AN: Thanks so much for checking out my new story, which happens to be a sequel to my previous story, "Running from Fire". As the summary states, this one takes place 5 years after the previous story and without reading that one I am afraid you will be quite lost, but if you have a desire for more Air Nation content then I think both these stories will fill that need. To give the briefest of summaries about the previous story without completely spoiling it for those who wish to go read it: a group of airbenders from the four different temples struggle for survival after Sozin's initial attack. Without further ado, let's get started.
Chapter 1: Hiding Doesn't Work
"Roku's successor is still out there; his very being is an insult to my vision. From the frozen wastes of the Water Tribes to the dirt packed streets of Ba Sing Se, the Avatar brings eternal hope to our enemies. You may besiege their cities, imprison their neighbors, and kill their sons, but you will never break their spirit so long as the Avatar lives. I raise the question back to you, General: why are you wasting time on such pointless endeavors?"
-Fire Lord Sozin after being questioned on his pursuit of the Avatar.
The wind whistled loudly through the twisting mountain trail. Trail was overly generous actually; it was more of a ridge just wide enough for an adult to shuffle across with a sheer drop more than forty feet down. A curse as one of the travelers lost their footing broke up the wind's natural song and the rest of the group stopped in unison.
"Be careful." Nara hissed out. "We are nearly on top of them now."
No more words needed to be exchanged, everyone there knew the consequences of blowing their cover. Battles against larger forces, such as the one about to be fought, demanded perfection in execution. Even something as innocuous as a piece of gravel tumbling down the ridge could ruin everything.
Another five minutes of concentrated shuffling the group was above their target. From this vantage point, Nara could make out thirteen soldiers: seven were gathered around the fire, four cleaning up their recent dinner, and the last two posted as guards at the front of their camp. She smirked; it was clear that their work was beginning to make the Fire Nation troops nervous.
Several hand signals back and forth to Kal later, the group was all set with their silently organized plan. With some great difficulty over a lack of space, they all drew their weapons and got ready.
Nara was the first one down as she landed with a practiced silence in the darkness. Not even a moment later she fired an air disc back towards the cliff wall just in time to cushion Jay and Kal's descent. The pair, Kal with sword in hand and Jay with his battle axe, took up position next to Nara. The fourth of their group, Yura the archer, would be covering them from above. Without a word their attack began.
Nara's throwing knives struck the two men scrubbing at the wok in their throats, instantly ending their lives. A dive to her left protected her just barely from the unexpected fire blast of the man carrying more firewood; clearly he was quite jumpy and ready for such an attack. Before he could even consider another attack though Nara had closed the distance with the use of her bending and slashed at his leg with her dagger. Screams filled the air as he fell to the ground which ended swiftly when she stabbed through his chest. The fourth man, a nonbender left with only a wooden spoon as a weapon, almost elicited some pity from her before he too fell to a slash of her dagger.
Calm and silence returned to the camp; she didn't even have to look to confirm the rest of the soldiers had been dealt with. None of them wasted any time before setting off to destroy the fake Air Nation sanctuary.
Crackles and embers came rushing from the fire as it engulfed the painted glider. Nara tucked a loose piece of hair behind her ear and did her best to ignore the pain she felt as the last of the stolen artifacts burned. Even despite keeping her hair short, one strand always managed to fall out of place no matter what.
When they first began destroying these fake sanctuaries over a year ago, Nara had begged with Kuruk to use the Wolf Pack to transport her people's stolen history back to where it belonged. As sorry as the leader of freedom fighters may have been, he had told her it was a simple matter of too much work for too few people. Lugging countless pieces of Air Nation memorabilia around the Pavana Mountains would take far too much time and effort. It was Nara that came up with the compromise to burn it rather than toss it off the cliffside, at least then the ashes would return to the air.
"Sorry about my misstep back there." Kal brought her out of her musing as he settled in next to her near the fire while running a hand through his increasingly graying dark hair.
"That was you?" Nara shot back in surprise. "I thought for certain Yura had slipped, clumsy kid. You're getting sloppier with age, Kal."
"You better hope not. I stopped one of them right before he could tackle you from your blind spot." He bit back with a playful tone.
