"Hey, Katara, wait up!"

Katara didn't look back, but she did slow down.

Mai hurried to the other girl's side. She was slightly out of breath. What's worse, it was fully dark now. Well, this day couldn't get much worse. Then she remembered, oh yeah, it probably could. She looked at her traveling companion. Katara hadn't said anything since they had left the village.

"Man, what a bunch of cowards," Mai stated, folding her hands behind her head as they walked. She was surprised when Katara stopped. She followed suit and turned to face Katara, who was still looking at the ground, studiously avoiding her gaze.

"Don't."

"Huh?" Mai didn't know what Katara was asking. Don't talk about the village? Was it that much of a sore spot? Mai knew that Katara had a warm heart, but this wasn't the time to get soft. They needed to be ready, since the gangsters might be watching for them. "Katara, they threw us out because they were scared! Even after you stood up for them! However you feel, we need to-"

"MAI, DON'T-!" Katara yelled, but cut herself off. Mai was stunned into silence. She stared at Katara, and noticed her start to shake. There was a heavy pause.

"...Don't you think I know that?" Katara whispered. Mai had to listen to hear her over the wind, which had started to pick up. Katara swirled to face her, her expression intense, and her eyes sparkling with held back tears. Mai was made intensely uncomfortable.

"DON'T YOU THINK I'VE BEEN AGONIZING OVER THAT THIS WHOLE TIME!" Katara dropped her eyes again after her outburst.

"Katara, that's what I'm saying! It's not your fault! It's not my fault. This..." Mai almost growled, "is their fault. We just need to-"

"I don't blame myself for this!" Katara shouted. Mai went quiet again. Clearly Katara was not acting rationally. "Do you have any idea, any idea!, how much it hurts...to be willing to help someone...and they turn you away?" Mai flinched and went very still. That had hit close to home.

Katara looked back up at Mai, and the tears had broken loose. "When all you want to do is help them...and they reject you?" She was blubbering now, and Mai couldn't think of anything to say. There wasn't anything to say. This had to be about more than what had happened earlier. Something that was weighing on Katara just like she had something that was weighing her down.

As Katara sniffled, Mai realized that she couldn't just stand here like a jerk. Or maybe she could, but she would regret it. Katara didn't deserve this. No one did...

Pushing through her discomfort, Mai stepped forward and embraced Katara. If anyone had been watching, she didn't know if she could have had done it, but with just the two of them, she knew that she needed to do this. Mai might be cold and distant most of the time, but she knew some things about emotions (even if she still didn't like them). Being around Ty Lee had taught her that much.

Katara broke down as soon as Mai held her. She wrapped her arms and clung tightly to Mai's frame. It made Mai feel a bit out of control for a moment, and she hated that feeling. But she endured it. Her rational mind could tell that Katara needed this right now. And another, more restrained part of her knew that this was what she, herself, would have wanted someone to do for her, fairly recently.

Finally Katara's choking sobs slowed, though she still held onto Mai. Now that the swell of emotion had passed, and Katara was more relaxed, this was actually somewhat pleasant. Katara sniffed, and Mai smiled at the act. It made her seem a lot younger than someone who had helped the Avatar win a war.

Finally, Katara seemed to compose herself, but she didn't immediately break the hug. Mai was starting to feel awkward. What was the accepted time for a hug? How did one gracefully end a hug? Ty Lee was so aggressive that Mai felt comfortable using her judo training to escape her grabs, but this one was a bit different.

Mai also wondered why she was thinking of Ty Lee so much. Was that really the only girly girl that she had ever known? Not that Katara was girly. But then, Azula wasn't much of a reference to use, either. I have got to make more friends, she thought.

Finally, Mai decided to drop her arms, as a sign that she was ending her participation in the hug. Katara squeezed for a moment, and then let her go as well. One of her hands snuck down to Mai's, though. She wiped her eyes, and laughed.

"Thanks for putting up with me, Mai," She laughed. "I know I haven't been the best traveling companion." Mai was struck by how off base this statement was. Katara was sweet and kind. Mai was the misanthrope, that could barely get along with normal people.

She didn't say that though. "No problem, Katara. I guess we're all entitled to a little cry every now and then." Katara laughed again. Mai was a little surprised at how quickly her mood had changed. Maybe swallowing your emotions wasn't good for you?

