A/N: CW: mention of blood; very sad grieving stuff :(

In this chapter, we'll start to see some conversations between Valen and Zenya, via sign language. To distinguish this from spoken dialogue, I use single quotation marks. The grammar and vocabulary are extremely simplified to give an idea of just how limited their ability to communicate is. ((Don't confuse this with Kyori's voice in Valen's head, which has single quotation marks and italics.))

As they jogged through the village that lay nestled in the forest, Valen saw a scared face peek through the crack in some curtains. It vanished almost instantly. Something was wrong here. Very, Very wrong.

"The blue sages definitely came through here," Koko said in a voice that was devoid of emotion. Her face was the same, and had been for hours—ever since finding the trail of footprints.

They heard the sounds of a fight less than a minute later and he felt the longed-for adrenaline surge through his body. Without warning, the forest emptied into a large clearing and they were thrust into the midst of a battle. Valen froze when he saw the three kids in the middle. Fear and desperation etched their faces.

Zenya! She's still alive!

He only just barely noticed the jet of flame coming at his face and deflected it with a wall of rock, which then sailed forward to make contact with his attacker. He didn't stop to see if they got up.

From there, something animalistic took over. There were so many enemies. Endless. More and more everywhere he looked. They wouldn't let him get close to the kids.

Koko brushed his thoughts. He wasn't worried about her, but she had a habit of popping into his head without prompting. His head swiveled and saw someone leap from a bush behind her, arm raised. The glint of steel.

She…didn't notice. Not until it was too late.

"KOKO!" a shrill voice screamed.

His gaze moved again, though with some difficulty, and fell on Saph's horrified face. It ripped his heart out because he knew what it meant. He knew what that expression felt like.

And then he blinked and it changed. The fear and pain on her face were replaced with fury. And light. Such a bright light.

His mind couldn't comprehend what he was seeing. Saph rode the earth to Koko. But how? She wasn't an earthbender. Was Zenya helping her? And where had that light come from? She seemed to glow from within.

The ground that carried her feet rippled outward in a wave that sent Valen reeling backward until he could use his own bending to compensate. When the rumbling earth fell still, the battle was over. A few blue sages disappeared into the trees but the rest were impaled on vicious spikes. Saph knelt over Koko's limp body where it lay in a rapidly expanding pool of blood.

No. No. Spirits, why? Why her?

The tears finally came. They poured from his eyes and blurred the horrible scene in front of him. It was far too much like the aftermath of another fight, fourteen years ago. Carnage and death.

We were finally friends. Why did she have to die? Am I cursed?

He looked around frantically for Zenya. She was right behind him, staring at Saph and Koko with wide eyes. Shylo was nearby with a similar expression.

Valen wiped his face and forced himself to look back at Koko. Saph had rolled her over to cradle her in one arm. She was doing…something with her free hand. No tears on her cheeks.

Light.

Everything finally started to make sense. Her eyes were actually glowing. It wasn't just his berserk rage making him see things.

She's the Avatar! She has to be. I saw her earthbend.

From Koko's open mouth came bloody water, pulled forth by Saph's hand.

And now she's waterbending. She–! She's trying to heal her!

Somehow, his legs lurched forward, but he stopped short. There was no way Saph had control of the Avatar state. Distracting her could ruin everything.

And so he knelt there, fifteen feet from them, and watched helplessly. There was blood everywhere—on Koko, on Saph, soaking into the dirt. So much blood. How could a person live after losing that much blood?

But Saph was still going. That meant Koko wasn't dead, right?

Don't give up. Please.

A tiny jolt of electricity sprung from Saph's fingertips and Koko's entire body convulsed. Again. A third time. Now her chest rose and fell with breath, but against the rhythm of Saph's hand. Artificial.

For how long that went on, Valen didn't know. He found himself pacing back and forth. The Avatar state would be taking a lot out of Saph. She wouldn't be able to maintain it for much longer.

But still, her hand pumped back and forth, breathing for Koko—a living life-support system.

It's Korra, he suddenly realized, though of course it was obvious. Only Koko being in mortal peril had been able to draw Korra out from where she'd slept for the last almost-sixteen years. A mother's desperation.

Saph is the Avatar. Not Zenya.

