My breathing was slow and steady, but I had to focus to do so. Rin, on the other hand, had no problem keeping pace while talking away like we were on our way to a festival. He and Zuko had seemingly warmed up to each other again- at least, the awkward tense atmosphere from the first few days of following the Avatar and his retinue had died down a little. Now instead of silence, Rin talked his heart out and Zuko responded occasionally, which I guess was an improvement.

At any sign of danger- whether it was a noise in the forest, my wounds reopening slightly, or Zuko getting too close for comfort, Rin was sure to help me. In fact, every time I turned around, he was there. I breathed too heavily, and he called for us to stop a moment. My face flushed a little, and he forced me to let him wipe it down with a cool cloth. I couldn't do anything with him there. But at the end of the day, it was endearing. I wondered if this is what friends were like.

And, if they were, I wondered why I had refused to have any until now.

"Hate to interrupt," I said, breaking Rin and Zuko off mid-conversation. They both turned to look at me curiously. "But we're here. I feel it. This must be what they're heading towards."

Beneath the ground, with each step we took for the last few minutes, I felt a huge expanse of structures below us. They felt like they were hanging from the ceiling of a cavern, clinging to the sides of a cliff. I couldn't make out many details, but I felt giant rooms, massive statues, and large balconies. A palace seemed to hide within the cavern's walls.

A huge being landed on one of the balconies, followed by much smaller footprints jumping off. "They just landed. There are more than just the four of them..." I could feel several extra pairs of feet, as well as a cart-like thing rolling around. "I don't know how many."

"Great! I'm excited to meet the Avatar again." Rin watched as Zuko hooked a rope to the base of a tree near the overhang. He offered me the rope first, but I shook my head. "No thanks," I mumbled uncomfortably. The thought of swinging back and forth in the air, supported only by a single rope, had my stomach churning. "I'll rock climb down."

They slid down the rope, Rin following after Zuko, while I started my climb down the rock face. My hands and feet dug into the side of the cavern as I slid slowly down to match their pace. Now we could see the ornate carvings decorating the infrastructure of the temple. All the pillars and columns weren't an eyesore to the cliff- they were built almost as part of the rock itself to create a very natural, unplanned sort of beauty that only added to the surroundings. We landed on a balcony and I marveled at the statues three times the size of a man, all of which represented monks with high foreheads revealing arrows like that of the Avatar. Even Rin was speechless at the sight.

Zuko seemed lost in thought as he overlooked the balcony's edge. He rubbed at his temple with one hand, eyes closed in concentration. Or regret. I placed a hand on his shoulder and he turned around to look at me. Indeed, his golden eyes were sad and pained. But he smiled nonetheless and shrugged. "Just some bad memories," he muttered, turning away from the railing.

"Ok." I let my hand drop to his finger and pulled him towards one of the openings in the wall, where Rin already had left to start exploring. "Let's go set up camp for tonight."

He leaned in close to me, but apparently thought better of it and pulled back. My brow furrowed. This whole trip, he's been distant and quiet. Very unlike him, at least from how we had interacted back at Ba-Sing-Se. I realized that he was a different person then, but I thought now that he had rejected his father and realized his destiny, he would be more carefree. Happier. But now, instead of uncertainty and hate, his eyes held even more regret and sadness.

Maybe he was having second thoughts about being "more than friends."

I turned away quickly so he wouldn't see the realization and the hurt in my face. "Let's go," I mumbled. Let his hand fall and hurried after Rin. I reminded myself that this is why I refused to have friends. They're just opportunities to be hurt.

I didn't think that I had fallen this hard already, though. That I was in this much pain worried me. Had I become soft? Susceptible? Was all of this just a ruse to get me to come with him?

"Wait! Please wait..." His hand had caught mine gently, not enough force to stop me. But I did as he asked. Steeled myself and turned to face him, being careful not to show him any of my warring emotions. He looked more pained than ever. He looked like he was hoping I would get mad at him- like he thought he deserved to be punished.

"I'm confused," I admitted after a moment of silence, watching him glance up at me with a slight redness to his cheeks and that guilty look in his eyes.

He sighed and rubbed his forehead with his free hand. "To be honest... me too. But... I know that you're important to me, and that I want to be with you. But... I also know that's not my decision to make. And that maybe you don't want it at all." He glanced at the smoothed stone floor where his feet shuffled.

