I couldn't wait for five reviews so here this is ~ this is a long chapter! I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender ~ !

Finding a small town to scrounge up a few supplies on their meager allowance, Jet, Zuko, and Toph stay behind with Appa and Momo to keep an eye out and hold the fort down. Toph had been asking both Jet and Zuko questions about their history and what they had gotten up to before and during their time chasing Aang and the Water Tribe siblings – Jet is telling Toph about the time Iroh had been abducted and how he and Zuko traveled days nonstop to find him when Toph suddenly stops him with the gesture of her hand, her other hand pressed flat against the earth.

"There's someone coming."

Jet rises to his feet and reaches for his shuang-gou, "I'm guessing it's not the others."

Toph raises as well, eyes narrowed and brows knitted, Zuko slips into a firebending position, "No, it's not. Whoever it is, they're alone."

There is silence throughout the forest, as if the animals and whatever else inhabitants were waiting to see what happens next with bated breath – some bushes rustle nearby, Jet and Toph launching into action with Toph uprooting the earth beneath the intruder and Jet grabbing the person by their wrist and flipping them over, the person lands right in front of Zuko with a flaming fist directed right at their face only to recoil once the firebender realizes it's a lanky boy about their age. The boy groans, head lolling until his eyes land on Zuko, the stranger's face goes lax with recognition, his mouth dropping open in surprise – the surprise is short lived though for Jet digs his knee sharply into the teenager's chest and presses the bladed guard of his sword against the guy's throat.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?"

The teenager's eyes widen even more once he gets a good look at Jet, his skin turning paler than it had been originally, "M-My name is Akiro and I'm just a delivery boy!" Jet narrows his eyes warningly so Akiro continues, searching for the right words to keep himself from meeting a quick demise, "Th-This is a short cut I take when I have to deliver mail here! I swear I didn't know you were here!"

"But you know who we are." growls Jet, "Don't you."

Akiro nods as best as he can with Jet's blade nipping at the skin of his throat.

Just one wrong move and his head will be gone.

Toph huffs, relaxing after the initial shock, "Let him go, he's telling the truth."

Jet's lips pull back into a snarl until Zuko speaks, "Lion-Heart."

"He knows where we are." Jet spits, pressing the blade uncomfortably into the boy's skin, "We should get rid of him."

"Lion-Heart." Zuko barks, "Let him go."

With a guttural growl, Jet gets off the boy, "Fine."

Akiro immediately scrambles to his feet and takes off running faster than anyone has ever seen, even rivaling Aang when he uses his airbending to make himself run faster – Jet smirks as he sheathes his weapons and Toph starts howling with laughter, holding her sides as she doubles over, Zuko frowns, honestly not seeing what was so funny about the whole ordeal:

"Oh man! That was awesome ~ !" Toph howls, "You – You scared the pants off of him! Did you see how fast he ran away ~ !?"

Toph continues laughing and joking about it with Jet up until the others return, the three blinking at the scene before looking at Zuko who happens to be tending to the fire and shrugs. Aang sits beside Zuko, smiling obliviously at the mirth shared between Jet and Toph, Sokka sets a bag upon the forest floor and crosses his arms over his chest, staring at both Jet and Toph suspiciously, and Katara starts sifting through the bag and pulling out several contents.

Aang still smiling, says, "Seems like you guys had fun ~ ."

Toph's dying laughter picks up with vigor as she starts cackling once more, delving into the tale of Jet scaring the ever living daylights out of the unfortunate delivery boy who'd stumbled across them – Aang and Sokka trading concerned glances with one another as it all sounded like Jet had actually meant to harm the delivery boy while Katara and Zuko are just as bemused by the prospect as they had been previously.

"Um, Toph?" Sokka starts, "Jet really would – kill someone."

"Not without reason." Jet corrects, grinning, "I assure you."

"Oh! Like that makes it any better!" sneers Sokka, "Thing is, don't egg him on like that!"

"Don't worry about it." Jet rests up against Zuko's side, "I've got Zuko here to keep me in line."

Said Prince huffs, "Like that's ever stopped you before."

