Chapter 16: The White Lotus

"Okay, I think that's everything," Sokka said as he tied down the last bag to Appa's saddle.

"Really?" Rinzen deadpanned, glancing around to make her point. "Because I'm pretty sure we're missing a crucial part of the plan."

"Rin's right, where's Aang?" Katara agreed, frowning worriedly. "I thought one of you would know where he was."

"We haven't seen him since last night," Zuko pointed out.

"Don't tell me he ran away again," Toph complained, storming towards the house and bracing herself on the doorway as she leaned inside. "Get out here or I'll make sure you regret it, Twinkletoes!" she bellowed and Rinzen winced as she covered her ears. Even after she'd known Toph for so long, she was still surprised by how loud such a tiny girl could be.

"I don't think he's in the house," Zuko said after waiting a few moments to give Aang time to respond. "Maybe we should check the beach?"

"I'll check where he was meditating in the meantime," Rinzen agreed. "Maybe he left a note or something for us." She headed into the house and up to the balcony where Aang had been meditating the previous night, finding the candles he had lit abandoned and snuffed out. His glider lay beside the candles, but there was no note or any sign of where he could have gone. She picked up the staff and turned it over in her hands slowly, wondering why Aang would have gone anywhere without taking his staff with him.

Looking over the railing, she could see the rest of the group on the beach, scanning the area for any sign of Aang. She hopped down from the balcony, cushioning her landing with a small burst of air at her feet so that she dropped to the sand carefully before making her way across the beach to the edge of the water.

"Any luck?" Zuko asked, noticing her approach, and she held up Aang's glider.

"No note. And he left his staff behind. I can't imagine why he'd do that if he was going somewhere."

"Over here!" Sokka called from further down the beach and Rinzen and Zuko joined him and the rest of the group to find them studying a set of footprints leading down to the water. "They just stop here," Sokka said, pointing to where the tide was washing away the footprints.

"He can't have just walked into the water and disappeared," Rinzen said worriedly as she glanced out at the horizon, trying to wrack her brain over what could have possibly happened to her brother.

"He can't have gone that far if he didn't take Appa or his glider with him," Katara reassured her. "And I'm sure he's not in the Spirit World because his body's not here and Momo's missing, too. They're probably somewhere on the island together."

Toph immediately latched onto Zuko's arm. "I'm going with Zuko!" Startled, Zuko flushed bright red, and everyone else stared at Toph. "What?" she asked defensively, sensing their eyes on her. "Everyone else got a field trip with him. Now it's my turn!"

Rinzen rolled her eyes, unable to help a smile despite her worry. "Sokka and I can search from the sky on Appa and my glider," she offered.

"Katara and I can check town on the west side," Suki added.

"I guess we'll keep looking on the eastern beach," Zuko agreed, glancing down at Toph again warily, and the group split up from there as Rinzen followed Sokka over to Appa, who was shifting anxiously in the courtyard of the beach house.

"I know, buddy, I'm worried about him, too," she murmured soothingly, rubbing the bison's nose gently before securing Aang's glider with their belongings so that she could return it to him when they found him.

"He's probably fine," Sokka reassured her as he climbed onto Appa's head, patting one of Appa's horns gently before taking the reins. "I'm sure we'll find him before the comet arrives tomorrow."

"We should probably start working on a Plan B just in case, though," Rinzen answered as she snapped open her glider. "You take the south, I'll take the north?"

"Sounds like a plan." Sokka snapped Appa's reins gently. "Yip-yip." Appa grumbled as he lifted himself into the air and Sokka guided him towards the southern part of Ember Island.

Rinzen pushed herself off the ground as well with a burst of air, soaring towards the northern tip of the island and scanning the ground below for any sign of Aang. It was a relief that the residents of Ember Island never looked up at the skies, making it easy for Rinzen to search the island from above without needing to hide within the thick layer of gray clouds starting to roll in with the promise of a summer thunderstorm.

"Did you find him?" Katara asked worriedly as Rinzen landed in the courtyard of the royal house again just as the first drops of rain began to fall, cold despite the humid air around them.

