Aang was the first to awake the next morning, stretching his limbs nimbly before airbending himself onto the top of Appa's head. The bison looked tired, drained from flying through the night. The monk rubbed a consoling hand on top of the bison's head, speaking softly into the dawn sky.
"It's alright, buddy. We're gonna land soon, okay? Just a few more minutes."
Appa grumbled back, likely signaling that he was okay to fly until they reached the next resting check-point.
Aang himself pulled out the map from his satchel, sprawling out the parchment to see where they were. Having left Singhai, they were now well into the mountain pass located below the Northern Water Tribe. Traveling north east, he actually believed that the group was now very close to the Northern Air Temple they were planning on stopping by.
A few more mountain passes to fly over and they would be there. Aang remembered the air temple from his previous visitations he was required to do as the Avatar. He couldn't remember exactly what it looked like, but he recalled the harmonious design of the temple, which had been intended to blend seamlessly into the surrounding land. Monk Gyatso told him once that the large hallways would harness the wind and allow air to flow naturally through the building.
Aang wondered if there were any survivors. Especially since it had been said that the only people who could reach an Air Nomad temple were Air Nomads themselves.
"What'cha looking at Aang?" a voice questioned, and the boy turned his head to see Katara awake. A few chocolate strands of hair were sticking out wildly from her head, and even though she had obviously just woken up, Aang thought she looked unbelievably beautiful.
"I'm trying to decide where to land. I think we're here, and we need to stock back up on clothes before heading further north. All the clothes Sokka gave me have holes in them."
"That's because my brother doesn't know how to take care of his stuff," Katara deadpanned. She sat down beside Aang and followed where his finger was pointed. "Hm, I say we fly down lower and start looking for a mountain path; It's probably bound to lead somewhere."
"I was thinking the same thing," Aang smiled up at Katara, rolling the map back up. He rubbed Appa's fur affectionately. "Alright, buddy, start heading down."
The two kids surveyed the land and peaking mountains closely as they continued to fly north, the mountains were intermittent with larger hills, so it wasn't too long before they were able to find a winding dirt path etched into the nature. The entire landscape was covered in white powdered snow.
He pulled Appa's reigns up, halting the bison from flying any further. They landed in a small valley between two mountains, and Aang wasted no time in jumping off the bison to stretch his legs.
"Ah, feels good to be back on the ground, doesn't it, Appa?"
Said bison let out a hearty groan and proceeded to lick Aang, making the monk chuckle loudly. He looked up to see Katara waking Meili and Sokka from their slumbers, though Meili was more cranky than normal.
"Why'd you have to wake me up, Princess? It's barely even morning."
"We need to find a town to buy some new clothes; Aang's freezing out here."
"What?" Sokka shrieked, sitting up from his cot. "What about my clothes you've been wearing?"
The group looked downward to wear Aang was positioned on the ground. To prove his point, the airbender removed his arm from his sleeve, and stuck it through a large hole in the side of the jacket.
"Okay, so the kid has a point," Sokka grumbled, "Where is this town anyway?"
"We don't know," Katara said bashfully. "But we want to hurry and look so we can get back to our journey. We're just a little ways away from the Northern Air Temple."
Meili audibly groaned, getting up from her spot and cracking her back.
"Alright, let's go then."
Ignoring her saddle companions, the girl threw her bag over her shoulder and grabbed ahold of her crutch. Not thinking about the person who made it, she slid down the bison's tail. With a light cough, she reached into the bag to pull out her medicine. Meili opened the pouch to grab out the vial and greedily gulped it down.
She wanted her sickness, over. She wanted whatever was happening between her and Sokka, over. She wanted the trip to the Northern Water Tribe to be over.
As Appa took refuge behind a snowy hill to rest up, the rest of the group, with Meili trailing behind, started their descent down the eastward path. Momo flew ono the girl's shoulder, sitting down peacefully and clicking his tongue in greetings.
"Hey, Momo. How are you this morning?"
Said lemur clicked his tongue happily, issuing out a serious of noises to communicate with the girl.
"Well, that makes one of us," Meili grumbled out, her gaze traveling to the Water Tribe boy talking with his sister. "You're lucky you're a lemur. People are irritating."
