Boiling Point
Unexpected

"The spirits work in their own time, but things have a way of balancing themselves out."

The time in which things would balance themselves out, in Lu Ten's mind, would be far in the future, something that he, someone who spent so much time in Boiling Rock wasn't measurable whether that time came in a month or a year. True, he could measure time in days if he weren't thrown into the cooler, but the passing of years when one season blended into the other in this part of the world, so unlike the Earth Kingdom where there were distinct seasons.

Day by day they met and planned, keeping their eye out for the soldiers to make sure none of them were thrown into the cooler for planning on escaping even though everyone insisted that such a thing was impossible. Again, nothing seemed to change despite Hadoka's presence at Boiling Rock, nothing that is except for hope for the future, that Zuko's future might somehow end up being bright.

Day after day they watched the guards carefully, fully knowing one slip of the mouth would draw even more attention to them, even possibly make it so escaping would go from even slightly possible to completely truly impossible.

Day after day they walked back and forth between their cells, eating their meals, just like they had before.

Nothing changed.

Nothing changed at all.

But then one day...

"Lu Ten?"

Hearing his name, his real name made Lu Ten pause. The thought of ignoring the person crossed his mind, knowing full well revealing his real name might simply draw more attention to him from the guards.

"Wait. You know this guy?" another voice said, still not making Lu Ten want to turn towards the voice which called out his name, yet his ears easily decerned the youthfulness in both voices. He remembered the time when he was young and thought he could change the world, yet wisdom with age eventually taught him the word wasn't that simple.

"He's supposed to be dead. He..."

At that moment, Lu Ten realized he recognized the voice which called out to him, which made him turn slowly, taking in the two guards watching him. Alarm bells should have gone off in his head, yet along with recognizing the voice calling out to him, he knew that he'd not seen the two guards in front of him before. Lu Ten knew because the two guards in front of him were smaller than the other guards yet moved slightly different than them as well.

He didn't respond though, not having a verbal confirmation that they weren't a threat of some kind to him. The guard with the lighter skin opened and closed his mouth. "I must be wrong. I've got to be wrong."

"You're not guards here, are you?" Lu Ten finally asked, narrowing his eyes.

The one who was the friend of whoever recognized him let out a sigh. "Are there any members of the Water Tribe here?"

Said friend was young, but if he were asking about the Water Tribe then he was likely of the Water Tribe. More importantly, he remembered Hakoda talking about his children. "You're Sokka, aren't you."

"Then my father's here, isn't he?" Sokka said. "We're here to rescue him."

"You are, are you." Lu Ten took a deep breath, looking at the other guard who wasn't a guard. "What about you?"

"I..." The other person muttered. "You're supposed to be dead."

Lu Ten sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. Sokka turned and looked at his friend. "So, you do know him. Who is he?"

"He's..." The sound of guards approaching made him stop, his head turning to look in that direction.

"We've got to go," Sokka stated, before breaking into a lecture about making sure to respect the guards before returning to duty. In the back of his mind, Lu Ten didn't understand how the warden didn't realize he had two additional guards among his ranks, but he continued pondering the question as he headed out into the yard so he might soak up some sun.

"Are you alright?"

Lu Ten's eyes blinked, his head turning to look at Chit Sang who asked the question, but then looked at Hakoda. Like every other day, they continued watching the guards so they didn't draw attention to themselves. Except, instead of drawing the attention of the guards, two guards drew their attention.

"He looks like he's seen a ghost," Hakoda commented regarding the young man who'd called Lu Ten out by his real name. "I don't believe I've seen them before.

now walking away as if to not draw attention to themselves. "They all look the same with those masks. How can you tell?"

Akio frowned. "Simple. They're smaller than the other guards in this particular section, but I suspect they're younger."

"New recruits then?" Chit Sang asked.

"No." Lu Ten swallowed. "They're imposters."

Silence fell over the group, each one still watching how the guards moved about. Akio muttered under his breath. "Of course, they would be as there wouldn't be any recent transports of prisoners or guards to and from the prison. Not that they transport prisoners away from here. Question is, can we trust them?"

"One of them is Hakoda's son. I know, because..." Lu Ten drew in his breath. "The other one recognized me." Akio flinched, but turning his head, Lu Ten saw the look of confusion. "What?"

"What do you mean he recognized you? How? Who could possibly recognize you?"

"Who's that young?" Lu Ten sucked in his breath, not liking the answer

But then, Akio said, "No. No way."

"I didn't ask, but I think it's him."

"Who?" Hakoda asked.

"He's Lu... Lee's..." Akio took a deep breath, regaining his composure, but he lowered his voice. "Prince Zuko."

"Oh. The prince who was banished for doing the honorable thing and made his father the Fire Lord mad," Chit Sang nodded his head. "Escaping seems more and more possible, doesn't it?"

Lu Ten wasn't so sure, his mind racing at the thought of Zuko possibly being there, not to mention the kind of danger Zuko was putting himself in. It was then that Hakoda said something wise, making Lu Ten realize he might still have much to learn. "He's grown quite a bit since you last saw him?"

Lu Ten's eyes blinked, relaxing a bit. "Yes. Yes, he has."

"So has my son," Hakoda nodded. "But he's become quite the warrior, hasn't he?"

"Yes." Soon, they separated to go and do their own thing to not draw attention to themselves, yet there was a tidal wave of emotions rushing through Lu Ten's mind.