It's been a while since I've posted a story or anything and I had the idea for this a while back. This is my first oneshot. I hope you like it!

Gyatso watched Aang silently from across the courtyard. The normally smiling and playful child was sitting serenely on the west wall watching the sun set. Gyatso felt the weight of sadness settle on him as he watched the boy. He was so young. Only eleven. Yet he had proven himself to be a master. The monks had been amazed at Aang's skill. Never before had a nomad become a master before their sixteenth year. Everyone was so excited…except for Gyatso. Because Aang's raw talent only solidified the idea that the boy was the avatar. Gyatso sensed a hard, lonely road ahead of the boy. Aang seemed to pick up on his teacher's sadness. And it confused him.

"Gyatso?" Aang asked quietly, turning his head.

"Yes Aang?" Gyatso said, walking to stand behind the boy.

"What's happening?" Aang asked, "What's going to happen to me?" Gyatso sighed and placed a steady hand on Aang's shoulder.

"You have reached the level of master." He said.

"I know that…but why? I never really thought about it before until the monks took me aside. Airbending has always just been a natural thing. I didn't realize I was so far ahead of everyone. How is this possible?" Aang asked.

"You have a gift, dear boy. It's as simple as that. There usually are a some every few generations that have gifts such as yours." Gyatso said. He wanted desperately to tell the truth to this boy whom he thought of as a son. He felt like he was betraying the child by keeping Aang's destiny from him. But there was really nothing he could do. The council had decided. "Now tell me, are you prepared for tonight?"

"Yes." Aang said calmly.

"Then we should go get ready for the ceremony." Gyatso said, tightening his grip on Aang's thin shoulders slightly and leading him into the temple. "You are sure you're not afraid?"

"Yes." Aang said again and parted ways from his master.

Aang entered through a doorway and stood, waiting. The room was pitch black. He could smell the sweet aroma of essence around him. It washed over his body and dulled his senses slightly.

"Step forward, Aang." A deep voice boomed. It was a test of faith. Aang had never been in this chamber before and didn't know what lie ahead. He closed his eyes and took another deep breath of the burning essence. He concentrated on the air around himself, how it moved around the room. Gradually, images began to take shape inside his head of silhouettes all around him. Aang confidently began walking forward, stopping right in front of the council table.

"You, child, have been found worthy to carry the title of master. Never has this honor been bestowed upon one as young as you. Do you feel you are prepared to take on this responsibility?" A raspy voice asked. There was silence in the room as Aang stood, thinking. Already the other acolytes had separated from him. Whether from jealousy or intimidation Aang couldn't tell. He had been miserable and watching Gyatso's sadness only made everything worse. He tried to understand why Gyatso would feel this way. He thought that it might be that Gyatso didn't want to see Aang get hurt. Pain was absolutely certain in the ceremony. He decided to stick with this theory. Aang's mind tumbled over all this repetedly. He stood there in that silence and the essence smoke for nearly ten minutes as he thought about his answer. Then he realized that he was only thinking about the thoughts and feelings of others. He wasn't thinking at all about himself and what he wanted.

"Yes. I feel I am ready." Aang said.

"Very well." One of the silhouettes said. A small lantern was lit and Aang finally got an actual look at the room. It was exactly how he had sensed it, but he had missed one thing. Two poles were set in the middle of the room spanning from ceiling to floor. The monks all stood and formed a circle around the poles. Aang took a breath to calm himself and stepped forward, placing himself between the poles. He had been wearing nothing but a short kilt. This was removed by one of the monks as others bound Aang's wrists and ankles to the poles. Aang had been staring at the ground, not wanting to catch Gyatso's eye. When he finally did look up, he was shocked to see that the men surrounding him had no faces. It took him a moment to realize that these men were actually bending the air around their faces so Aang couldn't see them. From their clothing Aang could tell they weren't from the southern temple. He was surrounded by strangers, two were even women. He felt a small amount of fear creep up on him.

"Don't be scared child." A voice said softly. Aang looked up at the woman who had spoken. She, like the male monks, was bald with an arrow tattoo on her scalp. Aang could only see her mouth. She gave him a gentle smile and placed her hand lightly on his head for a moment. A sense of comfort overwhelmed Aang and he smiled back at her.

"Thank you."

