It was a beautiful afternoon. The sun was out, the sky was a lovely blue with a few clouds. The cool slight breeze made it perfect for flying on Appa. Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Momo were all floating quietly over snow capped mountains when Sokka spoke up.
"You know, I'm kinda hungry."
"Well, we have a food bag, look in it." Katara said, frustrated at him for breaking the calm silence. Sokka picked up the limp sack and turned it upside down.
"Momo, did you eat all of our food?" Sokka asked the innocent-looking lemur. Noticing the look on his face and the tone in his voice, Momo ran and hid behind Katara, then nodded.
"Momo! You've killed us all!!" Sokka hopelessly shouted.
"Calm down," Katara scolded, "we can find some more."
"Hey! Look down there!" Aang pointed to a green valley below them where a small silhouette was lying in the grass.
Aang steered Appa down to the valley. The shadow they saw was actually a person. They walked over to the person and realized that it was a girl, unconscious. Katara rolled her over and felt a bump on the back of the girl's head under her red hair.
"It seems like something hit her and knocked her out." Katara assumed. She shook the girl to try to wake her up.
"I don't think that's going to… work…" Sokka started to say, but got distracted by the girl struggling to sit upright.
"Where… where am I?" the mysterious girl asked before Sokka fainted.
"Get up, you lazy bum." Katara told Sokka.
"Who are you?" the girl wondered.
"We were going to ask you the same thing." Aang said.
"I'm… my name is Caylin. I'm sixteen years old… and, uh… I'm sorry, I can't remember anything…" Caylin hesitated to say, rubbing the bump on her head.
"Why can't you remember anything else?" Aang asked, confused.
"I… I don't know. All I remember is seeing a flying boar and then… everything went blank…" Caylin tried to explain.
"That's probably what hit her." Katara concluded. Sokka started to wake up.
"Who is that?" Caylin asked, referring to Sokka.
"Oh, that's just my annoying brother, Sokka." Caylin's stomach jumped a little bit.
"And I'm Aang." Caylin gasped.
"If you're Aang then you must be the Avatar! Wow… I have learned so much about you. It is an honor to be in your presence." Caylin bowed her head slightly.
"I'm Katara, a waterbender." Katara added. Momo came up to Caylin and climbed onto her shoulders as she was giggling.
"That's Momo, he's a lemur." Aang said.
"Aww! He's cute." Caylin said sweetly.
Sokka was so nervous about meeting this new girl that he didn't know what to do. He thoughtlessly threw his boomerang at a nearby tree, expecting it would cut a branch. To his surprise, it did cut off a branch, but it came back quickly and smacked his forehead, knocking him over.
Caylin giggled and said, "You're funny. I like you."
"D-do you r-really m-mean that?" Sokka sputtered with a red face and sprawled out on the ground. Caylin smiled and nodded. While he stood up, Sokka smiled back.
"Come on everyone, let's get on Appa," Aang shouted. "Caylin, since you don't know where you're from, do you want to come with us?" Caylin was full of excitement.
"I'd be delighted! Who is Appa?"
"Appa's my flying bison!" Aang said, and ran over to the huge furry creature. Caylin hesitantly walked over to the animal, skimming its six legs, huge nose, and long horns. She had never seen anything like it in the world.
"Is… he friendly…?" Caylin whispered, just in case it was sensitive to loud noises.
"Of course he is!" Aang shouted. "He loves new people!" Aang airbended to the bison's head and grabbed its reins. Caylin set one of her delicate hands on Appa's nose, then realizing that the beast wouldn't maul her, she leaned into its fur.
"He's so soft!" Caylin proclaimed. Appa roared as Sokka helped Caylin climb to the carriage on top.
"Thanks." Caylin hugged Sokka, making him blush once again.
After a while of flying over beautiful landscapes in the sunset, they finally came across a recently abandoned barn. Each person chose a separate bed of hay in each corner of the barn.
"I guess we can stay here…" Katara said.
"Even though it's smelly." Aang held his nose.
"And cold…" Caylin shivered and rubbed her arms. Sokka felt sympathy for her, so he strolled over and gave her his coat.
"You can use it as a blanket." Sokka told her, referring to the jacket.
"Thank you Sokka." Caylin looked admiringly at the boy with her dark blue eyes.
"You're welcome." He said yawning, then went back to his corner and flopped down on his hay bed.
Caylin woke to some rustling in the bushes. Glancing around the room, she gently pushed the coat off of herself and wriggled off the hay, trying not to make a sound. The other three were still asleep. She slowly opened the barn door and peeked outside. Between the trees she saw men riding horses, all dressed in the same uniforms.
