A/N: Ok, I'm plowing ahead, let's see where it goes. The most likely casualty will be pacing, but I figure most readers will prefer the pace of updates to the pace of the story at this point. Also, I thought the sudden resurgence of interest was a little odd… then I realized season three of LoK premiered while I was on vacation :P

Chapter 26: Friction: Part I

She was a dragon.

The realization almost made her choke. Laughter threatened to bubble up her throat, but she managed to keep it down to a giggle, and swallowed the piece of charred rodent she was chewing on before spitting it up on herself.

Azula had chased down her food, all on her own, and found the experience exhilarating instead of shameful, despite it being a peasant's task. The creature was a pathetic little thing: some kind of fat, floppy-eared prey animal. She cornered it against a towering formation of stones, and slew it with her fire: a precise bolt of flame straight into the eye. It did not even attempt to avoid the shot; it just stared directly at the light, or seemed to, as if resigned to its fate.

She had cooked it much the same way she killed it. She seared off the fur and roasted the skin until it blackened, and then she tore the skin open with her teeth, and ate whatever appeared edible inside. She had no idea how to prepare an animal for consumption, but dragons did not prepare their food with precise cuts and seasonings, so far as her lessons on the extinct species informed her. They just killed it, charred it, and tore it apart.

Juices from the rare meat dribbled down her chin and over her hands. It was disgusting. It was delicious.

The metaphor fit, she mused. She was a firebender, an incredibly intelligent and powerful firebender. Her power still waxed and waned for unknown reasons, but she knew her full strength was still within her, somewhere. She was being hunted, for glory or for sport, it did not matter. She was the last vestige of a dying era. She was glorious, and she was destined to perish, but she would go down fighting. Whoever managed to kill her would earn a magnificent title, and she would be certain said person was truly worthy of it.

Faces flashed through her imagination, as she mentally perused her ever-increasing catalog of adversaries. Who would be the one to put her down for good? Her brother? No, he doesn't have the guts. That ruled out Ty Lee as well. In fact, that ruled out the Avatar and all his goody-goody cronies, which was all well and good because she would sooner die than allow one of them to kill her.

Wait, that didn't make any sense.

She shook her head, and after a moment's more contemplation, settled on Mai. Mai was her oldest friend, and was both capable and willing to kill. Azula decided dying to one of Mai's blades would not be so shameful. Mai was very talented, after all, or she would not have bothered to recruit the morose girl at the academy. An excellent vassal, were it not for her inexplicable devotion to Zuko. Mai, Dragon of Daggers… has a nice ring to it.

She laughed again, but as abruptly as her carefree mirth had come to her, the rage seeped back in. Why am I making light of this? She stared at the mutilated corpse in her hands, which was also her meal, and lost her appetite. She flung the meat as far as she could, and stood up. There was a stream nearby. She could – should – wash.

The stream was nothing more than a shallow trickle bounding between loose stones. Water in these badlands was hard to come by, she found, and so the little oasis she stumbled upon after fleeing from that earthbender camp was something of a miracle; perhaps her old luck had not completely abandoned her after all. She plunged her hands in and scrubbed them free of the bits of meat and grease, using some of the fine silt which formed the creekbed to be certain no trace of her savagery was left on her hands, until they were red and raw. Satisfied, she moved to her face, with nearly the same fervor, until her lips and cheeks were sore. She drank deeply of the water, felt oddly soothed by how cold it was, and sat down on the bank.

Azula stared at her hands. She was not a dragon; she was a human being. What right did anyone have to treat her like an animal? Why did she have to live like a beast, in constant fear of capture or death? Why did she have to live like…

Like an Earth Kingdom peasant. Like a Water Tribe savage.

She stared at the dirt she sat upon. She listened to the water, weaving amongst the stones. She felt the breeze that came along with the setting sun. Her mind was blank, too exhausted to think, or to plan. She stared at her hands, traced the little creases with her eyes, and idly hoped for some kind of answer in the seemingly random patterns. There were none. She was no seer or mystic; she did not even believe in such nonsense.

Her eyelids became heavier. It was as good a place as any to sleep.

Suki found little difficulty in tracking the source of the thundering explosions and columns of smoke. By morning, though she and Hei-lin had found it necessary to ride their mounts to exhaustion all through the night, they arrived at what appeared to be a worker's camp. She just hoped diverting away from their original destination of the Serpent's Pass would not prove to be a mistake. Trying to out-maneuver Azula was a perpetual source of headaches, and since the first time the fugitive royal had eluded her grasp, Suki found herself constantly second-guessing her decisions.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and tried to discard the doubt along with her exhalation. The maniac princess needed to be stopped, but a village under siege was more important. For all she knew, Azula even had something to do with it. It would be a stroke of luck, were that the case, but she did not expect to come across the princess already bound and gagged for her. Besides, she was confident she could pick up the trail again.

