PART 2, here we go!
CHAPTER 7- TRUST AND TRUTH, PART II
Kuei turned to Basam, whose eyebrows were raised as he watched Zafirah storm off. Then he noticed Kuei's attention and jerked backwards.
"I, uh, I better go, I gotta... help... with... things, and stuff," Basam said haltingly. He took another stiff step backwards, then turned and dashed off, leaving Kuei standing with Bosco in the midst of the bustling, hectic camp.
Even though he'd been wandering the wilderness more or less on his own before coming to the desert (Bosco's good company excepted), he suddenly felt very alone.
Something had changed. He felt it, but he couldn't say what it was... or why. Yesterday, there had been a sort of careful camaraderie between the three of them. And now, today...
Had he done something wrong? He feared that perhaps he'd done something terribly rude the night before with the rice wine in his blood. His memories of the night before were hazy to say the least; if he'd said something amiss, he didn't remember it.
Then again, perhaps it had nothing to do with him. They were grieving the loss of their tribe to the Fire Nation, after all.
Or, perhaps they had just grown tired of him. The thought stung.
Well, he thought to himself, either way, I'll be out of here soon. The thought did little to make him feel better. After all they'd gone through - the attack on the Oasis, sailing across the desert, the storm - parting like this felt awfully sad. But, he was an outsider here, and he knew the Sandbenders had little love for outsiders; perhaps it couldn't have been any other way.
"I suppose we should find someplace to sit, then. Somewhere... out of the way," Kuei told Bosco, sighing heavily. At a loss for anywhere specific to go, he started heading off in the opposite direction from where Zafirah and Basam had gone. None of the other Sandbenders paid them much mind as they made their way through the buzzing, structured chaos of a nomadic camp preparing to depart.
The sun crested high as midday came, and this was usually when the Sandbender tribes took their rest from the sun's heat at its worst, but there'd be no rest for the Aqila Tribe while there was still packing to be done. Not this time, anyway.
Zafirah finished rolling up the canvas tent into its slot at the back of Marwa's sailer, and yanked the ropes tight to tether it in place.
To her left, Shai let out a low whistle. "Either those ropes insulted you, or you're mad about something," he remarked.
"What of it?" she shot back.
"Look, I know we haven't seen much of each other for a few years, and it didn't really go so good last time we saw each other, but that doesn't mean I like seeing you miserable," he said. "Did that outsider do something?"
Zafirah was glad she had her scarves pulled up and most of her face covered; she scowled at the mention of Kuei, and she wasn't particularly in the mood to discuss it, especially not with her ex-boyfriend. Shai set down the crate he'd been about to lift into the sailer's cargo net, turning towards her.
"Did he?" he pressed.
"No," she snapped. He tilted his head, and she could see the quirk of his eyebrows as he gave her a disbelieving glance; she could imagine the skeptical frown under his face scarf. She heaved a sigh. "He hasn't been... entirely honest with us," she admitted grudgingly, dropping her voice so only he'd hear.
"And, what, you're surprised?" He at least sounded confused, rather than snarky; that was good, because otherwise she might've had to make him eat sand for lunch.
"No, of course not! Just... sick of being right all the time, that's all," she grumbled, yanking on the already very tight ropes.
"I'm surprised you trusted an outsider at all, frankly," Shai said, crossing his arms.
"I didn't- I don't," she growled.
"Then why is he here, Zafirah?"
The question hung heavily in the air. Zafirah turned away from him. "We needed a navigator and it's not like we had a whole lot of options."
"You needed a navigator? That much? Enough to let an outsider do it? And bring him along out here?" he asked incredulously.
She dropped the ends of the ropes and yanked him down to eye-level by the front of his tunic. "We'd just lost the entire Oasis, Shai!" she snapped, dropping her voice to a low hiss so only he'd hear. "Practically the entire Janan tribe is just gone now, hauled off by the Fire Nation! We were alone, it was just me and Basam and a whole lot of dead bodies and ruined huts, and he told me he wanted to help, and I thought maybe- maybe, just this once- maybe the Spirits were gonna show us a little kindness for once! I thought-" She broke off, frustrated tears stinging the corners of her eyes and making her feel even worse. "I thought maybe he'd ended up with us for a reason! Okay?!"
She let go of his tunic and shoved him backwards. He crossed his arms and studied her.
