**reviews please?? they would be greatly appreciated. this is my first widely read fanfiction, so i welcome them. oh, and some of the characters are my own creations, like ashley, andreea and sean.**
Four days had passed since Katara and Sokka left their home. They had sent word to Ba Sing Se to Toph; they hoped she would come down to visit for awhile. Ashley and Andreea were becoming good friends; the evenings when all of them were at home were spent laughing at stories and Sokka's ridiculous jokes. During the afternoon of their fourth day, Sokka and Katara decided to accompany Ashley and Andreea to some of their performances. They watched from the sidelines as the girls fought each other and also performed Earthbending tricks for money. They were always fun to watch, and very good at what they did. They never left any performance empty handed. On their last stop of the day, Katara left to order a couple drinks for Sokka and her. When she came back, their performance was done but there was still a large group of people in that area. She didn't see Sokka anywhere, but she heard his laughter coming from the center of the group of people. She politely pushed her way through to the front. Sokka, Ashley and Andreea were talking with a tall, slim figure that had soft brown hair. He wore the traditional orange robes of an Airbending Master, and still carried his glider. The Avatar had certainly grown in the year Katara hadn't seen him.
"Aang?" She said. Aang turned around and smiled at Katara.
"Hi Katara!" He greeted enthustically. Katara walked over and embraced him. She had to look up now to get a good look at him.
"How are you?" She asked.
"Wonderful. And you?"
"Great."
"Well, how about we head back to our house?" Ashley suggested.
"That would be great!" Aang said. Katara nodded, watching Aang very closely. Something was different about Aang; she just couldn't figure out what it was.
"Excuse us folks!" Ashley called. "The Avatar's coming through!" The crowd moved aside to let them through.
"Wait," Aang said once they weren't surrounded by people. "I need to go quickly. I'll be right back. I have a surprise for you all." He grinned widely and quickly walked away. Katara and Sokka exchanged a confused look.
A few minutes later, they spotted Aang walking through the crowd with a slender, blonde girl who wore a pale purple dress.
"This is Jessa." Aang introduced. "Jessa, this is Katara, Sokka, Ashley and Andreea."
"Hi Jessa." They greeted. She blushed.
"Hello." she said in a soft voice. Katara couldn't help but feel jealous when she saw the look Aang gave Jessa; it was how he used to look at her.
"Now, let's head back to your house Ashley and Andreea. I have some very important news to tell you all." They walked through the crowd, Ashley and Andreea leading the way, Aang and Jessa in the middle and Katara and Sokka bringing up the end. When they arrived home, Ashley shut and locked their door. Everyone sat around the table, and Andreea poured them some juice.
"Now, what is it you wanted to tell us Aang?" Sokka asked. Aang looked at Jessa, grinned and then said,
"I arrived at the Northern Air Temple a few days ago, not expecting to find anything special. Then, I met Jessa." He took Jessa's hand in his and sighed happily.
"She's an Airbender."
There was stunned silence.
"But… how?" Katara whispered eyes wide in shock. Jessa looked at Aang for encouragement; he nodded and smiled at her. Jessa turned to face the group and began telling her story.
"When I was 4 I noticed that I could make the wind move however I wanted. I loved whipping up mini windstorms, and creating wind balls to ride on. Unfortunately, my parents found my special talent frightening. Since all of the Airbenders had been killed over 100 years ago, they feared for my life. They kept me hidden in my house, and the little I did go into public, I was forbidden to do even the slightest Airbending, in case someone spotted it. Then, when I was 11, the Fire Nation Army attacked my town. They killed my mother and captured my father, who was an Earthbender. I had no one left; so I packed my few belongings and left my home. I had no idea where I was going, so I traveled all over the lower half of the Earth Nation. I ended up in a large coastal city. I was there for a week, when an older man approached me and asked me if I knew what I was. I asked him what he meant; he told me that he had caught me performing a small Airbending move. I was worried that he would turn me in to the Fire Nation, but he assured me he wouldn't. We talked for a very long time and then he gave me a glider and a map. He suggested that I visit the Northern Air Temple. I never saw him again. But, I took his advice and flew to the Temple. While living there, I found some old documents that weren't destroyed when the Fire Nation attacked. One day, I found a letter from a man named Johu, saying how sorry he was for leaving, but he knew that it was for the best. That's when I remembered my great-grandfathers name was Johu. I'm not completely sure, but I'm guessing that Johu left the Temple to marry an Earth Nation woman; my great-grandmother Mahi. Somehow, no one in my family for two generations were Airbenders; just Earthbenders." There was silence as they sucked in what they just heard.
"This is just... wow." Sokka exclaimed. There was a knock at the door. Ashley went to answer it.
"How much can you do?" Katara asked.
"Not very much. But Aang is teaching me a lot." Jessa said.
"She's a natural." Aang assured her.
"umm, Aang? You might want to look at this." Ashley shut the door and handed him a letter the mailman had just handed her. There was a large "URGENT" stamped onto the envelope. Aang quickly opened the letter and read out loud:
"Dear Aang, Katara and Sokka, You are all needed at Ba Sing Se immediately. Urgent news you need to hear. Love, Toph"
