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Disclaimer: We don't own Avatar... Sadly. Nickelodeon and whoever was genius to come up with it does. ;-;

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Chapter 2: Licking the Burns

I remember the nights in Diyu when I couldn't sleep. I had so many questions! So many things to ask her. It was always wondering about how difficult it was to travel around for so long, and how she managed to get by alone. I nearly turned over in my blankets to wake her up every night. I wanted to hear about the people she had met, the places she had seen. Four years of wandering was truly amazing to me.

Come to think of it, I hadn't once left my village. Not until she came.

Sure, our meeting wasn't exactly the kind I would have preferred. Duped into a tea reading and she even convinced me to take her into my home for free! When I had found out she was a water bender and put the pieces together, of course I was shocked at first, but I don't think it really bothered me. Hearing all of her stories about the world outside of my own little secluded world of Diyu was more than enough payment for me. Xiu had really brought the pace of my life up to a quicker beat.

Before Xiu had come, well... I wouldn't say things were all that boring at first. Walking around the village became routine for me, helping people out with refurbishing the walls of their houses or carrying large baskets of their supplies. I even built a wall around the village to keep the bandits away, not to mention took care of anyone who gave the entrance gate any trouble. I guess you could say I was somewhat of a helping hand around the village, and they even thanked me by helping my family out with food sometimes too!

That really became all I did with my life, the same rounds every day, the same faces around the town and the same knowing looks from some of the villagers that thought I was more of a nuisance than a help. I guess it was a little questionable when someone as young as I was could literally pull huge walls out of the ground with little effort.

The daily rounds were becoming a little dull and sometimes tedious, but everything changed once I saw that unfamiliar face in the middle of the square. Well, Iguess I shouldn't say face, since half of it was completely hidden by cloth!And Xiu says she doesn't look conspicuous! She had set up a little both labeled"Tea Readings," and just listening to the satisfied people of the village's reaction was really enough to get me curious. She must have thought I was a boy at first, because once the village trouble making kids tried to smooth-talk her, she came over and clung to my arm!

"Don't worry honey! I would never let any of these young men come in between us. Iknow how horribly jealous you are... I'd really hate to see you do what you did to the last boy... I wonder if he lived after having that much of his skull cracked off...?"

I honestly didn't know what to think, let alone remember what happened after that! I must have blanked out. Sure, I was pretty tall for my age standing at 5'11" and I guess I don't really have a chest to speak of... But a boy!?

A...anyway, the troublemakers ran off and Xiu offered to give me one free tea reading in return for the trouble.

...Another big mistake at the time. At the end of every day I would come to her booth after my rounds for a reading. I was hopelessly addicted to them! All up until she told me about my so called destiny.

"Ooh, you must provide a great service to someone in need..."

Little did I know that it would be a much greater service than I would have ever imagined! But I won't complain. Xiu became the one stone that shattered the ordinary mass that my life had become, and pieced it back together with her own spontaneous swirl.

At first it was strange, having someone my age around to talk to, but it was an enjoyable experience. Xiu even sparred with me, and helped me find a few new perks in my bending style! Once she told me she had left the Northern Water Tribe and traveled around a good length of the Earth Kingdom, I couldn't help but pile the questions high!

I remember one night that I couldn't sleep, and I finally had the courage to wake her up. It seemed she was pretty angry with me, since I could practically feel there was agitation coming from the pile of blankets that was her. She had just fallen asleep after a full night of training, after all. I asked her again to share some of her stories with me.

"I'll just take you out there so you can see it for yourself, alright?" I thought that she just blurted it out because it was near the middle of the night and she just wanted to go back to sleep.

I never thought she really meant it.

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"What is it Gao?"

The taller man bowed his head, his hand at the waist of his noble Earth Kingdom robes in respect before any conversation started, glancing around warily to ensure the dark, rock clad room was indeed, empty and devoid of listeners. Nothing lie within it except afew ornate tapestries decorating the bland walls and two dimly lit lanterns, casting their silhouettes across the floor. "Good evening Princess Azula."

"I didn't come here to listen to pointless drabble," the young woman countered, a set of smoldering amber eyes resting on the older man. She couldn't have been any older than sixteen years, a beautiful yet hauntingly dangerous face turned youthfully with lovely pink lips twisted into a wicked smirk. With every movement of her head, soft black bangs swayed and returned to frame her face. "Do you have news?"

