Mako groaned as he stirred from his cushion on the floor of The Rampage. It was going to be one of those days. Every bone in his back popped as he stood and he could feel the heaviness of the horns on his head. His doctor had tried to get a weight on them once and estimated they were about six pounds a piece. That meant he was carrying around twelve pounds daily which was why he constantly had neck aches.

He flexed his tail next. More popping came from the joints as they realigned themselves…mostly. Several were fighting him this morning. He tried to straighten them by hand but it was proving difficult, plus, he wasn't in the mood. Mari should be able to help. As he headed for the rear exit, a small mirror on the wall caught his attention. It was hanging just low enough where he couldn't see the silver horns on his head. If he didn't look at his teeth, it was almost as if he were normal again. A slight shift to examine his jawline broke that illusion as the scales on the back of his neck were suddenly visible. He gave the reflection one last, ugly sneer before finally exiting the vehicle.

The teens were already awake and sitting around a campfire with several fish were cooking over the flames. It must really be late if all three were up and dressed before him, especially Koji. Normally it took some motivation to get him out of bed.

"I made breakfast this morning Papa," Mari stated proudly when she spotted him.

"That's great sweetie," he replied, trying very hard to keep his foul mood out of his voice. No reason to unnecessarily worry the teens. "I need a favor this morning. I need you to pull my tail as hard as you can."

The boys chuckled at the odd request. They instantly stopped when he shot them an annoyed glare. He really wasn't in the mood.

"Alright Papa," Mari cautiously replied. She grabbed his tail and he braced as she gave it a solid tug. Loud pops came from the appendage as the few stubborn joints finally snapped back into place. He let out a relieved sigh as he swung the pain from the limb.

"I need some time to myself this morning. Make sure you do your exercises and stay out of trouble." He turned pointedly to Ryu who would be the one most likely to ignore him. "Got that Kid."

"Yeah, yeah," the boy dismissively replied as he teased Juji with a stick.

He wasn't fond of that answer, but how much trouble could they get into out here in the middle of nowhere.

"Don't be afraid to get me if something comes up." The last statement he directed at Mari who replied with a solid nod. With that settled, he returned to The Rampage.

"Is he okay?" Koji asked Mari once Mako had disappeared into the vehicle.

"Papa gets like this sometimes," Mari answered with a flick of her tail. "Nana says he has bad days just like everyone else."

"H, How's it going?" Shizuku pleasantly asked. In front of her, Mako was floating in his spirit form. It was one of the abilities he'd obtained after becoming cursed. Unlike Jinora however, who could cast her spirit anywhere, he could only connect with people he had a deep, personal relationship with. He preferred to use it when he needed to talk directly to Shizuku as it felt more personal.

"Not bad. Ryu's a smart kid. His Firebending has already improved and I plan on starting him on some meditation techniques on our way to Zaofu," he replied.

"And h, how's Mari?"

"She's doing well too." His tail anxiously twitched behind him as he spoke. "I've been trying to keep her on pace with the boys but it isn't easy since she's not a bender. She works hard everyday though."

"Well, she's always tried her b, best to keep up with her papa," Shizuku grinned. It was no secret the girl idolized him. Then, a serious expression furrowed her brow. "And
h, how are you doing?" Her tone made it clear she knew he was having a hard time. The prior small-talk had simply been her way to slowly segue to the real reason for his visit. She'd always been able to read him like a book.

"It's…one of those days…" he said with a heavy sigh. Even though he'd long since come to terms with the fact that he was permanently cursed, there were still days he hated being a Fetchling.

The teenagers did their morning routine as instructed and afterwards, used the free time to entertain themselves.

"We should get some firewood while Papa is…" Mari hesitated. She knew her papa liked his privacy and she didn't want to accidentally say something she shouldn't. "While he's taking a break," she finished while she walked to where the boys were relaxing.

They were seated across from each other, using an old stump as a table, and were playing a game with a pair of dice Koji had bent out of stone. Whoever rolled the highest number, flicked the loser in the forehead as hard as possible. The penultimate winner was whoever could last the longest. So far, Koji was in the lead with Ryu having a large red welt on his brow. Mari watched as the dice rolled in Koji's favor again. Ryu scowled but took his bruises, wincing when Koji flicked him. She suspected the Earthbender was cheating considering he had made the dice and, once Ryu caught on, the game would end in a scuffle. They'd quickly get over it and find something else to entertain themselves.