Knowing just how long an argument, even one that was friendly, with Kal could last, Nara tactfully changed the subject. "How much longer do you think Jay and Yura are going to be? It is too cold on this Spirits-forsaken mountain." They had left over an hour ago to pack up their base camp and bring their buffalo yak.
Shrugging in response, Kal tossed another log into the fire and changed subjects once more. "Nara, I know we have had our nose to the grindstone these past few months and have gotten great results, but I really think you should consider my proposition about a break."
Suggestions of a break were becoming ever more common place in their conversations, much to Nara's annoyance. Yes, they had demolished eight sanctuaries in half as many weeks and it was exhausting, but she couldn't stop now. "How many times do I have to tell you no before it sticks?"
He held up his palms up. "I know, I know. It's just, I've seen what going at this too hard gets and I don't want to see you get hurt. Call me a softy, but I've actually grown to tolerate you over the past few years."
The nonthreatening smile was a nice touch alongside his trademark wise cracks, but Nara knew what he was really getting at. "This has nothing to do with her. There have been so many new sanctuaries popping up, someone has to deal with them. I mean, does Sozin even send troops to the frontlines anymore?"
"If it has nothing to do with her, then why can't you talk about her after all this time still?" Kal always knew how to get her blood boiling.
"What's there to talk about? She died, it was sad, and now I am over it." Her response sounded much more bitter once spoken than in her head.
Never one to give up when he had a point to make, Kal continued treading through these dangerous waters. "I know you know that it'll be five years to the day of her death in two weeks. Noa and Mina always hold a vigil that night, I think you should join them. I heard Tuyen and Owyn are around us right now, shouldn't be too much trouble to hitch a ride with them."
Despite the promise to herself, Nara felt tears pricking at the back of her eyes. She chewed at the inside of her cheek to stop them from falling before responding. "I told you, I am over it. I'd much rather spend the night protecting my people than crying over Malu."
"She was you best friend, Nara." Kal sounded on the verge of tears himself. "It would be wise to-"
"Drop it." Nara cut him off with a warning tone. "I don't need to be reminded that she was my best friend and I don't need a break. What I need is for you to mind your own business and just tell me our next target. You told us earlier a message arrived from Kuruk, what'd it say?"
Kal hung his head in resignation before looking up at the fire. "Nothing good I'm afraid. Several reports have been made that there are Fire Nation ships near Spire Rock and you know that can only mean one thing."
She nodded her head in understanding. "I can't believe they are considering Taku again."
The first battle of the great Kingdom of Taku was now a world-famous blunder committed by the Fire Nation in the first months of the war. Assuming that it would take much too long for the sprawled-out kingdom to gather a large host of soldiers, Sozin sent a mere four thousand troops to take Taku. Waiting for them was an Earth Kingdom army ten times their size. It does not need stating who emerged victorious.
"That's not all that's troubling." Kal pulled the letter out from his jacket. "There is news from the Northern Water Tribe as well."
Nara felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.
Gaoling's market square was becoming an increasingly frantic mass of people pushing and shoving their way through one another in hopes of being first in line to try the new trend that blew in from the port. The latest one was wrapping oneself head to toe in seaweed; brought over by some "genius" from Yu Dao that struck out at his last eleven cities. The people of Gaoling sure did love a sob story.
Even after getting nearly run over by another frenzied shopper, Mina still found herself smiling. Nothing would be ruining her good mood today. Having finished her errands early, she stopped at her favorite salon to have her hair styled. Satisfied and swearing she could actually see her hair sparkle in her reflection, Mina hummed "Don't Fall in Love with the Traveling Girl" in a jovial tune to herself as she made her way back home.
The ringing of the bell above the door had barely finished when a small weight collided with her. "Hi Mommy!" Etain muffled against her skirt as Mina smoothed the eight-year old's always wild auburn hair affectionately. They had tried every hair style imaginable and yet the young airbender always managed to shake her hair free. This day saw her particularly restless as Mina had slipped out before Etain woke up that morning.
When Etain had turned five Noa and her had sat her down and explained that they weren't her biological parents. They assured her that their feelings wouldn't be hurt if she chose to call them by their first names, but Etain kept happily referring to them with parental terms.
"Hi my love." Mina responded as she felt her heart soar even after all this time spent together.
"I told you to stop tackling our customers." Noa joked as he came in from the back room carrying a neatly trimmed White Dragon Bush.
