Chapter One: Of Age
The Council of Elders had always known Aang was special the moment he arrived at the Eastern Air Temple. He was not born within their monasteries, but was handed over to them by a young, single mother, scared and confused. At first, there were concerns over the infant's compatibility with the few remaining airbenders, but their doubts were soon brushed away.
At two months old, the infant sneezed with enough force to knock his caretaker off her feet and giggle at the sensation. The child was an airbender, and one likely born around Avatar Roku's death, marking him as one of the three potential avatar candidates. In two short years, their hypothesis was answered when Aang picked the four avatar relics as his choice of toys. Soon after, he was sent to the Southern Air Temple where he continued to learn and grow under Monk Gyatso's supervision.
Aang flourished with Gyatso's care, their bond just as strong, if not stronger, since their friendship during Roku's lifetime. Of course, Aang still hadn't learned the truth about himself, and would not until he became of age, however his progression in airbending studies gathered everyone's attention, even those outside their community.
When he was ten years old, his first acceptance letter from the United Nations Academy arrived. While most of the nomads encouraged their students to attend the school, it was unheard of for the school to offer younger students to attend. The Council of Elders unanimously turned down the offer without informing the young airbender.
A second offer was sent the following year and it was once again rejected, however, the third time was the charm. Aang had just received his tattoos and was recovering before the ceremony when the letter arrived.
An elderly monk with a long, gray mustache and unibrow knocked on the door before entering the Council of Elders' study. Gyatso was reading a text when his friend and fellow council member caught his attention.
He set his book down and smiled, "What can I do for you, Pasang?"
A long sigh escaped the High Monk's lips as he sat next to Gyatso.
"Iroh is very persistent."
Pasang pulled letters out of his robes and handed one to him while he fanned the others between his fingers, "They want Aang, and a few others, of course."
"And your thoughts?" Gyatso was wise, he knew to ask of others' opinions before voicing his own.
Knowing what his friend was doing, he side eyed him, but voiced them anyway.
"We cannot, should not, hold him back, can we?" Turning to look out the window, he continued, "Aang is very prodigious in his airbending and spiritually, as we can attest since his infancy. He deserves a challenge and a moment of normalcy before he finds out the truth about his destiny. I believe this could be a good learning experience for him despite being only twelve."
"Plus, he'd be sixteen when he graduates; he could start his Avatar training right after," Gyatso couldn't help himself from interjecting, causing Pasang to laugh.
"Very true, my friend!" He teasingly elbowed him, "And let's not forget your term as Air Master at the Academy is soon to begin as well! There really is no reason for you two to separate now! It is practically settled. We shall finalize everything later tonight with Tashi and Iio after the ceremony."
"What are you two scheming without me?" A female's voice rang out before she turned the corner and presented herself.
"Iio! And Tashi! Perfect timing." Gyatso was the first to stand in order to welcome the female airbender with a hug. "How was your trip?"
The woman, a little younger than the other three men, chuckled, "Not as long as it will be for the others. I was at the Academy, cleaning and organizing it for your arrival Gyatso. It will be good for me to be back at the Eastern Air Temple after all this."
Ever the impatient one, Tashi grumbled, "What was it you wanted with us?"
Pasang explained everything once more and presented Iio the letter. Having just finished her most recent term at the Academy, Iio was on board with the idea. Aang would be a model student to represent the air nomads. Tashi on the other hand was not as keen.
"This will look like favoritism," he countered. "If he even wants to go to the Academy, it should be when he is of age. I do not believe he has quite reached maturity for it."
Iio's hair almost slapped across Pasang as she whipped her head to gawk at Tashi. "Not mature enough? Aang is the youngest airbender to attain his tattoos and did we not just see him meditating instead of resting? That child is ready, but you are correct. We should simply ask him."
. X . X . X .
Just before the monks and the sisters of the other temples were set to leave the Southern Air Temple the next morning, the Council of Elders called Aang for a private audience. They explained the letter and their reasoning for approving or disapproving of the opportunity, but had ultimately decided to let him select his own path.
