ATLA - Soaring

ATLA - Avatar The Last Airbender

AN

First and foremost, I am sorry for the silence over the last month. It's been a pretty terrible month and my responsibilities here were waylaid by other newer and more important ones. to make a long painful story short, I am approaching the age where older family members are starting to pass. Recently both of my grandparents passed necessitating me going to their funerals.

More recently, and closer to home, things have not been so great. For those of you unaware, I am a live-in caretaker for two disabled women. One of them, Leah, had an issue come up. Once investigated it was discovered that she had cervical cancer. She recently had a complete hysterectomy that was meant to be an outpatient procedure and ended up with her in the hospital for several days due to breathing issues. Likely from the anesthesia. They believe they got all of it, but to be on the safe side she's still getting radiation treatments.

With how things have been, I've felt the need to write something a little more light hearted to get my mind away from darker topics. In that spirit, the Avatar the Last Airbender Netflix adaptation recently came out. While it has its problems its infinitely better than that abortion of a movie that couldn't even pronounce Aang's name right. I've always wanted to write something in the Avatar world, so I took this time to do so.

This first chapter can be a little sad, but hopefully it's more happy than sad and it will lead into more joyful adventures. I'll probably cover several episodes in each chapter, but this one is just the introduction of the new character and him joining the Gaang. Let me know what you all think.

-----Line Break-----

Chapter 1

A soul floated through the Between, the place where all souls visit once their fleshy vessels expire. With no flesh the souls had no feeling. No sight. No sound. No smell. No touch. All they can do is float while thinking about their lives and waiting for what comes next. Souls constantly appeared and disappeared from the Between.

A soul that had been floating within the Between for an unknown amount of time had its musing interrupted by the sudden appearance of a screen filled with writing. The soul was dreadfully confused for a while. It hadn't seen anything since its death and couldn't help wondering how it was seeing something without eyes. After a moment it realized the 'why' didn't matter at all and read the message.

[Greetings!

The time for your reincarnation has come. Your karma has been weighed and your reward options have been decided. Your karmic value is evaluated as excellent. Your reward is reincarnation into a random reality you are familiar with and liked. Due to the structural reality of the chosen dimension your rewards have been altered.

Your new reality has been chosen. You know the reality as 'Avatar The Last Airbender (Cartoon).']

…

“What?”

[Due to the above average value of your karma, you have multiple options for your reincarnation. Due to this fact, you may ask questions and will receive prompt answers.]

“What the hell is going on? I'm dead... can the dead hallucinate?”

[You are being reincarnated and offered rewards for the karma you accumulated in your previous life.

No, souls cannot hallucinate.]

The soul had no idea how to deal with the information being presented to it. It took time for it to come to grips with its new reality. How long? It was impossible to tell. It could have been seconds or millenia. Finally, the soul focused back on the display before it.

“So I am being given a new life within the world shown in the Avatar cartoon?”

[Correct.]

“When would I be reborn?”

[At some point within 1-10 years before the awakening of the Avatar by the water tribe siblings.]

“Can... can I be a bender?”

[Affirmative.]

If possible, the soul would have danced. It thought for a bit and had to ask.

“Can I bend all four elements like the Avatar?”

[Negative.

Karmic value only great enough for dual elemental bending.]

“Wait! I could bend two elements?!”

[Affirmative.]

That excited the soul. No one but the Avatar could bend more than a single element. People in the world were either benders, or non benders, with only the avatar being able to bend all four of the elements. That did make the soul wonder though.

“If I pick two elements, how strong would I be with them?”

[Above average.]

The soul wasn't clear on what that meant.

“How would I compare to Azula?”

Azula was the prodigy fire bender of the royal family. If she wasn't batshit crazy she probably would have maintained her position above her brother Zuko in their final battle.

[As a dual bender your maximum potential would be less than the one known as Azula.]

The soul didn't like the sound of that. While being able to bend two elements would give him an advantage, having a lower potential didn't sound good.

“What if I just pick a single element?”

[As a bender of a single element, your maximum potential would be at the level of the Avatar in the Avatar State.]

That caused the soul some surprise.

“Why such a huge difference?”

[Your karmic value determines the maximum potential of your bending in your new life. By splitting your potential in half to bend two elements, your maximum for each individual element is lower. By putting all of the potential into a single element, it can reach heights rarely seen.]

“So.... if my maximum potential is three, I can either have two elements at 1.5 or one at 3?”

[Affirmative.]

So his maximum potential didn't change, just how many directions it would be pulled in. The soul didn't recall being a genius, but it seemed like picking a single element was the way to go. If a fire nation soldier could be considered 'average' and 'above average' was below Azula, then if he was a dual bender he would be between the soldiers and Azula, on the level of minor named characters like those dudes on the rhinos.

Those dudes lost every time to the main characters.

Unacceptable.

If he focused on a single element through, he would be as strong in that element as Aang would be when in his Avatar state. That was an impressive amount of power to wield and would put him on par with, and above some, of the named main characters in the series.

Alright, he was going to go with a single element.

Now the question was... which element?

All four main elements could do some very impressive things. Fire and Earth bending would be the two most prominent ones. They were the only two nations that could still be called nations. The Air nation, or Air nomads, were extinct. The Water nation was reduced to just a single city in the north pole.

