Chapter Two: The Avatar

We waited in the trees right above the Fire Nation camp. Sneers and the Duke were right. There had to be at least twenty soldiers, and we'd have to take them down fast to have a chance. I slid down to a lower branch to get a better look. One thing the Fire Nation had going against them was their obsession with uniformity. Their fire-benders wore flame-shaped helmets while their non-benders wore generic ones, and so far, I only saw one fire-bender. He had an eyepatch, and judging by the way he was hovering around the largest tent, he must've been the captain as well.

A bird whistle sounded above me, and I looked up at Jet. He gestured toward the captain, and I nodded with a smile. Once we took out the fire-bender, we'd up our odds. Jet was about to give Longshot the signal to create a distraction when three kids strayed into the camp. I counted two boys and a girl. The eldest boy and girl had tanned skin and dark brown hair, and judging by their clothes, they must've been Water Tribe. However, when I examined the youngest boy, I held back a gasp.

Those markings. I recalled seeing those arrow tattoos in a scroll that belonged to my great-grandmother. It couldn't be.

I heard another bird call, and I blinked, not realizing that the soldiers had cornered the kids and left us with an opening. Longshot struck the captain in the back with an arrow, knocking him flat on the ground. Jet took his cue and swung down with his hooked swords. He landed on the back of two soldiers and took the large group head on.

Latching my whip onto the branch I was standing on, I jumped down and charged at the soldier closest to me. He raised his spear, but I lashed my whip, allowing it to wrap around the spear. With a forceful tug, I ripped the spear away from the soldier, and slung my second whip around his neck. Using all of my strength, I swung him into a nearby tree. I made sure he was unconscious before searching his armor. He had a spare knife, and I stashed it in my side-pouch before rejoining the fight.

I saw the Water Tribe girl water-bend a soldier out of the way while the youngest boy air-bended…. He air-bended! I blinked a few times to make sure my eyes weren't deceiving me, but no, he was an air-bender, which meant he had to be the Avatar.

A sword swiped in front of my face, and I jumped back, cursing myself for not staying focused in the middle of a fight. I continued to dodge the soldier's attacks until a saw an opening and kicked him across the side of his head. He staggered a bit, giving me enough time to whip him right between the eyes, and he fell back. I kicked his sword away and checked to see if he was unconscious. His eyes were closed. Perfect. However, when I went to check his armor, his grabbed my leg. I saw a knife in his other hand, and whipped it away.

I tripped backward, and I felt my ankle twist as I hit the ground. Climbing to his feet, the soldier retrieved his sword and stalked over to me. I tried to stand, but my ankle surged with pain. Great, it was swollen. Hearing someone yell, I saw the Water Tribe boy charge at the soldier from behind, but before the boy could help, Jet swooped in and kicked the soldier away. The soldier landed next to his comrades, and it didn't look like he was getting up any time soon.

"Tashi, are you okay?" Jet adjusted his swords into one hand and held out the other for me to take.

"I'm fine. I–" I cringed as I put weight on my swollen ankle. "He caught me off guard."

"Why that–" He glared at the fallen soldier.

I saw the rage burning in Jet's eyes, and knowing what he was about to do, I clung onto him. "No. We've defeated them. It's over. Just help me walk, please."

His body loosened at my touch, and he sighed. Slinging my right arm over his shoulder, he helped me over to the trunk of one of the trees. I sat down on the large root that sprung from the ground, and over Jet's shoulder, I noticed the Water Tribe boy was watching him with narrowed eyes. I gave the boy a dirty look in return, and a faint blush crept onto his face before he retreated back to his friends.

"Did you see that kid, Jet?" I nodded toward the bald boy with the arrow tattoos. "He has to be the Avatar."

He grinned. "Yeah, and that girl is a water-bender. That'll definitely be useful."

I raised an eyebrow while I secured my whips at each side of my belt. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You'll see." He winked at me before striding over to the Water Tribe girl.

I saw the girl's eyes grow wide like a lost bunny-puppy, and she blushed when Jet gave her his trademark smile. Was I jealous? No. That girl looked at least two to three years younger than us, and I couldn't blame her for being mesmerized. Jet had grown to be quite handsome over the years, and he had a certain charisma that won people over with ease. So long as he didn't take things too far, I was willing to let him lead the girl on for his plans.

While the other Freedom Fighters cleared out the camp, I tended to my ankle. Rolling up my pants leg, I ran my hands over the sensitive spot and flinched. I thanked the spirits that it was only a small sprang, and I sucked in a breath when I placed weight on it again. Walking was going to be a pain in the butt for a while, and I decided it was time to use my bending out in the open for the first time in four years.

Facing my palms toward the ground, I took a deep breath and exhaled the air through my hands. I propelled in the air for a few feet and continued to air-hop toward Jet and the newcomers.

"And this is Tashi, my second in command." Jet gestured to me right as I landed beside him and stumbled a little from my ankle. "Careful. You don't wanna make it worse."

I held up my hands. "I'm fine. Just give me a day off my feet, and I'll be good as new."

He pointed toward the Water Tribe girl. "This is Katara–" The Water Tribe boy. "Sokka–" Then the presumed Avatar. "And Aang."

I smiled and waved. "Nice to meet all of you."

However, I was met with silence, and the three of them stared at me slack-jawed. Sokka wiped his eyes before pointing at Aang and then back at me.

