Disclaimer: I do not own the world of Avatar the Last Airbender

A/N: I apologize for this insanely long

Opame followed Aang and Ceba as they bounced through the temple, the two boys chattering at a mile a minute. She couldn't help but smile. It had been a long time since she had seen Ceba so happy. He looked so natural in this environment, even if it were in ruins.

While the rest of their company had gone off to get ready for bed, Aang had pleaded to show the two Airbenders around their temporary home. It was quite a beautiful place, despite the fact that it had been left to decay. Buildings hung from the roof of the temple, columns structured to allow for open air flow. Opame could almost imagine what it could have been like, could almost hear the laughter on the air as the wind blew through the temple.

"I have to ask," Aang said, once the two boys had settled, standing on the Pia Sho table. "How? How are you two here? It's . . . it feels impossible."

Smiling slightly, Opame launched herself up into the air landing on the edge of the Pia Sho table before sitting down. "You can thank Shenden. And Sister Io. The story goes that Shenden received a vision from the spirits, something that led her back to the Eastern Air Temple with her daughter, my grandmother Mio. Io helped the two of them escape when the Fire Nation attacked. Shenden lived in secret for years, protecting ancient scrolls that Io sent her off with. Mio married an Earth Kingdom man and my mom married a Fire Nation soldier."

"What?!" Aang nearly fell off the table, wheeling his arms to stay balanced. "How in the world did that work out?"

"Lots of lying and hiding," Ceba responded.

"And a lot of love," Opame added, frowning slightly at her brother. "Mio and my mom, they never lied to the people they loved. My dad knew about my mom's heritage, knew what that meant for the two of us. He protected us because we were his children and she was his wife."

"Wow." Aang shook his head. "You two are . . . a miracle."

"I can't wait to learn from you," Ceba said, bouncing on the balls of his feet, his grin wide. "I really want to learn how to fly."

Aang grinned back. "I'll show you everything. But first . . . we should find you something better to wear."

"What's wrong with what we're wearing?"

"Well, you're Airbenders. That means, you have to look the part."

The next morning, Opame stared at herself in a cracked mirror, trying to wrap her mind around the person looking back at her.

The Waterbender girl, Katara, had found her and Ceba some clothes that had been tucked away in a trunk hidden deep in the temple. The colors were foreign to her. She wore lose fitting brown pants covered by a long, sleeveless, asymmetrical, yellow tunic. A dark orange wrap lay over her right arm and across her chest, a brown belt with the air nomad symbol cinched tight around her waist, holding both pieces of fabric tight to her body. Yellow wraps were tied on her forearms by red ribbons. The brown, light boots were heavier on her feet then the red flats she had grown used to. Opame turned sideways, examining herself. She was finding it hard not to feel like an imposter. As it was, she had stared at the clothes for what felt like hours, trying to figure out the correct way to put them on.

Reaching down, she picked up the three hair bands that Katara had also found her. She put one at the base of her skull, creating a loose ponytail before running her fingers through her hair, wrapping the second band three-fourths of the way down and another just before the bottom. She had seen her mother wear her hair in this fashion when they were home alone, had known in her heart that it must have been a traditional Air Nomad style. Watching herself in the mirror, Opame could almost picture her mother, grandmother and great grandmother, what life could have been like if –

Knock, knock.

Opame turned toward the door, her hair sliding back over her shoulder. Zuko stood there, hesitantly. "I was – I was coming to check on you."

She gave him a small smile. "I'm fine."

"You look amazing," Zuko said quickly. He blanched when Opame raised an eyebrow at him. "I mean, just that those colors suit you."

Her smile grew a bit as she walked towards him. "Thank you. What is everyone up to?

Zuko frowned. "I'm supposed to be training Aang but Ceba asked him to show him an airbending trick. The two of them were racing around the temple, last I checked."

"Racing?" Opame ran outside of her room, moving quickly, Zuko right behind her. She made her way through the air temple in the direction of the racetrack. During their tour of temple, Aang had shown them the racetrack. Aang told them their ancestors used to practice how swiftly they could run with the wind.

Now, the two young boys were racing on the track, balancing on their toes on a ball of wind, focused, intense. The others, Teo, the Duke, Haru, Sokka and Toph were cheering the two of them on. Katara was watching, slightly nervous, on the sidelines, like a mother hen. Ceba was surprisingly in the lead, just a few inches in front of Aang, his little orange caplet flapping in the wind behind him. When he spotted Opame, he lost his concentration, the air disappearing from under his feet. He flipped in the air and took off running, pumping his legs as hard as he could, trying to regain his lead but the momentum was lost. Aang whooped as he sped past the younger boy, spinning in the air as he reached where they must have marked a finish line before landing gracefully on his feet.