Okay, first things first. Water was out. Despite it's power and versatility, along with things like blood bending, the soul did not want to live in a city of ice. The cold was unpleasant, so that was out.

Earthbending was similarly dismissed. While it was strong and the soul was sure it could learn seismic sense and metal bending, it didn't want to be reliant on available resources. If it was ever somewhere without earth or metal nearby, it might as well be a non-bender.

That left just fire and air. Fire was the closest element to pure Energy Bending. It was also the only element that could be produced by the bender. The other three required the element to be present. No water nearby? No water bending. Same thing for Earth bending. Although, in the case of Air bending, it was a moot point.

Well, unless their was space travel in the series that the soul was unaware of.

The problem with Firebending is how taboo it was to all nations but the Fire Nation. If the soul picked fire it would automatically be assumed to be an 'Evil Fire Bender' out to get people. It would make living in the world a bit of an issue unless it stuck to Fire Nation territory. The soul didn't like that idea very much.

As for Air bending... Well the Avatar was the last living Airbender in existence. It would be extremely hard to learn. However, it was the soul's belief that Airbending was the deadliest of all elements. Yes, any element could kill, and could kill easily. Only Air could silently and easily kill any living thing.

Vacuum bending.

Every element had secondary things that could be bent. Fire had Lightning. Water had Ice. Earth had Metal. And the soul was certain Air had Vacuum. But, just in case...

“Is Vacuum bending possible for a strong enough Air bender?”

[Affirmative.]

“And if I chose Air, I would be a strong enough bender?”

[Affirmative.]

“If I choose to become an Airbender, how would I learn to use my bending?”

[You will reincarnate near an available teacher willing to teach you for any element you select. In the case of choosing two elements, you must pick which you wish to learn first.]

The soul took some time to think about its choice. It was certain it wanted either Firebending or Airbending. Both were powerful and offered a wide range of options. With Fire he would have regular flame attacks, lightning, and the soul was certain it heard something about lava bending? Maybe? Which would be awesome as hell.

Then their was Air. It would give him a near invisible means of attacking, multiple options for fast movement, vacuum bending, and even autonomous flight. Provided he could figure out how to fly like a Sky Bison did. It would also be a lot less reviled than Firebending is out in the majority of the world.

Harder to learn, more easily accepted Air bending.

Or.

Easier to learn, more reviled Fire bending.

“I want to be reborn as the most powerful Airbender I can possibly be. Can I be reborn at the Southern Air Temple?”

[Choice selected and locked. Beginning reincarnation.]

“Wait! You didn't answer my...!”

The soul vanished in a flash of light as it was placed in a new body in its new home reality.

-----Line Break-----

The soul opened it's eyes and found itself staring up into a clear blue sky with hardly a cloud. It... no, he could feel a gentle breeze and hear leaves moving in the wind. It felt... really really nice. It was like the wind was speaking to him in a soft voice using a lyrical language he couldn't understand. It was... peaceful in the extreme.

He closed his eyes and relaxed, taking in a deep breath and slowly letting it out. After what he had just gone through, he expected he would be feeling something other than this peace and contentment. But he was definitely not complaining about how he currently felt. He took in another deep breath, feeling the air flowing into his lungs and filling them up. He focused on the feeling of the exhale, the air leaving his lungs and rejoining the rest around him.

Never had breathing felt so... he didn't have the words. It was a powerful feeling that radiated deep into his core and he loved it.

He opened his eyes and the moment of pure peace was instantly broken. A massive white creature's head was now over his face. A creature with a very big mouth full of big teeth. With a strangled yelp, that sounded far too high pitched, he jerked his head away from the thing and scrambled away as fast as he could.

Once he scrambled far enough away, he turned to face the beast and froze. Now that he wasn't staring into a huge mouth filled with teeth, he could recognize the creature for what it was. It didn't look exactly like it had in either the cartoon or the Netflix show, but he could still recognize a Sky Bison when seeing one.

“You scared me.”

He tilted his head in confusion at hearing his own voice. It had a much higher pitch than he felt it should have. With the moment of peace lost and recognizing the Sky Bison, he finally took a moment to process the feelings of his new body and examine it to get a better understanding of his situation.

He did not approve of the things he found. First, he was a he so that was a nice plus. What wasn't was his age. He had no memories of a life in this world so he didn't know his exact age. However, his examination of his tiny hands, skinny arms, and chicken legs, left him certain he was a preteen. His height also brought doubts and made him feel that he couldn't be any older than ten. Perhaps even younger. There was just no way to tell.

After examining himself, he examined his surroundings and presumed he was in one of the air temples. The only thing he could determine from looking around is that he wasn't in the Western Air Temple. That one was built upside down under an overhang into a canyon. All the damaged buildings he could see meant he was in one of the other three. Until he explored more he was unlikely to figure out which one.

After taking in himself and his surroundings, his focus returned to the Sky Bison. The massive creature had quietly remained in place watching him with it's large brown eyes. Looking at the large creature, he got the impression that it was rather old. It's fur was less bright white and more grey while the arrow shaped patch of fur on its head was splotched with lighter spots.

