Chapter 41 - Unifying the Air Nation

---Four Years Later, Avatar World---

"Good Morning.", Azula said wrapped around my arm.

"Morning.", I replied as I opened my eyes, "Crashed in my room again I see."

"Mother isn't going to stop me from doing as I please.", Azula laughed, "I went to the stupid Girl's Academy and finished it. She should be happy with that much, and leave me alone."

Getting out of bed, we headed to the dining room to eat. As we walked by Zuko's room, Mai and Zuko came out together smiling at each other.

"How nice, Zuzu is all grown up now.", Azula jabbed.

"Great...", Zuko sighed.

"I don't want to hear it, you do the same with Mael.", Mai reminded her.

"I didn't say it was a bad thing.", Azula remarked with a smirk.

Pushing Azula forward, I said we needed to go eat before the food got cold. Leaving it at that, she held my hand and continued on with me. Hearing Zuko whisper to Mei that she didn't need to speak up for him, she told him that he should have spoken up then.

"Hehe.", Azula laughed enjoying their argument, "Priceless."

'Some things will never change.', I thought.

Taking a seat at the table, Iroh was absent as he was off meeting with the other nations. Iroh and I had made a lot of progress rebuilding relations, but things had a long way to go before they would get back to the way they once were. The Water Tribes had to fix the relations between the Poles, the Earth Kingdoms still had many years of rebuilding, and the Air Nation was barely even considered a nation at the moment. I had managed to find several groups of Airbenders hiding in remote parts of the world, but a few hundred could hardly be called a nation. It would take them centuries to rebuild everything they lost...and it was a very rocky road to get there.

"Are you taking Azula with you today?", Ursa asked sipping on her tea.

"Yes, Azula and Ty Lee are coming with me to the Southern Air Temple. I have a meeting with the monks to settle some disputes...", I sighed.

"Why don't you just have them battle it out like we do?", Azula questioned.

"They aren't as physical as the Fire Nation. They are called monks for a reason, they only fight to defend themselves.", I reminded her, "The Air Nomad descendants come from all different walks of life so it's difficult to make a standard they can all agree with. Some of them want to dissolve the nation and join the other three, while others want to remain their own nation."

Seeing how that could be a difficult thing to sort out, Ursa wished me luck. After our meal was finished, Azula and I picked up Ty Lee before heading out on my Flying Bison. I would have loved to fly on a Dragon like Roku did, but there were only two of them left at the moment. Since I had been raising Sky Bison for a while, I ended up taking one as a mount.

---Southern Air Temple---

Picking up Katara and Sokka first, I brought them along as well to semi-balance the party out. All that said, Katara and Azula got along like oil and water. While it never came to blows, the two of them fought like sisters and didn't hesitate to tell the other how they felt about things. The few times I had brought her over to the palace, Katara and Azula had argued almost the entire time. Fortunately, they could put their differences aside when I asked them too and didn't start fights when we were in important situations like this.

'I just wish they'd just get along all the time...', I thought as the two sat either side of me.

"Thank you for coming today Avatar Mael.", Monk Gonzo said with a bow.

"Thank you for having me.", I replied with a polite bow, "I understand you are having some issues with coming to an agreement on how to best proceed into the future."

"Correct.", a female monk named Aerial responded, "We have made some progress, but now we face a large division of our people. Some wish to proceed with rebuilding the nation, and some wish to remain untethered to the Temples."

Listening to the concerns that were brought up, most of the issues were regarding going back to the stagnate traditions of old. Many of the Air Nomads didn't want to pick up all the traditions that that their ancestor ran from. I understood that going from almost completely freedom to heavy restrictions was a difficult thing to swallow.

"I think you should meet in the middle.", I said, "Your ancestors left the Temple because they felt restrained. For example, I see no reason to separate boys and girls given the circumstances. You neither have the resources nor the manpower to train them separately, I think you can agree with that."

"Yes, resources are slim.", Gonzo agreed.

"Staying isolated from the other nations isn't an option either. You have spent too much time with the other nations to just break off from them. Many of you have taken partners that are not Air Nomads, making them cut off family connections is too cruel.", I stated, "I think what you should do is come to a consensus on what are the most important things an Airbender should be taught. Once you agree on that, that will be the standard at which all Airbenders will be trained. From there, those that wish to leave and journey around the world can. As for those that wish to further their enlightenment, they will be the ones you continue to train."

"I see...", the monks said looking at each other with a bit of hesitation.

"It is crucial that you don't lose your identity as the world comes together.", I reminded them, "It is important for future descendants to remember their roots, but holding them back to maintain that can't be the only option. The world around us is ever changing, and we must change with it. Be like water and flow with the changes, don't be like an oak tree in a storm eventually you will break and die."

