Accidental Avatar

Storytime with the Avatar...

"Then, just when I was starting to feel better...." Aang stared into the little fire sadly, his voice going back to almost breaking. "Something worse happened..."

He told us how he overheard Gyatso and another of the elders arguing with the High Monk about what Aang's future would entail. He told us, in halting sentences, how they planned to separate him and Gyatso to send him away. I pulled Aang into another bro hug and rocked him gently as small tears slipped from his eyes. Katara sidled up close next to me and rubbed Aang's back softly.

"That's awful, Aang!" She said quietly. "I don't know what to say-"
Aang jumped out of my hug and stormed to the other side of the cave. "How could they do that to me!? They wanted to take away everything I knew and everyone I loved!" His tattoos started glowing, and the wind picked up around him, causing the fire to glow brighter and flare. I pull Katara closer and push her slightly behind me as I deflect the flames from around us to avoid getting hurt.
"Woah!" Katara yelled. "Hot cinders!"

Tell me about it...yeouch...Aang's tattoo's stopped glowing, and he went back to monotone.
"I'm sorry I got so mad."
"Hey, it's only natural," I respond.
"Yeah, you have a right to be angry after the monks sent you away like that," Katara responded, coming out from behind me to look at Aang. She still sat quite close, though, to which I raised an eyebrow, but made no comment.

"Well..." Aang's eyes darted off to the right, his voice hesitant again. "That's not exactly what happened..."
He sighed and looked back at the fire. "I was afraid and confused. I didn't know what to do." His voice cracks again, and I'm doing all I can not to jump up and start raging, looking for the first Air Monk I could get to kick their butt for what they've done to my Lil bro. He told us how he ran away that night. "I never saw Gyatso again..." He explained. He told us how he rode out with Appa, got caught in a storm, and fell into the water. How just before they drowned, he activated his Avatar State and created a pocket of air that he and Appa were frozen in for the past 100 years.

"Next thing I knew, I was waking up in your arms after you found me in the iceberg."
"You ran away..." Katara stated, her voice slightly sad.
"And then the Fire Nation attacked our temple!" Aang said fiercely. He cast his eyes down again. "My people needed my help..."
"You don't know you would've-!" Katara interjected quickly.
"The world needed me, and I wasn't there to help!"

I smack Aang over the head.
"Ow! Hey!" Aang gives me a confused look. "What was that for!?"
"Doesn't matter. It's in the past." I say, shrugging as I throw another twig into our little fire.
"Well, it still hurts..." He responds, rubbing his head.
I grin at him. "Oh yeah, the past can hurt. But the way I see it? You can either run from it or..." I give him a meaningful look. "Learn from it." I swing my hand at him again, and this time he dodges it. "See! Learning already."

Katara smiles slightly. "Even though you ran away, I think it was meant to be. If you had stayed, you could've been killed with all the other Airbenders."
Aang gives a small smile to us.
"The world needs you now, Aang," Katara said with a warm smile. "You give people hope."