It was laying on the ground in an area that was clearly its home. Had he just appeared out of nowhere in front of the bison? Weird. He studied the large creature as it studied him in turn. Feeling awkward, he spoke up in his squeaky prepubescent voice, “Uhm. Hello?”

He got the distinct impression that the bison was amused as it opened its mouth and gave a little groan that he took to mean it was greeting him in turn. Feeling a bit better after talking, he continued to engage the large, rather intelligent, animal, “So, I don't suppose you could tell me which air temple this is?”

The bison let out another groan in reply while it's large beaver-like tail flapped on the ground lazily.

“Right, didn't think so. Well. I'm... Right. I don't have a name but I'm a brand new airbender!” He looked down at his little hands and clenched them into fists, “I don't suppose you know where my teacher is? I was promised one would be nearby.” He looked around once more but still didn't see anyone, “Is that one guru guy around here somewhere? I don't think he was a bender at all, but he knew stuff so... maybe? Even if not, I'm sure he could get me started.”

The bison shook it's head while letting out a groan. He looked at the bison and frowned, “No one else here but us huh?”

He heard a chirping sound and looked off to the side where he spotted a family of familiar looking animals, “Are those lemurs? Does that make this the southern air temple? I don't remember if there were lemurs at any other temples.”

A groan brought his attention back to the bison. It was looking at him rather intensely. He frowned as he studied the bison before a vague memory entered his mind. A memory of Aang talking about Airbenders learning from Sky Bison the same way Firebenders learned from Dragons, Waterbenders learned from the moon, and Earthbenders learned from Badgermoles.

“You! You're supposed to be my teacher!”

The bison let out another long groan and flapped its large tail. He wasn't really sure what that meant. Honestly, he had no idea what anything the bison did meant, he was mostly just going by what he hoped it meant.

He sighed and climbed to his feet, “Okay. First...” His stomach growled, loudly, “Food. Food first.”

He looked around with a frown. He didn't see anything in the nearby trees that looked like fruit or something edible. Even if he did see something he had no idea if it actually would be edible or not. There were fruits and vegetables in the Avatar world that he'd never heard of and wouldn't be able to identify.

The bison looked at him for a moment before it climbed to its six feet and walked toward the edge of the area they were in. The area was a decent size and had railings around the edge leading to open air. With a flap of its tail and push of its legs, the bison took off into the air. He watched the bison as it left with a frown on his face, “Well, goodbye then. I guess.”

He looked around the area some more to get a feel for where he was. With the Bison gone, he could now see a staircase leading out of the alcove he was in and leading into the building, presumably. The area he was in was pretty large but with the new information, he figured he was in the area the Sky Bison's would relax or sleep, their stables or bedroom or whatever it might be called.

The trees he'd spotted were accompanied by vines and were likely a result of seeds and such being dropped in the area over the last near century. Nature reclaiming what man made. It reminded him about documentaries about what the world would look like if mankind just vanished one day.

He shook the thought off and walked over to the edge of the area where he rested his hands on the balustrade protecting him from walking over the edge. He looked down and gaped at the vision before him. It was like the entire world was spread out for him to view from on high. He was near the top of one of the air temple buildings and could see for miles and miles all around. The world he could see was so... green.

His gaze moved down to look at the distance between himself and the ground. He was rather surprised that he didn't feel any fear, or even trepidation, at the height he found himself standing at. This was surprising because he clearly remembered being terrified of heights. He hadn't even liked getting on step stools and here he was staring down a drop of several thousand feet with no fear.

Objectively, he knew he couldn't fly, yet. Even if he had one of the Airbender staff glider things, he wouldn't be able to use it to fly. He had zero idea how to Airbend currently and had no idea how he was going to learn to do it from a Sky Bison. Still, if Toph could learn Earthbending from Badgermoles, he was certain he could learn from the Sky Bison.

He turned his eyes up and looked out toward the horizon, “I need a name.” He smiled at the first name to come to mind. It was probably cliché and lame, but he didn't care, “Sora.”

It was his name, and a promise to himself. Some day he would soar freely in the sky.

-----Line Break-----

Sora lay on his back staring up at the sky above him. It had been some time, probably hours, since the bison had left. He'd explored the stairs and found that they became a dead ended shortly after the entrance. A collapse of some sort that buried the path in rubble. The stones were far too large and heavy for him to move. It left him trapped where he was, for now. He'd need to do more exploring to find out if there were other paths. The problem was...

His stomach growled loudly. Something he'd been trying to ignore for a while now. He was starving. Honestly, he wondered if the body he was in had ever eaten anything before. He had no memories of a life lived in this world so he had no idea. For all he knew, whatever reincarnated him into this world had simply made him a new body and deposited his soul into it.

With no idea how to leave the area, and lacking the energy to do so, Sora had decided to lay down and watch the sky. It had been... peaceful. He could feel the wind, see the thin clouds moving across the wide expanse of blue and watched as it slowly darkened signaling night coming. Maybe it was the fact that he was now an Airbender, but watching the sky like that had birthed a deep desire within him, a desire to be up among those clouds.

Without realizing it, Sora had slipped into a state of meditation. His mind was quiet as his eyes watched the sky and his skin felt the moving air currents. It was wonderfully peaceful, which is why he was slightly annoyed when the quiet was interrupted by the loud groan of the Sky Bison returning from wherever it had gone.