Slowly, he said, "Zafi... when we picked you three up out by Si Wong Rock, you said something about you owing him a debt...?"
"This packing will go a whole lot faster if we don't talk," she snapped.
He eyed her, but then he heaved a sigh and went back to work. And so did she.
With the camp packed up hardly two hours later, the tribe got their sailers into formation to sail out. The big sailers lurched into place together, guided by their neighbors, and the light sailers took their places around the edges- all but three of them, of course.
Three of the lightweight sailers sat on the western side of the caravan, hulls pointing out at the horizon, while their crews got their supplies stowed away. As soon as the caravan hauled out, the sailers would set off on their supply run to the western edge of the desert, and they'd be taking their strange guest along with them.
Zafirah sat perched atop Marwa's sailer, waiting to haul out. They were at the outside of the caravan, right next to where the supply run was getting ready. Basam was next to her, and she could feel that he was looking at her, but she staunchly refused to notice.
She dug the string out of her pocket and went back to owlcat's cradle, pointedly focusing all her attention on the game. Her gut churned with a sort of tense energy, her foot jittering and tapping against the wood planks of the sailer as if it had a life of its own. She flexed her toes, making herself stop it.
"We should probably go and see him off, huh? I mean, we should... right?" Basam prompted gently.
"Go for it," she muttered.
"See who off?" Amaris popped up from her spot below them in the starboard hull.
"Kuei," Basam told her. "He's leaving with the supply run, they're gonna drop him off at the western outpost so he can be on his way."
"Aw, he's leaving already? He just got here! Can't believe neither of you told me sooner," Amaris pouted. "So how come you're over here and not over there with him?"
Zafirah thought about telling Amaris what had happened. She thought about it, and couldn't bring herself to do it. No need to ruin Amaris's fun. It was different for her, living out in the open desert, away from outsiders. Not like those of them who had lived at the Oasis.
Basam hesitated. "Uh, we didn't wanna get in the way?"
Amaris dismissed that with a scoff and a wave of her hand. "C'mon, don't be a stranger," she told him. She grabbed Basam by the arm and tugged on him till he hopped off the upper platform.
Pausing, he turned back to Zafirah. "You coming?" he asked.
"Nope," she said, still focused on the string.
"...All right," Basam said reluctantly. She could hear the concern in his tone. She didn't look up as he dutifully trotted off after Amaris. Zafirah went back to her string game, foot bouncing with that annoying, buzzing tension again.
Finally, this weird outsider would be out of her hair. He wasn't her problem anymore. And it didn't matter why he'd lied or what he'd lied about, it didn't matter why he acted like he actually gave a damn about them or why he'd risked his life for her back at the Oasis or why he acted like he really wanted to learn from them, it wouldn't matter if he'd somehow managed to trick her, to fool her-
The string broke. She hadn't even realized she was pulling so hard on it.
Shai was right, more or less. She'd let her guard down. She didn't really trust Kuei, no, but she'd come uncomfortably close to it. She'd almost, almost, put her faith in an outsider. Was that why the lie stung so badly? That had to be it; if she'd made a mistake, if she'd been wrong to let him have that tiny sliver of trust, wrong to let herself give that sliver of trust... it galled her to think that maybe she'd let herself be soft enough to get fooled.
Basam had been right, too. She'd almost- almost- started to like having the damn idiot around.
Risking a glance over at the middle of the three light sailers, she saw Basam talking with Kuei, who was smiling wistfully. They clasped hands briefly, gripping each other by the forearm. Basam clapped him on the shoulder and said something, to which Kuei nodded. Basam patted Bosco on the head, then stepped back and it was Amaris's turn. She bounced up on her toes and hugged Kuei around the neck, which pulled him down and forward at an awkward angle in spite of her tiptoes, and made him wheel his arms in surprise. He stumbled back when she released him, rubbing the back of his neck. Zafirah couldn't make out what Amaris said, but she heard her gleeful tone. There were a few last words between the three of them, and then Amaris and Basam gave him a last wave and stepped back.
The crew got Bosco up onto the navigation post, the same spot the furball had held on their voyage out. Kuei clambered up next to the bear, this time as a passenger instead of a navigator. The crew was taking up their stances, getting ready to haul out. She twisted the broken string around her fingers absent-mindedly, foot still jittering.
Zafirah swore under her breath and jumped down off the sailer, letting the broken string fall out of her hand. She rode a crest of sand over to the rear of the light sailer, right as its crew started to whip up a whirlwind of sand behind the sail.
