It's been nearly two weeks since I've awoken; most of the Water Tribesmen healers, including Hana, Hina's mother, have departed by now; only a small few have remand, tending to the grievously wounded, after all, while they were clearly pitiful of our situation they had their own lives to live; besides, we were already immensely grateful for their assistance in healing the wounded.
As for me, I had Hana inspect my chi pathways shortly after awakening from Appa's embrace; regrettably, they've been damaged, preventing me from bending. However, whether it's because I'm the Avatar or if I'm just lucky, but after periodically checking on them throughout the two weeks, she noticed signs of them healing, which meant, in due time, I'd be able to bend once again. Though until then, she's forbade me from attempting to bend, warning me that I could easily damage them given their current fragile state, and of course, I took her words to heart.
While it was unfortunate I couldn't bend, especially since I loved doing so, I knew better than to push my luck; I'd rather not be able to bend for a few months than never be able to bend again in this life.
My legs haven't changed much, either, even without Hana or Hina checking on them. I can tell they've been healing since they aren't painful anymore, though that's only when I'm not using them. Whenever I attempted to move them, I'd feel sore all over, so I was still bound to my wheelchair. Luckily for me, they were healing much quicker than my chi pathways.
As for Appa's injury…
"Grrr!" Said Appa lightly as he flapped his tail, creating a powerful gust of wind while taking to the skies with Aang and Hina on his back.
"S-Seems someone is happy they can finally fly again, b-but, shouldn't we p-put Appa's saddle on?" Asked Hina nervously as she clung onto Appa's fur while glancing at the ground, causing her to gulp in fear before shifting her focus to Aang.
"It is fine; if you happen to fall, Appa will catch you; he is even more agile in the air than on the ground… Actually, he's put on some weight these past two weeks, so he might be a little slow." Replied Aang softly with a shake of the head as he glanced at Hina, whose expression twitched, while he rubbed his chin, inspecting Appa.
'He's definitely put on some weight. What a glutton.' Thought Aang lightly, shaking his head as he eyed Appa in disappointment.
"W-Well, c-can you ask Appa to land? I-I like it when my feet are t-touching the ground." Asked Hina with an awkward smile as she glanced at Aang, who nodded, only to faint smirk while grabbing Appa's reins.
"Sure, but would you like to see something interesting?" "U-Um w-what is it? Is it on the ground?" Asked Aang and Hina, respectively, as the former faintly smirked while the latter raised her eyebrow in curiosity.
"Heh, a barrel roll. Yip-yip Appa." "A-A barrel ro-AHHHHHH!!" Said Aang and Hina, respectively, as the former snapped the reins, causing the latter to scream in fear while Appa suddenly began spinning.
"AHHHHHH! MOM! HELP ME! I'M GOING TO DIE!" Yelled Hina fearfully as she held onto Appa's fur for dear life while he continued to do barrel rolls.
Chuckling at Hina, I wouldn't have minded enjoying her misfortunate for a little bit longer, but it seemed I was pushing her a little bit much, so I tapped Appa's head, causing him to stop, though given his shaking head, he was a bit dizzy.
"H-Has it stopped!? P-Please, tell me it's stopped!?" Exclaimed Hina in a trembling voice as she raised her teary-eyed and snot-covered face from Appa's fur while glancing at Aang, who faintly nodded.
A few moments later, Appa landed on the ground, prompting Hina to roll off his back and onto the ground while she motionlessly lay there, making me worry slightly.
'I didn't go too hard, did I? I just thought it would be funny to do a little prank.' Thought Aang in concern as he slid off Appa's body, plopping onto the ground beside Hina.
Just as I was about to check up on her, she raised her head, though she looked rather queasy.
"I'm sorry, Hina; you've ridden on Appa plenty of times, so I thought you'd be fine-" Said Aang softly as he leaned towards Hina, only to suddenly widen his eyes as he backed his torso away, just in time to dodge projectile vomit.
Unfortunately for me, while I managed to move my upper body in time, my lower body, which I still couldn't move, was directly in the life of fire, causing me to wince as I watched my legs get covered in bile and half-digested food.