Sora sat up and watched as the massive beast delicately landed on the platform not too far from where he'd first seen it. The bison, after returning to its resting spot, spit out a large melon-like fruit that rolled to a stop not too far from where Sora had sat up. Sora looked down at the fruit, surprisingly clear of slobber, and then back up to the Bison, “You brought food for me?”

The bison gave out a groan that Sora took as meaning 'yes'. He crawled over to the fruit, which was about half the size of his currently very small body, “Thank you!”

He hefted the fruit into his lap and gave it a good punch to break the outer rind. The fruit reminded him of a watermelon, though when he cracked it open, the flesh inside was a strange blue color. He dug out a handful of the juicy flesh and quickly chowed down on it. It was only after the first bit of juice entered his mouth that he realized how thirsty he was as well.

The fruit had a flavor he couldn't quite describe. It was like a mixture between tangy raspberry and mild watermelon. After a few handfuls that helped slate his hunger and thirst, Sora looked at the Sky Bison, “While you were gone I decided on a name for myself. Hi! I'm Sora! It's nice to meet you!”

The Sky Bison let out a long groan that had Sora nodding along, “I like it too! But you're right, I should finish eating.”

By the time he finished eating the rather large fruit, Sora was full and no longer thirsty. Unfortunately, the sun had been setting for some time and the temperature had been doing down with it. Sora could still see but he was certain that once the sun set he would be in pitch black darkness with only the light of the stars... and moon probably. Okay so he had no idea how dark the night might be, but he could tell it was going to be pretty chilly.

Sora looked over at the casually lounging bison and called out, “I don't suppose you would mind if I slept next to you?”

The bison, whom had been watching him with its soft brown eyes while resting its head on its front legs, let out a soft groan and adjusted its position to be slightly more on its side.

“That seems as much like an invitation as anything else.”

Sora climbed to his feet and made his way over to the bison. As he got closer, he could actually feel the temperature in the air change. The bison, as a large warm blooded mammal, was putting out a fair amount of heat. Sora wondered how the bison dealt with summer heat. For now through, he was glad for the heat the bison was putting out.

He gently reached out and placed his hands on the bison's fur. It was a little rough to the touch, not nearly as soft as Aapa's had looked. Then again, he was certain this Bison was much older than Aapa had been. It didn't matter though. Sora sat down on the cold stone floor and leaned against the bison. Sadly, this put him under an overhang and blocked his view of the night sky.

It was only moments later that the stress of the day and the rhythmic breathing of the bison he was cuddling up to put him to sleep.

-----Line Break-----

Sora slowly inhaled, drawing air deep into his lungs while he focused on a small fruit sitting a few feet away from himself. His inhalation was causing a gust of wind that was pulling the fruit toward him by rolling it along the ground.

This was the first lesson the Bison was attempting to teach him. He'd watched the bison demonstrate the ability to pull fruit to its mouth with a simple inhalation. For Sora it wasn't quite as easy. He'd been working on it daily for over a week now and he could barely make the fruit roll toward himself from a couple of feet away. The bison had shown itself capable of pulling one of the large watermelon-like fruits from the opposite side of the area with a simple quick suction of air.

Okay, so Sora had to admit to himself that he wasn't a bending prodigy like Toph who could Earthbend after spending minutes among Badger Moles. He hadn't been offered the ability to be a prodigy though. He'd been given sheer power equal to an Avatar in the Avatar state. The problem was learning how to tap into that power and put it to good use.

After several long drawn out inhales, he finally managed to roll the fruit right up to where he was sitting lotus style. As he reached down to pick it up, the bison let out a sharp breath that blew the fruit a good dozen feet away from Sora.

Sora groaned and flopped onto his back to stare up at the sky. This was how things had been going for him for a while now. Anytime he got the fruit close enough to pick up, a precise blast of air from the bison would knock it away again. Sora didn't want to think about that though. Right now he was zoning out, letting his mind wander and his body relax as he stared at the clouds dotting the sky.

While he hadn't been as exceptional at Airbending as he'd hoped, he knew he was learning. The fruit moving was proof of that. He could feel something stirring inside of himself, his Chi he hoped. He'd started meditating like this after every attempt to try and get a better feel for the energy inside of his body. He knew it was the key to bending and until he could use it properly, he would have trouble in all of his attempts.

-----Line Break-----

Sora inhaled sharply and instantly a small fruit over fifty feet away leaped off of the ground and flew through the air at him like a missile. Sora, grinning like a loon. Snatched the fruit out of the air and took a large bite out of it in victory!

A month. It took him an entire month to learn how to use his Chi and the suction action of inhaling to draw the fruit into his grasp. The hardest part had been feeling his Chi. Now that he could, he understood why it was so hard before. While he had no one to compare to, he could instinctively tell that his reserves of Chi were massive. Slumbering within his body had been an ocean of power just waiting to be tapped into.

Which was a problem all on its own. The first time he fully tapped into it and tried to draw a fruit to himself, he succeeded in only smashing himself in the chest with it. The sheer power of the suction had launched the fruit like a cannonball that slammed painfully into his chest. It hit so hard he'd knocked himself down and ended up covered in fruit juice and pulp.

