SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW


Chapter Three: The Runaway


Godfrey flinched when his door flew open and Jinora ran in, looking disheveled. "Godfrey, have you seen Kotta?"

The Cat Owl gulped. "Why?"

"We've looked everywhere and asked everyone where she could be, and we still can't find her," she said. She held her hand up to one of her temples, blinking back fearful tears. "Where could she even have gone?"

Kai rushed in after her, panting. "I looked in our closet again," he began breathlessly. "I just…had a hunch. Two things are missing. Guess which ones."

Tears sprung to Jinora's eyes. "No…"

Godfrey feigned ignorance. "What? What's wrong?"

Kai looked at Godfrey with wide, frantic eyes. "Kotta's gone, and so is the Grimmerie and one of Jinora's enchanted brooms. Oz knows where she'd fly off to."

"She doesn't even know how to fly yet!" Jinora said, tears trickling down her face. Kai took her into his arms and held her tightly. "It took me months to learn on my own. She could be crashing into something or falling or…" She sobbed into her husband's shoulder. "She left after we fought. She left thinking we're still angry at her. Oh Oz…"

Kai rubbed Jinora's back, tears also sliding down his face. "Don't say that," he said, his voice breaking. "We're going to find her. She's going to be okay. She's smart and powerful. We're not losing our daughter."

Guilt and worry washed over Godfrey as he looked upon the distraught parents, and he couldn't stop the words that came from his mouth next. "She's going to Oz."

Kai and Jinora looked up at him at the same time. "What did you say?" Jinora asked.

Godfrey swallowed hard. "She's going to Oz. She asked me where it was yesterday, and I knew she would try to find it whether or not I told her where it was. I thought, at least she won't be lost in someplace totally unfamiliar-"

"No, that's impossible," Kai said. "We never even told her about Oz. How would she know about it?"

The Cat Owl looked around nervously. "I…may have told her a few stories when she was younger… you were always using the word, so she was curious…"

Jinora pulled out of Kai's arms and pushed Godfrey so hard that he slammed his back into one of his bookshelves. He let out a surprised yelp.

"How could you?!" Jinora snapped, an anger in her eyes that Godfrey had never seen before. "You knew we were trying to protect her from what happened to us and you practically sent her off to meet it with directions?" She shoved him again, her fingernails digging into his shoulders.

"Jinora, please!" Godfrey said. "She just wanted to know so badly. She's seemed so lost-"

"-and now she's most likely literally lost because her idiot godfather couldn't keep his damn mouth shut!"

"Calm down, Jinora, this isn't like you-"

"Not like me? Not like me? I didn't think it was like you to deliberately violate my trust and send my daughter off to uncertain danger, but if you really want to know what a mother can do when one of her children has been placed at risk-"

Kai pulled Jinora away from the Cat Owl, struggling to keep her from lashing out again as she thrashed in his arms. "Jinora! This won't help us find Kotta," he hissed into her ear.

Jinora calmed for a bit, before he released her.

"What Godfrey did was…wrong," Kai said, glaring at Godfrey in a way that made him wonder if he'd be attacked by the other parent, "but we can't just lash at him right now. We've got to find Kotta." He looked at Godfrey. "And he's going to help us."

Godfrey nodded quickly. "Of course. I take full responsibility for this-"

"And he can answer for his actions later," Kai finished, glowering at the Cat Owl. Kai took a deep breath. "I guess there's only one thing to do, now. We have to try to get to her before she arrives in Oz."

"And if she beats us there?" Godfrey said nervously.

"Then we go with her," Jinora answered, taking Kai's hand. It seemed they were going to have to confront their past, whether they wanted to or not.

Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands. - Anne Frank

Flying was everything Kotta thought it would be and more: scary and exciting, kind of like how she imagined the moment right before a first kiss felt. Though her start had been slow and wobbly (she had crashed into so many pine trees that she was growing sick of the smell), she had managed to get herself on a steady path due west. She had stopped a few times to eat (thankfully she had had the foresight to bring some food with her) and rest, but other than that she had flown the whole way. It was already twilight when she spotted a glittering yellow road below her. She flew for a few more miles till that road stopped in a little town sprinkled with colourful houses. It looked like a perfect place to rest for the night.

"Broom, could you lower me down, please?" she asked. She still wasn't entirely sure if the broom had any understanding of verbal requests, but it still lowered her into the brightly-coloured town, with a gentle thud as her feet landed on the road.

