This one killed me twice. I really don't want to know how often I re-wrote it to finally reach something akin to satisfaction.

Special thanks to Lotus Sword for being so good and pointing out some flaws in the flow of the story, so I could make the final tweaks.

(So yes, this is a re-upload, for possible new arrivals.)

"Katara! I can't believe you want to heal that fire monster!"

I groan, somewhat awake, but my brain is yet to start doing its job. I try to get up, but a hand is placed between my shoulder blades and gently presses me back onto my belly.

"Don't move," a voice orders, friendly but firmly. "You're hurt."

I comply, it's not like I'd manage anything beside that. I can feel that I'm hurt, no need to tell me. It's like a horde of rhinos stomped over my back. Some part of me which still functions in spite of the pain-induced stupor is pretty sure I shouldn't be lying on my belly, but I don't care. I can't even get myself to care when someone rolls up my tunic, exposing my back to the chilly night air, and then goes ahead and does... I don't even know, but it's soothing and I feel the tense muscles relax.

"Aang, out of all the crazy ideas you had, this is the most crazy! We can't take that girl with us, she's Fire Nation!"

"Did you want me to let her fall to her death?" I know that voice, but the connection to the corresponding face eludes me. "Katara, how is it going?"

"I don't know, Aang. Her chi is all twisted up, it can't be just the fall. Her body has been thoroughly damaged. I've never seen anything like it."

"What do you mean?"

There is a pause and the soothing sensation disappears. "You better ask her. How are you feeling, Kamina?"

Good enough to freak out. Once I hear my name, I finally realize that the voices I've been hearing belong to Kari and Kuzon. Only that they call each other Katara and Aang. I shoot up, panicking, but all it gets me is a crash against something hard, like a wall, and pain seems to split my back into half. I scream, unwanted tears springing to my eyes. I need to get out of here, but there is nowhere to go. Only clouds.

"Couldn't you have healed her a little longer, Katara? I still need my eardrums."

I turn to what I realize is the saddle of the flying fluff I've seen before. There are three other kids sitting around, one of them being the girl whom I thought to be Kari, but isn't. Right across the saddle is another girl, probably the one to make that comment, and last is a boy, sitting cross-legged in the rear of the saddle with a sort of sharp-looking club in his lap, ready to send me back into oblivion. No one moves, until Kari gets up on all fours and approaches.

Okay, that's it! Mimi was right, it was all a trap. They must be spies. She's going to punch me and ask questions I probably can't answer, and then punch me some more. Feeling cornered, I raise my arms and hunch my shoulders for protection. It's not much, but it's everything I have. This is even more awful than anything Hide ever did.

"Sh, it's okay." A hand comes up, making contact with my wrist and leading it away from my face. The comforting smile behind surprises me a bit. "We're not going to hurt you."

I don't believe it.

"Get off!" Out of reflex, I thrust the palm of my free hand forward and send a blast of air her way. It's a flimsily executed movement, but enough to push her back against the other side of the saddle. She shrieks with surprise, and so do I. But I don't have much time to celebrate, as the boy is already upon me. A neatly placed swipe sends me sprawling and before I know it, he's on my back, twisting my arms into a painful hold.

"You little leech! What did you do to my sister?!"

"Sokka, let her go!"

"No, Katara! She's too dangerous!"

I don't even try to keep my tears from flowing, it's no use anyway. My shoulders and back just hurt way too much. This situation is far out of my control, and while it's not the first time I feel totally helpless, at least my life has never been threatened like this. That boy appears just ready to throw me overboard.

"Guys, stop fighting!" Kuzon's voice rises for once. "Sokka, let her go! She was just defending herself."

"Yeah, and you're not helping her to settle down," the saddle-girl gets another word in. The guy called Sokka huffs and slips off me. With my arms released, I roll onto my back to catch my breath. I don't know what's going on, but I do know that I want to be far, far away.

"But, seriously, what did she do?" the girl pipes up again. I turn my gaze at her, she's twisting her pinkie in her ear as if trying to remove a hearing impairment. "From the sound of it, I'd say she was... airbending."

"No offense, Toph, but we're flying," Sokka retorts. "Of course you hear air moving around!"

"But it did feel like airbending, too," Kari... Katara... ponders. Weirdly enough, how would she know what airbending feels like? Or sounds, while we're at it?

"Are you kidding? Aang is the only airbender left, we all know that! You can't be serious!"

