9 Act II: Chapter 2

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Once the sails were set in the morning, there was nothing to do unless we ran into bad weather, which we did not.

So I trained for the few days it took us to travel from Wolf Cove to our potential migration location. I knew nothing about how to properly swing a sword, but I still gave it a go on top of the deck of my ship. The progress with that skill was slow. So slow, in fact, that I eventually decided to continue ironing out my taekwondo inspired waterbending style.

As with most skills, I learned that it would never really advance too quickly unless I was in a stressful environment. So it's growth was only a couple of levels by the time I saw the landmass we were approaching come into view.

It was easier to see the mountains reaching into the sky, than it was to see the forests or the beach. The mountain range was wide, with a couple of mountains being in view immediately. But it wasn't near tall enough to reach into the clouds, which told me we could eventually explore most of it without fear of oxygen.

"It is beautiful, I have to admit." Bato said. We were both standing at the front of the ship, looking towards our destination.

"Everything is beautiful compared to a tundra, father." I joked with a smile, as I patted him on the shoulder. He grinned, and he did not correct me.

"Let's get ready to anchor."

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I hopped out of the boat once I felt it hit the sand underneath the water. My father did the same next to me as he dropped the oar back into the boat. I could have just waterbent us further onto the beach, but I decided to do it the hard way. I grabbed the railing with my father and we pulled it further onto the shore until we were sure the waves wouldn't reach it.

Once that was finished, I took a look around. The beach extended about thirty yards before an overgrown forest could be seen. Palm trees were the most common, and rose high into the air. Although, as I continued to look down the treeline, I could see banana, coconut, and pineapple trees. Without even having to think about it, I began to run to the nearest coconut tree. I summoned a bit of water from my inventory and formed it into a whip. In a couple of seconds I had two coconuts in my hand. My father watched me with excited eyes. He obviously knew about the delicious fruit.

I used the same water from the whip, and used it to cut a section of the top of the coconut so that we would have a cup. I handed my father his, and put mine to my lips. I didn't even hesitate to chug the coconut water. Coming from a tribe with water, and the rare mead stolen from a fire nation ship, it was like heaven on my lips. How long has it been since I had something so sweet?

"Ahhhhh." I said as I pulled the coconut from my lips. But I wasn't done there. I reached down to the knife on my waist and used it to start cutting strips of coconut flesh before eating it. My father mimicked me. Once I was done with it, I tossed it back to the base of the tree, where other hulls could be seen rotting away.

"A good breakfast, yea?" I asked him as I watched him devour his coconut. We had been eating well on the ship, but this was a treat and I couldn't blame him for tearing into the fruit.

"Amazing. It's already worth the migration to me." Bato said with a smile. I couldn't help but laugh at that.

"Good. Let's go ahead and set up our tents. Then we can explore." I said as I turned around and walked back to the boat on the shore.

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I readied the ice spear in my hand. It was currently over my right shoulder and fairly pulled back. I was waiting on my fathers signal. We had snuck up on our prey, and they had no idea that we were here. Perhaps it was because they had not been hunted by humans for close to a hundred years that they didn't smell us or know of our danger.

A hand dropped on my shoulder, and I launched the ice spear in my hands.

The reason I hadn't chosen to use my normal hunting spear was simply because of my low spear throwing skill. But if I chose to use an ice spear, then I could incorporate bending to make sure that the spear never missed its target.

That is exactly why the wild boar I targeted was speared through the head, killing it instantly. The head shot was calculated and a common practice amongst our tribe. Sure, the heart is a safer area of the body to aim for because even if you miss, you could hit vital organs to kill the animal you're hunting. But this also has the side effect of destroying meat that could be harvested for food later on. Since I could guarantee a headshot with my bending, it was a no brainer for me… literally.

It happened so fast, the pig couldn't even squeal to alert the rest of its herd. Only a couple even looked over to the now dead animal when it fell before going back to grazing the area looking for nuts. I frowned and pondered readying another spear, but remembered that the wild hog would be enough to feed my father and I for the duration of the trip in conjunction with the rest of our food stores.

Eventually, I just stood up and walked forward into the clearing where the hogs were digging into the soil between the trees.

That got their attention, and squeals could be heard from the entire pack as they bolted in every direction you could think of, including at myself and my father. We both made sure to use trees as natural cover as the hogs fled around us. I had already warned him of the danger of their tusks. Once they had all charged and continued running into the forest, we approached the dead animal.

"Skin it here and not next to the camp. Don't want wolves, or other predators, to be attracted to the guts." Bato said as he took the rope that was tied around his torso off and handed it to me.

We went to work and it took us a while but eventually we got the wild boar hoisted up in the air by its legs.

