"Well, I may be like you in some regards, but unlike you, I have something to fight and kill for, I can see in your eyes, I can see in your broken hands, I can feel from your body that you fight for fighting's sake, not for the Fire Nation, not for the royalty, but for the thrill of the fight itself... So if you think I am like you, you are sadly mistaken, I am doing this to protect someone... And you think me not man enough to kill you? If I had it my way I would bash your face in with a rock right now... but I won't, and if we meet again, you should thank my sister for every breath you take..." Tetsip watches the man calmly, happily even. ,, Welcome. To. The. Soldier. Side. "

”You, up. We’re leaving.”
A small tornado like air-current lifts him of the ground, his restraints included. Burn off her face! Burn it off! Tetsip, still having this tranquil and empty expression of his, starts contemplating and analyzing his new situation. Why would they split up like that? The earthbender was the only real threat; with him gone - and Tetsip recuperated a bit - he could take the airbender out within a few days. It's all a matter of patience and dedication. And tea. Everything's better with tea.

"I'll heal you when I'm stronger." Tetsip recognizes both the warmth and the voice, it's the watertribe girl. He still needs to gain her trust, somehow. Think Tetsip. What would the new recruit of the 22nd say? ,, Heh. " He forces out an awkwardly fake laugh ,, You should try and conserve your strength for what's going to happen tonight in our tent. If you know what I - " Tetsip realizes the implication he just made, but too late. ,, I ugh, didn't mean to...It's not like..it's just that there's this recruit, and I ugh when I don't know ugh, what to say I think his voice in my head and do what he tells me. No, that sounds wrong too; I ugh. " He feels the waterbenders head tilting in confusion and switched back to manners he was more acustomed to. ,, Want to apologize for earlier. Wounds needed treatment; your decision not to. Want to apologize for now. Bad at conversation. Can treat wounds myself, care for yourself. "
"Kazuko, let him ride Bohai, don't waste your energy." Bohai. Name rings a bell. Tetsip lands on the back of - ! Mr. Fuzzy thing! "Dear Mr. Tetsip, would you like some tea?" ,, You don't even know, Bohai. " Tetsip says ,, Got my fingers broken again, could use free hands to relocate them. " ,, Unlikely, Fire bug. They don't really like you. "
,, Why? Just doing my job. " ,, That's exactly the problem. " ,, What does a furry creature like you know about my job? " ,, No need to know about it, Firebug. I know about people, and you're one of the worst. " ,, Hurm. Just shut up and give me the tea. Where's the raven-demon anyway? " ,, Pfft, like I know. You know what you should do, Firebug? Forget about the war, start over in the northern water tribe. " ,, Start over. " Tetsip thinks loudly, and the furry creature responds: ,, You could start with some kind words. "

Good idea. Will gain trust. ,, So uh, those restraints are...really comfortable. And uh. The weather...is nice. " Excellent start. They'll trust you in no time.

Kazuko Mori

Kazuko took a long, deep breath. She could feel the wait of Aoi's decision, and it seemed to only make the whole situation more difficult and painful. She wanted so badly to be with her kind, or at the very least what she would consider her kind, even if they were not air. It was a heavy thought to consider that she very well may be the very last of her bending abilities from her temple; she didn’t want to think of it. Maybe the very last from her temple at all if the princess managed to kill off Aoi and Izumi.

Ah, the princess. Her eyes flew over her shoulder to look back at the princess. Her hair long and looked to be made of silk, her skin smooth and untouched. She truly was beautiful, one to be envied or desired, depending on preference. Or perhaps both in Kazuko’s instance, but at the moment it was yet another thing to be brushed off. The princess was an enemy, someone to be wary of just the same as Tetsip was. She could be treated no different, not that Aoi saw it that way.

Kazuko sneered, her mind swirling with unpleasant feelings and thoughts, her attention now on Mai as she spoke. "Kazuko, let him ride Bohai, don't waste your energy." She could feel the concern in Mai’s voice and Kazuko's face softened. Placing Tetsip gently onto Bo's back, she assessed his condition. He didn't seem like he was in much a situation to start any surprise attacks, what with his fingers broken, so she allowed him the chance to stay on Bo for now. If nothing else, he wouldn’t be able to hold his own the way he did earlier and that was enough of an advantage to be permissible. However she didn't much care for the idea of Mai healing him. He had tried to kill them only a few hours ago, after all.

She turned to walk, expecting Mai and the other girl to follow behind her. Bo walked steadily next to her, Tetsip on his back in a manner Kazuko deemed secure. They weren’t walking particularly farther from the air temple, just further north. The temple stayed at an equidistant length on their left. Aoi and the princess were walking in a more southwestern direction, almost completely opposite from them. After half an hour of walking, Kazuko could still see the smoke from the temple, and it made her uneasy. If they didn’t start putting more distance between themselves and it, they might run into some more fire nation soldiers.

Aoi and the princess were long gone by now, and the burden of defending the injured Mai and keeping Tetsip out of trouble if they ran into anyone landed on Kazuko and whatever the other girl was capable of. She could hear a whistling overhead, a fluttering. Her eyes darted up to see a familiar shape stumbling through the sky. It was Shou, but something was very off. He seemed more like a leaf than a bird, but with less grace. She squinted, noticing the culprit lied with one of his wings, there seemed to be….an arrow in it?

Her eyes shot open, her breathing stopped short. Oh no. She barely had time to think, an arrow whizzing by her face. It was so close, she could feel the air on her cheek, and the warmth of the lit tip making her cheek hot briefly before the air cooled it. It was a warning shot, they wouldn’t miss again. In a desperate attempt to retaliate, Kazuko sent a spiral of air in the general direction of the arrow and took a dive behind a nearby tree. Bo, spooked by the commotion, had begun running further down the road with Tetsip still aboard. If he continued this way, they might just lose both of them.

A fire swelled a few meters past the three left of their group, it seemed as though they were too far back to be affected by Kazuko’s earlier attack. The arrow must have been long range, which made the accuracy all the more frightening. A barrage of fire tipped arrows arced from the tree line towards them, and Kazuko’s first thought went to Mai. She couldn’t see her, she didn’t know if she was out of the way or not.

“Come on, now,” Kazuko sighed and shouted, flinging herself out from behind the tree and into the line of fire. Shooting a wave of air with what strength she had, she was able to put out all the fire and slow down the arrows. It wasn’t enough to stop them, though, and a few collided with her shins. The slow speed allowed for a shallow penetration, but it was enough to make her wince.

Kazuko was tired of the defensive, all she was doing was rebutting attacks from an attack force she couldn’t see, and therefore couldn’t hit. Her legs were bleeding; and she pulled out the three shallow arrows from her leg, two in one and one in the other. The damage was more superficial than anything in all but one; that one had nicked her shinbone. Rising up above the tree line in a fearsome tornado, the now frustrated and very much exhausted Kazuko scanned the ground for their attackers. It was necessary to be able to fight back, but it basically put a large target on her, drawing another barrage of arrows.

Hiroko watched as the Earthbender walked away from her. He spoke to the group, as if he was their leader or in some regards the one everyone was currently following. She could still feel him lingering near her cheek and the way his hands had gripped her hair. It was infuriating and she wanted nothing more than to relocate her shoulders and burn this insolent fool. She would lead him…for now. She could hear the waterbender speak to him, telling him to be careful.
“How sweet," she spat, watching as he returned and grabbed her by her hair. Before she could give him an answer, he started to leave, pulling her with him. She hissed a bit as the movement caused a pain in her shoulders to rack through her. “Do you even know which way we are going?” She questioned seeing as he had asked her to lead him to his sister.

