The next day started with a breathtaking sunrise just above a few steep cliffs, rays of golden light reflecting on the surface of the river.
After deciding to join the Avatar in a quest to bring balance and peace to the world once again, Aang insisted that we start off the journey by visiting the Southern Air Temple where he grew up, and on the way we stopped for the night at an island just a couple miles away from our destination.
Katara was hesitant to go, fearful of how devastated the airbender would be if he were to witness firsthand what the Fire Nation had done to his people. But Aang was determined and positively overjoyed to return home after so many years.
Aang woke up bright and early in the morning, bursting at the seams with excitement, and we all started packing right away. All except for Sokka, who was still snuggled in his sleeping bag, fast asleep by the fire pit.
After I fed Appa a load of grass for breakfast, I went to extinguish the fire, which had a column of thin wispy smoke rising from it into the yellow sky. From the river, I drew up a small stream of clear fresh liquid and doused out the still burning sticks with a sizzle.
While I collected the remnants of the campfire, Katara and Aang were preparing Appa for the ride over to the Southern Air Temple. Aang was tightening the reins on Appa's horns while Katara secured our luggage at the back of the saddle.
"Wait 'till you see it, Katara!" the airbender effused enthusiastically, "The Air Temple is one of the most beautiful places in the world!"
"Aang, I know you're excited," Katara spoke cautiously, still concerned about the matter. The waterbender turned around to address the young boy, "but it's been a hundred years since you've been home." Her voice was soft and delicate, like a flower petal, and it conveyed her worry perfectly, yet Aang hadn't seemed to notice.
Aang peered up into Katara's ocean blue eyes, grinning broadly as he replied cheerfully, "That's why I'm so excited!" He was so thrilled that, if Katara didn't select her words carefully, all his happiness would turn on him and destroy the little monk on the inside.
"It's just that... a lot can change in all that time," Katara stated slowly, sounding extremely anxious.
I wondered what the Air Temples looked like presently. In the tones that I've read, they suggest that the Air Nomads were very spirited and in touch with nature. Back then, I could imagine there being luscious plants and fresh mountain air and beautiful intricate structures throughout the temples. Now, without any inhabitants to tend to the vegetation or repair any worn down buildings, the temples were probably a pile of rubble, the air dusty and the plants dry and dead.
"I know," Aang answered merrily, "but I need to see it for myself."
I could tell that Aang didn't want what Katara was telling him to actually be true. It was bad enough that he hadn't seen his friends and family in over one hundred years, and probably would never see them again, but it would've been much worse for him to find that his entire culture truly had been destroyed. He'd most likely even feel guilty for not being there to protect them, a feeling the young boy should never have to deal with. I would know, I've experienced the overbearing weight of regret before, and an innocent kid like Aang doesn't deserve that kind of pain.
The airbender leaped off of his bison's head, using his bending to slow his descent. Tossing the remains of the campfire into the bushes, I clambered up Appa's large flat tail and onto the bison's saddle next to Katara. Aang ambled over to Sokka, who was snoring like a wooly-pig having a siesta.
"Wake up Sokka!" the ebullient boy chirped, "Air Temple, here we come!"
The Water Tribe boy cringed and groaned in annoyance, having been woken up from a peaceful sleep, and griped drowsily, "Uggh! Sleep now. Temple later." Then Sokka shifted around in his sleeping bag, his back to Aang, and went back to sleep, snoring once again.
Aang blinked in surprise, seemingly discontent with the fifteen year-old's attitude, but his expression soon morphed into one of mischievous thoughts. Katara and I watched curiously as the airbender picked up a twig and acted out in alarm.
"Sokka! Wake up!" he exclaimed, dragging the tip of the stick on the sleeping bag in a slithering pattern, "There's a prickle snake in your sleeping bag!"
Immediately, Sokka's eyes opened wide and he began hopping around frantically while screaming out in horror, still inside the sleeping bag.
"Ahh! Get it off! Get it off!"
In his sudden panic, Sokka tripped over a rock jutting out of the ground and screamed as he fell. "Ahh!" Katara and I giggled in amusement as Sokka slammed into the ground, a scowl forming on his face as he realized it was a ruse.
"Great! You're awake!" Aang delighted, "Let's go!"
