It was still very early in the morning, but the Jasmine Dragon was already being prepared to serve the thirsty city. Despite the fact that it was still dark, Iroh was quite content with this early routine. It was something to look forward to every morning, something as stable and sure as the rising sun itself. But today was different.

He undid the padlock and opened the back door. Suddenly, a hand shot out from beside him and shoved the door shut. He hadn't noticed her until now. Her face held nothing but a cold look—the usual.

"Lock it back up. You're coming with me," she ordered.

To be honest, he had expected to see her again one way or another. But her behavior now certainly seemed odd. She didn't seem to have any reason to approach him, save for revenge. But that clearly wasn't her intention here.

"Am I to believe this is a kidnapping?" He had first meant it as a joke, but then a creeping doubt in him wondered if maybe it wasn't a joke at all.

"Don't be ridiculous," Arlei growled. "What would ever give you the idea that I value you enough to kidnap you? Now hurry up."

As absurd as it was, Iroh decided to comply with her demands. He was fairly confident that she wouldn't attack him. He had an inkling of an idea as to why she was here, and if it were true then she wouldn't hurt him. All he wondered was what Seiya had said to this woman to make her agree.

Iroh snapped the padlock back over the doors. Without a word, she turned and began leading him away. As he followed her, he asked, "Where are we going?"

She shushed him sharply and gave no reply. Well, he'd find out soon enough. He did notice that they were headed towards the edge of the city. Normally, Ba Sing Se's walls had a constant military presence to regulate the flow of immigration and emigration. It was a near impossible feat nowadays to smuggle oneself past the borders. He wondered how Arlei managed to do so.

They approached the inner wall that formed the perimeter of the Upper Ring. Large bricks spanning three feet long and two feet wide made up the wall's sturdy face—stones large enough to act as modest little tables. The top of the wall stretched high into the sky.

Arlei drew something from her hip. Iroh recognized it as the knife she had tried to use on him the other night. She walked over to the wall and began tapping on the bricks with the knife's pommel. She moved slowly from one brick to another.

"Shame neither of us are earthbenders," Iroh remarked. "That would make things a lot easier."

"Easy is weak," was Arlei's only blunt reply. She stopped at a particular brick and gave it a few more knocks. "A good wall is hard to preserve. Fortunately for us, whoever's in charge of maintaining this wall took the easy route. I doubt this thing has seen repairs in the past few years." She quickly sheathed her dagger and placed both hands on the brick. Then, she dug her heels into the ground and, with a strained grunt, pushed the brick. There was a deep scraping sound as the stone began reluctantly moving. Slowly but surely, the loose brick was pushed out of its place.

Then it stopped, caught on some unseen thing. Arlei pulled back and slammed her shoulder against the rock. It didn't move. The woman let out a curse under her breath and continued pushing at the resisting brick.

A second pair of hands joined, pushing against the grainy surface of the stone. Suddenly, there was a small lurch as whatever had caught the brick broke. The stone began moving again, but faster. After a couple of seconds, Iroh saw light peeking through the cracks as he pushed. Finally, they were able to shove the brick completely through the wall. Iroh turned back and observed the small, makeshift tunnel they had made.

"Enough looking," he heard Arlei said. "We need to put it back before anyone notices." Once the brick was back into place, Iroh put his hands behind to touch his back. "That was a rather strenuous effort to get past a single wall," he said. "I don't think the outer wall is quite as thin."

"The brunt of this wall's security is on its top," Arlei said, jerking a hand towards the sky. "They don't assign any guards to this part of the wall on the ground."

"I suppose it's because they never anticipated any loose bricks near the foundation, nor any average smuggler to be able to move it," Iroh replied.

"Hm. Don't you go tattling now," Arlei muttered. "Come on. I want to be out of the city before sundown."

Iroh looked towards the outer wall, small in the distance. "It's several miles away," he noted. "It may take a day on foot."

"Whoever said we were walking? It'll take us an hour, tops," Arlei corrected. She lifted her face and gave a soft, two-note whistle. Then she turned back to Iroh. "He's not very fond of strangers," she warned. "I'll try my best to keep his hostility at bay, but I would avoid looking him in the eyes if I were you."

