Previously on Open Your Mind

The other three nodded and Sokka grabbed the two bags of fruits and nuts then they all climbed up onto Appa, Xiaodan taking the reins while Aang, Sokka, and Katara sat in the saddle.

"Yip-yip!" Xiaodan called out and Appa grumbled, smacking his tail against the ground then leaping into the air.

The white-haired girl looked over her shoulder as she steered Appa away from the Southern Air Temple, memorizing it as best she could as it began to get smaller and smaller. She could see Aang doing the same thing at the back of the saddle, Momo on his shoulder.

'Don't worry, Aang.'She thought determinedly, 'We'll be back, I promise.'

In his room on the warship, Zuko sat in front of a low table with four burning candles on it, carefully breathing in and out as he meditated while the candle flames grew and shrank with each breath. The door to his quarters creaked open and Iroh poked his head inside, causing Zuko's eyes to open.

"The only reason you should be interrupting me is if you have news about the Avatar." Zuko said softly, his voice calm.

Iron opened the door further and stepped into his nephew's room, pulling a scroll from his sleeve he entered.

"Well there is news, Prince Zuko," Iroh stated, looking at the scroll in his hands, "But you might not like it. Don't get too upset."

"Uncle, you taught me that keeping a level head is a sign of a great leader." Zuko said, voice still calm, "Now whatever you have to say, I'm sure I can take it."

"Okay then." Iroh muttered rubbing his bearded chin with one hand, "We have no idea where he is."

The candle flames exploded upward suddenly and Zuko whirled around to face his uncle, who had lifted his arm to shield his eyes from the light of the flames.

"What!" Zuko demand as he leapt to his feet, towering over his uncle.

"You really should open a window in here." Iroh commented flippantly as he pulled a fan from his robes' sleeve and fanned his face, the scroll clutched in his other hand.

"Give me the map." The banished prince snapped, snatching the rolled up scroll from his uncle's hand.

"Uh, there have been multiple sightings of the Avatar," Iroh reported, still fanning his face, "but he is impossible to track down."

Zuko looked over the map in his hands, "How am I going to find him, Uncle? He is clearly a master evasive maneuvering."

Iroh shrugged slightly and looked at his nephew with a slight quirk to his lips, "Perhaps it is that charming Airbender girl you were ranted about when you first found the Avatar."

Zuko felt his good eye twitch at the mention of the annoying white-haired girl.

"You have no idea where you're going, do you?" Sokka asked turning his gaze from the map in his hands to where Xiaodan and Aang were sitting on Appa's head.

"Well," Aang said, looking over his shoulder at the Water Tribe siblings sitting in the saddle, "I know it's near water."

Xiaodan snorted and down at the sprawling ocean below them, her lips quirked in amusement as she shook her head and reclined on Appa's large head with her hands behind her own head.

"I guess we're getting close then." Sokka muttered drily, also looking over the edge of the saddle at the ocean below them.

Aang looked up at Katara sitting at the front of the saddle, stitching the hole in Sokka's pants with a peaceful expression on her tanned face.

"Momo, marbles please."

Xiaodan opened an eye to watch as Momo dove into Aang's shirt then popped back out and sitting on the young boy's shoulder, placing the marbles in the boy's hand.

"Hey, Katara," The younger Airbender called out to the Waterbender as he moved to face her fully, "Check out this Airbending trick."

The marbles in his hand began spinning rapidly in a circular motion between his palms, thanks to Aang's airbending and Aang grinned up at the preoccupied Katara widely. Xiaodan chuckled under her breath and closed her eyes, greatly amused at her little brother's attempts at impressing the slightly older girl.

"That's great, Aang." Katara muttered, too focused on fixing Sokka's pants to pay attention to the young Airbender.

The smile fell from Aang's face and he closed his hands over the marbles which stopped their spinning, "You didn't even look."

"That's great!" Katara said with more enthusiasm as she turned to look at Aang.

"But I'm not doing it now." Aang muttered, looking confused and slightly crestfallen at the girl.

"Stop bugging her, Airhead," Sokka commented with a dismissive wave of his hand as he reclined against the back rim of the saddle, "You need to give girls space when they do their sewing."

Xiaodan's eye twitched and she sat up, moving so that she could peer over the saddle at Sokka with narrowed molten orange eyes. Apparently Katara was just as irritated with her brother's chauvinistic comment as the older white-haired girl.

"What does me being a girl have to do with sewing?" the Waterbender asked, her tone screaming 'danger-danger.'

"Simple," Sokka explained, completely oblivious to his sister's annoyed tone, "Girls are better at fixing pants than guys and guys are better at hunting and fighting and stuff like that. It's just the natural order of things."

The flat expression on Katara's face suddenly morphed into an over cheerful one, a wide smile on her pretty face.

"All done with your pants and look what a great job I did!" Katara exclaimed, tossing Sokka's pants at his face, the rather large hole in the back still not completely fixed.

"Wait!" Sokka yelped, pulling the pants from his face, "I was just kidding! I can't wear these! Katara please!

Xiaodan snorted and stuck her tongue out at the Water Tribe boy, who had his arm sticking out of the hole in his trousers, "That's what you get for being a jerk, Sokka."

"Relax Sokka," Aang called out with a bright smile as he jerked Appa's reins to the right, "Where we're going, you won't need any pants!"

The blank expression on the older boy's face caused Xiaodan to laugh loudly at his expense.

Xiaodan jumped and somersaulted off of Appa's head after Aang had landed the large flying bison on the shore of a small Island in the Earth Kingdom. The white-haired girl placed a hand over her mouth as she yawned then stretched languidly, her spine cracking slightly. Aang and Katara soon joined her on the ground, Aang practically bouncing while the two girls looked on with amusement.

