Chapter 6: Return to Dairen
Though I'd managed to convince Azula to stay with us, dealing with her would be more difficult. Since she was wearing a gown and smelled like sweat, incense, and opium the first task was to convince her to wash and get changed. This started with Suki and Ty Lee trying to convince her and ended with Toph Earthbending her into the nearby river. Azula then threw fireballs at Toph but she Earthbended a wall to protect herself from the one fireball that actually came near her. This seemed to upset Azula a lot and she looked like she might start crying. Ty Lee went over and offered to help Azula up but this only seemed to annoy her. Ty Lee then said that Azula could use her tent to dry off and change. Azula stormed into the tent dripping wet (we decided to leave her alone).
Since Azula would now have to change anyway I showed Ty Lee and Suki the Captain's clothes. Both complained that they were too big (the Captain seemed to be taller and much wider than Azula). I pointed out that since the Captain was a man he only had men's clothes. They especially complained about me bringing his underwear since Azula would never wear it and I replied that if he had girl's underwear Azula would be even less likely to wear it (seriously what sort of man has girl's underwear?). Ty Lee then went in to convince Azula to change, while Suki was nearby to help (the tent wasn't big enough for all three of them). I stayed outside with Toph, since I was a man and Toph was blind (she couldn't tell how clothes looked on people). Judging by all the shouting coming from Azula we were the lucky ones (I hope she doesn't burn down the tent).
Eventually they emerged. Suki looked exhausted and Ty Lee looked upset. Azula was wearing the Captain's clothes with a rope tied around her unhealthily slim waist to hold them in place (the clothes looked shorter, so either Ty Lee or Suki must have cut them). The boots Azula was wearing looked too big for her (when I asked Suki about them she said she'd padded them with scraps of material from the Captain's clothes). Azula's hair was also shorter but it wasn't neatly cut (Ty Lee or Suki probably used a knife). I didn't know whether Azula had borrowed some underwear, was wearing the Captain's, or wasn't wearing any and I didn't really want to find out. The look on Azula's face suggested that she was in no mood to talk, so we decided that we should eat first (hopefully food would put Azula in a better mood).
Though we didn't need a fire to cook, since it was getting cold we'd need one for warmth. As we'd gotten the wood all ready when we set up camp we just needed to light it. Ty Lee asked Azula to light it and she grudgingly agreed. She was able to light the tinder without much difficulty and the wood soon caught fire. This seemed to make Azula a little happier. Now it was time to eat.
Since Azula was so thin you'd think that she'd be really hungry, so before I served out the food I explained that we had to conserve what we had until we could get back to Dairen. We were all surprised when Azula said that she wasn't hungry. Despite Ty Lee's assurances that she could have some food Azula just nibbled on a piece of dried fruit. When she tried to eat a nut it seemed to hurt her stomach (had she caught a stomach bug?). Given that this wasn't going well I decided to explain to Azula where she was and what we were doing.
"Azula, Zuko hired us to find you and bring you back to him. You're in a forest because you were being held in a mine in the forest. When we get out of the forest and return to Dairen we'll take a ship back to the Fire Nation."
"Zuzu worries to much. Just because I was missing for a few months doesn't mean I need to be rescued," Azula responded in a mocking tone.
"Azula you were missing for over a year and a half," Ty Lee corrected Azula.
"What!?" Azula shouted, she looked shocked.
This supported my theory that Azula had been betrayed early on, since she wasn't aware of how much time had passed. Most likely she wouldn't be able to provide us with any useful information about whatever whoever had kidnapped her was doing. Since Azula was unlikely to answer any of our questions I left her ask us some questions hoping that her questions could give us some information about what she knew. Unfortunately all she wanted to know was whether we had any Poppy Tea. We told her we didn't and that it was bad for her (Azula would be going cold turkeyseal). Azula looked annoyed and didn't look like she was listening to why it was bad for her so I gave up explaining it to her.
Since we had a long journey ahead of us I proposed that we get an early night (Azula was unlikely to attack us as long as she didn't know how to get out of the forest). However before going to our tents we threw Azula's gown on the fire (since it was dirty and poor quality there was no point carrying it with us). Since we didn't have a spare tent Azula shared Ty Lee's tent (Ty Lee didn't mind but I'm guessing Azula would have wanted her own tent).
