The Lunar Warrior [ATLA FF]

Book 1: Water | 44 | Training or Punishment? III

Art By PumpkinHead | Tomura on Quotev! I LOVE how his scar looks. I love his hair, I love his build, his necklace, the tattoos, I love EVERYTHING.

Aang's mood couldn't have been better as they searched for a new place to get some training in. It had been a few days since they left Haru and his family. Aside from getting away from his 'competition' as he so thought, he was filled with a sense of... relief.

It had been difficult wrapping his head around the thought of war. It had been worse understanding the fact that it began a hundred years ago, and that his people were all gone. That coupled with having to see all of the damage it had done firsthand, going village by village on their way north.

Yet the most horrid thing he had to think about was how he, the Avatar, was supposed to fix it all. No matter what he came up with, it all ended with the fact that he was a kid with zero knowledge of how to do his job. The world was entrusting itself to a novice and he knew it.

But on that rig, in that town... he'd done something. His inexperienced self along with his friends (family at this point) had saved hundreds of people. And those people were now off saving more, a chain reaction that they began.

That wasn't just "Avatar" Aang that had helped in that. It was him, just the simple "Aang". It was his strengths Sokka utilized and he Ayaan signaled, not the Avatar. He, as an airbender, and he, as himself, is who they saw. Sure, they knew good and well that he was the Avatar with this great destiny over his head, but they didn't try to put more than he could handle on him.

They were looking at Aang, not a legacy he was supposed to fulfill. And even though he didn't know much about being the Avatar, he'd been able to help just the same.

Ending this war didn't seem hopeless anymore, even though he understood that his dream of peace was a long way away. But now, he could see it, that light at the end of this very long tunnel. They had a real chance, and it was growing larger as the days went on.

He had so much help, people who were so much stronger than him in ways he'd never be able to fathom. Katara was braver than him, Sokka was smarter, and then, there was the one that kept them all together: Ayaan. A brother he never knew he needed.

As a monk, Aang didn't quite understand the concept of family. He was sure that he had parents, but at the temple, everyone was your parent, your sibling, and your friend. There were no boundaries created by blood. His first true introduction to the term happened the moment he met the watertribe siblings.

What those terms meant was reinforced by Ayaan, every time he cared for him in the same way.

After Aang left the Southern Air Temple, finding out the truth of the genocide of his people, he'd been unspeakably sad. He was angry, lonely, and mourning. In those times, Katara would try to cheer him up by spending time with him, and Sokka would offer him food, though he'd decline gratefully. Yet the one comfort that stood out to him was Ayaan's.

He sat with him while he was sad, tucked him in when he fell asleep, and did other small things like bringing him his favorite fruits. Even on Kyoshi, he'd made sure to buy a small stock of egg custard tarts! All in all, Ayaan was always there for him to lean on. Silent, steady, and constant. He would perform small gestures, like patting his head or washing his clothes the same way he did Katara's or Sokka's.

But he never said a word, not one, in regard to his people. He never re-opened that wound by mentioning what they might have thought or 'even though they're gone'. He simply stayed close by, listened when he spoke, and acknowledged his pain. All of his gestures spoke for him.