ATLA: Azlua

Phoenix City Part VII

Ty Lee walked with purpose down the dirt path that wound through the forest outskirts of Phoenix City. The trees loomed overhead, cloaked in fog so thick it clung to her clothes and curled into her lungs. She hugged her coat tighter, the chill biting deeper than it should have. Zira walked beside her, shoulders squared and hand hovering near the sparkstone that would ignite her flames in an instant. Behind them, a half-dozen elite guards moved in practiced silence—just visible through the mist.

Zira's expression hadn't shifted once since they'd left the city walls. Eyes sharp. Jaw clenched. Muscles tight like coiled wire. She didn't like this.

Ty Lee gave her a playful nudge on the shoulder. "You're going to wear out your scowl if you keep that up."

Zira didn't smile. "I don't like this."

"I noticed," Ty Lee said lightly, but then she sighed and let the mask slip a little. "I believe in them, Zira. They want peace. They want stability—maybe even more than I do."

Zira shook her head. "This is a trap. You know that, right?"

"That's why I let you station a dozen guards to shadow us." She glanced over her shoulder at the hidden ones, flanking far to the rear. "And Kaida is probably up in a tree watching everything right now."

Zira gave a low grunt of approval, but it wasn't satisfaction.

Ty Lee kept walking, eyes forward. "Think of Mai. The rebels she worked with in the eastern provinces managed to set aside their grudges, and that was after 100 years of war. We can do the same here."

Zira turned her head slightly. "That was different. The Fire Nation was welcomed in that region. They were fighting the Earth Kingdom's generals—their oppressors. Here? There's no shared enemy. It's just us."

Ty Lee swallowed hard but kept her voice steady. "Then I'll be the first to extend a hand. I have to believe they want their people's suffering to end." She paused, letting her breath fog out before her. "I need to believe that."

The trees thinned, and the crumbling shrine came into view.

It stood like a relic of forgotten faith—weather-worn stone and broken tiles, half swallowed by vines and mist. The air around it was too still. Even the birds had stopped singing. A graveyard silence hung over the clearing.

Ty Lee's boots crunched gravel as she stepped onto the shrine path, and the sound felt too loud, too final. Her chi pulsed strangely in her veins, tight and unbalanced. She ignored it. She had to.

Rin stood at the far end of the clearing, in front of a cracked stone altar. A torch burned beside her, casting her face in harsh amber shadows. Her arms were crossed. Her expression unreadable.

Behind her, shapes flickered in the mist.

One by one, silhouettes emerged from the fog—silent, armed, expressionless. They didn't shout. They didn't move quickly. They just... appeared. Forming a slow, quiet circle around the shrine.

Zira drifted closer, stepping in front of Ty Lee now. Her hand curled slightly, ready to summon fire.

Ty Lee raised her hand gently. "Easy," she murmured.

Then she stepped forward alone.

"I'm here," she said, voice clear but not loud. "Am I speaking with you, or your leader?"

Rin laughed—a dry, bitter sound. "He'd never meet with you. You actually thought this would work?"

Ty Lee didn't flinch. "Yes. I did." Her voice cracked with emotion. "Aren't you tired of suffering? Don't you want the people you care about to live?"