The trees that had once graced the agents of the Fire Nation had long since given way to dirt, dust, and rocks. Such was the dominating terrain of the eastern Earth Kingdom. For the most part, plant life was limited to shrubbery. Under normal circumstances, traveling through such an area for an extended period of time was problematic, since it was difficult to resupply out here. Food was hard to come by in any decent volume, and sources of drinkable water were few and far between. If one was using a coal-burning vehicle like the Overlord, that too became a problem, as there wasn't much hardwood around to use as a fuel substitute if the need arose.
Thankfully, the travelers from the Fire Nation weren't too far off from their destination, that being a friendly outpost on the easternmost shores of the Earth Kingdom. According to best estimates from Xisheng's perusal of a map, they only had about one more day of travel before getting there. They would arrive before they encountered any supply issues.
That said, there was a problem with the terrain as far as training was concerned. It hadn't really occurred to Xisheng until now, but the presence of trees was actually pretty helpful for a lot of things. Right now, he had nothing to actually throw a knife into, since most alternatives were rocks, and Mai would kill him for trying to stick a blade in one of those.
Ordinarily, he'd have options, since there was also Firebending and chi blocking to practice, but in his current injured state, those options were more limited than usual. He couldn't really work on his new Firebending technique with his arm the way it was, since said technique required great physicality. Lessons with Azula over the past few days had been more theoretical than practical. Obviously sparring was out of the question.
As for chi blocking, while Xisheng could technically practice that in theory, it wasn't very useful to do so in the way he could right now. He could sit down alone or with Ty Lee and learn the precise locations of the pressure points he needed to strike, but that wasn't nearly as useful as being able to spar, so he could practice using the art while in a dynamic situation much closer to the scenarios in which he would actually be using it.
So out of everything he could actually practice in his off-time, throwing knives was the most logical choice. Training his precision and throwing technique wasn't nearly as physically demanding. Of course, he didn't have any targets to throw knives at, so right now, they were mostly landing in the dirt some distance away from him, as he was mostly just training his throwing technique. He was still at the stage where he had to make the knives spiral end over end to fly with any accuracy, but he was managing to throw them in a tighter arc now, as opposed to lobbing them like he was firing a trebuchet.
If it were up to him, he would have been doing this far enough away from the Overlord to avoid even the chance of hitting anyone, but there were two reasons why he couldn't do that right now: one, Mai was the only one who owned knives for him to practice with, and she didn't want him throwing them around without her supervision. Two, she had been driving for a good portion of the morning, and while they were taking a break, she wanted to rest on something comfortable, that being the bed in the second car of the Overlord. So, Xisheng had no choice but to practice near the vehicle.
Of course, he wasn't sure if Mai was actually watching from her position in the car. Every time he glanced back at her, it seemed more like she was sleeping. But every once in a while, she would comment on his technique or criticize his form, so apparently she was checking in on him from time to time.
As for everyone else, Azula was mysteriously absent, though Xisheng assumed she was just making enough room to conduct her personal training. He was certain he had heard the distant crack of lightning about half an hour ago. Part of him really wanted to ask her if she would teach him such an amazing move, but for now, Xisheng figured it was pointless. She was the teacher, so she decided what to teach. Besides, it wasn't like he would be able to practice it right now anyway.
Ty Lee was currently entertaining the Mongoose Lizards, ensuring that they stretched their legs and got to spend some time outside for once. The reptiles actually fared quite well in enclosed spaces, especially those that were warm, but they still needed to get out every once in awhile. Xisheng imagined that it wouldn't be much of an issue in another day or two, since they probably wouldn't be bringing the animals with them on the next leg of their journey.
Of more import was his situation with Ty Lee: unfortunately, he couldn't say that there wasn't still a bit of awkward air between them, following the enlightening conversation they had shared a night or two ago. While the situation that had been making things awkward had come to light, and the two of them had assured each other that their friendship was as strong as ever, Ty Lee had been right in saying that the mere knowledge Xisheng possessed regarding her thoughts and feelings changed their dynamic a bit.
Even though they managed to act normal for the most part, there was always that niggling awareness in the back of Xisheng's mind that the brunette liked him in that way. It wasn't exactly something he could just forget about. In fact, even while training, he had spent a fair deal of his free time since that conversation wondering about the mysterious issue that acted as a barrier for the girl. It was hard to imagine that the problem was him if she liked him, though it was foolish to assume that liking someone meant being incapable of disliking anything about them.
Still, he was more inclined to believe that the issue was external, and not something between the two of them in particular. He hadn't managed to come up with any new theories though. He only had the ones he had come up with that night.
Despite it all though, Ty Lee was much happier these past few days, doing away with the gloomy demeanor that had plagued her before they had talked. While Xisheng couldn't deny that the situation had his curiosity, for now he was content that Ty Lee was happy. Presumably, figuring out their odd situation was something that would come in time.
"Hey, pay attention to what you're doing. That knife was four feet to the left of where you were aiming."
Recalled to reality by Mai's voice, Xisheng realized that his lack of attention had caused him to throw one of Mai's knives particularly poorly, with it being far off from all of the others lying in the dirt. He could have offered up some sort of excuse, but since Mai was totally justified in calling him out, Xisheng simply acknowledged his mistake.
"Sorry. I should know better than to let my mind wander."
From her reclined position on her bed in the Overlord's second cabin, Mai shrugged. "I can't particularly blame you. Throwing knives at the dirt is pretty boring. Hate to say it, but even relaxing right now is pretty boring... what was on your mind, anyway?"
It had been a long time since Mai was standoffish with Xisheng, but even though they had been on friendly terms for some time, the soldier had still found Mai to be even more open with him than usual the past few days. She was usually open to conversation initiated by him, but she had gone out of her way to initiate conversation herself many times in the past few days. naturally, this was pretty important for her, as it meant she was interested in the person she was talking to.
Xisheng wasn't really sure if something in particular had happened to cause this mild social growth from her, or if it was just a natural part of their gradually deepening relationship. At this rate, he wondered if he would soon face a situation not all that dissimilar from the one between him and Ty Lee...
Mentally scoffing at the thought of it, since it almost seemed presumptuous to assume Mai felt similarly to Ty Lee on that matter, Xisheng tried to focus on an answer to her question instead. For some reason, he didn't want to outright say that he was thinking about a romantic relationship with her acrobatic friend, or a lack thereof. It was curious, because frankly it shouldn't have mattered to Mai anyway, but even so, Xisheng felt it would be better to keep that under wraps. Besides, it was the right choice just out of courtesy for Ty Lee: he had no idea whether or not she wanted this whole thing to be kept private or not.
"I was just wondering what the next leg of our journey will be like. It should actually be pretty relaxing for awhile, since we'll be taking a boat to Ba Sing Se. I don't think any of us will be in charge of sailing it."
Mai scoffed. "That's what I would have thought before I ended up coming along, and look where I am now: driving a military vehicle every day."
"Fair enough. But sailing any decent sized ship takes a crew of people, so it won't fall to us this time. We should be able to relax for the entire trip. Hopefully we'll also have someone else to drive us around once we disembark as well."
"Why exactly are we doing this again? I thought Azula wanted to take down the Avatar. I get that he might go to Ba Sing Se, but it's not like we'll be able to do anything about it: that place is the size of an entire country."