"Hey!" she shouted, feeling incredibly stupid. She determinedly ignored Basam and Amaris, standing nearby and no doubt very curious about her sudden change of heart. If she figured it out herself, she'd be sure to tell them, she thought sourly.
The crew heard her and they dropped the whirlwind, turning to look at her. Kuei heard her, glancing down; someone on the crew had told him to pull his headscarves up, and she was glad for that. She felt foolish enough without having to see the look on his face, whatever it might be.
"Zafirah?" he asked, sounding about as surprised by her presence as she was herself.
"Yeah," she grumbled. Bosco rumbled happily and sat up, clapping his paws.
Kuei immediately started climbing down from his post. "Oh, good! I- wait right here, Bosco, I'll be back in a moment- I wanted to- oof-" He lost his grip and dropped to the sand, landing hard and stumbling to regain his footing. He took a breath and looked at her.
"Well, I just wanted to say... thank you, for- for sheltering me at the Oasis that day, and... well, I certainly never would have sailed across the desert as a navigator, or been invited to a boys' night, or... so, I suppose I just wanted to say... thank you. For everything. And..." He hesitated, then shrugged awkwardly.
Zafirah didn't answer. What was she even going to say? She fished for something to say- 'goodbye', 'good riddance', 'good luck', 'try not to get yourself killed out there', anything, although she had no idea what she'd even wanted to say when she'd come over there.
"Why did you go after that Firebender?"
So, those were the words that ended up coming out of her mouth. A heavy silence followed, which stretched on for what felt like a very long and uncomfortable time.
"Uh, Zafirah?" Basam said from off to the side. Zafirah ignored him. Kuei looked around, shifting his weight.
"Firebender?" Kuei asked. "You mean, the one at the Oasis?"
"Yeah, of course, that one. Why did you do that? You didn't have to risk your own neck for me, so why did you? Look me in the eye and tell me the truth," she challenged.
"W-well…" Kuei started, rubbing the back of his neck and eying the sand at his feet. "That Firebender, he was sneaking up on you, and... it's such a horrible, cowardly thing to do, isn't it? And I couldn't... it seemed cruel to just stand by and watch..."
Zafirah gaped at him, utterly at a loss. He hadn't looked her in the eye, but... "You're actually being serious right now," she stated.
"Have I said something wrong?" he asked, shrinking back. She barked out a laugh, shaking her head and running her hands over the top of her headscarves. Had he? She wasn't even sure anymore.
"Why in the Spirit World did it matter to you so much?!" she snarled. "I'm not your problem! We're not your problem!"
"I, but- why shouldn't it matter?"
"You're not one of us!"
"I know I'm not, but-"
"So why didn't you just sneak out during the battle and save yourself?"
He recoiled, like she'd struck him. "No! I couldn't just do nothing!"
"Why not?!" she demanded.
"Because I'm-!" He stopped himself abruptly, cutting off with a sharp intake of breath. He seemed winded, almost. Then he shook his head, shoulders slumping. "I couldn't stand by and do nothing, I just... couldn't. It just felt... wrong. I'm sick of standing by and doing nothing. I've had enough of it for a lifetime. I had to do something. I just... wanted to help. I had to."
She suddenly realized what it was she'd been half-remembering earlier; they'd had a conversation like this at the Oasis, before they'd left. She'd almost forgotten about it, in everything that had happened since. It'd been something about people he'd let down, people he hadn't been able to help in Ba Sing Se. He'd said he was willing to risk his life if it meant he could stop that from happening again.
Zafirah turned aside, arms crossing tightly over her chest. All of a sudden, she felt weirdly guilty.
"All right, well, whatever. That was all I wanted to know. So... bye, I guess," she muttered.
Kuei started to turn back to the sailer, then paused, and then turned back to her. "Actually... I wanted to know something, too. If you dislike outsiders so much, then why did you shelter me at the Oasis? You let me stay in your home, gave me food and companionship-" She winced, suddenly painfully aware of Amaris and probably all three sailer crews and who knew how many other Aqila tribespeople standing around and watching the two of them make a scene, and painfully aware of what they all would probably be thinking. "You talked with me, treated me as a welcome guest in your home. You didn't have to do that any more than I had to intervene on your behalf... so, why?"
