Drinking the tea was calming, but not enough. He set his toes on the floor, the supple leather of his shoes flexing so he could feel the grooves in the surface. Hand swirled over his tea, mixing the liquid with his bending. This, at least, was always calming. He even broke a small smile when Rin spoke to him. He was no longer curious about her being from the fire nation, for the time being.
I'm alright now. Sorry about that. I'm not sure what came over me. He spoke the truth- he'd never felt that sort of surge of protection before. It had always been sort of easy for him before, no one he loved had been threatened. Much less the leader of the tribe. Sure, they could go on without him but it would be in a broken way. His blood swam with the water up here, and no matter how much he wanted to travel, he would always love his home.
