Chapter 1: The Harmony Restoration Movement

"I never realized how many colonies the Fire Nation had built in the Earth Kingdom," Aang said, frowning as he studied the large map laid out on the table in front of him, dotted with several miniscule flames along the Earth Kingdom's eastern coast.

"Yes. For the Earth people, they're a constant reminder of the war, like an old scar." The Earth King Kuei paled suddenly, glancing at Zuko nervously. "Oh, I-I meant nothing personal, Fire Lord Zuko."

Zuko shook his head, dismissing the apology, although Rinzen could feel the brief instant in which the accidental insult had stung him when his fingers curled around hers flared with warmth for a moment. "No, you're right," he said quietly. "After everything my father's done, all the pain he's caused, it's my duty to bring some healing to the world. I'll remove those colonies, whatever it takes."

"We'd have to be careful, though," Rinzen pointed out, drawing his attention to her as his grip on her hand tightened instinctively, his eyebrows furrowing in concern. She squeezed his hand back, but continued, "Plenty of people's lives are going to be disrupted, we can't just ignore that in favor of relocating them."

"People's lives were disrupted when these colonies were built, too," he reminded her. "I'm just trying to set things right."

"I know, and I'm glad you're convinced about this," she reassured him. "But all I'm saying is that this isn't going to be as easy as you might think it is."

"So I'll help oversee the colony removals myself," Aang answered quickly before Zuko could respond. "That way, things will go peacefully. All in a day's work for the Avatar, right? Peace is kinda my thing." He gave her a broad, confident smile.

"I guess," she conceded, although she still felt uneasy about removing colonies that had been in place for at least a hundred years, and Zuko relaxed marginally.

"Wonderful!" King Kuei clapped his hands together. "The Avatar's personal involvement will give the whole process an air of hope."

"Sokka and I can help, too," Katara agreed and Sokka grimaced.

"Well, I was going to visit Kyoshi Island and see Suki." Katara elbowed him hard and he stood up a little straighter. "Okay, okay, we're both in."

"Same here." Toph raised her hand in agreement.

"It'll be a movement towards harmony," King Kuei declared. "We'll call it...hmm..."

"The Harmony Restoration Movement?" Sokka offered. Rinzen was surprised that the name wasn't quite as bad as she hadn't expected, especially coming from the same guy who had dubbed their group "Team Avatar" and named the assassin chasing them "Sparky Sparky Boom Man" and then later "Combustion Man."

"What's with your goofy names for everything?" Toph complained.

"Call it a gift," Sokka said with a modest shrug, but King Kuei perked up.

"The Harmony Restoration Movement! That's perfect!"

"Stop moving, Zuko!" Sokka snapped and Zuko froze in the middle of putting a cup of tea down on the table in front of Rinzen. "I'm trying to capture the moment!" Sokka gestured plaintively to the piece of parchment in front of him, where he was attempting to paint an image with broad brushstrokes of black ink.

They were all gathered in Iroh's tea shop, the Jasmine Dragon, in Ba Sing Se a few hours before the Earth King announced their plans for the Harmony Restoration Movement and the respective celebratory festival would begin. Aang sat on the floor of the shop playing with Momo, using a small whirlwind of air to manipulate a tiny marble into flying around as Momo chased after it eagerly, and Katara, Rinzen, and Toph sat at one table while Sokka sat at another, a paintbrush clutched in his hand and a smear of ink on his forehead. Rinzen could see Appa and Lychee through the window, laying in front of the Jasmine Dragon and nibbling on bales of hay together. Lychee's new leather saddle practically gleamed on her back with how freshly-polished it was.

It had taken some convincing for Lychee to get into the air when Rinzen had first climbed onto her head and called, "Yip-yip!" The moment she understood what Rinzen wanted, though, guiding her to fly wherever Rinzen directed her was almost intuitive, as if she could read Rinzen's mind and knew exactly where the airbender wanted her to go. Rinzen finally understood how Appa easily responded to Aang and flew wherever Aang asked him to, sometimes without Aang even having to say a word.

