By Luna Silvereyes
A short, one-shot fic about the scroll Gyatso found that stormy day that Aang chose to run away, never to be seen by the Airbenders again. Note: I do not own Avatar or any of its cast. Nickelodeon studios and the creators own it.
"Aang?" Gyatso said quietly to Aang's door, preparing to go inside. He knocked on the firm wood. It swung open at his touch, revealing the dark inner room. Gyatso pushed open the door, but didn't see Aang anywhere.
" Aang? I'm not going to let them take you away from me. Aang?" he said again. Aang wasn't in the room. Gyatso noticed a thin scroll lying on the bed. He approached the bed and picked it up, unrolling it, curious as to what it contained.
To My Guardian, Gyatso.
I have decided that I can no longer fit in properly here at the Southern Air Temple. Ever since the Airbenders found out I was the Avatar, no one has accepted me, not the other monks, not the kids, not even the lemurs. Appa and you are my only remaining caregivers. It pains me to say this. Last night, I had a dream, in which I was flying through some new sky, high above the Earth Kingdom. There was a boy with a small ponytail dressed in blue, obviously from a water tribe somewhere. There was a girl too, with a long dark brown braid and ice blue eyes that showed kindness with every glance. She was also wearing blue, so she must have been related to the boy. Appa was with me as well as a little Lemur. I looked happy and calm and they seemed the same way. They obviously knew of my identity, but they didn't really appear to care all that much. They were laughing and joking with me and the girl was helping me to learn waterbending. To be quite honest, she was the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen. There were other different things too. I saw my friend Bumi from the Earth kingdom, only he looked much older. My friend Kuzon from the Fire Nation was no longer there when I went to see him. There was only a strange new prince in his place, one with fierce golden eyes, a lot like his and a terrible flame-shaped scar on his left eye. I have a strange feeling that these people are all real. So, I have left to find them. Perhaps then, I will be able to fit in with people besides you who care, not that I'm the Avatar, but that I'm a normal boy who just happens to be an Airbender. I'll always remember you Gyatso. You have been a wonderful guardian to me since the day my mother brought me here before her death several days later.
Sincerely,
Aang
Gyatso turned to the window with a gasp. Aang had run away. He bowed his head and sat down on Aang's old bed with a sad sigh.
" Gyatso?" a deep voice said from the doorway. Gyatso didn't look up. He knew it was Linko before he had even spoken. The old monk wandered inside. " Where is the Avatar?" he asked. Gyatso sighed deeply.
" He has had a dream." He murmured. Linko cocked an eyebrow.
" What kind of a dream?"
" A dream that he described as so realistic, he wanted to actually go out and try to look for the people he had seen." Gyatso explained, trying to dodge the subject. Linko pulled a hand out of his sleeve. " What kind of people?"
" Two water tribe members, and a young fire nation Prince with a scar."
" Sounds pretty normal. I take it he is in the next room then, contemplating his dream and the soon-to-be transfer to the Eastern Air Temple?"
Gyatso hesitated, and then shook his head. " No. He isn't in the next room." He said flatly. Linko humphed. " Then he is wandering around the temple, waiting for the storm to stop?"
" No."
" Then, where is he?"
" Aang…has run away." Gyatso said bitterly.
Before Linko could respond, the alarm sounded from down below in the watchtowers.
The Fire Nation had arrived.