The bad thing about short chapters is that they may very well just be talking. The good news is that you don't have to sit down for an hour to read them, I suppose. That's a benefit for all of us busy adults, huh?

"How's that feel?"

Ty Lee asked this question to an unarmored soldier stretched out on a barebones cot in within the Fire Nation infirmary. She had just pressed her fingers deeply into the muscles of his lower thigh, aiming to numb the leg wholesale so he could gain some relief from the pain of a gruesome injury further down his calf. It had already been treated by other medical personnel, but the road to recovery was not entirely without suffering.

Yet, relief washed over the wounded soldier's face as he answered Ty Lee. "It doesn't feel like anything. So, pretty damn good! Thank you!"

Ty Lee gave the man a smile, accepting his gratitude as she backed away from his cot so he could rest. Looking around the tent for other people she could help, the brunette found herself briefly distracted by everything else going on in there. Many of the Waterbenders who had joined the camp were present, tending to the wounded. Many were acting alone, tending to individuals without any assistance, closing up open wounds and mending damaged flesh and bone. A few others were gathered around their elderly leader, Ahnah, taking in her guidance and wisdom as she showed them how to treat a soldier with an open chest wound.

Frankly, Ty Lee was impressed by the resilience of these women, especially the ones that were even younger than her. The youngest, Aina, seemed even younger than the Avatar and his friends, yet she didn't seem troubled by the substantial blood and gore around her as she worked. Ty Lee still felt uncomfortable any time she saw something visceral in here, often averting her gaze from the things that made her squeamish. These healers from the Water Tribe had no such issues, it seemed. Perhaps they had grown accustomed to such things already—as far as Ty Lee knew, they had all been training to be healers for some time, and there had probably been many wounded people in the aftermath of the North Pole invasion too.

Thanks to their help, things were mostly under control in the infirmary right now. They would probably be done treating everyone that had been severely wounded today, after which it was just a matter of easing the path of recovery for them. So for now, Ty Lee could take a well-earned break—she'd been helping in here for several hours already.

With that in mind, the brunette stepped outside of the tent, allowing the bright noon sun to shine down on her, at least until she found a nice spot of shade with a crate to sit on. Watching the busy camp in motion was much more tolerable that way. Besides, this allowed the soldiers observing her from a distance to confirm that she hadn't died within the infirmary somehow.

It had been two days since Xisheng asked her and the others to leave the war zone. In that time, he hadn't spoken to Ty Lee much, even when she went out of her way to try and make some time for them. He was always busy with something, or too exhausted to entertain her for long when he wasn't. At first, Ty Lee had wondered he was actively avoiding her, but as best as she could tell, her friend truly was that overwhelmed with his duties. He never seemed to be alone for more than a few minutes at a time. When he wasn't in the war room discussing future battle plans and strategies, he was receiving reports or issuing orders to cover the unexpected issues that cropped up. It wasn't a matter of poor delegation either, as his many aides seemed as stressed and sleep-deprived as he did. Apparently, planning to attack the biggest city in the world was very stressful.

Still, that didn't make Ty Lee feel too much better about it. The fact of the matter was, she and Xisheng had gotten very intimate with one another less than a week ago. Although she told him at the time that she wasn't trying to force him into a commitment with sex, Ty Lee had still expected that night to mean something to him. It wasn't just that they hadn't talked about it specifically, but the fact that he barely seemed to feel anything about it after the fact. From Ty Lee's point of view, it almost seemed like Xisheng had forgotten about it all the morning after it happened. She didn't know what to make of that, but it irked her nonetheless. Even if he was swamped with serious matters, even if she'd offered herself to him that night with no strings attached, the least he could have done was acknowledge that he had in fact plowed her throat for an hour. The total lack of acknowledgment made the whole thing feel like an act of prostitution, not love. She knew that Xisheng cared too much about her to just use her for sex, so what was with his odd behavior? Was he under so much pressure right now that he just didn't want to deal with it? Or did he regret ever doing it in the first place?

Ty Lee couldn't help but sigh as she rested her chin in her hands. She had honestly thought relationships were supposed to be easy after this part. Unfortunately, she couldn't get more than two minutes to actually discuss things with Xisheng to sort things out. At this point, maybe she needed to go on the offensive again...

