Notes: Updated 6/23/21

5 years before Sozin's Comet and the Genocide of the Air Nomads

The council chamber was always created with the idea of being spacious. It didn't have a door, rather, it had a large horizontal oval shaped entrance. The roof was non-existent; instead it had a collection of grape vines that had the purpose of providing shade similar to the branches of a tree. Currently the chamber was host to Monk Gyatso, Monk Tashi, and Monk Pasang, all in argument over the fate of an Avatar.

"Aang needs to have freedom and fun. He needs to grow up as a normal boy." Gyatso argued. As Aang's mentor he wished for the boy to have a regular upbringing; one free from obligation and the responsibility of keeping the world balanced.

"Hmmh, You cannot keep protecting him from his destiny." Tashi responded as he turned to glare at his fellow monk.

"Gyatso, I know you mean well. But you are letting your affection for the boy cloud your judgement." Pasang added in his familiar baritone voice.

This statement annoyed Gyatso, though he did not show it. It would only hurt his case. "All I want is what is best for him." Gyasto decided to respond with. It would neither show his annoyance, nor would it sound as if he was backing down.

"But what we need is what's best for the world." Pasang countered. He took a moment to look down in thought before he continued with finality, "You and Aang must be separated. The Avatar will be sent away to the Eastern Air Temple to complete his training." Shock was the first reaction Gyatso had. He could only look down in acceptance for he couldn't overrule the decision of a head monk of the temple, it would only gain him disfavor among the others.

Aang could only look on in horror and shock, his eyes wide and limbs shaking from his hiding place in the grape vine canopy. They wanted to separate him from Gyatso. They wanted to take away everyone he knew and everyone he loved. It felt like a betrayal of everything he was taught from his first days at the Eastern Air Temple with Sister Iio. His airbending instincts that were a part of him since birth told him to run, to never let them take Gyatso away from him, to never let them take away his freedom. Aang was about to do it, to hop on Appa and never look back, but something made him stop. Some far off instinct from a memory he couldn't recall, from a life he could not remember.

'You must face this head on' a voice spoke up, barely above a whisper and in a tongue the young air nomad had never heard before. Oddly enough, he could understand it as clearly as the language of his people. If Aang's breathing had been any harder, he may have never heard it or understood it.

This made him pause, Aang had never heard this voice before. It told him to face this head-on, to be rock solid, and to be unflinching as the stone his home was built on. But what part of him was suggesting this, this… this was not how he acted. The voice was compelling though, and inspired him. It swelled something inside of him completely foriegn and unknown. With a newly found drive, Aang decided that if he wanted this to be solved he couldn't run away, he had to face it head on. Defend Gyatso and himself from those who desired to change his destiny.

Aang blew himself off the vines and slowly floated back down to the floor. He walked down and into the council chamber, where all three elder monks were surprised to see him. Gyatso looked less surprised than the other two, he might have guessed that Aang would want to see what was happening and why his teacher was walking off to the council chamber in a huff. Aang shook those thoughts from his head. He was here to voice his disagreement to Monk Tashi and Monk Pasang and to confront his problem head-on.

'Just like a rock' continued the voice from within.

Through the surprise, Gyatso was the first of the three Monks to recover and ask "Aang what would you be doing here?" It wasn't an accusation, rather a patient question. When Aang compared that to how other Monks, especially how Monk Tashi talked to him, he couldn't help but be thankful for his mentor.

Aang looked down in contemplation, doubt creeping into his mind whether he should do this, why was he doing this? It was far easier to just turn tail and run, avoiding this for as long as possible. But one quick shake of the head later, all doubts were expelled and he looked up with narrowed eyes and determination written all over his face. He finally spoke with what people would later call his 'Avatar voice.' "You can't take me away from Gyatso, he is my teacher and I want him to be the master from whom I learn air bending from. I don't know much about the Avatar let alone what it means to be the Avatar, but I am confident that they are allowed to choose their own teachers. Things haven't been easy for me ever since everyone learned I was the Avatar, so please…please let me have this Monk Pasang."

'Good' complemented the voice, Aang could hear a trace of femininity to it.

He managed to garner a shocked look from Monk Tashi, a sad and sympathetic look from Monk Pasang, and a prideful look from Gyatso. Though Monk Tashi was the first one to respond in a tone of someone who knew they were wrong but would not back down, "You are out of line Avatar, you must focus on your training. Monk Gyatso is doing you a great disservice by filling your head with nothing but laziness."

Gyatso was about to provide a retort, but was beaten by Pasang who had a look of guilty resignation. "The boy is right Tashi. The Avatar is allowed to choose his teacher. Although we had first given Gyatso the task of teaching him, the boy has chosen Gyatso as his teacher and will accept no other."

'Great' finished the voice, there it was again. Even through that weird new language Aang could somehow understand, it sounded femenine.