Wait a minute... Aang is the only...? No way! They can't be talking about the Avatar, right? I mean, the Avatar is dead! That Aang character is probably another Air Nomad descendant. But if that were the case, would it be so far-fetched to assume that there are others, and accept that I am one, too?

I wonder if I should say something. Instead, I somehow manage to sit and end up looking straight at Kuzon. Or Aang or whatnot. A lemur is perching on his shoulder, now retreating behind his back. How many pets does that guy have?

Aang's expression is hard to decipher. You may describe it as impassive, but the truth is that there are too many emotions to single one out. There is a sort of desperate hope glinting in his gray eyes, viciously contained by fear of disappointment. A tinge of sadness, too. But first and foremost is insecurity. And I know he's studying me as intently as I do. I wonder what he is seeing?

"Is it true?" he asks after a while. "You're an airbender?"

"I am. Untrained, but an airbender indeed. And you?" I shake my head, trying to sort my confusion out. "I can't believe I'm asking this, but... Are you the Avatar? The last Air Nomad, the one Prince Zuko supposedly slayed?"

"Actually, it was Azula," the girl named Toph comments. "But close enough."

I don't even get the time to digest the information given. Kuzon/Aang tackles me into a hug and starts crying into my shoulder, causing me to go stiff like a flagpole.

"Shut it, Sokka!" Katara is audible, but the words just bounce off me. I'm too perplexed to keep them in mind.

"What, I didn't say anything!"

"But you were going to."

"Someone explain to me what's up with you guys?" That's Toph.

While the others keep bickering, I'm still frozen. For a moment there, I forget everything I learned about the Avatar, the enemy of the state, the supposedly last airbender. I forget I should turn him in, that he is a nuisance that needs to be crushed. Right now, he's a boy who keeps sobbing into my chest and needs comforting. Just like Mimi.

Pulling my act together, I return the hug and gently rub the boy's back, while the lemur from before lands on my head. Yuck! But that matter has to wait.

"There, there. It's alright, nothing to cry about."

"I know." Even though he's crying, the little Avatar's voice is steady. "It's just... You can't imagine how happy I am to meet another airbender!"

"Probably not."

After that, the boy pulls back. He wipes his eyes and the indeed happiest of smiles spreads on his lips. "This is so amazing! I can't believe that there are still airbenders out there! I have so many questions!"

"Fire away!" I chuckle and pluck the lemur from my hair. "I don't promise anything, though!"

"How comes there are still Air Nomads around?"

"There aren't."

"But..."

Now I hurt him. Well, I guess the truth does hurt from time to time. "Look, Kuzon, or Aang or whatever, don't get your hopes up. The army was very thorough. They laid traps and..."

"I know." Aang's face contorts into a scowl. It looks rather out of place on him, I can already tell that much. "I've run into one of those before."

"Oh..." Should I tell him I'm sorry about that? Am I? "Anyway, I have no idea how many airbenders are out there. It's not like they go around telling everyone. Maybe it's just the two of us, or maybe it's two thousands, that's anyone's guess. The thing is, none of us is an Air Nomad. We're Air Nomads' descendants who happen to have inherited their bending abilities. And we try our hardest to hide it."

"I see... So, if you're caught by the Fire Nation, you'll be... you know, killed?"

"Yes."

"And you're fine with it?"

He looks pretty skeptical. He's obviously expecting me to cringe or something, give some kind of indication that in fact, I'm not.

He's mistaken. If death is the best service I can offer to my homeland, then death it shall be. Anything else is treason, and no one is going to imply that I'm too much of a coward to do what's best for the Fire Nation! And that goes especially for the Avatar!

"Are you questioning my loyalty to my country?" I growl and Aang winces. The lemur I've been petting absentmindedly squeaks and flutters back to the boy.

"No, no, I'm just..." said boy denies frantically, then breaks off. "Never mind. But I don't understand."

"Of course you don't!" Now furious, I inch a bit closer to Aang and jab my index at his chest. "You're just a puny little Air Nomad without the guts to face your enemy head-on! You're alive, but you're hiding! I bet you only survived the great Air Temple Battles because you ran away! What would a weak Air Nomad know about the honor of dying for your country? I can't believe I actually admired you!"

Aang's expression changes from stunned to intimidated and further to hurt. In the end, his gaze hardens. "And I can't believe I was happy to find you," he returns coldly and airbends himself off the saddle onto the fluff monster's head. I cross my arms and turn around, finally noticing the death glares I'm receiving.