Now a little more focused, Xisheng managed to throw his next knife with much more precision, landing it relatively close to the others he had thrown thus far.
"I imagine Azula just wants to contribute to the ongoing war effort in the best way possible. Truth is, we aren't making much of an impact right now, and we got absurdly lucky even running into the Avatar out here again, only for him to slip through our fingers. It's unlikely we'll ever really be able to take him down like this. Catching him is hard enough, and preventing him from escaping afterwards is even harder. That said, I believe Azula would prefer for us to go to Ba Sing Se, the likely destination of the next and final major offensive of the war. That's somewhere we can actually make a difference."
For the life of her, Mai couldn't see how Xisheng considered this a better use of their time. But then again, maybe it was just a lack of perspective on her part.
"Stupid question maybe, but how exactly does one go about capturing a city that size? Isn't Ba Sing Se several times bigger than the whole Fire Nation landmass? I know we've been winning for most of the war, but I don't see how we could possibly do anything to a city that size..."
Having actually thought about this fairly frequently since the attack on Ba Sing Se was a looming operation for the whole military over the past decade, Xisheng didn't take long to formulate an answer, though he made sure to keep it simple since Mai probably didn't care for the full intricacies of the future conflict.
"It's really just about getting through the outer wall. Ba Sing Se is a self-sustainable city: it can keep its population going with food and water from within its walls, so even if we could surround the entire city, which we definitely can't, starving them out isn't an option. That said, the vast majority of their farmland lies in the outer ring. Once that farmland is compromised, Ba Sing Se will have a big problem on its hands, especially since there are no other major settlements for it to trade with outside of its walls. If we capture or destroy enough farmland, they'll be on borrowed time from then on. Without a sustainable food supply, they can't hold on forever."
Odd as it may have seemed, Mai did actually find this pretty interesting. Or maybe this was just a side effect of being interested in the person talking. "You make it sound so easy..."
"It's anything but. Getting through the outer wall is already a major hurdle. We've only managed to fully breach it one time, and that was after two years of concentrated bombardment on a single area. It's pretty obvious to me that a frontal assault isn't going to work, but we'll just have to wait and see what the higher ups have in mind. Who knows: we might need Sozin's Comet just to breach their outermost defenses."
Glancing to the sky, Xisheng forgot that he was supposed to be keeping things simple. He couldn't help himself. "Assuming we do breach the wall, we'll have to move our forces in quickly enough to secure a foothold before that breach can be closed, and we'll have to fortify it well enough to avoid being pushed back out at a later date. Once that's done, we'll be able to commence operations in the immediate area, but if the enemy is smart, they'll sabotage resources that would be lost to us anyway before we can get to it. That means we'll have to create and maintain supply lines to our forward operating base, and that supply line will get longer and more difficult to protect the further into enemy territory we advance..."
Mai was about to interject since there was a pause, but it turned out that Xisheng still wasn't done. "On top of all of this, we'll be in enemy territory that we haven't even laid eyes on in a century. We'll have next to no intelligence about terrain, areas of interest, or potential hazards. Meanwhile, the Earth Kingdom will be able to use their bending to move about unmolested through their own territory, harassing us at every turn... I wouldn't be surprised if reaching the capital took several more years of fighting. This may be their last stronghold, but it's also their most formidable."
Sensing that the young man really was done this time, Mai sighed. "I hope Azula doesn't think I'm going to stick around for several years just to see this city go down. That's way too much of my life to waste on something like this."
Knowing full well that he would probably be forced to go through the entire campaign against Ba Sing Se no matter how long it lasted, Xisheng did away with a slightly hurt feeling: Mai probably didn't consider the fact that he'd be there as long as it took, and even if she did, it would be unreasonable to expect her to stick around for the entire campaign. Besides, what would she even do? She wasn't a soldier, she wasn't a tactician, and she wasn't logistics personnel: there would be nothing to do but observe for her.
"Well, that's just a grim prediction based on current tactics and technology. It was only a rumor, but before I joined Azula's retinue I had heard about the development of craft that could fly: there was some sort of setback if I recall, but even so, if something like that is completed, the battle would go much more quickly. We'd be nearly invincible if we could attack from the sky, especially if these flying craft were ready by the time the Comet arrives."
Mai tried to picture a vehicle that could supposedly fly through the air, but she had no idea what such a thing would supposedly look like. Would it be shaped like a bird? Or maybe a flying insect? She couldn't think of anything else that actually flew around in this world, other than giant buffalo, apparently.
"Would the Earth Kingdom even fight at that point? I mean, what would they even be able to do against something like that? Seems like resistance would be pointless."
"I suppose they could try throwing rocks at us, but depending on how high these new vehicles can fly, that won't be of much use. Unfortunately, the Earth Kingdom is nothing if not stubborn: I wouldn't be surprised if they refused to surrender even against an enemy they cannot harm. Honestly, the wisest move would probably be to wait until these new machines are done before even bothering to attack Ba Sing Se, but I doubt the people directing the war effort are going to allow that. Overall patience for the war wears thin: soldiers and commanders alike want it to be over and done with already. And of course, people who care more about glory are unlikely to wait around..."
Frankly, this conversation had hit a point that was too complicated for Mai to personally care about, but she could tell that Gohan was interested in talking about it, so she didn't mind extending the discussion. Even she knew how to make sacrifices.
"But a lot less people would die if we just waited to attack, right? Who would really rush things for personal glory if that were the case?"
Pausing in his training for a moment, Xisheng glanced over his shoulder at the girl, wearing an expressing that was almost pitying: like he was looking at a child who had just uttered the most naive thing he had ever heard. Mai had half a mind to be offended, but she couldn't help but wonder if he had some personal experience that made her question sound so foolish to him.
As for an actual answer, the soldier was never able to offer it, as the two of them were interrupted by the return of Azula, who had just walked around the rear of the Overlord. Apparently, she had overheard what they were talking about.
"Make no mistake, Mai. There are scores of incompetent and foolhardy people in the higher ranks of the Fire Nation. Most of them men, naturally. Even before I left the country for this adventure, there were many politicians and officers that wanted to launch an attack on Ba Sing Se, even though Omashu was still unoccupied. The lives of soldiers don't mean anything to them and their ambitions."
Mai cocked an eyebrow at the new arrival, wondering what she had been up to all this time. "Not at all like you, right?"
Azula wasn't sure if Mai had actually meant for that question to be so heavy, but seeing as how Xisheng, a soldier, was right there, it certainly felt pointed. She even saw Xisheng peer discreetly at her: he was obviously interested in her answer. Unfortunately, it wasn't a question that she could answer automatically.
After all, she'd be lying if she said she really cared about the common people on a personal level. Why should she? She didn't know any of them. They had no faces, no names, no personal sentimental value to her whatsoever. But that was just from a personal perspective. At the very least, she could say she cared about them in a particular regard.
"I'm not going to pretend like the lives of every citizen weigh on me from an emotional standpoint. I will never know the vast majority of them. For all the difference it makes, they are just some vague idea of 'the people.' That said, I am against blatant and unnecessary inefficiency, and I'm well aware that keeping a happy populace is for the best of the nation. Suffice to say, I care about the people in the sense that I don't want them to be needlessly wasted for pointless things like pride and glory."
Personally, Mai felt like that answer was pretty troubling, but Xisheng didn't seem to think so. If anything, he actually looked somewhat content with her answer.
