Azula stared out at her small village, wishing she could leave. It was way too small for her. She wanted so much more than what it provided her. It provided her some of the worst memories, like when her mother was kidnapped. She had no idea if she survived. She had no idea if she would ever see her again. That's why she wanted to leave: to find her mother.

"Azula!"

She jerked over to the side to see her father, the chief of their village. A frown was dragging his face down again. "Yes, Father?"

"Your brother is out hunting for food," he said, eyeing her distastefully. "What are you doing? I thought I asked you to harvest our crops."

She dropped her head, not wanting to meet the disappointed look in her father's eyes. "I forgot, Father. I'm sorry."

"The sun is still out," he said, flicking his hand. A flame burst out of his fingers and it was head right toward Azula. She ducked out of its way as he said, "You are not allowed to come back inside until you harvest everything."

She sighed and grabbed a few baskets to hold the crops. She hated harvesting the crops her village planted. She didn't know why they couldn't harvest everything they planted. They barely did anything, anyway. Most of the men had gone off a senseless war that the Water Tribe had created. She didn't know all the details, but she knew that one of the leader's of the Water Tribe had annihilated all the Air Nomads. 

"Azula! Wait up!"

Azula turned slightly to see her two friends, Mai and Ty Lee. They strolled over to her, and Ty Lee pulled her into a tight hug. "I haven't seen you in a long time!" she said.

"We saw each other this morning," Azula said with a hint of annoyance in her voice. She needed to harvest the crops, not mingle with the peasants. "Come on, Ty Lee. I have work to do."

"It seems like you work all the time!" Ty Lee said, letting go of Azula. "We barely have time to spend together."

"That comes with being the chief's daughter," Azula answered. "I'll see you two later."

She turned on her heel and walked away from them. She loved them, yes, but she couldn't have anything to tie her back to that little village. She just needed to wait until the right moment to slip away. Then no one would notice that she was gone. And she knew exactly when she would disappear. Her brother, Zuko, had come of age to head off to war, and the village was throwing a farewell party for him. Everyone would go, besides her. She would run the opposite way, toward the Earth Kingdom. 

The sun was slowly setting above the mountains, casting a soft golden glow across the land. It was almost the same color as her mother's eyes. Azula shoved the baskets at the ground and took off running. Her feet barely touched the dense ground as she ran, the wind coursing through her hair. She needed to go to her favorite place, to take some time to herself. That way she didn't have to go home until the sun rose.

Her favorite place in the whole village was the cliffs. Her village was right below the cliffs and a large forest was on the other side of the cliffs. She liked to look out at the horizon, picturing a bigger land that she could rule with her mother at her side. She would banish - or kill - all the other people who wronged her, starting with her father. His favorite child was Zuko, not her. Her mother always took care of her while her father had Zuko.

The wind was harsher up on the cliffs, but Azula could stand it. And if she fell, she would accept the death that was waiting for her at the bottom of the mountain. 

But something stood out to her. A lump of earth had formed at the base of the forest. A glow emitted from it, and she frowned. She took a hesitant step forward, placing her hands on the earth. It was warm to the touch. 

The wind stopped as she lit her hands on fire. She pushed down on the dirt, opening it up more. A blue glow hit her eyes and it lit up the sky. She just pushed harder, lighting a fire on the dirt. Something - no, it was somebody - was trapped in the circle of earth. Just as she thought nothing was working, a body fell out on her feet. She shook her hands, banishing the fire, before kneeling before the bald boy. 

"Are you okay?" she asked, touching his cheek. It was bitter cold to her fingertips. She blew out a breath of fire, trying to warm him up. He was freezing and shivering in his orange clothes. 

His eyes flashed open, a startling gray compared to her golden. He gripped her arms and drew her closer to him. She was too confused to push him away. She would never let anyone touch her like that, but something about him made her feel something. 

"Come closer," he whispered, his voice gruff.  Azula leaned closer to him and he whispered, "Will you go ride the komodo rhinos with me?"

She frowned. "I don't know you. How did you even get stuck in the ground?"

He glanced around, his eyes cloudy. But he didn't answer her. He instead sat up with her help and said, "Appa!"

He leaped up and she noticed all the tattoos that covered his arms and head. They were bright blue against his pale skin. He peered into the hole and shouted, "Appa, wake up!"

Before she could do anything, he floated down to the strange creature that was curled up in the hole. He was trying to lift the animal's mouth, saying something along the lines of waking up. She stood with her arms crossed, watching him run around.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"This is my flying bison," he explained, gesturing to the large animal. "He is -"

The bison grunted and the boy's face lit up like the night moon. That sent a small burst of warmth through Azula's body, but she ignored it.

"Appa!" The boy latched onto the animal as his eyes opened. "It's good to see you, buddy!"

"Yes, that's good," Azula said, dropping into the hole. "But, how did you get here?"

"I'm Aang!" he said brightly, obviously ignoring her last comment. "What's your name?"

"Azula." She knew that she had to answer him for him to answer her. A little give and take. 

"Hey, my name starts with the same letter!" he said, throwing a grin to her. 

"That's nice," she answered. "Let's talk."

She jumped and used fire to boost her up. She landed on the ground above the hole and he said, "You're a firebender."

He appeared next to her and she nodded. "The only female firebender in my village."

"That must be hard," he said. "Do they teach you?"

"No," she said sourly. "Besides, I'm the daughter of the chief. I am supposed to be lady-like."

"I can teach you," he suggested. "It isn't that hard, is it?"

"You can't possibly be a firebender," she said, glancing at him. 

"I'm not," he said, nodding. "But I can take you with me and travel the world. You can find a firebending master somewhere else."

Azula stared at the moon that was slowly rising. She desperately wanted to leave, but she wanted to leave by herself. Not with some random boy she dug out of the earth. 

"How would you travel the world?"

"On my flying bison," he said in a 'duh' voice. "He can fly us around the world."

She looked at the boy to see such an earnest look in his eyes. She didn't trust anyone, but he seemed like someone she could trust. 

"Are you a bender?" she asked instead. He spun his fingers around and a breeze floated by her face. "You're an airbender?"

She was very surprised at that. They were all killed a hundred years before. 

"It's like you haven't seen one in your whole life," Aang said with a laugh. "Yes, I am an airbender."

"That's because we haven't seen one in a hundred years!" Azula said incredulously. "They were all killed by the Water Tribe."

He frowned. "No. I left the Air Temple the other day."

She raised her eyebrows. "Okay. I'll go with you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Our first stop is going to be the Air Temples."

He smiled, and a pang of guilt hit her. She didn't want to ruin his life by revealing that the air nomads were actually dead. But she needed to find her mother, and that overpowered everything. 

"When are we leaving?" he asked.

"Right now."

"You're not bringing anything?"

"No."

He slipped his hands under her legs, lifting her up. She yelped as he jumped on his flying bison. "Appa," he said, setting Azula down, "yip yip."

The beast groaned as he stood up. He bent down before launching himself in the sky. But he landed to the ground with a thud.

"He's tired," Aang said sheepishly. "We can just walk for right now."

"That's fine with me." As long as they left the village quickly. The moon carved the path for them, and Azula knew this was right. She was finally leaving the village. She was ready to have an adventure.