The camp seemed intact, for the most part. However, the haunted expressions she caught in many of the workers, as they repaired the damaged buildings or cleared debris, told her they lost people during the incident. In the distance, the familiar wreckage of a fallen airship, like a cracked, metallic egg, gleamed in the dawn's light. It appeared to be the same class of dirigible that she, Sokka, and Toph had dealt with during Sozin's Comet. Azula could not have gotten her hands on something like that in such a short time, let alone a crew to operate it.

Their ostrich-horses practically collapsed when Suki and her comrade dismounted at what appeared to be a watering trough and hitch: earthbender style, as it was just a shallow trench carved into the rock, filled with water and surrounded by stone pillars. Their steeds only managed the effort of lifting their long, feathered necks to take a few greedy gulps of water, before promptly falling asleep. She felt guilty for being so hard on the creatures; perhaps there was some good to the idea of Fire Nation machines. The irritation of losing the tank-train Zuko had provided to her sprung fresh in her mind.

She looked at the derelict airship again, and frowned. Some machines seemed to do more harm than good. She was no engineer, but she could imagine what the gift of flight could do for trade. Instead, every time she saw a blimp or balloon, it was accompanied with destruction.

Hei-lin lightly backhanded her chest, interrupting her musing, and motioned towards a powerfully built man of advanced years, who was striding towards them with purpose, and also with a slight limp.

"Are you also warriors of Kyoshi?" the man asked.

Suki nodded, still somewhat surprised whenever her reputation preceded her. "Have you seen others like us?"

"Two. They helped fend off the Dai Li."

Hei-lin was drinking from a waterskin, and while Suki was certain she herself would have performed a huge spit take all over this man, her woman-at-arms merely shrugged and continued chugging away. Suki tried to follow her friend's unflappable example, but the thought of the Dai Li, even if she had only heard stories, made her skin crawl.

"I am Suki, Captain of the Kyoshi Warriors," she said with a bow.

The old man bowed back. "Ah, it's an honor to meet you directly. I'm Tyro; I guess you could say I'm in charge of this operation… or what's left of it. I'll take you to your friends."

Tyro motioned for them to follow, and she and Hei-lin walked abreast with him. Suki recognized the name, but not the face. Someone had mentioned a man by that name to her, but when was it… ah.

"You're Haru's father, right?"

"That's right; I had forgotten you know my son."

"A little. I mean, we spoke a few times while we were laying low at the Western Air Temple."

"Ah yes, after the Day of Black Sun. Haru told me Sokka rescued you from the Boiling Rock. I'm sorry you had to go through that, young lady. Being a prisoner of war is no picnic; I know."

"I… survived." Suki shook her head lightly, eager to change the subject. "So, what exactly happened here? Why did the Dai Li attack this place?"

The old man shrugged. "We're just trying to build a bridge here, miss. They showed up in an airship and started dropping Fire Nation explosives. Shortly after, those cone-hat bastards came in on foot, but fortunately your comrades arrived to help turn the tide. As for the why… I suppose it's that we had a guest they wanted to make certain was dead and gone. A friend of yours, I believe: the young Lady Bei Fong."

"Toph, here?! Is she okay?"

"It's something of a long story, I'm told, but she's just fine." They reached a simple dwelling – little more than four walls, a slanted roof, and a doorway – but it was all solid stone. She could not be certain, but she thought she could recognize Toph's handiwork. It was clearly bent from the earth, but the seams between the slabs of stone fit together so uniformly, one would swear it was constructed by a master homesmith earthbender – the kind commissioned to build palaces and upper class homes.

"Well, here we are," Tyro said, "I'm sure you can get more details from them. I have to get back to my wife and help aid the wounded."

"Thank you, sir. As soon as I've debriefed my warriors, we'll assist in any way we can."

The old man nodded and hustled away, still favoring one leg. She turned towards the temporary building and peered into the shadows cast inside. Before her eyes even had a chance to adjust to the relatively dim light, Suki found herself enveloped in a hug, so crushing that she felt it easily though her banded mail armor.

"Suki! I'm glad you're here!" Ty Lee squealed.

"Yes, Ty Lee, good to see you too," Suki wheezed out in reply while she returned the embrace, though with less force. That girl was strong.

"As loud and cheery as ever, Ty Lee," Hei-lin groused.