The animal's beady eyes just stared at her.
After a few miles of walking, Katara suddenly piped up. "There's a town with a market place over here! It says so on this direction sign."
"Great!" Aang exclaimed. "Let's go!"
The two hurried as they rushed toward the town, while Meili remained at her slow, nonchalant pace. For the first time in a while, she was starting to feel better. She had no urge to cough, she didn't feel a fever, and her head no longer hurt. She was surprised at how well the medicine was working and was glad she took it.
Her solace was interrupted when she saw the male figure in front of her slow down and purposefully wait to match her footsteps. Falling into step at her side, Sokka casually piped up.
"It's a beautiful morning, isn't it?"
Meili kept her gaze forward, steadying her crutch. "Yes. It's beautiful. And it was very quiet."
"Ha ha," Sokka spoke sarcastically, throwing his hands behind his head. "What's so great about it being quiet?"
"A lot of things," Meili responded. "Like silence."
Momo chattered in agreement.
"Silence is boring, especially when we've been walking for who-knows-how-long."
"It's really only been like thirty minutes," Meili chastised, quickening her pace.
Sokka took the hint to leave her alone, and the two sped up to catch up with Aang and Katara. The two benders had immediately set their sights on some of the marketplace stalls, and Aang was asking the vendor about what coats they had. Katara on the other hand was focused on finding boots and gloves.
Meili left the boys to follow behind Katara, adding in her input where she saw fit.
"These boots seem cheaply made; you can tell by the sole of the shoe," Meili pointed out.
"Ah, you're right! I can see where the stitch pattern is off too," Katara sighed, handing the shoe back to the vendor. "What else can I get for five silver coins?"
"The only other shoes we have cost at least one gold coin; if you don't have that, then shoo! You're making my other customers wait in line!"
The girls looked behind them, only to see no one else there.
"But we're the only ones here," Katara argued.
"One gold coin, or go away!"
Katara put her arm around Meili's shoulder, turning them so that they could whisper to one another without being heard.
"Well, it looks like I can't get new shoes — unless I want them breaking after I take three steps. What should we do? Keep looking around?"
"I'm sure yours should be able to hold out until we get to the Northern Water Tribe," Meili said. "I'm sure your sister tribe wouldn't mind lending you guys some clothes. We did travel across half the world to see them."
"Yeah, you're probably right. At least we can use these to buy some gloves! Come help me pick some out, Meili!"
The cloaked-girl was dragged over to another stall by an eager Katara, and she stood beside the waterbender as she made a few transactions. The town wasn't grand or large by any means, so it didn't take long for the two girls to finish up their shopping. They were able to buy three new pairs of gloves, a scarf, and a fuzzy hat for Aang's bald head.
They walked back over to their male companions, ready to leave and get back on the road. But all they could hear was Aang groaning, and their gazes both fell upon Sokka inspecting a green hat.
The monk rubbed a tired hand down his face. "Come on, Sokka! Make up your mind. We've wasted enough time here. We have to be on our way to the Northern Air Temple!"
Sokka held the hat up to his head. "I could use one of these."
"We're looking for necessary supplies, Sokka!" Katara butted in, placing her hand on her hip. "Meili and I already bought most of what we needed."
A traveling merchant suddenly passed the group of kids, motioning for them to follow. "You kids look like you have a fine eye! Come and look at the fine and rare items! Have a look!"
Aang immediately perked up, despite getting onto Sokka just moments before. He zipped over to the merchant's set-up: it was a large blanket spread with wares and trinkets. The merchant sat cross-legged on the ground, gesturing to his collection with a wide smile.
Aang's face paused for a moment as he glanced at the items, and he bent down slowly before picking up a small pendant. "Look, Momo. An ancient airbender pendant."
The lemur hopped from Meili's shoulder and flew onto the boy's forearm, placing his tiny paw on top of the airbender artifact.
The merchant scoffed. "Ancient? A man traded it for medicinal herbs two days ago."
Aang jumped up from his spot. "Did he tell you where he got it? Did he have more? What did he look like? Did he say where he's from?"