"We have to find the Avatar," she heard one quietly say.
"He's around here somewhere," said another.
"That Outcaste is also with him," said a third. Caylin couldn't control her curiosity, so she slipped out of the barn and quietly closed the doors. She crept over to where the men were riding to ask them why they were there. She walked up next to one of their horses and was about to speak when they did something she wasn't expecting them to do. They grabbed Caylin, tied her feet and hands together, tied a cloth over her mouth and threw her onto a horse.
Caylin's scream woke everyone up. Aang and Katara woke up sleepily, while Sokka's eyes shot open and he sprang up. He looked to her pile of hay, finding that it was empty. The noises of the horses trotting and men's voices filled his ears.
"They have Caylin!" Sokka cried. Not thinking it thoroughly through, they all tried to run after the horses instead of riding Appa. They gave up when they were left in the dust.
"It's no use, we didn't think or run fast enough." Aang said, disappointed. "But we can find them on Appa." Tears came to Sokka's eyes.
Caylin was trying so hard to scream, but the cloth made her voice suffocated.
"Be quiet, you little twerp." One of the men said. You are extremely rude, Catlin thought.
When they came to water, Caylin looked down and freaked out. Oh NO!! They're going to drown me! Caylin thought as they threw her upwards, but instead of falling she landed on something hard. She opened her tightly-closed eyes and saw that she was on a ship. A ship that belonged to Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation. Oh no… Caylin thought again. The men untied everything but her mouth. They chained her to a wall by her wrists and her ankles with cold, rough metal that pinched her skin. Prince Zuko stood in front of her and grinned evilly.
"I've heard about you." Zuko said as he pulled off the cloth. Caylin didn't even try screaming for fear of what they would do to her.
"What have you heard?" she asked instead.
"Oh, I've heard a lot of things. Who you and your family are, where you're from, why you're there…" I need that information! She thought, He probably knows everything about me, and I know NOTHING!
"Where is the Avatar?" Prince Zuko commanded.
"I will NEVER tell you!" Caylin leaned as far as she could off the wall.
"Will you tell me if I unchained you?" the prince asked her. Caylin shrugged.
"Maybe so. You have to find out yourself." She said with a breath. The rage inside of her was driving her crazy. Prince Zuko cupped her face with his hand.
"You're right, you're just an innocent, obedient girl, aren't you?" Prince Zuko agreed. Zuko raised his hand almost as if to slap her, but he then stepped away, signaling the firebender men to unchain her. Without warning, she fell to the floor.
"Where is the Avatar?" Zuko asked again.
"I still will never tell! You can't make me!" she shouted angrily. Prince Zuko threw a flame at her, and she suddenly remembered something her father taught her. Despite her scraped wrists, she hurled a flame back at him, knocking him over. She looked up, saw Appa, and looked down to see her hands. No, I can't be… she thought, good thing Aang and the others didn't see that. Caylin quickly climbed onto Appa's back and hopped into the carriage. Zuko stood up as Appa flew away.
"She will be back on this ship." Prince Zuko said as he dusted himself off. Caylin was acting strange the rest of the day.
The next day, Caylin was so nervous and so scared of herself, she hardly said a word.
Sokka looked over and asked, "What's wrong, Caylin?"
"I… I can't tell you now, I have to tell you later. Now is not a good time." Caylin tried to hold back tears.
"Alright." Sokka understood.
In the evening, everyone gathered around the roaring fire Sokka had made. The flames tortured Caylin, it felt as if it was burning her insides. Sokka noticed how uncomfortable Caylin seemed.
"So… what was that thing you wanted to tell us?" he asked. Caylin paused, trying to remember.
"Oh, right…" she finally said. "There's something I should tell you all about… I found it out on Prince Zuko's ship." Caylin was lightly hyperventilating, her heart beating rapidly.
"You found out how to defeat the fire nation?!" Aang asked her in excitement. Aang's comment slightly jabbed Caylin in the heart.
"No Aang… I… I…" Caylin wasn't scared of him before, but now she was terrified of Aang at the thought of him angry.
"SPIT IT OUT!" Sokka shouted. Caylin closed her eyes and sighed. She concentrated, snapped her fingers of her right hand, and there was a tiny flame hovering above her first finger and thumb. Everyone gasped.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't know!" Caylin tried to explain the best she could. "I have amnesia!"
"You're… a traitor…" Aang said.
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to be! I had no idea!" Caylin cried as tears ran down her cheeks.
"No, that's not possible!" Sokka acted as if he was about to jump out of his skin.