Before she could entertain that notion further, Ty Lee was distracted by the sound of a halting sob faintly drifting on a gust of wind. It was difficult to hear over the din of the war camp, but now that she was privy to it, the brunette definitely thought she heard someone crying, and it sounded like a little girl at that. Part of her acknowledged that it was none of her business, but Ty Lee wasn't the type to completely ignore someone's suffering, and she was also nosy, so she stood up from the crate that had supported her for just a few brief moments in order to investigate the odd disturbance.

It didn't actually take long for her to locate the source of the sobbing—right next to the infirmary was another, larger tent that housed just as many bodies. Unfortunately, these ones were cold. Those who had died on the battlefield or from their wounds were laid side-by-side in this massive tent, protected from the elements in order to slow down their deterioration. Every once in awhile, soldiers would carry a new body into the morbid structure, or even carry one out instead. The unfortunate reality was that the Fire Nation had no real means to get these fallen soldiers back to their homes. They didn't have the right resources to preserve any bodies right now, and they didn't have the free logistics power to spare on transporting bodies back to the homeland or the colonies anyway. These men and women would either have to be buried out here on foreign soil, or cremated and sent back to their families as ashes or bones. They couldn't risk disease breaking out in the camp due to the bodies of the dead decomposing.

Ty Lee briefly wondered what would be done with her body if she died out here, but she quickly dispelled the thought. No need to challenge her resolve to stick around, after all.

The crying she had come to investigate wasn't actually coming from the temporary morgue. Instead, Ty Lee discovered someone sitting unceremoniously in the dirt behind it. It was one of the younger members of the Water Tribe healers, a girl maybe twelve or thirteen with short hair tied up in a braid. Though she hadn't spoken to her directly, Ty Lee had seen the girl around the infirmary. She believed her name was Yuma.

Hopefully that was correct, otherwise this conversation was going to get off to a very awkward start.

"Yuma...? What's wrong?"

The young girl was clearly startled by Ty Lee's sudden intrusion, jumping a little before glancing up and over her shoulder to see who was talking to her. Her brown skin was streaked with tears. Now, this girl didn't really know Ty Lee, but she had also seen the brunette helping people in the infirmary. For that reason, a lot of tension left Yuma's shoulders. Plus, the fact that it was just a slightly older girl and not a masked soldier suddenly approaching her helped too.

"O-oh, it's... please, don't mind me..."

Despite this statement, Ty Lee pressed further. Admittedly, she wasn't privy to any unseemly things happening on the base, but this was a young girl, and a foreigner, amidst a Fire Nation war camp. She would have loved to think that all soldiers were as honorable as Xisheng, but Ty Lee knew this wasn't the case. She at least wanted to make sure nothing despicable was happening to Yuma.

"It's alright, you don't have to hide a problem if you're having one. I personally know the commander of the whole base, so I'm sure we can fix it if there's something wrong."

Though her goal was to be reassuring, for some reason, Ty Lee's words put a sullen look on Yuma's face. "It's too late to fix my problem. If I just done a better job..."

Yuma's voice caught in her throat as another tear rolled down her face. Figuring it might help, Ty Lee stepped up next to the girl and crouched down to her level, taking a good guess as to what might be troubling her.

"Did something happen in the infirmary?"

For a few moments, Yuma didn't say anything, merely trying to hold back her sniffles and tears. Ultimately though, the young Waterbender couldn't help but unleash her pent up frustration, even to a stranger.

"Lie Ren died! He had a big injury near his lung and I treated it, he was doing good at first but then he just kept getting worse and worse! This morning, he... I don't understand, I did it exactly like Ahnah showed me! I know I did, so why didn't he get better?! Why did he still..."

Yuma buried her face in her arms, which were folded over her knees. "...what did I do wrong...?"

Ty Lee's own expression fell as an unsavory thought occurred to her. Exactly as Ahnah showed her, was it? Maybe she was presuming too much, but she couldn't complete dispel a niggling suspicion in the back of her mind. Still now wasn't the time to voice that concern. She'd save it for an excuse to talk to Xisheng at length later. Right now, she at least had to say something to Yuma, though Ty Lee wasn't sure how reassuring she could be in this situation.

"I know it's tough, but sometimes things go wrong even if you do everything right. Even if his wound was healed, maybe he got an infection. And the body works in mysterious ways, sometimes behaving oddly even if when we can't find a reason for it. Focus on the people you do save—if you were really doing something wrong, you wouldn't be saving anyone, right?"

Though she was still sniveling, Yuma managed to calm down a little bit. "I guess so..."