"I'm sure Suki needs it after being stuck alone with you for over a day," Kanima quipped, sticking her tongue out.

"Oh, grow up–"

"Girls, not now please," Suki interrupted. "Where's Toph?"

Some of the brilliance faded from Ty Lee's mood. Suki imagined her aura probably darkened along with it, though she could not see such things.

"She's, uh, underground," Kanima supplied. "Interrogating a Dai Li agent."

"Underground? Like in a room?" Suki asked, as she looked around the bare shelter for some cellar door or stairwell.

"Sort of. More like a gopher-hole just big enough for the two of them. The agent is fully restrained."

Suki frowned. "Fully restrained, in the dark, in a hollow the size of a coffin?"

Ty Lee hugged herself. Kanima nodded.

"That sounds more like torture to me," Suki said.

Hei-lin crossed her arms and shrugged. "Sounds effective."

Kanima smacked her fellow warrior upside the head. "What's wrong with you?!"

Hei-lin's temper flared, as if often did, but when she caught Suki's eye, she immediately looked contrite. "Sorry, Suki, I didn't mean to… you know."

Suki shook her head and started stomping her feet on the ground. "Toph, if you can hear me, I need to talk to you!" She continued stomping, which earned odd looks from her allies, until she was finally answered with a light earthquake under her own feet.

Suki stepped away from the circle of loosening earth, and a moment later Toph popped out, all at once. At first, Suki almost did not recognize her. Toph had changed her hairstyle into a long, loosely bound ponytail. Her clothes were clearly borrowed: baggy trousers and a woolen shirt which was a size too large. Her friend's eyes even seemed different. Sure, they were the same milky gray-green as ever, but they appeared darker and narrower somehow.

The girl was covered in damp soil, but a sharp gesture sloughed most of it off her body to pile around her feet. "Okay, who let the hippocow loose in here?"

Suki ignored her friend's typical irreverence. "Toph, what are you doing to that agent down there?"

Suki spotted the flash of annoyance on Toph's face, but it was soon replaced with an obnoxious grin. "No no no, you're doing it wrong. You say: 'Good to see you Toph', and then I go, 'Wish I could say the same, Suki!', and then we all laugh."

"Of course it's good to see you, and I apologize for being rude, but now's not the time for pleasantries. Besides, you never cared for pleasantries."

"Alright Bigfoot, don't get your wrappings in a knot," Toph said. "As your boyfriend would put it, I'm 'gathering intelligence'. Did you know they originally planned to just bomb this place to rubble and fly on? They wanted to leave no witnesses; it would look like the Fire Nation did it. Too bad I was here."

Suki felt her heart sink. "That's… why would the Dai Li want to start another war?"

"I dunno. I was working on that when you interrupted me. Thanks for that, by the way. He was singing–"

"Toph." Suki cut her off, her original anger rising again to the surface. "Can we speak alone for a moment?"

"Uh, sure," Toph answered with a shrug.

Suki motioned to her three warriors. "Assist with the injured. We'll talk later."

The other Kyoshi left wordlessly. Suki searched for a way to speak her mind without just exploding –

"So, what's up?" Toph asked, as she scratched her belly.

– but it was going to be difficult.

"Are you torturing that man for information?" she asked, getting straight to the point.

Toph's face scrunched up in an ugly scowl. "What!? I'm not hurting him or anything!"

"I know, but there are kinds of pain beyond the physical."

"Don't you get soft on me – it gets results!"

Suki held her ground, stiffening her posture in a manner she knew Toph could detect. "It's horrible, and it's wrong."

"Those jerks chased me for days! I was starving, injured, eating raw bug guts and drinking nasty water to stay alive…" Toph choked up for a moment, then continued, "all I'm doing is scaring them! I'd say they're getting off easy! Besides, who are you to tell me what's right and wrong?"

"Because what you're doing right now is exactly the kind of thing Azula did to me!"

Toph started, opened her mouth, and closed it.

Suki pressed on. "It was horrific. She hardly laid a finger on me, but I almost went crazy just with being left in the dark, left in blazing light in a room full of mirrors, told my friends did not care about me, that they were dead, that the rest of my life would be more of the same… my only respite was when Azula got bored with me. Then I was sent back to the Boiling Rock, like nothing ever happened."

Toph took a calming breath. "I'm sorry you went through that, but that scum-sucker down there deserves worse. I didn't catch him protecting a flying fluff-ball, I caught him attempting to murder a village-worth of Earth Kingdom civilians."

Suki fought back a scream. "Toph! This isn't about him, it's about you!"

Toph frowned. "Don't worry about me, Suki. You're not my nanny."

