Chapter 55

The hot wind blew against Suki's face as they were flying on the board.

To Suki, the adventure of going through the desert was epic, yet it had its downsides.

Since she had grown up in cold weather, she was very sensitive to the heat. And this desert was very hot. The sun was shining brightly on them. For some reason, Haru seemed to be unbothered by it.

She wondered if he is pretending or not. He should be boiling by now since he was wearing armour under his clothes. And there is no doubt iron absorbs heat fastest than anything.

When she let her hand slip under his clothes, her skin felt cold. She put her head on his shoulder and looked at his face, suspicious of something.

"How is your armour cold?"

"I can manipulate the heat of the things I can bend," Haru said. "It's like when waterbenders cool water until it freezes. I'm doing the same with my armour. Except that I can make it hot and cold."

She gave him an elbow to his ribs, and she regretted it as soon as she hit the metal.

"That's unfair. You should have told me so I would hide under your clothes." In cute action, she lifted Haru's shirt and slipped under it. "Feels much better."

All she could hear was Haru's laughs, but she didn't care.

"Well, all you could do was ask me to cool the rock we are on," Haru said. "But I guess that monster made me forget."

Her butt started feeling cold, and she felt thankful for that.

"Oh, look, we reached the oasis. Good news Suki, you can rest." Haru said.

Their trip had lasted for 4 hours, and Suki couldn't help but smile. She slipped under his shirt and stood up, extending her hand.

"Finally!"

-x-X-x-

As his board stopped, Haru put his hand above his eyes and stared forward.

"This place, it should be Misty Palms Oasis," Kyoshi spoke. "One of the world's natural wonders, the iceberg in the centre of the village contains spiritual properties, causing it to ascend from the sand a small amount each day, only for an equal amount to melt into mist. The spiritual properties of the oasis attract various benign spirits and is an ideal location for practising meditation."

Haru nodded, thanking Kyoshi for her information in his heart.

"It seems that the iceberg had been cut." He remarked.

"The insolence of the people." Kyoshi sighed.

"What iceberg. Oh, that, you are talking about the small one in the middle." Suki jumped off the board and entered.

Misty Palm Oasis was a small village surrounded by a wall made of sand. In the middle, there was a small iceberg that seemed to have been cut in half.

Suki took a deep breath and said. "At least, it's cooler than outside." She then headed to the middle, next to the iceberg. "this thing is cool." She extended her hand toward it, trying to cool it a bit.

Haru reached his ear and rubbed some sand out. "Let's go to a tavern, there should be some information to gather."

In order to finish his first quest, Haru has to find the Buzzer Swaps Nest — Some giant dangerous creatures.

"Oh, about what?" Suki said.

At the same time, Kyoshi took the chance and said. "What possibly could you be asking for?"

"Wasps," Haru said, and he exhaled a long sigh. The way he had to be careful when talking to Kyoshi and Suki started to frustrate him. If there is a chance to teach Suki how to meditate, he would take it. Maybe, meditating next to a spiritual place would help him level up his Spiritual Meditation. Also, it can help Suki get into her spiritual form.

"Sorry, I don't remember encountering them when I was alive," Kyoshi replied.

"Let's get in." Haru walked to what seemed a tavern.

At its doors, there were people covering their faces.

From his fuzzy memories of the Last Airbender show, he assumed they were sandbenders. Haru found some were staring at him. He ignored their glances and entered. When he got in, a cold breeze hit his face. Suki's eyes lit up.

At the counter stood a man. Above him, there were all kinds of fruits. Next to him, there was half of the iceberg that was outside. It seems that it won't melt, not even after 100 years. Kyoshi's eyelids were twitching when she stared at the tender.

"Let's order some drinks," Suki said, excited.

Haru noticed that most kinds of fruit were here.

"Manga and grape." He ordered.

"I'll try orange and lemon," Suki said.

The man on the counter nodded. He got two bowls, made of ice. He then held two katanas, and he cut the fruits. The swords became burly, and in no time, there was juice in the bowls.

