A little shorter than the most recent chapters, but it didn't take a month this time.
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender
They were flying over the ocean. Yue looked down at the water and she couldn't help but smile, because she was surrounded by her element. She was surrounded by water and the air here was warm, warmer than she had ever felt before. Azula and her other Fire Nation companions seemed right at home with the warmer temperature, and Ty Lee had said that it got even hotter in the Fire Nation.
But Yue didn't much mind the heat, not when water was all around her. There was water everywhere and the urge to bend-the urge to use it buzzed through her blood, tingling against her skin. It would be stronger at night, Yue thought. At night and then during the summer-during the Silver Moon. She would be able to control the tides, then.
Controlling the tides, thought, was a scary thing. Yue was not sure she wanted the power to command the tides, but the urge was inside of her nevertheless. It was in every waterbender, really. It ran in the blood of every waterbender and when the time came, Yue wondered how many would act on it. She wondered how many waterbenders would rise with the wave that came with the war.
She knew Katara would and had Yue been a different person, she probably would have, too. If she had been a different person, she probably would have given Aang up or used him to win the war. If Yue had been a different person, she and Katara probably would have been friends.
Things would have been a lot easier if Yue was a different person, but she wasn't and there wasn't very much she could do about that. Then again, if she had been born a different person, she probably wouldn't have been alive at all. If the Moon Spirit hadn't decided to spare her, she would have been dead. She wondered who would have found Aang, then.
"I feel like I'm going to be sick." Toph said and Yue turned towards the blind earthbender. Her face had turned a rather interesting shade of light green and she wrinkled her nose. Yue realized that Toph was an earthbender, but she was also blind. Up in the air, over the water, she couldn't see what was going on or where they were. "I hope you didn't take us out over the ocean to die, Twinkle Toes."
Across from her, Sokka snickered and Toph snapped her head towards the sound. Yue watched as the young Earth Kingdom girl turned on the Water Tribe boy, "Can it, Princely Pants." Then she paused, "But, Zuko's a prince, too…." She wrinkled her nose.
Azula and Zuko were members of the Fire Nation royal family. Yue had been traveling with Fire Nation royalty and she hadn't even known it. She wondered how long Azula-who she had deemed her friend-would have kept it from her. Yue wondered how long she would have kept her identity a secret, if they had been on opposite sides of the war.
Sitting at the front of the saddle, Aang watched the exchange with an almost nostalgic look in his gray eyes. Yue wondered if he was remembering the friends of his past, maybe they reminded him of someone he used to know. He had his arms behind his head, supporting his neck and a soft, wistful smile on his young face.
Yue smiled and Aang turned his gaze towards her. Aang, Yue thought, have every reason to be angry. He had every reason to hate the Water Tribes and her, because they had killed his people-every last one of them-and Yue had pulled him from the one place of protection, his one place of peace and rest. She was related to the very people who had orchestrated the Air Nomad genocide; he had every right to hate her and her people.
But he didn't.
He didn't hate her or Sokka, and Yue was sure he didn't even hate Katara. He didn't hate the Water Tribes, even though he had every reason to. He didn't hate anyone, Yue thought. The Air Nomads had taught him about kindness and being able to forgive, and freedom. Aang probably knew more about freedom than anyone. Aang, even though he had the burden of being the Avatar on his shoulders, was free. He would have forgotten all of that, though, if the Dai Li had succeeded in brainwashing him.
Even though he was seemingly free, Yue knew that Aang needed closure. He needed a definite answer. Was he really the last of his kind, the last of the Air Nomads, or were there others out there, other airbenders that were waiting for him. If what Yue thought was true and Aang really was the last airbender, she would help him. She would help him, because it was the least she could do.
"I forgot how familiar this was," Sokka said to Yue, "To be surrounded by nothing but water. Only, back home, there's a lot more ice." Yue decided he was right. The Southern Water Tribe was her second home, almost, where there was metal and ice, and a certain type of realism and practicality that wasn't found in the North. Where everything was extravagant in the Northern Water Tribe-sometimes overly so-many of the buildings in the Southern Water Tribe were simple, but they were beautiful, too.
"I miss home." Yue said and the words slipped through her lips before she could stop them. She looked over at Sokka, who turned his gaze out to the ocean spanning beyond them. She did miss her home, though. She missed her mother and her father, and Lady Kya, and Chief Hakoda, too. She missed the Water Tribe food she had grown up eating and the bitter cold that stole her breath. And, of course, the snow. The endless, boundless snow.
