As Thi had promised, she came over every day to treat Atlas. Her treatment was practically the same as her diagnostic methods, with the little difference that she focused more on circulating his Chi instead of finding any spots where his Chi was needlessly expended.

Atlas couldn't gauge the full effectiveness of her treatment, but it did wonders for helping him feel his own chi. Beyond Thi's sessions, he sensed the sluggish pace of his Chi flow. Uncertain of how it would impact his bending abilities, he began plotting contingency plans in case his bending turned nearly useless. The most likely route ahead of him involved leaving for the earth kingdom and building mechs, after he found a few trusted earth benders, he could teach how to bend metal.

But no matter what plan he had, he first needed to relearn how to walk and communicate with his mother. From what he knew, babies started to talk after six months if they were early, while some took one and a half years if they were slow. For a short moment, he thought about which advantages he could get by using a mentally retarded persona, but the benefits were limited to his mother's and Thi’s care, which weren’t enough for his situation. So, he resolved to become the tribe's prodigy, hoping they lacked tales of demon-possessed children needing instant execution.

So he planned to “grow up” as fast as possible without becoming too abnormal. Till then, he planned to focus on his mind arts, his connection to Hermione, and his newfound ability to sense chi.

 

One week after Thi's diagnosis, Pak, Thi's teacher, arrived. A tattoo-covered, bald, old man adorned with bone accessories, he looked like a mummy. While his diagnosis paralleled Thi's, and his ability to assist was similarly limited, Atlas welcomed the old man's presence. Unlike the Northern Water tribe, where healing roles were reserved for women, Pak's existence hinted at a different norm in the Foggy Water tribe. Atlas also discerned that Pak's Chi felt distinct – tranquil and less emotionally charged than Thi's.

 

Atlas was unsure if he was about to make the first step in recognizing people by their chi, but quickly realized that it was of no use if the requirement for that was that his whole system needed to be flooded with the other person's chi.

A month later, Atlas decided that it was finally time to crawl. His mother was quite excited when Atlas suddenly appeared next to her while she was cooking. She didn’t even question how he had climbed out of his crib without help when it happened.

From that day forth, his mother allowed him to crawl around their one-room shack occasionally. Thi, astonished and questioning her judgment, insisted it made no sense and was likely limited to his motor skills. Despite her doubts, she shared in the joy for Atlas, mirroring his mother's happiness.

A few weeks rolled by, and Atlas's mother continued to avoid leaving him alone at home. As he observed her undeftly fashioning more ropes, he learned that the ropes were used to craft nets and traps for wildlife, as well as fortifying the wooden shacks that served as their homes.

 

"Dum"

"Dum"

"Dum"

 

Suddenly, out of the blue, thunderous drums echoed, halting everyone in their tracks. Atlas, along with the villagers, gathered at the village center, forming a vast circle around the torch-lit space.

Peering through the crowd, Atlas spotted two rows of fifteen people, a diverse mix in size, age, and gender. Clad in the customary tribal attire, they sported wooden breastplates covering only the chest and half the stomach. At the forefront stood Huu, his carefree demeanor replaced by a deadly seriousness.

The crowd made way for an old man, reminiscent of Pak but with fewer tattoos and lacking bone accessories. Atlas couldn't help but wonder if there was a familial connection between the old healer and this figure.

"My tribe, my kin," the old man addressed the gathering, "we have gathered to decide whether to grant these prideful members of our tribe permission to attack the Fire Nation outpost beyond the swamp, in hopes of rescuing our brothers and sisters. Tradition demands that the majority agree to this act of war. Any objections?"

Atlas was impressed by what he saw. Seeing such a raw but pure form of democracy in a village like that was surprising. And in a way more advanced than he expected, especially since all the bigger nations had some kind of monarchy. It also showed him that he would need to gain the tribe’s trust and favour if he wanted to implement any changes, instead of buttering up to the tribe’s elder. Just imagining it, he got goosebumps, as he had never spoken in front of more people than a regular class, and knowing that his success partially depended on this worried him.

"We want revenge!"

"We need to save our tribesmen!"

"They need to know not to mess with us!"

"Down with the Fire Nation!"

The crowd erupted like an angry mob, expressing their desires rather than voicing any objections to the impending attack.

"Silence!" commanded the old man, and the crowd hushed instantly.

"Huu, the tribe grants you permission to lead our bravest hunters. I hope you don't cause more harm than good," the village elder remarked before turning away, unperturbed by Huu's ensuing speech. “Thank you, brothers and sisters, for your trust. I promise to not disappoint you.” Said Huu and his small army began to move. Not as orderly as one would expect from a regular army, with most of the troops shouting something at people in the crowd while the crowd chanted the soldiers' names.

"Be careful, Huu! And bring Bo back to me!" Atlas's mother yelled, followed by a whispered plea, possibly heard only by Atlas, "And don't get hurt. I don't want to lose you too."

The crowd trailed the troops to the village's edges as they boarded skiffs, exchanging winks with onlookers.

Atlas, having seen Huu alive in the series, wasn't overly concerned about his potential bending teacher's survival. What perplexed him was the uncertainty of his emotions if Huu succeeded in rescuing his father.

In his confusion, he spent most of the time meditating and improving his connection to Hermione. He was a little worried about her feeling his confusion, but seeing what she was up to calmed Atlas down. Like him, Hermione had already begun to crawl. He could even see one attempt of her to try to walk, but the connection was cut off by her shortly after he felt her pain and embarrassment from a small misstep.

Her life so far seemed to be going as eventless as his own, and he wasn’t surprised that she was ahead of the planned time schedule as well. The boredom of being a child would bring anyone to do something just to escape watching at a ceiling for a whole day.