Valen spared a look for her and wanted to feel relief over that, but he couldn't feel anything other than fear and dread at the moment. She was sitting there, a few feet away, hugging her knees. What was she thinking? What was she feeling? Did she even understand what was happening?

His gaze jerked back to Saph when she toppled over. He staggered toward them and fell to his knees at Koko's side. She was so pale. The paleness of death. Was she breathing? He lowered his ear to her mouth, eyes trained on her chest to detect movement.

Nothing.

He'd never given mouth-to-mouth to anyone before but was prepared to try. He would breathe for her as long as it took. Only a moment's hesitation, because it was her, then he tilted her head back and leaned down…

...but a rasping noise came from deep inside her as if to say, 'Don't even think about it.'

Yes. Breathe. C'mon. Breathe.

Koko obeyed his silent plea, though she didn't seem to be aware of it. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth and Valen wiped it away with his sleeve. She was breathing. Spirits, she was breathing. It didn't feel real. It felt like a miracle. A dream.

"Is she…?"

He turned to see Shylo hovering with a stricken look on his tear-stained face.

"She's alive." Just to make sure, he placed a finger on her neck and felt the blood pumping beneath the skin—weak but steady. "Barely."

"Saph…"

With a surge of guilt, Valen redirected his attention. She lay there on the other side of Koko. Her eyes were closed and there was no trace of any light from within. She was simply a young girl again, though perhaps less innocent than before.

"I think she's just tired. We should make a shelter for them to rest." He glanced around at the carnage. "And clean up this mess…"

Zenya hadn't moved. She just sat there, scrunched up, arms wrapped tightly around her knees, staring off into space. What had appeared to be calm patience before was now easily recognizable as traumatized shock.

All of Valen's concern for Koko and Saph flew out of his head in an instant and he went to Zenya. Lifted her to her feet. Held her tightly whether she wanted it or not.

"Hey. It's okay. You're safe. It's over. I'm here."

The words would mean nothing to her but it didn't matter. Hopefully his voice was enough. After a few awful seconds where she simply stood there, stiff as a board, her arms came up to wrap around his waist and her shoulders began to heave.

Her face barely reached his chest and it was buried now, weeping freely. But she was here. She was alive. The fear in her heart would fade with time. Hopefully.

Valen glanced back over at Shylo. He was crouched next to Koko and Saph with a certain helplessness on his face. Hesitant hands reached out to touch them as if he longed to fix what was wrong, to make them better, but had no clue where to begin.

You and me both, kid. They saved us. I wish I could do something to help. He directed his next thoughts to Koko. Thank you. I never would've found Zenya in time without you. I'll find some way to return the favor.

Thinking about just how close they'd been to being too late… It made him hold Zenya a little tighter. He didn't want to let go, ever, but it wasn't up to him. Not long after, her grip loosened and she squirmed away to run to a bush on the treeline.

Nausea was a natural enough reaction, he supposed. There was a lot of death around them. Valen felt it himself but hadn't eaten anything in a while. Besides that, being strong was easier when there were people to take care of.

Right. Time to get all this sorted out. Lots to do.

As Zenya didn't appear to want any more comfort at the moment, he returned his attention to Koko and Saph. Both were still unconscious. Was Koko still breathing? He checked, just to make sure.

"Shylo. Can you go into the village? See if they have any healers there? Or if anyone's willing to offer a bed? Or even just some blankets, if nothing else."

He wiped his face, sniffed, and stood up a little straighter. "Sure thing."

The clearing was a mess of blood and bodies and blackened earth. Chunks of hardened lava littered the area; Zenya had clearly taken out some of the blue sages with her lavabending, just as he had.

She'd killed. Did she realize it?

Some of them got away, he remembered with dismay. But there was nothing to be done about it. They were long gone. Hopefully they would stay gone.

Somehow, Valen found the energy to clean up the mess. Bodies went underground. The entire clearing—aside from where Koko and Saph lay—got turned inside out until the only thing visible was flat, soft dirt.

Shylo returned then. "No one will even talk to me," he said dully. "I knocked on a bunch of doors but they won't open them."

"I'm not surprised. We'll just have to make do with what we have." On the edge of the clearing, he raised a stone tent. "Can you help me? You get Saph, I'll get Koko."

As gently as he could, he slid one arm beneath her back and the other under her knees.