It was my turn to frown. How did we both end up thinking this way? "Of course I do." Did I do something to indicate otherwise? Sure, I was scared of him when he had abandoned his uncle and gone back to the fire nation. I was scared of him as a child who observed him playing with his sister and his friends from behind Lu Ten. But the little glimpses of him that I'd seen so far... Zuko, and not anyone else. Not the desire to please, or the rage of failure and rejection, or the fear of loving and being loved. Just Zuko. The person who appreciated tea in the rain, who walked me home not because he wanted to protect me but because he wanted to spend more time with me. "I told you I'm not... I'm not experienced with this. But I wanted to try, remember?"

"But... why?" He frowned and hung his head low. His loose hair covered the scar I was so familiar with by now. "All I've done is hurt you, even though that's not my intention."

My heart ached for him, standing before me and baring his soul for me to see. I knew how hard this must be for him- I'd been through this process of healing myself. "Zuko," I sighed as I stepped closer to him. So close that our breath mingled together. He kept his eyes downcast but leaned forward to touch his forehead to mine. Too ashamed to look at me. "I've already forgiven you."

He glanced up at me, his golden eyes flashing sadly. I could see the guilt in them when they trailed to the burns on my neck. "I haven't forgiven myself for it yet, though."

My mind surged with relief at the emotions he was letting himself feel, and I leaned in to nuzzle his nose because he felt like he didn't deserve to take it for himself. "I'm glad this was all you were worried about," I sighed in relief. Technically these burns weren't even his fault. But I understood his guilt completely. "Let's just go sleep for today."

He reluctantly followed me through the doorway. I felt for Rin nearby, and soon we had wandered through the maze of hallways and found him gathering wood for a fire. I thought we had somehow ended up outside, but it was just the way the temple was built: so much natural growth covered the walls and floor almost like we were back in the forest. The air smelled so fresh here, the grass so silky against my feet. Rin smiled when we walked in, leaving the fire to come take my hand. "Hey, this room is pretty cool, right?" he asked excitedly, leading me to the sleeping bag he'd set up for me. "This place is beautiful. I think I'd like to live here."

Zuko followed close behind to warm his hands against the fire. "It is beautiful. Last time I was here, I was unable to appreciate the view. I was here looking for the Avatar. Now..." He sighed, placing a wrapped fish we'd packed from the Fire Nation bunker onto the wood to cook. Glanced up at Rin, then myself, then sheepishly looked away with a small smile. "Now I'm looking for the Avatar, but my purpose is completely different. And I'm here with friends to remind me of that."

He stood up to face Rin. Now I felt awkward by myself on the ground while they stood over me. "I'm sorry about what I put you and your friends through. Thank you for giving me a second chance."

Rin had been skeptical this whole time, though not really vocalizing it. I guess Zuko had sensed it. He must have valued his friendship with Rin, and I realized that maybe he hadn't had any friendships like that before. His only friends were his sister, Mei, and Tai Li. And they weren't close. In the case of Azula, it was probably a negative relationship anyways. So whether he knew it or not, it seemed he had become rather attached to Rin as a friend. I couldn't think of a better candidate.

After a moment, Rin smiled and shook his head. "I appreciate the apology. Just... next time you think about backtracking, know that I'll be there to kick your butt." It was sarcastic and playful, but you could tell he was serious.

Zuko laughed at the "threat", and I couldn't stop a smirk either. They argued about who would win in a spar, and ultimately decided that they should test it out sometime.

Minutes later, Rin and I sat on the sleeping bag each with a grilled fish on a stick. Zuko paced on the other side of the fire, his grilled fish in hand. "So that's why I think I should teach the Avatar firebending."

"Well... Maybe leave out the part about chasing them down and capturing them," Rin mumbled through a mouthful of fish.

"And also about thinking about stealing Appa." I plucked a scale from Rin's face. "You didn't clean these fish very well," I muttered.

"Ugh!" Zuko kicked the ground and plopped down in defeat. "I guess I'm not very good at negotiations."

Rin picked at the fish bones with his teeth, waving dismissively at Zuko. "We'll figure it out. Iwa's friends with them, so he'll do the negotiations."

Zuko's eyes landed on me in surprise. "You are?"

I shrugged, finishing off my own fish and tossing my stick aside. "Not really. We met once or twice in Ba-Sing-Se, but we're just acquaintances."

