Chapter 2

When Azula woke up, it was already morning and Mayumi had left the tent. She walked out to hear her and Buthainah talking.

"Are you sure it's right to take on another person so soon after…"

"Not really. But that's in the past." She sighed, catching Azula in the corner of her eye. She ignored her. "Look. Hime doesn't have anywhere else to go. Also, we don't have anyone who can actually fight hand-to-hand."

"We have Auryon."

"Yeah, we have Auryon, but we can't rely on just her forever." Finally, she turned to Azula. "Oh, hey, we were just talking about you."

For a brief moment, Azula was in awe.

Mayumi was a Yuyan archer. Or at least, she had been. She still had the tattoo, hiding behind some loose bangs of brown hair, but it was fading, and blurring at the edges.

Current or former, though, she clearly wasn't out of practice. The Yuyan were legendary, and if she were as good a shot as the others, there was no doubt she'd be a formidable foe, at best, and her downfall, at worst.

Azula pulled herself together. "You were?"

"All good things," Buthainah lied. "So, you'll be staying with us for the time being?"

"Yeah. Though I have to say, I'm a little out of practice." Azula sat on a log across from Buthainah, with Mayumi knocking down the fire to boil some eggs on her left.

"That's fine. Honestly, you could probably still teach us a few things. Auryon's the only other one who's any good at hand-to-hand," Mayumi replied, holding a stick over the fire to watch it burn.

"Where are the other two?"

"Veata and Auryon are out looking for Azula, and some meat and sides for breakfast, while they're at it."

"Veata's the one with the staff, right?"

"Her glider, yeah." She tried to hide the shock, but Azula's eyes widened.

"Can she airbend?" Wasn't there only one left?

Mayumi shook her head. "Not really. She learned to glide at the northern air temple. She can only do it from a cliff." Azula sighed in relief. Whatever else was possible, the airbenders were still safely dead.

There was a slight breeze, and suddenly there was a knife in the log Azula was sitting on, just between her legs. Veata landed across from Mayumi.

"What's she still doing here?" She sounded less than pleased, to put it lightly.

"This is Hime, and she'll be joining us for the foreseeable future."

"Yeah. So, you'd better get used to me." She glared at Veata, who just huffed.

"Where's Auryon?" Mayumi sounded a little strained as she said it, looking around to spot the last girl.

By way of an answer, Auryon crashed through the brush, making Azula jump.

"WOOHOO! Check out what I just caught!" She held up a wriggling mass of red fur. "I got a live one!"

"What. On Earth. Is that?" Azula asked, trying to keep her nerve. She wasn't usually so easily shaken, but it had been a very strange night, and she had no stomach for rodents at the best of times.

"It's a fire ferret!" she declared, holding it up closer to grinning face. "He was halfway out of the nail trap when I found him. Soon as he looked like he might get free, I pounced on him! I laid on him for the better part of an hour until he tired himself out. He'll fetch a – hey!"

The ferret slipped out of her grip on its tail and wasted no time jumping off her face and stealing one of the eggs on its way out.

Naturally, all four girls practically tripped over each other to catch it again, to no avail.

"Ah, shoot. Still caught him, though." Auryon pulled Mayumi to her feet while Buthainah and Veata got up on their own.

"Anyway," Mayumi said. "We'd better eat quick. As soon as we're done, we're splitting up and looking for Azula, and the earlier the better. Hime, I think you should come with me. You said you were out of practice, and I don't want her to take advantage of that."

"Sure." Fuck!

BREAKLINE

"So, what, exactly, are we looking for?" Azula crept behind Mayumi, gripping the knife Veata had lent her and struggling to keep up quietly.

"Footprints, disturbed grass, a shelter, anything to indicate a person was here." Mayumi had an arrow knocked and was creeping through the tall grass like an old pro, which she was.

"And if you find her?"

"We can't hope to beat her, even two-on-one. We'll go back to camp, send a smoke signal, get everyone back, and then go confront her."

They moved on in silence for a while, seeing no one.

"Question," Azula said. "Why do you have an extra bedroll?"

"In case I can't use the first one." Mayumi didn't look back at Azula.

"Oh, sure, sure," Azula relented. "Except you always leave the bedroll behind in your tent. It won't get wet or damaged. And you're too smart to carry equipment you don't need. So, I'll ask you again: why do you have a second bedroll?"

"Does it matter? Maybe we keep it around in case it gets damaged while moving. Or maybe we keep it in case someone stumbles into our camp and decides to join us."

Mayumi turned away with a huff while Azula bit her tongue for a moment.

"But you would never-"

"Oh, for fuck's sake, just drop it!"

Veata took that moment to drop out of the sky and land between them.

"I've had no luck. No signs of her anywhere. But there were some pretty heavy tracks leading up to our campsite."

"The guards," Azula blurted. "that was the path they took." Mayumi glared at her.

"What did I just walk in to?" Veata shifted her eyes between the two girls, leaning on her staff.

"Nothing," Mayumi replied, backing down. "Thanks for the update."

There was a clap of thunder, followed by a downpour of rain. Mayumi sighed, pulling her bangs away from her eyes.

"Aaand, that's it for me," Veata concluded. "I don't think Buthainah and Auryon have had any better luck, and we'll all catch a cold if we stay out here much longer. Your call, Mayumi."

She was quiet for a moment before responding. "Head back to camp." Veata nodded and ran off while the other two stood up.

"We're not going to stick around and look for her?" Azula got up and gestured to the field ahead of them, and the tree line farther off.

"If we're cold, she's cold," Mayumi replied, slouching a bit. "besides, it doesn't really matter. The more I think about it, the less this job seems worth it, especially without a down payment."

Azula nodded. "Okay."

They were the last ones back to camp. Auryon and Buthainah were chatting while Buthainah tightened her ropes. Veata looked up from sharpening her knife as they entered.

"Anybody still wanting to put their lives on the line for no promise of pay, raise your hand." Naturally, nobody did, though Buthainah chuckled a bit.

"Okay," Mayumi decided. "Everyone get some sleep. Tomorrow, we're shipping out to the Earth Kingdom. We'll look for jobs there."

BREAKLINE

However simple Mayumi's tent was, Veata's made it look like the palace. The cloth was a patchwork mess, and her knives and staff laid on the bare ground.

"Veata." Azula prodded her, taking a strategic position between the girl and her knives. "Veata!"

Veata groaned. "I can't fly with the others. I can't leave the temple. The least you could let me do is sleep."

She tried again. "Veata, it's Hime! I need your help!"

Veata finally woke up, supporting herself on her elbow and blinking awake.

"Azula?"

Her plea for help died on her tongue. Azula froze in place, not daring to even breathe.

"What do you want?"