Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Chief, the Dancing Tiger-Seal sent word of a solitary Fire Nation ship sailing nearby. They want to know how to proceed.” 

Hakoda turned from the map on his wall, sharing a concerned glance with Bato at his side. After the fleet’s successful attack on a naval squadron, they’d raided the defeated ships’ intelligence before sinking them. The larger fleet the squadron was part of wasn’t scheduled to be in the area for another week. In the meantime, Hakoda and the rest of the Southern Water Tribe fleet were scattered and would soon be reconvening in another sea. 

“Send reply to not engage. Try to stay out of sight, but if spotted, retreat. We don’t want to draw attention to our movement before the squadron’s defeat is discovered.”

The young man delivering the news nodded and raced off to fulfill the task. Bato hummed and turned back to the map. It should have been noncommittal, but Hakoda could hear the unspoken judgment. 

“What?”

“It’s just one ship. We could rendezvous with the Dancing Tiger-Seal and easily sink it, even accounting for our injured.”

The thought had occurred to Hakoda as well, but he resolutely shook his head. “One ship will not make a difference to the Fire Nation, but could disrupt our plans completely should they prove to be strong fighters.”

Bato just hummed again. 

“We went into this knowing it was a numbers game,” Hakoda said, containing himself from snapping at his friend. “Every one of our attacks need to be carefully weighed and planned to make the largest impact with the least amount of loss on our side.”

Like the spring thaw, Bato’s blank expression lit up with a wide smile. “I know that. Just making sure you have your defense ready because Chief Katjak is still hoping to unseat you as the fleet’s leader.”

Hakoda huffed a weary laugh as he tugged Bato down to dig his knuckles on top of his head as if they were still children. Rather than accept the punishment for being annoying, Bato went limp. Hakoda dropped him. Laughing, Bato rolled away and jumped up, ready to fend off further retaliation. 

The promise of a wrestling match to blow off steam was all too alluring. They both probably would have given in to the temptation if not for another young man bursting into the room. 

“Chief! Akiak spotted an Earth Kingdom vessel and thinks it might be the scholar kid our spies sent word of.”

As Bato fixed his hair, Hakoda focused on the news at hand. Over a year ago, Atka told them about a boy with a fascination for Avatar Yangchen and the spirits. The boy was said to be a nonbender from the Fire Nation colonies, and yet had somehow left the Si Wong desert on a sand sailer. He was said to have used the sand sailer by himself, and yet was rumored to have been part of a raid where a firebender’s attack had been mysteriously rendered useless. 

The last Atka heard of him, he was making plans to venture to the North Pole. While there had been no word of the boy since, the song he helped craft was relentless in its reach. Whether he was the Avatar or not, there was no doubt he possessed a peculiar power that could affect the war effort if harnessed properly.

“Why does Akiak suspect that?”

Yutu shrugged. He was so young, he'd barely made the cut to join the warriors. “Dunno, you can ask him.” 

Hakoda laughed and clapped the young man’s shoulder as he passed. “I’ll do just that.”

The majority of the crew milled about on deck, clearly curious about the potential of meeting the Avatar. Hakoda did not want to put too much hope on one child, but he could not deny his own curiosity. 

Several flags flapped in the wind from the main mast, signaling to the small Earth Kingdom craft that the Soaring Stoat-Albatross was friendly and hoped to communicate. Regardless of the identity of those sailing, Akiak was right to raise their flags. Even if the sailors were from the colonies, they likely would want to steer clear of the Fire Nation ship in the area. 

“Akiak!” Hakoda called up to the crow’s nest, where he was still keeping watch. Rather than battle against the wind to be heard, Hakoda signed once he had Akiak’s attention. “Why do you think that’s Atka’s scholar?” 

“Boat’s moving too fast for the weather today,” Akiak signed back.

Hakoda glanced out to the sea. Though the small boat did not raise answering colors, she changed directions to meet the Soaring Stoat-Albatross . It didn’t seem to be moving at an unnatural speed. 

“Not now,” Akiak clarified. “But it was when I first spotted it. Started moving with the currents once they saw us.”

Some of Atka’s spies suspected they saw the scholar airbending his sails, but it was still an unconfirmed rumor. Before Hakoda could further question Akiak’s hunch, he called down with laughter in his voice.

“And the kid on board has a scar on his face big enough I could see it from here.”

“Lead with that next time!” Hakoda scolded in a shout, but his own laughter betrayed his sternness. Well, there was little doubt now that they'd stumbled upon Atka’s scholar. A facial scar like that was far and few between.

As the Air Lantern —the name proudly painted on her hull—came within shouting distance, the scarred boy in question stood on the low cabin roof and called out, “What do you want?”

His companion, also scarred but not in the ways of fire, tugged the child down with a hiss. Despite the crowd on the deck, his gaze singled out Hakoda with a wary, but not entirely distrustful frown. 

“I apologize for his rude greeting, but the sentiment stands. We’re just traveling through the area and do not have much in terms of supplies. What can we do for you, warriors?”

Hakoda smiled reassuringly. “More of what we can do for you, and that's to share our knowledge. There’s a Fire Nation warship in the area. You might want to proceed with caution.”

While the boy’s eyes widened in surprise, the man showed no outward reaction. “Should we be wary of a battle to avoid?”

“Hardly. We’re hoping to steer clear of the ship as well. But that’s not the only reason we flagged you down,” Hakoda laughed and leaned against the deck railing as he addressed the younger. “Are you perhaps the scholar Hui? My cousin spoke fondly of you, but has also been worried since you disappeared into Foggy Swamp.”

A rapid succession of expressions flitted across the boy’s face. Hakoda could see his thought process as he initially wanted to demand an answer, took a moment to think, grew confused, then came to a possible conclusion. He settled on a cautious smile as he looked up to Hakoda.

“You’re Atka’s cousin?”

“Well, my wife’s cousin. But family all the same.”

Hui’s smile grew. “What a coincidence! How is she doing? I hope I can visit her and Yawen again. They helped me so much, pointing me toward Foggy Swamp! And I need to tell Atka that I did end up taking her advice to visit the North Pole! I didn’t quite make it to the spirit gateway but it was still-”

Hakoda cut him off with a laugh. “Perhaps you and your companion would like to join me for lunch? I’ll happily send word on to Atka, and will enjoy hearing of your adventures as well.”

“Of course!” Hui agreed, then turned to his companion with a wince. “I mean, uh, if that’s alright?”

“Far be it from me to stop you,” the man laughed, but his eyes were hard as they met Hakoda’s. “It seems we’ve run into friends.”

The silent question and threat had Hakoda raising his hands in a show of peace. He truly meant no ill will for Hui, be he a nonbender, airbender, or the Avatar. But he was glad to see the young scholar had others watching his back. 

Once introductions were made, the proposed lunch was set up on deck since the rest of the crew were as curious as Hakoda was about the mysterious Yangchen scholar. If Hui felt nervous about such an audience he didn’t show it. He easily settled into a story-teller’s cadence as he explained what he knew of Yangchen from her memoirs—going so far as to pull the tome itself from his pack—and how that led to him going to Foggy Swamp and the North Pole.

Bato settled beside Hakoda and said under his breath, “In the lunch set up, our guests were using sign language.”

“Did you catch what they discussed?”

“They were trying to be discreet. Still, I picked up that they were deciding what to tell us, and kept using a sign related to a bird or flight.”

It could be, but it could just as likely be a code or a name sign. Atka suspected Hui had a budding following, and as Kavi did not match the description of Hui’s past companions, Hakoda would go so far as to suspect Hui had more than that. Now, more than ever, the Avatar would need a group of confidants and supporters. If he was the Avatar.

A deep sorrow settled over Hakoda even as he smiled and joined in the cheer of Hui’s tales. There was no doubt of the spark of fire in the boy. There was no denying his heritage in the Fire Nation colonies, and that would mean the Avatar cycle had continued after the genocide of the Air Nomads. Had they been born in the North and kept secret from the world? Had they been from the South and were stolen away before they could discover their potential? Which was worse, for their brethren of the North to have abandoned the world or for the Water Avatar to have died captured and abused by their enemy?

“Are there icebenders in the South Pole?” Hui asked upon concluding a story about Chief Nukilik.

Silence spread across the crew as pained and uncomfortable glances were shared. 

Kavi winced apologetically, then hissed to Hui, “Drop it.”

For all that Hui had learned about Water Tribe culture and history during his time in Agna Qel’a, he clearly did not know of the South’s strife. The boy glared at Kavi and huffed, “What? Why?” At the same time his hands moved in small signs, but the meaning was still clear to Hakoda.

“How else am I supposed to bring up mixed element bending?” He signed. Not bending all the elements, or a number. The sign for ‘mix’ was defined and clear. What did that mean? 

“Fire Nation captured all our waterbenders years ago,” a youth from the Kuuk Tribe said bluntly. “Chief Hakoda’s wife was the last one and they killed her in their home. So there’s no waterbenders left, let alone some creative earthbender.”

Hui paled. He turned to Hakoda, stammered apologies falling from his lips, which Hakoda ended with a raised palm. 

“While Agna Qel’a has been cut off from the world out of choice, so have we by our circumstances. It's not surprising for a youth far from the South Pole to be ignorant of our strife. But ultimately, this is why we now fight. Our losses have been great, and our only hope is to end the war before we join our ancestors.”

“It’d be great if the Avatar suddenly came back again to help us,” Yutu cut in pointedly. 

Hui nodded and agreed with the sentiment. “I’m researching Yangchen, but have begun looking into the spirits as well. So I can’t help but hope I’ll find a way to the current Avatar in my studies.”

Contrasting with his smooth response, Hui was anything but discreet as he signed to Kavi, “Can’t we help them in the meantime?”

Kavi fared better in concealing their second conversation. While Hui’s signs drew some curious attention, it was quickly lost as Kavi directed conversation to the popular Yangchen song that had been spreading across the Earth Kingdom and how Hui had a hand in composing it. Several side conversations began and only once the undivided attention on them was gone did Kavi reply to Hui’s signed question. 

“Dangerous balancing act,” he signed in a way that could be mistaken for fidgeting if not for Hakoda looking for it. 

Hui attempted to mimic Kavi’s controlled signs and was less obvious this time. “Everything I’m doing is dangerous. What are the-” He used the flying name sign. “-for if not to help people like them?”

The softness in Kavi’s smile said more of the lengths he would go to protect this child than his earlier glare had. He was no mere follower or chaperone. His smile spoke of a love that Hakoda would be foolish to disregard. Luckily, Hakoda had no intentions of betraying Hui’s trust should he earn it. 

“Alright, as entertaining as our guests have been, we have a deadline to make,” Hakoda called out once the discussion of Yangchen’s song reached a lull. “Say your goodbyes and get back to work.”

While the majority of the crew raised no issue in thanking Hui for his stories and returning to their posts, Yutu lingered. He met Hakoda’s raised brow with a defiant jut of his chin. Seemed he wasn’t about to let Hui leave without trying to get a solid answer about the Avatar out of him.

“So what sorts of places are you looking for to further your research ?” Yutu asked once only Hakoda and Bato remained with their visitors. 

Hui sighed and shrugged. “At the moment, nowhere in particular. I’ve been touring sites relevant to Yangchen, but I’m starting to run out of places accessible to me. Hopefully I’ll stumble upon something sooner or later.”

“Why are you so focused on Yangchen anyways? You were just in the North Pole. Why didn’t you learn more about Kuruk? And surely learning more about Kyoshi is way easier.”

“My mother was a big Yangchen fan and-” Hui began, a well rehearsed answer he must have given plenty of times before. But he cut himself short with a scoff. “Well, maybe it started that way. But Avatar Yangchen was the last known Air Avatar. Any remaining records about the Air Nomads tend to come in relation to her. Why shouldn’t I be focused on her when there’s no one else left to remember the airbenders?”

Yutu stepped back, caught off guard by Hui’s sudden intensity. He realized, just as Hakoda did, what the implication of Hui’s words was. The airbenders were gone. How else would one learn airbending than through a previous Air Avatar? A sly grin spread across Yutu's face as he nodded.

“Well, at the last port we were in, I heard rumors about an actual fortune teller in the area. Maybe if you find her, she can help you.”

Hui’s eyes shone with the strength of the midday sun. He grasped Yutu’s forearm with energetic gratitude, and repeated his thanks as Yutu scurried off to his post, leaving Hakoda and Bato alone in their guests’ company.

With a quick glance to each other, Kavi and Hui bowed, voicing their gratitude for the Soaring Stoat-Albatross ’s hospitality. As they did, Kavi signed to Hui, “You go get the boat ready. I’ll talk to them.” Hui looked ready to argue, but with one stern look from Kavi, he sighed and jumped over to the Air Lantern . 

“Thank you again for giving us warning, and for the company,” Kavi said lightly. “I think, perhaps, you and your cousin have built lofty expectations of Hui. But regardless of what you think, he’s not alone. And we want to try to extend some of our resources to help you too.”

Bato crossed his arms. “And who are the ‘we’ you speak of?”

“A group that’s been working against the war long before rumors of Hui started spreading.” Kavi shrugged and took a step back. “I can’t make any promises about what sort of help we can offer. Someone will find you sooner or later, and then you can decide what to do. I’m just letting you know to expect a stranger approaching you.”

The humble offer held more promise than Hakoda expected. This was a last second decision, but it wasn’t going to be an empty one. Though Hui was young, the people behind him were experienced. 

“Thank you. We’ll await your representative then.” He laughed as he mimicked the two’s flying sign. “In exchange, some advice. The standard sign language most people know originated from the Water Tribes. Your conversations aren’t as secret as you believe them to be while in our midst.”

Kavi dragged a hand through his hair with a snort. “Duly noted. Thank you. Fair winds, may the spirits guide your sails.” With one last bow, he joined Hui on their boat.

Hakoda and Bato watched the Air Lantern sail away in contemplative silence.

Bato broke it first. “So do you think he’s-”

“Honestly, I have no idea what to think.” Hakoda signed the group’s name again. “But regardless, I’ll dare to hope.”

A heavy silence hung over Iroh as he waited for Jingyi to bring fresh tea and a young man Iroh had been selfishly ignoring. At first, Iroh avoided Lieutenant Kavi because he was a painful, visible reminder of both the siege and Lu Ten. When Zuko began spending time with the lieutenant, Iroh took the coward’s route and left things as they were. Iroh told himself it was because he believed Lt Kavi wanted nothing to do with him. The truth was much more pathetic.

Iroh thought he had come to terms with the distance that had grown between him and his son before Lu Ten’s death. He had accepted that though he’d turned from Lu Ten, he still knew his son and could live on upholding his memory. But with every story Zuko shared from Lt Kavi, Iroh’s confidence wavered. Why had Lu Ten never introduced Iroh to his friend? They had clearly been close for Lt Kavi to know as much as he did. Iroh was so afraid of learning there was yet another facet of his son’s life he’d been ignorant of.

But Iroh had abandoned a siege, his throne, and a year of his life for the mere chance of understanding Lu Ten better. No amount of terror would hold him back forever. And yet. When Iroh finally got over himself to approach Lt Kavi, he was hit with a completely different hard truth. 

Lieutenant Kavi hated him.

Oh, the young man certainly did his best to conceal it. Their initial meeting had been their first and only personal conversation. At the time Iroh had been caught off guard by Lt Kavi’s supposed amicable attitude. After that, Kavi avoided Iroh as much as Iroh had been avoiding him. It was only as Iroh attempted to catch him for a conversation did he realize the extent Lt Kavi went to evade his presence.

If not for the timely reports Lt Kavi submitted as the head of his department, Iroh would think he was neglecting his work. He was never in his office whenever Iroh stopped by. Sparring with Zuko conveniently ended as soon as Iroh stepped on deck, unless Zuko joined the crew for training. Crew-wide training under the weapon department head had no consistent schedule and was usually announced the day of. Coincidentally, Iroh was always busy whenever a training session concluded. The few times he was free and tried to catch Lt Kavi at the end of a session, Lt Kavi either disappeared below deck in a blink or kept a few soldiers behind to do more one-on-one work. 

Iroh tried to convince himself that it was all in his head. It was poor timing, nothing more. Besides, Iroh was allowing the unfortunate coincidences to prevent him from approaching Lt Kavi. He made up his mind to learn more about Lu Ten’s friend, but that did not mean he had the proper drive.

But then, Zuko did the unexpected and lent Avatar Yangchen’s memoirs to the young man. Zuko never parted with the book. Not even Iroh was allowed to borrow it to read on his own. Everything he learned about the previous Air Avatar was from Zuko’s retellings. Upon being asked why he allowed Lt Kavi to read Yangchen’s memoirs, Zuko unknowingly confirmed Iroh’s fears.

“Well, Yangchen deals with her grief in losing Akari and Huizhong through the entire thing. It’s why she wrote it! And, um, recently I’ve realized that Lu Ten was like Akari for Kavi, and that Kavi is still trying to come to terms with… that. So I’m hoping Yangchen can help him where I can’t.”

Lu Ten was like Akari to Kavi. Zuko chose his words with a purpose. He did not say ‘like Huizhong’ or ‘like Yangchen’s companions.’  No, losing Lu Ten for Lt Kavi was the same grief Yangchen felt in losing her partner. And Iroh had been none the wiser.

How could the man not hate Iroh?

So Iroh did his best to respect Lt Kavi's desire for space. It was the least he could do when Lt Kavi clearly respected Zuko’s—and Lu Ten’s—relationship with Iroh. Zuko was oblivious to the tension between them, despite every opportunity Lt Kavi had to express his opinions about Iroh.

That was why when the tattoo deception began, Iroh tried not to think too deeply as to who could influence Ensign Jae to keep the secret. He did not let his thoughts linger too long on how the tattooing was a crew wide endeavor, same as Zuko’s birthday party and re-established music nights had been. So he certainly did not consider just who the crew respected and followed as their de facto captain. Iroh tried his best to be thankful that Lt Kavi convinced Zuko to keep his tattoo small. He certainly did not dwell on the fact that Lt Kavi got a similar winged motif which spanned his entire back.

Iroh was willing to let all of that slide. But what happened yesterday? That was inexcusable. No matter how much Lt Kavi may detest Iroh, his history with Lu Ten did not justify withholding an immediate report about an encounter with the Southern Water Tribe fleet. Iroh should not have learned about it over breakfast, and only because Zuko was excited to share the southern alternative to a story he learned in the North Pole.

Upon further questioning, Zuko saw nothing wrong with how he boarded an enemy ship in the middle of the ocean. Iroh could understand the possible reasoning for allowing the encounter to happen, but he did not understand the secrecy. Especially when Zuko mentioned as a joke that the Water Tribe ship had spotted the Sazanami and warned them of crossing paths with it! Furious did not begin to cover how Iroh felt. 

Lt Kavi arrived before Jingyi with their tea. He politely bowed and said his greetings, but did not move further into the room. There was not a flicker of distaste nor concern in his eyes as he met Iroh’s gaze and asked, “What do you need me for, sir?”

Cold doubt doused Iroh’s building ire. Had his paranoia done this young man a disservice? Clearing his throat, Iroh gestured for Lt Kavi to join him at the table. He did not move from his position in the doorway.

“Lieutenant Kavi, I’d like to discuss how my 15 year old nephew boarded an enemy nation’s vessel when you were supposed to be chaperoning him. And how I found out only just now over breakfast. Steward Jingyi will be arriving with some tea shortly. Please, have a seat.”

Shock had Lt Kavi’s eyes widening as he crossed the room and gingerly lowered himself to the cushion on the floor. There was no guilt nor distress from Iroh’s words. He appeared genuinely surprised. 

“My apologies, General Iroh. That’s entirely my fault.”

Relief and guilt twisted in Iroh’s stomach. He so sorely doubted this young man when-

“I didn’t think Zuko would tell you,” Lt Kavi continued, as if perfectly reasonable words were leaving his mouth. “Sorry, let me rephrase. I didn’t think he would tell you they were anything more than fishermen or fellow travelers. They knew of him as Hui through the obvious Water Tribe spy network Zuko has already encountered, so there was no risk for either of us in the exchange. There’s nothing to be concerned about.”

“Nothing to be concerned about?!” Iroh slammed his hands on the table as he rose to his knees. His pulse pounded in his ears and his throat felt too tight after raising his voice. Where was Jingyi with their tea? Forcing himself to sit again and breathe deeply, Iroh tried again. All the while, Lt Kavi watched him impassively. “Regardless of your opinion of safety , I should have been informed the moment you returned last night. Zuko said they were aware of this ship, and I’m under the impression we’re lucky they’ve chosen to ignore us. Why did you think it was appropriate to keep this a secret?”

“Again, my apologies, Sir. I didn’t take the possible threat lightly. I spoke with the helmsman to adjust our course, and tasked the deck crew with increased watch for the next few days.”  A flash of shrewdness broke Lt Kavi’s aloof act, so swift that Iroh would have doubted he saw it if not for the following words. “I suppose old habits die hard. It was common for us to- for Lu Ten to omit things that may upset you when he could handle it himself, or if everything worked out in the end. I’ll remember in the future that you want to be fully informed.”

Words escaped Iroh. Was Kavi alluding to his relationship with Lu Ten? Or was it something much bigger Lu Ten had kept from Iroh? His son had been so worn down, so exhausted during the siege. What else could he have been hiding?

In Iroh’s stunned silence, Lt Kavi stood with a genial smile. “Is there anything else you need, General Iroh?”

“I- No. That will be all. Thank you for your due diligence in keeping the crew safe.” Iroh cleared his throat again. “And- Yes. No matter what Lu Ten may have believed, I would rather be informed than avoid possible stress. Please don’t- Please don’t hesitate to speak to me about anything.”

Lt Kavi bowed with polite words of parting. As he turned for the door, Jingyi came stumbling in, narrowly avoiding a collision with quick steps. She appeared thoroughly harried as she glanced between them. 

“I’m so sorry I took so long. Do- Do you still want tea?” 

“Feel free to have my share, if General Iroh wants company,” Lt Kavi said, waving casually over his shoulder as he left Iroh’s office. 

Jingyi turned her wide eyes to Iroh, the picture of an apologetic steward. Yet Iroh could not help but wonder as she set the tea down and gratefully accepted his invitation to share it.

Just how deep were the bonds between the crew of the Sazanami and a man who had as many reasons to earn their respect as he did reasons to despise Iroh?

After weeks passed without a representative from Hui’s group approaching them, Hakoda pushed the encounter and thoughts of the Avatar far from mind. He had a fleet to coordinate and keep alive; there was no time to waste hoping for outside support. The Southern Water Tribes knew they would be taking a gamble by actively joining the war so late. They knew that even with the Earth Army supporting them, they would largely be working alone.

“Hakoda, one of Atka’s is here,” Bato announced, poking his head into Hakoda’s tent with a concerned frown. Direct communication between the warriors and the Water Tribe spy ring was a risk they rarely took. Only something urgent could have Atka sending one of her spies to them.

“Is she injured?” Hakoda asked, fearing the worst. 

“Travel weary, but unharmed. Got her set up with some jerky while the boys started dinner early. Should I send her in now?”

“Did she ask to see me immediately?”

“Nope. Honestly, she seems a bit nervous about meeting you.” Bato snorted with a shake of his head. “I know Atka needed a mix of girls, but I don’t know how this one’s fared for so long if meeting you has her getting shy.”

“Hey, I take offense to that!”

Bato laughed as he saw himself out, his job done now that Hakoda knew about their visitor. Sighing, Hakoda turned his attention back to the pile of correspondence spread out across his table. His latest letter from Atka was only a few weeks old. She hadn’t written anything about sending one of her women, so what could have changed since then? Was it merely Hakoda’s status as the fleet leader that had her jittery, or was there something larger going on?

Not wanting to unsettle the girl, Suluk, more, Hakoda took his time finishing his work and went out to join dinner as usual. He didn’t try to approach her through the meal, merely watched her interact with the young men who crowded around her. They were eager to hear personal news of their family and friends who’d left the south with Atka years before the warriors set out.

Suluk was quiet and polite. She answered the best she could about the wide-spread system of Water Tribe spies, which was surprisingly more information than Hakoda thought she could provide. From how she spoke, Suluk was aware of every member of the spy ring. Or at least, coincidentally, all the women with relations to those present. Hakoda didn’t know Atka trusted others beside herself to be so well informed. Was she training Suluk to be her second-in-command? It was a smart move, no one person could juggle all Atka did forever. But why hadn’t she mentioned anything about Suluk before?

Despite her clear connections with the spyring, no one in Hakoda’s camp personally knew Suluk. She hailed from the Qutailaq Tribe, which was so small they had been unable to provide any ships of their own for the Southern Fleet. Several men were scattered throughout the fleet crews, but none were currently with Hakoda. The Qutailaq Tribe’s meager contribution to the fleet was hardly a point of contention, for a disproportionate number of their women had joined Atka in the Earth Kingdom several years ago.

At the northernmost regions of the South Pole, the Qutailaq Tribe had remained connected with the rest of the world where other tribes became secluded and wary. Even before Atka organized their spies, members of the Qutailaq Tribe had footholds in the Earth Kingdom and disputed territories. For years, there was tension between them and the rest of the south for their dealings with even Fire Nation merchants, but now that history and knowledge was valued. Without the Qutailaq women to guide those who’d never left the South Pole, their spies would not have succeeded.

It would make sense for Atka to respect that contribution and elevate a Qutailaq woman to a position of responsibility. Suluk had the appearance of a good choice, for her paler skin and lack of defining Water Tribe features surely allowed her to travel without drawing much attention. Was her quiet meekness also part of that protection to keep attention off her? Perhaps so, but it still didn’t answer why Atka never said anything before sending Suluk.

When dinner came to an end, Suluk excused herself from the crowd that had gathered around her. She approached Hakoda with downcast eyes and fidgeting fingers. 

“Chief Hakoda, sir, perhaps we could talk now?”

“Of course. Would you rather stay out here, or shall we move to my tent?”

Suluk didn’t hesitate despite still not meeting Hakoda’s gaze. “Perhaps this is best spoken of in private.”

Once relocated, Suluk sat a little straighter and glanced up long enough to grace Hakoda with a smile. “Thank you for letting me have time to orient myself before talking together. I’ll admit, I’ve been a bit nervous about this meeting. The women I work with are the first I’ve met of the other tribes.”

That put her behavior in a new light, and increased Hakoda’s evaluation of her fortitude. He didn’t acknowledge her admission beyond a laugh and light joke about his warriors’ eagerness to speak with Suluk. She again smiled and relaxed enough to stop fidgeting.

“So what’s brought you here, Suluk?” Hakoda asked, done waiting for answers. “Atka didn’t mention sending you in her last letter, and I cannot fathom why she’d risk you meeting with us.”

Suluk raised her hands and moved them in a unique sign reminiscent of flight, one Hakoda had decided to push from his mind. “Does this mean anything to you, Chief?”

A flare of hope leaped forth in Hakoda’s chest. The fleet was constantly on the move. Of course Hui’s group would have difficulty tracking them down. Meanwhile, they already knew Atka and now were aware of her connection to the fleet. It made sense that they would approach her first.

“Indeed it does, though I do not know the spoken name of the group. We met with the scholar boy, Hui, several weeks ago and were promised a representative of their group would approach us. What did they have to say?”

Suluk’s eyes widened. Firelight from the lanterns danced in her dark gaze. She quickly shook her head to clear her surprise, then said, “Sir, someone from the Wings approached Atka months ago.”

“ What ?” Hakoda fought to stay seated, he had a strong desire to pace off the sudden rush of nerves. His mind raced to recount his brief conversation with Kavi. What had he said about these Wings?

‘ A group that’s been working against the war long before rumors of Hui started spreading. ’

At the time, Hakoda believed the group had been hiding and supporting the Avatar before he ventured into the world. But Hui was young. He couldn’t have been involved in much before Atka heard rumors of him. Were these Wings formed to support him, or had they shifted their goals when Hui became a player in the war?

“Sir?” Suluk questioned, breaking the silence that had stretched too far as Hakoda lost himself in his thoughts. He nodded for her to speak. She began fidgeting again. “Um- I have heard of the Wings before they approached Atka. Which is why she sent me here to speak with you. Because she wants your opinion on what to do with them…”

At his prompting, Suluk continued. The cause for her hesitation was all too clear with her following words.

“Do you know anything about the Fire Nation’s Prince Lu Ten?”

Hakoda nodded, the iron taste of dread spreading across his tongue. “The son of their former crown prince, Iroh, whose death in the siege of Ba Sing Se led to Prince Iroh abandoning the siege and his throne. What does he have to do with anything?”

“I’ve heard whispers from some of the Earth Kingdom about him, and the Wings,” Suluk said quietly. She glanced over her shoulder as if afraid to find an eavesdropper. “Apparently he was a leader of these Wings, and they were operating in the Fire Army to sabotage the siege.”

“The Wings are Fire Nation ?” 

“Fire Nation and against the war, Sir.” Suluk suddenly sat straighter, her eyes meeting Hakoda’s straight on for the first time. The lanterns created the oddest effect, as if a halo of light was within her irises. “You know the Qutailaq Tribe has worked with Fire Nation merchants despite the war. While we never met the Wings, we know the entire people are not our enemy. And the Wings are offering us resources beyond what the Earth Kingdom could hope to offer. Medical aid, intel of Fire Navy movement, insider knowledge of the area.”

She clenched her fists in her lap, but charged forward.

“We’ve believed Hui to be from the Fire Nation colonies, and learning that the Wings are working with him only confirms that. So if we want to trust in what Hui’s doing, then we need to be able to work with people of the Fire Nation.”

“That’s if we believe Hui is the Avatar,” Hakoda said with a sigh. This was a tidal wave he hadn’t expected out of Hui and Kavi’s offer of help.

“Avatar!?” 

Suluk’s cheeks flushed bright red and her lips pinched together after her outburst. She coughed and said in a strained voice, “I thought he was searching for the Avatar.”

Hakoda frowned. While none of them said it outright, Atka and her spies believed Hui’s research was a cover for teaching himself to be the Avatar. He had thought that it was the general consensus, or at least the theory was common knowledge. Perhaps Atka was keeping that kernel of hope closer to her chest than he realized. 

“It’s a theory. But regardless of who he is, upon meeting him, Hui’s desire to aid us seemed genuine. If Atka believes we can trust these Wings, then it won’t hurt to open a line of communication. Did the contact who approached her speak anything of the logistics of this offered aid?”

Suluk shook her head. “No sir. Only that upon your acceptance of it, aid will find you. But- Chief Hakoda. Are you sure you can look beyond the Wings’ origins? Many are soldiers, even if they’ve turned their back on the war. Their leader was a Fire Nation royal . You know, I heard the Earth Kingdom targeted Prince Lu Ten despite learning about his work to aid them. What if we discover someone else like that is hiding among them?”

All valid points, and ones Hakoda would need to counter when he discussed this turn of events with the fleet council. They were likely the same questions Atka mulled over before sending Suluk to him with this proposal. 

“We are not like the Earth Kingdom, with the numbers and resources to scoff at allies found beyond enemy lines.” Hakoda laughed wearily. “If the Wings prove to be true in their aid, I don’t think we can afford to turn them away even if we discovered Prince Iroh took up his son's cause upon his death and now leads them.”

A smile with a hint of teeth flashed across Suluk’s face as she stood. It was so brief, it could have been another trick of the light. 

“I’ll pass that on, Chief Hakoda. I’m happy to hear you have the same mindset as Atka. If you don’t mind, may I rest the night before returning home?”

Hakoda laughed as he also rose. “Atka might come hunt me down herself if I didn’t see you well fed and rested after your long journey. Bato’s surely already arranged a tent for you, and you’re welcome to rest another night if need be.”

With a shy duck of her head and a light giggle, Suluk accepted his hospitality. Come morning, she was packed and gone before breakfast began cooking.

A few days later, Hakoda found a stack of scrolls and papers in his tent. There were several maps of the area with secluded coves expertly detailed, as well as locations where they could find medical aid or supplies. Just that would have been enough of a goodwill gesture to begin their relationship with the Wings, but the rest were all military documents. There were stacks and stacks of meticulously recorded personnel files and correspondence that provided a glance into the Fire Navy’s decision making process. 

It was priceless information to better understand their enemy. 

Several weeks later, Hakoda received a response from Atka after thanking her for sending Suluk and inquiring if she returned safely. 

“ Who? ” was all it said. 

Hakoda sat back and didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. 

Perhaps he could convince the Wings to give them pointers on espionage as well.

Chapter Text

“Aunt Wu is expecting you,” a porter said, opening the ornate door to the building with a bow.

Amphon nudged Zuko, alight with giddy excitement. Zuko eyed the porter suspiciously, but didn’t call the obvious marketing ploy into question. Chanda shared a wry grin with Jae as they followed the others into the fortune teller’s entrance room.

Heavy incense permeated the space, giving it a hazy, dreamlike air. A young girl greeted them with a practice bow and an adorable gap toothed smile. 

“Welcome travelers! I’m Aunt Wu’s assistant, Meng. Please take a seat; Aunt Wu will see you soon. Can I get you some tea or some of Aunt Wu’s special bean curd puffs while you wait?”

“That sounds lovely, thank you,” Jae accepted before Zuko’s scrunched nose manifested as a dismissal. She had a feeling this wouldn’t be a quick matter; snacks would be a great way to pass the time. 

Playing chaperone to Zuko’s group hadn’t been part of Jae’s plans for the week. She never thought she would find herself in such a situation, but Iroh finally figured out that Kavi was an enabler. And that he detested Iroh. Which weighed more in Iroh’s decision to elect Jae as Zuko’s chaperone was up for debate. 

Kavi believed that it was the latter. It amused him to think Iroh was an insecure man who couldn’t handle Kavi’s hatred. He didn’t want to listen to Jae’s perfectly reasonable argument that Kavi was an enabler who encouraged Zuko to get a tattoo and keep secrets from Iroh. Regardless of Iroh’s reasoning, he wasn’t willing to trust Kavi going out with Zuko so soon after their encounter with the Southern Water Tribe. 

This did not go over well with Zuko’s unwillingness to go out as Hui with Iroh. What started as a desire to keep Iroh distanced from Wing activity turned into a petulant stubbornness. Honestly, what did Kavi expect Iroh’s reaction to be when he told Zuko about how Lu Ten started traveling by himself around Zuko’s age. Well, at least Zuko’s childish attitude was a good cover for the legitimate concern of keeping Iroh ignorant of the Wings. 

Even if Jae still thought they should tell him.

Meng returned with a tea tray and a generous helping of bean curd puffs. As she set it down, the kids cut off their signed argument about the fortune teller’s abilities. 

“So is this Aunt Wu actually as good as we’ve heard?” Zuko demanded. 

Chanda snorted and signed, “Real tactful.”

The abrasive question didn’t faze Meng as she folded her hands in her sleeves, trying her best to be the picture of sophisticated grace. Her wide, energetic smile ruined the attempt. “Aunt Wu is extremely talented! I’ve been her assistant for only a year, but I’ve never seen a fortune go wrong.”

A shadow flickered behind the paper doors beyond the entrance hall. Jae watched it, rather than the young girl speaking.

“Okay but what kinds of fortunes does she tell? How does it work? If it's some vague thing like sages do for yearly luck or whatever, it’s easy to just twist the words to fit your life if you want it to work!”

Meng huffed. “It depends on what the spirits share with her! But Aunt Wu can be very specific. She told me exactly the kind of man I’ll marry one day. There’s no way to twist those words around.”

Amphon leaned forward, nearly sending herself toppling over in her excited haste. “So she does love fortunes? They’re that good? How many matches has she made?”

The purpose of this venture was to find a potential lead on the Avatar or guidance from spirits to bring airbending back. However, when Zuko invited his friends along, Amphon’s elation over getting their fortunes told changed the mood to that of a pleasure trip. There was little room for serious conjectures about the spirits when Zuko and Amphon kept getting into arguments over whether love fortunes were legitimate or not.

As Zuko scowled at Amphon for her line of questioning, Jae smothered a snort with a bean curd puff. Which were shockingly delicious. If this fortune teller turned out to be a hack, at least her snacks were worth some fame. 

“I couldn’t possibly know how many matches she’s made,” Meng said proudly. “So many people come through these doors.”

Chanda grinned and signed, “Which also means she has no idea how many fortunes actually come true.”

Where Amphon was enamored and Zuko was skeptically hopeful, Chanda was the only voice of reason in the trio. Spirits could communicate with people, but surely the future was too vast to accurately predict specifics. Chanda had a good head on her shoulders, and Jae was glad that Zuko finally brought her into the Wings. The youngsters needed someone grounded in their midst. 

“Well, it also means she doesn’t know how many haven’t come true,” Amphon argued back, both signed and vocally.

The shadow had moved away as Meng spoke. Now, from the opposite end of the hall, a woman in lavish robes entered. She had a grandmotherly air to her as she placed a hand on Meng’s shoulder and smiled at her guests. 

“I offer a full refund to any who are dissatisfied with my interpretation of the spirits’ messages. No one’s ever returned to take advantage of that.” As Aunt Wu introduced herself, her gaze traveled across their group. It landed on Amphon as she asked, “Now, who would like to go first?”

Amphon started and looked to Zuko, who scoffed and gave her a shove. “Go get your dumb love fortune out of the way.”

Red filled Amphon’s cheeks as she jumped to her feet, pointedly not looking at either of her friends. “I never said anything about wanting a love fortune! But- Fine. I’ll go first if you insist!”

She hurried after Aunt Wu, who opened a sliding door to permit her into a dimly lit room. Aunt Wu, however, lingered for a moment.

“Does your friend have someone she likes?” Meng asked with naive curiosity.

Zuko snorted and voiced Chanda’s signed words, “No way she has a crush and hasn’t said anything. She’s just a hopeless romantic.”

Aunt Wu closed the door behind her.

Not too long later, the door slid open and Amphon stepped out with a dazed smile and bright flush. She immediately looked to Chanda with a hopelessly besotted expression, then quickly looked away. Behind her, Aunt Wu appeared to be lost in thought, staring off into space. Jae surveyed the room and almost inhaled her tea as she spotted a mirror conveniently placed to give Aunt Wu a clear view of those leaving her inner room. 

Jae grinned as Chanda and Zuko followed Aunt Wu to the other room, more intrigued than before upon seeing Amphon’s reaction to her fortune. What a good grift. The majority of this woman’s fortunes surely came from reading her customers, not spirits. Even if she could commune with the spirit world, there was no guarantee the spirits cared about every question and woe Aunt Wu’s customers had. Of course she would need ways to fill in the gaps the spirits left. If anything, her talent for reading strangers well enough to give satisfying fortunes was more impressive than any communication with spirits. Fox would love this sort of thing. Had they ever made a fortune teller identity before?

“Do we hear wedding bells in the near future?” Jae teased as she poured Amphon a cup of tea, which the girl accepted out of reflex.

When she fully processed Jae’s question, she fumbled with the cup and narrowly avoided spilling tea over herself. “No! Maybe. She didn’t say anything about weddings , but- I don’t want to jinx it!”

“Of course, my apologies.”

With Zuko acting as Chanda’s translator and Chanda staying for Zuko’s fortune, the two of them were gone much longer than Amphon. It gave Amphon plenty of time to compose herself, and for Jae to finish the bean curd puffs all by herself. Maybe she could buy some to take back to the inn…

The door finally slid open and Zuko looked ready to burst into a shower of sparks. Chanda followed, surprisingly pensive. Clearly Aunt Wu put on a decent enough performance to sway the most skeptical of the group. 

Jae stood, then adjusted her glasses. “Learned something interesting?”

“Yes!” Zuko bounced on the balls of his feet. “Aunt Wu is amazing! I can’t believe I thought she was a total sham!”

He paled and whipped around to bow to said suspected sham. “Sorry! Nothing to do with you . I was just skeptical about the concept of fortune telling!”

Aunt Wu waved off his apology. “Many come to my door wary of the unknown. But they all leave with open minds.”

At the very least they left with an appreciation for her talents. Jae shook her head as she pulled out their coin pouch. “Well thank you for your time. How much do we-”

“We’re not done!” Amphon protested.

“You haven’t gone yet!” Zuko said in agreement. 

Jae looked to Chanda for an ally, but she shrugged and signed, “Only fair if everyone takes a turn.”

“I didn’t come with any questions prepared.”

Zuko crossed his arms with a huff, then quickly uncrossed them to sign as he spoke, “Neither did Chanda, but she still went!”

This was a lost battle. Jae knew it, but still desperately tried to get out of her own reading. She didn’t want to know how Aunt Wu analyzed her, or even worse, if the spirits actually had anything to say.

“It’d be a waste of coin-”

“I know your type,” Aunt Wu interrupted with a serene smile. “There is no shame in fearing what the future holds for us.”

“I’m not afraid.”

Zuko grinned. “Then no reason not to go!”

There was nothing else Jae could say to avoid her own fortune reading. Well, nothing else besides admitting that she was afraid. The chance of knowing what the future held was terrifying. What was the point of knowing? Even if she had known how the siege would end, could she have done anything to change the tragedy that befell her friends? If the spirits had plans for her, Jae would rather remain ignorant of the inevitable. 

“What do you know of the great world spirits?” Aunt Wu asked once they were settled across from each other, a small fire between them. 

Jae wasn’t expecting a theology lesson, so the question jarred her out of her spiraling thoughts. “Not much. Just that they're the foundational, balancing forces of our world.”

“Indeed. What those forces are has been contested throughout history. As one who speaks often with the spirit world, I know that order and chaos are one of those balancing forces.” Aunt Wu grabbed a handful of powder and sprinkled it into the fire. The flames flared green, then returned to normal. “Humanity embodies chaos more than people realize. Despite our rules and structures, we have equal opportunity to ignore and destroy them. Spirits, however, are constrained by the order of their world. They do not fathom breaking it.

“For most who enter my doors, they find solace in spirits’ ordered nature. They yearn for a known future, for a set path to follow. But for others, those like you, I find they take the most solace in humanity’s chaotic nature. I interpret the spirits’ wills and understanding of the world, but the spirits cannot take every facet of humanity into account. No future is certain, no matter how powerful the spirit that dictates it. People have the choice—the opportunity—to look at what the great spirits believe should happen and change it, for better or for worse.”

“Then what’s the point in knowing the future? I can make choices for myself, but I cannot control others.” Jae countered. None of her actions could have changed the outcome of the siege. “At the end of the day, are some things not still inevitable?”

Aunt Wu smiled. “Perhaps from your perspective they are, but for every future there are a myriad of choices being made. Just one choice made differently than the spirits’ plans could uproot the world. Which is why I will only ever give a reading about the future of those sitting across from me. Not about their family and friends, nor their lovers or enemies, nor their nation.”

It was the perfect cover to keep her predictions constrained to what she could see in her customers. And yet, Jae was starting to believe that there was more to this woman. 

“What about the present?” Jae asked. Even with Aunt Wu’s assurances, she didn’t want to know the future. “I don’t want to know what the future outcome will be. But what if I want to know if I’m making the right choice now?”

“And what choice are you making, dear?”

Wasn’t that the question. What was Jae doing? She’d come to care about Zuko in such a short amount of time. Or perhaps, she’d always cared about Lu Ten’s little brother. Of course she wanted to help him. Of course she wanted to play her part in changing the world so airbenders could return. But was it even possible? Would this path actually help bring the Avatar back, bring peace to the world? Was she wasting the Wings’ time?

“That boy out there. It feels like I’m choosing him over other things, maybe things that are more important. Can the spirits see if I'm on the right path?”

Jae expected Aunt Wu to grab another handful of powder to toss into the fire, or perhaps instruct Jae to do something. Instead, the woman met Jae’s eyes over the flames and intently held her gaze.

“That child is shrouded in the shadows of the future. The spirits have plans for him, or perhaps plans on how to use him. But he is human, just as you and I are. He has the potential to follow his path of destiny, or to upend it completely. Regardless of what the future entails for him and his companions, change will surround you.”

It was a vague prediction that could easily apply to anyone , especially considering Aunt Wu’s explanation of humanity’s chaos. But it still struck a chord in Jae’s heart. The Wings wanted to change the world for the better, and that had meant ending the war. Even if they didn’t succeed in bringing airbenders back, they would still be making a better world by spreading messages of acceptance and peace. It was impossible for this endeavor to be a waste, no matter the outcome.

But more importantly, if Aunt Wu spoke about Zuko in such a way, what in the world did she say to him?

“When the heir of dragons is reborn, the tides of war will turn.”

The words echoed and reverberated as if Zuko’s mind was a vast canyon. He desperately wanted to return to their inn room and discuss the fortune Aunt Wu gave him. It was only thanks to Chanda’s reminder that he didn’t start discussing in signs what the fortune meant as soon as the words were said.

(His encounter with the Southern Water Tribe fleet had been eye opening on several accounts, but the most immediate was the realization that sign language was still a language . Logically, Zuko knew that. But even with most of the Sazanami crew passably conversational, it still felt like a secret. What a rude awakening that had been, learning the Water Tribes knew sign language regardless of their hearing ability. 

Chanda got a good laugh out of him and Kavi making fools of themselves in front of their possible allies.  Then she proceeded to scold them for being careless. No matter how much she complained about not enough people knowing sign language, that didn’t mean they should assume it was safe to talk about sensitive things out in the open. 

Of course that meant Zuko started working on a code with her. Unfortunately it was nowhere usable yet.)

Zuko was going to burst! He didn’t care how suspicious it may look to lock themselves away in their inn room right after seeing Aunt Wu. He needed to talk about this now ! But Jae insisted they go around Makapu Village and take in the sights as if they were normal tourists.

“So what did you end up asking Aunt Wu, Jae?” Amphon asked as they settled for lunch in a quaint restaurant with a beautiful view of the village’s titular mountain.

“Oh nothing exciting. More of an assessment of my present, rather than predictions for the future.” Jae grinned, turning to Chanda. “I’m more curious what she said to have you walking out looking like she convinced you of her talents. Was it just Hui’s reading, or did she have something profound for you?”

“Definitely his reading.” Chanda laughed and pushed Zuko’s hands down to cut him off. “Which we should talk about tonight.”

Zuko scowled. Fine, yes, Chanda was right they should be careful discussing it, especially because of what Zuko thought Aunt Wu’s words meant, but still! His hands shot up as he signed, “Chanda’s fortune was really lame.”

“Brat.”

Only the waiter returning with their drinks saved Chanda from Zuko’s brilliant comeback that he totally had. (There was no way to argue against Chanda calling him a brat without coming off as a brat no matter how he tried.) Amphon jumped in before Zuko tried regardless and said something stupid. 

“What did you ask Aunt Wu?” 

“Well, he’s not wrong. It was a bit of a let down, especially compared to some people’s.” Chanda grinned, nudging Zuko’s foot under the table in apology for teasing him. “I didn’t even ask her a question. She just spouted off some nonsense about being open to those around me, and that I’ll find myself in a blossoming romance if I do.”

Zuko snickered, remembering Chanda’s unimpressed look when Aunt Wu told her that. 

“Oh stuff it. Not all of us can have grand destinities guided by the spirits,” Chanda shot at him, kicking him again with a little more force. “Clearly she was grasping at straws for me. I’ve never been the center of some blossoming romance, and I doubt that’ll be happening any time soon.”

Romance just wasn’t something Zuko could even begin to want to consider with how much he was responsible for these days. He’d figured Chanda was of the same mindset, too busy to think about things like that. But if she was dismissing Aunt Wu’s fortune because she thought no one would want to be romantic with her, well, he couldn’t let that stand!

“What?!” Amphon leaned forward, lips pinched and brow furrowed as she signed. “And why not? Why shouldn’t you be in the center of a blossoming romance? There’s so much to like about you! You’re so smart. And funny. And kind! And strong! Really strong. I mean, all that machinery you work with and coal you haul around does amazing things for your arms- And I said smart, right? So smart! It’s amazing what you can do with a few gears and cogs. So what’s there not to fall in love with about you?”

Chanda sat back in her chair, hands limp in her lap as a vibrant blush filled her cheeks. She shook her head slightly, whether in rebuttal or disbelief Zuko didn’t know. But he wasn’t going to let her disagree with Amphon. 

“Exactly! I couldn’t have said it better!” He signed with a firm nod. “You’re a great person. Insightful, patient, considerate. We could keep going. Of course someone could fall for you!”

“Are you two trying to convince me or confess to me?” Chanda signed, head ducked and hands moving in front of her red face. 

Amphon, for some reason, made a weird noise as she jerked back into her chair. And then Jae snorted so hard she started choking on her tea. Zuko glanced at them, then rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to Chanda. 

“Shut up and accept the compliments!”

“That’s rich coming from you .”

The conversation devolved into a petty argument, and soon they were more focused on eating than discussing love fortunes. Without the distraction, Zuko’s thoughts went right back to looping Aunt Wu’s words. He needed to talk about that prophecy!

Finally, finally , after an excruciating walk around town, they went back to their room. 

“We’re on the right track!” Zuko exclaimed the second the door shut. With everyone’s attention on him, he silently signed, “my lóng hatching will be a sign the war is ending!” 

“That is not what she said,” Chanda countered, as she dropped down onto her futon, Amphon following her lead.

Jae sat at the room’s small tea table, pulling her glasses off to clean them as she spoke. “What exactly did she say?” Belatedly, she set her glasses down to sign the question as well.

“When the heir of dragons is reborn, the tides of war will turn,” Zuko said in a near whisper while his hands asked Chanda the best way to sign the prophecy. 

As she supplied a translation, Amphon hummed. “But if it’s about the lóng, why is it the heir of dragons ? Why not ‘heir of lóng’ or ‘heir of heatbending’ or something of the sorts?”

“Because that sounds stupid!” Of all of them, Zuko expected Amphon to be the last to disagree with him. Petty betrayal stung as he crossed his arms with a huff after signing, “Besides, lóng are still dragons.”

“It could be the lóng, or it could be another dragon, or not a dragon at all.” Jae snorted and shook her head. “Honestly, it isn’t even necessarily about this war either. It could be a future war, a metaphorical war, or even a war in the spirit world we’re completely ignorant of.”

All of the excitement that had been building up since Aunt Wu’s reading crashed around Zuko. He ground his teeth and began pacing the small space of their room, frustration thrumming under his skin. This was why he wanted to talk about this sooner. Amphon and Jae were making good points and now Zuko felt like an idiot for being so hopeful!

“But then why bother telling me it if it doesn’t relate to me and the lóng?”

“I’m not saying it doesn’t relate to you, just that we can’t be certain as to what the prophecy is foretelling.” Jae paused, then swept her arm toward Zuko. “I could easily twist it to be about you.”

Zuko froze in his pacing. A tight ball of something lodged itself in his throat. “What? No. That’s stupid.”

“No, Jae’s right. I figured you’d see it the way you did, but I’ve been thinking about other interpretations all day,” Chanda signed. “Dragon imagery is often used for the royal family. You are their heir to the throne. You going out into the world and discovering all of this about the lóng and Yangchen, changing your beliefs, it all could be seen as a rebirth.”

“Or, another way it could be you, Zuko, is how the Wings are working with and supporting you now. Lu Ten was called the Yellow Dragon !” Amphon jumped in, a starry look in her eyes. “You’ve become his successor, which is basically an heir, right? And our mission is to stop the war.”

His frustration was close to a bursting point. Zuko threw his hands up with a groan, then dragged them down his face. Was this all a complete waste of time, then? Aunt Wu had seemed so serious sharing that fortune reading. 

“Zuko, we’re not saying Aunt Wu lied to you, or even that your interpretation of her prediction is wrong.” Jae’s calm voice pulled Zuko out of his spiral. He turned to her with a frown, and she continued. “If we’re to believe Aunt Wu is in contact with the spirits, then I’d say that fortune is a sign we’re on the right path. But it’s not a guide of what we should do next, and we shouldn’t put too much weight on it.”

Amphon rolled onto her stomach on her futon and grinned up at him. “What did you ask her to get that response anyways?”

“If I’ll succeed in what I want to do,” Zuko mumbled, his accompanying signs sluggish as he thought. It had been a vague question, so of course he got a vague answer. Amphon’s grin grew as he stared at her with rising hope. “I should ask her where I should go next! Or where I could find more spirit activity! She's the real deal, so I should get something substantial from her!”

“Exactly what I was thinking! Let’s go back tomorrow!”

Jae groaned and dropped her head on the table, but Zuko happily ignored her.

When Wu was young, her mother looked at her with deep sorrow as she said, “you have the ear of spirits, little one.”

Wu had not understood why her fortune teller mother was upset about her daughter’s connection to the spirits. Wu had despaired when her mother left her with strange people and a promise to return.

In the embrace of her grandmother’s nameless people, Wu understood the dangers of her ability. The foresight spirits granted Wu was as much of a gift as it was a burden. And so Wu learned how to interpret the spirits’ vague whispers, how to read the stars and the clouds, and how to find the mystical in the mundane. Wu learned her nameless ancestors weren’t so nameless, and gained a new name of her own. 

