A/N: I gave a name to the Senlin Village Head because they didn't explicitly give him a name in the show, the same situation as Hala. Enjoy!

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The town was in ruins. Structures were destroyed, but there was no sign that bending was the cause. It was as if something had taken its claws and slashed through the poor buildings. Debris littered the roads, that eerie sense Ayaan had growing.

Even now, his scar was silently cool. He could sense the heaviness in the air, almost tasting it. It was like a static film was cast over the town, drenching it in a palpable weight that felt weird. It was weird to Ayaan. Something was unnatural here. If he dived even a bit deeper into the feeling, it was something hateful, scorn-filled, full of wrath and sorrow.

No one except Ayaan seemed to discern that though.

'How could they not sense it?'

It felt like something was screaming at them in outrage, but no one was hearing it.

'How can they not hear it?'

"Something is up here. It's dangerous." He didn't want to be here right now. Everything in him was telling them they were in a treacherous place. But for him it wasn't.

'How could that be that I'm safe and everyone else isn't?'

It was strange, no, downright freaky.

'I don't like it.'

"Did you get one of those feelings again, Bro?" Sokka asked, getting the others' attention. While the group was a bit familiar with Ayaan's strange senses, Kay-fon, who'd been listening, was confused.

"Feelings?" Kay-fon asked.

"My Bro's never wrong when he senses something's off." Sokka preened, more than eager to boast about Ayaan's greatness. He hadn't been able to in the past few days. All should know the gloriousness of Ayaan. "He's got incredible senses."

"Oh?" Kay-fon was very curious, attentively turning his gaze to Ayaan. "Truly, young man?"

"...Yes," Ayaan answered. By now, he was certain the old man was no threat to them, but the constant disturbed sensation in the air put him on edge.

"Could you tell me more about the feelings you get, Ayaan?" Katara asked, Aang nodding with her. "Only if you wouldn't mind too much."

"It's a bit different this time," Ayaan explained, rubbing his bandages. "I can't explain why they happen. But when they happen and what happens when it does, I can."

The trio were paying keen attention to him. This was the first time he'd openly told them what those mysterious feelings were in his own words. The first bit of transparency they'd gotten when it came to the inner workings of their eldest brother.

"Whenever something dangerous is around, I feel a tingle in my scars. It varies in intensity depending on the level of danger."

Like with the Asrani incident and the Waterbending Scroll. The trio remembers Ayaan visibly showing his discomfort in his scar then. Right after, or even as soon as, Katara had stolen from the pirates, who harbored an Asrani among them.

No, that wasn't the first time. It's happened before every major incident they'd encountered so far.

They were very, very accurate.

This time, he was kneeling before the burned forest. He must have had a tremendous 'feeling' through his scar at that moment too. And... it was still going.

"Does it... hurt? When they happen?" Katara asked. She'd hoped the answer was no, that it was just a ticklish feeling instead. Like something from a fairytale like the ones heard in folk tales of heroes.

"...Sometimes, yes." But of course, her brother wasn't so lucky. They were shocked that he admitted it, and their mind went through the many times he'd rubbed his scarred arm.

"Is it hurting now?" Sokka asked this time. Katara got her stash of the salve and Sokka pulled out a new roll of bandages from somewhere. They were prepared to help him the moment he told them. Though to their relief Ayaan shook his head, not needing it.

"...No." And they could tell this confused him. "It did earlier, but now it doesn't. I can tell it's the same dangerous situation. But something isn't right here."

He rubbed the bandaged arm, gritting in annoyance, "I can't explain what it is this time. It's not a person or a place in general. I don't know what's going on here aside from the fact I don't like it. This place feels like somewhere we really shouldn't be."

This was a different type of oppression. Whatever this new enemy was, it fueled a primal fear in this village. He'd seen it many times on prey—

It was a realization that made his hackles rise.

"This place... feels like a hunting ground."

Prey. These people were prey to something. Something was hunting them. Something that they were certain only the Avatar had a chance against. As if confirming his assumption, a chill went through his scar.

It was like someone took a piece of ice and slid it across the burned skin in a soft caress. There wasn't any painful stinging, just a cool brush-like wind upon his skin. The fact it wasn't uncomfortable at all... put him even more on edge.

It felt downright ominous now.

Of course, the answer Ayaan absolutely didn't want came from the old man. Kay-fon seemed shocked that he'd gotten so close to the truth, "Yes! My village is under siege by something! Only the Avatar can help us, as it relates to a spirit monster."

The old man seemed to have even more faith in the group thanks to Ayaan, turning to Aang with praise, "Your friend's senses are spot on, Avatar! With the company you keep so adept, I feel at ease that this situation will be resolved."

