The sun started to set behind them as Azara lifted a flame over her head to illuminate the path in front of her, which was becoming harder to see with each passing minute. "We should make camp soon," she announced, stepping over a crack in the ground.

"There! We'll make camp for the night," Aang pointed out, finding a clearing in the path with enough space for everyone to set up for the night. Everyone dispersed into their own jobs and took a moment to collect themselves from their long day of walking.

After setting up a second fire for everyone, Azara moved to roll out her blanket on the flattest part of the clearing. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Sokka approaching Suki, who was also laying out her sleeping bag for the night. "Suki, you shouldn't sleep there. Who knows how stable this ledge is, it could give way at any moment!" Sokka stated, pulling Suki's sleeping bag to the side, and placing it closer to the rest of the group.

"Sokka, I'm fine, stop worrying!" Suki demanded, placing her hands on her hips.

"You're right, you're right, you're perfectly capable of taking care of yourself!" Sokka conceded as Suki walked forwards to grab her sleeping bag. However, before she could, Sokka jumped back, pulling her with him. "Wait! Oh, never mind, I thought I saw a spider, but you're fine," Sokka smiled, causing Suki and Azara to send him a look. Without another word, Azara stood up and walked down the path a bit to clear her head.

Finding a dip in the rock, Azara climbed up and laid with her back against the wall, staring up at the moon as she processed the day. She was exhausted and wanted nothing more than a softer patch of ground to sleep on. Pulling her hair out of the braid she usually kept it in, she allowed her long dark hair to pool around her face, her golden irises catching the reflection of the moonlight.

Turning so that she was staring fully at the moon, Azara sighed, resting her cheek against the cool rock as she tried to sort out her thoughts. She couldn't help but first think about Zuko and Iroh, wondering where they were at that moment. With their newfound knowledge about the Solstice, and if everything went according to plan, then the Fire Nation would hopefully be defeated by the end of summer.

She knew how much Zuko wanted to return home and for everything to just go back to normal, but she also knew that that future was not possible. She was clearly a traitor, and apparently, he and Iroh had been labeled the same after the defeat of the Fire Nation at the North Pole. Regardless of what Zuko dreamed of, she knew that their father would not forgive or forget their betrayals.

Glancing out at another passing Fire Navy ship, Azara narrowed her eyes at the sight. Based on what Suki had informed her of earlier, the Fire Nation appeared to be preparing for something big. And she didn't like the proximity of all the Fire Nation ships to Ba Sing Se. Rolling onto her back, Azara sighed. Wherever there was a Fire Nation mess, it seemed that her family was not far behind it, which meant one thing—Azula. Groaning, Azara rolled back over so that she was facing the moon. She couldn't think about her family right now. She was too tired to sort out that mess.

She was, regardless of her willingness to deal with it, too caught up in the current mess that was playing out at their campsite. Rubbing her face tiredly, she sighed again. After her kiss with Sokka in the canyon, she assumed that she and Sokka were well . . . more than friends. They hadn't talked about labels or anything, but she had presumed that their kiss meant that the two of them were something other than strictly platonic friends.

But then the way he acted around Suki just confused her more. Obviously the two had been close when they had originally visited Kyoshi Island. And Sokka had mentioned Suki before, even before they had returned to Kyoshi Island, so it wasn't like she was completely blindsided by their friendship, or relationship, or whatever they wanted to call it. It still hurt though, despite the fact that she wasn't even sure if she had a right to be upset about it.

Because Azara knew that their little ragtag group, where people from all nations coexisted peacefully and even cared deeply for each other, was rare if not completely unique. She had found acceptance and refuge with them, but she knew that at the end of the day, she was Fire Nation. She was part of the nation that had murdered Sokka's mother and forced his father to leave him and his sister. It didn't help that her grandfather and father were directly responsible for those events. Suki on the other hand, and frankly any other girl that they had come across in their travels, was not similarly involved in Sokka's childhood trauma.

Sighing, Azara rubbed her face tiredly before straightening up and staring up at the moon. She was being ridiculous. "Get a hold of yourself, Azara," she muttered to herself, shaking her head, and glaring at her toes. "Just talk to him for Spirit's sake." Huffing, she laid back on the cool rock and closed her eyes for a moment, planning out her next steps.