Returned to her mother’s embrace, Wu came to understand the ways of people . In the life of a traveling fortune teller, communion with the spirits was less important than interpreting the needs of the people asking for guidance. And so, Wu learned how to understand what was left unspoken, how to discern the devout and the skeptic, and how to create spiritual guidance when there was none. 

Wu grew, survived, and flourished thanks to the tutelage of her family. She aided countless souls on her own, made a bit of a name for herself, and then helped countless more souls when she joined the White Lotus. The spirits did not visit her unprompted, and they never went as far as to grant her world changing glimpses into the future. Even when she cursed them for not warning her about the destruction of her nameless family, Wu thought nothing would change.

And then came the prophecy.

When the heir of dragons is reborn, the tides of war will turn.

Such a clear message from the spirits was unheard of outside of her lost people’s names. But Wu had never divined another’s name before, and had not been trying to. Since then, the spirits assaulted her dreams and entwined the words into her very essence. Wu had hoped that passing the prophecy on to the White Lotus would ease her burden. 

It had quieted, but the prophecy remained unfulfilled. Years, decades , passed. Wu settled in Makapu and felt it was where she was meant to be. Word spread of her practice and people traveled far and wide to receive her fortunes. Many accused her of being a fraud; Wu wrapped the accusations around her as a shroud of protection. 

And then, inexplicably, the prophecy returned. It was louder than ever before. It shook Wu from her slumber, left her heart thundering in her ears as she sat in bed, helpless to aid the spirits so desperately reaching out for her. She sent word to the White Lotus that the prophecy was relevant once more, but the order was just as directionless as she was.

Some years later, the siege on Ba Sing Se broke, and the prophecy grew quieter again, but never as silent as it had been before. Wu grew used to the constant hum of the spirits’ message, not quite ignoring it, but never acknowledging it for long. If the spirits wanted direct action from her, they would make their desires known.

So when a group of travelers no different than the last turned up on her doorstep, Wu paid no mind to the prophecy’s hum. She used the skills gained at her mother’s side to discern their desires. She used her gifts honed amongst a lost people to ascertain if the spirits had a message her clients did not want but needed nonetheless.

The first girl was adorably easy to read. Her blatant crush and the obliviousness of her young companions was clear to any outside observer. In the flicker of flames, Wu sensed no immediate message from the spirits beyond the constant hum of the prophecy. She read the girl’s palm and urged her to confess her feelings for any hope of love taking shape. 

Wu would be the first to admit she was a hopeless romantic, so it worked in her favor that the subject of Amphon’s adoration had not come with expectations nor did the spirits have anything to say to her. Wu happily urged Chanda to be open to unexpected overtures of love. 

Then it was the boy’s turn.

“Do you want to know about your love life as well?” Wu asked with a well-practiced grandmotherly smile. She knew he had come with other intentions, but she could not resist teasing the stern looking child. 

Hui immediately bristled and shouted a vehement denial, cutting himself short at a stern sign from his companion. He huffed and crossed his arms to glare at Wu.

“I don’t care about my love life . I want to know about my future ,” he said, as if one was not part of the other. “I want to accomplish a lot that seems impossible. Will I succeed?”

“Quite the vague question, young man. Perhaps you could give a poor, old woman a few more details to convene with the spirits?” As Wu played up the washed up fortune teller, she searched the fire for threads of the future. Same as his friends, there were no immediate messages from the spirits waiting for Wu to read. But the threads Wu usually could pursue to find deeper answers for her clients were not present in the fire either. Interesting. 

Hui rolled his eyes and said petulantly, “No, I don’t have more details! It’s a simple question. You’re the fortune teller! Is it a yes or no?”

“Sometimes the simplest questions are the hardest to answer,” Wu said, biting back a laugh at the boy’s impressive scowl. She gestured to her bowl of animal bones in the back of the room. “We will need an aid to find what you desire. Please go select a bone and drop it in the fire.”

Often, the selection of the bone spoke louder than the cracks made in the fire. Hui appeared inattentive as he made his choice, not pondering for long, but Wu did not miss the critical look in his eyes. Quick and decisive, not careless even with his skepticism of Wu’s skill. The bone he selected was delicate, but not a hollow bird bone. A bearded flying lizard bone. Curious, few were drawn to it.

Hui sat again and reached further toward the fire to drop the bone than Wu would expect from one with a burn scar like his. An interesting comfort with fire that he likely wouldn’t want others connecting with his golden gaze. Wu hoped the spirits would have something for her to discern, for now she was personally curious as to what could be written in this child’s future. 

The fire crackled and flared around the bone, casting long shadows around the room. The children watched curiously, their gazes growing more intent the longer the bone remained intact. Tension built around them and Wu felt the prophecy pounding in her ears. Was it growing louder, or was the absence of the future in the bone making her more aware of it? 

Chanda broke the tension, signing with a frown. Hui spoke her words with disappointment and a hint of fear, “Is it supposed to do that?”

Wu did not let her own confusion show as she passed a pair of tongs to Hui. “Pull it out and place it before me.”

He silently followed her instructions, gently placing the pristine bone on the floor. Heat made the air around the bone shimmer. Wu watched it, ignoring the signed conversation across from her as she waited. Once the bone was cool enough she could touch it, Wu proceeded to do so.

It was as if it had never been placed in the fire. Even with a light squeeze of her fingers, it did not splinter. Wu frowned and closed her eyes, focusing harder than she had in some time to catch a glimpse of a future’s thread. 

Drums pounded. Voices called. A heated wind rushed past. The hum became a song, too loud and too bright to allow anything else to be heard or seen. 

Wu opened her eyes to stare at the boy. He stared back, uncertain but bold.

“The spirits have spoken. They cannot answer your simple question, for they have a greater message for you to hear.” It had been some time since Wu spoke these words. Whether the prophecy could finally be fulfilled by this boy, she could not say, but it was clear the spirits wanted him to hear it. They would not allow him to hear of anything else. “ When the heir of dragons is reborn, the tides of war will turn.”

Hui jolted in surprise, then leaned forward with an eager grin. The fire danced in the reflection of his eyes. “Really? The spirits said that? Exactly that?”

“Indeed, they did. Does it hold meaning to you?”

“I think so.”

The prophecy’s hum finally went quiet.

Wu finally had just under 24 hours of peace for the first time in several decades. The spirits seemed appeased that the prophecy had been passed on to Hui, if the quiet was anything to go by. It had not been this silent since the first time Wu shared the prophecy with others.

And then Hui returned, bursting with questions. There was nothing to be shared other than the prophecy’s loud rhythm. While Hui may have first come to her as a skeptic, one prophecy turned him into a devout believer. He completely believed Wu when she said the spirits were reluctant to share more with him, lest he ignore their first message. It did not deter him in the least from still wanting to try. He received every reluctant reading from her as gospel.

For the remainder of the week, Hui and his group stayed in Makapu so Hui could visit Wu with a new question each day. Wu played every trick in the book to give the boy the answers he sought. In the process, she learned quite a bit about him. 

He was a traveling scholar, researching Avatar Yangchen. In his travels, he found Wan Shi Tong’s spirit library and had been permitted entry . While Hui did not say it outright, Wu could deduce that Wan Shi Tong was not the only spirit he had encountered. So though the spirits did not have more to say to this curious boy, it was the spirits in which Wu found his answer. 

“I just need to know where to go next so I’m not wasting my time!” Hui shouted at Wu’s porter on his final evening in Makapu. He’s already come by earlier, asking for guidance regarding alliances, yet another curious piece to the puzzle that was Hui. 

On principle, Wu did not allow return visits on the same day. The overzealous mellowed out faster when forced to pace themselves. Her staff were experienced in denying entry to scarier sorts than an angry teenager, but Wu saved her porter from this particular fight. She knew exactly what to say to get Hui moving on, and to get that blasted prophecy away to find some peace . 

“Please do not harass my staff,” Wu said as she opened her doors with a dramatic, graceful slide. “However, if you are here for guidance on your travels, I believe I may have solid answers for you, young one.”

Hui immediately apologized, then pushed past Wu and her porter without further invitation. Oh, to be so youthful. Wu waved off her porters' concerned frown and dismissed him for the night. This particular overzealous customer would be gone by morning, if Wu understood him correctly. And she rarely misunderstood her clients. 

“Do I need to grab another bone, or do you need to see my palms, or- Oh! Do we need to go outside to look at the stars or-”

Wu silenced him with a gentle hum, then ushered him to her tea room. He frowned at the change of scenery, then immediately started asking if she was going to read tea leaves. Again, Wu quieted him and poured them both some tea. 

“I believe you will find no more answers from me, Hui,” Wu said, something she should have said days ago. But she didn’t have something to soften the blow days ago, and she was too much of a bleeding heart to leave a boy shrouded in the shadows of destiny without guidance. “However, I have a suggestion as to where you might find the answers I cannot provide.”

Tea untouched, Hui was nearly shaking with anticipation. He cut off his stream of questions with a stern look from Wu. Rather than reaching for the tea to calm himself, Hui clenched his fists in his lap and stared intently back at her. Truly, Wu felt sympathy for whoever was responsible for this boy. She could only begin to fathom the amount of trouble he got himself into.

“What do you know about the creation of spirits?”

A shadow passed over Hui’s face. Finally, he reached for his tea and drank half of it in one forceful gulp. His voice still sounded dry as he spoke.

“I’ve- Well, someone recently told me a little about it. Um- Specifically about the creation of a kind of dark spirit. Have you- Is that what you’re talking about?”

A chill ran down Wu’s spine as she paled. Her glance to his scar was all the confirmation Hui needed to hunch his shoulders and curl into himself. 

“No, I am not speaking of those horrid creatures,” Wu whispered. Who could have been so cruel to introduce Hui to how spirits were created through the burnt dark spirits? Perhaps it was imperative for a boy so entwined with spirit activity to be aware of them, but… Still. “I’m speaking more of the theory as to how spirits are created. Which you perhaps understand in the worst sense thanks to such an introduction.

“Spirits are influenced by humanity, Hui. Whether they are negative influences, or positive . The burnt dark spirits may be the most recent instance of creation, but they are not the first. Nor will they be the last. I am not suggesting you search these dark spirits out, and I strongly dissuade you from making any contact with them.”

Hui nodded slowly, sitting straighter and loosening his death grip on his tea cup. “It never crossed my mind to. I don’t think they’d be much help to me. For obvious reasons.”

“Good. Now, what I am suggesting is you search out another young spirit. While their youth makes them less likely to have much knowledge to share with you, it is that same youth which keeps them entangled with humanity, and so easier for the inexperienced to contact.”

“So if I find these spirits, maybe I can talk to them? And maybe they can tell me more about the prophecy than the spirits will tell you?!”

Oh thank the spirits, he took the bait perfectly. 

Wu nodded solemnly. “It is a possibility . I wouldn’t want you to get your hopes up too much-”

“It’s better than wandering around aimlessly! And even if they can’t tell me much about the prophecy, they can probably still help me with something ! What kind of spirits are they? Where can I find them?”

The smile Wu had been holding back spread wide across her face. “It is said, before the fall of Taku, the passion of its medical institute brought to creation a new spirit…”

Weeks passed since Wu sent Hui off in search of Taku’s healing spirits. They were blissful weeks of peace and quiet. She had not realized how much the prophecy’s unending presence had weighed on her until it was lifted. That made the return of its quiet hum startlingly obvious.

A young person sat across from Wu’s fire pit. They had not given her a name, nor given a reason for their visit. The prophecy’s hum echoed in the threads of their future in Wu’s fire, but did not block Wu’s sight like it had for Hui. She saw glimpses of a name—a name that was more than a name.

Wu reached out and took their hands into her own. They shook with uncertainty. She couldn’t begin to imagine the lonely life they had led, never sharing their past, their purpose. 

“Oh, Little Guide, your people would be so proud,” Wu whispered, squeezing their hands.

The guide of a new dawn’s head shot up, eyes wide with fearful hope. 

“You have come for your own reasons, but I believe the spirits have brought you for another.”

She who travels. She who sees and aids the nature of man. She who remembers and carries a memory. She who teaches the next generation, introduced herself.

Chapter Text

People fear what they do not understand, that was how the saying went, right? For those raised in Yuyan, there was a second part no one was allowed to forget. People fear what they do not understand and will destroy it if they cannot control it.

The world did not try to understand the Yuyan, not that they willingly shared their secrets. To the rest of the world, the Yuyan were an elite Fire Nation military unit. They spirited orphans away to train them and morph them into stoic, silent warriors. They were secretive, but loyal. Their loyalty to the Fire Lord was the only thing which allowed them to exist. 

At least one of those beliefs were true.

Byeol-ha once believed the rumors about orphans. He remembered the days of uncertainty and fear, surrounded by countless other terrified, hungry children. There had been a saying in the orphanages as well, one that had felt like law. 

If you want to eat, enlist. If you want to live, beg. If you want to disappear, go with the Yuyan.

There were always rumors of some kid who went with the Yuyan. They said the orphan returned one day as a completely different person who was looking for more children to bring back to their secret base. Most frightening of all, they no longer could speak.

But no matter how frightening the rumors, Byeol-ha wanted to leave.

So when the fateful day arrived and the Yuyan stood at the orphanage’s doorstep, Byeol-ha demanded to go with them, no matter the cost of never talking again. The woman with strange markings over her eyes knelt down and moved her hands in a deliberate way. 

Then she wrote on parchment for Byeol-ha with a kind smile, “There are ways to speak without a voice.”

Byeol-ha went with her and learned the truth. How could anyone who left an orphanage with the Yuyan not be irrevocably changed after finding a loving home?

And so, now, years later, Byeol-ha was doing his part to keep his home and family safe. He didn’t particularly enjoy working for the Fire Nation military, but at least Colonel Shinu had no idea how to effectively use the Yuyan Archers. Captain Mirinae gleefully exploited his incompetence, straddling the line of ensuring the Yuyan Archers weren’t seen as useless while keeping them out of most military affairs. 

“Byeol-ha, you’re on guard duty with me this week,” Mirinae informed him at their weekly debriefing. 

It was absolutely the most boring duty the Yuyan were tasked with. They were in one of the most secure strongholds in the world. Colonel Shinu didn’t need guards, but that didn’t stop him from flaunting his command over the Yuyan Archers any chance he got. Guard duty was nothing more than acting as living trophies and, occasionally, glorified servants. Byeol-ha would much rather be on patrol, which he made clear in an exaggerated silent groan. 

Everyone grinned and snickered at him, Mirinae included. She shrugged, a sly glint in her gaze as she signed, “I heard we’re receiving an interesting guest this week. But if you’d rather run around the forest like a feral child, then I guess I can mix up the roster-”

“Interesting how?” Byeol-ha straightened from his dramatic slouch, trying his best not to look too curious. But as the youngest to complete Archer training, and the only one to do so in the past few years, the unit was made up of his aunts and uncles. They could read him like an open book; they didn’t believe his act for a second.

“Colonel Shinu has received a request for an audience from Prince Zuko.”

An audience in which Colonel Shinu’s guards would be present for as well. The man never stopped to consider that his pretty trophies took a vow of silence, not a vow of secrecy. All of Colonel Shinu’s secrets were Yuyan secrets, and they used them however they pleased. This meeting with the banished prince had the potential to be game changing, if what Byeol-ha had been told was to be believed.

“And you want me ?”

Mirinae’s smile softened as she signed, “There’s no one more suited to gauging the truth of what’s been said of him.”

The show of trust in him stunned Byeol-ha. Part of him wanted to argue that someone older, more experienced would be better than him. But Byeol-ha knew that wasn’t true. It was his youth that had set him apart from the rest of the unit, and in it he had made friends and connections no one else had. 

Byeol-ha pushed back his doubts and nodded. He wasn’t going to let Mirinae or their people down.

“He’s shorter than I’ve been picturing,” Byeol-ha discreetly signed from his place behind Colonel Shinu’s chair. 

Mirinae didn’t grin or outwardly react other than her own minute signs. “Like you’re one to talk. How’s that growth spurt going?”

Byeol-ha jerked and barely restrained his wide signs of protest. The prince’s gaze shot toward him, drawn in by the sudden movement. He stared at Byeol-ha, intent and unsettling with his scarred eye narrowed as if scrutinizing all he saw. A moment passed, then he scowled and turned his attention back to Colonel Shinu, General Iroh, and the captain of the prince’s ship (who Byeol-ha missed the name of) discussing their favorite tea blends.

“I’m shocked you’re more surprised by his height,” Mirinae continued as if Byeol-ha hadn’t made a rookie blunder. “I was not expecting the scar to be so… Distinct.”

Again, Byeol-ha struggled to contain his reaction. He flexed his fingers and schooled away his wince. There were no secrets between the Yuyan Archers. What one knew, they all knew. Byeol-ha had shared what he learned freely and without censorship but… How he learned things was different from the others. 

Most Yuyan Archers were silent shadows. The rest of the military did not acknowledge them, did not spare much thought to them. So much of what the Yuyan learned were from careless soldiers not considering who was in their midst, same as Colonel Shinu. 

But Byeol-ha was not the typical Yuyan Archer. 

Byeol-ha loved his aunts and uncles, of course he did. But when he arrived at Pohuai Stronghold just over a year ago, he’d been lonely. The rest of the Archers did their best to welcome him and include him, but he would forever be their little nephew. He wasn’t a sibling—a peer. So Byeol-ha made friends beyond his family unit.

It had been difficult at first, unable to easily express himself with others. But Byeol-ha didn’t give up. He eventually met other fellow young soldiers in need of friendship and willing to put the effort into getting to know him. Between sign language lessons and written notes, there were now several people outside the Yuyan whom Byeol-ha could call his friends.

And through them, Byeol-ha met someone spreading whispers about the banished prince. 

The prince’s former crew member shared the truth of Prince Zuko’s Agni Kai and resulting scar, which Byeol-ha had passed on to his family. But he didn’t—couldn’t—put words to the pained fury when saying Fire Lord Ozai’s name nor the sorrowful pride when speaking of Prince Zuko’s recovery. 

“Honestly, thought it would be worse,” Byeol-ha signed.

Mirinae flicked a quick curse, then asked, “Do you think he’s here for his old crew?”

“I doubt it. She says he’s the one who got her the instructor gig, but he wouldn’t have known where she would end up.”

“So you think he’s genuine in wanting to explore Taku?”

“I don't really know how it would aid his search.” Byeol-ha started to shrug and froze with one shoulder up. Spirits, he needed to practice his guard duty signing. “But it does line up with his past adventures she’s mentioned, so-”

Too late, Byeol-ha realized the prince was staring at him. Rather than draw Colonel Shinu’s attention to his rude guards, Prince Zuko shifted slightly so his hands were visible in his lap. And then most baffling of all, he signed. 

“Are you signing in your code? How’d you guys come up with it? My friend and I have been trying to make our own, but it’s harder than coming up with a written code.”

Was Byeol-ha hallucinating? He glanced at Mirinae, who raised an eyebrow at him, all but telling him to deal with the consequences of his actions. Yeah, fine, he had just been thinking how he needed to practice his on-duty signs, but he hadn’t expected the banished prince of all people to call him out on it!

Oblivious to Byeol-ha’s struggle, Prince Zuko continued. “Oh, or is it not a code? Is it another language? Sorry, do you even know what I’m signing?”

“Uh- no- We know standard sign language too.” Byeol-ha raised his hands slightly, giving the prince a clearer view while still keeping his movements small. It wouldn’t do for Colonel Shinu to also catch him failing at his current job as ornamental furnishing. “But you’re not wrong, sort of. Though we were using Yuyan sign language, we have a code too.”

Prince Zuko scrunched his nose. “ Really ? Why bother with a code if no one knows Yuyan sign language besides you?”

That was exactly what Byeol-ha argued when he was in training. He grinned and signed as much, adding, “But my elders say you can never be too careful. While not many people leave Yuyan, there’s still some who have. So there’s always a chance of someone knowing Yuyan sign language out there in the world. What the world knows as the Yuyan code is just for Archers.”

“Aren’t all Yuyan archers?” Prince Zuko asked, his eyes alight with a burning curiosity. 

From anyone else, Byeol-ha would be wary of such a question. But he could recognize the innocent passion for knowledge that the prince’s former crew spoke fondly of. It almost seemed too good to be true, what Byeol-ha had been told. But already, Byeol-ha was starting to understand the faith and hope the banished prince inspired.

Byeol-ha knew for a fact it would have been mentioned if Prince Zuko knew sign language. And since it hadn’t, this was a recent development. My friend , Prince Zuko said. Maybe Byeol-ha was biased, but he wanted to trust someone who learned a new language to befriend those who used it. 

“Nah, we’re not all cut out for it,” Byeol-ha replied, pride filling his smile. “I’m the first Archer to complete training in the past five years. And I’m the youngest ever .”

“How old are you?”

“Seventeen. Completed my training last year.”

Prince Zuko’s eyes narrowed as he pursed his lips. “Isn't the age of enlistment eighteen?”

“We’re technically contractors.” Byeol-ha couldn’t resist himself. He winked and signed, “Besides, aren’t you like twelve and in command of a warship?”

A vibrant blush filled Prince Zuko’s unscarred cheek, and his hands flew up in larger, jerky signs. “Twelve!? I’m not twelve! I am fifteen! And technically-”

Someone loudly cleared their throat. 

Byeol-ha and Prince Zuko froze. Everyone else in the room was staring at them. Laughter danced in Mirinae’s eyes. She was still standing at proper attention. Unlike Byeol-ha, who’d completely forgotten himself and had started signing freely with Prince Zuko. Colonel Shinu thankfully didn’t look like he was angry, but he was also staring at them like he’d never seen someone having a conversation before. The captain of the prince’s ship had his mouth hanging open like this was the most scandalous thing he could witness. And then there was General Iroh, the Dragon of the West.

He clearly had been the one to draw their attention, but he was smiling fondly as he turned back to Colonel Shinu and said, “I’ve been remiss to mention our secondary reason in asking for your hospitality. As you might have gathered, Prince Zuko has an interest in sign language, and its place in the military. Before we set off for Taku, could you spare some of your Yuyan Archers to satisfy his curiosity?” 

“Ah- Well, that’s most admirable, Prince Zuko! I see, yes, yes, I’m sure-” Colonel Shinu floundered. Nobles and military officers often stopped in Pohuai to inquire after the Yuyan Archers' availability. Never had someone come to ask after them as anything other than a weapon. Colonel Shinu didn’t know how to treat them like people either. He definitely didn’t know if he could spare some Archers to chat or not. 

Colonel Shinu abruptly turned to Mirinae, likely just remembering the leader of his Archers was present. “Captain! I don’t care what your unit is doing. Free some to answer any questions Prince Zuko has. In fact, have them give him a tour! Have-” His gaze flickered to Byeol-ha, a frantic uncertainty in his eyes as he tried to put a name to the face. He wouldn’t. Even Mirinae, he did not know by name, only by her position as captain of the Archers. “Have this young man lead the tour, as he’s already made Prince Zuko’s acquaintance.”

“Yes, sir,” Mirinae signed, one of the few the colonel knew. He nodded and turned back to General Iroh and the ship captain, all smiles. Mirinae caught Prince Zuko’s eye as she added, “Asshole.”

Prince Zuko lit up in gleeful delight as he jumped to his feet, which General Iroh eyed warily, but he showed no recognition of Mirinae’s insult as he resumed his conversation with the colonel.

“Thank you very much for sparing time from your schedule for me,” Prince Zuko signed with a quick, but respectful bow. “Would it be alright if my friend Chanda joined us? She’s who I learned sign language from, and why I want to learn more about the Yuyan Archers! On her old ship, no one knew or tried to learn sign language! It’s honestly disgraceful how the military treats their Deaf personnel! Or I suppose in your case… Mute? Silence-vowed? I actually don’t know. Is it rude to ask why the Yuyan Archers don’t speak?”

Mirinae cut off the prince’s rapidly spiraling signing with a raised palm and amused snort. She introduced herself and Byeol-ha, then to Byeol-ha’s absolute surprise, introduced them again with their name signs. 

“Your friend is more than welcome to join you, and Byeol-ha is free to answer anything else as he gives you a tour,” Captain Mirinae signed in response to his deluge of questions.

Not ‘can answer’ or ‘will answer,’ but free to answer. Byeol-ha’s breath caught as his chest swelled with pride and a touch of nerves. Giving Prince Zuko their name signs was Mirinae showing her willingness to trust him. But more than that, she was trusting Byeol-ha to decide what to tell him.

Byeol-ha really hoped he wasn’t about to make a mistake. 

Chanda loved Zuko, she really did. He was a brat most of the time, but he tried to have his heart in the right place. However, there was only so much good-will could do against a prince's upbringing. No matter how kind and thoughtful Zuko could be, he would always be a bit self-centered. 

Take today’s excursion, for example. It was great that Zuko wanted to add disability accommodations to his endless list of things to change in the Fire Nation. Chanda agreed and had been discussing with him for some time about the logistics of including sign language in the Fire Nation educational curriculum. 

Honestly, Chanda didn’t even know how many people were deaf or knew sign language in the Fire Nation. She’d been fortunate to have been born into a Deaf family. Her parents and brother were hearing, but her uncle and grandmother weren’t. When Chanda was born, her family didn’t need to learn sign language to raise their daughter. Her mother had started teaching her father as soon as they began seeing each other, and her brother had been raised learning signs alongside spoken words.

But what would her life have been like if her mother didn’t already have Deaf family? Who would have taught Chanda how to sign? Would she have ever learned that there was a whole language out there for her?

So yes, she would never call Zuko’s passion for increasing awareness and education self-centered. However . 

There was something to be said about how he didn’t ask so much as told Chanda that she would come along to Pohuai Stronghold to maybe meet the Yuyan Archers. He just assumed that because the Yuyan used sign language, Chanda would have something to talk about with them. That was pretty damned self-centered.

What was she supposed to talk about with an elite archery unit ? She was a short, fat, civillian engineer for fuck’s sake. Not once had Chanda set foot on a training ground and she never planned to. Did Zuko think he had something in common with every single hearing person he met just because they could communicate with each other? Honestly . 

But Chanda couldn’t be too annoyed, because Zuko needed someone to watch his back and no one was better suited than her in this case. Sure, Kavi and Jae were fairly fluent at this point, but they were nowhere near the level to catch the nuances of Zuko’s rushed conversation with the Yuyan Archers. 

Yangchen help them, Zuko was an idiot . An unbelievably lucky idiot.

Their tour of Pohuai Stronghold got put on hold the second they entered the Yuyan Archers’ training grounds. Byeol-ha and Zuko had immediately hit it off, and the rest of the Yuyan were intrigued by their youngest’s new friend. All it took was a few questions, and Zuko was off talking about his spirit library adventure and Yangchen research.

Chanda was fine standing off to the side and letting Zuko ramble on. He came alive when talking about Yangchen, but it was nice to escape being the recipient of his energetic discussions sometimes. Let him get it out of his system with new, willing subjects, was what Chanda thought.

And then the idiot started talking about the Air Temples. Did he forget that the sign for ‘temple’ was not the same as ‘stronghold?’ Honestly, he probably did forget, since he’d been teaching the crew the signs for ‘Air Temple’ while saying ‘Air Stronghold.’ She would have thought he’d remember now , seeing as that was how Chanda finally figured out his and the Wings’ secrets, since, you know, she was the fluent one . And the Yuyan Archers weren’t like the crew. Zuko wasn’t pulling a fast one on them. Since they, too, were fucking fluent . Chanda saw them exchange subtle glances the first time he signed ‘temple,’ and then followed suit.

Which was where Zuko’s damned luck came in, because that little exchange all but confirmed Jae and Kavi’s suspicions about the Yuyan Archers. 

 “This is a good opportunity,” Kavi said when Zuko despaired about having to get permission to explore the ruins of Taku. “Pohuai Stronghold is in control of that area. And the Yuyan Archers have been stationed there for the past decade or so.”

“We need to start thinking about garnering more allies in the Fire Nation. If the Yuyan Archers haven’t been more active than playing guard dog at Pohuai, it’s safe to bet they don’t want to do more,” Jae said when Zuko calmed down from the chance of meeting the Yuyan Archers. “If you get the chance, you should try to gauge their dedication to the war.”

Later, in private, Jae told Chanda, “The Wings were actually already in contact with the Yuyan Archers. But we didn’t get much further than feeling each other out before we got sucked into the siege. I know they’d rather the war ended, but I don’t know anything about their motivations.”

Kavi was uncomfortable keeping this knowledge from Zuko, but conceded, “If he goes in without any expectations, he’ll get a more genuine read of them. Our end goals are bigger than the war now. Keep an eye on him, and help him figure out if the Yuyan could be potential allies for all our goals or not.”

If their easy acceptance of Zuko’s choice of signs was anything to go by, the Yuyan Archers were at least aware of the Fire Nation’s lies about the Air Nomads. Whether that could lead to something more… Well, with Zuko’s luck, probably. 

Chanda really wished Amphon could have come along. Not that she needed help keeping an eye on Zuko or anything, but it’d be nice to have a friend along who didn’t forget about her existence. However, Commander Haoran barely held his tongue about Chanda coming along. He definitely would have raised a stink if a ‘random steward’ accompanied Zuko to a military stronghold. 

Someone waved in her peripheral, pulling her attention away from Zuko and his enamored audience. The captain of the Yuyan Archers smiled and asked, “A bit shyer than your prince?”

“I’m not shy—just don’t have anything to contribute.” Chanda snorted as Zuko’s signs grew wider and the people around him winced, meaning he got too excited and started shouting. “I get plenty of Zuko back on the ship.”

Mirinae blinked in surprise before a wide smile spread across her face. “Does he know you’ve given him a name sign calling him Noisy Prince?”

“Oh he absolutely hates it, but he’s stuck with it. And he knows he can’t argue the accuracy.”

“You certainly are not the shy type,” Mirinae signed, throwing her head back with laughter. She quickly sobered with a scrutinizing frown. “So if you’re not here to make merry like Zuko implied, what are you doing here?”

Chanda quite liked this woman’s directness. If she was willing to get straight to the point, then so was Chanda. “Zuko slipped up, signed Air Temple . But your people didn’t bat an eye. Just continued the conversation doing the same, didn’t call him out on it. They haven’t used ‘Air Army’ either, only ‘airbender.’ Not many people know the difference.”

“Well, he clearly knows the truth. Why should we pretend we don’t?”

“I’m under the impression it’s a hard truth to come by in the Fire Nation…”

Mirinae shifted, hiding her signs from the rest of the courtyard with her body. “And who’s to say Yuyan is Fire Nation?”

That- That was bold . Zuko being a forgetful kid was one thing, but this was outright discrediting the Yuyan’s loyalty to the Fire Nation—to the Fire Lord . How could Mirinae be so confident that Chanda could be trusted? They just met. Zuko’s ability to endear people to him did not work that fast. 

“What happened to the Air Nomads could have been us, can still be us.” Mirinae took pity on Chanda and her frozen shock, continuing as if she wasn’t tilting the world off its axis. “Our status as Fire Nation depends on the tides of politics, but we’re always Yuyan. So we’d best not to forget the truth of what our lords are capable of, even as we sell ourselves to them.”

Chanda’s mind was reeling. This was good for their hopes of making an alliance, but it made no damn sense that Mirinae was just telling her this. “And what? After a single conversation with Zuko, you’re ready to throw your lot in with him? What are you playing at?”

“Apologies, I suppose I have you at a disadvantage.” Mirinae looked anything but apologetic as she grinned. “This may be our first encounter with Zuko, but we’re acquainted with one of his. Meeting him only confirms what we’ve heard of him.”

Oh good, things were starting to make sense again. “I didn’t know someone from the Wings reinitiated contact with you.”

“ Wings ? They’re still active? They’re- You’re working with Zuko?”

“Yes? Well, I’ve only recently joined, but they- we have the same beliefs.” Chanda rubbed at her temple with a sigh. She was not built for this sort of thing. She desperately wanted to go back to the engine room and have a firm understanding as to what the fuck was going on. “Who in Koh’s Lair are you acquainted with, if not one of the Wings?”

Mirinae glanced at Zuko’s group. They were still engrossed in their conversation, no one paying attention to Mirinae and Chanda. She nodded and grinned. 

“I think there’s someone you need to meet.”

It took an embarrassingly long time for Zuko to notice Chanda was nowhere to be seen. Somehow, between talking about Avatar Yangchen and asking the Yuyan about themselves, a competition sprung up between him and Byeol-ha. Zuko should have known better than trying to match up against a Yuyan Archer , but how could he turn down the challenge? He was fairly confident in his fire flicking these days.

Yeah, no, he was getting his ass handed to him. Stories had nothing on the amazing precision of the Yuyan Archers. He couldn’t wait to write to Mai about this. She was going to be so jealous. The competition quickly turned into a training session, with Byeol-ha performing increasingly difficult trick shots and Zuko doing his best to imitate them.

He finally succeeded in hitting the target after doing a side flip, something Byeol-ha made look as easy as walking. The few remaining older Archers applauded for him as he shouted a cheer and whipped around to make sure Chanda saw his success. But, Chanda wasn’t where he last saw her. In fact, when did he last see her?

“Your friend went with Mirinae,” an older Archer offered when she caught his questing gaze.

Byeol-ha clapped his hands together, drawing Zuko’s attention, “We got totally distracted. I’m supposed to be taking you on a tour!”

“But Chanda-”

“She’s in good hands with Mirinae, don’t worry!” Byeol-ha grinned and ushered Zuko toward the exit of the Archer’s training grounds. “C’mon, the colonel is expecting you to have a tour, so we might as well do a quick one and then we can get back to messing around. You said your preferred weapon is dual-broadswords, right? I’d love to spar.”

A chance to properly spar with a real Yuyan Archer? As if Zuko was going to pass up that chance. He eagerly fell in step with Byeol-ha, matching his grin in his excitement. 

They drew a few glances as Byeol-ha led Zuko around the stronghold, but not as many as Zuko expected after his visit to Yu Dao. Had word not spread that ‘the banished prince’ was here? Were the military personnel of Pohuai just more professional than the guards of Yu Dao? But then he realized that when they passed others, almost everyone’s gaze was drawn to Byeol-ha first. They took in his Yuyan uniform and immediately disregarded both of them. What did that say about the Archer’s standing in the stronghold? Was it rude to ask?

“You don’t care about any of this, do you?” Byeol-ha asked, cutting off his explanation of the Pohuai outer wall defenses. 

Zuko’s face instantly grew hot. He thought he was doing a decent job of at least pretending to pay attention. But his mind was whirling with so many unanswered questions that it was difficult to focus on Byeol-ha’s tour.

Fortunately, Byeol-ha didn’t seem to take offense. He patted Zuko on the back, the casual camaraderie catching Zuko so off guard that he almost tripped like an idiot. “You just had to say so! We don’t have to talk about this musty old place as long as we make the rounds for appearance’s sake. You had questions about us, right?”

“Yes! Is it alright to ask? What’s your training like? My friend and I were really interested in the Yuyan Archers when we were younger and never could find anything that talked about you guys in specific rather than things Yuyan Archers have done. Where do non-Archers live? Is that a mystery? Or are you a nomadic clan?”

“It is a mystery, actually.” Byeol-ha shined with pride. “Many have tried to discover our village through the years, but they’ve always failed. Dating all the way back to when the four nations first stepped off the lion turtles!” 

Zuko froze mid-step. No way . This was too good to be true. What was the best way to broach the topic? Byeol-ha seemed easy going enough, maybe he wouldn’t react badly to a direct approach…

“Are you saying the Yuyan didn’t come from the lion turtles?”

Byeol-ha stopped several paces ahead and turned around with a raised eyebrow. “Oh? You believe in the legend of the lion turtles? Most people write it off as a children’s story to explain how the four nations follow the four elements.” 

“Well, I used to think that. But, part of my travels took me to the North Pole. I befriended a historian there and she opened my eyes. And told me about the first benders of the North Pole. If the Yuyan pre-date the nations, then did you have help from dual-benders like the-”

When Byeol-ha started closing the short distance between them, Zuko didn’t think much of it. But then Byeol-ha snatched Zuko’s hands out of the air, holding them together while glancing around the empty battlement they stood on. 

“What are you-” Zuko snapped his mouth shut under Byeol-ha’s stern look.

Dragged along by his hands still held together, Zuko followed Byeol-ha to the watch tower at the end of the wall. The soldiers inside glanced at them, then disregarded them completely as Byeol-ha pulled Zuko up the tower staircase which led to a ladder. He let go of Zuko only to push him toward the ladder. 

Zuko grumbled at the rough, rude treatment, but did as requested. The ladder led to a small archer’s nook between the ceiling and the tower’s roof. There was just enough room for Byeol-ha to climb in after him, pulling up the ladder and covering the hole with a plank of wood.

“What was all that about?” Zuko demanded, crossing his arms with a huff.

Byeol-ha’s relaxed grin returned, not a trace of his sudden intensity left. He leaned against the wall with a shrug. “You shouldn’t count on ignorance to keep your secrets, especially when they’re not your own.”

Guilt and shame were short lived in the face of Zuko’s excitement. He planted his hands on the floor to lean toward Byeol-ha with wide eyes, about to bombard him with questions. But then Byeol-ha’s light chastising caught up with him, so he scrambled to free his hands and continue with signs. “So you know about the dual-benders? Are the Yuyan hidden airbenders? Is that why your archery is so perfect?!”

“Hey now, I take offense to that! We can be amazing without being benders you know.”

Heat filled Zuko’s cheeks as he quickly apologized, stumbling over his words and signs to explain that some of his best friends were nonbenders. “And I’m only excited at the possibility of you being airbenders because I’m trying to bring airbending back!”

Byeol-ha jerked back in surprise, mouth agape as he slowly signed, “I know I said you should be careful with others’ secrets, Prince Zuko , but maybe you shouldn’t be so open about your own. That’s a bold declaration to make to someone you’ve only just met.”

“I know that!” Zuko spat out defensively. He wasn’t stupid or naive . Maybe a bit hasty and impatient, he would admit to that, but he didn’t see the need to waste their limited time trying to gauge Byeol-ha and the Yuyan’s opinion on the war or dual-benders when he already had a pretty good suspicion. “None of you questioned me when I started telling you about Yangchen, nor how I never used ‘Air Army’ or ‘Air Strongholds.’ You all used the sign for ‘temple’ without a second thought! And you wouldn’t have told me to be careful talking about the dual-benders in the open if you were against them, right?”

“Wait, were you testing us earlier?!”

That pesky blush wanted to come back. Zuko shrugged his shoulders and willed the red away. “Well, I didn’t intend to. I realized after the fact that I slipped up and no one called me out on it.”

Byeol-ha threw his head back in silent laughter, his entire body shaking with the effort to contain his amusement to wheezing breaths. There was no fighting Zuko’s embarrassment now. He pulled his knees up to his chest and hid his face between them while waiting for Byeol-ha to get his giggles out of his system. 

After what felt like an eternity, Byeol-ha composed himself and turned a lopsided grin Zuko’s way. “You’re everything and yet nothing like I’ve been told. I want to know more about this goal of yours to bring airbending back and what you know of dual-benders, but first, how would you like to hear the tale of the Yuyan?”

“Now who’s the one being too trusting to someone you’ve only just met?” Zuko signed with a petulant frown. 

“Well, I figured if the North Pole trusted you with their true history and if you’re trying to bring airbending of all things back, you’re someone worth allying with… But if you’d rather not know…”

“No, no, no! Of course I want to know! Please, tell me! I promise I won’t share what I learn with anyone else without your permission.” Zuko uncurled from his sulk and sat upright as his signs grew wider with his excitement. “If you’re not dual-benders, how did you survive without the Lion Turtles? From what I understand, spirits practically took over the mortal world at that time!”

Byeol-ha didn’t falter under Zuko’s questions or enthusiasm. He signed for Zuko to settle down, and to interrupt if he needed clarification on anything while Byeol-ha shared his tale. Then, he began.

“So, before the four nations and human benders existed, the barrier between the spirit and mortal worlds grew so thin that there was little separating them. People took refuge on the Lion Turtles, like the stories go. But, we humans are stubborn and tenacious, y’know? There were people who refused to give up their homes. Some were lost to history, overrun by the spirits. Some allied with the original benders and gained the ability to defend themselves, like you heard in the North Pole. And then there were those like us, who made allies with spirits.

“While the weakened barrier between our worlds allowed stronger spirits to run amok and make our lives difficult, lesser spirits were no more pleased than we were. You see, we have a weird relationship with spirits-”

“Oh! I know all about that!” Zuko interrupted. “How people’s beliefs can influence the growth or even creation of spirits, right?”

Byeol-ha grinned. “Exactly. So with the majority of people escaping to the Lion Turtles’ backs and turning their backs to the spirits, lesser spirits were at just as much risk of disappearing as the people who chose to stay. When our ancestors refused to leave, the spirits of lost and found things approached them with a deal.

“As long as we acknowledged and respected them, they would make our village lost to all but its inhabitants. But merely hiding was not enough, we needed to protect ourselves when we left the village. So the spirits also granted those they found worthy with a true-shot, an ability to always find their target in a fight.”

“Wait, are you saying the Yuyan aren’t benders because you’re all spirit touched?!”

“Or are we all spirit touched because we’re not benders?” Byeol-ha shot back with a wink. “Don’t know for sure, because we don’t have open communication with our spirits like we did in legend. As our village grew and our relationship with the spirits of lost and found things deepened, we gave them new meaning and names. They became spirits of secrets and accuracy, of family and community. We called ourselves the Yuyan and them the Yuyan Spirits.

“To this day, no outsider has ever found our village, no matter how hard they try. We take a vow of silence when we leave the borders of our lands, because the path home is held in our voice. If we speak, our memories of our way home are wiped from our minds. Every single Yuyan who leaves our borders is prepared to be forever lost to protect our home.”

Zuko’s mind was a whirling mess of questions. Aunt Wu pointed him toward Taku to discover more about spirits, and he thought stopping at Pohuai was an unfortunate detour. Instead, this was an incredible stroke of luck! Who knew if there were any spirits left in Taku, or if they’d speak with him. But… If he was following Byeol-ha’s story correctly…

“So are you saying the spirits follow any Yuyan who leaves the village?”

“Well, that’s what we like to believe.” Byeol-ha swung his bow around from his back to stroke the wood with a soft smile. He looked up and let go of it the second Zuko started to open his mouth to speak. “We Archers have a superstition where we name our bows based on the first dream we have after completing our training, and that those dreams are our own Yuyan spirit accepting us and taking claim on us just as we take a claim on them.”

“Oh, well I could tell you real easy if you have a spirit hanging around you,” Zuko signed, already closing his eyes to center himself. His heatsense was so annoyingly inconsistent, especially so when it came to detecting the other-wordly lack of heat that came from spirits. Once he focused enough, he should be able to-

A rough shake broke Zuko’s concentration, and almost sent him toppling over to the floor. He caught himself just in time and shot a glare at Byeol-ha, who was now beside him with a furrowed brow. “What was that for?!”

“Whatever you’re about to do, don’t.” Byeol-ha slowly returned to his spot across from Zuko, eyeing him warily. “I don’t want to know for certain and I don’t think the spirits want us to either. If they wanted to communicate more directly with us, they would. Don’t disrupt our balance.”

Zuko scowled and had to awkwardly stop his arms mid-cross to instead sign, “Fine, I won’t tell you what I see. But I’m on a quest to find spirits, so I should make sure I’m not missing any right in front of me!”

“Damn, Hifumi wasn’t kidding when she said you could be a brat.”

It was like a bucket of ice water was dumped over his head. Zuko’s breath caught and his ears rang as his vision tunnel focused on Byeol-ha. There was a lump in his throat that was difficult to speak around, but he couldn’t feel his hands to sign. 

“Did you- Did I understand that correctly? Did you sign the name Hifumi ?”

Byeol-ha’s easygoing grin was back as he leaned against the wall behind him. “Yup, you understood correctly. Major Hifumi, one of the firebending instructors here. And your former acting captain if she hasn’t been lying to me this whole time.”

“Major Hifumi’s here?!” Fire filled Zuko’s veins, chasing the ice away and sending energy coursing through him. It took all of his willpower to stay seated and not to attempt to pace in this cramped crawlspace. At least he could expend some of his energy through signing now that his hands were responding to him again. “Where is she? How did you meet her? Wait- Is that why you decided to trust me so easily? What has she been saying about me?!”

“Well, she contributed to it, but it was your reckless trust in showing your hand that sealed the deal.” Byeol-ha shook his head in disbelief. “She knew about the truth of the Air Nomads, and how you wanted to do right by them. But you’ve gained some loftier goals since you parted with your old crew, right? Bring back airbenders? Does that tie into your knowledge of the dual-benders?”

Hifumi knew the truth? How? When? Zuko only found the conviction to condemn the war in its entirety after visiting the Northern Air Temple. Who could have- Bun Ma. Of course. In all of the emotion and activity of her last night on the Sazanami , Zuko only hinted at his changing mindset after meeting Akari and Yangchen. But Bun Ma would have noticed, surely. Bun Ma and Ju Long probably knew from the moment Zuko confided in them about the truth of the Air Nomad genocide where his path would eventually lead him. He hadn’t been ready to confront the reality of opposing the war back then, but they had been. And they had upheld their promise to help him even when they were separated.

Did that mean… They told all of the old Sazanami crew? Did the Wings possibly have Fire Nation allies spread across the military in the safe, secure positions Zuko had secretly arranged for them? And… if they were like Major Hifumi, were they also trying to spread the truth Zuko shared with Ju Long and Bun Ma?

It was staggering to even begin to consider.

“Uh, it’s- It’s kinda a long story. Could we- Well- I haven’t seen Major Hifumi in-” Zuko’s voice broke with a year old hurt. He’d long since let it go, but it was still there in the recesses of his heart. 

Byeol-ha’s sympathetic smile answered Zuko’s unspoken question. Of course he couldn’t go see her. It was no different than his limited contact with Ju Long and Bun Ma through Mai. If word got back to fucking Zhao , it would put them in danger. Even more so if Hifumi was actively speaking well of him to others. Why would she do that ?!

“Mirinae took your friend to meet her. And I have a feeling you’ve been more open about your goals these days, so she can update her for the most part, yeah?”

Zuko nodded, torn between laughing or crying. Not only could Chanda bring Hifumi into the Wings’ fold, but she could reassure Hifumi better than Zuko ever could of how he didn’t let Zhao ruin his progress. He may have stumbled at first, but he hoped he’d lived up to Hifumi’s expectations as a leader.

Now wasn’t the time to ruminate on his old crew. Kavi and Jae tasked him with potentially allying with the Yuyan Archers, and he wasn’t going to bungle that up at the last second because of some stupid emotions .

“Yeah, Chanda has it covered. So, um, I’ll be honest. I’m not really sure where to start.”

Byeol-ha leaned forward in anticipation. “How about how you even learned about dual-benders in the first place. We walk a dangerous enough line as it is with our close connection to the spirits. I’ve been under the impression that dual-benders have been buried from history because they were wiped out.”

An unwitting smile tugged at Zuko’s mouth. It was easier to not get distracted by thoughts of his old crew when Yangchen’s story was the topic of focus.

“Well, the reason Avatar Yangchen and Princess Akari even met was because Akari had dreams about people of a fire and air civilization…”

As the sun began its descent, shadows grew in the office of Pohuai Stronghold’s most popular firebending instructor. She was strict and didn’t tolerate any foolishness, but she was never cruel. To those who were beginning to buckle and fray under the pressure of the military, a refuge could be found behind her door. Slowly, the disenchanted youths of Pohuai Stronghold began to find hope for a future beyond losing their lives in the name of their nation. Major Hifumi was shrewd in whom she whispered her true loyalty to, but her instincts had yet to lead her astray. 

When Hifumi parted from the ragtag crew she had been unceremoniously put in charge of, it was with a heavy heart. Her prince had discovered a terrible truth about the Fire Nation and was suddenly without any allies other than his uncle, someone he was reluctant to confide in. Prince Zuko’s original crew swore to each other they would do all they could to support their prince, but their actions were limited. He was still so young, too innocent for the conflict his chosen path was leading him to. They could not risk being discovered gathering allies for Prince Zuko before he was ready to take the next step.

The shadows in her office were almost too dark to see her paperwork, but Hifumi did not move to light her lamps. The small text of her reports were disregarded as she stared at the rough sketch given to her by a delightful young woman. Of all the things Hifumi learned of her prince, somehow his small, rebellious tattoo stuck in her mind the most. How Hifumi wished she could see the unfurled wings on her prince’s back. Maybe, one day, he would ignore more reasonable and responsible voices and get the wings redone bigger.

Hifumi should be one of those reasonable and responsible voices not encouraging a teenager to do something so reckless, but she couldn’t help but picture how well those large wings would suit Prince Zuko. He was so young to have such a heavy burden on his shoulders, but it wasn’t going to weigh him down. Prince Zuko had learned how to rely on others and was not going forward alone.

Agni help her, Hifumi was so proud of him. She liked to believe that if her child had been born into this world, this was how she would feel about them.

A firm knock on her door pulled Hifumi from her wandering thoughts. She quickly shot fire into her lamps before granting entry to her visitor, or visitors as her door opening revealed.

Byeol-ha was no stranger to her office, and as of late Captain Mirinae’s presence was not unusual either. However they never came together, and their companion was one Hifumi did not recognize. She was not foolish enough to claim to know every face in Pohuai Stronghold, but an unknown face between the Yuyan Archers was enough to set her senses on high alert.

“What brings you all here at this hour?” Hifumi asked, gesturing for them to take a seat across from her desk. 

Mirinae smiled in thanks and signed as she sat, “We’ve received a visitor.”

Said visitor did not take a seat and started wandering around Hifumi’s office. The curious behavior could be excused for the young woman she presented herself as, but Hifumi didn’t trust what she saw. Even high-ranking officials in the military could not come into the Stronghold unannounced. Today had been a regularly scheduled shipment, but no one should have stayed behind. 

Perhaps even more suspicious than the woman’s mere presence was the way Byeol-ha’s gaze had not left her since they entered the room. It wasn’t the gaze young men often had for young women, but instead an intense admiration—a similar gaze he held for Captain Mirinae. This particular shining wonder in his eyes was new and unique to their visitor.

“Are you one of Zuko’s Wings then?” Hifumi asked the stranger, not in the mood for games. 

The woman slowly turned from Hifumi’s bookshelf, the wide-eyed look of a naive, new recruit was replaced by a sly grin. “Oh, that is strange. I’ve yet to be referred to as Zuko’s Wings.”

“I sympathize with your loss and hold admiration for your late, former leader. But you should adjust your mindset now and look toward the future if you hope to continue garnering allies. Either you are Zuko’s or you’re not working with us.”

“Ah, you misunderstand. I wouldn’t call myself Lu Ten’s either. I’m not clinging to a lost future.” The woman sat on the edge of Hifumi’s desk and looked down at her with burning, dark eyes. “I am a pair of wings, but it is still unclear to me if Zuko is the dragon I will take flight with.”

Such an answer wasn’t one Hifumi was happy to hear, but she could respect it. Even if this woman was not sworn to Zuko, she was still working toward the same goals. For now, Hifumi could trust her.

“Well, I have faith that Zuko will prove himself to you.” Hifumi broke eye contact with the stray Wing to address Mirinae. “I know Chanda said the Wings would contact us again, but I have a feeling there is something beyond pooling resources that has brought you all to my office.”

Mirinae sighed, tilting her head in Byeol-ha’s direction. The boy was clearly not following the conversation, lost in his thoughts while still staring at the stray Wing like she was the Avatar themself. He remained oblivious as Mirinae signed, “Our visitor has been picking fights with you instead of giving introduction. This is the Wing’s spymaster, Fox, and they’re considering taking an apprentice.”

“I can take a guess who is hoping for the position,” Hifumi said wryly. 

Fox laughed and snatched up the sketch of Zuko’s tattoo from Hifumi’s desk. They held it up into the lamplight, their smile showing too many teeth to be one of amusement. “Unlike the other two who made the Wings’ original inner circle, I haven’t yet thrown my lot in with our new figurehead. But, unfortunately, I’ve been outvoted and we need the manpower he can bring us. Things will go smoother if I have someone young and who’s been inspired by the prince at my side. And, it has been on my mind to expand my reach with a disciple or two. It would have possibly saved us a lot of grief if I had a second me during the Siege.”

“And that can be me!” Byeol-ha jumped in with wide, excited signs. “Major Hifumi, please, can I be your representative and go with Fox?”

Clearly Mirinae had already given him her blessing if they were here. It was a solid enough plan. Hifumi trusted Byeol-ha, and Prince Zuko had thoroughly won the young man over during his brief visit. He would be a good bridge between the rest of the former Sazanami crew and Zuko’s inherited resistance group. However…

“No matter how much Colonel Shinu disregards the Yuyan Archers, one of you cannot simply disappear. Which is, ultimately, why you are here, or am I wrong?”

