#4

As a result, until the very lunch, I entertained the kids, showing different tricks with Airbending, which amazed all the villagers and also played different games with the children. Basically, of course, games related to snow. The situation, as you understand, obliges.

Although it was tiring, even with my hyperactivity it seemed that the energy of the children was inexhaustible, but I did not mind making time for curious children, as I understood that life in the village was a nightmare of monotony and any entertainment was welcome.

Especially in such a boring environment, it was hard for the children, so I brightened up their gray everyday life with joy. In addition, because I distracted the children, the women of the tribe were able to do housework and not be distracted by caring for the children.

Although usually this duty in the morning lay with Sokka, who followed the boys and taught them 'military business', and Gran Gran and Katara watched the girls, who they taught various female wisdom, but I was not against giving them a day off.

Katara was sincerely glad that I made the children laugh and smiles appeared on their faces again. Gran Gran was of the same mind, along with other women of the tribe, although they were still wary of me and watched my every action while managing to go about their own business.

But Sokka was very grumpy, saying that the men shouldn't waste their time on such nonsense, and that they should rather be busy reinforcing the snow walls protecting the village.

He can also be understood, after all, now he is the oldest guy in the village and the responsibility for protecting the lives of his compatriots lies on his shoulders, so he tries as best he can and all this puts a lot of pressure on him.

Plus, as I can imagine, Sokka can't relax, because he knows that even if it's been many years since the last attack of the Fire Nation, they can return, especially now that they have a Waterbender in the tribe again (Katara), and a suspicious bald child appeared who could bring trouble.

That is why he wants to train the boys of the village so that they become warriors and can protect the village, just like him, and the tribe ceased to be as defenseless as it is now. I think because of the burden of responsibility that his father left on him, Sokka became a little gone crazy for the safety of the village.

Unfortunately, given that his students are mostly no more than five years old, this is of little use. Children of this age have only games and entertainment in their heads, so as soon as I appeared, absolutely everything flew out of their heads.

They stopped wanting to learn war arts from Sokka, which made the latter incredibly angry because unlike them, he understood the danger of their current situation and did not want to waste precious time.

I was expecting something like this, so before Sokka got pissed off, I had a little talk with him and convinced him that kids need a release and they can't study all the time.

Reminding Sokka of how he was at their age, I persuaded him to give them a break and use the day as a day off so that children can release all the accumulated stress and play enough.

Even with Katara on my side, it was not easy to persuade Sokka, after all, he is very a stubborn one and did not fully begin to trust me (which is not surprising, because if I were in his place, I would also not trust the suspicious monk), but when I promised him to strengthen the defense around the village with the help of magic, then he was bribed and we made a deal.

As a result, Sokka himself got involved in the games and had fun no less than the rest of the children. I would like to believe that at least for a while it helped him to forget his experiences and relax.

But, all good things need a little, so after dinner, which was prepared by the women of the tribe, who no longer stared at me so much (fish was served, which neither I nor old Aang liked, but given that the women tried so hard, I could not refuse them and ate everything, trying to show with my whole appearance how delicious it was), we went to work.

Katara left with her grandmother on some business, and I went to help Sokka. I understand perfectly well how difficult it is to survive in such a harsh place as the South Pole, so I wasn't going to sit on the neck of the tribe and I wanted to earn my food.

Otherwise, I simply could not, because I knew how much the tribe was risking by sheltering me, and no matter how the same Sokka grumbled, he was quite hospitable and even brought food for Appa. So, a little help around the house was not such a big price to pay for it.

As a result, Sokka and I went to the ocean, to the place where the tribesmen collect the very frosty algae that Appa had breakfast with. Only, they were still fresh and were at the bottom of the icy ocean, and our task was to pick up enough seaweed to be enough for both the tribe and Appa.

In general, it is very surprising that at least something living and edible can grow in such a cold, but given how crazy the fauna of this world is, something like this was worth expecting.

To get algae in the right way, so that they continue to grow in the same place, it was necessary to go down into the water and carefully cut them off at the very roots. And that meant that Sokka and I had to swim in icy water.

Luckily, the Southern Water Tribe have been using algae as a food source for a long time, so they had it all thought out.

