Just a taste of a new possibility. All the characters are copyright to their respective owners and do not belong to me.

The chill of the early winter season embraced everything in a stationary air, bringing down a hefty silence with it. A lone figure stood silhouetted against the white and blue canvas, the hour still too early to see the birth of dawn. His breath warmed the air, rising in hazy puffs. In the dark of the premature morning, a light blossomed from the forehead of the individual, and as his arms unfolded, the indigo hue blazed out from the flesh of his hands. Snowflakes rose from their resting places at his feet to encircle the glowing figure, moving slowly into a concentrated stillness around him. Just as it felt like he couldn't shut his eyes any tighter, they flew open and blinding radiance erupted from them. He did not see this, or the reflection of his glow on the pristine snow. He saw from his mind's eye, through the veil he had opened into the second realm. He saw a woman standing before him in the dimly lit snowfield, clad in thick northern fur skins. Her hair fell in wild tresses around her neck and shoulders, their dark color standing out in stark contrast with their surroundings. But it was neither this, nor the perfect curve of her fawn shaded lips as they rose into a gentle smile, or the way her cheeks flushed a barely noticeable rosy color that drew his attentions and made his legs weak.

Those eyes, their colors like that of an ancient glacier's heart, shone warm and familiar to his own earthy tones. A smile rose to his face, but it was all he could do to keep it from trembling. He held his arms at his sides with a combination of fear and constant practice, though his hands shook and twisted into frustrated knots. He stared back into her beautiful face, her immortal visage. It was an image that would never shift, or fade; it would never age, or change in any mortal sense. He struggled to stay in place, and forced steady words from his aching throat.

"Please... help me."

Her smiling face gazed back at him, soft and welcoming but unmoving. Her lips did not budge, and her expression did not flinch.

"I beg of you. Just one word, a sign… anything." His eyes searched hers desperately, raking them for the minutest change he could find. But he discovered nothing. No new clue was presented, no fractional difference in her appearance. He felt the recognizable sting bite at the edge of his eyes, and the hot dampness. But he didn't shut them for fear of losing sight of her for even a moment of this precious time. But even as he thought this, she began to dip her head, angling it into a respectful bow.

"… Please."

She turned, those warm eyes following him to their limits before her head was completely turned away from him and she took an invisible path through the snowscape that led away from him. As he felt the veil pulled back over him into his home realm, he released the tension in his chest. A wet sob cut through the still air, and the snowflakes that had remained encircled around him protectively, drifted back down to the earth. His lungs burned with the sudden frigid air that entered them, but even the pain of this couldn't wrench him from the agony he wrapped himself in. He felt his knees buckle and the dry snow momentarily took flight again as he fell into it. He held himself as the cerulean glow faded from his eyes, slipping him gently back into the gloomy predawn.

At the crest of the eastern hill, the two lords watched their friend collapse at the center of the valley and felt their own hearts twisted painfully. Unable to watch anymore, the slightly taller of the two pushed himself off the wing of the land, stepping lightly through the snow with a lifelong experience in the terrain. The other hesitated, before following more slowly.

The first man clad in snug leathers dyed the color of water and trimmed in white fur, slowed his pace as he reached the recoiled body lying in the snow. His eyes brimmed with warm tears at the sight, and he crouched down to his long time friend's side, placing one hand on his back and the other on an exposed arm.

"Aang, come home." His voice pleaded, even as he tried to sound firm. "There are no answers for you here."

The man in the snow stirred, and pushed away from the damp snow that was soaking into his robes. He lifted his eyes and for a brief moment made direct contact with those of the man crouched over him. Instant anguish lanced through him, and he redirected his line of sight to a second approaching figure.

"Zuko… Sokka. I'm sorry for making you come out here." Aang drew himself up on strength-less legs, steadying himself with one hand on Sokka's shoulder without actually looking at his brother. Now, the second lord spoke, as he came to stand before the other two.

"We only want to bring you back home, safely. You know, where it's nice and warm." A memorable smirk dragged up the corner of Zuko's mouth. "Come; Appa, Momo and the others are all waiting for you."

As the three stepped back over the east rise of the valley, Aang hesitated to send a last glance behind him, at the barren valley coated in snow. His friends waited patiently, and as he watched, Sokka felt his eyes burn with grief for his brother.

"Come on," Aang said, turning back to his two companions, a well-known smile betraying his deepest scars and hiding them well. "Let's get back before everyone else comes to find us."

All three men grinned at each other, Zuko and Aang heading towards the brightly colored Fire Nation air balloon resting on the sunlit snow. Sokka's smile died as he let his eyes wander to the vacant snowfield behind him. He unconsciously rested a hand over his right breast to soothe the ache there.

"Until next time, Katara." Sokka nodded to the empty meadow before he followed after his friends, leaving that place wrought with sorrow behind him.

R&R pretty please. :)