"We just made a pit stop yesterday." Sokka commented as he jumped from Appa's back, "Shouldn't we get a little more flying done before we camp out?"

"He's right." Katara agreed as the two siblings turned to Aang who was looking out at the water, one hand behind his back while the other shaded his eyes, "At this rate, we won't get to the North Pole until spring."

"But Appa's tired already. Aren't you, boy?" Aang stated, looking up at the sky bison, then nudged the bison when all Appa did was snort, "I said, aren't you boy?"

As if on cue, Appa yawned loudly and Aang turned to look at Sokka, Katara, and Xiaodan, pointing at Appa with his thumb in a 'see? I told you' type gesture.

"Yeah, that was really convincing." Sokka said drily, looking over at his sister, "Still, hard to argue with a ten-ton magical monster."

"He's not a monster." Xiaodan quipped with a cheeky grin then looked over at Aang who had run towards the water, "What are you doing, Aang?"

"Look!" The younger Airbender gasped excitedly, pointing at the ocean just as a giant yellow and red koi fish leapt out of the water.

Xiaodan laughed giddily and threw her arms up in the air with a cheer, while Sokka and Katara looked at the water wit wide, disbelieving eyes.

"That's why we're here, elephant koi." Aang explained excitedly as he dropped his pants and took off his shirt, leaving him in his underwear and showing off his Airbending tattoos, "I'm gonna ride 'em. Katara, you gotta watch me."

"Be careful!" Xiaodan called, sitting cross-legged on the sandy beach as Aang ran and dove into the cold, blue water only to jump up a moment later with a shout, causing Xiaodan to laugh and clap her hands merrily.

The Water Tribe siblings stared at the boy for a moment with blank expressions before glancing at each. Sokka lifted a finger and twirled it near his temple in the universal sign for craziness, which earned him a punch in the leg from Xiaodan who had got the gesture.

"Whoo!" The white-haired girl cheered as Aang rode on the back of the elephant koi, "Go Aang!"

Xiaodan giggled happily when she glanced up at the siblings and saw Katara watching Aang with wide eyes and an awed smile on her tanned face then rolled her molten orange eyes at Sokka's unimpressed expression.

Aang laughed, clutching onto the back fin of the elephant and waved at the trio on the beach, his face ecstatic.

"Whoo!" Katara whooped and jumped, waving back at the bald boy as she and Xiaodan continued to cheer him on, Momo jumping up and down beside the white haired girl.

"He looks pretty good out there." Katara commented to her brother, looking at his indifferent expression and crossed arms.

"Are you kidding? The fish is doing all the work." Sokka muttered.

"Spoilsport." Xiaodan snarked from her spot on the ground.

"No, Appa!" Katara cried out suddenly, pulling Xiaodan's attention away from Aang.

"Don't eat that!" The white-haired Airbender yelped, leaping to her feet and racing toward the sky bison with Katara, neither noticing the wide smile Aang sent there way.

Aang grinned widely over at the beach, hoping to catch Katara's attention only to pout when he saw her and Xiaodan running around a small bend, leaving only and unimpressed Sokka and a happily bouncing Momo on the beach to watch him ride the elephant koi.

"Aw, man."

Sokka's eyes widened and he leaned forward when he saw a large shadow coming right up behind Aang and the elephant koi he was riding.

"There's something in the water!" He exclaimed, catching Xiaodan and Katara's attention.

"What's wrong?" Katara asked as she and Xiaodan skidded to a stop on either side of the boy.

"Aang's in trouble."

"AANG!" Xiaodan screamed, rushing towards the edge of the shore.

"GET OUT OF THERE!" She and Katara yelled at the same time, bot h watching in horror as one of the other koi was suddenly dragged under the water.

"COME BACK HERE, AANG!" Sokka shouted, the three teens gesturing widely for the younger boy to come back to the shore and away from whatever was in the water.

Thinking they were waving at him, Aang lifted his hand to wave back only to be thrown from the koi when it suddenly lurched backwards and was dragged into the water.

"AANG!" Xiaodan screamed again as she watched her little brother be thrown into the water and then a massive grayish-purple fin appeared behind him, "GET OUT OF THE WATER RIGHT NOW!"

The trio on the beach watched as Aang turned to look at the thing casting a shadow over him, then he screamed and leapt up, practically running across the water as he darted towards the beach, the monster just behind him.

Sokka yelled when Aang crashed into him, knocking him back into a tree. Xiaodan and Katara exchanged worried looks and hurried to where Aang was pulling on his pants and Sokka was sprawled out in the snow against the tree they had crashed into.

"Spirits, Aang!" Xiaodan gasped, clutching the shorter boy to her chest, her eyes still wide with slightly panic, "Are you okay, little brother?"

"I'm fine, Xia." Aang responded, voice slightly muffled before he pulled away to pull on his shirt.

Xiaodan looked him over briefly before moving to help Sokka to his feet.

"What was that thing?" Katara asked, standing beside Aang and Xiaodan and in front of Sokka.

"I don't know." Aang said, pulling his shirt over his head, his voice awed.

"Well, let's not stick around to find out." Sokka muttered, dusting his hands off after Xiaodan had pulled him to his feet, "Time to hit the road."

Xiaodan yelped and raised her hands when a group of warriors suddenly surrounded them, one grabbing Sokka under his arms while another pulled Katara's hood over her face which distracted Aang enough for a third warrior to grab him by the collar of his shirt and another caught Momo in a drawstring sack. Orange eyes wide, Xiaodan dodged the hands that tried to grab her leaping into the air and flipping over the fourth warrior's head then quickly kicking him in the back.