Mirinae nodded, straight-forward and unashamed while Byeol-ha’s cheeks flushed bright red and he signed a rigid, sheepish confirmation. Fox had no reaction, still perched on Hifumi’s desk and staring intently at the tattoo sketch. 

“I’m curious why a spymaster needs my help to forge some documents.”

Fox dropped the sketch back in front of Hifumi with a laugh. “Well, Zuko isn’t the only one who needs to pass my judgment. Care to take my test, Major?”

The sun was completely set and darkness enveloped Pohuai Stronghold. Lamplight flickered along the walls of Major Hifumi’s office and danced in her determined gaze. 

“Of course, anything to aid my prince’s cause.”

While personnel were strictly managed going in and out of Pohuai Stronghold, the same could not be said of information. 

Sightings of the banished prince were far and few between in Fire Nation territories these days. Many had forgotten about him until reports came out of Yu Dao about his sudden involvement with an investigation there. Curiosity reignited as people speculated what brought Prince Zuko away from his secret mission (or hiding) and to the Fire Nation colonies.

So when Prince Zuko appeared in Pohuai Stronghold, the Yuyan Archers’ ability to be disregarded could extend only so far. The wildfire of rumors was slow to spark as Prince Zuko began his tour with the Archers. Once it finally caught on and Pohuai personnel were on the lookout for him and his Yuyan guide, Prince Zuko was sequestered away with his new friend as they exchanged legends and secrets. 

Thus, no one had witnessed the progression of two teenage boys’ friendship throughout the day. Instead, curious onlookers crowded the Yuyan Archers’ practice field after bonds of friendship and loyalty were forged. All these outsiders could see was how the reclusive Yuyan Archers embraced a banished prince into their midst.

Units did not deploy out from Pohuai often, but supply caravans were frequent and the duties were performed by the same soldiers. As humans are inclined to do, they chatted as they worked and even made friends with their Pohuai counterparts. And what gossip there was to be had after the prince’s visit! Prince Zuko had nearly stolen the Yuyan Archers out from under Colonel Shinu! 

Oh, no, that’s just ridiculous. Don’t listen to Ryou, you know you can never trust a word out of his mouth. What really happened was that the Yuyan Archers almost kidnapped Prince Zuko as one of their own! It was only due to the Dragon of the West (Yes! Disgraced Prince Iroh was also there!) that the Yuyan released Prince Zuko from the clutches.

Or, no, maybe Prince Zuko challenged the Yuyan to a duel. After all, this was the same foolish prince who challenged the Fire Lord, you know, the whole reason he was banished. Wait, what was the reason he was banished? No one seemed to know that for sure…

That was just the information from the ground.

For it was not only the lower ranks who loved to gossip. Try as they might to deny it, the high ranking officers of the Fire Nation military were just as greedy for news of the banished Fire Nation prince and, perhaps, of a certain commander no one could stand.

Colonel Shinu wrote to colleagues in the Navy not to spread word of Prince Zuko, but of his acting captain. Commander Haoran had seemingly disappeared without a trace, and the Navy rejoiced. Maybe he got himself killed, some speculated. Surely they would have heard of such a tragedy (miracle) if it had occurred, so perhaps he simply, finally retired. But no, the truth was even more entertaining than any of the wild conjectures that spread in the year since he was last seen.

“Captain Zhao, you have a spark of genius in you, I must say.” Commander Genkei complimented Zhao after he concluded his latest report, many weeks after Prince Zuko’s visit to Pohuai Stronghold. “But whyever am I only hearing about it now and through the grapevines? Surely you understand what a favor you’ve done for your superiors by putting Haoran on the banished prince’s ship.”

While high ranking officials loved their gossip as much as their lower ranking counterparts, they were much better at keeping it contained. Thus, few below the rank of commander knew how incompetent and detested Commander Haoran was amongst his equals. Zhao did his best to save face as he laughed and feigned modesty. 

His smile grew strained as Commander Genkei continued to share the mass of rumors that had reached his ears alongside those of Commander Haoran. Interesting, wasn’t it, how Zhao’s spy on the Sazanami made Zuko’s trip to Pohuai Stronghold sound like a complete waste of time. No matter what the truth was, there was no denying Prince Zuko had some sort of positive interaction with the Yuyan Archers.

For some time now, Zhao suspected something was amiss about his spy’s reports. But he had disregarded the feeling. Surely such a weak, pathetic girl as his bookkeeper wouldn’t dare double-cross him. And even if he suspected her, there had been no way to corroborate her reports, for the Sazanami was sailing outside of Zhao’s jurisdiction and almost no information spread from the ports they stopped at.

Such was not the case now.

Zhao glared at his new bookkeeper as he meekly relayed all the rumors he managed to compile about Prince Zuko. That did not sound like the misanthropic, solitary prince painted in the reports sent to Zhao. The prince in the rumors sounded much too confident and happy to have been isolated by his crew for the past year. 

The fires in his lamps flared, making the pathetic bookkeeper yelp and cower. Heat danced under Zhao’s skin as he stared at the map tracking the Sazanami’s predicted route. It seemed he had grown complacent in the past year. 

How fortunate that his prey was heading right back into his hunting grounds.

Chapter Text

In the large city where many who healed gathered, so too did curious spirits. They did not know where they came from or how they came to be, but gather they did nonetheless. 

The Feeling One understood better than its fellows what drew them together. It was the human’s impassioned desires which beckoned spirits to converge. These humans cared with such a brightness; spirits were nothing more than moths to a flame. 

Others did not care for the why, only enjoyed lending their talents to pure souls hoping to heal. Only the Feeling One traveled through the city, taking in the pain, sorrow, hope, and joy the humans of this healing city felt. The Feeling One did not know what to do with these emotions only it seemed to understand. It wanted to help, but it was easily overwhelmed.

Its friend, the Growing One, tried to convince the Feeling One to join it in the distant gardens which nurtured the plants humans used to aid their healers. But the Feeling One did not feel right in the quiet gardens. Even as it waded helplessly through the onslaught of human emotions, it felt right amongst them. So the Feeling One stayed in the city and continued to observe and feel .

Fear was a common emotion in the healing process. The patient’s fear of pain and death. The doctor’s fear of failure. The family’s fear of loss. Yes, fear was something the Feeling One was intimately familiar with.

But the fear it felt That day was something else. That fear rippled through the city like a wildfire, choking hope with its rancid smoke. It was a warning of the real fire to come.

The Feeling One despaired as its people cried and raged against the destruction of their home. Death was an inevitability when fighting for life, but this death left no chance for hope. Fire swept through the streets, indiscriminate of health or strength. 

The people of a once thriving city fled, and the Feeling One left with them. It carried their sorrow for those left behind, valiantly fighting not for hope of winning, but for the hope of allowing others to escape. The Feeling One felt lost amidst the swirling despair and agony of its once vibrant and hopeful people. 

But hope did not die, no matter how dark the night. 

Chased out of their home, hunted down by fire, the healers did not give up hope in trying to lessen death in the mortal world. In the humans’ resilience to continue battling death even as it licked at their heels, the Feeling One found a new purpose.

The Hopeful One followed the healers and tried its best to lend its strength as their hope began to waver. They were strong; they were the flicker of life in a void of death. It would not do for them to despair and give up when they had so much to give to the world of mortals.

Without the city of healing to call home, The Hopeful One wandered the mortal realm. It traveled with countless healers, trying to answer their desperate pleas as best it could. But the Hopeful One was just one small spirit, broken off from those like it. Without the strength of its gathered kind, there was little the Hopeful One could do but buoy failing hope.

Fire continued to burn and destroy. 

Until-

A flame roared in the distance, but not one of death. This was an inferno of desperate hope calling the Hopeful One closer. 

A young healer sat in a dirty, broken home, mixing herbs as tears ran down his cheeks. His patient lay motionless on a thin mat, her skin oozing and cracking in the way of fire. The Hopeful One felt the agony of her long suffering, her release of hope for life. For her, death was the only escape from her pain. The young healer burned with anger on behalf of his patient. And yet, burning even brighter was his desire to change her fate, to give her hope to heal and live again. He wasn’t going to give up.

The Hopeful One felt alight with the young healer’s passion. For so long it was the buoy, desperate to burgeon failing hope, that it had begun to lose some of its own. 

Tears still falling, the young healer set to work. He gently and tirelessly washed the woman’s burns, then coated them with his medicinal mixture. The Hopeful One could feel the potency of the healer’s medicine. The woman would live! She would survive!

Sinister, devouring fire flickered off of the woman’s burns. Arid spectral smoke filled the room and the Hopeful One cowered behind the brave healer. He had no idea what he was fighting against. Could mere medicine and hope be enough to fend off the dark spirit latched onto the poor woman?

The dark spirit sent its putrid flames to lick away the healing properties of the healer’s tincture. It noticed the Hopeful One’s presence and flared its powers in mockery and challenge. What could a mere displaced spirit of a lost healing city hope to do against it? The ones which thrived off the misery and agony of fire grew stronger with every passing day.

No matter what the young healer did, his work would be undone by the spirit feeding off the woman’s pain. It was not going to allow the healer to take its meal away. It was hopeless, hopeless, hopeless…

The young healer did not stop working. He had no way of knowing he was pursuing a pointless endeavor. His hope would be crushed when his patient continued to suffer when she should have begun to heal. This flickering flame of life would be snuffed out.

The Hopeful One was ashamed of itself. How dare it claim such a name when this young healer was the one fighting for hope while it gave up? No, the Hopeful One was not going to lose itself. It had begun to lose its power through the years, giving more and more of itself with little given back in return.

But this young healer refused to give up. He believed in the chance of success. How could the Hopeful One abandon him to fight this dark spirit alone? It couldn’t. It wouldn’t!

Where the Hopeful One once gave, it now took. It wrapped around the young healer and borrowed his strength. The medicine would work without the dark spirit’s interference. The woman would recover and live to see many more days without the dark spirit festering in her wounds. There was an end to her pain, and it came in the hands of this younger healer.

The dark spirit hissed and spat as the healer continued working. The Hopeful One shone with the brightness of the healer’s hope. It reached out and pushed all its might into undoing the poison the dark spirit wrought on the healer’s progress. Slowly, the dark spirit’s reach began to dwindle. Its strength waned in the face of the healer’s relentless hope, wielded by the Hopeful One. 

With one final screech, the spirit of burns and misery released its victim from its claws and escaped into the mortal realm. 

The Hopeful One should have been drained, never had it spent so much of its energy before. But, instead, it felt like it could keep fighting and never tire. It felt worthy of its name for the first time in many, many years.

It stayed with the young healer named Koji and continued to fight at his side, unseen and unacknowledged but growing stronger all the same in the wake of Koji’s unrelenting hope.

So many horrors Koji witnessed and fought to heal. His hope refused to wane. Only in the face of a monster did Koji stumble.

“A better soldier would have been able to dodge,” the firebender said with a smug smile. Death and despair traveled in his shadow. The consuming flames of dark spirits flickered off his shoulders, reaching and grasping for a new meal of pain and suffering. Just how destructive was this man for the dark spirits to cling to him, rather than his victims?

Koji’s soul thrashed out, desperate to fight against the pain the firebender wrought, but he was powerless by the structures humans created. He did all he could, foraging herbs and mixing medicines in the middle of the night to provide aid to the burnt, reporting the firebender’s flagrant violence to any he could. The Hopeful One wished there was more it could do, but not even its new strength could fend off the hoard of dark spirits which followed in that man’s wake.

The Hopeful One understood humanity’s emotions, but never their reasoning. Koji was ripped away from his patients, sent to a city thriving with life and unneeding of his skills to defend why he should continue working to save lives, not destroy them. Only this made Koji’s hope begin to flicker, but the Hopeful One remained at his side and did not let him fight alone, even if he did not know it.

After weeks and weeks of talking and arguing, Koji’s people let him return to his work. They put him on a ship with a difficult case, but no more difficult than the Hopeful One had seen before. It stayed at Koji’s side and poured its energy into his hands to heal the young burned one.

The ship became their new home, and the Hopeful One came to know the young burned one. Zuko was afraid to hope. It was a tiny flame, threatening to blow out, but still it persisted. From Koji, Zuko began to learn the ways of healing and nurturing life. 

The Hopeful One began to feel like it had a home again after so long.

But then the firebender consumed by dark spirits returned. 

Koji was sent away. The Hopeful One remained. The small infirmary of the Sazanami had become its home, and it was stronger now after its years at Koji’s side. It did not need his strength anymore to be a good Hopeful One. It stayed and would help keep Zuko’s hope alive.

The infirmary was quiet and lonely for some time, and then a new healer arrived. A healer who reeked of slow poison and was devoid of hope. She drank her poisons and did not mix medicines, did not look after the people of the Sazanami . The Hopeful One was furious. How dare she taint its home with her apathy and neglect!

The Hopeful One reveled and delighted when Zuko finally returned. He began to set Ume right, even if her soul was not in her actions. The Hopeful One lost its anger as Ume put down her poison. It felt the despair and sorrow she had been keeping at bay by the dull haze of her drink. Her apathy was not that of the ones who caused pain; it was of one who experienced pain. But there was the smallest flicker, the smallest light shining in the depths of her battered, bruised soul. With every day she imparted her knowledge to Zuko, that flame of hope began to grow. And the Hopeful One did all it could to push that flicker to burn brighter.

“Can’t you give him something?” 

Despair and sorrow had not graced the Sazanami’s infirmary since Koji treated Zuko’s burn. Now it permeated the room as one of Zuko’s friends lay on the bed, cringing from the pain of his broken leg. Ume was unaffected, not because she did not care, but because she had seen worse. The Hopeful One could understand, though it still felt for the sorrow of the young men. It was still real, still poignant to them. It was a disservice to compare their pain to others.

“You promise he’ll be okay?” The worried young man asked, not wanting to leave and give the healers the space to do their job.

Zuko hesitated in answering. He was unsure of the answer, inexperienced as he was. Ume, however, was confident as she prepared for the procedure and sent the man away. Her words were crass and devoid of sympathy, but her soul flared with the knowledge that all would be well.

“Any chance of you having a sudden breakthrough with Akari’s gentle flame?” their patient asked Zuko with a grimace of a smile. His hope was much stronger than Zuko’s as he agreed to try.

The Hopeful One hovered. This procedure was not dire, but it would be painful. Ume did not possess Koji’s way with medicines; she had nothing more to offer than the weak tinctures supplied to the crew. This was not a matter of life or death, but perhaps the Hopeful One could still provide help.

It had been watching all this time as Zuko trained and failed to recreate his ancestor’s healing fire. Zuko’s hope was slim, barely there. He continued to practice and try more out of sheer stubbornness than in any belief of success. The Hopeful One had never tried to inspire hope for anything other than healing, but perhaps it could still help Zuko with this? So as Zuko focused on his strange, heatless fire, the Hopeful One wrapped around him and tried to push its encouragement past his walls of pessimism and self-doubt.

“Okay Zuko, if you haven’t made it work yet, it’s not going to happen today,” Ume said, breaking Zuko’s concentration. “I need you to hold him down while I set the bone.”

Fear laced through their patient and desperation filled Zuko. His soul reached out, yearning and begging for help. The Hopeful One answered the call, pushing with all its might for Zuko to succeed.

Suddenly, the Hopeful One was no longer surrounding Zuko, but in his hands, in the fire at his beck and call. It could feel the desire in Zuko’s soul to alter the fire so it burned away the pain underneath it. The Hopeful One rode the flames and felt something shift and change within it.

The fire turned white, and their patient relaxed.

The Hopeful One was released from the flames and it was no longer the Hopeful One, just as it knew when it was no longer the Feeling One. But… What had it become? 

The One who no longer knew what it was grew restless in its uncertainty. Just as Zuko tried and failed to recreate the numbing fire, so too did the Unknown One. Was it only possible in their shared moment of desperation? Such an answer did not feel right. 

“Have you heard of Taku’s healing spirits, Ume?” Zuko asked as he practiced his sutures on a fish. 

The Unknown One stirred from its spiraling sense of self. It knew that name. Taku was once home. Once, the Unknown One had been one of its many spirits of healing. Now what was it?

“Yeah, you haven’t shut up about them since you got back from the fortune teller's,” Ume snorted, not moving from her place on the infirmary bed, half dozing as Zuko practiced. 

Zuko’s scowl went unseen except by the Unknown One, who drifted closer, wanting to hear more about its old home from those of its new home. 

“What I meant was, do you know about them from your medical training or something?”

“I know I’m old, but not that old. Taku was destroyed long before I was born.”

Memories of fear and fire and death threatened to consume the Unknown One. It knew its home had been destroyed, but had it truly been so long since it last remembered it? Was the Unknown One honoring its origins as a spirit of healing in its travels?

“Alright, alright, I’ll stop teasing,” Ume said with a chuckle. “I don’t know about spirits, but Taku is something of legend in the medical field. Half of our medical texts have origins traced to Taku, and most modern innovations still attribute research salvaged from it. If anywhere had healing spirits, my money would have been on Taku.”

“Well, if we get permission to explore the ruins, want to come with me?”

The question was posed to Ume, but the Unknown One twirled and relished at the invitation. Yes! Perhaps in returning home, it could discover what it had become.

Ume, however, scoffed. “Absolutely not. I’m too old to be traipsing around ruins with you.”

“I’m going to murder Colonel Shinu in his sleep,” Ume grumbled as she traipsed through a damn ruin after her obnoxious, royal student. “I can’t believe he fucking approved this.”

Takehiko did not extend a hand to help her over a section of rubble like a proper young man should and instead gestured to Zuko, several paces ahead. “As if something like lack of permission would have stopped Zuko from coming out here.”

“At least if he was sneaking around, I wouldn’t have gotten dragged along.”

“Come off it, you old hag,” Takehiko said, stopping in the rubble strewn street to stare her down with an accusatory frown. “You wouldn’t have been convinced to come along if you weren’t also curious about this place. I, on the other hand, have been forced into this excursion. So quit your whining and let’s get to it.”

Ume really wanted to smack this rude youngster, but that required catching him. It also didn’t help that he wasn’t wrong , damn him. A once young and innocent Ume had dreamed of visiting Taku and making an offering to the spirits of the lost medicinal practitioners to ask for their blessings as a medic. It was a dream many young medics shared until they were faced with the reality of war.

As silly and childish as it was, Ume couldn’t deny that part of her hadn’t been completely smothered. Xue had been extremely insistent that Ume take Zuko up on his offer and join him to visit Taku. New experiences shouldn’t be reserved for the young, was her argument. She may have made some threats as well when Ume persisted in being stubborn…

“Shut up, brat,” Ume huffed, elbowing Takehiko as she passed him. Now even further ahead, Zuko was flitting about, inspecting the broken buildings. “You quit your whining too. This sort of thing is your damn job.”

“Baby-sitting a prince absolutely is not in my job description!” 

Ume didn’t deign his complaint with an answer, because playing baby-sitter to Prince Zuko was literally the job description of the entire Sazanami crew. Unfortunately for Takehiko, Zuko’s usual cohort who didn’t view it as a chore weren’t suited for this particular adventure. The steep terrain of the city ruled Kavi out, even if he wasn’t on General Iroh’s shit list. As Taku was technically still classified as enemy territory, that took Zuko’s noncombatant friends off the chaperone list as well. 

So here the head of the deck department was, whining and complaining alongside Ume.

“Honestly, the place has been ransacked beyond belief,” Takehiko said, carrying on despite Ume not engaging with him. “Are we just going to keep wandering around until he accepts there’s nothing to discover?”

“Yes there is!” Zuko exclaimed, suddenly popping up beside them. “We’re here to find spirits, or at least clues of spirits. Aunt Wu told me to check here, so we have to find something.”

Takehiko rolled his eyes. “Do you really think we’re going to walk into a city destroyed nearly a century ago and a spirit will just pop up-”

A feline meow cut him off.

They all turned to see fluffy, white creature come trotting up to them. It sat down at Zuko’s feet and started grooming itself.

“What’s a rabbit cat doing here?” Ume asked, first to break the silence.

Takehiko squinted at the thing. “I don’t think it’s a rabbit cat. Bear cat?”

Zuko squatted down and held his hand out to the animal, which sniffed him and then rubbed against his palm, letting out a loud purr. “I think… It’s just a cat.”

The cat chirped and ran down the rubble strewn street. Then it stopped to turn back and stare at them.

“Let’s follow it!” Zuko said, jumping up and doing just that without waiting for a second opinion.

“You’ve got to be shitting me,” Takehiko groaned.

Ume barked out a laugh. Only with Zuko would something this insane happen. “You had to open your mouth, didn’t you?” 

“It’s just a damned cat, not a spirit,” Takehiko snapped as they followed after Zuko and said damned cat.

“You know the superstitions that just an animal is spirit-touched,” Ume said, not fully teasing. She normally wasn’t the superstitious type, but this was too uncanny.

The cat led them through the ruins of Taku. Eventually, even Takehiko’s grumblings died out under the oppressive air of wanton destruction around them. 

Objectively, Taku’s sacking had been a bad military move. While it may have strengthened Fire Lord Azulon’s image of might in the Earth Kingdom, it had hurt his standing with much of the Fire Nation populace. Taku had been renowned for its medical research, and hosted many Fire Nation healers even with the war raging on. 

The Fire Nation propaganda machine struggled to convince the people of the dangers Taku posed to warrant its annihilation, and Fire Lord Azulon spent many years having to adjust his tactics and earn the blind trust of his people that Sozin had. Though no one openly criticized Fire Lord Azulon’s first large military operation, it was largely regarded as a blunder of youth. Within the medical field, Ume and her fellows mourned the loss of Taku and its knowledge, but did not think further than that.

Now, with every step further into the former city of Taku, Ume was forced to face her ignorance. A youthful blunder. What a cute way to minimize the damage of Fire Lord Azulon’s first campaign against a city of life. The city was not merely scorched, it was pulverized. This was a clear example made of what would happen to those who dared to stand against the Fire Nation. And yet, the Earth Kingdom fought on.

Ume’s breath was hard to come, and not just from the exertion of hiking higher and higher into Taku proper. She closed her eyes and forced one foot in front of the other. Her thoughts were too clear these days. It was hard not to think about the tragedy of Taku and the endless stories Zuko shared of airbenders before they became the Air Army. Did Zuko know what he was doing, bringing knowledge of airbender culture into the present? Did he consider the reality that the culture would have still been alive, that not every airbender would have been a soldier?

From his stoic silence ahead of them as he followed the cat, Ume couldn’t help but consider that perhaps he did . How strange to think that this hotheaded youth might be trying to dismantle a century of lies and propaganda… Stranger still, Ume was willing to follow him if that were the case.

“What the-!”

Zuko’s yelp rang around them, echoing through the empty streets of Taku as he stepped through the doorway of a broken home. Eerie silence followed.

Sharing a concerned glance, Ume and Takehiko hurried forward. They crossed the crumbling threshold together, and the floor gave out beneath their feet. Except, it didn’t because Ume was still standing when the sensation of falling ended. 

They were no longer in the rocky ruins of Taku, for they now stood in the archway of a stone gate. Green foliage filled the view before them. A steep staircase awaited them from behind. Zuko was already several paces ahead, chatting excitedly to the… spirit? Surely the cat had to be otherworldly to bring them elsewhere in a single step. Were they even still in the mortal realm?

“I knew it! You're a spirit! Can you help me? I’m looking for advice on what to do next, and a fortune teller in Makapu told me to come here. And here you are!”

“You wouldn’t happen to have your flask on you, would you?” Takehiko asked, exhaustion dripping from every word.

Ume sighed and patted the man’s arm as she went ahead to follow after Zuko. “Unfortunately, I’m looking after my health. Otherwise, I’d already be drinking, trust me.”

The spirit cat led them through an empty courtyard. The architecture of the surrounding buildings was reminiscent to that of Taku, but whole and standing, if somewhat neglected. In the distant scenery off the edge of the mountain top, Ume could make out the shape of Taku’s towering city. Perhaps they had not been transported to the spirit world after all…

“Ay, Miyuki, did you bring me guests?” 

An elderly woman who made Ume look young and sprightly stepped out of a small, single-story building at the end of the courtyard. She smiled down at the cat as it meowed and rubbed against her legs, then looked up to address Zuko, who was seconds from bursting. 

“You don’t seem injured. What brings you to my doorstep?” She cackled as she added, “If you’re here for the secret of my youth, you’re out of luck!”

“What youth,” Takehiko muttered.

Zuko didn’t miss a beat, completely ignoring the woman’s ludicrous statement. “I followed your spirit! It’s a spirit, right? Is it one of Taku’s healing spirits? Is its name Miyuki? Can it help me understand a prophecy? Or maybe-”

“Now, now, this is hardly the place to have such a discussion! Come in, come in, I put on some tea when Miyuki said she was heading out.” The woman ushered them inside the building, which turned out to be a lush greenhouse. “You may call me Natsumi. I am the remaining herbalist here in this institute.”

In an impressive show of self-restraint, Zuko contained his questions as their group settled at Natsumi’s rickety tea table and waited to be served their tea. Before she sat and joined them, Natsumi placed a jug between Takehiko and Ume with a wink. Ume reached for it, and even without bringing it to her nose, the strong scent of alcohol filled her senses. Perfect. She quickly spiked her tea, then passed the jug to Takehiko who forwent pretenses and took a swig straight from it.

“Now, young man, my specialty is plants and medicines. What is all this nonsense you’re spouting about spirits and prophecies?”

“What do you mean nonsense?” Zuko exclaimed, gesturing to the cat purring as Natsumi scratched under its chin. “You have a spirit right there, don’t you?”

Natsumi laughed as she spoke to the cat. “Miyuki! Why didn’t you tell me you were a spirit?”

“This woman is madder than a raging komodo rhino,” Takehiko said under his breath. Ume nearly inhaled her tea.

Zuko, however, was not in the least deterred. “Of course it’s a spirit! It took us out of Taku and brought us here in a blink.”

“Well, of course she did. Miyuki is a very special cat. She’s been dodging Fire Nation troops and bringing injured Earth Kingdom soldiers to me for years!” Natsumi sighed. “What nice, young men. There’s been less and less of them lately.”

The visible struggle of keeping his patience on Zuko’s face nearly made Ume laugh. Poor kid was trying hard, she might as well take pity on him. Natsumi’s offering of alcohol certainly put Ume in a better mood.

“Master Natsumi, perhaps you could tell us some about the history of this place? Is it connected to Taku?”

“Ah, Taku. Horrible, simply horrible. Lost many friends there. You know, I spent some time when I was younger traveling and working with the surviving displaced doctors! It was quite the challenge, working without a greenhouse and all the necessary supplies ready for harvest. But foraging is a skill of its own. I learned quite a lot in those years, yes, yes, quite the experience.”

Zuko leaned forward in his excitement. “Wait. Friends? Just how old are you?”

“What did I say, child? I’m not sharing the secret to my youth!”

“I don’t care about that! I want to know about the spirits of Taku!”

Miyuki meowed and jumped onto the tea table. It nearly spilled Ume’s precious tea, but she managed to save it at the last second. With a trilling sound, the cat then leaped onto Zuko’s shoulder and swatted at the air. 

“Really, Miyuki?” Natsumi hummed thoughtfully and drank her tea. Frozen in place, now that he was a cat perch, Zuko did not interrupt the silence. She set her cup down with a gummy, slightly crazed smile. “Young man, why are you bothering us when you already have a spirit of Taku with you?”

It was only the presence of the cat, and its claws digging into his shoulder, that kept Zuko seated and relatively calm. He jerked in place and his hands slammed down on the table, but he moved no further as he shouted, “I HAVE A WHAT?!”

“Youth these days!” Natsumi bemoaned to Miyuki, who meowed back and pawed at the air once more.

Ume exchanged a look with Takehiko. His grimace said exactly what she was thinking. Either this woman was off her rocker, or Zuko apparently had a pet spirit. How in the world were they going to explain this to General Iroh?

“Oh, how nice! It’s an old friend of Miyuki’s. I do love reunions. Wonderful moments in life.”

As Natsumi continued to ramble on a tangent about when she last ran into an old friend, Zuko closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He didn’t call forth any flames, but his controlled breathing indicated he was firebending in some sense. 

Suddenly, Zuko’s eyes flew open and his head whipped around to stare at the air Miyuki continued to play with. “Did you follow us from the ruins?” He asked in awe.

“Pah! There haven’t been any to call that city home in years. They all left to provide their services elsewhere. No, no, that one followed a passionate doctor to you. Hm, good at medicine he was. Unlike this one.” Natsumi pointed at Ume with a long, bony finger. “Young lady, I have half a mind to take my gift back! What a disgrace to your profession! Throw away the last of that cynicism of yours and do your job!”

Ume’s heart leaped into her throat. How did- She looked frantically from the air beside Zuko, Natsumi, and the possible last thread of sanity in Takehiko. The man merely shrugged and shamelessly drank from Natsumi’s alcohol. Useless. However, Ume was saved from having to make a response by Zuko being Zuko.

“Wait, are you saying this spirit came from Koji ? What’s its name? Can it help me figure out the fortune teller’s prophecy? Does it have any idea of where I can look for-”

Natsumi tutted, cutting Zuko off as she laboriously pushed herself to her feet. “Child, why are you asking me as if I can answer your questions?”

“What do you mean why am I asking you?” Zuko lost the battle of not unseating Miyuki as he threw his hands up in exasperation. Miyuki yowled at him as it jumped to the ground. “You can talk with spirits, why else would I be asking you?!”

“I can’t talk with spirits, whatever gave you that idea?” Natsumi said, flippantly waving Zuko off. She puttered over to her workbench and started gathering an assortment of mixing supplies. “Now, I won’t be giving you the secret to my youth, but Miyuki says you’re in short supply of strong painkillers. Come, come, this is still an institute of learning. Let me teach you my recipe. It is easy enough to find these ingredients on your travels.”

Zuko turned to Ume and Takehiko in a silent plea for assistance. There was nothing Ume could say; she was still reeling from the scolding she just received. No one had spoken to her like that since… well since she was a young student. She didn’t think it was possible to be treated like a naughty child at her age. But apparently it was.

“Why are you looking at us like that?” Takehiko scoffed. “Go learn some medicine from the old bat so this isn’t a complete waste of a trip.”

“But- the spirit-”

Takehiko rolled his eyes. “If it’s actually there, then it’s going to follow you back to the ship. Figure it out later so we can get out of here already.”

Zuko hesitantly stood, glancing to Ume for support. She waved him off to join the strange herbalist. He did so with a heaving sigh. 

“I’m not telling General Iroh about the pet spirit,” she said to Takehiko.

The deadpan stare he leveled her way made her want to smack him. “And you think I am? We escorted the prince and he didn’t get hurt. Anything else that’s happened today is Zuko’s problem to explain.”

Well, he was infuriating, but made a good point. Ume held her tea cup out for a top up of alcohol. She was going to need it to deal with Zuko’s mood on the way back to the ship.

A void of warmth danced around Zuko as he mixed a new batch of sleeping tincture. It wasn’t perceivable to the touch. Ume could place her hand in the space Zuko indicated and feel nothing different. Zuko, however, could sense it, and it seemed he couldn’t stop. His awareness through heatbending had been so inconsistent even since he discovered it. He could never rely on it; sometimes it worked passively and other times he had to assert all his focus and will into feeling the world around him.

But something changed once he reached out and sensed the little spirit that had taken up residence in the Sazanami infirmary. It was as if something in him had unlocked, and now he had to focus to turn his heat sense off . 

At night, it was a bit annoying while trying to fall asleep, but he quickly found that as long as he focused on the thrumming warmth of his egg, it was easy to block out the rest of the heat on the ship. In the day, it was taking some getting used to, but Zuko didn’t feel overwhelmed. It was no different than background noise in the mess hall during a meal.

The most exciting part of it all was, of course, the little spirit. 

“Do you remember this medicine from Koji?” Zuko asked it, smiling as it curled around the mixing bowl in answer. “Should I name you after this, then?”

The spirit quickly pulled away from the bowl and hovered on the other side of the table. Okay, that was a bust too. Natsumi never gave Zuko more insight into the spirit, let alone its name, so Zuko was trying his best to communicate with it. Communication was hit and miss, but the search for a name was so far a complete failure. Nothing seemed to sit right with the spirit.

“Is Baijiu being picky again?” Ume asked from her usual spot on the bed. Instead of dozing, however, she was reading a medical text Master Natsumi had pressed into her hands before they left the greenhouse. Zuko wasn’t sure if she was just a slow reader, or if she had read it multiple times already… 

More importantly, though.

“Stop calling it that! We are not naming our spirit after booze !”

“It’s as good as any name until it agrees to something,” Ume said with a careless shrug. “You think it helped you numb Souta’s pain, right? As any good alcohol should do.”

Zuko scowled at Ume, and did not inform her how the spirit floated a little closer to her as they spoke. No way it approved of the name. Absolutely not.

And yet, the next time Zuko stepped foot into the infirmary, it was to the sight of Ume chatting to a displacement of air beside her. His conversations with Jeong Jeong, Aunt Wu, and Byeol-ha played through his head at rapid speed. Human belief in spirits is what made them change. And even more powerful than simple belief was acknowledgment. There was an undefined power in names, especially so for spirits singled out. 

For a while now, Zuko speculated he may have fucked up in Wan Shi Tong’s library by naming the Knowledge Seekers. Toasty, in particular, seemed to have altered from its original purpose of what Wan Shi Tong used the Knowledge Seekers for… Hopefully, if Zuko ever returned to the spirit library, the giant owl wouldn’t be holding a grudge about that.

As loath as Zuko was to admit it, Ume had named Baijiu and it was probably going to stick. 

There was no denying it when a few weeks later, Ume approached Zuko during lunch with a strange expression, requesting his presence in the infirmary when he was done eating. Ume never sought him out. She refused to say why she wanted him to come, so of course Zuko shoveled in the rest of his food and raced out the mess hall, curiosity eating him alive.

A small bush warbler flew into his face the second he opened the door. It trilled and flitted around his head, devoid of any heat that came with mortal creatures. 

“Baijiu?!”

Ume, seated at the work table, laughed and leaned back in her chair. “Yeah, woke up to it like that this morning. Any idea what this means?”

“No, not really,” Zuko said. He walked over to the bed and dropped onto it in a bit of a daze. 

Baijiu followed after him, landing on his shoulder with a melodic call. It was a strange sensation to feel the light weight on his shoulder while registering a cool void of nothing. Suddenly, the frigid air of the spirit expanded, and Baijiu burst into white flames. 

Zuko yelped and tried to jump up, away, but Baijiu trilled at him and flew into his face. With another yelp, Zuko fell back onto the bed. He winced as Baijiu landed directly on his face, on his scar . His heart hammered in his chest while his brain chided him for overreacting. Baijiu’s flames weren’t hot. Of course they weren’t. They were the same heatless void of the spirit. The flames licked along Zuko’s face and left a cool, numb sensation behind. Only as Baijiu leaped into the air with a triumphant song did Zuko realize what happened.

He couldn’t feel his scar.

Even when it didn't hurt, it still hurt. There was always a tightness to his skin; a sudden, sharp stab in his eye; a bone deep ache that built up until Zuko did hurt. 

But he felt none of it.

Zuko forgot what it was like to not have pain simmering in the background of everything he did.

Tears sprung to his eyes. For the first time in years, he didn’t hurt and he was crying about it. Unbelievable. 

“The fuck was that?” Ume asked, breaking the spell with concern lacing her voice.

Right, no, this wasn’t the time for tears. Zuko sat up and rubbed his eyes dry. He smiled and he couldn’t feel the tug against his skin. It was almost too good to be true.

“Baijiu learned Akari’s gentle flame!” He shouted, holding his hands out for the spirit to land in them. “I knew it, you did help me with Souta. Can you help me finally figure out how to do it on my own?”

White, cold flames once more shrouded the small bird. Zuko grinned, about to follow its lead and call forth his own fire, but then Baijiu shined brighter. Its fire spread, and continued to spread until Zuko was also shrouded in its emptiness. But, unlike on his scar, the fire did not numb him. Instead, Zuko felt a deep rooted calmness, a serenity held within the cold fire. 

The fire went out, and a shiver ran down Zuko’s spine.

“Is- Is that what wielding the gentle flame is supposed to feel like?” He whispered, afraid of hearing what he knew the answer would be. 

Baijiu’s warble sounded apologetic. It knew, just as Zuko did, that achieving the gentle flame was impossible for him if that was the mindset for bending. But- It was fine. It was impossible for now . Zuko would just have to keep working harder. Maybe with Baijiu’s help, he could get used to that tranquility and achieve it on his own. Honestly, this was more hopeful than before, when he had a sinking suspicion but no chance of receiving help!

And most importantly.

“Well, until I figure it out… Baijiu! You’re amazing!” Zuko jumped to his feet as Baijiu took flight. He rushed to the door, giddiness easily taking over his disappointment. Bad feelings couldn't linger long when he didn’t hurt. 

“Where are you going?” Ume called after him as he was already heading down the hall, Baijiu flying right beside him.

Zuko laughed. “To find Kavi!”

High in the mountains, away from Taku, the Herbalist Institute could only watch in horror as fire lit the night sky and smoke filled the air. Days later, as the flames began to smolder, survivors began to trickle in. Wounded and exhausted, the short journey had become perilous. 

Full of youth and vigor, Natsumi threw herself into helping those who sought refuge. When they were healed and planned to return to the world to aid others, Natsumi joined them. But a life of travel was not one Natsumi strived for. Eventually, she returned to her home and passed her knowledge and skills to those more suited to a life on the move.

Her peers left, either for the spirit world or for better opportunities. Her students left to put their education to better use. Her patients left once they were healed. Only Miyuki stayed.

It was quiet here, high in the mountains with only plants and Miyuki to call companions. Natsumi wouldn’t have it any other way. Not to say she didn’t enjoy her guests when she had them, of course.

Why, her latest visitors were the first in some time! Such an interesting bunch. It was invigorating to play the role of teacher once more, both to the young boy and the disenchanted medic. Ah, if only her old students returned more often. Natsumi had several new medicinal recipes she could pass on, should they ask.

Miyuki called to her from the courtyard. They had new guests already? Natsumi was quite the popular lady these days!

“Fancy a game of pai sho?” A young voice said from the doorway, entering the greenhouse faster than Natsumi could go to greet them. 

Tricky Miyuki; she waited longer than usual to signal Natsumi about their visitors. Natsumi set her pruning shears down and turned to meet who appeared to be a young man. But there was something about him that felt familiar. A spark of fire hidden in his dark gaze. 

“I haven’t bothered with that old game in years,” Natsumi said with a huff. “It’s favored by old men who are more content to sit on their hands than to actually make their move.”

The visitor’s sharp grin brought a name to the forefront of Natsumi’s memory. Ah, yes, she remembered now. The Spider Lily of her generation had not been amongst the hesitant. Even when cornered and weathered by age, he found a way to keep his will alive and moving through his little Foxglove. If only the newest Spider Lily had inherited more of his predecessor’s will with his name.

“I knew I remembered you fondly for a reason.” Foxglove laughed as they dropped themself onto a cushion at Natsumi’s tea table. “You see, Krachiao, I’ve found flowers to be much too passive for my taste. I have the feeling you’re of the same mind?”

Natsumi shook her head, heading to her stove to get tea started for this presumptuous youngster. She knew she remembered them fondly for a reason as well. Foxglove had never been satisfied with the Order, had they?

“Krachiao, I haven’t used that name in years. Natsumi, dear, just Natsumi. I’m merely a herbalist mixing my medicine and tending my plants. There’s not much more I can do to be active . But, perhaps, it does seem like a waste for my research to be shared with those too timid to do something worthwhile with it.”

“Would you be willing to lend your expertise to another organization,” Foxglove asked, although with little question in their voice. They knew the answer already. 

“Would this proposal have something to do with the young man you left outside?” Natsumi shot back with her own grin. “Miyuki, darling, bring our other guest in, won’t you?”

As Foxglove burst into laughter, Miyuki led in their last visitor for the day. The young man might have others fooled with his rugged facial hair and stature, but he was still a sapling with much more growing to do.

“Apologies for lingering outside,” the man said with a polite bow. “Fox insisted they speak with you first.”

“Master Natsumi, how does taking on a new pupil sound.” Foxglove still did not have the decency to ask a proper question. “He’s willing to work as your assistant if you’re willing to teach him all you know to pass on to the rest of our members in the medical field.”

Miyuki wound around the man’s feet, trembling with laughter. Oh, how interesting, the way the spirits worked. 

“Yes, yes, I’ve heard of Hira’a medicine before. Quite good, quite good. If you’re as good of a teacher as you are a student, you’ll do.”

“What- How you do know I’m from-”

“But! I will not be divulging the secrets to my youth. At least, not unless you earn it, understood, boy?”

The man smiled and did not take offense. Instead, he bowed once more. “Of course, Master Natsumi.”

Oh yes, she liked this one. “Splendid, now come. Your first test! Finish making our tea! And what am I calling you? Unless you prefer boy.”

“Didn’t give him a chance to introduce himself,” Foxglove snorted, but was ultimately ignored. 

“You may call me Koji, Master Natsumi. I’m honored to be working under you.”

Chapter Text

“When I first saw you, I was immediately enamored. I wouldn’t call it love at first sight. That feels cheap, diminishing you to just your appearance and my impressions of you. But, if it was love at first sight, then I suppose I only fell even more in love with you the more I got to know you.”

Amphon sighed dreamily, hugging the toolbox she was holding to justify her presence in the engine room as Chanda worked.

“That day when we went sailing, I was so nervous to actually talk with you! And I was also embarrassed, because my sign language was horrible. But you were so kind and patient. I knew as we walked back to the Sazanami that even if my feelings were never returned, I’d found an amazing friend in you.

“You’re a truly amazing person, Chanda, and I’ve been afraid of hurting our friendship by making you uncomfortable with my feelings. But when we went to Aunt Wu, she told me that love depends on my willingness to be vulnerable and take chances. She said a great love could be born from feelings shared. So, I’ve been trying my best to build up my courage and follow her fortune.”

Raju poked his head out of the nearby machinery to give her a thumbs up.

“You’re doing great!” Yan called from somewhere else in the engine room.

Souta continued the thought with, “Now you just have to actually repeat all that to her face!”

“I’m getting there!” Amphon yelled back, heart hammering in her ears and cheeks burning with embarrassment. Everyone was so supportive and was cheering her on, but this was hard!

As if sensing Amphon was in the middle of a crisis, Chanda reached out of the machinery she was under to knock and sign for a new tool. Amphon scrambled with the tool box, nearly dropping the whole thing, and passed on the requested item. If her fingers lingered a little longer on Chanda’s hand than necessary in the exchange, well… Chanda had yet to mention it.

In the months since getting her fortune from Aunt Wu, they’d all been too busy for Amphon to spend time worrying about her love life. At least, that was her excuse whenever someone harassed her for not confessing yet. It felt like the entire ship except for Zuko and Chanda knew about her crush at this point. Spirits help her, even the head steward made a passing comment about her being love sick!

Not to say they hadn’t been busy, of course. There had been Zuko and Chanda’s visit to Pohuai, which brought the Wings more allies to consider and plot with. And then, of course, Zuko’s adventure in the ruins of Taku and discovering the Sazanami’s resident spirit. That was much more important than Amphon’s crush, especially when it encouraged Zuko’s spirit finding kick. They were extremely busy hunting down any and all rumors about spirit activity.

So yes, maybe that trip to the Great Divide would have been the perfect setting to make a love confession. Or perhaps during the Summer Solstice celebrations, when she and Chanda got separated from the group and didn’t bother trying to find them again, Amphon could have finally expressed her feelings. But it just hadn’t felt right! They had been having such a good time, enjoying each other’s company, how could Amphon possibly ruin that? No, no, the timing had to be right and she needed the perfect words to express herself.

The boys kept teasing her that today could be the day, but absolutely not. A heavy storm hit them the night before and managed to break something in the engines or boilers. All the engineers, Chanda included, were extremely busy trying to find the damage. Even if Amphon was easily convinced to play assistant to Chanda today, she couldn’t possibly distract her from her work right now. Besides, what was romantic about confessing in the engine room? Wait, actually… Chanda really did love her mechanics. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea after all…

Chanda slid out from under her latest section of machinery with a frown. “Can you call Head Engineer Panit over? Think I found the problem.”

Amphon did so as she scrambled to free her hands to sign. “Is it bad?”

It was hard not to ogle as Chanda pulled the bottom of her shirt up to wipe the sweat from her face. Oh, that swell of her stomach falling over her waistband, Amphon wanted to just- Nope, nope! She needed thoughts away from how irresistible Chanda was!

“Might need a replacement part, but it’s not a difficult or rare one. Any port we go into should have plenty to spare.”

Amphon smiled. “Good! Zuko will be glad to hear that!”

They were hot on the trail of a new rumor of spirits, after all. Zuko was in quite the mood that they were dead on the water while the engineers worked. He was probably still on the deck exercising his frustration out. 

Chanda snorted and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, because the forest spirits are going to up and leave before we can get there. He can wait a few extra days and survive.”

Weeks! Weeks the port office said. Somehow, an extremely common engine part just wasn’t to be found and for some reason it would take weeks for it to come in! It was a load of bullshit. Everyone said it was a load of bullshit. Even the soldier who told them the part was out didn’t look convinced of his own lie!

Zuko growled as he kicked a fireball into the air. Anger thrummed under his skin and he needed some sort of outlet or he was going to explode. If only the subject of his anger was here so he could take it out on the asshole.

Because it all came back to Zhao.

Fucking Zhao.

“I say, that was most irregular!” Commander Hoaran said when they reconvened in Uncle’s office after getting turned away at the port office. “I am not well versed with the mechanisms of our ships, but even I know it’s an oversight for the office to be out of something like that. It’s almost as if someone higher up is trying to hinder your search.”

Zuko had been slow to learn about Commander Hoaran, but he did finally know how there was still uncertainty as to why Zhao put him on the Sazanami . He knew now, but that didn’t mean he was thinking about ramifications as he shouted, “Yeah! I bet somehow Zhao knew we were heading back into this area and sent word out to the ports to mess with us!”

It was only as the words were leaving his mouth with Jae making a shushing motion behind Commander Haoran and Uncle dropping his head into his hands did Zuko remember he shouldn’t be speaking so freely about Zhao. But, for once, luck was in Zuko’s favor. Commander Haoran’s eyes lit up not in vicious glee or triumph, but instead with conspiratorial delight.

“Oh, the Zhao who was transferred to the navy after allegedly injuring his own soldiers? Quite the scandal that was.” Commander Haoran paused, then frowned. “Why in Agni’s name is he interfering with your quest?”

“Uh, well, you see,” Zuko trailed off, looking to Jae for support. How much was he supposed to say? She so helpfully shrugged and gestured for Zuko to just talk. Oh, whatever. How could things possibly get worse if Zhao was already back on their asses? “At the start of my journey, I had the misfortune of…”

By the end of Zuko’s brief recap, Commander Haoran was indignantly muttering to himself. “The gall to hinder our Crown Prince’s quest to end his banishment! I swear, I’ve never liked Commander Genkei. Much too full of himself, I’ve always said. I should write to Admiral Sh- Oh, no perhaps best not to. I believe she’s still cross with me. Perhaps- Ah, no, I’ve gotten the impression he is still upset with me for getting the location wrong in our last joint assault. Hm, maybe-”

No one tried to interrupt as Commander Haoran continued lamenting to himself about his poor relationships with half of the higher ranking navy officers. Uncle and Jae exchanged a wry look. When Uncle turned back to Commander Haoran in mild disbelief, Jae glanced at Zuko with a questioning tilt to her head. And Zuko was quite proud of himself for answering her with a wry look of his own.

Because he understood what was being revealed here. Finally, the question as to why Commander Haoran had been positioned as his acting captain was answered. He was high ranking with absolutely no allies to speak of, and from the sounds of it, the navy would have been delighted to get him off their hands. Jeez, Zuko sucked at politics and even he understood how bad this guy bungled his career. 

“My theory is,” Jae interrupted with a sigh. “-our visit to Pohuai Stronghold was reported upon by someone other than me. It would have painted your travels in a much more positive light than I have. I don’t know if he’s suspicious of me yet, but if we continue heading south, we will be meeting renewed vigor in blocking our progress.”

After over a year of not having any run-ins with Zhao, Zuko had naively thought that he wasn’t someone to worry about anymore. But no, clearly that wasn’t the case. It didn’t matter that Zuko had not seen the asshole in over a year, Zhao still incomprehensibly had it out for him.

So yeah, fuck Zhao. No, Zuko was not throwing a tantrum by firebending his frustrations away. His reaction was completely justified, thank you very much!

Even if this was all speculation and there was no clear evidence the port office was acting on Zhao’s orders, it was a fact that the ‘out of stock’ excuse made no sense. Head Engineer Panit himself said it was so ludicrous a claim that it had to be a lie.

If it was a lie, who knew how long they would be stuck here waiting for a shipment that didn’t exist…

Zuko landed from a series of flying kicks, chest heaving for air and sweat dripping down his face. If it was such a common part, surely no one would notice if one happened to go missing, right? And maybe the engineering department could just so happen to find a spare one they forgot about…

At the very least, Zuko could verify the office’s claim. And if he happened to bring something back with him… Who was to know?

Fatal flaw in Zuko’s plan: the warehouse was massive and he only had a name and vague idea of what he was looking for. He should have asked Chanda for more details, but she had definitely started getting suspicious so he panicked and stopped asking questions. It was a gamble whether Chanda would tattle on him to Kavi and Jae or support him, so he didn’t want to risk his nighttime plans. Now, however, he really wished he'd taken that risk.

After an hour of meticulously going through storage boxes, he felt no closer to finding the damn engine piece. His only saving grace was that the warehouse guards didn’t seem to do a sweep of inside the premises. With his heatbending, Zuko never felt them deviate from their perimeter patrols. As long as he kept quiet, he could search all night and no one would catch him. He really hoped it didn’t come to that.

Of course he had to go and jinx it.

A group of three just approached the building Zuko was in and- If Zuko’s mental map was correct, they just entered through the same window he had. Who else was sneaking in here in the middle of the night?

A combination of crates and shelves gave the wide warehouse the illusion of hallways. It was all too easy to creep around corners and stay out of sight as he approached the three unknown heat sources. Zuko heard the murmur of hissed whispers before he saw the group, but he couldn’t make out the words. 

He stopped once the group was on the opposite side of a towering pile of crates. Even this close, the barrier of supplies made it difficult for Zuko to parse more than the murmur of voices. The aisle was too long to properly spy on them from the end so… Only way was up.

Cautious of his company, Zuko scaled the storage crates and pressed himself flat on the top of them. He shimmied across the surface to peek down over the edge. As he had sensed, there were three people below him rifling through the shelves opposite the boxes Zuko lay on. They were shockingly young. There was no way they were any older than Zuko himself. What were a bunch of kids doing stealing from the Fire Nation military?

Zuko hadn’t gone through this section of the warehouse yet, so he had no idea what the kids were stealing. He inched further over the edge, squinting to try and make out what they were grabbing in the dark and through his mask’s eye holes. The lookout of the group suddenly jerked upward and drew his bow, an arrow pointed directly at Zuko. The rest of the group jumped as if the lookout had shouted for them, and whirled around, looking for where their friend was aiming.

“What do you see, Longshot?” A high voice asked from the smallest.

Instead of answering, Longshot just nodded toward Zuko and motioned his arrow downward, but returned to pointing it at Zuko. Was he asking Zuko to come down? Well, maybe he’d consider it if the guy stopped aiming an arrow at him!

“Hey!” the smallest said a little too loudly as she spotted Zuko. “Who the fuck are you? Are you spying on us?”

“Smellerbee, shut up!” The third hissed, smacking her arm and falling silent. They all did, Zuko included, listening intently for guards. When no raised voices of alarm sounded, he pointed up at Zuko. “But she’s right. Who are you? Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t have Longshot put an arrow through your creepy mask.”

An answer was at the tip of Zuko’s tongue, but he bit it back at the last second. He’d made a bit of a scene at the port office, and may have been ranting loudly to Uncle on their way back to the Sazanami . Speaking had given him away last time he was in disguise because Kori recognized his voice. While she had more time to hear him speaking out of disguise to make the connection… It was better to play it safe.

Zuko held his hands out in a sign of peace, then pulled himself over the ledge of the boxes. He less climbed down than slid a few feet before jumping to the ground. The kids were tense and had their weapons pointed at him, ready for a fight. Now that he was closer, Zuko could make out the gauntness in their cheeks, the dirt encrusted on their worn clothes, and how their weapons were clearly second-hand. He had a sinking suspicion as to why they were stealing from the military. 

“Answer the damn question,” the leader demanded, taking an aggressive step forward with his peculiar hooked swords. “Who are you?”

Slowly, so as not to give the kids a reason to attack, Zuko raised his hand and made a talking gesture with it, then crossed his fingers in an x. Shockingly, instead of growing frustrated or just attacking anyways, Longshot unnotched his arrow and slung his bow over his shoulder.

