What hopes Suyin had for a relatively easy workload were very quickly crushed. Mai was, somehow, almost more demanding of her than Azula. It was strange, for she didn't really seem to be a perfectionist, not like the princess, but rather that she took pleasure in ordering her around. She complained, often, that she was bored, and more often than not ended up turning her sights to Suyin.

"Bring me a rice cake." She demanded, once, early on.

Suyin had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. "Forgive me, but I'm not a cook." She said as pleasantly as she could muster.

There were definitely no rice cakes on board of this fairly cramped tank train - the provisions they had with them were rather indispensable things, not desserts. And even if they had sugar with them - Suyin certainly didn't know how to make a rice cake, nor was it part of her duties.

"Then go tell someone who can that I want one." Mai said without missing a beat.

Suyin pursed her lips. She hadn't even realised she'd looked to Azula for- for what, some sort of alliance? Hoping, perhaps, that she'd speak up for her and say that Suyin had better things to do than fetch desserts, that Mai wasn't to boss her around for any such silly little thing. But the princess was immersed in writing a letter - presumably to her father - and didn't as much as glance up from her work, much less stand up to Suyin's defence. She didn't know why she was surprised.

And, Suyin supposed, she didn't have anything better to do right now, anyway.

"I'll go ask the cook." Suyin gave in.

"Oh, if you're going, ask them what we're having for dinner." Ty Lee piped up.

"All right."

Suyin took her time walking to the kitchen, not in any particular mood to finish her task quickly. The smell of cooking rice greeted her outside of the door, and she entered without hesitation.

"Hello," she greeted the three soldiers on cooking duty, who nodded their greeting in return. "Lady Mai is asking for a rice cake."

"We don't have any."

"Would you be able to make some?"

The men exchanged looks Suyin could only assume were as exasperated as her own. "How much sugar do we have?"

One of the men sorted through the pantry and came back with a small, sort of sad sack of what must have been sugar. "Enough, I suppose. We'll have to make a stop for some supplies soon, anyway."

"Fine. Then, there'll be rice cakes for dessert."

"Okay. Thank you." Suyin really hadn't been expecting that she'd be able to come back to Mai with good news. "Right- they also wanted me to ask what's for dinner?"

"Turkey-boar stew."

"Okay, thank you." She said, once again.

Suyin was happy to be able to return to the girls with her good news, "Dinner is stew, and there will be rice cakes for dessert."

"I wanted some now." Mai sighed. "But I guess that'll do."

"Thanks, Su!"

It was about half an hour later that dinner was ready, and Suyin helped bring the food in. The tank train was significantly smaller than the ship, so rather than a dining room, the girls ate together in Azula's bedroom. Mai and Ty Lee shared an adjacent bedroom, while Suyin had her own room down the hall, which had once surely been a supply closet, but was just large enough for her to stretch out on a futon.

"Azula, why don't you invite Su to eat with us?" Ty Lee offered cheerfully.

The princess raised a brow, unperturbed, and set her gaze from Ty Lee to Suyin. As though it was the first time the thought had crossed her mind at all. "Come eat with us, Su."

Though her heart nearly jumped out of her chest at the offer, and a part of her wanted to accept immediately, before the princess even had the chance to change her mind, Suyin knew how the game worked - she wasn't supposed to seem so eager, was she?

"Oh, but I couldn't-"

"Don't be difficult. I know you have nothing better to do." Azula insisted, "Sit."

Suyin bowed her head and tried not to grin too much. "Thank you."

She sat down, cross-legged, amongst the friends to eat her meal. The food on the journey was simple; completely unlike the extravagant meals the princess was used to being served in the palace (though, in fairness, it was quite similar to the servant's meals Suyin was used to). At first, Suyin had worried Azula would complain, that she'd wrinkle her nose and demand how they could possibly serve her such slop, but- she had to give it to her: Azula took it all in stride. Clearly, she took her mission to heart and understood that the luxuries she was used to in the palace remained there, and that things were different for the duration of their journey. She ate it without as much as a peep, and polished down her bowl at every meal.

"Mm, it's good." Ty Lee sighed with contentment as she began to eat.

It was good enough, Suyin supposed. Nothing special. But a warm meal went a long way, and the meat was soft and tender and the carrot sweet in comparison.

"You know, back in the circus, we all took turns with the chores." Ty Lee continued, "Cooking duty was actually really fun! Hey-y-y, don't make those faces! I'm serious!"

"Yeah, maybe in comparison to scooping up animal poop." Mai dead-panned. Azula snorted.

"Well, yeah, but honestly, you get used to the smell pretty quickly."

"If I ever get used to that, just kill me."

"If a bit of animal poop is all it takes, I'm not sure you're up for Azula's mission." Ty Lee shot back.