After we finished packing up, Appa began to fly the four of us to the Southern Air Temple. I drifted off into a light sleep after the first five minutes, which was surprising because normally I can't sleep during the day. But the night before I barely got any rest, having continuous nightmares about my parents. Usually they're about my father, but on that particular night, I had dreamt about my mom.
About an hour later, I woke up to the sound of low rumbling.
Beside me, Sokka clutched his stomach, which had been the source of the growling that had woke me up, and pinched his face in dissatisfaction and frustration.
"Hey, stomach? Be quiet, all right?" he huffed in annoyance, "I'm trying to find us some food."
As I sat up, the hungry boy rummaged through our luggage and pulled out a sack that seemed to be empty. Sticking his tongue out in anticipation, Sokka dug his gloved hand inside the bag, only to come out with a few crumbs of food. He glared at Katara and Aang, who were both sitting on Appa's head, and inquired accusingly, "Hey! Who ate all of my blubbered seal jerky?!"
"Oh. That was food?" Aang questioned, sounding surprised. He turned his head to look at the Water Tribe boy. "I used it to start the campfire last night. Sorry."
Though the airbender had apologized, I could hear the hint of a smile in his voice, which made me grin as well.
"You what?!" Sokka exclaimed in shock. The fifteen year-old's eyes then slanted as he groaned, his expression quickly changing to one of hunger and craving. "No wonder the flames smelled so good." I rolled my sea-green eyes at the boy who, at this point I have more than realized, had an unhealthy infatuation with all things concerning food.
Appa ascended higher into the air as he neared closer to an array of mountains. We were really high up now, and I had to force myself not to look down, otherwise I'd feel quite nauseous, due to my slight fear of heights. That was the only problem I had with the giant flying bison, how high he flew. Other than that, I loved riding on Appa, the beautiful sights and the rush of cool fresh air against my skin; I both hate and love it. Aang's enlivened voice drew me out of my thoughts.
"The Patola Mountain range! We're almost there!"
Katara regarded Aang with an uneasy look on her face. "Aang, before we get to the temple, I want to talk to you about the airbenders."
"What about 'em?" Aang queried, acknowledging the waterbender with a single brief glance.
"Well, I just want you to be prepared for what you might see," Katara said softly, sounding quite apprehensive. "The Fire Nation is ruthless. They killed my mother," she added mournfully, "and they could have done the same to your people."
I've heard the story of what happened to Katara's mother many times before, and I understand where she was coming from. Just like my mother, Katara's mother had been captured, though the reason as to why was a mystery. A group of Fire Nation raiders arrived at the village one day. They took her life away before anyone could stop them. And just like that, they were gone, not a trace that they had been there except for the empty tent she once sat in.
Aang took a second to consider what Katara said. "Just because no one has seen an airbender, doesn't mean the Fire Nation killed them all," he finally replied, not as cheerfully as he had been before, but rather hopefully. At least he accepted the notion as possible, what more could Katara ask than that? "They probably escaped!"
"I know it's hard to accept," Katara consoled, placing her hand on the boy's shoulder in an act of sympathy. Aang didn't seem to give up on the hope that his people were still alive, though.
The airbender shrugged off her offer of comfort and asserted cheerily, "You don't understand, Katara. The only way to get to an airbender temple is on a flying bison, and I doubt the Fire Nation has any flying bison!" Aang then began to rub his own bison's fuzzy head. "Right Appa?" Appa responded with a throaty grunt, as if in agreement with the young airbender.
"Yip yip!" Aang commanded, and the bison proceeded to ascend up the mountainside.
Appa then quickly turned around the flank of the mountain sharply, causing a strong force of wind to push against the four of us. Aang's grip on the reins tightened and he glanced over at the rest of us. Katara, with her eyes shut, grasped what she could of Appa's fur while Sokka held on tightly to Appa's saddle. I, however, remained calmly in my place, albeit my posture had stiffened slightly. I was too stubborn to let the wind move me; stubborn as a rock, some could say.
The bison soared higher and higher, until finally, he made his way up to the top. Climbing over one last ridge that was blanketed with trees, a large temple revealed itself to us. Winding stone towers and trails carved into the mountain, it truly was a sight to behold. My speculations about the temple certainly did not do it justice.
"There it is," Aang said, carrying a bit of pride in his tone, "The Sothern Air Temple."
"Aang, it's amazing!" Katara praised in awe. Even Sokka was left in wonder, standing up to get a better view.