It sounded like she was describing an animal of some sorts. The whistle she gave confirmed that for him. But what kind? And what was that she said about hostility?

Iroh felt the heavy thudding in the ground before he heard it. A rapidly growing figure was racing towards them. From the way it moved, it looked like a four-legged animal. As it drew closer, Iroh saw that it was a cheetah wolf. It was a rare sight, and one he thought he would never see in person during his lifetime. Fiercely loyal, they were purported to be, and were fearsome apex predators… right, what was that about the hostility again?

"Eyes down," he heard Arlei remind him harshly. Iroh lowered his eyes as the beast raced up to them. He couldn't help but risk a peek just in time to see Arlei grab the harness that was around the cheetah wolf's neck and pull him back. Its eyes, a striking gold that mirrored lightning against a storm-blackened sky, bore into him. The cheetah wolf let out another aggravated growl as it again tried to lunge at Iroh, only to be held back by its master.

But, all of a sudden, the quivering lips and bared fangs disappeared as the animal's expression quickly changed. The fur around the saddle on the cheetah wolf's back lied back down. The scrabbling of its paws on the ground ceased. The animal perked its head up, ears pointed, and gazed at Iroh with its brilliant eyes. Then, a tentative paw stepped forward and the beast stretched its muzzle out. Iroh saw the cheetah wolf's nose wiggle as it curiously examined his scent. Finally, with an innocent yip, it pulled forward and gave Iroh's face a rapid series of licks.

Iroh let out a surprised burst of laughter as he tried to push the cheetah wolf's head away. The cheetah wolf circled behind him, continuing to sniff him up and down. He caught sight of the shocked look on Arlei's face before it quickly reverted back to its austere stare.

"I didn't expect… fine. At least we can get on our way," she grumbled. "Let's go. Sho!" The cheetah wolf immediately lifted its head. It trotted over to Arlei and obediently waited. Arlei jerked her head towards the saddle. "Don't keep me waiting."

Iroh walked over to the cheetah wolf. It swiveled its head around to look at him, and then lowered itself onto the ground. He gave the animal a pat on the neck as he climbed onto the saddle. It was a beautifully crafted war saddle; it fit the cheetah wolf perfectly, and was equipped with dozens of straps for weapons and tools. Peering over edge, Iroh noticed many pairs of stirrups of varying heights. The agility this thing must have given to a mounted warrior was remarkable.

Arlei climbed to the side of the saddle, perched on a few stirrups and straps. "There's plenty of room up here," Iroh offered.

"I know there is," she said bluntly. She gave a sharp, one-note whistle. Sho lifted himself up. "Hold on," she instructed. The cheetah wolf quickly sprang forward. The world around them became a blur and the wind picked up. Iroh clung tightly to the strap at the front of the saddle. His heart raced. He thought riding an ostrich horse was bad enough; this was a hundred times worse. They were going much, much faster than any ostrich horse could ever dream of running. Not only that, but the cheetah wolf's body was not rigid as he sprinted. The saddle fit his body so perfectly that it seemed nonexistent as the motion of running flowed through the animal, following its graceful movement and not so gracefully tossing the rider about.

After the first half of the hour, Iroh managed to get used to the terrifying experience. However, he could still barely open his eyes wider than a squint due to the wind. He heard Arlei call out, "We're almost at the wall." Sho slowed down and gradually came to a stop. Iroh looked over his shoulder. The Upper Ring's wall seemed like nothing more than a snake in the horizon. The outer wall was close before them.

"Get down. He needs a break," Arlei ordered, dropping onto the ground. Iroh dismounted from the saddle too. He noticed Sho's sides heaving as the cheetah wolf panted through an open mouth. He quickly settled himself onto the ground and rested his head on his paws. From the saddlebag, Arlei pulled out a small tin bowl and an animal skin water bag. Sho lifted his head as the bowl was placed in front of him. He leaned forward and began lapping at the stream of water as it was being poured into the bowl, then drank heavily from the tin.

