Avatar: The Last Dragon Prince

Chapter Eleven: Sun, Sand, Secrets

As luck would have it, Aang's travel party hadn't run into any of the Fire Nation royals since the sleepless chase of nearly three weeks ago.

But just because they were down a few problems didn't mean that they were home free. In fact, Callum, Ezran and Rayla were distinctly not home free. And the more time they spent here, the more anxious they grew about the state of their world back home. Two human princes and the dragon prince were 'missing'. Both sides of their world definitely suspected each other.

What Callum needed was to find a way back.

And fortunately, they were currently en route to a knowledge spirit's library in the middle of the Si Wong desert. If there was anywhere on this earth that would have the answers he sought, it was that library. It had to be.

While Appa soared over the dusty dunes, Callum let his mind wander all the way back to his first meeting with Zuko and Azula, seemingly two siblings that were competing with each other. It didn't matter to him why they were at odds; he was just glad to be off their radar.

He wondered even farther back to Lujanne's home at the Moon Nexus. Back to when he saw the symbol in one of her journals. How did Lujanne have that symbol in her journal anyway?

An Earth Kingdom symbol, he now knew.

It meant that Lujanne had knowledge about this world, however marginal it might have been. Someone had to have been in this world to get that symbol and take it back to their world for Lujanne to have it.

There was a way back.

For that moment, Callum allowed the seeds of hope to take root in his heart. He had to remain strong for his friends, for his brother, for Zym, and he wouldn't do that if he was hopeless.

Maybe, he thought hopefully, when they figured out a way, they would also go back with Claudia.

He had no doubt in his mind that she and her brother were in this world on his account. Or rather, for him and his brother. King Harrow was probably worried sick about his sons and sent the two of them on a rescue mission. And somehow, Claudia, in all her beautiful talented power, was able to find them in this world.

But she was with Zuko. They both were. And that didn't sit well with Callum at all. Zuko wasn't a good guy. He was trying to capture the avatar who would, according to Aang himself, restore balance to this war-torn world. Did they not know that! Did they not know that? Had Zuko omitted his true mission from them!?

Anyway, the optics of him allied with a Moonshadow elf probably weren't that great either. But if he'd had a moment to explain what they were doing – if their three-way battle had allowed them some time to exchange more than a look – he was sure that they would leave Zuko, join his friends, and find a way back together.

But as long as he and his friends were off Zuko's radar, they'd be off Claudia and Soren's too. If Zuko's avatar-hunting abilities were nothing to scoff at (Sokka did say he'd been hunting them since the beginning of their journey with Aang), it was only a matter of time before they crossed paths again. And when that inevitability came to pass, he would save Claudia. And Soren, even if he'd been a bit of a jerk to him back in Katolis.

"This heat makes me feel like I'm in Sunfire Elf territory," Rayla groaned. She used the cloak of her disguise as a fan and doubly as a cloth to dab at the beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

"You are a Moonshadow elf," Callum grinned. "This sunshine is like the opposite of night."

"I'll say. What were you thinking about?"

He was caught off guard. "I wasn't thinking!"

"Don't play dumb with me. I know your deep thinking face by now. Tell me what you were thinking and maybe I won't take offence to you thinking I don't know you well enough."