“Tala, where are we going?” Koto kept her head high in the air as they walked through what Haruko would describe as the slum of the city. Jing Zi’s equivalent of the area was the maze of shantytown sprawling into the desert and underneath abandoned buildings, but here in Aringeru, it was the ports- a place that so much of sea spray and dead fish that it overwhelmed every other feature about the place. Even Aazir seemed disgusted, and it took a lot to disgust Aazir.

“I’ve got an idea, trust me.” Tala put an emphasis on the last two words as they walked backwards, facing the rest of the group. “Trust me, I know a guy. He can get us out of here, no problem.”

Haruko surveyed the small, beat-up fishing boats lining the pier and exchanged a glance with Hang, the two of them equally doubtful.

“Will your guy need me to make the canoe go faster or is he fine with the paddles only?” Hang smirked, Haruko and Koto both laughed at the comment.

Tala frowned, but it was clear they were only upset for the purpose of dramatics. “Look- we’ll be able to get out.”

“Tala! Been forever since I saw your sorry mug!” A gruff voice from somewhere else called out, and before Haruko could fully comprehend what was happening, Tala was enveloped in a tackle hug.

The man that had embraced the firebender was tall, at least taller than Tala. He had warm, tanned skin, a face covered in freckles and wrinkles, and kind eyes. He could very easily be described as old, though he seemed quite a bit younger than Tuli. He had a large, somewhat burly build, enough so that he made Tala look small, and wore his wavy gray hair in a low pointale.

“Ah, I see ya’ve brought some friends along.” The man laughed jovially as he released Tala from his grip. “I’m Jun, Captain Jun if ya will.” He extended his hand, Koto shook it,

“It’s nice to meet you, Captain.” The Airbender smiled pleasantly.

“Nice to meet ya too, master airbender! Y’know, once I had a shipment down to that Eastern Temple of yours- nicest people I’ve ever met in my life. Now I gotta-”

Tala cut Jun off quickly, with the energy of someone who had sat through many a long-winded story. “Actually, let’s talk transportation. My friends and I need to get to Republic City as soon as possible.”

“Republic city, eh?” Jun whistled. “Never struck ya as a city slicker, Tala. My new deck hand’s from Republic City all right- Hey Jae! Come on and meet our new passengers, won’tcha?”

Moments later, a young man- more of a teen boy, only a bit older than Aazir if Haruko had to guess- emerged from the same direction Haruko assumed Jun had come from. He and the old man were almost visual foils, with the younger of the two having fair skin, jet-black hair, and a thin build. He seemed like he would be more at home on the album cover for a rock band than a run-down shipyard in the coral isles, with knee-high leather boots, red-tinted sunglasses, and a studded belt. The only resemblance he had to the captain was that he tied his midnight curls into a loose low ponytail.

“Now this is my deckhand slash intern slash nephew Jae here, all right.” Jun slapped the boy on the back, causing him to almost drop the crate he was carrying.

“You’re related?” Hang asked, dumbfounded.

“Nope.” Jun smiled. “But anyhows, he’ll be sure to get us right to Republic city, won’tcha Jae?”

The boy nodded and gave a cocky grin. “Sure will. Let’s get to the boat then, we’re burning daylight!” Jae promptly set off onto the dock

Jun laughed a loud, hearty bellow. “That’s my boy!”

From Haruko’s extremely limited knowledge of boats, Jun’s Sweet Lady Lotus it was about medium-sized. She was relieved to see that not only was it big enough to house them all comfortably but that it seemed in an overall better condition than some of the other craft. Jun welcomed them aboard with a wide smile and a dramatic flourish.

“You two look like you’ve never been on a boat before,” Jae commented as Haruko helped her little brother stabilize himself on the boat.

“We haven’t.” Haruko replied dryly. They were the only ones showing any difficulty, as Hang, Tala, and Koto all seemed to board the boat with ease.

“We’re from the desert.” Aazir added with a smile.

“Ahhh, sandbenders!” Jae smiled and gave the two of them finger guns. “Cool out, I’ve never met any of you before.”

“Well, now you have.” Haruko snapped back at him. She didn’t mean to be so rude, she was just tired. As Jae and Aazir started to devolve into conversation about sand-sailing, Haruko focused on her companions.

“Hey, tall girl.” Jun stopped Hang by standing in front of her. The man, who had seemed giant moments before, suddenly looked small in front of the waterbender. “You’re one of em swamp folk waterbenders, right?”

Hang nodded. “Sure am.”

Jun smiled. “That sure is swell. Y’know, they say it’s good luck to have a waterbender on board.”

“Uh. Glad to be of help.” Hang replied.

Koto and Tala approached Jae, Haruko, and Aazir. “Uhm. My friends and I-” Koto gestured to herself, Tala and Haruko, “-Are a bit weary, we didn’t sleep last night. Is there anywhere we could rest some?”

“Yeah, totally.” Jae nodded. “There’s a few cabins below deck, you can sleep in those while we travel.”

Jae led the three of them below deck, to a small corridor lit only by a few porthole windows. On either side was a door, one of which was labeled as ‘Jae’s room’.

“That one’s Jun’s.” Jae pointed to the room opposite his own. “And that’s a storage closet.” He pointed to the one next to it. “One of you can sleep in my cabin, and the spare’s got bunks. Divvy it up how you will.” Jae said before leaving back to the deck.

Koto ushered Haruko into the spare cabin, leaving Tala to take Jae’s. As the airbender locked the door behind them, Haruko breathed a deep sigh of relief. They could finally continue talking, alone.

“So, we’re gonna keep this a secret?” Koto whispered.’

Haruko looked at her hands, the ever-present memory of her airbending racing through her mind. “Y-yeah. At least for now. I can’t- I don’t want Aazir to know yet.” It was better for him, to not know yet. She could barely stand to know the information herself.

“Alright.” Koto nodded. “We can keep it a secret, for now. At least til you can airbend in non-deadly circumstances. It’s not the elemental order, but we don’t have much of a choice as I’m not a firebender. We will have to tell them eventually, though.”

Haruko nodded, climbing onto the bottom bunk. Everything Koto said seemed so foreign to her, it was hard to believe that this was who she really was- the bender of all the elements, the bridge between spirits and humans, Korra’s successor- all of it seemed like a massive joke. She wasn’t the avatar, she was Haruko Saeed, the auto mechanic from Jing Zi. Being important and world-changing wasn’t for her, it was for people like Hanuel Beifong. But it was for her, and the reality of that couldn’t leave Haruko’s mind. “I-I’m gonna rest some.” She said, lying down on the bed.

“Alright.” Koto said. She didn’t say anything else after that, leaving Haruko to be lulled to sleep by the sound of the ocean and the slow rocking of a ship on water.