MaiZhen Nuo's Story

Kazuko Mori

Bo carried Mai and Tetsip on his back, Shou perching on the very back, occasionally walking across Tetsip’s back. He found the new stranger to be peculiar, mumbling and squirming, but not making sense.

Kazuko watched as they started off, pausing momentarily to wait for Aoi’s reaction. His face had softened, it was almost as if his whole demeanor had changed. "I am going with you, but I need that man alive and alone, with your little Water Bending friend willing to heal him when need be..." With his eyes on Tetsip, he left after them, leaving Kazuko to watch as something she never expected happened.

Out of nowhere, Shan flurried into the group, attacking Tochi and throwing him into a tree. She recognized Shan, she was grateful that he was okay too, but she couldn’t stick around with Mai and the others leaving quickly. But for a moment, just for a moment, she considered staying. She didn’t know what Tochi had done to anger Shan, but it seemed like a lot. Kazuko had known Shan all her life and she had always known him to be serious and level headed, much like herself, much like the air bender way, and now he was livid and it seemed odd. She would never admit it and it was always from afar, but she had developed a certain fondness for him. Reservations and a certain overwhelmingly inward nature had kept her from any advances, and it was too late now.

Kazuko’s pale, gray eyes closed slowly, lifting herself into the air to prepare to follow Mai and the others. ”Good luck, Shan.” she whispered, having it carry through the air, if only just barely. With that, she turned away, propelling herself back to the group, keeping an eye around them for any fire benders, other than the one on Bo, of course. The entrance to the mountain corridor was coming up; an air bender could only open it, so Kazuko made her way to the front. This was one of three doors to this corridor and all needed an air bender.

Using a swift move, Kazuko opened the door and lead the others inside. ”Guys, this way. We should be able to breathe a little easier past this door.” She scanned the contents of their group, assessing whom she had to work with. There was Mai, the one in the group she trusted wholly, but she was still very injured. She trusted Aoi enough to not have to watch him 100% of the time, but despite his newly calm demeanor, he could still be agitated and unpredictable. The stranger water bender was a novice at combat and a bit clueless, if not still relatively harmless. Then there was Tetsip, completely dangerous when he was functioning, but he was far from that. Plus he was hell bent on killing her. These were her odds, but she was going to have to take them.

As Maizhen rode Bohai, she looked around her to see who was coming. Masami was coming and she was relieved. She didn't want to see her get hurt. Aoi was following closely behind as well, keeping an intense stare on Tetsip. Mai's blue eyes' blinked tiredly. "Aoi, he isn't going anywhere, trust me." She yawned and as if to prove her point, she laid over top of him. Partly it was so that she wouldn't have to hold on to him anymore, and part of it was that she just couldn't hold herself up. She wrapped her arms around Bo's neck and tried to keep her eyes open.

”Guys, this way. We should be able to breathe a little easier past this door.” Kazuko said and Bo fell into a more steady pace on the smooth ground. His hooves clattered on the stone floor and sent echoes through the tunnel. It was making Mai's head spin, even more so than Tetsip's mumbling and wiggling under her. She began coughing, and blood came out onto Bo's fur.

"Great.. Just great." She had been bleeding in her mouth as well and hadn't even noticed.She tried to wipe it off of Bo's neck, but it just left an angry red streak. She sighed and decided she'd wash him later. Right now, she just wanted to rest. "Mmm.." She groaned. "Uh.. if.. If uhm anyone needs anything, just check the saddle bags." She said quietly, hoping at least someone would hear her over Bohai's clattering hooves. She couldn't hold her eyes open any longer. Her lids slipped down and the grip she had around Bohai's neck went slack. After only a moment she began slipping and jerked herself awake. With Tetsip in front of her she wasn't able to get close enough to stay on while she slept.

With all of the movement, the clot that had finally formed on her side was ripped open again. "Does anyone know how to sew up skin?" She asked, ripping off the remainder of the bottom half of her shirt. It revealed a gaping gash from the middle of her stomach across and up to the outside of her rib cage. It was hard to tell just how bad it was because her entire body was pretty much covered in blood. When she saw the wound, her vision blurred slightly. She wasn't usually affected this way with wounds, after all, she was a healer. She moaned again. "Somebody please just help me." Despite Maizhen's helpless moans, Bohai kept going, keeping pace with the people with him. He knew Mai was hurt and needed to get away from the air temple fast, so he wasn't going to stop unless he had a good reason, and at the moment, none were showing up.

Aoi was staring intently at the Fire Nation soldier, he was the key to Izumi, if he was as high up as Kazuko had stated. If not, then Aoi would need to return to the temple, something he wanted to avoid at all costs. Izumi's face wandered through Aoi's mind, the way it was just that morning, compared to the way it looked five years before, when they first arrived at the Temple. Aoi was beaten and bruised from mercenaries, as was she, but the most depressing thing from her demeanor, was her face, pale and lifeless, she starred with blank eyes at the floor as they spoke to the elders, she was lifeless, a shell of the girl she was. The day before, however, she was happy, she had made a few good friends around the Temple and they were going to one of the gardens for some reason that Aoi couldn't remember, she was smiling, the life returned to her. Aoi smiled in remembrance of her jubilation that morning, he forgot of her disappearance and the death and pain around him, not for a moment, before returning as monotonous as he could manage, his gaze returning to the Fire Nation Soldier, when it previously lay on the ground. The other water bender entered his focused gaze, near the creature that held his prey, she seemed innocent, foolish, not like the other people int he group, she was different, somehow...