After it became clear they both had wanted to settle down in Gaoling, Noa realized his previous line of work of helping those wanted from the Fire Nation wasn't going to work. Mina had come up with the idea of running an exotic plant nursery and he agreed instantly. Although business was never exactly booming, they stayed busy enough to easily cover their expenses while still treating themselves on occasion. The shop also served dual purposes for Noa to grow the plants he harvested and used for his healing elixirs. With any luck, they hoped to open a health clinic within the next few years.
"Hey." Mina said breathlessly with a goofy smile plastered on her face. Picking Etain up, she moved behind the counter to give Noa a quick peck. "I hope you don't mind, but I already made reservations at-"
The bell ringing stopped her short as they both turned to greet their customer. In the doorway stood a woman with a stature so imposing her own shadow seemed to cower in fear. Her deep blue eyes scanned the room briefly before settling on Noa and narrowing. Flawless skin was pulled tightly around well-toned muscles that her Water Tribe garb was struggling to contain. As she marched through the room not a single stand of dark brown hair slipped free from the single braid cascading down her back.
"I cannot believe my brother runs a flower shop." The statement should have registered as a surprise to Mina, but she was far too in awe over the woman to even process what she said.
"Exotic plant shop!" Noa replied with a laugh before bounding over the counter and wrapping her up in a hug. After a long embrace they broke apart and he spoke once more. "Kiri, what are you doing here?"
"All in good time, Noa. Tell me you didn't forget how to introduce people after so long spent in the wilderness." She gestured to Mina and Etain who were sharing the same stunned look of confusion.
"Of course." Noa smacked his head lightly. "Etain, Mina, this is my sister, Kirima. Or Kiri for short."
Kirima wasted no time before shaking both of their wrists vigorously, bringing about a giggle from Etain and had Mina grasping her arm over the slight pain from her firm grip. "So glad to finally meet my brother's family. I am so sorry that I missed the wedding, Mina."
The metal ring Mina habitually rubbed still felt foreign after a year spent wearing it. With marriage not being a concept practiced by the Air Nation and Noa being banished from his own tribe, the pair had decided to marry in accordance to Earth Kingdom traditions.
"That's alright, we understand how difficult it is to travel across the world right now." The warmth radiating off Kirima was intoxicating to Mina, she was completely captivated with the girl already. "You actually managed to stop by on our anniversary funnily enough."
"Aunty Kiri!" Shyness was never a word to describe Etain; the young girl flung herself into the Water Tribeswoman who just barely caught her in time. "I love you!" She was also quite quick to profess her feelings.
"Well I usually have a hard time liking strange children that try to tackle me, but I think I'll make an exception for you." Kirima rubbed her nose against Etain's before hurling her up in the air and catching her again. On the second toss, Etain didn't come back down.
"Etain, no!" Mina scolded the girl who had suspended herself in midair with the use of a sphere of air she bent between her arms. "Airbending is not allowed in the shop; you know that."
A sound of protest escaped Etain's lips before she thought better and released the air to land back in Kirima's waiting arms. A tense silence quickly washed over the once happy group. "Sorry." Kirima said weakly, which Mina guessed was the first time she ever openly displayed weakness. "I forget how things are in the world sometimes."
"That's alright, it wasn't your fault." Mina smiled assuredly. "The risk of someone coming in and seeing that is too great though. It's just easier to hide our airbending, even in such a peaceful city like Gaoling."
"You never answered what brought you here, Kiri." Noa said after a beat to mercifully change the subject.
"Yeah, about that…" Taking a quick glance at Etain, Kirima stopped herself short. "Probably a conversation best not had in front of children."
"You probably guessed I didn't travel all the way from the North Pole just to say hello." Kirima began as she ran her hands through the leaves of one of the many plants in their greenhouse. Having locked the shop up and after fixing lunch for Etain, the trio escaped for a few minutes of privacy. "Anik is dead."
This caused quite a reaction from Noa, who nearly dropped the ceramic pot he'd been carrying. "What? How?"
"The healers couldn't determine that before I left, but they think his heart just gave out." Something in her tone seemed to reveal that Anik wasn't exactly Kirima's favorite person.
Noa scratched at his head for a second before shooting his sister a quizzical look. "That doesn't explain why you are here, Kiri. You would've just sent a letter if that was all you wanted to tell me; we both know that."