"Don't ever touch me again," she had once said to him, what felt like months ago but was really only about a week. That first time, which he deeply regretted, had earned him a black eye. The second, when he woke her from a nightmare, ended with him being headbutted into oblivion.

Hopefully, she wouldn't punish him for this violation of her personal space, once she woke up.

If she wakes up.

'She will.'

Kyori's voice shocked him into stillness before he could actually pick Koko up. There on his knees, he realized several days had passed since Kyori had said anything.

She lost a lot of blood, Valen reminded her. She could have brain damage.

'Don't be such a pessimist.'

With a determined grunt, he lifted Koko's actually quite substantial weight into his arms. She was…solid— only a couple inches shorter than him and pure muscle. Her head fell back, arms and legs dangling. Complete dead weight. It felt too much like carrying a corpse, and not the first one.

He'd done this with Kyori's lifeless body, too. Each step was an effort. Painful. The stone tent looked a little like the cairn he'd buried her and the others in. But when he lay Koko down in the shelter, her chest rose and fell with shallow breaths. Alive.

Shylo put Saph next to her. "So…I guess she's the Avatar then, huh?"

"Apparently."

"Crazy. When the blue sages seemed so interested in Zenya, I thought it could be her."

"I used to wonder that, myself." I'm so glad I was wrong.

Valen had been keeping track of her location with seismic sense, but he looked over now for a clearer picture. She was squatting nearby, peering inside the tent with worry, one palm flat on the ground.

With a jolt, he realized she was probably searching for Saph and Koko's heartbeats. Trying to distinguish them from his own and Shylo's. He beckoned her to come closer.

'Gentle,' he signed, placing her hand over Saph's heart.

Zenya leaned forward to lift one of Saph's eyelids. What she saw seemed to disappoint her and she turned back to Valen, pointing at her own eye. Her other hand signed, 'Light.'

The limited vocabulary they'd developed lacked a way to explain this unique situation. Valen struggled to come up with a response. When he faltered, she asked a simple question.

'Sick?'

'No. Tired. Sleep.'

Zenya turned to Koko. 'Blood.'

'Yes. Hurt.'

'Die?' The question didn't seem to carry a huge amount of concern. Clearly, she was more worried about Saph.

'No,' Valen replied with stubborn determination. 'Rest. Big rest.'

'Go home?"

If he understood the question correctly, she wanted to know if they'd go back to their cave once Koko had recovered. And he didn't think she'd like the answer. 'No. Go new place.'

Not unexpectedly, she frowned and walked out after another worried glance for Saph. She immersed herself in training, perhaps to distract herself from other things. He let her. She needed her space. Shylo promised to keep an eye on her while Valen tended to Koko and Saph, who were both covered in blood.

Outside the tent, he looked at his hand and arm—the one that had held Koko's upper body. It, too, was bloody now. He stared for a moment. An old memory surfaced: the last time someone else's blood had been on his hands. His knowledge of blue sages had been hard-won.

With a brisk shake, he dispelled that image and cleaned the mess off with a damp rag. His task now was to locate a clean shirt each for Koko and Saph from their bags. That was easy enough, and dressing Saph was no difficult challenge, either. She was little more than a child, like Zenya, and it didn't faze him.

Koko, though…

Why do I feel like, the moment I do this, she's going to wake up and try to kill me?

Kyori laughed scornfully in his head. 'You're such a fucking coward. Undress her. You know you want to.'

Would you quit that? I'm trying to be respectful. "Sorry…" he muttered aloud, dead embarrassed, while he did his best not to see or touch anything he shouldn't.

'Good thing she's out cold,' Kyori said with some sarcasm, 'because your 'delicate' treatment would probably be excruciatingly painful.'

Valen sat back on his heels with a relieved sigh once the task was complete. He felt like he'd just run a marathon, heart pounding. Fortunately, Koko still slept soundly. Dim light streamed in and fell on her pale face.

The wraps that covered her forearms and hands drew his attention. They, too, had blood on them, but he wasn't concerned about that. Unable to stifle his curiosity, he picked up her left wrist and separated the fabric strips enough to see what was underneath. It felt like even more of a violation than undressing her.

E101

The mark showed what he'd glimpsed before. That 'E'... Well, he already knew for sure that she was a combustionbender. She'd displayed her ability during the fight. At the time, he'd been too focused on keeping Zenya safe to give it much thought.