"Girls, please. We're eating. Stop talking about animal poop. It's vulgar." Azula rolled her eyes.

Suyin was just so glad she said something.

"Yeah, well, back to what I was saying," Ty Lee perked back up, "We'd, like, all take turns cooking right? But I didn't know the first thing about it when I joined, and I was too embarrassed to ask someone for help. I figured, well, how hard can it be? Soup is easy. I thought soup would be easy. I mean, you just put some ingredients in a pot and ta-da! all done. So I looked through the supplies and found some veggies and stuff and I popped it in a big pot."

"What then?" Suyin urged her to continue. Ty Lee must have taken her question as rightfully encouraging, for she set her eyes upon her and continued with just as much vigour as before.

"Did you know you can burn soup? I mean, it's mostly water - isn't that insane? I guess the fire was too big, or I didn't stir it enough, or something, because after a while I noticed that all the vegetable bits were like, stuck to the bottom of the pot, so I scraped them off, and then I noticed that there were these little black particles swimming all through the soup. And oh my gosh, it was so bitter!"

"I was like, there's no way I can serve this to everyone - I really wanted to make a good first impression, you know? So I figured I could cover up the bitterness with some more salt, so I added some. …Okay, I added a lot. But that didn't really mask the bitterness, it just made the soup really…" she paused here as though she were looking for the right word, "salty."

"God, that sounds awful. I'd rather die." Mai grimaced.

"It was! It was so bad. And I was so embarrassed." Ty Lee lamented. "Everyone tried a few spoonfuls, but then I saw them all tip their bowls out when they thought I wasn't looking. They were all so nice about it, though."

"They actually ate that?" Azula raised a brow.

"Yeah! They didn't yell at me or anything. And you know, after that, there was always someone around who offered to help me when it was my turn to cook. There were even a couple cute guys; we really hit it off."

"Typical Ty Lee. You charmed someone even with your terrible cooking." Azula teased.

She smiled as if to say, what can I do? It's just how I am, but didn't admit to any such thing. "Well, nothing really came out of it, anyway. Those guys were too clingy."

"I hardly think a circus is the right place to find a boyfriend." Azula shot her a look.

"Oh yeah? Like the palace is any better?"

Azula pursed her lips. "No." She admitted after a moment of silence. "Unless it's old men you're after. Besides, even if there was someone eligible, I don't have time for all that. I'd rather focus on myself than chase after boys."

That didn't seem to come as a surprise to anyone. Although the princess was at that age where girls usually started taking an interest in boys, it was different for royalty. She'd most likely end up in an arranged marriage when she was older, so even her husband would ultimately be chosen for her. Still, Suyin couldn't help but wonder whether Azula truly felt this way - that she had better things to do than yearn for a boyfriend - or whether it was something she desperately tried to believe, having no other option.

"How about you, Mai? Any cute guys in Omashu- I mean, New Ozai?"

"What, you expect me to date someone from the Earth Kingdom?" Mai made a face. "The only Fire Nationals I had around were my family and the guards. Not exactly great picking from there."

"Mmm…" Ty Lee stared intently at her for a long, unrelenting moment.

"What?"

"Do you still like Zuko?"

Her pale skin flushed pink. "What does it matter?" She mumbled. "I haven't seen him in three years. And he's banished, and we're out to put him in prison."

"Yeah, I know, but, hm." Ty Lee sighed.

It seemed as though she wanted to say something, to comfort her, but didn't have the words. Suyin didn't blame her - what could you possibly say in this situation? She knew that Mai and Prince Zuko had been engaged when they were children. It wasn't at all uncommon for royalty to arrange marriages at such a young age. But when Prince Zuko was dishonoured and banished, of course the engagement crumbled to pieces… It must have been quite a shock for Mai and her family to lose that footing. All her life she'd known she'd one day be his wife - perhaps even Fire Lady - and now they were barely anyone special.

"It was cruel of you to drag me along for this, Azula." Mai's tone was nowhere as accusatory as her words would have made it seem. No, it was light. Almost as though she'd given in.

"You didn't have to come." Azula responded.

"I know. I wanted to. But still."

"Believe me, I'm not exactly thrilled to be hunting down my own brother, either. If there was another way-" She cut herself off and let out a quivering sigh, "But there isn't. I'm doing what must be done, and I expect you all to do the same. Duty takes priority over any personal feelings."

The silence lingered between them for a long, heavy moment. Suyin felt completely out of place. She wished they'd never invited her for dinner if it meant being an outsider to this heavy conversation. Or she wished she'd pushed back with a little more force. It had been such a fun, light conversation - who would have thought it would have taken such a turn? They busied themselves, instead, with eating the stew, until their bowls were empty and Suyin gathered them up.

