Mai awoke with a start, her hand immediately reaching to the sheathed dagger on her belt. Startled, a robin flew away, chirping loudly. Mai sighed as she got her bearings. The early morning sky was lightening to a gray, signaling the coming morning. The birds chirped in the few remaining trees surrounding the blackened clearing and dewdrops formed on the surviving blades of grass. Mai smelled rain in the air. Looking at the brightening sky, Mai estimated she had about 45 minutes before she had to return to Bao Pai.
Mai glanced to her left, where Ty Lee should have been, only to find a discarded blanket. Mai quickly looked down only to see the acrobat curled up against her, gently clinging to Mai's midriff as if the assassin was a teddy bear. The gymnast was still asleep, a small smile gracing her face. Her breaths were shallow, though they were calmer and slower than they had been the previous night.
Mai's eyes softened as she looked down at her sleeping friend. The assassin marveled at how peaceful Ty Lee looked, despite the previous night's events. Mai knew that the sleepy smile would disappear the moment she woke up the acrobat. For a brief second, Mai considered tying her friend up while she was still unconscious. The gothic assassin immediately shook her head, deciding against it. She needed Ty Lee aware of what was going on when Azula returned to get her. And, Ty Lee had been through enough already. She didn't need the trauma of waking up to find herself still hanging on that tree. Or worse, she could wake up to find Mai tying her back up. The assassin took one last look at the peacefully sleeping Ty Lee, wishing that everything was different.
Mai contemplated how to wake up her acrobat. Ty Lee was a heavy sleeper; she usually did flips and cartwheels and other acrobatics until she completely exhausted herself and crashed... hard. Ty Lee's poor sleeping habits forever annoyed Azula, who considered herself a light sleeper. Like all firebenders, Azula rose with the sun with little complaint, which was typically before Ty Lee and Mai awoke. However, if she felt comfortable and safe, Azula could sleep deeply. Perhaps not as deeply as Ty Lee, but definitely deeper than Mai. Most nights, Mai woke up three to five times to strange noises. She envied both Ty Lee and Azula, but the assassin was grateful that she remained forever vigilant.
After a moment's deliberation, Mai decided to call out to the acrobat. "Ty? Ty Lee, wake up. Can you hear me?" She brushed stray fly-aways off the crown of Ty Lee's head, briefly wondering how the girl would look without her signature braid. When Ty Lee didn't respond, Mai gave the girl a gentle shake.
The acrobat's body immediately tensed up and worry creased her forehead. Mai frowned upon seeing the lines of stress on the exuberant young girl's face. Ty Lee's eyes blinked open. She looked around slowly through unfocused grey eyes. When she saw Mai, a wide grin broke across the gymnast's face and her eyes sparkled happily. THAT was the ecstatic smile that belonged to Ty Lee. The familiarity of Ty Lee's excitement almost made Mai forget the girl's frown from before. Almost.
"Mai! You're- you're still here!" Ty Lee exclaimed in a raspy voice.
Mai raised an eyebrow, concerned at the acrobat's hoarse tone. "Of course I'm still here! I couldn't get out of your grip! Geez, Ty, it's almost like you want me here or something..." She teased the gymnast lightly.
With a guilty look, Ty Lee let go of Mai's midsection and scooted a few inches away from the assassin. "Sorry Mai! I just- I guess I was just cold and- and-" She immediately apologized, then hesitated, comprehending Mai's joke. "Wait, of course I want you here Mai!"
Mai chuckled lowly and arched her elegant eyebrows at the acrobat. "I'm teasing you, Ty. How do you feel?"
Immediately, Ty Lee responded, "I'm fine! All good! I feel so much better!"
With a roll of her eyes, Mai lightly punched Ty Lee in the arm. The acrobat winced in pain, flinching away from Mai. Mai almost regretted hitting the stubborn gymnast, but knew it was the only way to get her point across. "See? You're not fine. Just tell me what's wrong." Mai demanded, not unkindly.
Ty Lee let out a dramatic sigh and pouted at Mai. "Fine fine fine fine fine!" She croaked. "I can't really feel much right now; I'm all numb and- and- tingly? I think? And I guess my- my head hurts, but that's it."
Concerned, Mai studied the acrobat. Her injured friend was still pale, but her injuries looked unchanged. Shudders wracked Ty Lee's body, but her skin was less icy to the touch. The assassin figured that the acrobat was probably in shock, which is why she felt so out of things.
Outwardly, Mai shrugged at Ty Lee. "Alright, if you say so." She said, not wanting to alarm the sensitive gymnast. "Ty, I think it's time. The sun will be up soon." Mai prodded gently, her voice growing somber.
Ty Lee looked down at her lap. "Yeah, you're right..." She said softly, not looking Mai in the eye.