"I thought when I became Fire Lord, I'd stop getting ordered around, but now you guys are worse than ever," Zuko complained as he set the cup of tea down in front of Rinzen anyway before wandering over to Sokka's painting and then frowning at the image. "What are you even trying to paint? My hair's not that spiky. I look like a boar-cupine."

"And why'd you give me Momo's ears?" Katara demanded as she followed Zuko across the room, peering over Sokka's shoulder.

"Those are your hair loopies!" Sokka defended.

"And Rin looks-" Zuko pursed his lips contemplatively, glancing between the picture and Rinzen, who raised an eyebrow expectantly. "Actually, no, considering this is Sokka's art, you look fine," he conceded. "If you consider a stick figure with an arrow on her forehead as accurate. I can barely tell you and Aang apart here."

"Hey, Aang, turns out we've been twins all this time," Rinzen said sarcastically, earning a snicker from her brother from his place on the floor. She frowned down at her tea, which was green and smelled cool and refreshing despite how hot it was, and took a sip to find that it was peppermint, which tingled on her tongue. "Iroh, is the peppermint tea new?" she called into the kitchen.

"Yes, is it good?" Iroh called back, poking his head out around the door, and Rinzen gave him a thumbs-up.

"This one's tied with orange for second-favorite. First is still butter tea, obviously."

"Really?" Iroh looked pleased as he came out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on a dishtowel. "That's one more variety I'm adding to my menu, then. You make an excellent test subject." He paused behind Sokka's table, frowning at the painting. "Hey, my belly's not that big, I've really trimmed down."

"Well, I think you all look perfect," Toph declared and there was a pause for a moment as everyone eyed her warily, wondering if she was serious. "That's what I would say if I could see," she added dryly and waved her hand in front of her own eyes pointedly. "Except I still wouldn't say it because even I know Sokka can't draw."

"Hey!" Sokka complained as the rest of the room burst into laughter and Rinzen saw Aang getting to his feet out of the corner of her eye, slipping out onto the balcony. After a moment, Katara followed him outside and Rinzen turned her attention away from them to give them some privacy.

"About time," Zuko muttered as he collapsed into Katara's abandoned seat beside Rinzen. "Watching them stare wistfully at each other when the other isn't looking is exhausting."

"You mean like how you used to look at Sprightly over here when she wasn't looking?" Toph deadpanned on Zuko's other side, making him flush and cover his face with one hand. "Even I could tell you were doing it, and I can't even see."

Rinzen felt her cheeks warm even as she leaned across Zuko to swat at Toph's arm. "Leave him alone, we got there eventually. And don't think I approve of that new nickname, either, I'm not sprightly."

"Everyone's a critic," Toph grumbled, pushing herself to her feet and wandering over to the other side of the shop.

Rinzen peeked up at Zuko, who still had his face half-hidden by his palm. "Did you really, though? Look at me when I wasn't looking?"

"Shut up, of course I did." He reluctantly lowered his hand, managing a tiny, embarrassed smile back at her. "Can you blame me?"

"A little, I mean, I have no idea what you were looking at me for," she answered dryly and he rolled his eyes.

"Because I love you, stupid." Even as casually as he said it, it still made Rinzen's heart leap into her throat and stick there.

"Love you, too, dummy," she answered, trying to go for the same casual tone, but failing miserably. It made Zuko smile, though, warm and tender in a way that would have seemed alien on his face even a few months ago.

"Oh, gross!" Sokka proclaimed loudly from the doorway to the balcony, startling Rinzen into looking over to where Katara and Aang had clearly been kissing, but had now jumped back from each other.

"We weren't doing anything!" Aang protested immediately, turning bright pink and throwing his hands up in the air.

"Try knocking next time, Sokka," Katara snapped back.

"I don't have to knock to go outside," Sokka complained. "And anyway, as my sister, you shouldn't be kissing anyone in front of me! It's your sisterly duty to avoid giving me the oogies!"

"The what?!" Katara shrieked, infuriated. "You are so immature! What about you and Suki?! And you don't see Aang complaining about Rin and Zuko!"

"Hey, we want nothing to do with this argument, thank you very much!" Rinzen called back and Zuko bit his lip hard to stifle his laughter.