"Do you have any questions, Aang?" Gyatso could see some turmoil in the young boy's silver eyes.
"A few," he admitted. "Can I-Do I have time to think this over? What about Appa and Momo? Would they be allowed to come with me?"
The four council members studied their newest master before answering him.
"You have until the end of the day today," Tashi spoke before the others could. "If you have these types of concerns, perhaps it would be best to wait until you are of age."
Pasang and Iio nodded in agreement while Gyatso's heart sympathised with Aang. The boy was closest to his animal companions now that the other young pupils were excluding him from their games, claiming Aang as an unfair advantage to any team for becoming a master so soon.
"Appa will be able to go with you and may stay at the school's stables, however, Momo will not be able to follow you to the school," Pasang himself could not imagine being away from his own sky bison for too long. "Think over this carefully, Aang. I know there is no simple answer at this moment, so I will relieve you of your daily duties for today so that you may meditate and come up with an answer that best serves you."
Excused, the boy floated upright and headed straight to Appa, certain he'd find both of his furry friends together.
Along the way, he spotted a few of the boys playing their new game they invented with the help of his own air scooter invention. Of course it had stung a little to be excluded, but he understood their reasoning. He was glad at least that with him gone, Jinju would most likely be invited to join them in their games.
"If I go to the school, I'll have a chance to see some of the older guys that I haven't seen in a while," Aang told himself as he carried on, lightly scratching his newly acquired arrow tattoo. "Plus I'll get to study with the female airbenders for the first time too! More airbender friends and other nation friends!"
With a new upside for the Academy, Aang eagerly searched for his two companions. Unfortunately, the second he found them, he remembered he would have to trade Momo for new friends. The flying lemur lunged for Aang and rubbed his face against Aang's, sensing the boy's inner turmoil.
"I don't have any treats with me this time, Momo," he scratched Momo between his ears, "But I'll bring you some after I get your advice."
He began to clean Appa's pen and groom them both as he verbally worked through his dilemma, occasionally stopping to let Momo chatter and Appa grunt their responses. Aang truly felt like they understood him and wished he could understand them better. Chuckling, he could only imagine what they had to say.
Momo jumped back onto his shoulders and patted Aang's cheeks when he noticed his caretaker's eyes water.
"I know, I know," a small, sad smile appeared on Aang's face, "you don't like it when I get upset, but this is so hard. I don't want you to think we abandoned you if we leave, and we'll be back for breaks and celebrations."
Aang hopped onto Appa's forehead and laid there, rubbing the sky bison's head. "And maybe you two won't miss each other too much. Momo will have the other lemurs and you'll have the others too. New friendships all around…"
A few more tears slipped from the young boy's eyes before he drifted into sleep.
. X . X . X .
The time for Aang to inform them of his decision was fast approaching and Gyatso wanted to have a word with him before the others gathered. He searched top to bottom for the young airbender, but of course missed checking the stables.
Aang was beginning to wake as his mentor approached him, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
"I should have known to find you here," Gyatso began, "and I see that you kept up with one of your duties anyway. How are you feeling, my boy?"
Sitting up straight, Aang clutched his stomach, "Hungry."
His mentor laughed, "I'm not surprised, you skipped lunch. I did not see you in the dining hall."
"What time is it?"
"A little past six," Gyatso tossed him an apple and reminded him of their meeting.
Aang thanked him for the snack and walked his mentor through his thoughts. He had come to a decision, but a big part of him wanted to see the older man's reaction before he told the others. Unfortunately, he couldn't read the other's stoic expression, yet he did not falter with his own.
"I've decided: I am going to United Nations Academy."
. X . X . X .
A sudden rush of adrenaline coursed through a young waterbender's veins as she finished packing her bags. Like her older brother, she too would be joining the United Nations Academy as a first year and she was ecstatic.
As soon as her acceptance letter arrived to invite her to the prestigious school for benders and non-benders, the girl gathered all of the information she could, including bothering the living snot out of her brother about frivolous details. She had asked him general questions the year prior when he first returned home after a semester abroad, but now she had picked his mind completely dry.