"We're home buddy," Aang told his bison joyfully, "We're home."
After arriving at the temple, Appa remained at the base of a stairway while the rest of us traveled into the withered civilization. Aang raced up the trail, often glancing back at Katara, Sokka, and I. Sokka slugged along the path, tire evident in his sleep deprived eyes, while Katara and I were walking at a leisurely pace. It was reassuring to have my feet on solid earth again; down on the ground I was in control as where in the sky, anything could happen.
"So where do I get something to eat?" Sokka asked curtly, clutching his stomach, his expression sagging with annoyance.
"You're lucky enough to be one of the first outsiders to ever visit an airbender temple," Katara deplored in exasperation, "and all you can think about is food?"
"I'm just a simple guy with simple needs," Sokka merely stated.
"Simple indeed," I snickered, earning a brief glare from the fifteen year-old.
In front of us, Aang had paused at the edge of the trail, staring out at the dusty arid land he once called home. We quickened our pace and gathered behind the airbender.
"So that's where my friends and I would play airball," he exclaimed excitedly, pointing to a stadium of towering wooden poles, then shifted his attention to some caves carved into a rock hill, "and over there is where the bison would sleep, and..." The young airbender trailed off, sighing despondently.
"What's wrong?" Katara asked, sounding concerned.
"This place used to be full of monks and lemurs and bison. Now there's just a bunch of weeds," Aang said sadly.
Glancing around, I noticed multiple dead trees sprouted out from the brittle earth, only just a few roots keeping them from crashing over. Even the air resembled the temple's parched state; moisture-less and stale.
"I can't believe how much things have changed." The three of us exchanged a look of sympathy, then moved closer toward Aang.
"So uh, this airball game. How do you play?" Sokka inquired, hoping to distract Aang from his disappointment. It seemed to work, Aang glancing at Sokka, his frown morphing into a slight smile.
As it turns out, the game airball does in fact involve airbending. The objective of the game is for two players to use their airbending to cause a hollow ball to ricochet among the poles and enter the goal on the other side of the court. A fairly simple game, but it proves to be difficult if you're not a bender, let alone an airbender, like Sokka. So far the score was six to zero, and I bet you could guess who the winning party was.
Aang balanced on one of the wooden beams, suspending a hollow ball in the air with his airbending. The airbender rolled the ball over his shoulders, pitched it from side to side, and then lazily tossed it up in the air.
Sokka, on the opposite side of the court, shifted himself into a defensive position.
Aang smiled innocently at the fifteen year-old before jumping up and kicking with a swift and powerful air swipe. The ball rapidly rebounded off of several poles before crashing into Sokka and forcing him backward through the goal.
I burst out laughing as Sokka was hurled into a heap of snow, landing with a thud. Child-like laughter rang out from behind me and I found that I wasn't the only one who considered the ordeal amusing.
"Aang, seven!" the airbender cheered. He then cupped his hands into the form of a zero while making a circular movement with his whole body, "Sokka, zero!"
From beside Katara and I, Sokka moaned, "Making him feel better is putting me in a world of hurt."
"Well your world of hurt is hilarious," I remarked teasingly.
Sokka began to lift himself up, but stopped short as something caught his attention. He started crawling forward and I spotted what he had noticed. An old Fire Nation soldier helmet lying half-buried in the snow, battered and burned with a few minor infractions. Sokka glanced back and called us over.
"Guys, check this out."
"Fire Nation," Katara stated coldly, the hatred she felt toward said nation evident in her tone.
She was right after all, Fire Nation soldiers had been there before, though who could have denied her. Everyone in the world has already heard about the Air Nomad Genocide. It was an enormous massacre committed by the Fire Nation that resulted in the eradication of the Air Nomads and the fauna that lived in the air temples. All of them, every last of the Air Nomads were destroyed, simply because the Fire Nation was too fearful that the next born Avatar would defeat them and bring an end to the war. Looks like that plan backfired for them, though.
"We should tell him," Sokka insisted. Katara looked at me for my opinion and I gave her a curt nod in response.
"Aang! There's something you need to see," Katara yelled, her voice echoing throughout the courtyard.
"Okay!" the airbender replied cheerfully, bouncing the airball from hand to hand using his bending as he ran toward us.