He didn't like the Princess insulting the kindness offered to him, but he decided not to bother counter-insulting her. Her hair was lucious and fair, clearly well-treated. She finally said something through the hisses and angry noises, to which Aoi responded, "Well, no, but you do, so which way, Princess?"

Hiroko huffed a bit, trying to get a full view of the terrain and where they currently were. If the earth girl was still on Rokuro’s ship, then they would be heading towards Taku. It was the next place they were to invade after the air temples.

“Taku. The earth girl is on one of the General’s ships’,” she responded. “They would be heading towards Taku at the moment,” she added as she side-glanced the Earthbender.

"Don't bullshit me," Aoi responded, using his extra hand to grab one of her arms, making it hurt more, "Princess, if there truly is going to be an attack on Taku, then do you really think me stupid enough to just go there? I will never get to your general's ship alive, so, you are going to tell me the best place to get to my sister, and it won't be Taku..."

“I said they would be heading towards Taku!” Hiroko nearly shouted as he grabbed one of her arms, causing the pain to increase. “They are not planning to stop anywhere soon, idiot. If you could move faster, we might reach them before they reach Taku,” she continued as she tried to keep herself from writhing in the pain.

"What route will they be taking? And how the hell am I suppose to get on the ship?" Aoi hadn't really thought up a plan of any kind, he knew he needed to get Izumi, he knew that whatever machine she was on was metal, and he knew that the Princess was the key to it all, he needed to make her not hate his guts as much and be a bit more open... Aoi had no idea how to do this though... He stopped, making her stop as well, and grabbed her left arm, "This may hurt," he warned, before relocating the arm, he quickly moved to the other one and relocated it as well before grabbing her wrists and melding the metal together with the back of her armor, forcing her hands behind her back, the pain would've been gone though.

“What makes you think I know which route they are taking? I was leading the assault on the air temples, Taku was completely left to someone else,” she responded. He had asked her how they were going to get on the ship in the first place, and only one thought occurred in Hiroko’s mind. “If you act as my prisoner when we approach, they will send down a ladder and haul us up,” she stated. She wasn’t completely sure that would work since her own orders were to execute any and all prisoners. She would be contradicting herself.

"Well you're the bloody Princess, you must have been at the war meeting, you also must know the ship seeing as you saw my sister there. So I will say again, don't bullshit me... You'll know the direction they were headed, I can make an educated guess from that..." Aoi considered her plan, was it really wise to be imprisoned by her? He had no allies to kill her if need be, and if it was just her he could kill her before he died, but with a league of soldiers, there was no way he could take her out before getting an arrow to the brain stem, "And as sound as your plan seems, I don't really like the thought of you getting the upper hand... It doesn't sit right for some reason Princess... especially since you seem so keen to be on top..."

“Yes, I know the ship. I was on the ship when your ‘sister’ was taken in by one of the Generals. And I am the Princess, but what makes you think my father shares every bit of information with me? Do not think you understand our customs when clearly you do not,” she retorted. She could sense the distrust in his voice when he spoke of not liking the idea of being her prisoner. He was right to not trust her, but he had the advantage of bending metal, something that still baffled Hiroko’s mind. “You could still bend the metal if anything happened. It’s like a fish, take away its tail and how does it swim?” she added.

"Without the tail a fish dies... And even if I can bend metal, and can still bend when lit on fire, I can't bend with an arrow through my damn eye... So if you try anything, we'll both die, but with a league of soldiers, I will die..." Aoi wanted to reassure the fact that if she tried anything she would die, no matter what, "And even if you weren't invited to the War meeting, you still must have seen where the Airship was heading, I know it would be south-east, but I need a better description of its direction, one which you will happily give me..." He placed his hand on her neck once again while still holding onto her bound hands, "Right?"

Hiroko could feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand when the earthbender grabbed her once again. He was trying to make her understand that if she were to try anything, or if anything were to happen to him while they were near the airship, she would die. If she had not been glaring at the Earthbender, she would have scoffed. “It was heading towards Taku, what more do you want!?” she nearly shouted into the benders’ face. “The airship was heading…north,” Hiroko stopped as she pondered on which direction Rokuro’s ship was going. Taku was towards the South, so why was he heading north? “Why would he be going north?” Hiroko questioned more to herself than to the bender.

"North?" Aoi questioned, still holding her neck, the soft skin giving a bit of warmth to Aoi's cold hands. She didn't seem to be lying, but there was nothing North of the Air Temple, just some mountains and the North Pole... Aoi looked around the forest before saying, "How fast do these ships travel and how many ships does this General have in his fleet?"

“The ships do not travel very fast. And Rokuro was given a small fleet to command of only four ships,” she responded. What could Rokuro be doing going North? “I know he has no business in the water tribes up north. If there was something about a covert mission on the water tribes, father would not have sent Rokuro. He would have sent a different company,” she contemplated as she tried to keep the chills from running down her spine to his cold touch.

"We don't have time to wait, we're going North, move," he said, removing his hand from her neck and pushing her forward, "So do you know this General personally?"

She had to resist the urge of rolling her eyes when he asked about her relationship to the General. “I grew up with him. That’s all you need to know,” she retorted as he pushed her forward. “What are you going to do once your sister has been returned to you?” she asked. She wanted to know what he had planned so that she could herself plan accordingly.

"Well, once I get her from this General's claws, I am going to kill him, probably slowly and painfully... then thank him for not killing my sister when he is inches away from a painful death, just as I will thank you before I release you... Then we are going to leave, and where we go is none of your business as well..."

When she heard his response, Hiroko couldn’t help but let out a dry laugh. “You’d be doing the world a favor then,” she responded before she grew silent. She had nothing more to say to the bender, and she wanted nothing more to say to him.

"Well you don't seem too friendly to this man, if you don't like him, why didn't you banish him or kill him, he your betrothed or something? Or was he your plaything as a child? We all know how ferocious a Fire Nation bitch in heat can be," he realized that insulting her was probably a bad move in the long term, but when people are angry they tend to say things that they wouldn't otherwise. He was trying to make her stupid and slip up...

“What my relationship to this man was is of no more. He was neither of those things and never will be. I am not fond of this man, but he seems to think otherwise. If I had the option, his life would have ended a very long time ago,” she responded, ignoring the fact that he insinuated she was a bitch. If she let him get to her now, she would no doubt say or do something she would regret later on in her life. It wasn’t becoming of her to let her buttons be pushed so easily by some earthbender. “What is your name? I don’t want to have to keep calling you bender,” she asked. She needed to change this up a bit, get it back so that she is in full control of the situation.

"My name? Well wont you just go after my family or something?" Aoi laughed a bit, "It's Aoi, Aoi Ren, and my family is either dead or deserves it, so don't even bother..." This was a lie of course, but all his sisters were married off by now and would be safe...

“Ren, why is that name so familiar?” she mused to herself. She knew that name from somewhere, but she couldn’t exactly put her mind on why. “Aoi,” she stated, rolling it around and trying to get a feel for the name. “Hiroko,” she replied, stating her own name. “Although I am sure most people know of Sozin’s only daughter,” she stated bitterly. She loved her father, she really did, but sometimes things were not always what they seemed. “We need to find something that is going to move us faster if we want to catch up with Rokuro’s ship,” she stated, changing the subject as quickly as it came up.

"People don't give a shit about the royalty of other Nations, so most people don't know your name. In fact half the Earth Kingdom populous doesn't know their own King's name," Aoi stated plainly before considering her last statement, "And faster transportation... any ideas?" He pulled her to a stop after saying that.