She mounted off the broom and patted it gratefully (she dearly hoped it wasn't sentient, but that didn't mean she couldn't be polite to it just in case) before wandering off to look for somewhere to rest.

"Hey," came a voice behind her, and Kotta was so startled she fell over. "Sorry! I didn't mean to frighten you."

She looked up into the face of the person who'd startled her out of her balance, and couldn't help but think that, as far as faces went, this one was actually rather nice to look at. (Granted, she could have also just been happy to see a new human face after years with only Animals for company.) His skin was a light brown, a few shades lighter than her father's. His light green eyes shone gently in the darkness, and his black hair looked perpetually windswept, with a slight curl at the front. He offered her a hand, and hesitantly, she took it. It was warm and slightly calloused, and an unfamiliar warmth flooded through her at the contact. It was weird, and new, and…kind of nice.

"It's fine," Kotta said with a sheepish grin. "Really."

The boy, who seemed a few years older than her maybe, frowned. "Still. Oh, I'm Flint by the way. Flint BeiFong." He stuck out his hand and Kotta shook it eagerly, savoring the strange new warmth that his touch seemed to bring. Was it like this with all other new humans?

"I'm Kotta," she said. "You wouldn't happen to know someplace to stay for the night? I'm, um, from out of town."

That was putting it mildly, she thought, but Flint didn't seem to find anything strange with it.

"My parents should know a place and our house has lots of extra rooms. They're kinda the mayors of Munchkinland."

Kotta got the strangest feeling that he was almost trying to impress her, somehow. "Oh, thank you. I don't want to disturb them though…"

"Don't worry about it," Flint assured her. "They've probably been waiting up for me anyway, they're almost always up at this hour." He offered her his arm, and it looked similar to the way her father would offer his arm to her mother right before a stroll over to Oma and Shu's house.

Tentatively, she wrapped her fingers around his arm, alarmed at the heat that rose to her cheeks as they walked side-by-side in such close proximity.

"Thank you," she said softly, squeezing his arm lightly. His arms were firm with lean muscle. Flint grinned at her and her stomach did a somersault.

"No problem," he said cheerfully. "My parents' house is right over her."

The streetlights were dim, casting shadows over her features. Her eyes, a much darker green than his, with little flecks of gray, sparkled and shone in darkness. He could hardly take his eyes off her face - small, with high cheekbones and softly curving chin, completely olive green. She was almost teal in the moonlight.

"So, where are you from?" he asked, trying to start a conversation as casually as he could.

Kotta's mind froze for a minute, before she said, "…Far away. Like, really far away. I don't even know if it's on any maps, actually."

He chuckled lightly. "Well, wherever it is, it must be really colourful," he said with a wink.

Kotta flushed and laughed back. "No, not really. I mostly grew up with a bunch of Animals. Actually, my family and I are the only humans. You're the first one I've seen outside of my family."

"Oh," he said. "Are you all green?"

"No," Kotta said, shaking her head. The way her wavy hair bounced with each of her movements was kind of endearing. "I mean, we all are except for my dad. I've heard that being green isn't normal, but it's really all I've ever seen."

"Regardless of whether or not it's a normal skin tone, green is a beautiful colour, especially on you," he said, smiling. Kotta found herself blushing even harder. Oz, if it was like this with every new human, she swore she'd get a sensory overload.

"Thanks," she giggled nervously. "You're very nice to look at, too."

He chuckled, blushing himself - wow, the way his cheeks and ears turned pink instead of green was something else - and there was another moment of silence before he asked, "So…any siblings?"

"Two," Kotta said, without skipping a beat. "My younger brother's name is Gale, and he's kind of a suck-up with no sense of adventure, but…" She smiled warmly at the thought of him. "He's not bad as far as brothers go. And my little sister, Lani, is really sweet, and everyone absolutely loves her. Sometimes I kind of wonder how someone so good actually exists," she laughed.

"So you're the eldest?" Flint asked. Kotta nodded. "What a coincidence. So am I. My younger brother's named Basalt, and he's kind hard for my parents to reign in, but he's pretty fun. Also not bad as far as brothers go, I would say. Ah, here we are," he said, stopping at a large house. The colours reminded her of birthday cake and the dolls Lani played with when she was younger, but the architectural flourishes were more ornate that she'd ever imagined a house could be. It looked more like a palace in the storybooks she'd once read as a child, and she was thoroughly enchanted.

