Hoseok had been studying the air bender for days.

He didn’t know what to make of her. There were so many rumor about her he couldn’t figure out what was true and false. They said she was a ruthless murderer and then a saint. Cruel, and name her kind in the same sentence. All Hoseok knew for sure that when he watched her she was a confusing individual.

Most of the time her expression was carefully blank, but if one looked closely they could see the emotion hidden just beneath. Irritation whenever General Zara belittled Darshi’s age and strategies. Fondness whenever she saw the Southern Water Tribe member Jimin from afar, and pain when she saw Sergeant Jungkook. She never made the children go away when they ran up to her, poking her with a squeak just to prove to their friends they weren’t afraid of the Great Adarshini. She didn’t bat a lash when men came up to with their loutish behavior, wanting the bragging rights of spending a night with her beneath them.

He wasn’t sure if she was kind, but he figured at the least she wasn’t cruel based on his observations. She had been given a room to do paperwork just like the other leaders, but she always did it out in the open a bit away from the people. Where she could watch from afar but not be close enough to interact.

Hoseok adjusted his shirt, his stance firm as he walked towards to her. He wanted to make a good impression.

She blinked at him owlish. “Can I help you?” She pulled away from her work, placing her writing utensil down to give him her undivided attention. Her lips were in a slight frown, barely able to be made out. He could only assume she thought he was another one of those young men attempting to bed her.

“I wish to join your people.”

His mother always told him to be forward with people as no one was a mind reader. He had to say what he wanted in order to get it, and he figured getting straight to the point was best. She was a busy woman, after all.

Her eyes narrowed, tilting her head to the side. “You’re Water Tribe,” she said finally.

“Yes.”

“Then why would you want to join me?”

He was beginning to find it difficult to read her. He no longer knew what she was thinking. “I believe this is the best place for me,” he said, his tone certain.

“Why?”

Hoseok struggled to formulate words, hating how that question went to the root of all his problems. “People sometimes make mistakes. I’ve done things I regret and find my place in this world is no longer intertwined with theirs.”

Namjoon was a good enough man not to announce his treachery. Hoseok could only assume he did it out of their years of friendship. If anyone found out what Hoseok had done his life would be forfeit. It didn’t matter how much Namjoon was opposed to it. The law was the law, and even the Chief had to be held accountable for some things. The Northern Water Tribe wasn’t a dictatorship like the Fire Nation.

“Then you wish to hide here?” She leaned back in her chair, arms crossed against her chest unimpressed. “You cannot hide from your mistakes. They will always come to haunt you.”

Hoseok could feel the truth in her words, the way her eyes met his so intensely as if trying to force this information into him before it was too late.

“I know.” He sighed, rubbing his hand against the scruff of his face. He couldn’t even remember the last time he had shaved. “I already am.”

“What did you do?” She turned back to her paperwork and he let out a breath of relief. She could be unnerving with the way she looked at a person, as if she were working on a puzzle and delving for what made them tick.

“I betrayed my closest friend,” he said, finally saying the words aloud. “My place is no longer with my tribe, but I still wish to help. Please, I’ll do anything you ask. I only want a chance to prove myself.”

“Hoseok.”

He blinked, brows raising when she said his name. He never told her what it was, which meant she must at least know of him.

“Your best friend is Chief Namjoon?”

“Was,” he correctly gently, confirming her hunch.

She nodded unphased. “Then you can be my spokesman between the tribes. Most don’t wish to deal with me, for good reason, and you seem to have a good relationship with others. You’re good at all the… political things.”

That meant interacting with Namjoon. “For the Northern Water Tribe-“

“You will still interact on my behalf,” she interrupted. “You can’t have done something worse than I did.” The last part was mumbled, Hoseok uncertain if he was supposed to hear it. She tapped the end of her feather against the desk. “Your first job will be to notify the other leaders that I’ve found an underground river using a… topography? Topagraphic? Something like that. Anyways, the word isn't important. It would be helpful if some earth and water benders could be distributed to make a tunnel there. It will be difficult work as it’s not exactly close, but it will give us fish if we can follow it to the source. It runs off the map after that, so I can’t really say how long.”

“If I may ask, why do we need water benders to make a tunnel?” he asked gingerly. Water benders couldn’t exactly bend dirt.

“Master water benders,” she corrected, nibbling on her bottom lip. “They will know when water is about to be breached so that we are not flooded out.” His brows raised. She had already thought of everything.