The Outsider- Avatar Fanfic

Chapter 12- A trip down memory lane

After we had left Kyoshi Island, we flew all night and almost all day to make sure we put some distance between us and Zuko. However, Appa could only go so far. So we landed on a mountain range somewhere in the Earth Kingdom, having left the ocean a few hours ago. After eating some dry food Aang suggested that perhaps it was time for another lesson. I agreed, glad to do something finally.

'Okay, so today you're going to fly.'

I shot him a confused look. 'On...Appa...?'

'What? No, with my glider,' he said, holding out his staff with a massive grin on his face. My stomach dropped, and I gingerly took the staff from him. Me? Flying? By myself? Nuh uh. I did not have a particularly good head for heights, and I only managed to scrape by on Appa because I had slowly gotten used to it.

But a glider? Totally different from a giant flying bison.

'Uh, are you sure about this Aang?'

He nodded emphatically. 'Of course! You are excelling at a remarkable rate, and I think you are ready for the next step.' He must have seen the apprehension in my eyes, because he took the staff back from my and flicked out the glider. 'Here, I'll give you a demonstration on how it works.'

With a fluid movement he threw the glider into the air, almost immediately jumping up to grab the underside and soared upwards. He looped around so that he stayed close to me.

'To fly, I have to manipulate the air around me,' he called down, twisting in the air. 'Just how a bird reads the air with downdrafts and updrafts, I do the same. Except I can also air bend so that I don't have to use thermals.'

He turned around and glided towards the ground, smoothly landing beside me. 'Here,' he said, giving me the glider again. 'It's a bit different from normal bending,' he explained, 'because you don't physically move your body to manipulate the air. Instead, you do it through the glider.'

'Um, okay. Aang, are you sure? I really don't feel like I am advanced enough for this.'

Aang gave me an encouraging smile. 'You have basically flown before, in the air ball. The fact that you can actually create and hold air that powerful tells me that you are ready.'

I felt a bit better after that. It was true, I had managed to master the giant air ball Aang created back in the Southern Air Temple when he went all Avatar State on us. It had felt incredible, being inside the swirling wind.

'Okay. So I just...throw it and jump and grab it?'

'Yup.'

'Erm...okay...' I raised the open glider above my shoulder, preparing to throw it upwards. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Katara and Sokka watching. Katara seemed a bit nervous for me, while Sokka looked like he was expecting to be thoroughly entertained. Don't blame him.

With a deep breath and a quick prayer to no-one in particular, I threw the glider like a javelin, quickly grabbing it and pulling myself up underneath it. Immediately I could feel the air currents surrounding me, and out of instinct I pulled them around me to lift me up and forwards. Imagine my surprise when I suddenly gained altitude. Aang was cheering below me as I leaned slightly to the left, causing me to start circling around the clearing I had been practicing in. My apprehension completely disappeared and a grin broke out on my face as I felt myself flying. I was flying. And it was amazing.