“I would have suggested Fei Long, but he is missing,” she stated, reminiscing of her lost dragon. Where had he gone to, and why was he missing? This wasn’t like Fei. “Can’t you use your earthbending to build something?” she retorted. Although it wasn’t a smart remark, Hiroko couldn’t think of anything unless they were near an Ostrich Horse farm.

"I can definitely make a mount our of rocks, I guess your beauty does have a price," Aoi retorted, "How the hell did you get to us so fast?"

“It was a suggestion you ass,” Hiroko replied as she sighed. “I came here on Fei Long. He disappeared during the battle and hasn’t been seen since,” she answered his question. “Beauty is only skin deep and does not reflect on what is on the inside. Just because I suggested you use your earthbending to move us along does not mean a thing. What about you Aoi? What would you suggest we do then? Apparently if your sister is as precious to you as you claim, why haven’t you come up with a decision to get us there faster?” She redirected the question to him and huffed.

"I guess I was right about the Fire nation bitches in heat," Aoi jerked her backwards and said it directly into her ear, "And by us I meant me and my companions back there, not the battle itself, seeing as a dead Dragon does me no good, you got to us quickly so you must have had a mount, don't stall because I know you must have had one, where and what is it?" Aoi had no time to waste if Izumi was on the move, he needed to move fast and the Princess was being a bit obstreperous... Aoi needed none of that...

“Fei Long is not dead!” she nearly shouted. He might have been missing, but that did not mean he was dead. She didn’t know how or why she knew, but she did. She wanted to believe it was true. “Missing and being dead are two different things. Your sister could have been dead for all you knew, but you knew she wasn’t…that she was missing,” she continued. Oh now she was seething. Small flames spewed from her mouth as he spoke of the fire nation women. Before she could react to such words, she calmed herself and diminished the flames in her mouth. If she continued to act this way, then that would only prove him right.

“I did have a mount. It was a Komodo Rhino, but it is gone,” she finally replied, trying to stay calm in the process. “But a Komodo Rhino is not going to move any faster than we are,” she continued.

"Calm down princess, we don't want those flames going off again or else I may have to ensure my safety with a bit of surgery," Aoi said, moving away from her once more and pushing her to keep moving, "And I didn't think my sister was alive, in fact I hoped she wasn't, I just have nothing else..." His tone shifted to his normal one of sadness rather than the cocky tone he had before while speaking to her, "So your Dragon is useless to me, dead or alive, and your mount is useless to me, here or not, so I guess we will have to find something on the way..." Aoi pushed her more to pick up the pace of their movements.

Hiroko stared at the earthbender, as best as she could from the position she was in. She heard the change of tone in his voice go from his cocky I’m-the-boss tone to something a little…sad? Apparently his sister seemed like his one weakness. Why would he wish that his sister were not alive? Shouldn’t he be happy that she was? Of course being of the Fire Nation, Hiroko did not know much of the Earth Kingdom ways and had only begun to brush up on their history when her father spoke of conquering them.

“Find an Ostrich horse. There should be plenty in all of the kingdoms and they would move quicker than us,” she suggested. “Why would you wish your sister dead? Shouldn’t you be thrilled that she’s alive? When I saw her, she seemed to have not been harmed,” she spoke. She left out the lifeless look in the girls’ eyes when she did though. Why should Hiroko be sympathetic to one that does not deserve it? Oh…right. He held her life in his hands.

Aoi sighed, "Its complicated... there are much worse things in life than being dead, and doubling up on those things is..." He stopped himself, realizing who he was speaking to, he tried to pick up his tone a bit, but failed, making it sound even more sad, "There's... there's a town that is not too far from the temple, there is probably a stable there..." He moved her in the general direction he thought it was, Aoi was always good at direction. Having to live for almost a year on the run with Izumi made sure of that...

What could be worse than death? Hiroko shook her head of the thought as she was shoved in the direction of the stables. His tone failed to pick up and Hiroko could feel the difference in his persona. He obviously cared for his sister…more than anything it seemed. Of course she would never have known the feeling…to want to protect someone or have someone to care for. She wasn’t raised to be that type of person. Everything she was and is is the result of her father’s molding. She was proud to be Sozin’s daughter, to be the princess who could manipulate, persuade anyone to do what she wanted them to. She sighed and relaxed her shoulders a bit. They were still sore and the pain had subsided, although the position they were in still made it a bit uncomfortable.

“What happened to her? What happened to her that makes you think that death would be the only thing that could set your sister free?” she asked. She was curious now to know of Aoi’s sister. What had she experienced that had made it seem that life wasn’t worth it anymore? She cocked an eyebrow in his direction and awaited his response.

The words traveled to his ears at normal speed, yet it took his brain some time to process them, he was silent for what seemed like an eternity to him, but was less than a minute in reality. His thoughts strayed to that of Izumi, of the day they left, of his projections of her fate, of what he was prepared to do... He watched the back of the Princess's head before saying, "I don't think you are the right company to speak with about such matters..." In all honesty, there was no company that he wanted to tell about what had happened, the elders of the temple needed to know of course, but he hadn't told anyone else... He moved the princess along faster before saying, "So what's it like being royalty? I was a noble so I understand the servants and all that shit, but what's it like being the pinnacle of all those people's attention...?"

Hiroko was taken aback by the sudden turn of events. She hadn’t expected him to ask her about her life as royalty. In all honesty, she enjoyed being who she was and would not have had it any other way, but with all the luxuries, it doesn’t come free to her. Just because Royalty is who they are doesn’t mean it’s always free. Even though he initially did not respond to her question, Hiroko understood what he had meant.

“Obviously it must have been terrible,” she murmured. She began to rack her brain for the proper way to explain being the pinnacle of everyone’s eyes. “It’s not so much different than a Noble. You have expectations, certain ways you are supposed to act, and of course being the next in line for Fire Lord isn’t exactly peachy,” she began. Although tradition spoke of the first born being crowned the next Fire Lord, the moment Azulon was born, the crown passed down to him.

“I am not the next in line; that privilege passed down to my brother the moment he was born. Father said that he needed an Heir…not an heiress. He said that I would tarnish his name by no longer carrying it the moment I was married. Now that he has a son to carry on his name, I am no longer his problem,” she continued. This, in a sense, was true. Sozin had always wanted a son and although Hiroko was born first, he treated her as such. He took her to his war meetings, to everything that he wanted her to learn as his son. She was never his daughter. “Looks like we’re almost there,” she stated as a small village came into view.

Aoi was definitely not expecting her to tell him all of what she did, it seemed too open, especially after he refused to open up to her... It didn't matter though, they needed to find Izumi and the talking was just to pass the time... The village came into view and Aoi said, "Stay quiet, or I will gag you for this part..."

Aoi led her to the stable quickly and silently, There was a single stable hand there, and a few people walking around the village, however the way they went in, no one saw them. Aoi moved into the stable, holding the princess the whole time. Aoi drew his knife, not intending to kill anyone. The stable boy had his back turned and Aoi hit him in the back of the head with the butt of his knife before throwing the princess onto the Ostrich horse, lying across it in a very uncomfortable position, which he would rectify eventually. Aoi then jumped in front of her and the Ostrich horse went running through the open gate, Aoi rode it as quickly as he could, the villagers making noises behind him.

Hiroko did as she was told and stayed silent; allowing herself to be dragged by the Earthbender as they carefully ran through the stables. No one had witnessed their arrival and it made it easier for Aoi to sneak up on the unsuspecting stable boy. She watched as Aoi knocked him out with the blunt end of the knife and threw her across the ostrich-horse. She scowled at the unpleasant situation and tried her best to keep the dirt from flying into her mouth.

