Sorry-- [Abashed, and realising he's probably crushing her a little, he lets go. (Had she always been that small? He doesn't remember.)] It has been so long. I had always wondered if you escaped, but I had never imagined...

[He trails off helplessly, still unable to convey the strange mix of shock, happiness and grief all fighting for dominance. Yes, he'd entertained the notion she could have survived, but with no news of the Avatar elsewhere in the world, his hopes had dimmed with every passing year. Eventually, he had to dismiss the idea as a childish fantasy, and focused on what he could do to help the world instead.

Now, though... She's very much real, and very much alive.]

I should never have doubted you.