War talk

a fresh breeze will bring change

And there he sat, wrapped in about four blankets. Flying Bisons weren't spectacular fast so the trip would take a while. Air Nomad clothing wasn't the thing you'd normally wear to one of the poles. The light clothing didn't really keep you warm. For some reason people think that monks can keep theirselves warm by mental strength. Well that isn't really the case. Or not for ones as young as Lev at least. He was tempted to leave his blanket fort in order to sit on Mamun's head which was probably a lot warmer and softer. On the other hand... he had to clean up the large animal's saddle before he arrived at the Tribe. They probably wouldn't take him seriously if they saw him wrapped up like this. The moment he left his blanket lair, he felt the cold running down his spine. Just great. Just before the enormous city came in sight the young monk finished cleaning. He straightend his clothes, sat up straight and focussed on looking as dignified as possible. Also... preventing goosebums was a thing. After Mamun landed Lev was quickly brought to where Alison Olivia was. Which was thankfully inside, eventhough it was still a tad cold there. He greeted the Tribal Chief by a nod of his head and a slight curtsy. A somewhat clumbsy smile on his face probably gave away that he had not the slightest idea what he was doing here.The messenger had told a child - yes a CHILD - to tell him that he was invited by Alison Olivia, Chief of the Northern Water Tribe. The child didn't remember why he was invited and had called the Chief 'Ali-something Olive'. The messenger had, ofcourse, already left, leaving Lev clueless about this visit.

a fresh breeze will bring change

Thankfully his greeting was returned and Alison Olivia motioned for him to take a seat. A quick prayer that the chair wasn't cold. He had to keep a little cheer that it wasn't the case to himself. He was going to make a fool out of himself even if he didn't do that. After a couple of seconds the blonde in front of him spoke. "I assume you know why you're here?" Oh boy. How was he supposed to answer that. He had some ideas but no idea what the actual reason was. He didn't want to bring the Air Nomads to shame but it was not like he could have done anything to prevend this. "How are you?" Oh another question, one he could actually answer this time. Or well, partly. He could give her a honest answer or a more political answer. "The honest answer or the answer I'm somewhat expected to give?" Asking this question was probably not the best course of action. There was no going back. Hopefully the Water Tribe Chief didn't take offence in his question. "Let me be honest about this first, the reason why I had to come did not reach me." Lev let out a soft sigh after telling this. This was quite the rough start to his visit.

Feel the wind of change

"Allow me to clear it up for you: I asked you here as a friend. So I insist on honesty from the both of us." Well that sounded more like a command than anything else. The look in her eyes seemed somewhat worried however. She probably didn't mean to command him but just wanted his honesty. "Tell me what's wrong." Yet again it sounded more like a command than a question. Lev sighed and gave a slight nod. He agreed on the fact that it would be better if they were honest with eachother. "Alright, you know... Air Nomad clothes aren't made for this kind of weather so I'm some somewhat freezing," said Lev with, probably the hundredth, clumbsy smile. It was only a small thing, nothing important really. Which made him hope Alison wouldn't be insulted by this. She might have thought that there was actually something bigger going on. But no, this was really everything. Except for all the tensions of the war. The Head Monk noticed the sound of some kids playing outside, they were screaming so it wasn't hard to take note of it. 'I am the mighty Tarrak, prepare to die!' Lev had to chuckle a little because of the childern. Those kind of stories were quite diffrent from the ones the Air Nomad children played.

Feel the wind of change

Thankfully Alison Olivia took his slight complaint about the cold well as she chuckled a little. "I will arrange for some warmer clothes to be brought to you." A servant quickly left in order to get the clothes the blonde was talking about. "I am grateful." Lev said with a little nod. Servants, another thing he would never really get used to. "But what I meant was - and, please, excuse me for overstepping - what I meant was, how are things at home?" At home? There were many ways to interpret that and he honestly did not know which 'home' she meant. Alison Olivia probably noticed this for she quickly spoke to clarify it. "What I mean is, I was wondering if you had any information on how the reconstructions of the temples that were burned are coming along, and how the nomads as a whole are doing." Lev nodded after which he let out a small sigh. Quite the difficult topic, which, however, was to be expected. "Now that our population has grown a little the councils of Elders, the other Head Monk and I are debating on our next step. We will probably start with renovating one of the temples first, since we do not have enough people to inhabit both. It's currently under debate whether we will start with the Eastern or Western Temple." Well that was quite the mouth full. There were reasons for each Temple to be done first yet it was unclear which one would come out as the 'victor'.

Feel the wind of change

"And you don't think that spreading out would send a stronger message? To show the Fire Nation that you are not afraid of them?" Ze keek hem recht aan. Alsof het antwoord op haar vraag zo van hem af zou kunnen lezen. Daar had hij letterlijk training voor gehad van de Council, gelukkig ging hem dat nu beter af. Lev keek even terug in de hoop te kunnen zien wat voor antwoord ze verwachtte of het liefst zou horen. Al was dat laatste niet echt iets om te lezen. Daarvoor was redenatie genoeg. "I doubt that would be a good idea. We know the Fire Nation isn't afraid to launch an attack. If we spread out too early the density of benders that are capable with offence would be dangerously low. If would make us an easy target and could cause us to be wiped out even further than we curently are." De Head Monk zuchtte even. Er was een vrij grote kans dat zo'n tentoonstelling van kracht juist een averechts effect zou hebben. Nepthys was niet dom en ook niet bang om een aanval in te zetten.