“I could use a little help here!” she nearly shouted as the ostrich-horse ran through the gates. Although she didn’t mind riding the thing, she didn’t want to see the butt or get a mouthful of dirt and other unpleasant things.

He ignored her comment and rode for another minute into the forest before stopping. He hopped off and pulled her off. He laughed a bit before saying, "We're lucky this thing was saddled... Now to get you in a good position not to fall off... Let me help you on normally," He gestured towards the horse and was ready to help her up.

Hiroko eyed Aoi, watching as he waited for her to approach him to re-mount the beast. She glared at him before reluctantly allowing her legs to carry herself in his direction. As much as she wanted to burn him, she wouldn’t be able to go far with her hands melted to her back.

“Yeah, lucky,” she murmured and stood in front of him. “Arms would be nice to use to mount the animal,” she stated, shrugging her shoulders to emphasize her point. Although she knew he wouldn’t trust her, it would be nice to use her arms again. They were starting to annoy her.

Aoi scoffed before getting in front of her on the Ostrich-Horse. He grabbed her metal wrist guards and moved the arms around his waist before reattaching the wrist guards together. He gestured back to her and said, "Remember, I can still kill you if you light me on fire, and trust me, nothing else would be on my mind as I painfully burned to death as your hands," grabbing the reigns once more, he could feel her metal chest plate through his thin shirt, she was probably significantly warmer than he was... With a swift kick the Ostrich-Horse was off towards the north.

“Yes, your majesty,” she retorted while resisting the urge to roll her eyes. She knew her life was on the line, which is the reason she did not threaten him when she asked for her arms to be released. “And nothing would please me more than to just watch you burn,” she continued as he released her arms only to re-attach them to his waist. Oh she wanted to just bash his head with something, but she would tolerate it for now. He slapped the reigns to the ostrich-horse and once again, she could feel him close to her. Every hair on her body stood up like electricity was coursing through her body. She did not like being touched…by anyone for that matter and tried to situate herself further from him, only resulting in her hands getting caught by his waist.

“So, thought of a plan on how to get on the ship once we catch up?” she questioned. It wouldn’t exactly be his welcoming if he was spotted with the princess tied to his waist now would it? The soldiers would simply attack him and demand that he return their princes, unless new orders were given to the soldiers to not worry about her. Hiroko sighed, knowing that it could be the latter.

Aoi really hadn't thought up a real plan, but they had a good hour or two before reaching the shore so he had plenty of time, in theory. He responded with, "Well, I figure that once night falls I can just tie you up and break on board myself, unless it's out at sea of course, then you will have to come with me and I can think of an auxiliary plan..." It was a really bad plan, but all he needed to do was get in, kill everyone, and get out, the comet was over within an hour or two, so it wouldn't be too hard for him to accomplish that, in theory, "And could you stop squirming back there? There is no room for you to be farther from me, so just live with it."

“Easier said than done,” she murmured. She wiggled a bit to get a comfortable spot on the ostrich-horse as she listened to his plan. She wanted to laugh. There was no way he could accomplish that and besides, “You need my help,” she stated. “I can get you onto the ship no problem without a massacre. I could tell the soldiers you have information about the city we are supposed to be attacking. Or in other words, you are an apostate who wishes to serve the fire nation now,” she stated. In truth, it would be easier for them to search the ship without the soldiers breathing down their necks. She did not care much for his answer as he would probably retort about something along the lines of still not trusting her. She didn’t blame him really. She wouldn’t even trust herself, but if it meant being free from the man sooner, then she would have to co-operate.

Aoi scoffed, "And what the hell is your motivation to help me? Is it because I sound so pathetic that you feel sorry for me? Do you relate to my sister being better off dead? I doubt it, you're just a spoiled brat, a child born of Sozin, the demon and proprietor of genocide. I would be surprised if you even had emotions other than hate and lust... So why would you help me? I have insulted you, insulted your father, insulted your nation, and I want to kill every single bitch, bastard, and sniveling little shit-stained child in your nation if they have hurt my sister... So I highly doubt you want to help me... You just want me to walk onto that ship, in plain view, just so that I can get an arrow in my brain stem before I have a chance to pierce your black heart..." He went to far, he let the emotions he tried to hide about his sister out and there was no way to bottle them up once more...

That did it. Hiroko had tried to stay calm, tried to help the Earthbender find his sister and all he did was spit in her face. If he wanted to see the real Hiroko, then he would get his wish. She pulled her wrists towards her chest, grabbing a hold of his waist and pulled hard so that they tumbled off the back of the Ostrich-horse. She knew full well that this Earthbender could pierce her heart with her armour, but at the moment she didn’t care. They rolled a few feet from the Ostrich-horse and Hiroko managed to land on Aoi’s waist. He was squishing her hands behind his back, but she could sacrifice her comfort for the moment.

“What the hell is your problem!? I just offered you a way to rescue your sister without you being killed for it! I never said I could relate to your sister, and if you want her to have a death wish, then that is on you!” she nearly shouted. She was angry, hurt, and confused as to why she cared. Maybe it was because he loved his sister, or maybe it was because he was willing to sacrifice anything for her. She could feel her eyes burning, almost as if she were about to cry. Why would she cry though?

“My father deserves it, I deserve it,” she began. “Not all of our Nation’s people are like this. They are innocent! If anyone should pay for my father’s crimes, it should be him! You’re right, I don’t understand, but that doesn’t mean anything! If I didn’t want to help you, if I wanted you dead, you’d be dead before you even approached the ship. I just,” she paused. What was the real reason behind it? She sighed, lifted herself up a bit so that they could stand. Although it would be in an awkward position, she just didn’t care at the moment.

He got up, her face not inches from his own, seeing as her arms were still tied around his waist, but she did roll around during the fall. He glared into her eyes, letting his true feelings out through his blank eye, while the other inspected her. He got a few scrapes and bruises during the fall, but nothing major, luckily the Ostrich-Horse was knocked over as well, thanks to Aoi's vice-like grip on the reigns. He spoke in a low tone, almost a whisper, "That's all I needed..." He moved his arms around her and gave her a hug, "You weren't the spoiled bitch I thought..." He moved away from her and undid her binds behind his back before moving to the Ostrich-Horse, who was in a bit of a frenzy until Aoi calmed it down, helping it up as well. He looked back at the Princess, half-expecting her to be gone, but gesturing towards the horse so they could continue.

Hiroko was taken aback by his sudden display of affection and did not know how to return it. She just stood, glued to her spot as he released her binds. She rubbed her wrists, studying the earthbender as he moved to calm the ostrich-horse that had been pulled down with them. It took a moment for her to hear what he had said and a small smile found its way to her lips. She walked towards the bender and the ostrich-horse, eyeing the creature before situating herself on top of it.

“It seems that we were both mistaken,” she replied. “Now, can we get a move on,” she continued and refused to stare at the earthbender any longer.

Aoi got on the ostrich-horse in front of her, just as before. He didn't actually trust her, he wasn't that stupid, but having a deluded ally until he found Izumi was a boon to his cause. If need be he could still kill her in a matter of seconds, if need be. He kicked the ostrich-horse once more and it took off. North, they needed to keep going north. He thought of what to say for awhile to keep her on his side, but not divulge to much about himself, he finally decided and spoke, "So princess, would you mind explaining your relationship with this general in a bit more detail? What's his name again?"

The Earthbender did not speak for a while until his voice had captured Hiroko’s attention. She hadn’t particularly wanted conversation and was content on it being quiet. When the full question finally registered, Hiroko scowled. The less she had to worry about Rokuro, the less of a headache she would have. She racked her brain for the proper way of replying to his question. She stayed that way for a few minutes, mulling over the possible ways to explain her relationship to this earthbender.