A surprising discovery from his time connection with her was that her father was in the Fire Nation army. Atlas wasn’t sure how high his status was, but he was glad about it, as it would make it easier for Hermione to join the army too. What confused him was the anger and hatred she seemed to feel for the man, and Atlas asked himself how the man had earned her ire this fast.

A week passed, and once again, the distant sound of drums reached Atlas's ears, this time with a subtly altered rhythm. His mother swiftly cradled him and hurried outside toward the river.

Huu and the other warriors returned. Atlas quickly noticed that they didn’t have any casualties. But he also noticed that they didn’t have any new people with them. Some of the people were wearing bandages made of leaves and seagrass, but overall, they didn’t seem too battered.

The people on the skiffs also didn’t seem overly depressed, and a few were even smiling.

“Huu!”

“Huu!”

“Where is Bo?!”

“Huu!”

“Where is Fern?!”

“Huu!”

The people greeted him like a hero, but the voices of the people who were desperately searching for their loved ones on the skiffs dampened the atmosphere.

Half an hour later, the warriors and the tribe were gathered in the village center again.

“My brother's, we have returned victorious.” said Huu, but only showed a weak smile.

The people were screaming and cheering, but Huu signaled them to calm down by slowly letting his raised hand sink. “But our brothers and sisters were no longer there. The enemies were also far more numerous than expected because they had gotten reinforcements just recently. Luckily for us, only half were benders, and the unit seemed freshly recruited, so we were still able to destroy their outpost and sink their ships.”

Atlas couldn’t hear what Huu said next as the people around him were murmuring too loud. And before three crowd calmed down again, his mother was running back home in tears with him on her arms.

"Bo, where are you? Please come back to me. I miss you so much." As his mother wept on her bed, Atlas sought to lift her spirits.

"I'm sorry, Ati. Sniff. We'll get through this together. Mommy will take care of you," Su uttered, as Atlas tried to distract her by climbing onto her lap, though it seemed to offer little solace.

“Mo-my.” Said Atlas cringing from the awkwardness of using baby speech again. But seeing Su that devastated felt wrong if something that simple could cheer her up.

His mother wiped her tears away, and even though new tears were still forming in her eyes, her eyes were focused on Atlas.

“Did you just say mommy? Ati I’m so… Snief… proud of you.” Su hugged Atlas so strongly that Atlas felt trapped.

“Mom-y.”

Su embraced Atlas tightly, showering him with kisses while smiling through her tears.

With each repetition, his mother beamed in a mix of extreme sadness and happiness, "Bo, our son said his first word. I wish you could see that."

After that, Atlas surrendered. His mother seemingly wanted to be sad, or at least needed to grieve, and he couldn’t do anything to help her except staying close.

 

One year later, following one of Thi's daily treatments:

"Are you sure that bending will really help him, Thi?" Su asked, a worried expression as she observed her son clinging to her leg.

"Well, technically. But I still can't understand this boy. His chi is a complete mess. He shouldn't be like this. He should be… simple. Anyway, Bending will definitely help him bring his chi in order, which can only bring benefits," Thi replied.

"Mom, please. I want to learn. Thi also said I can," Atlas pleaded, attempting the cutest expression possible. His mother seemed torn.

"But shouldn't the elder teach him when he's old enough?"

"The elder can still teach him when he's six. I just want to teach him the basics so that he can use his chi. The more chi is used, the more chi needs to regenerate, which will increase his capacity somewhat, and Atlas will need a head start, or he'll be left behind by the other kids. And Atlas is so gifted otherwise that it would be a waste."

His mother sighed. "Fine, but you'll train him here, and if he gets hurt, I won't forgive you."

"Thanks, Mom!" Atlas exclaimed, raising his hand in celebration. He hadn't expected to learn bending so soon, and with his mother always present, experimenting on his own was out of the question. Thi's unexpected proposal during his last treatment was a true blessing.

 

That evening, with the moon shining bright, Thi returned with a large bucket of water.

 

"Okay, Ati, I will show you the simplest form of water bending. We will start with forming a water ball," Thi instructed, and a small part of the water lifted and floated around before splashing back into the bucket. "Your Chi, like that of every water bender, is attuned to water. If you stretch out your chi and connect to the water, you can take control of it. While you don't necessarily need to feel your chi to do that, as most benders can do it by instinct, being able to do so makes it a lot easier. Try to connect your chi to the water in the bucket."

Atlas closed his eyes, slowly sending out his chi. After a year of training, he could sense chi around one foot from his body and send out his own chi for a few centimeters.

It required intense concentration on his part; otherwise, his meager chi reserves would not last more than a few seconds. As he held his hand over the bucket and sent out his chi, he felt something – a faint connection to the water. He sensed its coldness, stillness, and even its form in the bucket. It was as if the water acted like a conductor for his chi, making it far easier to send it out there than in the air. He could feel the water, like he could feel a hot stove, when he held his hands a little over it without really touching it. The heat would tell him that the stove was there, like this feeling, this connection, told him the water was there. But unlike with the stove, he didn't know how to get "closer," how to achieve a clearer feeling, let alone control the water.

"Very good. Now try to move your body and chi together. Guide the water to follow your flow."

Imagining pulling a ball of water out of the bucket and moving his hands as Thi had demonstrated, Atlas saw waves forming on the water's surface. Concentrating with his entire being, he grew excited as the first few droplets of water floated in the air. Seconds later, exhaustion set in, his chi running dry, and the droplets fell back into the bucket.

"He is a genius, Su. I told you he could do it. Ati, that was good," Thi exclaimed, excitedly jumping up and down.