Perched precariously on the back of a chair in her mothers' room, Kiriko watched with interest as Korra braided her long hair.
"Mom, can you do my hair like that?"
"You want me to? I thought you liked having it down?"
"I want it to be like yours."
Korra smiled at her reflection in the mirror and finished up her own hair, then got to her feet. "Alright. Sit down here."
Kiriko launched herself off the back of the chair and landed gracelessly on the stool by the vanity, all knobby knees and too-long limbs.
"Wild child," Korra said with a chuckle, picking up a hairbrush. "Now sit still."
XXX
Saph woke to the feeling of a warm hand against her face and, for just a moment, thought she was back home in Dao-Shu with Nani next to her. They'd always shared a bed when she visited.
This particular hand—much warmer than Nani's—was attached to an arm that Saph was clutching tightly. She finally opened her eyes to find that it belonged to Koko, who appeared to be deeply asleep and unaware that her arm was being used like a child's security blanket.
All the memories rushed in without warning: A horrible fight, vastly outnumbered. Koko being stabbed. And then...something unexpected. I'm the Avatar… The pressure began to grow inside her until a glance toward the open end of the stone tent made her flinch, startled. Two green eyes were staring at her with great interest, their owner sitting cross-legged at the tent's entrance.
Careful not to wake Koko, Saph let go of her arm and sat up, wondering what time it was and realizing that she was starving. She motioned for Zenya to move out of her way, then slowly crawled out into the soft light of what was either morning or evening.
Oddly, the clearing showed no signs of the battle. The ground was smooth and clean—just flat dirt. Shylo and Valen sat by a fire a little ways away, their low voices blending in with the sounds of the forest, and Saph walked over to them with growing apprehension. Zenya stuck to her side like an elbow leech.
"Hey, look who's finally awake," Shylo said with a grin when he noticed them.
Saph had no idea what to say. Was he looking at her weird? She was sure he was. With his unkempt beard, Valen was mostly inscrutable, though his eyes followed her.
"Zenya's been waiting for you to wake up for hours," Shylo continued. "Actually, she insisted on sleeping right outside your tent."
"It's morning?"
"Nope, evening. You slept for a whole day. Hungry?" He picked up a roasting skewer that was stuck in the ground. "We saved you some dinner."
"Thanks." While she ate, she noticed him and Valen giving each other sideways glances. It was painful, sitting there in silence. No one talking about what had happened. But she didn't want to talk about it. She wanted to forget about it.
Finally, Valen cleared his throat softly. "There's something you should know. I hate to burden you with bad news when you've just woken up, but best to get it over with: A few of the blue sages escaped."
The bite she'd just taken got stuck in her throat and she had some difficulty getting it down. "We– Shouldn't we leave, then?! They'll come back!"
But he just shrugged. "Most of the ones that came here to recapture Zenya are dead now. It'll take some time for more to gather from the surrounding area, and by then we'll be long gone. They'd never risk confronting us unless they had the numbers to overwhelm."
"They saw, though…" she said in a small voice. "They know." And they're going to hunt me down.
"Yeah," he replied heavily.
They both fell silent for a moment until Shylo lightly cuffed her on the arm.
"Hey, look on the bright side: Now I get to teach you airbending!"
In spite of herself—in spite of the nervous, sick feeling that had settled in her gut—the corner of Saph's mouth twitched up. "Can I borrow your flight suit?"
"Hah! Sure! But not yet. You've got a lot to learn before you're ready to fly."
She sighed dejectedly. "Guess I'm supposed to learn earthbending first, huh? I'm already doing things wrong, being a firebender."
"You might be blocked," Valen said.
"Why, though? My first teachers ever were earthbenders. I never even had a firebending teacher until a couple months ago. I just learned it naturally when I was a kid."
"Well…" He just shrugged. "Spiritual stuff isn't my expertise. I'm afraid I can't help you with that. I can try and help you overcome the block, though."
They were both acting so casual about this. Despite the fact that she'd been worried about them treating her differently, it annoyed her that they were pretending like it didn't matter. Like it was no big deal.
