"Aang? It's your line: But in my heart there sleeps a fear that this war will never end."

Katara stared over at the young boy, her blue eyes glimmering in concern as he picked the pieces of grass below his sitting position. She could tell that his mind had been elsewhere since the moment they met under the unoccupied Oak Tree for that sunny Saturday rehearsal, and by that unusual frowning in his silver eyes, she knew something was wrong as he brought moved his bald head and responded with a nonchalant "I'm sorry."

"Is everything okay?" Katara kept the OmaShu script half open on her lap, her voice being as gentle as ever. "You're not usually this quiet."

Aang could barely breathe listening to that pleasant, beautiful voice near his ear, and he managed to give a slight reassuring smile to the girl.

"I'm okay," he said half-heartedly, keeping his focus on the ground, as if lying to the girl's eyes would devour his Avatar spirit completely. "I'm just... a little stressed about the lines."

She knew there must've been something else, as up until then the boy had always tried to find ways of cheering her up. And here she was, her world suddenly caving in to a pair of silver eyes that seemed to have better days, and Katara felt her shoulders tense. She had to help him out.

"Did you want to go over another scene, maybe?"

The girl's cerulean eyes glimmered as she suggested humbly, noting Aang's hands as they continued to pick the grass from the ground. The boy hadn't even touched the sea prunes she'd brought for their snack, and Katara wondered what could possibly be bothering him. She then remembered the boy's amazed reaction from the dance routine that Haru and On Ji had demonstrated, and even though they'd barely learned the first couple of moved... her eyes lit up.

"Hey I have an idea," the girl immediately got up with a smile, touching the boy's shoulder for encouragement to join her. Aang flinched and glanced at his shoulder as if it had just turned into gold, then turning his head to look at Katara. "We can go over the Earthbending moves that Haru taught us... I'm sure he'll be really impressed."

She slowly extended her hand to hopefully invite boy off the ground, and Aang could not help but look up at those eyes lovingly, noting how the hairloops seemed to dance already along the breeze. He smiled in a sigh, feeling that he could tell her anything... and that he couldn't leave that strange mood without an explanation to her.

"Okay," he said simply, accepting the girl's soft hand as politely as he could without blushing, and getting to his feet with a little airbending help that took Katara by surprise. She giggled in amusement, and the boy remembered why he adored her so much. "I was just thinking about it, actually."

"About what?"

"The dance," Aang replied as he slowly squatted his legs for a stretch to the sky.

Katara began to flex her arms out in small circles. "Oh, is that what's stressing you out?"

"Nah... I was..." the boy brought his eyes back to Katara's sighing, "I wasn't really stressed out. I... I just couldn't stop thinking about On Ji."

He suddenly flinched, and his eyes widened, clearly noting by Katara's arching brow how those words had come out the wrong way. Aang's throat tightened but he refused to stay quiet. He had to redeem himself.

"I– I meant On Ji's dance!" Aang blushed, bringing his squat back into a regular standing position. "This is gonna sound weird, but I think I'd seen those moves before... in one of the other Air Temples."

"What are you talking about?"

"I remember those last few moves she did... the straight arms at her side, the leaping she did in the air..."

Aang tried his hardest to demonstrate in front of Katara, without looking so much like a fool. He could feel that his air-dancing skills were still a little rusty, but the boy didn't care; he had to get his point across.

"There's this one move she made... where she let one of her legs twirl around like a circle, and it was like the rest of her body just followed along."

The airbender braced himself and tried to demonstrate that same move to Katara, prying the nervousness out of his system as he brought one of his feet up for momentum. He could barely remember how to do the move perfectly, but he felt his mind spinning as much as his own body.

"Oh yeah, I remember that one..." Katara smiled, trying to hold back a blush. "It looked like she was holding herself up by the tip of her toes... it was thrilling, and terrifying!"

"Yeah..." Aang couldn't help but picture the lovely girl with hairloops doing the same dance movement, taking a moment before continuing to speak, "well it looked like a move I'd seen the girls from the Western Air Temple do during their celebration of summer solstice. We'd go there every year... and I remember them doing that move, right before they collected enough air to take off into the sky!"

