CHAPTER FIVE
( THE HEI-BAI SPIRIT )

MOST OF THE TIME, Flo forgot that the current season was winter. Of course, she realized she got cold. The frost that covered the ground every morning was an obvious sign of the season, as were the occasional snow days and the constant mildly cold to freezing weather. She only had her cloak to keep warm, really, and over the years she just got used to almost freezing to death every year. She couldn't sew or anything, and she couldn't exactly buy anything either. The Freedom Fighter had once given her warmer clothes, but they all reminded her of her terrible ex so she burned them one day out of pure anger. Of course, that wasn't the smartest idea in the world, but she didn't want to keep anything Jet gave her. (Except for her dagger. It's a nice dagger, okay?)

So, of course Katara sewed up a green shirt during the down times of the journey. Flo didn't want to accept it at first, but then she finally noticed how cold the weather really was and how constantly freezing she felt and the utter lack of warmth. She took the shirt with pleasure. She wore it under her earth green tunic and the arm guards she wore on her forearms sat above the sleeves. It wasn't a perfect fit – maybe a size too large – but it was still comfortable and warm. Still, she had on her cloak as she sat in the saddle. The fabric was wrapped around her body; the hood was even up.

It was a pretty day, despite the cold. Clouds littered the sky but they only added to the beauty, and the sun still shined. The trees and hills below them were nice to look at, too. It was a peaceful ride. A peaceful journey. And Flo couldn't be any more please with that. Sure, she had a couple nightmares that involved the prison break and the man she killed, but other than that everything was fine.

"Those clouds look so soft, don't they? Like you could just jump down and you'd land in a big, soft cottony heap," said Katara, almost dreamily, as she laid on her stomach.

"Maybe you should give it a try," Sokka replied with sarcasm, pausing from carving...whatever it was he was carving. It barely looked like anything.

"You're hilarious," she said with a roll of her eyes.

Flo fiddled with the dark, fingerless gloves on her hands, fixing them so they weren't crooked and messed up. She took a second to look over her shoulder at Momo and Sleemo when one of their tails hit the side of her neck. "Please don't jump into the clouds," she said to the siblings. Of course, she was curious about whether or not one would physically land on a cloud. But she wasn't about to test it out and she'd rather that they didn't either in case clouds weren't fluffy and cottony.

Aang suddenly sprang from his position on Appa's head "I'll try it! Yeah-hahaha!" He jumped. Laughing, not screaming, but it still gave Flo a heart attack. The three teenagers quickly leaned over the side of Appa's saddle to look down where he jumped. He went through the cloud. A second later, Aang came back up from behind and landed beside them with his glider. He was soaking wet, too. While the two siblings eyed him strangely, Flo could only sit back and groan as her hands covered her face. "Turns out clouds are just made of water," he told them, and used his airbending to dry himself off.

"Hey, what is that?" Katara suddenly asked. They all looked forward. Flo shifted better so she could see, and stared at black ground of the valley.

"It's like a scar," Sokka said. The group traveled down to the damaged valley. One by one, they got off of Appa and looked around at the destruction that had obviously been caused by firebenders. The ground was practically ash. The landscape was completely barren, and burned tree stumps littered the area. It was all so dark and black. "Listen, it's so quite. There's no life anywhere."

Flo stepped away from everyone to look more closely. She stopped at a burnt tree. Cautiously, she held up a hand and touched the tips of her fingers to the trunk. When she pulled away, soot and ash stuck to her fingers. She rubbed them together, made a face, and wiped it off on her pant leg the best she could.

"Aang, are you okay?" she heard Katara ask.

"Fire Nation!" Sokka suddenly yelled. Flo turned, ready to attack if needed, but relaxed when she noticed that he was just looking at some footprints. "Those evil savages make me sick! They have no respect for–."

"Shh!" Katara cut him off with a stern expression.

"What? I'm not allowed to be angry?" he asked in a whisper.

