Hello~ Just a little update on what I'm doing.

I did a poll and asked whether I should or shouldn't put quote in the beginning/end of chapters. The quotes being things that the characters will say in the future. To see how well they are received, for the next few chapters, I'm going to do just that!

You'll see the first quote at the end of the chapter!

I will NOT specify who said what. Guessing that will be up to you, though this first one is meant to be pretty easy. Hope you like it!

Your Author

-Jenna

"Wait 'til you see it! The Air Temple is one of the most beautiful places in the world!" Aang says, excited to be heading home. The others weren't as eager, though, and for obvious reasons. They'd seen what war does, and Aang had not.

"Aang, I know you're excited, but it's been a hundred years since you've been home." Katara tells Aang cautiously. She was as happy as she was scared for him. Happy that he was happy, scared of what he was most likely going to see.

"That's why I'm so excited!" And he was either blissfully unaware, or actively in denial of that grim possibility.

"It's just that... a lot can change in all that time." Katara says, looking toward Ayaan who was silent still. Her brother knew exactly what she was trying to convey.

"I know, but I need to see it for myself." Aang is not deterred from his happiness. After doing his final checks on Appa, he goes to wake Sokka. That leaves Katara and Ayaan alone in Appa's saddle.

Katara turned to her brother hurriedly while Aang was thinking up his plan to prank Sokka awake. "When he goes home, all he's gonna see is..." She couldn't finish the horrid sentence, her heart breaking for her friend.

"The possibility of that is high." Ayaan replied to the unspoken statement. He patted Appa as he always did, giving the enormous animal his sympathy as well.

"What do we do, Ayaan?" She asked quietly. What could they possibly do for him when he finds out the truth. Hopefully, Aang's optimism is right and they were just in hiding for all of these years, but the chances of that were close to zero.

In this losing war, good news was like a needle in a haystack to find, a needle among needles to maintain. Finding Aang had been there stroke of luck and fortune. His presence alone was a living proof for Katara that her fragile hope wasn't pointless. Hope for the future, hope for her family. He proved that her hope... wasn't a lie.

So what could she do to keep her hope from being utterly heartbroken? She knew that there was nothing. And Ayaan knew that there was nothing. So, he thought back on how they survived their own version of heartbreak. Thinking back to those hard, painful days, there was only one answer that Ayaan could give his sister.

"Be there for him." He said, watching as Sokka was scared out of his sleep by Aang's prickle snake prank. "That is all we can do." They silently watched as Aang let out joyful laughter at his successful prank.

"Great! You're awake! Let's go!" Aang exclaims happily in contrast to Sokka's angry expression. They all eventually got on Appa, leaving the quaint river behind.

Ayaan would never get tired of the feeling of flying. It was an exhilarating experience, one he never thought he'd have in his life. Though the atmospheric change from being on the ground to being in the air bothered him a bit, he could ignore it for the amazing view.

To his right, he could see Sokka looking through his bags. He could hear his stomach growling, and his little brother's face scrunched up in annoyance and discomfort. "Hey, stomach? Be quiet, all right? I'm trying to find us some food."

"Did you eat all of your blubbered seal jerky with realizing it?" Ayaan asked. "This would not be the first time." He stated, earning an slightly embarrassed Sokka.

"N-no!" He quickly denied. "That didn't happen this time. I should still have some left. It's in here somewhere... Aha!" He pulls a bag out of his luggage, his mouth salivating at the thought of eating. It sways a bit in the wind as he reaches his hand inside. A look of surprise crosses his face as he doesn't feel anything, but it is quickly replaced with anticipation again when he flips it over.

All that falls out are crumbs.

"Uh-huh..." Ayaan says, "Sure you didn't."

"I didn't." Sokka replies to the accusation. Ayaan gives him a look. "...This time." Sokka whispers, before looking to the other two passengers. "Hey! Who ate all of my blubbered seal jerky?!" He demands to know.

He looked towards Ayaan, who tilted his head in confusion, just to cover all bases. The eldest had not eaten any of his jerky, for he had his own. Sokka turned his gaze to Katara, who denied having taken any. Aang was the only one left.

"Oh. That was food?" Aang spoke up happily, "I used it to start the campfire last night. Sorry."

"You what?!" Sokka deflates, his stomach growling as he longs for what would have been his lunch. "No wonder the flames smelled so good."

Ayaan could only shake his head.

He hadn't packed as much food as his brother because of his adept hunting skills. That was how the group had food most of the time during their journey so far.