"But I am your friend, aren't I? This isn't you."

"People change. Maybe I'm just growing up. You let me worry about me, and you worry about you."

"Toph…"

The earthbender growled and stomped the dirt. A moment later, the earth regurgitated a Dai Li agent, bound in bands of metal and gasping for air.

"Fine, he's all yours. Just get off my back about it."

Toph stormed out of the building, leaving Suki alone with a whimpering Dai Li agent. She could hardly feel sorry for him, his most recent crimes were in all likelihood merely the peak amongst a mountain of wrongdoing. Even so, he should, and would, be tried and sentenced in Ba Sing Se. Suki rolled him over with her foot.

"P-please… don't put me back in the hole."

Suki crossed her arms. "Things might go better for you, if you cooperate."

"I'll tell you anything!"

She glared at him. "I don't want to hear 'anything', I want to hear the truth."

"Yes, yes the truth!"

Suki considered the hypocrisy of getting information from a man softened by Toph's methods, but discarded it. She had felt the same kind of unease back when she used similar, albeit much milder, scare tactics to help track down Zuko's missing ex-council members. In a way, Toph and Hei-lin were right: it got results, and she needed results.

"Alright, start singing, Agent."

A slight tremor reverberated through the makeshift hospital. Ty Lee looked up from her work wrapping a fresh bandage on a little girl's arm. To no surprise, she spotted Toph stomping away from her 'house', doubtlessly unhappy with whatever Suki said to her. The earthbender's aura was mud: a revolting mixture of guilt, anger, fear, and just plain old exhaustion. It had been more or less like that since they ran into each other on the airship, which worried Ty Lee a little, considering how it was mostly a brave red-orange during the war. Toph grabbed a much taller boy by the arm and dragged him off somewhere outside the camp.

The structure of the hospital, like most of the buildings in the camp, was wrought by simple earthbending. The building was long, with plenty of windows to allow fresh air in, and a wide doorway to admit the people constantly coming and going. Though it lacked much in the way of comfort, the straw beds looked soft enough for the patients who could not leave, with thick – although scratchy – blankets, and there were some cloth curtains that could be drawn at night to ward off the chill.

The occupants of the room were composed of all sorts, young and old. While Ty Lee worked on the little girl, Hei-lin struggled to keep her cool with a stubborn young boy. Kanima seemed to be faring better with an expectant mother, who thankfully only suffered from a broken arm. Various men and women from the camp helped, including Haru's mother, Qimu, who assigned people to patients based on their skill with healing. She had essentially borne the burden of triage decisions entirely on herself. For better or worse, all the critical decisions had been made in first hour or so after the attack.

The waterbender from the Foggy Swamp, Mimiluu Jo, who had been traveling with Azula, had been given the temporary mantle of chief surgeon, or master healer, or whatever appropriate title the Earth Kingdom used. Though the curvy young woman lacked any formal training, she was very adept at diagnosing injuries, detecting infections, and curing them with her unique healing talent. She was also very friendly, and her funny way of speech made Ty Lee giggle sometimes. She hoped Mijo, as she preferred to be called, had been a good influence on Azula in some way, but Ty Lee had not found an opportunity to ask. They barely exchanged more than a few words all day.

Ty Lee finished the bandage with a knot tied into a frilly bow, as if the girl's arm were a gift package. No doubt Mijo could heal it with ease, but her energy was being spared for the more life-threatening cases.

"There you go!" She explained to the girl. "Now that's a big boo-boo, so don't let it get wet or dirty, and come back for another bandage before dinner, okay?"

"Okay pretty lady!" the girl chimed as she popped off her seat. Like a zephyr, she went out the wide doorway to rejoin her friends. Ty Lee smiled and waved her off, though the child was so eager to be able to run around, she did not think to look back. She was one of the lucky children; her family was still wholly intact, not even so much as an injury besides the gash the girl had sustained herself. The girl had even said, "my friends are all sad, so I'm going to be extra smiley for all of them!"

Ty Lee did not have the heart to tell a little girl such efforts were often wasted. She hoped for her success, but there was little someone could do for a friend with a broken family.

"You have an affinity with children," the sandbender, Ghan, said over her shoulder. This one was more of a mystery to her, in regards to guessing Azula's reasons for keeping him around for so long. She recalled him knocking Yumi flat with a wave of mud not too long ago, so he was at least useful as a thug, although that was so much at odds with how he carried himself, it was almost funny.

Ty Lee turned and smiled at him. He was a little young and gangly for her tastes, but not bad-looking. Maybe he was Azula's type? His rigid form of speech certainly rang familiar, but he was some kind of priest, not a noble. She could not imagine Azula going for anyone but a highborn, if anyone at all.