Katara pointed. Both Sokka and Flo looked that way. Aang stood a little ways away. His head hung low, and he fell to his knees, a small cloud of ash and dust billowing up when he did so. As he ran a hand through the burned earth, Sleemo flew over and got in his space, purring and rubbing on his legs and knees, an attempt to cheer him up.

"Why would anyone do this? How could I let this happen?" he asked.

"Aang, you didn't let this happen. It has nothing to do with you," Katara said to him.

"Yes it does," Aang stressed. "It's the Avatar's job to protect nature. But, I don't know how to do my job."

Flo bowed her head and kicked gently at the ground. She often forgot that this twelve year old boy she vowed to herself to protect was the Avatar.

"That's why we're going to the North Pole to find you a teacher."

"Yeah, a waterbending teacher, but there's no one who can teach me how to be the Avatar. Monk Gyatso said that Avatar Roku would help me."

"The Avatar before you? He died over a hundred years ago, how are you supposed to talk to him?" Sokka questioned.

"I don't know," Aang admitted.

Momo then went over to the boy and chittered when he got into his lap. Sleemo stayed right beside Aang, her head on his knee as she still purred. Aang petted the lemur and have a pitiful, sad excuse of a smile at the hawk-cat. Flo kicked at the dirt again, and watched as the dirt and ash rose up and then fell back down. Her eyebrows knitted together as her foot kicked something hard, much harder than the burnt earth. She bent down and used her hands to push away layers of dirt and ash, and was relatively and happily surprised at seeing a few acorns. She then moved to another spot, and found some more. A different area, more acorns. She did it a few more times before saying anything.

"Katara," she called out.

The Water Tribe girl turned and walked over. "What is it?"

Flo, still crouched, picked up the acorns and handed them to her. "Acorns," she said simply. Her mouth twitched into a tiny smile and Katara grinned widely back at her. "They're everywhere."

Katara took the acorns and went back to Aang. The two winged creatures were gone; Momo was digging in the dirt somewhere and Sleemo sat atop one of the burnt trees, looking around. "Hey Aang, are you ready to be cheered up?"

"No."

Instead of walking the rest of the way to him and showing him the acorns like a normal person, Katara threw one at his head.

"Ow!" He rubbed the side of his head as he looked at her. Katara tossed one acorn up and down in her right hand with a smile. "Hey, how was that cheering me up?"

Sokka chuckled. "Cheered me up." He got pelted by acorn – much harder than when she threw it at Aang. "Ow! ...Yeah, I probably deserved that."

"These acorns are everywhere, Aang. That means the forest will grow back. Every one of these will be a tall oak tree someday, and all the birds and animals that lived here will come back." Katara crouched down next to Aang. She placed an acorn in the palm of his hand and closed his fist around it.

Aang gave her a smile; it was nothing like the forced one he sent to Sleemo. "Thanks, Katara," he said.

She returned the smile. "You're welcome. But Flo was the one who found them."

Flo froze as they looked at her. She held a handful of acorns now, and Momo flew up to her and dropped even more into her hands. A few fell to the ground, and she awkwardly chuckled. "It's...no big deal," she said. "Just, uh, some acorns."

They were all smiling at her. It, quite frankly, made her uncomfortable. Aang, wide and thankful; Katara, soft and maybe amused; Sokka, small and something else she couldn't quite place. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"What?" she asked. It came out slightly harsher than she intended.

Sokka's eyes widened and the smile dropped. He coughed and looked away. "N-Nothing," he mumbled.

Flo narrowed her eyes and tilted her head to try to see his face better. Was he blushing? Why would he be blushing? She purses her lips and looked away, only to notice that Katara was smirking. Confused, Flo tried not to think of either of the siblings suddenly acting weird as Momo dropped even more acorns into her hands.