Sokka cleared his throat. "Me, too." He said and smiled, "I really would like some sea prunes right about now. Or ocean kumquats." He laughed softly, "Yue, you honestly need to learn to cook, so we can stop reminiscing about food."
The Northern Water Tribe princess wrinkled her nose and looked off to the side, stifling a laugh. She had been pampered for most of her life. She was a princess and she had been spoiled when she behaved correctly. There were others in the world, Yue knew, that would kill to switch places with her for just one day. They weren't as lucky as her.
To those people, it would look like she had thrown a perfect life away. Maybe if the war had never happened, that would have been true. But Yue could not-would not-sit back and be the perfect princess when her tribe destroyed the world's balance. She could not-would not-pretend that she agreed with the war. And she couldn't-wouldn't-let them take Aang's freedom from him.
Because, in a strange sort of way, if Aang was free, then so was Yue. He had given her a reason to fight against the war, instead of going along with it. He had given her a reason to go about the world and promote peace, instead of conflict. She owed a lot to Aang, when she thought about it.
"Pfft," Toph snorted, "Miss Priss? Cook? Her hands are too delicate for that!" She said and Yue pressed her lips together in a small frown, turning her hands over and looked at her palms. They weren't that soft, but they were smooth and without calluses. A princess's hands, Yue decided, and a waterbender's hands. Princesses didn't have calluses, waterbenders had smooth hands.
Azula probably had princess hands, even though Yue had never really looked. She knew that Azula had fingernails sharpened to a point, but were manicured neatly and Yue was fairly certain they had never broken before, even though she was active and more flexible than the Northern Water Tribe girl.
Yue scoffed, "They're not that delicate," She argued. "I could cook, if I really tried. I mean, like real food." She had never really prepared a meal before, nothing like the beautiful, delicious foods that she had grown up eating. Things had always been done for her, until now.
Toph shrugged, as if she didn't believe Yue and the tribal princess was pretty sure she didn't. The blind earthbender reached over and tugged on Yue's arm. "Are we almost near land or something, I can't see or feel a thing!" She said and wrinkled her nose.
The waterbender craned her head to look out over the water. To her surprise, just in the distance, she could see a mass of land. It seemed to pierce the sky, rising to touch the clouds in the distance and part of Yue knew that they were almost there, almost to the Western Air Temple. "Yes," She answered and smiled, "We are." She turned towards Aang, "What was the Western Air Temple like?"
Aang shrugged. "It's different from all the other temples. Like the Eastern Air Temple, only girls lived there. The Western Air Temple was set up kind of weird…it looks…" He scratched his head, "I think you would have to see it for yourself to really understand it," He said and then smiled, "I think you would like it there, it was beautiful."
Yue couldn't help but frown a little. Aang seemed to have forgotten that over a hundred years had passed since the Air Nomads lived in their temple. The Water Tribes had probably destroyed it during the war, probably desecrated it. Part of her was sad because she would never get to see an Air Temple in its true glory. The Air Temples in the north and south had really been destroyed, but maybe this one held just a few remnants on its beauty.
"Aang," The Northern Water Tribe princess said softly, "I know you're excited, but I just want to make sure that you're prepared for what we might see there…" She began and Sokka looked over at her. Beside her, Toph seemed to tense.
The child Avatar held up his hand and Yue paused, raising an eyebrow slightly. "Look, Yue, I know already. I'm ready for it." He took them all in his large gray gaze and smiled softly, encouragingly. "I'm prepared for whatever we see there, guys. You don't have to worry." He leaned back against the saddle, his hands behind his head.
Yue nodded. "We just want you to know that we're there for you, Aang." She said and smiled at him. Sokka and Toph both nodded in agreement, which Yue had expected them to. Aang was one of her best friends; he needed her and all of the others in preparation for what they might see once they got to the Western Air Temple. She would make sure he had all the support he needed.
"You know," Sokka began, "I wonder if the Fire Nation ever decided it would be the perfect opportunity to loot the Air Temple, since its inhabitants were dead?" He looked at Aang and winced a little. "I mean, you know, because the Water Tribes had started the war and all and you were in your little iceberg and the Fire Nation's somewhere around here because it's so hot and I should stop now…" He averted his gaze, scratching the back of his head. "I mean, do you think the firebenders might have just made things worse, if they looted it back then?"
