Hello everyone, sorry about the long delay. This time, it was far less due to laziness and far more due to actual lack of free time. Over the past few months, I've had a lot of work to do: and also, my car's alternator broke. Twice. In the span of one month. Needless to say, I had to forego recreation in favor of things that would make me money.
However, I finally have some time again, sparse though it may be. So, here we are: the follow-up to the fight from the last chapter, which was received quite a bit better than I had initially feared. I was a little worried that people would find it ridiculous that Azula could be bested at all by the MC, even in a small way.
Either way, here we go: another aftermath chapter! Character development may or may not ensue. No promises.
There was definitely something wrong. Azula felt as though she had already woken up today and yet she was undergoing the experience of waking up for the day yet again. Everything was dark, and she could hear faint voices around her: granted, it had been a long time since anyone had actually had to come and wake her up from slumber. It probably hadn't happened more than once since her mother had left. She was the only one in the past that would have to awaken Azula by calling out to her in rest.
She didn't like to think about that, however. Besides, something else was the matter: she distinctly remembered waking up today. Why was she sleeping again? She knew night hadn't come back around. She had something very important to do today, and she couldn't remember finishing it... what had it been anyway? And why was her bed so hard?
"...cess? ...ight?"
The voice that called out to her that time was male. That was kind of weird. Most of her servants were female. Why was it so cold?
"Azu... might be bad..."
That voice was female. Sounded kind of familiar too. For a moment, she thought she felt a hand touch her face, but she didn't get to dwell on that for long, because following that, she could feel that the other side of her face really hurt.
Feeling that stimulus brought everything back to her. She'd been hit in the face. By Xisheng, who had gotten the better of her in a duel she had demanded. With her eyes still closed, such a travesty seemed more like the stuff of nightmares. And yet, she could tell that things were getting brighter on the other side of her eyelids. The words of her allies were getting clearer. And most importantly, the pain she felt was growing more acute.
"Hey, it looks like she's coming to. Azula? Can you hear us?"
Now that things were sounding a little clearer, Azula recognized Mai's voice. She sounded mildly more concerned than the young Princess was used to, which was a testament to how bad things must have been.
Trying to hold back a groan of pain but failing to do so, Azula opened her eyes to the real world once again, coming to see all three of her companions leaning over her, various expressions on their faces, with a backdrop of clear sky. She was lying on her back, likely left where she had landed after being slugged by her pupil.
Most notable was Xisheng's expression, which was a very distinguishable mix of worry and dread. He was clearly worried about Azula's physical state, but also worried about how she was going to react to what had transpired. He had just laid out the Crown Princess of the Fire Nation. Sure, she had been the one to challenge him to a duel, and she wanted him to try his best, but that didn't mean there wouldn't be consequences for actually succeeding. Logic didn't always prevail against people in power.
Mai's expression was only mildly worried, with a cocked eyebrow and a slight frown as she leveled her gaze at what Azula imagined was a nasty bruise on her face. The fact that she was even worried at all meant the hit against Azula must have looked quite devastating.
Ty Lee's expression was by far the most unexpected though. She didn't look worried in the slightest. She didn't look like she was reveling in Azula's pain or anything either, but it did look as though she was making a significant effort to stay neutral. Almost like she didn't want to give away what she was thinking. Chances were, it wasn't something Azula would have appreciated.
Now that she was back in the waking world, the memories of what had transpired just recently were quite clear to Azula, with agonizing sharpness to go with the physical pain she felt. She'd lost, in a contest that she herself had set up. Moreover, that loss was in a terrifyingly embarrassing manner, made evident by the way her companions were gathered around her. Mai even went so far as to raise a few fingers.
"Hey, how many fingers am I holding up?"
Already reeling from what had happened today and feeling patronized by this form of concern from those around her, Azula swatted Mai's hand away as she sat up, a scowl that was only half due to the pain on her face. She could only imagine the bruise that marred her features right now.
"Get away from me! Do I look like I can't see straight to you?!"
Naturally Mai's expression grew less concerned at this, not at all pleased by the response she had been given for her concern.
"I don't think you want me to tell you what you look like right now."
This snark prompted a snarl from the youngest member of the group, who tried to stand to her feet immediately. Unfortunately, she overestimated the vigor of her legs in that exact moment, which prompted her to fall to a knee before Xisheng could move to support her. Even so the sight of it got him to speak his mind through the trepidation of having been the one to cause the problem.
"Princess, don't be hasty. The effects of a head injury can be more severe than they initially feel, so you should-"
A glare from the princess in question stopped Xisheng short, though it wasn't quite as intimidating considering the state of her face at the moment. Her skin had split at the cheek and it was already turning a nasty mix of purple and crimson. Xisheng was fairly certain he could even see some tears forming in her eyes, against her will he was sure. She probably had never experienced this level of pain in her life, what with living the life of a royal and likely trouncing everyone in any type of sparring.
That said, she was still putting up a front. Xisheng assumed that she was hardly the type to admit to any sort of weakness, perceived or otherwise.
"I'm damn well aware of my limits, Lieutenant! I don't need to be told how to stand!"
With that, Azula forced herself to her feet, quite clearly still a little wobbly. However, none of her companions made an attempt to help, since it was pretty obvious to them that she would reject it. The Princess wasted no time in stumbling towards the Overlord. Her three companions watched her leave, saying nothing since they knew she was still within earshot. Naturally they didn't make to follow her either.
As for Azula, she was still reeling when she made it inside of the Fire Nation vehicle, both physically and mentally. She had a lot to unpack following her defeat at Xisheng's hands.
For one, she was in great pain. She wasn't used to that. In all of her years of living, she had never really been injured by anyone. She had only recently engaged in real battle with anyone, and in all the times she had sparred against other people, they had either been unwilling to even try to hurt her or were too incompetent to do so.
Of course the physical pain was difficult to ignore, but it was the manner in which she had been injured that Azula was more concerned with. Xisheng had quite cleanly bested her. Granted, she could have defeated him easily if she had gone all out from the very beginning, but the point was that she didn't think it necessary to take the fight seriously. Not that she didn't appreciate Xisheng's ability, but she knew he didn't hold a candle to her. Or so she had thought.
While Azula may not have been giving it her very best, whether or not she had been didn't change the fact that Xisheng had managed to surprise her twice. Even if she had been giving the fight her all, she still would not have predicted him crashing through a wall of flame to create an opportunity to strike, or whatever technique he had used in the end to land his final blow. She'd been bested in technique and battle strategy. That was what really threw her for a loop.
A very large part of her wanted to rail against that reality. It was unthinkable. Inconceivable. A mere soldier, someone that she treated as a pupil, getting the best of her? Asinine. She wanted to believe that there had been some sort of mistake, some sort of cheat that Xisheng had used. He couldn't have possibly defeated her fairly.
She really wanted to believe that, and part of her demanded that she should deny the truth of the situation. She could punish Xisheng for daring to best her, demand recompense for what was no doubt underhanded trickery and pathetic tactics that only worked because she was going easy on him.