"Oh, I like kids," Ty Lee said in response. "They're so… innocent. You know?"

He nodded. "Indeed. It is a travesty that these 'policemen' of Ba Sing Se would bring such misery to peaceful families."

"They're not police," Ty Lee said, her tone grave, "they're just… bullies in uniforms."

"I could not agree more. May Fei Hyo smother them."

A glimmer of bluish light distracted Ty Lee from asking about this 'Fei Hyo' person. Mijo was sweating profusely, having been almost constantly healing for hours. Her current patient had been almost disemboweled by Dai Li glove shards, and though she managed to seal the injuries, a rampant infection threatened to finish the job on the man's life. The healer's purple and pink aura was bright, but narrow and guttering, like a lantern just about to run out of fuel.

"I fear she will collapse before long," Ghan said, echoing Ty Lee's thoughts.

"She needs a break, or she will."

Ghan grunted. "I have tried thrice and more to get her to stop, to eat and rest for even a few small hours, but she refuses anything but water. She says it is all she needs."

Ty Lee stood up. "Maybe you need some backup."

The two of them strolled over to Mijo, who had just finished whatever technique she was applying on the man, and was shuffling to the next bed like a walking corpse. Ghan tapped her on the shoulder, and Mijo turned with all the urgency of a tortoise-sloth.

"Whadya want, hun?"

"I wish for you to rest and recuperate, before you become one of your own patients."

Mijo's left eye twitched. "Ghan, yer a real sweetheart, but I reckon ya flap yer gums 'bout that one more time, I'm gonna slug ya."

Ty Lee stepped forward. "Ma'am, please, your aura–"

"Don't ya 'ma'am' me, ya struttin' tart. I'm only a few years older than you."

Ty Lee clamped her mouth shut. She was quite accustomed to having insults thrown her way, especially about her demeanor, but she also clearly remembered this woman leaving her as a giant human popsicle last time they met, and she was not even angry during that encounter.

"Ah, you see!" Ghan said, throwing up his hands. "You would never offer such stinging barbs to someone bearing good will, were you not exhausted in the extreme. I must insist that you sleep. I will subdue you if I must."

Mijo narrowed her eyes, though the left eye still twitched a bit. "Ya wouldn't dare."

"I'm begging you not to force my hand. You're my only friend… here. I won't allow you to work yourself to death."

Mijo relaxed a bit. "Ain't ya mad I didn't tell you who Ilah really was?"

Ghan sighed. "I am… disappointed that you did not feel I could be trusted with the knowledge, after all the time we spent together, but I also believe you had good reason. Perhaps we could discuss it later, after you sleep."

"Dammit, fine. I know when I'm licked, " she said. "I apologize, uh…"

"Ty Lee."

"Ty Lee, right. I di'n't mean to snap at ya."

"It's okay, um, Mijo. Can I call you that?"

Mijo smirked. "Please do. Now, if y'all can excuse me, I'm gonna lay down. Wake me if that feller gets any worse though, or I'll be more than cross wit' ya."

"I will remain vigilant, Mijo, you have my word."

She ruffled his hair and mumbled something about good, reliable boys before collapsing into the nearest cot. Ty Lee and Ghan gave each other an understanding glance before returning to their respective kits of medical supplies, and continuing their work on the injured and sick.

Azula was falling through the air, but without fear. The sky cradled her, carried her in the direction she wished to go. She was flying.

No, she had wings which allowed her to fly.

A village lay below her. It's people, garbed in various shades of red wine, had gathered in a large circle at its center. As she swooped and twirled, she saw them all on their knees, bowing with their foreheads to the ground. The respect was… embarrassing? No, that can't be right.

She curled down into the center of the circle, landing as if she weighed no more than a leaf. Her long, serpentine neck swung to and fro, observing her worshippers. None dared move. For some reason, the kowtowing continued to feel unpleasant to her, as if it were a foreign concept she did not fully understand.

She felt something prod at her belly. A child had wandered through the circle of adults, curiosity trumping fear. His chubby little finger poked at her soft underscales without the slightest hint of concern. It tickled a little bit.

The child looked up at her. "Do you think she's dead?" he said, in a voice far too matured for his age.

Another voice – female – said, "No, look, she's smiling a little. Dead people don't smile, do they?"

A third voice, male again, said, "Whoa, wouldn't that be crazy if they did though?"

The child resumed poking her. "Wouldn't a live person wake up if you poke them?"

"Sometimes you don't," said the female voice.

