People were here. I could hear them. Their voices echoed through the library. I set down the parchment I was studying and snuck closer. They stood in the middle of the walkway. There were four of them. Three boys and a girl. The oldest of the group admired the owl engraved on the arch in a loud voice. I slipped behind the nearest column and peeked around to watch. I heard Wan Shi Tong coming. If only these people would be quieter. They didn't hear him coming until he was almost upon them. I scuffed my foot across the floor. They heard and ran behind the columns. Wan Shi Tong looked at the rope hanging from a window, then turned his head around towards the columns where the group hid.

"I know you're back there." He said.

There was silence for a moment, then the oldest man walked out.

"Hello! I'm Professor Zei, head of anthropology at Ba Sing Se university."

"You should leave the way you came," Wan Shi Tong began, unless you want to become a stuffed, head of anthropology."

Professor Zei rubbed his throat.

"Are you the spirit who brought this library to the physical world?" The other three walked out from behind their hiding place.

The girl and one of the boys looked very similar, I assumed they must be siblings. They both wore blue clothing, and had the same dark skin and hair. The other boy was bald and had blue arrow tattoos on his head and arms.

"Indeed. I am Wan Shi Tong, he who knows ten thousand things. And you are obviously humans, which are no longer permitted in my study."

"What do you have against humans?" The boy with the arrows asked.

"Hm. Humans only bother learning things to get the edge on other humans. Like that fire bender who came to this place a few years ago, looking to destroy his enemy. So, who are you trying to destroy?" Wan Shi Tong leaned in close to them.

I remembered the fire bender that had come. He spent hours searching for something and when he was finished, he destroyed all of the information on the fire nation. I was also a little hurt by Wan Shi Tong's comment, 'Humans only bother learning things to get the edge on other humans.' I wasn't like that, and I was human.

"What? No, we would never! We aren't trying to do anything like that." The boy with his hair up in a ponytail said, looking nervous.

"Then why have you come?" Wan Shi Tong asked.

"Umm. Knowledge for knowledges sake?" What a terrible liar.

"If you are going to lie to an all-knowing spirit, you should at least put some effort into it."

"I'm not lying! I'm here with the avatar! He'll vouch for me." Ponytail grabbed the boy with the arrows and pushed him in front of Wan Shi Tong.

"Yeah, I'll vouch. We will not abuse the knowledge in your library good spirit, you have my word." They all bowed.

Wan Shi Tong watched them for a moment, thinking.

"Very well," He replied, "I'll let you peruse my vast collection. On one condition. To prove your worth, you have to contribute a piece of knowledge."

Professor Zei stepped forward and handed Wan Shi Tong a book. Then the girl walked forward and handed over a water bending scroll. The boy with the arrows pulled a picture of himself out of his shirt. Finally, ponytail took a piece of rope out of his pocket and tied it into a knot.

"Ta Da!" He exclaimed, "Its a special knot!"

I rolled my eyes.

"You aren't very bright, are you?" I suppressed a giggle at Wan Shi Tong's comment.

"Enjoy the library." Wan Shi Tong said, then flew off.

The group turned and started to make their way into the rows of parchments and books.

"Bright enough to fool you." I heard Ponytail mutter under his breath.

They walked through the rows of shelves, pulling out books and scrolls. I followed them, careful to keep my distance.

"Hey Aang, did you know in a past life you were left-handed?" The girl asked the boy with the arrows.

"I always knew I was special." The boy named Aang smiled.

Ponytail walked around, pulling scrolls and parchments from shelves, glancing at them, then placing them in his bag. I didn't trust him. He walked up to a small table. Glass held down a piece of burned paper. Ponytail took out a sharp object and began to pry the glass off. He pulled the parchment out and tucked it into his bag. That thief.

I followed them towards the section on the fire nation. When Ponytail saw the burned remains, he became frustrated.

"Just when I think we are one step ahead of them, it turns out they beat us here a long time ago. I need to know what happened to the fire nation on their darkest day."