"My little brother is getting far too smart. As you know, Anik had no children and Great Elder Patoonaq has called for-"
"No." Noa cut her off with a voice that said he knew exactly what Kirima was getting at.
"Come on, you should at least consider it."
"Sorry for interrupting, but who is Anik?" Tired of feeling like an outsider in the conversation, Mina chose this moment to jump in before the sibling's argument could deteriorate.
Both of them shared a look of shame after remembering Mina was there before Kirima spoke up to explain. "Our uncle Anik, former Chief of the Northern Water Tribe."
"Did Dad put you up to this?" Noa said with an accusatory finger pointed at Kirima.
Despite the married couple's communication taking great strides since the beginning of their relationship, the topic of Noa's father Kuruk was still a sore spot. Although both his parents visited them several times over the past few years, talk between Noa and Kuruk was always short, terse, and icy. Mina pressed him on a few occasions to explain, but Noa had told her they had never seen eye to eye. Knowing nothing was ever that simple, she filed the issue away to be brought up at a better time.
The intensity was back in Kirima as she glared at Noa. "Dad and Mom specifically told me not to come ask you. I know that you have settled down, but this is a chance for you to change the entire war."
In the extremely short time Mina knew Kirima, she could easily figure out the Water Tribe girl was not one for exaggeration. The comment had certainly piqued her interest. "What exactly are you asking Noa to do?"
Noa's shoulders slumped as he sat down a nearby stool. "She's asking me to go back to the Northern Water Tribe to win the position of Chief."
Mina's eyebrows shot to the top of her forehead. "Aren't you banished though?"
"Banishments last only as long as the Chief who issued them is still alive." Kirima explained with a passive wave of her hand. "As Anik's nephew, Noa is the closest living male family member to the Chiefdom. That'll go a long way in helping his chances to win. Great Elder Patoonaq is assembling a council right now to vote on all eligible candidates."
"I'm not going back." The words were seethed out between Noa's clenched teeth.
Kirima crouched next to her brother, rubbing his shoulder with a tenderness that didn't seem possible with her demeanor. "Noa, every other candidate is going to keep the status quo. You and I both understand the state of the world right now. The might of our tribe could put a swift end to this war, but we need a Chief like you to lead us."
"I love you, Kiri, but no." He shrugged off her hand before walking to the exit. "You're welcome to stay with us as long as you'd like."
Once the door shut, Mina and Kirima shared a long look. Both girls knew exactly just how stubborn Noa could be. Mina loved her life as it was now, but to not even think about an opportunity to change the world was far too selfish.
"I'll talk to him." Mina beamed at the older girl. "Let's get you set up to sleep in the house, I'm sure you're exhausted."
Leaving Chatyar Island was never easy for Tuyen nor Owyn, thus they endeavored to stay for as little time as possible otherwise they may never leave. Chatyar Island was the name given to the home of the surviving airbenders whose bison had led them here over five years ago. The name came from their ancestors' word for sanctuary; a rather easy choice for a name given the hope that the island had given the once near extinct Air Nation.
Since they made the island their new home, the airbenders that lived here had transformed the old decrepit ruins into a series of buildings that would fit right in beside their old towering temples. Families were started, airbending masteries earned, and a bustling community had all formed on Chatyar Island. It wasn't quite like living back at the temples, but the ability to live safely as their own nation was not something any of them took for granted.
Tuyen and Owyn had just finished their latest operation and were packing Vania, their trusty sky bison, full of supplies for the long flight back to the northern Earth Kingdom shores. The island, of which no current maps even depicted as existing, was so far away into the Nilaki Sea that it took seven straight days of flying to reach. Luckily, sky bison were quite buoyant and could easily rest in the ocean otherwise the journey would be impossible.
"Owyn! Tuyen! Wait up!" The familiar voice sounded out of breath as they called out just as the pair had finished up with packing.
"Master Kiron, it is always a pleasure to see you." Never one for other's modesty, Tuyen always referred to Kiron as a master despite the latter's protests. "I see that Chatyar Island has grown since we last were here in the Spring."
Glancing briefly at the newly erected bell tower in the middle of town, Kiron blushed slightly as he nodded. "Yeah, thanks. Figured it was time to start expanding upwards as well; everyone was getting a little antsy without any high towers around like back at the temples."