Haru held his amazement and observed the movement of the swords. They were very precise.

"2 copper Ban."

Ban was the currency of the Earth Kingdom. Haru took 10 and placed them on the counter. Since was a prince, he had plenty of money. Spending it like that wasn't a problem for him at all.

"Take the rest and tell me about the Buzzer Swaps here."

The tender but his duel katanas into the side. He stared at Haru and he said.

"And why is that?" he asked.

Suki started drinking her juice.

Haru said. "I just want to kill them, so I needed to know their location."

"Well, I don't care about the sarcasm, because no one in their right mind will go after those giant wasps. But since I got money, I have no problem telling you." He said as he took the money. "Well, here it is, all I know is that sandbenders use the sand to distract them and run from them. Other than that, I don't know their location. You should ask a sandbender or that old man. He seems to be obsessed with locations and people." The tavern tender sighed.

Haru and Suki took their bowls and occupied a table. As it seems, this tavern was full of people. It was logical for this place to be popular. If anyone lived here, they would always go to the coolest spot.

Haru turned his head and looked at one man. He looked like a scholar. His eyes were brown and his skin was tanned. He seemed to be a native to the Earth Kingdom, the northern parts anyway.

Haru remembered a bit of information about him from the show.

He muttered. "Professor Zei."

The man, who was drinking his mango juice, lifted his hat and turned toward Haru.

Staring at him, he smiled. He stood up and walked until he was above Haru's table. "Oh, young man, you know me! Are you from Ba Sing Se university?"

"Just heard about you and your hard work." Haru stood up and shook the man's hand.

If there is something to admit about Zei, it would be his love for knowledge.

Did you know, that he died in the library while trying to consume all of its knowledge?

Haru's eyelids shook as he remembered one thing.

There was a library that contained almost every knowledge in the world in this place.

It's guarded by some spirit. Seeing Zei was the only thing that reminded him of it.

The professor smiled and looked at Haru. "Your bones structure, and your green eyes and hair. Are you from the western south of the Earth Kingdom? You look as if you are from there."

Haru raised his eyebrows and gave a slight nod. It's quite amazing that this man could tell Haru's origins by his look.

But Haru didn't forget his purpose. It was to collect information.

The best way to do that was to act friendly.

"You know what professor, let me buy you a drink."

"If you insist." Zei rubbed the back of his head and nodded.

Haru ordered him some cold drink, and the professor started speaking about his discoveries about the ancient civilisations of the Earth Kingdom.

Haru could only force a smile, and he asked. "By the way, I heard that people can't live in this desert due to the beasts."

"Yes. Only sandbending tribes can travel the desert safely. They use special compasses to do that."

"By the way, do you know where the wasps are?"

"They should be somewhere in the east." He said. "I have encountered them. I got my way out using onion. It would be wise to avoid going that way. It requires you to be an expert bender to get there. By the way, why are you asking?"

"No… nothing," Haru said. "So, you said only sand benders can go there."

"Yes." He said. "Unless you want to get lost."

'I guess I need to level up my sandbending until I can sense through it. Since it's going to use my Earthbending as a basic, it will level up instantly.' Haru drank his juice.

Zei slammed his head on the table. "Man, my only wish is to find Wan Shi Tong's library. Only then I can know everything."

Haru patted him on the shoulder. He said. "You can dream, buddy."

"Thanks," Zei smiled.

Haru stood up and held Suki's hand. "We are going to an inn now."

Suki gave him a meaningful smirk and said. "Sure, after cooling down, we need to heat up things."

She meant sex.

"That's for the night. I have to master something." Haru said, determined to master the sandbending now.

After that, he will venture into the desert for the loot. It also seems that Wan Shi Tong's library may get in the way. He found no harm in visiting it.

Kyoshi, who was next to Haru, said. "You know, I can teach my experiences to you, and you can master it…"

Haru turned to Kyoshi and winked. That can be used too.

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