But it was a big deal. It was the biggest, most important thing in the whole world right now. She was going to be expected to fix everything—to learn everything as fast as possible and put herself in danger, to solve the chi plague problem, to deal with the blue sages, to stand up in front of people and give speeches and…
Those thoughts began to overwhelm her and she buried her face in her folded arms, valiantly fighting tears.
"Saph?" Shylo said with concern. "What's wrong?"
She couldn't look at them and just shook her head, face still hidden. What she wanted right now, desperately, was to escape from the world and go to Yin's meadow. Being so disconnected from the person who'd been such a huge part of her life made her feel like everything was falling apart, now more than ever.
She no longer believed that Yin could be Zenya; it didn't make sense anymore. Zenya was right there at her side—and certainly not the Avatar—and yet Saph still felt a deep, restless need to keep searching. Whatever she was looking for was still out there.
Finally, she sat up and looked at Valen, a thoughtless question springing from her lips. "Are we still going to Republic City?"
He cocked a curious eyebrow. "Republic City? That's where you were going?"
I guess Koko didn't tell him… she mused with a wince. "Well, somewhere around there."
"Why?"
Knowing Koko wouldn't want her to share their business, she just shrugged. It wasn't like she even knew the answer, anyway. Not really.
When there was no forthcoming response, Valen sighed and shook his head. "I don't know what's happening next. I'd planned to take Zenya to Jupa, but now… I don't know. I might stick with you guys, if Koko lets me. Zenya seems very attached to you." He picked up a waterskin and got to his feet. "For now, we'll just have to wait until Koko is able to travel."
With that, he walked away towards the stone tent. Saph glanced at Shylo with curiosity.
"He's been giving you both sips of water every couple of hours," he explained. "I'm not sure he's slept at all."
"What about all the people from the village? No one thought to help us while Koko recovers?"
"They're scared of us. They've all hidden in their homes and won't even talk to us."
"Do– Do they know…? About me?"
"I don't think so. Pretty sure they all ran away before the fight started."
Zenya suddenly began tugging on her sleeve to get her attention, then stood up and pulled on her arm.
"What is it?" Saph asked, suddenly worried by her insistence. "Is someone coming?"
Shylo stood up too, clearly alarmed, but Zenya didn't seem distressed. She just pulled Saph by the wrist until they reach a clear space, then stopped and angled Saph's palm to point upward.
A chunk of the ground flew into Zenya's hand as she took a step back, and she fashioned it first into a ball of lava, then into the shape of a flame. It hovered over her palm and she looked at Saph expectantly.
"You– You want me to firebend?" With a shrug directed at Shylo, who seemed just as confused, she produced a small flame.
Zenya's lava solidified, then crumbled and fell to the ground as she came closer once again. Small fingers traced delicately over Saph's arm, wrist, and hand—everywhere except the center of the palm where the fire was.
It suddenly occurred to Saph that, up until the last few days, Zenya might never have seen anyone bend anything besides earth. How often had she left the volcano on her own? Had any of the children playing in that pond been benders? Well, it was true that Zenya had at least seen Koko firebend when they first met.
In any case, she seemed fascinated by it—or at least fascinated by Saph's ability to create it. After a few minutes of intense study, she took a step back and mimicked her posture. A look of determination appeared on her face as she stared at her own upturned palm.
"Oh…" Saph said, understanding now. "I'm sorry, Zenya, but you're not a firebender. I can't teach you." It made her heart ache to know she wouldn't understand that it was impossible. How long would she keep trying, with no result?
"She saw you in the Avatar state," Shylo said. "Maybe she figures everyone can bend more than one element. I saw her doing this earlier today, but I didn't know 'til now what she was trying to do."
"What do I do? How do I make her understand I can't help her?"
Valen's approaching footsteps drew her attention before Shylo answered.
"Welcome to my life." He went to Zenya and made a few hand gestures, to which she responded fiercely with her own. It went back and forth for a bit.
"I think they're arguing," Saph whispered to Shylo.
Finally, Zenya stomped off to the far side of the clearing and encased herself in a little earth tent.
"That went well," Shylo said with a smirk.
