The sun had set long before Aang had said goodbye to his new friend and he was now currently making his way back to the cave that he and the others were staying in for the time being.

Grinning widely to himself, the young Avatar used his airbending to lower himself a little closer to the ground before jumping down the rest of the way and letting gravity pull him along.

Thanks to Toph's earthbending lessons, Aang could feel Katara's vibrations move the very second she heard Aang entering the cave. And oh boy! She did not look happy at all.

"Where have you been? We've been worried sick!" Katara's started shouting right off the bat without giving the airbender a chance to say a word. "If you remember, you just recovered from getting hit with lightning! And not to mention we're undercover! You're the Avatar, Aang. We can't afford to take any risks and let our guards down! We're in Fire Nation territory for Spirit's sake!" She cried furiously, scowling angrily at the young boy in front of her and throwing her arms up into the air.

She opened her mouth to continue yelling at the airbender but Aang cut her off. "THAT'S ENOUGH!" The airbender shouted at the top of his lungs, scowling angrily and tossing his bandana to the side and throwing his arms up into the air wildly as Momo landed on his shoulder. "Just stop talking Katara!" Aang took a deep breath before speaking in a quieter tone. "I know what I'm doing, Katara. And yes, of course I remember getting struck by lighting! I'm not an idiot!" He crossed his arms over his chest and continued, "I'm also aware that I'm the gosh darn Avatar already! For Spirit's sake, I was almost 12 when the monks told me! They told me about my destiny three years earlier than they should've! So yeah, of course I know that already! And I don't need you to baby-sit me every second of everyday! I can take care of myself just fine!"

Silence was the only thing that followed after Aang's sudden outburst. For quite a while nobody said a word, but then like usual, it was Katara who opened her mouth first.

"Sheesh! All I was asking was where have you been all day! You don't need to tell me your whole life story Mr. Airbending Master!" Her blue eyes were glaring daggers into Aang's very soul and it made him want to run and hide. "We're here to gather information, not to be goofing off all day! Ugh! Why don't you get that this isn't a vacation! It's just a place for us to lay-low for a while! You're such an ill-mannered child holding onto traditions that haven't been around for years! You need to wake up and look around you! This isn't the air temple Aang! It's the Fire Nation! They have different rules here!"

Aang's eyes lowered to the floor and he clenched his hands tightly at his sides. Had she really just said that? Did she really just see him as a child that needed a baby-sitter 24/7?

A whirlwind of negative thoughts swirled around in the young Avatar's brain and he felt his eyes start to water. He swallows hard, clenching his eyes tightly closed and took a few deep breaths in through his nose.

"And you can't run away from this! We need to make a plan to defeat the fire lord." The water tribe girl added in after a short pause. "You need to grow up and learn to be more than a spineless cowered!" That last comment hit harder than the rest and hit, salty tears sprung to the corners of Aang's eyes.

Aang's head shot up and the stormy grey eyes flashed dangerously. "DON'T YOU THINK I KNOW THAT KATARA?" He nearly shrieked. "But how am I sapped to come up with a plan to defeat the fire lord when I can't even firebend?" By this point, tears were now rolling down his face and he lowered his head in shame, not meeting Katara's serious stare.

"Hey, I have an idea! Couldn't you just use your airbending mumbo jumbo or something like that to finish him off," Sokka offered up with a small shrug of his shoulders. "Isn't there like a way to take the air out of someone's lungs?"

Upon hearing the question given to him by the older boy, the airbender's whole body froze in place like an ice sculpture and he normally calm expression shatter and he paled considerably.

"I-I-I uh..." he stammered over his words, still trying to process everything that was happening around him. "T-there is b-but I-it's a forbidden move. The minks made sure that nobody but the elders knew about it." His voice was so quiet that it was barely audible to their ears, but Toph could sense something hidden deep beneath the surface.

And because of that fact, she decided to speak up for the first time. "Can you two just shut your pie holes for a few minutes?" She yelled rather loudly for her small size. "You're both gonna give Twinkletoes a heart attack at this rate! Can't you tell that he looks about ready to keel over?"

The 12-year-old blind earthbender was right, the two water tribe members realized once the really got a good look at the boy in question. He looked as white as a ghost and his hands were clenched so tightly that his fingernails were drawing blood.

"I-I'm g-gonna go take a walk to clear my head." Aang eventually managed to get enough air into his lungs to speak properly again. "I-I need some fresh air and some time alone for a while." And with those last few words, the young 12-year-old Air Nomad spun on his heals and walked out of the cave. Before he left though, he quickly grabbed his headband from off of the floor and tied it securely around his forehead before walking outside into the waiting nightfall.