Ty Lee may have continued trying to make Yuma feel better, but the sound of approaching footsteps interrupted the moment, doubly so when those footsteps revealed one of the older Waterbending girls rounding the corner. Her arrival was no coincidence either, as she spoke up the moment she saw Yuma.

"There you are, Yuma. You need to come back to the tent—you know it'll cause a problem if you're out of sight of the soldiers watching us for too long."

Though she clearly wasn't fully emotionally recovered yet, Yuma got back to her feet and dusted off her blue linens before following her senior back to the infirmary tent. Now left alone but with no reason to remain here, Ty Lee got to her feet as well, contemplating whether or not she should try to find Xisheng right away. At this time of day, he was almost certainly busy, but at the same time, she actually had something potentially urgent to share with him right now. Hopefully, she'd be able to use that urgent concern as an excuse to carry on a more personal conversation with him.

Admittedly, it felt a bit impatient on her part to try and get answers to her unresolved problems this soon. On the other hand, Ty Lee felt that she had no choice—if Xisheng was left to his own devices right now, it would probably be days or weeks before they discussed their personal lives again. With that in mind, the brunette headed out into the camp and toward the command post, where she knew she was most likely to find Xisheng poring over some aspect of the conflict he commanded.

As predicted, Ty Lee found Xisheng at the base command post—or rather, she found evidence of his presence there. Even though Ty Lee had been designated as someone Xisheng trusted, she still wasn't actually allowed within the command post itself. She already knew better than to ask the guards to let her in. Still, she was able to determine Xisheng's presence inside the place because Kori was present outside. The Earthbender had become an official member of Xisheng's bodyguard unit, but she never went inside of the command post with him, presumably because her Earthbending would be useless within the steel structure. Either way, she was always standing guard outside when Xisheng was inside.

Not long in the past, Ty Lee might have been bothered by Xisheng picking Kori to protect him. But ignoring the fact that Kori had expressed no interest in him, Xisheng was clearly distraught over the idea of the people he cared about being in harm's way. Him picking Kori to stand between him and danger meant he didn't feel the same way about her that he did about Ty Lee, Mai, or Azula. Ty Lee clearly had no reason to consider Kori a romantic obstacle.

Unfortunately, none of this allowed Ty Lee to enter the command post and speak to Xisheng right away. She had no choice but to sit outside and wait for him to come out, and there was no way of knowing how long that would take. He didn't exactly have a fixed schedule. Thankfully, Ty Lee didn't actually have any obligations to uphold around the camp, meaning she was free to find a spot of shade beside a tent and weather her boredom. As the minutes crawled by, Ty Lee couldn't help but wonder what her other friends were doing, and feel a bit like Mai always claimed she did—bored out of her skull. She wasn't usually the type, but with only one thing on her mind that she couldn't achieve right now, there wasn't really an alternative.

Her patience was thankfully rewarded within the hour, however, with Xisheng stepping out of the command post alongside general Lu Bei and said a few more words to them before they went their separate ways, after which Xisheng was approached by Kori. The now scarred Earthbender whispered something to him as she gestured in Ty Lee's direction. Apparently, the brunette's presence hadn't gone unnoticed.

After being informed, Xisheng offered Kori a nod, then separated from her and his bodyguards to walk toward Ty Lee. In the past, he would have donned a smile while approaching her, but these days, he just seemed tired. The dark circles under his eyes reinforced the notion. Despite this, his greeting wasn't as curt as Ty Lee expected, though it wasn't welcome either.

"I don't suppose you've reconsidered leaving the camp to go somewhere safe?"

Ty Lee donned a frown immediately, finding herself annoyed for once. "What do you think?"

Despite the unusual ire in her voice, Xisheng didn't seem offended. "A man can dream. Was there something you needed? I've only got a few minutes to spare."

Though she didn't really want to be mean, Ty Lee couldn't help but make a quip. "No time for little old me these days, huh?"

This time, Xisheng did frown. "You know I can't help that."

"I can think of a few ways you could. I'm sure you're alone at night for at least a little bit, and it's obvious you're not sleeping that whole time."

Xisheng's frown deepened further as he tried to evade this line of discussion. "Ty Lee, if this isn't urgent..."

Being blown off by Xisheng admittedly grated on Ty Lee's nerves, especially since that kind of behavior was not typical for him. But she didn't want this conversation to devolve into a fight, so the brunette decided to humor him for now. She didn't want to squander the opportunity by getting fussy.

"A soldier in the infirmary died today, even after being treated by one of the Waterbenders. I know this might seem a bit paranoid, but she was claimed that she healed the guy exactly the way her mentor showed her. I was thinking, well, maybe..."