"You… you're an air-bender!" Sokka said with a crack in his voice.

"Guilty as charged." I faced Aang and gave him a slight bow. "And you must be the Avatar. It's an honor to finally meet you. I gotta say, it'll be nice not being the last air-bender anymore."

The young boy stared at me, and stared, and stared. A spectrum of emotion flickered through his eyes, and the most I could make out were disbelief, confusion, and maybe… hope?

Aang shook his head and stepped away from me. "That can't… how? I saw my temple, and everyone's said that the Air Nomads were extinct."

I pulled my necklace out from underneath my black tunic and showed it to him. "This belonged to my great grandmother, Ming. She was able to escape Fire Lord Sozin's attack."

I watched Aang examine the necklace, and a dead silence came over him. He had thought he was the last air-bender. Yet, in his eyes, I could tell he realized that no matter how much the Fire Nation tried to destroy the world, the world would always find a way to keep the balance.

Tears forming in his eyes, Aang hugged me, and I stiffened at the sudden action. "Uh, are you okay?"

He pulled away and wiped his face. "I'm sorry. I'm just so happy. You don't know how much this means to me. I was convinced that our people were gone forever."

"You and me both." I chuckled.

His eyes lit up with excitement. "Are there others?"

"None that I'm aware of. I was the first air-bender to be born after my great grandmother." I glanced away. "My family and my old village are gone."

Aang furrowed his brow. "Oh."

Smellerbee waved to Jet. "We've gathered all of the supplies."

"Good job. Let's head back before we draw too much attention." Jet looked at Sokka, Aang, and Katara. "You wanna see our hideout?"

"Yes, we wanna see it!" Katara smiled at him, and by the way she was swooning, I was sure she was going to float in the air.

Sokka eyed Jet and folded his arms. "I don't know. We have a schedule to keep."

"Did your instincts tell you that?" Katara said.

"Yes," he grumbled and jutted his lower lip out into a pout.

"But we can't leave now, Sokka." Aang looked at me before glancing at the forest. "What do you think, Appa?"

A roar came from the forest, and a giant animal marched into the campsite. It had six legs, was covered in white fur, and was marked with the same arrows Aang had.

"What is that?" I gasped.

"This is Appa, my flying bison," Aang said.

A smaller mammal with wings and long ears flew out of the saddle on the bison and landed on the Avatar's arm.

"And this is Momo, our flying lemur." He smiled. "Guys, this is Tashi. I finally found another air-bender."

Appa stepped closer and sniffed me. I remained still, unsure of what he was going to do, but the bison made some in indistinguishable noise and licked me. I yelped as my left side was covered in slimy drool.

Aang laughed. "He likes you."

My eye twitched, and I grimaced at my soaked clothes. "Great."

"Come on." Jet stood at the entrance of the camp and gestured for everyone to follow him. "We should get a move on."

The other Freedom Fighters pulled the large cart of supplies and hurried after Jet. I was about to air-hop after them, but Aang tapped my shoulder, stopping me.

"Why don't you take a ride on Appa, so you don't put anymore stress on your leg?" he said.

"That sounds like a good idea. Thanks." I propelled myself higher in the air and landed in the saddle.

Aang joined me while Sokka and Katara traveled on foot. The Avatar petted Momo, who was curled around his shoulders, and something dawned on me. While I was an air-bender, I was technically an Earth Kingdom citizen, so where did he come from? His tattoos and clothes seemed too authentic.

"So–" I reclined back against the edge of the saddle. "You mentioned the temples, Aang. Were you living there with what remained of the Air Nomads? Or were you born in the Water Tribe?"

His eyes widened, and he lowered his head, his shoulders drooping. "Neither. I was born over a hundred years ago before the war started."

I gasped. "But… but how's that possible? You look twelve-years-old."

He closed his eyes, his brow knitting, and he seemed conflicted about something. "I don't know. I ended up trapped in an iceberg for a hundred years, and Katara and Sokka found me in the South Pole not too long ago."

"Wow." I crossed my arms and raised an amused eyebrow. "You're definitely the Avatar if you were able to pull off a crazy stunt like that."

"Now we're trying to get to the Northern Water Tribe, so Katara and I can learn water-bending." His face brightened up, and he smiled. "Hey, you should come with us."

"Come with you?" I said.

He nodded. "Yeah. We're the last two air-benders in the world. We should stick together. Besides, I could teach you air-bending and all about our culture."

"I–" Furrowing my brow, I hugged my arms around myself. "I appreciate the offer, Aang, but I can't just leave my home like that. The Freedom Fighters are my family. They need me. And Jet–"

I glanced toward the boy who had stolen my heart. I don't know if I could handle being apart from him and the others. It's not like the North Pole was right next door, and in this war-torn world, I could risk never seeing any of them ever again.

However, on the other hand, running into the Avatar was a stroke of luck, and his offer was a once in a lifetime chance. I've always wanted to master air-bending, and it wasn't like I was learning it from just anyone. He was a true Air Nomad. There were so many things he could teach me.

Aang seemed to understand my hesitance, for he placed a hand on my shoulder. "Well, give yourself some time to think about it. In the meantime, what's this hideout like? How many Freedom Fighters are there? How long were you with them?"

I couldn't help but laugh at his barrage of questions. Despite surviving for over a century, he was still a silly, little kid. Either way, I knew I had a big decision to make, and it wasn't going to be easy.