𝑾𝑨𝑽𝑬𝑺 || 𝑨𝒂𝒏𝒈 (𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒌 1)

Imprisoned*

The last eight years of Jade's life had been spent in the Earth Kingdom city of Omashu. The four years before that had been spent living in a small village, now wiped from existence by the Fire Nation. The most travel that Jade had done was the few days of walking toward Omashu. And even then, she had been too young and frightened to really take notice of her surroundings.

Now, she wasn't just a four-year-old girl traveling with thirty other villagers to find a new place to live. Now, she was a waterbender setting off to travel the world with the Avatar in hopes of finding a waterbending master. Then, eventually, perhaps she would help Aang and his friends in their quest to defeat the Fire Lord and bring the world back to its state before the war.

Saying goodbye wasn't something she was accustomed to. At least not in person. Many of Omashu's citizens had gathered at the gates to see her off. She still didn't know everyone's names, but she would try to fondly remember as many faces as possible.

Parting with Shiro was the hardest. She wouldn't say that he was a father figure, instead more of a much older brother. He kept Jade laughing and smiling during her darkest times. It was hard to think that she wouldn't be able to "accidentally" splash him with water while practicing her bending anymore.

Her father's best friend was hugging her so tightly, she felt as though she might stop breathing. Still, she didn't mind all that much.

"Be safe, kid." He muttered softly. "I know that your dad is so proud of you."

"Thank you." She couldn't help but smile. "Try not to miss me too much."

"We'll see what happens." Shiro let go of her to look where Aang, Katara, and Sokka stood waiting behind her. "Keep her out of trouble for me, will you? She can be unbelievably clumsy, so try to watch out for her."

Her mouth dropped open in disbelief as her face turned pink. "Hey!"

Katara giggled. "We'll take good care of her for you."

It was hard to believe she was actually following in her mother's footsteps. Leaving her home and seeing the world wasn't something that happened to just anyone. That's why, as nervous as she was, the chance was one that she couldn't simply pass up. She internally was gushing with excitement.

...At least, until she learned of their travel method.

Once they left the city, she noticed that Aang wasn't bothering to contain his excitement like she was. He was grinning widely as he walked next to her, lightly bouncing with each step. She realized that, when his friends weren't in potential danger, Aang was quite bubbly and carefree.

"Jade, just wait until you meet Appa!" Excitement laced his voice as he spoke. "I think he'll really like you!"

Holding onto the straps of the backpack she wore, Jade glanced curiously at him. "Appa? Who's that?"

"You'll see." His grin, if possible, widened.

Having been walking behind them, Sokka leaned forward to speak in a voice only Jade could hear. "You may wanna prepare yourself for the unexpected."

That just left her more confused.

After a few more minutes, they reached a grassy clearing about a mile away. When her companions stopped, Jade did the same to look around curiously. The last thing she expected was to hear a low growl; it had her all but jumping out of her own skin.

A big, fluffy white creature flew in out of nowhere and landed before them. It had horns, a brown arrow like Aang's on it's head, and six long fluffy legs.

"Hey, Appa!" Aang jogged up to pat the creature's head. "Jade, this is Appa, my flying bison. Appa, this is our new friend, Jade. She's coming with us from here on out."