"That's the most anyone could ask of someone in charge. Now, if only more of the military's upper echelon thought that way..."
Azula seemed amused by the notion. "I'm sure I'll find plenty of fools to dismiss from their posts once we reunite with the regular military. Though I'll need to replace them with competent sorts, of course. That said, after all this time, I would feel a little odd calling you 'Captain' or 'Commander."
The young Princess seemingly thought nothing of this, but Xisheng stopped what he was doing in surprise as he stared at her following these words. He seemed quite pleased to have Azula imply that she would promote him. Heck, he looked so happy about it that Azula was almost embarrassed: enough to try and diminish the admiration he was displaying, at any rate.
"I mean, of course you would have to prove capable first... you've proven to be a very competent soldier and subordinate when it comes to our small group, but that's not a great indicator of your ability to lead much larger numbers of people..."
Even though she said that, Azula didn't really think it was completely true. If she were being totally honest with herself, she already fully believed that Xisheng was a perfect fit for military leadership. After all, if he could teach even the Crown Princess a thing or two about leading, surely he had what it took to guide his fellow soldiers.
Azula had to admit that it was a mostly foreign feeling, to have that kind of confidence in someone. She was so used to expecting everyone around her to be incompetent. It was kind of a nice feeling though, knowing that there was someone you could trust in nearly every regard. Maybe it would be preferable to exercise a leadership style that spurred more people to be like him in her service.
Speaking of leadership, Azula glanced at Mai, who was still reclining in the cabin of the Overlord. While the girl had expressed great displeasure in having to drive the vehicle initially, she had not been quite as vocal about that displeasure as of late. Sure, she was never really happy about it, not by a long shot: but she mostly kept her malcontent to a bit of grumbling and a sigh. Azula wasn't sure if Mai had just accepted her fate or if she had found some reason to view the task as mildly more tolerable.
On the other hand, Azula had afforded her friend more breaks in driving than she had Xisheng, so perhaps she realized that she was actually getting a decent deal. All of that said, they had been taking a break for some time already, and there were still several hours of daylight left to get some traveling done.
"I'm aware that it's hard to get back to work after resting, but we do need to cover more distance before the day is out. A few hours, at most."
This was all obviously directed at Mai, who heaved a heavy sigh at being called to action. This seemed to be her punishment for ever taking an interest in driving the Overlord: now she had to drive it all the time, far more than she wanted to. The only consolation for this was the fact that Xisheng would probably be with her, since he, as the actual most experienced driver, often felt the need to supervise just in case something went wrong. After all, if there were some sort of mechanical error, it wasn't like Mai would know what to do about it.
"Fine... guess it's no worse than just sitting here."
While she would have much preferred a less sassy attitude from her all the time, Azula figured it would be for the best to leave it alone. In fact, she figured she would try the opposite, since she knew that Mai didn't react to negative reinforcement very well at all. Likely due to some repressed issues with her childhood, she tended to handle that kind of approach poorly.
"I appreciate your assistance, Mai. I'm sure you can find some way for the Lieutenant to repay you for doing his job at a later date."
The marksman did seem a little surprised to be thanked, but she only offered a grunt of acknowledgment as she scooped up some bedding and a few pillows from the spare ones Xisheng had been sleeping on, presumably to use as cushioning for the metal chairs of the driver's cabin. Instead, she focused on the soldier she had been training.
"Go get my knives."
Said soldier offered a mock salute as he ran off to do what he was told, Azula's gaze on him as he did so. The Princess was a little miffed by the fact that they had not been able to do any intense Firebending training lately, but she had chalked that reality up to his physical state and an inability to do so. But on top of that, he seemed quite eager to learn all of these non-bending skills from her friends. He wasn't nearly this proactive when it came to learning from her...
Or maybe it was just the fact that he was already familiar with Firebending? Learning new things was interesting, naturally. And while knowing how to bend didn't mean there was nothing to learn about it, he must have been excited to learn something entirely new from Mai and Ty Lee. Either way, Azula could admit to herself that it upset her a little bit. Maybe he'd focus on her tutelage with as much gusto as before if she offered the secret to lightning?
Stepping into the cabin of the Overlord, Azula mentally scoffed almost as soon as the thought occurred to her. Bending lightning was a closely guarded technique of the royal family. Teaching it a commoner, even one she trusted, was a huge breach in decorum, among other things. Then again, it sure wold be nice to have someone else who could do it at her side in battle...
Deciding that the notion was at least worth considering, Azula nevertheless shelved it for now as she took to her bed, considering that there as nowhere else to sit while the Overlord was in motion. She'd find some other technique to focus on for now, though it would probably have to wait until this leg of their journey was over. Oh well: she was nothing if not patient.
---
As Azula had predicted, Mai had only been able to get in a few more hours of driving before it became too dark to continue safely. Naturally, Xisheng had kept her company in that time, though it had mostly been spent with her trying to talk him through various aspect of the art she was currently teaching him. Verbal lessons weren't quite as efficient when it came to physical skills as actual practice, but ultimately, Xisheng didn't doubt their usefulness. He was certain that the things they discussed could be put to good use the next time he tried sharpening his skills. That said, he wasn't really sure how long it would be before he would consider himself good enough to throw knives at anyone in a serious fight.
Based on where they stopped for the night and the best estimates of those who could read a map, there would only be a few hours' worth of driving to do tomorrow. Unfortunately, Azula had made it clear that she wanted them to leave pretty early in the morning, so even though it wasn't terribly late right now, most everyone was getting ready to sleep. Mai, for one, was already tired from driving all day, and Azula had turned in early specifically because she knew she would be waking up early as well.
That left only Xisheng and Ty Lee still awake and outside at night, the two of them sitting around a fire that Xisheng had mustered through bending and some available kindling. They'd been talking for awhile, managing a surprising sense of normalcy between them despite the conversation they had shared some days ago. Honestly, Xisheng was surprised that his brunette friend was able to do this: he would have expected Mai or Azula to be capable of putting on airs relatively easily, but he would have thought that Ty Lee would have a harder time of acting so casual after confessing embarrassing things to him.
Then again, perhaps Xisheng was no different. One would think it would be difficult for him to act normally around Ty Lee after what she had told him, but the fact that it wasn't constantly looming over their interactions made it an easy matter. Perhaps it was actually because neither of them was making a big deal out of it. If Ty Lee's demeanor had been seriously affected by it, perhaps Xisheng would have been in the same boat.
Either way, the subject of their conversation wasn't overly affected by the nature of what they knew about each others' feelings, as Xisheng brought up something he had been thinking about.
"I think we should take a look at your injury, Ty Lee."
With their conversation having been focused on a story about Ty Lee's old chi-blocking teacher previously, she was a little surprised about the shift in topic.
"Why? It doesn't feel bad. Well, no worse than what you'd expect from a big cut, I guess."
"I know you said it's felt fine lately, but we should still look at it. You can't always feel a problem with your body, you know? It's only prudent to check on a healing injury every one in a while."
Ty Lee gave him a wry look. "You sure you're not just trying to get my shirt off?"
A little surprised that she would flirt so straightforwardly, Xisheng nevertheless managed a response. "Your torso is wrapped in bandages, remember?"
"Bandages that you'll have to take off to see what you're looking at, right?"
