Life of Air

Chapter 5

What Hurts Can Help

"Are you really planning to leave with them?" Yuji asked, leaning up against the frame of the opening to my room.

I had retreated to my room to work on a new glider while my family all fussed with each other about my decision to follow the Avatar. My parents were split about it, my mother completely wracked with grief while my father chose not to address it at all. My brothers were mostly split down the middle, Tanro and Yen agreeing that I should be free to leave while Ginko and Yuji thought it was selfish of me. I hated how this was tearing my family apart, but I still couldn't change my mind. Without looking away from the work in my hands, I answered the youngest of my older brothers. "If they leave here, so will I. What part of I'm a part of their group now do you not understand?"

"The part about leaving your family." He answered disapprovingly. "Mom is devastated, Dad won't even talk to you, and all of us are trying to figure out how we'll protect you. We're your brothers, Iyashi, we aren't going to be able to stop worrying about you just because you take company with the Avatar."

"None of you have to protect me anymore, I'm old enough to protect myself. And besides, you should see how powerful those group of kids are, they're amazing, nothing can touch me with them at my side." I hoped that information would relieve some of his worry, but it seemed like nothing was going to do that.

"I don't care if you're 100 years old, I'll never stop protecting you." Tanro said as he entered my room and stood next to Yuji. "And those kids got nothing on your beloved big brother here. No one can protect you like I can."

Yuji rolled his eyes at our elder brother. "Right, because a simple earthbender is on a level far above the Avatar."

Tanro elbowed him in the arm gently. "Hey now, that Avatar has plenty of things to worry about, Iyashi is my responsibility."

I coughed, gaining back their attention away from each other and their squabbling. "I'm no one's responsibility but my own, thank you though, Tanro. You guys need to worry about the rest of the tribe, I believe Dad finally gave into Mom and they'll be moving the tribe soon. You have a lot of other things to concern yourselves with other than me."

My oldest brother gave a snort and marched into my room, plopping his hand down on my head and putting his face close to mine with a deep stare. "Listen here, little one, I don't care what you say, I'm never going to stop worrying about you. If that Avatar of yours ever decides to take you way from us, then you're going to have to convince him to take your big brother too because I'm not letting you leave without me. Got it?"

I gulped and nodded my head quickly. "Yeah, I got it."

A great big grin broke out across his face then and he ruffled my head. "That's my girl. I'll let the boys know so they can stop their bickering." He left my room without another word.

Yuji came to sit next to me on my bed. "I guess I shouldn't worry now, since Tanro will be with you, but I still can't help but worry about you. I may be the closest to you in age but you're just as much my baby sister as you are theirs." He gave me sad look. "And more than that, you're my best friend, Iyashi."

His confession was a rare one, he wasn't exactly the mushy type, so I knew that for him to tell me that he must have truly meant it and been upset at the thought of me leaving. I took him in a hug and held him as tight as I could. "I know, Yuji, you're my best friend too. No one here understands me like you do. So please understand that I have to do this."

He returned my hug gently. "I understand, but that doesn't mean I'm alright with it."

I sat in anticipation to the firebending display before me. Today Zuko was going to start teaching Aang the basics of firebending and I didn't want to miss a single second of it. Firebending had been seen as something of pure destruction for our people; that's all I've ever known. To see what someone could do with it as a practice instead of a weapon intrigued me. I even brought my sketch pad out with me in case inspiration struck.

"Now I know you're nervous," Zuko addressed Aang, "but remember, firebending in and of itself is not something to fear."

Aang gave a sigh and seemed to stand a little straighter. "Not something to fear, understood."

"But if you don't respect it, it'll chew you up and spit you out like an angry komodo rhino!" Zuko bellowed, causing the Avatar to jump back. "Now, show me what you've got, any amount of fire you can make."

Aang nodded and took a stance, attempting to firebend, but only letting out smoke. I cringed and shook my head. Obviously, he was just as disappointed in himself and looked to Zuko nervously. "Maybe I need more instruction, perhaps a demonstration?"

"Good idea." Zuko nodded. "You might want to step back." He then looked at me on my little perch. "You too Iyashi."

I jumped up. "Oh, sorry." I airbended my way to a ledge above their training area and looked down on them, eager to see what Zuko could really do as I hadn't had a chance to see him firebend yet.

Zuko took a stance similar to Aang's and punched the air. Unlike Aang's attempt, fire actually came out of his fist, but not very much. Aang clapped but Zuko groaned in obvious frustration.

"What was that? That was the worst firebending I've ever seen!" Zuko exclaimed.

Aang shrugged and smiled at him. "I thought it was nice."

Zuko made a few more attempts but still nothing came about the way he seemed to want it to, his frustration growing quickly. "Why is this happening?!"

"Maybe it's the altitude! You might not be used to firebending in this environment." I yelled down to them. Zuko acknowledged me then looked away.

"Yeah, maybe."

Aang and Zuko decided to continue their training lower in the temple so I followed as well, making sure to keep plenty of distance between myself and their training area. Though Zuko's struggles continued, barely being able to make more than a small flame. His frustration grew with each failed attempt and he even snapped at Aang for a small comment. I frowned and jumped down from my perch, landing in front of the boys.

"Your bending was fine when you were fighting that enemy yesterday, what's changed in a day?" I asked Zuko, my hands on my hips.

Zuko scowled at the dirt beneath him. "I don't know, I was accepted into your group is all." He said and gestured to Aang. "But what could that have to do with anything?"

"You told me that your desires changed, maybe such a drastic change within yourself is keeping you from the part of your soul that controls your bending?" I suggested.

The prince kicked the dirt and gave a frustrated growl. "How am I supposed to fix this? It's not like I can go back to hunting Aang."

"I mean you could!" Aang exclaimed, jumping up. "You could chase me around for a while and see if that ignites anything! Maybe your rage will ignite and that will ignite your fire?"

Zuko shook his head. "I'm not using that to fuel me anymore, I shouldn't have to!"

I set my hand on Zuko's shoulder, giving him a gentle smile. "Come on, let's go eat something, maybe everyone else will be able to help figure something out."

He sighed and nodded. We made our way back to the central area where the group all gathered around to eat and talk. Aang sat with everyone while Zuko wandered off on his own. Realizing there wasn't much I could offer them at this point I decided to head back to my family and eat with them, hopefully the feuding had calmed down enough for a peaceful meal.

It was a relatively quiet meal, though the tension was thick. My parents weren't talking and they couldn't even look at me. My brothers, however, were able to make small conversations with each other and they even included me. It wasn't about anything serious, just casual talk. Though I was grateful for some kind of normality in this crazy environment the recent happenings had created.

"Are you going back up there with them tonight?" Yuji asked me.

I shrugged. "I'm not sure, there isn't much I can do for them right now. Why?"

"I wanted to meditate under the stars, I thought you might like to join me is all. If not that's fine."

I smiled and nudged him with my shoulder. "I'd be happy to keep you company."

He scoffed though continued to eat his meal, keeping his eyes away from me. Yuji wouldn't let on about it but the world above and all those benders in it sort of frightened him. Having grown up in the tunnels could do that to you. He was sheltered, having an escort every time he rose to the surface to meditate or anything else, hiding away in tunnels and being told stories of the terrible firebenders who destroyed our home and people. This is what fear created; more fear.

The next morning when I headed into the temple hoping to find Zuko and Aang training instead I found them packing. They were loading the bison with supplies for a trip it seemed.

"Going somewhere?" I asked, catching their attention.

"Yeah," Aang answered from Appa's head. "Zuko's best hope to find a way to firebend without relying on rage and anger is to find the original source of firebending so we're going to look around the ruins of the original firebenders."

"The Sun Warriors." Zuko continued, not looking at me. "Dragons were the original firebenders... but they're gone so the Sun Warrior ruins are our best hope."

"What about the Sun Warriors, are they gone too?" I asked.

"They've been gone for a long time, longer than the dragons." Zuko answered, looking at me for the first time this morning. "The most we'll find are buildings and maybe some artwork. But it's the only hope we have without finding Aang another teacher."

"Art work can be rather helpful!" I announced. "It's how people have been telling stories and expressing things words never could for the longest time. You never know, maybe you'll find something related to bending. Many of my pieces are related to bending."