After that, he'd had to focus on using precise amounts of energy. Too much and the fruit became a painful projectile. He had bruises to attest to that. Too little and it barely moved.

A low groan came from behind him drawing his attention to the Sky Bison that had been watching him closely. Sora had begun learning how to judge what the Bison was feeling from the sound of its groans and the looks it gave him. He honestly couldn't help wondering if the Bison had near human intelligence. It was certainly more intelligent than some people he remembered meeting in his last life!

The bison climbed to its six feet and turned around. With a flick of it's large, flat, beaver-like tail, the bison sent a powerful blast of air over the edge of the platform. Sora paid extremely close attention to the actions of the bison. After learning to feel his own reserves of energy, he'd gained a modicum of ability to sense it in the bison.

It was faint, but he could feel the bison's energy stir as the tail had moved. The bison used more than sheer strength to send out wind blasts. Though the shape and power of its tail no doubt helped improve its ability. Much the way fans and staves helped Airbenders.

Sora turned away from the bison and couldn't stop himself from smiling and feeling excited. While pulling the fruit to himself was nifty, he felt like this would be his first real attempt at Airbending. It was just so exciting!

He decided to mimic the bison to the best of his abilities. To that end, he flattened his hand out, gathered his focus and energy, then swung his arm in the same way the bison had swung its tail. There was an explosion of powerful wind. Sora let out a yelp as he was blasted backwards to slam onto the ground a few feet away from where he'd been standing.

As he groaned, Sora would swear he could hear the bison laughing at him. Though when he looked all he saw was the bison giving him its usual placid look.

“Laugh it up fuzzball.”

-----Line Break-----

Sora swayed and moved around in a seemingly random way. To an outsider it would appear that he was attempting some form of martial art or dancing to a tune in his own head. In a way he was dancing, with the wind. Every little change in the way the air moved elicited a response from how he moved.

It had been over a year since he appeared in the temple and his growth as an Airbender had been phenomenal. He might have had a rough start, but now he could do just about anything he set his mind to with relative ease.

As he danced with the wind, a white lemur flew by, the change in the air from its movement causing a change in how Sora moved. He was at peace with himself and the world around him, enjoying every movement in that moment.

Honestly, he'd barely even thought of the outside world since he'd arrived. His whole focus had been on learning Airbending and it had become his entire life. His schedule was pretty simple. He would wake up and meditate, though he preferred his current method of moving meditation. The Bison would take off after a few hours and spend a good portion of the day away. Sora would practice his latest lesson until he mastered it or the bison returned. Then he would eat the fruits and vegetables that the bison brought home.

Honestly, Sora would murder for a good steak. While living a vegetarian lifestyle wasn't the most horrendous thing ever, it was definitely a bland existence.

Sora stopped moving and opened his eyes at the familiar sound of the bison groaning at him. He turned to face the precipice where the bison comfortably floated in the air. Sora could see a collection of fruits that the bison had collected. However, instead of coming back onto the platform like usual, the bison gave its tail a flap and flew back down and out of sight.

Sora frowned at the change in behavior while walking to the edge to look down. About a thousand feet down, he could see the bison resting in an open area filled with grass, small trees, and what Sora could only assume was an obstacle course and training area for Airbenders.

There was nothing but open air and a straight drop between the platform he was on and the ground. He could see the bison looking up at him and hear it let out a loud, rather challenging, roar.

Sora's lips curled into an excited smile, “Game on!”

He took a few steps back to gain some distance, then charged forward and leaped off of the edge of the platform. Gravity immediately grabbed him and threw him toward the ground. Yet, instead of fear, all Sora felt was excitement and joy. He even laughed as he fell toward the ground.

Sora flipped through the air and aimed his feet at the ground while curling his legs. With a soft grunt, he shot his legs out along with a strong blast of air. The burst caused his fall to slow dramatically. Though it definitely didn't halt his drop. Sora began cycling his legs, kicking out with his left, then his right, followed by the left over and over. Each time he did he sent out a blast of air from his bare soles.

The speed of his fall drastically lowered as he did an Airbender knock-off of the Geppo from One Piece. He hadn't quite mastered keeping himself in the air with it, but he could easily give himself bursts that would drastically slow his fall or allow him to change his direction in mid-air. It was something he'd been practicing for the last month.

As he reached the ground, Sora let out a long blast of air from his entire body that allowed him to delicately touch down with his bare feet. He crossed his arms over his bare chest and gave the bison a self satisfied smile, “How was that?!”

The bison very clearly rolled it's eyes at him. It gestured to a small pile of gathered fruit nearby. Once Sora saw it, the bison lay down on the grass and relaxed. Sora gathered the fruit and looked at his companion. Over the last year the grey in its hair and the splotches on its arrow had grown more noticeable. Sora didn't know when, but he was certain that the bison didn't have much time left.

As he ate, Sora looked at his surroundings. Now that he'd left the platform, he would need to do some exploring. He needed some new, or new-ish, clothing pretty badly. The clothing he'd arrived it had been reduced to tatters that he wore around his waist as a makeshift kilt. His hair was a complete mess and he was just lucky that he could clean himself off in rain water while living up on the platform. Now that he'd gotten himself off of it, he would have to see about improving his living conditions to above 'caveman'.

