A/N: Good news: I'm getting back into the hang of writing late at night (my usual writing time). Bad news: Daylight Savings ends this Sunday and I'm not looking forward to that. I lose a precious hour of sleep. -_- Sleep. *Golum voice* My precious~

If anyone's interested in thermal shock, I highly suggest you check out it out. It's a phenomenon that's actually very interesting. If you want and have an hour to burn, watch the episode Hidden Danger from the Mayday/Air Crash Investigations series online. It details how thermal shock brought down 2 Boeing 737 airplanes and almost brought down a third before the cause (thermal shock) was discovered and the problem fixed. It's very interesting. I did a project on those accidents.

Chapter summary: In which Jet hears something terrible, passes the word, and Tengfei may have started something that hopefully won't bite him where it hurts later.

26: Rumor

When the Spirit-fox bounded onto the table he sat at in the tea shop, Jet knew Li was here. But he didn't get the chance to process much more than that before he noticed the agitated chirping sounds and the way Zenko's fur was unusually puffed. She snapped at his sleeve and tugged him towards the kitchen, her ears flat against her head.

"What's she doing?" Jin asked, a curious frown on her face.

Jet knew. He didn't wait. He stood quickly causing his chair to make an obnoxious screeching sound as the legs dragged against the rough stone floor and rushed after the Spirit-fox. He was expecting the worst. Li ragged and bleeding. The Dai Li had been at the potter complex, where Li and his family worked.

Something had been burning and Jet had a sneaking suspicion it hadn't been trash. It wasn't Li who'd been… burning. Was it? Oh Spirits, please no.

It hadn't been Li. Li was whole as far as Jet could tell. But the boy was leaning into his uncle's embrace and shaking, so he clearly wasn't whole emotionally.

"What's going on?" he demanded. "Li?"

He saw pale sparrowhawk eyes, bright with tears and dulled of their usual spark, flash up to him a second before Li abandoned Mushi and embraced him instead. Caught off guard, Jet instinctively wrapped his arms around Li's shaking shoulders, staggering under the weight of his friend. The soft sounds close to his ear and the tell-tale dampness beginning to seep through his collar left Jet further confused.

He had known Li for all of a few weeks, but during that time he had never seen Li cry. Furious, embarrassed, shy, excited, joyful, curious, afraid… But never sad. Now, he could feel the crescent shaped indents from Li's short nails digging into his back through his shirt and see the way Li's entire body shook as he tried to keep his sobs quiet. Damn it, Jet was not the best at handling tears.

So he just stood there and held onto Li. Whatever happened must have been bad. He lifted his gaze to old man Mushi who had an expression of sad acceptance. Jet felt a stab of awkwardness. Mushi was Li's uncle, even though he didn't remember. Watching Li chose to cling to someone else must not be easy. And after that description of the Spirit abyss that was Li's family, Jet couldn't help but wonder if Mushi had been the only one Li had ever turned to.

Until now.

"What happened?" he mouthed to Mushi, careful to keep his breath from making too much sound. He didn't want Li to hear him. He'd wrangle the full story out of Li's mouth later.

Mushi suddenly looked much older, started to speak, then shook his head. "I don't really know," he mouthed back slowly. "Ask him. I'll go talk to-"

"It's about time you showed up, boy!"

"Sorry!" Li said.

Instantly, Li stood ramrod straight and stumbled out of Jet's arms nearly knocking Zenko off his shoulders. The Spirit-fox adjusted her footing, swishing her tails for balance, and pressing her face against Li's. Li's cheeks were still obviously blotchy and covered in tear stains from crying and his eyes were still watery. But he held his breath, refusing to cry. His good eye was wide with fear and lingering sadness.

"Give him a break, Pao," Jet groused, not at all happy with the way Li was getting reprimanded. There were extenuating circumstances.