"Even you?" Katara asked teasingly. Mai knew she meant it as a joke, but for some reason it went through her. She tensed up. No, not now!

Katara felt it as well. "Are you okay?" Now it was Mai's turn to avoid her gaze. Katara was a bit more persistent in trying to meet her eyes, though. "Come on, Mai, I'm here, I'll listen."

And that was the thing. Mai knew it. All of the walls that Mai had spent her life building, that dulled her to the disappointments of life, they were threatening to be breached. For what? Because Katara had cried in her arms? Opening up to someone was a perfect way to get hurt. She had been forced to relearn that lesson not too long ago, and the scars were still fresh. People can be friendly, but don't let them in. They won't understand you, and they will eventually hurt you.

A quiet voice deep inside her whispered that that didn't have to be true, but it was quickly drowned out by the rest of her instantly responding that IT HAD TO BE TRUE, because that was all she had ever known! It was so visceral that she had to grimace to stifle her scream.

Katara noticed and tried again, "What's wrong?"

This was about more than him. This was about more than Azula, or her parents. This was about how she wanted to live her life. Was she gonna run away forever? Was she going to let this beat her? Was she going to be like that stupid village back there that would turn away a helping hand?!

"I-" Mai choked, and came an inch away from spilling her guts.

"Well, well, well, look what we have here..."

"Oh thank god," Mai gasped, and turned with Katara to face a group of thugs, emerging from the woods. It almost surprised her how fast she was able to switch from emotional breakdown to steely readiness, and she wondered off hand if she should be more concerned about that. I'm sure someone would have a lot to say about it, she thought.

1, 2, 3...6 brigands. Was that all? Mai smirked. She wasn't sure if she was actually that confident, or if it was her favored gallows humor. She wasn't sure of a lot of things right now, was she? Was that a result of the kinda life she lived, or could she excuse herself because of stress? As soon as that thought occurred to her, she scowled and pushed it away. No. No rest for the weary. No excuses. Just get it done. And right now, "it" was these jokers. Mai's mood almost visibly blackened.

Next to her, Katara was darting her eyes around, trying to make sure that she could see where each man was. She was still a little tired from her emotional outburst. In the long run, it was better than carrying that weight around, but in the short term, catharsis made it difficult to summon the adrenaline necessary for a fight.

She started swaying in a water bending stance, trying to get her blood flowing. Just focus. Take it one at a time. Don't overextend. But spirits, she was tired. They both were. They had been through a lot already today, and should have been safe in bed by now. The sheer frustration came back to mind at the memory, and Katara used it.

One of the men stepped forward. He was shorter than the rest, but he spoke for the group. "You ladies are in a bad spot, traveling so late in these dangerous woods. Don't you know there are bandits in these woods?" He looked around at the others, grinning a sleazy smile. "Luckily, you ran into us first."

He bowed in a mockery of politeness, "We're local gentlemen, and we'll help you along, if you please." He turned and motioned down a barely visible offshoot of the road. The other men chucked under their breaths or stared menacingly.

Katara wondered if this faux nice routine ever worked, and then decided that she didn't want to think about it. These thugs obviously wanted them to come along without resisting. Well, were they in for a surprise. However, even she was shocked when something whizzed through the air, and suddenly there was a knife sticking out of the spokesman's gut.

Everyone froze. He let out a squawk, and gripped the knife with both hands, falling to his knees. He wrenched the implement out with a pained squeak, and then looked at Katara with a woe-begone expression, that was almost comical, as he fell to his side and curled up in the fetal position. Katara took a brief side glance at her companion, and saw Mai still standing with her hand outstretched, a cold, unreadable expression on her face. And then the rest charged.

Katara was tired. At full strength, she would try to redirect their attacks and wear them out. She never liked hurting people, even her enemies. It wasn't that she didn't believe they deserved it. It just made her feel...bad. So she usually used just enough force to end things peacefully. Of course, that usually included a large group of her friends, or preparations, or more energy.

Now, she was fighting for survival. She didn't know what these men intended with them, and she didn't want to find out. She swung her water whip at the closest assailant, and turned the flowing water to ice just as it reached his head. A sick clunk rang out, and the man was knocked off course, almost falling before stumbling headfirst, hard, into a tree. She smirked grimly. One down. She turned to the next one, when a shadowy projectile flew out of the dusk right at her face!