Despite his overbearing fatigue, Xisheng's eyes narrowed as he quickly surmised Ty Lee's point. "You think that Ahnah might have intentionally misguided one of the other healers so a patient would die? That's... quite an accusation. No offense, but you don't think it's more likely that the healer made a mistake? Some of them are quite young."

"I'm not saying it's a certainty, but... well, I can't imagine an experienced mentor teaching something that poorly. My master noticed every little mistake I made during training. Not to mention, what are the odds that there were two people with the exact same wound that Ahnah was able to guide her pupil on? I figured she was overseeing Yuma's treatment of that exact wound. How could she have not noticed if it was being done incorrectly?"

"But you don't actually know, right? Did you see any of that happen?"

Ty Lee folded her arms over her chest. "If you think I'm being unreasonable, just say so."

"It's not that, Ty Lee. Admittedly, this is a way these Waterbenders could sabotage our operations here without being too obvious. Hell, I don't know what the limits of their abilities are—they may even be able to cause people who were going to live to die instead. It probably wouldn't take much to do that. Still, I don't want to jump to conclusions either. It's also possible that this soldier just died even with the best care he could get. That does just happen sometimes. That said, if you can keep a close eye on Ahnah while you're helping out in the infirmary and talk to this other Waterbender about the specifics of her master's guidance, maybe we can uncover an actual conspiracy. I'll tell Aranai to crunch some numbers on soldiers dying post-care too. He might notice something the rest of us wouldn't... anyway, thanks for bringing this to my attention. But now I need to—"

Knowing full-well what Xisheng was about to do, Ty figured she had no choice but to be frank now. He was going to beat around the bush as long as she allowed him to do it. It was up to her to be aggressive about it.

"Are we really just not going to talk about it?"

Xisheng heaved an exasperated sigh in response to this question. Clearly, Ty Lee didn't need to spell things out for him. "What is there to talk about? You told me it was no strings attached. Did you change your mind? Do I owe you something in return, now?"

Ty Lee couldn't help but feel a little stung by the annoyed tone Xisheng said all of this with. "No, but I at least expected it to mean something. We both feel a certain way about each other, and it was the first time we've ever been intimate... it's really not affecting you at all? It feels like you forgot even happened."

"So what, the issue is that I'm not dwelling on it day and night? You told me the point was to help me relax and get my mind off things. That's how I decided to look at it. It felt good. It helped me relax a little. Sorry if the experience didn't plant some insidious seed designed to dominate my mind with thoughts of sex. It's not because I didn't enjoy it or because I don't like you. I just don't have the energy or time to spend dwelling on what it all means for our relationship and the future. What else do you want me to say?"

By the end of this little spiel, a certain unhappy thought had occurred to Ty Lee. Considering her own agitation, she couldn't keep it to herself, though she didn't say this in anger. Really, she was worried about confirming this new fear.

"...you wouldn't have said yes to that offer if it had come from Mai or Azula, would you?"

Xisheng's expression immediately contorted into one of dismay. Clearly, Ty Lee was onto something that he didn't want to admit. But he knew it was pointless to play dumb now. Not that he couldn't try to evade the question. "Azula is the Crown Princess of the country, and Mai..."

Unfortunately, he couldn't come up with an excuse for Mai fast enough, leaving Ty Lee enough room to accuse him. "Oh, I see, so your first intimate moment with either of them would be big and important and special, it's just me that you were willing to have meaningless throwaway sex with."

"That's not what I'm saying, and the whole thing was your idea, Ty Lee. It's not that deep."

"Well it's got to mean something if I'm the only one out of the three of us that you're willing to have casual sex with. At least be honest about what it is!"

Xisheng honestly hoped that no one was close enough to overhear this conversation. His own body guards were standing far enough away, but there were a few other people walking around. That was why he did his best to hush the conversation down to a quieter level even as he got riled up.

"Because, Ty Lee, I believed you when you told me why you were doing it! Azula's always playing some long game, there's no way I'd buy her offering something like that with no obligation from me in return. Mai is... well, Mai. I wouldn't believe she was truly comfortable doing something like that even if she did offer it. You're the only one I could genuinely believe as having purely altruistic intent in that moment, as not expecting anything from me afterward or holding a grudge against me because I didn't follow up the experience by asking you to marry me or something. Was I wrong about that, because it feels like I miscalculated!"