"We looked all over town and couldn't find him anywhere," Suki added. Appa landed in the courtyard only moments after and Sokka slid off his head, joining them near the steps and placing his arm around Suki's shoulders almost instinctively as she leaned into his side.

"I didn't see him from the northern skies," Rinzen admitted as she closed her glider. "Sokka, please tell me you got something." Sokka shook his head as Zuko and Toph trudged up from the beach to join them. Rinzen exhaled wearily when she noticed the defeated expressions on their faces. "I'm gonna go ahead and guess you two didn't find anything."

Zuko shrugged helplessly. "Sorry." When everyone remained silent, staring at him, he blinked back at them, bewildered. "What?"

"Well, you're the expert on tracking Aang," Toph pointed out dryly. "If anyone would know how to find him, it's you."

Zuko pursed his lips in thought. "I guess I've got one idea," he conceded, glancing at Rinzen. "Do you remember that bounty hunter we met once? Jun?"

"You think she can help?" she asked, surprised. She hadn't thought much of Jun since they had parted ways with her shortly after she had failed to help Zuko capture Aang all those months ago.

"Her shirshu's supposed to be able to track anyone as long as it has their scent," Zuko reminded her. "She lives on the west coast of the Earth Kingdom. We need to hurry if we want to find her by tonight."

Rinzen glanced around to find everyone watching her expectantly for her decision before sighing and nodding. "Yeah. Okay, let's go."

They all climbed onto Appa quickly to take off, Zuko settling in beside Rinzen on Appa's head as she guided the bison to begin flying towards the western coast of the Earth Kingdom. The journey across the ocean, even at Appa's fastest speed, would take the entire day, which only ate up more of their precious time to find Aang before the comet was scheduled to arrive.

As they flew, sheets of rain began to cascade around them as Katara bent the water to form a makeshift shield against the storm. Appa grumbled nervously as lightning forked across the dark clouds over their heads and thunder boomed shortly afterwards, echoing around them ominously.

"Easy, big guy," Rinzen murmured soothingly, stroking Appa's fur to calm him again when he began to slow down slightly, unnerved by the storm. "Just keep flying, the storm will pass soon." She glanced up at Zuko to find him carding his fingers through Appa's fur absently as well, his eyebrows furrowed pensively. "Copper piece for your thoughts?" she offered.

"Just working on more backup plans." He chewed his lip, deliberating for a moment before admitting, "I think we should try to find my uncle."

"Do you think we can?" Rinzen looked over her shoulder to find Katara, Sokka, Suki, and Toph engrossed in their own conversation, not listening to them.

"He's the only one who might have the power to take on my father if we can't find Aang," Zuko answered, drawing her attention back to him. "I know it's a long shot, but we don't have many other options here."

"I know." She smoothed down Appa's fur again, scratching near his ear and feeling it flick back towards her hand instinctively as he picked up a little speed again, encouraged again by the affection she was giving him. "Okay. If we can't find Aang, we'll look for your uncle."

It was just past dusk by the time they landed outside the tavern Zuko, Iroh, and Rinzen had first followed Jun to after she had destroyed their ship to recapture a runaway who had stowed aboard their ship. Rinzen could already smell the strong, stale scent of alcohol hanging in the air around the tavern as she slid off Appa's head, patting the bison's side as he lay down to rest.

"Good job, buddy," she praised him fondly as the rest of the group followed suit to climb off Appa.

"You go ahead and get him some food," Katara reassured her. "We'll find Jun and bring her out here."

"Sounds like a plan." Rinzen watched them disappear inside, Zuko leading the way, before going around the tavern to the barn around the back, hoping to grab some hay that she could feed Appa with.

A hissing sound from the back of the barn made her jump back in alarm just in time to avoid a long, forked tongue lashing out at her from the dark.

"Hey!" she scolded when she recognized Jun's shirshu's furry outline in the back of the barn. "Relax, will you? It's me, you know me." The shirshu paused, snuffling at the air to get Rinzen's scent, before shuffling forward to push her long snout up against Rinzen's hands eagerly. Rinzen recalled that the shirshu had taken a liking to her even when they had first met, much to Jun's surprise.

