"Welcome to Omashu!" Aang yelled as he showed off the large Earth Kingdom city to both myself and the Water Tribe siblings, not that I needed to be shown anyways. I have been alive for over four-hundred years and this isn't my first time being in Omashu, especially as a human and not in my dragon form.

"Wow! This place is gigantic!" Katara said in awe. "There aren't any cities like this back home, so this is a little shocking."

Sokka snorted. "That's because we live in small igloos and on a pile of ice, Katara." He reminded his little sister.

"I can't wait to see Bumi again!" Aang said with glee.

"Hold on Avatar." I said, gaining the boy's attention. "How do you even know if Bumi is alive? It's been over a hundred years." While I myself did know that the old coot was alive, there was no way that the Avatar knew his old friend could possibly still be living.

"Well I've been alive for over a hundred years, plus Bumi was always known for his ingenuity." Aang replied with a shrug.

"For one thing, you're the Avatar and he's not, but if you want to find Bumi then I suggest you start looking around that giant structure up there." I pointed towards where I knew Bumi's castle was at.

"Wait your not joining us?" Katara asked.

I shook my head. "I have my own business to attend to here in Omashu. I will find you all again once I am done with what I need to do." I said to the others as I turned in the opposite direction of them.

"What business do you have here exactly?" Sokka asked with suspicion laced in his tone. I whirled around and glared at him causing him to sweatdrop.

"The kind you don't need to worry about." Was my reply as I began to walk away from them.

"I know that we agreed to let him join us, but I still don't trust him." Sokka said with Katara nodding in agreement. While Igni did seem like a good person, he still used fire as his element and anyone who uses fire in their eyes is considered bad.

Despite the fact that I rarely ever visited Omashu before and after I became a dragon, the large city had never changed. The townsfolk were still there perky and happy selves despite the fact there was a war going on. The reason I was left the Avatar's little fan club is because of the fact that I made a promise years ago that I would visit someone here after I saved them from a...traumatic event.

Walking down the narrow little path I was on, I quickly made a left turn and went up a somewhat steep hill to come face to face with a little wooden size cottage. I knocked on the door hard, my fist sounding like a large slab of rock had just been slammed down onto the dirt.

"COMING!" Was the reply I had heard. The light scuffles of feet could be heard on the opposite side as someone finally grasped the door handle. When the door was finally opened, it revealed a tanned woman with light brown hair and freckles on her cheeks.

"IGNI!" She gasped.

"It's good to see you again, Cinder." I smiled lightly. Cinder gave me a hug which I returned equally as well.

"Well just don't stand there, c'mon in." Cinder said. I entered her home and she closed the door shut. Cinder's little home was somewhat cozy with nothing more than a simple table and a cooking area for food and tea.

"I just made a fresh pot of tea. Would you like some?"

I gave her a slight smile. "If you wouldn't mind."

She shook her head. "Not at all, especially for an old friend." She ran over to the tea pot and poured two cups. She then raced right back over and handed me one.

"Thank you, Cinder."

She smiled again. "It's no problem Igni. I practically owe you my life." We then took a seat at her nearby table. "So what have you been up too these past five years? I have to say I'm a little surprised that you're even off of Kyoshi Island since you love it there so much."

I snorted. I didn't exactly 'love' Kyoshi Island, but it was one of the more quieter places in the world. "Well I was planning to leave Kyoshi Island in a couple of months, but my timetable had been accelerated by something unpredictable."

She raised an eyebrow at my vague statement. "What was so unpredictable that it caused you to leave your beloved man cave?"

"The Avatar."

Cinder's eyes shot up immediately and she almost spit out her tea. "The Avatar!? He's alive!?"

I nodded my head. "Yes. I do not know how he is or where he has been for the past century, but the Avatar is alive and well. Matter of fact, the boy is here in Omashu, he's looking for his old friend Bumi."

"The Avatar is friends with King Bumi?!"

"Apparently they were before he disappeared." I replied with a shrug of my shoulders.

"Well, this certainly changes things doesn't it. Not only do we have the Avatar back, but you're with him as well, then perhaps this war can finally end." Cinder whispered.

"That is the plan, but the Avatar is still a naïve fool, especially due to the fact that I know when it's time for him to fight the Fire Lord, he won't kill him." I said, causing Cinder's eyes to widened even more.

"Why not?! That monster doesn't deserve to live after everything he's done." She yelled.

"Trust me I know, but the boy was raised by Air Nomads and they believe that every living thing has a chance at redemption no matter how evil or vile they may be. Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me if the Avatar didn't try to befriend the Fire Lord and even try to become friends with him." I shook my head at the thought of Aang trying to become buddies with the leader of the Fire Nation.

"Well what about you?" She asked. "Does the Avatar know that you're the Black Dragon of Fire."

I shook my head. "No he does not nor do his accomplices either. I will reveal my true identity to them soon, but not now. Not until I know they can truly be trusted with my secret."

"I guess that makes sense." Cinder muttered.

"Enough about the war and the Avatar for now. How have you been since we last saw each other." I asked.

Cinder let out a sigh. "Not much has happened since you left especially since there really isn't anything to do in this city. I mostly try to stay busy by babysitting my friend's earthbending baby boy and training with that bo-staff you left me after what happened all those years ago."

I frowned at the mention of what happened. You see five years ago, I had briefly snuck off of Kyoshi Island and flew to Omashu simply because I wanted a little change of scenery and because I had heard mention of a couple of Fire Nation soldiers coming towards the city from one of the Kyoshi Warriors. I met Cinder after one of the firebenders caught her and tried to burn her. I quickly dispatched and killed all of the firebenders in front of her in my dragon form. At first, Cinder was deathly afraid of me, but after I transformed back into my human form, she became quite close to me.

I took her back home after that and gave her my bo-staff that I had with me and taught her how to use it. It was made of out the dragon scales of one of the dragons I had killed in order to become like I was today, so it held some value to myself.

Cinder grabbed my hand, causing me to come out of my trip down memory lane. "You know, I never actually thanked you for saving me that day." She murmured.

"There's no need to thank me. I was going to kill those Fire Nation soldiers anyways, but rescuing you was more of a bonus." I smirked.

Cinder giggled at me and put her hand on my cheek. I leaned into her touch and let out a tiresome sigh. We stared into each other's eyes and began to move closer until...

BAMMM!

A large slam startled us.

"What the hell was that?" Cinder asked. I ran quickly outside and saw one of those transportation carts that the Earthbenders in Omashu used to move mail around. I then looked up and saw a familiar group of idiots currently riding on one of those carts.

"Those idiotic fools." I growled. I quickly followed the cart's path, leaving Cinder behind. I could only hope that I could reach those fools before they caused anymore damage to this place and attract unwanted attention.

AN: Hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Now for the information about Cinder. Cinder is a twenty year old woman that as you can see lives in Omashu. She was rescued at the age of 15 by Igni after the Fire Nation tried to burn her. While the two of them did somewhat have a relationship in the past, it never went anywhere and with Igni secluding himself to Kyoshi Island, they decided to call it quits. Now Cinder WILL NOT be replacing Toph as Igni's lover in this story at all. I REPEAT SHE WILL NOT. Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, stay safe and I'll see you all next time.

-Tr33zy.