And yet, she knew she couldn't do that. It was illogical. More importantly, it was reality: Xisheng had exposed a weakness of hers. If she truly wished to improve beyond what she was now, she had to accept that. She could use her title to dismiss or silence anyone that could best her, but then she would be best only in name. She wanted to be the undisputed best, to be the strongest. Ignoring one's defeats was a barrier to that, not a stepping stone.
Besides, even though she was reeling from her loss, even though she was stunned by what had happened, she couldn't deny that she was also impressed by Xisheng's performance. She had been calculating so many ways to get out of sending Xisheng away when she inevitably defeated him, she hadn't even considered the possibility that he might win. While she had been focused on the battle at the time, in hindsight, he had truly been impressive. His tenacity, his cunning, his determination... his means of fighting wasn't as graceful as hers by any stretch, and yet something about it was still mesmerizing. He pulled moves she would not have thought of, worked angles that didn't occur even to her, a battle genius.
And the technique he had used at the end... Xisheng had developed a new Firebending technique before she had, a Firebending prodigy. Loathe as she was to admit it, Azula felt she had no choice: there were things she could learn from him. Her own abilities could actually be improved by taking in the techniques of another person. That was something that didn't happen often, and it had certainly never happened in relation to a commoner. Her father was quite literally the only person she had ever actually learned anything useful from.
Saying that she saw Xisheng in a more favorable light than before was a bit of an understatement. Which was weird, since she was still bitter about the outcome of today's duel. But his worth had been elevated substantially in her eyes. Not that she hadn't valued him before: he was loyal, intelligent and capable. But those were things she valued as a vassal, as a soldier. To be defeated by him in a fight... it was infuriating, but something about the notion was slightly desirable as well. Someone who could possibly keep up with her... someone who believed he could even outdo her from time to time. The prospect of an actual challenger should have been insulting, but in fact it was exciting. She had never felt enthralled by the notion of competing with another person. Never actually found merit in the gaze of conviction someone else had offered, because rarely could they back it up.
Still, she didn't know how to go about handling any of this, much less letting it influence her behavior. She certainly didn't feel like admitting any of this to anyone, seeing as how she was barely in the process of coming to grips with it all herself. After all, even admitting many of these good things, she was still pissed about losing, though the anger was more towards herself for losing than Xisheng for beating her.
Thinking about that once again reminded her how much her face hurt, but there just wasn't anything she could do about that. She didn't actually know anything about treating injuries in the first place.
"Princess...?"
Startled out of her thoughts but refusing to jump or otherwise reveal that, Azula glanced over her shoulder from her position on the bed. She hadn't closed the entrance to the Overlord even though she had retreated to it, mostly because she hadn't expected anyone to actually have the gumption to speak to her so soon after what had transpired.
Standing behind her was Xisheng, holding a small bag of some sort that looked like it would be carried around by a soldier. Azula couldn't help but glare at him, not out of sheer anger, but rather because she was disgruntled with his sudden appearance when he happened to be the biggest cause of her inner conflict at the moment. She'd barely put her own thoughts in order, now he wanted to engage her in conversation that was likely about the scenario?
Taking all of that into consideration, Azula's voice probably came across a bit more venomously than intended.
"What?"
Seeing Xisheng's body stiffen, Azula confirmed that she sounded much more furious than she actually felt. Nevertheless, the soldier continued with what he had come for. Azula appreciated the fact that he wasn't so easily cowed. She detested cowards, after all.
"Princess, I'm aware that you likely do not desire company at this exact moment, but I implore you to let me treat your injury. It will only grow more painful and taxing if it is left alone."
If it was anyone else, Azula would have felt insulted, like she was being pitied. But this was Xisheng they were talking about. She knew that he was practical, and that his recommendation was based solely in logic and efficiency.
"You have some sort of medical training?"
Glad to see that she wasn't running him off in rage or something, Xisheng almost smiled, though he instead held up the small pack he was carrying.
"Well, it's more like first aid than real medical training... but every good soldier knows how to treat light wounds, and I am no exception. I can take care of your injury without trouble."
Azula felt a little irked to have her injury called 'light.' After all, her face hurt like hell, and she felt certain that half of it was a very unnatural hue at the moment. But compared to the injures Xisheng must have seen on real battlefields, she supposed even calling it an injury was generous from his perspective. She had no doubt that he had seen people killed in gruesome ways before.
All things considered, she was actually grateful that someone in the group had the skills to treat her physical ailment. She was especially glad that he had actually taken the initiative to offer treatment, because Azula knew her pride would have prevented her from ever stooping to the level of asking for aid. Not that she would ever admit any of this to anyone, least of all Xisheng.
"Well, considering that you caused this, I suppose it's the least you can do. Make yourself useful."
Finding it a little difficult to read Azula's mood all things considered, Xisheng refrained from saying anything further as he approached the younger girl, unwilling to accidentally trigger some greater animosity from her. However, he did give silent thanks to the fact that he had brought along his standard issue first aid pack when they had left the Royal Guards behind. He had felt that it would have a use at some point in their journey.
Undoing the straps and withdrawing the elements that he needed, Xisheng focused on the severity of Azula's wound. Naturally their was some blood since the skin had split, and Azula's entire cheek was a motley hue of purple and black. It would be extremely sore, but honestly it looked worse than it actually was. It was just that it would hurt to talk for a few days.
All in all, the first thing to do was clean up the excess blood so that it wouldn't interfere with the ointments that would need to be applied. Thankfully the first aid kit came with some linens for that exact purpose.
Azula managed to resist the urge to flinch as Xisheng gingerly wiped at her face, but mostly because she was extremely tense having someone do this to her in the first place. She couldn't recall the last time someone had tended to her in such a manner. In fact, there had probably been no one since her mother had abandoned her. That said, she felt immensely uncomfortable with this sort of physical contact. It was much too soft and gentle for her liking.
That said, she could sense that Xisheng was tense as well, though it wasn't hard to guess why that was the case for him in particular. As far as he knew, Azula was plotting some horrific punishment for him. However, Azula actually found it kind of admirable that he would still approach her of his own volition to tend to her needs.
Truly, he was one of the most loyal subjects she had ever had the pleasure of having at her side. He never complained, always did his duty, always fought his hardest, always had some sort of meaningful input...
Really, the more she thought about it, the more ridiculous the notion of sending him away was in retrospect. To get rid of such a valuable asset was the height of foolishness, regardless of her reasons for being irked with him.
Taking all of that into consideration, Azula figured it might be a good idea to clear any misconceptions Xisheng might have had about his immediate future. He was owed that much for his victory, if nothing else. Besides, having a conversation would make it much easier to take her mind off of the awkward physical interaction she was currently having.
"I suppose you're worried about what is going to become of you, Lieutenant?"
Xisheng didn't answer right away, likely thinking of how he was going to phrase his response.
"In a manner of speaking, Princess."
There was a very calm manner to the way he said that, something that made it difficult for even Azula to discern how he was feeling.
"And in what manner would that be?"
Azula resisted the urge to flinch as she felt a twinge of pain in her face. Xisheng had applied some sort of ointment directly to the wound, though it didn't stop him from answering.