I knew I was pulling phrases out of my ass, but everyone here seemed to think that was some deep words. Katara and Azula looked at me with new found respect, and the monks seemed to grasp what I was say. It was important to remember where you came from, but you couldn't let it define who you are as a person. As the world moves towards a more technological place, the monks would need to adapt their teachings so they didn't get left behind as relics of a bygone age.

"I understand now, we should be flexible and adapt to thrive.", Gonzo stated with a firm nod, "As long as the core of our teachings remain, we can be one nation."

"Exactly, those that leave can ensure that the proud legacy of the Air Nomads continues to spread around the world. Hopefully the wisdom of your ancestors can help lead the world to a brighter future.", I told him with a smile.

Sitting back and letting the elders discuss things, it seemed that the stalemate had broken as they worked through things. By midday, the elders had come to a consensus on what the most crucial things were that needed to be taught. Thanking me for the assistance, they offered us some banana custard pies which were pretty good. Parting ways with the elders, we walked out of the temple and got back on my Sky Bison I named Barry.

"That was...boring...", Sokka sighed.

"Most political things are...", Ty Lee yawned, "I sleep through them usually."

"Yes...and you have fallen face first onto a table.", Azula laughed.

"So where are we going next?", Katara asked.

"I was thinking we could wander around for a while, maybe go to an island or something.", I said.

"I assume you have something in mind?", Azula questioned.

"You know it!", I chuckled.

Asking where we were going, I said we were going to Kyoshi Island the four of them looked at me with confusion. It figured they didn't know about the small island, it had relatively gone unnoticed during the war.

---Kyoshi Island---

Touching down on the beach, the islanders just glared at us because we were outsiders. I vaguely remembered that they adopted a policy of isolationism to avoid conflict with the Fire Nation. With all the rebuilding going on, places like this hadn't heard that the war was over so the first thing that happened was the Kyoshi Warriors came out to defend the villagers.

"This is why I don't like going to rural areas...", Azula sighed.

"Cut them some slack, it's a small island in the middle of the ocean.", I reminded her.

"I got this!", Sokka said pulling his club out.

"Wait Sokka, let's try talking first!", I tried to tell him but it was too late.

Seeing him pull out a weapon, they took it as a threat and made their move. Rushing forward, they went on the offensive. Pulling water out of the ocean, Katara froze their legs in place after they took a few steps towards us. Azula was going to use Firebending on them as well, but I stopped her and stated they weren't benders so she'd have killed them.

"There is a time and place for fighting, if you want to fight I have something you can fight.", I told her, "You can go fight that thing."

Pointing to the Unagi that was currently in the bay hunting the Elephant Koi, I said she would be doing them a service by killing it. Telling me that it would be a piece of cake, she told Ty Lee to come with her. The two of them went off to change so they could swim out to the rocks to get closer to it. I wasn't sure what Ty Lee would be able to do for Azula other than stop her from being eaten, but I wasn't going to ruin their fun.

"Now then...", I said lightly punching Sokka on the head, "How about we not jump to fighting before talking?"

"Sorry...", he apologized.

Saying it was okay, I melted the ice on the warriors legs. Telling them we were here for recreational purposes, I informed that the war was over with. At first they didn't believe me, but after Katara showed them the papers being passed around the Earth Continent they believed us.

"Sorry...it's been a while since we had guests. You are the first visitors in probably a decade or more", the leader of the warrior group said.

"It's not a problem, I didn't take that into account when I suggested we come here.", I told them, "This is Katara and Sokka, the two that ran off are Azula and Ty Lee, and I am Mael. It's a pleasure to meet all of you."

Offering us some tea, I gratefully accepted the offer. Taking an interest in the warrior's equipment and fighting style, Sokka headed off with them while Katara and I stayed with the village elder.

---A Few Hours Later---

"Thank you for the tea, and the stories.", I thanked the Village Chief.

"Anytime, please come back and visit.", he chuckled.

Heading back to the beach, I found Azula sulking by Barry. Ty Lee was doing some cartwheels on the beach to pass the time, and to try and cheer her up.

"What's wrong?", I asked.

"It's a lot more difficult to kill than I thought.", Azula sighed.

"I don't think you are the only one who had a tough time.", Katara snickered as Sokka approached.

Covered in bruises and welts, the warriors put him through the ringer. Seeing a young girl around his age talking to him, I assumed that was most likely Suki. I couldn't tell because she was just a child, but I had a hunch it was. Judging by the goofy grin on his face, Sokka thought she was cute and was having problems having a conversation with her.

"Come on Sokka, we have to get back.", Katara said, "You can come back and visit her another day."

"Sis!!!", Sokka shouted as the girl laughed at his reaction.

'Haha.', I thought, 'I am glad he is having fun.'