“Haruko, dear, you’re getting too close to the fire.” Lian cautioned, briefly pausing her cooking to guide her five-year old daughter away from the open flame.

Haruko resisted. “Mama, I wanna help you make dinner!” She protested.

Lian laughed and ruffled her daughter’s thick hair- it was just like Zahrun’s. Haruko and Aazir both had taken more of his traits than they had hers. “I don’t need your help, sweetie.”

“But Mama…” Haruko whined.

“Why don’t you go get some sleep?” Lian suggested. “Aazir went to bed a few hours ago.”

“Yeah, but Aazir’s like. A baby!” Haruko put her hands on her hips. “I’m more grown-up than him, I can stay up till Papa comes home.” The young girl promptly yawned, defeating the purpose of her statement.

Lian laughed. “If you say so.”

Moments later, the door of the tent opened, letting a chilly desert wind inside. A stocky man in his early thirties entered the small home, his silhouette and facial features obstructed by the protective gear he was still wearing.

“Papa!” Haruko exclaimed and ran to her father, hugging him around his knees.

“Hold on Haruko,” Zahrun laughed through his sand mask. “Let me get out of my cloak first. Lian stood up to greet her husband, kissing him on the cheek as he removed his cloak and mask.

“How were things in town?” She asked.

“It was alright.” Zahrun folded the cloth in his hands. “I met up with Arnook and the girls they all wanted to know about little Haruko and Aazir.” He chuckled. “We did a bit of business, and I came back home. Tell you one thingI don’t like, those UDES greencoat officials are getting a bit too comfortable in their military base down by the gorge. They don’t belong here, Li.”

“You never liked them.” Lian affirmed.

Zahrun scoffed. “That’s understating it. Someone’s gotta do something about it before they get too confident in their power.”

Lian didn’t respond, so Zahrun turned to his daughter. “Heya Haruko, did you miss me while I was gone?”

Haruko nodded. “It was soooo borrriing. Fatima and the other kids got to practice earthbending in the middle of camp but I didn’t even get to watch. When are they gonna let me learn?”

Zahrun laughed, his daughter had inherited his overconfident nature. “You’re just an early bloomer, most kids don’t discover their bending for a while. And when it is your time to learn, I’ll make sure I’m the one teaching you.”

A wide smile grew on Haruko’s face. “Really?!”

Zahrun nodded. “Yep. There’s no better earthbenders than the Saeed family.” Haruko laughed at his comment.

“How would you like to go out stargazing with me, Haru?” Zahrun smiled and ruffled his daughter’s hair.

Haruko’s eyes widened. “That sounds amazing?” She turned to Lian. “Mama, can I go! Please?!”

Lian smiled and nodded, then turned to Zahrun. “Really? It’s near midnight.”

“The best time to stargaze.” Zahrun replied with a smirk. Lian sighed, it was too late to refuse now, she couldn’t bear to upset her daughter.

“Fine. But be back soon.” Lian chided, but not without a smile.

After donning cloaks and sand masks, Zahrun led Haruko out into the open desert. The tribal camp was quiet this time of night, with only a few fires still lit. Instead of going to the center of the camp like they normally did, Zahrun led them outside of the camp to a ridge, where he sat down looking up at the stars.

Haruko sat down next to him, looking up at the vast, open sky. She had never seen something so big and vast, so empty yet so full of light, each star so close she felt if she reached her hand up she might be able to touch it.

“Look at that one.” Zahrun pointed to a bright star. “That’s part of a constellation- if you look at the stars around it, it makes a turtle-duck!”

Haruko smiled, amazed by her father’s discovery. “Are there any other constellations?” She asked.

Zahrun smiled. “Sure are.” They spent what seemed like the rest of the night with their eyes on the heavens until Zahrun carried Haruko’s sleeping body home.

The next time Zahrun left for a long period of time was six months later. When he didn’t return by nightfall the day he left, Lian began to get worried. Her worries only increased when a sandstorm started raging threateningly nearby their camp.

On a windy night three days after he had left, Zahrun finally returned. He had arrived during the middle of the storm, the wind threatening to blow him down. Zahrun’s coat was tattered from the wind, his entire body was covered in dust. As Lian helped him undress and clean himself off, she noticed something- stains of red dotting his cloak and shirt, an unmistakable vibrant crimson.

“Are- are you ok?” Lian hovered her hand close to her husband’s chest, where the stains were most prominent. Zahrun stood tall and didn’t look injured, but he was good at hiding pain, she of all people would know.

“It’s not my blood.” Zahrun whispered. The statement only added to Lian’s worries. “Don’t worry, I’m fine.” He kept saying. “I don’t want to disturb the kids.”

Lian nodded, finding it best to not bother Zahrun about the subject. He always got touchy about his work. “Alright.”

Zahrun put a hand to Lian’s cheek. “Are you alright? You don’t look well.”

“Shh… shh… don’t worry.” The man kept whispering. His voice was deep and he had an accent Haruko didn’t recognize. Almost everything about him seemed foreign, from his blue eyes to his braided hair, but her father had treated him like an old friend, so Haruko supposed he was trustworthy.

Three days ago, her mother had died. She was gone, and she wasn’t ever going to come back. Haruko didn’t want to cry, not in front of the strange kind man, but she couldn’t hold in her tears.

“Shhh…” The man repeated, wiping away her tears. “It’s ok, you can cry. It’s natural to feel grief after such a major loss.”

Haruko couldn’t make sense of what he was saying, but it was comforting.

“I’m Arnook.” The man said.

“I-I’m Haruko.” Haruko whimpered in response.

Arnook nodded. “So I’ve heard. Have you ever heard of the Northern Lights, Haruko?”

Haruko shook her head.

“Well, I’d love to tell you.” Arnook smiled before telling the story.

Zahrun placed a hand on his forehead, then ran it through his hair, glad that Arnook had offered to take care of the kids for a few hours. He needed time to think, and time to talk with the others.

“Once again, I’m devastated to hear about your wife.” Tehreem put a hand on Zahrun’s forearm. She had always been more openly compassionate than Ahsa was.

“Me too.” Ahsa said, though her arms didn’t move from their relaxed, crossed position. No one spoke for a moment, until Ahsa did. “I hate to change the subject, but what’re you gonna do about the new acts?”

Zahrun raised an eyebrow.

“Sandbender relocation act, imposed by the UDES government by popular vote of the senate.” Ahsa explained. “Taking effect in a few years they say, that’s when they’re gonna start moving the tribes to spirits know where.”

Zahrun put a hand to his brow. “I don’t know…”

“You’re not seriously thinking of going along with it?!” Tehreem near-shouted.

“I don’t know…” Zahrun repeated. “I’ll have to think about it.”