A/N:

Hello everyone! Welcome back!! This chapter I introduce my OC, Kipu! He's become a favorite of mine. :D Shame he lived before the Airbender Genocide, because he would've gotten along swimmingly with the Gaang. XD

On another note, this is one of my favorite chapters thus far. Kipu was supposed to be a sort of throwaway character, but he quickly jumped in and developed into his own being. And now I adore him. :Wild_Laugh:

That said, I hope you enjoy this week's chapter.

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Five days to the Comet Festival

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Kipu was tired. He was in the middle of preparing for his Coming of Age pilgrimage in the spring. This autumn he would turn sixteen—the age that all Air Nomads set out on a journey of self-discovery in one of the three other nations. He was beyond excited to see the world for the first time on his own, but that also meant he needed to study the world so he didn't get himself into trouble. His guardian had warned him more than once of Air Nomads that had perished on their pilgrimages because they were underprepared.

"The world isn't what it used to be," he remembered his guardian saying, "you can't just wander around and expect to find goodwill and a hot meal anymore. Sometimes people will pretend to help you and then rob you blind of all you have, even your staff! You must be careful."

Honestly, if the world was that bad, then perhaps they needed more Air Nomads out there. If kindness was something to be wary of, then the world was truly in a sorry state. "Be the change you want to see in the world." He reminded himself with a deep breath.

Kipu shook his head, using the whistle-speak floating outside the window to pull himself out of his thoughts. A light smirk tugged at his lips as he listened to the children outside bantering in the wind. It seemed the elders were going to have to find a new place to hide their airpaints.

He turned his focus back towards one of his scrolls, this one explaining commerce and finances, something quite foreign to most Air Nomads who'd never left the temple. A hesitant knock at the door broke the fragile focus he'd managed to scrape together. He blinked when he saw who it was.

"Aang?" The boy's presence wasn't unusual, though the early hour of the visit was. Aang and Kipu were quite close to one another despite the four year age gap. Though Nomads didn't have family units like the other nations, from what he could understand of his texts, he and Aang acted like familial brothers—each causing trouble for the other, but there without fail when they needed someone.

And today looked like the 'in need of someone' kind of day. He patted the cushion beside him, watching as the boy silently padded into the room, usual exuberance replaced with something like hesitation.

"Hey Kipu."

The older boy's eyes sharpened as he took in the strange gait of the younger. Was... was Aang hurt? If he was, he was hiding it admirably well—which was worrying in and of itself. The last time Kipu could remember Aang getting hurt was after an incident where he'd accidentally blown half his class off a cliff during some lessons. A couple of the kids had become frightened of him, and had lashed out in fear. The monks had quickly settled the situation, separating the boys who caused the ruckus and putting Aang in an advanced class for airbending, as he had a lot of power but little control at the time.

It hadn't stopped the 'accidents', but once Kipu realized what was going on and reported it to the Elders, the troublemaking boys were sent to the Northern Air Temple for self-reflection. Despite what people liked to think, Air Nomads were not faultless or perfect. They were human too, and humans could be quite cruel when they became scared.

Perhaps it was because Kipu had been Aang's protector during those times, but the boy always came to him whenever he was dealing with something he couldn't fix alone.

"Don't tell me someone's bullying you again."

Aang seemed startled at the words. He puzzled for a moment before his eyes widened in realization. "No! No, it's... that's not..."

"You're hurt." Kipu cut him off, setting his brush down to turn his full attention towards the boy.

"It's fine. It's not... what you think." He took a breath, continuing on before the older Airbender could comment further. "Kipu. Do you trust me?"

The older Nomad was thrown for a loop. "Of course I trust you."

"No, I mean... Do you trust me? Even if it's something I can't really explain?" There was a foreign weight to his words. This was something deeper than whatever Kipu's mind could come up with. He may not have understood what Aang was getting at, but he understood that it was important. He took a moment to center his mind. Aang was his friend. His Brother. Even if whatever he had to say sounded outlandish, he would at least do him the respect of listening.

"I trust you."