Yue looked up at Sanjiv, seeing Azula and her friends. The Fire Nation princess hadn't seemed to hear Sokka, or if she had, she had chosen not to speak. Azula, Yue noticed, was very proud to be from the Fire Nation. She had a tendency to exalt it above the other countries, praising her nation and her abilities. "Aren't you just so full of tact today, Sokka?" She pursed her lips.
Aang shrugged it off, though. "I don't think there was anything at the Western Air Temple that the Fire Nation would want or didn't already have. Air Nomad life was pretty simple; we didn't really have fancy or extremely valuable things. I mean they were valuable spiritually, you know, but you couldn't really make a lot of money off of something that just has sentimental value."
The Northern Water Tribe princess made an understanding sound and turned her attention back to the ocean, where the mass of land grew closer. She could now see that it was larger than she had once thought and it rose high into the sky. Mountains. She thought. The Western Air Temple was settled comfortably in a mountain range, even though she couldn't see it yet.
Maybe, she thought, some of the original Air Nomads had been lucky enough to make it into the mountains. Maybe they had survived the genocide and made it back home, and maybe they had made themselves hidden in case the Water Tribes came back. She doubted it, but it was a maybe.
When she thought about it, there really were too many maybes.
Suki could be a good soldier sometimes. She sat on the back of the cheetah falcon behind Katara, her eyes watching the skies and the road around them. Her duty was to serve the Water Tribes and her mission was to protect the Southern Water Tribe princess while she went off conquering the world. She could be a good soldier, she could lead and fight. But she could listen, too. She could listen really well.
And Suki couldn't help but think that Hama, Katara's old mentor, was a little messed up in the head. Not only could the old woman control the blood in someone's body-that terrified Suki and she was glad the woman could only do it on the full moon-but she seemed a bit mad, as well.
"I was imprisoned for twenty seven years," Suki heard Hama say to Katara, leaning over the side of her own beast so the princess could hear her better. Suki was suddenly interested, but she averted her gaze and pretended she wasn't listening. She was sure, though, that Katara knew she was paying attention. "For twenty seven years, I saw nothing but the same walls over and over again."
If Hama was such a good waterbender, Suki thought, how did she stay locked up for such a long time? What prison was so great that it could keep Hama-a woman who could bend blood-from escaping? She snorted and for a brief moment, Katara looked over her shoulder at her.
Hama cast a glance at Suki, her pale eyes seeming to cut into her, and then she continued her voice soft. "I was a prisoner of war, captured by Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation soldiers. I had been a good soldier before then, I always followed my orders. I planned on returning home victorious, planned on retiring. But then I was captured, as were four others. We were sent to a prison underground in the Earth Kingdom that was run by firebenders and earthbenders alike. There was no way to escape."
Her voice grew low and Suki strained her ears to hear. "My fellow soldiers died in that prison. They died while I found a way to pass the time. I learned to bend blood, you see, during those twenty seven years. I learned to blood bend and then I freed myself. I freed myself and I intended on freeing the others, too, but by the time I found their cells…they were empty. The last had died only two months before my escape." She laughed a little, "I think that's rather funny."
It was funny, in a terribly sad sort of way.
Katara reached out and put her hand gently on the elderly woman's shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Hama." She said and Suki wasn't exactly surprised to hear the princess's voice so soft. Katara stuck to Hama like a butterbee to a flower. "I didn't know." She looked at Suki, "Just imagine, what if that happened to one of us? What if that happened to you?"
Suki couldn't imagine-nor did she want to-being locked up in a prison for twenty seven years while the world went on without her. She wasn't very important, but she still wanted to watch the world live and maybe put her own mark on its surface. She couldn't imagine not knowing whether not her friends, her girls, the Kyoshi Warriors, were alive or not. "I don't know," She answered honestly, "It's not something I would really want to think about."
The Southern Water Tribe princess was silent for a moment. "Just think about it, none of that will happen once we end the war. No one else will have to suffer like that, because there'll be peace. Right, Hama?" She dug into a pack that was hanging on the cheetah falcon's side, pulling out a map and unrolling it. "We're near the coast, now."
When the Kyoshi Warrior really concentrated, she could smell the faint scent of salt water. It was warmer here; much warmer and a bit of perspiration ran down the side of her face. "You're right," She said and looked over Katara's shoulder. "And there's the Western Air Temple. And the Fire Nation." She pointed to a bit of land just off the coast of the Earth Kingdom. "That would be great naval base." That was a soldier in her, thinking and calculating. "I never really understood why the Water Tribes attacked the Eastern and Western Air Temples, though. I can understand the north and south, but the other ones are so far away and we don't even use them."
