Elira, now 4 years old, leant over the side of the saddle on her father's flying bison, Oogie.
Her long brown hair blew in the breeze and her bright stormy grey eyes shone with excitement.
She was practically bouncing when she caught sight of her grandmother waving at them from the icy ground of the South Pole below them.
"Gran-Gran!" The girl yelled, jumping off the bison as soon as it landed and sprinting towards her grandmother.
"Elira! My little lotus flower, look at you, you've grown so big!" Azira smiled as the little girl ran into her for a hug.
"And check this out!" Elira created an airball with her bending and jumped on it, riding around her grandmother laughing and cheering with glee.
Azira chuckled at the hyperactive child before finally turning to her son and daughter-in-law.
"Hello, Mother. It's wonderful to see you again. "Tenzin bowed his head, holding his hand up in greeting.
"Stop being so formal, Tenzin. I'm your mother, there's no need for it," Azira laughed, pulling her son in for a hug as Elira ran around them playing in the snow.
"Of course", Tenzin smiled, returning the hug. "I've missed you."
"And I you" Azira pulled back and turned to Pema, smiling at her and pulling her in for a hug also.
"Pema, it's so good to see you."
"Hello, Princess Azira", Pema returned the hug.
"Now, now. The same applies to you. No formalities; we are family, after all," Azira scolded teasingly.
"Of course"
"Mother, how's Korra?" Tenzin asked, quickly turning for a second to catch Elira as she jumped into his arms "How's her training with Aunt Katara coming along?"
"Come see for yourself" Azira smiled and waved for them to follow her inside.
Elira looked up at her father, confused. "Daddy? Who's Korra? Can I play with them? Please! Please! Please!"
Tenzin simply chuckled. "We'll see."
*
Inside, Azira led them to the training ground, where Katara was busy showing a waterbending technique to a young girl about Elira's age. She had tanned skin, brown hair in a high ponytail and striking blue eyes. She was dressed in Water Tribe clothing, and not far from them, a polar bear dog pup was happily rolling around in the snow.
"Gran-Gran, who's that with Auntie Katara?" Elira asked as Tenzin set her down
"That is who we're here to see. Come with me" Elira took her grandmother's hand, and they walked over towards the pair.
When the little girl saw them approaching, she grinned widely.
"Elira!" She yelled, running up to the airbender and hugging her.
Elira just stared at her in confusion as the adults shared a shocked look.
"How do you know my name?" Elira asked, looking at the girl weird
The girl looked down, confused and stumped
"I...I don't know. I just do. I feel like I've met you before," She replied
"Elira, this is Korra", Azira introduced
"I'm the Avatar!" The girl, Korra, declared proudly.
"Elira's eyes sparkled. "Really?! So was my Grandpa Aang!"
"Wanna go penguin sledging with me and Naga?" Korra asked, grinning as her polar bear dog bound up to them and licked Elira's face, making her squeal.
The young airbender then turned to her father "Daddy, can I? Please! Please! Please!"
"Sweetheart, I don't think that's..." Tenzin trailed off as Elira's happy grin fell
He sighed. "Oh, all right. But only for a little while."
"Yay!"
"Come on, El!" Korra grabbed Elira's hand and dragged her away while the adults just chuckled.
"She reminds me of him every day" Katara smiled.
"They both do..." Azira added, watching her granddaughter run off with Korra as Naga followed behind them.
*
5 years later
Elira sighed, slouching in her chair next to her father as they sat in a council meeting.
She saw some of the council members look at her disapprovingly while her father sent her a warning look from the corner of her eye, silently telling her to sit up straight. Huffing, she sat up and pretended to listen to whatever one of the council members was droning on about.
Honestly, she would have preferred to have stayed back home. Practice her bending or playing with her baby sister, Jinora, or even meditating, anything but this. But no, her father insisted she join him, saying it would do her some good to come along and listen, seeing as she would have to sit through lots more when she got older.
"Dad?" She tugged on her father's robes. "Dad, I gotta pee."
"Can you hold it? The meeting won't be that much longer," Tenzin whispered to her.
"You said that an hour ago. Please, I really gotta go," Elira pleaded
Tenzin sighed. "Alright, quickly now. Straight there and back. No detours. You know where it is?"
"Yep. Bye!" The nine-year-old wasted no time. Jumping out of her seat and ran out of the room.
Grinning, she picked up her glider that was leaning against the wall outside and went over to one of the windows, opening it wide.
She didn't really need to pee. She just wanted out of the room.
Opening her glider's orange wings, she stood on the window sill and jumped off, flying away into the city.