Aoi brushed off the thought, moving closer to the creature, where before be lay a good four meters behind. After a time they came across a door, Kazuko said, "Guys, this way. We should be able to breathe a little easier past this door."Aoi did not believe that anytime soon was a time to breathe easy, but he decided to ignore her comment as she opened the door. It was much too thin to keep the Fire Nation out for very long, but thick enough to give them a good enough head start, as long as they didn't slow down or stop from a few hours.

Aoi's plan, however, didn't work out as he had hoped. They moved in the tunnel for a time, the Water Bender riding the creature was as of yet, the only one to speak. Aoi didn't pay much mind until he heard he say, "Does anyone know how to sew up skin?" He looked at her while she revealed a large wound along her waist. He grinded his teeth for a moment, feeling the large presence beyond the door, already thinking of a way to get through it. Aoi was trained to handle wounds in war time, it was one of many skills his father made him learn, and one of the few he actually used, but not for five years.

Aoi took a deep breath before saying, "I know how to help, but we can't stop, there are already two dozen Fire Nations soldiers outside that gate, and we cannot risk stopping at this juncture. Once we are out I can collapse the passage and we can help you then, for now..." He looked around and noticed he hadn't the supplies with him, he hadn't noticed her mention the saddle bag, so he looked down at himself and took off his blood soaked glove, as well as his clean one, before grabbing his dagger and cutting off his left overcoat sleeve, it was unstained. He tossed it to her and said, "Keep pressure on it, once we get out I can help you some more, but we can't stop now..."

He could have sealed the cavern where they were and stopped, but the cavern was old, and the ceiling might have collapsed if he damaged any of the buttresses along the sides. He felt more troops go towards the door, they obviously had a plan already to break it down...

The airbender had led them into a cavern but the small space did not make Masami feel any safer. It made her feel trapped and it was making her uncomfortable, the incoming troops weren't really helping. She took a deep breath in hopes of calming down. Her attention was turned to the firebender on the back of Mai's yak. He was mumbling and it was impossible to make out what he was saying, at first she wondered why they had brought him along but then heard he apparantly was of value. She would keep a close eye on him but she turned around and noticed the intense looks the earthbender was giving him. All of a sudden he looked at her and she turned back around. She wanted to avoid any conflict right now, and the earthbender seemed to be in a foul mood so she wanted to avoid to angry him further.
"Does anyone know how to sew up skin?" Masami turned to Mai and gasped. The wound was severe and again she cursed herself for not being able to heal.
"I know how to help, but we can't stop, there are already two dozen Fire Nations soldiers outside that gate, and we cannot risk stopping at this juncture. Once we are out I can collapse the passage and we can help you then, for now..." She looked at the eartbender. He cut of his sleeve and tossed it to Mai. It was now she noticed his attire, how it was all covered in blood. Desote the dark in the cavern she could still make out the darker part of her clothing.
"Keep pressure on it, once we get out I can help you some more, but we can't stop now..." Masami turned back to Mai and gently grabbed the piece of cloth from her. "Let me help you." She removed a piece of ribbon she had wrapped around her waist. It was only for decoration anyway and she couldn't care less about it. She used it to tie the cloth to Mai's wound so that she wouldn't have to hold the piece in place.

,, Would you mind please sewing Mai's wounds up, Firebug? " The furry creature says, still looking forward on the road. ,, Mr. Fuzzy thing, I wondered, if this is still in my head, how do I know her name? " A long and awkward silence is eventually broken by the furry creature shrugging ,, It's your head firebug, you tell me. On a side note, you should take a look at her. " Tetsip slightly tilts his head, looking far more menacing than he intended. ,, You got me there, Mr. Fuzzy thing. It's not like I can see anything. "
The furry creature hops slightly into the air, causing Tetsip to fall over on the waterbender. ,, Quiet. " He says in his rough and hollow voice, as he's feeling around for the wound, disregarding the weeping and occasional pushing his hand away of the waterbender. Under a hastily bandage, he finds what he was looking for.A deep wound, a bleeding wound, a bad wound. Over the years, Tetsip learned how to treat most wounds - that is, with a firenation approach; amputate and cauterize. ,, Uh... " He mumbles, knowing how bad he is in terms of human interaction. ,, This is going to hurt. " He says while snapping on a tiny flame on his index finger. His look growing darker and more grim with the moment, he's regulating the flame until it has a light blue color.
,, Maybe I said something wrong. What I meant to say is, that this will be one of the worst things you...no that's just as bad...you could, uh, I mean. Cloth wont help, no way you can keep enough pressure on it, you'll bleed out like a bisoncow. You need that wound sealed, you appear not to be healing yourself, ergo I will cauterize it. " Tetsip stops for a moment and thinks. ,, Just don't squiddle around, or it'll be worse than necessary. "
What on earth is squiddling around? He feels the waterbender backing of in distrust, perhaps even fear. ,, Two options. " Tetsip continues. ,, Death or cauterize. "

Meanwhile, in real life. Bo's steps get slower as he tries to get Tetsip into a sitting position. It appears as if he's trying to get Tetsip to do something. Eventually, Tetsip nearly falls over, nearly. In a position distantly resembling sitting he turns towards the waterbender behind him, his face cold and devastated as usual, his eyes closed and burnt. Out of nowhere Bo's startled by something on the ground, perhaps a spider, perhaps a snake, causing Tetsip to fall over on the waterbender. Tetsip starts feeling around on her side, unknowing what a social taboo that is. To be honest, there were no taboos for him, he disregarded the whole construct called " society ", all there was, was cinder. ,, This is going to hurt. " He grunts as a blue flame shoots out of his right index finger. ,, Death or cauterize. "

"Thanks." Mai said as she took the ripped piece of fabric from Aoi. She tried to put pressure on it, like he said, but she was too weak. When Masami came up beside her, Maizhen put her hand on her black hair. "You're.. Just such a great friend," she sighed. She was beginning to slip in and out of her right state of mind. She was seeing Shou, dancing. No, he was just flying. Now he was speaking to her. She was pulled back into reality when Masami tied something around her waist so she wouldn't have to hold it in place. It sent waves of pain through her torso. She doubled over in pain, only to sit back up again by a moving Tetsip.

