Title: Up In The Air

Author: overlithe

Fandom: Avatar: the Last Airbender

Summary: Airbending does not come easy to Earth Avatars. Set during Kyoshi's training. Friendship fic, some speculation about the Air Nomads' culture.

Characters/Pairings: Avatar Kyoshi, OC; gen

Prompt: avatar_500 prompt 027. Sky; fanfic100 prompt 054. Air

Word Count: 498

Rating: K

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and concepts created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, and owned by Nickelodeon and various other corporations/people. I'm not making any money and do not intend any copyright or trademark infringement.

Author's Note: This has nothing to do with the novel/movie of the same title. Except, I suppose, in the general sense that they're both about connections. And flying. Mind you, I don't think you can get frequent flier miles with sky bisons, though I am deeply amused by the thought of a follow up to AtLA in which Aang's big challenge is to rake up 10 million frequent flier miles on Appa. ;)

Up In The Air

'You can let go now,' Dechen said, amused, and Nawa growled and shook her head. Loose hairs drifted up to Kyoshi's nose. Her hand still clung to the sky bison's saddle, tight enough to slow her blood.

She tried not to look down. Below them the earth unfurled in deep gorges, knife-edged mountains where mist hung like pearls. Her stomach pressed uncomfortably against her lungs. 'I don't like flying,' she muttered.

Nawa swept upwards, where the air was scentless and cool. 'But this is the best place to learn airbending,' Dechen said. She let go of the reins and hopped to Kyoshi's side with a snap of saffron fabric, then dropped to the lotus position as though they were on floor mats, solid ground, solid walls, instead of drifting over a sea of clouds. One hand fished out two metal marbles; they clicked together, spun above her palm.

'I don't think I'll find it any easier up here,' Kyoshi said. Her fingers had gone numb. In front of her the marbles dipped and weaved. One of them landed in her empty palm, trailing sunlight. She closed her hand around it, let out a breath like a firebender's. That had been easy. The flames knew will, and self-discipline, and in an instant they had bloomed in her hand like a hungry flower. But air—air slipped through her fingers like the wet clay she'd played with in the fields, tucked under her mother's shadow.

No, that wasn't quite right. She could bend clay.

'Why do you fly?' The words spilled out of her mouth before she could think. Her cheeks grew hot. 'Sorry, I guess that was a foolish question.'

A chuckle. Kyoshi looked up. Dechen leaned back against one of the saddle's arches. The wind tugged at her ink-dark hair, the sun burnished her skin to deep bronze, the lines of her tattoos to powdery blue. 'It's not foolish. It's— It's because of who we are when we're on the ground. You always know all the other Air Nomads are your brothers and sisters, even if you're not from the same womb. It doesn't matter if you argue with someone, or never even met them. Being an Air Nomad is knowing that, no matter where you go, there will always be a sister, or a mother, or a father, or a brother to share their bowl with you. Just like every life in the world is your family, because you were a spiderfly, and a sky bison, and the Earth King, and a wrinkled old grandmother sucking on lychee nuts.'

She paused, and Kyoshi realised that, even here, she could smell a tang of salt.

'So we are free,' Dechen finished. Her face brightened. 'Come on, let's have another go. I mean—' She cleared her throat, feigned deep seriousness. 'Let us try again, pupil Kyoshi.'

Kyoshi smiled. Her hand pulled away from the saddle. Her heart thumped, quietened. 'All right,' she said.

++The End++

Notes: I grew up in a relational culture where extended families are the norm, so for my interpretation of the Air Nomads' culture, I upped that to eleven (and of course tried to incorporate the spiritual elements that are referred to in the canon). Though now this makes me think of Aang's loss as being even more horrifying than before… :(