[private - Mai] Taking a break

[Chase Sato]

They rode silently for a long while, eventually leaving the city behind. They made their way into a forest, the trees were dense enough to hide them, but Chase kept his hood up anyways. He didn't want to really risk being seen at this point. There were enough people in the city that he could get lost in the crowd, but out here it was so easy to spot and follow someone without them noticing. Though he was relaxing slightly, his senses were all on high alert, listening and watching for anything that might be out of the ordinary. He didn't know what these assholes were planning on doing to him, if they even intended for him to get to the fire nation alive.

A small sigh escaped his lips as he decided to stop for some rest, pulling the reins of the emu horse, causing the animal to halt. "We should stop for a little." he said quietly, getting off the animal's saddle. Turning around, he offered his hand to help Mai down, taking her hand in his as she jumped down. He hadn't been paying attention, but the next thing he knew she had stumbled upon him, he instinctively caught her, looking down into her blue eyes. They were so beautiful. If only for a moment he forgot about all this craziness, and just looked down into those ocean-like orbs.

Chase had never really been kissed before. He had a girlfriend when he was 17 and they kissed once, but it didn't feel anything like this. Even though their lips barely touched, he still got butterflies in his stomach. His features turned red with a blush as she pulled away, he was stunned that had just happened. His surprised stare was locked on her back as she fiddled with the canteens. He didn't know what he was doing, but before he could stop it, his hand gently grabbed her wrist, turning her around. For a moment his mind screamed for him to stop, but another part of him just said 'screw it'. Pulling her in by the small of her back, Chase leaned down and kissed her full on the lips, closing his eyes, wanting any type of distraction from his thought at this point.

Pulling away slowly, he looked down at her, "Sorry..." he muttered, turning away from Mai. He didn't know what else to say, but felt like more should be said, he just didn't have the energy to come up with anything. The fire bender leaned his back against a tree, sliding down until he was sitting on the ground, him head in his knees.

[Mai Toriko]

Mai was shocked at the sudden lip lock but her hands set gently on her chest as she enjoyed the second attempt. She felt this odd sensation come over her as they kissed. She had done this before, her job made her quite well versed but it was never like this. There had never been any feeling or desire to continue it, this wasn't a job like before. Her hands when to reach his shoulder to draw him closer but then he was gone and she felt cold. Her lips tingled from the sensations but her heart ached as he walked away from her. His eyes didn't have the warmth she hoped they would. They were just as cold. Did she disappoint him? Was it wrong? Why on earth was he sorry for doing such a thing...maybe he wasn't saying sorry to her...Mai turned away from him and went to set her canteen back in the saddle back, hearing his body sink to the ground. Her mind stopped...she had done this before...her fingers touched her lips, what would make him turn away. Then she remembered. Chase wasn't just some random civilian iff the street. The man was nobility, she was used. Like some product she was an unvalued model. She was just a whore...

With shaking hands she set the canteen back in the saddle bag and looked over to him. "Does it disgust you that much..." she had that same malice in her voice that came so easily for her, but it was all she knew. "Enough that you stalk away and sink to the ground sick to you're stomach?" she didn't raise her voice, she just said it so sharply. She wasn't even mad at him, she was more frustrated with what she was. Mai couldn't not be a normal young woman, she was a recently freed concubine...there was nothing more about her.

[Chase Sato]

Mentally he was beating himself up over what just happened. It's not that he didn't like Mai, it was quite opposite actually. But right now he couldn't do this, he needed to focus on rescuing his family. For all he knew he wouldn't survive that, and would just end up hurting Mai more in the end. He felt bad enough bringing her along in this, there was such a huge possibility that she will get caught up in it, and probably get injured. Hopefully not killed. He would never be able to live with himself if that happened. It was greedy of him to bring her along, there was no reason she should be with him. Other then his own selfish reasons. He was still glad that she was there though, no matter how selfish he was being.

Her words made his head snap up, his eyes full of confusion. "What?" He didn't even think about how what he just did came across for her. How could he be so stupid. "Mai, no." he shook his head, standing back up. "I just... I'm not disgusted at all. How could I be?" he stepped closer to her, hoping that he hadn't offended her beyond the point of forgiveness. "I just... I don't know. I really care about you, but...." his gaze fell to the ground. Fuck, he couldn't deal with this right now. He was getting frustrated with not knowing what to do, he felt so useless. All of the emotions that he had been pushing down all just welled up at once, and before he could stop it, tears began to steam down his cheeks, his hands gripping the fabric of his shirt tightly. He couldn't remember the last time he had cried.

[Mai Toriko]

Mai looked at him for a long while before she sighed and lifted his head to dry her tears. He didn't finish the sentence, the 'but' was still edging on her mind but there wasn't time for such things. She was hurt by his actions, which were still unclear. However, there were much more pressing matters to attending to. Mai had figured he would come to a breaking point eventually and she hadn't meant to cause it, but she was hurting at the same time. Deciding better than to grind him about it she thought better and simply offered him a kind word and let him gather himself once more. Now was not the time for her insecurities to be distracting him from what needed to be done. Maybe he had just been swept up in the heroics of it all...maybe he just felt he had to, maybe he felt bad for her...so many questions with no time to indulge them.