"This is where you live?" she gasped, looking from the pastel rooftop trimmings to Flint's face, which was dusted with a light pink. He simply nodded and knocked on the door.

The door flung wide open to a woman with short, windswept hair, and kind green eyes that, at the moment, looked frantic. She looked just a little older than her parents, the creases in her face more permanent than those in her mother's.

"Flint! You've got to stop staying out this late, your father and I-" The woman stopped, staring at Kotta like she'd seen a ghost.

"Sorry, Mom, I was just escorting this lovely young lady. She's from out of town, and needs a place to stay," Flint said, caution creeping into his voice as he looked between his mother and his new friend.

"Um, hi," Kotta gulped, suddenly nervous under this woman's gaze. "I'm really sorry for keeping your son out late."

"No, it's fine," the woman said softly, still staring. "It's just…you remind me so much of someone I knew…" She shook herself out of her trance long enough to beckon them both inside. "Quickly, in here," she said, pulling the kids into the house.

"Now," the woman continued, looking strangely nervous. "You, dear-"

"Kotta," she supplied.

"You… you wouldn't happen to know people named Kai and Jinora, would you?"

"They're my parents," Kotta said slowly. "Did you know them, Mrs. BeiFong?"

The woman looked floored. "Call me Opal, and yes. They were good friends of mine. Flint, can you go get your father? He should be here for this." Flint looked reluctant, but did as his mother told him, running up the stairs off to the left. Opal turned back to the young girl.

"How do you know my parents?" Kotta said excitedly.

"We were friends at school," Opal said distractedly. "But Kotta, do you parents know you're here?" After everything that had happened, Opal had thought she had seen the last of them. Over the past 17 years, she'd hoped that they were doing well, wherever they were. She never dreamed she'd get the chance to see them again, let alone meet their daughter.

"…No," Kotta replied sheepishly. "I kind of…I kind of ran away."

Opal sighed. "Oz above, you're lucky Flint found you before anyone else. Your parents must be worried sick, not that I can blame them, after what happened…"

"What do you mean 'lucky'?" Kotta's brow furrowed. "What happened? Please, tell me, I need to know, that's why I came here, to get answers."

Opal placed her hands on Kotta's shoulders, biting her lip. "It's not my story to tell, but let's just say most Ozians don't see green skin as a good thing, Kotta. As for your parents, what have they told you?"

"Barely anything," Kotta said sourly. "They said they met at university and they didn't like each other at first, but got to know each other because they were roommates due to some sort of miscommunication error. And then later that my dad's parents didn't approve of their marriage. But other than that, I don't know a thing."

Opal took a deep breath. "It isn't my story to tell," Opal said again. "I don't know all of it either. I know more than anyone else does, excluding your parents, but still… So here's what we're going to do."

"Opal, is it true?" a man's voice rang out. Kotta assumed it was Opal's husband, Flint jogging behind him. "Kai and Jinora's kid?" The man's face lit up at the sight of her. "You have your dad's eyes, kiddo." He took her hand and shook it. "I'm Bolin, it's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too," Kotta said, shaking his hand.

"But, I don't mean to be rude, but how are you here?" Bolin asked, looking to Opal. She whispered something in his ear - a hurried explanation, surely - and his mouth formed an 'o' shape. Bolin cleared his throat. "Your parents can't be far behind, right?"

Kotta nodded. She had gotten maybe a five or six hour start on them, but that was about it.

"We'll wait for them," Opal continued. "You should go get some rest, and we'll sort everything out in the morning. Flint, can you take her to a room?"

The boy smiled. "Sure, come on Kotta."

For a brief second, Kotta hoped he'd offer her his arm again, and shoved the pang of disappointment away when he didn't. He led her up the stairs. "There's some empty rooms right down the hall," Flint explained. He went down the hall with her trailing behind, and turned around, smiling, only for his grin to fade: Kotta was crying. "Um, are you okay?" He mentally slapped himself. What sort of question was that? "Sorry, stupid question. Um…"

"I'm fine," Kotta said, sniffling. She wiped her eyes. "It's just, this whole thing went better in my head, y'know? I'm going to be in so much trouble. And I might not even get a chance to learn everything I want to about my family, or myself, or where I'm from… I might be in the dark about who I am forever."