'Skinning and Butchering Lvl 51

Ability to skin and cut meat from wild animals you kill. Known animals: Boar, Deer, Bears, and vermin.'

'Luckily my skinning and butchering skill has transferred over into this life. Now if only I would have thought to bring curing salt with us on the journey, I could have had bacon in a few days!'

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The crackling of the fire was soothing to my nerves. The day had been long but it had been fruitful. I laid on a blanket, in the clearing we had made inside the forest no more than twenty feet from the beach. If I leaned just right, I could see my ship still anchored out at sea.

The brush that was previously overgrown was now cleared in our little campsite. I had a tent directly behind me with its entrance facing the fire. Bato's was on the opposite side but set up the exact same. We were both just enjoying the campfire between us. It had gotten colder as the sun set, although not cold enough to warrant our normal furs. We had taken those off once we reached the land and realized how much warmer it was on the landmass I was trying to move to.

"Did you notice the trees further inland?" Bato asked, breaking the peaceful silence we had.

"I was planning on doing that tomorrow now that we have shelter and food to last us." I answered. I wish I would have paid more attention, but truth be told I didn't know that much about trees and how to spot them in a forest. The fruit trees were obvious for me, other hard and soft woods were not.

"I spotted mahogany in the forest, along with oak and fir." Bato told me with a hand on his belly and a smile on his face.

"I don't know if that's good or not, father." I told him truthfully. I wanted him to explain what he meant by that because his happy mood had gotten me curious.

"Mahogany is perfect for shipbuilding and used for furniture in the other nations. Oak and fir are good for building." Bato answered as his smile continued to blossom.

"I admit I had my doubts son, but you just may be right. There is wild game aplenty, there are fruits and nuts all around the island. There are resources that do not exist back home. This is what our people need." Bato said with conviction. It reassured me that my idea wasn't a terrible one.

"I agree. Do you think we could convince them?" I asked, curiously. I had never asked the man for his opinion this entire time. A part of me didn't want to know what he thought to be honest. I was afraid he would be against it, and I would lose a valuable supporter for the migration.

"Not all of them, no. There are some who believe our land to be sacred and will stay. However, I do believe the majority will leave. Maybe a new land is exactly what our people need to lift themselves from the depression we have been in since the war started." Bato answered. His smile wasn't gone, but I could tell that my question had left him contemplative.

"I hope so, father. I hope so." I responded. My father didn't say anything else, and I soon found myself staring at the stars listening to the fire die down.

My fathers snores soon pulled me to my own sleep.

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"RRRAAAHHHH!"

'whoosh'

I scrambled awake because of the unmistakable sound of an angry animal and the unnatural wind that swept through our camp. . It sounded like an angry bear, if it was a bit deeper and less… threatening. Although I was hesitant to apply that label to it when it was extremely intimidating.

I looked around the camp, and summoned water out of my inventory, preparing myself to fight off whatever it was that had found us. I found nothing near us that could make the sound that woke us up. Nor was there a gust of wind like before.

Until there was.

"Brak!"

I looked up to see an animal with a brown featherlike fur covering its oddly shaped frame, speeding over our camp. It had four legs like a dog, yet wings that sprouted from it's back. The face was in the unmistakable shape of an owl.

"Owl-wolf!" Bato cried as he grabbed his spear from beside him. I readied myself for a fight.

Four more owl-wolves flew over our camp, but did not attack us. Nor did it look like they even knew we were here. Soon enough, it became apparent as to what they were really chasing after.

A massive form flew over our camp, and it was not an owl-wolf. It was much bigger. It had six legs that ended in paws with three toes on each foot. There was a tail that flapped behind it, not unlike a manatee, sending gusts of wind propelling from it. On its head were two horns that sprung out of its thick white fur. I couldn't see the back of it, but I knew that it would have a streak of brown fur down its spine to end in an arrow near its forehead.

"RAAAHHH!!"

"Flying bison!" I called out to my father as I pointed at the creature.

'They're supposed to be extinct right!?'

I sprinted out of the camp, in the direction that the bison was flying. That just so happened to be the beach, I soon found out. When I broke through the tree line, I could see what was happening. There were cuts all over the bison, and blood was staining its fur. The flying bison landed on the beach a good distance away, and cradled its front right paw to its chest.

I continued running towards it, because I saw what flew above it.

The owl-wolves pounced on their prey. All five of the owl-wolfs dove down from the skies, and did their best to claw at the bison. One of them paid the price immediately as it got too close to the bison's head and was killed with a single bite to the neck. That was how big the bison was compared to the owl-wolves. But wolves always hunted in packs, and could take down bigger prey if needed.