Formerly governed by a High Council at their respective temples, the airbenders had collectively decided to consolidate power behind one elected airbender to lead them on Chatyar Island. Although he may deny it vehemently, Kiron was the perfect man for the job. He did disappoint either, since taking over a few years back the airbenders had flourished here. His most recent and most controversial major choice was to eliminate the ban on marriages within their community. In their former lives, airbenders that chose to marry were not allowed to stay at the temples as romantic relationships like those clashed greatly with their views on attachment. Not an easy choice by any stretch, Kiron chose to get rid of the ban to better harbor a community for all. Their long standing traditional Pratha Festival, in which the males and females from their respective temples came together to procreate and form a new generation, was still held on the island on the fall equinox like always.
"Seriously Kiron, the whole island has been transformed. I can see why they chose you as their leader." Owyn slid down from Vania to pat his former master on the back as they took in the view of the village.
"I still can't get over you with hair." Kiron was never one to talk himself up, choosing instead to tease Owyn as he ran a hand through the younger boy's neatly combed hair.
The seventeen-year-old in question did his best to tame his light brown hair before playfully shoving Kiron off him. "I like it. Plus, it helps if we ever need to go into a not so friendly village for supplies. Tuyen's tattoos make him a bit of a target."
"And I look terrible with hair." Tuyen added with a small chuckle as he rubbed his own freshly shaved head.
"Where will you be headed next?" Kiron changed the subject as he scratched at Vania's nose.
"Hopefully somewhere warm." Owyn joked. The pair had just spent the last two months in the frigid Pavana Mountains and neither were too eager to return there. "I haven't heard any calls yet though, so we'll be returning to Taku for now."
King Siyu, ruler of the kingdom of Taku, was sympathetic to the airbender's plight and after a chance meeting with Owyn and Tuyen had insisted they use Taku as a base of operations. It suited their needs perfectly, since Tuyen and Owyn had set off together they had made it their mission to save as many airbenders as they could and bring them to Chatyar Island. Owyn's powers as a Spirit Oracle had grown tremendously and he was now able to locate an airbender in distress just from the imprint they made in the Spirit World when they meditated. The pair had brought over thirty airbenders to Chatyar Island, which was actually why they found themselves there after having just dropped off a young airbender girl.
"You guys almost left without me getting to say thanks for finding Huvanni. It's incredible, she's from the Western Air Temple and is actually really good friends with Nara and Norbu." Kiron stated with a huge smile. Norbu was Kiron's unofficial second in command and had been at the island almost as long as anyone else.
"Always glad to reunite lost friends." Tuyen returned the smile.
"Huvanni also told me some news, are things really getting that tense over in Taku?" Kiron's tone had turned serious; he hated discussing the war.
Tuyen and Owyn shared a brief look before nodding their heads in unison. "I'm afraid so." Tuyen spoke, his voice rather somber. "King Siyu and I had a brief meeting before we found Huvanni. His spies tell him the Fire Nation is planning another attack."
Kiron muttered a curse under his breath. "Any luck with Aang?" He attempted to steer the conversation into friendlier waters, but he had no clue the iceberg that he had just struck.
Owyn's entire face fell at once. His once constant visions of Aang had gone completely quiet sometime last year; he just hadn't had the heart to tell Kiron that news yet. "No. I'm afraid our search for Aang has gone completely cold. Right before everything went down with Malu and Mina at The Caldera, I felt so close to him. But since that day all I got were little inklings."
As Owyn turned to pointlessly tighten Vania's saddle, Tuyen shot Kiron a look that told him to drop the subject. Kiron was more than happy to oblige. "I wish you could stay for dinner at least, are you sure you have to leave now?"
"Absolutely." Tuyen said firmly. "Winter is upon us and the temperature is dropping, Vania won't be able to fly if the conditions worsen and you know how awful the storms can be out here."
Saddened that they were leaving so abruptly, Kiron gathered his friends in a tender hug before bidding them good fortune and health. He watched them fly away until Vania was nothing more than a dot on the horizon.
"There is nothing to be ashamed of, Owyn. Your powers have saved countless lives, that is something to be proud of." They were a few hours into their journey back to the Earth Kingdom, and Owyn was still being uncharacteristically quiet so Tuyen chose now to broach the difficult conversation.
