It was still dark when Azula got up from her seat by Mai's bed. The sun would be rising in about a half-hour, she judged, glancing out the window. Carefully, she took her cloak from its place and slung it over her shoulders. Better to have it, in case I run into anybody on the way. She glanced back at the chair in the corner. Ty Lee's body was slung bonelessly over it; her breathing was deep and even. Azula let a small smile play over her lips. Then, impulsively, she leaned over Mai. "You'll be safe," she whispered. "I'll see to it." The invalid didn't twitch. Silently, the firebender slipped from the house.

She was pretty sure of her directions; she'd listened in on enough conversations between Toph and Katara for that. What she was going to do when she got there, she wasn't so sure of. Azula had a few contingency plans, of course – she never went anywhere without at least one – but she was hampered in this case by her lack of knowledge. Her lips tightening in annoyance at the thought. She hated uncertainty.

Silently, slipping into the shadows at the edge of the wood that bordered the village, the firebender pulled her hood up to shield her face. She was nervous, as little as she liked to admit it. This wasn't the kind of thing that she would normally do! Azula clenched her jaw and kept going. You have to do this. Do you want to land the fish? Then you need the right bait.

There it was. She stopped, still hidden in the shadows. There, at the top of the small hill she had been climbing, was a little wooden house. Azula paused, looking around, then drew her hood down again. Her heartbeat quickened a bit. Okay. I'll hopefully come out of this as a peacemaker, instead of a peacemaking martyr… She took a moment to compose herself. Then, calmly, she stepped away from the woods and approached the broken-down hut.

Before she came within twenty yards of the place, a fierce yapping issued from within, and an energetic bundle of black and brown fluff came bounding out! Azula stopped walking immediately and stood in silence as the raccoon-dog bounced around her ankles, barking and growling. A woman appeared in the doorway. "What is it, Fai?" She stopped as she laid eyes on the firebender.

Azula was in luck – it was the Earth Kingdom girl, Hova, rather than the firebender. She preferred to have a witness to what she was about to do, just in case. She also wanted her there in case her calculations hadn't been correct. "Good morning," she said, her voice quiet. "Is Kailas here? I need to talk to her."

"Kailas?" Hova's face was a mask of uncertainty and fear. "She's…"

"What's going on? Who's here?" The Fire Nation woman appeared. Her half-closed eyes rested on Azula.

The exile saw hostility twist the woman's features. Quickly, just as she had rehearsed it in her mind, Azula dropped to her knees, holding out her wrists in the Fire Nation position of surrender. Her pride stung, but she gritted her teeth and pushed it back. Remember the prize, she told herself. It's worth this. It's worth it! "Kailas." She kept the pitch of her voice low, but spoke clearly. "I know you won't want to, but I need to talk to you."

"Oh, is that so, Princess?" The firebender pushed past Hova, her fists clenching. "And why should I talk to you?"

"Because it's about Katara and Toph." Azula didn't move, even while noticing that the other woman's expression was very threatening. "I've come to ask you to forgive them."

"Excuse me?" Kailas stopped, surprised out of her advance. Although her eyes were mostly hidden by an uneven fringe of dark hair, Azula could see them widen. There was a pause. Still the exile didn't move, schooling her body into stillness, her eyes monitoring Kailas closely. The older woman's lips finally moved again. "What did you say?"

All right. Violence averted, for the moment. Azula looked up at her earnestly. "I want you to forgive Katara and Toph," she said again. "I'm the one you're angry at. It's not right that they should suffer for it." She took a deep breath. I hope that I'm right about this. "I'm the one you want," Azula said, letting her hands drop to her sides. "You want me? Here I am, Kailas. You don't need to take it out on anyone else."

There was a gleam of vengeance in the other woman's eyes, now. Azula still didn't move as Kailas resumed her advance, stopping about three feet in front of her. As the exile watched, the woman's arms came up in a firebending stance, her feet shifting. Azula recognized the position; it preceded the diagonal kick; the one that would flash downward in a slashing motion; the same one she herself had used so many years before to sear the chest of a young Kailas. She couldn't help wincing. It took all of her self-control not to raise her arms defensively. "There's no one here to protect you." Kailas's voice was low and cold. "How does it feel, Azula?"

The fool. She thinks I'd need protection from her? Like she'd even get near me if I didn't allow it! The exile kept her expression sober as she raised her eyes to the other woman's. Without a word, she spread out her hands, palms outward, in a gesture of surrender. She won't have the guts to strike me if I refuse to fight back. They never do. But if she does, I'll take the hit. Azula's lips tightened a fraction. She was willing to suffer a little pain in order to move this forward, if she had to.

Of course, she hoped that she wouldn't have to.

The standoff was tense. Kailas was visibly shaking in fury, her fists clenching and unclenching as she glared down at the former Fire Princess. Azula's trained eye caught hints of weakening; she pounced on them. "If you're going to hit me," she said softly, letting some of her tension bleed into her voice, "then please get it over with." She kept her eyes wide and innocent.

"Shut up!" The other woman's voice broke, and her trembling grew more pronounced. "You deserve it. You deserve to die."

"Maybe I do." Azula saw fresh shock freeze Kailas's elfin features. That's right. Get her off-balance…now push her a little this way, a little that… "Go ahead, Kailas. I won't fight back. Take it out of me."

"Shut. Up."The shaking woman spoke through gritted teeth. There were tears running down her grimy cheeks, now.

She's teetering now. We're almost there! Use the momentum against her, then hit her with the sucker punch. "No. Really. I mean it.' Earnest golden eyes gazed upward, as hands still held up in submission. "You deserve this, after what I did to you. Go ahead – burn me. Mark me, the way I marked you." As she spoke, Azula deliberately turned her head slightly, fully displaying the scar that marked the side of her face.

Kailas recoiled as if she had been struck. Her fists dropped. And down she goes. Azula smirked inwardly. Gasping, the woman turned away, her hair falling forward to shield her face. "No. I can't. I'd be…I'd…" Her breath came in ragged bursts. "I'd be no better than you." Her tone was bitter. "Just…go. Get off our property. Go!"

Soberly, Azula rose to her feet. She looked, not at Kailas, but at Hova, who was watching the scene wide-eyed, the raccoon-dog hugged to her breast. "I hope you can both forgive them," she said softly, by way of a parting shot. Then she retreated, slipping back into the shadows of the forest.

Only then did Azula finally allow herself to smile.