Ezra strolled along the dirt road of Katan Village, smiling at the people who waved at her. Like Yun, she got a lot of joy out of helping her homeland.

Suddenly she stopped short, spotting Fire Tribe soldiers looking into buildings up ahead of her. Moving silently, Ezra scrambled up to the roof of a nearby building and crept closer to spy on them.

"This place is disgusting," she overheard one soldier grumble.

Another shrugged. "It's the way things are. Hey, Heuk-Chi! Anything suspicious in that house?"

Ezra's eyes widened as she recognized the chubby soldier that had always seemed to be at Tae-Jun's side when the group first met the nobleman. He stepped outside of the house that Ezra knew belonged to Mi-Rae, an irritable elderly woman who'd become good friends with Yona.

Heuk-Chi's expression was as apathetic as usual, but a slight gleam of amusement sparkled in his dark eyes when he answered the soldier. "Nope, nothing. Let's move on."

The company continued up the street. Once the coast was clear, Ezra saw Yona, Hak, and Tae-Jun exit Mi-Rae's house.

"Well then, we'll come again, Grandmother Mi-Rae," Yona told the old woman with a bright smile.

Ezra dropped down from the roof, making herself known. She startled Yona and Tae-Jun half to death, though Hak and the old woman just gave her a disinterested glance.

"Ez!" Yona gasped. "You move like a ninja!"

Ezra shrugged. "That makes sense, seeing as I was trained by one," she said nonchalantly.

Yona's eyes nearly bugged out of her head. "You were trained by a ninja?"

"Lady Mi-Rae..." Ezra, Yona, and Hak turned to see Tae-Jun speaking to Mi-Rae with a serious expression on his face. "Thank you for hiding us. That was a big help. And, next time..." He glanced down at the ground, gulping noisily. "I'll massage you."

Mi-Rae smirked. "No way. I want the handsome guy instead."

Ezra raised an eyebrow. "Does she mean you, Hak?"

"Why, of course," Mi-Rae said, winking at Ezra. Ezra laughed, giving the old woman a friendly wave as her friends turned to walk down the road.

"Grandmother was quite happy today, wasn't she?" Yona chuckled.

Ezra grinned at her. "Sure seemed that way."

Tae-Jun's eyes widened. "That's her being happy?" he questioned.

"Grandmother Mi-Rae isn't very honest," Yona told him. "She has a bad mouth that has earned her a bad reputation. But she really likes you, Tae-Jun."

"Really?" Tae-Jun asked.

"Ten years ago, her son was taken away to Saika to become a soldier," Yona murmured, looking down at the ground. "After that, she became a shut-in. If she could've, she would've stormed to Saika Castle and beaten up her parent-forgetting son. She's really very lonely, constantly holding back her tears..."

Tae-Jun's expression became stricken as he stared at the floor, coming to grips with this new piece of information.

"This happens all over the Fire Tribe, not just here," Ezra snapped. "Boys get taken away to Saika all the time. They say that it's an honor, letting a family member fight for our proud tribe." Her eyes narrowed. "It sure as hell doesn't feel like an honor when important people are missing because of the oh-so-important Fire Tribe army."

Hak and Yona sent her sympathetic looks, realizing that she was speaking from experience. It was so rare for Ezra to talk about herself.

Tae-Jun grit his teeth, not looking up from the ground.

Ezra let out a sigh, releasing the anger that had been building in her system. Losing her temper would not help this situation in the least. "I'm going to go see if Yun needs anything," she announced, waving goodbye to the others as she stopped to go back the way they had come.

"We'll go with you!" Yona said brightly, following her.

"I should probably head back to the others," Tae-Jun said nervously.

"Alright!" Yona smiled at the nobleman, and he blushed brightly. "Thanks for all your help, Tae-Jun!"

Tae-Jun mumbled incoherently under his breath before hurrying off. Together, Ezra, Yona, and Hak set off to find Yun.

"Yun!" Ezra called once the strawberry blonde came into sight. "Do you need any help?"

Ezra was surprised to see that all four dragons were with Yun, helping him fix the villagers' clothes. Kija wasn't much help with the stitching, but he and Jaeha were hard at work on the laundry. Because of his wounds, Shinah still wasn't allowed to move very much, so he held the thread Yun was using to patch up the clothes while Zeno stood off to the side, cheering the others on with his normal smile on his face.

Yun wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. "I was actually thinking about finishing things up here before heading back to camp for the night. Will you guys help us with the rest of the laundry?"

"Of course!" Yona agreed immediately, sitting down next to Jaeha and thrusting her hands into the water.

Twenty minutes later, all the clothes were repaired, washed, and hung to dry. Yun brushed his hands off, satisfied with his work.

"Alright!" he announced. "Let's go!"

They set off down the road towards the rear of the village, where they'd set up their temporary camp. As they walked, they saw up ahead the group of soldiers that were going door to door, probably looking for the bandits or for Tae-Jun.

Yun and the others ducked their heads, trying to edge past the soldiers. Ezra was about to follow suit when she noticed a head of jet-black hair that looked... oddly familiar. When the soldier turned, Ezra gasped noticeably, halting in her tracks.

"Ez?" Yona said questioningly, turning back towards her friend.

Time shuddered to a stop the moment Ezra saw that face.

She narrowed her eyes; could she be wrong? Could that possibly be who she thought it was?

All doubts were erased the second the soldier turned towards her. She knew the moment she saw his eyes, their emerald hue so familiar and nostalgic, that he was exactly who she'd hoped and feared he was. His jet black hair had grown longer, nearly brushing his chin, and he'd grown facial hair in the years they'd spent apart, but there was no mistaking him.

Nothing could've prepared her for the shock that rippled through her body when his emerald eyes glanced up to meet hers. Recognition flashed across his features, and then surprise.

Ezra didn't even feel the weight of the hand Shinah placed upon her shoulder. The whole world had narrowed down to just her and the boy she hadn't dared to hope she'd see again, and she said the one word that was on repeat in her mind.

"...Noah?"