"He came from the high mountain," the merchant shrugged, reaching his hand out to snatch the pendant back, unenthused with Aang's series of questions. "Probably a traveler who got lost. No one from the nearby villages would go there. The mountain is sacred — rumored to be full of flying spirits."
"Flying spirits?" Katara repeated. "Like, the spirits of the Air Nomads?"
"Hard to say," the merchant grimaced, rubbing a hand along his chin. "Ever since the genocide, there have been ghost stories about these mountains. No one dares to travel there anymore."
Aang's gaze slowly turned toward the sky. Sensing the monk's despair, Sokka set down his green hat and threw an arm around his friend's shoulder.
"Hey, maybe we can let Appa rest some more and go check those mountains out. It wouldn't hurt to see who has all these relics. Maybe we can find some cool robes or something!"
"But what about getting to the Northern Water Tribe?" Aang questioned.
"If there's a chance that other Air Nomads are alive, Avatar, there's no harm in checking the place out," Meili spoke quietly. Katara nodded in agreement.
"Thanks guys!" Aang grinned. "I know some of you believe that all the airbenders are gone. But I haven't given up hope. If there's one place they could hide and live, it's these mountains."
"Then let's get started," Katara smiled.
The group left the town and backtracked back to the mountainside path with Aang taking the lead.
"An airbender would have gone somewhere remote and isolated, like at the top of one of these mountains!" Aang exclaimed. He turned around with a wide smile, but bit his lip as he scanned over his companions. One was a nonbender walking with a crutch, the other was another nonbender, and the third was a water bender. He cleared his throat.
"I'm sorry guys, but um... I think it would be best if just Katara and I did this."
"What?" Sokka shrieked. "You guys get to go flying into the skies while we just sit here and twiddle our thumbs?"
Katara sighed. "Sokka, it would be too hard to get you guys up there, especially with Meili still being sick. She needs to rest, and someone has to watch over her."
"Can't you stay, Katara?" Meili questioned, feeling slightly uncomfortable at the fact that her and Sokka were going to be alone together. Again.
"If anything goes wrong, I might need her waterbending," Aang elaborated. "We'll be back before nightfall, okay? Watch Appa and Momo for me!"
Meili didn't have any more time to argue before the airbender picked Katara up and glided away.
Meili stared openly into the sky, watching her two group members slowly fade away into the foggy mountain top. She closed her eyes and counted to three, trying her best to relieve her stress. The girl heard Sokka open his mouth to speak, but she immediately rose up a finger.
"Don't even think about talking to me, Ponytail."
She carefully and quietly began her descent back to their campsite, hobbling along on her crutch as Sokka slowly stalked behind her. Momo flew in a circle before landing on the top of Meili's cowl.
Sokka had so many things running through his mind during their walk back. He kept replaying their conversation from the night before, analyzing everything that the girl said, wondering why she even had feelings for him in the first place.
He internally kicked himself for his stupid opening statement. 'It's a beautiful day?' Who said that?
Sokka crossed his arms, looking at the cloaked girl in front of him. The alabaster fabric was wavering in the winter, mountain winds, flowing effortlessly behind her. He smiled slightly when he caught sight of the crutch he crafted for her; it was perched in the crook of her arm, and her fingers gripped the wood for support.
He don't know why he made it, but he just felt like he had to. Sokka wanted to make up for the way he acted at the abbey, and even now he felt guilty for yelling at her like he had. Especially since she only hid the map because she ... liked him. Or, well... had a crush on him.
He cleared his throat uncomfortably, blushing slightly, although he didn't know why. It's not like he had feelings for her. Shaking his head, he reached up behind his back to grab his boomerang. Sokka needed something to distract himself as his thoughts continued bouncing around inside his head.
Meili, on the other hand, was going out of her way to not think about the ponytailed, Water Tribe boy. She focused solely on the sound of her feet pressing into the snowy, dirt path as the chilly northern wind nipped at her nose.
The two walked in silence, a very awkward silence, for the rest of the thirty minute trek back to Appa. The easiest way to get over the situation from last night was to just avoid it at all costs, which was exactly what Meili was doing.