Xisheng recalled that, during their special conversation, Ty Lee had offered to stop being so flirtatious considering her unwillingness to act on her feelings and how unfair it appeared to be for the soldier, but he had never actually told her to stop. Frankly, Xisheng would almost not even feel that she was the same if he asked her to intentionally restrain herself from acting how she would have naturally. Sure, it was a very odd situation to have open flirting between two people who admitted to liking each other while also refusing to go anywhere with it, but Xisheng had come to accept such things as his lot in life ever since joining Azula on this journey. Nothing had been ordinary since that day.
"I don't think I'll need to remove the bandages enough to see anything scandalous, Ty Lee."
The girl pouted a little, but ultimately relented. "Fine, I guess I can trust you with my body."
Not nearly dense enough to miss the intentionally suggestive wording, Xisheng couldn't help but blush a little, though he found the confidence to retaliate.
"I think I've proven so far that all three of you can trust me with your bodies, don't you think?"
Clearly a little miffed to have the others brought into this, and in such a light no less, Ty Lee swiftly tried to turn the focus back to herself. "A-alright you, just help me get my shirt off..."
Under any other circumstances, such wording would have been highly suggestive, but the current situation actually justified it easily. Ty Lee's black top from her Earth Kingdom disguise had been slashed in two, so she'd gone back to her usual pink and red getup, which had a top that was pulled over her head. While she hadn't exactly been crippled by her wound, the necessary arm movements to get that top off would probably be quite uncomfortable for her. It was Xisheng's understanding that either Mai or Azula had been helping her with it since then.
This meant that Xisheng had to help her get this top off, an exercise that may have been a little flustering in some other situation, but as of right now, he was more concerned with making sure he didn't hurt her. Besides, in Xisheng's opinion, helping someone get dressed or undressed without proper atmosphere was awkward more than arousing.
Even though Xisheng only had one arm to help with, it didn't take long for Ty Lee to be free of the cloth, on her upper body at least. Of course, she was just as modest as before, since her breasts were hidden behind bandages. Xisheng hadn't really taken note of it until now, but the tightly wound linens made a pretty big impact on how busty she appeared to be.
Now that this step was done, Ty Lee motioned for him to turn away. "OK, I can do this part myself. Don't look!"
Xisheng considered mentioning that Ty Lee had already shown him her bust in all its glory at the river, but ultimately he figured he wouldn't. Far be it from him to determine what the difference was in letting him see now versus then. Maybe, having already been caught naked, she had simply experienced a 'go for broke' moment in which she figured there was no reason in being shy at that point.
Either way, the soldier turned around and averted his gaze so Ty Lee could undue her bandages in comfort. Of course, it didn't take that long to do, so it wasn't long before the acrobat was prompting him to turn around.
"O-OK, you can look now..."
Turning his attention back to Ty Lee, Xisheng was greeted by the sight of her bandages completely unwrapped and hanging loosely around her waist. Her arms were raised, hands covering the most tantalizing parts of her breasts as she glanced at him shyly, a blush on her face. Admittedly, even though she was much less exposed here than at the river, it was somehow almost even more erotic.
In hindsight, the way the bandages had been tied around her meant that Ty Lee was going to have to expose herself somewhat. Had this occurred to Xisheng earlier, he would have suggested that Mai or Azula do this for her instead. Then again, it wasn't like he was unhappy with this scenario. He'd be lying if he said that he hadn't imagined laying eyes on these voluptuous breasts again. He was the type of person to respect a girl's modesty, but if he did get to see them in all of their natural glory, he wasn't going to feel bad about it.
Under his gaze, Ty Lee's blush grew more prominent. For some reason, she felt more bashful in this situation than the more scandalous one she had been in before. Of course, Xisheng didn't fail to pick up on this, so he tried to alleviate her embarrassment by focusing on actual practicality. Hopefully, he managed to school some of his own embarrassment off of his face as he leaned in to get a better look at the healing wound Ty Lee still sported. The light of the campfire wasn't quite enough to get a good look at it, so Xisheng lit a small flame in his good hand to provide better lighting.
With an actual thing of import to focus on, it was easy to clear his mind frivolous thoughts. This was relevant to a friend's health, after all.
That said, Xisheng wasn't exactly a medical professional. Of course he'd be able to tell if there was a really glaring problem, like a surface infection or something. But other than that, his analysis was pretty amateur. The cut itself appeared to be healing fine, and Mai's stitches were holding up well, as best as Xisheng could tell. If anything was wrong, he couldn't discern it.
"I know you said as much already, but you haven't felt any pain at all? Nothing seems amiss?"
Clearly still immersed in her own thoughts, Ty Lee nevertheless managed to give him an answer. "N-nothing that I can think of... I mean, it stung for awhile after the cut, but that's the kind of pain I'd expect from getting hurt. I haven't felt that anything was really wrong outside of the ordinary."
With little reason to infer that any action had to be taken, Xisheng leaned away from the girl and allowed the flame at his fingertip to dissipate. "Then I guess everything is fine. Will you be able to wrap your bandages again on your own?"
Ty Lee looked a little sheepish. "Well, uh... I didn't pay that much attention when I was unwrapping them, so I'm not sure how to put them back..."
"Turn around then, and I'll put them back from behind."
Naturally, Ty Lee did not object to this, since she had clearly been more reluctant to expose herself today compared to last time. At least with her back turned, nothing too private would be exposed. Of course, Xisheng was the type of person to appreciate a toned back and slender shoulders as well, so it wasn't a total wash as far as he was concerned.
While there were a few times his hand accidentally brushed a delicate place while reapplying Ty Lee's bandages, said incidents went without particular comment from either party, and soon enough, Xisheng had finished his work and helped Ty Lee get her shirt back on. At that point, he figured it was as good a time as any to go to bed, since the air had grown somewhat awkward, but he was forced to re-evaluate that sentiment when Ty Lee accosted him.
"Alright, your turn!"
"My turn? For what?"
"If it's a good idea to check how an injury is healing, there's no reason we shouldn't look at your arm, right? That only makes sense, so take your shirt off."
Maybe Xisheng was the only one who thought the atmosphere had grown a little awkward. Or maybe Ty Lee felt it too, but thought it could be dispelled if she forced the embarrassment to switch hands to him instead of her. Either way, Xisheng felt compelled to remind her of a particular fact.
"Ty Lee, I'm pretty sure we won't have to take my whole shirt off just to look at my arm..."
The girl pouted at this, but also raised a good counter-point. "Do you really think it would be a good idea to roll your sleeve up your arm? Because that's the only way we can look without taking your shirt off all the way."
Thinking about it for a moment, Xisheng couldn't say that Ty Lee didn't have a point. It would probably be easier to just remove his shirt all the way than to try and roll a sleeve up his battered arm. Of course, this was still not really necessary. Naturally, he had checked on his own injury at least once since acquiring it, and it wasn't like Ty Lee had the required knowledge to make any sort of useful observation about it. So there wasn't really a practical reason to do this.
But as he had determined already, Xisheng figured that practicality may not have been the only thing worth considering. Maybe equivalent exchange would make Ty Lee feel more comfortable. Or maybe she wanted to see how bothered he really was or wasn't by what he had learned from their conversation a few days ago? Maybe she would perceive refusal to do this as a sign that he was not really comfortable with her.
Or maybe she just wanted to see him shirtless. There wasn't always some deeper hidden meaning to things.
