When All Hope Is Lost

Please Stay Happy

A few weeks have passed, and Aang has begun his training. He'd come back to his and his sister's room, and pass out on his bed. Auretta would try to get him to take a break from training during the day, but Monk Tashi would always fuss at her to leave them alone.

Despite knowing it's useless, Auretta decided to try again today. She walked out into the open area, just beyond the southern wall, to see Aang swirling around to try and create a small tornado. After spinning around  one too many times, Aang tripped from dizziness and fell on his rear. Auretta held back her laugh. "Aang! Why don't you take a break for a little while, and come join me for some tea?"

Aang smiled and stood to meet his sister, before Monk Tashi stepped between with a scowl on his face. "He needs to keep training. You know this, Auretta."

Auretta frowned. "I know, Monk Tashi, but he's still human. He needs a break. Just let me take him inside to refresh himself for a little while, and he'll come back better than ever!" She smiled at the end of her statement.

Aang watched in anticipation. He really wanted to take a break. The poor boy has barely even talked to his sister in weeks! He just wanted to be a normal kid again for a little while.

Tashi's scowl deepened. "Do you think the people he'll be fighting against in battle will let him take breaks to come back fresh?! No! He will continue training until nightfall."

The young brunette tried to keep her cool, but she couldn't help it anymore. "Of course I know they won't let him take breaks in battle, but he isn't even fighting yet! There is no war yet! You're all basing this on a feeling! He's a child Monk Tashi. He can work his way up to not taking breaks, but right now- right now he needs a break. Come on Aang." She grabbed her younger brother's hand and pulled him along with her as they made their way down the pathway.

Aang has never seen his sister so angry before. She was normally calm, and ended every argument with a gentle voice. This whole thing was really bothering her. He watched as the older girl's eyebrows twitched, and she muttered silent curses to herself. She wouldn't look at him, and just kept her eyes on the halls ahead. "Retta?"

Auretta seemed to have snapped back to the present and looked down at her brother. She sighed and let go of his hand. "I'm sorry, Aang. I just..." she looked down at the ground.

Aang could see the tears in her eyes, and his heart broke. Was he causing her this much pain? "Retta..."

The young girl looked back up to him with a tear rolling down her cheek. And that was the first time, in a long time, Aang had seen his sister cry. She quickly pulled him into a hug, and she buried her head into his shoulder. "Please. Please. Just... stay a kid. Ok? Please keep smiling. Please just, stay my goofy little brother that always gets himself into trouble. Please stay happy."

Aang returned the hug and nodded his head. After a few minutes passed, Aang smirked. "Wanna go ride on Appa?"

Auretta smirked and let go of her brother. She wiped away the tears, linked her arm with his, and they both ran off to the field of flying bison.

...

After their ride on Appa, they landed only to find Monk Gyatso waiting for them with a smile on his face. "Hey Gyatso!" Aang smiled.

"Care to join me for a game of Pai Sho?" The siblings smiled, and followed him into his temple.

After Gyatso and Aang has played for a bit while I was meditating on the windowsill, Monk Tashi opened the door. "You're playing games with him? The avatar should be training!"

"Aang has already trained enough for today." Gyatso stated.

Monk Tashi didn't listen to Gyatso. "Time is short. Come with me, I must test you on some high level techniques." Aang sighed and got up to follow him. Auretta was about to object when Gyatso spoke up again.