Valen just shook his head; he looked exhausted. "I spoke with Koko. She still plans to go to Republic City, it would seem. Zenya and I will be joining you."
"Are you ready?" Shylo asked with a grin.
It was the next morning and they'd just finished breakfast. Saph nodded hesitantly but wasn't about to get her hopes up. A not-so-small part of her feared—or hoped—that maybe healing Koko had been some weird fluke and she wasn't the Avatar, after all. Certainly, she'd never displayed the ability to bend anything but fire in any other circumstance.
"Just do what I do, okay?" he continued. "Now, this is actually something Toru taught me. It's more…'traditional', shall we say. Not a fighting move. It's more of a practice exercise."
As he spoke, he began to move around the space in what looked like a complex form at first but was actually just the same few steps repeated. Almost like a dance. His arms moved in a fluid wave-like pattern and soon Saph could hear the whirring sound of a gentle air current around him.
"I bet a really powerful airbender could whip up a tornado with that, the way you're spinning and circling," she said.
"Maybe! Heh. You should go into the Avatar state and try it!"
She tsked with vague annoyance. "Would if I could. It's obviously not something I can rely on, considering I've been captured twice and it didn't happen either time."
"Well, I'm not sure it would even work if there was a plague carrier around."
"True…"
"Now quit stalling and try this move."
"Alright, alright…"
She copied his stance with a sigh and tracked his footwork carefully for a few seconds. It was slow enough that she had no trouble matching his movements, but adding in the arm motion was a little more challenging. Firebending wasn't so rhythmic.
Much to her surprise and delight, her clothes began to flutter in a soft breeze after only a minute or so. She could feel it—feel the chi flowing through her, though it was way different than firebending where her chi created the fire. This was more like…calling out and hearing an echo.
"There you go!" Shylo exclaimed with a grin. "See, I knew you'd get it straight away."
"I– I can't believe it! I'm airbending!" I really am the Avatar… For some reason, it felt so much more real now. Before, she had only the vague memories of healing Koko to rely on. But this made it an immutable fact; she was fully in control. And the weird thing was…it didn't fill her with fear and despair like it had when she'd first found out.
No, she was proud, even if only for this brief moment.
"I'm the Avatar!" Saph said—aloud, this time—with a delighted laugh.
"Uh…I thought we'd already established that?"
She kept up the rhythm but put a little more force into it, making the dust swirl into the air around her. "It's not easy to accept."
"Heh. No kidding. You really shocked me, you know. Everything was just chaos and then out of nowhere, I saw you waterbending." He laughed and shook his head. "I didn't know what was happening. Valen didn't seem too surprised, though."
"Really?" Maybe Koko told him she suspected… Would she really have told him without even telling me?
"Yeah. But I could tell he was worried you wouldn't be able to save Koko. The way he kept pacing back and forth while you were healing her... It took a long time. And, if I'm being totally honest, I- I honestly didn't think she was going to make it, either," he finished in a soft voice, staring at the ground.
Saph suddenly realized both of them had stopped practicing. His words had created a feeling of deep discomfort in the pit of her stomach. She didn't want to think of Koko like that—as a fragile human on the edge of death. Koko was supposed to be borderline invincible. An infallible protector.
Movement off to the right alerted them to Zenya's presence. When morning came, she had emerged from her tent—where she'd spent the entire evening sulking, then presumably fallen asleep—and then wandered into the forest on her own after breakfast. Now she was stalking over to them purposefully.
"Good morning," Saph said, hoping they were still friends after the awkward encounter the previous day.
Zenya's only response was to stand in front of her and slide her feet apart into a wide stance, knees bent, fists clenched at her waist. Then she waited expectantly.
"I think she wants you to copy her," Shylo said slowly.
"Oh! You want to teach me earthbending?" Under her breath, she added, "No pressure, Saph. Surely, she won't have another meltdown if you can't do it…" But she mirrored Zenya's pose, anyway, and followed her slow movements.
As Saph fully expected, the lesson was unsuccessful. The worst part was that she could remember earthbending. She could remember what it felt like, even if only vaguely. But that feeling was inaccessible, and it was immensely frustrating to not understand why.
