AN: Thanks to everyone who's reviewed and favorited so far. With Tashi's introduction finished, we now begin her adventures through the second half of season one. What will her place amongst the Gaang be if she is meant to even have one at all?

Chapter Five: Bonding

After almost a day of flying, we decided to camp out for the evening. Appa and Momo were fast asleep. Sokka took the task of putting up the tents, Katara was fetching firewood, and Aang and I ventured out in search of some food.

"So you have to master the other three elements by the end of the summer?" I cringed. "That can't be easy."

"Yeah, but I have no choice." Aang sighed. "If I don't defeat the Fire Lord before the comet, who knows what'll happen."

"Well, I'm sure you'll figure it out." I smiled before scanning the barren terrain around us.

There was nothing but earth, canyon rocks, and dust for miles, a stark contrast to the lush forest I had grown accustomed to. There were a few trees, but they didn't look like they bore any fruit.

"How are we supposed to find food around here? Maybe there's a village nearby with a market?" I said.

"The next village is a two day trip from here." Aang sped over to the cliff and searched around. "But hey, there's a patch of trees right below. I'm sure we can find some lychee nuts, mushrooms, and berries."

I pulled out one of my knifes. "And maybe a few critters roaming about too."

He looked at me. "Oh, you eat meat?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Why wouldn't I?"

"It's just that, traditionally, Air Nomads are vegetarians. We respect all life no matter how small." He rubbed the back of his head. "And well, as part of your training, you need to learn and follow our customs."

No meat? I don't like the sound of that. I glanced at my knife.

I didn't know much about our culture aside from the few things in my great grandmother's scrolls, and those were really only diary entries. Looking back at Aang, my heart throbbed with guilt. He had been so happy to find me, and I couldn't fathom how he felt being separated from the other nomads after pretty much skipping through time.

"I suppose a change in diet won't be so bad." I pocketed my knife and walked over to him. "But are you sure the others wouldn't like something? Sokka's already spent the past few hours bemoaning how hungry he is."

"Sokka's always like that." Waving off the comment, Aang opened his staff into a glider. "Now, let's go."

Looking down, I saw that there were a few ledges along the cliff, but after that it was still a fair way down without any leverage. While Aang glided down, I hopped from ledge to ledge, and I used my whips to jump into one of the trees and descend through the branches.

I landed beside Aang. "That glider sure comes in handy. I wish I had one of those."

He smiled while closing the glider into a staff again. "It was handcrafted by the monks, but I'm sure we could find a way to get you one too. Although, you do have some talent. How much do you know about air-bending?"

"Let's see…." I counted off on my fingers. "Meditation, controlling my breath, and combining my bending with weapons. But I don't really know anything about traditional air-bending if there are any differences. Maybe I could give you a demonstration, so you know where to start?"

"Good idea. Now, come on. I'm starving," he said.

Once we collected everything we could find, we returned to the campsite and found Katara and Sokka arguing over duties. While Aang settled their sibling feud, I went searching through their supplies.

"Hey, do you guys have any cooking pots or pans?" I said.

Katara walked over to me. "We did, but they kinda got swept away during one of our previous adventures."

Her face flushed as though she might of had something to do with it, and I saw Aang give an awkward smile. I nodded and started rationing what we had into small bowls.

"Fine, but the second we find a market, I'm getting some cooking supplies," I said.

Sokka finished setting up the campfire and struck a pair of spark rocks to light it. "You know how to cook?"

"Yeah, it was part of my responsibility back with the Freedom Fighters, and I'm pretty versatile with limited resources." I handed him his rations.

"Hmm. That sounds–" His mouth started watering, and he looked at what I gave him. "What? No meat?"

"I was, but Aang said Air Nomads are vegetarians." I shrugged. "However, if you can catch something, I'll cook it for you."

"And while you're at it, you can teach Katara." He took a bite out of a lychee nut. "Her skills have never been that great."

A twig flew into my line of sight and struck Sokka across the head. I glanced to the right and saw his sister glaring at him with her hands on her hips.

"Sorry my cooking abilities aren't up to your standards." She huffed. "You could always just do it yourself, you know?"

Aang stood in between them. "Hey, what did I say before? Harsh words won't solve problems. Action will. Tashi can be in charge of cooking from now on."

I shivered and decided to sit beside the campfire. Taking a few breaths, I evened out my body temperature between the evening chill and the warmth from the fire. It was a useful skill I discovered after a really bad winter.

"So, you guys have been traveling for a while." I started eating a few berries. "What else have you done besides stopping villages from being flooded?"

The three of them looked at each other, unsure of who should start first.

Aang smiled. "Well, after we left the South Pole, we visited lots of places. I rode on hopping llamas, wild hog-monkeys, and elephant koi fish. Oh, and I even rode on a giant unagi when we visited Kyoshi Island."

Sokka's eyes glazed over into a daze, and he smiled. "Yeah, Kyoshi Island. We should go back there some time."

"Then we went to Omashu and visited my friend Bumi." Aang laughed. "You should've been there. They have this mailing system that you can ride like a super slide."

"That sounds exciting." I furrowed my brow. "But riding dangerous animals and mailing systems aren't really my thing."

Katara smiled. "I helped liberate a bunch of earth-benders from a Fire Nation prison."

"Wow. That's brave," I said.

"Well, I couldn't stand back and do nothing." She frowned. "While our mission is to travel to the North Pole, we still try to help as many people as we can."

"That's very admirable of you." I continued eating. "That used to be the Freedom Fighters' mission until Jet became obsessed."

"What made you get tangled up with a guy like him to begin with? You mentioned something about owing him your life," Sokka said.

