Aang's POV

All the people danced and swirled around, their fire nation clothes flickering like the flames they could bend. I saw familiar faces weaving in and out dancing with their opposing partner. But there was only one girl I wanted to dance with. Her radiance glittering through the crowd, her face was as serene as ever, her dark mahogany skin and contrasting sea blue eyes seemed to illiterate the meaning of what surrounded me. I walked towards her, watching as her eyes lit up with anticipation, before taking her hand and beginning to dance...

I awoke to being licked lovingly by my little flying lemur. Surprisingly, my accused source had already raced away, probably to go and hide. As I began to get up, I thought about how long it had been since I'd seen Katara and Sokka... six months ago. I remember now, because it was that horrible day when I had to leave them.

FLASHBACK

"What's wrong Aang? " Katara asked, gently shuffling closer to the young monk, as they sat silently overlooking the frozen paradise that he'd come to know and love over the last 3 years. Since the war Aang, Katara and Sokka had all come back to the South Pole even though they constantly visited Kyoshi as Island and Sokka and Suki had recently got engaged. This was precisely what was on the young man's mind, marriage."I mean, he thought,Katara had reached her year of betrothal last year!" So although he had had already made her a betrothal necklace, he was still silently freaking out about the whole 'Will you marry me?' thing. "What? Oh nothings wrong Katara." "Yes there is tell me what it is Aang."She said, gently resting her head on the boys shoulder. "God,he thought, she sure knew how to play her cards ." In the end he gave up and said "Well you know I was just thinking about well,... marriage." He mumbled, feeling His cheeks heat up. "Actually I think about that quite a bit. I think I know who I would like to get married to. You, Aang." The young man smiled and took out the betrothal necklace He had made. It was blue and silver with intertwining swirls of green. The actual gem itself had a water tribe and an air nomad symbol linked into each other and the ribbon seemed to shine with many other colours. Katara's face lit up and she grinned happily.

"When?" she asked, "Next summer, when the weather's warm." "And when you turn 17." she said before kissing him lightly on the cheek.

"I can hardly wait."

END FLASHBACK

It was incredible to think about eventually going home but I was still rather uncertain about how Katara would react. Would she be happy that I had come back? Or had she just moved on and married someone else? Either way I'd be happy just to know that she was. I could still vividly remember that horrid dream which had caused me to leave so suddenly.

The girl was screaming. She just didn't seem to have enough strength in her to fight him. Aang desperately reached out yelling trying to help her but his body seemed to pass through them like mist. She yelled out in pain as the young man violently jabbed his sword at her face, leave a deep bloody gash in her cheek. And that's when she looked up. The monk was instantly disturbed by how much she looked like him. She was about 15, with creamy ivory skin and dark copper brown hair. Her eyes where the deepest stormy grey filled with brute determination and an icy fury adorned her delicate, beautiful features. She swiftly swung a long elegant black sword at him cutting through his armour. He yelled out in pain before swiping at her with a death blow to her bowed neck. She dodged it gracefully and slashed at him, her sword arching through the air and digging into his abdomen. Ruby blood spilled out of the wound and the young man cried out in fury, before taking a another deadly swipe at her. Again, she spun out of reach and Aang couldn't help but be amazed at how strong she was as despite her wounds, she was still fighting with much grace and determination. And yet every time she pointed her blade at him, the young monk saw hesitation in her beautiful grey eyes. And then just as the man fell to the ground, she brushed her bronze hair out of her face and Aang saw them. Sky blue airbender tattoos. But these where different. Three long tattoos curved up each of her cheeks giving a tiger effect. Over her eyelids was a pattern almost resembling a butterfly with tear like droplets flaring out over her cheekbones. They were beautiful but in a deadly sort of way, as they marked her as different from the other airbenders. The teenage boy got up, his gold eyes burning with fury,and thrust his sword at the girls turned back. Aang screamed out willing with all his for the girl to turn around and artfully block his attack,but no. the sword carried on sweeping through the air as if in slow motion, and then, just as the blade was about to penetrate through her undefended back, a glittering crystal white sword blocked it, spun it up and twisted it out of the man's steely grasp. The girl turned around and looked up to see the reason of her survival. A young,attractive teenage boy about the same age as her was looking at her serenely as she thanked him. Then without any warning they both turned on their heels and fled the bloody battlefield...

I remember waking up, shaking like a leaf, my breath huffing in and out of my chest like a pulse. I could feel the panic and the fear begin to settle into the pit of my stomach. I remember the ice under my feet as I raced towards Appa, before flying up to the border of the Earth Kingdom. Once there I fell to my knees shaking, and with all the strength I had left in me, I summoned Avatar Roku.

At the time it felt like forever,as I summoned each avatar, asking them the same questions, who was she? Why did she look so familiar? Why could I almost feel her pain? And why did I suddenly have this feeling she was not only alive, but that I had some kind of connection with her? These questions still spin around my head now, but six months ago they had been more than just questions, they had my survival pinned to them.

I remember my heart sinking lower and lower as each one said the same, they had never seen the girl, heard of her or even knew that sort of airbender tattoo existed. Roku told me that the spirit of Yue might be able to help as she was the guardian of all young girls, however I must be present atall 13 of the full moons before Yue would have enough power to locate and name the girl. At the time I was lost for words as the 27 days it takes for the moon to become full, for it to become full 13 times it could take up to 5 ½ months! But now I realise what I did was incredibly important. And yet I regretted it. Because now, I wasn't alone.

So came the day when I told Katara I was leaving for a while.

" Why?" she asked, her eyes brimmed in tears "Because I don't think I'm the last air bender Katara, there's one more out there." the monk said, looking out to the frozen sea before smiling down and putting his arms around Katara. "How long?" she said crying gently into his shoulder. " Six month. About."he said sadly. "Well if you really need to I guess it wont kill me." she said trying to shake off her growing depression. "Well it better not because I'd have to go into the spirit world and drag you back!" they both laughed lightly before Sokka and Suki came over to say their goodbyes.

"Good luck at the wedding Sokka." Aang said,hugging his friend. "Shame you cant come Aang,but if you don't mind hurry back for ours and Katara's sake man, cause were all gonna miss you." "Yeah I'm gonna miss you all too ,but I will be back." Aang said firmly, "Be careful Aang" Suki said as she embraced her friend. "and don't worry ill look after Katara "Thanks Suki, good luck." he said. "Goodbye Katara I love you, and if you do move on, I wont mind" the young monk said, gently kissing her.

"Never. I love you and you will come back" she said tears spilling uncontrollably down her cheeks. "Soon I promise..."

I could feel the excitement slowly covering my brain in a haze of happiness. The anticipation ebbed away my dreary fatigue as I began to tack up Appa.

It had been so unbelievably painful to leave them, Her, at the time. Like someone had ripped out my heart and personally froze it in angst. But I have managed to convince myself it was worth it. Because now I know her name.

Aash

2 days later...

Me, Momo and Appa flew swiftly over the icy ocean. Looking down at the chunks and islands of ice, I noticed something different. Some edges of the ice blocks were scarlet red. Like blood. I urged Appa to go quicker and soon we were a couple of hundred metres away, the choppy waves caressing the coastline.

That's when I saw it.

The blood. The scarlet.

The small village, destroyed.

Katara...