Katara let out a startled sound suddenly, and Flo dropped the acorns to grab her weapon. She stopped though as her eyes landed on an old man of the Earth Kingdom, dressed in green. He used a walking stick for help while he came over to them. There was no reason to point an arrow at him.

"Hey, who are you?" Sokka asked, now standing, along with Katara and Aang.

The old man completely ignored Sokka. "When I saw the flying bison, I thought it was impossible, but those markings..." He trailed as he stared at the youngest of their group in awe and hope. "Are you the Avatar, child?"

Aang looked to Katara, who nodded, and he glanced to Flo to see if she had her weapon drawn. He turned back to the old man and nodded.

"My village desperately needs your help."

+++

The sun started to set in the horizon as the old man lead them to his village. A couple of buildings there were destroyed. Flo wanted to instantly blame the Fire Nation, especially after what the found in the valley, but it didn't look like their doing. There were no scorch marks anywhere or even any ash. The old man lead them through the small village and into the main building.

"This young person is the Avatar," the old man announced to the group of villagers.

Another man stepped up. He wasn't nearly as old as the one who found them, and Flo guessed he was the village's mayor. "So the rumors of your return are true," he said. He then bowed. "It is the greatest honor of a lifetime to be in your presence."

Aang returned the bow. "Nice to meet you too." He paused. "So...is there something I can help you with?"

The mayor looked down, pained. "I'm not sure..."

"Our village is in crisis, he's our only hope," the old man walked up. The mayor then nodded, and the other continued on with an explanation. "For the last few days at sunset a spirit monster comes and attacks our village. He is Hei-Bai, the black and white spirit."

Flo, with Katara, turned to look behind them. They briefly made eye contact, sharing their concern, and then turned back around.

"Why is it attacking you?" Sokka asked.

The mayor walked to the doorway of the entrance. He stopped at the frame. "We do not know, but each of the last three nights he has abducted one of our own. We are especially fearful because the winter solstice draws near."

"What happens then?" asked Katara.

"As the solstice approaches, the natural world and the spirit world grow closer and closer until the line between them is blurred completely," the old man explained.

The mayor looked over his shoulder at Aang. "Hei-Bai is already causing devastation and destruction. Once the solstice is here there is no telling what will happen."

"So, what do you want me to do exactly?"

"Who better to resolve a crisis between our world and the spirit world than the Avatar himself? You are the great bridge between man and spirits."

Aang rose a brow and looked back to the setting sun. "Right...that's me," he said, a lack of confidence in his tone.

Katara leaned over to him. "Hey, 'great bridge guy', can I talk to you over here for a second?" She then walked to a window nearby, and Aang followed. "Aang, you seem a little unsure about all of this."

Flo stayed put. Well, she tried to. Sokka carefully grabbed her elbow and pulled her with him over to his sister and the twelve year old. Once they stopped, she ripped her elbow from his grasp and gave him a severe look. He shrugged and held up his palms in faux surrender.

"Yeah, that might be because I don't know anything at all about the spirit world," Aang answered Katara. The brother and sister shared a confused look. It exasperated him. "It's not like there's someone to teach me this stuff!"

"So... Can you help these people?"

"I have to try, don't I? Maybe whatever I have to do will just... come to me." Momo jumped on his shoulder then, and after a split second of surprise Aang smiled.

Katara serenely smiled back. "I think you can do it, Aang."

Sokka shared his sister's expression. "Yeah... We're all gonna get eaten by a spirit monster."

Flo rubbed at her temples, suppressing a groan of annoyance. And to think she believed the next few days would be peaceful.

+++

Aang exited the meeting house. The doors shut behind him, and the two siblings and Flo stood at the window with the old man behind them. Everyone else stood and sat farther into the building, fearful. Flo frowned deeply from beside Katara as she watched Aang start to walk through the village.

"Hello? Spirit, can you hear me? This is the Avatar speaking. I'm...here to try to help stuff," he called out.

"This isn't right," Sokka spoke up, "We can't sit here and cower while Aang waits for some monster to show up."

