Azula woke with the sun, as usual. She felt warmth against her back, and a limp arm was draped over her middle. A smile curved her lips as the warm glow of victory filled her. I have her now. I've got her, even if she never falls like this again! -But it wouldn't do to have her wake like this. Katara had to be given space to process things. The former princess carefully slid out from under her arm. The waterbender murmured a little, but didn't wake; Azula dressed quickly and slipped from the room into the kitchen. She felt like celebrating her conquest with a cup of tea.

As she sipped contentedly, someone appeared in the doorway. The exile looked up to find Ty Lee standing there. The acrobat was frowning, her arms folded across her chest, her fingers drumming against her elbows. "Azula, we need to talk," she said.

"Oh?" The former princess raised a brow mildly.

"Yeah. We need to talk. Outside." Ty Lee stepped forward. Her gray eyes were stormy, and her face was screwed into a scowl. "Let's go." Azula narrowed her eyes, but the acrobat was not dissuaded. "I'll take you down and drag you out there myself if I have to!" she said. "You can fire all the lightning you want at me later, but we're going to talk. Come on."

It was very rare, even now, that either of Azula's two companions would dare to take this tone with her – and then it was usually Mai. The former princess considered her for a moment or two longer. "Very well," she said evenly. "I certainly hope that whatever you've got in mind is worth this sort of risk to you."

Ty Lee smiled grimly. "Oh, it is, believe me."

With great dignity, Azula set down her half-empty teacup and moved from the room. When they reached the courtyard, she turned to face the acrobat, folding her arms and raising her brows expectantly. Ty Lee still looked furious. "What are you doing?" she demanded, dropping her voice. "Mai's still way too sick for us to leave, and she probably will be for months. We need to stay here – and you go and sleep with Katara?"

Azula wasn't exactly taken aback, but she was a little annoyed that Ty Lee had figured everything out so quickly. "That's hardly your business, Ty Lee," she said. "Besides, she came on to me. You can ask her yourself."

"What difference does that make?" The contortionist waved the words away. "You slept with her. She's with Toph. You know that!" There were tears struggling in her eyes. "What if they turned us out? We can't take care of Mai. She'd die. She'd die, Azula!" Her lip was quivering.

"They're not going to turn us out." Azula eyed her, then smiled a bit, laying a hand on Ty Lee's shoulder. The acrobat winced, turning her gaze aside. "Ty, do you really think that I would knowingly jeopardize what we've got here? Do you really think I'd put Mai in danger?"

"Not on purpose," Ty Lee faltered.

"Well, then." Azula slid her fingers under the acrobat's chin and lifted until their eyes met again. Ty Lee's lips were still quivering. "I know what I'm doing, Ty," she said gently. "Trust me."

The anger had faded from the acrobat's face. She never could stay angry. The pain, however, was still evident. "Azula," she whispered. Her voice broke. "Azula, don't you know why this would hurt me?"

Despite herself, the former princess winced. She let Ty Lee go and turned away quickly to hide it. Damn it. I had hoped she wouldn't go here. "We've talked about this before," she said quietly. "I've been quite clear about it, Ty Lee. It's nothing personal – I'm just not into that kind of thing."

"Oh, no. But you'll sleep with her." A little sob broke from the acrobat's throat. "You'll kiss her!"

"That's different!" Azula frowned.

"Different how? Tell me, Azula." Ty Lee was defiant again. "How is it different?"

The firebender's lips pressed together– as little as she liked it, she actually did care about Ty Lee, and she didn't like hurting her. After a brief struggle, she sighed and turned back. It looked like the truth was the only way to deal with this. "Listen, Ty Lee," she said patiently. "I want to stop running. I want to settle somewhere and have something like a life again. Don't you want that?" The acrobat nodded, still frowning. "Well, that's what I'm playing for. I want the three of us to be able to stay here. If we're going to do that, we need other people on board to help defend us against our enemies. And if that's going to happen, I need to have leverage. I've got Katara, now. She'll have to help us, see? That's all this is about."

"So it's just a blackmail thing." Ty Lee still didn't look happy, but there was a glimmer of relief in her face.

"Yes. I promise." Azula laid her hands on the acrobat's shoulders and looked her in the eye. "I know what I'm doing, Ty. Trust me."

The acrobat bit her lips, searching her face. After a while, she turned away. "Okay, 'Zula." Her voice was quiet. "Just…please, be careful."

"Naturally." Azula knew from her tone that she had won. She patted Ty Lee's arm kindly. "How's Mai?"

"Not good." The girl bit her lips again. "She hardly slept at all last night. Katara says the drugs aren't working anymore. I think she's really suffering."