Pao aimed a haughty glare at Jet who did not belong in the kitchen and opened his mouth to give him a thorough tongue-lashing when he finally saw Li's face. Jet watched as Pao's brown eyes stared at his waiter's distraught demeanor.

"By Yu Huang's green eyes, boy. What happened?" he demanded.

Li gulped before trying to explain. "There was, um, something happened at the pott- at, um, home and the…" He absently reached up and grabbed a handful of one of Zenko's fluffy tails, clinging to it like his sanity depended on it. "They needed my help. I couldn't come earlier, sorry."

Pao frowned and narrowed his eyes, glancing at Mushi. Whatever Pao saw made him begin to grasp the situation. "I see," he said. "What was so important you couldn't send someone to explain your absence?"

Jet didn't like watching this interrogation, but he really wanted to know. What could possibly be so bad it could reduce Li to this? What… Who had been burned?

Did he really want to know?

"Someone, um, broke into the potter's complex and," Li took a shuddering breath before continuing, "they… They put th-their…"

Jet noticed the way Mushi's eyes suddenly sharpened in horrible understanding. Jet didn't want to hear this. He didn't want to hear this. Even though he did.

Li licked his lips and dropped his gaze, obviously trying hard not to relive what he was describing. "They put their children in one of the kilns and, um, earthbent it shut."

What.

"The kiln was active," Li said, suddenly speaking quickly, trying to spit out the words. "They were alive when… We didn't know. We couldn't hear them."

What?

"All of our earthbenders are too young to..." Li said, leaning into the Spirit-fox's soft nuzzle and wet nose pressing into his cheek. "None of them were strong enough to move the- the rock sealing the kiln shut."

He wanted to throw up.

"We got the fire out, but we needed earthbenders to get in." Li shook his head and shuddered. "We got the Guard and- and T- a Dai Li," -why did Li look at him right then?- "to open it. But they were already… We couldn't do anything they…"

"I think that's enough," Mushi said, resting a hand on Li's shoulder and squeezing comfortingly. Li's words obediently stumbled to a halt.

Jet really, really wanted to throw up. Li was lying. He had to be lying. He had to be. No Earth Kingdom parent would willingly burn their children alive. Any trueborn Earth Kingdom citizen, especially earthbenders had to be buried to put their spirits to rest. Li was lying.

But even as he thought that, Jet knew it wasn't true. Li never lied. He couldn't lie. Jet had seen him try. Li sucked. He couldn't lie to save his life. But that meant…

Someone from the Earth Kingdom burned their children alive. Deliberately.

Jet was definitely going to be sick.

"Why are here?" Pao said, aghast. "You should be with your family helping… Why are you here?!"

Li's hand clutching the Spirit-fox's tail spasmed. "I need to work," he said, his voice flat.

Pao was already shaking his head. "No," he said firmly. "No, you need to turn around and go back home to yo-"

"I need to work," Li said again.

"Listen here," Pao said, approaching the spooked young man. "I am not a slave driver. You saw something terrible this morning. Something I wouldn't wish on my greatest enemy. You need to-"

"I need," Li interrupted, enunciating each word slowly, clearly, "to work. Please. I can't go back there yet. I'll see- I don't want to think. Please, just- Give me something to do. Anything. I just need to work."

Clearly Pao disagreed, but one glance at Mushi and he kept his mouth shut and sighed. "Fine," he said. "Help Mushi with the dishes and bus the tables. I'll be taking the orders today."

Li nodded listlessly.

"And you, young man," Pa said, turning his ire on Jet, advancing with a waving finger. "You are a customer, not an employee. You are not allowed in the kitchen unless you're going to work. If you want to work, then we can discuss a contract, but until then out."

Jet hesitated, glancing at Li. It didn't feel right leaving Li alone when he was like this. But then, Li wouldn't really be alone, would he?

"Hey, Fox!" he called. Li's pale gold eyes lifted to his at the same time the Spirit-fox's sightless eyes locked on him. "Stay with him. Don't let him do anything stupid. You know how he is."