"No way," Ryu said as he rubbed his bruised brow. As usual, Juji was glued to his shoulder. The iguana parrot mimicked the sounds of the clacking dice while they talked. "We've been training all morning. I want a break before the Chief gets out and has me doing more work."

"But if we get it now, it'll be one less thing to worry about later," Mari argued, ever practical.

"Ryu's right," Koji added, agreeing with his friend. "Besides, he's about to break."

"Fat chance," Ryu retorted. He rolled the dice and came up short again. Koji grinned and gave him another hard flick. Mari rolled her eyes at the exchange. Boys.

"Fine. I'll just get it myself then," she said with a huff. Then turned tail and marched off into the trees.

"Should we let her go alone?" Koji asked as he watched her leave.

"She's a Fetchling and the Chief's granddaughter. I'm sure she'll be fine." Ryu dismissed the comment and rolled the dice. A frown soured his face when he lost…again.

Mari collected broken branches as she carefully walked through the trees. She stopped when a flower caught her attention.

"Oh how pretty." She set down her load and knelt by the pink bloom. There, she pulled her journal from her purse and wrote on the page, doing her best to put the image she was looking at into words. To finish the entry, she made a crude drawing of the flower. It was a pale representation of the bloom as she wasn't the best artist, but she was pleased with the doodle nonetheless. Once that was done, she closed up the book and returned to her task. Soon, her eyes fell to a birch no more than eight centimeters in diameter. Its barren branches sagged, the small tree smothered by its larger cousins. She went to the tree and placed her hand reverently on it. Nana Zu had taught her to have respect for plants. It was why she didn't pluck random flowers or damage healthy trees. If they needed wood, they tried to take broken branches or damaged trees whenever possible. This little sapling fit that criteria.

"Sorry little tree but we need some wood." She concentrated a moment, then snapped her tail as hard as she could into the trunk. Pain shot up the limb which made her wince. That had stung far more than she had expected. The tree remained standing however with only a scar in the bark proof of her attack. She had seen her papa destroy things with his tail so she knew it was possible. She just needed more practice.

"What is it Len?" a scruffy man asked his wiry associate. They hid in the brush while they watched the odd horned figure repeatedly slap a tree with its tail. "Is it a spirit?"

"I think I've heard of this before. Humans that get possessed by spirits or something like that," the wiry man replied.

"Think it's worth something?"

"One way to find out," Len said as he pulled a roped from his pack.

Mari wiped her brow as she studied her progress. The tree barely had a dent which caused a frown to crease her lips. Taking it down was proving more difficult than expected, but she wasn't about to give-up. She was about to strike again when a pair of thick arms grabbed her from behind and slapped a hand over her mouth. She struggled wildly in their grasp as a wiry man appeared with a rope.

"Hurry up. It's wiggly," her captor said as he avoided her stabbing horns. He was only partially successful as she did hit his shoulder. However, the blunt end barely made a scratch on the thick muscle of the man's chest. Despite her struggling, the wiry man managed to grab her tail and quickly tied it to her feet. Soon, she was all trussed up with a gag in her mouth.

"Let's get it to the truck."

It was some time later when Mako emerged from The Rampage in a much better mood. Shizu's general positivity, and ability to give him a different perspective on things, always made him feel better. He walked through the campsite and soon spotted the boys leaning against an old stump. They were both covered in bruises and scrapes and Ryu had a large, red welt on his forehead.

"Do I even want to know," he asked with a suspicious eyebrow.

"It was nothing," Ryu replied, blowing off the question.

"Cheater! Cheater!" Juji mindlessly squawked.

"When did he get so chatty?" Koji huffed at the tattletale bird.

That was enough information to explain the apparent fight. It wasn't the first time the boys had scuffled while he was occupied. At least neither of them were seriously hurt. He shrugged it off and continued to look around the campsite.

"Where's Mari?" he finally asked.

"She went into the woods to get some, well…wood," Koji answered.