Zafirah stepped back, sputtering, taken aback. "I, that's- I- wh- we're not talking about me right now! Don't change the subject!" she protested, bristling. She wasn't even entirely sure, herself, so this was the last thing she wanted brought up. She was glad, again, for the privacy of her headscarves. She scoffed. "Look, just get on the sailer and go, will you?"
"Right," he said, sighing, turning away. "Goodbye, then."
He started to climb back onto the sailer, when the shrill keening of a beetle-horn cut across the camp. Zafirah jerked her head up, searching for the origin of the sound. A cry went up from the head of the caravan; up on the sand dune at the front of the camp, one of the crew aboard the tribe's sentinel sailer was waving a beetle-horn in the air. Zafirah remembered the green flare, and her heart sank.
By the time Zafirah reached the sentinel sailer, Basam and Amaris and a few others at her heels, Qamar was already there. She stood talking with the man who had sounded the horn. Qamar was staring out across the desert, a spyglass in her white-knuckled grip.
"It's a flying machine," Qamar said urgently, handing the spyglass over. "Is it like the ones you saw at the Oasis?"
Zafirah took the spyglass first, and she looked out in the direction the sentry pointed. Her blood ran cold and her hands dropped, the spyglass dangling from her limp grasp.
"No," she said hoarsely. "That's not the same kind. That one's much, much bigger."
The sand sailers hurtled up the slope of a massive dune, sand spraying behind them like a ship's wake. Kuei's stomach lurched as the sailers crested the peak; he felt the sailer's hulls lift from the sand for just a moment, and then they landed with a bone-rattling jolt and they were plunging down the far slope, into the deepening shadows between the dunes. There was nothing to hold onto, so all he could do was huddle back against Bosco, who had dug his claws into the wood planks of the sailer.
This was apparently no longer a routine supply run to the desert's western edge. They were racing the sun westward, in a convoy that had gained a fourth sailer. Kuei wasn't quite sure what had happened in those last moments leading to their departure. There had been Zafirah's baffling interrogation, cut short by the cry of a horn or trumpet of some sort, several of the Sandbenders had raced off across the camp, then they'd returned, and then the convoy had grown. Among those that had joined the convoy were Amaris, Fikri, Basam, and Zafirah. The latter three rode on the fourth sailer. Amaris, who had chided Kuei with all apparent cheerfulness about "trying to leave without saying goodbye", had joined him on his designated sailer.
"What, exactly, happened back there?" he asked Amaris, voice raised a little to be heard over the wind. Besides wanting to know, he wouldn't mind a distraction from the frankly terrifying speed the sailers were traveling at.
"Oh, one of our sentinels saw a flying machine off to the west," Amaris said. "Zafi said it's different than the ones that were at the Oasis."
Kuei felt a chill run down his spine, remembering the horrible sight of those massive red machines floating above the burning Oasis. "Oh, no. The Fire Nation came back already?"
"Yeah, looks like they might've," Amaris said. She pulled her knees up against herself and hugged her arms around them. "So, Qamar figured we should go check it out, what with that flare before and all."
He'd almost forgotten about the flare... and Zafirah's strange insistence that he shouldn't be told anything about it. "Does the flare mean something bad?"
"A green flare is what we use to call for help from other tribes. It came from the west, and there's a bunch of tribes out that way, not to mention the trading post, which is where you guys were heading anyway, so Qamar wanted some of us to go see if we can find out what's happening." Amaris said. She paused, then added, "No one told you?"
"Basam was going to explain it, but... well, Zafirah seemed quite certain he shouldn't. She said, I didn't need to worry about it," Kuei told her. Then, struck by a sudden worry, he said, "Are outsiders not supposed to know such things? Perhaps I shouldn't have asked-"
"It's fine, sheesh!" she insisted. "I mean, it's not like we'd want lots of outsiders to know about it, but, like, for you I feel like it's probably fine." She heaved a sigh, and shook her head, murmuring under her breath, "Zafi, Zafi..."
"I still don't understand it," he said, frowning to himself. "Why did she shelter me to begin with, or bring me along... and why won't she talk about it?"
Amaris made a soft humming sound. The sailer sank into the shadowed valley between two dunes, then soared up the valley's broad flank into the waning light of the late afternoon sun.
Amaris spoke again, slowly, as if choosing her words carefully. "It's like I said before. She's a tough one, our Zafirah."
