I am a leaf on the wind, watch how I soar

Lucas raced through the temple, weaving in and out of the monks and visitors with skill possessed only by master air benders. Flowing along the currents of air rushing towards freedom, Lucas burst out through a door and into the freezing snow of the Northern Air Temple. Being this far north, and this high in the mountains, caused the Temple to be blanketed in snow quite often. But, luckily for Lucas, he wouldn't be traveling without a source of heat.

"Mishka!" Lucas called for his Sky Bison, and then whistled across the Temple complex, using sound bending to make sure that his companion would hear him wherever he was. As Lucas rushed towards the cliff surrounding the Temple, several monks tried to get his attention to warn him about the drop off. But Lucas couldn't care less, he had always been adventurous and a risk taker.

Leaping off the side of the mountain, Lucas let out a scream of joy before pulling out his staff-glider and taking to the air. Within a few minutes he was joined by his Sky Bison, Mishka, who promptly flew beneath him and allowed Lucas to drop onto his back. Mishka's saddle was packed with supplies for the trip, including plenty of extra for Nanami who would be joining them soon.

After flying towards the eastern boarders of the Northern Air Temple, Lucas picked a secluded spot and landed Mishka for the night. The giant sky bison landed on the ground, light as a feather, and promptly began snoring quietly. Well, quietly for a Sky Bison. Lucas began to walk around the area, checking for any possible threats or dangers.

"Hmm.. We could use some cover. That way when Nanami gets here we can sleep right away without having to take turns keeping guard. What do you think, Mishka?" The Sky Bison opened one eye and blinked lazily before going back to sleep. "I'll take that as a sign of your loving approval." Lucas threw a snowball at Mishka, who blew it away in a large puff of air from his nostrils.

Picking a good spot in front of Mishka, Lucas closed his eyes and meditated for a moment before beginning. Having trained in both the Southern and Northern Water Tribes, Lucas had a fairly solid grasp of the different forms of Water Bending. But this trick was one he had picked up from the Northern Tribes. Moving his arms towards a nearby river, flowing rapidly with large sheets of ice on the surface, Lucas began to move through the movements of this technique.

Lifting a large amount of water from the river, Lucas began to bend it into walls around Mishka. As the width of the walls increased, Lucas began to sweat a bit before moving more water towards his structure. Freezing the water as it fell into place, Lucas slowly built a large dome of ice around himself and Mishka. After being satisfied with the size and sturdiness of the walls, Lucas finished off by leaving a section in the top open for light, as well as leaving the front open since there was no real danger at the moment. He would seal them in for the night after Nanami arrived. And as a finishing touch, Lucas jumped into the air and began to twirl his staff-glider around above his head, causing the air to shift and blend water bending with air bending. Lots of nearby snow lifted itself from the ground and gracefully flew through the air before settling on top of the ice Lucas had created. "There. Now it will blend in, instead of being a giant chunk of ice jutting up on the landscape."

Satisfied with his work, Lucas smiled to himself before leaping on top of Mishka and laying down. "I think that'll do for now, don't you?" Mishka slapped his tail onto the ground, something he did when content or agreeing with Lucas. Smiling again, Lucas closed his eyes and relaxed on the back of his Sky Bison. "I wonder if we'll run into anyone else while we're traveling with Nanami. Or, who knows? We might even meet someone before she shows up. It's a long trip from the Southern Water Tribe, even with the new Canal."

Nanami’s feet grew more and more tired the farther she drudged on. She wanted to stop and rest but she was too close to her destination to waste any time. Nanami had given up surfing the canal as it was taking too much out of her but she decided to walk alongside it just in case something happened and she needed the water. It was getting colder the farther North she went. Of course Nanami was used to these temperatures having spent her entire life in the Southern Water Tribe. Fearing that it would grow even colder Nanami fetched her jacket from around her waist and tied her dreads in a giant ball slightly hanging on the side of her head. Growing thirsty and not wanted to expend her energy to bend the water to her mouth, Nanami walked over to the canal and knelt down, taking sips of water to qucnh her thirst.

