After an incredibly long and far too drawn out award ceremony, everyone made their way to Air Temple Island for what was turning out to be a much larger celebration than Tenzin and the acolytes had originally anticipated. It seemed that everyone who was actually invited brought at least one guest, maybe more. Lin had to call in about a dozen more of her officers to make sure that there was enough security at the party, especially with all the important individuals in attendance.
She was walking to check on the officers stationed near the meditation pavilion when someone grabbed her arm. She immediately went to punch them in the face, but thankfully saw that it was only Kya.
"What are you doing, Lin?" she asked, exasperated concern written all over her face.
"My job, I'm monitoring the security of the island. There are a lot of important-"
"Mhm, I'm sure. Calm down a bit, okay? Everything's fine and I doubt having you micromanage their actions is actually going to help your officers," Kya argued, interrupting her before she got started, "It's a party and you deserve a night off. I didn't see you at the ceremony, so I'm assuming you spent the entire time worrying about security there, too, didn't you?"
"I have a responsibility to the people of this city-"
"To not overwork yourself," Kya interrupted again.
"Are you actually going to let me finish a sentence?" Lin asked, mild irritation evident in her voice.
"Well, you just finished one. So, apparently yes," Kya laughed, following Lin as she continued walking towards the officers at the meditation pavilion, "Come on, leave them alone. They are totally capable of handling whatever comes up."
She grabbed back onto Lin's arm and pulled her in the opposite direction. She reluctantly allowed herself to be led in the opposite direction, towards the plaza that overlooked the bay. Plopping down on the steps, Kya pulled Lin down with her.
"Have you ever considered actually taking a vacation?" Kya asked, watching as Lin leaned forward so that she had a better view of a group of officers who were standing near the docks.
"Hmm?" Lin said, hardly paying Kya any attention, "No, I couldn't. There's too much to do here."
"When was the last time you actually left Republic City?" Kya asked, "I seem to remember you saying something about you said about wanting to visit Ba Sing Se again. Like ten years ago."
"Well, it just hasn't happened, yet," Lin argued, leaning back onto the steps, "I'll go when I retire."
"Oh, come on, Lin," Kya laughed, "If you actually retire before you die, it'll be a forced retirement."
"Why's it matter so much to you, anyway?" Lin huffed; hating that Kya was prying but hoping that she wouldn't drive her away with her inability to control her temper.
"I've got to go to Ba Sing Se in a few days. I was wondering what it would take to get you to accompany me," Kya said, smiling hopefully at her, "You know, I feel like I usually get into so much extra trouble in that damn city. Having Republic City's very own Police Chief around might keep me on the straight and narrow."
"I don't think having the entire Republic City police force following you around would stop you from doing something that you wanted to do, regardless of the legality of it," Lin said. She didn't have time to leave the city, even if she wanted to. Which she didn't, she thought. There was no need to go to Ba Sing Se with Kya, it would only lead to trouble.
Trouble that could be prevented by her being there, she told herself the next day as she prepped her entire force for her three day trip to the Earth Kingdom.