Maizhen was seeing weird things. Bohai was talking to her and Tetsip, and Tetsip seemed to be talking back. She couldn't understand. It all sounded like gibberish to her. "Maizhen, I hope we can get back to the Northern Water Tribe soon. I want to go home," Bohai said, clear enough for her to understand.

"Bo, I had no idea you felt that way." Mai said back to him, sadly. Distracted by Bo, the girl hadn't realized that Tetsip had turned around and was now facing her. She was looking at him as he mumbled to Bohai. Suddenly, Bo jumped. He was saying something about being happy to go back to the water tribe. Before Maizhen could say she hadn't said that, Tetsip was falling on top of her. "No! I don't want any tea!" Mai yelled at him as she pushed him off of her. That didn't work though, he reached forward and started feeling her body. She tried to scream, but it was caught in her throat when he touched her wound.

In reality, all that could be heard was mumblings, and the rustling of the two moving on Bo's back. Bohai grunted a few times, hearing Mai's voice, but that was it.

"This is going to hurt." He said.

"What's going to hurt?" she asked, and he answered her by creating a blue flame at his finger tip. Her eyes widened as her mouth began to move soundlessly.

"Death or cauterize." Tetsip said, resulting in a scream from Mai. She didn't understand. She thought you only cauterized something when a limb was cut off.

"He's going to cut off my limbs then kill me!" She said. Although on the inside, in her hallucinations, she was bending water and pushing him away from her, she seemed stuck in place. She was panicking, but on the outside, in real life, all she was doing was saying he was going to kill her. She was feebly trying to blow out the flame, but to no avail.

Kazuko Mori

The further into the mountain they descended, the darker it got. Kazuko found herself squinting to see and it started to give her a rather nagging headache. Eventually she gave up on her sense of sight all together, closing her eyes and keeping them shut. Bending the sound waves produced by their foot steps, Kazuko listened to the sound bounce off of the walls, using a sort of echo location to see. It meant ignoring everyone who was speaking, though.

Her breaths were shallow and light, feeling how much further they had to go with her sound waves. Before she had a chance to get a full grasp on it, her eyes shot open. Light. Fire. “He's going to cut off my limbs then kill me!" It took only a few seconds for her eyes to shoot open, hear Mai’s voice, and spin around. With an irritated undertone but still peppered with calm precision, Kazuko sent a larger than necessary wave of air to extinguish the small flame Tetsip had created.

She wasn’t sure what he was doing, but the frightened look on Mai’s face said she was about as far from happy at their prisoner fire bending as Kazuko was. They both at been at the wrong end of his flame the first time, she was giving him no chances. Taking a few steps toward him, she pushed another wave of air straight down over him in an effort to flatten him out on Bo. ”No fire bending. Lay down, shut up.” Kazuko’s eyes narrowed, she was tired of constantly being on edge.

Taking a deep breath, Kazuko closed her eyes again, listening for the end of the tunnel. ”If we can all just keep it together for a little longer, we only have about half a mile to the end. You,” she addressed the stranger in the group, ”water tribe. Watch our fire bug.” Kazuko thought that maybe Mai had said her name before, but she couldn’t think of it. She looked the girl up and down, despite her lack of combat experience she seemed capable enough of making sure Tetsip didn’t try anything again. She didn’t trust the girl, but she did believe the girl was harmless and cared about Mai enough to not let her die.

Kazuko started walking again, shaking her head in exasperation. She passed Aoi to get back to the front, scanning his facial expression as she did so. She was trying to read him, gage if he was all there yet. Something told her he wouldn’t be all there until Izumi was found. I really do hope she’s okay. Not just for her sake, but for Aoi’s too. Shaking the thought off, Kazuko removed her gaze from Aoi, closing them again so she could see with her ears. I need to find Izumi. I need to get Mai medical attention. I need to keep the group together. I need to keep everyone alive. I need to keep myself alive. Light was starting to dim into the tunnel, the end wasn’t very far now.

Shou had been startled by Kazuko’s sudden outburst, but as soon as she had turned around, Shou resumed his poking and prodding of his new and interesting friend. He smelled bad and he made funny sounds, but Shou entertained himself by hopping along his legs or occasionally his back, pecking lightly as he went. Maybe his new friend had food.

Aoi was in a whole other place as they continued through the passage, his mind thinking all possible outcomes of his interrogation and subsequent find of Izumi... The main possibilities were that she was dead, alive, or alive and a shell of her former self. Aoi wanted either of the first two to be true, wanting her to be dead rather than have suffered the same way once again... His thoughts were interrupted by the water tribe girl, the injured one, yelling something about killing, Aoi was going to handle it, but Kazuko got there first. He turned away from the scene and heard Kazuko say, "If we can all just keep it together for a little longer, we only have about half a mile to the end. You, Water Tribe, watch out Fire bug..." The water tribe girl did not seem too well equipped to handle that, but the Fire Nation soldier was injured and had nowhere to run, so Aoi wasn't too concerned. He felt Kazuko near him, and felt her eyes on his face. He felt the gaze, but decided not to catch it with his own, but rather let her do whatever it was she was doing. Once she left, Aoi's mind left from Izumi for the first time that day, to Kazuko, he watched her butt as she moved away, watching it intently for a few seconds before snapping back to reality and returning his thoughts to Izumi.

