Ever since childhood, Yun rose before the sun. Once, it had been hunger that awakened him, but even in his better days, he could not rid himself of the habit. The horizon had only barely started to glow, spreading a gentle yellow haze in the sky as he finished gathering kindling for the fire. First one bird called, and then a second replied, before they started their regular morning cacophony. Their song delighted Yun, who had never realized how dearly he had missed the familiar music. He started a fire beneath the cauldron with a wistful heart, his mind drifting to times past.

As he chopped the ingredients for breakfast, he heard a crunch behind him. Delighted, he turned around.

"Ik-su!" he called, ready to scold this foolish priest – but rather than the gentle smile of Ik-su, he was greeted with Zeno's cheerful grin. Yun's smile fell.

"I, um… Food will be ready soon," he muttered, returning to his work. Zeno's eyes glimmered with sympathy as he stepped next to him.

"Zeno promises we'll find him soon," he said. "He wouldn't leave you behind.

Yun's eyes filled with tears, but he turned his head to hide them. Clearing his throat, he asked, "You want to search the villages, yes?"

"Zeno just thought it could work," the blonde boy replied with a shrug. "You would know better than Zeno though."

"It should," said Yun thoughtfully, furrowing his brows. A place Ik-su could be… His expression brightened and he clapped his hands. "Of course! We must start with Katan."

"Who's that?" Zeno asked, but Yun was in no mood to explain.

"Go wake the others," he said, his eyes filled with determination. "I know where to start our search.

"So what is this place, anyway?" asked Hak, dragging a cart full of edible roots and herbs. "And why do we need all these things?"

"Ik-su and I took care of this village," Yun replied. Although his shoulders were pulled down by the heavy load of herbs in his knapsack, he was far more cheerful than he had been the day before. "If anyone has seen him, it would be the people of Katan."

"A whole village? Yun, you really are a motherly soul," Yona laughed. Yun blushed.

"You guys…" He sighed. "You'll understand when we get there."

Although the group all had assumptions about the place, the village was even more impoverished than they had expected. Its few dozen houses were built by a single road of mud bricks and reeds for roofs, their gardens full of rubble from fallen building materials. The eyes of the people were deep and sunken, only lighting up at the sight of Yun.

"You've come back," a middle-aged man called out in a raspy voice. "It's been so long…"

"Barely three months, Chief Sen-doh," Yun laughed. "And it's not like I've come empty handed."

A gaggle of children appeared from one of the shadow of a small hut, giggling and cheering despite their thin arms and sunken cheeks, singing Yun's praise. Elderly men and women of all ages began to appear in the street as well, albeit far more cautiously. Yun looked at his companions imploringly.

"Could you help me with this?" he asked in a whisper. "I want to make sure no one goes to sleep hungry today."

"I'm here to help every last citizen of Kouka," Yona whispered back. "You prepare a stew – I'll go hunt some rabbits for it."

"Perfect," Yun said with a happy sigh. "Ki-ja, you-"

"Mister, Mister, why is your hair so white?" a little boy asked, tugging on the White Dragon's sleeve. "Are you very old?"

"And why do you have such a funny hat, Ma'am?" his sister asked, pointing at Hak. "Is that a real sword?"

"Come now, children, let's not bother them too much," Sen said, gently herding them away. "They came to help fix things. Does anyone have a ball? Let's play with that instead."

"Have you truly come to fix things up?" Sen-doh asked intently as Sen and the children disappeared in a nearby shed. Hak, Ki-ja and Jae-ha glanced at each other before nodding. Shin-ah also stepped forward to indicate his desire to participate. The village chief smiled with satisfaction.

"Then there's no reason to wait, is there? Let's get to work."

The morning passed busily for all. Jae-ha wiped the sweat off his forehead with a sleeve as he placed the last bit of thatching needed to repair the roof he and Shin-ah were working on.

"It's harder than it looks, no?" he asked Shin-ah. The Blue Dragon nodded, a bead of sweat dropping down his chin. Though he only rarely took off his sheepskin cloak, it had been long banished to hang on a tree branch.

"I've never done this… before," he muttered. Jae-ha nodded understandingly.

"Ah right. You lived in a cave, no?"

"Mhm."

"Do you ever miss it?"

Shin-ah shook his head.