"That's certainly true," Kuei agreed ruefully.
"She wasn't always like this. I still remember when we were kids and my family and me would come to visit the Oasis, she was so curious about outsiders! She was always asking them questions, their mom and dad were always telling her not to pester anybody," Amaris said. He couldn't see her face, hidden behind her scarves and eye shield, but he heard her chuckle to herself.
"What happened?" Kuei asked.
Amaris tapped her fingers against her knees, answering slowly. "See... it's like putting a blade to a whetstone. You grind away at it, over and over and over again, and what happens?"
It took Kuei a moment to remember what a whetstone was, and then the comparison hit home. "It wears the blade down to a sharp edge."
"Yeah," Amaris said. "See, the Oasis is a tough place. I've heard it used to be different, back in the days before the war, but now... I dunno, I only ever saw a little bit of it, since I never really lived there. But the outsiders that pass through, they treat us Sandbenders like we're just animals. They call us names, try to cheat us. Like we're just there to serve them."
"That's horrible!" Kuei exclaimed. "But, if it's that bad, then... why stay?"
Amaris sat back from him. "It's ours," she said, indignation heavy in her voice. "It's always been ours. It's Sandbender territory, always has been. We're not gonna abandon it just because we got merchants and outlaws and whatever coming through and acting like they own us."
"Oh," Kuei said, feeling his face flush with shame. "Of... of course."
"It's fine. I guess I can see how an outsider maybe wouldn't get it," she said. She was quiet for a moment, then elbowed him in the side. "Did she seriously let you stay with her and Basam at the Oasis?"
"Yes, and I really cannot say why," Kuei said. He let his head drop back against Bosco's side, pinching the bridge of his nose in aggravation and wincing when he touched the lingering bruise around his eye.
Amaris sighed. "Could've just been that she was in a good mood that day, but... hmm. I'd like to think maybe, somewhere, deep down, she still wants to believe that the world outside the desert isn't all bad. I think that's why she decided to take a chance on you. Like maybe she's still got some echo of that curious little kid she used to be, deep down." She paused, then added, "Really, really deep down."
Kuei lifted his head, considering. Amaris nudged his side again.
"So, don't blow it," she joked.
They stopped to rest, deep in the night. The sailers came to a halt on the lower slope of a steep dune, sheltered from sight and from the wind. Kuei took Bosco and tactfully got them both out of the way while the Sandbenders settled in to rest.
From far in the distance, beyond the crest of the dune, flashes of white-yellow light lit up the western sky. Kuei thought worriedly about the attack on the Oasis, but no one else seemed concerned.
"Come on, Bosco, let's go take a look," Kuei whispered to the bear. Bosco rumbled and bobbed his head, following along as Kuei began the long trek up to the dune's crest.
Walking up the slope of a dune was even more treacherous than walking on the more level sand; it shifted under his feet, making him slide back a little and sinking him to the ankle with each step. By the time they summited the dune, he was embarrassingly winded.
"I really... should have... had some tutors in... physical training," Kuei panted, pausing to lean his hands on his knees. When he straightened up, though, the sight that met his eyes would have left him breathless anyway.
Massive thunderheads towered above the western horizon, their billowing gray precipices ashen and barely visible against the inky night sky. Bolts of lightning lanced to the ground and through the depths of the thunderheads, lighting the storm from within, but they left no sound in their wake. Kuei let out a slow, astonished exhale.
"Lightning storm," said a voice behind him. He turned, startled, when he recognized Zafirah's voice. She stepped up onto the crest, cloth-wrapped feet padding silently on the night-chilled sand. He was, to say the least, surprised to see her.
"...What?" he said, quite definitely confused in more ways than one.
"Lightning storm," she repeated, jerking her head towards the horizon.
He had no idea how he ought to respond to that. Had she known he was up there on the dune? Lingering in his mind were their... altercations: Zafirah telling him to stay out of the way, and then demanding to know why he'd confronted the Firebender. It felt like ages ago already that those things had happened, even though it had only been earlier that same day. And the delicate companionship of the day before felt even further removed, as if it had happened to someone else entirely.
He cleared his throat. "I, um, I could go... away... over there... if you'd like to watch the storm...?" He pointed vaguely somewhere further along the crest.
She put her fists on her hips, shifted her weight, then crossed her arms tightly over her chest. "It's... whatever," she muttered. Kuei glanced down at Bosco, at a loss; Bosco looked back at him with a haplessly cheerful bear-grin, tongue lolling.
