Katara wrapped her brown cloak tighter around her shoulders. The Summer was beginning to give way to the Fall, and the cool night air cut through her dull, civilian clothes. Catching glimpses of the starry sky under her hood, it struck the waterbender that she hadn't been outside of the Palace walls since she saw the ship carrying her father's body off. Was it really two months ago already? The breeze of the Fall night whistled through the narrow alleys and streets - accompanied by the rushed footsteps of Zuko and Katara. Katara snapped back to the present at the insistent high-pitched whistle. A shiver ran down her arms to her finger as she scanned the alleyway for the warm glow of a red lantern.

The duo had snuck out of the palace earlier that evening avoiding guards and the prying eyes of advisors. There was an urgent need not to arouse suspicion from either side. Earlier the week prior, a crumbled scrolled sent via private messenger hawk had been delivered to Zuko's study. It carried Iroh's seal. The message was brief, but state the leader of the Fire Nation chapter of the Equalists received Zuko's invitation and wanted to meet. However, the message carried an ultimatum, 'The Fire Lord was to meet the leader outside of the palace walls and could bring only one other person. If he didn't agree to those terms there would be no meeting.' Katara and Zuko had spent hours talking over the repercussions of the request, running through everything that could and probably would go wrong. At the end of the discussion, surprising neither of them, both agreed to the terms. They had to attempt something like the threat of an attack grew closer. Zuko initially wanted to go alone citing the excuse of not wanting to put anyone in danger. Katara rolled her eyes and told him to stop being a martyr. They had then argued over her coming, but of course, she won.

"There it is," Zuko whispered to Katara as he pointed to a soft, red light at the end of the street. It was right where the Equalists leader said it would be. Their footsteps slowed as they crept towards the door. Katara's blue eyes flicked around the too-quiet alley. She fingered her seal skin water pouch - fingers tensing around the cork. Yet, no attack came as they made it to the rough, wooden door. Katara was the first to knock, her heart in her throat.

Three sharp taps on the door. Then a small, dull metal peephole slid open. Sharp topaz eyes peered out, scrutinizing the pair.

"State who you are." A low, female voice said from the other side.

"Fire Lord Zuko and Master Katara." Zuko stated, pulling off his red hood exposing his unmistakable scar. Katara followed suit.

"Hands where I can see them." The woman commanded and the benders lifted their hands up into view. With that, the peephole closed with a soft thud and the door creaked open. In the doorway stood a short, middle-aged woman. She had the characteristic features of a Fire Nation citizen - pale skin and black hair that was greying around the temples. Her eyes were the most striking characteristic - intelligent and quick.

Without warning, the woman stepped forward and began to pat down Zuko. The Fire Lord's body tensed and he stared straight ahead. The older woman's hands swept over his shoulder, arms, torso, down his legs with efficiency. She then checked his cloak and pockets. Katara's mouth went dry as the Equalist member turned to her- going through the same, practiced motions. As the older woman slid her hands down the sides of her torso. How could I have been so stupid? She thought as the woman's hand rested on her baby bump. Her topaz eyes looked up at Katara with a quirked eyebrow. The waterbender felt heat rush to her cheeks as she steeled herself against prying questions. Yet, after a brief pause, the older woman continued to pat the waterbender down. Katara's eyes looked upwards at the half-moon and offered an internal prayer of thanks.

"I will allow you to keep your waterskin out of courtesy, Master Katara." The woman said taking a step back and pushing the heavy door back open. "However, I hope you extend the courtesy not to use it this evening."

"Of course," the waterbender replied stepping into the dim room as her eyes flicked over to Zuko. His eyes narrowed at the suggestion but said nothing.

Two red lanterns, similar to the one outside, lit the bare interior of the room. There were no signs that anyone used this building as a home. No furniture or paintings hung on the chipped plaster walls and the dirty floors were rough and strewn with dead leaves. The only signs of life were the soft murmur of conversation coming from the stairwell on the far side of the room.

"I apologize for patting you down Fire Lord and Master Katara, but I need to keep my people as safe as possible."

Zuko merely nodded. His movements were still curt and tight as he hovered next to Katara. So close, that she could feel his body heat against her arm.

"We understand," said the waterbender trying to ease the tension the firebender was causing in the room. "And please call me Katara. Also, I'm sure my friend here," she lightly jabbed Zuko with her elbow - "wouldn't mind if you called him Zuko. No formality needed."

A small smile graced the lips of the older woman at the offer of peace. "Thank you, Katara. I am Asayo. The leader of the Fire Nation Chapter of the Equalists."

