Tale Of Two Avatars

The Northern Air Temple

As darkness began to descend like a cape upon the sky along our journey, we land in a forest to set up camp. Seeing smoke billowing into the sky above, we follow its trail. That eventually led us to a campsite with a fire already stoked and going strong, a few other travellers also gathered to listen to a man sitting in front of the campfire, regaling them with some sort of tale.

The four of us took a seat on a vacant rock and tuned in to what the man was saying, which was something to do with a creature he saw taking to the skies. "So, travellers. The next time you think you hear a strange, large bird talking, take a closer look. It might not be a giant parrot, but a flying man. A member of a secret group of air walkers, who laugh at gravity, and laugh at those bound to the earth by it!"

The man rises up after assumably finishing his stories, taking his hat off and wandering around to collect coins from other travellers. 

In the meantime, Aang looked pretty exuberant, "Aren't airbender stories the greatest?" 

"Was it realistic? Is that how it was back then?" Katara questioned in interest.

"I laugh at gravity all the time," Aang chuckled to himself. "Gravity."

"It is pretty nice, I have to admit, to be able to fly and to be in the air for certain periods. Ah, one can only imagine," I smiled knowingly. "If only I could airbend."

"Suzume, don't give Aang any ideas," Katara sighed.

"What are you talking about, Suzume? You-" I clap my hand over Aang's mouth before he can say any more.

"It was just a joke, Aang," I whispered. "Of course I know that we can airbend but I don't want these people to find out who we are."

"Ohhh," Aang nodded in realisation after I released my hand.

"Jingle, jingle!" the storyteller walks up to us, jingling his hat in front of Sokka.

Sokka searches his jacket but comes out empty-handed, "Sorry."

"Aww, cheapskates!" the storyteller sighed, walking away from us in disapproval.

Aang runs up to the storyteller just as he kneels in front of an old man, extending his hat out to him. 

"Hey! Thanks for the story," Aang smiled. 

"Tell it to the cap, boy," the storyteller shakes his cap again and this time, a coin falls out from his hat. Momo pokes his head out of Aang's robes in curiosity, immediately picking it up and placing it into the man's cap.

"Aww, much obliged, little bat-thing," the storyteller pats Momo.

"It means a lot to hear airbender stories," Aang reiterated. "It must have been a hundred years ago your great-grandpa met them."

The storyteller gazed at Aang in confusion, "What are you prattling about, child? Great Grandpappy saw the air walkers last week."

Aang's eyes widened in disbelief and with that, we knew where we were heading next. We board Appa the next morning, setting course for another air temple, this time, the Northern one.

"Hey, we're almost at the Northern Air Temple. This is where they had the championships for Sky Bison polo," Aang announced in excitement. 

"Do you think we'll really find airbenders?" Katara asked enthusiastically. 

With his eyes still laid on a piece of wood he was whittling away at, Sokka casually responds to her question, "You want me to be like you, or totally honest?" 

Katara crossed her arms in anger. "Are you saying I'm a liar?" 

"I'm saying you're an optimist. Same thing, basically," Sokka shrugged indifferently.