The streets of the lower ring of Ba Sing Se smelled like rot. It was a smell that Roshin had become familiar with. He wasn't the only person that slept on the streets in the lower ring, and he certainly wasn't the only child that did. Like many others, he was an orphan. He almost couldn't remember what it felt like to fall asleep in a warm bed; He almost couldn't remember his family.

Roshin's eyes slowly opened. The pungent smell of the lower ring was still in his nose. He wasn't in Ba Sing Se anymore, he hadn't been in years. Ever since he was discovered as the Avatar, he had been travelling the world. Currently he was in the South Pole. Waterbending had been challenging for him. The other elements came so naturally to him, but it had taken him a year to master waterbending.

He got out of his bed, and sat on the floor to meditate. His friend, Nanouk, would be looking for him. Nanouk was a skilled waterbender and especially good at healing. He had planned a healing lesson for this morning.

A few minutes passed before Roshin heard a gentle knock against his door. Nanouk peeked his head inside.

"Roshin, you have visitors from the air temples," Nanouk said, his low voice echoing in the blue room. "Master Rohan and Liri are here." Roshin smiled slightly when he heard Liri's name. The granddaughter of Master Jinora and descendant of Avatar Aang was a leader of the air nation. When he was mastering airbending they had become close friends. Nanouk and Roshin headed to greet them.

"Master Rohan!" Roshin called, waving his hands in the air. Cinnamon, Liri's bison, was flying over him. The ten ton bison landed on the ice with a thud. Roshin was afraid the beast's weight would crack the ice, but it held.

Liri jumped off of Cinnamon's neck, gracefully floating to the floor. Usually she wore her glider suit, but instead she was wearing a more traditional outfit with her hair braided on top of her head to show her arrow. She bowed to the avatar.

"It's good to see you again, Avatar Roshin." She beamed. Liri had grown since he'd seen her. She was now taller than him.

"It's good to see you again too, Liri." Roshin breathed. He gave her a warm smile. He had missed her. Her sense of humor, her knowledge, her. Roshin felt his heart in his neck and butterflies in his stomach. He looked away from Liri, afraid he was staring. Instead, he looked at Master Rohan, who was slowly descending Cinnamon.

"Avatar Roshin," Rohan exclaimed, "It is wonderful to see you." Roshin bowed to his airbending master.

"Master Rohan and I have some news…" Liri hesitated, eyeing her master, "There have been several attempts to kidnap members of the air nation. Whether these attempts were made by humans or spirits is unclear."

"We need you to help us figure out what is happening." Rohan said.

The journey to the Southern Air Temple was only a few hours, but the whole time it smelt like wet bison. Roshin was not the only person who wasn't a fan of the smell; Nanouk's face turned green when he mounted Cinnamon.

Traveling with Nanouk made Roshin calmer. Nanouk looked out for him, and they were close friends. Even though Nanouk was tall and muscular he wasn't usually a fighter. His main focus had been spiritual affairs since he became a waterbending master.

"I can see the temple!" Liri called, turning awkwardly to avoid moving Cinnamon's reins. Liri had mentioned that two more people would be joining them. A firebender that was very spiritual and a bodyguard. Roshin knew he needed to learn more about the spiritual side of bending, but this felt like too much. And a bodyguard? He was surrounded with the best benders in the world, he didn't need a bodyguard.

The Southern Air Temple. Roshin leaned over Cinnamon's saddle to get a better look. The surrounding temples were dotted with green trees and shrubbery; they were beautiful. The temple itself was a sight. White buildings with blue roofs spiraled around the mountain, with a large column building at the top.

Nanouk was also in awe. The spirit portals in the poles made is so he hadn't ever been outside of the freezing tundra. He looked at Roshin with a large grin. Roshin could tell Nanouk was glad he came with them.

"Yua and Kiran are in the temple with the air benders," Liri said once everyone had dismounted the bison, "The air benders are startled after what happened, try to be gentle." Roshin wasn't sure if she was trying to insult him. Either way, he was glad she mentioned it. The air nation had a different way of life, one that could be strange for someone as hotheaded and stubborn as him.