"Oof!" The white-haired girl grunted when she was tackled from behind, her hands quickly tied behind her back and a blindfold placed over her eyes.

The four travelers grunted when they were tossed on the ground blindfolded, with their hands tied behind their backs and ropes keeping their arms trapped by their sides. Xiaodan growled slightly, wiggling in an attempt to escape her bonds.

"Or we could stay awhile." Sokka remarked with faint sarcasm.

"Shut up, Sokka." The white haired girl huffed annoyed as she felt one of their attackers haul her to her feet and start pushing her towards an unknown destination.

"You three have some explaining to do." An old male voice said from in front of the four, who had been tied to a pole.

"And if you don't answer our questions, we're throwing you back in the water with the unagi." A younger, female voice finished for the older man.

"I'd like to throw you to the unagi..." Xiaodan muttered darkly, extremely displeased about being tied up and blindfolded, only to mutter an 'ow' when Katara somehow managed to elbow her in the side.

"Show yourselves cowards!" Sokka cried out defiantly and just as irritated at being kidnapped.

"Who are you?" the Water Tribe boy demanded once the blindfolds had been removed, "Where are the men who ambushed us?"

"There were no men," A girl with short auburn hair who was clearly the leader of the group of female warriors standing in front of the four snapped, pointing her finger at Sokka's face, "We ambushed you. Now tell us, who are you and what are you doing here?"

"Wait a second,," Sokka snarked, "There's no way a bunch of girls took us down."

Xiaodan groaned and smacked the back of her head against the poll she and her friends were tied to.

"Idiot." She mumbled as the leader of group stepped forward and grabbed the front of Sokka's parka.

"A bunch of girls, huh?" The girl snapped, "The unagi's going to eat well tonight."

"No, don't hurt him!" Katara quickly intervened, grabbing the girl's attention, "He didn't mean it. My brother's just an idiot sometimes."

Sokka frowned at the girl in front of him as she let him go, her expression flat and annoyed.

"It's my fault." Aang suddenly spoke up, pulling everyone attention to him, "I'm sorry we came here. I wanted to ride the elephant koi."

"How do we know you're not Fire Nation spies." The old man from before accused angrily and pointed his finger at the four young people, "Kyoshi stayed out of the war so far and we intend to keep it that way.

"This island is named for Kyoshi?" Aang asked excitedly, looking over at the man, "I know Kyoshi!"

The old man scoffed, "How could you possibly know her? Avatar Kyoshi was born her four hundred years ago. She's been dead for centuries."

Xiaodan and Aang looked up at the top of the pole they were tied to, where a wooden stature of Avatar Kyoshi was perched. Aang looked at the ground with a thoughtful expression on his face before a serene look appeared and he turned to look at the old man.

"I know her because I'm the Avatar."

"That's impossible!" The leader warrior girl snapped, raising her fist, "The last Avatar was an Airbender who disappeared a hundred years ago."

"That's me." Aang stated, grinning slightly.

"Throw the imposter to the unagi." The old man ordered angrily then walked away.

The warriors advanced on the group, opening their metal fans in preparation as they surrounded the four.

"Aang, Xia, do some Airbending..." Katara muttered from the corner of her mouth as the warriors advanced on them.

Aang frowned for a moment then used Airbending to propel himself upward, snapping the rope on one arms of the Kyoshi statue, which he then flipped over and floated to the ground in front of Sokka, Katara, and Xiaodan. The warriors and the old man, plus the villagers that had been milling around behind them gasped and began murmuring to each other in awe as they all stared at Aang.

"It's true." The old man said in amazement, "You are the Avatar."

"Now, check this out." Aang said with a smirk as he whipped out his marbles and used his Airbending to make them spin between his hands, grinning over at the villagers.

The villagers cheered and laughed, one man going completely nuts and starting to foam at the mouth before passing out. Xiaodan laughed lightly and leapt into the air, similar to the way Aang had and broke free of the rope tying her, Katara, and Sokka to the pole.

The young woman clapped her hand on Aang's shoulder, smiling down at him happily while the villagers cheered and began running around, spreading the news that the Avatar was on Kyoshi Island.

"The Avatar is on Kyoshi Island?!" Zuko demanded as one of the crew members placed the fish he and his uncle were going to eat on the table, "Uncle, ready the rhinos. He's not getting away from me this time."

Iroh watched his nephew stalk out of the room then he pointed to the fish in front of him, "Are you going to finish that?"

"I was going to save it for later!" Zuko snapped, snatching the dish form the table and stalking away, leaving Iroh to cross his arms and pout at the table.

"Alright, dessert for breakfast!" Aang cheered as he stuffed a pastry in his mouth, "These people sure know how to treat an Avatar."

"Don't talk with your mouthful, little brother." Xiaodan chided with an amused smile at the younger Airbender as she picked up one of the sugary treats from the many laid out on the table.

Aang grinned at the older girl before looking over at Katara and holding out one of the desserts he'd been eating, "Mm, Katara, you gotta try these."

The Waterbender smiled and put the treat she'd been looking at down and took the dessert Aang held out to her, "Well, maybe just a bite."

Xiaodan laughed again when she saw Katara's eyes widening slightly and a grin spread across her tan face. The younger girl picked up another of the treats from the table, while Momo stole another. The white-haired girl grinned happily, taking a bit out of her treat and continuing to watch the villagers clean up the Kyoshi statue from the window behind Aang and Katara.

"Sokka, what's your problem?" Aang asked, looking over at the older boy, who was sitting on the floor with his back against the wall and his arms crossed over his chest, "Eat."

"Not hungry." The Water Tribe boy snapped, pouting at the floor.

"But you're always hungry." Xiaodan and Aang said together, looking over at the irate boy in confusion.