"This is livelier."

"Lively, eh?"

Jae-ha looked down from the roof, at Hak and Ki-ja replacing a beam with an older man explaining how they were doing it wrong, at Yun and Yona cooking, and Zeno helping an old woman find a comfortable seat outside. Young women carried water to the cooking station and middle-aged women brought reeds from a nearby pond to help mend the roofs. Sen appeared in a doorway, bending down so as not to hit her head, followed by the excited children of the village. In her hands was a ball fashioned from long grasses, cheap and ragged but the most beautiful thing those children had ever seen. She passed it to them, promising to make more for everyone, which lead to shrieks of joy erupting from the small crowd. Glancing up, she caught Jae-ha's eyes and smiled.

"Aren't you coming for lunch?" she called. He shook his head.

"I think we can work a little longer. Right, Shin-ah?"

Turning his head, he realized the Blue Dragon had already jumped off the roof and was busily making his way towards Yun. Jae-ha sighed and followed.

"I thought you had a little more work left in you," Sen teased. Jae-ha feigned a pained expression.

"I was betrayed," he said, gripping his chest. "Abandoned for stew."

"Come on, you deserve a break," she replied, playfully slapping his shoulder. "Plus it's Yun's stew we're talking about. Anyone would betray you for that."

Despite her praise, the stew looked quite unappetizing and watery, but no one seemed to mind. Hungry from their hard work, there was not a single person that wasn't convinced they weren't eating the best food of their entire lives and did not hesitate to say so.

"I haven't had anything this good since you left," Sen-doh said, licking his lips. "Ik-su has tried, but he isn't much of a chef."

Yun's eyes brightened.

"You've seen him?" he asked, pouncing on the opportunity to find out more. "Is he okay?"

"Hard to say," Sen-doh said thoughtfully. "It's been a few weeks since he's come by. I don't blame him, though. Things have been rough around here lately."

"Drought?"

"That, and soldiers. They come and take what little we have…" The village chief sighed and looked away. "They took my son last time."

"But Tae-oh was so young!" Yun exclaimed. "Just around my age..."

"Old enough to be a soldier, it seems," Sen-doh said quietly. "Maybe they'll at least feed him in the army. There's not much for him to eat here."

"How can they do this?" Yona asked, indignant. "A sixteen-year-old is much too young to fight. What does the Fire Tribe need so many soldiers for, anyway?"

Sen-doh shrugged.

"Who knows," he said, shaking his head. "They just want more men. Maybe they took Ik-su too."

"No way," an old lady shouted from her chair. "My grand niece from Gui'ren said she'd seen him just last week."

Yun jumped up and ran to her, dropping his bowl of stew to the ground. His hazel eyes glimmered with hope as he pleaded, "Granny Mi-rae, is it true? Oh, tell me, is he okay?"

"They say he's fine," she replied, a little taken aback by his enthusiasm. "Gui'ren was burnt down by bandits, so it seems he was there to help."

Yun thanked her and rushed back to his comrades. His steps were uncertain and hands trembling as he placed what little belongings back in his bag with astonishing speed.

"What are you guys waiting for?" he asked, looking around irritably. "We have to go! I have to make sure he's okay."

"We can't," Yona said softly. "I'm sorry."

"What do you mean you can't?" Yun snapped. "Your legs don't seem to be broken."

"We can't just leave our work half-finished," she told him, looking around. Yun had a nasty reply on his tongue, but it died as he followed her gaze. She was right. What would Ik-su think if he abandoned their village? His shoulders sank.

"I'm sorry," he said. "Let's get back to work."

"That doesn't seem right either, Yun dear," Jae-ha said, stepping to his side. "How far is Gui'ren?"

"Gui'ren?" Yun mused. He thought for a moment then shook his head. "It can't be done. We'd only get there after nightfall by foot."

"Who said anything of going by foot?" Jae-ha asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Yona dear, could you spare us today?"

Understanding his intent, Yona grinned.

"Of course!"

Yun's lips trembled. The kindness of his comrades was truly overwhelming at times. Jae-ha stretched out his arms, leaving no time to hesitate.

"Well?"

"Not here, idiot dragon," Yun hissed, wiping his eyes. "We don't want to be discovered. Come, I'll show you the way."