Responses to Reviews:

RonaldM40196867: Maybe. Avatar Yue's journey could be a long one, and it's entirely possible it takes her through some parties.

Sharpe: Yes, the fact Aang died two years before Katara was even born in this timeline will probably put a bit of a damper on their relationship. But he had a long, happy and successful life anyway.

Zigzagdoublezee: I do my best. And I like Hakoda too, he seems like a great father. Of course in this timeline, there not having been a Hundred Years' War, he's also a lot more involved in his children's lives.

TORONTOSUN: Thank you! Your words mean a lot!

As Always, Please Review!

The Sky-Bison touched down in the courtyard of the Northern Air Temple, and Champo jumped down as monks scurried over.

Yue watched them all carefully. This the first time she had ever left the north, and everything seemed alien to her. It was a lot warmer than she was used to, for a start; the heat was already beginning to make her feel uncomfortable in her furs even at this altitude. Most of the elder monks bore their distinctive arrow tattoos on their foreheads, and many of them were clutching wooden staffs. From a raised platform nearby, children watched them with curiosity. All of them were wearing orange and yellow robes, a huge difference with the dark blues of her homeland.

"Champo?" One of the other nomads asked curiously. "You're back a bit early. Where are the others? Why are they here?"

She gestured to the water tribespeople sat in the back, who began struggling to dismount.

"Something terrible happened," Champo told them. "The Fire Nation attacked us."

General murmurs spread through the group.

"I can't be certain, but I think it was an assassination attempt targeting the new Avatar," Champo said. "Though I have no idea why."

"Evil," Katara muttered. Nobody else heard her.

"I think we might have some idea," a Monk spoke up. "Last night, Fire Nation forces landed in the Earth Kingdom, in several places. There may be more, those are only the reports we've got so far."

"What?" Yue couldn't believe it.

"They've occupied several coastal cities already," another Nun said. "I was in Yu Dao when it fell."

"And what about the Avatar?" The first nomad asked again. "Did they get them?"

Champo shook his head.

"It was a close run thing," he said. "But she got away."

"Where is she?"

Yue stood up, trying not to look like she was reeling from the news that the world appeared to be at war.

"May I present," Champo said proudly, "Avatar Yue!"

The assembled just gawped at her.

"Oh come on, surely you can be a little more impressed," Champo frowned. "She's only been the Avatar since last night."

"How good are you at bending?" A monk demanded. Yue cringed at the question.

"I don't know," she replied.

"You don't know? How can you not know?"

"I kind of... haven't done any yet?"

The Nomads just stared at her. Then they rounded on Champo.

"Are you sure she's the Avatar?"

"They said she was!" Champo defended himself. "They tend to know what they're talking about!"

"Not always!" Someone shouted. "They didn't find Kyoshi!"

"They got her eventually!" Champo shouted. "Besides, that's not fair. A nomadic Earth Avatar? That hadn't happened before, and that's not what this is. Yue is not another Yun. I'm sure of it."

"At least Yun was an Earthbender, can this one do any bending at all?"

"Yeah! And Yue even sounds a bit like Yun!"

"Hey! Hey!" One of the Nuns shouted over everyone else. "If we're not sure, then we do the test!"

"What test?" Yue asked, suddenly apprehensive.

"It wouldn't be a hard one. We'd have to lay out toys in a room and send you in to pick four of them. If you picked the right four, congratulations, you are who you say you are."

"Really?" Yue nodded. "Alright, I'll do it."

"The thing is those toys are stored in the Southern Air Temple and we don't really have time to fly them here in the middle of an active warzone," the Nun continued. "Don't worry though, one of Kyoshi's companions invented another, much faster test. LOOK OUT!"

And before Yue could even react to that sentence, she drew a rock she had been hiding out from under her sleeve and launched it at her head.

Yue yelped and instinctively threw her hands up to protect herself, anticipating the pain of impact as she screwed her eyes shut. Sokka and Katara shouted incoherently and took a step towards her-

And then they stopped. Yue became aware that it had all gone dead silent, and the rock should have hit by now.

Not daring to move, she opened one eye a little bit, and was confronted with the rock just hovering there in front of her outstretched hand.

"I... earthbent?" She whispered.

"You earthbent!" Katara exclaimed.

"She earthbent!" The Nomads cried ecstatically.

"I told you so!" Champo declared smugly.

"Sorry about that," the woman who had thrown the rock at her smiled ruefully. "I know throwing rocks at people's heads is not a very pacifist thing to do. But you stopped it!"

Yue stared at the rock, still suspended in midair in front of her, and let it drop. It hit the ground with a thud. A moment later she was swarmed with enthusiastic nomads, whose scepticism had immediately dissolved. Yue was feeling pretty happy about things herself. She had earthbent! There was still a very long way to go, but the first steps had been taken.

Over the heads of the crowd she could see Sokka and Katara looking at her. Sokka waved.

It was another two minutes before Champo managed to rescue her from the crowd.

"Sorry about them," he said. "You'll be looked after here, I promise."

Yue frowned.

"I appreciate the offer, but if there is a war down there I need to go and stop it. I cannot stand by as the Fire Nation lays waste to the world."

The air nomad looked at her for a moment.

"Of course," he said, nodding. "But not immediately, surely?"

"I know I'm not ready," Yue told him seriously. "But I don't have the luxury of waiting."

"I see," Champo looked out over the mountains. "I won't stand in your way then. But first, you should speak to the Council of Elders. They can help you."

"How?"

"I don't know. You'll need transport, I imagine. Food, money, clothes. We are monks but for the Avatar, we have our ways."

Yue nodded. She knew she could probably do with some new clothes, the ones she was wearing were designed for the frozen north and would be a liability away from the Poles. Besides, an idea was already taking shape. The money and transport wouldn't hurt either.

"I would be honoured to speak to your elders," she bowed.

"Great!" Champo grinned. "I'm sure they'll be very interested to meet you too, Avatar."