She felt prepared for anything, but couldn't help the nervous flutter in her stomach about making friends. As the chief's daughter, she knew everyone in their village, yet she never felt particularly close to any of the other children of the tribe except her brother. Even Bato's daughter, older than Katara by two years and have known each other all their lives, were not as close as she and Sokka. Wherever one was, the other was not far behind. Many throughout the tribe teased Kya that her two children were meant to be twins, but the spirits knew they would wreak havoc had they not been separated by a year. Despite their strong bond, the siblings did amass chaos when they fought.
"How have you not finished packing?" Katara peeked into her brother's room to find his room in disarray. Clothes lay everywhere. School supplies remained untouched all throughout summer vacation. His small collection of maps and weapons were neatly placed within his trunk, however those were not necessary for the school year.
"Katara—" he cut himself short, shaking his head. "You wouldn't understand."
"Try me."
Knowing they only had half an hour to make it to the docks, Katara began picking clothes off the floor, folding, then packing them. They wouldn't need as much of their personal clothes since the Academy provided uniforms, but Sokka was involved in a variety of after school activities that allowed for him to change out of the uniform. And from the limited clothes they were already taking, there was even less to pack because the climate at the Academy was a lot warmer than their own at the South Pole.
"I don't want to go back."
That stunned his sister for a brief moment before she continued packing with more urgency.
"What do you mean? You were so excited about your sports teams and clubs last year. "What changed?"
Sokka stopped packing completely and flopped back into his bed, sighing loudly.
"I think… I think I've committed to too much. I'm a starter for football; I'll be the Vice President of the Society of Tribes; I wanted to join another club, AND I'm taking two high level courses—which I've heard are extremely difficult— with some of the strictest teachers!"
Finished, Katara stood and placed her hand on her hip, "And what? You're afraid of ruining your B average? Then take on less or ask for help. I still don't see what the issue is! Come one, let's get going. The ship will leave in ten minutes."
"See? You don't understand," he draped his arm over his eyes to block the light in his room. "I'll just transfer into the school here and help dad."
She understood then.
The anniversary of their mother's death was coming up and Sokka didn't want to leave their father alone. Last year they had Katara with him, however this will be the first time both of them are away from him completely. She didn't want to leave him alone either, but they discussed this when Sokka received his own letter and again when she received hers.
"Sokka…," she sat next to him and placed a hand on his knee, "You can't—"
A soft chime halted her admonishment and sent her into a panic as she patted herself down in search of the source. Following the song, she popped open Sokka's trunk and dug around until she found her phone.
"Yes? Hello?"
"Where are you kids?!" Their father's voice rang in her ear. "The sea plane leaves in five minutes!"
Slamming the case shut again and tossing it out the window into the snow, she hastily responded, "We're almost there! We got a little caught up saying goodbye to everyone. See you soon!" Katara yanked her brother off the bed and pushed him down the stairs before returning to her room to grab her own trunk.
Kissing their grandmother farewell, the siblings rushed out the door to retrieve Sokka's luggage.
As quick as she could, Katara created an ice sled big enough for them and their stuff and shot them forward with her water bending, arms splayed behind her.
"LOOK OUT!" Sokka yelled with eyes tightly shut in warning to those in his sister's path and to his sister as well. He couldn't—wouldn't— witness their demise.
In record time, they arrived at the port where a small gathering of other students and their parents stood waiting to board the small water aircraft, all watching their dramatic arrival. If Hakoda was not used to his children's stunts, he would have been embarrassed, yet he knew this was karma's funny way of paying him back for his own adolescence. At least Katara had the penchant for punctuality.
He hugged and kissed his children, all the while making them promise not to get into fights and to remain on their best behavior. Separated, he knew they could be angels, but for the life of him, he couldn't figure out how the two always found trouble together.
"Don't provoke your brother, Katara," he waved along with the other parents, "and don't tease your sister too much, Sokka! We'll see you in a few months!"
The engine rumbled across the sea's surface before slicing into the sky, circling the village once then headed north towards the Earth Kingdom where the United Nations Academy awaited.
AN: Thank you for reading!