"I have no fear of you going back on your word. That is to say I don't believe you will dispose of me at this point. I did meet your challenge, after all."
The young Princess felt a flare of irritation at the matter of fact way he said this, but since he was not actually mistaken she said nothing to reprimand him. This of course allowed Xisheng to continue.
"That said, I am... worried that this may affect your relations with the entire group, myself included. Forgive me if that sounds presumptuous."
Frowning as much as she could in her given situation, Azula made it clear how she felt about his analysis.
"It damn well does sound presumptuous. Do you think I'm some spoiled brat that would rather throw a tantrum instead of face reality?"
Surprisingly, Xisheng didn't seem particularly worried by her ire. In fact, he seemed quite calm as he worked on treating her. Azula supposed it may have had something to do with all that soldiering: he did have a remarkable penchant for staying calm under duress.
"In that case, have you considered apologizing to Ty Lee?"
Recoiling from his touch like she had been outright stung, Azula leveled a fierce and almost flabbergasted expression at her subordinate.
"Apologize?! How dare you imply that I of all people should be apologizing to anyone, for anything! Whether or not you won our little duel has nothing to do with the frivolous way you spend your time with her! There's absolutely nothing I should be apologizing for! Don't let this little victory take your ego to such downright insulting heights."
Leaning back since he highly doubted that he would be able to continue his work like this, Xisheng still looked quite content with the situation. Well, not like he was smiling or anything, but he certainly didn't look as fearful as Azula knew anyone else in her life would have in his shoes. He'd just offended the Crown Princess after all. She could have any number of horrible things done to him.
"Princess, when I leaped through your flame and grabbed your shoulder, you know what that was, don't you?"
Azula grimaced, already seeing where Xisheng was going with this. She hated to admit it, but she could already foresee a logical defeat. That said, it didn't mean she wasn't going to try.
"I know that it didn't work."
"Because the technique is useless or because I was just too unskilled with it?"
Knowing full well the answer to that, Azula didn't give it, which gave Xisheng the opportunity to continue. She really didn't like the way this was going.
"If I had better mastery of the technique, your arm would have been completely useless for the rest of the fight. And what if I had grabbed both shoulders? Could you have won without either arm? Even for a prodigy like you, that seems unlikely. And what if I had learned some of Mai's skills? Would you have been caught off-guard by a knife thrown through your wall of flame? Considering that you were surprised by me coming through it, almost certainly. The fight could have been won right there."
Azula couldn't help but scowl at him. Despite all of his good points, she wasn't particularly happy with this line of conversation. Maybe she was a bit more prone to a tantrum than she had thought.
"If you're trying to get back on my good side after punching me in the face, you aren't doing a very good job."
Xisheng ignored her sentiment to continue with his own. He was feeling quite bold today, wasn't he?
"Princess, isn't the reason you brought Mai and Ty Lee along because they have unique skills to offer? If that is so, then surely you can't believe their skills aren't worth having. That logic would be incompatible."
Azula fell silent once more, because Xisheng had a very good point: she'd been well aware all along that her outward reasoning for this whole fiasco was nonsensical. Sure, she didn't think Mai or Ty Lee's skillsets could match her own, but she still acknowledged that they were very useful. Moreover, she had made it very clear that she wanted Xisheng to push himself to become as useful to her cause as possible. Taking those two things together, from his perspective it only made sense to try and learn what they had to offer.
Of course, while she had made an outward show of inefficiency or some such being the source of her ire, Azula knew that, in reality, her reasons were impossible to defend with logic. She'd simply disliked the idea of Xisheng's attention being commanded by someone other than herself. She could of course argue it as being her right considering her station relative to his subordinate one, but she was certain her allies would simply view it as entitlement or petty jealousy with almost no merit to it.
But she didn't see it that way. She owned this man's career, his very life. He was duty-bound to serve her. Was she not entirely justified in wanting him to focus entirely on serving her and her cause? It seemed perfectly reasonable to her.
"Or, is it perhaps that you are concerned regarding my dedication to both you and your cause?"
Azula was shocked to find that Xisheng had practically read her mind. Had he always been this sharp? Or had he just been thinking about it during the whole week he had to do so? He was the type of person that tried to understand others, so Azula had little doubt that he had put a lot of thought into why or how he had angered her.
"Should I be concerned regarding such a thing?"
She was trying to play things off, but somehow Azula got the feeling that Xisheng saw right through her. His answer certainly made it seem so.
"Azula, please allow me to make this one thing clear, to be kept in mind from today on. I am a soldier in the Fire Nation Army. You are the Crown Princess of my country. By very definition, I am duty-bound to serve you in every possible capacity. However, that obligation has little, if anything, to do with why I serve you in reality."
Needless to say, Azula hadn't expected this to come up so bluntly. Though she had to admit, there was something nice about him calling her by name instead of title. Why was that?
Despite this, she managed to stay focused on the conversation at hand. After all Xisheng had just said something quite questionable, from the perspective of a royal.
"Why then, pray tell, do you serve, Lieutenant? I'm on pins and needles."
While keeping a stoic expression on the outside, Azula had to admit that she was somewhat worried about his answer to this question. He was being awfully candid today: was he about to reveal that he was only in this for personal gain? That he was using her to improve his own strength for his own glory? Surely he wouldn't be that stupid.
"My reason is nothing special, Princess. I serve you because I want to. At the most basic level, that's because I share your cause and believe aiding you is the best way to achieve it. Mutual interest, if you will. But it goes far beyond that. I believe you have the makings of an amazing leader. I feel that you have the potential to reach even greater heights than you are at already, in almost every regard. Leadership, combat, strategy, wisdom... I've no doubt you can go much farther than you already are, great as your current self may be."
Needless to say, Azula had not expected the conversation to take this direction. Where had all of this praise come from? And why was hearing it so pleasant? Usually she just felt entitled to compliments, so they didn't mean anything. Either way, Xisheng continued, perhaps not noticing that he had mildly flustered the Princess. Maybe he didn't think that was possible for him to do.
"On one hand, the realization of your full potential is important to me as a citizen because you are the future Fire Lord. As someone who wants my nation to prosper, I have plenty of reason to aid you in reaching that full potential. However, that too is secondary as far as I'm concerned."
Xisheng paused for a moment, perhaps pondering how to word what he wanted to say next. He had to be careful with Azula after all: it was hard to tell what would or wouldn't be considered an insult to her.
It's not really practical at all... I just want to help you reach that future pinnacle. Not to imply that you need my help to do that, but if I could offer any assistance at all, that would make me happy. Failing that, even just being there to see it happen is enough. I can't really give any logical reason for why I desire this: perhaps I am just personally invested in your future because I am close to you in a manner of speaking. Or perhaps it's just curiosity. We both have interest in martial prowess and strategy. For my own sake, perhaps I just want to see what levels you can reach in those arts and how you get there. Either way, the fact remains: I will continue to support you in all of your endeavors as long as you allow me to, and not because of duty or obligation. I follow and support you of my own free will. Nothing is going to stop me from doing that, so please don't worry about the depths of my dedication to you."