Taking them back to the kitchen was a more than welcome break. She was just glad to get away from that tension, and finally her duties allowed her a window of escape. The rice cakes were ready at this point, and Suyin waited in the kitchen while the men made tea for Suyin to take back along with the cakes. Perhaps it was a little brazen of her - but she asked them for four teacups. Even more than avoiding a repeat of that awkward tension, Suyin was rather looking forward to the rice cakes, and hoped that she could invite herself in for dessert.

She carried the carefully balanced tray back to the princess' room and opened the door with her elbow. The girls inside weren't talking, and as far as Suyin could tell, she hadn't interrupted any conversation. She wondered whether they'd sat in silence all this time. Ty Lee was stretching on the ground, sitting in a perfect split and rolling her torso forward. Azula picked at her nails. Mai twirled a knife absentmindedly around her finger.

"Oh, good. I've been looking forward to this all day." Mai broke the silence when she saw the rice cakes Suyin was carrying.

She smiled and set the tray down in the centre of their little circle. At least she could bring something nice to ease the atmosphere. "There's also jasmine tea. It still needs to finish brewing, though."

Though none of the girls said thank you, their pleasure was apparent on their faces, and that was good enough for now. Suyin sat back down, preparing herself, briefly, to be scolded and told she was not welcome to rejoin them, but no such comment arrived, and she relaxed. Mai and Azula both helped themselves to a block of rice cake. It was just the simplest kind, hardly anything special at all, but they ate it up happily. A small luxury out in the wilderness carried more weight to it than the grandiosity of the ones they were used to, she supposed.

"Well," Ty Lee looked up at Suyin from her stretch, and changed position, "All of our love lives are incredibly depressing. Su, please tell me you at least have a nice story to share. Got anyone waiting back home?"

"I'm afraid not." Suyin gave her a wry smile.

"Oh, phooey."

"Really?" Came Azula's voice like a challenge, "I'm quite certain Lieutenant Lian is eagerly awaiting your return."

Suyin felt her face burn, "That's not- he's- it's not- it's not like that." She stammered. "We're not together."

Though Azula's voice was light enough, it didn't really feel like friendly teasing. No- it felt like danger as she pressed her further. "But you like him?"

"No." Suyin assured her, but she was all too aware that her breathy voice sounded like a lie - nevermind her candice.

Azula held her gaze for a long, unrelenting moment, and it took everything Suyin had as not to break eye contact and look down at her hands. She knew that it would look like too much of a lie if she did. "No," she said again, looking into the princess' eyes, "I don't like him."

Whether Azula was truly convinced, or simply decided to drop the topic for now, Suyin couldn't tell, but she finally looked away, apparently satisfied. "Good," she said, "A relationship like that would be wholly inappropriate, and I would not allow it while you are working under me. Just to be clear."

Suyin swallowed. She nodded, "Of course. I agree. I wouldn't think of doing something like that."

Oh, if only she knew the truth! Here she was, tsking over Lian and the incompatibility between their social statuses and her position as a handmaid, but those worries were completely unfounded. If she knew what truly lay in Suyin's heart, of the types of people she was actually drawn to - now that would be inappropriate. If she knew about Linhua… If she knew about what she felt for the princess herself-! What would Azula even think of such a thing? Suyin wondered, sometimes, but she knew well enough that this was a secret she'd have to keep from her forever. Maybe from everyone, forever. She was certain if it ever came up, she would lose her job - if not more than that.

Ty Lee, meanwhile, was practically bouncing with curiosity. It was clear on her face that she was holding herself back from asking question after question, eager to hear a story, or to be let in on the gossip. "Who is this guy?" She asked.

"He's a friend." Suyin said. She picked up the teapot and busied herself with filling everyone's cups.

Evidently, that wasn't anywhere near enough to sate Ty Lee's curiosity. "What's he like? How do you know him?"

Suyin shook her head. She didn't want to talk about him. If Ty Lee wanted to know, then it was up to Azula to tell her however much she wanted to. The princess apparently picked up on Suyin backing out of the conversation, and took over.

"He's a lieutenant stationed at the palace for the time being. Young and rather… friendly."

That was one way to put it. Their farewell had been, honestly, a little uncomfortable, for Suyin was beginning to feel he had more than friendly intentions towards her. There were days she never wanted to see him again, and days where she missed him so dearly that she thought her heart would burst. Her dear friend… If she pretended that that was all they were, all they'd ever be, maybe they could really keep being friends forever. She hoped so.

"Oh…" Ty Lee looked like she still had a hundred questions, but she didn't ask another one, and Suyin was thankful to her for that.

They sipped at their tea, and the rice cakes quickly disappeared. Ty Lee shared another story from the circus, and the evening passed more easily now than it had before, until it was time to sleep.

"Ladies, do you know what this is?" Azula held a tuft of something white clutched between her fingernails.