"Aww man!" Ceba moaned. He shot a halfhearted glare at his sister, who crossed her arms, cocking an eyebrow at him. "I was so close Opame! You distracted me."

"Don't feel bad!" Aang said, laughing. "You're really fast! You really did almost have me! Opame," the Avatar said, turning towards him. "You want the next round?"

"No, no," Opame assured him. "I know I'll lose. Besides," she added, casting a glance at the frowning Firebender next to her, "I don't think your Firebending Master would appreciate it if I took up any more of your time."

Aang's eyes widened. He raced forward, stopping in front of Zuko. "Shifu Hotman! I am ready for your training!"

Zuko's frowned seemed to deepen but he turned on his heel, walking away from the racetrack. "Let's just go."

With a smile, Aang raced after his instructor. The other kids wandered off, Ceba running after his new friends.

"Welp!" Sokka said. "I'm going to go see if I can do some hunting. Hey," he started, looking to Opame, "are you and your brother vegetarians, like Aang?"

Opame shook her head. "We don't eat much meat but we do eat it. That was one thing that sort of faded out over time."

"Great! I was worried about two more people cringing when we eat," he added with a grin.

The Water Tribe boy walked away whistling, leaving Katara and Opame alone. The two girls shared a glance. Though Katara seemed friendly enough, there was something that seemed . . . off. She had a hard time looking Opame in the eye. It was like she had something to say but didn't know where to start.

Katara took a breath, turning towards her. "I was thinking of doing some more exploring. See if I can find Aang – well, I suppose all three of you, some of your history. Did you want to come with me? Maybe you'll notice something before me."

Opame smiled. "Sure, I'd like that."

The two girls walked together in silence, peering into rooms that they passed. Katara didn't speak and Opame didn't want to push her; she could tell there was something on her mind.

Opame walked into what she assumed must have been another bedroom, moving towards a cloth on the wall that was covering something like a closet. Pulling it aside, she was pleased to find a couple of wicker baskets inside. "Katara," she called out.

The younger girl poked her head in. "Found something?"

"Maybe? Just some baskets."

Katara entered the room, kneeling down beside Opame and reaching for a basket. Opame opened her basket, finding some old papers, faded with age. "Letters. I wish I could read what they said."

"Aang will still love this though," Katara responded. She pulled a couple of scrolls out. "Maybe they'll be easier to read in the light."

"I hope so." Opame neatly and carefully put the letters back into her basket, moving to stand up. "It's a wonder we've been able to find anything at all," she added, gesturing down to her clothes. "I was told the Fire Nation raided and destroyed everything."

"Just takes some patience," Katara said, with a light smile. She eyed Opame as the two of them picked up their baskets. "So . . . you and Zuko seem . . . close."

Opame nodded. "We're good friends."

"How did the two of you meet?"

"I was a servant in the palace," Opame responded. "We met by circumstance and became friends over time. He . . . saved me and my brother during the Eclipse."

Katara came to a sudden stop. Opame turned to face her, surprised to see something like anger on her face. "So you just – forgave him. Just like that."

"I don't follow."

"Did he tell you? Did he tell you about all the horrible things he did?"

"Yes," Opame answered without hesitation, which seemed to confuse Katara even more. "Zuko was very honest about his past."

"But – but you're an Airbender! You should hate him for what his family has done! For what he has done!"

Oh.

Opame took in the younger girl in front of her. So this was why she seemed so odd around Opame. There was a lot of hurt there, a lot of sadness. She expected Opame to feel the exact same way. "You lost someone to the Fire Nation."

Katara looked shocked. "How did you know?"

"I've lost everything to the Fire Nation. My ancestors, my freedom, my parents, my home. I know what loss looks like when I see it. Can I tell you something? Something I've never told anyone?" Opame waited for Katara's nod before she gave her a sad smile. "I am angry, almost always. There are moments when I think it will consume me. . . . But, with Zuko . . . I never felt angry. He's done some things that I know he regrets, but who hasn't? I know there's a lot of history between him and your friends but I hope you can see that he's trying to make up for it. He's trying to – mend the wounds he and his family caused. That's why he helped me and Ceba. That's why he's trying to help Aang."

