"
Before Sokka could answer, Aang decided to intervene, "Master Pakku," the old man turned his head to regard his old student. "What do you know about Bhoot Pahaard?" At the mere mention of the mountain, the master waterbender's eyes fogged slightly, a thin layer of fear and dread overlapping the striking blue. He seemed deep in thought; head dipped, arms still crossed, and breathing basically non-existent. However, just as he inhaled deeply, seemingly preparing to answer, another old, tired yet soothing voice entered the vicinity.
"Why on earth would you want to know about that cursed mountain, Avatar Aang?"
The voice originated from within a room where the candles and lamps hadn't been lit, and the host was anonymous, yet, all except for Haru knew who it belonged to.
"Gran Gran," Sokka helped her out, taking her hand and leading her to sit by the fireplace on a rocking chair. The warmth highlighted her exhausted features while she rocked slowly, "We can't say; it's a classified mission. But… we're going to be going up there." Then, he turned to face his step-grandfather, "So, any bit of information would help."
"I thought I told you to stay away from that mountain, Sokka," Kanna once again spoke up just as Pakku was about to answer. "You'll find nothing but danger… and death, up there."
"I'm not a little boy anymore, Gran Gran," muttered Sokka, defiance and pride noticeable in his low tone. "I can handle danger… and I've seen death."
She was silent for a moment, the fire flickering in her eyes, before the old woman sighed in defeat. "In the end, you've always done what you wanted," she stated, "I've never been able to stop you. Just like your father…" her eyes flickered towards the Avatar for a moment, "...and your sister."
Aang's own stormy depths narrowed down on the old woman's; she clearly had something she wanted to say to him, but was refraining from doing so due to the company they shared.
"There's a story behind that mountain I think you should know… before venturing up there," she looked towards her husband, nodding. "It should help."
"We've heard all the rumours," Haru stated, but the statement was dismissed by Pakku who simply shook his head and took a seat by the couch adjacent to the fireplace, gesturing for the others to do so as well.
"These aren't rumours," he muttered, waiting until Haru and Suki were seated across from him, on wooden chairs, while Sokka, Kaisa and Aang remained standing. "Although what I'm about to tell you isn't confirmed… and there are bits and pieces we're unaware of… it still should offer you an idea of what you're heading into."
"Is this going to take long, cause -"
"Sit down, Sokka," Aang cut him off, arms crossed over his chest as he remained motionless beside Kaisa while Sokka regarded him for a few seconds, trying to identify the emotion behind his tone before he surrendered and brought a seat beside Master Pakku.
When Sokka sat beside him, the master waterbender regarded everyone in the room. His eyes lingered on Kaisa, who stood beside the Avatar, wondering if she was familiar with the tale, seeing as she was born and grew up in the North Pole. He met his wife's eyes one last time, confirming that he should continue. When she nodded, the old man simply exhaled slowly and dipped his head:
"Have any of you heard… of the Mahaha Tribe?"