“You sign?” He asked with his hands.

It was a blessing of every kind that Chanda was placed on the Sazanami and deigned Zuko with her friendship. Grinning behind his mask, Zuko nodded and replied, “Yeah, I do. Sorry I startled you. I heard you come in and wasn’t sure if you were guards.”

There was an awkward pause as Longshot made intense eye contact with Smellerbee and signed something Zuko didn’t understand. Whatever it was, it broke the tension as Smellerbee lowered her swords and said, “Well, now you know we’re not guards.”

“Don’t sheathe your weapons,” the leader hissed, shooting a glare at his friends. 

Smellerbee shrugged and turned her back to them. “Come off it, Jet. They’re clearly not supposed to be here like us, so let’s just ignore ‘em and get what we need.”

In agreement, Longshot also turned to the shelves of what looked to be building supplies. Ropes, saws, hammers, jars and jars of nails. What in the world were they looking for here ?

Unlike his friends, Jet was not content with ignoring Zuko. He lowered his swords, but didn’t sheathe them as he took another step closer. “Well, what are you waiting for? Go back to doing whatever you were doing.”

Think, Zuko, think. Why would a group of kids be stealing building supplies? They looked hungry and dirty, so they were likely homeless. Did homeless kids try to build houses? Was that something they could do? Well, they could try, but that didn’t necessarily mean they made something livable . People like this, they were who the Wings wanted to help, right? But what could Zuko possibly offer right now?

“Move it,” Jet growled.

“You know the food storage is in a different building, right?” 

Jet paused, his eyes intently tracking the way Zuko’s hands moved, the way many on the Sazanami watched while practicing their sign language. So Zuko signed again, a little slower and simpler. When that didn’t work, Zuko threw in a few pantomimes. As understanding lit Jet’s gaze, he stepped back and barked out a sharp laugh. His friends whipped around to stare at him in disbelief. 

“Yeah, yeah we know. We’re planning on hitting there later tonight after we secure these supplies.” Jet sheathed his swords and propped his hands on his hips. “You’re an alright guy, creepy mask. What are you doing skulking about dressed like that?”

“He has a point. I nearly shit my pants when I saw that stupid mask in the dark,” Smellerbee contributed before turning back to shoving items in a bulging bag.

“It’s not creepy!” Zuko frowned and trailed his fingers down the side of his mask. It wasn’t creepy, was it? 

Again, Jet laughed. “Woah, sorry, didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. It certainly makes a statement, if nothing else. What are you trying to hide?”

“Could just be ugly,” Longshot said, so quiet Zuko almost missed it. Smellerbee’s loud laugh drowned out anything else Longshot might have added. 

“Alright, message received, Longshot. I’ll stop prying.” With an easy, affable grin, Jet winked at Zuko. Who actually winked without looking like an idiot? How did he make that look smooth ? “But I think it’s rude to our new friend here to imply he’s hiding a hideous mug.”

Now they were suddenly friends? Jeez, what was with this guy-

Two guards were approaching the side entrance to the warehouse, a disruption from their usual route from the past hour. Shit, they had been too loud, hadn’t they?

“Guards are coming,” Zuko signed just as the door opened with a bang and torchlight illuminated the end of the warehouse. 

The group burst into hissed curses and action. Before Zuko could make up his mind of how to proceed, he had a heavy bag shoved into his arms. Jet grinned and jerked his head toward the window where they made their entrance. Well, since Zuko was here, might as well help them. Maybe he could convince them to rendezvous with the Wings somehow to get better resources than stolen Fire Nation supplies.

Jet led the group at a brisk pace, not risking running just yet in hopes of staying unnoticed. The guards chatted with each other, clearly investigating the sounds inside but not expecting to find anything. Which would have made their escape easy, if not for the guards heading exactly toward the same window they were. Shit, with the way the light bounced and sound traveled, only Zuko with his heat sense knew they were about to collide with the guards. 

Hugging his bag of tools close to his body to keep it from rattling, Zuko ran to the front of the group and stopped directly in front of Jet. He shook his head and nodded in the direction of the guards’ chatter. Thankfully, Jet trusted his judgment and didn’t argue his call. Instead, he turned on the spot and confidently led them in another direction. 

They must have properly cased out the warehouse previously, because Jet wasted no time in leading them to another window. He passed the bags in his arms to Smellerbee, then tried to open the window. It only swung out an inch before catching and not budging any further. 

“Jet, hurry up !” Smellerbee hissed, dancing from foot to foot while glancing over her shoulder anxiously. 

Zuko shook his head, trying to signify she didn’t have to worry too much. The guards were still on the other side of the building and weren’t even headed in their direction yet. She didn’t seem to understand him, though, and kept glancing back. With a huff, Zuko started shifting the bag in his hands so he could sign. Jet’s even louder huff made him stop.

“Oh fuck it.” Jet stepped back, then kicked the window without warning. The sound of shattering glass drew shouts of alarm from the guards and they, naturally, started running in their direction. “Alright, let’s go!”

Was this how everyone felt when they accused Zuko of being impulsive? If so, Zuko suddenly had a lot more understanding for their nagging. He sighed and followed the trio out the window. The warehouses were built at the edge of town, so it was a short run into the cover of the surrounding forest. More shouts raised behind them, but they were quickly left behind. 

They didn’t stop running until even Zuko was feeling out of breath. Jet was faring better than the other two, but they all looked like they were in need of a week’s worth of hearty meals to support such a long run. 

“Shit, we didn’t get any food,” Smellerbee said, throwing her heavy sack on the ground, then following suit. “I’m so fucking hungry.”

Longshot set his own bags down with more grace. He sat beside Smellerbee and gently patted her shoulder. She sighed and patted his leg in response. 

“Yeah, yeah, we got what we came here for. But the food would have been a nice bonus.”

“We’ll hit up a different town on our way home. Good work today,” Jet said, leaning against a tree beside his companions, but staying on his feet. He looked at Zuko as he gently set his bag down, head tilted with a considering stare. “Good work to all of us. Thanks for the help, Blue. We were going to run into those guards if we hadn’t changed course, yeah? Where are you headed next? We could always use someone with your kind of intuition.”

“I need to go back,” Zuko signed slowly, both out of hesitation and consideration to Jet’s comprehension. “I have- um- people of my own waiting up for me.”

Jet glanced back to Longshot, who again used signs Zuko didn’t recognize. As much as Zuko wanted to ask about that, Jet continued their conversation with an easy grin. “Well, if you or yours ever need help, we owe you one for today. Or, if you ever find yourself in need of a new scene, we’re actually a lot bigger than the three of us. We’ve built a safe haven of sorts for kids screwed over by the Fire Nation. I’m assuming behind that mask, you’re not that much older than us, huh?”

“Yeah, we’re probably about the same age. But, I’m not really in need of a safe haven…” Zuko’s thoughts were whirling. There were more kids? If these three were some sort of leaders, then Zuko could imagine the rest were even younger. The building supplies were a good sign, right? It meant they had shelter, or were working on making proper shelter. But that couldn’t be safe, right? This was definitely something he should pass on to Kavi and Jae, especially if these kids were stealing from the Fire Nation to survive.

Smellerbee spoke up, pulling Zuko from his thoughts as she verbally shared Longshot’s translations for his signs. What was going on with that?

“Yeah, I get the feeling you got a place. But, we’re always in need of new members to fight the good fight against the Fire Nation. You didn’t draw those swords of yours today, but I can tell from the way you move that you’d be dependable in a fight.” Jet pushed himself off the tree and held his hand out to Zuko. “If you ever want or need to find us, stop by Quiji Forest. We’ll pick you up.”

Zuko froze mid-handshake. Quiji Forest? Really ? Was the universe actually being kind and balancing the bad luck Zhao brought him?

“The same Quiji Forest north west of here? With the rumored trickster spirits?!” He started to sign haphazardly with one hand, then finished with both as Jet let go of his other hand with a small frown. Biting back a sigh, Zuko tried again, slower and simpler. 

Longshot whispered to Smellerbee as they started getting up and gathering their ill-gotten gains. She laughed and repeated the translations for Jet, who also let out a quick laugh. 

“Rumors have been spreading about the trickster spirits?” Jet said with a smug smile as he scooped up the supplies Zuko had carried for them. “Well, guess you’ll have to come by and see them for yourself.”

With more laughter and gratitude for Zuko’s assistance, the trio took off deeper into the woods. Zuko watched them for a moment, then turned and ran in the opposite direction. He needed to get back to the Sazanami to discuss his night with Kavi and Jae to make new plans for their travels. 

“It shouldn’t have taken me this long to figure out Haoran is a political nightmare,” Jae groaned, draping her torso across Kavi’s desk upon the conclusion of explaining the day’s events. 

Kavi propped his chin in his hands and grinned down at her. “Yes, because you had such an expansive network to gather interpersonal intel about high ranking officers.”

“I should have!” Before she even finished speaking, Jae turned her head to hide her face in her arm, knocking her glasses askew. “Dammit, don’t say it. I know, I know I had to lay low and thought I was alone so, of course I wasn’t expanding in the Navy when I could have, but still . It’s so frustrating.”

“Well, just look at it this way, we’re not going to get caught unaware like this again. Zuko did good work with the Yuyan, and with Fox’s guidance they’re going to become indispensable.”

If Kavi understood Fox’s vague report correctly, they were taking on Zuko’s young Yuyan friend as their apprentice. What that actually entailed, Kavi had no idea. But he hoped that it at least meant Fox would have some backup in their travels…

“But we can’t just rely on them.” Jae sighed, pushing herself off the desk to level Kavi with a solemn frown. “We’re getting to the point where we need to spread out, Kavi.”

She was right, absolutely right. Having both Jae and Kavi sequestered away on the Sazanami , traveling at the whims of Zuko’s latest search… It wasn’t conducive to a productive rebellion. If Zhao was getting reports contradicting what he received from Jae, it was only a matter of time before the decision was taken from them.

It was selfish, so horribly selfish of Kavi to wish to stay at Zuko’s side indefinitely. Lu Ten’s little bug didn’t deserve to be alone. But neither did the world deserve to languish under the Fire Nation’s terror without hope for a better future. The day was fast approaching where Kavi had to leave another little brother behind…

The door to Kavi’s office slammed open, sending a reverating echo through the room and down the hall. Zuko winced apologetically and took extra care in closing it behind him before whipping around with an annoyed scowl.

“Why are you in Kavi’s office today? Why can’t you just stick to one place to plot in the middle of the night! I wasted so much time looking for you!”

Zuko was rarely included in the Sazanami rumor mill. So he likely didn’t know about the amusing betting pool going around as to the nature of Kavi and Jae’s relationship. Snickering to himself, Kavi was more than delighted to enlighten Zuko, and explain his and Jae’s plot to mess with the participating crew members. His mischievous joy escaped him, however, as he realized Zuko was wearing his full-black, up to no good ensemble. At least he didn’t seem to have his mask on him presently.

“Butterbee, where are you going?”

Jae snorted and said under her breath, “That’s optimistic, thinking he hasn’t just come back. ”

And sure enough, Jae was correct. 

“You won’t believe what just happened! I met this group of kids who live in Quiji Forest and I’m pretty certain they’re building some sort of home there for orphaned Earth Kingdom kids- Which I think we should try to do something about? But- Wait! Even more importantly! They know something about the trickster spirits and invited me to come visit and learn more about them!”

“Oh really, Zuko? That’s exciting to hear!” Jae said with false cheer. “Did you run into these kids wandering the Sazanami ? Or perhaps you happened to spot them on the docks?”

Zuko froze. He glanced at Kavi for help, but Kavi shook his head. Nope, he was on Jae’s side. There was no support to be found here when Zuko was being reckless. Restless energy rushed out of Zuko as he heaved a deep sigh and dropped into the chair beside Jae.

“I went out…”

“Please don’t tell us you stole that part we need for repairs,” Kavi said, trying his best to sound scolding despite his desire to laugh. Jae would not appreciate humor right now. She would definitely say it would give Zuko the wrong impression that Kavi approved of his actions. 

“Oh shit!” Zuko exclaimed, suddenly jumping to his feet again. “I was so busy helping them escape the guards, I totally forgot to go back for the part!”

“The guards ?” Kavi groaned and buried his face in his hands. Just like that, it wasn’t amusing anymore. “Zuko, honestly, at this rate people are going to start connecting the dots between these incidents and the Sazanami being in port!”

“It’s fine! No one saw us, I don’t think. Just heard us breaking a window and-”

As Zuko recounted his evening and his observations of the trio he met, Kavi and Jae shared looks with each other, confirming they were thinking the same thing without interrupting Zuko. It was highly likely these ‘trickster spirits’ were the kids Zuko just met. If they really had a growing community of orphaned children who despised the Fire Nation and had no fear stealing from them, then they would fit the rumored activity of the supposed spirits.

Food supplies getting replaced with bugs. Tents in army camps suddenly collapsing in the middle of the night due to missing rope or stakes. Weapons turning into sticks and rocks. Opening airtight explosive barrels to find them waterlogged… Human excrement being places it had no place being. It was only a matter of time until the tricks and theft became full-on confrontations between the children and the stationed army.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t as simple as offering aid, like Zuko seemed to think it was. These kids weren’t going to easily trust adults, let alone anyone from the Wings who had so much as a hint of Fire Nation visible in them…

Well, it was a good thing Zuko had his masked persona to moonlight as.

Iroh was exhausted. 

He wished he could blame it on a poor night’s sleep, but unfortunately he had awoken well rested. No, it was within the hour of waking and hearing the news from port that all his energy poured into his circling thoughts. Iroh tried to calm himself with some tea, but not even two pots before breakfast soothed him. 

There had been a break-in last night at the port warehouses. Blessings upon blessings, the guards hadn't caught sight of the culprit, and they weren't sure what had been stolen. Yet. 

They certainly would know where to check stock once the Sazanami miraculously made repairs and sailed off. Would someone observant make the connection between the previous three incidents that occurred when Zuko was in town?

The first time had been well played. Honestly, a brilliant plan Zuko crafted. Since the embezzlement scheme came out as a ‘confession,’ the official could hardly claim foul play and cast suspicion on the timing of the Sazanami being in port. 

But the second time, Zuko hadn't been careful enough and had been sighted. It had been quick thinking to grab battle plans to obscure his true objective, but it wouldn't be difficult for someone to compare Zhao’s original orders and where the former Sazanami crew members actually ended up. 

The third time, well, Iroh was just speculating. However, it seemed highly unlikely anyone other than Zuko stole a collection of Air Nomad relics. He had no proof, since if Zuko had committed the theft, he hid the evidence well. 

This time there would be no hiding the evidence.

How could Iroh convince Zuko to return what he stole and to wait patiently for the politics at port to play out? The rumored spirits weren't going anywhere. Even if they were stuck here for a few weeks, it would have no lasting impact on Zuko’s quest… 

Except, the longer they stayed, the higher the chance of the wrong person hearing one of Zuko’s Avatar Yangchen lectures. 

Iroh sighed, swirling the tea leaves pooled at the bottom of his cup. Perhaps Iroh should take Zuko on a camping trip. Surely, after months of educating the crew on Avatar Yangchen and discussing countless philosophical theories with his friends, Zuko was prepared to face the truth of the war. This could be an opportunity disguised as a setback. 

“General Iroh, sir, your breakfast!" Jingyi chirped as she let herself into the room, carefully balancing a single breakfast tray. She set it down before Iroh and smiled brightly, awaiting further instructions or a dismissal. 

“Is my nephew not joining me this morning?" Iroh asked, already accepting defeat. 

Jingyi shook her head. "He said he's going to join the crew for breakfast a little later.”

Of course he was. Because he was likely catching some extra sleep after playing burglar last night. 

"Very well, thank you, Steward Jingyi. Could you let him know I request his presence once he's eaten? And if you could bring a fresh pot once he's on his way.”

Jingyi gave a quick, bouncy bow and excused herself. Truly, even a year ago Iroh would have given pause to such treatment. He wouldn't have said anything, of course, but he would have spent some time considering how he felt about the casual lack of respect. 

Now, however, Iroh merely smiled. He was proud of Zuko dismantling the barriers between common folk and royalty. Their people should see them as human, as approachable. Iroh truly hoped to see a new age under Zuko’s leadership one day. 

Halfway through his breakfast, someone knocked on the door. When it didn't immediately open without Iroh granting entry, he frowned. Who else other than Zuko would be interrupting his meal?

When he called out for his visitor to let themself in, the last person he expected to see gracing his doorway was Lieutenant Kavi. Alarm bells immediately started ringing in Iroh’s mind. There was only one explanation for Lieutenant Kavi seeking his audience this morning. Just what sort of nonsense did Zuko get into last night?

“General Iroh, apologies for disturbing you before you’ve finished your breakfast, but time may be of the essence.” Lt Kavi closed the door behind him, then took a seat across from Iroh without further invitation. “I presume you’ve heard of last night’s break in?”

“Indeed, I have.” Iroh sighed as he pushed the remnants of his meal aside. His appetite had fled him. At least it seemed his previous talk with Lt Kavi had made its impact, if he was coming to inform Iroh of Zuko’s illegal activities. 

“Then I am sure you had the same gut reaction in believing Zuko to be the cause of the theft.”

Iroh’s jaw dropped. “Are you implying he wasn’t ?”

“Imagine my surprise as well. But, shockingly, Chanda did not wake up miraculously finding that damaged part.” Lt Kavi laughed, light and care-free. If Iroh didn’t know better, he would never guess it was a mask. “Jae also just returned from investigating, and she heard that the thieves took an assortment of construction tools and supplies. It appears to be a mere coincidence, rather than Zuko taking matters into his own hands.”

“Well, that is a relief to hear. Thank you for informing me of this, Lieutenant Kavi. It certainly puts my mind at ease.”

The unspoken question as to why Lt Kavi was the one to share the news hung between them. Was Iroh imagining it, or was there a spark of a challenge in the young man’s eyes? As silence carried on, there was no imagining the hint of a smirk pulling at the corner of Lt Kavi’s mouth. Fine, fine, Iroh would concede and give the young man some petty satisfaction. 

“Will that be all, Lt Kavi?”

“I actually have a proposal to make,” Lt Kavi said without missing a beat. “We both know that it will only be a matter of time until Zuko gets frustrated and does attempt to play bandit. Instead of trying to keep him under lock and key, I would like to accompany him on the Air Lantern to investigate the spirits of Quiji Forest while we wait for the ‘shipment’ to come in.”

It was a good idea. The best way to dissuade Zuko from taking what they needed was to remove him entirely from the temptation. After all, Iroh had just been contemplating the same solution to keep Zuko out of trouble. Should anyone else have made the suggestion, Iroh would have immediately agreed and began planning for Zuko’s departure. His difficult discussion with Zuko could wait for another day. Iroh’s presence was needed to oil the political mechanics of the port office. But with Lt Kavi, he hesitated. 

Was it unfair of him to still distrust Lt Kavi with Zuko? There were no more incidents like what happened with the Southern Water Tribe fleet, but Iroh also hadn’t allowed Lt Kavi to accompany Zuko on any of his trips off the Sazanami since. Shockingly, Zuko had yet to question Iroh about this, which could only mean Lt Kavi provided alternate explanations for his absence in Zuko’s recent adventures. It would have been all too easy for Lt Kavi to retaliate against Iroh over this, and yet he hadn’t taken the opportunity to…

A show of goodwill was necessary if Iroh could ever hope to bridge the gap between Lu Ten’s partner and himself. 

“That is perhaps the best course of action to keep Zuko out of trouble,” Iroh said with a wry smile. If Lt Kavi found his agreement shocking, his expression didn’t give it away. “All I request is that should anything of note happen on this trip, I am not kept in the dark again.”

Lt Kavi’s answering smile was too big to entirely trust. “Of course, sir, I’ve learned my lesson.”

Iroh could only hope the rumored spirits of Quiji Forest were no more active than those of Taku’s ruins. And that Zuko did not pick up another pet spirit…

“Zhen! Zhen! Did you see the absolute relic docked nearby?!”

“I could have sworn it was a historic display or something, but I saw people actually working on it!”

“Well, I heard it’s the banished prince’s ship.”

“No way. How in Agni’s flaming armpit has he been going around on that thing?”

“Maybe he hasn’t, and that’s why he’s still banished.”

The quartet of youngsters snapped their mouths shut as Zhen set her brush down and finally looked up from her report. When she found herself in charge of a military transport ship’s engine department, Zhen had initially been grateful for Zuko’s meddling. Transport ships were the dream detail for engineers. Not so much for the head of the department. Zhen had forgotten until she was on the damned ship that the Engineers Guild put apprentices on noncombatant ships. 

After playing babysitter for a bratty prince, four eager and hardworking apprentices were hardly difficult . But after playing babysitter for a bratty prince, Zhen had a hard time treating her apprentices the same way she had been during her apprenticeship days. The rest of the department called her soft and teased her relentlessly for the way her apprentices followed her around like little turtleducklings. And yet, Zhen couldn’t help but continue making sure the kids were adjusting to ship-life and overpraising them for their good work…

“Did you catch the name of the ship?” Zhen asked her rapt audience.

Jifang nearly fell over as she jumped forward with her answer. “Yeah! The Sazanami ! Some of the soldiers were joking that it moves so slow it only makes ripples.”

Not to be outdone, Tejima barely let Jifang finish her sentence as he spoke up. “Well, I heard they’re waiting for a shipment of an engine component that’s super common so there’s no way the port office isn’t withholding it.”

“Really? That’s gotta suck,” Itsuki said with a frown. “Why would they fuck with ‘em like that?”

Baishi cocked her head and said airly, “Head Engineer Zhen, weren’t you part of the banished prince’s crew before this one?”

The other three whipped around to stare at Baishi in surprise, then looked back to Zhen with wide eyes. They spoke over each other, about to resort to childish elbowing to be heard. Baishi returned Zhen’s disgruntled glare with an innocent smile. Little shits, the lot of them. 

Zhen snapped her fingers and the squabbling instantly stopped. “Did anyone catch the name of the head engineer?”

While Jifang, Tejima, and Itsuki drooped in disappointment, Baishi stepped up from behind them. “Some of the Sazanami engineers were out drinking last night. The head wasn’t there, but from what I overheard, I believe his name is Panit.”

Oh, Zhen knew of Panit. She’d never personally worked with him, but she’d gotten transfers who’d worked under him a couple of times. There was a lot to learn about a guy based on how his subordinates acted. A weight that had been pressing down on her chest since she left the Sazanami lessened some. At least Zuko had been in good hands from a ship upkeep standpoint. 

But, more pressingly.

“The fuck were you doing in a bar last night, Baishi?” Zhen asked, leveling the girl with a stern glare.

Baishi didn’t wilt under Zhen’s scrutiny nor her cohort's intent stares. She merely shrugged and said, “You’re defensive about the prince whenever the rest of the crew gossips about him, but also try to keep attention away from the fact you were part of his crew. I figured that you would want to know how the Sazanami has been doing, but circumstances would make openly inquiring after them difficult for you.”

“You sly dog!” Tejima jeered, jostling Baishi’s shoulder with a laugh. Jifang and Itsuki shared similar sentiments as they piled on Baishi, clinging to her with added admonishments for keeping them out of the loop.

Zhen sighed and fought back a smile. These kids were damned spoiled under her. She really needed to whip them into shape so they didn’t get their asses kicked in their first assignments, but that could wait for later. For now, she wasn’t above using her turtleduckling’s competition for her approval. 

“Alright, one of you, find out what the Sazanami needs and see if we have any spares. Two of you, see if you can find and strike up a conversation with some youngsters from their crew. They’re probably on port leave if they’re stuck waiting for a bullshit shipment. Baishi, discreetly get me a meeting with Head Engineer Panit.”

“Hey! How come Baishi gets a special task?!”

“Yeah, the rest of us are just ‘one of you?!’ This is clear favoritism!”

Zhen silenced the protests with a click of her tongue. “Can anyone else do discreet ?”

The three loudmouths shared a look, then started arguing over who would do what of the other requests Zhen made. Baishi smirked and dismissed herself with a quiet nod. That one was trouble. Zhen really hoped she and Zuko didn’t meet… That was a combination made for giving General Iroh a headache. 

But it was Zhen who was in for a headache over the following day leading up to the meeting Baishi arranged for her. Now that the apprentices were aware there were circumstances surrounding her leaving Zuko’s crew, they were bursting with questions. There was only so much Zhen could say without understanding the current state of Zuko’s travels. 

When Bun Ma and Ju Long shared the truths Zuko uncovered, they asked the former Sazanami crew to join their support of Zuko’s goals, even those he had yet to fully accept. Zhen was bold enough to critique the Fire Lord and war, but she wasn’t crafty enough to do it in Zuko’s name. Especially so when Zuko himself was still undecided about the path he would take. His young friends had absolute faith that he would come to the conclusion that he needed to stage a rebellion to end the war, but Zhen had her doubts. She had witnessed firsthand the hold Zuko’s father still had on him. 

So Zhen dodged the kids’ inquiries the best she could with promises to discuss more after meeting with Panit. She had a feeling Baishi understood the implied dangers of discussing the banished prince, but the girl thankfully kept her suspicions quiet from the others for now. 

An hour past the arranged time for Panit to meet with her, Zhen was deep in her cups. Fuck that guy for standing her up. She took back every single decent thing she thought about him. How the hell was she going to catch up with Zuko’s exploits if she didn’t have an in with the engine department? She couldn’t remember who’d survived Zhao’s purging, and even if she did, they hadn’t been part of Bun Ma and Ju Long’s briefing. Would they be trustworthy enough for Zhen to probe after Zuko’s actions?

Damnit, Zhen was not a political mastermind. If only Hifumi had managed to set up some sort of line of communication before they were all spread across the military with their new assignments…

“Ancestors wept!” A cheerful voice exclaimed beside Zhen’s table. A young woman dropped into the chair across from Zhen with a wide, ditzy smile. “Zhen, is that you? What are the chances! How have you been?”

Zhen looked up from her cup, scowl freezing on her face as she realized she recognized the woman. She had been one of the gossip, Shen’s, posse. A steward who… Ah, this was the girl who stole her performance report out from under Zhao’s nose. Which meant…

A slow, lazy smile spread across Zhen’s face as she loudly called out for the barkeep to get another drink for her friend. If she slurred her words a little more than she would with her current level of inebriation, well who around here would know her tolerance?

“Jingyi, what a coincidence running into you. I could be better at the moment, my date stood me up.”

“What? How horrible!” Jingyi exclaimed, accepting her booze with a cutesy giggle. “Well, I bet he’d be a total bore anyways. Lucky for both of us that I ran into you!”

She raised her glass up for a toast, which Zhen easily met. As their glasses clinked together, Jingyi leaned forward and said, “Let’s get completely plastered like a couple of silly women and go talk about girly things in private.”

Zhen grinned and threw back half of her glass. “You have some catching up to do, then.”

“Oh trust me, you’re the one who needs the catching up,” Jingyi said with sly glint shining through her ditzy grin. She chugged her drink and called out for another round. “Bun Ma winning the bet is honestly the least shocking of developments as of late.”

It was a good thing Jingyi already called for refills, because the rest of Zhen’s drink ended up splattered across her front and the table. If Jingyi wasn’t taking the piss and that was the least shocking thing, Zhen seriously needed another damned drink.

This was way bigger than Zhen thought. It was going to be hard keeping it from her turtleducklings. But, as she was soon going to learn, sharing everything with her apprentices was exactly what Zuko’s growing resistance group was hoping for from her. A dragon needed its wings, after all.

Chapter Text

Reds, oranges, and yellows adorned towering trees despite the season. Surrounding villages spoke of Quiji Forest’s unique foliage with fondness, not with wariness like when they spoke of the forest as a whole. For generations, Quiji Forest was a normal, albeit picturesque, part of life. It was only in the past few years that residents of the area regarded the eternally autumn forest with a sense of unease. 

Zuko struggled to understand how this could happen in only a few years. 

Every step under the autumn leaves sent chills down Zuko’s spine. In his hunt to find spirits and understand Aunt Wu’s prophecy, he learned what it felt like to walk through spirit-touched lands. There were pockets of absence of heat, either tied to a specific thing like a statue or it blew through the wind in bursts. Perhaps if he returned to Foggy Swamp with his newly developed heat sense, it would feel the same as Quiji Forest.

Because there were undeniably spirits at work in this place. The eerie absence of heat permeated the trees, the ground, the very air. It wrapped around Zuko, filling him with a pressing desire to turn around and leave . Villagers reported the very same feeling when they tried to use paths that took them through the heart of the forest. Anyone who pushed through the feeling found themselves at the forest’s edge, not necessarily where they intended to go, with hazy memories and significant time passed.

It was a good thing that Kavi allowed Zuko to make contact with Jet’s crew by himself. Losing their trust by having a random companion aside, Zuko doubted Kavi would have been able to resist Quiji Forest’s spirits as long as Zuko. Even aware of the spirits’ intentions, Zuko still would have struggled to ignore them without the help of Baijiu. 

Bringing as much spare food as he could for Jet’s crew was a given, but Jae and Kavi suggested he bring medical supplies as well. Zuko felt like an idiot for not thinking of something so obvious. He rushed off to the infirmary to pack not only medicine, but easy recipes as well. If he could teach some of the kids how to make important medicine, they wouldn’t have to rely on goodwill or theft. 

Ume found him and Zuko braced himself for a scolding. Instead, she asked who he was running off to help. When he gave her an edited version of meeting the Earth Kingdom kids, Ume huffed and started lecturing him on what would be the most useful medicines for a group of orphans living on their own. Then she instructed Baijiu to accompany him and help where needed.

She expected the little healing spirit would help relieve the pain of reckless children. Who could have predicted Baijiu would be hard at work helping Zuko . Nestled between his neck and his overstuffed backpack, Baijiu kept sending out its numbing flame to ward off the oppressive presence of Quiji Forest’s spirits. It was careful not to wrap Zuko up in its flame, creating a small barrier a few inches off of his body whenever Zuko felt the forest’s absence of heat concentrate on him. 

A blazing beacon cut through the treetops, much too big to be a passing animal. 

“Baijiu, cut your flames!” Zuko whispered, freezing where he stood. Baijiu warbled anxiously, but obeyed after Zuko hissed, “Hurry!”

Thankfully, the Quiji Forest spirits did not rush Zuko the second he had to fend for himself. The absence of heat continued to hang around him, but it almost seemed hesitant compared to earlier. In contrast, the shining heat of a human confidently landed on a tree branch above Zuko, out of sight. 

Zuko grinned under his Dark Water Spirit mask as he turned toward his hidden observer. It seemed Quiji Forest’s human residents finally found him.

In the hazy realm between dream and memory, a long-forgotten face smiled down at him and caressed his cheek.

“Remember ——, once we pass the boundaries, we must not use our voices. To keep our path home safe, the spirits will rip the knowledge away if you utter a single word.”

He frowned, young and still learning the ways of the world. “But why? Don’t they trust us?”

“Of course they do. They trust and love us so dearly. But this is the price to pay for their powers, so we must respect it. Understand?”

He didn’t, not really. But he nodded nonetheless. How could the spirits take his memory of home away? Mom was just saying that to scare him. Right?

Then fire ripped everything away.

In the quiet Earth Kingdom village where they were visiting distant relatives, he did not know of the war. Home was not touched by it. He was too young to understand the dangers of their travels. But it did not matter if a young boy did not understand war; it would still find him and destroy his life.

As flames filled his vision, he saw his mother fall. Any promises of silence were forgotten as he cried out for her. His voice broke and he could not remember his home. What did his house look like? What did the pond he and his friends played in look like? Who were his friends again? 

Somehow, he escaped the inferno which stole his family and his memories. He wandered, lost and alone until he found refuge in a home full of lost children. And yet, they did not understand him. They too had lost their families and their homes, but they still had their memories. They did not, could not, understand why he refused to speak. So even surrounded by fellow orphans, he was alone.

“Who cares if you can’t talk! At least you’re not a dickhead!”

With Smellerbee, he was no longer alone. And with her, he gained a new name. 

Longshot and Smellerbee eventually left the orphanage where neither of them fit in. They sold their labor to a passing caravan and ventured into the world. It was dangerous and scary beyond the halls of the orphanage, but they were fearless with the other at their side. And the longer Longshot spent with Smellerbee, the less he thought of his forgotten home. Of course he didn’t remember it, he had been so young when he left. There was nothing like spirits at play. 

They lived and they grew together. When the worst almost passed and they could have been forever separated, Jet came into their life.

Jet gave them a purpose, a goal to their aimless wandering. He encouraged them to hone their martial abilities beyond self defense. When they took down a bandit group, Jet looked at the hideout suspended in the trees and declared it theirs. It was Jet who suggested they take in other children like themselves, those who were too damaged, too angry to fit in at the orphanages.

Although Longshot never forgot his distant longing for a forgotten home, he began to see this forest and these children as his new home, new family. However, in the years since they called Quiji Forest home, Longshot began noticing something strange about it. Or perhaps, about himself.

It began when the bandits who built the treetop hideout tried to take it back. They had wandered the forest for hours, unable to find the place they created, giving ample time for Jet to organize a plan to take the bandits out for good. It was odd, but no one else dwelled on the bandits’ strange behavior. They were just stupid adults.

Something tickled Longshot’s hazy memories.

Longshot had always been a good shot, hence the name Smellerbee bestowed upon him. However, the longer they lived in Quiji Forest, the truer Longshot’s aim became. Everyone praised his abilities, and Smellerbee teased him for practicing in secret. However, Longshot had not been practicing more, let alone in secret. He did not know why his abilities bordered on the preternatural…

Something tickled his hazy memories.

As they grew in numbers and increased their attacks against the Fire Nation, they began calling themselves Freedom Fighters. There were many close calls, and the Fire Nation was not clueless. They knew the cause of sabotage originated in Quiji Forest. And yet, they never found the Freedom Fighters’ hideout. They, too, wandered the forest in confusion as the bandits once had. They never wandered for long, because the Freedom Fighters’ lookouts always quickly caught sight of them. 

His companions had yet to notice how Longshot always persuaded their patrols to go in the same direction as the investigating Fire Nation soldiers. Longshot, himself, did not want to acknowledge his strange premonitions and did his best to not draw attention to them. As the others laughed about the growing rumors attributing their activity to trickster spirits, Longshot kept his hazy memories to himself.

So when his usual instinct of someone entering their forest had a strangeness to it, Smellerbee didn’t question him when he randomly chose to patrol. She laughed and expressed her own need to stretch her legs and easily accompanied him. They leaped across the treetops, seemingly at random, until Smellerbee caught sight of someone familiar on the ground. 

“Hey, isn’t that Blue?”

They were perched on a branch, high off the ground and in the cover of eternally red leaves. There was no reason for anyone below to look up. Freedom Fighters were experts at moving undetected. And yet, a creepy, grinning blue mask whipped up to stare in their direction.

“What the fuck?” Smellerbee hissed, leaning into Longshot in her surprise. “That’s just a coincidence, right? No way he’s looking at us.”

Blue reached behind him for a staff strapped to the top of the bulging bag on his back, then faltered and dropped his hands. His head moved in an exaggerated show of looking around before facing their direction again. Blue signed up to them in wide, easy to see signs, asking if they were friend’s of Jet. They were different signs than Longshot would use, so Smellerbee didn’t understand them. However, she was more focused on Blue noticing them than what he was signing.

“He’s so creepy!” Smellerbee shuddered. “I don’t know what Jet was thinking, inviting him to visit.”

“He helped us,” Longshot signed with a small shrug. And the tingling in the back of his mind said Blue meant them no harm. “I can handle him if you want to go get Jet.”

Smellerbee started to brush his offer off, then realized it wasn’t an empty platitude since Longshot could easily communicate with Blue. She frowned, uncertain about leaving Longshot’s side with a stranger. But her unease with their masked visitor won out as she sighed and clapped Longshot on the shoulder. 

“Cool, thanks. I’ll be fast. You can start leading him to the hideout, we’ll intercept ya. See if you can suss out more about him. I don’t care what Jet thinks, he’s way too suspicious for my tastes. Who runs around with a mask like that in broad daylight?”

As Smellerbee ran off, she missed how Blue clearly tracked her movement. She would have been even more unsettled by it. Longshot was only curious. Did Blue have strange instincts and premonitions like him? It would explain how he guided them away from the guards in the warehouse. Could he make sense of Longshot’s hazy memories?

For some reason, Blue continued staring the direction Smellerbee ran off to and did not turn back to Longshot. So when Longshot dropped to the ground next to him, Blue obviously wasn’t expecting it. He leaped away and drew his twin swords. Anyone else, Longshot would have drawn his bow in response, but his instincts told him to raise his hands in a show of peace.

Blue was quick to sheath his swords as he recognized Longshot, and signed a quick apology. With his mask blocking his expression, it was hard to get a proper read on him. Longshot didn’t think he was imagining the intense scrutiny he was under as Blue asked if he’d been with someone else.

“Yes. Smellerbee went to get Jet. I’ll lead you to our base.”

Blue nodded and signed his thanks as he fell into step with Longshot. He made no mention of how he seemingly sensed Smellerbee but not Longshot, and Longshot did not broach the topic either. But he wasn’t going to ignore it as he usually did with his premonitions. There was something about Blue, and Longshot wanted to figure it out.

He had a feeling Blue wanted to figure him out in turn…

“Today we welcome a special guest!” Jet said, his voice carrying across the dining platform and drawing the attention of the gathered Freedom Fighters. Dinner was usually a casual affair with Fighters coming and going as they pleased. Only after successful raids or when new members joined did they make a point of eating together to celebrate. They’d never held a party to welcome a guest before, granted they’ve never had a guest until now. “You might remember hearing about our close call in a Fire Nation warehouse the other day. It was thanks to Blue’s quick thinking that we escaped with the Fire Nation’s supplies from right under their noses!”

The Freedom Fighters cheered and shouted their usual taunts about the Fire Nation, but Smellerbee did not join in. She scowled at her heaping plate of rice, meat, and vegetables. This wasn’t like when Pipsqueak joined them and improved their hideout with his construction experience. Or when The Duke joined them and improved their sabotage efforts with his mischievous mind. Or when Sneers joined them and improved their meals with his creative cooking. 

It was an obvious give and take. In exchange for their skills and knowledge, new Freedom Fighters received a stable home and community. Even if a new member didn’t have something notable to contribute, their labor and loyalty were enough to bring them into the fold. 

If anyone else showed up with medical experience, Smellerbee would have been elated to welcome them to the Freedom Fighters. Sickness and injury almost separated her from Longshot forever , so Smellerbee was always distinctly aware of the Freedom Fighters’ vulnerability in that regard. Anyone else, Smellerbee would be cheering and shouting with her friends.

But Smellerbee couldn’t celebrate Blue suddenly showing up with food, medical supplies, and an offer to teach them how to make more medicine. How could she let loose when no one else was treating Blue like the suspicious fucker he was?

He wasn’t staying! It was obvious that he wasn’t going to accept Jet’s unsubtle invitations to join them. So if he wasn’t staying, what the fuck did he have to gain by giving them all this shit? Charity didn’t exist in this world. Everything was transaction based. Blue wanted something in exchange for his aid, so why was Smellerbee the only one worried?

“When I invited Blue to come visit us, I never imagined he’d come bearing so many gifts!” Jet laughed, carefree and confident as he wrapped up his speech Smellerbee had been tuning out. “Tomorrow morning, anyone interested in learning how to be a doctor from him, gather here. Now let’s dig in!”

Laughter and chatter bounced around the trees as the Freedom Fighters did just as Jet instructed and dug in. It had been some time since they had full plates like this. Rice was one of the easiest things to steal and store, but they had to eat it plain more often than not. Sneers did his best to spruce it up, but he could only work with what they had. Meat and vegetables was a damned delicacy, and yet Smellerbee could hardly taste anything.

The only other person not eating with a gusto was Blue, whose hands were busy communicating with Longshot and Jet. Not that he could eat easily with his weird mask still firmly in place. When they just met, sure, it made sense for him to keep it on. Now, it was another point against him in Smellerbee’s books. Yeah, he was probably disfigured or traumatized or some shit, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t suspicious as fuck.

Smellerbee shoved a bite of food in her mouth and mechanically chewed. Even if she couldn’t enjoy it, she wasn’t stupid enough to turn down a full meal. Her gaze flickered away from Longshot’s small smile as he and Blue’s hands moved way faster than anyone else could keep up with. Not that even Smellerbee, the best of the Freedom Fighters with sign language, could understand them right now because they weren’t using Longshot’s signs and she hated it. 

Few people realized what a chatterbox Longshot could be. Even Smellerbee once fell to the incorrect assumption that because Longshot didn’t like using his voice, he had little to say. She’d felt like the shittest friend ever when they traveled for a bit with a merchant who knew sign language and she watched her friend light up as he conversed with a complete stranger. Of course she made sure to learn after that, but half the time Longshot didn’t need to sign because Smellerbee understood him better than anyone else. As a result, though, Longshot had the tendency to fade to the background among the Freedom Fighters as he let Smellerbee voice his thoughts for him to the group. 

It was obvious that some of their friends were only just now realizing how animated Longshot could get. There were a lot of curious glances his and Blue’s way, and Jet’s frustrated attempts to join the conversation weren’t helping detract attention. Some fuckers even were looking at Blue like he was impressive or some shit for holding a conversation with Longshot. Just because they were unobservant and totally missed Longshot and her lengthy discussions didn’t mean Blue was special!

Sneers caught her eyes from across the table and snickered at her. “Jealous?” he silently mouthed out.

“Do you wanna go, dickhead?!” Smellerbee shouted, jumping to her feet and drawing her knife.

“Oh, come on. I was just teas-”

Someone called out for a fight, and cheers erupted egging them on for some dinner-time entertainment. Smellerbee grinned and leaped across the table, more than happy to oblige and take some of her frustration out on Sneers.

A tussle and thoroughly ass-kicked Sneers later, Smellerbee was feeling a little better. She returned to her plate with enthusiasm. Longshot bumped their shoulders together with a slight pinch to his eyes, a silent inquiry to her bad mood. The food in her stomach suddenly felt like a rock. Damn, was she jealous? Was she the only one suspicious because of something stupid like feelings?

No, no, absolutely not. The creep was suspicious as hell even if she took Longshot out of the equation. 

“I’m fine,” Smellerbee signed, rather than said. Just to prove she could in case Blue got the wrong idea. “Just a bit tired.”

Despite that stupid mask in the way, Smellerbee didn’t think she was imagining the sudden scrutiny she was under. She shot Blue a smug grin, then made a point to join the conversation for the rest of the night. 

And then, the next day, she was the first to show up on the dining platform for Blue’s doctoring lesson. As she waited, the only other Freedom Fighters to show up were Sneers and one of their few girls, Peony. Sneers gave Smellerbee a wide berth, cautious in case her bad mood had carried on through the night. Meanwhile, Peony smiled brightly and started chatting Smellerbee’s ear off. She was so weird and Smellerbee still didn’t understand why she chose to join them, but she wasn’t a jerk like most cute, good-smelling girls were, so Smellerbee liked her.

When Blue finally showed up, he wasn’t alone. Jet led him across the bridge to the platform, arm slung over Blue’s shoulders as he laughed. A few steps behind them was Longshot. They all looked tousled and dirty. What the fuck—did they go sparring and not invite her?

“Oh! Are you joining us too?” Peony asked, clapping her hands together with a shining smile. “I wish more of us were here. There can never be too many doctors!”

“You can’t be too surprised, P. You know most of us are fighters.” Jet turned a skeptical look to Sneers and Smellerbee. “There’s actually a bigger turnout than I thought there would be.”

Sneers shrugged. “I already do most of our cooking. Figured medicine can’t be that different, right?”

Blue nodded enthusiastically and gave Sneers two thumbs up. 

Then all attention was on Smellerbee. She scoffed and crossed her arms. “What? I’ve been the most vocal about trying to kidnap a doctor or something. So I should at least try learning. But are you two here to join us?”

“Nah, I was just dropping Blue off to make sure he didn’t get lost. Let’s have a rematch later, Blue. Everyone else, have fun!” Jet gave them a salute, then jumped off the platform to slide down a rope. Freakin’ drama queen.

Smellerbee turned to Longshot, who nodded toward Blue with a small shrug. Right, none of them knew Blue’s sign language. It would be hard to learn from Blue if they couldn’t talk with him. Besides, it wasn’t like Blue could flaunt his easy rapport with Longshot in the middle of teaching them, right?

Nope.

Wrong, so wrong. Smellerbee had to admit defeat. She was jealous, so stupidly jealous. What the hell were they still talking about after dinner last night? Blue had told them, through Longshot, a ridiculous amount of stories about some old Avatar he was obsessed with. Smellerbee didn’t give a shit about the Avatar, but for some reason Longshot found the topic interesting and kept engaging with Blue. 

It was a good thing Sneers and Peony wanted to learn about medicine too, because Blue’s suspiciously charitable offer would have been wasted if it were just Smellerbee. She didn’t have the patience for cooking, let alone mixing medicine. Add in how distracted she was watching Blue and Longshot chat as Sneers and Peony worked, and it was a miracle she hadn’t blown anything up yet. Well, you probably couldn’t make medicine explode by accident… Hopefully.

Because Smellerbee was more focused on Blue and Longshot than the lesson, she noticed the second things got weird. Whatever Blue signed, it made Longshot freeze. His expression didn’t change much, but Smellerbee recognized the rigidness in his shoulders and the pinch in his eyes that meant he was upset. He said something and Blue flinched away. After that, their side conversations stopped and Longshot only translated for Blue for the rest of the afternoon. 

Jet appeared as soon as they started wrapping up, laying the praise on thick for Sneers and Peony’s success, then dragged Blue away for another spar. He didn’t find it strange that Longshot and Smellerbee turned down his offer to join them. But Blue kept looking back, his grinning mask doing little to hide his forlorn glances to Longshot. 

“Alright, do I need to kick his ass?” 

Longshot shook his head. He stared at his hands, but they stayed still as he said, “Just a misunderstanding.”

No it wasn’t. Because Longshot then left her when he was clearly upset. Sneers muttered an awkward farewell and made a quick escape. Peony patted Smellerbee’s arm with a small smile.

“I’m sure if something’s actually bothering him, he’ll come to you once he thinks it over.”

Smellerbee let out a deep sigh. “Am I being stupid about Blue? Is he not as suspicious as I think he is?”

“Well of course he’s suspicious!” Peony laughed. “You are being stupid in not noticing that Jet isn’t letting him go anywhere by himself, and Longshot isn’t just socializing. He’s obviously trying to figure Blue out since no one else can talk with him.”

“Shit.” Smellerbee smacked her hand over her face. It was obvious now that Peony said it. This was how Jet worked, all sweet and honey to lower others’ guard and get a read of them. His usual routine was disrupted by Blue’s sign language. Of course Longshot would step in to help. And Smellerbee should have immediately realized that instead of getting jealous. Ugh, she was fed up with herself.

At least Smellerbee knew herself well enough to know that her flubbed doctor lesson wouldn’t have gone any better even if she’d been focusing. So this afternoon wasn’t a total waste of her time. And now she could go in with a clear head to help Longshot and Jet.

“Thanks, P, knew we kept you around for a reason,” Smellerbee said, smacking Peony’s shoulder with a wide grin. 

Peony shoved Smellerbee away with a half-hearted complaint that was undermined by her laughter. As Smellerbee jumped off the platform, Peony called after her, “Just don’t be too mean until he finishes teaching me how to be a doctor!” 

Now that Smellerbee had her head on straight, she didn’t need any reminders of what to do. What had she been thinking? She was one of the Freedom Fighters best trackers! And who was her partner in crime? Longshot, obviously. Of course she was all out of sorts with Longshot taking on a different role than usual. If Longshot had to socialize in place of Jet, that meant Smellerbee had to do enough for the both of them.

The rest of the day, Smellerbee followed Blue around their camp. Just like when she and Longshot first stumbled upon him, he somehow knew where she was. Either he was stupid and didn’t realize turning his whole masked face her way was an obvious giveaway, or he was taunting her and making sure she knew he knew she was there. Whatever the reason, Smellerbee took it as a challenge. 

Through trial and error, Smellerbee figured out exactly how close she could get until Blue noticed her. By the evening, he’d obviously figured out what she was doing and stopped looking her way. But it didn’t matter, because Smellerbee had figured out his other tells. The guy’s face may have been covered, but he was still an open book. His shoulders visibly tensed seconds before he turned to look at whoever was approaching from a blind spot. Even after he stopped letting Smellerbee know he knew someone was there, his head kept twitching like he had to keep reminding himself not to look. 

Dinner was an awkward affair since Longshot was still distant after their earlier misunderstanding, which put a damper on Blue’s mood. Jet pushed through the tension with seemingly easy cheer. He guided the conversation to a raid they’d been planning, and how it would be useful to have another capable fighter. Blue dodged the suggestions that he join them easily enough with the language barrier between them, but Smellerbee had a feeling Jet was going to convince Blue one way or another to join them at least for the raid before he left.

After dinner, Blue got roped into demonstrating how his glider worked. All it took was one offer to take Jet for a ride and he had a line of hopeful joyriders. Smellerbee watched outside of Blue’s detection radius. Yet another weird thing about him. Being a fan of an Air Avatar was one thing, but recreating and figuring out how to use an airbender invention? Suspicious as hell, but damned if Smellerbee wasn’t starting to have more favorable suspicions…

Longshot landed next to her and gently bumped their shoulders together in silent question. 

“This is about how far I have to stay hidden from his creepy sixth sense. Took all day to figure it out.”

He nodded and settled in a more comfortable position next to her. They watched Blue taking others through the air for a bit, then Longshot broke their silence.

“What would you do if you learned your family was Fire Nation?”

Smellerbee damn near fell out of the tree in her surprise. She squawked and scrambled to wrap an arm around the tree branch they were perched on. Even if she hadn’t managed the quick save, Longshot had a strong grip on her other arm. Together, she easily returned to her spot beside him, heart hammering in her ears. Whether it was from her almost fall or his question, Smellerbee honestly couldn’t say.

“It wouldn’t fucking matter. This is my family now.”

Longshot hummed and pulled his leg up to prop his head on his knee. He offered no more on the topic. Smellerbee was bursting to bombard him with questions, but that wouldn’t get him talking. If anything, it would make Longshot clam up even more. Dammit, Smellerbee hated having to be patient.

Eventually, Blue’s gliding trips came to an end and Longshot was summoned to play translator again. Smellerbee continue to watch from a distance, thoughts running wild. What the fuck did Blue say to Longshot to make him consider the possibility of him being Fire Nation? No, it didn’t matter if his family had been Fire Nation or not. They’d died by fire, and Longshot hated the Fire Nation for it.

There wasn’t much more socializing once Jet announced his intentions to start preparing tomorrow for the raid and everyone dispersed to get a solid night’s sleep. Again, Jet’s offer to join was dodged by Blue as he excused himself for bed. Jet and Longshot stayed put, probably discussing Blue. Smellerbee, however, took off. 

Construction was slow with their limited resources. Pipsqueak refused to build huts on new platforms until they were thoroughly tested and secure. It made sense, but it meant there were quite a few secluded platforms in their complex. Yet another suspicious thing about Blue, how he chose to set up camp as far away from others as possible.

Smellerbee calculated Blue’s sixth sense wouldn’t reach the highest branches of the tree he chose, so she raced ahead of him to get in place before he arrived. Her calculations were right, because Blue didn’t so much as twitch as he reached the platform and let himself into his tent. Smellerbee expected to get bored in a few minutes when nothing happened. What could possibly happen? Keeping watch rarely meant seeing something.

Well, she was wildly incorrect in her assumptions. Because not even five minutes after entering his tent, a soft glow emanated through the canvas. Who the hell carried around a lamp? Why would Blue need one right now? And then, even more baffling, Smellerbee heard a voice. She couldn’t decipher the words, but there was no doubt it was the murmur of someone talking drifting up to her perch. 

Oh she was going to strangle that masked creep. This whole time he could talk?! Why the everloving badgermole shit had he been making them go around in circles with his weird sign language? Even more importantly, who was he talking to right now?

Smellerbee took a deep breath and pressed herself against the trunk of the tree. Perhaps if she moved slow enough, Blue’s sixth sense wouldn’t pick up on her moving closer. Inching along, hugging the rough bark of the trunk, Smellerbee tried to make out what was going on in Blue’s tent. The light inside was so soft that it did not provide enough contrast to make clear shadows of the occupants. It sounded like there was only one voice from the flow of the murmurs, but was Blue really just talking to himself? What a weirdo.

The light flickered out and Smellerbee froze. A bird warbled somewhere in the quiet of the night. Following it, louder than anything else so far came a groan and a disgruntled, “I’m fine!” Then a brighter light filled the tent. “Ugh, fine!” The same voice exclaimed, then quieted down again so it was only a hint of words that drifted to Smellerbee’s ears. As quickly as it appeared, the brighter light went out.

This was so suspicious. 