Five full seconds went by as Ayaan processed what Kay-fon had just said.

...Please, with haste, someone save him from this added stress. Gift him the patience to endure today.

Ayaan blinked, he blinked again, and then once more for good measure.

And then, he responded.

"...What the fu-"

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They reached their destination quickly after stopping their eldest from outright leaving. It was only Aang, who knew he needed to be here, that kept him from calling Appa that instant.

Kay-fon, not knowing he'd almost lost his village's would-be saviours, immediately introduced Aang and company to their village leader, Yuxuan. One could hear the hope in his voice when he said, "This young person is the Avatar!"

Immediately, Ayaan could sense a change. People lifted their heads, eyes glistening with tears. There was that much relief that the Avatar had come to them, that he was real. As Aang was focused on the leader, he didn't quite notice all of the eyes on him.

Few people were trying to retain a sense of normalcy. Children hid behind their mothers, elderly held hands for comfort. Able men and women bore farm tools as weapons, trembling like leaves as they constantly stared at the woods and the dusk skies.

Understandable. They were being hunted by a spirit monster.

Yuxuan, while reluctant to burden them with their problems, relented at Kay-fon's insistence. He explained, as best he could, what was happening with the old man's help. "For the last few days at sunset, it comes and attacks our village. He is Hei Bai, the black-and-white spirit."

'Wow, that gives so much information.' Ayaan's deadpan made his thoughts very clear. Gran-Gran would be so proud.

The village leader was embarrassed, knowing what his look meant, "If I knew more, I would definitely tell you, but..."

"Yeah, got it." The teen obviously hated this situation. Though, who didn't?

That name, however... Hei Bai... For some reason, that name sounded a bit familiar. He didn't know why as he was certain he'd never heard it before now. The only black and white creature he'd seen that had any relation to spirits was the Orca pod during his childhood.

The heaviness was growing thicker. Winds blew across the dead trees, branches creaking and swaying. Every howl it made caused the people to flinch, violently. The sun was slowly descending, and one could see the fear growing each passing second.

These people weren't just antsy, they were terrified.

Understandable. They were being hunted by a spirit monster, now identified as Hei Bai.

"Why is it attacking you?" Good question, Sokka.

Yuxuan, nerves as frayed as his people's, sighed, "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."

At that, Ayaan paused. They were right. He hadn't even realized that the event was so close before then. Things had been so hectic he hadn't given it much thought. On top of it being a time of celebration in the South, there was one other thing.

He was born on the Winter Solstice.

Soon, he would officially be eighteen years old.

This would be the first birthday he ever spent without his grandmother. The first birthday spent away from home.

The third without his father around.

...The fifth since his mother's death.

And he'd spend it fighting a spirit monster.

Lovely.

Kay-fon, being older and wiser to the spiritual happenings due to stories passed down, explained. "As the solstice approaches, the natural world and the Spirit World grow closer and closer until the line between them is blurred completely."

Yuxuan's expression grew grimmer by the second, "Hei Bai is already causing devastation and destruction. More than half of our village is gone. Once the solstice is here, there's no telling what will happen."

Meaning that if they didn't fix the situation right now, they were royally screwed. They were already done for, facing a monster of this caliber. It was a literal monster. But once the solstice juiced up its connection to their world, it was over. There'd be no hope of stopping or appeasing it.

"This situation couldn't be worse." Ayaan was done. He was so done with everything.

"Ayaan!" The trio were shocked by their eldest's callousness.

"What?" He gave them a side-eye, "It's like a natural disaster hit this place, repeatedly, and specifically. And that "natural disaster"? It's a spirit monster. And you all have no idea why it's so pissed off? None at all?"

Both men shook their heads. They couldn't fault Ayaan for his opinion. He was very much right, after all. They'd swear five ways to Sunday if they had the energy, too. It was that bad of a situation.

"Our village didn't do anything to upset the spirit. Not that I know of. We tried to be as respectful as possible in the presence of greater beings." Yeah. They wanted to live. Why would they openly provoke a spirit?

"We tried everything to appease it ourselves. Offerings of food, our harvest, and prayers, but no matter what, it took our villagers instead. Nothing we've done has worked!"

And they were on their last legs.

Soon, Senlin Village wouldn't exist anymore.

"So," Aang spoke up, "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."

"If anyone can resolve this, it's you, Avatar." Both men bowed deeply to him, a bit of hope in their tone. All who knew the tale of the Avatar knew this fact. This being was meant to keep the peace between the two worlds, maintaining the delicate balance they shared.