"She doesn't usually like anybody other than me," she had said, raising an eyebrow even as the shirshu had knocked Rinzen to the ground and nuzzled her affectionately, tickling her and making her laugh even as Zuko had rolled his eyes in the background.

"Come on, girl," Rinzen crooned as she came back to the present, ushering the shirshu out of the barn. "I'm gonna grab some hay for Appa real quick and then I'll give you all the pets you want." The shirshu hissed again, but seemed somewhat mollified as she shuffled aside to let Rinzen gather a few bales of hay and carry them out front.

Appa climbed laboriously to his feet when he noticed the shirshu behind Rinzen, baring his teeth at her with a growl, and Rinzen knew he remembered the shirshu's paralyzing tongue and how it had lashed out at him, incapacitating him with only a few licks.

"Be nice," she warned and Appa huffed before nosing briefly at the shirshu in apology and then settling down to eat the hay Rinzen had brought him.

"I see Nyla still remembers you, Arrows," a silky voice said from behind Rinzen and she turned to see Jun emerging from the bar, her whip twisted around her hands and an amused smirk on her painted lips. The rest of the group followed behind her, gaping at the scene in front of them.

"I can't believe that thing actually likes you," Sokka said, impressed, and Rinzen shrugged modestly.

"I have a way with animals, what can I say?" She patted the top of Nyla's head and the shirshu snuffled happily as she nuzzled into Rinzen's side.

Zuko shook his head fondly as he made his way to Appa's saddle. "Rin, do we still have Aang's glider here?"

"Yeah, it should be tied down next to my bag," Rinzen answered as she continued to scratch underneath Nyla's chin and the shirshu tilted her head back, delighted by the attention she was receiving.

"You're spoiling her," Jun complained. "She was grumpy with me for not petting her as much for weeks after the last time she met you."

"Well, maybe you ought to pet her more, then," Rinzen deadpanned in return, patting Nyla's snout one last time before reluctantly letting go of her as Zuko came back with Aang's staff.

"It's nice that you two kissed and made up, though," Jun added absently as she glanced between Rinzen and Zuko. "You were so snippy with each other last time, I was worried you were in the middle of a lover's quarrel."

"A what?" Rinzen echoed, startled, and Zuko made an odd choking noise.

"It's - that's not - we're not like that!" he protested, flustered.

"Hm. If you say so." Jun looked unconvinced as she took the glider out of Zuko's hands and held it out to Nyla. Nyla craned her head towards the new scent, sniffing at the glider before lifting her head up to snuffle at the sky. After a few moments of struggling, she pushed herself up onto her hind legs, straining to catch the scent in the night air, before dropping back to the ground and whimpering as she covered her nose with her paws.

"What's wrong with her?" Suki asked, bewildered.

"Means she can't find his scent," Jun answered simply as she tossed the glider easily back to Zuko, who caught it carefully. "Sorry, Arrows. Your brother's gone."

"Gone?" Rinzen felt cold dread settle in the pit of her stomach as she knelt beside Nyla to stroke the shirshu's fur and calm her down. "Like, dead or something?"

"No, we'd be able to find his body if he was dead," Jun reassured her, which wasn't all that reassuring. "I mean that he's gone. As in, he doesn't exist."

"Doesn't exist?" Katara echoed, stunned. "But what's that supposed to mean?"

"No idea. Gee, it's a real head-scratcher." Whatever emotional investment Jun had in their predicament had clearly run its course as she shrugged her tattooed shoulder. "Well, good luck with whatever you guys are doing. Nyla, up!" She snapped her whip and Nyla grumbled as she climbed to her feet, accepting one last scratch from Rinzen.

"Wait," Zuko said suddenly as he hurried back to his bag, rummaging through it before coming up with a sandal. "There's one more person you can try finding. My uncle Iroh."

"You kept your uncle's smelly old sandal in your bag all this time?" Sokka demanded, pinching his nose and leaning away from Zuko slightly, and Zuko shrugged self-consciously.