"We are ready to begin." One of the monks said. The women stood aside and the circle of men closed in on Aang. A stick was placed between his teeth and the first needle was brought to the center of his forehead. It rested in place for a moment before it was driven into Aangs flesh as far as his skull would allow. He let out a sharp cry of pain and bit down on the stick. He stood there, gasping from the agony of it. Another pin was brought up and set in almost exactly the same spot. It was also driven into Aangs head.

Aang lost track of time as the hours passed. Needle after needle was thrust into his body and left there. Once the top of Aang's head was covered with the needles and the monks had moved to the back of Aang's neck, the women came forward with cloths to wipe away his blood. The ceremony went on. Aang stood there in a stupor as the pain receded to merely a dull throb and his consciousness had slipped away. Even unconscious, however, he was still vaguely aware of every needle that entered his body. The monks had progressed the whole length of his spine. The single bar of needles traveled straight down his buttocks and began winding down his legs. Others had begun a branch at Aang's shoulder blades to bring out to his arms. Finally, it was done and the monks left Aang alone in the room, still bound to the poles. Aang drifted back to the surface of his mind and gazed around in a daze. As time progressed he felt the dye inside the needles begin to work its way into his skin. Aang felt a buzzing on his raw flesh, as though the needles had started shifting around like a colony of insects. It was all an illusion, so was the man that was now standing before Aang with long hair and firenation clothing.

"Hello." Aang murmured in a hoarse voice. The man smiled at Aang and nodded before his form melted away. Hours passed that Aang stood there. He was now beyond exhaustion and his body was numb. Then the monks returned. Without a word, they began removing the thousands of needles and the women tended the broken skin. When all was done, Aang was untied and he fell forward into Gyatso's waiting arms.

Aang was unconscious for two days. When he finally awoke, Gyatso was sitting by the door watching him intently.

"Good morning, Aang." Gyatso said with a cheerful smile. Aang nodded in return and watched groggily as Gyatso stood up and wandered around the room. Aang was lying on his stomach. His body was covered in bandages. He felt as though an invisible force were pushing him into his bed. All he wanted to do was go back to sleep. As he closed his eyes to do just that he felt a gentle hand lift his body into a sitting position. Gyatso held a small mirror in front of Aang's face, and even in his half conscious state, Aang couldn't help but laugh at his reflection. The left side of his face was red from being smashed into the pillow and his scalp was covered in bandages that wrapped below his chin.

"We have a guest coming in to see you today. This normally isn't done, but since you are so young the council made a special arrangement for you." Gyatso said as he began removing Aang's bandages. The wounds began to sting as the air touched them. Aang frowned at his element for betraying him. Once the bandages were off and Aang was decently covered with a blanket, Gyatso left the room for a moment and returned with a very young woman trailing behind him. Aang was always struck by the beauty of water tribe women. Their dark skin and hair contrasted all the other races of people. And those penetrating blue eyes. Aang watched her in wonder as she stepped forward and knelt beside him. She brought out a bottle and held it to Aang's lips. Aang guzzled the cool water thankfully. The woman then motioned for him to lie on his stomach. Aang did so and watched her from the corner of his eye. She began waving her arms majestically over Aang's body. He felt the cool water in his stomach begin to spread through his veins. Then quite suddenly the stinging where he had been cut began to fade. Aang glanced down at the hand resting next to his face and watched in amazement as the gruesome cut softened and turned blue. He looked up at the woman, her eyes were half closed in concentration. She looked tranquil. Her presence had an affect on Aang. With her soothing countenance and the cool calmness he felt from his healing wounds, he drifted off to sleep.

Nearly a year later, Aang learned about his role in the world as Avatar. He lay in bed thinking about his fate. His mind drifted back to that watertribe woman. He had been thinking about running away, and he knew he could find sanctuary with those peaceful people. Perhaps he would even find the woman that had healed his wounds. He fantasized for a few moments of finding her and perhaps even marrying her someday. It was a silly daydream he knew, because he hadn't even spoken a word to the woman, nor did he know her name. But the thought appealed to him. He took his things and saddled his bison. Then was caught in a storm.

Aang woke up in a pair of gentle arms. He opened his eyes and gazed into the lovely face of a watertribe girl. She wasn't the young woman he had met, but she was just as beautiful and even looked similar. Her face softened into a heart-tearing smile and Aang said the first thing he could think of.

"Would you like to go penguin sledding with me?"