🍃 How To Raise an Airbender 🍃

Disabilities

Rewinding back to "Northern Air Temple".

"Aang is left in a lot of confusion at not only witnessing the industrialized temple but mistakenly questions why young Teo cannot walk like the rest of us. Good thing Katara is there to help."

Cue inside the main sanctuary-

Aang was still initially displeased to see the changes to this historical Air Temple. History was very important to the boy, as he also seems to recall being here a hundred years before today.

This was where Air Benders like himself would come by to learn how to fly and to study combatant skills up in the air. But in order to fly, it wasn't just the amount of skill that mattered most, it was to find their courage and their bravery whilst believing in themselves. To Aang, that's the true answer to the matter of flight, not technology or steampunk.

In Aang's mind, how could both Sokka and Katara not realize that in order to master elemental powers, what comes along with it is feeling right at home? Well right now, he wasn't exactly feeling at home, and it was really stressing him.

Now don't get me wrong, the inhabitants are very nice and very innovative. Their creativity is limitless, and the amount of mathematics is phenomenal. It's no wonder why Sokka and Katara became easily impressed, anybody could. 

But what's more amazing is one particular person on the temple that had an amazing set of skills despite his disability. His name was Teo, a young teenager who is paralyzed from the waist down. But he doesn't let that stop him from doing the things he loves. He was just as capable of building new inventions as his people can. 

This was what Katara admired from most people, always finding a way to overcome their weaknesses and use them as an advantage to coming up on top. 

Aang, becoming more frustrated by the minute with how much all of this was overwhelming him, finally said something.

Aang: *tapping her arm* Katara, I just realized, we're wasting time here.

Katara: What? Aang!... Why would you say something like that? We came here because of you.

Aang: It... *looks down*  It wasn't what I expected. Just look, the temple was fine being left alone before 'they' came and made into something it's not meant to be.

Katara couldn't believe what Aang was saying. Aang would never assume anything or insult what was around him! His purity and his innocence were too good, and it's what made him so adorable. Now all of a sudden this sudden behavior of him was starting to confuse her too. 

Katara: So they've got a few modifications? Okay... But that doesn't mean that it changes the fact that Airbenders thriving here in the past meant nothing.

Aang: *turns around* Of course it meant something! The monks like me never needed anything more to make us stronger! We may have had our own strengths and weaknesses, but we didn't need some handicaps to give us strength.

Katara would now scowl at his choice of words but still, listen to more of the nonsense he has to say.

Aang: *groans* The point is, I'll never understand 'modern-day stuff', just like how I don't understand how Teo can't walk, or run! Like, how am I going to understand that? Hello?! I won't?!

Aang, with his eyes as wide as dinner plates, immediately covered his mouth the moment that the last word slipped. It was until now he realized what he just said.

But wait... Did he? Does he not actually know why Teo is disabled? Why the technology all around him is mainly just a handicap for the boy? Why it shouldn't be said that those with disabilities can't be understood? Well, Katara sure did, as her facial expression was nothing but shocked.