Jet's caustic grin melts into a sweet smile as he presses a kiss to the Prince's lips, both Aang and Katara coo at the cute couple while Toph and Sokka gag in a ridiculous and childish manner, earning a flustered glare from Zuko.

oOo

Doubling over with his hands on his knees, Akiro straightens up and bends his back, looking over his shoulder just in case Lion-Heart was lingering somewhere nearby, the delivery boy sighs and immediately heads straight for the town's local soldiers – having finished their less than grand dinner meal, the group settles in for the night, and as much as Jet would have loved to sleep snuggled up with Zuko, it was hot as all hell, their clothes had been sticking to their uncomfortably sweaty skin and his hair ridiculously fluffy from the humidity, so he lay a good foot away from his Prince.

Lucky Zuko and his firebender quirkiness.

Toph sits up suddenly and shouts, "Someone's here!"

Seconds later everyone hears the whooshing sound of something flying through the air, a net is seen wrapping around Zuko and an unseen force pulling him into the dark, the others cry out for Zuko and Jet's heart just about stops beating because: no, you can't take him – his body must have been on autopilot for he snaps back when a dagger leaves his hand, the weapon glinting in the dying campfire light and disappearing into the dark.

Thud.

A flash of fire and something going up in ashes is seen in the dark of the forest before twin blades catch fire to reveal Zuko backing away from whatever unseen enemies were in the dark, Jet doesn't relax until Zuko is safely at his side, only then does he feel confident enough to pull out his own swords. As he does, the entire area lights up to reveal firebenders surrounding them in a circular formation. A man dressed in a more extravagant uniform than the rest steps forward, indicating that he was the one in charge, and starts to speak in a tone similar to the ones Jet has heard from his teachers, haughty and declaring at he was nothing more than scum beneath their shoes.

"I was hoping to avoid a fight with the infamous Lion-Heart." Jet crosses his shuang-gou, eyes narrowed and snarling like a feral animal, the man only sneers at the action, "I heard so many tales about you and many of us wanted the prowess you possessed, but apparently power comes at a cost. How sick can you be to kidnap the Prince you swore to protect?!"

Zuko frowns, "What are you talking about?"

"Whatever this lunatic has been telling you are lies, Prince Zuko." the man says, "The Princess only wants you back safe."

"Bullshit!" Jet snaps, "The Princess could care less!"

The man draws himself up, making himself look bigger, "You're delusional! Seeing danger where there isn't!"

Jet snarls and lowers his body, everyone waiting for the other to make a move – one of the soldiers shoots a blast of fire and the entire area falls into an all out battle, flashes of fire lighting up the area and sounds of elements being tossed back and forth echo loudly. Ducking underneath a stream of fire, Jet sweeps up close to the head soldier, snarling as he tackles the man to the ground, both grunt but the man's eyes widen a second later as Jet has just driven the sharpened hilt of his sword into the man's throat. Narrowing his eyes at the man and making sure he was dead, he stands and looks over his shoulder only to pause.

Night skies, the haunting glow of fire, smoke twisting and reaching towards the skies, people screaming, running, he's crying.

His heart drops.

Kuo is sneering down at him, there's blood on his hands, soaked into his ratty clothes, he can smell it, copper and overbearing, there are eyes, all different, look up at him with varying expressions, some are defiant, some are confused. They flash and they blend together, he can no longer remember their faces. Just an endless sea of greens and browns.

His hold loosens, his swords clattering to the ground.

Zuko, Ozai, fire, smoke, and the horrifying stench of burning skin, fear and unshed tears. The world falls away.

His knees give out and he falls, the fight is over and everyone is checking on each other when they notice him.

It hurts, they're doing their jobs, they're men fighting for their homeland unlike him, he's a traitor, but dear gods does he love Zuko, beautiful – pain, Jet is dying little by little with each clash of their weapons, with each venomous barb sailors and soldiers alike spit at him. Blood, Earth Kingdom, traitor. They had Zuko. He used his Earth Kingdom heritage to trick them, he snuck in, found Zuko, killed them. So much blood. It hurts but Zuko is okay, thankful.

Shut it down, don't think, you're fine, you love him.

Forgive me. Please forgive me.

I'm sorry.

Please.

Stop.

Jet.

"Jet." he feels a weight on his back and tenses, "It's okay, we're safe now."

Jet lifts his head and sees Zuko, alive and well, "I - ," he glances at the man he'd killed, still lifeless and of no threat, his attention is immediately snagged by wriggling movement, it's the rest of the men, he feels cold hate creep through his veins, "We need to kill them." the men stop wriggling and look at him with wide eyes, desperate and defiant, he stands and starts walking towards them, "They know we're here."