"You're kidding," Katara lifted an brow of amazement to the boy, watching sloppily attempt to make that move himself, only to fall clumsily on his two feet. Momo skirmished over from one of the Oak Tree branches to watch his companion dance entertainingly, lifting his paws up with a curious look in his eye.

Aang brought himself back up to the ground and met Katara's wondering eyes. "I have a feeling that On Ji might be an airbender... but, I don't get it... why wouldn't she say anything?"

It took a few seconds, but Aang noticed Katara lowering her eyes uncomfortably, looking towards the ground in what seemed a face of sheer sadness and disappointment.

"Listen, Aang..." she began to say softly, "I think it's great that you're proud about your airbending... but you have to understand... This school lives and breathes the Fire Nation culture. Sometimes it makes the other nations feel neglected... even ashamed... about their powers."

"But Katara, you're a waterbender, and you're definitely not ashamed of that." Aang exclaimed, remembering the ferocity in the girl's determination to win a simple water tennis match. "And what about Toph? She's the best earthbender in the whole school, and she isn't afraid of anyone..."

"Aang, it's not the same thing... bending is only a part of our cultures, and we're only able to do that outside of school. The rest of this school's culture is associated with the Fire Nation... which is something that my people -- and the Earth citizens, too – have been trying to change for a long time."

"But what about the airbenders?" Aang thought, with a strange sense of desperation in his voice. "I mean, if On Ji's an airbender... doesn't that there'd be others in the school, too?"

"I'm pretty sure that is the case, Aang, but..." Katara then blinked, looking elsewhere over to Momo as if trying to find the best words, without upsetting the boy too much. "...but the truth is, I don't think they want to acknowledge their culture."

"What?" The boy's eyes widened to the brink of popping out, trying to make sense of what she'd said. "But... why?"

"I have a feeling it's all thanks to Zhao, but I'm don't really know, Aang... I'm not an airbender," Katara looked at the boy helplessly, brushing one of her hairloops aside to see that painful frustration Aang was going through.

As the young boy's shoulders slumped in defeat, she then planted another hand on his shoulder for comfort, giving a hopeful smile as if telling him to act upon his instincts. Aang was struck by that gaze, almost as if he had read her mind, and the boy sighed from the truth.

"I know... I have to talk to On Ji... this doesn't make any sense."

Katara nodded. "And who know's? Maybe you two can help give the airbenders justice... this school needs to be represented by all the nations, and I'm gonna try and make that happen."

"Wait, so it's official? You're running for class president?" Aang's eyes seemed to reflect back into its original brilliance.

"Yep! I placed my candidacy last week to the school board with Mr. Pakku, and Coach Hama said she would sponsor me." Katara shrugged shyly, feeling very new to this pool, and as if this elections road was bound to be a long and bumpy one ahead. "But anyway... if you want to talk to On Ji... she's probably finishing up her dance rehearsal in the studios. You should go catch up with her!"

Aang beamed at the suggestion, knowing that Katara felt just as strongly about his airbending as he did. A part of him, however, could not help but feel sad.

"Um... but what about our rehearsal dat– er, meeting?"

Katara winced, giggling involuntarily at the boy's blushing face. "Oh, it's alright." Her eyes lingered for a moment as she tried to bring up another hopeful suggestion to his Aang. "We can meet again next Saturday... oh wait! No, it's Ms. Ursa's birthday party– I forgot... I'm sorry."

Her face flushed in shame, but Aang shook his head so as to think nothing of it. Part of him was beaming at the excuse to go to the Air Dodgeball game against the agile Northerners!

"But I promise we'll continue with our Saturday rehearsals after that," Katara proclaimed, and Aang smiled eagerly, letting a little childish laugh escape him.

In a few moments, the two friends picked up their snack foods and OmaShu scripts from the ground, letting the shade of the oak tree give them a last bit of cool comfort before they would face the scortching sun rays once again.

"So... are you going to the Water Tennis court?" Aang asked as he put his bag over his shoulder.

"Not today, Coach Hama cancelled practice because of the sun." Katara quickly brought a hand over her eyes as she stepped out of the oak tree shade. "But I heard that a-- a friend of mine -- got really sick yesterday. I think I should go visit him."

"Who?" Aang asked her, but the girl did not respond quickly.