Katara's gaze hardened. "Is that treason I hear, Suki?" She hissed and narrowed her eyes. The young waterbender rounded on the Kyoshi Warrior, but Suki found that she wasn't really afraid of the princess. She was older than Katara and she could probably take her, if Katara fought without waterbending. "Are you becoming like Yue?"
Even though they hadn't heard or seen the Northern Water Tribe princess in a while, it seemed that Katara couldn't really let the white haired princess leave her mind. Part of Suki wondered if it was an obsession. "No," She said and pursed her lips, "I do believe I was voicing a thought."
"If it had been up to me, the Water Tribes would have colonized the Air Temples after we took them." Hama chimed in, her eyes glittering. "Might as well, no one else was going to use them and it would have given the Water Tribes several valuable vantage points. The only thing is that all of them are set in mountain ranges." She sniffed slightly, "Not very convenient for a waterbender. They would make a nice hiding spot, however."
Katara's eyes seemed to light up at that. "Do you think that Yue, Sokka, and the Avatar went into the mountains? Do you think that they went in hiding at the Western Air Temple?" She smiled coyly, "Of course they would. The Avatar is an airbender. He's an Air Nomad; he would know the Air Temple like it was the back of his hand. Yue thought she could get away from me. But I found her." Her hands tightened around the cheetah falcon's reins and urged the beast towards the front of the group. "We're going to the Western Air Temple."
Suki held up a finger. "Yeah…but I think you forgot about something. We're in the Earth Kingdom. The Western Air Temple is in a mountain range. On top of that," She said, "There the ocean between us. I mean, I think you forgot about that." It seemed that Katara had gotten caught up in her excitement.
"The ocean is nothing a waterbender." Katara said and Suki knew she was smiling. "And combined with the power of the earthbender, we'll be facing that treasonous liar in no time. Trust me."
Suki wasn't sure she did.
Azula was not intimidated by puzzles. As a child, she had excelled at them. But as Sanjiv coiled around a boulder obscuring her view, even she was confused, if just mildly so. The Western Air Temple was set in the side of a mountain, protected on one side by exposed to the other. Below was a river where she could see a small cluster of trees.
The Western Air Temple, though, appeared to be upside down. Azula had never seen a real Air Temple before, but she was fairly certain that the spires were mean to face upward, not towards the earth. The temple was cut right into the side of the mountain, Azula saw, and seemed rather well-kept despite not being occupied for over a hundred years.
"Oh," Mai said and looked over Azula's shoulders. "That's interesting. Either our school teachers lied to us about architecture, or the Air Nomads had no idea how buildings were supposed to look." She snorted, "The Avatar does seem a little backwards at times."
The Avatar's flying bison swooped down towards the temple in front of them and Azula urged her dragon after him, narrowing her eyes. As they grew closer, Azula saw that the temple was not own large building. But instead, it seemed to be a complex of huge, hanging pillars and pagodas. Azula couldn't help but think it was beautiful in a way, in a simple sort of way.
"That's weird." Zuko commented as Sanjiv stretched out his claws, grasping the rock of the Air Temple courtyard and pulling himself-and his riders-safely on the ground. "There's a running fountain over there, see?" He pointed and Azula followed his finger.
He was right. There, across the courtyard was a small stone fountain. Water moved calmly over a mound of rocks in the center, running continuously in a circle. Azula dismounted from her dragon, slipping onto the ground and landing gracefully. She could see Yue and the blind Earth Kingdom girl doing the same, followed by the Water Tribe prince. Aang had already crossed the courtyard, his gray eyes wide with wonder.
"It's like someone's been here." Ty Lee said and brushed her fingers over the edge of the fountain, turning back her friends. "You would think there would be skeletons or something everywhere, especially after a hundred years!" She looked around, "It's like…this place is still alive." She inhaled deeply and spread out her arms, "I feel so free here!"
Aang and Yue came up behind her. The Air Nomad boy nodded in agreement, smiling. "I feel like that, too. I feel like we were meant to come here. Like…" He looked around and Azula followed his gaze, catching sight of what looked like an entrance into the temple. "It's hard to explain. I think the spirit of the Air Nomads is still here. Nothing rotting or ruined. At least, not very much."