He stood up and pulled his shoes back on. "Would you mind coming with me to try and get on their good side?" he asked. "With someone they're on good terms with there, they might be more willing to listen to me. Rin, you should stay here at camp. Another person they don't know probably won't make it go any smoother."

Rin nodded and laid back on the sleeping bag, shoving me off with his legs playfully. "Got it! I'll just keep watch here, guys." He yawned dramatically and curled up at the side of the fire. "Just don't forget about me if you get to stay with them!"

I stretched my tired legs and stood up beside him. "Alright," I agreed. To be honest, I wasn't excited about seeing the other earthbender again. She was so annoying and rude last time. But I felt for footsteps anyway, focusing on their camp far away from ours.

"I'm nervous," Zuko whispered into the quiet as we walked through the halls in the dimming natural light. His hand brushed mine, and I felt him searching for comfort there. "I know they won't trust me. But I also know this is what I'm supposed to do."

I took his finger with one of mine, enjoying the way it clung to me like it belonged there. "Then it will work out. We're almost there," I added. In fact I heard the flapping of a sky bison's tail in the wind, and the shouts of a disgruntled Katara. We paused on the edge of a balcony as the sky bison landed with a heavy thump in front of us. Zuko readied himself, almost standing behind me like a shield.

Toph noticed us, of course. They all whipped around in shock and anger, weapons ready in an offensive position. I felt bad for Zuko, having all these accusing eyes on him. I mean, there was good reason for it. But he was different now. I only hoped they would accept the change in him.

"Hey. Zuko here!" He tried that peppy introduction that he practiced back in the hideout, a brave smile on his face. "I heard you guys flying around down there, so... I just thought I'd wait for you here." Aang was surprised to see me standing next to him, and the others only noticed me when Appa came over to give both Zuko and myself a few happy greeting licks. I groaned, remembering how overly-friendly he was. How am I going to clean all this saliva off my bandages?

The hostility hung in the air like needles as they glared at us. Well, mostly at Zuko, and just sending me questioning glances every now and then. I sort of forgot what I was there for and tuned out while trying to convince the sky bison to stop licking me like I was covered in sugar. I didn't think I would be seeing this furry thing so soon. They argued some more when Zuko offered to teach Aang firebending. Apparently it came as a shock to them that Zuko had sent an assassin after them, and that wasn't helping anything. I tried my best to ignore Appa and listen to the conversation. "Why aren't you saying anything?" Zuko asked Aang. He was resolved even in the face of their anger and judgement. "You once said that you thought we could be friends-"

"Ick!" I was shoved back onto the ground to be held down and licked relentlessly by the monster. As a result, my bandaged wounds were scraped against the ground and pain shot up my arms and back. I'm sure some had been rubbed open. "That's another week of healing at least," I whispered angrily as I bended myself out from under him and held him back with tiny earth particles.

I refocused when Katara bended Zuko back with a strong push of water. But I made sure not to intervene. This was on him, and I couldn't step in. He had to do this himself.

"You need to leave. Now!" Katara threatened him with more water. I helped him up by one arm, even though mine were killing me. I could barely feel the blood soaking through the bandages because of how focused I was on the situation. Throughout the whole thing, Katara's heartbeat was the most violent. She was the most upset. Toph, on the other hand, actually sat quiet, listening to Zuko intently.

The only time Katara seemed to calm down was as we were walking away and she caught a glimpse of my arms. I assumed she noticed the blood dripping down my arms by now. She seemed hurt, like I had betrayed her trust for befriending Zuko. Like she was concerned at my injuries. But I just smiled at her and waved. Tried to make us seem as non-threatening as possible.

"That couldn't have gone worse," he mumbled sadly. His eyes were full of the familiar pain of rejection. I just clasped his hand in mine reassuringly. Not sure what to say at this point- just let him think things over. The right thing to do is hard at first. But in time it gets easier. When we entered the room again, Rin was already fast asleep in the sleeping bag by a brightly burning fire. I bended a half-tent over his sleeping form, repeating the action twice more for Zuko and myself. He lay down in his bag with a tired flop. "Thanks for coming. We'll decide what to do tomorrow."