I caught a glimpse of Katara's determined expression flashing into one of apprehension. The waterbender briefly glanced at the helmet, then back at Aang. Suddenly, she shifted her weight and brought her arms up before swinging them back around, manipulating the overhanging snow to fall down, obscuring both the helmet and Sokka from sight.
Aang stopped in front of Katara and I while Sokka frantically tried to brush the snow off his head. "What is it?"
"Uh..." Katara drawled, trying to think up an excuse, clasping her hands behind her back nervously. "Just a new waterbending move I learned."
Sokka and I exchanged worried looks.
"Nice one! But enough practicing," Aang said eagerly as he began to turn around, "we have a whole temple to see!"
I helped Sokka to his feet as Aang ran off excitedly and swiped some remaining snow off his shoulders.
"You know, you can't protect him forever."
Katara's eyes slanted in sadness at her brother's words and she followed after the airbender.
Aang led us up to the courtyard of one of the temple's many towers, which had a fountain in the middle, the water in it frozen due to the cold climate. While Aang ran ahead of us, Sokka and I decided to confront Katara.
"Katara, firebenders were here," Sokka argued sternly with his arms crossed, "You can't pretend they weren't."
Katara walked past her brother, avoiding both of our gazes. We followed after her as she said stubbornly, "I can for Aang's sake. If he finds out that the Fire Nation invaded his home, he'll be devastated."
"No, Katara! Sokka is right," I reasoned, clasping my hand on her shoulder and turning her around to face me. "Eventually, Aang is going to find out, one way or another. Don't you think it'd be better for him to find out from someone who cares about him rather then on his own?"
Katara's eyes hardened into a slight glare. "He's not going to find out," she said pertinaciously, ripping her shoulder out of my grip and continuing to walk across the courtyard. "I'll make sure of that."
I groaned and clenched my fists in frustration. "But that's not something you can control!" I shouted after the waterbender, but she simply kept walking, never looking back. I sighed in defeat as I thought to myself, that doesn't mean she won't try.
"Hey, guys!" Aang said happily, "I want you to meet somebody!" He pointed to a statue of an old monk wearing a beaded necklace.
Even in sculpted form, the monk had a peaceful and overall enlightened air to him. The bushy mustache and fine wrinkles around his mouth only added to his seemingly cheerful and positive aura. In many ways, he reminded me of Aang.
"Who's that?" Sokka inquired.
"Monk Gyatso!" Aang answered proudly, "The greatest airbender in the world. He taught me everything I know." Aang bowed to the effigy of his mentor with deep respect, a nostalgic look on his face.
After a few considerate seconds, Aang finally lifted up his head, a mournful look in his eyes. Katara placed her hand on his shoulder and stated in understanding, "You must miss him."
"Yeah," the airbender responded dispiritedly. Without another word, Aang strolled up a staircase that lead to a corridor behind the statue.
"Where are you going?" Katara asked in curiosity.
"The air temple sanctuary," Aang replied, glancing back at us, "There's someone I'm ready to meet." He then proceeded into the hallway.
Katara peered at us questioningly from over her shoulder, and Sokka and I merely shrugged respectively in response. We all then followed after the airbender down the corridor.
Embedded in the floor of the corridor was a large round symbol of intertwined air currents, the national symbol of the Air Nomads, surrounded by two square shapes that formed some sort of sun together. In front of us stood a large wooden door framed by the branches of an old tree standing on the left of it. The door supported a combination of winding metal pipes which ended in two separate funnels, and three large blue coiled tubes that resembled the shell of a mollusk.
"But Aang, no one could have survived in there for a hundred years," Katara said doubtfully.
"It's not impossible," Aang said optimistically, spreading out his arms at his sides, "I survived in the iceberg for that long."
"Good point," Katara acknowledged, touching her chin with her finger while glancing away thoughtfully.
Aang looked at Katara over his shoulder in excitement and said, "Katara, whoever's in there might help me figure out this Avatar thing!"
"And whoever's in there might have a medley of delicious cured meats!" Sokka added eagerly, rubbing his hands together in anticipation, practically drooling over the thought.
Sokka bolted at the door in a rush to open it, but instead simply smacked into it as it would not budge. Quickly, he spun around and shoved his back against the enormous door. When the door didn't move he sighed, sliding down to the floor, disappointed, and slumped against the door in defeat.
The fifteen year-old looked to Aang and asked, "I don't suppose you have a key?"