Either way, while it was a little embarrassing, Xisheng figured it was only fair to allow this. After all, he had seen Ty Lee completely nude once, and topless just now. It wouldn't really be fair to act as though she was asking too much of him at this point.
"OK, I guess you're right... it couldn't hurt to check. Help me get this sling off first, and be careful."
Naturally, Xisheng's 'sling' was still just some of Mai's garments tied together to achieve this simple aim. But thus far, it had actually served him quite well, and it wasn't like they had any alternatives. At the very least, this made it quite easy to remove it, since it was as simple as untying a knot. Once that was done, there was the slow and tentative process of getting his shirt off. Admittedly, Xisheng's arm wasn't in as excruciating of pain as it had been immediately after the injury, but he was definitely not without suffering still: he had really just settled into that state of extreme soreness and stiffness. Moving it around was not particularly pleasant, but he didn't imagine a desire to cut his arm off like he had before, in hopes that it would somehow be better.
While he wasn't actually wearing his armor right now since it wasn't like it as needed anyway, Xisheng was of course still wearing the parts of the uniform that went underneath it, which included a shirt that had to be pulled over one's head. This was good for insulation, but bad when one needed to get their shirt off with an arm that was no good and in pain.
Still, with Ty Lee's help and some careful maneuvering, he did manage to get undressed to that extent, though he hadn't been able to contain a few contained grunts throughout the ordeal.
If Ty Lee were being honest with herself, she would readily admit that her motives had been mostly impure and carnal. While she knew just from his stature and poise that Xisheng was built, she had never actually been able to get a look at just how much, which didn't seem terribly fair considering how many times he had seen her in a state of undress by now. She couldn't lie to herself and pretend that a big part of the plan here hadn't just been to ogle the guy she had a crush on.
But now that she actually could, the acrobat found it hard to derive any enjoyment from the sight: not because she felt guilty, nor because Xisheng's physique was a letdown, since he was toned and muscular. It was just that she hadn't expected to see so many marks of pain etched into his torso.
The arm was obvious, and quite painful to look at, considering its mottled hues of red and purple, but she had been expecting to see that. But she had not been expecting the numerous array of scars that marred his flesh. Long streaks of pale flesh that signified a grievous wound of the past, patches of skin that had clearly been singed before... it wasn't accurate to say that Xisheng was covered in scars, but no matter where you looked, your gaze didn't have to travel far to find one.
Sharp as always, it didn't take the soldier very long to identify that her expression wasn't what he had been expecting. He'd predicted some impure ogling, and had expected to be somewhat bashful about it, but this reaction was certainly not that. More than anything, Ty Lee looked saddened now that he was shirtless. That kind of stung a bit.
Ironically, while he was pretty intuitive in some regards, there were other ways in which Xisheng was quite oblivious. That was probably way he assumed that the girl sitting next to him was disappointed or put off by all of the scars across his body.
"Yeah... being a soldier really does a number on your body. It's not pretty to look at, is it?"
In a heartbeat, Ty Lee's sorrowful expression was replaced by one of those cute frowns that symbolized displeasure with someone's perception. "You idiot, it's not like that. These scars don't change anything about how handsome you are. It's just..."
Gingerly reaching out with her fingertips to brush against the scar on his shoulder from a wound that had nearly taken his life, Ty Lee's countenance shifted to its prior state once more.
"You've been through so much pain... to get hurt this much, and you're barely any older than me... how much more will you have to endure if you've already suffered this much so early in life?"
Admittedly, this was not a notion that Xisheng had thought about much before. In retrospect, it was true that he had been dealt many serious injuries for someone his age. Far more than was ordinary, for certain. But he had always just accepted that as the reality of being a soldier. There was nary a soul who had actually fought on the frontlines for any respectable amount of time that had not accrued a scar from their battles.
Maybe Ty Lee had a point though. He wasn't even at the halfway mark of a natural lifespan, but he'd almost been killed several times and had been grievously wounded many times more. Was it just the way his life was doomed to progress?
Either way, he sought to placate Ty Lee. "It's true that I've been hurt a lot, Ty Lee. But it's not like I'll be a soldier forever. One day, I'll..."
Xisheng petered off at that, because now that he was thinking about it, he wasn't actually sure what he would do 'one day.' Not that he actually expected to serve in the Army his entire life, but he just hadn't really thought about what he would do when it was all over. Being a soldier was all he knew. Fighting and Firebending were his skills, and he wasn't sure how those could possibly transfer to civilian life in the long run. He had no clear goal for his future after the military.
Ty Lee must have picked up on his reason for petering off, because she decided to fill out his statement for him. "One day, preferably sooner than later, you'll retire as a hero with a beautiful woman who loves you very much. You'll have a really nice house in a super scenic location, provided by Azula as thanks for everything you've done for her and the Fire Nation."
Xisheng was going to say that he liked the sound of that, but perhaps he underestimated how invested Ty Lee was in creating this narrative, because she kept going.
"You'll have a wonderful kid with your wife, but just one though... maybe two, but hopefully not twins! You can teach them all of your cool moves, and Azula and Mai can be those kind of scary aunts the kids love, but we always have to be a little wary-"
The brunette stopped herself short when she realized that she had implied something quite embarrassing just then. That she was the beautiful wife in this hypothetical scenario was no great mystery. Xisheng, suitably flustered by the insinuation, figured he could call Ty Lee out on it, but that would just be awkward for both of them, wouldn't it?
It would be better to just play it off like he had totally missed the implication. Besides, he could probably get a smile out of Ty Lee while doing it. "Yeah, that kind of life... it doesn't sound so bad. I'd like to have something so wonderful when I'm finally done fighting."
Xisheng couldn't tell if Ty Lee bought his faked obliviousness, but she seemed pleased by his answer regardless. Perhaps she had thought he was determined to spend his entire life as a career soldier, with no retirement in sight. While Xisheng was certain that he would spend many years still serving his country, he had every intention of leaving the struggle to someone else at some point in the future.
More importantly, he once again found himself completely bewildered. For a girl that apparently didn't want to take their relationship any further than it was right now, Ty Lee sure didn't have much reluctance in imagining herself as his wife, even in a purely hypothetical scenario. At this point, he had no clue what was really going through her head: she couldn't make it any clearer that she was serious about her feelings, but what then could be a potent enough obstacle to stop her from pursuing it?
Frankly, the soldier had to acknowledge the possibility that maybe he just wasn't as good at reading people as he believed himself to be. Though if he were being totally honest, Ty Lee's logic and actions conflicted in a way that seemed to defy reason, or at least what he considered to be reason.
Either way, as he glanced away from the blushing brunette and started thinking of a normal way to draw the conversation to a close so they could all go to bed, the soldier concluded that he was going to have to either start investigating seriously or simply accept the fact that he had no clue what was going on.
---
As Xisheng had estimated the day prior, there wasn't much driving the next day. The group had awoken fairly early in the morning, about eight or so: but by noon, they had already laid eyes on the dark steel of a Fire Nation outpost on a rocky cliff overlooking the seas surrounding the Earth Kingdom. Mai had been sure to breath one of the only sighs of relief that Xisheng had ever heard from her, and even the soldier had to admit that he was somewhat looking forward to a change of pace.