“Forgive me for not going into great detail, but the relationship was never one to begin with. He was my betrothed until his family name was sullied by his father. General Rokuro’s father had taken to lying with young boys and children for that matter, and my father did not want his blood mingling with the Yagami bloodline. Rokuro never accepted the fact that I was no longer his betrothed and still sought to courtship,” she began. She could still remember the execution like it was yesterday. She was only fourteen at the time, but Takeru Yagami’s head rolling still played fresh in her mind.

“They executed the man for defiling the children and it is probably the only good thing my father has done for his nation,” she finished as she glared into Aoi’s back.

Aoi felt a sense of urgency at her answer, remembering his own family and the lengths his father went to, to secure the family name. He scowled, remembering Tsubasa, the devil of his world, worse than any other being could possibly be, even Sozin, at least he protected his daughter, rather than abandoning her at the first hit of defilement simply to protect the family image. His blood boiled as he said, "Why the hell was he blamed for his father's actions? Tsubasa, the man who impregnated my mother, did horrendous things for even more horrendous reasons, yet I don't carry his shame. I hate that man and everything about him, yet I don't think I should have to carry his burden of being a maniacal image-obsessed, foul, old bastard..." His plan backfired, yet again releasing information about himself without much from her. So the man meant nothing to her, which meant that even faced with his murder, she probably wouldn't do anything...

“Here, it’s different in the Fire Nation. The ill deed of the head of the family carries through to his children. If the ill dead are as it is, like in Yagami’s case, then it is seen as shame to the whole family. If the family knew, in which case they did, then it is worse. I am unsure of how it is in the Earth Kingdom, but a tarnished name is like being exiled from the nation or being executed,” she answered. She raised her eyebrow at the mention of the man’s name. He hadn’t said father so he was either implying his mother was raped, or his father was a horrid man. She did not feel the need to question him further about it as she could feel the animosity radiating from his body.

“We should get a move on. The sooner we arrive, the sooner you can leave,” she spoke, changing the subject. She did not want to divulge into her history any more than he did.

Aoi didn't like talking about Tsubasa, he had dreams about killing him... but fratricide was already enough of a burden, he didn't want to add patricide to it as well. He kicked the Ostrich-Horse once more to make it move at top speed, "She's going as fast as she can."

Aoi was still angry about the mention of Tsubasa, his face scowling immensely, he wanted to talk about something to get his mind off of it, but the words didn't come to him...

Hiroko remained silent as he spoke. There wasn’t much to say between the two and honestly, she wished there was a way to move faster. The less time she had to spend with this earthbender, the better it was for her to return. She knew the type of person Rokuro was and still is. If anything, this earthbender’s sister was lucky that Rokuro was nothing like his father, albeit crazy, but nothing like Takeru. She sighed and shifted behind Aoi.

“What made you decide to reside in the Air Temples?” she found herself asking. If talking helped pass the time, then she would find a reason to make it.

Aoi kept the scowl on his face as he spoke, forceful, yet not loud, "I am a criminal, Tsubasa placed a bounty on my head that was more than what any commoner could make in five lifetimes, thankfully the Air Temple was an autonomous collective and therefore bounty hunters were not allowed inside, none dared defy the airbenders, so me and my sister were safe. It was logical, that was all."

She wasn’t expecting that response. It seemed that whatever they spoke of, it would bring up his…Tsubasa and made the animosity radiating off of him grow. Hiroko sighed as she glanced up. Would her father ever do the same thing? She shook her head and stared ahead. She squinted her eyes and saw a small dot in the sky. She knew that dot, it was Rokuro's ship. They were approaching it! She almost hit the back of Aoi’s head with her hand as it shot out to point out the black dot.

“It’s the ship!” she stated, pointing out the obvious. “We are almost there!” she continued as she regained her composure and situated herself back into a comfortable position.

Aoi looked up at where she pointed, not understanding what she was saying. He saw a dot and said, "What the hell are you talking about? I thought we were going after a ship?"

“You don’t see that black dot in the sky? That is the ship!” she retorted. It didn’t look like it was moving. It was hovering in the air, completely visible to everyone around. “They must have stopped,” she continued as she twisted in her spot to get a better view. Why would they stop? Why were they even heading North? Rokuro must have something planned or was given new orders. But why only one fleet? Nothing was making sense to Hiroko and she needed to find out the answers to her questions. “Come on, let’s hurry before they leave!” she nearly shouted into Aoi’s ear.

He saw the dot, but was confused, "Flying ships... what the hell..." Aoi said, moving the Ostrich-Horse in the direction of the ship, "So how the hell are we suppose to get on that anyway?"

“Did you think it was a landship?” she retorted as he moved the ostrich-horse in the direction of the ship. “I can fly up there, but it would be hard for you to get up as well. It seems they are hovering in one spot so you can just earth bend us up there. They will not attack as long as I do not seem,” she paused. What would be the right way to say it? “As long as it does not seem like an attack it shall be fine,” she concluded.

"No, I thought it was a ship! Like on the ocean! Like normal ships!" Aoi retorted, scoffing, "As much as I like that plan, I feel there is unnecessary amounts of risk involved with the whole thing, seeing as there is a good chance that I will be shot down before I take one step inside the ship itself... Unless... Where could I approach that you would be seen clearly by the captain, this Rokuro fellow or whatever...?"

“In front of the ship,” she answered. He would most likely be at the front so it would only be natural that they approach from the front.

"Okay..." Aoi said, making the Ostrich-Horse move as fast as possible, in a few moments they would be there, The comet was at its wits end, but still visible in the sky, "Is this Rokuro a good fighter? Is he likely to go against what you say? Is there any possibility of him not being on the ship?" His mind was filled with questions he should have asked an hour ago, yet was only starting now...

“Yes, no, and no,” she replied short and curtly. “Rokuro did not earn his title merely through his status as a Nobleman. And given his family name, he did not earn it easily. He is one of the best fighters we have, and there should be no reason as to why he is not on the ship. I don’t know why they stopped, but it doesn’t seem to have been abandoned. Most of the soldiers are not skilled enough to fly with their firebending and have to use the ladders. And he knows the consequences for disobeying me,” she explained in more detail.

"Does he wear metal armor...?" Aoi asked, really hoping it to be true, "Is the ship made of metal?" He was filled with doubt with each stride the ostrich-horse made towards the ship.

“Well, given the fact that Metal was something that could not be bend, yes. The ship is entirely made of metal as is all of our armour, no matter the rank a soldier carries, however; Rokuro tends to not wear his armour a majority of the time. You might be lucky, he could be wearing it today,” she replied, which was true. There had not been a known metalbender…or even if metal could be bended, so everything they had was made out of the material. Rokuro thought it fit to not wear armour during battle, which could eventually cost him his life.

"Well that's one boon I suppose..." Aoi said, the dot approaching, he cleared his mind, focusing only on finding Izumi, hopefully without bloodshed, as long as she wasn't harmed...

It was awhile before they arrived at a close enough distance to the ship, he jumped off the ostrich-horse and helped the princess off as well, before tying it to a tree. He didn't bother looking as the princess before lifting a rock underneath their feet and propelling it towards the ship as fast as he could.

As they approached the ship, Hiroko dismounted the ostrich-horse and stood next to Aoi as he tied it to a tree. Before she knew it, they were flying through the air on a projected piece of Earth. She stumbled a bit, not having gained her footing. She spotted the ship as it came into view and grabbed Aoi by the waist. She jumped off the platform and with her free hand and legs, used her firebending to propel them the last few feet onto the ship. Once they landed, she released Aoi and raised an eyebrow.