He picked edible nuts and berries he found for Aang since the airbender did not eat meat. Although there hadn't been much vegetation in the south pole, he had learned to discern edible plants from his father and the other men of his tribe, who had hunted in many different places, before they left two years prior to now.

The young airbender had been pleasantly surprised when instead of meat the eldest of them offered him an abundance of sweet berries. It proved to him again how observant the older was.

And that observant someone was watching Sokka literally grieve his lost meal, sad longing murmurs almost drowned out by the protesting beast he called a stomach. No, it was not a stomach, it was a black hole that sucked in all things... His glutton of a little brother, what was he going to do with him?

Ayaan reached into his pack. He tapped the depressed Sokka on his shoulder lightly. Sokka, comically depressed and his stomach loudly cursing Aang's obliviousness to quality food, turned to his older brother. The answer to the question was obvious.

"Yea-" Before Sokka could say anything, a piece of dried meat was placed in his mouth.

Ayaan was going to feed him.

Sokka automatically began chewing, the flavor permeating his mouth before he realized his brother just fed him his food. "Ayaaann Broooo!" He burst into comical tears and tackled his brother. "Thank you, Ayaan Bro! I love you! You are the best, ever! My stomach agrees with me! You are awesome, best brother in the world. I love you so much right now! Did I tell you that I loved you?"

It oddly reminded Ayaan of when they were children.

"Yes, you did." Ayaan answered, stuffing another piece of the dried meat in his mouth. The others sweat dropped at the scene, but at least Sokka would be sated until they got to their destination. "That was all of my dried meat."

"What?! Nooo..." Sokka was back to longing for meat, his stomach only satisfied for the moment. Ayaan was shaking his head once again, so was Katara.

Aang was on a lookout for familiar land forms just beneath the clouds. Appa ascends some mountains without any wasted movement. He had flown these mountains all of his life, and so had Aang. The young airbender's eyes lit up in joy. "The Patola Mountain range! We're almost there!"

Katara twisted with unease. "Aang, before we get to the temple, I want to talk to you about the airbenders."

"What about 'em?" Aang replied cheerfully, ready to answer any question she could throw his way.

However, Katara did not share in his positivity. "Well, I just want you to be prepared for what you might see. The Fire Nation is ruthless. They killed my mother, and they could have done the same to your people." She gripped the necklace around her neck with a solemn expression. "They almost took Ayaan from us, too."

Ayaan said nothing, only absentmindedly gripping his spear. His face portrayed nothing, but his neutrality was a façade. Why did Katara feel the need to bring that up? Since it happened, that had been a subject kept silent, but she brings it back in those short sentences. He felt the briefest fit of rage and grief and phantom pain, the screams still fresh in his mind as if only yesterday.

He took a breath, taking in the crisp air to calm himself. Though his hand, which gripped his spear, did not ease. Only a few short sentences, and he was reminded of his hate and pain. In all of the wonder flight bestowed upon him, he'd let himself relax too much.

No matter how much he wanted to forget... That man's face appeared every time he closed his eyes. The personification of everything he hated, what would he do if he ever met that man again. If he came face to face with his mother's killer, what would he do?

'Freeze the tears in his eyes. Freeze the saliva in his mouth. Break every bone. Cut an artery and let him bleed, freeze it and do it again. Stab his every limb. Gut him, flay him, use him as live bait—'

"Just because no one has seen an airbender, doesn't mean the Fire Nation killed them all. They probably escaped!" Aang's hopeful voice draws him out of him thoughts.

Katara places a hand on his shoulder, "I know it's hard to accept."

'Acceptance is different for everyone, Katara.' Ayaan thought to himself.

It seemed while he was wallowing in his rage and pain, they were beginning to heal. He was happy that they healed, even if only a bit. He wanted there to be nothing but happiness in that notion but... it left him bitter for some reason. For some reason, he felt isolated. But this feeling was no stranger to him.

Eyes that looked at him with pity, with rage, with grief. Eyes that tried to hide their glances towards his scarred skin. Eyes he was familiar with and tired off. His scar did not take away from his looks in the opinion of others, but that was only because they only saw what little of it was on his face.

The scar was smooth, an even maroon color. But, it was large, and it was a burn. If they saw it in its full glory, their reaction would be closer to how Aang's was.

'...Does it hurt...?'

Ayaan knew that the only reason his scar was not a dry, horrid thing was because of luck and his 'blessing'. He was not sure if spirits were real, but their grandmother was sure of it and that was what she told him every time he asked. Every other burn he'd ever seen, from some of the warriors of his tribe to the enemy Prince Zuko, their scars had been horrendous and painful to look at.