Considering the remote location of this outpost and the fact that an distinctively Fire Nation vehicle was approaching it, the one sentry at the front gate didn't look terribly alarmed, and he didn't inform any of his fellows that someone was approaching. Xisheng was a little bothered by the nonchalant behavior from a sentry, but he cut the soldier some slack: the odds of this out of the way outpost getting attacked by the enemy was very low, and if it was going to be attacked, it probably wouldn't be via some sort of subterfuge involving a Fire Nation vehicle.
Besides, at the very least, the soldier did motion for them to stop while they were approaching, thankfully from far enough away that Mai had time to do so. He wasn't so complacent as to not even check what an unscheduled arrival was about, it seemed.
Upon bringing the vehicle to a complete stop, Xisheng opened the door to the driver's cabin so he could speak with the sentry directly, the latter of which had stepped around to the side of the vehicle.
"Well met, soldier. The Crown Princess of the Fire Nation is here to inspect your humble outpost."
This sentry being one of the non-bending kind that didn't wear a mask, Xisheng was free to witness the unconvinced look on his face. He didn't blame him: the odds of the Crown Princess showing up all the way out here were practically nil: Xisheng wouldn't be surprised if this outpost hadn't even received news that she had left the country. Besides, this introduction did sound like the kind of prank a soldier would pull on one of his comrades.
"Real funny. What regiment are you from? We don't have a supply run scheduled today."
Seeing as he didn't have a current regiment, Xisheng didn't really have an answer to that. The sentry leaned a little to the side to peer into the cabin, his expression being replaced with bewilderment as he identified a young woman who was clearly not a soldier operating the vehicle. Mai simply looked back, seemingly unbothered with his observation.
This probably would have led to a lot more questions, but thankfully, the hydraulic door to the passenger cabin opened at that time. Naturally, the sentry warily turned his attention towards the disturbance, though his face drained of color when he identified one of the people stepping out of the vehicle. He spared one utterly flabbergasted glance back at Xisheng, who merely shrugged. Then he was swiftly bending at the waist so he could properly bow to Azula.
"P-P-Princess! It is an honor, I mean, w-we're most grateful, er... there was no word that your Highness was gracing us with her presence today!"
At one point in time, Azula had found it amusing when people reacted like this to her presence. Granted, she did still find it a little amusing, but more than that, it was also a bit annoying. Either way, she wasted no time in getting to the point of her business there.
"Indeed. Take this vehicle into the outpost and do with it as you will. There are three Mongoose Lizards in the rear compartment. Oh, but take everything out of the second cabin and neatly store it. I will decide later what to do with those goods."
The soldier bowed once again, clearly worried that he would somehow incur Azula's wrath. Frankly, Xisheng had forgotten that a lot of people in the regular military held this view of Azula. Of course, his own perception was more than a little biased at this point, all things considered. Either way, he and Mai made to exit the vehicle, since the sentry would need them to vacate it in order to do what Azula had commanded.
As he followed Azula towards the gate of the outpost along with Mai and Ty Lee, the soldier couldn't help but cast a wistful gaze back at the Overlord as it receded. The look didn't go unnoticed by Ty Lee.
"What's wrong, Gohan?"
"Oh, nothing... I'm just a little more bothered by leaving the Overlord for good than I thought I would be. I guess it hasn't been that long, but it's kind of grown on me."
Mai clearly didn't share his sentiment on the matter. "Really? I can actually say with confidence now that driving that thing sucks. What is there to miss?"
Feeling like he had to defend himself somehow now, Xisheng tried to put the sentiment into words. "I don't know, it's just... the Overlord has more or less been home base since we started using it. It's offered protection and solace, and been very reliable. Look, maybe it's just a soldier thing: it's easy to get attached to something that has served you well and kept you safe, even if it is just a tool. It's not unlike you and your knives, if you think about it..."
Not expecting this comparison, Mai seemed to give it a serious moment of thought. Ultimately, she decided that he may have actually had a point. Sure, she couldn't care less about the Overlord, but she did understand what it was like to have a personal significance attached to a tool or weapon. She'd be quite disturbed herself if she had to part with her favorite set of knives.
Walking into the outpost itself, the group was able to lay eyes on its relatively unimpressive existence. There were a few metal buildings, and the walls were steel, but most of everything else was either tents or ramshackle structures. Unlike more heavily fortified bases, the ground was left entirely alone, remaining as stone and dirt: if this base had any actual chance of being attacked, it most certainly would have laid metal sheets to act as flooring for it. It was the only way to stop Earthbender from waltzing right under the defenses.
Of course, the fact that no one expected an attack here was probably why this was not a concern. Truly, this outpost was in the middle of nowhere, seeing as how even the closest Earth Kingdom cities were still days' worth of travel away while using the Overlord. The Earth Kingdom didn't even have an equivalent ground transport to the best of Xisheng's knowledge, so it would take even longer for them to get out here. Chances were, they didn't even know this outpost existed.
But it wasn't like this outpost served some great function: to the best of Xisheng's knowledge, it had been built decades ago on the off chance that the Fire Nation circumvented their world to come all the way over here and create a staging area for an invasion of the EK, but for many reasons, it had ultimately been unnecessary.
For one, the Fire Nation would have had to march an ungodly distance from here to reach anything of importance. Secondly, it had just been more efficient to sail directly East from the country to the Earth Kingdom and deploy everyone from there. That being the case, this outpost continued to be manned only as an observation point. It was unlikely that the tattered remnants of the Earth Kingdom navy would even attempt to launch an attack on the western coast of the Fire Nation, but it wasn't impossible, and the job only required a small group of men.
While Xisheng was thinking about all of this, Azula was looking around for another soldier to address. The one she found was clearly transporting a box of some sort, but he was quickly beckoned over when he realized that the Crown Princess of the Fire Nation had been summoned out of thin air at his remote base. In but a moment, he had approached and bowed fervently, much like the sentry from before. His voice almost came across as panicked.
That was understandable though: when you manned a base this far out in the sticks, you probably didn't care much for protocols, and you certainly didn't expect a sudden visit from the Royal Family. Who knew what kind of objectively lamentable things were happening here? There was probably a squad of soldier gambling in one of these tents, and who knew what else.
"Y-y-your Highness! How may I be of service?!"
If Azula was bothered by his speech or tone, she didn't show it. "I require the directions to your commanding officer, as well as whoever is in charge of treating the wounded. Assuming this place has an armory, point out its location to me."
While he was still stumbling a bit, the soldier that had been ordered quickly pointed out the various buildings, as well as one tent, that were home to all of the things she had requested. Once he had done that, the Crown Princess dismissed him, which allowed the poor man to scamper away. It was almost kind of funny, seeing an adult react such a way to a teenage girl.
With the information she desired acquired, Azula turned towards her group. "I'm off to speak to the commander of this outpost about the next leg of our journey. Lieutenant, report to the medical tent immediately. Ty Lee, I suggest you peruse through the armory for any sort of protection that can keep you safe the next time we have to fight. Mai... do as you please, I suppose."
Her instructions given, Azula turned on her heel to walk towards the largest metal cube in the outpost, where the commander would be. Ty Lee had a pouty look on her face as she watched her friend leave.
"Hey, how come she doesn't care if I go to the medical tent?"
Xisheng was going to mention how Ty Lee's injury was already treated as best as it could be, and short of intentionally opening it up, which was a terrible idea, there wouldn't be much even a trained medic would be able to do about it. But instead, Mai ended up speaking first.
