Notes: Updated 6/24/21

Aang woke up the same way he did in the temple for as long as he could remember; to the chiming of the morning bell. Recently he had woken up before it, at sunrise, and he wasn't sure why though. Aang had asked Gyatso why, but his mentor never gave him a straight answer, always avoiding and evading.

Aang broke from his musings and pushed himself out of bed. Walking over to his dresser he pulled out a tunic and quickly pulled it over his head, tying the strap of cloth that secured his shirt to his pants. Aang made his way over to the wash bin, grabbing his tooth brush and giving it some paste, he brought it up to his mouth and began brushing. As he brushed his mind began to wander as he recalled yesterday's rollercoaster of emotions. Aang couldn't believe he was almost sent to the Eastern Air Temple and to be kept away from Gyatso. He had no idea what he would have done if it wasn't for that faint whisper that told him to confront Head Monk Pasang. He might have done something dumb, like running away. Aang ended his train of thoughts as he gargled some water and finished brushing, he didn't bother looking into the mirror. Aang knew didn't have to shave his hair yet.

Turning around he strutted for the door, making his way down the hall to the meditation garden. Monk Alu was leading today and it usually was a peaceful meditation when he led. Taking his seat, Aang entered a lotus position and waited patiently for the other kids to walk in. For as lazy as he could be, Aang always made sure to be punctual for meditation. Being on time for things was something Gyatso made important to Aang early on. As he waited, his mind began to wander, he thought about what fun he could get up to with Bumi once he got to Omashu. Last time Aang was there, his earthbender friend had spoken of a cave near Omashu they could explore. Aang knew if Gyatso learned about Bumi's suggestion he wouldn't allow him to go off with Bumi. There wasn't much to worry about though, riding the mail carts was always lots of fun.

Finally the last of the kids got to the garden and Monk Alu began the session. Even if Monk Alu was one of the younger masters in the temple, barely around 45, he had a taste for classic meditation methods that eased the mind and body. Aang could sense him slowly bending the acacia incense around them, its musky scent filling his nose. This had the intended effect on him and helped Aang ease into his meditative state, his mind slowly emptying of yesterday's drama and the past week's pain. When his mind attempted to wander he would reel it in, just like a leashed ostrich horse. His spirit became centered and he felt something pulling at him from a great distance, but he wasn't strong enough yet to follow the pull. The next hour passed in a blissful meditation, deep inhales then slow exhales, the chest falling and rising. Aang could sense the world around him; the sun, the wind, the clouds, and the earth, all stimulating his senses.

As the meditation came to a close, Monk Alu rang the meditation bell three times in perfect rhythm, pulling him and everyone else out. As Aang stood up and brushed off his tunic, Gyatso came up to him with a smile. "Well Aang are you ready to go?" Gyatso asked, already knowing the answer.

Aang smiled and eagerly nodded before saying "Yep, just have to grab my staff, then we can go have fun with Bumi!" He was excited. Ever since he was told of his avatarhood, Aang had begun taking his studies privately with Gyatso instead of in the classrooms.

"Great Aang, I'll go saddle Appa, I already loaded our supplies on him." responded Gyatso, turning to make his way toward the bison stables.

Aang turned around too and walked back to his room. It was a short and uneventful walk back to his room, few if any of the other kids at the temple would walk up to him now that they knew he was the Avatar. Approaching his room we pushed the door open and used some airbending to pull his glider to him. Opening the wings, he gave it a quick once over to make sure no moth flies messed with the fabric. Once he completed his examination, Aang walked into his room, closing the door on his way out. He hopped onto the window sill, opening the wings of his glider. Aang entered a crouched stance, placing his hands on the front most struts and jumping out the window. He flew his way to the bison stables, passing over the temple and taking in its morning beauty. The swell of pastries baked for breakfast wafted in the air; mountain winds did a good job of spreading the sweet scent around the temple.

Once Aang neared the bison stables, he de-elevated and with a fluid motion spun around closing his glider and landing on both feet. Aang walked over to Appa, giving the large beast a pat on the head and airbended some hay out in front of him. The grand sky bison gave a grateful bellow and focused on finishing the hay as Aang walked to the side of Appa seeing Gyatso finishing up with packing.

