It had been less than a full day since Bumi arrived with the second fleet, and Tenzin was already counting the hours until things were secure enough for him to leave.
Pema was gracious enough, as ever, and the children love their uncle. Maybe a bit too much - he already had to stop Bumi from telling the stories about the Seaweed Incident, lest one of the children try to duplicate it. Thankfully, Bumi himself was still on the job of securing Republic City with General Iroh, and Tenzin had his own work with cleanup.
Cleanup both of their house, and of the city. They hadn't located the other Councilors yet. So, as much as Tenzin would prefer the simple task of making their house livable again with Pema and the acolytes, he was put into a position where he was the closest thing the city had to leadership. Lin had gathered what she could find of the police force and was working with Iroh and Bumi. The Equalists had taken out many of the triad members in their purges, but some of the triad members had gone to ground and were finally emerging into a city where there simply weren't enough officers who could subdue benders, and the United Republic of Nations' marines the Bumi had brought were not used to police work.
More difficult were the last Equalists themselves. Or maybe they weren't Equalists at all, but non-benders from the slums, using salvaged Equalist equipment against the gangs. Illegal, but Tenzin couldn't blame people trying to defend their homes and families.
On the other hand, the fact none of the people would talk to him or the soldiers about where the problem areas were was frustrating him. He'd considered sending Korra out to mediate - she was the Avatar, and had the respect of that position - but… he was worried about her. After the euphoria of airbending and deposing Amon, her loss had sunk in and he didn't want to push her towards an acceptance she might not be ready for.
"Are you still working?" Bumi breezed into Tenzin's office like a typhoon, already picking up papers to examine them and place them out of order. "It's a beautiful winter day and the kids want to go flying, but can't find where the Equalists hid their gliders."
Tenzin privately suspected that any obvious airbender tools had been destroyed in contempt, and he'd have to show the girls how to make their own gliders. And he worried about the children leaving the island, especially since none of them could take an adult with them on their glider, and Bumi was neither an airbender who could fly with them, nor a waterbender who could keep pace in the ocean below without a motorboat. "The city won't run itself," Tenzin answered. "Don't you have your own duties to attend to?"
Then he paused. Bumi had a reputation: the child of the Avatar and a master waterbender, who refused to let what otherwise might be seen as a disability in a family of benders define him. He could swim nearly as well as Kya, and had tested the gliders developed by the Northern Air Temple mechanics, often keeping up with Tenzin when they were both young. He was probably the most prominent non-bender in the URN's military, maybe in the entire government since their uncle retired. And… well, most people actually liked him for some reason.
"I can help the children find their gliders, if you can do a favor for me," Tenzin answered.
"I already told Pema that the last time I did laundry, it all ended up Meelo-sized," Bumi answered.
Tenzin sighed. "No, Bumi. I need you to go talk to the neighborhoods about crime rates. Many of them are turning to vigilanteism and we'd prefer if they'd work with the police and the emergency teams rather than refusing to cooperate." Getting them to trust the police and soldiers again was the first priority; he wasn't going to ask them to disarm until they knew their families would be safe.
"You can't ask Linnie?" Bumi asked. Tenzin imagined what Lin would do to his brother if she heard that childish nickname from him.
"I think you'd be in a better position than her, but you should coordinate with her." And he did recall that Lin's patience for Bumi could easily wear thin when they didn't have a plan. "And, as much as I hate to admit it, you do have a way with people."
Bumi nodded and threw an arm around Tenzin's shoulder, despite Tenzin's best efforts to discreetly dodge it. "Just a matter of knowing how to relax, Bro."