"At least she expressed some concern for your health. It's not like I wear armor either."
"Which is probably a bad idea, right? Why not come check out the armory with me?"
Xisheng couldn't see Mai actually wearing armor, mostly because she needed to be able to reach a hand into her clothing to draw weapons, but he would be lying if he said he didn't like the idea of her being more protected. What had happened to Ty Lee was much too close: he honestly would have preferred if all the girls equipped themselves as he did, though he knew that wasn't going to happen.
Still, Mai did have an obvious interest in edged weapons, so unsurprisingly, she wasn't entirely against the idea. "Sure, that sounds fine."
Since the two of them would be going a different direction, Ty Lee waved back at Xisheng. "Gohan, don't do that guy thing where you act like you aren't hurt that bad and don't need attention! You'd better be honest with that medic!"
Xisheng waved back to the girls. "Don't worry, my masculinity isn't so fragile that I have to lie about being in pain."
With a satisfied nod from Ty Lee and a look of mild concern from Mai, the two girls walked off in the direction of the armory, leaving Xisheng all by his lonesome. Of course, since he had things to do, he wasn't exactly planning on standing around. As he walked towards one of the many nondescript tan tents in the outpost, Xisheng had to admit that it felt a little odd being back in this situation again. While it hadn't actually been that long, it felt like an eternity since he had been inside of a military base, albeit a small one, and surrounded by fellow soldiers.
It was hard to explain why: he supposed it was just the vastly different dynamic he had been subjected to lately. Admittedly, the sense of solidarity he had once shared without question with fellow soldiers had deteriorated somewhat. Not that he felt he didn't belong among them, but he did feel feel and truly different from his fellow troops, whereas before he had perceived himself as just another grunt. Well, as long as he didn't let that go to his head, he supposed there was no harm in it.
Since the outpost was small, the trip to the medical tent took only a minute. Upon arriving in there, Xisheng quickly confirmed what he had already suspected: this outpost probably had next to no need for a dedicated tent like this. Of the several cots in this tent, only one was occupied, and the soldier within it looked bored out of his skull moreso than in grievous pain.
The person who was actually the medic, identifiable due to a white patch of paint on his shoulder pad, was reclining lazily in a chair near the entrance. Naturally, he was utterly shocked to see someone who was actually injured walking into his tent, though that was only the first of his questions.
Of course, he asked who Xisheng was, seeing as how contingent of men here was pretty small and most everyone knew each other, as well as where he had come from and what had happened to him. Considering the dull life of the soldiers here, he had been able to regale the two men that, now that Xisheng was saying it out loud, did sound truly unbelievable. What, with a common soldier ascending to a position of importance to the Crown Princess, hunting the Avatar, and all that.
As was the usual for these types of conversations, the medic shared some stories of his own, but it was mostly just complaining about how boring things were around here. According to him, the man in the cot just had some sort of stomach ache (and he had doubts as to whether or not it was genuine), and the worst injury he had seen while on duty at this outpost came from a man who had smashed his finger in one of the metal doors around the outpost.
Part of Xisheng worried about whether or not this guy had the right experience considering his station and what he had to deal with regularly, but as they got down to business and the young medic began examining his arm, it became clear that he knew what he was doing. From there, the process was about what one would expect: praise for how well the injury had been tended to under the circumstances, a whistle of appreciation from the unpleasant sight of the arm itself, and a lot of poking, prodding, and requests for Xisheng to move his arm in various ways to try and determine the extent of the damage.
The whole process had to be done without any sort of painkillers, even though the medic had them on hand. Of course, that was because pain was a good indicator of when something was wrong, and it was usually hard to discern how grave an injury was if the patient couldn't feel it. In fact, Xisheng had heard it said before that the wounds you couldn't feel were often the ones that killed you.
Ultimately, the medic concluded that Xisheng's arm wasn't broken, and that as best as he could tell, there was no reason to expect any permanent damage to come from this. His best estimate for functional recovery was two weeks, while his best estimate for when he would no longer be pained by it at all was three, though he did state that the pain was likely to subside to some extent over time.
After that, it was just a matter of situating Xisheng so he could be on his way. The medic provided him with an actual sling for his arm, and showed him how to properly secure his arm with it so he wouldn't have to use Mai's clothes as a makeshift sling any longer. He also provided Xisheng with a few vials of liquid that would supposedly help numb the pain, but the base itself didn't have much to spare, so it wasn't like it would last him the whole two weeks. He would just have to save them for the worst days.
With his checkup done, Xisheng bid farewell to his new acquaintances, since he was sure Azula wouldn't want him loitering around to chat. Stepping back outside, he found that most of his party was already back, though Azula was still missing. Ty Lee and Mai had apparently found things they liked in the armory, though he was a little surprised by what they were.
Ty Lee had gone in for armor of some sort, but she had not come out with much. In fact, the only thing she had acquired was a pair of bracers and some light gauntlets that covered her hands, but not her fingers. Better than nothing, especially since Ty Lee's fighting style often meant extending her arms towards an enemy, but Xisheng certainly would have wished for more.
Mai, on the other hand, was twirling around a knife as usual, but this one happened to be on the end of a rope. Presumably, she had acquired this from the armory, though Xisheng had no idea why such a niche weapon would be present. Then again, supply shipments often included some things that weren't intended.
As he approached the duo, he figured he might as well ask about their findings. "I see the raid on the armory was successful, though I must admit, you two didn't come back with what I was expecting..."
Since she now had another person in close proximity on her other side, Mai shortened the length of rope that she was spinning around, though she didn't actually stop. Normally, Xisheng would be a little worried about the close proximity, but he had full confidence in Mai's ability to not hurt anyone near her unintentionally.
"Tell me about it. They actually had a whole crate of these things in there. Is this a normal weapon for soldiers in our country?"
"Decidedly not. Must have been some sort of logistics mix-up or something. You want to give your soldiers weapons that are easy to use and learn, and I don't think a knife on the end of a rope fits that description."
Ty Lee weighed in on their conversation. "Mai seems to be pretty good with it already. Though, do you even need something like that? How is that any better than throwing normal knives?"
If Mai had any deep technical answer to give, she didn't. Instead, she merely shrugged. "I don't know. Just thought it would be interesting to try. That doesn't mean I'll ever use it in a fight."
Since that kind of answer was perfectly fitting coming from Mai, Xisheng figured there was nothing more to discuss on that front. He imagined you could do some cool things with such a weapon, but they would undoubtedly be beyond him. He'd love to see what Mai could do with it, though.
Instead, he focused on Ty Lee. "And what about you? Was that all the armor you could find in there?"
Ty Lee looked a little sheepish. "Well, they did have some other stuff, but most of it was no good. The boots were too big and also kind of heavy, which would be bad for balancing. The only chest armor they had was one of those kinds with the shoulder pads attached, and I wouldn't be able to raise my arms above my head like that. I kind of need to do that for my technique, y'know?"
Xisheng was surprised to hear about older model armor being in the armory, but he supposed it made sense for a remote outpost like this one. They weren't in dire need of the most advanced equipment, so providing them with surplus armor from an earlier time wasn't that big of a deal.
