The Last Hope : sokka x reader x zuko

The Air Temple

y/n's pov

i soared through the sky, testing the barrier that jailed me to the temple.

'WHY CANT YOU JUST LET ME OUT!' i screamed.

i threw my glider at it but it just bounced back into my hand as i levitated above the clouds.

clicking it open, i glided back down to the air temple.

it was so lonely there.

i remember it being full of vibrant colours, calming music, beautiful wildlife and benders and monks alike who wanted to learn.

but it was different now.

i remember the day it changed.

avatar roku had just disappeared and i was banished to the temple to wait for the next avatar.

the new avatar was a free spirited boy and i was eager to teach him but the monks prohibited me from even talking to him, after the other storm benders betrayals i was deemed untrustworthy and my right to teach the avatar removed.

then the avatar disappeared, i tried to follow him but i found a barrier blocking my way hindering my ability to be free but only - as id hoped - for a short while.

boy, was i wrong.

that day fire nation soldiers attacked the temple without warning.

killing any monk or bender they saw and showing no mercy.

they tried to kill me, but of course they couldn't.

(id tried that before, 9000 years ago, but i had obviously not yet succeeded.

i guess i just wasn't meant to die.

i found out only a few hundred years ago, after a meeting with raava and the avatar at the time, that i had been chosen to protect the avatar and help them with learning the elements.

but, i digress.)

the fire nation soldiers flooded the premises and bended their fire into every crack and crevace they could, doing their best to try and wipe out the air nomad population.

and they succeeded of course.

or i wouldnt be here right now, throwing my glider at an invisible force.

very few survived - and none of them were human.

i and a few other animals managed to escape the wrath of that terrible day and, every day, i plan out what i could have done to prevent it.

but deep in my heart, i know i had no way of stopping them

but i wish i did.

---

i sat down at the fountain and fashioned some fallen leaves into tiny gliders for the ants.

they chittered away as i helped them glide through the air.

they were so peaceful. so innocent.

i allowed them to glide back to the floor and set about finding larger sticks and leaves for my other earth-bound friends.

but as i walked towards the courtyard i felt some cold air pierce my heart.

i felt tired, i felt weak, and i fell onto the ground - my fall being softened by a lemur.

i stood up again, thanking the animal for its kindness and went back on my way towards the courtyard

'what the hell was that' i said, looking at a butterfly as it fluttered past me.

i took a deep breath and banished the idea id had from my head straight away.

the avatar could not be back.

they'd been gone for 100 years and were not likely to make a comeback anytime soon.

i needed to take a minute to calm down.

i must have been ill if i thought the avatar was back.

soon, i got back to my collecting. i trimmed the sticks and tried to disappear the thought from my head, but it wouldn't leave.

after a few minutes i decided id had enough.

i went to the monk gyatso statue and meditated.

i needed to clear my head and this was the only way i could think of doing it.

i sat there in silence. alone with my thoughts, for a while. my mind constantly telling me they were back as my brain loudly declared they were not.

i shot up.

i couldn't be alone with my thoughts or i swear i would drive myself CRAZY!

i took out my glider and flew up above the clouds. gliding towards the barrier.

i went faster and faster, gaining speed with every second and...

nothing happened.

i glided straight through the barrier and had to focus and levitate mid-air to stop myself from falling into the sea below.

oh. my. god.

'I'M FREE!' i shouted at the top of my lungs.

i jumped back onto my glider and swooped through the sky as fast as i could go.

'FINALLY!' i yelled, laughing as the breeze cooled my face.

soon, i came back down at the air temple.

and then it dawned on me for the first time since i made it outside of the barrier.

the avatar was back.