He stiffened when I touched a bloody finger to his forehead, then relaxed quickly in contentment as I ran it lightly through his long hair. "That's ok," I whispered with a smile. I knew how difficult this was, and what he was feeling. But I was so proud of him. "You're doing the right thing."

I stay there playing with his hair until he drifted off into a light sleep. Finally I could let my weakness show, the pain coursing through my arms and back like little knives. Like the acupuncture that Chouko had tried on me once. That didn't feel good at all. But I laughed at the memory, because it had her in it. Sighing, I quietly left the room with my pack to head to the well I'd felt earlier. Only a few rooms down from this one. The well was lit by the moonlight shining through a hole in the ceiling, like a halo, with a fountain springing from the side into a small pool of clear water. I sat gingerly on the edge of the pool and unwrapped my bleeding arms, wincing at the cool air's touch. They were not pretty to look at, let me tell you. So I quickly washed them with the running water, rubbed some of Chouko's soothing medicine around the opened flesh, washed my bandages as best I could, and reapplied them. Did the same steps for my back, although that was harder to reach. I could only hope I'd gotten the right spot.

For a while I just lay on the edge of the fountain, staring up at the few stars peeking through the hole in the roof. I was so proud of Zuko making the right decisions, even without his uncle to guide him. Where could the general be? Before we had left the bunker, we'd searched for him in the dungeons to bust him out and bring with us. But apparently he had done so on his own. How, I have no idea. But knowing he was safe outside the Fire Nation put my mind at ease-

A far-off shouting interrupted my thoughts. Stillness. Then more shouts, a scream of pain. Planting my feet solidly on the ground, I felt they were coming from the room we'd set up camp in. At least three pairs of feet stumbled around. I packed my things as quickly as possible and hobbled my way back, listening as things quieted again.

"Why am I so bad at being good?!" I walked in to see Zuko on the floor and Rin just waking up from his sleep.

"What just happened?" Rin asked sleepily. I knelt by Zuko, who curled in a ball and huffed angrily.

"I just... I just firebended at the earthbender from the Avatar's group."

Oh boy.

He turned to look at me frantically, shame filling his golden eyes. "It was an accident! I swear! She snuck up on me, and I didn't know-"

"Stop." I pushed a now blood-free hand over his mouth. Listening very carefully, feeling for heartbeats. I felt Toph crawling back to the rest of her group. But in addition, I felt another set of footprints. Heavy, unlike any others I've ever felt. They resounded like metal through the ground. "There's someone here," I whispered. Zuko frowned under my hand, waiting for me to continue. "It's like... a man with metal boots is approaching the Avatar."

His eyes widened and he scrambled to get out from under me. "It's the assassin!" he yelled as he threw his things into his bag. "We have to stop him!" My heart beat faster in my chest. That assassin felt like he weighed as much as Appa and was made of metal. He reminded me of my old slavemaster, with his metal boots and crackling whip of fire raised over me when I'd done something to deserve punishment. How were we supposed to stop this guy?

Surprisingly Rin was all packed and ready to run after us. He wrapped one of my arms around his shoulders, carrying both of our packs, and hauled me after the sprinting firebender in the direction of the heavy man. "Left!" I shouted when Zuko came to a turn. "He's down the next hall, on the side of the crevace!"

"Bend your way down to the Avatar!" he called behind us as he turned the corner. "Just get to safety and warn them!"

I took the opposite turn and did as he said, bending tunnels where they didn't exist in order to get to the Avatar and his group. Rin kept a vice grip on my arm and waist as we raced down through the pillars and statues. A huge explosion rocked the caves, nearly crushing us and forcing us to take another route instead. My arms were too weak right now to safely get us through the downpour of rocks.

"Oh man!" Rin tried to help block my fall as we tumbled through the opening to where the Avatar's group hiding behind the pillars of the large balcony, just as an explosion forced the hanging terrace the assassin stood on to crumble to huge abyss below. The crash resonated deep in my bones for a few moments until I felt the rocks completely still at the bottom of the cliffs. Toph seemed surprised to see us, and I noticed why. Her feet were thoroughly burned. I winced at the pain she must be feeling.

"Whew!" Rin exclaimed, hugging the daylights out of me. "We made it! Where's Zuko?"

Toph rolled her blind eyes at his excitement. "Oh, you were that guy who was sleeping when I got my feet burned. Thanks for the help, by the way."

