Gusts of air forced it's way out of the hollow volcanic rock, as if pressurized and eager to escape. Zuko and Azula were pushed backwards, although they both managed to stay rooted to the ground.

The figure slowly walked through the volcanic rock's opening, seemingly unaware of the siblings' presence. His eyes glowed intensely, and the tattoos present on his forehead and hands also glowed the same, as if he were some mysterious spirit having arrived to judge them.

He took another step forward, looking almost sluggish on his feet.

Both Azula and Zuko shuffled backwards, though the Prince had the presence of mind to step in front of Azula, fist stretched forward towards the stranger.

Suddenly the light died out. Instead of an intimidating, barely visible figure shrouded in light...

"It's a kid..." Zuko realized, slowly dropping his guard.

The kid in question began to collapse as the light from his tattoos faded, and he exhaled once in clear exhaustion. Before his head would collide with the ground, Azula dashed forward, catching him by the shoulders.

Azula gave the boy a once over, checking him for injuries. Her gaze lingered on the arrow tattoos on his hands, and she glided a thumb over the paint. They looked permanent.

Belatedly, she realized Zuko was poking the boy's head with his boot. "Stop that!" she ordered, shooing him with a hand. Gingerly, Azula propped the strangely dressed boy against a wall of rock. After a moment of silence, he slowly opened his eyes. To Azula's surprise, they were a striking gray, and Azula nearly lost herself in them. The same could be said for the boy as well, as he found himself staring into Azula's piercing yellow irises. The bangs framing her face seemed to sway with the little bit of wind that was present.

"I need...to ask you something," the boy suddenly said, pulling her out of her daze.

"What..?" she asked.

"Please...come closer," he muttered. Azula drew closer.

"Will you catch fire ferrets with me?" He blurted, making Azula nearly jump backwards. Zuko suppressed a snort at seeing her get caught off guard.

Azula gave the boy an unimpressed look as she sat up straight before standing. "Well, you're obviously feeling better," she said under her breath, making a show of clearing her throat.

To Zuko and Azula's surprise, the boy kicked his legs up, seemingly floating in the air for a second longer than would be considered normal. Azula looked both shocked and impressed, while Zuko, ever the protective brother, stood in front of Azula again.

"What's going on here?" the boy asked, sounding confused as he rubbed his head. He examined the rocks surrounding them, but it seemed like he was looking for something.

"You tell us!" Zuko demanded dangerously, arms raised again in a stance, his lead arm almost directly in the youth's face.

"How did you get in the rock? And why aren't you an old man? Or dead?"

The youngest of the three waved Zuko's arm away almost lazily, as if a bug was hovering in his face.

"I'm not sure..." the boy paused as if considering what Zuko asked. "Why the heck would I be dead?"

A low, gruff sound suddenly filled the air, sounding like the growl of an animal. The boy gasped as if he'd found what he'd been looking for. Without hesitation, he walked back into the hollow rock, briefly disappearing. Zuko and Azula shared a glance.

Suddenly, the rock burst into rubble as if it had collided with a large object. Out stepped a giant animal, it's head adorned with an arrow pattern in its fur.

"What is that?" Zuko asked what Azula had been thinking.

"Appa! Are you alright, buddy?" The giant animal stuck its large tongue out, licking him. The boy laughed while Azula cringed inwardly. That had to be unsanitary, she thought.

"To answer your question, this is Appa, my flying Bison!"

Zuko looked unimpressed. "Sure," he deadpanned, crossing his arms. Azula shot him an accusing look, smacking his shoulder in reprimand.

Zuko frowned but continued. "This is my sister, Azula. She can't fly yet either."

The young boy only regarded him quizzically.

"Oh, knock it off, Zuzu," Azula scolded.

Suddenly, the Bison began to inhale deeply, drawing the trio's attention.

"Uh-oh!" the strange boy exclaimed, dropping to the ground.

The Bison let loose a powerful sneeze, launching a ridiculously large glob of mucus. Azula quickly stepped to the side, evading it, while Zuko wasn't so lucky. He managed to dodge most of it, but his arm was still hit.

"Euugh!" Zuko shook his arm, attempting to rid the material from his sleeve. Azula even had an expression of disgust on her face.

The beast finally shook itself, standing up on all six of its legs. Definitely exotic, was Azula's first thought, though the novelty of it all was ruined by the snot on her brother's arm. It looked like a Sky Bison, at least from the descriptions given by historical documents she could find in the royal library. Could this boy be..?

"Don't worry, it'll wash out," the bald youth assured with a smile. He folded his hands behind his head. "So where are you guys from?"

"Don't answer that!" Zuko ordered, raising his hands aggressively, for what Azula guessed to be the fourth time. For all we know, he could be alerting a hidden Water Clan ship."

Azula mildly shoved Zuko aside. "I'm sure he's an agent of the Water Navy," she replied, her tone dripping with sarcasm. Look at all that evil intent in his eyes."

The boy shrugged, a goofy smile on his face. Azula smiled as well, amused.

"This overprotective dum-dum is my brother, Zuko," she introduced. She could overhear Zuko sucking his teeth at the oft-used semi-insult. "You never introduced yourself," she added, a clear invitation for the stranger to speak."