"He's just upset because a bunch of girls kicked his butt yesterday." Katara explained to the confused Airbenders, a smug smile on her face.

"They snuck up on me!" Sokka protested instantly, coming out of his slouched position to look at his sister indignantly.

"Right," Katara drawled, looking at her brother with a haughty expression, "And then they kicked your butt."

"Sneak attacks don't count!" Sokka snapped, jumping to his feet and stalking out of the room, "Tie me up with rope, I'll show them a thing or two."

Xiaodan cocked an eyebrow when he came back standing next to her and grabbed a couple of the desserts from the table.

"I'm not scared of any girls. Who do they think they are anyway?" He mumbled, then shoved one of the pastries in his mouth, "Mm, this is tasty."

Xiaodan giggled manically, clutching her stomach and falling onto her back as she laughed.

"What's he so angry about?" Aang asked naively, looking over at Katara as Sokka left the room, "It's great here. They're giving us the royal treatment."

"Hey, don't get too comfortable." Katara advised, "It's risky for us to stay in one place for very long."

Aang pouted for a moment then grabbed another treat, a smile on his face, "I'm sure we'll be fine. Besides did you see how happy I'm making this town? They're even clean off that statue in my honor."

"Well, it's nice to see you excited about being the Avatar." Katara commented, looking off to the side, "I just hope it doesn't all go to your head."

"Katara's right, little brother." Xiaodan spoke up then as she straightened from her sprawled out position on the floor, "Don't let this thing go to your head."

"Come on, you two know me better than that. I'm just a simple monk." Aang stated with a serene smile as he got to his feet and leaned against the window.

Xiaodan winced slightly when the shrill shouts of a group of the village girls came through the window, cheering for Aang. The white-haired girl watched as Aang blushed and a wide smile spread across his face while Katara crossed her arms and rolled her eyes in exasperation, then blew a raspberry when the screams got louder.

"Oh Spirits..." Xiaodan muttered and flopped back on to the floor.

Aang ran across the bridge, the group of screaming village girls chasing after him. Then he ran back the other way, across the bridge again only to double back and run back to the bridge, stopping in the middle. He looked both ways and leapt into the air when he saw two groups of girls coming at him from both sides.

The girls stopped screaming for a moment and pouted as they looked up at Aang, before starting to scream and cheer again when they saw the ball of air he was clinging to begin to shrink until it disappeared and he fell in their waiting arms.

The village painter held his brush up in front of him, judging the appropriate measurements of the young Avatar and the village girl clinging to his side.

"Hmm... Painting the Avatar, that's easy enough." The painter muttered as he began painting the girl first, only to frown when he lowered his canvas and saw another girl standing beside the boy, "Oh, there's another one."

"A little adjustment here." The painter mumbled as he added the second girl only to blink when he saw more girls had joined the first two, "There's more."

He lowered the canvas again only to frown when he saw even more of the village girls surrounding the Avatar. His lips pursed as he stared at them flatly and a drop of ink fell from his brush onto the canvas. The girls giggled and tried to get closer to the Avatar, causing the painter to shake his head and stand, walking away from the absurd scene.

Xiaodan watched Aang try to impress a few of the village girls by doing push-ups first with both hands, then one, and finally by blowing a strong current of air out of his mouth. The white-haired girl chuckled and followed after Katara, who was carrying a jug of water back to the house the villagers were letting them stay in. Xiaodan decided to let her little brother have his fun for now, she was pretty sure the girls would get bored eventually.

Grumbling, Sokka stomped his way to the dojo near the back of the village were the Kyoshi Warriors were busy training. The young man peeked in the open doorway and smirked to himself. He entered the dojo and held his hands up.

"Sorry ladies, didn't mean to interrupt your dance lesson." He snarked and stretched his arm over his head, "I was just looking for somewhere to get a little workout."

The girls stopped their routine and turned to look at the tanned boy.

"Well, you're in the right place." The leader of the Kyoshi Warriors, Suki, stated coolly as she watched Sokka continue to stretch, "Sorry about yesterday, I didn't know you were friends with the Avatar."

"It's alright." Sokka said haughtily, "I mean, normally I'd hold a grudge but seeing as you guys are a bunch of girls, I'll make an exception."

"I should hope so." Suki drawled with veiled sarcasm, "A big, strong man like you, we wouldn't stand a chance."

"True." Sokka agreed, oblivious to the girl's sarcasm as he finished stretching a condescending smirk on his face, "But don't feel bad, after all I'm the best warrior in my village."

"Wow," Suki cooed, leaning forward with her hands on her hips, "Best warrior, huh, in your whole village? Maybe you'd be kind enough to give us a little demonstration."

Sokka's eyes widened, "Well, I mean-"

Suki ignored him, turning to the other warriors, "Come on girls, wouldn't you like him to show us some moves?"

The other Kyoshi Warriors giggled and nodded in agreement. Suki turned back to a smirking Sokka with a quirked eyebrow.

"Well if that's what you want." Sokka said and walked over to Suki, putting his hands on her shoulders, "You stand over there."

"Now, this may be a little tough, but try to block me." Sokka instructed after he backed away and got into a fighting stance.

He swung his fist only to yelp slightly when Suki lifted her hand and hit him under the arm with her fan. Sokka chuckled slightly, rolling his shoulder and looking at the girl with an unsure expression.

"Good." He complimented, "Of course, I was going easy on you."

"Of course." Suki drawled, much to Sokka's irritation.

"Let's see if you can handle this!" Sokka cried out, swinging a kick at Suki only for her to slide forward and knock him into the air with her arm.

The Kyoshi Warrior snapped open her metal fan and began fanning her face, looking down at Sokka's sprawled out form on the ground of the dojo.

