I wake to the feeling of someone’s hand still on my arm, but… it’s not a familiar hand. I tense, and the person shifts.

  I open my eyes to sunlight pushing through the canopy in sharp stripes of light.

  And Katara. Her eyes are shadowed with exhaustion, but she blinks down at me, like she’s checking if I’m awake.

  “You… you stayed all night?” My voice is rough still from sleep.

  “No. We switched off. You needed it,” she says.

  Sokka groans from his bedroll, dragging himself upright. “Needed it? He’s been out cold while we took shifts making sure he didn’t implode.” He rubs his face. “Seriously, Lev, do you come with a warning label? ‘May self-destruct if left unattended.’”

  My shoulders start to curve in, but I force them back. I’m okay with this. I have to be.

  Toph yawns and stretches, cracking her knuckles. “He’s not kidding. Your heart beats like you’re sprinting with no one nearby. Soon as someone touches you? Quiet as a pond.”

  “Yeah, that’s not normal,” Sokka says.

  I push myself up, wincing as my arm protests. “Neither is moving water with your hands, or rocks that punch back. I’m just keeping things interesting.”

  Katara’s eyes narrow. “This isn’t a joke, Lev. You were—” She cuts herself off, shaking her head. “Your breathing was all over the place. You were practically—”

  “I’m fine now,” I lie, forcing a grin.

  Toph snorts. “Sure. And I’m the Fire Lord. You shook like a leaf the second one of us pulled our hand off last night. Don’t bother denying it.”

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  They all stare at me. My smile slips. For once, I don’t have a clever line ready.

  “Lev…” Aang trails off, staff clutched tight. “We need to know. How else can we help?”

  I shift, searching for a joke, but all four of them are staring at me. Waiting. Finally, I sigh. “It’s… complicated. My muscle memory… it isn’t like yours. I don’t just remember—I relive. Useful, until you can’t tell memory from reality.”

  They all look at me wide-eyed.

  I look at the sky. “I don’t fall apart all the time. But when it gets bad, touch is what keeps me… real. Without it—” My chest tightens. The words stick, but I force them out. “Without it, my memories don’t stop. They replay until I can’t tell what’s real anymore, and I drown.”

  Sokka starts, “So, you feel lost, and—”

  I cut him off before he can finish. “No. I literally can’t tell what’s real. I can see, but I don’t feel the grass. I feel water or sand or something from my memory. My body literally can’t tell when it is.”

  Silence. The forest hums with insects and birdcalls, too loud in the gap my words leave behind.

  I shut my eyes, then admit, “And when I’m hurt, that means the bad memories surface. The memories of pain.” I hunch my shoulders. “Touch gives me an anchor to reality. It’s real. Now. Not memory.”

  Aang swallows. His voice is soft. “So… until we get Teorin back, we’ll just… help. Right?”

  Katara nods firmly. “Right.”

  Sokka groans again, but there’s no bite in it this time. “Great. New group mission: babysit the golden-haired chaos magnet.”

  “Anchor,” Toph corrects. “Not babysit. He drifts. We hold him down.”

  I laugh, weak but real. “Congratulations. You’re all officially my human paperweights.”

  None of them laugh back. But none of them walk away either.

  I sit up slow, testing myself. My chest is steady, my breathing normal. My memories all stay on their proper shelves. For now. I manage a grin. “See? Good as new. Perfectly functional disaster. I’ll be fine for a while.”

  Toph snorts. “For now. Don’t think I didn’t hear your heart flipping out last night.”

  Sokka groans, rubbing his face. “Yeah, congrats. You’ve officially won the ‘most high-maintenance teammate’ award. And we travel with the Avatar.”

  “Jealousy doesn’t look good on you, boomerang-boy.”

  Katara frowns, but her voice softens. “Just… tell us if it starts again. Don’t hide it.”

  I nod. “Promise.” (Lie. But there are few liars better than me. I remember what truth feels like.)

  The others start packing, the morning shifting back toward routine. My arm aches, but the burn’s healing under Katara’s careful work. I move like nothing’s wrong, because for now, nothing is. I can make it through the day. After that… we’ll see.