Seeing that small letter and number sequence tattooed on Koko's wrist made it all feel so much more real. The blue sages were animals. Marked. Branded. Would she ever tell him what had happened? How she'd gotten out? How she'd gotten in?

There wasn't enough light to see the faint scars on her hands, which he'd observed a few times before. They'd never been explained. Not that he had asked. How did one even bring up something like that? 'So I saw you have a bunch of mysterious scars. Tell me—what horrific torture did you endure to get them?'

'I think we need to talk,' Kyori said suddenly.

Huh? He dropped Koko's hand, only now aware that his thumb had been idly tracing across one of the longer scars on her forefinger.

'Things are changing Valen. You're changing. You, your life. There's no place for me anymore.'

Every muscle in his chest clenched painfully. He could barely breathe. What? Where in the world is this coming from? Don't say that. There will always be a place for you in my life.

'No. It's time for you to let go. You were already planning to leave the volcano and find Zenya's family. You should've left me behind.'

Never.

'I'm dead, Valen! I'm gone! I know I've helped you cope all these years, with you trying to raise Zenya on your own, but you're not alone anymore, and I don't want to be the reason you're miserable. I don't want to be the excuse you use to isolate yourself.'

I'm not isolating myself. I'm surrounded by people now.

'That's not what I meant, and you know it.'

Don't make this about her. I don't–

'Fuck, Valen. I'm not saying you're in love with her, but you obviously care. Is that how it's always going to be with everyone you meet? Caring just enough to be a casual friend but never allowing it to be deeper? All because you're holding onto my ghost. Well I don't want you to!'

I don't want to say goodbye. Please don't make me.

'Look at her. Look at her, dammit!'

He looked—really looked this time. That tattoo… He was getting used to it, but he still hated it. Hated what it made him remember. Hated what it stood for. And now he hated what it had done to Koko. Whatever that was.

His eyes traveled down to her cheeks. A tiny bit of color had begun to come back into them. Did she dream? Were they nightmares again? Or something gentler this time? Even in sleep, her lovely features drew down into a faint frown, though it was less pronounced now. She actually seemed…vulnerable.

That'll go away when she wakes up. She would never let me—or anyone else—in.

'And is that what you want other people to think when they look at you? 'He'll never let anyone in. He's just a cold, lonely man obsessed with his dead wife.' You're better than that, Valen. Be better than that.'

Kyori…

'Let me go. Please. I'm begging you. Let me give you this gift. It'll hurt, but the pain will leave some room in your heart for someone else to move in.'

No. I can't. I won't. I promised I wouldn't, remember? Love is too expensive. It always comes collecting on the debt. We talked about this. I can't live without you. Please don't leave me.

'I'm not giving you a choice anymore.'

Valen abruptly stood and stalked into the forest. He couldn't do this in front of Koko and Saph, even if they were unconscious. Twenty steps past the treeline, he fell to his knees in front of a thick oak and pressed his forehead against the scratchy bark. Desperate hands reached into his shirt and pulled out the ring that hung from his neck.

He looked at it through bleary eyes: a silver band with three green gemstones. Not emeralds; something cheaper. He'd bought it for Kyori at a vendor when they were on vacation—just before the comet. It had been overpriced but her eyes lit up when she saw it. She loved things like that. Simple objects that would remind her of a good memory.

"I can't do this," Valen choked out. "I can't."

The voice he usually heard as an echo in his head seemed to strengthen and drift through the breeze.

"Make your peace. You have people to take care of and it'll give you purpose. Focus on that. On them. Remember, that's how you survived my death. You had to take care of Zenya."

Valen pulled out his pocket knife and turned the small blade over in his hands a few times. More tears blurred his vision. He waited until they were spent, then wiped his face resolutely. This tree was old, but strong and full of life. It would keep growing for many years to come, reaching further into the sky.

He started carving. Five little letters. This would be more than a memorial like the stone back in the glade at Makapu. That had been more about the others. Kyori's name was only included because it felt wrong to leave her out. Plus, she had insisted.

This was different. She was leaving him for good this time. Maybe, with her name immortalized in the bark of this enduring symbol of vitality, she could be released into nature and disperse her presence all around the world. Roots seeping into the ground. Free but connected.