As Gyatso turned to Aang he began, saying "As you know Aang this will be a few days journey to Omashu, because of this I have packed a few scrolls I want you to read. We'll also be working on form 32 and form 28, both forms were your weakest in your mastery test. I also want to work on your mastery of form 35." Aang could only groan at that, Gyatso always managed to add practice to any sort of fun activity he had planned. Gyatso gave a light chuckle at his pupils' reaction and continued "You need to master it sometime, can't be lazy all the time Aang, you'll end up like Tashi." This got Aang putting a hand over his mouth to stop laughing, he knew making fun of others was mean, but he could never stop himself from laughing when others did it.

When Aang finally was able to stop himself from laughing any more; he nodded to Gyatso and answered "Okay Gyatso, I understand. Form 35 never came easy to me so I guess I'll just have to work my hardest on it. I don't want to be known as 'Lazy layabout Aang' forever." It was Gyatso's turn to laugh. Both reveled in each others' joy before airbending themselves onto Appa. Gyatso checked to see if Appa was done eating the hay before he gave a "Yip, Yip" and pulled on the reins to get the sky bison into an accent.

Aang watched the temple fade into the background as Appa leveled and began to cruise. Once the temple was no longer visible, he turned to the scrolls Gyatso had packed and pulled one out. Gyatso had made sure Aang couldn't know what it was about from the outside. His mentor had made a rule against not reading a scroll once he picked them, and once he learned Aang would study the scrolls before picking them he had made them markless so Aang couldn't avoid topics he thought were boring.

Opening up the scroll Aang read the title out loud so Gyatso could know what his pupil had unknowingly gotten himself into. "History of the sky bison!" Aang shouted to Gyatso from across the saddle.

Appa gave a long roar that Aang could understand as him saying 'Good luck, our history is long.' Gyatso added his own thoughts as well, saying "Ahhh, that one was one of my favorites. It's always brings me joy learning about the first airbenders!"

Both of Aang's eyebrows rose at that, what did Gyatso mean by 'first airbenders?' Lucky for him, Aang had his mentor right there to answer him. "The sky bison know about the first airbenders?" asked Aang.

A chortle of laughter rang out from Appa's head. Aang moved to the front of the saddle to look at Gyatso expectantly. "Sky bison were the first airbenders my dear boy, they showed the first of us how to master airbending." Gyatso responded.

Aang's eyes shot wide, a large smile accompanying it. He jumped onto Appa's head, right next to Gyatso and looked down at his animal companion asking "Maybe you want to give me a lesson boy?!" Aang was answered by a bellow from Appa that he understood as 'Would love to Aang.'

After giving Appa a pat, Aang returned to the saddle and picked up the scroll. Maybe reading could be fun after all. He could learn so many things that he could share with Appa. Returning his eyes to the scroll, Aang opened it and began to read.

The sun was low in the sky and dusk was quickly approaching. As Aang watched the sun slowly set, Gyatso began to have Appa descend. After a few hours Aang had finished the scroll. He had never been so interested in reading something; Aang often found himself avoiding reading because it wasn't very fun to his 12 year old mind. This was different, he wasn't sure if it was because Gyatso told him bison were the first airbenders or because it was just something interesting, but Aang found himself eager to begin reading again.

As they neared the ground, Appa stuck out his legs preparing to land and hitting the ground softly with grace only an airbender could manage. Gyatso leaned forward to untie the reins from Appa's horn while Aang began to sort through their pack for some food and their spark rocks. Once done with the reins Gyatso began to cobble together wood for the fire and piled it up, striking the spark rocks Aang had given him. One 'fwoof' later and the fire was started.

With a quick look up Aang saw only clear skies meaning he wouldn't have to grab the tents and they could just rest against Appa. Gyatso began making tea as they both munched on some fruit and Appa on the surrounding grass.