-----Line Break-----

Sora lay on the grass, resting his back against the bison, which was currently sleeping. Above him the sky was filled with sparkling stars. He was certain that he'd never seen a sky filled with so many stars. Even after being able to see it for years now it still awed him. By his reckoning, he had been living in the Southern Air Temple for four years now.

He knew it was the Southern Air Temple for sure now. After he'd first left the platform, he'd explored and found the body of Monk Gyatso, Aang's mentor and friend. He'd done the proper thing and buried the body. In fact, any body he found he buried with respects. The war meant nothing to him and had no impact on his life, neither did the deaths of Airbenders and Firebenders from a century ago. He just did what was right.

Thankfully, his explorations had let him find some new clothing. He'd had to explore deep inside of the temple, but he'd eventually found some clothing that had been protected from time and the weather. It was nice not to be nearly naked all the time. Not that nudity bothered him considering he lived all alone. He'd go days without dressing, just feeling the air brushing across his skin and moving with it.

There was nothing better than dancing in the wind while completely sky clad.

He'd also made use of the obstacle course, and various other tools that had been left behind, for training. It had greatly improved his maneuverability and now he could practically fly through the air. Between his knock-off Geppo and his maneuverability, it was the closest he could come to flight without it being actual flight.

Sora closed his eyes, preparing to get some sleep, when the bison moved. Sora sat up and looked over at the bison, curious about what was happening. It rarely moved at night so it was unusual for the large creature to be moving about. Seeing it climb onto its six legs, he, in turn, climbed to his feet, “Is everything alright?”

The bison turned its head so they were eye to eye. It let out a low rumbling groan that sounded sad to Sora. The bison leaned its head down and pressed it gently into Sora. In response, Sora spread his arms and tried his best to hug the giants head, “What's going on big guy?”

The bison slowly pulled back and looked into Sora's eyes once more while letting out another groan. Sora could feel the sadness within it and felt tears building in the corners of his eyes, “But it's too soon! What will I do without you?”

The bison let out a groan that seemed to be trying to reassure and encourage Sora. He let his tears fall freely when the bison pulled back and slowly rose into the air. He watched, helpless, as the ancient bison flew off into the distance. Sora knew the bison had been in pain for a long time, learning about it shortly after he arrived. It took him a while to understand that the bison stuck around just for him. It forced itself to live, to take care of him, to teach him.

Now its time was up.

Sora could take care of himself now. He wasn't aware of it, but he was now a Master Airbender. There wasn't anything left that he could be taught. Only experience and life could teach him anything new. It was time for the bison to take its well earned rest.

Sora watched until the bison was no longer in sight. His tears flowed freely and it wasn't until the bison was no longer in sight that he collapsed to the ground and gave voice to the sadness he felt. His cries echoed through the now even more empty temple.

It wasn't until he'd finally calmed down that Sora noticed something important.

He was no longer on the ground.

Sora, surprised, looked around and noted that he was freely floating just a few feet above the ground. He could feel his chi stirring but a surprisingly small amount of it was being used to keep him aloft. He wiggled a little in the air and began moving. It only took a few minutes before he was flying through the air as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

It once again brought tears to his eyes. He could fly! It was the most amazing thing in the world, but it would forever remind him of this day.

-----Line Break-----

Sora lay on his back, hovering hundreds of feet in the air and just watching the clouds float gently across the sky. He'd spent the last seven months since the Bison had left him doing nothing but living and practicing. His skill and strength had improved, but he hadn't really learned anything new.

He let his body move with the wind and smiled as the white fur sewn into the collar of his jacket tickled his cheek. While bison was still around he'd collected a ton of fur to make things like a soft bed and blankets stuffed with it. As a tribute to his first Master, he'd taken some of the fur, scraps of cloth, and a bone needle, to make some rough clothing that included tufts of fur at the collar and cuffs.

Sora jerked up to a sitting position as a sound he hadn't heard in months drifted on the winds. He spun around in the air until he saw a black spec a good distance away in the air and heading toward his location.

Excitement filled him. If that was what he thought it was, life was going to get interesting for him! Ohhh adventures and excitement! He scrambled through the air swinging his arms and legs like a cartoon character before he launched himself through the air and toward the ground. He could fly over to them, but that seemed wrong. Aang was coming here to look for the Airbenders. Originally, he would find none. Today he would find Sora.

Sora practically bounced in place as he watched Aapa approach. As the flying bison got closer, he could see three people sitting on him. Aang was easy to see. Not only was he wearing the brightest clothing, but he was sitting on Aapa's head and holding the reins. Behind him, actually sitting in the saddle, were the water tribe siblings Sokka and Katara.

As they got closer he could see them more clearly. In turn, they could see him as well. He heard Aang's voice on the wind as he turned to tell the siblings, “See! I told you there would be Airbenders!”

Both Katara and Sokka looked unconvinced and even concerned as they looked between Aang and Sora on the ground. Katara was the one to give voice to their worries, “Just... be careful Aang. It's true that no one has seen an Airbender in a hundred years. That boy might not even be one. His clothes even look different than yours. Not to mention the hair.”

Sora unconsciously reached up and touched the shaggy dark hair on his head. Was there something wrong with his hair? He knew it wasn't the greatest because he couldn't take proper care of it, but it wasn't weird of something... was it? There were no mirrors in the temple and he couldn't get a good look at himself in puddle because the wind blowing through the temple never let them settle and become mirror-like.

