Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Dancing Horizons
"Why did you disappear, Aang?"
Because he was just a kid. A kid. He wasn't the Avatar. He never wanted to be…
The stormy eyes of a certain avatar wandered with longing, never breaking the concentration chain as he gazed at the hidden peaks of the Southern Air Temple. The subtle hints of flora and fauna withered away in the presence of a familiar flying bison, who led the way towards a plunge into the envelope of evening. The sky started darkening while the twilight's heavy burden rested upon the blanketing humidity. But despite any other reason for Aang's eyes to cease the ability to continue pondering in such a way, there seemed to be a natural feel of unknown silence piercing through the atmosphere.
A melancholy essence sparked within his pupils as Monk Gyatso came to mind yet again. The evanescence of the misty air blinded his ability to separate himself from its firm grasp. It was pulling him in…engulfing him almost… as if it craved to relive the times when there was no such thing as losing a loved one anytime soon. He closed his eyelids, only to greet the visions of his master standing before him and beckoning him with fruit pies. On the other hand, he could still remember the look in his mentor's smoky hues, questioning him of his disappearance. He could imagine his stern, but calm expression.
Aang graced reality with his attention when Sokka's snores interrupted his musings. He turned to see Momo curled up with the warrior, both still gripping onto the peach while drooling over Sokka's sleeping bag. He heard Appa's slight groan, but the bison still soared ahead with majestic pride. A pride no other bender would experience besides the descendants of the Air Nomads.
The young monk grinned softly as he tilted his perspective to face the sleeping image of Katara. Within the Water Tribe beauty's serenity was a certain type of happiness unable to be deciphered according to mere reason. It was something that Aang found so fascinating, there was now a façade of compassionate smiles. Somewhere within his pupils, he could sense a small twinkle glistening at her presence. It wasn't necessarily her undeniable beauty that seemed to catch his eyes, but the confidence that she was now like family.
As he turned to face the setting sun and glimpsed one last time towards his old home, he softened his hoarse stare and only continued to smile. Every day, the same twilight would be there. But this one was special. This was the first of many twilights he was to spend with his new family.
"My name is Aang. I'm the Avatar. And I have a family."
And somewhere within the sky, the spirit of the young avatar's mentor uplifted into the element of happiness.