Unsurprisingly, Zenya also seemed to feel that frustration, growing more and more agitated the longer the lesson went on without results. It wasn't even the sullenness of the night before, but more of a worried discouragement.
"I'm sorry, Zenya. I just can't do it. Not yet, anyway." By that point, Saph was panting and sweating from the effort, and just sat down on the ground in defeat. Zenya looked at her with reproving disappointment and walked away.
"Don't worry," Shylo said. "You'll get there. Maybe Valen can help."
"Yeah. Maybe. Later, though. I'm too tired."
Three days later, Saph watched happily as Koko struggled to her feet unaided for the first time since being injured. It was strange, really—there was a sense of pride that she didn't fully understand. And it was a relief, too, seeing her slow but steady progress.
"First things first," Koko said as soon as she was mobile. "Which direction is the nearest stream?"
"I'll take you there," Saph offered, not eager for her to go off on her own. That in itself was a strange sensation. It was like they had flipped roles.
Koko hesitated for a moment but apparently, practicality overruled pride and she just nodded. "But I do not need any help."
Clearly, there's still some pride left, Saph thought with a smile. She led Koko to the nearby stream, where Valen had earthbent a small privacy enclosure, and sat on a boulder by the stream's bank.
While Koko bathed, Saph took off her shoes and socks to dip her toes into the water. Since failing miserably at earthbending—even Valen's patient lessons had come to nothing—she'd been reluctant to try waterbending. It seemed better to avoid trying than to try and fail again and again. Anyway, she would need a teacher to show her how.
"Hey, Koko…?" she said to get her mind off of those thoughts.
"You're about to ask me a million questions, aren't you?"
"Not a million…"
There was a faint sigh, followed by a resigned, "What?"
"Do you think I'll ever get to go back to Jupa and see my parents and sister again?"
"Of course. What makes you think you won't?"
"Well…I just figured I'd need to start doing Avatar stuff now. Going all over the world. Fixing things."
"No," Koko said firmly. "Focus on your training. That's all you need to worry about right now."
It was the last thing Saph wanted to hear. "I can't earthbend. I've tried and tried. It's supposed to be my natural element and I can't do it at all."
"Aang had the same problem with earthbending, and so did Korra, but with airbending. You've only just started. Give it some time."
It was the first time Saph could remember hearing her talk about her mother. Hazy memories—like the remnants of dreams, slipping away—danced through her mind. Faces. Voices. Emotions. It was just a fleeting moment, gone quickly.
"So…since she's my past life, doesn't that kinda make me your mom?" But the second the joke passed her lips, she regretted it.
A prolonged silence preceded Koko's short response.
"No."
"I was kidding…" Saph said, abashed. More like the other way around, most of the time… It made her think of her own mother. Was she in Jupa now? Surely, she was. Wondering where her daughter was, if she was safe or not. "Does Nani know that you thought I might be the Avatar?"
"It came up."
"And my parents?"
"I haven't discussed it with them. Nani might have, though."
Saph suddenly remembered a conversation with her, right before leaving Oldtown.
"I need to go to Dao-Shu and let your parents know what's going on," Nani had said.
"Why can't you just send them a letter?"
At that, Nani had hesitated before saying that they deserved to hear it in person. Now Saph thought she might have also meant, 'What I'm going to tell them can't safely be written in a letter.'
"What made you suspect in the first place?"
Another weary sigh could be heard from Koko's direction. "It doesn't matter. I didn't even really believe it. I was surprised when it turned out to be true."
Saph recognized the flat tone in her voice: The conversation was over. Continued questions would garner nothing but noncommital grunts, at best.
When Koko was finished, they walked slowly back to the campsite. She'd clearly been exhausted by the effort of bathing, but surprisingly didn't immediately go back to her tent to sleep. Instead, she sat cross-legged by the fire and ran her fingers through her wet hair.
Without really thinking about it, driven by a compulsion she didn't understand, Saph retrieved her hairbrush from her bag—Koko had brought both her and Shylo's belongings with her—and knelt behind her to take over the task.