"The key, Sokka, is airbending," Aang told him.
After we all gave the airbender some space, Aang inhaled deeply and extended his arms out, then thrust them forward, sending an air current into both of the tubes on the door. The wind traveled through the metal pipes and caused the blue curled tubes to flip around, expelling the air out like a horn.
Suddenly, the door unlocked with a click and slowly creaked open.
Aang cupped his hand beside his mouth. "Hello?" His voice echoed inside the sanctuary and he began to enter the dark void. "Anyone home?" Katara, Sokka, and I cautiously followed the airbender.
Inside we found not just one person, but millions of earthen people lined up in a spiraling circular pattern, the entire scene bathed in a bluish light. We continued to wander into the maze of stone bodies, curiously observing each of their beautifully carved faces. I was beginning to vaguely recognize some of them, but I just couldn't put my finger on it.
Sokka halted in front of one of the statues, grousing in dissatisfaction, "Statues? That's it? Where's the meat?"
I rolled my eyes in irritation, having had enough of his complaints of starvation. "There is no meat, Sokka," I remarked in annoyance, "Nobody's in here!" To emphasize my point, I spread out my arms, gesturing to the vacant sanctuary.
"Who are all these people?" Katara inquired, her and Aang standing in front of another statue. I decided to go over and join them.
"I'm not sure," Aang replied pensively, "But it feels like I know them somehow. Look!" Aang pointed to a robed man with airbending mastery tattoos in front of him. "That one's an airbender!"
Katara pointed at the statue next to the airbender, a man dressed in Water Tribe clothes. "And this one's a waterbender." She glanced between the two stone people, and suddenly the connection sparked in her mind. "They're lined up in a pattern: air, water, earth, and fire."
"That's the Avatar Cycle," Aang remarked.
"Of course," Katara exclaimed in realization, "They're Avatars. All these people are your past lives, Aang."
"Wow! There are so many!" the airbender stated in awe. He began to explore the other statues.
"Well, the origins of the Avatar do historically date back about ten thousand years," I apprised absentmindedly, reciting the names of each Avatar in my mind, the information etched in my brain from countless hours of studying.
"Past lives?" Sokka inquired skeptically, his arms crossed against his chest. "Katara, you really believe in that stuff?"
"It's true," Katara asserted, "When the Avatar dies, he's reincarnated into the next nation in the cycle."
A few feet away from us, Aang paused in front of a statue of an elderly man with a long beard garbed in Fire Nation clothing. It was the previous Avatar before Aang, Avatar Roku. Aang seemed to be locked in a daze, his wide gray eyes focused on Roku's sightless stone ones.
Katara walked over to the airbender and gripped onto his shoulders worriedly, shaking him back and forth. "Aang! Snap out of it!"
"Huh?" Aang said softly, still slightly mesmerized as he awoke from his trance.
Katara followed the boy's gaze then asked, "Who is that?" I was about to answer her, and I would've, if Aang hadn't beaten me to it.
"That's Avatar Roku. The Avatar before me," he replied, never looking away from the statue. I was slightly impressed that he had known that. Normally, I was the one in the group to go to for trivial questions.
Sokka appeared from behind Aang. "You were a firebender? No wonder I didn't trust you when we first met."
Katara glanced down at the base of the statue, "There's no writing. How do you know his name?"
"I'm not sure," Aang said softly, "I just know it somehow." I raised my eyebrows questioningly at his words, quite confused at how strange the boy was.
Sokka, too, was annoyed with him, growling irritably with his arms crossed. "You just couldn't get any weirder."
Suddenly, the sound of air being blown through a tube resonated from behind us. We turned around to see a long-eared shadow cast on the ground, slowly but surely making it's way toward us. It kind of resembled the spikes of a Fire Nation soldier's helmet. Immediately, we all ducked behind some statues, Sokka and I hiding behind an earthbender while Aang and Katara were hidden behind the Fire Nation Avatar next to us.
Sokka, with his club at the ready, cupped his hand around his mouth and whispered, "Firebender. Nobody make a sound."
"You're making a sound!" Katara criticized a bit too loudly, and the rest of us were quick to hush her, fearful of getting caught.
"That firebender won't know what hit him," Sokka whispered determinedly, raising his club in preparation to attack. Sokka stood up as the shadow came nearer, then he jumped out from behind the statue.
Unexpectedly, Sokka lowered his weapon and Aang, Katara, and I got up to find out why. Turns out, what we thought was a firebender soldier was actually an adorable little lemur with really large ears.
"Lemur!" Aang exclaimed excitedly.
"Dinner!" Sokka coveted, salivating at the mouth with a ravenous expression.
"Don't listen to him," Aang said to the lemur reassuringly, "You're going to be my new pet."
"Not if I get him first!" Sokka shouted challengingly. The two boys then lunged at the lemur, their arms outstretched, hands ready to snatch up the poor creature. The lemur arced his back in terror, a sheer look of panic on his face. It startled, swiveling around and sprinting away, screeching frightenedly.
"Wait! Come back!" Aang hollered before the two disappeared into the hallway as a chase ensued.
Katara and I glanced at each other, rolling our eyes respectively and sighing in unison, "Boys."
Katara then sauntered over to the graven model of Avatar Roku. After a while, she turned her attention to the statue beside Roku. A very tall woman clothed in a warrior's kimono holding two fans.
"Who is she?" Katara queried in curiosity.
Out of the group, she was the only one truly interested in learning new things about history or different cultures. I appreciated her thirst for knowledge since it gives me a chance to show off how much I know. Not that I take pride in it, just that I like proving to other people that I am really smart.
"That's Avatar Kyoshi, the Avatar before Roku," I replied a bit blandly. Avatar Kyoshi isn't exactly my favorite of all the Avatars, simply because she founded the legion of Dai Li agents, so I'm a little biased toward her. Nonetheless, she was a generally effective Avatar, though her methods were a little unethical.
"She descended from the Earth Kingdom and lived to be 230 years old, making her the oldest known human."
Katara pointed to the statue beside Kyoshi, a man wearing traditional Water Tribe clothing and a polar bear dog skin headdress. "What about him?"
I smiled warmly at whom I recognized as Avatar Kuruk, possibly my favorite of all the Avatars. He reminded me a lot of my father, both being very gifted benders who preferred a 'go with the flow' kind of lifestyle. Though, they did have their differences that set them apart. Kuruk was a very brash and arrogant person and never stopped to consider the consequences of his actions, as opposed to my father, who was a very brave yet sensible person. Due to his careless mentality, Kuruk lost someone he loved dearly to an evil spirit named Koh.
"His name is Avatar Kuruk. He was born in the Northern Water Tribe like me. Though a very capable person, he wasn't a very good leader and died at the early age of 33."
Katara then moved in front of an airbender Avatar beside Kuruk. She wore an orange and yellow robe and a beaded necklace like the one Monk Gyatso had.
"Avatar Yangchen," I said slowly in slight admiration. Of all the Avatars, she was the most determined and committed to her role as the Avatar. Although the Air Nomads were perceived as a pacifistic people, Yangchen was feared for her fierce willingness in doing whatever was required to perform her duties to the world.
"She was a very respected figure, managing to keep balance and peace during her lifetime. She was very eager to make a difference in the world, despite her inexperience."
Katara looked over at Roku's statue again and asked, "What about him? The Avatar before Aang."
I turned around to acknowledge the stone firebender. "Roku? Well, he was a wise and merciful Avatar with good intentions, though arguably he was a bit too indecisive. He died before he had the chance to end the war."
I didn't have much to say about Avatar Roku. After all, we did have him to thank for the war, since he hadn't stopped it before it escalated out of hand. But that doesn't mean I hold any grudge against him, just that I feel he should've done something when he could've.
Katara ambled over to the statue of the firebender, gazing into his blank eyes just as Aang had been doing before. Except, something strange happened this time, something unsettling.
Avatar Roku's eyes suddenly glowed a bright bluish-white, like Aang's had at the South Pole. The glow spread to every single Avatar, even the ones that reached to the top of the sanctuary.
"Aang!" Katara exclaimed worriedly, fear and panic in her expression. We both turned around and sprinted out of the sanctuary, knowing fully well that something had gone terribly wrong.
When Katara and I finally found the airbender, we saw him surrounded by a raging tornado of air inside a dilapidated building. Hiding behind some debris was Sokka, trying feebly not to be blasted away by Aang's fury. Katara and I struggled against the turbulent winds trying to get over to Sokka.
"What happened!" Katara shouted over the wild uproar.
"He found out firebenders killed Gyatso!" Sokka replied loudly.
"Oh no! It's his Avatar spirit!" Katara said uneasily while bringing her arm up to shield her face. "He must have triggered it! I'm going to try and calm him down!" She then began to trudge against the harsh wind to get to Aang.
"Well, do it!" Sokka shouted in alarm, gripping tighter onto the rock as the air currents picked up in strength. "Before he blows us off the mountain!" I hooked my arm onto the rock and grasped Sokka's arm with my other hand, so as to keep him from flying away.
As Katara fought against the wind currents, the sphere of wind that engulfed Aang slowly started to rise in the air. Katara was pushed back by the strong wind gusts that filled the remains of the building as the sphere ascended higher and higher.
"Aang! I know you're upset and I know how hard it is to lose the people you love," Katara hollered over the unruly winds, a doleful expression on her face. "I went through the same thing when I lost my mom."
I wondered if Aang could even hear a word of what Katara was saying. In that empowered state, who knew what could've been going through his mind.
Sokka and I quickly ran over to Katara, who was holding onto another rock in front of us.
"Monk Gyatso and the other airbenders may be gone, but you still have a family. Sokka, Kori, and I! We're your family now!"
The waterbender's words seemed to calm Aang down as he lowered back to the ground and the wind gradually died down. Once his feet made contact with the ground, the three of us gathered around the airbender, his tattoos and eyes still aglow.
"Katara, Kori, and I aren't going to let anything happen to you," Sokka assured in a gentle tone. "Promise."
Katara squeezed Aang's hand in hers, and as soon as she did, the airbender's tattoos and eyes stopped glowing. The young boy collapsed into Katara's arms from exhaustion, a dejected look in his normally cheerful silver eyes.
"I'm sorry," he whispered weakly.
"It's okay," Katara told him, nestling the depressed airbender in her arms. "It wasn't your fault."
"But you were right," Aang said sadly, "And if the firebenders found this temple, that means they found the other ones, too. I really am the last airbender."
Katara hugged the boy closer in an attempt to make him feel better and Sokka placed an empathetic hand on his shoulder.
I knelt down behind Aang and placed a consoling hand on his other shoulder. "You might be the last airbender, but you're not alone," I said, smiling sweetly as the airbender turned his head to look at me. "You have us."
Katara, Sokka, and I went on to pack up our stuff while Aang stayed inside the temple sanctuary for some time to himself. After we finished packing up, we went to go get Aang. Katara and I found him in front of the statue of Avatar Roku.
"Everything's packed. You ready to go?" Katara asked him.
"How is Roku supposed to help me if I can't even talk to him?" Aang inquired softly, his eyes never glancing away from the statue.
"Maybe you'll find a way," Katara replied hopefully.
"I'm sure you'll figure it out," I said reassuringly, "You're a smart kid."
A noise came from behind us and we turned around to see the lemur had returned carrying a bushel of various fruits in his arms. He hopped over to Sokka and dumped the fruit in front of the Water Tribe boy. The lemur quickly dashed away as Sokka sat down and started to stuff his face with the food, taking large bites of two different pieces of fruit. Aang, Katara, and I smiled happily at Sokka and for once, I wasn't bothered by the hedonistic eater.
"Looks like you made a new friend Sokka!" Aang remarked.
Sokka shoved some more fruit in his mouth so that he talked with his mouth full. "Can't talk! Must eat!" He then continued to stuff his face.
The flying lemur climbed onto Aang and hid behind his head, his tail curled around Aang's neck. Aang peered at the creature from the corner of his eyes. "Hey, little guy!"
Aang took his new pet outside to meet Appa. The three of them stared out into the sunset together, the lemur perched on Aang's shoulders and Appa standing beside Aang.
"You, me, and Appa; we're all that's left of this place. We have to stick together." Aang told his new companion. He turned to address the rest of us. "Katara, Kori, Sokka, say hello to the newest member of our family."
"What are you going to name him?" Katara asked as the airbender walked over to us.
Suddenly, the lemur leaped off of Aang's arm and snatched up a peach that Sokka was about to bite into. Then he started nibbling on the fruit while Sokka stood there shocked, his mouth still agape.
"Momo," Aang replied in response to Katara's question. The three of us began laughing upon seeing the surprised expression on Sokka's face.
I think I'm going to like this new addition to the group.