"All done."

Katara ties off the last locks of my hair before shifting the rest of it from the front of my shoulders. It falls down my back in a carefree wave, blowing gently in the air as we carve our path over the sea.

"You wanna see it?"

"Sure," I say, turning to face her.

She pulls a small mirror from one of her bags and holds t up for me.

"Wow, it looks great!" I exclaim.

It really does. She somehow managed to tame my wild mane and pull it into two neat braided buns just above my ears. Somehow, I feel if I were to walk down the streets at home with my hair like this, I'd get weird looks. But here, in this world, it feels…right.

"Thanks!" I say, handing the mirror back with a smile.

"It's no big deal," she says, picking up a pair of pants that needs mending. "It's been a while since I've had someone willing to let me braid their hair."

I smile back at her. I know the feeling. I have vague memories of grandmother letting me braid her hair. And grandpa even once let me braid his beard. But I admit, there's just nothing like that feeling of someone playing with my hair that can calm me so much.

"Hey Rena!" Aang calls as he climbs up from Appa's head. "You ready for your first flying lesson?"

I gulp nervously, looking over the edge of the saddle. All I can see is a blur of churning blue water far as the eye can see in every direction.

"Uh... yeah, but I think I'd feel better if we weren't over the ocean."

"If you want to be a bender, you have to let go of fear," he says as he grabs his staff.

"Aang, the last time you said that we got stuck inside a Fire Navy ship booby trap," Katara says with a slight edge to her voice.

He smiles sheepishly before turning back to me.

"So...then is that a no?"

I exchange a look with Katara. She just sighs and goes back to mending. I put on an only slightly shaky smile and grab my staff. My fingers grip the worn wood of the staff for a minute as I suck in a deep breath.

"Ok, I'll try," I mutter as I give Aang a worried glance. "Appa better be ready to catch me though."

I go to push myself to my feet before I remember I can cheat now. I create a soft gust of air that lifts me too my feet. But I'm still not used to flying, so as soon as my feet touch down I have to clutch the railing of the saddle to keep from falling over.

"Good job!" Aang praises as I finally gain my footing. "Not bad for a beginner."

I smile weakly, trying to ignore the fluttering in my stomach as I watch the ocean blur beneath us. It's a real long way to fall.

"Come on!" Aang says.

He taps his staff on the floor of the saddle ad the wings pop out. I mimic the action and grip it tightly as I swing it over my shoulders.

"Just take a deep breath and jump," he advises.

And with that he jumps off, leaving me gawking after him.

"Oh well," I mutter. "You only live once."

I take a deep breath jump, squeezing my eyes shut. For a moment, I feel that all too familiar plunging in my stomach as I fall. But then it stops and a soft breeze caress my face. I open my eyes slowly, and am amazed at the sight. I'm gliding a few feet above the surface of the water.

I look up, and am surprised when I begin to gain altitude. Soon I'm soaring at the same height as Appa, and waving to Katara as I fly past. The lack of concentration makes me waver slightly, and I fall a few feet.

This is the most amazing thing I've ever experienced. I feel so free. Like nothing is even holding me to the earth anymore. How could I have wasted fourteen years of my life without knowing or feeling this sensation?

"Nice job Rena!" I hear Aang call. "Now try this!"

I look to the side to see him gliding next to me.

He leans back, and backflips back onto the saddle. I grin and attempt to mimic the action. It works for the most part, that is until I touch down. My feet touch the ground just as we hit a bit of turbulence and I slip and belly flop onto the floor.

"Well, that was almost perfect," Katara mutters.

I roll onto my side, smiling up at her and Aang.

"That was amazing!" I yell. "But I gotta admit, I'll be more enthusiastic about trying again when I have solid ground under my feet."

"That's understandable," Aang says as he hops over to his spot on Appa's head. "We'll be on land soon enough so we'll be able to practice some more."

The thudding in my chest slows as I breathe deeply. The clouds float past us, and I wonder what it would be like to fly through one. Would I just get wet or would nothing happen at all?

"You saw it right Rena?"

I jerk out of my day dreams and push myself into sitting position. Aang is looking at me like he's expecting me to agree with whatever he just said.

"Sorry, what was that?" I ask.

His shoulders slump as I scoot closer to Katara, feeling like I should be helping her fix clothes if I'm going to travel with them.

"Stop bugging them airhead," Sokka says from his seat in the back of the saddle. "You need to give girls their space when they do their sewing."

"What does me being a girl have to do with sewing?" Katara asks in a clipped tone.

"Simple," Sokka says as he reclines on the saddle. "Girls are better at fixing pants than guys. And guys are better at hunting and fighting and stuff like that."

"Well that's extremely sexist," I mutter.

Sokka just shrugs and leans back on the bags of supplies as if he doesn't sense Katara's irritation growing with every word that leaves his mouth.

"It's just the natural order of things."

"Well how about we diverge from the natural order of things?" I ask in a slightly acidic voice. "Let's see you fix your own pants. Or cook us all dinner."

