When he awoke, the firebender didn't try to escape right away, and Yuri smirked. She didn't give him any signs that Setto was behind, ready with his weapon. Refusing to look at him Yuri simply hoped the boy would stay quite while the firebender was interrogated.

"the ropes that bind you are fireproof and the chair you sit on is metal, so trying to use fire to escape would only be painful and expend too much energy to get past me." She said. "And hen of course, there is the point I made when I knocked you out."

"What? I thought you'd just found him there! You didn't tell me you could fight!" Setto exclaimed and Yuri fought the urge to roll her eyes. There goes the element of surprise.

"I haven't been training for very long." She said quickly, and turned her eyes back to the man. "But there's something more, and you need to understand what I can do to you if you don't give me all the information I need."

The firebender laughed. "You don't have any devices on you for torturing. You're a girl besides, too young to have learned how to use such things if you did."

"I don't need them. Not when I could force your own hands around your throat to choke you until you could not breathe. Or stop the flow of your blood to any limb so use of it was permanently erased, so I would have the pleasure thereafter of cutting it off and then healing it before you could become weak enough to pass out."

The firebender kept his gaze steady. "Bloodbending. I wonder, how can you do it without the full moon on your side?"

Setto, on the other hand, was horrified. "Wha-what are you?" He stammered, his eyes wide.

"I am vengeance!" Yuri screamed, her face hot with anger. Then she allowed herself to cool and her face to regain its stony appearance. "I am the daughter of the throne to the Northern Water Tribe, the niece of a woman dead by the hands of a banished prince of the Fire Nation, and best friend to the girl whose bracelet was on your fan. You're going to tell me what happened to Suki and the rest of the Kyoshi Warriors, or you will suffer a far greater fate than she ever did. Because I am a bloodbender, and I have no problems using my powers against you Fire Nation scum."

She tore off the manes mask to reveal the rest of his face, and let loose his shoulder-length hair down. Surprise jolted through the girls body when she saw the light, straw-coloured strands stuck to his face from sweat.

"And I'd ask the same of you, Firebender." Yuri sneered. Setto looked about to say something, but when he opened his mouth no sound came out. "We'll start with the basics. Who are you and why did you come to Kyoshi Island with those Pirates?"

For a few seconds, the man simply sat there, looking confused. After a while, he smiled. "Prove to me you're not lying, and I'll tell you everything you want to know."

Yuri was shocked once more by this man. But she refused to let it show, and smiled right back, meeting his gaze evenly. "Do you really want to die here, Firebender? Without family or friends near you, without even the honour of dying in battle? You're not even a prisoner of war, considering Kyoshi is an island separated from the war."

"My name is Kalen. And if you truly are Yuri from the Northern Waer tribe, the blood bender able to kill me with a single movement, I will not die here at your hands."

A shadow of understanding passed over Yuri's eyes, and slowly she lifted a still-bloodied sleeve. Shaking it back, the girl revealed her wrist, and her bracelet that was a birthday gift from Suki.

"Do you know what this is?" She asked slowly, and when Kalen nodded, she closed her eyes, fighting back tears. Finally snapped back from her state of cold fury, Yuri whispered. "Is she alive?" She opened her eyes once more and saw the man nod.

"I believe so." He said comfortingly.

Yuri dropped to her knees on the cold stone floor. "Release him Setto, please."

"B-but—" The boy stammered once more.

"He's no danger to us." She said, and lifted her head. Tears shone in the girl's eyes as she stared at the boy. "I'm sorry, I kept so much from you and still I hoped I would never have to tell you about my curse."

Setto said nothing, but after a moment he pulled a knife from his belt and cut the ropes that bound Kalen. He then stepped in front of Yuri and held out his hand to help her up.

"I swore my fealty to you Princess, and I will stay by your side to protect you, no matter what." Setto said, then smiled slyly. "It makes me breathe easier to know you can also protect yourself if I'm not around, though."

Kalen stood from the chair, rubbing his wrists as if they chafed. "I came to deliver that bracelet to you, Yuri. But you probably already have it in the same place you but my other weapons." He smirked. "You even found my daggers, I'm impressed."

"Please," Yuri begged, once more the polite young girl her Aunt had raised. "Can you tell me where she is? Why do you have the bracelet I gave her when she left the village?"

Kalen's face was sombre as he delivered his news. "Suki and the Kyoshi Warriors were captured and sent to prison in the Fire Nation. Suki, as their leader, was sent to a separate, high security facility called the Boiling Rock. I don't know anything else."

Yuri thought about what she'd heard. At least she's alive. She must have had Kalen give me the bracelet before they could take it from her. Or else I would have killed him without thinking. The girl bowed deeply "I apologize for my rash behaviour. I did not know."

The man chuckled. "The girl expected this. She even warned me about the bloodbending, though I didn't expect you to know what to do with it, since she said you weren't the type to practice."

"I use it mostly to heal myself from scratches, and earlier when the dart punctured my side. I know how the blood flows in the body, so I just reversed it." Then she blushed. "I've only used it otherwise once before, and it was exactly like my Aunt described waterbending. Though I only seem to be able to control it when I'm hurt or angry."

This was as much to explain to Kalen as to Setto. Both men were silent as Yuri stared at the ground, feeling both sets of eyes on her.

Slowly, she lifted her head and gestured towards the stairs. "I can make you dinner to make up for the trouble, and if you are injured I can heal you. Just allow me some time to get changed, while you relax and have some tea."

Setto stepped up to make and serve the tea while Yuri changed into something less blood-stained, and even helped her roast the vegetables and some preserved fish. It wasn't much, but Yuri hadn't expected to have visitors, and even less expected to be eating at this house at all for the next month. Knowing Suki was alive, but imprisoned in the Fire Nation complicated things.

"I need time to think about my next move." She announced to Setto after explaining to Kalen the situation she was in. "I know I said I would go with you but I can't leave the village right now. The Earth Kingdom is not doing well in this war, and if the city of Ba Sing Se falls, the Fire Nation's next target will be Kyoshi Island. As long as this Island's guardians are gone, I cannot abandon these people." She turned to the firebender. "I don't know your story Kalen, who you are or how you met Suki, but I'd like to ask you to stay with me and protect this Island from intruders until this war is over."

Kalen had stood and bowed, about to give his answer when Yuri heard a voice shouting her name. It was Suka, running up and looking terrified.

Yuri ran out of the house to meet her. "What's happened? Was there another attack?" She asked, concerned. "I didn't hear an alarm."

"It's—" The woman bent over to catch her breath. "I just heard news from the docks." She gasped once more and tried to steady herself. Suka stood and looked Yuri straight in the eyes and it was the first time the girl had ever seen hopelessness.

"What's happened?" She asked desperately.

"The Earth Kingdom has fallen, and the Avatar is dead."