“It is sad to see people have become so jaded and cynical. We are all comrades now, and if we do not have trust, we do not have anything. I know everyone here has a story…and I feel as though you should not judge from past decisions but from current actions."
Xue nodded, her eyes flickering from Eris' face, to Keirin, and finally resting on the water that was becoming more turbulent as the night wore on. She mirrored Eris' movement to grab the railing when the boat rocked with a more persistent wave. Though Xue didn't have much experience with boats, apart from the few times that she had used smuggling vessels to sneak into island villages as night with her purging party, she wasn't one to get seasick and was doing better than others.
Eris spoke again, and Xue turned her attention back to the fire bender's somewhat forced smile, "...but if you wish, on matters that involve you, I will keep my opinion to myself"
Xue chuckled and responded with a small smile, "Well, I can't keep you from expressing your opinions. But I just... ah, I don't know, I guess I just don't want any sympathy and that's what it feels like." She shrugged and sent a glance up towards Keirin again. Despite his words, Xue did appreciate his honesty and she understood what he was saying. She felt a twinge in her heart like she should call him down but decided against it.
A shout turned her attention back to the deck and she saw a fuming Avatar Kasumi standing with her fists clenched at her sides. She yelled at Eris before turning her fury towards Asad. Xue grabbed the railing once more as the waves rocked the boat violently in response to Kasumi's outburst.
Xue kept herself quiet during the ordeal though she wanted to defend herself against the accusations. She knew if she stepped out of hand the tables could be turned quite rapidly due to her past as a chi blocker. There was no use in directing more distrust and suspicion towards herself over a misunderstanding.
Asad quickly took control of the situation and attempted to explain what was going on to the angry Avatar. His explanation was calm and well put, though Xue was confused about which female he was apologizing for who was so 'weak to the liquor'. Kasumi had yelled at Eris who hadn't had anything to drink, and Xue herself had only had a sip and the side effects were very minor. Asad somewhat cleared it up when he said that he would 'look after the chi blocker' and Xue's cheeks reddened with the realization. "I didn't do anything," she complained under her breath, but didn't openly protest to what Asad was saying, hoping only for a quick resolution.
Xue turned her eyes to Eris who had looked furious in response to being yelled at, but was slowly calming down as she returned to the railing of the ship. The silence was awkward between them and Xue considered walking back to Jin and Asad. Instead, she decided that if Eris wanted to be alone, she would tell her. Xue sighed and rested her chin against her arms on the railing. She opened her mouth to speak when Jin rose and began to talk. She turned around, leaning her back against the rail and put on her best poker face while she listened.
Half of his words she couldn't hear over the water, but she could catch his meaning and, despite her best attempts to keep it down, she couldn't help but smile a bit when he mentioned trusting her. Xue listened to the rest of the speech silently, and then watched with mild curiosity as Jin embedded daggers blade-up in the planks of the ship and then began tight roping above them. It wasn't until just before he began his descent that it clicked in Xue's mind what Jin's intentions were. She tensed, knowing that she was too far away to do anything to help, and watched silently to see what would happen.