The mountainside was quiet save for the few birds chirping in the distance, but that soon changed when a sudden roar reverberated throughout the mountains.
"That sounded like Appa!" Sokka shouted, immediately pulling his boomerang defensively by his side.
Meili's head perked up, and the two teens wasted no time in running toward the distressed noise. She tucked her crutch in the crook of her arm, ignoring the uncomfortable feeling of her heavy legs as her feet moved in quick haste.
Sokka was running faster than her, and his tanned fingers were curled into fists swinging forward by his sides. They were both in panic, and with every step, the bison's distraught grunts grew louder. Meili's breath was puffing out in front of her in small spurts — fast and nervous. She could feel her heartbeat pulsing in her neck, but she couldn't tell if it was from panic or fatigue.
They rounded the path and were met with ten Fire Nation soldiers attacking Appa: some were attempting to tie down the bison's legs while others were attacking with balls of fire. Sokka and Meili moved faster than ever, jumping into the action to fend off the attackers. Sokka swung his boomerang out with a hard thrust, and the metal weapon circled in an arc that crashed into a soldier's helmet, sending them to the ground.
Meili tossed her crutch aside before throwing out three daggers that lodged into one of the soldiers attempting to restrain the bison. He cried out in pain, letting go of his ropes just long enough to allow Appa to turn and send a gust of wind towards the Fire Nation troops with his tail. They tumbled backwards in the snow, which Appa celebrated by roaring menacingly.
"Don't touch him!" Sokka yelled, holding his boomerang that returned to him up by his head.
The Fire Nation soldiers paused, and some even began to laugh which made Sokka faulter. One of the soldiers perched on top of a komodo dragon, pointed a sword down menacingly at the two teens.
"You think we're afraid of you, little boy? Watch and learn how the Fire Nation takes out wimps like you!"
"That's a lot of talk for someone that's gonna get their ass kicked," Meili spoke, grabbing a dagger from her hip pouch. She twirled it around her finger before lunging into a fighting position.
The man jumped down from his komodo dragon, moving his arms forward to fire a blast of red fire at the teens. Both kids rolled out of the way of the flames, and Sokka moved to attack two of the firebenders on the right. He lifted up his weapon to block a fireball heading for his face, but the boomerang barely helped and, in turn, the Water Tribe boy's coat caught on fire. He comedically flailed his arm around, attempting to put the flames out, but found that only the snow beneath his feet would stop the fire.
Sokka leap toward the ground, conveniently avoiding another fire blast, before realizing that he could use the snow to his advantage.
Meili found herself surrounded by the other six firebenders, three of which were riding on the beasts. They moved off of the komodo dragons to attack, and two of the men fired a shot at Meili. She cartwheeled out of the way, taking the dagger in her hand and throwing it at one of the soldiers positioned in the back. She moved nimbly through the flames of her other assailants, aiming for the soldier she had already attacked. A kick behind his knee sent him falling to the ground, and a knee to his face knocked him out.
However, another soldier swept a leg low to the ground, sending a barrage of burning flames towards Meili's feet in a powerful arc. She stumbled slightly and barely managed to avoid another attack aimed at her. Fire singed the bangs of her hair as she flipped backwards. The girl just barely managed to catch a glimpse of Sokka pelting snowballs at the soldiers in front of him before she landed back on the ground.
She cursed under her breath, taking a look around the battlefield. The two men were still positioned in front of Sokka while the five other remaining soldiers stood menacingly in front of Meili.
She wondered how they were going to defeat them. If she could use her firebending, the battle would be over quicker, but she knew she couldn't use that. No matter what was going on between her and Sokka, she still couldn't reveal herself to him. Not yet.
However, she didn't have to worry too much because seconds after scanning her surroundings, Appa charged through the two teens towards the Fire Nation soldiers, taking two simultaneously each by the horn and flipping them over into the air. Using his teeth, he grabbed another soldier by the foot and threw him into a pile of snow.
The large sky bison sucked in a large mouthful of air and then blew out a powerful gust of wind, causing the remainder of the soldiers to be whisked away.
Sokka blinked once, then twice, and then finally a third time before running over to give Appa a large hug.