Air Nomads had to bring spirituality into everything. Azula rolled her eyes and leaned back on her heels, looking about the shadows that stretched at the edge of the courtyard. She could see steps that shown in the sunlight, descending down along the side of the mountain. If she had the time, she would explore them. She wondered where they lead to.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something flicker and she heard something rattling. Then, the air by her head whistled. Azula ducked instinctively and looked up to see the round end of what looked like a handle pass over her head. The Fire Nation princess turned quickly, catching sight of fluttering orange robes. Part of her wondered how and why Aang was attacking her, but then she heard the Avatar's cry of surprise.
Fire sparked in Azula's palms and she threw a punch at her attacker. The assailant ducked low and swung their staff again, but Azula lifted her foot and brought it back down to the ground before could strike her ankles. The staff's wielder looked up at Azula, into her eyes, and Azula saw that they were a dark, brownish gray. Not quite like Ty Lee's or Aang's, but they were still gray. It was a girl, with long lashes and thin eyebrows etched into an ugly scowl.
The water of the fountain whirled by and Azula turned away just long enough to see Yue bending the water at another orange clad attacker, while Sokka swung what looked like a club at a third. She would have seen more, but then the girl pulled her staff out from under Azula's feet and raised it above her head, narrowing her eyes.
But then, a slab of earth rose under Azula's feet, pushing her backwards just as the girl's staff swung down. Toph stood there, smirking under her bangs. From behind her came Mai, lashing out with a set of knives that flew from her fingers and caught the orange clad girl's clothes, pinning her to a pillar, her staff clattering to the ground.
The second assailant was a boy who looked a little older than the girl. He faced Yue, swinging a similar cane down. Yue was slower at ducking, but she managed to avoid getting hit. She flicked her wrist forward and the water from the fountain followed, slamming into the boy and knocking him back against the pillar.
A blast of air sent the third and final attacker against the wall where she slid down, uninjured. She groaned and lay face down, her brown hair spilling about her head. Azula narrowed her eyes as she surveyed the three. They had been teenagers, like them, but she had never seen such people like these. The girl that had attacked Azula had dark skin, just a few shades darker than Yue's, and jet black hair. She glared at the firebender, her arms held up awkwardly.
"I think we might have overdone it." Ty Lee said and bit her bottom lip. She looked warily at the girl, as if she was silently apologizing. Azula saw so need to apologize. The girl and her friends had attacked them first, out of nowhere. They had every right to defend themselves.
The child Avatar walked up to the girl. "What are you guys doing here? You're not Air Nomads. I mean, you're wearing orange but that doesn't meaning you're an Air Nomad. Who are you?" He asked, but Azula could hear the command in his voice. Perhaps he had some authority pent up in his lithe form after all.
The pinned girl looked up at him with her dark, muddy gray eyes and wrinkled her nose. "I am a Nomad. We all are, just like you. Only, not like you." She looked away, "I don't have to answer to you anyway. Obviously you're an airbender who doesn't know where his loyalties lie."
Aang winced and Azula could see him narrow his eyes. "If you're not an Air Nomad-at least, not a normal Air Nomad-how did you get here? How did you know the Western Air Temple was here and how long have you been here?" He asked, looking back at the boy and the other girl.
"We were born here. We're Air Nomads. Real Air Nomads that move where the wind takes us, not a bunch of airbenders who only move when it suits them." The girl spat. "Get these knives from my sleeves, if you please, and I'll take you to Guru and Elder Pathik." She glared at the Avatar, narrowing her eyes even further. "He'll tell you that what I'm saying is the truth."
"Why should we believe your leader if we don't even believe you?" Azula asked as Mai pulled her knives slowly from the girl's sleeves. She turned her gray gaze onto the Fire Nation princess and Azula glared back. She was not afraid of the girl. She wasn't afraid of anything, really.
The girl picked up her staff but made no move to swing it again. The boy and the other girl picked themselves up. "My name," She said, looking back as she moved towards the opening in the wall, "My name is Samira. That's Angin," She pointed at the boy, who had just as deathly of a glare, "And Pavana. We'll take you to Guru Pathik."
It was Mai, surprisingly, who took the first step after the supposed "Air Nomads". Ty Lee trailed after her with Zuko and Toph. Azula paused for a moment and then walked beside Sokka, looking back at Yue and Aang to make sure they were following. She wondered if it was a trap, but she hadn't felt eerie feelings. She still didn't trust Samira, though.
"Do you really think they're Air Nomads, Yue?" Aang said and Azula knew he was looking up at the white haired princess. "Do you really think we've found them, this easily? But they don't look like Air Nomads. They don't even have tattoos…and there are only three of them. Do you think they're the real deal?"