For the Avatar to show up near their village at a time of crisis like this, it was a sign things could change. It was hope incarnate.

But Aang, who hadn't been formally taught anything regarding his Avatar duties, didn't know the first thing about calming a wrathful spirit.

Not that he could say that to their face.

"Right... that's me."

"Hey great bridge guy, could I talk to you over here for a second?" Katara, coming in with the save of the day, pulls the youth over to a secluded window with the rest of the boys.

There, they let their thoughts be known. "Aang, you seem a little unsure about all of this."

"You have no idea what you're doing. Do you." Ayaan said flatly, earning a nod from the airbender.

"I don't know anything at all about the Spirit World." That fact made him wince a bit, feeling in over his head, "It's not like there's someone to teach me this stuff!"

"Yeah, I know." Ayaan puts a hand on his shoulder, a show of comfort. It helps a bit knowing that he wasn't alone with all of this. "...But this situation is bullsh-"

"Ayaan!"

"What? It's the truth."

"So... can you help these people?" Katara asked instead.

"I have to try, right?"

"We are going on little info here." Sokka began. "What does a spirit even look like, anyway?"

"How can you beat it?" Ayaan whispered, thinking.

"Do you do 'magic hands' and make it go away?"

"Come on, have a little faith, guys." Katara tried, "Aang can figure this out."

"You're not even a bit worried about all this?" Ayaan asked. "It's a spirit monster. How is he supposed to deal with a literal monster?"

"I don't think anything but actual Avatar-ing will work this time, guys." Aang said uneasily, "I have no idea how, but no need to worry so much! Maybe it will come to me."

"You are Aang." Ayaan followed. "Glowing tattoos, Avatar, 112 years old, past lives are real." He could go on.

"Yep, definitely an Aang thing." Katara agreed.

"Yes, I'm me!" Aang felt good with their support.

"Yeah." Sokka smiled, taking a breath, "We're all going to get eaten by a spirit monster."

"Sokka. This is encouragement." The spear-wielding teen deadpanned at his younger brother, "We are trying to sow encouragement, Sokka."

"Hey, you were thinking it, too."

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It would be a little while before sunset, so Ayaan thought he'd gather info on the town itself. He'd speak to some of the remaining townspeople.

He knew little about Senlin, and that needed to be fixed if they were going to solve its ailing problem. He didn't know if he could help with spirit shenanigans, but gathering intel was a skill he knew well. So, he went to some of the villagers, who by then welcomed them all.

"Excuse me." He went to a mother first. She was tending to her infant son, who was wailing in her arms. Try as she might, she couldn't get him to calm down. It didn't help that she was frazzled herself, stressed by the situation they were in.

Instead of asking her about the town as he initially intended, he asked, "What's wrong?"

"M-My husband was always good at calming him when he got like this." Her arms trembled unsteadily, bags under her eyes. It was clear she was a new mother, struggling under the weight of the current situation. "But h-he was taken...! And now..."

She couldn't get her child to calm down. Filling his little tummy and patting him didn't work to soothe him as it normally did. The baby had been wailing since the night the monster took her beloved. It was to the point it was starting to make him sick.

Maybe he could sense that his papa wasn't around anymore? Or maybe he could tell how distraught his mother was at the news? She couldn't get him calm, and it was scaring her. What if the noise attracted the monster? What if it took her baby next?

"Please, my little star, calm down for mommy..." Tears escaped her, she couldn't stand the thought of it. She quickly held them in, trying to keep herself together. She couldn't break down like this. She needed to be strong for her child, but she was worn out. "Please..."

Days of not knowing if the family and friends already lost were even alive had taken its toll. And it was only made worse by those around her. Other mothers who'd had her nightmare come true already, distraught and hopeless.

But the Avatar was here. He was here, he was real. He could help them.

...Could he help them?

...Was it too late?

Her child wouldn't calm down, like an omen of what she begged not to be true.

"Mind if I try, Ma'am?" A voice brought her back to the present. The teen with snowy hair and kind blue eyes offered to help her. At her wit's end, she allowed the kind teen to hold her son. She was out of options, desperate, and worn.

She watched in slight awe as Ayaan carefully took her baby. His large hands cradled the child, softened eyes and the slightest smile. The baby, in the hold of a much calmer person, settled just a bit. Swaying, he hummed a tune, the mother listening in awe as her son slowly, in just a few minutes, was lulled to sleep.

"How did you...?" It was a small miracle. "Thank you, young man."

"Of course." Ayaan carefully handed the child back to his mother, a small smile on his lips. "Try to rest."

It would be wrong to ask this woman about her traumas. He was a kind person even if he, too, was stressed out.

