Chapter 1
Warmth glazed over my fur as the first rays of sun crested over the distant snowy peaks. As night gave way to day in the Eastern Air Temple, it took time for the chill of a night spent in mountainous sky to fade, and I was in no rush to leave the cocoon my family created. I snuggled deeper into the slumbering bodies of my mother, brother, and sisters letting the rhythmic pulse of my family's heartbeats distract me from the rumbling in my belly.
Movement from my "older" sister Hanna, born mere seconds before me, led her fur to tickle my nose. I tried to stifle a sneeze, to preserve the stillness of the moment, but I couldn't. My, "ahhh chooo!" swirled the air, sending our bodies adrift. My mother eased one eye open, grunted, and flicked her tail, simultaneously reminding me not to disturb the monks' morning meditation and keeping our waking family afloat and together with a loving, swirling breeze.
Hanna wiggled her tail at me, sending laughing pulses of air in my direction. That trickster must have heard my pulse change as I woke and made me sneeze on purpose. Before I could shoot an admonishing blast of air back, my stomach let out a loud grumble, which only made Hanna's tail shake harder, sending her in laughing loops.
It still amazed me, how easily a puff of air from one of our mouths or the littlest movement of a tail could send any one of us flying. While we had been practicing for weeks, and our control was getting better each day, my siblings and I were still mastering our air dancing. It was delicate to balance our giant, fur covered bodies on currents of air, particularly high up in the mountains. It took careful listening to the breath of the wind and reading its path through my fur to make the little adjustments needed to both anticipate the air's movement and propel myself through it.
Now that we were awake and floating, I was free to explore. I turned myself around to look below, spotting the barrels of food left out for us by the monks. The leafy greens called to me, but I knew I needed to wait for everyone. I flicked a light wave of air to my mother, looking her in the eyes and then looking down at the food below. Another sigh escaped her body before she gave an almost imperceptible nod of her head.
I wasn't the only one ready for breakfast. As soon as the others noticed me heading towards food, I felt the air send ripples as each of my brothers and sisters picked up speed to get to the barrels.
As we munched on delectably sweet and crunchy leaves, I noticed my mother's air nomad arrive. He moved less wind than usual and while his slightly raised eyebrows suggested excitement, the little crinkles turned down at the corner of his eyes held a note of sadness too. He and my mother touched heads, eyes closed. After another one of her almost imperceptible nods, I thought I saw a small trail of water leave one of her eyes.
I returned to my food, finishing up the last scraps before we were called back into the air for our morning exercises. My mother thumped her tail once to signal it was time, and with the last morsel still dangling from my mouth, I thumped my tail to join my family lifting into the sky.
Chapter 2
My mother pointed her nose skyward, gracefully rolling her body as she ascended, demonstrating how to slice through the wind. Then, she quickly cast her belly to face the earth, throwing her legs and tail out as far as she could, to effortlessly float on the draft she had created. She looked down at us, nodding to each one of my siblings when it was our turn to try the maneuver.
Hanna did it perfectly, like usual. Show off. My mother floated around her, nuzzling Hana's side in pride, as she nodded towards me letting me know it was now my turn.
I pointed my nose to the sky, tucking my feet in, but I forgot to point my tail straight down, and my spin was slower than I wanted. Nevertheless, as I leveled off to float, I felt the draft I created support me, and soon my mother was floating at my side, radiating pride as love pulsed through the currents of air surrounding us.
The rest of my family completed the move with relative ease, my mother showering us with joyful affection after each attempt until our morning lessons were done, and my stomach was rumbling yet again. We soon set off, but not in the direction I expected. Instead of heading back towards the feeding area of the temple, my mother blew us towards a place we knew about but hadn't yet visited. The part of the temple where the young air nomads, like us young sky bison, practiced maneuvers each day, learning the ways of the wind.
As our family of sky bison got closer, I could tell we were all feeling both excited and nervous to meet the youngest members of our air nomad family. We were kept apart, I knew, because we needed to be ready for our first meeting where we would bond. One young air nomad with one sky bison, paired through invisible ties for life. My fur fluttered with nerves, excitement, and fear as my brothers and sisters flew in circles around our mother, creating an air tunnel that helped keep her afloat. Once she was lifted on the breeze, we flew close to her, unsure of what to do next, but confident that whatever did happen, it would change our life forever.
Chapter 3
My mother nudged us with her nose and gave a grunt that shot a small pulse of air, gently floating us towards the temple training grounds and our future. We landed as a family of sky bison for the last time. Our mother behind us, the young air nomads ahead. At the front, a small boy with big, round eyes held out a glistening apple. I stepped forward tentatively, purring a greeting to let him know I meant no harm. I sniffed the apple he held out to make sure it was good inside and out. The apple he had picked smelled like candied jewels, and I opened my mouth slightly, and somehow he knew to toss it into my mouth. I immediately crunched down, the sweet juices delighting my tongue and curbing my hunger.
The boy crouched down, and stepped closer, a question to me. Would I be his? I closed my eyes, the goodness of the apple and the kindness of the boy flowing through me. Yes, I thought. Him.
He reached up, and I closed my eyes, nuzzling him as my mother had nuzzled me so many times. Letting him know that from now on, I would care for him, love him, as best I knew how. His tiny hands hugged my nose, as I licked his face to let him know that from now on, we are a family.
"I guess this means we'll always be together!" he said.
I licked his face again as he laughed. Yes, I thought with joy. Yes, we will.