Zuko sat back against a rock, trying to ignore the sting in his scar as he watched Katara and Sokka argue over the situation. His mind kept drifting to the figure tied to the tree, the one sent by the Fire Nation to track him down. You should've been more careful, he berated himself. It was only a matter of time before someone from his past showed up, but seeing this person, an unknown figure with the Fire Nation's insignia, made his blood boil.

"Well, what do we do with them?" Katara's voice cut through his thoughts, calm as ever. She glanced at Sokka, who was grinning like this was all some kind of joke.

"I say we leave 'em here for a few days," Sokka said, flicking his spear absentmindedly. "Maybe teach 'em a lesson about picking fights with us."

Katara shot him a look, one of those "you seriously just said that?" stares, but she didn’t interrupt.

Zuko crossed his arms, eyes narrowing. He couldn't afford to get too worked up about it. They’re with me now. They're part of the group, he reminded himself. His throat felt tight, thinking about how they all took him in despite everything—the lies, the betrayals, the firebending that was supposed to be a weapon of destruction.

"Zuko, what do you think?" Katara asked, her voice soft but firm. She was trying to include him, like she always did. But he couldn’t help but feel that weird pressure in his chest—like he didn’t belong, not fully.

He glanced over at the person tied up, their face hidden by the shadows of the trees, and then back at Katara. "We don’t need to treat them like a prisoner," he said, his voice gravelly. "But we also can't just let them go. They were sent for me." He ground his teeth, the anger boiling beneath his skin. "I won’t let them report back to my father."

Sokka snorted, "What, you’re protecting them now?" His voice was playful, but there was that edge to it, the kind that Zuko had learned to ignore.

Zuko shot him a look, "No," he muttered. "Just making sure we don’t have more trouble down the road."