It took them a long while to get out of the cavern, the light was seen a good distance away as well. The first thing Aoi wanted to do was to grab the Fire Nation soldier and question him, the problem was that their healer, the one who could return him to a good working order, was down for the count. He sighed before moving to the creature she was riding, he grabbed her and moved her off of the creature, ignoring any objections she may have had(not that anything would have been of much use in her state), before placing her on the ground. He looked at the uninjured Water Tribe girl, before moving his gaze to Kazuko and saying, "Make sure that the Fire Nation guy doesn't go anywhere, also, it would be best to make camp here for awhile, once I collapse the cavern they won't be able to follow us, and they have no way to know where it ends..." He looked around and felt the cold, they were far North, so it was understandable, "We can't make a fire though, they will see it for miles around..."

He moved to the cavern and looked at the main buttresses, he broke them and, just as he had feared, hundreds of feet of the cavern collapsed. He moved to the creature that the Fire Nation soldier was on and opened the saddle bags, looking for anything to seal the wound with. He found a fork, metal that could be bended to make a needle, but he was unable to find any thread, he also grabbed her canteen. He looked around for awhile before sighing once again, and tearing apart his clothes for this girl, once again. He pulled off his overcoat and moved to the one, intact, sleeve, he carefully removed the fine, and sturdy, thread that held it together. Returning to the girl's side, ignoring anything she said or did. He bended one of the tines of the fork off and molded it into a sharp object with a hole at the end, it wasn't as sharp as a needle, but he did the best he could. he then threaded his makeshift needle and made sure the girl was on her side. He poured water on the wound and used his overcoat to wash up the blood.

He began to speak to the girl, realizing that she probably wasn't listening, nor would she remember what he was saying, but when Izumi was in this situation, him talking helped her not to scream. He said, "I learned how to do this fourteen years ago, so I may be a bit rusty... but I was able to call up the knowledge pretty well five years ago, when I needed it then..." the needle first entered her skin, "Her cut was on her leg, it was bad, she fell off a cliff while we were being chased by mercenaries, I had to carry her for three miles before I could stop and stitch it up" He slowly continued to sew up the wound, "After I stitched it up I carried her for another twenty miles, stopping to rest only once... She was always light, so that helped..." He was able to keep focused on the cut, and for some reason, even if she yelped and spoke herself, he would continue talking, "I slept for four hours before carrying her even more, it was then when I got to the Air Temple with her, after I got her safe, I slept for three days straight apparently, she never left my side and barely ate herself," He was nearing the top of her cut, "She didn't even let them bandage her leg, which was bleeding still, it was the best stitching I could do, I am no doctor after all..." He finally finished the stitching before redoing the bandages that the Fire Nation soldier undid. He sat down next to her, realizing that she needed to get up before they could question the Fire Nation soldier, he was injured beyond Aoi's capabilities.

Need to keep the healer alive. Tetsip thinks while getting closer to the waterbender. Somehow, a violent breeze extinguishes his flame and before he's able to snap it back on, he's being blown flat against the furry creature. Airbending. The airbender was still around; but first things first. Where is Tetsip? He feels a small group of people around him, judging by their undisciplined form of walking they are not fire nation. How did he get here? ”No fire bending. Lay down, shut up.” His target says, bringing it all back. The flare, the furry creature, his attempt at killing the airbender.
It appears he's being held captive, neither for the first time, nor the last. They couldn't have gone far, his wounds were sealed only about an hour ago. His index finger slowly moves towards the sky, ready to shoot up another flare. He lowers his finger again, realizing it's not the right time yet and most importantly, there was no sky yet. All there was, was a sort of tunnel. ,, You, watertribe, watch our firebug. " His target says. What a shame she didn't say whether the watertribe member is a bender or not - every little bit of information is important right now.
There were so many possibilities; threaten the flying thing, threaten the fuzzy creature, threaten the waterbender. One of those would have definitely got him out of captivity, but he was in no shape to walk anywhere. Realizing that this situation could be beneficial for him - after all they have a healer and he's close to his target - he lays his escape plans aside, for now.
The air is getting colder, probably due to being close to the exit now. In fact, it was so cold that he'd freeze to death in his current condition if he falls asleep. ,, Watertribe. " He says, not looking in any specific direction ,, Will not resist. " He folds his hands together and puts his thumbs in his mouth, while letting himself slide off the furry creature and landing on his knees; he remembers both the watertribe and many members of the earth nation's military wanted their firebending prisoners to walk around like that. You can't use your nose, your mouth or your hands, leaving you quite vulnerable.
The tunnel behind Tetsip collapses in a very unusual way. Earthbender. He was doing what Tetsip intended, helping the watertribe girl. After hearing the sound of water splashing on skin, Tetsip shook his head and waited. His patience being soon rewarded with personal information of the earthbender. Tetsip listened very closely, trying to remember the slightest detail, the slightest change in tone, the most subtle break in his voice.
While desperately trying to get on his feet, the furry creature helps him up. He rewards it with a kind nudge with his head; trying to keep his hands visible all the time. Slowly removing the thumbs out of his mouth, he does what is expected of every prisoner of war.
,, Tetsip Taduo. Soldier. 23rd " Stormhawk " battalion. "

Mai screamed for help and Masami was just about to knock the firebender out but the airbender beat her to it. ”No fire bending. Lay down, shut up.” Wow, someone's not wasting her breath. But she took a breath of relief. She had already lost one friend today, she sure as hell was not going to lose another. As she was about to check on Mai she heard the familiar voice of the airbender. "You, watertribe, watch our firebug." Masami was getting a little bit annoyed by the bossy tone. Sure she could understand towards the firebender, but she herself had done nothing wrong. What she reacted to the most was that even though she was not wearing her water tribe clothing, she was instantly recognized as a water tribe native. She didn't even look like most water tribe people. She was too pale compared to Mai for example. Maybe it was just the fact that she knew Mai, but did you have to be water tribe to know someone from the water tribe? Apparantely you did. She sighed and mumbled in a quiet tone. "Aye aye captain." before she kept walking.