She was about to start inching down again when the flap to Blue’s tent flew open and he stepped out. His mask was pushed up atop his head, which meant its eerie grin was staring right at Smellerbee. Spirits, she hated that mask. Although his face was still blocked from sight, his voice was clearer out in the open. Blue’s conversation partner became obvious as he raised his hands and a small bird took flight. It was too small to be a messenger bird, and yet it had a scroll as big as itself tied to its back.

Smellerbee pushed off the trunk and hurdled down to the platform. Blue jumped and started to turn in her direction, but she was too fast for him to hide. It was too big of a drop for her, and it hurt like a bitch when she landed, but Smellerbee pushed through the sting and rolled through the impact to jump up in Blue’s face.

“Shit,” they cursed at the same time.

“That’s fucking gnarly. No wonder you wear a mask,” Smellerbee blurted out, the shock of finally seeing Blue’s face overshadowing everything else. She’d never seen someone with a facial scar like that, and her stomach churned imagining how he could have gotten it.

At the reminder his mask was up, Blue started to reach up for it. Smellerbee tried to catch his wrist to stop him, but Blue dodged and retreated a few feet back. His mask stayed up. He glanced behind her, in the direction his bird flew off in, and Smellerbee remembered more pressing matters.

“Who the fuck were you sending messages too?! Are you a fucking Fire Nation spy?”

Blue pressed his lips together and started to pantomime a response, since she didn’t know his sign language, but Smellerbee cut him off with a snarled, “Come off it. Even if I hadn’t heard you chatting with your stupid bird, you just definitely just said shit. I fucking heard you.”

For a moment, it seemed like Blue was going to stubbornly keep up the act, but he sighed and his shoulders dropped in defeat. “No, I’m not a Fire Nation spy. The message was for my friend. I said when we first met that I have people of my own, remember?”

“So where are they? Why are you parading around with that creepy mask and pretending you can’t speak, huh? Do you not realize how fucking suspicious you are? I’m tempted to not even listen to your answers and just kick you out on your ass!”

“Calm down!” Blue scowled and crossed his arms. “I’ve gotten in trouble before, being recognized by my voice while out in disguise. I wasn’t sure if I could trust you all either, you know. But I wanted to offer my help, and since you knew sign language, I figured this would be easier. I mean, it hasn’t really been because I didn’t realize only Longshot knows common sign language, but it was fun trying to learn some Yuyan sign language in the process so-”

“ Yuyan sign language?” Smellerbee cut in, a solid rock forming in her stomach. Longshot’s earlier words echoed in her mind.

Blue lit up with a bright smile. “Yeah! I wasn’t sure at first, because I only know one Yuyan sign, but Longshot knew what it meant so my suspicions must be right! I should have realized it was a touchy subject, since I’ve heard him talk, so he must have lost his way home. But I thought he’d be happy to know I know the Yuyan and could connect him with them and-”

“Koh’s fucking lair, shut up for a second,” Smellerbee snapped, head spinning. “Why do you think Longshot is Fire Nation? He’s not! He hates the Fire Nation! They killed his family, you know. He’s one of us. He’s a Freedom Fighter!”

Finally, Blue didn’t have an immediate response. He frowned and his remaining eyebrow scrunched into the scarred tissue mirroring it. Any mystique he held was thanks to his mask, because it was obvious from his expression how deeply he was thinking about what to say. Smellerbee couldn’t help but wonder if Blue knew how easy he was to read.

With a sigh, Blue dropped down on the platform and crossed his legs, gesturing for Smellerbee to join him. “So, for starters, the Yuyan aren’t technically Fire Nation. This is kinda a long story, if you’re willing to hear me out. But, you guys are Freedom Fighters, right? You’re fighting for freedom from the war. But, me? My people? We’re fighting for a- Well freedom from the war too, but also, a theoretical freedom to bring balance to the world. And the Yuyan are part of that effort. They’re not your enemy.”

Smellerbee crossed her arms and glared down at Blue. “I’ll admit, you have me curious. But I’ll only agree to listen if you promise to prove your dedication to our cause.”

“Of course!” Blue agreed without a shred of suspicion. Sucker.

“Cool, so join the discussions for the raid tomorrow because you’ll be coming with us. I’ll even be nice and let you keep up your mute charade since we’re both still sussing each other out,” Smellerbee said with a smirk as she sat down. 

Blue obviously hadn’t been expecting her to say that. His lip raised in a sneer, which he quickly smothered with a petulant frown. “Fine. But I won’t condone any killing.”

Condone. What a dickhead with his fancy words. Smellerbee liked Blue better when he didn’t talk. Whatever, she still got the gist of what he meant. 

“We do what we have to to stay alive. So the better you are at helping out, the less chances of anyone dying, right?”

“Right,” Blue reluctantly agreed. He shook his head and shot her a hopeful smile. “So, this means you’ll listen to my explanation?”

Smellerbee sighed as if it was a huge burden. “Yeah, fine, tell me everything.”

She bit back a grin as Blue launched into some stupid fairy tale about lion turtles. Blue was fucking lucky Jet didn’t know what was hiding behind the mask. If Blue was this much of a sucker with Smellerbee playing him, he would never be able to leave the Freedom Fighters if Jet worked his magic. Which was lucky for Smellerbee, because no matter what he revealed, she did not want this weirdo sticking around.

Okay, maybe she was still a little jealous, but who was to know?

The wondrous sound of laughter helped calm Atka’s mind as she went over her notes. Her girls could only distract their guest for so long. If Atka didn’t figure out a new job for Tapeesa before the end of the day, there was no telling what she would do next.

If it weren’t for Hakoda, Atka never would have learned how Tapeesa not only made contact with the Wings before any of them, but also assisted said Wings member craft an entire, believable identity as a girl from the Qutailaq Tribe. Because of course she did. Atka really shouldn’t have been surprised.

When Atka first rallied the women of the South Pole to join her in infiltrating the Earth Kingdom’s shores, Tapeesa had been too young to join them. And yet, she was a prominent presence even from the beginning, accompanying her mother who sailed between Atka’s base town and the South Pole to relay messages and goods. Earlier this year, her mother decided Tapeesa was old enough to sail on her own and told Atka, “Good luck, she’s your headache now.”

If only Tapeesa wasn’t such a phenomenal sailor, it’d be easier to bench her.

After being granted independence, Tapeesa took it upon herself to personally deliver messages to Atka’s scattered spies. Atka had been completely unaware of it until one of her usual messengers thanked Atka for sending Tapeesa her way since she’d been wary about sailing through an area that had a recent increase in Fire Nation presence. At least that surprise had been somewhat expected, unlike Hakoda’s thanks for the imaginary Suluk.

As much as Atka would like to keep Tapeesa out of the front lines, there was no denying her skills and eagerness to contribute to the war effort. Her youth made Atka’s throat seize in terror at the mere thought of sending her through treacherous waters, but she was no younger than Hakoda’s boys had been when the warriors set out. It was illogical to limit her involvement, especially when Tapeesa went and got involved anyways if she felt like she was being treated like a child.

A sudden eerie quiet from the other room immediately put Atka on edge. Sudden silence from children was never a good sign. Rather than rush out to check on the girls, Atka quietly crept to the doorway to peek out of her office and hopefully catch them in the act of whatever they weren’t supposed to be doing.

Thankfully nothing was broken or on fire. Her daughters and Tapeesa were glued to the window, whispering to each other. The faint sound of Yawen’s scolding tone filtered through the crack in the window. Who was Yawen talking to outside like that?

“-have half a mind to turn you away!”

“No,” Tapeesa whined.

Fen patted her shoulder consolingly. “Don’t worry, Mom would have done that already if she really wasn’t going to let them come in. She’s just making sure her point sticks.”

“Should we prepare some tea?” Dongmei whispered, face literally pressed against the window with wide eyes. “I think I remember which tea she liked last time she was here.”

“I don’t think they’re a girl this time. What if the kind of tea they like changes depending on who they are?” Lihua said, tapping her chin thoughtfully.

“That’s stupid, why would the kind of tea you like change with your name?” Fen argued.

Tapeesa silenced them both with a contemplative hum. “Actually, there might be some merit to that idea. Changing your preferences with your identities is a good way to really get into character and not get found out.”

Atka had a pretty good idea as to who her wife was scolding outside their house. 

“Alright, enough gossiping and go make whichever tea you want.” She had to hold back a laugh as all four girls whipped around with wide, innocent eyes as if they’d been caught doing something wrong. “I’ll go save Fox from your mother.”

“You’re so nice, Mama,” Dongmei said with utmost sincerity. “If I was you, I wouldn’t save them from Mom’s lecture after they tricked you.”

Fen grinned at Tapeesa. “Actually, shouldn’t you be out there getting scolded with them?”

“Excuse you, I’ve done my penance.” Tapeesa trotted after Atka as she headed to the door. “And I’ve been on my best behavior, right?”

Atka sighed. It would have been impossible to continue enforcing her no-contact restriction with Fox physically here anyways. “Yes, yes, the ban is lifted.”

With an elated cheer, Tapeesa raced out the door and flung herself at the Wings’ spymaster. For all their stealth and trickery, they were not prepared for a tackle hug. Fox managed to catch Tapeesa only for both of them to go tumbling to the ground. Atka followed at a more leisurely pace and freely laughed at Fox begrudgingly returning Tapeesa’s hug from the ground as they glared at their young companion silently laughing at them.

“Oh, I’m sorry dear, I was hoping we could resolve this and not disrupt you from your work,” Yawen said, leaning over to press a kiss to Atka’s cheek. 

“Loathe as I am to admit it, this might be the solution to my Tapeesa problem,” Atka whispered against Yawen’s cheek as she returned the kiss. Arm wrapped around her wife’s waist, Atka grinned down at the spymaster still on the ground with an enthusiastic teenager clinging to them. “I thought I’d have plenty to say next time you dared show your face, but it seems Yawen took care of that for me. What’s brought you back so soon? Your last correspondence left me under the impression that you’d be working deep in the Fire Nation for a while.”

Fox sighed heavily, pushing Tapeesa off enough to sit up. She let go of them, but sat almost pressed into their side with wide, shining eyes awaiting their words. Fox’s companion had composed himself enough to stop laughing and was now staring at Tapeesa warily. Was that a hint of jealousy Atka detected?

“Well, that was the plan, but then I received word that Hui’s discovered a bunch of orphans turned bandits and my bleeding heart compatriots can’t just ignore them.” They blew a strand of hair out of their face, which didn’t help much with the loose, masculine style they had it in. “So here I am, yet again solving real-world problems as they run around hunting for spirits.”

Yawen frowned. “Hui’s mission has its own importance.”

“Besides, you didn’t have to personally come to ask for our assistance with this,” Atka quickly said. She did not want to sit through another debate about Hui’s goals and their impact on the war effort, which came up far too often last time they hosted Fox. “Of course we’ll do what we can to help those children.”

“Ah, well, I suppose me coming here isn’t Hui’s fault as much as this one’s.” Fox jerked their head back at their companion. They paused and turned around to face him. “Or I suppose, in a roundabout way you’re only here and making demands because of Hui, so this is still Hui’s fault. By the way, this is my new apprentice. Say hi, apprentice.”

“Apprentice?!” Tapeesa repeated, there was not a hint- no, that was blatant jealousy. 

The boy spared her a quick, smug smile, then gave Yawen and Atka a deep bow. As he rose from his bow, his hands started moving to say, “I’m Byeol-ha of the Yuyan Archers. It’s an honor to meet you.”

“Yuyan Archers?!” Tapeesa repeated aloud, jealousy instantly turning to curiosity. 

Fox snorted as they finally got off the ground. “Hui suspects a little lost cousin of Byeol-ha’s is running around with the bandit children. So, here we are.”

“Well, I tasked the girls with putting some tea on. Let’s continue this discussion inside.” 

Atka gestured for their guests to head in first. In a blink, Tapeesa glued herself to Byeol-ha’s side and started barraging him with questions in sign language. The boy looked taken aback for a moment, then lit up with a bright smile and started answering with enthusiasm as they went inside. Fox groaned as Atka turned to them with a bright smile of her own.

“No, don’t you dare-”

“So, you’re taking on apprentices now?”

Fox childishly covered their ears and ran past Atka, but they surely knew she was not about to drop the topic. Helping the orphaned children was a given, and it wasn’t something Atka would ever bargain over. But she had plenty of other political pieces to play to expand Fox’s mentorship. It would only be fair that the Wings’ also extended their espionage expertise to their Water Tribe allies.

If Tapeesa gave Fox as much of a headache as she gave Atka, well, that was justice for the Suluk trick.

Chapter Text

For the first time in a long, long time, Longshot dreamed of his mother. He couldn’t remember her voice or her face, but he remembered the warmth of her embrace, the shape of her hands as she told him how much she loved him. Her signs were the same Longshot taught Smellerbee, then Jet and the rest of the Freedom Fighters. He knew they were special, different from what other people in the Earth Kingdom knew, which made it all the more important to him that his new family knew this language, not the other one.

Had he really been teaching a Fire Nation language this whole time?

“Does this mean anything to you?” Blue asked during his medicine lesson, followed by a sign for welcoming a family member home after a long journey. 

It took Longshot a moment to process why he felt off kilter. It was a sign he’d never taught his friends, had never signed himself. And yet he knew it. He knew it the same as he knew when someone entered their forest or that his shot would land true. 

His lack of response was enough for Blue to make assumptions. “I’ve been thinking so since our spar this morning! Our different sign languages and your preference to not talk already had me suspicious, but your archery made me certain you’re Yuyan! How long have you been lost? How did that happen? I recently met the Yuyan Archers, they’re the ones who taught me that sign. They said to use it to show I'm an ally if I ever meet anyone from the Yuyan and need help, but I figured the other way around works too! I can send word back to them that you’re here and-”

“I’m not lost,” Longshot said, steel in his voice as he stared down Blue’s unblinking, masked face. “Focus on teaching.”

Blue backed down, his demeanor sheepish and guilty as he continued the lesson and no longer tried to chat with Longshot.

Perhaps it hadn’t been fair of Longshot to shut Blue down so harshly, but he could barely think through his pulse pounding in his ears, let alone translate the rest of Blue’s lesson for the others. He escaped to sit in his thoughts as soon as he could, ignoring the prickling sensation of Smellerbee staring after him. What would she think of him if she knew? Because as much as Longshot wanted to fool himself into thinking Blue was wrong, he knew in his heart that wasn’t the case.

He couldn’t wallow long in uncertainty. He needed to know how Smellerbee would react. So he found her observing Blue from a distance and spoke the words he feared to acknowledge in his own thoughts.

“What would you do if you learned your family was Fire Nation?”

Smellerbee almost fell out of the tree, but her words calmed the tempest in Longshot’s heart. 

“It wouldn’t fucking matter. This is my family now.”

Of course she didn’t care. Before the Freedom Fighters, before Jet, it had been them against the world. Smellerbee would never turn on him, no matter what Blue revealed about Longshot’s hazy memories.

It was with that security that Longshot dreamed of his mother. With the certainty of Smellerbee’s unconditional acceptance, Longshot woke up and considered the reality of his origins falling in the Fire Nation. He remembered the vague rumors of the Yuyan Archers taking children from orphanages, even Earth Kingdom ones. No one knew where they went, but everyone knew that the Archers were fearsome warriors who didn’t speak. 

Perhaps they didn’t speak because it could erase memories of their home…

Blue possibly knew the answers to Longshot’s questions, but did he want the weight of knowledge? Were answers worth the confirmation that Longshot had once been the enemy? Smellerbee wouldn’t care, but could the rest of the Freedom Fighters overlook his birthplace? Could Jet?

Longshot needed more time to think.

So as the meeting for their upcoming raid began, he pointedly shut down Blue’s attempt to apologize for overstepping. 

“If you’re really joining us for the raid, focus on that,” Longshot signed, sitting far enough from Blue to make a point, but still easily translate for everyone else. Blue shoulders dropped and he heaved a disappointed sigh. What was the point of that mask if he projected every emotion regardless?

Smellerbee dropped down next to Longshot, smug as could be. “Blue! Glad you could join us! Hope you have something useful to contribute. Really show your dedication to the cause and all.”

“Don’t put so much pressure on him, Smellerbee!” Jet laughed, all carefree and smiles despite the glint in his eyes. “It’s enough that he decided to join us after all.”

Blue shrugged awkwardly and gave Jet a thumbs up, which prompted Jet to throw an arm around his shoulders and brief him on what everyone else already knew about the Fire Nation camp they wanted to hit next. 

Raid meetings usually didn’t last too long. The raid group rarely changed, so everyone knew their roles. So Blue's addition meant they had to find a place for him to fit in their well-oiled machine. Rather than be a useless nuisance, Blue shockingly had useful information to share. 

“Night isn’t good only for cover, you know,” he signed, a little hesitant but quickly gaining confidence as Longshot focused on him. “Firebenders are slightly weaker at night. They draw their strength from heat and the sun. So, that’s why winter is an off season for the Fire Nation military. It also means that the upcoming new moon is the safest night to hit them, since there won’t even be the moon’s reflection of the sun to give them a boost in the night. You should hit then.”

Smellerbee sneered once Longshot finished translating. “Don’t you mean weshould hit then? What’s the point of joining the planning if you’re not going to join the raid?”

“You’ll be a valuable asset, as I knew you would be even before I saw you work those swords!” Jet said, breaking out his soft, consoling smile. “The new moon is at the end of the week, right? Don’t worry about feeling out of place. That’s plenty of time for you to practice synchronizing with us.”

The Duke pounded his fists on the table with a wild grin. “You gotta come, Blue! You can fly me in on your glider, right? Jet, we can plan for him flying me in on his glider, right?!”

“If Blue can help the Duke with his sabotage, that’d free me up to grab an extra crate or two of supplies,” Pipsqueak said with a contemplative hum. 

Sneers lit up at the idea. “Imagine if we could bring back a barrel of cured meat or something! That’d last us a while!”

“That sounds like a really good plan, and it’d be no problem carrying the Duke on my glider but…” Blue fidgeted for a moment, then signed in resignation. “I need to leave by the end of the week to rendezvous with my people again. And that’s when the new moon is…”

No one else had a chance to speak at the end of Longshot’s translation because Smellerbee jumped up, one foot on the table as she leaned across it into Blue’s masked face. “Well, guess you’ll just have to leave after the raid if it’s such a tight deadline.”

Everyone froze, shocked by Smellerbee’s sudden aggression. Not that her aggression was shocking, but she usually did her best to reign it in when Jet was trying to win someone over. Jet looked ready to strangle her, but Blue’s audible sigh had him throwing on a neutral expression. 

“I really can’t miss my deadline, or I’ll be in a ton of shit. So I need to leave right after the raid,” Blue conceded. 

Even before Longshot could translate, Smellerbee was sitting back down with a triumphant smirk. What in the world was going on between them? Jet quickly took over in wrapping up the meeting after that, throwing Smellerbee wary, annoyed glances. She remained smugly silent. 

The rest of the day, Longshot shadowed Blue as he played translator during his doctor lesson, then joined in the raiding party training session. Occasionally, Blue tried to pick up casual conversations with Longshot again, but Longshot ignored every attempt. He didn’t want to even risk Blue bringing up yesterday’s topic.

Finally, night fell, Blue retired to his tent, and Longshot was free from translator duty. After stewing on it all day, there was no hesitation to Longshot’s steps as he went straight to Smellerbee’s room. 

“I want to ask Blue what he knows about my old family, and I want you to be there with me,” he signed the second she pulled her tarp door out of the way. 

Smellerbee snorted and pulled him inside. “About time you came to me. Have you been sitting on this all day?”

“I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do until now,” Longshot defended, a blush filling his cheeks in the face of Smellerbee’s nonplussed reaction. Was this really not as much of a big deal as he was thinking of it as? “There’s… more to it than just possibly being Fire Nation.”

“Yeah, the Yuyan thing, right?” Smellerbee dropped onto her bed, then cackled at Longshot’s shock. Her signs were flippant and dismissive. “I heard all about it from Blue. Explains your freaky all-knowing thing in the forest and how you’re too good of a shot.” 

Longshot sat heavily next to her. She knew? Who else knew about his premonitions? 

“Oi, don’t give me that look. Of course I’ve noticed how you always know when someone’s mucking about in our forest. What do you take me for? And, no, I haven’t told anyone else and no one else has figured it out. They’re a bunch of blockheads.”

“But, how do you know about the… Yuyan thing?”

Smellerbee grinned. “Oh, Blue doesn’t shut up once he starts talking. I’ll tell you everything he told me, but let’s wait until after the raid if you still have questions, y’know? Better he keeps feeling off-kilter so Jet doesn’t get too deluded into thinking he can get Blue to stay. Because he’s clearly not sticking around.”

“That… makes sense.” Longshot felt a weight lifted from his shoulders knowing he could talk to Smellerbee first and organize his thoughts before going to Blue. Hopefully anything too shocking would be softened by Smellerbee delivering the news-

Wait.

“How and when did you talk to Blue about this?”

Smellerbee’s smile was all teeth as she gleefully exclaimed, “Fucker can talk!”

Longshot could feel a headache coming on. He sighed and settled more comfortably on Smellerbee’s bed. He was probably going to be here for a while.

Zuko deeply regretted his decision to communicate in sign language with the Freedom Fighters. Longshot kept abandoning him the second medical lessons with Peony and Sneers finished, which left Zuko at the mercy of Jet and the Duke for raid preparation training. No one was ever allowed to accuse Zuko of lacking self restraint ever again. He deserved an award or something for not blowing up at the Duke for being an obnoxious brat. How many times did Zuko have to suffer being leaped on while midair? Jet was barely any better because he kept laughing and taunting Zuko to do better staying steady after the Duke landed on him.

Combine that with Longshot and Smellerbee giving him the cold shoulder, Zuko was done with the Freedom Fighters. If they didn’t want his help, then screw them! They had no idea how close Zuko was to packing up and leaving their ungrateful asses. The only thing holding him back doing just that were Peony and Sneers. They at least understood how valuable Zuko’s medical knowledge was and were properly appreciative. 

Maybe all of this would have been more bearable if not for the hovering absence of heat from Quiji Forest’s spirits. Or was it Longshot’s spirit? Because it certainly seemed to be making its invisible but intrusive presence known around Zuko ever since he upset Longshot. And it was obviously centered around Longshot since he still didn’t register in Zuko’s heat sense.

Smellerbee said she would talk things out with Longshot, so why was it taking so long? She told him to wait until she approached him to discuss his offer of the Wings’ help, but this was seriously cutting it close. Every time he tried to approach her, he was turned away with a stern ‘later.’ Was this her way of saying they didn’t want aid? The least she could do was tell him that!

Language barrier aside, Zuko had a feeling his offer wouldn’t go over well with Jet. For all that he was the Freedom Fighters’ leader he was… uncomfortably similar to Zuko in his recklessness. It was pretty obvious that Smellerbee and Longshot did a lot of behind the scenes planning and decision making, probably without Jet’s knowledge. They were basically the Jae and Kavi of the Freedom Fighters. So all Zuko could do was wait and count down the days to the raid.

The raid he was trying really hard not to think about despite the daily training in preparation for it.

This was different from the raid on the Fire Nation caravan with the sandbenders. Then, Zuko had been a reluctant participant who only went along to serve as extra protection for Sarnai. Not to mention, it’d been a merchant caravan. Now, however, not only was Zuko an active participant but this was a military camp they were raiding! 

But, the military was objectively strangling the prosperity of these lands… The occupied town closest to Quiji Forest was gutted of its original inhabitants. Zuko and Kavi had passed through in their investigation of the forest. Any earthbenders had obviously been shipped away… or killed. Besides the soldiers, there were very few men in the village, and all of them were clearly of Fire Nation descent. It left a sour taste in Zuko’s mouth. He’d been through a lot of occupied and colonized territories in his travels but… never one so recently taken. 

Bringing an end to that was the Wings’ goals and that goal was, technically, treason until Zuko could end the war. Even if joining the raid was treasonous of him, Zuko could already be branded a traitor for working with the Wings. So, if Zuko could plan and plot hypothetically with the Wings, he could actively work with the Freedom Fighters. That was what he had to keep telling himself every night to fall asleep.

Finally, finally, the worst week ever was coming to its end. Zuko woke early with a pit in his stomach, but a weight off his shoulders. No matter how bad the raid went, Zuko was leaving these obnoxious children tonight. He packed up his camp with a smile behind his mask. The weather was nice in Quiji Forest for the middle of summer, but it was still uncomfortably hot under a theater mask. He couldn’t wait to rid himself of this place and stupid disguise.

Baijiu flitted about as Zuko packed, a welcome heatless presence, unlike the Quiji Forest spirits that refused to do anything besides annoy him and conceal Longshot. It landed on his shoulder once he finished tying up his tent.

“Sorry, I’m not leaving just yet,” Zuko whispered, tilting his head so he could gently nudge the bird shaped spirit with his chin. “But you’re welcome to go ahead of me. You’re probably fed up with those other spirits hovering around us, huh?”

From the way Baijiu puffed up its feathers and shook its whole body, Zuko took that as agreement. He laughed and reached up to pet the spirit properly. “I’ll be fine for today. Let me write a letter, and then you can go relax with Kavi.”

Now, Kavi couldn’t get mad at him for only technically meeting the deadline by coming back at the last possible second. Zuko was letting him know to expect him late! Sure, he still hadn’t told him about the raid and his part in it but… easier to ask for forgiveness and all that. If he found out about it, of course.

It finally occurred to Zuko as the Duke shoved rocks and dirt in the joints of catapults, loosened the spokes of wheels, and pissed over assorted things that the rumors of spirits which brought Zuko to Quiji Forest were not rumors of the actual spirits residing there. No, it took an embarrassingly long time to figure out, but Zuko got it now. It was the Freedom Fighters’ actions which spread rumors of spirits through the ports, that then likely got muddled with the rumors of the area's real spirits..

“Oh quit it with the princess act,” the Duke hissed as he pulled his pants back up. He escalated from peeing on things to leaving a huge turd on the seat of a wagon. Apparently Zuko’s mask wasn’t enough to conceal his disgust. “Jet says this is psycho warfare!”

Psychological. Psychological warfare , Agni help him Zuko was going to explode from keeping his mouth shut. These children were infuriating, uneducated brats! Just a little longer and he could wash his hands of them. Good riddance. They were a problem for other Wings in the future, if Smellerbee and Longshot actually accepted his offer before he left tonight.

“Alright, I got way more done than I thought I would!” the Duke said proudly. He shoved Zuko in what he probably thought was a playful way, but just made Zuko contemplate infanticide. What was even the point of the training they did together when the Duke had done everything on the ground? “Well, let’s catch up with the others and see if we can help carry more supplies.” 

There was no way for Zuko to properly reply, so he could only sigh and open his glider. At least they practiced enough that the Duke didn’t shout excitedly every single time they took to the air anymore. As quiet as a passing breeze, Zuko summoned the summer heat around them to shoot them upward when jumping off the side of a catapult should have just sent them to the ground. It was a good thing the Duke was a stupid brat who didn’t understand basic physics. 

This particular encampment was quite large, so without Zuko taking them above the tents it would have been pointless for the sabotage team to assist the raiding team rather than heading for the rendezvous point. Maybe that had been Jet’s grand plan… Whatever, it was impossible to figure out the logic of these children. 

From their aerial view, it was easy to see the camp’s nighttime activity. There were a few soldiers still awake and socializing between their tents, but didn’t look likely to start wandering. The patrolling soldiers were following the route the Freedom Fighter scouts had observed and looked none the wiser of the camps’ intruders, the placement of their supply tent in the middle of the camp giving them false security. With his heat sense, Zuko picked out the Freedom Fighters hiding between the tents to keep watch along their escape route. For all his disparaging of them, they actually were pretty good at this.

Zuko landed him and the Duke right outside the supply tent. He almost fumbled the landing as he realized the one he sensed standing guard outside the tent was Longshot. He’d gotten so used to Longshot’s freaky blending in with the forest spirits that he totally forgot Longshot had a presence back in the port where the first met. Did that mean his spirit was confined to the forest boundaries? Was that a point in favor or against Zuko’s Yuyan theory?

He was so focused on trying to detect a spiritual presence in Longshot’s bow, something he hadn’t been able to do with Byeol-ha, that he completely missed the conversation next to him. The Duke shoved him and Longshot raised an eyebrow, waiting for an answer. Shoot.

“Are you going to help or not?” Longshot signed.

“Of course, why else would I be here?” Zuko shot back. Dread filled him even as he signed. Blindly agreeing to something with the Freedom Fighters probably wasn’t the best idea, but it was too late now.

Longshot relayed his answer. The Duke pumped his fist in the air and raced into the tent. Under Longshot’s judgemental stare, Zuko followed after him. A pile of bulging sacks sat at the entrance, ready to grab upon leaving. The Freedom Fighters were scattered inside. The Duke gleefully rubbed his hands together and sprinted off, leaving Zuko alone and confused. If they already gathered everything to take back to the hideout, what were they still doing?

The strong smell of urine finally reached him from behind his mask. Zuko bit back a gag. Of course. More sabotage. What was their obsession with peeing on things?! Zuko didn’t care if he agreed to help, he absolutely would not be joining in.

“Oh perfect, Blue, come help me go through these.” Jet was suddenly at his side and dragging him through the tent to a makeshift desk built out of empty supply boxes. “Being a doctor and all, you’re probably faster at reading than the rest of these guys.”

The documents were mostly supply records with the occasional personal letter or two, likely belonging to the soldier responsible for cataloging everything. There probably wasn’t going to be anything useful but Zuko did as asked. It was much better than joining the supply ‘sabotage.’ 

A bright, block printed paper caught Zuko’s eye. He pulled it out of the pile in disbelief, staring at the glaringly pink headlining performer this circus was advertising. No way. Surely it was an uncanny likeness. There was no name on the flyer to assure Zuko his suspicion was impossible. What could she possibly be doing all the way out here?

Jet’s low whistle jerked Zuko out of his thoughts. “Well, I will say, she’s pretty for Fire Nation. That your type, Blue?”

Barely able to contain his gut reaction to shout his denial, Zuko balled up the flyer and threw it over his shoulder. He flipped Jet off, no sign language needed in this case. 

The asshole laughed and patted Zuko’s shoulder. “No need to be embarrassed, Blue. We’re lacking in cute girls, I get it.” Ugh, Zuko was so done with these children.

Zuko ducked out from under Jet’s mocking pat and pointedly resumed reading. But as soon as Jet concluded there wasn’t much to find in the documents and started calling the Freedom Fighters to get ready to leave, Zuko snatched up the crumpled flyer and shoved it in the folds of his shirt. 

It was a good thing Zuko and the Duke joined them, because even Pipsqueak couldn’t carry everything they scavenged to take back to camp. Laden with bags, the group started the nerve-wracking journey out of the camp, picking up their lookouts on the way. Well, it was nerve wracking for the rest of them. Zuko had the benefit of sensing if any soldiers came too close, which they shockingly never did. This was scarily easy. Then again… Zuko had managed to break into two military offices even before he fully developed his heat sense. 

He wasn’t sure if he should be thankful for the Fire Nation military’s incompetence or offended by it.

Once they were a decent distance from the camp, the group suddenly stopped and the Duke bounded over to Zuko with a maniacal smile. “Alright Blue, let’s go!”

“Go where?” 

Longshot didn’t translate for him, instead pining him with a judgemental stare. He signed, “I knew you weren’t listening. You and the Duke are going to fly back over the camp and drop the extra supplies we grabbed over them.”

The Duke cackled as he collected sacks of eggs and flour from the others. 

“Isn’t that wasteful?”

“Would you rather we rained ignition fuel or nails over the camp?” Zuko’s shoulders dropped and Longshot nodded, knowing the conversation was over. “Once you’re done, Smellerbee and I will escort you on your way out of the forest. Then we can talk.”

Finally! Did they really need to wait for the last possible second? Zuko raised his hands, ready to let his complaints be known.

“Blue! Let’s go!” The Duke shouted and Longshot waved him off.

Oh, whatever, but Zuko wasn’t going to let Longshot and Smellerbee get off without a scolding for leaving him hanging all week. Time to be a glorified air bison for a snot-nosed brat. 

“I love psycho warfare!” The Duke exclaimed the second they landed at the rendezvous point. 

If Zuko wasn’t torn on his loyalty in this situation, he too would probably be gleefully bragging to the others. The shouts of alarm and confusion as eggs and flour rained over the camp was, unfortunately, objectively hilarious. 

Smellerbee smacked the back of the Duke’s head. “It’s psychological warfare, dumbass.”

“Yeah, that’s what I said!”

Jet laughed, ignoring their bickering to hold his hand out to Zuko. “Well, you were a great addition to the resistance effort while you were here, Blue. Sure we can’t convince you to stay longer?”

Yeah, absolutely fucking not. A mere shake of his head wasn’t enough to express that, but he was mature enough to keep his thoughts to himself. Let the stupid children think they were great hosts. Accepting Jet’s handshake was all he was going to agree to.

“Figured, but doesn’t hurt to ask,” Jet said with a shrug. He gave Zuko’s hand a squeeze before letting it go. “We won’t forget your help, though. You’ll always have allies here, if you need them.”

Secure in the knowledge that only one of them understood him, Zuko signed, “I’m not the one who needs allies. You could have allies from me if you all weren’t a bunch of obnoxious assholes who ran me around and ignored me for a week.”

Longshot obviously did not translate that. He instead made up bullshit of Zuko appreciating the offer and his regret that he had to go. As the others crowded around Zuko to say their final farewells, Longshot signed behind them, “We’re still talking, like I said.”

“We’ll see Blue off,” Smellerbee offered as if it was a generous idea that just occurred to her. No one found it odd as she grabbed one of Zuko’s packs to support the illusion she was being helpful. Longshot grabbed another and they parted from the others.

As soon as the rest of the Freedom Fighters dropped out of Zuko’s range, he slowed with the intention of stopping. Smellerbee elbowed his side and kept walking. “Not a fucking word until we’re out of the forest. Not taking any chances of someone overhearing us.”

Zuko could confidently say no one would overhear them, but fine, he could wait a little longer. What was a few more minutes after a whole week. Spirits he was so fed up with this shit! He took a deep breath, gathering all the heat around him and then sent it away with a harsh exhale. It created a sudden breeze at Smellerbee and Longshot’s backs. They turned around in tandem to stare at him. Zuko shouldered past them, stomping his feet so they knew how annoyed he was. Smellerbee’s snicker almost immediately undermined his attempt to cool off. 

“Alright. Longshot knows about your fake mute ruse, so let’s quit it with the translation games and talk straight,” Smellerbee said the second a break in the treeline came into sight. She unceremoniously tossed Zuko’s bag to the ground and crossed her arms. “We’ve talked about it a lot, but we ignored you because our answer depended on your performance in the raid. I’ll give it to you, you did way better than I thought you would. So we’re willing to believe everything you told me. About the Yuyan being not quite Fire Nation, and how you and your ‘people’ share our goals against all the fucking rest of the Fire Nation. So what sort of help are you offering?” 

All of Zuko’s frustration turned inward at the end of Smellerbee’s monologue. He knew the Freedom Fighters had no reason to trust any remotely connected to the Fire Nation, and yet the prospect of helping a possibly lost Yuyan reconnect with his family totally blinded Zuko to that fact. Smellerbee may have heard him out and hadn't argued against his explanation as to why the Yuyan were not Fire Nation, but he'd been an idiot to think that resolved everything. She clearly still hadn’t trusted him because of that connection. Of course they weren’t willing to believe him until he proved himself, like she had outright told him. 

Spirits, maybe Zuko had been the stupid child all week.

With another deep breath, Zuko pushed his frustrations with himself aside. It didn’t matter, he was leaving now regardless of what the outcome was. Besides, it didn’t affect him whether the Freedom Fighters accepted his help… Would just, maybe, haunt him with some semblance of guilt but… No, he didn’t care!

“I won’t know anything concrete until I can talk to my people, but at the very least I know we can get you guys more consistent food so you don’t have to rely on raids to feed yourselves. And not saying that Pipsqueak isn’t good at expanding the camp, but someone could probably come and make sure your treehouse complex won’t fall apart-”

“We’re not letting any adults into our camp.”

Zuko snapped his mouth shut. What was he supposed to say in response to that? He thought it was rather obvious his offer of help involved adults. 

Longshot nudged Smellerbee and she sighed, rubbing a hand over her face. “Listen, neither Longshot or me personally have a problem working with adults. Like, we’re not stupid. Some things are harder for us because we’re just a bunch of kids. But Jet has some serious trust issues and will not easily accept help from a bunch of grown ups, no matter where they’re from. But he’s not stupid either. He’s being willfully ignorant about ‘your people’ and how it’s obvious you’re not running around with a bunch of teenagers. So anything we accept from you, he’s gotta be able to turn a blind eye to it.”

“That really limits what I can offer, but, uh, at least food? Maybe more medical supplies too. At some point. I don’t really know the logistics of organizing aid like this, so I can’t really give you a timeline.”

“Something at some point is better than nothing,” Smellerbee said with a shrug.

“We’ll know if they come to the forest, and if they have something to signal that they’re your allies, there won’t be any problems,” Longshot added.

That left one matter unresolved. Would it ruin their tentative truce if Zuko brought up the Yuyan thing again? It ultimately didn’t matter, but dammit he was so curious. Well, there was another angle he could take. 

“So, remember how I said I was looking for spirits when we first met?” Zuko asked, to which the others answered with confused nods. It probably did seem like a non sequitur since Zuko left out the Yuyan spirits when explaining them to Smellerbee. “Well, it was pretty obvious tonight that most of the rumors came from you guys. Which you probably already knew. But, actually, I’m pretty attuned to the presence of spirits from my travels and-”

“I don’t want to know,” Longshot cut him off, his voice louder than Zuko had ever heard. The abrupt dismissal reminded him of Byeol-ha’s refusal to know if there was a Yuyan spirit with him. Longshot swallowed roughly and pressed his lips together, continuing in sign language. “I have… vague memories of my mother and the stories she would tell me. I don’t want to know what you’ve sensed in the forest or from me. But, I am… willing to meet someone from the Yuyan, if what you told Smellerbee is correct and they would want to meet me. But I’m not going anywhere. The Freedom Fighters are my family and home now. I’m just… curious if they really are where my mother came from.”

Zuko’s smile was hidden by his mask. This was just needless meddling at this point, but he was hopeful about the potential reunion of sorts. From the way Byeol-ha spoke about the Yuyan, Zuko knew they would embrace Longshot with open arms, no matter how hazy his memories were or who he called family now.

“Can’t promise a timeline on that either, but I’ll pass on the message.”

As Longshot stiffly nodded and finally relinquished Zuko’s bag, Smellerbee leaned against a tree with a scoff. “So, not that I care or anything, but what exactly are you doing next in your hare-brained freedom scheme? Because, honestly, this spirit quest of yours doesn’t seem to be panning out.”

It stung how accurate her half-informed assessment of his goal was. On the night she cornered him, he’d given her a brief explanation of how airbending was the embodiment of freedom, so the world needed it back to be truly free. He’d been more focused on getting her to understand the Yuyan than explaining his mission, but he at least briefly touched on how he was looking for spirits to help him bring freedom back.

Zuko began gathering his bags with a scowl. “It’s led me to meeting people like you all, and the Yuyan. So it’s not like it’s been totally useless. But, alright, yeah, I was hoping to find a little more guidance from the spirits by now. This was my last lead in the area, so I guess I’ll just have to travel a little more and track down more rumors. Maybe revisit some places…”

“Seems like a waste of time when there’s actual people who need help right now,” Smellerbee grumbled.

“What was it like with airbenders around?” Longshot quickly interrupted.

Zuko’s biting comment for Smellerbee caught in his throat. “What do you mean?”

“Obviously there wasn’t a war, but what was it like?” Longshot went back to signing as he grew more verbose. “You told me a lot about Yangchen’s time, but what about more recently? What was it like? What exactly are you trying to bring back?”

That… was an obnoxiously good question. For all that Zuko was determined to bring airbending and freedom back, what did that look like? How would that change things other than there being airbenders around?

“So, basically, you should be learning more about airbenders not from fucking forever ago,” Smellerbee said once Longshot repeated himself for her in Yuyan sign laguage. Under her breath she mumbled, “Especially since you're probably doing a shit job acting like them…”

Before Zuko could demand what she meant by that, Smellerbee snapped her fingers with a snort. “I’ve heard that old fart king in Omashu has been alive since before the war! Maybe you can ask him!”

Zuko rolled his eyes. “Yeah, because I can just walk up to the king of Omashu and ask him.”

“Just offering suggestions.” Smellerbee shrugged with a shit-eating grin as she pushed herself off the tree she was leaning against. “On that note, anything else you wanna say, Longshot?” He shook his head and she nodded decisively. “Then it's time for us to head back to help get shit to the hideout. Thanks for your help, Blue, hope I never see you again.”

“Likewise,” Zuko grumbled.

She mockingly repeated him, then scaled up a tree and out of sight. Longshot gave him a mere nod before following after her. Their heat signatures didn’t hesitate, immediately leaping through the treetops and leaving him behind.

Good riddance. 

Zuko secured his bags and turned on his heels, more than happy to put Quiji Forest behind him. But, the pair’s last questions and suggestions spun in his mind. Finding out what it was like with airbenders around before the war was a good idea. It was something Zuko stupidly hadn’t taken advantage of the few times he met people old enough to know. Back when he met Guru Pathik, Zuko hadn’t known the truth or had been ready to. He really missed the opportunity with Master Natsumi, so distracted by his mission for finding spirits that he totally missed the more practical mission Smellerbee and Longshot just shoved in his face.

Theoretically, Zuko could try to turn the Sazanami around to visit Master Natsumi again. Or he could pull the same trick he did with the Western Air Temple to go back to the Eastern Temple. Guru Pathik undoubtedly was still there waiting for the Avatar. But… 

Looking over his shoulder despite knowing there was no one around, Zuko pulled the circus flyer out of his shirt and squinted at it in the meager light from the starry night sky.

If King Bumi really was as old as people said… He was the closest of potential information sources, and Zuko had a really good cover story to get away with this hare-brained scheme.

A gentle breeze blew out of Quiji Forest and wrapped around Byeol-ha. The leaves on the trees did not move, not even a blade of grass swayed in the eerie wind. It felt like home.

“Oooh, spooky,” Tapeesa said appreciatively from the driver’s seat of the supply wagon. “Guess the villagers weren’t exaggerating.”

“Hui knows what he’s talking about too,” Byeol-ha signed with an eye roll. He couldn’t hold Tapeesa’s doubt against her, considering she’d yet to meet Zuko, but the least she could do was trust Byeol-ha and Fox’s confidence in his report. “So quit lingering. Go do your job.”

Tapeesa huffed as she cracked the ostrich horse’s reins. They snorted and tossed their heads, wary about heading into the forest. “If this backfires, I’m telling Fox to give me the number one apprentice position.”

“It’s seniority based! And even if it were performance based, you couldn’t take it from me.” Byeol-ha gave an ostrich horse a firm smack on the rump. It snorted in protest, but finally moved forward. The other one followed suit, albeit hesitantly. Tapeesa cracked the reins again and they took off on a trot.  

“Overconfidence will be your downfall!” She called over her shoulder with a laugh. “See you in town!”

Byeol-ha flipped her off as the cart disappeared into the forest. He wasn’t overconfident. Of the two of them, he had way more qualifications as a spy. She had lots of training to do before she could even consider unseating his position as Fox’s first apprentice. Not that it would ever happen because it was seniority based!

No, no, he shouldn’t be getting so worked up. As a mature and responsible senior, Byeol-ha needed to encourage his precious junior’s growth, not feel threatened by it. Yuyan Archers built each other up and discarded any selfish pride for the benefit of the team. Tapeesa wasn’t an Archer, but she was still part of Byeol-ha’s team. 

Taking a deep breath to center himself, Byeol-ha sat beside the supplies they unloaded in offering to the Quiji Forest spirits. Even if Zuko was wrong in his belief that one of the forest kids was a lost cousin, the offering should still work. Protective spirits generally operated on the same set of rules.

Now it was just a waiting game.

The feeling of someone watching him washed over Byeol-ha. There was no killing intent in the gaze, so he did not acknowledge his watchers. This was a tricky hunt where he could not pursue his target. They had to come to him of their own volition. Despite his youth and bickering with Tapeesa, Byeol-ha was still a Yuyan Archer. When faced with a hunt, his patience was unparalleled. 

He lost track of time meditating, but never let his focus stray from his watchers. When they made their move, he was ready. The near silent twang of a bowstring releasing filled Byeol-ha’s senses. An arrow sunk into the ground in front of him, a hare's breath from sinking into his crossed legs. Byeol-ha did not so much as twitch as he slowly opened his eyes and looked up in the direction the arrow had been shot. He smiled brightly, then said in slow, soft signs, “You’re a good shot, little cousin.”

Another arrow soared at him. Byeol-ha did not move, even as it pinned the fabric of his pant leg to the ground. His smile grew wider. There were no doubts in his heart now. What a cheeky little cousin Zuko had found for him!

“As I’m sure my smart, little cousin has figured out, Blue has come through with his promises. Traders will be coming by as much as we can spare and will drop supplies off. We don’t expect any payment, just leave them undisturbed as they travel through the forest. We’ll try spreading rumors that offerings will grant safe passage, so maybe even unaffiliated traders will start leaving things too.” Byeol-ha slowly pulled the arrows out of the ground as he stood. He delicately placed them on top of one of the supply boxes before turning around to sign toward the foliage again. 

“You don’t have to reveal yourself to me now, as much as I would like to meet you. I understand if the time isn’t right. I cannot begin to imagine the life you’ve led, little cousin, but I’m glad it has not been a life of solitude. I hope, one day, you’ll be ready to meet your old family again, and introduce us to your new family.”

Byeol-ha waited, a sliver of hope alive even though logic told him it was pointless. Only the wind answered him. He’d expected it. If only his heart had listened to reason. 

Smiling through his disappointment, Byeol-ha signed up to the trees once more. “Stay safe, little cousin. We will always love and embrace you no matter how long you’ve been gone or if you no longer remember the way home. When you are ready, we will walk the path with you and yours.”

This time, another arrow flew out from the treetops. It hit the same spot the last one had, several paces from Byeol-ha now that he’d moved. He would take it as a positive response to his words. With a beaming smile, Byeol-ha waved to his lost cousin then turned on his heels and did not look back. 

In the treetops, two silent figures watched the teenager who felt like an adult to them walk away. The smaller of the two hesitantly signed to her companion, “Do you wanna go after him?”

Longshot closed his eyes. His body twitched, as if it longed to chase after the man. He took a deep breath and exhaled the tension from his muscles. He opened his eyes, not a trace of regret tainting his determination. “No, he’s right. Now’s not the time to reconcile with my past. We have a job to do, and this has nothing to do with it.”

Smellerbee smiled, having expected such a response. She bumped their shoulders together. “Alright. But I’m waiting too, for the day I get to meet your old family.”

Warmth filled Longshot’s chest as he smiled and looked down to hide his embarrassment. He didn’t know when the day would come, but he was thankful knowing he would not meet it alone.

Chapter Text

From her earliest memories, Ty Lee’s world had always been one of color. She didn’t get how anyone could confuse Ty Lao for Ty Liu when she was obviously orange and Ty Liu was green. But not the same green as Ty Lin, she was more of a mint. 

It wasn’t until Ty Woo complained about always being yellow in Ty Lee’s drawings did Ty Lee realize her world was different from everyone else’s.

“Why wouldn’t I draw you yellow?” Ty Lee argued her sister’s complaint in innocent confusion.

Ty Woo huffed and crossed her arms. “Maybe I feel like purple or blue some days! I don’t have to always be yellow!”

It was a strange idea, because Ty Lee had never seen someone’s colors change from day to day like that. So she said as much. “I don’t think you can do that?”

The fit Ty Woo threw got their parents involved and soon Ty Lee was in tears too because she didn’t understand why she was in the wrong for stating simple facts. Eventually, they came to the understanding that everyone had colors that, apparently, only Ty Lee could see. 

Their parents asked anyone they could to figure out the source of their daughter’s strange ability. As minor nobility, they eventually got an audience with an elder Fire Sage who congratulated them for having another firebender in the family. Seeing auras was a rare, but undoubtedly firebending ability. However, all firebending lessons after that were a complete failure. Not once did Ty Lee create a flame, and yet the colors around her only grew more distinct.

Her parents brushed it under the rug and didn’t investigate further. The only good thing to come from her botched firebending lessons was Ty Lee discovering how fun it was to move with a purpose. She started taking acrobatic lessons as soon as her parents gave up on the firebending angle. Soon, everyone forgot Ty Lee’s aura reading was supposed to be a firebending technique and it became simply Ty Lee’s unique ability.

It felt like a burden most days. Ty Lee was endlessly frustrated with how people (even their parents!) could not tell her and her sisters apart. They were so distinctly different! It was obvious ! But everyone shot Ty Lee down. It was only obvious to her because she could see her sister’s different auras. Without them, the seven of them would be indistinguishable. 

No one wanted to listen to how only Ty Lao and Ty Woo were firebenders, and were relentlessly obnoxious about it. Or how Ty Liu and Ty Lin were musically gifted and were making their way through different instruments to figure out which they liked the most. Or how Ty Lat could outswim a dolphin shark if she had the chance. Or how Ty Lum was a mathematical genius and used that power to create the most beautiful origami creations.

Nope, none of that mattered because they had the same face and were all cheerful, bubbly girls.

Ty Lee couldn't help but feel bitter when her sisters joined her in learning acrobatics. However, she did her best to rid herself of that feeling when murky brown spots started appearing in her beautiful, pink aura. 

Lots of adults had murky, brown colors and the last thing Ty Lee wanted was to be like a boring, lifeless adult! 

Maybe it would have been inevitable, losing the vibrancy of her aura, if not for meeting her Master. 

That fateful summer festival changed the trajectory of Ty Lee’s life in a way she never could have known. 

While everyone else was amazed by the techniques of a non-bender martial arts school in taking down any bender bold enough to challenge them, Ty Lee was mystified by the older woman watching the matches from the shadows with a critical eye.

She was pink. 

Pinker than Ty Lee. Pinker than Ty Lat, who had more of a purple undertone. Pinker than anyone Ty Lee had ever seen, adult or otherwise.

Mystified, Ty Lee snuck away to approach the stern looking woman who smiled so beautifully when Ty Lee admired her aura. 

Master Intira was picky about the students she accepted. But there was no deliberation on whether she would teach Ty Lee or not. Right then and there, she followed Ty Lee to her parents and invited her to join Master Intira’s school. Her parents hesitated at the suddeness of the situation, but quickly granted their permission due to Ty Lee’s wide, pleading eyes.

Under Master Intira, Ty Lee learned about chakra, the flow of chi, more about human anatomy than she knew possible, and auras. Although Master Intira could not see auras, her grandmother had shared Ty Lee’s ability and told Master Intira all about them. Ty Lee likely would have figured out everything by herself eventually. Her childish understanding and suspicions were on the right track to understanding her ability, but it was nice to have a teacher guide her path.

When Ty Lee and her sisters were sent to the Royal Fire Academy for Girls, Ty Lee witnessed first hand how the rigid pressures of life muddied the auras of her peers and even her sisters. The Academy wanted to shape its students into one type of girl. Ty Lee had to fight and struggle to keep her aura vibrant and pink. Lessons with Master Intira helped her center herself and retain her sense of self. It was also thanks to her lessons in chi-blocking that Ty Lee was singled out of all her sisters to befriend Azula and Mai. 

Out of anyone at the school, Azula and Mai’s auras had always stood out the most to Ty Lee.

Azula was an electric, blinding blue with flashes of red, orange, and yellow like a flickering flame. Mai at first glance was a murky brown, boarding on black, but on closer inspection she was a deep, dark maroon. Their colors were so bold , Ty Lee couldn’t fathom them growing dull and murky.

And yet, the first time Ty Lee was invited to play in the palace, the first time she saw them outside of school, she realized how wrong she was. Where school was a restriction to Ty Lee, it gave Mai and Azula a sense of freedom. In the walls of the court, Azula’s blue dimmed and the fiery flickers turned into bursts of murky browns. Under the watchful eyes of servants and parents, Mai’s maroon bled away into the murky brown-black Ty Lee had at first mistaken her aura for.

It was depressing, so Ty Lee vowed to help her friends find a sense of security and freedom at least in her presence. 

During that first visit Ty Lee also met Azula’s brother. 

She’d never seen a kid with such a conflicting, dull aura before! He wasn’t like Mai, with a dark base to get confused with a murky one. No, it was obvious that Zuko should have a fiery, warm aura to match his explosive but caring personality. There were flickers of fiery colors the few times Ty Lee was present when Azula and Zuko’s cousin, who was more of a brother, came by. But once Lu Ten left for the siege, Ty Lee never saw those flickers in Zuko’s aura again.

