The journey to the Island was uneventful. Ren took it a little slower than usual, mindful of her companion's lack of footwear, but they made good time to the docks and onto the last ferry heading to the Island for the day. The old ferryman greeted her with a tip of his cap, recognising her robes from ten feet away. "Good evening, honourable acolyte," he murmured as they stepped aboard. "It's a pleasure."

Ren nodded kindly. "Thank you for your hard work," she said, stepping aside to allow Shao to board first.

The ride to the Island was quick; the winds and current were in their favour, and it wasn't long before she was stepping off the ferry and onto the docks. She tried to give the ferryman a small monetary gift, but he refused her with a smile before setting off.

The head acolyte was there to greet her. Ren bowed, her braid slipping over the side of her shoulder. "Thank you for agreeing to this," she said, her husky voice quavering just slightly. "I know I have been imposition after imposition —"

He held up his hand. Ren fell silent, biting her lip as he spoke, a hint of amusement in his tone. "Acolyte Ren, it is no imposition." He glanced over at Shao briefly, then looked back at Ren. "Acclimate your lost cat; your room has been prepared, and extra clothes provided as requested. One of the other acolytes will be over with some dinner for both of you."

The head acolyte departed, and Ren gestured that Shao should follow her.

She led the way to the family quarters, located in the middle of the temple grounds, opening the door to her room with care. It was as she left it — the kotatsu table, her futon, her book case, and her small writing table and calligraphy supplies. On top of her rolled up futon was a change of clothes for Shao, as the head acolyte had said.

"Well, she said, stepping aside to let Shao through. "Here we are."

Shāo was at a lost for words, She often found herself gazing at the temple's beauty as she walked with Ren to the family quarters. She changed into the provided clothes and looked at herself in the mirror. She returned to her bag pulling out her broken mask. "I've sure come a long way huh Ren" she said with a sigh

" I left my family behind when I was 16 because I wanted to become a stronger firebender. I wonder what my parents would say if they saw me now" Shāo pushed her hair back and made a stern face in the mirror. "Hui Mei! Stop daydreaming and get back to your studies! The world is much too dangerous for a small girl like you!" Shāo laughed a little. 

"Are there others like me here?" She asked Ren.

"Well, it beats sleeping out there," she murmured, not entirely sure she was any authority to speak on how far Shao had or had not come.

Shao seemed lost in reminiscing, pulling faces in the mirror. Ren hid a smile and busied herself unrolling the futon and lighting the charcoal under the kotatsu table.

Engrossed in her tasks, Ren felt suddenly wrong footed when Shao turned to her with a question. Absently, she reached up and pulled her robe a little tighter. While there was no stigma in being transgender, Ren had never been comfortable discussing her personal details with strangers. After the briefest of moments, she nodded, her glasses slipping down her nose.

"Yes. And the Air Nomads have had a long recorded history of other trans and gender non-conforming citizens, so all are welcome within the Acolytes' halls."

Once she was satisfied that the kotatsu was sufficiently warm, Ren stood and headed for the door. She intended to say goodbye and head back to her apartment outside the City, but another acolyte popped her head into the room.

Hey Ren. The head acolyte wonders if you can stay for dinner, give your friend here a tour of the grounds. He says he'll pay for a taxi to take you back to your apartment if the trains have stopped by the time you're done.

Though it was posed as a question, Ren knew that it was really an obligation. The Head Acolyte had already extended kindness by allowing an uninitiated individual to stay with the other acolytes, and staying for dinner and acting as a tour guide was the least Ren could do.

So she nodded, and the other acolyte winked and smiled knowingly. Lovely. He's sending dinner here so you can let your friend know the rules and stuff before you take them around on the grounds.

Ren nodded again, and slid the rice paper door shut behind her. She settled in under the kotatsu's warm blankets. "So!" she said brightly, motioning for Shao to join her. "Looks like we're going to have dinner. I hope you don't mind vegetarian."

Shāo sat down, The sudden warmth of the kotasu gave her goosebumps. "As a scorch cat I learned to forage for food when we were traveling. None of us could hunt though so we mostly lived on a vegetarian diet...I wish I knew what happened to them..." Shāo's wound throbbed a little. "A-At least they were kind enough to visit me at the hospital up until the day I was discharged..." Shāo smiled as she almost started to cry but then shook her head "I need to get better so I can improve my firebending, I heard that Fire Lord Zuko's uncle could generate lightning, maybe I can learn to control lightning too!" Shāo's eyes sparkled with excitement.

As a child Shāo always loved the stormy dry season because the sky's would often light up with lightning. Other children would scream and run at the sound of thunder, but to Shāo it was music to her ears.

Ren smiled sympathetically. "I'm sure you'll be able to find them," she said, her tone encouraging. "But first you have to recover. That wound won't get any better if you're running around the city aimlessly."

The rice paper door slid open, and a bald acolyte presented them with individual trays of food. For each of them, a bowl of seaweed noodle udon with chopped winter vegetables and tofu cubes, baked firm tofu breaded with delicate panko, and some string beans sautéed in garlic and soy sauce. There was also a communal pot of steamed rice, and a teapot filled with steaming hot green tea. There were also empty cups for the tea, and empty bowls for the rice.

She motioned that Shao should take the dishes closest to them; Ren helped herself to the same, and ate with gusto. The meagre bread and butter she had consumed at the Temple felt like ages ago, and she was several bites into her noodles before she paused long enough to talk.

"You know, you could always get a job at the power plant," she suggested. "They're always looking for new firebenders, and they offer on-the-job training."

"that sounds wonderful!" Shāo said excitedly. "To be honest ever since I was stabbed my breathing has been off. A fire bender without a steady airflow is like a water bender in the desert... Back at the Koh temple it took a lot of work just to boil the glass of water..."

Ren giggled at the nonchalant way Shao described their condition. Then she reddened, embarrassed. "Oh, I'm not making fun," she said hastily, "it was just the way you said it..." She trailed off, and ducked her head back down to put more food in her mouth.

After a few moments, she felt less embarrassed. "Well, you'll be able to get plenty of rest here. I've already explained the situation to the Head Acolyte, so you should be good to go."

She paused, then spoke again. "So, you've mentioned the Scorch Cats a few times now... what are they, exactly?"

"The Scorch Cats are a group of traveling street preformers. They do firebending tricks and staged plays" Shāo finished her food, it had been years since she had a decent meal. "I often played male roles, most of the stories we're made up but some were about avatar Aang's journeys. One of the largest props was a Wan shi tong puppet!" Shāo stretched out her arms to symbolize the owl spirit "We had to collect a lot of feathers from butcher shops and farms, it was our biggest show! It would be amazing if I could meet the real Wan shi tong"