No, I do not own Avatar. I do not claim any of these characters as my own.
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Prologue
Soaring high above a dry scrubland was a sky bison. Its fur was white with a tan colored arrow running from its forehead to its tail, and its large, flat tail pounded at the air behind it like a beaver's. Six muscular legs dangled underneath it, and resting on its back was a handcrafted saddle, big enough to easily seat five or six. Sitting in the saddle were three people of various origins and a flying lemur.
A teenage girl in Water Tribe garb was leaning over the edge of the saddle, a worried expression creasing her young face.
"Do you think they saw us?" Katara asked Aang, looking back at the Fire Nation camp they had just passed. It wasn't exactly hard to miss a giant flying bison. If they'd been spotted, there would be complications.
Aang fidgeted nervously, glancing down at the tents and campfires below them.
"I don't know," Aang replied. "I hope not. That's the last thing we need."
Appa, the sky bison, groaned under him in agreement, and Momo hopped up front with Aang and began chattering something. The chattering lasted a good minute. Eeeeeka! Momo finished with a loud screech in Aang's ear. The lemur bounced up and down next to Aang, gesturing to something in the distance.
A dark, teenage boy, also in Water Tribe clothing looked to the east, his eyes scanning the landscape.
"Look!" Sokka said, pointing to where Momo had been gesturing. A canyon cut through the ragged ground, looking as if some sort of terrible monster had come along and dragged a giant claw through the rusty earth. "It's a canyon. Whether they saw us or not, we can hide there for a few days. I bet there's even some caves to hide in. And besides, there's no way they'll be able to get down the sides of it anyway."
"Good idea," Aang agreed. He directed Appa in the direction of the canyon, and as they turned, he noticed a series of buildings below them. There was a large main building, three small buildings off to the side, a watchtower, and a jumble of wood, metal, and stones. They didn't resemble anything Fire Nation related at all, in fact; they didn't resemble much of anything. As far as he could see, they were the only buildings in the area. Maybe it was some sort of military outpost, but it looked more like a school campus. Of course, there wasn't any time for sightseeing, so, shoving the thought out of his mind, Aang looked for a good place to land.