And Azula’s dim blue started following her to school…

The years of the siege took their toll on Azula and Zuko. It was clear in Lu Ten’s absence how much influence he had in her friends’ lives. It was tough work trying to stay upbeat and not letting her own aura dim and grow murky, but Ty Lee thought she was up to the task.

Then Lu Ten died.

It happened so fast, Ty Lee and Mai were blindsided by all the changes. 

Mere days later, news of Fire Lord Azulon’s passing swept through the nation. Prince Ozai would be crowned as the next Fire Lord. The court was abuzz with scandal and gossip. Prince Iroh was nowhere to be seen. He abdicated the throne. He had also died in the siege. Maybe he was too ashamed to return. Lady Ursa was also mysteriously missing. She had killed the Fire Lord. She had used the distraction of her husband’s coronation to finally run away. Maybe she too had died, but it was kept secret for reasons no one even dared whisper.

There was no way of knowing the truth, not even for Azula’s best friends. Their open invitation to visit the royals’ living quarters of the palace was rescinded and Azula was not coming to school. Letters went unanswered, likely never reaching their intended recipient. Pleading with guards got them nowhere. For two whole months, Ty Lee and Mai only had each other. Azula’s absence hung over them like a dark cloud.

When Azula finally returned to school, it was with a murky blue aura and biting tongue. Azula had never been nice , but she’d never been so viciously mean to her friends before. It was difficult keeping a smile and trying to bring some joy back to her friend when all Ty Lee got for it was insults… The only thing Ty Lee could do that seemed to make Azula smile these days was contributing to her vitriol against their classmates. So she did, with a twisting feeling in her stomach.

With the help of Zuko’s swords master turned tutor, they eventually got to have time outside of school with Azula and by extension, time with Zuko. Azula was a little better in private, which encouraged Ty Lee to keep trying just as she was starting to give up. Her friend was lashing out after all the change and loss in her life. Ty Lee had to be a good friend to support her!

But it was hard not to notice the way Zuko, for all his angry outbursts and shouting, was never as bitingly mean as Azula. There were never flashes of color in his murky aura and he was all sulky and sullen most of the time, but Zuko was often more fun to play with than Azula was. The thought made Ty Lee feel terribly guilty, and she made sure to never voice it, even when Mai said it first. She laughed and accused Mai of only saying that because she had a crush. The way Mai blushed and scowled was funny, definitely funny and didn’t make Ty Lee feel like a horrible friend.

Things finally started to feel like they were stabilizing, like there wouldn’t be big shifts anymore. They were all irrevocably changed and there was no going back to the easier days of friendship, but maybe that was just growing up. Ty Lee didn’t dare raise her concerns with Master Intira. She knew, deep in her heart, that Master Intira would tear through her false sense of security, that friendship shouldn’t be this hard…

Then Zuko went and got banished.

On a rare day they got to hang out with Azula in the palace, Mai pulled out a package with a deep sigh. Well versed in Mai’s sighs as Ty Lee was, she immediately turned her attention away from painting Azula’s nails. While it sounded like the typical annoyed sigh, it had a slight forced element to it which meant Mai was trying to cover up a positive emotion. Azula started to protest to Ty Lee’s inattention, then realized where her focus lay and also turned to Mai with an inquisitive raised eyebrow.

“I recently received a letter,” Mai said in perfect monotone. “And an accompanying package I chose to wait to open with you all, since there are supposedly presents for all of us.”

Ty Lee quickly cleaned up her nail polish set, promising to finish Azula’s nails as soon as they opened their presents. Thankfully, Azula didn’t seem too miffed about the interruption and hardly acknowledged Ty Lee as she gracefully rolled off her bed and approached Mai with a huff.

“Well, what is the point of leaving us in suspense? Who is it from? Your uncle? I can’t imagine why he would-” She paused as Mai shook her head with a hint of a smile.

A smile?! 

Ty Lee leaped off the bed and cartwheeled to join them at Azula’s couch where Mai had been lounging by herself. The package wasn’t well-wrapped. Or, it was extremely well-wrapped which made it look lumpy and stupid. Mai’s uncle wouldn’t send something like that, let alone for Mai’s friends too and make Mai smile. There was only one explanation.

“Is it from Zuko?!” Ty Lee exclaimed, jumping over the table between her and the couch to sit next to Mai. “Oh it has to be! That’s crazy! Why is he suddenly writing now? How long has it been? A year ?”

“Hardly,” Azula scoffed, crossing her arms as she glared at the package as if she could set it alight with her glare alone. “It’ll be a year next month.”

Mai shared a look with Ty Lee which helped stifle Ty Lee’s giggle. It wouldn’t end well if they brought attention to how much Azula obviously missed her brother if she knew how long he’d been gone to the day. Before Azula could catch them having a silent conversation, Mai held a scroll out to Azula.

“He also wrote to you. I think he actually used his brain and knew it’d have a better chance of reaching you if it came through me.”

As Azula took the scroll with wide eyes, Ty Lee planted her hands on the couch to lean into Mai’s space. “I have one too, right?!”

“No, just the pres-”

The fwoosh of flames and sudden heat across from them cut Mai off. They turned to Azula, Mai’s expression unchanging while Ty Lee’s jaw dropped. Ashes fell from Azula’s fingertips as she laughed and blew the debris away.

“I don’t care what a banished loser has to say to me.”

“B-but I wanted to know!” Ty Lee whined, staring at the floating ashes in dismay. She was so curious as to what Zuko had been up to and why he decided to suddenly send them all presents! Even if he hadn’t written her a letter, he’d still sent her a present!

Mai sighed as she pulled another scroll from her sleeves and held it out to Ty Lee. “I had a feeling this would happen and brought mine as well. You may read it.”

There was a flicker of interest and regret in Azula’s eyes, which anyone else would have missed. But Ty Lee was always on the lookout for the minute displays of emotions in her two reserved friends. So Ty Lee whooped and flipped off the back of the couch, putting it and the table between her and Azula as she opened it and started reading aloud.

“Dear Mai, I would have written-”

“Read it to yourself,” Azula spat and yet her arms were still crossed and she showed no signs of pursuing Ty Lee. “I just said I don’t care what he has to say.”

“What he has to say to you !” Ty Lee fluttered her eyelashes, putting on the air of perfect, fake innocence. “But aren’t you curious about what he has to say to Mai ?”

Mai huffed in minimal protest, thankfully catching on to Ty Lee’s game and not taking offense. It was likely Azula knew exactly what Ty Lee was doing too, but latched on to the excuse with a smug snort. “Ah yes, I suppose I am intrigued if their puppy love has survived banishment.” She sat on the table and waved at Ty Lee. “Carry on then.”

The letter was shorter than it should have been. Almost a year since his banishment, and that was really all Zuko had to say? Despite its pitiful length, Ty Lee still felt oddly energized by Zuko’s words. He hadn’t written anything about how he was doing or feeling, but even his straightforward report of his recent activity suggested he was doing well. Zuko had to be doing well if he was so busy! He hadn’t been moping about and doing nothing, like Azula sometimes theorized. Obviously, he’d been working hard. Even if he wasn’t close to finding the Avatar, he was accomplishing things! Posing as an Earth Kingdom scholar, living with sandbenders, finding a spirit library? It all sounded so fanciful and exciting!

“Well, what are these presents that supposedly made him think of us?” Azula demanded as soon as Ty Lee finished reading. 

Mai pulled the package into her lap and started the arduous task of unwrapping it. Zuko really took no chances of his glassware presents breaking while in transit. Finally, the box was open and three items were unearthed from the layers and layers of padding. There were no labels or cards, but it was quite obvious who each present was supposed to go to. 

“So pink,” Mai said in disgust, holding the necklace up to Ty Lee.

It was indeed so pink. The pink glass was spiraled in such a way it was opaque, but there was a hint of translucence only glass could achieve. It was beautiful. It was… Pinker than the aura holding it. Ty Lee stared at her hands and felt tears prick her eyes. 

A few months ago, Master Intira passed away in her old age. She’d known her time was coming to an end. She’d prepared everyone for her departure to the spirit world, and encouraged her school to carry her memory and legacy with joy. Ty Lee of course did as her master and idol instructed, but without Master Intira’s unwavering pink, there was no one else to compare her aura with.

Ty Lee thought she’d been doing a good job of keeping herself vibrant and free.

But compared to the cheerful spiraling glass pendant in her hands, Ty Lee’s pink was dull and lifeless.

“Well, I’ll give Zuzu this, he is shockingly competent at selecting suitable presents,” Azula drawled, pulling Ty Lee out of her panicked thoughts.

In her hands was a beautiful hairpin in the shape of red and orange flames. But the tip of the hairpin came into too much of a point to be anything other than a glass blade. Mai also had a glass weapon, some sort of short dagger that she held in her fist. The blade was a swirl of clear glass, black, and dark red. It was amusing how Zuko got them both a pretty weapon while he got Ty Lee a simple necklace, but Azula wasn’t wrong. Their presents did suit them.

“However, it would be quite unsightly for the nation’s princess to be seen wearing some trinketry from sandbenders ,” Azula scoffed and loosened her hold on the hairpin. It balanced on her fingertip, about to fall.

It never crashed to the ground. Maybe the impact wouldn’t have shattered it. If it was supposed to be a weapon, surely it could survive more than hitting the ground from a few feet. But Ty Lee hadn’t been thinking that far ahead as she dived across the room to catch Azula’s present. There had been no time to think other than a sudden fear for her friend’s happiness. Azula would regret it if she broke Zuko’s present, Ty Lee knew it. 

Azula, of course, mocked Ty Lee for her mad dash to catch the hairpin, but didn’t protest when Ty Lee put it away in Azula’s vanity. They changed topics quickly after that, no matter how much Ty Lee wanted to speculate about Zuko’s travels. And it wasn’t long until Ty Lee and Mai were escorted out of the palace. Hopefully they would be allowed to visit again in a few weeks.

“So,” Ty Lee exclaimed as they started the short walk to Mai’s home. “Are you going to write Zuko back? You should ask him more about the sandbenders! They sound so interesting. Oh and please pass on my thanks for my present!”

A lump in her throat made Ty Lee pause as she looked down at the swirling pink now hanging from her neck. 

“It’s something I didn’t even know I needed.”

There was a horrible truth Ty Lee had to accept by herself. She had no one to confide in, not really. It was getting more and more difficult to see Azula, let alone hang out with her. But even if she frequently saw Azula, Ty Lee knew better than to be vulnerable around her. Mai was the closest friend Ty Lee had, but she had her own concerns and woes. It wouldn’t be fair to weigh her down with Ty Lee’s. Her family was, of course, out of the question. She hadn’t found comfort from her parents or sisters for a very long time, and Gramama had moved on to the spirit world years ago.

Master Intira had been the only person in the world Ty Lee could rely on. She never judged Ty Lee when she cried or expressed negativity. She had helped Ty Lee work through her unsavory emotions until she could center herself on genuine joy again. With her gone, Ty Lee had to do that by herself. And it was hard.

Ty Lee didn’t like being angry or sad. It was easier to bury those emotions away and lie even to herself that everything was fine, that she was happy. But hiding from anger or sadness did not make them go away. They festered and dimmed her pink, slow enough that Ty Lee could delude herself into thinking she was still vibrant and free.

Zuko’s present had broken the illusion and forced Ty Lee to face herself.

She was unhappy. So unbearably unhappy . The Academy was horrible, had always been horrible, but seeing Azula and Mai made it fun. Home was stifling, constantly moving around her sisters and getting mistaken by her parents and the servants. Chi-blocking wasn’t the same without Master Intira. The instructor who inherited the school from her was kind and upheld Master Intira’s practice perfectly, but it wasn’t the same. Master Intira’s absence was a gaping wound in Ty Lee’s heart. 

It was ridiculous, but Ty Lee was jealous of Zuko. With every letter exchanged, it became all the more clear how much happier he was in banishment. Ty Lee couldn’t sense auras off of inanimate objects, but she knew that if she saw Zuko now, she would finally know what his colors were. Zuko was free for the first time in his life and somehow it was supposed to be a punishment?

Oh, how Ty Lee longed to join him on his adventures. She wanted to see the wonders of the Si Wong desert, meet cute spirits, make new friends from around the world, learn all these wondrous tales of Avatar Yangchen and her friends. Logically, Ty Lee knew there was a war going on. How could she not, it was ingrained in the very fabric of the Fire Nation at this point. And yet, it clearly didn’t matter. It had no impact on Zuko’s travels, so it never factored into Ty Lee’s daydreams.

Then the letters mysteriously stopped. Azula’s limited freetime rapidly dwindled to none . Soon she stopped attending the Academy altogether. Were they connected? Mai and Ty Lee could only speculate with each other. There was nothing they could do about Zuko’s abrupt silence. Not that they didn’t try, of course. But the military communications office shut them down. Apparently Zuko’s ship wasn’t formally part of the military despite the personnel aboard, so there were no official records about his whereabouts…

They had to give up on Zuko, and Mai was ready to give up on Azula as well. In her deepest, darkest of thoughts, Ty Lee felt the same. She hated the person she was becoming and knew part of it was contorting herself to try to appease Azula. However, she knew she would also hate to be the person who gave up on a friend, no matter how mean or distant she’d become. Azula had no one without them. Ty Lee refused to abandon her.

So they sent endless missives to the palace requesting time with Azula. At first, that worked enough to see her once a month. The second they were denied their monthly visit, Ty Lee started bugging the palace guards to have some sympathy and sneak them in. They knew them! Surely they could bend the rules to help out their princess!

No one wanted to risk their jobs (or lives) to disobey the Fire Lord for a couple of teenage girls to hang out, princess or not.

“The pink one is back,” the guard who opened the door to Ty Lee’s insistent knocking called into the guard house. He sighed at Ty Lee and leaned against the doorframe, blocking the entrance with his entire body. Which wasn’t totally uncalled for considering Ty Lee may have gotten fed up and tried making a break for it a couple of weeks back. “I can’t decide which one of you is worse. Mai is too terrifying for a 13 year old, and turning you away makes me feel like I’m kicking a puppy.”

Ty Lee widened her eyes and let loose some of her negative thoughts that brought out an instant, teary shine. “So don’t turn me away.”

The guard sighed heavily and looked back into the room, pointedly away from Ty Lee’s pleading gaze. He suddenly grinned as he barked, “Hey! Royal wranglers! Come work your magic!”

“We’re on break!” A woman’s voice shouted from the back.

“No you ain’t,” someone else yelled. “Quit lying and get your lazy ass up!”

A quieter voice spoke up, only his pleading tone making it to the doorway for Ty Lee to hear. Whatever he said must have worked, because the guard at the door broke out in a wide grin and shoved two other guards outside. Ty Lee had to jump back from getting trampled, which was enough distraction for the first guard to slam the door shut. 

The woman twirled around and pounded on the door. “Asshole! When I get my hands on you-”

“Quit it,” the man hissed, pulling on her arm to stop. “The last thing you need is another write up!”

“Psh, captain isn’t going to write me up for calling Seiho an asshole. He objectively is .” 

They had shockingly vibrant auras for a couple of guards in the capital. It seemed like all adults who did any sort of business in court, whether they were nobles, servants, or guards, had murky, dull auras. But these guards’ colors were confident and bold. The man was a gentle plum with swaying patches of green, like leaves on their branches in a soft breeze. The woman, in contrast, was a burnt orange with flickers of bright blue, almost white. 

It was possible they would continue their banter and completely ignore Ty Lee if she didn’t interject. She would admit she was tempted to continue watching them, but she had a mission. 

“Excuse me,” Ty Lee interrupted sweetly. Both guards turned to her as if they had forgotten she was there. “Would you mind sneaking me in so I can see my friend?” 

The woman lit up with a wide smile. “Oh! You’re one of Princessy’s friends! We keep missing when you all swing by! I’ve been wanting to meet you. Let me guess, you’re Ty Lee, right?”

“I- Oh. Yes.” Ty Lee was at a loss. Princessy ? A guard actually dared to call Azula that? Surely not to her face, right? But- How did she know Ty Lee’s name? Was it from the other guards or- “Has Azula told me about you?!”

“Oh, nah, nah, haven’t had a chance to chat much with her yet. I’m getting through to her, though, I can tell-”

“No, you’re really not. You’re lucky she hasn’t reported us yet,” the man grumbled.

“Shut up!” The woman smacked his shoulder then winked at Ty Lee. “Nah, but I have heard about you from Princey!”

If Azula was Princessy, there was only one person who could be Princey .

“You’ve heard about me from Zu-!”

A hand suddenly covered Ty Lee’s mouth, cutting off her excited shout. The woman guard grinned, then moved her arm to sling it around Ty Lee’s shoulders and started walking her away from the guard house. “Best not shout that too loudly, Pinky. The guards know about our connection to Princey, but it’s not common knowledge. We think the captain is keeping it under wraps since we’re the only night guards Princessy is currently tolerating. He doesn’t want to start that guard rotation again.”

Questions buzzed around Ty Lee’s mind like a swarm of honey bees. It was hard to pick out just one, so the easiest one was the first Ty Lee blurted out. “Who are you?”

“I’m Bun Ma,” the burnt orange and blue woman said with a lazy grin. She jerked her head at the plum and green man who’d quietly fallen in step beside them. “That’s Ju Long. We’re Princey’s friends.”

“Zuko has friends ?” Ty Lee asked in wondrous disbelief. Sure, he’d written about his sandbender friend, but nothing about friends from his crew, which surely had to be how Bun Ma and Ju Long knew him.

Bun Ma nearly doubled over in her cackling laughter, reaching out to grab Ju Long so it wasn’t only Ty Lee helping her stay upright. Ju Long looked torn between amused and offended, but settled on a soft, breathy laugh.

“I take it he didn’t mention us in his letters,” he said, shaking his head with a smile. 

Wait- They were from Zuko’s crew!

Ty Lee stopped in her tracks and stepped in front of the two guards, recognizing now how much younger they looked compared to the others. It was surprising they were part of the palace guards, usually only older, seasoned soldiers were transferred to the home guard. It did, however, explain how they were Zuko’s friends.

“We haven’t heard from him in months ! His last letter said something about going to a haunted swamp, and now some of his crew is here ? What happened! Surely he’s okay if you’re joking about him but- Why are you here? Why did he stop writing?”

Ju Long frowned. “He stopped writing?”

“Oh that brat !” Bun Man shouted, not sharing her companion’s concern. “Don’t worry about him, Pinky. I have no doubt he’s actually fine and is just throwing the biggest tantrum ever .”

“Bun Ma, that’s not fair. He-”

“No way! It’s been long enough for him to get over it. Ugh, I feel so bad for tasking Jingyi with him. I can’t imagine how insufferable he’s been.” Bun Ma huffed and pulled Ty Lee under her arm again. “Come on, Pinky, let’s find a good cafe for chatting and I’ll tell you all about why Princey stopped writing.”

Ju Long sighed heavily and stayed put. “Bun Ma! We’re still on duty. We can’t just go to a cafe and chat right now.”

“We were told to wrangle. I’m wrangling! You’re welcome to go back and let the captain know!” Bun Ma grinned down at Ty Lee and whispered, “He’s not going to go back. Watch. In three, two, one-”

Running footsteps came from behind and Ju Long fell into step with them again. “There’s no way I can trust you alone with Ty Lee. Who knows what nonsense you’re going to say to her.”

Bun Ma snickered and shot back a teasing remark that had no bite. The two continued to banter as they headed into the city, and Ty Lee watched them with a wide smile. Zuko’s letters may have stopped, but he possibly sent something much better in place of them.

Although Bun Ma and Ju Long weren’t able to sneak Ty Lee and Mai in to meet with Azula (yet), they did make sure their letters to her were delivered. At least Azula knew they hadn’t forgotten about her and wanted to see her. Maybe due to their letters affirming their friendship, Azula managed to arrange time with them herself, but she never said anything about it. Ty Lee was just happy to finally see her friend again!

Sure, it was under the pretense of helping Azula train, but thankfully Li and Lo were sympathetic enough to grant Azula a short break after their sparring sessions to just talk with Ty Lee and Mai. Azula looked perfect, of course she did. She couldn’t afford to let any weaknesses show, but Ty Lee saw how much murkier her aura had become in her isolation. It hurt to see how it brightened some in their sparring sessions, because all Ty Lee could think about these days was running away.

Bun Ma and Ju Long didn’t have the ability to arrange time for Azula to hang out (yet), but they had plenty of free time to chat with Ty Lee and Mai whenever they came by. It was very amusing how horrible they were at their job, but the guard captain gave them a pass because they were the only guards to last longer than three weeks assigned to Azula. In fact, it was going on almost two months now, which was a record since Azula was old enough to fire her guards. The duo refused to reveal their secret, not even to Ty Lee and Mai. 

Ty Lee didn’t care to push too hard, because she was far more interested in hearing their stories from their time on the Sazanami . They were much better than Zuko was in answering Ty Lee’s questions with enough detail to satisfy her curiosity. Even the stories Zuko had shared were way better from his friends’ point of view. 

They also told Ty Lee about their homes in the colonies, something Ty Lee had never thought much about before. The colonies were Fire Nation, how different could they be? But in Bun Ma and Ju Long’s stories, she saw shadows of Zuko’s Yangchen stories where elements existed in harmony. Almost like that song that swept through the Academy, extolling the wonders of friendship between the elements, before it was fiercely banned.

It was during one of those afternoon chats that Ty Lee finally confessed her deepest desire to someone else. 

“I would give anything to go see it for myself!” Ty Lee exclaimed upon the conclusion of Bun Ma’s story of the colorful bustling of the Misty Oasis market.

Bun Ma cocked her head to the side. “You don’t have to be banished to leave the Fire Nation, y’know.”

While Ty Lee sat in stunned silence, Ju Long smacked Bun Ma’s arm with a hissed, “She’s twelve ! Do not encourage a literal child to go traveling in the middle of a war!”

“I’m almost 13,” Ty Lee chimed in.

“See, she’s almost 13. Same age Princey was when he left!”

“And he has a guardian. A whole crew of guardians, really!” Ju Long rubbed his face in his hands with a groan. He dropped his hands abruptly to point at Ty Lee sternly. “Do not listen to her, Ty Lee. It is extremely dangerous to leave the Fire Nation, especially by yourself at this age!”

Bun Ma nodded, but her smirk gave away that it wasn’t in agreement. “Exactly. You should wait until you’re at least 14 and start in the colonies. Or find a crew of guardians to travel with.”

“BUN MA!” 

Ty Lee took Bun Ma’s advice literally.

The first traveling circus to stop in the capital since that conversation was full of bright, cheerful auras and felt right . Ty Lee lied and sweet talked her way into joining them and didn’t look back. (She couldn’t look back or the guilt might make her change her mind. She was leaving her friends when they needed her. But she needed this. For once, Ty Lee needed to be selfish.)

Traveling was everything Ty Lee hoped for and more . She saw parts of the Fire Nation she’d only ever read about in books. Then, she saw the colonies for the first time. She saw earthbending ! It was so cool and not the scary, savage thing the teachers at the Academy described it as. The troupe went through the countryside and it was everything Ju Long described. They stopped in Yu Dao and it was everything Bun Ma described. The blend of fire and earth, the whispered echoes of that harmony found in the Yangchen song… But there was also what Ju Long and Bun Ma had only ever talked around. The subtle divide between those with more visible Earth than Fire… It left Ty Lee feeling troubled.

But she couldn’t dwell too long on the negatives of the world. There was nothing she could do to fix it! Instead, she enjoyed the variety of auras she witnessed in her travels. There were still murky, dull colors, but there was so much more vibrancy outside of the court! (No, she didn’t dwell on the obvious correlation between poor and earth-touched people and murkier, duller colors. She couldn’t .)

Ty Lee had joined the troupe at the perfect time, because as soon as they finished their Yu Dao shows, they packed up and headed to the Fire Nation Performer’s Conference, something Ty Lee didn’t even know existed! Circus troupes, theater troupes, bands, and solo performers converged on a stretch of land in the colonies. They shared stories of their year, exchanged tips and tricks, and while everyone else had fun, the leaders of each group met to discuss their circuits for the coming year. 

While Ty Lee wanted to mingle and meet all of these interesting people… She had something she wanted to do more. Ty Lee wanted to see the desert. She craved it after getting a taste of traveling through the colonies. She wanted to see the sand sailers and maybe even meet Sarnai! So when all the rest of the performers enjoyed their break, Ty Lee snuck into the tent hosting the leaders’ meeting. 

It was an extremely boring couple of days and Ty Lee was close to giving up when finally the topic of occupied lands came up. The few troupes who made the circuit the past season shared their woes. They spoke of near misses with military maneuvers, the difficulty of acquiring supplies, having to fend off bandits and sometimes, even worse, the hungry and desperate. It sounded bleak and terrifying, but Ty Lee wasn’t about to be discouraged. If Zuko could travel through occupied lands and meet all these interesting people, so could she.

Only one ringmaster volunteered to make a circuit through the occupied Earth Kingdom, and many tried to dissuade him. He held his head high and proclaimed, “How else will these people find entertainment in their lives? We will bring joy and whimsy to them!” He paused, then winked. “And they’ll thank us generously with their coin.”

They discussed his planned route a little longer, then moved on to another troupe. It was enough for Ty Lee to make up her mind. She left her hiding place in the meeting tent and finally joined the revelry outside. Once evening fell and the ringmasters and directors concluded their business for the day, Ty Lee knew all about the ringmaster who would take her to the desert and his troupe. She cornered him before he could join his people.

“Mr. Shuzumu,” she greeted him with a sweet smile. He faltered at the familiarity, but took it in stride with an easy going smile as they exchanged proper introductions. Ty Lee didn’t waste time with pleasantries and got straight to the point. “I’ve actually been spending time with your troupe. And as much fun as I’ve had with my current one, I think it’s time for a change of pace!”

Shuzumu blinked in surprise, but quickly recovered with a gentle smile. “As much as I would love to have new talent in our show, I’m afraid you’ve asked at a poor time. I’ve just finalized our circuit for the year to go through the Earth Kingdom. It’ll be a dangerous journey, even in Fire Nation occupied lands. I can’t in good conscience take on a sweet, little thing like yourself.”

He protested exactly how Ty Lee expected. She smiled her sweet, little thing smile and clasped her hands behind her back. “I’m actually an accomplished martial artist, Mr. Shuzumu! How about I take down your strongest fighter, and you agree for me to join you!”

“Well…”

“Oh, please , Mr. Shuzumu! I’ve always wanted to see more of the world beyond the Fire Nation! If I lose, I promise I’ll drop it completely! You’ll never hear from me again!”

With a confident smile, Shuzumu agreed to her deal. 

A mere fifteen minutes later, he stared at her in wide-eyed shock as she cartwheeled away from his strongest hired guard flat on the ground. She landed in front of him with a deep bow. Just like that, Ty Lee secured her journey outside the Fire Nation.

It… wasn’t as glamorous and exciting as Ty Lee had imagined. They were traveling in the winter, the war’s slow season. There was less chance of stumbling upon a battle, but it also meant food was scarce, and it was cold. The occupied towns they traveled through were wary of them. They still came to the shows and children still lit up with wonder, but the adults never let their guards down. It was hard to ignore the sallowness in the children’s faces as they smiled or how they ravenously ate the treats the circus threw out at the conclusion of the show. There was pain and hunger on every face, in every aura. Ty Lee had thought the court was the dullest place to live, but these villages made her reconsider.

They were living under Fire Nation rule now, why were they living like this? Shouldn’t they be… better now that Agni’s sun shone over them? It lodged a bundle of something in Ty Lee’s chest, but she couldn’t bear to examine it the same way she couldn’t look too closely at her time in the colonies. She was being selfish in running away from home and traveling; she needed to continue being selfish. 

Her aura had never been pinker!

Eventually, they made it to the border of the Si Wong desert and set up a more permanent camp. They would be staying for a while and the people of the surrounding areas would be coming to them once a week. Here, where people traveled for entertainment and the sun warmed sand was unaffected by the season, the war was distant again. Ty Lee could shove the ball of unease from her travels and revel in her newfound freedom.

Her new troupe was wonderful! They taught her all sorts of new skills and Ty Lee discovered how much she loved the flying trapeze. Sure, the animal trainer left a bad taste in her mouth and she had to sneak around him to shower the circus animals with proper love, but other than him, everyone was so nice and fun. And hopefully, someday soon, sandbenders would stop by to watch a show!

“Ty Lee,” one of the strongmen called through the flap of her tent, knocking on the pole in place of a door. “There’s someone asking after you.”

Dread shot through Ty Lee’s veins as she leaped out of her stretch. Had her parents finally tracked her down? She refused to go home now that she was finally living! “Who is it?!” She asked, throwing the flap open and nearly running into the strongman.

He shrugged. “Dunno, some kid and old man in military uniforms. Shuzumu is trying to stall them right now if you need to make a run for it.”

Military uniforms? She was only a minor noble, there was no way the military would track her down… Right? Regardless, it was sweet of Shuzumu to try to cover for her but she couldn’t let her new family take the fall for her decisions. She thanked the strongman for fetching her and spared some assuring words before sneaking through the tents to where Shuzumu was apparently stalling their visitors.

Peering around a supply cart, Ty Lee was nearly blinded by vibrant red and orange. It was beautiful . Of all the patterns she’d seen in her travels, she’d never seen swirls like this before. The orange of the setting sun swirled like a midday breeze in the red of a burning ember. There were splotches of murky brown, like chunks of coal that lost their spark, but they were dwarfed by the vibrancy of the red and orange. 

Ty Lee blinked and focused on the person instead of their aura. A wide smile spread across her face as her feet started running faster than her thoughts could catch up.

“Zuko!”

Raucous laughter bounced around King Bumi’s humble office. Lim’s lips twitched, fighting against his own mirth. As his king’s closest advisor and most trusted White Lotus agent, Lim alone knew how rare such genuine joy was. King Bumi was one of the last Earth Kingdom kings outside of Ba Sing Se, of course he was laden with the stress and responsibility of such a position. However, too many truly believed that King Bumi was crazy enough to be unbothered and carefree in his rule. His persona as the mad king of Omashu was strong enough to make others’ common sense abandon them. They couldn’t fathom the mad king being weighed down by the war.

The past decade had been especially hard for his king. 

Neutral jing was much harder to achieve than people realized, especially so when applied to a city-kingdom. A lot of work went into keeping Omashu neither on the offensive nor the defensive, and it was all done behind the scenes with few aware of the extent Omashu’s forces went to achieve this refuge in the middle of enemy forces. King Bumi was unwavering in his dedication to waiting for the moment to turn the tide.

Prince Iroh of the Fire Nation had created a spark of hope for Lim and his king. They thought that if they could turn the heir of the Fire Throne to their side, the years of waiting would be justified. King Bumi worked relentlessly to change Prince Iroh’s beliefs. Even when the prince turned general laid siege on Ba Sing Se, King Bumi did not despair. He still believed the heir could be convinced of his nation’s wrong and lead the Fire Nation into an era of peace.

Hope shattered when Prince Iroh’s son died. Prince Iroh may have turned against the Fire Nation’s warmongering, but his will to fight died with his son. Though young compared to King Bumi, Prince Iroh had become a tired, old man. He relinquished his claim to the throne and his brother ushered in a new era of the war, one that resembled the early years in its ruthlessness.

None but Lim knew how hard a blow losing that hope had been to his king. His persona never cracked. The White Lotus never knew how much faith Grandmaster Chrysanthemum had placed in a mere possibility. But in the quiet hours alone in King Bumi’s office, Lim saw how the years weighed on his king. His smiles were tinted with weariness. His plans for Omashu felt less like ways to wait for the moment to act and more for ways to prolong the inevitable. King Bumi never voiced his despair, but Lim felt it. No matter how much they struggled, the Earth Kingdom was eventually going to fall.

Then, a flicker of hope came to life again in the shape of a song.

It was hard to put their faith into another Fire Nation royal, but there was no denying Prince Zuko was different from his uncle. In Prince Iroh, King Bumi had hoped to shape a young royal into a patron of peace. It had been an uphill battle over the course of years . From Prince Iroh’s stories and reports from Prince Zuko’s time in Omashu, it was clear the ideological battle for the boy had already been won.

Prince Zuko’s brief visit to Omashu and subsequent co-authoring of ‘Love Lanterns’ was enough to delight King Bumi and tease the chance of hoping again, but he was cautious. Lim felt the same way. As much as they believed Prince Iroh to be ignorant of his nephew’s radicalization, it was still an unsubstantiated belief of theirs. 

That was when the White Lotus bulletins saw the arrival of a new author.

Prince Iroh had mentioned off-hand how he’d invited one of Prince Zuko’s crew members to the White Lotus due to their anti-Ozai stance. He expressed hope that being exposed to new mindsets combined with their knowledge of airbender culture through Prince Zuko’s Avatar Yangchen admiration would shift anti-Ozai beliefs to anti-war ones. Lim had forgotten about it, in all honesty, until a few weeks after the Fire Royals’ visit to Omashu.

‘Genuine question, but what’s the point of these stupid letters talking in circles? I swear every month is the same variation of how important balance is, but no one talks about how to achieve balance other than waiting around for the Avatar’s return. There isn’t even anything really all that incendiary written in these things, so why bother making it secret? Someone better write something that’ll rock my worldview in the next bulletin or I’m going to throw my tile in the harbor and forget about this dumb old men’s club.’

White Lotus bulletins were anonymous, but as the man responsible for compiling the letters and essays submitted each month, Lim knew which branch each letter originated from. This short, accusatory note undoubtedly came from the Fire Nation. It was hardly something worth raising before a head of a secret organization nor a king, that was if they were anyone other than King Bumi. Lim immediately brought the letter to his king before he finished compiling that month’s collection for no other reason than because King Bumi would find it amusing.

King Bumi laughed himself breathless.

In the following months, the White Lotus bulletin was more active than it had been in years as the young author proceeded to pick fights with everyone . There had been many young initiates to criticize the White Lotus upon joining since the war began, but they had always voiced their concerns to their local grandmaster and quietly dropped out once their dissatisfaction reached its peak. Never had one been so brazen as to publish their criticisms in such a provocative manner. 

The young author went so far as to bite the hand which fed them! Wisteria broke his public silence for the first time since leaving the capital to warn his initiate to take caution and to be wary of how their actions could affect those connected to them. To which the author, certainly bolstered by the protection of anonymity, called Prince Iroh an overcautious coward who was afraid of taking risks.

Lim was actually concerned his king might laugh himself into a stroke.

Faster than any new initiate in history, King Bumi granted the new author a name: Hydrangea. 

If it were only insults and incendiary remarks Hydrangea wrote, there would have been an outcry from the rest of the order. The letters could have been eventually disregarded as a childish tantrum if not for the proposals for action and thoughtful arguments interwoven into each letter, which ultimately was what earned Hydrangea their name. Each suggestion for educational outreach, anti-war propaganda that could evade Fire Nation censorship, and outright military action almost felt like it came from a different author in its straight-forward, almost polite phrasing. Considering the Wildflowers’ report of Prince Zuko’s two good friends he’d been distraught over, Hydrangea’s letters likely did have two authors working together to stir up the White Lotus’ status quo.

There was no stopping the reigniting of King Bumi’s hope, and Lim’s by extension. Even if Prince Iroh was somehow correct in that Prince Zuko was still deluded by Fire Nation propaganda, then the prince managed to inspire Hydrangea unintentionally. Which, in Lim’s opinion, was more hopeful and terrifying than if Prince Zuko had purposefully set his friends down the path of rebellion against their nation’s war.

“Hydrangea never fails to entertain,” Bumi wheezed, finally composing himself enough to discuss the latest correspondence from his new, favorite agents. “Do we have anyone connected to performance circles in the colonies to pass this script to?” 

The short children’s show script was revolutionary in its simplicity. It told a lighthearted story of the Fire Nation’s Princess Akari going on an adventure with her best friend. Though the friend was never named, paired with ‘Love Lanterns’ popularizing the connection between Avatar Yangchen and Princess Akari, it was quite obvious who this friend was supposed to be. Unlike ‘Love Lanterns,’ it would evade censorship far longer and be much harder to erase from public memory.

Lim set another letter on his king’s desk with a crooked smile. “We have someone even better. Foxglove has reinitiated contact.”

King Bumi’s jaw dropped. “ No! ”

“I wouldn’t play such a prank on you, my liege. They seem to have been inspired by Hydrangea to give the Order another chance.”

Snatching up the letter with a gleeful giggle and snort, King Bumi read at a rapid rate. Once finished, he hugged the paper to his chest and fell back against his chair with a wistful sigh. “Lim, is there some way we can send a gift basket to Hydrangea?”

Lim nodded. “I’ve already drafted a letter for Harbor City tea houses to gift their best desserts to any young pai sho players.”

“Splendid! This is why you’re my favorite, Lim!”

The bright, genuine smile lighting up his king’s expression warmed Lim's heart. If only he could find some way to repay the little dragon for sending Hydrangea their way, for Wisteria certainly did not deserve that credit despite being their initiator. 

It was still unclear if Prince Zuko would crush their hopes as his uncle had, but Lim dared to hope in the changes spreading out from one young man’s actions.

Chapter Text

After his stunt trying to steal the mechanic part from the port office, Zuko had gotten lengthy lectures from both Jae and Kavi. A stubborn part of him wanted to disregard their words as he would ignore Uncle’s, but they made much better arguments for him to listen to him than Uncle did. They were a lot more persistent too. The entire time Kavi traveled with Zuko in their solo spirit hunting expedition, he made sure to bring the topic up at least once a day.

Zuko wasn’t alone anymore, he was part of a team. Not only was he part of a team, but he was in a leadership position for a growing movement. It was irresponsible for him to run off by himself, not because they thought he was too young to do things by himself or that they thought he would get himself into trouble, but because if the worst did happen, it could mean trouble for all the Wings. All risks and benefits of their movements needed to be weighed for the success of the whole group.

It was effective reasoning that Zuko could do little to argue against.

(To Kavi and Jae’s despair, it was only in entreating Zuko's sense of responsibility that they could get him to genuinely promise to be more careful and stop acting on his own. Even a hint of concern for his personal well-being was met with obstinate refusal to listen. At least it was a start.)

So now, for the first time, Zuko was feeling really guilty about his plans. Oh sure, he’d felt guilty the times he ran off and worried Uncle, but most of the guilt came after he returned and he saw how much he had upset Uncle. The guilt this time was almost enough to make him confess his plans to Jae and Kavi… but he knew there was no way they’d approve of this. It was a really stupid move and Zuko knew how much he was risking by even considering it but… It felt right. He had to do this. It felt like the spirits were pointing him in this direction, how could he possibly ignore the signs that this would take him closer to realizing his goals?

And so despite the guilt nearly eating him alive, Zuko initiated Operation Circus.

It started on the journey back to the Sazanami after wrapping up his business with the Freedom Fighters. Zuko hesitantly showed Kavi the flyer he found on the raid and shared his hopeful suspicions that it was Ty Lee pictured in the advertisement. She’d run off to join a traveling circus, so surely there wasn’t a second stupidly pink acrobat with her likeness, right?

Kavi immediately suggested Zuko try going to meet her. Him suggesting it first caught Zuko so off guard that Kavi mistook his reaction as reluctance. He was quick to reassure Zuko that Ty Lee would definitely want to see him despite his lack of letters before she ran away. 

The thought hadn’t even occurred to Zuko. If Mai of all people could forgive him, it was a given that Ty Lee wouldn’t be upset. But… it was the perfect excuse to go with a single chaperone, rather than his group of friends. The guilt eating Zuko up for lying about the purpose of this trip made his act of fearing Ty Lee’s ire all the more believable. 

Amphon was extremely disappointed that they couldn’t go on a group outing to the circus. Chanda harassed Zuko relentlessly on her behalf, saying that everything would be fine so let’s all go have fun together. When Zuko did not budge in his position to go without his friends, nobody found it suspicious.

In fact, everyone seemed to find it amusing. Zuko overheard Ye-jun laughing with the dining hall friend group, “Zuko’s grown up so much! But he’s still very much so Zuko.”

What was that supposed to mean!?

He couldn’t get offended though, because that attitude worked in his favor. No matter how much it pissed him off.

And so, in a way Zuko could only see as divine intervention, he managed to set off to a circus a mere half day’s travel from Omashu with only Uncle as his companion without a shred of suspicion or concern. Why couldn’t life always be this easy? Was the overwhelming guilt he felt the price for his successful ruse?

There was still a chance of it all falling apart at the last second, he still had Uncle with him after all. But somehow tricking Uncle was much less a daunting task than tricking Kavi and Jae or his friends. 

“I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about, Prince Zuko,” Uncle said jovially for the hundredth time since they left the Sazanami. “You didn’t fear Ty Lee’s rejection when writing a letter to her, so where did that confidence go? She will be delighted to see you again after so long!”

Zuko grunted and leaned back, arms crossed and letting his reins rest on the saddle. His komodo rhino wouldn’t stray from the path with Uncle’s own a half step ahead leading the way. A hot, dry breeze whipped around them, carrying grainy sand from the desert. The current topography reminded Zuko of his time with the Alashan, the sister tribe to Sarnai's that focused on agriculture rather than trade. Zuko looked out toward the horizon which promised deep, shifting sands and an even hotter wind that almost felt cool when on a sand sailer piloted by Ghashuin. 

Thoughts of the Xitao and Sarnai made Zuko wistful, so he tried not to think of them too often outside of the role they played in his journey and goals. This close to a place that had felt like a home away from home, Zuko couldn’t help but wonder how Sarnai was doing. Were they having fun with the flying jerboa? With their guidance, had Sarnai finally found a connection to the element they longed for? 

Uncle was still chatting away, oblivious to where Zuko’s thoughts were taking him. Or… perhaps not.

“-and while it’s nice to show our support for her passions, it was quite reckless of her to run away from home! I will have a word with her before we leave, of course. Be sure to be a responsible role model as an older friend, Prince Zuko. You’ve learned your lesson from your own rebellious streak last time we were near the desert.”

The pointed stare, the casual tone with a hint of sternness lacing through the words. Oh. It seemed Zuko hadn’t gotten away without any suspicion toward his actions, but the suspicion was so far off the mark it almost made Zuko laugh aloud. Uncle thought he was trying to run off to the desert again! Which, considering his recent spirit hunt, made complete sense. Maybe a year ago, Zuko would have been reckless enough to make an attempt to visit the spirit library again if he had the chance. 

It wasn’t even a passing thought now. He’d learned all he could about airbenders in the library and there was no way Wan Shi Tong would be helpful enough to justify the months it would take to hopefully find the library again. As nice as it would be to catch up with Sarnai and potentially bring the sandbenders into his plot to bring freedom back to the world… His chapter in the desert was finished. He’d brought the flying jerboa back, what came next was in Sarnai’s hands. Visiting them would only satisfy Zuko’s selfish whims, not help him get any closer to his goals.

Zuko scoffed and brushed off Uncle’s concerns. It was easy to lie that Uncle had nothing to worry about because it was the truth that Zuko had zero intentions to run off to the desert. Though Uncle didn’t look convinced, he didn’t bring it up again, leaving Zuko to his thoughts of how to sneak off to Omashu instead.

Since they left before daylight broke, the circus popped up in the distance as a speck on the horizon by midday. Zuko wanted to rush ahead to get there as soon as possible, but Iroh managed to hold him back. The flat plains meant that despite their destination being in sight, there were still a few hours of travel left. It didn’t turn into an argument, and Zuko actually looked sheepish about his eagerness.

That did little to calm Iroh’s nerves. Zuko had seemed almost surprised by Iroh’s suspicions of him wanting to return to the desert. His assertion that Iroh’s fears were unfounded felt sincere and held a tone of teenage judgment, as if he couldn’t fathom how his uncle could think such a thing of him. 

This whole situation was suspicious in how genuine it all felt. It hadn’t been Zuko to suggest going to see Ty Lee but Jae through Lt Kavi. Zuko had been shocked when Iroh brought it up over breakfast the day after he returned from his trip. He’d gotten embarrassed and petulant at the idea of Kavi gossiping with Iroh about him, insisting that he was going to ask Iroh by himself, thank you very much! But, from how Jae reported, it sounded as if Zuko was reluctant to go in fear of Ty Lee’s anger.

His behavior lined up with that suspicion, and then it was confirmed when Zuko stubbornly insisted his friends couldn’t join him to see the circus. He even seemed relieved when Iroh put his foot down that if they went, Iroh would be Zuko’s chaperone. There was no reason to suspect Zuko of duplicitous intentions. 

And yet.

Iroh couldn’t quell his concerns that he was missing something. 

The closer they got to the circus, the tenser Zuko became. He curled into himself, worrying his lip with his teeth and muttering occasionally to himself. This couldn’t be an act. Zuko had to be worried about how Ty Lee would receive him. So why did it still feel off?

There was a flurry of activity around the circus as they approached. It ended with a solitary, well-dressed man standing at the entrance, wringing his hands together as he waited to greet them. The second they were in speaking distance, before they even dismounted, the man bowed deeply.

“Welcome esteemed guests! What brings a pair of honorable soldiers to our circus?”

Though they were not in full armor, their komodo rhinos were obviously of military stock. Iroh dismounted and cheerfully explained there was no trouble, and how they were in fact here to see the show since they were acquainted with the headlining act. That only made the man even more tense as he tried to drag their conversation out without actually welcoming them in.

Either this circus was involved with some illegal dealing, or Ty Lee had found a kind, supportive troupe that was willing to take the fall to protect her. Iroh truly hoped it was the latter.

Everything was answered by a shrill, ecstatic shriek as a blur of pink leaped at Zuko. His training showed in that moment as Zuko quickly braced himself and stayed upright despite the high speed hug.

“Zuko! Is that really you!” Ty Lee cheered. With her arms wrapped around Zuko’s neck, her feet were barely touching the ground. Zuko carried her weight with ease, if not disgruntled annoyance. 

“What would you do if it wasn’t me?” Zuko scoffed, pulling at her vice grip around his neck.

Ty Lee giggled and clung tighter, going so far as to kick her feet off the ground and fully hang from him. “Oh, you know what I mean! Don’t be a jerk and just stand there like a snail sloth, hug me back!”

“Ew, no, get off of me!”

Shumuzu, the troupe’s leader, sighed and relaxed as the children squabbled. “Apologies for the cold welcome, esteemed guest. It seems our concerns for our talented, young performer were unfounded.”

As much as Iroh disapproved of Ty Lee’s actions, he was glad to see she had found some responsible, well-meaning adults who were looking after her. Though they were ready to get between Ty Lee and her family trying to drag her home, it seemed to be out of concern for her wishes rather than any selfish desires of exploiting her. Indeed, Iroh may not have met the girl often in the capital, but she was clearly well cared for here and seemed to glow with a happiness he could not recall from their few encounters.

“I’m pleased to see her with such stalwart defenders,” Iroh said. “My own concerns have calmed as well.”

Shumuzu stood a little straighter. “Our Ty Lee has become the heart of our troupe. We are delighted to host any friends of hers.”

“I’m honored to be welcomed so warmly-”

“Ringmaster!” Ty Lee cheered, dragging a bright red Zuko over to the adults. “This is my friend I told you about who inspired me to go off on my own travels! Zuko, this is Shumuzu, our ringmaster! Oh, and this is Zuko’s uncle, Uncle Iroh!”

The process of realization was clear on Shumuzu’s face as Ty Lee’s introductions sunk in. He burst into frantic apologies, quickly prostrating himself to Zuko’s obvious, horrified embarrassment. Iroh soothed the man jovially, but there was no stopping his frantic energy as he organized an immediate show for them.

Iroh let things happen as they may, trailing behind the children as Ty Lee enthusiastically gave Zuko a behind the scenes tour of the troupe preparing to put on a grand performance for an audience of two. That only made the performers even more frantic, but Ty Lee was either oblivious or found it amusing to tease her troupe mates with her royal guests. 

Slowly, Iroh’s worries began to melt away with the tension in Zuko’s shoulders. The more freely Zuko’s laughter came, the easier Iroh could breathe. It seemed the spirits had finally answered Iroh’s pleas for his nephew to have a proper rest. There was no mission, no lesson, no frantic search, simply two friends reconnecting and having fun.

The performance the troupe put on was well-organized and entertaining despite the last second arrangement. Ty Lee bounced between the ring and the audience stands rather than disappearing off stage whenever it wasn’t her turn to perform. Her relentless chatter surprisingly did not set Zuko off, and he even encouraged her by asking questions about the different acts. Iroh honestly wouldn’t have believed it three years ago if someone told him how well Zuko would get along with Azula’s bubbly friend. 

Evening approached and the performance came to a spectacular finale. Shumuzu nearly fell over himself offering to host Iroh and Zuko for the night, which they gratefully accepted. Dinner was a raucous affair. Zuko seamlessly blended into the crowd at Ty Lee’s side. Even after years of undercover personas and genuine friendships with lower-class members of the crew, it was still a surprise to Iroh to see just how quickly Zuko managed to end any sense of reverence for his standing. These people knew he was Prince Zuko, and yet still felt comfortable treating him no different than Ty Lee. All decorum was reserved for Iroh, but even that was starting to ease as he continued to remain good-natured and the performers got deeper into their cups. 

His nephew never ceased to impress him.

“Uncle Iroh!” Ty Lee cried, running through the crowd and dragging a furiously embarrassed Zuko behind her. She made it look easy to pull him along despite him resisting, which was a testament to the strength she’d built for her performances. “Zuko’s lying to me, I know he is! Why did he really not bring any of his friends for me to meet? There’s no way he couldn’t go over the ship’s captain’s head, right? Zuko’s the ultimate boss!”

“Ah, well, Prince Zuko, it’s not fair to blame this on Commander Haoran no matter how embarrassed you are.” Zuko glared Iroh down, as if that could silence him. Serenely prolonging the moment to sip from his tea, Iroh hid his smirk behind his cup. “You see, Miss Ty Lee, my nephew was very tight lipped about it, but he was concerned you would be angry with him for not contacting you for so long. It would have been quite awkward if he showed up with all his friends to meet you, only to be spurned away!”

Ty Lee gasped dramatically and spun around to throw herself at Zuko for a hug. He expertly sidestepped her attempt, then put his foot out in an attempt to trip her. Iroh’s shocked admonition was cut short as Ty Lee launched herself into a cartwheel with delighted laughter, unbothered by Zuko’s actions. 

“Oh, don’t be a sour puss! I’m trying to comfort you! I never would have thought you’d be so worried like that. It honestly makes me really happy you care that much!” Ty Lee ignored Zuko’s indignant spluttering to address Iroh with wide, shining eyes. “If it was just Zuko’s insecurities that prevented me from meeting his friends, then that means they can come now, right?”

Zuko huffed and answered before Iroh could. “We didn’t bring a messenger hawk, so it’d take way too long for a letter to be relayed to our ship. Plus, it’s almost a day's journey when it’s just me and uncle on komodo rhinos. It’d take forever for them to get here! It’s just illogical at this point.”

“But-”

“No!”

The tension from earlier in the day was back in Zuko’s shoulders. He refused to look at Iroh, which in any other situation would have Iroh concerned he was planning something reckless. The simmering suspicion of Zuko’s intentions for this trip tried to rise up again, but Iroh squashed it down. It was obvious why Zuko was acting like this; of course he wanted to introduce Ty Lee to his friends from the Sazanami but couldn’t justify the hassle to himself.

“We have our weekly performance tomorrow, but after that, we could relocate in your ship's direction!” Shumuzu offered exuberantly. It wasn’t out of groveling deference as it would have been earlier today, but a genuinely kind offer. “If you go back to gather your folks instead of playing messenger hawk tag, we can organize a location that’s a midpoint so it’s not too much trouble for either party.”

Iroh smiled gratefully. “That is a very generous suggestion, Ringmaster. It’s certainly feasible. What do you say, Prince Zuko? Shall we head out in the morning to collect your friends?”

As Ty Lee shrieked and jumped around in triumph, Zuko crossed his arms, still looking reluctant. His eyes flickered between Iroh and Ty Lee, then at the party still going on around them. Ty Lee’s celebrations were quick to stop upon realizing Zuko wasn’t celebrating with her. There was a mischievous glint in her eyes as she bumped shoulders with him.

“Aw, Zuzu, do you want to hang out more with me?”

Vibrant vermillion filled Zuko’s face as he growled out a denial and shoved Ty Lee away. She cackled in a way that proved how she survived as Azula’s friend, then turned her energy to Iroh. “Can’t Zuko stay as you go back to the ship, Uncle? It’ll take a couple of days to meet up again. Plus, if he stays then he can see me perform tomorrow night too! He’ll get to see the show three times!”

Zuko’s head shot up, eyes wide at the suggestion. He stared at Iroh as if the idea was a brilliant revelation he couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought of first. His reluctance, embarrassment, and shock were all too genuine for this to have been a plan precontrived by the children to hoodwink Iroh into agreeing. Zuko was not that good of an actor. And yet…

Shumuzu laughed nervously. “Prince Iroh, I can understand your wariness about leaving Prince Zuko with a bunch of circus performers you’ve only just met, but I assure you we will treat him with the utmost hospitality and will keep his security at the forefront of our minds.”