With a grateful smile, the lady did just that. Retreating to her chosen mat, she gave Ayaan another nod of thanks before resting with her child, tears escaping in her small relief. What a wonderful young lad he was...

Young bachelorettes were swooning, not that the young adult acknowledged them or that they acted on it. If they were in a more peaceful time, maybe they would have. Maybe they would have gathered around him, asking him questions that would fluster him. But now wasn't the time, things were too scary to act on their budding admiration.

But they did answer his questions.

Ayaan went about like this, doing similar helpful things as he slowly gathered information. The families and merchants didn't know what was going on with the spirit attacks, but they knew what happened before they started.

As they suspected, a fire nation battalion had come through the area. With them was a large plume of smoke over yonder, which was put out by the same troops. They didn't want to simply weed out a road for their supplies, so they burned a large section of the forest to pass through. Some of the village's crop was included in the fire, though they just managed to put it out before all of their harvest was lost.

It wasn't long after, when the danger was clear, that they tried to check how far out the damage went. The forest around Hei Bai's monument, from one point to the next, was burned down as well. But when they were returning, sunset falling upon them, they were attacked by the angry spirit.

The terrified scouts who remained ran back to the village for safety, and every sunset since, Hei Bai had been attacking them. It was as if it blamed them for its domain being damaged, but they couldn't explain the truth to a spirit.

So, they were at its mercy, and only a few of them were left.

They'd lost hope until the Avatar, someone who was thought to be able to commune with the spirits, had come to them. To them, Aang truly was a miracle. But would their hope be enough? The time had come to test it, as sunset was approaching.

Aang went out alone as a way to protect the villagers. The old man said that as the Avatar, spirits would view him more amiably. He would be much safer than they were at this time, so the three watertribe siblings had to watch from the window.

Again, this situation was awful. Ayaan despised it with passion.

The young warrior didn't know what to expect, but it certainly wasn't the shift in the atmosphere the moment the sun touched the horizon.

The trees in the distance danced in the howling wind, the sky darkening by the second. He could hear that familiar lullaby now even though it wasn't quite night. That lullaby that was on the wind every time he gazed at the moon. It was much louder and clearer than before, as it usually was around the time of his birth.

But this was different. It was too much, too quickly.

Something was blurring the lines, forcefully, and wrathfully, and Ayaan could feel it.

It almost made him dizzy how wacky his senses became. His mind became fuzzy, his vision overcast with images he didn't understand. In a daze, a memory that wasn't his replayed in his mind.

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There was a man with distinctly firenation robes. His hair was long, tied at the top as most nobles wore. Ayaan couldn't see the features of his face, but he could tell they were frowning deeply. Whether it was dismay or despair, he couldn't tell. But there was something forlorn in his gaze.

On the ground, surrounded by shadows, was another man. He was chained down, snarling at the black whisps around him. His snowy white hair was disheveled as he reached for the other. Fierce blue eyes set in a deep sense of betrayal.

The air felt stagnant, he couldn't breathe. He couldn't breathe. It felt like he was inhaling smoke and ash, his lungs burned and clogged. What was this? What was this?

"H- w-s goi-g to h-rt y-u, -o-u!" The chained man with white hair was screaming. There were tears in his blue eyes, turning to ice only to melt again as they dropped like jewels. "Pl--se, bel-eve -e!"

The man standing above him seemed to want to come to him. To believe him, to trust, but the shadows kept him away. He looked at them, falling back once again. He chose to trust them, as they were his family. Even if this was his friend... he trusted his family more.

All of the evidence was there. All of it said that his friend wasn't telling the truth. How could he allow this to continue? He couldn't. So he closed his eyes as they took him away.

"Th-y're l-ing to y-u!" But nothing could be heard over the profound silence. The man turned away from the chained man who looked like him as if a verdict had been made. But it was wrong. Something was distinctly wrong here and this man couldn't see it.

"Pl-ese!" The chained man was trying to explain something, trying to tell him the truth, but the man heard nothing. The other man had left him with the shadows, who smiled in vile delight.

Their true faces were revealed, their ploy successful.

Asrani.

He wasn't believed. He was given to them, a lamb to the slaughter. The shadows that were overly pleased with the nobleman's mistake dragged the chained man away.

Then, there was pain. A very familiar, unfathomable pain of something that shouldn't be touched being ripped away. There was betrayal and outrage. As if this had happened before. This hate. Something like this betrayal had happened again.

...Again? When had it happened before? What was happening now?

He could faintly see the visage of the other man, the noble who'd left them, coming back. There was realization, regret, and urgency in their tone and movement. But by then, it was too late.