Yue's voice came softly. "We haven't seen any of them airbending, but we can hope that they are. They may not look at you, but a hundred years have passed, Aang. They could be some of the last of your kind, the last of your people." Her footsteps grew a bit heavier. "Then it would prove that the Water Tribes hadn't really won."
They followed Samira, Angin, and Pavana down a corridor. Azula saw an engraving of a woman in the wall, stretching the length of the darkened hall. She sat with her legs folded, her feet tucked under the ripples of her skirts. Part of Azula wondered who the woman was; perhaps she was the founder of the temple?
Even inside the temple, cut into the side of a mountain, Azula could feel the breeze of the outside world rippling by her skin and causing a few strands of hair to fly loose. Beside her, Sokka ran his fingers along the wall. "It's smooth," He said and gestured to Azula. "Like water once ran through here."
He was silent and Azula pressed her teeth together. A hundred years ago, she imagined waterbenders flooding the temple with the water from the river, drowning those who weren't fast enough and slashing their way through the halls. "Blame your people," she said.
Azula expected Sokka to snap at her, to glare at her and argue, but his shoulders simply slumped downward. "I know." The Water Tribe prince said to her. "Sometimes I do." He turned his blue gaze onto her and Azula looked back at him, not quite sure what to say to that.
"Guru Pathik is in here," Samira said and looked back at the teenagers. She stood in front a dark orange curtain, glaring back at the others. Azula was fairly certain that airbenders were supposed to be cheerful and happy, not spiteful and rude like this girl. "He's our spiritual leader."
Aang brushed past them as Samira pulled aside the curtain. Azula craned her neck and winced when bright light hit her eyes. There was a courtyard behind the drape. It was small and simple, with wild plants growing along the edges. Sunlight streamed down from a jagged whole in the ceiling, casting down light on the area.
There was a man sitting in the middle of the courtyard, his hands on his knees. He looked impossibly skinny and Azula could see he was bald, except for a long white beard that seemed to glow against his sun tanned skin. He looked ancient, even older than the earthbender in Taku.
"Elder Pathik," Samira said and bowed respectfully. "These people were invading the Air Temple! There's an airbender with them, Guru, I think he might be a traitor. He certainly doesn't look like the other Air Nomads. We brought them to you."
The old man, Pathik, opened one eye and looked at Aang. "Just because, young one, he doesn't look like you or the others doesn't mean he is not a real Air Nomad. I knew they were coming. Especially him." He smiled softly, "Especially you, young Avatar."
Aang cleared his throat and took a step forward, pressing his right fist into his left palm. "It is an honor to meet you, Guru Pathik, even though I have no clue who you are. Are you an Air Nomad, too?" He asked and looked at the three younger inhabitants of the temple. "Are there more like you? More airbenders?"
"Sit, please sit." Pathik said and patted the ground. Aang immediately plopped down, but Azula was much slower. The floor was dirty and even though she now knew what it was like to sleep on the bare ground, she still didn't want to touch it. "There is much I must tell you. These Air Nomads," He said and gestured to Samira, Angin, and Pavana, "Are not like your kind. Not like the Air Nomads that guided me into my own enlightenment so many years ago."
Azula finally got a good look at Pavana and Angin. Pavana really just looked like a little girl, with a round face and a dark braid wrapped around her head. Azula guessed she was about eleven or twelve, while Angin looked about thirteen. Samira seemed to be the same as the Fire Nation princess, her features sharp, but not yet womanly.
"Long ago, there were Air Nomads and airbenders who lived in the plains and plateaus. They bent the air, like you do, but they moved freely from area to area, not from temple to temple." Pathik said and Samira straightened. "Long ago, your people separated from them. Samira, Angin, and Pavana are descendants of these nomads."
"But Angin and I aren't airbenders. Only Pavana is," Samira said and looked endearingly at the younger girl. "There were other airbenders here, but they left to travel the world. A real nomad goes where the wind takes them." She sniffed. "Even if we're not airbenders, we're Air Nomads."
Pathik nodded once, stiffly. "There are thirty other nomads that live at the temple. All of them, except for these three, went off to find enlightenment elsewhere. They were led the descendants of the few survivors of the attack on the Western Air Temple, a hundred years ago."
Azula thought she saw Yue and Sokka wince. "So, there were survivors?" Yue asked and Azula turned to look at the white haired Water Tribe princess. To Azula, Yue sounded relieved. The Water Tribes hadn't truly won. They hadn't killed all the Air Nomads. "And other airbenders?"
