shatterverse | (no subject)

Entry tags:

iroh fray,
mai

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Mai is down to four knives now. If she were fully armed she would simply turn and kill the things chasing her, but there are three of them, and the on that she took down before she started running was way too tough.

And she was pretty sure that if just one of the things got close enough to her she'd be dead.

But they were much better built for the lightly wooded terrain she was crashing through, and they were gaining. There weren't a lot of options open, and she didn't like any of them.

The eerie howling sounds were getting closer. Time to make a decision.

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"Then I underestimated you and I'm sorry," he replies.

"I'm new. I saw you were hurt and thought I should help."

"Oh. You're one of those."

Mai does not sound thrilled by this development.

He lifts a shoulder to apologise, then thinks better and bows.

"I'm a Fire Nation soldier, my lady. I had to."

She eyes him doubtfully. Then she leans forward.

"What did I do during the war to merit protection from the army?"

"You made the right friends," he says, falling into the story. "If the Fire Lord need follow me through, it would be more than my life's worth to have you hurt."

See, Iroh's the brain. He's figured that if she doesn't instantly recognise him, and is from just before the eclipse, she's from a world his father never met. And he knows they were friends.

She eyes him. There's something that doesn't sit right with her, but she can't seem to put her finger on it.

"I am that important?" she probes again.

He nods.

"You don't think you would be?"

Mai shrugs, "Not really." It's a sign of how tired she is that she's willing to admit that.

She's sounding a bit unsteady, in fact. And if that exhaustion is leaking through to her voice...

He's about to drop the subject when there's the sound of a chair being moved on the other side of the door.

"Are you away from the door?" the woman calls. Zheng answers in the affirmative and the door opens a crack. One large plate of freshly cooked wolf meat and what appear to be canned vegetables is pushed through.

"Do you need the bathroom or anything?" she asks.

Mai shakes her head tiredly after having decided that saying anything will only reveal how tired she is.

"No," he tells the woman as he takes the food. "Thank you."

That is honest and genuinely sincere, and accompanied by a disarming smile.

"For everything. We'll probably get some sleep now. If you need me to do any work in the morning, just let me know."

The woman nods quickly and slams the door. Zheng brings the food over to the couch.

Mai's eyes are heavy-lidded, and she only half-looks up at his approach.

She shifts slightly, trying to push herself up into a proper sitting position. Despite the pain and exhaustion she manages to do so with very few hints of how much effort it takes.

He ignores all of those hints, assuming she'd be more comfortable with distance for now.

"Eat what you can," he says, and draws back to leave her with the plate.

She glances up at him for a moment, angry at being told what to do, but too tired to do anything about it. Besides, he's right: she does need the food.

It's a slow process, but she eats about half of the food on the plate before leaning back, letting her eyes drift closed.

He didn't mean it to come out as an order, but when he takes the plate, he finished it off quickly: young man and Firebender, he's a food machine twice.

Shortly afterwards, he takes down the curtains and lays one over Mai. Then he curls up in the middle of the floor, between the couch and both door and window.

A few minutes later he's keeping himself awake worrying about the people he left behind.

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