Now Azula felt another qualm of conscience. She'd left Mai to Ty Lee all night. Looking more closely at the acrobat, she saw how drawn her face was, and how dark the skin under her eyes looked. She slipped her fingers into the other woman's and squeezed gently. "You're tired," she said. "You probably had a long night. Why don't you go eat and get some rest? I'll watch Mai." Ty Lee nodded gratefully, and they headed back into the house.

The assassin turned half-shut eyes on Azula as she sat down beside the cot. She had always been pale and slim, but Azula thought her skin looked almost translucent now. She felt another pang, this time of worry. "Hey," she said softly. "How are you feeling, Mai?"

"Like I've been trampled by an ostrich-horse." The invalid managed a small, wry smile. "But I've been worse, I guess."

"Really? When?" Azula was curious.

"Never. Just trying to be cheerful or something." Mai chuckled darkly at her own joke. "How are you two doing?" she asked. "Has anybody found us yet?"

Azula made a face. "Not for a few days. I did get attacked once, but I fought them off. Don't worry about that. Like I told you before, Mai, your job right now is to get well again. I don't want you wasting your energy worrying."

Mai scowled. "Can't help it," she muttered. "I've been your bodyguard for the better part of a decade. Can't ask me to just suddenly forget that there's people trying to kill my princess." She reached out a trembling hand to grip Azula's arm. "Sorry. Just making sure that you're really here…"

"I'm here." The former princess clasped the white hand firmly in her own. "Ty Lee tells me you can't sleep much anymore."

"No." Mai shifted fretfully. "That dose the waterbender's giving me hardly works at all, now. I don't think I slept once last night." She sighed. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't complain. I know she's doing everything she can." The firebender absently brushed a few strands of black hair from the invalid's heated brow. "Azula?" The former princess looked at her inquiringly. There was uncertainty in Mai's narrow eyes. "I don't want to seize up like I did before," she whispered. "I'm not a coward. I'm not! But…it really hurt."

"It won't happen again." Azula scowled, as if she could drive away her friend's fear by sheer willpower. "You'll see, Mai. It'll be okay."

Just then, movement caught her eye. Azula looked up to see Katara standing in the doorway. The waterbender looked at her uncertainly, flushed scarlet, and turned wordlessly to go into the kitchen. The former princess thought quickly. "Do you need more painkillers or anything, Mai?" she asked out loud.

"If you would." The assassin's eyes were tight shut, and her jaw was clenched. Azula patted her arm and rose to follow Katara.

Ty Lee was sitting at the table, finishing a bowl of porridge. Katara had her back to the door as Azula entered; she was hanging the kettle over the flames to make a fresh pot of tea. The former princess smirked and slipped in beside her, purposely brushing her arm with her own. "Allow me," she murmured, and put her hands around the belly of the pot. In a moment, steam was hissing off the surface of the bubbling water.

Katara glanced at her; a faint redness tinged her cheeks. "Thank you," she said quietly, and turned away to get the tea leaves.

Azula could feel Ty Lee's eyes on her. She sighed and straightened her back, rubbing her temple tiredly. OKAY, Ty. I'm BEHAVING. "Mai's in a lot of pain this morning," she said. "Ty Lee says she didn't really sleep last night, either."

"Oh." Katara glanced at her, biting her lip. "Guess I'll have to give her a dose of those Fire Nation chilies…I only have a few of those left." She pointedly turned away again, and moved to the corner where she kept her medicinal herbs. A faint frown crossed the firebender's face. Foiled for the moment, she went back to her place by Mai's bedside and waited. Katara appeared soon after, and gave Mai a mouthful of something. The assassin mercifully fell asleep soon afterward.

Azula turned to face the waterbender, brow creasing in concern. "Are you okay?" she asked in a low voice. "What's wrong, Katara?"

The healer's face flushed again. She still didn't meet Azula's gaze. "I…don't know," she faltered. "I'm just not sure what I think yet, okay? We…we're going to need to talk about things." She bit her lower lip.

"If you need to, of course." The firebender stroked the woman's shoulder gently, once. "Just let me know when you're ready, Katara." The healer flinched; Azula let a little hurt seep into her voice. "Did…did I do something wrong?"

"No." Katara flashed her a quick smile that didn't reach her eyes. "You didn't do anything wrong, Azula. It was all me. It's just that I'm with…I mean, I didn't…" She stopped. "We'll talk about it later, okay?"

"Okay." The firebender pushed her lower lip out slightly, turning away. Oh, we'll talk about it, all right. She glanced down at Mai; the invalid was sound asleep, the fingers of one hand curled on her pillow. Silently, Azula curled her hand around it. She heard Katara leave, but she didn't look up.