—

Katara and Zuko found themselves in a tight circle of twelve, old wooden chairs on the second floor of the building. The room itself looked similar to the downstairs one. However, here, the eyes of nine other members of the Fire Nation Equalists chapter watched them. Asayo had introduced Zuko and Katara to each of the members, but the waterbender barely retained any of their names as adrenaline rushed through her body. Many of them had traveled from the outskirts of the Fire Nation to be here this evening. It was becoming clear to Katara that the structure of the organization was highly localized and incredibly widespread. Each of these members was an elected leader of their regional chapter, with village and town chapters under them.

As everyone settled in their chairs an uncomfortable quiet overtook the room. It was apparent no one had any clue on how to proceed or who should talk first. Katara's eyes trailed around the room at the variety of faces. Some old, some young - all suspicious.

Asayo cleared her throat, "Zuko and Katara, I want to thank you for being open to a discussion, but before we truly begin, can you tell us why you extended the invitation in the first place?"

Katara looked at her friend. There was still a line of tension along his jaw, but he was noticeably less tense than before. Zuko gave Asayo a hesitant nod and began to address the group, "We received the news of the attack on Ba Sing Se and the looming threat of attacks in other nations. This sparked a line of questioning about what we as leaders had failed to do to prevent the attack and also make our citizens, especially the non-bending ones, want to join a group like the Equalists."

"To be clear," one of the other members interrupted in a low voice, "The Fire Nation Chapter of the Equalists was not in favor of the attack on Ba Sing Se."

Zuko's eye widened at the omission but continued, "This led us to examine how the government and culture of the Fire Nation treats people non-benders. The treatment, I concluded, was unsatisfactory. Once I was no longer ignorant of the treatment of many of this nation's citizens, I couldn't in good conscience not attempt to remedy it. Katara was the one to suggest sending an invitation to meet."

The waterbender bit her lip as many of the members, including Asayo, looked incredulously at the Fire Lord.

"And what exactly are you willing to do to remedy this situation, Fire Lord?" Asked Yna, an elderly woman, with a shock of white hair and an edge of disbelief in her voice.

"I don't wish to speak for Zuko," Katara jumped in, her stomach fluttering, "but we are both still operating off of assumptions of what this group is fighting for, so maybe that could be clarified? Additionally, why was this chapter against the attack on Ba Sing Se?"

"I told the international council our demands were too vague," sighed Asayo with a roll of her eyes. "To be honest, I'm surprised how little you both know of the movement. The Equalists have been recruiting by word of mouth for years. I would have thought the news would have made it to the palace by now."

"Shows the disconnect between the rulers and the people," Yna said her tone cutting. They found their mark, as Katara saw Zuko's lips press into a thin line.

"Indeed," continued Asayo, "but to answer your question Katara. Your suspicions are correct. The Equalists main mission is to ensure the rights of non-benders within all nations. To gain access to jobs, leadership, and opportunities that often are not offered to us, simply because we can not bend. This movement was supposed to be a peaceful one; however, as you can imagine with such a widespread organization there is a clashing of specifics. There are a few chapters in the Earth Kingdom and North Water Tribe chapters often favor more direct and extreme action than we support in our chapter."

"Then why haven't you broken away from the movement and formed your own? Especially, with the death of innocent people." Asked Zuko, his hands clenched tight in his lap.

"Because, although they have acted hastily in our opinion, it doesn't mean their radical actions aren't warranted." Yna replied, staring at Zuko, "The reason our movement is localized is so we can determine what is best for our areas. We, in the Fire Nation, don't understand the in's and out's of the Earth Kingdom as well as the people who live there - and vice versa."

"I have to respectfully disagree with you Yna," interjected one of the younger members, "I don't think the violence is okay. However, we did make a joint decision to remain as part of the Equalists, because we won't be put out by a small group of violent radicals. OR let our mission be sullied by their actions. Additionally, it took a while to build the support in the Fire Nation around the Equalists. It would take a long time to rebuild if we left."

Yna humphed and crossed her arms, but said nothing else.

"And what about Aang's murder?" Katara asked quietly looking down at her hands and her chest seized. His death along with her father's and brother's hung in the background.

"I'll be honest, I don't have all the information," Asayo said taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, "but it is my understanding that his murder was carried out by an extremist cell working in Earth Kingdom. They were working out of step with the rest of the movement. I was assured by the international council they were dealt with shortly after the funeral. I know that doesn't make anything better."

It didn't. However, Katara looked up and saw the pain in the leader's face. Aang would have wanted her to treat this group with empathy and as individuals. In honor of his memory, the diplomat decided to take Asayo at her word.

"How many people are part of the Fire Nation chapter?" Asked Zuko.

"Our last counts put our membership numbers close to 500,000 people." Answered Asayo leaning back in her chair looking satisfied.

"500,000 people… that's…" Zuko said doing a double-take.

"About one-sixth of the nation. Yes, I know." Asayo said with a laugh.