*
Elira giggled to herself as she flew around Republic City. The place was beautiful, especially from the air. She glanced down slightly when she felt her stomach begin to rumble hungrily. She had a couple of yuans in her pocket, which was the remains of her pocket money. Should be enough to get something to eat, right?
Swooping down, she landed on the path and began looking around for a food stall when she suddenly heard the sound of yelling coming from one of the shops just up ahead.
Usually, if someone heard yelling, they turned and went the other way or simply ignored it. Not Elira. Her curious mind always got the better of her, often leading her to trouble.
And this time was no different.
The shouting led her into one of the shops, where she caught sight of two boys about her age and a very angry store owner holding onto the backs of their shirts. One was slightly younger than the other. Both had dark hair, with the older boy wearing tattered Fire Nation clothes, and the other Earth Kingdom.
"Please, sir. We're just really hungry," The younger boy pleaded with the store owner.
"Tell it to the police, thief!" The owner snapped
She knew she shouldn't have. But Elira decided to step in.
"Finally! There you guys are!"
The two boys and the store owner all looked perplexed as Elira walked over.
"Thank you so much for finding them, sir" She shook the confused man's hand, making him release the boys.
Elira turned, grabbing the boy's by their arms. "I've been looking all over for you two."
"What are you doing?" The older boy hissed
"Just play along", Elira smirked as the shop owner placed a hand on her shoulder.
"You know these boys?"
"Unfortunately, yes, sir, they're my friends. They're always getting into trouble. Drives their mother crazy," Elira lied smoothly, smirking at the boys and subtly gesturing for them to start backing out of the store. "So, we'll just get out of your hair. I'm sure you've got lots to go. Stock shelves. Ring up, customers. All that good stuff."
Thankfully, the boys listened to her and began slowly making their way out of the shop. But not without sneakily grabbing the loaf of bread they were trying to steal whilst the owner was distracted.
"Come on, you guys. My dad's waiting for us. And you're gonna be in so much trouble when your parents find out about this," Elira continued to lie, turning and following the boys.
"They'd better be!" The owner snapped before also turning around. He froze, however, when he noticed the loaf of bread in the older boy's hands.
"Thieves!"
"Run!"
The three kids made a break for it. Bolting out of the shop with the shop owner yelling after them.
"Get back here!"
"Grab on!" Elira yelled, opening her glider and getting ready to take off.
"What?!"
"Just do it!"
The younger one was the first to grab hold, followed by the other. As soon as they had a good grip, Elira took off into the air making the boys cry out in fear as they flew away.
*
Elira finally landed not too far from the store but far enough that she was certain the owner wasn't chasing them. She would have flown further but didn't want to traumatize her passengers even further.
"That was so cool! And terrifying! It was cool and terrifying! How did you do that?" The younger boy asked
"Isn't it obvious? She's an airbender,'' The older boy answered, gesturing to Elira's air nomad clothes.
"Sure am", She replied, closing her glider with a grin.
"You're Councilman Tenzin's daughter! This is so cool! I'm Bolin; this is my brother, Mako," The younger boy introduced with an excited smile, gesturing to the older boy, who was still holding the stolen loaf of bread.
"I'm Elira; it's nice to meet you both" The young girl smiled.
"Why did you help us?" Mako asked
Elira just shrugged "'Cause I wanted to. Plus, I was bored and wanted some fun. Listen, I gotta get going before my dad realises I'm gone. See you guys around."
Without even waiting for their reply, Elira took to the skies again.
*
When Elira made it back to the council building, she snuck in through the open window she'd left through.
"Elira?"
The nine-year-old froze when she heard her name being called and slowly turned to see her father walking towards her from the end of the hall.
"Where have you been? I've been looking everywhere for you."
"Sorry, Dad, guess I got kinda lost on my way back", Elira lied, knowing her dad would freak out if he discovered she had gone into the city by herself.
"Well, come on then. The meeting's over; we can go home now" Tenzin smiled, taking his daughter's hand and walking back down the hallway.
"Finally!"
*
"Oogie, yip yip!" Tenzin flicked the reigns, and his bison took to the skies with a flick of his tail.
As they rose into the air, Elira grinned when she saw Bolin waving at her from the entrance to an alleyway.
She waved back, giggling slightly at the boy's goofy grin.
"Elira? Who are you waving to?" Tenzin asked from the front
"Uh, no one. Just a friend of mine," Elira smiled.
Her father didn't question her further and turned back around. Elira turned to look over the saddle again, seeing the small figures of Mako and Bolin in the alleyway and she smiled to herself. Hoping she would get to see the two brothers again soon.