Haruko woke to the rumbling sound of the train and the light pouring into her window. For a moment, she could pretend she was back home, simply imagining things as she floated between dreams and consciousness, as long as she ignored the rocking sensation of the train and the soft whispers of the other passengers. The illusion was shattered as soon as she opened her eyes.

In her sleep, Haruko had ended up with her face against the train window. Her hair clung to the window in a static effect as she got up. She felt absolutely terrible, the uncomfortable sleep and pain from her bruises only adding to the insurmountable dread of the event.

Haruko heard a small “Brrm?” sound, she looked down to see that Pasha was curled into a ball on her lap. She was glad she had brought her little meerkat, the small animal’s presence brought some sense of normalcy to her life.

“Did I wake you up, Pash?” Haruko whispered as she pet Pasha’s head. She looked around the two-seat rows she and her companions had claimed. Aazir was still asleep, leaning against her shoulder. Across from her, Hang was awake and was looking out the window. Koto was nowhere to be seen. She must’ve gone off to get food again.

Hang must’ve heard Haruko, because it wasn’t long before she looked away from the window and made eye contact with the earthbender. “Morning.”

“Good morning.” They had been traveling just over a day now, and the scenery around them had changed from the rough, dry mesas and deserts Haruko was used to to a lush, green forest.

Hang pulled out her map, she had put herself in charge of navigation yesterday. “We passed Gaoling last night,” The waterbender mused. “So we should arrive in Aringreu in a few hours.”

Haruko nodded, returning her gaze to the scenery outside. Even from inside the train, she could tell how different the world was in this part of the UDES. There were trees everywhere lining both sides of the tracks. The world seemed more alive here, at least compared to anything she had seen before.

As the train pulled in for a stop on Kyoshi Island, Koto returned to the seats, carrying a tray of food. “I got breakfast.” She announced, waking Aazir up.

“Ooh, nice.” Aazir smiled. “Whacha got?”

Koto sat down and looked at the tray. “We have steamed buns and congee. I got tofu pudding for myself.”

“Man, why do you get to pick out the food.” Aazir complained as he picked up a bowl of congee from Koto’s tray.

“Because I’m the one getting the food!” Koto retorted. Over the time they had spent on the trip, the four of them had gotten more comfortable with one another, even if that only amounted to making sly remarks at each other.

“Thanks, Koto.” Hang said as she took two buns off Koto’s tray, handing one to Haruko. “I already told this to Haruko, but we should be arriving soon.”

“Good.” Koto remarked. “I’m getting a little sick of trains, to be honest.”

The moment Haruko stepped off the train, she was immediately confronted by the humidity. The air in Aringeru was so dense with water, it was like moving through honey. She must’ve hesitated at the train doors for too long, because Koto quickly took her by the wrist and pulled her over to a bench where the rest of the group was congregated.

“We’re supposed to be at Hira Family Inn.” Hang said as she unfolded a roadmap. Haruko didn’t know where she kept getting maps. “The best route seems to be to go down Makapu Street and turn left here, I’ve heard it’s on Lotus Boulevard.”

“Do you even know where this place is?” Koto berated, leaning over the map. “If it’s an inn, we should check around the tourist-y areas.”

“It’s an inn for criminals!” Hang replied.

As her companions bickered, Haruko took off her jacket, layers had been practical out in the desert but it was too humid here. After checking that Aazir was doing the same, she started to take notice of the people around. Aringeru grand station was full of people, most of whom had dark brown hair and brown skin, but there wasn’t a consistent look other than that. People milled about in every shade of every color, green shirts and blue head-scarves and red dresses. Haruko knew the area was diverse, but nothing could’ve prepared her for the mix-mash of elements and culture she was confronted with. She had been worried about their group standing out amongst the crowd, but apparently that wasn’t a concern. The area was as different to Jing Zi than she could’ve ever imagined.

“Alright, it’s settled!” Koto clasped her hands together, apparently she and Hang had reached a solution that they both agreed on. “Let’s get going, the less time we waste, the better.”

