Aang woke with a start. It had only been for a moment but the district smell of fire had overwhelmed his senses. He reached for his staff, unsure if his foe lurked just behind him or somewhere behind the towering trees that were so near their camp. There didn't seem to be any immediate threat,though it was a little hard to tell with Sokka's incessant snoring. Had he just imagined it? The question lingered in his mind as he eyed his surroundings. The answer came only when he bothered to look at Momo. Rather than chasing a slew of insects beneath the silvery moon, the little lemur was staring blankly into the distance. Something was out there and it wasn't too far away. "Stay here Momo," Aang instructed before unfurling his glider. It would be cruel to wake Katara without a good reason; waking Sokka was almost impossible. This was a task best undertaken alone. In an instant he took flight, unaware of the eyes that could see him even now.
Mu had halted his approach. He'd heard the wind shift and knew there was no need to go any further. Surely the Avatar would see him standing out in the open like this. He laughed a little, amused by the thought that Aang would fly overhead without noticing him at all It was an easy thing to do. "It was always an easy thing to do," he mused.
The sound of light, uneven footsteps reached his ears. Even when sitting quietly with his eyes shut it wasn't difficult for Mu to determine who they belonged to. "Is there something you need, Jinju?" he asked with a smile. It faded slightly when he saw the glider he was being offered. It was yet another tool for flight that seemed determined not to have him for a wielder much less a master. "That's ok. I'd rather just listen" The jovial grin that remained strewn across Jinju's face made it hard to determine if he'd understood anything said. Mu stood and searched his mind for something to break the awkward silence. "I'd rather just sit and listen to…to the wind. If I wield it just right I can hear so many things—not just here either. I thought I was imagining it at first, but I don't have any doubt now, " Mu concluded. He fixed his eyes on the sky above them both. It was hard not to be impressed while watching the other Airbenders fly. This was especially true of Aang. He was miles above everyone and weaving his way through the clouds without a care in the world. "If I perfect it , Aang won't be the only one with arrows around here." Jinju blinked and set the glider aside. He'd understood part of the message at least and that was good enough.
Aang stared intently at the ground beneath him. The air had become pleasantly warm albeit saturated with an unnatural silence. It thickened until it swallowed even the sound of the wind. He would see something soon- or so he believed. The flight was taking much longer than usual. Each minute that passed seemed to stretch itself a little farther than the last. He thought of turning back- of finding a good place to land and catching a sudden breeze that would steadily carry him in the opposite direction; it was the ash that changed his mind. He'd only noticed it just now but bits of it were drifting towards him on an unheard wind. His eyes narrowed when he caught sight of a blemish on the flattened earth below. There really had been someone lurking in the shadows and now he was going to discover who.
Questions filled his mind when his feet met the earth again. Despite the smell of ash and the rising heat the person he saw looked more like a friend than an enemy. The young, pale boy standing aimlessly in the moonlight was dressed in the robes of an air nomad. Aang blinked and shook his head just a little in an effort to repel the thousands of inquiries that had made their home in it. Whoever this was hadn't noticed him just yet and for the moment, that was good; it gave him a way to answer the most pressing question. The stranger seemed unprepared for the breeze that lifted the hat from his head but the shock didn't a twist of the wind he sent the conical crown into several circles before placing it atop his head again.
There was no denying it now. "Heh, Sorry," Aang began as he approached,"I came out here because I thought I heard someone approaching our camp. I didn't think it would be another... Airbender," he concluded with a deep breath. He swallowed and tried to quell the surge of questions that resided on the very tip of his tongue. Something about the boy seemed fragile. Overwhelming him with a thousand questions would be anything but wise, especially now. "U-Usually when there's ash on the wind it means there are-"
"Firebenders," the boy responded knowingly.
"That's right. Did you come across any?" Aang asked. The nod that followed was the only unsurprising event about the night thus far but a few things were starting to make sense. "They probably mistook you for me. You see, I'm Aang. I'm.. the Avatar," he said. He expected the stranger would recognize the name or respond with his own but it didn't happen. At the very least, his newfound friend was smiling. Aang thought a moment before extending his hand "There's a lot I don't understand. I have so many questions but it is very nice to meet you. If you come back to camp with me you can meet my friends and at least get a little rest." Had Aang been blind he'd doubt the hand that grasped his own was one at all. Though thin it was filled with a deep and undeniable strength.
"Sokka and..and Katara, right?" Mu asked.
" How did you—?"
"The wind. Think of how many things we whisper to it each day. Hopes, Dreams, Wishes. If you wait and listen you can hear so much, even things you shouldn't be able to." Mu began almost cheerfully. "Speaking of which, do you believe what Huu said?"
Aang didn't answer. He took the opportunity to wrest his hand from the young boy's grip. it was getting much harder to pretend it didn't hurt. Glancing at it for second would cause him to worry about something far stranger. The arrow etched on it was glowing.