They exited the tunnel and it was quite chilly but she had had worse so it didn't bother her. Mai was lifted off the yak and the earthbender started with the stitching of her wound. And since she was of no help there she walked over to the firebender who was already on his knees on the ground. She placed her hand on her hips and raised an eyebrow as he spoke. "Tetsip Taduo. Soldier. 23rd " Stormhawk " battalion." She walked up behind him and yanked him up onto his feet. "Hello Tetsip." She lead them over to the mountain side and sat him down there and she seated herself in front of him. "Well, Tetsip. It seems I have been assigned to be your babysitter. So lets try and get along, shall we?" Her voice was quite monotone but she kept a close eye on him.

Kazuko Mori

As they emerged from the cavern, Aoi collapsed it, leaving the group officially isolated by the fire nation soldiers. And Shan… Kazuko scrunched her face, it wasn’t just Shan, it was Tochi and the earth bender girl too. She shouldn’t think like that, it was something disadvantageous to her situation and the goal of survival. Emotions were a hindrance. She needed to think practically.

“It would be best to make camp here for awhile. We can't make a fire though, they will see it for miles around..." Aoi was right, and she was grateful he was there to pick up whatever emotional slack she had. He went to attend to Mai, and the other girl went to watch over Tetsip. It seemed as though everyone had a place, and Kazuko decided she would find some food and make some basic shelter in case it rained or snowed, the sky seemed iffy to her, not that it wasn’t cold enough already. Kazuko was used to altitude cold, to wind chill, but this kind of cold was a bone chilling cold. Once it got dark, it would no doubt get overwhelmingly so.

”Shou? she asked, looking up. Shou took a break from Bo and his new friend to fly over to Kazuko, hovering over slightly. ”Food please.” she continued, knowing this was the regular routine for them at home. Or rather, what used to be their home. Shou took off into the trees; hopefully he’d come back with a small animal to eat.

With Shou getting some food, Kazuko shot herself up into a tree, using a sharp burst of air to strip branches off of it. They fell to the ground in a pile at the bottom, in which she collected and started to build a lean-to shanty against the tree. Her hands were shaky, the flesh on her left arm still significantly charred. Because of those two factors, the rough tree bark was very easily shredding the damaged flesh of her left side. The pain washed over her again as the burnt flesh split open, but she continued without a word, the only thing showing her discomfort was the wincing.

She turned to watch the others; the stranger was getting friendly with the prisoner. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Aoi was finishing up with Mai, he seemed to be telling her a story. For a moment she considered listening it, knowing full well that she could use her bending to curb her curiosity. But she quickly threw the idea out and rolled her eyes for considering it, smiling meekly at her own embarrassment. She just worried about Mai, knew she wasn’t well or herself. There was no way that she could afford to lose Mai, she was the one person left that Kazuko truly cared about. She trusted Aoi to handle her, there was no need to listen in. Pushing her concern aside, Kazuko refocused on her task, knowing shed need to make it large enough for all five of them and Bo in order to keep everyone’s body heat together if they could not make a fire.

Maizhen could see the light from the opening, and it hurt her eyes. She shielded them with her hand and blinked rapidly, trying to get used to it. Everything went dark as she began to black out again.

She was pulled off of Bohai and set on the ground. It was cold outside. It felt like home. She like it. She was turned on her side. What is going on? She tried to open her eyes, but they felt like 50 pound weights. She sighed and lie there until she felt someone kneel next to her. The bandages on her side were being removed, and she winced in pain as the tender skin was irritated. Cool water was poured over, and it burned, just as much as it soothed her. "Fourteen years ago …. able to call up the… when I needed it then..." That didn’t make sen—Mai’s eyes flew open when the blunt needle entered her skin. A scream of pain escaped her lips.
“No..” she whimpered, reaching for Aoi’s hands. He moved them away and kept talking.

" On her leg, it was ….. fell off a cliff.... mercenaries .. Carry .. Three miles….. stitch it up.” Nothing was making sense, and the pain was just worsening. She was looking at Aoi, trying to remember who he was. He had dark hair that was falling in his face. He had one green eye, and one grey eye. There was something wrong with it. He looked upset. Another stitch as made, but Mai only let out a sharp breath. This horrible object was penetrating her body where she was already hurting the worst. It was leaving something behind. It was pulling her skin and stretching it. The more Maizhen focused on listening to him, the more her head hurt. But, it also dulled the other pain, just slightly, because her focus wasn’t on it. His voice was soothing, though she couldn’t understand most of what he was saying. “She was always light, so that helped..."

“Who? Ahh, stop.. I ..” She scrunched her face in pain. He didn’t stop.

"I slept… before carrying her… I got to the Air Temple with her … slept for three days .. she never left my side…” He continued stitching her up, although Mai still hadn’t realized that this was the cause of her pain. “I am no doctor after all...” He finished, and pulled what was in her skin tight, and then the bandages were put back on. Her torso was throbbing all over, the pain was so much worse now. What had he done to her?

“What are you?” She wanted to ask, but all she managed to say was ‘”You.”

