Avatar: The Last Airbender Book One; Water

Chapter Seventeen: The Northern Air Temple

"So travelers, the next time 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!"

My siblings, Aang, and I were sitting around a campfire with a bunch of other travelers, listening to a storyteller tell a story about a group of airbenders.

"Aren't airbender stories the greatest!" Aang asked us happily as the storyteller collected money from the other travelers.

Katara leaned towards him excitedly, "Was it realistic? Is that how it was back then?"

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

The storyteller approached in front of Sokka, holding out a sack expectantly, "Jingle, jingle."

Sokka rummaged through his cloak and only pulled out a bug, a worm, and some crumbs, "Sorry." He apologized sheepishly as the man turned around and sighed, walking away again.

"Awe," He huffed, "Cheepskates." Aang hurried after him and stopped as he kneeled in front of an older man.

"Hey, thanks for the story." He told the man thankfully.

The storyteller only showed him the hat everyone was putting money in, "Tell it to the cap, boy." Aang searched through his clothes for some money and Momo saved him the trouble by picking up a coin off of the ground and placing it in the cap.

He turned and petted Momo kindly, "Much obliged, little bat-thing."

"It means a lot to hear airbender stories. It must've been a hundred years ago your great-grandpa met them." Aang remarked gratefully.

"What are you prattling about, child?" The storyteller asked him, "Great Grandpappy saw the air walkers last week!" The storyteller gestured to the old man sitting behind him. The man made a sound and smiled widely at Aang.

_

The next day, Aang convinced us to go look at the Northern Air temple for other airbenders. We were all aboard Appa on our way there. Aang was up front as usual, my siblings and I back in the saddle.

"Hey, we're almost at the Northern Air temple, this is where they had the championships for Sky Bison polo!" Aang informed us with an excited grin.

Katara was smiling at Aang's happiness, "Do you think we'll really find airbenders?" She asked and turned towards the two of us. Sokka was whittling down a piece of wood.

"You want me to be like you, or totally honest?" He asked, not exactly paying attention.

I raised a brow at him, "Are you saying she's a liar?"

He only shrugged, "I'm saying you both are optimists, Same thing basically." I rolled my eyes and turned my attention back toward where we were going. I gasped in pure amazement when I saw a huge temple at the top of a tall secluded mountain.

"Hey guys, look at this!" Aang called when he noticed the temple up ahead. As we grew closer, Katara and I gasped as we noticed people flying through the air.

I gasped with amazement, "They really are airbenders!"
Aang only leaned back, crossing his arms with a scowl on his face, "No, they're not."

"What do you mean 'they're not?'" Katara asked him curiously.

"Those guys are flying!" Sokka added in confusion.

"Gliding maybe, but not flying. You can tell by the way they move," Aang informed us, cooly, "They're not airbending. Those people have no spirit." He seemed bitter.