He started to walk away, intending to find another spot to watch the storm.
"I felt bad for you."
He froze in mid-step, glancing back at her. Zafirah's shoulders heaved in a sigh, then she tugged her scarf down off her face and pulled her headscarves back in a swift, practiced movement. Her brow was furrowed, mouth pulled down in a frown that looked somehow uncertain.
"Um... what?" he asked faintly. He pulled his own headscarves down, too. It only seemed fair.
"That's why I took you in, back at the Oasis. I felt bad for you," she muttered.
"You... you did?" He was confused, yes, and astonished. And, frankly, he wasn't sure if he ought to feel insulted or not.
She shifted from foot to foot, then looked out towards the storm and huffed out a breath through her nose. "You just looked... like you didn't belong there. I mean, no outsiders do. It's our territory, so really no one but Sandbenders belong there. But, I mean..." Her eyes stayed fixed on the thunderheads. "You looked... like you needed... help."
"...Oh." He swallowed thickly, realizing what she was explaining. "But... you don't trust outsiders. Even if I did need help," and oh, he certainly had, "why take it upon yourself?"
And now she did look at him, a thin and bitter smile twisting the corners of her mouth. "Like you said before. It felt wrong not to."
Kuei let out a heavy breath. Bosco rumbled gently beside him. It was a surprising admission, to say the least, but also... oddly touching. Amaris had, it seemed, been correct.
Her arms, still crossed over her chest, loosened a little. "You really meant what you said before? That's really why you went after that Firebender?" she asked.
"Yes, I meant it," he said solemnly.
She looked out towards the storm again. "Uh... I'm... sorry. For how I acted today. You did help us out a lot and you've been pretty okay for an outsider. One more question?"
"Of course."
"Why did you lie to us about being a student at Ba Sing Se University?"
He gaped at her, feeling his face go hot and beet-red. "Y- you, how did..."
She made a sound that was almost a chuckle. "You kinda spilled the beans to Basam when you were drunk."
"...Oh." Well, that did shed some light on why this day had gone so strangely. He hesitated before answering. "Well... it was only partly a lie. I did have tutors from the university, but I wasn't allowed to go to the university itself. The tutors came to me, instead. I lived a sheltered life in Ba Sing Se, and I suppose that I..." He trailed off. Should he tell her the entire truth?
"Huh." To his surprise, her face reddened a little and she rubbed the back of her neck. "Okay, I feel kinda silly now."
Guilt stung at him. He was still keeping the truth from her, and now she felt foolish because of him. Because of his lies. "N-no, it's..."
"Anyway, I just wanted to say... y'know, sorry and all. Before we get to the trading post and go our separate ways. You can stay up here and watch the storm for a while longer if you want, I'm gonna... uh, head back down." She jerked her thumb over her shoulder, towards the sailers.
"All right," he said, though he felt a kind of twisting anxiety in his chest.
She nodded and turned to go, and suddenly he couldn't stand it anymore. She had opened up to him; he wanted to show her the same courtesy. Or, then again, perhaps he shouldn't but then again, what if-
Before he could change his mind, he called out, "Wait!"
She turned back. "Yeah?"
He took a breath. "I... I have something I'd like to tell you. Something I've been keeping secret."
Zafirah's eyes narrowed. "Yeah?" she said again.
Seized with sudden nerves, he started pacing and twisting his hands together. "It's been weighing on my mind for days, and I- I'm still not sure if I ought to say it or not, I've not told anyone since I left Ba Sing Se, and I suppose it might be a bad idea, but I'm not sure- but you were honest with me, so really I ought to do the same, but maybe not, I-"
"Hello-o-o-o, Kuei?" Zafirah called, hands cupped around her mouth.
He jolted. "Sorry." She crossed her arms again, regarding him with something between wariness and alarm.
He took a deep breath and got it over with. "I am- I was- I still am, I suppose? - the Earth King."
Zafirah stared. Kuei waited, hands clasped tightly. Zafirah stared. He started to sweat. Zafirah started to say something, then shut her mouth. He waited. She started to say something else, then shut her mouth again.
Finally, she spoke. "...What."
LOL WHAAAAAAT. Yeah, we're going there already! Can't say for sure when the next update will be, but it will be eventually, so keep an eye out for it.