"...What are you doing?" Koko asked.
"Braiding your hair. I can tell it hurts for you to put your arms up. Don't try to deny it, because I won't believe you."
Much to her surprise, Koko didn't protest further—beyond an irritated sigh—though Saph did catch curious, amused looks from Shylo and Valen. Mostly Shylo. He was a lot easier to read.
It took some time to get Koko's hair all brushed out, long and thick as it was, and she couldn't help but feel like she'd been granted a rare privilege. Did Koko ever let anyone else touch her hair? It seemed unlikely.
Saph's mind drifted as she worked, thinking of how much everything had changed in the last couple of months—it felt like she'd known Koko her whole life—and she was nearly halfway done with the braid before she even realized she'd started it. The funny thing was that she only had a vague idea of how to braid; she'd rarely worn her own hair that way and it had never looked particularly good.
But her hands seemed to know what to do as if it were something she'd done a thousand times. Something akin to muscle memory had taken over and she let it, quite pleased with the final result. It was tighter and neater than how it usually looked. Once she'd finished and moved to take her place around the fire with the others, she saw Koko run a hand over the braid with a vaguely perturbed expression.
"What?" Saph said, dismayed. "Did I do it wrong?"
"...No. It's fine. Thanks." Then she ate her breakfast in silence and retreated to her tent without another word.
The five of them left the following morning, mostly because Koko insisted. She would not be deterred, and since she was the de facto leader of their little group, no one could dissuade her.
"I've been lying on the ground, doing nothing but sleeping for almost a week," she said irritably when the topic came up. "I've got more important things to do."
"Are you sure you're feeling up to a long journey?" Valen asked—rather bravely, Saph thought. "Potentially fraught with danger?"
Unsurprisingly, Koko scowled at him. "I know my limits. Don't question me."
He put his hands up defensively. "Alright, alright. If you want to go, we'll go."
Once they were packed up, he gathered them all together in an open space, then slowly lowered them underground. It reminded Saph of the elevator in Oldtown. Soon they were in darkness, the ground above them returning to cut off the sun, though Saph was quick to firebend a light.
Valen had explained his plan the night before: They were going to be traveling underground for a while to avoid leaving a trail. It was the best way to ensure no one could follow them, he'd said, and Koko agreed.
Unfortunately, it only took about ten minutes for the air to begin to grow thin. Koko seemed to be struggling the most, hunched over and panting. It was hard to watch.
"I was hoping we'd have longer," Valen said with a sigh as he earthbent a thin shaft to the surface. "It's going to be slow going if we have to stop this frequently. Shylo, can you bend some fresh air in?"
"Sure thing!"
Koko leaned against the wall of their little cave—which had been closed up behind them as they went—and rested her hands on her knees.
Saph peered at her with concern. "I doubt stopping often will matter much. I don't think Koko can go any faster."
"I'm fine," she grumbled. After a few more deep breaths, she added, "The fire probably isn't helping."
"She's right," Valen said. "We might be able to go a little longer in between breaks if we don't use a light. Don't worry, the path will be smooth and flat."
When Shylo had finished replenishing their air supply, Valen closed up the hole and Saph reluctantly let her flame die. The resulting darkness was oppressive—like a coffin, boxing her in. Buried alive. She didn't like it at all.
Just as they started walking, a hand appeared on her forearm and she jumped. "Shylo? Is that you?"
"Is what me?"
"Someone grabbed my arm."
"It's Zenya," Valen said. "She's probably trying to reassure you."
"I'm not scared," Saph lied. Well, it wasn't totally a lie; she wasn't scared, exactly. But she hated how this situation made her feel. Comforting fire and light were within reach, but she had to hold back and tolerate the crushing darkness.
Maybe she can teach me how to see with my feet one day, she mused as they plodded along in silence. Zenya didn't let go, which she was grateful for.
They stopped about every fifteen minutes, as far as Saph could tell, to renew their air. After about the fifth time, she asked Shylo if she could try it. In the dim light that filtered in through the shaft, she could watch his gestures and had a pretty good idea of what to do.