"Four years ago, I was out playing in a nearby field when the Fire Nation attacked my village. I ran back to find my grandparents, but there was so much chaos." My gaze lowered to the ground. "I was caught by one of the soldiers and air-bended at him to escape. He chased after me, thinking I was the Avatar, but I managed to get away. Later, Jet found me and brought me back to his hideout."

"Do you think your family could still be out there somewhere?" Katara said.

I shook my head. "My mother died giving birth to me. My father joined the army not too long after, and he didn't make it. As for my village, Jet and I searched for any survivors, but everyone had either been taken or killed."

Sokka narrowed his eyes. "The soldier who attacked you, what did he look like?"

"I remember he was an older man, a fire-bender, and he had these big side-burns." I gestured how big they were against my own face. "I never learned his name, but I'd know him if I saw him."

Sokka, Katara, and Aang shared a look like they knew who I was talking about.

"What?" I blinked.

Katara looked at me. "When we went to the Fire Nation so Aang could contact Avatar Roku, we were caught. One of fire-benders, I think he was a commander or general or something, but he fits the description."

"So he's still alive?" I stared at the fire.

"Don't worry." Aang placed a hand on my shoulder. "We're not gonna let him get you."

"Oh, he won't." I frowned and said in a dark tone, "I'll get him first."

He furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?"

Going by Aang's tone, I could tell he was worried about my sudden change in mood, and I gave him a reassuring smile. "I mean, if he attacks us, I won't lose. I won't let him harm anyone else."

He didn't seem convinced, but left my side to go tend to Appa.

I looked at Sokka and Katara. "Are there any other enemies you've made that I need to know about?"

"Zuko." Katara glared at her empty bowl. "He's the Fire Nation prince and has been tracking us since the South Pole to capture Aang."

"Geez, you have the Royal family after you? What does he look like?" I folded my arms. Guess it was a good idea I didn't bring Razor with me. This is way too dangerous.

"Teenager, long ponytail, and a scar on his face," Sokka said.

"Noted." I yawned. "Anyway, I'm gonna turn in."

Katara stood. "Come on, Tashi. You can share my tent."

"Thank you." I followed her. It'll only be a matter of time before I run into the fire-bender who attacked my village, and I'm gonna make him regret it. Regret what he did to me. Whoever you are, wherever you are, you'd better be ready.

….

I jumped down from Appa, ignoring the murmurs of the sick Zhangs and elderly Gan Jin. I had decided to go with them to make sure there were no Fire Nation soldiers waiting on the other side of the canyon while Aang, Katara, and Sokka led the rest of the two tribes the long way.

"What's taking them so long?" I furrowed my brow. "Are they lost?"

I walked to the edge of the cliff and almost screamed at the sight of a bunch of oversized bugs crawling up the cliffside toward me. I jumped back as the first creature reached the edge of the cliff and pulled out my whips. However, I hesitated when I saw Aang riding it.

He commanded an order before jumping off, and not too long after, I saw Katara, Sokka, and the tribe members leap off the creatures once they reached the top. Aang tossed a bag of food back over the cliff, and the creatures returned to the canyon to get it.

"Thank the spirits you guys are okay." I rushed over to them. "What happened?"

"The Zhangs and Gan Jin brought food with them, and we ended up trapped," Katara said.

"I knew helping these guys was a waste of time." I glanced over right as the leaders of both tribes started fighting again. "There are some conflicts you just can't resolve."

"Someone has to try." Aang walked over to them.

While he tried to calm the leaders down again, Katara, Sokka and I got the sick and elderly down from Appa's saddle. We overheard some of Aang's story of how he knew Jin Wei and Wei Jin. It seemed a bit far-fetched to me, but both tribes bought it and decided to stop fighting. Once they were gone, we walked over to Aang.

"That's some luck you knew Jin Wei and Wei Jin," Sokka said.

"You could call it luck." Aang gave us a sly grin. "Or you could call it lying."

"You did not." Katara picked up Momo. "That's so wrong."

"At least it got them to shut up." I rolled my eyes. "And it's nice to know that the Avatar isn't a goody-two shoes all the time."

"What? Nothing else was working, and they would've killed each other otherwise," Aang said.

Sokka jumped onto Appa and took the reins. "Well, let's get out here. I've had it with this canyon."

We flew for a while until we reached a cozy hiding spot on the shore. Appa landed, and we set up camp. Once finished, Aang and Sokka relaxed by the campfire, and I saw Katara walk over to the water with a scroll in hand.

I walked over to her. "What's that?"

"A water-bending scroll I borrowed from some pirates." She opened the scroll and set it on a rock where it wouldn't get damaged.

I folded my arms. "And by borrowed, you mean stole?"

She smiled. "I prefer to call it, High-Risk Trading."

I laughed. "But why do you and Aang need to go to the North Pole to learn water-bending? Don't they have benders in the South Pole?"

"No, I'm the last one. The others were taken during various raids." Katara's eyes watered. "They also killed my mother."

"I'm sorry." I looked out toward the waves, enjoying the ocean spray. "Your brother is with you, but what about the rest of your family?"

"Our grandmother and what's left of our village is back in the South Pole. Our father and the rest of the men left two years ago to fight the Fire Nation. We haven't seen them since," she said.

I nodded. "Well, for your sake, I hope they're still alive."

"Thank you." She held her hands out and began practicing.

For obvious reasons, I hadn't seen much of water-bending, and I couldn't help but admire how fluid the motions were. It was very different to the others. Earth-bending was rigid and unrelenting while fire-bending was aggressive and offensive. I wondered what true air-bending was like. Would I be any good at it after developing my own haphazard skills?

Only one way to find out. I looked back at Aang and bowed. "Sifu Aang, I'm ready for my first lesson if you are."

Next Episode: Opposing Energies