"Why are you all looking at me like that?" I huff, but the faces remain unchanged.

"Gee, I wonder," Toph replies, sarcasm dripping off every word, causing me to turn away again and stare over the rim of the saddle, down at the clouds below.

I'm already sorry for what I said. Ranting about Air Nomads in school or with my brother is one thing. Looking one of them in the eye, seeing them hurt and upset is another matter altogether. Suddenly, it's much more real. Suddenly, I can relate.

But I guess an apology isn't going to cut it. There is an icy silence hanging over the group, and it drags on and on. Because of me.

I have to agree with Sokka. This is crazy! I shouldn't be here, surrounded by people of whom by now I'm not even sure are colonials. The Avatar, for Agni's sake! I even hugged him! I may as well jump off this fluff monster now. I'm a traitor. Well, actually, I've always been, hiding away instead of turning myself in...

I push that thought aside. I've only hid so I can live to serve my country, nothing less!

I let go of the saddle rim and curl into a ball, trying to catch some sleep. Things usually look brighter in the morning, but no matter how much I want the blackness to embrace me, it just doesn't happen. Which is why I can listen to the Avatar's fellowship talking as soon as they think I'm out.

"See, Aang? I told you we can't have that fire monster around, airbending or not! She'll rat us out as soon as we land!"

"I don't think so, Sokka." I'm surprised to hear Aang defend me.

"Didn't you listen to her?! She said she'd rather die than betray the Fire Nation! And I'm pretty sure not telling them that the Avatar is alive counts as betrayal."

"I guess so. But the thing is, she already is betraying the Fire Nation, and she knows it."

"And what exactly makes you think that?"

Good question. I'd like to know that, too.

"The fact that she's here with us. She saw Appa. But instead of reporting it, she jumped off a cliff to get here. There is more behind this than she is letting on."

That guy knows me better than I do, doesn't he?

"Are you seriously planning to drag her along?"

"Yes. And I'm also planning to teach her airbending."

My heart skips a beat. Maybe I did fall asleep and this is a dream?

"And you're just going to let it slide that she insulted the Air Nomads like that?"

Aang sighs, I strain my ears. That kid is incredible. "Think about it for a moment, Sokka. What she said isn't something she came up with herself, but what she grew up with. Imagine you are an airbender in a society which drills into you that airbenders are weak and not worth the air they breathe. What do you think it would do to your confidence?"

Wow... that was pretty wise. Seems like there is no point in trying to hide it.

"You nailed it," I sigh, getting up and rubbing my eyes.

"You're awake?" Katara gasps. "How long?"

"All the time. I couldn't sleep because... Well, because I'm sorry, Aang. I shouldn't have insulted you and your people."

"It's okay."

"You're too kind," I tell him, and I mean it. "I'm not worthy of your forgiveness."

"Sure you are! Everyone makes mistakes. Besides, I do know where you're coming from."

"But..." I trail off, not exactly knowing what I'm trying to say. I just feel like disagreeing. "Never mind."

"Is there something you want to tell us?" Katara asks. "You definitely look like you need to talk."

"Well, I..." Should I really tell them? Tell them the accusations I threw at Aang are just a projection of my own insecurities? Tell them where the injuries Katara noticed come from? Can I trust those people? No. Not yet. "There is indeed something, but I don't want to talk about it." Maybe if it were just Aang and me...

"That's okay," Katara states. "Just tell us as soon as you're ready."

I place my hand above my fist and bow. "Thank you for having me. I won't disappoint you!"

Sokka crosses his arms. "I still think you're crazy."

"Yup, totally!" Toph agrees. But unlike Sokka, she doesn't seem to mind.

Hmm, here we go. Kamina is yet to be introduced to the Air Nomad philosophy of forgiveness. Aang is amazing as always, Katara is mothering everyone, Toph is in hard luck because the saddle isn't made of earth and she can't see a thing, and Sokka has a healthy portion of distrust. Who can blame him? Someone HAS to protect the group from suspicious individuals, and personality-wise, he's the only one up to the task.

Hehe, I like Sokka~

To Samichinabox: Uhm, what? I'm confused? I mean, sure, not everyone likes my work, that's just natural, but... Can you elaborate a bit, please? I don't bite people who're trying to help me improve my work. (Yeah, I take it as negative feedback. Correct me if I'm mistaken, but it sure looks negative to me.)