On one hand, talking about their feelings had led to their kiss in the first place. And they hadn't really had the opportunity to talk about everything before they got caught up with the stupid spirit library and Appa being kidnapped. Maybe all they needed to do was talk everything out again and just figure out what they both wanted.

But before she pulled herself up, she paused for a moment. Maybe she was just being paranoid, but the way that Sokka and Suki were interacting earlier were starting to concern her. Had they kissed? It had been months since they had last seen each other and a lot had happened between then and now, namely everything at the North Pole. Was he even thinking about Suki while he was with Yue?

Shaking her head, Azara sat up. "Stop it, Azara. You're overthinking everything . . . again," she mumbled to herself before kicking off the wall and landing on the path below. Taking small steps back towards camp, Azara couldn't help but let her stomach twist into knots. She was unbelievably uncomfortable with the whole situation, but she just needed to push through. "You know how he feels about you," she reminded herself before trudging back up to camp.

About to turn the corner to camp, Azara paused as she spotted a familiar figure sitting by himself on a rock, staring up at the moon. Taking a step forward, Azara stopped in her tracks as she noticed Suki approaching. Slipping back into the darkness behind one of the path rocks, Azara stared out at the two of them as Suki reached Sokka.

She didn't know what she was doing. At this point, she wasn't thinking, but just letting her body think for her. In the back of her mind, Azara knew that she should look away, maybe even walk away, and talk to Sokka in the morning. While she wasn't exactly sure where Suki and Sokka stood, and frankly where she and Sokka stood, the two of them were friends and were entitled to privacy without Azara around. But her feet remained rooted into the ground, her golden irises glancing between the two of them.

"It's a beautiful moon," Suki commented, sitting next to Sokka as he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Yeah, it really is," Sokka agreed as Suki looked between him and the moon.

"Look, I know you're just trying to help, but I can take care of myself," Suki stated, causing Sokka to nod without an argument.

"I know you can," Sokka replied, turning to Suki with an unreadable expression on his face.

"Then why are you acting so overprotective?" Suki questioned, sounding confused at Sokka's earlier antics.

"It's so hard to lose someone you care about," Sokka started, looking away from the moon and staring down at the ground as memories swirled around in the back of his mind. "Something happened at the North Pole and . . . I couldn't protect someone." Sokka paused for a moment as Azara looked away, her hand cradling into her chest where Zhao had struck her. "I don't want anything like that to ever happen again," Sokka finished, turning back to Suki, who nodded in return.

Azara slid around the rock, resting the back of her head on the rock and sighing, her hand still cradled against her chest. Taking a moment, Azara shook her head and stared down at the ground. "You were being overdramatic, Azara," she mumbled to herself, before gently pushing off the rock. "Just talk to him in the morning like a normal person."

Walking out from behind the rock, Azara was about to make her way towards her sleeping bag, when some movement out of the corner of her eye caused her to stop. Turning to face Sokka and Suki again, Azara's eyes widened as she watched Suki lean in towards Sokka. While she couldn't see Sokka's face, he clearly wasn't pushing Suki away. As Suki moved in closer, Azara spun on her heel and ran away from the scene, unable and unwilling to watch the scene anymore.

As Azara ran away, Sokka sighed and placed a hand on Suki's shoulder, preventing her from leaning in further. Suki opened her blue eyes at the action and straightened up, staring at the ground, glad that the red tinge of embarrassment on her cheeks was hidden by the night and the white paint on her face. Sokka waited a moment before turning to her.

"I'm sorry, Suki, but I can't," he explained, as Suki nodded, her eyes remaining trained on the ground in front of her.

"I'm sorry," Suki sighed as Sokka shook his head.

"No, you shouldn't be," Sokka replied, turning his body to face her entirely. "I did like you, Suki. Really, I did, but since Kyoshi Island . . . a lot of things happened." Suki turned to Sokka, who glanced up at the moon for a moment.