The boy studied her face curiously, how her eyebrows were furrowing over a decision she was coping with her mind. Katara stood there in the sun, and suddenly she seemed to glance back at Aang with a straight, more determined look in her features.

"Actually, no. Not yet – I... " Katara then looked towards the school entrance, with her hand still covering her eyes from the mid-day sunlight. "I should go find Zuko."

Aang's stomach tightened involuntarily, but he forced himself to soften with the mere understanding that they were just friends. He believed that, and he had to keep trusting it. In his mind, Katara meant well... befriending as many people as she could in order to be a great student class president, and for all that was bound to keep her busy, the young airbender couldn't feel more blessed to see her on Saturday afternoons.

At that, the boy took a deep breath and let his feet run to meet Katara out in the sun, and before she could realize what was coming... he went on his toes and planted a small kiss on her cheek.

"See you on Monday!" Aang's shouted as he quickly airbended a spherical scooter under his feet and rode himself happily towards the school's inner courtyard with Momo scampering behind him, making sure he would flee from her sight before his cheeks would turn bright red.

And Katara stayed there... her eyes wide open under her palm as she watched the young boy squander off... too shocked to realize that a soft, endearing grin was forming in her face.


"I have called you all here today to discuss the running of a particular student, and the circumstances behind her candidacy for the Student Class Presidential elections for next year."

Azula surveyed the small conference room, with the handful of teachers and students who felt like they could've used an extra hour of sleep on a Saturday. Mr. Jeong Jeong didn't even try to hide the fact that he was snoring in the very back, and Ty Lee was too busy caressing Hide's hand and playing with her braid to catch whatever else was going on.

The girl sneered at her audience, aware that if she weren't the royal princess of the Fire Nation, half of these people wouldn't have shown up at all. And they dared to call themselves school administrators...

"Uh... what exactly did you want to talk about?" A guy with sleek brown hair rubbed his cheek out of sleepiness as he sat next to the standing Azula. The girl just glared at him, keeping her professional pointer at her hands, but with a terrible urge to hit him with it.

"She is our competition, Chan," her growling voice seemed to awake Jeong Jeong out of his snoring bliss. "And most importantly... she is from the Water Tribes. This means that our campaigning for this year will need to be twice as rigorous as the years before."

"Why? We always win every year, anyway," the boy sitting next to Chan muttered undery his breath, frustrated about losing some hours on his Saturday. He could've been fire-surfing with his friends.

"Because, Rion Jon..." Azula enunciated every word as best she could, "she is going to bring balance to our proud Fire Nation-founded school. Can you imagine such chaos? After almost a hundred years of having a respectful community of order and cultural pride, this election may break the traditions Praying Mantis-- Mr. Jeong Jeong, you are snoring again."

At that, the teacher grimaced himself back into a proper sitting position.

"And let me be very clear about this..." Azula's voice turned rather sinister and quiet at this point, "I am aware that my father, the great prince Ozai, has been gone missing for some time... but do not make the mistake of believing that his heart no longer lies in the strength of the Fire Nation. This may be just a school... but it carries the future generation of all four cultures, and I am counting on all of you to keep its founding culture as powerful as it was before. Don't you agree, Vice Principal Zhao?"

The man sitting across from Azula seemed to linger in the shadows, leaning back with his head held on by one of his folded hands. His sideburns were as sharp as ever, and his frowning persona did not seem to change since the day that the new airbender boy had surprisingly shown up to the school.

"Completely and wholeheartedly, your Highness," came his rash, middle-aged voice. He looked over the entire conference room of heads and spoke in a simple, yet commanding tone to his colleagues. "The Fire Nation shall secure its place within this school, no matter how neutral our so-called Principal Roku decides to remain in it."

He nodded over to the princess from his side of the table, cuing her to continue her speech. As the girl began to speak with a new soft, determined grin on her face, the man could not help but notice how that feature reminded him so much of her mother.

"I was planning to give my sincerest gratitude to Mai, my publicity assistant, for designing those remarkable posters for the campaign... but she seems to have gone elsewhere for the afternoon," Azula stared at Ty Lee with a speculative eye, wondering if she knew anything of their friend's whereabouts. But the cheerleader just shrugged with a confused look back to the princess.