Zenko tipped her head down and curled her tails around Li's neck protectively. Li, however, wasn't impressed with the friendly jab and shot Jet a weary glare. Well, it was probably supposed to be a glare, but it came off more like a grimace. It was so adorably Li, it took much of Jet's self-control to keep from poking the other boy's cheek. The only thing holding him back was the roiling in his mind and gut.

He was almost relieved when he trudged out of the kitchen and back to the table and his now cold cup of tea. He wasn't really in the mood for an energy boost at the moment anyway. What he needed was something to soothe his messed up everything.

"Hey, Jet, are you alright?"

Damn it Jin, not now.

"You look awful. Was that Li just now? What happened?"

Actually, Jet reconsidered, maybe now was a good time.

"Hey Jin," he said, keeping his gaze on his cold cup of tea. He wasn't sure if he could control what Jin might see in his eyes. "I have a question."

He could see the girl's braided hair move in his peripheral vision as she shifted to face him. "Okay," she said, wary but concerned.

"If I tell you what happened at the potter's complex," he heard her gasp and fought the vicious pride of knowing he had her absolute attention, "will you promise to keep in the loop?"

"The loop?" she asked. She hummed and leaned back so he could no longer see her through the corner of his eye. "About the potter's complex incident specifically? Or in general?"

"The pot-" Actually. "Both." he forced his body to relax so he didn't seem so intimidating. He needed her help. He couldn't afford to scare her away. "I make deliveries for the merchants who travel back and forth between the Middle and Lower Rings," he explained. "I can tell you anything juicy that comes my way, as long as you keep me in the loop of any interesting rumors that come your way."

He really should flash her one of his trademark grins to seal the deal. It worked with Katara after all. Now that wasn't a pleasant memory. And now he definitely couldn't muster up the energy to even smirk, let alone grin.

"I can do that," Jin said. Jet heaved a sigh of relief. "But… May I ask, why the thing at the potter complex? It was probably just someone who mentioned the- Who talked to loudly about our boys on the Wall."

Nice save. Unfortunately-

"I wish," Jet said grimly.

Now he did lift his head, but he didn't sit up straight. He slumped against the back of his chair and crossed his arms. He moved his tongue to- Damn it. He still didn't have his straw. He needed to fiddle with something. It helped soothe his nerves.

"Some bastard snuck in overnight," he said.

"How?" Jin demanded in confused disbelief. "They'd have to be an-" Her eyes widened.

Jet nodded. "They were. I'm not a particularly Spiritual person myself, but I personally hope they burn to a crisp so they never see the halls of Yu Huang. Fuck them." He spat into his cup of cold tea.

Jin flinched at the curse and curled her lip when he spat. "That's a bit much," she said. "They just broke in, after all. That's kind of harsh for a theft."

"It wasn't theft they were after though," Jet said. He didn't turn his head, but he did look right at her. "They locked they own kids in an active kiln and earthbent it shut."

Jin gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. Her soft brown eyes were wide with horror and her face was turning the faintest shade of green. Jet agreed with that sentiment wholeheartedly.

"The potters didn't find out until morning," Jet continued. "They were probably woken by the smell. Burnt flesh," -Jin made a sound that was almost a dry heave- "has a way of permeating everything in the area. I… remember. I lost my parents, my whole family to," he glanced at the warily at the windows, "Fire. It's not something you forget."

He let Jin take a few moments to compose herself. When she finally spoke, her voice was calm and even, the exact opposite of her face.

"How do you know?" she asked simply. "Not that I doubt you, I just-"

"Want to check your sources," Jet nodded, waving a hand. "Not a problem. I get it."

He would have trouble trusting her if she didn't do some fact checking on some level before spreading rumors. Still, he glanced back at the kitchen. Maybe that was too obvious because he heard Jin's breath catch.

"Oh," she whispered. "Li told you."