He turned to her like he had only just noticed her, and smiled big. "To be honest, I have no idea what's happened since I woke up!"

I felt Zuko approaching us and the rest of the group facing him. They spoke in serious tones, but I was distracted by Toph and Rin poking fun at each other. "You slept so heavily when I found your campsite that I almost thought you were a rock," she said and laughed.

It was obviously an insult, but Rin just laughed with her and set me down beside her. "Yeah, Iwa's told me that before!" he smiled and removed all our gear. "It's a gift, let me tell you. Especially when your dad snores like a platypus bear."

Sokka suddenly stood before us with Zuko close behind. "C'mon, let's go," he said, an aloof and suspicious expression on his face. "I'll show you where your room is."

Rin helped me up again while Zuko took our packs. I guess this meant that the Avatar had accepted Zuko's apology. But nobody seemed very happy about it. Especially Katara. She didn't even bother to hide her glare as her brother led us away from the devastation of the battle with the assassin to a more stable part of the building. We stopped at a small room, though still larger than the slaves' quarters we stayed at in the Fire Nation: two beds, a window with a beautiful view. I thought about the monks that once lived here, a hundred years ago, in this very room. Wondered what they were doing before they were eradicated by Fire Nation soldiers. How they must've fought to save themselves and their loved ones.

Just like my parents had fought.

"Iwa." I resurfaced from my thoughts to see an angry and upset looking Katara standing in the doorway, and an ashamed Zuko with his back turned to her. I felt the ring of harsh words hanging in the air between them. She once again took in my bandages and grudgingly nodded her head out the door. "Let me take a look at that for you," she muttered, stepping out of the door.

I started to hobble after her and shook my head as Rin began to help. "I'll be right back," I whispered. Glanced pointedly at Zuko standing behind Rin, his shoulders slumped and head lowered as he stared out the window. "You should make sure he's alright."

He reluctantly let me go, and I made my way out of the room to follow the waterbender. Katara turned into a room nearby and looked to make sure I was behind her. When I entered, I smelled the salty scent of a seal blubber candle. "Sit down."

I did as she asked. Immediately she bended water out of her canteen and started undoing my wrappings. She grimaced at the shoddy patchwork job I had done only hours earlier. "The salve is pretty good, but this wrap job is horrible." She bended the water around my arms and immediately it soothed the burns. I sighed happily at the relief, letting my shoulders fall. "Who did this?"

I shook my head. "It doesn't matter," I mumbled. Xi Sheng's face popped into mind as I relived the pain he inflicted. "I forgave him."

When I glanced up at her, she had an angry frown on her face. Her hands clenched and I felt the water squeeze me slightly. But I didn't break her train of thought: I saw the struggle in her eyes to overcome that hatred. "But... why?" she growled, absentmindedly healing my burns as she contemplated the problem of forgiveness. "And how could you? How did you..."

I almost laughed. She was asking me how to forgive, just like Zuko had asked last night before we made camp. "You and Zuko are incredibly alike," I said with a smile. She bristled at this, but I kept going. "Both of you struggle with coming to terms with forgiveness. But that's the only thing that will make you feel better. Believe me, I know what loss is. I know what it is to have what you love most taken from you. Just like you and your mother." I nodded towards her engagement necklace and only then did I notice tears had started to fall over her lashes and her bending had stopped completely. I stood up to face her, and hugged her close when she sniffled.

"It hurts!" she sobbed into my shoulder. Her arms wrapped around my burned shoulders tightly, and I let her squeeze even though it hurt like hell. "Iwa, it hurts so bad!"

I rubbed her back. Felt her pain course through me and reopen wounds too deep to heal and too old to forget. "I know. I know." Ran a hand through her hair. "But forgiveness isn't about those who hurt you. It's about not being angry anymore."

She sobbed into my shoulder. "But... But how can I just..."

I pulled her back to look into her eyes. She wasn't even trying to hide the ugly-cry anymore. Just stared at me like I had all the answers to her problems. I didn't have them. All I could do was reassure her. "You don't have to be angry anymore, Katara."

She looked like someone had just taken the world from her shoulders. She took deep breaths, eyes closed, holding back more sniffles and tears. Her hold released from my burns, but her head dropped onto my neck. All the hate and anger I'd seen was replaced with sadness and confusion. Even in this moment, tense with her pain and suffering, I chuckled. "Just like Zuko."