One of the foxes trotted past me and over to the group. He whined, trying to get Ponytail's attention.

"Hello, little wired, fox thing." He said.

"It seems it's trying to assist you." Professor Zei said.

The fox led them to a large, round door. I crept closer, wanting to get a better look. The fox slipped into a small door off to the side and disappeared. We waited for a moment, then the door opened. The group walked inside and I crept closer to the entrance. The fox trotted over to a lever on the floor and pushed it down with its front paws. The ceiling started to move. A huge, yellow, circle moved across the ceiling. The ceiling grew dark, and a white circle moved across a black ceiling with little white specks dotted everywhere.

"It's like a calendar. Sokka, put in the date from that parchment you took." The girl said.

"Shh! Not in front of the fox, he's with the owl." Ponytail said, putting his hand in front of his mouth.

The boy named Sokka walked to the dial and turned them. He pushed the lever and the ceiling began to move. I watched as the circle representing the sun and the circle representing the moon moved across the ceiling. The sun and moon stopped as they overlapped.

"Great you broke it." Aang said. I couldn't see his facial expression for his back was to me.

"It's not broken, the sun is behind the moon. It's a solar eclipse!" Sokka exclaimed.

I heard Wan Shi Tong coming. I backed away from the door and slipped in between the shelves as he came into view. I heard him talk about how predictable humans were, then the building began to shake. I ran down the aisles as fast as I could, eventually coming to the place where I usually slept. A small, tattered blanket was tucked in between the books on a nearby shelf. Ignoring it, I grabbed the small stuffed cat owl sitting atop the open book laying on the floor. Tucking it into my shirt top, I ran back to where I saw the strangers come in. The library was sinking, and I needed to get out.

I found the rope dangling where they had left it. I grabbed it and and began to climb it, but I stopped. I felt like I had to help these people, even if they had stolen from the library. I let go of the rope and landed on the floor. I listened for a moment, trying to pinpoint where they could be located. I heard Wan Shi Tong's talons scraping across the floor. I ran towards the sound. He was chasing the girl and a flying animal I hadn't noticed before. They ran and hid behind a shelf. I could hear the girl panting. Darting in front of Wan Shi Tong, I blocked his view of the girl's hiding place.

"What are you doing?" I was surprised by my voice. It was high, but strong and clear, despite not having been used in years.

"Taking back my library." He replied.

"Can't you just let these people go?" I pleaded.

His attention was diverted away from me. I followed his gaze. I spotted the animal's tail twitching in the aisle.

"At least I'll have one specimen added to my collection." Wan Shi Tong lunged at the tail. The girl darted out from her hiding place and ran towards the rope. I followed close behind them, trying to think about how I could help them. She suddenly stopped and turned to face the owl. She moved into a fighting stance and a look of determination and bravery covered her face. I joined her side and pulled out my small knife.

"Your water bending is useless. I've studied southern style, northern style, even foggy swap style." He stated.

I could sense the girl's surprise as we stood in front of Wan Shi Tong. The giant owl stretched his neck up as he prepared to strike. Out of nowhere, the boy named Sokka landed on top of Wan Shi Tong's head and the two came crashing to the ground.

"That's called Sokka style! Learn it!" The girl, and Sokka started to climb the rope. I stood in confusion, staring at the owl.

"Wait! Professor! Lets go!" Sokka called from the rope.

"I'm not leaving. Ive spent too long searching for this place," Professor Zei sat in the middle of a pile of books, "I could spend an eternity in here."

"Just go!" The girl yelled.

The rope started to sway as the owl regained consciousness. Aang flew by and caught them. He swooped down to my level, and I grabbed onto the girl's ankle. We flew out the window, Wan Shi Tong close behind me. We landed hard onto the sand. Another girl stood nearby, holding the library up. She let go and was flung backwards. I picked myself up and dusted he sand off of my clothes.

"Where's Appa?" I heard.