A/N: I promised I would give a recap of ages for new characters being introduced. It is hard to determine Haru's age but I guessed him to be about 16 in the series which puts him at age 38 like Zuko. Toph however is only 34. They have twin girls who are the same age as Rina at 14 and a son who is blind and 10 years old. Aang is also 34. He traveled the world again after Ozai's defeat in the hopes of finding more airbenders. Since I like to think the world would try to put itself into balance naturally, airbenders started being born in select villges around the world. Aang has since gathered them and begun training them. Gyochu is an OC of mine. His name is dedicated in part to Aang's mentor Gyasto and my obsession with Dragonball Z (Goku). Anyways, Gyochu is 16.
A note on the pairing of Haru and Toph: I didn't choose it because i religiously support this cannon or anything. I did it because at the time "5 Years Later" was written I wanted Aang to embrace his monkshood and choose to be abstinent (I mean common he chose to be a monk when it meant he didn't have to kill Ozai right? But when it comes to having Katara he is just like no that's ok, I don't wanna follow that monk rule. Am I right?) That being the case it sort of ruins the Taang cannon, although I officially support it. That being said I chose Haru so readers would have some familiarity and Toph would have a husband and family.
The trees all looked the same when you had nothing else to look at. Maya and Neea had given up, mentally making note of what rock they passed and that funny looking tree over there. They were too exhausted. They had to stop and looked around for somewhere to sleep and found a large tree where moss had grown on one side. It looked so inviting they could do nothing else but rest. Slowly they huddled together holding each other out of fright. The night sky sparkled above them just barely visible between the branches of the trees.
"Can you sleep?" Maya whispered to Neea. Her cousin shook her head, her eyes staring at the moon bright and glowing. After a while, her vision faded as she slipped into dreams.
"Neeeeaaa…" Neea's eyes fluttered open and she looked around sleepily. A thick fog had crawled over their sleeping forms and she could see nothing through it. She looked around hoping it had only been a dream but as she turned she saw a form almost made of the fog come into vision. She rubbed her eyes as she gazed a beautiful woman in white. The flowing robes around her moved as if floating in water and kind eyes regarded her. Neea knew without a question who the woman was.
"Yue." She whispered saying the name softly. The spirit before her nodded and smiled. Suddenly the smile dropped and her features softened into a look that would make anyone else feel sorrow.
"Neea, I have watched you every night since you were born and every night your father speaks to me so highly of you. I can never say anything back for I know it would only sadden him. But you're his child and are everything and more to him. You are in trouble and so I will help you to the best of my abilities. This fog I have placed around you to keep you hidden from the ones who chase you. They have given up for the night but tomorrow they will continue their search. I will put up a fog each night around both of you so you can rest, but know this. I can only act at night and my powers are not strong enough to do anything more, but I am watching over you. Now sleep, you are weary and you need your strength." Instantly Neea's eyes grew heavy and she lulled herself back to the cushioned moss and slept.
"Maya! Wake up! Guess who I saw last night. It was Yue. She said she was going to protect us at night. See I told you she was real! I told you! I knew my dad would never lie about her. You should have seen her, she was beautiful." The child's eyes were wide as the memories of the night before swam past her. Maya stared at her cousin incredulously; sleep still holding a loose embrace around her. But the look in Neea's eyes was one of wonder and hope. To the other girl she saw how happy she was and she yearned to know and understand the spirit world a little better.
"Stop lying! Yue is not real! You were probably just dreaming again." Maya screeched, her own jealousy clouding her judgment. Neea looked at her, the small girls blue eyes widening and the tears coming to the surface.
"It wasn't a dream! I saw her! I really did!" Neea retaliated defensively. Maya would hear nothing of it and crossed her arms shaking her head. The other girl burst into tears and then Maya watched her cousin. Inside of her a knot twisted its way in her stomach, it was guilt. She wanted to believe Neea but she had also wanted Yue to appear to her. Why would none of the spirits appear to her?
Her father got to meet the great Agni himself and her mother the Painted Lady. Rina saw the Blue Spirit and now even Neea had seen Yue. It wasn't fair! She wanted to meet one of the spirits too.
Suddenly they were both very aware there was someone nearby. They turned sharing a passing glimpse to the other. Then they were running, running as fast as their legs could carry them.