"Li's family are potters," Jet said simply. "He was there. Judging from his face," he sighed, "he probably saw the remains."

"Oh Spirits." Jin leaned against the table, her hands clutching the edge to ground herself.

"Deep breaths," Jet said gently. "Deep breaths. Slow. Try not to focus on smells. Just breath."

Movement by the kitchen caught his attention and he looked over hoping it was Li. It wasn't. But Mushi wasn't so bad. The old man's entire plump figure drooped and his light brown eyes which should be full of jokes and merriment were shadowed with worry and age. He moved slowly over to Jet's table with a tray in his hands.

"Here," he said, placing a fresh, steaming mug of tea on Jet's table. "Peppermint tea for your stomach." He reached for the mug of cold tea when he noticed Jin's pale face. He frowned briefly before his expression cleared and he nodded. "I'll be back with another."

He took the cold tea back to the kitchen on his tray, returning less than a minute later with another mug of steaming peppermint tea. He set the tray on Jin's table and placed the steaming mug in front of the girl's shaking hands.

"Drink this, dear," he said. "It will help calm the stomach."

She nodded hesitantly. "Thank you," she whispered, wrapping her hands around the cup and absorbing the soothing heat.

When Mushi returned to the kitchen, Jin took a deep breath and sipped her tea. She winced as the hot drink scalded her tongue, but she still swallowed. Jet was impressed despite himself. He wasn't going to do that. He was going to wait a bit more before sipping his tea. He didn't want a scalded tongue.

"I'll see what I can do," she said, her eyes flicking to his briefly.

Jet nodded. They both liked Li. They both hated this news. They both wanted the word out. They wanted to find out the truth. This could be the beginning of a beautiful, mutual relationship.

This… Tengfei had seen a lot of things during his many years as a Dai Li. He'd seen murder, theft, spirits, curses, clandestine and a few not-even-remotely-clandestine, erm, sexual encounters. But never in his life had he ever seen or even dreamed he would see what he saw this morning.

The bodies, if they could even be called that considering how little remained of them, were burnt almost to a crisp. What little they had been able to recover was brittle and had to be handled with the utmost care. No one wanted to leave any body parts behind.

His younger partner Shanyuan had had trouble holding in the contents of his stomach. The only thing that had kept him from throwing up the moment he saw the burnt remains was the presence of the Guard and the onlookers.

Tengfei had ended up joining his partner down in the potter's courtyard when he noticed Shanyuan's slipping. He couldn't blame his partner. It really was nightmarish. Whoever was responsible for this travesty would pay dearly. Killing children. Who would dare? Even the Dai Li did their best not to involve children if they could avoid it.

It was an unspoken rule. If they had to take a child in, mindbending was the first option, death was the last. And if death was a necessity, such the rare time they found a firebender, then they made it quick. No one wanted the weight of torturing children on their minds.

One of the potters, a homely man who was still a bit leaner than was considered healthy, shifted. Normally, Tengfei wouldn't have noticed something so insignificant. But the flash of gray-black darting away from the man's feet demanded he look. It couldn't be.

It was. Tengfei only just managed to slam his mouth shut before it hit the ground. Spirits above, it really was. Tengfei would recognize that scar anywhere.

It seemed he wasn't the only one who recognized a familiar face when he saw it. He knew the moment Li recognized him. The boy's pale face positively drained making him look almost sickly. Fire Nation gold darted up and down Tengfei's official Dai Li uniform, to the kiln, then back to Tengfei's eyes. Li gulped and backed away, glancing at the Earth Kingdom potter he'd been hiding behind briefly before settling on someone behind Tengfei.

Curious, Tengfei shifted his weight so he could glance behind himself and still keep Li in sight. Cheng, the son of the potter's guild master, nodded to the homely Earth Kingdom man who had sheltered the boy then waved Li away. With one last frightened glance at Tengfei, Li bolted for the main building. Curiously, instead of immediately leaving, Li made for the staircase underneath the overhang area filled with empty potter's wheels.

