Although I wished to gaze upon my display of power as I was also curious as to how powerful I could be, our location was possibly one of the worst places for me to be currently; we were on the top of a wall with nothing but the emptiness of the sky before us. Besides the tornado, which had managed to pick up a great deal of dust, dirt, and some small rocks, it wasn't nearly enough to do justice to the power I was capable of wielding; however, Bumi seemed more than impressed, and I had a feeling Monk Gyatso was going to give me lecture since I've got no doubt he didn't see what I had just done.
'Speaking of seeing, we should probably leave; this area will probably be flooded with guards soon; it would've been pretty hard to miss a tornado happening on the side of Omashu.' Thought Aang lightly as he grabbed his bo-staff off his back and approached Bumi, who was staring into the distant sky with a large, slightly crazy smile.
"That was awesome!" Yelled Bumi energetically as he raised his hands into the air before looking at Aang, who nodded with a faint smile.
"I appreciate the passion you hold, Bumi, but I believe it's time we leave." Said Aang with a faint smile as he jerked his bo-staff, causing four flaps to jut out from the side while he created a gust of wind that lifted him slightly into the air.
"Grab my… H-Hand." Added Aang as he outstretched his hand toward Bumi, who didn't even allow him to finish speaking before tightly clutching his arm.
Quickly stabilizing myself with the newly added weight, I tightly held onto my glider with one hand while nodding, causing a powerful gust of wind to surge from underneath us, lifting us high into the air, far above the walls of Omashu until we eventually reached the height of the clouds, if there were any nearby. Doing a little barrel roll, I landed atop the glider while catching Bumi in my arms, holding him in a princess carry as we soared through the sky.
'Heh, he really is something; I can't spot an ounce of fear on his face.' Thought Aang lightly as he looked at Bumi in his arms, who was staring at the ground below with a look of awe.
"Woah, this is… Amazing. Is this what Air nomads always get to see?" Asked Bumi lightly as he stared fixedly at Omashu, which looked much smaller at their current altitude.
"Yes. Despite seeing this sight nearly daily, I still find it beautiful." Replied Aang softly with a nod as he glanced down at the Earth Kingdom, spotting the beginning of the Si Wong Deseret in the far distant Northwest.
'I personally think the Southern and Eastern Air Temples offer a superior view, but just like everything, this has its own charm.' Mused Aang lightly with a faint smile as he tilted his glider upwards, causing him and Bumi to soar even higher into the sky with seemingly no intention of stopping.
"How high are we going to go?" Asked Bumi with a curious look as he glanced down at the ever-shrinking Omashu before looking at Aang, who slightly smirked; some of Gyatso's prankster nature had rubbed off on him.
"That's a good question… As high as I can take us." Said Aang calmly as he and Bumi continued to soar higher into the sky like a rocket, eventually reaching altitudes where even the air began to thin.
Shifting my feet, I enveloped Bumi and I within a sphere to keep oxygen and the atmospheric pressure the same for our bodies while I pushed even harder, summoning more air as we continued higher, a never-ending cycle given the ever-thinning air.
The minutes passed by, and as they did so, we flew higher and higher, reaching a height I'd never reached before until I eventually decided to stop. I could've kept going, but it would've taken too long at the rate we were flying; besides, we were plenty high up.
'If I had to guess, we're at roughly the height where commercial planes would fly at.' Mused Aang lightly as he looked down, viewing Omashu, which looked no bigger than a large dot on a map.
"This…" Said Bumi, too shocked by the world-shattering view to properly formulate a sentence, causing Aang to lightly chuckle while nodding.
"You don't need to say anything, Bumi; I know exactly what you're feeling; only when you see such a view do you realize how small everything really is." Remarked Aang softly while an utterly massive spherical vortex spun underneath the glider, keeping them stationary in the sky.
"S-Sure, but I-I was going to say I was cold." Muttered Bumi lightly as he released a foggy breath, signifying how cold it was at such a high altitude.
"Ah, I had forgotten about that." Said Aang with a nod, completely unbothered about the cold, given his ability to regulate his internal body temperature.