Now that he was finished saying his piece, the cabin of the Overlord was left in silence as the two Fire Nation natives simply looked at one another. Xisheng was clearly waiting for some sort of response to all of this. Azula was trying to actually formulate one.
She really didn't know what to make of this. Honestly, she had never had a subordinate who had so earnestly expressed a genuine desire to serve, and for such reasons as these. Granted, Azula had not actually been in charge of that many people throughout her not so lengthy life, but she had servants and subjects, and it had always been clear that their dedication to their jobs and to her was merely the fact that it was expected of them. None of them really cared about her as an individual, only about her title as Crown Princess.
It was also why she had adhered to the general rule of thumb that fear and intimidation were the best ways to ensure loyalty. After all, if everyone was only doing their job because they were expected to or were paid to, what was stopping them from ignoring their duties? Abandoning their role and running off to live in the hills, or being bought off by someone else? The answer was obvious: if they were afraid of what you would do to them for their disobedience, then they would never disobey, right?
So far that notion hadn't steered Azula wrong in life. She'd yet to be disobeyed by a subordinate as far as she could tell. So naturally, she'd assumed the thought process was perfectly legitimate. So what was she to do about this then? She'd never had someone under her command that had openly expressed a desire to support her, and not just her title, of his own volition. Sure, loyalty was loyalty, but this felt... significantly different. Knowing that her subjects were too afraid of her ire to disobey her was satisfying. Knowing Xisheng supported her because he wanted to, because he really wanted to aid her in achieving her goals, was... uplifting, almost. Azula really couldn't explain it, seeing as how she had never really experienced it before.
That made it difficult for her to really give a response. She didn't really know how to follow up any of this. Really, she wasn't sure she liked this man making her reevaluate her thought processes twice in one day.
"I... appreciate your sentiment, Xisheng. But what does that have to do with apologizing to Ty Lee? Your words have hardly convinced me to do that."
Xisheng looked mildly pleased to be called by name, but he kept it mostly under wraps for the sake of carrying forth the conversation.
"Because, both Ty Lee and Mai are like me. Well, I doubt they have much of an investment in you reaching your full potential as a warrior and leader and all of that, but the reason they are supporting you is not about duty or obligation. They're your friends. Ty Lee put her whole life on hold to come with you on a journey that has been very dangerous. Mai could very well have come along for some form of entertainment in an otherwise droll existence, but she agreed to do so because it was you. She wouldn't have just gone on some adventure through the wilds of the Earth Kingdom with just anyone. She may not admit to it, but she's also supporting you because she wants to help. My point being, we're all here because we want to be. We want to help you of our own volition. You don't have to worry about our commitment to your cause. If that commitment was paltry, we wouldn't even be here in the first place."
Azula thought that Xisheng may have finally finished saying his piece, but evidently he had just a bit more to say.
"We are traveling companions, which means we are going to spend time with each other. That's unavoidable. But that doesn't detract from our support for you. I'll spend time with Ty Lee and Mai, and not always for training or to further some practical goal. But that doesn't mean my support or dedication to you and your cause is any less. I implore you to keep that in mind from today onwards, Princess."
Now that he was finally done for real, Azula wasn't sure what she was supposed to say in return. From a purely logical perspective, she didn't know if she really agreed with everything Xisheng was saying. Who had ever heard of trust and whatnot securing loyalty and obedience from one's subordinates? It certainly wasn't mentioned very often in the annals of history. Could she really rely on something like that when it came down to her role as a leader: as the future Lord of the Fire Nation?
Frankly, Azula didn't believe she could, in the grand scheme of things. If everyone could be trusted to support their leaders faithfully no one would ever be usurped or assassinated. But then again, Xisheng wasn't saying that all of her subjects were supporting her of their own free will. He wasn't saying she could trust everyone. He was only saying that she could trust him, and Mai and Ty Lee as well. And while Azula wasn't one to hand out trust very easily, maybe Xisheng had a point: they were all here, weren't they?
Sure, Azula was pretty certain she could have ultimately coerced or otherwise forced all three of them to accompany her if they had refused. But she hadn't been required to do that for any of them. Xisheng had been more than willing to go to any length to serve her well, and Mai and Ty Lee both could have been extremely difficult with her if they so desired. But they had both been quite willing to accompany her on a very dangerous and time consuming mission, simply because she had asked for their help.
Perhaps they did deserve a little more consideration for that. It just felt weird for Azula to place any faith at all in the good intentions of other people. But if those people had done nothing to earn any suspicion or condemnation, and in fact had only done things to earn trust and some degree of faith, then wasn't Azula being illogical by doubting them so easily?
Taking all of that into consideration, Azula figured that maybe Xisheng's request for an apology had some merit. It was hard to swallow though, the thought of doing such a thing. To so humbly admit wrongdoing was ill-fitting for a princess, or any royal for that matter. At the very least, she supposed the idea deserved some consideration, even though she wasn't going to say that to Xisheng outright.
"I'll bear what you've said in mind, Lieutenant. That said, I hope you haven't forgotten about tending to the injury you so eagerly caused me?"
Donning a mildly more apologetic expression than he had previously, Xisheng stepped forward to return to his ministrations. Really, there wasn't that much left to do, but it still had to be done.
"Princess, surely you would have been more insulted if I had the audacity to hold back against you, correct?"
Even though her face hurt, Azula couldn't help but smirk. This man had some gumption, really.
"Well at least you know your teacher well enough to determine that. I'm sure you also know that I'm going to interrogate you regarding your technique..."
"Shouldn't I be allowed to keep my one advantage for more than a single day?"
"I daresay that you will have more than one advantage if you sharpen your mastery of Ty Lee's techniques. Besides, you know I'd decipher your technique without much trouble anyway, so stop resisting. You're trying to stay in my good graces, remember?"
Sensing that there wasn't actually any danger of Azula getting angry at him at this point, Xisheng smiled as he focused on applying the bandage in his hands to her skin. Considering that he had punched the Princess of the Fire Nation in the face that morning, the day was going quite remarkably. Now, if only he could usher this conversation to a quick close so he could tend to all the burns under his uniform...
About an hour after the culmination of Azula and Xisheng's duel, the group of covert Fire Nation natives had not left the place they had slept that night. Naturally, this reality had left both Mai and Ty Lee in an awkward situation. They'd both warned Xisheng against bothering Azula so soon after their fight, but their warnings had been in vain. Considering that Xisheng hadn't returned from the Overlord after some time and there had been no blasts of Firebending or anything, the two girls had assumed that things weren't going as poorly as they potentially could have, but either way they had been left alone and had little to do.
Mai had settled on target practice, having spent most of the last hour burying sharp metal things into one unfortunate tree that she apparently hadn't liked the look of. Considering that Mai hardly needed practice, it was obvious to Ty Lee at least that the usually reserved young woman was actually anxious. Her aura had revealed as much, at any rate. If someone like Mai was worried about the outcome of a situation, chances were everyone should have been.