Mai commented further on Ty Lee's explanation. "There were a few helmets, but even with the ones that had straps, I figured they would probably shift around and fall over Ty Lee's eyes a lot while she's jumping around and all that. That also seemed like a bad idea. But the arm pieces will let her protect herself a bit and not get in the way of her usual fighting technique."
Taking all of that into consideration, Xisheng figured they had a point. Without armor that was altered to her specific needs, it was going to be difficult to find any that meshed well with the way Ty Lee moved and fought. Standard issue armor was designed with standard combat in mind. Still...
"Well, what about you, Mai? You could probably afford to wear some of that without any of it getting in your way."
The marksman seemed to find the suggestion a little silly. "And gallivant around with all of those odds and ends sticking out of me? No thanks. I know it sounds weird, but I do have some semblance of style."
"I'd rather you prioritize your safety over that... even if it's just gauntlets and bracers like Ty Lee grabbed, those could protect you from a grievous wound in a pinch. Plus, they're smooth and would even match your outfit. Will you at least consider that much for me, Mai?"
While her initial reaction was to grumble about being pestered over it, Mai found it hard to do that. Admittedly, she was a little happy that Xisheng was so determined to have her protected, even if it was only a little more than usual. Plus, she was finding it really difficult to say no when he looked right at her like that. Damn, when had she become so weak?
"I, uh... guess it wouldn't hurt to grab some, just in case..."
Pleased to hear that, Xisheng was about to thank her for accommodating him, but he didn't get the chance to, since the door to the main outpost building opened and Azula stepped out, with a small group of soldiers, one of which was a mustached commander looking type, filing out behind her. They all started moving to the rear end of the base, where the cliffs were. Azula came up to them instead, wasting no time in explaining what was happening.
"Well, the good news is that this outpost does have a ship. The even better news is that there are enough spare soldiers around here to crew it. The bad news is that the vessel is one of those small transport ships and it isn't terribly fast, so we're going to be at sea for some time. Unfortunately, it's the only vessel they have here. That being the case, I have no intention of sleeping in a place that's beneath me for that long, so we have a little bit of time while we wait for the residents of this base to carry our nice amenities down the cliff and to the boat."
Mai stopped twirling the rope dart she had acquired. "Well then, I guess I should head back to the armory real quick..."
Knowing full well that Xisheng was greatly concerned about their safety, Ty Lee actually agreed with that course of action. "I'll go too. Maybe there is something else I could actually use in there?"
Mai shrugged to the notion of her company, leading the way to the armory once again. Azula was quick to announce her plans as well. "I'm going to speak to the communications officer here so I can have a message sent back to the capital. Not that my father doesn't trust my discretion, but I'm sure he'd like to be appraised of my intentions and location after all this time. Do what you will until it is time to leave, Lieutenant."
Once that was said, Xisheng was swiftly left alone once again, something he wasn't actually that used to. It was a rare day when everyone was doing something else, and he wasn't involved in any way. Problem was, there wasn't really anything for him to do now. There was nothing particularly useful he could put his time towards. Since this was the case, he had no choice but to relax. Seeking some way to do that, he made for the outpost wall that overlooked the cliffs and the ocean, scaling the stairs so he could get a good view.
From here, one could see a seemingly endless stretch of deep blue out to the horizon, as well as the foot of the cliffs the outpost was situated on. He could even see the small transport vessel they'd be taking, all the way at the bottom. Some soldiers carrying crates were walking down a winding path to reach it. The trek didn't look pleasant, especially considering that said soldiers might have to move up and down the trail several times.
Choosing to focus on the ocean instead, Xisheng had to force himself to try and relax. The urge to do something useful was quite strong, though it was a little weird that it struck him so potently right now. It wasn't like he had never relaxed before: maybe it was just the fact that his contribution to the team had been severely hindered after his arm had been busted up. It felt like other people had been carrying his weight these past few days. That was probably the main reason he felt so antsy about standing around while everyone else was doing something valuable with their time.
Hopefully it was an isolated issue, because if this kind of thing was going to bother him in the future, then perhaps he would find it quite difficult to ever retire...
"Is this ocean truly so interesting? It hardly looks any different from the one that can be seen from the Fire Nation's shores."
Mildly startled out of his musings, Xisheng glanced over his shoulder to find that Azula had approached him from behind. Whether that was because she was that stealthy or because he just wasn't paying attention, he wasn't sure.
"Finished with the communications officer already, Princess?"
Coming to stand beside him as she peered out over the same view, Azula responded to that. "I simply had to relay what I wanted written in the message. Actually getting that message where it is supposed to go isn't my concern. Ignoring that, you didn't answer my question: are you actually admiring this view, or are you simply dwelling on something?"
In the old days, Xisheng would have been surprised by the notion of the Crown Princess being invested in his thoughts, but he was used to it by now. Presumably, she felt that he was worth listening to sometimes.
"I was just thinking about the future. Retirement, and whatnot."
From the corner of his eye, Xisheng noted a surprised expression from Azula. "Retirement? Lieutenant, you're hardly much older than myself. It's a little early to even dwell on that."
"Well, I don't mean any time in the near future. I know I have many years of service still before me. But at some point, I will have to choose whether or not I want to continue serving or if I'd rather leave the Army and return to a peaceful life. I was just thinking about what I'll actually do if and when that time comes."
Azula folded her arms, one of those subtle mannerisms Xisheng had determined to mean that she was not particularly happy or enthused about the topic of discussion. Why though, he had no idea.
"What would you even do, Xisheng? Far be it from me to claim I know everything about you, but being a soldier seems to be your main motivation in life. But even more than that... you're a warrior. I can tell that, professional as you strive to be, you love fighting and challenging yourself in combat. Do you really think you'd be happy living some peaceful life back in the homeland somewhere?"
She had a point, Xisheng couldn't deny that. Most of his existence right now was being a soldier. He also loved to fight for its own sake, in a pure, challenging sort of sense. But surely, there were ways he could put those skills and desires to use outside of war, right? Maybe he could start an officially sanctioned dueling ring, or something? Or he could go on to train other soldiers, but that wouldn't keep him satisfied as far as challenges were concerned...
Frankly, thinking this far in advance was tedious, and to some extent, kind of silly. Who knew if he was even going to live long enough to worry about any of this? With that in mind, Xisheng shook his head, amused by his own sentiment.
"Well, you may be right, Princess. But thinking about it is kind of pointless anyway. I've got no intention of retiring as long as I'm serving alongside you. So it's not like I need to worry about it until you don't need me anymore."
Having cast his gaze out to the sea again, Xisheng totally missed the shocked expression from his companion, who swiftly tried to hide it lest the soldier turn back and notice. Honestly, Azula was a little surprised that she still got floored by things such as this: it wasn't the first time he had said something similar. Even so, such a nonchalant declaration of support and allegiance flustered Azula a bit. For some reason, the fact that he didn't even consider such a thing as special or unordinary made it even more so.
He'd stick around as long as she needed him, was it? Well, who was to say what types of needs she'd need fulfilled in the future? He hadn't specified any sort of context those needs had to be in. Such a thought was one that would ordinarily be considered ridiculous, unthinkable, even laughable, and yet... she still considered it.
Unbeknownst to him, Xisheng had unwittingly prompted Azula to think about her own future, and in a light that he never would have guessed. As far as he was concerned, they were just sharing a comfortable moment of silence as they awaited the next stage of their journey.