“Where is everyone?” she mused to herself as she opened a door and spotted the empty seats.

Aoi looked around at the dark empty room. He looked back at the princess and said, "Is it possible for this thing to stay afloat without a crew?"

Hiroko turned to Aoi and shook her head. There needed to be someone to pilot the ship and others to manage the fires. She opened another door and sighed as she spotted another firebender. She approached the bender and placed a hand on his shoulder. Immediately, the boy jumped and sent a wall of flames in her direction. If she had been slower, the flames would have burned half of her face. She twisted the boy’s arm behind his back and shoved him into the control panel.

“How dare you you insolent fool!” she nearly breathed into his ear. The boy craned his neck and spotted his princess glaring down his back. Immediately he began to quiver and sputtered nonsense. “Where are General Roku and his crew?” she demanded, shoving the boy further into the panel. He cringed and blubbered something out. “What was that?” she questioned.

“I-I don’t know where General Rokuro is! But his crew are in the mess hall downstairs eating!” he nearly cried. Hiroko released him and he scrambled to his feet. “W-w-who is that!?” he squeaked, pointing to the earthbender behind Hiroko.

“No one you need to concern yourself with,” she replied as she walked back out of the door.

Aoi moved over to the boy, he was scared out of his mind. Aoi punched him in the face then stomped the back of his head to knock him out. He looked at the princess and said, "I don't want him warning anyone... So where is the captain's quarters on this thing?"

“It should be at the bottom of the ship,” she replied as she watched him knock out the boy. He deserved his fate, but Aoi did not have resort to such…ferocity. “You go ahead, I need to speak with the crew to make sure they do not interfere with the search…or possibly get a lead on the earth girl,” she pointed out as she motioned in the direction of Rokuro’s quarters. Why he needed to go there, she did not know, but something pointed in that direction so she directed him to it.

Aoi nodded at the princess before rushing towards a ladder down.

He went to the bottom level and found a map, outlining exactly where the captains quarters were, it took Aoi a good while to figure out the map itself, but he found the room sure enough...

He stood outside of it, glaring at the cold metal for a time before knocking on the door. He had no idea why he did this, nor did he have any idea what his plan was, but when that door opened, Aoi's world stopped.

Rokuro opened the door without shame, flashing the horrors within to whomever might be there, he was only wearing pants, no metal, but on his bed, was Izumi, Aoi noticed many other girls around the room, most seemed dead, or worse. Izumi was still wearing her clothes, which was more than could be said about the other girls about the room, but they were stained with blood and oil. Rokuro was smiling, Aoi moved his eyes from Izumi to the General and without a second's hesitation, lunged at the man, screaming.

Rokuro was taken aback and fell to the ground. Aoi drew his sword and threw it down to where Roku's face was, he dodged it and threw Aoi off of him. he opened his mouth to speak, but Aoi shot a metal spike from the floor where Rokuro was standing. Rokuro knew Aoi meant buisness. He shot an empowered blast of flames at Aoi, who drew up a slab of metal to deflect the flames, making sure none touched Izumi. He moved through Rokuro's flames, using the metal as a portable sheild, he slammed into something and shot a metal spike through it. Rokuro appeared to Aoi's left and shot a fire blast from his fist. Aoi barely dodged the blast and shot another spike from the floor at Rokuro's position. He dodged and Aoi jumped backward, seeing what he hit. It was one of the girls, not Izumi, the spike pinned her to the wall, through her heart, Rokuro had used her to make Aoi think he hit him. Aoi had no time to think about it, he only had to protect Izumi from the man, while at the same time killing him slowly and painfully. Aoi charged again thrusting his blade at Rokuro's torso, who dodged the attack by propelling himself up and over Aoi with flames. In mid air, he fired multiple fire blasts in rapid succession, each missing as Aoi jumped to narrowly avoid them. Rokuro once again fired a large stream of fire at Aoi, who riped up the metal flooring once again and blocked the flames. Aoi jumped to the left of his sheild and threw his dagger, directing it with his metal bending. Rokuro thought he had dodged it, but Aoi moved it mid flight and it sliced Rokuro's arm, not particularly deeply, but it was first blood. Rokuro and Aoi continued like this for a few minutes, neither injuring each other, or any of the girls in the room, until Rokuro threw one of the girls, not 14 years old, at Aoi before firing a large blast of fire at him. The idea was that Aoi would try to protect the girl and get injured, Aoi, however, didn't care for any of the girls but Izumi, and knew what he had done to her was terrible. So Aoi raised his shield and heard the girl's screams as she roasted through the metal slab. Not waiting for anything, Aoi moved out of his shield and charged once more. As the fight was reaching its end, the comet left the sky, Rokuro's great power was at an end, and his stamina was wearing thin, as was Aoi's. They both charged one last time, Rokuro was faster than Aoi and shot Aoi's right hand with fire, making him drop his blade and flitch, not having enough time for Aoi to bend a metal spike. Rokuro grabbed Aoi's arm left arm and burnt the flesh as he moved his hand to Aoi's face. However, a familiar figure entered the room, Hiroko.

Hiroko watched as Aoi disappeared down the hallway. She nodded and turned her attention back to where she needed to go. She re-adjusted her shoulders, held her head high in place and strutted towards the mess hall. As she opened the doors, all eyes and noise turned to her. She could feel their eyes burning into her. Without hesitation, all of the soldiers jumped to their feet and saluted her as she walked by them. She turned to a particular table and kicked the chair from underneath one of the soldiers who still sat. He would have fallen had Hiroko not grabbed him by his collar and pulled him up so that her face was just inches away from the man. His eyes narrowed dangerously thin, but immediately widened with fear. He began to stutter as Hiroko narrowed her eyes at the man.

“Captain Wen, do you care to explain to me why this ship is heading North when it should be heading South to Taku?” she nearly spat in his face. Wen tried to regain his composure as Hiroko released him and shoved him backwards.

“P-princess Hiroko! We were given direct orders from General Rokuro to head North with the prisoner girls. He said it was a direct order for Fire Lord Sozin!” he sputtered out, bowing his head low as he did so. Hiroko just raised an eyebrow but quickly dismissed it. Why would her father give Rokuro such orders? He wasn’t one to do such a thing, let alone drag prisoner…

“Girls?” Hiroko spoke as she grabbed the Captain once again. “What do you mean prisoner girls? My orders were to execute all prisoners except for the one earth girl,” she shouted as she tossed him across the table. She was snarling beneath her breath. “How old are these girls and where did you get them from?” she questioned, a ball of blue flame coursing through her hands.

“Th-they vary. The youngest one is twelve and we picked them up along the way. Some are water tribe and others are earth kingdom girls,” he quickly responded, rubbing his chin in the process. Hiroko bellowed a loud roar and consumed the Captain in flames, watching as he writhed in agony and burned. Like father like son it appears, she thought as she pointed to the nearest solider.

“You, you are now General of this command fleet,” she began to speak before loud sounds of metal clashed in her ears. Before anyone could react, she silenced them. “You are to all remain here in this hall! You, General, return to the bridge and turn this ship around, the rest of you stay put,” she demanded as she left down the hall. She walked at first before they turned into sprints. She knew where that sound was coming from and she quickened her pace. She slid down the ladder and turned a corridor. She approached the door that lead to Rokuro’s chambers and took a deep breath. She could smell the flesh of someone burning and quickly jumped into the room. All eyes were turned to her and she spotted Rokuro’s hand in Aoi’s face, ready to burn it off. She glanced around the room and spotted bodies of girls, some were either dead while the others appeared to be in a death-like state.