As for Ty Lee, she hadn't really been in the mood to do any practice of her own to pass the time. Instead, she'd settled for wandering quite some ways from the Overlord, mostly so she could have her thoughts to herself. After all, she'd had a few unpleasant things to think about as a result of Xisheng and Azula's duel.
She hated to admit it, but Ty Lee had actually felt a great deal of satisfaction seeing Azula get walloped in the face by Xisheng. It was weird to say that she both hated and enjoyed something at the same time, but it was the truth. On one hand, she didn't like violence, and even though Azula was being extremely... 'testy,' Ty Lee didn't like her friends being hurt. But on the other hand, the acrobat felt vindicated by the reality of Azula being beaten for once. She was all high and mighty, acting like she was above everyone else, but there she was, flat on her butt, just like anyone else. On top of that, Ty Lee's technique had almost done her in. Sure, Xisheng had messed it up... but the opportunity had existed. If Xisheng had a little more experience with the art he would have defeated Azula with it.
Naturally Ty Lee was happy about that notion, since she was a little tired of Azula looking down on her or just treating her like she had nothing to offer to Xisheng in general. Today's duel had very much proved otherwise.
Which led to the other issue Ty Lee had with the whole scenario. All things considered, she would have thought Xisheng would feel a little vindicated himself, or perhaps on her behalf even. And yet, a mere ten minutes after he had bested Azula, he was rushing to her side to tend to her wounds. Some petty, but not altogether small part of Ty Lee wished the man had been a little more condemning of the Princess. After all, she was the bad guy in this whole situation. She was the one treating everyone badly, and threatening to destroy relationships just because she was jealous of something. The fact that she had gotten what was coming to her shouldn't have been deserving of pity.
Maybe it was silly, but she had just been expecting a different reaction out of him. More of 'hooray, I get to stay with Ty Lee and Mai,' and less of 'I should check on Azula.'
Coming to the edge of the woods she had been walking through, Ty Lee dragged her attention from her thoughts long enough to identify how the terrain had changed. The trees ahead of her gradually gave way to a shallow bank, which swiftly turned to a gently flowing river. It looked like the river curved away from the direction she had come from on both sides, so it was no surprise that the group hadn't come across it in the Overlord.
Though she hadn't come out here for such a purpose, Ty Lee made a mental note of the river's location. Mai and Azula may have had some qualms about bathing out in nature, but she certainly didn't. The chance to really thoroughly clean oneself didn't come often while traveling, so she saw little reason to forego any opportunities that came their way.
Either way, with no reason to go any further in this direction, Ty Lee had no choice but to turn around and head back towards the Overlord, something she wasn't particularly happy with. But then again, she couldn't just be off in the wilderness when Azula decided it was time to move on again. Knowing her temperament, she would find that a perfect excuse to ditch her 'useless' so-called friend.
Put into a significantly dour mood by that thought, Ty Lee sulked most of the way back to the Overlord. Between her discomfort with her own pettiness and actual frustration with how this day had turned out thus far, she really didn't have much to smile about. By the time she had made it back to the Fire Nation vehicle, the acrobat was effectively scowling, which was rare for her indeed.
Not helping was the state she found things in upon returning. Mai had apparently finished her target practice, as she was nowhere to be seen. Likewise, Xisheng couldn't be seen anywhere. The only person who could be seen was Azula, leaning against a tree with her eyes closed and arms crossed, and now sporting a large white bandage across her face. Naturally Ty Lee wasn't happy about the fact that she was the only one here.
The brunette attempted to move by the Princess without giving herself away, but of course this didn't work. Azula noticed, and more unfortunately, she cared to interact, for reasons Ty Lee couldn't fathom. She really hoped she wasn't about to be berated for something again: she didn't know if she could tolerate that a second time, especially with how she had already been mistreated.
The way Azula started the conversation didn't exactly get Ty Lee's hopes up.
"It took long enough for you to meander your way back here."
Sensing already that this wasn't going to be a pleasant exchange, Ty Lee frowned, not even trying to put up a façade reminiscent of her usual self.
"Can I not even walk where I want to now?"
Azula leveled a clearly displeased look at the tone Ty Lee was speaking to her with, but for some reason she didn't comment on it. Ty Lee would have liked to believe it was because Azula realized her ire was justified, but somehow she doubted that. Either way, instead of condemning her response, Azula said something else entirely.
"I was merely lamenting how long I had to wait for you to return. I don't like waiting around."
"Then why are you?"
Azula grit her teeth, but only for a moment since the action caused her face to hurt in its current state. Xisheng made all of this sound a lot easier than it was. That being the case she avoided her purpose here a moment longer.
"I... require your presence for something."
Needless to say, Ty Lee was a little confused about where this was all going at this point. Azula was behaving very oddly.
"Something?"
"Something important, of course. Everything I do is important, which is why... why you should appreciate what's about to happen."
Unsure of what was 'about to happen', Ty Lee said nothing. She didn't know what to say considering the situation. Hell, Azula looked like she was struggling just to say what she wanted to say. Rarely did she have such issues just talking. What was with the deep breath and the furrowed brow of consternation anyway?
"I'm sorry."
Silence was the only thing that followed Azula's words. Probably because Ty Lee was busy trying to acknowledge what just happened. She couldn't imagine that she had heard right. Because if she had, then Azula had just apologized for something, and that was quite literally impossible.
Since she had closed her eyes to avoid directly looking at Ty Lee, Azula cracked one open to see why she hadn't been responded to. She had gone though some serious stress to say these words, what did Ty Lee think she was doing being so quiet?
Unfortunately looking at her friend's face revealed only genuine confusion and a frown. Needless to say, Azula was a little irritated by that reaction, but admittedly, also a little embarrassed: because Ty Lee's countenance only reminded the Princess that she was not used to doing this.
"W-well, don't just stand there! Graciously accept my apology before I rescind it! The nerve..."
Azula's ire served to bring Ty Lee back to reality, if only because she was much more familiar with it. That said, she wasn't at all familiar with this nervous aura around the Princess. Then again, even if the colors didn't give it away, the incessant tapping of her index finger on her arm and the shifty gaze did so anyway. Seriously, what was going on here?
"What... what exactly are you sorry about?"
Azula made a very disgruntled expression, probably something alone the lines of 'how dare you make me say it,' and yet she did explain herself.
"For the things I said. You know. Implying that Xisheng's time was wasted with you. He didn't make it work when we fought, but... had he mastered your technique to a degree of competence, I'd have been paralyzed and defeated. As much as I hate to admit that failure on my part, denying it would be the choice of a deluded fool. Point being, I daresay the potential effectiveness of something he learned from you is irrefutable evidence that I was mistaken."
While Azula initially thought this explanation more than sufficient, it was clear that Ty Lee found it a little lacking. After all, the practicality of spending her time with Xisheng hadn't been what had insulted her so much. Picking up on this, Azula mustered the will to continue. All of this humility was seriously taxing for her.