"I love you. I won't ever forget a moment we had together."

"I know you won't. I love you, too. Goodbye, Valen. Please give yourself a good life."

"Bye." The word ripped from his throat with a sob, though the agonized howl that wanted to come out was suppressed so that the others wouldn't come to check on him.

He sat there for a while afterward. The ring was back around his neck, a small but comforting weight. Before, he'd imagined it held her spirit; now it was nothing more than a keepsake.

Calloused fingers traced across Kyori's name carved onto the tree. The mark would be there forever, like a scar. The tree would grow taller, and perhaps lichen would cover her name, but it would still be there until the tree returned to the earth.

Long after I'm gone.

The thought echoed around an empty head, unanswered. He was truly alone. Whatever Kyori had believed, he didn't see how he could ever give his heart to another person. This hurt far too much to risk suffering through it again with someone else. Worrying about Zenya was hard enough, but there was no avoiding that.

Eventually, hunger made him get up. Back at the campsite, Shylo was kind enough not to comment on his red eyes. In fact, the resourceful young man had built a serviceable fire pit and stacked up some good kindling inside.

Valen knelt before it to crumble up a rock. The pieces hung in the air with earthbending and he drew from a seemingly bottomless pool of chi to rapidly compress them. When he stopped, the blow-back of pressure melted the chunks, which he then carefully sent into the middle of the kindling to get it smoldering.

Soon they had three plump goose hares roasting over a spit. He, Shylo, and Zenya sat around the fire in silence, each staring into the flames as if they held the answers to impossible questions. Valen had many. The most prominent was:

How do I pretend I'm okay?

Finally, Shylo spoke. "Uh, listen… I just wanted to say sorry for not keeping a closer eye on Zenya back in the cave–"

"No, please don't apologize," Valen said quickly, horrified that Shylo was worried he'd messed up. "I should never have asked you to watch her. I had no idea she'd leave like that. This is not your fault. Actually, I wanted to thank you. You and Saph didn't have to go after her when the blue sages left you behind, but you did. You probably saved her life by finding her before them."

"Well…we didn't know what else to do." He shrugged. "We hoped you and Koko were following us, but when we saw where Zenya had earthbent like she was running away, we knew we had to find her 'cause she was so scared when we were with the blue sage and that chi plague carrier…"

Valen pinched the bridge of his nose and looked at her. She just sat there, staring at the fire while she rocked back and forth. In her own little world. The pain was all locked away. Festering. "So that woman was a carrier? The one that–" He cut off. It was too horrible to say aloud.

"That what? I picked the locks on her chains. I thought she ran away…? Did you find her?"

"Yeah, we found her… She, uh– She didn't make it."

"Oh." After a few seconds, Shylo added, "Don't tell Saph. She thinks that woman got away."

Valen could barely think about that. His mind was too full of Zenya. All these years, trying to keep her safe, sheltering her from the cruel world… Now she'd experienced it first hand. She'd seen that he wasn't an infallible protector. For several days, her bending had been beyond her reach with no explanation. Valen himself had been lucky enough to avoid that experience and didn't even want to contemplate what it felt like.

With all the words he'd managed to teach her so they could communicate on a basic level, there was one thing—among many others—that he'd failed to figure out. A simple question that, really, wasn't simple at at all:

'Are you okay?'

He could ask her if she felt sick or in pain. She knew the signs for happy and sad and angry. But there was more to being 'okay' than all of that. People experienced a much wider range of emotions. And he had no clue how to teach her how to articulate them.

When Koko woke again after her difficult conversation with Saph, it was to find herself alone in the tent. There were voices outside, though too quiet to make out. Dim light trickled in; was it morning or evening?

Even as the question crossed her mind, she was thrust into shadow by a figure blocking the shelter's entrance. It soon resolved into the solid form of Valen, who knelt down next to her. He looked even more haggard than usual, which was saying something. When was the last time his hair or beard had been trimmed?

"You're awake," he said in a flat voice.

"Mm," Koko grunted, still reluctant to endure the pain of speaking.

"Are you thirsty? I made some broth."

When she nodded, his hand slid under her head—slowly, as if he feared she might hit him. His other hand held a tin cup to her mouth and tipped in small sips of the salty, lukewarm liquid until she'd had enough.