Sokka handed me a suit made from tiger seal skin. Like normal seals from my old world, the skin of tiger seals has a thick layer of fat that protects them from the cold waters of the pole. The only difference between local seals and the ones I'm used to, it's the stylish tiger stripes on their skin.

So, a suit made of such leather works on the principle of a diving suit and helps to keep warm and withstand extremely low temperatures, so you can swim in the icy ocean and not be afraid to die from hypothermia.

It sounds gross, but the costumes themselves were well-made and felt more like rubber than leather. Only the tiger print made it clear that it was the skin of a living being and not a real diving suit from the 20th century.

The suits themselves worked perfectly, and I didn't notice at all that I had to swim in cold water. Although my special breathing technique may have played a role here, but considering that Sokka also looked normal, I think it was still in the costumes.

By the way, the suit I wore was given to me by Sokka as a keepsake. And I even kept it to myself suddenly come in handy.

Luckily, my help in collecting seaweed was invaluable, since my lungs have a huge capacity (bonus of being an Airbender) and I could hold my breath for a very long time (more than half an hour, in fact), so we collected enough seaweed enough for the tribe and for Appe for the next two weeks.

Sokka was very pleased with my help and warmed up to me, so by the end of the 'fishing', we were talking like real friends. Still, my spontaneity, inherited from the old Aang, can bribe people. In the end, Sokka even treated me to a sea plum, which also grows at the bottom of the ocean and is not so easy to find.

To taste, this unusual berry did not resemble a plum, but a kiwi, although it was red. In general, it was delicious and interesting to try something new.

In parallel with diving underwater, Sokka and I talked, and I openly talked about Aang's past, about his life in the Air Temple, about his journey through the world and Airbending, of course, without saying that I am the Avatar, revealing this secret, it's still a little early.

And I'm never going to talk about the fact that I'm a different Aang, not the one who froze in an iceberg.

In general, I actively gained the trust of Sokka (it's still unpleasant when you are suspected of something for no reason) and Katara, who came to visit us and take some of the seaweed to dry in the village.

And it seems that I succeeded because the brother and sister also told a little about themselves and life at the South Pole. They even talked about the death of their mother and the departure of their father, although they kept silent about the details.

Otherwise, I made it clear to Sokka that I didn't know what was going on in the world right now, and that my imprisonment in the ice had lasted longer than a few days. No, I certainly know about the war with the Fire Nation and the genocide of the Air Nomads, but since I was not supposed to know about it, I needed to be anyone told about it to me.

Sokka is a smart guy, so he figured things out pretty quickly, and in the evening, at dinner, which we spent near Appa, whom I fed again, everything was told to me. And although I was ready for this, hearing everything from another person turned out to be more painful than I thought.

Some part of me still hoped that things had gone differently in this world and that the Nomads had survived, but when Sokka confirmed everything, it became a reality. It seemed to me that Aang's feelings do not affect me so much, but it seems that I was wrong.

Finding out that all of your people were killed on the orders of a psycho with a lust for power and because of the irresponsibility of the previous Avatar still hurts.

While I can't help thinking that not all of the Air Nomads were killed and some managed to escape, that won't be proven until I meet them, so for now, I'm left with the idea that everything in the animated series was true.

Considering how much I've been affected by the truth spoken out loud by another person, I didn't even have to pretend to be upset, so after saying goodnight to Sokka and Katara, I went to my igloo, even turning down the offer to ride the otter penguin, which I wanted to do, but first, I had to deal with my feelings, about which I told my new friends.

I knew one way that would help me let go of all these negative feelings that were of no use and only prevented me from starting a new life. A whole century has passed and nothing can be corrected, so all that remains is to let everything go.

It seemed to me that old Aang's feelings would not affect me, but apparently, I underestimated how precious his memories are and how much they affect my personality.

In general, there is nothing strange in this, if you think about it, it should be so, given that I am he, albeit partially. Apparently, without a hit from reality, I didn't understand it or didn't want to admit it, but after Sokka's confirmation, all this came over me and I can only fight these feelings.

Getting rid of them is impossible, and ignoring them will only make things worse, so the only thing left to do is leave everything behind and hope my idea it works. Besides, there is a possibility that I will learn to fly….