"Please, do not be afraid of me, Saishū. I will not harm you. My name is Aang." The man said.
"How did you get here?!" Saishū gasped.
He smiled a gentle smile, "This was once a home of mine, too. You see, I was an Air Nomad, and I lived with many of other Air Nomads here, before the fire nation attacked and killed them. I ran before they came, so I could not help defend our home, but it was a good thing, because had I been killed, they would have killed all of the Earth benders as well. I am Avatar Aang. Do you know what an Avatar is?"
She still looked at him suspiciously, not trusting him. "No. I don't know what you're talking about at all really, actually."
His face fell slightly. "An Avatar is someone who can bend all of the elements, and they are also the bridge into the spirit world. The Avatar is reborn many times in many forms. You see, I am you too. You are me. It has happened many, many times. There are many of us."
"Then where are the rest?" She asked, feeling like she was being tricked.
His face fell farther, into a frown. "The Avatar before you, Korra, she severed the connection between the avatars. It is very complex, and since you know so little about what you are, then I doubt you will understand it yet. I can only connect to you because you are in my home and I am attached to my home, and you are an Air Bender too."
"So if I am this 'Avatar', what does that mean?"
"Listen, you should tell your mom about your ability to bend all the elements, tell her Avatar Aang came to you, and tell her we spoke. You are meant for bigger things than living in an abandoned Air Temple. I have to go, but we will be in touch." Aang then disappeared into the air before Saishū had a chance to ask any more questions.
Saishū felt she may have imagined it all, maybe she was sick. Her mom had never mentioned anything about an Avatar before when she talked about what was happening in the rest of the world. She decided to think more about it, try to see if maybe she had just dreamed it all.
She went home and began cooking dinner. She put all of her time into it, but her thoughts were elsewhere. As everyone sat down at the table and she brought the food out and sat it on the table, she couldn't help but to stare at her mother and wonder if everything Aang had said was true and real and she had been keeping it from her.
Her sisters stared at her as she stared down her mother, still holding some of the dinner plates instead of setting them up. "Well, what is it Saishū? Why are you staring at me like that?" Her mother snapped.
"Have you ever heard of an Avatar?" She asked, her gaze not coming off of her mother.
Oma froze. Her breath caught in her throat as she stared at her daughter, "Wh… Where did you hear that from?"
"Avatar Aang came to me." Saishū quickly replied to her, as anger began bubbling inside of her.
"Mom, what's she talking about?" Kyoshi asked. "Who is Avatar Aang?"
"He was the Avatar before me. One of them anyways." Saishū snapped. "Why haven't you ever told us?!"
"Saishū, you are not an avatar! An Avatar-" Oma started, but Saishū cut her off by using Air to throw the main dish she had set down onto her mother's lap, then used water bending to bend the water from the pitcher and pour it on her mother's head.
"An Avatar controls all the element, yeah, I know." Saishū snapped, balling her fists. Her mother stared at her, anger flaring in her eyes. Her siblings sat, open mouthed, staring them down.
Saishū shook her head then quickly went to her room, packing some of her things in a bag. "Young lady, I don't know where you think you are going, but you are staying right here!" Her mother yelled from her doorway.
"I am leaving, I am going to the rest of the world to see what it is actually like." She replied.
"Saishū, they will kill you down there for being a bender, especially for being an avatar." Oma replied, a hint of pleading in her voice.
"What do Avatars do, mom. Be honest with me right now, because Aang told me I am meant for more than living here. I am meant for something. What is it?" Saishū asked.
"Well… I don't know much about all of the older Avatars, but Korra kept the balance between benders and non-benders before she aged and she also helped repopulate the nearly extinct Air Nomads, and helped with the spirit world and water tribe civil war, and helped the Earth Kingdom overthrow a leader, and Aang stopped the fire nation from attacking and created Republic City. Kyoshi I only know a little about, but she empowered women and taught them to fight and defeated Chin the Conqueror. The non-benders said we could no longer learn about the avatars long ago, so the recent ones are the only ones I know about, and Kyoshi was the last Earth bender before…." Oma trailed off.
"Before what?!" Saishū yelled.
"Before you, Saishū. My grandmother told me stories of her. Forbidden stories. That's the only reason I know."
"So, what, they each stop wars and help people?" She asked.
"Yes, Saishū," Aang's voice said from behind her, shocking her and her mother, "They help people, they protect human kind because it is precious. They fight for the greater good, and they master the elements to help keep the world safe."
"So what do I do then?" Saishū asked.
"You have to discover that for yourself," Aang replied, "but you cannot discover it here."