"Oh! I'm A..." The boy paused in his introduction, holding up his hands. With a mighty sneeze, he flew several feet into the air before landing gracefully on his feet. Any other person could have broken their legs landing from that height, especially if they weren't an Earthbender...

"I'm Aang!" the youth said cheerfully, sniffing once and rubbing his nose.

"You sneezed and flew twenty feet in the air," Zuko calmly observed, as if Aang wasn't aware. Aang raised a brow, turning to look at the sky.

"You sure? It felt higher than that."

"You're an airbender!" Azula announced, stepping closer to get a better look at Aang's tunic. Aang stood still, feeling a bit awkward as Azula tugged at different parts of his tunic and cloak.

Zuko shook his head, climbing out of the exit created by the pillar of light from earlier. His sudden exit drew Azula's attention.

"Where are you going?" She asked, finally releasing Aang's fabric from her hands.

"Back home where things aren't crazy," Zuko replied without looking back.

Once making it out of the large hole, he surveyed the area trying to spot he and Azula's ship.

Aang dropped down next to him as if he'd fell from the sky. Seeing as he was an airbender, he probably did. Azula arrived shortly after Aang.

"I can give you a ride on Appa if you want?" Aang offered with a shrug.

To his dismay, the remains of their ship was scattered in the water surrounding the island. Pieces of wooden framework also seemed to be jutting from the ground like it was thrown there.

"It was your idea to use a wooden ship," Azula felt the need to remind him.

Zuko rubbed his face.

"We'd be honored for the ride, Aang," Azula nodded towards him. Aang returned the nod, an unbidden grin appearing on his face.

Aang shook his head, airbending himself onto Appa, whom had already climbed onto the surface.

"I am not getting on that," Zuko said with finality.

Azula was helped onto the Bison's saddle by Aang, and she made herself comfortable, crossing her legs. "Why? Afraid of heights?"

Zuko's expression was unchanged. "Still doubting it can fly," he said as an answer.

"I guess you could hitch a ride on a dragon," Azula admitted. "But then again, they're native to the other end of the fire nation," she continued innocently. "Good luck finding a ride."

So a few minutes had passed, and Appa had three passengers in Aang, Azula, and a brooding Zuko.

"Ok, first-time flyers! Hold on tight!" Aang announced, settling into his spot at the reigns. "Appa, yip-yip!"

Appa growled in response as he began to move, his tail moving up then down. As if they were being launched, Appa ascended into the air, and even Zuko's eyes widened as they increased the distance between themselves and the island.

Then Appa belly-flopped into the water, casting waves on either side of him as he trudged on through the ocean.

"Nice," Zuko sarcastically complimented. Azula shot Zuko a glare which he ignored.

"I'm sure he's just tired," Azula offered, shuffling closer to Aang. He nodded in agreement.

"Once he gets some rest, he'll be soaring through the sky in no time! You'll see!"

Azula smiled, amused at Aang's chipper attitude. She made to move back before noticing Aang still grinning at him.

"Aang? Why are you still smiling at me?"

Aang's eyes widened as if he were told he grew a second head.

"Oh, I was smiling?"

Azula hesitated before smiling again. If anything, Aang's awkwardness was somewhat charming. She shuffled back over to her spot on the saddle.

Aang watched her head back to her spot before noticing Zuko glaring at him. Aang awkwardly waved and Zuko responded by pointing at his own eyes and then at him.

Azula in turn glared at Zuko, who looked away with his arms crossed.


Sokka stood outside against the ship's guardrailing even after the sun had begun to set. The moon was beginning to rise, and Sokka could feel his connection to the waves strengthening. Pakku appeared from behind him, coming to a stop next to him at the railing.

"I'm going to sleep," he announced, watching Sokka for a reaction.

Sokka only nodded his acknowledgement.

Pakku sighed and crossed his arms, shifting his weight so that his back leaned against the railing. "Sokka, you need to sleep."

"I'm," Sokka stifled a yawn. "I'm totally fine," he continued after a pause, his head snapping back up after beginning to unconsciously lower.

"You have bags under your eyes and you look like you're going to collapse," the older man observed brusquely. "Even if the Avatar is alive," he added, "You'll never find him. Your father, mother, grandfather, and great-grandfather have all tried and failed."

Sokka sighed through his nose.

"Maybe. But I have to succeed," he said. "Ever since Mom died, Dad's been...different." Sokka looked down at the waves, as if they would provide some quick solution to his troubles. "I need to prove that I'm a worthy heir. Capturing the Avatar is the only way to do that. Either that or..." he left the rest of the sentence unsaid.

Pakku squeezed Sokka's shoulder. "It's why I joined this journey with you." He sighed, looking down at those same waves Sokka had been observing. The moon was reflected quite visibly on it's ever-shifting surface.

"Just don't wear yourself out. The crew needs to see their Prince in high spirits."

Sokka half-smiled. "I appreciate the pep-talk," he said, sincere. "Thanks, Gramps."

Pakku's somewhat pleasant expression dropped almost immediately. He rolled his eyes, heading back to the ship's cabin. "Just this once, I won't say anything," he grumbled. Sokka smiled again, watching as he disappeared back into the ship's interior.