Chapter 11: Air Bending Master

Walking away from the training grounds after my spar with Monk Hema, I walked around the temple, searching for a tranquil place to meditate, and while it took some time, I eventually found a spot; the place was at the top of the temple and had a square opening, allowing one to see the beautiful sky above. However, the most striking aspect of this area wasn't the opening; no, it was the large stone statue of a female air-bending master.

The statue was of her sitting cross-legged with her fists touching, and despite it merely being a statue, it was rather detailed, far more detailed than I would have thought. Although there didn't seem to be a name for the statue anywhere, I knew who she was.

"Avatar Yangchen." Muttered Aang lightly as he slowly approached the statue, gazing at her large figure.

As I stared at my past self, I felt some sort of connection to the statue, somewhat like the kind I felt with Appa, but it wasn't the same; there was a slight difference. I wanted to say something to her, but, really, I didn't have much I wished to convey. I may have had a past life before I was reborn as the Avatar, but having lived this new life as an Air Nomad, I've adopted their way of life, and I'm just as much an Air Nomad as anyone of my Brothers and Sisters; so despite how much we adored her, I don't condone her numerous merciless actions. Not to mention, she indirectly caused her next self, Avatar Kuruk, to die an early death because of her negligence regarding the spirit realm.

'Haa, I suppose I can't really blame her; I'm sure she was very busy dealing with the humans and had no time to spare.' Mused Aang lightly as he gazed upon Yangchen, only to shake his head and turn around.

To be honest, although I was reborn as the Avatar and knew I had a duty to uphold, just like Aang, I had no desire to be one; I didn't choose to become the Avatar; it was forced upon me. Granted, at the same time, I love that I'm the Avatar since I'll be able to delve as deep as possible into bending and discover many things about bending that have yet to be seen; however, I don't wish to be the harbinger of peace, safety, or prosperity, nor do I want to waste my life maintaining harmony between the four nations while serving as a mediator between the human and spirit realms.

'Haa, such a difficult topic to think about, and it only ruins my mood whenever I ponder about it; I'll save it for another time.' Mused Aang softly, shaking his head as he sat cross-legged in front of the statue of Yangchen, meditating over his spar against Hama.

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"Alright, is everyone ready?" Asked Gyatso as he stood beside his Sky Bison and gazed at the numerous young Air Nomads, who were all standing beside new companions.

"Yes, Monk Gyatso." Said the sixty or so children respectfully, causing Tachi, Pasang, and Gyatso to nod as they leaped onto their sky bison with the help of a wind vortex.

"Remember to take good care of your companions." Said Iio with a soft smile as she glanced between the children, who all nodded before deeply bowing to her.

After bowing to Monk Iio, I grabbed my bo-staff off my back and switched into a glider as I glanced down at Appa.

"I hope you can fly, Appa." Said Aang lightly, his words causing Appa to flap his tail, creating a gust of wind as he ascended into the sky.

"Well, that saves us a lot of trouble." Muttered Aang with a small smile as he jumped into the air, summoning a gust of wind to lift him higher while he flew alongside Appa with the help of his glider.

As Appa and I flew into the air beside our fellow Brothers and Sky Bison, Monk Tashi, Pasang, and Gyatso swiftly passed us, leading us all back to the Southern Air Temple; however, I couldn't help but think of something amusing.

"Hey, Appa, how fast can you fly?" Asked Aang with a faint smile as he looked at Appa before gently nodding, causing a powerful surge of wind to hit his glider, significantly increasing his speed.

As I speedily flew past everyone, catching up to the likes of my teachers, I heard a roar coming from behind, only to look back and Appa flapping his tail like no other as he trailed behind me, quickly catching up to me, which caused me slightly chuckle as I increased my speed even more.

"Catch me if you can, Appa." Said Aang with a slight playful smile as a mighty gust of wind hit his flaps, further increasing his speed and leaving the entire group far behind him while Appa tried his hardest to catch up.

"Heh, I think this is the first time I've ever seen Aang truly behave like a child." Said Gyatso with a faint smile as he gazed at Aang, who was far in the distance.

"Yes; it seems gaining a companion was quite crucial for him." Remarked Pasang with a nod, watching as Aang did numerous loops in the air, waiting for Appa to catch up.

"I just hope this doesn't change his training and meditating habits." Muttered Tashi lightly, his words causing Pasang and Gyatso to sigh slightly while shaking their heads.

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Finishing my meditation for the day, I stood up from my mat and splashed myself with some cold water before drying my face and exiting my room; though, I wasn't even able to take more than ten seconds before a fluffy tank of an animal-charged me head first. Thankfully, I wasn't new to this, so with a slight push off the ground, I created a small vortex underneath my foot and leaped over Appa, causing him to nearly run head first into my door and give how much he's grown over the last year, he would probably smash my stone door.

"Appa, we've been over this many times; why must you always do this in the morning?" Asked Aang calmly with a faint smile as he crossed his arms while looking at Appa, who lightly growled, only to run forth and lick him, causing him to sigh while shaking his head.

"Haa, you're something else, you know that Appa?" Muttered Aang, as he shook his head before turning around and heading towards the training grounds while summoning a gust of wind to dry his saliva coated body.

It's been roughly a year since the trip to the Eastern Air Temple and since I first met Appa; other than taking a few days to get him accustomed to life in the Southern Air Temple, our life was relatively normal. A few noteworthy things have happened, such as how quickly Appa is growing; even though he's only about a year and three months old, he's about twice the size he nearly was when I first met him, and as for me, well, I've grown, but not by much, two inches, maybe three.

Another thing was that I had gotten my tattoo of an air-bending Master, making me the youngest Air Nomad to ever get them, even younger than when Aang got them; not like it was a competition. Thanks to Monk Hema reminding me, a month after we had returned to our Air Temple, I had spoken to Monk Gyatso, though instead of showing him that I had perfected the master level techniques, which automatically grant me the status of a master, I instead showed him the new technique I made—the air scooter.

I don't know why, but I just thought it would be more fitting if I were to acquire my tattoo that way; the air scooter wasn't a hard technique to make by any means; one just needed to gather a lot of wind; compress it into a sphere, and spin it very fast. Granted, one would need an impressive level of control and balance to use the technique, but other than that, it was relatively simple to learn, not to mention its size could vary, though that'll add to its own challenges.

Besides becoming a master air bender and Appa's ridiculous growth speed, life has been usual, well, at least until today, since today Monk Gyatso will be taking me to explore the world, and while most of my desire was for bending, I also wished to explore the world of Avatar.

"Though, I have a strong feeling the Fire Nation is off limits." Said Aang lightly as he looked at Appa, who tilted his head in confusion, only to quickly forget about it.

It was unfortunate, but it was also understandable; besides, I was okay with it. I intended to learn fire bending last anyway, so there is that.

'Still, I'm very curious what the Fire Nation was like before the 100-year war.' Mused Aang curiously as he walked up a flight of stairs, nearing the training grounds, only to see Gyatso and his Sky Bison.

"Monk Gyatso." Said Aang respectfully as he clasped his hands together while bowing, only for Gyatso to sigh while shaking his head.

"You're an air-bending Master now, Aang, on the same level as me; there is no need to bow." Remarked Gyatso lightly as he looked at Aang, who nodded.

"I understand, Monk Gyatso." Stated Aang solemnly with a nod as he deeply bowed once more, causing Gyatso's face to constantly twitch.