"If anyone can save us, he can," the old man told them.

"He still shouldn't have to face this alone."

"He's just a kid," Flo said quietly. Sure, Aang was the Avatar and he was the bridge between the two worlds, but he was still twelve, and Flo didn't exactly like the idea of a kid going up against a spirit when he didn't know how or what to do. She leaned on the side of the window frame. She watched everything carefully and tried to keep her anxiety at bay.

When darkness finally fell completely over the village, Aang shouted out, "The sun has set! Where are you, Hei-Bai? Well, spirit, uh, I ask you to please leave this village in peace!" He twirled his staff and then placed it firmly on the ground as if making a point. Nothing happened. "Okay. Well, I guess that's settled then."

Aang turned and started to walk back to the meeting house. Flo's eyes gradually widened and her jaw dropped as a very large creature – correction, spirit – emerged from the trees at the entrance of the village. She hadn't been expecting that. Of course she didn't know what spirits actually looked like, but she always thought they were vague resemblances of humans. Not a six legged, giant thing with black and white orca-like marks on the face, and sharp teeth in its mouth. The boy soon turned around after noticing that something wasn't right. He started to talk, but Flo couldn't hear what exactly was being said because she was too focused on the building-sized spirit.

"Holy fu–."

Hei-Bai roared a blast of air at Aang; it came out blue. Aang's staff went to the ground, and Hei-Bai went up on its very back legs and roared again. After it landed on all six again, it ran into the village.

"My name is Aang! I'm the Avatar and I would like to help! Hey, wait up!" It continued to ignore the Avatar and destroyed a building and the watch tower, but Aang didn't give up.

"The Avatar's methods are..." The younger of the two men they met trailed off as the group of them dodged a piece of debris that hit the window. "...unusual."

"It doesn't seem too interested in what he's saying," Sokka commented. "Maybe we should go help him?"

The elderly man stepped closer to them. "No, only the Avatar stands a chance against the He-Bai."

"Aang will figure out the right thing to do, Sokka," Katara assured her brother.

Flo didn't say anything. She continued to watch as Aang ran after the spirit, and rested her hands on the window sill, Momo popping up and staying between her arms. Her grip tightened on the wood with every passing second.

"Please, would you stop destroying things and listen?" Aang asked, gradually becoming exasperated with the spirit. He jumped onto one of the buildings the spirit had it's back to. "I'm just trying to do my job as spirit bridge. Excuse me, would please turn around?" He cupped his hands around his mouth. "I command you to turn around now!"

The spirit monster actually turned around at that – but not to listen to Aang. With one of the smaller front legs, it smacked him backwards off of the roof and onto another nearby. Aang hit it with an 'oof' and slid off.

"That's it! He needs help!" Sokka walked around Flo and Momo and went to leave the building.

Katara ran after him. "Sokka wait!"

With a few muttered curses, Flo gently moved Momo away and jumped through the window with ease. The cheif tried to stop her, but she was too fast. She landed on her feet and ran. "Sokka!" she yelled. She jumped in front of him just as a slid to a stop a little ways behind Hei-Bai, ready to throw his boomerang. "We can't fight this!"

"Outta my way, Flo," Sokka said, and attempted to step around her. She just got in front of him again. "Flo!"

"This is a spirit, you idiot," she pressed through gritted teeth. "I don't like Aang doing this either, but–."

"But what?" he snapped. He jumped out of the way as she tried to snatch his boomerang. "Hei-Bai! Over here!" The spirit didn't react to his words, but Sokka then threw the boomerang over Flo and it hit the backside of Hei-Bai.

Flo glared at him. Sokka ignored her. She attempted to push at his shoulders to get him to go back to the meeting house but he didn't budge. Instead, he slipped by her and ran over to Aang. She let out a frustrated groan and went to go back to the building, keeping an ear out for the two boys, listening to their conversation just to make sure they stayed safe. She froze as Aang cut off his own words. She turned around just in time to see Hei-Bai run into the words, one fist holding Sokka. Aang hopped on his glider and chased after them.