"Jet!" Katara shouts, she immediately places herself between Jet and the men, unafraid, "We don't need to kill them, we just need to leave them here and run away before more people come looking!"

Jet snarls, lips pulling back in a sneer, "Move Katara."

Aang steps up, adding his body to the list of things Jet needed to get past, "She's right, Jet." Jet's eyes narrow and Aang gulps, below the surface of the fog in his eyes, the airbender can see that thing in Jet that he'd seen so long ago, "Things – we do things differently, we don't kill people, we don't need to kill them."

Zuko places a hand on his back, "We'll leave you to take care of them then." he turns to Jet, "Get our things." Jet is still tense, like he's going to charge past them any moment, but he relents and nods stiffly. Zuko watches his fiancé and sighs, he turns to the others, "We can't keep traveling with you guys if we're going to constantly run in to towns. Azula knows I'm gone, she knows I left to find Jet, and she's told lies to get me back."

Aang's shoulders fall, 'What are you saying, Zuko?"

Zuko sighs, "Jet and I will find our own way to the rendezvous, it'll – it'll be much easier if it's just the two of us. We're going to try and avoid the major towns and that will take a while, we can't ask you to deviate from your path just for us."

Aang looks like a kicked polar bear-puppy, "Okay."

"But we'll see you guys there, right?" asks Sokka, "Because we need you and Jet for that extra edge against the Fire Nation."

"We'll be there."

Sokka beams, "Great ~ !"

Jet hisses, "Should you really be talking about this in front of Fire Nation soldiers?"

Sokka frowns but lets it slide, Aang sighs, "I guess this is bye."

"For now." Zuko assures.

Jet steps up beside Zuko, "Ready."

Katara stands before the two and wraps her arms around them, "Be safe."

Both boys are tense for entirely different reasons, "We will."

Toph punches both Jet and Zuko.

Momo climbs onto their shoulders, chattering at the two of them, Appa licks all three.

oOo

"Maybe," Jet starts the night after they left; both he and Zuko are sitting around a small campfire, "Maybe we really are too young." Zuko looks up and Jet knows Zuko knows what he's talking about so he keeps talking, "You're sixteen and I'm seventeen. It just seems unfair in a way – can you really picture yourself stuck with me for the rest of your life?"

"Are you saying you want to – break up?"

"No, I don't want to."

Chewing on his lower lip, Zuko turns his gaze to the fire – he has a feeling about what it is that's bothering Jet and he doesn't know what to do about it, he was told once or twice that bottling it up was a bad thing to do so it's pretty obvious about what he has to do, but the execution still feels lacking, like he's missing something, like he's failing. Shutting his eyes, he decides to just go for it, and if he fumbles along the way, at least he tried.

"This is about last night, isn't it." all is silent so the firebender opens his eyes to see Jet sitting stiffly, staring at him like he'd just told him that he were the Avatar himself, "I know what you're like, I grew up with you and you're more than enough for me. Even with whatever it is you're dealing with, I know you struggle and I want to help. So – talk to me, tell me everything."

It could have just been a trick of the flickering firelight, but for a split second, Jet looks like he's going to fall apart at the slightest breeze, "Even if you've heard it?" he whispers, Zuko nods, "From the beginning?"

Zuko offers a strained smile that doesn't feel natural at all, "Where else?"

Jet smiles tired and defeated, "Okay."

It was a warm summer afternoon with the sun setting over the trees, he's playing with the other village kids in a tall grassy field when one of the kids shout, drawing everyone's attention towards the treetops where they see fumes of smoke rising like a monstrous nightmare, dark and ominous – fear freezes his blood and adrenaline kick-starts his legs into action, he's running and everyone races for their homes. Breaking through the tree line, they see fire spread from house to house, consuming everything in its path and spitting out ash and smoke, there are people running and screaming, he hears his friends cry and call out for their families as they run on shaky legs into the inferno. But Jet, Jet sees his own house perfectly from where he is, the roof already caved in and nothing but a burning and blackened husk – he hears a woman scream, it sounds unholy and desperate, it catches his attention, he turns his head and sees several soldiers dragging a woman away from the raging fires, she's kicking and screaming, begging and sobbing, alternating between pitiful wails and banshee like screams. They find a place a safe distance away and his heart sinks because he knows why soldiers would take an interest in a woman.

Why is this happening?

