Chapter 59. Handsome Van.
Van (Yuki). Gasai Island
It's comforting that the world of Avatar has a certain stillness to it, which helps me avoid making mistakes in mundane tasks familiar to archipelago dwellers, thanks to Kenji's life experiences.
One of the women was the ship's captain, and she allowed me to sail with them to the capital free of charge. To express my gratitude, I had to recall the not-so-complex etiquette of the Fire Nation. It was enough to place the back of my right fist against the vertically held left palm and formally speak words of thanks.
For several hours, I helped them gather herbs, and as the sun set, we boarded the ship for the return journey.
The girls were quite tired after a full day of searching for the right plants, so there were no questions during the trip. Besides, after observing me all day, they hadn't found anything suspicious about me, apart from my exotic appearance.
While I rested in the assigned cabin, Roku and Yuki went further, and the airbender decided to take the name Yo. He'll stay in the Library for now.
We made a stop at a notable place called Jang Hu—a small fishing village built on stilts right in the middle of the river of the same name.
The herbalists were supposed to leave some of today's harvest here to help the villagers. The thing is, just a few months ago, a new metallurgical plant was built here, and of course, its waste is dumped into the river. It hasn't been long, but the few villagers have already started falling ill.
"Please relocate to other islands! I repeat, housing and jobs will be provided! You already have sick people among you, your health is paramount!" a stranger in Fire Nation military attire stood on a small platform, urging them to move.
From the whispers of the gatherers, I learned that half of Jang Hu's residents had already left. They were indeed given the promised housing and jobs. Only the most stubborn remained, mostly elderly people unwilling to leave the homes they'd lived in their entire lives.
Judging by the cartoon, at some point they'll simply be abandoned, and the village will truly begin to die out...