"That's does it!" Sokka snapped, lunging to his feet and swinging his fist at the girl.

Suki easily pushed his fist away, grabbing his forearm with one hand while her other pressed into his shoulder and she began swinging him around in a circle. She swung him the other way then jerked his arm back, snapped his belt off and tied it around the arm in her grasp and his raised ankle. Suki then stepped back and watched as the young man began hopping forward, trying to keep his balance before falling on his face with a yelp.

"Is there anything else you want to teach us?" Suki asked smugly as she stood over Sokka's prone form, while the other Kyoshi Warriors giggled at his predicament.

Sokka blushed furiously and looked up at the girls with wide, embarrassed eyes.

Xiaodan plucked up one of the vegetables from the table in front of her and placed it in the clay jug the villagers had let her and Katara use. The two girls were gathering some supplies in a companionable silence, although Xiaodan could tell that the dark-haired girl was slightly irritated with the way Aang has been acting.

Said boy suddenly appeared on Katara's other side, tapping her shoulder with a small smile on his face.

"Oh good!" Katara said with a smile as she picked up the jug full of vegetables and fruits, "Could you help me carry this back to the room? It's a little heavy."

Xiaodan watched the interaction with a vaguely amused look, plucking up one of the apples from the table and taking a bite out of it.

"Actually, I can't right now." Aang said, holding his hands up apologetically.

"What do you mean you can't?" Katara asked in surprise, looking at the Airbender in confusion.

"I promised the girls I'd give them a ride on Appa." Aang explained, smiling slightly, "Why don't you and Xia come with us? It'll be fun."

Katara turned back to the table of vegetables, picking up some cucumbers and placing them in the jug, "Watching you show off for a bunch of girls does not sound like fun. Right, Xia?"

The white-haired girl held her hands up and waved them slightly, "Nuh uh. I'm not getting in the middle of this."

Katara huffed and picked up a couple of eggplants, dropping them in the jug. Aang looked at Xiaodan in confusion for a moment before looking back at Katara.

"Well, neither does carrying your basket." Aang stated, pointing at the clay basket.

"It's not my basket." Katara snapped, looking at Aang with frustration, "These supplies are for our trip. I told you we have to leave Kyoshi soon."

"I don't wanna leave Kyoshi yet." Aang protested, "I can't put my finger on it but there's something I really like about this place."

Xiaodan looked over at the gaggle of giggling girls waiting a few feet behind Aang and rolled her eyes, taking a bit out of her apple as she continued to watch Katara and Aang.

"What's taking you so long, Aangy?" One of the girls demanded, stomping her foot.

Xiaodan nearly choked on the piece of apple in her mouth.

"Aangy?" She and Katara chorused, looking at Aang in disbelief as he smiled and waved at the girls behind him.

"Just a second, Koko." He called over to her then turned to face Katara again.

"Simple monk, huh?" Katara asked sarcastically, giving the young Avatar an annoyed look, "I thought you promised Xia and me this Avatar stuff wouldn't go to your head."

"It didn't." Aang denied then a smug expression appeared on his young face, "You know what I think? You just don't want to come because you're jealous."

Xiaodan groaned quietly and slapped her forehead with her free hand, her eyes closing in exasperation.

"Jealous!?" Katara snapped indignantly, "Of what?"

"Jealous that we're having so much fun without you." Aang answered, ignoring the way Xiaodan was waving her arms in a frantic attempt to get him to be quiet from behind Katara.

"That's ridiculous." Katara said with a scowl as she placed more vegetables and fruits in the jug.

"It is a little ridiculous, but I understand." Aang agreed naively, hands clasped behind his back.

"Ugh!" Katara growled and hefted the clay basket into her arms, stalking away from Aang, "Come on, Xia."

The white-haired girl watched the Waterbender stomp away then looked back at Aang only to shake her head in bemused exasperation when she saw the village girls pull him away.

"Oh boy..." Xiaodan muttered, tossing her half-eaten apple in the air and catching it again as she followed after the irate Katara, "This is not going to end well at all."

Sokka hovered outside the dojo where the Kyoshi Warriors were training and kicked a rock before turning towards the building. He walked up the steps and into the dojo, pausing when he saw the girls in the middle of their routine. The Warriors turned to look at the Water Tribe boy curiously, holding their lunged position as they waited for him to speak.

"Uh, hey, Suki." He greeted nervously.

Suki straightened and placed her hands on her hips, "Hoping for another dance lesson?"

"No, I-Well, I-Let me explain." Sokka stuttered rubbing the back of his head.

"Spit it out." Suki demanded, "What do you want?"

Sokka looked at Suki for a moment before bowing his head and kneeling in front of Suki and the other Kyoshi Warriors, much to their surprise.

"I would be honored if you would teach me." He asked humbly.

"Even if I'm a girl?" Suki quipped sternly, arms crossed over her chest.

"I'm sorry if I insulted you early." Sokka apologized, looking away shamefaced, "I was wrong."

"We normally don't teach outsiders," Suki stated, "Let alone boys."

"Please make an exception." Sokka practically begged, first looking up at Suki then bowing his head, "I won't let you down."

Suki thought about it for a moment then nodded with a smirk forming on her painted face, "Alright, but you have to follow all of our traditions."

"Of course." Sokka agreed instantly.

"And I mean all of them." Suki stated again, with a smile.

Sokka gulped, suddenly feeling unsure about this.

"Do I really have to wear this? Sokka asked, looking down at the dress the Kyoshi Warriors had forced him into, "It feels a little...girly."

