Toph was right; with this crowd, you get to see some pretty unbelievable stuff. Within the span of probably a week or two, we had a dance party, cleaned out a river, helped Sokka make a meteor sword, got chased by a Fire Nation assassin we called "Sparky Sparky Boom Man", Toph started scamming other scammers from the street, and Aang got so tired he hallucinated a duel between Appa and Momo. But the craziest thing was yet to happen, because, on the day of the Black Sun, we were going to invade the Fire Nation.

"Mom! Dad!" I rushed to a familiar Earth Kingdom couple fresh off the Water Tribe boats. I gave them the biggest hug I could, our first since I fled the village almost a month ago.

"Rin!" My dad smiled, not letting go of me. "We were so worried about you!"

"You don't know how happy we were to get your message. We're glad you managed to run into such an amazing group!" My mother chimed in.

Reluctantly, I broke off the hug. "I'm so happy to see you guys too! Let me introduce you to everyone..."

Our reunion was cut short as Sokka (and later his dad, Hakoda) briefed everyone on the plan for the invasion. I was a waterbender, so I had a couple different assignments. First, we predicted we might get detected as we neared the gate, even after we produced a fog cover, so we had the submarines at the ready. All the waterbenders (except for Katara, who was in charge of riding Appa) had to use their bending to control the submarines, and when we landed, we fought with the earthbenders in the tanks.

The sight of the invasion was awesome- in the literal sense; it was awe-inspiring. There were incredible mechanical wonders on both sides, Sokka had really outdone himself. I fought like I never fought before, pushing back the Fire Nation troops with the other benders around me. It was truly an exhilarating experience, both terrifying and satisfying at the same time. But the satisfaction rapidly slipped away when we got the bad news.

Fire Lord Ozai was not at the palace.

And Aang couldn't find him.

And the eclipse had ended.

We figured out that the best solution was to surrender, letting the youngest of our battalion escape on Appa. It was a difficult goodbye between parents and children, friends, and family, but it was necessary.

Tears welling up in my tired eyes, I watched from the back of Appa as I saw the view of the cliffside my parents were on slowly dwindle until I couldn't see them anymore. Not being able to see but not wanted the group to see my watering eyes, I rested my chin on the edge of the saddle and let my eyes close and let my mind drift into sleep.

I had awoken by the time we reached our destination, the Western Air Temple. It was a beautiful sight to behold, that's for sure, but it would've looked better if we weren't just returning from a resounding defeat. After unpacking all our things, half the group decided to explore the temple, but Katara held Aang back, telling him we needed to make a plan first. I decided to hang back too, I was too tired for exploring anyway.

My mind drifted in and out of focus as the conversation carried on without me. I knew that whatever guilt I was feeling was multiplied tenfold for Aang; the poor kid must've felt devastated after being defeated so soon after their failure in Ba Sing Se.

"Well, where am I supposed to find a firebending teacher?" asked Aang.

"Maybe we could look for Jeong Jeong!" Katara answered.

"Oh, sure, like we'll ever run into Jeong Jeong again."

"Who's Jeong Jeong?" I asked, bewildered. After my question was glossed over by the argument going on, Toph answered me.

"Oh well, if he's important we'll find out."

As Katara and Aang kept going back and forth, I rose from the rock I was sitting on to check what food we had with us. After rummaging around for a while, I came up with a pot, some tools, some rice, and some other various vegetables.

"That should be enough..." I thought to myself, not forgetting to factor in the extra mouths we had to feed. I better remind Sokka to go fishing tomorrow so we have enough food for everyone.

With a thud, I heard Appa land onto the temple floor. They must have taken their fight to the air. A minute later, I heard a commotion where they had landed. Dashing over, water whip at the ready, I ran up to the rest of the group to face whateve-

Oh. It's just a kid. A Fire Nation kid, but a kid regardless. He couldn't have been older than me, and he didn't seem like he was in an offensive stance. I lower my arms and returned to my normal standing position, observing the scene before me as it played out. The rest of the Gaang seemed quite agitated; well, everyone but Toph. Toph and I both joined the group a little later, so perhaps this kid was someone they had met before.

The kid finally spoke. "Hello, Zuko here!"

Oh no. Was he- that Zuko? The one the gang told me all about?