"Will you be joining us, Master Rohan?" Roshin asked. Rohan chuckled, his smile making him look years younger.

"Unfortunately not, young Avatar," Rohan answered, "You and your friends are ready for this. It's time for the younger generation to take on the responsibility." Roshin smiled at his old master. He opened his arms and hugged him.

Liri guided Roshin through the Southern Air Temple. The air benders that had been attacked were waiting for him; Yua and Kiran were too. Roshin met Yua when he was in airbending training. She was a close friend of Liri. She was a short muscular girl with bronze eyes.

Roshin had also met Kiran before. While learning firebending, Kiran had given Roshin weapons training. He was the same height as Roshin, but he was thin and had a long pointed chin. He wasn't a firebender, unlike Yua.

"The Avatar has arrived!" One of the airbenders called, pointing at Roshin. None of the airbenders had tattoos, in fact, they were all pre-teens. And they were all excited to meet him.

Roshin knew that the air nation had fewer masters than students and he was aware that the air nation's numbers were still small, most of the airbenders were younger than him. Although Liri was older than him, she was the youngest master in the air nation.

The young airbenders hopped on air scooters and came barreling towards Roshin, nearly knocking him over as they jumped off. In unison the children bowed.

"This," Liri said, motioning to a short boy with grey eyes, "is my cousin, Yangtso. Master Rohan's grandson." Yangston ran to Liri and hugged her. He pulled away and looked up at Roshin.

"Did you know I'm getting my airbending tattoos soon? Will you be at my ceremony?" The boy asked. Roshin gulped, he couldn't promise to be there. With his duties as the Avatar constantly evolving, he wasn't sure when he would have free time.

"I'll try to be there." He answered. He patted Yangtso on the head, and smiled. Other than Yangtso, only one other kid in the group had a bald head. Airbenders were no longer required to shave their heads, most did after earning their tattoos.

"Will you tell Avatar Roshin what happened?" Liri asked, lowering herself to their level and smiling warmly at the children.

"When we were looking for the baby bison, something grabbed us," Yangtso said, his voice trembling, "It felt something was pulling me out of the sky. I blasted air at it until it let us go."

"You were very brave." Roshin said, smiling. He leaned down, and opened his arms wide. The airbending children tackled him into a group hug. Roshin laughed, with his whole body. He looked up at Liri, who was laughing too; She looked beautiful. He felt his whole body flush red, and he looked up at her with a large crooked grin.

Yua coughed, breaking the moment. The airbenders kids jumped off of him and ran off to play a game of air ball.

"That doesn't sound like a spirit attack." She stated, dryly.

"No, it doesn't," Roshin said, giving Yua a glare, "It sounds like humans." The group formed a circle around Roshin, ready to share their input.

"After the first time Yangtso told me, I came to the same conclusion. However, the spirits have been unruly lately." Yua commented. Roshin sighed. Yangtso's story didn't sound like spirits at all. But why would someone attack innocent air nation children?

"I did some research after I heard the story," Liri remarked, "I spoke to the Chief of police in Republic City, and she told me about the black market price of an airbender." Liri shuddered, a lot of horror on her face as she recalled what the Chief told her.

"Why would someone want to buy an airbender?" Nanouk interjected, speaking for the first time since they landed. Nanouk was usually silent, he only spoke up if it was important.

"I don't know, and I really don't want to find out." Liri looked at the mountains, she seemed lost in thought.

"Hmmm," Kiran thought out loud, "What if we set a trap?" Liri's head turned so fast Roshin thought it would snap off.

"And use my twelve year old cousin as bait?" She fumed. Kiran shook his head.

"No, we should use you." said. Roshin felt hot all over. How dare he say that, Roshint thought.

"We can't use our friends as bait." Roshin declared, while scooting closer to Liri.

"It's a good idea. If a couple of kids could get away from them, why wouldn't I be able to?" Liri said. Everyone but Roshin thought it was a good idea. He sighed, not wanting to start an argument.

"Fine." He muttered.