The assassin and the acrobat sat in silence for a moment, before Ty Lee suddenly flung her body close to Mai's and wrapped her arms around the assassin as tight as she could, burying her face in Mai's shoulder. Shocked and worried about Ty Lee's injuries, all Mai could do was gently hug the girl back, lightly patting her in an attempt to calm the suddenly distraught gymnast.
Finally, Ty Lee pulled away and wiped at her eyes with what was left of her right sleeve. She sniffled and looked up at Mai expectantly.
Confused, Mai asked, "What was that for?"
"Just- just in case..." Ty Lee said vaguely through her tears.
At that, Mai had to force down her own tears. She gently grasped Ty Lee's hands, minding the burns on her wrists and palms. She looked Ty Lee in the eye, her amber concern meeting the fearful grey. "Ty Lee, I promise you that I will not let Azula hurt you like this EVER again. Okay? You didn't deserve any of this, and if I had it my way you would be at a healer and Azula would be a thousand miles away. Listen, you're safe with me, okay?" Mai admonished the distraught acrobat.
Ty Lee nodded, sniffling lightly.
For the first time ever, Mai initiated a hug with Ty Lee. The assassin held the acrobat in her arms, hoping to soothe away the tears. Ty Lee relaxed against Mai's shoulder, believing that she was finally safe. After a few minutes, Mai broke the hug. Ty Lee didn't ignore the way the assassin suddenly swiped under her eyes before looking at her again.
Mai gave the acrobat a small smile. "That wasn't a just in case hug. That was a promise."
Ty Lee started tearing up and nearly started blubbering again, but Mai gently hushed her.
"Don't even think about going sappy on me here, Ty! That'll ruin the moment!" She snapped teasingly, returning to her normal gothic façade.
Ty Lee nodded seriously, pressing trembling fingertips to her tear-streaked cheeks. "Okay, Mai."
Mai slowly extricated herself from Ty Lee's grasp and got to her feet with a grimace. The breeze became slightly more chilly as she stood up, sending a shiver down her back. Out of habit, her dark eyes flirted over their surroundings, looking for immediate threats. Hearing a pained gasp from behind her, Mai whirled around to see Ty Lee struggling to support herself on shaky legs.
"Ty!" Mai exclaimed, wrapping an arm around the acrobat's midsection.
Ty Lee slumped against Mai gratefully. "I-I didn't pass out!" She stammered triumphantly.
"This time." Mai muttered to herself, simultaneously awed and exasperated by Ty Lee's optimistic determination. "Let me help you." Mai gritted her teeth, fighting to keep her tone even.
Ty Lee nodded, allowing Mai to help her stumble towards the overhanging branch of the tree. Mai stared upwards at the rope that had been cut haphazardly by her dagger the previous night. It swayed in the chilled breeze, seemingly taunting her. She glanced downwards at her injured friend. Ty Lee was fully leaning on Mai's proffered shoulder, her eyes tightly shut against the pain wracking her body. Mai listened to her acrobat's ragged breaths worriedly, feeling helpless. Looking between Ty Lee's pained face and the dangling rope above her, Mai swallowed back the lump in her throat.
"Ty?" Mai said, her voice barely above a whisper. "This is going to hurt."
The gymnast's grey eyes opened slightly. "It's not my fault you cut it so short." She teased, her good-natured taunt sounding like a painful croak.
Mai let out a weak scoff, trying to feed into Ty Lee's false humorous front. "Whatever; I still get to tie you up, so that's a plus."
Ty Lee giggled, struggling to straighten herself up so she wasn't leaning so much on Mai. She trembled as she gazed up at the rope. With a wince and a strangled gasp, Ty Lee lifted her arms above her head. Mai's heart clenched as the pained expression contorted the acrobat's face. 'What am I doing?' Mai thought to herself, knowing in her heart that Ty Lee needed to get to a healer, but not knowing how to do the right thing.
Ty Lee's arms shook from the exertion of keeping them above her head. The gymnast was biting her lower lip, fighting back tears. Her eyes were tightly shut, so she flinched when Mai's cool hand gently grasped her wrist.
The assassin immediately released her friend's wrist, muttering to her friend apologetically. "I forgot... your wrists-"
"N-no." Ty Lee murmured. "Please, please just get it over with." She begged her gothic friend, her voice thick with unshed tears.
Mai blinked furiously to dispel her own tears. With a slight nod that the gymnast wasn't even aware of, she once again grasped Ty Lee's wrists. If the acrobat's sharp intake of breath was any indication, it must have hurt, but Ty Lee didn't flinch away. Quickly, the assassin pulled the rope and wound it loosely around Ty Lee's wrists. She took a deep breath in preparation to tie the knot, but suddenly the acrobat spoke up.
"Can you- it was- Azula made it really tight..." Ty Lee explained, her voice barely above a whisper.