"Moreover... I can understand why you would be displeased about being told who you can or can't spend time with, indirectly or otherwise. It's my right as Crown Princess to do that if I wish, but... just because something is within my power, doesn't mean doing it is necessarily justified. It's a lesson in leadership that I... only recently experienced. A leader should trust those that are loyal to her, at least as far as how they spend their free time goes."
Now certain that she had said everything that needed to be said, and inwardly relieved that she didn't have to admit anything else to get her point across, Azula was nevertheless dismayed to see that Ty Lee was still frowning at her. Seriously, what more did this girl want?
Frowning herself, Azula was about to express her ire at Ty Lee's reaction considering how rare this situation was for the Crown Princess of the Fire Nation, but before she could the acrobat broke into a smile much more reminiscent of her usual cheer.
"I never thought someone could be so uptight about saying sorry. You couldn't have been more awkward about that if someone was holding you at knife-point."
In a very unusual moment for her, Azula blushed, unused to being made fun of so blatantly. It didn't help that Ty Lee was right.
"I-is that any way to thank me for apologizing? I didn't have to do that, you know!"
"Azula, you don't thank people for apologizing to you. That implies they went out of their way to do something that inconvenienced them."
"I very much did. Exactly so."
Ty Lee grinned, amused by the reaction and actually feeling quite happy now that this had happened. She could tell by both Azula's aura and her behavior in this exchange that she really was sincere. Who knew that you really could knock some sense into someone? That said, it was probably too much to expect Azula to be a little more humble about the whole thing. Baby steps, she supposed.
Now that she was in a good mood, Ty Lee recalled something she had encountered while sulking in the woods earlier.
"Say, Azula... we're not in a huge rush to be anywhere, right?"
Glad to have the conversation directed away from the embarrassment that was hers, Azula provided a swift response.
"If you're asking whether or not we need to leave right now, no. But what does that matter?"
"Well, I found a river while I was walking around in the woods. I was just thinking, it's been awhile since we really had a chance to clean up to that extent..."
Mention of a river reminded Azula of the time Xisheng had brought forth such a notion. She wasn't any fonder of the idea now than she had been before.
"You're really suggesting that a Princess bathe in a river?"
"Wouldn't going a long time without cleaning yourself be even less befitting for a Princess? I mean, when's the next time we're actually going to have a chance to do this? Cleanliness is next to godliness, or something like that."
Mentally calculating the next few moves she had planned to orchestrate in their journey, Azula realized that Ty Lee had a pretty good point. There were no plans to stop by another major settlement anytime soon, and they had foregone a bath house in Gaoling in the interest of time. Needless to say, personal care had to be left to more spartan means while on the road. Taking that into consideration, Ty Lee was right about what was more unbecoming for an individual of her stature...
"Ugh, fine... I suppose you have a point. We can spare an hour. I should probably put those things I bought in Gaoling to use anyway..."
Glad to have her proposal accepted, Ty Lee was well and truly back to her old self. Funny how all it took was what had transpired in the past fifteen minutes...
"Great! I'll go round up the others, then."
Azula leveled an icy glare at her companion.
"I think you misspoke, Ty Lee. 'Others' is plural."
With a sheepish grin, Ty Lee tried to lend some credence to her argument.
"Come on now, Azula. Gohan's gotta bathe too."
"Not at the same time as us, you harlot!"
Ty Lee took no offense at the insult since it wasn't really serious on Azula's part.
"Alright, alright, I was only joking. No need to get so embarrassed."
"We're not all as eager to get naked around men as you are."
"Which is probably why I'll be happily married before either you or Mai, don't you think?"
With that, the brunette made her exit to find Mai, leaving Azula to shake her head as she left.
"More like why you'll likely catch some horrific disease..."
Some time after finishing the treatment of Azula's wound, Xisheng finally returned to where the Overlord was parked. He had elected to go some distance from the machine, and by extension all of the girls, in order to tend to his wounds. He was certain Azula wouldn't have really cared much for the damage he had suffered, but it was possible that Mai and Ty Lee would be bothered by the array of burns on his torso.
The good news was that the burns themselves hadn't been that severe. As powerful as Azula's flames were, Xisheng had only been subjected to them for a moment, and his armor, fire-resistant by design, had mitigated most of the heat. Only a few of the burns he had suffered would blister.
The bad news was that, while the injuries were mostly minor, there were a lot of them. The majority of Xisheng's torso was reddened and stinging. Serious or not, it was far from a pleasant sensation. All in all, it had taken him a bit of time to treat all the burns, even though he had only bandaged the moderately more serious ones. There was no telling when they would manage to resupply, so he didn't want to waste what they had now. Of course, Azula's injury wasn't really serious enough to bandage, but he had made an exception in that case.
Either way, the problem was taken care of now, so he had returned to camp to discern what Azula wanted them to do next. However, a quick glance over the area revealed that no one was currently present, either in or around the Overlord itself. Needless to say, Xisheng was mildly concerned about the development: not that he thought anything bad had happened, what with the lack of signs indicating a battle. It was just odd that everyone had up and disappeared on him without telling him anything. They could have at least left a note.
Moreover, he couldn't really imagine what everyone had left together for. If there was some errand or chore to be done, it was guaranteed that they would have just waited for Xisheng so he could do it. And the car containing the Mongoose Lizards was still closed, so it wasn't like that was the cause.
Curious more than anything else, Xisheng elected against just sitting around and waiting for them to return. After all, if all three of them had gone somewhere together, it must have been something moderately important. Maybe they needed his assistance, or would appreciate a hand with whatever it was at the least.
Deciding that, Xisheng set off into the woods opposite of the way he had come from, since he was sure he would have noticed the girls if they had gone that way. Unfortunately, he didn't really have anything to do other than search blindly: there were no real signs of where the girls had gone. Well, maybe there were footprints in the fallen leaves or disturbed twigs or something, but Xisheng didn't have the training to pick up on any of that. He was an Army combatant, not a pathfinder.
With that being so, he mostly just walked straight, scanning left to right in a wide radius as he went, just in case there was an obvious clue somewhere along his aimless path. Unfortunately, there wasn't, so he had no reason to alter his course five minutes into his walk through the woods.
This ended up being a good thing however, as apparently straight was exactly the direction Xisheng needed to go. Though he didn't lay eyes on his companions, he could hear their voices in the distance somewhere ahead of him. They weren't talking all that loud, so they couldn't have been far off. That said, he could still make out the conversation. Ty Lee was speaking at the moment.
"Seriously Mai, where were you hiding this?"
"In my clothes, obviously. Hey, don't touch it!"
Cocking an eyebrow as he continued walking forward, Xisheng couldn't help but wonder why Ty Lee would be asking about Mai's knives. The acrobat hadn't really expressed any interest in them before. But he couldn't imagine what else they could be discussing considering the dialogue.
He was also confused because the words didn't really clear up what they were doing out here. He still didn't have any clue as to what reason they could have for disappearing on him all at once.
So he kept going. The easiest way to answer the question was to just ask right? He could find no flaws with that logic.