Aang was truly shocked, he had stood his ground and spoken directly against the head Monk of the Southern Air Temple. Something like this would have gotten any other Monk thrown out, but here Aang was, showing him his mistake and convincing Monk Pasang.

Conversely, Monk Tashi was obviously repulsed by this choice from what Aang could gage via his reaction. He still wasn't very good at reading people's faces, but he did notice Gyatso's expression was so full of pride, happiness, and joy that Aang had to look away in embarrassment. Rose tinted at his cheeks.

Aang looked back up to Monk Pasang and bowed before speaking once again sagely, "Thank you Head Monk Pasang for your consideration and acceptance of my advice. It means more to me than you might understand."

Monk Pasang looked at him and smiled. "Thank you Avatar. Iohi has truly blessed us with you in such a turbulent time of gathering thunderclouds."

With that Aang turned around and all but ran out of the chamber. The voices had disappeared and with it, the inspiration. He could only use those far away instincts for so long before his normal and instinctual air bender mentality returned. Once out of earshot of the three Monks he exhaled a sigh of relief. He had acted like someone so foriegn to himself that he wasn't sure what had brought him to act like that in the first place. With that he began to walk back to his room, oblivious to Pasang's comments of looming war.

Gyatso watched as Aang walked out of the council chamber, a small content smile on his face. It brought back memories of when Roku had been stubborn about something. Everyday he saw something more that would remind him of his old friend. He realized the true nature of the Avatar in that moment, even if they were reincarnated into different people from different nations, they seemed to share similarities from their past lives. He turned back to face Tashi and Pasang to gauge how they would act further.

"Gyatso, perhaps you are doing well with his teaching. He just exemplified the earthbender in him that many of us in the temple could never manage." Monk Pasang said. He turned to Tashi and continued "Monk Tashi, perhaps you were too hasty in your accusation of Monk Gyatso. The young Avatar seems to be moving along well. I don't want you to interfere in his teaching again, leave the boy to Monk Gyatso. I am confident he will be ready to keep the balance when the darkness encroaches."

With that the three Monks left and went their separate ways.

Aang's previously cheerful mood was brought down when he remembered yesterday's events and how the other children of the temple excluded him from their games. They had come up with a completely new game that had so much potential for fun with the technique he had come up with to earn his arrows. Even if he had defended Gyatso, the other kids wouldn't accept him and he would miss out on so much fun. Being the Avatar hadn't brought much happiness to his life so far; it made the other kids look at him as some sort of god and had almost gotten himself forcibly separated from Gyatso. Aang was a prodigy, the youngest airbender to master the element, but it only brought pain. Aang could only wish he wasn't the Avatar, it would end so many of his problems. He also pondered on the voices, never had that happened and he had no idea what to make of it. It took Gyatso entering the room for Aang's self-pity and reflection to be pushed to the back of his mind.

"Aang; how are you feeling? You made me so proud to call you my student today." Gyatso said with so much warmth and kindness in his voice. Spirits, Aang wished he could be half the Monk Gyatso was.

"I'm alright. I… I just feel that being the Avatar is making everyone think I'm some sort of different person. I- I'm just Aang, I just want to have fun, meet new people, make new friends…" Aang answered Gyatso, trailing off towards the end. He didn't feel comfortable sharing what had driven him to confront Head Monk Pasang yet, about the voices he heard.

Gyatso frowned, this was the first time Aang spoke like this to him. "Aang, just because people look at you differently when they learn you're the Avatar, that doesn't mean you should act differently. Being your own person is important, and so is defending what you believe. Remember though, you should always seek the counsel and advice of those around you, you just need to learn when that advice will do more harm than good. Making decisions is something we all get better at with time."

Aang looked up at those words. He took that advice to heart and would always remember it. Aang could use it when he had to be wise like Gyatso. Knowing this he smiled and turned to Gyatso and said "Thank you," giving him a hug.

"Rest up my pupil, tomorrow is a new day and a new opportunity; we must always take advantage and cease the day." Gyatso said. He paused for a second, in consideration before continuing, "And tomorrow we'll take Appa to go see Bumi. While on the way though we must continue your training. Just because the Monks decided to grant you your arrows doesn't mean there is something we can't get better at. Just as nature continuously grows, so too can our minds and our bending." With a pat on the back and a joyful smile, Gyatso left Aang's room.

Aang's problems were pushed to the back of his mind, Gyatso seemed to always do a good job of that. Images of riding the mail system with Bumi flashing through his head. Even if he did not know it, Aang's brief moment of earthbender mentality would drastically change his path to avatarhood, to his quest to bring balance to the world, and to the destinies of friends yet to be born.

Notes:

Well if you haven't guessed already this story is an AU where Aang never ran away and instead had another 4 years of training under Monk Gyatso in peace. If everything goes well and I complete this story, this will be the prequel to a world where Aang emerges from the iceberg at 16 years old. Chapter updates will most likely be week to week. Thanks for reading!