"What did you come out here for, Sokka?" Aang asked, interrupting the argument brewing between the two Water Tribe siblings as he ushered them both back into the shop.

"Oh, right." Sokka turned to him, his annoyance at Katara forgotten even as she glowered a hole into the side of his head. "I was gonna suggest we take Appa and Lychee out for a ride before the festival starts."

"I don't know about Lychee, she's still so new to flying with riders that she might get spooked by the fireworks when they start," Rinzen pointed out. "But we can take Appa, sure."

"That's a great idea," Aang agreed, perking up slightly at the thought. "We haven't gotten to do any barrel-rolls with Appa for fun in ages."

"You know what, you guys can leave me here if you're doing barrel-rolls in the sky," Toph protested, grimacing. "I don't think my stomach's recovered from the last time we did barrel-rolls to avoid fireballs aimed in our general direction."

"Barrel-rolls for fun are way less scary," Aang dismissed, leading the way outside. "Let's go!" Shaking her head, Rinzen got to her feet to follow Aang outside and smiled when Lychee sat up slightly at the sight of her, her ears swiveling in Rinzen's direction.

"Hey, girl," she crooned fondly, rubbing her bison's nose. It was still surreal to think of Lychee as hers, especially when only a few days ago, she didn't even have a sky bison to call her own. "We're taking Appa for a ride, but don't get jealous, okay? You're still my favorite."

Appa grumbled beside her, sounding offended, and Aang laughed a little. "It's okay, you're my favorite, big guy." Appa seemed mollified, leaning into the hug Aang gave him before the younger airbender clambered onto his head.

Rinzen climbed into Appa's saddle and Lychee eyed her for a moment, as if debating whether to be upset, before settling down again, much to Rinzen's relief. Zuko emerged from the shop and patted Lychee's side affectionately before climbing into Appa's saddle and settling in beside Rinzen, his arm winding around her waist as she curled into his side.

"She seems to be adjusting pretty well for a bison who was wild only a few days ago," he noted, watching Lychee lick at her front paws absently.

"That's what happens when they bond with an airbender, they tend to start taking on their rider's temperament," Aang explained, glancing over his shoulder. "It took Appa way longer to get used to me, but we were both really young when we bonded, so we kind of influenced each other as we grew up." He rubbed Appa's head fondly. "Rin really lucked out, Lychee's probably the most well-adjusted bison I've ever met."

"Hey, I'm not complaining. She's a sweetheart," Rinzen agreed, smiling as Lychee bumped her nose affectionately against Katara, Sokka, and Toph as they each made their way out of the shop and into Appa's saddle. "It's nice that she gets along with everyone."

"I don't know, I still think she's trying to take a bite out of me every now and then," Sokka complained.

"Don't flatter yourself, you're too bony to be as tasty as you seem to think you are," Toph said dryly, earning laughter from everyone else as Sokka crossed his arms and sank down into Appa's saddle, sulking.

"Yip-yip," Aang said, still giggling, and Appa pushed himself into the darkening sky as the sun lowered slowly below the horizon.

To spare Toph, they didn't do any barrel rolls, but they did speed through the air, Aang guiding Appa to dive fast enough that the wind whipped through their clothes and Katara and Sokka threw their arms into the air as they screamed with delight. Toph clutched onto the edge of the saddle, her knuckles white with terror, and Rinzen, used to flying so fast, took a little enjoyment in seeing the exhilaration on Zuko's face as Appa repeatedly dove down, dropping several feet before zooming upwards again.

"Let's go again!" Aang cheered, but then Katara pointed as a sudden pop went off and a shower of red sparks burst in front of them, followed by another shower of green sparks.

"Wait, the fireworks are starting!"

"Hey, best seats in the house," Sokka said appreciatively, leaning back in the saddle.

"You're right," Aang agreed, rubbing Appa's head. "Thanks, buddy." Appa grumbled goodnaturedly as they flew slowly, carefully avoiding the fireworks around them as they watched the colors fill the dark sky.