Katara's mouth slackened. That's impossible. Yet, every other member around the room nodded in agreement. Many had smiles plastered on their face. Zuko looked just as shocked as her. However, after a moment, he rolled his shoulders back and recomposed himself.

"What exactly do you want to do with that manpower?" He asked in a low voice.

"We were planning to demand a citizen's assembly and a general vote." Answered Asayo. "That's been our plan for the last seven years."

"That's all?" Katara asked, genuinely surprised. She had come into this expecting something more extreme. This was honestly anti-climatic.

"At the moment yes. The international council of the Equalists wants all the monarchies to step down, and be replaced with something more equalitarian. But we would be happy with something more moderate." Explained Asayo, as she fished some parchment out of her red tunic. She stood up and handed them to Zuko. "This is our proposal."

Zuko flipped through the papers quickly, then handed them to Katara. She skimmed the dark red ink. The proposal looked similar to structures she had seen in her tribe and the Air Acolytes. All very doable.

"So you're working against the international council for the Equalists?" Zuko questioned the group.

"As stated before, Fire Lord," Yna said, "this movement is localized so we can do what is best for our people."

"And the threat of attack?" Katara added.

"That wasn't supposed to go out to the Fire Nation. I have already asked the international council to have the Earth Kingdom and Northern Water Tribe Chapters to stand down here. I want no bloodshed in the Fire Nation."

The tension Katara had been holding in her shoulders and chest released in relief hearing that, and Zuko actually offered a smile to the members. The blanket of tension in the room seemed to snap.

"That is a relief," Zuko said with a sigh. "Katara and I will take a look at this proposal. At first glance, it appears reasonable. Would you all be open to meeting again in a week?"

All the members, except Yna who still sat, will her arms crossed staring at Katara and Zuko, nodded enthusiastically.

—

The scent of yeasty bread floated through the small backstreets as Zuko and Katara emptied out of the meeting house. Even in the light of the earliest morning, the waterbender felt energized. Although the meeting didn't yield every answer she would have hoped for, it felt like a path forward.

"I liked Asayo," Katara said to Zuko with glowing eyes. He only let out a sharp guttural sound in response, and quickly began to lead the way through cobblestone streets. The warmth that had been radiating throughout the waterbender's body from the meeting began to grow cold. "Zuko, what's wrong?"

The firebender continued to say nothing, as he picked up the pace in the city beginning to wake up. His brown cloak whipped behind him.

"Zuko! What the hell?" Katara hissed as she ran beside her friend. She placed a hand on his shoulder. Then forced him to stop and look at her. They stood in the narrow alley amongst the shadow, but it was apparent his chest was rising a falling rapidly.

"She knows." Is all he said in a tight voice. His face shroud by his hood.

"Know what?"

"Asayo knows you're pregnant."

"And?" Katara questioned, her head tilting to the side.

"She could use that information to harm you."

A laugh escaped Katara's throat. "We just had a productive meeting with the Equalists, and you're worried about that? About me?"

"I always worry about you."

A shiver went up Katara's neck. On instinct, she reached out and took his hand. The slight tremble gave him away.

"Zuko, I don't think you have to worry. I doubt Asayo is going to use that information against us. She didn't question me when she realized. Besides she doesn't know who the father is."

"It doesn't take a genius to put two and two together," Zuko mumbled as he withdrew his hand and continued to walk down the alleyway. The rumbled of vendor's carts on the Main Street grew louder.

"I could deny it. Say it's someone else's child if it comes up."

Zuko continued to look straight ahead but snorted, "Yeah, who would you say?"

Heat rushed to Katara's cheeks. She knew the obvious answer. There was no denying Iroh's suspicions. There's no denying how you feel either - stop, it's too soon for that. The waterbender shook her head and gave out a nervous laugh, "I really can't believe this is what we are talking about right now. Not discussing our strategy to bring up the Equalists proposal to the domestic assembly."

"Katara, but really, if it did come up - what would you say?" Zuko pushed as they turned a corner finding themselves on the outskirts of the city. Trees changing color lined their right side.

"I don't know…" Katara said with a sigh, "I could say I fell for some handsome North Water Tribe warrior?"

Zuko laughed so hard that his hood fell off. "You really think people would believe that? Everyone who has worked with you knows you think all the Northern Tribe men are sexist."

He wasn't wrong. No one would believe that cover. "I guess I could say…" Katara started but she couldn't bring herself to say it. Her cheeks burned. Why is this so hard? He's a friend. He's JUST a friend.

Zuko looked over and caught her eye, "Katara, you can always tell them that I…"

"Fire Lord!" A citizen across the street shouted, then bowed deeply. Zuko immediately composed himself. His face becoming stoic as he turned to address the bowing man.

Katara watched from a distance as her friend kindly addressed the growing crowd in the early morning light. Her heart in her throat once again.