The guru looked at Yue and nodded slowly. "Yes. And you have been touched by a spirit. You've been suppressing who you really are." He pointed a gnarled finger at her hair, still cropped short. His gaze flashed to Azula and the Fire Nation princess couldn't help but shrink back a little at the intensity of his stare. "So have you."
"Pathik can tell a lot about people but just looking at them." Samira said. "He can't tell where you've been or where you're going, but he knows what goes on in your spirit. He knows what direction you're more likely to head down." She looked at the elderly man, "Something about the past and future coming together to shape your destiny. I'm not good at spiritual stuff."
Aang nodded slowly, as if he understood. "So," He met Pathik's gaze, "You're going to help me get on the right path to becoming the Avatar?" He asked and Azula saw Yue straighten a bit. So this is what they had been journeying for. To allow the child Avatar to master the elements and the spirituality that came with being the Avatar while also ending the stalemate between the nations.
After a moment, the guru nodded. "I will teach you what I know," He said, "I will teach you about the Avatar State and perhaps I will set you-and your friends-on the path to enlightenment."
Azula was fairly certain she didn't need to be enlightened, but she could see Yue and the others smiling, so she decided she would humor them.
Just a little.
The warm ocean breezes brushed against Suki's face as she tightened the harness on the cheetah falcon's chest, pulling the rope secure and looping it around. Beside her stood Katara, looking out over the ocean. The Southern Water Tribe princess seemed at peace near her element, a small smile crossing her lips.
Suki had expected the beach to be soft and sandy, but instead it was made of craggy rock and a jagged bluff just down the beach away from them. Suki could tell the earthbenders felt at home, too, near the water-which they had grown up around-and the earth that they controlled. Suki wondered what it was like to be a bender and she wondered what type of bender she would be. Most definitely not an earthbender. Maybe a firebender, sometimes, but she would most likely be a waterbender. She could adapt and change course quickly and pave her own when she needed to.
She wasn't carefree enough to be an airbender. If she had been, she would have been dead. There were no doubts about that. Suki wouldn't want to be an airbender anyway.
Then she wondered what it was like to be the Avatar, to be the most powerful bender in the whole world and be able to bend all four elements at once. Part of Suki wanted to be the Avatar, if just for a day, but then she remembered that she liked being a Kyoshi Warrior. She liked being plain and simple most of the time. She wouldn't want all the frivolous things that came with being the Avatar.
The earthbenders were building. They were using their abilities to rip up the rock and carve it, thinning it out and folding it over and over again. Suki could see the beginnings of what looked like a boat emerging from their hard work and she saw that another group of earthbenders were raising pillars out of the earth, wide pillars that grew a little in height each time. They pierced the water and Suki wondered what the sight would look like to someone who had no idea what they were doing.
"We're going to find Yue and Sokka," Katara said and looked at Suki. "And the Avatar." She smiled softly and Suki decided that she preferred seeing the girl scowl. Her smiles were too rare, too unused. "Then, we're going to win the war and I'm going to become chief. It's the right thing to do."
The right thing.
Suki had been starting to question what the right thing was. The right thing, according to her oath as a Kyoshi Warrior, was to protect and serve the royal family. The right thing, as Katara's friend, was wondering the Southern Water Tribe princess was really as stable as everyone made her out to be. She still had her relaxing sessions with Hama-the creepy old woman-and the cycle had never ended. First was the anger and aggression, then the calm, and then sometimes she would become a philosopher.
Sometimes Katara would rant and rave about finding Yue and showing the whole world how evil she was, but sometimes she would make Suki question herself with things she said. "What if you could remember everything that ever happened to you? Or can't remember some things at all?" Suki wasn't sure which one she preferred.
"You and I, Suki, we're going to ride our cheetah falcon across those pillars. The rest are going to follow in that boat." Katara said and smiled. "I wonder what the Western Air Temple is like…maybe after the war; we can set up colonies in the temples like Hama suggested. We would have to rename them though. And we can spread all the way to this coast. Think about it, Suki, there would just be one nation. You can't have a war with just one country. Peace would be inevitable."
"I understand." Suki said, even though she didn't. But she had vowed to serve Katara and Katara was her friend, so she smiled.
"Why is your hair white?"
Yue turned towards the sound of the little voice, looking down at Pavana. The girl looked up at her with huge gray eyes-turbulent eyes, like Aang and Ty Lee's-and smiled softly. Yue reached up and touched a wisp of her hair. It was growing back. She was going in a different direction now, choosing her own destiny as Guru Pathik would say.