The next morning I asked Ty Lee whether Azula said anything to her. Ty Lee said that Azula just complained that it was cold and wrapped herself up in her clothes (that was odd since it wasn't that cold last night). At breakfast Azula hardly ate anything, claiming she didn't feel hungry. After breakfast we packed up while Azula sat nibbling a piece of dried fruit. Before we set off I told Azula to let us know if she wanted us to stop to let her rest (this annoyed her).
Unfortunately Azula didn't want to admit she couldn't do something and no matter how tired she got she wouldn't say anything, preferring to push herself until she collapsed (and even then she still tried to get up and keep going). So whenever Azula looked like she was becoming tired (which was often) one of us (usually Ty Lee) would claim that they were tired and we'd stop. Since Azula was so slow and tired quickly we didn't make much progress.
When it got dark we set up camp. Though Azula was sweating heavily she was also wrapping her clothes around herself as if she was cold (I really hope she isn't ill, that would make this journey even worse). After resting while we set up camp Azula was able to light the campfire and eat a little food. But she seemed to have trouble staying awake, so Ty Lee helped carry her to their tent. When Ty Lee returned she said that Azula fell asleep as soon as she hit the ground (she sounded worried about Azula). It was obvious that Azula needed medical attention, so we needed to get her to Dairen fast. I proposed that we carried her, since it would be quicker. Though none of us objected the main problem would be convincing Azula.
The next morning we tried to convince Azula to let Ty Lee and Suki carry her back to Dairen. Azula refused, though she sounded sleepy. I figured that we should let her tire herself out so it'd be easier to convince her. However throughout the morning Azula acted oddly. She was swaying as she walked, her eyes looked glassy, and she'd often keep walking when everyone else stopped to rest until we physically stopped her. Then she collapsed.
At first we weren't that worried when Azula collapsed since she'd fallen down a few times during the first day. But this time was different. During the first day she'd collapse into a heap and breath heavily, then try to get back up; today she was unconscious. This was bad. Ty Lee freaked out and started crying, while Suki and Toph were looking to me for answers. After checking that Azula was still alive and breathing I told them that Azula had just overexerted herself and it was nothing to worry about, though I was worried that it might be something more serious.
For the rest of the day we carried Azula through the forest the same way we had when we first brought her out of the Fort; two of us carrying her, one of us resting. Part way through the day we came across a berry bush. Ty Lee wanted to pick berries for Azula, since they'd be easy for her to eat. I felt it was a waste of time but when I looked at Ty Lee her face said that she'd cry if she couldn't do this. So we put Azula down and stopped briefly so Ty Lee could pick some berries (putting them in a food bowl). Since me, Suki, and Ty Lee would be busy carrying Azula we had Toph carry the berries (she hadn't been doing much lately). I sternly told Toph not to eat the berries in the bowl (she's already eaten some from the bush). Ty Lee also tried to tell Toph sternly but she just sounded like she was about to cry.
Unfortunately Azula still hadn't woken up when we set up camp in the evening. This was definitely bad. We didn't talk much during that evening but we were all worried about whether Azula would survive the night. When we went to sleep we all hoped that Azula would still be with us in the morning.
Notes:
1) Azula doesn't eat much because when a person has suffered prolonged starvation they become less sensitive to hunger, cannot eat large volumes of food, have trouble eating solids. It's recommended that people suffering prolonged starvation are given sweetened water, then diluted milk, then normal milk, then semi-solid food that's high in calories, and finally solid food.
2) Opium is very addictive, which is why going cold turkey (turkeyseal) is not recommended. It's better to gradually reduce you dosage, so withdrawal symptoms are less severe.
3) A person whose suffered prolonged starvation tires more easily. Also a person with low body fat is extreme sensitivity to the cold.
4) Sweating and irritability are early withdrawal symptoms of opium withdrawal (occur between 6-12 hours after last opium administration). Sweating is also a sign of strenuous exercise.
5) A "glassy" look, automatism (automatic behaviour), slurred speech, and Ataxia (uncoordinated muscle movement that make the person look drunk) are all Neuroglycopenic manifestations of hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar).
6) Azula fell into a hypoglycaemic coma because her blood sugar level dropped too low. This happened because she was doing strenuous exercise (hiking through a forest), and was not taking in enough nutrients to sustain this activity. Being malnourished made this worse and increased her risk of death.
7) They don't make a stretcher to carry Azula with because making a stretcher would be harder than carrying her on their shoulders (do stretchers even exist in the Avatar world?).