Katara dodged, every muscle straining as she thanked her battle experience for noticing in enough time to get her out of the way. As it flew past, she was just able to discern that it was a chunk of rock. Earth bender! She cast her eyes around, and saw that one of the men still in the fight had settled into an earth bending stance. She cursed. It made sense, in the middle of the Earth Kingdom, but it was the last thing she wanted to deal with now. Well, he was obviously the priority for now.

As she turned to confront him, another man rushed at her from a different angle. They were working together, she realized. She waited until the last moment, then dodged the thug rushing her, while blocking the projectile the earth bender shot at her with an ice chunk of her own. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the man whiz past, almost losing his balance.

He came to a stop near the first guy she had taken out, and helped him to his feet. The man staggered, and then tried to rush at her, to get his revenge. She grabbed him with her whip and redirected him into the path of an oncoming rock. The sound made her a little sick to her stomach, and he went down hard.

Katara split her attention between the thug advancing on her, and the earth bender who was watching. She wanted to check on Mai, but she had to trust that she was holding her own. Knowing Mai, it was a pretty good bet. She noticed the earth bender turn to look at something outside of her vision, and then he prepared to throw a rock. He was aiming at Mai! A new rush of adrenaline surged through he, and she intercepted his attack with her own. This left her open.

Suddenly she was tackled to the ground. "Aaugh!" The man was right in her face now. She put up her knee, trying to get space between them, and he grabbed at her hands. She tried to break free, but he was heavy, and strong! A furious look crawled across his face, and he landed a hard right to her face. Stars flashed and her head rang. She felt weak, but she had to get away, and use her water. Her mind turned to the possibility of blood bending.

Then Mai appeared over his shoulder, and raised a hand, bringing it and the knife it held down into the man's back. He arched back reflexively, howling, and clawed at his back, reaching for the pain. Mai shoved him to the side, and reached down to help Katara up. But she had to break it off when another thug rushed at her. Katara rolled to her hands and knees as Mai tried to keep out of range of her attackers, while also giving Katara time to get to her feet.

Katara looked where Mai had been fighting, and saw the spokesman still huddled up, crying to himself and trying to remain inconspicuous. She also saw another of the bandits, crouched and bleeding, trying not to hyperventilate. He seemed to be deciding between lying down and staying in his current position.

She turned back to the man who had just been stabbed. She saw him staggering around, trying to reach the knife in his back. She called her water, and blasted him off his feet. Then she ran over, and quickly ripped the knife out, and the man croaked a cry, half of pain and half of relief. Katara felt the blood pumping through her heart, through her skull. This was hell.

She sighted Mai, who was trying to pin down the last fighter, who was wielding a club. So Katara whirled away, resolving to focus on the earth bender But he wasn't where she had last seen him. She turned to and fro, trying to find him, but he was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he had run off? They should be so lucky.

She turned back to Mai's fight. Mai was on the offensive, trying to finish him off. She had the edge in skill and experience, but she was tired. The thug, on the other hand, had probably learned something from seeing his fellows fall. He was careful to stay out of stabbing range, but close enough that he could react quickly and interfere with her throwing motions. His club was useful as a threat and a shield. In fact, if Mai was alone, and the Earth bender were still reinforcing him, he actually might have a shot.

Neither of those things were true at the moment, however. Katara summoned a blast of water, knocking him back into a tree and freezing him to it. He blinked, surprised, and Mai let out a breath as she turned towards Katara. A hint of a smile started to touch her lips, then froze and died, as she started to sprint towards Katara.

Moments passed in slow motion for Katara. First, a moment of confusion. Then a moment of realization. Danger. Then her brain deciding to turn around. Communicating that to her muscles. Beginning to turn around. Who could it be? Earth bender!

She was still only halfway turned around, and everything was moving so slow, when something smashed into her back. As she started to fall, she realized it was Mai, pushing her down. Then she heard a resounding crack, so loud and close that she could feel it, and time returned to normal.

And as it did, she heard a loud and genuine cry of anguish. Her thoughts were still catching up, and she realized that Mai was lying next to her, writhing in pain. She wasn't faking. Mai would never relax or let down her guard in battle.