"In any case, these posters have been an astounding improvement to last year's campaign launch, but we will need to make much more action this year, if we wish to win this election. I have a feeling that this waterbender opponent will do all she can to set the rest of the school against us– Mr. Jeong Jeong, WAKE UP!"

And the man nearly fell off his seat at the sound, rubbing one of his eyes back open.

"What do you propose we do, Highness?" came the Vice Principal's voice of support.

Azula placed both of her hands to her back, bringing herself into a more serious stance as she spoke again to Zhao. "You have informed me, Vice Principal, that the Avatar has matriculated into Praying Mantis High for the past six weeks?"

"Indeed," he answered her directly, "And according to the school census, he is the seventh airbender currently residing here. I don't believe he is aware that there are others just yet."

"Excellent," Azula fought to keep her enthusiasm about these facts professional, "and so we can go according to plan. We all know how offbeat the airbenders' way of life is, according to our Fire Nation standards..."

A few of the students in the room, including Chan and Ty Lee, made disgusted looks in agreement.

"...Well, why not use that to our advantage?" the young woman paused for a second, making sure she had everyone's attention (including Mr. Jeong Jeong). "I know that this waterbender will do everything she can to get the Avatar to believe in her ideals of balance. If we can show that the Fire Nation is the greatest culture to abide by at this school... by perhaps, exploiting the airbenders' own culture... then the students will not have a choice but to praise the Fire Nation once again. I shall keep the student body running with an iron fist."

Mr. Jeong Jeong then raised his hand, making Azula flinch in surprise. She rolled her eyes slightly before cuing him to speak.

"What about Ms. Ursa, and this Uncle of yours?" came his obviously sleepy, raspy voice. "They're not the only Fire Nation citizens who believe in cultural balance..."

"Leave the family troubles to me, Mr. Jeong Jeong." Azula gave a slight hint of a sigh, as if knowing this topic would be brought up sooner or later, "I assure you, they will not stand in our way to victory."

Mr. Jeong Jeong just snorted back at the girl, speculatively, wondering what was brewing in that insane little mind of hers. The only reason he'd chosen to take part in this brigade was because Avatar Roku felt he needed to do an extracurricular activity that did not involve intense firebending or over-dramatic quoting of Shakespeare. And much to his dismay, open mic poetry was only available to students.

Azula then proceeded to give some plans out for the upcoming weeks, how this small group of faithful Fire Nation citizens would exploit and humiliate the local airbending community in the most sincerest ways possible. Since Mai was not present, Azula ordered Ty Lee to be her publicity assistant that afternoon, taking notes on anything and everything the girl said. By the time the meeting was over, the usually-cheerful girl was no longer smiling, due to her aching knuckles and wrist from the writing.

The Fire Nation princess adjourned the class presidency meeting, and the small group of teachers and students took the liberty of heading out the door without question. Chan stayed behind just for a moment to plant a small kiss on the girl's temple, telling her she did an awesome job up there... but it did little to ease Azula's inner stress.

This new election year clearly meant a lot to her, and not even her boyfriend could see that as much as she did. How could he, since he was too busy playing some ridiculous warrior in a school play?

"I've never been much of a fan to these airbenders," the Vice Principal commented as he got up himself to escort the princess out of the conference room. "I think this is a wise decision you are making, showing them just where they belong in our society."

"Thank you, Zhao," the girl spoke a bit more at ease, knowing the man well enough to address him by name, "now if only the rest of my poor excuse of a family would see the way things I did... and the ways my father did as well."

"I'm sorry to hear there is still no sign of the Prince Ozai... how long has it been, now?"

"Almost six years..." the girl frowned, biting her lip in reluctance to something else that was haunting her mind. "Nobody has seen him since the meeting with Fire Lord Azulon."

"It's a shame to see how much that man has worked to restore the honor of our Nation, only to have his own family disagree with his philosophy. Here we have the greatest civilization that is only bound to evolve into greater things... but only a few of us seem to appreciate it that way."

"Mark my word, Zhao. My Uncle may be the next in line to the Fire Nation throne, but I will maintain the Fire Nation's honor within my own generation, and... perhaps even lead the greatest military this world has ever seen. Lu Ten's laughable naivete will get the better of him... and there won't be any room to argue that what I am creating is wrong for the survival of our honorable culture."