"Hey," Flint said, putting his hands on her shoulders, then quickly removing them. "You'll…it'll be fine, trust me."

Kotta managed a tiny smile. "Okay."

"And we've still got at least a few hours before your parents arrive, right?" he continued. "That's plenty of time to get you up to speed on Ozian history. I don't know everything, of course, but I know a little. And I know we have some history books. I could show you what I know."

Kotta's smile grew. "Thanks, that's real nice of you."

He grinned. "Of course. Now, let's get going. There should be some books up in the attic." He grabbed her hand, trying to ignore the spark of electricity it sent up his arm.

They climbed a few more flights of stairs, and he had to help Kotta up after tripping a few times ("I've never climbed so many stairs before!" she had said in an awed voice; Flint had to shake his head and smile) before they finally made their way up to the attic. It was dusty and cluttered, but before Flint could apologize for the mess, Kotta had already found a little corner of books to fawn over.

She was drawn to one which a witch's hat on it, titled The Wicked Witch of the West: A Short History. "Know anything about her?" Kotta said, pointing to the title.

"A little," Flint said. "She was a vigilante and took a stance against the Wizard - he was the ruler of Oz, but then he retired and my Aunts Korra and Asami took his place. She died shortly before he retired though, after three years of terror. But that's all pretty much anyone knows. She was killed by the Captain of the Guard at the time. We learned a little bit in school, but nobody really talks about her anymore." He sat down next to her and looked at the cover. "My parents never really liked the way her story was taught, for some reason. I asked why, but they wouldn't tell me."

"Looks like parents keeping their kids in the dark is a universal thing, then," Kotta grumbled. "But I don't see how that relates to my parents. Let's keep looking, maybe we can find a yearbook from your mom's university days."

"From Shiz?" Flint said, and she nodded. "I've been there a couple times, or at least, that's where my mom wants me to go."

"It must be nice, to be able to go to a university," Kotta sighed. "I asked if I could go to one a couple of years ago, but of course my parents weren't having it. I don't even think we have a university where we live either."

Flint smiled over at her as he rummaged through another pile of books. "You could go to university here."

Kotta snorted. "I wish. My parents wouldn't even tell me about Oz. I had to wheedle the information out of a family friend…who's probably in a lot of trouble now, if I know my parents at all." He caught her wince, and walked back over to his spot next to her with a few books in hand.

"Like I said, it'll be fine," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder. She smiled back at him and something about the way her green eyes sparkled made his stomach flutter. Flint cleared his throat. "So, erm, I think I found a yearbook from my mom's third year."

They sat down on the floor side by side, sitting cross-legged. Flint stubbornly ignored the fact that Kotta's knee was brushing his own, and opened up the yearbook. "Lucky they go by first names," Flint said. "Your mom's name is Jinora, right?"

Kotta nodded as Flint flipped through the yearbook. "It's funny," she said, "I actually don't know my mom's maiden name. I guess that's another thing they didn't bother to mention to me," she grumbled. Flint flipped to the J-section of the yearbook, and they scanned through the pages till they found a picture of a frowning young woman with a long braid hanging over her shoulder. She was hunched over and overall looked as though she'd rather be anywhere else. Under the small greyscale portrait was the caption, "Jinora Thropp".

Kotta laughed. "Yeah, that's my mom, alright," she said. "Although she smiles a lot more often now, I promise."

"I'll take your word for it," Flint laughed. He eyed the last name again. Why did it seem familiar?

"Oh!" Flint looked over at Kotta, who was flipping through the pages of a rather thick journal. "It's a record of all the governors of Munchkinland!"

Flint laughed, if only to keep himself from groaning. "Oz, my parents made me look through that a million times when I was 15," he said. "It's literally just a list of names that people can hardly remember."

"It's still history," Kotta said, quickly flipping to the end. "Besides, I want to see if I can find any of your ancestors in here."

"You're just going to find my parents, unfortunately," Flint said with a shy grin. "My family only began ruling Munchkinland about 17 years ago, when the Captain of the Guard back then put my parents in power. I still can't remember the name of the family that was in power before us…"

"…Thropp."

"What?" Flint looked at Kotta, who was now staring at the last page of the journal.

