THE OTHER AIRBENDER (Book 1)

(XXV) Water

"So, travelers. The next time you think you hear a strange, large bird talking, take a closer look. It might not be a giant parrot, but a flying man. A member of a secret group of air walkers, who laugh at gravity, and laugh at those bound to the earth by it!"

The more the man talks, the sleepier I feel. He's been talking nonstop about miraculous stories the entire night, and I'm starting to regret having agreed to join this communal campfire. However, Aang seems beyond excited to hear them.

"Aren't airbender stories the greatest?" He asks me, and I nod drowsily, pretending that I hadn't completely fallen asleep for the first half of the story.

"Oh, yes. The best," I tell him.

"Was it realistic? Is that how it was back then?" Katara asks him curiously.

"I laugh at gravity all the time," Aang says, laughing to himself. "Gravity."

"You also tend to laugh at reason, common sense..." I begin, but stop myself when he glares back at me. "I mean, yeah, take that, gravity!"

The man then suddenly goes around with his hat, clearly asking for money. Sadly, we have none to give him, which annoys him, making him scoff as he leaves to gather his things, probably ready to continue his journey. Aang decides to approach him with a smile.

"Hey! Thanks for the story."

"Tell it to the cap, boy," the man says, putting his empty hat in front of him expectantly.

Somehow, Momo ends up handing Aang a single coin, which he undoubtedly stole from the cap to begin with. The man doesn't seem to notice, though, after Aang returns the coin to his cap.

"Aww, much obliged, little bat-thing," the man says, patting Momo briefly.

"It means a lot to hear airbender stories. It must have been a hundred years ago your great grandpa met them," Aang says, but the man chuckles and shakes his head.

"What are you prattling about, child? Great Grandpappy saw the air walkers last week."

"Wait. That's impossible," I say, immediately paying attention. I briefly glance at Sokka. "Right?"

Sokka attempts to do the math with his fingers for a moment before nodding. "Pretty sure it is."

"You know what that means, Alya?" Aang asks, as we both share somewhat excited looks.

"We may not be the last airbenders after all!"

***

"Hey, we're almost at the Northern Air Temple. This is where they had the championships for sky bison polo," Aang says, steering Appa's reins slightly.

"Katara... Do you think we'll find more airbenders?" I ask her, fearing that my voice may sound a bit shaky.

"Well..."

"If you want an honest answer, then don't ask Katara," Sokka retorts, making her glare back at him.

"Are you calling me a liar?"

"I'm calling you an optimist. Same thing, basically," Sokka replies with a shrug.

I'm not sure of how I feel about this whole thing. On the one hand, of course I'd be thrilled to meet new airbenders. To have more people to share our culture with, and mostly, I know that it'll make Aang feel infinitely better. However, we've been down this road before, so I don't want to get my hopes too high for them to get inevitably crushed to pieces.

"Hey, guys, look at this!" Aang says, and in the distance, I see it.

The building looks really similar to the Southern Air Temple we visited a while ago, but something catches my attention: the temple doesn't seem completely undamaged, meaning that the Fire Nation was here at some point, too. Before I completely give up, however, I spot several dark specks flying around the temple, and when I narrow my eyes carefully enough, I can make out that the specks are actually people with gliders.