"Thanks Appa, I don't know what we'd do without you!"
Appa swept his large tongue over Sokka's face, covering him in drool. The boy wiped his face in disgust.
"Ew, gross!"
Meili bent down to pick her up crutch she had tossed aside before the battle started. "Enough complaining, Ponytail, we need to find your sister and the Avatar. If these people found Appa, others must be on the lookout for them."
The Water Tribe boy took one more look at the soldiers attempting to wedge themselves out of the snow. "Alright, let's just hurry before any other Fire Nation geeks decide to show up."
"You mean like that Prince Zuko guy?" Meili questioned, climbing up Appa's tail toward the saddle.
Sokka followed suit, making his way towards the bison's reigns. "Yeah, we haven't seen him since the abbey; that angry freak with a ponytail is probably the reason that these guys showed up in the first place."
"What's wrong with ponytails, Ponytail?
Sokka pointed an agitated finger up towards his top-knot. "This is a warriors wolf tail. It's not like you would know, clueless."
Meili huffed, her face heating up just slightly, "Just... just start flying already, Ponytail!"
They took to the skies in a sudden lurch, and Sokka led the way as Meili overlooked the side of the saddle for their companions.
"They couldn't have gone too far," Meili spoke. "Let's go back towards the town and look from there."
Appa headed east, soaring just above the peaks of the mountains as they backtracked inland. Meili scanned the land for any sign of their other two companions, however, it was Sokka who noticed something first.
"Meili, come over on this side. What is that thing down there?"
The girl shuffled to the other side of the saddle, peering over the bison's body to see what Sokka was talking about. Her eyes were met with the sight of a small structure settled into the ground.
"Let's check it out."
Appa slowly descended towards the mysterious monument, and he landed beside it with a pained grumble.
"What's wrong, buddy?" Sokka questioned, sliding down the bison's tail before walking over to the strange structure. His gaze however, grew softer once he looked at the side of the monument. Etched into the stone was an Air Nomad arrow.
"What do you think this is?" Meili asked, positioning herself by the boy. "It kind of looks like a tower."
"I think it's a stupa," Sokka murmured. "We saw a few at the Southern Air Temple, but this one seems out of place..."
"Look over there!" Meili shouted, pointing a finger towards a cave in one of the mountains far off in the distance. "Those caves look manmade, and there's light. I'm sure the Avatar would've headed that way."
Climbing back on top of Appa, they headed into the skies once more before landing next to the opening of the cave. They entered tentatively, Sokka first with Meili trailing behind. The cave had mysterious carvings littering the walls: some were words that Meili couldn't read, but others were images of bison and temples.
"This definitely looks like airbenders were here," Sokka spoke quietly. The tunnel grew darker as they walked further away from the opening, but the two teens found themselves approaching the strange golden light shining deep within the cave.
"Idiots! Hold them!" a deep voice suddenly shouted. Meili and Sokka looked at one another before running towards the noise.
"Have you ever heard one of these horns when an airbender plays it, Zhao?" a voice spoke back, sounding suspiciously like Aang.
Suddenly, the entire cave began to shake, and Sokka and Meili stumbled in their footing as a huge gust of wind came funneling through the tunnel. They pressed onward through the gust and were soon met with a large underground clearing. Aang was surrounded by various Air Nomad relics, and appeared to be attacking a large man with them. Katara, on the other hand, was attacking three other soldiers using the water canteen on her hip.
Meili ran into the fray, sending a punch towards one of the soldiers that wasn't expecting it. Sokka sent his boomerang at the other two soldiers' feet, tripping them and sending them to the ground. Katara smiled at her two friends before bending water towards the floor, freezing the men in place.
"You found us!" she shouted. "We need to leave; this place was a trap!"
"Oh, that's just great!" Sokka said with agitation.
"Hey guys, you might want to watch out!" Aang suddenly yelled, making the group turn towards him. He was standing on a strange object with two, green ball-shaped ends connected by a metal band in the middle. Trusting in the monk, the gang listened to his discretion and ran for the exit.
As they were running out, Aang's voice was heard echoing around the cave walls.