“Hiroko,” her name left his lips and she shot a glare in Rokuro’s direction. If Aoi was not intent on killing this man, she would do so in a heartbeat. Rokuro seemed to flinch beneath her gaze and released Aoi, walking towards Hiroko in the process.

“Don’t you dare,” she spoke and spotted the earth girl from before, lying on the bed. The look in the earth girl’s eyes was dull, almost lifeless. Something flashed behind Hiroko’s eyes as she walked over to the girl, stepping around the others that lay on the floor. Gently, she picked up Izumi by the head first and slipped her arms underneath Izumi’s legs. She lifted the girl up and walked back towards the door, not sparing a single glance in Rokuro’s direction.

“Do it, Aoi,” she stated as she walked out of the door and into the hallway.

Without any sign of acknowledgement, Aoi thrust his fist up, causing a spike to enter Rokuro's stomach. He began to scream, not out of pain, but for Hiroko, of something about her betrayal and his love for her, Aoi didn't listen, all he needed to do was kill the man. Aoi moved towards Rokuro, his eyes intent on the man, who lost the will to fight any longer. He shot no flames, he yelled no curses towards Aoi, just to Hiroko. Aoi grabbed the man's neck and thrust him farther down the metal spike piercing his gut. Aoi grabbed his sword and moved into Rokuro's view, who was still yelling about Hiroko. Aoi flung his sword with all his strength at the man's neck, it didn't go all the way through, but still was enough to make copious amounts of blood fall from his throat. Aoi removed his sword and cleaned the blood off with his shirt. He picked up his dagger and ran outside of the room.

Without saying a word to Hiroko he grabbed Izumi from her and looked into her eyes. He fell to his knees, knowing what had happened... She was cold, dead, lifeless, she had been beaten and cut, obviously much worse as well. Aoi felt tears fall as he held her body. He brought her close to his own, embracing her, and trying to remember how she once was, "I-Izumi?" He stuttered through his tears, "Izumi?"

He heard her say one thing in his ear, "Kill me..."

Aoi moved her back down, she was crying from her dead eyes, Aoi knew she meant it... He took his dagger and brought it up to her chest, he found a perfect spot and slipped it in, quick and clean, piercing her heart and killing her painlessly. He removed the dagger and dropped it, holding her close once more. No more tears fell from his face, for he had dropped all that he had left...

Hiroko did not even react when Aoi took the girl from her arms. She had already seen the damaged look in the earth girl’s eyes and knew no amount of time could heal the wounds that were inflicted upon her body and mind. She knew she should have had Rokuro executed with his father. He had the same malice in his eyes as Takeru and it would only be a matter of time before he snapped. How could she have allowed such monstrosities within her nation? Her Nation was supposed to be above this petty foolishness. They were supposed to be an example that all Nation’s should strive to be! She watched as Aoi fell to his knees, crying into his sister. She heard a sound come from the girl and watched as Aoi brought Izumi closer to his body. Before she could say anything, Aoi had brought his dagger to Izumi’s chest and plunged it deep within her chest, killing the girl painlessly and quickly. He did it. He had actually killed his sister. There were no words Hiroko could say, and she honestly did not know how to comfort Aoi. In the short time she had known him, regardless of her murderous intent on the man, Aoi had only been the way he was because he was trying to protect his sister.

“Come, we can give her a proper burial on the ground,” she spoke in a soft, almost hushed voice. It was the only thing she could think of and it was the least she could afford in comfort. “The soldiers will become suspicious if they see you covered in blood and their ex-General dead,” she continued. She knew he might not have cared, but would he really risk desecrating his sister’s body more? She knew her people would only throw the bodies over board, not caring to bury the dead as it should be regardless of which nation they are from.

Aoi held Izumi close as he stood up, silent and solemn. He felt no emotion, where he should feel sadness. He just killed the only reason he had to live, so why bother living? He had no answer to that question, suicide was always a good option, but he might have failed again, just like the time before... He looked up at Hiroko and said, monotonous and quiet, "How do we get out...?"

Hiroko couldn’t even manage a reassuring smile. The look in Aoi’s eyes was barren, emotionless, and it made something pull on Hiroko’s heart. She pointed to a ladder that hang on the wall behind Aoi and motioned towards a hole on the floor. It was covered and Hiroko knelt to remove it. The slow screeching of the metal was the only sound that filled the air as Hiroko opened it up. She grabbed the ladder and threw it down the hole, waiting for it to hit the ground. When it did, she motioned Aoi towards it.

“This way,” she replied, short and curt. What could she say? Hey, I’m sorry that my people killed your sister? She couldn’t say that, and she knew nothing she would say would matter to the earthbender.

He went down the ladder, slowly, using only one hand while keeping Izumi's body close. When they reached the ground, he thought about destroying the ship, but there was no real point in doing that. He moved onward, not looking back at Hiroko, just walking away from the ship.

“Aoi,” Hiroko started, but she stopped. What was she going to say to him? What could she say? “I…,” she continued to try but just shook her head. She didn’t expect to be dragged into this. It was causing something to stir in her heart and it ached. It felt like her head was splitting and it felt as if someone had their hand ripping through her chest trying to squeeze her heart out. She didn’t know this man, or his sister. She didn’t know his background, his history, so why did it feel like she did? Why did it feel like she wanted to help him, set things straight and make it so that they don’t need to suffer? She felt something stir within her and it was killing her. She felt her legs buckle beneath her and she fell to her knees, head grabbed by her hands and she felt water falling on her hands. She pulled her head back and touched her face. She was crying…crying for someone she didn’t even know. She was crying because of them. This wasn’t like her, she wasn’t supposed to care. Her father taught her better than this. She was royalty! So why did it still hurt?

Aoi heard Hiroko fall and he looked behind him. Her tears were a surprise, that was for sure. He looked around, they were in a clearing and it was as good a place as any. He moved to a tree and opened a hole, placing Izumi's body gently within it before filling it. He sat down, propped against the tree, still emotionless. Deep down he thought about doing something for Hiroko, but he couldn't handle his own feelings, let alone another's...

Hiroko hadn’t expected Aoi to comfort her and honestly she didn’t want him to. She wiped the tears from her eyes and watched Aoi bury his sister. It was like a bad play playing before her eyes. The worst thing about it, the sky remained a brilliant shade of blue. The comet had passed, leaving behind a hue that, in any other day, would have been beautiful. She stood from her spot, trying to regain her composure before spotting a few flowers off to the side. She went to grab them and made her way towards Izumi. She didn’t know the girl, but in a way, she felt as if it were her fault. In entirely it was her fault. Izumi would have been dead had she not spared her life. Or she could have released the girl. She knew Rokuro was lying about the girl, but she still allowed the girl to live. She placed the flowers at the top of Izumi’s grave and whispered an apology. There was nothing she could do now.

Aoi watched Hiroko tend to Izumi's grave. Flowers, why would the dead require flowers? They're dead, there was no reason to give them flowers... the better question was why the princess even cared... Aoi spoke for the first time in a very long while, "Thank you... for the flowers..." He had no idea why he thanked her but he did, "I presume you are headed back home now...?"

She heard him speak to her and thank her for the flowers. She only nodded in his direction. There were no words to be spoken between them, and yet she still felt the need to comfort him in some way. Nothing seemed like a good idea to her and she didn’t feel the need to return home. When he asked her if she would return, she sat in thought, tears drying on her face as she let her mind drift towards home. What would her father say? Sure they accomplished their task of destroying the airbenders, but there were still two left. They were both too old to be the Avatar, and most of the children she had seen had already been killed.

“I don’t know,” she finally replied and stood from her spot. She took a seat on the opposite side of the tree Aoi was resting on and stared up at the sky.