She ran to the entrance, stopping as she heard Katara shout out her brother's name. Katara came up beside her. Villagers then stopped behind them, but as Katara took a glance at them Flo kept her eyes to woods, thinking. After a few seconds, she stepped forward, only for Katara to grab her wrist.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to look for your brother," Flo replied. At Katara's worried and sad expression, the older of the two pursed her lips, brows lowering with determination. "I have to try."

"No, you don't–."

"Katara, I joined you to keep you three together." Flo cut her off. "I am going to go look for him, okay?"

She wanted to protest more, that much Flo could tell, but Katara just pressed her lips together and removed her grasp on Flo's wrist. "Be back by sunset," she said. "Please."

Flo hesitantly nodded. Then, she turned and walked out of the village.

+++

Walking through the woods in the dark of the night probably wasn't the best idea Flo ever had, but at least she was doing something. She had to do something. She knew that it was very unlikely that she might find Sokka, and that Aang had a much better chance of doing so. But, just like she told Katara, she joined their group to keep them alive – to keep them together. Katara, Aang, and Sokka were all one another had left. They didn't have anyone else (of course, the siblings had their grandmother back home, but she was all the way back at the South Pole, and they had their father but he was at war, and Flo didn't need to think about that). She knew what it felt like to lose family – and that's what the three were to one another – and she didn't want them to experience that any more than they already had.

She wasn't even doing a good job at searching. She was panicked. Worried. Scared. She stormed through the woods and hastily climbed trees and looked for signs of a spirit, or Sokka, or even Aang. She kept coming up empty handed. There was nothing. Just dirt and trees and grass, and the occasional patch of snow. A tightness formed in her chest; a feel she hadn't felt since her ex left her behind without so much of a goodbye. Flo cursed under her breath and leaned her left shoulder against one of the trees.

What was she going to do if she did find the spirit? What if it still had Sokka, or if it didn't? What if he...

Flo knew she should go back to the village. The Avatar would figure out something, one way or another, even if he was just a twelve year old kid. But she couldn't get herself to move, to go back. She didn't want to show up with nothing to Katara. She didn't want to be the one who told her that everything will be okay, that her brother will come back alive, because Flo had been told that multiple times when she was a little kid and those people were always wrong. None of her brothers were seen again, along with her two sisters, and her mother died at her side, and her father was forced to fight, and the Freedom Fighters abandoned her, and Suki made her leave, and Sokka got taken by a spirit, and who knew where Aang went, and–

And she was alone.

And she was panicking too much.

And she couldn't breathe.

Flo sat in grass and dirt, and leaned against the tree. Everyone in her life left her, it felt like, no matter what. She couldn't even keep three kids who she wanted nothing to do with together. Flo curled in on herself, and attempted to get control of her breathing but it was hard, harder than the last time. Her vision got blurry. Whether that was from the lack of air reaching her lungs or the tears welling up, she didn't know.

Eventually, she shut her eyes right. She stopped trying to control her breathing and instead focused on the sounds around her. The wind rustling the grass and the leaves, various animals scurrying along the floor of the forest, birds chirping in the air. Her breathing evened out after some time. Once that happened, she reopened her eyes and looked to the sky. The sun was high in the sky – she wasted a lot of her time panicking. She cursed at herself and forced her body to stand. The tightness in her chest didn't go away, but she was breathing normally now and that's all that mattered in the current moment. Vaguely aware that she had cried a little, she wiped under her eyes and on her cheeks, and shoved negative thoughts away.

She continued her search, not knowing what else to do.

+++

"Flo!"

The aforementioned girl stopped walking down the dirt road. She looked to the sky, and felt utterly relieved to see a familiar orange glider in the sky. Aang came down a second after that, and landed in front of her. "Did you find him?" she asked.