The bison threw away the corpse in its mouth, and rolled to its side, throwing off the other owl-wolves from its back. The bison slumped slightly, and I could see more blood staining the fur on its back. It continued to back away from its attackers as I got to within fifty feet of the fight.

Ice needles formed around me and immediately grouped not unlike a shotgun before I fired them towards the closest of the owl-wolves. I missed it, but I did gain the attention of the owl-wolves for the briefest of moments. They quickly went back to the grounded flying bison.

I continued to close the distance, and sent off another wave of ice needles. This time, I clipped one of the wolves in the wing causing it to tumble out of the air close to the bison. In a fit of savagery the bison slapped a leg on the wolves head, killing it instantly.

+100 Exp!

'Goodness, it's strong!'

The three owl-wolves turned their attention to me and dive bombed me. They were all coming from the same direction, and were lined up perfectly for my next attack. A wave of water poured out of my inventory and swept all of them out of the air before I directed it down towards the ground in front of me. Wings snapped from the impact as I then used the water to encase all three of the birds inside of a watery dome.

My plan was originally to drown them, until I realized I could end the threat much sooner. Small needles of ice formed in the water around them, before swiftly converging on the owl-wolves. The normal blue water of my inventory swiftly became dyed with red. I let the water fall from my grasp, spilling the owl-wolves onto the beach.

+100 Exp! X3

I looked away and turned my attention to the flying bison still on the beach. It had taken all of its weight off of its legs and was now on its side lying there. The only motion it showed was the rising of its chest and the darting eyes.

I approached it cautiously. This could be one of the last of its kind, and I had the ability to heal it. I could potentially save a race of animals that were born to airbend, and had taught that exact ability to my own race in the past. Who's to say they couldn't once again, should Aang fail in the future?

The bison didn't react when I got within arms reach. But it did stir once I placed my hand on its belly. It wasn't afraid of me, but I knew that a wounded animal was a dangerous one. I swiftly bent a small amount of water out of my inventory and held it in the air for the flying bison to see.

"Rah!"

It snapped its jaws at me but it didn't move to harm me. One of its paws did raise lazily however.

"I can heal you." I told it, more for my own sake than for it, as I gestured to the water.

It didn't react.

I summoned my courage and slowly directed the hovering water to the biggest gash I could see on it's back. Once it touched the wound the bison flinched.

"Rah!"

This time it's whole body jerked towards me and it's jaws snapped close to my leg. I jerked as well and the water left its side. It quickly laid back down and its breathing increased. It was losing blood, and losing strength. It wanted to attack me but didn't have the strength. I would need to act quickly to save it.

I retrieved a lot of water out of my inventory then, and directed it to cover the bison all around its body, including its legs and paws. The bison grumbled at me, but didn't have the strength to do anything about it. I took advantage of that.

'Waterhealing'

A white glow shone through the water covering the flying bison. It was especially dense in the areas where the cuts and damage was. I began to breathe heavily as I could feel my chi being sucked out of me at record rates. It was enough for me to worry, because it had never been drained that quickly, except for on one occasion.

Skill level up! X8 +80XP

I looked down to see that I was losing 100 chi a second. Even with my increased stats and larger chi, I couldn't hold the technique for long.

'1300/1800*'

*A/N: Remember this is due to it being at night, and him touching water.*

Every second that passed, I lost another 100 chi. Before I knew it I was approaching the end of my reserves, and I was forced to cut off the technique by the game.

The water slipped from my grasp, and I fell to my back on the sand. My entire body felt like lead and it was hard to move. All I could do was look at the prompts that the game was giving me in the corner of my vision.

'Skill level up! X5 +50XP'

'Waterhealing Lvl 31

You are a rare breed of waterbender, able to use the water you bend as a conduit for your own chi to heal yourself, or others! At the current level, healing will be slow and painful for the target.'

'CHI use stopped due to dangerously low chi!'

'New skills unlocked!'

'Spiritbending! Lvl 1

You are the rarest of waterbenders! With your ability to heal comes your ability to affect the spirit. Tread lightly as this is one of the most dangerous and important abilities this world has ever known!'

'Spirit Bond Unlocked!

Unnamed Flying Bison!

Normally, only Air Benders have the ability to bond with a Flying Bison. However, your spirit bending ability and heroic deeds have created an exception to the rule.

Accept Bond? Yes or No?'

I didn't need to have all my mental facilities available to me to know that the decision was a no brainer. Even through my exhaustion I knew that the benefits of having a flying bison as a bonded animal would be too great to pass up. Just being able to ride it alone was worth it.

'Yes'

I felt something shift inside of me. Then without warning I could feel the bond take root in my soul. A spot towards the back of my mind formed. I knew it to be the flying bison just like I knew that my arm was attached to my body. It was an extension of myself.

