Interlude I
There is a siege on the Northern Water Tribe and not a soul reports sighting Spirit or Lady. The Avatar, it is said, single-handedly destroys an entire Fire Nation naval fleet. Word is, the commanding officer— Admiral Someone-or-Other— died while murdering the Water Tribe's heiress.
Few express sorrow over such a man's demise.
Rafts of survivors, withered and worn, wash up in the following weeks on the shores of the Earth Kingdom. Brought south by the North Sea currents, the dead and the living find the generosity of simple folk through home cooked meals and solemn burials. No one discriminates between a naval uniform or fur trimmed parkas.
Word spreads that the Fire Princess is abroad.
Rumour has it that she attempts to capture a pair of disgraced nobles.
Interlude II
The reward for the Painted Lady has risen again. She has crippled a munitions factory in a northern colony. Only the Blue Spirit commands as hefty a price. He has burned the contents of a major Fire Nation communications tower. The Crown Princess's personal correspondence is destroyed in the fire.
The Blue Spirit begins appearing in proximity to rumours of the Painted Lady. She cleans a polluted well and the sickness it caused in a tiny coastal town. The very same night, a crate of rice and cured meat wrapped in flame embossed bamboo appears by the well. Valleys of sword strokes and kisses of ash adorn the rough pine crate.
It is said, the Blue Spirit is hunting the Painted Lady. Or that he's under her spell.
In a way, both are true.