The vice principal nodded in much admiration, holding the school door open for the most respectable member of the royal family. Outside, there were two men and a beautifully painted redwood palanquin waiting for her to be escorted home.

"Keeping my brother out of trouble, as usual?" The girl asked Zhao as she took one of the carriers' hands to be lifted onto the palanquin.

"Hardly." The Vice Principal remained in the shade of the school's ornate doorway. "Prince Zuko seems to be keeping himself out of trouble nowadays, Highness."

Azula made a gruff noise of disgust, letting her form silhouette beneath the thin curtains of the palanquin as she spoke to the Vice Principal one last time.

"I have no doubt that Zuzu and this waterbender girl are getting closer... but perhaps that will be an advantage for me. Keep your eyes out for that Principal of ours; goodness knows he is busy enough being the Avatar, traveling all the time... and I intend to not make him stress over what we have planned for our election campaign."

"Anything you say, your Highness," the man gave a formal bow from his waist for Princess Azula, keeping a fist over his heart with sheer respect. "Give my regards to Princess Ursa; I know her birthday is coming up."

And the girl made sure her sinister smile remained hidden within the palanquin.

It was nearly impossible to not see how infatuated Zhao was over her mother, ever since the Fire Prince Ozai... disappeared... six years ago, but the girl did not sigh in sympathy. Instead, Azula felt rather delighted, knowing she could hold the Vice Principal's heart on a string with everything she demanded of him. And with the Vice Principal's heart at hand, Azula had absolutely nothing to worry about... running the Praying Mantis school as she saw it fit.

Now all she needed to do was to get rid of that ridiculous little boy... the Avatar-in-Training... and those ideals that he would probably be fighting for.


What the hell am I doing here?

Every now and then, it was like Mai's feet told her to stop walking and ponder this same question in her head, so much that it was giving her an astounding headache. Ever since she had returned from the woods yesterday, she could feel the lies pouring in like sap along her pale skin, as if she couldn't trust her self to tell a simple truth in front of her parents.

Mai, your shoes... those were a gift from the Fire Nation capital. Why are they so dirty?

I slipped as I was walking home. The pale girl had pursed her lips, refusing to explain herself even further, not even mentioning the inclusion of the woods.

There are pieces of leaves in your hair. Her mother could not resist to go through her delicate daughter's hair with her callous fingertips. It's all windswept...

I know. And then came her usual raspy voice of sarcasm. It's the newest hair trend that the Fire Nation princess is trying to pull on me. Don't worry, I don't think it'll last.

And her mother had said nothing else, looking over at her husband to see if he had anything else to question for their daughter. Not even the question of why she had stayed at school past dinnertime seemed to cross their minds. The dining room was silent that night as the parents watched their dark, mysterious daughter eat her dinner plainly, and Mai could hear every chew she made in her noodles.

After what seemed ages, the girl finally finished her noodles, set the chopsticks artistically balancing on the bowl and pushed it aside. She looked up at her mother, her copper eyes holding in a significant amount of intensity to them.

Mom, I need to go to Ba Sing Se tomorrow. It surprised the girl herself that she said this, and her eyes faintly rose before blinking again into their bored state. She continued her lie. There's a... a dance festival that I need to attend.

Her mother blinked, never hearing her daughter hesitate before. What for, dear?

She had been holding Tom-Tom at the time, and Mai could not bear to even look at that smiling boy when she spoke. Her skin felt more sallow. I... I need to go for a Cultural Enrichment Project, for school.

Why was this word 'need' always popping up in her answers all of a sudden? She didn't 'need' to go anywhere. She didn't 'need' to do any of this. Mai clenched one of her hands in confusion, hoping that her parents would just let her go without any more prying.

Her father spoke this time, leaning in a little toward the table to catch his daughter's voice a bit more accurately. Could you tell us what this project is about?

Mai's head involuntarily tilted towards the floor, avoiding her father's gaze by her sleek bangs that hid her eyes. Her other hand clenched then, and she could feel her own pulse by the tightness of her fists. Tiny trickles of sweat formed at the back of her scalp, and suddenly... a certain face had appeared in her eyes...

