Namaari was sitting on a bench in one of Heart's many gardens. A gentle breeze stirred the branches of the blossoming cherry tree overhead, sending a flurry of petals into the air. She watched as some of the petals drifted down to rest on the surface of a nearby pond. A fish suddenly darted through the water and up to the surface to swallow one of the petals. Namaari winced, leaning forward to prop her elbows on her thighs, wringing her fingers as she thought.

There was a noise behind her and Namaari's entire body tensed. She jumped up and whirled around to face whatever had made the sound.

Chief Benja stopped mid-step, raising his hands with his palms facing Namaari. "It's just me," he said. He waited until she relaxed before moving forward. He sat down on the bench and watched her for a few more seconds before gesturing for her to sit down next to him.

Namaari sat stiffly, forcing herself not to pick at her fingernails as silence stretched between them.

Benja folded his hands in his lap and closed his eyes as he let out a contented sigh. The tension in his shoulders released, and he opened his eyes to look at Namaari, who was staring straight ahead with her entire body as taut as a bowstring.

Benja cleared his throat and waited to speak until Namaari's eyes flicked to him. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Fine," Namaari said quickly. She moved her hand to the space between them on the bench and her fingers began taping rapidly against the wood. They both looked down her hand and Namaari stilled, moving her hands to her lap and forcing them to relax. "I'm fine."

Benja raised an eyebrow at her and she started fidgeting again. "You've had about a week now to settle in here at Heart. How do you like it here?"

"It's…" Namaari stopped herself from frowning as she trailed off. "It's peaceful."

"Maybe too peaceful for you?" Benja laughed softly and shook his head. "I can assure you things are much less calm when Raya is around."

Namaari smiled at him without thinking, then quickly looked away as a blush crept up her cheeks.

Benja patted Namaari's hand. "It's okay," he said, winking at her. "I miss her, too."

Namaari nodded and brushed her hair behind her ear, hoping Benja wouldn't see her face getting redder.

They sat for several more minutes, the silence between them becoming more comfortable as Namaari finally relaxed.

"Have you tried meditating like I asked you to?" Benja asked. He tilted his head back to watch as a breeze pulled more petals from the tree above them.

Namaari couldn't stop herself from frowning this time. "Yes."

Benja looked at her expectantly. "And…?"

Namaari sighed and sat back against the bench. "I'm still not sure I understand what you want me to do."

"I want you to sit and feel your feelings, Namaari." He smiled at her when she gave him a blank look. "It's clear that you've been ignoring them for some time if they manifested in an explosion. What do you normally do when your emotions get overwhelming?"

Namaari shrugged and crossed her arms. "Train. Study. Try to focus on other things."

"Exactly," Benja said, gently poking her shoulder. "You never just let yourself feel those feelings, you always shove them aside." He sat back against the bench as well and let out a long, slow breath. "I know this is going to be uncomfortable for you, but this is what you need to work on. This is your part of the equation. And I know Raya will be working just as hard on hers."

Namaari felt her face heat up again, but thankfully Benja didn't acknowledge it.

Benja reached into his tunic to pull out a several folded papers. "Here," he said, offering them to Namaari. "This is a letter from Raya. It arrived yesterday, but I wasn't sure when to give it to you. I don't know if it will help you focus or distract you more, but hopefully it will help."

Namaari took the papers from him carefully and gave him the best smile she could muster, her heart pounding in her chest. Once she had the letter, Benja recached over to squeeze her shoulder gently and stood up to walk out of the garden.

Namaari waited until Benja was out of sight, then looked down at the papers in her hands. She thumbed the edges, riffling through them and catching glimpses of Raya's messy handwriting. Her fingers moved to break the wax seal, then stopped, dropping the letter into her lap as she stared down at it intensely. She moved to pick it up again, then let it fall again as she lost her nerve for the second time.

She groaned in frustration and snatched up the letter. "This is ridiculous," she muttered to herself. "It's just a letter. Just open it." She took one final deep breath, pulled apart the seal, and unfolded the letter.

Namaari,

Being away from you and knowing I can't see you for a while is harder than I expected. We didn't see each other much before all this, but it feels different now.

Before I get into anything else, I could really use some tips on how to deal with the humidity in Fang. The city and the palace are on an island, so you would think there would be plenty of cool breezes from the water like in Heart, but the air just hangs their feeling heavy. I feel like I'm suffocating sometimes but it doesn't seem to bother anyone else.

Also, I'm pretty sure your mother hates me. I tried to make a joke about how hot it was, and she looked at me like I had set her dress on fire. So, any tips for dealing with her would also be very much appreciated.

Anyway, the main reason I'm writing this letter is that I wanted to let you know that I talked with Sisu before the explosion while we were sparring. She reminded me about what happened with the Dragon Gem. About the world we decided to fight for, and about how I realized I needed to trust you again. I'm really, really sorry that I yelled at you and that I acted like you might betray me again. You didn't deserve that, and I don't really think that you were planning to trick me. What you said just reminded me of what happened when we were kids, and I got scared. But I shouldn't have taken that out on you, so, again, I'm really sorry.

I know I got defensive before, but I really would like to get to know you better. I'm not good at talking about stuff like this, so I was hoping we could write to each other instead. Writing it down feels easier than saying it somehow.

I miss you and I'd like for you to write me back. But you are not, under any circumstances, allowed to apologize for what happened while we were sparring. It wasn't your fault. I pushed you into it even after you said it was a bad idea and I know you wouldn't have agreed if you knew I would get hurt.

Please write back soon.

Raya