Pathik had sent them all away to explore the temple, so he could talk privately with Aang. Yue really didn't mind much, because she felt like she could trust the guru. She felt safe at the Western Air Temple. Samira had taken off with Azula, Ty Lee, and Mai while Angin had stolen away with the boys. Toph had stayed with Yue.
"Not that I even know what white looks like, but why is your hair white, Yue?" Toph asked and waved her hands nonchalantly. She had never heard the story of Yue's birth-she didn't tell it to many people and she certainly didn't tell it very often-and Yue doubted she knew about the ocean and moon spirits.
Yue looked at Pavana and Toph. They looked to be about the same age. "When I was a baby, I was born dead." She said and paused, "Well, not all the way dead but everyone knew I couldn't be saved. None of the healers in the Northern Water Tribe-that's where I'm from-had the power to heal me. So my parents took me to the Spirit Oasis, where the veil between the spirit world and our world is thinnest, and put me in the water next to the spirits of the ocean and moon,"
"What happened then?" Pavana asked, wide eyed and even Toph looked interested. "Did you go to the Spirit World?"
The Northern Water Tribe princess shook her head. "It was a full moon out and the Moon Spirit blessed me with life, it turned my hair white but I lived." She finished awkwardly. The spirit had shown mercy on her, even though she was the daughter and heir of a belligerent tribe. Maybe they had seen her future and decided to spare her.
Maybe.
"Wow, Miss Priss, I didn't know you were so special." Toph said and punched Yue in the arm, causing the princess to yelp and clutch her shoulder. "Ah come on, I didn't even hit you that hard!" The earthbender said and grinned cheekily. "Princesses."
Pavana led them down the hallway, towards a wide, open room. She stepped inside of it and Yue followed. It was dim, like most of the temple, but Yue could see stacks of scrolls scattered about the room, along with boxes overflowing with materials. Yue could smell several types of fragrances and plants, swirling under her nose.
"What's in here?" The princess asked and gestured to the scrolls. She stepped gingerly further into the room, stooping down to pick up a scroll. She unrolled it and held it up to the light, squinting to see better. It was a picture of a girl's head turned to the side, detailing dark swirls and spirals along her cheek and jaw. "What's this, Pavana?"
The little Air Nomad paused and rolled up her own sleeve. Against her dark skin was a pale tattoo, similar to Aang's, but it didn't connect together. There were dashes that suggested the tattoo ran in a straight line, as if it had never been finished. "Tattoos, made from crushed plants. This tattoo is an airbender's." Pavana told her and smiled. "Airbending masters have arrows. I'm almost a master, but it's not filled in yet. It's marking me as a master, once it's finished. Some people get them for other reasons. But all tattoos tell a story."
Toph raised her head at that.
"It doesn't matter what the design is, but it's the journey of being able to get the tattoo and vowing to wear it forever that tells the story. I haven't completed my journey. But one day I will." Pavana grinned again and moved to one of the boxes, holding up a bowl and a small stick. "Do you want one? The flower ones always rub off."
Yue looked at her hand, at her fingers, and then glanced back at Pavana.
"I sure do!" Toph said and thrust out her arm. "I can't see it, but Yue's going to tell me if it's cool or not." She smiled in Pavana's general direction. "I want a cool, fierce design, right here." She touched her forearm. "Come on, Yue, get one!"
The Northern Water Tribe princess lifted her lips upward. "Oh, alright." She said and laughed. She wasn't an airbender or even an Air Nomad for that matter, but she wondered what it would be like to get waves along her hands. They would wash away, she knew, but it would be fun while it lasted. "Do you think you can do waves and crests, like the ocean, since I'm a waterbender? And…maybe the Water Tribe symbol?"
The Water Tribes had done many bad things, but Yue didn't think she would ever really be able to let them go. The Water Tribes was everything she had ever known, the one place she had belonged and even though she had cut ties with her family, it had still been her home. Maybe, when things were different, she could go back home and tell everyone that an Air Nomad had given her tattoos. Maybe they would laugh and say they wanted one, too. Maybe she could see Kya again.
Maybe.
Pavana looked at her for a moment and then nodded as she turned back to one of the boxes, digging through it and pulling out a package. She held it up for Yue to see and the Northern Water Tribe princess saw that it seemed to be the name of a flower that she had never heard of. "Sure, I think I can do that."
Part of me thinks that there were different types of airbenders/Air Nomads at some point in time. Just a taste of that was here. Next Chapter: The Second Pop Off