After a few weeks of leisure travel, Appa and I arrived at the southern air temple; it looked just how I remembered, though if I had one complaint, it would be the lack of sky bison flying around.
"Alright, Appa, go and hang out with your kind." Leaning forward, I gently rubbed Appa's head, causing me to softly roar, before I slid off his face, falling through the sky and descending toward the air temple.
While falling, I reached to my back, only to grab empty air while my face twitched. "Oh yeah, no bo-staff. I forgot." Wryly smiling, I thrust my palm to the ground, creating a vortex that rapidly grew in height until it surrounded me, slowing down my fall. When I neared the ground, I gently landed on the stone floor while brushing my clothes straight.
Moments later, several kids who had been flying through the sky landed on the ground, causing me to faintly smile at some of my old students. "Eh, Monk Aang!" "Oh, Monk Aang is back!" "Monk Aang!?" Seeing how excited they were, I lightly chuckled. "Yes, it's me. Have you children been keeping up with their studies? Silura?" As I looked at Silura, he froze before trying to stumble out words.
"N-YES! I-I have! I-I've been practicing really hard, Monk Aang. Ah, I think Monk Fishi is calling me, bye Monk Aang." After that awkward response, Silura forced a smile before trying to fly away, though he wasn't able to move as I had swallowed his feet into the ground, locking him in place.
"Oh, so you've actually been studying? That's wonderful to hear, Silura. With such discipline, it won't be long until you acquire your tattoos." Smiling, I approached Silura and squatted beside him while patting his shoulder, causing him to nervously nod through his smile. "T-Thank you, Monk Aang, b-but could you free me? I-I don't want to be late for Monk Fishi's teachings." "Oh, of course, of course, Silura. I'd just like to see your improvements; that should be fine."
Stepping back, I placed my hands behind my back while looking at Silura, who proceeded to look at his friends for help before eventually lowering his head with a deep sigh. "Um, well, you see, Monk Aang, the thing is, well, I've actually sort of not been practicing that often." Raising an eyebrow at Silura's voice, which grew weaker the more he spoke, I nodded, not surprised in the slightest; after all, I knew he had been lying.
"Oh, I know. I was just curious how deep you'd dig your hole." "So um, c-can you free me, Monk Aang?" As he looked at me with a hopeful gaze, I walked past him while patting his shoulder. "I'll return in an hour. Until then, think about your punishment." "Eh, M-Monk Aang? M-Monk Aang!"
Humming to myself, I left Silura and the other children behind me as I walked through the Air Temple, greeting everyone with a smile and a nod while heading to the peak of the Air Temple, where the five elders usually reside. 'It feels nice to always have a place to return to.' The southern air temple had been my home once, though not anymore; there was nothing wrong with the air temple, it was just that my home had become Korra.
Shaking my head softly, ridding myself of such depressing thoughts, I arrived at the peak of the air temple a few minutes later. Knocking on the stone door, I alerted whoever was inside to my arrival. Slowly, I opened it, though, to my surprise, not a single elder was inside, which made me raise an eyebrow. 'Huh, not even one? What could those old men possibly be doing?'
Hearing the sounds of whooshing wind, I headed deeper into the room, passing through another door, which led outside to a smaller, private training ground, where I saw Monk Jun and Monk Hitsugaya sparring. Leaning against the door frame, I folded my arms and watched their spar, which was relatively slow, but their strength and understanding of airbending were excellent.
They must've been sparing for a while, as they were already sweating a bit, so they only continued for a few more minutes before finally calling it a tie, and after they bowed to each other, only then did they happen to notice me. "A-Aang? What are you doing here?" Surprised at my appearance, Jun widened his eyes slightly as he approached me alongside Hitsugaya.
"It's been a while, so I wanted to visit. I was also in need of a new bo-staff, mine uh, well, something happened to it." Pushing off the door frame, I lightly smiled, greeting both monks with a slight bow before wryly smiling, glossing over that I'd given my bo-staff to a successor from a different timeline, saving them the confusion.
"Haha, did that old thing finally break? You've had that bo-staff since you were a young boy; I'm surprised it managed to even last this long." Heartily laughing, Hitsugaya grabbed his plump stomach while facing the sky, causing me to shake my head. "Come, Aang, let's discuss over a cup of tea." Gesturing inside, Jun stepped into the room behind us, prompting Hitsugaya and I to follow.
While practically forcing the two elders to sit down, I grabbed the kettle and returned to the table, where I proceeded to heat the kettle using firebending. "It seems you're firebending has improved, Aang." "Yes. I had an excellent instructor." "Hoho, for you to praise him as such, he must've been a good teacher." While Hitsugaya chuckled, the kettle began to whistle.
Setting it down, I used waterbending to pour the tea from the kettle into three cups. "Not just your firebending, but waterbending as well. Did Hana's child teach you?" As Jun took a sip, I shook my head while doing the same. "It wasn't Hana, Monk Jun. It was someone else. Words would fail to describe her."
Staring at the tea, I briefly saw Korra's face before softly sighing. 'She's going to be haunting me for a long time, isn't she?' As I closed my eyes, I heard Jun and Hitsugaya chuckle, causing me to raise my head and look at them while they gave me knowing looks. "Ho, that description and expression says it all." "Hehe, yes, it does, Brother Jun. It seems our Aang has fallen for a woman."
I couldn't help but wryly smile at their behavior, which reminded me of women gossiping. "So, care to enlighten us about this woman?" "Yes, as your Elders, it is a part of our duty." "That is a poor excuse, Monk Hitsugaya." Hitsugaya had no response other than his jolly laughter. "Fallen, is an understatement, Elders. However, I'd rather not mention her; things didn't quite work out."
Downing the tea, inwardly wishing it had been alcohol, I refilled my cup while the two Elders nodded with sorrowful expression. "Oh, I see." "We're sorry to hear that." Faintly smiling, I dismissively waved my hand, shifting topics. "That is life, Elders… How has the temple been during my absence?"
My question prompted the two of them to take turns responding, informing me of the children's growth, the Sky Bison's situation, and the Air Nomads who had been sent out to help against the Fire Nations' invasion. As I listened to them, I would occasionally ask questions while nodding, but I mostly remained silent since they did a good job explaining.
By the time they finished, we'd already drunk all the tea from the kettle. "Well, it sounds like everything is relatively smooth. That is good to hear." Standing up, I grabbed the kettle and tea cups, carried them to the wash area, then returned only to see Juna and Hitsugaya standing.
"How long do you intend to stay for, Aang?" "Yes, if you're in no hurry, would you mind teaching the children? You're unconditionally the most favored by them." I raised an eyebrow at Hitsugaya's claim, skeptical of whether what he said was true. "Are you sure about that, Monk Hitsugaya? Hardly any of the children practice outside of classes when I tell them." "Haha, did you forget they're children, Aang? It could've been Yangchen herself, and they still would've played outside of classes."
While Hitsugaya heartily laughed, I could do nothing but nod in agreement, since, when I thought about it, he wasn't wrong.
"I'm in no rush, so I can stay for a month or two. Anyway, I'll be excusing myself, Monk Jun, and Monk Hitsugaya." Slightly bowing to the two elders, I turned around and left, exiting from the peak as I headed down the stairs to the more common areas. 'The bo-staffs should still be in the same spot, right?'
Taking a few turns, I arrive at a decently sized stone building; entering, I spotted numerous sky-bison saddles, but off to the left in its own little corner were a few barrels of bo-staffs, prompting me to grab one. "Now I can fly again."