The Fire bender, the Avatar, and the Deity, oh my

The Winter Solstice part 1

Lynn woke up to her brother shaking her awake. "They're gone, aren't they?"

Aang nodded and bowed his head. Tears were building up in his eyes. Lynn cupped his face with her hands and kissed his forehead. "It'll be fine. You circle back to see if Hei bai returned. I'll stay out here searching. You know how to find me if you need to."

She walked for what felt like hours through the bamboo forest. It was lighter now and she had already figured out that she was in the spirit world.

Subconsciously she navigated herself towards the voices. Her blue eyes squinted slightly before widening. "Iroh?"

His amber eyes met her and she nearly jerked back. Did he actually hear me? Against her better judgment, she moved closer to the man.

"Lynn, it's good to see you again." Her eyes widened.

"You can see me? And how are you talking to me without moving your mouth?"

She could hear his chuckle in her head, which sort of creeped her out. "You and the Avatar aren't the only people that have connections with the spirits. Now, why are you in the spirit world, young Deity?"

Lynn attempted to kick a pebble only to fail miserably. "A spirit by the name of Hei bai is terrorizing a village. He took my friend. How am I supposed to be the bridge between worlds if I can't get the spirits to listen to me?"

Lynn felt ridiculously childish saying it out loud, but she couldn't help it.

"Hmm, have you tried summoning your past lives? Maybe they have some advice for you."

Lynn's face flushed slightly. Why didn't I think of that?

"Actually, I haven't. Thanks. Though while I'm at it, do you need help? You know, since you're all chained up at the moment."

Iroh chuckled at her awkwardly phrased offer. "I'll be fine. Besides, I'm certain my Nephew is searching for me."

Lynn shrugged. "Suit yourself. Thanks for the advice. Good luck with your , um, predicament. Oh and tell Zuko I said hi!"

Iroh shook his head as she left. Zuko and Lynn seemed to be caught in an endless dance. His nephew was hunting her, but only because she was letting him. If she had seen him as a true threat, she would have approached the conversation differently.

The young Deity had made her way into the forest again and was sitting down with her eyes closed as if she were meditating. Her eyes only fluttered open when she felt a powerful presence. Frowning, she stood up. "You're not Deity Esen's animal guide."

One of its whiskers touched her forehead. Two lone figures rode on the dragon. One with a green kimono and white and red face paint and the other with long unnaturally orange hair and amber eyes. Much like the first Avatar and Deity, Kyoshi was born with a twin: Deity Dai li. Unlike his twin, who lived to be an outstanding 230, Dai li lived to be 152.

Lynn couldn't help but shudder at the thought. She couldn't imagine what it would've been like if Aang had died during that storm 100 years ago and she had to wait 16 years before being reunited with the Avatar. Would she harbor resentment? Or would she treat them the exact same, because, after all, they were the same person.

"You belonged to Deity Orzala." The dragon seemed to nod in response as it moved to let its reincarnated owner mount him. Despite being in the spirit world, Lynn could still feel the wind blowing back her braided hair. It wasn't her first time into the spirit world, and yet it still seemed to baffle her nearly every time.

As her dragon landed, another one entered the room. Lynn smirked up at her brother. "Nice of you to join me."

Aang smiled in return. "What sort of brother would I be if I let you do this alone?"

Lynn turned to the two dragons. "How do we talk to them?"

The two animal guides moved in unison and a vision flashed through the siblings' minds.

"It's a calendar," Aang pointed out.

"And they want to talk about a comet?" Lynn frowned slightly. "I was able to talk to Kyoshi with ease and she wasn't even my past life. Why is this more difficult?"

The dragons let out a mildly annoyed grumble at her complaint. "Not that I'm not grateful for all you've done, of course I am."

Aang glanced at her in surprise and awe as they mounted Roku's Dragon together . "You talked to Kyoshi?"

Lynn nodded. "It was only once, when I was little. I don't really remember how, but I know I got stranded by myself in a snowstorm. My mom used to tell me stories of the avatar and the deity, our own past lives. I guess I worshiped her so much that I accidentally summoned her to help me. I always just assumed that was the hyperthermia talking."

Flashback:

Ten year old Lynn collapsed down in the snow with a strangled sob. She was officially lost, and officially completely and utterly alone. Her brown hair had become untied and tangled as it mercily wiped her face and shoulders as if to scold her for ending up in this situation in the first place.

She had no idea how long she just sat there, snow piling up on her body, numbing the girl to the pain. Lynn only opened her teary eyes and glanced up once she noticed the winds had stopped and the snow had formed a tall figure. Her jaw practically dropped as the snow seemed to solidify and gain color. "You're..."

Kyoshi glanced down in amusement at the evident awe on her sister's face. "Yes. I need you to get up. You'll die if you stay here."

"How exactly..."

Kyoshi cut off the girl. "It doesn't matter. Stand up."

Lynn slowly obeyed. "What's the point? It's a miracle I haven't frozen to death yet, but that doesn't mean I can make it all the way back to my tribe."

Kyoshi knelt down before the girl. "Yes, you can. You're a waterbender. There is water in places you wouldn't even begin to imagine. It's in the ground and in the air. Where there is life, you can find water. And there most certainly is water in snow." Noticing her down cast expression, the past Avatar stood up.

"I'll teach you how to use the stars to navigate and how to use water to move quickly. I'll teach you how to use your breath to stay warm. Now, we have a lot of work to do."

End Flashback:

Lynn awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck. "So technically speaking, you were my first airbender teacher."

Aang let out a small, "Huh, cool" before the dragon collided with their bodies.