"I've just returned from checking on the troops collecting at the western wall," Gao finally stated, discomfort obvious in his voice. It hadn't been more than a few days since their leader Long Feng had been called a traitor to the Earth Kingdom and was thrown into confinement. From his cell he had ordered that the Dai Li should report to Princess Azula in the meantime. "Most of the benders have been apprehended. At least, the known ones that attended their underground competition."

"Most?" Azula's amber eyes narrowed, the question cutting into Gao like a knife through flesh.

Gao swallowed harshly, but kept any signs of fear from his face. He had hoped the young Fire Nation princess would have let that small, seemingly minuscule word go unnoticed. That was a mistake of a man who had not known the meticulous military prodigy for long enough. "... Two benders escaped. An earth bender and a water bender."

"A water bender?" Her almost childish voice echoed question, as though she were just merely curious on the fact, but he could tell that the mind behind those eyes was working in full force. They had one common enemy that tended to get in the way of plans on aconstant basis, a proverbial thorn in the side, one that traveled with the only water bender they had encountered in the Earth Kingdom outside of the untouched Foggy Swamp Tribe. There was rumors that there was a group of South Pole rebels making entrance to Ba Sing Sei through the canal difficult, but the eastern wall was too far away to associate the two incidents.

"She's not with the Avatar."

A scowl carefully creased her rather lovely facial features into a disapproving frown. The Avatar and his group were at least expected to cause them trouble, but two unknown benders?"Well, then please explain to me how two benders escaped an entire platoon of fire nation soldiers."

"From what I was told, the water bender and earth bender were together. The earth bender had enormous strength; she shut the cave door on her own. It took some 'persuasion' of the captured benders to get it open again, and even then it took four prisoners to lift the door." There was no hint of exaggeration in his voice; he knew at least that Azula would take any type of hyperbole as cowardice, and that would not be tolerated. "They took out four of your soldiers on their own. The water bender is reputably very quick and had a bending style not seen before. The earth bender carried a giant weapon made completely out of packed rock."

"Interesting... Can the Dai Li replicate this?"

Gao stared at her for amoment, trying to find a delicate way to phrase his answer. Unfortunately, despite that the princess was dressed deceivingly in the clothes of an Earth Kingdom native, a nation of patience and endurance, she was not particularly patient with her subjects. "Well?"

"Not yet, princess. I assure you we will figure it out in time."

"I see." He braced himself for whatever wicked retaliation Azula might have been ready to express, lifting his face in surprise as he heard Azula make a soft sound of thought "Get me Xi-Wang. I have a job for him."

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Juma,

There's been an unexpected change of plans. Any letters that you sent prior to this one won't be received; something happened in Diyu. I fear to speak about it just in case this letter is intercepted, but I dearly hope the North Pole is ready in case the same fate might fall upon it soon. It's only a matter of time before the war reaches you as well.

I'm not sure where we're going as of yet, but as soon as I find out I'll send you another letter. I pray it gets to you. I've been hearing that the waters have gotten more treacherous with the increase in Fire Nation surveillance, but somehow someone always manages to get my letters to you.

I miss you. I hope to be able to come home soon. Tell mother and father I'm safe, and for Hahn to stay on his toes. Be careful, okay?

Love,

Jiang-Xiu

She frowned a little at the short block of letters dancing across the page in the dim light of the sun streaming through the air hole. Their letters tended to be lengthy and full of much news because of the gaps in between, but for this letter there just wasn't enough time to bear her heart and soul. She only had one piece of paper as well, and barely enough ink to write what she already had. The strokes were getting dry, each line breaking off into tiny spindles leading off into words unsaid with each continuing character.

They had been forced to leave with nothing but the clothes on their backs, after all.

Two weeks had passed since the destruction of Diyu, and though it seemed like a short time in turn, to the two comrades it felt like a lifetime. Since the first night they had both gotten the distinct feeling they were being followed, and every night since then the feeling could not be lost.