"And you both let her go alone?" he said as he tried to keep the agitation from his voice. It was a different story with his tail which began to angrily twitch.

"We figured since she's a Fetchling like you, she'd be fine," Ryu replied. "What's going to happen out here in the middle of nowhere?"

So much for his rebounded mood. Surely the boys understood letting Mari go off alone was a bad idea. If they didn't, they were about to.

"Forms. Now!" he barked.

"What?!" Ryu snapped. "I already did them this morning!"

"Then you can do them again, and think about why we left Republic City," he stated. They were on the run for a reason.

Ryu grumbled and stormed off to practice.

"You too Koji."

The second boy groaned and slumped against the stump.

"I'm not even a Firebender…" he grumped under his breath before he trudged away to join Ryu.

With the boys occupied, Mako stepped into the trees to begin his search. Mari wouldn't have strayed too far. It was only several meters when he spotted a pile of branches by a small tree with a chunk smashed out of the trunk. He recognized the shallow depressions in the bark; they were made by scales. Mari had been here, but where was she now? The nearby ground gave him the answer. It was scuffed with large footprints and Mari's purse was laying in the dirt. Clear signs of a struggle. He grabbed the bag and followed the footprints until they were replaced by tire tracks. A dark scowl fell across his face. Someone had taken his granddaughter.

"In the truck. Let's go," he stated to the boys as soon as he returned to the campsite, Mari's purse in hand.

"I thought we were supposed to be doing forms," Ryu sassed.

If he was in a bad mood before, it was worse with his granddaughter missing.

"Kid. Don't test me right now. Move it!" he ordered as he climbed into the driver seat.

The boys exchanged a worried glance before they hopped into the truck after him.

Mari struggled in her bindings. When she realized struggling was doing nothing, she took a moment to assess her situation like she had been taught. The men that had grabbed her, had tossed her into the back of a truck full of caged animals like lemurs and badger toads. Besides the multiple cages, there was nothing else in the cargo hold. She examined her ropes next. Not very thick, but strong enough to hold her. Fortunately, her captors hadn't tied her hands to her legs. It allowed her to maneuver her arms over her head where she put the rope to the underside of her horn. She sawed against the rough exterior and it wasn't long before the rope snapped. She quickly pulled the remains from her wrists, removed her gag, and untied her legs.

"Don't worry little animals," she whispered to the caged critters. "I'm going to get us out of here."

She carefully examined the cages. Her captors apparently weren't worried about any of the animals escaping because none of them had locks, just complicated latches. A plan formed in her head.

The Rampage rumbled down the road, Mako hot on the trail of whoever had taken Mari. There was only one way out of the woods for large vehicles so all he had to do was catch-up with the kidnappers. The boys remained silent as they kept their eyes open for anything suspicious. He brought the truck to a sudden stop when the road turned into a "T" intersection.

"Which way?" Koji asked from the back seat.

Dust billowed up as Mako stepped out onto the road. The crossing was worn deep with tire tracks. There was no telling now.

"Dammit!" He cursed as he climbed back into the truck.

"Can't you use that spirit sense thing you have?" Ryu asked. "Isn't that how you first found me?"

"We call Mari a Fetchling, but it's only a short-cut to describe her heritage," Mako explained. "Since she isn't actually half-spirit so I can't track her that way."

"So how do we find her?" Koji continued.

Mako scowled down the paths. "Take the wheel Kid."

"I finally get to drive!" Ryu exclaimed.

"Yes. I have another way, but I can't drive at the same time," Mako stated. "You're both going to have to do exactly what I tell you."

A loud noise came from the back of the cargo truck.

"What was that?" Len asked from behind the wheel. He shifted the rearview to get a view of the cargo area but nothing obvious looked wrong. There was a second slam.

"Something must of got loose. Better check it out." Len pulled the truck onto the shoulder of the dirt road, then the scruffy man climbed out to check the cargo. As soon as he opened the rear doors, a swarm of animals clambered out onto the road.

"What in the—"

Blood flew from his nose a second later when a pair of silver horns smashed into his face.

