Rue awoke with a start. "Katniss…?" She whispered as she looked around fearfully around her. Where was Katniss? Where was that boy who killed- oh! Rue reached down and held the spot where the spear shot through, but much to her surprise, there was no blood. There wasn't even a little cut, or a hole in her clothes. By now, Rue was thoroughly confused, and deeply wished that she had someone there with her deep in the meadow. But there was not a sound, not even the rustle of the leaves on the trees. She wished that her mother was there beside her, or her father to smooth her hair with his rough, work-toughened hands, but no. She was completely, utterly alone. Lonely and scared, Rue began to cry.
"Hey, why are you crying?" A soft voice spoke from behind her. Rue jumped and reached for a small rock lying beside her. When she turned to look, she saw three children, one of which may have even been her own age. They were dressed in the strangest red and yellow robes, perhaps they were from the capitol? "Um…I was…I'm just so…" She looked down shyly at the rock in her hand. "Are you lost, miss?" Said the eldest one, the more serious girl. "Um…I-I think so." Suddenly the middle child, the girl that seemed to have a lot to say, beamed at her.
"Well, that's okay. We're just outside of Republic City you know. On the outskirts, I think it's called. Are you from the city? We're from the island. Air Temple Island, that is, just in case you get confused-"
"There's only one island in the bay, Ikki. How can she get confused?" The little, fidgeting boy said.
"Quiet, you two. She said she waslost, and we should be helping her!" Cried the first one in exasperation.
"Fine, Jinora. Okay, how about you take Meelo and go back to tell Mom and Dad? I'll bring her on the ferry, unless she remembers where she was from, okay?"
This whole time, Rue was silent. She was trying to understand, but somehow she just couldn't. Quietly, she waited until they decided who would take her home, before remembering that she had none. This was the moment that she began to cry for the second time. The sobs racked her body, and she did try fairly hard to stop, but she just couldn't. Kneeling on the grass, head in her hands, weeping so hard she could barely breathe, she barely registered the hand that gripped her shoulder firmly, but not enough to scare her. "Why are you crying, lady?" Said Meelo, the little boy, but Rue couldn't respond. "Okay, lady, what's your name?" He tried again. This time, Rue choked out "R-r-rue."
"Hey, Rue, check out what I can do." He shouted in delight, the air whipping around him. For a moment, Rue was so shocked by the change in the air currents she stopped crying. Jinora continued to hold her steady, but Ikki ran to join her brother. "Yeah, Rue, look at this super-incredibly-amazing trick I learned how to do!" She called over her shoulder, before jumping impossibly high and then floating around in the air. She was silent for a few moments, then turned to Jinora. "How…how are they d-doing that?" She asked. Jinora smiled at her, which was a really nice thing to see; it made her look really really pretty. "We're airbenders. The only ones, excluding Dad and Korra, but maybe you'll meet them later." "Airbenders?" Rue repeated questioningly. "Come on, Rue. Dad will be so happy that we've made some sort of friend." Jinora said decisively, then stood and walked away. The other two children stopped and followed, and after a second, Rue did too.