Standing at the bottom of the temple, I glanced at Appa, who nuzzled his face into my chest, causing me to faintly smile as I rubbed behind his horns, prompting him to growl in pleasure.
It's been roughly a month since Monk Gyatso's passing, and although every current active member of the council of Elders tried to persuade me to take the spot of an Elder, completely abandoning the idea of making me stay behind, I remained firm and refused their offers; figuring it would be better to have an actual present Air Nomad rather than one that visits a one to a few times a year.
"Alright, buddy, from here on out, it's just you and I. Are you excited?" Said Aang with a slight smile as he held Appa's head while looking into his eyes, causing him to stand on his two hind legs and roar in excitement.
Scratching his head, I turned and gazed at the Temple; I may desire to leave, but I was also a little sad to do so. The Southern Temple was my home and where I've lived all my life, so to leave while not knowing when I'd return was a bit sad, but it was a path I'd been preparing for.
Clasping my hands, I deeply bowed to the temple, paying it my respects while Appa did the same, and never so dearly did I wish I had a way to take a picture; a Flying Bison clasping his paws and bowing was something comedic.
Once we finished paying our respects, I leaped onto Appa's back and lightly snapped the reins, causing him to growl while his tail flapped, creating a powerful gust of wind behind him.
"Yip yip, Appa." Said Aang lightly as he looked into the sky while Appa rode the wind, taking to the skies.
As we took to the skies, flying amongst the clouds, I glanced at the Temple one final time before shifting my focus forward, my gaze hardening with determination as Appa and I began our journey.
And with our journey officially starting, our first destination was the Southern Water Tribe to visit Hina, as it's been nearly two years since I'd last spoken to her. With Monk Gyatso's condition worsening, I couldn't risk being absent, but now, I could visit my friend.
"To the Southern Water Tribe, Appa." Added Aang softly as he patted Appa, causing him to nod with a roar while changing directions and heading East.
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It took a few days of flying before we saw that familiar snowy land, and thanks to Appa's training, not a single break was needed, granted we took our time, but Flying Bison, by nature, were naturally efficient; it was just when they were hungry, they could eat nearly a third of their body weight, and Appa could do more if so inclined.
However, I digress. Along the way, Appa and I came across a couple of ships of the Fire Nation, and as we drew closer to the Southern Water Tribe, their numbers only grew; now, it wasn't surprising to find one, two, or maybe even three ships sailing together, patrolling the waters surrounding the Southern Water Tribe, preventing them from hunting.
As Appa lowered us to the ground by the shore, I leaped off his back and landed on the snow-covered beach while thrusting my two arms forward, manipulating the air to enter the ocean, removing a sizeable sphere of water before floating it over toward Appa, who stuffed his whole face into the sphere.
Shaking my head at his antics, he cleaned his body with the sphere of water before shaking his body, drying his fur in a matter of seconds with a constant burst of air. Tossing the sphere of water back into the ocean, Appa took his long-deserved break while I practiced bending; just because I've reached a plateau and hardly improved upon my bending in the past two years doesn't mean I could allow myself to get rusty.
After an hour, Appa and I returned to the skies as we continued onwards to Wolf Cove, where Hina lived; however, when we arrived a day later, I was shocked to see how badly things had gotten.
"Kind sir, could you spare some food? My child hasn't eaten in nearly two days." Said a malnourished older woman as she held a young boy in a similar state to her while looking at Aang with pleading eyes.
Reaching into my satchel, I handed the woman and child two of my five remaining apples, causing me to internally wince as I'd most likely have to go a day without eating, but I couldn't refuse a child.
"Here, I hope this can help." "Ahh, bless you, Kind sir. Bless you!" Said Aang and the older woman, respectively, as the former pitifully smiled while the latter cried joyfully while bowing to him.
As I watched the Mother and Son duo walk away, I softly sighed and continued deeper into the city, passing by several closed shops and numerous starving beggars; as a matter of fact, by the time I had arrived at where Hina lived, I had given all of my food away.
'Haa, maybe I could find a few sea cucumbers?' Thought Aang softly as he gently knocked on the door, waiting for Hina to answer, though she never did, causing him to frown.
Just as I finished knocking for a second time, it was suddenly opened, and instead of seeing Hina, it was another beggar, except he didn't quite look as starved as the others.
"Damn it, man! What do you want? Make it quick; if people find out I'm using this abandoned house, I'll be forced out." Stated the man angrily as he peeked his head from behind the door and eyed Aang, who furrowed his brows in confusion.
"Abandoned? My friend lives here. Her name is Hina." Said Aang as he narrowed his eyes at the man, who raised an eyebrow before nodding.
"Oh, you must be the person the previous owner left the note for. Wait right here; I'll be right back." Said the man softly as he scanned his surroundings before glancing at Aang and closing the door, causing him to frown.
A minute later, the same man opened the door, handing me a small note in Hina's handwriting.
"Here you go, now can you leave? People will get suspicious." Stated the man as he looked at Aang before shooing him away and closing the door.
Ignoring the man, I opened the note and read its contents while slowly walking back to the city's entrance, where Appa awaited me. When I arrived, I had already read the note twice, and I couldn't help but heave a defeated sigh.
"Hina isn't here anymore, Appa; she and a large group of people migrated further south, forming their tribe." Said Aang softly as he looked at Appa, who tilted his head in confusion, causing him to gently pat his cheek.
"Come, she specified the location; we should be able to reach it within a few hours." Added Aang as he grabbed his bo-staff off his back before flicking a switch, causing four small wings to eject.
Leaping into the air, I had a gust of air hit my glider, taking me higher into the sky as I flew through the air, leading the way to Hina's new living location, prompting Appa to follow from behind with a roar. Thankfully, it was a bit closer than I expected, taking us roughly ninety minutes to reach the tribe, which was made mostly of different shapes and sizes of igloos.
As Appa and I lowered to the ground, we gathered a lot of attention, but other than looking, most kept their distance except for a singular old man who walked toward us with a cane.
"Excuse me, traveling Air Nomad, but may I ask why you're visiting our humble tribe?" Asked the older man as he looked curiously at Aang, who handed him Hina's note.
"I'm searching for a young woman named Hina. She's a close friend; her mother is Hana if that helps." "You mean our two healers?" Remarked Aang and the older man, respectively, as the former looked at the latter, who glanced at the note before raising an eyebrow with a nod.
"They live in that igloo, young man, though if they're not there, they're in that igloo, where they tend to the wounded warriors that return from hunting." Remarked the older man lightly as he pointed at a sizeable igloo, only to shift his finger to another, much larger, igloo, causing Aang to nod.
Clasping my hands in gratitude, I quickly made my way to the way igloo while Appa followed; stopping just outside the igloo, I cleared my throat before announcing my presence as there were no doors.
"Hello? Hina? Mrs. Hana?" Said Aang softly as he slowly entered the igloo while looking around, only for a head to suddenly peak from beyond a corner.
"Eh, Aang!? Haha, it really is you, Aang!" Yelled Hina in excitement as she looked at Aang with wide eyes before charging and embracing him in a hug.
Although happy to see Hina, my smile slowly faded as my hands roamed her body.
'So skinny.' Thought Aang softly as he held Hina's waist, only for another voice to startle him.
"Ho, it seems someone is anxious. It's good to see you, Aang, but I know when I'm welcome. I'll leave you two alone." Stated Hana with a faint, knowing smile as she watched Aang before winking at Hina while leaving.