Aang let out a breath of relief. The younger looked like some kind of weight had fallen from his shoulders, and Kipu was twisting his mind in all sorts of windshapes to try to figure out what was going on. "I need your help. Come with me." The twelve-year-old grabbed Kipu's hand and started pulling him out of the room, barely giving him time to snatch his staff. He had a moment to wonder when the kid had grown strong enough to forcibly pull him around before protests started spilling from his lips.

"W-wait a minute! You didn't explain anything! Aang! You can't just pull me away from my studies!"

The boy glanced back at him over his shoulder, and Kipu felt the air in his lungs grow cold. There was something in his eyes that had any further protests sputter and die. He had never seen anyone look so serious before, not even his guardian when talking about the Nomads who never made it home from their pilgrimages. He may not have known what that look was, but he knew one thing with absolute certainty. Those were not the eyes of a boy.

Kipu matched his pace with Aang's, following the child as he led them outside and down a few rough paths. Eventually, they reached an isolated and well-hidden cavern entrance. The older boy frowned. He'd played in this secluded area many times as a young boy, but he'd never noticed this cavern before. Had it always been there?

"You need to memorize this path." Aang's voice echoed in the cavern around them with the same tone of a teacher expecting a student to listen without question. It was the tone, more than anything, that had Kipu warily falling into a fluid stance as they walked, ready to airbend at a moment's notice.

"I don't understand... Aang, what's going on?" He did his best to ignore the paranoia that crept up his spine. No Airbender liked being underground. It felt... stagnant. Confining. Wrong. Dangerous. The knowledge that if something went wrong, he couldn't just escape into the sky made him feel unnerved and twitchy. He was so bothered by the itch under his skin caused by the feeling of being in an enclosed space, that he almost didn't hear Aang speak.

"Kipu. I need you to promise not to tell anyone anything until the right time. Okay?"

"I can keep a secret, but if it's going to get someone into serious trouble..." Had one of the kids adopted some dangerous animal? Were they hiding it in the tunnels?

"I mean it." Aang spoke in a firm tone that Kipu had never really heard from an Airbender before. The closest he could think of was when he went on a trip with his guardian to the borders of the Earth Kingdom. Aang sounded as firm and stony as an Earthbender. He was distantly impressed.

"I... Something bad is going to happen soon, and we're no where near ready." Aang's voice echoed around them as he led Kipu down twisting tunnels. He pointed towards small glowing stones embedded in the ceiling. "If you lose your way, follow the stones. They glow really faintly, so you'll need to snuff out any torches to see them. Though it's best not to use any lights when coming down here anyways."

The boy was unusually serious. His tone and expression—what little he could see by the strange glow of the luminescent stones—was so unlike the cheerful Airbender he knew. "Aang... you're scaring me. What is going on?"

They stopped at what felt like the bottom of the cavern. Kipu realized it was a steep ledge. Only an Airbender could get down that safely, he noted. With all the rocks jutting out at strange angles, it seemed like it'd been formed with Airbenders in mind. Like some Earthbender had created an underground obstacle course.

"I can't explain it all," Aang started after they reached the other side of the obstacles, "but you need to be ready. You've heard the rumors about how the Fire Nation plans to attack the Earth Kingdom, right?"

"How did you–?" Kipu cut himself off. Aang was good at sneaking around and listening in on things he shouldn't. He'd likely heard the elders arguing about whether they should send aid to the Earth Kingdom. "Okay, so what about it?"

"What if the Fire Nation doesn't attack the Earth Kingdom?" Aang's words had him slowing his pace in confusion. "What if it's a distraction?"

"A distraction?" He echoed, a horrible sinking feeling churning his gut. "For what? Why would they need..."

"What if they attack us instead?"

The words were phrased like a question, but spoken with the surety of someone stating a fact. The scenario flitted through his mind. If Fire Nation soldiers marched on unprepared Air Nomads, it'd be a disaster. Sure, they'd likely be able to fight them off—airbending always had an edge when the bender was at a higher elevation—but they were a peaceful people. They usually avoided combat whenever possible. Unlike other bending disciplines, airbending was centered around the idea of 'fight to disengage or incapacitate'. In a long drawn-out fight, or a fight with multiple enemies aiming to kill, most Air Nomads would be at a hefty disadvantage. Not to say they'd lose outright, but it would depend entirely upon how many enemies and allies there were.

