All's Fair in Love and War |ATLA| |Reader Insert|

The South Wind Sanctuary

You and the gAang camped out overnight. Luckily, Katara brought a sleeping bag for you, too. It was early morning. The sun had just risen. Aang and Katara were up already, but you and Sokka were still sleeping. Aang woke Sokka up, but now it was just you.

"I wouldn't wake her up if I were you," Sokka said, "She's a little cranky in the morning."

"Oh, how bad can she be?" Aang said, squatting over your head. Sokka and Katara glanced at each other, but then pretended they do not see. Aang leaned over your ear and gently blew into it. The sudden sensation snapped you awake. Realizing it was Aang who woke you, you raised your arm. A wave of water came and crashed into him, sending him flying away with a screech.

"Told you," Sokka deadpanned.

~
When you actually were awake, the four of you flew on Appa above the clouds. You gazed down, just admiring them passing by. You dipped your hand down and skimmed it through a cloud, feeling the water droplets.

"The Potola Mountain Range!" Aang exclaimed, "We're almost there!" You flew past and through the mountain range. When you got to the peak, the Southern Air Temple was visible.

"It's beautiful," you whispered, never seeing it before. But it was quiet. It obviously was going to. You then heard Sokka's stomach grumble.

"Can't you silence that thing?!"

"I CAN'T! AANG USED ALL THE FOOD ON THE CAMPFIRE LAST NIGHT!!"

~
Aang was leading you three up the sides of the temple, happy that he was finally home after so long. You followed close behind, not engaging in Katara's and Sokka's bickering. Aang stopped at the edge and pointed.

"So that's where my friends and I would play airball, and over there is where the bison would sleep. And..." Aang trailed off and let out a sigh.

"What's the matter?" You asked.

"This place used to be full of monks and lemurs and bison. Now there's just a bunch of weeds."
You just stared at him when his expression dropped.

"I can't believe how much things have changed..."
You glanced back at the two who stared at you.

"So, this airball game..." You placed a hand on his shoulder. "How do you play it?" Aang smiled immediately.

~
You stood on a wooden pole with Aang a few poles away in front of you. Aang was spinning a wooden ball in his hand with his airbending. You focused solely on him. He threw the ball in the air. You raised a brow at him. He smiled innocently at you. When the ball came back down, he kicked it, sending the ball flying forwards with a strong air current. The ball bounced between the wooden poles. You took the snow and melted it into water, creating a ramp, and freezing it. The ball rolled and ricocheted back towards Aang. He just returned it with more air. You smirked lightly and unfroze the water, encasing it in water and freezing it. You used a stream of water to propel it towards Aang. When he threw his hands out, you bent the water from the ball to his palms, freezing them.

"... uh oh..."
The ball was blown was into his goal.

"WOO HOO!! Y/N 5, AANG 3!!!" You cheered loudly.

"Good job Y/n!" Katara yelled from the bottom.

"You got lucky! I was just distracted!" Aang defended, but knew it was all in good fun.

"By what? My SICK bending skills?!" You yelled back.

"Y/n! Come here for a second!" Katara called. You turned and jumped from the pole, walking over to the two. When you got closer, they were standing over something. An old Fire Nation helmet.

"So they were here," you said, your joyous mood fading quickly.

"We should tell him," Sokka said. You nodded in agreement.

"Aang! There's something you need to see!" Katara yelled.

"Okay!" Aang yelled back, running at you. He was playing with the wooden ball he retrieved. Katara suddenly bent the snow to cover the helmet, and Sokka. Luckily, you moved out of the way.

"What is it?" Aang asked, coming up to you. You glanced at Katara.

"Uh... just a new waterbending move I learned," she said.

"Nice one," Aang said, "But enough practicing. We have a whole temple to see." He walked away from you. You placed a hand on Katara's shoulder.

"You can't protect him forever, you know," you said quietly. She just glanced at you solemnly. The both of you started walking with Sokka behind you.

~
The four of you got to another area of the temple. Aang happily ran off while you and the siblings stayed behind.

"Katara, firebenders were here. You can't pretend they weren't."
Katara just walked past him and you.

"I can for Aang's sake," she replied, "If he finds out that the Fire Nation invaded his home, he'll be devastated." The two of you followed after you.

"Hey guys!" Aang called, "I want you to meet somebody." Next to him was a statue of a monk.

"Who's that?" Sokka asked.

"Monk Gyatso," Aang replied, facing the statue. "The greatest airbender in the world. He taught me everything I know." Aang bowed to the statue.

"Quite a feat," you said. Katara walked up to Aang and put her hand on his shoulder.

"You must miss him," she said.

"Yeah," Aang replied quietly, walking past the statue.

"Where are you going?" You called.

"The Air Temple Sanctuary," he replied, walking up the stairs. "There's someone I'm ready to meet."

"Oh, that sounds safe," you said, following him. You three followed him and stopped at a door.

"But Aang," Katara said, "No one could have survived in there for a hundred years."

"It's not impossible," Aang replied, "I survived in the iceberg for that long."

"Good point..."

"Katara, whoever's in there might help me figure out this Avatar thing."

"And whoever's in there might have a medley of delicious cured meats," Sokka spoke from the back.

"You just constantly think with your stomach, don't you?" You asked. Sokka didn't reply and proceeded to ram himself into the door. Then tried to push it open.

"I don't suppose you have a key."

"The key, Sokka, is airbending," Aang said. You walked up to Sokka and grabbed him, dragging him back behind Aang. Aang sent soft breezes of wind into the opening of the locks. The locks flipped open, letting out different pitched horn-noises (is there a word for that?). Finally, the door slowly opened. The inside was pitch black.

"Hello?" Aang called, "Anyone home?" He began to walk into the darkness with no qualms.

"Disaster child..." You muttered, quickly catching up to him. The light from the open door was your only guide. When you got deeper into the sanctuary, dozens upon dozens of statues greeted you. You recognized them.

'No way... these are the Avatars.' You thought. You all went off on your own, staring at each of the Avatars. A low, quiet horn sounded from outside, drawing all of your attention. The four of you hid behind the statues, seeing a shadow fall into the room.

"Firebender, nobody make a sound," Sokka said.

"You're making a sound!"

"SHHH!" The three of you shushed Katara.

"That firebender won't know what hit him," Sokka said, holding his club. You rolled your eyes slightly, making sure your water flask was attached. Sokka stood up and you followed him, suspending a stream of water in the air.

Ja ne!

{Ruby Red}