"Thanks," she croaked.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like I got stabbed."

"Do you remember what happened? With Saph, I mean."

Koko grimaced. "Yeah. I already talked to her about it."

"Did you know she was the Avatar?"

"I suspected. Still doesn't make sense."

"No, it doesn't." He went quiet again, though only for a few seconds. "We can't stay here for too long. The blue sages will be back. Some of them escaped. And I'm pretty sure they saw Saph in the Avatar state."

Fuck. "They'll have to regroup after losing so many. We have some time. I can't–" She had to stop and take a few slow breaths. Besides the pain from talking, she was loath to admit weakness. "I can't travel right now. I need a couple of days."

"You need a couple of weeks." He shook his head slowly and rubbed the back of his neck. "What are your plans? I'm not trying to be nosy, I just need to know because we really should stay together– Ah, I mean– The five of us. We should all stay together. For safety."

His sudden flustered attitude only confused Koko. However, that faded quickly to indignation when she became aware of something that had gone unnoticed before. One hand went to her chest and touched a clean shirt that she didn't remember putting on. Underneath was…nothing.

"Did you undress me?"

"I– Uh– Um– I mean–" The awkward stammering ended with a sharp exhale. "You were covered in blood. It didn't seem like a good idea to leave you like that with a fresh injury. I– I'm sorry. I promise I didn't look."

The 'looking' bothered her a whole lot less than the 'touching'. But complaining wasn't worth the effort. "Forget it. I don't care that much."

Valen let out another heavy breath, this one full of relief. "Okay, good, because I felt really bad about it."

She couldn't help but appreciate his sincerity. That trait was one she'd always admired in him, like the time he'd stuck up for her when Nik was being a jerk.

Wow. That memory came out of nowhere, she mused as it rippled through her, leaving behind warmth. "It was the right move." Under her breath, she added, "Spirits know I don't need anything constricting my chest right now."

He obviously heard because he asked, very slowly and uncertainly, "Did you just make a joke?"

"I made a factual statement. I was stabbed, electrocuted, and drowned." Again. "Everything hurts, even breathing."

"Well, when you put it that way…"

"Is there any more broth?"

"Yeah. Here."

His hand was warm enough to feel through her braid, which was currently somewhat less of a braid than usual. The touch only served to remind her how utterly helpless she was at the moment. Too weak to lift her own head.

"I'm tired," Koko said flatly, her brief good mood gone.

"Alright. I'll let you get some rest. Oh– I almost forgot. You didn't answer my question earlier. What's the plan?"

Keeping him in the dark was probably pointless now, she decided. He'd earned her trust.

"I was headed to Republic City. It's too complicated to explain right now." She pressed a hand to her chest and tried to push through the growing discomfort. "I still plan to go."

"Alright… Well, Zenya and I will come with you. She seems pretty attached to Saph. I think they really bonded over the last few days. Them and Shylo."

She didn't miss that he wasn't exactly asking, but it didn't matter. Sticking together made more sense, especially with this injury. "Fine."

An errant breeze swirled into the tent and Koko shivered. While the weather hadn't yet turned cold enough for her to normally care—and the ground was inexplicably warm—the effort of healing seemed to have diminished her normal internal heat. The thin blanket covering her wasn't enough.

Valen must have noticed because he asked, "Are you cold?"

"A little. It's fine."

"I made a pool of lava twenty feet below you to warm the ground, but I think it's going to be a chilly night." He draped what she recognized as her cloak over her torso. "This'll have to do. None of the villagers will talk to us long enough for us to ask for extra blankets."

His consideration for her comfort was unsettling. She hoped it didn't mean anything. Hoped he wasn't catching feelings in spite of his earlier assurances. That would be awkward and uncomfortable for both of them.

No, this is just the way he is. He's a nice person. Nothing to do with me.

"Well. I'll let you get some rest."

After he left, she trailed her hand across the rough fabric. Judging by the faint smell of soap, it had been washed. Was probably drenched in my blood. Her finger found a line, about an inch long, that felt different. After a moment of thought, she realized it was where the knife had cut through. Valen had sewn it up.

Satisfied that Koko was not only on the mend but also willing to let him tag along, Valen went to rescue Saph and Shylo from what appeared to be a slightly tense situation.