"They couldn't even get up here though." Kipu shook his head to dispel the rather distressing what-ifs. Such scenarios didn't matter if they weren't possible. "Besides, why would they attack us? We're not a threat."

"The Avatar's a threat." Aang pointed out tersely. "And he's an Airbender who was born in this generation."

Kipu winced. It was a fairly convincing point. The Avatar would be a threat to someone who wanted to wage war. Especially if that Avatar came from the peaceful Air Nomads who were firmly against war. He would've liked to be able to argue the fact that the Avatar was just a child right now—wherever they may be at the moment—and that even the Fire Nation wouldn't be cruel enough to go after a kid, but some distant part of his mind hesitated in letting the comment pass through his lips. Instead, he opted for a different argument. "Okay, but they still can't get up here."

"What if they could, though?" Aang's eyes held his gaze like an elder speaking to a child. "If they found a way, if they managed to somehow make it up to the Temple. Do you think we could survive?"

Survive. Kipu's mouth went dry. Aang wasn't asking if they could win, he was asking if they could survive. Any answer he had was washed away by the grave expression of the younger Nomad. This wasn't the kind of question a child should be asking. That expression wasn't the kind of face a child should wear.

Kipu fleetingly wondered if he'd somehow stumbled into the Spirit World because nothing made sense anymore. He felt himself creeping towards the edge of a distant hysteria. There was so much that wasn't making sense right now. Aang was a carefree and lighthearted boy who laughed like the wind and ran away from trouble with a grin. He wasn't this serious-faced boy that led him down mysterious tunnels and started talking about war and survival.

Aang's earlier words echoed in his mind, begging him to trust him. Kipu felt a pang of guilt. Aang was Aang. Regardless of why he was acting so differently now, he had asked Kipu to trust him. Asked him in a way that told the older Nomad that the younger couldn't bring this to anyone else. He took a deep breath and shoved his rationality into the far corner of his mind.

"Okay. Let's say they somehow do make it up to us. We have the bison. We have Vayu's winds. We could flee."

"And what if we can't? We're Air Nomads. If someone's planning to attack us, they'll have to account for the obvious. Bison and gliders are practically our trademarks."

Kipu wanted to scream. The more Aang countered his arguments, the more Kipu started to see the very real possibility of an incredibly devastating event. Fear was starting to take root deeply within him. What if this did happen? What if the Fire Nation did find a way up to the Temple? What if they somehow prevented them from getting to their bisons, or destroyed their gliders? What would they do then?

"These tunnels will be our escape." Aang continued, having taken his silence for what it was—an admission of defeat. "They'll never expect Air Nomads to escape underground." For the first time since Aang had come into his room, the boy smiled. It was small and tentative, but it was more of a relief to see than Kipu thought it'd be. "I need you to memorize the route. You and I will be the only ones that know about it for now. Just in case."

"You sound like you know something." Kipu narrowed his gaze even as he followed Aang further into the underground tunnels. It felt like they were headed towards the bottom of the great spires. "Hey, um... How deep does this go?"

Aang smirked, his eyes brightening with a familiar mischief. "Wanna race me to find out?"

"You? Race me?" Kipu put a hand over his chest dramatically. "That's a little unfair, don't you think?"

"You're right. It is unfair." Aang nodded sagely. "For you."

"You're on."

The boy's smirk became a full-blown grin. "Just follow the glowing stones and you'll be fine." He shot off, leaving Kipu to eat his dust. "WATCH OUT FOR THE WATERFALL!"

"WHAT?!" Kipu yelped as he created a burst of wind to spur himself forth.

Aang was shockingly agile. The boy had always been fast and lithe, but that dang Air Scooter he'd invented only made it harder for Kipu to keep up. The older Airbender frowned when he realized his glider would be useless in such an enclosed area. He'd have to make do with traditional airbending.