Aoi had no words to say, his world was over, he had nothing to live for, and nothing to do... Would he go to the Northern Water Tribe like the others? Would he even continue to bother with life? He had no answer, but the body of Izumi lying beneath him was disheartening... He didn't want to leave, nor did he want to stay... There was no emotional struggle, just two ideas within him, both monotonous and neutral... Aoi looked at the ground his sister now resided beneath, he stared at it for a long time, the sun was starting to set, the colors loomed across the sky, juxtaposing himself, a black void of nothingness... He wanted to sleep... he wanted to die... he wanted something... anything...

Hiroko watched as the sun began to set. In a matter of minutes, the sun would be gone and the moon would be replacing it. The temperature would also start falling and it would be cold soon. She turned to Aoi and sighed. They needed to find a place of shelter or something to stay warm. She wouldn’t have a problem staying warm, she could always use her firebending, but Aoi was a different story. He’d freeze or catch something. Not that he would care, but still. She stood from her spot and walked around towards Aoi, extending her hand out to him.

“We should find someplace to hole up for the night. It’ll be too cold outside in a few hours,” she stated, trying to get him to move. Although it would be hard to move him from his sisters’ grave, she had to do something.

Feeling nothing he grabbed her hand, being stripped from the grave of his one earthly attachment, didn't even register as torment in his mind... He simply complied with Hiroko and followed her, no idea of where they were going, or why...

She led Aoi away from the gravesite and found a small cavern. It wasn’t the best choice, but it seemed like the only choice they had. It was cold and damp, nothing like the warm bed that called to her from the ship. She wanted to light a fire, but quickly diminished the idea. It would give them away and the crew would have noticed their dead General by now. She would have to think of something to tell her father once news of General Yagami’s death reached his long ears.

He sat down in Hiroko's cave of choice, it was cold and damp. Aoi looked up at her, knowing that a fire was not possible, given their current situation. he knew he would be dead by morning without heat, or at least hypothermic and at death's door... He welcomed the thoughts that entered his mind... Because he was too much of a coward to finish the job himself... or was he? He had no feeling of cowardice, or of courage, or of anything at all... he didn't dwell on the thought... not in the slightest...

Hiroko watched as Aoi sat on the floor. She could feel the cold air nipping at her skin, and if it were not for the firebending, she would probably freeze to death to. She glanced at Aoi and walked over to him, sitting next to him and resting her head on his shoulder. She took a deep breath and exhaled a small flame, trying to keep warm as the temperature began to drop. She glanced up at Aoi, watching as he just sat there. Hiroko wanted to do something for him, comfort him at the same time and she didn’t know how. Only one thing came to mind, but she wasn’t sure she’d want to do it. Without a second thought, Hiroko twisted her body around so that she was straddling Aoi’s hips with her own. Slowly, she began to undo each button of his shirt and removed it from his torso.

He was surprised, to say the least, but did not attempt to stop her or anything. He did not show emotion through. He did not attempt to remove her clothes, simply watched as she did it herself. He showed no passion, letting her do the work, he was simply there. He couldn't help but feel good for a time afterwards, but still remained his emotionless, cold, self... He wouldn't die from the cold if they were close to one another... He should have stopped it... he would have, if he cared about himself, or her, or anything... but he didn't... so... he didn't...

Hiroko received no response from Aoi. Was she doing something wrong? Wasn’t this usually how people were comforted? She could feel the warmth flowing through their connected bodies and she laid her head on his shoulder. She could feel the burning sensation behind her eyes once again. She did not let them fall this time as her mind began to race. What if she did do something wrong? This wasn’t right, but there was nothing that said it was. She was the Princess of the Fire Nation, and here she was lying with a noble – an ex-noble – from the Earth Kingdom. She eventually, silently, cried herself to sleep and allowed the darkness to consume her, her thoughts still coursing through her mind.

Maizhen was stumbling along as best she could. She was using Bohai for support. She tried to mask the pain she was feeling with an emotionless expression on her face, but she was almost sure she was failing. Tetsip was mumbling something about the weather, but she ignored him. Not out of rudeness, she just really didn't want to talk right now. She was looking at the ground as she was walking, and an arrow whizzed by her ear and landed in the ground behind her. Her mind raced. What was happening? They were still being attacked.

"Masami, get on Bohai. Now." She yelled at the girl. She couldn't see Kazuko, she must have ran the opposite way. Mai could feel small breezes from Kazu's attempt to find the attacker. Bohai had gotten Masami onto his back and was running to safety, well as safe as a few large trees could get them. Maizhen was still busy looking for Kazuko when a pair of hands grabbed her from behind. One hand went over her nose and mouth and the pinned her arms to her waste. She tried to scream, out of terror and out of pain from her side. She kicked and squirmed, but only for a moment. The pain in her side was much too strong for her to move anymore. Soon, from lack of oxygen, she passed out.

They had been walking for quite some time now and Masami was still trapped in her own thoughts. Maybe her parents were right. Maybe she was just a dissappointment.
Her thoughts were interrupted when Mai all of a sudden was forcing her onto the yak, named Bohai. She managed to get a look around and noticed the attacks and Captain trying to fend off whatever the attacks were coming from. "Masami, get on Bohai. Now." Masami's face looked like someone had told her a really bad joke. "Are you kidding me?! I'm not leaving you two here!" But her protests seemed like they went completely unnoticed and she was now on Bohai's back and he was running away from the scene. She snorted and quickly grabbed the reins. "Oh hell no." She managed to turn them around and was heading back.
Within a few seconds she was near all the commotion yet again and she halted Bohai just as someone grabbed Mai and she was passed out. In a swift motion Masami was on the ground and running full speed at the man who grabbed Mai angered as if she was a bull seeing red. She came to a halt infront of the man and she had her fist raised. She leaned back and swung her whole body forward to get ultimate effect into the punch which landed straight in the man's face and hopefully, mostly for her own pleasure, broke his nose.
She breathed heavily and called for Bohai and told him to stay with her so she could aid Captain but before she left she grabbed water vessels from both Bohai and Mai. She bent the water so it covered her arms and ran towards Captain and didn't stop until she stood infront of her, fending off arrows and fire with the water. "Any ideas, Captain? I will not let anyone else die especially not you, not after everything you've done for Mai."

"I'll let that one slide seeing as how I'm trying to keep all three of us," Shan spun to find that Tochi had up and disappeared. "What? Ugh why did I bother leaving him to his own devices?" He sighed and started reasoning with himself. "Fine, whatever. He's probably better off without us at his side anyways." He turned back to Eiko with a grim expression plastered across his face. "If we want to keep ahead of the war, we need to keep moving. Let's go." As he turned he spotted a large whirlwind of air rising out from underneath the trees, carrying a lone figure atop it. "Kazu don't be stupid." He silently pleaded. Too late, he figured it out. She was inadvertently making herself into a one target shooting gallery. "Well there goes the hope of a stealthy getaway. Come on, those others from before probably need our help." With that, he took off into the forest, barely waiting long enough to see if Eiko would follow.

Eiko had turned her attention away from the two men for a little bit. She looked at the sky and remembered all the mess at the Air temples. How had things gotten so bad so quickly? Of coarse, it had probably been planned by the fire nation for some time, however everything was so chaotic.
When she turned her attention back to the two men, she noticed Tochi was gone without a trace. She started to ask Shan what he had done, however he looked just as puzzled as she did. "Damn..." She cursed under her breath before listening to the air bender. Before answering, she looked around, however she knew she wouldn't last long on her own. "Fine." She muttered then began to fallow him into the woods.