The framed man who'd been chained... the one with white hair, was already lost to him.

"How could you betray me like this...?"

Dying in the worst way in his arms, filled with hate and sorrow that who he thought was his friend wasn't there when he needed him.

The white-haired man was filled with an unfathomable, unprecedented, and unforgiving amount of rage.

"How could you do this to me, Ro-u...?"

And then... There was true silence.

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RAAAAAHHHH—!

Like a thread being broken Ayaan was snapped back into the present with the sound of a roar. It cut across the air, the vision vanishing as quickly as it had begun.

He didn't have the time to comprehend what he'd just experienced and seen. No time to question who the two men were, or what the shadows were. He couldn't discern everything that was happening right now, too much at once.

The sunset was already upon them, and lo and behold, a monster was wrecking the village. It was tearing down everything in sight, beating it with its four fists repeatedly. Whenever it screamed, things disintegrated, reduced to dust. Clad in black and white, this was the spirit monster, Hei Bai.

Wow, what a great description they'd given of him before. They didn't mention he was huge.

Ayaan had come back to himself just in time to see Aang get flung like a pesky roachfly. Nothing the boy was saying was appeasing anything. What the heck did he think commanding the monster to listen was going to do?

Without heeding any type of warning, Ayaan flung himself forward. With prowess in his every limb, he nimbly avoided every new obstacle the beast created, getting to the Airbender who was definitely in over his head.

"Aang!"

"We're coming!" Sokka was quick to follow after his brother, seeing just as well as he was that this 'idea' wasn't working. Readying his boomerang, Sokka yelled, "Hei Bai! Over Here!"

He threw it with expert precision... though it did absolutely nothing. Running forward, Ayaan intended to try slashing at its massive legs. He didn't know if it would do anything, but it would distract it enough for his little brothers to escape, right?

Maybe?

Hopefully?

So he got before it, only for his temporary spear to hit what felt like a steel wall.

It did nothing. Excellent.

"Sokka! Ayaan!" Aang yelled, surprised to see them. The plan had been for him alone to come out here, hoping no one else got snatched. As they thought, Hei Bai didn't think about taking him since he was the Avatar. But anyone else being out here was dangerous!

"Go Back!"

"We'll fight him together, Aang," Sokka replied, running up to him. He checked his surroundings. Hei Bai, unbothered was still destroying whatever building had once been there.

"No, we need to get out of here. Right now!" Ayaan corrected.

There was no fighting this thing. They needed to flee this place right now. This... he knew this type of behavior. All of its actions pointed to one thing. Hei Bai was viciously angry. Everything Ayaan felt in the air was this thing's rage. The cold feeling in his scar was this thing's presence.

There was no speaking with Hei Bai right now. Not like this—

"Sokka, look out!" Ayaan pushed him out of the way just as Hei Bai was about to grab him. He was moving too quickly for normal senses to track, but Ayaan could just barely keep a tab on him due to this weird vibe he kept getting.

A windy gust blew on the back of his neck.

When he turned, Hei Bai was right behind him.

"Uh..." The monster let out a low rumble that shook the very ground they stood on. Well, wasn't that inviting? Ayaan didn't know what he was doing here anymore.

"...Hi?"

The monster didn't move. It tilted its head. In any other circumstance, he would have found the action kind of... cute. It was like one of the wolf pups he saw at home. Kind of. If the pups were gigantic monster spirits that he didn't really know how to handle.

Ayaan could feel its curiosity, and then that shifted to shock, and then recognition.

...Recognition?

"You're back." A voice whispered in the air. They weren't actual words, but he could understand just the same. "Little Prince is back."

"Little... Prince?"

Hei Bai seemed to glow with the faintest hint of happiness when Ayaan responded. Wait, was that Hei Bai speaking? No, he was going nuts. He'd finally lost his mind to the stress.

A small glimer caught Ayaan's eyes, and he could see another form intertwined with this monster's. Black and white fur, large paws, round ears, a wet snout.

"...You're... actually fluffy?" Mega fluffy. Really, really super fluffy. Like a cloud made into fur. His hand, if this was any other situation, would have betrayed him by now.

"Fluffy? Ayaan what do you mean? Get out of there!" Sokka yelled, but it was as if time had slowed down.

It felt like it was just Ayaan and Hei Bai in this single moment.

Their eyes met, that sense of familiarity washing over him like a wave. Everyone else was still seeing the monster, but Ayaan was seeing a fluffy black and white beast staring at him with sparkling eyes.

They stared at each other for three seconds.

Then Hei Bai snatched him up and ran off.

"Ayaan!" Aang chased after them, but Hei Bai disappeared, and Ayaan was gone.