"How do you usually get past the outer wall?" Iroh asked as Arlei fastened the skin bag shut.

"Sho is good a lot of things," she answered. "Covering a lot of ground—horizontal and vertical. And before you ask, no. No one has spotted us. There's a little hole a couple hundred feet from the ground in that wall." She pointed towards the height where it roughly was. "It's neither close to the ground nor the top. It's a spot that's never monitored."

"So none have ever noticed it," Iroh remarked.

"I'm really quite amazed they haven't found it yet," Arlei said, "given their burning desire for security. Oh well. I guess I should be glad." Sho finished his bowl of water and pushed it towards Arlei with his nose. As she stowed it away, she pulled out a long cord of rope.

When she turned towards him, Iroh joked, "Is this when the kidnapping starts?"

"I don't exactly trust your grip," Arlei answered humorlessly. "And being the Dragon of the West won't save you from a hundred-foot fall, let alone two."

So they really were going to scale the wall. Iroh hadn't really enjoyed the ride on solid ground. He definitely wasn't going to like this.

"Avatar Aang," a voice announced. Aang froze. He was no longer a child, but something in that voice made him feel a child-like guilt all the same. He straightened his back and turned towards the source of the voice.

He was surprised to see her. But the sight of her also gave him relief. He had known Jing Yin long before she had become general—back when she had been nothing but a runaway from the Earth Kingdom city with two children in tow. And still she had shown Aang and his friends a kindness that he had been shocked she had left to spare. Their time together was worth a separate story to tell, though brief it had been. But it had been enough to show Aang that the general was a trustworthy friend beyond any doubt.

Aang raised his hands to his chest and bowed in a traditional greeting. "I'm glad to see you've returned to Ba Sing Se in good health," he said. "I haven't forgotten what you did for us."

Jing Yin gave a small wave of her hand. "And you as well," she returned. "However, I'm afraid I haven't come here simply to chat and reminisce. Avatar, this is no place for you. Believe me when I say that the Lower Ring is not kind to renown individuals."

"And what about you? Aren't you…" Aang lowered his voice to a whisper, "one of the Five?"

"That's correct," Jing Yin said. "But I have a duty to protect my citizens, and I won't sit idly by in the comforts of the Upper Ring and forsake that duty. Now, I've come to ask you for a favor, if you don't mind."

A favor? Aang had figured the Earth King sent Jing Yin here to stop him from "meddling" or something along those lines. "Um… sure."

"You and I share the same objective," Jing Yin said. "I want to find this killer as well, but my resources are limited. I'm working outside of my authority right now. If we combine our efforts, we may be able to get to the bottom of these murders."

"If you're here to help, I can't turn that away. Progress hasn't been going very… well," Aang admitted. He was surprised that someone like Jing Yin of all people would defy her king. But it was, after all, for the greater good. "Still, I think we might have a lead."

"Do tell."

"Silent Falls Inn," Aang began. "Seemed like a normal place at first, but it's been growing more and more shady to us as the days go by. Katara told me an old man came up to her and warned her about the place. And now Zuko refuses to go near it. He says he wants to keep his word to someone. And the owner…" Aang trailed off as he felt the familiar chill he always felt when talking about that towering man. "He's definitely the worst part."

"Okay," Jing Yin said thoughtfully. "Tell me more about this owner."

"He acts really protective of the girls who work there. As far as I can tell, he doesn't hurt them, but they all seem nervous when he's around," Aang explained. "And something about him really gets under my skin. He may be just an innkeeper now, but I get the feeling he used to be a soldier."

"Why?"

"He's got a few scars. There's one really weird one that sticks out to me the most. It's like a little circle on his neck." When he said that, Jing Yin's eyes were suddenly flooded with worry.

"A what? A scar? Avatar, think closely," she said, her voice tense. "His neck… are you sure there's a scar?"

Her concern took him by surprise. "Well, yeah."

"Take me to this inn," Jing Yin said. "Quickly."

There's a time and place

For everything

There's a reason why

Certain people meet

There's a destination

For everyone

What's the explanation

When we're done?

"Jaded (These Years)" by Mest