Chapter One of Book 3 Air! Yay, I'm so excited, just this book and Book 4 to go and it's over which is sad but amazing that I made it this far. In this story you will be introduced to a new character, not someone from the gaang, but someone of my creation (who was supposed to be a girl at first, but decided Fritz needed a friend who wasn't a female XD) Enjoy...

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"I told you not to touch it," Anala groaned as she looked down from the pole she was tied to, seeing the warriors of the village waving spears around angrily at them and chanting something in a language she'd never heard before.

"I couldn't help myself!" Kai shouted from behind her causing Anala to just roll her eyes at her friend. Kai had decided it was a good idea to sneak into a village they were passing in the centre of the Earth Kingdom and try to take a little bit of their gold.

Big mistake.

They were caught and tied up. Fritz wasn't with them at the time, so he was on the ground, looking up at them with worry and tried to talk to the warriors. They couldn't hear what he was saying but the warriors lowered their weapons and looked back and forth from the girls to Fritz who was motioning his hands like a crazed lunatic for a few minutes.

Eventually the warriors all nodded in agreement with something and they were cut from their ropes. They were lowered, not too gently to the ground, where they met up with Fritz. "If that's all, we'll be going now," Anala said as the three tried to run but the spears blocked their path. She glared at Kai who sighed and took out a handful of gold from her pocket and handed it to their chief. "It won't happen again," Anala said sincerely, glaring once more at Kai hoping she got the message too.

"It better not, now get out of my village," the chief said, pointing to the forest. They quickly bolted away, afraid that the warriors would change their mind and slay them where they stood. "Idiot," Fritz muttered to Kai who just grinned sheepishly. To say Fritz hadn't warmed up to Kai was an understatement. He flat out ignored her when Anala told him that she would be joining them, and that was three years ago! He was cold and careful when it came to Kai, and would always stick up for Anala even if he didn't agree with what she was saying.

Now, Anala had gotten over what had happened between the two girls. As far as she was concerned, the fact she'd spent almost a year in prison didn't happen and Kai had never abandoned her. Fritz wouldn't let it go that easily though but after a stern talking to, he dropped the subject. He didn't snap at Kai as much after that but he still wasn't being the friendliest person to ever walk the face of the earth. He was never outright mean to her when Anala was present to witness it but when she wasn't around, she wasn't sure what was exchanged between her two friends.

Anala reached down and held the Jade Jewel out in front of her that was tied around her neck. She'd kept it on her at all times and no one had come looking for it, she was grateful. Each day she'd practise her firebending, so if anyone from the Fire Nation did come to take it, they'd better put up a good fight.

As she was studying the stone, something strange started to happen. It began to glow more brightly. It appeared to get brighter and brighter before the glowing stopped altogether and a simple green stone hung around her neck. "What just happened?" Fritz asked his eyes wide with shock. They'd all stopped to watch the Jewel glow and then stop altogether.

"Why isn't it glowing anymore?" Kai asked as she touched it, frowning at the lack of light it was producing.

"Who knows?" Anala shrugged as she let the Jewel fall back against her chest. It didn't sway slightly to the south like it usually did but she ignored it. "Let's just move onto the next town. I don't want to be walking around at night without light from this thing." She continued onward, taking her place at the front with the others following her.

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The three of them were travelling again the next day after stopping for a rest in a town. They each carried the supplies between them, so that only one person in their group was treated like a pack mule, though Fritz had mumbled once that if anyone should be the pack mule it was Kai. Anala was glad that Kai hadn't heard and made sure Fritz knew what he'd just said was wrong.

The Jade Jewel still hung around Anala's neck but it wasn't glowing still. The younger two had tried to talk about it but Anala continuously cut them off, not wanting to know anything about the Jewel. It was old news and just something she wore around her neck so no one found it ever again. She'd throw it away happily but she knew she couldn't. It was her responsibility from then on.

"I'm hungry," Fritz stated dumbly. Anala and Kai sighed; he'd only been saying that for the past hour or so.

"I'm hungry too but you don't hear me whinging about it," Anala snapped, smacking him on the back of the head. A shadow passed over them making Fritz's head snap up quickly. Anala cringed as she heard it crack but Fritz seemed to take no notice.

"Is that a bird?" Kai asked, shielding her eyes from the sun as the shadow flew past.

"It is and it's mine!" Fritz yelled as he withdrew a dagger he liked to keep in case the time called for its use. He aimed and threw the dagger at the object flying in the sky. He hit his target, but as the flying thing fell to the ground it screamed more like a person in agony than a dying bird.

The three were silent for a moment, watching the place where the thing had fallen from the sky and into the forest. "...I don't think that was a bird," Anala said after a moment. The three exchanged a nervous glance and ran into the trees, after the thing that Fritz had struck down.

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"Can you see it?" Kai called through the trees.

"No!" Anala called from within the trees. "Unless the "it" you're referring to is a tree, then I see loads."

"Oh, ha ha," Kai said sarcastically, frowning at her. Anala snorted and threw a stick at Kai who caught it quickly and chucked it back with more force. Anala and Kai each grabbed a stick and began to have sword fights. Anala covered one eye with a bit of cloth and put a large leaf on her head that slightly resembled a pirate hat. The two giggled as they continued their fight.

"Hey, guys! Over here!" the two heard Fritz call. They both put the sticks down they'd picked up and Anala tore her accessories form her head.

They ran through the trees and stopped near Fritz who was pointing at the ground in front of them with wide eyes. There, sat a boy who was very pale and had light brown hair. He was groaning in pain as he rolled around on the ground, barely conscious. "Good job Fritz, this will feed us for weeks," Kai said sarcastically. Fritz growled at her.

"I'd like to see you d-"

"Guys, can we not for a moment?" Anala asked as she leaned down next to the boy and pulled the dagger out of his arm. "Kai can you heal this?" Anala asked, moving aside as Kai stepped forward and took the group's water to heal the boy. Anala looked around for anything that belonged to the boy while Fritz sat on a rock nearby with his arms crossed and his angry eyes trained on Kai who paid him no attention.

Anala kicked through the leaves and sticks, tripping suddenly as her foot caught on a larger stick. Material was attached to the stick, making Anala confused as she picked it up and studied it. It was long and had cloth stretching over it, almost kite-like. She ran it through her hands and jumped as Fritz snatched it off her all of a sudden. "What the hell is this?"

"I was trying to figure it out until you snatched it off me," Anala said bluntly, crossing her arms angrily. "It looks like he handmade it."

"It's a pretty bad job for – OH SPIRITS!" Fritz shrieked suddenly as he her let the poorly made thing drop to the ground. He spun around and looked at the boy, paling and pointing in horror, pointing a shaky finger at the boy.

"What the- What's wrong?" Anala asked stepping forward next to Fritz to observe his terrified face. "What is wrong with him?"

"He's an airbender!"