...the tanned face of a boy, with wispy hair sodden from so much sweat under the sun...

And Mai broke the silence with more words. More talk.

It's for a mural I'm painting for the school dance studio, which is supposed to portray the cultural movements of the Earth Kingdom. The dance festival will help me understand the technicality and characteristics of their dance, I guess, and the mural can turn out better.

She said this calmly, crossing her arms nonchalantly to her father, but on the inside she could feel her muscles trembling from that lie.

Her parents looked at each other once again, and Mai had nothing else to do except note the drooling of Tom-Tom's laugh as he was under her mother's warmth.

Alright.

Mai couldn't even remember which of her parents said that, because she got up from the table immediately afterwards, straight to the darkness of her room, without saying another word. It was like clockwork, except now... her body couldn't stop shivering from those lies.

And so the question came again. What the hell am I doing here?

The pale girl's body shifted from left to right, sitting on the train towards the grand city of Ba Sing Se, and then she could feel every walk of her feet come with a tremble of hesitation as that question continued to play itself in her mind.

But all around her – in the lower ring of the city – she heard music. Intense, erratic sounds of drums and horns, and old guitars played by rickety old fingers in the streets. And yet, it was lively... with people younger even than her running past her as she kept herself in her mind... not even caring if they bumped into her. Children danced along the music of the drums, copying the movements of those older, more experienced competitors as they challenged each other in the narrow alleyways.

Mai dodged the laughter she heard around her, as if her ears were unfamiliar with that strange noise that came with the people. She dodged the occasional cabbage that was thrown to the loser of an individual dance-off, but expertly caught the occasional mandarin orange tossed to the winner that would pass her by. People's shoulders bounced with the rhythm in the lower labyrinth of quarters in Ba Sing Se... their smiles of cheer and sweat of enthusiasm spreading contagiously throughout every which alleyway the girl seemed to walk through in that maze.

This was Street Fest.

And the girl did not bring her knives for it, either. Not even her sketchbook. She had to be there just as herself, for some reason. Her mind was like an empty glass, getting poured over by the mysterious, elaborate sounds of instruments and dance movements, and things she had only seen strangely by the self-expression of one particular boy and his friends.

She had no idea what she was looking for, exactly. Mai was there alone, among the crowds and crowds of people eager to find the next round of dance competitions within the streets. Her shoes were patched with the stickiness of rotting fruit from the ground, and she no longer knew if the sweat she felt on her neck was legitimately hers... but still... the girl kept wandering. Her eyes kept looking, observing the colors and smiles and movements that came with those unfamiliar streets on that special Saturday afternoon.

Of course... he wouldn't be there, and she knew that his friends would probably care less if they saw her... but she didn't mind.

Her heart -- was it her heart? – almost demanded it. She needed to be here. She had to know what it was that these kids from under that oak tree were working for, and know what she put that particular boy through when realizing he could not attend.

But most of all... the girl longed to know how it would feel to be a part of something extraordinary.

Much like her unexpected encounter with the Earth Kingdom woods, Mai's ears took in those sounds of the lower ring of Ba Sing Se, and she closed her eyes... letting her mind wander into countless pages of imagination.


Aang found her in the vast dance studio, among the dozens of faces that were holding themselves steady in front of the mirrored wall, while Suki counted a certain beat of 'one-and-two-and-three' in the far corner. Some of them had their traditional Kyoshi makeup... since Aang knew that Avatar Kyoshi was one of the first big fans of interpretive dance... and the young boy smiled, noticing that On Ji was not among them.

She was there in her regular skin color, her bangs flopping from side to side with every extensive movement she made with the other girls in the studio. Her attire was simple: a black leotard, black leggings with a thin red skirt wrapped around her waist to portray her noble Fire Nation colors... but Aang saw something more... her feet. How they lingered from the tips of her toes with every jump or glide that came with that practice routine.

And he saw from the one glance of her shy face how much she tried to hide it from the rest of the world. He just couldn't understand why.

"Alright, girls, we'll pick this up again tomorrow." Suki then said. "Thanks for showing a lot of passion today!"

