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It had been one of the odder things about the Tribe's rebuilding after the war's end. They'd expected, at first, a small trickle from the Northern Tribe, and nothing else; were prepared to lay down their weapons and get back to the hard work of rebuilding at the pole. There'd been two factors Hakoda hadn't counted on.

First, people trying to curry favour with the Avatar. The fact that the young Airbender considered members of the Southern Water Tribe as kin had brought an assortment of politically-motivated folks south in his wake. Not all that many had stayed of course – most of the hangers-on had fled the cold. A few, however, had decided to stick it out. Some had thin traces of Air Nomad blood – proof, Hakoda liked to think, that even the most strict and rigid of monastic upbringings was hard-pressed to deal with the hormones of a teenager away from home with inadequate supervision. A little proof that they'd been more like the other, less enlightened nations than, he had no doubt, they'd like to admit. Some of the others who'd followed Aang simply considered him an inspiration to follow. They'd all had their reasons, and a goodly quantity of guts to stay when the harsh realities of polar life set in. Even a few of the purely political followers.

The second factor... had been his children. Katara had inspired many people with her own hope and skill and raw determination to never give up. Not quite so many of them had come south – when she realized her heroism was gaining her a following, she'd told as many as she could that the best way to make a difference was to start at your own home – but some had, and as a result the South Pole now had the perhaps dubious honor of the strongest women's group outside of Kyoshi Island itself. Sokka had, entirely without trying, brought along a more varied and far, far crazier bunch. An ordinary man who stood beside master Benders and was still core to the team... it was an image that a lot of people found appealing. His penchant for wild ideas that still somehow worked, and his inventive streak, had attracted a number of artisans and free thinkers. Oh, many of the former group had followed the Mechanist to the Northern Air Temple, but some would rather brave the cold than the heights.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7212302/2/