As usual, Ayaan was up before the others. All evidence that tears were ever shed were wiped away. He sat in his usual place, closest to the water. The group had made a habit to make their camps by water sources, for which Ayaan was grateful. So he sat there after he woke up. For how long he gazed into the water, he wasn't sure.

It always helped to calm him down when the nightmares came.

Suddenly, there was a little weight on his lap. When he looked down, a small smile graced his lips. "Did I worry you? I'm sorry." He got a purr in response, the little lemur leaning closer to him as if to offer him comfort. Animals seemed to be sensitive to his moods, more so than his family was, aside from Gran-Gran.

There was no hiding anything from Gran-Gran. But, he was okay with that. And it was moments like these where he missed home, a lot.

Then there was a low growl from behind him. Ayaan smiled a little more. Getting up from his spot, Momo climbing on his shoulder, he made his way to the enormous bison. He sat by his leg, both surprised and happy when the gentle giant wrapped his free legs around him. It was like he was giving Ayaan a hug, a very fluffy hug. And so was Momo.

They were trying to make him feel better, and it was working, wondrously. "Thank you." He said, petting them both. It was still very early, so he knew they were still sleepy. But they woke from their slumber to comfort him, he couldn't be more thankful for that.

The next thing he knew, he was getting licked. A large lick behind him, and a bunch of small licks on his face. His face scrunched up, in both disgust and delight at the gesture. He let a small laugh escape him as he replied, "I love you too."

It was then that Katara and Aang were beginning to wake up. Knowing that it was time to leave, he took it upon himself to go wake his little brother. Sokka was not a morning person, at all. But Aang had been very excited the night before in regards to their next destination, Omashu. He said they were very close, and he wanted to show them all of the sights he'd seen in his lifetime.

Although he knew they would be different, he wanted to experience at least a bit of what he did before the war started. And since it was on their path towards the North Pole, the others didn't see a reason not to. In the city, they could gather supplies and other things they may need. And while Ayaan didn't admit it, he wanted to see the sights too.

He'd never left the South Pole, same as his siblings. As the son of the chief, he had responsibilities to his people. He had to make sure they were safe, that they were fed, and that everything was the way it should be. He dared not dream of travel, of leaving his home. He got enough time away when he hunted and fished on his own. Traveling around his home had brought him comfort in its own right.

But he would not admit how much better it was... traveling the world like this. He never knew that his world was so... large. It was large, wide, and filled with many things, with many people and places he never thought he'd see. Different trees, animals, there was so much he'd seen in these weeks of travel.

He loved all of it. Of course, not the frequent encounters with the Fire Nation, but he loved the sights he saw. He loved flying in the clouds with his family and watching the sun dip behind the horizon. He loved watching the moon rise high into the night and the seemingly endless sea as they flew over it.

None of these things would have ever happened if they hadn't found Aang; The boy with the blue tattoos who turned out to be the Avatar.

Was it strange that he found Aang to be strangely familiar? He always got this odd feeling that he'd seen him before somewhere, but he was sure, no, he was positive that he hadn't, ever, met Aang before this. But sometimes the feeling would hit him, like a faint deja vu moment. It was strange and as observant as Ayaan was, he could easily tell when those little moments would occur.

Not being able to find any rhyme or reason to it, he could only let the thoughts pass him by. He was not the type to dwell on things he could not understand.

It was one of the reasons he remained so oblivious. If he didn't understand it, he just turned his mind to other, much more important matters. Those matters were his family's safety, getting Aang to the North Pole, and taking care of them. His own needs came second to them.

It was strange to him. Romance. He knew that if things were normal, that he would have been well within the age to find himself a wife. His mother often talked about how much she wanted him to make her a grandma, and even his dad sometimes mentioned how many women would line up to get a chance with him. The talks embarrassed him to no end, and he wasn't looking for a wife anytime soon.

Besides, he was too oblivious to notice a woman's advances toward him. He was much too focused on his duties to even care to look.

But for some reason, the thought made his mind drift to Isme. She thought he was cute. It was nice. It made him feel nice. Even though she ran from him when he thanked her for the kind compliment. Would that have been one of the 'advances' his parents and siblings told him about?

...How would he even respond to that?

Nevermind. No use thinking about it. He couldn't fully grasp the fact that what he was thinking was indeed what had happened, or had been happening for a while. He shook his thoughts away from it and decided to do what he set out to do.

"Sokka, it is time to get up."

"NoOoo... five more... hours... Ayaan Bro..."

"I'm sorry, but no. It is time to leave." Ayaan, using his impressive strength, pulls Sokka from his sleeping bag. The chilly air hit the boy immediately, causing him to shiver as he let out a small yelp.