She rolled over on her back when he let go of her and she could see him out of the corner of her eye, just sitting there. She tried to remember, now that he wasn’t speaking, what had happened. When she closed her eyes, the memories came trickling back. He had helped her. She knew that much. She tried to say thank you, but instead, she just closed her eyes and fell asleep, pulling her legs up to keep her warm.

Aoi watched the girl huddle into a ball, she had a long day filled with a significant amount of pain and healing, she needed to rest... Aoi hit his forehead with the bottom of his palm, realizing that he was just using the girl as a substitute Izumi... He hated himself for a moment before hearing the Fire Nation soldier finally speak. He heard him say, "Tetsip Taduo. Soldier. 23rd 'Stormhawk' battalion." Aoi's face while stitching the girl had been a sad one, yet now that he was going to question the man, his demeanor turned into one of emotionless monotony. The uninjured Water Tribe girl moved him to the mountain side, Aoi was about to move towards her, but he looked back at the injured girl. He sighed before moving towards the girl's mount(who's species was still unknown to Aoi) and grabbing a blanket from it and placing it over the girl. He needed Izumi as much as she needed him, so the temporary caretaking of this girl comforted him on some level... His gaze returned to his prey, the Fire Nation soldier.

Aoi moved towards him, ignoring anything either of them were saying and grabbing the man by the hair. He spoke as he dragged him away from the girl, "So Tetsip, I can tell from your introduction that you are not going to cooperate, am I right?" Not waiting for an answer he threw him on the ground. He slowly took out his knife, looking it over a bit, before saying, "I want to know your orders on captives from nations other then the Air Nomads... And if you don't tell me, I will start by breaking each bone of every finger you have, then I will break your knees, and then I will cut out eyes... then other bits, slowly and painfully... we have a healer so there's no way I am going to let you die, just live in torment until you finally tell me what I want to know... so feel like skipping that bit or do you want the pain? Because I know which I would rather do..." He knew Izumi would never speak to him again if she was here, or even if she heard about this... but he needed her back as soon as he possibly could, no matter the method, no matter the price. If he truly had to torment this man for days, he would do it in a heartbeat... The man seemed resilient, but Aoi knew that everyone has a breaking point, and after suffering as much as Aoi planned to have him suffer, he would crumble...

To think that a matter of hours ago he was playing a game of Pai Sho in peace, enjoying life, not thinking that he would have to kill again... After he killed his brother, his psyche hinged on Izumi, without her to care for, he wouldn't have made it, and with him, she wouldn't have made it either... The second time he killed, a mercenary that got a hold of Izumi and was a bit too... close... to her, that time was easy, that time he enjoyed it... but the other three people he had killed that day, he was numb to it... it made him sad... it made him feel as if Izumi would hate him... but he had no time to dwell on such subjects, he had to find Izumi, and if torturing this man was the fastest way to it, so be it...

,, So let's try to get along, shall we? " The watertribe girl says. ,, Not interested in relationship. " Tetsip answers. ,, Wait, that wasn't an invitation, right?" He continues. He has no idea how to behave in such a situation. Introduce yourself, always good start. ,, Tetsip Taduo, Soldier, 23rd. " he says while slightly bowing. ,, You just said that. " The girl answers in a confused but monotone voice. Start conversation. She's watertribe; talk about watertribe. ,, Was at the south pole once. Hunting pengiuns. Very dense skin, keeps you warm; cutting through it is a nightmare though. Took several minutes to kill one of them. Couldn't bend; wanted their skin intact. Sometimes we skinned them alive. " That is definitely a good start for a conversation. Getting the hang of this socializing thing. But before the conversation can continue, Tetsip's violently torn back into his profession.
Like the good old days. Tetsip thinks while being grabbed by his hair and pulled to the side, not in defense but rather looking for something, Tetsip grabs the mans wrist. Ha . This is what he lived for, this is what he wanted to die for.
Cards on the table; a simple and direct competition. "So Tetsip, I can tell from your introduction that you are not going to cooperate, am I right?" Before Tetsip can tell him to suck on an armadillo skunk he's thrown to the ground. A familiar type of coldness enters the proximity of Tetsip; metall. Too small to be a blade, two options; either torture or a slit throat. Either way fun.
"I want to know your orders on captives from nations other then the Air Nomads... And if you don't tell me, I will start by breaking each bone of every finger you have, then I will break your knees, and then I will cut out eyes... then other bits, slowly and painfully... we have a healer so there's no way I am going to let you die, just live in torment until you finally tell me what I want to know... so feel like skipping that bit or do you want the pain? Because I know which I would rather do..." Tetsip looks up to him and lifts his left hand. ,, Tetsip Taduo. Soldier. 23rd Stormhawk batallion. " He says, snapping his index finger 90 degrees to the side and not making any sound nor having any form of facial twitch. This should make his dedication and unwavering loyalty clear; shouldn't the earthbender play along, that introduction will be the only thing he'll hear Tetsip say until his last breath.
,, Was captured by non bender, anti-war resistance once. Heated up needles and jammed them into my teeth. Even if you can top that, I wont talk. " Tetsip sunk into thoughts for just a moment, this was his chance at turning the tides. ,,I know what's on your wrist, can't hide what coward you are. You are not man enough to break me. " Good start. Tetsip thinks, while contemplating on how to continue. ,, You an Earthbender. Looking for non-airbender prisoners. Talking about your sister too much. Perhaps looking for your sister? " He feels the mans mood boiling, exactly what he wanted to achieve. ,, Either dead, or wishing to be. Fire nation soldiers are lonely these days. "
Tetsip remembered a very viable lesson he learned by a fire bending master. Every element needs a certain state of mind, a certain attitude. An angry earthbender is a weak earthbender. An angry person is a distracted person. That was his goal, break the benders around him mentally before taking out the airbender.
,, Will cooperate. " He says, preparing to jam in the last nail into the earthbenders coffin. ,, First; dozen as-dense-as-possible stones for every one of us. Second; get me tea. Third; get me clothing. " And now for the crowning moment, a bit of ridicule for the earthbender, telling him things he definitely knows, pretending to think he's stupid. ,, Will heat stones up. Dense stones store warmth. Warm stones mean comfort. " He said in a very slow and kind manner, like talking to a child.
He knew the people around him would like the idea of warmth after deciding not to make a fire, thus they'd like him. Admittedly, it felt like there was a part in his plan missing - step one, offer them warmth. step two, something. Step three, they trust him - but that was just nitpicking. Or so he thought.