"It is possible, I'm sorry Sokka. I have to leave, since I found out who I am… I can no longer come with you because of this… Goodbye." She whispered, the hugged Sokka. She went to hug the others, but they turned away. She turned back to Sokka and gently placed her hand on his cheek.
"Sokka, I started to think I loved you, but a firebender can never love someone from the water tribe." Caylin whispered with a catch in her voice. She let her hand fall as she walked into the darkness of the trees.
"I thought I loved her too," Sokka said after she left, "but she's gone. She doesn't seem like she wants us to go after her. I will never see her again." Sokka sobbed. Katara wrapped her arm around his shoulders for comfort.
"That is such a shame, she was a nice girl. She didn't seem evil at all…" Katara said. Aang stepped a little closer to the siblings.
"She would have made a great addition to our crew." He said.
"I know," said Sokka, then he fell back and started crying.
Caylin wandered through the woods until she found a safe, bare spot. She made a tiny campfire, but it was constantly becoming extinguished by her tears. I miss them already, she thought. She remembered Appa's soft fur, and Sokka's warm arms hugging her. She remembered Aang's positive attitude, and Katara's calming voice. She reached into her pocket and found a small tin whistle. The object from home forced her to remember a sad love song and she began to play. Playing the tin whistle brought back more memories of the song, which lead to singing. She finished singing and immediately fell asleep.
Caylin woke the next morning to a surprisingly cold wind. She was so bored and so lonely, she started to sing again.
The minute everyone was up, Aang shouted, "I know how we can keep Caylin in our group!" Katara and Sokka rubbed their eyes.
"How?" Katara asked sleepily.
"She can teach me firebending!" Aang exclaimed.
"YES! That's perfect!" Sokka agreed. "Come on, I can hear her voice, we can go find her."
"Okay. Lead us to her." Katara said. Sokka followed his senses into the woods.
"Uh… Sokka? We're taking Appa…" Aang pointed out.
"You take Appa, I'll go this way." Sokka continued into the forest.
Thankfully Sokka and Appa found Caylin at the same time.
"Please… leave me alone. You don't need me anymore." Caylin buried her face in her arms.
"Caylin, we do still want you as our friend." Sokka said. Caylin peeked out at him.
"We've been thinking… maybe you could… I don't know… train me in firebending?" Aang asked her.
"I… I will be honored." Caylin bowed her head again and unfolded her arms. Everyone started smiling and were about to start a new conversation when Zuko and the other firebenders jumped out of the trees.
"I see we meet again." Prince Zuko sneered. Caylin tosses the flame at Zuko, making everyone quickly stand up and start fending off the evil firebenders.
Sokka hit a man with is sword, while Katara whipped someone with water. Aang used air to blow someone away, and Caylin threw a flame at another person. After the other men fled from the team, the only evil firebenders left were Iroh and Prince Zuko. Caylin had an idea and bravely stepped forward.
"Aang, hit me with air on my cue." She said, making Zuko and Iroh confused.
"But what if I hurt you? I won't do it!"
"I'll be fine. Just hit me with some air on my cue." Caylin assured him.
"Okay…"
Caylin planted her feet firmly on the ground and help up her hand, what Aang assumed was the signal. Aang pushed a burst of air at her. When she felt just the touch of wind at her back, she quickly covered herself in fire. The flame became so bright and so powerful, she rose from the ground and scared the two men away. The fire died and she fell to the ground.
"CAYLIN!" Sokka shouted as Katara caught her.
"Thanks Aang." Caylin said, panting.
"Caylin, we were so worried!" Katara said as Caylin tried to get up and walk.
"I'm okay now. I'm just really tired… and weak…" Caylin fell over again into Sokka's arms.
"What was that?" Aang asked.
"Well," Caylin lifted her head, "I encased myself in fire, and the air made it stronger, so the flame got brighter and brighter, and the fire caused me to lift up."
"Oh, so it's like an illusion-diversion type of thing?" Sokka wondered.
"Exactly. But it takes a whole lot of energy, so I can't create it that often." Caylin's head fell like a ragdoll.
"We'd better get you back to camp." Worried Katara. Caylin had fallen fast asleep without saying anything else.
The smell of cooking food woke her up shortly afterward. She looked over and saw the others cooking eggs.
"Good afternoon! Would you like some eggs?" Sokka asked.
"No thank you. I'm a vegetarian." Caylin answered.
"What's that?"
"It's a person who doesn't eat meat." Katara answered for Caylin.
"But eggs aren't meat! Are they?"
"They're from some type of bird, so yeah." Caylin proved him wrong.
