Blazing Crystal

The Gang

The water moved through the air in a serpent motion, its flow following the movement of my hands. I could feel the rising sun beginning to make its presence known, and I tried my best not to think about the others who would be waking up soon. Instead, I concentrated fully on the water, trying to keep it steady in the air for as long as I could.

Since I'd woken up so early compared to everyone else, I decided to go seek out some water and practice my bending. I'd watched my sister bend yesterday as she did her evening practice, and when I did I realized one thing: I was a total amateur compared to her.

Katara had been able to train for weeks in the North Pole with an actual waterbending master. As much as I appreciated the training spars Zuko and I had together, I realized just how much I still had to learn. Katara could do so many amazing things with her waterbending. She was able to use one hand and create a powerful whip. She could throw her water so much further than I'd ever been able to. She barely broke a sweat as she created swirls in the air just for the fun of it. She never seemed to strain at all as she placed all focus on the element she had become one with.

The only time I could ever bend to my fullest power was when adrenaline set in. Apart from that, I was nowhere near the skill level that Katara had acquired.

I wanted so much to be like her.

"There you are," Aang suddenly said, causing me to gasp and drop my water back in the small puddle I had found under a rocky overhang. My heart pounded from his abrupt interruption. "I woke up and you weren't there. Are you practicing waterbending?"

I stared down at the water, dropping my arms to my side. "I was..." Turning to Aang, I asked, "Shouldn't you be getting ready for earthbending training?"

He grinned. "Yeah. Everyone else is still asleep. I thought I'd wake them up in a few minutes." He looked me over, and then smiled. "I thought maybe I'd see some of Sokka in you since you two are twins, but I don't really see any similarities despite your hair and skin color."

His words surprised me. However, I couldn't help but smile. "Thank goodness for that."

A laugh escaped him as he understood what I meant. "Yeah. One Sokka's enough." He then glanced over at the puddle again. "You know... Katara would probably be thrilled if you asked to train with her today. Toph and I will probably be earthbending a majority of the day, so you two might get bored."

I nodded, letting him know I was listening to his suggestion.

Aang continued. "Also, I wanted to tell you that I'm really excited to have you onboard the team. Now Katara and Sokka can both stop worrying so much. I told them you would be fine, but they would always stress about it. We can all finally relax now."

With a deep sigh, I spoke softly, feeling both embarrassed and ashamed. "Can I ask a question?"

Aang wasn't expecting it, but he overcame his surprise and nodded. "Sure Crystal... Anything."

I grimaced. "How angry were Sokka and Katara back at the North Pole...? I mean, after they found out about my betrayal and everything..."

The young airbender seemed to contemplate my question for a moment. He then met my gaze with more maturity than I expected from the twelve-year-old. "They were hurt that you chose the path you did, but they both calmed down and got to their senses. Katara never once stopped worrying about you, and Sokka did all he could to make sure he was strong enough to fight the Fire Nation and get you back." Aang suddenly placed a hand on my arm for comfort. "Your family never once stopped loving you, Crystal. Not even after the battle at the North Pole. Nothing you do will ever make them stop caring about you." He dropped his hand from my arm. "What's the past is the past. All we can do now is look forward."