Disclaimer: I blatantly don't own Avatar if you hadn't noticed. (though it would be freakin' awesome if I did.) Although some of the characters are from the series, I've added a few of my own to spice it up a little and to add originality. PLEASE DON'T TAKE THEM. If you do, I'll hunt you down and gut you like a fish. . Okay? Good.

Warning: I've rated this as M because I eventually intend of having sexual parts between the characters. This isn't smut however, so don't read this story if your looking to jerk one off. It needed to be said. Sorry. Hehe. There's also gonna be some language (within relevance, I mean, they are pretty immature in the series!) and strong violence. If you're of a weak tolerance to that general stuff, then I wouldn't bother reading it. The first few chapters are gonna be pretty tame though.

Author Notes: Hello! I'm new to this. Not entirely sure where this story's going. If I get positive/constructive encouraging feedback I may well carry on and make a whole adventure! Yaaaaay! I'm also not entirely sure where this has left off from, or how I'll stick to the story. I guess I'll keep the relationships between team 'Gaang' roughly as they are in the series, its best that way I reckon. Lets just say Toph's been in the group for a while. Enjoy Any feedback would be awesome, I hope I portrayed the characters in the best light as possible and tried not to make it contrived. The cheesy script has been kept with plenty of 'guys' thrown in. It's what made us love the show that it was…

Daise x

+ IT COULD HAVE BEEN SO VERY DIFFERENT +

"A Long Awaited Return"

CHAPER I

It was a humid afternoon, the huge baby blue sky seemed to stretch on forever, lazy salmon pinks yawning across the swirling mass of pinkish hues. A scattered formation of crows cawed as they crossed the picturesque backdrop, creating a peaceful, rural scene that made the raised hackles of 'Gaang' settle down. Standing still they observed their surroundings. At the edge of a the meadow, the pasture swept out before them, dipping down onto a perfect view of rolling hills and endless miles upon miles of infinite space and beauty. A steep cut off plunged down a white cliff face to the still ocean below, the water gleaming. Clinging precautiously at the cut-off to the water below was a slightly ramshackle building. Built in a style that was clearly a farm, a few gated off paddocks were attached around the outskirts, stables decorating the side facing them. The building itself was small and not particularly tall. Made of an assortment of grey stones, a darker slate roof covered it, the shingles slipping off. An array of different coloured ostrich-horses grazed in harmony, chomping on the clover that lay embedded deep in the ground.

It was Katara who reacted first, swooning in girlish delight at the variety of different flowers growing around her. Leaping off Appa's huge back, she fell into the flowers before placing a hand on the beast's furry side to stable herself.

"Would you guys just look at these- they're incredible!" She breathed, her blue eyes widened in sheer awe at the pure, untouched natural splendour laid out if front of them. Aang chuckled, his big brown eyes amused by her outburst. Running a hand across the smoothness of his bald scalp, he hoped it wouldn't burn. With his glider in one hand, he jogged forward down the hill, his clothes billowing in the wind he was creating. Throwing the device out in front of him he sprang, catching the handles with ease before latching his feet into the holders. The translucent skin of the glider's wings glowed a golden colour, causing Aang to squint as he looped around the sky, floating on air-thermals as he defied gravity. By his side in an instant was Momo. The flying-lemur's fur bristled in the wind as he followed after his master, his eyes huge amber circles as he took to the air, his paws held outstretched before his tiny frame. Aang took a moment to look over his shoulder at his air-companion, who was purring and screeching in ecstasy.

The meadow was plentiful, explosions of colours bursting out around the kids. Growing to the height of their knees, or at least their thighs in Toph's case, the surroundings were transformed with a ethereal, magic feel. Appa gave a low moan, his huge tongue lolling out of his mouth as he took a mouthful of flower-heads, his eyes closing as he savoured the sweet unfamiliar taste.

Sweeping up an armful of flora, Katara sighed in pleasure. With her free hand, she gracefully water-bended a lash of water out of the earth, wrapping a gelatinous protective seal around the ends of the plants.

"There's even Moonflowers! Do you guys even know how rare these are!?"

She sighed happily, cradling the posy in her lean arms in a way that a mother would with a baby. It was Sokka's time to speak up. His arms crossed across his lithe chest, he narrowed his eyes a little, his mouth scrunching to the side of his jaw.

"No offence Katara, but this is pushing your sensitive side to the very limit!"

He squawked, his hands flying out to the side of him as he looked down at his sister in disdain. Glancing back to her sibling, Katara frowned a little. Typical Sokka.

"Well Sugar-queen, I have to agree with this dumbass for once, he has a point, you couldn't be more of a girl if you tried!"

Soph smirked before thumping Sokka solidly in the arm, a sign of approval that made the boy wince in pain. Katara rolled her eyes, she had become more then accustomed to this sort of banter; the sarcasm of the ever cynical Sokka, the gruff masculinity of Toph and the playful optimism of Aang. Looking up into the sky above, she smiled faintly as she watched the symmetrical silhouette carelessly speed through the air. He looked so part of nature and achieved it so easily. The wind carried him like an autumn leaf released from the bind of life, floating and pirouetting in an unpredictable spiral to the ground. She chucked inwardly as she heard his childish woops of joy, looking back to Sokka and Toph who were both watching her intently. Feeling her face flush, she looked away.