They weren't bad people, they were a simple hard-working village, the woman screams and he turns away, he's only a kid and there's nothing he can do except stand there and watch his world burn while crying, he's terrified. It's then that he spots a Fire Nation soldier that seems to stand out amongst the others, Mongke, his back straight, tall and proud, he smirks at him and something snaps, it curdles and turns vile, the adrenaline kicks back in and rage takes over, his body moves without his acknowledgement and he's charging towards the man yelling, he slams his tiny fists against the man's armored torso – Mongke just laughs at him as well as several other soldiers, they mock and guffaw.

The rest of the soldiers want to kill him, but Mongke has a brilliant idea, instead he grabs Jet by his thin wrist and lifts him off the ground, showing him off like he was some sort of prize as he says: meet the Fire Nation's newest soldier.

Men tie him up, their treatment harsh and the binds harsher.

They ride through the forests, day and night, travel along the roads and he sees firsthand the destruction they leave in their wake and it makes him sick, but it fuels his anger. It only makes them laugh, his anger, they claim that he's a riot. It's when they finally reach the seashore do they haul him onto a gigantic metal ship and deep within the hull where they throw him in a cell – in this cell he cries and he screams, he does this until his voice is hoarse, eventually giving out. Sometimes the soldiers would come down and poke and prod at him until their interest in him dies down. Food and water is scarce during this time, only for good boys they say, and Jet was anything but. There were times where he would get sick to his stomach, tired of the waves rocking the giant metal tomb.

Losing track of days and nights are easy, the dull metal hull his entire world now, and it kills him because he knows that he is no longer in Earth Kingdom territory and only getting farther and further away with each second that passes, it's then that he revisits the past few days: his parents are dead, his friends are gone, his home was burnt down, and he was being taken to the Fire Nation to be used as fodder. What did he have to look forward to?

Sometimes, he thinks that it would be much easier to just end it all, to bite down on his tongue and drown in his own blood, but when he thinks about it, he imagines the aftermath and it sickens him because the soldiers would probably just laugh and joke about how weak he must have truly been. It's his pride and stubbornness that keeps him alive, that kicks in, so he perseveres with the solemn promise to make them all pay for what they have done, to make their lives a living hell. Eventually, the ship stops and soldiers come down to his cell and yank him forward, he stumbles and he trips over his own two feet but they have no sympathy, simply ushering him along – everything is a blur of colors because the world is suddenly so bright and it hurts his eyes, but he finds himself in a line of other boys, most of them look Fire Nation but there are some who look like they come from different lands.

He's defiant from day one and becomes accustomed to the harsh punishments he receives.

One night, weeks into the training being drilled into him, he realizes that he's not making much of a difference so he decides to go a different route: he falls in line despite how much it makes him grit his teeth, he listens and he learns, soaking up all their instructor had to teach them, and he's like this for a few months before he can no longer take it and decides to make his first move. Under the cover of night, he kills the instructor and he relishes in it, it makes him feel so alive but it's short lived when soldiers rush in and apprehend him, he yells and he struggles, fighting them the entire way until he's thrown in to the back of a carriage and being relocated, he watches buildings pass, he watches them start to become bigger and fancier. When the carriage stops and men start to unlock the door, he flings himself away from the door snarling and spitting like a caged animal, forces the men to enter the carriage to grab him and drag him out. This is the first time he sees the palace.

Brought to the cells where he's forced to wait several days, days he passes by screaming profanities and threats, until some guards bring him to the throne room where he meets the Fire Lord and his two sons for the first time. Later that same day, he meets the kid Prince and gets a slap in the process.

Zuko ducks his head, looking genuinely ashamed, "Sorry about that."

"Well it worked in the end, didn't it."

Night seems to be the best time for his mind to work overtime and he starts to scheme, coming up with a plan that will not only give him his chance to escape but will also get rid of the Fire Nation royal family. Yet as days progress, he hits a snag because Prince Zuko is different than the rest, he's confusing and contradictory, making him feel something akin to happiness for the first time in months and making him want things – but night falls as it always does and his mind convinces him again that he must kill the family, so he escapes from his cell and creeps into the young Prince's room with nothing but a sharpened rock, all notions of murder fly out the window though the second he sees dried tear streaks on Zuko's face. Something in him changes again and he can't bring himself to harm the Prince, so he tosses his weapon out the window and sits on Zuko's bed, effectively waking the Prince.