“Well… Perhaps if we were further north…”

While Shumuzu didn’t understand the significance of that statement, Zuko scowled. Surprisingly, Ty Lee also caught on to the source of Iroh’s concerns with quick insight. “I’ll keep a super close eye on Zuko, Uncle Iroh, promise! There’s no way he’s running off on his own to the desert again on my watch. Especially not after he ignored me for a year!”

Iroh raised an eyebrow at his nephew, who huffed and crossed his arms. 

“I already told you, I have zero intentions of trying to go back. I don’t get why you’re so hung up on that.”

Zuko held Iroh’s gaze, not once glancing away. Steadfast and annoyed, there wasn’t a hint of any of Zuko’s tells that gave away his dishonesty. Iroh wanted to trust his nephew. He wanted to believe this boy had not grown up enough to convincingly outright lie to him. 

Just a soft sigh was enough to have Ty Lee cheering again. Wary hope filled Zuko’s eyes. Alright, it was time for Iroh to let go of his suspicions and fully put his trust in Zuko once more. If Zuko broke it again, Iroh was never going to leave his side again.

“Very well, I’ll leave on my own in the morning.”

The pure shock in Zuko’s expression was enough to make Iroh feel guilty for not establishing his trust in Zuko sooner. Perhaps this would be a turning point for them, and Zuko would start confiding in Iroh again.

When morning came, Zuko was still present and eager to join Ty Lee’s routine for the day. He didn’t spare Iroh a second glance as he gave his farewells, thrumming with excitement at the idea of his friends soon joining them.

Even though there was still a tingling sensation that he was missing something, Iroh left for the Sazanami with a light heart.

It would be a lie to say he wasn’t enjoying himself. Zuko may have come to Ty Lee’s circus purely out of ulterior motives, but now he could almost fool himself into believing his own lie. It was as if there hadn’t been a year without contact, and the establishment of their friendship hadn’t occurred over exchanged letters. Ty Lee treated Zuko like a proper friend—something he could recognize now that he had multiple friendships under his belt. Guilt plagued Zuko through the night, so he was determined to be a good friend before executing his original plans in coming here.

He saw Uncle off with undisguised glee at how easy it was to take care of that problem, then pushed aside all thoughts of his nighttime plans. Today was exclusively about being Ty Lee’s friend. Zuko accompanied her in her daily chores, then her warm-ups for the evening’s performance. All throughout, they chatted about the year gap since they last exchanged words. While not as expansive as Zuko’s travels, Ty Lee still had exciting stories to share and plenty of friends to talk about. However, it was Zuko doing the most talking as Ty Lee grilled him to hear all of his Yangchen stories and more details that hadn’t made it into his letters.

Eventually, evening fell and Zuko had an exclusive backstage seat to watch the troupe perform again. The private show the night prior hadn’t been lacking in any way, but Zuko found himself enjoying this performance much more in comparison. The excitement of the crowd bolstered the performers’ enthusiasm and several acts involved more audience participation than had been asked of Zuko and Uncle. It was probably going to be even better with the crew in attendance! 

Zuko was eager to sneak off to Omashu and hopefully find a lead through the infamous crazy king, but he was almost more excited to wrap up his business and meet up with the Sazanami. He couldn’t wait to see everyone having a good time. Maybe he could tell the performers who to target in the audience to make an even more amusing show. Heck, he was even considering Ty Lee’s suggestion to join some of her acts. So caught up in his innocent, fun-filled thoughts, Zuko really wasn’t expecting anyone to be keeping an eye on him once the camp called it an early night in anticipation for tomorrow’s work packing up to travel.

Clad in his all-black ensemble, glider and Dark Water Spirit mask in hand, Zuko stepped out of his guest tent and nearly went sprawling to the ground. Who thought it was a good idea to leave something in front of his tent?! Zuko swallowed a yelp and scrambled to keep his footing as he whirled around to glare at whatever was- Not whatever. Whoever. Ty Lee was sitting on the ground, staring at him with a smug smile. 

“Did you think I’d forget my promise to your uncle? Where do you think you’re going, hm~?”

Dammit, Zuko got too cocky. He hid his mask and glider behind his back with a shrug. “I’m not that tired yet, so I was going to walk around a bit. Go to sleep, Ty Lee, you’re not my babysitter.”

“Obviously not.” Ty Lee bounced to her feet and into Zuko’s space with a bright smile. “I’m your friend. That’s why I promised Uncle Iroh that I wouldn’t let you run off on your own. I want to meet Sarnai! So let’s get a move on before we get caught!”

Shock had Zuko staring blankly at her for a moment. It wasn’t her actions that caught him so off guard, but the fact he hadn’t predicted them. Ty Lee hadn’t been cast out of the capital and began adventuring due to her circumstances. This was the girl who ran away from home. Of course she was completely on board with sneaking out in the middle of the night. The most shocking part was how she managed to fool uncle… Ty Lee was scary in how she made others underestimate her.

“Even if I was going to the desert, there’s no guarantee of meeting Sarnai. It’s really hard to rendezvous with the trading tribes. So, sorry to disappoint. Go to bed. I’ll be back in the morning.”

Ty Lee stuck her bottom lip out in an exaggerated pout. “You’re not even going to tell me where you’re going?”

“It’s none of your business!”

“Well, if that’s your attitude, maybe it should be your uncle’s business when we-”

Zuko snarled and stepped closer to Ty Lee threateningly, but she didn’t even flinch. “Don’t you dare rat me out.”

“Then take me with you on your adventure!” she said with a carefree smile.

“You don’t even know where I’m planning on going!”

Ty Lee tilted her head, the picture of innocence. “So why don’t you tell me?”

This was a losing battle, Zuko knew it. With his glider, it should take him only a couple of hours to get to Omashu. It was plenty of time to go and come back by morning, but he needed to get going now to not be cutting it close.

“Do you have anything…” Zuko looked over Ty Lee’s bright pink clothes in disdain. “Darker to change into? And something to hide your face?”

“Sure thing! But there’s nothing around here to go in disguise to?”

Zuko snapped his glider open and smirked at her wide-eyed surprise. “Omashu is in flying distance.”

“Flying?!” Ty Lee gasped in pure glee. She paused and gasped again in disbelief. “Omashu!?”

“Yeah, that’s right. So if you’re coming, I’ll explain on the way.”

As he expected, Ty Lee promised to be quick in changing and ran off to her tent. It gave Zuko time to consider how much he was going to tell her. Since she was already a big fan of Yangchen, he could probably get away with something close to the truth…

Ty Lee returned in a matching full-black outfit with a smiling, pink mask of her own. She grabbed Zuko’s mask to hold them up together with a giggle. The Dark Water Spirit’s smile was eerie, less of a smile than a baring of teeth. The smile of Ty Lee’s mask fit her perfectly, wide and pushing the eyes into upward crescents. 

“Now we match! Let’s get going~”

The lack of windows in Omashu’s inner palace made it easy to lose track of the time. Bumi was much too old to be working late into the night, and yet he still found himself doing just that. Judging by the amount of oil left in his lamps, it was nearing midnight. One last report, he promised himself he would retire to his chambers after one last report.

A knock on his door sent a wave of weariness washing over him. Nothing good ever came from reports in the middle of the night. With a mere flick of his finger, Bumi slid open the earthen door of his office to grant entry to the guard outside. 

The man did not carry himself with a sense of urgency nor despair. If anything, he looked confused as to why he was even interrupting his king’s work. “Your majesty, um, there’s some weird people demanding your audience in the inner courtyard.”

Bumi leaned forward, resting his chin in his hands as he regarded the guard with open interest. “The inner courtyard? However did they end up there? And why are you granting their request instead of dragging them down to the dungeons?”

“Apologies, your majesty,” the guard exclaimed, bowing deeply. He remained in his bow, speaking toward the ground as he said, “Advisor Lim held the guards back and sent me to inform you of the situation.”

“How intriguing!” Bumi jumped to his feet with a delighted clap. “They must be very entertaining intruders for Advisor Lim to listen to their demands! Thank you for the report, young man!”

The guard didn’t bat an eye as his king split the ceiling open and shot himself into the hole. Only new recruits were still shocked by Bumi’s antics. Cackling to himself, Bumi traversed his palace through the earthen walls and floors to pop out at the edge of the inner courtyard. The scene awaiting him was just as strange as Bumi hoped.

Two small, masked figures stood in the middle of the courtyard. They were obviously ready to fight if need be while forcing themselves into a semblance of casual nonchalance. Guards lined the perimeter of the courtyard, their weapons at rest. Lim hurriedly approached Bumi to explain the situation.

“They dropped out of the sky.”

Aerial arrivals were once a common occurrence in Bumi’s younger years; they were shocking in this day and age. Particularly so in this courtyard. It was called the inner courtyard since it was the innermost of the palace’s courtyards, but perhaps a most apt name would be the observatory courtyard as it was one of the highest points of the palace. There were no jumping off points for someone to feasibly drop in.

Bumi giggled as he roughly patted Lim on the back. There was a reason he was Bumi’s most trusted agent! It would be a waste to arrest these daring intruders without hearing them out first.

“Well hello there!” Bumi called out in greeting, guards parting for him as he stepped out into the courtyard. “I do have an open audience with my citizens once a month. So unless you’re extremely impatient, may I presume you’re visitors from out of town?”

“Holy shit, I can’t believe this actually worked,” Blue Mask none too quietly whispered to his companion. “He’s as crazy as they say!”

Of course Bumi had his suspicions, but the tactless ‘whisper’ all but cemented the theory that came to mind upon seeing a Dark Water Spirit mask paired with a seemingly innocuous staff and a feat that could only be explained with airbending, or that which emulated it.

Pink Mask smacked Blue’s chest hard enough to make him wheeze and take a step back. While he was momentarily incapacitated, Pink bounced forward as she spoke, “Thank you so much for coming out to meet us at this hour without an appointment, King Bumi!” She bowed quickly, but with enough depth to convey her respect. “And I have to say, you have a beautiful aura! What a magnificent gold!”

Bumi had no idea as to who the girl could be, but it was nice to see Iroh’s nephew had such a charming friend at his side. 

“No one’s ever complimented my aura before,” Bumi said, clapping his hands cheerfully. “How wond-aura-ful!”

Silence followed Bumi’s joke. A guard coughed. And then Pink burst into delighted laughter. Blue dropped his face in his hands, the picture of a disgusted teenager.

“So what brings you to my palace at this hour?” Bumi asked, waving the guards away and glancing around for Lim, who was no longer present. Ah, how reliable, he already knew what Bumi wanted.

Blue pushed forward, “I have questions about life before the war.”

His voice was brimming with confidence, as if there was no chance of Bumi denying his request. It should have come off as conceited, to make ridiculous demands of a king with that attitude. Bumi only found it endearing since it sent his mind spinning with the theories and hopes that had been building over the past year. To break into Omashu’s palace and merely want to hear some old stories? Absurd! Fantastic! Just what one would expect from a fearless historian!

“Okay, let’s hear them!” Bumi said with a giggle and a snort. Pink, who looked ready to start chastising Blue, froze and whipped around to stare at Bumi. Blue was equally as frozen, obviously not expecting things to go so easily. “But story time always needs some refreshments!”

It was a good thing servants were already here with a full tea service. Bumi stomped the ground and an ornate table shot up. The children’s masks couldn’t conceal their confusion, nor the way they ogled his creation. Of course Bumi had to show off and earthbend even more elaborate chairs for them to sit in.

“Wonderful work!” Bumi praised Lim and the servants as they quickly laid out the tea and snacks, then retreated out of earshot. He plopped himself into a chair and started serving the tea. “Come, come, have a seat! Talk! Call me a cat, I’m about to be killed with curiosity!” 

Pink shook off her confusion first and quickly joined Bumi. She shifted her mask enough to taste the tea and hummed appreciatively. “This is delicious!”

Slowly, Blue sat as well, but he did not reach for his tea. “I want to know what it was like before the war.”

“Oh my gosh, that’s going to get us nowhere!” Pink rolled her entire head to convey the eye roll concealed by her mask. “Your majesty, you see, my friend here is researching airbenders and…” She looked over her shoulder at Lim and the few guards remaining before leaning across the table to whisper, “He wants to try bringing airbending back!It’s really ambitious, I know, but trust me, he’s super stubborn so I know he can do it with the right help!”

While this entire evening was unexpected, nothing had really shaken Bumi. He was merely amused to be caught off guard by the audacity of youth. But this statement stole his breath away. For some time, Bumi had his suspicions about the renewed anti-war efforts stemming from the Fire Nation. How could he not, when stories of Avatar Yangchen seemed to be at the epicenter of rebellion? This, however, was completely different from opposing the Fire Nation’s war efforts. Bring airbending back? How did a banished Fire Nation prince come to have an ambition so far in the realm of idealism that none had even thought to express it in the past century?

“And how do you-” Bumi paused to wet his lips and take a steadying breath. “-propose to revive an extinct people’s bending?”

Blue sat rigid, fists clenched in his lap. Even concealed as it was, his gaze burned with intensity. “King Bumi, why do you think airbending is exclusive to one nation?”

Chills ran down Bumi’s spine. He had lived a long, vibrant life and never backed down from embracing new experiences, new ways of thinking to push his boundaries. Once, in his youth, Bumi traveled the Si Wong same as this young royal had, and heard whispers of lost, ancient creatures who moved the desert winds and sands. Later, once he had earned the confidence of the Northern Water Tribe, Bumi learned some of their secretive tales of mixed bending. But even with both of these people’s fervent wishes for a changed world, none spoke of bringing it to reality. It was too risky, even before the Fire Nation declared war on the world. For all Bumi believed himself open-minded, Iroh’s nephew was challenging him in ways he never could have imagined.

“Such an idea has been gone far longer than this century,” Bumi said cautiously. Perhaps he was reading too much into a young man’s words. “Are you not suggesting an even more monumental task?”

“Am I?” Blue challenged. “Everything is unbalanced, so isn’t it the perfect time to fix it with something ancient but brand new?”

Bold and brash, in a way only a firebender could be. For years, fire was the image of destruction, but in this boy, Bumi could see the natural cycle of rebirth from a wildfire. Only by burning through dry, lifeless underbrush could new life sprout.

“Jeez, why do you keep talking in riddles?” Pink cut in with an exaggerated sigh, which broke into light giggles. “He told me that the root of airbending is freedom, so he needs to make the world a free place for air to breathe! But we don’t know what that looks like, that’s why we’re here. King Bumi, you’re super old, right? Did you know any airbenders?”

There was nothing Bumi could do but laugh, uncontrollably, hysterically laugh. A year ago, he suspected Iroh was blind to his nephew’s knowledge of the war’s truths. It was obvious now that they both had underestimated the Fire Nation’s banished crown prince. Oh how Bumi longed to end the charade, remove their masks and hear Prince Zuko’s story from the beginning. But this was obviously a reckless teenage escapade and these children were likely pressed for time. 

“Yes!” Bumi shouted, making the children jump apart from each other, ending their judgemental whispering. “In fact, my best friend was an airbender-”

“You were friends with an airbender!?” Blue cut in, his voice and the clatter of the tableware as he slammed his hands on it echoing through the courtyard. He wasn’t cowed by Pink’s kick under the table, ignoring her to lean across the table toward Bumi. “Did he know the Avatar? Did you know the Avatar!?”

Oh dear, Bumi really shouldn’t answer truthfully, though he felt guilty deceiving someone so young and passionate.

“Stop being so rude!” Pink said, her light tone juxtaposing her firm grip on Blue’s arm as she pulled him back into his chair. “Ignore him, Your Majesty! His passion for his research gets the best of him sometimes! If you don’t mind sharing with us, what was your friend like?”

Closing his eyes with a quiet hum, Bumi let himself think of days long past. Memories of laughter and reckless antics danced behind his eyelids. Better, innocent days were difficult to dwell on, just as they were important to never forget. They held the vision of what Bumi was fighting for.

“My friend was like a fresh breeze on a humid day. All airbenders had the ability to whirl into anyone’s life and brighten it even if just a bit. A world with airbenders is one with joy and adventure!” Bumi opened his eyes to smile at the children staring at him in rapt silence. “Just from our brief encounter, my mysterious guests, I can say you remind me of my friend. He was bursting with curiosity and creativity. He didn’t let silly things like borders or stations prevent him from seeking answers and making new friends. You would have gotten along splendidly with him.”

“Really?” Pink asked, timid confusion coloring her voice.

“Really?!” Blue asked, leaning forward, trembling with restrained energy. “So do you think I have a chance of bringing freedom back?”

Bumi smiled and turned his attention to his neglected cookies. He chose a thin, crisp looking one and bit it in half with a snap. Humming as he chewed, Bumi pointed the remaining half of the cookie at Blue. “It is a bold theory! Innovative! In all my years, I’ve never heard someone suggest something like this. So I have no idea if it’ll work! Haha!”

Blue fell back in his seat with a groan.

“Have I satisfied your curiosity? May I ask a question of my own?”

“Yeah, sure, guess that’s only fair,” Blue grumbled. What a cheeky thing! Did he forget he was in the presence of another nation’s royalty? Pink obviously hadn’t, from the way she once again kicked him under the table.

Bumi snorted and popped the rest of the cookie in mouth. He made a show of licking his fingers clean as he asked, “Why do you want to revive airbending?”

Since he suspected the answer, Bumi hadn’t expected the question to be met with hesitation. Was it not as straightforward as Bumi presumed? Pink also seemed confused by Blue’s reticent, so she spoke up to break the silence once it grew too long.

“Blue has been looking for the Avatar! He thinks that instead of the Avatar bringing balance, he should make things more balanced to bring the Avatar back.”

“Yet another innovative idea! But also quite the conundrum. Whether balance can be achieved without the Avatar has been a topic of debate even before he disappeared.” Pink drooped, while Blue nodded along. But both perked up with what he said next, “But I think what you’re doing is the best way to put your theory to the test!”

“And what exactly is it you think I’m doing?” Blue asked.

Bumi grinned and pointed another cookie at him. “Why, doing what the Avatar would, of course!”

“Oh my gosh! You have been!” Pink exclaimed, nearly jumping out of her seat. “You started traveling and learning about airbenders, then waterbenders when you went to the North Pole, and now you should learn more about earthbending!!”

Blue brought a hand up, under his mask to stroke his chin as he thought aloud. “The Avatar reaches their full potential after mastering not just the elements, but the cultures of each nation. Learning about Avatar Yangchen eventually led me to learning more about Avatar Kuruk, and you’re right, the next in the cycle would be Kyoshi. Maybe, if I keep following that trail, it’ll help me understand balance and what I need to do to make it happen. Wait- How could I have forgotten. Nukilik and Kyoshi knew each other! Yue didn’t know more about their relationship, but maybe Kyoshi Warriors do!”

It seemed Bumi was momentarily forgotten as the children shot ideas back and forth as to what Blue could learn about Avatar Kyoshi and this Nukilik, clearly talking around the idea of mixed elements. He enjoyed his late night snack while waiting for a pause in their youthful, energetic chatter. From the edge of the courtyard, Lim signaled for Bumi to wrap up this encounter. Ah, it was getting quite late and these little rebels probably didn’t want to get caught.

Bumi felt bad for his dear friend since he had every intention of helping Prince Zuko keep his secrets. Iroh would support Prince Zuko’s endeavors, of course, but Bumi feared his protective love for his nephew would get in the way of a true revolution. Even the wildest of theories Bumi had come up with since the little prince’s friends became upstarts in the Order of the White Lotus paled in comparison to the reality before him. Hydrangea was only the tip of the iceberg. Who knew how far Prince Zuko’s influence truly spread?

The best Bumi could do was help spread it further.

“If you’re interested in Avatar Kyoshi, you’re in luck!” Bumi cut in the second there was lull in the children’s conversation. They jumped, realizing they had been ignoring the very reason they broke into Omashu. “I’ve heard rumors that there is a band of Kyoshi Warriors traveling in the south, offering self defense lessons! I’m sure they would be willing to give lessons on the Avatar they honor as well.”

Before the kids could get a word in edgewise, Bumi let out an exaggerated yawn and stood. 

“I hope I was of some help, little scholars. I’m sorry there wasn’t more I could say to assist you in your quest.”

“No, no! You’ve helped me way more than you realize!” Blue exclaimed, jumping to his feet to bow deeply, suddenly full of manners. “Thank you so much for meeting us at such an unreasonable hour, unannounced. I was unsure of what to do next in my quest, but now I see a clear path again thanks to you!”

Bumi laughed at the sudden change in behavior. What an entertaining little dragon! Both children repeated their thanks as they retreated to the courtyard’s balcony. Bumi remained where he stood, watching them with a discerning eye. He had not forgotten his guard’s report of how they had dropped in earlier. His curiosity was overflowing as to how they would depart. 

“I hope for your success. I look forward to seeing airbending in this world again,” Bumi said as his final parting words.

Blue looked over his shoulder, the sinister grin of his mask looked almost cheeky with his shoulder blocking half of it. “Well, watch closely and enjoy a teaser of the future.”

He flicked his staff in a nostalgic movement and canvas wings popped out from their confines. With Pink on his back, the two jumped off the ledge without an ounce of hesitation. Bumi’s guards started forward with exclamations of shock and horror. 

Laughter filled the night sky as a dark shadow shot up overhead. Illuminated by the moon, Pink leaned over to wave and call out one last farewell before they disappeared from sight. 

Bumi’s cheeks hurt from how wide he was smiling. 

A teaser of the future, or a glimpse of the past? Perhaps they were one and the same.

The sun had long since set, but roaring fires lit up the raucous party underway. If any outsiders happened to pass this scene, even the casual military garb of half the attendees wouldn’t lead them to believe a navy crew was in attendance. After Zuko’s surprise performance on the flying trapeze (hadn’t that nearly sent Iroh into conniptions), the youngest of the crew were ecstatic to follow his lead and learn some circus tricks of their own. 

Ye-jun was attempting nonbender fire breathing while the engineer duo were taking turns on a unicycle. In contrast, Jingyi had an audience of crewmembers and performers as she went toe-to-toe with the troupe’s magician in a sleight-of-hand battle. An even larger crowd blocked Zuko from view as he cheered Chanda on in an arm wrestling tournament. 

Kavi grinned into his mug of whatever swill the circus troupe called alcohol. It was perhaps his second or third cup, so he was pleasantly tipsy. The crew had great fun teasing him for letting loose, but quickly let him be since he deserved a relaxing night. 

For all that Kavi was the one to suggest Zuko visit Ty Lee, Iroh’s solo return struck him with anxiety. Had he somehow played into Zuko’s hands and inadvertently assisted some reckless scheme? It was a pleasant surprise to arrive at the rendezvous point and find Zuko acting his age with a peer. Ty Lee was a delight, but within a few minutes of meeting her, Kavi was even more surprised they hadn’t run off on a desert adventure together.

Cheers erupted as flames shot into the sky. It seemed Ye-jun finally succeeded in his fire breathing. Distracted and tipsy as he was, Kavi didn’t notice the person approaching him until she was already seated on the box he was leaning against and speaking.

“You know, I only ever met Lu Ten a couple of quick times, but he was obviously a really amazing guy since Zuko and Azula adored him,” Ty Lee said, kicking her feet in the air. “So I’m glad Zuko’s gotten to know him again through you!”

Kavi tilted his head back to smile up at the girl. “I didn’t realize Zuko told you that much.”

“Of course he did! You’re basically his big brother-in-law, right?”

“Oh- Well-” Alcohol dulled Kavi’s tongue as he blushed. How embarrassing to be called out so innocently like this. “Yes, I suppose that wouldn’t be incorrect to say…”

Ty Lee giggled, bending in half, hugging her torso to her legs so they were eye level. “So, in that case, you’re the person most likely to scold him for doing stupid things, but also keep it secret from Uncle and keep helping him with his crazy goals, right?”

There wasn’t any room to be shocked, because Kavi had been expecting this the second Iroh had returned. He sighed deeply and tossed back his drink. “I knew it was too good to be true–him wanting just to visit a friend. Did you actually accomplish anything in the desert in such a short amount of time?”

“Oh, we didn’t go to the desert! How silly!” Ty Lee slid down to the ground next to Kavi and whispered in his ear, “We met the king of Omashu!”

What.

No, surely he heard her wrong. But, she was smiling in a way only children could when they ratted out their friends and wanted a reward for it. 

“But I’m only going to tell you everything about that adventure if you promise to answer something honestly for me!”

Now Kavi could see how this cheerful, seemingly innocent girl befriended a pair of siblings like Azula and Zuko. Spirits save him from cunning children. He sighed and wished his mug would magically refill itself. 

“I don’t need to know everything,” Kavi countered with a shrug. “So I’ll agree to your deal only after I know what question you want to ask.”

Ty Lee puffed her cheeks out in a pout, but couldn’t keep up the facade as a giggle escaped. “That’s fair! I’d be disappointed if you were easily fooled like Zuko, especially if I’m right…” She leaned in to whisper again. “Does Zuko want to stop the war? Not win it. Stop it.”

Kavi suddenly had a rare bout of sympathy for Iroh. If his reaction to Zuko’s flying trapeze act was even half of the heart attack Kavi just had, Iroh deserved some slack. What in the world did Zuko say in the past few days to his old friend? 

When Kavi didn’t immediately reply, Ty Lee sat back and started stretching with a carefree smile, as if they weren’t openly discussing something extremely dangerous. “Because, between the stories he told in his letters, the feelings I got from his friends from his first crew–they work in the capital now, if you didn’t know that–and the way he’s talked about his recent methods for finding the Avatar and this element mix stuff… Well, it only makes sense if he’s against it.”

She didn’t sound judgemental nor scared of the idea. Ty Lee spoke lightly, as if the topic was as inconsequential as the possibility of Zuko disliking green peppers. She was only 13. For all that she knew it went against their education to be anti-war, she was too young to fully comprehend the weight of such a stance. So Kavi took a chance in trusting the girl who came to him, not Zuko’s uncle, to tattle on Zuko and ask her question. 

“Yes. He is. And so am I, and many others on this crew and beyond.”

Ty Lee nodded like she expected his answer. “Well, I hope… all goes well. I think I would like that, too. But, it’s pretty dangerous, right? Can you promise me you’ll watch out for him? And Azula too if… it gets to that?”

It was hard for her to fathom, but at least she had an idea of what ending the war would look like. Kavi smiled softly and ruffled her hair. “Of course. You don’t even have to ask. But I’m glad they have a friend like you looking out for them.”

Cheeks flushing pink, Ty Lee shyly smiled and twisted herself up to her feet. “Of course! I’m an amazing friend!”

Kavi snorted and grabbed her hand before she bounced away. “I’ll give you points for attempting to get out of our deal on Zuko’s behalf. But not gonna let you get away with it. Sit down and let’s come back to meeting the king of Omashu.”

Ever since Ty Lee said goodbye to Zuko and his amazing crew of friends, she felt restless. That was a lie. She had been feeling restless since her nighttime adventure to Omashu with Zuko. Flying on his glider had been exhilarating in a way Ty Lee longed to experience again. But, while her body had been soaring above the ground, her mind grew heavier with every word Zuko spoke.

He did his best to talk around it, but Ty Lee had seen the bad things from the war for herself. She saw the way those touched by earth weren’t fully accepted in the colonies. She visited occupied villages full of poverty and despair. Even once they became a proper Fire Nation town, they would still have to struggle the same as those in the colonies had been for the past few decades. 

When Zuko spoke about bringing freedom back into the world, he really meant freeing the world from the war. It was obvious, but maybe only because Ty Lee had been ignoring her own realizations from her travels. Maybe if they had met before Ty Lee left the capital, she wouldn’t have understood the hidden meaning of Zuko’s goals.

Kavi confirmed her suspicions, and she left it at that. She only needed to know so she could better lie to protect Zuko, right? So why did she feel like she should have offered to help in some way? It didn’t make any sense. She was just a kid, just a circus performer. But Zuko, too, was just a kid, just a banished prince. Ty Lee didn’t want to join the war and fight, even if she could fight and it meant ending the war for good. Kavi said there were plenty of people already out there doing just that. They didn’t need her. There was nothing wrong with her doing nothing.

Right?

Besides, they were already gone and Ty Lee couldn’t ask them what she could do if she decided she wanted to help.

Maybe she didn’t need to ask. Maybe she didn’t need to fight to help. While ending the war would be the biggest factor in making the world more free, it wasn’t the only work to be done. People had forgotten what airbenders were like (and what was remembered of them was possibly distorted; Ty Lee had been too afraid to confirm that suspicion) which was why Zuko was so eager to meet King Bumi and learn more about them from a first-hand account. 

King Bumi said they were like his airbender friend, right? So if Ty Lee started sharing stories about Yangchen and did her best to continue bringing positivity to other people’s lives, then she’d be helping too, right?

The idea helped calm some of her nerves, but she still felt restless.

A knock on a pole of her tent pulled Ty Lee out of her musings. One of her fellow contortionists stuck her head into the tent with a playful smile. “Lucky month for you, Ty Lee! Friends come by, and now there’s finally some sandbenders to do business, like you’ve been waiting for!”

Ty Lee popped up to her feet and shrieked, “Really?!”

Her troupe mate's laughter followed her as she raced out of her tent and to the edge of camp. There were a few boat-like contraptions that had to be sand sailers and a group of people dressed head-to-toe to protect themselves from sandy wind and the harsh sun. 

“Hi!” Ty Lee cheered, interrupting Mr. Shumuzu’s conversation with one of the sandbenders without a care. “Are any of you Sarnai?”

The man with Mr. Shumuzu turned to her with a frown, a question on his lips when a hand shot out from the back of the crowd. “That’s me!” Someone shouted, but the hand was shoved back down. There was a bit of a tussle, then a teenager with a vibrant turquoise aura pushed their way forward. They shoved back the fabric shrouding their head to reveal a wide smile and wild, wind-tousled hair.

“How do you know me?” They asked, kicking at their brother trying to drag them away. “Wait- Wait- Let me guess. Look at all that pink. Know me by name? You gotta be one of Hui’s friends from home, right? The one he sent the necklace to?”

“Yes! I take it everywhere with me!” Ty Lee pulled the necklace out from inside her shirt with a proud smile. “I’m so excited to finally meet you. I’m Ty Lee!”

The man with Mr. Shumuzu sighed, but waved them off with a hint of a smile. “Alright, go make your introductions elsewhere while I finish speaking with Mr. Shumuzu. I believe we might be staying longer than initially planned, if that’s alright with you, sir.”

Mr. Shumuzu was the absolute best and easily agreed, “Of course, Mr. Sha-Mo. Ty Lee has been beside herself with anticipation for the day sandbenders happen to come by. How fortunate the very one she’s been hoping to meet is the first to visit.”

Sarnai’s smile was blinding as they shot their brother a rude gesture, then dragged Ty Lee away from the group, already chattering a mile a minute just like Zuko said they would. 

“I can’t believe Mr. Grumpy Pants actually told you about me! I’m at a disadvantage because he said nothing about you! I can’t believe he didn’t tell me he’s friends with a circus performer! That’s so cool! But you’re pretty young, so is this something new? How long have you been traveling with this troupe? I saw them a few years ago when I was younger. Mr. Shumuzu is a nice guy! The troupes that frequented the area after him weren’t as welcoming to us. How is Hui? It’s been forever since I saw him-”

A squeak from the folds of Sarnai’s clothes cut them off. They froze, eyes growing wide with panic. The squeak grew louder and a bump started moving around inside Sarnai’s shirt. With a curse, Sarnai leaped behind a sand sailer, dragging Ty Lee down with them in a crouch. A small rodent with big ears poked its head out of the collar of Sarnai’s shirt and looked at Ty Lee with its beady, adorable eyes.

“Uh. This has never happened before, I’m not really sure what to do. This is Almaz,” Sarnai curled their chin to stare at the animal. “Almaz, this is Ty Lee? Did you hear she’s Hui’s friend and want to say hi or something? Isn’t that a bit too trusting of you? I know Hui is cool and all, but we just met Ty Lee! Uh- Not saying you can’t be cool, of course. But we did just meet.”

Never before in her life had Ty Lee been swept up by someone else’s pace like this. She hadn’t gotten a word in edgewise since Sarnai pulled her away, and now she was speechless when there was a chance for her to reply. 

“Hello, Almaz?” Was all she could say. 

The small rodent squeaked and pushed the rest of its body out from Sarnai’s clothes. A slight breeze wrapped around them as Almaz jumped off Sarnai and into Ty Lee’s hands, which she had quickly brought up to catch him. He landed lightly, as if he had floated over to her.

Out of the embrace of Sarnai’s aura, Ty Lee realized this little creature had an aura of its own, almost the same shade of turquoise as Sarnai’s. Ty Lee had never seen an animal with such a vibrant aura before.

The wind swirled tighter around her. 

Zuko’s words repeated in her mind.

“King Bumi, why do you think airbending is exclusive to one nation?”

The restlessness in Ty Lee’s heart was carried away in the gentle breeze. She looked up from the little airbender in her hands to meet Sarnai’s panicked gaze with a smile.

“I think Almaz knows I’m a friend.”

Chapter Text

Whenever Zuko’s patience was reaching the end of its rope, he felt the call of the wind and sky. Even before he got his air glider, Zuko was always most at peace on the Air Lantern where he felt closer to the wind and the sea than when on the Sazanami. It paled in comparison to riding the currents of the sky, but Zuko had to make do more often than not. He knew using his glider was risky should anyone see him, so he was restrained to sneaking out at night to glide in secret if he was in a really bad mood.

Zuko wasn’t to the point of needing a nighttime fly just yet, but he was getting close to it. His search for the traveling Kyoshi Warriors reminded him of the time spent searching for rumors of the spirit library. Nobody had heard of any Kyoshi Warriors leaving their island and thought he was insane for believing such a thing. Zuko was nearly frustrated enough to sneak back into Omashu to give King Bumi a piece of his mind for sending him on a wild chicken goose chase…

Before resorting to such a thing (and getting another horrible, guilt-inducing lecture from Kavi and Jae), Zuko allowed himself to take a page out of Uncle’s book and take a small break. It wasn’t gliding, and it sucked that Chanda’s seasickness wouldn’t let her come along, but an afternoon out free diving with Amphon and Ye-jun was doing wonders to mitigate frustration-induced bad decisions. 

In the sky, all of Zuko’s worries seemed to blow away in the wind. Deep in the embrace of the ocean, they felt like they were being crushed and condensed into something insignificant. It wasn’t the same, but it was still relaxing in its own way. Plus, free diving was a great skill that Zuko really wanted to perfect. Who knew when it would come in handy?

“Wow! I think that was your longest record yet!” Amphon cheered as Zuko broke the water surface with a deep gasp. 

As Zuko grabbed the rope hanging off the Air Lantern to rest and catch his breath, Ye-jun popped up next to him with a wide smile. “I think that was your best dive yet!”

Amphon laughed. “I just said that.”

The two bantered over Zuko’s head, which felt heavy and light at the same time. A tug on the rope keeping him afloat pulled him out of his thoughts, or, well, lack thereof. Zuko’s gaze focused on his friends, who were staring at him expectantly. Had they said something to him?

Ye-jun snorted and effortlessly pulled himself over the side of the boat. “Alright, time for a break, Prince Iguana Seal.”

Zuko’s annoyed remark against the horrible nickname was cut off by Ye-jun hauling him out of the water like he weighed nothing. A vibrant blush filled Zuko’s face as he escaped Ye-jun’s hold and almost fell off the boat in his haste. 

“I can get up by myself!” Zuko yelled. Not shriek. He did not shriek. 

The horrible price to pay for Ye-jun’s expertise and friendship was his horrible lack of respect and brazen attitude. This was a man who antagonized Petty Officer Takehiko for fun! Of course he would hold nothing back against his prince if given an inch. Agni help Zuko if he and Bun Ma ever ended up in the same room.

Ye-jun snickered and shrugged, unbothered by Zuko’s protest because he knew nothing would come of it. “You’re out of it. Just making sure you’re not going to drown on my watch.”

“You should have a snack,” Amphon cut in, already opening up their food basket. “Swimming takes up a lot of energy!”

“You have no idea,” Ye-jun said, sprawling out on the deck with an exaggerated groan. “My mom used to harass me when I was growing up that I ate more than I made when diving!”

“I think that’s just you. Have you seen the amount you eat compared to everyone else?”

“Hey! I eat as much as the next guy! I think you just eat like a bird. Have you seen yourself? You could blow away with a stiff breeze! Chanda could pick you up with a pinky finger.”

Amphon covered her face with her hands and giggled breathlessly, “She could, couldn’t she?”

“Anyone could. I could,” Zuko interjected with an eye roll. Honestly, Amphon could get so weird about Chanda sometimes. Ignoring the promise of food, Zuko started going through Amphon’s sketches. This far from shore, there wasn’t much to see, but somehow she still found inspiration. She was really good at capturing the peacefulness of the open ocean. Would she give him this sketch of the Air Lantern? It would be fun to paint-

Something was approaching them. Zuko could sense the heat of them in the light breeze. He sat up and turned toward the heat source, his alertness making the chatter around him fall silent. Another small sailing boat came into view. As it drew closer, Zuko could make out two people aboard, both with his sight and heat sense. There was something else there, dancing out of reach of his perception. Zuko disregarded the strange third presence as he recognized the build of the boat. It was definitely of Water Tribe origins, though far smaller than the warrior ship he’d recently seen. 

Dressed in a mix of Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe garments, a girl around Amphon’s age waved her hands in the air and shouted, “Hey! You’re Hui, right?!”

The boy next to her waved and signed a casual greeting. His smile was weird, more of a smirk than anything, as if he was telling an annoying joke. Weren’t all the Water Tribe boys with the warriors? Had they sent one to rendezvous with the spies after Fox visited them? But, the boy didn’t really look Water Tribe, for all his clothes denoted him as such. In fact, there was something familiar about his smile…

Wait.

He wasn’t wearing any face paint, but Zuko could imagine it on his bare face. 

“Byeol-ha?!” Zuko yelled. 

The girl cursed and jostled Byeol-ha’s shoulder. “Dammit, I was so sure he wouldn’t recognize you!”

Byeol-ha raised his chin smugly as he pushed her away, then signed to Zuko, “Nice to see you again, Noisy Scholar.”

It took Zuko a moment to process, and then he could only groan in complete mortification as he realized Byeol-ha had taken his name sign and changed it to suit his undercover identity. Chanda was the worst for giving him a name sign like Noisy Prince. 

Amphon bounced in place, all wide smiles and excitement. “You’re Byeol-ha Byeol-ha? What are you doing out here? Zu- Hui wouldn’t shut up after meeting you! And who’s your friend?”

Introductions were quickly made as they tied their ships together for a quick chat. Tapeesa appreciated but rejected their offer to share a meal together, since she had a tight schedule to meet and couldn’t stay long. She said as such with a wink, making it all too obvious she was running an errand for the Water Tribe spies. Which didn’t explain Byeol-ha’s presence at all.

“Oh, he’s my new apprentice,” Tapeesa said flippantly in response to the repeated question of what Byeol-ha was doing with her.

Byeol-ha scowled. “We’re apprenticing Fox.”

Zuko’s jaw nearly dropped. Why hadn’t Kavi said anything to him? Although, it did explain Kavi’s confidence that the Wings’ spymaster would solve the Freedom Fighter and maybe-Longhshot-was-a-Yuyan problems. The third presence on Tapeesa’s boat teasing the periphery of Zuko’s heat sense had him leaning over the side of the Air Lantern, trying to get a better look around the two in front of him.

“Is Fox with you?”

Oblivious to Zuko’s upgraded heat sense, Byeol-ha waved off the question like they had nothing to hide. “No, they’re actually off updating your folks right now. So we’re running Tapeesa’s usual route until we rendezvous again. Funny how we ended up bumping into you first!”

Dammit, was Zuko missing a chance to meet the elusive spymaster again? It seemed like every time they made contact with Kavi and Jae, Zuko was left out for some reason. But if Fox wasn’t with Byeol-ha and Tapeesa, who was hiding from Zuko? He was about to ask about the third presence he couldn’t quite feel when a flash of not-heat flared from the boat. The absence of heat flickered in warning, reminiscent of a certain forest Zuko had recently been in.

Ah.

Zuko had forgotten how his attempt to sense nearby spirits in Pohuai had been interrupted. Now, he could sense them without trying, and apparently even when they were trying to hide from him. Well, never let anyone ever accuse Zuko of having zero tact again, because he ignored the absence of heat on the boat and continued the conversation as if nothing was amiss. 

“Does that update happen to involve the kids I found?”

Byeol-ha’s smile softened. “Yeah. Thanks for the heads up there. I think things will work out well for them.” As much as Zuko wanted to follow up more about Longshot, Byeol-ha didn’t want to discuss it further since he quickly changed the topic. “So what are you doing out here? Don’t seem to be headed anywhere.”

Ugh, Zuko would rather not talk about the rut he was in. He groaned and leaned against the deck’s railing. “No, we’re not going anywhere. Was just out practicing free diving today because my current search is getting me nowhere.”

“We’re looking for a group of traveling Kyoshi Warriors!” Amphon supplied with a cheer Zuko almost resented. “But Zu- Hui’s getting frustrated because everyone we talk to insists that Kyoshi Island hasn’t broken their isolation.”

Tapeesa clapped her hands with a laugh. “Oh, well I can help you with that! No one knows that the traveling Kyoshi Warriors are Kyoshi Warriors. They’re undercover. But how’d you know about them?”

How was it possible for Zuko to be this lucky? Did it only happen when on the Air Lantern? Maybe Yangchen’s spirit managed to bless it or something when Zuko was in the Foggy Swamp. Whatever it was, Zuko needed to leave an offering for the spirits tonight in thanks.

“Heard it in passing. How do you know about them?”

“Ha! Because I played a crucial role in getting the Kyoshi Warriors to break their isolation, you know!” Byeol-ha rolled his eyes and signed a disparaging remark about Tapeesa’s ego, which she ignored except for the rough shove he dodged. She puffed her chest out proudly and explained further in face of his doubt. “Kyoshi Island is isolated, sure, but they still have to do some sort of trade, you know. And they have ties to nearby Water Tribes, especially mine! So every time my mom swung by, I made sure to work my charm on the warriors.”

“Yes, because a mouthy kid made them change their mind about decades of isolation.”

Tapeesa kicked at Byeol-ha, which he once again dodged. He stuck his tongue out at her. They looked like they were about to dissolve into a petty squabble, so Zuko cleared his throat pointedly. Sheepishly, Byeol-ha took a step away from her and signed a quick apology. Tapeesa looked even more annoyed, but turned from him with a huff and addressed Zuko instead.

“Fine, there was already dissent between the different generations. But! The information me and my mom shared when we stopped by definitely helped tip the scale in favor of those for breaking the island’s isolation.” Tapeesa flipped a braid over her shoulder dramatically. “So, I can hook you up with one of the squads. The best one, actually, they’re the ones who started the movement to get involved with the world again.”

Zuko was definitely leaving an offering to the spirits tonight in thanks for this stroke of luck. 

After divulging the information Zuko needed to finally find the Kyoshi Warriors, Tapeesa and Byeol-ha said their goodbyes. It was unfortunate, because Zuko really would have liked to talk more with them, but he understood that they had an important job to do. Zuko did too, now that he finally had something solid to work with. 

“Alright!” Amphon cheered as the other boat sailed away, pulling Zuko’s hands up to give him a double high-five. “Now you can go work your magic with the Kyoshi Warriors too!”

“My magic?”

“Yes, your magic touch! The way you always manage to convince people to side with us! You know, Jae says you’re even better at it than Lu Ten was!” Amphon giggled and bounced on the balls of her feet. “We’ll add the Kyoshi Warriors to our list of allies in no time!”

It made Zuko a little uncomfortable to be compared to his cousin in such a way, but he couldn’t deny he felt warmed by Jae’s confidence in him. She wasn’t as vocal in her praise like Kavi was, so he sometimes worried that she regretted aligning the Wings with him. If he managed to get the Kyoshi Warriors at least primed to ally with the Wings, then he would prove her confidence in him wasn’t unfounded. 

“Uhhh- Guys?” Ye-jun’s voice came from behind them, meek and timid in a way it never was. “What… are you involved in?”

Amphon and Zuko whipped around to stare at him. They’d both forgotten about Ye-jun after the initial introductions. Ye-jun, who was part of the friend group like Amphon, Chanda, Yan, Souta, and Raju, but not part of the Wings like Chanda and Amphon were. Ye-jun, who was not part of the Wings, who they had just been openly discussing Wings business in front of. 

Ye-jun took a step back under their silent stares. “Wait, wait, I don’t like that crazed look in your eyes. Please don’t murder me without any witnesses around. I’ll keep my mouth shut. I promise I’ll keep your secrets- Wait, don’t come closer! Think! What would Yangchen do!!!!”

The Sazanami always became much too quiet whenever Zuko was away. No matter how few accompanied him on his trip, Zuko’s absence changed the atmosphere on board. His little group of friends still gathered without him, but their discussions were less energetic, often centered around their work, with longer stretches of silence as they ate. Without the boisterous energy of that table to talk over and laugh at, the rest of the mess hall also grew more subdued. Daily tasks didn’t change without the prince’s presence, but it was strange to not have him underfoot or hear his voice echoing through the halls. 

In Kavi’s office, there really shouldn’t be much change whenever the prince left. And yet, lately, his absence hovered over Kavi like a storm cloud. It was easy to push his worries away whenever the little Butterbee was around. Kavi could willfully ignore his problems when in Zuko’s company and attribute it to part of his recovery.

Whenever Zuko left, the guilt and stress crept up on Kavi with no mercy.

The time to leave the Sazanami was upon them. 

If it was based purely on Kavi’s recovery, then maybe he could justify stretching their stay a little longer. But outside factors were in play now. It was getting dangerous for the Wings to remain on board, for them and for Zuko. 

Ever since they made contact with the Yuyan Archers, and the captain of Zuko’s former crew in the process, the Wings’ mission started shifting from theoretical to being put into action. Not their secondary mission headed by Zuko, but their primary mission, the one that Zuko was still deluding himself into not acknowledging. 

Deep down, Zuko knew the only way to end the war was to usurp Ozai from the throne. He wasn’t an idiot. Even he didn’t sound convinced of his words when he voiced his belief that Ozai was reasonable and that he would allow Zuko to have a platform to voice his opinion if he ended his banishment. But any attempts to bring Zuko to face reality had him on the verge of a complete shut down, so no one pushed it. Yet.

Honestly, putting a child on the throne was the last thing any of the Wings wanted. It wasn’t fair to Zuko to put such a burden on his shoulders, but there was no other option. Iroh had destroyed his reputation both abroad and domestically. Meanwhile, Zuko had political ties with both of the Water Tribes, a potential foothold in the Earth Kingdom thanks to his Huizhong persona and (insanely) through King Bumi, and, finally, the powder keg that was the reason for his banishment to spark support from the Fire Nation public. 

If Kavi and the Wings had their way, they would bide their time and slowly garner support until Zuko was older. A few years ultimately wouldn’t make a difference after a century of war, at least if this had been any other time than now. If the astrological predictions the Yuyan shared were correct, the world didn’t have a few years. Either they put a teenager on the throne or the Fire Nation would take the war past the point of return. 

Fox had yet to catch wind of any plans on how to utilize Sozin’s Comet when it made its return, but there was no way Ozai wouldn’t use it to get the upper hand to finish the war once and for all. At least once those plans came out, they would be the final nail in the coffin of Zuko’s lingering attachments to his father.

Until then, the Wings needed to lay the groundwork to seize the throne and do it fast. Technically, the groundwork was already there, just dusty and in the name of a different prince. Between Zuko’s old crew now working with them and the rallied Wings, they would be ready to stage a coup with the support of the general public within the year.

Of course, that was if Kavi and Jae left the Sazanami and Zuko managed to stay out of trouble without them.

Jae insisted they should finally just trust Iroh with everything. There was no question about where his beliefs lay after Fox got involved with the Order of the White Lotus again. With nothing but the writings of a new author in the Order’s bulletin and a hunch from their brief encounter with Zuko’s friends almost a year ago, Fox popped into the capital to meet with Bun Ma and Ju Long. They easily confirmed their identity as the new author, Hydrangea, and gleefully outed Iroh as Wisteria, the grandmaster who initiated Bun Ma. 

But what did it matter if Iroh agreed with their politics? So what if he wouldn’t turn against Zuko, no matter what Zuko decided? Iroh would never be a proper ally. He was too cautious and over-thought everything, just like his Order, just like Kavi’s own uncle. Iroh would never be able to separate Zuko the child from Zuko the leader. To the Wings, Zuko was a visionary, no matter his youth. Even Fox, who still had their misgivings, couldn’t deny that Zuko showed them an image of the future they would build. To Iroh, Zuko would always be an idealistic kid he needed to protect. He would meddle and hold them all back when they should be running forward.

Fox agreed with Kavi that they shouldn’t trust Iroh with the complete truth, so that left them in a stalemate as to what to do. Well, no, Kavi had an idea, but he had yet to share it with the others because he knew they would instantly agree and go with it.

After Zuko’s Omashu escapade and hearing about King Bumi’s childhood airbender friend, a memory came back to Kavi with horrible clarity. It had been some time since a memory resurfaced like that and it left him out of sorts even without the implications it held for Zuko’s quest.

Kavi could taste the fragrant vapors of Uncle Piandao’s favorite tea as the clack of pai sho tiles rang in his ears. He could feel the solid heat of Lu Ten at his side as they listened intently to Uncle Piandao speak of his late master, and his late master’s airbender friend.

“Not long before Sozin wiped out the airbenders, the mentor of Master Kuzon’s airbender friend came to visit. He was searching for Master Kuzon’s friend, who had run away from their temple. They were just children at the time, not even Duri’s age yet. Too young to deal with the weight of the world, but such is the responsibility of the Avatar.”

The Avatar had disappeared from the Southern Air Temple, and was suspected to have disappeared in the South Pole. It was the exact kind of information that would capture Zuko’s attention and send him scouring the southern seas until he found something to convince him to give up his search. The South Pole was the perfect place to keep Zuko out of sight from their enemies until the Wings were ready to take action.

How was Kavi supposed to give Zuko (pointless) hope in his search for the Avatar while simultaneously abandoning him? Maybe he was overthinking it. Zuko would understand, surely. He’d be hurt, Agni knew he’d be hurt, but he’d grown so much from the boy who shut down because Zhao had stolen his friends. His sense of responsibility would outweigh his disappointment. 

The door to Kavi’s office slammed open, odd considering how Zuko was off chasing Kyoshi Warriors. No one else forgot to keep hold on the handle as they opened the doors on the Sazanami. A breathless Jae with her glasses askew stood in the doorway. No matter how rushed she was, it was unlike her to be so frenzied as to let the door slam open.

She took a deep, shaky breath. “We’re in trouble.”

The problem with waiting for the right time to make a decision was that, sometimes, the decision was taken out of your hands, as Kavi was soon to realize.

Hope was a strange thing. It could be as fragile as a young sapling or as strong as an ancient oak. It could spark from the promise of a bright future or take root from the ashes of despair. For far too long, Kyoshi Island was devoid of hope. They had been hit too hard and became far too disillusioned with the world. There was no hope, only survival, for generations since the Fire Nation almost sent them into the memory of history alongside the Air Nomads.

Isolating themselves from the world, even from their old allies and friends, had been the only solution to those who could remember the sacrifices which allowed Kyoshi Island to live. Their warriors were adept and elite, but ultimately a mere drop in the ocean. Their duty as protectors did not outweigh the risks of drawing attention to their island. The Kyoshi Warriors did not leave their island and protected only those who called it home.

As soon as Rera could form opinions about Kyoshi’s teachings, she came to the conclusion that Kyoshi would be disappointed in them. Their elders were traumatized, of course they were. There was no shame in them recovering and keeping the younger generations safe in the aftermath of near annihilation. But the generations who followed? They let their elders' fear dictate their own thoughts, dared not push the boundaries of what they were told to think. 

Rera shared her beliefs with her training cohort. They debated and challenged each other. Upon their graduation as official warriors, her squad elected Rera as their leader. They believed in her and her interpretation of Kyoshi’s teachings. It was time for the Kyoshi Warriors to help the world again.

Unfortunately, convincing the elders was much harder than convincing her peers and younger trainees. For years, Rera’s squad was treated as reckless upstarts. Not even news of the Fire Nation killing the South Pole’s last waterbender was enough to make the Island’s stance budge. If anything, it scared them further into their shells, as if hiding would protect them if the Fire Nation chose to turn its sights on them again. 

When the women of the Water Tribes left their home to integrate with the Earth Kingdom and gather information and allies before their warriors joined the war, they stopped by Kyoshi Island. They requested assistance, calling on their old friendships and the integral role the Water Tribes had played in ensuring Kyoshi Island’s survival. The elders turned them away. 

