This chapter is a short one- just a bit of filler to get things going, so sorry if it's a bit dull.

It had been 10 months since Zoe first arrived in the City of the Air benders. She had mastered her dual swords and archery, and was competent with most other weapons. Uri had a sleek new saddle and had grown; she was now the same size as the air strikers. Zoe had a new set of armour made from leather that had Uri's shed scales stitched onto it with a matching helmet that covered her entire face. It had cut outs so she could see and slits near the nose and mouth so she could breathe, and it too was covered in scales. Uri had the ability to change the colours of her scales, allowing her to blend into her surroundings. Zoe soon discovered that this happened regardless of the scales being attached to Uri or not, so she stitched them into her armour, making her practically invisible when Uri decided to camouflage. In the air, Zoe and Uri were a flawless team, able to dodge the arrows, nets and bolas that were shot at them in training with ease whilst also firing back.

Perhaps, Zoe's biggest accomplishment was that she had mastered air bending in her ninth month of training. She remembered it so clearly: she had fallen asleep that night after a big day of training just like she usually did, but was woken in the middle of the night with the skin behind her ear burning. It had lasted barely a minute before it settled down, and Zoe fell straight back asleep. In the morning, the skin still stung, so she had asked Amber to see if anything was there. Once amber had had a look, she immediately dragged Zoe out to Gus' house and bashed on the door until he opened it, still half asleep and not impressed to have been woken so early.

"I'm so sorry to bother you, but you need to see this," Amber had said in rapid fire.

"Amber, the sun has barely risen, what could possibly be so important?"

"This," she responded dragging Zoe so she was in front of her and pulling her hair back so that her ear was exposed. "Look, she's already got it."

Gus folded Zoe's ear forward so he could see behind it better, before gasping and pulling Zoe into a tight hug.

"You did it!" He cried. "Already! In just over 9 months! Congratulations!"

"What did I do?" Zoe asked, utterly confused.

"You've mastered air bending, you got your tattoo," Amber supplied.

"I got my tattoo? My air bending tattoo?"

"You certainly did," Gus said as he released Zoe from the hug. "Now we need to work more on your ice, and then you'll be ready to go!"

Since Zoe had mastered air bending, she had focussed on her gift of winter and the other three elements. She had made the most progress with her water and fire bending, but still had trouble with earth bending. She could earth bend, but only when she was channelling her anger, and she couldn't rely on anger long term. She continued training with Gus each day and duelling with Amber and Jacob after her training. She would take them both on at the same time, but the matches always ended in a draw.

By the time another month had passed, Zoe had mastered her gift of winter, acquiring her second tattoo. It was a snowflake that sat just above her air bending tattoo. She could shoot ice from her hands, summon blizzards with Uri's help and freeze water with her mind. She could defend herself against four opponents at once using her dual swords and hit all her targets with her bow whilst flying on Uri.

-o0O0o-

It was the day of her departure, a bitter sweet moment that had been in the making for 11 months. She had the necessities packed into two bags that she had strapped to Uri's saddle. She was wearing her armour with the addition of a scaled hood that was currently resting around her shoulders, and she was armed to the teeth. She had throwing knives and daggers tucked into every spot possible, her dual swords strapped to her back along with her fold-up bow and a quiver full of arrows. She was unrecognisable, looking nothing like the girl who had been plucked from her home. She had grown an extra few centimetres and her shoulders had broadened, not to mention the layer of muscle that covered every inch of her body. Zoe and Uri were a force to be reckoned with, and only after less than a year of training.

"Well, this is it," Gus said to her as he slapped her back after releasing her from a tight hug. "You'll be fine. And remember, it doesn't matter which world you're in, humans will always be the same. They will try to deceive you and take advantage of you; don't let them. Don't trust anyone until you have good reason to. Except Hayden, the other fury rider. If you can't trust him, you can't trust anyone, but still be cautious. Don't be a stranger, and remember to visit, especially if you're in trouble. We'll always be here for you, got it?"

Zoe nodded in thanks, "thank you for everything. I'll come home again, I promise."

"You better come home," Amber said as she pulled Zoe into a hug. "I'll miss you sis."

"I'll miss you too. I don't know what I would have done without you." Amber released Zoe from the hug, wiping away a tear in the process.

"See ya. It's been nice having a sister who's not annoying," Jacob joked. "But seriously, I'll miss you. Look after yourself, promise?"

"I promise." The goodbyes kept coming, everyone wanting to see off the newest fury rider. Zoe said an extra long goodbye to Jacob and Amber's parents, thanking them for taking her in and looking after her.

Before she could get on Uri's back, Amber, Jacob, Gus and the rest of her friends she had made during the 11 months came forward, presenting her with a new glider that could fold up to be no longer than the hilt of a sword. "It's a farewell gift from everyone in the city," Gus told her as he handed it over.

"Since you can't take yours with you because it would kinda give it away that you're an air bender, we thought we'd make another one for you that's a bit more discrete. Hopefully, one day, it will save your life," Amber said as Zoe examined the glider.

"It's beautiful, thank you," she whispered, taking them all in for one last hug. After the final round of farewells, Zoe strapped the glider to her hip with her retracted bow that was of a similar size and leapt up onto Uri's back. "I'll be back. And thank you again, for everything." With that, Uri leapt into the air, heading for the gateway that would take them to the world Below.

The gateway was a rock formation about 5km from the island. It was relatively narrow and small, like a large sea stack with a large circular cut-out in the middle so the formation was like an arch with a base. Water poured down from the top and disappeared as it reached the bottom, never reaching the ocean. Zoe turned back, taking one last look at the now tiny city that she had called home for what felt like such a short time.