"Hey Zhao! Ever seen one of these? Curious to find out what it can do? The dorje was used in rituals, but my friends and I found out if you spun them too hard inside a room, this would happen!"
Suddenly, a cool gust of air pushed itself through the cave tunnels, ricocheting off the walls once more and blowing forcefully towards the group escaping. Sokka tripped and fell while Meili and Katara leaned against the cave walls for support. Aang came gliding out from the underground clearing, soaring past them at high speeds from above. Katara, Sokka, and Meili pushed themselves to keep up with the airbender, and they all joined him once they reached the end of the cave.
"You could have given us more warning next time!" Sokka said irately with an angry fist waving in the air. "You air blasted me to the floor!"
"Sorry, guys," Aang said bashfully, shooting himself into the air only to land on the top of Appa's head. "But let's hurry and get out of here before anyone else finds us!"
Quickly, the group piled into Appa's saddle once more before the large bison took back off into the skies.
"Are you guys alright?" Katara asked, placing a hand atop her brother's. Sokka shook his head, lounging into the bison's saddle.
"On our way back, we heard Appa being attacked, and it turned out to be Fire Nation soldiers. I think they were with Zhao."
Katara sighed, her eyes growing dark. "He used the merchant from the town to lure Aang out here... apparently Fire Lord Sozin laid traps like this all the time for air nomads. They used old airbender relics as bait... it's awful."
Meili looked down at her lap, her heart panging with sadness. "I'm so sorry, Avatar. With all these mountains, airbenders would have loved to stay here. They would have been attracted to the place, right?"
The boy hung his head low. "Yeah, a few of them probably were."
A low silence fell among the group as they took in the sadness in the monk's voice.
"Well, Aang, I know it might not be much, but I got you something while we were there," Katara spoke lowly, extending her hand out towards the monk. In her hand was the ancient airbender pendent the merchant was trying to sell earlier that day. It had a blue, beaded necklace that met at a carved circle of wood in the center with the Air Nomad symbol engraved on the front. "I know it can't bring anyone back, but at least you can have a part of your people with you."
Aang's eyes grew glassy, and he wipe his eyes quickly before taking the pendant from Katara. "Thank you. This means a lot." He then swung the necklace around his neck and then tucked it into his shirt.
"So I'm assuming Meili and I need to have necklaces now, too?" Sokka questioned sarcastically. "You guys sure do love jewelry."
Katara hit her brother in the back of the head.
"I personally think a necklace would go well with your pretty perky ponytail," Meili quipped.
Katara and Aang laughed while Sokka deadpanned.
"Haha very funny," he said with a grumpy scowl.
The group continued to talk as Appa soared through the skies. Aang soon put the newly purchased hat they bought that morning on his head, and the rest of the group besides Meili put on gloves.
"These clouds look so soft, don't they?" Katara questioned.
Aang was now sitting lazily atop Appa's head, fidgeting with his new pendant; to his left, Sokka was carving something with an uninterested look on his face; Katara was lying on her stomach, propped up on her elbows, staring dreamingly over the rim of Appa's saddle; and Meili was leaning against the luggage with a sleepy Momo on top of her head.
"They look pretty fluffy," Meili agreed.
Katara nodded her head with wistful eyes. "It's like you could just jump down and you'd land in a big, soft, cottony heap."
Sokka turned to his sister mockingly, "Maybe you should give it a try."
"You're so funny," Katara spoke in annoyance.
"I'll try it!" Aang shouted. Carrying his staff, he jumped off of Appa with a big smile on his face. As he began to fall, he turned once around his axis, winking at his friends as he passed. He fell down spread-eagled, laughing joyously. "Yeah! This is pretty fun!"
Katara, Meili, and Sokka popped their heads over the rim of the bison's saddle, looking down in the direction Aang went. The monk fell down towards one of the giant clouds, and he vanished inside the white puff. Katara's gaze grew worried, Meili looked amused, while Sokka stared wide-eyed at the point where Aang vanished.
The Water Tribe boy leaned over the leather saddle to search the sky, and Aang came back up from behind the group on his glider. The siblings and Meili turn around as they hear the snapping noise of Aang's glider being closed, and they watch how the airbender plopped down on the saddle, his legs spread apart with a big smile on his face.