"Except for when it counts." Owyn said under his breath from the saddle, although Tuyen managed to hear it.
"I doubt those that we save would agree with that sentiment. Huvanni was near starving to death when we found her; many that we have rescued were in worse conditions than that."
"What do we have to show for all that then?" Owyn spat out. "We are still forced to hide on an island that's so far away from the rest of civilization it might as well be in the Spirit World."
"Our people are happy on Chatyar. And more importantly, they are safe. We will return to the world once this war is through." This conversation was a long time coming; they had not discussed Owyn's worsening mood since losing contact with Aang beyond a few words here and there.
"This war will never end unless I can find Aang. And I can't find him because I have no control over these cursed abilities." Owyn groaned in frustration as he flopped onto his back.
"You know that's not true; you have made such incredible strides with your gifts and all without someone to guide you."
"Whatever." Owyn retorted dismissively as he stared out at the endless miles of ocean.
Tuyen sighed; his young friend's immaturity had not been completely killed by the harshness of the world and most of the times he was glad about that. This was not one of those times, however. "I am sure that you are close to a breakthrough. In the meantime," He trailed off as he tossed Owyn a small sack he had been concealing in his cloak. "Norbu gave me this, apparently she found it gathering dust in an unpacked saddle bag. It belonged to Malu."
It took only the mention of his deceased friend for Owyn's eyes to bulge. With suddenly clammy hands he began carefully pulling out items. For the most part it just contained generic personal effects: a haircomb, a book about Western Air Temple architecture, an odd star map leading to a location that Owyn couldn't quite discern, and dried fruits that had long grown stale. However, at the bottom of the bag, Owyn pulled out an ancient book that he knew Malu couldn't have gotten from the Western Air Temple. Opening to the first page, Owyn nearly dropped the book in shock as he read the first words. "It's written by Monk Astra." He said quietly before skimming through some pages. "I think it's his personal journal; what was Malu doing with this?"
A long-forgotten memory came back to Tuyen. He had told Kane to stop talking about Astra to Malu; the crazed airbender that had lived hundreds of years ago and brought the Air Nation under his heel before his mysterious deaths. Apparently, Malu did not leave well enough alone, but Tuyen could not begin to imagine where she had gotten Astra's journal. "Perhaps it would be wise to destroy that one. Although I think we should offer the rest of it to Nara, she may want something in there as a reminder of her friend."
"Yeah, good idea." Owyn said absentmindedly as he began reading a random entry in the journal.
His eyes wide, Tuyen turned to look directly at Owyn. "You aren't seriously going to read that, are you?" He questioned incredulously.
The now infamous Monk Astra was not often talked about by the Air Nation who had gone out of their way to erase the mad man from their history. Not very successfully though, as stories about Astra were passed down from generation to generation as ghost stories told late at night in the glow of a campfire. Of course, those stories were often not rooted in any sort of reality. To read something that was no doubt a manifesto of his worst deeds felt very wrong to Tuyen.
"I am able to see people hundreds of miles just by closing my eyes; I think I can handle reading about some dead lunatic without going crazy myself." Owyn said with a passive wave before finding a more comfortable seat and reading further.
His words did little to quiet Tuyen's troubled thoughts.
AN: Thanks so much reading, I really hope you enjoyed this first chapter enough to stick around and if you did enjoy I always appreciate hearing any feedback you may have.
Word origins/references in this chapter:
-Yura= Inuit name meaning beautiful
-"Don't Fall in Love with the Travelling Girl" is the song the traveling nomad Chong sings in the episode "Cave of Two Lovers" when he first approaches the Gaang
-Chatyar= adapted from Tibetan word for a shrine or sanctuary
-Nilaki= adapted from Inuit word for freshwater ice
-Pratha= adapted from Sanskrit word for first pregnancy
-Siyu= Chinese name meaning "thinking of the world"
And finally, I just wanted to say that the character of Huvanni has been borrowed with permission from the story, "Of Embers and Sky" by WishIHadSalad. Although Huvanni won't be playing a major role in this story, I just wanted to bring attention to the character to encourage you to go read the story where she came from. It is beautifully written and if you are hungry for more Air Nation content (particularly from around the time of the genocide) then I know you won't be disappointed.