A. N. : The good news is, I have the next chapter written, and the one after half done. The bad news is this week might be a difficult one. Anyway. I promised you more characters, and I stay true to my word.

Things are tense.

Hakoda does his best not to show exactly how unnerved he is – Bato is probably the only one to have caught on, and Hakoda knows it won't be a problem. But if the rest of the Tribe realizes how dire their situation is before he can think up a plan, he fears peaceful negotiation won't be enough to cool their minds.

He takes a deep breath to avoid sighing.

Ba Sing Se has fallen, and that means all the Fire Nation troops that were waiting to get inside the cit are going to rush here from all around to help secure the conquest. And not only are Hakoda's men not enough to stop them, they just can't risk staying here, not with the children and the Avatar.

Retreat is the only option.

And with it comes another set of problems. Oh, convincing the men won't be too hard. They trust his judgement and know he'd like to fight just as much as they do. No, the real problem is – where to go ?

Currently, they are in Chameleon Bay. If they go east, they can leave Earth Kingdom quickly, and from there, go south and home – how tempting, they can see their families again and plan their next move in safety.

But Sokka already has an idea of what their next move should be, and home is not part of it.

No, Sokka's plan is to take advantage of an eclipse to invade the Fire Nation – or, at the very least, take down the Fire Lord. Technically, the ships could take the southern Earth Kingdom Sea route, but time just doesn't allow that.

Following Sokka's idea and using the eclipse to win the war quickly would force them to go west, risking encounters with the Fire Nation navy on its way to Ba Sing Se. And there's a limit to how much fire the ships can take.

Speaking of fire – no matter the route they choose, there's still that one last issue that is the Prince.

Hakoda has seen the wanted posters. There is no doubt that in the eyes of his nation, the Prince is a traitor. But from Sokka's reports, he doesn't seem to be the kind of man to back down from that much.

He doesn't seem to be the kind to carry a baby around and joke with a twelve year old girl either, and that's exactly what he's doing. It could be an act, however…

But that young father attitude and – La, he kneeled in front of an enemy to beg for mercy. This is not the act of a Fire Nation royal trying to make believe. This is the act of a desperate man – a desperate father –

Hakoda pinches the bridge of his nose. He really wishes he could be alone for a while and sigh to his heart content.

So the Prince really cares about the baby. Great. That doesn't change a thing about the men's distrust of him, or the fact that they would probably love to skewer him and send his head to the Fire Lord.

Hell, if anything, it just means instead of betraying them for glory or honor, he'll do it for the child's safety.

Sailing in those conditions and forcing the men to spend days trapped with a man they don't trust would be foolish. Even Bato is reluctant to do it, and La knows he trusts Hakoda with his life.

Then there's that other boy, Jet, who seems… unstable, to say the least. He reminds Hakoda of an injured moose-lion. Unpredictable and dangerous. For now he is focused on watching the Prince's every move, but who knows how long this will last.

The Prince seems to be at the center of most of Hakoda's problems, and yet there's no way to just throw him out – so long as he doesn't directly bring harm to someone, that is – as he would make for a very valuable ally against the Fire Nation.

But the fact of the matter is that Hakoda would much rather not have him around and not have to worry about his men's behaviour.

This time, he can't help but sigh.