Kazuko Mori

Kazuko was getting frustrated, her hands were cold and the wind she kept making to move the larger branches made her colder, it made her clumsy. It took several tries to make what little roof covering she could. Taking the smaller branches with the pine needles covering them, she placed them over the larger branches and on the ground inside. Pine needles were water proof, it wasn’t the most comfortable but the possibility of being cold and wet made for a possibly unbearable night. And considering Mai was injured and thusly vulnerable to sickness, she couldn’t afford that.

Looking back to Mai, she could see that Aoi had finished up with her and was wrapping her up in a blanket from Bo. Her eyes softened, a small smile crossing her lips. ”Thank you…” she said. It was meant for Aoi, but it was barely audible even to her own ears. She began walking over to Mai as Aoi crossed over to Tetsip and Misami. He began attacking him, the peace that she had felt was only for a moment. "So feel like skipping that bit or do you want the pain? Because I know which I would rather do..." Kazuko winced, it was going to get nasty here and she didn’t want Mai waking up. She needed to rest.

She picked up Mai with a wind current, cradling her softly in it. She heard Tetsip egging Aoi on, taunting him, challenging him, and even breaking a finger. Kazuko kept herself from looking any more, focusing on carrying Mai to her little shelter. She hoped the somewhat enclosed space with the pine needles for insulation would keep her a little warmer. Kazuko tucked her in gently, the space closest to the tree on the far side, and then called Bo over, not wanting him to get mixed up in the ruckus either. Shou was still not back with the food….

Kazuko looked back at the two quarrel birds, not really in the mood to intervene one way or the other. At this point, she was painfully apathetic. If things came this way over to Mai, she’d do something. If Aoi looked in trouble, she’d do something. Otherwise, this was his fight, not hers. No use getting burnt again, her arm was still stinging from last time and the cold was making it painfully tight and unpleasant.

Sinking to her haunches, she rocked back and forth silently, her eyes closed. She needed to digest her thoughts, everything that happened today. Upon rocking forward, she sprung straight into the air, placing herself atop the tree Mai was leaning against. She could still keep an eye on everything from where she was, if only just barely. Her knees rose up to her chest, hugging them tightly and burying her face in them. A single tear rolled down the side of her cheek. For the first time today, she was relatively safe. Her mother was dead, her father as well. Her teachers, her friends, almost everyone she knew. Mai was clinging to life, Izumi was missing, Aoi was losing his mind, Shan was gone forever. Screaming, fire, blood, pain, death. It soaked in slowly.

Kazuko broke her silence, humming her practice tune her teacher made her use for sound bending. She bent the notes, keeping her head in her knees. Keeping it soft, she manipulated the sound, making them speed up, slow down, change pitch, and everything in between. It was all she had left. The notes changed to a minor key, becoming ominous and sad, and faded slowly, slowly, until silence. The only thing left was the sound of Kazuko breathing and the two down there shouting, but she forced it out. For those few moments, there was no sound, no people, just Kazuko and this tree.

The firebender was talking in a very odd way. He kept introducing himself and he seemed kind of awkward to be in this kind of conversation
"Was at the south pole once. Hunting pengiuns. Very dense skin, keeps you warm; cutting through it is a nightmare though. Took several minutes to kill one of them. Couldn't bend; wanted their skin intact. Sometimes we skinned them alive. " Was he serious? Is he purposely trying to really piss her off? Talking about animal slaughter is not a good way to start a conversation.
Masami didn't even have time to reply as he was dragged away be the eartbender and judging by the look on the eartbender's face, this was not something she wanted to get in the middle of. The aribender, which she was going to start calling 'captain', wasn't protesting se that gave her another reason to butt out.
Captain had taken Mai underneath a shelter she had made so she walked over to her and sat down next to her, making sure she was okay but she still kept a close eye on the fire and earthbender.

Hiroko landed gently on the platform of the temple. As she landed, she immediately began a fast-paced walk towards the direction she had last seen the group of benders head towards. Her eyes glanced…surveyed the area around her, searching for any survivors. Her father made it clear that all Airbenders and anyone in the way were to be exterminated. And she would do just that. Any one left in the temple would do well to be long gone or out of her sight. She walked a good distance before coming to an entrance to a cavern and stared at it. She glanced down at the ground and spotted a few tracks. Must have come this way, she thought as she touched the ground and rubbed it with her palm.

“H-help,” a mumbled voice called out as Hiroko snapped her neck in the direction it came from. From the tone, it sounded as if it belonged to a male, around his late twenties. Hiroko walked and kneeled down to peer into the face of a firebender. He seemed to have been crushed by a boulder. Half of his body was underneath the boulder, undoubtedly crushed and probably missing, while the other half remained full and intact. The man’s face had dirt and blood, probably his blood, covering a mass of it and he seemed dazed. Hiroko’s face remained stoic as she placed a hand on the firebender’s shoulder. He glanced up into her eyes and immediately all color drained from his face.