"C-c-cold!" Sokka shivered before the same brother dropped his parka over him in one swift movement. The piece of clothing was thick and surprisingly warm, thanks to Ayaan. He always put their parkas near the fire when he woke, and that made them nice and warm when they put them on hours later. He was very careful not to have it too close, though, lest he end up cooking their clothes instead. "Ah... much better. Thanks, bro."

"No problem." He said, shaking his head as Sokka almost fell back to sleep on his feet. Katara and Aang were already up by then, taking apart their camp and gathering their things.

"So Aang," she said, getting the boy's attention, "Are you gonna tell us more about this Omashu?"

"Oh! You're gonna love it, I promise!" He exclaimed, excited for their future endeavors. "I can't wait to show you guys, it's amazing!"

"Remember, we cannot stay too long." Ayaan reminded him. "We get what we need, and then we must be on our way."

Aang sulked just a bit, but he knew that the older boy was right. "Yeah, I know. But this will be our last fun stop, Air Benders Honor." He said resolutely.

Ayaan raised an eyebrow, that famous, questioning gaze of his on display before shrugging his shoulders. "Alright, then. Everyone ready?"

"Ready!" Aang said, jumping with an airbender's grace into the driver's seat at the base of Appa's neck.

"Yep! Everything's packed and ready to go." Katara said, taking her place in the saddle. Momo made his click-like whirls as he got on Ayaan's shoulders.

Sokka let out a giant yawn, hating the morning. "Yeah... ready..."

Once everyone was on Appa, the giant bison roaring his signal for being ready to, Aang whipped the reigns and said the magic words. "Yip-yip!"

And off they were into the sky. Momo found his spot on Ayaan's lap, while Sokka had fallen back asleep, using his brother's strong shoulders as a pillow. Ayaan did not mind this at all; he shifted Sokka a bit to make the younger boy more comfortable. When he peaked up, he saw Katara looking at Sokka with an envious expression.

Ayaan looked at Sokka, then at her, then his spar shoulder before speaking with a knowing smile on his face. "Come here, Katara."

"Huh? It's fine-"

"Come on." Ayaan said, and the girl gave in because as oblivious as Ayaan was to love, that did not carry over to his brotherly instincts.

She made her way to him in the saddle, finding a spot beside him and resting her head on his remaining shoulder. "How do you always know when we want something...?" She whispered. With the sway of the ride and the comfort of her brother's presence, Katara found herself slipping into a gentle slumber too.

"I'm your big brother," Ayaan said simply as if that answered everything. Katara found herself smiling, and on the other side, although fast asleep, Sokka was smiling, too.

Aang peeked over, smiling at the familial scene. He made sure the steer Appa gently as to not wake them up.

...

..

.

They had flown for a bit, enjoying the crisp air and the sparse clouds they saw here and there before finally landing again. Finding a comfortable spot upon the soft grass still slightly covered in snow, Appa laid down, letting out a content and low growl.

"You did wonderfully, Appa. Thank you again." Ayaan said, patting his soft fur. Appa closed his eyes as a rumble resounded from him. Ayaan grabbed a satchel, pulling from it a few ripe apples. Appa's eyes sparkled as he opened his enormous mouth, receiving the treat eagerly.

A certain lemur tried to snatch the remaining apple from Ayaan's hands before it was devoured, but Ayaan was quicker. "No, Momo. This is for Appa."

Momo's ears dipped, sad clittering noises escaping him. Seeing this, Ayaan picked up the small creature. He rested him in his arms and rubbed his back, earning him contented purrs. Ayaan looked into another satchel, pulling out a familiar fruit. Smelling it before seeing it, Momo's ears perked up again.

"This is yours." Ayaan said softly, Momo eagerly taking the Moon Peach and biting into with gusto. Ayaan just let a small chuckle leave him at his behavior. Such a gluttonous little thing Momo was. "Take your time, Momo. I'll give you more later."

Ayaan stayed standing there for a bit with Appa and Momo, giving them their deserved attention. Ayaan was probably the one who spent the most time with them aside from Aang. He constantly showered them with silent compliments, gentle pats, and treats whenever they did something good. He did all of these with a rare, warm smile on his face.

The two animals shared the same thoughts when Ayaan finally left them to join his siblings as they were about to be shown Omashu.

'I love this human. This is my human.'

Ayaan walked a bit to meet his siblings at the top of the hill. The patches of snow-covered grass getting thinner compared to where he was before. Seeing all three of them present, Aang gestured grandly to the glorious scene behind him.

"The Earth Kingdom City of Omashu!" He said, joy radiating from him. The place was still as grand as ever. He was happy that there were still some places that hadn't disappeared in his hundred years of absence. "I used to always come here to visit my friend Bumi." He stated, remembering his mad genius playmate.

"Wow." Katara said, clearly impressed, "We don't have buildings like this in the South Pole!"

"They have buildings here that don't melt!" Sokka added, just as impressed, and probably overwhelmed at the scene. All of there homes were huts and igloos, that they had to be careful with or they'd collapse or melt, respectively.