It was disgraceful, but Rera had not been silent since they heard of the last waterbender. No, she and her squad had been relentlessly working to fill council seats and change the opinions of the island. So when she initiated a debate against the elders’ decision, their voices could no longer be disregarded as the folly of youth (nevermind they were far from youths by then).

They still lost, but things were starting to change. 

By the time the Southern Fleet set out, the elders were no longer in the majority. The Water Tribes did not ask for assistance again, but they now received it unasked. With their strongest men out to fight and healthiest women abroad to spy, the villages of the South Pole were more vulnerable than ever. Kyoshi Island broke their 50 years of isolation and sent some of the older squads to live undercover with the villages to provide manpower and protection.

The Fire Nation did not turn their sights to Kyoshi Island, not once in a whole year of Kyoshi Warriors fending off the occasional raid in the South Pole. They saved lives, like Kyoshi Warriors were supposed to do, and Kyoshi Island was no more at risk than it had been before.

When Rera pushed for their activity to extend to the Earth Kingdom, she even had some elders on her side. They couldn’t be openly on the offensive. That would be literally playing with fire. But the Water Tribes had proven how oblivious people of Earth and Fire were of those they had written off as insignificant. Without their signature uniform and iconic fans, the Kyoshi Warriors blended in with the people of the Earth Kingdom with none the wiser.

There wasn’t much they could do yet , so for now they were starting small. Some joined the Water Tribes with their espionage and sabotage, others traveled the Earth Kingdom and taught common folk how to fend for themselves. It was small. Just a drop of water in the ocean, but that mere drop could mean life or death for a young girl when her town was under attack, for a young man drafted into the Earth Army, for a farmer trying to keep their family safe. It was a beginning until the Kyoshi Warriors found the best way to contribute to the war effort without putting their home at risk.

Rera had an idea of what—who—the Kyoshi Warriors could dedicate themselves to, but she needed to see the Water Tribe’s little spark of hope for herself. Her usual point of contact with the Water Tribe spies didn’t know all the latest details yet, but apparently the scholar she spoke so fondly of had an organization that the fleet and spymaster had allied with. If he truly was the Avatar as Ticasuk believed, then surely the elders wouldn’t protest the Kyoshi Warriors aligning with him as well. 

Unfortunately, last Ticasuk heard, the boy was somewhere in the north, where he had met the fleet. There was little chance of running into him again so far south. Rera should have considered how outdated Ticasuk’s information was. Because lo and behold, when they arrived at one of the bigger towns they offered their self-defense lessons to, there was a young man, a scar marring half his face, eager to sign up. 

The rest of the squad didn’t know about the boy or the Water Tribe’s suspicions of him, so they treated him no differently than the usual new student. He happily answered their questions, introducing himself as Huizhong (“But you can call me Hui. I prefer it actually.”) and humbly claiming to be adept with his swords (“But I enjoy learning new fighting styles and I heard you accept anyone in your lessons. So, since I was already in town, I thought it might be fun to join in. Is that okay?”). 

No one knew about the boy except for Rera and her co-captain, Fuchi, who appeared at her side with an amused smile. “Well, I’ll give Ticasuk this, he really is as cute as she claimed. But it’s not just me who feels like something is off, right?”

Rera shook her head. “No, I feel it too. He’s a little too eager, don’t you think?”

Although the level of the lesson was obviously far below his capabilities, Hui wasn’t showing off and was hanging off every word of the instructors with stars in his eyes. If Rera was to guess, her money would be on him approaching them because he knew who they were. The respect he was showing didn’t quite make sense if he thought they were merely experienced mercenaries. 

“Hm, yeah, I see what you mean,” Fuchi agreed. “Do you think the warriors told him about us?”

“Timeline doesn’t quite line up for that to be the case. But he could have easily met with one of Atka’s since then and Ticasuk didn’t know.”

“Five copper on who,” Fuchi said with a snort. It wasn’t much of a bet, since Rera likely had the same suspect in mind. “Anyways, I was thinking more about his swords. He’s definitely had formal training with them, but benders usually aren’t so gungho about nonbender martial arts.”

That had also been bothering Rera. If he really was the Avatar, his proficiency with his swords was rather odd. “Perhaps it could be part of his cover? Maybe he was raised as a nonbender, keeping his bending a secret to better protect him.”

Fuchi hummed, just as skeptical as Rera was. They knew their history well, most importantly what was only passed down to the leaders of Kyoshi Island. Putting faith in a false Avatar could be even more disastrous than not having one at all. 

The lesson came to a natural close, the only deviation from normal was a quick spar between Hui and the most skilled of the townsfolk. The man was twice Hui’s age and size, but the boy went easy on him. He let enough blows pass between them to give the illusion of a fair fight before he swiftly took the man down with a maneuver taught in the lesson. The students cheered and applauded, their inexperienced eyes missing what they had actually witnessed. 

Slowly, the field emptied as people returned to their homes in the town. Hui was obviously stalling, asking as many questions about the lessons as he could until he was the only student left. The older man Hui had introduced as his uncle also remained at the edge of the field, along the woods, where he had been watching the lesson.

As soon as the last student was out of sight, Hui looked around to double check, then whispered to the small group he had been chatting with. 

“That’s supposed to be a secret!”

“How’d you know we’re Kyoshi Warriors?!”

“Chinita, don’t just yell that for anyone to hear!”

Their shocked exclamations drew the attention of the rest of the warriors who were properly doing their job and cleaning up.

“He knows what?”

“Hey, kid, did you figure it out or know the whole time?”

“Should we, y’know, silence him?”

That last, none too quiet suggestion had Hui’s uncle looking up in alarm. Fuchi sighed and whistled for everyone to quiet down. All eyes turned to her and Rera. 

“Hui, who’d you hear about us from?” Rera asked. Her tone wasn’t accusing or angry, but the boy still blushed and his shoulders rose to his ears as he shrunk into himself. 

“Uh, sorry, I probably should have approached that better. But, uh, Tapeesa of the Qutailaq Tribe told me who you are and where to find you.”

A chorus of groans and bemused laughter came from Rera’s squad as they somewhat relaxed. A few cursed Tapeesa for her loose lips, but accepted Hui’s explanation without question. At the wood line, Hui’s uncle let out a relieved sigh. 

“Well, I suppose that’s fair in some sense, since I’ve also heard about you.” Rera smiled at Hui’s look of alarm. “You’re the scholar researching Avatar Yangchen, right?”

“Oh! Yeah!” Hui immediately brightened again. “But, actually, my Yangchen research has mostly wrapped up, so I’ve started researching other Avatars! Which is kinda why I was looking for you guys. I was hoping to learn more about Kyoshi, but going to your island unannounced seemed a bit, well. But then Tapeesa told me how you’re traveling, so. Yeah. How’d you know about me? I, like, just met Tapeesa, no way she told you.”

Quite a few of Rera’s squad tittered to each other, amused by Hui’s rambling. Rera had to fight back some laughter of her own, for Ticasuk’s description of Hui was spot on. What a funny kid.

“It’s been some time since you met her, but do you remember the fisherwoman, Ticasuk?”

“Oh! Yeah! It’s been forever, but I totally remember her! She was super nice and was a huge help when I just started out sailing my boat by myself!” Hui paused, then squinted suspiciously as he asked, “Why was she talking about me?”

Rera couldn’t hold back a laugh at that. Spirits, this boy was so shrewd. He was making Rera miss her daughter. “As Avatar experts in our own rights, she thought we might be interested in meeting. And it sounds like she was correct. Would you like to join us for dinner and ask your questions about Avatar Kyoshi?”

“Yes!” Hui cheered. 

“Your uncle is welcome to join us as well.”

Hui faltered, head whipping around to stare at his uncle as if he just remembered he was there. “Oh, uh, right, thanks, if you don’t mind. Let me just go make sure it’s okay if we stay.”

Permission granted, Hui threw himself into helping the squad finish their cleanup. He peppered them with questions, which they gleefully answered. The only thing Kyoshi Warriors loved more than honing their craft was sharing stories about their Avatar. As they settled down for dinner, Hui got some questions about his Avatar, which he also answered with glee. It seemed Avatar devotees were the same no matter who they idolized. 

The night grew late but Hui and the squad were reluctant to part ways. Rera extended the invitation for him to join them after lessons for the rest of the week, which delighted both the child and a group of grown ass adults. Honestly, get them worked up about Kyoshi and Rera’s squad became a bunch of children. Not that Rera was much better, she just had to conceal her interest into something a bit more moderate as the captain. 

In the following days, the squad took turns giving Hui personal, more advanced lessons of Kyoshi martial arts. Their usual students thought nothing of the special treatment, accepting it as a given after the ease in which Hui completed his first lesson. Due to this, no one thought it strange that Hui was always left behind when everyone else headed home. 

Over dinner, Hui and the squad exchanged stories until Rera called it a night. It was rather impressive how Hui could go toe-to-toe with even the most studied of the squad. There was certainly no lack of stories about someone who lived over 200 years, but there was something to be said about the smaller scale of Yangchen’s stories. Avatar Kyoshi felt like a myth in her tales. From Hui, Avatar Yangchen was very human and all the more captivating for it.

Hearing Hui’s tales made Rera wonder if this was another tradition Kyoshi Island had held on to for too long… Was it really protecting her memory for only a select few to know of Avatar Kyoshi’s more human side? Rera stayed to the side of these discussions, quietly listening and questioning.

All the while, Sung, Hui’s uncle, also sat on the sidelines. He was content assisting with dinner preparations and sharing his tea, but otherwise did not engage with anyone else. Rera positioned herself near him and made herself approachable, but he barely acknowledged her. If Ticasuk was right and Hui had an organization backing him, surely his guardian would be a part of it and be the one to initiate negotiations with new, potential allies. But Sung didn’t say anything, so neither did Rera.

As the week drew closer to its end, and the squad would move to their next destination, a stranger entered their field. He ignored Rera and the townsfolk, going directly to Sung. Whatever he said made Sung’s expression twist with shocked dismay, but he was quick to conceal it. If Rera hadn’t been watching, she never would have known he received bad news. 

During a break, Sung beckoned his nephew over to him. Hui obviously had noticed the stranger as well, so he had no qualms about answering Sung’s summons. Their conversation was tense for a moment, but Hui quickly relaxed, then grew excited. He was barely containing himself from jumping in place as they spoke. They reached a conclusion, and Hui grabbed his uncle’s arm to drag him over to Rera.

“Ms. Rera!” Hui greeted with a wide smile. “My uncle has a favor to ask of you!”

“Apologies, Ms. Rera, for my nephew.” Sung sighed in a parental tone of exasperation that Rera knew all too well. “I would not have asked in such a fashion, but ultimately I do have a small favor I would like to ask of you.”

Rera waved off his apology with a laugh. “No worries, Mr. Sung. What can I do for you? Is everything alright?”

“Oh, hopefully an easy fix. I just received a message of something I need to attend to back at our main ship. I’m not sure if Hui has mentioned it, but I have a small trading company. We left them to conduct business a few towns over as we took this detour for Hui’s Avatar research.” Sung folded his hands in his sleeves, leveling Hui with a stern look. “I have agreed to let my nephew conclude the week of lessons and to follow after me once they are complete. If it’s not too much trouble, would you mind keeping an eye out for him during lessons and continue allowing him to join you for dinner?”

“I’ll do you one better. He can stay with us so he doesn’t have to go to and from town by himself.”

Hui’s eyes sparkled, but he kept his mouth firmly shut as he stared at his uncle. Sung, to his credit, did not immediately crumble under such a powerfully pleading gaze. He hummed and hawed, not wanting to impose on them, but finally acquiesced as Rera remained firm in the sincerity of her offer. 

With an elated cheer, Hui ran off to share the good news with the squad. Sung watched him warily, then looked up to Rera with a frown. “I believe you are a trustworthy person, Ms. Rera. But my nephew is also a bit of a handful who tends to forget reason when he gets too excited. No matter what he might say, he is not allowed to stay any longer than the end of the week nor may he join you on your travels.”

Rera remembered Ticasuk’s laughter as she shared the stories that had first started going around about Hui, of him abandoning his uncle to explore the Si Wong desert. That Sung would trust Hui enough to leave him behind spoke wonders of Hui’s maturity, two years later. The warning was for his own peace of mind, or else he likely wouldn’t be leaving Hui alone.

“Be assured, Mr. Sung. I have a daughter about his age back home. I know their tricks and won’t easily fall for them.” Rera clapped the man on the back with a laugh. “But I don’t think you have anything to worry about, this time around. Hui’s grown a lot since the desert escapades I’ve heard about.”

Sung groaned and massaged his temple. “I certainly hope so.”

As Rera saw the man off, she pondered this facet of Hui she had forgotten about until now. Perhaps waiting for his guardian to talk about alliances had been the wrong approach. It seemed more likely that Hui was going to be speaking more freely without supervision. 

Rera was curious what tonight’s stories would reveal. 

Upon learning the Wings saw him as an expert at gathering allies (collecting Ye-jun in the process), Zuko had been eager to prove himself. So it was just his luck that Uncle insisted on joining him to meet the Kyoshi Warriors. Honestly, Zuko had years of experience being Hui now. There was no reason for Uncle to worry about him meeting with people who viewed the Fire Nation as their enemy. Not only was Zuko’s identity as Hui airtight, but he had a connection to the Kyoshi Warriors through the Southern Water Tribe. They had no reason to suspect him!

But insist Uncle did, so there was no getting around him joining Zuko to meet the Kyoshi Warriors. It sucked, but at least Zuko could get to know them and prime them for meeting someone else to introduce the Wings later. And even with Uncle around, it wasn’t a wasted trip. Zuko was learning so much about Avatar Kyoshi!

Then the unbelievable happened. A messenger came and informed Uncle of some trouble back at the ship. It wasn’t anything big to worry about, but they still needed Uncle to pull rank. Zuko was ready to fight to stay the rest of the week, so imagine his surprise when Uncle easily agreed with him! Sure, Zuko got a pointless lecture to be careful and not to forget that technically the Kyoshi Warriors were enemies of the Fire Nation and would mean him ill if they discovered who he really was, but Uncle still allowed Zuko to stay with them! 

It was such a good thing that Kavi and Jae kept Zuko’s Omashu escapade a secret from Uncle.

The first night with Uncle gone, Zuko wasted no time in bringing up the questions he really wanted to ask. The sort of questions that could lead into discussing mixed elements and the return of airbenders.

“Do you know any stories about Chief Nukilik?” Zuko asked as soon as everyone had a dinner plate. 

While the usual crowd to share stories with him questioned each other if they knew who Nukilik was, the captain of the squad met Zuko’s eyes. Rera had yet to contribute to story nights, so everyone immediately quieted when she spoke up.

“Why do you think we would know of them? Kyoshi formally studied waterbending in the south.”

Though her question was logical, something felt off. Zuko frowned, then swallowed a shout as he realized Rera’s question only made sense if she knew of Nukilik. Was she testing how much he knew first?

Zuko grinned in the face of Rera’s challenge. “Well, when I was in the North Pole, I befriended a historian. And she told me about Kyoshi and Nukilik’s connection.”

“Oh, did she now?” Rera countered with a grin of her own. 

A few of the Kyoshi Warriors whined at their captain to stop being so vague, while others bombarded Zuko with questions as to who Nukilik was. Rera deferred to Zuko with a wink, so he quickly explained Nukilik’s relevance. Even more questions burst forth as the Warriors demanded to know how someone from Yangchen’s time had a connection with an Avatar two reincarnations down the line. 

Then, Husko, one of the most knowledgeable of Kyoshi lore, turned to Rera with a suspicious squint. “Wait, Captain, how do you know about this Nukilik?”

Exactly what Zuko wanted to know!

Rera sighed and sheepishly ran a hand through her hair. “Don’t get too worked up, but the story of Nukilik is one of several that are passed down to squad leaders and elders.”

The entire clearing burst into noise. Zuko could only watch in mild confusion, eating his dinner while it was still hot for once, as the squad dogpiled on Rera and Vice Captain Fuchi for keeping secrets from them. 

“So you’re just all talk about abolishing outdated rules, is that it?” Husko demanded with an offended huff.

Despite the overwhelming upset directed her way, Rera was unfazed. She let her squad voice their complaints, then easily laughed them off. “Forgive me for not thinking too deeply about this practice until recently. It made sense for the knowledge of these stories to be restricted, mostly because they just didn’t seem relevant to our lives. At least, until now.”

“Even if they weren’t relevant, they’re still pieces of Kyoshi’s history!” Husko threw her hands skyward as she wailed, “I thought I knew everything!”

“I honestly didn’t realize you were such a fervent historian until this week, Husko,” Rera said wryly. The tension in the clearing eased as several Warriors laughed at Husko’s dismay. “I have no problem sharing what I know with you all later. But for now, Hui, I’m curious what you learned of Nukilik and Kyoshi. Did it have something to do with Kyoshi’s promise?”

“Is that promise about Kuruk’s legacy? Or is there more? Maybe something to do with the kind of bender Nukilik was?” Zuko could barely contain his excitement. 

There wasn’t more remembered in the North Pole of Nukilik and Kyoshi’s relationship outside of their bond through Kuruk, but Yue had expressed her suspicions that Nukilik had trusted Kyoshi with some knowledge of the north’s roots in mixed elements. Though nothing came of it on a global scale, perhaps there was influence to be found on Kyoshi Island. Though she hadn’t precisely tasked Zuko with following up on that, Zuko felt a bit bad for forgetting about that line of research until recently.

“Well, judging from your questions, I’d say you were trusted with the Northern Water Tribe’s origins, same as Kyoshi was. Correct?” At Zuko’s eager agreement, Rera addressed her squad with a bemused smile. “Would you like to hear a hidden tale about the foundation of our island?”

If Zuko thought the uproar in haranguing Rera for keeping secrets was loud, it had nothing on the audible excitement for learning those secrets. It was hard to believe this was a group of elite warriors old enough to be his parents. They were acting no different than a bunch of excited school children! 

Vice Captain Fuchi whistled to get everyone to settle down. After a bit of teasing from the calmer, more composed of the group, everyone focused on Captain Rera again. She smiled and shook her head with wry amusement. 

“Great example you’re setting for our young guest.”

Chinita, Zuko’s most frequent instructor, threw an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close. “No way, Hui knows we’re fun aunties!”

“I don’t care. Let’s just get to Nukilik’s story,” Zuko grumbled, willing his blush away as he tried to duck out of Chinita’s hold.

“Sorry for making you wait, Hui,” Rera said with a teasing laugh. “Now, part of this story is connected to other tales, so please refrain from too many questions. I promise I’ll share those as well later. For now, let’s focus on answering Hui’s questions.”

Once the squad agreed, Rera began her tale.

“For all that Kyoshi is known for the stability and longevity of her time as the Avatar, her origins were tumultuous. She had disregarded Avatar Kuruk as a mentor, but came to greatly respect him by the time she was established as the Avatar. When things were settled, Kyoshi visited the North Pole to learn more about her predecessor. There, she met Chief Nukilik, someone who called Kuruk a brother and Yangchen an aunt. They welcomed Kyoshi with easy affection and dared to call a third Avatar granddaughter.

“In Nukilik, Kyoshi confided a secret she did not disclose to many. And this secret is the root of our story. You see everyone, Kyoshi may have been the Earth Avatar, but her roots were not purely of Earth.”

There were gasps and exclamations of surprise from around Zuko, but he was deathly quiet. This was too good to be true. Had King Bumi known about this, or was this the result of Zuko following the path the spirits seemed to have laid out for him?

“Her mother had been a disgraced Air Nomad who abandoned her people’s teachings to live a life of crime with her husband. It is said that despite Kyoshi’s mixed feelings about her parentage, our fans are carried down as homage to her mother’s airbending.”

Curious side conversations sprung up, but were quickly shut down by Husko’s question, “But why did she share such a secret with this chief she just met?”

Rera smiled at Zuko. “Perhaps you would like to expand on that, Hui. Who were Nukilik’s parents, again?”

The desire to share what he knew warred with his desire to demand Rera get to the point already. Under the expectant stare of the Kyoshi Warriors, Zuko sighed in defeat and quickly explained how Nukilik was Siniq and Huizhong’s child. Though born an earthbender, they were raised in ways of water, so they became an icebender.

“But what does that matter?” Someone asked. “Kyoshi was the Avatar, so it wasn’t like her mixed heritage had any impact on her bending.”

“But it’s impacted her teachings, even if you haven’t realized it,” Rera countered. “Kyoshi trusted Nukilik with her origins, and so Nukilik trusted her with the true origins of the Northern Water Tribe. Nukilik was not anomalous in their icebending. Once, they would have been one of many. At its beginning, the Northern Water Tribe consisted of earth, air, and water benders, but all shaped in the ways of water. 

“This legacy was one Nukilik rediscovered in their quest to honor their late aunts, Akari and Yangchen. Hui, perhaps tomorrow you could share that story, for even I don’t know the full details on what that quest entailed. But this quest involved making mixed bending an accepted practice once more. Kyoshi did her best to complete Yangchen’s unfulfilled goal through her teachings.

“We may not be benders, but Kyoshi martial arts has origins in all the nations, a blend of all the elements. In the early years, Kyoshi even had bending pupils who she trained in ways that blurred the lines of the elements. Kyoshi hoped that one day our home could be a symbol of harmony. But even in her long life, the time was never right to properly campaign for the world at large to accept mixed elements as something natural.”

Rera paused. No one spoke up. Only the crackle of the fire and the sounds of the forest night filled the clearing. Everyone waited for a better conclusion, something more hopeful than Kyoshi’s failure. Rera smiled at Zuko and everyone turned to look at him.

“But, perhaps the time has come now?”

Zuko nodded, unable to speak around the lump in his throat. No one disputed Rera’s explanation of the Northern Water Tribe. No one questioned the safety of mixing elements. They were surprised, but accepting. Kyoshi, despite not changing the world, had created a community devoid of the prejudice that threatened mixed benders. She may not have been able to fulfil Yangchen and Akari’s legacy, but she had helped make sure it would be one day.

Zuko wanted to show them his heatbending then and there. They were like Yue, remnants of Yangchen’s legacy waiting to step up and make a difference. But they were connected to the Southern Water Tribe, who definitely believed Zuko was a nonbender. If he exposed his firebending now, who knew what sort of repercussions that could lead to… No, he couldn’t let himself get too wrapped up in his excitement. There were some secrets that needed to be shared after planning with the Wings.

But Rera deserved to know that the time had come. Since they already knew some aspect of the Northern Water Tribe’s truth, Yue would agree with Zuko’s assessment in trusting them with more secrets, right?

Taking a deep breath, Zuko said, “It’s no longer theory or legend. The original mixed benders are returning, and with them we can carve a path to bring airbending back.”

In his final days with the Kyoshi Warriors, Zuko spoke more than ever. He explained Akari’s spirit dreams and her legacy in the lóng, claiming he had searched but hadn’t been able to find the egg for himself. Using Professor Zei’s research, Zuko managed to talk around the flying jerboa and imply airbending could return to the desert. And, praying he had Nukilik and Yue’s blessings, he revealed that the narwolves had returned. Kavi and Jae were probably going to give him another lecture for being too trusting too fast, but this was no different than trusting Byeol-ha! The Kyoshi Warriors already knew the truth, so why shouldn’t Zuko trust them?

Of course, he finally was able to talk about the Wings too. Rera was more than willing to hear him out, even if she didn’t immediately agree to directly working with them. 

“We are allies in wanting to see mixed elements back in the world, but we cannot commit our island as a whole to the Wings’ efforts against the war until we discuss further with our council,” Rera said on the matter.

It made sense. Based on his discussions with Rera’s squad, Zuko was hopeful that the council would have a positive answer for Fox whenever they followed up on this visit. At least if things fell through, Zuko was reassured that Rera would start spreading word of Kyoshi’s hidden philosophies regardless of what the island’s council thought. 

The day his egg would hatch felt like it was in sight.

Bolstered with hope and excitement, Zuko bid farewell to the Kyoshi Warriors and promised to accept their invitation to visit their island sooner or later. The wind was in his favor heading back to the rendezvous point where he would leave the Air Lantern until the Sazanami could load her up inconspicuously. 

So great was his mood and the weather, Zuko made it to the rendezvous point way earlier than his deadline. While waiting for the crew to pick him up, he had plans to start going through Yangchen’s memoirs to make note of anything he could connect to what he learned of Kyoshi’s teachings. Those plans went crashing into the soft waves of the ocean at the sight of Uncle waiting for him. 

Zuko was early . Why was Uncle here, looking so grim?

His mind raced with the worst possible scenarios as he tied the Lantern off and jumped ashore. Uncle quietly waited all the while. They stared at each other in tense silence, Uncle obviously wary of sharing whatever news he had and Zuko not wanting to ask.

Finally, Uncle hung his head and folded his hands in his sleeve. “I’m sorry, Prince Zuko. I did everything in my power to stop it. But…”

He trailed off and Zuko’s mind went blank.

“Zhao has meddled with the Sazanami’s crew. Again.”

A bite of cold traveled on the sea breeze. Autumn was fast approaching, and winter would be riding on its heels. For now, it was a refreshing reprieve of summer’s humidity. The training hall doors were wide open, welcoming the promise of cooler days as Kyoshi Warriors ran through their sets. 

“Again!” Suki called, silencing tired groans with a sharp glare she’d been practicing with her squad. 

As the most recently appointed squad captain, instructing the young warriors in training fell under Suki’s responsibilities now. It was difficult assuming a position of authority with girls she had called her cute juniors a scant few months ago, but that was part of the challenge for new squad captains. Suki needed the confidence and leadership to command any room if she had any hopes following in her mother’s footsteps.

Uari, Suki’s vice captain, peeked in and waved Suki over with a smug grin. Knowing her, this probably wasn’t going to be a quick interruption. Once the trainees finished their current set, Suki called for a break. She pointedly ignored the relieved sighs and exclamations as she went to greet her vice captain with crossed arms. 

“This better not be silly gossip, Uari. We’re supposed to be role models now.”

“Role models, not tormentors. I’m so glad you weren’t my trainer,” Uari said with a laugh. “Anyways, you have captain duties to attend to! So I’m here to save our poor little sisters from your iron fist.”

Suki held back a grumbled rebuttal. Her whole squad wouldn’t stop teasing her for being a hard ass with her new responsibilities. Which she wasn’t. She’d always pushed for harder training sessions, just hadn’t had the authority to enforce it before now. 

“Don’t let them get sloppy because you’re taking over,” Suki said instead, offering Uari a hand up into the training hall. “What am I being called for anyways?”

“There’s a council meeting.” The reason for Uari’s grin became obvious with her following words, “Oh, and Tapeesa is here with some guests and news from your mom.”

It was a double hit. Not only was Suki one of many who idolized (and had a little bit of a crush on) Tapeesa, but there was also news from her mother? Suki couldn’t help but throw away her cool, collected captain mantle as she scrambled to grab her shoes. Uari’s teasing laughter carried after her as she took off to the council hall.

The meeting thankfully hadn’t started yet. Tapeesa and her guests were still mingling outside as the council and captains gathered. Although all three were dressed in Water Tribe garments, something about Tapeesa’s guests felt strange. The boy had a bow and quiver slung over his shoulder, distinctly not Water Tribe in design. The woman was a bit pale for Water Tribe, but so was Tapeesa so that shouldn’t have set her apart. But there was something about the way she was holding herself that contrasted with her appearance, as if she wanted to stand out. 

“Suki!” Tapeesa cheered once she caught sight of her. She raced across the square to pull Suki into a tight hug. “Congratulations on your captaincy! I knew you’d get it!”

Valiantly fighting off a blush, Suki returned the hug and thanked her. A letter was pressed into her hands as they parted, with a wink from Tapeesa. 

“Our meeting is going to shake some things up, but Rera has a personal request for you as well. Captain to captain.”

A thrill ran down Suki’s spine. This was even more exciting than a personal letter from her mother. She was being treated as a fellow captain. The letter burned as Suki slipped it into the folds of her uniform for later. 

“Now, come meet my new master and junior apprentice!”

The boy abruptly turned from the council member he was signing with. He whistled to get Tapeesa’s attention, then aggressively signed at her. Suki’s sign language was weaker than she’d like, but she was fairly certain he just told Tapeesa to stop lying. 

“Ugh, he has sharper ears than a wolf bat,” Tapeesa complained under her breath. She wrapped an arm around Suki’s shoulders and led her across the square. “Real stickler for procedure and what not too. Think you two will get along swimmingly. Have you been terrorizing the trainees with your new found power?”

There was no fighting the heat in her cheeks now. Suki crossed her arms and looked away with a small frown. “I’m not terrorizing anyone. I’m just doing my job properly.”

“Yeah, like I said, a stickler.” Tapeesa’s smile was nonchalant as she dropped, “The Yuyan Archers and Kyoshi Warriors are very alike in that sense.”

Suki froze, jaw dropping despite herself. Yuyan Archers?! What in the world was Tapeesa doing with them? What was Suki’s mother doing sending one of them here? What could possibly be her mother’s personal request to be comparable to this boy’s presence as far as shaking things up went?

Tapeesa laughed at Suki’s shock and dragged her forward.

“Things are changing, little captain, get ready to ride the waves.”

Chapter Text

The eerie quiet of the Sazanami was reminiscent of the horrible scene that awaited Zuko when he came back from Foggy Swamp. In reality, there was nothing similar between that time and now. It was broad daylight in the middle of a busy port compared to the nighttime gloom at the edge of a forest. But Zuko knew there was no one inside the Sazanami’s echoing halls as he stepped up the gangway and that was enough similarity for his mind.

But it was fine. Zuko was absolutely fine. He wasn’t going to throw a tantrum (not that he ever had before) and he certainly wasn’t going to let Zhao’s spies see any signs that his actions hurt Zuko in any way. This wasn’t like last time. It wasn’t a complete surprise. If Zuko was honest with himself, he’d been expecting something like this to happen again ever since Zhao messed with their repairs. He just thought—hoped—he’d be able to properly say goodbye this time. Not that it was goodbye. The Wings weren’t going to stop their work or their association with him just because they were off his ship.

But… what about his friends who hadn’t been inducted to the Wings yet. Since they got Ye-jun on board, they were planning on testing the waters with Yan, Souta, and Raju. No, surely Chanda wouldn’t let her fellow engineers leave without the chance of joining them. Zuko just wished he could have been part of that conversation, been there to see Yan and Souta’s exuberant excitement and Raju’s quiet shock over his lóng egg.

Dammit, he never got to ask Amphon if he could keep her sketch of the Air Lantern to paint.

Calm, Zuko was calm. He could handle this like a responsible leader. There would be no tears, no shouting. He wasn’t the same child who thought his world was ending because his friends were taken away from him. There were bigger things at play now. In fact, wasn’t it a good thing for the Sazanami crew to disperse and spread the ideals Zuko had done his best to instill in them, even if they weren’t part of the Wings?

Jingyi was going to teach him how to swallow a key next week. He probably shouldn’t test out that skill without her…

Uncle was wringing his hands anxiously a step behind Zuko. He’d really tried his best to stop Zhao this time. Almost the entire walk back to town was filled with Uncle’s explanations of what he did the past few days, along with pleas for Zuko to not go charging into town looking for Zhao since Uncle had also done his best to get him to leave before Zuko came back. He at least had success with that , much to Zuko’s quiet displeasure. He was itching to just challenge Zhao to an Agni Kai and get him off his back for good. 

Kavi said his firebending was solid, certainly good enough to challenge Zhao and win. Despite his military experience and rank, Jae reported that he lacked in basics and depended on power over technique. Not that she agreed with Kavi’s offhand suggestions of how to handle Zhao, but she didn’t fully shoot down the idea either. 

Neither of them could easily weigh in their opinions now.

“Now, we won’t have too long of a wait for our new personnel, but we shouldn’t immediately follow this supposed lead Zhao has presented us. They’re coming right off a campaign in the South Pole, we should give them a substantial shore leave.” Uncle said as he followed Zuko below deck. “If you’d like I can make us a pot of tea and discuss our next course of action, since we can’t completely ignore this ‘lead’ regardless of its dubious source.”

Zuko took a deep breath. Calm, he could be calm and level-headed. He didn’t particularly want to hear right now about whatever bullshit Zhao came up with to hijack Zuko’s quest, but that was no reason to blow up on Uncle. He was just the unfortunate bearer of bad news. No one would believe Zuko was a reliable leader if he couldn’t handle this maturely. 

“Thank you, Uncle,” Zuko said through gritted teeth. He was not going to snap. “Perhaps tomorrow you can tell me about our plans going forward. For now, I think I’d rather be alone.”

“Prince Zuko…” Uncle hesitated, looking even more anxious than before. Shouldn’t he be happy that Zuko was being calm about this? “Now, I’m not accusing you of anything, of course. But perhaps you should trust Ensign Jae’s capabilities and that she wouldn’t let Zhao meddle too much with the administrative side of these reassignments. There’s been one too many incidents with us in port and we shouldn’t draw too much attention to-”

“I’m just going to mix some medicine and meditate some with Baijiu-” Zuko cut himself short as a chill ran down his spine. Ume and Baijiu had really bonded in the past few months. Would the spirit have chosen to leave with her? It was fine if it had. It wasn’t like Zuko needed the healing spirit around. He’d gotten along fine without its gentle flame before and would be fine without it again. Sure, it would slow down his attempts to learn the gentle flame, but he hadn’t exactly made any progress all this time. But… but-

His feet had continued bringing him to the infirmary despite his spiraling thoughts. Zuko flung the door open, resigned to disappointment and yet still foolishly hoping to be surprised. It was quiet and empty inside. The cot was properly made for once, not rumpled with evidence of Ume lounging about. A lump formed in Zuko’s throat and he roughly swallowed around it. Fine, it was fine . He was fine.

Uncle’s voice finally filtered through the ringing in Zuko’s ears as he gently touched Zuko’s arm to draw his attention. “Nephew, I said you won’t find him here. Medic Ume had him wait in your quarters in case anyone arrived before you.”

“Oh.” 

The relief almost broke him. Everyone was gone this time. There would be no Jingyi or Petty Officer Takehiko to connect him to his earliest days on the Sazanami . All he had was Uncle and, miraculously, Baijiu. 

“Perhaps you should take a short rest, then we can go into town for an early supper.” Uncle said gently as he guided Zuko down the hall. “We can discuss future matters tomorrow. Or the day after, there is no rush.”

Zuko bit down on his tongue to hold back the scathing remark that wanted to burst forth. Uncle wasn’t trying to be dismissive. There really wasn’t any rush while Zuko was stranded without a crew (again) but that didn’t mean Zuko should kick back and relax . However, if Uncle was already wary of Zuko checking on his friends’ well-being, then he should at least try to go along with it. 

“Yeah, fine,” Zuko grumbled, jerking out of Uncle’s gentle hold to stomp ahead. “I’m going to my room. I don’t need an escort.”

Uncle sighed wearily but thankfully stopped following him. So Zuko didn’t have an audience as Baijiu exuberantly welcomed him back to his room and a few choked tears escaped. Now wasn’t the time to cry and feel sorry for himself. There was no time for that. Zuko wasn’t going to let himself repeat last time. He was calm, level-headed, fine. Baijiu warbled softly and nudged his chin, flaring with a flash of its gentle flame. 

“Not right now,” Zuko grumbled, even if the skin around his eye was starting to feel too tight, verging on aching, after a week away from Baijiu’s numbing fire. He shooed the little spirit away as he dropped down next to his clothing chest. “I’m not going to go out right now, obviously, but I can start planning and-”

A letter sat atop the piles of clothes amassed through his travels that hid Zuko’s Dark Water Spirit disguise. 

‘ Butterbee, 

Don’t do what you were about to. We have everything handled. So don’t worry about us. Keep your head down and play the part expected of you until the stage is set. Despite the source of your new lead, there is some validity to it. 

I’m sorry I hadn’t told you sooner, but I only recently remembered. My uncle’s mentor had been friends with the Avatar, who hailed from the Southern Air Temple and was believed to have disappeared in the South Pole. Not to say we’re expecting you to find the Avatar, but with your track record, maybe you’ll find more information about what happened to him.

We’ll let you know when it’s time for you to drop your search and make a move with us. Next time we meet, we’ll be a step closer to seeing your vision of freedom. 

(A small sketch of a pair of wings.) ’

Heat simmered under Zuko’s skin, a current of energy searching for release. He couldn’t even muster any excitement about this lead on the Avatar. It wasn’t going to go anywhere. There was nothing he could do. They wanted him to wait and waste his time following century old leads. Was that really all he was good for without his babysitters around?! No, that wasn’t fair. Jae had been whispering for some time now how Zuko was drawing too much attention to himself with his recent activity…

“Dammit!” Zuko burnt the note into ashes and slammed the chest shut. He was about to grab his swords to vent his frustration on deck, then remembered he’d left the lóng egg behind for this short trip. It would have been difficult to find time to care for it in the middle of town with Uncle, let alone later in the week when he stayed with the Kyoshi Warriors. It wasn’t the first time he trusted Petty Officer Takehiko to care for the egg, so it had completely slipped from his mind.

Another curse on his tongue, Zuko threw the chest open again and frantically dug around the clothes until he felt the warm texture of his egg. Of course Kavi made sure it was safe and secure for his return. There was no reason to doubt otherwise. Zuko collapsed against the chest, curling around the egg as he breathed out some of the heat crawling in his veins. Baijiu landed on his knee with a quiet, questioning trill. He answered its question by calling fire to his palms to cradle the egg. The little spirit twittered and shared its own special flame with their unhatched hope.

Zuko resolutely did not cry. He wasn’t weak, wasn’t a child. He refused to cry.

Once again, Iroh sat in his office waiting for a lieutenant newly assigned to his nephew’s quest. While this was by no means a personal challenge as Lt. Kavi had been, Iroh was still on edge as he waited for the ship’s new acting captain. He had brewed and served the tea himself in hopes of making a strong, positive impression. In the depths of his heart, Iroh knew the entirely new stewards’ department on board for the day also played a role. Jingyi had learned from Seaman Shen how to brew Iroh’s tea exactly to his liking, and Head Steward Shui had made certain every steward learned from her. There was no one left to share such mundane knowledge on Iroh’s behalf. 

The last crew transfer had been a surprise and all Iroh had been able to do was try to mitigate the fallout. This time, Jae caught wind of Zhao’s intentions with enough time for her messenger to retrieve Iroh to meet the man head on. It hadn’t made a difference, spirits, Iroh wished it had, but at the very least his attempts to stop Zhao earned Zuko’s gratitude and tempered ire. However, Zuko’s level-headed approach to the situation had Iroh more on edge than if he’d shouted and raged around the ship.

Jae assured Iroh that none of the crew would suffer for Zhao’s vendetta against Zuko, and asked him to share her assurances with Zuko so he didn’t try anything drastic. Iroh hadn’t expected Zuko to actually listen to Jae’s message. That, or he’d finally managed to keep his nighttime activities concealed. 

(In the same breath of her farewells, Jae implied the crew was loyal to Zuko and that this would not be the last they saw of each other. Just as the last time a young woman left the Sazanami whispering such aspirations, Iroh warned against drastic actions that could put his nephew in danger while he was still too young. Jae’s soft smile was understanding. She didn’t challenge or argue with him. And yet a seed of dread settled in Iroh’s stomach, as if he had made a mistake. He once again offered a pai sho tile, but Iroh had a feeling it would go unused.)

Unlike last time, when Zhao had tried to stall their departure as much as possible by delaying the new crew, it seemed as if Zhao was now trying to swiftly get them out of sight. Even after Iroh lost the fight to keep their current crew, there had still been a fierce power struggle over granting leave to the complete crew Zhao was so graciously presenting them. The poor men were just coming off a campaign in the South Pole. They deserved several months leave, not the measly few weeks Iroh managed to secure. 

A solid knock on the door pulled Iroh from his musings. Lieutenant Jee entered with the same deadpan expression he’d greeted Zuko and Iroh with when he first walked on the ship. He bowed, then scrupulously looked around the room. 

“Will Prince Zuko not be joining us?” he asked as he took his seat across from Iroh. 

Iroh smiled wryly as he poured Lt Jee a cup of tea. “Ordinarily he would be, but I thought it best we have a quick discussion in private before all three of us sit down. I am… concerned about his mood and would rather we not give room for any misunderstandings while he is coming to terms with this abrupt change.”

Lt Jee frowned. “Forgive me for my ignorance, General Iroh, but are we not here at Prince Zuko’s behest?”

This was why Iroh wanted to speak with their new captain in private. No matter how admirably Zuko was controlling his temper, there was no doubt in Iroh’s mind that this conversation would finally set his nephew off. He could easily imagine the hurt and anger in Zuko’s voice if he were to answer Lt Jee’s misguided but reasonable question. 

“While we are grateful for and will be relying on you and your crew’s expertise in traversing the South Pole, this has been a bit of a sudden development in Prince Zuko’s quest. Neither of us expected a new lead to result in a complete rearrangement of personnel. Prince Zuko had developed quite the bond with our previous crew, you see.”

“I see,” Lt Jee said curtly. He sipped from his tea, his eyebrows raising appreciatively before his expression settled to a controlled blankness once more. “Well, there is little resistance in the South Pole since the Water Tribe fleet set sail. We will provide our expertise as commanded, but I cannot guarantee that Prince Zuko will find the glory of military achievement to secure his return home.” 

Iroh didn’t go so far as to splutter in surprise, but it was a close miss. “I believe I must be forgiven for my own ignorance now, Lieutenant Jee. And it appears my precautions for this meeting were well justified. What exactly have you been told about this detail?”

“I was ordered to select from my crew enough men to operate a third generation cruiser. No specifications were given as to Prince Zuko’s objectives, only that he was searching for the means to end his banishment. Given the importance stressed on our experience in the South Pole, I assumed that to mean we were selected to guide the prince through those waters. Was I incorrect?”

While Lt Jee hadn’t been outright lied to, the limited information provided to him might have been even worse. Iroh didn’t know if Lt Jee was acting directly under Zhao, or if Zhao had chosen this crew for other nefarious reasons. He would need to tread carefully until they set sail and reports could not be easily sent back to the naval captain. 

“I apologize for the lack of communication with this whole ordeal,” Iroh said placidly. The man’s stone face gave nothing away, but Iroh continued with a consoling smile. “Although your crew is being asked to return so soon to the treacherous climate of the pole, your men will not be asked to risk their lives any further than self defense. We are strictly a noncombatant ship. The terms of Prince Zuko’s banishment have not been widely spread, for various reasons I cannot quite go into detail just yet. I hope you can understand.

“But let me assure you, Prince Zuko is not searching for glory through warfare, let alone against defenseless communities. You are correct that we will be journeying through the South Pole, but our destination is not definite…”

This was the difficult part of Zuko’s banishment not being common knowledge. Major Hifumi had set sail with full knowledge of their quest. Commander Haoran had taken the search for the Avatar with fervent support. Correcting Lt Jee’s misconception of their goals was vital for an amicable working relationship, even if he was on Zhao’s payroll. But the truth wasn’t exactly confidence inspiring. 

“What is Prince Zuko’s objective in the South Pole, then?” 

“Now, do bear in mind this lead has been presented to us by a high ranking officer and, despite Prince Zuko’s status, he cannot easily disregard this ‘suggestion.’  Prince Zuko is quite resourceful, so I believe we will not be searching for long until he finds evidence to discredit this theory-”

Lt Jee’s fingers twitched around his tea cup, the only sign of his impatience. He was wary and respectful enough not to interrupt a royal, former general, but Iroh knew further clarifications were not going to help soften the blow.

“In centuries past, Earth Kingdom sages could scry the location of the Avatar, rather accurately I might add. After the Avatar disappeared, they are reported to have located the missing Avatar somewhere in the South Pole. Though they did not find them, it is uncertain how thoroughly they searched with the war in its aggressive infancy. As I said, Prince Zuko is very resourceful. I will gladly regale you with tales of his past exploits later. So I have no doubts that he will find enough evidence to confidently leave the South Pole behind in a matter of a few, short months and-”

“General Iroh, excuse me.” Lt Jee’s nostrils flared with his deep, controlled breaths. “Am I to understand that my men are returning to the South Pole mere weeks upon completing an eight month campaign to chase outdated rumors of the Avatar?”

Iroh forced a genial smile, once again grateful for his foresight in holding this conversation without Zuko. “I can understand your frustration, Lt Jee. I admire your dedication to your men and assure you that I did all I could to extend your shore leave as much as possible. But, yes, Prince Zuko is banished until he finds and captures the Avatar. As they have been missing for quite some time, we must treat all rumors with care and leave no stone unturned. I hope I can count on you to ensure your men understand our mission and expectations going forward.”

For a moment, Lt Jee looked ready to argue, but the tension in his shoulders released with his heavy exhale. “Understood, Sir.”

“Thank you, lieutenant. Now, I know I’m already cutting into your limited time before going on leave. Would you prefer to speak with Prince Zuko now, or upon returning to your post?”

Lt Jee smiled for the first time since Iroh met him. It was a small, wry smile, but Iroh counted it as a victory nonetheless. “If you are genuine in your offer, Sir, I would like to finish my business on board today and make the most of my leave while I can. If Prince Zuko has dire need to speak with me sooner, I will of course answer his summons. But, otherwise, I believe we’ve covered all we need to for now. Yes?”

“I would say so as well. I will pass on your words to Prince Zuko, but I’m sure he will find no reason to disrupt your vacation. Thank you very much for your time, Lieutenant Jee, I am looking forward to working with you.”

“And I with you, Sir,” Lt Jee said as he stood with a deep bow before seeing himself out.

Iroh dropped forward on his tea table with a relieved sigh. All things considered, the conversation went much better than he feared. Hopefully the one with Zuko would go just as well…

Everything sucked . 

Zuko’s crew hated him and didn’t listen to a single word he said. He knew that none of them wanted to be wandering the South Pole. Honestly, Zuko didn’t want to be here either! This didn’t fit with his plans to learn more about Kyoshi at all . Meeting with the Kyoshi Warriors should have been a starting point, not the conclusion to that avenue of research. Kyoshi had lived for so long, surely there were more pockets of her influence beyond her titular island. But, no, Zhao had to be helpful and boot Zuko off on a pointless search of the South Pole.

Even if the Earth Sages were correct in their scrying at the beginning of the war and Master Piandao’s master’s friend really had mysteriously disappeared in the South Pole, Zuko wasn’t going to find the Avatar until balance was restored. He couldn’t work on that while wandering polar waters and trying to stay out of the way of the villages who would be terrified to even catch a glimpse of a Fire Nation cruiser. If they were lucky, they would have some Kyoshi Warriors hidden among them to protect them. But that wouldn’t be lucky for Zuko in his hopes to keep his crew away from any altercations. 

They were experienced in southern raids. The handful of old reports that Zuko managed to get did not go into detail of the actions of Lieutenant Jee’s crew, but the implications were enough to make Zuko cautious. He’d been lucky with his previous crews. First, under Major Hifumi, the majority were assigned to him for being bad soldiers. Then, Jae had manipulated the second crew to be full of good people. Zuko didn’t know what Lt Jee and his men did to get on Zhao’s bad side, or if they were just unlucky enough to randomly get chosen to fill Zuko’s ship, but it didn’t seem like these men were bad soldiers. He was scared to learn whether or not they were good people.

From his own personal interactions, Zuko wanted to pettily write off every single one of those old men as complete assholes. They had no respect for him or for his expertise with the Sazanami ! Lt Jee completely disregarded Zuko when he tried to explain some of the Sazanami’s peculiarities, and then the head engineer tattled on Zuko to Lt Jee when he tried going directly to him. It took every ounce of willpower not to blow up on Lt Jee when he started subtly lecturing Zuko about respecting the chain of command on the ship, even if he was technically the highest ranking on board besides Uncle. 

There was no containing himself the first time the Sazanami was dead on the water, surrounded by nothing but glaciers, because no one listened to him. Why didn’t they believe him when he said he knew what he was talking about? So what if he couldn’t remember the spoken names for the engine parts? They were the ones who didn’t know the sign language for the finicky components!

Fucking infuriating was what it was.

It wasn’t Zuko’s finest hour, ranting at the crew and venting his frustrations with them, he’d be the first to admit that. Uncle’s admonishment was completely unnecessary because Zuko regretted shouting at them as soon as he locked himself in his room. But he refused to apologize when they still insisted on not listening to him . Zuko stopped trying to teach Lt Jee and the head engineer about the Sazanami after that and just took care of her quirks by himself in the middle of the night.

That had been the beginning of the end, really. Even before Zuko finally lost his temper, every attempt he made to find some sort of common ground between him and his new crew horribly backfired. The new medic was defensive about the infirmary and also tattled on Zuko to Lt Jee for “overstepping his boundaries,” nevermind that Zuko had just been trying to strike up a conversation about mixing medicine and how much the medic knew! He hadn’t been trying to test the man! Honestly, even if he had been, Zuko had more than enough knowledge to justify quizzing the new medic. Not that Lt Jee or the medic wanted to hear anything about that.

The seaman from Yu Dao didn’t want to talk about the city with Zuko (and tattled on him). The nonbender petty officer in the weapons department didn’t want to talk about his swordsmanship (and tattled on him). The steward Zuko stumbled upon baby talking the komodo rhinos didn’t want to talk about animal care (and tattled on him ). The entire crew went silent and was on edge the one time Zuko tried to join them for a meal in the mess hall (and collectively tattled on him!).

All of his problems came back to Lt Jee.  

He’d been the first one Zuko tried to make nice with, since he was not only the acting captain but the acting captain of a crew he’d already been working with for years. Since he was an old guy and already not in the best mood because of Zhao messing with his crew’s leave, Zuko thought asking about his home was a decent enough conversation starter. He was from a different part of the rural colonies than Ju Long, so Zuko had been genuinely curious what his hometown was like. 

It hadn’t been much of a conversation. Lt Jee barely replied and found a reason to excuse himself as quickly as possible. After that, he was even more standoffish and started telling Zuko off (in his own, toeing the line of hierarchy way) after people tattled on him. Later, much later, Zuko realized that maybe asking a guy about his home when he couldn’t go back to visit hadn’t been the brightest of topics to start with… but how sensitive was he to be put off that much ?

So, obviously, all of these men were jerks and Zuko was done trying so hard to replicate his relationships with his past crews. 

The fact they were all men might also be part of it. Uncle kept trying to convince Zuko that his previous crews had an unprecedented number of women compared to others, but Zuko saw the paperwork. Lt Jee had sent away every single of the few women on his crew when downsizing to move to the Sazanami . That had to say something about his character, no matter how Uncle tried to positively reframe it.

Uncle was trying real hard to smooth things out between Zuko and Lt Jee’s crew. At first, Zuko appreciated it. But as the weeks turned into months and Zuko stopped caring about having more than a working relationship with this crew, Uncle’s meddling was getting on his nerves. He kept trying to coax Zuko into being nicer and explaining himself better. It was a load of bullshit. Zuko explained himself perfectly clearly and was fucking polite about it!

Ugh, Zuko was just sick of all of this. He didn’t have any friends (which was fine ) and Uncle cautioned Zuko on openly practicing his heatbending and swords. There was no one to chat with in sign language. There were no escape and slight of hand lessons. There was no freediving and barely any sailing. There was painting in his room, but that got stuffy with paint fumes so he stopped bothering. Only in the middle of the night could Zuko mix medicine in secret or meditate with the furnaces after checking on things in the engine room. And, the biggest thing of all, there was no talking about Avatar Yangchen.

Literally the only thing Zuko could do with this crew was practice his firebending, which he realized was way far behind where he should be. Lt Jee’s snide remark on his traditional firebending only played a small part in his renewed rigor for practice, thank you very much Uncle. There was just nothing else for him to do. 

Zuko was going to go crazy before the Wings decided it was time for him to come out of exile. 

Lately, he was going so far as resorting to playing games with Uncle on deck! Pai sho was absolutely out of the question after Zuko gave it one chance. He was surprised by how many games Uncle had squirreled away in his room. Was this what he’d been doing in his free time these past few years? Ridiculous. 

The element card game Uncle taught him wasn’t too bad. There was enough strategy that it was interesting, but not convoluted like pai sho. Zuko even managed to win every couple of games. He wasn’t resorting to playing by himself like Uncle just yet, but he was getting fucking close at this rate. 

A blinding beam of light lit the bright evening sky.

Zuko jumped to his feet, nearly toppling Uncle’s pot of tea and their current game. The sun had yet to set, so there was an eerie, dim glow to the glacier filled ocean. There was the occasional aurora even when it wasn’t fully dark, but there was no way that was an aurora.

It was a nearly opaque beam of eerie blue light shooting straight up from something at ground level.

With a manic grin and heart thudding in his ears, Zuko whipped around, away from the beam to face Uncle. Even if this wasn’t the Avatar, he finally had something to investigate!

“Uncle, do you realize what this means?!”