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Aang knows this, but he doesn't want to know. He rides on winds of his own making and hurls laughter everywhere he can. (But the walls are cracked, and these aren't ruins, they were never suppose to be ruins)
His friends, all of them, are children. Aang knows this, but they seem to forget sometimes.
Sokka pushes his maps out on the temple floor and plans war and it makes Aang's stomach twist, because that was where the youngest monks practiced their first katas, and that was yesterday. Suki points out weaknesses, defenses, where the most guards can be killed while kneeling on a floor painted with baby bison, and Aang has to turn away.
Katara acts as if grown, and maybe she is in a world like this. Aang watches her look at Zuko with hatred that he'd never seen 100 years (8 months) ago.
Toph is different.
She knows how to fight, but she knows how to play too. They both crawl away from chores, and proclaim how bored they are with drawling voices, and allow the distractions to take hold.
She is twelve years old and can crush him in her first, but her laughter rings the loudest.
They are children, and they remember sometimes.
The western air temple is a haunted place, and the only one who sees Aang break from it is Zuko
It is early morning, and instead of asking for firebender hotjumps, Zuko asks to see Airbender katas.
"Uh, why?" Aang had asked.
"Different forms of bending can help your own firebending." Zuko's face softens for a second and Aang realizes the words coming from Zuko's mouth may not be his at all. "Maybe we can incorporate something from airbending into your firebending."
Aang nodded, that seemed reasonable enough. And just because it was his first element didn't mean his airbending was flawless. The katas would help.
Aang scratches his chin then grins when he thinks of a place to perform. He grabs Zuko's arm and with startled yelp from him, air runs up the piller and on to the next level of the temple. After a few minutes of a grumbling Zuko, they were at the advanced training ground. It looked over the mountain, and looked exactly as is in Aang's (youth? Childhood?). Despite the way something in his heart twists, Aang walks to the beginning spot, and shifts into position.
He breathes
in
And
Out
From the corner of his eye, Zuko nods.
Aang closes his eyes, all he can hear is the whistling of the wind. He breathes in again, stronger this time, and he can feel the particles of air moving through his lungs. The sense of frenzy around Zuko from the heat of his dragon breath.
Aang moves one front in front of other, other foot in front of one. His palms raised in from of him, reminiscent of a fighting stance. He follows the steps of his memory, so ingrained into the stone that he can't remember a time before he knew this dance.
One two three there's a stick hitting the ground in a rhythm. Laughter echos among the air. The wind that blows by his face carries sounds from all over the temple, and Aang can feel everyone one of their breaths. His stomach growls when he smells a whiff of dozens of pies from the kitchen.
There will be a feast tonight, an initiate has just been made a full member of the air nomads.
As he shifts from one stance to another Aang winces in sympathy for the initiate. He was barely able to move the day of his feast. Full body tattoos do not come without qualms.
Aang moves to the final stance and opens his eyes (had he closed them?)
The first thing he notices are the pies. The scent of pies are gone. The laughter echos out into the mountain air, and there are no sounds but the breathing of a single other person.
...where?
Aang turns from facing the blue sky (there are clouds instead of bison) And sees a firebender in the corner, arms folded, watching him.
"Where are they?" He asks, his voice cracking in panic. "What are you doing here?"
The firebender raises his eyebrow. "Aang this isn't funny."
Aang startles back, clutching his staff in a defensive position. "How do you know my name?"
The firebender unfolds his arms, and his expression changes into something like concern.
"This is the western air temple." The firebender with dragon breath says. "You're Aang, the avatar."
"I'm not the avatar, I'm too young for that!" Aang says. "Where are the other airbenders?"
He perks up and smiles. "Maybe I'm dreaming! This is just a nightmare from eating too much pie!"
"No this isn't- Look, my people-" The firebender looks like they suddenly found it hard to swallow. "Your people, they-"
Aang moves his foot to jump to the firebender when he notices dust flying into the air.
There is no dust in the training areas. The initiates keep them clean because nobody wants a pebble ingrained in their foot while doing katas.
Aang looks down at the floor and sees the ash.
It's all over the training floor. The marks left from his katas like pale rocks in a river of solid grey. He looks at the walls and sees ivy cracking along the broken mosaics. Avatar Yangchen's head is partially burnt off, her gusts of air covered in leaves.
It hits Aang like a burst of wind in a hurricane.
"Oh."
Zuko let's him stand there alone for a minute (and he'll never forget the single moment where Aang's eyes shattered), then walks up to Aang and places a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"Do you know who I am?"
Aang mumbles.
"Speak up."
"Prince Zuko."
A minute passes, both of them unsure of where to go after this and then Zuko says quietly,
"...Pies?"
"Yeah," Aang pulls himself together and turns to Zuko. Smiles and even to himself it seems brittle. "Air Nomads were famous for pies! We even had classes for baking them. I wasn't very good at making them though."
Zuko clears his throat. "Do you want to, uh, maybe...make some?" Aang stares. Zuko scowls. "We don't have to, we could always go back to training- uunnf!"
Aang hugs him, Zuko stiff and awkward underneath. "That'd be really nice." He says, actually smiling this time. He pulls back and if Zuko sees the the tear he wipes from the corner of his eye, he doesn't say anything. "We should make it a group exercise, for ya'know, teamwork."
Zuko groans but nods sharply and says "Fine."
They both make it back to others, and for awhile they all are children again. (The Western Air Temple is still haunted, it will always be haunted. But Zuko understands, and it makes a difference.)