Hira Family Inn was a small building made of wood, meaning whoever lived in it was probably not an earthbender. It was located on the outskirts of a market, and it was mostly due to Hang’s height and map-reading skills that they were able to find it.

The door was propped open by a flowerpot with no actual flower and it took a bit of maneuvering to actually get inside. The interior of the lobby was strikingly quiet, compared to the bustling market outside. A simple wooden desk took up most of the space in the room, accompanied by a few straw chairs, a magazine rack, and vidset, currently playing the news, muted. The desk itself was covered with a mix of magazines, paperwork and a random assortment of bowls, behind it sat a teenage girl not too much younger than Aazir, with warm brown skin, vibrant blue eyes and curly black hair that reached her back. She was reading a magazine called BenderLife until she heard the group enter the room.

“Grandma Tuli!” The girl called towards a door leading elsewhere in the inn. “We have guests.”

Moments later, a short elderly woman came from the other room. She had the same features as the girl behind the desk, save for her white hair tied up into a low bun. “You four.” She beckoned them to the desk, where she searched for something. “Do you want a room? Two rooms?”

Hang approached the desk, she had to bend down a bit to make eye contact with the woman-Tuli, apparently. “Actually, we’re here because of the… uh.” She lowered her voice. “The criminal safehouse.”

“Hmph.” Tuli nodded, before turning to a door on the opposite side of where she had entered. “Tala! We’ve got another of your people here!”

A few more moments and a crashing sound later, a tall, muscular person appeared in the doorway. Having looked like they had just fallen down, the person was in the midst of gathering themself as they walked through the door. They had the same features as Tuli and the teen girl, although they wore their hair in a high bun and had copper-colored eyes. “Yeah?” They said, their voice clear and moderately deep.

Tuli gestured to Haruko and the rest of the group. “They’re your type.” She huffed. “You can take care of them.”

“Alright.” The person spun on their back heels to face the group, they extended their hand. “I’m Tala, I run the safehouse part of the inn.”

Hang took his hand. “Thank you, I’m Hang and these are my companions, Haruko Aazir and Koto.” She gestured to each of them respectively. “We’re in need of a place to stay while on the run, we’re trying to wait until the situation blows over.”

Tala’s gaze lingered over each of them for a brief moment. “Alright, you can stay here for a few months until my associates and I can get you set up somewhere safe and out-of-country, or it becomes safe enough for you all to return home.” They gave the group a confident, charismatic smile that threatened to melt all of Haruko’s defenses.

“Come on,” Tala gestured to the door and the rest of the inn outside. As they were leaving, Tuli called something out.

“Tall girl! You want healing on that nasty bruise?”

Hang, rightfully assuming she was the one being singled out, turned back and gestured to herself. They were all visibly wounded, but she looked the worst out of all of them. “Uh, yeah I guess.”

“Follow me.” Tuli said as she left through the opposite door.

“She’s a master healer.” Tala explained as they led them into the outside yard. “Waterbending. Masina’s a waterbender too, she’s learning the craft.”

Haruko assumed that Masina was the girl with the blue eyes inside the shop. “Cool.”

As Tala led them around, they started explaining a few things about the inn. “It was founded by my great-great-grandfather, back during the hundred year war. We’ve always taken in outsiders but we just started doing it officially- don’t worry, we don’t charge you guys- Oh hi Ahsa!”

They had encountered a young woman in her mid-twenties. She didn’t look a thing like Tala or the rest of their family, but had pale skin, a narrow frame, and straight, long hair bleached blond at the tips. The only resemblance she had to any of them was her strikingly amber eyes, a shade almost the same as Tala’s.

“Hey Tala.” She said. “Who’re these guys?”

Tala smiled and put an arm around the woman’s shoulder. “Everyone, this is Ahsa, my mentor and compatriot. Ahsa, this is Haruko, Koto and Aazir.” Haruko was surprised by how well Tala remembered their names.