"It's a warrior's uniform." Suki said, arms folded behind her back, "You should be proud. The silk thread symbolizes the brave blood that flows through our veins, the gold insignia represents the honor of the warrior's heart."

Sokka straightened and put his hands on his hips, puffing his chest out proudly, "Bravery and honor."

"Hey, Sokka, nice dress." Aang complimented with a laugh as he passed the open door, causing Sokka to deflate instantly with a blush of embarrassment.

Xiaodan lounged in the window sill of the room she and her friends were staying in, watching as Katara practiced her Waterbending with a small bowl of water at her side. The white-haired girl was enjoying the cool breeze and warm sunshine on her face, as well as the surprisingly relaxing motions of the water moving to and fro as Katara directed it.

"Katara, remember how the unagi almost got me yesterday?" Aang asked suddenly as he stepped into the room and rocked back and forth on his heels.

One of Xiaodan's eyebrows rose and her eyes narrowed, not liking the smug tone in her younger brother's voice as he talked to Katara.

"Yeah." Katara answered without looking at him.

"Well, I'm gonna go ride it now." Aang said confidently, "It's gonna be real dangerous."

Xiaodan felt her eye twitch and she sat up on the window ledge so that she was straddling it as she glared over at Aang, daring him to continue talking nonsense.

"Good for you." Katara commented offhandedly, as if she didn't care at all.

"Not good for you." Xiaodan snapped, but was ignored much to her irritation.

"You're not gonna stop me?" Aang asked confusedly, his posture no longer cocky as he looked at the dark-haired girl.

"Nope. Have fun."

"I will." Aang said and petulantly crossed his arms.

Realizing what was going on, Xiaodan snorted and rolled her eyes, returning to her lounging position on the windowsill as she listened to the two other Benders with half an ear.

"Great."

"I know it's great."

"Well I'm glad you know."

"I'm glad, you're glad."

"Good!"

"Fine!"

Xiaodan watched as Aang paused in the doorway and cast a disappointed look back at Katara then walked out. The white-haired girl then watched as Katara wrapped her arms around herself and looked at the empty doorway, her expression concerned and full of worry.

Groaning to herself, Xiaodan hopped off the windowsill and made her way over to the younger girl, grabbing her arm and hauling her to her feet.

"What are you doing?" Katara asked, not resisting when the older Airbender began leading her out of the room.

"We're going to make sure my idiot little brother doesn't get himself eaten by the giant eel." Xiaodan stated drily as she dragged Katara out of the house and towards the beach.

"You're not gonna master it in one day." Suki commented as she watched Sokka continue to practice the moves she and her warriors had taught him, "Even I'm not that good."

"I think I'm starting to get it." Sokka said as he went through the routine then accidently tossed the fan out of the open door and into a snow covered tree.

Suki looked out the door in amusement before turning to look at a sheepish Sokka, "It's not about strength. Our technique is about using your opponent's force against them."

"Loosen up." The auburn haired girl said and pulled one of her fans out of her belt, "Think of the fan as an extension of your arm."

She moved into a fighting stance, Sokka mimicking her a moment later. Suki moved to forward slightly.

"Wait for an opening and then-Oof!" She grunted when Sokka hooked his foot around her own then knocked her backwards by pushing her with his forearm.

Suki looked up at him surprise and Sokka crossed his arms smugly.

"I fell on purpose to make you feel better!" Suki snapped as she leapt to her feet.

"I got you!" Sokka gloated, pointing at her excitedly, "Admit I got you."

Suki chuckled and grabbed his finger bending it backwards, "Okay, it was a lucky shot. Let's see if you can do it again."

They got into a fighting stance and Suki began circling him, while Sokka moved to keep her from getting behind him.

"What's taking so long?" The village girl, Koko, demanded as she and the others sat on the beach while Aang was in the water.

"I'm sure it'll be here any second." Aang called back to them, frowning before an idea came to him and he started spinning his marbles again, "Uh, what about this?"

"Not that again." One of the girls groaned, "Boring."

"Where's the unagi?" Koko asked as some of the girls began to stand, "It's getting late."

"Where are you going?" Aang cried out, "Don't leave!"

"Sorry, Aang!" Koko apologized as the girls began walking back to the village, "Maybe next time."

Aang sighed and sank to his nose in the water, eyes downcast with disappointment. His grey eyes widened when he saw two familiar figures dressed in blue and orange.

"Katara! Xia!" He exclaimed happily, "You showed up!"

"We wanted to make sure you were safe." Katara called back to him, her hands folded in front of her, "You really had me worried."

"But back there you acted like you didn't care." Aang stated with confusion and Xia snickered before sitting down cross-legged on the sand.

"I'm sorry," Katara apologized softly.

"Me too." Aang said regretfully, glancing off to the side, "I did let all that attention go to my head. I was being a jerk."

"Well get out of the water before you catch a cold, you big jerk!" Katara shouted teasingly, causing Xiaodan to laugh and Aang to grin widely at the dark-haired girl.

"On my way!" He called back as he started swimming to shore.

"AANG!" Xiaodan yelled suddenly, jumping to her feet with a gust of air when she saw the unagi's huge fin heading straight for Aang, "SWIM FASTER!"

"What?" Aang questioned only to yell as the water began to churn around him and he was suddenly lifted from the ocean on the back of unagi.

He screamed again when the head of giant eel appeared in front of him, looking down at where he was perched on its back. The unagi suddenly shot a jet of water from his mouth right at Aang, who was able to grab onto one of the spines on the unagi's back to keep from being blown back into the water.

"AANG!" Xiaodan and Katara shrieked as the giant eel lunged at the bald boy, who grabbed onto one its whiskers.

The unagi began to swing the young Airbender around in an attempt to get him off his whisker.