And suddenly, Aang's comfortable stance in the corner of the doorway no longer seemed invisible, as the girls quickly started packing up their things and leaving through that entrance with random chatter and giggles. The young airbender just stuck flatly against the wall, letting all the girls pass as if he were camouflaged into the cement pattern.

He tried to locate On Ji among the many girls who were leaving the studio, but there was no such luck. So he stayed there on the wall, waiting for all the girls to finally pass and let their giggling voices echo into the hallways. The last one to leave was Suki, and she seemed so preoccupied with her equipment and her bags, she did not even notice the silver eyes that passed her by.

When the voices of girls were now all the way in the distance, the boy took another deep breath peeked into the dance studio again, to see if he had missed On Ji leaving among the crowd.

Strangely, there she was... still... on the studio's marvelously smooth wooden floor, stretching one of her legs like a warm-up. Aang raised an eyebrow, noticing that it was just her in the studio now, and nobody else. Her head was lowered as if wanting to melt into that stretching position, her eyes being hidden by her brown bangs that could not be tamed by a pony tail.

Seeing her alone like that, and her form being reflected by the dance studio's mirror, somehow made her look different to Aang. He couldn't pinpoint what it was, exactly, but it was something about the graceful way she stretched, and the way she held herself so confidently in those dance clothes that made her look... surreal.

Swiftly, she sat up from that stretching position and Aang flinched, not expecting at all, but was careful to not make a sound. He wanted to talk to her so badly... especially now after seeing her airbending quality show itself for the second time... but she was busy. He could sense that she was about to do some sort of routine by herself then, watching her stretch her calves as she stood up from the floor once again.

On Ji moved over to turn on a small contraption at the far wall of the studio, which looked like a metallic box with many levers and pullies... something that clearly must've been created from the mind of Mr. Mechanist. Aang heard the metallic box then... with its tubes suddenly being worked as if by an invisible musician. It was a mechanical drum!

Aang gasped from the corner, realizing how such a simple invention was made to be the companion to this girl in her dance practice, as if escorting her into a completely different world with such intense sound and rhythm. On Ji started to walk alongside that mechanical drum's rhythm, bringing herself back into the center of the studio.

And she danced.

The boy could not believe what he was watching. It started out as a casual walk, and then suddenly it was like On Ji became a dance routine right before his eyes. Like her body were experimenting with new types of interpretive movements that involved turns and shuffles and elaborate waving of her arms. He had trouble making out her face during the dance, and he wondered what it was exactly that she was feeling with every movement.

Was this planned? Was she doing this out of the spur of the moment?

And then she began to leap, turning herself around the room with intricate jumps that played with the air surrounding her. Aang watched her encounter the open room as if she were as light as a feather, unafraid to fall to the ground. She had the exploratory mind of an airbender, one who did not think twice about gravity, but rather trusted the air to keep her balanced and free.

Aang needed to talk to her. He had so much to ask her, question her about why she was being so secretive about this inner gift she possessed.. As he watched her hands move over her head and then fall sharply at her side... the boy was ready to run up to her and finally declare that he had seen the whole thing.

But then, she aimed towards the sky..

On Ji twirled herself up towards the very high ceiling of the dance studio, her arms like choppers and spinning her entire body like a work of art. But it was weak, Aang noticed, and the girl did not go past 10 feet before landing slowly back to the dance floor on her legs, exhausted. The girl's body then reminded Aang of a ship that had suddenly lost all the wind in its sails, and just stayed there in the middle of a great wooden floor of an ocean.

And he finally saw her dark brown eyes, as her arms fell onto her legs hopelessly on the floor. It wasn't long before the girl's face scrunched up tightly... with a few tears streaming out into existence, along with monetary sobs that ultimately took the young airbender by surprise.

Aang's eyes rose, no longer thinking about the questions, nor remembering the reason why he had been standing in the doorway the entire time.

That was when he decided to walk in.


A/N - I hope you guys liked this. Somehow it didn't feel like there was much goin on, but I had to talk about certain things anyway. If you have any suggestions, please tell me. I'm always looking into improving my writing style. Oh! Just for those who're curious, On Ji's dance scene was inspired loosely from Vanessa Carlton's music video for White Houses. Keep on reading! Next up, Ursa's birthday party... -MM