"Hey, it's coming in handy now, isn't it?" He held the sandal out to Nyla, who sniffed briefly at it before lifting her head and howling at the sky as she pawed at the earth with one foreleg.

"What does that mean?" Toph asked, clapping her hands over her ears to muffle the sound.

"It means she's got his scent." Jun swung herself onto Nyla's back. "Let's go. You can all follow on the big fuzzy guy." She nodded to Appa, who was already shuffling anxiously in his eagerness to fly again.

"Come on." Zuko ushered everyone into Appa's saddle and Rinzen climbed onto Appa's head beside him, snapping the reins with a quick "yip-yip" to get him into the air. Jun snapped her whip and Nyla took off at a gallop, darting through the forest as Appa flew overhead, following the shirshu's path through the trees and then out over the open fields.

The wind ruffled through Rinzen's hair, cooler after the storm that had passed over them earlier, and she found herself soothed slightly now that she knew they were going to find Iroh. At least one thing seemed to be going right for them now. She glanced over at Zuko to find him staring intently at his own hands, his expression far away.

"You okay?" she asked and he looked up, managing a tiny smile.

"Yeah. Just...nervous, I guess." He dropped his gaze back down to his hands. "I don't know what my uncle will say to me. What if he doesn't even want to see me?"

"You're talking about the same uncle who's never given up on you once this whole time, right?" Rinzen pointed out dryly.

"That was before I had you both thrown in jail," Zuko answered bitterly, biting his lip as he fiddled with his fingers. "What I did to you and Uncle Iroh was unforgivable."

"Hey." Rinzen reached out, covering his hands with hers, and he looked up, his expression startlingly open and vulnerable. "I've got at least two reasons why you're being really stupid right now. One, Iroh loves you more than anything. I've seen it first-hand. There's nothing you could do to change that." Zuko remained silent, dropping his gaze to their intertwined hands and lacing their fingers together without answering. "And two, I forgave you, didn't I?" she added and he huffed a wry chuckle.

"I still don't think you should have, but sure."

She rolled her eyes, twisting one of her hands in his hold so that she could pinch the skin between his thumb and forefinger hard. He winced slightly even as she answered sharply, "You've more than earned my forgiveness, so stop that. No more putting yourself down, no more self-imposed punishments because you think you're not worth anything, because you're worth a lot. Okay?"

When she looked back up at him, she found him staring back at her, wide-eyed and looking vaguely like she had hit him over the head with a heavy brick. "Yeah. Okay." A small smile tugged at his lips. "Thanks."

"Yeah, anytime." She reluctantly let go of his hands before settling in against his side. He slid his arm around her shoulders, tugging her in closer, and she curled into his warmth to shield herself against the chilly night air rushing past them.

"Jeez, no wonder that Jun lady thinks you two are a thing," Sokka said abruptly as he peered over the edge of the saddle, breaking the comfortable silence.

"Shut up, Sokka," Zuko and Rinzen retorted simultaneously even as Suki elbowed Sokka hard in the ribs, making him yelp slightly.

They flew through the night as Jun and Nyla raced across the land below, each of them falling asleep one by one as time went on. Rinzen and Zuko stayed awake the longest, but eventually, Zuko began to nod off slowly and Rinzen only noticed he had fallen asleep when she felt him lean heavily into her side, already mostly unconscious as his head nestled against her shoulder.

Unable to work up the nerve to shake him awake again when he was so exhausted, Rinzen settled for pressing her cheek against the top of his head, letting him sleep as she kept guiding Appa to follow Nyla. She was used to sleepless nights, but her worry over the impending comet and Aang's disappearance had drained her to the point where her eyes burned with exhaustion by the time Nyla finally stopped running at the edge of a giant crumbled stone wall.

It was just as Appa's feet touched the ground that Rinzen realized where they were: at the outermost wall of Ba Sing Se, which had been destroyed when the Fire Nation had taken over the city. As Nyla began to whine and dig through the rubble left by the ruined wall, the others awoke and began to climb off Appa's saddle, but Zuko remained fast asleep against Rinzen's shoulder. She couldn't help but smile as she brushed her fingers through his hair briefly, making him stir slightly.