It was the hardest thing in the world for Katara to resist her strongest instinct, which was to urgently begin healing and comforting Mai. Instead, she leapt to her feet and called what remained of her water. The earth bender readied another rock and Katara let fly with everything. The earth bender sent his rock flying, and the water and rock collided. The rock splashed through the water and separated the blast, while also being knocked off course.

Going on instinct, Katara froze the water droplets, which became many hard little projectiles. The earth bender cursed and hunched over as the small chunks of ice cut into his hands and face. Katara followed up by rushing at him while his guard was down.

She had no idea what she was going to do, but then felt that she was still clutching the knife that she had plucked out of the other man. So by the time the earth bender looked up, Katara was in his face. She slammed the knife deep into his chest with a solid thunk. He didn't even cry out, merely staring at her, before his eyes clouded over with shock and he fell straight to the ground.

Katara almost followed him down. It took all of her strength to remain standing. And only because she knew that if she did fall, she wouldn't have the strength to get back up. And while the immediate threat might have been dealt with...Mai! She turned tentatively, and felt her heart sink to see Mai still on the ground.

She didn't know what she expected. For her to just get up and shake it off? She picked her way over to her friend. Mai wasn't moving much, but tears had fallen from her pain clenched eyes. Katara wanted to cry too, from empathy. But she denied herself that release. You don't get to cry, she told herself. Not until you get Mai to safety.

She grimaced, trying to focus. This was gonna be hard. She grabbed Mai's left arm with her left, and then wrapped her right arm around Mai's midsection. Katara braced and tried to dead lift Mai high enough to wrap Mai's arm around her shoulder for support. Suddenly she felt Mai push against the ground with her other arm.

It almost pushed them both off balance, but it gave her enough help that she was able to get under Mai's shoulder and use her whole body and legs to gather herself and pull Mai to her feet. Mai gave out a ragged groan, and though she was committed to bear it stoically, unwanted tears of pain leaked out and flowed down her face.

She wanted to ask Katara to leave her, to not look at her while she was like this. Another part of her wanted to ask Katara to never leave, and just hold her. She split the difference, and didn't say anything. She was almost too tired to feel the pain anymore. In fact, she could feel herself slipping into slumber. She fought it off though. It was bad enough that Katara had to carry her sorry behind. She'd be damned if she was gonna be dead weight.

Katara lost track off time. Mai was helping, and it made a difference, but it was still so hard. Katara was almost at all of her limits. Physical, mental, and emotional. She wasn't consciously thinking of their destination, but the only place she knew (beside a sky bison showing up out of the night), was that inn in the village that had thrown them out.

It was the middle of the night, and should have been darker than ever. But it was as if the moon had come out from behind a cloud. Though the foliage didn't have many openings, the moonlight shone bright through. All of Katara's conscious effort and focus was on staying upright and moving forward, yet somewhere in the back of her mind she thought of Yue. And she felt guilty that it was the first time in a long time that she had thought of the other girl.

A few hours before morning, she saw the shacks on the outskirts of the village. She was so used to the dark, that it almost felt she were looking at the village in daylight. Every building was clear to her. She re-balanced Mai, who had not moved much except for shuffling beside her. They had walked in silence, aside from a few grunts and groans. But at this point, it had been a welcome reprieve.

Katara felt the ache in every part of her body, and she thought about was how much worse it had to be for Mai. Her focus was stretched taut. She was running on fumes, and every step was met by traitorous protests from her body. All she wanted was to sit down. If she could only just lay down on this mud, it would mean more to her than all the gold and riches in the world. Instead, she kept walking.

As they came to the small building that served as the village inn, one small candle was still lit. In the darkness, it seemed to beckon them on. Now that they were here, however, Katara second guessed herself. What kind of welcome could they expect here? Was she setting them up to be betrayed again? But she found she didn't care. These villagers could betray them for all she cared. They'll have to carry us, she resolved.

They came to the doorway. It was the blanket from before. Rather than knock out here, where anyone could see them, she decided to risk it and slip inside. Once inside, Katara looked around. There was no good place to set Mai down, except for the bed in the other room. She started towards the second room, looking around for Jin. Katara thought about whispering for her, but her voice was rusty from her long silence, and she didn't want to alert anyone else.