Sokka attempted to look unimpressed as Aang was now dripping wet.
"So, I kind of forgot that clouds are made out of water."
He quickly breathed in and slammed his balled, right fist against his stretched left hand, creating an expanding air ball around him to dry himself off. However, the burst of air caused Momo's fur to become all fluffed up and for Meili's hood to be knocked off. Sokka's ponytail now stood straight up and a couple of stray jackets from their luggage blew up into Katara's face.
"Oops, sorry guys."
Katara laughed as Sokka hurriedly pushed his ponytail back down, and Meili flipped her hood back on.
The group flew for a few more hours before deciding to set up camp for the night. The stumbled upon a campsite that various travelers were using and decided to join them. After setting up camp, an older man came toward the front of all of the groups and invited them around to tell them stories of the Air Nomads. Aang, who was still thinking about the situation from earlier, wanted to listen along in remembrance of his people.
The storyteller told of a dramatic story of echoes in the mountains and how most travelers believed them to be birds.
"So, travelers. The next time you think you hear a strange, large bird talking, take a closer look. It might not be a giant parrot, but a flying man. A member of a secret group of air walkers, who laugh at gravity, and laugh at those bound to the earth by it!"
The various groups of travelers clapped as the man began walking around to collect money. Aang smiled widely, having enjoyed the tale.
"Aren't airbender stories the greatest?"
"Was it realistic? Is that how it was back then?" Meili asked.
Aang nodded, "I laugh at gravity all the time." He paused to chuckle at himself. "Ha! Gravity."
"I bet it was amazing to see all of those people flying around," Katara spoke softly.
"Oh, it was!" Aang grinned. He ran up to the storyteller, who was still collecting money. "Hey! Thanks for the story."
The storyteller held his cap out. "Tell it to the cap, boy."
Aang searched his clothes for some money, but couldn't find anything.
"Cheapskates," the man muttered.
"Well, I just wanted to let you know that it means a lot to hear airbender stories. It must have been a hundred years ago your great grandpa met them."
"What are you prattling about, child?" the story teller said in confusion. "Great Grandpappy saw the air walkers last week."
Aang's eyes grew wide as he stared in disbelief, he turned back towards his companions, pushing them into a tight circle.
"Guys! Tomorrow when we go to the Northern Air Temple, we could see some real airbenders!"
"Aang, I don't want to burst your bubble, but do you not remember what happened twelve hours ago? You were almost captured because of false stories like this," Sokka said shaking his head. "I say we skip going and just head to the Northern Water Tribe."
"But maybe there are airbenders," Katara retorted.
"Or maybe it's Zhao again, or that Prince Zuko guy," Meili countered in return. "Do we want to put ourselves into another dangerous position like that?"
Aang sighed. "How about we just fly by tomorrow. If it looks dangerous, we won't land."
"Whatever," Sokka dismissed, separating from the group. He headed toward their camp and settled into his cot. "I'm tired and ready to sleep. Wake me up in the morning."
The rest of the group followed suit and went to sleep. However, Meili awoke in the middle of her slumber to see Aang's cot empty. She moved out of her bed and tried to locate the airbender. After leaving their campsite, Meili found him sitting on the storyteller's perch, fiddling with the pendant hanging around his neck.
"Can't sleep?" she spoke, sitting down beside him. His eyes didn't move, glued to the necklace in his hands.
"No, I have a lot on my mind."
Meili didn't know how to comfort people — she was never really a people person to begin with, but something about Aang's crestfallen face made her swallow roughly and compelled her to speak.
"I never knew my family, or lost them," she said quietly. "But that doesn't mean I don't know what it's like to feel alone. Sometimes, knowing that you have no one kind of makes you stronger in a way... um... I mean, you learn to trust yourself and your judgment more."
Meili waited for a response from Aang. The air was cold and the night was dark, making the speckled stars in the sky contrast beautifully against the charcoal blanket above. The girl took a deep breath, removing her hood to get a better look at the moon and stars. When Aang continued to say nothing, she cleared her throat to speak again.