"Can you feel how the air is different in here?" he asked while she tried it. "Than how air normally feels?"
"I dunno… I guess maybe it feels a little…heavier? Like it wants to fall back down the shaft."
"Yeah, exactly!"
Saph beamed with pride. She'd only been airbending for a few days and was already doing something useful with it. That was an encouraging feeling.
And then the shaft was closed and they were plunged into total darkness once again. She was more or less used to it by now but had taken to seeking Zenya out each time, making note of her position to grip her forearm and be led like a blind person.
The five of them walked mostly in silence. The loudest sound was Koko's labored breathing, which made Saph's stomach hurt. She hated it so much. She wanted Koko to be strong again, and knew how much it must be killing her to be in this state. Weak and injured. Unable to protect herself, much less anyone else. It wasn't right.
However, Saph knew that bringing attention to it would only make it worse, so she kept her mouth shut. She didn't voice her desire to abandon this mission and go back to Oldtown so Nani could heal Koko some more. And she certainly wasn't about to speak life into her fear that some of the damage might be permanent.
They camped on the surface that night, though Valen said he planned to travel underground for at least another day—much to Saph's dismay. She curled up on the ground next to Koko and tried to determine if she'd fallen asleep yet or not.
"Koko…?"
"Hm?" It was a sleepy noise, as if she'd been about to drift off.
"Are you feeling okay?"
"I'm fine. Trust me, I've had worse. Stop worrying."
Right. Like that'll ever happen. "How long will it take to get to Republic City?"
"Well, at the rate we're going, probably another week." Her voice was as dry as it had ever been and it was unclear if she was serious or not.
"Will we go back to Oldtown after?"
"That's the plan. Now be quiet and go to sleep."
Saph sighed but didn't say anything more. She tried to remember how long it had taken to get from Oldtown to Makapu. A few weeks maybe? Which meant it would probably take at least a month to get back, once they left Republic City. Maybe more.
And I'll get to see Nani again. I wonder how she'll feel about me being the Avatar… Or what Mom and Dad will think of it. Will they be proud?
They spent another day traveling underground, but Valen announced on the morning of day three that it was safe to stay on the surface—something everyone seemed grateful for. Even Zenya was more chipper, looking around in fascination at the new scenery.
Saph thought it odd how, somewhere along the way, Valen had assumed the leadership role. Judging by Koko's deeper-than-usual scowls, it seemed likely that she wasn't too pleased by that turn of events and what had caused it. But she said nothing, just plodded along silently with the rest of them, her face tight and drawn.
At the end of that day, they arrived at the foot of a mountain range that had been visible ever since they'd surfaced. Looking up at the tall, rugged, snow-capped peaks, Saph didn't see how they'd ever be able to climb over them.
"Climb?" Valen said with a laugh when she voiced her concern. "Earthbenders don't climb over mountains. Not unless we have to, anyway."
"Oh. Right." She sighed with resignation. "So I guess that means we're going underground again?"
"There's an old train tunnel," Koko said. "Should still be mostly intact. You can use a light if you want."
They found it a couple of hours later and another slow, boring day passed. Saph did eventually get tired of firebending and just accepted the darkness, staying close by Zenya's sure-footed side.
Halfway through the following day, she began to feel…strange. "Koko…" she muttered in a weak voice.
"Hm?"
"I feel…" What? Her head was so thick and fuzzy, like it was full of cobwebs, and it took a second for her to figure out what the sensation reminded her of. In a moment of confused panic, she made a small flame on her hand.
Everyone had stopped by that point and just looked at her with confusion.
"What's wrong?" Shylo asked.
"I dunno…" She let the fire die, relieved that it wasn't the chi sickness, but also worried about not knowing what was happening. "You guys feel okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," he replied.
Another light appeared, this time in Koko's hand, and she came over to Saph with a concerned frown. The shadows gave her face a gaunt, hollow cast. "Are you sick?"
"It feels like the chi sickness, but…not. You don't feel it?"
"No."
"Hm…" Saph sighed, uneasy but not wanting everyone to look at her like she'd sprouted an extra head. "I'm okay. I can keep going."