They came to the second room, and Katara stuck her head inside. Mai was starting to make some pained noises beside her, and Katara was starting to get desperate to get her lying down. Looking into the dark room, she saw Jin, asleep in the bed. Katara whispered out to her, but her voice rasped out inaudibly. Katara groaned internally, and led Mai, who was starting to lose focus, despite her best efforts, into the room. They came to the side of the bed, Katara now almost bodily holding Mai on her feet, and she knocked on the bed frame with her knee and hissed.

Jin mumbled, then her eyes slowly opened. She froze with fear. "Don't hurt me!" she gasped at the two dark figures looming over her.

"Help us," Katara groaned pitifully. Mai punctuated that by almost slipping to the ground, the only thing holding her up her arm around Katara's shoulders. Jin gawked for a second, taking in their sorry state, before nodding vigorously.

"Of course, here, let's get her in bed." Between the two of them, they got Mai into the bed with a minimum of pain and slipping. Jin turned to Katara. "Are you two okay?" she asked, trying to lead Katara into the bed as well.

"Water," Katara demanded. Jin started, and then nodded, leaving the room for a moment. Katara wondered what she would think about now that she was alone, but she wasn't able to gather her thoughts before Jin was back with a wooden bucket of water. Katara motioned for one of the chairs, and the girl once again obeyed, bringing it to her.

Katara set the chair next to the side of the bed, and sank down into it. Her body exulted to finally be off of her feet, but she wasn't ready to rest yet. She made sure the bucket was nearby, and gathered some water, lighting it with healing power. She heard Jin gasp at the display of bending, but she blocked it out to focus.

They had thrown the blankets over Mai at first, but now she drew them back. Katara reached and removed most of Mai's robes, at least enough to let her look for injuries. There were cuts and bruises all over Mai's pale skin, and Katara almost wept again. It was like this was a bad dream, and she wanted to wake up. But she couldn't.

There was one thing she was looking for. That painful injury that had taken Mai out of the fight. And as she looked, it stood out viciously. Dark, angry, purple bruising, and an indentation with lacerations tracing the impact site. From where it was, Katara knew there had to be broken ribs. She traced her fingers along the wound as lightly as she could. Even so, Mai gritted her teeth and sucked in a hard shallow breath, letting it out with a wavering groan. Finally, tears sprang to Katara's eyes. She brought both of her hands and the water bending charged water over the gruesome injury.

Mai hissed again, but it caught in her throat, and after a moment of silence, she let the air out in a sigh. She wasn't reacting in such pain as before, but her body was tense all over, trying to be ready for any change. Katara kept up her focus, resolving to keep Mai from any more pain at her hands.

The effect of the water bending made its impact felt. With a loss of pain so stark it almost felt like pleasure, Mai was in a wash of emotion. She had dealt with the pain in such excruciating detail for hours, and now that it was lessening, it felt like a religious experience, the likes of which she had never known. She drew breaths and let them go without feeling like one of her knives had pierced her side. She wanted to grab Katara, hug her, or say something to let her know how much this was meaning to her, but she couldn't. So she just lay back, reacting bodily to the continued healing. Weary tears escaped her eyes, and she let them go, too exhausted to be ashamed.

Katara didn't know how she kept going. She was exhausted, and sore, and her brain was fried from having to focus so long. But she was damned if she was going to stop now. There was still work to be done. So she focused on the repetitive motions of water bending healing, and when it started to get to her, she would splash some water in her face. Each minute that went by, she was losing her willpower. Eventually, no matter how much she wanted it, it would all be gone. That was just being human. But she was determined that it wouldn't run out until Mai was healed.

Mai had finally drifted off into a peaceful sleep, and the sun was just beginning to peek through the cracks in the walls, when Katara felt that she had done all she could. The bruising was a much lighter shade, and as she ran her fingers along Mai's skin, Mai didn't so much as turn in her sleep. Katara smiled blearily. She grazed her fingers along Mai's side again, aimlessly, and then put the covers back over her. She leaned over Mai, looking at her peaceful expression and thinking of everything they had gone through together, done for each other, in just one day.

Katara brushed a bit of Mai's hair out of her face, and then gave her a short kiss on the forehead. She smiled as she went back to her seat, and that's when her body gave up. She collapsed halfway on the bed and halfway off, her face and upper body leaning on the mattress, and her knees on the floor. She was unconscious immediately, snoring deeply.