I suddenly grimace, not liking the thought of my own suggestion. Sokka would probably burn all our rations, or worse, our whole campsite.

"You know what," I mutter. "Forget I said that."

"Thought so," Sokka says with a smug smirk that makes me want to sock him straight in the face.

But Katara beats me too it.

"All done with your pants!" she says in a sugary sweet voice. "And look at what a great job I did!"

She flings the pair of dark blue pants at him. They catch a gust of wind and hit him square in the face. We giggle as he struggles to pull them off.

"No wait! I was just kidding!" he yells as he sticks his arm through the hole in the leg. "I can't wear these! Katara please!"

"Don't worry Sokka!" Aang calls from the front. "Where we're going you won't need any pants!"

I stop laughing and look over my shoulder as I feel Appa descending . We've begun to descend over a huge island that's almost shaped like a back to back crescent. It's mountains are covered in heavy blankets of snow with bits of green peeking through.

"It's beautiful," I whisper as Aang lands us in a huge bay area filled with glittering turquoise waves.

I'll bet it's beautiful here in the summer.

Aang jumps off Appa's back and begins eagerly scanning the sparkling waters. I jump down next to Katara and a still somewhat grumpy Sokka.

"We just made a pit stop yesterday," he grumbles. "Shouldn't we get a bit more flying done before we camp out?"

"He's right," Katara says. "At this rate we won't get to the North Pole until spring."

"But where would we camp out?" I ask. "We're in the middle of the ocean. And I thought you couldn't figure out where we were on the map."

I smirk as Sokka bristles at my last statement. Girls two. Sokka zero.

"And besides, Appa's tired already," Aang says. "Aren't ya boy?"

I giggle as Appa gives a half-hearted growl.

"I said, aren't ya boy?" Aang tires again, elbowing the giant bison for emphasis.

He growls louder, causing a triumphant smile to cross Aang's face.

"Yeah, that was real convincing," Sokka says sarcastically. "Still, hard to argue with a ten ton magical monster."

Aang ignores him and lets out a gasp, running to the shore line.

"Look!" he yells, pointing out to the expanse of water.

The three of us rush forward just in time to see a giant fish break out of the stillness of the water. My eyes widen at the sight.

"Elephant koi," I whisper, not believing my eyes.

Though you'd think that by now I'd get used to the idea that everything my grandpa told me stories about was real in this world.

"Yup!" Aang yells as he starts tossing his close in a pile on the sand.

"That's why we're here. I'm going to ride one. You guys gotta watch me!"

And with that he takes a running start before diving into the salty waves. He jumps up above them almost immediately, screaming at the top of his lungs about how cold it was before swimming farther out into the bay.

When he resurfaces again, he's clutching the side of the giant fish's fin. A grin spreads across my face as I watch the fish dive. My veins sing with adrenalin every time I watch the fish break to the surface. I want to try that.

But the excitement shatters as a large shadow appears from the sapphire depths of the bay. It's long and slithers like a serpent, mercilessly feeding on the beautiful koi. And Aang is oblivious to it all.

I watch in horror as it catches the koi he's riding, sending him hurtling towards the shallow water. He resurfaces quickly to our relief, gasping for air just as a fin the size of a three story house unfolds over him.

He screams, and to my amazement, rockets back to shore. Despite the danger of the situation, I find it amazing that he's practically running on water. Is it and air bending or water bending skill?

Just as that thought crosses my mind he reaches shore. He barrels into Sokka, sending them flying back a few feet. I finally un-root my feet from the ground when I see the fin fold down an disappear beneath the waves again.

Well, there go my plans for trying to ride an elephant koi. And just…the koi in general.

Poor fishies.

I turn around and rush over to the other three. It seemed that Aang and Sokka's flight was interrupted by a tree. That had to hurt.

"What was that thing?" Katara asks as I come to a halt beside her.

"I don't know," Aang responds as he pulls his clothes back on.

I help pull Sokka to his feet, and if he's winded, he's brushed it off better than I thought he would.

"Let's not stick around to find out," he says as he brushes off his hands. "Time to hit the road."

As soon as the words leave his mouth, a bunch of green and gold blurs surround us. I can barely lift a finger to try and defend myself before I'm blindfolded, bound and shoved to the ground.

It sounds like the same thing happened to the rest of them because as soon as I spit out a mouthful of snow I hear four more thumps on the ground beside me. From the chattering I hear the even got Momo.

"Or we could stay a while..." I hear Sokka mumble from a few feet away.

Well, I wanted an adventure...looks like I stuck with the right people. But now my main concern is whether or not I'll survive long enough to have more.

I've been wracking my brain since we landed on this island. And dread gathers in the pit of my stomach as I'm shoved to my feet and guided to what I think is farther inland. I don't know anything that could possibly help us right now.

~Author's Notes~

so sorry i've been out so long...life hates me, but it's nice to know you guys don't! please R&R!

~Jade