Hearing a cacophony of sound below them, Rinzen glanced over the edge of the saddle to see the many citizens of Ba Sing Se gathered below cheering and celebrating. "Looks like the Earth King's just announced the Harmony Restoration Movement."

"Hey, you guys wanna know what fireworks are like for me?" Toph offered abruptly. "Close your eyes." Rinzen knew better than to close her eyes, but Sokka fell for it, shutting his eyes. Toph leaned in close to Sokka's ear before screaming, "AHHH!"

Sokka yelped and toppled over in the saddle, clutching at his ear. "Ow!"

"Don't be such a grump, Toph," Katara admonished. "You're out with friends on a beautiful night and celebrating the fact that we just saved the world!"

"True," Toph agreed, although she still looked pleased by the success of her prank.

"You, too, Your New Majesty Fire Lord Zuko, sir! Turn that frown upside-down!" Aang said cheerfully and Rinzen looked away from the celebration below to find Zuko staring out at the night sky grimly, the fireworks illuminating the serious expression on his face.

"Zuko?" she prompted worriedly, but he ignored her, turning to face Aang.

"I visited my father in prison the other day before we left the Fire Nation," he said quietly and Aang's smile faded. "And I've been meaning to ask you for a favor."

"Sure, what is it?" Aang asked, his eyebrows furrowing in concern.

"If you ever see me turning into my father, I want you to end me."

"What?" Rinzen blurted out before she could stop herself and was faintly aware of Katara, Sokka, and Toph's bickering falling silent behind them. "That's ridiculous, you're not going to-"

Zuko held his hand up, making her fall silent, and kept his gaze fixed on Aang, who looked horrified at the request. "Even now, after everything that's happened, my family's legacy is still part of me. That's why it's my duty to heal the scars the Fire Nation's left on the world. But the Fire Lord's throne comes with a lot of pressures, and if I'm honest with myself, I need a safety net. The world needs a safety net. That's what I need you to be."

"You're not your dad!" Aang protested. "You're my friend! How can you expect me to-?"

"And as your friend, I'm asking you," Zuko interrupted. "If you ever see me go bad, you have to end me."

"You're being stupid," Rinzen muttered and Zuko looked back down at her, his expression softening.

"I'm sorry, Rin, but I need to make sure someone stops me if I ever start turning into-"

"You're not going to turn into your father!" she protested. "You're already making the world a better place with all the changes you've been making!"

"My great-grandfather thought he was improving the world, too, when he plunged it into a hundred years of war," he reminded her. "I can't risk ruining things further, even if I don't mean to. Someone has to hold me accountable, like Avatar Roku should have for Fire Lord Sozin." He looked up at Aang, who still looked uneasy. "Please, Aang. Promise me."

Swallowing, Aang nodded. "Okay. I promise." He avoided meeting Rinzen's eyes guiltily as he turned away again, guiding Appa to start flying back to the Jasmine Dragon.

It wasn't easy to forget the promise Zuko had forced Aang to make, and it lingered in the back of Rinzen's mind long after they left Ba Sing Se, but in her opinion, he had no reason to worry. He and Rinzen returned to the Fire Nation, with Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph lingering behind in the Earth Kingdom to begin the process of removing the Fire Nation colonies, and threw themselves into rebuilding the Fire Nation infrastructure, especially removing ministers and generals who were firmly still on the former Fire Lord's side from Zuko's council.

Slowly, the capital city of the Fire Nation began to flourish again, no longer as solemn and lifeless as it had been when the war had first ended. Every time Rinzen stepped out of the palace, she was greeted with the sounds of children laughing and shouting as they played and ran through the streets and bustling markets.

The massive changes within the Fire Nation government weren't received well by everyone, though. Rinzen and Zuko often found wickedly-curved daggers embedded in the doorway of their bedroom and threatening notes in unfamiliar handwriting slipped underneath the door of Zuko's study, where he spent more nights hunched over his desk rather than in his bed.

"You know, they really ought to figure out eventually that we're not exactly scared of daggers," Rinzen said dryly two months after Zuko's coronation as she yanked out a dagger from where it was embedded in the wooden door frame of their room. "What is this, the third one this month? They're just wasting perfectly good weapons now."

