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Ever since Azula had captured us, Uncle and I have been locked up in a remote island prison surrounded by the sea. We were barely fed and checked on once a day. They cell we were in was dingy. It was dimly lit by a window, showing off the dirt and grim caked onto the floors and walls. But there was a secret to the cell. I cast my gaze over to the far wall, tracing the bricks with my eyes. Our most recent guard had turned out to be a member of the White Lotus. Whatever Uncle asked for would be smuggled into the cell within a week or so. Behind the bricks was a stash of beeswax. Over by the window, a motley collection of feathers from the seabirds that flew by hourly grew into a pile over moons.
For months, I watched my uncle tediously melt and shape the beeswax and feathers together using his firebending. Now, it was finally time. In today's meal was a key to the cell. Iroh carried the wings over to me, and showed me how they work. He warned;
"Do not fly too high, for the sun shall melt the beeswax. But do not fly too low, or the seawater will degrade the beeswax and the wings will fail all the same."
When the sunlight shined on the door, he unlocked it. We stealthily snuck through the corridors,, climbing set after set of stairs to make it to an outpost.
"This is your chance nephew. Escape, defeat your father."
I look back at him.
"But what will happen to you, Uncle?"
"I will have my chance soon. Goodbye Zuko."
He started walking back. I took a deep breath, and jumped. At first I plummeted. Then, spreading my arms, I flew. I bended the air below me with the heat of the sun, heating it to create a warm draft to lift me higher. I was really flying! I looked above me and saw Appa. My heart racing, I flew higher. Realizing my height, I started to bend some heat out of the beeswax and into the air below me, but it took most of my concentration. I was so close to him. I shouted
"Aang!-"
As I tried to call to him, my concentration broke. My arms suddenly felt cold, and Appa was getting farther. I looked around and realized I was no longer flying, but falling rapidly towards the water below. I squint, and see that Appa was just a cloud. I close my eyes, and laugh. I had flown, had reached, but still fell. I let my consciousness slip away, and could barely feel my bones breaking. I was already dead when I hit the water. Not from force, but from my flame burning out.