Silence fell between the two of them for a moment, with Ty Lee quietly contemplating what she was supposed to say to all of that. Ultimately, she figured the best thing to do was allay Xisheng's concern. Though she couldn't help but rub her arm bashfully after being called out like this.

"No, you weren't. I'm not upset about you not immediately falling in love with me or anything, Xisheng. I just... thought you really liked me. I expected you to be affected more by our first time together even if it didn't mean you had to do anything else. I mean, I was thrilled to be that close to you for the first time. I couldn't stop thinking about it that night or the whole day after. But you barely had any reaction at all when it was done, like there was nothing personal to the experience at all, like it was nothing more than a one-night stand with a stranger to you. What else am I supposed to think when the whole thing doesn't seem to have affected you at all?"

Glad that they were getting somewhere beyond a fight, Xisheng took a deep breath to calm his nerves. "I guess I can see your logic. But really, Ty Lee, it's really not about all that. I... do like you a lot. Even in a moment of frustration, I wouldn't have given that first-time experience to anyone I didn't trust and care about. But just because you helped take my mind off things in that moment doesn't mean they went away. They came back the next morning. I still have to lead this army. I still have to make decisions that will affect the lives of everyone in this camp. I still have to plan our next moves, make choices that might affect the outcome of the war, that might even affect what happens after the war. I'm tired. I'm overwhelmed. At whenever I look at you, I'm not thinking about how beautiful you are or whether or not I want a relationship. I'm thinking about how I could lose someone I care about out here if I make a bad call. Because if you and the others are determined to fight alongside me, then you're going to wind up in every fight I choose. Even the small decisions I make could lead to a worst-case scenario. It's not that what we did together isn't important to me, it's just that I'm spending every day agonizing over things even more important than that."

Hearing all of this, Ty Lee couldn't help but feel bad about her previous ire. After everything they'd been through together, she could have at least given Xisheng the benefit of the doubt—somehow, even the actions of his that agitated her were rooted in selflessness. She felt shallow now, being worried about his feelings for her while he was struggling with the weight of his situation. Ty Lee had assumed that he'd separate those things into separate compartments, but obviously she was wrong.

"Oh, Xisheng...I didn't... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to add even for you to worry about. I was so busy thinking about myself that I didn't even think about what you were struggling with, even though it's obvious you haven't been sleeping well. And even after you told all of us how worried you were... I feel like a selfish idiot, now."

"Don't. Your concerns were valid, especially after you spelled them out to me. I can see why you'd be bothered with my behavior after that night. Even though I've got a lot of other things to worry about, I shouldn't have done any of that without considering how it might affect you. I'm sorry."

Donning a sheepish expression along with a blush, Ty Lee glanced off to the side to avoid making eye contact. "You know... you slept like a rock the night we were together..."

Tired though he was, Xisheng couldn't miss the implication, causing him to blush for the first time in a long while. "Ty Lee, didn't we just finish talking about how that night caused a problem between us?"

"No, we talked about how a misunderstanding about that night caused a problem. The act itself wasn't a problem, I was just bothered by how I thought you felt about it. Now that I know how you feel... it doesn't have to be any different than it was the first time. Just me taking care of you in a way no one else can. After all, you said you wouldn't accept the same offer from Mai or Azula, or any other girl you didn't know. Which means the biggest reason you were OK with it was... specifically because it was me, right?"

The brunette turned her light-brown eyes on Xisheng at this point, shyly catching his gaze. For the first time in a long while, Xisheng's expression was awkward and bashful, much like those days in the not-so-distant past when things seemed much easier. It was refreshing to see that side of him again after his exhaustion and dreariness lately.

"W-well, that's true, but I mean... nothing has changed from before, I'm still not ready to commit to anything in the middle of everything happening here. The added weight of that responsibility at a time like this just isn't something I can handle on top of everything else, and Azula and Mai..."

Ty Lee took a small step closer to Xisheng. "You like them just as much as you like me, right?"

The man in front of her said nothing to this, seeing no reason to lie and perceiving the truth as a bad thing. But Ty Lee didn't accost him over it. "Don't get all defensive, Gohan. I kinda figured you did... I've even known it for awhile. I mean, I think you'd be a good friend to anyone you cared about, but I'm pretty sure you go above and beyond for all of us. I'm sure a lot of girls would criticize you for being indecisive with your feelings or something. Maybe I'm even supposed to be mad that you can't choose me over them without reservation. But for some reason, I don't really mind. You can't blame anyone for how they feel... I don't know what that's going to mean for us in the future, but right now, well... I really am OK with being just one person that you love, as long as you're honest with me about it. I don't have to be the only person you care about right now, or even the only person you plan to love in the future. In fact, I think the alternative might be the one that would make me happiest, which sounds... kind of unbelievable, but that's really how I feel."