"He helped us put the fire out," Cheng said, drawing Tengfei attention. "I would rather someone his age not see this."

Helped put the fire out. Indeed.

"Sir."

Tengfei turned to his partner. Shanyuan was holding it together well so far.

"What is it?" he asked.

"How long ago did you get the fire out?" the Guard asked Cheng.

Shanyuan glanced at the Guard briefly before stepping closer to his partner. "Can we speak privately?" he asked in a low voice.

Intrigued, Tengfei lifted a lone eyebrow but nodded and moved closer to the kiln. Shanyuan clearly wasn't pleased with about Tengfei's choice was location, but it was certainly private. Understandably, no one wanted to go near the kiln at the moment.

"What is it Shanyuan?" he asked.

The young Dai Li stared at the burned husks that had once been living children with an openly broken expression before composing himself. He clasped his hands behind his back professionally and said calmly, "I think a waterbender helped cool the kiln."

Interesting. "Explain," Tengfei said.

Shanyuan took a deep breath and before turning his light brown eyes back into the kiln. He deliberately avoided looking at the remains on the ground, instead focusing his attention on the shards of broken pottery colored a disturbing red and the kiln's stone walls.

"It's the walls, sir," Shanyuan said, nodding to the kiln walls. "They're cracked. Kilns are designed to handle a tremendous amount of heat. It would take time to cool an active kiln this much as fast as Cheng claims unless a waterbender was involved."

Curious, Tengfei followed his young partner's gaze and, sure enough, there were cracks in the kiln's walls. Come to think of it, the pottery was smashed as well. Every single piece. A few pots were expected to crack if there was a miniscule flaw. It was an inherent danger of the pottery trade. But for every single piece to crack? All of them? From the same batch?

The only thing Tengfei could think of that could cause something like this was a phenomenon that occurred when a very cold object was suddenly heated too quickly. Or, given who he'd seen slip away a few moments ago, a very hot object cooled too quickly. In other words-

"Thermal shock," he murmured, tilting his head down in acknowledgement. "Good eye."

Brown eyes flicked to him in gratitude before returning to the kiln walls. "What I want to know is, where's the waterbender."

Indeed.

Oh.

Well. There was an idea.

"I think," Tengfei said, turning his green gaze back to the complex's main building where Li vanished to, "I may know the answer to that."

Shanyuan followed his gaze with a faint frown. "The boy, you mean?"

Very good eyes, Tengfei thought proudly. "Indeed."

"What was that animal that went with the boy?" Shanyuan asked, his brow furrowing in thought. "I've never seen one like it before. It looked like a coyote-fox, but smaller and with different coloring."

Tengfei hummed. "Did you notice anything else about it?" he said, studying his partner's expression closely.

Light brown eyes narrowed in concentration before growing round in shocked realization. "A Spirit?" he said, keeping his voice low so as not to draw unwanted attention.

Nodding, pleased, Tengfei spoke. "A Knowledge Seeker of Wan Shi Tong, unless I'm mistaken," he said.

"But I thought-"

"Wan Shi Tong despises humans?" Tengfei nodded thoughtfully. "So did I. And yet…"

"And yet," Shanyuan murmured.

Together, they watched as Li stumbled down the stairs with the Knowledge Seeker on his shoulders. It was too far to see his face clearly, not that the scar helped at all, but Tengfei doubted the boy was doing well.

This was the second time he and Li had crossed paths. Once, Tengfei considered a fluke of fate. Twice, he began to question whether the Spirits' were involved or not. He had his answer this time. With a Knowledge Seeker attached to Li, it was a wonder the Tengfei or other Dai Li hadn't crossed paths with Li earlier.

Wan Shi Tong had better know what he was doing sending a firebender into Ba Sing Se. Or was it waterbender now?