"Oh yeah," replied the boy. Poke, poke, poke, poke, poke. That really was starting to tickle.

"Should we try a song?" the other male voice asked.

The poking stopped. "Yeah, great idea!" A poorly tuned string instrument reverberated through the entire village. "Little, pretty, maybe-dead but maybe-not-dead girl…"

Azula's eyes snapped open. Three silhouettes hovered over her against a backdrop of overcast sky. As her vision came into focus, she made out a large, round man, a middle-aged woman, and an unkempt man of about the same age. The scruffy man was holding a pipa, and the strings were still humming from the last note. All three of them wore bizarre clothes of mismatched colors, strange hats, and flowers threaded through, well, everything.

"What... are... you... doing?" she asked, fully awake, though her vocal cords felt as sluggish as the rest of her body. "Get away from me."

The shaggy man took a lazy step backwards. "Oh, hey, you're not dead... now I gotta change the lyrics to my song."

Azula got to her feet. It had been a cold night, and the thick ceiling of clouds overhead had likely been blotting out the sun since it rose, however long ago that was. Ordinarily, that would be of no concern to her, but with her connection to her inner fire as sporadic as it was, she could not be certain if she could properly defend herself. Particularly since she slept through the sunrise, again.

Though on closer inspection, judging by the glassy-eyed looks of this group, and the additional pair dancing with each other a few paces off, she could probably beat them all hand-to-hand if she felt it necessary. This was no squad of bounty hunters or assassins. This was–

"Little, pretty, definitely-alive-but-you-looked-prettier-when-we-thought-you-were-dead girl…"

–a troupe of idiots. Azula wanted to light his pipa on fire, but it looked like he had at least three more strapped to his back. Instead, she held up her hand.

"Stop."

To her surprise, the man actually did stop, though he murmured, "and dramatic pause…"

"Who are you… people?"

"I'm Chong," the man said, "this is my wife Lily, and my big buddy Moku!" The woman waved with a vapid smile, while the fat man moved in for what appeared to be a hug. Azula promptly put a hand on his chest to arrest his movement, but he kept his hands out in front of him, as if to just wait her out.

Don't burn a hole through his sternum, don't burn a hole through his sternum, trying to keep a low profile, and… I've never actually killed anyone. Best not to start with someone so pathetic.

Azula sidestepped and withdrew her hand, and the portly idiot, who had essentially been leaning on her arm, tumbled face-first into the creek. He rolled over, unfortunately unharmed, and not even slightly upset.

"Ooh, refreshing!" the portly idiot said.

Azula turned her attention back to Chong. "Who are those two?" she asked, pointing over his shoulder.

Chong shrugged. "I dunno. They just follow us and dance."

"You don't know their names." Azula said, incredulously.

"Well, once I did, but I forgot."

She felt her blood pressure begin to rise. "Nevermind, I do not care. What are you doing out here?"

Lily said, "nothing, just going where the winds take us."

"And playing songs!" Chong added.

"And dancing to them!" the pair in the back finished.

Azula felt that maybe a bubble had formed somewhere in her veins, and for a fleeting moment she wanted it to go to her brain and kill her.

"And you," she said, as calmly as she could, "make a living doing this, somehow?"

"Oh sure, people love music, and dancing, and stories. Also we make things, and grow things, and bring those things to markets."

Finally, useful information. When forced to flee from her... traveling companions, she also had to leave behind everything but the clothes on her back, yet again.

"Alright, are the winds taking you towards a market now? Is there a town near here?"

"Well, yeah, a big town."

"Excellent, where?"

Chong pointed in a direction. Azula followed his hand and saw nothing but open plains. A little to the right, she could just barely make out the sheer cliffs of the Serpent's Pass, and to the left, though she could not see it, was undoubtedly the western lake of the same name. The bubble she was convinced had formed in her blood began knocking on the door to her brain.

"What is the name of this… 'big town'?"

"Ba Sing Se."

Azula, filled with a desire to strike something, but wary of giving these people any reason to report her, smacked her own forehead. "Ba Sing Se is a least a week's worth of travel from here. I need to find a town sooner than that."

"Well, sounds like someone has a case of destination fever."

Azula certainly felt hot, but not from a fever. "Let me make this perfectly clear: I need supplies. Food, water, maybe medicine and tools. Today. Not a week from now."

Lily giggled. "Oh, that's all? Come with us and we'll share with you."

Azula raised a brow. "That sounds suspiciously generous."

"Oh, well, I do have one condition."

Was that a wisp of smoke trailing from under her boots? "I will not sing, dance, or play any silly instruments."

