They arrived at the ferry after a few more miles of bickering. Izumi bought tickets for both herself and Lyle, and they boarded the boat with little fanfare.
"You know, you really should invest in an ostrich-horse or something," Izumi said, breaking the silence that the two had been in since the ferry began moving. Yuki, who had been scouting for food during their walk, swooped down and landed on Izumi's shoulder. She jumped, a small yelp escaping her mouth. Awkwardly, the princess reached towards the owl-cat with her free arm, trying to shoo him away.
"Go on, pet him! He won't bite- actually, I shouldn't say that. As long as you're kind to him, he'll be kind back. And about the ostrich-horse, no thanks. I don't trust anything that can break my face with a kick."
"I could probably break your face with a kick," Izumi said under her breath. She smiled a bit, noticing Lyle's annoyed look. "Really, though, what do you spend your money on? Your… what shall I call it, house? Isn't exactly a palace."
"I'm not quite sure," Lyle said thoughtfully. "I suppose a better living space would be nice, but I'm content with what I have."
"Living in a two-room pile of stones doesn't sound like a very content-making thing to me."
"It's not a pile of stones! They're neatly arranged! In a neat way!" Lyle frowned, realizing that she was making the kind of sense that didn't.
"Right. It's okay, delusions aren't always a sign of mental illness!" Still frowning, Lyle snatched Yuki off of Izumi's shoulder. The owl-cat mewled with surprise, catching the princess' robe with his claw and tearing it. Izumi's eyes seemed larger than saucers as she inspected the ripped fabric. "I… you… he…" she tried to say, her words failing to form.
"Relax, princess. Lucky for you, I'm always prepared. I've got a sewing kit somewhere in my pack."
"But if you sew it up, there'll be unsightly stitches!"
"Would you rather have stitches or a slowly growing tear in your outfit?" Izumi grumbled something again, looking away. "I thought so. Now, hold still so I can fix it." Lyle pulled a rather pointy bone needle out of her bag, along with some black thread. She noticed the princess wincing, presumably at both the sharpness of the needle and the mismatched color.
"If you prick me with that, I'll get my revenge on you, ostrich-horse style."
"As long as you don't fidget, pricking will not happen." With that, Lyle threaded the string through the eye of the needle and got to work on the ripped robe. She felt Izumi tighten as she carefully lay her hand on the princess' shoulder, but the tension disappeared when Lyle softly murmured, "If you keep that up, a needle meeting your skin is in the near future."
For the first time in a while, Izumi didn't have much on her mind, besides the fear that the needle would eventually slip and mar more than her clothing. Strangely enough, though, the touch of Lyle's hand was reassuring, and she trusted that needle prickage would not happen- but she would never admit that to the other girl. With the usual sea of thoughts in her mind calmed by the steady motion of Lyle's sewing, she let her golden eyes sweep over the literal body of water surrounding the ferry. This was one of her first times seeing the ocean, and she was surprised at the beauty it held. Sunlight created starry sparkles on the surface when it hit just right. Her breath almost caught in her throat when she realized that there was so much more to the world than cold marble and man-made gardens. Due to her frailty when she was younger, Izumi had rarely left the palace grounds. It felt odd to be out of there, especially with her only companion being a young firebending vigilante. She'd never mixed with that type before, but it was refreshing compared to the perfect little playmates that were handpicked for her as a child.
Lyle's touch leaving her shoulder made her snap out of her thoughts, and she looked at the other girl with a mask of disgust. "Eugh! The black completely clashes with the rest of my-"
"Yeah, yeah. Save it. Your robe is fixed, so be happy." Izumi sneered at Lyle, hiding her secret wish to re-rip her garment so more sewing could occur.
The ferry was nearing Ember Island when Lyle spoke up again. "What's up, princess? I haven't heard a single complaint since the black thread." Izumi was still staring at the ocean, her eyes glazed over.
"Mm… I was just thinking about how nice it must be for waterbenders, to have the entire sea at their fingertips." Lyle shrugged, her face relatively blank.
"Waterbenders aren't the only ones with control of something powerful. Firebending is nothing to sniff at, y'know."
"No, I don't know. I should, but I don't."
"Oh, right. Well, it's never too late to learn! You have the ability, and it's probably pretty rusty by now- but a good teacher is the best rust remover."
"It's too late for me," Izumi said, a hint of sadness in her voice. "I'm nearly 19 now. Most of the greats start before they can even walk."
"Stuff and nonsense," Lyle said. "A lot of the masters that I know didn't start until much later in life, and even I didn't seek training until I was 13. You're definitely not too old. Maybe, when we reach Ember Island, we can see if Azula will be up for helping you with some moves."
"Really?" Izumi said, her eyes showing signs of hope.
"Really." Before Lyle even knew it, the princess had pulled her into a thankful hug. She stiffened in surprise, her eyes wide. Not quite knowing what to do, she awkwardly patted her hand on Izumi's back a few times.
"Not much of a hug person, are you?"
"Actually, I wouldn't know. Hugging has not been a big part of my life."
"Huh. We have something in common, then." Izumi turned back to the ocean, leaving Lyle to look at her quizzically for a moment. "But we're not making this a habit," she said, facing the firebender again. Before Lyle could get a word in edgewise, she noticed the ferry beginning to slow to a stop.
"We're here!" She exclaimed, whistling for Yuki and grabbing her pack that had been resting on the ground. Izumi picked up her own mostly empty bag, and disembarked the ferry with Lyle.