Zuko didn't smile as he took the dagger from her, studying the sharp, curved edge of the blade. "Things are only going to keep escalating at this rate."

"Maybe you ought to consider keeping a couple guards posted outside your room at night," Sora offered as he leaned on the doorway beside them. "Just in case." He had been appointed as the head of Zuko's personal guard as soon as Zuko had been crowned Fire Lord and had chosen the guards carefully to make sure none of them meant the new Fire Lord any harm.

"Maybe." Zuko looked up from the dagger in his hands, his expression grim. "Rin, I think you should get started on restoring the temples. I can send word to Aang to meet you at the Southern Temple so you two can go through your things together."

"What?" She blinked back at him, bewildered. "We've still got plenty of work to do here. I can always start on the temples anytime."

"I can take care of the work here," he reassured her as he passed off the dagger to Sora, who retreated down the hall with it to stash it along with the other blades they had found over the past couple months since Zuko had taken the throne. "The temples mean a lot to you, and I'd rather not keep you cooped up here in the palace when you could be doing something you love."

"Being here with you is something I love doing," she pointed out, which finally made him crack a small smile as he slid his arms around her to pull her close.

"Believe me, the last thing I want is to send you away."

"So don't." She ducked her head to nestle it underneath his chin and his arms tightened around her. "If you're worried about my safety because of these threats, you don't have to be. I can take care of myself."

"I know you can."

"Then quit treating me like I can't," she retorted.

He exhaled wearily, ducking his head to press a kiss into her hair. "You're right. I'm sorry."

"Good, you should be." She pinched his side gently, making him jolt slightly, before pulling back to study his face. It wasn't hard to tell that he was exhausted, the long nights of working late hours manifesting as a dark circle under his good eye and a slight darkening of the burned skin beneath his scarred eye. "You do know you have a bed, right? Your desk doesn't count."

He shook his head dismissively. "I'm fine."

"You're tired, is what you are," she answered, reaching up to brush her thumb underneath his good eye. "I think you're starting to look more like a raccoon-squirrel than a human."

"Very funny." He wrinkled his nose, tilting his head out of her reach. "I'm fine, Rin, really. You don't have to fuss over me."

"If I don't do it, your uncle's going to the next time he sees you," she reminded him. "I figure I'm the lesser of two evils."

He huffed a chuckle, leaning back down to press a kiss to her forehead. "Okay, fine, point taken. I'll try to get to bed earlier."

"Thank you." She tilted her head up to peck his lips in return.

Dear Rin,

Things are going great with the Harmony Restoration Movement. We've relocated about two colonies so far! It's a lot of work, but everyone seems to be happy to go back to the Fire Nation and settle into their new homes.

I'm sure you and Zuko must be busy rebuilding the Fire Nation. Toph's started a new metalbending academy in the Earth Kingdom just outside of Yu Dao, so she's been pretty busy, too. Katara, Sokka, and I miss you three a lot. We should figure out a way for all of us to meet and catch up sometime. In the meantime, tell Zuko to write if you can pry him away from paperwork long enough. I miss my grumpy Sifu Hotman.

I'm a little worried to hear about the security problems you guys are having in the palace. Are you sure you and Zuko are safe? I know Sora's probably got you covered, but just in case, Suki says she and the Kyoshi warriors would be happy to act as additional guards for you guys. Send a messenger hawk to Kyoshi Island if you need her.

Take care of yourself and keep in touch more often than every couple weeks, okay? I know you've got access to quills and parchment in that big, fancy palace.

Love, Aang

P.S. Momo and Appa say hi and they miss you.

Rinzen wasn't stupid; she was well aware that the backlash Zuko was receiving was at least in part because of her. It was common knowledge that she was living in the palace with him, but it still unnerved her when she received her first threatening note slid underneath the bedroom door. Before she could even think to hide it from Zuko, Sora had already reported it to him.

"Remind me never to tell you anything I don't want him to know," Rinzen muttered to Sora as she grudgingly dropped the scrap of parchment into Zuko's waiting hand.