Saishū shot her mother another angry look and then flung her bag over her shoulder. "Then I am leaving." She said, "Aang, are you going to come with me?"
"I can't, the connections between you and the previous avatars was severed when Korra was an avatar. Although repaired, the connection is now with just Raava, not all of us. I can connect with you here, at the Air Temple because this was once my home, and because the portal is open between the spirit and human world, and I choose to be here. Raava can help you, though, and on your journeys you may find some of the other Avatars that have left the spirit world and have gone back to their homes as well."
Saishū was suddenly afraid, but stood her ground, "Then I will be back, eventually. For guidance."
"Saishū, I will not let you leave." Oma said, planting herself firmly in front of the doorway.
Saishū mad the candle on her dresser larger, and made the wind pick up, "You will not be able to stop me, mother."
Her siblings came to the doorway, "We are going too."
Saishū glared at them, she wanted to go alone, but more importantly, she didn't want her mother to be alone. Although angry, Saishū had a big and forgiving heart, and she knew it would be important for her mother not to be left alone, she knew it was hard for a mother to lose one child, she didn't want her to lose five all in one day. "No, you guys stay. At least for now. If the world is truly as cruel as we have been told it will be easier for me to hide than for all five of us to hide."
Haruto stepped forward, gently taking his mother's shoulders. "She has to go mother." He said softly, and then turned back to his siblings, "She has to go alone. At least for now." Haruto was a gentle soul, and somehow, without ever needing much persuasion, he always got his way when it came to his mother and siblings.
Saishū smiled slightly at him. She hadn't ever been in the loop with her siblings, she was always at the back of the pack, and often left behind, she was the outcast of the family, and never had one of her siblings defended her, until now. She gripped the shoulder strap of her bag and took a deep breath and walked passed her mom and to the stables. She could feel Aang near her, watching her.
"I've never rode one of these before, but I have heard it can be done." She said.
"It isn't hard. They are gentle creatures if you are kind to them. Loyal animals, but I have to say, it doesn't seem like your type of animal." Aang replied as he gently stroked the Sky Bison.
"Honestly, I hate flying. I have done it using air, but it's terrifying each time." Saishū replied.
Aang laughed, "Well, then don't take a Sky Bison if you will only have it walk. Follow me." Aang took Saishū to a hidden temple where he instructed her on how to open it by bending air. Inside were many Air Nomad tools. Aang handed her a staff, and showed her how to bring out its wings and use it to fly, "It is a great tool. Many Air-benders have used it, it helps augment your air-bending abilities as well. It was probably my favorite tool I had." As if riding a Sky Bison off the Air Temple wasn't scary enough, now she was going to glide off of it off of something made of wood and cloth. Saishū peered over the edge, her heart pounding so hard against her ribs, Saishū thought it might burst through her chest. "Don't worry," Aang said gently, comforting her, "As an Avatar you have great courage and wisdom. You can do it."
"What if I can't?" Saishū asked, her voice shaking.
"You can." Aang said.
"Just be light, like a feather." Yangchen's sudden voice came from behind them.
Saishū turned around and looked at her and the rest of her family, except her mother, standing there, watching. She nodded and gave her a slight smile. "I'll be right beside you the whole way down, guiding you. I won't let anything happen to you." Aang said and smiled at her. Saishū took a deep breath and readied herself, gripping the staff tightly. She took a running start and jumped from the side of the island and held the staff tightly, pulling her feet up behind her. "You're doing great!" Aang yelled. She looked at the clouds all around her along with the many floating rocks. She weaved in and out, getting the hang of it quickly. Suddenly, she wasn't as afraid anymore. A large smile crept across her face as she glided through the air. After several minutes the ground below was visible. "You can go down now, you did great!"
She followed his instructions and quickly descended to the ground, as soon as her feet touched the ground, she was excited, "That was great! Amazing! Wasn't it amazing Aang!?" She gasped excitedly, and looked around for Aang, but she quickly realized she was alone. As she glanced around the wilderness she had landed in, she realized she had no idea where she was or where anything was, but it was getting very dark very fast, so she decided it would be a good place to make camp. She began setting out her sleeping bag when a paper fell out of it. It looked extremely old, so she handled it with care. "A map" Saishū said quietly to herself, "A map of the world!" She folded it up and put it in her pocket, where she would be sure to not lose it. She quickly made a small fire and laid in her sleeping bag, gazing up at the stars. She thought of her new found identity as the Avatar, and what it would mean. Would she be good? Would she be successful in whatever she was supposed to be doing? What was she supposed to be doing? As questions continued to fill her head, she couldn't help but feel like she was being watched by something, but as she looked around, she couldn't see any sign of anything.