Ahsa smiled and extended her hand. Haruko shook it. “Nice to meet you.” The woman said. “In the nature of honesty, you should know that Tala and I are part of the same organized crime group, and it’s our mission to bring freedom to every corner of the world. You in no way are being pressured to join, but I think it’s nice if our guests know who they’re in the hand of.”

Haruko nodded, she didn’t have any personal problem with that. Tala’s guided tour went on normally soon after, but Haruko noticed Koto’s gaze staying on Ahsa for a moment too long.

Tala led them each to individual rooms, with Haruko’s being the last. The rooms were, as Tala described them, ‘small and homey’, with a door and window each that led to the outside. It wasn’t much, but it was a definite relief from the train car Haruko had slept in the last few nights. She dropped her bags inside and didn’t bother to unpack.

“Hey, are any of you by chance an auto mechanic?” Tala asked, still standing in the vicinity of the doorway.

Haruko nodded. “I am, actually.” It was strange how easily the question lined up, she would’ve suspected spiritual interference if she didn’t know any better.

“Great!” Tala smiled. “Cause our satomobile has been broken for a while now, and we’ve got no one to fix it, every mechanic on the island overcharges way too much and I’ve just been waiting for one of the guests to know how to fix it.” They shrugged bashfully.

“I’ll see if I can be any help.” Haruko shrugged.

The Hira family satomobile was a wreck. It was an old model, even by the standards Haruko was used to, and was missing three out of four tires. When she mentioned these issues to Tala, they looked at her like she was speaking another language. Not wanting to give up on her promise, Haruko focused on something she could fix- the exhaust system.

“So, Tuli’s your grandmother?” Haruko asked as she worked.

Tala made a sound of approval. “Yep. Masina’s my cousin, her mom and my mom were sisters.”

“Were?”

“Yeah, they all died quite some time ago. Both our parents. That’s why Grandma Tuli took us in, y’know.”

“Huh.” Haruko mused, surprised by how similar Tala’s background was to her own. “Uh. Me and Aazir’s… our parents also died when we were really young. We were raised by our aunt and uncle.”

“Interesting.” Tala remarked. “Where’re you two from, by the way. You don’t look much like the folks we get around here.”

“Jing Zi.” Haruko replied. “Si Wong Desert.”

“Wow, you really are from far home.” Tala laughed. “How’d you get caught up with an airbender and a foggy swamp kid?”

“Koto- wait, swamp?” Haruko replied. She had heard of a ‘Foggy Swamp’ before, but had never researched it in depth.

“Yeah, the tall girl- Hang.” Tala gestured above his head, alluding to the waterbender’s height. “From the looks alone, I’d say she’s from the foggy swamp tribe down near Gaoling. We get some refugees from there from time to time. Is she a waterbender?”

Haruko nodded. “Yeah, she is.”

“Cool.” Tala nodded. “She reminds me of someone, though I can’t exactly place who.”

“What about you? Are you a bender?” Haruko asked. Based on how they had described their relative’s bending arts, Haruko guessed they weren’t a waterbender, but that only ruled out one of four elements.

“Yup. Firebender.” Tala smiled, and as if to prove their point, created a small flame that danced above their fingers. The light of the fire caught Haruko off-guard, it had been quite some time since she’d seen fire up close.

“Huh.” Haruko replied. “Never met a firebender before.”

“Well, now you have.” Tala smiled. “What about you?”

“Earthbender. Aazir and I both are.”

Tala smiled. “Nice. My mom was an earthbender.”

“Didn’t think firebending was too common here, aren’t we a bit far from the Fire Nation?”

“It’s technically not,” Tala replied. “I was the only firebender in my school class. And it’s because during the hundred year war this place was really heavily hit by the Fire Nation, they had a base that’s still standing up on one of the hills. All that colonization resulted in a lot of firebending babies.”

“Huh.” Haruko replied. The casual discussion of historical events was somewhat new to her, but if Tala could joke about it, she wasn’t going to pay it much mind.

 The two of them continued to talk while Haruko worked, trading stories about life and the places they grew up. Haruko found Tala surprisingly easy to open up to, something about them made her feel safe. For the first time since leaving home, she felt able to breathe freely.