"Teo, get inside now!" Teo's mother shouted. "Mommy, mommy where are you". Teo screamed frantically as his head swept back and

forth searching for her. His shouts were immediately halted as he spotted a dark ominous wall rushing towards them. He then saw his

mother running towards him and he then ran towards her. She swept him up in her arms and started to run back to the house. She was

10 feet away from reaching the door, when the wall of water rushed into the village and pushed Teo and his mother away from their

house. Teo's father appeared on top of the roof of their house screaming and waving his hands with tears in his eyes. Teo could not make

out what he was saying. All of a sudden his mothers grasp was ripped out of his. He turned to see if she was still okay, but she was

nowhere to be found. To make it even worse, the house beam he was holding onto to keep from drowning was starting to crack. He looked

up and immediately saw the roof about to collapse on top of him. "Help, Daddy!! Help" he screamed. There was a thundering crack as the

house collapsed on top of him. He squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the end. It all happened so quickly. First came the pain. To much

pain than a little six year old could take. The fire started in his legs and worked itself up and spread through his entire body. Then

everything started to go blurry. Teo could make out the faint sound of his father calling his name, but it got softer and softer, then

everything went black.

Teo bolted straight up in his bed panting heavily. His face was cold and clammy. Beads of sweat dripped down his face and inside his shirt.

He swung his legs of the side of his bed and rested his head in his hands. "just a dream", he whispered to himself. Of course he had been

having this dream almost every night since his mother died. Thanks to that stupid flood. Not only did he lose a mother, he lost his house

and the use of both of his legs. Now he and his father are living in the northern air temple working as inventors.

THE NEXT MORNING

"Teo, for God's sake get out of bed! It is 10:00 am and the new arrivals will be arriving any minute! We must be ready for them", the

mechanist shouted. Teo rolled out of bed and onto his wheel chair with his eyes still closed shut with sleep. "Why are they coming again",

he said in a groggy voice. "I told you, were are temporarily housing people who's villages have been taking over by the fire nation" he

said as he appeared in Teo's doorway. "Now please try and make yourself just the least bit decent." Teo groaned and wheeled himself

over to his closet. "Let's see, what do I have that is decent" he joked to himself. After the whole closet was skimmed, he finally decided on

a traditional uniform for the mechanists. He pulled off the shirt he was wearing, slid his arms into the sleeves, and tied the sash and apron

around his waist. "ya , that's decent enough," he said in the mirror.

… "Welcome to the Northern Air Temple!" the mechanist shouted with a warm smile. He greeted the travelers as they walked through the

gates. Teo sat next to him waving and smiling. A group of about twenty people passed by and the mechanist checked them on the list he

was holding. "Is that all of them," Teo asked. "Almost, we still have one more family to go. They should be arriving any sec… ah here they

are!" A hay cart pulled up and the mechanist tipped the driver. "Welcome my friends to the Northern Air temple! I hope the ride was

comfortable enough," he commented. "Well now that you asked, we could have used some cushions and a bucket. Caleb here just

couldn't keep his lunch down. Poor kid", the man in the back joked as he climbed down. "I'm Jayaditya Bhanu, but you can call me Jay."

He was tall and very wide in the shoulders. He had long, gray speckled hair pulled back into a ponytail and a handle bar mustach. A feeling

of power and friendliness radiated from him. "The green one here is my 11 year old son Caleb. He gets road sick real easy he does." Caleb

rolled off the cart and bent over a near by bush to spew his guts out for about the millionth time that trip. A woman with long black hair

jumped off the cart and ran to Caleb to hold back his black hair. He wiped his mouth and stood/leaned against the women. His hazel green

eyes stood in great contrast to his pale face. "And this is my wife Malini," Jay introduced. She smiled at the mechanist and then tended to

Caleb who seemed to have made a mess of his green tunic. "I also have a daughter, but she seemed to have disappeared from the back of

the cart," he said questioningly. They walked around to the front of the cart and found her petting the mule that was pulling the cart. She

was about 14 and looked a lot like her brother with long black hair, hazel green eyes, and a porcelain face. She turned to see who had

arrived. "Oh I'm sorry father, I just wanted to thank the mule for that oh so comfortable trip. Plus I had some left over nuts from lunch

and felt like sharing," she explained energetically. "This is my daughter Leah," said Jay. Leah bowed to the mechanist as a sign of respect.

"Well now that we all know each other, why don't we get you people settled in. We will escort you personally to your huts," he offered.

"We," questioned Malini. "Oh I'm terribly sorry, I forgot to introduce my son T…", the mechanist turned around to introduce Teo, but he

had disappeared. "Now, where did that boy go? He was here just a minute ago." He whipped his head around in search for Teo when a

shadow passed over him. He looked up and there he was. While the mechanist had given his introduction, Teo had gone and set up his

glider to his chair. Now he was in the air doing three sixties over their heads. "Teo for heaven's sake get down hear! We have guests," the

mechanist shouted. "YEAAHH," Teo shouted in excitement as he did a dive and swooped down to a landing. His wheels hit the pavement

and he skidded to a stop beside his father with a grin stretched across his face. "Teo you promised you would behave yourself today. I

really need your help checking these people in", he whispered angrily to Teo. "Sorry pops, but you seemed to have a good handle on

things. All I was doing was smiling and waving. I got a little bored. Not much goin' on here. Plus I thought it would be neat to show the

new arrivals a little bit of what we do here at the air temple," he defended. "Okay, but from now on, please tell me when you are about to

pull a stunt like that," the mechanist, said. He turned back to the family aware that they were still standing. "Ahem, well now that we

have all met, this is my son Teo, Teo this is Jayaditya, Malini, Caleb and Leah Bhanu." "Nice to meet you all," he greeted. "Okay, Leah and

Caleb, Teo will show you to your rooms, then we will all meet in the court yard for a grand tour at 3:00." The group then dispersed; Mr.

and Mrs. Bhanu followed the Mechanist, Leah and Caleb followed Teo close behind. Caleb, Feeling a little better, chatted away asking Teo

all sorts of questions about the temple and if he was a real Air bender. Leah just watched them talked. Preferably watching Teo, though

she was much to shy to speak. Teo noticed glanced back at her. She blushed and immediately looked to the floor. This was going to get

interesting.