Anya

The campfire burned bright against the dark, chilly night. I stared at it until I saw spots in my vision. Tara sat next to me a breathed deeply, "We're leaving at sunrise."

"Fine," I replied curtly.

"Look, Anya, I'm sorry. . .for everything."

"It's fine; can we just not talk about it?"

Sonset and Anming returned from their nightly sparring match. They came and sat across from us around the fire. Dei finished pitching the tent and joined the group. They all looked at me with sorrow in their eyes until I couldn't stand it anymore. I jumped up and ran from the camp!

By the time I reached the cliff overlooking the sea, my eyes were filled with angry tears. I quickly changed into the swimsuit I kept my pack I always had with me. Leaving the pack well concealed in the bushes, I backed up, closed my eyes, and sprinted forward; throwing myself forward and down when I reached the edge of the cliff.

I waited tensely to feel the impact of the cold water against my skin. Instead I hit something that felt like leather, softly. I nervously opened my eyes and stared up into seven pairs of eyes. I crinkled my brow in frustration. Then slowly looked into each pair of eyes. The last pair of eyes belonged to a firebender. I sprang into action, pushing myself up off what I thought was the ground and into a firebending position. The group looked at me in surprise, I could only imagine what I looked like.

I felt my hair, it was sticking out every which-way from the wind, I knew my dragon tattoos were odd, as were my scars from my numerous battles. I looked down to see if there was anything wrong with the rest of me. I didn't see anything too bad! I looked back at the odd group.

"Can I help you?" I asked somewhat rudely.

The little bald one spoke up first, "Why were trying to kill yourself? Who are you? Are you a firebender? What are those on your arms? Are gonna firebend?"

I felt my eyes go big as saucers and I replied, "Wow, a lot of questions in one so young."

"I'm not that young," the boy defended. "So are you going to answer the questions or not?"

"Sure. Well, first off I wasn't trying to kill myself, I was diving off that cliff," I pointed at the edge above us. " Second, my name is completely irrelevant. . ."

Zuko

Aang cut her off before she could continue, "How is your name irrelevant; names are important! What are we supposed to call you if we don't know your name?" I rolled my eyes mentally.

"Are you going to let me finish or not?" the girl asked, looking pointedly at Aang. I smirked, it was time Aang learned some patience with others. He nodded and she continued, "My name is not important, in fact knowing me isn't a good thing. I've angered a lot of people," she hung her head and sat down.

"Yes, I'm a firebender that's one of the reasons I've angered so many people. These," she gestured at her arms,"are my guardians, Ra and Chan, they were the original firebending masters. They are special because they were the last dragons my family ever heard of. And finally, no I will not firebend unless I am attacked first."

She looked at Aang with an amused expression, "Anymore questions?"

"Yes!" This time it was Sokka who spoke out,"I mean, if you're not going to tell us your name, can you at least tell us something to call you so we don't have to say, "hey you", all the time? And another thing, if you're a firebender then why are your eyes blue?"

She breathed in deep and let the breath out in a huff, "You can call me Jiao; it was my mother's name. And. . .the color of my eyes is a secret I only tell to people I trust."

Sokka looked like he was about to ask more questions until Suki touched his arm lightly and gave him a look. It was Toph who noticed we were flying fast towards the rocky shore. She asked everyone, "Does anyone else feel like Appa is sliding downward?"

Aang jumped up and grabbed Appa's reigns. He struggled to land us safely on the ground. We all grabbed a part of Appa's saddle, including Jiao. She looked really nervous. I mentally laughed at her fear. But then I remembered my first time on Appa and stopped. I wasn't much better than her. We all flew off when Appa landed on the beach.

Jiao looked around and announced, "I'll be right back, I'm gonna go get my stuff from the cliff and then I'll take you to my camp."

"This place is probably really dangerous at night," Sokka pointed out.

"Sokka's right , someone should go with you," Katara explained to Jiao. "Who wants to go with Jiao up to the cliff?"

"Um. . .well I'm not climbing up there exactly."

"Then how are you getting up there?" Aang asked curiously.

Anya

"Well, I learned how to use my firebending to heat the air around me and suspend my jumps and leaps, so I don't have to climb," I explained!

"Okay so either Aang or Zuko can go with you," the girl with the hair loopies reasoned.

Both guys mentioned looked really uncomfortable. "Well, I guess whoever can keep up with me can come," I deduced. With that, I took a deep breath, leaped into the air, and shot fire blasts out of my hands propelling me higher. When I landed on the first outcropping, I looked down and saw the boy I assumed was Aang trying to duplicate what I just did. The one I assumed was Zuko attempted it as well. He succeeded on the second try.

I reached the top of the cliff and was quickly joined by Zuko. He asked, "Well where is your stuff?"

"Behind those bushes, stay here I'll go get them." I ran to the bushes and grabbed my pack and clothes. I hurriedly pulled my pants and tunic on over my bathing suit and tied my sash around my waist. "Let's go," I said, slinging my pack over my shoulder. I took a running start and jumped using my firebending to get me to the ground safely.

When I reached the ground I announced, "The camp is that way, follow me." I cautiously led them through the forest, towards the camp.