The sun had risen by the time they reached the inn, the golden rays of the sun piercing over the horizon, taunting Haruko like the start of a new day could cover what had happened that night. She had to bite her tongue to keep herself from collapsing into a fit of hysterics. Everything was wrong- a single movement, a simple act had destroyed everything the world had built during her lifetime. And she couldn’t help but feel it was all her fault.

Haruko couldn’t focus on what Koto and Tala talked about as they walked through the back kitchen door, she couldn’t focus on anything. She felt sick, the events of last night taking their toll on her. With barely a warning to her companions, she retched into the kitchen sink, emptying her stomach of last night’s dinner.

“Spirits, Haruko, are you ok?” Tala rushed to her aide, putting a warm hand on her back as they stabilized her. “Are you sick? Feverish? We should go see Grandma Tuli….”

“I’m fine-” Haruko coughed. “Just a little shaken up.” She made eye contact with Koto, the airbender seemed worried but didn’t say anything.

Tala continued to reassure and support Haruko, guiding her to a chair to sit down in, as their cousin walked into the kitchen, accompanied by Aazir and Hang.

“Oh. You’re back.” Masina said dryly. “She looks terrible.”

Adversely, Aazir immediately ran up to her. “Haruko!” He cried as he embraced her. “Are you ok? What happened?”

Haruko did her best to answer his questions in half-formed and vague sentences. Hang entered the room and sat on the countertop, but Masina stayed in the doorway.

“We were found out,” Tala confessed, a graveness to their voice. “I talked to Ahsa about it, she thinks the best thing for us-” They gestured to Haruko, Koto and themself, “-Is to leave with her to Gangbei, where the rest of our group are located.”

“I need to take Haruko to Republic City.” Koto blurted out. The entire room fell silent in shock, including Haruko. Koto continued. “Her and Aazir. With the uh. Recent developments, it’s no longer safe for them to be housed here, and I’d like to fulfill my promise and take them to Air Temple Island, where I can guarantee their safety.” She turned to Hang. “If you want to come as well, you can, though I’m not going to force you.”

“Republic city…” Aazir muttered. Haruko couldn’t tell if he was afraid or excited.

“I’ll go with you,” Hang stated, much to Haruko’s surprise. The waterbender never struck her as the type with commitment. “I’ve been wanting to go there for a while, for personal reasons.”

Koto nodded. “Alright.” She turned to Tala.

Tala put a hand on their chin. “Well, I can’t exactly stay here… I’ll accompany you all to Republic City, and get a train to Gangbei later.”

“Thank you.” Koto stated before turning to Aazir, Haruko, and Hang. “You should probably go pack, I want to leave as soon as possible.”

It didn’t take long to back up what belongings she had, and before she knew it Haruko was out the inn door on her way to the train station. It seemed that her time in Aringeru had gone by in a flash, a brief moment in the grand scheme of things. She had barely gotten accustomed to life there, and they were leaving.

As the group made their way through the city, Haruko noticed that market had been reopened, merchant carts selling everything from carp to cabbage lined the streets, and the typical morning crowd that had waked her every day for the past week had formed, typical civilians out on their daily errands. It wasn’t too long ago Haruko would’ve fit into that crowd. Now, everything was different.

“Lot’s of troops out,” Hang remarked, and Haruko noticed she was right- there was an overwhelming feeling of being watched only heightened by the presence of many green-wearing soldiers.

“Keep your head low.” Tala advised, and while Haruko felt the comment was directed at Koto more than anyone, she obliged.

It wasn’t a long walk to the train station, especially since Tala was there to guide them this time, but their journey was severely impeded by the sheer number of other people. It was like if something had plugged the flow of foot traffic, created a blockage or barrier of some kind. It didn’t take long for them to find out why.

The first thing Haruko noticed when arriving at the train station was the lack of a train. The second thing she noticed was that Tala had registered this before her and had disappeared off to somewhere else- presumably to ask about it, leaving her with her three original companions. The plaza was full of people but didn’t seem busy, it seemed like everyone else, like them, was waiting around for something to happen.

“Trains are down.” Tala announced as they rejoined the group. “Got a friend who works on the tracks, she said the rail lines for the entire state have been blocked.”

“Bandits?” Aazir asked. “We get alot of those up in Si Wong, could be them.”

“No, surprisingly.” Tala replied. “Says it’s a government blockage from Senator Luntian.” The firebender scoffed, as if the mere thought of their state’s leader disgusted them.

“Probably because of that stunt y’all pulled last night,” Hang commented. “They’re all hung up about their secrets getting out, and they want to keep you on the island so it’s easier to find ya.” Haruko was taken aback by how strategically the waterbender thought, how easily she deciphered the plan. The thought would’ve never occurred to her.

“Well, we won’t let them,” Tala said, putting a fist on their open palm for emphasis. They smirked.“Lucky for us, I know a way out they won’t be able to track.”