The ground beneath their feet rumbling and the adrenaline pumped faster through their legs. Neither dared to turn around fearing what they might see. Their hearts beat faster, matching rhythm to their feet, the sweat beginning to accumulate to the back of their neck and knees. The breeze that swept through their hair wiped the salty taste from their mouths, their breaths becoming coarse.
They kept running and suddenly the rumbling became louder and Maya turned just in time to see Neea get lifted off her feet. Maya stopped, her excessive breathing making her lungs choke. She turned her hand grasping for her cousin's. Neea clasped it and together they were both lifted from the flat ground.
"C'mon!" Maya screamed and pulled Neea off the rising ledge. Right before the earth clasped her forever. They fell doing their best to land on their feet but instead rolling as she did their bodies screaming at them for such brutal abuse.
Standing up Maya looked around seeing the trees that shrouded them and with two fingers forward shot a wave of fire towards the tips of the brush. The leaves caught fire instantly. Turning she did the same to the trees around them. She watched mystified as the burning branches igniting crumble and turned to ash, the leave falling, catching the underbrush. Neea looked to her and they ran. If nothing else the fire would slow their captors' pursuit.
Neea and Maya ran, their little legs growing tired, their bruised and beating bodies torn and ragged. Neea looked to Maya and behind her seeing the fire catching up to them. They had been running for so long, neither knew how much longer they would last. Suddenly the ground grumbled beneath them and they sunk into its clutches. The girls screamed and were engulfed by the earth, the darkness consuming them.
The rest of the unaware siblings trotted along slowly through the other side of the forest until the already jagged ground became large mountains that seemed to touch the sky. They knew then they were close to the Northern Air Temple. While they trotted along, Rina told the stories their parents had spoken of when they had visited the temple so long ago. Tenu listened with interest for he had only heard the stories a few times. Lee's focus was otherwise elsewhere.
It was right before the sun began to disappear fully beneath the dark blanket of night that they reached the base of the mountain that housed the temple. A gust of wind met them and high above them a boy sat on a flying bison, so much like the Apa the children all knew and loved. The boy dressed in monk's training garb jumped down to greet the newcomers, his face just wide with a smile and happy as ever.
"Welcome travelers!" He said, the very energetic aspect of the wind flowing through him.
"We come seeking the Avatar, is he here?" Rina asked calmly trying to keep her voice neutral although the seriousness of the situation overwhelmed her. The boy cocked his head to the side and shook his head.
"No, Master Aang is in the Southern Air Temple right now." He said slowly suddenly concerned by the strangers' appearance.
"Then we must speak with whoever he left in charge." Lee said seriously. Suddenly the boy smiled and jumped up twirling from the ground as the air lifted him up and onto the massive bison.
"Oh you want Gyochu, then. Come on, Tara won't bite. We will take care of your birds somewhere else." He said urging them forth on to the bison. Lee and Rina looked to each other and shrugged dismounting from their birds. They lifted Tenu first propping their hands like a footing. Tenu flew up to the saddle and sat waiting expectantly for his sister to join. Lee mimicked his sister giving her footing. With Tenu's help she was pulled up easily. Next was Lee, the tallest, and backing up he got a head start and ran jumping and spinning into the air calculating his movements as he did so. His hands landed on the railing of the bison's saddle and easily he lifted himself up. Rina and Tenu rolled their eyes not the least bit interested in their brother's skills. But the little airbender had watched with interest, his eyes wide like saucers.
"Whoa! Neat! You'll have to teach me to do that sometime. Yip yip, Tara. Home we go!" The small airbender bounced around and the giant bison took off. Rina held on until she was sure of her balance but Tenu stared holding on to the rails. He turned back to see his older brother glaring doing perfectly well without holding on to anything. The smile slipped from the younger boy's face and he turned back. As the bison flew up they saw the massive temple and buildings on top of the mountain. Their mouths hung open as their parent's description circled their memories, but nothing had prepared them for the sight they saw now.
"Wow!" Tenu shouted as they came in closer watching a few airbenders fly past them. They ranged in all sizes, some big and little and others so skinny they could disappear between cracks and other like giant balls of fluff. All of them wore the tradition orange vest with trousers eagerly awaiting the newcomers. Not all of them bore the blue tattoos on their heads. In fact most of them didn't. The tallest one among them stepped forward his face a sincere smile, but his posture was erect and polite. He was obviously the leader Gyochu, the leader the boy had mentioned, for he had the blue tattoos that mirrored the Avatar's.