It was then Gyatso spoke, "While we wait for our jasmine tea to brew I want to begin your practice on form 35." Aang nodded and followed Gyatso a few meters away from camp. Once far enough away so as to not blow away the fire, Gyatso turned around. "For mastery of cloud stepping you must quickly make the air beneath your feet dense. Don't let the name fool you, those who invented this form were not the Avatar and could not bend water. It may come easier to you now that I have explained it in greater depth, my pupil, as you are not only an airbender, but also a waterbender. Focus on bringing the air together similar to that of your air scooter, but make sure to collapse it with greater force. This requires you to focus on foot movements." Gyatso demonstrated exactly this, spinning the air near his feet with quick leg motions. Aang could feel the air being focused in one spot, then as Gyatso stepped on the condensed air he could feel it contract ever so slightly under the new weight and as he stepped off, the air pushed the foot upward and raised Gyatso off the ground. "Once you are about to move onto the next foot, allow the air to push upward. Simply repeat for each step, though be warned, this is not a substitute for flying. It is slower and will leave you open to attack. The higher you step the weaker the air pressure will get until it is no longer possible to create a new step. Now follow my movements and carry out the form."

Aang took in Gyatso's words and began to repeat the leg motions, something oddly familiar about it. For the next few minutes he began working on bending the air into tight spheres with just his feet. Gyatso would have him start over every time he saw movement of the hands. Aang wasn't very good when it came to bending with his feet, most airbenders weren't, airbending had a focus on hand and arm movements. This form took Aang some time to even get the first step down. Gyatso told Aang to continue practicing while he went off to collect the tea and when he returned with the kettle, he approved of Aang's work on the first step of the form. Aang began the form again with some foott movement and stepped onto the compacted ball. When he stepped off, the air slipped from his control and quickly put the young avatar on the ground face first. Gyatso had to suppress a smile, not wanting to embarrass his pupil.

After a few more tries Aang was able to complete his first cloud step. He smiled greatly at this newly learned ability he performed. Airbending brought so much joy to Aang, little to nothing could bring such excitement to him.

Aang progressed with the form, bending the air with his legs until he would jump on it and use it to propel himself to the next step, slowly getting higher and higher, faster and faster, with each step. Gyatso sat by with a prideful smile drinking his jasmine, content with teaching his pupil. Slowly Aang was able to constantly get the form correct and reach the treetops. Although he could speed it up more, Gyatso deemed him a master of the form. He could see how the distant familiarity of past lives helped Aang progress through the form. Normally this would take weeks, maybe months, for typical airbenders to master. Lower body movements were not common in airbending. Being the Avatar though, brought to the table the ability to combine different bending forms with that of other elements and could make one's knowledge balanced and complete. He had learned exactly that when he traveled with Roku around the world. As Gyatso called it for the night and began to drift off to sleep on Appa, he couldn't help but connect and see similarities between his pupil and his old friend.

Aang slowly opened his eyes, something inside of him awakening at the first glimpses of sun. He looked around the camp and already saw Gyatso somehow cheerfully awake and making more tea. Aang pushed himself off of Appa's leg pulling his shirt over his head and walking over to his mentor, still rubbing his eyes. When a cup of tea was placed in his hands and he took a big whiff, all the grogginess left in him vanished. As Aang sat down, Gyatso brought a bowl of fruit and a small pastry to him. Slowly eating, he began to feel how sore his mussels were from last night. Aang was surprised he got a hold of the form that quickly, and even more so that Gyatso approved of it and deemed him a master of the form. Gyatso made sure to say that he could always do with completing it faster and improving. Cloud stepping wasn't something he thought he could really be good at when Gyatso told him he could only use his feet, heck most of the forms he mastered first solely involved arm movements. Somehow though he got it, and that brought a question to his lips.

"Gyatso, how was I able to learn cloud stepping so fast?" Aang asked.

Gyatso turned to look at him from his tea and smiled "The familiarity of foot motions from your past lives granted you with an intimate understanding." replying simply.

Aang paused, eyebrows raised and eyes wide. This was the first time Gyatso had talked about him being the Avatar and how it affected him. Then Gyatso's words were processed by Aang; his familiarity with the motions that he felt was because of his past lives, past Avatars. "Wow" was the only thing he could manage to get out through the swirl of thoughts. Gyatso gave a nod at this in understanding and how the new knowledge would affect his pupil avatar. A few minutes passed in silence as both monks ate their breakfast.

