Lay Me Down

The Western Air Temple

My breathing was slow and steady, but I had to focus to do so. Rin, on the other hand, had no problem keeping pace while talking away like we were on our way to a festival. He and Zuko had seemingly warmed up to each other again- at least, the awkward tense atmosphere from the first few days of following the Avatar and his retinue had died down a little. Now instead of silence, Rin talked his heart out and Zuko responded occasionally, which I guess was an improvement.

At any sign of danger- whether it was a noise in the forest, my wounds reopening slightly, or Zuko getting too close for comfort, Rin was sure to help me. In fact, every time I turned around, he was there. I breathed too heavily, and he called for us to stop a moment. My face flushed a little, and he forced me to let him wipe it down with a cool cloth. I couldn't do anything with him there. But at the end of the day, it was endearing. I wondered if this is what friends were like.

And, if they were, I wondered why I had refused to have any until now.

"Hate to interrupt," I said, breaking Rin and Zuko off mid-conversation. They both turned to look at me curiously. "But we're here. I feel it. This must be what they're heading towards."

Beneath the ground, with each step we took for the last few minutes, I felt a huge expanse of structures below us. They felt like they were hanging from the ceiling of a cavern, clinging to the sides of a cliff. I couldn't make out many details, but I felt giant rooms, massive statues, and large balconies. A palace seemed to hide within the cavern's walls.

A huge being landed on one of the balconies, followed by much smaller footprints jumping off. "They just landed. There are more than just the four of them..." I could feel several extra pairs of feet, as well as a cart-like thing rolling around. "I don't know how many."

"Great! I'm excited to meet the Avatar again." Rin watched as Zuko hooked a rope to the base of a tree near the overhang. He offered me the rope first, but I shook my head. "No thanks," I mumbled uncomfortably. The thought of swinging back and forth in the air, supported only by a single rope, had my stomach churning. "I'll rock climb down."

They slid down the rope, Rin following after Zuko, while I started my climb down the rock face. My hands and feet dug into the side of the cavern as I slid slowly down to match their pace. Now we could see the ornate carvings decorating the infrastructure of the temple. All the pillars and columns weren't an eyesore to the cliff- they were built almost as part of the rock itself to create a very natural, unplanned sort of beauty that only added to the surroundings. We landed on a balcony and I marveled at the statues three times the size of a man, all of which represented monks with high foreheads revealing arrows like that of the Avatar. Even Rin was speechless at the sight.

Zuko seemed lost in thought as he overlooked the balcony's edge. He rubbed at his temple with one hand, eyes closed in concentration. Or regret. I placed a hand on his shoulder and he turned around to look at me. Indeed, his golden eyes were sad and pained. But he smiled nonetheless and shrugged. "Just some bad memories," he muttered, turning away from the railing.

"Ok." I let my hand drop to his finger and pulled him towards one of the openings in the wall, where Rin already had left to start exploring. "Let's go set up camp for tonight."

He leaned in close to me, but apparently thought better of it and pulled back. My brow furrowed. This whole trip, he's been distant and quiet. Very unlike him, at least from how we had interacted back at Ba-Sing-Se. I realized that he was a different person then, but I thought now that he had rejected his father and realized his destiny, he would be more carefree. Happier. But now, instead of uncertainty and hate, his eyes held even more regret and sadness.