'So this is my punishment for attempting to prank someone? Haa, the one time I attempted to copy Monk Gyatso, it backfired.' Mused Aang lightly with a deep sigh as he glanced at his legs before looking at Hina, who cleaned her face with water as she flowed through the air.
"I-I should bend my vomit into your face." Said Hina softly with a nauseous face as she glanced at Aang in annoyance, who raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"You can do that?" Asked Aang in slight surprise as he looked at Hina, who grunted before flopping onto her back.
'Hmm, now that I really think about it, water benders can bend anything that is considered a liquid, not just water; so does that mean they could bend liquid metal?' Thought Aang with a pondering expression as he rubbed his chin, completely ignoring the vomit.
While I was thinking about the implications of a water bender being able to bend metal, I heard Appa growl, snapping me out of my train of thought as I looked at him before shifting my focus in the direction he was gazing, only to see a hoard of flying bison, causing me to smile as that wasn't simply a hoard of flying bison, but the Air-Nomads that had fled long before the invasion in the case we lost.
"Hina, we must return to the Temple; my people have returned." Said Aang with a faint smile as he glanced at Hina, who opened her eyes before nodding with a sigh.
"N-No more barrel rolls. I-I won't be able to hold on this time." Said Hina weakly as she stood up before climbing onto Appa's back while he grabbed Aang, refusing to let him onto his back.
"Yip-yip Appa." Said Aang as he tapped Appa's arm, causing him to growl while flapping his tail and soaring into the sky with a powerful gust of wind.
As we approached the Temple, the good mood I was in from seeing Appa healed began to vanish as I gazed at the state of our Temple, though what was even worse was the corpses of my people I could see sprawled about throughout the Temple. We hadn't yet started restoring the Temple simply because we needed to move the corpses, though we didn't have enough people to do so, not to mention most of us had been injured these past two weeks.
Deeply sighing, I averted my gaze away from the front of the Temple, where most of the corpses, mainly Flying Bison, resided, and shifted my focus to one of the training grounds, where most of the Air Nomads that had survived the invasion were waiting.
"Aang, perfect timing, o-o–" Said Pasang lightly as he approached Aang, only to momentarily stop when he noticed the vomit on his legs.
"Things happened, Monk Pasang. Could you please clean me a little, Ms. Fasha?" Said Aang awkwardly as he glanced at Pasang, who nodded before shifting his focus to an older Watertribesmen healer, causing her to faintly smile while waving her hands.
"I can't refuse the request of an adorable boy like you, young Aang." Said Fasha with a motherly aura as she commanded the water from a nearby barrel to envelop Aang, washing away the vomit.
Clasping my hands and bowing as a show of appreciation, I shifted my focus to Monk Pasang, who simply gestured to the sky in the distance, prompting me to look at our returning people.
"I'm sure this will shock them." Said a Western Elder softly as she gazed at the group of Flying Bison, her words causing everyone to nod in agreement while many sighed.
"At least with their help, we'll be able to give our brothers and sisters a proper burial." Said Monk Jun softly as he gazed into the distance where the numerous corpses lay, only to lower his head.
"Here is your wheelchair, Aang; you had left it at the stables." Said an Eastern Elder as she slowly pushed the wheelchair to Aang and used it to support herself.
"Thank you, Elder." Said Aang respectfully as he clasped his hands while pulling himself into the wheelchair, only to sigh in relief.
'Finally mobile again.' Thought Aang lightly as he grabbed the wheels and pushed himself around Appa.
Glancing at Hina, who was still lying on Appa's back, I positioned myself right beside Monk Gyatso, who flashed a faint smile while gently patting my shoulder.
After a few minutes, the hoard of Flying Bison began to lower themselves to the Temple, landing at any open spot while at the foremost were the four Elders who had accompanied the children.
Gazing at Monk Hitsugaya, Monk Iio, and the other Elders, I saw their expressions filled with various emotions, causing me to sigh deeply.
"We're glad you've all returned." Said Gyatso with a small smile as he slowly approached the four Elders, his limp visible to all.