Aang shook his head. "No, but–."

Her brows pulled together. "What do you mean 'no'? He got taken by freakin' spirit!"

"Flo–." Concern covered his face. He gently raised her hands. Flo hadn't genuinely raised her voice at any of them, not until now, but Aang didn't look hurt or anything. Just worried.

"I am not letting Katara know what it's like to lose a brother!" Flo blurted out before Aang continued, motioning to the village she had been headed back to. It shocked them both. Flo looked away from the boy. Her dark eyes suddenly found the dirt path very interesting and her hands balled into fists at her sides, jaw tensed. "I'm supposed to keep you guys alive."

Aang frowned. "You're just a kid like us, Flo," he said quietly. "We'll get Sokka back. I think I know what to do this time, so we need to get back to the village before it's too late."

Flo could tell her breathing wanted to go out of whack again, but she refused for that to happen in front of Aang. He looked at the sun. It was only starting to set, so they had a bit of time. He looked back at Flo.

"I got taken to the spirit world, or something like that," Aang told her. She stole a glance at him, silently asking why he decided to tell her this. "I was here. But my body was blue, and...no one could see me. I saw everyone, though... I saw you. You weren't okay, and you're still not. What was happening to you?"

She shrugged. "Nothing of your concern."

Aang jumped in front of her when she tried to walk away. "You were wheezing. I was scared, and I couldn't do anything about it, Flo. It is my concern!"

"It's just something that happens sometimes."

"Flo..."

She exasperatedly sighed. "Fine. Okay, I don't know what it is," she admitted, a bite to her tone, and started to walk because they couldn't stand there forever. "But I don't handle people leaving well, okay? It's why I'm better off alone, so I don't get attached and go through that every time someone does leave me. They always go away and never come back."

He walked beside her with a deep frown. "We won't leave you," he said. At her incredulous expression, he went on. "It's true. We'll get Sokka back, I promise."

She didn't believe him, more so about the first part than the second one. But to ease his concern, she nodded.

Thankfully, the conversation ended there. Aang didn't push or ask anything more, though Flo could tell that he wanted to. After a few minutes of walking, and noticing how low the sun started to get in the sky, Aang hopped on his glider and convinced Flo to do the same. It was a weird experience, in all honesty, but it wasn't unpleasant. They made it to the village and landed with ease.

Katara, who had been standing on the porch of the meeting house, rushed forward. She pulled Aang into a tight embrace. As she pulled away, Momo flew over and rest on his shoulder, and Sleemo went to Flo. "You're back! Where's Sokka?"

Aang became downcast again. "I'm not sure."

When Katara looked to Flo, the latter shrugged. She wanted to say that there was no sign of him out there, but that might cause her more worry, so she kept her mouth shut. Sleemo head butted Flo's cheek, then. The girl frowned and leaned away. She gently pushed the hawk-cat's face from her own, and started to walk back to the meeting house. She stood at the window again, and Katara soon joined her with Momo. Aang stood at the gate of the village for the second day in a row when the sun finally lowered completely. Everyone waited. No one made a sound.

Hei-Bai came back. Not until Aang turned to leave the entrance, though, just like last time. The difference though, was that the spirit erupted through a building and roared rather than having walked through the gate, and Aang had to make a dome of air to keep debris from hitting him. Katara yelled at him to run, which was a mistake and Flo promptly slapped a hand over the other girl's mouth. It was too late. At hearing her, Hei-Bai made its way to the meeting house, and Flo removed her hand from Katara's mouth and drew an arrow, ready to shoot if needed. Thankfully, Aang suddenly jumped over the spirit and touched its forehead. For a moment, the area under his hand flowed a light blue. Then, Aang removed his hand and floated onto the porch.