"Hey," she murmured to avoid startling him. "We're here."

"Here?" he echoed, his voice thick with sleep as he stifled a yawn and sat up, peering around them as he recognized where they were. "My uncle's here in Ba Sing Se?"

"Well, Nyla's getting particularly twitchy, so he must be nearby," Jun offered as she climbed off Nyla's back and patted the shirshu's side fondly before grabbing her reins to tug her away from the rubble. "This is where I'm out. Good luck." She mock-saluted them before swinging herself back onto Nyla's back and cracking her whip. Nyla took off at a run and soon she and the bounty hunter disappeared into the forest treeline in the distance.

"We should set up camp," Sokka suggested wearily as he patted Appa's side in gratitude for the long flight, the bison turning slightly to nuzzle him in return. "It'll help if we're better-rested so we can keep looking for your uncle in the morning."

Zuko pursed his lips, clearly about to protest, but then had to stifle another yawn. "Yeah, okay," he conceded, sliding off Appa's head to help Sokka unload the group's sleeping bags onto the ground.

Rinzen slid off Appa's head as well, settling in to sleep against one of his front paws as he lay down beside her. She was only half-aware of Zuko making his way back over and laying down beside her once everyone else was settled in, his arm winding around her and his chin resting against the top of her head, and she curled instinctively back in against him, pressing her nose into the hollow of his throat. Even after a long day of travel, he still smelled faintly of smoke and incense, and she vaguely wondered if he just meditated with incense so often that the scent had ingrained itself into his clothing permanently.

"Still awake?" he murmured, keeping his voice low to avoid waking the others and drawing her out of her thoughts.

"Barely," she mumbled back, "You make it pretty hard to stay awake when you run warmer than an incense burner. You're too cozy, it's a real problem."

He huffed a soft laugh, ducking his head to press his cheek against her hair. "Yeah, it's one of the curses of being a firebender." She felt his free hand come up and brush a few strands of hair out of her face for her, his palm warm and rough against her skin as it slid around to tangle loosely in her hair and cradle the back of her head. "Sorry I made you stay awake all night to fly Appa."

"'S okay," she answered, muffling a yawn against his collarbone. "You looked like you needed the rest."

He hummed consideringly for a moment before falling silent. Rinzen thought for a moment that he had fallen asleep, but then he tilted his head to press his lips softly against her hairline. She felt her heart jump at the brief kiss, pounding erratically in her throat, and was sure he had felt it, too, with how closely they were tangled, but he said nothing, and his breathing soon evened out as he dozed off, his grip slackening slightly around her waist. It took a few moments for Rinzen to calm her racing heart down, but soon enough, she was fast asleep as well, enveloped in warmth.

She awoke with a start to the trembling of the earth below them, jolting upright almost at the same time as Zuko just in time to see Toph's rock tent crumbling to dust as she rolled to her feet.

"Something big's coming!" she cried out as Katara, Suki, and Sokka clambered out of their sleeping bags, rubbing at their eyes to make themselves more alert even as a large circle of fire began to surround the group. Rinzen rolled to her feet as Zuko did the same, Appa grumbling nervously behind them as a large stream of water, nearly a pond's worth, encircled them and forced them to huddle in towards the center.

Finally, several platforms of rock rose above the wall of flames, the figures who had ambushed them standing on them and towering over the group of teenagers. Rinzen glanced around to see Zuko, Toph, and Suki looking wary, but to her confusion, Katara and Sokka seemed delighted to see their attackers.

"Well, look who it is," an old man dressed in Earth Kingdom robes cackled, snorting between giggles. He was very clearly muscular despite his hunched appearance, and one of his eyes was smaller than the other. It took Rinzen several moments before recognition dawned on her.

"Bumi?" She hadn't seen Aang's friend from Omashu in years, not since Aang had once brought Bumi to the Southern Air Temple to visit.

"Ah, Rinzen, you haven't changed a bit. Literally," Bumi said cheerfully, winking back at her.