"Maybe she figures everyone can bend more than one element," Shylo was saying. "I saw her doing this earlier today, but I didn't know 'til now what she was trying to do."

From the looks of it, Zenya was trying hard to firebend and growing frustrated by her futile efforts.

"What do I do?" Saph asked Shylo. "How do I make her understand I can't help her?"

Valen reached them at that point and allowed himself a tired sigh. When was the last time he'd slept? "Welcome to my life." To Zenya, he asked, 'I help?'

Her eyes remained trained on his hands, as they usually did when she was actually paying attention. 'Fire.'

'No.'

'Yes!'

'You, earth. Me, earth. Him, air. Her, fire, water, earth, air.'

Zenya stomped her foot in frustration. 'Me, lava! Fire. Hot. Same!'

'No. Different.'

"I think they're arguing," Saph whispered to Shylo.

As Zenya always did when she was unable to understand a complex concept—which was often—she gave up and stormed off to be alone.

"That went well," Shylo said with a smirk.

You wouldn't think it was funny if you had to deal with it every day, Valen said silently. But he couldn't expect a sixteen year old boy to understand. "I spoke with Koko. She still plans to go to Republic City, apparently. Zenya and I will come with you."

"Really?" Saph said with a hopeful smile. "That's good. I'm glad we're all staying together. I feel bad… I want to help Zenya understand but I don't know how. Is she mad at me?"

"No. What you have to remember is that she has all these thoughts in her head, just like we do, but she doesn't have a good way to express them. Honestly, I'm surprised she's so emotive around you two. I thought she was more reserved than that. I'm the only person she's known her whole life."

Saph tapped her lip pensively. "When we followed her out of the cave, we found her watching some kids play in a pond. I think she was lonely."

She meant well, he knew, but the suggestion made his heart ache with regret and guilt. It was the painful truth. All the fatigue from hard travel and worry and lack of sleep came crashing down on him as thought about how much Zenya had missed out on because of his fear.

"Can you teach me some of those hand signals you use with her?" Saph asked.

"Sure. But not right now. I need some sleep. Wake me if Zenya tries to wander off again."

The next morning, Valen surreptitiously watched Shylo give Saph her first airbending lesson. She actually got it right away, and a tentative surge of hope bloomed inside him. His heart was raw and bleeding from Kyori's absence, but there was some small comfort that this sweet, innocent child might one day grow into a powerful adversary that could defeat the people who had taken everything from him.

The delight on her face was infectious, though brief. Soon, her smile faded and both of them fell still. What were they talking about? Was she scared of the weighty burden on her shoulders? He knew he would be, in her position.

I know I'm horrible for thinking it, but I'm glad it's her and not Zenya. I think I've suffered enough.

His musings were interrupted when Zenya emerged from her tent. Since the night before, she hadn't appeared to want him—or anyone else—around. And when she wanted or didn't want a certain thing, there was pretty much nothing he could do about it.

And that's why I've kept her away from people all these years, he thought bitterly.

She went right up to Saph and Shylo and settled into a deep stance. From the looks of it, she'd given up trying to firebend and was now attempting to teach Saph earthbending.

The lesson didn't go well and ended with Zenya walking away, obviously disappointed and frustrated. Saph sat on the ground, despondent. Valen's heart went out to her. It reminded him of his earliest lavabending lessons with Bolin, which had been full of struggles.

At twelve, he hadn't properly appreciated how dangerous lava was and fooled around enough to put his parents in real danger. The memory of that recklessness made him cringe. Them moving to Zaofu was the best gift they could've given him. And he'd yelled at them for taking him away from his friends to live in a city where all of Bolin's children seemed to hate him out of sheer jealousy. They turned most of the neighborhood kids against him and it took months to undo the damage.

During that lonely summer, his only friend was Nik. Nik the asshole. Nik the rich kid. Nik the genius. Nik the boy who was obsessed with a pretty girl named Kiriko.

And then…Kyori had finally come around. She'd stood up for Valen and called her brother a 'big fat jealous jerk'. They became fast friends after that. Friends…and eventually lovers.

He squeezed his eyes closed to hold onto that sweet memory. It burned a hole through him but he didn't care. All he wanted was to feel the ghost of her touch, even if just in his imagination.