Resting the basket against her hip, Opame reached forward and took Katara's hand.

"Like you said, just takes some patience" she told the other girl with another smile. "I hope you'll show some patience for Aang's sake and for yours. And I hope, eventually, once I make sense to you, we can become friends too. . . . Should we keep looking?" She asked.

Katara nodded silently. The two girls went back to their search, though they didn't talk.

Later that evening, Katara served them all soup and rice as they sat around the fire. She took her bowl gratefully, looking over at the entrance to the balcony where Zuko stood, staring off into the night. She thought she knew enough about him to know he needed a moment to process whatever he was going through.

"What's wrong with him?" Ceba whispered to her, startling her out of her thoughts.

"I'm not sure," she muttered back, just as Zuko looked over his shoulder at them. Their eyes met and Opame tilted her head, curiously. Zuko sighed making his way towards them.

"Listen everybody," Zuko started. "I've got some pretty bad news. I've lost my stuff," he said, dropping his head.

"Don't look at me!" the Earthbender Toph responded. "I didn't touch your stuff."

"I'm talking about my Firebending," Zuko explained, frowning. "It's gone."

Katara laughed from her place next to Aang. When Zuko turned his frown on her, she shrugged. "I'm sorry. I'm just laughing at the irony. You know, how it would have been nice for us if you'd lost your Firebending a long time ago."

Opame frowned, realizing that their conversation earlier had done absolutely nothing.

"Well, it's not lost," Zuko said. "It's just – weaker for some reason."

"Maybe your just not as good as you think you are."

"Ouch," Toph said.

Opame bit her bottom lip, deciding not to say anything. She didn't think it would do Zuko any favors if she were to argue for him.

Zuko's frown deepened and he looked away from Katara. "I bet it's because I changed sides."

"That's ridiculous," Katara responded.

"I don't know," Aang spoke up. "Maybe it isn't. Maybe your Firebending comes from rage and you just don't have enough anger to fuel it the way you used to."

"So," Sokka said, "all we need to do is make Zuko angry! Easy enough."

Giggling, Sokka moved around Zuko, poking him with Aang's staff repeatedly.

"Okay, cut it out!" Zuko yelled, startling Sokka. "Look, even if you're right, I don't want to rely on hate and anger anymore. There has to be another way."

"You're going to need to learn to draw your Firebending from a different source," Toph spoke up. "I recommend the original source."

"How's he supposed to do that?" Sokka asked with a smirk. "By jumping into a volcano?"

"No. Zuko needs to go back to whatever the original source of Firebending is."

"So . . . is it jumping into a volcano?"

"I don't know." Toph sat her bowl of food down. "For Earthbending, the original Benders were badgermoles. One day, when I was little, I ran away and hid in a cave. That's where I met them. They were blind, just like me, so we understood each other. I was able to learn Earthbending, not just as a martial art, but as an extension of my senses. For them, the original Earthbenders, it wasn't just about fighting. It was their way of interacting with the world."

"That's amazing, Toph," Aang said, and Opame couldn't help but agree. She really was surrounded by some very talented people. "I learned from the monks but the original Airbenders were the sky bison. Maybe you can give me a lesson sometime buddy," Aang added, leaning back to look at his bison, Aapa.

The big creature in the courtyard growled in response.

"Well, this doesn't help me," Zuko spoke up. "The original Firebenders were dragons and they're extinct."

"What do you mean? Roku had a dragon and there were plenty of dragons when I was a kid."

Ceba nearly choked on his food, Opame reaching over to pat her brother on the back. He looked at Aang with wide eyes. "You flew around with dragons!?"

"Well, they aren't around anymore, ok?" Zuko yelled.

"Ok, ok, sorry," Aang said.

"There might be another way," Opame interjected. "My dad used to talk about it. The Sun Warriors, the first people to learn Firebending from dragons."

"Sun Warriors?" Aang asked. "Well, I know they weren't around when I was a kid."

"No," Zuko agreed, "they died off thousands of years ago but their civilizations isn't too far away from where we are now. Maybe, we can learn something by poking around the ruins."

"It's like the monks used to tell me – 'sometimes the shadows of the past can be felt by the present'.

"So what," Sokka started, "maybe you'll pick up some super old Sun Warrior energy just by standing where they stood 1000 years ago?"

"More or less," Zuko said. "Either I find a new way to Firebend or the Avatar has to find a new teacher."