"At the North Pole?" Suki asked, referring back to his earlier ramblings.

Sokka nodded, his face becoming somber for a moment. "The Northern Water Tribe was under attack from the Fire Nation. There was this admiral named Zhao and he managed to capture the Moon Spirit," Sokka recalled, causing some confusion to rise in Suki at the mention of the Moon Spirit, but she remained quiet and allowed him to continue. "Well, he almost killed the Moon Spirit, but . . . Azara sacrificed herself to save the Moon Spirit."

"Sacrificed herself?" Suki couldn't help but question. "But . . . she's alive and here."

"There was a point where she wasn't," Sokka spoke softly, looking away as those memories cropped up again in his mind. "And watching her fade away . . . I still relive it sometimes in my dreams. And every time, I'm as useless as I was back there."

"What happened to bring her back then?" Suki inquired, placing a comforting hand on Sokka's shoulder, causing Sokka to look up at the moon.

"She was saved by the Moon Spirit," he continued after a momentary pause. "Believe me, I wouldn't have believed the story if I wasn't there to watch it myself." Sokka forced out a chuckle, but it died quickly in his chest.

"You love her," Suki observed, causing Sokka's eyes to widen as he stared at the Kyoshi Warrior with a flabbergasted expression on his face. "Sokka, it's written all over your face," Suki joked, a kind smile on her face. "I'm happy for you," she added, causing Sokka to smile back and nod in thanks.

Quietly, Suki stood up, bid him goodnight, and headed back towards camp. Once her footsteps faded from his ears, Sokka glanced back up at the moon, his mind drifting from the North Pole to the gorge where he and Azara had finally discussed everything. Standing up, he walked back into camp, his eyes widening as he noticed that Azara's sleeping cot was empty beside his own.

Further down the path, Azara huffed as she reached a safe distance away from camp. Falling to her knees, Azara let the tears stream freely as she gripped the ground beneath her for stability. Sitting back against the rock, Azara angrily wiped away the tears from her cheeks as she failed to notice the finger-shaped marks melted into the path below her.

"Stop, crying, dammit," she scoffed at herself, which did little to stop the tears from slipping down her cheeks. "He wasn't yours to lose in the first place, Azara," she sighed, before curling her knees into her chest and staring down at the water below.

She wanted to burn something. She wanted to unleash the flames that were about to burst from her palms. She wanted to just release the pent-up emotions she felt inside, but she couldn't. Fire was the element of passion, but she knew she had to lock her emotions away again. The Fire Nation ships were circling the western lake and her firework show might just alert them to their location. And there wasn't anything to burn on this stupid rocky outcrop anyways.

"He wasn't yours," she repeated to herself as she glanced up at the moon. Shaking her head, she sighed and leaned back against the once cool rock, which was quickly growing warmer through her residual heat releases. "It was just a kiss, nothing more," Azara whispered out, another tear dripping past her eyelids.

A few moments passed, before Azara knew she had to get back to camp, lest someone notice she's missing and find her in her current state. Sighing, Azara got to her feet and dusted herself off. Wiping the remaining tears from her cheeks, Azara hoped the darkness of the night would cover their tracks. Walking quietly back to camp, Azara kept her eyes trained towards the ground.

Sliding silently into camp, Azara spotted her sleeping cot and quickly made her way over. Sokka glanced up from his own sleeping bag as he spotted her approaching. "Hey," he called, the smile on his face disappearing as Azara didn't respond. "Are you okay, Azara?" Sokka asked, concern dripping into his voice as Azara curled up on cot, her face stoic.

"I'm fine. Just tired," Azara replied quietly, causing Sokka to nod.

"Well, I'll let you get to sleep then," Sokka spoke softly as Azara clenched her eyes shut at the sound of his voice. "Goodnight, Azara."

"Goodnight, Sokka," Azara responded as he climbed into his sleeping bag next to her. As she could hear his breathing slow, she let a few silent tears fall, before turning in for the night.

