One of You

Chapter 2

"Excuse me? Airbender girl?"

I groaned, ignoring the voice that called out to me.

"EXCUSE ME!"

I shot up in surprise. The water tribe girl's voice ripped me from my sleep, and I was up on my feet in seconds. "Wha-? What's goin' on?"

The world was fuzzy in front of my eyes as I struggled to adjust to the light that blinded me. Holding a hand up to shield my eyes, I reeled backwards with a screech. I hadn't noticed that the water tribe girl's face was so close, and I clutched a hand to my chest in shock.

"Don't do that!" I grumbled, glaring at her. "You almost gave me a heart attack. I could have died just then! You would have killed me!"

She was not amused. "Oh I'm sorry." She said, "Next time, I won't be nice and wake you up to let you know that you slept through the day while Aang freed everyone from the spirit."

"He did?" I asked, "Does that mean that the other boy, Sokka, I think you called him, is okay too?"

"Yeah I'm free too." A voice from behind me brought me to spin around, almost losing my balance in the process. 

Sokka stood there next to the Avatar, both seeming rather skeptical of me as they looked me over. I chuckled anxiously, rubbing the back of my neck.

"So... You're the Avatar and co. I see you have defeated the forest spirit... while I was sleeping. Any idea what you're going to do now? Not that you have to tell me or anything, I was only wondering... Oh! I would also like to say-"

"Who are you?"

 My rambling was cut off by the Avatar, his face still hiding some suspicion of my intentions. I stuttered, not really sure what I was supposed to tell him, since grandfather never actually told me why I needed to find the Avatar, only that it was necessary in the task of keeping him safe.

"Uh... Nyima?"

I winced when my answer sounded more like a question than anything, none of the people now surrounding us seemed to believe me either.

"Really," Sokka deadpanned, "You don't sound so sure. She doesn't sound so sure." he said, turning to Aang and the water tribe girl.

"No!" I said, waving my hands, "I'm Nyima. Sorry. I must still be a bit slow in the head from my, uh, nap."

"More like hibernation." Sokka muttered bitterly, still not convinced that I was who I said. 

Rolling my eyes, I held my hand out to the Avatar, causing the townspeople to back up with a gasp and the two water tribers to go into their defensive mode.

"Really?" I asked, annoyed. "I'm holding out my hand for him to shake. It's not like I'm going to shoot poison knives out of my fingers."

Turning back to Aang, I smiled, "It's nice to meet you Avatar Aang. My grandfather and I have been waiting for you for a very long time. Come visit us at the Western Air Temple when you get the chance!"

With that, I spun on my heel and began walking towards the forest. 

Why didn't I think of something to say before I found the Avatar? Now they must think I'm an idiot. Grandfather isn't going to be happy. And he was so excited when he realized that we weren't the last two air benders in the world. Now I've gone and screwed up his chance of meeting Aang. Ugh I'm so stupid!

"Where are you going? Nyima?" The group followed after me until I reached the edge of the trees outside the town.

I opened up my glider and turned to look over my shoulder. "I'm headed home. Sorry I couldn't stay longer, but Grandfather is probably out of his mind with worry by now. I mean, I have been looking for you guys for a little over a month already."

The three glanced at each other, shocked. "You were looking for us for that long?" the water tribe girl asked.

I only shrugged, "Well I had to let the Avatar know he's not the only airbender left didn't I? However, you are a hard group to find. It's almost like you were avoiding me on purpose."

Aang smiled sheepishly, while the water tribe girl let out a nervous laugh and Sokka said, "We weren't avoiding you exactly..."

I waved them off with a smile, "It doesn't really matter to me who you were avoiding, but now that I've done my job, I do need to get going. It was nice to meet you."

I nodded to each of them, "Avatar Aang, Sokka, Water Tribe Girl."

With that, I leapt into the air, my bending controlling my glider as I let out a whoop of joy, doing a loop in the sky. After one last glance at the trio, I shot off to the west, eager to get closer to home before morning. 

I flew for some time, but I didn't get all that far before I somehow became tired again, even after sleeping for only a little less than a day. 

Letting out a sigh, I noticed a small clearing in the trees a little ways away and swooped down, landing with a soft thump on the ground. The clearing wasn't all that big, but I assumed it was safe enough to sleep there for the night at least.

I made myself comfortable under one of the large trees. As I looked up at the sky, a sad smile made its way onto my face. "I found him Mama. I met the Avatar. When I was little you always told me stories about him, but I wish you could have been there with me when I finally met him."

The stars didn't answer, not that I expected them to, but I continued to watch them from beneath the trees. I traced the constellations that Grandfather had taught me, but eventually my eyes began to droop. 

Unfortunately, the world has always liked messing with my sleep, and a branch snapped in the trees not to far off. I froze, and waited, but when the noise sounded again, I was up on my feet in seconds, my glider held in my hands as a weapon.

"Who's there?" I called, spinning around as I heard the sound of a heavy snort in the opposite direction. I couldn't see anything in the darkness, and I crept closer. A crackling sound could be heard in front of me, but I realized what it was too late. 

A screech of panic left my mouth as I dropped to the ground, a ball of fire passing over my head. Not wasting a second, I jumped into the air, but before I could open my glider, a large beast rammed into my side, knocking the air from my lungs. I fell to the ground, a groan of pain leaving me.

"Where do you think you're going, airbender? I have some questions for you."

I had to get out of there, but it seemed escape wouldn't be possible with the amount of pain I was in. "Who are you?" I hissed. If only I hadn't asked.

"I would watch your tone, little airbender." I flinched back as the speaker came into my line of vision, his eyes full of disgust as I tried to drag myself up from the ground. "My name is Prince Zuko, of the Fire Nation, and you are coming with me."