It was just another thing that made him stand out. Another thing that made him different. He did not want to hate himself for being different, his mother did not hate him for it. His grandmother, his sister and brother, their father, their tribe, they loved him. But...

He didn't love being the strange one. He didn't loved being marked. He didn't love his silver hair or his pale skin, he hated his scar. He found faults in every strength he gained and isolated in everything he did because he was different.

But he would keep such thoughts to himself. It was not something he needed his family to worry about. He could take it. He had to. So, he sat silently, his face as neutral as it had always been, finding his calm in his grip on his weapon.

Aang and Katara were still talking, none the wiser to Ayaan's flipped mood.

Aang replied to Katara in that same hopeful and cheerful voice. "You don't understand, Katara. The only way to get to an airbender temple is on a flying bison, and I doubt the Fire Nation has any flying bison! Right, Appa?"

Said bison grunted in agreement with his partner.

"Yip-Yip!" Aang commanded, guiding Appa with the reigns. It was something that they'd done thousands of times before and would hopefully do many more times in the future. Within moments, their destination was in sight. A beautiful temple atop the tallest, steepest mountains there. The dusk's golden light lit the marble and grounds, familiar sights like the airball court could be clearly seen.

"Aang, it's amazing!" Katara said, her eyes full of wonder. Sokka could also be seen with wide eyes, agreeing with his sister's statement. Ayaan searched around, taking in everything he could from the sky. This place truly was one of the most beautiful he had ever scene, Aang hadn't been lying about that.

But one thing that Ayaan noticed, that the other's were probably too happy or awe-struck to notice, was that it was quiet. Not a single laugh, not a single chirp or growl, not a single step, not a single breath could be heard in this beautiful place.

Sharp, sudden pain ghosted across his scar, leaving as soon as it come and not even giving him time to gasp before it was gone. A feeling. A bad one.

It was never a good sign when he felt anything on that side of his body.

The joy radiated from Aang from where he sat. Even Appa seemed overjoyed to be home again. "We're home, buddy!" Aang says, squinting in happiness, "We're home." They neared the temple, going in for a place to land. Aang already had a plan of what he was going to show them. An entire tour plan was formulating in his mind.

Ayaan gripped his spear, his only solace from the occasional pain that spiked on his right side.

"Ayaan Bro? Are you okay?" Sokka asked, noticing the strange behavior.

"I'm fine. Come on, let's go." Ayaan dismissed, letting Aang take the lead the moment they landed. But he could not shake this unsettling eeriness despite the beautiful structures that surrounded them.

They made their way towards the temple.

...

..

.

Appa rested at the base of the snow covered stairs, having flown for a while to get there. He lowered his body atop his six enormous legs, the children hopping off of his saddle one by one.

"Get some rest buddy, you earned it." Aang told him. Appa grunted in response, lowering his large head to rest comfortably on the cool stone and snow. Ayaan was the next to get off, helping Sokka while Aang offered to help Katara. He still could not get over the odd vibes he was getting from their interactions, but he didn't investigate further because Katara was so happy.

'I have this odd urge to hold my spear menacingly in Aang's direction. But why? He isn't hurting Katara. Quite the opposite, actually. They are always talking to each other, and Katara seems so happy during their conversations.'

But he still felt like sharpening his spear, menacingly. He decided it wasn't an issue he had to worry about currently. After helping Sokka down, him and Katara following after the excited Aang who had already run off, he says his goodbyes to the dozing Appa.

"Thank you." Ayaan said quietly as he petted his fur, rubbing his hands through the softness. And his reward for his affection? A giant Appa-sized lick. It left Ayaan both disgusted and delighted, and he used the trick he always did to bend the saliva out of his clothes. It had become second nature at this point, the giant bison loved him a lot. It was natural.

While the others were sleeping or enjoying each other's company, Ayaan brushed Appa's fur, fed him, scratched behind his ears, and gave him lots of praises. Ayaan spoiled Appa.

He had learned from Aang that Appa enjoyed apples, but they had not run across any as of yet. Since this was their home, he was sure that they would come across fruit and vegetables growing wildly. He made sure to leave room in his pack to gather what he could find. He was sure that Aang and Appa would enjoy food locally found near their home more than anything else.

But for now, he needed to catch up with them. "I'm happy that you seem happy. Enjoy your rest, Appa." The bison grunted as he closed his eyes, taking an earned nap.

So Ayaan left to follow his siblings and Aang, trying his best to ignore the horrid feeling he was getting from this seemingly beautiful place.

The cold tip of a spear forced his head up, when his eyes met the assailant's, his body seized. Rage. A rage so deep and pure, he could barely fathom it. "Do you remember who I am?"