She spoke softly, "I understand." she didn't go into detail on what exactly she understood but in a way she knew his stress could keep him from enjoying such a thing at the time, however her own opinion was still at the forefront of her mind. She dried his tears with her cloak but didn't directly touch him with her bare hands before she quickly drew her hands away. "We should get back on the road....too much rest and we won't get to them on schedule." she was speaking very sternly and without much emotion, scared to let too much creep into her voice. Happiness was out the window,this was business now.

Mai gathered their pets once more as she waited for Chase to mount the animal first before she climbed on by herself. She sat up straighter than before, no longer thinking the comfort of his warmth was appropriate. They would travel in silence until night fall when they would stop again.

[Chase Sato]

He hated that he couldn't put his feelings into words, that he probably wouldn't even be able to speak right now. He must look so pathetic to her. What kind of man cries? Even with everything that happened, he should be able to hold himself together better then this. It just proved how weak he was emotionally. He spent his whole life training, being in solitude that he alienated himself emotionally from everyone around him.

He knew she didn't understand, no one could, but with what she has been through she was probably the one person who came the closest to understanding how he felt. Instead of retorting with a 'no you don't', he accepted her comfort of drying his tears, nodding at her words. He couldn't help but let a small sigh escape his lips as he mounted the steed, turning to help her, but she had already climbed up on her own. He knew his actions had hurt her, but just couldn't deal with it right now. He could barely keep his burning eyes open now. They traveled for a bit longer, the only sound the rhythmic footsteps of the emu horse trotting along. The sun began to set and sleep weighed his eyelids, almost nodding off as they rode. Deciding that it would probably be best to sleep, he began scanning for a place that would be good to set up camp.

They neared the top of a hill, over it he could see the ocean. It was still a fair distance off, but the great body of water was easy to spot from far away. They still had at least half a day's ride to get to the shores. Then they would have to find a way across the water without being seen, which was probably going to be one of the hardest parts of their journey. But that was a problem he was going to let his future self deal with. For now, they would just set up camp and sleep. He knew he needed it, though he doubted he would get much. Dismounting, he helped Mai down and started unpacking the sleeping bags, it was warm enough to not have to set up a tent.

Taking a deep breath, he looked over to her. "Mai, listen.." he was never that great at starting conversations. "As I said before, I really care about you. I just... I really have to concentrate on saving my family, and I just can't deal falling for you anymore then I already have while I'm doing it." he knew it wasn't the best wording, it still didn't encompass how he really felt, but he just needed to say something.

[Mai Toriko]

The young miss had nearly fallen asleep multiple times as they treked through the dense forest area towards the borders of the fire nation. She stayed awake only because when night fell she grew worried about bandits or other people that could harm them on their travels. Soon enough they found a place to rest for the night and Mai watched as Chase hopped off the emu horse. She was hesitant to take his help this time, but carefully gave him her hand and then quickly went about setting up the sleeping bags and briefly starting a fire to see about the darkened woods of their camp. She knelt on the sleeping bag and removed her cloak, letting her hair down out of her faux hawk for the night and running her hands through her tresses. Mai couldn't help but let out a tiny sigh of relief as she did so.

Mai heard his words and let them sink in as she sat on her sleeping bag further away from him and curled up with Soru in her lap. Her pet him slowly while she thought it over. "You think I don't know that?" she wasn't speaking angrily, but she didn't turn to look at him either. "I feel bad enough that I did it in the first place. Complicating things just seems to be what I'm good at anymore." she looked over her shoulder and offered him a kind smile, the best she would muster up in a moment like this. "But...I won't apologize for it either." she smiled again and got up, moving across to simply put a hand on his shoulder. "You need to get some sleep, we'll get on the road early tomorrow." she had no more to say on the matter and thought it best to just brush it off for now.

[Chase Sato]

She didn't sound angry, but he could tell that the situation wasn't sitting right on either of them. It would be hard to brush the feelings aside and not talk about it, but for now it kind of seemed to be what was best. He didn't have the energy to talk anymore, he nodded as she told him that he should get some rest, giving him a slight smile. He tried to smile back, but probably didn't do a very good job. Maybe a little twinge at the side of his lips. Making his way over to the sleeping bags, he laid down, looking up at the night sky. All of a sudden all the weight on his eyes was gone, his body didn't feel tired. Well, he wasn't getting much sleep, he could already tell. He assumed that he wasn't going to sleep well until this whole thing was finally resolved. His racing mind wouldn't allow for much rest.

Letting out a small sigh, he put his hands behind his head, using them as a sort of pillow. He closed his eyes, hoping that sleep would just come, but with no avail. It was hours before he drifted into a light sleep, being jolted awake by the smallest of noises, like an animal dashing through the brush. It would be dangerous to fall into a full sleep, anyways. He needed to make sure no one was going to attack them in their sleep.