"You really were going to kill us."

Jet reaches out and rests his hand over Zuko's, "I wanted to be free." Jet sees uncertainty in Zuko's eyes and pulls him closer, propping the Prince's back up against his chest, arms wrapping around Zuko, "Why don't we sleep for now?"

Jet is relieved when Zuko settles deeper against him and hums a tired, "Okay."

They fall asleep with surprising ease, Jet feeling just the tiniest bit lighter, but when morning arrives, it all comes crashing down and he feels vulnerable – Zuko is already up and moving around, somehow having slipped free from Jet's hold:

"Get up." Zuko says as he shoves Jet's pack at him, already packed, "And tell me more."

Jet huffs, Zuko presses a piece of dried meat into his hands.

Kuo is ruthless, the first time he meets Jet he brings him past the cells and deeper into the prison, down into the dungeons made of metal where an acidic smell hits him like a well placed punch, he remembers stumbling away from the smell but Kuo pushes him forward and keeps him walking until they stop in front of a cell door. Inside is a man, the first test he passes with flying colors – the guilt creeps up on him during the night and tears him apart, leaving him floundering in the sea of his own memories until a voice comes from the fog and steadies him, he clings to it like a life line, allowing it to soothe his frantic thoughts. After that, the executions are easier and the potshots taken at his soul smoothes over, he learns to ration out his smiles, he learns to carry himself, he learns how to show the perfect façade of being in control.

The years pass relatively normal despite a few bumps here and there, involving Ursa's disappearance, he's so wrapped up in his own lies that he legitimately believes that he is in control, that he has the power to keep himself going – until Zuko's first Agni Kai. And for the second time in his young life does fire threaten to set his world ablaze once more and Jet is indescribably terrified and praying over and over, begging whoever will listen: please don't take him, don't take this person, I've already lost so much, just please leave him alone. The days following the Agni Kai, Jet is listless, refusing to leave Zuko's side – so when he stabilizes so does Jet and his world, something shifting again, his worldview curling in around the drugged Fire Prince and holding him in the center.

When Zuko is banished, he follows and he waits, but when the Prince is fully alert he is no longer the same and it's confusing, but that's okay because Zuko is here and he's alive, nobody took him, he's okay and he's here. But it begins to hurt when Zuko forces himself through days and weeks, fervid in his mission to hunt down the Avatar for lost property, it scares him because there are days where Zuko goes days without food, days where he forgets to sleep or take care of himself. But Zuko is here so he must be okay – until one day Zuko is no longer there. Earth Kingdom sailors had taken him, had taken Jet's world. Blind terror forces Jet to continue with his actions, using his own Earth Kingdom heritage, his looks, to trick the sailors into getting him close to Zuko. And the second his eyes fall on him and sees that he's okay, that he's alive, does his rage take over, he frees Zuko and he fights. There's blood and in the end of it all, he stares at his hands in horror because he's just killed Earth Kingdom men and it was different, unlike the men in the past who may have been Earth Kingdom once but had been Fire Nation prisoners, these men weren't captured and there was no one to tell him of what their crimes may have been because the only thing they had done was attempt to protect themselves, to end the war, and Jet had ended their lives for a selfish reason. It kills him, but he hears Zuko's voice, he looks up and sees the Prince, bloody, but still alive and thanking Jet – that voice in the back of Jet's mind returns, telling him that the men deserved it. And Jet, weak to its soothing purrs, lets it calm his turbulent mind and smiles at Zuko, because who wants to deal with something so heavy?

Killing becomes easier, it becomes fun. Why think when you can just go with the flow, live for the now?

Life becomes easier with little care in the world, but he keeps a careful eye on Zuko because the Prince is starting to spiral and unravel and Jet will fight to keep them afloat because the Prince looks to him when he can no longer find the spirit to continue, he fights to become the pillar of strength Zuko needs – even if it's a lie, but no one needs to know that he's sweeping his troubles underneath the rug. His act is good enough that he creates this unimaginable persona that looms over him like a dark cloud of smoke and earns him the title: Monster of the Fire Nation. Monster: something to be feared, something with unimaginable power and strength, unwavering – none of it is him, but Zuko believes it, in him, so he owns up to it as best as he can.