That meant Ty Lee was awake when Azula tied her up. Mai's throat constricted as she tightened the rope so that it was rubbing on the inflamed burns on Ty Lee's wrists. The assassin tried to avoid looking at her friend's injuries by focusing on the knot, but somehow she couldn't get the image out of her mind. Finally, Mai let her hands drop to her sides. She let out a breath that she didn't even realize she'd been holding.
"I'm done, Ty." Mai said softly, hating the uncertainty in her wavering tone.
Ty Lee hesitantly opened her eyes and unclenched her jaw. Tear tracks streamed down her face, tracking down her cold cheeks. Shocked, Mai realized that Ty Lee's lip was bleeding. Evidently, the acrobat hadn't even realized how hard she was biting her lip... or the pain was just that intense.
"Thanks..." The acrobat croaked, finally looking up her friend.
Mai scoffed. "What on earth are you thanking me for?" She replied flippantly, trying to mask her concern.
"For-for not leaving me here a-alone." Ty Lee stuttered, suddenly averting Mai's gaze.
Mai's stoic heart broke at Ty Lee's words. Tears welled up in her piercing dark eyes as she realized just how hopeless her acrobat had felt. Ty Lee had truly believed that she was alone. Mai stared at her friend pitifully, trying to swallow the lump in her throat.
Ty Lee suddenly realized that Mai was crying. "I'm-I'm so sorry-Mai, you-you never cry, I didn't- I'm sorry. I wish I could hug you but..." The gymnast glanced up at her bound arms, somewhat guiltily.
Mai shook her head furiously, swiping under her eyes. "Ty, this isn't your fault. None of this is. You don't deserve any of this, okay? It's me who screwed up and got you into this mess."
"Nuh-uh. If it's not m-my fault, then it's not yours e-either." Ty Lee replied seriously, her gaze boring earnestly into Mai's.
Mai stared her acrobatic friend up and down before shrugging her shoulders and wrapping Ty Lee in a hug. The gymnast relaxed against her, sighing deeply and wishing she could hug the assassin in return.
Finally, after a few moments, Mai reluctantly pulled away, glancing nervously at the horizon. "I have to go; the sun will be up soon. I'm sorry."
Ty Lee nodded. "Don't worry about me, Mai. I'll be fine. Besides, I'll see you in a few hours, right?"
Mai nodded, praying to whoever was listening that she wasn't lying to her friend. With a heavy heart, Mai wrenched her gaze away from the injured acrobat and began to job back towards Bao Pai. Mai didn't even have to look behind her to know that Ty Lee was watching...
Mai quietly crept up the stairs to their hotel room. She had made it back to Bao Pai just as the first rays of sunlight had crept over the horizon. The assassin's heart was thudding against her chest. Irrationally, Mai hoped that Azula wouldn't hear her heartbeat. With a deep breath, Mai slowly turned the doorknob.
The room was dark-Mai couldn't even make out her sleeping pad. Evidently, the windows had been shut sometime during the night. Mai felt a sick feeling settle in her gut as she slipped through the cracked doorway and shut the door behind her.
"Do you think I'm a fool, Mai?"
Mai jumped away from the door, her wrist flicking out of habit. The assassin whirled around, wielding her dagger defensively in front of her. Her eyes flitted over every corner of the room, searching for the fire princess.
Suddenly, a blue flame near the wall opposite Mai, revealing Azula dressed in full fire nation armor. The striking blue light glinted off of her polished chest plate. The fire in Azula's eyes was almost more intense than the flames in her hand. Mai inhaled sharply, unsure whether she should prepare to fight the firebender.
The flame was extinguished, plunging the room into darkness once again. "You went to admire my handiwork..." Azula remarked offhandedly, a cold undertone to her words.
Mai fought to stay calm, attempting to analyze the situation rationally. Was the princess threatening her? 'Maybe I could tell her I went on a run,' thought Mai, before immediately deciding against it. She didn't know when Azula had discovered she'd been missing. If she was caught in a lie, she would have no defense against the princess's accusations. With a nearly imperceptible sigh, Mai decided what to say. "Perhaps I did." She remarked, trying to sound nonchalant.
Azula gave her a noncommittal growl, as if surprised by her response. The princess's fiery eyes glinted in the dim light of the room. "Why?" Her voice, cool, calculated, betrayed nothing.
Mai didn't skip a beat. "I was... concerned." She offered no further explanation.
The silence in the room was deafening. Mai felt the palpable tension in the air as Azula pondered her words. She prayed that the fire bender didn't sense how nervous she was. Finally, Azula padded over to the window, whipping open the curtains. Mai squinted at the cloudy gray light filtering into the room.
"Never question my methods again. I already have one traitor on my hands; I won't hesitate to rid myself of a second. Do I make myself clear, Mai?" Azula turned her burning eyes on to the assassin.
Mai nodded, stifling a nervous gulp.
"Good." A smile, a foreign expression to the princess, appeared on her face. "Pack up while I get ready. We have work to do."
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