When Xisheng passed the next tree, his vision was graced with a river. It was at the bottom of an incline, so he hadn't seen it prior to reaching the edge of the slope. Moreover, it was a very gently flowing river, with no discernible rapids at this part of it, so hadn't heard the running water over the voices of his friends and the ambient sounds of the forest.
In the back of his mind, Xisheng subconsciously acknowledged what the situation probably was. The girls had all come to a river together, without inviting him along. It wasn't hard to connect the dots on what they were doing here. And yet, while that subconscious thought manifested quite readily, it didn't have time to make it to the front of his thoughts before he was scanning the area. He was a soldier, surveying his environment was a reaction, not a conscious thought.
So he looked left as soon as he stepped beyond the obscuring trunks of the forest. And he laid eyes on his companions. All of whom were bathing, and all of whom were, by extension, naked.
Ironically, the first thing he noticed was actually the fact that Azula's hair was a lot longer than it really appeared to be. He supposed her usual hairstyle gave it the impression of being short, but when let down for a thorough washing it went decently past her shoulders.
Of course, following that, he noticed everything else. He was able to confirm something he already knew: Ty Lee was definitely the best endowed among her friends, at least on the top end of things. This had always been more than a little obvious, but without the obscuring nature of clothing, it was clear that she was at least twice as 'hefty' up top as either of her friends.
He was also able to learn some things that he didn't know: Ty Lee had certainly not been referring to knives in regards to Mai. Apparently what she had hidden in her generally loose clothing was a very attractive posterior that Xisheng would not have anticipated prior to now. Big and round wasn't really what he would have guessed if someone had asked him whatever weird question would have required such an answer.
Xisheng's brain told him that he was doing something he shouldn't have been, that he should have immediately averted his gaze because that would be the decent thing to do, but his body failed to do that. Or maybe it just didn't agree with the sentiment. There was a veritable paradise of soft curves and the forbidden imagery of the female form before him, slender shoulders and lovely thighs included. Not appreciating the moment for at least a few moments was surely impossible, even for an upstanding and morally upright fellow like Xisheng. Surely.
Of course he also realized that he should probably keep the gawking to a few seconds at most. All three of the girls in view had the means to kill or maim him if they got in the mood. And of course Azula was the Crown Princess of his country, so there was no telling what punishment would await him if she realized this was happening.
Thankfully, both Mai and Azula had their backs turned to him, so he had a moment to retreat back from whence he had come. Unfortunately, Ty Lee was more sideways relative to his position, and thanks to some whim of fate, she looked in his direction while he was still standing there. Xisheng inwardly cursed the world as they locked eyes, certain that she would give him away, unwittingly most likely, which would lead to a swift demise or worse.
But while she was clearly shocked to see him there, the most Ty Lee did was blush a very deep shade of crimson: thankfully, there was no gasp to alert her friends. Xisheng would have assumed that the next logical step was for her to cover herself, but instead she actually smiled shyly, linking her arms behind her head as she posed in a way that accentuated her curves even beyond their natural state. This was accompanied by a coy wink, but the ultimate outcome was Xisheng being locked in place for a moment longer. He knew that Ty Lee was boldly flirtatious, but this was a tad extreme, wasn't it?
Maybe she was a bit more serious about things between them than he had initially thought.
Too stunned to leave while the going was good, Xisheng panicked when Azula spoke, beginning to turn towards Ty Lee as she addressed her.
"Ty Lee, where-"
Ty Lee's expression rapidly changed to one of panic as well, probably because she realized that Xisheng would get into some serious shit if Azula spotted him gawking at them in the nude. Thankfully, she was pretty quick to distract her friends before either of them turned around. All she had to do was interrupt them and direct their attention elsewhere.
"Whoa, what kind of bird is that!? It's so pretty, check it out!"
The brunette pointed in a direction directly opposite of Xisheng, prompting both Mai and Azula to follow the prompt, though there was of course no actual bird to be spotted where she was pointing, something Azula commented on pretty quickly since she had been interrupted.
"What bird? I don't see anything."
With the two of them suitably distracted, Ty Lee glanced back at Xisheng, making a shooing motion with her hand. The soldier almost missed it since he had an excellent view of the rear aspect of heaven from all three of them. Even so, he was not so lost in admiration as to waste his chance to escape unscathed, so he quickly turned on his heel and made himself scarce.
Passing on the opposite side of a tree he had encountered on the way here, Xisheng saw that the girls had left their clothes hanging over a branch. Well, that would have been a good indicator of the situation before he was thrust into it, if only he had actually seen them. Passing the clothing now, he was also able to finally get an answer to the tentative question from before they had entered Gaoling: the lacy ones were apparently not Ty Lee's. They were actually Azula's. Something about that notion was as adorable as it was confounding.
Beating it back to the Overlord as swiftly as possible, Xisheng tried to clear his mind of what he had just witnessed, if only because he wasn't sure if he'd be able to function properly if he was still thinking about it when the girls came back. Instead, he tried to focus on the still stinging pain of his burns, though he had treated them well enough that said pain wasn't that distracting. He could try to focus on a Firebending exercise of some sort, but honestly Xisheng didn't think he'd be able to do that with any control or finesse.
Xisheng spent the better part of fifteen minutes coming up with various ways to try and put his mind on other things, which, ironically, did a better job of distracting him than actually doing those things. Unfortunately, being distracted within that time frame didn't really help when his three companions actually returned to the vehicle.
"Walking in circles, are we? Don't you have anything productive you could be doing?"
The frazzled soldier looked over his shoulder as the girls re-entered the clearing, fully dressed and not in any way scandalously exposed. However, that truth didn't erase the image his mind was conjuring up in its place. It was probably going to take more than barely half an hour for him to not think of that glorious moment every time he saw the three of them.
Even so he knew that he couldn't act too suspicious, and he was pretty quick with words: and excuses.
"J-just keeping my muscles loose, Princess. Lay down for too long and they're bound to get stiff after the exertion they faced in our duel."
Accepting him at face value, something that Xisheng felt pretty bad about considering that he had just talked to her about trust earlier, Azula merely shrugged.
"Fair enough. Well, we should probably get underway..."
Surprisingly, both Mai and Ty Lee gave the Princess a sort of mildly condemning look. Apparently Azula got their telepathic message, since she amended what she had to say.
"Ugh, fine. There's a river back that way. If you must tend to your hygienic needs, try to be somewhat swift about it. I'd like to leave within an hour."
Content that Azula was going to offer their last companion a decent service, Mai merely made her way to the Overlord silently, probably to take a nap. She'd only really gotten up early this morning because of the duel. Ty Lee, on the other hand...
"Oh, you'll really like it, Gohan. I think you'll agree that the view was incredible."
Azula didn't notice the intentional phrasing of 'was' as opposed to 'is.' Xisheng naturally did, which was why he knew Ty Lee was not talking about the scenery at the river. She had no shame at all, teasing him about it right in front of the others, did she? But hey, even mentally reeling as he was, he could totally fight back against this. He wasn't a total mess even at a time like this.
"Yeah, I'm sure it was definitely incredible. Most incredible thing anyone could ever see."
Since she was in on it, Ty Lee blushed and smiled. Since she was not, Azula merely cocked an eyebrow.