Meanwhile, on a passing ferry that was heading to Ba Sing Se, Zuko glared down at his bowl of warm food. Glancing around suspiciously at the Freedom Fighters, Zuko ignored Iroh's loud stories to Smellerbee and Longshot. While he and the Freedom Fighters had made a good team in their mission to grab the food from the captain, he didn't want to get into the habit of making friends with Earth Kingdom refugees. Especially ones like Jet.

"From what I heard, people eat like this every night in Ba Sing Se. I can't wait to set my eyes on that giant wall," Jet sighed, sounding excited as Iroh nodded in agreement.

"It is a magnificent sight," Iroh agreed, piquing Jet's interest.

"So, you've been there before?" Jet asked Iroh, who sipped at his tea, quieting as his mind drifted away from the ferry for a moment.

"Once. When I was a . . . different man," Iroh sighed, not wanting to elaborate more on the subject.

"I've done some things in my past that I'm not proud of. That's why I'm going to Ba Sing Se, for a new beginning. A second chance," Jet explained, causing Iroh to nod as Zuko continued to stare down at his bowl with disinterest.

"That's very noble of you. I believe that people can change their lives if they want to. I believe in second chances," Iroh stated, turning to Zuko as he spoke. Narrowing his eyes, Zuko stood up and walked away, finding a place on the railing by himself.

A few moments of sweet silence passed before he heard footsteps approaching, causing him to huff in frustration. "I don't want to talk, Uncle," Zuko lightly snapped as the individual stepped out into the moonlight.

"I'm not your uncle," Jet replied, moving to stand next to Zuko by the railing. "Just wondering why you stormed off like that. You don't believe in second chances?"

"My uncle wants to move on from our past, I don't," Zuko stated simply, not wanting to give any more away to Jet. They had already said too much to the Freedom Fighter for his liking.

"I understand," Jet started, leaning on the railing, and seeming to not understand that Zuko wanted to be alone at the moment. "Smellerbee, she wants me to move on from our past, but I don't feel the same way." Zuko continued to stare silently out at the lake, which Jet took to mean that he should continue. "A while back, the Freedom Fighters were carrying out raids on the Fire Nation camps around us when we ran into the Avatar and his friends."

"The Avatar?" Zuko questioned, Jet smirking as he knew that he caught Zuko's attention.

"Yeah, and the Fire Nation princess," Jet continued, causing Zuko's attention to shift. He glared at the passing water at the mention of his little sister. The last time that they had seen each other was when Azula had injured Uncle and he had screamed at her. He could still picture the hurt look on her face before the Water Tribe peasant had pulled her away from him.

Jet mistook Zuko's glare for anger at Azara and stared out at the water as well. "I can tell by the scar on your face that the Fire Nation has taken their toll on you," Jet stated as Zuko continued to not meet his gaze. "It's hard to move on from the past when the wounds are still there." Turning to leave, Jet placed a hand on Zuko's shoulder. "Get some rest. And don't worry about the Fire Nation, and certainly not about their princess."

"What do you mean?" Zuko asked, confusion clear in his voice as Jet started to walk away.

"I got one back for you, for all of us. I almost got rid of her, permanently," Jet explained, causing Zuko's grip on the railings to tighten, a vein nearly popping on his neck as he glared at Jet. "Would have gotten away with it, but this oaf Sokka got there before Longshot could light the match." Zuko wasn't sure if Jet was ignoring his glare or if he was simply too caught up in his own arrogance that he didn't notice. "Anyway, get some rest, Lee. We'll be in Ba Sing Se by this time tomorrow."

Jet walked off as Zuko released a flame from his nose. Removing his steel grip from the railings, Zuko stalked over to where Iroh had set up their sleeping mats. "Are you alright?" Iroh inquired as Zuko marched over and slid into his sleeping bag, a hard glare on his face.

"We're not traveling with Jet past the wall," Zuko stated firmly, before turning around and curling into his sleeping bag without another word.

A.N. Here's the second part of The Serpent's Pass episode! The last part of this episode should be up by the end of the week. 

So there's a slight bump in the road for Azara and Sokka's relationship, but Suki does support their relationship, which remains undefined as of this chapter. Hopefully it all works out and stay tuned to find out!

Thanks for reading, voting, and commenting on this story everyone!