Aang jumped down from Appa and landed gently in front of me. "That's our hope." He gave me a hug, catching my off guard. "We'll see you when we get back, wish us luck."

I returned the hug and smiled. "Of course, come back safely and soon." I looked at Zuko over Aang's shoulder. "Both of you."

He looked away and nodded. "Yeah."

I looked around the campsite full of the avatar's friends. Some of them seemed to be busying themselves with things that didn't really matter but just took focus. Others were just laying around doing nothing. This must be what it's like to not have the avatar around. I couldn't help a giggle as I watched them all, completely bored without Aang around.

"Is Aang the only one who has adventures?"

Everyone looked up at me then went back to focusing or not focusing. Katara spoke plainly while working on some sort of craft project with string, "Without Aang here there just isn't much to do. No bending lessons, no adventures."

I smiled. They miss him. "Do you guys want to help my brothers and the other farmers carry in some crops? It'd be something to do."

Toph stood and stretched, causing the earth beneath her to raise and then fall with her movements. "I'm in. This sitting around is making me soft, I don't want to get like Katara."

"Hey!" Katara jumped up and glared at the young earthbender. "I am not soft!"

Toph poked her in the chest. "Your feelings sure are. Come on Sugar Queen, a little hard work in the mud won't hurt you."

Katara huffed and crossed her arms. "Fine, it's not like I'm not used to doing all the work anyway."

"That's the spirit!" Toph slapped her companion on the back and I giggled. "Lead the way Sweet Feet!"

"So that's the nickname you decided on?" Sokka asked, looking up at Toph from his bed on the ground.

She shrugged. "It fits, doesn't it? Plus, it works well with Twinkle Toes."

I shook my head. "I don't mind what you call me, let's just head up before they get everything done without us. You guys can't move as fast as me so we better hurry."

"You wanna bet?" Toph asked with a suspicious expression.

"What are you-"

Before Katara could finish her sentence, she was flying through the air, having been launched by Toph, the earth below her rising with enough force to send her flying towards the top of the cliff. Toph winked at me and used the same technique to launch herself though not with as much force, instead she landed on the wall and caught it with her bending, repeating this a few times until she was up the cliff.

I laughed and spun myself into the air, catching different ledges until I was able to meet the rest of the group. I found Toph laughing her head off and Katara looking rather frustrated at her. Next to them was two of my brothers, Yen and Ginko.

"How could you launch me like that?! With absolutely no regard for safety!" Katara yelled in frustration at Toph.

The young girl only shrugged as she continued to chuckle. "Oh come on, I knew he'd be there to catch you. I wouldn't actually put you in danger, Katara, you have no faith in me."

"Who caught her?" I asked, looking between the girls. Katara blushed and looked to the side, Toph grinned and shook her head.

Yen cleared his throat and rose his hand nervously. "That would be me. It wasn't really that big of a deal, she fell right into my arms and she's so light, so she wasn't hard to catch." He took this opportunity to lay his large hand on Katara's shoulder and give her a giant grin. "Don't worry about it so much. I'm happy I was there to help."

Katara's anger seemed to fade with the show of my brother's purity and kindness, she smiled at him in return. "I appreciate you catching me. I should have thanked you from the beginning."

"Aren't we supposed to be working up here?" Toph asked, breaking the gentle moment Yen had created.

Ginko clapped his hands together. "That's right kids, we have plenty for you to do!"

The next few hours were filled with dirt and sweat and the hot sun. Katara used her waterbending to help water the crops we weren't collecting while Toph shook the earth to release plants from underground. I used my speed to gather fruit and vegetables with extreme efficiency. We all earned a break, so we sat with my brothers and enjoyed some of the fruits of our labor, literally.

"You kids are all welcome to give us a hand with the crops anytime," Yen said cheerfully and smiled at the waterbender of the group. "Especially you, Katara. Your bending is a great help out here. Not a drop of water wasted."

Katara beamed at the praise and smiled at Yen. "I'm happy I was there to help."

A/N - First scheduled update :) hope everyone enjoys it. I really try to flesh out the OCs and the show's characters and how they are going to act around each other. Iyashi may be the main character, but her family mean a lot to me as well.

Let me know what you think!