Sora shrugged helplessly. "Hey, you're my friend, too. And if you're in danger, we both need to know about it."

"'Get out of our country, airbender?'" Zuko read, raising an eyebrow as he crushed the parchment in his hand. "It's as if these people don't remember that they occupied Earth Kingdom territory up until a few months ago. Hypocrites." Rinzen hadn't even realized he had burned the letter until he opened his palm again and ashes trickled out of his palm where the parchment had been.

She reached out to take his hand, which was still scalding to the touch, but the moment her fingers laced with his, his skin began to cool again rapidly. "Relax. It's just a dumb note. We've gotten plenty of those so far and none of them upset you this much."

"None of them were targeting you until now," he reminded her quietly, tightening his hold on her hand.

"Well, as much as I appreciate you getting offended on my behalf, it's okay." She leaned up to peck his cheek. "A lot of things are changing in the Fire Nation and people are scared and lashing out. I don't think taking these notes to heart will help."

"If you say so," he conceded, although his eyebrows were still furrowed in concern as he glanced up at Sora. "I think you were right before, about keeping guards posted outside at night. Just in case things get worse than just threatening notes and daggers in our door frame."

"Sounds like a plan," Sora agreed, a frown on his normally-smiling face. "I'll get my best guards on it."

Dear Aang,

Okay, okay, I'm sorry for not writing more often. Lay off the guilt already. Things have just been really busy here.

Zuko and I miss you all a ton. He's probably the only one busier than I am, I hardly see him outside his study these days except when I have to drag him out to get him to sleep a little. Although he did tell me to tell you to quit calling him Sifu Hotman.

I'm really glad to hear that the Harmony Restoration Movement is going well. Just be careful when relocating citizens who have been in the colonies for a long time. Some of these people have probably never even set foot in the Fire Nation before in their lives. I worry that they might cause more trouble than anybody else.

I can't wait to see Toph's metalbending academy sometime, it sounds fascinating. Has she actually gotten students already? It'd be neat to see more earthbenders start picking it up, it's a really useful skill to have.

The security problem's not too bad, Sora and his guards have it taken care of. We're safe, you don't have to worry about us. It's not like we didn't expect some backlash when Zuko was crowned Fire Lord, anyway, I guess we just didn't expect it so soon. I'll keep Suki's offer in mind, though.

Give Katara and Sokka my best, and don't give Sokka too many oogies by smooching Katara around him.

Love, Rin

P.S. Lychee says hi and she misses her favorite Avatar.

Rinzen awoke with a start in the middle of the night to an odd rumbling noise drifting in through the open window. She carefully untangled herself from Zuko's side to sit up, trying to avoid waking him when he hardly got enough sleep as it was, but cursed inwardly when he stirred, rubbing his eyes with the heel of his palm.

"What is it?" he mumbled around a yawn as he sat up, his hair tousled and hanging in his eyes. It was still half-pulled up into a topknot, as if he had been too exhausted to take his hair down entirely before crawling into bed beside Rinzen earlier that night.

"Nothing, I just thought I heard something outside," she reassured him, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "I'm gonna take a look, you go back to sleep." He frowned, but obediently settled back down as she climbed out of bed and moved to the window to peer outside into the dark courtyard of the palace below.

She didn't see anything out of place at first, but then a shuffling movement from the stables caught her eye. Lychee was shifting anxiously in her stall, her teeth bared at something Rinzen couldn't quite see as a low growl rumbled out of her throat, the source of the noise Rinzen had heard. Suddenly, she saw a flickering flame snap out like a whip and lash at Lychee as the bison whimpered and flinched away from the fire.

"Someone's hurting Lychee!" At the sound of the panic in Rinzen's voice, Zuko jolted upright again, wide awake, even as Rinzen hurried across the room to grab her staff where it was propped against the wall. She snapped it open as she made her way back to the window.

"Rin, wait-!" Zuko began to protest, but she had already jumped out through the window, spiraling down to the courtyard and snapping her glider shut as she swung it as hard as she could to send a strong current of wind at the intruder. He stumbled under the force of the gale, but didn't fall as she had hoped. A black mask covered his entire face except his eyes, which glinted gold in the dim moonlight.