"It was just a river. How low are your standards...?"
Feeling slightly more emboldened at the moment, Xisheng responded to Azula, but his words were really meant for Ty Lee.
"They're pretty high, actually. And I'm sure they'll be met. Positively certain."
Needless to say, Azula was none the wiser to his meaning. Of course, Xisheng was glad for that, taking many factors into consideration. Ty Lee on the other hand looked quite happy to hear it, but since Azula had put Xisheng on a timetable, she simply gave him a wink as the two girls retreated to the inside of the Overlord.
As soon as they were behind him, Xisheng's increased confidence dropped back down to normal, and he felt incredibly embarrassed all over again. Weird, how that worked. But since he too understood that Azula wasn't going to wait around for him to take his leisurely time, Xisheng made for the river where he had been blessed. There wasn't enough time to wash his clothes, but he could go as far as to wash his body.
Upon reaching the waters, Xisheng decided to swiftly remove his armor, noting with a degree of unhappiness that he had just covered himself in bandages earlier. Thankfully, he had only deemed it necessary to cover the worst burns, which were mostly centered on his sternum where Azula had hit him. He could wash the rest of himself without getting the bandages wet, if he were careful.
That being the case, he wasted no time in getting in the running water once he was disrobed, noting that the cool temperature felt quite pleasant on his currently toasty skin. One would think a Firebender wouldn't mind being warm: but warmth and burning weren't the same thing. Even people who could control fire had no fondness for the pain associated with a burn.
Aside from that, being in the exact spot he had witnessed an extremely flustering scenario from less than an hour ago didn't help him take his mind off of it. Though, now that he was the one nude in the water, his thoughts shifted more towards that. What if the situation had been reversed? Society had this weird stigma that only women were mortified to be caught in the nude unwittingly, but Xisheng was almost certain he would have been just the same. He was fairly confident he would not have reacted as boldly as Ty Lee had.
More importantly though, he couldn't help but wonder if the girls would enjoy the reversed scenario: Xisheng knew, even as humble as he was, that he had an attractive body. He was a soldier after all. His career was very physical and he was constantly going through rigorous training, so he was toned and sported plenty of lean muscle. Despite his lack of personal experience, it was his understanding that girls generally liked that kind of thing.
But he also had a lot of scars, and he didn't know how any of the girls would have felt about that. Some of them were small of course, like an assortment of minor burn scars: a Firebender almost never made it to the end of their life without a few of those. Training, sparring, chaotic battlefields... with fire being so prevalent in every aspect of a Firebender's life, getting a few related scars was practically guaranteed.
However, those burn scars were small and minor, barely noticeable at all unless someone was looking really closely. He did have a few nasty ones though. There was a long gash across his abdomen from the first and last time he had underestimated a non-bending soldier on the battlefield. The 'he's not an Earthbender, no big deal mentality' had very nearly seen him eviscerated with a polearm. It had almost seen him dead, too.
He had a very similar scar, but vertically on both sides of his left shoulder, from an actual Earthbender. Clever bastard, figured if he took a piece of stone and fashioned a wedge with a really sharp edge, he could effectively guillotine his enemies into the afterlife. He was probably right. Thankfully the vertical strike hit Xisheng in the shoulder, where it had to go through two armored pauldrons and a jerkin. It did go through them, but not as much as it would have elsewhere. Still, the injury had split bone and put Xisheng in the field hospital for months.
Finally, there was a small but very prominent scar on his right pectoral that looked kind of like the hole a sword would leave: probably because that was in fact the cause. Though it was friendly fire, on a technicality. On one of the occasions that Earthbenders had burst out of the ground into a temporary encampment for an ambush, Xisheng had found himself grappling face to face with one of his enemies because he had sprung up too close for either of them to bend right away. One of Xisheng's comrades saw him in trouble and ran the Earthbender through from behind with his sword: a bit too enthusiastically, since it kept going and pierced Xisheng, who hadn't been wearing his armor while off of the battlefield.
Everyone in the platoon called that guy 'Kebab' after that.
Really, whenever Xisheng thought about these scars, he usually considered how lucky he was to be alive, which was probably more important than whether or not girls would be put off by them. But that didn't really stop him from thinking about the latter right now. After all, he'd already had plenty of time to be grateful that he had survived all those incidents. He didn't have to think about it every day now.
Where the soldier's thoughts may have gone after that was a mystery. Said thoughts were interrupted when he felt something soggy press up against his back. Worried that something unpleasant had washed downstream, Xisheng warily glanced down at the foreign substance to identify whether or not he should be disgusted, but all he found was a very large tuft of white fur.
He may have dismissed that as nothing important, but the fact that it was white got his attention. There weren't too many wild animals in the forest with white hair during this time of year. And even if there were a few, this fur was several inches long: much too long for any animal's coat to be with winter pretty far away.
It was a stretch, he knew. Before even thinking it, he knew it was a long shot. But the coincidences did line up kind of conveniently. It was very unlikely that this hair was from a local animal. And even if it was, if said animal had entered the river at some point and was shedding, there would be a lot more than this one tuft of hair flowing downstream. It was logical to assume that this hair had fallen into the river then, likely from above it: and the Avatar just so happened to ride a flying animal foreign to this area that had long, white fur.
Of course, it was extremely unlikely. And even if it was true, one tuft of hair from the animal didn't help them figure out where their prey was or where they were going. But if there was more of this, scattered about in the general direction their target was going... well, it was more information than they had before. And so, Xisheng cut his bath short to throw on his clothes as swiftly as possible, before taking off upstream to see what he could survey.
The first few minutes didn't provide any success. Maybe this fur had floated from so far upstream that it would be impossible to make even an estimate on where the animal that had dropped it had gone. But he was going to check the riverbank and the bordering forest for at least a mile or two. He could manage that in but a few minutes.
After a few more minutes of running, Xisheng nearly decided that it was fruitless after all. But around the time he thought that, was around the time fortune smiled upon his search. Caught on the branches of a pine tree ahead of him was another tuft of fur, easy to see thanks to the white against green. A little deeper into the forest, there was another tuft, caught on some vines wrapped around a trunk. Even further still was one more simply lying flat against the forest floor.
Three in a row: it was enough to consider a trail. It was enough to start following. Maybe Xisheng's conclusions were totally wrong. Maybe this had nothing to do with the Avatar at all, and it had been left by some other creature entirely. But he was a good soldier: instead of writing this off as some coincidence, he'd leave the decision on what to do to his superior. All he had to do was find a way to mark this location so they could get back to it: and also figure out how to get back to the Overlord.
In light of all this, he was kind of wishing he was an Army pathfinder. For all the shit they got for barely ever fighting real battles, it sure would have made his life a lot easier right about now.
Loyalty, scandal, extreme fortune: we've got all the makings of a TV drama now, don't we? If anyone feels that this story now needs to be bumped up to an M rating, feel free to let me know. I honestly don't think I was nearly detailed or graphic enough about anything to warrant it, but if enough people feel otherwise, I'll probably change the rating anyway.