“Hey, I think he can hear us! He started touching his hair after you mentioned it Katara.”

Aang and Katara looked at Sora and saw that, indeed, he was touching his hair. Aang's subsequent smile nearly split his face in half, “I told you he was an Airbender! He can hear us on the wind!”

Moments later Aapa landed and Aang immediately leaped off of the bison and charged up to Sora. Aang was practically bouncing in place in his excitement, “Hi! I'm Aang! I was so worried that there wouldn't be anyone else here!” He leaned to the side to look past Sora at the decrepit remains of the temple, “Where is everyone else?”

While Aang was engaging Sora, Katara and Sokka had moved off of Aapa and made their way closer to the pair of Airbenders. Sora looked over the three of them. Though his smile had faded at Aang's last question. He looked at Aang and realized he was taller. Then again, he put his own age as somewhere between fourteen and seventeen. He honestly wasn't sure and had no idea how to find out.

Sora wasn't sure how to answer the younger boys question. He became more serious and gestured to the others to follow him, “Follow me.”

He led them into the complex and toward where he had buried the skeletons that had infested the temple grounds. As they walked, Katara spoke up, “I'm Katara and this is my brother Sokka.”

Sora looked over his shoulder and gave Katara a soft smile, “Sora.”

Katara gave him a smile in return before asking, “Are you really an Airbender? We believed they were all gone and that Aang was the last one.”

Sora faced forward to keep track of where they were going. He gave a casual wave of his hand and sent a harmless gust of air rolling down the hallway they were walking through. This elicited a gasp of surprise from Katara, a look of intrigue from the still suspicious Sokka, and a laugh from Aang.

Aang, still grinning in excitement, asked, “Who taught you? If they were really old I might have known them!”

Sora glanced over his shoulder and then faced forward once more, “I woke up here a few years ago, no memories of my past with only a Sky Bison to keep me company.”

Aang gasped in surprise, “You learned from a sky bison?! That's so cool!”

He frowned as he thought that over, “But, if a bison was teaching you, where are the other Airbenders?”

As Aang finished asking, they stepped out of the tunnel and into a wide open courtyard. Aang got his answer as he saw the rows of grave markers filling the courtyard. Sora calmly gestured to the rows of grave markers, “I'm sorry. I did what I could to honor them.”

After showing Aang the graveyard, Sora turned and walked back into the temple. He did not enjoy the graveyard and didn't want to be there while Aang came to grips with reality. He had his two friends for that. After walking a bit, he heard footsteps behind him and turned to look. Sokka had apparently chosen to follow him. As Sokka saw Sora looking at him, he lifted his hand and waved while putting on a smile, “You wouldn't happen to have any food, would you?”

Sora nodded, “Sure, follow me.”

The two walked in silence as Sora led the way to the kitchen. It had been in rough shape but he'd managed to clean it up and get it working. When they arrived, he threw some wood into the stove, used some spark stones to light the tinder, then gently bent air to feed the flames until they were roaring. He collected a badly dented pot and placed it on the stove so it could begin heating, “It's only vegetable stew, but it's something.”

As the stew reached a good temperature, the pair were joined by a sad looking Aang and supportive Katara. Aang looked at Sora, “Thank you, for burying them.”

Sora nodded, “I wasn't sure what the traditions are for Airbenders so I did what I could.”

There was silence while Sora dished out the stew to everyone. He'd only found five bowls in the entire temple that hadn't been completely broken. Even so, they all had chips and small cracks in them. After the first bite, Katara was the one to speak up, “This is pretty good.”

Sokka didn't look as enthusiastic, “It needs meat.”

Sora chuckled, “There's nothing up here to hunt for meat. I've been eating nothing but fruits and vegetables for years now.”

Sokka put on an exaggerated commiserating look as he pat Sora on the shoulder, “I'm so sorry for your suffering.”

Sora chuckled a little, “It's nice to have people here.”

Katara looked at him concerned, “Have you really been here all alone for years?”

Sora lifted his hand and wiggled it back and forth, “Kinda. When I first woke up on one of the higher tiers I wasn't completely alone. There was a Sky Bison there, an old one. It taught me how to Airbend and spent the rest of its life with me. Then, about a year ago, it flew off and never returned.”

Aang looked a little sad as he explained, “It's rare, but it happens when a Sky bison outlives its partner, or never gets one. It's possible that the bison you knew had lived here since before... before the attack. Anyway, they'll know their time has come and will fly off to find a final resting place.”

Sora nodded, “Since then it's just been me and the small family of lemur's that live here still.”

Aang perked up, “Lemurs! I love playing with Lemurs!”

From there conversation died down as everyone enjoyed their meal. It wasn't the greatest. Just barely past edible really. But that was expected when it was made of wild vegetables and rain water with no spices at all. Sora had no clue what plants were even edible, let alone what was spices. As for salt? He had no way to get it, that he was aware of.

Once the meal was over, Aang looked around, “You know, there's one spot that I should visit while we're here.”

Aang led the group to a massive door covered with intricate tubes. As he stepped in front of the door, “Only several Airbenders or a single master can get this door open. I never saw it opened while I was here training.”