"Hang on, Aang!" Katara cried out as she watched, only to gasp in horror with Xiaodan when the giant eel managed to fling the boy off his whisker and back into the water a few feet from shore.

"Aang!" Katara shouted, running into the water with Xiaodan right beside her.

The unagi dove under the water and swam towards the barely conscious Airbender, appearing just as Katara and Xiaodan reached him. Taking a deep breath, Katara shoved her hand forward and used her Waterbending to propel the three teens back to the shore.

Xiaodan groaned and shook herself, watching the unagi blasts the rocks with water before swimming away.

Katara and Xiaodan peeked over the rocks they were hiding behind and their eyes widened.

"Zuko!" Katara gasped when she saw the familiar warship.

"Not him again." Xiaodan groaned then leapt to her feet, "Katara, try to wake up Aang, I'll go warn the village."

"Wait!" Katara protested by the white haired girl had already leapt over the rocks and was racing back to the village, using her Airbending to give her an extra boost of speed.

"I want the Avatar alive." Zuko ordered as he and some of his men descended from his ship on their rhinos, following the path that lead to the village.

Katara peered over the rocks then ducked down again just as the Fire Nation soldiers passed her Aang's hiding spot. The young Waterbender shifted again away from the rocks and cupped the back of his bald head with her hand.

"Wake up, Aang." Katara pleaded then looked around quickly and moved her hand over his body and towards his mouth, pulling the water from his lungs.

The young Airbender coughed and looked up at the relieved Waterbender, "Katara, don't ride the unagi, not fun."

Xiaodan raced into the village heading straight for the dojo where she knew Sokka was with the Kyoshi Warriors, shouting a warning to the villagers to get inside as she passed.

"Sokka! Suki!" The white haired girl shouted as she exploded into the large room, startling both of them, "Firebenders!"

Just then Oyaji, appeared in the doorway behind the Airbender, his face terrified, "Firebenders have landed on our shores! Girls come quickly!"

Suki raced out of the dojo, Xiaodan hot on her heels.

"Hey I'm not a-Ugh, whatever!" Sokka growled and raced after the two girls.

"Come out, Avatar, you can't hide from me forever." Zuko shouted as he and his men stood in front of the main path into the village on their rhinos.

He narrowed his gold eyes as the villagers that had been peeking out of their windows ducked down out of site.

"Find him." The banished prince ordered and his soldiers rode into the quiet village.

Xiaodan raced across the rooftops with the Kyoshi Warriors, her staff strapped to her back. She ignored the other Fire Nation soldiers that the girls quickly ambushed, instead focusing her molten orange gaze on their leader, who had hung back near the front of the village. She had a bone to pick with him.

Her orange eyes widened when she saw Suki leap towards Zuko after dodging his fire blasts only for her to be knocked by his rhino's tail after he had spun it around. Zuko sent a blast of fire at the downed girl and Xiaodan cried out in relief when she saw Sokka dressed as a Kyoshi Warrior use a metal fan to block the fire sent at Suki.

The white-haired girl leapt into the air, kicking her foot out and sending a volley of air at Zuko which knocked him off his rhino before he could shoot another fire blast at Sokka and Suki. She then landed on the roof again, sending gusts of air out in an attempt to put out some of the flames that the Firebenders had created.

"I guess training's over." Sokka commented as he and Suki rushed to surround the banished Fire Nation prince's prone form on the porch, another Kyoshi Warrior joining them.

"Argh!" Zuko snarled, pushing himself up onto his hands and swinging his feet around, sending an arc of fire from his feet at the three warriors surrounding him.

Suki was knocked back into one of the support beams of the house's overhanging and the second Kyoshi Warrior was thrown into the house, which was catching on fire. Zuko snarled again and began attacking the third warrior, kicking fire at her before swiping her feet out from under her.

"Nice try, Avatar, butt these little girls can't save you!" Zuko shouted.

"Hey, jerk!"

Zuko turned around and sneered when he saw the white-haired Airbender standing in front of him, "You again."

"You want the Avatar," The girl sneered as she shifted into a fighting stance, feet apart and hands raised, "You'll have to go through me."

"Fine." Zuko growled with a scowl and executed a spinning kick, a crescent of fire shooting from the bottom of his foot and right at Xiaodan.

The white-haired jumped and flipped over the flames, whipping her staff off her back then swinging it like a bat, a gust of air knocking the scarred teen away from her.

Zuko snarled and placed his hands above his shoulders, pushing himself to his feet then he proceeded to launch fire blasts from his fists at the female Airbender. He attacked relentlessly, barely giving her enough time to disperse the blasts being sent at her with her staff.

"Ah!" Xiaodan yelped as she tripped and fell on her back, her forearms slightly burnt after she had crossed her arms in front of her face after the scarred prince had sent a particularly powerful fire blast at her.

Zuko towered over the white-haired girl and sneered down at her, pulling his arm back to launch another volley of fire at her prone form. Defiant orange eyes met angry gold orbs as the girl stared up at him scornfully. Zuko's eyes narrowed and fire danced around his fist only to freeze when a voice suddenly rang out.

"Hey, over here!" Aang shouted from the end of the street, glaring at the older teen with his staff in hand.

"Finally." Zuko hissed, turning away from the orange-eyed girl and sending to powerful fire blasts from his fists at the bald boy.

"Aang!" Xiaodan cried out, rolling to her feet only to hiss as pain laced her forearms and stumble to her knees.

She needn't have worried though, because Aang dodged the first fire blast and dispersed the second with his staff. Then the young Airbender twirled his staff above his head and used it to carry him straight to Zuko.