"You're the spirit of this forest. Now I understand," he said. Flo withdrew her weapon. "You're upset and angry because your home was burned down. When I saw the forest had burned I was sad and upset. But my friends gave me hope that the forest would grow back." Aang took out the acorn Katara gave him the day before. He showed it to Hei-Bai, and then set it on the porch.

The spirit picked it up with one it's smaller legs. Then before their very eyes, Hei-Bai changed from the six legged monster to a cuddly looking panda as it turned and walked away, disappearing. A bamboo thicket started to grow at the village's entrance. Not a moment later, people stepped out of the bamboo, dazed and confused, and quickly reunited with their loved ones. The first one to step out was Sokka, and Katara wasted no time in running to him.

Flo just walked over to Aang. "I'm sorry I scared you," she abruptly spoke, startling the boy. He gave a small smile when he realized it was her. "Back when, uh... You know, saw me freaking out."

Aang shook his head. "Don't be. I just wish I could help." He looked up at her. "Are you better now?"

She didn't respond right away. She watched as Sokka rushed by them, yelling about needing to pee. Then, she really thought about it. Her chest still felt tight, as if anything could trigger her into another one of those attacks, but she was relieved to see that Sokka wasn't dead. It didn't feel right, almost. She was used to people going away and never coming back. "I don't know," she said eventually, words slow and uncertain.

"Can you..." He hesitated and stopped. Then, "Can you tell me when you feel like that again?"

Her lips formed into a thin line. "Aang–."

He quickly cut her off. "I know you don't see us as friends. But I see you as my friend, and that means you're important to me. So please tell me, okay? Also, I mean, I am the Avatar – it's my job to help people."

"You won't be able to help."

He shrugged. "I'm an airbender. Maybe I can bend air into your lungs?"

Flo opened her mouth. Though she quickly closed it and suppressed an amused smile at the simple yet weird and maybe scary thought of Aang airbending to help her breathe. He still caught onto the smile, no matter how hidden Flo made it, and grinned at her. "Is that even possible?" she asked.

"No idea!"

She rolled her eyes. "Okay. Fine." She ignored his blindly large smile.

Later than night, the mayor came up to the group of four with two more villagers behind him. "Thank you, Avatar. If there only were a way to repay you for what you've done."

"You could give us some supplies and some money."

While Flo sent him an angry glare, Katara elbowed bow brother. "Sokka!"

He looked at the two girls. "What? We need that stuff."

Flo knew he was right, but now after letting everything settle down a bit, she found herself annoyed and angry at Sokka. She didn't voice it, though anyone could tell. Plus, he could've politely asked rather than state it. Flo might not have the socializing thing down after so many years of being alone, but at least she knows when to be polite.

The mayor bowed, despite Sokka's bluntness. "It would be an honor to help you prepare for your journey." The man then walked away with the two villagers, leaving the four kids alone once again.

"I'm so proud of you, Aang," Katara told the youngest. "You figured out what to do all on your own."

"Actually, I did have a little help," he admitted, though didn't explain how. Flo thought back to how he told her he had been in the spirit world, or something along those line, but didn't get to dwell on it as he spoke again. His next words came out hesitant. "And there's something else."

"What is it?" Sokka asked when Aang didn't elaborate at first.

"I need to talk to Roku and I think I've found a way to contact his spirit."

"That's great!" Katara exclaimed, smiling.

"Creepy, but great," Sokka agreed.

"And weird," Flo found herself muttering.

Aang ignored their comments. "There's a temple on a crescent shaped island, and if I go there on the solstice I'll be able to speak with him," he explained to them.

"But the solstice is tomorrow," said Katara.

"Yeah, and there's one more problem." He paused, and the way he did so made Flo anxious. "The island is in the Fire Nation."

Flo couldn't breathe.

***

A/N— All I have to say is Flo's & Aang's brotp is lowkey my favorite thing about this fic so far. It's not developed fully yet, if at all, but once she actually stops keeping her walls up their brotp is going to thrive. I love my Arrow Buds so much