Len had seen the commotion through the side mirror. "What in the flamio is going on?" He cursed as he went to investigate. Behind the truck, his companion was on the ground, blood gushing from his nose and, kneeling on top of him, was the thing they had caught.

"What did you do?!"

Mari looked behind her to see the wiry man. He bent a chunk of rock at her, which she ducked under, then she charged. He screamed when her horns shattered his kneecap.

Meanwhile, the scruffy man had made it back to his feet and was reaching for her. "You little bi—" He bit his lip in pain when she cracked her tail straight upwards. Slowly, he fell to his knees with his groin firm in his hands. It was uncouth, but Papa told her it was okay as a last resort. With both her captors incapacitated, she got to her feet to admire her handy work.

"You both need to learn how to treat a lady," she said as she brushed the dirt from her clothes.

"There! There! Take a right!" Koji directed from the passenger seat as he watched the blue shadow float through the sky. Ryu slowly shifted the truck around the corner. He was being careful not to tip the Chief who was meditating in the rear. If he lost his concentration, it would break his spirit form which was currently flying towards Mari.

"So, if the Chief's spirit is out there…Is he actually still in the truck?" Koji asked as he continued to watch out the window.

"Now's not the time Koji," Ryu replied. His friend's philosophical pondering would have to wait. "Just keep your eyes on him."

Mari was just beginning her trek away from her kidnappers when a blue shadow manifested in front of her.

"Papa?"

"Mari. Are you okay?" he asked. Even in this form, his concern was obvious.

"I'm fine. These men grabbed me while I was collecting firewood. I did exactly what you and Nana taught me. I assessed the situation, made a plan, and executed it," she proudly smiled.

Mako scanned the scene where the two men were writhing. Nearby, a truck full of empty cages hung open to the road. The men were probably poachers and had made the mistake of grabbing his granddaughter. He was honestly impressed with how well she had handled the situation.

"Good job," he said. "Now start heading back up this road. We'll meet you on the way."

They were on their way to the campsite a short while later with Mako back behind the wheel. While they traveled, Mari examined her face in a compact mirror. A large scratch marred the silver surface of her left horn. The result of having slammed them into the rear doors of the cargo truck.

"I scratched my horn Papa," she frowned.

Mako glanced at the mark through the rearview.

"I'll help you file it when we get back to camp sweetie," he replied. Much like fingernails, a file often worked to smooth out damage on their horns. However, they needed to use something sturdier than the typical emery board. Because of that, they had a collection of metal files normally used by woodworkers or other craftspeople.

"You really broke some guy's nose with your horns?" Koji asked.

"I did." Mari proudly nodded. "That was okay, right Papa?"

Mako was confused by the question. "Why wouldn't it be okay?"

"Well, you and Nana told me that I shouldn't use my horns or tail to attack people," she replied, as if she had disappointed him.

Mako paused. It was true they had cautioned her on using her Fetchling features to attack others, but that was only when she did it out of anger. He couldn't fault her in this situation.

"Mari, we've also taught you when to defend yourself, and if you have to use your horns and tail to do that, then that's what you do. I'm just glad you're safe," he finally said.

"I also want to apologize to you boys. I know I was a little on edge today," he finished.

"Hey, don't sweat it Chief," Ryu replied as he threw his feet up on the dash. "If it means I get to drive The Rampage again, you can have all the bad days you want."

"Don't count on it Kid," Mako said. "And how many times do I need to tell you to keep your feet off the dash."

Ryu gave him an annoyed huff as he replaced his feet on the floor.

"And we shouldn't have let Mari go off alone sir," Koji added. "I was worried too."

"You were worried Koji?" Mari interrupted with a sly smile.

"We! We were worried," Koji hastily corrected with a frantic wave of his hands.

His sudden about-face made Mari giggle. "I knew what you meant," she said.

Mako watched her a moment through the rearview. He hadn't realized how comfortable Mari was using her Fetchling parts in a fight. After what he had seen of those two poachers however, it was clear she understood how useful a tail and horns could be in combat, especially since she was a non-bender. He'd have to start teaching her what he had learned over the years. Even on the days he hated being a Fetchling, he wasn't going to let it interfere with Mari's opinion of herself. He knew how much she loved being a Fetchling and he wouldn't discourage that.