ATLA Little Bender

Come With Us

"What..." Elaria looked at herself in horror, what just happened? She checked over her body, her limbs felt alien to her. It wasn't possible, she couldn't have airbended, not a fire nation girl.

Aang looked at her in awe, before running to her and wrapping his arms around her. Her face looked over his shoulder, seeing the shock on Sokka and Katara, they had seen it too, that meant that it wasn't in her head. The longer the seconds went by the tighter Aang held her, as if he was coming to terms that she existed. Unbeknownst to her, Aang was filled with relief at no longer being alone, the fear he held, the doubt that crept in the crevices of his thoughts were willed away by the heartbeat of the girl he held. Elaria would have ripped herself from his embrace sooner if it had not been for the shock that covered her, she was an airbender. That doesn't make sense.

None of this makes sense!

She shouldn't have ever left the palace! Zuko should have never been banished, Auntie Ursa should be home, they should all have been a family; her father should remember he has an actual child rather than gallivanting with his nephew.

None of this is FAIR.

Elaria began to sob, chest heaving suddenly from the lack of air, her eyes watered as tears ran down her cheeks onto Aang's shoulder. Aang only held her tighter, afraid that if he let her go than she would crumble.

Her cries disrupted the tranquility of the forest, an echo of Aang's silent mourning back at the Southern Air Temple. But she wasn't mourning the death of the air nomads. She was mourning the death of who she used to be, a girl who was never real in the first place.

She wasn't sure how much time passed. It could have been hours or minutes but Aang never let her go. Aang still held her long after she stopped sobbing, though they no longer were joined in an embrace instead they were conjoined through their hands. He'd grip them tighter the longer she blankly looked to the ground. 

"Elaria?" He asked her cautiously, Aang did his best to meet her eyes, but every time he peered at her she would glance away.

"Do you feel happy now?" Elaria asked bitterly, "Happy that you have completely disrupted my life, that you have kidnapped me, taken me from my family, and have now shown that I am a freak to my people?" She spat out her words. Pain festering through her and lashing on to the closest person. 

"You're not a freak; We're not freaks" Aang emphasized the words that bought them together. His temper flared briefly at the words to their people. "You're an airbender, we are airbenders and now you don't have to be alone!" He ended on an upbeat note. 

Katara grew concerned by the actions of Elaria; not because she minded her but because she was worried at how the girl would lash out at Aang. Fire Nation would always choose their pride over character; she had witnessed it with her mother and had seen it from the stories her gran would tell her.

"Aang maybe we should give Elaria some space to think about this?" Katara suggested to him.

Elaria turned a venomous glare at Katara, she continued to spit her words, her eyes sending daggers. "Just Elaria now is it?! No I am Elaria Regina!" She clung to her titles. Right now she didn't have anything else besides them. For once Elaria would rather be on the throne in the Fire Nation palace, she would rather be with her Uncle Ozai than in the presence of these people that ripped everything away from her. 

"I am Elaria Regina..." She muttered repeatedly, her words filling the silence as the other trio continued to watch her. Even at the behest of Katara; Aang still hadn't moved away. Elaria needed to come to terms with her element, she needed to let go of her attachments to the Fire Nation and he was determined to stand by her through each step of the way.