”This water is nowhere near as pure as what we get from the glaciers back home”
Nanami proudly thought to herself.

*Grumble Grumble* Nanami’s stomach was letting her know that she was hungry. She wished she hadn't finished off the rest of her food stores, but alas, they had been gone for at least a day and a half now.

”Hopefully I find Lucas soon … and hopefully he has food with him.”

Nanami forced the thought of hunger to the back of her mind and pushed on. Eventually she came to snow covered ground. Off in the distance she could see a mountain that stretched high above the clouds.

“That MUST be the Air Temple!”

Nanami excitedly shouted. She heard her voice slightly echo and looked around to see if anyone might have heard her. No one to be seen. It was snowing a bit, but nothing that Nanami couldn’t handle. By this point the canal had ended but a small river broke off from it, so Nanami stayed with the stream. Sheets of ice floated on the river’s surface, bumping into one another making cracking noises. Nanami was tired of walking by this point seized her opportunity. With a running start, Nanami took off toward the river and leaped onto one of the sheets of ice. As soon as she landed, she formed the ice around her feet and up to her ankles so as not to lose her footing. Nanami relaxed as the ice floated lazily down the river and focused on searching for Lucas in the landscape surrounding her.

Waking from his nap, Lucas thought he heard someone yelling in the distance so he jumped off of Mishka's back and went outside to check if anyone was there. And sure enough, Nanami was riding a sheet of ice on the nearby river. Of course she is, is there any other way to travel? Lucas thought to himself and then smiled, turning back towards his sleeping Sky Bison. "Unless, of course, you happen to have an easier means of transport." Mishka huffed and blasted Lucas with air, causing his hair to fly about wildly before he got it back under control. "Very funny, ya big oaf."

Walking towards the river, Lucas opened his mouth to yell for Nanami and then decided to just bring her to him. Moving through a series of fluid movements, Lucas began to waterbend the river towards him. A large section of the water rose slightly, just enough to breach the river bank, and began to redirect towards Lucas's camp. This would force Nanami right to him before the water went back to rejoin the river.

Raising his voice, sound bending to be heard above the roaring river, Lucas yelled to his old friend. "Nanami! Over here, just stay on the ice. I'm bringing you in!" Lucas smiled before going back to his bending motions, continuing to bring the water and ice sheet towards him.

Nanami was enjoying her drift down the river, taking in all of her surroundings. The climate was much cooler than what it had been along the way, but it was nowhere near as cold as back home. Out of nowhere the river began to rise and change course. This took Nanami by surprise because she had not seen anyone around yet. In one fluid motion, she released her feet from the ice and spun around on her toe, simultaneously moving her arms and hands in a predetermined fashion. Large shards of ice formed from the water she had pulled from the river and hovered above her head and on either side of her body. She was poised to strike. Frantically, Nanami searched for the bender responsible for this, scanning the snow-covered horizon. In the distance she saw someone …

”This must be them.”

Nanami thought to herself. Not wanting to wait for whoever is was to bring her to them, she leaped forward from the sheet of ice she was standing on and bent some of the water so that she could skate on it, all-the-while keeping the shards of ice hovering near her. She rushed forward pushing off with her feet very violently, not intent on harming the bender, just on questioning him. The closer she drew, the more familiar this bender seemed, she lessened her pace but continued toward the stranger. She had heard him shout something at her, but the rushing sound of the water proved too much to hear over. She drew even closer and noticed the boy was smiling. She would know that smile anywhere! It was Lucas! Nanami promptly dropped the shards of ice which fell to the ground with a splash. Having not seen Lucas in, she couldn’t remember how long, she quickened her pace once more, skating more excitedly than violently now. She was skating so fast that her dreads were blowing in the wind. With one last lunge she collided with Lucas, embracing him in a giant hug. They both fell to the ground with a thud.

“Lucas! It is so good to see you! Sorry for the reaction .. you know me. Young girl, traveling by herself.. can’t be too careful!”

She said hurriedly, picking herself up from the ground and brushing off her jacket. She wiped sweat from her brow and noticed the igloo.

“Nice igloo! I didn’t even see it until just now ..”