Xiu had been dragging Jae across the Earth Kingdom in sporadic patterns, moving south in attempt to lose their assumed pursuer while managing to avoid Si Wong desert all together. Though they had been fortunate in finding a few small towns with food and people to pick pocket, they didn't have the supplies to risk that travel. They barely skirted the western side and were now settled in a small cave along the mountains on the way to Omashu, protected by the wall of rock Jae had pulled over the open mouth of the cave. There was a small gap for air, but it wasn't large enough for anything but that and small animals to slip through.

Her eyes darted over the letter one more time, reading the invisible characters that not even Juma would see.

"Writing to Juma?"

Xiu jumped a little at the sleepy voice. She hadn't expected Jae to be up for a while longer especially with the wound on her side still causing her pains. Low and behold the larger form was still lying almost motionless on the floor of the cave, her black hair sticking up in several directions it hadn't been going the night before. "Yeah, you want to say something? I have a little ink left."

Jae smiled a little knowingly. Since she had met Xiu she had sent and received more letters than Jae had ever done in her entire lifetime, so naturally she had questioned it one night out of curiosity. Xiu had willingly admitted that she was writing home to her childhood sweetheart, and that his name was Juma. Though Jae had never heard Xiu directly say so, she suspected that she still had strong feelings for her "childhood" friend by how often she spoke of him.

She nearly chuckled as she spoke, shuffling up to sit. "Tell him I'll keep that tiny butt yours safe, so he doesn't have to worry-..." The teasing words trailed off as Jae's head slowly redirected to the side, her expression darkening as she slipped a gloved hand to her injured side. It had only been a couple of weeks since she had let Diyu slip through her fingers, and her already battered confidence in protecting someone had been wounded just as bad, if not more mortally then her body.

Xiu's brow quirked slightly, the cloth over her mouth concealing a hesitant bite of her lip as if she had read Jae's features and mannerisms with a painful ease. A single hand came up to adjust the covering before she picked up the ink once again, marking the script down on the paper.

Despite the hesitation, her words came strong and focused as she wrote. "So, I was thinking we could head towards this town. I hear it hasn't been touched yet... I think it might be a good place to settle down for a while."

Regardless of the words, Xiu really had no intention of 'settling down.' The urgency of losing Diyu pushed her to return to the Northern Water Tribe as if to check on them, and their pursuers only aided against that, but to her earth bending companion, losing Diyu was obviously a painful experience. It only made sense to want to rest and let the raking feelings ease down, especially after such trauma, including the worry of what the Fire Nation could be doing with her family.

Though strong, Jae could almost sense the underlying uncertainty betraying the young water bender's voice. Her head dipped even lower as Xiu continued.

"We need to get on the move again today. If we take this route, we could get there in a few days and-..."

"Xiu, no." There was astrange but newfound assurance backing Jae's voice as she interrupted. "I meant what I said and I plan on keeping my word to Juma too." It was one thing to let Diyu slip through her fingers, but there wasn't anything that could be done about the past anymore. She knew she couldn't save the people of Diyu in her current state either. Now was the time to focus, to get stronger so that she could never let it happen again. To never let anyone she cared about down. Xiu now was all she had left, and she'd make damn sure she'd protect her. Jae's tightly clenched fists slowly loosened as she turned to her younger friend, agenuine, but weak smile pulling at her lips. "Besides... You said you'd take me with you to see the world. I'm going to hold you to that."

"I did... " Xiu was clearly shocked by the response she had gotten to her suggestion, her eyes reflecting the emotion the rest of her face could not. Her features relaxed as she lowered her eyes, brushing her fingers over the ink to make sure it had dried before she folded it and tucked it away. "This isn't going to be easy, Jae. I've sugar coated it in my stories, but there are some nights where we'll be without food, without water and with no where to stay."

"I know."

"You're sure?" One last chance. In all honesty, Xiu was not all too thrilled with the thought that she might not see Jae again after the next few days. She had become as good as ablood sister to her and was much better of a sibling than she could claim to have at home in the North Pole.

"I'm sure. You're not getting rid of me." Jae smiled a little wider this time. "Plus, how am Isupposed to get better at bending without practice? I've done more bending since I've met you than I've done in years."