"The governor before your parents was named Ikki Thropp," she said quietly. "She must have been related to my mom… Mom never mentioned her, though." Then she remembered being 12 years old, hearing her mother's muffled sobs of "Ikki," from behind her parents' bedroom doors. "Maybe they were sisters. What happened to Ikki, anyway?"

"I'm not sure," Flint said. "But I think I remember reading how she died somewhere." He pulled open the nearest textbook, his eyes trailing down the table to contents. "Here she is, the Thropp family. Their dad was Tenzin, Ikki was the younger sister." His eyes widened. "And she was, um, kinda crushed by a house."

"What?" Kotta leaned over to get a closer look at the book, and Flint found it hard to ignore how close she was to him. "How is that even possible?"

"Um… There was a cyclone, apparently," he said. "Oh, wait, it's the Cyclone."

Kotta raised an eyebrow at him. "The Cyclone?"

"Super imaginative name, I know," he chuckled. "This cyclone was kind of a big deal in Ozian history. Along with bringing in the house that crushed your…aunt…sorry…" he said with a grimace.

"I never really knew her, obviously," Kotta said with a shrug. "Still, poor Mom."

"So along with that," he continued, "this cyclone also brought a girl named Dorothy Gale from a land called Kansas, and she ended up getting kidnapped by the Wicked Witch of the West. Somehow the Captain of the Guard ended up in the middle, but because of Dorothy, that was why the witch was finally killed."

"Violent history," Kotta said, turning the page. "Do you know who the Captain of the Guard was? Or the Wicked Witch of the West? It must have been important to my mom, if it related to my aunt's death."

Flint flipped through a few more pages, before his eyes landed on a paragraph. "Well, firstly," he said in a somewhat strained voice, "your aunt was apparently referred to as the Wicked Witch of the East." He looked back up at her. "I'm really sorry. We can stop if you-"

"No," Kotta said, shaking her head. "I've never known this much about my family before. Keep going."

"Well, you're the niece of the Wicked Witch of the East," he said again, trying not to grimace - how could someone that seemed so sweet be related to someone infamous for their wickedness? - "and the Captain of the Guard is…" He flipped through a few more pages, before landing on another name that looked way too familiar. "Um, Kotta?" he asked, his voice rising a bit. "What was your dad's name again?"

"Kai," she answered simply. "Kai Upland."

"That's…a really crazy coincidence," he said, pointing to the relevant paragraph. He heard her gasp sharply near his ear.

"The Captain of the Guard was…my dad?" She had to lean back a bit, bumping against the shelf behind them.

"That can't be, though," Flint said, scanning the page again. "Captain Kai Upland died in a Satomobile accident 17 years ago. There's no way this is the same guy as your father."

Kotta looked at the picture next to the paragraph. Even in greyscale, there was no mistaking it. "No, that's him. So… my dad faked his death. Why? I mean, my parents said his parents didn't approve of their marriage, but that hardly seems like a reason to pretend to be dead."

Her head was reeling. What did this all mean? She had come to Oz to find answers, not to be given more questions. She held a hand to her temple. Maybe her mother's history wouldn't be so tangled. Other than having someone called the Wicked Witch of the East for a sister, but still.

"Is there anything on my mom?" she asked.

"Other than being related to the previous two governors of Munchkinland, no," he said, shrugging sadly. "Although, we could try to see what happened after she graduated. I can find my mom's yearbook for her last year."

Flint found it no time, and he flipped to the 'J' page. "That's weird," he paused, scanning the rows of people again to make sure he hadn't missed something. "Your mom's not here this year."

"What?" Kotta's eyes glanced down carefully through the page, and Flint followed her line of sight. "That's so weird. Here, flip over a few pages." He flipped to the 'K' page and she stopped him once she saw her dad's name. "See, it says that he became a sorcerer for the Wizard and graduated early. I may not know my mom's history, but I know her well enough to know that if my dad was able to graduate early, she would've been able to do it also, but blindfolded."

"Your mom's a really good sorcerer?" Flint guessed.

"My dad says she's the best he's ever known," she said. "Honestly, it's one of the few things either of my parents have said that I still believe."

"Maybe she dropped out?" Flint suggested. "Or took a different job. Let's see if Ikki's in here."

They flipped through the yearbook and found Ikki's picture. She looked very pale (though that could have just been the greyscale), and her hair was twisted into two buns atop her head. She had a wide smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, and a demure, upturned nose. Kotta couldn't help but notice that she had the same smile as her mom, and the shape of her eyes looked almost exactly like Lani's. Maybe they were the same colour, too.