They dashed around corners, rounded bends, shot down sheer drops and hopped over boulders that tried to block their path. At one point, the two had to dash through a magnificent underground waterfall, parting the torrent falling from above with airbending and flitting through the momentary gap. The two were neck-and-neck when Kipu saw a glimmer of sunlight ahead. He did his best to ignore the irritating feeling that Aang was going easy on him.

"I WIN!!" Aang shouted proudly as they broke through a curtain of moss. Kipu turned to say something when he stopped short, mouth dropping open as he stared up at the stone that jutted out of the earth and pierced the clouds. Staring up at it from the ground, he wondered if anyone could possibly reach the top without a bison. It suddenly seemed impossible now.

"We're... on the ground." Kipu spoke numbly. He'd left the temple before, but he'd never taken a trip to the ground. Well, not the ground by the Temple. He wasn't sure anybody ever bothered to go to the base of the great spires upon which the Southern Air Temple was built.

"Over there's the Temple." Aang pointed off towards one of the larger mountain bases. "We're far enough away that anyone looking for survivors won't find us." He spoke far too casually for Kipu's tastes, but the kid was smiling and didn't seem to linger on the gravity of his statement. He wasn't about to call attention to it when he was so relieved to see Aang acting more like himself. "And there's a clearing nearby where we can hide our bison! So long as you can guide everyone here, we should make it out of this all right."

Kipu opened his mouth to say something—perhaps comment on the way the boy was speaking as if an attack was inevitable—when Aang's words caught up with him. "Me?" He turned to fully stare at the boy, whose grin was starting to fade away with confusion. "What do you mean, Aang? You're not... If an attack were to happen, you'd be coming with us."

Aang shook his head. "Remember when I said you needed to keep this a secret?" He took a deep breath and fell into a bending stance. It was casual and strangely unfamiliar, but Kipu knew a stance when he saw one. Except Aang's hands weren't forming any airbending movements he knew. Air was quick, subtle at times, but airbending usually required fast twisting motions. This was a slow, almost beckoning motion that flowed like...

Kipu's eyes widened when a stream of water flowed towards Aang's hand, swirling around his wrist. The boy looked up at him hesitantly, but Kipu's brain was still trying to process what he was seeing.

Only one being in the world could bend more than one element. And the last one had been Avatar Roku, a fire-born. The next in the cycle would be...

"You're the Avatar." He breathed.

"It's a secret." Aang insisted, flicking his wrist to return the water to wherever he got it from.

"Those tunnels... Did you make them?" Kipu would've said it was impossible. Aside from a few trips with his guardian, Aang had never left the Southern Air Temple for any extended period of time, except to bond with his bison and to get his Mastery Tattoos. He was sure he'd never been gone long enough to train under foreign bending masters, and the Avatar traditionally didn't start training until sixteen. Aang was twelve, he shouldn't even know about what he was yet.

"I did. I can't explain it yet, but please trust me."

He would've trusted Aang even if he wasn't the Avatar. But the fact that he was only made the entire situation more dire. Because this wasn't a hypothetical situation spun with a well-thought-out argument from a paranoid twelve-year-old anymore. This was a warning from the Avatar himself. This was a measure to protect their people. The Balance.

Kipu sat on a stone, cradling his head in his hands. "Why... did you come to me?" He glanced up when he felt he could do so without the world tilting. "If you told the Elders—"

"You know how they are. Do you really think they'd listen to me? They know I'm the Avatar, and even still I'm just a kid to them. Think about it, Kipu. You were listening to my words even before I showed you waterbending. That is why I went to you. You think things through and listen to both logic and instinct." Aang flashed him with a smile. "If anything happens, I trust you to lead everyone to safety. To protect them."

Kipu felt something within him stir. A mixture of warmth and determination. Avatar or not, Aang was still Aang. "Don't worry, little brother. You leave it to me." His grin faltered slightly. "Uh... we don't have to go back up there by tunnel, do we?"

Aang laughed.