Something that's been rolling around my head for a while. Hope you enjoy my little one shot.
Bryke created atla
Baba
A pair of tiny feet padded down the stone hallway. The boy's little legs carried him as fast as they could go as the storm raged outside. As he passed a window, lightning struck. He screamed and huddled himself into a ball. After a few seconds he got up and ran on.
"Baba! Baba!" he cried out, looking for the only person he knew in this strange place, his new guardian.
"Babaaaaa!" he screamed s lightning struck again and he curled into a ball. This time when he righted himself the monks had started coming into the hall.
"Gyatso!" the elder monk yelled "Why is he not in the nursery?"
"Tashi, the young one is afraid." the tall thin monk said as he made his way through the crowd.
"Baba!" The boy cried out as he reached up to Gyatso.
The monk promptly took him into his arms and rubbed his and though the child's black hair. "It's okay Aang. I am here."
"What is all this commotion?" Head Monk Pasang asked calmly as he made his way through the crowd. Gyatso turned to the younger man with the little boy clinging to his shirt "Oh, I see. Why is he up?"
"Young Aang is frightened. His parents told me that he is afraid of storms." Gyatso answered.
Pasang nodded his head "Very Well. Perhaps it is best is he stays with you for tonight."
"None of the other boys stay with their guardians." Tashi scowled. "I thought that one of purposes for bringing him here was so that he would not be treated differently."
"The child is afraid." Gyatso bit back "This is an unfamiliar place and he's used to sleeping with his parents during nights like this. The other boys have been here since infancy. This is only Aang's first week here."
"See how attached they are already. The child calls him Baba for spirits sake." Tashi complained to Pasang.
"You know as well as I do that this child only calls me Baba because I am familiar to him. I am teaching him my name, but this is what he calls me. If you were nicer to him he would probably call you Baba too." Gyatso countered.
"You should've never been the one sent out to find the Avatar. You and Roku were far too close. I knew you would coddle this child."
"Tashi," Pasang interrupted "you forget that I also went on the search for the child. I chose Gyatso to be the child's guardian because he and Roku were so close. Had the child turned out to be a girl Sister Iio would have been chosen for the same reason. We need to do our best to make sure the boy has as easy a transition as possible."
Right then lightning struck again. Aang wrapped his arms around Gyatso's neck "Baba, I scared." he said with tears in his eyes.
"I know little one." the man said with a reassuring smile as he rubbed his hand up and down the child's back.
"You see. The boy is far too dependent on him." Tashi complained "This will only cause trouble in the long run." he looked at Aang "Give me the child, I will see that he stays in the nursery."
Tashi grabbed Aang by the sides and tried to pull him away, but the little boy turned and threw his hand up "No! My Baba!" he cried as he hit the dour old monk in the face with a strong blast of air, knocking the man on his behind.
The other monks chuckled at the old man. Even Pasang laughed "I suppose the Avatar has spoken." he said.
Gyatso tuned with Aang in his arm. Lightning struck "It's okay little one. Baba is here."