Lily wilted a little. It was only for a moment, though. The dopey smile and vacant stare returned in full force. "Okay, but you must let me style your hair!"

She looked at the woman's hair, piled high and covered with a hat, and decided that would not be quite so bad. If she closed her eyes, she might even pretend she was at the palace having a servant do it for her.

More importantly, she needed to change her destination. Mijo and Ghan knew she was making for the colonies, and no doubt the Kyoshi Warriors knew that now as well. If Uncle and Zuko could hide in the Earth Kingdom capital, she could certainly manage it as well.

"Very well, I accept your terms."

"Groovy!" said Chong, strumming his pipa with enthusiasm. "Little-"

Azula grasped the neck of the instrument like she were strangling it, and the chord was squelched, as if it were in fact being choked. "Another thing. I am not a little girl. In fact, you will not write songs about me at all."

Moku opened his flabby jaws. "I dunno Lily, she's harshing my vibe."

Azula, now thinking a bit more clearly, considered what her situation would be if these strangers did not happen to find her. Would she be reduced to hunting critters for sustenance? She did not even have so much as a canteen to carry water.

"I… would not wish to… disrupt your good mood. I am merely exhausted, and perhaps a bit hungry."

Lily fished in her pack, withdrew some kind of roll or biscuit, and promptly thrust it at her. "Try this!"

Azula accepted the snack. On closer inspection, it appeared to be some kind of sugary treat instead of simple hardtack. Not exactly the most nutritious option, but then she had not enjoyed anything sweet in what seemed like months, and likely had been. For a moment, she considered the possibility of poison, but dismissed it as paranoia. If these people wanted her dead, they had ample opportunity to run a blade through her while she slept.

She took a bite, grimaced at the slightly disappointing flavor, and proceeded to march along the plains with her newly-acquired, merry band of morons.

Aang sat in his room. To the idle observer, he might have been meditating, but at this point Aang was really just brooding. A year ago, he would have been soaring through the Southern Air Temple and laughing with joy at the thought that he was free of being the avatar, but now it felt like he'd been spiritually torn in half. The worst part was: he had no idea why. No one attacked him recently, he had not eaten anything strange, nor had he come across any odd spirits.

At some point in the night, Momo had flown in through his window, and his little furry friend was making a valiant effort at lifting his spirits. For small worries, watching Momo chase bugs would have been more than enough to get him out of his funk, but this was far more severe than a playful lemur could handle.

Iioru's poison could be to blame, perhaps. Aang did not know much about poison, but it would be odd if such effects occurred such a long time after being dosed. Unless, of course, this was a new poison he had been given during a meal yesterday.

Aang's shoulders fell. The what-ifs were driving him crazy, and making him paranoid. There had to be a better explanation than someone here wanting to poison him. It had to have something to do with this island, or the storm, or maybe his weird visions were damaging somehow.

A heavy knock, two hard taps, came at the door.

"Who is it?"

"Iioru, Avatar Aang. I've been sent to retrieve you for an audience with Prioress Ygaia."

That was surprising. His requests to meet her had been ignored or denied since he got to the island.

"Come in."

The door opened, and Aang caught a glimpse of the two burly guards – the same men from yesterday – posted outside his chambers. Iioru stepped in, donned in his gray and black uniform, and closed the door gently behind him. Aang expected him to look haggard or even bruised with how cold his reception to the sanctuary was, but he seemed no worse for the wear.

"We have some time before the audience. I thought we might… catch up a little," Iioru finally said.

Momo leapt onto Aang's lap, graciously giving him something to do with his hands, lest they start shaking.

"Yeah, we haven't had a chance to talk since we got here."

Iioru took a seat on the floor across from him. Aang noted he was without that fluted sword, for whatever reason. That made him feel slightly better, but not by much.

"So, learn anything interesting since you've been here?"

His tone was far too casual, and Aang was well aware anything he said would be shared with others. On the one hand, he had no reason to believe these remnant airbenders were a danger to him. On the other hand, he had possessed a lot more confidence with his past lives alongside him, in case something did go bad. He decided it was probably best to play at being guileless, since that was what most of the people here seemed to expect anyway.

"You have a unique society here: a blend of the air, water, and earth culture from a hundred years ago."

"Mmhmm," Iioru nodded along.

"And you have an awesome version of airball!"

Iioru smirked at that. "I heard you played with some of the schoolchildren."

Aang rubbed the back of his neck. "Heh, word gets around fast."

Iioru shrugged. "It's a small island."

"What about you? How'd your… 'debriefing' go?"