The sun finally rose, ending one of the longest nights of Chase's life. He just wanted to get back onto the road. Sitting up, he rubbed his puffy eyes, petting Zala as she rubbed up against him. She just wanted to comfort him, he knew, but he didn't want to be comforted. He just wanted to get going. Standing up with a slight huff, he quickly gathered some roughage for the emu horse, holding it up for the animal to take from his hand. The first thing they needed to do was find fresh water for all of them to drink, they didn't bring enough, but could refill their canteens.

He could hear the sound of rushing water coming from somewhere nearby, sounded like a waterfall. And where there was a river, there was fresh water. "We need more water." he said, more or less just speaking to fill the dead air. His voice was groggy from lack of use. Grabbing the canteens and the reins of the Emu Horse, he walked over towards the sound of water, it wasn't far away at all. Across some bushes and a beautiful waterfall emerged, creating a rainbow with it's mist. The horse began drinking immediately, obviously very thirsty. Bending down, the fire bender splashed the cold water over his face. It felt so refreshing, he let out a sigh of relief, splashing up more water.

[Mai Toriko]

The night had been restless to say the least. She had curled up far away from the fire, not wishing to be seen. She liked the shadows, they gave her a strange sense of comfort. Darkness was on the only time she had been left alone by the guards, when everything went dark it meant the pain was over for the day. However, as she lay there in her sleeping bag, back turned to him, she felt an emptiness...and strange pang of anxiety...Never the less she tried to doze off, it took a long while but slowly she let slumber take her.

Mai had been awake for a while before Chase rosed for the day. She followed him quietly to the water and watched him wash his face before she travelled further down the stream and chose to go out and kneel on the bend as the stream turned towards the south. Using her bending she washed her face and ran some threw her hair before putting up again to keep it out of her face on their journey. Mai wasn't sure how to act around him now, he was so determined and set in his stern path. She understood this nature about him but in the same sense she knew he needed to relax before going head strong into it as well.

Mai looked out into the water, watching the sun rise glisten on the fresh water. The reflections hit her face and she couldn't help but smile as Soru went out into the water and swam for a moment, trying to beckon her forward. "No time my darling boy..." she cooed, drawing him closer and back under her cloak as he nuzzled her. She stood and brushed some of her over hanging bangs to the side before pulling her cloak over her face. Finally meeting back up with Chase she mounted the horse herself after he had and sat up straight with her eyes down cast. Her head was killing her as she tried to repress this odd feeling that she had been to these places...sometime a very long time ago...

[Chase Sato]

Zala of course wanted to have nothing to do with the water, and sat far away from the misting falls, licking her fur clean. Like most felines, she hated getting wet, but he knew she was thirsty. Cupping some water into his hands, Chase brought it over to where she was sitting and knelt down, putting his hands in front of her. She lapped at the water for a while before going back to her cleaning. She didn't have that much, but Chase knew she didn't need a lot of water. After drying off his hands, he mounted the steed, Mai doing the same shortly after. It felt weird being around someone so much and speaking so little, but there was nothing really to say, at least for him. He had a one track mind right now.

It didn't take him as long as he thought to reach the docks, the smell of the ocean filling his nostrils as a breeze carried it by them. Now came the hard part. They needed to find a ship that will board them and this Emu horse, and not be snooping around asking questions. Though it wasn't ideal, the shadier looking the ship, the most likely they will just want to yuans for the board and not care about anything else. "I hate ships. I always get sea sick." he stated, remembering his journey a little back when he did the opposite route. It had been horrible, he was sick the whole time. Never had he remembered a time when he was as happy to see land as he was when that ship ride was over.

[Mai Toriko]

Mai saw the ship off the side on the far end of the dock as the men crowded around. They needed on the ship and she knew money was an issue. She sighed and lowered her hood, her prior life had it`s advantages. She took off her cloak and hopped off the mu horse as she added a little more hip to walk and smiled sweetly to one of the crew members. "Now you fine gentlemen wouldn't happen to have any room on this ship for little old me would you?" she gave a little bend, making sure the man was fixation on her cleavage. "You see I'm in an aweful bind and I only have a few yuans to my offer." she bit her lip sweetly and looked to the floor.

The men were push overs. Like most sailors she had tended to in her time at the club they didn't see many women in their travels and were glad to have one to look at for a while, and Mai could be a sight for sore eyes for any man. Within the next few minutes she had swung the deal and everyone was on board waiting their departure. "See, comes in handy." she joked, trying to lighten the mood as she noticed his face. Mai leaned against the side of the boat, looking at poor Zala who was tucked away fearing the water while Soru was peaking over the edge of the boat. Turning around she leaned against it's side and looked to Chase. "Water isn't so bad." she whispered, "deep breathes, in through your nose and out through your mouth." she pat his back and turned back around to look out over the water.