They'd stopped at a nearby town to replenish supplies a couple days later. While the soldiers were out buying ingredients and such, the four girls used the time to stretch their legs outside - and evidently, to do some scouting. Azula had found something interesting a little ways away, and called them over.

"It looks like fur." Ty Lee offered after taking a closer look. Azula handed it to her, and she felt it between her own fingers, and then held it up to her nose and sniffed it. "Yup, definitely fur."

"Gross." Mai grimaced.

"That's right. But it's not just any fur." Azula's eyes gleamed with excitement. "It belongs to the Avatar's air bison."

Suyin's eyes widened. "How do you know?"

Azula gave her a half smile and shrugged, "I can't be certain. But it's very likely. There is quite a trail of fur here, but no animal tracks that would match with such shed. As far as I know, that best points to a flying bison. And I'd bet that if we follow these tracks, we'll eventually come across both the Avatar and my dear brother. For wherever the Avatar is, Zuko is sure to be close behind. If we're lucky, we'll get two birds with one stone."

"Wow, Azula, you're so smart!" Ty Lee praised.

The princess looked very pleased - clearly, Ty Lee knew just what to say to her. She turned to Suyin with a snake-like grin. "Su, go fetch the others. We don't have a moment to waste. Our hunt well and truly begins now."

They followed the trail for a long time, stopping every now and again to look for more tufts of white fur to make sure they were on the right track. Night fell and the girls went to sleep, but the tank train continued on its course with a handful of soldiers on diligent lookout.

"We've spotted them!" A booming voice tore Suyin from her sleep.

One of the soldiers was banging on the princess' door, clearly excited. Suyin, awoken by the commotion, got up and peered into the hallway. A nighttime Azula opened her door and spoke to the soldier, wide awake and looking not at all as though she'd just been dragged out of bed. Even so, the loudest thought going through Suyin's mind was that the princess couldn't possibly go chasing the Avatar in her night robe.

"I'll be there in a moment." Azula told the soldier. Her eyes fell on Suyin, "Good, there you are. I must get ready. The Avatar's been spotted."

Suyin nodded. She wasn't particularly in any mood for conversation, but the banging and shouting had woken her right up. She helped the princess dress and tie her hair up. And though Suyin hadn't thought it was the time for makeup, Azula insisted, and so she helped her paint her face as well.

"Go help Mai and Ty Lee, and then send them up to me. I'll be at the head of the tank." Azula instructed. For all the excitement, she was holding her composure very, very well. "After that, you may go back to sleep."

Suyin nodded. "Good luck, princess."

She wasn't sure she'd be able to sleep while the princess was out chasing the Avatar, but the sentiment was sweet. She supposed her staying awake wouldn't exactly help them in any way, but wasn't it fine to take it as a kindness, anyway? She watched as Azula left, and then went to attend the other two girls, to help them get ready for whatever it was this night would bring. She hoped it would be something good.

"I still can't believe my brother would team up with them against me." Azula scowled. "I mean, clearly, I wasn't expecting him to be happy to see me. But to think that between his enemies, he'd rather see me go down first? It's hurtful, really."

The chase ended in disappointment all around. Apparently, they'd come close to the Avatar and his friends a few times throughout the night, and Azula and Mai and Ty Lee had even come out on those mongoose-lizards on one occasion. The girls napped between their encounters, while the tank train had diligently pursued the air bison no matter how many times they tried to throw them off their scent.

Come morning, Azula had split off from Mai and Ty Lee to fight the Avatar one-on-one, but apparently he was soon joined by not only his friends, but also Prince Zuko and General Iroh. Truly, what a traitorous decision. It could have been a moment for them to show where their true alliances lay, and had they allied themselves with Azula, perhaps they'd have even been welcomed back into the Fire Nation as heroes. But they hadn't taken that gamble, and no matter how strong Azula was, it wasn't much of a fight when it was one-on-six. At the very least, she returned unscathed.

"I don't get it, either." Mai mumbled. "I can't believe he'd do that."

"It's been three years," Ty Lee reminded them with a shrug. She seemed to be least affected by the loss of the prince. "It looks like he's changed more than we thought. Guess he turned his back on his country. On all of us."

Her words lingered in the silence between them, uncomfortable. Undeniable.

"What now?" Mai asked.

Azula sighed deeply, "Well, the Avatar came to his senses, so we won't be able to follow the fur trail anymore. We'll have to track them down in another manner. But I'm willing to bet they're ultimately headed towards Ba Sing Se."

"That's like, on the other side of the continent." Ty Lee said. "You want to head there, not knowing if we're actually following them?"

"It'll be fine. Besides, in a few weeks, my father's troops will attempt to break through the city's outer walls. We should set aside our hunt for the time being, and go assist them. If all goes well," Azula decided, "we will be witnesses to the fall of the Earth Kingdom's last stronghold."