At this, Iioru's easy-going airs drifted away. "Some of the elders were less than pleased with my decision to bring you here. Fortunately, the information I brought with me helped soothe some tempers."

That was a surprisingly honest, if somewhat generic, response. Unless, of course, it was not.

"Did you get in trouble?"

"I've been… temporarily relieved of field duty. And assigned to be your escort for the time being."

"Is that a punishment?"

"As I told you, becoming a field agent is a position of high honor and responsibility, so, yes." He gave Aang a wry smile. "However, being assigned to you, well, let's just say I've come to enjoy our talks."

Aang raised an eyebrow. "You don't seem too upset about it."

"Well, the restrictions on travel outside the Whorl may be lifted soon, anyway," Iioru replied, with a shrug.

"Yeah, about that, I've been meaning to ask... why haven't the Air Kith announced themselves to the world yet? I mean, the war is over–"

Iioru slapped his palms on the stone floor, and his casual demeanor evaporated along with the sound. "The war is not over, Avatar Aang. For as long as the Fire Nation remains a threat to us, we shall remain hidden. I trust you will respect that."

Aang placed his hands together and bowed, somewhat awkwardly, from his seated position. "Of course, but I do hope for the day when all airbenders can roam any sky in the world, free of fear."

Iioru looked Aang in the eye. "We both want that, Avatar."

Aang smiled. "Well, good. The first step is learning to let go of that fear."

"No, the first step is to make certain our enemies are incapable of harming us. Then we'll have no fear to let go of in the first place."

Aang sighed. How many others held the same beliefs as this man?

"That's… not going to work."

"What would you know of it?" Iioru snapped. "You're a naive child, doubly so because your ideals and perspective are a century out of date."

Aang let the insult slide off him. "I spent the better part of a year having my naivety battered out of me. I had to bend some of my ideals, but I never broke any." He leaned towards the swordsman. "I think you know that, too."

"Yes, and in maintaining your ideals, the former Fire Lord was later granted opportunity to claim the lives of who knows how many of his own countrymen, let alone others. Their blood is on your hands as much as his."

Aang felt the heat rush to his face. He was angry at Iioru for throwing such a low-blow at him, but most of all he was angry at himself, because Iioru was – at least partly – right. Not for the first time, Aang loathed the responsibility he had over the entire planet. It was not fair, and so often he was faced with a choice between 'bad' and 'really bad'.

"What would you have done?!" Aang shouted, losing control.

"I would have put him down like the rabid raccoon-dog that he is."

Aang shook his head. This man was so… frustrating. "Do you think that would have made a difference? Ozai didn't free himself; he had help. If I made a mistake, it was in thinking that taking down a leader of war would single-handedly bring about peace."

"Exactly, Avatar Aang," Iioru responded. "We must execute every tyrant, every warmonger, every greedy Fire Nation salamander whom dares to crawl from their fetid volcanoes. Let none of them live to exploit the good people of the world again."

"And what about the innocent people of the Fire Nation? What happens to them?"

Iioru scoffed. "There are no innocents in the Fire Nation. They've all profited from the misery of others."

"Now you're being naive. Do you actually believe that every child in the Fire Nation is born bad? Or that everyone elsewhere is good? I've learned that any people, and any person, is capable of great good or great evil." Aang gave him his best 'stern monk' look. "Exterminating an entire civilization is evil."

"Which is why we're acting to prevent such a tragedy from happening again!"

"By committing the very thing you're trying to prevent?!" Aang threw his hands in the air, practically launching Momo from his lap. "Will the remnants of the Fire Nation, a hundred years from now, be hiding on some tiny island, plotting their revenge on the Air Kith?"

"It isn't revenge, it's justice."

"No, it's revenge. Hypocritical, spiteful, evil revenge. If you think it's otherwise, you're deluding yourself."

Iioru stood up, fuming. "I believe it's time for your audience with the prioress, now."

Aang stood as well. "About time. Maybe she'll be more willing to listen to reason."

Iioru reached for the door, and opened it so violently, Aang thought the hinges might break. The guards outside appeared as impassive as ever. No doubt they heard most of the conversation.

"Prioress Ygaia is without peer. Disrespect her at your own peril, Avatar." Iioru walked out of the room, making a curt gesture for Aang to follow.

"I'll keep that in mind."

With Momo on his shoulder and staff in hand, Aang shuffled a few paces behind Iioru, praying that the leader of this new nation was nothing like the man before him.

A/N: My biggest regret is trying to come up with a chapter title for all of these. Also, I apologize if the paragraph spacing is odd, I recently switched to using Google Docs to store all my material, and ficnet seems to not like it very much.