"We both need to find masters," Xiu sighed finally. "Back there... at Melee. That was luck that I think we're out of. I thought there might be some hiding around in the Earth Kingdom but so far there's been nothing promising. I think it's time I headed to the South Pole."

Jae nodded her head slowly, stretching her arms above her head with a quiet yawn.

"There's no rock there though, Jae, and definitely no Earth benders to teach you. Are you absolutely /sure/you want to come?"

"Yes I'm sure/," Jae emphasized back. /"I don't think I'll be finding a master any time soon[//]anyway. Plus, I don't think I can leave you alone in good conscience anymore, not after seeing how much trouble you get yourself into."

Xiu leapt to her feet, pointing an accusing finger at Jae. "Nyah, half of it is your fault!"

"What!?" Jae exclaimed in mock outrage. "I never got in trouble before I met you!

"Oh sure! I heard the pot story-"

"Shh." Jae stated suddenly, touching her hand to the ground as Xiu allowed herself to fall silent. Jae closed her eyes, letting the sensitivity of her hands sense the vibrations through the ground she often bended. "Someone's earth bending near by. They're moving the rockslides. Xiu, are you sure we shouldn't just confront these guys?"

Whatever playful attitude Xiu had softened a little bit at the news. "You said you felt two distinctively separate benders yesterday, right?" She waited for Jae to nod her answer, making sure she clearly understood all of the facts before she continued on. Gently she placed one hand on her hip, the other leant a hand towards her face to let her tap her cheek as she thought out loud. "Right. Two benders of undetermined power, friend or foe still unknown. On the other hand there are two of us, but my gourd is nearly empty again. We're at a severe disadvantage until we reach a large body of water; right now it would be just like two against one."

"They're getting closer."Jae murmured quietly. She could feel the distinct shifting of the rocks that her own hands had placed behind them as an obstacle once they suspected they were being followed. Shifting again, she rubbed the remaining feelings of sleep from her eyes before standing to her full height and motioning towards the cave entrance. "If we want to avoid them we really should go now."

Fingers dug into the solid rock, cracking the hardened surface at each punctured hole. With one heaving motion, Jae had pushed the erected wall back into the ground, letting the brightness of the morning in.

Xiu squinted slightly at the sudden intrusion of light, but quickly stepped out of the cave with acontemplative look in her eyes. A number of routes began to play through her head, and with a quick sleight of hand, plucked a long wooden stick that had been resting against a stone. She realized that the many hours she spent studying Earth Kingdom territory maps were definitely paying off as she dragged the tip of the makeshift brush across the dirt. Traveling gave her a general geographical idea of where everything in the Kingdom was, but it was the maps she studied that gave her the knowledge of everything she hadn't traveled through personally.

"What are you doing?" Jae's eyes strained to adjust to the light as she stepped out of the cave, her giant weapon in hand and free hand cupping her wounded side. Her head dipped to look down to the drawing of a map Xiu had started.

"...If we're going to deal with whoever's following us we need to find an area where we have the max advantage."

The marks Xiu made at first made little sense to the earth bender, but the tip continued its path with aproficient precision, and the image began to clear.

"First, we can try to lose them one last time. If we take this pass here..." A quick prod to what looked to be a mountain range slid into another path towards a landmark. "They may think we went around to Omashu, which is here. That'd be the logical route anyway."

Jae nodded slowly, watching the map come to life with each stroke.

"If they do follow us, they'll follow us directly into the swamp, where there is both water /and/rock, putting us at the advantage to attack." The wooden stick careened off the mountain range and swirled to mark a circle around a small area near the ocean.

Satisfied, Xiu finally looked up from the map she had drawn in the dirt, released the stick and proceeded to completely demolish the drawing with her hands. Standing again, she pat Jae on the shoulder with a dusted tap, a barely-there grin concealed beneath the cloth over her face.

"We're going to need to hurry if we want to get enough leeway to set up traps and redirections again. You sure you're up to this...?" Her azure eyes gazed intently into Jae's own. She couldn't help but ask again, though by now she was almost sure of the answer she'd receive.

Jae nodded firmly, releasing her side as her eyebrows dipped low. There was a slight smirk of confidence playing at her lips. "Of course."

With a mirrored nod as her reply, Xiu lowered her hands and turned in the direction of the mountain range.

"Let's get out of here."