Jet had been fighting for so much longer than him, even fighting for both of them when Zuko was close to giving up – swallowing the lump in his throat he attempts to wipe at his eyes as subtly as he can while Jet continues with the deeper meanings to his side of their tale. It hurts. Everything seemed like it had been his fault in some way, shape, or form. Maybe they were too young. Maybe they needed time away from each other. But that was hard when they were constantly at each other's side.

"Are we - ?" Zuko swallows; he feels Jet's eyes on him, "Are we – unhealthy?"

Jet stops so Zuko does too, his face angled towards the floor, he feels Jet's thumb swipe at his cheek, at a tear he hadn't realized had escaped, he lets Jet tilt his head so their eyes can meet, Jet smiles somber, "Can you really blame us?"

The sun is already halfway past noon; they'd been walking for a while, "What do you mean?"

"War changes everyone." Jet goes on to say, "If I hadn't been brought to the Fire Nation, do you really think I would have just sat in the Earth Kingdom doing nothing? After witnessing what I did at such a young age?" Jet watches Zuko a moment before pressing his lips to Zuko's forehead in a chaste kiss, "Why don't we look for something to eat?"

oOo

It takes a few more days until they reach the waterfront and surprisingly only a handful of moments until they successfully capture a small ship for themselves and set sail for the rendezvous point. During their time on the water, they alternate between arguing, playing around, sparring, getting cozy with each other, and telling tales: Jet is recounting his tale of how he felt those days after Ba-Sing-Se, talking everything out surprisingly lifting a lot off his shoulders and strengthening their bond, when they spot an odd fog approaching at an unnatural pace, unnatural for fog anyway. Getting to their feet, they ready themselves for what could possibly be a fight, but when the fog clears and reveals none other than Hakoda of all people – Jet groans because honestly, the guy wasn't his biggest fan.

Both teenagers watch the Water Tribe ships slow to a halt, the lead ship pulling up beside them with both Hakoda and Bato on deck:

"Lion-Heart?" Hakoda calls, brows creased, "Where is - ?" he pauses when he sees Zuko, then glares at Jet, "What are you doing?"

"Hey don't worry about it; he's on our side now." Jet offers a grin and makes a show of introducing Hakoda and Zuko, "Prince Zuko, may I introduce Hakoda of the Southern Water Tribe, father of Katara and Sokka. Hakoda, may I introduce Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation, newly minted traitor and runaway."

"Lion-Heart." Hakoda scowls, "This isn't funny."

Jet smirks, "I'm not trying to make it funny."

Bato interrupts, "Where are the kids?"

"We ran into some trouble on our way to the rendezvous," Jet gestures between him and Zuko, "Turns out we're pretty famous."

Zuko chooses now to speak up, "With us being wanted by the Fire Nation we couldn't put the others at risk so we separated, going our own path in order to avoid being noticed. We couldn't ask them to change their course just for us."

Hakoda makes an indistinct grumbling sound before he sends a wooden plank over, bridging the gap between the two ships, "Get on."

Jet mock salutes Hakoda before setting off to help Zuko gather their meager possessions – once on board, Zuko immediately feels out of place as the people on board are now staring at him and muttering to one another, the looks they give him are one of distrust and the looks he'd seen the soldiers give Azula. They probably expected him to be just as vicious.

"Prince Zuko." Hakoda greets, standing before the teen, "I heard you were chasing the Avatar."

Zuko ducks his head because he now realizes that these people are Aang's friends, "Once – but no longer."

Hakoda looks between the two boys no older than his own son, already scarred and jaded – he wasn't one to turn away potential allies and he wasn't going to turn these boys away, but they were dangerous and still an unknown. Last time he'd seen Lion-Heart, the boy had been unhinged and disassociating with the world, violent and short fused, and of course he'd heard of Prince Zuko.

"Alright." Hakoda finally says, "Just don't do it again."

The Prince seems to relax, "Okay."

"Unfortunately we don't have enough room for both of you," explains Bato, "So you'll either have to share a cot or one of you will have to sleep on the floor until we reach the rendezvous point."

Lion-Heart only grins, surprisingly light-hearted and mischievous, "We'll make do."

Both Water Tribesmen watch Jet and Zuko disappear into the dark of the ship; it's only seconds before Bato speaks:

"Looks like Lion-Heart got a new accessory."

Hakoda snorts, "Probably stole it from somewhere."

Normally I'm terrible with long chapters but this was surprisingly easy for me to write, probably because I was so into it ~ I hope you guys liked it ~ !