"What do you think you're doing?!" she snapped at him. "She's an innocent animal!"

"It got you out here, didn't it?" he retorted, his voice low and gruff as he sent a powerful blast of fire at her. She spun her staff quickly to block the flames, but she could still feel the heat scorching at her skin. "What's the matter, didn't bring your precious Fire Lord out with you?" he called mockingly. "I guess I'll just have to find and end him myself."

"Like hell am I letting you get to him," Rinzen retorted angrily, at least a little glad she knew what the man was here for even if the thought of anyone actively trying to make an attempt on Zuko's life made her heart tighten a little in terror.

She managed to block another fire blast just in time, directing the flames away from a terrified Lychee huddled at the back of her stall, but she hadn't realized how close the intruder had gotten to her until her glider was wrenched out of her hands and she was thrown backwards, her back hitting the cobblestones hard and knocking the wind out of her.

"I've got no quarrel with you, airbender," the man said as he began to walk past her. "Just your boyfriend."

She rolled over just enough to grab at his ankle and tugged hard, making him fall forward and using his weight to pull herself to her feet in a swift move. She kept a tight hold of his ankle as she drove her knee down into his back, holding him in place.

"Last I checked, any quarrel with him's a quarrel with me." She tugged his ankle upwards to put a little more pressure on it and he groaned in pain.

"Rin!" Zuko hurried out into the courtyard, Sora and two other guards behind him.

"It's okay, I've got him," she reassured them, only daring to get up once Sora nudged her off the man to bind his wrists and ankles in thick fireproof ropes.

"What were you thinking?! You could've been killed!" Zuko protested.

"Hey, you're talking to the same girl who punched your sister in the face and broke her nose," Sora pointed out as he handed the intruder off to the two guards who had accompanied him and Zuko. "I think Rin can take care of herself just fine."

"See? Sora gets it," Rinzen said, grinning back at them as she picked up her abandoned glider from the ground, but Zuko still didn't look mollified.

"Down with the traitor!" the man spat at Zuko as he was dragged away by the guards. "Down with the Fire Lord who betrays his own people!"

"Yeah, yeah, you're better off yelling at a brick wall for all the good that'll do you, buddy," Sora said dryly as he followed the guards and their new prisoner out of the courtyard.

Zuko let out a slow, shaky exhale once they were gone, scrubbing a hand over his pale face. "Wait for me next time, Rin," he scolded, although he sounded weak with relief all the same.

"I had it handled," Rinzen insisted before closing the space between herself and the stables to check on Lychee. The sky bison was still whimpering, albeit less than before, as she inched forward and pushed her nose into Rinzen's waiting hand. "It's okay, baby girl, you're okay," she murmured soothingly. "You did so well, warning me before that guy even got past the courtyard."

"Lychee warned you?" Zuko echoed, frowning as he joined her at the door to the stables.

"Her growling was what woke me up," she explained. "I bet he probably wouldn't've bothered with attacking her if she hadn't made any noise. He'd've made his way right up to us and we wouldn't've even known."

Zuko was silent for a moment, his expression unreadable, before he reached out to stroke Lychee's fur gently. "Thanks, Lychee," he murmured before giving Rinzen a small, weary smile, sliding his free arm around her waist. "Remind me to get her a bushel of moon-peaches in the morning."

"I will." Even as Rinzen leaned into his embrace, listening to his heartbeat calm down slowly after the rush of adrenaline, she had a feeling that this wouldn't be the last time a disgruntled Fire Nation citizen attempted to take matters into their own hands.

So, uh, guess who thought this chapter would take way longer to write than it actually did? Spoiler: it was me. (Not going to lie, I had maybe two paragraphs of this chapter done when I posted Book 2's last chapter yesterday and I wrote the rest of this chapter today in the span of two hours.)

Turns out writing the post-show comics storyline is really fascinating, and I'd really like to get into the rest of the plot ASAP! It's really great to explore the idea that things weren't as perfect as the last episode of the show made it seem like they would be. There are definitely going to be new problems and even old problems to face and resolve.

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed this first chapter!