Aang did a little spin and thrust his hands out sending out two powerful torrents of air that flowed into wide openings on the door. The air flowed through the tubes and flipped three locks open before opening the door itself. The group of four walked into the massive room to see a collection of statues of men and women from all four nations. As they looked them over, Katara gasped, “It's the Avatar cycle!”

She pointed to the statue of a stately man with a beard and his hair up in a bun, “Fire.” She pointed to the one next to him, “Earth.” Then the next, “Water.” And then the next, “Air. And on and on it goes.”

Aang walked up to the statue of Roku and looked it over closely, “No wonder I feel like I know them.”

As they continued to look over the statues, a chittering sound came from near the door. Everyone looked and spotted a small white creature with wings, black fur on its face, and green eyes. Aang happily exclaimed, “Lemur!”

Everyone chuckled as Aang and the Lemur, now officially named Momo, instantly hit it off.

With nothing else to do, the group made their way back outside to where Aapa was relaxing. Aang turned to look at the temple once more, sadness marring his features for a moment. When the moment passed he gave a small formal bow to the temple. Once he straightened he looked at Sora, “You should come with us Sora! I don't know how much you learned from the Bison that taught you, but I can help you finish your bending training.”

Aangs smile grew bright, “When you become a master we can even get you the tattoos!” His eyes strayed to Sora's long messy hair, “And maybe we should shave your head.”

Sora reached up and clamped both hands on his head while looking aghast, “No way!”

Katara giggled from Aapa's saddle, “Maybe just a haircut?” she offered.

Sora looked at her warily, “I can agree to a haircut, but not bald!”

He looked back to Aang, “As for tattoos.... Maybe.”

Aang shrugged while letting the matter go, “Alright. It might be a while before I declare you a master anyway.”

Aang crouched and leaped into the air with a spin and burst of wind to land on Aapa's head, “Come on! Get on and lets get going!”

Sora rolled his eyes, “What, not even going to let me pack?”

Everyone looked a little abashed at that. Though Katara, ever the more mature one, spoke first, “Oh, right. We can wait.”

Sora chuckled and shook his head in amusement. Unlike Aang, Sora merely willed it and began to float into the air. He spun and rocketed off toward the platform that had been his home for so long. Behind him, after a few moments to get over the shock, he could hear Aang shouting, “He's flying!”

Sora moved out of hearing range pretty quickly. It didn't take him long to gather everything he owned, the biggest was a makeshift sack that contained a lot of his teachers fur. He would definitely have to get a fresh new outfit made and he would insist it have the fur on the collar and cuffs.

With everything gathered, he turned and flew back toward Aapa. When he got back in range he heard Aang still trying to explain what had him so shocked, “No! You two don't understand! What I do with my glider and what Sora did are completely different! I'm using bending to control the air around my glider. Without it, the best I could do is jump really high, maybe hover a bit, and then control my fall back to the ground. Sora is flying the exact same way that Aapa flies! It's completely different!”

Katara looked like she kind of understood what Aang was trying to say. Meanwhile, Sokka looked completely lost and expressed his opinion bluntly, “Flying is flying. Magic Air and Magic Water, it's all just magic!”

Katara turned and glared at Sokka, “I keep telling you, it's not magic!”

Sora came to a stop and hovered nearby where he cleared his throat, “Uhm, I've got my stuff.”

Everyone turned to stare at him. Sokka looked impressed at his flight. Katara looked interested and excited. Meanwhile, Aang was practically vibrating in place. He jumped to his feet and pointed excitedly at Sora, “How are you doing that?! I've never heard of an Airbender being able to fly without a glider!”

Sora floated his way over to Aapa's saddle and set his meager possessions down, “I'm not really sure how to explain it.” He gave them a sad smile, “It happened the day my teacher left. I knew that they would never come back and it broke my heart. That bison was my friend, my teacher...” His smile turned wistful, “Maybe even my only parent. It broke my heart knowing they would never return. I just knew it, I could feel it. And I knew they'd only been holding on to teach me, to make sure I was old enough and strong enough to survive on my own. I mourned the loss, but I was also thankful and let my pain go. When I opened my eyes, I was flying and I've been able to do it ever since.”

When Sora looked up from his reminicing he saw that everyone had tears in their eyes. Aang and Katara were even crying. Sokka was doing his best to maintain a 'manly' image, but his eyes were suspiciously moist. Sora gave them all a bright smile, “Being able to fly is the most wonderful feeling in the world and I thank my teacher every day for it. Even if the act always reminds me of them.”

Sokka quickly, and surreptitiously, wiped at his eyes, “Let's get going. The further we get from Prince anger issues, the better.”

Aang sat on Aapa's head and gave the reins a little wiggle, “Yip Yip.”

As Aapa rose into the air, Sora turned to look at Sokka, “Prince anger issues?”

Sokka threw his arm around Sora's shoulder and pulled him close, “Allow me to tell you about our wonderful journey thus far!”

The group rose into the air on their way to their next destination as Sokka regaled Sora with a rather... embellished version of the events they'd experienced in the south pole. Katara chimed in every time Sokka said something incorrect to keep the story straight.

Sora hadn't stopped smiling since the moment they took off. It was time for fun and adventures!