Ayaan's eyes widened. Beyond the hill, across a brilliant bridge just below, was a magnificent city of stone. It was like it was carved into the mountain's tip, hundreds upon hundreds of sturdy, rocky walls and houses. The palace of their king stood proudly at the top of this pyramid-like city, watching over the land from on high.

"It's beautiful..." That was all Ayaan could say about it. It was like a strong, untouchable fortress. It was something he wished his home could be. "You came here often, Aang?"

"Yeah!" He said, "If you like this view, just wait until you see inside!" They were about to head down when Ayaan stopped in his tracks.

"Wait, Aang." He said, causing said Airbender to halt. He seemed to be thinking of something deeply, which everyone noticed.

"Whatcha thinking about, Ayaan?" Aang asked. But after a moment the other siblings caught on to what was wrong.

"We stand out," Ayaan said. "If word gets out that the Avatar is here..."

"Then it might be Kyoshi Island all over again," Katara concluded, earning a nod from Ayaan. "It'll be dangerous if people find out you're the Avatar."

"I stand out too." He said, more to himself than anything but they all still heard him. "But not as much as you do, Aang."

"Yeah, you need a disguise," Sokka added seriously, a rare moment of maturity from him. Thinking for a bit, an idea started to form. He looked back towards Appa as he rested lazily on the grass, or more specifically, his fur.

Aang was just confused, "So what am I supposed to do? Grow a mustache?" He said, a bit sarcastically. But it seemed his words sparked Sokka's creativity.

"Yeah, that's exactly what you'll do."

"Wait, what?"

And that was how Aang ended up with and wig and mustache courtesy of Appa's fluffy and fuzzy fur.

The boy was scratching beneath the tall, uncomfortable wig. "Ugh. This is so itchy." He grumbled, turning to Appa. "How do you live in this stuff?"

Appa grunted out, seeming to scoff at the boy's complaining when he licked Ayaan yet again, as if answering. Ayaan, both disgusted and delighted by the action, begins to pat him once again. "I brush his fur every so often. He seems to enjoy it a lot." The tall boy stated, Appa nuzzling into his chest as if saying thank you.

"You are welcome, Appa."

Momo, who was lazing around doing nothing, seemed to get an idea. He flew up to Aang, or more specifically, his wig, and tucked himself inside. The wig was more than capable of hiding him, and the siblings had a laugh at the lemur's antics.

"It seems Momo wants to come, too." Ayaan said, before looking over to Aang's appearance. He wasn't sure how this would work, but his siblings were more than happy with the disguise's turnout.

"Great! Now you look just like my grandfather." Sokka said, sitting on a rock with Katara and Ayaan beside him.

"No, he doesn't." Ayaan said, confused. But he was ignored.

"Technically, Aang is 112 years old." Katara added, her arms crossed.

"But he looks like-"

"Ayaan. Just work with us here." The siblings said. "Please."

"...Okay."

Aang kicks up his staff, spinning it with nimble grace as he stood it up as he usually did. But then he leaned on it heavily, transforming the staff into a walking stick as he hunched his back over as if he really was an old man. "Now let's get to skippin', young whipper-snappers. The big city awaits!"

"Wait!" Katara said, the three boys turning around towards her.

"What is it now?" Aang asked, a bit confused and a little impatient. "I make the perfect old man." He boasted a bit, as his acting was indeed pretty good.

"Ayaan, you need a disguise too." She stated, and the others then turned their attention to the older boy. Realization hit them quickly.

"You're hair! It stands out almost as much as me!" Aang said. "But what do we do?"

"I bought this while we were still on Kyoshi. Ayaan stands out a lot because of his pretty hair, and is oblivious to the other reasons why so I thought this would help." Katara went to her things, pulling out a satchel that had different products in it. When Sokka looked to see what it was, he smiled.

"Katara, you are a genius!" He exclaimed.

"I know I'm great." She replied.

"What is it?" Ayaan said, confused by the entire conversation. That was when they revealed their prize.

It was hair dye, a very temporary one, but still very useful. The older women in the town liked to upkeep their youth, if only in their hair. While it wasn't permanent by any means, able to be washed out by a single rinse of water, it did its job. Without washing it, it lasts for a few days before the color fades.

Katara had gotten it because she knows how Ayaan felt about his hair, even if she herself loves it. He didn't like being the odd one. She thought he'd be more comfortable dying it, even if it was only temporary.

And she could tell that she was right when she saw his eyes sparkle, staring at the dye.

They didn't realize that brown hair Ayaan was pretty lethal, too.

Hello, my readers! Thank you for being so patient with this story. Most of the things at home have been taken care of, so I will start updating this again! It's so nice to be back.

Esper Hero is still on hold for those who are wondering, and the "An Important Notice" chapter will be deleted in this story only.

See you again in two weeks!

Your Author,

-Jenna