"We know who you are. You chased us all around the world, trying to kill Aang!"

Yep, it was that Zuko. "This'll be interesting." I thought, tentatively raising my arm again.

I watched as this kid, Zuko, explained why he was here. He said he was good now, and that he wants to help the Avatar learn firebending. It was honestly pretty cute seeing him stumble through his little speech, like an awkward kid applying for a job for the first time. Unfortunately, the Gaang didn't buy it and sent him away with a splashed face as a souvenir. After he left, Toph argued that they had just thrown away Aang's only opportunity at getting a willing firebending teacher. She claimed that he was being genuine the whole time, and she could tell. I could tell I didn't have a dog in this fight because I was fairly new to the group, so I returned to the pot where I started a fire and started to cook.

I tried to brush off the encounter we had earlier that day, but I just couldn't. I couldn't help but think about what Toph said, that he was being completely truthful. I decided that even if I couldn't convince everyone to let Zuko into the group, I could at least help him out. I packed up some of our leftovers along with a flask of water and an extra blanket.

Slowly but surely, I made my way back up the mountain to search for Zuko's campsite. He couldn't have gone far, in case they changed their minds. After a couple minutes of quiet searching, I spotting the glow of a campfire. Bingo. I pulled back the branches and stepped into the clearing, about to announce my presence when it happened.

Unbelievably hot and appalling pain shot up my leg. I cried out as I felt searing flames lick up my foot and leg- oh Agni, it hurt so incredibly bad. With a yelp of pain, I fell into the bushes, subsequently putting out the small fire forming around me.

With a groan I dragged myself up, reaching for the water in my bag. Zuko moved forward and I shielded my face, prepared for another attack, but he was actually reaching for my flask to hand it to me.

I hiked up my dress to reveal the burn marks that had crawled up my leg. Bending the water out of the container and onto my skin, I began to soothe the burns and heal them a bit. Once I finished, I used it to splash Zuko in the face.

"What in the world was that for?" I yelled, teary-eyed but trying to hide it. I watched as his eyes, wide in shock and horror at what he'd done, began to water a bit as well.

"I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to, I thought you were someone else!"

"You know what? Save your breath. I'm going back to camp, and I better not see you again!" I tried to pull myself up but my leg crumpled underneath me as I fell to the ground again. Wincing in pain, I was about to try again when Zuko grabbed my arm.

"Stop, you'll hurt yourself more if you try to leave now. Stay here for the night and get some rest." He said, rather firmly.

I pulled away, still upset. "I'll figure something out. I'm not going to stick around here just for you to try to attack me again." I said, making another attempt to stand.

"Look, I'm really sorry, ok? I got scared, but I don't want to hurt you. Please, just stay a while longer. It's cold out there and the terrain is really rough, you'll break a bone trying to get home. I'll make some tea, it's freezing tonight."

I sighed and gave in, pulling myself to a stone next to the fire. It was a cold night, and the fire wasn't completely unwelcome. As I warmed my hands on the fire, I watched Zuko carefully preparing the tea and pouring it out.

"I hope you like jasmine tea," he said, offering a cup. "It's all I have right now."

I took it wordlessly and took a sip, hating how good it tasted. "Where did you learn how to make tea this good?" I asked, amused.

Zuko cracked a smile. "My uncle. He's the best, jasmine is his favorite so I always keep it with me. I..." he trailed off for a moment. "It's... been a while since I've seen him," he said, with a touch of guilt.

We sat and drank for a couple more minutes, savoring the blanket of heat the fire provided.

"What's the necklace for? Is there a story behind it?" He asked me, breaking the awkward silence.

"Oh," I looked down at the small gold piece strung on the leather cord around my neck. "It doesn't have any sentimental value, I just keep it in case I'm ever in a situation where I need some money in an emergency."

Zuko chuckled and looked down at his shoes, not knowing what else to say. After a few moments, I slowly but surely rose to my feet.

"I really should be on my way; the gang will worry about me if I'm not there in the morning. Thank you, I guess." Before Zuko could protest, I cut him off. "The stuff in the bag is for you, by the way, stay safe. Maybe try not burning us next time you try to join our group." Cheeks flushed in embarrassment, he stuttered a goodbye and started to put out the fire. Turning away, I couldn't help but wonder if this was the last I'd ever see of him.