Aang dodged the next blast of fire but his staff was knocked out of his hands in the process. Thinking quickly, Aang jumped away from the prince and landed between two of the metal fans one of the Kyoshi Warriors must have dropped. Using Airbending, Aang lifted the fans into his hands then straightened and began twisting his body in an intricate move which ended when he swung the two fans and sent a powerful gust of air at Zuko, causing the older boy to go flying through the wall of the house behind him.

Seeing the destruction the fight was causing, Aang grabbed his staff and ran towards where Xiaodan was kneeling.

"We gotta find Katara and Sokka." Aang said urgently as he helped his sister-figure to her feet.

Xiaodan nodded and swiped her own glider from the ground and the two raced down the street, tossing their gliders in the air then jumping on them.

Xiaodan felt tears gather in her eyes as she and Aang flew over the burning village. She noticed Aang glance backwards and when she followed his gaze, the white-haired girl winced when she saw the statue of Kyoshi was on fire.

The two swooped back down to the street when they saw Katara ushering two children into one of the houses that wasn't on fire. Xiaodan snapped her glider shut and turned so her back was to Aang and Katara, keeping an eye out for the scarred prince and his soldiers.

"Look what I brought to this place." Aang said quietly and Xiaodan could feel her heart clench at the self-reproach in his tone.

"It's not your fault." Katara said in an attempt to reassure the boy but Aang just shook his head.

"Yes, it is. These people got their town destroyed trying to protect me."

"Then let's get out of here." Katara suggested, "Zuko will leave Kyoshi to follow us. I know it feels wrong to run, but I think it's the only way."

"Katara's right, Aang." Xiaodan piped in, glancing over her shoulder, "The firebug seems pretty obsessed with capturing you. I'd bet my glider he'd follow you to straight the Spirit World just to try and kidnap you."

Aang bowed his head and despondently agreed, "I'll call Appa."

"I'll find Sokka." Xiaodan said, snapping her glider open and jumping into the air.

"There's no time to say goodbye." Suki said, looking at Sokka with a small amount of sadness.

"What about 'I'm sorry?'" Sokka questioned, leaning towards Suki slightly.

"For what?" Suki asked, confused and curious even though her village was burning all around her.

"I treated you like a girl when I should have treated you like a warrior." Sokka explained quietly.

"I am a warrior." Suki agreed then leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the boy's cheek, "But I'm a girl too."

A blush formed on Sokka's cheeks as he watched Suki jump to her feet and move to stand in the alley they had been hiding in.

"Now get out of here. We'll hold them off." Suki ordered and rushed back toward the main street.

Sokka jumped to his feet and was about to run the other way when Xiaodan suddenly landed in front of him.

"Come on, Sokka!" The white-haired girl commanded, grabbing the boy's hand and pulling him to where Aang and Katara were waiting on Appa, "We've gotta go!"

The two climbed up the large sky bison's tail, Xiaodan shoving Sokka into the saddle on Appa's back before jumping right after.

"Go, go, go!" The older Airbender encouraged as she looked over the back of the saddle, orange eyes watching for any signs of pursuit.

"Appa, yip-yip!" Aang called out, snapping Appa's reins and with a rumbling growl the sky bison jumped into the air, flying away from Kyoshi Island.

Zuko looked up and saw the Avatar's bison flying away and he whirled around, running back to his warship.

"Back to the ship!" He shouted his command to his soldiers over his shoulder, "Don't lose sight of them!

"I know it's hard, but you did the right thing." Katara said softly to Aang, comforting him the best she could, "Zuko would have destroyed the whole place if we stayed. They're gonna be okay, Aang."

Xiaodan peered over the edge of ship, only listening to Katara's word with half an ear until the other girl's voice suddenly rose in pitch and she demanded what Aang was doing. The white-haired girl turned just as Aang dove into the water below them.

"Aang, you idiot!" Xiaodan shouted, getting ready to dive in after her little brother but Sokka's arms wrapping around his middle kept her in the saddle.

The three watched in disbelief and amazement as the unagi's head appeared above the water with hang clutching its whiskers like they were reins.

"Spirits..." Xiaodan muttered, feeling a mixture of pride, awe, and disbelief as she watched Aang direct the unagi to shoot a jet of water from its mouth at the burning village, successfully putting out the fires and soaking the Fire Nation soldiers.

Xiaodan, Katara, and Sokka watched as the unagi tossed his head back and Aang let go of its whiskers, flying through the air and back onto Appa's side.

"Thank you, Avatar." Oyaji said softly as he watched the sky bison fly away from Kyoshi Island with the Avatar and his friends.

"I know, I know that was stupid and dangerous." Aang said as he climbed in Appa's saddle, sitting cross-legged in between the two Water Tribe siblings and across from Xiaodan.

"Yes, it was." Katara agreed with a slight smile on her face before she threw her arms around Aang and hugged him to her.

Aang gave a happy sigh and closed his eyes happily. A wide grin was on his face when the dark-haired girl pulled away, but the grin was quickly wiped from his face was Xiaodan suddenly smacked the back of his bald head.

"Ow!" The young boy yelped, turning to look at his big sister with a pout, "What was that for?"

"That was for scaring me half to death." Xiaodan snapped before pulling Aang into a tight embrace, "And this is for not die for doing something so stupid."

Aang chuckled and hugged the white-haired girl around the waist, "Sorry, big sister."

"Yeah, you better be." Xiaodan snapped and shoved him away from her, fixing him with a stern look, "Because if you do something like that again, that overgrown firebug will be the least of your worry, mister."

"Yes, mother." Aang said with wide grin, ducking his head when the older Airbender took another swipe at his head.

Katara, Sokka, Aang, and Xiaodan looked at each other for a moment before they all simultaneously started laughing quietly as Appa flew towards the setting sun