“Where does this tunnel lead?” she asked, not sparing a single glance towards his injuries. She needed to find out where this cavern led so that she may finish her task at hand. Even with the comet still high in the air, she wanted to end this as quickly as possible. There were other matters to attend to and this had dragged on far too long.

“I-I don’t know m’lady,” he responded, fear dripping from every word. He was afraid; she could smell it on him. Hiroko gently laid her hand on his head and placed the other on his shoulder. “P-P-Please,” he stuttered out, blood still spilling from his mouth as tears welled up in his amber eyes. Hiroko merely shushed him and pulled him against her.

“I believe you,” she spoke, and before another word could be uttered, the sound of something snapping echoed through as the limp body of the firebender fell to the floor. Hiroko stood up, dusted her hands off, and stole another glance at the cavern before coming to a conclusion. She needed to get to the other side. The question now was, how? From the looks of it, the cavern was collapsed, recently it seems. There did not seem any other way around it except to go over it. With that thought in mind, Hiroko pushed herself up towards the cavern and gave a large whistle out. When there was no response, Hiroko frowned.

Fei Long where are you? she thought as she scowled. She’d have to make the cross by foot. That was until a sound captured her attention. A komodo rhino, without its rider, appeared shuffling through the foliage. He stared at Hiroko who merely walked over to it and grabbed its horn. She stared him in the eyes before grabbing the reigns and throwing herself onto his back. With a final glance towards the sky, she ushered the Komodo Rhino to climb.

After what seemed like hours, Hiroko finally managed to reach the other side. She jumped off the Komodo Rhino and landed gracefully on the floor. She heard noise and silently approached the source. Peering over a bush, she spotted the group she had been looking for. Only there were people missing. She dismissed it and began to formulate a plan. She knew with the comet’s presence, her own firebending had increased tenfold. With that in mind, she rushed the group.

Before the man could answer, Aoi felt footsteps not far from the camp. The feet making the noise had metal boots on, which meant Fire Nation most likely, meaning they had been discovered. Aoi dropped Tetsip's face on the ground and got up, ready to kill whoever it was so they could move on before he realized... There was no way he could get information out of Tetsip, he was blindly devoted... or just insane... Aoi looked down at him before thinking that he needed a weaker prey in order to find Izumi, even if he cut out everything this man held dear inside his body, he wouldn't tell Aoi what he wanted... Aoi looked towards the noise and saw a female, beautiful with luscious red hair, not like that of a commoner(being born a Noble, Aoi could tell when one was a noble or a commoner by the slightest things, one of those things being the hair), rush towards the group ready to attack. Sadly for her, she had metal armor, so she didn't get to far before Aoi bended the metal in her wrist guards, snapping them back and dislocating her shoulders before rushing towards her and bending her feet into the ground, it was futile to avoid because he bended both the metal and the earth, so it would have been impossible to avoid unless she removed her boots in that few seconds.

Aoi moved quickly towards her and said, "What's a noble doing without a unit?" Aoi could feel no other metal footsteps around the camp for half a kilometer. It was odd to see a noble in lowly Fire Nation soldier garb, Aoi would typically expect them to stand out so they would never go out on the front lines... She seemed different, angry obviously, but different. He felt a nostalgic sense when he looked at her, almost as if he had heard of her before... Or of someone similar to her... it was long ago, so Aoi couldn't remember.

Kazuko Mori

A sudden noise startled Kazuko, she had been in her own little world all this time and hadn’t been aware of her surroundings like she usually was. She looked down, it was the fire bender princess, the one she saw battling it out with Shan until she disappeared. Kazuko would no doubt pay for her oblivious mishap. Now they were all in danger, and it might have been avoided if she hadn’t let her emotions get the best of her for a few moments.

Aoi was facing off with the princess, Tetsip now laying face down behind them. It looked as if Aoi had slammed him face down after hearing the princess, it looked as if he was unconscious. Bo had rushed over to where Kazuko had laid Mai down, and she couldn’t see the other girl, but she assumed she was with Mai, that’s the only other place she could be.

Kazuko jumped down, letting the air cushion her fall. She stood by the two water benders, ready to defend Mai, who looked still unconscious, at all costs. Besides, Aoi looked as if he was handling the situation. It wasn’t too far for Kazuko to step in, though, if she really needed to.

A thousand thoughts spun through her head. She wondered how the princess had found her, whether she could effectively carry off Mai if she needed to abandon the rest of the group, if others were coming this way, whether the princess had finished off Shan and Tochi before coming. It was getting dark; she could see the sun setting behind them. Soon it would be dark and cold, and they would still be fighting. The feeling of safety she felt earlier was an illusion.

Bo by this time had managed to get into the shelter with the two girls; he seemed to want to be near Mai just as Kazuko did. It seemed as though everyone had made a front for her, if nothing else she was cared for. Which is Kazuko had to pick between herself and Mai, she was glad Mai was the one cared for, and not just because Mai was injured. Kazuko sighed, it was going to be a long night.

Her eyelids felt heavy and she started to nod off. All of a sudden there as aloud noice sounding similar to earthbending or atleast stone crumbling and moving around and Captain was standing beside her looking towards something with quite the worried expression. Masami quickly got on her feet and looked in the same direction and she immediately recognized the red head. Being born in a wealthy family she had to learn about all the kings, queens, princesses etc, aswell as many people in high up positions of all the nations. This was Princess Hiroko and the eartbender had seemed to have her under control by having her being bent stuck in what looked like a very uncomfortable position. Masami let out a frustrated sigh before looking back to Mai. She looked back at the princess and whispered a very low "Damn it.." as she stood up and walked out of the shelter, but she didn't approach the eartbender and princess.