"You know him?" Zuko muttered under his breath so that only Rinzen could hear.

"He's Aang's friend," she reassured him before peering at the other three strangers and then realizing that one of them wasn't even a stranger at all; it was Katara and Aang's waterbending master, Pakku, whom Rinzen had met after the Fire Nation siege at the North Pole.

"Why are we surrounded by old people?" Toph asked plaintively as the walls of fire and water lowered around them, leaving them free to approach the four elderly men as the rock platforms lowered to ground-level.

"Not just any old people," Katara clarified. "These are great masters and friends of ours." She bowed respectfully to Pakku, beaming. "It's good to see you, Master Pakku."

"It's respectful to bow to your old master, yes," Pakku praised her as he bowed back to her. "But how about a hug instead, for your new grandfather?" He held out his arms, smiling faintly.

Katara froze, stunned, before beaming and rushing in to hug Pakku tightly. "That's amazing! I'm so glad you and Gran-Gran found each other again, you both must be so happy."

"I made her a new betrothal necklace and everything," Pakku confirmed.

"Welcome to the family, Gramp-Gramp!" Sokka crowed, going in for a hug of his own, but Pakku side-stepped him, wrinkling his nose.

"Um, you can still just call me Pakku."

"Gran-Pakku?" Sokka offered instead and Pakku only shook his head, causing Sokka to deflate slightly.

"Zuko, this is Aang's first firebending master," Katara added, gesturing to the elderly man standing just behind Pakku. Two thin scars ran down the side of the man's face from his temple to his cheek, but he smiled politely as he and Zuko bowed to each other.

"Jeong Jeong," he introduced himself, his voice gruff, but kind.

"Master Piandao," Sokka greeted the last man, bowing to his former swordmaster.

"Hello, Sokka. I hope you've been practicing." He nodded approvingly when Sokka patted the space sword sheathed on his back as wordless proof that he still had it.

"Wait, so how do you all know each other?" Suki demanded, bewildered.

"All old people know each other, obviously," Bumi giggled.

"We're all part of the same ancient secret society. A group that transcends the divisions of the four nations," Piandao explained.

"The Order of the White Lotus," Zuko said, smiling knowingly.

"That's the one," Bumi confirmed.

"The White Lotus has always been about philosophy and beauty and truth," Jeong Jeong added, "But about a month ago, a call went out that we were needed for something important."

"It came from a Grand Lotus," Pakku said, glancing at Zuko. "Your uncle, Iroh of the Fire Nation." Zuko smiled broadly, relieved.

"That's who we're looking for," Rinzen answered. "We need to talk to Iroh before the comet arrives."

"Then we'll take you to him," Bumi decided, but then frowned. "Wait a minute. Someone very important is missing from your group." He made a show of looking at each of them in turn. "Where's Momo?" he demanded at last.

Nonplussed, Rinzen glanced at Katara and Sokka, who both shrugged helplessly, and Sokka twirled his finger next to his head in the universal "he's crazy" sign. Katara elbowed him, but then thought better of it and nodded in agreement.

"Uh, he's missing," Rinzen said nervously when she turned back around to find Bumi's unnervingly-large green eyes fixed on her expectantly. "And so is Aang."

"Oh, well, so long as they have each other, there's nothing to worry about," he said sagely, patting her shoulder reassuringly before promptly launching himself into the air with a platform of rock, cackling as he leapt away. The other three masters sighed wearily, muttering to themselves as they began to follow Bumi on foot, and the teenagers scrambled to pack their sleeping bags again and follow them.

"I can't believe it," Zuko said as he and Rinzen took Appa's reins, ushering the bison along as Katara and Sokka walked ahead with Pakku, chatting with him about their home in the South Pole, and Suki and Toph struck up conversations with Jeong Jeong and Piandao. "My uncle's been here in Ba Sing Se all this time."

"Well, they always say the things you lose are in the last place you'd think to look," Rinzen answered wryly, unable to help a smile in the face of how happy Zuko appeared at the thought of getting to see his uncle again. "How'd you know about the White Lotus, anyway?"