As the bison landed and gave out a low yawn, Lee hopped down helping his sister and younger brother. As he turned he walked towards the leader who in turn regarded them stepping away from the mass of smiling faces surrounding him.
"Fire Nation and Water Tribe children no doubt, you must be the Fire Nation royals, Lee, Rina and if I remember correctly, Tenu. What brings you here to our temple? Hey aren't there supposed to be four of you?" Lee's eyes widened in surprise at Gyochu's knowledge. Obviously he had been told of them in immense detail, most undoubtedly from the Avatar.
"Well I guess that's all for introduction then. Gyochu, I believe your name was? We come here in need of help. Our sister, Maya and our cousin, Neea have been taken by smugglers and we believe they are taking them to Ba Sing Se. We were wondering if you had heard anything or seen anything suspicious?" Lee asked, trying to sound as formal as possible. Rina watched with interest as the other boy's eyes widened a bit as if realization had struck him. She studied him trying to decipher his thoughts. He was tall for his age, taller than her brother, but his face was still young. She guessed him to be Lee's age or no more than a year over. What caught her most was how grey his eyes looked. She could tell they were gray because they were too light and dull to be blue.
"Today there was a fire in the forest in a secluded area. It was just southwest of here. No doubt if you had gone straight instead of veering off to us you wouldn't have missed it. There were also signs of earthbenders, the grounds there were uneven and the plants torn and scattered." He said suddenly beginning to grow worried. Lee turned to look at Rina his eyes going cold. She could feel his accusation coursing through her and it was met with a friendly welcome from the guilt within her.
"Please do you know where they might have gone?" Rina asked, gulping as she did. Gyochu looked up to her and really regarded her seriously for a moment.
"We did not think much of it, as long as it did not concern us. The fire happened this morning. We did not see the smoke until this afternoon. I'm sure the people responsible are gone now." The words came out seriously and Lee turned away from Rina. She came up to him putting a hand to him which he instantly shook off.
"Thanks, Gyochu. I guess we should go now. We have to catch up to them quickly." Rina said biting her lip and trying not to feel so guilty at the thought of abandoning her sister and cousin. Gyochu regarded her with sorrow and pity and he shook his head.
"Sleep here tonight, you are all tired. Tomorrow I will take you to Ba Sing Se myself and help you look for your family too." His voice was almost pleading now; the guilt had registered in him as he felt obligated to help the friends of the Avatar. Rina shook her head at him solemnly.
"No, we need to leave right away and catch up to them, before they reach Ba Sing Se. Who knows what they will do then?" She whispered. The boys that had stood behind Gyochu looked sad and worried. Biting her lip, she felt her heart beat faster for making them all so sad.
"Rina, we can't travel tonight. Even we could, there would be no way of finding them in the dark. We should wait until tomorrow. Aunt Toph and Uncle Haru are there. They will help us find them." Tenu spoke, his wisdom beyond his years…probably from spending too much time with his grandfather. Lee swiveled his head to the boy stopped him dead in his thought with a look.
"And risk everything? You know Aunt Toph and Uncle Haru are going to warn our parents. No, we have to do this without their help." Tenu stepped back a little frightened at his brother's wrath. Rina went to their youngest sibling, almost sheltering him.
"Stop yelling Lee, we're doing the best we can. This isn't about us anymore. This is about Maya and Neea. Their lives are at stake, swallow your pride and let us ask for help!" Rina shouted, her blue eyes glowing hard against the coming moonlight. Lee looked to her, his mind obviously at odds with itself.
"We could always ask Leli, Faw, and Tro to help us. They wouldn't tell their parents would they?" Tenu butted in, once again unearthing thoughts the others failed to realize. Rina was suddenly glad he was with them for they may not have ever gotten as far as they had, without him.
"Toph's kids? I could easily get to them and ask them to come and help us. Their mother's abilities could reveal you if she read your vibrations were close. I will have to get them." Gyochu offered quickly. The plan was good and it would keep them out of trouble, for the most part.
"We owe you for helping us then." Lee said trying to stand up taller to meet the other boy's height.
"Don't mention it. Just be ready to leave at dawn, it's a few hours to Ba Sing Se on Nells." He said easily offering a gentle smile.
"Nells?" Rina asked curiously.
"My flying bison, of course!" He said, the first hint of humor resonating through them. He made a big smile and Rina relaxed feeling more at ease. Trusting him seemed only the most natural of things to do.