"Feelings scare me," she said breathlessly. "When you have bonds with other people, all they can do is break. Friendships don't survive. I haven't learned to trust anyone else except for myself and Jai— until now."
Aang shuffled in his spot, making Meili continue.
"It might be scary, feeling like you have no one... but even when you feel your darkest, others can be there for you and support you. Like Jai did for me. And like Katara does for you."
Aang blushed slightly before dropping the pendant in his hand. "Thanks, Meili. I've been feeling really guilty lately. So many Air Nomads suffered because I ran away. They were killed because Fire Lord Sozin wanted me. Seeing all of those relics today made me wonder... how many young kids were lured and killed... because of me?"
"It's not because of you; it's because of those in the Fire Nation perpetuating this idea of fear and power. You didn't kill anyone, they did. I've been traveling with you for a while now, Avatar, and you don't have a mean bone in your body. It's admirable in a way, and part of me is envious that you can be like that."
"Aang," he spoke lowly, turning towards Meili slowly.
She blinked quickly, "Huh?"
"You can call me, Aang. You're my friend."
"Your... friend?" she reiterated, bringing her fingers up to her mouth gently. "Friend... that's... weird to say."
"You've never had a friend?"
Meili's eyes grew cold, but her gaze seemed to grow soft. "Once. I had a friend once... Never again."
Aang tilted his head, debating if he should press more, but judging by her expression, he decided against it. "Well, now you have one again! Me, Katara, Sokka... We're all your friends! So call me Aang."
Meili smiled twirling a small piece of hair around her finger. "Okay... Aang."
The monk grinned widely, grasping his pendant in his hand, "See doesn't that feel better! Avatar sounds so stuffy."
Meili grinned, finding his enthusiasm over something so trivial amusing. "Well, now that we're friends, why don't you tell me about your crush on Katara."
The monk immediately faltered in his grin, growing bright red. "I don't know what you mean. Katara's just a good friend! Just a really good friend..."
Meili rolled her eyes, "If you guys are just friends, then how come you are always staring at her when she's not looking? Or making her a fishing-line necklace? Or huddling next to her in Appa's saddle and whispering?"
Aang bit his lip. "Okay, okay you got me. You don't really seem like someone that would care about crushes though."
Meili waved a hand. "Oh, I'm not. I just wanted to know if you would admit it."
"H-hey! That's not fair!" Aang whined, but he wasn't too upset at all.
For some reason, he trusted Meili. He felt that weird, spiritual pull again — the same one he felt at the Great Divide. But it wasn't heavy or forceful, it was a light and warm sort of energy.
Aang couldn't explain it, but something was drawing her near to him. Perhaps he would ask Roku if he ever saw him again. The previous Avatar was bound to know what this mysterious force was. But for now he was content with sitting with her, making small talk, excited that she was trusting him to be her friend.
Thank you all again for reading! I know it's been a while since I have posted, but plz don't hate me :( I'm in my senior year of college, and I also run track so classes and athletics are kind of kicking me rn. I hope everyone is continuing to stay safe during this pandemic.
To my lovely reviewers...
LifeInTheGrey - Thank you for giving my story a chance, and I'm glad you are enjoying it :)
Ignisaraignee, Colors56, YaoiLovinKitsune, and laraceleste - Thanks for your kind words! It makes my heart so happy that this story is being loved by y'all !
Knightwalker405 – I can see where you're coming from, however, it is realistically really hard for someone to completely cut out habits they have developed and acted upon throughout their life. In my story, I wanted Sokka's realizations to be more gradual than in the show because typically, 15 year-old boys don't like to change their ways, and Sokka himself is a character that doesn't like to admit when he's wrong. Even well into the second season of the show, we can see that Sokka still has a very strong view of what a man's duty is — going to war and being a leader — which, in turn, unintentionally perpetuates the stereotypes as to what should be expected out of a man vs. a woman during war. I want not only Suki, but Meili as well, to be an example of how appearances can be deceiving. Both are beautiful girls, but can also kick ass ;) I hope that this helps with understanding my intentions in the story!
Don't forget to check out my Instagram Ochavenn to see what Meili looks like! I appreciate all of the love and support :) xoxo