"Do you remember when we met those pirates, back when I was still chasing Aang to the North Pole?"

Rinzen frowned. "You mean that time you had me tied to a tree to keep me from warning Aang to run? I'm still waiting on an apology for that."

"Okay, fine, I'm sorry for having you tied to a tree," Zuko said dismissively, waving it off. "Nice to know you're more upset about that than being thrown in jail. Anyway, not what I wanted you to take away from that. What were we in the market that day for?"

"We were looking for a replacement Pai Sho tile for your uncle, a-" She broke off as she remembered the tile that Iroh had thought he had lost, but then had found in his sleeve the very next day. "-a white lotus tile," she finished as realization dawned on her.

"Yeah. I didn't get it at the time, I thought he was just being difficult." Zuko rubbed Appa's nose when the bison grumbled tiredly before continuing to coax him forward, and Rinzen felt a rush of fondness towards him for treating Appa so gently. "But then we were in the desert without any way to get to Ba Sing Se, and my uncle found another member of the White Lotus to smuggle us out of the desert and to the Serpent's Pass ferry."

"So you knew about this secret society all this time?" Rinzen asked, surprised.

"Well, I had an idea of it, anyway," Zuko admitted, shrugging one shoulder. "Didn't really know what it was about at the time, all I knew was that they liked Pai Sho a lot."

"Hey, maybe that means I'll fit in with them, too," Rinzen mused, making Zuko snort with laughter as they reached another outer wall, which Bumi lowered with a flick of his wrist.

"Well, here we are," he announced, gesturing to the array of tents in front of them. Some still had fires lit in front of them, where several older men and women were gathered around. "Welcome to Old People Camp," Bumi added with a giggle.

Zuko hesitated, glancing at Piandao, who knew immediately what he was going to ask. "Your uncle is in there, Prince Zuko." He pointed to a large tent nearby, dark blue with the white lotus symbol embroidered on the outside flap. Zuko bit his lip before releasing Appa's reins and making his way to the tent, but stopped just outside it, as if some invisible force had grabbed hold of his feet and rooted him to the spot.

Rinzen glanced around, finding that Katara, Sokka, Suki, and Toph had settled in to keep catching up with the other old masters, before making her way to Zuko's side, slipping her hand into his and lacing their fingers together. He started, as if he had been so engrossed in his own thoughts that he hadn't heard her approach.

"What're you waiting for?" she prompted.

"I-" He swallowed audibly. "He's going to hate me."

"We talked about this," she reminded him. He shook his head as he dropped his gaze away from her, but not before she could see just how miserable and ashamed his expression was.

"He loved and supported me in every way he could, and I still turned against him. I don't even know how I can face him."

"Hey." She reached up, pressing her hand gently to his cheek and forcing him to look back up at her. "Are you sorry for that?"

"More sorry than I've ever been about anything in my life," he affirmed earnestly.

"Then he'll forgive you. He will." She shoved his shoulder gently. "Now go on before I push you into that tent myself. I'll see you in the morning once you two finish talking." A small smile tugged at his lips before he reluctantly let go of her hand and slipped into the tent. Rinzen made her way back over to where Katara, Sokka, Suki, and Toph were gathered around a fire.

"You two have been awfully cuddly today," Suki noted absently, smirking at Rinzen, who rolled her eyes as she extended a leg to kick at the other girl.

"Shut up."

"Ooh, you and Zuko," Sokka and Toph chorused with glee, delighted to have a chance to tease Rinzen again.

"Not nearly the same ring to it as Lee, is it?" Katara sighed, but grinned back at Rinzen, who only glowered at her.

"You're all the worst, why do I even keep you around as friends?"

"Because you love us," Toph said easily, punching Rinzen's shoulder even as Rinzen winced slightly.

FINALLY. I've been struggling with writer's block for the past month, but I finally managed to get this out right before the holidays. Happy holidays to everyone who celebrates something this season!

I'm really excited to get into the finale of this show. Hopefully I'll get the next chapter out after the new year begins.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter!