A/N Hey! I decided to write a sequel to "Changing the Tides." To understand the context, however, all you'd need to read from that story is the epilogue. Enjoy!

"Your wrists, Yue," shouted a female voice over the whoosh of water and ice. Yue ducked under a wave blasted her way and spun, bringing her leg down with another wall of water. The water sailed towards Yue's mother, who jumped skillfully out of the way.

Yue ignored the correction. Her wrists were more than fine, and if her mother made another comment, it'd be hard to contain her annoyance any longer. The girl pursed her lips and continued with renewed energy.

Jump after jump, Yue spun, twisting and willing the water to follow her command as she fired shots at Katara, the only Master waterbender from the Southern Water Tribe.

Yue side-hopped a geyser-explosion of water her mother sent her way, but instead of letting the energy from the shot go to waste, she crouched down low and pulled with all her might. She stood up firmly, sweat from the hot day running down her temple. Her eyebrows scrunched as she thought of every criticism her mother had thrown her direction today, every comment and snide remark.

Yue closed her eyes and concentrated. The momentum of the geyser halted. She tightened her core, spun around completely and pushed the fast-moving water in the opposite direction with her arms, feeling as though she might've been pulling a hundred pounds.

Katara watched, and Yue caught the mild surprise in her mother's eyes. The surprise lost Katara a critical second, and the geyser hit her full force, blasting her against the wall of a nearby building.

Something in Yue felt proud. There was nothing she could possibly be corrected for. She'd done it perfectly.

For a second, Katara didn't move. Yue took a step forward, watching her mother's still figure on the ground. But the woman's eyes opened and she stood slowly and gracefully, bending the fallen water back into a large nearby basin.

She turned to her daughter and smiled, "Nice shot."

Yue smiled despite herself. There. Nothing wrong. "Thanks."

Yue brushed her long silver braid behind her back, where it fell to below her slim waist. The white training clothes she was wearing closely matched her mother's, but showed off a tad more of her tan midriff and legs.

The girl turned on her feet and started her way across the large training arena to where her red tunic laid on a long bench. She felt strength in each step. Power. She'd done it. No mistakes.

She felt her mother walk beside her to put her own clothes on. Looking over and noticed how her mother's chestnut hair fell in strings around her face. Sloppy, thought Yue. Katara was breathing heavily too, proving the spar had been more tiring for her than for her daughter.

"That was quick thinking," said Katara as she slipped a long red dress over her head. "And powerful. That was a lot of energy to return."

Yue, sensing what was coming next, only smiled weakly at the compliment as she continued redressing.

"Your wrists though," her mother started gently. There it was, thought Yue. She turned away fully to hide her eye roll. "You're still not–"

"My wrists were fine," snapped the silver-haired girl.

"You're still too stiff." Yue folded her arms across her chest, holding back her retort. "I can tell you're not completely feeling the flow of the water. You're relying too much on your own strength, and not on the strength of the water."

Yue spun around. "What's that even supposed to mean? I just beat you. Perfectly." She felt her voice rising, and pointed roughly back to the empty arena where they'd just sparred. "There wasn't a hair out of place. My form was perfect!"

"Yue–" Her mother's face showed her exasperation, and regret, but Yue didn't care. Katara reached her hands out in apology.

"When is it ever good enough for you?"

"You did amazing, Yue," her mother tried to fix. "You are so, so talented. But there is room for everyone to improve. Even me. Learning a bending art is a lifelong process."

"Yes, but it's been years of training with you, Mom. I should be a Master by now. Why won't you let me test for the title?"

"There's more for you to learn, Yue. You're only 16!"

"I'm not a child anymore, Mom! Stop acting like I don't know anything!"

"That's not what I'm saying–"

Yue refolded her arms and popped a hip. "Maybe you just can't admit that I'm finally better than you. I'm faster, stronger and smarter than you ever were."

The words seemed to hit the Fire Lady like a knife to the chest, and Katara closed her eyes, letting out a breath through her nose. Then she opened them again. Her tone was sharp when she spoke. "You'd do well to watch your mouth. Remember who you speak to. Your pride is clouding your self-perception."

Pulling rank? Really? That was weak, thought Yue. But she knew what it meant. Her mom had no other argument. No other reason for why she still refused to let Yue test. It infuriated her. Deciding not to acknowledge the comment with a response, Yue scoffed and started the walk back to her room.

. . .

The wind was so much cooler high in his perch within the branches of the tall tree. Kai closed his eyes, letting it breeze through his shaggy black-brown hair, the same way it did the leaves. He reopened his eyes and took in the beautiful scene below him. It wasn't anything spectacular, but a few streets of the capital city were barely visible on the other side of the wall. People were grazing between stalls as young children ran around and played. Civilization, thought Kai. If anyone within the palace grounds wanted to see anything on the other side of the thick wall, they'd have to be about as high up as he was now.

Kai smiled, excited for the few hours of solace he'd been blessed with. He leaned back and pulled out the book he'd stolen from the palace library. Bliss.

Not ten minutes into his solitude, a stone flew through the leaves and knocked him on the head. He whipped around. Who would dare…?

"Hey, bookworm. When did you learn to read?"

Kai couldn't contain the shock in his voice or his expression. "Ryken?!" He climbed down a little ways and jumped onto the ground, staring at his friend's familiar face.

"Kai," he said kindly. The boys hugged, and Kai shook with laughter, still not believing his long-time friend was really here. He broke away and looked at him again. Ryken's hair was longer, as Kai knew his own was. He was also a little taller and fuller. But looking into the familiar eyes, Kai knew that on the inside, Ryken was the same as ever. His crooked grin was warm.

"How…? When…?"

"I finally finished!" he said with an awkward laugh. "We had a ceremony a few weeks ago, and I got back to the Fire Nation yesterday."

"You're kidding. You actually managed to finish?" joked Kai, thumping his friend on the back.

Ryken laughed. "Only took me four years, but yes. I squeezed enough passing grades."

"An educated man, ladies and gentlemen." He patted Ryken on the back again, and the taller boy beamed. "You should have written to let us know."

Ryken laughed again. The sight filled Kai with warmth. Ryken was back. He could hardly believe it. And yet, it felt as though no time had passed at all. After his laughter subsided, Ryken pulled at his collar. "I would've, but I thought it'd be more fun to surprise you." Kai nodded and Ryken pulled at his collar a second time. "Man, I forgot how hot it is here."

Kai scoffed jokingly. "You don't have to tell me."

"So what's new with you?"

The prince shook his head and smiled in return. "Hah. Well, not much honestly."

Ryken lifted an eyebrow and pointed to the tree.

"Oh," said Kai with a smirk. "I read a little now."

"Often?"

"Eh," he replied with a shrug.

"Always in the tree?"

"No."

"Nice."

Kai was about to reply when a silver flash caught their attention. They each turned to see Yue stalking back into the palace. The Fire Lady floated into the large building too, not far behind her daughter.

"She still a menace?"

"My mom?" remarked Kai. "I don't think she ever was one honestly."

Ryken chuckled. "No. Yue."

Kai sighed. "Oh yeah. I don't think she ever wasn't one."

A beat passed before Ryken spoke again. Yue and Katara were gone now, but the boys kept their gaze fixed in the direction where they'd first noticed the girls. "She looks…older."

"Careful," joke Kai. "That's the Fire Lady you're talking about."

"Hah," said Ryken, finally turning back to Kai. "Yu-e." He emphasized each syllable and Kai laughed, proud he'd managed to pull the same joke twice.

"Why did she look so angry?"

Kai shrugged. "Who knows? She's always angry these days."

"Wow, so not much has changed," joked Ryken, clearly thinking back to the time before he'd left for school, when they all used to play together.

Laughing at his friend's joke, Kai added, "It's worse, if you can imagine." Ryken raised an eyebrow at him, so he continued. "Tazin told me that my Dad said it's just a phase. A girl thing, I guess."

"Hah," laughed Ryken. "So Tazin told you that your dad told him. Do you ever talk to the man yourself?"

"Who? My father?" Kai looked up as if pondering. "Yes actually. Now that I think, I believe we had a brief conversation last November."

They started a leisure walk back towards the front of the grounds where the turtle-duck pond was. As they did, old memories flooded Kai's mind. Sneaking over the wall with Ryken to hike one of the nearby volcanoes. Putting Fire Flakes to the councilor's lunches. Playing hide-and-seek with Ryken, Tazin and Yue. Tag. A childhood full of memories, all within the palace grounds.

Ryken spoke again. "It doesn't seem like that long ago we all used to hang out together."

"I was just remembering back too. It feels like yesterday."

"Yeah," replied Ryken, looking off as though lost in thought. "But also so much has changed."

"Maybe for you," said Kai. "Everything here is basically how it was when you left."

"C'mon. That can't be true." Kai looked away as they walked, admiring the wind through the leaves. What would wind look like if you could see it? What would it feel like to fly? Up and away from here for good? He didn't say anything in response, and Ryken seemed to sense the mood. He didn't push it. "We're going to be twenty soon," he said instead, changing the topic.

"Man. That sounds so old." They arrived at the duck pond and sat on a ledge. Kai had a distinct memory of Yue chucking a rock at a baby turtle duckling. He smiled faintly at the picture in his head. "For my part, I think I'll stay nineteen forever."

Ryken chuckled. "When you figure out how, would you mind teaching me?"

Kai raised his hand to his forehead in solute. "You got it."

A couple more moments of silence passed. Ryken was back, thought Kai. All the sadness when he'd left four years ago didn't matter anymore. Things could be how they were before.

"Hey, what are you up to tonight?"

Kai pulled his gaze away from the ducks. "Hm. I'll have to check my schedule," he replied sarcastically. "But I'm pretty sure absolutely nothing interesting."

Ryken smirked. "Perfect." Kai looked at his friend questioningly. "There's a party tonight, and I thought we could go."

"Where?"

"A friend from school lives in the capital city. He's having it at his house."

"Man," replied Kai longingly. "That sounds fun."

Ryken eyed him. "What?"

"Nothing. It's just interesting. When'd you become such a partier?"

Ryken shrugged. "School changes you, I guess."

Kai smiled. "Fair enough." Then he added, "But yeah. Let's go. It sounds fun."

Ryken stood. "Awesome. He told me it shouldn't get too crazy either."

"Good," Kai remarked. "I think if I miss another morning of training Master Zhang might roast me alive."

"Oh come on. Not a Royal Fire Nation prince."

Kai stood too. "You forget, I'm the expendable one."

Ryken threw his head back in laughter. "Man, I missed you."

A beat passed as Kai considered how much he'd missed having a close friend nearby. A lot. He'd missed his friend a lot. "Same here."

They talked for a few more hours, rehearsing the things they hadn't shared in letters and sharing news they'd heard from other old friends. To Kai, it felt like a hole was filling in his soul. It'd been too long.

When Ryken stood to leave he said, "You'll be good to get past the guards?"

"Please, you act like I've never finessed my way out of this place before."

"Just saying. I didn't know if Mr. Bookworm remembered his way over the wall."

Kai smiled. "Don't worry. I'll see you at that party."

. . .

Zuko looked up from his work at the sound of the door creaking open. His office was clean, but old, and smelled of books and candle wax from the many nights spent working late. It was spacious, but somehow managed to look more cozy than overbearing.

He smiled when his wife walked through the door. Her red dress hugged her figure in a flattering way, and her brown hair, though streaked with a few grays, still fell a long way down her back.

"Hey there," he said brightly. Katara didn't look up, and Zuko knew immediately that something was wrong. Katara walked to her chair and took a deep breath as she opened a file on her desk. Zuko didn't let his gaze fall. "What's wrong?"

Katara mumbled something but continued to shuffle papers. Yue. That was the only thing that flustered her like this. Zuko was sure of it. This was a critical moment. He couldn't push too hard, or Katara would let fire loose. Her rants were long, and he knew she never felt better afterwards.

"How was training this morning?" he asked gently.

Katara finally looked at him, and for the first time in a long time, Zuko saw tears in her eyes. Tears she was clearly fighting hard to hold back. That's when he knew that this time must have been different. Katara felt things deeply, but she rarely cried.

The Fire Lady opened her mouth as if to say something but faltered, and turned away. Her body shook with a small silent sob. Zuko stood quickly, and walked over to her. He rubbed her shoulders and she leaned into him, her hands still covering her face. Twenty some years of marriage had taught Zuko that persistently asking what was wrong was never the right thing to do. She'd talk eventually.

After another minute, Katara's sobs subsided and she took a deep breath. She wiped her eyes and face, attempting to look okay, though she clearly wasn't. Zuko eyed her, waiting and hoping she'd explain.

"Sorry," she said, her voice even and clear. "I'm okay."

Zuko continued to hold her and watched her red eyes dart around the papers on her desk, avoiding his gaze. She started moving them around again, picking one report to focus on. It looked like an approval for a new wing to a hospital in an old town in the southern part of the country. Katara's hands shook as she lifted the paper to read it.

Feeling his stare, Katara finally met his eyes. "What?" she asked, as though everything was completely normal.

Zuko smiled at her avoidance of the issue. He asked kindly, "What happened? With Yue?"

Katara sighed. "How'd you know?"

Zuko let out a small laugh, and feeling she was okay now, sat back in his own desk chair. Their desks stood side by side, which allowed them to converse easily as they worked together. It was one of Zuko's favorite things in this room, and he still often wondered how he had ever survived this job without her. "It's all you're ever worried about these days."

She closed her eyes at his words and turned back to her work, so he continued. "Come on," he pressed softly. "Tell me."

Katara shook her head. "She's just so…so angry. And it shows in her bending. She doesn't flow, she just goes through the movements. And everytime I try to correct her she gets so offended. Like it's some personal attack. I just wish she wasn't so mad all the time."

Zuko waved a hand. "It's just a phase. She's sixteen."

"I don't think it's a phase, Zuko!" snapped Katara.

"I do!" he snapped back. "At that age, you think the world's a terrible place, and no one understands you, and everyone is conspiring to make your life miserable. That's just the way it is. Every kid thinks that way for a while." As he said the words, Zuko doubted them, and suddenly he felt sad. His daughter was hurting, and he was excusing it as normal. What kind of father does that?

"But you know as well as I do that she's been hard-headed since she was a kid. It's just…worse now, somehow." Katara's voice drifted off.

"What did she say?"

Katara waved a hand. "Same thing as always. 'I'm so good, I don't need any more help, let me be a master..."

A beat passed. "Maybe we let her try," he offered. "Let her test?"

"Zuko, she's not ready. She's too prideful and arrogant. And she doesn't bend like a normal waterbender. It's too… angry. Too…"

"Much like a fire bender?"

Katara let out a breath as a moment of stillness passed. "Yes."

Zuko released a small breath. "She needs to get out of here."

"She hates the South Pole. I'd never be able to convince her to go."

"Take her North then. She's never been."

"I told you she's not ready to test."

"Not to test, just to…be around other people like her." Katara shot her husband a look, and he added, "I mean people that aren't you, or anyone else she's related to."

Katara considered the proposition. "Maybe…"

Zuko stood and paced. His voice was sad when he spoke. "I regret that maybe I haven't been as understanding to her as I should've been."

"How so?"

"I just mean…" The Fire Lord took a deep breath and gazed out the large window. "Yue's grown up in a place where she's the only one like her. She's different. How many people can say they've done that? Maybe she's had to cope for that difference. We should've…I should've…" Zuko shook his head, completely at a loss for words. "I don't know."

"This is not your fault," assured Katara. "If anyone's to blame it's me. She hates me."

Zuko turned quickly. "She doesn't hate you."

It was Katara's turn to shake her head. "You didn't hear what she said today." Zuko didn't miss the sadness in her voice. "She thinks I'm ruining her life."

The Fire Lord shook his head, remembering back to his own teenage years. "That's what they all say."

Katara didn't respond right away, and Zuko saw she seemed to be pondering. He couldn't be exactly sure what she was thinking, but he vaguely knew she'd had a strained relationship with her own father during the war.

"I'll propose the idea of taking a trip to the North. Maybe it'd give us time to…heal."

"I think it's a good idea," Zuko encouraged. "She needs a change."

"I won't let her test though. I can't."

Zuko knew it was best not to challenge Katara on this. Only she truly understood Yue's bending skills. If she said Yue wasn't ready, he trusted her. But he couldn't help feeling there was some other motivation in the matter. He walked back to his chair and sat at his desk, readying himself for another long day and late night. "You were Master at fourteen, you know."

"That was different." The Fire Lady turned back to her work too. "There were… extenuating circumstances."

A beat passed. Then both broke out into laughter. 'Extenuating circumstances' was definitely one way to describe a hundred year-long war.

. . .

Spirits, it'd been a while since he'd done this. Not that he didn't remember the time the guards switched, all the roof palettes that creaked or the loose stone in the wall. He'd definitely make it…but wow. It'd been a long time.

As carefully as he could, Kai opened the shutters of his bedroom window. Why did the drop to the lower roof look higher now? He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. There was no going back. He'd already promised Ryken.

Without letting himself think, he swung both legs over the ledge, sat on the window sill for a second and slid off.

For being a little out of practice, he landed quieter than he'd anticipated. What he did not expect was Yue, hidden in the shadows, sitting on the roof and leaning up against the wall. He would've screamed if she hadn't shushed him so quickly.

Kai pushed his sister off and yelled in a whisper. "What are you doing here?!"

She raised an eyebrow and spoke quietly, but with a normal tone. "I should be asking you the same thing."

The prince rolled his eyes, stood up, and crept slowly along the wall to where he knew a tree branch conveniently connected with the roof.

Yue spoke again. "I'm coming with."

"No," said Kai simply.

"Yes."

Annoyed, he whipped to look at her. "Little Miss Perfect wants to sneak out?"

Yue folded her arms. Her blue eyes were bright in the darkness. "I'm not Little Miss Perfect."

Kai smiled. "Hm. You're right. I think I see a hair out of place." As he spoke, Kai yanked a section of her silver hair out of the tight braid she always wore.

"Ow!" The look on her face was menacing. Kai smirked before continuing his careful steps across the roof.

Yue, to his dismay, continued to follow. "You know, you used to be nice. Kind even."

Kai didn't stop moving. "I wish I could say the same for you."

"Yzona used to say you had the sweetest temperament of all of us," Yue continued, ignoring the insult. Kai didn't respond, and instead walked faster as the tree came into view. "I think you're just being mean 'cause Ryken's back."

"Don't bring him into this."

"No, really. I don't think he's ever been a good influence."

"Says the one also sneaking off to a party that he told me about." Why did she always have to be like this? She couldn't act like she was so high and mighty and better than him. They had all been friends with Ryken before he left. Sure, Kai was closest in age to him, but Yue, and even Tazin, had been close to him as well. How could they not have, when they'd hardly been allowed to leave the palace grounds. Friends were hard to come by, so they'd done a lot together. As a group. If Ryken was a bad influence, then he'd influenced Yue just as much.

"Look, I'm just–"

"Go to bed, Yue. And mind your own damn business."

Those words seemed to have done the trick. Yue whipped a string of water out of the pouch that never left her side. She slapped Kai who turned around in anger and caught her wrist. The water fell.

"Are you stupid? Don't bend."

Yue yanked her wrist from her brother's tight grip and smiled. "Don't curse."

That's it, thought Kai. There was no greater burden that could be placed upon a person than a younger sister. Nothing was as bad as this. Kai turned back around and walked the rest of the way towards the tree. Slowly, he placed his foot on a branch, testing to see if it would hold his weight, and how badly it would shake as he moved through it.

"I liked it better when you hated me too much to talk to me," Kai retorted, as Yue followed him onto the branch. "Tell me, what changed from last week?"

"Ryken," she said simply. "I don't think you should hang out with him. He's different now."

"How would you know?! You haven't even talked to him since he's been back." Only silence followed his words. Kai turned to look back at his younger sister but she wouldn't meet his eyes. "Or you have?"

Yue brushed away the issue, but Kai could read her perfectly. For whatever reason, and in whatever way, Ryken and Yue had spoken that day. Was it before or after he'd talked to him, Kai wondered. "It doesn't matter. He's a bad influence. You're acting like an ass and he's only been back one day."

Kai grabbed another branch close to where it connected to the trunk so he could shimmy down. "Don't curse, Little Miss."

The Fire Princess took another path down, hopping from branch to branch nimbly and quickly. "Now tell me. What happened to the boy too stuck in a book to bother sneaking out? What changed for you since last week?"

"Yue, if you're looking for an explanation for why I am the way that I am, I have two words: parental neglect." He said it in a light tone, but underneath he could feel his anger at the truthfulness of the words.

With a soft pat, Yue hit the grassy ground. A few seconds later, Kai hit the ground with a less graceful thud. Yue scoffed.

"Ever the victim, aren't you? Your life's soooo terrible," she said sarcastically, fixing her braid so the piece Kai had pulled out was nicely tucked back in like before. "Everyone knows you're Mom's favorite. There's no use pretending."

Kai moved to the wall that surrounded the palace grounds and started to run quietly along it. He didn't respond to Yue, so she continued. "I had to endure hours of annoying correction and rude criticisms today," she said painfully.

Kai spoke without turning around or pausing. "If you think Mom's annoying and rude, you're doing something wrong."

Finally, he spotted the loose stone at the bottom of the wall. "No," Yue replied. "She just never shows that side to you." She knelt next to Kai, who'd started to ease the stone out from its loose position. "What are you doing?"

The stone seemed to be stuck, probably from the years of disuse. Kai struggled hard, pulling as quietly as he could. Yue watched incredulously. Of course, she wouldn't have known about this little secret, thought Kai gleefully. Some things Ryken and Kai had kept to themselves.

Yue gasped and Kai looked up quickly to see what she was looking at. Lantern lights could be seen floating in the darkness up ahead. The guards were switching rotations. This was good, they wouldn't be watching as closely, thought Kai. Hopefully at least. He needed to get through now.

Finally the stone came loose. The prince heaved it to the side with a humph. On his hands and feet, he started the descent into the small tunnel underneath the wall. Yue followed him. Annoyance winning out, Kai whipped around.

"Go back," he said through gritted teeth. He shoved her shoulder gently with his foot, but the girl moved away.

"No."

He kicked a couple more times and Yue resorted to slapping his legs hurriedly. It ended when she said in a loud whisper, "I will scream, Kai. Right now. I'll do it."

Kai lowered his foot and stared at his sister. He hoped the murderous look in his eyes came across. "I loathe you."

The silver-haired Fire Nation princess smiled fakely and winked, before pulling the stone back into its place, trapping them in darkness.