Life of Air

Chapter 6

Family

Yuji and I were enjoying a peaceful meditation when it was interrupted by a sky bison flying over our heads. Realizing Aang and Zuko had finally returned I jumped up and grabbed Yuji to take us down to the temple on a gust of air, much to his protest. Forced decent wasn't his favorite thing to say the least so he flailed and shouted at me until we landed delicately on our feet.

"Iyashi! For spirit's sake why can't you at least warn me?" Yuji fussed once he had regained his bearings, though I barely heard him as I was already running up to Aang and Zuko to greet them.

"I"m so glad you're back!" I yelled and jumped onto Appa so I could hug Aang before he made it down to the ground. He didn't seem fazed by my affection at all, returning the hug with just as much force. Once I released him I smiled and asked, "How did everything go?"

"It was great actually!" He exclaimed, putting his arms up in the air in excitement. "Zuko and I have something to show everyone."

I looked back at Zuko, smiling gently. "So that means you must have found your source of firebending."

"Yeah, I guess you could say that." He jumped off of Appa and gave a small grin. "We both found what we need to firebend, actually. And really it was inside of us this entire time, we just needed to be shown how to find it."

With a gust of air under me, I made my way to the ground next to Zuko. He seemed slightly startled by my sudden closeness and stumbled back slightly. Thinking he was falling, I reached forward to catch his arm but pulled too hard, causing him to steady himself with his free hand on my shoulder and the other holding my arm as I held his. As I'm a bit shorter than him, the top of my head bumped into his chin when I tried to look up at him. We both groaned softly at the collision and released each other's arm to hold our respective injuries.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean for that to happen." I said, glancing up at Zuko sullenly.

He shook his head gently but turned his eyes away from me. "It's alright, I know it was just an accident."

"Are you done causing trouble, Iyashi?" Yuji asked in a sarcastic tone, teasing me.

I rolled my eyes at my brother and shook my head, answering him with the same sarcastic tone. "Right, because I meant for this to happen." As I went to step away I realized Zuko still had his hand on my shoulder though there was no reason for it as he had already regained his balance. "Umm, Zuko?" I asked, glancing from his face to his hand on my shoulder.

Zuko followed my gaze then pulled his hand away quickly, looking away from me with what seemed like shame. "Sorry..."

Feeling bad that I seemed to have embarrassed him, I forced a laugh to ease the tension. "We can just forget this ever happened. You and Aang still need to demonstrate your new bending technique."

I realized then that Aang had jumped down from Appa and was standing next to Yuji, both of them with a grin as they watched Zuko and I's little interaction. The boys both glanced at each other and chuckled. I grew red with irritation at their silent teasing and gave a huff as I walked passed them. "Real mature, you two."

Aang leaped after me with a speed of an airbender. "I didn't mean to upset you, Iyashi, it's just fun to see Zuko actually interact with someone in such a normal way, you know? After so long of seeing him as the enemy, it's nice to see him as just a regular teenager like the rest of us."

I glanced at Aang and then the firebender, feeling myself smile as well. "I suppose I understand what you mean, considering how gruff he can be around the edges."

Aang laughed again. "Takes a lot to ruffle him up."

I couldn't help but giggle at his comment and wondered if Zuko could hear our exchange from a few feet behind us. He didn't say anything to us about it, so I assumed it had stayed between Aang and I. Once we all met up with the rest of the group and things like hugs and "welcome back" were exchanged, Aang announced he and Zuko would be revealing their new technique. We all sat in a circle and waited as the two firebenders prepared their display.

"With this technique the dragons showed us," Aang said as he and Zuko moved around in different forms blasting fire from their hands. "Zuko and I will be unstoppable."

We all clapped when they finished. "Yeah that's a great dance you two learned there." Sokka added after the claps.

"It's not a dance, it's a firebending form." Zuko defended.

"We'll just tap dance our way to victory over the Fire Lord." Sokka continued to tease.

Zuko stepped up closer to him as his frustration rose. "It's a sacred form which happens to be thousands of years old!"

"Oh yeah?" Katara pipped in with that teasing tone. "What's your little form called?"

Zuko's face scrunched up a bit and he seemed to suddenly deflate. "The dancing dragon."

Laughter ensued throughout the group and though Zuko still seemed irritated with the mockery of his firebending form, he softened slightly as though he was actually getting comfortable with everyone here. Aang bumped Zuko's arm with his elbow and grinned, showing him the innocence in their teasing. It was so great to see after watching how they had reacted when he had first arrived here asking to be considered a comrade. I nudged Yuji who was sitting next to me and nodded my head towards the two, he followed my gaze but didn't seem to pick up on what I was trying to point out as he only shrugged his shoulders, ignoring my silent gestures from then on.

My brother is many things, but a people person is not one of them.

"Iyashi, I would like to speak with you after dinner."

I lifted my eyes from my meal to meet my father's gaze. His green eyes were serious as usual, giving off the impression of a leader with only a look, but I could see something else in his expression. Chief Ansu, the man who held power over the tribe by simply marrying the only airbending daughter of the tribe, who fathered four sons and a daughter and carried on the airbending line in the process, a man who demanded respect and hard work equally and would offer it just the same, my father. We have never been extremely close, him finding more in common with my three oldest brothers while he left Yuji and I to our mother's care and teachings.

I'd lost count how many times I'd upset him by disregarding his rules, attempting to sneak out to the surface among other things. Though he was my father and I couldn't doubt that he loved me, there was no way he'd ever be able to understand me. I'd given up on even making him try long ago. But because of our lack in similarities I was mostly left to my own devices, my mother taking up the nagging role of parenting me while he simply made and enforced rules however he thought was necessary. To say the least, I wasn't exactly looking forward to a one-on-one meeting with my father.

I gave him a nod of understanding and returned to my dinner, hoping it would go on a bit longer. With my father's request it seemed like all of the conversations at the table had quieted as though everyone was waiting and watching to see if anything was going to happen between us, they were disappointed however with my silent response and quickly returned to their conversations once it was obvious nothing more would come of my father's request.

I glance around the table which held my entire family, my father at the head while my mother took up his right side. Though nothing about my mother really made her stand out she was more of a quiet beauty, especially at the side of my father. Her soft and delicate frame next to his large and bulky figure was a nice contrast, they balanced each other out. Even as my father wore the traditional greens and browns of the Earth Kingdom, where his ancestors resided, my mother always wore orange and yellow robes to represent her Air Nomad heritage; they complimented each other so well. There had been much tension between them since my decision to join the Avatar, but they didn't let it show in front of the rest of the tribe. They were a team and a representation of why we were all here so I'm sure they felt they needed to maintain that front.

After dinner my mother excused me from cleaning duty and gestured for me to follow my father to his personal quarters. I did so silently and waited as he used his earthbending to close the entrance to the room he always referred to as his office. He took a seat at the only table in the room and gestured for me to take the chair across from him. I sat down and set my hands in my lap, waiting for what I figured would be a lecture.

My father let out a sigh, which caught me off guard. "You aren't making this very easy, Iyashi."

I looked up at my father's face and noticed he seemed distressed, the constant in control expression gone from his features. He ran his hand through his dark brown hair, ruffling it slightly in a way that made the light catch the flecks of gray it held. I wondered silently when he had started graying, since it wasn't something I had noticed before.

"What isn't easy, Dad?" I asked softly.

He looked at me, catching my eyes for the first time since we had entered his office. "Letting you go, that's what."

"Huh?" I asked, tilting my head to the side in confusion.

He shook his head. "You're my only daughter and you already want to run off and leave home even before your older brothers do. How did you expect me to take that?"

I shrugged, suddenly feeling ashamed for believing he wasn't concerned with me. "I'm not sure, I didn't really think about how you would take it."

He sighed again. "Listen, I know I haven't been the most... affectionate father in the world, I just never really knew how to get close to you is all. You excelled with your bending since you were a little girl, even more so than your mother did, and I just didn't know what I could offer you. You had your grandmother and mother to teach you and guide you in all things Air Nomad related so I knew you just didn't need me."

I opened my mouth to speak, getting ready to tell him how wrong he was and that I did need him, but he held his hand up, gesturing to keep me silent.

"You're going to tell me how much you needed me, but we both know that isn't true." For the first time since we had entered his office, he gave me a sad smile. "I'm sure you would have enjoyed more affection from me, maybe more attention, but you didn't need anything I had to offer. It's not like you needed to learn how to earthbend or run the tribe like I do."

"Mom did teach me how to be a leader." I offered, reaching for straws at that point. "Maybe you could have helped with that?"

"Your mother and I lead on two different sides, she taught you her side, so you've never had need for mine."

I shrugged, unable to look into my father's eyes. "Dad, I don't know why you're telling me all this now."

"I guess I just wanted to make sure you know... I didn't ignore you because I wanted to." With those words my father stood and walked around the table. I looked up once he was standing over me but soon he had taken me up in his arms, lifting me out of my seat. The feel of my father's arms around me was something I had almost forgotten, but it was such a comfort. It almost felt like I was a little girl again, being held by the one man I considered stronger than anyone else.

He gripped me tighter for a moment then set me down on my feet, only keeping one hand on my face. "You're a powerful bender and you have the most beautiful heart I've ever seen since meeting your mother. You're going to be the one to lead our tribe out of the darkness, and no matter how much that terrifies me I do know it's what you were born to do." He took a moment to regain his composure as obvious fear and doubt took over his expression. "It's decided that as soon as you and the Avatar leave... we're going to move the tribe out of here as well. You're the reason I have the strength to follow this plan."

My eyes began to water as he spoke to me, though he wiped away each tear as it fell. "Dad... thank you, not just for believing in me as your daughter but also for believing in what I'm doing. I know the tribe will thrive in the world, with your strength to lead them and Mom's spirituality to guide them then I know everything will be alright."

With a chuckle he tucked a bit of my hair behind my ear and stared at me lovingly. "You sound so much like your mother. It's almost like I have two of her running around this place."

I giggled at his remark. "I don't think I've lived up to her example yet, or that I was even meant to, but I'll make you proud when I leave with Aang. I promise I'll make the entire tribe proud."

He smiled. "You've always made me and everyone here proud. There is no doubt in my mind that will continue even after you leave us."

Upon returning to my room, I found each one of my brothers waiting for me. Tanro and Yen sat on my bed, Yuji leaned up against the back wall, while Ginko sat on the floor leaning against my bed. Tanro and Yen were playing cards on my bed, Ginko was looking through my sketch book, and Yuji looked over them quietly. As soon as I had been noticed in the doorway, they each stopped their activities and focused their attention on me.

"Iyashi! Great timing!" Ginko yelled cheerfully, jumping up to grab me around the shoulders and pull me over to their odd get-together. "We were starting to think Dad had encased you in a rock prison or something."

"Right," Yuji cut in and rolled his eyes at our goofball brother, "because Dad would go to that extreme. Really we were just concerned he was scolding you for no good reason."

"If Dad was scolding her then he probably had a good reason." Yen offered, always the understanding type when it came to our father's strictness.

"Alright, brothers, let's slow down and let the woman speak for herself on what had happened." Tanro spoke over the group, almost sounding like our father with his authoritative tone. "So Iyashi, what did Dad want?"

I looked between each of my brothers, all of their eyes on me as their impatience showed in their expressions. Refusing to take their stares I chose to look up at the ceiling and shrugged nonchalantly. "Nothing really, just told me that tribe will leave the temple when Aang leaves."

Each of my brothers groaned and complained at my simple answer, knowing of course there had to be much more to my meeting with our father. I grinned slightly as they hounded me about it, demanding to know what he said and in how much trouble I must have been in. No matter how much they fussed at me I refused to give them anything else, deciding that my talk with my father would remain between the two of us. As that's how he had wanted it to be in the first place.

A/N - I got home from work rather late so this is being posted kinda late, sorry about that. Hope everyone enjoys! I have some time so I'm writing on another chapter so there may be an update soon. :) Let me know what you think!