9 Side chapter - The Spirit that watches me - E

After Avatar and his team arrived in the village, events went almost like in the canon. Sokka left to learn how to respect women, Aang began his lesson about what great things are expected of him, and Katara learns what popularity can do to a person.

Michael just looked at it and shook his head. If the universe itself decided to conduct these lessons for the Avatar team, then he will not interrupt it.

The scarred teenager left the village quickly enough to somehow calm his itchy hands. He couldn't stay in a crowd of people and not start stealing. Moreover, now his appearance attracted too much attention, no one in these parts wore completely black clothes.

With these thoughts Michael stole - yes, he couldn't resist, sue him - a dark green kimono and pants. So, while he looked like any other inhabitant of the Elemental Nations, he was still much higher than everyone else.

The problem was not that Cordato was tall - although he was 6"1' - just everyone else was so short! He could count the people who were taller than him on one hand.

And that was the problem. He couldn't steal if he was so noticeable - his mismatched eyes and bandages on his hands didn't help one bit - so for now Michael decided to calm down and relax in the forest. Zuko will be arriving in a couple of days, so he has time for himself and to help his... team.

Michael felt the wind gently push his hair against his right eye. He smiled sadly and left them where they were.

'Maybe I should start wearing an eye patch, that will make me less eye-catching.'

He sat down next to one of the trees and his feet were buried in the snow. The island was covered with snow this time of year, and although it was not so cold around, Michael preferred warmth. Someplace where he couldn't see his breathing.

"Things don't breathe when they sleep in the snow, Michael Cordato."

A chill ran down Michael's spine and he knew for sure that it was not from a simple draft. Someone spoke to him and the Master Thief froze like a statue. The blood in his veins turned to ice and then to fire. Even his scars began to itch, but Michael knew that in his attempts to get rid of this feeling he would only break his nails.

Ignoring the tense state of the teenager, the voice continued to speak as if to itself, without even waiting for an answer.

"How many have you left to sleep in the snow, hmm? How much have you fed to the howling winds?"

The teenager's palms were clenched into fists. He knew what the voice was talking about and knew the answer.

"None." He spat through gritted teeth.

Michael felt something lean in his ear and laugh viciously.

"We both know that this is not true. Neither the wind nor the snow took the lives of your enemies, yes. But your brothers and sisters did. What you cannot do yourself is always done by someone else. We are watching you, young traveler. We hope you give us an unforgettable show."

Cordato snapped, wind and water blades appeared around him, which in the next second tore his surroundings apart. The teenager stood up, breathing heavily and looking around in search of a voice that he whispered in his ear, but found only the destruction that he caused.

Calming himself, Michael began to think.

'The two most obvious options are: I lost my mind and a Spirit spoke to me. In the first case, I'm fucked. In the second case... I'll need to ask Aang how to kill Spirits.'

The only known way for Cordato to kill a Spirit is to destroy its habitat. The second - theoretical - way involves a shitton of Energybending, so for now Michael will have to wait a little longer to develop this.

'If one that whispered in my ear has no place to live, then I may have to destroy his body. I just hope this isn't some crazy concept Spirit.'

Spirits came in a wide variety of sizes and colors. Ancient and powerful Spirits controlled the Concepts that existed from the very beginning of time: life and death, time, elements... If something has a concept, then this Concept has a Spirit that controls everything.

Also, Spirits could be magical animals, dead people, plants, and more. Take the Lion Turtle, for example. Even with all his strength, Michael was sure that one of these Beasts would tear him apart with just the power of thought.

'As far as I remember, the Spirits were not particularly dangerous on Aang's journey. Only that time I wasn't a part of Avatar's team.'

Cordato slowly calmed down and got to his feet. The ground within a radius of ten meters was cut to bits, he was sure that it would take some power to rebuild this place.

"Пиздец, теперь какой-то ебаный Дух хочет оторвать кусок моей души. Прекрасно."

("Fuck, now some fucking Spirit wants to rip off a piece of my soul. Great.")

The teenager shook off the dust from his pants and went to look for Aang to find out how to kill a Spirit.