Toph, sniggering. Looking up to the sky with eyes that would never see, she had no idea what watching Aang glide was like, she depended so much on the ground around her, she nearly had a perfect idea of her surroundings.

A stocky girl, Toph's appearance could be constricted as boyish. With no interest in bettering her looks, she had no tolerance for vanity. She had learnt to judge people by their actions and words, she had formed her greatest friends with no clue what their features of skin colour was like. With jet black hair, she somehow managed to tame her mane into a presentable up-tie, a green band holding it up. Her face was rounded, childish with a mischievous element to it, one that many people found a little unnerving.

"So this is some kinda ostrich-horses farm?" Toph switched her glazed gaze down the hill to the settlement below.

"Yeah, I reckon so. You think we could go down there, offer to muck out a few stables, maybe get paid, maybe get fed.." Sokka babbled, counting off the possibilities on his long spindly fingers, his cobalt eyes looking upwards as he thought. Katara nodded at his words. Although a fair deal of his words were useless air, occasionally he did get round to speaking sense.

Aang landing on the ground before them with a thud. Whirling the glider around in his hands before sliding it shut, he slung it over his shoulder.

"What's this about getting fed?" He panted, his breath lost from his previous exertions. Momo chattered slightly, biting down the stalk of a long blue flower, his pupils dilating at the taste.

Looking from sibling to sibling, Aang was a little taken aback at just how similar they were. Both bore a tanned complexion from their days back in the southern water tribe, their skins hardened from the bitter icy winds. Both with dark brown hair, Sokka's perhaps a little darker. Lightly shaven at the sides, the central hair grew back into a 'wolf-tail' as he so proudly titled it. Katatra's was quite the opposite, thick and plentiful, it fell down her neck right to her lower-back tied in a long braid. Her hair 'loopies'- another Sokka invention- hung down gently over her soft features, framing the intricacies that Aang knew so fondly.

Her eyes, like Sokka's were a vivid blue, a little larger and innocent then Sokker's, which seemed to be constantly contorted in a comical expression of pain or aggravation.

At fourteen, Katara's figure was beginning to lose the shapes of childhood, a delicate waist forming above a wash-board flat stomach and a small pair of hips. A gentle gradient was gradually increasing at her chest, a factor that she had approached, embarrassed. She tended to wear her chest-bind tightly to constrict the growing mounds.

Sokka however, had had a harder time adapting to the transition from boy to man, seemingly stuck in the awkward phase of adolescent. Tall for his age of sixteen, his long legs tended to be more of hinder then help, often getting caught up in their length. His frame lean and lithe, a light scattering of muscles forming up his chest much to his pleasure. His voice although broken, tended to occasionally squeak showing his clumsy comical side, often humiliating him but usefully bringing him down a peg or two.

"See, Aang's hungry too! He can barely even stand the poor kid!" Sokka falsely grinned, patting Aang's back affectionately before shoving him roughly causing him to stumble forward. Laughing childishly, Aang straightened himself up before placing a hand on his hip. Watching the farm below, a bright smile it up his face.

"Hey! Look! There's someone down there!"

Dropping his glider behind him , Aang began to sprint down the hill, waving goofily, shouting friendly introductions. Picking up the glider, Katara squinted down at the mentioned figure. She could make out the rough shape of a figure, hunched over, limping across the yard. As the others followed behind Aang's trail of trampled flowers, they watched intently the figure's reaction.

"Hello, my name is Aang, I'm here looking for a place to stay with my friends back there, well help with your stables, perhaps, maybe you could provide us with food and shelter?"

Slowing to a walk, Aang approached the figure with a beaming smile of his face. She was old, her face covered with lines and wrinkles, similar in texture to a scrumpled piece of parchment. Hunched over, a shawl covered her tiny bird-like frame. She held Aang's gaze with a nervous regard, her chin tilted to reveal the folds of skin on her neck. A shock of silver hair finely covered her scalp, her eyes a strong green shade, narrowed a little as she searched Aang's increasingly wary face. Silent for a moment, she spoke as if he hadn't previously, a hand raising as a forefinger was extended in his direction.

"You're back.. You've come back to me.."

Her voice wavered, so thick with emotion it was painful to behold. Her lips began to tremble, her hand moving to her cheek which she traced with her finger-tips. Her gaze never leaving his, her shoulders began to shake, her lips pursing briefly, moistening themselves before she could continue.

Aang became aware of multiple footsteps joining behind him at the others caught up, dust clouds forming around their feet. Each one carried an expression of sympathy- similar to Aang's. It was understandable. She would have been alive for most of the time that the Avatar had disappeared. Hope lost, deprived of protection, the Fire Nation had torn the world apart. Rumours had been cast and news travelled fast. This old lady devoid of company had probably dismissed any word of the Avatar's return.

And now he stood before her. He would restore her faith and make-up for his lost-time; it was people like this that mattered, the broken ones, the ones who claimed they could never trust again.

Opening his mouth to speak, the lady spoke first, walking forward and touching his arm, unable to contain herself.

"Never leave me again. I have missed you so much my son!"

Author Notes: Hope you enjoyed the first chapter, I reckon I may have gone a little heavy on general descriptions, but it annoys me if I read a story and you don't get a basic idea of appearance on the protagonists. You obviously already know what they look like from the series, but it was just to confirm how I'm portraying them. One new non-canon and loads more to come in the future :D

Daise x