"It says she had to take a leave of absence to become governor," Flint said, reading the little inscription under her name. "It looks like maybe your mom dropped out, there's no mention of her here at all."

"My mom? Lover of all knowledge? I don't think so," Kotta said, grabbing the textbook again. "If my dad was someone important in Ozian history, she had to have been, too. There has to be something." She turned the pages when a leaflet fell out. It was old, the pages tainted with yellow, depicting a warty old woman with green skin and a black hat. "What the-?"

Kotta's brow furrowed as she opened the leaflet. Attention, all citizens of Oz, a dangerous criminal, known widely as the Wicked Witch of the West, is on the loose. If you see her, report it immediately to the authorities. She may be going by fake names, however, her real one is…

Her heart stopped. It didn't make any sense. But there was her mother's name, staring up at her. A lump formed in her throat.

"Kotta, what's wrong?" Flint said gently.

"It's not possible…" Her hands shook as she handed him the leaflet.

Flint took it, scanning the leaflet quickly. He stopped at the name, then flipped back and forth between the cover and the text.

"…Jinora Thropp. As in, your mom?"

Kotta gulped noisily and nodded.

"No," Flint said, shaking his head a little too hard. "First of all, Captain Kai killed her. Shemelted. And secondly," he said, holding up the illustration, "there's no way you're related to someone who looks like that."

"I'm not," Kotta said in a wavering voice. "My mom doesn't look like that. She's beautiful, and has barely aged since her university days if the pictures are right. But that's my mom's name, and I'm going to have to assume it's not some crazy coincidence if my aunt was the Wicked Witch of the East and my dad was Captain of the Guard." She drew her knees up to her chest and rocked back and forth, trying keep herself from either crying or throwing up. Probably both. With each answer came more questions, and learning the truth wasn't nearly as freeing as she thought it would be. She felt like she was suffocating. "No wonder your mom doesn't want me running into anyone else."

Flint couldn't help himself as he wrapped an arm around Kotta's shoulders, gently stroking her shoulder. She just looked so small, so scared and distraught. "There's got to be an explanation for all of this," he said.

"Is there? I feel like every new piece of information we find is more confusing and scary than the last. My aunt, who I've never even heard of before, was the most oppressive governor in Munchkinland's history? My father was Captain of the Guard, loved by all, but according to the textbook, he spent a lot of time rounding up Animals. Flint, we live with Animals. My godfather's an Animal. And my mom…" She swallowed at the lump that was rising in her throat. "No wonder they don't talk about what happened after college." She looked at Flint, her eyes a little too bright. "This means that they were enemies. My dad worked directly under this Wizard or whatever he was called, and my mom fought against him… how did they end up married?"

"Kotta!" She recognized it as Opal's voice. "Kotta! Flint!" Kotta wondered how long they had been in the attic - for a few hours at least, digging through textbooks. "They're here!"

Kotta picked up the leaflet and stood up, shaking. She tried to reel in her emotions when the door burst open. Jinora ran in first, sweeping her daughter into a tight hug. Kai joined immediately afterwards, wrapping his arms around both of them.

"Thank Oz you're safe," Jinora whispered, kissing the top of Kotta's head. Jinora pulled away, her smile melting into a glare. "What in Oz's name were you thinking? No, you obviously weren't thinking at all, you-" Then she noticed the pamphlet in Kotta's hand, and looked up into her daughter's eyes. There was a weight in them now.

Jinora's eyes filled with tears and she shared a look with Kai, who instantly knew what she was thinking.

Opal reached the threshold of the attic, struggling to break the silence with a timid offer of, "Perhaps we could continue this downstairs?" She tried not to stare at her old friends as they passed, their daughter walking in between them. They looked so different, older, wiser, sadder and happier all at the same time.

Flint looked at her nervously. "Mom?"

"You can stay if you want to," Opal said. "There will be consequences for what you and Kotta have done, however. You shouldn't have helped her pry."

Flint nodded. "Okay."

Without another word, he followed his mother to the kitchen, where he joined Kotta's family, a Cat Owl, and his father.

Kai placed his arm around Jinora's shoulders, sighing heavily. He stared hard at his daughter. "So, what do you know?"