A couple more hours passed and the feeling grew slowly but steadily worse. Along the way, there had been occasional cave-ins that Valen earthbent them through, but now the tunnel was completely blocked and he had to open it up himself.
"Almost there," he said after a half hour of manual tunneling.
A few minutes later, the rock wall ahead of them fell away to let in the fading sunlight. A grim sight met Saph's eyes at the same moment that the sick feeling peaked without warning.
Dizziness took hold of her and her knees wobbled. Ahead—in the very center of a desolate, barren landscape—was a vicious stormcloud. It was enormous.
Several hands caught her just before she face-planted onto the stone floor of the tunnel, and then everything went black.
It was familiar, yet not. Something about the forest glade made Saph think of Yin's meadow, even though the two places didn't look anything alike. She approached a perfectly round pool. Its surface was utterly still, smooth as glass.
Standing at the very edge, she looked down to see herself, except the reflection's eyes were closed. She looked like she was asleep. Expressionless.
Almost there.
The words seemed to echo around the glade and Saph looked around, searching for the source. "Yin? Is that you? Are you here?"
But there was no answer. Nothing but the sound of her own breath.
The stone in front of Koko gave way to Valen's tireless gestures, and suddenly they were there: the far side of the mountains, the valley of her birth. No bright light greeted them, though.
The scout's description didn't do justice to the sight filling her eyes. But she had little time to contemplate it because Shylo let out a wordless exclamation and she whipped around just in time to see him and Zenya catch Saph.
She and Valen both rushed over, nearly knocking each other down in their hurry, and all of her apprehension about what she would see at the end of the tunnel was forced into the back of her head.
"Saph." Koko lightly smacked her cheek, which was very hot. "C'mon, wake up."
"She's breathing," Valen said with a relieved sigh.
Shylo just knelt there in silence with a worried expression while Zenya seemed to be on the verge of tears. Koko pried one of Saph's eyes open for a moment, seeing the pupil dilate in the sickly light coming into their cave.
She tried to tell me something was wrong. I should've taken it more seriously.
"What do we do?" Valen asked. He and Shylo were both looking at her now. Waiting for orders.
Forward or backward? Was that storm she had glimpsed doing this to Saph? It seemed like a stretch to connect those two things; after all, no one else was affected. Then again…Saph different than the rest of them. What else could it be?
"There's someone nearby studying the chi plague," Koko said finally. "I don't know who it is, but I have a rough description and some suspicions. We're in the middle of nowhere. She's probably the only one who can help us."
"So we keep going?"
"Can you carry her?" It killed her to ask him that, knowing she still wasn't strong enough to do it herself. And knowing he must be exhausted from earthbending a tunnel for so long.
"Yeah."
They made eye contact for a few seconds. It felt as if he were daring her to contradict him, bottomless gray eyes boring into her.
"I can help, too," Shylo offered after a few tense seconds.
Koko finally looked away. "Alright. Let's go."
They kept to the edge of the mountains, staying as far away as possible from the crater and the raging storm that filled it. There were no trees, no vegetation. No trace of any animals or remnants of civilization. There was only the dusty earth and the storm.
Koko tried not to look at it. Tried not to think about what it was, what it represented. This was the absolute last place on Earth she wanted to be.
Valen and Shylo took turns carrying Saph, each rotation growing shorter as their energy waned. They would stop to rest and check her vitals, which didn't change, then struggle on for another hour.
The light was unchanging. No sun could be seen from where they were—only the gray sky—and none of them had any idea what time it was. With every step, Koko questioned her decision to press on. Would Saph wake up? Would they be able to find this mysterious person they sought, and would she be able to help?
Night did come, eventually, though it wasn't much different than day in this place. Koko lay next to Saph and barely slept. Every muscle in her body ached and her chest burned, but none of it could compare to the worry that kept her awake.
Finally, at the end of the next day, she spotted a lone cabin in the distance, clinging to the side of a hill on the coast. The salty tang of the sea hung heavily in the air. It tasted like the past, like a home that wasn't there anymore.
Almost there.