5. Expectations

…

Trying to move the dense energy was like trying to walk just after being born. He tried, then tried harder. He struggled against it, pouring everything he had into the effort before it barely shifted. The movement was so slight he almost believed he had imagined it. But no…it did move. He did succeed.

Then, he sprawled on the futon, breathing heavily. Despite living at the northern pole of the planet, sweat covered his entire body. It felt like he had a marathon without any training to speak of.

Lee regained his strength only after half an hour. Despite the pain and exhaustion, a radiant smile clung to his face. After more than a month of struggle, he finally managed to guide the energy, no matter how slight it was. It proved that his method wasn’t wrong.

Sure, even that slight movement drained him to the point of severe exhaustion, but the experiment was a success. Now, he knew what the problem was. He lacked sufficient strength to guide the energy.

He was just simply weak, which meant he just needed to train until he wasn’t.

The relief that flooded his mind was immense. Enough that his eyelids grew heavy enough to shut completely, and sleep claimed him.

…

When Lee woke up, the sun had moved fully into the west, hanging low enough that it would disappear in an hour.

He walked downstairs to find Mona busy making dinner preparations in the kitchen and Pakku sitting in the living room, reading a scroll.

His footsteps must have alerted the half-bald master because he looked up and gave him a lazy glance before returning his focus to the scroll in his hands. “How was sleep?” he asked in a bored tone.

“Good,” Lee said, approaching him. “What are you reading?” He asked, more to continue the conversation rather than fulfil his curiosity.

“A military report sent by one of the patrol teams,” Pakku muttered, a serious look on his face.

“What does it say?” Lee asked, suddenly a lot more curious.

Pakku raised an eyebrow and remained silent for a few moments, a thoughtful expression on his face as he stared at him.

“Nothing much,” he said, offhandedly. “They spotted a large herd of leopard sharks moving in our direction. Something to be careful about when venturing outside the walls to hunt. Nothing you need to worry about anytime soon.”

“What do they look like?” Lee asked as the boy’s memories didn’t contain any knowledge of the creature.

Pakku frowned. “I’m busy, child,” he said. “Have patience. Mona will teach you about them during your studies in due time. Instead of wasting my precious time, why don’t you go out and play until dinner is ready?”

“Sorry,” Lee half-heartedly apologised, shrugging off his words. The old man might have a good heart, but he sure as hell didn’t have a good mouth. He could have said it a bit more nicely.

He turned around and walked toward the door, heeding his master’s instructions. Soon, he was outside the house, standing on the road, looking lost.

“Which way should I go?”

Lee could count on a single hand the number of people he knew inside the icy walls of the tribe, and all of them were adults. He looked both left and right before turning to the left and starting to walk on a random whim.

The path curved gently between houses, their blue-tinted walls reflecting the fading light of the evening sun. He walked aimlessly, boots crunching softly against the icy ground, eyes wandering over unfamiliar corners of the settlement to memorise the surroundings of his new home.

After a while, he started to hear the voices of children from some distance away, beyond the icy bridge to his right. Lee carefully crossed the semi-oval structure before finding himself at the edge of an open space.

He spotted half a dozen children of varying ages playing on one side. The other side was occupied by four adults, who were practising their waterbending techniques and martial arts against one another.

For a moment, he simply watched. He remembered watching Katara’s fight against Pakku in the anime. Her technique had been amateurish due to the lack of a proper teacher. Looking at the duelling benders, he felt their skills were similar to hers at that time.

Lee turned his gaze away and started walking toward the children. “Can I play too?” he asked, causing them to stop what they were doing and stare at him with confusion and curiosity.

A boy with a chipped tooth stepped forward, squinting at him as if trying to place his face. Based on his stature, Lee guessed he had probably seen twelve to thirteen summers in his small lifetime. A glance at the children revealed him to be the oldest of the bunch.

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“Lee,” he replied, offering a disarming smile. “I just moved here.”

The children exchanged glances. A girl close to his age tilted her head, studying him innocently.

“Moved here? Where did you use to live before?” she asked, her voice brimming with curiosity.

Lee pointed a finger at the giant wall surrounding the settlement. “Beyond the wall, in a small village.”

“Ohh,” the girl exclaimed, her eyes lighting up. “I’m Nukka. We’re playing Spirit Wars. Do you know how?” she asked a moment later, almost as an afterthought.

Lee shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

“Well, it’s simple,” Nukka said. “Half of us will be icy spirits, and the others will be waterbenders. Both sides will fight each other with snowballs. Once you’re hit three times, you’re dead. Whoever remains standing is the winner.”

Lee nodded, a small grin tugging at his lips. “Sounds easy enough.”

The boy with the chipped tooth clapped his hands once, clearly pleased. “Good. You can be one of the icy spirits alongside Nukka, Siku and Panik. Ahnah, Tariq and I will be the waterbenders. I’m Kavik, by the way.”

Ahnah nodded. “Come on then. Let’s start the game again. The sun is about to set, and Mom will yell at me if I’m late again because we couldn’t play the game in time.”

They split into two groups, scattering across the open space. Lee picked up a handful of snow, packing it tightly as he watched the others. Some of the older kids moved with surprising speed, ducking and weaving as they launched their attacks.

“Ready?” Kavik called.

Before he could answer, a snowball smacked into his shoulder.

“Hey! I wasn’t ready.”