"Well then, let us return." Added Aang softly as he suddenly tapped his foot on his glider, causing the massive spherical vortex beneath them to disperse, prompting them to freefall while Bumi left his embrace.
Grabbing my glider, I turned and glanced at Bumi as we plummeted back towards earth, yet, instead of being frightened, there was a massive smile on his face, along with him slightly shivering from the cold.
"Hahahaha!" Yelled Bumi joyfully, enjoying the weightlessness as they fell thousands of feet through the sky.
After some time, once we began to near the ground, I stood atop my glider, which prompted Bumi to latch onto my back as I began to slow our descent, doing so at a slow speed lest I break my glider, or even worse, my legs. Hovering just slightly above the sandy desert, I suddenly leaned forward into a more aerodynamic stance and placed my fists behind me, shooting out powerful jets' of wind that speedily pushed us forward as we headed back toward Omashu in the distance.
"C'mon! Let's go faster!!" Stated Bumi with a large smile as he aggressively taped Aangs shoulder, causing him to wryly smile before heeding his words, increasing the output of his jet-like winds, creating a massive wave of sand behind them.
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'Haa, now I've got sand all in my clothes; I'm going to need to take a bath.' Mused Aang with a slight frown as he scrapped the sand out of his pockets while walking through the street beside Bumi.
"Today was a blast! It was definitely the most exciting day I've ever experienced, Aang!" Stated Bumi with a large grin as he looked up at the night sky before glancing at Aang, who raised an eyebrow and faintly nodded.
"Yes, I, too, had more fun than I initially expected." Said Aang lightly with a nod as he looked upwards at the night sky.
"Hehe, I'll definitely remember this day until the moment I die!" Said Bumi enthusiastically, clenching his fist while Aang gave him a curious look.
"Why is that?" Asked Aang curiously with a raised eyebrow as he looked at Bumi, who smirked.
"Because You'll always remember what you never expected. That's why." Replied Bumi with a slightly crazy look as he eyed Aang, who nodded in agreement.
"That's one unique saying, but I suppose you're not wrong; I hadn't expected to meet a mad genius such as yourself today, yet here I am." Said Aang lightly while rubbing his chin and looking into the sky.
"Eh, mad genius? Hehe, I quite like that title. Bumi, the Mad Genius!" Declared Bumi loudly with a slightly crazy smile as he stared at the sky, only to look at Aang, who was slightly frowning.
Spotting Appa and Monk Gyatso's Sky Bison flying toward the ground in the distance, I slightly frowned before glancing at Bumi; although I wasn't expecting this to happen, I was a little glad I had met him, he was indeed a little mad, but something about that madness of his seemed to bring out my inner child, and it's been so long since I've experienced such innocent fun that I had kind of forgotten what it is like.
"It seems our time has ended; I must get going, Bumi; meeting you was a welcome experience, and it's one I'll never forget." Said Aang lightly as he grabbed his glider and began to fly slowly through the air, leaving Bumi alone, who widened his eyes before smiling.
"Haha, see ya later, Aang; make sure to visit again soon; next time, I'll make sure to display my genius!" Stated Bumi with a large grin as he waved at Aang, who softly nodded before disappearing behind the walls of Omashu.
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Landing far outside Omashu, I placed my glider on my back and approached Appa, rubbing his head while he licked my body in response, causing me to smile as I looked up at Monk Gyatso's Sky Bison, only to see Monk Gyatso himself.
"I see you're doing just fine after leaving an eight-year-old alone in an unfamiliar city. That's good, I feel relieved, Monk Gyatso." Said Aang blandly as he glanced at Gyatso, who chuckled softly.
"Ho, you were lost, Aang? I could've sworn you were following behind me the entire time; what happened?" Asked Gyatso in concern as he looked down at Aang, whose face twitched.
"You're a good prankster, Monk Gyatso, but your acting skills could use some more work." Stated Aang calmly as he fed Appa a few apples while Gyatso simply chuckled in response, seemingly unbothered about getting caught.