CHAPTER 3: The lost guru

"You have to walk, and create the way by your walking. You will not find a ready-made path."

The first night at the Eastern Air Temple had been filled with deep and peaceful sleep for the majority of the small group of friends that had laid curled up around a friendly bonfire in the middle of the meditation garden in which they had set up camp the day before.

Sokka, Toph, Zuko and Katara had spent their evening sharing nostalgic smiles as they reminisced the many adventures they had shared in the past. Their eyes had sparkled with memories of all the trials and triumphs they had shared together, almost as if weaving a tapestry of indelible moments that had shaped them into the people that they were today.

They had also shared their concerns for the Avatar that had retreated to the sky sanctuary to meditate, but they had all agreed that it was probably for the best to let him have his space to process everything that had happened.

They were all sure that he would have returned in the morning.

But as dawn broke over the temple grounds and painted the horizon with shades of pink and gold, and the group of friends finally awoke from their tranquil slumber, they were surprised to find that Aang had not yet come back.

Katara had been the first to break the morning silence.

"Hey guys… Wake up. Aang is still not here."

While Appa groaned lazily from the sound of her voice this early in the morning, a deep and loud yawn escaped the lips of Sokka and spread out over the meditation garden that was still shrouded in a gentle morning mist.

"Relaaax," Toph muffled from her sleeping bag in a sleepy voice. "He probably fell asleep up there while doing his spiritual mumbo-jumbo stuff. I bet he'll return real soon."

Sokka sat up, his sleeping back still covering every inch of him but his face.

"Yeah," he yawned. "Let the man have his space. He's been through a lot, you know."

Katara opened her mouth to answer him, but she soon closed her lips shut again.

They were probably right.

Aang had probably visited the Spirit World to seek consolation and advice on how to begin the restoration from some of his earlier Airbender incarnations.

She noticed that Momo was not around, so she figured that the lemur probably laid curled up as a furry ball on top of Aang's stomach, both of them sleeping peacefully in the most spiritual and sacred part of the temple.

They were probably watching the sunrise together in this very moment, greeting the dawn from the highest peak of the mountain.

Katara smiled to herself.

She liked that idea.

As the sun climbed higher into the sky, its warm rays spread across the temple grounds, illuminating every corner with a soft, golden glow. The air felt alive with the scent of blooming flowers and fresh mountain air, invigorating their senses and filling their hearts with a sense of wonder and possibility.

As they prepared breakfast over the newly lit fire, the four friends discussed the plan for the day ahead.

"Well, now that Aang isn't here yet, I suggest that we start without him by looking for that guru guy that he wanted to find here," Sokka said as he bit into a ripe yellow apple, a drop of its juices drippling down his cheek as he squinted his eyes.

"What was his name again? Guru Pasho? Guru Paki? Guru…"

"Guru Pathik," Zuko uttered in a raspy voice before taking a sip of the steaming cup of tea he held in his hands.

"Right, Guru Pashik," Sokka tried while waving his apple in Zuko's direction. "He's the reason we came here in the first place, instead of starting at The Southern Temple like we'd agreed on at first."

Katara noisily splashed portions of their breakfast soup into wooden bowls, causing the rest of the group to look up at her, Sokka raising an eyebrow at her.

She looked at them shortly, before she sighed out.

I know…" she started before handing each of them their bowls of warm soup, "That you all think we should just leave Aang alone, until he's ready to join us again. But shouldn't we make sure that he's okay up there? I kinda feel bad leaving him all alone with whatever he's going through right now."

The four friends looked at each other for a short moment, contemplating.

"I mean," Katara said, looking down at the steaming bowl of soup that she had intended for Aang, "At least we could bring him some breakfast?"

"Good idea," Zuko rasped as he laid his hand on Katara's shoulder, nudging her lovingly while offering her a supportive smile. "I think he'd like that."

Something that sounded like a mix of a giggle and a snort came from Toph, causing Zuko to quickly let his hand fall from Katara's shoulder.

A pinkish note colored his cheeks.

"Sure, sure," Sokka grinned before slurping down some soup, his voice teasing. "I think the two love birds over there should go bring Angie his meal before it gets cold."

"Shut up, Sokka," Katara hissed, causing both him and Toph to laugh out.

"Yeah, I'm NOT walking up all of those stairs," Toph sighed, before she put down her empty bowl, patted her stomach and leaned back against the boulder behind her.

"Besides," she said, "The guru's not on this mountain side, I can tell you as much as that. The only living beings besides us here are some spider bats dwelling in what seems to be a library further up the mountain. So we'll have to look if the guy's hiding somewhere near the other mountains."

Katara still pouted at Sokka, so Zuko nodded for her.

"Right," Zuko said, "Which means that…"

But before he could finish his sentence, Sokka cut him off in a slightly raised voice.

"Well, it's agreed then! Toph and I will go exploring to see if the guru guy is still somewhere around her to be found, while mommy and daddy will go bring Aang-Aang his breakfast."

Sokka's baby voice had Katara groan out in frustration over her immature brother, while Zuko quickly rose to his feet, tightening his knuckles and squinting his eyes angrily at Sokka.

"Knock it off, Water Tribe," Zuko spat.

Sokka also rose to his feet now, raising his hands as if to surrender.

"Alright, alright," he smiled, "I'll stop. For now. You know it's my way of saying I love you guys."

Sokka turned around to grab his boomerang from his bag, before he pointed it in the direction of the mountain to the left.

And soon, he and Toph were making their way across the stone bridge that connected the two mountains together, while Zuko and Katara had started their ascent up the stairs that eventually would lead them to the sky sanctuary at the top of the pagoda where Aang was.

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