Two years later…
Yang set down her screwdriver and wiped her brow. She'd put a lot of effort creating her glider staff, and she hoped it was put together right. These items hadn't been used since the Harmonic Convergence, when the Air Nomads had switched to wingsuits, so the only sources of information on their construction were in old books. And Yang's staff wasn't the standard Air Nomad staff either; it was based on Avatar Aang's second staff, the one made by the Mechanist, so she only had a one-page schematic in that old book.
Yang pressed the button on her staff that caused the wings to pop out, satisfied that she'd built it correctly. She smiled as a familiar voice spoke up.
"Yang!" Lin said, as she ran up to Yang. "It's been a while!"
"Lin!" Yang said, smiling, and then her face drooped slightly. Lin was her closest friend so far, and she felt bad for neglecting her for the last couple of weeks. "I'm sorry about that. I've just been focused on learning the forms from Sister Lanu, and I guess I've just forgotten to keep in touch."
"It's okay! Really!" Lin said, trying to steer Yang away from being upset. "You've got to master the elements, after all! I'm not mad or upset at all!"
"Thanks," Yang said sadly. "I promise I'll do better to stay your friend, okay?"
Lin just smiled and pointed at Yang's staff. "Is it done?"
"I think so," Yang said, pressing the button again to retract the wings. "Sister Lanu wanted to inspect it before I used it, though. And she wanted to be there for my first flight, just in case something goes wrong."
"Can I come?" Lin asked excitedly. To see the Avatar's first flight…
"Absolutely!" Yang said, grabbing her friend's hand. "Let's go!"
The two girls ran across the temple, hand in hand, until they finally got to the Sister.
"You're done? Quicker than I expected," Sister Lanu said before looking at Lin. "Lin."
"Sister," Lin said, nodding back.
Yang handed her staff to Lanu, doing her best to calm her excitement. She couldn't wait to fly, but she had to keep her cool. "It's ready for inspection."
Lanu grinned and took Yang's staff. She'd had to study up on the glider staff as well, but she was here to inspect the mechanisms, to make certain everything was put together correctly.
Yang looked on with excitement, though she did her best not to show it. She had to remain calm, had to be able to focus on what was to come. She knew she could get seriously hurt if she tried to use the staff and it wasn't built correctly.
But when Lanu smiled and handed the staff back to Yang, she just couldn't hold it in anymore. She started bouncing, jumping for joy, spinning around and grabbing Lin's hands and jumping for joy together. Eventually, Yang composed herself, and turned back to Sister Lanu, awaiting the go ahead.
"Now, remember what I taught you, Yang," Sister Lanu said as Yang pressed the button to extend the wings. "The most important aspect of the glider and wingsuits is to keep the lift constant. You don't want to fall thousands of meters to your death because you lost focus."
Yang nodded and was just about to take to the air before being stopped by Lanu. "And don't go too far out from the landing pad. I don't have a wingsuit on, and Lavander is in the stable."
Yang nodded, knowing that it would take a while for Lanu to get to the Sky Bison stable to retrieve Lavander, and then get to Yang if she lost control if she was too far out from the temple. And, while Yang was certain that no airbending master would allow the Avatar to fall to her death in the event of an emergency, she didn't want to worry her teacher.
So, Yang blasted off from the temple grounds, doing as Lanu said and kept the lift constant as she tested her controls. The handlebars made manipulating the glider easy, but she was finding it a little difficult to keep her feet locked on the rear ones. She figured she'd get the hang of things as time went on, and would need to do some exercises in order to strengthen her ankles for this very purpose.
But even with the minor difficulty and complete inexperience, Yang was flying. She was no longer bound to the ground the way she had been up to this point. She was truly an airbender now, free for the first time in her life. The sky was the limit for her potential, and she still had three elements to go.
Yang eventually landed, and she saw both Lin and Lanu beaming with excitement. Lanu, however, regained her composure quicker. "Well done, Yang. You were a little wobbly up there, but you never made me afraid that you were going to fall."
"Thank you, Sister Lanu!" Yang shouted before recomposing herself. "Thank you."
"So, what happens now?" Lin asked.
"Now?" Lanu said, pretending like she was thinking, placing her hand on her chin playfully. "How would you like to play with your friends for a while?"
"Yes!" Yang said and was about to run off before stopping. "Can I show off my glider?"
"As long as you keep close to the ground," Lanu said, smiling. "Yes, you can show off your glider. But until I'm confident in your ability with that glider, I don't want you going too far out, okay?"
"Okay!" Yang said, grabbing Lin's hand as they headed out for the play areas. This was the best day at the temple so far, and she had many more to come. She was glad to be around her friends, glad to be around her teacher, glad to be an airbender. And she wanted nothing more right now than to share that joy with the kids.