Xisheng's brow furrowed as he took in everything Ty Lee was saying. "That's... you're really OK with that? No one's ever OK with that."

His brunette companion raised an eyebrow. "No one? You really think there's never been any successful polyamorous relationships in human history?"

"I'm sure there have, but how many of them actually have everyone involved being genuinely happy?"

"I don't know, but it would probably help if everyone in the relationship were friends first, don't you think? I mean, it really wouldn't be that different from the way things were before—just the four of us going on adventures and making our way through life, but with a lot more kissing and canoodling along the way. I think it's doable as long as everyone involved genuinely likes each other."

"I think that idea works better when everyone is romantically interested in everyone else in the group. This would just be three girls who have to share one guy. I'm not sure how feasible that setup is..."

Ty Lee, now feeling more confident about everything, donned a cheeky smile. "That sounds like a future problem for a future us. Right now though, you aren't getting enough rest because you're stressed out and spending every night trapped in your head. I doubt some calming tea is going to be enough to put you to sleep, and you admitted already that I took your mind off things that night, and I'm pretty sure I could physically exhaust you to help out even further."

"S-still, that's..."

"We're going to have another big operation soon, right? Do you really think it's safe for you to go into it without enough rest? Sleep deprivation can seriously mess with your judgment. If you really want to do right by everyone relying on you, don't you owe it to them to be at your best?"

"Ty Lee, are you trying to say that I'm morally obligated to have sex with you?"

The now emboldened brunette drew even closer, a smug look on her face. "No, I'm just saying that we all have to make sacrifices for the greater good, and I'm ready to do my part. Making sure our great leader is the best he can be might even be the most important job on the base, don't you think?"

Some part of Xisheng wondered why he would bother resisting at this point, but he was never truly without his reason. "And this isn't going to make you unhappy, all of this physical intimacy without anything official between us?"

"Like you said, whether we're an official item or not, I'm the only girl in the world you'd want to do this with right now. That's special enough for me."

"OK, but... it's a bit risky, what if you got, y'know... the last thing I'd need to worry about right now is a child..."

Honestly, the look of total amusement on Ty Lee's face was a little insulting. She really thought what he just said was ridiculous. "Gohan, I can think of at least five other body parts to I can take care of you with, and that's not counting the several ways each one can be used. You really are too focused on war and stuff if you can't even think of other ways to have a good time with me."

Xisheng had no idea what to say about that, but he didn't get a chance to anyway. One of his bodyguards approached from behind, though he maintained a respectable distance. "Commander, sir—Muzai needs to speak with you about the idea you discussed with him before. He's waiting for you now."

The young commander of the base looked over his shoulder to address his fellow soldier. "Thank you for informing me. I'll just be another moment."

He turned back to Ty Lee, though she was already leaning forward to whisper to him quietly. "See you tonight, alright, Gohan?"

The brunette didn't actually wait for him to offer agreement, instead taking a few sprightly steps backward before turning around and walking away. Xisheng watched her go, admittedly quite confused by everything they'd discussed. He wasn't quite sure he agreed with Ty Lee's take on all of this, but admittedly, he was barely sleeping four hours a night right now, and there would be another major offensive soon. All else notwithstanding, if she could really help him get better rest these next few nights, he'd be stupid to turn her down.

Although, as he allowed his mind to wander in frivolous directions for the first time in many days, Xisheng couldn't deny that he enjoyed pondering what creative delights Ty Lee was scheming to unleash. Maybe he really would be better off taking what he was offered now and worrying about the far-reaching implications another day.

Well, here we are. The first of our intentionally short chapters. Still a 1,000 words longer than I was aiming for, honestly, but it is what it is. I can't end a good scene early just to fit some arbitrary word constraint, now can I?

Anyway, I've got some big things planned within the next few chapters. Some familiar fan favorites might be making a major appearance in this story soon! But I won't give you any hints, since that ruins the fun of speculating. Zuko? Suki? Foo-Foo Cuddlypoops? Maybe, dare I say, the most beloved character of them all—Cabbage guy?

We've also got another battle coming up soon, though this one won't be as long as the initial siege. Still, I hope it'll be exciting.