That night the ship shored on a mountainous island off of the earth kingdom. Uncle Iroh was sipping tea as he watched the men scurry to fix the engines. Prince Zuko walked up to his uncle and asked if he had seen Leiko. He felt like he needed to talk to her. "Last time I saw her, she was walking along the shore. But do not worry about her, she knows well what she is doing." But Prince Zuko still walked off the ship to find her. He didn't know why but he just had to speak with her again. She probably thought he was a monstrous dictator with no mercy to give. Maybe he was, but not to her. His outburst of anger was a reality check for her, and somewhat for him. Her reaction made him realize just how much his temper had taken over him. He needed to speak to someone who followed life's virtues and yet understood what it was like living a harsh precedent, someone who spoke from the soul, and that person was definitely Leiko.

Zuko heard the familiar screech of Tila and followed the sound to a spot on the island where the ground was nothing but sharp and pointy rocks that looked threatening. He carefully watched the placement of his footing as he approached Leiko, whom he spotted from a ways away. She was balancing on the rocks with one foot and the other was outstretched into the air just next to her head. It was a very poetic stance, and without a doubt it was a move from one of the martial arts she had mastered. In her hands she held a long staff behind her back at an angle. With out quick movement she jumped up and switched her footing and rearranged herself into another, but more complicated, position. The staff was in front of her at another angle with her other leg wrapped around it as she leaned backward until her head was only a foot or so away from the hazardous rocks. "Leiko." He called to her. She changed position again, but bending forward with one leg stretched straight up into the air behind her and the staff held horizontally in front of her face.

"What do you want?" she asked angrily.

"I wanted to apologize about earlier. I shouldn't have yelled at you." She stood back up straight and looked at him. "It just hasn't set in yet…that you're here now. In front of me, after years. It's different having you around. I wanted nothing to remind me of my past. Yet here you are…a reminder of all that…all that I once had." There was yet another long draw of silence and Leiko gracefully stepped atop the rocks and up to him. She placed her staff down next to her and leaned on it.

"You know I shouldn't forgive you." She finally spoke, "There's nothing I hate more than a power-hungry, sudden tempered, manic oppressor. Especially the type that hurt people for sport, like my father. Though spiders come in a close runner up." She finished with a small smile.

"Spiders?" he cocked his eyebrow.

"Yeah, they are some nasty little devils."

"Same old Leiko." He said relieved.

"I'm sure as hell not shtting." She said with a shake of her head.

"Except for that." He pointed out. "Other than that you haven't changed."

"We both have changed, whether we like it or not." And she walked past him and he followed her. Tila flew overhead and landed on Leiko's shoulder as they walked. "And running from your past won't help."

"What do you do to escape from the bad memories?" he asked her.

"What I do best, fight. I don't take it out on people like you do."

"Are you going to lecture me to death now? Okay, I apologized which is hard enough for me as it is."

"No, I plan on whipping you back into shape."

"So, things are okay now?" he asked hopefully.

"I still don't see the old Zuko." She informed him and she turned to face him. "Neither a trace nor a hint. I feel as if I'm still waiting at the harbor for my friend to return. At the moment I'm out at sea with a banished prince. Whether you choose to let the Zuko I once knew show is up to you, but I'm keeping faith and remaining the way I've always been."

"What way was that?" Zuko inquired.

"Tough, eccentric, rebellious…yet hopeful."

"For what?"

"A brighter day." And she walked back onto the ship and left Zuko standing in his tracks again, thinking to himself and taking in her words.

The moon was at its peak in the sky and the stars were out. Leiko was on deck, practicing her Tae Kwon Do in a white rope with her black belt on. General Iroh walked out to the girl and watched with a smile on his face as she did what looked to be impossible moves. Yet she was so confident and graceful in her movements. She treasured her strength and agility, knowing that one day she might well need it, and not to do her father's dirty work. She did a cartwheel into a number of back hand springs and landed crouching on the deck floor. Iroh clapped his hands and she stood and faced him with sweat drops on her forehead. "Very good. I did not know you knew Tae Kwon Do. You seem to be a master"

"Of the third degree." She informed him while crossing her arms.

"What else have you learned?"

"Many, many other forms of martial arts." She replied. And then there was a second of silence between them as Iroh nodded. "I've been practicing almost all fifteen years of my life."

"You must be proud." He stated.

"No," she answered, "I'm not."

"Why not?"

"Because…" and she sighed and smiled, "I'm just not."

"Anybody else would."

"I'm not anybody else, I guess. My fighting skills don't mean the world to me. It's like the ability to sneeze at will, it comes in handy and you can practice…but it's not the most valued quality. I don't believe in judgment based on combat. But I do believe in decision making based on the person's inner being."

"Your father never believed in that philosophy did he?"

"No, he believed in blood and misery." And she walked up to the door. "So…what's for dinner?" she asked with a smile. Iroh stood up and walked in with her.