And it was hurting. I could feel its aches and pains throughout my own body. Mainly it was focused around my ribs, where the newly attached flesh still throbbed despite being healed to a scab. But I could feel discomfort in my wrist as well, almost like I had sprained it recently.

'Spirit Bond Accepted!'

'Spiritbending Lvl 10! +100 EXP

You are the rarest of waterbenders! With your ability to heal comes your ability to affect the spirit. Tread lightly as this is one of the most dangerous and important abilities this world has ever known!'

'Spirit Bond: Unnamed Male Flying Bison Lvl 10

You saved this bison's life and because of that you have proven yourself worthy of its bond. +20 Strength'

"Koda!" I heard my father say as his face came into view above me. "Are you alright!?" He asked as his hands gripped either side of my face.

"I'm…fine…" I managed to tell him. It was everything I could do to keep my eyes open at the moment. He let my face go when I said that and I took the opportunity to let my head roll to the side so that I could look at my newly bonded animal.

His eyes were closed, but I knew he was only sleeping. The rise and fall of his chest was comforting to me and my hand unknowingly reached out to him, only to lose its energy and fall onto the sandy beach beneath us.

"Protect him." I told my father as I felt my strength fading. My eyes closed to the sound of my father yelling at me.

"Wake up Koda!"

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"Wake up Koda!"

I stood above my father, who was still kneeling beside a copy of myself. I was passed out on a beach, with a flying bison by my side. That was a confusing sight to see. Was I dead? Did I use up too much chi, and kill myself in the process?

I looked down to my body, to find that it was in a corporeal state of white and blue. I knew what was happening at that moment. I was in my astral form. With that realization came another realization.

I looked around the landscape that I was in. It looked very similar to the one that I had just come from. But there was an… eerie feeling to it. It was the feeling one would get late at night when they were by themselves. It was as if someone was watching me, and that I was somewhere that I didn't belong.

"A true enough assessment."

I turned to the voice, and prepared myself for a fight. There was a massive Owl standing on the sandy beaches behind me. Most of its feathers were black, except for its white face. It was a wonder that I didn't realize it was there before, because of the shadow it cast over me.

"Wan Shi Tong." I breathed out, mostly out of shock than anything.

"That is correct. And you are a human. Now I did not travel all of this way for nothing! She mentioned that you would have valuable information for me and my library if I delivered this message. It is a fairly simple one if I do say so myself." Wan Shi Tong said in his normal matter of factly tone of voice.

I frowned as I pondered his words.

'She, who could that be?'

Theories, both mundane and ridiculous in nature, ran across my mind.

"Yes, yes, enough of that. Deliver your information!" Wan Shi Tong demanded as he extended a wing out for a moment.

I frowned. "You came to me, you tell me first!" I said pointing a finger at him. Even though I was acting tough, I was supremely interested in what the man had to say to me.

"I tire of this nonsense. Knowledge for knowledge. She said you would know at least that much!" Wan Shi Tong exclaimed, getting obviously angry.

Fuck it. I thought as I knew exactly what to tell Wan Shi Tong to get the information out of him.

"Fine." I told him, while holding a hand up to him so that he would quit whining. "Soon there will be a man by the name of Zhao. He will seek information on the Moon and Ocean Spirits from your library. Once he gains this information, he will destroy all your records on the Fire Nation. It will…"

"Agh!" Wan Shi Tong yelled in anger. "He will die by my talon the second he approaches!" The knowledge spirit roared, and thrashed about where he stood. I didn't even get to deliver all the message before he started raging out.

I sat there calmly waiting for him to throw his little temper tantrum. Wan Shi Tong was a powerful spirit, but he was extremely gullible to the ways of humans, despite having the greatest repository of knowledge on my race. It was sad really, because he will continue to get taken advantage of for years to come.

But that wasn't what I cared about. I needed to know what he had to say about the message. And who would know enough about me to want to send me a message. How much would she know about me? How much did the library possess?

"Hear it once and hear it true human. Your message goes as follows."

'Two by virtue

Two by sin

Only one to bring balance again.'

Wan Shi Tong touched me with his wing and my corporeal form flew back into my body violently.

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A/N: Boom!

Yea you guys make of that what you will. I'm sure we will have some correct guesses, but just know that most of you will be wrong. It's meant to be vague so deal with it!

Anyway, Koda discovers that the island is habitable, much more so than the south pole. Now he just has to convince everyone else to uproot and make the journey. While also convincing them to build whatever habitat they see fit. It'll take a lot of work, that's for sure!

And then there is the flying bison and everything that stemmed from that! What do you guys think of him gaining his own flying bison? It came with a decent buff yea?

And spirit bending, and a spirit bond.

Give me those reactions!