"Okay, suit yourself." Sokka grabbed a fully cooked egg from the pan. Caylin observed that Sokka had atrocious table manners, which she was not used to. She started inching towards Katara.
"Is he always like this?" Caylin murmured to her. Katara burst out laughing, laughing so hard she fell on the ground.
"What?" Caylin wondered what she did wrong.
"You haven't noticed that before?" Katara asked.
"Well no… but… I was just wondering…" Caylin felt so nervous and almost guilty of doing something she didn't even do.
"Caylin? Are you okay? You're turning really red…" Aang peered around Katara to see her face. Caylin reached up and touched her forehead.
"Yeah, I'm fine." She said while trying to shake off her apprehensiveness. "I'm going to go look for some nuts or fruit or something." Caylin walked into the woods.
"Bye," Aang and Katara said in unison.
"Mmf… Bye!" Sokka said with his mouth full. Caylin looked back and giggled before walking into the forest.
She came back with a few emerald green apples.
"Hey Sokka? Do you have a knife or something to cut these apples?" Caylin asked.
"Yeah, sure!" Sokka pulled out his sword from the bag on his back and grabbed an apple. As he sliced through the fruit, Caylin asked him what was in the bag.
"Oh! This? I keep my weapons in here, like my boomerang and sword." He explained, obviously trying to show off.
"I've seen those before!" Caylin giggled. Sokka smirked happily as Katara rolled her eyes and mumbled, "Oh, brother…"
Aang spotted the glittering chain around Caylin's neck as she laughed.
"What is that?" Aang asked, pointing to the silvery chain.
"What? My necklace? Oh," she pulled the chain out from her shirt, showing the large crystal pendant. "I don't exactly remember what it does… I think it glows according to my feelings. I think it glows red when I am in trouble."
"Fascinating." Katara commented, which made Caylin smile.
"So, it was red when you were on Zuko's ship?" Aang asked.
"Um… I guess so. I think it turns yellow when I'm happy and blue when I'm sad."
"So, suppose I said something about fluffy bunnies or kittens, it would make it glow yellow?" Sokka asked. The crystal glowed to a soft yellow as she giggled.
"A lot of the stuff you say will make it glow yellow." Caylin admitted. Sokka smiled at this, and Caylin smiled back.
"Done!" Sokka proclaimed a few minutes later. In front of him were slices of apple and discarded cores.
"Thanks!" she said as she took a few pieces. "Hey Aang? Have you learned earthbending yet?" Caylin asked before she bit into a slice of fruit.
"A little. My trainer is on vacation. I could introduce her to you if you want." Aang told her. She stopped chewing and swallowed.
"What's her name?"
"Toph. But there is a little problem. She's all the way in Ba Sing Se." Aang explained.
"Where are we now?" Caylin asked. Katara pulled out a map from her bag. Her eyes traveled the map with great speed and then she pointed to a place on the document.
"We're there, on that island near the Earth Nation, and Ba Sing Se is over there." She then pointed to a large circle in the green area of the map.
"Can we go there? I'd love to go on another adventure!" Caylin exclaimed.
"Oh no, I'm not going on an adventure that's dangerous or death-defying." Sokka complained.
"Come on Sokka. For me?" Caylin tried to look innocent and almost longingly into his eyes. Momo saw what she was doing and chimed in while making a small purring noise. Sokka pondered the question while trying to keep a straight face. He couldn't resist the cuteness of this moment, giving in to Caylin's request.
"Okay, fine," he said smiling, "as long as we stick together and we don't lose one another again."
"Thanks Sokka! You're so nice." Caylin hugged him, making his smile wider. "Okay, let's go!" She released her arms off of him as everyone else stood up.
"Before we go… can I have these?" Sokka pointed to the leftover apple slices.
"Sure." Caylin giggled. Sokka snatched the rest of the pieces and shoved one in his mouth.
"Ready." Aang said as he picked up his stuff.
"Me too." Katara said, standing next to Aang. Sokka ate the last few slices before saying, "Okay, I'm ready to go with you guys!"
"Okay then, let's ride!" Aang shouted while airbending onto Appa. Everyone gathered their stuff and climbed on.
"Yip yip!" Aang called while grabbing the reins. They left the forest they occupied for days, saying goodbye to its calm surroundings.
"Thanks for cutting up those apples for me, Sokky." Caylin told him.
"Sokky? Is that what you're calling me now?!" Sokka demanded.
"Why not?" Caylin answered him. Sokka sighed at the ridiculous nickname.
"Okay…" Sokka said, shrugging.
The group of friends went on their way to a new journey, a new adventure. But it certainly wasn't their last.