After both finished, Gyatso put out the fire with a controlled removal of air from it. He moved to Appa who by this moment had woken up and was eating hay. With a pat he moved to grab the reins and began to tie them. Aang grabbed both Gyatso and his bowls and walked over to the river. Dunking the bowls into the water, he washed them up and cleaned them. Turning around he walked back to Appa and airbended himself onto his animal companion. With one last look around, Aang made sure they didn't leave anything and had left the land unharmed. Gyatso let out a "Yip, yip" once Aang confirmed they were good to go.

Aang went back to the back of the saddle and made for the bag of scrolls. He simply plucked one out, less conscious this time of his choice; his last bit of reading was enjoyable and he wanted to read for what felt like the first time. Unfurling the scroll he took a look at the title, once again reading out loud for Gyatso. "How to make a glider, in detail!"

Gyatso gave a 'Hmm' before commenting, "Great choice Aang, being able to make yourself a glider from scratch is important and so is being able to repair it." He looked back before continuing "We're going to stop at Kyoshi Island and take a day's break there and ride the giant koi fish. I need to talk to some friends there as well."

Aang jumped with joy at hearing this, almost dropping the scroll in his hand. He lowered himself back onto Appa gracefully and began imagining the fun that awaited him. Riding koi fish was very very intoxicating and he hoped one day he could bring Bumi and Kuzon there to ride them. Having fun was great and all, but sharing it with others was even better.

"-And we'll continue your practice, but first, fun!" Gyatso shouted from Appa's head with a chortle of joyous laughter after seeing Aang's face contort at the word 'practice' but relax at 'fun.'

Aang sat himself down, reopening the scroll and beginning to read. He couldn't wait to tell Appa all about gliders when he finished reading. Admittedly he had talked Appa's ear off when Gyatso had left to meditate, though he knew his best friend didn't mind and enjoyed listening to him. Turning his full attention to the words he focused on reading and let himself learn.

It was roughly midday when they reached Kyoshi Island. Aang looked over the saddle, images of him riding the giant koi fish flashing through his mind. Returning to his sitting position at the back of the saddle Aang picked up where he left off on the scroll. It wasn't as long as the one about the history of sky bison, but it wasn't any less interesting. He finished the last few paragraphs, ending off his reading. Rolling it up and tucking the scroll into its pouch, Aang hopped onto Appa's head with Gyatso. Approaching the island Aang saw a village he hadn't seen before, multiple villages actually, and a dock. Maybe that's where Gyatso's friends lived that he was going to meet with, maybe he could even be friends with them as well! That was a dumb thought, of course he could make friends with them, anyone who was friends with Gyatso would want be friends with him.

Gyatso turned to Aang with a serious face that startled Aang. "You must not tell anyone you meet that you are the Avatar. There are storm clouds on the horizon that only bring danger." Gyatso spoke, every word oozing with the authoritative power he held over Aang as his sifu.

Aang was worried by how serious Gyatso was about what he said and what his words entailed. Aang had also never heard Gyatso speak that way with him, let alone those moments when Tashi had annoyed his master. What scared Aang most of all was the ominous warning of storm clouds on the horizon. He had no idea what that meant, but if Gyatso was worried about it, there was good reason to be too.

Aang gave a nod, regardless of Gyatso's warnings, he hadn't wanted others to know he was the Avatar anyways. He was scared that others would react similarly to the other kids at the temple. That they would shun him, avoid him, exclude them from their games. Being the Avatar hadn't brought joy to his life, only misery. If only he wasn't the Avatar…

Aang jumped back into the saddle, shaking his head. Thoughts like those would only bring sadness and he was here to have fun and make new friends. He had the chance to ignore being the Avatar and simply be Aang. He wasn't sure how long he could be just Aang and he wasn't sure how many other Monk Tashis were out there, waiting to sculpt him.

Shaking his head again, Aang turned his thoughts to the quickly approaching ground and what fun he could get up to.

_
Notes:
Hope you enjoyed this longer chapter. I was deciding whether to extend this chapter, but it was getting long and I want to make the next chapter focused on Aang's time at Kyoshi Island. Next update coming soon!