Family

Everyone was sleeping when the sun rose above the perfect floor of snow. It had become a lot warmer during the night. The snow was starting to melt and the icicles were dripping off the roof of the hut that Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Stella slept in. Everyone was sleeping and dreaming peacefully. Well, almost everyone.

Stella couldn't fall asleep. She kept tossing and turning in her sleep for some reason. Maybe it was because she had a hard time dealing with her confusion. Maybe she didn't feel safe out in the open desert of snow. She really didn't know why she felt this way. Why couldn't she remember anything from before? She wanted to remember who she was and why she was here. All she remembered was the picture of her mother in her mind.

She stared into the fire as it flickered. Then something hit her. A word that stuck in her mind for some reason, a word that she knew meant disgrace and lowliness. Half-breed. The word echoed in her mind. She wondered why she remembered this word. It made her heart tear in two. Was she a half-breed? Was she some kind of freak?

She couldn't take it anymore. She grabbed her knapsack and threw it over her shoulder. She needed to get away from here. She didn't want to bother the nice people that helped her out. She knew she would only be trouble to them. Where she would run to she didn't know, but she had to run.

Katara woke up at the sound of footprints. She looked at the door and saw it flapping as if someone had run out. She then looked at the futon next to her and saw it empty. She shook Aang awake. "Aang, get up."

"Just a couple of minutes, mom," he mumbled. "I'll be ready for school." Katara sat him up and shook him more fiercely.

"Aang, wake up. Stella's gone. We have to go find her." Aang quickly crawled out of bed and got his shirt on while Katara tried to wake up Sokka. Sokka just rolled over and held on to the covers tighter. Katara saw it was a lost cause and grabbed her coat. The two crawled on Appa and flew into the sky searching for the blonde. "Look, those are her footprints. We'll just follow them."

"That's her down there!" Aang pointed out and sure enough it was Stella running away. They landed close by and started running after her. "Don't run away. We just want to talk." Stella didn't stop. She just kept running blindly across the snow.

"Stella, don't run away," Katara yelled. "We're not going to hurt you. We just want to help."

"Yeah, right. How can you help me?" Stella continued to run away. She was fast enough where she could outrun them both. Just when she thought she was out of reach, a pain went through her entire body and caused her to collapse. She thought she might faint from the pain but she tried to bear it. She looked down and saw blood trickling down her side. When Aang and Katara got to her they knelt down by her side.

"Stella, you're bleeding," Aang said as he noticed the red stain on her cloak.

"She must have reopened her side wound while she was running. You shouldn't be running around so much. You could really hurt yourself or worse." Stella started to cry softly when she heard Katara's voice. "I didn't mean to make you cry. I'm just concerned."

"What does it matter if I die? At least the pain would be gone. Do you know what it is like not to have any memories? It's like a living hell, a nightmare that you can't wake up from. You feel nothing but confusion and emptiness. The only thing I have left is a picture of my mother in my mind. How am I supposed to go on like this?" She fell into Katara's arms and sobbed. Katara and Aang felt so bad for her. Katara felt more pain for her. She could relate to her sort of. She had lost her mother when she was young. But how could she understand how it felt to lose everything you know and love?

"We're going to take care of you, Stella," Katara said as she stroked her head. "We won't let anything bad happen to you."

"Maybe we can help," Aang started. "We can help get your memories back. Everything is going to be alright." Stella looked up through red, puffy eyes. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. At least now she had friends that would take care of her. Maybe she could make new memories.

"Alright, I'll stay if you want," she said as she sniffled. "Is it ok if I stay with you?"

"Of course it is," Aang said as he threw his hands in the air. "We can always use another family member."

"Family?" Stella looked very puzzled.

"Yeah, we became a family when we started traveling together," Katara explained. "You can be a part of our family now." Stella smiled. She liked the thought of that. At least she wouldn't be alone. "Let's get back to the camp and change your bandages. Can you walk?" Stella tried to stand up, but the pain from her side forced her back down.

"I'm sorry," she said meekly. Aang smiled and helped her on his back, careful not to hurt her anymore. As they walked back, Aang told her all the things they were about.

"If you are going to be in this family, you need to know some stuff. Katara is a waterbender and I'm the Avatar."

"What's an Avatar?" Stella asked curiously.

"You don't know who the Avatar is?" Katara asked. Stella looked sadder than ever. Katara had forgotten that she had lost that much memory. "Well, the Avatar is the balance between this world and the spirit world. He can bend water, earth, fire, and air. He is suppose to protect us from the war with the Fire Nation."

"What kind of a war?" Stella asked.

"Well, over a hundred years ago, the Fire Nation attacked and the Avatar disappeared. We found Aang in an iceberg. He was training to be the next Avatar and he can save us all from Lord Ozai and the firebenders." Stella's mind was suddenly jogged. She remembered a man in firebending clothes holding her when she was younger. But her mother was a waterbender. Was there something else to her past?

"Anyways," Aang said snapping her back to reality. "We have to find a waterbender master so Katara and I can master waterbending. Then when you're all better we can go ride the otters underwater. They are really fast and hard to catch, but that's what makes it so much fun." Stella started laughing softly. This boy was a funny young kid. She was glad that she had friends like this. She hoped that she would be able to get her memories back. But for now, she would be happy spending time with them. She remembered that before she wasn't accepted for who she was. Now she fit in somewhere. She had a family.

I know. This chapter isn't that great. There should be some action in the next one. Just keep reviewing. It might be awhile before I update thought. Please be patient. Cya.